1400 HRS

4th January , 2013

THE HEADLINES: 

• Government launches a pilot project of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems for enhancing efficiency of policing.
• Supreme Court declines to hear plea for disqualification of MPs and MLAs chargesheeted for crime against women saying it cannot order their suspension; Also agrees for the need for Fast Track Courts and more Judges.
• Centre doubles 12th Plan outlay for Science and Technology Ministry to give boost to Research and innovation.
• Delhi records season's lowest temperature of 2.7 degrees Celsius; Flights and Railway services disrupted.
• Switzerland's oldest bank to close permanently after pleading guilty in a New York Court for helping Americans evade their taxes. 
• Sensex drops 65 points in afternoon trade; Rupee depreciates  33 paise to 54.83 against the dollar. 

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Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde launched a pilot project of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems, CCTNS in New Delhi today. It aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing. Launching  the  pilot project  in Delhi,Mr Shinde said the project will be extended to the entire country soon.

"To take this initiative further I urge all those person here to initiate activities in their respective states and Union Territories to empower and support the work force in understanding and adopting the new way of working to fully realize the potential benefits of this fundamental changes."

The Home Minister added zero tolerance level is needed to reduce crime in the country. He said that important citizen services like online registration of complaints, tracking of FIRs and service request will be launched by April, 2013. The project includes the creation of a nationwide networking infrastructure for IT-enabled state-of -the-art tracking system around investigation of crime and detection of criminals.

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The Supreme Court  has declined to hear a plea for disqualification of MPs and MLAs charge sheeted for crime against women but agreed to go into issues of fast track trial of rape cases and implementation of laws for safety of women. A  bench comprising justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra  which  was hearing two PILs filed after the December 16 gangrape incident, said it can only give notice to the government on limited issues as some of the prayers made in the petitions were beyond its jurisdiction. The bench, during the hearing also suggested that the PIL petitioners should have taken a ground that if the investigation into the cases was not upto the mark, it should be treated as misconduct on the part of the Investigating Officer. The bench also asked the government to apprise it about the terms and references of justice J S Verma committee which was set up to review and strengthen the existing law on rape and offences against women. The apex court also agreed that there was a need for fast track courts and additional judges. The PILs were filed before the apex court days after the brutal gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in Delhi on December the 16th . The victim died in a Singapore hospital on December the 29th. 

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The Supreme Court today appointed a commission to inquire into the encounter killings in Manipur. The commission will comprise former apex court judge Santosh Hegde, former CEC J M Lyngdoh and a police officer to inquire into the five encounter killings.

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The Minister for Science and Technology Mr. S. Jaipal Reddy has said that the combined plan of action for the 12th plan outlay for the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences has been doubled to about 60 thousand crore rupees. Speaking at the special session of the children's Science Congress today in Kolkata  he said it will give a major boost to science and technology related research and innovation. He invited the students of the country to avail such opportunities like the the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship scheme being offered by the Government of India.  Many more programmes such as plenary lectures , symposia on different aspects of science and public outreach session are being organised on the second day of the centenary session. Speaking on the occasion,former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam has called upon the students to build a culture of excellence for the speedy development of the country. The Children Science Congress has been organised as part of the centenary session of the Indian Science Congress. More from our correspondent:

"As a part of the ongoing centenary celebration of the Indian Science congress, the Children Science Congress was a big hit. The Children Science Congress could not have been better kicked up by anybody other than one of the greatest scientist of the country and farmer president of India Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, who is famous for his intimate rapport particularly with the children and students. Even as Dr. Kalam in his own inimitable interactive style spoke to the children  at the S N Bose institute of basic sciences Kolkata, the later two met Dr. Kalam's speech on science and technology with equal interaction and interest,AIR NEWS,KOLKATA."

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President of Mauritius Rajkeswur Purryag, who is on a seven-day state visit toIndia, visited Rajghat this morning and paid floral tributes at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid called on theMauritius President. Mr. Purryag will meet his Indian counterpart Mr Pranab Mukherjee and hold talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh later in the day. The visiting dignitary will be the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2013 to be held on the 8th and 9th of this month at Kochi in Kerala. He will also be honored with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award on the occasion.

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In Kerala, Italian Marines, Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone, accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of the state in February last year have returned. The duo arrived by a chartered flight  at the Cochin International Airportthis morning. The marines were granted bail for two weeks by the Kerala High Court last month for spending Christmas with their families, after the Italian government gave an undertaking assuring their return. The duo will be produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court at Kollam later in the day.

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Andhra Pradesh police today served notices to MIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi in connection with his alleged provocative speech against a particular community. The state police has earlier registered separate FIRs at Adilabad and Nizamabad districts where he allegedly made inflammatory speeches. In the notices, the police summoned him to Nirmal Police station on the 7^th of this month and Nizamabad police station the following day. Akbaruddin, the floor leader of MIM in the state Assembly and brother of the MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi is reportedly in London at present.

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North India continued to reel under severe cold wave . Dense fog also disrupted normal life in the region. In the National Capital Delhi, the morning temperature plummeted to the season's lowest of 2.7 degree Celsius. Today's minimum is four degree Celsius below normal and down from yesterday's 4.4 degrees Celsius. Foggy weather hampered road, rail and air traffic.

"In view of the prevailing severe cold wave, the Delhi government has ordered closure of all schools till 12^th of this month. The order also applies to the schools of Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Cantonment Board and recognized aided as well as unaided schools. Foggy weather hampered road, rail and air traffic in the city. More than 13 Delhi-bound trains have been cancelled whereas 4 are running late by several hours. Similarly, operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport were also affected with fog disrupting schedule of around 30 flights. With Shiela, Zakir Malik AIR News.DELHI."

Sub Zero temperature also prevailed in Kashmir valley. In Rajasthan, severe cold wave disrupted normal life. Minimum temperature was recorded 0 degree Celsius at the hill station Mount Abu today. In plain areas Pilani was the coldest place with 0.6 degrees Celsius. Freezing cold conditions in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarhclaimed seven lives with mercury dipping three notches below normal in most places even as dense fog continued to throw normal life out of gear in the region. Madhya Pradesh continued to reel under severe cold wave conditions with icy winds coming from north India.

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Switzerland's oldest bank is to close permanently after pleading guilty in a New Yorkcourt to helping Americans evade their taxes.  Wegelin, which was established in 1741, has also agreed to pay 57.8 million dollars in fines to US authorities. It said that once this was completed, it will cease to operate as a bank. The bank had admitted to allowing more than one hundred American citizens to hide 1.2 billion dollar from the Internal Revenue Service for almost 10 years.  Wegelin, based in the small Swiss town of St Gallen, becomes the first foreign bank to plead guilty to tax evasion charges in the US.

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In Syria, at least nine persons were killed and several others were injured in a car bomb blast in Damascus this morning. The blast took place in the northern suburbs of the capital in an Alawite dominated area and the toll is likely to go up with many of the injured in critical condition. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast; but the Syrian official news agency SANA reported that the blast has been carried out by terrorists targeting a petrol pump near a hospital. Al Qaeda linked Islamist Al Nusra Front has in the recent past claimed responsibility of many of such attacks in the Syrian capital. Meanwhile, the opposition activist group, Syrian Revolution General Commission reported that Insurgents on Thursday besieged troops aroundAleppo's international airport which has been closed since Tuesday after repeated attacks by rebels.

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Reports from China say, seven children have been killed in a fire that engulfed a private orphanage in the northern province of Henan.  Police said a number of children have been injured. The blaze broke out in Lankao county at a home where a woman sheltered abandoned children. Four children died at the scene of fire, while three others succumbed to their injuries on way to a local hospital. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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The U.S Congress has begun its new term with House Speaker John Boehner re-elected amid the prospect of more budget battles with the White House.  The 113th Congress began two days after the 112th passed an 11th hour law to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Thirteen new senators and 82 new representatives were sworn-in yesterday. In an address, Mr. Boehner alluded to forthcoming discussions over government spending.  In the first major legislative battles of the new session, lawmakers in the coming weeks will seek to head off a raft of automatic spending cuts and debate legislation to raise the U.S government's borrowing ability known as the debt ceiling.  

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The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange dropped 65 points, or 0.3 percent, to 19,700 in afternoon trade, a short while ago, on profit-booking by investors, amid weak regional markets. Earlier in the morning, the Sensex had lost 43 points, to 19,721. The Sensex had gained over 340 points in the past three trading sessions. Stock markets in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were down by between 0.1 percent and 0.8 percent, today, on concerns over the US central bank's quantitative easing. Wall Street's Dow Jones

Industrial Average had lost 0.2 percent, overnight.

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The rupee today weakened by 33 paise to 54 rupees 83 paise against the dollar in early trade due to increased demand for the US currency from importers amid firm global cues. The rupee had lost 15 paise to close at 54 rupees 50 paise against the US dollar yesterday.

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Oil prices were down in Asia trade today. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February dropped 64 cents to 92.28 dollars a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for February delivery shed 75 cents to 111.39 dollars.