‘Ganga aarti’ drone shoot: Nabbed crew being interrogated

Lucknow, July 11 (IANS) Investigative agencies and intelligence officials Friday began interrogating film crew members arrested Thursday for shooting Varanasi’s “Ganga aarti” in Uttar Pradesh with a drone but without permission. The documentary crew was shooting at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in the temple town without any permission, officials said. The crew team comprised four arrested Indians […]

Sri Lankan foreign minister in India

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris Thursday arrived in India, amid simmering tensions over the arrests of Indian fishermen for fishing in Sri Lankan territorial waters. Peiris will be holding talks with India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here Friday. In the first official talks between the foreign ministers of the […]

RAW officer booked for molesting northeast woman

Gurgaon, July 10 (IANS) An officer of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has been booked on charges of molesting a woman from the northeast here, police said Thursday. The RAW officer, posted in Delhi, was booked after the 30-year-old Manipuri woman, residing in DLF-3 area, lodged a complaint against him. Police officer Sanjay Kumar told […]

Common man largely satisfied with the budget

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Income tax exemptions and the focus on women’s safety and senior citizens has put a smile on the common man’s face. The maiden budget of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saw the IT exemption limit for those below 60 raised from Rs.2 lakh to Rs.2.5 lakh and from Rs.2.5 lakh to Rs.3 […]

Healthcare industry hails budget, welcomes cigarette excise

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Stakeholders of the healthcare sector Thursday hailed the union budget for its stress on quality healthcare and increase in the excise duty on tobacco and tobacco products. “Provisions in this year’s budget for healthcare are indicative of the focus on ensuring that quality healthcare reaches every level of the demographic pyramid,” […]

Gaza toll hits 81, no ceasefire on Israel’s agenda

Gaza/Jerusalem, July 10 (IANS) At least 81 Palestinians have died and more than 500 have been injured since Israel launched Operation Protective Edge two days ago to prevent rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any ceasefire. The number of injured was put at 567, […]

Spy row: Germany expels US intelligence representative

Berlin, July 10 (IANS) The German government Thursday decided to deport a representative of the US intelligence agencies in Berlin in view of the emerging US spy row. The German government took US espionage cases “very seriously”, Xinhua cited German government spokesman Steffen Seibert as saying Thursday in a statement. The representative of the US intelligence […]

Union budget has many welcome features: Karunanidhi

Chennai, July 10 (IANS) DMK president M.Karunanidhi Thursday said the 2014-15 budget presented by union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has a number of welcome features. In a statement issued here, Karunanidhi said: “Overall the central government’s budget majorly contain welcome features.” According to him, the setting up of National Institute of Ageing, a mega textile park, […]

Higher education gets 13 percent hike

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) In a boost to higher learning with a stress on “world class” centres of learning, India Thursday earmarked Rs.27,656 crore (Rs.276.56 billion) for higher education, an increase of almost 13 percent over 2013. For the year 2014-2015, the government allocated Rs.27,656 crore to the department of higher education under the human […]

19 percent hike in allocation for minorities

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) A total of Rs.3,734 crore (Rs.37.34 billion) was Thursday allocated to the minorities affairs ministry, 19 percent more than the revised estimate for last year. The ministry was allotted Rs.3,511 crore (Rs.35.11 billion) in the 2013-14 budget. It was later revised to Rs.3,130 crore (Rs.31.3 billion). In his budget speech, Finance […]