LIVE
Tue, 02 August 2011
CBI likely to 'examine' Dayanidhi Maran soon

Timeline  Refresh

image
18:08   Big stories today

Tomorrow evening, the BJP legislative council will decide who will be the next chief minister of Karnataka. Stay with us for all the action tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the big stories today...

  1. Centre asks SC to rethink ban on Bellary mining
  2. Giant-killer Hegde's last day as K'taka Lokayukta
  3. NDA responsible for Kalmadi appointment: Maken
  4. Ilyas Kashmiri faked his death: India
  5. Lokpal Bill to be tabled in Parliament on Thursday
  6. Govt has names of Indians with Swiss accounts: FM
  7. Venkaiah Naidu: Yeddy did not smash my laptop
  8. HSBC to hire 15,000 in Asia, Latin America
  9. PMO blamed for Kalmadi's appointment
  10. Yeddyurappa challenges Lokayukta report in HC
  11. Pilot ejects, but dies in MiG-21 crash in Bikaner
image
17:57   CBI likely to "examine" Maran soon

Former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran may be "examined" soon by the CBI in connection with his alleged role in coercing former Aircel Chief C Sivasankaran to sell his stake to a Malaysia-based group.

As the agency winds up its probe in the allocation of 2G spectrum between 2008-09, CBI sources said Maran, who resigned as Textile Minister last month, will be asked to answer on the allegations levelled by Sivasankaran and spectrum policy changes made during his tenure during UPA-I.      

The sources said the agency would soon wrap up the Preliminary Enquiry on the issue of spectrum allocation during the period 2001-07 which spans across three Telecom Ministers -- Pramod Mahajan, Arun Shourie and Dayanidhi Maran-- before registering a regular case.

image
17:43   Centre asks SC to rethink ban on Bellary mining
The Centre is likely to plead before the Supreme Court that there should not be a blanket ban on iron ore mining in Bellary in Karnataka and that only
the violating companies should be dealt with, when it presents its interim report this week.
While imposing the blanket ban last week, the Apex Court has also asked the Environment Ministry to come out with an interim report by Friday on the requirement of the iron ore for the domestic steel industry.
image
17:36  
Tweet from R Rajagopalan: CPI MP D Raja complained to the Railway Canteen manager about the poor quality of snacks at the Central Hall of Parliament. Raja found a stone in his idli today.
image
17:23   Giant-killer Hegde's last day as K'taka Lokayukta
Dubbed the giant killer for methaphorically slaying Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, Justice (retd) Santosh Hegde today retired as Karnataka Lokayukta after an "eventful" five years in office and said effort by some ministers to discredit his mining report that cost Yeddyurappa his chair was not unexpected as he has brought out a 'bitter truth'.
"...when a bitter truth is brought out, it has its own reaction. Reaction of political circles is self-suiting," the former Supreme Court judge said.
image
17:14   NDA responsible for Kalmadi appointment: Maken

Parliament has not conducted any business for the past two days in the wake of the opposition demanding that the government come clean on the issue of price rise and on the controversial appointment of Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi as the chairman of the organizing committee of the 19th Commonwealth Games that was held in New Delhi in October last year.

The opposition uproar in the two houses Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha has come in the wake of the CAG holding the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) responsible for making Kalmadi the Commonwealth Games chief. Today, sports minister Ajay Maken blamed the NDA for appointing Suresh Kalmadi, saying the NDA gave the authority to the IOA to appoint him.

image
17:10  

Details on the price rise voting issue:

The UPA-led government and the NDA-led opposition have reportedly reached a compromise, which will allow for a debate and voting on the price rise issue.

The voting on the issue would take place under Rule 184 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha with the consent of the Speaker. It was also revealed that a similar debate would take place in the Rajya Sabha on the same issue.

image
17:04   Ilyas Kashmiri faked his death: India
A blog on the Long War Journal talks of how the Asia Times has an interesting update that supports the theory that senior Al Qaeda and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami leader Ilyas Kashmiri is alive. Indian officials believe Kashmiri may have faked his death to allow him to slip under the radar of US intelligence, which is actively pursuing him via Predator and Reaper strike aircraft in Pakistan's tribal areas. Read
image
16:58   Lokpal Bill to be tabled in Parliament on Thursday

Just in: The Lokpal Bill will be tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

Quick takes:

The Bill keeps the PM and higher judiciary outside its purview.

Anna Hazare and team will goon a hunger strike in protest of the draft on August 16.

image
16:48  

Just in: Government agrees to discussion on price rise in Lok Sabha tomorrow under a rule 184 that entails voting.

This was on the issue over which both houses of Parliament were adjourned today.

image
16:43   121 ships hijacked in last two years: Antony
A total of 121 ships were hijacked in the international waters in the last two years of which two incidents were reported off the Lakshadweep coast this year and 350 crew members were taken captive by pirates, Lok Sabha
was informed.
"As per International Maritime Bureau, during 2009 to June 30 this year the total number of ships hijacked is 121. The number of crew who were taken captive is 350 in the current year," Defence Minister A K Antony said in a written reply yesterday.
image
16:36   Another hacking charge hits Murdochs
In another blow to Rupert Murdoch-owned News International, it has now been revealed that personal details of thousands of people who entered
competitions on The Sun's website had been copied by one or more hackers.
News International, which owns The Sun, made the revelation in an email sent out on Monday evening. The hacked details are reportedly being posted on a
popular site among hackers for posting public messages anonymously.
image
16:25   Undercooked India lack fight: Ganguly
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has criticised the current side for being under-prepared and said the batsmen need to "put their bodies on the line" if they are to salvage anything from their Test series in England, says the cricketer in an interview with bbc.co.uk. Read
image
16:17   Govt has names of Indians with Swiss accounts: FM
In Parliament today, the government said it had received information about Indians having accounts in Swiss banks and is taking appropriate action to bring back funds stashed abroad.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Rajya Sabha said in a written reply, "Whenever information about money deposited in any foreign bank account is obtained the same is first verified and then action is taken in accordance with law to bring the undisclosed amount to taxation."
The minister, however, did not disclose the names of accounts holders saying that "information received under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement is covered by a confidentiality provision.
image
16:03   HC slams 'soft handling' in Adarsh case
Update on the Adarsh scam: Coming down heavily on the CBI today, for its slow pace of probe into the missing files case of the scam-hit Adarsh Housing Society, the Bombay High Court has sought a reply from the investigating agency tomorrow.
"This is a very serious matter. There should not be any soft handling. We are not happy with the speed of the investigation and CBI's conduct," a division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and R V More said.
The court's remarks came after Y P Singh, counsel for petitioner Simpreet Singh pointed out that the four persons arrested by CBI in connection with the Adarsh files gone missing from the urban development department, were granted bail after the agency failed to file its chargesheet within the stipulated 60-day period.
image
15:49   Stalin's son wants to sue land grab complainant

DMK President M Karunanidhi's grandson U Stalin today threatened to sue a land grab complainant for Rs 1 crore damages for 'defaming' him by
naming him in the complaint.
DMK also filed a complaint with the city police claiming that Stalin, son of party Treasurer and former Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin, was falsely implicated by the complainant Ranga Reddy and demanded appropriate action against him.
In his complaint against former DMK minister Parithi Illamvazhuthy and others yesterday, Reddy had claimed his land was sold by the former minister's aides by forging documents and they told him the property was meant for Udhayanithi
Stalin. 

image
15:30   Karnataka legislative party meet at 11 am tomorrow
The BJP legislative party has announced that it will meet in Bengaluru tomorrow at 11 am to decide on BS Yeddyurappa's successor. The name of the new CM will be announced tomorrow evening. Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh will oversee the proceedings.
image
15:25   Custodial death: Mob attacks PDP MLAs in Sopore

Just in: A mob attacks PDP MLAs with bricks and stones in Sopore, even as the police fire in the air to control the mob. The PDP are in Sopore town in north Kashmir's Baramulla district toexpress condolence with the family of the youth killed in police custody on Sunday. The decision to visit Sopore was taken an at emergency meeting of the PDP legislators summoned by party president Mehbooba Mufti.

Yesterday too, the PDP had attempted to go to Sopore, but Mehbooba Mufti was held in preventive custody en route.

image
15:14   New CM will be selected unanimously: Yeddy

As the BJP grapples with the crisis over the successor issue, it appeared that it would be a straight contest between Yeddyurappa's nominee Gowda and Jagadish Shettar, being propped up by the rival camp led by party national general secretary H N Ananth Kumar and state BJP Chief K S Eshwarappa.
"I am going to tour the State for the welfare of the people, and I don't have any personal agenda", Yeddyurappa said.
Informing that central observers Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh would arrive here this evening, he said: "Most probably... unanimously... our leader will be selected (tomorrow), and from day after tomorrow, we will only
concentrate on the development of the state."

image
15:12   Atal, Advani, Gadkari will guide me: BSY

Details on BSY's, 'I don't want to be super CM' comment.

In an apparent bid to reject criticism that he wants to rule by proxy by installing D V Sadananda Gowda as his successor, B S Yeddyurappa today asserted he did not want to become "a super CM". "I don't want to become a super CM", he said as the race for the Chief Minister's post hotted up ahead of the BJP legislative party meeting slated tomorrow. 

Yeddyurappa, who resigned from the post, said he would "obey the orders" of the party and leaders like Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani and (party President) Nitin Gadkari, "who are going to guide us."

image
15:00   PMO blamed for Kalmadi's appointment

From NDTV.com: Suresh Kalmadi may not be in Parliament on account of being in jail, but he was very much the central player in Parliament today. Sports Minister Ajay Maken attempted to explain in the Lok Sabha just how Kalmadi ended up as the man in charge of organizing the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in September 2010. Read

 

image
14:54   Balwa: No role in 2G spectrum allotment
Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa today claimed innocence in court, saying he had no role in allotment of 2G spectrum to his firm at the cost of Tatas or anyone else.
It was the Department of Telecom which took all the decisions regarding the grant of licences to telecom firms and left out Tata, he told Special Judge O P Saini while advancing in person his arguments opposing corruption and other penal charges invoked by the CBI against him.
image
14:30   DSKs ex lover dishes out the dirt
A woman claiming to be Dominique Strauss-Kahn's ex-lover is now sharing details. The Daily Beast on the scary similarities with DSK's rape charges and a breakup that prompted her suicide attempt. Read
image
14:26   Norway gunman's uniform is a sham
The 'military' uniform worn by mass killer Anders Breivik is a sham that he cobbled together for less than 400, the Sun reports. Breivik who slaughtered 77 in a bomb and gun double atrocity believes he is a picture of superiority as he poses smugly for the camera in the medal-bedecked tunic. Read
image
14:22   Indian call centre peddled confidential
Confidential bank and credit card details of thousands of Britons held by Indian call centres are being peddled to crooks by corrupt staff. An undercover operation by the Sun, revealed that dealers claim they can provide details of 80,000 British customers every week.

They tracked down a dealer through a website where Indian traders with access to the data seek black market buyers.

image
14:09  
Ramesh Srivats on Twitter: I wish I had a job where I could land up, scream & rant, eat a subsidized lunch, and go home. But for that I'd need to win an election.
image
14:06   LS, RS adjourns for the day, met for 10 minutes!
A minute into the session and both houses have adjourned till 11 am tomorrow.
image
14:01  
Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha resume after adjournement over price rise.
image
14:00  
Ramesh Srivats on Twitter: Kareena set to recreate Mandakini's wet sari act. But in a toned down manner. Tchah. There's no transparency these days.
image
13:38   Pilot ejects, but dies in MiG-21 crash in Bikaner

A MiG-21 fighter aircraft today crashed soon after taking off from Naal airfield in Rajasthan's Bikaner district killing the pilot. "The pilot ejected but died due to injuries sustained by him," defence spokesperson S D Goswami said.
The MiG-21 'Type-96' aircraft was on a routine sortie and crashed near the airfield, which is about 15 kms from Bikaner city, he said. This is the second crash of a MiG series fighter aircraft this year.

On February 4, a IAF MiG-21 'Bison' fighter plane had crashed apparently due to an engine problem while on a routine sortie in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district but the pilot had ejected safely.
In 2010, a total of 10 IAF aircraft crashes took place including four MiG-27 and two MiG-21 planes.

image
13:35   Yeddy: Don't want to be super CM, no agenda
Meanwhile, Yeddyurappa continues with his bytes. Says he has no desire to become super CM and nor does he have any personal agenda. He says the "Opposition should forget differences and cooperate with us" and confirms that the BJP legislative meet is on tomorrow to decide the new CM.
image
13:25   Car bomb at Iraq church wounds 15
Fifteen people were wounded today by a car bomb targeting a Syrian Catholic church in Kirkuk in northern Iraq. The bomb exploded at the Holy Family church in the north of Kirkuk at about 5:30 am (local time), wounding 15 people including church staff and people in neighbouring houses. At least 30 homes in the area were damaged.
image
13:17   Venkaiah Naidu: Yeddy did not smash my laptop
BJP senior leader Venkaiah Naidu denies reports in the Times of India that acting Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa smashed his laptop. Naidu trashes the story saying he doesn't even own a laptop. This is what happened according to the TOI. Read
image
13:07   US complains of Pakistan curbs on diplomat travel
The United States said yesterday, it is making progress toward encouraging Pakistan to lift curbs it said the authorities there had imposed on US diplomats travelling in the country. Read it in the Dawn
image
12:45   MIG-21 crashes in Bikaner

Just in: A MIG-21 fighter plane crashes near Naal area in Rajasthan's Bikaner district, says a defence spokesperson. Details awaited.

image
12:44   Yeddyurappa challenges Lokayukta report in HC

Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa reports that acting chief minister of Karnataka, B S Yeddyurappa has adopted legal recourse and has challenged the Lokayukta report in the Karnataka High Court.

Yeddyurappa, whose name figures in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining has sought quashing of the report. The petition has just been filed in the Karnataka High Court and is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.

image
12:19  
More legend on the killing of Osama bin Laden: 'There was never a question of capturing Osama'. Read
image
12:18   4 guards dead in Kabul suicide bombing
A suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle outside a small residential hotel in Kabul frequented by foreigners just after dawn today, killing at least four guards
in the latest of a rising number of violent attacks in northern Afghanistan.
image
12:17   LS, RS adjourned till 2 pm
Both Houses of Parliament have been adjourned, the third time today, till 2 pm over the price rise debate.
image
12:16   More than 6 lakh trees to vanish for Posco project
Over six lakh trees and some 1,800 betel vines will have to be sacrificed to set up Posco's Rs 52,000 crore mega steel project in Orissa's coastal
Jagatsinghpur district.
The trees to make way for the greenfield project include about three lakh casuarina and as many horticultural plants. Locals have voiced strong opposition against the move to clear the trees, arguing that they will be exposed to cyclone, tsunami and other natural calamities.
image
12:13   Grow up, stop whingeing

Columnist Kamran Shafi in the Dawn on ISI stooge Ghulam Nabi Fai, the US and terrorism. Read

image
12:02  
Both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have resumed after adjournment.
image
11:58   LS, RS adjourned till noon

Just in: Lok Sabha adjourns till noon as BSP, SP members create uproar demanding early passage of Land Acquisition Bill, while the Rajya Sabha adjourns till noon after uproar by BJP over price rise.

This is on the agenda at the Lok Sabha
Oath
Obituary References
State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks Laws) Amendment Bill, 2009
Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2011
Supplementary demands for grants (General)

And the Rajya Sabha agenda.
Oath
Supplementary demands for grants (General)
The Jawaharlal Institute of PG Medical Education and
Research, Puducherry (Amendment) Bill, 2010
The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Bill, 2010
Short Duration Discussion on situation arising out of growing terrorism in the country

image
11:51   Why nobody knows identity of man who killed Osama

From the Daily Mail, the fascinating story of what happened inside Osama's Abbottabad home... Excerpts. 

When he pulled the trigger on his silenced rifle in a darkened bedroom in Pakistan and shot a tall, unarmed man with a straggly beard in a prayer cap and shalwar kameez, he ended a nine-year manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, the man who claimed 2,973 American lives on September 11, 2001. But no-one - not even President Barack Obama - will ever know the name of that SEAL, nor of the comrade who wrapped Bin Laden's wives in a huge bear hug and dragged them aside in case they were wearing suicide bomb vests, knowing he would absorb most of the blast and save the men behind him.

 

Read

image
11:41   Yeddyurappa headed for showdown with rivals

The B S Yeddyurappa camp appears headed for a major showdown with the rival side at the BJP legislature party meeting here tomorrow, with the race for the Chief Minister's post narrowing down to D V Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar.

Yeddyurappa, who quit as Chief Minister following the political upheaval over the Lokayukta report indicting him on illegal mining, has publicly announced that his choice is Gowda, a former state unit party president.

But the rival camp spearheaded by Yeddyurappa's bitter rival BJP National General Secretary H N Ananth Kumar, today made it known they have decided on the candidature of Shettar.  

"I, Shettar and (State unit President K S) Eshwarappa were in the contest for Chief Minister's post. After that, we sat together and held discussions. (senior BJP leader H N) Ananth Kumar has also joined us. After discussions, we have felt Shettar may become Chief Minister," Home and Transport Minister R Ashoka said.

image
11:32   HSBC to hire 15,000 in Asia, Latin America

HSBC Bank wants to hire as many as 15,000 people in emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America over the next three years. The announcement is part of the bank's plan to overhaul its global operations in a bid to cut costs and boost profits, reports bbc.co.uk.

Just yesterday, the banking giant said it would cut 25,000 jobs by 2013 and exit operations in 20 countries as it looks to save billions of dollars, but mainly in the US and Europe. The announcement came as the bank reported pre-tax profits for the first six months of the year of $11.5bn, up 3%.

image
11:28   China blames Pakistan for Xinjiang violence

Yesterday, China said that Islamic extremists were behind an attack on the eve of the Muslim fasting month in the restive western region of Xinjiang that left 20 people dead. The attack in Kashgar city on Sunday afternoon was the latest violence to shake the region where Muslim Uighurs have long resented the presence of Han Chinese and religious and political controls imposed by Beijing.

image
11:24   China kills two suspects in Xinjiang violence
Chinese police have shot dead two men suspected of mounting a fatal attack in Xinjiang region on Sunday, reports bbc.co.uk. It said the two, Memtieli Tiliwaldi and Turson Hasan, were found hiding in a corn field on the outskirts of the city of Kashgar. Six people were killed in an attack on a restaurant there. Police shot dead five suspects at the scene in a weekend of violence that left up to 18 people dead.
image
11:20   DSK's wife howled in pain hearing rape charges

Dirt on the Dominique Strauss Kahn story.

Apparently, DSK's wife Anne Sinclair, 'fell to the ground and howled like an animal' when she first heard of the rape allegations against her husband.   According to French magazine, Sinclair 'broke down, howled in pain, moaned like a stunned animal,' and 'could not form words for hours after,' when she received news that her husband will face jail.  

Sinclair was reportedly getting ready for a party when she received a call from her husband that there was a 'serious problem' in New York and that he had lost the cell phone issued to him by the IMF.

image
11:13   Lok Sabha adjourns as well

Ruckus in Lok Sabha over price rise ensures Lok Sabha adjourns as well.

image
11:05   MPs rush to well, RS adjourned till 12 pm
Parliament opens for the second day with the obituary announcements. Rajya Sabha adjourns till 12 pm, when Oppostion members rush to the well of the house.  
image
10:48   Karnataka BJP to meet tomorrow, CM decision likely

The Karnataka BJP legislative party is likely to meet tomorrow to decide on the next chief minister. Still no consensus on the name. Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh will be in Bengaluru tomorrow.

image
10:41   Headlines this morning

Good morning. On Day 2 of the monsoon session of Parliament the BJP will seek a voting debate on the price rise and a suspension of the question hour in both houses. Sources also say the party has enrolled BS Yeddyurappa for an anger management course.

 

Yeddyurappa smashes Naidu's laptop, slaps minister (The Times of India)
After being relegated to the status of caretaker CM of Karnataka, BSY flew into a rage and grabbed BJP's Venkaiah Naidu's laptop and smashed it on the floor. Read

 

BJP: Manmohan diverting attention from tough questions (The Hindu)

The party said Dr. Singh was involved in micro-managing the telecom policy and allotment of 2G licences. Read

 

BJP leaders to decide strategy to corner govt in House (Hindustan Times)

The BJP leaders will be meeting in a while in New Delhi to discuss strategy to be adopted to attack the government in the monsoon session of the parliament. Read

 

HC pulls up Haryana govt on Gurgaon land acquisition (Indian Express)
Beneficiaries include Rajiv Gandhi Trust; Anjolie Ela Menon among petitioners. Read

 

CAG questions PMO for giving Kalmadi Organizing Committee rein (The Times of India)

Fresh trouble seems to be brewing for the UPA government amid indications that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has faulted the PMO for letting Suresh Kalmadi capture the Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games, a decision which enabled the jailed sports czar to have a decisive say in the spending of hundreds of crores of public money. Read

 

How Pavit breached 3-tier security (DNA)
After MT Pavit ran aground off Juhu beach on Sunday, serious questions about coastal security have resurface. Read

 

US House passes debt bill, wards off default risk (Hindustan Times)

The House of Representatives today approved a last-gasp deal to raise the US borrowing limit in a decisive step toward averting a catastrophic debt default by the world's largest economy. Read

TOP STORIES