Daily News (In Short)-6-June-2015

#* No big fat NRI rally for the PM in Bangladesh? Modi to play it safe
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes to Dhaka he will eschew one of his signature moves – the big fat NRI rally. Radhika Ramaseshan reports in The Telegraph that the PMO has decided it “did not wish to make a move that could possibly fuel social tensions and affect our bilateral relationship.”The optics of a largely Hindu crowd meeting Modi in a country where Sheikh Hasina is trying to crack down on the Jamaat-e-Islami without losing her own Muslim credentials could easily prove problematic. What could make it even more awkward is Modi’s party BJP has long tom-tommed the fact that India is the “natural home” for Hindus.Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTIPrime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI Modi himself while on the campaign trail, went to Assam and said, “We have a responsibility towards Hindus who are harassed and suffer in other countries. India is the only place for them… we will have to accommodate them here.” If the Hindus of Bangladesh seek an audience with him and hold him to his words, that could leave the Indian delegation quite red-faced.

#* Nestle India will support celebs if they face problems
Nestle India will lend support to celebrity endorsers who land in a soup following the Maggi noodles controversy.The celebrities who endorsed the brands in the past are Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta.During a press conference here on Friday, the company said “we will support them if there is any problem”.Some state governments have banned Maggi for 15 to 30 days and many called for tests on the popular noodles.Maggi noodles, a popular snack from the Nestle India ‘kitchen’, has been in the news following a lab report that samples of the product contained more lead than the permissible limit.

#* US denies visa to 20 junior archers fearing 'no-return'
KOLKATA: The Archery Association of India (AAI) was forced to withdraw the Indian junior and sub-junior squads from the World Youth Archery Championships scheduled to be held at Yankton, US from Monday after 20 of the 32 young archers were denied visas by the US embassy in New Delhi."The visas were denied on the basis of section 214 (b) of US visa law where the archers failed to satisfy the visa officers that they will return to India after the event," AAI secretary general Anil Kamineni told TOI, adding that in spite of the best of efforts, AAI was unable to convince the US embassy officials.The Indian contingent, comprising Under-20 boys and girls (junior archers), was scheduled to leave for the US on Saturday, but had to abandon their plan after the US embassy denied visa not only to the archers but also their South Korean coach Chae Wom Lim and his three Indian assistants Mim Bahadur Gurung, Chandra Shekhar Laguri and Ram Awdesh.Masseuse Pinki was also denied a visa.

#* Chinese Ship’s Final Hours on the Yangtze
BEIJING—The last known video image of the Eastern Star before it turned over in the choppy waters of the Yangtze River on Monday shows it powering ahead as lightning cracks through the nighttime sky.The government has kept a tight grip on information about what happened next and many questions remain about the tragic sequence of events that followed. However, satellite data, interviews with experts and a handful of survivor accounts in Chinese state media—including partial accounts from the captain and chief engineer released Friday—begin to paint a picture.The Eastern Star’s final tour was to be a two-week journey through the scenic Three Gorges to the central China metropolis of Chongqing. The ship had been chartered by Shanghai Xiehe International Travel Agency, which specializes in river tours.

#* Saudi Arabia shoots down Scud missile fired by Yemen's Houthis: Saudi state news agency
Saudi Arabia shot down a Scud missile fired into the kingdom by Yemen's dominant Houthi group and its army allies on Saturday, according to the Saudi state news agency."At 2:45 on Saturday morning, the Houthi militias and ousted (president) Ali Abdullah Saleh launched a Scud missile in the direction of Khamees al-Mushait, and praise be to God, the Royal Saudi air defenses blocked it with a Patriot missile," a statement by the leadership of the Saudi-led joint Arab military coalition said.(Reporting By Mostafa Hashem and Noah Browning; Editing by Kim Coghill)

#* BJP forms ‘core team’ for preparing ground-level strategy in Bihar elections
Bracing for a prestige battle in Bihar, the BJP has formed a core team for preparing its ground-level strategy even as leaders say the fine tuning can be done only after getting a clear picture of the political alignments in the state.Also Read: Amit Shah asks Jitan Ram Manjhi for ‘clarity’ on alliance According to a senior BJP leader, the core team, which will work on the party’s poll strategy at the ground level, will consist of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav and joint party general secretary Saudan Singh.“Key decisions like seat-sharing and whether party should declare a chief ministerial candidate will be taken by the parliamentary board,” said the leader.

#* WWDC 2015: Apple will reveal new tool kit for Watch app developers
Next week, Apple will begin its Worldwide Developers Conference, where it is expected to release new tools for software developers, to create smarter apps for its latest Apple Watch. This will in turn help gain a deeper access to the watch’s heart-rate and motion sensors along with other components.According to a report by The New York Times, Phillip Ryu, Founder of Impending (a mobile game developer) initially did not rush to create an app for the device as most of the apps have limited animation as well as the software takes several seconds to load but now, he might change his decision. He stated that, “It feels like we have both our hands tied behind our backs, and that’s why you haven’t seen anything really impressive”. Now, “it sounds like they plan on untying our hands.”

#* RBI has not shut its door on rate cut: Rajan
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today said the central bank has not shut its door on rate cut and will take a view depending upon the evolving situation with regard to monsoon and external environment. Observing that he had cut benchmark lending rate by 0.25 percent earlier this week despite several risks, the RBI chief said that future policy action would be contingent on domestic and global factors. In the monetary policy, Rajan said, "We moved a little forward by saying we are going to cut rates despite these risks...based on how these risks evolve we will take a view. It's not a shut door, its a contingent statement". Yielding to demands of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and India Inc, Rajan in the second bi-monthly monetary policy review on June 2 "front loaded" the repo rate cut despite worries of below normal monsoon and its impact on prices. "Growth is very weak, but we also have inflation mandate that we have to respect and we are trying our best in doing as much as for growth given the inflation mandate," Rajan told India Today TV channel.

#* Dil Dhadakne Do review: Zoya Akhtar one of Bollywood's finest, but the film is shallow
When a camera does an almost a single-take waltz, around a brilliantly choreographed song with an infectious rhythm, and Ranveer Singh, Farhan Akhtar and Anil Kapoor grooving with hardcore filmi desi gusto, it’s both a treat and a feat. In Dil Dhadakne Do, this is achieved by one of Bollywood’s best directors, Zoya Akhtar.There are few directors who add meaning to feelgood cinema. Akhtar and Raj Kumar Hirani are the top contenders in that arena. Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara remains the finest in several aspects of filmmaking. There’s unusual casting; a screenplay as smooth as a BMW ride; grand visual imagery and above all, Farhan Akhtar’s witty one-liners, which leave you guffawing along with pranksters who add ‘bwoys’ to the dictionary.

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