21st SEPTEMBER 2014

The Telangana Cabinet Sub-Committee on farm loan waiver said that verification of records pertaining to crop loans revealed that institutional credit to the tune of about Rs. 1,000 crore was taken by bogus farmers using fake pattadar passbooks in connivance with officials of the Revenue Department. Headed by Minister for Agriculture P. Srinivas Reddy, the Cabinet Sub-Committee held its third meeting at Dr. Marri Channa Reddy HRD Institute here on Saturday. Speaking to newspersons after the meeting, the Minister said that they had clarity on about Rs. 16,000 crore crop loan availed of by about 36 lakh farmers after examining the records.

Narula brothers, Achin and Sarthak, became the first ever contestants to win the highest prize of Rs. 7 crore in reality game show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, hosted by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

The test-firing of the propulsion system on India’s spacecraft to Mars for four seconds on September 22, along with the orbiter’s trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM), is “a mock-up rehearsal” for the entire Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) team for the main event scheduled on September 24, according to M. Annadurai, Programme Director, Indian Remote-Sensing Satellites and Small Satellites Systems, ISRO.

Afghanistan’s two rival presidential candidates are due to sign a power-sharing agreement on Sunday, a senior government official said, after a prolonged stand-off over the disputed June 14 election. “Both candidates are expected to sign an agreement on the structure of National Unity [Government] tomorrow,” Aimal Faizi, spokesman for outgoing President Hamid Karzai, said on his Twitter account on Saturday.

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian militias were due on Saturday to pull back their troops from a demilitarised zone created under a new peace plan agreed in marathon overnight talks. A nine-point agreement thrashed out in the early hours of Saturday in the Belarussian capital Minsk also requires the withdrawal of all “mercenaries” from eastern Ukraine and an immediate end to hostilities. But Russia appeared ready to keep up the pressure by sending in a new convoy it claimed was carrying aid for the rebel-held city of Donetsk.

Catalonia’s regional Parliament on Friday passed a law that its leaders say will authorise them to hold a non-binding “consultation” on independence from Spain on November 9. The law was passed with 106 votes in favour and 28 against.

New Zealand’s conservative Prime Minister John Key swept to a historic election victory on Saturday, securing a third term as voters ignored campaign allegations of dirty tricks and mass spying.

Olympic champion Om Yun-Chol broke his own world record in the clean and jerk on his way to North Korea’s first gold medal of the Incheon Asian Games. Yun-Chol lifted 170kg to better his old record by 1kg in the men’s 56kg class and also set a Games record with a combined total of 298kg.

Congratulating city-based ace shooter Jitu Rai for winning India’s first gold in the ongoing Asian Games in South Korea, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday announced a cash reward of Rs.50 lakh for him as “token of appreciation”