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Friday 21 September 2012
6 Trinamool Congress Ministers submit resignations
At least one killed, 20 wounded as Libyan Islamist militia swept out of Benghazi
Headquarters of Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group, linked to last week's attack on the U.S. consulate, targeted in popular protest against armed groups in the Libyan city.
Looters carried weapons out of the vacated Ansar al-Sharia military base compound as men clapped and chanted: "Say to Ansar al-Sharia, Benghazi will be your inferno."
"After what happened at the American consulate, the people of Benghazi had enough of the extremists," demonstrator Hassan Ahmed said. "They did not give allegiance to the army. So the people broke in and they fled."
"This place is like the Bastille. This is where Gadhafi controlled Libya from, and then Ansar al-Sharia took it over. This is a turning point for the people of Benghazi."
Some are identified by local people as being among those who were at the consulate protest last week. U.S. officials have described the violence as a "terrorist attack."
"The will of the Prophet was to expel infidels from Muslim lands so that Muslims prevail. Terrorizing your enemy is one of Islam's tenets." He said he had fought U.S. troops in Iraq where he was arrested, sent back to Libya and jailed for three years.
MDMK workers detained near Sanchi ahead of Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa's visit
Rajapaksa will be reaching Sanchi on Friday via Bhopal to lay the foundation stone for the International Sanchi Buddhist University and Indic Studies.
“We picked up five-six persons belonging to Tamil Nadu on Wednesday when they failed to give satisfactory response to their presence at Salamatpur, close to Sanchi town in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh," security in-charge for the visit of Rajapaksa and Inspector General (IG) Hoshangabad range, Ajay Sharma said.
After questioning the supporters, police sent them back to Bhopal, the IG said adding the security has been beefed up between Bhopal and Sanchi in view of the high-profile visit.
To ensure that no Tamil protesters reached the venue, security measures have been heightened on all the entry points to Sanchi. Also, security agencies have asked railway authorities not to halt 11 trains anywhere between Bhopal and Vidisha on September 21 to prevent entry of those who may ensue trouble in the programme.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has again appealed to the MDMK General Secretary Vaiko to give up the protest as the programme was totally apolitical in nature and aimed at strengthening mutual ties between the Asian nations.
Kudankulam protests: Fishermen lay siege to Tuticorin port
Nearly five hundred fishing boats have blocked entry to the Tuticorin harbour, which is situated around 60 miles away from the nuclear power plant. The loading of nuclear fuel, which is on at one of the reactors at the Kudankulam plant, has not in the least dented the determination of the protesters, all fishermen hailing from the districts of Tuticorin, Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli - where the plant is located. "Fishermen in Kudankulam and surrounding districts are protesting over the last 400 days, but the government is not listening and we will have to resort to these kind of protests," said a fisherman.
These fishermen are worried that the plant, once commissioned, will destroy their livelihood. Subash Fernando, Spokesperson of the Agitation Committee, says, "Once the plant is commissioned, the radiation from it would disqualify our catch for export to the European market, and even if nuclear fuel is loaded, it's not too late to stop it".
Two expert committees appointed by the government have found the plant to be safe, dubbing public fears unfounded. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who initially supported the cause of the movement, later did a U-turn, citing that the project could bring relief to the state which is reeling under a severe power shortage.
Around a lakh and half people, who live in the vicinity, are opposed to the plant. "If India believes in democracy, the government should listen to the people. If Japan could have a Fukushima disaster, imagine what could happen in India which was also hit by a tsunami not long ago," said a villager.
Presently, the Supreme Court is hearing a petition that challenges the go-ahead given to the nuclear plant. Petitioners cite that the plant is yet to incorporate 11 of the 17 safety recommendations made by a government task force after the Fukushima disaster. However, the atomic energy department claims these are only enhanced safety features which would be implemented in phases.
At Idinthakarai - ground zero for the protests - just three kilometres away from the plant, around four to five thousand villagers are continuing their protest demanding the closure of the plant. Two weeks ago, around 10 thousand people marched towards the plant in a bid to lay siege; police opened tear gas and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.
A non-bailable warrant has been issued against SP Udhayakumar, the face of the movement, as he failed to honour a court summon. He says "the government is trying to project them as the most wanted terrorists".
The Kudankulam power plant is the first nuclear project to near completion after the Fukushima disaster. Some countries like Germany have decided to turn away from nuclear energy and the international community is keenly watching how India handles the rising opposition to the project.
Saturday 15 September 2012
Courage and risk needed to get higher growth: PM
After unleashing big bang reforms measures in the last two days, he said it will take "courage and some risks" to break the policy logjam and strongly favoured higher FDI an FII flows.
Justifying the diesel price, Singh said rational energy pricing was critical and "our energy prices are out of line with world prices".
Outlining the three scenarios introduced in the Plan document, he said Scenario I called "strong inclusive growth" presents what is possible if the policy actions mentioned in the Plan are substantially implemented.
"I believe that we can make Scenario I possible. It will take courage and some risks but it should be our endeavour to ensure that it materialises. The country deserves no less," he said.
In big ticket reforms, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on Thursday decided to hike diesel prices and put a cap on supply of subsidised LPG cylinders while on Friday the Cabinet and CCEA cleared FDI in multi-brand retailing and aviation and disinvestment in four PSUs.
Referring to high fiscal deficit and the need to bring it down, the Prime Minister said the 12th Plan projects a current account deficit of 2.9 per cent of GDP.
"This must be financed mainly through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) flows so that reliance on external debt is limited. I believe we can attract the financing we need provided out fiscal deficit is seen to be coming under control and the growth momentum is regained", he said.
Singh said, energy is a difficult area where policy needs a comprehensive review. "Rational energy pricing is therefore critical. Our energy prices are out of line with the world prices. The recent increase in diesel price is an important step in the right direction."
Thursday 13 September 2012
Turmoil Over Contentious Video Spreads
SANA, Yemen — Deadly outrage in the Arab world over an American-made video insulting Islam’s founder spread to at least half a dozen places across the Middle East on Thursday and threatened to draw in Afghanistan, two days after assailants in Libya killed four American diplomatic personnel, including the ambassador, and caused a foreign policy political clash in the United States.
Tuesday 11 September 2012
CJI's trailblazing legal legacy: Kapadia set to demit office after reinforcing faith in judiciary Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2200839/CJIs-trailblazing-legal-legacy-Kapadia-set-demit-office-reinforcing-faith-judiciary.html#ixzz26DZSHrAP
Justice Kapadia has consciously avoided interviews and social interactions as an old school judge but volumes can be written about him, with his judgments and administrative decisions laying bare his legal acumen, his philosophy as a judge and his intolerance to corruption.
A month before he took over as Chief Justice of India (CJI) in May 2010, he made it clear that he would opt for the conservative approach rather than follow the new tradition set by some of his predecessors who interacted with the media before taking over and after relinquishing the job as the head of the judiciary.
Justice Kapadia has keen interest in Hindu and Buddhist philosophies and has been a strict disciplinarian. 'I started my career as a Class IV employee and the only asset I possess is integrity,' he said.
His judgments, his manner of conducting court proceedings and the administrative steps taken by him to streamline work in the apex court registry throw enough light on his character.
He likes to be organised, gives priority to work, detests indiscipline and frowns upon unnecessary expenditure from the state exchequer.
Some judgments by Justice Kapadia before he was elevated as CJI show that he cannot withstand corruption and does not mind writing a dissent if his colleagues differ with him on the issue.
'In the end it may be stated that the true value of a decision lies in its propriety and not in the decision being right or wrong,' he said, in a dissenting judgment in a corruption case in 2006.
Though he favoured an unhindered business environment, he made it clear in his law day speech in 2011 that he was for a policy which favoured the maximum number of people.
'I don't want only 300 million people to prosper at the cost of the remaining 700 million.'
His statement should be seen in the backdrop of the fact that the law minister in his speech before him had justified the government's decision to go for FDI in retail despite opposition from various quarters.
Justice Kapadia prefers to go strictly by the rules and makes every effort to honour the separation of powers between various organs of the government but does not hesitate from intervening, if required, in the interest of the rule of law.
People will remember him for his views against corruption in the P. J. Thomas case. The fact that he did not go for a summer vacation after taking over as CJI showed his commitment towards work.
He made best use of the vacation to look at the problems in the court registry and streamlined the process of filing and listing of cases. His target was to improve the image of the judiciary which had taken a beating in recent years.
'We do not mind a studied, fair criticism. The problem is with generalisation… Please do not bring the entire institution into disrepute.'
Justice Kapadia may not have been the best of administrators but he got down to work from day one and results followed. In December 2010, the CJI dispatched letters to all high courts to dispose of corruption cases on a priority basis.
He issued a similar directive to the apex court registry. His effort led to computers taking over the work of allocation of cases to various SC benches.
This was aimed at bringing about transparency and doing away with manual intervention which had left scope for manipulation. He also put an end to the practice of lawyers directly mentioning a case before any bench for urgent relief.
Apart from reorienting the listing procedure, the CJI decided to make optimum use of modern technology to arrest delay by permitting notice to parties though e-mail in urgent commercial cases.
Justice Kapadia stressed on the need to look at the problem of pendency in a realist way and created a statistics department for compiling and storing data relating to case management. Interestingly, the SC, thereafter, corrected its statistics on arrears by removing cases less than one year old from the list.
While addressing a gathering, the Chief Justice surprised everyone by stating that though over three crore cases were pending before various courts, the actual arrears was just a little over a crore.
There is a vast difference between arrears and pendency, he added. With lack of funds hurting the justice delivery system, Justice Kapadia took the matter on the judicial side and issued directions for release of funds.
He admitted that it was not for courts to issue such directions but stressed it was necessary to uphold the rule of law.
With work being his first priority, he set an example by deciding not to go on foreign trips for conferences and seminars at the cost of work.
Breaking the tradition set by his predecessors, Justice Kapadia turned down a request to attend the 74th Biennial Conference of the International Law Association (ILA) at Hague from August 15 to August 20, 2010, because the apex court was in session.
There was no sitting SC judge at the conference despite the CJI being the ex-officio head of the India-chapter of the society, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010.
It is said that a judge speaks through his judgments.
This is very true for Justice Kapadia who has always followed the conservative approach in this regard and kept his interactions with the outside world to the minimum.
In what reinforced faith of the people in the judiciary, his judgments sent a clear message that when it came to delivery of justice, the court meant business. Justice Kapadia never thinks twice when it comes to intervening in matters relating to corruption, environmental degradation or non-performance of duties by any authority.
He, however, does not believe in promising more than he can deliver.
After taking over as CJI, he dismissed a large number of PILs pending before the court for years.
He stressed that it was no use entertaining matters where judicial intervention could not ensure results. He, however, made it clear that he was not against PILs.
It was on a PIL that he quashed Thomas's appointment as Central Vigilance Commissioner despite stiff resistance from the government. He propounded the principle of 'institutional integrity' to quash the appointment of a person who, otherwise, seemed to fulfill the eligibility criteria.
The ruling in the case will be a precedent for all times to come and will help the court quash an appointment without going into the merits of the charges against a person.
His forte is business laws and he has left his footprint as far as precedents are concerned - the last being the Vodafone case which can be cited in foreign courts as well.
His judgment in the case might have cost the government dear but this did not come in the way of enforcing the right of a foreign investor.
'Even if the foreign investor has no fundamental right, let them know, that the rule of law prevails in this country,' he said.
The arbitration judgment by a bench presided over by him accepted that Indian courts will not have jurisdiction over awards passed in a foreign country even if it concerned property or business in India.
When it came to the right of people in general and the rights of an industry, he was clear the balance would have to tilt in favour of the former.
'When it comes to enforcement of right to life under Article 21 (which includes right to clean environment), we have to go by rights and profit comes later,' he said while banning mining in Karnataka.
Some of his judgments delivered even before he took over as CJI have been harsh on the government.
The much-talked about Nagraj judgment, which is sought to be overruled by a constitutional amendment to make way for reservation in promotion without any statistics on SC/ST employees in government jobs, was delivered by him.
In a strongly-worded and much convincing dissent in Lalu Prasad's case, Justice Kapadia said courts were bound to interfere when scams take place and there are allegations of people making money from them.
Though the majority opinion prevailed in the case, his opinion will continue to be valued.
Friday 7 September 2012
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9" vs Apple iPad, Microsoft Surface, Galaxy Note 10.1
Company is releasing two variants of the tablet - Wi-Fi only and 4G LTE. Both are scheduled to go on sale starting November 20th. But, will be able to take on the existing tablets? We did quick specs comparison to find out how it stacks up against the competitors.
Also see: Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7" vs Google Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Kindle Fire
Sensex ends 337 points up on ECB's bond buying plans; ICICI, RIL lead
The BSE benchmark index, which had gained 33 points ahead of the ECB meet on Thursday, was off to a rollicking start on Friday tracking overnight gains in US stocks and early Asian cues.
The 30-share Sensex opened 229 points higher and thereafter built on gains with ICICI Bank, RIL, Infosys and L&T leading the rise. Sensex finally ended at 17,683.73, up 337.46 points, or 1.95 per cent.
Friday was the best single day performance since June 29 when the Sensex rose by 439 points. Overall, nearly 1,800 stocks rose and investor wealth surged by Rs 84,000 crore.
Brokers said trading sentiment was bolstered as ECB's new bond buying plan will likely lower the borrowing costs for the region's debt-ridden nations and ease fears over euro's fate.
Capital stocks were among the best performers on the back of foreign funds flow while realty and metal stocks were also among the biggest gainers.
Most banking stocks, including ICICI Bank up 4.68 per cent and SBI which gained 2 per cent, also rose on expectations of a rate cut in RBI's policy meet on September 17, said dealers.
RIL rose 3.08 per cent to Rs 791 on reports of a foreign upgrading its rating.
"This (ECB's plan) means that, the prospect of defaults by sovereigns has reduced in EU. That supported markets," said Dipen Shah, Head of Private Client Group - Research, Kotak Securities.
The 50-share NSE index Nifty rose by 103.70 points, or 1.98 per cent to 5,342.10.
U.S. designates Haqqani network a terrorist organization
The Haqqani network's Afghan warlords, who are based in Pakistan's border area, have attacked U.S. troops and Afghanistan civilians.
A 1998 photo of Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the Haqqani militant network, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. (Mohammed Riaz, Associated Press / August 22, 1998)
WASHINGTON — The State Department on Friday designated Pakistan's Haqqani network a foreign terrorist organization, opening the way for the use of new tools to thwart a complex enemy that has attacked American troops and Afghan civilians while operating much like an organized crime family.
The move by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton came after lengthy debate within the Obama administration, with some officials worried that the designation would make it harder to negotiate a peace settlement with the Haqqanis and their Taliban allies. But negotiations have gone nowhere, and the CIA has been launching drone strikes at Haqqani targets, including an attack last month that killed Badruddin Haqqani, son of the group's leader and a member of its governing council.
"This designation could meaningfully impair the international fundraising and business efforts that allow the Haqqanis to fund their terrorist attacks, foreign fighter training and radicalization programs," said Jeffrey Dressler, an expert on the Haqqanis at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank.
A senior administration official, who declined to be quoted by name when speaking about a sensitive diplomatic matter, said the terrorist designation did not prohibit American officials from talking with the Haqqanis, a clan of Afghan Pashtun warlords based in Pakistan's tribal areas who operate across the border in Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials remain skeptical of Washington's commitment to peace talks, and designating the network as a terrorist organization will make negotiations less likely, said a Pakistani intelligence official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Haqqanis agree, senior commanders in the group told the Reuters news service.
"It means the United States is not sincere in their talks," an unnamed Haqqani commander was quoted as saying. "They are on the one hand claiming to look for a political solution to the Afghan issue while on the other they are declaring us terrorists."
Another commander said the move would mean hardship for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured in 2009 and is being held by the militants.
The decision nonetheless drew praise from members of both parties in Congress, which had passed legislation requiring that the decision be made by Sunday.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the Haqqanis were responsible for the death or injury of more than 1,300 U.S. troops and had orchestrated terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, including suicide bombings and assassinations.
"This is a critical step that clears the path for the United States to begin to put a chokehold on the network's finances," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee.
That may not be easy. Rogers, who investigated the Chicago mafia as an FBI agent, has joined others in describing the Haqqanis as operating like a crime family, with illicit businesses in smuggling and drugs that would be difficult to sanction. But, like the mafia, the network also has legitimate businesses, including in real estate, construction and autos.
The terrorist designation allows the U.S. to pressure companies or countries to stop doing business with the Haqqanis.
U.S. officials have long said that elements of Pakistan's government support the network. Adm. Mike Mullen, shortly before he retired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress last year that the Haqqanis were a "virtual arm" of Pakistani intelligence.
The terrorist designation comes at a particularly sensitive time in relations between the U.S. and Pakistan: Both sides are building on the rapprochement achieved with the July reopening of Afghanistan-bound NATO supply routes through Pakistan. The routes had been shut down for seven months over a misunderstanding in which U.S. airstrikes killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border in November.
Though talk has resurfaced in Pakistan of a possible military offensive in the Haqqani strongholds in the North Waziristan tribal area, most analysts doubt that the Pakistani military will attack the network, which has never trained its sights on Pakistani targets.
The network's founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, organized mujahedin fighters against Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s. At the time, he had fostered ties with Pakistani intelligence and the CIA.
Now believed to be in his late 50s, Haqqani has handed control to his son Sirajuddin. Analysts believe the Haqqanis have a fighting force of about 5,000 that splits its time between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Parliament’s ‘Monsoon Session’ Ends in Washout
The Indian Parliament’s “monsoon” session ended Friday after repeated disturbances, with little to show for its 19-day stretch in the way of bills passed or legislation debated.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, the principal opposition to the Congress-led government, repeatedly interrupted the session’s proceedings to protest the allocation of India’s coal resources, leading to debate about whether disruption is a legitimate parliamentary tool. But on Friday, the opposition defended its actions.
“Disruption can sometimes produce results that discussion cannot,” Arun Jaitley, a senior BJP leader, said at a news conference. The BJP had to resort to this extreme tactic, he said, because the Congress-led government “is a regime which is committed to kleptocracy.”
Congress party leaders, for their part, called the BJP’s tactics obstructionist and undemocratic.
“This is a negation of democracy,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a televised address outside Parliament. “If this thought process is allowed to gather momentum, that will be a grave violation of the norms of parliamentary politics as we have understood it.”
With Parliament effectively shutdown, several important pieces of legislation were left unattended and will not be addressed at earliest until Parliament reconvenes in the winter. In particular, lawmakers had been expected to pass legislation to reform India’s woefully outdated policies on acquiring land for industrial, urban and other projects. Other issues expected to be addressed included reservations for government jobs, anti-money laundering measures and protecting whistle-blowers.
The Lok Sabha, or lower house, worked a total of 25 hours in this session of Parliament, or 20 percent of the scheduled time, according to numbers crunched by the New Delhi-based PRS Legislative Research. Much of that time was spent shouting and sloganeering, the research group said.
The Rajya Sabha, or upper house, was marginally more productive, clocking 27 hours, or 27 percent of the time the members had originally set out for work.
Now that Parliament’s session has ended, opposition lawmakers said they would expand their protest in the coal case. They met in the courtyard of the main Parliament building, holding placards and shouting slogans, on Friday afternoon.
“Now our agitation for corruption-free India will go from Parliament to street,” L. K. Advani, a senior leader of the BJP, told journalists.
Parliament spends $1.6 million a day to operate, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal said at a news conference at the end of the session. During the last session, ministers planned to introduce 32 bills and pass at least 15, he said. Instead, four were passed.
“This session will be known for work not done,” said Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the chairman of the upper house. Of nearly 400 “starred questions,” or those for which lawmakers expect an oral answer from the relevant minister, only 11 were answered. “Question Hour,” when legislators discuss issues of the day, happened only once in the 19 days.
Commentators say Parliament has become a platform for politics, not lawmaking. “A counter-parliamentary culture has developed in this country,” said Subhash Kashyap, who was a researcher in the country’s first Lok Sabha and went on to be the house’s secretary general. When the Congress party is in the opposition, he said, its members disrupt Parliament, and when they are in power, they “lecture others on discipline and good conduct.” The BJP “does exactly the same,” he added.
One of the primary reasons for this state of affairs, Mr. Kashyap said, is that the current government doesn’t enjoy a substantial majority in Parliament. Making matters worse, he said, are the numerous scandals that have chipped away at its “moral authority.”
A few decades ago, Mr. Kashyap recalled, disruptions were an aberration. “They have now become the rule,” he said. He recalled an incident in 1989 when 63 members of Parliament were suspended for a week for not allowing Parliament to function smoothly.
“There has been an overall slowdown in the legislative process,” said Devika Malik, an analyst at PRS Legislative Research. The fallout of all these disruptions, Ms. Malik pointed out, is that not only is Parliament passing fewer bills, but it is also spending less time discussing those bills.
The current Lok Sabha, which Ms. Malik said is on a path to becoming the least productive in the country’s history, has passed an average of 40 bills a year since its members were elected in 2009. By comparison, the first Lok Sabha passed an average of 72 bills each year.
One in five bills passed since 2009 has been discussed for less than five minutes. The four bills passed in this “monsoon” session were voted on amid chaos and shouting.
Thursday 6 September 2012
Anna announces new action plan; not to form party
In a statement issued on Thursday, Hazare also appealed the youth to ensure a 90-plus per cent voting in the elections. In the appeal, aimed mainly at anti-corruption activists in Maharashtra, Hazare said, "There is no need to form any party or to contest elections, but to provide an alternative to the people.
"Only the people have the power to transform and we have to undertake the work of awakening them," Hazare said, adding that voters should elect right candidates in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
"One thing that is being felt strongly is if the anti-corruption agitation continues in a limited manner of perusal of complaints and a few people getting justice, then there will be no difference between this movement and a complaint redressal centre," he said.
Hazare proposed action on six points: Voting for "clean" candidates, to press for right to reject, seek more powers for gram sabha, citizens charter, removing delays in official work and bringing police under "the control" of lokpal/lokayukta.
Washington Post publishes correction in Prime Minister story
Amid protest from the PMO, the Post published a correction with regard to quotes attributed to the Prime Minister's former Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru and political historian Ramachandra Guha.
"An earlier version of this article failed to credit the 'Caravan', an Indian magazine, for two statements that it originally published in 2011.
"While both men told The Post that the assertions could accurately be attributed to them, the article should have credited the 'Caravan' when it used or paraphrased the remarks. The article has been updated," said the correction.
The correction came as Pankaj Pachauri, Communications Adviser to the Prime Minister, wrote a strong protest letter to the US-based newspaper, saying the article reflected "unethical and unprofessional conduct" on part of journalist Simon Denyer.
Pachauri referred to quotes attributed to Baru and said Denyer had 'rehashed and used' an eight-month-old quote from an Indian magazine.
Terming the story as "totally one-sided", Pachauri said the journalist "never" got in touch with the PMO for its version on the article. "We expected better from the correspondent of the Washington Post for fair and unbiased reporting," he said.
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Sivakasi fire: factory owner, 5 others arrested
Om Shakti factory, located in India's firecracker hub Sivakasi, 500 km from Chennai, had its licence temporarily suspended for violation of safety norms, just a day before the devastating fire broke out.
Om Shakti factory is one of the biggest in Sivakasi with 300 employees.
It is not clear how the fire broke out, but preliminary investigations have revealed that the explosion occurred around 12.30 pm when workers were mixing chemicals for fancy fireworks. Forty of the 48 sheds storing chemicals and firecrackers were completely gutted, police said.
"These are times ahead of Deepavali. So activities go on at a breakneck speed in cracker units," said Najmal Hoda, SP of Virudanagar, under whose jurisdiction the area falls.The fire quickly spread to other sheds and caused a series of explosions.
According to eyewitnesses, victims could be heard screaming for help while neither police nor fire personnel could enter the premises, as explosions went off one after another for over two hours. Many of the injured were carried on motorbikes and cots to hospitals.
Ironically, some of the dead could be bystanders, as the biggest explosion was in a shed nearest to the gate.
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa ordered a probe and also told five of her ministers to rush to the spot and help in rescue and relief works. She also announced an ex gratia payment of R2 lakh each to the next of kin of those who died and Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 10,000 to the seriously injured and those with minor injuries, respectively.
The toll could increase as several people sustained over 40% burn injuries and some were said to be in critical condition.
Though firecracker factories of Sivakasi are notorious for employing children, no child was injured in Wednesday's incident.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi expressed grief over the deaths in the blaze that raged through the fireworks factory.
Conveying her condolences, Gandhi said, "My prayers are with the injured people and I wish them a speedy recovery."
Clinton boosts Obama in rousing convention speech
BJP taken aback as Congress shifts focus away from Coalgate
Monday 3 September 2012
Heavy rain lashes Mumbai
Sunday 2 September 2012
Navy, let-off with warning
The fishermen from Akkaraipettai village near Nagapattinam were fishing in four mechanised boats when they were arrested and taken to Mannar in Sri Lanka, Assistant Director of Fisheries Gunasekaran said quoting information received.
Though the fishermen said they were fishing in Indian waters only, the Sri Lankan naval men told them that they had intruded into their territory.
Several incidents of Tamil Nadu fishermen being 'attacked' and detained by Sri Lankan naval personnel have been reported in recent months and the state government had been demanding that the Centre take up the issue strongly with the neighbouring country.
Congress using Raj Thackeray to counter BJP-Shiv Sena coalition: JD(U)
"Raj Thackeray is a stooge of the Congress and the ruling party in the state is using him against the Shiv Sena-BJP combine," Yadav told reporters when asked about the MNS' chief's remarks on the Hindi news channels.
Alleging that Hindi news channels were 'distorting' his statements, MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday said they should not air news without understanding issues.
He said Raj Thackeray was trying to incite Hindi channels to address his own political agenda.
Speaking at a party meeting in Mumbai, Thackeray on Sunday said, "I want to tell the Hindi news channel to first understand the issue before it is broadcast...otherwise we know how to stop it".
His statement came after some Hindi news channels and leaders of JD(U), RJD and BJP from Bihar attacked him for his remarks on Friday that he would brand Biharis as infiltrators and make them leave Maharashtra.
Parliament can function if Govt scraps coal licences: Sushma Swaraj
However, the party made it clear that it will stick to its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation on the issue.
BJP, which has disrupted Parliament for most part of the Monsoon session insisting that it will not allow the two Houses to run if the Prime Minister does not step down, toned down a little.
"I told Soniaji that coal block allocations be cancelled and an independent and fair probe ordered. "If you agree to both these demands, then we can start the discussion and Parliament can function," Swaraj said.
Swaraj's comments came against the backdrop of BJP facing isolation with several parties including the Left, Samajwadi Party, TDP and some others insisting that Parliament be allowed to function and the issued debated. NDA's key ally JD(U) also is keen that Parliament functions so that the Government can be "exposed" on the coal scam. The BJP leader sought to scotch speculation that the party has gone back on its demand for PM's resignation.
"We have not backtracked on Prime Minister's resignation. We stick to our demand that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should resign accepting moral responsibility in the coal block allocation scam," Swaraj said.
Saturday 1 September 2012
Govt expands scope of GAAR panel to cover all non-residents tax payers
The announcement to increase the scope of GAAR committee , which is headed by tax expert Parthasarthi Shome, was made after the panel in its report suggested changes in the Income Tax Act and Rules.
The committee, which was set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July to address concerns of foreign and domestic investors on GAAR, suggested the government should issue a circular to clarify GAAR provisions along with illustrations.
"The draft report has recommended certain amendments in the Income-tax Act, 1961; guidelines to be prescribed under the Income-tax Rules, 1962; circular to clarify GAAR provisions along with illustrations; and other measures to improve tax administration specifically oriented towards GAAR matters", a Finance Ministry release said.
"It has now been decided to expand the scope of the terms of reference of the committee to include all non-resident tax payers instead of only FIIs," it said.
The Finance Ministry had earlier on August 6, 2012 asked the expert committee to examine the applicability of the amendment on taxation of non-resident transfer of assets where the underlying asset is in India, in the context of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) operating in India purely for portfolio investment.
The stakeholders, the release added, can submit their comments on the draft report by September 15.
In view of the concerns expressed by investors, the Government had already postponed implementation of GAAR by a year to April, 2013. The proposal was introduced in Budget for 2012-13 by the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Samsung says Apple trying to limit consumer choice
Samsung on Saturday accused Apple of resorting to litigation in an effort to limit consumer choice after the iPhone maker said it was seeking to stop the sale of Galaxy S III smartphones in the United States.
Fresh from its $US1 billion court victory over Samsung, Apple, in a separate case, asked a federal district court in San Jose, California, on Friday to add four more products to a list of Samsung goods that Apple says infringe its patents.
The new list of 21 products includes Samsung’s flagship smartphone Galaxy S III as well as the Galaxy Note, another popular Android phone. If the court finds those devices are infringing Apple’s patents and irreparably harming the US company, it could temporarily halt sales in the US market even before the trial begins.
The latest accusation is part of a larger, epic struggle over patents and innovation in one of the most lucrative consumer electronics sectors that is unfolding in 10 countries.
The biggest stakes are in the US, the world’s largest smartphone market in 2011. Last month, a jury in the San Jose court found that Samsung had copied Apple’s design innovations and Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $US1.05 billion. Samsung has vowed to appeal the verdict, all the way to the US Supreme Court if necessary.
On Saturday, Samsung denounced Apple’s attempt to halt sales of the S III, which hit the 10 million global sales mark in July, less than three months after its release.
“Apple continues to resort to litigation over market competition in an effort to limit consumer choice,” Samsung said in a statement. “We will continue to take the necessary legal measures to ensure the availability of our innovative products in the United States.”
The strong sales of the S III were crucial in driving Samsung’s quarterly profit to a record high in the last quarter and helped it stay ahead in the worldwide smartphone market.
In documents filed with San Jose federal district court on Friday, Apple said 21 Samsung smartphones, media players and tablets released after August 2011 were “copycat products.”
“Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smartphone and tablet computer products, Samsung has chosen to copy Apple’s technology, user interface, and innovative style,” Apple said in one document.
The Cupertino, California-based company claimed that Samsung is illegally using its eight patents. One patent is related to the way the device retrieves information in a computer system and another is about gestures on a touchscreen display to unlock a device.
Apple and Samsung are the world’s two largest smartphone makers and together they control over half of the global market. They are embroiled in similar legal tussles in Asia, Europe and the United States.
In April 2011, Apple first accused Samsung of illegally copying Apple’s design and technology in the smartphones powered by Google Inc.’s Android technology. Samsung countersued, arguing Apple’s iPhone and iPad used its wireless technology without permission.
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2012
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September
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- Sensex ends 337 points up on ECB's bond buying pla...
- U.S. designates Haqqani network a terrorist organi...
- Parliament’s ‘Monsoon Session’ Ends in Washout
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- Clinton boosts Obama in rousing convention speech
- BJP taken aback as Congress shifts focus away from...
- Heavy rain lashes Mumbai
- Navy, let-off with warning
- Congress using Raj Thackeray to counter BJP-Shiv S...
- Parliament can function if Govt scraps coal licenc...
- Govt expands scope of GAAR panel to cover all non-...
- Samsung says Apple trying to limit consumer choice
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