MUMBAI: The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex touched a new all-time high of 22,485.77 in the morning trade on Tuesday on persistent buying mainly in consumer durables, IT and tech sectors ahead of the RBI’s first bi-monthly monetary policy review.

Persistent foreign capital inflows coupled with higher global cues also boosted the market sentiment.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs. 942.86 crore on Monday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The Sensex resumed higher at 22,455.23 and firmed up further to 22,485.77 before quoting at 22,400.96 at 1000 hours, showing a gain of 14.69 points, or 0.07 pct from its last close.

While, the NSE 50-share Nifty eased by 0.09 pct to 6698.50 at 1000 hours.

Major gainers were Wipro 1.36 pct, ONGC 1.29 per cent, Tata Motors 1.14 per cent, TCS 0.76 per cent and Reliance Ind 0.61 per cent.

Asian stocks gained in their early trade as investors weighed reports on China’s manufacturing that underscored weakness in the world’s second biggest economy.

Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan were up 0.13 per cent to 1.72 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei Average fell by 0.28 per cent.

U.S. stocks rallied broadly on the final trading day on Monday capping a lacklustre three months with a strong gain led by the beaten down biotechnology sector. - PTI

JHANSI (UP): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti has said that party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is "not a good orator" and people go to his rallies to show support rather than listen to him. 

“If you have paid attention then you would know that Modi is not a good orator. People go to his rallies not to listen to his speech but to tell him that they stand by him," Bharti said, while campaigning in Jhansi, from where she has been nominated by the BJP to contest the Lok Sabha election.

“Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a good orator. People say that there has been no orator like him in Indian politics,” she added. -ANI

NEW DELHI: Congress today took potshots at BJP over Uma Bharti's clarification on Narendra Modi's oratorical skills suggesting that "poor" Bharti had to eat a humble pie due to the growing clout of the BJP's PM candidate.

"Poor Uma Bharti! She is trying to cover up on TV channels after making an observation that Modi is not a good orator. It's all time factor !," party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed said on Twitter.

His remarks came soon after Bharti, seeking to clarify her statement on Modi said that the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate is the country's "anokha" (unique) person who draws massive crowd.

"All that I said about Narendra Modi, I will repeat it again. The same thing that A B Vajpayee was a good orator but Narendra Modi is country's 'anokha' (unique) person after years in whose support lakhs and lakhs turn up. This is what I had said," she said.

Addressing party workers at Kunj Vatika last night, Bharti had said, "Vajpayeeji was a very good orator...it is said that there has been no other orator like him in Indian politics.

"If you have observed minutely you would have found that Modi is not a good orator but still people are coming to his rallies not to listen but to tell him that they want him to change this country and they support him," she had said. - PTI 

Swine flu claims second life in Vizag this year

VISAKHAPATNAM: Swine flu claimed its second victim in the city this year with the death of a 27-year-old man at a private hospital today, health officials said.

"The man, who was infected with H1N1 virus, died at the hospital located in Gajuwaka area this morning. He was from Sriharipuram locality in Visakhapatnam. This is the second swine flu death in the city since January," District Nodal Officer of the Swine Flu, Dr L B H S Devi told PTI.

According to Devi, ever since the victim had returned from a tour in south India about a month back, he had started suffering from health problems like cough, cold, bleeding from mouth, following which he was admitted to a hospital.

In January this year, a 27-year-old pregnant woman had succumbed to the deadly disease here. Devi said that a house-to-house surveillance is being conducted in Visakhapatnam to find out people suffering from swine flu. - PTI

NEW DELHI: A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to three years imprisonment by a Delhi court for harassing and abetting suicide of his wife who ended her life as she was fed of the physical torture.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Kumar Goyal also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on deceased Aarti's husband Ranjeet, a resident of Uttar Pradesh.

While holding Ranjeet guilty, the court said that Aarti was treated with cruelty and was harassed by her husband before her death.

"The wilful conduct of Ranjeet drove Aarti to commit suicide, which falls within the definition of cruelty under Section 498A (subjecting woman to cruelty) of the IPC. Hence, prosecution has been able to prove offence under Section 498A of IPC against Ranjeet beyond reasonable doubts, for which, he is held guilty," the judge said.

Ranjeet along with his mother Shanti Devi and sister Jagrati was earlier booked for the offence of dowry death, murder and subjecting the victim to cruelty but the court later on converted it into abetment to suicide.

The court held Ranjeet guilty of harassing his wife Aarti but acquitted his mother and sister of all charges.

"It is an admitted fact that Aarti died under unnatural circumstances, but there was no demand of dowry soon before her death, so, prosecution has not been able to prove offence under Section 304B (dowry death) of the IPC against accused Ranjeet beyond reasonable doubts, for which, he is acquitted," the court held.

It also directed the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to pay compensation to the parents of the victim as her husband was economically weak and was unable to give any compensation.

According to the police, Aarti was found hanging at her house on March 20, 2011 and a case was lodged against her husband and in-laws for harassing and murdering her for dowry.

The victim's parents had told the police that Aarti had married Ranjeet in June 2010 and within few days, the accused had started harassing and torturing her demanding a motorcycle and a gold chain.

Aarti's mother had alleged that on January 5, 2011, she had spoken to her on phone and told her that she was beaten and tortured by her husband. Later, on March 20, 2011 she was found hanging at her home in Rithala here.

During the trial, Ranjeet claimed innocence saying he was falsely implicated in the case.

The court acquitted Ranjeet's mother and sister in the case saying, "It is also not corroborated and proved that both accused Shanti Devi and Jagrati were residing with Ranjeet at Delhi when Aarti committed suicide and prosecution has not been able to bring on record any evidence or circumstance that any of the accused had committed murder of Aarti...," the judge said. - PTI

SINGAPORE: A sixth Indian national has been jailed for his role in the Dec 8 riots here in which mobs indulged in vandalism after a private bus ran over another Indian.

Krishnan Saravanan, 31, was convicted of the amended charge of failing to disperse despite being lawfully commanded to do so and jailed for 18 weeks, the Straits Times reported Tuesday.

He is the sixth Indian to plead guilty in the case. 

He had faced a rioting charge, which carried a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and caning. 

His sentence was back-dated to the date of his arrest Dec 9 last year, the report said.

Five others were sentenced under the same amended charge to serve between 15 and 18 weeks in jail in the last two months. 

Cases against the remaining 19 charged with rioting are pending in court.

The riots started at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road in Little India area here around 9.20 p.m. Dec 8 when a private bus knocked down and killed an Indian construction worker, Sakthivel Kumaravelu, 33.

About 400 people attacked the bus and police and rescue vehicles for two hours before riot police brought the situation under control.- IANS