25 July, 2013

Spain passenger train derails, 77 people killed

At least 77 people have been killed after a train derailed in the northern Spanish region of Galicia on Wednesday evening, said a spokeswoman for Galicia's Supreme Court.

Seventy-three people died at the accident site and four died in hospital, the spokeswoman said on Thursday morning, adding that the numbers were still provisional. Judges in Spain are responsible for recording the deaths.

SC bench headed by new CJI slams decision of just-retired CJI Kabir

In an unprecedented development, a bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam strongly disapproved of a series of orders passed by a bench headed by his immediate predecessor Altamas Kabir granting relief to Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) by virtually sitting in appeal over the order of another bench of the apex court which had declined to give concession to the construction and infrastructure group.

The orders passed by the bench headed by the ex-CJI helped the company dodge depositing Rs 100 crore as penalty that Himachal Pradesh high court had slapped on it in May last year for misrepresenting facts for securing clearances to set up a cement plant.

Tough to fix marriage age for girls, Supreme Court says

Eight years ago, two high courts allowed minor girls to marry after they acknowledged that they had eloped voluntarily with their beaus, leading the National Commission for Women to rush to the Supreme Court expressing fear that this would legitimize marriage of minors -- an offence under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

The NCW had said that given the wide disparity in various laws on the issue of marriageable age of girls, there was an urgent need to bring uniformity by addressing the question: "what is the correct statutory age for a girl to wed".

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was difficult to arrive at a straightjacket formula on marriageable age of girls to fit every case. "We do not find anything wrong in the two cases decided by the high courts," a bench of Justices J S Khehar and Dipak Misra said.

The Delhi High Court on October 5, 2005 and the Andhra Pradesh High Court on February 1, 2006 had allowed underage girls to marry their lovers after dropping kidnapping charges registered against the men by police.

Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu power India to 6-wicket win over Zimbabwe

Virat Kohli cracked a scintillating century as India thrashed minnows Zimbabwe by six wickets in the first cricket one-dayer to take a 1-0 lead in the five match series on Wednesday.

Congress turns the spotlight on Hyderabad

After categorically stating that there will be no more consultations on Telangana, the Congress high command has reportedly summoned chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, deputy CM C Damodar Rajanarasimha and PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana to Delhi on Friday for further talks, said to revolve around the status of Hyderabad.

Congress sources said Kiran Kumar Reddy will leave for Delhi on Friday morning while Botsa and Damodar are slated to depart for the national capital on Thursday. Meetings for the three state leaders have been scheduled with Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde and finance minister P Chidambaram, and possibly party president Sonia Gandhi. Interestingly, the Congress core committee is scheduled to meet in Delhi on Friday evening where there are expectations that a date for the much-expected Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting said to focus on Telangana will be fixed.

According to the sources, the three leaders have been called to specifically discuss the status of Hyderabad post division of the state. "One of the options being explored is the appointment of an administrator for Hyderabad, including the GHMC limits. While Article 239 of the Constitution deals with the appointment of administrators to Union territories, Article 239 AA deals with the administration of Delhi. Both are being examined,"

Afghan, Myanmar women win Magsaysay awards for work amid conflict

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation on Wednesday singled out Afghanistan's Habiba Sarabi, a 57-year-old doctor, for her "bold exercise of leadership to build up a functioning provincial government against great odds. "The Foundation also recognised Lahpai Seng Raw from Myanmar, for her "quietly inspiring and inclusive leadership in the midst of deep ethnic divides and prolonged armed conflicts. "In addition, the Manila-based foundation honoured Ernesto Domingo, a 76-year-old Filipino doctor who saved millions from life-threatening illness by vaccinating babies against hepatitis B and almost eliminating the chance of their getting infected.

Other winners include Indonesia's independent anti-corruption government body, the Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK), which has a 100-percent rate of conviction of corrupt officials and has recovered $80 million in stolen assets.

Nepal's Shakti Samuha, a group that combats human trafficking and helped rebuild the lives of thousands of trafficked and abused women, was another winner.