Congress leaders huddle in Mumbai to discuss CM issue

        Mumbai: In view of the NCP staking its claim for the post of Chief Minister in Maharashtra, the Congress has called a meeting of its new legislators here today to discuss the issue. AICC general secretaries in charge of Maharashtra - Digvijay Singh and Margaret Alva, MPCC chief Prabha Rau and other senior leaders of the party in the state are reportedly attending the meeting which started at 11 a m at Gandhi Bhawan in Mumbai. According to informed party sources, the opinion of the party legistators would be sought in the meeting and the same would be conveyed to the party's central leadership in Delhi, who will then take a final decision on the matter.

Advani to take over as BJP chief  (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: In a dramatic move, the BJP has decided that former Deputy Prime Minister and senior BJP leader L K Advani will return as the party's President replacing M Venkaiah Naidu. The decision was taken after Naidu offered to quit following the party's humiliating defeat in the Maharashtra assembly elections. This is the fifth time that Advani who is also the leader of the Opposition will be taking charge as the President of the party. Earlier, Naidu offered to resign owning "moral responsibility" for the poll debacle. At a meeting of top party leaders here, Naidu who had earlier met former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani, insisted on quitting as BJP chief. Besides Vajpayee and Advani, the meeting was attended among others by Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Sushma Swaraj and Pramod Mahajan. The top brass is also likely to analyse the causes that led to the party's defeat in the Maharashtra polls and work out a strategy for the assembly elections in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Kerala and Haryana next year.

SC collegium recommends transfer of CJs (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: The collegium of Supreme Court judges headed by Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti has recommended to the government the transfer and appointment of eight Chief Justices of High Courts, official sources said here today. Chief Justice of Madras High Court Justice B Subhasan Reddy has been transferred to Kerala High Court, whereas Justice Markandey Katju, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, has been transferred as Chief Justice of Madras High Court to succeed Justice Reddy, they said. It has been recommended that Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice B.K. Roy, during whose tenure all the judges of the High Court took an unprecedented step of going on mass casual leave due to certain differences with him, should be transferred to Patna High Court. Justice Altamas Kabir, a judge of Calcutta High Court, has been recommended by the apex court collegium to be made the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court succeeding Justice Roy.

Militants chop off Kashmiri girl's nose (Go To Top)

         Jammu: Suspected Muslim militants have sliced off the nose of a 13-year-old girl in Kashmir for refusing to marry the friend of a militant. The rebels stormed into Farrida Bano's house in Amritpur, 70 km from Doda, last week demanding her parents send the girl with them. Bano's family says they had been getting feelers of the rebels wanting their daughter for one of their sympathisers but were caught unawares by the dastardly move. Bano was dragged to a separate room, beaten, had her long hair forcibly cut and nose chopped off. The traumatized girl was rushed to a medical centre in Thatri village, a few miles from their hometown. Shaken and dumbstruck she can barely speak as tears well out of her eyes at the mere mention of the incident. "On 1st of the month, a few people entered our house. This girl is my sister Farida Bano and she is 13 years of age. They cut her nose and also cut her hair. We live in a remote place where there is no army camp, no doctor nearby," Bano's borther Mukhtiar Ahmed said. This is the second such incident involving violence against women in recent months in Kashmir. In July guerrillas sliced off the nose, ears and tongue of 14-year-old Maria Begum, believing her to be an informer for the army. Rebels have in the past killed or maimed people who they believe are helping Indian soldiers put down the 15-year revolt in the Himalayan region but police say few incidents are reported out of fear. "This sort of incidents happen in these areas but people do not report due to fear. This is the second incident which has taken place in the last few days. This sort of action shows that the militants are frustrated and resort to these sort of activities," Mohammad Arshad, deputy superintendent of police Doda said.

Uma's yatra to Himalayan shrine gives her chest pain (Go To Top)

        Dehradun: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharati has complained of chest pain and uneasiness while trekking to Buda Madmaheshwar temple in Uttaranchal, official sources said here today. According to the sources, Uma, who has taken a month-long leave from politics, had attempted to reach the Himalayan shrine on foot on Saturday evening, and soon thereafter, she complained of chest pain and uneasiness. The Uttaranchal government has sent a medical team for her assistance and also requisitioned a helicopter to take her to New Delhi for medical care, if required.

Delhi dances to the beats of Dandiya

        New Delhi: Throwing tradition to the wind, young and old performed the traditional "Dandiya" dance to the tunes of pulsating music inl New Delhi on Sunday night. Dandiya is a traditional dance of the Gujarati community performed with sticks. Group of young men, dressed in traditional attire, with women wearing long skirts, dance to folk tunes with rhythmic beating of sticks between them. The folk dance is performed after worshipping the Hindu goddess Durga, the mother of all gods, on all nine days of the "Navratri" (nine nights) festival which falls in autumn. But like many aspects of Indian culture in the 1990s, traditional Dandiya is gradually changing. Folk songs are giving way to popular Hindi film songs, with dance organisers inviting popular film stars and artists to make their programmes a success. The commercialisation of Navratri has brought business into sponsoring dance troupes and organisers collecting gate fees to festival venues. Renowned singer Richa Sharma performed at a local venue in the city. "I am going to sing 60-70 songs at a continuous stretch. There will be no break. It is a mix of songs (in) Hindi, Punjabi and all kinds of music," she said. Participants danced with abandaoned gaiety and seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. "I am very happy to participate in the function being held in Delhi. I am enjoying myself very much," said Neeru, a local. Navaratri (the word literally means nine nights) festival, lasting for nine days, is in honour of the nine menifestations of Hindu goddess Durga. It usually fall in the months of September- October accroding to local custom.

UK Army chief meets Vij (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: British Army'Chief General Sir Mike Jackson, began his official vist to India on Monday, barely two weeks after Defence Secretary Geoffrey Hoon paid surprise visit to New Delhi to strengthen anti-terrorism and military ties between the nations. Jackson, who is on a 10-day visit to India, was recieved by his Indian counterpart General Nirmal Chand Vij. The two chiefs are expected to hold detailed parleys on security and military issues. India and the UK had last month agreed to expand cooperation in defence, civilian nuclear and space programmes and high technology trade after the first-ever meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh. Members of the Commonwealth, the two nations have enjoyed warm relations and a recent arms deal to acquire British Hawks advanced fighter jet trainers for the Indian Air Force only proves their strong ties. Economically, United Kingdom is India's second largest trade partner after the USA and one of the largest foreign investors in India. Annual two-way trade in goods and services is on track to reach seven billion pounds.

Badal wants Central probe into Amarinder kin's scam (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: Opposition lawmakers from Punjab on Monday demanded a federal probe into the alleged illegal foreign transactions made by relations of the state's chief minister Captain (retired) Amarinder Singh. Led by leader of the opposition, Prakash Singh Badal, chief of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the opposition team met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and submitted a memorandum demanding that the Nehra Commission appointed by the state government should be wound up and the probe handed over to a federal agency. "These cases of money laundering and foreign exchange are not handled by any commission or the CBI. It can only be probed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. This is what the act says. The team they have sent is an eyewash. Yes, the Prime Minister has said that he will look into it. We have given the newspapers clippings and all required material," Badal later told reporters. He also accused Amarinder Singh of trying to gag a newspaper which ran an expose into his alleged illegally acquired assets. Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal were arrested in 2003 on the orders of a Ropar court in a case of acquiring disproportionate assests amounting to 780 million rupees. Earlier this month India's Supreme Court stayed the trial. Sukhbir has meanwhile slapped a defamation case against Amarinder in a court in state capital Chandigarh. When he ousted Badal from power in March 2002, Amarinder, who heads the Congress party led government, began a crackdown on corruption with much fanfare but has since himself been bogged down in factionalism within the party.

IRDA for hike in FDI cap (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: Insurance regulator IRDA today announced a hike in foreign direct investment cap from 26 to 49 percent and amendments in legislation to enable greater flexibility in investment. "It (FDI hike) is a matter of policy. Finance Minister has already announced it in the budget. Of course, we do support it," Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority chairman, C S Rao, said here on the sidelines of a FICCI seminar. Rao said that limited reach, inadequate number of products and service quality of Public Service Units (PSUs) before 2000 prompted government to bring in reform in insurance. "It was also felt that rapid economic growth witnessed in the 1990s cannot be sustained without a thriving insurance sector," he said.

The Queen's barefoot visit to a London gurudwara (Go To Top)

        London: Queen Elizabeth recently set an example in cultural harmony as she visited a gurudwara in London after donning a head scarf and removing her shoes, in keeping with the traditions of the holy place. The Queen and her husband, Prince Phillip, visited the Gurdwara Sri Singh Sabha Temple in Houslow, West London, and met war veterans after which they witnessed an exhibition of Sikh scriptures. Prince Phillip also covered his head with a blue scarf, reports Hello magazine.

Bush highly unpopular among American Muslims, reveal surveys (Go To Top)

       Washington: Only ten percent of the Muslim community living in the US would vote for George Bush in the November 2 presidential polls, and the rest will go for Democrat candidate John Kerry, different surveys done recently in several states have shown. The Muslim American Political Action Committee, an umbrella group representing several Muslim organizations, has reportedly officially endorsed Kerry for president. According to the Dawn, the Muslims feel cheated by Bush's several policies, which they say, were discriminatory against them. Many among them even complain that Bush's war against terror is actually a war against Islam and that the Bush administration has no regard for their faith or their community, the surveys said. While, many blamed Bush for making policy decisions that made life difficult for them in the US, most of them were upset especially with the Patriot Act which, they say, made it difficult for Muslims to come to America as students or immigrants. But, the Muslim community is playing safe too. Some of them suggest that Muslims should not support Kerry en masse, as, in case Bush is re-elected their life may be made even more difficult. They feel some of their presence must be felt in Bush's camp also. According to the paper, the Muslim American Society has set up a database listing more than seven lakh Muslim voters in the US, including more than one lakh in each of the three battleground states - Florida, Michigan and Ohio.

Pak compensation for Chinese engineers death (Go To Top)

       Islamabad: The Pakistan Government has decided to give 100,000 dollars as compensation to the family of Wang Peng, the Chinese engineer who died during an army operation to rescue him and his colleague from their abductors. Another 50,000 dollars has been offered to Wang Ende, the other Chinese hostage, who was rescued. "We are deeply saddened by the death and nothing can serve as compensation, but this financial help is being given to comfort the affected families," the Daily Times quoted Syed Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs as saying in an interview. Bakhtiar said it was evident that the mastermind behind the act of terrorism wanted to undermine relations between Pakistan and China. "But this has strengthened our will to resolve problems and deepen our bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism," he added.

Rain forces draw in Chennai test (Go To Top)

       Chennai: Steady rain forced the second test between India and Australia to be abandoned as a draw after the final day's play was washed out today. Umpires David Shepherd and Rudi Koertzen made an inspection around 1.00 pm calling off the match. A heavily soaked outfield and prospects of more rain ruled out any chance of play on the fifth day at the Chepauk ground. The match was poised for a tense finish overnight with India 19 without loss, chasing 229 to win and level the four-match series at 1-1. Rain throughout the morning on Monday had made a draw almost certain before the official announcement. Fans were disappointed with the outcome of the match. "We were coming here for the past four days and I am hoping for a good action of India here on the last day. But unfortunately weather has proved that wrong," said Vignesh, a fan.