News Digest: 'Militants vanished into fields in a blink'

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Friday, January 08, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		'Militants vanished into fields in a blink' “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw two persons wearing long gum boots and in Army outfit. They looked at us for a couple of seconds before turning and disappearing into the sugarcane fields,” said Satnam Singh, 44, a resident of Pandher village. Autopsy done, but officials unsure of jihadis' burial The National Investigation Agency, probing the Pathankot Air Force station terror attack, on Thursday sent bodies of four militants to the local hospital for autopsy. Narendra Modi should learn from history: Kapil Sibal Slamming the BJP government’s foreign policy in the wake of the Pathankot terror attack, Congress said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s immature handling of Pakistan has belittled the stature of the office he holds. More India News»

		Business
		Internet streaming co Netflix logs on to India American internet streaming giant Netflix announced an entry into India on Wednesday, looking to cash in on the rapidly-improving internet speeds and the fast-expanding online presence. Quikr buys CommonFloor in $100m share-swap deal After protracted negotiations that lasted more than six months, Bengaluru-based online classified’s firm Quikr has acquired real estate listings platform CommonFloor. The companies did not disclose the value or other details of the deal. MakeMyTrip raises $180m from China co In what could turn out to be the largest deal in the country’s online travel industry, Gurgaon-based online travel company MakeMyTrip on Thursday raised $180 million (Rs 1,200 crore) from Ctrip, one of China’s largest online travel companies. Ctrip will invest the amount via convertible bonds. More Business News»

		Environment
		Oz giant lizards trained to avoid eating toxic toads Australian scientists on Wednesday said they had devised an "innovative method of conservation" through feeding giant monitor lizards small cane toads so they won't be killed by larger-sized amphibians. New evidence of wild Siberian tigers found in China Footprints and dead prey from wild Siberian tigers were found at a tree farm in China's Jilin province, suggesting the expansion of the tiger's population and range of activities in China, authorities said. NGT expands ambit of air pollution case beyond Delhi The National Green Tribunal, restrained by the Supreme Court from dealing with matters on air pollution in Delhi, today expanded the ambit of hearing by seeking responses on worsening air quality in metropolises like Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata. More Environment News»

		World
		Blast kills 65 at Libyan police training centre At least 65 people were killed on Thursday when one of Libya’s worst truck bombs in years exploded at a police training centre in the town of Zliten, local officials and hospital sources said. Paris attacker identified, had previous theft conviction The man shot dead trying to attack a Paris police station on Thursday was convicted of theft in 2013, a source close to the investigation told AFP. China flies more jets to man-made island in disputed sea A pair of Chinese civilian jets landed at a newly created island in a disputed section of the South China Sea in a test to see whether its airstrip was up to standard. The flights followed an earlier test flight on Saturday that drew an angry protest from rival claimants Vietnam and Philippines. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Hrithik: It's not possible that I won't find love Take a Greek god, strip him of his sinews. Lose the immortality and junk the superpowers — and what have you? Aanand L Rai to tread new ground this year After delivering Tanu Weds Manu Returns, one of the biggest hits of 2015, filmmaker Aanand L Rai is excited about broadening his horizons in 2016. Akshay Kumar's alleged love affairs Khiladi Akshay Kumar has had a colourful history as far as his love life is concerned. Starting from Pooja Batra to his wife Twinkle Khanna and Priyanka Chopra, the actor has had a series of alleged love affairs. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		'Survivor's plasma to treat Ebola not effective' A treatment once considered among the most promising for Ebola patients was not found to be effective in a study performed in Guinea, researchers said. Reducing sugar in fizzy drinks can check obesity Obesity can be prevented by reducing the amount of sugar in sweetened drinks and fruit juices by 40% over a five-year period, a new study has claimed. With chocolate & red wine, 'sirt diet' is latest health food The Sirtfood Diet, which includes dark chocolate and red wine, is the regime that everyone is talking about in 2016. More Science News»

		Sports
		Delhi Acers beat Hyderabad Hunters to record first win in PBL Acers recorded first victory of the tournament overcoming the Hunters 4-1 on an eventful day. Chris Gayle to file defamation case against Fairfax Media Under-fire Chris Gayle has sought the services of a leading Australian lawyer to start defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media over allegations that the West Indian cricketer indecently exposed himself to a woman in Sydney during the World Cup last year. Pranav Dhanawade offered place in Air India cricket team Pranav, the teenage sensation who scripted history with an unbeaten knock of 1009, has been offered a place in national carrier Air India's cricket team. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Netflix launched in India: 7 things to know Netflix, the world’s biggest TV streaming service, has finally arrived in India. Microsoft Surface Pro 3, Pro 4 launched in India, prices start at Rs 73,990 Microsoft said Surface Pro 4 and Surface Pro 3 will be exclusively available on Amazon.in for the first six months. Buyers can book the device starting January 7 and deliveries will start January 14. CES 2016: The gadget extravaganza CES, the biggest gadgets extravaganza of the year, is about to kick off, where a host of companies will showcase technologies that will become the norm in the future. Catch all the action of CES 2016 and latest updates here... More Technology News»

		Education
		CBSE tells schools to take junk food off canteen menu In a circular to all its affiliated schools in the country, the Central Board of Secondary Education has directed that junk food be taken off the canteen menu. Centre mulling to relieve teachers from poll duties Union minister of state for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria said the Centre was mulling to relieve government schoolteachers from non-academic assignments such as election duty etc, in order to improve the quality of education. Most Std X students below par in English, maths: NCERT The first ever survey of learning achievement of class X students has shown that majority of the states/Union Territories are performing below the overall average score in all subjects. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Raj Thackeray at it again, stirs debate on Hindutva MNS president Raj Thackeray has revived the Hindutva debate by stating that his idea of Hindutva was not applicable to members of the minority community. HC to Centre: Get tough on drunk driving, change law The Bombay high court on Thursday directed the Centre to consider adopting a "zero tolerance policy" towards drunk driving and make appropriate changes in the law. Maharashtra government pushing development agenda by setting up training institute in Aarey, fear activists The state dairy development department has begun proceedings to convert the New Zealand Hostel at Aarey Colony in Goregaon into a District Administration Training Institute More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Who'll head operations? Chaos reigned as clock ticked The operation against terrorists who attacked Pathankot came precariously close to being marred by co-ordination glitches which could have delayed its success. Gang which sold stolen cars as Rs 13/kg scrap in Delhi busted Your Rs 13-lakh luxury sedan would have been sold as scrap — at just Rs 13 a kg — had a Mundka-based gang of auto-lifters managed to lay their hands on it. Delhi government says vehicle pollution down 30%, experts divided Delhi’s transport minister Gopal Rai claimed on Thursday that levels of PM 2.5, primarily caused by vehicular pollution, had come down by 25-30%. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Central Crime Branch to probe cheating by HDFC manager The Central Crime Branch will take over the case of a HDFC manager who fled with over Rs 12 crore from family and friends who had given her the money for investment purpose. As complaints were lodged in different police stations, the cases are being probed by several divisions now. Parental pressure, fear of marriage drive young women to helpline Sushma, 21, fled her hometown and came to Bengaluru when her mother started forcing to marry a man 16 years older to her. Soon, she managed to find a job at a coffee shop. When her worried mother finally tracked her down, the two visited the Vanita Sahayavani centre at the city police commissionerate here to find an amiable solution. Cops face water supply cut Residents of Pulakeshinagar police quarters were in shock on Wednesday morning when BWSSB officials landed at their enclave to disconnect the water connection for non-payment of bills. The residents were told that the pending bills totalled up to Rs 20 lakh. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Consultants still hardsell two 'blacklisted' US universities At a time when authorities in the United States of America (USA) are deporting dozens of students seeking admission to the two `controversial' varsities there, Education USA continues to counsel students seeking admissions to these institutes. 'Nawab' cons former Google employee into wedlock Probably taking a leaf out of an old movie called 'Hyderabad Nawab', a married flower vendor posing as the descendant of a nawab duped an ex-Google employee, first by coaxing her into parting with a whopping Rs 37 lakh in cash and later by marrying her. Temporary secretariat site hit by bad vastu? Amaravati township in Mangalagiri seems to be jinxed. The AP government, which had planned a temporary secretariat at Amaravati township, has now decided to change the location apparently for vaastu reasons. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Bid to enrol all disabled for 2016 polls The 2016 assembly election will be disabled friendly . For the more than 8 lakh differently-abled voters in Tamil Nadu, it has always been tough as not all polling booths had ramps. Many of their names too were left out of the electoral rolls. HC ruling puts state's solar power policy under scanner A series of Madras high court rulings has once again put the state government's solar power policy under the scanner. 1,500 fined as cops resume crackdown on helmetless riders Two-wheeler riders caught without a helmet can no longer escape saying it was lost or damaged in the rain and floods. All police personnel on the field have been instructed to resume the crackdown against those violating the rule. “Since the floods, we were told not to book cases for 30 days. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Traffic fines may go up 10 times The state government is mulling five to 10 times hike in fine charged for traffic rules violations. The minimum fine which is now a paltry Rs 50 and Rs 100 is likely to be raised to between Rs 250 and Rs 500. Adani to build transshipment hub at Mundra With an eye on growing transshipment business globally, Adani group, led by Gautam Adani, has set the ball rolling to make Mundra port a major transshipment hub in India. Accidents killed 21 every day in 2014 On an average, around 21people were killed in road accidents every day in 2014. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		This Magh Mela, cow protection through Facebook page Popular social networking site- Facebook- will soon be turning an eminent tool for a group of young seers and saints associated with Ganga Sena and Akhil Bharatiya Dandi Sanyasi Pravandhan Samiti who have decided to launch Facebook page for the protection of cows in fast-approaching Magh Mela. Health officials all set to serve mankind With lakhs of pilgrims and devotees arriving to take the holy dip on the occasion of Magh Mela beginning from January 14, officials of health department on Wednesday claimed to have made adequate arrangements for pilgrims under a common roof. 312 kgs of ganja seized, 8 arrested Eight members of an inter-state gang of drug peddlers were arrested near Nawabganj bypass on Tuesday with 312 kgs of ganja worth Rs 10 crores. One truck, two jeeps, Rs 1.32 lakh in cash and 10 mobile phones were recovered from them. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Prime Minister to visit Odisha on February 6, 7 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reach Odisha on a two-day visit on February 6, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here on Thursday. Corporate houses to boost art, say experts The art scene in the state could witness a change with corporate houses coming forward to promote art, said noted painters from across the country at Art in Industry, a three-day camp that started here on Tuesday. BJP stages demo over NFSA scam in Rourkela BJP members on Tuesday staged a demonstration in front of the office of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) protesting against 'irregularities' in the preparation of ration cards under National Food Security Act (NFSA). More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		MANIT: Classes empty as teachers refuse to blink on stir & demand Lecture rooms wore deserted look and students had nothing better to do than wile away their time on the campus. This was the scene at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) on Thursday. Vyapam whistleblower cries security threat from CM Five days ahead of an important hearing on Vyapam scam by a special judge in district court of Gwalior, whistleblower Ashish Chaturvedi has alleged that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and some RSS functionaries pose a security threat to his life. Madhya Pradesh CM becomes fourth Indian to receive Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be awarded Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship in Singapore on January 13, for his contribution in development and international harmony. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		This Kabadiwala is from IIT Carrying a digital weighing machine and wearing hand gloves, a bunch of young software engineers graduated from the top-notch institutions of the country set out on weekends to collect scrap from people’s houses. Forensic experts from Chandigarh work on Pathankot case Experts from Chandigarh Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Sector 36, are assisting the sleuths of National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the connection of investigation of Pathankot terrorist attack. Chandigarh airport: Now, Punjab BJP, Cong suggest new name A fresh row has erupted over the naming of Chandigarh airport.Punjab industries minister Madan Mohan Mittal has given another twist to ongoing controversy over the name of Mohali international airport. More Chandigarh News»

		Unsubscribe | To manage your newsletter subscription settings, click here	Other Newsletters from TOI : Breaking News | Top Headlines | Tech | Entertainment | Movie Reviews | Life & Style