India, Bangladesh to produce mega film on 1971 War of Liberation

India and Bangladesh agreed to work on a proposal for jointly producing a mega film depicting Bangladesh’s struggle for independence which will also highlight the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers.

India and Bangladesh also agreed to explore the possibility of setting up of a Joint Working Group on the critical sectors of the Information and Broadcasting domain.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Pran

Pran has been awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2012), the nation’s highest cinema honour.

Pran Krishan Sikand better known by his mononym, Pran, is a multiple Filmfare and BFJA award-winning Indian actor, known as a movie villain and character actor in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to the 1990s. He acted as a hero from 1940–47 and as a villain from 1942–1991 and played supporting and character roles from 1948–2007.

Death can’t be commuted on ground of delay on mercy plea: SC

Supreme Court held that long delay by the President or the Governor in disposing of mercy petitions of persons convicted under anti-terror laws like TADA or similar statutes cannot be a ground for commutation of the death sentence. A two-judge bench gave this ruling while rejecting the plea of Khalistani terrorist and death-row convict Devinderpal Singh Bhullar in a judgment that paves the way for his execution and may have a bearing on the fate of over 20 convicts facing execution.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce to defer signing of India-EU FTA

Parliamentary Standing Committee during its meeting suggested Prime Minister to put off signing of the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) till the committee deliberates on the issues raised before it.

The Chairman of the committe, Mr. Shanta Kumar stated that, in view of many issues and concerns raised by the various States, NGOs and stakeholders, it would be appropriate to defer signing of the India-EU FTA.

The negotiations have hit a roadblock after EU demanded that India provide free access to the automobile industry of Europe, especially Germany, hike the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in insurance to 49 per cent, open up the financial sector through more reforms and lower taxes on wines and spirits.

Amitabh presented NTR National Film Award

Film star Amitabh Bachchan was presented the NTR National Film Award for 2011 at a glittering by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, producer D. Rama Naidu and senior personalities of Tollywood.

The award carried Rs.5 lakh cash prize, a citation and a memento.

Margaret Thatcher dead

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Britain’s first woman Prime Minister, died following a stroke.

She was 87 and was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and the Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and is the only woman to have held the office. A Soviet journalist called her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism

Serbia rejects E.U. brokered Kosovo deal

Serbia has rejected EU-brokered plan to tackle the ethnic partition of its former province Kosovo.

It is believed that it would jeopardise Serbia’s hopes of starting membership talks with the EU.

Serbia said the plan is unacceptable because it does not give more autonomy to minority ethnic Serbs in Kosovo who together with Serbia reject Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence.

While some 90 countries including the United States and most EU nations have recognized Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence, it has been rejected by Serbia and its Slavic ally Russia.

The stumbling block in the talks was a Serbian demand that ethnic Serbs, who represent about 10 per cent of Kosovo’s 2 million people, have their own judiciary and police force. But Kosovo officials have rejected that, saying it would be tantamount to a division of Kosovo into two separate entities.