Bhopal gas tragedy: Plea on convicts' sentence declined Bhopal: A local court here on 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....more    
10:30 AM, May 21, 2013

Germany approves bank reform to protect taxpayers Berlin: Germany has approved new measures to rein in high-risk financial business of banks and to decouple them from retail banking as part of a comprehensive reform to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis five years ago and to minimise the costs for taxpayers if banks were to be bailed out in the future. The Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, on Friday voted with the majority of the...  
07:40 AM, May 19, 2013

Rahul meets Congress leaders from Union Territories New Delhi: A meeting of Congress leaders from Union Territories convened by Rahul Gandhi on Friday saw strong pleas to make the Union Home Ministry pro-active to resolve the problems faced by the areas ahead of Lok Sabha polls. The leaders from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar islands, Lakshdweep, Daman and Diu as also Chandigarh impressed upon the Congress Vice President that since the Home Ministry is administering...  
01:18 AM, May 18, 2013

Is UPSC responsible for IAS aspirant Manjunath's death?

Did a roll number mix up lead a civil services aspirant to commit suicide? The UPSC, which runs the exams, has denied the allegation and has said IAS aspirant Manjunath never made it through the preliminary test. A 24-year-old IAS aspirant Manjunath committed suicide on Friday in Bangalore after a mix-up in the Civil services examinations result list. ...
07:51 PM, May 13, 2013

IAS aspirant who committed suicide hadn't cleared the exam: UPSC Bangalore: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has denied the charge that the student YV Manjunath had cleared the exam. Manjunath had allegedly committed suicide on May 10, with the police stating that he was upset over a 'goof-up' in the UPSC results published in Bangalore. The UPSC Chairman has told CNN-IBN that the rank and roll number belonged to some other student. "There is no possibility of Manjunath having...  
02:17 PM, May 13, 2013

IAS aspirant suicide: Victim had contacted UPSC officials Bangalore: An IAS aspirant committed suicide in Bangalore on Friday, upset over a "mix-up" in the Civil Services Examinations results list. 24-year-old VY Manjunath was found hanging in an under-construction building near his residence in Madikeri. His family claims Manjunath had even tried to rectify "goof-up" and contacted Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) officials seeking clarification. "My son was very upset and had tried to rectify the mistake but there...  
10:22 AM, May 13, 2013

'Mobile phones to outnumber human population by 2014' London: The number of mobile phone subscriptions are set to outnumber the world's population by the end of 2014, a United Nations agency report has said. According to the International Telecoms Union's (ITU) prediction, mobile phone subscriptions will pass a whopping seven billion early in 2014. Currently, there are 6.8 billion mobile phone subscriptions while the world's population is 7.1 billion. More than a third of the global population are...  
08:03 PM, May 12, 2013

Mumbai NSUI President suspended for dancing naked at party function Mumbai: National Students Union of India's (NSUI) Mumbai unit President Suraj Singh Thakur has been suspended for allegedly dancing naked at a party function. Thakur was suspended on Monday for dancing naked. He had been re-elected as NSUI President in December 2012. It is still unclear as to what made Thakur do it. Reports say that there may have been a ragging of sorts with seniors asking the new entrants...  
10:18 AM, May 07, 2013

Bangladesh factory collapse: EU considers trade action Dhaka: The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400 factory workers. Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into a $19 billion a year industry, with 60 per cent of clothes going to Europe. Any action...  
03:12 AM, May 02, 2013

Union Cabinet fails to clear amendments to Marriage Act New Delhi: More delay expected in the law to give women an equal share in property after divorce as Union Cabinet failed to clear amendments to the Marriage Act following differences between the Law Ministry and Ministry of Women and Child Development. A Group of Ministers will take up the proposed amendments now. At the Cabinet meet on Wednesday, there were sharp differences between the ministries over the question of...  
03:24 PM, May 01, 2013

Restaurants bandh: More than 20,000 eateries shut across Mumbai

Hotels and restaurants across the country are on a one-day token strike to protest against what they call excessive taxation announced in the Union Budget. ...
05:32 PM, Apr 29, 2013

European Union praises rapid development of Bihar Patna: The European Union On Tuesday praised the rapid development spree in Bihar within a short period of time. EU envoy Joao Cravinho met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his residence and attributed the turnaround to "dynamic leadership" of the Chief Minister. The EU envoy was accompanied by First Counsellor and head of its political affairs Anne Marchal. During the meeting, the EU representatives discussed about new initiatives taken by...  
12:15 AM, Apr 24, 2013

No Cabinet consensus on new mechanism to appoint judges New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday did not take up for consideration the much-anticipated proposal to establish a new mechanism giving a say to the government in appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The Cabinet was expected to take up the proposal that envisages replacing the present collegium system, under which judges alone decide the appointments to the higher judiciary, in its meeting on Thursday but decided to...  
10:43 PM, Apr 18, 2013

Armstrong's samples showed steroids in 1999: UCI Paris: Lance Armstrong returned four samples with traces of banned corticosteroids in the 1999 Tour de France, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Wednesday, although the governing body added it did not handle them as positive tests. On Tuesday the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad published a copy of an alleged internal UCI memo which said a lawyer for the sport's ruling body had said the American's samples from the...  
01:19 AM, Apr 18, 2013

BCCI-Nimbus row: Supreme Court orders banks to deposit Rs. 400 crores Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered three nationalised banks associated with Nimbus Communications and the BCCI to deposit within 15 days the sum of Rs 400 crore after the Indian cricket board had filed an Special Leave Petition (SLP) regarding the scrapping of the broadcast deal with Nimbus citing the non-payment of dues owed for cricket coverage. The three banks - Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank and Union Bank...  
06:35 PM, Apr 15, 2013

HC issues notice to convicts of Union Carbide trial Jabalpur: Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday issued notices to seven persons, convicted in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, following a petition filed by the CBI demanding their retrial. Justice MA Siddiqui issued notices to all seven convicts, seeking replies within four weeks. The CBI in its petition is demanding the retrial of all seven for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304-II of Indian Penal Code. Assistant...  
12:45 AM, Apr 13, 2013

India seeks German political thrust to ink FTA with EU
by
Berlin: India on Wednesday sought a strong political thrust from Germany, a key member of the 27-nation European Union bloc, for inking of the long pending Free Trade Agreement with the grouping. This was conveyed by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid during his comprehensive talks with German counterpart Guido Westerwelle, during which various bilateral, regional and international issues including EU-India FTA, Iran's contentious nuclear programme, and North Korea were discussed....  
09:00 AM, Apr 11, 2013

Cameron says Thatcher made Britain great, others snub her London: British Prime Minister David Cameron delivered an emotional tribute to Margaret Thatcher in parliament on Wednesday, but political opponents boycotted the debate on her legacy, underlining how divisive a figure she remains even in death. MPs were recalled from their holidays for the first time for the death of a public figure since Queen Elizabeth's mother died in 2002, reflecting the "Iron Lady's" place in history. Thatcher, who died...  
04:47 AM, Apr 11, 2013

PM leaves for Germany, to seek greater business ties New Delhi: Prime minister Manmohan Singh has left for Berlin on Wednesday to participate in the second round of inter-governmental consultations with Germany. The two countries are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations and will address possible areas of cooperation. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and other important officials are going to be a part of the delegation on the bilateral visit. Dr Singh will arrive in Berlin on the...  
09:05 AM, Apr 10, 2013

CAG finds revenue loss of Rs 1,569.41 crore in Himachal Shimla: Government auditor CAG has found revenue loss of Rs 1,569.41 crore in Himachal Pradesh due to under assessment and short levy during financial year 2011-12. There has also been an increase of 13 per cent in revenue collections in 2011-2012 and the state also received Rs 1,998.37 crore as its share of divisible union taxes, the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG's) report tabled in the Vidhan Sabha by Chief...  
12:38 AM, Apr 10, 2013