News Digest: Viva cinema! for Konkani cinephiles

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Monday, December 21, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Viva cinema! for Konkani cinephiles With Nachom-ia Kumpasar making it to the Oscars' initial shortlist this year, and 20 movie releases in the last five years, the industry has got a new lease of life Idols from Rani ki Vav near Modi village still missing Next time you visit Gujarat, you must visit Rani ki Vav, an excellent symbol of our great art and culture,“ tweeted PM Narendra Modi in 2014 soon after Rani ki Vav received the Unesco heritage tag. The Rani ki Vav or Queen's Stepwell is in Patan district of Gujarat, very close to Vadnagar where Modi was born. VHP's first lot of stones for temple arrives in Ayodhya Almost six months after VHP announced its nationwide drive to collect stones for the construction of Ram temple here, two trucks laden with them arrived in the temple city on Sunday .The police said it was monitoring the situation. More India News»

		Business
		FDI focus to improve external finances, bolster Re: Moody's Describing India’s focus on FDI as “credit positive”, Moody’s Investors Service said improvement in the external situation will also provide support to the rupee. Crude prices, GST to sway markets The domestic equity market may see volatile trading sessions in a holiday-shortened week ahead, with movement of crude oil prices expected to be an important factor driving stocks in the near term, say experts. Markets will remain closed on Friday for Christmas. VW eyes job rotation for key roles, says chairman Volkswagen plans to limit the time staff can remain in certain roles, its supervisory board chairman told a German weekly, in a step to improve oversight at the German carmaker. More Business News»

		Environment
		124 turtles recovered from Mainpuri district; 1 arrested Making a breakthrough in checking smuggling of turtles from UP to South East Asian countries, a team of forest officials recovered 124 turtles from Mainpuri district and arrested a gang member involved in the racket. Concrete steps taken to tackle air pollution: Javadekar With the hazard level because of air pollution plunging into the 'severe' category across Delhi, the Centre has said that it has taken concrete measures, including a ban on burning of wastes, to tackle the pollution in the national capital region. NGT orders inspection of Delhi's waste-to-energy plants Concerned over delay in the operationalizing the waste-to-energy plants in capital, the National Green Tribunal today constituted a "high-powered team" to inspect these plants while directing it to submit a report within three weeks. More Environment News»

		World
		Russia will develop, not use, nuclear weapons: Putin President Vladimir Putin says Russia will continue to develop nuclear weapons but doesn't intend to use them. US weighs risk to civilians in anti-IS fight For months, the United States military has known that the Islamic State uses the city hall in Raqqa, Syria, as an administrative centre and a dormitory for scores of fighters. Spain ruling party hurt by upstart parties' strong showing A strong showing Sunday by a pair of upstart parties in Spain's general election threatened to upend the country's traditional two-party system, with results showing the ruling Popular Party won the most votes but fell far short of a parliamentary majority and risked being booted from power. More World News»

		Entertainment
		BT Exclusive: Gauahar Khan in 'Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3' Gauahar Khan flanked by the 'Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3' boys, Aftab Shivdasani and Tusshar, in the song Jawaani Le Doobi, which releases today Visa-less Orlando sent back from Delhi airport Orlando Bloom’s visit to India began on a sour note. The actor, who was invited to the country by UP CM Akhilesh Yadav to promote tourism, arrived in Delhi from London on Saturday at 1.30am, only to learn that the e-visa he had applied for on November 30 had been rejected. Deepika Padukone: Films she rejected Though Dippy wished to do Rockstar with Ranbir, she had rejected a lot of films too, that went on to become blockbusters. Read on to know more... More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Black holes grow as large as 50bn Suns Black holes at the heart of galaxies could swell to 50 billion times the mass of the Sun before losing the discs of gas they rely on to sustain themselves, according to a new study . Nepal's Pokhara built on debris of medieval earthquakes Nepal's second-largest city and its leading tourist hub Pokhara is built on massive debris deposits which are associated with strong medieval earthquakes, a new study has found. A new material to make roads ice proof Driving in winters could soon become easier and safer, thanks to a new material developed by scientists that could `de-ice' snow-covered, slippery roads potentially for years. More Science News»

		Sports
		Chennaiyin FC beat FC Goa to win second edition of ISL Chennaiyin FC scored twice in the 90th minute to snatch a pulsating 3-2 victory over FC Goa to win the second edition of the India Super League (ISL) on Friday. Hope to get back old form, Yuvraj Singh says His career getting a fresh lease of life following the selection for next year's Twenty20 matches against Australia, Yuvraj Singh said he cannot wait to be back in the dressing room after going through a "really terrible" phase. Messi, Suarez lead Barca to third Club World Cup title Messi broke the deadlock and Suarez scored twice in the second half to give Barca a typically emphatic 3-0 win over River Plate in the Club World Cup final. More Sports News»

		Technology
		10 tricks every Google Chrome user should know Here are 10 of our favourite tips for doing more with the Chrome browser. Year's 10 best smartphones under Rs 10,000 The year 2015 saw a flood of budget smartphones hitting the Indian handset market. Buyers could lay their hands on budget smartphones with fingerprint scanners, 3GB RAM and more. So, here’s over to the 10 best budget smartphones of the year 2015. Google Nexus 5X and Apple iPhone 5S cost Rs 25,000: Which one to buy We take a look at the pros and cons of iPhone 5S and Nexus 5X so that you can decide which one is the right model for you. More Technology News»

		Education
		200 IIT Kanpur students opt out of placement drive for higher studies, competitive exams As many as 200 students of IIT-Kanpur have opted out of the placement drive reducing the strength of the students registered with the placement cell to around 1200. All CBSE books to be made available online: Smriti Irani Union HRD minister Smriti Irani announced that all CBSE books and learning material will be made available online for free. She said, NCERT books have already been made available online for free through e-books and mobile applications a month-and-a-half ago. ​UP may have open book system for 10, 12 exams The Uttar Pradesh government is likely to introduce an “open book system” for students taking standard 10 and 12 examinations of the UP Board from the next academic session More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Judge doubts testimony of 5-yr-old in rape case Pointing out to the susceptibility of a child to imagination or tutoring, a special court on Saturday acquitted a Bandra school peon of raping a then five-year-old girl at school in July 2013. Neighbours & friends behind most cyber crimes in Mumbai Maharashtra arrested 942 cyber criminals last year, second only to UP with 1,233 arrests. Data profiling by the National Crime Records Bureau 2014 report shows that 100 of those arrested in this state were neighbours or relatives, 91 students, 81 sexual freaks and 55 religious persons. Tight security in Mumbai malls after IB's terror alert Ahead of the Christmas and New Year season, security has been beefed up at malls and important tourist spots in the city following a terror alert from the Intelligence Bureau. Police said that the city has been put on alert but there is no specific threat. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		CBI to send BOB scam report to government, RBI The CBI, having filed a charge-sheet in the Rs 6,172 crore Bank of Baroda scam, will soon send a detailed assessment report to the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) listing loopholes that allowed the scam and will also recommend corrective measures. Body to monitor price rise of essential items likely Government is likely to set up an entity for monitoring and intervention in case of sharp variation in prices of essential commodities. LG may decide on Dwarka societies' penalty row The fate of 26 cooperative group housing societies (CGHS) in Dwarka, which have been asked to pay twice for regularising an illegality, is likely to be decided by the Delhi lieutenant governor, Najeeb Jung. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Belagavi: Case slapped against Cong candidate for violating poll code In a major embarrassment to chief minister Siddaramaiah, police registered a case against congress candidate Veerkumar Patil from Belagavi for allegedly violating poll code by organising a feast (lunch) on Sunday. Autistic kids have tough time finding the right school When a ten-year-old autistic child unzipped the uniform of his classmate sitting in front, the girl left in tears. But the reaction of his classmates and teachers left him terror-stricken. The girls’ parents demanding the boy be removed from her classroom. Kalburgi case will be cracked soon: Minister Karnataka police are close to cracking the murder of Kannada scholar MM Kalburgi, according to home minister G Parameshwara. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Jagan complains to Prez against TDP `vendetta' YSRCP president YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday accused the TDP government in AP of “letting loose a reign of terror” and “implicating” opposition leaders in false cases. Gambling den raided, 5 held Special Operations Team (SOT) sleuths of the Cyberabad police raided a gambling den at Aditya Nagar Colony in Meerpet and arrested five persons on Sunday . Students worry about poor results Faced with an unprecedented water crisis, the University of Hyderabad, for the first time in its history, has shortened its next semester by one month. A revised calendar has been issued by the academic council according to which the ensuing Winter Semester will conclude in April, a month before it ends every year. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Jaya recasts party body, inducts more women The AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa set yet another ball rolling for the much awaited December 31 party meeting by reconstituting the executive committee of the party. Out of the 77 members appointed to the executive committee, 72 are women. This significantly boosts the presence of women in the committee of around 250 members. Jaitley-Jaya meet steers clear of politics but stokes talk of alliance Union finance minister Arun Jaitley was politically correct when he chose to meet the chief minister Jayalalithaa at the Secretariat, not at her Poes Garden residence, on Sunday to discuss the flood devastation in the state. Settle all TN flood claims in 4 weeks: Jaitley Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said he has instructed insurers to settle all claims relating to floods in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu within four weeks. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Ahmedabad-based road safety expert wins national award City-based road safety expert Amit Khatri won India Road Safety Mission 2015, instituted by Maruti Suzuki last year, in individual category. 'Startups have potential to take Gujarati spirit of entrepreneurship to next level': CIIE chairperson The Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) recently organized the first Grow Gujarat Awards for Gujarat-based startups. Marketing and Brand Summit 2015 held in Ahmedabad With an objective to discuss the importance of marketing and branding for businesses and how business can be marketed globally, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Gujarat organized 3rd edition of Marketing & Brand Summit 2015 at a city hotel. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		3 sisters get mysterious fever, die; docs baffled Health authorities in Bareilly are flummoxed by a mysterious illness that has claimed three minor girls, all sisters. The girls, aged seven, five and four years, died in Meergunj tehsil in the span of just a few hours. 'Kung Fu Nuns' say no to pollution Jigme Yudron Chamo, Jigme Konchok Chamo, Jigme Yeshe Chamo and Jigme Tenzin Chamo are no ordinary women.They are part of 250-strong team of cycle enthusiasts, ‘Kung Fu Nuns’, who arrived in the city on Saturday. Glowing tributes to Kakori martyrs Floral tributes were paid to Kakori martyrs Roshan Singh, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan and Rajendra Lahiri at functions held at Swaroop Rani Hospital and Chandrasekhar Azad Park here on Saturday. Martyr Roshan Singh was hanged here on December 19, 1927. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Giraffe born, zebra dies at Mysuru Zoo It's the first time in the zoo's history that two giraffes have been born in a year. It has been breeding giraffes since 2009 and it has seen six births in six years. State Congress rallies behind Sonia, Rahul The Congress party on Saturday took out a protest rally here against the alleged hounding of party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. New BMC rules to keep city free of unsightly billboards Unsightly hoardings, banners and sign boards will no longer be eyesores as the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has come up with stringent regulations to make the city clutter free. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		College teachers association to take up pending issues with chief secretary College teachers association of Madhya Pradesh has decided to raise issues their long-pending issues including promotions and others during the advisory committee meeting with the chief secretary Anthony de Sa on December 22. Vyapam scam: Former minister Laxmikant Sharma walks out of jail after 18 months After nearly 18 months, former state minister Laxmikant Sharma walked out to a warm welcome from his supporters on Sunday morning. CM, Menon stamp likely on choice of state BJP prez Selection of state BJP president might finally be the call of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and organizational general secretary Arvind Menon. Election for state BJP president is expected to be held around mid-January next year. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Sunrise after Sundown In the past one year, a group of young men have lit up 10 remote villages in Ladakh with solar power. FIR against Hooda, others in Huda plot scam; CM recommends CBI probe he Haryana state vigilance bureau on Saturday registered a criminal case against former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other former top functionaries of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) in an allotment scam dating back to 2012-13 in which the criteria were tweaked at the last minute to favour the "Fortunate 13" 2 farmers end lives over mounting debt Two debt-ridden farmers committed suicide by gulping a poisonous substance on the night intervening Friday and Saturday in Bathinda district. More Chandigarh News»

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