News Digest: SP supremo 'mulayam' on rapists, Modi says

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, April 19, 2014
		Today's Headlines

		India
		SP supremo 'mulayam' on rapists, Modi says Mulayam Singh Yadav had recently triggered a controversy when he said “boys will be boys, they make mistakes” while commenting on the death sentence of three men convicted of gang-raping two women in Mumbai last year. RTI activist shot dead in UP, police gives security to family A 70-year-old RTI activist was shot dead by three unidentified assailants outside his house here on Monday, prompting authorities to transfer the probe to Special Task Force and provide security to his family. On a war footing for peaceful polls How planners got together & fixed glitches to mobilize 2 lakh troops for smooth elections in Naxalite-hit areas. More India News»

		Business
		Glenmark recalls ulcer drug in US Glenmark Pharma is recalling 2,900 bottles of its stomach ulcer drug ranitidine in the US after a foreign tablet was found in one of the bottles. One in 4 Wipro staff to get up to 20% hike Wipro will give double-digit salary hikes to top performers and to those with hot skills, mainly big data and analytics specialists who are in short supply. Payment banks: RBI governor, deputy differ Outgoing Reserve Bank of India deputy governor K C Chakrabarty has questioned the viability of payment banks and has said that they do not serve the purpose of financial inclusion. More Business News»

		Environment
		Leopard found dead on Manesar golf course The body of a female leopard with deep injury marks was found on the golf course of a luxury resort on the foothills of the Aravallis in Manesar earlier this week. Six more tigers found in Sunderbans Tigers are burning bright in the Sunderbans. After detecting the presence of two new big cats outside the reserve area last month, the camera traps have captured images of six new tigers in the reserve area itself giving enough signs that the number of the big cats in the mangroves is stable. One-fifth of Chinese farmland is polluted The soil survey was conducted from 2005 until last year, and showed contamination in 16.1 per cent of China’s overall soil and 19.4 per cent of its arable land. More Environment News»

		World
		Obama signs bill aimed at blocking Iran's UN envoy President Barack Obama signed legislation Friday aimed at blocking Iran's chosen ambassador to the United Nations because of his ties to the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran. But the president says he is only treating the legislation as guidance. Pope Good Friday service underscores plight of the suffering The plight of immigrants, the poor, the sick, the elderly, unemployed and prisoners dominated Pope Francis' Good Friday service at Rome's Colosseum as he led Catholics around the world in commemorating the day Jesus died. In UK, foreign doctors may face tougher tests British researchers have called for making tests taken by foreign doctors who want to work in the NHS to be made harder to pass as half of all foreign doctors in Britain do not have the necessary skills to work here. The University College London has said they found a performance gap between international and UK medical graduates and has suggested raising the pass marks from 63% to 76%. More World News»

		Entertainment
		I went and sat in a whorehouse: Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt is extremely proud of his upcoming production City Lights directed by the National award-winning director of Shahid, Hansal Mehta. Excerpts from a conversation with Bhatt sahab, where he talks about his decision to back the film and its filmmaker Hansal Mehta. Kapil Sharma does a belly dance Mithun will make an appearance on the show. Chitrangda and Jyoti divorced last year, Zorawar to stay with mom All protestations and denials notwithstanding, it now appears that Chitrangda Singh and Jyoti Randhawa did get divorced in November 2013 at the Gurgaon Family Court More Entertainment News»

		Science
		SpaceX making Easter delivery of station supplies A SpaceX supply ship rocketed toward the International Space Station on Friday, setting the stage for an Easter morning delivery and urgent spacewalking repairs later in the week. Earth's twin where life can exist found Earth’s twin – a habitable planet with its own atmosphere and solid surface where liquid water and possibly life can exist has been found outside our solar system. Bullying affects health and wealth even after 40 years The negative impact of childhood bullying has now been found to impact people well beyond their teens. It is even evident nearly 40 years later, according to a new King’s College London research. More Science News»

		Sports
		Djoker sets up Federer clash in Monaco Defending champion and world No. 2 Novak Djokovic defeated Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach Monte Carlo Masters semifinals on Friday. CR7 back in training before Bayern clash Cristiano Ronaldo returned to training with his team mates on Friday as he battles to regain fitness before Wednesday's Champions League semifinal, first leg. 'Deception life blood of Indian hockey' Jude Felix, ex-India captain and now coach, says he is as much a student of game that has dramatically changed since his playing days as he is a master. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Forcing Steve Jobs out of Apple was a mistake: John Sculley Ex-Apple CEO John Sculley tells TOI that he regrets the decision taken in 1985 by the Apple board of directors to move Jobs out of the company. Reliance Jio to roll out 4G services soon: Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries has "accelerated efforts to rollout state-of-the-art 4G services across the country. FaceTime not working on iOS 6, complain users A number of iOS 6 users are reporting problems while using FaceTime, Apple’s free video chat service. More Technology News»

		Education
		Vigorous efforts needed to make Indian varsities world class: Lord Swraj Paul NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul on Friday underlined the need for vigorous efforts to make Indian universities world class DU rejects 'quota' for Delhiites Delhi University has rejected the Delhi government’s proposal for reserving 85% of seats in state government-funded colleges for students from the city, citing its central character. 'Going Global' conference in Miami to focus on higher education in large system countries The annual conference -- ‘Going Global’ --- will discuss higher education in large system countries. More than 70 countries, including India, the UK, the US and China, will participate at the event. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Mumbai candidates better off with their better half  Despite the cynicism about politicians all around, the fact is, they do have their better halves. And almost all of Mumbai’s Lok Sabha candidates are vouching for their spouse’s support during the strenuous election campaign.  Charter pilots irked by rule making them check netas' luggage Unlike previous election campaigns, the ongoing one has been rather stressful for charter aircraft pilots, especially those flying helicopters, since the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has revised norms and introduced surprise checks Housing society office-bearers to assist as booth-level volunteers This Lok Sabha election is the first poll in the state in which cooperative housing societies (CHSs) and resident welfare associations can double up as booth-level volunteers and provide assistance to booth-level officers at polling stations. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		ASI Heritage Day show a hit at Purana Qila At least 12,000 visitors thronged the Qila on Friday to witness the ongoing excavation project by Archaeological Survey of India and the artifacts discovered that have been put on public display for the first time. Lotus Temple on Unesco's tentative list Delhi's Lotus Temple or more traditionally known as Bahai House of Worship is now on Unesco's tentative world heritage list alongwith 14 other sites across India. ASI offers sneak peek into Red Fort mosque, hammam The scrollers project and a month-long exhibition of photographs of forgotten monuments in Delhi were inaugurated by ASI director-general Praveen Srivastava on Friday. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Speeding BMTC bus mows down passengers at bus stop A BMTC bus ploughed into a crowd of early morning passengers at Suddaguntepalya bus stop, near Byappanahalli, Bangalore East, at 7.50am on Friday. Irish tourist sexually assaulted in Bangalore railway station She was molested by a senior citizen when she was half asleep on a couch in the waiting room. Guard arrested for trying to rape minor A security guard who allegedly tried to rape a seven year old girl on Friday morning, is in the police net. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Lok Sabha polls in Andhra:Youth gung ho over April 30 Miles away from Hyderabad, which goes to polls a week and half from now, a group of youngsters in Gurgaon are absorbed in intense discussions these days, on the social change that might happen in the city post elections. 34-year-old Esther Lepcha batting for change “Politics, like cricket, is an unpredictable game and one never knows how it may turn around at the last moment.” That’s the mantra this 34-year-old, who has thrown her hat in the electoral ring from the Vizag East Assembly constituency, lives by.  Congress's flight of fantasy in Andhra At least so it appears from its ambitious (infeasible?) 10-point programme to transform residuary Andhra Pradesh into a ‘Navyandhra’ Pradesh.  More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Dogs shortage in police department The city police could soon be all bark and no bite.A shortage of police dogs is affecting investigation of cases and detection of crime. Fake income tax officer who conned politicos held For close to 14 years, posing as an income tax officer, he conned politicians and businessmen across the state.On Friday, Murugan, 59, was nabbed along with two associates at a restaurant in Panaiyur on ECR. Security guard found dead in Velachery canal A 60-year-old security guard was found dead in a canal in Velachery on Friday evening. Police said Selvaraj was employed by a land owner to look after a vacant plot at Ram Nagar, Velachery. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		'Poll terror strike planned by Nagori from Sabarmati jail' A terror plan by Indian Mujahideen to trigger a series of bomb blasts across the country ahead of elections was hatched from within the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad under the supervision of SIMI leader Safdar Nagori. Lalbhai Dalpatbhai museum to get ASI loan The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has recognized LD Museum as fit to receive long-term loans of sculptures. IITians' app can guide you to best street food joints in city When they joined Indian Institute of Technology in Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn), there was no one to tell them which joints offered good food.So, often their experiments resulted into an upset stomach. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		North Central Railway felicitates employees Allahabad division of North Central Railway organised Railway Week function at North Central Zone Cultural Centre to felicitate employees. Railways earmarks Brahmaputra Mail seats for city passengers The railway administration has decided to provide seats for people of Allahabad travelling in Brahmaputra Mail running between Delhi and Dibrugarh. HC seeks DM reply in Karwariya case The Allahabad HC on Friday directed the Allahabad DM to file reply (counter affidavit) in response to a writ petition filed by former BJP MLA Uday Bhan Karwariya seeking the facility of super class in Naini Central Jail. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Women voters outnumber men in K'mal, Gajapati Female voters outnumbered their male counterparts in the tribal dominated Kandhamal and Gajapati districts which went to the polls on April 10. Facilities make voting enjoyable for disabled For visually-impaired Subhalaxmi Das, voting turned out to be a memorable experience.The 29-year-old went to a polling booth at Khapuria and exercised her franchise in a Braille ballot paper. 'Others' hold heads high as they cast votes Encouraged by the Supreme Court recognizing trans-genders as a third gender and giving them the right to have families on Tuesday, several hijras on Thursday cast their votes here. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		5 wedding party members charred in bus fire Five members of a marriage party, including three children, were electrocuted when the bus in which they were travelling came in contact with a high tension wire in Ater tehsil of Bhind district Braille Boon for Blind in Bhopal To facilitate voting among the blind, polling booths at Shivaji Nagar area of Bhopal were made Braille-enabled on Thursday. Names of all candidates and their parties were scripted in Braille on the right side of EVMs. Candidates kept in police control room to prevent violence Congress, BJP and BSP candidates from Madhya Pradesh’s Morena were kept in police control room there amid intelligence inputs that they may trigger violence or capture booths during polling on Thursday. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Convicts' kin manhandle mother, sister, hurl abuses Around 1.30 pm, additional district and sessions judge Atul Kasana stepped out after hearing the arguments of prosecution and defense counsels. Sectors gear up to choose their king FOSWAC sitting president P C Sanghi and businessman-cum-president of Sector 21 Resident Welfare Association Baljinder Singh Bittu will battle it out for chairman's seat. Golf Club: 2 top guns duck fire Two top guns, Col H S Baidwan (retd) and Group Captain Anil Singha 'Charlie' (retd), have withdrawn from elections to managing committee of Chandigarh Golf Club at the last moment. More Chandigarh News»

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