Live! Pak's New Year gift: Obama freezes $700 mn aid
January 02, 2012
US President Barack Obama has signed a massive 662 billion dollars national defence authorisation bill into law, which among other sweeping measures, seeks to freeze 700 million dollars in aid to Pakistan.
The US has suspended a big chunk of financial aid until Pakistan gives assurances it is helping fight the spread of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The bill for the year 2012 seeks to suspend 60 percent of the 1.1 billion dollars US military aid to Pakistan under the category Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund.
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal today said the proposed campaign by Anna Hazare in five poll-bound states entirely depended on his health.
"It depends entirely on his health and suggestions by doctors," he told reporters after visiting Hazare. The 74-year-old activist had earlier announced that he
would tour the five poll-bound states to canvass against political parties that opposed a strong Lokpal Bill in Parliament.
He said since Anna's health was improving with reduced chest congestion, the date of next meeting of the movement's core committee would be finalised soon.
"Anna's health is paramount for us and the whole country," he added.
Interesting factoid on Twitter
007 James Bond tweets: On This Day In Bond History: 2004, #007 spoke Hindi for the first time, in a dubbed The Spy Who Loved Me (Pyar Dushman Se) released in India
On the Telegraph, Calcutta, a read that will leave you pining for Kolkata's seasonal speciality -- notun gurer sandesh.
Guess which Calcuttan is being treated like royalty this winter in the most expensive house on Billionaire's Row in London: His Delectable Highness, the Nolen Gurer Sandesh.
Over the past week, city boy Lakshmi Narayan Mittal’s marbled mansion at 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens has received three consignments of the choicest sweets prepared with the season’s first jaggery at Bhowanipore’s 2 Padmapukur Road, better known as Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick.
Our Delhi correspondent says that Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar plans massive celebrations on the occasion of the 60th year of Indian Parliament on May 13.
A special session of Parliament is being convened to discuss important issues and the Speaker today said foreign dignitaries will be invited to address the session.
The Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950 and following the first general elections held under the Constitution from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952, the first elected Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April 1952. The Lok Sabha met for the first time on 13 May, 1952 and was dissolved by the President on 4 April, 1957.
There shall be dignitaries from foreign countries for this function. Former speakers, former deputy speakers and erstwhile MPs of Lok Sabha are likely to be invited to this function.
The Speaker constituted a high-level advisory committee with TK Viswanathan, Secretary General to draw up a plan of the three-day celebrations in the Central Hall of Parliament.
A proposal under consideration is postage stamp and special Rs 5 coin commemmorating the occasion.
Update on the Anuj Bidve murder.
Kiaran 'Psycho' Stapleton was today remanded for killing Anuj Bidve. A man describing himself as "Psycho Stapleton" has appeared at court charged with murdering Indian student Bidve who was shot dead on December 26. Kiaran Stapleton, 20, was remanded in custody by Manchester magistrates over the death of the 23-year-old.
More on the bbc.co.uk
After years in the semi-wilderness, Khan -- or "Imran" as he is known in Pakistan '" is walking through green fields of mainstream popularity. The former cricketer tops opinion polls. For the first time, powerful and established political figures have begun defecting to his party. In October, a rally in Lahore drew at least 100,000.
Read on the Guardian: Imran Khan set to play the innings of his life.
The latest quips in the Congress-BJP war of words on the Lokpal Bill debacle.
Congress: We are fighting for a strong Lokpal Bill. BJP is not doing constructive politics.
BJP: Govt indulged in false campaign against us. We will go to any extent to bring strong and effective Lokpal.
India's foreign ministry complained to Beijing today, saying a diplomat was denied medicine to control severe diabetes and collapsed while offering consular assistance to two Indian citizens on trial in China's Yiwu city.
In a virulent verbal attack on Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, an Australian newspaper today slammed the batting maestro for backing his teammate Harbhajan Singh during the '2008 monkeygate scandal' here, saying some Aussie players lost respect for him after that.
"While the cricket world is abuzz with anticipation that the Little Master will score his 100th international century during the second Test in Sydney, beginning tomorrow, some recent Australian players have not forgiven his role in the Andrew Symonds Monkeygate scandal," The 'Herald Sun's' Malcom Conn wrote in a column titled 'Sachin's Sin City'.
The writer goes on to state that the 'Monkeygate' scandal will forever haunt Tendulkar. "...despite the unparalleled greatness of his achievements, some Australians lost respect for him when he gave completely different accounts of what took place as a key witness in the Harbhajan Singh-Andrew Symonds racism meltdown," he claimed.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad is holding a press conference as we write this on the Lokpal logjam.
The downside of being Bachchan.
'Hundreds turn up to catch a glimpse of Amitabh Bachchan outside his Mumbai home Jalsa every Sunday, but the crowd was so huge on New Year's Day that
the megastar found it difficult to enter his own home. The 69-year-old actor was returning with his family from his other house Prateeksha when the huge crowd caused a traffic jam outside Jalsa and Bachchan had to make a back door entry.
"The family returns from Prateeksha after the Pooja and every car that goes in is received with shouts of recognition... in fact I have slipped in from the back because the traffic has jammed and I am finding it difficult to enter my own home," Bachchan wrote on his blog.
The answer, dear reader, is, Nanban. A remake of the Aamir Khan top grosser, it's directed by S Shankar. More
The tentative dates for the union budget are out -- it's either March 7 or 8, says finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. The budget will be delayed because of the state polls.
Read on rediff.com: Budget to be presented after state polls
A Mayan calendar, and the projection that it -- or, more accurately, a cycle within it -- will end on Dec. 21, 2012. That date has kicked up a swirl of anticipation, based on science, pseudoscience, hucksterism and spiritual belief. The idea is that 2012 will be a game-changer, the last year of civilization as we know it.
If you secretly love gobbledigook, read the story on the LA Times.
Only for SRK fans...
His midnight soccer game with daughter Suhana on New Years Eve has landed Shah Rukh Khan with a minor injury in his ribs. The 46-year-old 'Ra. One' star brought in the new year in Dubai with his family and indulged in some sport with his daughter. "Have hurt ribs. Holiday soccer career nipped in the bud... bah!! Now to indulge in reading and videogames. Hurts only when I laugh or breathe," tweeted SRK on Sunday. The actor is having a lazy holiday after the hectic promotions of his latest release 'Don 2'.
"Nothing happening except just lounging and repairing laptop... the luxury of nothingness," he wrote.
Strictly for SRK fans.
A midnight soccer game with daughter Suhana on New Years Eve has landed Shah Rukh Khan with a minor injury in his ribs. Rhe 46-year-old Ra. One star brought in the new year in Dubai with his family and indulged in some sport with his daughter.
"Have hurt ribs. Holiday soccer career nipped in the bud... bah!! Now to indulge in reading and videogames. Hurts only when I laugh or breathe," tweeted SRK on Sunday. The actor is having a lazy holiday after the hectic
promotions of his latest release Don 2.
"Nothing happening except just lounging and repairing laptop... the luxury of nothingness," he wrote.
On Friday, SRK had tweeted this picture, saying, "Blissfully happy"
An interesting read on PTI on how decades before India made a name for itself in the field of education, the tiny princely state of Travancore aimed high by trying to enlist the services of great physicist Albert Einstein as Vice Chancellor of its fledgling university for a monthly pay of Rs 6000.
The Nobel prize winning scientist, considered as the founder of modern physics and one who developed the theory of general relativity, politely declined the invitation saying he wanted to join Princeton University in America.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Syed Munawar Hassan has said Pakistan should prepare itself for a revolution "because people are now demanding an Islamic set-up in the country."
He ruled out any change in Pakistan's situation as long as "Zardari and Gilani remain in power. Only bearded men and veiled women will change Pakistan's destiny," Hassan said.
Zardari had no backing of the majority and added he was surviving due to Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif's support. "As long as the present government remains in power, Nawaz Sharif will also continue to get its Sawab," he added.
A related report to our 12:59 pm post.
Bajaj Auto Ltd and the India unit of Ford Motor Co. today posted a rise in December vehicle sales as year-end discounts drove more customers to showrooms. But sales at passenger car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. dropped because of scheduled maintenance shutdowns.
More on the Wall Street Journal.
One of our favourites on Twitter ...
Ramesh Srivats: Anyone has a spare new-year party photo that one can photoshop their face into, and upload on Facebook? Er... asking for a friend.
The political scene in Pakistan appears to be hotting up, with the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaf party indicating that it is open
to an alliance with former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
The party's new vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said a decision on forming an alliance with Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League will be taken in due course of time after considering circumstances.
His comments come in the wake of political ripples triggered by the 'memogate' scandal, which has put the country's powerful army and the executives at loggerheads, leading to speculation of possibility of early polls and new political alignments.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai today said police would arrest members of a family accused of torturing and illegally detaining their son's teenage wife for the past six months while trying to force her into a life of crime.
After meeting senior security officials yesterday, Karzai said in a statement that whoever used violence against 15-year-old Sahar Gul must be punished.
According to police in northeastern Baghlan province, the in-laws kept Gul in a basement for six months, tore her hair out and broke her fingers.
On Saturday, the ministers of public health and women's affairs and the head of the government's human rights commission visited Gul, who is recovering in a Kabul hospital. They demanded from the government that her in-laws be immediately arrested.
Intensifying efforts to trace the body of missing nurse Bhanwari Devi, the CBI has zeroed in on places in Jaloda village where she could have been buried and
are scouting the area using sophisticated devices.
On the basis of the interrogation of Om Prakash Bishnoi, brother and gang member of Bishna Ram Bishnoi, who is said to have a hand in disposing of the body of Bhanwari devi, a CBI team is camping in the village and searching areas near it using special devices, agency sources said.
According to the sources, Bishna Ram belongs to Jaloda village and after taking possession of Bhanwari's body near Nevra Road, he had headed back in the direction of Phalodi. It is now believed that he disposed of her body somewhere in his village.
If you're headed to Leh any time now, here's what you should know: The minimum temperature across the Kashmir Valley rose by several degrees even though it remained below the freezing point with Leh town recording a chilling
minus of 17.2 degrees Celsius.
Even though Leh town in the remote Ladakh region witnessed a comparatively warmer night, the mercury there settled at a low of minus 17.2 degrees Celsius, an increase of 1.6 degrees from yesterday, a MeT official said.Leh had yesterday recorded this season's lowest of minus
18.8 degrees Celsius.
In other news, Taliban's supreme commander Mullah Mohammad Omar, now in hiding, has put pressure on his groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan to form a new grouping which has pledged to stop targeting Pakistani security forces and instead focus attention on US-led troops in Afghanistan.
Following the intervention of one-eyed Omar, the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban formed a joint five-member 'shura' or council with other Pakistani militant groups yesterday to oversee an end to attacks on Pakistani forces.
One-eyed Omar? Who? Read the report on rediff.com
A PTI report says that an Indian diplomat was injured and hospitalised following an assault by a large group of Chinese traders in a court, as he tried to secure the release of two Indians who were held hostage by locals, demanding payment of their dues in the eastern business hub of Yiwu.
S Balachandran, a diplomat at the Indian Consulate in Shanghai was rushed to hospital when he fainted after being "manhandled" by the crowd that tried to snatch two kidnapped Indians who clung to him. The incident happened when he was leaving the court after prolonged negotiations on the night of December 31.
Just in: A police team from the UK has just landed at Mumbai airport. They are expected to leave for Pune to visit Anuj Bidve's family.
The team is from the Greater Manchester Police from Birmingham. Bidve was killed in a suspected hate crime, even as coroners will decide next week on the release of his body.
Three police officers Chief Superintendent Barry Russel Jackson, Detective Constable Peter Christian Rickards and Police Constable Esther Barbara Lambert will go to Pune to meet the family, government sources said.
The visas of the police team are being issued today in consultation with the acting Indian High Commissioner in London.
Police said visibility was poor due to a thick blanket of fog in the area and the two vehicles collided head-on. The victims were in the age group of 5 to 8 years and were students of Arjun Public School. The injured have been taken to the Civil Hospital in Ambala Cantt.
Our Delhi correspondent reports that the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs will meet on Wednesday afternoon to consider the petrol price hike, the Army chief age controversy, proroging Parliament and summoning of the Budget session.
Once CCPA takes a decision, then on Friday, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs will meet to broadly indicate the Parliament Budget session schedule.
The CCPA will decide on the date for President Prathibha Patil last address to the Joint Session of Parliament as it is customary to begin with the President's Speech.
South Asia's largest prison, Tihar Jail, is infamous for sheltering notorious inmates, including corrupt Indian bureaucrats and big-ticket politicians.
Now, the jail is focusing on some of its poorer inmates with a literacy drive.
Read the report on the Wall Street Journal
Meanwhile, Asma Jahangir, the counsel for Husain Haqqani in the memogate case, has refused to appear before the judicial commission investigating the controversy, expressing lack of confidence in the apex court's judges as well as the commission. The commission starts its proceedings today.
Asma had refused to appear before the commission, and added that they had still not decided about filing a review petition against the court's December 30 order in the case.'
Asma has expressed apprehension that ISI might force the judicial commission to give a verdict against her client, Husain Haqqani. She stated that he had no trust in the commission.
Another new year gift from the governmnet. Oil companies my hike petrol rates by Rs 2 per litre.
On Friday, the state-run Indraprastha Gas Ltd has hiked the CNG prices by Rs 1.75 per kg in Delhi and Rs 2 per keg in suburbs like Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. The move is an impact of the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar.
The hike has added to the woes of the common man who is already battling soaring inflation. With the fifth time increase in the CNG Prices this year, consumers will now have to pay rupees 33.75 per kg in New Delhi and rupees 37.90 per kg in NCR.
Update on the murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve.
A 20-year-old Briton has been charged with the murder of the , who was shot in the head in Salford on Boxing Day in an unprovoked incident. Readmore rediff.com.
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the bail petitions of A Raja's former Private Secretary R K Chandolia and former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, accused in the 2G spectrum case, and issued notice to CBI on
their pleas.
A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi also extended the interim stay on the Delhi High Court's order which had put on hold the bail granted to Chandolia by the trial court.
With today's order Chandolia, who was granted bail by the trial court, will remain out of jail till the next date of hearing. Out of the 14 accused persons, 12 have already been granted bail and only the prime accused, former telecom minister A Raja and Behura are left behind the bars.
The bench had agreed to examine Chandolia's plea against the high court's suo-motu decision to stay the grant of bail to him by the special court on December 1, 2011 and was released from Tihar Jail the same day. Chandolia had moved the apex court, challenging the high court order saying its decision of staying the bail was "unwarranted and erroneous".
Behura had approached the apex court challenging the December 16, 2011 order of the high court denying him bail on the ground that he was the "perpetrator" of the illegal design of Raja and cannot claim benefit of parity with 10 others released on bail.
A technical team constituted by a Supreme Court-appointed empowered committee will on Monday submit its report on the safety of the disputed century-old Mullaperiyar Dam.
The two-member technical panel comprising CD Thatte and DK Mehta had recently surveyed the dam site after Kerala expressed concerns over safety in the wake of recent tremors in the area.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa took strong exception to the National Disaster Management Authority forming a team of experts to draw up a contingency response plan for the Mullaperiyar Dam, saying it was nothing but "succumbing to the subterfuge" of Kerala.
He said there should not be any outside control on the media but its representatives should encourage impartiality and objectivity and reduce sensationalism. He said, "I am confident that the Indian media will itself take
efforts to do away with ills like paid news and be successful in it."
Foreigners can now buy Indian stocks; move to boost market (The Times of India)
The govt on Sunday gave a New Year gift to the stock markets by allowing qualified foreign investors and overseas individuals to invest in Indian stock markets. Read
Citibank bank fails to act on Puri scam alarm bells : Probe (The Times of India)
The fraud in Citbank's Gurgaon branch in December 2010 occurred despite several warnings, according to an internal study by the bank. Read
Women must cover up: Karnataka minister (The Times of India)
Karnataka's women and child welfare minister said women work in IT companies and call centres at night should know how much skin they should cover. Read
2G hearing to resume, Raja to cross-examine ex-aide (Hindustan Times)
After a week's break, the trial in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case would continue from today with former telecom minister A Raja questioning his former aide Aseervatham Achary, a key witness in the case. Read
No fast, andolan for a month: doctor tells Anna (The Hindu)
Recuperating in a private hospital in Pune, Anna Hazare has asked his supporters not to worry about his health saying he will be alright in a few days. Read
BSP votes for image change before UP polls (Indian Express)
Top advertising firm roped in, told to project and promote party as all-inclusive, cosmopolitan. Read
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