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Ponty murder: 4 held for trespass

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested four aides of slain liquor baron Ponty Chadha for trespassing into the farmhouse where Ponty and his brother Hardeep allegedly killed each other.

The police had filed two FIRs in the case. Today’s arrests were made on the FIR filed by Hardeep's manager Nand Lal against Ponty's men on charges of trespassing and murder. Two among the four arrested are Ponty’s personal security men.

According to the FIR, Ponty had 'trespassed' into the farmhouse- Farm No. 42 at DLF Farms, Chhattarpur - angering Hardeep, who rushed there from Noida where he was in a meeting.

The second FIR was filed based on the statements by Uttarakhand Minorities Commission chief Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, who was with Ponty at the time of the shootout that left both the brothers dead. Sukhdev ‘s gunner Akash Tyagi had shot Hardeep after Hardeep shot Ponty.

The police have also filed another FIR in connection with a similar trespassing by Chadha’s men in Bijawasan in outer Delhi. 

Irish govt to discuss abortion laws today

London/Dublin: Amid growing protests over death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar, the Irish cabinet will take up a report of an expert group on abortion on Tuesday.

31-year-old Savita Halappanavar died in an Irish hospital last month after doctors refused to heed to her demand to be allowed to abort her pregnancy as she was miscarrying. The authorities told her that as Ireland is a Catholic country, abortion can’t be allowed at any cost. Savita died of blood poisoning after spending three days in pain and agony.

Today, the report of the expert group constituted by the Irish government will be brought before the Cabinet by Health Minister James Reilly.

Earlier, Reilly extended his sympathies to Halappanavar's family and said they would have input into the terms of reference for the inquiry into her death.

"I have read the report and I need to study it further. It's a hugely complex issue that has divided the country... and we're not going to solve it in a matter of weeks," he said.

It would be a "derogation of duty" not to deal with the issue, he said, adding that every woman had a right to have legal clarity regarding the treatment available to her. 

Israel waits on ground assault; death toll in Gaza reaches 111

Gaza City: Israel temporarily put on hold a decision on a possible ground invasion of Gaza to give more time to Egypt's truce efforts, but seven days of incessant raids took the Palestinian death toll to 111 amid warnings by Hamas that it won't succumb to Israeli conditions.

Israel's cabinet met late last night to discuss the latest ceasefire initiatives with Hamas, on the bloodiest day yet of the military offensive when over 30 Palestinians were killed in multiple strikes.

As UN chief Ban Ki-moon stepped into the Egypt-led efforts to strike a ceasefire, the Security Council wrangled over an Arab-proposed statement calling for Israel-Hamas hostilities to end, with Russia expressing frustration over the silence on the issue and blaming the US for blocking any action.

Early this morning, at least four people were injured when F-16 fighter jets hit the Islamic National Bank in Gaza City, which is located in a residential area, Al Jazeera reported.

At a late night cabinet meeting, the Israeli government agreed to briefly hold off sending ground forces into Gaza to see how the ceasefire efforts in Cairo turn out, according to Jerusalem Post.