News Digest: Centre okays Rs 4,000 crore for 7 drought-hit states

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Tuesday, February 16, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Centre okays Rs 4,000 crore for 7 drought-hit states The Centre on Monday approved relief assistance of over Rs 4,000 crore for seven drought-affected states from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). 10 of 15 cleanest cities are in NDA states The latest cleanliness ranking of cities indicates how states ruled by BJP and its allies are doing much better than those governed by non-NDA parties. DSP suspended for anti-Muslim rant in Assam Several minority organisations under the banner of All BTC Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU) have decided to write to President Pranab Mukherjee, as well as PM Narendra Modi, to remove the DSP of Karbi Anglong district for allegedly posting several comments against the Muslims on Facebook. More India News»

		Business
		Sinha gets a year more as Sebi chief  Sebi chairman U K Sinha has been given a one-year extension till March 1, 2017. I believe in your PM: Cisco Exec Chairman John Chambers, executive chairman of both Cisco and the US-India Business Council, is one of the most celebrated CEOs in the world today, featuring in most global rankings every year for the last several years. 'Biz climate has improved in last 6 months' Ease of doing business in India appears to have improved with industrialists now categorically accepting that the business environment has certainly changed for the better. More Business News»

		Environment
		Students clean beach to facilitate mass turtle nesting Schoolchildren cleaned about 4km-long beach from Gokharakuda to Podampeta in Odisha - the famous mass nesting site for the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles. Over 100 students of six high schools of the nearby villages together with officials and activists picked up around three tonnes of debris. Major ivory network dismantled in Congo, WWF says Authorities in Congo have dismantled a major ivory network, arresting three traffickers in a blow to poaching operations that threaten the survival of the African forest elephant, the conservation group WWF said. Officials also seized 30 kilograms of ivory ornaments and other items from them. Spider kills snake in Australian outback duel A plucky little spider has once again proved that size doesn't matter by taking on -- and beating -- a much larger venomous snake, in a very Australian telling of the story of David and Goliath. More Environment News»

		World
		Syria says proposed ceasefire 'difficult' Syria's President Bashar al-Assad poured cold water on an internationally backed plan for a ceasefire to begin later this week, saying it would be "difficult" to implement. UN rights expert 'warns' Kim Jong Un UN human rights expert on North Korea wants supreme leader Kim Jong Un to know that he and other senior officials can be held accountable if they are found responsible for crimes against humanity committed under their leadership. 'Obama may pressure Republicans with court pick' Hillary Clinton predicted on Monday that President Barack Obama will nominate someone who's already been confirmed by the Senate to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. More World News»

		Entertainment
		BT Excl: Riteish sports long tresses in Banjo Riteish Deshmukh plays a street musician sporting long tresses in director Ravi Jadhav’s musical 'Banjo', in which he pairs up with Nargis Fakhri. All is well between Salman and Shweta Shweta Rohira (estranged wife of Pulkit Samrat) has been tying a rakhi to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan since she was a child. Fun facts of Bollywood you must know! More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Southeast Asia to see total solar eclipse on March 8 Ever witnessed a total solar eclipse? Here's a chance for all the space lovers. Come March 8, 2016, the moon will cast its shadow on earth as it is all set to pass in front of the sun. India is one of the best places for locating another gravitational wave detector: LIGO executive director David Reitze In his first interaction with any Indian newspaper, physicist and Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Executive Director David Reitze tells TOI’s Chethan Kumar that India is the first choice for the expansion of the project and that they are anxious to have a detector here at the earliest. Speech disorder can lead to brain disease Apraxia, a problem with speech programming, can lead to neurodegenerative disease - a condition that affects neurons in the human brain, a study says. More Science News»

		Sports
		Would be lying if I say I have moved on from CSK: MS Dhoni MS Dhoni feels 'different' about captaining a new team in the IPL for the first time in eight years and says he has not moved on from his days at the CSK. Saurashtra thrash Assam by 10 wickets, enter Ranji final Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat wreaked havoc with the ball as Saurashtra dished out a dominant performance to thrash Assam by 10 wickets and sail into the final of the Ranji Trophy. Pune skipper Dhoni backs Kevin Pietersen for IPL New franchise the Rising Pune Supergiants bought Pietersen for $514,500 at a player auction for the next edition of the glitzy Twenty20 tournament. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Feel unsafe on Facebook? These 6 tips will help Got hundreds of Facebook friends you hardly know? Now is a good time to do some digital cleanup, while the year is still fresh. Review your security and privacy settings, and make sure those casual acquaintances you met at a bar eons ago aren't still getting the most intimate details of your life. Get rid of games and apps that might have latched onto your account years ago, but that you no longer use. Here are six cleanup tips: 15 Google, Alphabet projects you may not have heard about All of these "moonshot" projects cover everything from making smarter homes to creating robots that can work alongside humans. Microsoft announces Lumia 650, Lumia 650 dual-sim smartphones  Microsoft has expanded its product portfolio with the addition of Microsoft Lumia 650 and Lumia 650 dual sim smartphones. The handsets will be available in selected markets with a price tag of $200. More Technology News»

		Education
		South Asian University professor Yogesh Kumar Tyagi named new DU vice-chancellor South Asian University's Prof Yogesh Kumar Tyagi has been appointed the new vice-chancellor of Delhi University after his name was selected by President Pranab Mukherjee from a panel of four people. Last week, the HRD ministry had forwarded the four names to the President to pick from for the post. Pakistan's Bacha Khan University reopens 25 days after attack The Bacha Khan University (BKU) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, which was closed following a militant attack that killed at least 21 students, reopened on Monday after being given a security clearance. Enrolments in online courses may see surge from tier-2 cities Online education and skill enhancement is likely to see a significant uptrend this year and high number enrolments are expected from major tier-2 cities, a survey showed. It also identifies media/entertainment and IT/ITES as two industries that will constantly seek skill development in 2016. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		State breached promise to SC and used fireworks at Chowpatty show, says NCP NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said the fire at Girgaum Chowpatty on Sunday at the Make in India event has damaged the state’s image. Organizer has insurance of 25 crore for Girgaum event The embarrassing fire at the Maharashtra cultural night event to celebrate the Make in India initiative may not have injured anyone, but the issue that is yet to be ruled out is whether there was any negligence that led to the blaze or was it a mere accident or was there any other cause. If it was an accident, the issue will move to a plea over insurance as the organizer, Wizcraft, has lost equipment worth over Rs 10 crore, it is learnt. Day 3: State signs deals for 40,000 crore investments The Maharashtra government signed 21 memorandumd of understanding (MoUs) with companies worth over Rs 40,000 crore on Monday, the third day of the Make in India Week. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		S A R Geelani detained over Afzal Guru event Former DU lecturer S A R Geelani, who was booked for sedition in connection with an event at the Press Club of India, was detained on Monday. The stalker who loves Hitler and SRK Bassi says attack a minor incident Hours after a group of mediapersons and JNU students were beaten up at the Patiala House Courts onMonday afternoon, police commissioner B S Bassi termed the incident a minor one in which no one was seriously injured and there were only scuffle injuries. The top cop, however, promised action against anyone found violating the law. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Suburban rail for Bengaluru set to become reality Karnataka government has submitted a fresh proposal to the Centre to take up first phase of sub-urban railway project in and around Bengaluru Street lights in Bengaluru to be replaced with LEDs If everything goes according to plan, the state government will soon replace power-guzzling traditional street lights with energy-efficient LEDs in Bengaluru. This promises to save BBMP about Rs two crore annually from its power bill. 3 Siachen martyrs' bodies arrive in Bengaluru The mortal remains of three Indian Army soldiers who died in an avalanche in Siachen a fortnight back were received at HAL Airport here en route to their hometowns on Monday evening. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		HC raps govt over appointing VC for Vizag law university Siachen martyr's funeral in Kurnool district today New mayor warns action against lake encroachers More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		20 stone inscriptions, three from Chola period, found near Trichy Upset over damage caused by gaur, two villagers kill animal in Vellore, arrested Spinner dolphin washes ashore dead 40km from Chennai More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Protests against SRK continue Right wing groups continued their pro test on Sunday against film star Shah Rukh Khan who is in the city to shoot for his upcoming film `Raees'. Board to hold Std 10, 12 exams even in jails The board exams in 2016 would be historic for both Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Board (GSHSEB) and Gujarat State Prisons as the jail inmates from four central jails would appear in class X and XII exams directly from the jail. So far, the inmates had to get parole or furlough to appear in these exams. Attempt to burn SRK effigy outside city hotel foiled Right-wing groups continued their protest on Sunday against film star Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) who is in the city to shoot for his upcoming film `Raees'.On Saturday , protesters had pelted stones on a car in SRK's convoy and, on Sunday , they tried to burn an effigy of the actor outside a hotel on Ashram Road. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Dharmendra Yadav faces protest from ABVP activists at Allahabad University Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Badaun, Dharmendra Yadav had to face stiff protest by the ABVP activists on the campus of Allahabad University on Monday. The MP was at Union Hall of AU to participate in a function organised to honour him by AU student union. Slain dacoit Dadua's statue unveiled at Fatehpur temple Nine years after his reign of terror ended in a police encounter, slain dacoit Shiv Kumar Patel alias Dadua has come back to haunt the state administration with the unveiling of his idol at a temple in a small hamlet of Fatehpur district on Sunday. Sonia springs surprise, comes to Allahabad on "private" visit Congress president Sonia Gandhi arrived here this evening on a "private visit", taking local party leaders by surprise. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Odisha govt to make affidavits mandatory for theater groups Following controversy over alleged nudity in a Polish play 'Sonka' staged during Bharat Rang Mohatsav organised by the National School of Drama (NSD) in the city, Odisha government is planning to make undertakings mandatory for theatre groups before staging of plays. The groups would also have to submit CDs prior to the show for scrutiny. Odia writer Sakuntala Baliarsingh to get Sahitya Akademi award for translation Noted writer Sakuntala Baliarsingh has been selected for Central Sahitya Akademi Translation Award 2015 for her book 'Kaberi Bhali Jhiatie'. The book published by Sahitya Akademi was originally written by Tripurasundari Laxmi in Tamil. Odisha on FDI high at Make in India week A number of foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals have come Odisha's way at the Make in India week in Mumbai. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		PM's felicitation : Cong demands Rs 22,000 cr drought relief for MP farmers Madhya Pradesh Congress has demanded Rs 22,000 crore drought relief from Centre for the state farmers. New offices in Indore, Jabalpur to check wildlife crimes in MP Citing rising instances of human-wild animal conflict and poaching, the Madhya Pradesh forest department has decided to set up two offices in Indore and Jabalpur to check wildlife-related crimes. Bhind: Campaign on against mass copying A fortnight ahead of MP board exams, a major campaign is under way in Bhind to create awareness against copying, the district where more than 2,200 cheating cases were reported last year. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		2 war widows await promised land Minister caught 'abusing' on camera Quota: Jats in no mood to relent Members of various organizations of the Jat community on Monday cut off the area of Rohtak and Jhajjar with New Delhi by blocking roads and rail tracks. 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