Another building collapses in Mumbai, six killed

     Mumbai: Another building collapsed in South Mumbai late on Sunday night, killing six people, including three women. The three-storeyed building collapsed near the Metro Cinema on New Marine Street near the Panchratna Hotel. It was the third building to collapse in the last six days. Six days earlier, 11 people lost their lives in a similar incident. According to sources, nine people have been admitted to the G T Hospital and efforts are being made to identify the dead. The debris has been removed. According to the Brinhanmumbai Municipal Commission, the building had already been declared dangerous, but residents living in it had refused to move out. After visiting the site of the building collapse, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the 107 buildings on the BMC's endangered list would be vacated within a week. "We will give these victims the same amount of money as we gave victims of Sadaf Manzil," he added.

Old buildings in Mumbai to be evacuated: Vilasrao Deshmukh (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief minister of Vilasrao Deshmukh, on Monday said that they have made a list of buildings in Mumbai, that needed to be evacuated immediately. Deshmukh said this inspecting the site where an apartment collapsed in the early hours on Monday, killing five people and injuring at least nine, less than a week after another building collapse killed 11. "Regarding this building, the local legislator as well as the authorities had asked its residents to vacate. But nobody co- operated. Then, it was decided to use police force to evacuate the people living in this house. There are several such buildings in Mumbai, which are dangerous to be inhabited. We have a list of such buildings. We have transit camps for the families where they can stay till an alternate accommodation is arranged for them," said Deshmukh. On August 22, at least 15 people were killed when a four-storey building collapsed in central Mumbai.

RS adjourned for an hour on Chidambaram wife issue (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha was today adjourned for an hour following vociferous demands by the Opposition benches that Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram should explain to the House the circumstances under which his wife Nalini Chidambaram appeared as counsel for the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), a department directly controlled by the finance ministry. Nalini is a senior advocate at the Madras High Court who had worked as a senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department during 1970-80s after which she opted for private practice. Raising the matter, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, Sushma Swaraj, said that it was "an open and shut case of corruption" and "an open case of favouritism" when the wife is appearing as a lawyer of a department under the Finance Minister. RS Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat adjourned the House after the Opposition members continued their protests for more than half- an-hour, demanding an explanation from the finance minister. The Opposition members contended that it was a matter of privilege of the House having been eroded when the CBDT and the Prime Minister chose to render explanations about it outside Parliament. Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and BJP MP observed that if Chidambaram had "any sense of propriety" he would have given an explanation to the House.

Parliament passes Hindu Succession and Immigration Bills (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Lok Sabha today passed the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Bill, 2005 by a voice-vote, giving 'go ahead' to the legislation to remove the gender bias in the provisions of the 50-year-old Act. Section 6 of the Act would be amended while Sections 24 and 42 are being removed from the statute book. Law Minister H R Bharadwaj said the amendment in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was made with an aim of removing gender bias between sons and daughters so that the social reforms in the society keep moving. To ensure that daughters get their share in agriculture land and other properties, he further said he would write to the State Governments to make changes in the state law in the wake of removal of Section 42. The Immigration (Carriers' liability) Act, 2000 meets the international obligation of exempting any carrier or class from application of the five-year-old Act. The Immigration (Carriers' liability) Act was enacted in the year 2000 with the objective of tackling the problem of arrival of large number of passengers without any valid travel documents by the carriers in contravention of the Passport Act, 1920. The amendment of the Act that provides a fine of Rs one lakh per passenger on the carrier would now place the Government in the position to fulfill its international obligation.

CVC told to inquire into HUDCO funds misuse (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Supreme Court today directed the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to make a detailed inquiry into the alleged misuse of funds in the state-run Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) during the NDA Government. A two-member Bench comprising Justice H K Sena and Justice S N Variava also asked CVC to inquire into the allegations of misuse of ministerial powers and arbitrary sanctioning of loans to the tune of Rs. 14,500 crores from the HUDCO, without following proper procedures during the tenure of the then Union Urban Development Minister Anant Kumar, who was also the in-charge of the Public Sector Undertaking at that time. CVC has been asked to submit its report within four months. The PIL, which was filed in SC by F.S. Nariman, K.K. Venugopal, Shanti Bhusan and Anil Diwan, members of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, against Anant Kumar and other HUDCO officials, points out that in several of its transactions, the Corporation had not only violated the code of ethics for public undertakings but ignored warnings from several quarters including the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the RBI in sanctioning loans. According to the petition, Rupees 5000 crores were sanctioned to 35 companies on a single day.

Manmohan, Karzai lay stone of new Afghan Parliament  (Go To Top)
by Smita Prakash

    Kabul (Afghanistan): Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building in Kabul on Monday in the presence of Baba-e-Millat King Zahir Shah. Shah formally pulled aside the curtain that covered the commemoration edifice. Speaking on the occasion, Karzai said that Afghanistan is becoming a country that is both Muslim and democratic. "We will make every effort to implement the principles of democracy and tolerance and leave to the future generations, a country that has an open political culture," Karzai said. Thanking the Indian Prime Minister for New Delhi's assistance in funding the Parliament building project that is to come up near the Dar-ul-Aman (the old royal palace built by King Amanullah in the 1920s), Karzai described India as a country "that has shown that democracy is not a characteristic of the advanced Western nations of the world, but in fact, countries of eastern culture could also set successful examples of a democratic polity".

     Responding to Karzai's remarks, Prime Minister Singh hoped the new edifice would help to rebuild democracy in Afghanistan. "Democracy has to be nurtured, nursed and provoked. Democracy should reflect the culture, values and native views of each country. Today, roots of a plant are being laid, and that after nurturing, will grow like the Chinar. Afghanistan maybe a young democracy, but it has always had a plurastic society with its unique forms of multi-culturalism," Dr. Singh said.

Manmohan lays foundation stone of new Indian chancery in Kabul  (Go To Top)

     Kabul: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the Indian Chancery Complex in Kabul. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Singh said the new chancery was a symbol of improving Indo-Afghan relations. "There is consensus across the Afghanistan political spectrum that Indo-Afghan ties should be restored to the old footing and that India is a role model for Afghanistan. This event today is a symbol of our belief that Afghanistan will emerge as a stable, democratic and prosperous country and that India is an important partner in helping to bring about this historic transformation of Afghanistan," he said.

Burney to meet Sarabjit family prior to filing mercy appeal (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Ansar Burney, the chairman of the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International, would visit India to meet the family of Sarabjit Singh (an Indian national awarded death sentence by Pakistan Supreme Court), before filing his mercy petition with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. He said that during his visit, he would meet Sarabjit's family to examine its claim of his innocence. Pakistani authorities (mis)took Sarabjit Singh as one Manjit Singh who was instrumental in carrying out bomb blasts in 1990 in Lahore killing many people. Based on the authorities' version, an anti-terror court in Pakistan and Lahore High Court had awarded death sentence to him, even as recently the Pakistan Supreme Court upheld the judgement. Ansar Burney said that after the public appeal by Sarabjit's family, the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International had decided to undertake thorough investigations into the matter before filing the petition, the Daily Times reported today. The "Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International" is a network of human rights organisations fighting against all forms of torture, cruel inhuman or degrading treatment, forced disappearances, summary execution, child abuse or other more subtle forms of violent repression. While Pakistani authorities claim that they had arrested Sarabjit Singh since he was present in its territory without proper travel documents, Sarabjit's family say that he accidentally wandered across the unmarked border while drunk, and is innocent of charges of espionage and terrorism.

Salahuddin wants Afzal Guru's release in exchange of Sarabjit (Go To Top)

     Muzaffarabad (PoK): The Muttahida Jihad Council (a Pakistan-backed alliance of Kashmiri separatists) has asked the Pakistan government to seek the release of Mohammad Afzal Guru, who has been sentenced to death for his role in the Indian Parliament attack case, in exchange of Sarabjit Singh. "The government of Pakistan must seek forgiveness for Mohammad Afzal Guru from India before positively responding to frequent appeals by the Indian leaders and public for mercy to Sarabjit Singh," the Dawn quoted MJC leaders as saying at a meeting chaired by Salahuddin, the chief of erstwhile militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, which was disbanded around a year ago. Afzal Guru is one of the accused in the December 31, 2001, attack on the Indian Parliament. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of India had upheld his death sentence. Guru (35) is a resident of Jagir Ghat, a small village near the town of Sopore in Kashmir. Besides Guru, the court had sentenced Guru's cousin Shoukat Guru to 10 years imprisonment, and acquitted Shoukat's wife Afshan and Prof Syed Abdur Rehman Geelani.

Lakshmi Mittal loses his 'privacy' to Saudi princess! (Go To Top)

     London: Lakshmi Mittal may be Britain's richest man , but that was apparently not enough to win him a long-standing dispute with Princess Samerah bint Mokhtar al-Saadawy of the Saudi Arabian royal family, who has won the right to build a new block of flats overlooking the steel magnate's property, something he was vehemently opposed to. According to The Telegraph, the local council has given the go- ahead for a development next door to Mittal's "Summer Palace" situated in Hampstead in north London, having 11 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a gym and heart-shaped swimming pool and a brass and glass lift. The council planners' verdict has clearly come as a surprise to the Mittals, since only six months earlier, a previous version of the plans had been described as "an overbearing and visually obtrusive form of development" which would cause "overlooking and loss of privacy, detrimental to the visual and residential amenities of adjoining occupiers." Mittal's contention was that the new construction would "severely reduce" his family's privacy, as the new flats would have a large number of windows, and that the new block of flats would overlook his property and have a "negative effect on the appearance of the street".

India crush Zimbabwe by 161-runs (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: India today registered its first win in the Videocon Cup Cricket tri-series by defeating minnows Zimbabwe by a huge margin of 161 runs. Irfan Pathan produced a career-best ODI spell of five for 27 to send the hosts packing for a paltry 65 in only 24.3 overs, Zimbabwe's lowest ever One Day International Score. Ajit Agarkar too shared the spoils with a haul of four wickets for only 18 runs. Pathan was awarded the man of the match. India fared badly during batting, scoring only 226 runs in the allotted overs for the fall of six wickets. Skipper Sourav Ganguly made only 20 runs. Wicketkeeper MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh however provided some relief with 56 and 53 respectively to take the score to 226. Zimbabwe's batting was pathetic from the very beginning itself. Only pace bowler Heath Streak managed to cross double figures (18), and remained undefeated at the end. The loss was Zimbabwe's 35th defeat in the last 40 matches.

President awards Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: President APJ Abdul Kalam on Monday gave away the country's highest sports awards to 15 top athletes at a ceremony here. The winners included ace shooter Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who won an Olympic silver at the double trap shooting event at Athens in 2004. Colonel Rathore upstaged cricket captain Saurav Ganguly and vice skipper Rahul Dravid for the "Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna", the most prestigious among the government sports awards announced for 2004. "Olympic silver was my dedication to the nation. This medal is from the nation as a token of appreciation for me," Rathore told reporters. Teenaged tennis player Sania Mirza and 13 others were chosen for the "Arjuna" award, the second highest sports prize. Mirza became the first Indian woman to win a WTA title in March and broke into the top 50 in the WTA world rankings this month. Golfer Jyoti Randhawa, currently third on the Asian PGA Tour, was also chosen for the award. Mirza, who is currently in the US for the Forest Hill tennis tournament has climbed to number 46 in the world ranking despite losing her match against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic on the weekend. "I am very happy, but if Sania herself would have been present here, it would have a moment of pride for us," said Nasima, Sania's mother. Following severe criticism of previous choices, former world professional billiards champion Geet Sethi and ex-Olympic hurdler Gurbachan Randhawa were asked to head the two selection committees. The Rajiv Khel Ratna carries a cash prize of 500,000 Indian rupees (11,450 dollars) and the Arjuna award 300,000 rupees (6900 dollars). The other Arjuna awardees are JJ Shobha, Anil Kumar (athletics), Deepak Thakur, Helen Mary (field hockey), Anita Chanu (judo), Sundar Singh (kabaddi), J. Krishnan (rowing), Deepali Deshpande (shooting), Achanta Kamal (table tennis), Deep Ahlawat (equestrian), Anuj Kumar (wrestling), and Devendra (athletics-paralympics). The Dronacharya award for coaching was given to Arvind Savur (billiards), Cyrus Poonacha (squash) and Sunita Sharma (cricket), and the Dhyan Chand award for lifetime sports achievement was given to Manoj Kothari (billiards and snooker), Maruti Mane (wrestling), and Rajinder Singh (junior) (hockey).

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