Kumaraswamy pays respect at Tirupati

    Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): H D Kumaraswamy, Karnataka's chief minister-in-waiting, on Tuesday sought blessings for his new term at the world famous Tirupati shrine. Kumaraswamy, breakaway leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) will form the government along with his new ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on February 3. He recently brought down the N Dharam Singh led Congress coalition government in the State after splitting the JD (S). Kumaraswamy led an entourage of over 50 legislators to the hilltop temple, considered the richest in the world. "I want the Lord's blessing, for that reason only I came here," said Kumaraswamy, when media persons confronted him at the temple premises. The BJP-JD (S) have agreed on a power sharing formula, which will have Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister for the first six months in power, with the rest of the tenure being led by the BJP's Yediyurappa. The JD (S) led by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda broke away with majority of the legislators headed by his son Kumaraswamy and walked away from the ruling coalition headed by the Congress over serious differences on matters related to farmers' rights and other development issues.

G K Gandhi sworn in as Bihar Governor  (Go To Top)
by Ajay Kumar

    Patna: The West Bengal Governor, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who has been entrusted with the additional task of Governor of Bihar, today took the oath of office and secrecy at a function at the Raj Bhavan. Chief Justice of Patna High Court, J N Bhat administered the oath in a simple ceremony. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, state assembly Speaker Udai Narain Chaudhary, Chairman of Legislative Council Jabir Hussain, several state ministers and top officials were also present on the occasion. The West Bengal Governor was given the additional task of Bihar following the resignation of Buta Singh on January 26 after the Supreme Court indicted him in the dissolution of State Assembly. President APJ Abdul Kalam had accepted Buta Singh's resignation and had asked West Bengal Governor, Gopal Gandhi to assume the additional charge of Bihar. Buta Singh was appointed as the Governor of Bihar after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government came to power at the Centre. Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav had then demanded to have a 'friendly' person at the Raj Bhavan since former Bihar Chief Minister and Lalu Yadav's wife; Rabri Devi had an 'edgy' relation with the previous National Democratic Alliance Government-appointed Governor M. Rama Jois. Nitish Kumar, who came to power in the October election, had started a 'Nyaya Yatra' before the elections and demanded the immediate recall of Governor Buta Singh. With the Supreme Court's indictment of Buta Singh on the Bihar Assembly dissolution case, Buta Singh finally agreed to step down on January 26 after taking the salute on Republic Day parade in the State capital.

Commission for Protection of Children's Rights (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: The Government has decided to set up a National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to ensue better protection of children. The Commission would be set up for proper enforcement of children's rights and effective implementation of laws and programmes relating to children. The Commission would study and monitor matters relating to the constitutional and legal rights of children. It would also monitor implementation of laws and programmes relating to the survival, welfare and development of children. It would also examine and review the safeguards provided by law to protect child rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation in the best interest of children. The Commission is also to review the existing laws and suggest amendments if needed. It would look into complaints or take suo motto notice of cases involving violation of constitutional and legal rights of the children. The State Governments are also expected to set State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights in their State and designate a State level and other district level children's Court in their respective State. The Commission for Protection of the Child Rights Bill 2005 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in May 2005 and was subsequently referred to the Parliament Standing Committee on HRD for examination. The Committee submitted its Report in August 2005 and recommended amendments to the Bill. The recommendations of the Committee were considered by the Government and suggested certain amendments in the Bill. The Bill along with the amendments came before the Lok Sabha for consideration and passage on December 21, 2005. After brief debate the Bill was passed by the House by majority. The Bill had proposed to set up a National Commission at the National level and the State Commissions at the State level.

Labourers at Alang demand entry of Clemenceau (Go To Top)

    Alang (Gujarat): Labourers working at the Alang ship-breaking yard in Gujarat on Tuesday demanded the entry of the toxic French aircraft carrier Le Clemenceau saying they were being protected against the toxic waste. Protesting against Greenpeace, which is opposing Clemenceau to dock at Alang, workers said the decommissioned warship would generate employment if it were to come here for dismantling. Workers dismissed reports by Greenpeace that nearly 100,000 people in India died from asbestos exposure every year. Le Clemenceau has already entered the Suez Canal and is on its way to the Alang scrap yard, despite protests from Greenpeace, which says the ship is laced with tonnes of toxic asbestos.

   Workers have also demanded the removal of Greenpeace from Alang, saying it is spoiling the atmosphere at the shipyard. "None of us have a major life threatening disease in Alang. We are given medical check-ups from time to time. Greenpeace is spoiling the atmosphere at Alang. The medical association is conducting monthly camps and because of Greenpeace so many of our people are getting unemployed. We demand Greenpeace's removal from here," said Dilip Yadav, a worker. Jaymin Vora, a doctor, said the workers were clear of asbestos. "Last year we did a medical checkup on the workers in asbestos environment. From the 82 patients we examined, not even one was tested asbestos positive," he said. Workers allege that Greenpeace with help of other multinationals are trying to gag India's ship breaking industry. Meanwhile, French authorities have said that the most dangerous work of removing 115 tonnes of brittle asbestos from the Clemenceau has been carried out in France and the remaining amount has to be kept in place to keep the ship seaworthy on its last journey. Greenpeace says the 27,000-tonne ship contains hundreds of tonnes of hazardous materials, including 500 tonnes of asbestos, which could pose a severe risk to scrap workers' health. But the labourers are in no mood to listen to the argument, as at this point what they are concerned about is the employment, which the French aircraft carrier Clemenceau will provide. Elsewhere, the Geneva based International Labour Organization (ILO) has said that about 100,000 people a year die from work- related asbestos exposure. ILO has said that Indian workers must be protected against asbestos and other hazardous material, if India were to allow the vessel to be scrapped.

    Meanwhile, the ship's onward journey to Alang is hinging on disposal of a petition in the Supreme Court of India, which is examining a report submitted by its panel on environment. The apex court has posted the next hearing for February 13, while directing the customs department to consider concerns related to the hazardous waste vis-`-vis asbestos on board the ship. A panel appointed by the Supreme Court had previously recommended that Clemenceau be not allowed to enter India because of its toxic waste. Ship breaking is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world and 90 percent of it is carried out in Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan and Turkey, exposing thousands of untrained workers to risks from accidents and exposure to toxins.

Ram, Lakshman skeletons found in Karnal! (Go To Top)

     Karnal (Haryana): A chance discovery of two skeletons during excavation near a temple in Ramana Ramani village near here has led to a controversy regarding their identity. Villagers claim that the skeletons belong to Ram and Lakshman and are refusing to hand them over to officials. The skeletons were found nine feet deep when workers were digging to extend the existing verandah of the temple. They were wondering about the identity of the skeletons when they heard a voice that the skeletons belong to Ram and Lakshman, said Sabrang Baba, the temple priest.

     After an initial inquiry by state forensic officials, villagers said they have since decided to construct a larger temple at the site and are vociferously resisting any administrative attempts for further inquiries. "We are not going to come under any pressure of the administration. How do they come in the picture? The temple will be constructed by all means," Raghubir Singh, Village head said. Police said they were keeping a close watch on the situation and would act if any problem developed. As of now, they have given in to the demands of the villagers. "A team from the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) has visited the site and examined the skeletons for over two hours. The initial inquiry has revealed that the skeletons do belong to men and have indeed been here since a very long time. We need to take them to the laboratory for any further details, but as villagers were not keen to have them removed, we have left them there for now," Vijay Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, said. Villagers said they have even discovered a site seven kilometers from this temple, where Ram's wife, Sita, stayed for some time. Donations are already being collected for building the Ram temple.

Nifty crosses 3,000 mark, Sensex eyes 10,000 (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: On the back of robust foreign funds inflows, the stock markets closed on a firm note on Tuesday, with both Sensex and Nifty scaling new all-time closing highs. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty achieved yet another milestone by crossing 3,000 marks. After hitting a record intra-day high of 3,005.10 in the late morning trading, Nifty closed 0.9 per cent or 26.60 points up at a new all-time closing high of 3,001.10. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share sensitive index closed 70.86 points higher at a new life-time closing high of 9,919.89, after scaling an intraday high of 9,939.55. Leading the charge at the Sensex was BHEL. Following the announcement of an impressive third quarter results, the counter surged 5.7 per cent or Rs 96 to close at Rs 1,798. Tata Motors, Larsen and Toubro, Hindalco, HDFC Bank and Tata Steel were the other major gainers of the day. However, Gujarat Ambuja Cements closed 2.2 per cent to end at Rs 88.5 levels. Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddys Laboratories, ICICI Bank, Ranbaxy, Bharti Televentures and ACC also ended in red.

Pak seals India's fate on 3rd day of third Test (Go To Top)

    Karachi: Pakistan literally sealed India's fate on the third day of the third Test with a scintillating batting performance, taking a mammoth 518-run overall lead over the visitors. Riding on a maiden Test century by Faisal Iqbal on his home ground and a solid display from other top order batting line up, Pakistan took their score from 174/2 on Monday to 511/5 at stumps. Iqbal, smashed an undefeated 103 (191 balls, 12 fours) and put on a 6th century stand with Abdul Razzaq (92-ball 44; 2 fours, 2 sixes) to tighten the pressure on India. Earlier, Mohammed Yousuf (97), Younis Khan (77) and 'bang-bang' Shahid Afridi (60) had a ball clobbering the bowlers and building on the platform set by the two openers. The Indian bowling attack could do little to thwart the Pakistani run machine from putting on big scores. Irfan Pathan scalped one wicket giving 93 runs. Zaheer Khan failed to get any wicket and ended up giving 93 runs. Big hitter Shahid Afridi also tore into the Indian attack scoring 60 runs off 46 balls, regularly hitting the ball into the fence. In Pathan's one over he scored 18 runs (3 fours and one huge six). Even after his departure, Iqbal and Razzaq continued the decimation of the Indian attack with equal ease. Only spinner Anil Kumble had some success against the Pakistanis. He scalped Younis Khan at 77 runs and Mohammed Yousuf at 97 runs, but that was not enough to make any dent into the Pakistani batting line up.

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