News Digest: Vikas Swarup appointed Canada envoy

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Friday, February 17, 2017
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Vikas Swarup appointed Canada envoy SC pulls up search engines over sex selection content Army chief didn't declare war on Kashmiris More India News»

		Business
		TCS plans share buyback as Chandra moves to Tata HQ Remonetisation process almost complete: Arun Jaitley The remonetisation situation with regard to replenishing the scrapped currency is "almost normal" now and the Reserve Bank is monitoring the supply on a daily basis, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday. Sebi allows foreign investors to buy shares via primary mkts Markets regulator Sebi has allowed foreign investors to acquire shares through primary markets in depositories and clearing corporations. Prior to this, foreign investors could acquire shares of depositories and clearing corporations only through secondary market. More Business News»

		Environment
		Ganga pollution: NGT mulls CBI inquiry Pollution caused over one million premature births in India Expectant mothers breathing polluted air resulted in premature birth of over one million babies in India in 2010, highest in the world and twice the numbers for China, a study claimed on Thursday. India reported 1.1m deaths due to air pollution in 2015 The government here may be in denial mode on linking premature deaths to air pollution, but a new study on global air pollution by the US-based institutes claims that the India's worsening air pollution caused some 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015 and the country now "rivals China for among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world." More Environment News»

		World
		US defence chief to Nato: Pay up or we reduce support US Defence Secretary James Mattis bluntly warned Nato allies on Thursday that Donald Trump's administration would "moderate its commitment" to the transatlantic alliance unless members met their spending pledges. Blast: Pak announces Rs 1m reward for info on suspect Pakistan's Punjab police on Thursday announced Rs 1 million reward for any information about the identity of suspected facilitator of the Lahore blast, even as elite commandos killed six militants belonging to a faction of the Taliban that claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. UN wants resettlement of Rohingya refugees The United Nations' refugee agency has asked Bangladesh to allow it to negotiate with the United States, Canada and some European countries to resettle around 1,000 Rohingya Muslims living in the South Asian nation, a senior official at the agency said. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Deepika Padukone to star in an Indo-Chinese film? Here’s some good news for Deepika Padukone fans. According to reports, the actress might feature in Siddharth Anand’s Indo-Chinese project. Arshad: Irada ventures into the whodunit space Is Shruti Haasan dating this London-based actor? Cupid has struck another Bollywood starlet, who has managed to keep her relationship with a London-based Italian actor under wraps until now. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		First Indian genomics beacon launched in UK Global Gene Corp and Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) on February 14 launched ggINDIA, the first ever beacon for Indian genomics data. Mice genetically modified to stop cocaine addiction Mice have been genetically engineered to prevent them from becoming addicted to cocaine. Researchers in Canada created mice that produce higher levels of a protein that normally strengthens the connections between brain cells. Gravitational wave detection will help probe evolution of Universe, yet require more sensitive detectors A year after the breakthrough detection of Einstein’s gravitational waves in deep space through the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) experiment, Prof Archana Pai of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) who served as part of a global team of scientists looks forward with the Indian government proposal to set up a LIGO detector in the country. More Science News»

		Sports
		Don't try to take advantage of BCCI's current mess: Shastri "In my mind, India deserve every penny that they get from ICC tournaments, simply because they are the Pied Pipers of world cricket," former India captain Ravi Shastri​ stressed. Anil Kumble lauds Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni Indian cricket team coach Anil Kumble on Thursday heaped praised on Virat Kohli saying the transformation of the current India skipper from a 19-year-old to the present time has been brilliant. World rankings: Sindhu cracks top five "I'm really very happy for achieving a career high rank of No.5," Sindhu told TOI. "When I started playing in 2016 I never thought I would break into top-5 within a year. This is quite unexpected," she added. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Microsoft Xbox 'Project Scorpio' launch date announced The teaser includes an image Microsoft shared for its Xbox ‘Project Scorpio’ last year at the E3 gaming conference. Moto G5, G5 Plus smartphones' leaked on e-commerce website As per the images (shared by Android Police), the smartphones will run Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box and will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, clubbed with 2GB RAM. It will include 32GB inbuilt storage along with the option to include a microSD card (up to 128GB). Here's the first look at the LG G6's colourful new user interface The LG UX in all likeliness will be based on Android 7.0 Nougat and may be called as LG UX 6.0. The G5 and the V20 come with UX 5.0 and UX 5.0+. More Technology News»

		Education
		By next year, centralised admissions for nursery US university receives $1.5 million grant for Jainism studies An Indian-origin philanthropist in the US has made a grant of $1.5 million to a prestigious American University to advance studies in Jainism. University of South Florida extends deadline for masters and PhD program In response to recent concerns among international students planning to study in the US, the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa has extended its deadline for applications to masters and PhD programs for fall 2017 from February 15 to June 1, 2017. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Advocate courts trouble over HC sting The Bombay Bar Association has filed a petition before the Bombay HC to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against an advocate and others involved in video recording of court proceedings and uploading it online as a sting. The matter was mentioned on Thursday before a division bench of Justices A Oka and A Prabhudessai. Adoption, even after marrying kid's mom, not final sans court nod 'Zero tolerance for fatal BEST accidents, fires' BEST general manager Jagdish Patil on Thursday said there will be `zero tolerance' for bus mishaps--which have gone up to 16 in the past 11 months. ​ More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		By next year, centralised admissions for nursery Owaisi's AIMIM to contest civic polls All India Majlise-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will be contesting upcoming municipal corporation polls in Delhi. After 11 years in jail, 2 accused in Delhi blasts cleared on all counts More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		State, Dassault to set up excellence centre US Air Force pilot masters eastern strategies in Delhi The team needs to bond and believe, say Sarang pilots More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Man held for fake Israel visas, tickets Cyber crime detectives of the Hyderabad police arrested a notorious offender who duped several people by promising to secure them tourist visas to Israel.Kumar Arumugam alias Arun Kumar, owner of Cosmos Tours and Travels, was arrested in Erode in Tamil Nadu. ​ Osmania University statistics department gets gold medal The department of statistics, University College of Science, Osmania University received a gold medal from the CR Rao Institute of Statistics during as part of its golden jubilee celebrations held on Thursday University of Hyderabad prof J Prabhakar Rao to be part of education panel A faculty member from University of Hyderabad (UoH), prof J Prabhakar Rao, has been appointed as a member of the National Advisory Cum Consultative Committee constituted by the ministry of human resource development to develop a draft open educational resources (OER) policy for higher education. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		After 3 months, Kudankulam N-reactor Unit 1 starts power generation Unit 1 of the Kudankulam nuclear reactor has re-started power generation, more than two and half months it was shut down due to technical problems. The unit is likely to generate power for a month and then again shut down for change of fuel and general maintenance. Legendary musician Balamurali's wife Annapoorna dies Wife of legendary musician late M Balamuralikrishna, Annapoorna, passed away at her residence on Thurs day afternoon after battling illness for the past few months.She was 82. They ran 26 hours to Auroville and then a 26-mile marathon, all to inspire others They didn't just run the 26-mile Auroville Marathon last Sunday -they decided to run to it as well. Last weekend, Chennai-based runners Peter Van Geit and Vipul Kumar decided to run 26 hours at a stretch from Chennai to Puducherry , right up to the starting point of the trail marathon in Auroville. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Science is for everybody: Roberto Trotta “It is important to demystify science and it should be approached with curiosity and passion,“ said Roberto Trotta, a theoretical cosmologist at Imperial College London, in his lecture “The Power of Simplicity: What I Learnt by Explaining Cosmology in 1,000 Simple Words“ on Thursday. Education, skill training top corporate social responsibility projects Education, skill development and poverty alleviation are the focus areas for money spent under corporate social responsibility (CSR) by various companies. Cashless mass marriage in Bayad this Sunday This Sunday, nine couples will tie the nuptials in a mass marriage at Bayad, a town in Aravalli district, without a penny changing hands in cash. In a state where people are queuing up at 'Chandla counters' to register their cash gifts to the couple is common practice, there will also be a swipe machine in place to accept money. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		BJP bets on man who ended its winning streak in Allahabad The Cong, which Nandi had joined upon his expulsion from BSP and quit only last month, will end up supporting Parvez owing to its alliance with the Samajwadi Party. SHIATS case: Probe transferred to SP The state government on Wednesday informed the high court that investigation of SHIATS assault case has been transferred to superintendent of police (crime), Allahabad. Former MP Atiq Ahmad is one of the accused in SHIATS assault case. ​ Rudy: Modi factor will click for BJP in Assembly polls Union minister of state skill development and entrepreneurship (independent charge) and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is still the party's face in UP elections. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Three carcasses of jungle cats seized Three carcasses of Jungle cats (Felis Chaus), categorised under schedule-II of the Wildlife Protection Act-1972, were found by forest officials of Khurda range on the outskirts of the city on Thursday. BJD terrorises people with bureaucrats' help: Dharmendra Pradhan In view of the increasing poll violence cases in the state, union petroleum minister and BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday alleged that the ruling BJD is using some bureaucrats for its own interest and to terrorize people during panchayat election. Bhubaneswar to have smart bus transport system The smartest city of the country will have a smart bus transport system soon to cater the need of the demand of increasing population of the city. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Sabotage bid to derail train on world's longest narrow gauge route in MP Thrice As Many Tigers Near Bhopal Doctors set to double at hamidia hospital For the first time in over three decades, the number of doctor posts at Hamidia Hospital are all set to double. Indications are that the state government would make an announcement in this regard soon and provide financial support in the upcoming state budget. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Jat stir: Khattar reviews situation in 10 dists District officials told to maintain law and order, prepare list of injured Jat stir clips on YouTube blocked by cyber cops Also the leak of the intelligence report has become a bigger problem now as the forged version of the same is being circulated among protesters. TOI had on Wednesday reported about the report leak on social media hinting at the ongoing Jat agitation in the state turning violent after February 19. More Chandigarh News»

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