NEW DELHI, June 11: Congress today termed as “unwarranted” the Home Ministry’s move seeking documents from CBI related to Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case before granting sanction to prosecute Intelligence Bureau officials, and said it would reflect on the autonomy of the probe agency.
“The entire move is absolutely unwarranted and it is not required because that will reflect on the autonomy of the investigating agency,” senior party leader M Veerappa Moily told reporters outside Parliament House.
Home Ministry has sought certain documents from CBI related to the case with official sources quoted as saying that no sanction will be accorded in the case without proper application of mind for which material available on record is required.
CBI is learnt to be planning to seek legal opinion on whether the documents can be handed over or not to the Home Ministry.
The agency has sought sanction from Home Ministry to prosecute Special Director Rajinder Kumar (now retired) and three other officers in connection with the alleged fake encounter killing of college student Ishrat, in which the charge sheet has been filed after completion of investigation. (PTI)
NEW DELHI, June 11: Taking a first step towards appointment of Lokpal, Government has decided to modify rules to give more powers to the search committee mandated to recommend names for appointment of chairperson and members of the anti-corruption body.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is making changes in the rules on the mandate of the search committee which will be notified soon, official sources said.
As per existing rules, an eight-member search committee is tasked to draw up a panel of persons for consideration by the selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal.
These persons have to be chosen from among the panel provided by the DoPT, the rules say.
However, the government will now empower the search committee to include people from outside the list provided by DoPT for consideration by the selection committee, the sources said.
There may be some other changes in the constitution of the search committee, they said.
Besides, the DoPT has written to Law Ministry to vet rules formed on filing of property returns by government employees under the Lokpal regime.
As per the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, every public servant shall make a declaration of his assets and liabilities.
A form for filing of such returns by a government officer has been designed and rules in this regard have been sent to the Law Ministry for its comments, the sources said.
The government has made it clear that Lokpal Act is important to curb corruption.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act provides for the establishment of a Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for the states to inquire into corruption charges against public functionaries.
Outlining Narendra Modi government’s road map, President Pranab Mukherjee had on Monday said in his joint address to Parliament that the new dispensation “is committed to providing a clean and efficient administration focused on delivery. The institution of Lokpal is important to curb corruption and my government will endeavour to formulate rules in conformity with the Act.”
Mukherjee had given his assent to Lokpal Act on January 1 this year.
The last UPA government could not go ahead with the much-touted appointment of Lokpal due to objection raised by the BJP in the selection procedure of the anti-corruption body.
Arun Jaitley, who was Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha before his party came to power at the Centre, had raised strong objections to the “highly improper” procedure adopted by the UPA government in making key appointments to Lokpal.
Jaitley had written twice to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh alleging that the procedure adopted by DoPT is violative of the Lokpal Act and an attempt to pack it with Congress loyalists.
The UPA government had in February this year hurriedly formed an eight-member search committee comprising Justice (retd) K T Thomas (as chairperson) and seven other members.
The members included Kaki Madhava Rao (former IAS officer), F S Nariman (legal luminary), Prof Meenakshi Gopinath (educationist), M L Kumawat (former Director General of Border Security Force), H K Dua (senior journalist and Rajya Sabha member), S Y Quraishi (former Chief Election Commissioner) and Prof Mrinal Miri (Rajya Sabha member).
But both Thomas and Nariman had refused to be part of the search panel.
The selection committee, led by Modi, has as its members the Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of Opposition in the Lower House, the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the apex court nominated by him, and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the President or any other member.
Since Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is yet to take a decision on the issue of Leader of Opposition in the lower house, the appointment of chairperson and members of Lokpal may take some more time. (AGENCIES)
NEW YORK, June 11: Rapper Chris Brown’s girlfriend Karrueche Tran threw a party to celebrate his release from jail.
Brown, 25, got released after spending 80 days behind bars for violating his probation in the Rihanna case of 2009. Back in October of 2013, he got in an altercation in Washington, for which he got a total of 108 days in correctional facilities, including rehab, reported New York Daily News.
The party was sort of a two-in-one, Brown’s homecoming and birthday celebration (he turned 25 on May 5).
Tran posted several photos from the night, including one snap of herself, giving Brown a kiss.
The party took place at at the private home of Phil Maloof, brother of former ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star Adrienne Maloof, in Los Angeles.
Some of the stars, who came out to welcome the singer home, included Amber Rose, T-Pain and Big Sean as well as, several porn stars. (PTI)
NEW YORK, June 11: Rapper Chris Brown’s girlfriend Karrueche Tran threw a party to celebrate his release from jail.
Brown, 25, got released after spending 80 days behind bars for violating his probation in the Rihanna case of 2009. Back in October of 2013, he got in an altercation in Washington, for which he got a total of 108 days in correctional facilities, including rehab, reported New York Daily News.
The party was sort of a two-in-one, Brown’s homecoming and birthday celebration (he turned 25 on May 5).
Tran posted several photos from the night, including one snap of herself, giving Brown a kiss.
The party took place at at the private home of Phil Maloof, brother of former ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star Adrienne Maloof, in Los Angeles.
Some of the stars, who came out to welcome the singer home, included Amber Rose, T-Pain and Big Sean as well as, several porn stars. (PTI)
LONDON, June 11: Television anchor Micahel Barrymore has revealed he attempted committing suicide two times in the past.
The 62-year-old ‘My Kind of People’ star said he feels better now, but was once in the clutches of alcohol addiction and depression, reported Daily Star.
“I’ve been taken off to the hospital a couple of times. Too many pills, just chuck a load in my mouth. I think that was a cry for help,” he said on a television chat show.
Barrymore did not specify when the suicide attempts took place but assured his depression is not currently as severe.
“I’m a good boy now. I’m obviously not successful at it because I’m here,” he said.
The star, known for his comic timing, has publicly battle depression, alcoholism and drug addiction. He said wealth and fame did not affect his condition.
“When you’re in the depths and the throes of your depression and your addiction, I end up in the corner of the room staring at the wall. And it doesn’t matter how big the house is or how small the flat is, you end up in exactly the same spot thinking ‘What’s the point?'” he said. (PTI)
WASHINGTON, June 11: Describing India as a major player in the region, the Pentagon has said it is looking forward to work with the new Indian government.
“India is an important nation in that region. It’s a relationship we continue to want to improve and foster,” the Pentagon Press Secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby, told reporters at a news conference.
“We look forward to working with the new (Indian) government in that regard,” Kirby said in response to a question. (PTI)
KARACHI, June 11: Veteran Baluch nationalist leader, Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri passed away in Karachi at a local hospital.
The 86-year-old Baluch leader was admitted to the hospital for brain Hemorrhage last week in critical condition. He died late last night.
Marri, born in 1928, was a leader of Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) – a proscribed Baluch separatist organisation – and was one of the key leaders of the 1970’s insurgency in Baluchistan.
He had returned to Pakistan after the fall of the left-wing government in Kabul after spending several years there in exile.
Marri had six sons. His eldest son, Nawab Baluch Marri was allegedly killed by Nato forces in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border in 2007.
Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain and Patron-in-Chief of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari among other political leaders expressed deep sorrow and grief over the demise of the veteran Baluch leader. (PTI)
WASHINGTON, June 11: Internet search provider Google has entered into an agreement to buy satellite maker Skybox for USD 500 million in cash.
The deal is expected to make the search engine giant to serve as a launching pad to send its own satellite to take aerial pictures and provide online access to remote areas of the world.
Skybox’s satellites will help keep Google Maps accurate with up-to-date imagery, the Silicon Valley-based company said in a statement yesterday.
“Over time, we also hope that Skybox’s team and technology will be able to help improve Internet access and disaster relief — areas Google has long been interested in,” it said.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, Google said.
Making the announcement, Skybox said the deal is not complete yet.
“Five years ago, we began the Skybox journey to revolutionise access to information about the changes happening across the surface of the Earth.
“We’ve made great strides in the pursuit of that vision,” it said. We’ve built and launched the world’s smallest high-resolution imaging satellite, which collects beautiful and useful images and video every day.
“We have built an incredible team and empowered them to push the state-of-the-art in imaging to new heights.
“The time is right to join a company who can challenge us to think even bigger and bolder, and who can support us in accelerating our ambitious vision,” it said.
Skybox and Google, the statement said, believe in making information (especially accurate geospatial information) accessible and useful.
“And to do this, we’re both willing to tackle problems head on — whether it’s building cars that drive themselves or designing our own satellites from scratch,” it said. (PTI)
WASHINGTON, June 11: No ransom was paid for the release of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, who was held under Taliban captivity for five years, the US has said, refuting all such reports in this regard.
“I’ve seen these reports that suggest that a ransom was somehow paid, and those reports are inaccurate,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday.
“Not from the United States government, not from a third party, none?” he was asked.
“That’s correct,” Earnest reiterated.
A similar answer was given by the Pentagon too.
“No money was exchanged to secure Bergdahl’s release,” Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby, told reporters at a different news conference.
“There was no US money paid to secure Sergeant Bergdahl’s release,” he reiterated.
The White House Deputy Press Secretary said there were specific consultations by administration officials with relevant members of Congress about efforts to secure the release of Bergdahl.
“Those consultations included the idea that Sergeant Bergdahl’s release would be predicated on a prisoner swap and the release of five Taliban detainees who had previously been detained in Guantanamo,” Earnest said.
“There are specific members of Congress who have expressed their displeasure with being left out of the loop about this specific secret military mission. And the fact of the matter is there’s actually probably not any disagreement here,” he added.
The Obama Administration, he said, did not notify the Congress of the precise operational details of this mission, and there are no regrets about that, he said.
“And that was necessary to protect the operational security of the mission,” he noted.
Kirby told reporters that Sergeant Bergdahl continues to recover and work through the reintegration process at a US hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
Kirby said that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel would testify before the House Armed Services Committee today on this issue.
“He (Hagel) looks forward to explaining why the President’s decision to secure the release of Sergeant Bergdahl was the right one and why the process we undertook in doing so was in keeping with our national interests,” the Pentagon Press Secretary said.
Kirby justified the prisoners swap decision to get Bergdahl back.
“And it’s safe to say that the entire interagency, the entire national security team agreed that we needed to take advantage of this fleeting opportunity, and that operational security was critical to securing it safely and efficiently,” he asserted. (PTI)
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PARIS, June 11: Attempts to fight alcohol abuse are being sapped by football’s links with the booze industry, a report published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) said today.
“Home team Brazil may be the favourite to win the 2014 World Cup. But whichever country hoists aloft the trophy on 13 July the real winner will be the alcohol industry,” it said.
Alcohol has now become culturally ingrained with football, it said. During the World Cup, millions of young people will be exposed to alcohol marketing.
FIFA “has a long record of championing the financial interests of its commercial partners, including Budweiser, the tournament’s official beer partner, by imposing extreme conditions on governments around the world,” said the feature, authored by freelance writer Jonathan Gornall.
These include tax waivers on any profits made by commercial partners during the World Cup and “bullying” the Brazil government into allowing fans to drink beer in stadiums during the tournament, temporarily overturning a long-standing local ban to prevent crowd violence.
“Such is the power of FIFA that Qatar, a strictly Muslim country with tough drinks laws, has already agreed to sell alcohol in fan zones in 2022,” the piece said.
It noted that France in 1991 banned sports advertising and sponsorship by drinks companies.
Despite warnings of disaster by brewers, sports events in France have survived and even flourished with new sponsors, it said. (AGENCIES)
