The Week That Was - August 02 : Bernie Ecclestone confirms no Indian Grand Prix in 2014

Telangana – Birth pangs of a new state

After dithering for nearly four years, the Congress and the UPA coalition on Tuesday unanimously endorsed creation of a separate Telangana state from out of Andhra Pradesh.

"It is resolved to request the Central government to make steps in accordance with the Constitution to form a separate state of Telangana ... Within a definite timeframe," said a resolution of the Congress Working Committee, the highest policy-making body of the party.

At the CWC meeting, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the decision would help the entire Andhra region.

On his part, Digvijay Singh said that the Centre will urge the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to adopt a resolution on creation of Telangana. The Assembly will have to accept or reject the resolution, Singh said, adding, however, that either way it will not be binding on the government of India.

Trinamool sweeps panchayat polls

Contesting alone in a major poll after parting ways with the Congress in September last year, Mamata Banerjee`s Trinamool Congress swept the panchayat elections in West Bengal, establishing its undisputed supremacy in the rural areas of the state.

The results, dealing a huge blow to the Left and the Congress, suggested that two and a half years of incumbency and controversies, including the Saradha chit fund scam, by and large failed to shake the rural people`s faith in the TMC government.

Of the 17 districts, the Trinamool won zilla parishads in 13 districts, the Left in one (Jalpaiguri) and the Congress in one (Murshidabad). The BJP drew a blank.

Out of the 824 zilla parishad seats, the Trinamool Congress bagged 530, the Left Front 209, Congress 78 and others 5.

Batla House encounter: Shazad Ahmad gets life term

Suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Shahzad Ahmad, convicted in the 2008 Batla House encounter case, was on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court, which said the case does not fall under the rarest of rare category warranting death penalty.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Rajender Kumar Shastri handed down life term to Shazad for killing decorated police officer Inspector M C Sharma and injuring two other cops. Shahzad was also slapped with a fine of Rs.95,000 of which Rs.40,000 will be given to Sharma`s family.

Shahzad, 25, was convicted in the September 19, 2008 encounter when a team of Delhi Police Special Cell raided the Batla House flat in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi following a tip-off that terrorists allegedly involved in the September 13, 2008 serial blasts in the capital were holed up there.

Russia grants asylum to Edward Snowden; Obama-Putin meet in doubt

Russia granted American fugitive Edward Snowden a year`s asylum on Thursday, allowing the former US spy agency contractor to slip quietly out of Moscow`s Sheremetyevo airport after more than five weeks in limbo but angering the United States.

The White House, which wants Snowden sent home to face trial for leaking details of government surveillance programs, signalled that President Barack Obama might boycott a summit with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in September and one official said high-level talks next week were "up in the air".

"We see this as an unfortunate development and we are extremely disappointed by it," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Bangladesh`s Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami declared illegal

In a landmark ruling, Bangladesh`s biggest right-wing party Jamaat-e-Islami was on Thursday declared "illegal" by the High Court which banned it from contesting future polls, leaving the once-most powerful fundamentalist party with an uncertain future.

"It is hereby declared illegal," said Moazzem Husain, the chief judge of a High Court panel hearing the case.

Bangladesh Tariqat Federation`s secretary general Rezaul Haque Chandpuri and 24 others had filed the writ petition on January 25, 2009. Tariqat is a group that preaches Sufi philosophy and promotes secularism.

In the petition, they said Jamaat-e-Islami was a religion-based political party and it did not believe in independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh.

India-born Mamnoon Hussain set to become Pakistan president

Mamnoon Hussain, the India-born nominee of ruling PML-N, is set to become the 12th President of Pakistan on Tuesday, succeeding incumbent Asif Ali Zardari.

The election, which was preponed from August 6, will see a one-to-one contest between Hussain and Imran Khan`s Pakistan Tenreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed.

Pakistan People`s Party withdrew its candidate Raza Rabbani and boycotted the election in protest to the date of polls being changed.

Govt eases FDI in multi-brand retail, okays 100% FDI in telecom

Opening the floodgates to overseas investors, government Thursday relaxed investment norms in multi-brand retail and raised FDI caps in several sectors while making it 100 percent in telecom.

The Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh diluted the mandatory 30 percent local sourcing norms for multi-brand retailers and permitted states to include cities with population less than 1 million for allowing multi-brand retailing.

On Thursday, government also approved 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector, meeting a key demand of the fund-starved industry.

It has been decided to increase FDI cap in telecom to 100 percent from 74, up to 49 through automatic route and beyond that FIPB, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said after a meeting of the Union Cabinet.

RBI maintains status quo; lowers growth forecast to 5.5%

The RBI left interest rates unchanged on Tuesday as it supports a battered rupee but said it will roll back recent liquidity tightening measures when stability returns to the currency market, enabling it to resume supporting growth.

As expected, the Reserve Bank of India left its policy repo rate at 7.25 percent but took a dovish tone as it cut its growth forecast for Asia`s third-largest economy to 5.5 percent for the fiscal year, from 5.7 percent previously.

It held the cash reserve ratio at 4 percent.

The RBI said recent liquidity tightening steps "will be rolled back in a calibrated manner as stability is restored to the foreign exchange market, enabling monetary policy to revert to supporting growth with continuing vigil on inflation."

FIPB gives conditional approval to Jet-Etihad deal

The controversial Rs.2058 crore deal under which Abu Dhabi based Etihad will hold 24 percent stake in Jet Airways on Monday got the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) with major riders to maintain effective Indian control over the airline.

"Jet management has to work as per the Indian law. They would have their headquarters in Mumbai. They would be governed by the Indian Aircraft Rules," Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told reporters here.

Serious concerns had been raised regarding the effective control and ownership of Jet Airways after Etihad picks up stake in the Indian airline. Some MPs had also raised questions whether the operational base of Jet would shift to UAE after the deal.

Under the conditions set by FIPB, Jet will have to seek prior government approval to make any changes in the Share Holders Agreement (SHA) with Etihad or any change in share-holding of the company.

Cabinet approves rail tariff authority for fares

A proposal to set up Rail Tariff Authority (RTA) for fare rationalisation got in-principle approval from the Union Cabinet on Thursday but the final nod was deferred for want of clarifications on various aspects like powers of the new body.

The Cabinet deliberated upon the proposal to establish the first-of-its-kind body that will suggest the level of tariff for both the freight and passenger fares from time to time taking into account the input cost (diesel and electricity) and volatile market conditions.

The government is exploring the possibility of expediting the formation of the RTA through the executive route after the proposed regulatory body received an in-principle nod from the Cabinet.

RTA will be a five-member body headed by a chairman.

UK denies visa to Salman Khan

Salman Khan’s alleged involvement in a hit-and-run case seems to be taking toll on his professional front. The 47-year -old star was reportedly unable to leave for London for the shooting of his upcoming movie, as the UK has rejected his visa application.

According to a tabloid, Salman Khan was supposed to commence shooting for Sajid Nadiadwala’s ‘Kick’ - which is already running behind its schedule - from last week onwards. But the superstar’s ongoing case has affected his travel plans, as his visa application for London was rejected without giving any reason.

Sources have revealed that this rejection has something to do with his hit-and-run case trial.

Simon Cowell expecting first child with friend`s wife

Media mogul Simon Cowell is expecting a baby with New York socialite Lauren Silveran.

Silverman, 36, who is going through a divorce with Cowell`s close friend Andrew Silverman, is a real estate agent in NYC.

She is said to be leaving her estranged husband to be with Cowell, the father of her child.

I feel distressed, writes Katrina Kaif after Spain holiday pics go viral

Katrina Kaif is mighty peeved with media for publishing images of her private trip to Spain. The images that went viral recently showed the Bollywood actress at a Spanish beach with her alleged boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor.

In an open letter to the media, Katrina wrote, “I am writing this to say that I feel most upset, distressed and invaded at my pictures published in a film magazine (and which were carried by other media). The pictures were taken while I was on holiday by someone who, in an act of cowardice, has shot without permission and then used the pictures for commercial gain.”

IPL spot-fixing: Delhi Police name Dawood Ibrahim in chargesheet

Delhi Police on Tuesday named underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel in its chargesheet filed in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

The charge sheet, filed before link Additional Sessions Judge Vinay Kumar Khanna, said that as per the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) report on call intercepts, one of the voices has been identified as that of Dawood and a witness has identified the don`s voice and number

All the accused have been chargesheeted for offences of cheating and conspiracy under IPC and provisions of stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

BCCI panel illegal and unconstitutional: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court, which struck down as "illegal and unconstitutional" the two-member panel that went into spot fixing and betting charges in the IPL, has held that the commission was constituted in violation of the rules framed by the BCCI.

However, it refrained from ordering a new panel of retired judges to go into the charges against India Cements Ltd, owners of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, its former Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of BCCI`s President-in-exile N Srinivasan, and Raj Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals.

It held that forming a new probe commission was the prerogative of the Cricket Board.

Bernie Ecclestone confirms no Indian Grand Prix in 2014

Both Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and organisers of the Indian Grand Prix Jaypee Group on Tuesday confirmed that the 2014 India round will have to be dropped to tweak the racing calendar and it will now be held in the first half of 2015.

Ecclestone, who has been controlling the F1 empire for nearly 40 years, said from his London office that he and his Formula 1 management always wanted the India round early in the season, but the organisers preferred October.

Ecclestone said during the Hungarian Grand Prix last week that the Indian Grand Prix was unlikely to happen next year and the reason for it was `political`. It is interpreted as the teams not being happy with the taxation policy of India and the red tape involved.