Month: October 2013

Italy PM Letta faces showdown in Parliament after Berlusconi crisis

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Silvio Berlusconi fought to hold his fractious center-right party together on Tuesday a day before a showdown in the Italian parliament that will decide whether Prime Minister Enrico Letta can survive in office.

Sources in Letta’s center-left Democratic Party said he had not yet decided whether to call a formal vote of confidence in parliament on Wednesday or hand in his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano if he does not feel he would win.

India, US to move to co-production, co-research relationship: PM

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that as far as defence cooperation is concerned, India and the United States of America are trying to move from a buyer-seller relationship to a relationship based on co-production and co-research.

“Well, in the area of defence cooperation, we are trying to move away from the buyer-seller relationship to a relationship based on co-production, based on co-research, and the outcome of the deliberations on defence cooperation is in line with our own thinking,” he said.

Sharif said all right things about Indo-Pak ties: PM

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday remained optimistic about the future of the Indo-Pak relationship, saying he hoped his democratically-elected Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif succeeds, as he had shared his views on a constructive path forward for the future for the two countries.

BJP was on the same page with Centre on Ordinance: Kamal Nath

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Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday accused the BJP of doing a somersault on the issue of Ordinance on convicted lawmakers.

“In the all-party meeting to discuss the Ordinance, the BJP was with the government, but all of a sudden it changed its stance on the issue.

“BJP is always known for its dual politics on such issues,” Nath said, adding, that the Union Cabinet in its meeting tomorrow will decide on the Ordinance issue.

Will hear experts, govt on preserving mineral resources: SC

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would consider the submissions of experts and the government, instead of a mining firm, on the principle of inter-generational equity for exploiting minerals in such a way that they remain for future generations as well.

“We will not hear you (Sesa Goa, a Vedanta group firm involved in iron ore extraction and export) on this…Business lobbies are influencing the policies and even the judiciary,” a forest bench comprising justices AK Patnaik, SS Nijjar and F M Ibrahim Kalifulla said.

‘Masood created one medical seat as a very special case’

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Rajya Sabha MP Rasheed Masood had created one special medical seat for Tripura “as a very special case as a one-time concession” and later nominated an underserving candidate on it, noted a Delhi court which on Tuesday sentenced the Congress leader to four-year imprisonment.

Special CBI judge JPS Malik noted that Masood had called the file concerned to his office in September 1990 and as per a note therein, one more seat of MBBS was allocated to Tripura “as a very special case as a one-tme concession”.

‘Modi phobic’ Congress will ‘surely lose’ in 2014: BJP

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Predicting the Congress Party’s loss in the 2014 general elections, Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) spokesman Prakash Javadekar accused the ruling party of suffering from ‘Modi phobia’.

Reacting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh call for secular forces of the country to unite against the ‘onslaught’ of Modi, Javadekar said:” The Prime Minister has taken Modi’s name. This proves the Congress fears him. They have Modi phobia…The Congress will surely lose (in 2014).”

BJP welcomes Masood’s conviction, takes dig at Congress

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday took a dig at the Congress over its MP Rasheed Masood being jailed on charges of corruption, saying that the first lawmaker to lose membership of parliament upon conviction will be from the party that leads the coalition government at the centre.

Welcoming a Delhi court’s decision to sentence Masood to four years’ imprisonment, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the cases of graft were coming to logical conclusions.

72 sitting MPs could be disqualified if convicted: ADR

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As many as 72 sitting MPs face criminal charges and could be disqualified if convicted for over two years, watchdog Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said Tuesday.

According to a study by the NGO, of these MPs, 18 are from the Bharatiya Janata Party while the Congress has 14, Samajwadi Party (eight), Bahujan Samaj Party (six), AIADMK (four), Janata Dal-United (three) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (two). The remaining 17 belong to smaller parties.

Won’t go for any alliance in Andhra Pradesh: BJP

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BJP leaders from Andhra Pradesh today said the party would contest all Assembly and Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections as it was not looking at an alliance with any of TDP, TRS or YSR Congress.

The party’s state leaders are in the national capital to press the central BJP leadership about urging the Centre to start discussions on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Sachin not to retire under BCCI pressure: Report

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might be planning to tell Sachin Tendulkar to retire after his 200th Test but the Master Blaster is not ready to give up playing and will leave the field on his own terms, a report said on Tuesday. “Mumbai Mirror”, which reported on Monday that BCCI will ask Tendulkar to quit the game after 200th Test, also published a story today quoting sources who said the veteran batsman will not go out without a fight.

US government shutdown starts, 1 million workers on unpaid leave

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The US government began a partial shutdown on Tuesday for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects.

Federal agencies were directed to cut back services after lawmakers could not break a political stalemate that sparked new questions about the ability of a deeply divided Congress to perform its most basic functions.

Eminent poets attend All India Qaumi Ekta Mushaira

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To promote communal harmony and strengthen Police-Public relation, an ‘All India Qaumi Ekta Mushaira’ was organised by the ‘Nagrik Suraksha Samiti’ and Police Station Jamia Nagar, police said today.

The programme, organised on September 28, saw the participation of 17 eminent and renowned poets from across the
country. The event was compared by renowned poet Dr Majid Devband. The people from all walks of life were invited for
the ‘mushaira’, police said.

About 400 persons, including professors and lecturers of Jamia Millia University, members of Nagrik Suraksha Samiti,

Court asks cops to look into complaint against Raj rape victim

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A local court today directed the police to probe the allegations made by former Rajasthan minister Babulal Nagar’s wife against the 35-year-old woman who had charged Nagar with rape.

Issuing the order, he Metropolitan Magistrate asked the police to file a progress report of the investigation by
October 3.

Nagar’s wife Sushila alleged that the woman had earlier made similar charges against others at Banipark and Murlipura
police stations and turned hostile in both the cases when the matter came before courts.

Girl kills self in north-east Delhi

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A 19-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide this afternoon in north-east Delhi’s Khajuri Khas area, reportedly after being perturbed over an incident of eve teasing.

According to the police, Soni Kumari lived with her parents and younger brother and the incident came to light
when her mother went to her room to call her for lunch and found her hanging from the ceiling fan.

The girl had used ‘chuni’ to hang herself. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination at Guru Teg Bahadur
hospital, said a police official.

Four sentenced to life for beating man to death

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A local court here today sentenced four persons to life imprisonment for beating a palm brew seller to death 13 years ago.

Additional district judge Omprakash Rai sentenced Sidheshwar Yadav, Godhan Paswan, Nagendra Yadav and Krishna
Mahto to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each of them.

According to the prosecution, the four convicts had beaten up palm brew seller Rupa Chaudhary in Golakpur village
on April 25, 2000 for demanding money for serving them the drink.

Chaudhary later died in a hospital.

Cuttack rape and murder: Accused undergo lie detection tests

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Eight days after the alleged rape and murder of a 25-year-old girl in the district, the Cuttack (rural) police today conducted lie-detection tests on two accused and said that further arrests, if any, would be done after the test report comes.

The lie detection tests of both the accused persons were held in a laboratory in Bhubaneswar today and further course of action in the case would be taken after obtaining the test report”, said the Cuttack (rural) SP Gurudas Kundu.

The accused are Durga Prasad Dash and Arun Kumar Panda.

No question of resigning, Will discuss Rahul’s concerns: PM

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday ruled out his resignation following Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s outburst on an ordinance to shield convicted lawmakers.

“There is no question of resigning,” he told reporters on board his special aircraft while returning from New York after a meeting with US President Barack Obama and attending the UN General Assembly session.

He also said that he does not get “upset easily”.

Gandhi had said that the ordinance that was passed by the cabinet, headed by Manmohan Singh, was “complete nonsense” and should be “torn down and thrown away.”

I am sad for Lalu: Shatrughan Sinha

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Actor-politician and BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha Tuesday said he was sad for RJD founder Lalu Prasad and wished to see him out of jail soon.

“I am upset, sad and worried that Lalu Prasad has been convicted and sent to jail,” the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Patna Saheb told the media here.

Satrughan Sinha, who described Lalu Prasad as a brother, said he wished the the former Bihar chief minister should get bail sooner than later.

“It is my wish that Lalu comes out of jail soon.”

He said Lalu would prove himself innocent in the fodder scandal and get acquitted by a higher court.

Moving towards normalisation of ties with Pakistan: PM

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India and Pakistan were moving towards normalising their bilateral ties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday and noted that the first step in the direction had to peace and tranquility on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking to reporters on board his special aircraft while returning from New York after attending the UN General Assembly session, the prime minister said the two sides have agreed that their DGMOs (directors general military operations) will meet and work out arrangements for peace along the LoC.

Indian-origin man’s body lies on his bed, police clueless

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British police failed to find an Indian-origin man who was lying dead in his bed for 12 days after taking an overdose of prescription painkillers, an inquest has heard.

The inquest at the Southampton Coroner’s Court heard that Amar Khosah, 52, was reported missing July 23 by a health worker after he missed two appointments.

Khosah was actually dead and his body was lying in his bed at his home in the British city of Southampton, the Daily Mail reported.

Indians walk less than 30 minutes a day: Survey

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A regular walk helps to maintain a healthy lifestyle but a survey indicates that a lot of people in India don’t even walk for a minimum of 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace.

The online survey was conducted by international internet-based market research firm YouGov on behalf of the World Heart Federation.

As many as 1,021 adults (above 18 years of age) in India were surveyed. The study shows that 46 percent of the respondents walked less than half an hour at a brisk pace on a given day.

Rajasthan court sentences rape, murder convict to death

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A court in Rajasthan Tuesday sentenced to a man to death after convicting him of raping and murdering an 8-year-old mentally-challenged girl, a lawyer said.

The court of District and Sessions Judge Chandra Shekhar in Rajsamand, some 350 km from Jaipur, handed out the capital punishment to 25-year-old Manoj Singh, public prosecutor Pradeep Kumar told IANS.

’90 percent quota for locals in 12 DU colleges’

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The Delhi government plans to provide 90 percent reservation for students from the national capital in the 12 Delhi Univeristy colleges it funds, Higher Education Minister A.K. Walia said Tuesday.

The government will send the recommendation to the Delhi University and to the hme ministry, he added.

He also said that it had also been decided that in colleges where the Delhi government provides 50 percent grant for capital works and five percent as recurring grant, 50 percent reservation would be provided to local students.