News Digest: PIL in SC seeks codification of MPs' immunity

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Thursday, July 28, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		PIL in SC seeks codification of MPs' immunity Following the ugly situation resulting from derogatory comments by BJP's Daya Shankar Singh against BSP chief Mayawati, a PIL in the Supreme Court on Wednesday sought codification of the Constitutional immunity from prosecution granted to MPs and MLAs for their speeches in the House to stop its abuse. ​ Cattle carcasses rot in Guj as angry Dalits stay away Cattle carcasses are rotting and creating health hazard in Saurashtra and north Gujarat as Dalits have stopped the work of clearing the remains, angered over the flogging of their community members at Una for allegedly skinning a dead cow last week. Congress questions Modi's silence on 'gau goondagardi' Congress on Wednesday said Sangh outfits have launched “goondagardi“ in the name of “gauraksha“, asking why was Prime Minister Narendra Modi silent on repeated attacks on Dalits and Muslims. AICC spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi, ​“The PM's silence on these issues has made us speechless​." More India News»

		Business
		Exchanges welcome hike in foreign shareholding limit to 15% Top stock exchanges NSE and BSE on Wednesday welcomed the government's decision to increase the foreign shareholding limit in bourses to 15 per cent, terming the move as being in sync with the spirit of globalization. Drop in last minute fares only to fill empty seats: AI Government-run Air India on Wednesday rejected the charge that it was driving air fares down by offering cheaper ticket prices for the last minute travel against the industry's practice of increasing them manifold. Airtel's Q1 net slides by 31% on higher capex, interest outgo Bharti Airtel, the country’s top telecom operator, reported a 31% decline in net profit as higher capex costs and greater interest payments dented margins. A growth of 62% in data revenues helped offset the declines as the company also witnessed a fall of 6% in average revenue per user (ARPU) in the voice business. More Business News»

		Environment
		Rare new species of beaked whale identified Byculla zoo gets Humboldt penguins as new members Adding to its list of major attractions, Mumbai's Byculla Zoo has brought in eight Humboldt penguins from Chile and Peru, an exercise which has not gone down well with wildlife experts who termed it as "wasteful and unnecessary." Concentration of pollutants increased during odd-even More Environment News»

		World
		Obama offers condolences to Merkel over recent attacks IS claims responsibility for attack on Syrian town, 44 dead A twin bombing struck a crowd in a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria on Wednesday, killing 44 people and wounding dozens more, Syria's state-run news agency and Kurdish media reported. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Morocco arrests 52 suspected militants, foils attacks Morocco said on Wednesday that it had arrested 52 suspected militants inspired by Islamic State and that it had foiled several attacks in the North African kingdom by seizing weapons and bomb-making materials. More World News»

		Entertainment
		'Sex used to help sell films, but not anymore' The actor talks about his upcoming film 'Fever', which also features Gauahar Khan. Aishwarya to Katrina: Evolution in pics Brett Lee's love scene runs into Censor trouble The former Australian pace bowler-turned-actor’s love scene with Tannishtha Chatterjee in his debut, 'UnIndian', has got the red signal from the Censor Board. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		CCMB-SCIC ink MoU on sickle cell disease research The city-based, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), a premier institute under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has signed a long-term Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sickle Cell Institute Chhattisgarh (SCIC), Raipur, an autonomous institute of the Government of Chhattisgarh. These images of a thunderstorm taken at 37,000 feet will make your heart skip a beat Nasa probe set for date with near-Earth asteroid US space agency Nasa will launch a spacecraft in September to a near-Earth asteroid known as Bennu to harvest a sample of surface material and return it to the Earth to scan for signs of life. More Science News»

		Sports
		NADA adjourns hearing, Narsingh's fate to be known on Thursday Narsingh Yadav's Olympic fate will be known on Friday after the National Anti-Doping Agency's disciplinary panel adjourned its hearing on the dope scandal surrounding the wrestler even as he failed a second dope test and lodged a police complaint against two fellow grapplers. Inderjeet Singh's June 29 sample is clean: Sources The dope sample of shot putter Inderjeet Singh taken on June 29 during National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Hyderabad has returned clean but the case relating to his earlier 'A' sample which came out positive still stands. Vikas all set for Rio, no wildcard for Neeraj Chopra: AFI Doubts over ace discus thrower Vikas Gowda's participation in the Rio Olympics were dispelled when the AFI confirmed that the Mysorean, a two-time Olympian, is recovering well from a nagging thigh injury at his training base in the US. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Flipkart-Jabong deal: 10 things to know Marking one of the biggest mergers in India's online shopping space, Flipkart-owned Myntra has acquired fashion e-tailer Jabong. Here are some key details about the deal. Apple to launch iPhone 6SE in September: Report Apple will be launching iPhone 6SE in September instead of the much-rumoured iPhone 7, so claims a report on German website Apfelpage.de. The report, which cites supply-chain sources in China, claims that Apple has already produced packages with the 'iPhone 6SE' branding. BlackBerry DTEK50 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow launched BlackBerry claims its DTEK50 is not like any other Android smartphone as it comes with company’s own “enhancements”. The smartphone features functions like BlackBerry Convenience Key, BlackBerry-style pop-up widgets, BB device search, Instant Actions, Gesture Controls, and a smart keyboard. More Technology News»

		Education
		At Rajasthan University, foreign authors give way to Gandhi, Vivekanand, CK Prahlad The curriculum revision committee says that inclusion of a chapter on Swami Vivekanand will enlighten young generation on how a yogi is behind concepts like 'globalization, corporate social responsibility and trusteeship'. 73 seats vacant at end of counselling in IITs At the end of this year's joint counselling for IITs, NITs, IIITs and other government-funded technical institutes, only 73 vacancies are left in IITs, bulk of them (38) in IIT-BHU. In case of NITs (National Institutes of Technology), there are 1,518 vacancies. Chaturvedi assumes charge as CBSE chairman Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, IAS, assumed charge as the chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Woman faces abuse after sex change op Sahara scraps $1.3bn offer for 3 hotels 3Associates, a London-based family office which invests its wealth in properties, on Tuesday bid $1.3 billion (around Rs 8,700 crore) for three hotels owned by the Sahara Group in New York and London. Man tortured in police station, 2 others let off in 2010 murder Three men booked for the murder of a Bhiwandi youth in 2010 were given the benefit of doubt and set free by the district sessions court. One of them, Kalidas Thale was beaten up during police interrogation, a video clip showed More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Applications flood DU colleges for leftover seats Man shot six times in NW Delhi Sanyal used MPs' names for favours More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		22-member panel to suggest criteria for Rajyotsava award mmittee headed by former high court judge Justice HN Nagamohan Das will suggest guidelines as well as criteria for selection of Rajyotsava awardees. KG Layout ready but many farmers await compensation The lush green fields and groves flanking NICE Peripheral Ring Road, stretching west and southwest of Bengaluru, will soon be flattened. Mysore Sandal set to embrace technology In its efforts to keep pace with the changing trends, the company will also launch a dedicated e-commerce website. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Girl's father turns out to be whistleblower Ex-MIM corporator arrested in rioting case The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Hyderabad police on Wednesday arrested former MIM corporator Mohammed Ghouse, who jumped ship to join the Congress just before the GHMC elections. Mellifluous, intoxicating Urdu loses its lustre Gulzar, in recent times, nasha aata hai Urdu bolne mein (there is intoxication in speaking Urdu), and, and later compared its words flowing into each other with the qiwam in paan. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Cheaper hepatitis treatment in India attracts foreign patients It is a fact that treatment for hepatitis C costs much less in India than in most developed nations, and city transplant surgeons say they see a lot more overseas patients flying in to Chennai for treatment. Chennai collector shifted in IAS reshuffle Man tries to climb out of stalled lift, falls to death More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Gujarat govt proposes 3 names to Governor for SHRC chairman post Four Una Dalit victims admitted to hospital again Ahmedabad, Jul 26 () The four Dalit victims of Una incident, who were discharged from Rajkot civil hospital yesterday after "improvement" in health condition, were admitted to the civil hospital here this evening after they developed "serious complications". No seat vacant In govt or grants-in-aid BE colleges in Gujarat More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Orientation programme for new entrants at MNNIT The authorities of the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad (MNNIT) held the orientation programme on Wednesday to introduce newly admitted students to the institute’s environment and about rules & regulations at MP Hall. UP Board begins online registration Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) has started online registration of students for class 9 and 11 examinations of 2017 through its official website www.upm.sp.edu. 2 thieves held, pistol recovered District police on Tuesday arrested two thieves near Shankargarh road on Tuesday. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		BJP to stage demonstrations against BJD govt in Odisha Bhubaneswar, Jul 27 () BJP today alleged that the ruling BJD in Odisha is "failing on all fronts" including distribution of ration cards under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and said it would launch an agitation on July 29 to "expose" the state government's "inefficiency". BJD to move privilege motion against Balyan in Lok Sabha Bhubaneswar, Jul 27 () The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is all set to move a privilege motion against Union Minister of State for Water Resources Sanjeev Balyan for his statement in the Lok Sabha on the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Political parties back Daruthenga villagers in shifting dumping yard More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Uproar in MP Assembly over cow vigilantism, govt assures action Muslim women beaten over beef rumour: MP Home Minister hints at action Taking a strong note of the incident in Mandsaur district where the Hindu Dal activists roughed up two Muslim women for allegedly carrying beef, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupender Singh on Wednesday said that action would be initiated against those who Sikh farmers flatten ravines to grow basmati Sikh farmers who migrated from Punjab and Haryana to the drought-hit tribal district of Sheopur are growing basmati rice in what was once a bald patch in the ravines. They have revolutionized the way agriculture was done in the dust bowls by flattening ravines and irrigating land with high-power pumps. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Grappler booked for 'spiking' Narsingh's food Portal launched to ease business, fast-track approvals The Haryana government has launched a portal to promote ease of doing business, enable clearance of industrial projects, and redress grievances of investors through a single platform in a time-bound manner in the state. Minister orders probe into death in hospital lift mishap More Chandigarh News»

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