News Digest: PDP's Dilawar Mir gets 3 years imprisonment in corruption case

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, November 08, 2014
		Today's Headlines

		India
		PDP's Dilawar Mir gets 3 years imprisonment in corruption case Senior PDP functionary Mohd Dilawar Mir has been sentenced to three years imprisonment by a trial court in a two decade year old corruption case related to wrongful release of Rs 30 lakh and contract for sale of urea to his firm by public sector National Fertilizers Limited in 1993-1996. Dreaded KLF chief Harminder Mintoo arrested Top militant and dreaded Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Singh Mintoo was arrested by Punjab police from Delhi's IGI airport on Friday.He was arrested while he was on his way back from Thailand. PL Punia files papers, dismisses resentment over candidature : Ex-Congress MP PL Punia on Friday filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections. More India News»

		Business
		Panel for spectrum sale in February "Telecom Commission has decided to send back the reference to Trai as some clarification is required on some of the recommendations. Reforms don't mean subsidy cuts alone, says oil minister Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan has steered two crucial reforms in the energy sector. Petronet to expand Dahej capacity further Petronet LNG Ltd plans to expand the capacity of its liquid gas import terminal at Dahej in Gujarat further by 2.5 million tonne to 17.5 million tonne per annum, even as it posted its highest-ever quarterly profit on Friday. More Business News»

		Environment
		Deadly virus pushing tigers towards extinction Adding to the existing pressures of habitat loss, poaching and depletion of prey species, a new threat to tiger populations in the wild has surfaced in the form of a deadly virus. Eco-tourism project proposed at Sriram Nagar reserve forest Forest officers have proposed an eco-tourism project at Sriram Nagar reserve forest, adjoining Bhanjanagar reservoir, in Ganjam district of Odisha. Make green laws efficient, cut regulatory bodies: Jairam Ramesh Maximize the efficacy of current environment and forest laws. But minimize regulatory bodies to curb official corruption and maladministration. More Environment News»

		World
		Obama hosts Congress leaders after midterm debacle Three days after his party's stinging midterm election defeat, President Barack Obama hosted congressional leaders at the White House on Friday, vowing to embrace policies untainted by partisanship. Robin Williams' autopsy found no illegal drugs Robin Williams' autopsy found no alcohol or illegal drugs were in his body when he killed himself at his Northern California home in August, sheriff's officials said on Friday. UN nuclear agency makes no progress in Iran probe Iran is failing to address suspicions it may have researched how to build an atomic bomb, a UN watchdog agency's report showed on Friday, potentially complicating efforts by six powers to reach a deal with Tehran on its nuclear programme. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Kamal Haasan: Lesser known facts One of the talented actors that India has witnessed Kamal Hassan turns a year older today. SRK says 'Amar Akbar Anthony' is a nonsensical film Shah Rukh Khan retorted to Jaya Bachchan's comment saying that even Amitabh Bachchan's cult film Amar Akbar Anthony was considered a nonsensical film at that time. Kamal Haasan joins Swachh Bharat cause on birthday According to a report in IANS, Volunteers of actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan's 'Narpani Iyakkam' (Welfare Club), who are cleaning Madhambakkam lake here Friday, have announced that they will adopt and clean 25 lakes in Tamil Nadu. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		'Editing' blood stem cells to fight HIV? Harvard researchers have used a new gene-editing technique to create what could prove to be an effective method for blocking HIV from invading and destroying patients' immune systems. Universe is brighter than thought: Nasa Nasa scientists have found that the universe is brighter than thought, with a surprising surplus of infrared light in the dark space between galaxies. Spooky science: Ghosts 'created' in Swiss lab In a first, Swiss researchers have succeeded in recreating a ghost illusion in the laboratory. More Science News»

		Sports
		ISL: FC Pune City stun Atletico de Kolkata 3-1 Dudu Omagbemi and Konstantinos Katsouranis struck either side of the break as FC Pune City capped an outstanding 3-1 away win against Atletico de Kolatka. Sachin Tendulkar hints at major sporting plan with PM Modi Iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar has hinted that a major proposal on sports, which he has submitted to PM Narendra Modi, is set to be unveiled soon. Mary Kom backs pregnancy tests, says it's for safety Mary Kom came out in support of the controversial pregnancy tests done by SAI on women pugilists, saying that it was good for the safety of the players. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Nexus 6 price: Google leaves masses high & dry Priced at a whopping Rs 44,000 for the 32GB model and Rs 49,000 for the 64GB, Nexus 6 will be first Google smartphone meant for the high-end users. Airtel to woo data users through free internet Bharti Airtel, the country’s biggest telecom operator, is set to offer free internet to subscribers for trial as the company looks to convert more users into ‘internet users’ to push up revenues and profits. 10 horrible tech habits you must get rid of We're all guilty of it. There are plenty of times when we do things simply because they're easier or more convenient — even though they may be damaging to the gadgets we use every day. More Technology News»

		Education
		IIT-M ties up with Purdue University for doctoral candidates IIT-Madras on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with Purdue University in the US to enable joint supervision of doctoral candidates between the two institutions. From next year, IIT-Madras students get more electives to pick from IIT-Madras wants to give its students more autonomy in choosing what they want to learn, from the next academic year. The plan is to give students around 50% autonomy in choosing the electives. Lucknow University offers on-campus jobs for students in need Taking cue from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), Lucknow University will provide opportunities to students to earn money while they study. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Maharashtra frees no-development zones with FSI of four The Maharashtra urban development department has taken the first step to throw open no-development zones in Mumbai, allowing 10-20 times the construction currently permitted. Dengue claims Mumbai's 5th victim in 7 days The ravaging dengue crisis in the city claimed its fifth victim within a span of just seven days taking the death toll to 12. Targeting entrenched Gujaratis in Mumbai not easy, netas only venting frustration "Wanna take part in Swacha Bharat abhiyan n start from mumbai!! Wanna start cleaning up all the Marathi hating gujjus from there once for all." More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Trafficked girl rescued, 3 arrested A 19-year-old trafficked girl from Bangladesh was rescued from Govindpuri on Thursday night. BJP man threatens South Corporation inspector BJP councillor from Janakpuri, Ashish Sood, was in the eye of a storm on Friday after an inspector with South Corporation’s West Zone remunerative projects cell (RP cell) circulated an audio clip in which Sood threatens to harm him for removing a unipole used for outdoor advertising. Another AAP MLA opts out, few may be dropped Two former Aam Aadmi Party MLAs have withdrawn from the race for fresh elections and the party is expected to axe maybe a few more who have underperformed. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Cycle Day heads to Whitefield Cycle Day, an event much in vogue in some parts of the city, is going to Whitefield for the first time this Sunday. 8 students held for tampering with scripts A whistleblower's call to Bangalore University registrar (evaluation) KN Ningegowda resulted in eight students of BNM College being caught red-handed on Friday evening even as they were tampering with answer scripts of BBM and BCom exams conducted earlier in the day. PU colleges to keep sharp eye on girls' movements The PU education department has set an overarching goal in the name of safety. It has asked girls to inform the college where, when and with whom they are interacting, when they leave home and reach college, when they leave the campus and return home. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Embrace varsity tarana, students urged It was clear at the launch of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (Manuu) tarana (anthem) on Friday that the love for Urdu was the vine that bound Bollywood stalwarts, Manuu staff and students. Three more babus knock CAT door Even as the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) extended for three more weeks the status quo it ordered in the plea of GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar, three more IAS officers approached the tribunal on Friday seeking justice from it on the grounds that the Centre and Pratyush Sinha Committee are flouting their own guidelines and making a mess of the ongoing cadre division. Left parties join hands against land pooling For the first time, all Left parties in the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh are coming together to force the government to change the land pooling and development policy announced by the Telugu Desam government. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		George Town: What a mess, says HC More than 99% of all buildings in George Town were constructed either without an approved plan or in utter disregard for rules. SC last word not yet out, 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu stays for now Tamil Nadu has had a protracted legal battle on the contentious issue of 69% reservation, way above the Constitutionally-mandated upper limit of 50%. HC allows RSS foundation day rallies at seven places The Madras high court on Friday green-flagged the November 9 procession of RSS at seven locations in Tamil Nadu, saying they could not be stalled by police citing archaic colonial-era legislation and "intelligence inputs" which were too general. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		HC censures man for abandoning mother The Gujarat high court has censured a man for abandoning his 94-year-old two decades ago. Over 450 stranded Haj pilgrims spend night in Ahmedabad More than 450 Haj pilgrims bound for Bhopal and Indore spent Thursday night either at the airport or in hotels in the city as the connecting Air India flights that were supposed to transport them were delayed. 4 colleges seek centre for excellence status Recently the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC) declared a fee hike ranging from 10-40 per cent.Majority of the colleges that have applied for centre for excellence fall in the category of highest fee hike. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Why isn't Allahabad rising up in tourism? Senior official at the Inland Waterway Authority of India recently revealed that foreigners visiting India show interest in visiting Varanasi, but Allahabad doesn't feature in their itinerary Group D of RRC exam to be held from Nov 3 Railway Recruitment Cell (RRC) will be conducting the group D examination in the city on Sunday. This examination is going to be organized in five phases every Sunday starting from November 3 and finally ending on November 30. Extra coaches have also been attached in the trains to bring the candidates. Hindu family performs Azadari for 65 years It is a unique example of camaraderie and Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. A devout Hindu family performs Azadari to mourn the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Time to sail back to glory days of maritime past Bali Yatra, the weeklong festival that celebrates the state's past maritime glory, got off to a colourful start in Cuttack on Thursday. Whiff of conspiracy in amicus allegation: BJD The BJD smells a conspiracy behind amicus curiae Shyam Divan's allegation that Odisha government was stifling CBI probe into the chit fund scam in the state to protect influential politicians. Eco-sensitive tag for Rushikulya sought Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has suggested that the rookery of Olive Ridley sea turtles near Rushikulya river mouth be declared an eco-sensitive zone under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Hollywood takes on corporate giants over Bhopal gas disaster Hollywood movie star Martin Sheen will join Amnesty International’s battle to finally hold Union Carbide accountable for what is widely considered to be one of the world’s worst industrial disasters as he launches his latest film in Los Angeles on Friday Model rape case: Accused nabbed The youth against whom a rape case was registered by an aspiring model and event manager on October 4, was nabbed on Thursday. Suspended cop taken on police remand in Bhopal Suspended police inspector Upmanyu Saxena, accused of abetting his live-in partner Indu Sharma to suicide on May 11 was produced in court on Thursday and taken on a police remand till November 8. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Dreaded KLF chief Harminder Mintoo arrested Top militant and dreaded Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Singh Mintoo was arrested by Punjab police from Delhi's IGI airport on Friday.He was arrested while he was on his way back from Thailand. CTU fleet gets 20 new buses UT administration has added 20 new midi AC and non-AC buses in the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking -CTU- fleet on Friday. Kidnapped boy hacked in Mohali Mehram, whose parents were in a matrimonial dispute, had gone missing on October 28 from a park near his house in Phase IX. More Chandigarh News»

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