New Delhi | 2 hours ago
Kalmadi, Gill assure no need to press panic button
New Delhi/Pune, Sep 9 - With incessant rains causing havoc with the final leg of preparations for the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games, Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and sports minister M.S. Gill Thursday insisted there was no need to press the panic button, even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit the Games Village Tuesday to take stock of the situation.The prime mini ... read more

New Delhi | 4 hours ago
All Games venues ready: Bhanot
New Delhi, Sep 9 - Allaying doubts about the readiness of the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games venues here, Organising Committee - secretary general Lalit Bhanot Thursday said that all venues are ready.'International bodies - have certified that all venues are fit to host events,' Bhanot said in an interaction with mediapersons here Thursday. 'Though there was some delay in the completion of some venue ... read more

Bhubaneswar | 5 hours ago
BJP lawmaker gets jail for murder in Kandhamal riots
Bhubaneswar, Sep 9 - A fast-track court in Orissa Thursday sentenced Bharatiya Janata Party - legislator Manoj Pradhan to six years' rigorous imprisonment for a murder during the 2008 communal riots in Kandhamal district, a lawyer said.Judge C.R. Das of the the fast-track court II at Phulbani, the district headquarters of Kandhamal, handed down the sentence to Pradhan for the murder of Bikram Naya ... read more

New Delhi | 5 hours ago
India eyeing 75 medals, third spot in Games: Lalit Bhanot
New Delhi, Sep 9 - India is targeting to win over 75 medals and secure the third position in the medal rankings in the Commonwealth Games next month, Organising Committee secretary general Lalit Bhanot said Thursday.'We won 52 medals in the - Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the best Indian tally in the history of the Games, and secured the fourth position,' Bhanot said in an interaction with mediape ... read more

New Delhi | 6 hours ago
Zero tolerance for doping, says Indian chef-de-mission
New Delhi, Sep 9 - A zero tolerance attitude will be adopted to check doping in the upcoming 2010 Commonwealth Games here, chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent Bhubaneswar Kalita said Thursday and stressed that strict anti-doping measures were in place.'There will be zero tolerance when it comes to doping. There will be no compromise whatsoever,' Kalita told reporters here when asked if any sp ... read more

Bhubaneswar | 10 hours ago
Maoists blow up panchayat office in Orissa
Bhubaneswar, Sep 9 - Maoist guerrills Thursday triggered a landmine blast in Orissa's Malkangiri district, blowing up a panchayat office, the second blast in the region this week, police said. No one was injured in the explosion.'Around 30-40 rebels trigerred the explosion at the panchayat office at Materu village under Kalimela police station area, some 40 km from the district headquarters of Mal ... read more

Bhubaneswar | 12 hours ago
136 diarrhoea deaths recorded in Orissa in eight months
Bhubaneswar, Sep 9 - Diarrhoea has killed at least 136 people in Orissa since January, a health official said Thursday.Around 34 people died in the district of Rayagada and 27 died in its neighbouring Nuapada district, the official said, adding that most of these deaths took place in August. Similarly, ten people each died in Nabrangpur and Keonjhar districts, nine in Ganjam, eight in Malkangiri a ... read more

Bhubaneswar | 1 day ago
Mobile phones, marijuana recovered from Orissa jail
Bhubaneswar, Sep 8 - Four mobile phones, seven chargers, 250 gm of contraband ganja - and several other objectionable items were seized by police from a high-security jail in Orissa Wednesday, officials said.A team of policemen and senior district officials raided different wards and cells of the sub-jail at Kendrapada, some 93 km from here, which has among its inmates several hardcore criminals. ... read more

Bhubaneswar | 1 day ago
Sudarsan wins people's choice prize in Canada
Bhubaneswar, Sep 8 - Orissa based sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik's sculpture of Lord Ganesha won the people's choice prize at the Canadian National Exhibition's first international sand sculpting competition.Pattnaik was the only Indian who participated in the competition held from Aug 20 to Aug 25 at Heritage city in Toronto. The competition saw six artists from across the globe -- Russia, the Ne ... read more

Bhubaneswar | 2 days ago
Trade unions' strike hits life, businesses in Orissa
Bhubaneswar, Sep 7 - The one-day nationwide shutdown called by eight trade unions Tuesday partially hit normal life and businesses in several industrial towns of Orissa.The roads were deserted in Rourkela, Sundergarh, Jharsuguda and Berhampur as the operators kept buses and commercial vehicles off the roads, a senior state police official told IANS. Mining operations in mineral-rich Sundergarh and ... read more