New Delhi, May 3 : India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel Friday said it will sell five percent stake to Doha-based Qatar Foundation Endowment for $1.26 billion.

As per the agreement, Qatar Foundation Endowment (QFE) will subscribe to 199,870,006 new shares of Bharti at a price of Rs. 340 per share amounting to a total consideration of $1.26 billion (Rs. 6,796 crores).

“The investment will further strengthen the capital structure and provide further flexibility for the company to deliver on its growth strategy,” Bharti Airtel said.

New Delhi, May 3 : An inquiry was on in the attack on a Pakistani prisoner in a jail in Jammu, union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here Friday.

"The incident took place at 8-8.30 a. m. There was an attack on a Pakistani inmate in Jammu jail. An inquiry is being conducted," Shinde told reporters.

He, however, refused to comment if it was in retaliation to the attack and consequent death of Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan.

New Delhi, May 3 - A hot day lies ahead for Delhi Friday with maximum temperature likely to reach 38 degrees Celsius, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

There was some relief for Delhites as the night remained cool, with minimum temperature early Friday being recorded five notches below average at 20.3 degrees Celsius.

Maximum temperature Thursday was recorded two notches below average at 36.5 degrees Celsius. (IANS)

New Delhi, May 1 : External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is visiting Tehran on Friday for talks with his Iranian counterpart during which the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project and development of the Chabahar port that would become a gateway to Central Asia are likely to figure.

"The external affairs minister is going to Iran on May 3," an official source told IANS.

Khurshid is to attend the India-Iran Joint Economic Commission meeting. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi would head the Iranian side at the talks to be held in Tehran.

New Delhi, May 1 : Automobile manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra Wednesday reported a two percent rise in total sales for April at 41,432 units from 40,715 off-take in the corresponding month of 2012.

"We remain cautiously optimistic of the current situation and do hope that with the much awaited and needed reduction in interest rates announcement by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) next week, the auto industry will look up," said Pravin Shah, chief executive, automotive division, Mahindra and Mahindra.

New Delhi, May 1 : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Wednesday announced $30 million equity investment in a hydropower project developed by Hyderabad-based NSL Group.

This is ADB's first equity investment in India in any private sector renewable power generation company.

The money will be used to partially finance the construction NSL Group's 100-megawatt Tidong run-of-river hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh and the 75-megawatt Chilarwadi wind project in Maharashtra.

ADB and NSL announced the deal at press conference here.

New Delhi, May 1 : Mumbai-based designer Kunal Rawal, who specialises in menswear, has designed golden frame aviator sunglasses for actor John Abraham.

The sunglasses depict the 1980s looks and the actor will be seen flaunting these in his forthcoming film "Shootout at Wadala".

Rawal said he and his team had to visit over 75 stores before he finalised the design.

"The search wasn't easy for us. My team visited every nook and corner of the antique stores at Grant Road and Dadar and also Delhi, which indeed made our Bollywood hunk John Abraham complete his 1980s look," said Rawal in a statement.

New Delhi, May 1 : The cabinet Wednesday approved the expansion of FM radio broadcasting services through private agencies, official sources said.

According to officials, it was decided to charge migration fees from the existing operators on their migration from Phase 1 to Phase 3.

The fee would be decided after consultation with telecom regulator TRAI.

Earlier, an empowered group of ministers approved the auction of 839 channels in 294 cities to be given through ascending e-auction.(IANS)

New Delhi, May 1 : Expressing concern at death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh's deteriorating condition, India has proposed to Pakistan to send him to a third country for "proper treatment" and said "every endeavour" should be made to save his life.

"We are concerned at the condition of Shri Sarabjit Singh indicated by reports made available by doctors treating him in Jinnah Hospital," said a statement issued here by the external affairs ministry.

New Delhi, May 1 : Owing to its rich culture and heritage, India is one of the top tourism destinations in Asia, a survey by CNN has said.

The study, 'CNN Consumer Connect Travel and Tourism 2013', has positioned India as the region's fourth fastest growing tourism destination and the third most attractive business for investment opportunities, after China and Hong Kong.

India was on the list of must-visit destinations in Asia Pacific, admitted one-fifth of the surveyed audience of global travellers. India has fended off competition from Japan and Thailand to rank as the second richest culture and heritage destination, after China.

New Delhi, May 1 : The Indian Army chief, General Bikram Singh, Wednesday briefed the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on the Chinese incursion in Ladakh.

"The CCS met today and the army chief briefed us on the Ladakh situation," Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters after the meeting.

A Chinese platoon set up camp 19 km inside Indian territory in Ladakh's Depsang Valley on On April 15.

India has tried through meetings with local military commanders and through diplomatic channels to get China to vacate the area. China, however, insists that it has not intruded into Indian territory.

New Delhi, May 1: Doctors in a city hospital claim to have performed a rare "limb-salvage" surgery to avoid amputating the left leg of a 13-year-old Nigerian girl suffering from bone cancer.

Mariam underwent surgery at the Nova Specialty Surgery Centre in Kailash Colony two weeks ago and her stitches were removed Wednesday.

According to doctors, the teenager was suffering from 'osteosarcoma' -- the most common type of bone cancer and the sixth most common type of cancer in children.

New Delhi, April 30 : Petrol prices have been slashed by Rs. 3 per litre from midnight, state-owned Indian Oil Corp. announced Tuesday.

"Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. has decided to reduce the retail selling prices of petrol w. e. f midnight of 30th April 2013/ 1st May 2013 by Rs. 3.00/litre (including VAT) at Delhi," said an Indian Oil release.

Allowing for local sales tax, the new prices of petrol per litre will be Rs. 63.09 in Delhi, Rs. 69.73 in Mumbai, Rs. 65.90 in Chennai, Rs. 70.35 in Kolkata, Rs. 69.35 in Bangalore, and Rs. 68.86 in Hyderabad.

New Delhi, April 30 : Tata Industries and Ramot at Tel Aviv University (TAU), the university's technology transfer company, have entered into a strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) to fund and generate leading-edge "commercialisation ready technologies".

Under the MoU, Tata Industries, through its wholly owned overseas subsidiary, will be the lead investor in Ramot’s $20-million Technology Innovation Momentum Fund, which will invest in a wide range of technologies. These include engineering and exact sciences, environment and clean technology, pharmaceuticals and health care.

New Delhi, April 30 : As the family of Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan Sarabjit Singh said he was "clinically dead", opposition leader Sushma Swaraj Tuesday slammed the government for not dealing with Islamabad "firmly".

"Whatever happened with Sarabjit in Pakistan, India has not talked as firmly with them (Pakistan government) as we should have," she said in response to a question.

New Delhi, April 30 : Barista Lavazza, a popular cafe chain, has introduced a new range of delicacies as well as a pitcher serve for its cold coffees and beverages. There's also a new range of merchandise.

The new 'Summer Menu delicacies', focused on the need to beat the heat, offers drinks and food products which provide a blend of flavours, colours, ingredients, spices, range and sizes to suit the season.

New Delhi, April 30 : Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was Tuesday acquitted by a Delhi court of all charges for allegedly conspiring and inciting a mob during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The Congress leader has been facing trial for 29 years with Balwan Khokkar, Mahender Yadav, Girdhari Lal, Kishan Khokkar and Captain Bhagmal for allegedly conspiring and inciting a mob against the Sikh community.

Timeline of the events:

* November 1984: Sikhs were killed in the riots following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984.

New Delhi, April 30 : Fortis Healthcare Limited, a chain of private healthcare providers, Tuesday launched its flagship "next-generation" hospital, the Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) in Gurgaon, an official said here Tuesday.

The multi-speciality quaternary care hospital will have a capacity of 1,000 beds. In the first phase, the hospital will function with 450 beds.

FMRI aims to bring the next generation of super-specialization in oncology, trauma and pediatric care, with embedded centres at hospital in neurosciences, minimal access surgery, cardiac sciences and orthopedics.

New Delhi, April 30 : Signifying a "total breakdown", the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday announced it would not be attending any meetings called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar or the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath.

Addressing a press conference, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj also attacked Congress president Sonia Gandhi for inciting MPs and ministers to disrupt her speech in the Lok Sabha earlier in the morning. She also said Gandhi had no respect for democratic institutions.

"It is a situation of total breakdown but the government is responsible not me," Sushma Swaraj said.

New Delhi, April 30 : There is no proposal to introduce TB drug Bedaquiline in the Indian market, parliament was told Tuesday.

"No application under the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules has been received by the Drug Controller General (of India) for the grant of permission to market the drug," Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question.

A new drug can only be introduced in the Indian market after due approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).