Indian Sub-continent

Hyderabad, July 9 (PTI) A panel under the Ministry of Forest and Environment has recommended for "in-principle" permission for exploration of Uranium in Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) under the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change made the recommendation at its meeting on May 22.

New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Locked in a bitter battle with fellow co-founder Rahul Bhatia, IndiGo promoter Rakesh Gangwal has alleged serious governance lapses at the company, saying even a "paan ki dukaan" (betel shop) would have managed matters with more grace.

Gangwal, who along with his affiliates holds around 37 per cent stake in InterGlobe Aviation, said that the company has "started veering off" from the core principles and values of governance that made the company what it is today.

New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday conveyed to UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed his resolve to step up cooperation with the Gulf country in key sectors such as trade and energy.

The United Arab Emirates minister, who held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday, called on the prime minister and conveyed that India-UAE relations have never been better.

Balaghat, Jul 10 (PTI) Two Naxals, including a woman, were killed in an encounter with police in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district, police said Wednesday.

The skirmish took place around Tuesday midnight at a village inDewarwalley area, located 80 km from the district headquarters, Inspector General of Police, Balaghat range, K P Venkateshwar Rao told PTI.

On spotting the police personnel, the ultras started firing at them.

Bengaluru, Jul 10 (PTI) The BJP in Karnataka staged a 'dharna' at the Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who they claim has lost majority in the House after the resignation of 14 MLAs of the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance.

Several state BJP leaders, including former deputy chief minister K S Eshwarappa, took part in the protest led by state president B S Yeddyurappa in front of the Gandhi statue at the Vidhana Soudha.

Mangaluru, Jul 10 (PTI) Five people have been booked on charges of raping a minor dalit girl from Vittal in Dakshina Kannada district, police sources said Wednesday.

The 17-year-old girl is now six months pregnant following the continuous sexual assault by five men in the area since December last, they said.

A case under IPC sections 376, 506 and provisions of POCSO Act and SC/ST Atrocities (prevention) Act has been registered against the accused.

New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) A demand to give Indian citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees residing in Tamil Nadu for almost three decades was made in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Ahamed Hassan of the TMC made the demand through a Zero Hour mention during the brief period that the House functioned in the pre-noon session that was marred by disruptions by opposition Congress over developments in Karnataka.

New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) Deposits in bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan scheme, launched about five years ago by the Modi-government, have crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark.

As per the latest finance ministry data, the total balance in over 36.06 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts was at Rs 1,00,495.94 crore as on July 3.

The deposits in the account of the beneficiaries, which has been steadily rising, was Rs 99,649.84 crore on June 6 and Rs 99,232.71 crore in the week before.

New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) Ten rebel Karnataka MLAs of Congress and JD(S) Wednesday moved the Supreme Court, alleging that the Assembly Speaker has been deliberately not accepting their resignations.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took note of the submission of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the rebel MLAs, and assured him that it will see whether their petition can be listed for an urgent hearing tomorrow.

25-year-old Haresh Kumar Solanki, a Dalit man, was hacked to death by eight men outside his wife’s house, allegedly by his upper-caste in-laws, in the presence of a women’s helpline team in Varmor village of Ahmedabad district Monday evening.

Solanki, from Gandhidham in Kutch, married Urmila Zala, who is two months pregnant, almost six months ago but her parents, disapproving the inter-cast marriage, had brought her back to Varmor.