New Delhi, May 23 - Ajit Chandila was allegedly paid Rs 12 lakh by a bookie for spot-fixing in the last year's IPL but the attempt to manipulate matches failed as the cricketer could not play many matches, Delhi Police sources claimed today. Interestingly, the sources said, Chandila gave three cheques of Rs four lakh each, two of which bounced, after the alleged bookie-cum-fixer Sunil Bhatia insisted on repayment of the money as he did not deliver as promised under the deal.

New Delhi, May 23 - At least three more players and one more IPL team is under the scanner for spot-fixing in the tournament, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar disclosed today. This is in addition to S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila of Rajasthan Royals who have been arrested by the police for alleged spot-fixing in three different matches.

Mumbai/Chennai, May 23 - Intensifying its probe into the IPL betting racket, Mumbai police today issued summons to Chennai Super King's CEO Gurunath Meiyappan asking him to appear before it tomorrow for questioning after he was found to be in "frequent touch" with actor Vindoo, arrested in connection with the scandal. A 4-member team of Mumbai police's crime branch led by Deputy Commissioner Satyanarayana Chaudhary was dispatched to Chennai today with summons and brief to question Meiyappan, son-in-law of CSK owner and BCCI chief N Srinivasan.

Washington, May 23 - India and the US have agreed to work closely to combat terrorism, apprehend wanted criminals and effectively deal with security threats confronting them. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who is on a visit to the US, and Attorney General Eric Holder agreed that the Home Ministry and the US Department of Justice should work together institutionally to address pending issues relating to extradition, execution of Letters Rogatory and Red Corner Notices.

London, May 23 - British police investigating the "sickening" attack on the streets of London in which a soldier was hacked to death by two suspected Islamist extremists today carried out a series of raid in Greenwich and Lincolnshire. Anti-terror police forced their way into a flat and shattered the door frame as they raided an address believed to belong to one of the attackers on a Greenwich housing estate.

Lucknow, May 23 - Heat wave conditions continued in UP with day temperatures rising appreciably in Meerut while changing little in the remaining divisions of the state. Temperatures were markedly above normal in Meerut division, appreciably above normal in Jhansi, Agra, Allahabad, Kanpur, above normal in Bareilly, Moradabad and were normal in the remaining divisions of the state, Met office sources said.

Washington, May 23 - In a shift from its long-held policy, the Obama administration has admitted for the first time that four American nationals have been killed in the CIA drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen since 2009. While the killing of American-born al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen was well known, the names of three others were disclosed by Attorney General Eric Holder in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy yesterday.

Islamabad, May 23 - A bomb blast ripped through a bus carrying security personnel in Quetta city of southwest Pakistan today, killing 12 people and injuring more than 20, police officials said. The bomb, planted in an auto-rickshaw, went off as the bus carrying Balochistan Constabulary personnel was passing through Bhosa Mandi area on the outskirts of the city this morning.

New Delhi, May 23 - CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta today alleged that "a gigantic scam was being enacted" in the process of gas price revision for KG D-6 basin and sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's immediate intervention in the matter. He sought the removal of Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily alleging that the Petroleum Ministry was offering "generous assistance" to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) by suggesting a price higher than that recommended by the Rangarajan Committee.

Bhubaneswar, May 23 - The Centre today accusing the ruling BJD in Odisha of weakening the state's case for getting special category status by giving wrong data on poverty. "Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik diluted Odisha's case for special category state status by providing wrong and contradictory data on the number of poor and painting a robust picture of the state's economy," Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Jena told reporters here.

New Delhi, May 23 - Countering the government's and Congress' allegations that the NDA has been an irresponsible and disruptive Opposition, BJP today said the Manmohan Singh dispensation is not keen on passing the Food Security and Land Acquisition bills and trying to put the blame on it. The main Opposition also picked holes in the UPA report card on its performance in the last four years and said it is making false claims of success. BJP charged that the report card does not stand scrutiny on figures, facts and statements made in the document.

New Delhi, May 23 - The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today registered a money laundering case in the IPL spot-fixing scandal to probe alleged routing of hawala funds and other financial irregularities which emerged after police investigations. With the ED coming into picture by invoking the criminal clauses of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the noose would tighten against the accused players and bookies as under the said Act the onus of proving one's innocence is on the accused and there was also the possibility of seizure of assets and bank accounts.

Ahmedabad, May 23 - Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today regretted that successive governments at the Centre neglected the importance of yoga, which is gaining prominence in the world. "Yoga was intentionally neglected by Britishers while they were ruling the country as they feared that through yoga India will become powerful in the world," Modi said inaugurating the Lakulish Yoga University.

Guwahati, May 23 - The victory of Prime Minister and Congress candidate Manmohan Singh appeared certain in the May 30 Rajya Sabha elections in Assam at the end of withdrawal of nomination papers today. At the close of the deadline for withdrawal, all the three contestants - Singh, who is the first Congress candidate, Santius Kujur, the party's second candidate and AIUDF's Aminul Islam remained in the fray.

Chennai/Mumbai, May 23 - Mumbai Police will Thursday question Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) president N Srinivasan's son-in-law and CEO of Chennai Super Kings Gurunath Meiyappan in connection with the IPL betting scandal. A two-member team from Mumbai arrived here this morning to question Meiyappan with whom arrested actor Vindoo Randhawa was in touch, and CSK's top executives, police said.

New Delhi, May 23 - In fresh trouble for arms dealer Abhishek Verma, the CBI has initiated another probe into alleged possession of documents related to small arms deal with him which allegedly violated Official Secrets Act.

New Delhi, May 23 -As the UPA got down to celebrating its fourth anniversary, the BJP on Wednesday trained its guns on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said he was neither leader of his party nor the country. “For a coalition government, there is a need for a special leadership.

New Delhi, May 23 - The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to consider within four months the plea of Army porters, who have been working for 15 years, for regularising them on the basis of their service record. A bench of justices B S Chauhan and Dipak Misra, however, said it was not deciding the issue of jurisdiction of Armed Forces Tribunal to hear the matter.

Kochi, May 23 - Coming down heavily on the state government, the Kerala High Court today directed it to furnish within two weeks the list of endosulfan victims who have been granted compensation. The government in its affidavit had earlier informed the court that Rs 21 crore had been granted as compensation to 1600 victims.

Ranchi, May 22 - The CBI today filed a charge sheet against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda in connection with a disproportionate assets case. The charge sheet, filed in the special CBI court, accused Koda of possessing assets and expenditure disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of approximately Rs 8.42 crore.

New Delhi, May 22 - Bollywood actor Shyan Munshi and a ballistic expert were today slapped with perjury charges by the Delhi High Court which ordered their prosecution for going back on their statements in the trial of the sensational Jessica Lall murder case. The court also asked the Delhi government to put in place a witness protection policy within ten weeks.

New Delhi, May 22 - "Worried" that children can be exploited through social networking sites, Delhi High Court today asked Facebook and Google to submit within four weeks suggestions on safety measures for online usage of such sites by minors in India. A bench of justices B D Ahmed and Vibhu Bakhru voiced concern about Indian children entering into agreement with Facebook and other social networking sites and then being lured knowingly and unknowing into illegality by adults.

Mumbai, May 22 - A local court today remanded six bookies, associated with IPL betting syndicate, in judicial custody till June 5 after rejecting the plea of the Mumbai crime branch which sought their remand and reprimanding it for deficient probe in the case. "Despite ample opportunities provided, the investigating officer has not pointed out who has been cheated and why," Additional Metropolitan Magistrate M N Saleem observed, apparently referring to cheating and forgery charges slapped on the accused, while remanding them in judicial custody.

Mumbai, May 22 - The Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra government to consider parole for a 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast case convict who is presently serving life sentence. Mohammad Mushtaq Moosa Tarani, whose death penalty was recently reduced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court, approached the High Court seeking to be released on parole next month to enable him to attend his daughter's wedding.

Mumbai, May 22 - Refusing to grant relief to an unemployed man, the Bombay High Court has ruled that a husband has to work and earn in order to maintain his wife and child and cannot escape from it on the ground that he does not have a job. "The excuses given on behalf of the respondent (husband) that he is not able to pay is not acceptable," Justice M L Tahaliyani of the Nagpur bench of the high court said.

Mumbai, May 22 - The Bombay High Court has held that the manager of a co-operative bank appointed by liquidator is a 'public servant' as defined under the Prevention of Corruption Act and hence, can be prosecuted for taking bribe. The ruling was delivered recently by Justice S C Dharmadhikari on a petition filed by Sadashiv Sutar challenging a special court order refusing to discharge him in a case of accepting bribe from a family.

New Delhi, May 23 - Disgraced IT executive Phaneesh Murthy and his former employer iGate Corp will be sued by the firm's investor relations head for alleged sexual harassment, the victim's law firm said on Thursday. The California-based law firm, Aiman-Smith & Marcy, said that iGate's head of investor relations Araceli Roiz was pregnant with Murthy's child and it planned to sue both Murthy and iGate for alleged sexual harassment.

New Delhi, May 23 - Government today approved the restructuring of Income Tax department, that includes creation of 20,751 additional posts in various cadres, saying it will help increase collections by Rs 25,000 crore per annum. "Union Cabinet today approved the proposal for creation of 20,751 additional posts in the Income Tax Department in various cadres that is 1,349 additional posts in the IRS cadre and 19,402 additional posts in the non-IRS cadres," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting.

New Delhi, May 23 - Former promoters of Ranbaxy today rebutted the current Japanese owner's allegations of hiding information on US probe into drug adulteration, saying they did not misrepresent any facts or falsify any data. Malvinder Mohan Singh, the former promoter of Ranbaxy, said he was shocked at allegations made by Daiichi Sankyo and asserted the Indian promoters never concealed any fact at the time of selling 34.82 per cent stake to the Japanese firm for about Rs 10,000 crore.

New Delhi, May 23 - Gold prices today fell for the second straight session by losing Rs 20 to Rs 27,000 per 10 grams in the national capital due to sustained selling by stockists amid a weak global trend. Silver also met with resistance at prevailing higher levels and lost Rs 300 at Rs 44,000 per kg. The white metal had gained Rs 2130 in the previous two session.

The US-based outsourcing firm iGate is being investigated by a law firm to ascertain whether the company and its employees violated federal securities laws. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, which has offices in New York and New Jersey, has said it is investigating claims on behalf of purchasers of iGate securities.

Chandigarh, May 23 - The entire Punjab and Haryana region remained in the grip of blistering heat wave, while Amritsar witnessed its hottest day in history with a high of 48 degrees Celsius, nine notches above normal. The previous highest maximum in Amritsar was 47.4 degrees Celsius, recorded on May 21, 1978.

Kolkata/Nashik, May 23 - In a crackdown on cricket betting after the IPL spot-fixing scandal was busted, police have made more arrests with 19 people including some bookies being held in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The arrests were made between last night and today in connection with four separate cases.

Kottayam, May 23 - Adding a new dimension to the current round of flare-up in factionalism in the Congress in Kerala, general secretary of the Nair community outfit NSS, G Sukumaran Nair, today alleged that his phone had been tapped by the intelligence wing of the state police. Nair also alleged that though he had brought this to the notice of Home Minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan, no step had been taken on his complaint.

Bhubaneswar, May 23 - Keeping in view the massive arrangement required for Lord Jagannath's 'Nabakalebara' festival in 2015, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today sought Special Central Assistance of Rs 1,397 crore from Planning Commission. "I seek your personal intervention for the support of the Planning Commission for this important religious and cultural event of Eastern India," Patnaik wrote to Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahuliwalia.

Bangalore, May 23 - Senior advocate and noted constitutional expert Ravivarma Kumar has been appointed the new Advocate General of Karnataka, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra announced today. Kumar, who was the first Chairman of Backward Classes Commission set up in 1997 and had also practised in Supreme Court and High Court, replaces C H Vijayashankar.

Thane, May 23 - Train accidents on suburban Mumbai local routes has claimed 23,473 lives in the past 11 years, information sought under the RTI has revealed. "As per information given by Central Railway, in the last 11 years (till 2012) a total of 23,473 people lost their lives in various train accidents on suburban Mumbai routes," RTI activist and president of Thane District Railway Passengers Association, Om Prakash Sharma, who sought this information from Central Railway, told reporters here today.

Kolkata, May 23 - The West Bengal government today decided to take over two television channels of scam-tainted Saradha Group which are facing closure. Announcing the decision, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters at Writers' Buildings that the decision was taken following appeal by employees of Tara News and Tara Muzic channels for government intervention.

Chandigarh, May 23 - Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh continued to sizzle today even as the weather department predicted that heat wave to severe heat wave conditions may prevail in the states for the next two days. Amritsar and Ludhiana in Punjab and Hisar and Bhiwani in Haryana have been reeling under severe heat conditions with temperatures hovering between 45-47 degrees Celsius in the past few days.

New Delhi, May 23 - Indicating unease over India's growing closeness with the US, Russia today said it does not "feel comfortable" at being put on the same plane as New Delhi's "newly-acquired partners" who had earlier imposed sanctions on this country. Russian Ambassador Alexander M Kadakin reminded how his country had always stood by India as the closest friend and underlined that the two countries are in "greater need of each other" in the "strikingly new world".

New Delhi, May 23 - The spot-fixing saga in the ongoing IPL today took a dramatic turn with ICC withdrawing controversial Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf from the panel of match officials for the upcoming Champions Trophy in England as his role in the scandal is being investigated by Mumbai Police. The ICC today issued a media release stating that Rauf had been removed from the panel of umpires for the June 6 to 21 tournament.

Islamabad, May 23 - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang today assured Pakistan of "every support and assistance" to boost bilateral cooperation in key areas of business, trade, energy and infrastructure to cement their "all-weather" ties. "China will give you every support and assistance and by helping you, we have to help ourselves," Li said while addressing a special session of the Senate or Upper House of Pakistan's Parliament.

Dubai, May 23 - An exhibition containing 45 photographs of Islamic Monuments in India captured on camera by an Indian historian and photographer has opened in Kuwait. The exhibition displaying the work of Benoy K Behl was inaugurated Wedenesday and contains 45 still photos, including those of Mughal architecture in the country, which reflect the rich heritage of India.

Melbourne, May 23 - Car manufacturer Ford announced today it will cease making vehicles in Australia in 2016 and will axe 1,200 jobs, having produced its first car in the country in 1925. Ford Australia chief executive Bob Graziano made the announcement as he revealed a loss of 141 million Aus dollars ($ 136 million) after tax in the last financial year, with losses of 600 million Aus dollars over the last five years.

Islamabad, May 23 - Prime Minister-designate Nawaz Sharif today sought civil nuclear technology to overcome Pakistan's energy crisis during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Sharif called on Li at a hotel here this morning and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations in different fields.