CBI
probe into NOIDA land scam
Allahabad:
The Allahabad High Court today ordered a CBI inquiry
into the controversial allotment of plots in NOIDA in July
this year. The High Court also asked authorities to hold
a fresh draw within four weeks and identify the officials
of NOIDA and Uttar Pradesh Government at whose behest the
allotments were manipulated. It also ordered the probe committee
to submit a report within three months. Earlier on July
2, as many as 1250 plots in NOIDA were allotted through
lottery, but was later cancelled by the Chief Executive
Officer following allegations of irregularities in the allotment
procedure.
Baglihar
report to be released on Friday (Go
To Top)
by Rajneesh Parihan
Jammu: Professor Raymond
Lafitte on Tuesday said that the two-day inspection of the
450 MW Baglihar hydroelectric power project had been a fruitfil
exercise. He said that he would release a report on his
inspection of the dam in New Delhi on Friday . Lafitte,a
professor of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is mediating
between India and Pakistan over the disputed project that
has come up over the River Chenab in Jammu. The Lafitte-led
team of experts had arrived in Jammu for the inspection
on October two. The team was appointed by the World Bank
to resolve the differences on the controversial Baglihar
Project Pakistan had expressed its opposition earlier to
the dam being constructed at Jammu claiming that India has
violated the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. In India's defence,
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh assured Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf that if India has violated the treaty,
amendments would be made.
Understanding
on Siachen by Jan (Go
To Top)
by Surinder Kapoor
Islamabad:
Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan on Tuesday said
that both countries had decided to reach a "common understanding"
on troop redeployment on the Siachen Glacier by January
next year, besides agreeing to finalise modalities for setting
up meeting points for divided families across the Line of
Control in Jammu and Kashmir. In a 15-point joint statement
issued after a second round of talks, Foreign Ministers
K.Natwar Singh and Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri resolved to
continue with the momentum of the composite dialogue process,
saying that they not allow anything, including terrorism
to impede it. Both Ministers also maintained that possible
options for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the Jammu
and Kashmir issue should be explored in a "sincere, purposeful
and forward looking manner." Expressing satisfaction over
smooth operation of Srinagar- Muzaffarabad bus service,
the statement said experts from the two sides would meet
for launching truck service between the two points and a
bus link between Poonch and Rawalakot in Pakistan- administered
Kashmir by December. The two countries revived the Joint
Commission after a gap of 16 years and hoped that it would
contribute significantly in enhancing economic ties. Singh,
who called on President Pervez Musharraf, said he had conveyed
greetings of President APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh.
Musharraf
to take humanitarian view of Sarabjit's case (Go
To Top)
by Surinder Kapoor
Rawalpindi:
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today told visiting
Indian External Affairs Minister K.Natwar Singh that he
would adopt a humanitarian approach on the case of Sarabjit
Singh, the Indian who has been sentenced to death by Pakistan's
Supreme Court for his role in the 1990 bomb blasts across
Pakistan. Musharraf's assurance to Natwar came at a 30-minute
meeting between the two at Army House in Rawalpindi, and
this now suggests that Sarabjit may not die at the hangman's
noose. The issue of Sarabjit Singh has hogged headlines
in both Pakistan and India since the Supreme Court verdict
was announced last month, and was folowed by an en masse
suicide threat by the former's family, comprising his sister
Daljit Kaur, his wife and two daughters. Sarabjit's family
has repeatedly claimed that his is a case of mistaken identity,
and that he was farmer of Bhikiwind village in eat Punjab,
who had strayed into Pakistan in an inebriated state in
1990, and was subesquently caught on espionage charges and
blamed for the bomb blasts in Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad
that claimed the lives of 14 people.
Pakistan,
which has identified him as Manjit Singh and lodged him
in Lahore's Khotlakhpat Jail, has so far declared him guilty
as charged in the four cases lodged against him. Over the
last month, there has been a vociferous groundswell of emotion
being fanned right across India, be it Meerut, Amritsar,
Chennai or Varanasi, demanding that the Indian Government
intervene and get him released forthwith. Delhi has so far
verified his identity and antecedants by deputing two of
its high commission officials to visit the jail where Sarabjit
has been lodged. A statement written by him has been received
by the government, and letters have been sent to his family.
Musharraf has consistently maintained that he will take
a humanitarian approach on the issue, but will not ignore
the legal aspects of the case. He has conveyed this to the
Indian leadership, and may just use it as a bargaining tool
in the future.
World
Parliamentarians' Convention on Tibet (Go
To Top)
Edinburgh:
Tibetian leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama would be
the guest of honour at the two-day "World Parliamentarians'
Convention on Tibet", to be held in Edinburgh from November
18-19, where more than 160 International parliamentarians
and guests would meet the exiled members of the Tibetan
government and discuss the best way forward for the country.
The Convention would be jointly organised by the Scottish
Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Tibet and the Westminster
UK All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet. "I am delighted
that we are able to bring the Convention to Edinburgh. The
Chinese population transfer policy in the name of development
is seriously threatening the very identity of the Tibetan
people. There is an urgent need to resolve the Tibet issue
to save the Tibetan civilisation," The Scotsman quoted the
Convener of the Cross Party Group on Tibet, Chris Balance
as saying. This would be the fourth meeting of the Convention,
and the first in the past eight years, the last one being
held in Washington DC in 1997, said the paper. His Holiness
the Dalai Lama would be guest of honour at the two- day
convention, even as the aim of the conference would be to
form a plan of action to promote Tibetan issues and secure
effective dialogue between the Chinese leadership and the
Dalai Lama.
Sensex
touches 8,800 (Go
To Top)
Mumbai:
Spurred by robust economic fundamentals amid sustained
FII inflows with hardly any negative sentiments in the market,
India's benchmark Index today scaled yet another milestone
by crossing 8,800 level for the first time. The Stock Exchange
Mumbai (BSE) Ltd. 30-share sensitive index opened strong
in the morning trading and touched an intra-trade high of
8,808.83 before ending the day at a new closing peak of
8,799.96 as against Monday's close of 8,697.65, recording
a net gain of 102.31 points or 1.18 percent. A number of
index heavyweights and pivotal stocks extended their gains
in afternoon trade. In the broader market, National Stock
Exchange (NSE) Nifty closed 33 points higher at 2663. A
GDP growth rate of 8.1 per cent in the April-June 2005 quarter
on the back of robust manufacturing and services output
kept up the momentum. Among index heavyweights, HDFC Bank
and Dr. Reddy's Labs were the biggest gainers, rallying
over three per cent. Maruti, Tata Motors, ACC, Bajaj Auto,
Hindalco, L&T, HDFC and Wipro were the other key gainers.
Mid-cap and small-cap stocks also made a smart comeback
with both BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gaining over
a per cent. Aluminium, auto, banks, cement, engineering,
fertilisers, FMCG, technology, infrastructure, media and
oil PSUs stocks attracted significant buying.
