Audit should not be dampener for private cos: Singh
As CAG found Reliance Industries was being favoured in gas exploration deal to the government's detriment, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the then top auditor Vinod Rai that audit should not hurt the private sector and RIL was one of the biggest and most respected.

Aamir Khan would consider Rajya Sabha nomination
Actor Aamir Khan said that if he is offered a nomination to the Rajya Sabha, he will "think" about it. Asked whether he would like to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha like cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actress Rekha, Aamir said, "I won't comment on what they are doing. They are my friends.

Police raid former cricketer Abdul Qadir's house in Pakistan
Pakistan's former leg-spinner Abdul Qadir's house was raided by police here in connection with an ongoing crackdown on workers of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party. "Presumably the raid was carried out by the police since Fatima, 24, the daughter of Qadir, is a senior member of the PTI's women's wing while his son is also a member of the party," said a source close to the former test cricketer.

Muzaffarnagar riots: 2 released from jail
A former gram pradhan and an Imam in a local mosque, both accused in Muzaffarnagar riots and detained under the National Security Act, have been released, police said today.   Vikram Saini and Hafis Makkaram, detained under the Act after violence in Kawal village during the riots, were released yesterday.   According to jailor Mizazilal, Saini was released from Hamirpur Jail while Maukkaram was released from Muzaffarnagar District Jail.

J-K flood waters receding, lakhs still await help
 Flood waters receded further in Kashmir Valley today enabling rescue teams to evacuate another 2000 stranded people and provide crucial supplies for people desperately waiting for help in submerged areas. Military teams continued rescue efforts overnight, evacuating 807 people from Srinagar alone. A total of 82,000 people have been pulled out in a continuing multi-agency mammoth operation even as an estimated five to six lakh people still waited for help after floods ravaged...

UN peacekeepers arrive in strife-torn Central Africa
A new UN peacekeeping mission gets off the ground next week in the Central African Republic, one of Africa's most fragile states, despite questions over what peace there is to keep. About 1,500 troops from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Morocco, among other nations, will join 4,800 African troops already on the ground who will be "re-hatted" to serve in the MINUSCA mission.

Water supply, communication links partially restored in Valley
Twenty per cent of the water supply has been restored in Kashmir and efforts are being made on war footing to restore communication links, both physical and telecom, in the Valley which is witnessing the worst floods in a century. Jammu and Kashmir administration has ordered all government employees to report to duty by this evening so that efforts can be ramped up to salvage the situation.

Railway to pay Rs 25 K for not informing about cancelled train
Northern Railway has been asked by the apex consumer commission to pay Rs 25,000 to a man for not informing him about cancellation of a train, terming it as "deficiency in service".

Massive rescue ops on, lakhs still stranded in J-K
Mammoth multi-agency rescue efforts were underway in Jammu and Kashmir today to rescue lakhs of people trapped in flood-ravaged areas, with IAF choppers and transport aircraft undertaking non-stop sorties overnight to carry men and relief material to submerged parts. Rescue teams will be today focusing on the inundated city of Srinagar and south Kashmir belt where an estimated four lakh people are believed to be trapped in floods which have claimed nearly 200 lives in the state.

NASA to turn ISS into Earth-observing platform
In a move to monitor our planet better, NASA is adding a number of Earth-observing instruments to the International Space Station (ISS) that will increase the leverage of the orbital laboratory's unique vantage point in space. The launch of a NASA ocean winds sensor to the ISS this month inaugurates a new era of Earth observation, NASA said.

Obama,Modi to meet on Sept 29-30, expand strategic partnership
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet President Barack Obama at the White House on September 29-30 during which the two leaders would discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest to expand and deepen the US-India strategic partnership. The fact that the meeting will be spread over two days reflects the importance the US attaches to bilateral ties, a top official said.

Sensex off record highs, down 45 pts in early trade
Retreating from record highs, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 45 points in early trade today with metal, consumer durables, banking and realty sector stocks leading the decline as participants locked in gains at current levels. The 30-share barometer fell by 45.92, or 0.17 per cent, to 27,273.93. Yesterday, the gauge closed at a fresh life-time peak of 27,319.85 after climbing to a new intra-day record of 27,354.99.

SC asks Centre to reply on fate of Delhi Assembly by Oct 10
 The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to apprise it by October 10 about the outcome of political process initiated by Lt Governor by writing a letter to the President on exploring the possibility of government formation in Delhi.

Manoj murder: State govt to seek CBI probe
The state government has accepted the DGP's recommendation to entrust the murder of RSS leader Manoj in Kannur recently to the CBI. Addressing medapersons, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the accused have connections outside the state and abroad and in this context it has been decided to hand over the probe to the CBI. Earlier, the Crime Branch had issued a lookout notice for the main accused in the murder of K Manoj, an RSS leader in Thalassery. Any information...

Pakistani army, ISI targeting India to hit Sharif
Suggesting that Pakistani army and its spy agency ISI were targeting India and their own Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a dangerous game, a former CIA analyst has advocated greater US-India intelligence cooperation. Release of a new Al Qaeda videotape of its leader, Ayman Zawahiri, announcing the creation of an Al Qaeda franchise in India had further complicated the situation, according to Bruce Riedel, now director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings...

'Mary Kom' mints over Rs 8 crore on opening day
One of the most awaited Bollywood films of the year, Priyanka Chopra-starrer "Mary Kom" is said to have garnered collections of over Rs.8 crore on its opening day. "The film has made Rs.8 crore plus on its opening day," a source from the movie's co-producers Viacom18 Motion Pictures, told IANS. "Mary Kom", a biopic on the five-time boxing champion M.C. Mary Kom's life, is directed by first time director Omung Kumar and co-produced by Sanjay...

President's Greetings on the Occasion of Onam
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee in his message on the occasion of Onam, which is being celebrated tomorrow, has said: - On the auspicious occasion of Onam, I express my warm greetings to the people of Kerala, and all Malayalis across India and the world. Onam celebrates the return to Kerala by its legendary King Mahabali who was loved by his subjects for being a just and benevolent ruler. The people of Kerala, irrespective of caste, religion and economic status join...

Sania Mirza-Bruno Soares win US Open mixed doubles title
A beaming Sania Mirza squealed and jumped into the arms of her partner, Brazil's Bruno Soares, as the top seeds sealed a 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 win over American Abigail Spears and Mexico's Santiago Gonzalez in exactly an hour in the mixed doubles final of the US Open. While Soares thanked all the Indian and Brazilian supporters, the Hyderabadi said she had a lot of fun competing this fortnight and was "delighted to win". The top-seeds blasted off the blocks, but were...

Vizhinjam: Tenders to be opened on Sept 30
The Supreme Court, on Friday, rejected Kerala government's plea to stay the Green Tribunal's verdict in the Vizhinjam port case. The case was considered by a three member green bench of the Supreme Court. The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had decided to judicially review the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport. The state government and the Vizhinjam port company have maintained that it is the Chennai Green Tribunal that should...

Manoj murder: Govt may hand over probe to CBI
The state government may hand over the investigation into the recent murder of RSS leader K. Manoj at Kathiroor in Thalassery to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala held discussions with senior police officers regarding this. The Home Department has sought legal advice on handing over the case to the CBI and the DGP will will submit his report to the government on Friday. The RSS had earlier demanded a CBI...

RSS Leader's Murder: UAPA Slapped Against Suspects in the Case
Crime Branch ADGP S Ananthakrishnan, who leads the investigation team probing the murder of RSS leader Manoj, revealed on Thursday here that the provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) were slapped on the suspects in the case. Speaking to media persons at Thalassery where the camp office of the investigation team is functioning, ADGP Ananthakrishnan said that the relevant section of UAPA had been charged in the beginning itself. When asked by the media persons whether...

Didn't receive invite for Governor's swearing-in: VS
Even as the Opposition was conspicuous by its absence in the swearing in ceremony of P. Sathasivan as Kerala Governor, the Leader of the Opposition, V.S.Achuthanandan on Friday said that he hadn't received any invite for the ceremony. Achuthanandan said that he didn't know why he didn't receive the letter and added that letters to the address of the Opposition Leader never go missing. Justice P Sathasivam, former CJI, was sworn in as the Governor of Kerala at 9 am on...

Drunken driving: Breathalyser test needed: HC
The High Court (HC) has ruled that alcohol in excess of permissible limit should be found out in the Breathalyzer test done for a drunken driving case to stand scrutiny. Procedures for avoiding the breath test will not stand. The HC clarified that medical and laboratory tests will not be a substitute for Breathalyzer test. Only upon obtaining an indication of the presence of more than 30 milliliter alcohol in 100 milliliter of blood through the Breathalyzer test can an offence under...

Hooch tragedy likely in state, warns Sudheeran
KPCC president V M Sudheeran on Friday warned about the possibility of a hooch tragedy in the state. In a letter to Chief Minister Ommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, he urged the government to be vigilant against such a scenario. He has also warned that there are efforts from some quarters to undermine the liquor policy of the government. The security check at state borders should be beefed up and a special mechanism, led by district collectors, should be put in place to...

Narendra Modi arrives in Japan on a five-day visit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in this Japanese city Saturday on a visit which is expected to see new vistas being opened in bilateral ties with particular focus on cooperation in the fields of defence, civil nuclear and infrastructure besides commerce. On his first bilateral visit outside the subcontinent as the Prime Minister, Modi arrived at the Osaka International Airport to begin the first leg of his five-day visit to Japan. In the first leg of his trip, he will see the...

Titanium case: Kerala CM, ministers not to be arraigned
In a major relief to the UDF government, the vigilance court has ruled on Saturday that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and two other cabinet ministers won't be arraigned in a case related to the alleged corruption in implementation of an effluent treatment plant at the public sector company, Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTP), during Chandy's initial stint as the CM in 2006. It cannot be assumed that the chief minister was party to the conspiracy in the alleged...

LDF to hold demonstrations demanding Chandy's ouster
CPM-led LDF Opposition will be organising demonstrations at district headquarters in Kerala, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the wake of an adverse court order in a case pertaining to alleged corruption in implementation of an effluent treatment plant at a public sector company. LDF convener and CPM central committee member Vaikom Viswan said Saturday that a fair probe in the matter would not be possible with Chandy as well as Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala...

Kerala's first pancreas transplant
A hospital here has successfully conducted Kerala's first combined pancreas-kidney transplant, the third such in India. The highly complex surgery was conducted on 35-year-old S. Syed Yunus Shahir, an engineer from Palakkad. The donor was a brain-dead 38-year-old patient. Thanks to the transplant, Shahir is now eating ice cream at will and is all set to return home after a nearly two-week stay at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS). Ramachandran N. Menon, the surgical...

No-go without political purity: Sudheeran
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President V.M. Sudheeran stated that people who do not have political purity would be omitted from the party in case they have been part of the organisational revamp. All efforts are being made to hand over leadership to members with clean image. Problem such as these need to be resolved and regulations have to be stringent inside the KPCC, Sudheeran stated. Sudheeran added that he did not intent to make any statements regarding the titanium case....

Dr Babu Sebastian named new MG University VC
Dr Babu Sebastian has been appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of MG University. The Governor has signed the order regarding the appointment. Presently, Dr Babu is the director of the State Institute of Education Technology. He was a faculty member (Malayalam) of Saint Thomas College, Pala. Dr P. Prasanna Kumar from Kerala University and Nanotechnology expert Dr. Sabu Thomas were among the people considered for the post. Previous VC of MG University, Dr. A.V. George, was removed...