New Delhi: Just hours after the resignation of Pawan Kumar Bansal as Railways Minister, Ashwani Kumar, the other Congress leader embroiled in a controversy, resigned as Law Minister. On a day of dramatic developments, Congress President Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and it was decided that both should be asked to put in his papers to contain any further damage to the government that has already been plagued...
09:52 PM, May 10, 2013
New Delhi: Pawan Kumar Bansal on Friday evening resigned as Railway Minister following allegations of corrupt practices by his close relatives and aides. Sources say that Bansal resigned after Congress President Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked him to force the Railway Minister to put in his papers. Bansal has already sent his resignation to the Prime Minister. Mallikarjun Kharge, a senior Congress leader from Karnataka, is...
06:08 PM, May 10, 2013
London: Britain said on Thursday it was "very likely" the Syrian government had used chemical weapons, and Turkey announced it was stepping up testing of people fleeing the Syrian civil war for traces. US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed gratitude to Russia for its willingness to try to arrange a "Geneva two" conference to negotiate an end to the conflict, in a sign of a thawing of the long...
04:06 AM, May 10, 2013
Jammu: Pakistani prisoners in high security Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu have gone on 'fast' protesting the death of Sanaullah Haq at a hospital in Chandigarh on Thursday. "Pakistani prisoners here (in the jail) have not taken food in afternoon...we are pursuing them," an officer of the state Prisons department told reporters. There are 22 Pakistani prisoners in Kot Bhalwal Jail. "They are upset over the death of Sanaullah and...
08:58 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: Air India has launched test flights of its Dreamliner aircraft, which have been fitted with new battery packs following battery fire incidents in January, as the first of these sophisticated planes was flown from Mumbai to Delhi via Ahmedabad. By Friday, two of these Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes would be test-flown several times daily between Delhi and Amritsar so that the pilots and cabin crew get the experience...
07:30 PM, May 09, 2013
Madrid : Rafael Nadal cruised into the Madrid Open quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory Thursday over Mikhail Youzhny that featured an array of creative shots. Top-ranked Serena Williams and No. 2 Maria Sharapova also reached the quarterfinals in straight sets. Having already established control by winning Youzhny's second service game, Nadal kept a point going with a deft no-look backhand flick before nailing a winner down the line to...
07:01 PM, May 09, 2013
Tel Aviv: Facebook Inc is in advanced talks to acquire Israeli mobile satellite navigation start-up Waze for $800 million to $1 billion, business daily Calcalist reported on Thursday. Due diligence is underway after a term sheet was signed, Calcalist said, adding that talks began six months ago. Waze uses satellite signals from members' smartphones to generate maps and traffic data, which it then shares with other users, offering real-time traffic...
05:22 PM, May 09, 2013
Kolkata: Chit fund company Saradha group's chief Sudipta Sen was on Thursday sent to 9-day police custody, along with two of his close aides - Debjani Mukherjee and Arvind Singh Chouhan. The Bidhan Nagar police had sought a 14-day extension of their custody. The Saradha group allegedly duped lakhs of investors in a chit fund scheme. The police have unearthed 254 bank accounts and close to 200 properties of the...
04:46 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court came down heavily on the government and the Central Bureau of Investigation for sharing the coal scam probe report, Attorney General GE Vahanvati met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday. Law Minister Ashwani Kumar had also reached the PMO to meet Manmohan Singh but he was not given an appointment. Vahanvati, Ashwani Kumar and the two officials of the PMO and the...
01:57 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: As pressure builds on the Prime Minister to sack the Law Minister following the Supreme Court's observation on the affidavit filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the coal scam, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani has hit out at Manmohan Singh alleging he is defending Ashwani Kumar to save himself. "Having decided to brazenly defend its two ministers, more particularly its...
11:29 AM, May 09, 2013
Milan: A Milan appeals court upheld a four-year sentence for tax fraud against former prime minister and centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday, adding to the complications facing Italy's fragile coalition government. In addition to the jail sentence for tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his television network Mediaset, the court's ruling would also bar Berlusconi from holding public office for five years. However, neither...
07:40 AM, May 09, 2013
Islamabad: Grappling with power outages across the country, the Pakistan government on Wednesday banned the use of air conditioners in its offices from May 15 and introduced a "summer dress code" for employees. Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso decided to impose the ban in all government departments and offices, an official statement said. Khoso directed authorities to introduce a new dress code for government employees to help them...
09:48 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, while examining the affidavit submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with coal scam, on Wednesday came down heavily on the government and the investigating agency for the probe mess and gave the Centre time till July 3 to file an affidavit before it on steps to make the agency autonomous. The apex court took a very strong stand and called the...
09:03 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: Claiming that names of top political persons are surfacing in the chit fund scam in West Bengal, a CPI (M) member on Wednesday sought a CBI enquiry into unregulated money raising activities in the wake of Saradha Group allegedly defrauding investors of their money. Prasanta Chatterjee, a CPI-M MP, demanded a CBI probe into the issue through a Special Mention in the Rajya Sabha. "... since many poor...
08:20 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a four-point directive to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the government during its observations on the CBI affidavit on the coal scam probe. First: The apex court asked the Centre to come out with a law before July 10 to insulate the CBI from external influence and intrusion. Second: The CBI chief to ensure no access to any person, including...
05:26 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to share details of its investigations into the coal scam with anybody. The apex court said that the CBI Director will be held directly responsible for it. "The report will not be shared with law officers or any minister concerned," the SC said. CBI Director Ranjit Sinha told CNN-IBN that the court orders will be...
04:55 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, while examining the affidavit submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with coal scam, on Wednesday took a very strong stand and called the investigating agency a "caged parrot speaking in its master's voice". While seeking an undertaking from the government that the CBI would be made independent, the three-judge bench headed by Justice RM Lodha, also added that giving unbridled powers...
02:53 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: Parliament was adjourned sine die at 12.56 pm on Wednesday, two days before scheduled end of the Budget session. The decision was reportedly taken after the Congress's victory in Karnataka elections. The adjournment would mean that crucial bills like the Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill won't be passed. It was yet another day of uproar and unruly scenes in Lok Sabha as opposition MPs rushed...
12:56 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: The Food Ministry has notified the the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decision to partially decontrol the sugar sector. The Food Ministry has issued a gazette notification withdrawing the control over sugar industry through Essential Commodities Act and Sugar Control Order, sources said. On April 4, 2013, the CCEA had decided to decontrol the sugar sector by giving freedom to mills to sell sugar in the open...
02:08 AM, May 08, 2013
Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday advised its citizens travelling to India to exercise "due caution" following reports that their security "may be in jeopardy". "The Government of Pakistan wishes to advise its citizens who are planning to travel to India to exercise due caution and care while travelling to various parts of India," said a statement issued by the Foreign Office. The statement said there were "some disturbing reports in the...
05:30 PM, May 07, 2013
