Chappell said I won't play for India under him: Zaheer
India's premier speedster Zaheer Khan today revealed that Greg Chappell had told him back in 2005 that the fast bowler "would never play for India" till the time he would remain at the helm and termed the period under the Australian as the "darkest phase of Indian cricket".

PM invites suggestions on dealing with drug addiction
Taking up the cause of addressing the menace of drug addiction, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited suggestions from the public as well as NGOs on ways to mitigate the problem. Modi, who touched upon the issue in his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on radio last Sunday, said the views and experiences could be shared on MyGov website. "During 'Mann Ki Baat' programme, I talked about many friends writing to me on menace of drugs.

Big B denies being ill, neck brace part of costume
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has denied reports that he is shooting his upcoming film 'Piku' here despite being ill. There were reports that the 72-year-old actor was not well in between the shoot of the film here, where he was spotted riding a bicycle past the iconic Writers' Building.  

Chappell denies Sachin's claim, says he is surprised
Former India coach Greg Chappell today hit back at Sachin Tendulkar and rubbished the champion batsman's claim that he had made a "shocking" suggestion to him to take over India's captaincy from Rahul Dravid months before the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Man penalised for using mobile phone in court room
A 34-year-old man had to cough up a fine of Rs 200 after a court here penalised him for using his mobile phone during court proceedings. Nilambar Mallick, a native of Madhupur village, was found using his phone in the chief judicial magistrate's court room yesterday. The court expressed strong displeasure as trial of a case was going on at the time. Mallick was allowed to leave after paying Rs 200 as fine as ordered by the court.

Naidu lauds Mittal's efforts in restoring telecom services
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has lauded the efforts of Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal in helping restore telecom services in the state that were badly hit by cyclone Hudhud. "Your efforts to organise other service providers to help the government in restoration works are commendable," Naidu said in a letter to Mittal. In the aftermath of the cyclone, Mittal had visited Visakhapatnam and attended a high-level meeting with Naidu on restoring...

Create more jobs in non-farm sector to address poverty: Prez
President Pranab Mukherjee today said more jobs need to be created in non-farm sector as employment creation is the most potent tool for bringing down poverty. Addressing a summit on livelihood security, he also asked the industry to create a mechanism for income opportunities and capacity building through corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Driver ensures passenger safety before falling dead
Battling severe chest pain, a bus driver today saved 110 passengers by taking the vehicle to the side of a busy ghat road before collapsing and dying of a heart attack on the steering wheel near Pandalur, about 70 km from here. Abdul Rahman (45) suffered a heart attack and started sweating profusely while carrying 110 passengers from Sultan Battery to Pandalur, police said.

Let media do its work: I&B minister on Vadra spat
A day after Congress defended Robert Vadra over his public spat with a journalist, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar today said media should be allowed to do its work. "Responsible behaviour is responsibility of all. Media ko apna kaam karne do (Let media do its work)," Javadekar told reporters when queried on the issue.

Arya Babbar and I never dated: Minissha Lamba
Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba has refuted claims of actor and 'Bigg Boss 8' co-contestant Arya Babbar's that she was his ex-girlfriend. Babbar had confessed on the controversial reality show that the two started dating after becoming friends on the sets of a Punjabi film. Minissha, who has been evicted from 'Bigg Boss 8', says there is no truth to what Arya had said. "We never dated each other. What Arya said is not true.

India-China trade through Lipulekh pass at Rs 3 cr
Border trade worth over Rs 3 crore took place between India and China this year through Lipulekh pass in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, according to final figures released by Dharchula sub-division of the district today. Indian traders?imported goods worth Rs 2,14,71707 from Taklakot Mart in Chinese territory of Tibet while they sold goods worth Rs 19,12,0515 to?their Tibetan clients.

3 militant factions claim Pak suicide attack at Wagah Border
Three militant factions, including splinter groups of the Taliban, have separately claimed responsibility for the suicide attack that took place after the popular flag-lowering ceremony at Wagah in Pakistan. At least 61 people, including 10 women, eight children and three security personnel, have died in the attack that took place yesterday when a suicide attacker detonated a powerful bomb at Wagah.

Effective steps taken to bring back black money: Ravishankar
Slamming the Congress for "doing nothing" on the black money issue, Union Law minister Ravishankar Prasad today said effective steps were being taken to fulfil the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back "every penny" of black money parked abroad. "We are initiating effective steps to fulfil the Prime Minister's commitment to bring back every penny of black money parked abroad to the country," Prasad told reporters here on arrival from...

Devastated as captain, Tendulkar wanted to quit: autobiography
He might be revered as the 'God of Cricket' but there was a phase in Sachin Tendulkar's awe-inspiring career when the batting maestro felt so "scarred" and "devastated" by the Indian team's ineptitude under his captaincy that he wanted to completely move away from the sport.

Batra included in FIH Executive Board
In an honour for Narinder Batra, the Hockey India president has been included in the FIH (International Hockey Federation) Executive Board as it concluded its 2014 Ordinary Congress in Marrakesh, Morocco. During the event, a new ten-year strategy for hockey was launched and well-received by delegates.

Modi is a 'great orator', says Arvind Kejriwal
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal says Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a "great orator" and has sent all the "right" messages but felt delivery of his promises were "very low". Kejriwal also suggested that Modi as prime minister has brought some positivity in the country in the last five months, adding only time will tell whether the aspirations of the people will be fulfilled or not.

Intensive follow up meetings scheduled post Modi-Obama summit
Indian and American officials have scheduled a series of meetings before the year-end to follow up on decisions taken during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden meeting with US President Barack Obama here in September to ensure their time-bound implementation. The two sides have scheduled more than a dozen-odd high-level interactions on topics ranging from education, trade, science and technology and strategic affairs in the coming weeks.

Man hit by DTC bus to get over Rs 1.6 lakh compensation
A man, who suffered injuries after being hit by a rashly-driven DTC bus, has been awarded over Rs 1.6 lakh compensation by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here. The tribunal directed United India Insurance Company Ltd, with which the bus was insured, to pay Rs 1,60,900 as compensation to Rajasthan native Sunil Chaudhary who was grievously injured in the accident in 2013.

Fadnavis plans to revamp CMO for greater efficiency
Newly-appointed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis plans to develop his office on the lines of the PMO to ensure faster and efficient working of his administration.

PM greets MP, Chhattisgarh, Karna, Haryana on foundation day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted people of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Haryana on the occasion of their foundation day. "Greetings to people of Madhya Pradesh on the state's Foundation Day. I pray that MP is blessed with record development in the coming years," Modi tweeted. In another tweet, he said, "On their Foundation Day, I convey my greetings to the people of Chhattisgarh and wish them the very best for the state's development...

Branson shocked as Virgin spaceship crash kills pilot
Virgin's pioneering tourist- carrying spacecraft has crashed on a test flight in California, killing a pilot and scattering debris across the desert -- and raising questions about the programme's future.But Virgin chief Richard Branson, while voicing shock at yesterday's accident involving Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, vowed to push forward towards the dream of space flight for the paying public.

Jharkhand Chief Justice Virendra Singh sworn in
Justice Virendra Singh was today sworn in as the new chief justice of Jharkhand High Court. Governor Syed Ahmed administered the oath at Raj Bhavan here. Justice Singh was earlier the acting chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

Actor Hrithik and his estranged wife Sussanne granted divorce
Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan and his estranged wife Sussanne Khan were today granted divorce by a family court here, nearly a year after the star couple announced end of their marriage.

BCCI slaps Rs 250 crore damages claim on WICB
Left fuming by the West Indian cricketers' mid-series pullout due to a pay dispute with their Board, the BCCI has slapped a damages claim to the tune of Rs 250 crore (USD 42 million) on the WICB.

Modi skips event at Indira Gandhi's memorial
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today skipped the event commemorating the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at the Shakti Sthal memorial where President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and top leaders of the Congress paid floral tributes to her.

'Madhushala' in kuchipudi dance recital by Shallu Jindal
Poetry by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, the late father of actor Amitabh Bachchan forms part of an upcoming solo Kuchipudi dance recital by Shalu Jindal. Jindal a disciple of Raja Radha Reddy and Kaushalya Reddy would be dancing to a composition of seven verses taken from "Madhushala", the book of poetry penned by Bachchan, which has deep Sufi incantations.

NGT summons Haryana Revenue Secretary
Taking strong exception to the absence of Haryana government officials, the National Green Tribunal has summoned the state's Revenue Secretary in a case pertaining to change of land use in Faridabad district which could allegedly lead to fragmentation of the Aravallis. "We find the absence and non-compliance of the order of the tribunal totally unjustified.

Gold prices plunge by Rs 600 on weak global cues
Gold prices plunged by Rs 600 to Rs 26,500 per 10 grams in the national capital today after the precious metal slumped to the lowest level since 2010 in global markets as the strengthening dollar eroded demand for the commodity. Besides, subdued demand from jewellers and retailers following end of festive season and shifting of funds towards soaring equity markets, weighed on prices of the precious metal.

Ajay Devgan is co-owner of Delhi Dreams in CTL
Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan along with businessman Sanjeev Kassal were today revealed as owners of the Delhi franchisee of the Champions Tennis League (CTL) even as Cyprus star Marcos Baghdatis replaced Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Pune team. The 'Delhi Dream' was launched in the presence of Vijay Amritraj, the brain behind the league. However, the veteran actor could not make it to the capital.

SAARC meet: Irani favours increased linkages between varsities
HRD Minister Smriti Irani today favoured increased university to university linkages between SAARC countries for mutual capacity building in education sector and recognition of each other's educational qualification.Chairing the second edition of the SAARC Education Ministers' meet here, she underlined the importance accorded to education in all SAARC Summits and stressed on harmonisation of academic standards and establishment of linkages between research institutions and...