0815 HRS  

3rd January , 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Five fast track courts to hear cases of crimes against women will start functioning in Delhi today.
• Planning Commission approves government proposal to give financial assistance to rape victims belonging to economically weaker sections.
• Centenary Session of Indian Science Congress begins in Kolkata today; Prime Minister to unveil new Science and Technology Innovation Policy 2013.
• Severe cold wave continues to sweep North India.
• Delhi High Court asks city government not to remove till April temporary night shelters built near railway tracks.
• US court reschedules sentencing of 26/11 Mumbai attack accused David Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Rana.
• India take on Pakistan in second one dayer in Kolkata.

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Five fast track courts to hear cases of crimes against women will start functioning from today in Delhi. The Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir inaugurated a fast-track court at the Saket Court Complex in Delhi last evening. The gang rape and murder of a 23-year old student in Delhi will be the first case to be heard in this court. The Delhi Police plans to submit an around 1000-page chargesheet in the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court in Saket today. Then, the case will be moved to the fast-track court to hear it on a day-to-day trial basis.

Inaugurating the first fast track court in Delhi, Justice Altamas Kabir has strongly advocated for courts to act as a deterrent in the future to check crimes against women. He said, a serious message needs to be sent in dealing with such heinous crimes. The Chief Justice said, there is a need to pay the greatest attention to crimes against women, the elderly and children. But, he, asserted speedy justice cannot be at the cost of fairness of the trial.

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Rape victims who belong to economically poor sections may soon get financial assistance from the government. The Planning Commission has given its nod to the proposal of the Women and Child Development Ministry in this regard. Women and Child Development Secretary, Prem Narain said that the Commission has approved the scheme for providing assistance to those victims who belong to economically weaker sections. He said, there is a view in the commission that every family may not accept this assistance as some of them may be well-off while others may not accept it for social reasons. He said, now it is being planned that women who belong to BPL families or who are destitute would get support. Narain expected that all the details, mechanisms and approvals for the scheme would be completed by the end of March.

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Against the backdrop of the Delhi gangrape incident, the University Grants Commission, UGC has directed all institutions of higher learning to review and strengthen security measures for girls and women in their campuses. In a letter to the Vice Chancellors and Directors of institutes of higher learning, UGC Acting Chairman Ved Prakash also expressed the need for gender sensitisation courses in the education system. In the letter, he has requested institutions to seriously review the security arrangements for girls and women and wherever there is a necessity, to make arrangements for the same.

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The new Science and Technology Innovation Policy 2013 will be announced by the Prime Minister at the Centenary Session of the Indian Science Congress in Kolkata today. Dr. Manmohan Singh will hand over the first copy of the new policy to the President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee. The President will inaugurate the five-day long Congress. More from our correspondent:

The first Prime Minister’s Doctoral Research Fellowships, instituted to commemorate the Centenary Session will be announced at the inaugural function. Besides a special Postage Stamp will be released to mark the event. After the inaugural programme, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will chair a panel discussion on ‘Science for Shaping the future of India’. The Union Science & Technology Minister S. Jaipal Reddy will inaugurate the ‘Pride of India’ Exhibition. Around 11 thousand delegates across the globe, including six Nobel laureates are coming to Kolkata to join the centenary session of the Indian Science Congress. With Girish Chandra Das, this is Arijit Chakroborty, AIR News, Kolkata.

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North India continues to reel under a severe cold wave. The National Capital, Delhi yesterday witnessed its coldest day of January in the past 44 years, with the maximum temperature dipping to 9.8 degree Celsius. Severe cold wave continued to sweep Western Uttar Pradesh also. Our correspondent has filed this report:

There was no let up in cold wave condition in western UP. Muzaffarnagar recorded lowest minimum temperature at 0.6 degree. The minimum temperature stood at 0.9 degree in Agra and Bareilly. Schools up to intermediate have been closed till 6th January in Bareilly. However, Allahabad and Varanasi districts remained comparatively warmer where the minimum temperature was 1 to 2 degree above normal. The met office says that the intensity of cold wave may increase in western UP during next 24 hours. Salman Haider, AIR news, Gorakhpur.

Cold wave conditions intensified in the Kashmir valley with a further decline in night temperature in Srinagar. More from our correspondent:

The night temperature in Srinagar has gone down to minus 4 degree Celsius. It has further gone by several notches at higher reaches and tourist's spots of Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Snowfall and chilly winds are making people stay indoor, late in the morning and early in the evening. Mushtaq Ahmed Tantray, AIR News, Srinagar.

The Jammu region is facing bone chilling cold coupled with foggy conditions. Biting cold claimed the life of one person in the Samba district yesterday.

In Himachal Pradesh, the Mercury fell overnight, but it registered an upswing in the day temperature. Clear sunshine gave little respite from the extreme cold to people in the state.

Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh continue to reel under an intense cold wave.

Dense fog have disrupted road, rail and air traffic in the region. A number of trains are running late by several hours. We spoke to the Chief PRO of Northern Railway Neeraj Sharma about this:

Today about 33 trains, reaching Delhi, are running late. They are late by 2 hours to 10 or 14 hours. This is because of dense fog around UP and other Northern Parts of India, including Delhi also. Ten trains have been cancelled. Its our request to the passengers that before arriving at the stations, they must check position of the train at the enquiry numbers or on Northern Railway or other website meant for this purpose.

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The Delhi High Court has come to the rescue of the homeless and asked the city government not to remove till April the temporary night shelters, built near railways tracks in the National Capital. A bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice VK Jain also asked the Delhi government to take all measures to ensure the safety of the inmates till April. The court also asked the city government to file a report on the construction of permanent night shelters near the Jama Masjid area, and posted the matter for hearing on the 9th of January.

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A US court has rescheduled the sentencing of Pakistani American Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley, accused of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, from the 17th of January to the 24th of January, while that of his accomplice Tahawwur Rana has been rescheduled for a second time to the 17th of January. Headley, who conducted reconnaissance of the targets of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks for Lashkar-e-Taiba, had entered a plea bargain with the FBI, saving him from a possible death penalty or extradition to India or Denmark. Rana, on the other hand, was acquitted of involvement in the Mumbai attacks, but was held guilty on the 10th of June, 2011 of a conspiracy to attack a Denmark newspaper and of aiding the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

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The United Nations has come out with latest estimates of the death toll in the 21 month long conflict in Syria. According to the UN High Commission for Human Rights, more than 60,000 people have been killed till the beginning of the new year, including soldiers, rebels and civilians. The UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay said that the number of casualties is much higher than expected, and is truly shocking. We have a dispatch from our West Asia Correspondent:

The latest UN estimates of 60,000 deaths is almost one third higher than 45,000 which has been counted by the Syrian opposition activists. It has also pointed out that monthly casualty figures have been on the rise since the conflict began in March, 2011. The UN Human Rights Chief expressed shock over the failure of the international community especially the UN Security Council, to take concrete actions to stop the bloodshed in Syria. Meanwhile, the opposition activists reported that dozens of people were killed in an air strike on a gas station in a Damascus suburb on Wednesday. Atul K Tiwary, AIR News.

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India take on Pakistan in a must-win second cricket one-dayer in Kolkata today. With the odds heavily stacked against them at the Eden Gardens, a struggling India will be under tremendous pressure to keep the three match series alive. Pakistan is already leading 1-0. All India Radio will broadcast a commentary of the match on its national hook up and from 66 medium wave stations as well as FM Gold from 11.30 a.m. Updates of the match will also be put out every half-an-hour on the FM Rainbow Channel and additional frequencies from 12.15 p.m.

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India's Rohan Bopanna and India-born American Rajeev Ram progressed with ease into the doubles event quarterfinals of the Chennai Open tennis tournament last night. The third seeded pair took just an hour to dispose off Lu Yen-Hsun and Go Soeda 6-4, 6-3 and they will take on Benoit Paire of France and Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinal tie.

Later in a late night match, favourites and top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniel Nestor of Canada defeated the India wild cards duo of Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhian 6-3, 6-0 in just 50 minutes.