News Digest: Monsoon rally in north and west, deficit drops to 6%

Monsoon rally in north and west, deficit drops to 6%
The countrywide monsoon deficit has drastically reduced by five percentage points on the back of plentiful rains in the first three days of July. The overall monsoon shortfall on Sunday was just 6%, down from 11% at the end of June.

No split in Yadav family, says Shivpal
"There is no split in the family, only some ideological differences.We are united, although some people are trying to create discord," Shivpal told .

Congress salvo: Modi poster boy for broken promises
Congress on Sunday mounted a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was the "poster boy for broken promises" and dubbed the two years of BJP rule as a "regime of lies".

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SBI had offered to settle KFA loan issue with Mallya
State Bank of India (SBI) is willing to have a one-time settlement of the Kingfisher Airlines loan issue with Vijay Mallya if he agrees to repay the outstanding principal amount along with some interest and legal fees, but the former liquor baron has put conditions which are unacceptable to the bank, its top official has told a parliamentary panel.

Tata Steel may halt UK plant auction after Brexit: Report
Tata Steel is set to freeze auction of its UK steelworks while it assesses the fallout of the Brexit vote, a media report said on Sunday. The Mumbai-headquartered steel giant had announced plans to auction its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales earlier this year.

Government eases funding rules for startups
A recent notification issued by the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) makes it easier for startups to access funds via the convertible note route. This notification is part of the all-round initiatives planned by the government to strengthen the startup ecosystem in India.

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Convert deserted mining pits into green projects: Parsekar
Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Sunday mooted the idea of converting exhausted mining pits into environmental projects. "The deserted mining pits should be converted into hospitality or environmental projects (and) then we will be able to balance the environment," he said.

Frequency of cloudburst like incidents rising: Javadekar
Expressing grief over the loss of lives in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts, environment minister Prakash Javadekar said the frequency of heavy rains and cloudburst-like incidents are "increasing" due to climate change.

Climate change warming Asian waters, altering monsoon: Study
A new study released in the journal Science Advances helps clear the mystery, by showing that man-made climate change is responsible for most of the change seen in ocean surface temperatures near the equator across Asia, which in turn affect regional rainfall patterns including the Indian monsoon.

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Muslim doctor in US shot twice near Mosque
A Muslim doctor in the US was on Sunday shot at twice by some unidentified assailants while he was on his way to a mosque to offer morning prayers. After parking his car, the victim was waylaid by three suspects. One of the assailants shot at the doctor. His condition was not known.

Obama campaign machine revving up to elect Clinton
The vaunted data-driven machine that twice got President Barack Obama elected is revving up to help elect Hillary Clinton, as Democrats look to recreate the tactical advantage they used against Republicans in 2008 and 2012.

Aus parties start negotiations as hung parliament looms
With the prospect of a hung parliament looming in Australia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his rival Bill Shorten on Sunday reached out to crossbenchers, who have emerged as kingmakers after a closely-contested election.

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Pregnant Kareena pays Tusshar's son a visit
Mom-to-be Kareena Kapoor Khan pays Tusshar's son a visit recently

Street foods B'wood stars can't live without

Adnan Sami: My children will be born Indian

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ISRO's century emboldens it to embrace private sector
ISRO is opening its doors to the private sector to make not just components but full satellites. This is quite a leap in space by ISRO which has till now endeavoured to fabricate all satellites in-house. ISRO has launched 113 satellites into space since, its first, Rohini in 1980.

Thinking 'I can do better' can improve performance: study
Telling yourself that you can do better can actually improve your performance at a given task, a new study has claimed. The study examined if one motivational method would be more effective for any specific aspect of a task. The methods tested were self-talk, imagery, and if-then planning.

Nasa's New Horizons mission to travel deeper into space
Following its historic first-ever flyby of Pluto, Nasa's New Horizons mission will fly deeper into space towards an ancient object considered to be one of the early building blocks of the solar system.

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Dhoni and Kohli sit with Kumble, Dravid to chalk out roadmap
India's Test captain Virat Kohli along with his limited overs counterpart MS Dhoni had a lengthy meeting with chief coach Anil Kumble and 'A' team coach Rahul Dravid to chalk out a roadmap for Indian cricket for the coming days.

BCCI expects Kumble-Dravid combo to work wonders
There are many aspects that went in Anil Kumble's favour when the decision was taken to appoint him as the coach of the Indian cricket team. One was the fact that his former team-mate Rahul Dravid is currently in charge of the Under-19 and India A squads.

Serena reaches 300-win milestone in Wimbledon romp
Serena Williams's triple century moved the world number one above Chris Evert into sole ownership of second place in the all-time list, with only Martina Navratilova's Open era record of 306 ahead of her.

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9 hottest Android smartphones for gaming under Rs 15,000
With countless Android handsets in the budget price range, it is difficult to keep track of options. So, if you are planning to buy a new smartphone for extensive gaming, here are nine options you can choose from.

Five cool laptops under Rs 40,000
Here are five laptops under Rs 40,000 topping popularity charts.

In pics: Intex's smartphone assembling facility
Intex set up two smartphone assembling plants in Noida last year, and is set to go with the third one. We had a chance to visit the company’s Noida facility and witness Intex smartphones coming to life. Here are some of the exclusive pics from Intex’s Noida smartphone assembling facility.

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Is CBSE inflating class XII marks to compete with other boards?

ECA trials to begin on July 7: DU's 'tentative schedule'
The preliminary trials for admissions into seats in extra-curricular activities (ECA) quota will start on July 7 and continue till July 13, 2016.

67 of 100 top-rankers flock to IIT Bombay
IIT-Bombay got the cream of students this year too, with 67 of the top 100 rankers choosing the Powai campus to pursue their BTech. Last year, it was 65. IIT-Delhi retained its second position among the top choices of students, but toppers choosing the institute dropped from 30 to 28 this year.

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No regrets, am not going to say sorry, says singer Abhijeet
Bollywood singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya, known to shoot his mouth off, defended his choice of words against journalist Swati Chaturvedi as “intentional” and expressed “no regret” even as he waded into troubled waters

WR's digital eyes to secure 15 stations, women's coaches on 50 more trains
In what is expected to be a major boost for passenger security, 15 stations on Western Railway’s Bombay division are set to get cameras. The stations selected for installing cameras are mostly beyond Virar, officials said. Other security measures such as baggage scanners and sniffer dogs are also in the pipeline

Armed with HC order, Peter may ask CBI to reveal its secret witness
Peter Mukerjea, co-accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, is likely to seek the identity and copy of the "secret witness No. 32" listed in the chargesheet filed by the CBI

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Entrance results for 3 UG courses out
Delhi University's faculty of applied social sciences and humanities on Saturday declared the entrance test results of bachelor in management studies (BMS), BBA in financial and investment analysis and bachelor in business economics (BBE).

Different dates confuse defence quota aspirants
Unaware of the admission process, many candidates who had also applied under the CW (children/widows of the officers of the armed forces) category landed up in various colleges of their choice for admission under the first cutoff list

SAD-BJP rattled by AAP growth, playing dirty game, says Kejriwal
A day after AAP MLA Naresh Yadav was mentioned in the FIR regarding the Malerkotla Quran sacrilege incident, Arvind Kejriwal hit out at Punjab’s ruling SAD-BJP combine on Sunday, alleging that they were feeling “jittery” as AAP would sweep the 2017 Punjab assembly polls and had stooped to hatch a “conspiracy” to defame the party.

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Bengaluru sees office space crisis, rental costs up 50% in 2 years
Real estate in many parts of the country is in bad shape. But there's one big exception: Commercial space in Bengaluru. A surge in demand, including from MNCs looking to establish or expand R&D and engineering centres, has left developers scrambling to supply quality office space in time. Some say rental costs in certain areas and properties have increased 50% in the past two years.

BBMP sitting on crucial report as many trees pose grave threat
Even as Bengaluru battles tree-related risks every monsoon, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) seems to be sleeping over a crucial report that could hold solutions to end the menace. During 2004-05, BMP, the then version of BBMP, had formed a committee under the chairmanship of environmentalist AN Yellappa Reddy after a sharp increase in tree falls was reported.

Will decide on future after meeting people of Mandya, says Ambareesh
Former housing minister MH Ambareesh on Sunday dropped enough hints that he may soon return to the Siddaramaiah cabinet. Stating that he made a mistake by deciding to quit as an MLA soon after he was dropped from the ministry, Ambareesh said: “I will decide on my future after meeting the people of Mandya on Monday.”

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Chief Justice of India asks Telangana lawyers to end strike
Chief Justice of India T S Thakur on Sunday asked advocates from Telangana to withdraw their ongoing agitation over allotment of judges from Andhra Pradesh and bifurcation of the high court.

One of arrested IS man was Amir of city module: NIA
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has revealed that Ibrahim Yazdani, who was among the five alleged Islamic State (IS) operatives arrested on June 30, was the IS' Hyderabad module 'Amir' (commander).

Hyderabad: 8% fall in number of engg seats this year
The number of engineering seats for 2016-17 academic year in the state has seen an eight per cent fall as there are 79,705 seats up for grabs as compared to 86,805 last year. The counselling process for engineering and pharmacy seats will begin from Tuesday.

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For every boy, two girls sign up for core engg courses in TN
Though girls have been excelling at science and math at the school level, when it comes to top-notch competitive exams like JEE, it is still a boy's game. The good news is that JEE is a much-cracked glass ceiling.This year some 20% of those who passed the advanced version were girls, reports Adarsh Jain.

British-era palace in Arni falling apart
Collapsed ceilings, cracked walls and broken stairways may be the last visible signs of this spectacular British style building. The 19th century Sathyavijayanagaram palace at Arni in Thiruvannamalai district, may crumble anytime. Arni once served as the headquarters of the Arni Jagirs (1640-1948).

Chennai a hit for movie buffs, but bitter on the palate
As per a latest study on living conditions, Chennai is the least expensive city when it comes to movie tickets, but on the steeper side when it comes to eat-outs and fine dining -with the city being 25% more expensive than Bangalore for food away from home. For young wannabes, Chennai can't really be considered an "it" destination for clothes, footwear or alcohol.

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Community leaders join hands for harmony in Ahmedabad ahead of Rath Yatra
A cursory glance at images of the Rath Yatra in city puts one in doubt whether it is a ‘yatra’ (religious procession) or a public event of juggernaut proportions heavily guarded by police from across the state, and paramilitary forces from outside. The reason is apparent - the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath has in the past fuelled communal riots with ripples spreading across the state.

Gujarat govt to organise separate 'Vibrant Summit' for MSMEs
Ahmedabad, Jul 3 () Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today said a separate 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit' for medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) would be organised to attract investment in the sector.

Four held for robbing angadia firm employee in Ahmedabad
Crime branch sleuths on Sunday nabbed four accused allegedly involved in robbing an angadia firm employee of Rs 1 lakh. Crime branch sources said recovered cash of Rs 10,000 and two bikes used in the crime from the accused.

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AU cancels CRET of one centre amid unrest
Authorities of Allahabad University have decided to cancel the Bishop Jonson test center (near district collectorate) for the combined research entrance test (CRET) as there were reports of mass copying from the center. Besides the Vice-Chancellor would be meeting with aspirants of both PG and research on July 4 and hear their grievances.

No end to Allahabad Unievrsity protest saga
Student leaders of Allahabad University continued with their protest on the campus for the third day on Wednesday. Protesting student leaders burnt the effigy of AU Vice-Chancellor Prof RL Hangloo and threatened that the proposed meeting of the executive council would be disrupted if their demands are not fulfilled by the administration.

Cong protest against traffic jams
Congress workers on Wednesday staged a demonstration at Kotwali police station in protest against the closure of Niranjan under bridge by railways at a time when shopping for Eid is at its peak.

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Odisha official arrested for fraud, swindling
Bhubaneswar, July 3 (IANS) The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police's Crime Branch said it had on Sunday arrested an official, who was absconding after being accused of defrauding the state government by issuing a fake gazette notification and swindling public money.

3 killed, 5 injured in road accident in Khurda

Motilal Gouda arrested from Andhra Pradesh
Bhubaneswar, Jul 3 () Motilal Gouda, who had been hiding after being accused of defrauding Odisha government by issuing fake gazette notification and swindling public money, was today arrested from Andhra Pradesh, police said.

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Gwalior: Gang-rape survivor attempts self-immolation

3 MP officials get calls to reinstate suspended jail personnel
Bhopal, Jul 3 () Three bureaucrats have received calls from an unidentified person posing as leaders and ministers on different occasions, who asked them to reinstate jail officials suspended after a convicted gangster escaped from a Rewa hospital in May during treatment.

3 peons sacked in Damoh for violating 2-child norm of MP government
Three Madhya Pradesh government employees, all of them peons, posted at Damoh district court, were sacked after they were found violating state government's 2-child norm to control population.

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After doping, candidates use tech to cheat in physical tests

Punjab cops summon AAP MLA

Haryana Power staff not to strike work in July
The employees of electricity distribution companies in Haryana will not be striking work in July, after the state government on Sunday agreed to their demands of withdrawing its decision to outsource the operations of four power sub-divisions in Faridabad to private companies.

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