• NATIONAL

First set of UID numbers to be issued in February next

The first set of identity numbers as per the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will be issued in February 2011. Extensive consultations with various stake-holders-Union& State governments, public sector units, industry and civil society organisations have already been held. Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar have been signed and more states have expressed their interest in having similar MoUs. "The pilot projects will begin by August this year and first issue of the identity numbers may happen before February next year," UIDAI Deputy Director B.B Nanawati said here on Monday. He was speaking at a Unique Identity workshop, organised by the French Embassy along with the Smart Card Forum of India (SCAFI), and prominent French companies in the smart card industry.

Law Minister will look into CJI suggestions: Manmohan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan that his suggestions on amendments to the Right to Information Act will be looked into by the Law Minister. Dr. Singh was responding to a letter written by Justice Balakrishnan, in which he had said: "Section 8 [providing for exempting certain information] needs to be suitably amended by inserting another specific clause to the effect that any information, the disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the independence of the judiciary, should be exempted from disclosure under the provisions of the Act."

Assembly votes for Legislative Council

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed with a two-thirds majority a resolution seeking to revive the Upper House, the Legislative Council. As many as 155 members voted for and 61 against the resolution. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi moved the resolution for the revival and said that this was one of the few unfulfilled promises made in the 2006 election manifesto. The Opposition AIADMK and the CPI (M) insisted on a vote after a debate, and Speaker R.Avudaiappan, called for voting. The motion needed the support of two-thirds of the members present in the House at the time of voting. The DMK, the Congress, the PMK and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi voted in favour of the resolution. The AIADMK, CPI (M) and the MDMK opposed it. The CPI staged a walkout.

Amend marriage law, demand khap elders

Cocking a snook at the law of the land, the khap mahasammelan threatened a protest march to Delhi if the Hindu Marriage Act was not amended to ban same gotra marriage. Undeterred by the death sentence for five in the Manoj-Babli murder case, the khap chieftains pledged to intensify their war against same gotra (sub-caste) marriages. The Sarvajatiya Sarvakhap Mahasammelan was attended by Bharatiya Kisan Union president Mahendra Singh Tikait and former Haryana DGP Mahinder Singh Malik among others. Over 4,000 people from Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi attended the three-hour mahasammelan. The khap men condemned the judgment in the Manoj-Babli murder case and declared they would collect Rs. 10 from each family to challenge the judgment in the High Court. Then came a barely veiled threat: The Manoj-Babli case was a warning to youth against following their example. Else they would meet with a similar fate.

Inflation at 9.9 percent on broad price rise

Inflation touched a 17-month high of 9.9 percent in March spurred by an all-round increase in prices, mounting pressure on the central bank to raise key policy rates in the monetary policy review next week. A spurt in global demand due to a remarkable recovery by China and positive signals from the US will allow the Reserve Bank of India to target inflation aggressively without worrying about derailing growth momentum. The central bank is widely expected to raise policy rates by 25-50 basis points on Tuesday. "The RBI would be within its rights to signal hawkish, but act dovish," said Suman K Berry, member of the prime minister's economic advisory committee.

CBI to SC: We have proof to nail Maya

Accusing Mayawati of amassing massive assets disproportionate to her known sources of income, the CBI has told the Supreme Court that it has substantial evidence to prove a "criminal nexus" between her income and that of her relatives. In an affidavit filed in the SC, the Central Bureau of Investigation said there was adequate evidence to show the benami (literally, in another's name) nature of assets acquired by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. On the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's verdict - which had gone in Mayawati's favour - the CBI said the Income Tax Department has already challenged it in the Delhi High Court. The agency also denied Mayawati's allegation that the CBI had contacted MP Brijesh Pathak - a member of Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party - for support to the Centre during the July 2009 trust vote.

Right to Food Act on the anvil, says Chidambaram

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government will soon introduce a Right to Food Act in parliament, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said in Chennai on Sunday. Speaking at a function, Chidambaram said: "The government will introduce a Right to Food Act soon. This is after laws like Right to Education, Right to Information and Right to Work that were enacted by this government after amending the constitution." Speaking about the education loans, he said the banks have disbursed around Rs. 25,000 crore to students in 2008-09. The figure is expected to touch Rs. 45,000 crore for fiscal 2009-10 to benefit around 2.5 million students.

Supreme Court confirms Manu's life sentence

The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and life sentence awarded to Manu Sharma, son of former Union minister Venod Sharma, in the sensational Jessica Lal murder case. "The evidence regarding the actual incident, the testimonies of witnesses, the evidence connecting the vehicles and cartridges to the accused, Manu Sharma, as well as his conduct after the incident prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt," said a bench comprising Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Swatanter Kumar ruled on Monday.

Supreme Cour stands by report on Ishrat fake encounter

The sensational report by Ahmedabad magistrate S P Tamang damning the Gujarat police for the cold-blooded killing of Ishrat Jehan and Javed Gulam Mohammed Sheikh allegedly in a fake encounter in 2004 received some credence from the Supreme Court on Monday. The manner in which the Narendra Modi government had got a stay from a single judge bench of the Gujarat high court by filing an application in a pending petition of Ishrat's mother seeking an independent probe, the unnecessary criticism of Tamang by the HC and the inquiry initiated about his propriety in conducting the inquiry were frowned upon by the SC.

• INTERNATIONAL

Iran complains to U.N. over U.S. nuclear "threat"

Iran complained to the United Nations on Tuesday over what it called a U.S. threat to attack it with atomic weapons, accusing Washington of nuclear blackmail in violation of the U.N. charter. President Barack Obama made clear last week that Iran and North Korea, both involved in nuclear disputes with the West, were excluded from new limits on the use of U.S. atomic weapons. A letter from Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council and General Assembly presidents called on the United Nations to "strongly oppose the threat of use of nuclear weapons and to reject it."

Malaysia opposition picks Anwar successor for polls

Malaysia's opposition named a candidate seen as a successor to its leader Anwar Ibrahim to run in a by-election this month which will also test the ruling coalition's popularity following moves to reduce race-based programmes. Anwar late on Tuesday picked Zaid Ibrahim, 59, a former law minister who quit the government in 2008, to run for the Hulu Selangor parliament seat on April 25, 2010.

Pak SC gives five-day time to clear roadblocks in reopening Swiss cases against Zardari

Tightening its noose around President Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistan Supreme Court (SC) has given five days time and directed the Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan to clear all roadblocks in the way of reopening of the money laundering cases against Zardari in Swiss court. Hearing a suo motu notice on examining the implementation of the apex court's verdict declaring the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) as null and void, a seven member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to send a new letter to the Swiss government to reopen the corruption cases against Zardari. Terming the previous letter to the Swiss government in this regard as 'unsatisfactory, the court observed that the letter should have been routed through the Law Ministry and approved by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani

U.S. Congress passes 18-billion-dollar jobless aid bill

The U.S. Congress on Thursday passed a 18-billion-dollar bill to help the country's jobless for a two-month extension. The House of Representatives voted 289 to 112 to restore unemployment benefit which expired at the end of March. The Senate had approved it by a 59-38 margins earlier in the day. The bill is now ready for President Barack Obama to sign into law. The legislation also extends a stopgap health insurance program, a small business loan program, satellite television licensing, and national flood insurance.

BRIC summit wraps up early

Brazil, Russia, India and China wrapped up their second-ever BRIC summit with boasts their bloc was becoming a formidable force for global change -- and words of condolence after a devastating quake in China. The gathering of the world's top emerging economies was truncated and brought forward a day to ensure the participation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, who announced he had to race home to oversee the response to the quake. "Brazil, Russia, India and China have a fundamental role in the construction of a fairer international order," the summit's host, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told a closing media conference.

UK Woman Banned From Pubs For Two Years

A 20-year old woman has become the first person to be denied entry into every club and pub in the entire United Kingdom. Laura Hall is the woman which this ban has been applied to. She is under a drinking banning order for 2 years, also known as a "Booze Asbos." This is a new regulation that was introduced in the UK last September. This law can be applied to any people charged with an alcohol related crime and any anti-social behavior caused by alcohol consumption. However, the rule does not apply to those with mental problems or confirmed alcoholics. She has been convicted of many offenses related to upsetting the so-called "public order" but it is not known what she actually did.

Pakistan President Zardari to sign bill curbing his power

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will sign into law on Monday sweeping constitutional reforms that strip the head of state of the power to dissolve parliament and sack the prime minister. Both the lower and upper houses of parliament this month approved this month the 102-clause bill that effectively reverses efforts by successive military rulers to weaken Pakistan's 1973 parliamentary constitution. The package weakens the sweeping powers amassed by military dictators Pervez Musharraf and Zia ul Haq and could help ease political instability in the nuclear-armed country that marks a front line in the US-led war on al-Qaida.

U.S. open to Iran nuclear fuel deal despite doubts

The United States said on Monday it was still willing to discuss a nuclear fuel swap deal with Iran, but only if Tehran takes clear steps to address international concerns about its nuclear program. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the deal, proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last October as a means of heading off confrontation over Iran's nuclear ambitions, was still on the table but signaled that Washington had little hope Tehran would follow through "What Iran has yet to do is come to the IAEA, sit down and provide a meaningful response to what was put on the table last fall," he said. A senior Iranian official said on Monday that Iran was ready to start work on a new uranium enrichment plant, further defying Western pressure to curb its sensitive nuclear work. The White House said on Monday that Iran's rhetoric on its nuclear program does not always match its capability but underscored that it took seriously evidence that Iran was not living up to its international obligations.