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Bangalore, Aug 20 : The ruling Congress in Karnataka was left red-faced after Housing Minister M. H. Ambareesh compared Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the party's bete noire Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress' embarrassment has become all the more acute as Ambareesh, a popular Kannada actor, committed the faux pas Monday, two days ahead of voting in bypolls to two Lok Sabha seats from the state.

Siddarmaiah, who completed 100 days in office Tuesday, sought to downplay Ambareesh's comments by saying he and Modi were poles apart and rejected any comparison with his Gujarat counterpart.

Chennai, Aug 20  : Indian space agency ISRO will look at options of using a standby engine for the early launch of its heavy geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) after examining what forced the postponement of the launch Monday, an official said.

"We have a standby for the second stage engine. But first we have to study the problem. If the problem is due to a faulty component, then we have to look at the batch to which the component belonged and have to replace the entire components from that batch," an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official told IANS preferring anonymity.

Sao Paulo, Aug 20 : FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said he has no doubt Itaquerao stadium here will be ready in time for next year's World Cup.

Earlier this year, Valcke warned Sao Paulo could be taken off the tournament's schedule if construction work was not stepped up at the venue, reports Xinhua.

"I remember that during the Confederations Cup we had an emergency meeting because we were afraid about when this stadium would be delivered," Valcke said Monday.

In a sign that the nation's property market is reviving, a franchiser of real estate brokerages, Re/Max Holdings has launched its initial public offering aiming to raise about $100 million.

Re/Max Holdings, which is based in Denver, has more than 92,000 real estate agents globally. The company said in a filing that it is aiming to raise as much as $100 million from the stock markets. The real-estate franchise operator will use the funds raised for offering to increase its regional rights in the central Atlantic and south-western United States.

New Delhi, Aug 20 : India has recorded 15,893 dengue cases in 2013, a sharp increase from last year, health ministry figures show.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said total dengue deaths across the country till July this year were 56 while it was 76 in 2012.

Dengue, a vector-borne disease, has affected major cities of the country. This year 15,893 cases have been reported, a sharp increase from 8,899 cases of last year.

The sluggish growth of the Indian economy has implications for all BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economies, South Africa's Trade & Industries Minister Rob Davies said.

Davies said that BRICS economies continued to grow despite recession in many developed economies of the world, but added that the growth rates had slipped over the past few years. The South African Minister was speaking at a press conference at the recently concluded two-day BRICS Business Council meet.