LONDON, Feb 17: Pop sensation Lady Gaga did not let her hip injury get in the way of fulfilling a promise she made to a terminally-ill fan.
Gaga was forced to cancel her “Born This Way Ball” tour earlier this week after she was diagnosed with synovitus, a severe inflammation of the joints, and she is likely to undergo a surgery for it too, reported Daily Express.
However, she made sure not to cancel a scheduled meet-and-greet with five-year-old Kaylee Gurbynski, who has an inoperable heart condition. Gaga flew down to Illinois for a surprise visit.
“She (Gaga) can’t do the show due to joint pain. She can barely walk herself, and in spite of the fact that there’s no show, she made an effort to meet Kaylee. I’ve never seen that happen in my history of being in radio,” said local radio personality Tony Waitekus, who helped arrange the visit.
“It just goes to show that no matter what you say about some of these high-falutin artists, many of them do have huge hearts and put them to good use sometimes, and that happened here. She did the right thing, and she did it because she wanted to do it. I just can’t say enough about her for doing that,” Waitekus added. (PTI)
Lady Gaga meets sick fan despite own injury
Pak judicial commission’s visit remains uncertain
NEW DELHI : The visit of a Pakistani judicial commission to India for the second time to cross examine four witnesses in the 26/11 attacks case continues to remain uncertain with Islamabad’s failure to fix dates for the tour.
Though Islamabad has not given any reason for the delay in the commission’s visit, sources said hanging of LeT terrorist Ajmal Kasab and recent border skirmishes along the LoC, where an Indian solider was beheaded, might be the causes.
“We have conveyed to Pakistan long ago about our willingness to host the Pakistani judicial panel. But so far there is no information from them when the panel will come,” a senior Home Ministry official said.
The agreement on the visit of the second Pakistani judicial commission to Mumbai was finalised on December 25, 2012 in Islamabad following several rounds of discussions on complex technical and legal issues between a four-member visiting Indian delegation and Pakistani officials.
The Home Ministry also got approval of the Bombay High Court for the visit of the Pakistani panel and cross examination of the four witnesses of the Mumbai attack case.
The witnesses are metropolitan magistrate Rama Vijay Sawant-Waghule, who recorded the confessional statement of Kasab, chief investigating officer Ramesh Mahale and two doctors from the state-run Nair and J J Hospitals who had conducted autopsies of nine terrorists.
The cross examination of the four witnesses is required to take the ongoing 26/11 case in a Rawalpindi court to its logical conclusion.
Seven terrorists, including Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, were charged with planning, financing and executing the attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai in November 2008.
During its visit, the Indian team had secured assurance from Pakistani authorities that the findings of the second judicial commission would not be summarily rejected by the anti-terrorism court that is conducting the trial of seven men.
The findings of the first Pakistani judicial commission that visited India in March 2012 were rejected by an anti- terrorism court in Pakistan as the panel’s members were not allowed to cross-examine the Indian witnesses.
After the judicial panel visits India and cross examines the four witnesses, Islamabad is expected to reciprocate by granting an Indian judicial commission access to Pakistani suspects when it visits the country at a later stage.
The trial of the Pakistani suspects has made little or no headway for months due to various technical and legal issues.
The Lahore High Court has barred the anti-terrorism court from using Kasab’s confession while defence lawyers have contended that existing Pakistani laws do not allow witnesses in another country to depose via video-conferencing. (AGENCIES)
JPC members term CBI probe in 2G cases abroad as “snail-pace”
NEW DELHI, Feb 17: Members of a Parliamentary panel have expressed anguish over the “snail-pace” investigations being carried out by the CBI abroad in the high profile 2G spectrum scam case.
The CBI has informed the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G that it has sent Letters Rogatory to various countries seeking details of cash flow to establish cases of criminal culpability in allocation of 2G spectrum allocation, and also allocation of additional spectrum beyond eligibility.
During the meeting, members of the Committee told CBI Director Ranjit Sinha that they were unhappy over the “snail-pace” progress in investigations abroad.
CBI said while cases in India have been investigated, the probe in foreign countries was still pending.
The probe agency has sent Letters Rogatory, issued on April 11, 2012, to Malaysia, the UK, Mauritius and Bermuda, and their execution is being pursued with the help of Interpol and respective High Commissions, CBI said in a presentation to the JPC last week.
Letters Rogatory were issued seeking information about source of funding of certain telecom firms who were awarded the radio waves.
CBI officials said they would be able to take a “comprehensive view” after receiving replies of the Letters Rogatory sent to various countries.
The probe agency said queries received from Mauritius and the UK have been answered to.
The CBI could finally receive “part execution” reports
from the UK and Bermuda, the probe agency said in the presentation and added that “further reports are awaited and are being expedited”.
In its presentation, the CBI said detailed queries were received from Malaysia and the response to the same have been forwarded to Malaysian authorities.
It said the Letter Rogatory to Malaysia has been pursued through two visits by a CBI team in the recent past.
A Letter Rogatory is a formal request issued by a competent court to a foreign court and processed by the Ministry of External Affairs on behalf of the investigative agencies to obtain information about individuals and entities.
Even prior to sending of the Letters Rogatory, the Enforcement Directorate, which is jointly probing the multi-crore rupee scam with the CBI, had approached their counterparts in countries having footprints of some telecom companies allotted spectrum between September 2007 to January 2008, on a semi-formal basis. (AGENCIES)
World’s highest rail bridge to come up across Chenab river
NEW DELHI : Arguably one of the toughest engineering challenges in hand, Railways plans to complete the Chenab bridge in Jammu and Kashmir by 2016, making it the world’s highest rail bridge.
The arch-shaped bridge across Chenab river-bed in Reasi district, which will be five times the height of Qutab Minar at 359 m above river bed, will connect Baramulla and Srinagar to Jammu via Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund covering the entire route in about seven hours.
The ambitious project, which fell victim to various issues such as its alignment, feasibility and also security concerns, is finally beginning to take shape with the construction of pillars on either side.
“We plan to complete it by December 2016, a year before the entire Udhampur-Baramulla stretch is commissioned,” CAO of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project, B D Garg said.
The 1,315-m-long engineering marvel would boast of several unique features. The design would ensure that it withstands blast and seismic activities, while the signalling arrangements would ensure the train does not encounter high wind velocity at that height.
“Anemometer has been provided at the bridge site which will measure wind speed at the bridge site, and will interlock train movement over the bridge automatically if there is any wind above the prescribed speed,” Garg said.
Trains can cruise at 100 kmph on the structure, which would have a life span of 120 years.
On being asked why the arch-shaped design was chosen, he said this structure is most preferred as it can absorb seismic forces unlike concrete structures. The thrust of the arch stabilises the side slopes of the river.
Further, it is easier to construct and maintain and rehabilitate steel structure as compared to other structures, he said.
As the bridge could prove vulnerable from the security point of view, the design has been made such that even if an element is removed from the structure, traffic could still remain open, running at a restricted speed of 30 kmph.
“If one of the columns gives way, the deck would not collapse. It would be possible to restore the bridge for normal operation after carrying out required repairs,” Garg said.
The executing agency for the project is Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd which has an experience of handling tough projects on the famed Konkan railway route. (AGENCIES)
JPC members term CBI probe in 2G cases abroad as “snail-pace”
NEW DELHI : Members of a Parliamentary panel have expressed anguish over the “snail-pace” investigations being carried out by the CBI abroad in the high profile 2G spectrum scam case.
The CBI has informed the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G that it has sent Letters Rogatory to various countries seeking details of cash flow to establish cases of criminal culpability in allocation of 2G spectrum allocation, and also allocation of additional spectrum beyond eligibility.
During the meeting, members of the Committee told CBI Director Ranjit Sinha that they were unhappy over the “snail-pace” progress in investigations abroad.
CBI said while cases in India have been investigated, the probe in foreign countries was still pending.
The probe agency has sent Letters Rogatory, issued on April 11, 2012, to Malaysia, the UK, Mauritius and Bermuda, and their execution is being pursued with the help of Interpol and respective High Commissions, CBI said in a presentation to the JPC last week.
Letters Rogatory were issued seeking information about source of funding of certain telecom firms who were awarded the radio waves.
CBI officials said they would be able to take a “comprehensive view” after receiving replies of the Letters Rogatory sent to various countries.
The probe agency said queries received from Mauritius and the UK have been answered to.
The CBI could finally receive “part execution” reports
from the UK and Bermuda, the probe agency said in the presentation and added that “further reports are awaited and are being expedited”.
In its presentation, the CBI said detailed queries were received from Malaysia and the response to the same have been forwarded to Malaysian authorities.
It said the Letter Rogatory to Malaysia has been pursued through two visits by a CBI team in the recent past.
A Letter Rogatory is a formal request issued by a competent court to a foreign court and processed by the Ministry of External Affairs on behalf of the investigative agencies to obtain information about individuals and entities.
Even prior to sending of the Letters Rogatory, the Enforcement Directorate, which is jointly probing the multi-crore rupee scam with the CBI, had approached their counterparts in countries having footprints of some telecom companies allotted spectrum between September 2007 to January 2008, on a semi-formal basis. (AGENCIES)
Groundnut, mustard oils up on local demand
NEW DELHI, Feb 16: Prices of select edible oils groundnut and mustard expeller rose up to Rs 50 per quintal on the wholesale oils and oilseeds market today on increased buying by vanaspati millers and local parties.
Movements in other edible and non-edible oils remained restrcited in the absence of worthwhile activity and settled around previous closing.
Traders said fresh buying millers and local parties helped groundnut mill delivery and mustard expeller oils to rise.
In the national capital, groundnut mill delivery (Gujarat) rose by Rs 50 to Rs 12,400 per quintal, while groundnut solvent refined gained Rs 10 at Rs 2,110-2,160 per tin.
Mustard expeller oil (Dadri) rose by Rs 25 to Rs 8,325 per quintal on local buying.
Meanwhile, soyabean refined mill delivery (Indore) and soyabean degum (Kandla) oils remained flat at Rs 7,500 and Rs 7,050 per quintal respectively. (PTI)
Beyonce, Jay-Z crowned top power couple of 2013
LONDON, Feb 16: Musical icons Beyonce and Jay-Z have bagged the number one power couple in Hollywood according to a special Valentine’s Day poll.
The couple beat the likes of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, Victoria and David Beckham, William and Kate Middleton for the crown, reported Daily Mail.
Beyonce, 31, and Jay-Z, 43, have been together since they collaborated in 2002 on the latter’s ’03 Bonnie & Clyde and Knowles’ hit single ‘Crazy in Love’ from her debut ‘Dangerously in Love’ album.
They have won countless Grammys and music awards, have designed separate clothing lines, and both have worked in films. With a daughter, Blue Ivy, their family is complete.
The other celebrity couple in the list included Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux and Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. (PTI)
Call the bluff of Army baiters!
Nothing could have been more ridiculous or laughable than a wired statement by a senior National Conference (NC) leader accusing the Indian Army and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of trying to engineer a clandestine plan to as he said “secede so called Azad Kashmir from Pakistan” and also denounced what he described as Indian Army’s meddling in politics.
Now this is a comment hardly deserving a response or a reaction not only because it is absurd but also because the entire world community is familiar with India’s position on so called “Azad” Kashmir which it recognises as Pak occupied Kashmir (PoK). Nevertheless, the NC leader’s comment cannot be outrightly ignored because it is not as innocent as it sounds and may smack of a mischievous political motive to seek mileage among Kashmiri’s separatist constituency by using the name of Indian Army which happens to be a “soft” target for secessionists and militants alike.
The theme of this column today is not what a certain National Conference leader said or did not say about the Indian Army. It cannot be! Because to comment on the credentials of Indian Army is beyond the competence or prerogative of a disgruntled politician and to comment on a politician who does so is below the dignity of this column.
The issue, however, is too serious to be left to a politician or even a columnist alone. For, sooner than later, the nation will be called to define how it wishes to treat its Army so that it can serve as an Army.
It is a tragedy that in a State like Jammu and Kashmir where the Chief Minister enjoys the highest category of personal security with National Security Guards (NSGs) et al and where the Chief Minister’s family members including his uncle enjoy protection from India’s Armed forces, the most hurtful insinuations against Indian Army are shot at from the CM household…sometimes in the name of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), some times in the name of Army’s alleged meddling in politics.
What is conveniently forgotten by these Army baiters belonging to the ruling polity in Jammu and Kashmir is that it is precisely because of the Indian Army that these over-rated worthiest have been able to stay put in the seat of power, generation after generation, perpetuating their dynastic rule. In other words, the ‘Dynasty” in Kashmir owes its monrachy partly to the Indian Army and partly to another ”Dynasty” in New Delhi, If they are so skeptical about the designs of Army, why don’t they honourably surrender the armed protection enjoyed by them and then survive to prove the point they are trying to make ?
It is high time to call the bluff of self-styled Army baiters! If this is not done, the Army personnel may tomorrow feel morbidly frustrated in receiving orders to provide ill-deserved protection to such separatist or semi-separatist protagonists who wish to have the cake and eat it too by simultaneously using and abusing the Indian Army. Nothing can be more tragic than to come across recurrent news stories relating to a certain Army solider who escaped unhurt from war front and then chose to kill himself with a suicide bullet. Poet echoes his predicament, “Main Bach Bhi Jaun To Tanhai Maar Dalegi…” And Umapathy pleads on his behalf “Call the bluff of Army baiters !’’
Pope Benedict’s exit
M.J.Akbar
Pope Benedict XVI will be remembered not for the ease of his arrival, nor for the unremarkable quality of his tenure, but for the courage of his departure. It takes character to sublimate one’s ego to the demands of duty, and to recognise that both body and spirit have now lost their ability to serve the great cause of an institution such as the papacy. His example has inevitably inspired questions about a Prime Minister or two who seems to have passed his sell-by date. As the poet might have remarked, nothing he did in his grand office excelled the humility of his exit.
When history is written with a cold pen, Pope Benedict will be seen as no more than a brief hyphen between predecessor and successor. But this extraordinary event just might begin to raise questions, albeit along a tangential arc, about a doctrine that has controlled the image of the Pope for the last 140-odd years: infallibility.
There were more similarities between the Catholic Pope and the Islamic Caliph than either might care to admit. Both were territorial monarchs who imposed a halo of divinity upon a worldly enterprise. Both could use religion as a shield for their politics of power. Succession was limited to an oligarchy in the church, and dynasty in the Caliphate; but equal care was taken to ensure that the throne did not fall into careless hands. The Pope’s ceremonial attire is no less opulent than any king’s. In one respect the Caliph was more cautious; he did not outsource his power to any Holy Roman Emperor. But both ordered armies into the field, used torture against their enemies, took booty, amassed and lost fortunes, and were a major factor in the power play of their areas of control and influence. The Caliph actually displaced the church across all his territories, from Byzantine Turkey to Asia Minor and north Africa.
By the 19th century and the gradual rise of a modern nation-state, both the papacy and the caliphate began to lose their energy and purpose. The Caliph’s empire was whittled away by nationalist urges [encouraged by traditional and new enemies] in Greece, the Balkans and finally the Arab regions. The Pope’s lands were limited to fiefdoms in Italy, and Italian nationalists soon reduced the Vatican to a handsome church and a few marketplaces in the heart of Rome.
It was at this juncture, in 1870, that Pope Pius IX saved the institution in the short run. He called a council and forced it to declare that a Pope was infallible; he could do no wrong. Unable to compete with men, he elevated the papacy to the voice of God. Quite a few previous Popes might not have sniggered in public, but they would have laughed heartily in private at the thought that a Pope was the epitome of virtue. There were colourful Italian Popes who enjoyed excesses of the flesh with insouciant joy. They sired illegitimate children and delighted in the delicacy of their food. Their greed and crass exploitation of faith led to the protests which the German Martin Luther channelized into the Protestant church.
But the best of them were brilliant politicians; most of them were extremely capable rulers. And when history made their temporal power a figment of imagination, they reinvented themselves in their alter ego: they claimed total control over the personal lives of their flock, issuing edicts of the sort that still makes birth control a sin among Catholics.
The Caliph was less fortunate when the time came for Turks to pack him off. The Sultan could not become an upgraded Sheikh ul Islam because Muslims, like Jews, believe in tawhid, or the indivisibility of God: it would be sacrilegious for any Muslim to claim that he had become as infallible as divinity. [It might be mentioned, in passing, that it was only in the early part of the fourth century that Christian bishops adopted the trinity as a central tenet of their faith, at the Council of Nicea; before that most Christians did not consider Jesus son of God.] The Vatican survived, and flourished; as an independent state with supranational power over Catholic believers, it has ambassadors across the world.
Pope Benedict’s retirement creates the unique situation of two infallible Popes being alive at the same time. One answer to any potential dilemma is obvious: it is the office which is infallible, not the individual. Benedict returns to life as Joseph Ratzinger, this time even without the privilege of being Cardinal. But what if he differs with a successor who suggests that long-held convictions, as on birth control or women priests, need to be revised? The Catholic church changes, if it changes at all, from top down. But a democratic age builds pressures from down-up, as for instance in Catholic Ireland, which is in the midst of debate on abortion.
Pope Benedict protected the status quo in office. Would he be tempted to save his legacy with the moral power of abdication?
Redefining Police role
For quite some time the Government has been seized with the idea of ushering in phenomenal police reforms. Two reasons have catalyzed this thinking. One is that of bridging State police structurally as well as functionally at par with national police standards for the sake of universality of police services. The second is new challenges thrown up in the backdrop of two-decade long militancy and turmoil in the State. In the light of developing national integration scenario, it had become necessary for the State police to adjust to working system at par with police structures available in other states. Militancy fuelled by support from outside the state has brought to fore situations in which the state police had not adequate expertise of handling. For example, the question of handling mass protests and rallies with the use of minimum force and no fatalities has been almost a new phenomenon in which the state police had to upgrade and streamline its delivery.
The State Government has been very seriously considering major reforms in the police establishment that needs the nod from the legislature in order to give teeth to the new structure. As such, a bill has been drafted by the Government with input from police, judicial and administrative sources. The Act has been drafted and is ready to be placed before the legislature in its forthcoming session. Having brought up its odds and ends, the Government has now brought it to the public domain where legal experts, academics, NGOs and all stakeholders are free to express themselves on the clauses of the draft Act. It means that they need to study the clauses and sub-clauses of the draft bill very closely and make their views known to the Government within the specified time. The full text of the draft bill has been made public. We have also published in the columns of this paper the main features of the bill. Obviously the cities of Srinagar and Jammu will have Police Commissioners but they will be under the control of the DGP.
Included in police restructuring policy is the proposal for constituting Police Complaints Authority, State Security Commission, Police Establishment Board and Police Welfare Board. The Act also proposes separation of the Investigation wing of Police Department from the Law and Order wing for better management of affairs. The Act deals with the details of modus operandi for constituting these organs within the police establishment, their chairmanship, membership and the terms of reference and scope of jurisdiction. All these matters have been elaborated in detail. Separation of investigation wing from law and order wing, for example, will be an effective step in speeding up the investigation of a criminal case and bringing the accused to justice. The Act, when passed by the State Legislature, will be a landmark step in streamlining internal administration of police department and its functionality on the ground, It has been rightly said that the proposed draft Legislation is aimed at consolidating and amending the law relating to the establishment, regulation, power and duties of Police Service in the State and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. Moreover, efficient policing of the State but the police in the forefront of the duty of maintaining law and order. Our police personnel have shown remarkable efficiency in controlling situation arising out of militancy and incidents related to it.
But police reforms and streamlining of delivery have not to be seen only from the prism of militancy and unrest with which the State is faced for last two decades. The fact is that the country is going through big social and economic change. These changes demand that laws governing the activities of the Indian civil society have to be made commensurate with rising aspirations and requirements. J&K, as an integral part of the Union has her share of socio-economic development which, in turn, also brings to fore new problems and challenges. Police reforms have essentially to be seen from that prism. It shows that these reforms were long due and should have come much earlier. However, believing that better late than never, we expect the legislature to give its nod to the bill and thus create history of bringing state police at par with national level of police administration. Once it comes into force, the Act will not the last step bringing us to the goalpost. There might be the need of further reforms in the police structure with the passage of time. That is what the dynamics of social development dictates. But for the present, the Act will be an historical event bound to have wide impact on our polity.