New Delhi, December 07: The Supreme Court today wondered what business the government has got to do by running lotteries which according to a petition is ruining the lives of lakhs of families.
“The state (government) has no business to get into this business of lottery. Why should Parliament enact a law for the purpose?” a bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Patnaik told Additional Solicitor General Haren Rawal.
New Delhi, December 07: The Supreme Court today warned the states that they would be in “serious trouble” and face “consequences” if any fresh place of worship like temple, mosque and church is allowed to be constructed at public places.
A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Patnaik also directed the states/UTs to file compliance reports of its September 29 direction banning construction of fresh places of worship, failing which it said the respective Chief Secretaries/Administrators shall personally appear before the court on February 4.
Moscow, December 07: Russia on Monday backed India’s demand that Pakistan punish the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks.
A joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Dmitry Medvedev said, “Russia expresses solidarity and support for India’s demand for bringing to book the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks.”
New Delhi, December 07: India and Iran have finalised two draft agreements Transfer of Prisoners and Legal Assistance on Civil Matters which will be signed by the law ministers of the two countries soon.
A five-member delegation of Iran’s Justice Ministry on Monday held meetings with officials of the Ministries of Home Affairs, External Affairs and Law and finalised the draft of the two treaties.
The conclusion of the agreements will help both India and Iran to get access to each other’s wanted criminals, Home Ministry sources said.
New Delhi,December 07: A Delhi court today issued a notice to a senior Uttar Pradesh jail officer over the failure of prison authorities to produce Independent MLA Mukhtar Ansari before it in connection with a MCOCA case.
Additional Sessions Judge Madhu Jain also took a serious view of the failure of the DIG (Jail) to explain the reasons for his absence from the court on the previous date of hearing and issued the notice to the IG (Jail) in the matter.
Jamshedpur, December 07: Congress today expressed surprise that party general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s recent tours to the tribal and dalit dominated pockets of the country has become an issue for the BJP for the Jharkhand assembly election.
BJP did not have any achievements during its rule in the state to highlight and that was why it wrecked up Rahul Gandhi’s visit in tribal pockets, AICC spokesman Mohan Prakash told a press conference said here.
Perhaps Singh would not have any objection had Rahul Gandhi visited the house of a rich person, Prakash quipped.
Islamabad, December 07: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Monday said David Coleman Headley, a terror suspect of Pakistani origin detained in the US, should face action under American laws.
Though Headley was of Pakistani origin, he had left the country in his youth, Malik told reporters in the southern port city of Karachi.
“If he has committed any crime, he should be punished under US laws,” he said.
Malik was responding to a question on whether American authorities had sought Pakistan’s help in probing Headley’s links in the country.
Tehran, December 07: Iranian security forces shot into the air in central Tehran on Monday to disperse anti-government protesters, a reformist website said.
“Security forces shot into the air to disperse demonstrators in the Enqelab square … still there are sporadic clashes between police and protesters,” the Mowjcamp website said.
—Agencies
Istanbul, December 07: At least five Turkish soldiers were killed Monday in a terrorist attack in the country’s east, according to television reports.
Several soldiers were reportedly also injured in the attack, which took place near a village in the Tokat region. The soldiers were on patrol when they came under attack, possibly by members of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
Moscow, December 07: India and Russia on Monday signed an ambitious civil nuclear deal that will ensure uninterrupted supply to Russian-supplied reactors in India. Both countries also signed defence pacts that will expand their relationship in strategic fields.
The agreements were signed after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Kremlin here, during which they discussed a whole range of issues.
Mumbai, December 07: Ms Controversial Queen, Rakhi Sawant will soon be spotted in Star Plus’s Perfect Bride. She will be coming in as a guest judge and set the screen on fire with her bindaas attitude.
According to reports, “No idea has been taken out that why Star people have invited Rakhi as a guest judge when she herself failed to become a perfect bride in ‘Rakhi ka Swayamvar’.”
Hyderabad, December 07: The movement of trains in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh was hit on Monday as hundreds of protesters demanding separate statehood to the region stopped several trains by squatting on the tracks.
On the second day of Telangana shutdown called by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), party activists and sympathisers of separate Telangana blocked movement of trains in Karimnagar and Warangal districts.
The New Delhi-bound AP Express and Rajdhani Express were among a dozen trains stopped by the protesters in the two districts.
Peshawar, December 07: At least 10 people were killed and nearly 50 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a crowded court complex in this northwestern Pakistani city today, the latest in a wave of deadly terrorist attacks across the country.
The bomber, who came to the court complex in a rickshaw, tried to flee when he was challenged by police, said North West Frontier Province Senior Minister Bashir Bilour.
He blew himself up when police opened fire, the minister told reporters at the site of the explosion.
Melbourne, December 07: In a scathing attack on the Indian cricket board, Australian media Monday said the financially strong Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is doing every bit to kill Test cricket even as their team has taken the top spot in the traditional format.
“India rule Test arena while trying to kill it,” a Sydney based paper screamed.
“It is incredible that India, long seen as promoting the death of Test cricket by driving the proliferation of Twenty20 matches, has reached the sport’s pinnacle.”
Mumbai, December 07: Indian Oil Corporation rose 1.56% to Rs 315.05 at 15:03 IST on reports the company aims to increase its Haldia refinery capacity by 25% to 150,000 barrels a day by mid-January 2010.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 155.63 points, or 0.91%, to 16945.91.
On BSE, 2.31 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 1.75 lakh shares in the past one quarter.
Mumbai, December 07: The premiere of ‘Paa’ was apparently nothing less than a grand Bollywood event! While there could be seen a hoard of B-town celebs, who were invited to be a part of the evening, Genelia D’Souza missed out on the same. Nevertheless, on her day off, the actress watched the film in a theatre in Chennai.
Genelia became a fan of the film and also congratulated Abhishek Bachchan for the film on a social networking site. The actress also reportedly told Abhi that she liked both him and Vidya Balan in the movie. Also Auro, of course!
New Delhi, December 07: The BJP on Monday rubbished the Liberhan Commission report on Babri Masjid demolition, saying it was full of mistakes and far from the truth.
Opening the debate on the Liberhan Commission report for his party in Lok Sabha, BJP president Rajnath Singh said the report was a distortion of facts and was written with a particular political agenda.
He also accused the Commission of arriving at a conclusion based on events of a few hours, while filing to go into the events preceding the incident (demolition).
Guwahati, December 07: An abandoned suitcase found near Indian Oil Corporation”s (IOC) Guwahati Refinery here led to tension today with people fearing there was a bomb inside, police said. The suitcase was partially hidden under a heap of sand close to the refinery located at Noonmati area.
New Delhi, December 07: With the arrest of two persons, the excise department of Delhi Government today claimed to have busted an illicit liquor manufacturing unit in the city.
Officials said a team from Excise Intelligence Bureau and police raided the manufacturing unit on the Yamuna banks last night and seized huge quantity of illicit liquor.
The arrested have been identified as Kamal and Kulawant Singh.
–Agencies
Baghdad, December 07: Four children were killed in a bomb blast at a primary school in Iraq Monday, Al-Arabiya TV reported.
At least 18 pupils were injured in the blast in Baghdad’s predominantly Shiite Muslim suburb of Sadr City, the Dubai-based channel said.
—Agencies
New Delhi, December 07: Congress top brass, including party President Sonia Gandhi and senior leader Pranab Mukherjee, tonight held hectic consultations in the wake of temperatures rising on the issue of Telangana.
Party sources said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah has been asked to hold an all party meeting to resolve the issue.
Karachi, December 07: An emphatic victory against New Zealand in the second cricket Test has boosted the confidence of new Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf but the senior batsman wants a massive improvement in his team’s fielding.
Yousuf said Pakistan will have to show a marked improvement in fielding to be able to win the series decider against New Zealand beginning in Napier Friday.
New Delhi, December 07: BJP President Rajnath Singh was today found defending his bete noire former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh during the high voltage debate on the Liberhan Commission report in the Lok Sabha.
The BJP chief said the Congress had in 1945 given a strong commitment not to allow country’s partition but failed to keep the promise.
“Now why questions are being raised about Kalyan Singh’s assurance to the Supreme Court on not allowing any damage to the disputed structure,” he said initiating the debate on behalf of BJP.
Kolkata, December 07: Unfazed by the accusations by a section of the Congress leadership in Bengal of dictating terms in the alliance, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today endorsed Pranab Mukherjee’s statement that the tie-up was a political necessity.
Baneerjee said there was no alternative to the alliance between her party and the Congress for unseating the Left Front from power and they would jointly fight the 2011 Assembly election.
Mumbai, December 07: HSBC Mutual Fund today announced December 11 as the record date for declaration of dividend for three of its equity funds. The company said in a statement here the quantum of dividend on a face value of Rs 10 is Rs 2.5 per unit for HSBC Equity Fund, Re 1 per unit for HSBC India Opportunities Fund and Re 1 per unit for HSBC Midcap Equity Fund.
All investors in the dividend option as on the record date would be eligible for dividend.
—PTI–