NEW DELHI: In a major relief to jailed AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa, the Supreme Court today granted her bail in a disproportionate assets (DA) case in which she was sentenced to four-year jail term.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu stayed the sentence and warned Jayalalithaa against causing any delay by seeking adjournment in her appeal in the Karnataka High Court.

The Bench directed Jayalalithaa to file paperbook of her appeal in the high court within two months.

"If paperbook is not filed within two months, then we won't give you even a single day more," the Bench said.

It refused to dispose of the bail plea and posted the case for hearing on December 18 to ensure that Jayalalithaa complies with its order.

The Bench also said it would ask the high court to dispose of her appeal within three months.

In an hour-long hearing, initially the Bench expressed reservation on granting bail to her, saying she had delayed the trial proceedings for years and if she is allowed to come out on bail then appeal would be decided in two decades.

Senior advocate Fali S. Nariman,appearing for Jayalalithaa, assured the court that the matter would not be delayed, saying that he was willing to give the statement on affidavit that no adjournment would be taken by her in the high court.

"I undertake that no delay would be caused while appeal is heard by the high court. It is not a game. It may have been a game before. You can record my statement," Nariman told the Bench.

The apex court also granted bail to Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala and her relatives V.N. Sudhakaran, disowned foster-son of the former Chief Minister, and Ilavarasi. — PTI

NEW DELHI: The Centre today submitted before the Supreme Court that all the information on black money received from foreign countries, with which India has double taxation avoidance agreement, cannot be disclosed.

In its application, the Centre said the foreign countries have objected to disclosing such information and if such details are revealed, then no other country would sign such an agreement with India.

Appearing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the issue and pleaded for an urgent hearing.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, on whose plea the apex court had constituted Special Investigating Team (SIT) on black money, strongly objected to the stand taken by the Centre and said matter be not heard.

"Matter should not be entertained even for a day. Such application should have been made by the culprits and not by the government," Jethmalani said, adding that Centre is trying to protect the people who have stashed black money in foreign banks.

Jethmalani said he has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue and his response is awaited.

The apex court had constituted the SIT headed by its former judge M.B. Shah on a plea of Jethmalani, who had moved the court for the purpose of getting black money back to the country.

It had appointed its retired judges M.B. Shah as the Chairman and Arijit Pasayat as the Vice-Chairman of the SIT for providing guidance and direction in the investigation of all cases of black money in the country and abroad. — PTI

Cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ successfully test-fired

BALASORE (Odisha): India’s indigenously developed nuclear- capable sub-sonic cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’, which can strike targets more than 700 km away, was on Friday test-fired from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha.

“The missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher positioned at launch pad 3 of the Integrated Test Range at about 10.03 hours,” said an official soon after the flight took off from the launch ground.

“Flight details will be available after data retrieved from radars and telemetry points, monitoring the trajectories, are analysed,” the official said.

It is the second test of the sub-sonic long- range cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ from the ITR.

The maiden flight, conducted on March 12, 2013, could not achieve all the desired parameters as “the flight had to be terminated mid-way, when deviations were observed from its intended course,” sources said.

India has in its arsenal the 290-km range supersonic “BrahMos” cruise missile which is jointly developed by India and Russia. But ‘Nirbhay’ with long- range capability is a different kind of missile being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). — PTI

Modi meets top military officers to discuss security scenario

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top military officers at the Defence Ministry War Room here today at a time when tension continues along the border with both China and Pakistan.

The Combined Commanders' Conference is the first meeting of the Prime Minister with all top commanders, including the three service chiefs.

The three service chiefs are expected to give elaborate presentations to the prime minister on the security scenario.

The Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, will make the first presentation, followed by the Indian Navy chief, Admiral R.K. Dhowan and the Indian Army chief, General Dalbir Singh.

The Prime Minister and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley will address the conference.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Defence Secretary R.K. Mathur, among others, are also attending the conference.

Top sources in the Defence Ministry said the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir and transgressions by China in the northeast will be in the focus during the conference.

Other issues like prepardeness of the forces and threat perceptions will also be discussed.

The recent al-Qaeda announcement of a new wing in India and the possible threat from ISIS as well as terrorism in the country are also expected to be discussed.

The Combined Commanders' Conference is a annual event, where the three service chiefs present the major achievements of the year gone by and the key issues and challenges in the year ahead. Important strategic, operational, logistical and administrative aspects pertaining to the forces are deliberated upon. — IANS

JAMMU: Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice by firing with small arms and automatic weapons on Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Army.

“There were small arms and automatic weapons firing by Pakistani troops on Indian posts along the LoC in Hamirpur sector of Poonch district around 0955 hours today,” a senior Army officer said.

Troops guarding the borderline retaliated, resulting in exchanges which were going on when reports last came in.

Pakistani troops had also targeted forward areas along LoC in Hamirpur sector of Poonch from 2100 hours to 2245 hours on Thursday night, drawing retaliation from Indian troops, he said.

“There was no loss of life or injury to anyone in Pakistani firing on troops side,” he said.

Before these two ceasefire violations, Pakistan had violated the ceasefire by resorting to firing and mortar shelling along the LoC in Saujian-Kirni-Shahpur belts of Poonch on October 15, in which seven-year-old Riyaz of Kuiyian Gotirian village was injured.

“International Border (IB) has remained calm for the past few days,” Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Zone, Shant Manu said.

The IB and LoC in Jammu region have witnessed heavy firing and mortar shelling by Pakistani troops since October 1, which has left eight persons dead and over 95 injured, including 13 security men.

Besides, nearly 30,000 people have fled from their border homes leaving 113 hamlets deserted along the IB. — PTI

DHARAMSALA: The West Indian players on Friday called off the remaining part of the Indian tour owing to pay dispute with their cricket board.

Earlier, the financial dispute between the West Indies players and its association (WIPA) had almost led to cancellation of Friday’s fourth ODI against India before last-minute intervention from BCCI joint secretary Anurag Thakur brought the team to the ground.

There were enough signals of the players’ protest on the ground with the whole team unusually standing behind captain Dwayne Bravo at the toss. The team entered the HPCA Stadium at 1 pm for the match, scheduled to start at 2.30 pm and practiced for not more than half hour.

All the drama, however, unfolded at the team hotel.

Around three hours before the match, Thakur rushed to the team hotel to convince the West Indies players to play the match.

Thakur, in his capacity as a key BCCI and HPCA official, persuaded Bravo and his players to compete, saying a no-show will result in an embarrassment for the organisers and to add to it, the disappointment of the fans, who came to watch a rare international game from nearby as well as far-off places.

The players relented after they were told that "you are on your own if you decide against playing the match and HPCA is no more your host".

“It did not seem the match between would happen as late 12 pm. The West Indies had decided to type their pull out until Thakur intervened. He spoke to the whole team, including Bravo, support staff (Richie Richardson, Curtly Ambrose) and others. Everyone was sitting there,” a source, who was privy to the meeting told PTI minutes before the start of the match.

“Thakur told them that "all arrangements have been made, tickets are sold, people have travelled hundreds of kilometres to be here, so you come and play the game. Still if you have decided not to play the game, then you are on your own. I am no more a host, you are no more my guest,” the source said. 

"The tour is off. It was only after my persuasion they agreed to play today's match. They were hell bent on not to play and leave for home tomorrow," Thakur said.

The sudden pull out has left the BCCI with a tough job of finding a team at such a short notice to compensate for the lost matches.

BCCI secretary Patel said they have initiated talks with Sri Lankan and other boards to cobble up a short series.

"We are talking to not only Sri Lanka but other boards as well," Patel said.

The West Indies were scheduled to play one more ODI in Kolkata on Monday and a Twenty20 in Cuttack on October 22.

They were also scheduled to play three Test matches in Hyderabad (Oct 30-Nov 3), Bangalore (Nov 7-11) and Ahmedabad (Nov 15-19).

The repercussion of the Caribbean players' move to abandon the tour could have long-term implications as many of the them are popular players in India and play in the cash-rich IPL, owned by the BCCI.

The crisis broke out on the eve of the first ODI in Kochi, when the players threatened to boycott the match in protest against the contract, handed out to them by the WICB.

Although the players competed in that match, they had made it clear that their decision should not in any way be construed as an acceptance by the players of the unreasonable terms and conditions put forward to us by WICB. They had said it was not an acceptance of the purported new Memorandum of Understanding, Bravo had said in a letter to Players' Association chief Wavell Hinds.

"The players will not accept any agreement it has had no input in, did not give its consent to and which would infringe on its rights. We reserve all of our rights and intend to seek independent advice so as to establish the players best course of action," the letter said. — PTI

NEW DELHI/LEH: In a swift operation, three helicopters of the 'Siachen Pioneers', a unit of the Indian Air Force, flew in just metres away from the border with China amidst rough weather conditions and rescued six seriously injured ITBP personnel involved in an accident.

The accident spot was just 200 meters from the Line of Actual Control under enemy observation, fast deteriorating weather and lack of any conventional helipad.

An ITBP patrol vehicle with 15 soldiers, carrying out regular patrolling along the Indo-Chinese border near Hot Spring post met with an accident yesterday, when the driver lost control due to brake failure after which the vehicle tumbled into a ravine and fell in the dry river bed.

Six occupants were seriously injured.

The casualties required immediate medical intervention and the only mode of rescue available in this terrain and remote region was by helicopters of the Indian Air Force at Leh.

On receiving the distress call, pilots obtained relevant information and planned their mission.

Within minutes, three helicopters of the unit were launched in marginal weather conditions, led by Wg Cdr BS Sehrawat, the Commanding Officer of the Unit.

Hot Spring and en route valley are narrow and the treacherous terrain has virtually no forced landing fields.

For a single engine helicopter it increases the risk manifold.

In addition, the prevailing inclement weather in the area left the pilots with no margin for error, it called for extraordinary skill and courage to go ahead with the mission in such conditions, a statement released by the Air Force said.

Keeping an eye on the fast deteriorating weather, the crew went ahead with the evacuation.

En route near Tsogtsalu helipad, 32 km short of the accident spot, weather deteriorated further forcing the pilots to land and wait for 30 minutes before it improved.

The moment they found a small opening in weather, the crew took off without any further delay. The casualties were swiftly accommodated inside the helicopter.

On return, the pilots again encountered bad weather forcing them to land at Tangste helipad this time.

The pilots ensured that the casualties were administered first aid at Tangste while waiting for weather to improve, the statement said.

As soon as the weather improved, the formation immediately took off for Leh.

Once the helicopter landed at Leh, the injured underwent a quick medical check up and were sent to 153 GH, Leh.

Siachen Pioneers is a premier helicopter unit of the Indian Air Force that carries out extensive operations in the entire Ladakh region especially the Siachen Glacier.

Siachen Pioneers have so far saved more than 6,300 lives under the most challenging flying conditions found anywhere in the globe.

It has a rare distinction of being the only Unit that is constantly engaged in Operations for the past 30 years. — PTI

KATHMANDU: Trekkers battling a Himalayan blizzard were left helpless after porters fainted from the cold, a survivor of one of Nepal's worst mountain disasters said on Friday, as rescue teams resumed a hunt for 10 missing hikers and the death toll reached 29.

The dead included trekkers from Canada, India, Israel and Poland, as well as Nepali guides and herders, drawn by the peak hiking season only to fall victim to unexpected avalanches and blizzards brought by a cyclone in India. 

"When we were coming down I saw several porters struggling with loads on their backs," said Eitan, 31, an Israeli trekker who was descending from a teashop at a high altitude where he had taken refuge when the snow began.

"Some of them fainted right in front of me and we could not help. They were cold and there was no one to help," said Eitan who declined to give his last name.

Eitan, who was speaking at an army hospital in the capital, Kathmandu, had severe frostbite on his fingers, which were swathed in bandages. He feared others were not as lucky as he had been. 

Ten hikers remain missing, the police said on Thursday, but rescue workers and witnesses put the number higher, including porters and villagers trapped up high when the blizzard struck. 

Searchers dug out of the snow an Israeli tourist who had been buried up to his neck for 48 hours and took him to hospital, said Baburam Bhandari, Governor of the Mustang region near Tibet that took the brunt of the blizzards and avalanches.

"By the end of the day today we hope to clear the entire district," said Bhandari, adding that rescue efforts were focused on the upper stretches of the 5,416-metre-high Thorong La pass, the highest point of the trail that loops around Annapurna, the world's 10th highest mountain.

"This means we will complete the search for all people reported missing or in trouble," Bhandari said on Friday. Rescue efforts will be helped by the blue skies and sunshine
predicted by weather forecasts. A team of about 60 soldiers and police used shovels, ropes and ice axes to dig through deep snow near the pass. Helicopters aided the search. 

Israel's Ambassador to Nepal said 13 Israelis had been admitted to hospital but "many more" were still out of contact. "We hope they are safe but it is important for us to get a sense of the situation they are in," said envoy Yaron Mayer. 

Army and civilian teams have brought down more than 150 tourists, many who had taken shelter in the small guest houses and tea shops that line the popular Annapurna route. The 240-km circuit wends through spectacular views of jagged peaks and Buddhist villages. Taking almost three weeks to complete, it is perhaps the most popular walking route in the Himalayas and is dubbed the "apple pie" circuit because of the baked treats on offer at the teahouses that line it.

This week's incident was the second major mountain disaster in Nepal this year, after an avalanche killed 16 sherpa guides on Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, in
April. This week's disaster was the worst since avalanches crashed down peaks in the Mount Everest region killing 42 people in 1995, army officials said. 

Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains. Income from tourism, including permit fees for trekkers, who made up more than 12 percent of its 800,000 tourists in 2013, accounts for four percent of its economy. — Reuters