UK launches 'super-priority' visas for Indians
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London: Britain has launched a new "super priority" same-day visa service for urgent travellers from India, the first-of-of-its-kind service to be launched by the UK anywhere in the world. The Super Priority Visa Service had been announced by British Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to the country in February, 2013. The first-of-of-its-kind service to be launched anywhere in the world by the UK Home Office is open for...  
06:35 PM, May 14, 2013

MP: Prime land allotted to others registered in CM's relatives' names Bhopal: A cloud of corruption hangs over one of the BJP's most celebrated chief ministers - Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Chouhan is in the midst of a row over allotment of prime land in Bhopal to his relatives. An RTI query has revealed how prime land that was allotted to other individuals was registered in the names of Shivraj Singh's cousins. Even a court order stipulating returning the...  
06:23 PM, May 14, 2013

Centralisation will raise higher education standards: Dr Arvind Gautam The validity of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to MBBS/postgraduate/dental and postgraduate courses has been questioned by several states and private institutions. Is medical education in a mess in India? Dr Arvind Gautam, chief co-ordinator, Sankalp Medicos Movement Association (SMMA), joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. Medical Education is a commercial mess and the business is not Good. How one justifies parents...  
05:44 PM, May 14, 2013

Sanjay Dutt tells TADA court he faces threat to life Mumbai: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on Tuesday told a special TADA court that he faced threat to his life from fundamentalist groups. Dutt, convicted in 1993 bomb blasts case, urged the court in Mumbai to allow him to surrender before Yerwada jail in Pune instead of giving himself up before the special court. Judge GA Sanap, hearing the actor's application, asked CBI to file a reply and posted the hearing...  
05:34 PM, May 14, 2013

Micromax Canvas Doodle A111 available online for Rs 12,999 New Delhi: Micromax's new smartphone - Canvas Doodle A111 - is now available on Snapdeal.com for Rs 12,999. It is a dual SIM phone and has a 5.3-inch capacitive display. The phone runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS. The Canvas Doodle A111 comes with a flip cover and stylus. The phone is powered by a quad-core processor. It has an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera....  
05:30 PM, May 14, 2013

Indian batsmen would find it difficult in South Africa: Dale Steyn Mumbai: Dale Steyn, the world's most feared pacer, on Tuesday backed his country South Africa to come out trumps in the three-Test series against India to be held at the end of this year, but was also wary of the quality of the opposing batting line-up. "We have got a pretty good Test side at the moment, to be fair, and we play quite well at home. I would like...  
05:08 PM, May 14, 2013

Railway scam: CBI aiming to file chargesheet by July 3, say sources New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is aiming to file its chargesheet in the Railway scam on July 3, sources said on Tuesday. The taped conversations between accused in the scam have been sent for forensic tests and the reports are expected soon, sources said. The CBI sources also said that a questionnaire for ex-Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was being prepared. The sources said that the CBI...  
04:53 PM, May 14, 2013

Thundershower likely in Odisha under impact of 'Mahasen' Bhubaneswar: Rain and thundershower are likely to lash many parts of coastal Odisha and some other areas under the impact of the cyclonic storm 'Mahasen', centred about 760 km south of Paradip on Tuesday, Meteorological Centre said. The cyclonic storm over the south-east Bay of Bengal moved northwards and lay centred near latitude 13.50 N and longitude 85.50 E, about 760 km south of the port town of Paradip, the...  
03:51 PM, May 14, 2013

India Shining was hype, Bharat Nirman is different: Tewari New Delhi: The government on Tuesday defended its advertising campaign 'Bharat Nirman' saying it was not an election campaign and was completely different from Bharatiya Janata Party's 'India Shining'. Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari said there was nothing irregular in UPA's campaign. "Bharat Nirman tells the India story, the journey of India. There's nothing irregular in it, it has been...  
03:49 PM, May 14, 2013

WB govt hails HC order on panchayat elections Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Tuesday hailed the Calcutta High Court order on panchayat elections as "historic." "This is a historic order of the hon'ble High Court and we are very happy," state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said. A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday rejected the State Election Commission (SEC) order for 800 companies of central forces to man the panchayat polls, and directed that...  
03:46 PM, May 14, 2013

Kolkata: Violence breaks out at an anti-chit fund rally Kolkata: Violence broke out on Tuesday at an anti-chit fund rally, held by Democratic Students Organisation (student wing of Socialist Unity Centre of India) in Kolkata. Police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the participants of the rally, who were trying to hold a law violation programme. There are reports of injuries on both sides. More details are awaited. ...  
03:35 PM, May 14, 2013

I choose my roles by the importance of the character: Rajesh Sharma Critically acclaimed actor Rajesh Sharma, who has acted in films such as "Maachis", "Ishqiya", "No One Killed Jessica", "The Dirty Picture" and "Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana", joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on his future projects and his experience of acting in the Bengali film "Kagojer Nouka (Paper Boat)" which is based on the chit fund bust in eastern India. Q. Will this movie have English subtitle..for those who...  
03:25 PM, May 14, 2013

'PP can interview witnesses before hand in CWG cases' New Delhi: Modifying a trial court order, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday said the Investigating Officer and the Public Prosecutor can interview the prosecution witnesses "before hand" in the Commonwealth Games-related graft case involving sacked Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi. Justice Kailash Gambhir said, "The order is modified to the extent that the duo can interview the prosecution witnesses before hand." The court modified the trial court's March 14...  
03:16 PM, May 14, 2013

Petersen to replace Smith for Champions Trophy Johannesburg: Alviro Petersen has replaced fellow opening batsman Graeme Smith in South Africa's squad for next month's Champions Trophy. Head selector Andrew Hudson says Petersen is "the obvious choice" to come in for former limited-overs captain Smith, who was ruled out of the ODI tournament to have surgery on his injured left ankle. Petersen is currently playing for Somerset in English county cricket and is familiar with local conditions ahead...  
02:58 PM, May 14, 2013

US engineers ask Senate to reject expansion of H1B visas Washington: A professional US body of engineers has asked the Senators to reject any move to increase the number of H-1B visas, popular among Indian professionals, arguing that it has a damaging effect on American economy. In a statement issued on Monday, IEEE-USA - the largest American body of professional engineers asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject amendments to the comprehensive immigration bill that would increase H-1B temporary visa...  
02:54 PM, May 14, 2013

MP: Health Ministry cracks down on private college defying MCI norms Bhopal: A private medical college is under scrutiny for selling seats. The Health Ministry and Medical Council of India have cracked down on the People's Medical College in Madhya Pradesh. The college had illegally admitted over 240 students between 2009 and 2012, openly flouting MCI norms. What's more is that in 2012, it had refused to admit students under merit quota, after which the state government had moved court. The...  
01:18 PM, May 14, 2013

Paramilitary forces during WB Panchayat polls not necessary: HC Kolkata: In a breather for the Mamata Banerjee government, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday said that it is not mandatory to deploy central paramilitary forces for the upcoming Panchayat polls. The West Bengal government had appealed the higher bench after a single bench upheld the State Election Commission's plea for three-phase polling and deployment of central forces. The State government wanted two-phase polling and security...  
01:11 PM, May 14, 2013

J&K Deputy CM in the dock over illegal appointments Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (SAC) has ordered a regular enquiry into the alleged role of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand in the illegal appointments in urban local bodies. A Division bench of the Commission, comprising chairman Justice (retd) YP Nargotra and Justice (retd) Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain, on Monday directed for a regular enquiry into the allegations of misuse of official position by Chand in the illegal recruitments...  
12:58 PM, May 14, 2013

BHEL to invest Rs 500 crore in Maharashtra New Delhi: State-run BHEL on Tuesday said it will invest Rs 500 crore for setting up a manufacturing facility at Bhandara in Maharashtra. "BHEL is setting up a new Power Equipment Fabrication Plant at Bhandara in Maharashtra. The greenfield unit is being set up by the company at an initial investment of Rs 500 Crore and will provide direct employment to about 700 persons," BHEL said in a statement. The...  
12:49 PM, May 14, 2013

Pak polls: PML-N emerges as single largest party Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif's PML-N has emerged the single largest party in Pakistan's landmark general elections by bagging 122 of the 272 parliamentary seats that went to the polls on May 11, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. The PML-N's two closest rivals the Pakistan People's Party and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf lagged far behind with 31 and 26 seats, respectively. Earlier, trends emerging from the counting of votes had shown...  
12:36 PM, May 14, 2013