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Delhi HC awards compensation to kin of Uphaar fire victims New Delhi, Apr 24: The Delhi High Court on Thursday awarded compensation to relatives of the victims of the Uphaar fire tragedy in which 59 people had died in June 1997. The compensation award came during the hearing of a petition by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Fire Tragedy. As per the court order, Rs 15 lakh would be paid to kin of each of the deceased who were less than 20 years of age, and Rs 18 lakh to each of those above 20 years. The injured would be paid Rs one lakh each. The court ordered the owners of Uphaar cinema to pay 55 per cent of the total compensation award, whereas the remaining would be jointly paid by MCD, DVB and licencing authorities, with each contributing 15 per cent. The amount would be paid alongwith nine per cent interest from the date of the institution of the petition. The incident, on June 13, 1997, occurred during the screening of the blockbuster, 'Border'. While 57 had died instantly, two succumbed to their burns later. Apart from the compensation, the court also directed the cinema owners to pay out of the earnings from the unauthorised seats put up on the balcony since 1979. This amount which would be around Rs 2.5 crore would be utilised in the construction of a centralized accident trauma centre in the Capital. Iran warns US over border "red line" Teheran, Apr 24: Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi on Thursday warned US troops not to violate the "red line" of its border with Iraq, and voiced alarm over a reported ceasefire deal between the US and the Iraq-based People's Mujahideen armed opposition group, a press report said. All the Iranian Jews convicted in July 2000 of spying for Israel have been freed from prison, Kharazi said. US to destroy its chemical weapons by 2007: Report (Go To Top) Islamabad, Apr 24: The United States has over 30,000 tons of chemical munitions and it has pledged to dispose of its entire stockpile by 2007. In its report Carnegie Analysis by the Carnegie Endowment, of April 15, it has listed Syria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Libya and Sudan as countries in possession of chemical and biological weapons. There is no mention of India, which has declared that it possesses chemical weapons and is in the process of destroying them. The US is considered to have the second largest chemical weapons, and it signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1993. The US established its biological weapons programme during the World War II, and signed the convention in 1972. Syria says the report is not a signatory of the CWC, and according to the US intelligence agencies, it has a significant stockpile of the nerve agent sarin and is working to develop the more deadly VX. The report adds that Syria produces scud ballistic missiles of various ranges capable of carrying chemical warheads as well as airdropped bombs. Israel is believed to maintain a sophisticated biological weapons programme, which may include anthrax and more advanced agents in weaponised form as well as toxins. It is also not a member of the Biological Weapons Convention. New Buddhist township discovered in Sirpur (Go To Top) Sirpur (Chhattisgarh), Apr 24: A new Buddhist township dating back to fifth or sixth century AD has been discovered at Sirpur in Chhattisgarh. The Bodhisatva Nagarjun Smarak Sanstha, with the permision of the Archeological Surcey of India, has carried out the excavation. "We started this excavation in March 2003. After taking permission from the Archeological Survey of India, we started excavating three mounds.We removed the bricks and found a Buddh Vihar, 20 metres in length and 20 metres in breadth. There is a door, a verandah and a 12-pillar mandap from where we got three idols of Buddha in 'Bhoomisparsh mudra'. The main attractions are beautiful paintings on the walls. Seeing that, we can say that it is fifth or sixth century old Buddh Vihar", said Arun Kumar Sharma, an archeologist, under whom the excavation was carried out. Notably, this township is bigger than the earlier townships discovered. The idols of Buddha and other animals are made of bricks.
'Arun Nayar was not stolen' (Go To Top) London, Apr 24: British model-actress Elizabeth Hurley is not a `marriage wrecker,' according to her sister, Kate, who was responding to claims made by stunning Italian model, Valentina Pedroni. Pedroni has said that her husband, Indian businessman Arun Nayar, was stolen by her `good friend' Hurley, reports People News. However, in a statement issued recently, Kate said, "Arun was separated from his wife and seeking a divorce when Elizabeth was introduced to him. Elizabeth had never met Arun's estranged wife at this time so it's a complete mystery why Valentina is pretending they were great friends." Meanwhile, Nayar had this to say through his spokesman and friend, financier Alissandro Tome: "There is nothing illicit in Arun and Elizabeth's relationship. Arun did not leave his wife for her; Valentina did not introduce Elizabeth to Arun. Valentina knew Arun was seeing Elizabeth before they were photographed publicly. Elizabeth met Valentina in St Moritz and they discussed the situation amicably." Britney, Justin back together? (Go To Top) London, Apr 24: Are US pop sensations Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake a couple again? Well, if rumours are to be believed, the two are on the verge of getting back together. Recently, Spears' Mercedes was seen parked outside Timberlake's Hollywood Hills mansion all night. Spears eventually left the next morning. "They are in contact quite a lot and they still love each other. They have been linked with other people but they're not seeing anyone else," a source close to Timberlake was quoted as saying by the Sun. "Neither of them want the whole thing to be played out in the media - but they know it is almost impossible to avoid. They're just trying to work things out and hopefully they will be able to trust each other again," the source added. Paparazzi grab 'whale-watching shots' of naked Zeta Jones (Go To Top) Washington, Apr 24: Catherine Zeta Jones is back in the limelight after being snapped naked smoking a cigarette. Paparazzi caught her in the buff as she sunbathed naked and heavily pregnant on a terrace in Mexico, not long after winning her privacy case against 'Hello!'. The pictures went up on a Dutch website - dse.nl - and were then picked up by Gawker.com, according to a report in People News. Catherine had won her 3 million pound High Court action against Hello! for printing photos of her stuffing her face with cake. Now she might well be hoping for judicial support in censoring what a source unkindly called 'the whale-watching shots.' Christina Aguilera is what British men want (Go To Top) London, Apr 24: British men have voted Christina Aguilera, the Grammy-winning US pop princess, as the world's most desirable woman. Readers of Maxim magazine voted the 22-year old to the top of a list of 100 Women of the Year. Aguilera is followed by Holly Valance, the 19-year-old Aussie star-turned-singer, Italian actress Monica Bellucci, 34, Valance's compatriot, Kylie Minogue, 34, and Oscar-winning US actress Halle Berry, 34, reports the Sun. Rear of the Year award for Atomic Kitten singer (Go To Top) London, Apr 24: New mom Natasha Hamilton, a member of the popular all-girl British band 'Atomic Kitten,' has received the 'Rear of the Year' award. The 20-year old collected the award, sponsored by clothing firm Matalan, at a posh hotel here recently. "I don't know how I keep my shape. I must have a fast metabolism, being that I don't work out. I'll just walk around in a thong from now on," she was quoted as saying by the Sun. Previous winners include Welsh opera-singing sensation Charlotte Church, 17, and stage and TV beauty Denise Van Outen, 29. |