No consensus on Lokpal Bill after all-party meet: 10 big facts

New Delhi:  Will India get the new anti-corruption law it has been waiting for? The Lokpal Bill - named for a national anti-graft agency that it creates - was passed by the Lok Sabha. But the Winter Session of the Rajya Sabha ended before the bill could be put to a vote. The Prime Minister called an all-party meeting today to build consensus before the bill is scheduled for discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The Left says the meeting ended without any consensus. Here are 10 facts on this big story:
1) What is the Lokpal? This is a national agency of nine members, who will be selected by a committee that includes the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. The Lokpal will investigate complaints of corruption against all government servants.  A state-level branch of the Lokpal is called a Lokayukta. 
2) Why did the PM call an all-party meeting today? In December, opposition parties moved close to 200 amendments on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. They want many changes to the Bill.  The ruling coalition is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha.  In December, the debate on the bill proved that the government would not be able to get the bill passed. Opposition parties say the government therefore orchestrated chaos and delays so that the bill could not be put to a vote which it would have lost. At today's meeting at the PM's house, it was decided that the Lokpal Bill will be taken up during the second half of this Budget Session of Parliament. On March 30, Parliament breaks for three weeks and the union budget has to be passed before this financial year ends. 
3) Before bringing the bill to the Rajya Sabha, the government will work on re-wording contentious parts of the Bill. The BJP, Left and parties like Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress all agree on the need for a Lokpal but have serious objections to the bill in its current form.
 
4) What do opposition parties want?  There are many points of difference among the main parties on the Lokpal Bill. The biggest is whether the bill, in its current form, violates the federal structure of India.  The bill asks for Lokayuktas or ombudsman agencies to be set up in every state to tackle cases of corruption.  Parties like the BJP say this violates the autonomy of state governments. They say that the centre should provide an enabling framework that provides the guidelines for how the ombudsman should be selected and what its powers should be. But it cannot force states to create a Lokayukta.
 
5) How do allies feel about this? The ruling coalition, led by the Congress, has two senior allies - the DMK from Tamil Nadu and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress from Bengal. Both are needed for the government's survival.  Because both parties are regional, they have joined the BJP in objecting to the references to Lokayuktas, even in the title of the bill.  Mamata Banerjee wants this part of the bill deleted completely.  If the BJP pushes for a vote on this issue, the Trinamool and DMK will vote against the government they belong to.  That means not just embarrassment for the Congress; the government will have been defeated on landmark legislation, allowing the opposition to point out that it does not have the right to stay in office.
6) What powers will the Lokpal have?  This is a major argument among different parties.  Those like the Left say that the Lokpal should supervise the CBI which will be assigned to investigate the complaints received by the ombudsman.  The government says the CBI cannot be made accountable to the Lokpal because this would amount to creating an executive structure outside Parliament.  The bill currently allows the Lokpal to refer complaints to the CBI, which will keep it updated on those cases.   The BJP says the government's control over the CBI should be reduced. The rationale is that as long as the government decides the CBI's budget, and the postings and transfers of its officers, the agency is vulnerable to governmental influence. 
7) Does everyone agree on the need for the Lokpal?  Parties like the BJP have said they want the Lokpal to be introduced as quickly as possible. "I think they should present an amended bill in Parliament; they have got the message loud and clear," BJP leader Arun Jaitley told NDTV today. They blame the government for delaying the legislation in the Rajya Sabha. But others like the Samajwadi Party and Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD say a Lokpal as currently envisaged creates a new autocratic body. They want the Lokpal Bill to be studied and revised by a parliamentary committee.
 
8) The Anna Hazare factor: The fact that the Lokpal Bill was debated and passed in the Lower House or Lok Sabha was due almost entirely to the efforts of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.  With activist-aides like Arvind Kejriwal, he turned India's attention to this legislation through a series of hunger strikes.  It was his 16-day fast in August last year that brought thousands of people in support every day to his camp at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.  Anna, who is 74, ended his fast after Parliament assured him that it would consider the Lokpal Bill urgently.  However, Anna says the bill in its current form is pointless.   In particular, his group feels that the Lokpal has no real authority and has been reduced to a "post office" where it will distribute complaints of corruption filed by the public to different officials or departments over whom it has no real control.
9) How the Lokpal will be selected is also contentious: The opposition says that the five-member selection committee for the ombudsman gives the government too much representation. That, they argue, will ensure the Lokpal goes soft on any investigation that the government does not favour.
10) The Prime Minister is covered by the Lokpal - he can be investigated while in office if approved by two-thirds of the Lokpal's nine members.

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Save Ganga activist Swami Agarwal, 80, ends fast in Delhi

New Delhi:  An 80-year-old environmentalist who has been on a hunger strike since January 14 has ended his fast today.  GD Agarwal was hospitalized in Delhi on Monday.  He has been campaigning for years for a better government effort to clean up the Ganga.
Senior ministers V Narayanasamy and Sriprakash Jaiswal met him at Delhi's AIIMS hospital earlier today, and agreed to most of his demands.  Swami Agarwal, as he is known, has in the past worked as a scientist at IIT Kanpur.
He was brought to Delhi on Monday from Varanasi after his health deteriorated.   He stopped drinking water on March 9.
The Save Ganga activist has been unhappy with the ineffective functioning of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), a body set up by the central government for cleaning the Ganga.  He has said the government has failed to check the dumping of urban and industrial waste in the river.  

The activist is also opposed to the construction of dams and barrages on the Ganga; he says these will destroy the natural flow and quality of the river water.

Gandhian Anna Hazare wrote on Thursday to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to address the points raised by Swami Agarwal.

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2011 One of hottest on record despite La Nina

Geneva:  Global temperatures in 2011 hit the 11th highest level on record despite the cooling influence of a strong La Nina weather pattern, the World Meteorological Organization said on Friday.

On average, global temperatures in 2011 were lower than the record level hit the previous year but were still 0.40 degrees Centigrade above the 1961-1990 average, the report said.

"The world is warming because of human activities and this is resulting in far-reaching and potentially irreversible impact on our Earth, atmosphere and oceans," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.

La Nina, a natural weather phenomenon linked to heavy rains and flooding in Asia-Pacific and South America and drought in Africa, was active in the tropical Pacific until last May.

Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2012

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Husband facilitates wife's gang rape in West Bengal, absconding

Howrah:  Two men have been sent to police custody by a local court in West Bengal's Howrah for allegedly raping a newly-married woman in connivance with her own husband who is absconding, police said on Friday.

"Kartik Das and Raju Prasad were sent to custody by the court for their involvement in gang-raping a 19-year-old married woman. Her husband, who is suspected to have facilitated the crime, is absconding," Howrah Deputy Commissioner of Police Sukesh Jain said.

The woman had married Bappa Ruidas a week before the incident. Das and Prasad, both friends of the husband, came to meet the couple on Wednesday night. After a few minutes, Bappa left the house while the duo forced themselves on the victim, said an officer of Bally police station in the district.

The woman was initially reluctant to report the matter to the police, but finally lodged a complaint on Thursday afternoon following which the two were arrested from the area late at night.

Bappa has been named as an accused in the FIR and the police are looking for him, added the officer.

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Pakistan shares grief of Baby Falak's death

New Delhi:  Battered baby Falak may have passed away but the two-year-old's struggle for survival continues to move many hearts, not only in India but also in Pakistan.

It has been seven days since Falak, who was brought to AIIMS with severe head injuries, broken arms, bite marks all over her body and cheeks branded with hot iron, died, but the doctors who were treating her are still receiving condolence messages including those from Pakistan.

"...I pray for Baby Falak. May ALLAH shower HIS MAGIC here.. I don't know what exactly to say... I know this - I am sad.. weeping for falak. I am a mother of 2 kids....," Dr Deepak Agarwal said quoting a mail that came from Lubna, a Pakistani national.

Dr Agarwal, assistant professor with the department of neurosurgery at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, had been attending on Baby Falak from the day she was admitted there.

The abandoned baby girl was admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre on January 18. After having recuperated from her injuries and waiting to be discharged from the hospital, she suddenly suffered an unexpected heart attack on the night of March 15 and passed away.

During the course of her 58-day treatment at the Trauma Centre, Falak had blood, chest and brain infection and underwent five surgeries and had also suffered two heart attacks.

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Gujarat porngate: Speaker gives clean chit to accused MLAs; BJP says will demand apology from Congress

Ahmedabad:  Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava has given clean chit to two BJP MLAs who were accused by a local journalist of looking at obscene photos in the state Assembly on an iPad. The Speaker said that a forensic team found nothing objectionable in the iPad.

Emboldened by the Speaker's verdict, the BJP has said it will demand an apology from the Congress tomorrow.

Journalist Janakbhai Purohit, working with a local newspaper Gujarat Samachar, released a video clip - captured on a cellphone by another journalist - purportedly showing the two MLAs, Shankar Chowdhary and Jetha Bhai Dharwad, looking at obscene photos of women on an iPad while sitting in the House.

"First they started by watching the pictures of Swami Vivekananda, then cartoons and then pics of women... I saw them watching some sleazy photographs of women and felt it was wrong... I went to the Speaker's chamber and complained about it to his Personal Assistant that it was a repeat of Karnataka; he informed the Speaker and the viewing was stopped," the journalist said. "This went on for about 20 minutes...they were engrossed in watching the vulgar pictures," he added.

The Speaker had ordered an investigation by a special empowered committee of the Gujarat Assembly. He also ordered MLA Shankar Chowdhary to deposit his iPad with his special secretary.

Mr Chowdhary had denied that any such incident happened. "This has no basis... no such incident happened... somebody is trying to defame me," the BJP MLA had said. Mr Dharwad, who allegedly viewed porn along with Mr Chowdhary, said, "We will resign if found guilty."

The Congress lashed out at the BJP saying it exposes "the real face of the Narendra Modi government."

Earlier this year, three ministers in the Karnataka Assembly, where the BJP is in power, were accused of watching porn on a cellphone. The ministers were forced to resign. A committee set up there by the Speaker of the House has concluded that there was evidence to indict one of them.  

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Prime Minister fails to break Lokpal logjam in all-party meet

New Delhi:  There were no surprises as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's all-party meet failed to evolve a consensus on the Lokpal Bill on Friday. BJP leader Arun Jaitley, after the meeting, aptly put it as "the only consensus was on the lack of consensus."

Along with Mr Jaitley, BSP's S C Mishra, RJD's Ram Kripal Yadav, SP's Ram Gopal Yadav, NCP'S Tariq Anwar and CPI's A B Bardhan met at the Prime Minister's residence to discuss the controversial bill, to which 97 amendments have been moved by Opposition members in the Upper House. Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, A K Antony and Salman Khurshid were among those present at the meeting.

But after two hours of brainstorming, a consensus eluded the political spectrum and the Congress found itself standing among friends and foes on the issue of Lokayuktas.

After the meeting, the BJP slammed the government for not being sincere on the Lokpal Bill.

"The UPA partners were not in favour of the government draft. I think they should present an amended bill in Parliament; they have got the message loud and clear," BJP leader Arun Jaitley told NDTV.

"On certain issues, there was consensus but the consensus was completely against the government draft (of the Lokpal Bill)," Mr Jaitley added.

It wasn't just the Opposition, but the UPA's key allies like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK also called the government's draft of the Lokpal Bill a 'flawed bill'. The Opposition and the key allies were unified on the issue of Lokayuktas in states. All of them want states should be free to decide on the Lokayukta's constitution and if the Centre wants to talk about the issue, it should largely be an enabling legislation.

"It (the govt draft) will affect the federal character of the constitution and the autonomy of the state," said Trinamool's Sukhendu Sekhar Roy. DMK leader Tiruchi Siva, said, "the states' rights should be taken care of."

The biggest stumbling block for the government is the division over the powers of the Lokayukta in states and the role of the CBI. This means the bill is likely to be further stalled. (Read 10 big facts on the Lokpal Bill)

The Left and some other parties want the CBI to be monitored by the Lokpal, especially in corruption investigations. There have also been demands for an independent investigation agency under the Lokpal to look at corruption cases.

"Whether it's CBI or any other investigation agency, the power to investigate and supervise the whole process should be granted to the Lokpal. If the CBI is investigating a corruption case, then that investigation should come under the Lokpal. There was no consensus on this issue but this is what our stand is," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters after the meeting.

"The bill cannot come up in the Rajya Sabha this week as we have to pass the Budget," he added.

The Samajwadi Party, which has been supporting the UPA in Parliament, is also not interested in Lokpal in its present form. The SP said it is a "flawed bill" and that it should be sent to a select committee of Parliament for review.

Social activist Anna Hazare and his team, meanwhile, have renewed their pressure on the government.

Mr Hazare told reporters in Delhi today," We've learnt that the PM's meeting has failed to evolve consensus. On March 25, we'll protest at Jantar Mantar. We will tell the people that the government is not serious about the Lokpal Bill, about fighting corruption. The bill in its present form will not be an effective tool against corruption." (Team India gears up for protest at Jantar Mantar)

The Congress faces a major dilemma; it can't have allies moving amendments which the opposition wants as its numbers in Rajya Sabha are poor. Congress needs to win back disagreeing UPA allies. If not, then go with what the friends and foes want.

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Govt increases Dearness Allowance for employees by 7 percent points

New Delhi:  Giving relief to its employees and pensioners from inflation, the central government today announced a seven percentage point increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) which will cost the exchequer an additional Rs 7,500 crore.

The new DA rate of 65 per cent of basic pay against 58 per cent earlier will be applicable retrospectively from January 1, 2012, sources said.

The decision, was taken by the Union Cabinet, they added.

It will benefit about 50 lakh employees and 30 lakh pensioners.

The government periodically hikes the DA, which is linked to consumer price index for industrial workers. The CPI is hovering around 7 per cent.

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Petrol price hike decision by March end: Indian Oil

New Delhi: 

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country's biggest oil marketing company, has told NDTV Profit that petrol prices may be hiked by the end of March.

"We will look at reviewing petrol price by end of March," Chairman and Managing Director of IOC RS Butola told NDTV Profit. However, a decision will be taken after considering the paying capability of the consumer, Butola added.

"We have told the government under recoveries are very high. This is beyond the ability of oil marketing companies to absorb," Butola said.

The government had decontrolled petrol price in June 2010 but diesel and domestic LPG are subsidised.

State-owned oil companies have been pushing for raising petrol prices since the assembly elections ended. Oil firms had last revised petrol prices on 1 December after which rates have not been changed because of Assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh.

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum together have lost over Rs 2,000 crore since the last revision which was done at international gasoline price (the benchmark for deciding domestic retail rates) of $ 109 per barrel. Brent crude for May delivery was up 17 cents at $123.31 per barrel in London yesterday.

"We have asked for 100 percent reimbursement. If we are not given this, we will have to consider passing on the burden to consumers," Butola said.

The current under recovery, which is the gap between the local price of fuel and global prices, on petrol stands at Rs 6.43 per litre. OMCs currently lose Rs 14.73 a litre on diesel, Rs 30.10 a litre on kerosene and Rs 439.50 per LPG cylinder.
"Petrol prices will be dealt with independently by our ministry but before we instruct the oil companies we will have to take all matters like undue volatility in the world market into consideration," Oil minister S Jaipal Reddy told NDTV Profit.

An increase in fuel prices is necessary to cut down government's subsidy payout as state-owned oil firms are projected to lose Rs 200,000 crore on selling fuel below cost next fiscal. As per present policy, the government will have to make good half of it by way of cash subsidy.

In the current fiscal, the government has provided Rs 65,000 crore in fuel subsidy, which it hopes to trim down to Rs 40,000 crore in 2012-13. It targets to bring down the subsidy bill to below 2% of GDP in FY13.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Three elephants will fly by private plane

Los Angeles:  Three elephants will travel from the Toronto Zoo to a sanctuary in California aboard a private plane, thanks to long-time animal activist Bob Barker.

A spokesman for the 88-year-old TV icon says Mr Barker offered to fund the $880,000 flight after learning that one of the elephants wasn't well enough to withstand the long trip by truck.

Henri Bollinger said on Friday that the Toronto Zoo agreed to move Thika, Iringa and Toka to the Performing Animals Welfare Society elephant sanctuary in San Andreas, California, but that one of the animals suffers from "a serious foot problem."

Mr Barker described the elephants' new home as a "paradise" and said "to think that one of them might not survive the trip in a truck touched my heart and purse strings."

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Kudankulam row: MDMK chief Vaiko arrested

Idinthakarai (Tamil Nadu):  The Tamil Nadu Police today arrested MDMK chief Vaiko who was heading to the Idinthakarai village - the epicentre of the anti-Kudankulam protests - to address villagers there. Around 350 people were arrested with Vaiko.

Around 5000 people had gathered at village today. Vaiko too had joined the protesters.

There are also reports that the police may arrest S P Udhayakumar, the activist who is spearheading the protests. The villagers who have gathered there want to court arrest along with Mr Udhayakumar.

They have even put up barricades to prevent entry by police.

The police had yesterday removed the check post blocking the entry into the village. They had allowed the entry of vehicles into the area which has been seeing heated protests over the nuclear plant.

Prohibitory orders, however, remain in force in areas around Kudankulam.

Mr Udhayakumar is facing charges of sedition and waging war against the country. He is on an indefinite hunger strike in Idinthakarai ever since Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa gave the go-ahead to begin work at the controversial plant earlier this week. Villagers who have been protesting along with him for the last seven months say that they too would court arrest with him. But the police allege that the activist is using the locals as a human shield to evade arrest.

The anti-nuclear campaigner, meanwhile, said they are all prepared to be arrested. "If police want to arrest us, let them arrest all of us here. All of us here are overstepping the law, so let them arrest all of us. It is not appropriate to arrest one or two of us. We are all prepared to be arrested."

"I have not stolen any public money. I have not done anything wrong to anybody... I am not a politician... why should I be arrested?" he added. The villagers too have said that they will not give up their non-violent campaign.

The check posts were removed after allegations that the police had stopped essential supplies like milk and drinking water from reaching the village. The Tamil Nadu police chief, however, denied these allegations.

The upcoming Kudankulam nuclear plant is within a radius of a kilometre from the village where regular work has resumed after the state government order. Nearly 300 scientists keep moving into the plant on regular shifts. According to V Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, the work will be completed within two months.

Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) came up for hearing in the Madras High Court against the prohibitory orders clamped in the area. The court will deliver its verdict on Monday.

The petition, filed by P Pugalenthi, an advocate and Director of Prisoners Rights Forum, contended that depriving the people of their fundamental right of free movement in the name of maintaining public peace and tranquillity was a violation of constitutional norms.

The petitioner sought an order to declare as null and void the prohibitory orders in force till April 2.

Dr Udhayakumar points to the recent Fukushima tragedy in Japan to bolster his argument that the Kudankulam plant is not safe for those who live in close proximity. He has struck a chord with the villagers and that has catapulted him to be the face of the anti-nuclear campaign in the area.

In September, the state Cabinet had passed a resolution demanding that the Prime Minister order a halt of operations at Kudankulam till those living in the area were convinced that they are not at risk

Dr Manmohan Singh then deputed experts and ministers to assess the plant and answer the questions of villagers. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had also commissioned her own panel of experts to study the plant. Her clearance for the project came right after an important by-election in the Tirunelveli district, where the plant is located. In an attempt to pacify the area, she announced a Rs. 500 crore package to improve roads and infrastructure in the area.

The nuclear power project, worth Rs. 13,000 crores and being set up with assistance from Russia, will upon completion have six reactors, making this will India's largest power-generating complex. A pair of two 1,000-megawatt reactors will kickstart production.

The protesters, mostly fishermen from three districts, are worried that the seaside plant may damage the ecosystem with nuclear waste and ruin their livelihoods.

The Prime Minister's recent remarks that protests against Kudankulam were possibly receiving foreign funding provoked much anger among NGOs.

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Mulayam hints at mid-term elections in his speech to party workers

Lucknow:  With UPA allies pushing the Congress in a tight corner over several issues, the Samajwadi Party chief who is extending outside support to the UPA government at the centre, has hinted at more political uncertainty and the possibility of a mid-term Lok Sabha election.

Speaking to party workers on the 102nd birth anniversary of socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, Mulayam Singh Yadav said that the party must implement its policies and poll promises efficiently, initiating programmes within the next 6 months.

"I'll tell Akhilesh to have all officers get a copy of the SP manifesto and read up on the promises made by us pertaining to their department. Implementation programmes should start delivering in six months or  a maximum of one year.  It should not take more than a year, because you never know when the 2014 (sic) elections happen. The government has to decide and act soon," said the Samajwadi Party chief.

Mr Yadav said he did not become chief minister but he continues to monitor his party's government in the state. "I will keep an eye on government's functioning and ensure that the promises in manifesto are fulfilled," he said.

There has been much speculation that the 72-year-old, who has just installed his 38-year-old son Akhilesh Yadav as Chief Minister of UP after a spectacular electoral performance, might join the Union Cabinet as the Congress looks for new political alignments to bolster its very fragile coalition at the Centre.
The SP gives outside support to the UPA government and has bailed it many times during Parliament votes. It voted in support of the UPA earlier this week on the issue of the National Counter Terrorism Centre. The government won those votes. Mr Yadav insists his support is based on keeping communal forces away from the Centre.

The Congress is reportedly keen that the SP join the coalition formally  - Mulayam Singh Yadav has 22 MPs in the Lok Sabha, which would more than offset the 19 MPs that the troublesome Trinamool Congress threatens to withdraw regularly.

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'No Coca-Cola, Pepsi': Sri Lankan protestors demand ban on American goods after UN resolution

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'India succumbs to US pressure': Sri Lankan dailies criticise UN vote

Colombo:  India's vote against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council grabbed the headlines here on Friday.

India on Thursday voted for a US-backed resolution urging Sri Lanka to probe rights abuses in the war on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Sri Lanka expressed outrage after the resolution won majority support at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva. The UNHRC adopted the resolution with 24 votes in favour, 15 against and eight abstentions.

The Daily News said: "Only one vote majority for resolution; 24 say 'yes', 23 decline to support".

Calling it "misconceived, unwarranted and ill-timed resolution", the daily said, "Those who live in glass houses are best advised to exercise caution before throwing stones."

"Geneva: Lanka fails to beat the odds," was the headline at infolanka.com

Another website news.lk said that voting at HRC was "determined by strategic alliances and domestic issues".

"It is a matter of great satisfaction to us that 15 countries voted with Sri Lanka, despite the intensity of pressure, in a variety of forms, exerted on them all," it said.

It mentioned that the resolution amended again at India's behest to include key operative words, "in consultation with and with the concurrence of the government of Sri Lanka".

The report noted that although "India succumbed to US pressure to vote for the resolution, key Asian countries, including those representing SAARC and two UN Security Council members voted against it".

"Lanka defiant despite losing vote," said the Sunday Leader.

It said that the Sri Lankan government remained defiant despite losing a key vote at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

External Affairs Minister GL Peiris said that most countries which voted with Sri Lanka were acutely conscious of the danger of setting a precedent which enables ad hoc intervention by powerful countries in the internal affairs of other nations.

"The most distressing feature of this experience is the obvious reality that voting at the Human Rights Council is now determined not by the merits of a particular issue but by strategic alliances and domestic political issues in other countries which have nothing to do with the subject matter of a resolution or the best interests of the country to which the resolution relates.

"This is a cynical negation of the purposes for which the Human Rights Council was established," he said in a statement.

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Drunk SUV driver runs over 28-year-old after argument, arrested

Lucknow:  The drunk SUV driver, who ran over a 28-year-old man in Lucknow following an argument, was arrested today. The accused, Rajesh Tiwari, had fled from the scene after the incident on Thursday night.

Tiwari had rammed the victim's car parked outside his house in Gomti Nagar area of the city. When the man demanded money for repairs, the SUV driver reversed his car hurriedly and ran over him - not once, but twice.

The victim, identified as 28-year-old Arjun Bahadur, was rushed to a nearby hospital. He later succumbed to his injuries. Mr Bahadur worked as a driver with a private company. He is survived by his wife and three daughters - the youngest of them is six months old.

According to reports, there were two more men in the SUV. They too were allegedly drunk.

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NASA releases new moon pics requested by fourth graders

Pasadena, California:  A NASA spacecraft in orbit around the moon has sent back five dozen new images of the lunar surface including a view of the far side with Earth in the distance.

Don't thank scientists for it. Fourth-graders from Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, Montana, directed the spacecraft to snap pictures as part of a project headed by Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

The images were returned earlier this week.

Twin NASA probes entered lunar orbit over the New Year's weekend on a mission to study the gravity field. During non-critical parts of the mission, select students get to choose camera targets.

The Montana students got first dibs for winning a NASA-sponsored contest that renamed the craft Ebb and Flow.

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Cabinet clears major changes in marriage, adoption laws

New Delhi:  A Bill seeking to give a woman a share in her husband's property was approved by the Union Cabinet on Friday.
Apart from giving women the right to their husband's property, the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010, also aims at giving rights to adopted children on par with biological off-springs.
The cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha two years ago and then referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice and Personnel.
Supporting the Bill which sought to make "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" a new ground for grant of divorce, the Standing Committee had in March last year opposed doing away with the prevailing waiting period before moving a joint motion for annulling marriage.
Partially accepting the recommendation, the government has now decided the cooling off period will be decided by courts.
According to the redrafted Bill passed by the Cabinet, adopted children will have rights on par with biological off springs of a couple in case the parents go for a divorce.
The government has also accepted the recommendation of the parliamentary committee that women should have a share in the property of her husband in case of a divorce but the quantum of share will be decided by the courts on case-by-case basis.
According to the Cabinet Note, while a wife can oppose a husband's plea for a divorce under the new "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" clause, the husband will have no such rights to oppose if the wife moves the court on the same grounds.

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IPL 2012: Owners strike deal to sell Rajasthan Royals

Bangalore: The owners of the Rajasthan Royals have agreed to sell the majority of the IPL franchise to a Kolkata-based businessman for $200 million, ESPNcricinfo has learned. However, the deal still requires the approval of the BCCI. Should it go through, it would be the first sale of an IPL franchise in the league's five-year history.

Mannoj Jain, the founder and promoter of the Jain Group of Industries, has offered to buy 88.3% of the company from three of the four shareholders in the franchise - Tresco International (Suresh Chellaram and family), which owns a 44.2% stake, Emerging Media (Manoj Badale), which owns 32.4% and Blue Water Estate Ltd (Lachlan Murdoch), the eldest son of Rupert Murdoch, which owns 11.7% - according to a person familiar with the developments.

The deal values the Royals at $226.50 million, almost three and a half times more than the $67 million the owners paid for the franchise at the original auction in 2008. Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty, who bought an 11.7% stake for $15.4 million in 2009, will retain their share in the team. The deal with Jain raises the value of their holdings to $26.50 million, an increase of 72% over a three-year period. News of the deal was first reported by a leading business daily on March 20.

A top board official said that the BCCI was reluctant to give consent to the deal because there is a strong opinion that Lalit Modi, the former IPL commissioner who was suspended by the BCCI for irregularities during his tenure, might financially benefit from the sale. This is due to unsubstantiated allegations in the past around the possibility that Modi may have hidden stakes in the Royals' ownership. "We suspect if the deal is allowed to go through Modi can benefit financially and some in the BCCI at least do not want that to happen," the official told ESPNcricinfo.

According to the group's website, Jain has businesses in infrastructure, steel, power and real estate. The company made a profit of Rs 694.26 million after tax for the year ended 2009-10. Among their projects is the Kolkata Sports City, a sports township set on 250 acres in Rajarhat, which the company estimates will cost Rs 2.2 billion.

The Royals have had something of a chequered history in the IPL. Led by Shane Warne, the team won the inaugural tournament in 2008, surprising many in the process. Two years later the BCCI abruptly terminated the franchise from the league, along with the Kings XI Punjab, on charges of transgressing shareholding and ownership norms that threatened to "shake the very foundation of the tender process". However, the Royals fought their expulsion in the Bombay High Court and won, with the court ordering they be restored to the league with all their rights and privileges intact. The court also referred the case to arbitration, the proceedings of which are still on.

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Runaway planets are universe's fastest objects

Washington:  Runaway planets zipping through space at mind-numbing speeds of 30 million miles per hour are now the fastest objects in the universe, says a study.

Seven years ago, the discovery of the first runaway star, shooting out of our Galaxy at a staggering speed of 1.5 million mph, set astronomers on a course of exploration.

If a star can get tossed outward at such an extreme velocity, could the same thing happen to planets, they asked themselves, the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society reported.

"Other than subatomic particles, I don't know of anything leaving our galaxy as fast as these runaway planets," said Idan Ginsburg of Dartmouth College, US, who led the study, according to a Harvard-Smithsonian statement.

"These warp-speed planets would be some of the fastest objects in our Galaxy. If you lived on one of them, you'd be in for a wild ride from the centre of the galaxy to the Universe at large," said astrophysicist Avi Loeb of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics.

A typical hypervelocity planet would slingshot outward at seven to 10 million mph. However, a small fraction of them could gain much higher speeds under ideal conditions, even as high as 30 million mph.

Such speedy worlds, called hypervelocity planets, are produced in the same way as hypervelocity stars. A double-star system wanders too close to the supermassive black hole at the galactic centre.

Strong gravitational forces rip the stars from each other, sending one away at high speed while the other is captured into orbit around the black hole. For this study, the researchers simulated what would happen if each star had a planet or two orbiting nearby.

They found that the star ejected outward could carry its planets along for the ride. The second star, as it's captured by the black hole, could have its planets torn away and flung into the icy blackness of interstellar space at tremendous speeds.

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Lokpal Bill: Prime Minister's all-party meet fails to evolve consensus

New Delhi:  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's all-party meet has failed to evolve a consensus on the Lokpal Bill.

Leaders of parties in Rajya Sabha including BJP's Arun Jaitley, BSP's S C Mishra, RJD's Ram Kripal Yadav, SP's Ram Gopal Yadav, NCP'S Tariq Anwar and CPI's A B Bardhan met at the Prime Minister's residence to discuss the controversial bill, to which 97 amendments have been moved by Opposition members in the Upper House. Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, A K Antony and Salman Khurshid were among those present at the meeting.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, the Prime Minister said that he wants to build a consensus on the Bill. The remarks come against the backdrop of the Winter Session washout over the Lokpal Bill. So, the all-party meeting was an attempt by the government for image correction.

During the meeting, a large number of Opposition and key allies like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK were unified on the issue of Lokayuktas in states. But all of them want states should be free to decide on the Lokayukta's constitution and if the Centre wants to talk about the issue, it should largely be an enabling legislation. Ramvilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party rejected the Lokpal Bill in its entirety.

After the meeting today, the BJP slammed the government for not being sincere on the Lokpal Bill.

"The UPA partners were not in favour of the government draft. I think they should present an amended bill in Parliament; they have got the message loud and clear," BJP leader Arun Jaitley told NDTV.

The Left and some other parties want the CBI to be monitored by the Lokpal, especially in corruption investigations. There have also been demands for an independent investigation agency under the Lokpal to look at corruption cases.

"We suggested that foreign funded NGOs and corporates which have dealing with the government, and any such allegations of corruption in the access of these contracts should also come under the purview of the Lokpal. Many of us have given our suggestions in this regard but the general consensus that is appearing in the intervening period of three weeks, use this time to arrive at an understanding over these issues," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters after the meeting.

The bill cannot come up in the Rajya Sabha this week as we have to pass the Budget, he added.

"Whether it's CBI or any other investigation agency, the power to investigate and supervise the whole process should be granted to the Lokpal. If the CBI is investigating a corruption case, then that investigation should come under the Lokpal. There was no consensus on this issue but this is what our stand is," Mr Yechury said.

However, the Samajwadi Party, which has been supporting the UPA in Parliament, is not interested in Lokpal in its present form. The SP said it is a "flawed bill" and that it should be sent to a select committee of Parliament for review.

Social activist Anna Hazare and his team, meanwhile, have renewed their pressure on the government.

Mr Hazare told reporters in Delhi today," We've learnt that the PM's meeting has failed to evolve consensus. On March 25, we'll protest at Jantar Mantar. We will tell the people that the government is not serious about the Lokpal Bill, about fighting corruption. The bill in its present form will not be an effective tool against corruption."

The crisis is that in this meeting also, the government did not give any assurances. So, as of now, all the stated positions which were there in Parliament in the December Winter Session, have actually moved to the Budget Session. Now the government will come back again for discussion with what its views are.

The government's version of the Lokpal Bill has already seen over 90 amendments by different parties during the discussion in the Winter Session of Parliament. So, this time when the government comes on the floor of the House once again, it will be very difficult for the government to get it passed in the Rajya Sabha. Sources tell NDTV that the CBI issue - bringing the investigation agency under the purview of the Lokpal - is non-negotiable with the government. It is not in favour of any dilution of the CBI's powers or its supervision by any agency.

However, after demands by its key allies the DMK and the Trinamool on the Lokayukta issue, the government can  tweak the bill so that it creates an enabling model-law, allowing states to  decide on their own norms for the Lokayukta.

After today's  all-party meeting, it seems that the debate on Lokpal Bill might not resume in a hurry. And the bill's passage in the Rajya Sabha seems to be a very difficult, unless the Opposition and the government find a meeting ground.

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Supreme Court rejects Vilasrao's 'blessing' argument

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to the Maharashtra government, film maker Subhash Ghai and PIL petitioner Rajendra Lakshman Sontakke on a plea by union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh challenging the adverse remarks passed against him by the Bombay High Court in a land allocation case.

A court bench headed by Justice HL Dattu also issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Mr Deshmukh's lawyer argued in court that he had "signed in the agreement between Ghai and the Film corporation as a token of blessing and has no hand in transaction."

To this the court said, "Blessings are given by hand not by signature..." and asked, "What is the message given by this signature?"

The court has asked for a response in four weeks, after which Deshmukh has been given two weeks to file his reply.

The Bombay High Court, while cancelling the allotment of 20 acres of government land to Ghai's Whistlingwood International, had described the role of then Maharashtra Chief Minister Deshmukh as depricable and said that he clearly misused his office and had accepted undue favours.

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Norway custody row: Indian government and parents reconcile

New Delhi:  After hitting near-crisis mode, India's case to bring back two young children placed in foster care in Norway appears to be back on track. Sources say the agreement to be presented in the Norwegian District Court has been signed by the parents and the uncle under the supervision of Indian authorities. The agreement says one-year-old Aishwarya and three-year-old Abhigyan will be placed in the custody of their father's brother, Arunabhas Bhattacharya.

India has spent three months backing the children's parents, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattcharya, in their demand that the children be allowed to come back to India. The children were placed in foster care last May by child welfare officials who decided the Bhattacharyas were unfit parents and their son suffered from an attachment disorder and needed better care. A series of visits by Indian diplomats convinced Norwegian authorities to assess Mr Anurup's brother as a possible care-giver. He has been visiting his niece and nephew supervised by child welfare officials.

But over the weekend, Mr Anurup was quoted by a series of newspapers as saying that he was planning to separate from his wife who is physically abusive. Sources in the Indian government said he had told Norwegian authorities that he would prefer his children to stay there. His brother had also allegedly said that he no longer wanted to look after the children because he was worried of a long legal dispute with their mother if the children were to return to India. That left the Indian government deeply embarrassed and yesterday, it asked its officials in Norway to talk to the Bhattacharyas for a clear understanding of their position. Meanwhile, child welfare officials issued a statement saying that the new family dispute would not allow them to hand the children to the Bhattacharyas or their relatives.

Mr Anurup told NDTV yesterday that his wife and he remain committed to bring their children home with Mr Arunabhas as their legal guardian. The statement will now be put forth to the Stavanger District court that needs to be convinced that it is best for children to return to India with their uncle. With the Indian diplomats backing the parents, the Norwegians will be under pressure again to not make fresh demands to dictate terms that they assess as necessary for children's well being with the uncle.

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Gurgaon unrest: Construction workers go on a rampage, torch vehicles

Gurgaon:  Angered over the death of a co-worker, labourers at a construction site here pelted stones at private vehicles and torched a police gypsy, police said on Friday.

Labourer Babul Hasan, 25, from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh died after falling from the seventh floor of an under-construction multi-storey building being built by Larsen & Toubro at Behrampur Road here.

Alleging that the contractor had not provided safety equipment, the workers turned violent. They pelted stones outside the company premises while shouting slogans against the contractor. They blocked the road and vandalized several vehicles including a BMW car.

"When police arrived at the spot, the labourers set the Badshahpur SHO's gypsy on fire," said assistant sub-inspector Subhash. However, no one from the police party was injured.

Later, additional forces were called in. Senior officials arrived at the spot and a number of protestors were taken into custody.

Badshahpur police station SHO inspector Rajpal said police have registered a criminal case against the labourers and detained some people.

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Syrian president's wife banned from travel, shopping

Brussels:  The European Union banned the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from travelling to the EU or shopping with European companies in a move to stop her buying the Chanel dresses and Louboutin shoes she craves.

The EU's latest round of sanctions, which also targeted the president's mother and sister, is notable for including Assad's London-born wife Ms Asma, whose luxury shopping habit was laid bare this month in a cache of hacked emails.

She was once admired for her cosmopolitan glamour, but has over the past year turned into a hate figure for many Syrians, standing by her husband as he conducts a bloody crackdown against a popular uprising in which thousands have been killed.

"With this new listing we are striking at the heart of the Assad clan, sending out a loud and clear message to Mr. Assad: he should step down," Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said on the sidelines of an EU ministers' meeting in Brussels.

A former investment banker, Asma al-Assad once cultivated the image of a serious-minded woman inspired by Western values.

But she appears to have continued a life of luxury shopping and entertainment during the uprising against the four-decade rule of the Assad family, while according to the United Nations at least 8,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Emails she exchanged with her husband, obtained by Britain's Guardian newspaper, apparently showed they were buying pop music and luxury goods on the internet during the bloodshed.

MAKING SANCTIONS PERSONAL

Asma al-Assad, a 36-year-old mother of three, has been shown to have a penchant for crystal-encrusted Christian Louboutin shoes and Chanel dresses from France.

Before the Syrian insurgency started a year ago, a glowing article in Vogue magazine described her as "a rose in the desert" and her household as "wildly democratic".

But that image has crumbled as the emails showed her spending tens of thousands of pounds on jewels, fancy furniture, and a Venetian glass vase from Harrods.

After Friday's decision, EU border guards will refuse her entry if she tries to travel into the bloc. But Britain will have to allow her in if she uses a British passport.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels also expanded the list of people facing asset freezes and bans on travel to the EU to several other Syrians, and barred European companies from doing business with two Syrian oil companies, EU officials said.

The decisions, which come into force on Saturday, build on 12 previous rounds of sanctions aimed at isolating Assad within Syria and cutting off his sources of finance. These included an arms embargo and a ban on importing Syrian oil into the EU.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said sanctions would send a strong signal to Assad that the international community opposed his actions and wanted him to give up power.

"I cannot say in strong enough terms how much we are concerned about what is going on in Syria," Ms Ashton told reporters in Brussels.

She said the international community's objective was "a situation where Assad recognises his responsibility, moves aside and we are able to see a genuine movement forward in Syria".

Mr Assad has been the target of sanctions since May last year, but these have so far had little impact on his policies. Violence has intensified in Syria in recent weeks as pro-government forces bombard rebel towns and villages, looking to sweep their lightly armed opponents out of their strongholds.

The international community has struggled to formulate a joint approach in the face of opposition from Russia and China to U.N. Security Council resolutions proposed by the West.

(Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012)

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Kanimozhi asks High Court to drop her from telecom case

New Delhi:  Kanimozhi, the Rajya Sabha MP who spent six months in jail, has asked the Delhi High Court to drop the charges that led to her arrest in the telecom scam.  Her lawyers say that there is no evidence that she conspired with the others being tried for the swindle, including her party's A Raja, the former telecom minister who is still in jail.

The CBI has accused Kanimozhi of criminal conspiracy, cheating and attempt to bribe a public servant, Mr Raja. She was granted bail in November. Kanimzohi's father heads the DMK and is a powerful member of the ruling UPA coalition at the Centre.

Kanimozhi was arrested because a firm part-owned by her, Kalaignar TV, allegedly served as the landing place for  a 214-crore bribe for Mr Raja.  The money was sent, according to the CBI, by Swan Telecom which had won an out-of-turn telecom license from Mr Raja in 2008.  The money was allegedly routed through a maze of companies all associated with or owned by Swan.

But Kanimozhi's lawyers say that she was only a shareholder in Kalaignar TV and that she played no role in its management's decisions.  They also say that the money that was paid to Kalaignar TV was a laon that was returned with interest. The CBI says the money was sent back only after the case against Mr Raja began picking up speed.

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