Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Plea to raise sentence declined Bhopal: A local court in Bhopal Monday rejected an NGO's plea to raise the quantum of punishment given to the convicts in the Bhopal gas tragedy case. The petition to raise the quantum of punishment in the case was filed by the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sanghthan convenor Abdul Jabbar and others.

Rejecting the plea, District and Session Judge Sushma Khosla said that the NGO could at best assist the prosecution, but had no liberty to become a party in the case. Expressing unhappiness over the development, Jabbar said that it took three years for the court to decide on the admissibility of the petition. He claimed that it was a violation of the IPC amended section 372 (WA), which says that a person can become a party in the case in which the prosecution is inactive and the concerned persons are not interested in taking the matter to its logical end.



"In this particular case, unfortunately, this was happening since the beginning of the matter," Jabbar, who has been fighting for the rights of the gas victims since 1984, said while reacting to the decision. The petition was filed by Jabbar and others after the judgement of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court, which according to them, awarded lesser punishment to the accused in the case in 2010. It urged the court to award punishment to the accused under sections 304 A, 335, 336, 37 and 38 of the IPC....

Congress leader foresees party-led third front in TN Pudukottai: With the break-up of UPA in Tamil Nadu, Congress leader and former Union minister EVKS Elangovan on Sunday said there was a possibility of his party heading a new alliance sans the two major Dravidian parties - DMK and AIADMK - for the next Lok Sabha elections. Rejecting the charges against Congress over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, he said people were not aware of the party's good work...  
01:27 AM, May 20, 2013

Google Talk is now Google  Hangouts; no invisible mode or file sharing New Delhi: Google's much used instant messaging platform, Google Talk (also known as GTalk or GChat), was ignored by Google for some time now in terms of new feature additions. Google has now reinvented Google Talk as Google Plus Hangouts that in a way integrates Google Plus video Hangouts and Google Plus Messenger and also does away with the some much loved features of Google Talk. The new Google Plus...  
06:18 PM, May 17, 2013

Myanmar: 2 injured as plane overshoots runway Yangon: Two passengers have been injured when a plane landing in Myanmar shot past the end of the runway when its brakes failed. The Facebook page of Myanmar state radio and TV reported that a Fokker plane of Myanmar Airways carrying 55 passengers went 200 meters past the end of the runway at Monghsat in northern Shan state on Thursday before it hit a fence and stopped. It said a...  
09:44 PM, May 16, 2013

Edeh Chidi hat-trick takes EB to AFC Cup quarter-final Kolkata: Talismanic Nigerian Edeh Chidi struck a hat-trick and set up a couple more as East Bengal thrashed Yangon United of Myanmar 5-1 to enter the AFC Cup quarter-final for the second time after 2004. It was Chidi (25th, 71st and 76) who made his presence felt with a treble while Penn Orji (2nd) and captain Mehtab Hossain (48th) chipped in with a goal each much to the delight of...  
10:06 PM, May 15, 2013

Jharkhand: Maoist killed, 2 security men hurt in encounter Jharkhand: One Maoist was killed and two security men were injured on Monday in an encounter in Jharkhand. Police officials said they received a tip-off that Maoists were about to assemble in the forest whereupon the police, COBRA and CRPF forces rushed to the spot. The Maoists fired on seeing the personnel, triggering a gun fight. The encounter took place in a forest between Kalerango and Chatnibeda villages under naxal-affected...  
07:29 AM, May 14, 2013

South Africa name Domingo as new coach Johannesburg: Russell Domingo has been handed the huge task of taking over from World Cup winner Gary Kirsten as the new coach of South Africa's cricket team. Domingo was promoted from his position as assistant less than 24 hours after Kirsten announced he would not be taking up an offer to renew his contract when it ends in August, sending shockwaves through South African sport. Domingo, 38, will be given...  
03:23 PM, May 11, 2013

US returning trove of dinosaur fossils to Mongolia New York: The United States will return to Mongolia more than a dozen illegally smuggled dinosaur skeletons, including two Tyrannosaurus bataars that are 70 million years old and at least six fossilized Oviraptors, US officials said on Friday. The announcement followed the handover to Mongolian officials on Monday of another T bataar skeleton, which had been sold at auction in New York for more than $1 million before it was...  
07:50 AM, May 11, 2013

Watch: Google  Hangout with Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor, the union minister for state for human resource development, is joining a Google+ Hangout on Thursday May 9. Shashi Tharoor is one of the more technology savvy union ministers. In the Google+ Hangout Tharoor will address questions on challenges in higher education such as faculty shortage and low number of accredited institutions. Watch the event: ...  
07:26 PM, May 09, 2013

Sushma backs demand for returning remains of Bahadur Shah New Delhi: BJP leader Sushma Swaraj has welcomed the demand for bringing back the mortal remains of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar from Rangoon in Myanmar for its burial in Delhi. Supporting the demand, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said this will be a befitting tribute to the last Mughal Emperor in the country. "I welcome and support the demand to bring back the mortal remains...  
01:43 AM, May 09, 2013

Shashi Tharoor to field questions on education in Google  Hangout New Delhi: Got a question on the future on higher education in India? You can ask Shashi Tharoor, the union minister for state for human resource development, in a Google+ Hangout on Thursday May 9 at 7PM. Shashi Tharoor is one of the more technology savvy union ministers. In the Google+ Hangout Tharoor will address questions on challenges in higher education such as faculty shortage and low number of accredited...  
06:15 PM, May 08, 2013

Finland best place to be a mother; India behind China, Pakistan Beijing: Finland has topped the list of countries where mothers enjoy the best conditions in the world, while India ranks a low 142nd, below China and Pakistan, according to a new global report. The annual report called 'State of World's Mothers 2013' was issued by an international NGO "Save the Children" before the Mother's Day in mid-May. The report was featured by a ranking list of Mothers' index, showing the...  
05:47 PM, May 08, 2013

Agitating students set university building on fire Sangrur: Several persons, including six police personnel, were injured after a protest by university students on Monday turned violent as agitators ransacked and set ablaze several vehicles and a portion of the varsity's building. Students of deemed university Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology in Longowal city in Sangrur ransacked the administrative block and smashed window panes of several vehicles, including the institute director's car. The students smashed about...  
12:25 AM, May 07, 2013

Actor Sanjay Dutt makes a rare appearance in support of an NGO

The actor, along with sisters Priya and Namrata Dutt, handed over a mobile mammography unit to an NGO on behalf of the Nargis Dutt Memorial Trust. Dutt is due to surrender on May 16 as per the Supreme Court's orders in 1993 Bombay blasts case. ...
10:02 AM, May 06, 2013

Legendary singer Shamshad Begum dies at 94 New Delhi: Legendary singer Shamshad Begum, one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry and voice behind hit songs like 'Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon', 'Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar' and 'Kajra Mohabbat Wala', has died at her Mumbai residence. She was 94. "She was not keeping well for past few months and was admitted to the hospital. She passed away last night. The funeral was a solemn affair...  
10:22 AM, Apr 24, 2013

'Gouravam' Review: It doesn't boast of anything spectacular
by IANS
Cast: Sirish, Yami Gautam, Prakash Raj, Nassar, Elango Kumaravel, Sricharan and Anupama Kumar; Director: Radha Mohan; Without an iota of doubt, what 'Gouravam' sets out to achieve as a subject is laudable, but it fails to engage as a film. Known for churning pure family entertainers and path-breaking films, Radha Mohan succeeds in creating mass awareness about a burning issue, but in the effort, he makes his film seem more...  
10:54 AM, Apr 21, 2013

Coal scam: NGO alleges govt interference in CBI probe New Delhi: An NGO on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an SIT probe into alleged "blatant" interference by the Centre into the CBI probe of the coal block allocation scam. In its interim application, NGO Common Cause submitted that the alleged "blatant interference" by the government is not only unlawful and a criminal offence, it amounts to contempt of court and the same has to be probed by a...  
05:31 PM, Apr 15, 2013

Watch: The Wolfpack is back in 'Hangover Part III'! The Wolfpack is back! Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis team up one last time for the final installment of 'Hangover'. The trailer of 'Hangover Part III' was recently released online. The film will be releasing on May 24, 2013. ...  
11:53 AM, Apr 12, 2013

Tarantino preparing less bloody version of 'Django Unchained' Los Angeles: 'Django Unchained' will open in China with a slightly muted version of the film's original bloodshed, according to the film's mainland Chinese distributors. Zhang Miao, director of Sony Pictures' Chinese branch, said director Tarantino has "agreed on making slight adjustments to the film for different markets, and this adjustment for him is progress rather than a compromise", said the Hollywood Reporter. "What we call bloodshed and violence is...  
04:05 PM, Apr 10, 2013