| Goa
coastline on alert after spotting of suspicious vessel Panjim:
The Goa Police has alerted the Indian Navy after receiving a report of a suspicious
boat moving close to the Indian coastline on Friday morning. The Goa Marine Police
and the Coast Guard received the intelligence input from Maharashtra Police about
the suspicious boat. Customs have also been alerted about the vessel. According
to sources some fishermen reported spotting a suspicious ship sailing towards
Goa on Thursday night. Indian Navy PRO Captain Manohar Nambiar said, the Navy
is still verifying the reports. Goa Police said, there were no specific details
about the vessel. "These days there is hardly any ship movement in the sea due
to rough weather. So, if there is any vessel, it is not difficult to locate it,"
Superintendent of Police Atmaram Deshpande said Helicopters and patrolling vessels
are keeping a close watch on movements in the sea. IAF
trainee aircraft crashes in Andhra, 2 instructors killed Top Medak:
A trainee aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Andhra Pradesh's Medak
district on Friday, killing two instructors. According to sources, the incident
took place at around 9:45 a.m. when the HPT-32 training aircraft crashed in an
open ground at Annaram village of Jinnaram Mandal near the Air Force Academy,
Dundigal. Two instructors Ritin Jain and Chaturvedi were killed on the spot. Investigations
are being carried out to know the exact cause of the crash. Bureaucrat,
four family members found dead in their Orissa house Top Bargarh
(Orissa): A senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Orissa
cadre and four of his family members were found dead with bullet injuries while
his son is fighting for life after being critically injured in their house here
early on Friday. Superintendent of Police Ashok Biswal said, the bodies of Jagadananda
Panda, 50, now on Central deputation, his wife, father and two of his sisters
were found with bullet injuries in their house in Deogaon, about six kilometres
from the Bargarh District headquarters. Panda was Protector General of Emigrants.
He also served as the Special Relief Commissioner in Orissa before going on Central
deputation a few years ago. Biswal said the incident appeared to be a case of
suicide as Panda's service revolver was found at the site and the main door and
other entry points were found closed. Panda's mother, who was sleeping on the
first floor of the house, came down after hearing the gunshots. The dead have
been identified as Panda's father Manoshi Panda (75), wife Surekha Panda (46)
and sisters Bijayalaxmi (57) and Kishori Mishra (54). Panda's 22-year-old son
has been admitted to a hospital. Police said Panda's neighbours also heard the
gunshots this morning. The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem. Police have
ruled out the involvement of Maoists in the incident. Buta
Singh's son admits involvement in bribery scam Top New
Delhi/Mumbai: National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes Chairman Buta Singh's son Sarabjot Singh is reported to have cracked under
the CBI's pressure and admitted on Friday to his involvement in a bribery scam.
According to sources, Sarabjot allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs. one crore from
a Nashik-based contractor to close a case before the Commission. Sarabjot had
earlier claimed innocence, saying it was a conspiracy against him and that he
was being framed. Sarabjot was arrested by the Anti Corruption Branch of the CBI
on Thursday evening in New Delhi and was taken to investigating agency's Mumbai
office. In the wake of his arrest, the opposition is calling for Buta Singh's
resignation from the Commission. Senior BJ leader Gopinath Munde said, "Buta Singh
must resign immediately." According to sources, a corruption case was filed on
the basis of complaint by Ramraj Patil, a Nashik-based civic works contractor.
In his complaint, Patil had alleged that Sarabjot had demanded a bribe of Rs.3
crore, which was later brought down to Rs.1 crore, for withdrawal of a case under
the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, filed against
Patil by a group of local conservancy workers employed by him. Tension
grows over same clan marriage in Haryana Top Jhajjar
(Haryana): Tension is prevaling in Jhajjar district of Haryana as the family
of a groom who married a girl of the same clan has refused to quit the village
as ordered by the village council. The Gehlot family was asked to leave Dharana
village after Ravinder Singh Gehlot, 24, married 20-year-old Shilpa Kadyan of
Siwah village near Panipat, against the wishes of the village elders. When villagers
came to know that the girl is of the same clan, they called a village body meeting
and accused Gehlot of violating a custom of no-marriage between the Gehlot and
Kadyan sects as they have a "brotherhood" akin to consanguinity. The village council
decreed that the Gehlot family should dispose off their property and leave and
also asked other villagers to shun them. "The administration says that it is bound
by law and we say that we are bound by society. This is the bone of contention,"
Raj Singh Kadyan, village council head. Due to mounting pressure from the village
council, the Gehlot family briefly left for a relative's house in another village
but returned amid security cover. "We have been living here since this village
came into being. They have asked us to leave this village and go. Where are we
supposed to go? There is no question of us leaving the village," said Naseeb Singh,
a kin of Gehlot family. Caste system runs deep in the rural hinterland of some
States of India where people are still bound to the old practices. MCOCA
dropped against Sadhvi Pragya Top Nashik
(Maharashtra): A Nashik Sessions Court on Friday dropped MCOCA (Maharashtra
Control of Organised Crimes Act), which had been charged against Sadhvi Pragya
Singh Thakur, one of the prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The court
further gave four weeks to the Government of Maharashtra to appeal against the
order in the High Court. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad has decided
to appeal in the High Court. The decision has come as a great relief for Sadhvi
Pragya, as a special court had earlier rejected her bail pleas, which had refused
to accept her argument that the prosecution had failed to follow certain provisions
of MCOCA. Sadhvi Pragya was arrested by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS)
and was charged under the stringent MCOCA for her alleged role in the September
29, 2008 Malegaon blast, which had killed six people and injured seventy others.
Sensex
touches 13 months high of 15732.81 points Top Mumbai:
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex hit a 13 months record high of 15732.81 points
on Friday. Indian equities pulled back towards the end of session to close with
15,670.31, which is a gain of 282.35 points or 1.83 per cent. All the sectoral
indices, except realty, ended in the positive terrain. Market opened sharply higher
taking cues from the global markets, The indices held on to their gains till European
markets turned negative. Aggressive buying at lower levels in the last half an
hour saw the indices spike again to end the week on a strong note. Following the
trend of BSE the wide range National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty ended at 4636.45,
up 65 points or 1.42 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 4669.75,
while the low, also the open, was 4571.60. According to Dharmesh Desai, Vice President
of Networth Marketing, domestic institutions were sellers in specific sectors
while insurance companies were buying. There were rumours that a big fund house
was waiting to enter the market at 4600 levels and that must have caused today's
surge. Hindalco Industries (6.65 percent), Tata Motors (6.61 percent), ONGC (5.91
percent), State Bank of India (5.29 percent) and Hindustan Unilever (3.32 percent)
were amongst the gainers of sensex surge The losers included Bharti Airtel (-3.06
percent), Reliance Communications (-2.11 percent), Hero Honda (-2.08 percent),
DLF (-1.48percent) and NTPC (-0.78 percent). Stephen
Hawking to receive Medal of Freedom from Obama Top London:
Stephen Hawking, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University
, is among the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. US President
Barack Obama announced yesterday the complete list and said that it showed "an
incredible diversity of backgrounds" but added: "Each has been an agent of change.
Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great
obstacles along the way." Professor Hawking's book A Brief History of Time remained
a bestseller for a record 237 weeks, reports The Times. The 67-year-old, who has
a neuromuscular dystrophy that has left him almost totally paralysed, is expected
to travel to Washington to receive the award. Other recipients include Mary Robinson,
the former President of Ireland, Sidney Poitier, the actor, Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town , and Billie Jean King, the tennis player.
Obama
takes a Bud Light swig with black scholar, white cop Top Washington:
US President Barack Obama knocked back a few cold ones with Harvard professor
Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge , Massachusetts , police sergeant James Crowley
in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday afternoon. The happy hour at the White
House took place a week after the two men - Gates and Crowley - were at the center
of a heated debate over racism showing its ugly face again in America . Vice President
Biden also joined them in a gathering that some dubbed the "beer summit" to clear
the air after the recent uproar. According to Fox News, Obama described it afterward
as a "friendly, thoughtful conversation." "I have always believed that what brings
us together is stronger than what pulls us apart. I am confident that has happened
here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson
from this episode," Obama said. The dispute began July 16 when Crowley , while
investigating a report of a potential burglary at Gates' house, arrested the agitated
professor on a charge of disorderly conduct. Gates, who is black, accused the
white sergeant of racial profiling. The charge was dropped -- but the dispute
exploded into a national debate, particularly after Obama said the police had
"acted stupidly" in arresting Gates. Obama later said he could have "calibrated"
his words differently, and he organized Thursday's gathering to diffuse any remaining
tension and settle the matter with a conversation over each man's brew of choice.
On Thursday, Gates and Crowley , dressed in dark suits, had Sam Adams Light and
Blue Moon, respectively, while Obama, in rolled up shirt sleeves, had a Bud Light.
Biden joined them with a non-alcoholic Bucklers. They also munched on peanuts
and pretzels served in small silver bowls as the media snapped photos. Crowley
said at a news conference after the meeting that he and Gates have agreed to meet
again to continue their conversation. Gates followed with a message on The Root,
a Web site he edits, saying that he had developed a greater appreciate for police
officers and their "daily sacrifices on our behalf." "It is incumbent upon Sergeant
Crowley and me to utilize this great opportunity that fate has given us," he said.
Before the meeting, Obama had tried to downplay its significance. "With respect
to tonight, I have to say I'm fascinated with the fascination about this evening,"
Obama told reporters. "I know this has been called the 'beer summit.' It's a clever
term, but this is not a summit, guys. It's three folks having a drink at the end
of the day and hopefully giving people an opportunity to listen to each other.
And that's all it is," he added. |
