BSF jawan injured in cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir

JAMMU: A BSFjawan was on Monday injured in firing from across India-Pakistan border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

"There was sniper firing from some persons at around 3.55pm from Pakistan side along the international border (IB) at Narainpur Border Out Post (BOP) area in Ramgarh sector," a senior BSF officer said.

Two rounds were fired from Pakistan side and the bullets hit head constable Ram Niwas Meena of 200 Battalion, he said.

The bullets hit his chest, officer said. The Jawan has been admitted to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital and is stated to be in stable condition.

There was no firing from BSF troops, the officer said.

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Advisory against travel to Munnar issued by Kerala tourism

KOCHI: The Kerala tourism department has issued an advisory to tourists, advising them against travelling to the popular tourist destination, Munnar, and other hilly terrains in Idduki district.

The advisory was issued on Monday evening after 15 people died and several others were reported missing as a string of landslips occurred in Idukki district due to incessant rain.

In its advisory, the tourism department has asked tourists not to travel to Munnar and other hilly terrains in Idukki district in view of the potential risk of road blocks following heavy rain in the region. "We are continuously monitoring the water level and travel conditions in the area and will issue regular updates. Tourists are advised to contact the nearest tourism information centre before embarking on any travel to hill stations in Idukki district," said tourism secretary, Suman Billa.

The department has also set up a 24-hour emergency response number 18004254747.

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55 people hospitalized after tunnel fire in Gudvangatunnelen tunnel in Norway

OSLO: A truck caught fire in Norway's second-longest tunnel on Monday, leading to the evacuation of 160 people — 55 of whom were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation and other injuries.

The truck caught fire 3.5 kilometres (2.17 miles) into the tunnel, Gudvangatunnelen, in a district east of Bergen, police spokesman JornLasseRefnes said.

Gudvangatunnelen is 11.4 kilometres (7.08 miles) long and is in the western part of Norway.

Rescue services spokesman Reinardt Sorensen said the light went out in the tunnel after the fire. Most of the injured suffered from smoke inhalation, but some people were lightly hurt after they crashed their cars in the darkness, he said.

The 160-people evacuated from the tunnel included the truck driver, who walked away uninjured, Sorensen said. He added that it wasn't yet clear what caused the fire, which was extinguished.

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Supreme Court dismisses PIL against 10% divestment in Coal India

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL challenging the legality of 10 per cent equity divestment of state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) through initial public offering (IPO) in 2010.

"In the matter of policies, particularly the economic policy, this court does not interfere under its power of judicial review unless the impugned policy is found to be grossly arbitrary, unfair and unreasonable," a bench comprising justices R M Lodha and Madan B Lokur said.

The bench noted that before coming out with the IPO, the Centre had complied with the entire process of wide publicity in the media, road shows and all the appointments, including that of merchant bankers, was made on competitive basis.

Further, the bench said all the procedures of valuation were followed and the price band of Rs 226-Rs 245 per share was fixed after following SEBI rules and regulations and taking into consideration the technicality of regulation for the sale of the equity capital.

The bench also noted that rules and regulation of market regulator SEBI was strictly followed for the IPO.

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RTI activists slam government's move to amend RTI Act

NEW DELHI: Describing the covert way in which RTI amendments have been introduced by the government as a trivialization of democracy, activist Aruna Roy said that political parties have lost a historical opportunity to appear transparent.

Roy and others, including Harsh Mander and Anjali Bharadwaj, were protesting against the government's move to exclude political parties from the ambit of the RTI Act. The amendments were approved by the Union Cabinet on August 1 with the government planning to pass it during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.

Describing the RTI Act as the equivalent of a million lokpals, activist Harsh Mander, said that, "Every agency is happy to see transparency in others. But when it comes to them (the government), they don't want it."

The activists have also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposing the proposed amendments to the RTI Act.

"India's governance is going through a credibility crisis as never witnessed before, in which all sectors of governance and social formations have been suspect," the letter mentioned.

The letter has been signed by 300 eminent citizens.

The letter added: "We, as citizens of India, demand that it (the RTI act) is not amended. The act has enabled the making of informed choices and strengthened participatory democracy."

Activists said that this was a clear case of conflict of interest that would be met with resistance. NCPRI's Nikhil Dey called the move to amend the act 'match-fixing' with no public consultation on the matter.

The activists will be holding a protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday and have a series of protests planned in different cities including Bangalore, Hyderabad and others. They said that over 6000 people had signed the online petition in Gujarat, while those in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Odisha were also participating in the campaign.

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Court dismisses petition against chief minister Raman Singh

RAIPUR: A local court has dismissed a petition against chief minister Raman Singh as well as others seeking registration of an offence and investigation into a land alloted allegedly at throwaway prices to Balco ( Bharat Aluminum Company Ltd) in Korba district of Chhattisgarh.

The court of the first additional district and sessions judge N D Tigala delivered the order on Saturday dismissing the petition filed by senior Congress leader and former minister Bhupesh Baghel against Raman Singh, former chief secretary P Joy Oommen and the then BALCO chief executive officer (CEO), Gunjan Gupta for allegedly entering into a conspiracy to allot land at throwaway prices.

Baghel, who is now the programme co-ordinator of state Congress, has alleged in his complaint that Singh conspired with Gupta and Oommen and cleared files to allot the land, causing a loss of Rs 140 crore to the exchequer.

Welcoming the court's order, BJP claimed that Baghel has been exposed in court that he had raised baseless allegations on the BALCO land allocation issue.

"Bhupesh Baghel has been exposed for taking the case to the court for political mileage and he has failed in his attempt to malign chief minister Raman Singh," BJP spokesperson Ajay Chandrakar said in a statement here.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Congress spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said that the Congress would take the issue to the high court.

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Alert sounded as water level in Mettur reservoir reaches 119.15 feet

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Public Works Department has sounded an alert to people living on the banks of the Cauvery as water level in Mettur reservoir reached 119.15 feet on Sunday evening, as against the full reservoir level of 120 feet.

Official sources said the outflow would be stepped up to 1.3 lakh cusecs from 75,000 cusecs.

People living close to the banks of the Cauvery have been advised to move to safer places.

"The district collectors have been told to advise people to refrain from bathing and washing in the river due to heavy flows," a senior official said.

From the upper anicut, flood waters would be diverted to the Kollidam river. All the districts through which the Kollidam flows have been asked to be on alert.

The inflow into the reservoir from Karnataka is 1.3 lakh cusecs (cubic feet per second). The Siddharamaiah government has been maintaining the surplus outflow at 1.35 lakh cusecs since the reservoirs in Karnataka are brimming with water following good rains in the catchments.

According to sources, it is expected that the current inflow into the Mettur reservoir would continue for the next 36 hours or more.

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Alert sounded as water level in Mettur reservoir reaches 119.15 feet

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Public Works Department has sounded an alert to people living on the banks of the Cauvery as water level in Mettur reservoir reached 119.15 feet on Sunday evening, as against the full reservoir level of 120 feet.

Official sources said the outflow would be stepped up to 1.3 lakh cusecs from 75,000 cusecs.

People living close to the banks of the Cauvery have been advised to move to safer places.

"The district collectors have been told to advise people to refrain from bathing and washing in the river due to heavy flows," a senior official said.

From the upper anicut, flood waters would be diverted to the Kollidam river. All the districts through which the Kollidam flows have been asked to be on alert.

The inflow into the reservoir from Karnataka is 1.3 lakh cusecs (cubic feet per second). The Siddharamaiah government has been maintaining the surplus outflow at 1.35 lakh cusecs since the reservoirs in Karnataka are brimming with water following good rains in the catchments.

According to sources, it is expected that the current inflow into the Mettur reservoir would continue for the next 36 hours or more.

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US willing to engage with Iran on nuclear concerns, White House says

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Sunday it is prepared to work with the new government of Iranian President Hasan Rouhani to address concerns about Iran's nuclear program if Iran will engage seriously on the issue.

"The inauguration of President Rouhani presents an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.

"Should this new government choose to engage substantively and seriously to meet its international obligations and find a peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner in the United States," he said.

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Two Bangladeshi men arrested in Pune for trying to push woman into prostitution

PUNE: The Faraskhana police have arrested two agents from Bangladesh, who were trying to force a 20-year-old woman into prostitution.

The police have rescued the woman and sent her into an observation home. The police have identified the suspects as Sultan alias Mohammed Siddiqui Khan (26) and Mohammed Rajib Mohammed Chaudhari (26) who hail from Bangladesh. The Faraskhana police team led by senior inspector Bhanupratap Barge made the arrests.

Barge told TOI that sub-inspector SG Jaybhaye had received a tip-off that two agents from Bangladesh would be coming to a brothel in Budhwar Peth. They were preparing to sell a woman into the brothel. "The informer also told Jaybhaye that one of the suspects was sporting blue colour shirt and another was wearing a T-shirt," Barge said.

The police laid a trap in the area. "We noticed two men and a woman talking to each other. We nabbed them and brought them to the police station," Barge said.

During investigations the woman revealed that she was working at a garment shop in Dhaka in Bangladesh. The duo had brought her to Pune on the promise of giving a good job. The suspects were arrested under Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act and also under Foreigners Act.

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