News Digest: The gourd that saves a girl

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Sunday, November 23, 2014
		Today's Headlines

		India
		The gourd that saves a girl Oscar-winning director Megan Mylan's short film is about a Bengal teen who grows vegetables to stave off early marriage. Health insurance for all likely in January The government is likely to roll out its much touted National Health Assurance Mission (NAHM) in January, promising health insurance for all. Three decades on, defence minister clears Rs 15,750 crore howitzer projects The government yesterday sought to revive the Army’s moribund artillery modernization project, which has miserably failed to take off ever since the infamous Bofors scandal of the mid-1980s, but deferred decisions on two crucial aircraft projects to next month. More India News»

		Business
		Reliance, SJVN get Nepal approval for investments Two prominent Indian business houses have received Nepal government's approval to invest NRs 144 billion for setting up cement and hydropower projects in the country. New Mexico spaceport sets sights on new customers The scramble to get everything ready for the launch of the world's first commercial flights from Spaceport America came to a screeching halt nearly a month ago when Virgin Galactic's spaceship broke up over the California desert during a test flight. Raid on Sahara properties in Delhi & NCR The income tax department yesterday conducted searches on the premises of Sahara group in the capital and adjoining areas on charges of tax evasion. More Business News»

		Environment
		India-Bangladesh collaboration can save Sunderbans: Experts India and Bangladesh must collaborate to facilitate and maintain a flow of fresh water round the year to save the Sunderbans mangrove ecosystem, scientists said here Saturday. Indians muck in for cleaner communities Armed with rakes, shovels and carts, a group of residents in a suburb of the northern Indian city of Ghaziabad head purposefully for an unsightly corner of their neighbourhood. India digs its heels in on phasing out refrigerant It’s not going to be easy to make India budge over the controversial climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) issue. It will move on its phase-out path only after hard bargaining. More Environment News»

		World
		West using Ukraine crisis for regime change: Russia Russia on Saturday accused the West of seeking regime change in Moscow, raising tensions over the Ukraine conflict in the worst crisis in relations since the end of the Cold War. 'Buffalo faces biggest flood threat on Monday' After a three-day onslaught that dumped a historic 2.1m of snow on the Buffalo area and killed at least 12 people, the sun came out, but so did predictions of flooding caused by rain and temperatures of up to 15 Celsius. Mali confirms new Ebola case; toll rises to 5 Mali has confirmed a new case of Ebola and identified two new suspected cases, raising concern about further spread of the disease which has already killed at least five people in the country. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Salim Khan: Arpita has to prove herself as a good wife Excerpts from a conversation with Salim sahab on Arpita's reception night Actors who kept their marriage under wraps It's very common in glamour world that celebs often keep their marriage under wraps to make it big. Big B requests for a Sitar to play it perfectly in Piku We learnt that there was a scene in 'Piku' that required Mr Bachchan to play the sitar More Entertainment News»

		Science
		This invention lets you sleep where you want A New York student has come up with a novel idea that allows people a power nap any time and any place they want. Milk might not be doing you much good More and more evidence is surfacing that milk consumption may not only be unhelpful, it might also be detrimental. Bad marriage bad for a woman's heart Effect of marital quality becomes stronger with age, shows study More Science News»

		Sports
		FC Goa defeat FC Pune City 2-0 in ISL Romeo Fernandes and Miroslav Slepicka scored a goal each as FC Goa extracted sweet revenge against FC Pune City by defeating them 2-0 in their ISL clash. Sachin Tendulkar once played with tissues in underwear Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has revealed that due to an upset stomach he had to once play with tissues inside his underwear! I'm spared of nonsense writing when I don't play: Sania Taking a dig at media, India's tennis star Sania Mirza on Saturday said she is spared from "nonsense" writing about her only when she is not playing. More Sports News»

		Technology
		European Parliament may propose Google break-up The European Parliament is preparing a non-binding resolution that proposes splitting Google Inc's search engine operations in Europe. 10 top tech stories of the week Here's a quick look at what made news in the world of technology in the week just gone by... 9 technologies companies will go nuts for in 2015 As 2014 draws to a close, it's time to examine the tech industry's trajectory and predict which trends will explode in the upcoming year. More Technology News»

		Education
		Karnataka government to set up smart class rooms, virtual classes Karnataka government will soon set up smart class rooms and virtual classes at its first-grade colleges to achieve quality enrichment of teaching-learning processes through technological intervention, a minister said. 60% rise in GRE applicants from India Indian students aspiring to go abroad for studies seem to be increasing like never before. Students appearing for the Graduate Record Examination, whose score is widely accepted for admission to colleges in the United States, saw a whopping 60% jump in the past year. KV row: Govt decision to drop German as 3rd language comes under SC scanner Government's decision to drop German as an alternative to Sanskrit as third language in Kendriya Vidyalayas has come under judicial scrutiny with the Supreme Court today issuing notice to it and seeking its explanation. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		CM moots new cluster policy, 20L city homes A new cluster development policy for Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in the next three months has been proposed by CM Deve8n8dra Fadnavis in a vision do8cument he has prepared for the city and Maharashtra, reports Clara Lewis. Syrian Christians await Fr Chavara canonization A little church run by Syrian Christians in Kandivli has not seen so much excitement since inception 30 years ago. GSBs to celebrate chariot festival next week Natives of the GSB community of South Canara will celebrate a six-day chariot festival in Dahisar from Monday. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		3 charged with global money laundering Three persons and an Amritsar-based firm were chargesheeted by Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering on a global scale in a drug trafficking racket on Saturday. How Yamuna can be Delhi's lifeline Despite hundreds of crores being spent on Yamuna rejuvenation, the river is largely absent from the Delhiite’s life and mind. A team of architects at the University of Virginia School Of Architecture are trying to fill this “void”—the space where the river should have been—by designing a riverfront and making its floodplains accessible. Pleasant weather expected on Sunday The national capital experienced a pleasant Saturday and the maximum temperature settled at 27.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average. Similar weather is likely Sunday, the Met office said. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		CM promises trash-free Bengaluru in six months A day after dumping of waste in Mandur stopped, CM Siddaramaiah on Saturday promised a garbage-free Bengaluru within six months. Moorusavir seer renounces mutt's pontiff position In a sudden development, Gurusidda Rajayogindra on Saturday renounced his position as pontiff of Moorusavir Mutt, a major religious centre of North Karnataka. Age is no barrier to unleash creativity When Asha’s eldest son got married, she passed on her most-prized treasure — a wide range of recipes — to her daughter-in-law. “As he was going to settle abroad, I wondered what to gift my daughter-in-law that she will cherish. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		NTR's name for RGIA terminal decided in '99: Naidu A day after the Telangana assembly passed a resolution opposing the decision of the Union civil aviation ministry naming the domestic terminal at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport after N T Rama Rao, both the TDP and Congress staged protests in the city. Govt begins scrutiny of land records in capital region Ahead of launching land pooling scheme to build the state capital, the TDP government is busy scrutinizing the land records in all the villages identified for location of the state capital. NTR Stadium to make way for Telangana cultural centre 'Gully cricket' will go for a toss and so are other regular sports activities on the 11-acre NTR Stadium as the Telangana state government has decided to construct a multicrore Telangana Kala Bhavan there. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Lack of IT space may cost Chennai 70,000 jobs Chennai may lose out on 70,000 new job opportunities because of lack of affordable and quality IT office space. Residents gather to show angst against Pingale transfer Residents in the city are using every forum to pour out their angst against the transfer of former Chennai Corporation joint commissioner Dr Vijay Pingale and have launched campaigns to bring him back. Shaky buildings stay as civic body dithers A day after a portion of a building on Anderson Street in Kothwal Bazar collapsed on November 16, corporation officials, including mayor Saidai S Duraisamy, descended at the spot and sealed the structure. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		3-year-old falls into borewell, hero rises A three-year-old girl, a resident of Ghodasar, fell into a 45-foot bore well on Saturday morning. Child recalls rapist's missing tooth, cops biteHis broken tooth sends child's rapist to lock-up In a show of rare grit and resilience, a 10-year-old Class V girl who was raped on Friday afternoon by a 35-year-old man helped the police track her tormentor in three hours flat by giving crucial leads to investigators. One dead, two injured in fire at Memco unit A 30-year-old man died after a unit in Memco at Naroda caught fire on Saturday morning.Two others had sustained burns and were hospitalized, said investigators. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		HC stays trial court proceedings against Togadia The Allahabad High Court on Friday stayed proceedings in the trial court going on against Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia and three others at Agra for holding a meeting at New Agra in 2012 by flouting prohibitory orders. CMP gets first girl president of students' union An undergraduate girl student of CMP Degree College, a constituent of Allahabad University, had created history. For the first time in this 60 years old college and only second time in Allahabad University, (last time in 1927), Puja Mishra, a BSc biology student had been elected as the president of the students’ union. AUSU polls: Polling peaceful as 41% students cast vote Polling for Allahabad University Student’s Union (AUSU) passed off peacefully on Friday amidst tight security arrangements. Around 41% students exercised their right to franchise. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Houses come up on land meant for park in Tankapani Residents of Tankapani in Ward 58 had hoped that a park with a walking track would come up in their locality, but it has been encroached upon and houses have come up on the land instead. Royal Bengal tiger spotted at Satkosia The Satkosia Tiger Reserve authorities have claimed that they sighted an adult Royal Bengal Tiger and a cub on Wednesday. They also found the remains of a prey, which was killed by the adult tiger. MLA 'embezzled' Rs 29 lakh from Seashore CBI’s chit fund probe continues to embarrass Naveen Patnaik-led BJD as the ruling party’s legislator from Choudwar-Cuttack Prabhat Biswal has become the fifth BJD politician to come under the central agency’s scanner. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Financial bungling in MP Congress, PCC chief under scanner Six days before the first phase of urban civic polls in Madhya Pradesh, the state Congress has been badly hit by an internal financial scam. Woman cop, son arrested for dowry death in Bhopal Police recovered some medical prescriptions from the spot that indicated Varsha was mentally tortured. Cooperate or face arrest: CBI tells ex-VC Gajbhiye CBI served an ultimatum on former vice-chancellor of Dr Hari Singh Gour Central University, N S Gajbhiye to be present at its office for questioning in the multi-crore recruitment and purchase scam. Gajbhiye has to depose before December 31 or face arrest. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Sant Rampal's 'IT' woman The ongoing probe at Sant Rampal's Satlok Ashram has revealed that the room adjacent to his seat was occupied by Babita, the daughter of a local property dealer Baljeet Singh. In her late 20s, Babita was the only woman close aide of the controversial godman to be arrested by the police. Gujarati firm offers cheaper straw baler When rampant burning of crop stubble straw has posed a serious threat to soil, human health and environment in the region, arrival of a country-made square baler and that too on a comparatively lower price than a foreign-made machine will definitely cheer farmers of Punjab and Haryana Badal points at 30k cr debt of farmers The four-day CII Agro Tech 2014 kicked off at Sector 17 here on Saturday. Presiding at the inauguration, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal urged the Union government to implement “Swaminathan formula” of “cost plus 50% profit” for fixing the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, while his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar said they were planning to launch soil health cards for farmers, under which cheap and high yielding seeds would be provided. More Chandigarh News»

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