Real Madrid delay Barcelona's title hopes Barcelona: Cristiano Ronaldo headed in two goals to help Real Madrid beat Valladolid 4-3 in the Spanish league on Saturday, but the entertaining win was overshadowed by growing dissatisfaction with coach Jose Mourinho for criticizing the club. Madrid's ninth straight home win in league play denied Barcelona the chance to clinch the league title this weekend. Madrid reduced Barcelona's lead to eight points, meaning the Catalan side can't seal the...  
08:40 AM, May 05, 2013

Juan Martin del Potro ruled out of Madrid Open with virus World number seven Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from next week's Madrid Open because of a viral infection, organisers said on Friday. The heavy-hitting Argentine reached the semi-finals last year before losing to Czech Tomas Berdych. "He has a virus and will not be fit to play," a statement on the tournament's website (www.madrid-open.com) said. "We wish him a fast recovery." Belgian David Goffin, who was in the qualifying...  
07:21 PM, May 03, 2013

Bharti Airtel to sell 5 pc stake for Rs 6800 cr to Qatar Foundation New Delhi: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Friday announced it will sell 5 per cent stake to Doha-based Qatar Foundation Endowment (QFE) for around Rs 6,800 crore ($1.26 billion) by issuing over 199.87 million new shares. The company said in a statement that "it has entered into a binding agreement with Qatar Foundation Endowment (QFE), under which Bharti will issue 199,870,006 of its new shares to QFE representing a shareholding...  
11:10 AM, May 03, 2013

Fixing cloud over Deportivo's win against Levante Madrid: The Spanish football league (LFP) will investigate Deportivo La Coruna's 4-0 La Liga victory at Levante on April 13, a Spanish radio station reported on Thursday. Depor, who are in administration and fighting to avoid relegation, hammered mid-table Levante scoring three times in the first half just over two weeks ago. At half-time in the game, Levante midfielder Javier Barkero was reported by local media to have accused some...  
09:28 AM, May 03, 2013

Bharti Airtel Q4 net down 31.1 per cent at Rs 1,084.4 cr New Delhi: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Thursday reported a 31.1 per cent fall in standalone net profit at Rs 1,084.4 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013, mainly due to higher expenses. The company's standalone net profit stood at Rs 1,574.3 crore in year-ago period. Total expenses of the company increased by 11.76 per cent at Rs 9,816.3 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 8,782.9 crore...  
10:26 AM, May 02, 2013

India to cut subsidies on some fertilisers New Delhi: India said it expects to cut the subsidies on phosphate and potash-based fertilisers by about 15 per cent in the fiscal year that began in April in an effort to rein in the fiscal deficit. In the last fiscal year, the government earmarked Rs 305.76 billion to subsidise phosphate and potash-based fertilisers. Fertilisers are the third-biggest item in the government's total subsidy bill, amounting to over two per...  
07:58 PM, May 01, 2013

Ireland: Savita's death prompts review of abortion laws New Delhi: The Irish cabinet has reached an agreement which will allow limited legal abortions for the first time ever. This historic bill is part of legislative changes that were promised after Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar died after she was denied a life-saving abortion. The new bill, which will have to be passed in both houses of the Irish Parliament, will allow for limited legal termination where there is a...  
05:14 PM, May 01, 2013

Coal scam: Left parties want PM to face Parliament New Delhi: Left parties on Tuesday termed as "meaningless" the demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the coal allocation issue but asked him to face Parliament as he "owes an answer" to the country. CPI(M) also dubbed the disruption of Parliament as "match fixing" between BJP and Congress. "Demanding resignation of the government is meaningless and it does not happen," CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters outside Parliament....  
02:59 PM, Apr 30, 2013

Draw with Deportivo hurts Betis' bid to qualify for Europe Madrid: Deportivo La Coruna held Real Betis to a 1-1 draw in the Spanish league on Monday, extending their unbeaten away run to six matches and denting Betis' bid to qualify for Europe. Deportivo striker Ivan "Riki" Sanchez-Rico dribbled past three defenders before beating goalkeeper Adrian San Miguel to score in the sixth minute. He could have scored again three minutes later but San Miguel athletically saved his powerful shot....  
10:13 AM, Apr 30, 2013

Delhi: Hospital chain offers free treatment to Sarabjit New Delhi: A prominent hospital chain on Monday offered to provide free treatment to Sarabjit Singh, who is battling for his life in a Lahore hospital, in case India manages to bring him back to the country. Col Harinder Singh Chahal, Regional Director (North), Fortis Healthcare, told PTI that the Mohali based multi-speciality unit of Fortis Group is ready to treat Sarabjit free of cost if the Indian government would...  
08:28 PM, Apr 29, 2013

DA case: Jagan's judicial remand extended till May 13 Hyderabad: A special CBI court on Monday extended till May 13 the judicial remand of YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and others accused in connection with alleged quid-pro-quo deals in the assets case. Jagan and the others accused, including ex-minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao, industrialist Nimmagadda Prasada and senior bureaucrat KV Brahmananda Reddy (all accused in Vanpic aspect of the Jagan assets case), who are currently lodged in...  
05:21 PM, Apr 29, 2013

Jagan DA case: SC seeks CBI's response on Reddy's bail plea New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Central Bureau of India (CBI) seeking its response on the bail plea of YSR Congress leader Jagan Mohan Reddy in a disproportionate assets case. A bench headed by Justice P Sathasivam asked the agency to file its response and posted the case for hearing on May 6. Jagan Mohan has moved the apex court challenging the Andhra Pradesh High...  
02:43 PM, Apr 29, 2013

2G spectrum scam: Court fixes July 8 for proceedings New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday fixed July 8 for further proceedings in the additional 2G spectrum allocation case in which Bharti Cellular CMD Sunil Mittal, Essar Group promoter Ravi Ruia and others have been summoned as accused. Special CBI Judge OP Saini deferred the matter as the Supreme Court on April 26 had issued notice to CBI on Mittal's plea challenging the summons issued against him and had...  
01:24 PM, Apr 29, 2013

Artists protest against rapes, oppose death penalty
by IANS
New Delhi: The national capital on Sunday witnessed a rare event as artists and civil society members came together to protest against rising insidents of rapes and to register opposition to death penalty through poetry, discussion and songs. Those present at the event 'Violence no more' included personalities like Shabana Azmi, Usha Uthup, Syeda Hameed and Binayak Sen. The participants pitched for a case against the death penalty and paid...  
05:11 AM, Apr 29, 2013

Ashok Gehlot in Israel to bring back farm technology
by IANS
Jaipur: A delegation from Rajasthan led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot now visiting Israel held talks with officials on cooperation in agriculture, horticulture and water resources, a statement issued here said on Sunday. Cooperation in water management, particularly drip and sprinkler irrigation in water-deficient Rajasthan, was also discussed, the statement said. "Israel is among the front-runners in desert agriculture management. With cooperation from Israel, coordinated management of horticulture and water...  
04:55 AM, Apr 29, 2013

Ram Vilas Paswan admitted to hospital New Delhi: Lok Janashakati Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan has been admitted to a private hospital in the capital after he complained of chest congestion. Doctors attending Paswan at Fortis Hospital said that the Rajya Sabha MP was "absolutely fine" and he would be discharged in a day or two. The 67-year-old leader, who concluded his three-month long Bihar Bachao Yatra on April 14, had "a chest infection after which...  
06:22 PM, Apr 28, 2013

Malaysian parties up the ante to get Indian votes Kuala Lumpur: Ahead of general elections in Malaysia, the 950,000-strong ethnic Indian community, mostly Tamils, is being wooed by both the ruling and opposition parties with catchy Tamil songs, pamphlets and online videos. Both sides are vying for the votes of ethnic Indians, which can play a crucial role in as many as 60 of the total 222 parliamentary seats, where the community makes up between 10 per cent to...  
01:14 PM, Apr 28, 2013

Major Anup Joseph awarded Kirti Chakra, 12 get Shaurya Chakra New Delhi: Major Anup Joseph Manjali was on Saturday awarded the second-highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee for killing three foreign militants in Jammu and Kashmir. 12 defence personnel were awarded the Shaurya Charkra for their acts of bravery including Captain A Rahul Ramesh and Naik Krishna Kumar who were given the honour posthumously. Manjali, who was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir with the 24 Rashtriya...  
11:40 PM, Apr 27, 2013

Watch: Hyundai Motor's controversial suicide ad South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co has been forced to apologise for an advertisement that sought to promote the zero carbon emissions of one of its cars by featuring a man failing to commit suicide using a hose attached to the exhaust. The ad debacle is the latest to hit the carmaker, the world's fifth largest by sales when combined with its Kia Motors affiliate, after it exaggerated fuel performance...  
10:39 AM, Apr 27, 2013

Medical seats for sale: MCI asks CBI to conduct probe New Delhi: The Medical Council of India (MCI) on Friday wrote to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) asking for a probe into a sting operation conducted by CNN-IBN which exposed the sale of post-graduate medical seats in colleges across three states for crores of rupees. The CNN-IBN sting had caught five colleges taking crores for admissions. The MCI has handed over the sting operation tapes to the CBI. The...  
06:09 PM, Apr 26, 2013