'Barfi', 'Kahaani' emerge big winners

Mumbai, Jan 21 (IANS) Sujoy Ghosh's "Kahaani" and Anurag Basu's "Barfi" struck big at the Filmfare Awards this year. "Barfi" was adjudged best film and got Ranbir Kapoor the 'best actor (male)' award while Vidya Balan bagged the 'best actor (female)' title for "Kahaani" that also won Sujoy Ghosh the best director prize.

The Filmfare Awards were a star-studded experience. Amongst those attending the awards ceremony were Madhuri Dixit, Ranbir Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Sidharth Roy Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Boney Kapoor, Sridevi, Sonali Bendre, Goldie Behl, Deepika Padukone and Rekha.

The lifetime achievement award went to late director Yash Chopra who passed away in October last year. Anushka Sharma won the 'best actor in a supporting role (female)' award for her role in "Jab Tak Hai Jaan", while lyricist Gulzar bagged the award for 'best lyrics' for the song "Challa" from the film.

The 'best debut director' award was bagged by Gauri Shinde for her film "English Vinglish", while Ayushmann Khurrana won the 'best debut (male)' for his film "Vicky Donor" and Ileana D'cruz won the 'best debut (female)' for her film "Barfi"

The 'best actor female (critics)' was won by Richa Chaddha for "Gangs Of Wasseypur" and the 'best actor male (critics)' was given to Irrfan Khan for "Paan Singh Tomar". "Gangs of Wasseypur" also bagged the award for 'best film (critics)'.

Congress to reserve 30 percent posts for women

Jaipur, Jan 20 (IANS) The Congress will set up a legal cell for redressal of women's grievances, and will reserve 30 percent positions at all levels for them, said the declaration adopted by the party here Sunday.

"We will set up women's grievance redressal and legal cell within the party. We will ensure 30 percent reservations for women at every level of party," said the declaration adopted by the AICC.
The party will launch a nationwide campaign on the issue and mainstream gender issues, it said.
The declaration also said the party will take all steps to ensure women's safety and will expedite measures like an helpline in all major towns and cities for prompt action.

Congress must develop leaders who can run the country: Rahul

Jaipur, Jan 20 (IANS) Saying the party and the country were his life, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, officially crowned the party's No.2, in an impassioned speech Sunday called for a "complete transformation" of the party system and developing a set of national level leaders "who can run the country".

Virtually sidestepping calls for him to become the party's prime ministerial candidate for 2014, Gandhi, 42, speaking in Hindi and English alternatively, said the Congress party "does not focus on leadership development".
The party needs to create 40-50 leaders "who can run the country, not just a state" and also create a similar set of leaders at the state level who can be made chief minister, he said.
Party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi had Saturday said that a decision on whether to make Gandhi the party's face for 2014 polls will be taken later.
Gandhi also stressed on the need to give respect to party grassroots workers and local leaders' voice in deciding ticket distribution in elections. He also said a "young and impatient India" is demanding a greater voice and role in decision making and accountability.
He touched an emotional chord when he related how his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi sat next to him and cried Saturday night, because "she understands that the power many people seek is actually a poison" and she has seen the effect it has on the people and those whom they love.
His grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi, both prime ministers, fell victim to terrorism.
Gandhi, who has been working for many years for democratization of the youth wing of the Congress, said: "The Congress party is my life, the people of India are my life, and I will fight for the people of India and my party, I will fight with everything I have."
In a speech that touched on the ills of a centralized system of government, he called for empowerment of people. "Until we start to respect and empower people, we cannot change anything in this country... all are closed systems, designed for mediocrity, mediocrity dominates."
Addressing over 1,200 delegates at the All India Congress Committee session here, he spoke about how the party's grassroots workers are overlooked at the time of distributing tickets and candidates are imposed from the party higher-ups. "And then they lose," he said.
The new vice president said his new responsibility was a big one and told party workers that he will treat all of them equally, will learn from their experiences but will only play a judge.
"It is a big responsibility. I will work for everybody from today but I will play the judge and not the lawyer," he said.
He said the time has come to question the "centralised, unaccountable system and decision making must shift from Delhi to the panchayats".
"Why do a handful of people control the entire political space," he asked, adding that "people with little understanding were sitting at high positions".
"We should not chase power for the attributes of power, we should only use it to empower the voiceless", he added, amid thundering applause of over 1,500 delegates inside the 1,300-capacity Birla Auditorium.
Earlier, the All India Congress Committee at the Chintan Shivir endorsed the decision to make him the vice president.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, praising how Rahul Gandhi made the Shivir into a youth oriented one, said: "What we are seeing in Jaipur is the Congress's Obama moment".
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, said Rahul Gandhi had spoken "more like a leader of the opposition than a leader of the ruling party."
The "Jaipur Declaration", adopted by the Congress after the Chintan Shivir Sunday, appealed to the country's secular forces to join its ideological battle against the divisive forces and condemned the opposition's "obscurantist philosophies".
It also noted the "new aspiration for advancement among the middle class, especially the youth and pledged to speak for them", and reiterated the party's commitment to empower the weaker sections of society, including Dalits and minorities.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, addressing the delegates, said there was "no reason" the party should not get public mandate again if it works in the right way.

BJP to elect party chief Jan 23, Gadkari likely to stay on

New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday issued a notification for the party president's elections amid likelihood of incumbent Nitin Gadkari getting another term as no other contender has emerged for the post.

The notification, issued by party general secretary Thawarchand Gehlot, said that the filing of nominations will take place Jan 23 in the party office between 10 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.
It said that the result will be declared the same day if the election is unanimous, and if there was a contest, the date of polling will be announced Jan 23.
Party sources said Gadkari was likely to get a second term in office as no other contender has emerged in the party so far.
They said consultations had already been held between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionaries, and BJP leaders on the choice of president. Senior party leader L.K. Advani had also been consulted.
The sources said name of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj had figured in the discussion, but she was keen on continuing in her current post.
The RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, favours Gadkari's continuation in the post, the sources said.
Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi did not reply to questions over discussions in the party to give Gadkari a second term.
Asked if Advani had proposed Sushma Swaraj's name for the post, he said nominations for the contest will be declared at a proper time.
There have been demands in the party against giving Gadkari a second term in the wake of allegations relating to financial wrongdoing in Purti Group linked to him.
While a section of the party feels that the party's efforts to pin the Congress on anti-corruption plank could be affected due to the controversy, there is also a view that the allegations against Gadkari were not serious and there was nothing against him personally.
The party has already given a clean chit to Gadkari on the alleged wrongdoings in investments in Purti Group, based on the probe done by S. Gurumurhty, a financial analyst considered close to the RSS.

Gang-rape most horrific case: Delhi Police commissioner

New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) The Dec 16 Delhi gang-rape of a young woman was the most horrifying case in the history of Delhi Police, Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said here Friday.

"This (Delhi gang-rape) was the most horrifying case in the history of Delhi Police. This year the focus of Delhi Police will be entirely on the safety of women," he said at the Annual Press Conference of Delhi Police.
The conference started with Kumar and his colleagues mourning the death of the woman who died in a Singapore hospital Dec 29.

SC moved for mental test of Delhi gang-rape juvenile accused

New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to the central government on a petition seeking that the juvenile accused in Delhi gang-rape case be kept in special custody if he was a psychopath and a threat to society and women.

A bench of Justice K.S.Radhakrishnan and Justice Dipak Misra issued notice on the plea contending that the heinous act of the juvenile accused points to wide possibility that he was psychologically an abnormal person.
The petitioner - Delhi-based Shilpa Arora Sharma - has pleaded for the appointment of a panel of national and international criminal psychologists to examine the juvenile to determine whether he was psychologically abnormal and a threat to society and women if allowed to be free.
It sought that if the juvenile accused is found to be so, he should not be released and kept in a place of strict detention as such a person poses grave danger to society and especially women.
The petitioner has also urged the court to strike down Section 16 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of children) Act, 2000, under which the juvenile accused would get released without punishment despite most "grisly act" committed by him.
This provision of the Juvenile Act, the petition said, was "irrational, unreasonable" and not based on the "fundamental principle of public policy" and thus should be declared null and void as it was in conflict with Article 21 of the constitution.
The petition has also sought "proper and detailed" investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to determine the correct age of the juvenile accused.
Such an inquiry, the petition said should not be limited to examining the school documents but detailed enquiry at the place of his birth and birth records.

LoC incidents won't affect peace process: Khurshid

Jaipur: Welcoming the "positive statements" coming from Pakistan for talks to de-escalate tensions along the border, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Friday said the recent incidents won't affect the peace process between the two countries.

"There is a positive content in the statement that has come from Pakistan foreign minister and high commissioner to India. It is welcome and it should be getting an appropriate response from our side," Khurshid told reporters here.

He said the matter will come up for discussion at the three-day Congress Chintan Shivir here.

"Peace process is not going to be undermined by these incidents. We hope that we will find a resolution to all these matters and we have treated the whole issue with great care and the closest attention possible," Khurshid said.

"Peace process is something in which we have invested a lot...and it was done because it is strategically and tactically important for India's role in the world," he said.

On the talks offer by Pakistan, Khurshid said: "We are trying to work on it and the prime minister has been trying to ensure things remain in control and our concerns are addressed and situation doesn't deteriorate. All these things have to be kept in mind."

Khurshid had Thursday declined to commit himself to accepting Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's offer for bilateral talks, saying that India cannot move forward for talks just on the basis of "one statement".

Ties between the two neighbours have been strained ever since the Jan 6 killing of a Pakistani soldier allegedly in firing by Indian troops.

Two days later, Pakistani soldiers brutally killed two Indian soldiers, including beheading one of them, near the LoC.

Official probing Pakistan PM found dead

ISLAMABAD: An officer who was investigating a corruption case against the Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has been found dead on Friday in the country's capital, police said.

National Accountability Bureau's assistant director Kamran Faisal was assisting Asghar Khan in investigating a graft case involving the Pakistan prime minister.

Inspector General of Police, Bin Yamin, stated that according to the initial investigation, Faisal apparently committed suicide.

He said a table placed in Faisal's room was moved, which suggests that he allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself to the ceiling.

Faisal's colleagues said he was facing a lot of pressure ever since the Supreme Court ordered arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and had been sharing his concerns with the colleagues.

Faisal was the only child to his parents. His body will be sent to his native village, Mian Channu.

Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in connection with alleged kickbacks in transactions involving rental power plants when he served as power minister.

But the chief of the Pakistani government's anti-corruption department rejected the court order to arrest the prime minister, television channels reported, providing some relief to a government gripped by political turmoil.

Fasih Bokhari, head of the National Accountability Bureau, told the Supreme Court that investigations of the allegations against Ashraf were incomplete,

The court asked Bokhari to produce case records so that it could decide whether there is enough evidence to prosecute the prime minister and other officials accused in the case.

But fresh troubles may be brewing for the government, which has been heavily criticised for its failure to strengthen the economy, fight militancy and eradicate poverty.

The Supreme Court has admitted a petition filed against Sherry Rehman, Islamabad's ambassador to the United States and a well-known member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, accusing her of committing blasphemy.

Court documents show that the police have been directed to investigate the allegations. Rehman has faced death threats from militants for calling for reforms of Pakistan's anti-blasphemy law, which has been condemned by human rights groups.

The administration is already facing pressure from fiery cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadri, who has fired up thousands of protesters camped outside parliament with his calls for the resignation of political leaders and electoral reforms.

Qadri, who backed a military coup in 1999, is calling for the immediate resignation of the government and the installation of a caretaker administration in the run-up to elections due in the next few months. (Agencies)

650 hostages freed from Algeria gas field

Algiers, Jan 18 (IANS) Around 650 hostages detained by an armed group at a gas field in Algeria have been freed, the official APS news agency reported Friday.

The hostages were kept at the gas facility in Illizi province.
Those freed include 570 Algerians and more than half of the 132 detained foreigners, Xinhua cited the report as saying.
A source said the army's special forces are still looking for a peaceful solution to free the rest of the hostages, before having to eradicate the militants who have taken refuge in a refinery at the gas facility.
Algerian army helicopters Thursday fired at the facility, leaving many kidnappers dead, media reports said.
The British Petroleum (BP) natural gas field is in Ain Amenas in Illizi province, around 60 km from the Libyan border.
Mauritania's ANI news agency said a spokesman for the kidnappers identified themselves as the "Battalion of Blood".
The militants earlier said they were holding 41 foreign nationals, including Americans, French, British, Norwegian and Japanese workers.
Algerian authorities earlier said the kidnappers were Algerians and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a former commander of the Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
A statement purported to be from the hostage-takers called for an end to the French military intervention against Islamist rebels in neighbouring Mali.

President's rule imposed in Jharkhand

New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) Jharkhand was placed under president's rule Friday with President Pranab Mukherjee formally signing the order, official sources said here.

President's rule was okayed after the Arjun Munda government collapsed after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha withdrew support last month. The union cabinet Thursday gave its nod for imposing president's rule in the state.
"The president has signed the order this evening," sources at Rashtrapati Bhavan told IANS.

Busy road in Surat caves in

In a strange occurrence in Surat, Gujarat, textile market one of the main and busy roads of the city sank down damaging many vehicles and it created a pandemonium in the area.