News Digest: Since 2005, terror has claimed lives of 707 Indians

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, July 16, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Since 2005, terror has claimed lives of 707 Indians At a time when the world focuses on France where a truck driven by a gunman mowed down 84 people and left scores injured on Thursday night, the government has released data on a string of terror strikes in India since 2005 that claimed more than 700 innocent lives and left over 3,200 injured. Can govt slap criminal defamation to stifle criticism? SC to decide Despite upholding the constitutional validity of criminal defamation provisions in the Indian Penal Code, the Supreme Court on Friday decided to examine whether a government could slap this stringent charge against its detractors to 'stifle fair criticism'. Does Rao want me in jail, Sonia had asked after Bofors Congress was again stung by revelations made in an autobiography, with old loyalist Margaret Alva hinting that father of a middleman whose name has cropped up in the VVIP chopper scam had links with Sanjay Gandhi. More India News»

		Business
		US hike in dumping duty 'to hit India shrimp exports' The US government's decision to hike anti-dumping duty on shrimp imports is expected to hit exporters hard, says a report by rating agency ICRA. It said the hike in anti-dumping duty by the USA for shrimp imports may lead to higher prices and making Indian shrimp export to the country uncompetitive. Reliance Q1 net profit up 18%, beats estimates Oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd reported on Friday a better-than-expected 18% increase in first-quarter profit on higher margins from its core refining business. Consolidated net profit rose to Rs 7,113 crore for the three months to June 30, from Rs 6,024 crore a year earlier. Rajan's 'reputation' helped stabilize rupee: Subbarao Former RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao, in his book "Who Moved My Interest Rates — Leading the Reserve Bank of India through Five Turbulent Years", has credited his successor Raghuram Rajan's "formidable reputation" for bringing sanity to the forex market when the rupee had lost nearly 25% 2013. More Business News»

		Environment
		Tropical baboon thriving in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Murthy's journey: From rogue killer to refined kumki In the 1990s Murthy was a terror. He killed at least 20 people in Kerala's Wayanad and was a nightmare for residents of the nearby areas. But soon after the Kerala government declared him a 'killer', he migrated to the Gudalur forest division in the Nilgiris. Well, the Murthy in question is not another forest brigand, but a Makhna (male elephant without tusks). Plastic debris a threat to marine life along Goa's coast Marine life along Goa's shoreline is facing a threat from plastic debris that gets washed ashore during the monsoon season, says a study by National Institute of Oceanography. According to the study, "plastic coupled with accidental spills from vessels is posing a big challenge to the environment". More Environment News»

		World
		At least 300 killed in latest South Sudan violence: UN At least 300 people have been killed in four days of intense gunbattles in the capital of South Sudan and 42,000 have fled the city, the UN said. The recent violence in Juba echoed the fighting that triggered the civil war and marks a fresh blow to last year's peace deal to end the bitter conflict. Iraqis defy ban to rally for reforms in Baghdad Thousands of Iraqis defied warnings from authorities and rallied in the heart of Baghdad on Friday, renewing pressure on the government to carry out reforms targeting corruption and sectarianism, following a call for demonstration from populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Would ask Congress to declare war on ISIS: Trump Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said if elected he would go to Congress and seek declaration of war against the Islamic State terror group and would involve Nato in the effort. He also said he would make it difficult for people to come into the US from countries where terrorism prevails. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Katrina: It was good to have my own voice Katrina Kaif tgets chatty with Bombay Times in a candid conversation. Nargis Fakhri takes hold of life post split? Nargis Fakhri seems to be taking hold of her life ever since she left India, post her alleged split with ‘Dhoom’ actor Uday Chopra. Tiger and Disha's coffee date Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani settled comfortably in a quiet corner of the cafe, sipping coffee and chatting through the evening. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Scientists to develop new cereal varieties that check greenhouse gases A team of researchers from India and the United Kingdom have come together to develop new cereal crop varieties that use nitrogen efficiently, thereby reducing greenhouse emissions and making agriculture more profitable and sustainable. Novel method can scale up stem cell production Scientists have found a new method of creating human stem cells which could solve the big problem of the large-scale production needed to fully realise the potential of these remarkable cells for understanding and treating disease. For the first time, scientists to sequence genes in space Rubins, a trained microbiologist who arrived at the space station on Saturday, will be using the samples to put Oxford Nanopore's MinION sequencer - a pocket-sized DNA sequencer - through its paces. More Science News»

		Sports
		Mixed doubles is where our medal hopes truly lie: Sania Mirza Tennis ace Sania Mirza on Friday asserted that India's best chance of winning a medal in the sport at the upcoming Rio Olympics lies in mixed doubles. Vikas fiercely determined for Olympics swansong Three weeks before the start of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the boxer is fully confident of returning home with a medal in his final Games. Rafael Nadal on final entry list for Rio Olympics The 14-time major champion hasn't played since pulling out of the French Open because of an injured left wrist and needed the International Tennis Federation's Olympic Committee to approve his appeal because he hasn't played Davis Cup. More Sports News»

		Technology
		5 features we want in Pokemon Go Thanks to Pokemon Go, many people who previously spent their free time crushing candies in their bedrooms, are now leaving the comfort of their homes to catch Pokemon. Nintendo released the game to the public on July 6, 2016, and it has since garnered a huge fan following worldwide. WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra review: The boss of all storage devices Most NAS (Network Attached Storage) products come with huge storage capacities. Indian IT companies: 9 highest-paid independent directors Here are 9 highest-paid independent directors based on the report. More Technology News»

		Education
		Prakash Javadekar asks IITians to focus on innovation HRD minister Prakash Javadekar asked IITians to focus on innovation so that the country can reach higher levels of prosperity even as he expressed concern over the overall quality of research. He also asked officials about how IITs can be made self-sufficient in terms of funding in the long run. Javadekar announces approval for 2 new Kendriya Vidyalayas in UP HRD ministry to bring in separate bill for IIITs The HRD ministry has decided to bring in a "separate bill" to govern the affairs of Indian Institutes for Information and Technology (IIITs) which are functioning under the public-private partnership model. The ministry has also decided to allow increased intake of foreign students in IIITs. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Swara Bhaskar wants to do a biopic on Indira Gandhi Mumbai, July 16 (IANS) Actress Swara Bhaskar says that she would want to do a biopic on a historical character and feels that former Prime Minister of the country Indira Gandhi will be an amazing character to do a biopic on. Fleetcabs woo Mumbai commuters with up to 28% discount TabCab has announced a discount of up to 28% for passengers. The fleetcab firm’s previous discount offer was up to 21% WR notice to firm over actor's footboard shoot Western Railway has issued a notice to a production firm after videos of actor Anil Kapoor travelling on the footboard of a local train during a promotional shoot went viral on social media More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Centre ponders over extension for Jung LED lights not functioning, say councillors NGT seeks report on rainwater harvesting More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Will malls, theatres be open 24/7? Admin to discuss idea Days after the Centre cleared a bill to allow shops and other establishments to remain open round the clock, the administration in Bengaluru is thinking along similar lines. Bengaluru can party till 1am every day Party-goers have a reason to cheer.They can now dine out, guzzle or shake a leg till 1am on all days of the week. Lakshay case: CMO asks police to act on parents' plaint More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		T asks Centre to release Rs 825 cr for Pushkarams NHRC notice to T over botched eye surgeries Rise in Almatti water level brings hopes for T farmers More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Dance ballet to reveal secrets of Tirumala Thousands of pilgrims make their way to Tirupati every year, but very few know that every stone, structure, carving, inscription and idol there has an incredible story behind it, taaking one back several centuries. Pilferage fuels an auto rush on this city lane queue up for cheap fuel pilfered from cars Radhakrishnan Salai has a couple of petrol stations, but a few autorickshaw drivers prefer to go into a lane off the main road for the same fuel at a cheap price. Crop insurance scheme to cost state 500cr The Tamil Nadu government has announced a new crop insurance scheme for farmers by joining the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance scheme. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Research on social media impact on users soon Raksha Shakti University (RSU) has bagged a two-year research project titled ‘Risk Analysis of Social Media Obsession in Gujarat’, where the New Delhi-based Indian Council of Social Science Research will provide grants. Gujarat has infrastructure projects with maximum value under operation in PPP mode across India: Study Gujarat has the highest share of 15.5 per cent in infrastructure projects with a total value of over Rs 1.6 lakh crore that are under operation in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode across India and is followed by Uttar Pradesh (13 per cent), Maharashtra (13 per cent), Tamil Nadu (eight per cent) and Karnataka (seven per cent) in this regard, noted a recent ASSOCHAM-SREI joint study. Gujaratis stranded in South Sudan received by minister at Delhi airport More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Decommissioned MIG 21 fighter plane on display in city A decommissioned MIG 21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force was installed at the entrance of Chandrashekhar park of the city, on Friday. AU to reconduct CRET by July end Following several complaints regarding mass cheating by the examinees appearing in offline mode of combined research entrance test (CRET) of Allahabad University at a lone center of the city Crime Mapping Software System delayed in Allahabad zone The much awaited Crime Mapping Software System (CMSS) is delayed as 6 out of 8 districts in Allahabad zone comprising Allahabad, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakoot are yet to feed data under the different categories of offences/cases registered under various sections of IPCs. Data records from January 1, 2015 to June 5, 2016 are to be compiled. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Dengue cases touch 1,187 in Odisha Dengue cases are on the rise in the state with detection of 78 new cases on Friday. With this, total number of patients touched 1,187 from 20 districts. Outbreak of the disease took two lives so far, said official sources. SOG members' guns used in Kandhamal encounter to be tested Bhubaneswar, Jul 15 () Additional Director General of Police of Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) Mahendra Pratap today said the guns used by Special Operation Group (SOG) jawans during the anti-Maoist operation in Kandhamal on July 8 will undergo forensic test. AIIMS to open 35-bed surgical oncology ward More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		NGT wants electric crematoriums in Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Rewa and Satna Civic body polls peaceful in MP MP becomes first state to set up 'happiness department' More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		No application filed for carving colony, shows RTI CBI clears ex-mayor of murder charge The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has given a clean chit to former mayor of Patiala Jaspal Singh Pardhan who was booked for murder of a woman in February 2013. Central team spots whitefly over 4,400 hectares in Fazilka A team of agriculture experts from the Centre visited villages of Abohar area of Fazilka and Bathinda districts on Friday to take stock of the whitefly attack on cotton crop. More Chandigarh News»

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