Panchayat orders marriage of minor

In a bizarre incident of meting out "punishment" to an eloped couple's families, a community panchayat here "penalised" the boy's family by ordering nikah of a minor girl belonging to the boy's side with the boy of the girl's family. What's more, the nikah was performed in the presence of the police at Thana Bhawam town of the district on Sunday.

Three policemen, including, sub-inspector Inder Singh, have been suspended and an inquiry ordered against them, Senior superintendent police (rural) M. Ashok Jain said. SP (rural) S.B. Pathak will conduct the probe, Mr Jain said.

The eloped couple has not been traced as yet. According to the police, a meeting of the community panchayat was called on December 4 soon after the couple "ran away" and it was decided that the family members of the eloped boy would have to perform nikah with the boy belonging to the eloped girl's family.

As per the panchayat diktat, minor girl, Rubina, 13 was married off to Sajid on December 9.

The parents of the minor girl reportedly did not object to the nikah, community members said

Top court rejects bail for PUCL activist

Civil right activists are extremely dismayed at the rejection of the bail petition of Chhattisgarh People's Union for Civil Liberties general secretary and paediatrician Binayak Sen by the Supreme Court.

Dr Sen was arrested on May 14, 2007 on charges of aiding and abetting Naxal activity in Chhattisgarh under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPCA) of 2004. Dismissing the bail petition, a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhan said: "It did not agree with the grounds raised by Sen for enlarging him on bail."

Harish Dhawan, reader of economics at Delhi University and an activist, is shocked at why Dr Sen's bail plea was rejected. "The right to bail is only rejected if the state believes a person will abscond or else if because the accused may tamper with evidence. But the state is well aware that Sen was going to do no such thing especially since the chargesheet has been filed," Mr Dhawan said. Chhattisgarh PUCL president Rajendra Sail felt that if charges had to be brought against him, they should have been done so under the IPC or the Criminal Procedure Act. "Instead, he has been charged under anti-terrorist laws which we describe as black laws because it gives sweeping powers of arrest and detention to the state ," said Mr Sail

Advani is BJP PM candidate

Going into election mode, the BJP on Monday declared Leader of the Opposition Lal Krishna Advani as the party's prime ministerial candidate in the next parliamentary election.

The announcement was made by BJP president Rajnath Singh after a meeting of the party's parliamentary board.

It is learnt that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has endorsed the decision to project Mr Advani as the BJP's prime minister-inwaiting. Mr Rajnath Singh also held consultations with former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee before making the announcement.

Mr Vajpayee is understood to have told the party president that his health did not permit him to play an active role any longer.

He said Mr Advani should be entrusted with the responsibility of leading the party into the next election, and said that his blessings and guidance would always be available to Mr Advani.

Mr Advani, 80, who was deputy prime minister and home minister in the Vajpayee government, said after the party's announcement: "I express my gratitude to the

Bhutto, Sharif talks remain inconclusive

Former Pakistan Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have failed to find a consensus to work together against President Pervez Musharraf.

"The joint committee of the APDM (the Nawaz Sharif-led All-Pakistan Democratic Movement) and ARD (Ms Bhutto's Alliance for Restoration of Democracy) has finalised 13 points out of 15 to compose the charter of demands during its final meeting (on Thursday). But the committee failed to come up with consensus on the issues related to reinstatement of deposed judges and restoration of the Constitution," committee members Senator Raza Rabbani and Ishar Dar told a press conference on Thursday night.

The difference on two of the main points and departure of Ms Bhutto to Dubai on Friday means that possibly there will be no more talks between the two major Opposition parties. "Both the alliances though agree on the notion that the judiciary should be independent but hold difference of opinion about the mechanism to make it independent," Mr Rabbani said. "There are two opinions on reinstatement of deposed judges," he added.

Both Mr Rabbani and Mr Dar refused to make the draft charter details with the media and said that the same would only be made public after its approval by Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto. Reiterating the stance that the option to boycott remains open, they were of the view that the group don't want postponement of the schedule of the general elections.

Responding to various queries, they said that the matter of independence of the judiciary was a policy matter and should be decided by the judiciary itself or by the next Parliament.

Sources privy to the meeting told this newspaper that the committee would give government the deadline of December 12 or 13 to meet the charter of demands and or else they would jointly boycott the elections.

LAND AREA OF INDIA - Isro prepares digital map

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has almost completed the digital mapping of the country. "Seventy per cent of the total land area of India has been digitally filmed with high resolution cameras on CARTOSATS 1 and 2, the country's resource satellites. We hope to complete the entire mapping by next year," Dr T K Alex, director, ISRO's Laboratory for Electro Optic System, told this newspaper.

Dr Alex said digital mapping could revolutionise infrastructure development in the country. "It will help us speed up the surveys for road building, and laying of high tension electric and telecommunication lines. Since satellite photographs are of high resolution, planners and engineers can work from their offices," said Dr Alex.

But the major advantage of digital mapping is in the preservation of land records and documents, according to Dr Alex. "Depending on the input we get from village offices and collectorates, it is possible to eliminate discrepancies associated with land dealings. The village level survey numbers and boundaries come in handy for the concerned authorities to detect malpractices in land transactions, if any. But this requires enormous output," said Dr Alex. He said it was possible to digitally map the world.

Ring roads for small and big cities too could be planned with the aid of the digital maps. "The digital images will provide us with the number and size of the buildings and other structures in the area. This is a major help in the planning process. City development is another area where these digital images could play a major role," Dr Alex said.

He disclosed that ISRO would have hyper spectral imagery cameras, which are capable of capturing images with more than 200 colours. "These are helpful in identifying the minerals on the earth's surface," said Dr Alex, an aerospace specialist who was honoured by the Astronomical Society of India for his outstanding contribution to remote sensing.

4-door Rs 2.5 lakh electric car on roads

India's first-ever four-door electric car is all set to be launched by city-based Bavina Industries.

The four-seater steel-bodied hatch-back resembling Hyundai Santro and Daewoo Matiz would zip through Indian roads from April 14, Managing Director of Bavina Industries S.Rajasekhar told PTI here on Friday.

The fully-loaded version of the car costs around Rs.2.5 lakh and boasts of facilities, including AC, power window and centralized locking, like any other small, premium hatch-back.

The fully-charged car would run for 110 km with AC switched on and another 20 kms without AC. It could give a maximum speed of 55 kmph and was likely to give a tight competition to the two-door fibre-bodied battery car Reva, introduced a few years back in the country. Initially the company would be assembling the parts at its city facility and later at its own unit at Marakkanam.

Gujarat Why is EC silent on Sonia remark:Naidu

Senior BJP leader N Venkaiah Naidu on Friday questioned the Election Commission for its notice to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his reported comments on Sohrabuddin Sheikh while maintaining silence over the statement made by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"Why the EC has not issued any notice to Sonia Gandhi who charged that Modi was a merchant of death," Mr Naidu asked.

Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport, Mr Naidu alleged that Ms Gandhi's allegation that Modi was a ‘merchant of death' was ‘serious, offensive, provocative and inciting'. "Why is the EC is silent on Sonia Gandhi? They should explain it," said Mr Naidu.

The BJP leader alleged that Congress and ‘pseudo-secularists' were raking up the name of Sohrabuddin with ulterior motives.

"What is so great about Sohrabuddin? He was a criminal with terrorist links. Mr Modi was referring to his terrorist activities. He did not support any fake encounters," claimed Mr Naidu.

He also charged that Congress has neither leadership nor issues. "Modi has been rated as the best chief minister in the country by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Planning Commission. Gujarat has not seen any riot or killing during the last five years," claimed Mr Naidu.

Kuwait Petro in talks with RIL, IOC for oil refinery

Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) is in talks with Reliance Industries Ltd and state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) for setting up a multi-billiondollar "world-scale" oil refinery and petrochemical complex in India. Disclosing this Mr Saad A. AlShuwaib, CEO, KPC, said that he met top officials of RIL in Mumbai on Wednesday and held a meeting with IOC board members on Thursday to explore the possibility of setting up a 400,000 barrels a day refin ery and a chemical plant with an annual capacity of one million tonnes.

"It could be a green-field project or a joint acquisition," Mr Al-Shuwaib said and added that the production from these proposed refineries would be exported from India.

Mr Al-Shuwaib said that the joint ventures could at a future date look at projects outside India. KPC is open to taking two partners, if necessary.

He said KPC would be willing to supply crude oil for this refinery and petrochemical project in India. "We would like to supply it with Kuwaiti oil. That is the main investment target for us," he said.

Kuwait Petroleum current ly exports around 250,000 bbl per day of crude to India on annual term-contracts to Indian companies like IOC and Reliance and is keen to raise the supplies. "We can raise it but it depends on the companies," KPC's managing director Mr Abdullatif A. Al-Houti said.

"We would like to be always committed to the Government of India in supplying oil (and) better relations for reliable supplies," Mr Al-Shuwaib said.

Mr Al-Shuwaib made it clear that they were not interested in taking stake in any of the existing refiner ies like the Jamnagar refinery or the refinery to be built by Reliance Petroleum Limited. They are interested in new projects.

Mr Al-Houti said that KPC would be look ing at IOC's 150,000 barrels per day Paradip project which has been reconfigured to include a refinerycum-petrochemical plant. Kuwait Petroleum Corp could not consider it earlier as it was only a refinery project and they were interested in an integrated refinerycum-petrochemical complex.

On high global crude prices, Mr Al-Shuwaib said: "We see prices going up and down. We don't see problems with the supply and demand."

70 killed in China coalmine blast

At least 70 miners were killed and 26 others still trapped on Thursday when a gas blast ripped through a coalmine in north Shanxi Province in one of the major colliery accidents in China's deadliest mining industry, officials said.

Officials said 70 bodies had been recovered as rescuers looked for survivours in the village-run Xinyao pit in Hongtong County of Linfen.

Fifteen workers were either rescued or they escaped the blast which initial probe showed was caused by illegal mining activity in an unauthorised coal seam, official Xinhua news agency said.

The exact number of miners trapped is not known yet, the report said. The legal representative and head of the mine have been detained by the police. The mine licenses have been sealed and bank accounts frozen, it said.

The bodies of the victims were being identified and efforts were on to know the cause of the blast.

The coal mining industry in China is considered the deadliest with accidents being frequent. From January to October this year, 3,069 deaths in 1,920 cases have been reported.

Authorities, however, said the number of deaths was less by 20.2 per cent and the cases by 19 per cent from the same period last year. Most of the accidents are blamed on flouting of safety norms by owners

India tests interceptor missile successfully

India on Thursday successfully tested a newly developed high-speed interceptor missile over the Bay of Bengal, defence sources said.

As part of an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) exercise, a Prithvi missile modified to "mimic" a hostile ballistic missile was fired from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea in Orissa, some 230 km from State capital Bhubaneswar, about 11 a.m.

The new missile was fired from Wheeler Island a little over two minutes later and successfully intercepted the incoming target, destroying it over the Bay of Bengal, the sources said.

Sources said the missile AAD tested on Thursday was a new one and not a derivative or an update of any existing missile.

It was specially designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for this role.

In performance, the AAD is said to be slightly superior to the US PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability) in interception, altitude and range against incoming ballistic missiles, sources said.

On Sunday, defence scientists had conducted a mock trial of the AAD system by using an electronic target fired from the ITR.

NANDIGRAM - Burnt bones, ashes recovered

Burnt human bones and ashes were recovered on Thursday from three of the five graves found at Bidyapith village in the CPI(M) stronghold of Khejuri near Nandigram.

"The graves which were under guard by a 15-member CRPF team after their discovery, were dug after Contai judicial magistrate Jaiprakash Singh arrived in the afternoon," superintendent of police, Midnapore, Satyeswar Panda said.

Eight human bones and ashes were found shortly after the digging began, he said. Asked why it took so long for the magistrate to arrive, Panda said: "We had written to the court on Wednesday and it is all upto them to decide when they will send a magistrate."

Asked about the identity of the bodies, Mr Panda said they could be of the five killed while making bombs on October 28, or those who died on March 14, or during the violence on November 8.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) Midnapore Sabhadipati, Niranjan Sihi claimed that the bodies found in the grave were of the CPI(M) men, who were killed in a bomb attack by Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee sup porters on October 28

State admits to failure of Child Labour Act

The Andhra Pradesh High Court was deeply annoyed by the labour department's claim that there was no child labour in the city and affirmed that it was highly prevalent. A division bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice Ramesh Ranganathan pointed out on Thursday that hundreds of children were working in hotels and automo bile repair shops. The bench was dealing with a writ petition pertaining to implementation of Child Labour Prohibition Act. Justice Ranganathan also asked Advocate General, Mr C.V. Mohan Reddy, to accom pany him to see the small children who work in automobile mechanic shops in King Koti.

However, after claiming that there was no child labour in Greater Hyderabad, the labour department went on to say that it was difficult to curb it because of resistance from locals.

People sympathised with children and those who employed them since it provided a means of livelihood to poor familes, the department said in an affidavit.

The labour commis sioner openly admitted the department's inability in implementing the Child Labour Prohibition Act and said it was trying to curb child labour by booking cases under Minimum Wages Act, which

Musharraf's son defends his dad in cyberworld

President Pervez Musharraf's son Bilal and rock band Junoon's guitarist Salman Ahmed, who till recently were good pals, are now clashing in cyberspace over the imposition of emergency in Pakistan.

Ahmed, who was a supporter of President Musharraf's policies, especially his stand against terrorism and his vision of "enlightened moderation", has been prolific on the cyberspace, calling the President a "dictator" and "Pharaoh", since the imposition of Aemergency on November 3.

This provoked an angry response from Mr Bilal Musharraf. In his letters, which have now been taken off most websites, Mr Bilal Musharraf has accused Ahmed, who he says was a close friend and a spiritual guide of sorts since 1998, of indulging in "venomous rhetoric" against his father.

"No one is perfect, I realise. However, to the extent one can, one must try to reduce one's integrity gap which someone defined aptly as the difference between lived values and stated values," he said.

In his response, New York-based Ahmed wrote that despite their close friendship, "staying silent under the present conditions that Pakistan is undergoing, is no longer an option".

"My prior public support to your father's government along with that of the vast majority of Pakistanis was given in the belief that he would deliver on his public promises to fight extremism, respect civil institutions, bring accountability to corrupt politicians, open up a free and independent media and reduce the immoral gap between Pakistan's rich and poor," Ahmed said.

"My support for your father's government was never meant to be taken as a blank cheque for the state machinery to run amok and start dismantling civil institutions, making deals with crooks and plunderers, treating civil servants like common criminals, kidnapping and killing innocent Pakistanis under the guise of the ‘war on terror'."

Mr Bilal Musharraf also said Ahmed's association with Mr Musharraf was part of a "marketing strategy" by the rock musician.

Navy Day celebrated in Vizag

People thronged at Ramakrishna Beach to witness the annual Naval Operational Display conducted by the Eastern Naval Command marking Navy Day celebrations here on Tuesday.

Once again it was the Indian Navy's aerobatic team Sagar Pawan which won the hearts of the spectators.

The flying skills displayed by the naval pilots was breathtaking. Four Kiran Mark-2 jets built indigenously at HAL formed loops in the air, Two others formed a huge heart while a third one pierced it depicting cupid in action. The horizon at the Bay of Bengal was filled with Kiran jets which flying at a speed of 600 kmph.

Send me to Kolkata: Taslima

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen is increasingly getting desperate to get back to her home in Kolkata and is virtually sending out an SOS for help. "Why are they (the Centre) silent? I have not got any ray of hope from the government (about) my return to Kolkata. I need a home," said the writer in a telephonic conversation with this newspaper from her temporary abode, where she is a virtual prisoner of the Central security agencies who are keeping a watch on her movements.

PM under fire over Russian reactors

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came in for concerted attack in the Rajya Sabha for the failure to sign the agreement for four nuclear reactors with Russia. His inability to attend the Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) summits was also questioned by a cross-section of MPs from different political parties to highlight their contention that the government was already coming under pressure from the United States over the civilian nuclear energy agreement.

BJP leader and former minister for external affairs Yashwant Sinha was the first off the mark during the debate on the nuclear deal in the Rajya Sabha to question the Prime Minister on his foreign policy. During a strong speech rejecting the nuclear deal, Mr Sinha went on to point out that the Prime Minister did not have the time to attend the SCO summit. Dr Singh was on his feet to insist that there was never any pressure on him or the government to "join or not join the SCO". He said that he had not gone for the summit as "all that I was interested was that if the Indian Prime Minister goes to these meetings, he should not sit in the side lounge, coffee lounge and be involved in an active manner". Mr Sinha took this up to ask the House to note that "our Prime Minister wanted to sit on the main table" and that he had now said that he would not go to the SCO summit meetings until he could do so.

Mr Sinha then moved on to speak of Dr Singh's recent visit to Russia, saying that in Moscow he did not sign the agreement for four nuclear reactors. Dr Singh was back on his feet saying, "What falsehoods you are preaching in this House." He said there was a draft agreement for the four additional nuclear reactors but it could have been operationalised only if India had the necessary safeguards agreement with the IAEA and the clearances from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group. He said these issues were being debated and that is why the agreement had not been signed.

"The false propaganda being made here and outside is not related to the facts of the case," Dr Singh said.

Mr Sinha went on amidst interruptions from the treasury benches to insist that Dr Singh could have signed the agreement subject to the IAEA and NSG clearances. He then said "with full seriousness" that the government had "come under US pressure and did not sign the agreement.

Doctors are no different from MLA, says Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday criticised the striking junior doctors saying that they were no different from the MLA whose behaviour they were protesting against.

As the strike entered the third day, the HC asked the state government to refer critically ill children of Niloufer Hospital to private hospitals.

As many as nine children have died in Niloufer since the doctors went on a lightning strike on Sunday night.

The junior doctors had struck work protesting against the alleged attack on their colleagues by MIM MLA, Mr Afsar Khan, and a patient's attendants.

Medical services in other government-run hospitals too were hit as junior doctors went on strike.

The HC, which was hearing a petition on the issue by an advocate, Mr Raju, said that junior doctors were disrupting the functioning of the hospital just as the MLA had done.

A division bench comprising acting chief justice Bilal Nazki and justice Ramesh Ranganathan directed the state government to inform the court about the alternative arrangements made to treat patients. It also directed that the striking doctors be not allowed to enter the hospital.

Justice Nazki said, "They (junior doctors) are doing the same thing what the MLA had.

Bhutto, Sharif to meet tomorrow

Former Pakistan Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif will meet on Monday to decide about the January 8 election.

"Both of them (Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif) will meet on Monday to decide the future strategy," Mr Sharif's close associate Raja Zafarul Haq told reporters.

Mr Haq, who is the chairman of Mr Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), said, "They will decide whether they should participate in the election or not." Mr Zafr-ul-Haq said PML (N) wants a joint Opposition strategy regarding the election.

Ms Bhutto's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar has also confirmed the reports about the meeting. "We have the meeting scheduled unless there is any change. They will be discussing about the elections," he said.

Ms Bhutto has already said that her party will participate in the election scheduled for January 8 but Mr Sharif has said the polls would be meaningless unless the judiciary is restored.

The proposed meeting will be the first between the two key players in Pakistan politics since their return from exile.

In another report, the EC on Saturday rejected the candidacy of Shahbaz Sharif, brother Nawaz Sharif, because of pending criminal charges against him

NRI land is new target

Sever al NRIs who own land close to the new airport at Shamshabad are being harassed by local revenue officials.

The NRIs have been asked to prove ownership by the officials though there are no disputes.

Sources said the officials were doing it after being prodded by land sharks who have an eye on the prime property.

Mr M. Ramakrishna, a US-based business analyst, is one among these NRIs. He is now frequently flying to the city to protect his ancestral property in Ranga Reddy district.

Though the district revenue officer had approved his ownership of the land in 1975, certain realtors have raked up the issue again.

The Shamshabad tahsildar issued a notice to Mr Ramakrishna in April asking him to prove ownership.

Since then, Mr Ramakrishna has been periodically making rounds of the revenue offices Certain realtors close to a Congress leader are said to be behind the tahsildar's move.

Tahsildars are not empowered to reopen cases that have been disposed of by the district revenue officer, joint collector and collector.

"I fail to understand how a tahsildar can act in such a manner," said Mr Ramakrishna. "I have petitioned to the higher authorities but so far the case has not been settled."

Incidentally, Ranga Reddy revenue authorities had recently destroyed land records which were 30 years old.

Sources said some tahsildars were re-opening old cases on the pretext of following Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy's order to find illegal beneficiaries of assigned land.

A top district official said he had got complaints against the junior revenue officials and was examining them.

Illegal buildings can pay and stay

constructions on tanks beds, shikam lands, lakes and prohibited areas under the coastal regulation zone.

Multistoreyed buildings which do not have no objection certificates from fire services department and Airport Authority of India will not get authorised.

An ordinance titled AP Rules for Penalisation of Unauthorised Constructions 2007 will be issued within 10 days for regularisation of illegal constructions.

"Unlike the voluntary dis closure scheme of 1998, this is compulsory," said municipal administration minister, Mr Koneru Ranga Rao, after the cabinet meeting.

The minister defended the decision to regularise even totally illegal constructions. "What is wrong in it?" he asked. "We cannot demolish lakhs of structures."

Principal secretary (municipal administration), Mr S.P. Singh, said the expert committee had given special emphasis to the quantum of fines to be imposed for each violation.

The High Court had rejected the earlier penalty suggested by the committee (Rs 20 to Rs 40 per sq ft) as inadequate and directed it to impose exemplary fines which would operate as a deterrent.

In another major decision, the cabinet okayed the AP Regulation of Unapproved and Illegal Layout Rules 2007, which will be applicable to all UDAs, corporations, municipalities and gram panchayats.

The penal rate for regulation of unapproved layout/plot is equivalent to conversion charges. In addition to the penal amount, the applicant has to pay layout fee, betterment charges, development charges and land-use conversion charges.

Information and public relations minister, Mr A. Ramnarayan Reddy, said after the cabinet meeting that the government would amend HMC Act of 1955, AP Municipalities Act, AP Municipal Corporations act and AP Urban Areas (Development) Act

We were insulted by tax officials: Jaya Bachchan

Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan on Saturday alleged that the service tax authorities humiliated her family while seeking details on expenses on the wedding of her actor son Abhishek with actress Aishwarya Rai. "I received notices from tax authorities who wanted to know how much amount was spent on the marriage of my son," she said