Washington: The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would bring about the biggest changes in US immigration policy in a generation, setting up a spirited debate in the full Senate in June 2013.
By a vote of 13-5, the panel approved the nearly 900-page bill that would put 11 million illegal residents on a 13-year path to citizenship while further strengthening security along the southwestern border with Mexico, long a sieve for illegal crossings.
The vote followed the committee's decision to embrace a Republican move to ease restrictions on high-tech US companies that want to hire more skilled workers from countries like India and China.
In a dramatic move just before the vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, withdrew an amendment to give people the right to sponsor same-sex partners who are foreigners for permanent legal status....
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06:51 AM, May 22, 2013
Chennai: DMK leader MK Stalin on Friday surrendered his illegally-imported Hummer to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Chennai. Sources said Stalin's son Udayanidhi came to the Chennai office of the agency and handed over Sports Utility Vehicle Hummer which was imported in 2007 and registered in his name. They said the car was one of the vehicles which were allegedly imported by Hyderabad businessman Alex C Joseph evading...
08:49 PM, May 17, 2013
Dhaka: Thousands of mourners gathered on Tuesday at the wreckage of the Bangladesh's worst building disaster to offer prayers for the 1,127 people who died when the eight-storeyed structure collapsed in April. The Islamic prayer service was held a day after the army ended the nearly three week, painstaking search for bodies among the rubble and turned control of the site over to the civilian government for cleanup. A statement...
03:21 PM, May 14, 2013
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (SAC) has ordered a regular enquiry into the alleged role of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand in the illegal appointments in urban local bodies. A Division bench of the Commission, comprising chairman Justice (retd) YP Nargotra and Justice (retd) Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain, on Monday directed for a regular enquiry into the allegations of misuse of official position by Chand in the illegal recruitments...
12:58 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: YSR Congress President Jagan Reddy's judicial remand will end on Monday in the disproportionate assets case. Jagan will be produced before the CBI court through video conferencing. The Supreme Court had earlier rejected Jagan's bail plea. "Jagan's release will hamper the probe in the case which is of high magnitude," said the court in its ruling. The apex court also said that "likelihood of tampering with evidence and...
09:51 AM, May 13, 2013
Islamabad: There has been a delay in the announcement of results of the general elections in Pakistan due to the "transparent process" and "legal procedures" adopted by the election commission, a top official said on Sunday. Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Ishtiak Ahmad Khan, however, said that there should be no doubt about the poll results, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Addressing a news conference Khan said the delay in...
04:22 AM, May 13, 2013
New Delhi: In a disappointing verdict for YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has been lodged in a Hyderabad prison for a year in connection with a disproportionate assets case, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected his bail plea. "Jagan's release will hamper the probe in the case which is of high magnitude," said the court in its ruling. The apex court also said that "likelihood of tampering with...
11:45 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
Thane: The prosecution in the Thane building crash case on Tuesday opposed the bail pleas of two senior municipal officers arrested for the tragedy which claimed the lives of 74 people last month. Suspended Deputy Municipal Commissioner Deepak Chavan and Assistant Municipal Commissioner Shayam Thorbole were among 22 persons arrested for the collapse of a seven-storey unauthorised building in Shil-Phata area. Assistant Public Prosecutor Hemlata Deshmukh opposed the bail applications...
10:36 AM, May 08, 2013
Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Tuesday rejected two review petitions filed by two religious organizations seeking a relook at its January 2011 orders on demolition of illegal places of worship. The Division Bench of Justice Madanmohan Das and Indrajit Mohanti, adjudicating over the matter, did not make any further observation while rejecting the review petitions. Soon after the High Court order, the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) Central Division Arvind...
02:46 AM, May 08, 2013
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Sunday promised to shut down, in a phased manner, "belt shops" or illegal outlets of licensed liquor shops spread across the state. He made the announcement while addressing a public meeting at Eluru in West Godavari district when union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh made a fervent appeal. Ramesh said the chief minister should take the initiative as the women...
04:47 AM, May 06, 2013
Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Saturday decided to set up a special cell at the Home Department to keep a tab on illegal transportation of minerals within the state and outside besides intensifying physical verification of different working mines. The decision was taken at a meeting of the State Level Task Force on Mines presided over by Chief Secretary BK Patnaik. "Besides home secretary, secretary of steel and mines and director...
01:15 AM, May 05, 2013
Dhaka: Bangladesh's finance minister has downplayed the impact of last week's factory-building collapse on his country's garment industry, saying he didn't think it was "really serious" hours after the 500th body was pulled from the debris. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith spoke today as the government cracked down on those it blamed for the disaster in the Dhaka suburb of Savar. It suspended Savar's mayor and arrested an engineer...
12:47 AM, May 04, 2013
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Thursday said the state would adopt zero tolerance towards corruption. "Anyone found involved in corruption, including government employees, would be dealt with strictly," the chief minister said while laying the foundation stone of a bridge on the Lander rivulet on the Sohari-Chaksarai road in Una district. The bridge will be constructed at a cost of Rs.3 crore. He said the government would...
05:10 AM, May 03, 2013
Los Angeles: Already home to the Las Vegas strip with its casinos and high-stakes games, Nevada on Tuesday became the first state where residents can legally play poker online for money. Station Casinos STN.UL went live with UltimatePoker.com after Nevada legalised online poker in February. New Jersey and Delaware have legalised online gambling, which could eventually generate billions of dollars in revenue for companies and local governments. UlimatePoker.com will operate...
10:13 AM, May 01, 2013
Mumbai: There seems to be partial relief for the residents of the Campa Cola Compound in Mumbai. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has now postponed the demolition to May 2. The BMC has granted the residents of Worli's Campa Cola compound a 3-day extension. The BMC had issued eviction notices to around 200 families after a Supreme Court judgement stated that around 35 floors in the compound were unauthorised and illegal....
10:54 AM, Apr 29, 2013
Mumbai: A 79-year-old widow has gathered support of over 2,400 followers from India and abroad on a social networking website for her legal battle against Maharashtra Police officials over her "illegal arrest". Mohini Kamwani, along with her 58-year-old son Dilip, have been seeking support on social networking website Facebook, claiming they were illegally arrested by police in 2012. The mother-son duo were arrested on January 25, 2012 for threatening to...
05:40 PM, Apr 28, 2013
Nagpur: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected preliminary objections raised by Maharashtra government's Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), under the scanner for alleged corruption, against two PILs seeking probe into the matter. The court's Nagpur bench is hearing two PILs on the alleged scam, seeking a probe by CBI or a court-monitored investigation. The ruling by division bench of justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Arun Chaudhari paved the way for...
03:37 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Thane: With the arrest of a Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Thane Municipal Corporation on Wednesday night, the number of arrests in connection with the building collapse in Mumbra area has gone up to 22. DMC Srikant Sarmokdam, whose name was found in the diary of the builder (already arrested), was taken into custody, the police said. The police had deferred arresting him because of a death in his family. Sarmokdam...
10:11 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Jamshedpur: Free Legal Aid Committee (FLAC), an NGO engaged in spreading awareness against superstition of 'Daayan' (witch), today demanded ban on Emraan Hashmi starrer 'Ek Thi Daayan'. Prem Chand alias Premji of FLAC, said he had recently written a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee demanding immediate ban on the just released film as it glorifies the superstition. The Emraan Hashmi starrer, directed by Kannan Iyer and co-produced by Ekta Kapoor...
10:39 AM, Apr 20, 2013
