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iraq crisis
For twin sisters, it’s a ‘rebirth’
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Monsoon fails to keep date with northwest
Sunanda’s death row: Azad dismisses doctor’s charges
Vardhan for higher tax on tobacco products Govt rules out hike in prices of LPG, kerosene
Rs 3.3-crore fee controversy
BJP’s mahapanchayat call led to tension: Police
‘Snake’ found in mid-day meal, 54 kids taken ill
Maha hospitals shut as doctors’ strike enters Day 5
Pancholis file Rs 100-cr defamation suit against Jiah’s mother
Centre plans massive infra boost in Arunachal to counter China
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‘Treated well by ISIS, but won’t go back’
Kochi, July 5 “We will not go back. There is no question of going back. We are not prepared to endanger our lives once again,” said Sandra Sebastian, who arrived at the Kochi airport along with 45 other nurses to a warm and emotional welcome from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and her relatives. Sandra, hailing from neighbouring Kottayam district, said she had gone to Iraq on August 16 last year. Since the past four months she and the other nurses had not received salaries from the Government Tikrit Training Hospital. “Earlier, we were a batch of 23 nurses and then 15 more joined us in February this year,” she said. On being held captive by ISIS militants, Sandra and Neenu Jose, another nurse, said though they had been asked to move out earlier, they refused to do so as the Indian Embassy had not permitted them, she said. However, on July 3, the militants gave them only 15 minutes to pack their bags and leave. “They told us that we were their sisters and we would not be harmed. But we did not believe them,” Sandra said, adding that some armed doctors also travelled with them during the seven-hour journey from Tikrit to Mosul. They left the hospital at 12 pm in four buses and reached Mosul by 7 pm. “We were given food and bed to sleep on,” Neenu said. Suni Mol Chacko from Kannur said: “They (ISIS) cannot be called terrorists. They are part of the local government.” Elanji Balakrishnan from Ernakulam said his daughter Renu had gone to Iraq in August last year. The family had to take Rs 2-lakh loan to send her and she had not received salary for the past three months, he said. “I had to mortgage 48 cents (20,908 sq feet) of land and my house to send my daughter to Iraq,” Balakrishnan said. All nurses and their families thanked Chandy and the Central Government for all help in ensuring their safe return to India. Of the 46 nurses, 45 hail from various districts of Kerala and one belongs to Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. They said the militants treated them well. Mareena from Kottayam was in tears as she hugged and kissed her two-year-old daughter Reya and son Merin, whom she was meeting after 11 months. She said they were well looked after by the ISIS and had no complaints. Shantamma, mother of Shalini, said her daughter had gone to Tikrit five months ago after taking Rs 5-lakh loan. Chandy who arrived here late last night, received the nurses at the airport and the airport authorities ensured speedy completion of emigration and customs formalities. Airport sources said besides Chandy, Health minister VS Shivakumar, PWD minister Irabhim Kunju, Chalakudy MP and Malayalam actor Innocent and Kottayam MP Jose K Mani were present at the airport. Though most of them looked travel weary, there were tears of joy as they spotted their near and dear ones. — PTI
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For twin sisters, it’s a ‘rebirth’
Kochi, July 5 Sona and Veena, twins who returned along with the other nurses, said the sound of shootouts and bomb explosions used to give them sleepless nights and they were worried about their future. They said their safe journey home was a rebirth for them. “We used to wake up in shock suddenly at midnight hearing the shootouts,” the sisters, who reached home at Ettumanoor in Kottyam district, said. Sona said when they were asked by the militants to leave the hospital on June 3, they were tense as they did not know what to do. The ISIS militants also kept changing the names of the destination they were heading to, raising suspicions, they said. — PTI
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Monsoon fails to keep date with northwest
New Delhi, July 5 The IMD’s forecast today did not provide any information on its further progress. Till yesterday, the national forecaster was saying “conditions are favourable for further advancement of southwest monsoon into remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh and some more parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh during next three days”. As per the IMD, over the next three days heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur at isolated places over Bihar. Heavy rainfall would occur at isolated places over east Uttar Pradesh, north Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya and coastal Karnataka. Not much movement is expected in the northwest and central India untill July 12. Rain is expected to revive around second half of July. The performance of the monsoon in June was dismal. There is a huge deficiency in northwest and central India. “Rain or thundershowers will occur at many places over northeast, east and adjoining central India, peninsular India and isolated places over remaining parts of the country till July 12,” said the
IMD.
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Sunanda’s death row: Azad dismisses doctor’s charges
New Delhi, July 5 “Can I even think of such a stupid thing? Media knows me, the entire country knows what kind of person Ghulam Nabi Azad is...I can’t even think of doing such a criminal thing,” Azad told reporters at the Congress headquarters. Citing newspaper reports over certain allegations levelled against Gupta in the past by his colleagues and superiors, the senior Congress leader questioned his credibility. Gupta, who headed a three-member team that did the post-mortem on the body of Pushkar had reportedly filed an affidavit before the Central Administrative Tribunal in which he had levelled the allegation. — PTI
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Vardhan for higher tax on tobacco products
New Delhi, July 5
"You may like to consider these moves to discourage tobacco use as studies conducted in India show that
'bidis' have become three times more affordable and cigarettes have become 175 per cent more affordable in 2011 than they were in 1990," Vardhan wrote, pointing to the role of fiscal policy tools especially pricing and tax policies in influencing the demand and consumption of tobacco products.
As per a 2010 study in India, 10% rise in 'bidi' prices resulted in 9.2 per cent reduction in consumption and a similar rise in cigarette prices resulted in 3.4% reduction in use, the Health Minister said.
He cited non-communicable diseases (NCD) burden in India saying NCDs accounted for 5.2 million deaths in the country as per 2008 WHO estimates. "More than 80 per cent of all NCD deaths are attributed to four clusters of diseases - cardio vascular, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes - with tobacco use being the common risk factor to all these," he said.
According to a recent report, economic cost attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India in 2011 for persons aged 35 to 69 years was Rs 1.04 lakh
crore. “This was 1.16 of the GDP and 12% more than the combined state and Central expenditure on health in that year,” Vardhan wrote telling the CMs that India is the second largest consumer and the third largest producer of tobacco products.
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Govt rules out hike in prices of LPG, kerosene
New Delhi, July 5 "There will no increase in LPG and kerosene prices for now. We will continue with the extant pricing policy," he said here. Besides continuing to subsidise LPG and kerosene, the NDA government will also not disrupt the previous UPA government's policy of up to 50 paise a litre increase in diesel price every month. "The
(Narendra) Modi government has come to power riding on hopes of millions of poor and this government will work keeping their interest in mind," he said. The government heavily subsidises LPG and kerosene. LPG price was last hiked in Jun 2011 when it went up by a steep Rs 50 per 14.2-kg cylinder. Two subsequent increases totalling Rs 14 were on account of increase in commission paid to dealers. LPG price in Delhi at Rs 414, is Rs 449.17 short of cost. Price of kerosene, which currently costs Rs 14.96 a litre in Delhi, was last hiked in June 2011 when its price was hiked by Rs 2. Current subsidy on kerosene is Rs 33.07 per
litre. — PTI
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Bar rejects foreign couple’s plea against lawyers
Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 5 Amidst dissenting note by Bar Council chairman Rakesh Gupta and two other members, its General House has dismissed in one paragraph the complaint running into 168 pages filed by American citizen Karma Lama and his Italian wife Paola Pivi against advocates Ranjit and Anil Malhotra. The plea had raised ethical aspects of attorney fees. The couple had, rather, asserted that a check on lawyers’ fee in India was none of their concern. But, they were complaining because the two advocates took them for a “ride”. In the absence of a detailed order, issues which weighed on the mind of the general house, while turning down the plea, are not very clear. As such, it is hard to say whether the Bar Council has accorded its approval for charging any amount of fees, or some other factors led to the plea’s dismissal. But it is expected to have far-reaching consequences, with the possibility not being ruled out of other advocates quoting the orders as justification for their fee. The copy of the resolution passed on by the Bar Council, now handed over to the couple, says after going through the complaint and the comments of the advocates, it was resolved by the general house that there was no substance in the complaint and the same was dismissed. “However, Rakesh Gupta, Raj Mohan Singh and Dr Vijender Singh Ahlawat dissented over the dismissal”. The Malhotras had earlier claimed they were “engaged professionally and retained as counsel on per appearance agreed and settled charges”. Proper log of hourly working was maintained and communicated regularly in writing, for which hourly rate was paid, as per agreed and settled charges from time to time. No payment was ever disputed, questioned or left unpaid. Approximately professional time billed January to October 2013 was about 1500 hours. The case under the Guardians and Wards Act, pending in Himachal Pradesh, is still in its initial stages. But the couple in the complaint had claimed that they sold off their house in the US to pay the fee. The amount “paid” included approximately Rs 35 lakh on expenses and secondary lawyers. Out of the total, Rs. 2.5 crore was “paid” via traceable international bank transfers. The couple had asserted: “In nine and a half months of litigation, we were charged a total of US $531,000, approximately Rs 3.3 crore, by the Malhotras… The fee was calculated at US $300 per hour, equivalent to more than Rs 18,000 per hour”. The couple had added out of the total, they paid more than Rs 17 lakh for six secondary lawyers, and paid another Rs 18 lakh for expenses.
Couple’s allegation
Ranjit and Anil Malhotra allegedly took them for a ride by charging Rs 3.3 crore in just about nine months for a case involving the custody of a seven-year old. They sold off their house in the US to pay the
fee.
Malhotras’ defence
They were “engaged professionally and retained as counsel on per appearance agreed charges”. Proper log of hourly working was maintained and communicated regularly in writing, for which hourly rate was paid, as per agreed charges.
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BJP’s mahapanchayat call led to tension: Police
Lucknow, July 5 While no fresh incident was reported in Kanth today, the situation in Moradabad continues to be tense a day after violent clashes between the police and the BJP supporters left many injured and property running in crores damaged. Speaking to the media, the SSP also held Moradabad’s newly elected BJP MP Kunwar Sarvesh Singh responsible for communally polarising the situation to gain political advantage as the Assembly byelections are around the corner. Illustrating his statement, the SSP said according to the tradition, the loudspeaker at the Jatav temple at Akbarpur Chendri village was installed only for the festival of Mahashivrati and then removed. But on June 16, the newly elected BJP MP went to the village and reportedly forced the Dalits to get the loudspeaker placed in the temple due to which the tension started. According to the
SSP, members of both the communities were called for a meeting to sort out the issue through discussion, but again the BJP MP refused to budge from his position. Defending the BJP protesters attacking the DM and other senior district and police officials during the clashes in Kanth yesterday, BJP state spokesperson Manoj Mishra said the supporters were angry at the “impartial behaviour of the police and the administration”. “It was the state government’s policy of appeasement due to which the state machinery was not fair. This had angered the workers, who despite counselling attacked the police and the administration”, he claimed. Meanwhile, Moradabad DM Chandrakant who had seriously hurt his left eye during the clashes has been referred to Chennai for treatment.
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‘Snake’ found in mid-day meal, 54 kids taken ill
Sitamarhi (Bihar), July 5 Sursand block development officer Vinod Kumar said the children
of Meghpur Middle School at Sursand developed symptoms of nausea and fell
unconscious after eating the meal. They were rushed to a nearby pubic heatlth centre, given medicines and kept under observation. None of them were in critical condition, he said. “We have seized the khichdi that was given to the students. A long, black object was found in it and we suspect that it could be a snake that got cooked with the meal. We will send the samples for tests,” said
Kumar. Sursand Inspector Bimar Kumar Singh said the school students ate the meal and then noticed the snake-like object in the large utensil in which it was cooked. They then reported feeling sick and began vomiting soon after. A year ago, 23 children of a primary school at Dharmasati Gandaman village in Bihar’s Saran district had died after eating a mid-day meal laced with pesticides. — PTI
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Maha hospitals shut as doctors’ strike enters Day 5
Mumbai, July 5 The striking doctors said they would continue with the strike till the Maharashtra Government agreed with their demands. The doctors under the banner of the Maharashtra State Gazetted Medical Officers’ Organisation (MAGMO) are demanding implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, fixed working hours and regularising promotion procedure for the doctors. “We won’t withdraw the strike till our demands are fulfilled,” Dr Rajesh Gaikwad, president and general secretary, MAGMO told reporters here. Gaikwad said the strike would continue as talks with the state government earlier today failed. He further added that the striking doctors were sending their resignation letters from government service to the MAGMO. “We have received more than 8000 resignations so far and more are coming in,” Gaikwad said. Hospitals managed by the state government have been shut because of the strike. No surgeries have been performed and as many as 80 people may have died from lack of medical attention, state government officials said here.
Docs demand higher pay, fixed working hrs
* The striking doctors are demanding the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission proposals, fixed working hours and regularising promotion procedure *
At least 12,000 doctors from the main government-owned hospitals in the big cities, district hospitals and primary health centres are on strike.
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Pancholis file Rs 100-cr defamation suit against Jiah’s mother
Mumbai, July 5 Two days ago, the High Court, hearing Rabia’s plea, transferred the probe from the Mumbai police to the CBI, asking the agency to find out whether it was a case of suicide or homicide. The suit, filed by the Pancholis, was heard by Justice SC Gupte who yesterday asked the plaintiffs to serve a notice on Rabia and posted the matter for further hearing on July 9. “So far, we have not got any notice but we know that the suit has been filed and would be heard on Wednesday (July 9),” said Rabia’s lawyer Dinesh Tiwari. The suit, filed by Aditya, wife Zarina and daughter Sana, alleged that Rabia, a UK national, had posted slanderous, defamatory and abusive comments on Twitter which had put the Pancholi family in poor light in society. The suit referred to 18 tweets posted by Rabia between March 4 and May 1, which, it said, were defamatory to the Pancholis. It said in these 18 tweets, Rabia had allegedly made personal comments about the three members of Pancholi family. The suit said due to attack on Aditya and Zarina by Rabia in her tweets, the family was defamed and several fans, relatives and friends are “shocked and disturbed.” — PTI
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Centre plans massive infra boost in Arunachal to counter China
Guwahati, July 5 Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Khiren Rijiju has arrived in
Arunachal Pradesh to review the progress of various border areas development
schemes being undertaken in the state, besides taking stock of the internal
security scenario in Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of the Northeast. After
holding a series of review meeting with government departments
concerned, defence forces and security agencies in Itanagar, Rijiju said
his ministry would strive to work for securing peace and development in
Arunachal Pradesh and the rest of the region as without peace there
would be no development. “The Government of India is according
special attention to Arunachal Pradesh as the state is backward in terms
of literacy, health services, road communication, etc.,” he said,
hoping for some allowances for the frontier state under ‘Mission
Himalayas’ of the NDA government. Addressing senior ministers of
Arunachal Pradesh, including Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, Rijiju assured
all help from the Centre for the development of the land-locked state.
“The state and the Centre need to work together with a coordinated
approach. The state governments should strictly adhere to the guidelines
of the schemes and work with close coordination with the Central
government to make the schemes fruitful to benefit the targeted masses,”
he said. Informing that the Government of India has decided to relax
the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna guidelines in respect of Arunachal
Pradesh, he said modalities had been worked out for granting extra
package for BADP for the state, a comprehensive package for
infrastructure development in border areas, providing basic amenities
like electricity, drinking water, road connectivity, besides creating
lots of employment avenues in order to discourage migration of people
from border areas to urban areas and promote border management.
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Lucknow UP CM Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday launched a scheme to make secretariat offices "paperless" by obtaining his digital signature. He said the government was committed for providing services and information to the people near their doorsteps through electronic delivery system. PTI NEW Delhi The Delhi Congress on Saturday said it would gherao the Parliament House on Monday - the first day of the Budget session - demanding a rollback in the recent rail fare hike and to protest against the NDA government's "failure" to curb inflation. PTI Raisen (MP) Curfew was imposed in this town in Madhya Pradesh on Friday after a clash between members of two communities which left seven persons injured and saw a number of shops and vehicles being torched, the police said on Saturday. PTI NEW DELHI A flier coming in from Riyadh has been held at Indira Gandhi International Airport for allegedly smuggling in a dozen gold biscuits. He has been identified as N Ahmed of Muzaffarnagar. PTI
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Kochi, July 5
The arrival of monsoon over the northwest was announced with much aplomb by the Indian Meteorology Department (IMD). But it appears to have weakened off without providing the much-needed relief to the parched northwest and central India.
Moradabad Senior Superintendent of Police
(SSP) Dharamvir today squarely blamed the BJP for creating tension by calling a ‘mahapanchyat’ in the Kanth area despite the denial of permission from the administration.
5
Actor Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, whose son Suraj is facing charges of abetting the suicide of actress Jiah Khan, have filed a Rs-100 crore defamation suit in the Bombay High Court against Rabia Khan, the mother of the deceased.
