JBT scam: OP Chautala moves HC seeking extension of interim bail

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday sought CBI's response on former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala's plea seeking extension of his interim bail on medical grounds.

Justice Siddharth Mridul issued notice to CBI and sought its response by July 4 on Chautala's application for extension of his interim bail, saying his pacemaker implantation was done on June 3 and the doctor had advised him to come for regular checkups for three months.

He was granted interim bail on May 21 and it expires on July 4.

In his application, Chautala said, "He continues to be in a fragile state of health, besides being severely handicapped by various disabilities. He required constant extra care during the period of three months and constant follow up. He requires a clean and stress free environment."

Chautala, chief of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), along with 54 others, was awarded jail term in the 2000 teachers' recruitment scam and was later granted interim bail for six weeks by the high court to undergo the pacemaker implant.

The 78-year-old leader also sought court's permission to visit his native village Chautala in Haryana.

"It is prayed that the interim bail granted to appellant (Chautala) be suitably extended and he may be permitted to reside with his family at his native village Chautala in Sirsa district of Haryana after discharge from the hospital," he said in the plea. Chautala is undergoing treatment at Medanta Medicity Hospital in Gurgaon. Apart from heart ailment, he said he is also suffering from several old-age problems.

Chautala has moved the high court challenging his conviction and 10-year jail term awarded in the Junior Basic Trained (JBT) teachers case.

08.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Court orders framing of charges against BJP leader Vijender Gupta on Sheila Dikshit's plea

NEW DELHI: Spelling trouble for BJP leader Vijender Gupta, a court here on Monday ordered framing of charges against him in a criminal defamation complaint lodged against him by Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Metropolitan magistrate Namrita Aggarwal said "prima facie" an offence of defamation is made out against Gupta and fixed the matter for July 27 for formally framing charges against him.

"Even the contention of counsel for accused (Gupta) that since the editor, publisher or the reporter of the referred newspapers have not been examined, no case is made out against the proposed offender is premature.

"The complainant has a liberty to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt at a stage subsequent to framing of notice in a summons triable case. In this case, prima facie offence under section 500 (punishment for defamation) IPC is made out against the accused.

"To come up on July 27 for framing notices under section 500 IPC against the accused," the court said.

The magistrate also directed Gupta to personally appear in the court on the next date of hearing.

During the hearing, the court granted exemption from personal appearance to both Dikshit and Gupta for the day.

The court had on May 15 reserved its order on whether to frame charges against Gupta when Dikshit had also appeared before it.

Dikshit had appeared in the court on May 30 last year for recording her statement, after which Gupta was summoned as an accused in the case.

Dikshit had filed the criminal defamation case against Gupta alleging that the BJP leader used "uncivilised" language against her in the run up to the MCD polls last year.

08.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chidambaram dismisses Jaitley charge on CBI autonomy as 'premature'

NEW DELHI: Finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday dismissed as "completely premature and ill-advised" the charge by BJP leader Arun Jaitley that the Cabinet's decision on greater autonomy for CBI is "farcical" and a remedy "worse" than the problem.

Expressing surprise at the statement, Chidambaram said he should have waited for the Centre's affidavit to be filed in the Supreme Court on July 3 before using such "strong" words like "farcical" on the government's action in this regard.

Without getting into the contents of the affidavit to be filed in the court, he made it clear that the government before granting autonomy to CBI intended to bring the issue in the form of a Bill in Parliament and that it is "not doing anything by bypassing Parliament".

"I am totally surprised by that statement. I think it is completely premature and ill-advised statement," Chidambaram told PTI.

"Let the affidavit come and then you can tell us which part of the affidavit is farcical. Farce is a strong word. Which part is farcical?...Well, hard words break no bones," Chidambaram said responding to the statement by the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha.

Jaitley, in an article, had yesterday termed the Cabinet's decision on CBI autonomy as a "camouflage" and said it creates an 'illusion' by replacing political executive with its proxy institution and asked all to oppose the move.

"The recent decision of the Union Cabinet based on GOM recommendations is a camouflage. It creates an illusion by removing the political executive and creating a proxy institution instead. The government's decision is a remedy worse than the existing problem," Jaitley said in the article.

Chidambaram said the affidavit to be filed in the court sets out the intentions of the government on what it plans to do on the issue.

"But we have made it very clear that it has to eventually become a Bill. It has to go to Parliament. It has to go through a Parliamentary Standing Committee. It has to come back to Parliament and only Parliament can amend the law.

"I'm sure, Mr Jaitley and his friends will continue to remain in Parliament when the Bill comes up and they can make their suggestions there. We are not doing anything by bypassing Parliament.

08.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Coalgate: Naveen Jindal group misrepresented facts, says CBI

NEW DELHI: The Naveen Jindal group had allegedly "misrepresented" facts and was shown favour by the Jharkhand government which dropped other firms from its recommendation for allocation of coal blocks in the state in 2007, the CBI has said in its FIR filed before a court here in connection with the coal scam.

The FIR is categorical that ministry of power was against the proposal for allocating Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal group firms -- Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd (GSIPL) -- which have been named as accused along with Congress MP Naveen Jindal.

However, former minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao, also an accused in the FIR, had written a note to the then coal secretary and showed "undue favour" to Jindal's firm which had misrepresented the facts regarding its "preparedness in setting up their proposed end used plant (EUP)".

"Enquiry further revealed that Government of Jharkhand vide its letter dated June 20, 2007 recommended the allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to three companies namely (1) M/s Lanco Infratech Ltd (40 per cent), (2) M/s JSPL (30 per cent) and (3) M/s GSIPL (30 per cent).

"However vide its letter dated July 30, 2007, Government of Jharkhand changed its recommendation and recommended the allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal block to only the two Naveen Jindal Group companies i.e. JSPL (70 per cent) and M/s GSIPL (30 per cent)," the CBI said in its 12th FIR filed till date in the coal blocks allocation scam before the special CBI court.

The agency alleged that both SPL and GSIPL misrepresented the facts to the coal ministry but the screening committee, which used to recommend for allocation of coal blocks to the shortlisted applicant companies, in its meeting held on September 13, 2007, had recommended allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block jointly to these two firms.

"Enquiry further revealed that both M/s JSPL and M/s GSIPL misrepresented in its application/feed back form on the count of their preparedness in setting up their proposed EUP as well the previous allocation of coal blocks to their group companies," it said.

The FIR further said, "Despite not being recommended by the ministry of power and the companies having misrepresented on the aforesaid counts, the Screening Committee in its meeting held on September 13, 2007 recommended the allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block jointly to M/s JSPL and M's GSIPL."

The CBI said that power ministry had not recommended allocation of coal blocks either to JSPL or GSIPL as they did not "meet the criteria of preparation adopted by Central Electricity Authority which shortlisted the companies on behalf of Ministry of Power."

Regarding Rao, the agency said that in order to influence the decision of the Screening Committee in favour of JSPL and GSIPL, the then minister of state for coal had written a note on July 27, 2007 to the coal secretary, who was also chairman of the screening committee.

Referring to the note, CBI said, "He (Rao) mentioned that he had come to know through the media reports that Ministry of Power/CEA had been appraising various applications received in the Ministry of Coal on the criteria of net worth of applicant, progress regarding land acquisition and water tie up etc."

"However, the Screening Committee should evaluate various applicants as per the past practices."

It said on a representation by another firm Bhushan Energy Ltd (BEL) seeking 50 per cent share in Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block, Rao "again showed undue favour" to Jindal's firms and justified the decision of Screening Committee recommending the allocation of coal blocks to the two companies.

It said that JSPL had submitted its application for coal block allocation in January 2007 to the Coal Ministry for securing few blocks earmarked for power sector, including Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand for its proposed 1000 MW captive power plant to be set up at Patratu.

GSIPL also submitted its application dated January 10, 2007 to the ministry for its 1000 MW independent power plant in Dumka district in Jharkhand, the CBI said, adding that the allocation letter was issued to the two firms on January 17, 2008.

Besides Jindal, Rao, JSPL and GSIPL, the accused named in the FIR, lodged under provisions of the IPC dealing with the offence of conspiracy to cheat and under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, are -- members of the 35th Screening Committee, Jindal Realty Pvt Ltd, New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd, Sowbhagya Media Ltd, Directors of GSIPL and other unknown persons.

08.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Billionaire Saudi prince grilled in UK court over Gaddafi jet

LONDON: A billionaire Saudi prince told a London court on Monday that "each dollar counts" as he was cross-examined over his sale of an opulent private jet to Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The appearance by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, was a rare instance of a senior Saudi royal being subjected to a hostile public grilling.

The prince is being sued by Daad Sharab, a Jordanian businesswoman who says she was not paid a promised $10 million commission for brokering the sale of the jet to Gaddafi, which was completed in 2006 for $120 million after years of delays.

At number 26 on the Forbes global ranking of billionaires, Prince Alwaleed is worth $20 billion according to the US magazine and closer to $30 billion by his own estimate.

At one point when asked in court about a $500,000 commission he had paid Sharab for a previous Libyan deal, it was suggested to him that this was a small amount relative to his fortune.

"Each dollar counts for me," the prince responded. He told the court he had asked Sharab to "open the door" to Gaddafi over the jet sale but had never agreed a figure for her commission. He said he did not pay her anything in the end since in the course of the sale, she had "moved to the Libyan camp".

The prince was addressed as "Your Highness" by his lawyer and by Judge Peter Smith, but his royal status did not shield him from the robust questioning style of Sharab's lawyer, Clive Freedman, who accused him of minimising Sharab's role, contradicting himself and evading questions.

"Would you please answer my question? I have asked it twice and I will ask it again," Freedman told the prince at one point.

BRIBE The Airbus A340 at the centre of the dispute was used by Gaddafi in 2009 to pick up Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi when he was freed from a Scottish jail.

In 2011, it became a trophy for rebels who toppled Gaddafi and were photographed on its silver-coloured leather sofas.

The prince said the jet, which boasted a king-size bed and a meeting room with a throne-like leather armchair, was only one item on a huge business agenda he had with the Libyan leader.

"I used to call him personally by the way," he told the court, saying that in the era when Gaddafi sought international rehabilitation, he had seen Prince Alwaleed as someone who could help him bridge the gap between the Arab world and the West.

The prince said the sale of the Airbus had run into trouble because after the Libyans had paid him an initial $70 million in 2003, Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam, a cousin of Gaddafi, demanded a bribe before arranging the payment of the remaining $50 million.

The prince refused to pay and kept the plane in Riyadh, leading to several years of deadlock until he personally resolved the issue with Gaddafi in 2006, he said.

He said Sharab had played no part in the final deal and that any gratitude he may have felt for her earlier role had gone since she had "stabbed him in the back" to work for the Libyans.

He also denied proposing marriage to Sharab during the process, as she alleged in her evidence last week.

"I can only assume that (Sharab) is seeking to gain some advantage in the proceedings by attempting to embarrass me," he said in his written witness statement.

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Tropical Storm Dalila forms in Pacific off southwest Mexico

MIAMI: Tropical Storm Dalila has formed in the Pacific off southwest Mexico and authorities have issued a tropical storm warning for a swath of that country's coastline.

The US National Hurricane Center in Miami said the fourth tropical storm of the season formed Sunday about 260 miles (420 kilometers) southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, and is moving northward at 10 mph (17 kph). The storm has top sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph).

Mexico's government issued a tropical storm warning for its Pacific coast region from Punta San Telmo to Manzanillo. The Miami center says the storm is expected to strengthen in the next 48 hours.

Forecasters say tropical storm conditions are expected to first reach the coast early Monday with 1 to 3 inches of rain expected over some areas.

08.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Israel sweetens deal for 930 east Jerusalem homes: Report

JERUSALEM: Israel is poised to approve incentives for buyers of nearly 1,000 new homes in annexed east Jerusalem despite a major US push to revive peace talks, reports said on Sunday.

The plan, which will offer prospective buyers a huge discount on 930 new homes to be built in Har Homa, will be discussed by Jerusalem municipality's finance committee on Monday, army radio and the Maariv newspaper reported.

The reports emerged as US secretary of state John Kerry was wrapping up an intensive four days of shuttle diplomacy toing and froing between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in a bid to coax them back to direct negotiations.

If approved, the plan will lower the price of each new home by 100,000 shekels ($27,500 or 21,000 euros) in a move which will be funded by the housing ministry.

Har Homa is located on east Jerusalem's southern outskirts, and construction there is likely to have a serious impact on the sector's boundary with the rest of the West Bank, analysts say.

Last week, on the eve of Kerry's arrival, the municipal planning committee granted final approval for a further 69 new homes in another area of Har Homa.

The plan to build more than 900 houses in Har Homa was approved in 2011, with tenders issued and construction companies waiting in the wings to start work, but it has been on hold because of its sensitivity, Maariv said.

Jerusalem councillor Elisha Peleg, a member of Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party, made no effort to hide his delight.

"The temporary suspension of construction in east Jerusalem is over, despite the visit of Secretary of State Kerry," he told army radio.

"There is no reason to halt construction any more, because it is now proved that stopping construction in east Jerusalem has not brought about a renewal of negotiations with the Palestinians but has caused a severe shortage of housing," he said.

The reports were not well received in Ramallah, where chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said it proved how serious Israel was about restarting talks.

"This is Netanyahu's response to everything Kerry said, to his ideas and to all his efforts," he told AFP, noting that the news emerged "before Kerry wraps up his tour".

"We on the Palestinian side tried every possible effort to help Kerry succeed, but it is obvious today... that Netanyahu is putting 930 obstacles in front of secretary Kerry's efforts," he charged.

"Netanyahu alone is responsible for ruining Kerry's efforts and trying to abort his mission and destroying the two-state solution which is supported by the entire international community."

Earlier this month, housing minister Uri Ariel, himself a hardline settler, implied that there had been a de facto freeze on new housing projects in the West Bank including east Jerusalem since the start of the year.

And in May, settlement watchdog Peace Now said that no new tenders had been issued for West Bank homes as press reports suggested Netanyahu had agreed to "rein in" construction to help Kerry's efforts.

Israel seized east Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never accepted by the international community. It does not see construction there as settlement building.

But the Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

They have said they will not return to direct talks unless Israel completely halts settlement construction and accepts the 1967 lines as the basis for negotiations.

Although Israel has expressed a willingness to talk, it has insisted it would only do so if there were no such "preconditions".

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Nawaz Sharif to send Pak power minister to India to tackle energy crisis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed his water and power minister to India to address the severe energy crisis facing the country.

"We are facing acute electricity shortage and any assistance in the power sector will help us in addressing the problem," Sharif said while speaking to members of the Pak-India Joint Business Council at the Prime Minister's Office yesterday.

Sharif told the meeting that he had directed Khawaja Muhammad Asif, minister for water and power, to visit India and explore potential areas of cooperation between the two countries, the official APP news agency reported.

Earlier, Asif had said that the energy crisis in Pakistan will take at least two years to be resolved.

Asif said that due to shortage of power the country had sustained a huge loss of Rs 1,000 billion in the last five years. Pakistan is currently facing a power deficit of 4,000-5,000 megawatts per day.

Earlier this month, Pakistan had sought 500 MW of electricity from India by laying a transmission line from Punjab into Lahore. The proposal to buy power was made when an expert group visited Pakistan to discuss energy cooperation.

India is willing to help and is exploring the points which can be used to hook-up to the grid in Pakistan through a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line, government sources in New Delhi has said.

Sharif has earlier said that tackling the energy crisis will be among the top priorities of his government.

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Incessant rains claim four lives in UP, major rivers flow above danger mark

LUCKNOW: Incessant rains lashed various parts of Uttar Pradesh, with four people losing their lives in incidents of building collapse, even as major rivers continued to flow above the danger mark.

According to a report by the Central Water Commission, Ghaghra, Sharda, Quano, RaandBudhiRapti rivers remained swollen and were flowing above danger level.

Quano river was flowing one metre above the danger mark at Chandradeepghat in Gonda, and has crossed the red mark at Mukhlispur in Sant Kabir Nagar.

Ghaghra was flowing above danger at Elgin Bridge in Barabanki and Turtipar (Ballia), and has reached near red mark at Ayodhya.

Similarly, Sharda was flowing above danger at Paliakalan, whereas Budhi Rapti has crossed red mark at Kakrahi in Siddharth Nagar district.

Four persons, including two children, died in incidents of building collapse due to heavy rains during past 24 hours.

In Faizabad, a 32-year-old man and his two daughters Ananya (4) and Neha (6) died after their house situated in Ramjabmbhoomi area collapsed due to heavy rains.

A 55-year-old woman died in Azamgarh district in a similar incident.

Basti received the maximum rainfall of 19cm, Mukhlispur 17cm, Kakrahi 15, Uskabazar and Rigauli 14 each, Ankinghat 12 and Bansi 11cm.

According to Met department, monsoon remained active across the state and all divisions received good rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Rain and thundershowers will continue to occur at many places in the state.

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At least 30 killed by fuel tanker explosion in Uganda

KAMPALA: At least 30 people were killed and scores more injured when a fuel tanker exploded on a highway in Uganda, a major transit route for fuel heading from Kenya to land-locked east African states, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

The truck exploded late on Saturday a few miles north of the capital Kampala after it had stopped when it was involved in an accident with another vehicle and people nearby crowded round trying take fuel from the tanker, the spokesman said.

The practice of taking fuel from stricken trucks is not uncommon, although what caused the blast was not immediately clear.

The leaders of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, who met in Kampala this month, agreed that a fuel line that already runs inside Kenya from its Mombasa port would be extended to Uganda and Rwanda. That would reduce transport costs and improve safety.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is on a visit to nearby Tanzania, sent condolences and said he was monitoring the work of police and medical workers.

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