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PLA behind Sino-Pak nuclear deal?
Tamil meet turns into DMK show
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Karuna in no mood to retire
Countering Maoist lure with soccer
Prez commutes death sentence of eight to life
Monsoon may delay Delhi date
As prices shoot up, MPs seek salary hike
Bhunia is new WB Cong
chief
Jawan killed in
encounter
Moily: Laws to be amended to curb honour killings
Army clarifies Chief’s remarks on AFSPA
YSR’s home district to be named after him
Nirupama’s mother denied bail
AI plane makes ‘priority’ landing in Mumbai
AI curtails flights
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PLA behind Sino-Pak nuclear deal?
New Delhi, June 27 It is quite well-known in diplomatic circles that China has not been comfortable with the domineering role Washington has been playing in South Asia, posing a challenge to Beijing’s geo-political interests in the region. Officials here say the nuclear agreement under which China will construct two 650 MW nuclear reactors in Pakistan’s Punjab province appears to be just one more significant step Beijing has taken at the instance of the PLA to strengthen the strategic ties between the two countries and hit Washington where it hurts. While the US has questioned the Sino-Pak nuclear deal, Washington is unlikely to go too far in opposing it since it needs both China and Pakistan for different reasons - Beijing for implementing UN sanctions against Iran and Islamabad to pursue its agenda in Afghanistan. It is in public domain that China has been assisting Pakistan in its clandestine nuclear programme for years. However, questions have been raised about its latest deal with Pakistan since China has now become a full-fledged member of the NSG while the Sino-Pak agreement is not in line with the guidelines of the 46-member nuclear cartel. A meeting of the NSG in New Zealand earlier this week ended with uncertainty about Chinese plans to sell nuclear reactors to Pakistan. But the group’s annual meeting revealed sharp divisions in international response to the development. China appeared hesitant to spell out its intentions in view of stringent NSG rules which prohibit the export of civil nuclear technology to countries like Pakistan that have not signed the NPT. Several governments were highly sceptical about any further nuclear trading with Pakistan given its poor track record in the field of nuclear disarmament. It is precisely for this reason that India has expressed concern over the deal while not publicly opposing it. Indian officials, accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his trip to Toronto for the G-20 Summit, are believed to have taken up the Sino-Pak agreement with their counterparts from some of the important nations attending the summit. Key members of the European Union (EU) are also not enthused over the China-Pakistan deal. “The EU has no problem with peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Whatever arrangements are to made have to be within the purview of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),’’ according to Catherine Ashton, EU’s High Representative for foreign affairs, who was in New Delhi for talks with Indian leaders. But many European countries and those vehemently opposed to nuclear proliferation are now blaming India and the US for furthering the Sino-Pak nuclear cooperation. A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, wondered how anyone could stop civil nuclear cooperation between China and Pakistan after the US bulldozed all NSG members to secure a nuclear waiver for India in September 2008 for undertaking nuclear commerce. “There can’t be different yardsticks for different countries,’’ he said, suggesting that the NSG might not be able to do much in the matter.
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Tamil meet turns into DMK show
Coimbatore, June 27 Except for scholars from foreign countries, others vied with one other in finding novel words and methods for praising the Chief Minister and attacking the opposition leader. The seminars, poetry sessions and cultural events hailing the glory of Tamil literature, became opportunities to applaud Karunanidhi, who was equated to Tamil itself. While Karunanidhi himself recalled his past services for Tamil language and people during one of the meetings, senior DMK leaders like K Anbazhagan showered praises on Karunanidhi's skills and achievements. Discussion on Tamil literature became deliberation on the dramas, film scripts and novels authored by Karunanidhi, mostly ignoring the contributions of other poets and writers. In the cultural events, old dramas written by Karunanidhi was staged and many of the events were opportunities to praise the DMK leader, who was behind the declaration of Tamil as a classical language. The poetry sessions turned out to be worst examples of sycophancy with film lyricists with DMK leanings who were given a platform, ignoring their topic and focusing on lauding Karunanidhi and flaying Jayalalithaa, who was invited by the state government, with an assurance that it would be an apolitical event. Karunanidhi's grand daughter Kayalvizhi Venkatesh was among the "poets" who participated in one of the poetry sessions, while another grand daughter Ezhilarasi played the veena in one of the cultural events. A thesis on the "poetic creations" of the Chief Minister's daughter Kanimozhi was also submitted. The Chief Minister's family was present in the front row, enjoying the show every day. The cadres of the DMK were more disciplined with none bring the party flags to the conference.
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Karuna in no mood to retire
Coimbatore, June 27 Karunanidhi, who had spoken about retirement from active politics, during a public meeting six months ago, had said he would remain as Chief Minister till the Tamil conference and reveal his retirement plans during the conclusion of the meet. Alagiri, the man who forced Karunanidhi to change his plans, attended the conference today, after being absent for three days, including that day on which his daughter Kayalvizhi Venkatesh recited a poem entitled “for the victory of socialism”. Deputy Chief Minister MK Stalin, who will have to wait for his elevation at least for one more year, was in a grim mood throughout the function.
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Countering Maoist lure with soccer
Kolkata, June 27 The lucky youngster would be chosen from among tribal teams set to represent various rebel-affected areas in a club-level soccer tourney at Lalgarh next month. The tournament's best player would be sent to Bayern Munich, with the state police bearing the entire cost, said Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh. The decision was taken to dissuade the youth from falling prey to the Maoists' attempts to induct them in their militant wing - the Peoples' Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). Unemployed youth are getting drawn to the rebels not for any ideological reasons, but for the monthly Rs 3,000 offered to them, Singh said. "The tournament will begin sometime next month with eight local clubs participating. The tournament's best footballer will be sent to Germany for training at Bayern Munich club," the police chief said. "The Superintendent of police, West Midapore will arrange the tournament. The clubs slated to participate and the grounds for holding the matches have been identified," Singh said. A senior police officer of West Midnapore said that last year, a football tournament was held among tribal youth in the area. A picnic for the participating teams and police personnel was also arranged after the final. The tournament was organised by the police to win the hearts of tribal youth and gain their confidence. This year, the tournament will be organised on a bigger scale. The prize money will go up and several measures will be taken to popularise the game among the tribal youth. The officer said intelligence reports suggest that the Maoists have initiated a recruitment drive to strengthen their militant wing after suffering recent setbacks. "They are trying to bring more local youth to their training camps. So to dissuade the youth from treading the Maoist path, the tournament will be organised in the area," said the officer.
— IANS
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Prez commutes death sentence of eight to life
New Delhi, June 27 Patil gave her order on June 15 on mercy petitions submitted by Shyam Manohar and five others, who were on death row since October 1997 for killing five persons including a 10-year old boy, and Dharmendra Kumar and Narendra Yadav, who were convicted of murdering five members of a family. After the decision on these two mercy petitions, 21 such pleas are still pending with the President's Secretariat while three are with Home Ministry, according to the information provided by the President's Secretariat to S C Agrawal on his Right to Information application. So far, President Pratibha Patil has decided on three petitions and and in all of them the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The last mercy was granted by Patil on November 23, 2009 when she commuted death sentence awarded to R Govindasamy of Tamil Nadu to life imprisonment. In the latest cases, Shyam Manohar along with Sheo Ram, Prakash, Suresh, Ravinder and Harish had filed a mercy petition before the President soon after the verdict of the Supreme Court in 1997 which upheld the death penalty awarded to them by the High Court. The broad guidelines generally considered while examining grant of mercy under Article 72 of the Constitution relate to age, sex or mental state of the accused, circumstances of the case, conduct of the offender and medical abnormality falling short of legal insanity. After examination, the case is submitted to the President's Secretariat for a final decision with the due recommendation of the Union Home Minister. There is no time limit given under the Article for the President to take decision on a mercy plea. If the appeal is rejected under the Article 72, the decision of the President is communicated to the concerned state governments and Union Territories, which decide the date of execution in the matter under the existing rules.
PTI
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Monsoon may delay Delhi date
New Delhi, June 27 “Current indications are that there may be a delay in arrival of monsoon over Delhi. Even though a fresh system developed last week, due to its low intensity the northern limit of monsoon saw no significant movement. By tomorrow, the IMD should be able to predict when the rains will arrive over Delhi and rest of the northwest India,” he said. Though dates are only said to be pointers, but as per the current system around June 29, 30 and July 1, the monsoon limit is supposed to pass through Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The good news was that even though there has been a slight delay in the progress of the monsoon, the country could expect good rains this year that would help it tide over last year’s deficit. The Met office has predicted monsoon rains this year to be 102 per cent of the long period average, which was an extremely positive sign for the country’s agriculture-driven economy. The northwest India, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, UP, Jammu and Kashmir, HP and Rajasthan, was also likely to get good rains this year, as per the IMD. The weather office that was in the process of reviewing onset dates of the monsoon said as per current dates the seasonal rains cover the entire country by July 15. Weather scientists are in the process of reviewing normal onset dates for monsoon, which may come into effect from next season, said Tyagi. However, the new dates may vary from the present ones only by a couple of days and would also be subject to a variation of plus or minus seven to eight days. Which means that even though Kerala, Delhi and other parts of the country would soon have new onset dates for monsoon, there may not really be any significant change from current normal dates. Under normal conditions, southwest monsoon sets in over Andaman seas by mid-May. Under the current system, June 1 was considered the normal date for the onset of the monsoons over Kerala. Its onward surge begins with Kochi getting rains by June 2, followed by Mangalore (June 3), Vishakhapattanam (June 8), Mumbai, Nagpur, Raipur, Ranchi (June 10), Varanasi (June 15), Lucknow (June 18) and Delhi (June 29). This year, while Kerala saw the onset of monsoon before time, cyclonic storm Phet in the Arabian Sea delayed its advancement across the west coast by about one week.
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As prices shoot up, MPs seek salary hike
New Delhi, June 27 Parliamentary Affairs Minister PK Bansal said the extent of hike in salary and allowances of the MPs had not been decided. “Nothing has been finalised. Everything is under discussion. Very soon, we will take it up with the concerned ministries. We hope to take it to the Cabinet so as to introduce a Bill in the coming session of Parliament beginning next month,” he said. Bansal insisted that there was “nothing wrong” in Parliament amending the relevant Act periodically keeping in view the increased cost of living and other expenses. The last hike in salaries and allowances of 795 MPs — 545 of the Lok Sabha and 250 of the Rajya Sabha — was effected some 10 years ago. The Sixth Pay Commission for government servants came into effect from January 2006. The manner in which the hike has been sought to be brought about has raised a controversy. CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury has already said his party would oppose the move of the parliamentarians themselves deciding on their pay hike as it was “wrong”. In the last Lok Sabha too, then Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had favoured an institutional mechanism like a Salary Commission to go into the issue and had even written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he felt that it was not proper that the MPs themselves decide on their pay packet. Chatterjee said he was informed by the government that it was not possible to set up such a mechanism in the Lok Sabha and it could be thought of later. There are, however, no two views about the meagre salary the parliamentarians here get as compared to their counterparts in some other countries.
— PTI
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Bhunia is new WB Cong
chief
New Delhi, June 27 The Congress has now appointed Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Manas Ranjan Bhunia to the post, a move that is expected to improve the grand old party’s prospects ahead of the Assembly elections next year. According to party sources, if the Congress wants to improve its position in the state it needs a “full time” PCC chief there. The fact is Mukherjee is much burdened at the Centre with, too, many responsibilities. He is not only taking care of a crucial portfolio like the Finance Ministry Mukherjee, but also heads around 24 ministers. Being a key member of the Congress core group, he is deeply embroiled in the party’s national-level affairs and has limited time to deal with the state affairs. Moreover, West Bengal is a key state for the Congress, where it foresees a chance of improving its presence. The party also needs to improve its current status of relationship with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee.
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Jawan killed in
encounter
Kolkata, June 27 According to reports reaching the state government at Writers Buildings, in the morning, the joint action force conducted a combing operation in the Jangalmahal area, near Jhargram, following an information that a group of Maoists had gathered there for launching attack on the police camp. Soon followed an exchange of firing between the two groups which lasted for about an hour. In the clashes, one CRPF jawan was killed and several others received bullet injuries. Later, the police recovered a bullet-ridden body of a Maoist activist.
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Moily: Laws to be amended to curb honour killings
Kolkata, June 27 “We propose an amendment to the Special Marriage Act to reduce the period of notice (required for court marriages) from 30 days to zero. No notice period is provided for that,” Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said here today. Warning caste-based panchayats and similar groups against harassing couples marrying against family wishes, he said, “Whatever the association of the group, if they parade these couple naked or the girl naked or try to harass them or effect a boycott against them in the village, that is also made
punishable.” Moily had earlier said that as per the amendment, bodies like caste panchayats could be brought under the ambit of the crime as they are accused in many instances of ordering killings in the name of protecting honour of a community. Caste panchayats ordering the killings can also be accused of the crime and all members of such bodies can be deemed guilty, whether or not they have favoured the killing. On June 23, Moily said the government has drafted a law that will seek to put an end to such ‘extra-judicial’ actions. “The Home Ministry has already drafted a Bill, which has been vetted. It will be a tight law to put an end to such crimes,” he had said.
— PTI
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Army clarifies Chief’s remarks on AFSPA
New Delhi, June 27 Even as the Centre prepares to make AFSPA, that gives sweeping powers to the Army in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast, "more humane", the General has gone on record to voice his opposition to any changes, saying demands for dilution of the act were being made for "narrow political gains". His comments come in the backdrop of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's promise to make the act more humane. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has already sent a note to the Cabinet on diluting the Act. Affirming that "all those who ask for its (AFSPA's) dilution or withdrawal, probably do so for narrow political gains," Gen Singh had said that any dilution "will lead to constraining our operation". The Army said that the General had told a defence journal in April that "AFSPA must be understood in the backdrop of trying conditions a soldier is operating in the militancy-infested areas in Jammu and Kahmir and North East." The statement said that General Singh's comments were "primarily in context to the local politics in J and K with special reference to the separatist forces. Their sole aim is to demoralise the security forces." — PTI
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YSR’s home district to be named after him
Hyderabad, June 27 The Congress government has been on a renaming spree with several welfare programmes being named in the memory of
YSR, a charismatic leader who died in a helicopter crash in September last year. However, this has triggered similar demands from different parts of the state to pay tributes to those who had shaped Andhra Pradesh’s history. The main Opposition, Telugu Desam Party, came up with a proposal to rename Srikakulam district after freedom fighter Gowthu Lachanna and Vizianagaram district after its erstwhile ruler PVG
Raju. The Cabinet has also decided to rename the upcoming night bazaar near
Shilparamam, a cultural complex in the city, as ‘YSR Shilpa Sandhya
Vedika’. "This was a dream project of YSR,” the Minister for Tourism and Culture J Geetha Reddy said.
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Ranchi, June 27 Additional District Judge Nitynanad Singh in Koderma town rejected the appeal for bail, her lawyer Arun Mishra said, adding that he would move the high court. "She has been implicated in her daughter's death," Mishra said. Sudha was arrested on May 3 on the charges of killing Nirupama. The family insists that Nirupama, who was pregnant at the time, had committed suicide. — IANS
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AI plane makes ‘priority’ landing in Mumbai
Mumbai, June 27 The plane landed safely at 9.48 pm at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and all passengers were safe, a Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said. “The steering of the aircraft got jammed when it was on approach to landing at the city airport, which forced the flight make a priority landing,” an airport official said. — PTI
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AI curtails flights
Mumbai, June 27 The now derecognised Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) had in March threatened to strike work, demanding recruitment of cabin crew in view of the manpower crunch. "The airline has withdrawn as many as 12 flights across its network due to persistent constraint of cabin crew," airline sources said here. Manpower crunch was hitting flights operation badly, they said.
— PTI |
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