My News Digest Newsletter: SC holds urgent hearing on eve of Pongal, refuses to alter order

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Wednesday, January 13, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		SC holds urgent hearing on eve of Pongal, refuses to alter order A last-gasp effort to get the Supreme Court’s approval for holding jallikattu in Tamil Nadu failed with the court on Wednesday refusing to vacate its stay on the bull-taming sport in the state. Bar bribery case: Vigilance report clears Mani's name In a move that could go a long way to rehabilitate him politically, the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB) recommended dropping charges in the bar bribery case against former finance minister and Kerala Congress (M) chief K M Mani on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Army ready to and capable of taking on any task: General Suhag Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag on Wednesday asserted his force was “ready and capable” to take on any task assigned by the government, two days after defence minister Manohar Parrikar said “pain” must be inflicted on those who harm India, in the context of the Pathankot terror attack. More India News»

		Business
		Govt changes its mind, to retain over 52% in IDBI The government has decided to let IDBI Bank remain a public sector lender by retaining its shareholding above 52%, at least for the moment. Foxconn plans to make India hub for Africa, West Asia Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn intends to make India a key global manufacturing hub for servicing markets across Africa and West Asia, which may result in an inflow of billions of dollars. Abraaj buys 76% in Care Hospitals Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Group on Wednesday announced that it is acquiring majority stake in Care Hospitals, one among the top five domestic healthcare networks. More Business News»

		Environment
		Over 8.58 lakh migratory birds throng Chilika this year Over 8.58 lakh migratory birds have thronged Odisha's Chilika lake this winter, as per the bird census released. Last year, over 7.61 lakh migratory birds were sighted in Chilika lake, Asia's largest brackish water lake and the largest winter resort for migratory birds in the Indian subcontinent. Moonlight drives marine creatures in Arctic winter In the absence of any sunlight, it is the moonlight that drives the migrations of tiny marine animals through the permanently dark and frigid Arctic winter, a study says. Researchers say, zooplankton — tiny animals found near the surface in aquatic environments — keep moving during the Arctic winter. Higher temp during winter can hit wheat crop: Experts Comparatively higher temperatures during the ongoing winters have become a cause of concern for the wheat-growers in Punjab and Haryana with experts fearing productivity loss if mercury continues to remain this way. More Environment News»

		World
		Persian or Arabian Gulf? Iran, Saudi fight over name What’s in a name? History, politics and pride. Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been escalating on many fronts — over wars in Syria and Yemen, the Saudis’ execution of a dissident Shia cleric and the Iran nuclear deal. French Alps avalanche kills 3, leaves 3 injured A deadly avalanche hit a high school group skiing in the French Alps today, killing two students and a Ukrainian skier and seriously injuring three others, officials said. N Korea says nuclear test shows it could 'wipe out' US North Korea's UN mission claimed Wednesday that its successful nuclear bomb test showed that it could now ''wipe out'' the United States, as the UN security council grappled with a response to the underground blast. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Are Amyra Dastur and Sakshi Khanna a couple? They could be just friends, best friends or more than friends, who knows. Pulkit Samrat and Yami Gautam's exclusive kissing policy It is not new for actors to play guessing games about their relationship status. Celebrities who believe in aliens Certain celebs believe in aliens. Let's take a look at who they are... More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Dogs can read human emotions: Experts Dogs have the ability to recognise human emotions, say researchers. 'Hookah more harmful than cigarettes' A first of its kind data released on Wednesday showed thatcompared with a single cigarette, one hookah session releases approximately 125 times the smoke, 25 times the tar, 2.5 times the nicotine and 10 times the carbon monoxide. Charging phone in car adds to pollution It’s not just using a cellphone while driving that’s a menace to society. Charging it in the car has consequences too. More Science News»

		Sports
		Messi, Ronaldo setting a new trend at FIFA Ballon d'Or The trend of star of WC-winning teams getting the FIFA World Player of the Year has been broken ever since the duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi started dominating the beautiful game with their breath-taking individual performances. Century is immaterial if team does not win: Rohit Sharma His last three international hundreds have been in losing causes and Indian batsman Rohit Sharma feels that even the best of knocks do not give a player satisfaction if the team ends up on a losing note. World T20 in mind, Nehra wants to do well in Australia Disappointed at being ignored for five years, veteran India pacer Ashish Nehra said it is absolutely imperative for him to perform well in the upcoming Twenty20 series in Australia. More Sports News»

		Technology
		10 innovative gadgets from CES 2016 Some of the major companies introduced several interesting and innovative products this year at CES. However, there were also some small players who astonished us with their futuristic gadgets. So, here we bring you the list of 10 fascinating gadgets form the smaller booths. 9 hot budget smartphones coming to India in 2016 2015 saw the launch of many good smartphones. Starting from OnePlus 2 to Google Nexus 5X and 6P, Huawei Honor 7 and Lenovo K3 Note, there were a plethora of phones that became a super buy. So, here is the list of upcoming smartphones you need to keep an eye out for in the coming months. This app lets you access everything from US Netflix in India Last week at CES 2016, Netflix announced that it is extending its services to 130 countries including India. More Technology News»

		Education
		Better job prospects, pay for fresh MBAs this year: Survey This year promises better job prospects for business school graduates compared with 2015, according to an annual survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Delhi private schools begin toeing AAP government line on management quota While private school associations are undecided about their stand after the Delhi government's move to scrap management quota in nursery admissions, some schools have started toeing the line and have updated their admission criteria. Apply online for CET 2016 from today The Karnataka Examination Authority on Tuesday invited online applications from eligible candidates for the Common Entrance Test 2016. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Passport office visitors stuck due to snag The computer system of the regional passport office at Lower Parel developed a technical fault on Wednesday inconviencing around 50 visitors. 20-yr-old dies during tussle with landlord The Malwani police on Wednesday registered a case of “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” after a 20-year-old married woman died during a fight between her family and her landlord at Malwani. Police are awaiting the autopsy report of the deceased, Ashiya Shaikh, to ascertain the exact cause of her death. Ashiya and her husband, Javed, a mechanic, lived at New Collectors Compound in Malwani in a rented house. No arrest has been made yet. HC refuses to dispose of PIL on school bags The Bombay high court on Wednesday said it wants to see whether all schools are implementing recommendations to reduce the weight of school bags. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		90,000 Delhi cops but just 250 bulletproof vests Delhi Police has expedited the process to procure enough bulletproof jackets and helmets for its personnel to tackle a Pathankot-like scenario. 3 Delhi candidates score 100 percentile in CAT Sanuj Mittal describes his 100 percentile CAT score as "decent marks." At least three of the 17 CAT candidates with scores in 100 percentile are from Delhi; and two of them are still unsure about their plans. S Corpn's public notice attacks govt over dues he BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation has issued a public notice on Wednesday attacking the AAP government for playing politics over release of funds which has paralysed all three corporations. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		HC dismisses KMF plea Justice AS Bopanna of the high court on Wednesday dismissed a batch of petitions filed by KMF and various milk unions challenging the November 9, 2006 or der issued by the government referring a dispute relating to 2,000 contract workers to the labour court for adjudication. Team from IIT-B checks facilities in Dharwad A five-member technical team from the Indian Institute of TechnologyBombay (IIT-B), headed by Prof Shivaprasad, arrived here on Monday for a two-day inspection of the facilities available at the transit IITDharwad campus. Lakes in Koramangala-Challaghatta are most polluted, shows IISc study The lakes in Koramangala-Challaghatta (KC) valley are the most polluted than the ones in Vrishabavathi and Hebbal valleys, says an IISc study. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		AP govt plans to set up APSDRF The AP government has decided to set up its own force to deal with disaster prevention and management. Govt to regularise `illegal buildings' soon The AP government is all set to regularise buildings constructed on government land across the 13 districts in the state. AP shifts temporary secretariat again After changing the location of the proposed temporary secretariat complex twice, the AP government on Wednesday announced that government buildings will come up at Velagapudi village in Mangalagiri mandal of Guntur district. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		TN chief minister J Jayalalithaa visits party HQ, foresees AIADMK win With the opposition remaining fragmented and still striving to patch together an alliance to take on the ruling party, AIADMK general secretary and chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said the party will record a massive victory in the assembly polls slated for May and appealed to her supporters to work with full involvement. Jallikattu row: Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman tells Tamil Nadu govt to bring in an ordinance Finding itself in no position to bring in an ordinance to legalize Jallikattu, after the Supreme Court declined to vacate its stay on the notification issued by the ministry of environment and forests to lift the ban on the traditional bull sport in Tamil Nadu, the Centre on Wednesday passed the buck on to the state government saying it was constitutionally empowered to promulgate an ordinance.  Hired killers murder vice-president of Kalpataru group in Chennai Two hired killers hacked to death a 51-year-old vice-president of Kalpataru Power Transmission (KPT) in Vadapalani on Tuesday night. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Kerosene subsidy direct in bank accounts in 7 Gujarat districts from April 1 As many as seven districts of have been added to the pilot project of implementing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for Kerosene in Gujarat by the union ministry of petroleum and natural gas. Traffic clogged in Ahmedabad When recently the Ahmedabad municipal commissioner stressed on the need to control the number of vehicles on the road, it didn't come as a surprise for most of the Amdavadis as the city's arteries are literally clogged and a few spots are constant trouble points. US kid raises money for Uganda girl's surgery in state A kidney hospital in Nadiad is set to witness a rare gesture of human kindness as a five-year-old abandoned Ugandan girl, born with her bladder outside her body , will undergo surgery with the help of funds collected by a seven-year-old boy from the USA who felt the same pain as he was too suffering with the same condition. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		'Poster Masters' pin hopes on Priyanka Gandhi The serial poster-makers of Allahabad are at it again. To celebrate the 44th birthday of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday. UPSRTC to ply extra buses Uttar Pardesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) would ply additional 1,650 buses to ferry pilgrims from different parts of the state to the Magh Mela starting from January 14. A temporary bus depot has been set up in trans-Ganga region of Jhunsi on the mela campus for the parking of the fleet. IIIT-A director served notice on contempt plea While fixing March 16, as the next date of hearing, the court directed the director to comply with the aforesaid order passed by the court and also file an affidavit of compliance by the next date, failing which he shall appear in person before the court. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		JD Centre of Art to be ready by mid-2017 First phase construction of Jatin Das Centre of Art (JDCA), an art centre founded by eminent painter Jatin Das, will be completed by mid-2017 at Khandagiri in the city. SC reverses HC order on Rajas medicos' relocation The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday reversed the Orissa high court’s November 18 order on relocation of students of the Sardar Rajas Medical College and Hospital (SRMCH) at Jaring in Kalahandi to government medical colleges. After Naveen, CMO joins twitter The chief minister Naveen Patnaik-led state government seems to be getting increasingly social media savvy. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		'Doctors kidnapped baby from my wife's womb,' claims Madhya Pradesh farmer A Madhya Pradesh woman has accused a government hospital of stealing the baby from her womb after she woke up on Wednesday morning to be told by the doctors that she either had a phantom pregnancy or must have dropped the infant somewhere before she reached the hospital. Four Ujjain cops suspended for venturing into Mumbai illegally Four policemen including an inspector and a sub-inspector of Ujjain district were suspended for attempting to round-up a fraud accused from Mumbai without authorization and registering complaint at their local police station. MP CM conferred Lee Kuan fellowship, meets Singapore PM Loong On the second day of his official visit to Singapore, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was conferred the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy fellowship. Chouhan said he was honoured to have received the fellowship from a school known to be a leading research and education institution. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Burger queen set to rule Haryana village Rekha Rani, 21, who was happily frying burgers at a fast food chain in Chandigarh's glitzy Elante Mall earlier, has now become one of Haryana's youngest woman sarpanchs. 'CM face won't be imported' Reacting to online campaigns projecting AAP leaders Bhagwant Mann and H S Phoolka as chief ministerial candidates, Sanjay Singh said it was only their supporters who were running the drive and neither of the two leaders had made any such claim AAP demands Doval's sack AAP leaders on Monday demanded removal of national security adviser Ajit Doval. More Chandigarh News»

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