India

Patna, June 16: With a separation between JD(U) and BJP imminent, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called an emergency Cabinet meeting today which BJP ministers are expected to boycott. "A Cabinet meeting has been called at 11:30 AM," official sources said. The BJP ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, are expected to stay away from the Cabinet meeting. There are 11

New Delhi, Jun 16: Ajay Maken on Saturday resigned as a Union minister ahead of the reshuffle of the Council of ministers and that of the AICC expected next week. Maken submitted his resignation as Union minister for housing and urban poverty alleviation and has expressed his desire to work for the party, sources told PTI. The 49-year-old leader was earlier minister of state for home affairs and

Bangalore, Jun 16: A litre of petrol in Bangalore will now cost Rs 72.96, up from Rs 70.33, after oil companies effected a Rs-2 increase in petrol prices from Saturday midnight. This is the second hike in a fortnight. Oil companies had increased petrol prices by 75 paise on June 1 (excluding VAT). The steep hike in prices have been announced after the rupee weakened sharply against the US dollar

Patna, Jun 15: Accusing the BJP of forcing it to walk out of the alliance by not being forthcoming on Narendra Modi's future role, senior JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari today said the announcement of a split in the coalition was a "mere formality". Tiwari also dubbed Modi as an "arrogant" and "divisive personality" who cannot take all sections along. "We have been looking for a categoric assurance

Hyderabad, Jun 15: A day-long bandh began this morning in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh in response to a call given by TRS, which accused the Congress Government of resorting to repressive measures to put down the statehood rally. Initial reports reaching here from the region indicate the Road Transport Corporation (RTC) bus services were partially affected as protesters staged dharnas in

New Delhi, Jun 15: The Rs.2058 crore deal struck by Jet Airways to sell 24 per cent of its stake to Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways was put on hold on Friday by Government's foreign investment approving agency which sought more clarity on control and ownership of the Indian airline. "It (Jet-Etihad proposal) has been deferred. We need more details on effective control and ownership," Economic Affairs

Patna, Jun 15: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has set his terms for staying in the NDA. He has asked the BJP to publicly declare that Narendra Modi will not be its prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 elections. Since BJP can't give such an undertaking, a parting of ways between it and JD(U) is now expected in a day or two. Speaking to media, Nitish Kumar said: "They (the BJP) will have to

New Delhi, Jun 14: In a stunning comment, oil minister M Veerappa Moily on Friday said petroleum ministers are "threatened" by import lobbies not to take decisions that will cut India's $160 billion oil imports. Moily, who has been under attack from the CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta for proposing to hike natural gas prices by 60 per cent, said he has been striving to attract investments in almost

New Delhi, Jun 14: JD (U), a key constituent of NDA, on Friday voiced concern over the Opposition alliance "deviating" from its national agenda but said it has not given any ultimatum to BJP over walking out of the coalition. "The alliance of NDA exists for now but the alliance has to continue under the norms of national agenda of NDA under which the coalition has functioned so far," JD (U)

London, Jun 14: An Irish hospital staff failed to adequately assess the condition of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar and missed an early opportunity to terminate her pregnancy, a key report on her death has said. A clinical inquiry on Savita's death, which was released yesterday, found that the most likely cause of her death was infection- with the risk of infection and sepsis increasing after