India conveys its concern to Islamabad over slow pace of trial of 26/11 perpetra tors Dec 15, 9:14

PM India has conveyed its concern over the slow pace of trial of perpetrators of 26 /11 Mumbai terror attacks based in Pakistan. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh raised the issue with the visiting Interior Mi nister Rehman Malik, who called on him on Saturday. Malik, now on a visit to India, had a 15-minute meeting with the Prime Minister. Home Minister Shinde had earlier asked Rehman Mallik to fulfill Pakistan's previ ous promises made on several occasions on bringing to book the master mind of th e Mumbai terror attack Hafiz Saeed. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi today Malik sai d attempts are being made to "fast-track" the case and wanted India to give hard and substantive evidence for the arrest of mastermind Hafiz Saeed. He said an application to fast track the case has been moved in the Lahore High Court and could be completed within three months if it is accepted. He said inve stigation is on. The moment his government sees some kind of connection it will surely act, he said. Mallik took a "u" turn on his comments on Babri Majid saying that he had never c ompared it with terror acts. He said he has renewed Islamabad's Pakistan's invitation to Dr. Manmohan Singh t o visit Pakistan // Campaigning for last phase of Assembly elections in Gujarat ends Dec 15, 9:13 PM The din and dust of the campaigning for Assembly elections in Gujarat settled do wn at 5 PM Saturday evening with the electioneering for the second and last phas e of assembly elections coming to an end. A total of 95 constituencies spread over 12 districts from North, Central and Ku chchh regions of the state will go for poll in this phase on Monday. Political f ate of 820 candidates including 49 women will be decided by the about 2 crore vo ters. Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded its candidates in all 95 constituencie s for this phase of elections while main opposition Congress nominees are contes ting in 92 seats. Former Chief Minister Keshu Bhai Patel led Gujarat Parivartan Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have fielded their candidates in 84 constituen cies each. AIR Correspondent reports, all major political parties including ruling BJP and main opposition Congress have campaigned intensively. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party s youth icon Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Min ister Shankar Singh Vaghela, political secretary of party president Ahmed Patel, several union minister and leaders from other states have campaigned for congre ss candidates.

Canvassing for BJP candidates was spearheaded by the mainly Chief Minister of th e Narendra Modi but senior party leader LK Advani, leader of opposition in the L ok Sabh Sushma Swaraj, Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitaly, for mer Chief Minister of Rajshthan Vasundhara Raje Sindhiya and several party MPs h ave also addressed public meetings in different districts. Former Chief Minister of the state Keshu Bhai Patel has sought people support fo r Gujarat Parivartan Party. Meanwhile, the Election Commission has ordered re-polling at three booths where polling was held on December 13 in first phase of elections. Re - polling will be held tomorrow from 8 AM to 5 PM in one booth each at Jam Jo dhpur , Bhavnagar Rural and Surat North constituencies . // Govt. committed to do everything to put economy back on a high growth path:PM Dec 15, 9:32 PM Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that the government is committed to d o everything to put economy back on a high growth path of 8 to 9 per cent. Speaking at the annual meeting of FICCI in New Delhi on Saturday, Dr. Singh said , the government will take steps to make the growth process socially and regiona lly more inclusive. Noting that excessive pessimism has hurt the growth process in the country, the Prime minister said, the government has acted to reverse the cycle of negative e xpectations and stimulate investment. Dr Singh said, despite several challenges, poverty in the country has declined a t a pace never seen in the past two hundred years. The Prime Minister said that Centre is rolling out AADHAR based services that wi ll help transfer benefits directly into bank account of beneficiaries thus elimi nating middlemen and reducing corruption. He said targeted subsidies have an important role in softening the harsh edges o f extreme poverty. Dr. Singh said the government's endeavour is to ensure that all marginalised gro ups and regions are included in the growth process in the mainstream economy. Dr. Singh further said, the setting up of the Cabinet Committee on Investment wi ll help to issue clearances for major projects in a time bound manner. He also assured the industry that two ambitious tax reforms -- Direct Taxes Code and Goods and Services Tax -- are high on the government's priority list. He urged the private sector to play a more active role in research and developme nt, education, skill development and health. // Food security bill to be tabled in Parliament soon: Sonia

Dec 15

The food security bill aimed at wiping out hunger from the country will be table d in Parliament soon. This was disclosed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in New Dlehi today. She was launching the "Dilli Annshri Yojna" - the food security scheme of the De lhi government. Sonia Gandhi said, under the Annshri Yojna, the senior most woman member of vuln erable households, will get 600 rupees per month. This will be directly transferred to their bank accounts. Besides eliminating the leakages in the current Public Distribution System, the scheme will provide an option to spend the money as per the family's need. It will cover 2 lakh families, who are not covered under the Public Distribution System. // President calls for creating an atmosphere conducive for investments

Dec 15 President Pranab Mukherjee has urged for creating an atmosphere conducive for in vestments and to strengthen vital sectors of manufacturing, agriculture and serv ices for mass employment generation as over 60 per cent of India s population are in the working age group. Mr. Mukherjee said, a host of remedial measures are also necessary to improve co mpetitiveness of Indian Manufacturing sector to reverse the economic slowdown an d achieve 8 to 9 per cent growth. Presenting the PHD best performing awards to States at the northern States Chief Minister's conclave in New Delhi, Mr. Mukherjee asked the Centre, States and th e industry to collectively further India's journey of economic progress. President Mukherjee stressed that while achieving high economic growth it has to be ensured that tangible benefits reach the poor and economically weaker sectio ns. Mr. Mukherjee emphasised on strengthening the weak areas so that the manufacturi ng sector can be benchmarked with the best in the world in terms of its competit iveness. Growth in the agriculture sector the President said, is important for alleviatio n of poverty, promotion of inclusive growth, sustenance of food security and gen eration of employment opportunities. He said focus should be on measures to improve productivity such as diversificat ion of high yielding crops, improvement in seed replacement rate, use of high yi elding hybrid seeds, improvement in water management practices and promotion of balanced use of fertilizers and pesticides. In the northern India's conclave, Bihar received the best performing award for a chieving high industrial growth in 2011-12 and Uttarakhand with 14 per cent GSP since last five years was honoured for stability in economic growth. Madhya Pradesh received the hounours for highest agricultural growth in 2011-12,

Himachal Pradesh was awarded the most attractive investment destination and Chh atisgarh received the honours for lowest unemployment growth. // Sarabjit Singh's family members meet Rehman Malik

Dec 15 The family members of Indian prisoner in Pakistan jail, Sarabjit Singh, met the visiting Pakistan Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, in Delhi, who gave an assuran ce for his release after completion of the whole process. Sarabjit s sister, Dalbir Kaur, who is spearheading the campaign to get her brothe r released, told AIR Jalandhar correspondent that she and Sarabjit s daughter Swap andeep had appealed to Mr. Malik for his release. She said Malik had told her that Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde also spoke t o him about the release. Eldest of the two daughters of Sarabjit, Swapandeep told AIR that her request fo r visa to Pakistan to meet her father had also been accepted by Mr. Rehman Malik . She said the Minister told her that they would get the visa soon after applyin g and will stay in the neighbouring country as his guest. Sarabjit Singh, a case of mistaken identity, is undergoing imprisonment in Pakis tan after being convicted for his alleged involvement in a string of bombings re sulting in killing people, more than two decades ago. His execution was indefini tely put off in 2008 by Pakistan government. // Court reserves its order on bail pleas of two Zee editors till Monday Dec 15 A Delhi court reserved its order on Saturday till Monday on bail pleas of two Ze e group editors, arrested for their alleged roles in the case of Rs 100 crore ex tortion bid from Congress MP Naveen Jindal's firm. Additional Sessions Judge Raj Rani Mitra reserved the order after hearing the ar guments on bail pleas of Zee News Editor Sudhir Chaudhary and Zee Business Edito r Samir Ahluwalia. // Govt will help Indians seeking amnesty announced by UAE: Ravi Dec 15 Union Minister for Non Resident India Affairs Vayalar Ravi has said, government would take all steps to help the Indians, who wish to avail the amnesty announce d by the United Arab Emirates. Talking to newspersons in Kochi, Kerala on Saturday, Mr. Ravi said, he would hol d talks with Civil Aviation Minister on Monday in this regard. The Minister said, he had already written to Chief Ministers of various states t o provide all help to those wanting to return to India. The United Arab Emirates had announced a two-month amnesty asking illegal reside nts to either leave the country without penalty or regularise their visas betwee

n December 4 to February 3. Mr. Ravi said, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had responded favourably. Mr. Ravi said, he had read media reports about the human trafficking from airports in Kerala. Government was viewing the issue very seriously. The minister, who inaugurated the organising committee office of the 11th Pravas i Bharatiya Divas, said over 1500 delegates were expected to participate in the three-day event from January 7-9 next year. While Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the event on January 8, President Pranab Mukherjee will deliver the valedictory address on January 9. Ma uritius President, Rajkeshwur Purryag will be the chief guest at the event. // BJP slams Malik for equating Babri demolition with 26/11 attacks Dec 15 BJP has criticised Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik for his statement equ ating Babri demolition with 26/11 terror attacks. Speaking in Ahmedabad Party leader Arun Jaitley termed as strange and unfortunat e Malik speaking on cross border terrorism emanating from Pakistan and domestic developments in India in the same breath. He said the comments have come from a representative of a nation ,which has a di smal track record in relation to its own religious and ethnic minority and their rights. // Mulayam to take tough stand on reservation in promotion bill' in RS Dec 15 Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav says, he will take a tough stand at th e time of voting on the 'reservation in promotion bill' in Rajya Sabha. He was talking to newsmen at Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. Criticizing the reservation in promotion, Yadav said it will aggravate the atmos phere and infuse tension in the government offices because a subordinate will be come the boss of his boss. AIR Lucknow correspondent reports that 'Sarvajan Hitaya Sanrakshan Samiti' has d ecided to continue the protest against the the said bill. Talking to AIR News, Convenor of Samiti, Shailendra Dubey said they will oppose the said bill by all means and if it is passed by the parliament, the same will be challenged in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile Chairman ernment's stand to ice atmosphere and // Centre extends ban Dec 15 The union home ministry has extended the ban on United Liberation Front of Asom, of SC/ST Commission i P L Puniya has criticized the state gov favour its striking employees, saying it will vitiate the off deepen the divide between the employees. on ULFA, NDFB

ULFA and National Democratic Front of Bodoland, NDFB under the Unlawful Prevent ion Act untill further orders. In a gazette notification, the home ministry announced that all the factions of the ULFA and the NDFB are banned under Section three of the Unlawful Prevention Act. An Assam government press release says, the order will stay until further notifi cation. // 17th Party Cong of AIFB to be held in Chennai next year Dec 15 The 17th Party Congress of the All India Forward Bloc will be held in September next year in Chennai. The party s All India General Secretary Debabrata Biswas told newspersons in Kolka ta on Thursday that the Party Congress will take place after taking stalk of the political situation in West Bengal and other states after the local elections. The Party Congress was scheduled for February next year. After a two-day meet of the Central Committee, Biswas said that the state level meeting of 22 states apart from West Bengal will be finished before the Party Co ngress. He said that the Forward Bloc s draft document will be released on the 23rd of nex t month. // DCT scheme aimed for actual beneficiaries: Minister Dec 15 Introduction of Direct Cash Transfer scheme is aimed at reaching out the money t o the actual the beneficiaries and proper utilization of funds under the Central Government s various schemes. Union Minister of States for railways Adhir Ranjan Choudury said this at a funct ion at Baharampore, Mursidabad, in West Bengal on Saturday. He was inaugurating The Bharat Nirman Public Information Campaign . // First phase of referendum on new constitution is underway in Egypt

Dec 15 In Egypt, voting is on in the first phase of the nationwide referendum over the new constitution. Polling which began early morning around 7am local time in Cai ro, Alexandria and eight other provinces will close at 7pm local time which is 1 0 pm Indian time. 17 remaining governorates or districts go to polls next Saturd ay. According to reports voting has been slow to moderate so far. The umbrella oppos ition of liberal and secular parties, National Salvation Front in a statement ha

s alleged that the ruling Muslim Brotherhood is trying to rig the outcome of the referendum. It has cited a number of poll violations like unsealed ballot papers, coercion b y Muslim Brotherhood members into voting for the charter, absence of judges to m onitor and polls being closed early. Islamists led by Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists have called for a vote in favo ur of the new constitution to bring stability to the country. The umbrella opposition of liberal, secular, leftist and revolutionary groups ha ve alleged that Islamists are trying to foist a constitution which is based on S haria, doesn t protect the rights of women and the minorities and curbs the civil liberties by assigning powers to clerics. Majority of the judges have refused to take part in the referendum in protest of the move. Next round of voting on referendum will be held next Saturday. // Combat mission of Intl Security Assistance Force ends in 2013: Karzai

Dec 15 President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan says, the combat mission of NATO-led Inter national Security Assistance Force will be over in 2013 and the Afghan security forces will take the security charge of the entire country. The security transition process of NATO-led force to Afghan forces which began i n mid 2011 will be completed by the end of 2014. However, Afghan defence ministry has been trying to complete the process by the end of 2013. Addressing the conference of Afghan ambassadors and diplomats in Kabul, Presiden t Karzai said the pull out of foreign troops from Afghanistan would not affect t he security situation in the country. Rather it would contribute in stabilizing the security. President Karzai described U.S. as Afghanistan's important ally in the world and India as its important ally in the region. However, the Afghan leader noted that Afghanistan wants to have a balanced polic y in its foreign relations. // UN Chief expresses concern on political deadlock in Nepal

Dec 15 UN Secretary -General Ban Ki Moon has expressed deep concern on the continuing p olitical deadlock in Nepal. He has urged the country s political parties to set aside differences in the inter est of the nation and form a broad-based government without further delay. The Secretary General has called on the main stakeholders to create a conducive environment for the next elections.

According to a statement released on Saturday the Secretary-General urges all ac tors in Nepal to reaffirm their commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreements and to safeguard the achievements of the past several years in line with the as pirations of the Nepali people. More than six months have passed since the Constituent Assembly was dissolved wi th political parties still divided on the formation of a national consensus gove rnment. // Mandela undergoes successful gallstone surgery Dec 15 South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela today underwent an operation to r emove gallstones. According to a government statement, the operation was successful and Mandela is recovering. Mandela, who is 94, was admitted to hospital last Saturday after suffering a rec urrence of a lung infection. Tests revealed the presence of gallstones and doctors treating Mandela decided t o remove them once he had recovered from the infection. // Govt troops in Syria shelled besieged town near Damascus Dec 15 In Syria, the government troops today shelled a besieged town near Damascus and clashed with rebels on the outskirts of the capital . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fierce battles as the army sent in reinforcements and tried to storm the town of Daraya on different fronts. The rights group said troops tried to storm the town from several directions, bu t the Daraya Martyrs battalion, a unit of the rebel Free Syrian Army, has kept t hem at bay. The Syrian observators say, clashes also erupted on Saturday in the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk in the south of the capital between rebels and troops backed by p ro-regime Palestinian fighters. The outskirts of Damascus have been at the heart of fighting this month as the r egime launched operations to reclaim territory within eight kilometers of the ci ty. // No misgivings with India, says Suu Kyi Dec 15 Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had a 40 minute meeting with the External affairs Minister Salman Kurshid in Yongon on Saturday. Later she said she has no misgivings with India. She said she would want India t o look at the situation in Myanmar, which is in transition from one form of gove rnance to another in a very practical way.

She also spoke about the need to address basic social issues of education and he althcare. // US asks Pak to ban on production of common fertilizer

Dec 15 US officials have called on Pakistan to crack down on the production of a common fertiliser, saying it was used to make bombs that have claimed the bulk of troo p deaths in Afghanistan. Calcium ammonium nitrate is responsible for more than 70 percent of roadside bom bs against coalition forces in Afghanistan despite a ban by Kabul on the fertili ser, Lieutenant General Michael Barbero has told a Senate hearing. Barbero, who heads a Defense Department unit that combats the bombs, said the Fa tima Group, the Pakistani company that runs the factories, has been less than co operative in discussions with the United States. Barbero said the United States had requested that factories dye the calcium ammo nium nitrate, which is milky white and can easily be disguised as detergent, so that border guards can detect it. Ammonium nitrate is also produced in other nations, but virtually all found in A fghanistan has come from Pakistan, he said. // Last French combat troops leave Afghanistan

Dec 15 The last French combat troops left Afghanistan on Saturday. The pull out comes t wo years before the US led 1 lakh strong NATO mission troops are due to be recal led from Afghanistan. Around 200 soldiers of the 25th Belfort infantry regiment, responsible for overs eeing the French exit from the 11-year war, took off around 2:30 pm local time. Their departure means France has around 1,500 soldiers left in Afghanistan. They are due to stay into 2013 to take responsibility for repatriating equipment and training the Afghan army to take over. At the height of its involvement, France had 4,000 soldiers in Afghanistan. It w as the fifth largest military contingent in the International Security Assistanc e Force (ISAF), behind the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy. // US soldier died in southern Afghanistan Dec 15 A US soldier belonging to the International Force died in southern Afghanistan o n Friday. A press release issued by the International Force in Kabul on Saturday did not m ention the exact location of the incident but said the soldier died as a result

of a non-battle related injury. Meanwhile, the Eastern Command of the International Force said three improvised explosive devices were cleared by Afghan and the NATO coalition forces during a joint operation against insurgents in eastern Khost province of Afghanistan duri ng the past 24 hours. According to the release the operation is continuing. // UN releases China s document on disputed Senkaku Islands Dec 15 The United Nations has made public a document submitted by China seeking the ext ension of its continental shelf to areas including the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Japan controls the Senkaku Islands. It is also claimed by both China and Taiwan. The application from China's Permanent Mission to the UN was released on the web site of the secretariat of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in New York o n Saturday. The application argues that the continental shelf in the East China Sea extends from the Chinese mainland to the Okinawa Trough, where the Senkaku Island chain is located. The extension of a continental shelf is not decided by one country a lone but requires examination by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continen tal Shelf. The commission has accepted China's application. It says the issue will be added to the provisional agenda of its meeting scheduled for next July. Japan's delegation to the UN says it will closely examine the application and re spond appropriately. // Greek coast guards find 15 bodies of migrants Dec 15 Greek coast guards have retrieved the bodies of at least 15 people on the beach of the Lesvos island in the eastern Aegean sea following the sinking of a vessel with illegal migrants seeking to enter Greece. According to an official statement from local authorities, a 20-year-old man of foreign nationality who was rescued by the coast guards said there had been 28 i mmigrants on board the vessel which had left Turkey for Greece. The young man was transferred to a local hospital to receive first aid, while lo cal authorities continued to search the nearby area. // Pak court summons US journo to record statement in Benazir s assassination Dec 15 An Anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Saturday summoned American journalist, Ma rk Siegel, to record his statement in the 2007 assassination case of former Prim e Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Mark Siegel, who has served as lobbyist for Benazir Bhutto in the U.S., had stat ed that he was with Benazir Bhutto in London when former President Pervez Mushar raf called and threatened her. Musharraf had denied the allegations. Benazir Bhutto was killed in a suicide att ack and gunshots in the city of Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007 shortly after sh e addressed an election rally. The then government of President Pervez Musharraf had blamed Pakistani Taliban f or the attack, but the charges were denied by the militants. Five suspects are currently facing trial for Bhutto's assassination. Two police officers, assigned for the security of Benazir Bhutto, were also arre sted on charges of negligence in providing security to Bhutto. // Sri Lanka Bar Association not to welcome newly appointed Chief Justice Dec 15 The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has passed a resolution saying that it will not welcome a newly appointed Chief Justice if the incumbent is removed without a f air trial. Speaking to the press after the meeting of members from all over the country, Ba r Association President Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa said that three resolutions were ad opted on Saturday urging the President to reconsider the impeachment. The resolution also asked the parliament to formulate and enact procedural laws for removal of the judges of the superior courts to ensure a fair trial. Officials of every Bar Association branch in the country were present at the mee ting, the Secretary of the Bar Association Sanjeeva Gamage said. // Cong, JD (S) demand dissolution of Karnataka Assembly

Dec 15 In Karnataka, the Opposition parties Congress and Janatha Dal(S) have approached the Governor to seek dismissal of the BJP Government under Article 356. They have pointed out to the Governor that four MLAs of BJP have openly associat ed with the BSR Congress party floated by Sriramulu, the close confident of mine owner Janardhan Reddy, who is languishing in a Hyderabad Jail. It was also pointed out that 14 MLAs of the BJP shared dais with Yeddyurappa, wh o has quit BJP and floated Karnataka Janatha Party. The leader of the Opposition in legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah underscored th e point that according to the 10th schedule of the Constitution, these MLAs have voluntarily distanced themselves from BJP and the strength of the Government ha s come down to 100, much below the required majority of 112. Chief Minister however has argued that the Opposition did not move no-confidence motion in the recently concluded Assembly Session in Belgaum, as they know that his government has the majority.

// Kashmir Valley remains cut-off for 2nd day

Dec 15 The Kashmir Valley remained cut-off from rest of the country for the second cons ecutive day today. But improvement in weather has raised hopes of early restoration of traffic on t he Srinagar-Jammu national highway. According to Aamir Ali, coordinator of Natural Disaster Management Cell, the 294 -km arterial highway, the only all weather road link between the Valley and rest of the country, was closed on Friday following heavy snowfall on either side of the Pir Panjal range in south Kashmir. A spokesman of the MeT office said, Leh was the coldest place in the Kashmir div ision where mercury dipped to minus 10 deg C on Friday night while nearby Kargil district recorded a low of minus 6.2 deg C. // Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC asks CJ for a vigilance inquiry

Dec 15 In Uttar Pradesh, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has asked the Ch ief Justice to institute a vigilance inquiry, if deemed proper, against Addition al Session Judge of Lucknow, Manoj Kumar Shukla, as to under what circumstances he had sent one Muharram Ali to jail in place of the real accused Raju Yadav. The court has asked the Chief Justice to fix the responsibility of the ADJ wheth er he was negligent and also take suitable actions. AIR Lucknow correspondent reports that the bench of Justice Abdul Mateen and Jus tice Devendra K Upadhyayay passed the orders against Additional Sessions Judge. It is pertinent to mention that one Muharram Ali was implicated in three cases a nd sent to jail, though he was not wanted in any case. On a habeas corpus petiti on, following the directives of the High Court, he was set free but only after s pending around 80 days in jail. // Pakistan Army again resorts to heavy firing on forward Indian posts in Poonch di strict of J&K Dec 15 In Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistan Army again resorted to heavy firing on forwar d Indian posts in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Friday night. According to official sources, the forces from across the border started firing from their posts opposite Krishna Ghati sector at 9.30 pm on Friday. Various for ward Army posts were targeted in the firing. Pakistan Army had resorted to firing and ceasefire violations last week also. Th ere was no immediate report of any damage on Indian side in Friday night s firing which continued for more than one hour.

Meanwhile, the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) defused three powerful Improvised Explo sive Devices (IEDs) in forward area of Chechwal along the International Border i n Samba sector on Friday. // Congress delegation meets Karnataka Governor Dec 15 In Karnataka, a Congress delegation met Governor H R Bharadwaj and demanded diss olving Legislative Assembly under article 356 of the Constitution. The State Par ty President Parameshwar, the Leaders of the Opposition in Assembly and Council were present on this occasion. Speaking to the media persons after the meeting, the Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah said the Government has lost majority as num ber of its MLAs have openly associated with the party floated by Yeddyurappa, as it invites the 10th schedule of the Constitution. The delegation has also requested the Governor to disallow Anti-Cow Slaughter Bi ll and Private Universities Bills, which were passed in the absence of the Oppos ition in the Assembly House. Mr Siddaramaiah also demanded a CBI enquiry on CAG reports which have pointed ou t wide scale illegal denotification of land in Bangalore and loss to state exche quer due to illegal mining. // SP Govt. decides not to stop its employees who have gone on strike against Const itutional Amendment Bill Dec 15 In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party government has decided not to stop its emp loyees who have gone on strike against the Constitutional Amendment Bill for gra nting reservation in promotion. Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agarwal said the state government, which is against th e controversial reservation in promotion bill, will not stop the protesters from going on strike. AIR Lucknow correspondent reports that Shailendra Dubey, President of Sarvajan H itay Sanrakshan Samiti, the association of employees from the general and OBC ca tegory announced that the Samiti will continue their strike with an exemption fo r emergency services. Protesting employees of state government demanded immediate withdrawal of the Bi ll. They threatened to intensify their protest if the Bill is not withdrawn. On the other hand, the Aarakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, which is an organizati on of reserved category employees and is pressing for early passage of the Bill, announced that its members will work for additional hours during the strike in order to extend their support. // Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC orders SIT to conclude probe on alleged wrongdoing s of UPSIDC officials Dec 15

In Uttar Pradesh, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been ordered from the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court to conclude its probe in connection w ith alleged wrongdoings of the officials of UP State Industrial Development Corp oration Limited (UPSIDC) in NOIDA land allotment case within six months. The ord er came from a division bench of acting Chief Justice Shiv Kirti Singh and Justi ce DK Arora on twin PILs. AIR Lucknow correspondent quoting official sources, reports that land plots mean t for setting up of industrial units were allotted to developers for constructio n of housing units by officials of UPSIDC at throwaway prices in comparison to t he rates for such plots then being allotted by the NOIDA. The state government h ad already ordered a SIT probe. // Nabam Tuki appeals Khampti youths to give up any form of addiction Dec 15 Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki has exhorted the youths of the Khamp ti community to zealously preserve their age-old culture for posterity and appea led them to give up any form of addiction. Inaugurating the Poi Pee Mau, the New Year festival of the community at Namsai i n Lohit district on Friday, he congratulated the Tai-Khampti community for prese rving their age-old culture despite invasion of modernity. The Chief Minister said, with upcoming of Trans Arunachal Highway, bridges at Bo gibill, Sadiya and Alubari the region has better future towards prosperity. Mr.Tuki also dwelt on tremendous scope of developing cultural, religion, adventu re and eco -tourism in the district following the presence of Parsuram Kund, Gol den Pagoda along with rich culture of Tai and Mishmi and of course good road con nectivity. // Cong takes strong exception to Modi s language attacking Sonia, Rahul Dec 15 The congress today took a strong exception to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Mo di's language attacking Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Party General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters in New Delhi that the la nguage he is using needs to be denounced. The party asked its workers not to get provoked by Gujarat Chief Minister's word s and maintain peace. // Judcial custody of Pune blast suspects extended till 17 Dec Dec 15 The judicial custody of five suspected Indian Mujahideen men accused in Pune bla st case and that of another one allegedly involved in blasts in Bangalore and De lhi was extended on Saturday by a Delhi court till December 17th. The extension , however, saw the matter getting shuttled from one court to anoth er on the question of their jurisdiction to extend their remand.

District Judge Sunita Gupta extended the judicial custody of Sayed Maqbool alias Zuber, Asad Khan, Imran Khan, Syed Feroze and Irfan Mustafa Langda.Fasih Mehmoo d, also a suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist allegedly involved in blasts in Bangalore and Delhi in 2010, was also remanded in judicial custody till Monday. // Narcotics network busted in Delhi, three held Dec 15 Delhi Police has busted a narcotics network that was being used to finance the a ctivities of an outlawed terrorist outfit in Manipur with the arrest of three pe ople and seizure of huge consignments of pseudoephedrine. Acting on a tip-off, the Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested one John Lalmingt hanga when was he on way to deliver a consignment to his associates near a schoo l in Janakpuri in west Delhi. Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police, Sanjiv Yadav said that the drugs were trans ported from Delhi to Manipur from where they were trafficked to countries like M yanmar and China. // RBI allows use of old cheques for transactions by another three months upto Marc h

Dec 15 Bank account holders can continue to use their old format cheques for another th ree months as RBI has extended the deadline for banks to issue new cheques with uniform security features till March next year. As per the earlier direction to all banks, RBI had fixed 31st December of this y ear as the last date for phasing out non-CTS 2010 Standard cheques. The homogeneity in security features of the new standard cheques will act as det errent against frauds and the fixed field placement specifications facilitate ea sy clearing of the cheque at drawee banks' end. // WHO clears India's vaccine industry to export vaccines across the world

Dec 15 India's 19,000 crore rupee vaccine industry has been cleared by the World Health Organization (WHO) to export vaccines across the world. After a four-day audit, a 16-member multi-nation team headed by WHO officials informed Union Health Min ister Ghulam Nabi Azad that they are satisfied with the vaccine clearance proced ure adopted by the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) or the Drug Controller Ge neral's Office (DCGO). Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr G N Singh said India has become the f irst country to pass the stringent indicators put in place by the WHO, in one sh ot. WHO has also assured India of their help in capacity building on drug regulation in the country. He said, the team has expressed total confidence in the quality

of Indian vaccines being exported to all corners of the world. Major buyers and international procurement agencies like the Gates Foundation, C linton Foundation, UNICEF and GAVI, purchase vaccines in bulk meant for use acro ss the world only when such a WHO-led audit clears it. // Naina Lal Kidwai becomes first woman President of FICCI

Dec 15 Naina Lal Kidwai on Saturday took over as President of FICCI, becoming the first woman to head the leading industry body. FICCI said in a statement at the conclusion of its Annual General Meeting in New Delhi Kidwai, 55, is the first woman and professional manager to be elected as President of the chamber. Kidwai succeeds R V Kanoria of Kanoria Chemicals & Industries Ltd. Chairman of X pro India Ltd and Digjam Ltd,Sidharth Birla, also has been elected as Senior Vic e-President of FICCI. // Economy likely to grow at 5.5-6% this fiscal: Rangarajan

Dec 15 The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan on Friday said, the economy is expected to grow at 5.5 to 6 per cent in the current fiscal and the next year will see a better rate of expansion. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi, Mr Rangarajan said, growth in the first half of 2012-13 has fallen to 5.4 per cent, from 7.3 per cent in the same period last fiscal. He expressed hope that the economy will do better in the second half and the man ufacturing sector could grow. // ASEAN -India Car Rally, 2012 enters India Dec 15 The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) -India Car Rally, 2012 enter ed India via Manipur border town Moreh on Saturday morning. Altogether 112 participants in thirty one cars crossed the border bridge at the Lokchao River that demarcates the territories of Myanmar and India. They have been accorded a rousing welcome at the border town led by Manipur Comm erce and Industries Minister Govindas Konthoujam. Later, the participants of the Rally were accorded a grand civic reception at th e historic Kangla Fort in Imphal led by State Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. A huge round of applause from local school children and people, standing on both sides of the road and waving miniature flags of the eleven participating countr ies, greeted them.

Receiving the participants, the Chief Minister said, the proposed Imphal-Mandala y bus service is expected to start very soon. He said, an agreement in this rega rd is likely to be signed during the forthcoming visit of Myanmar President to N ew Delhi early next year. Mr. Ibobi Singh flagged off the Car Rally from Imphal this afternoon for Nagalan d capital city Kohima. The ASEAN-India Car Rally was flagged off on the 26th of the last month from Yog jakarta Palace Square in Indonesia. // Govt launches Online Patent Filing Services Dec 15 The Government on Saturday launched the Comprehensive Online Patent Filing Servi ces to simplify the process and eliminate transactional errors. The new web-base d service up grades the existing e-filing system to facilitate all the prescribe d forms and fees for registration of Patents. Inaugurating the new services in Delhi, the Secretary in the Department of Indus trial Policy and Promotion, Saurabh Chandra said the initiative aimed at achievi ng a complete paperless virtual office. He said the users now can own and manage personal folders in the Patent Office e nvironment and they need only a Class III digital signature and an internet bank ing account for e-filing. He further said the payment is enabled through the State Bank of India and Axis Bank at present while more will be added in future. Nearly one third of the total applications received till the end of November hav e been filed online during the current year.// // World Cup Kabaddi: Indian women win 1st final

Dec 15 In the first final of the 3rd World Cup Kabaddi Tournament being played at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana, the Indian eves thrashed Malaysia by a big margin of 60 points. India gathered 72 points as compared to 12 of Malaysia. The second final of the tournament between arch rivals India and Pakistan would start shortly. // Robert Amritraj dies Dec 15 Robert Amritraj, father of tennis icons Anand, Vijay and Ashok has passed away. He was 91. Indian tennis considered Robert Amritraj as a father figure since he was instrum ental in shaping the State Tennis Association and the formation of the Brittania -Amritraj Tennis Academy.

He hailed from Erode in Tamil Nadu and rose up to become a topper in Civil Servi ces exam. Robert Amritraj retired as the Southern Railway Deputy General Manager and served as an officer for 34 years. // Gurbani Singh enters Usha All India Ladies Matchplay final Dec 15 Gurbani Singh delivered a knockout punch on Aditi Ashok as she eliminated the de fending champion and moved into the final of the Usha All India Ladies Matchplay Championships in Kolkata on Saturday. In a clash that was billed as the 'final before final', Gurbani rallied on the b ack-nine and won 3&2, which also sealed the Order of Merit for her. In the other semi-final, Millie Saroha was beaten by the less fancied Gursimar B adwal 3&2. The 36-hole final will be played with the first 18 in the morning and the next 1 8 in the afternoon. Gurbani will start as the favourite but the match should be well-fought as Gursi mar has shown herself to be very tenacious. // UN releases China s document on disputed Senkaku Islands The United Nations has made public a document submitted by China seeking the ext ension of its continental shelf to areas including the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Japan controls the Senkaku Islands. It is also claimed by both China and Taiwan. The application from China's Permanent Mission to the UN was released on the web site of the secretariat of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in New York o n Saturday. The application argues that the continental shelf in the East China Sea extends from the Chinese mainland to the Okinawa Trough, where the Senkaku Island chain is located. The extension of a continental shelf is not decided by one country a lone but requires examination by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continen tal Shelf. The commission has accepted China's application. It says the issue will be added to the provisional agenda of its meeting scheduled for next July. Japan's delegation to the UN says it will closely examine the application and re spond appropriately. // Sonia Gandhi launches Dilli Annshri Yojna; Says Food Security Bill to be tabled in Parliament soon The UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has said food security bill which is aimed to e liminate hunger from the country will be tabled in the Parliament soon. She was launching the "Dilli Annshri Yojna, the food security scheme of the Delhi govern ment in New Delhi today. Mrs Gandhi said under the Annshri Yojna, the senior most woman member of vulnera

ble households will receive 600 rupees per month which will be transferred direc tly into their bank accounts. Apart from completely eliminating the leakages in the current Public Distributio n System, the scheme will provide an option to spend the money as per the family 's need. It will cover 2 lakh families who are not covered under the Public Dist ribution System. // Economy likely to grow at 5.5-6% this fiscal: Rangarajan The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan on Friday said, the economy is expected to grow at 5.5 to 6 per cent in the current fiscal and the next year will see a better rate of expansion. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi, Mr Rangarajan said, growth in the first half of 2012-13 has fallen to 5.4 per cent, from 7.3 per cent in the same period last fiscal. He expressed hope that the economy will do better in the second half and the man ufacturing sector could grow. // FM to review implementation of pilot project of direct cash subsidy scheme at Al war today Finance Minister P. Chidambaran will review the implementation of pilot project of direct cash subsidy scheme at Alwar in Rajasthan today. The pilot project sta rted a few months back in Kot Kasim Panchayat Samiti of Alwar District. There is a plan to link various subsidies and facilities being given by these de partments with direct cash subsidy scheme. In Kot kasim, Kerosene distribution t hrough PDS was linked with these schemes. The result of the project was surprising. In November 2011, quota of Kerosene fo r Kot Kasim was 80,000 liters but after implementation of direct cash subsidy, i t came down to 5700 liters. // Govt. orders penal action against officials involved in AICL cabin crew roster m alpractices Taking a serious note of the complaints of irregularities, corruption and malpra ctices in the Cabin Crew Roster Section of Air India Charters Ltd (AICL), the Ci vil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh has ordered a penal action against the officia ls involved. According to an official release, Mr. Singh has ordered immediate termination of the services of a temporary employee in this regard, who was holding the post o f Crew Scheduling Assistant in the Operations Department of AICL in Delhi. He ha s also ordered penal action against Aryan s supervisor and the officers who appoin ted him. AIR Correspondent reports that when a complaint in this regard was investigated by the Minister, it was found that rampant discrimination and favouritism by the officials of the Section in allocation of duties among cabin crew. // Sri Lanka to take back China Bay oil tank farm from Indian Oil Company Dec 14, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has decided to take over a petroleum storage tank complex in Eastern Sri Lanka that was given to an Indian oil compan

y on a long lease. According to sources at the Ministry of Petroleum Industry the government plans to take back the China Bay tank farm in Trincomalee from the Indian Oil Corporat ion (IOC). A cabinet paper in this regard will be brought in the near future, so urces said. The China Bay petroleum storage tank complex was handed over to India's state-ru n Indian Oil Corporation in 2002 by the United National Party (UNP) government w hich was in power between 2002 and 2004. The government says that the hand over was not in line with the government standards. The tank farm in 850 acres of land has 99 tanks each with the capacity to hold 1 2,100 metric tons of oil. The government now expects to convert the petroleum storage tanks to a profitabl e venture with foreign investment. The China Bay tank farm that connects to the Trincomalee harbor is of historic a nd strategic significance and it is the largest tank farm located between the Mi ddle East and Singapore. It was built by the British in 1930s to supply fuel to Royal Navy ships. // Switzerland mulls new bill to check black money flow Often accused of providing safe havens to black money from India and other count ries, Switzerland has proposed a new bill to prevent its banks and other institu tions from accepting untaxed assets from their clients and put in place a stricter due diligence regime. The switzerland Federal Council, the apex decision making body of Swiss government, has asked its finance ministry, the Federal Departmen t of Finance (FDF), to submit a consultation draft at the start of 2013 to meet its goal of preventing banks from accepting untaxed funds from their clients. The move follows rising global pressure on Switzerland to act against its banks giving safe haven to overseas entities in name of client confidentiality In India as well, the issue of alleged hoarding of black money in Swiss banks ha s been a matter of political debate. While a revised tax treaty has come into force between the two countries for exc hange of information on untaxed assets and money laundering related activities, the rules require sufficient information for any banking details to be shared an d many requests face the risk of getting rejected in the name of fishing expediti ons . The Swiss Federal Council said in a statement that it "is stepping up its effort s to combat abuses in the area of money laundering and taxation . //