Courts cannot force a husband to keep his wife; it's human relationship: SC

The Supreme Court has said that courts cannot force a husband to "keep his wife" as it asked a man, a pilot by profession, to deposit Rs 10 lakh as interim maintenance for his estranged wife and upkeep of their son.

The apex court restored the bail order of the Madras High Court which was cancelled after the husband refused to comply with the compromise agreement.

"We cannot force a husband to keep his wife. It's a human relationship. You (man) deposit Rs 10 lakh with the trial court which will be withdrawn by the wife unconditionally to meet her immediate requirement," a bench of justices Adarsh Goel and U U Lalit said.

When the counsel appearing for the man said that the amount be reduced, the bench said that apex court is not a family court and no negotiations can be held.

"If you agree to deposit Rs 10 lakh immediately, the bail order would be restored," the bench said.

The counsel then agreed to deposit Rs 10 lakh but sought some time.

"We are inclined to restore the order of bail in view of the statement made on behalf of the petitioner that the petitioner will deposit a sum of Rs 10 lakh with the trial court within a period of four weeks," the bench said.

It said that the amount may be withdrawn by the wife unconditionally, so that she can meet immediate requirements for herself and the child.
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Nepal begins historic vote; army on alert after a series of small blasts

Nepalis began voting for a new parliament on Sunday with the army on alert as a series of small blasts blamed on a rogue Maoist group reminded the Himalayan nation of the violence and instability it is hoping to leave behind.

More than decade after the end of a civil war between Maoist peasant guerrillas, Nepal is hoping this election - the first parliamentary polls since 1999 - will complete its long journey from a monarchy to becoming a federal republic.

A second phase of the election will take place on Dec. 7, and the election commission has said that the final results probably won't be known for several days because of the cumbersome counting procedures.

A Maoist splinter group was behind a series of small blasts in the run up to the polls, and security forces have defused around 30 improvised explosive devices since Friday, army spokesman Nain Raj Dahal said.

Suresh Balsami was the first voter at Kagatigaun polling centre near the capital Kathmandu.

"I voted for peace, development and prosperity of the country,” said the 32-year-old bus driver as other voters began to trickle in.

Nepal voted in 2008 and 2013 for a Constituent Assembly, which doubled as parliament, to write a post-monarchy charter that plotted the course to becoming a federal republic.
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Courts cannot force a husband to keep his wife; it's human relationship: SC

The Supreme Court has said that courts cannot force a husband to "keep his wife" as it asked a man, a pilot by profession, to deposit Rs 10 lakh as interim maintenance for his estranged wife and upkeep of their son.

The apex court restored the bail order of the Madras High Court which was cancelled after the husband refused to comply with the compromise agreement.

"We cannot force a husband to keep his wife. It's a human relationship. You (man) deposit Rs 10 lakh with the trial court which will be withdrawn by the wife unconditionally to meet her immediate requirement," a bench of justices Adarsh Goel and U U Lalit said.

When the counsel appearing for the man said that the amount be reduced, the bench said that apex court is not a family court and no negotiations can be held.

"If you agree to deposit Rs 10 lakh immediately, the bail order would be restored," the bench said.

The counsel then agreed to deposit Rs 10 lakh but sought some time.

"We are inclined to restore the order of bail in view of the statement made on behalf of the petitioner that the petitioner will deposit a sum of Rs 10 lakh with the trial court within a period of four weeks," the bench said.

It said that the amount may be withdrawn by the wife unconditionally, so that she can meet immediate requirements for herself and the child.

"The said amount will be subject to adjustment in any future proceedings. The parties are free to reach mutual settlement for rehabilitation, as was earlier proposed. Accordingly, the order of bail will stand restored subject to above stipulations," the court said.
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From 26/11 in Mumbai to 9/11 in New York: Why large nations lose small wars

Nine years ago today, India got its own 9/11. The 26/11 attack was neither the first nor the most damaging. The 1993 bombings killed nearly 100 more people. Nor the most provocative. The 2001 parliament attack mobilised two nuclear armies. But the 26/11 attacks were etched into our collective psyche because it met all the requirements of a textbook terror attack. Nearly a decade later, we have achieved some tactical capacity but ironically may have become more vulnerable strategically.

At its essence, terror is an instrument of war, designed to exert compellence far disproportionate to the size or conventional ability of the attacker. Terrorism has never been about absolute body counts. It has always been about creating shock and awe to accentuate the helplessness of the state. That is how a nation one-sixth of our economy can engage with us in conflict over decades. And while the principles of this instrument have remained unchanged over centuries, its execution has evolved too rapidly for the state machinery, creating a paradox wherein large nations end up losing small wars.

The classical model of state security demarcates threats and responses into structured compartments. So the armed forces deal with external threats and police with internal. There is one agency to deal with external intelligence and another to deal with internal. Such structured approaches work well when dealing with insurgents or militant organisations whose tactics are derived from a similar military lineage, but collapse when confronted with asymmetric thinking and formless structures. Let’s understand this with 26/11.
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Donald Trump as person of the year: US Prez mistaken, says TIME magazine

Time Magazine said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump is mistaken about how it chooses its Person of the Year, after he said that he turned down the honour when the publication told him he would probably be its pick.

The magazine answered the president a few hours later, also on Twitter: "The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6

Trump was named Person of the Year by TIME in December 2016.

"It means a lot...I consider this a very, very great honor," the magnate said at the time.

The magazine awarded this honor to the president-elect for his "revolution" against the political establishment and his growing influence on world events following his unexpected victory in the November 2016 elections against the favorite, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

According to TIME, Trump's win in the elections represented a "long-overdue rebuke to an entrenched and arrogant governing class" and reflected the powerful rise of populism worldwide.
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Egypt mosque attack: Toll in firing by gunmen waving IS flags climbs to 305

The death toll in a terrorist attack on a mosque on Friday in Egypt's North Sinai has risen to 305 killed, including 27 children, and 128 others were wounded, state news agency MENA reported on Saturday.

"The attackers of the mosque were carrying the Islamic State flag," MENA quoted the statement of the country's general prosecutor as saying.

"Some 25-30 militants have gunned down the worshippers while performing the Friday prayer," it added.

The attack took place after the mosque's preacher started his speech, when the terrorists threw bombs from the windows and doors of the mosque, besieging the worshippers inside, the statement said.

Later, some masked men, carrying black flags reading "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet," broke into the mosque with automatic weapons, it added.

Long queues of the victims' relatives were laid on the ground, some covered with blankets, outside the Suez Canal Hospital in Ismailia.

"My 23-years old nephew, Amir, who was working as a nurse has passed away in the attack," said Samy Mohammed, who came from Delta Menoufia province to get the license of burying Amir said.

The father of Amir, Magdy, a 45 year-old teacher has also wounded in the attack by three bullets, two in his leg and one in his right arm, Mohammed told Xinhua.
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News Digest: Hard time for Tata Nano, robust FPI inflows, and more

India-focused funds continue to see robust inflows
After sharp outflows in August and September, the Indian market is once again experiencing a positive investment spell from overseas investors. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have poured nearly $3 billion into domestic stocks since August. A large part of these flows have come from India-focused offshore funds. These are actively managed funds that exclusively invest in select Indian securities, unlike exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which track indices such as the Nifty 50 or the S&P BSE Sensex.
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Dealers stop placing orders for Tata Nano

Tata Motors’ Nano, the cheapest car launched in recent times, is now also among models clocking lowest monthly production and sales volume (in double digits to be precise). The average daily production of just two Nano cars at the company’s Sanand plant is indication enough that this vehicle is now as good as obsolete. Dealers of Tata Motors in most parts of the country have stopped placing orders for this small car in the last three-four months and the showrooms are displaying contemporary models such as Tiago, Tigor, Hexa and Nexon. Read more

Tyremakers to invest Rs 35,000 crore in 5 years

During the same time last year, the capacity utilisation of the tyre industry was 65-70 per cent. It is not only growth in the automobile industry that has helped the tyre segment. Growth has been aided by government policies also, said Satish Sharma, chairman, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), which claims to represent about 90 per cent of tyremakers. Read more

Are you a credit risk? Banks dig deep in your phone to find out

Indian banks have started mining data on customers’ smartphones for fast loan approval, testing out cutting-edge but controversial technology in what is potentially a huge market for such products. Long hampered from lending to the hundreds of millions of Indians without credit histories, banks are hoping to slash risk-assessment costs and trigger a new wave of consumer lending with apps that look at everything from Facebook connections to online shopping habits to rate potential borrowers. Read more 
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