Smoking in public places banned
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed all states and union territories to immediately issue orders banning smoking in public places. The order followed a public interest litigation against smoking filed by Maharashtra Congress leader Murli Deora.

The Court also asked the Commissioners of Police of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmedabad to submit status reports of action taken against cigarette manufacturers violating advertising code.

The order banning smoking in public places would include hospitals, health institutes, public offices, public transport including railways, court buildings, educational institutions, libraries, and auditoriums.
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Asia's biggest IT fair begins
Bangalore: Asia's biggest information, technology and communication fair, the Bangalore IT.Com got off to a start here with 252 companies from 15 countries having set up stalls.
Despite the global meltdown of the technology sector and the economic downturn, the fair opened in an upbeat mood. "With a $6 to 8 billion base there is no industry anywhere in the world globally that can, in this current economic climate, talk of a 30 to 35 per cent growth. So I think we have a great story. We have a great future," said Phiroz Vandrevala, chairman, NASSCOM.
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Sanjay Dutt implicated in Mumbai blasts
Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has implicated all the 123 accused, including film star Sanjay Dutt, in the conspiracy leading to serial bomb blasts here on March 12, 1993, in which more than 200 people were killed and several injured.

The CBI has accused them of participating in the conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in India at the behest of Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon and others.

The CBI alleged that arms and ammunition, transported from Pakistan, landed at Shekhadi and Dighi coasts in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

RDX was used for the first time in India in these explosions and it was transported in gunny bags and cardboard boxes. The stamp on a cardboard box bore the letters "Wah Nobel Pvt Ltd", the CBI said.

"Wah Nobel Pvt Ltd" manufactured various types of explosives and was located at Wah cantonment near Islamabad in Pakistan, CBI alleged.

According to the CBI, the landing at Dighi was organised by absconding accused Mohammed Dossa on January 9, 1993. In these landings, arms, ammunition and hand grenades were smuggled.
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Post offices to function as PCOs
New Delhi: All post offices in the country having telephone connection would be allowed to start functioning as PCOs with STD and ISD facility.

This was decided at a meeting of the consultative committee attached to the communications ministry here on Friday.
Union communications minister Pramod Mahajan told the meeting that details such as total number of post offices to be covered would be worked out very soon.

Any post office, having even one telephone connection could start functioning as a PCO.
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Fee fixed for satellite phones
New Delhi: The government on Friday fixed a one-time entry fee of Rs 1 crore and a 10 per cent revenue sharing as annual licence fee for global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS) service providers.

Through the GMPCS service, a subscriber can communicate from any point on earth through a hand-held terminal. He will have one telephone number irrespective of the location.

According to the guidelines announced by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the annual licence fee of 10 per cent will be charged on the `adjusted gross revenue'.

The guidelines stipulate that the applicant should be an Indian company with experience in telecom sector. It should also have a minimum networth of Rs 100 crore.
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