Badrinath shrine reopens for pilgrims

DEHRADUN,APRIL 29: The portals of famous Himalayan shrine of Badrinath were reopened on sunday amid snowfall, a day after Kedarnath was thrown open for Pilgrims. Amid blowing of conches and chanting of vedic hymns and shlokas, the chief priest of Badrinath shrine opened the doors of the shrine at 04:00 hrs early morning. During the opening ceremony of the shrine, situated at a height of 3,133 meter in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, hundreds of devotees, including industrialist Anil Ambani and corporate lobbyist Nira Radia, were present outside the sanctum sanctorum braving snowfall and chilly winds.Badrinath and Kedarnath are among the four holy places visited by pilgrims during the 'chaardham yatra' in Uttarakhand. The two other places are Gangotri and Yamunotri.

President dismisses criticism over foreign trips

NEWDELHI,APRIL 29: As she embarked on her last tour abroad as President, Pratibha Patil sunday  dismissed criticism over a large number of foreign visits undertaken by her, insisting that they were not on her own volition but at the request of the government to promote India’s relations. “Government wanted me to visit two-three more countries, but it was not possible due to paucity of time,” she told reporters accompanying her in her state visits to Seychelles and South Africa.
Ms. Patil’s term as President is ending on July 25. Asked as to how would she describe her 22 foreign visits so far, she remarked that they have been “very successful” in promoting India’s growing image abroad and strengthen the country’s ties with those nations which she visited. Elaborating on the different kind of ties in a fast changing world, she said the relations between countries were no longer only political in nature, but have different aspects like economic, educational and cultural.

Call for new U.K. visa rule to keep out Modi

LONDON,APRIL 29: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi could be among those likely to be affected by new immigration rules under which non-European Union citizens accused of serious human rights abuses may be banned from entering Britain. Rights campaigners on Sunday said that they would demand that the proposed rules should be used to keep out Mr. Modi because of his role in the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. There were widespread protests when he was allowed to visit Britain in 2003, and a planned visit in 2005 was called off at the last minute after a determined bid by rights groups to get an arrest warrant against him.

woman was beaten up by police in Sonia meeting

TUMKUR,APRIL 28: A woman was beaten up by police on saturday for showing black flag to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Tumkur, during the birthday celebration of Siddaganga Math head. A young woman tried to disrupt Mrs Gandhi's speech during the ceremony. As she began her speech, the woman, seated among the audience, suddenly rose and waved a black flag demanding Scheduled Caste (SC) status for her community Madiga Dandora. The police immediately swung into action and beat her up. She was then take away from the venue even as some of her supporters shouted slogans.

Gold regains record level of Rs. 29,540

NEWDELHI,APRIL 28: Gold prices spurted by Rs.100 to regain the all-time high level of Rs. 29,540 per 10 grams in the bullion market here on saturday on strong demand triggered by the ongoing wedding season amid firm global cues. The precious metal, which was last seen at this level on December 8, has gained Rs. 550 in the last seven days. Silver also gained Rs. 100 to Rs. 56,500 per kg on increased off-take by industrial units and jewellery makers.

Bangaru Laxman gets 4 years jail

NEWDELHI,APRIL 28: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Bangaru Laxman was sentenced on saturday to four yearsjail by a Delhi court for taking a bribe of Rs. one lakh in a fictitious arms deal case 11 years ago. Additional Sessions Judge Kanwal Jeet Arora sentenced 72-year-old Laxman, also a former Union minister, holding him guilty of taking the bribe from fake arms dealers to recommend to the Defence Ministry to award them a contract to supply thermal binoculars to the Army. The court awarded him the prison term, rejecting his plea for leniency and ordered that he be taken in custody to serve the sentence. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. one lakh on Mr. Laxman, who had been caught on Tehelka camera accepting the money in his chamber in the party headquarters and had to quit as its president shortly after the sting expose which had created a huge political storm. 

Ban Ki-moon refrains from commenting on expansion of UNSC

NEWDELHI,APRIL 27: Acknowledging that India, along with the rest of the emerging countries, had an important role in global governance issues, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon steered clear of any reference to expansion of the UN Security Council. After describing India as a middle-level country, which had yet to provide “basic human services” to all, the UN Secretary General wanted it to comply with the UNSC's resolution 1887, which among non-proliferation and disarmament issues, asks the holdouts — Israel, Pakistan and India — to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Welcoming improving ties between India and Pakistan, he hoped they would be able to play a useful role in stabilising Afghanistan, after the current security cover provided by western countries and their allies begins thinning. He wanted them to continue talking to resolve outstanding issues, and hoped the Kashmir issue would be addressed peacefully, while reflecting the will of the people, fully respecting human rights, and in an atmosphere free of the threat of violence. While Mr. Ban Ki-moon evaded the issue of expanding the UNSC, he acknowledged the importance of alternate fora such as the G-20 and BRICS, but didn't see them as competitors. “Never in the past has multilateral had so much emphasis as at present,” he noted, while seeing an important role for India in a multi-polar scenario that had got out of the systems of the Cold War. Mr. Ban Ki-moon called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna.

Pratibha gives up Pune retirement home

NEWDELHI,APRIL  28: President Pratibha Patil wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about her decision not to move into what would have been her post-retirement accommodation in Pune. Her office said, she was “pained” at allegations of her taking over land meant for “war widows” and “distortion of facts by the media.” A controversy had broken out over the choice of land, owned by the Defence Ministry, and the scale on which the residence was being readied. An organisation of ex-servicemen in Pune had claimed that two British-era buildings would be knocked down to accommodate the building. Also, it said, the land was earmarked for war widows, an accusation the President's office claimed “led to a spiralling media attack.” The President's Office said: “She is deeply pained by the allegations about the land-grab. The negative reports about her post-retirement home were distressing and she has decided to forego her accommodation in Pune.” “The President has not decided yet where her post-retirement home will be. She has just written to the Prime Minister her decision to forego the Pune accommodation,” an official said.

India test flies naval variant of LCA

NEWDELHI,APRIL 28: With the successful maiden flight of the LCA's naval variant, India joins an elite club of countries capable of designing, developing, manufacturing and testing the fourth generation carrier borne fly-by-wire ski take off but arrested recovery (Stobar) aircraft," said V.K. Saraswat, scientific advisor to the defence minister. The 20-minute test sortie of the advanced fighter's first naval prototype (NP-1) was piloted by chief test pilot of the Indian Air Force's  national flight test centre (NFTC) Commodore T.A. Maolankar and co-piloted by the centre's flight test engineer, Wing Commander Maltesh Prabhu. "The flight performance was outstanding. The naval variant is the first attempt to provide a complete marine force multiplier that will give unique battle punch to the naval aviation arm of the 21st century to fulfill the national dream of blue waters,"  Saraswat told reporters. Though the Indian naval variant is the second Stobar in the world after the Russian deck based aircraft, it will be the only carrier borne fighter in the light category.