Of 5 11Th February 2012 Army Chief Loses Age War In

Army Chief loses age war In a setback to General V.K. Singh, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in his plea, pointing out that the Army Chief, who accepted the government's decision in determining his date of birth as May 10, 1950 on three occasions, could not go back on his commitment. His writ petition was disposed of as withdrawn. A Bench of Justices R.M. Lodha and H.L. Gokhale, however, made it clear that the question raised by Gen. Singh was not about the determination of his actual DoB but it concerned the recognition of a particular DoB by the Defence Ministry in the official service record. The Bench recorded Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati's statement that the government had not questioned the Army Chief's integrity or bona fides. It was resisting the petition as a matter of principle and doing so would not mean lack of faith in his ability to lead the Army. ED notice to Google Issuing a foreign exchange violation notice to Google for alleged irregularities in transfer of funds to its foreign entities, the Enforcement Directorate asked the Indian arm of the company to explain the clearances it has obtained from the RBI, its source of income in the country and submit I-T returns filed earlier. India Show' starts in Lahore today Seeking to make history and further consolidate people-to-people exchange, the Indian Government and industry have joined hands to put up a massive ‘India Show' at Lahore kicking off a new phase in trade and economic engagement of India and Pakistan. Pakistan's Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim will inaugurate the three-day India Show at Lahore Expo Centre. The show is being organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in collaboration with Indian Commerce and Industry Ministry with support from Pakistan's Commerce Ministry and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Nearly 150 Indian companies will showcase their products during the show and it is expected that business deals could also be finalised. It will be the first bilateral visit by an Indian Commerce and Industry Minister to Pakistan. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will walk into the Pakistan territory through the Attari-Wagah border on February 13 to take part in the India Show celebrations and also hold bilateral talks with Mr. Fahim. Mr. Sharma will be accompanied by an 80-member business and official delegation that will visit Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad to interact with Pakistani CEOs and officials. “It is also our desire that the visa regime from both sides, at least for businessmen, should be liberalised removing all restrictions on their movement,” FICCI President R. V. Kanoria told. Probe bribe charge against Yeddyurappa, CEC told The Supreme Court asked the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to look into allegations that bribe was paid to the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and some bureaucrats purportedly for illegal mining in Bellary and the adjoining district of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. A Special Forest Bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia passed the order on a plea by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) seeking extension of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against JSW Steel and Adani Enterprises for alleged illegal mining and transportation of iron ore. “We ask the CEC to consider the interim application for appropriate recommendation,” the Bench, also comprising justices Aftab Alam and Swatanter Kumar, said. It charged that powerful corporate entities such as Adani Enterprises were involved in the scam relating to the theft of 5.5 lakh tonnes of iron ore from the Belikere port. High Court Chief Justice asks Government to recall Upalokayukta In a damning indictment of the State Government, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Vikramajit Sen has averred that due processes were not followed in the appointment of the former High Court judge Chandrashekaraiah as the Upalokayukta and demanded that the Government recall him at the earliest. In a letter written to Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Mr. Sen said, “The appointment [of Mr. Chandrashekaraiah] is to be recalled at the earliest. Remedial action, therefore, is called for at your end.” Mr. Sen said that emphasise that the appointment of Chandrashekaraiah has been made without consultation with the Chief Justice. Therefore, it is in violation of the mandatory requirement of law. Page 1 of 5 11th February 2012 Rajasthan university ties up with University of Houston JK Lakshmipat University (JKLU) has tied up with University of Houston, Texas, for mutual cooperation in the field of education and academic activities. A memorandum of understanding for the purpose was signed here by Jerald W. Strickland, Assistant Vice-Chancellor, and William E. Fitzgibbon, Dean, College of Technology, on behalf of the University of Houston and Upinder Dhar, Vice-Chancellor of JK Lakshmipat University. This is the fourth international tie-up signed by JKLU after similar agreements with Hanyang University, South Korea; St. Cloud State University, US; and University of Wales, United Kingdom. The latest MOU allows academic cooperation in exchange of faculty, students and researchers; joint research, lectures, symposia and country visits for students; exchange of data, documentation and research material in the fields of mutual interest as well as working towards cooperative educational programmes for the future. JKLU has been established under the Rajasthan Private Universities Act by the Lakshmipat Singhania Foundation for Higher Learning. The University of Houston, founded in 1927, is a leading American public research university. Veteran film-maker O. P. Dutta passes away Veteran Bollywood writer-filmmaker O. P. Dutta has passed away following a bout of pneumonia at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai. He succumbed to complications of pneumonia. The film-maker, who was in his late 80s, began his career as a director with ‘Pyaar Ki Jeet' in 1948, followed by ‘Surajmukhi' (1950), ‘Ek Nazar' (1951), ‘Malkin' (1953), ‘Aangan' (1959) and others. Later he turned writer for his son J. P. Dutta with films like ‘Ghulami' (1985), ‘Hathyar' (1989), ‘Border' (1997), ‘Refugee' (2000), ‘LoC Kargil' (2003) and, his last film as a writer, ‘Umrao Jaan' (2006). Nuclear weapons: U.S. must put its house in order first: Report Even as the United States continues to exert pressure against India and other emerging powers for not falling in line with its vision for a global nuclear order, a stinging report by a major watchdog has revealed that the U.S.' own nuclear weapons are potentially unstable and critical intra-agency guidance on maintaining nuclear safety has been “vague.” In a report that sharply chastised the nodal National Nuclear Security Administration for not sufficiently briefing the Pentagon on dangers lurking within the U.S.' ageing nuclear weapons stockpile, the Government Accountability Office this week drew attention to the euphemistically- named issue of “limitations.” The GAO's investigation into whether the NNSA had helped mitigate the 52 limitations it identified revealed, worryingly, that the guidance that the NNSA had been supplying the Pentagon on this subject comprised “statements that... contain highly technical information and vague wording and may not clearly communicate a limitation's potential impact on stockpile operation, maintenance, and war planning”. Pakistan apex court rejects Gilani's plea in contempt case The Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected the intra court appeal filed by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani against its February 2 order that asked him to appear before it on February 13 to be formally charged with contempt. Immediately after the petition was rejected, Prime Minister's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters that Mr. Gilani would abide by the summons and appear before the court on Feb. 13. If held guilty of contempt, he could face loss of office and a maximum of six months imprisonment. Disqualification from membership of Parliament under Article 63 mandates a minimum of two years in prison. Contempt proceedings were launched against Mr. Gilani in January because the government repeatedly ignored the court's directive to reopen cases against President Asif Ali Zardari after striking down the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). The NRO was promulgated by the former President, Gen. (retd.) Pervez Musharraf, after which cases against Mr. Zardari and thousands of other bureaucrats, politicians and army officers were dropped in courts within the country and overseas. An eight-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, dismissed the Prime Minister's petition after a marathon argument by Mr. Ahsan. The government has refused to write to the Swiss authorities, contending that the Constitution provided presidential immunity to Mr. Zardari. While dismissing Mr. Gilani's appeal, the court pointed out that the NRO was declared unconstitutional in 2009 and all cases thus stood reopened. Page 2 of 5 11th February 2012 Wen strikes a markedly different tone on Tibet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said “greater efforts” would be made by the government to protect Tibetans' cultural traditions and religious freedom, amid ongoing unrest in the north-west that has seen at least 16 self- immolation protests in recent months. Mr. Wen's comments were made during a meeting here on Friday with the 11th Panchen Lama, Gyancain Norbu, in Zhongnanhai. Norbu was appointed by Beijing in 1995 in controversial circumstances in place of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, who had earlier been selected by the Dalai Lama as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. Nyima disappeared the same year, but is still worshipped by many Tibetans in China as the 11th Panchen. Norbu, who was in 2010 appointed to the country's top legislative advisory body, has been promoted by Beijing as the leading guiding authority of Tibetan Buddhism in China. The Panchen Lama is seen as the second most influential figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama, who Beijing accuses of being a separatist.

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