Circuits

Chilly Sunday in Delhi, clear sky Monday

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) It was a chilly Sunday in Delhi with the maximum temperature settling four degrees below the season's average at 17.4 degrees Celsius. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the sky will remain clear Monday though there will be fog in the morning. "Fog will occur Monday morning and the minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to hover around 11 degrees and 18 degrees, respectively," said an IMD official

Visiting rape victim: Scheduled Castes panel slams Ramdev

Chandigarh, Dec 22 (IANS) The National Commission for Scheduled Castes Sunday slammed yoga guru Ramdev for visiting the house of a teenaged girl, gang-raped by five constables of the Chandigarh Police. Commission vice chairman Raj Kumar Verka said Ramdev had hurt the sentiments of the rape victim's family by visiting her home.

Four killed in Odisha slum fire

Bhubaneswar, Dec 22 (IANS) A family of four, including two children, were charred to death Sunday after a fire broke out in a slum in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, police said.

Season's first snowfall brings cheer to Kashmir

Srinagar, Dec 22 (IANS) The season's first snowfall here and in the major towns brought cheer across the Kashmir Valley, and residents greeted relatives and friends Sunday morning.

Give caged hens back their flapping freedom (Feature)

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) Imagine being confined in a space where you can't even stretch your hands and are made to languish there? Even the thought of it is depressing, but that is how tens of thousands of hens in several poultry farms are kept cooped up in the country. Egg-laying hens for commercial egg production are confined in 'battery cages' which restricts not only their movement but has an adverse effect on their health

Veteran journalist Pran Chopra dead

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) Veteran journalist and former editor of The Statesman newspaper Pran Chopra passed away Sunday following a brief illness, his niece Manicka Chopra said. He was 92. Chopra is survived by his wife and two daughters.

AAP to make announcement on government formation Monday

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party said Sunday that the final announcement on whether it will form a government in Delhi will be made Monday after the party gets the opinion of Delhiites. "Lot of public meetings are going on today (Sunday), including four in my own constituency (New Delhi). We will make the declaration tomorrow (Monday) morning only after we get the opinion of the people," AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal told reporters here.

Italy expects fair trial for Marines in India

Rome, Dec 22 (IANS/AKI) Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has voiced support for two Marines charged with murder in India and urged a "fair and rapid" trial for the duo. "Italians are truly close to you, our brothers, who are facing the unknown outcome of a dramatic and tortuous affair," Napolitano said this week

Mediation is amicable conflict resolution: Himachal judge

Shimla, Dec 22 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh's Acting Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir Sunday underlined the importance of mediation as a method of resolving conflict. Speaking at a regional conference on mediation organised in the state capital by the Himachal Pradesh Legal Services Authority, he said mediation has great potential for providing satisfying solutions to disputes. "Mediation attempts to change a dispute from a 'win-lose' to 'win-win' situation.

NCW favours special legislation against trafficking

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) The National Commission for Women (NCW) has suggested a special legislation against human trafficking and the setting up of a central nodal authority to curb all such crimes, an official said Sunday. The women's panel has sent a list of recommendations to the central government to help prevent such crimes, following an increase in cases of human trafficking in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The NCW recommended drafting of a special legislation to combat human trafficking, especially that of women and children, by including its definition as per the UN Convention and protocol, a senior official in the commission said.