It was as if they all knew that Slumdog Millionaire would have a clean sweep at the Oscars, which, let me reassert, is the most unpredictable of all awards. From my side, I never had sleepless nights before the ceremony. I was rather composed. Irrfan, Dev, Freida and I told each other that we needed to enjoy every moment of it. The Oscars don’t happen to everyone everyday.
While we were at the awards, we were anxious about how many awards we would win. But after the first two, it was like a never-ending series. SM was unstoppable. Rahman was holding the two awards as if they were his babies. He showed his aggressive side while performing the two numbers. It was really awe-inspiring.
Right now, we are in a celebratory mood. We’ve already been to three parties and are attending the fourth one at the hotel. We have all the Hollywood greats joining us. We’ll be rocking till six in the morning. Life is one big party at the moment.” source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bollywood/
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
BJP-RLD tie up before LS polls
The BJP on Tuesday said it has entered into a "formidable" alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh for the LokSabha polls but stopped short of giving details of the tie-up, saying it would be done at an appropriate time.
"We have almost finalised an alliance pact with RLD (in Uttar Pradesh) but the seat arrangement details and announcement would be made only at an appropriate time," party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
Asked if the party feared that the RLD could part ways after the Lok Sabha polls, Javedakar said the alliance they have arrived at is "formidable."
"In fact, in the post-poll situation there would be many more parties which would join us," Javedekar said, dismissing speculative reports that some allies were planning to leave NDA in the post-poll scenario.
On when some announcement will be made on the alliance reached between the two parties, Javedekar said, "Any announcement of an alliance is made only in the presence of the heads of both parties, you (the media) should understand these things."
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/BJP-RLD-tie-up-before
"We have almost finalised an alliance pact with RLD (in Uttar Pradesh) but the seat arrangement details and announcement would be made only at an appropriate time," party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
Asked if the party feared that the RLD could part ways after the Lok Sabha polls, Javedakar said the alliance they have arrived at is "formidable."
"In fact, in the post-poll situation there would be many more parties which would join us," Javedekar said, dismissing speculative reports that some allies were planning to leave NDA in the post-poll scenario.
On when some announcement will be made on the alliance reached between the two parties, Javedekar said, "Any announcement of an alliance is made only in the presence of the heads of both parties, you (the media) should understand these things."
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/BJP-RLD-tie-up-before
Britain unveils memorial statue of Queen Mother
A national memorial in honor of Britain's late Queen Mother was unveiled near Buckingham Palace on Tuesday near a statue of her husband King George VI.
Her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, performed the unveiling. Heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry were among senior members of the Royal Family who attended the ceremony on the Mall in London. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was also present.
"All of us gathered here today will, I know, miss my darling grandmother's vitality, her interest in the lives of others, her unbounded courage and determination that allowed her incredibly to continue her official life until the age of nearly 102," said Prince Charles.
The bronze statue, created by sculptor Philip Jackson, shows the Queen Mother dressed in opulent velvet robes, signifying her place in the Order of the Garter, Britain's oldest and highest chivalric order.
The statues show the former king and his queen at the same age and are mounted on plinths simply inscribed with their names and the years they lived.
A special five pound coin produced by the Royal Mint to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday helped to fund the project.
The Queen Mother died in March 2002, aged 101. More than 200,000 people queued to pay their respects while her coffin lay in state in Westminster.source:http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE51N4EN20090224
Her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, performed the unveiling. Heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry were among senior members of the Royal Family who attended the ceremony on the Mall in London. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was also present.
"All of us gathered here today will, I know, miss my darling grandmother's vitality, her interest in the lives of others, her unbounded courage and determination that allowed her incredibly to continue her official life until the age of nearly 102," said Prince Charles.
The bronze statue, created by sculptor Philip Jackson, shows the Queen Mother dressed in opulent velvet robes, signifying her place in the Order of the Garter, Britain's oldest and highest chivalric order.
The statues show the former king and his queen at the same age and are mounted on plinths simply inscribed with their names and the years they lived.
A special five pound coin produced by the Royal Mint to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday helped to fund the project.
The Queen Mother died in March 2002, aged 101. More than 200,000 people queued to pay their respects while her coffin lay in state in Westminster.source:http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE51N4EN20090224
Mumbai suspect 'to hear charges
Indian police say they wile file charges on Wednesday against the man identified as the sole surviving gunman from November's Mumbai attacks.The charge sheet against Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab and others is expected to run to thousands of pages.
Police say Mr Qasab and nine other gunmen attacked sites in the financial capital. More than 170 people died.
India accused Pakistan-based militants of the attacks. Pakistan has admitted they were partly planned on its soil.
Difficult relations
Mumbai (Bombay) joint commissioner of police Rakesh Maria told reporters on Tuesday: "The charge sheet will be filed tomorrow [Wednesday]. We will file the charge sheet in a city court. It is a mammoth document."
Indian law requires charges to be laid in court within 90 days of detention and Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab was arrested on 28 November.
Media reports say the charge sheet may name suspects believed to still be in Pakistan as well as the 10 gunmen.
Among the charges Mr Qasab is expected to face is that of waging war against India. He could face the death penalty if found guilty.
A government lawyer, Ujjal Nikam, told the Reuters news agency that two Indians accused of scouting for the attacks would also be charged.
Relations between India and Pakistan have worsened considerably since the November attacks.
India accused militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of being behind the attacks and suggested that "state actors" in Pakistan were also involved.
India accused militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of being behind the attacks and suggested that "state actors" in Pakistan were also involved.
It has submitted a list of suspects to Pakistan and demanded they be handed over.
Pakistan and Lashkar have denied involvement.
Pakistan and Lashkar have denied involvement.
However, Pakistan's investigation this month found that at least nine suspected attackers had sailed from Karachi to Mumbai in three boats in November.
Pakistan says it has indicted eight people, six of whom have already been arrested, and that any trials will take place on its soil.source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7908496.stm
Sunday, February 22, 2009
BSNL launches 3G pan India
By the 27th of this month, mobile telephony will enter its third generation (3G) in 12 cities in India, courtesy the state owned telecomservice provider BSNL.
Union minister for communication and IT A Raja launched BSNL's 3G services pan India, from Chennai, on Sunday, by making the first video call to TN chief minister M Karunanidhi.
The PSU was awarded one block of 2*5 MHz 3G spectrum in all telecom circles in the country, six months before, without participating in the auction, at a price equal to the winning bids in the respective circles, in the auctions to be held before March 31st.
"Considering the need for faster penetration of 3G, and the need for telecom access to rual areas, the Government policy will allow telecom infrastructure sharing between commercial telcos as well as infrastructure providers," Mr.Raja said. DoT also plans enable mobile number portability (MNP) in major cities by August, and in other towns by end of this year. Bids have been invited of providing MNP switches.
On the occasion, BSNL also launched its India Golden 50 tariff scheme, where, by increasing the pulse duration for all calls to 120 s, the tariffs have been have been reduced by 50-80%. Presently, a pulse is calculated at 90 s for national calls to other networks and 60 s within network.
"Besides upgrading mobile data speeds to 2 mbps from the present 144 kbps, we will also offer video screening of calls, video on demand, mobile surveillance, Live TV, movie downloads etc on our 3G platform," BSNL CMD Kuldeep Goyal said. For this, the company will scale up tie-ups with its existing content providers. However, the telco will not be providing its previously launched IPTV service, which has garnered 5000 subscribers, on 3G.
"We plan to operate 5 million lines spanning all district headquarters and important towns by end of this year at an investment of Rs.2700 crore," Mr Goyal said. "We expect 5% of our 2G subscribers to migrate to 3G." The company expects a revenue addition of Rs 500-1000 crore by this customer addition, and a 20% revenue augmentation by infrastructure sharing.
BSNL has tied up with Nokia, Sony and Samsung for handset bundling, the cheapest of which is priced at Rs.7000. Voice tariff schemes begin from a fixed monthly charge of Rs.350 for prepaid, and Rs 500 for postpaid. Data subscriptions are available starting Rs 250. The company has tied up with Micromax and Huawei for offering laptop data cards at prices ranging form Rs 3800 to 6000. "Trials are on to launch mobile banking on our 2G and 3G platforms," Mr Goyal said. source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/BSNL-launches-3G-pan-India/articleshow/4170295.cms
Union minister for communication and IT A Raja launched BSNL's 3G services pan India, from Chennai, on Sunday, by making the first video call to TN chief minister M Karunanidhi.
The PSU was awarded one block of 2*5 MHz 3G spectrum in all telecom circles in the country, six months before, without participating in the auction, at a price equal to the winning bids in the respective circles, in the auctions to be held before March 31st.
"Considering the need for faster penetration of 3G, and the need for telecom access to rual areas, the Government policy will allow telecom infrastructure sharing between commercial telcos as well as infrastructure providers," Mr.Raja said. DoT also plans enable mobile number portability (MNP) in major cities by August, and in other towns by end of this year. Bids have been invited of providing MNP switches.
On the occasion, BSNL also launched its India Golden 50 tariff scheme, where, by increasing the pulse duration for all calls to 120 s, the tariffs have been have been reduced by 50-80%. Presently, a pulse is calculated at 90 s for national calls to other networks and 60 s within network.
"Besides upgrading mobile data speeds to 2 mbps from the present 144 kbps, we will also offer video screening of calls, video on demand, mobile surveillance, Live TV, movie downloads etc on our 3G platform," BSNL CMD Kuldeep Goyal said. For this, the company will scale up tie-ups with its existing content providers. However, the telco will not be providing its previously launched IPTV service, which has garnered 5000 subscribers, on 3G.
"We plan to operate 5 million lines spanning all district headquarters and important towns by end of this year at an investment of Rs.2700 crore," Mr Goyal said. "We expect 5% of our 2G subscribers to migrate to 3G." The company expects a revenue addition of Rs 500-1000 crore by this customer addition, and a 20% revenue augmentation by infrastructure sharing.
BSNL has tied up with Nokia, Sony and Samsung for handset bundling, the cheapest of which is priced at Rs.7000. Voice tariff schemes begin from a fixed monthly charge of Rs.350 for prepaid, and Rs 500 for postpaid. Data subscriptions are available starting Rs 250. The company has tied up with Micromax and Huawei for offering laptop data cards at prices ranging form Rs 3800 to 6000. "Trials are on to launch mobile banking on our 2G and 3G platforms," Mr Goyal said. source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/BSNL-launches-3G-pan-India/articleshow/4170295.cms
14 killed in train-jeep smash in Orissa
At least 14 members of a marriage party, including the bride, were killed and two others seriously injuredon Sunday when the vehicle they were travelling in collided with an express train at an unmanned level crossing at Dhanger, 60 km from here.
The jeep, which got stuck to the train engine, was dragged 200 meters along the track before it caught fire at the level crossing between Bargarh and Barpali railway stations, police said.
Fourteen people, including seven women and a child, were killed in the tragedy that took place at 3.50 pm, they said adding the bride and her family members were on their way to her in-law's house after the wedding.
While bride Pinki Dehury (18) and 11 others died on the spot, two others later succumbed to their injuries at the hospital, Inspector in-charge of Bargarh police station U S Maharana said.
The groom had already left the marriage mandap at Kainser, 18 kms from the mishap site, for his house at Dhanger before the bride, they said, adding none of the passengers of the Balangir-Puri Inter-city Express was injured.
Soon after the incident, fire engines were pressed into service to douse the fire engulfing the jeep and the injured were then rushed to VSS Medical College Hospital at Burla. source:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200902222103.htm
The jeep, which got stuck to the train engine, was dragged 200 meters along the track before it caught fire at the level crossing between Bargarh and Barpali railway stations, police said.
Fourteen people, including seven women and a child, were killed in the tragedy that took place at 3.50 pm, they said adding the bride and her family members were on their way to her in-law's house after the wedding.
While bride Pinki Dehury (18) and 11 others died on the spot, two others later succumbed to their injuries at the hospital, Inspector in-charge of Bargarh police station U S Maharana said.
The groom had already left the marriage mandap at Kainser, 18 kms from the mishap site, for his house at Dhanger before the bride, they said, adding none of the passengers of the Balangir-Puri Inter-city Express was injured.
Soon after the incident, fire engines were pressed into service to douse the fire engulfing the jeep and the injured were then rushed to VSS Medical College Hospital at Burla. source:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200902222103.htm
Lawyers to observe 'black day' on Feb. 27
Lawyers across the country will observe 'black day' on February 27 to protest against the police lathicharge in the Chennai High Court premises last week.
The decision was taken by the Bar Council of India which condemned the February 19 incident in which several persons, including a judge of the Madras High Court, were injured in a clash between the police and lawyers.
"We appeal to members of the legal fraternity to observe February 27 as Black Day in condemnation of such brutal attack by police on judicial system of the country," Bar Council Chairman N P Sinha said in a release on Sunday.
He said the state bar councils, High Court Bar Associations and District Bar Associations can decide the mode in which the protest is to be observed in a peaceful and democratic manner.
The Council has also decided to send a delegation led by Sinha to Chennai to make a detailed enquiry about the incident. It also asked Madras High Court Chief Justice to institute a probe by a retired judge of either High Court or Supreme Court to enquire into the incident.
The Council will offer Rs 1 lakh to the State Bar Council of Tamil Nadu as a token of solidarity with members of legal profession who were injured in the police action to meet a part of their medical expenses. source:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200902222104.htm
The decision was taken by the Bar Council of India which condemned the February 19 incident in which several persons, including a judge of the Madras High Court, were injured in a clash between the police and lawyers.
"We appeal to members of the legal fraternity to observe February 27 as Black Day in condemnation of such brutal attack by police on judicial system of the country," Bar Council Chairman N P Sinha said in a release on Sunday.
He said the state bar councils, High Court Bar Associations and District Bar Associations can decide the mode in which the protest is to be observed in a peaceful and democratic manner.
The Council has also decided to send a delegation led by Sinha to Chennai to make a detailed enquiry about the incident. It also asked Madras High Court Chief Justice to institute a probe by a retired judge of either High Court or Supreme Court to enquire into the incident.
The Council will offer Rs 1 lakh to the State Bar Council of Tamil Nadu as a token of solidarity with members of legal profession who were injured in the police action to meet a part of their medical expenses. source:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200902222104.htm
SBI eyes business growth after Nano launch
The State Bank of India (SBI) Bengal Circle, which registered a 60 per cent growth in its car loans portfolio this year, is bullish on the segment and expects the business to grow further with the launch of the Nano, this March.
SBI Bengal Circle has disbursed Rs 68 crore worth car loans during April 2008 to Januray 2009. Its total portfolio size stands at Rs1,000 crore. SBI has been selected as the sole booking agent for the Tata Nano and a formal announcement is expected in the next 15 days, informed J K Sinha, chief general manager,SBI,Bengal Circle.
The bank was in the process of inking a deal with Tata Motors, which would give them the sole right for sale of application, and booking of Nano, he said, declining to divulge further details. The bank expects a higher growth in the segment after the launch of the Nano by Tata Motors.
As for its home loan business, SBI has received 1,500 applications so far under the ‘Happy Home Loan’ scheme, which offers home loans at eight per cent for the first year with no upper limit. For the next four years, the customer of a loan of up to Rs 5 lakh has the choice to either fix it at 9.25 per cent or pay at the existing market rates.
The total home loan portfolio of the bank stands at Rs 3,400 crore as on January 31, 2009. "We have made fresh home loan disbursals of Rs 500 crore so far this year, almost 30 per cent higher than Rs 384 crore made during the same period last year," Sinha said.
The bank has also tied up with various builders for projects such as Ambuja Realty, Calcutta Riverside and Eden City for interest rate subvention to borrowers during the ‘under construction’ period.
The builder would pay the interest on the home loan to the bank during the period of construction, so that the customer starts paying the easy monthly installments(EMI) with interest only after he gets possession of the property. Sinha felt that many of the prospective home buyers who had been indecisive for the last few months would be encouraged by both the lowering of interest rates as well as this subvention scheme.
The bank hopes to disburse Rs 400 crore new home loans by March 31, 2009, backed by the new schemes announced. "These schemes should create demand in the market, and besides expecting growth in our portfolios, we are also hoping that this would kickstart the economy," said an optimistic Sinha.
SBI Bengal Circle nearly doubled its deposits growth this fiscal which stand at Rs 10,000 crore as of January 31. The bank targets to reach Rs14,000 crore by March, as against Rs 5,650 crore in 2007-08. The total deposits of the SBI Bengal Circle stands at Rs 45,000 crore.source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=349797
Colombo air attack footage released
Footage of raids by Tamil Tiger aircraft on Colombo, Sri Lanka's largest city, have been released by defence officials.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have declared the "suicide missions", during which one plane flew into a tax office building, were a success.
But the government said on Sunday that its footage, part of which shows a light aircraft flying into a building and exploding, proves the two planes were brought down by anti-aircraft fire.
The planes probably intended to hit the country's air force headquarters and an air base during the attack on Friday night, government authorities said.
"If they [the attacks] really worked, there wouldn't have been an air force," Keheliya Rambukwella, a government spokesman, said.
Aircraft crash
Officials said both aircraft were hit by fire and one crashed into the tax office building near the air force headquarters and exploded, while the second was shot down near the same base north of Colombo Four people died in the attack, including the two pilots, and 51 people were injured.
David Hawkins, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Sri Lanka, said: "It was a very embarrassing attack on the nation's capital, that two planes were able to cross most of the island without being intercepted along the way."
He said the military confirmed it was aware that the LTTE aircraft had taken off, but was unable to locate them before they reached Colombo "because they flew so low and so slowly".
The Sri Lankan government has stepped up its air defences, with police and military officials saying they expect more LTTE attacks as the group appears to be steadily losing territory to advancing government forces in the north.
"This particular air raid has not come as a big surprise," Murali Reddy, a Sri Lankan journalist, told Al Jazeera. "The surprise element is only that the government, or the military, was not able to intercept these two aircraft between the north and the capital, but everybody was expecting some kind of action from the Tigers as they cling on to their last bastion in Mullaitivu."
Defiant attack
The government says it has the Tigers confined in an area of less than 100sq km along a coastal jungle stretch in the northeast.
But the Tiger's defiant air attack showed the fighters retain the ability to launch raids across the country, even while their ground forces are under attack.
Reports of high civilian casualties in the conflict have prompted criticisms from human rights groups and the UN.
Human Rights Watch has said that up to 2,000 non-combatants have been killed and has accused both sides of war crimes, calling on them to immediately stop "the ongoing slaughter of civilians".
The UN also said that it was deeply concerned for thousands of people trapped in the island's northeast.
Tamil video
Al Jazeera also received footage from a pro-Tamil group that said it showed Sri Lankan government forces bombing a civilian safe zone.
The group claimed the images, which showed dead bodies and distraught people, were scenes of the aftermath of a government raid in the country's northeast.The group's claim could not be independently verified.Government officials have told Al Jazeera that they stopped carrying out air attacks one week ago in order to protect civilians.
Speaking at the end of a three-day visit to Sri Lanka on Saturday, John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, expressed concern about the heavy military presence at refugee camps set up for the more than 30,000 civilians who have fled the war zone.
"I fear the reality is that significant numbers of people are still killed and injured every day in that pocket," he said.
The LTTE is fighting for a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka's north, claiming Tamils have suffered years of discrimination by the country's Sinhalese majority.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting since Sri Lanka's civil war began in 1983.source:http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have declared the "suicide missions", during which one plane flew into a tax office building, were a success.
But the government said on Sunday that its footage, part of which shows a light aircraft flying into a building and exploding, proves the two planes were brought down by anti-aircraft fire.
The planes probably intended to hit the country's air force headquarters and an air base during the attack on Friday night, government authorities said.
"If they [the attacks] really worked, there wouldn't have been an air force," Keheliya Rambukwella, a government spokesman, said.
Aircraft crash
Officials said both aircraft were hit by fire and one crashed into the tax office building near the air force headquarters and exploded, while the second was shot down near the same base north of Colombo Four people died in the attack, including the two pilots, and 51 people were injured.
David Hawkins, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Sri Lanka, said: "It was a very embarrassing attack on the nation's capital, that two planes were able to cross most of the island without being intercepted along the way."
He said the military confirmed it was aware that the LTTE aircraft had taken off, but was unable to locate them before they reached Colombo "because they flew so low and so slowly".
The Sri Lankan government has stepped up its air defences, with police and military officials saying they expect more LTTE attacks as the group appears to be steadily losing territory to advancing government forces in the north.
"This particular air raid has not come as a big surprise," Murali Reddy, a Sri Lankan journalist, told Al Jazeera. "The surprise element is only that the government, or the military, was not able to intercept these two aircraft between the north and the capital, but everybody was expecting some kind of action from the Tigers as they cling on to their last bastion in Mullaitivu."
Defiant attack
The government says it has the Tigers confined in an area of less than 100sq km along a coastal jungle stretch in the northeast.
But the Tiger's defiant air attack showed the fighters retain the ability to launch raids across the country, even while their ground forces are under attack.
Reports of high civilian casualties in the conflict have prompted criticisms from human rights groups and the UN.
Human Rights Watch has said that up to 2,000 non-combatants have been killed and has accused both sides of war crimes, calling on them to immediately stop "the ongoing slaughter of civilians".
The UN also said that it was deeply concerned for thousands of people trapped in the island's northeast.
Tamil video
Al Jazeera also received footage from a pro-Tamil group that said it showed Sri Lankan government forces bombing a civilian safe zone.
The group claimed the images, which showed dead bodies and distraught people, were scenes of the aftermath of a government raid in the country's northeast.The group's claim could not be independently verified.Government officials have told Al Jazeera that they stopped carrying out air attacks one week ago in order to protect civilians.
Speaking at the end of a three-day visit to Sri Lanka on Saturday, John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, expressed concern about the heavy military presence at refugee camps set up for the more than 30,000 civilians who have fled the war zone.
"I fear the reality is that significant numbers of people are still killed and injured every day in that pocket," he said.
The LTTE is fighting for a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka's north, claiming Tamils have suffered years of discrimination by the country's Sinhalese majority.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting since Sri Lanka's civil war began in 1983.source:http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Schoolgirl gets first degree burns from 19 minutes on a sunbed
Experts yesterday called for unmanned tanning salons to be banned after a schoolgirl suffered first degree burns.
Kirsty McRae needed hospital treatment after 70 per cent of her body was affected when she spent 19 minutes lying on the sunbed.
Four hours after using the salon, the 14-year-old was on a drip being given oxygen while doctors re-hydrated her and administered painkillers.
Julie Barratt, of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “These salons should be banned because there is no effective way of controlling them.” Kirsty had put £1 into the coin-operated sunbed at the walk-in salon on a busy high street.
But after four minutes under the UV lamp, she wrongly believed she was not tanned enough so she paid an extra £3 for another 15 minutes. Kirsty, who’s now being treated at home with lotion, said: “I just wanted a tan. I had no idea they were so dangerous.”
The teen broke the rules by entering the salon, which is only for over 16s.
Owner James Hadley said: “It’s unfortunate that someone chose to ignore the warnings about sunbeds. I have posters all over the shop and on the doors.
Schoolgirl gets first degree burns from 19 minutes on a sunbed
Experts yesterday called for unmanned tanning salons to be banned after a schoolgirl suffered first degree burns.
Kirsty McRae needed hospital treatment after 70 per cent of her body was affected when she spent 19 minutes lying on the sunbed.
Four hours after using the salon, the 14-year-old was on a drip being given oxygen while doctors re-hydrated her and administered painkillers.
Julie Barratt, of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “These salons should be banned because there is no effective way of controlling them.” Kirsty had put £1 into the coin-operated sunbed at the walk-in salon on a busy high street.
But after four minutes under the UV lamp, she wrongly believed she was not tanned enough so she paid an extra £3 for another 15 minutes. Kirsty, who’s now being treated at home with lotion, said: “I just wanted a tan. I had no idea they were so dangerous.”
The teen broke the rules by entering the salon, which is only for over 16s.
Owner James Hadley said: “It’s unfortunate that someone chose to ignore the warnings about sunbeds. I have posters all over the shop and on the doors.
“I’m unbelievably upset but I operate within the law.”
But Kirsty’s mum Jill, 49, a health and safety officer, said: “Kirsty is partly responsible for what has happened to her but it just beggars belief that anyone can put money into a slot and do this amount of damage to themselves.”
Environmental health chiefs are investigating the Lextan salon in Barry, South Wales.
DANGERS OF TANNING
Sunbeds are blamed for the deaths of 100 skin cancer sufferers every year in Britain.
Lying under the UV lamps can increase the risk of developing the disease by 75 per cent. The dangerous rays given off by sunbeds can be 15 times more intense then the sun.
Source:http://www.mirror.co.uk/2009/02/20/schoolgirl-gets-first-degree-burns-from-19-minutes-on-a-sunbed-115875-21137189/
Kirsty McRae needed hospital treatment after 70 per cent of her body was affected when she spent 19 minutes lying on the sunbed.
Four hours after using the salon, the 14-year-old was on a drip being given oxygen while doctors re-hydrated her and administered painkillers.
Julie Barratt, of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “These salons should be banned because there is no effective way of controlling them.” Kirsty had put £1 into the coin-operated sunbed at the walk-in salon on a busy high street.
But after four minutes under the UV lamp, she wrongly believed she was not tanned enough so she paid an extra £3 for another 15 minutes. Kirsty, who’s now being treated at home with lotion, said: “I just wanted a tan. I had no idea they were so dangerous.”
The teen broke the rules by entering the salon, which is only for over 16s.
Owner James Hadley said: “It’s unfortunate that someone chose to ignore the warnings about sunbeds. I have posters all over the shop and on the doors.
Schoolgirl gets first degree burns from 19 minutes on a sunbed
Experts yesterday called for unmanned tanning salons to be banned after a schoolgirl suffered first degree burns.
Kirsty McRae needed hospital treatment after 70 per cent of her body was affected when she spent 19 minutes lying on the sunbed.
Four hours after using the salon, the 14-year-old was on a drip being given oxygen while doctors re-hydrated her and administered painkillers.
Julie Barratt, of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “These salons should be banned because there is no effective way of controlling them.” Kirsty had put £1 into the coin-operated sunbed at the walk-in salon on a busy high street.
But after four minutes under the UV lamp, she wrongly believed she was not tanned enough so she paid an extra £3 for another 15 minutes. Kirsty, who’s now being treated at home with lotion, said: “I just wanted a tan. I had no idea they were so dangerous.”
The teen broke the rules by entering the salon, which is only for over 16s.
Owner James Hadley said: “It’s unfortunate that someone chose to ignore the warnings about sunbeds. I have posters all over the shop and on the doors.
“I’m unbelievably upset but I operate within the law.”
But Kirsty’s mum Jill, 49, a health and safety officer, said: “Kirsty is partly responsible for what has happened to her but it just beggars belief that anyone can put money into a slot and do this amount of damage to themselves.”
Environmental health chiefs are investigating the Lextan salon in Barry, South Wales.
DANGERS OF TANNING
Sunbeds are blamed for the deaths of 100 skin cancer sufferers every year in Britain.
Lying under the UV lamps can increase the risk of developing the disease by 75 per cent. The dangerous rays given off by sunbeds can be 15 times more intense then the sun.
Source:http://www.mirror.co.uk/2009/02/20/schoolgirl-gets-first-degree-burns-from-19-minutes-on-a-sunbed-115875-21137189/
UK government bans anti-gay US pastor
Britain's government has banned anti-gay American pastor Fred Phelps from entering the country on the grounds he worked to incite hatred, officials said Thursday.
Britain's Border Agency said Phelps and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, would be turned back at the border if they attempted to enter the country - although it was not immediately clear whether either of them planned travel to Britain.
Phelps, who leads a tiny but fanatically anti-gay church in Topeka, Kansas, is particularly notorious for picketing the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq - deaths he believes are the result of God's fury at homosexuality.
"The government has made it clear it opposes extremism in all its forms," the border agency said in a statement. "The exclusions policy is targeted at all those who seek to stir up tension and provoke others to violence regardless of their origins and beliefs."
A Border Agency spokesman said Phelps had called for protests at a play about the murder of a gay man due to be shown in the English town of Basingstoke, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of central London.
The play, "The Laramie Project," reflects onthe 1998 slaying of Matthew Shepard, whose death shocked the country and prompted a re-evaluation of its attitude toward homosexuals.
It also propelled Phelps' into the national spotlight when members of his Westboro Baptist Church appeared at Shepard's funeral with signs bearing their the words: "God Hate Fags" and chanting: "Fags die, God laughs."
Phelps and his few dozen followers - most of the them relatives - would go on to picket thousands more funerals and memorials for homosexuals, victims of Sept. 11, and soldiers killed in Iraq, drawing outrage - and lawsuits.
The British government's decion to exclude Phelps for inciting hatred comes shortly after it was criticized for excluding a far-right Dutch lawmaker from the country on similar grounds.
source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/20/uk-government-bans-antigay-us-pastor.html
Britain's Border Agency said Phelps and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, would be turned back at the border if they attempted to enter the country - although it was not immediately clear whether either of them planned travel to Britain.
Phelps, who leads a tiny but fanatically anti-gay church in Topeka, Kansas, is particularly notorious for picketing the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq - deaths he believes are the result of God's fury at homosexuality.
"The government has made it clear it opposes extremism in all its forms," the border agency said in a statement. "The exclusions policy is targeted at all those who seek to stir up tension and provoke others to violence regardless of their origins and beliefs."
A Border Agency spokesman said Phelps had called for protests at a play about the murder of a gay man due to be shown in the English town of Basingstoke, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of central London.
The play, "The Laramie Project," reflects onthe 1998 slaying of Matthew Shepard, whose death shocked the country and prompted a re-evaluation of its attitude toward homosexuals.
It also propelled Phelps' into the national spotlight when members of his Westboro Baptist Church appeared at Shepard's funeral with signs bearing their the words: "God Hate Fags" and chanting: "Fags die, God laughs."
Phelps and his few dozen followers - most of the them relatives - would go on to picket thousands more funerals and memorials for homosexuals, victims of Sept. 11, and soldiers killed in Iraq, drawing outrage - and lawsuits.
The British government's decion to exclude Phelps for inciting hatred comes shortly after it was criticized for excluding a far-right Dutch lawmaker from the country on similar grounds.
source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/20/uk-government-bans-antigay-us-pastor.html
MMS sex scandal in Noida
Five years after a sex clip made and circulated by a Delhi school student made news, a similar incident has been reported from a business school in Noida.A student has sent out a video of his 23-year old girlfriend doing a striptease for him, to some fellow students at the management school. This reportedly happened after the woman refused to marry him. The woman studies at the same institution.
The story was first reported by Mid Day. It said the two students were probably classmates. The man, who apparently knew the password of the woman’s email ID, logged in to her mail and sent the video to some people on her contact list.The Noida Police are yet to take any action in the matter because they have not received any complaint. “We’ve not received any complaint from the girl or her family or from the college,” says A.K. Tripathi, Noida’s superintendent of police (city). “But we, on our part, are investigating the matter. I’ve instructed the officer concerned to give me all the details about any developments in the case.”
The video shows the woman stripping to music; the man apparently captured it on a cellphone camera. Women organisations have repeatedly expressed concern over the rising cases of sexually explicit MMS clips of students being put on websites or circulated among students.
“It is a matter of deep concern that school and college students are indulging in such deplorable activities and defaming their classmates by putting their obscene clips on websites or circulating it among other students,” said Raksha Shukla, a representative of the All India Women Conference. “The police should not wait for an official complaint from the victim. They should act at own level and punish the erring students so that others do not dare to do such acts.”
In 2004, a student of a south Delhi school had found herself at the centre of a similar scandal.
Source:http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?scandal+in+Noida
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I'm my father's son, Sanjay Dutt tells Lucknow
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt promised to walk in his late father's footsteps and invoked his family's old, forgotten ties with the city time and again on Wednesday in an effort to tell voters he was very much in the race as the Samajwadi Party candidate from Lucknow."My father was never a politician. He was a social worker and did his best to work for people's welfare. I will follow in his footsteps," Sanjay, 49, clad in a politician's trademark white kurta-pyjama and half jacket, said at a crowded press conference convened at the Taj hotel here.
He also hoped that actress Hema Malini, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, would not contest against him from Lucknow.
"My father, the late Sunil Datt, never opposed Hemaji, Dharamji or Vinodji (actor-turned-politicians Hema Malini, Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna of the BJP) at any political forum because such is an unwritten norm in the film industry, which is like a large family.
"Therefore I am quite sure that they would not like to oppose me either," said Sanjay, a veteran of 120 movies. Sunil Dutt was a staunch Congress member. Sanjay's sister Priya Dutt is a Congress MP from Mumbai.
Asked what his main plank in the April-May polls would be, the Bollywood star said he would practice 'Gandhigiri' - the non-violent way of life preached by "Munnabhai", a popular character he has played in films - to win the hearts of voters.
"Ensuring peace will be a very important factor for me," said Sanjay, who was flanked by his wife Manyata, Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, party general secretary Amar Singh and actress-MP Jayaprada.Incidentally, he chose to take the mike after the media objected to Amar Singh fielding the questions.
Dutt, who arrived here Tuesday night, wanted to send the message that he was very much planning to contest as the Samajwadi Party MP even as his lawyers are yet to seek the mandatory clearance of the apex court. He has been convicted for illegal possession of arms in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
Asked what gave him the confidence that he could win from Lucknow, the seat held by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for five consecutive terms, Sanjay replied: "My old connections with this city."
"This was the city where my father lived well before he attained his fame, this city gave him the shelter that he needed, so I have come back here to pay back that debt to this city."Asked why he thought of visiting his father's home in Lucknow after so many years, the actor replied: "I always wanted to come here and meet the family with whom my father lived while he worked with the All India Radio (AIR) but could not get time."
Sanjay was to begin his day by paying a visit to his father's Lucknow home in the narrow Ganne Wali lane in Aminabad area where the late Sunil Dutt lived with a Rizvi family for four years while working with the AIR.
But the surging crowds and lack of security forced Sanjay to make a retreat. Many in Aminabad were angry that Sanjay kept them waiting and threw away the welcome flowers and garlands in disappointment.
The actor chose to meet the Rizvi family at Jopling Road where it now lives. There Sanjay and Manyata were showered with red rose petals.
Calling Manyata its daughter-in-law, the Rizvi family also gave 'muh dikhayee', a post-marriage ritual in Hindu families where money is gifted to the bride after seeing her face.
"I am quite happy to visit the family with whom my father cherished some memorable moments," Sanjay told reporters. With the family members, he went through some black and white photographs of his father.Sanjay was hopeful of wining over people with his "commitment and sincerity".
Fully aware of his commitment to his time-consuming profession as an actor, he said: "I would still be able to devote myself to the needs of the local population - after all, duty towards his electorate in Mumbai always remained on top on my late father's list of priorities too."
Source:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200902181918.htm
Big B says 'get well soon' to SRK
Finally, a break-thorugh in the Big B-SRK spat. According to Amitabh Bachchan's blog, he plans to visit Shah Rukh Khan at his residence after the latter underwent a successful shoulder surgery."I had sent him a message for his speedy recovery. He called back to thank and inform me that he is home. 'I was getting depressed in hospital, so came away', he said," Amitabh posted on his blog.
Amitabh messaged him: "I was planning to visit you in the hospital" and Shah Rukh replied saying: "Come home sir, we shall play some games."
Big B has adviced SRK to take recovery seriously and not to get involved with any physical activity.
Big B then wrote about Shah Rukh, "He sounds a little groggy. I shall visit him tomorrow."Shah Rukh underwent an arthroscopic surgery for a nagging pain in his left shoulder at the Breach Candy hospital in south Mumbai. He was relieved from the hospital evening. The actor has been advised six weeks' rest.
source:http://movies.ndtv.com/newstory.asp
Hearing against 'Slumdog' begins
A Bihar court on Wednesday began hearing a defamation case against the Indian cast of Oscar-nominated film "Slumdog Millionaire" and music maestro A.R. Rahman for allegedly "abusing slum-dwellers".The court of the chief judicial magistrate here, after the day's hearing, slated the case for February 24, a court source said. Petitioner Tapeshwar Vishwakarma told IANS: "Now all of us are waiting for judgement on the next hearing." AR Rahman's Candid Confessions
Shruti Singh, lawyer for the petitioner, said the court heard her argument in the case. "The court did not reject the case, we will put our plea in the next hearing," she said.
In Pics: Awards chase 'Slumdog'
In his petition, Vishwakarma, general secretary of the Jhuggi Jhonpdi Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti (a group promoting the rights of slum-dwellers), has accused music director A.R. Rahman, actor Anil Kapoor and other Indians associated with the film of "offending the sensibilities of slum-dwellers with the abusive title of the movie".No charge, however, was filed against the film's director Danny Boyle, who is a British citizen. "The name of the film is against basic human values," she said.
A copy of the petition has been sent to the National Human Rights Commission, the State Human Rights Commission and the Film Censor Board of the Central government.
source:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200902181762.htm
Jaago Bangalore, jaago
Sons and heirs
For the last few weeks, the biggest buzz in Karnataka politics has been of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra contesting this Lok Sabha election. From the CM's home-district, Shimoga.
After intense speculation (by the media, of course) and outcry among the BJP's other aspirants, the CM-avaru was forced to say his son won't contest as that's not in keeping with party policy. That is, there's to be no dynastic polity, it seems.
Raghavendra, who's been voted to the Shikaripura Town Municipal Council earlier, is, alas, out of the game as of now.
The JD(S) is another party where dynasties are honoured. While patriarch and MP Deve Gowda's two sons are in the Assembly now, his daughter-in-law Anitha too passed the test of the ballot in a recent by-election to join the Assembly. Party circles were soon talking about Gowda's eldest son - in the civil services - taking voluntary retirement to join the political services. And his grandson Nikhil Gowda, son of H D Kumaraswamy, too was spotted during mama's election campaigns.
But Gowda's Man-Friday-cum-spokesperson-cum-troubleshooter Y S V Dutta says this : No way. That Gowda will be the only one from the family to contest this time - well, maybe, just maybe, Kumaraswamy will too, but others won't, he says. Well, we'll know better in April, I guess.
The eternal chameleon
The erstwhile BJP (or was that SP?) MP from Shimoga, Sarekoppa Bangarappa, has been labelled the eternal chameleon for years now - He has resigned twice and changed three parties in this last MP-term since 2004. He has flitted from the Samyukta Socialist Party to the Congress to the BJP to the Congress again. He has founded three parties - the KCP, the KVP and the Karnataka branch of the SP.
But in recent times, this septuagenarian politico is one person who has won every battle, but lost the war.
Ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections, he had joined the BJP because pollsters had predicted an NDA sweep. He wanted to be in the ruling party, be in a position of power. With him, the BJP swept Karnataka, but didn't come to power. Bangarappa was in the opposition again.
Last week, perhaps to ensure his reputation as a party-hopper is not tarnished, he decided to quit the SP and join the Congress. The Congress is pinning much hope on him, but perhaps there's a lesson in his record for being relegated to the Opposition.
Three others
Other faces -- and fates -- that could change with this election would be Jaffer Sharief, Sangliana and Siddaramaiah.
Sangliana, after giving the BJP a surprise win in Bangalore North in 2004, voted against the party diktat in the crucial confidence vote over the Indo-US nuke deal. Since then, he's been out of the BJP.
Sharief, a prominent Muslim face for the Congress, has been described as the chameleon who never leaves the party. He's threatened to quit, sent in resignation letters, waited and watched before every crucial election.
As for Siddaramaiah, he's sitting pretty, they say. The Congress wants him to win them Kuruba community votes, but doesn't want him in any position of power. The BJP wants him and would be willing to give him anything (haven't they just doled out ministries and government posts to other quitters who've defected from other parties to join them in the last few months?)
The Congress has so far not given him any key post, but it may make him Opposition leader in the Assembly if it fields current Opposition leader Mallikarjuna Kharge for the Gulbarga Lok Sabha seat. The party has little choice -- other stalwarts like Dharam Singh and RV Deshpande have, after all, lost in the last election.
Saffron blues
All of you who sleep tonight, think of the BJP's sleepless brass-hats.
Since it came to power, every month has seen the party battling some crisis or the other - police firing on farmers, serial blasts in Bangalore, the Padmapriya runaway-suicide case, poaching of MLAs through what was code-named 'Operation Lotus,' the attacks against churches, rising saffron terror, attacks on women in pubs, the mining scam, the kidnap of a Kerala MLA's daughter, and more recently, the reopening of a four-year-old police case of Yeddyurappa's wife Mythra Devi's mysterious death... all these have tallied up to the saffrons' hall of infamy.
Ten controversies in ten months. Time and again, the government has been embarrassed. And all this will count in the General Elections.
But it's also true that the BJP came to power amid much expectations. Voters were done with being caught between the Congress and the JDS and wanted a change - but nine months hence, the BJP's yet to deliver. One senior journalist - the north Karnataka bureau chief of the Times of India, no less - compares Yeddyurappa with Obama. "Both came to mean change. Both were voted with a lot of expectations. But we're yet to see any miracle." One difference though - for Dr Yeddy, time's running out. A mid-term exam is fast approaching.
More power to the urban voter... If they turn up to vote, that is. In the Assembly elections last year, barely 44 per cent of the voters boasted that little black ink on their fingers. That was the lowest in five elections (that is, two decades!) We probably need more of those 'Jaago' party guys handing out cups of chai.
source:http://ibnlive.in.com/statediary/deepabalakrishnan/53/53189/vote-for-change.html
For the last few weeks, the biggest buzz in Karnataka politics has been of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra contesting this Lok Sabha election. From the CM's home-district, Shimoga.
After intense speculation (by the media, of course) and outcry among the BJP's other aspirants, the CM-avaru was forced to say his son won't contest as that's not in keeping with party policy. That is, there's to be no dynastic polity, it seems.
Raghavendra, who's been voted to the Shikaripura Town Municipal Council earlier, is, alas, out of the game as of now.The JD(S) is another party where dynasties are honoured. While patriarch and MP Deve Gowda's two sons are in the Assembly now, his daughter-in-law Anitha too passed the test of the ballot in a recent by-election to join the Assembly. Party circles were soon talking about Gowda's eldest son - in the civil services - taking voluntary retirement to join the political services. And his grandson Nikhil Gowda, son of H D Kumaraswamy, too was spotted during mama's election campaigns.
But Gowda's Man-Friday-cum-spokesperson-cum-troubleshooter Y S V Dutta says this : No way. That Gowda will be the only one from the family to contest this time - well, maybe, just maybe, Kumaraswamy will too, but others won't, he says. Well, we'll know better in April, I guess.
The eternal chameleonThe erstwhile BJP (or was that SP?) MP from Shimoga, Sarekoppa Bangarappa, has been labelled the eternal chameleon for years now - He has resigned twice and changed three parties in this last MP-term since 2004. He has flitted from the Samyukta Socialist Party to the Congress to the BJP to the Congress again. He has founded three parties - the KCP, the KVP and the Karnataka branch of the SP.
But in recent times, this septuagenarian politico is one person who has won every battle, but lost the war.
Ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections, he had joined the BJP because pollsters had predicted an NDA sweep. He wanted to be in the ruling party, be in a position of power. With him, the BJP swept Karnataka, but didn't come to power. Bangarappa was in the opposition again.
Last week, perhaps to ensure his reputation as a party-hopper is not tarnished, he decided to quit the SP and join the Congress. The Congress is pinning much hope on him, but perhaps there's a lesson in his record for being relegated to the Opposition.
Three others
Other faces -- and fates -- that could change with this election would be Jaffer Sharief, Sangliana and Siddaramaiah.
Sangliana, after giving the BJP a surprise win in Bangalore North in 2004, voted against the party diktat in the crucial confidence vote over the Indo-US nuke deal. Since then, he's been out of the BJP.
Sharief, a prominent Muslim face for the Congress, has been described as the chameleon who never leaves the party. He's threatened to quit, sent in resignation letters, waited and watched before every crucial election.
As for Siddaramaiah, he's sitting pretty, they say. The Congress wants him to win them Kuruba community votes, but doesn't want him in any position of power. The BJP wants him and would be willing to give him anything (haven't they just doled out ministries and government posts to other quitters who've defected from other parties to join them in the last few months?)The Congress has so far not given him any key post, but it may make him Opposition leader in the Assembly if it fields current Opposition leader Mallikarjuna Kharge for the Gulbarga Lok Sabha seat. The party has little choice -- other stalwarts like Dharam Singh and RV Deshpande have, after all, lost in the last election.
Saffron blues
All of you who sleep tonight, think of the BJP's sleepless brass-hats.Since it came to power, every month has seen the party battling some crisis or the other - police firing on farmers, serial blasts in Bangalore, the Padmapriya runaway-suicide case, poaching of MLAs through what was code-named 'Operation Lotus,' the attacks against churches, rising saffron terror, attacks on women in pubs, the mining scam, the kidnap of a Kerala MLA's daughter, and more recently, the reopening of a four-year-old police case of Yeddyurappa's wife Mythra Devi's mysterious death... all these have tallied up to the saffrons' hall of infamy.
Ten controversies in ten months. Time and again, the government has been embarrassed. And all this will count in the General Elections.
But it's also true that the BJP came to power amid much expectations. Voters were done with being caught between the Congress and the JDS and wanted a change - but nine months hence, the BJP's yet to deliver. One senior journalist - the north Karnataka bureau chief of the Times of India, no less - compares Yeddyurappa with Obama. "Both came to mean change. Both were voted with a lot of expectations. But we're yet to see any miracle." One difference though - for Dr Yeddy, time's running out. A mid-term exam is fast approaching.
More power to the urban voter... If they turn up to vote, that is. In the Assembly elections last year, barely 44 per cent of the voters boasted that little black ink on their fingers. That was the lowest in five elections (that is, two decades!) We probably need more of those 'Jaago' party guys handing out cups of chai.
source:http://ibnlive.in.com/statediary/deepabalakrishnan/53/53189/vote-for-change.html
Serial killer Umesh Reddy sentenced to death by Karnataka HC
Serial killer Umesh Reddy, who has been charged with ghastly rapes and murders of several women, was sentenced to death by the
Karnataka High Court on Wednesday. ( Watch )
Reddy, an ex-police constable, gained notoriety for his sex crimes, raping women even after murdering them.
Special judge S R Bannurmath, a senior High Court judge, while pronouncing the verdict, termed Reddy as a "violent offender" and described the case as the "rarest of the rare", deserving the death sentence.
"In this case, he is an ex-policeman who has become a habitual pervert, who not only commits robbery but also to satisfy his lust, attacks helpless women and commits rape," the judge said.
A lower court in 2006 had awarded him death sentence. But a year later, a two-member bench of the High Court expressed a divergent view - one favouring the death sentence and another life term on an appeal by him (Reddy).
This led to the constitution of a special judge, Justice S R Bannurmath, who pronounced the verdict on Wednesdfay.
Reddy faced 21 criminal cases, of which he was acquitted in 11. The remaining nine related to rape, murder and robbery.
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore-serial-killer-awarded-death/articleshow/4150981.cms
Karnataka High Court on Wednesday. ( Watch )
Reddy, an ex-police constable, gained notoriety for his sex crimes, raping women even after murdering them.
Special judge S R Bannurmath, a senior High Court judge, while pronouncing the verdict, termed Reddy as a "violent offender" and described the case as the "rarest of the rare", deserving the death sentence.
"In this case, he is an ex-policeman who has become a habitual pervert, who not only commits robbery but also to satisfy his lust, attacks helpless women and commits rape," the judge said.
A lower court in 2006 had awarded him death sentence. But a year later, a two-member bench of the High Court expressed a divergent view - one favouring the death sentence and another life term on an appeal by him (Reddy).
This led to the constitution of a special judge, Justice S R Bannurmath, who pronounced the verdict on Wednesdfay.
Reddy faced 21 criminal cases, of which he was acquitted in 11. The remaining nine related to rape, murder and robbery.
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore-serial-killer-awarded-death/articleshow/4150981.cms
India says war was never an option after Mumbai attacks
India has ruled out strikes on Pakistan saying the war option is not on the table.In a clear reference to America's strikes on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan in recent days External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, "Some countries may be exercising the military option but that India would not do so."
Meanwhile, India is viewing the Pakistan's peace deal with Taliban with much concern. While some reports in Pakistan say that the deal could be a tactical retreat by Islamabad, New Delhi sees it as a military surrender to the Taliban, something that confirms its fears of the Pakistan Army's inability to check the growing influence of Taliban.
There is also a feeling in New Delhi that the Taliban still enjoys the support of large sections of the Pakisan army.
source:http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090083961&ch=2/18/2009%205:34:00%20PM
Court directs police to file FIR against Renuka Chowdhury
A local court on Wednesday directed the police to register an FIR against union minister for women and child welfare Renuka Chowdhuryfor her reported remark that "Mangalore has been Talibanised" in the wake of the attack on women at a pub here on January 24 by Sri Ram Sene activists.
Third judicial magistrate (first class) directed the police to register the FIR under section 153 A (Promoting enmity between different groups) and B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (Statements conducive to public mischief) IPC and also to submit the investigation report before March 20, Padma Prasad Hegde, representing the BJP-led Mangalore corporation mayor Ganesh Hosabettu and others, said.
The direction came following a criminal case filed by the mayor against Chowdhury for her remarks.
Hegde contended that the accused (Minister) had "deliberately" uttered communally provocative sentences in order to incite violence.
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Court-directs-police-to-file-FIR-against-Renuka-Chowdhury/articleshow/4150421.cms
Monday, February 16, 2009
Roberts Sets Off Debate on Judicial Experience
For the first time in its history, every member of the United States Supreme Court is a former federal appeals court judge. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in a lively and surprising talk a couple of weeks ago, said that development may be a good thing.
Over the life of the Supreme Court, its members were quite likely to be former governors, legislators, cabinet members, law professors and practicing lawyers. That mix of backgrounds and expertise might strike some as valuable, but the chief justice suggested that it tended to inject policy and politics into an area properly reserved for the law.
As late as 1972, when Chief Justice Roberts’s predecessor, William H. Rehnquist, joined the court as an associate justice, former federal judges were in the minority.
As a consequence, Chief Justice Roberts said, “the practice of constitutional law — how constitutional law was made — was more fluid and wide ranging than it is today, more in the realm of political science.”
Since then, Chief Justice Roberts continued, “the method of analysis and argument shifted to the more solid grounds of legal arguments. What are the texts of the statutes involved? What precedents control?”
That move, he said, has resulted in “a more legal perspective and less of a policy perspective.”
Chief Justice Roberts spoke at the University of Arizona’s law school on Feb 4. The next day, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. She plans to return to the court next Monday, but should there be an opening on the court in the near future, the chief justice’s musings about the proper background for his colleagues will carry weight.
When President Obama makes his first selection for the court, he will confront what law professors have started to call “the norm of prior judicial experience,” and he may find it hard to resist.
But there are reasons to question the chief justice’s conclusions.
The political scientists who study such things say there is no empirical support for the notion that former judges are more apt to feel constrained by earlier rulings or to suppress their political views. “Former appellate court judges are no more likely to follow precedent or to put aside their policy preferences than are justices lacking judicial experience,” according to a study to be published soon in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
If Chief Justice Roberts was implying that the court became less political as the number of former judges on it rose, said Lee Epstein, who teaches law and political science at Northwestern and is one of the authors of the study, “the data don’t support it.”
And not everyone supports the idea that members of the court should have uniform backgrounds. The psychological literature demonstrates that “the more homogenous the group, the worse the quality of the decisions they make,” said Tracey E. George, a law professor at Vanderbilt and the author of a law review article about the consequences of promoting former judges to the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Rehnquist, who was a Justice Department official before he joined the court and was the last justice without a judicial background, was also wary of having only former judges on the court.
“It would too much resemble the judiciary in civil law countries,” he wrote in 2001, referring to legal systems in which being a judge is a lifelong civil service career. “Reasonable people, not merely here but in Europe, think that many civil law judicial systems simply do not command the respect and enjoy the independence of ours.”
The trend toward looking mostly to the lower federal courts for Supreme Court justices started in the 1950’s and was apparently prompted in part by complaints from southern members of Congress after Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision barring segregation in public schools.
The court that decided Brown included Chief Justice Earl Warren, a former governor of California; Hugo L. Black, a former United States senator; Felix Frankfurter, a former law professor; William O. Douglas, who had served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Robert H. Jackson, who had been the attorney general.
The southern lawmakers, according to John R. Schmidhauser’s 1959 study of the court’s justices, urged President Dwight D. Eisenhower to appoint former judges who could be trusted to base decisions “upon ‘law,’ not ‘sociology.’ ”
Before Eisenhower’s presidency, about a third of the nominations to the Supreme Court went to sitting judges. Since 1953, more than two-thirds have.
Justice Frankfurter, writing in 1957, had a blunt assessment of this phenomenon. “The correlation between prior judicial experience and fitness for the functions of the Supreme Court,” he said, “is zero.”
Chief Justice Roberts, in his remarks in Arizona, said his court is “very diverse in terms of the experiences people bring.” Justices Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Antonin Scalia all taught law before becoming judges. Justice David H. Souter served as New Hampshire’s attorney general. The chief justice and Justices John Paul Stevens and Anthony M. Kennedy all had substantial careers in private practice.
On the other hand, “over the entire court of the court’s history, all but two justices, Breyer and Ginsburg, worked at one time or another in private practice,” according to a 2003 study in the California Law Review. Since then, the court has added a third such member in Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Chief Justice Roberts did say that the court’s lack of a justice who had served as a trial judge is “an unfortunate circumstance” and “a flaw.” Chief Justice Rehnquist tried to remedy that by once appointing himself to the trial bench in Virginia during a Supreme Court recess. source:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/us/17bar.html?hp
Over the life of the Supreme Court, its members were quite likely to be former governors, legislators, cabinet members, law professors and practicing lawyers. That mix of backgrounds and expertise might strike some as valuable, but the chief justice suggested that it tended to inject policy and politics into an area properly reserved for the law.
As late as 1972, when Chief Justice Roberts’s predecessor, William H. Rehnquist, joined the court as an associate justice, former federal judges were in the minority.
As a consequence, Chief Justice Roberts said, “the practice of constitutional law — how constitutional law was made — was more fluid and wide ranging than it is today, more in the realm of political science.”
Since then, Chief Justice Roberts continued, “the method of analysis and argument shifted to the more solid grounds of legal arguments. What are the texts of the statutes involved? What precedents control?”
That move, he said, has resulted in “a more legal perspective and less of a policy perspective.”
Chief Justice Roberts spoke at the University of Arizona’s law school on Feb 4. The next day, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. She plans to return to the court next Monday, but should there be an opening on the court in the near future, the chief justice’s musings about the proper background for his colleagues will carry weight.
When President Obama makes his first selection for the court, he will confront what law professors have started to call “the norm of prior judicial experience,” and he may find it hard to resist.
But there are reasons to question the chief justice’s conclusions.
The political scientists who study such things say there is no empirical support for the notion that former judges are more apt to feel constrained by earlier rulings or to suppress their political views. “Former appellate court judges are no more likely to follow precedent or to put aside their policy preferences than are justices lacking judicial experience,” according to a study to be published soon in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
If Chief Justice Roberts was implying that the court became less political as the number of former judges on it rose, said Lee Epstein, who teaches law and political science at Northwestern and is one of the authors of the study, “the data don’t support it.”
And not everyone supports the idea that members of the court should have uniform backgrounds. The psychological literature demonstrates that “the more homogenous the group, the worse the quality of the decisions they make,” said Tracey E. George, a law professor at Vanderbilt and the author of a law review article about the consequences of promoting former judges to the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Rehnquist, who was a Justice Department official before he joined the court and was the last justice without a judicial background, was also wary of having only former judges on the court.
“It would too much resemble the judiciary in civil law countries,” he wrote in 2001, referring to legal systems in which being a judge is a lifelong civil service career. “Reasonable people, not merely here but in Europe, think that many civil law judicial systems simply do not command the respect and enjoy the independence of ours.”
The trend toward looking mostly to the lower federal courts for Supreme Court justices started in the 1950’s and was apparently prompted in part by complaints from southern members of Congress after Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision barring segregation in public schools.
The court that decided Brown included Chief Justice Earl Warren, a former governor of California; Hugo L. Black, a former United States senator; Felix Frankfurter, a former law professor; William O. Douglas, who had served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Robert H. Jackson, who had been the attorney general.
The southern lawmakers, according to John R. Schmidhauser’s 1959 study of the court’s justices, urged President Dwight D. Eisenhower to appoint former judges who could be trusted to base decisions “upon ‘law,’ not ‘sociology.’ ”
Before Eisenhower’s presidency, about a third of the nominations to the Supreme Court went to sitting judges. Since 1953, more than two-thirds have.
Justice Frankfurter, writing in 1957, had a blunt assessment of this phenomenon. “The correlation between prior judicial experience and fitness for the functions of the Supreme Court,” he said, “is zero.”
Chief Justice Roberts, in his remarks in Arizona, said his court is “very diverse in terms of the experiences people bring.” Justices Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Antonin Scalia all taught law before becoming judges. Justice David H. Souter served as New Hampshire’s attorney general. The chief justice and Justices John Paul Stevens and Anthony M. Kennedy all had substantial careers in private practice.
On the other hand, “over the entire court of the court’s history, all but two justices, Breyer and Ginsburg, worked at one time or another in private practice,” according to a 2003 study in the California Law Review. Since then, the court has added a third such member in Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Chief Justice Roberts did say that the court’s lack of a justice who had served as a trial judge is “an unfortunate circumstance” and “a flaw.” Chief Justice Rehnquist tried to remedy that by once appointing himself to the trial bench in Virginia during a Supreme Court recess. source:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/us/17bar.html?hp
Behenji trying to 'muscles' her way to Delhi
Whatever you may call them- mafia don-turned-politicians or musclemen politicians or the loyalty shifters- but they are all set tomaterialise the dream of the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo and chief minister Mayawati to occupy the prime minister's office.
The BSP has already opened its cards for almost all the Parliamentary seats of East UP districts. But, to ensure the opening of its account on the Varanasi Parliamentary seat, BSP needed a trump card. And, so who better than mafia don-turned-MLA from Mau Mukhtar Ansari.
Mukhtar is not the lone candidate of BSP with the image of a muscleman politician, but his brother Afzal Ansari and Dhananjay Singh are also in the fray from Ghazipur and Jaunpur Parliamentary constituencies respectively, with similar image. However, the intentions of arch rival of Mukhtar and mafia don Brijesh Singh, presently lodged in the Central Jail here, to begin his political career by contesting LS polls on BSP ticket from Chandauli or Ghazipur seat was thwarted. But, those close to the don are confident that Brijesh has not abandoned the plans of contesting elections and his efforts to get the ticket of any political party are still on.
What was criteria of the BSP to select a candidate for the Parliamentary elections? Zonal coordinator and BSP MLA Tribhuvan Dutt made it very clear that Behenji (Mayawati) was the only person to take decisions in the party. "Doosari partiyon ki tarah thode hai BSP, jahan sab decision lenge (BSP is not like other political parties where everyone is taking decision)," Dutt, who was busy in campaigning for Bhadohi assembly by-election, informed TOI over phone. She (Mayawati) was well aware of the ground realities of all the seats, he said and claimed the candidates were being fielded by her on the basis of the same realities.
Though, the names of the BJP and Congress candidates from Varanasi seat were already clear, the political atmosphere turned volatile following the BSP announcement. Mukhtar is presently lodged in Ghazipur jail. His brother Afzal Ansari represented him on the dais on Sunday when UP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui announced that Mukhtar would contest from Varanasi.
But would Mukhtar contest the election from jail? During his speech, Afzal maintained that the people of Varanasi would decide how the electioneering of Mukhtar would be managed.
It would be interesting to see how Mukhtar manages to come out of the jail to contest the election. At the time when his arch enemy Brijesh was not present, he used to come to the city in long motorcades, with a large army of armed youth escorting him. Now, Brijesh is also here and the morale of his well wishers is also high due to the bid of this don to ensure his entry in the political world. As a number of dons are enjoying the patronage of the ruling party, the men-in-khaki prefer to remain tight-lipped. A senior police official even refused to provide the crime record of dons like Mukhtar.
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Varanasi
The BSP has already opened its cards for almost all the Parliamentary seats of East UP districts. But, to ensure the opening of its account on the Varanasi Parliamentary seat, BSP needed a trump card. And, so who better than mafia don-turned-MLA from Mau Mukhtar Ansari.
Mukhtar is not the lone candidate of BSP with the image of a muscleman politician, but his brother Afzal Ansari and Dhananjay Singh are also in the fray from Ghazipur and Jaunpur Parliamentary constituencies respectively, with similar image. However, the intentions of arch rival of Mukhtar and mafia don Brijesh Singh, presently lodged in the Central Jail here, to begin his political career by contesting LS polls on BSP ticket from Chandauli or Ghazipur seat was thwarted. But, those close to the don are confident that Brijesh has not abandoned the plans of contesting elections and his efforts to get the ticket of any political party are still on.
What was criteria of the BSP to select a candidate for the Parliamentary elections? Zonal coordinator and BSP MLA Tribhuvan Dutt made it very clear that Behenji (Mayawati) was the only person to take decisions in the party. "Doosari partiyon ki tarah thode hai BSP, jahan sab decision lenge (BSP is not like other political parties where everyone is taking decision)," Dutt, who was busy in campaigning for Bhadohi assembly by-election, informed TOI over phone. She (Mayawati) was well aware of the ground realities of all the seats, he said and claimed the candidates were being fielded by her on the basis of the same realities.
Though, the names of the BJP and Congress candidates from Varanasi seat were already clear, the political atmosphere turned volatile following the BSP announcement. Mukhtar is presently lodged in Ghazipur jail. His brother Afzal Ansari represented him on the dais on Sunday when UP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui announced that Mukhtar would contest from Varanasi.
But would Mukhtar contest the election from jail? During his speech, Afzal maintained that the people of Varanasi would decide how the electioneering of Mukhtar would be managed.
It would be interesting to see how Mukhtar manages to come out of the jail to contest the election. At the time when his arch enemy Brijesh was not present, he used to come to the city in long motorcades, with a large army of armed youth escorting him. Now, Brijesh is also here and the morale of his well wishers is also high due to the bid of this don to ensure his entry in the political world. As a number of dons are enjoying the patronage of the ruling party, the men-in-khaki prefer to remain tight-lipped. A senior police official even refused to provide the crime record of dons like Mukhtar.
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Varanasi
Pawar flexing muscles, Cong opens door to Rane
With Maratha strongman and NCP chief Sharad Pawar flexing his muscles ahead of seat-sharing talks with the Congress in Maharashtra, the party on Monday decided to revoke the suspension of Narayan Rane in order to put up a united front in the state.
Rane met Congress president Sonia Gandhi soon after his suspension was revoked. Sources said the former Maharashtra chief minister may join the state Government.
"I will fulfill whatever responsibility the Congress president gives me," he told The Indian Express. "I will do my best for the Congress."
The process for Rane's return was set in motion a fortnight ago when he met A K Antony, in-charge of the Maharashtra unit of the party, and Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Sonia. Rane was learnt to have ‘regretted’ his outbursts against the Congress leadership at the meeting.
As reported by The Indian Express earlier, the decision to revoke Rane's suspension had been taken soon after the meeting.
Rane had been suspended from the party after his outbursts against Sonia following the party decision to not give him the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister in December last year. Instead it brought in Ashok Chavan to replace Vilasrao Deshmukh, who quit following the Mumbai Terror attacks.
Since then, Pawar had been trying to woo Rane to the NCP fold. At a meeting between the two last month, he reportedly offered Rane a central role if he joined the NCP.
While the Pawar factor may have played a role in the Congress's decision to reinstate Rane, by holding out on him for two months, it has also sent a message to the outspoken former chief minister to mend his ways.
Much as Rane projected himself as a leader to reckon with in the state, talking of forming a new party, he is seen as a largely regional leader restricted to his native Sindhudurg. Lately, even loyalists had started leaving his side.
Chief Minister Chavan on Monday refused to confirm if Rane would be inducted into the Cabinet, hinting it could take some time and saying he would talk to the high command on the matter. Incidentally, he is visiting New Delhi on Tuesday to inaugurate a statue of Chatrapati Shahu.
Rane may insist on his elder son Nilesh getting the ticket for the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat and also on his supporters getting ministerial berths.
source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news
Rane met Congress president Sonia Gandhi soon after his suspension was revoked. Sources said the former Maharashtra chief minister may join the state Government.
"I will fulfill whatever responsibility the Congress president gives me," he told The Indian Express. "I will do my best for the Congress."
The process for Rane's return was set in motion a fortnight ago when he met A K Antony, in-charge of the Maharashtra unit of the party, and Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Sonia. Rane was learnt to have ‘regretted’ his outbursts against the Congress leadership at the meeting.
As reported by The Indian Express earlier, the decision to revoke Rane's suspension had been taken soon after the meeting.
Rane had been suspended from the party after his outbursts against Sonia following the party decision to not give him the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister in December last year. Instead it brought in Ashok Chavan to replace Vilasrao Deshmukh, who quit following the Mumbai Terror attacks.
Since then, Pawar had been trying to woo Rane to the NCP fold. At a meeting between the two last month, he reportedly offered Rane a central role if he joined the NCP.
While the Pawar factor may have played a role in the Congress's decision to reinstate Rane, by holding out on him for two months, it has also sent a message to the outspoken former chief minister to mend his ways.
Much as Rane projected himself as a leader to reckon with in the state, talking of forming a new party, he is seen as a largely regional leader restricted to his native Sindhudurg. Lately, even loyalists had started leaving his side.
Chief Minister Chavan on Monday refused to confirm if Rane would be inducted into the Cabinet, hinting it could take some time and saying he would talk to the high command on the matter. Incidentally, he is visiting New Delhi on Tuesday to inaugurate a statue of Chatrapati Shahu.
Rane may insist on his elder son Nilesh getting the ticket for the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat and also on his supporters getting ministerial berths.
source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news
Markets vote against Budget
The market gave the Interim Budget a big thumbs-down, the general consensus being that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had delivered a damp squib.The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, dropped the most in two weeks after the Budget failed to deliver investor expectations of a stimulus plan for sectors such as automobiles and real estate.
The Sensex fell 329 points, or 3.4 per cent, to 9,305.45, the biggest decline since February 2. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange dropped 3.4 per cent to 2,848.50. The BSE 200 Index declined 3.3 per cent to 1,095.87.
There was selling pressure across all sectors, including realty and auto, which saw some early-morning buying. Energy, metal and stocks of government-owned firms also fell sharply.
Edelweiss Chairman Rashesh Shah said there were expectations that the government would use the opportunity to provide some more stimulus for the economy, with specific expectation of tax exemptions for the housing and automobile sectors.
Others, however, felt the markets would get over the disappointment soon. “It’s back to global news flows and stock market trends,” said Dinesh Thakkar, chairman and managing director, Angel Broking.
The Sensex today also mirrored the fall in Asian stocks, as Japan’s economy shrank the most since 1974 and Group of Seven finance chiefs said the economic slowdown will persist through most of 2009.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.6 per cent to 81.26 in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 per cent and Hang Seng declined 0.7 per cent. Futures on the US Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.6 per cent. US markets are closed today for Presidents' Day.
DLF fell 2.4 per cent after the government did not propose new measures to revive housing demand. Indiabulls Real Estate fell 9.4 per cent and Unitech dropped 5 per cent.
source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news
The Sensex fell 329 points, or 3.4 per cent, to 9,305.45, the biggest decline since February 2. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange dropped 3.4 per cent to 2,848.50. The BSE 200 Index declined 3.3 per cent to 1,095.87.
There was selling pressure across all sectors, including realty and auto, which saw some early-morning buying. Energy, metal and stocks of government-owned firms also fell sharply.
Edelweiss Chairman Rashesh Shah said there were expectations that the government would use the opportunity to provide some more stimulus for the economy, with specific expectation of tax exemptions for the housing and automobile sectors.
Others, however, felt the markets would get over the disappointment soon. “It’s back to global news flows and stock market trends,” said Dinesh Thakkar, chairman and managing director, Angel Broking.
The Sensex today also mirrored the fall in Asian stocks, as Japan’s economy shrank the most since 1974 and Group of Seven finance chiefs said the economic slowdown will persist through most of 2009.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.6 per cent to 81.26 in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 per cent and Hang Seng declined 0.7 per cent. Futures on the US Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.6 per cent. US markets are closed today for Presidents' Day.
DLF fell 2.4 per cent after the government did not propose new measures to revive housing demand. Indiabulls Real Estate fell 9.4 per cent and Unitech dropped 5 per cent.
source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news
Friday, February 13, 2009
Security beefed up for Valentine's day celebrations on Feb 14
Hindutva fringe groups and self-appointed moral policemen are under police watch especially in the four metros, Bangalore and
Mangalore to prevent anycupid chaos in the wake of their planned protests on Valentine's Day tomorrow and threats to prey on lovers.
As dreamy-eyed couples prepare to imbibe Westernised thoughts of romance, the Valentine's Day celebrations in the country is again showing signs of becoming an annual battle between the romantics and activists of right wing groups.
With reminders going out from some outfits that the festivities are "alien"" to Indian culture, elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure trouble free celebrations.
Police said leaders of outfits like Sri Ram Sene and Rashtriya Hindu Sene are especially under the scanner to ensure that any protests does not snowball into a major law and order problem. The Sri Ram Sene has also threatened to marry off dating couples.
"We are keeping a close watch on their activities," ADGP (Law and Order) A R Infant told media in Bangalore.
"We have taken all preventive measures today and tomorrow. Patrolling has been enhanced. Additional forces have been deployed at all sensitive locations." he said.
Official sources said the government had issued instructions to police to deal sternly with trouble-makers.
In the Capital, Police has made elaborate security arrangements in the wake of Sri Rama Sene plans to have ten mobile teams to scour the city to ensure the couples do not show their public display of affection in an obscene manner.
source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/ET_Cetera/Security_beefed_up_for_Valentines_day_celebrations_on_Feb_14_/articleshow/4124963.cms
Mangalore to prevent anycupid chaos in the wake of their planned protests on Valentine's Day tomorrow and threats to prey on lovers.
As dreamy-eyed couples prepare to imbibe Westernised thoughts of romance, the Valentine's Day celebrations in the country is again showing signs of becoming an annual battle between the romantics and activists of right wing groups.
With reminders going out from some outfits that the festivities are "alien"" to Indian culture, elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure trouble free celebrations.
Police said leaders of outfits like Sri Ram Sene and Rashtriya Hindu Sene are especially under the scanner to ensure that any protests does not snowball into a major law and order problem. The Sri Ram Sene has also threatened to marry off dating couples.
"We are keeping a close watch on their activities," ADGP (Law and Order) A R Infant told media in Bangalore.
"We have taken all preventive measures today and tomorrow. Patrolling has been enhanced. Additional forces have been deployed at all sensitive locations." he said.
Official sources said the government had issued instructions to police to deal sternly with trouble-makers.
In the Capital, Police has made elaborate security arrangements in the wake of Sri Rama Sene plans to have ten mobile teams to scour the city to ensure the couples do not show their public display of affection in an obscene manner.
source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/ET_Cetera/Security_beefed_up_for_Valentines_day_celebrations_on_Feb_14_/articleshow/4124963.cms
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Islamabad: Mumbai Attack Planned In, Launched From Pakistan
A Pakistani official on Thursday admitted that terrorists planned in and launched from Pakistan the November attack on Mumbai, India that killed 173 people and wounded more than 300 others.
Rehman Malik, the top security official in the Interior Ministry, made the admission in a press conference in Islamabad. His admission reverses the Pakistani government's earlier denial of India's charge that Pakistani was the staging ground of the 10 gunmen who went on a shooting and bombing rampage in Mumbai.
Eight suspects in the Mumbai attack, including the alleged mastermind, 38-year-old Hamad Amin Sadiq, have been arrested and charged on Thursday, Malik said.
Pakistani investigators found one of the inflatable boats used by the Mumbai attackers and learned that it sailed from Karachi and its engine was bought from a store in the city, according to Malik.
The investigators also traced the attackers' phone and Internet calls leading to the arrest of Barcelona, Spain-based Javed Iqbal, who set up the Internet accounts.Source:http://www.gantdaily.com/news/36/ARTICLE/43690/2009-02-12.html
Rehman Malik, the top security official in the Interior Ministry, made the admission in a press conference in Islamabad. His admission reverses the Pakistani government's earlier denial of India's charge that Pakistani was the staging ground of the 10 gunmen who went on a shooting and bombing rampage in Mumbai.
Eight suspects in the Mumbai attack, including the alleged mastermind, 38-year-old Hamad Amin Sadiq, have been arrested and charged on Thursday, Malik said.
Pakistani investigators found one of the inflatable boats used by the Mumbai attackers and learned that it sailed from Karachi and its engine was bought from a store in the city, according to Malik.
The investigators also traced the attackers' phone and Internet calls leading to the arrest of Barcelona, Spain-based Javed Iqbal, who set up the Internet accounts.Source:http://www.gantdaily.com/news/36/ARTICLE/43690/2009-02-12.html
Satyam says restating accounts won't delay sale
Bidding for the sale of fraud-hit Indian outsourcer Satyam Computer (SATY.BO) could begin before its accounts are restated, with details of the process coming as early as next week, the new company chairman said on Thursday.
India's No.4 software exporter, has been struggling to survive since last month, when its founder Ramalinga Raju quit as chairman, disclosing a massive fraud that included years of overstated profits, leaving the company strapped for cash.
Chairman Kiran Karnik, appointed last week, said the board wanted the bidding process to start as soon as possible and it might not wait for the report on the firm's accounts.
"If the recasting takes a long time, which I expect it will, then we will not wait. That's not something which will hold up the process," Karnik said, speaking to reporters outside a meeting of the board to take stock of the issues facing customers and employees.
"It's a work in progress. I can't give any deadline. I can only tell you, this needs to be done quickly," Karnik said.
He said he expected the bidding process to be outlined in the next seven to 10 days and said the board would like to have many suitors contesting in an "open process."
Karnik said the company was financially stable and reiterated it was able to pay salaries, mainly from receivables. It has secured bank loans of 6 billion rupees ($123 million) and Karnik said that money would offer the firm an additional buffer.
"We have ensured financial stability," he said. "This is the first step and a very necessary step, though it's not a sufficient step. We have put out the fire and now we are looking at what we need to do to stabilize the company on an ongoing basissource:http://uk.reuters.com/article/americasPrivateEquityNews/idUKTRE51B3X420090212
Lalu Prasad to present interim rail budget tomorrow
Railways Minister Lalu Prasad is set to present the country's interim rail budget for the next fiscal in Parliament on Friday, with an expectation that he would once again spare the average citizen from fare hikes and introduce some new trains.
The minister had presented all the five previous rail budgets for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government since 2004, during which he set a record of sorts in terms of generating revenues despite lowering fares.
He will present an interim budget this time as elections are due soon and by convention the presentation of the regular budget in an election year is left to a new government.
"During his tenure so far, 604 new trains were introduced, in addition to 105 local trains," a senior official at Rail Bhavan said, even as Lalu Prasad was seen giving the final touches to the budget papers.
The regular rail budget presented last year had reduced fares across-the-board apart from a focus on hygiene, punctuality, new routes, better coaches and mobile ticketing.
He is also credited to have introduced the 'Garib Rath'- the air-conditioned low-fare trains aimed at passengers from the lower economic strata of the society. As many as 15 such trains are currently running, and their numbers are expected to be increased.
The Indian Railways are the second largest railroad in the world under a single management, running more than 11,000 trains every day, 7,000 of which are for passengers.
The network comprises 108,706 km and ferries 14 million passengers daily from 6,853 stations across the length and breadth of the country. This is the reason why it is the only ministry that has a separate budget.
Source:http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=39a9a946-ad56-4193-a883-2831fb16913a&&Headline=Lalu+Prasad+to+present+interim+rail+budget+tomorrow
Movie Review: Billu
You cast Irrfan Khan in your film and you have half your work already done. The actor takes a role and interprets it in a way that is purely his own. So much so, you begin to wonder where does Irrfan end and Billu begin. Or maybe still, perhaps, there never was a duality between the two. Perhaps Irrfan and Maqbool, Irrfan and Ashoke (The Namesake), Irrfan and Monty (Life in a Metro) are one and same: the actor and the character being perfectly in sync with each other. And no, Irrfan doesn't play it the same always. With his mercurial craft, he has the ability to pitch it high, low, hysterical, restrained, violent, genteel...any which way the script demands.
Here, he plays Billu, the barber (hair dresser, hair stylist or what you will) with an easy charm and an exquisite finesse. As the archetypal Sudama (poor friend), he brings to life a throbbing picture of dignity and restraint, as he tries to cope with his abject poverty on one end and the arrival of his flashy superstar friend, Sahir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) on the other. Sahir is his childhood buddy, going back to those carefree days when the two shared their deprivation with brotherly warmth and care. Billu, the marginally better-off buddy, not only shared his tiffin but also sold his gold ear rings to send showman Sahir to Mumbai for a career in films. And once their paths diverged, he quietly crept back into the shadows with his crumbling barber's shop and his frugal family life, while Sahir got cloistered in his ivory tower that results from too much fame and glamour.
Now that Sahir's back in the picturesque village for a corny film shoot, life doesn't remain the same for laid-back Billu. Everyone gets a whiff of their legendary friendship and wants a slice of the Sahir pie. Everyone, except Billu who doesn't want to embarrass his friend with his decrepit state, despite the fact that the village almost threatens to boycott him and his broken barber's chair.
The film may not have done well in its Tamil version (Kuselan), but Priyadarshan has suitably peppered it with some heart-tugging moments to make it a moving ode to friendship and ordinariness. Of course, Irrfan manages to invest the ordinary with kingly glow, even as Shah Rukh lends the glamour quotient with his filmy naach-gaana. Surprisingly, Lara Dutta too manages to fit in with her deglamourised avtar as the lowly barber's better-half, in crumpled cottons and low-back cholis
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Movie-Review-Billu/articleshow/4120174.cms
Pakistan's partial admission on Mumbai attacks 'positive': India
Union home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday night termed Pakistan's first formal response to the Indian dossier on Mumbai terror attack a positive development" and said the dossier was so "tightly argued" that no one can ignore it. ( Watch )
"My initial response is that it is a positive development. The dossier handed over on January 5 was an exceptionally and tightly argued document, a cogently argued document that no one can ignore it," Chidambaram told reporters when asked for his first reaction to details given by Pakistan earlier in the day on the progress in its probe into 26/11, PTI reported.
Chidambaram said India will examine the issues raised by Pakistan regarding additional information sought from India about the Mumbai attack.
The minister also said that his colleague and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee will make a statement in Parliament tomorrow on Pakistan's response.
Earlier the MEA also welcomed Pakistan's admission that the Mumbai attacks were planned partly in Pakistan, but said Islamabad must now dismantle the "infrastructure of terrorism" on its soil.
"This is a positive development," a ministry of external affairs (MEA) statement said in response to Islamabad's admission and announcement that it had filed a case against nine suspects, six of them in custody.
After studying issues raised by Pakistan, India will share whatever it can with Pakistan, the MEA said.
New Delhi has blamed November's Mumbai attacks, which killed over 180 people, on the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and last month handed over information which Islamabad had used to investigate the assault.
"It remains India's goal to bring the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai to book, and to follow this process through to the end," the foreign ministry statement said.
"We would also expect that the government of Pakistan take credible steps to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan," it added.
Yielding to intense international pressure, Pakistan on Thursday admitted for the first time that the Mumbai terror attacks were "partly" plotted on its soil and launched from its shores for which it has arrested six persons.
In the face of evidence provided by India, Islamabad also acknowledged a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) links to attacks that began on November 26, after a series of flip-flops on the credibility of the Indian dossier and initial denials of a Pakistani hand.
Pakistan made its first formal response to the Indian dossier on the attacks blamed on terrorists based on its soil at a press conference by interior ministry chief Rehman Malik, who gave details of the probe following a meeting Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal had with officials here this morning, PTI reported.
Malik identified Hamad Amin Sadiq, a 38-year-old man hailing from Punjab province, as the "main operator" in facilitating and coordinating the Mumbai attacks and named two others -- one Khan and one Riaz -- as accused in the case.
He admitted that nine terrorists had sailed from Karachi port for the Mumbai attacks in three boats. In all, cases have been filed against nine persons, six of them already in custody, on charges of "abetting, conspiracy and facilitation" of a terrorist act.
Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist captured in the Mumbai attacks, is one of those named in the FIR. Pakistan wants his confessional statement made during his interrogation in Mumbai, Malik said indicating they would like to have him in their custody.
The admission about planning of the attack in Pakistan came when Malik said that "some part of the conspiracy" took place on its soil.
"About the crime and the criminals, some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan. According to available information most of them (planners and conspirators) are in our custody," he said.
Suggesting links between the Mumbai attacks and the LeT, he said the LeT operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, dubbed by India as the alleged mastermind and demanded for trial in Mumbai, and its communication expert Zarar Shah have been "located and are under investigation".
He did not specify whether Lakhvi was named in the FIR registered with the Special Investigation Unit police station in Islamabad. Two accused have been identified but were at large, he said.
The interior ministry chief said Pakistan needed more information and assistance from India for bringing out a successful criminal prosecution and added they were sending 30 questions to New Delhi. Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Pakistans-partial-admission-on-Mumbai-attacks-positive-India/articleshow/4119608.cms
"My initial response is that it is a positive development. The dossier handed over on January 5 was an exceptionally and tightly argued document, a cogently argued document that no one can ignore it," Chidambaram told reporters when asked for his first reaction to details given by Pakistan earlier in the day on the progress in its probe into 26/11, PTI reported.
Chidambaram said India will examine the issues raised by Pakistan regarding additional information sought from India about the Mumbai attack.
The minister also said that his colleague and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee will make a statement in Parliament tomorrow on Pakistan's response.
Earlier the MEA also welcomed Pakistan's admission that the Mumbai attacks were planned partly in Pakistan, but said Islamabad must now dismantle the "infrastructure of terrorism" on its soil.
"This is a positive development," a ministry of external affairs (MEA) statement said in response to Islamabad's admission and announcement that it had filed a case against nine suspects, six of them in custody.
After studying issues raised by Pakistan, India will share whatever it can with Pakistan, the MEA said.
New Delhi has blamed November's Mumbai attacks, which killed over 180 people, on the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and last month handed over information which Islamabad had used to investigate the assault.
"It remains India's goal to bring the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai to book, and to follow this process through to the end," the foreign ministry statement said.
"We would also expect that the government of Pakistan take credible steps to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan," it added.
Yielding to intense international pressure, Pakistan on Thursday admitted for the first time that the Mumbai terror attacks were "partly" plotted on its soil and launched from its shores for which it has arrested six persons.
In the face of evidence provided by India, Islamabad also acknowledged a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) links to attacks that began on November 26, after a series of flip-flops on the credibility of the Indian dossier and initial denials of a Pakistani hand.
Pakistan made its first formal response to the Indian dossier on the attacks blamed on terrorists based on its soil at a press conference by interior ministry chief Rehman Malik, who gave details of the probe following a meeting Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal had with officials here this morning, PTI reported.
Malik identified Hamad Amin Sadiq, a 38-year-old man hailing from Punjab province, as the "main operator" in facilitating and coordinating the Mumbai attacks and named two others -- one Khan and one Riaz -- as accused in the case.
He admitted that nine terrorists had sailed from Karachi port for the Mumbai attacks in three boats. In all, cases have been filed against nine persons, six of them already in custody, on charges of "abetting, conspiracy and facilitation" of a terrorist act.
Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist captured in the Mumbai attacks, is one of those named in the FIR. Pakistan wants his confessional statement made during his interrogation in Mumbai, Malik said indicating they would like to have him in their custody.
The admission about planning of the attack in Pakistan came when Malik said that "some part of the conspiracy" took place on its soil.
"About the crime and the criminals, some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan. According to available information most of them (planners and conspirators) are in our custody," he said.
Suggesting links between the Mumbai attacks and the LeT, he said the LeT operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, dubbed by India as the alleged mastermind and demanded for trial in Mumbai, and its communication expert Zarar Shah have been "located and are under investigation".
He did not specify whether Lakhvi was named in the FIR registered with the Special Investigation Unit police station in Islamabad. Two accused have been identified but were at large, he said.
The interior ministry chief said Pakistan needed more information and assistance from India for bringing out a successful criminal prosecution and added they were sending 30 questions to New Delhi. Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Pakistans-partial-admission-on-Mumbai-attacks-positive-India/articleshow/4119608.cms
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)