| Garcha’s charge of multi-crore city centre scam vindicated
The alleged exposure of a scam in the Ludhiana City Centre Project has vindicated the stand of former Improvement Trust Chairman Ashok Singh Garcha who had resigned in June 2004, alleging corruption beyond his control in the same project. The exposure has caused quite a stir with almost all key employees of the trust summoned to CM�s office in Chandigarh for explanation. The trust Chairman, Mr Paramjit Singh Sibia, held a close-door meeting with the trustees this morning before rushing to Chandigarh. None of the trustees was willing to comment on the exposure. Mr Sibia said he would give a reply to the media tomorrow. Mr Garcha, who had sought to take corruption by the horns in the trust, had resigned after making a stunning disclosure two years ago that some Chandigarh-based influential person had asked him to arrange Rs 100 crore from the project for the Congress party fund.
Councillor reprimanded for not spending enough
Toronto city Coun. Rob Ford was formally reprimanded by the city's executive committee on Monday for not spending enough taxpayers' money. Ford is the ultimate penny-pincher on council, spending nothing of his allotted $53,000 office budget this year. Ford pays his office expenses out of his own pocket. He buys the stamps, the envelopes and pays the cellphone bills himself. But that goes against the city's ethics rules that call for transparency in public spending, the underlying principle being that the public should know who is paying so there is no chance individuals or companies could use the money as a lever to ask for favours. "You don't spend private money, or developers' money, or anybody else's money on things like your newsletters. You spend the public money because there's an audit trail, it's accountable," said Mayor David Miller.
PS posts hinges on Cabinet reshuffle
He was responding to queries from Fiji Times Online on whether the reshuffle of ministers and the merge of ministries would mean some permanent secretaries losing their jobs. Mr Ram did not want to pre-empt anything at this stage. Several ministries have merged and a new one - Ministry of Defence, National Security and Immigration - created just prior to the budget. Interim Fijian Affairs Minister, Ratu Epeli Ganilau told Fiji Times Online his ministry which now comes under the Prime Minister's office, would retain all its responsibilities and human resources including the permanent secretary. ''It's only a name change,'' he said of his ministry being renamed department. Since the budget four ministries have merged with others ''to make them more condensed and efficient'', said Pramesh Chand, the Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister's office.
Benefit cheat jailed
A benefit cheat from Preston has been sentenced to nine months in prison after being found guilty of dishonestly obtaining council tax and housing benefits. John William Moss, of Avenham Place, was sentenced in respect of seven counts of making dishonest representations to the council to obtain benefits at Preston Crown Court on Thursday 29 November. The sentence was handed out after 48-year-old Moss fraudulently received £31,004.07 in council tax and housing benefit between 1999 and 2006. .
Will Brown bow to press pressure over 'challenge' of the EU treaty?
Cheese whit a monkey, all he's dae'n is giving Wee Eck even more free independence air miles and Bro' says Gordon is just being shrewd. Well that's fine fur him tae say he's no one the getting his backside tanned every Thursday in Holyrood trying to keep to the party line. Sheesh maybe its time for Labour in Scotland to declare UDI frae the numpties in London Labour.....Oh know there's anither o' they Flies on ra wa' - Whar's the fly spray ye wee bessoms? Many flies on the wall died to get you this information. Report as unsuitable 2. Comment Removed This comment has been removed by a moderator. 3. karin m / 12:50am 16 Oct 2007 So labour have broken a manifesto pledge have they is wee wendy shouting about that one? Report as unsuitable 4.
October 2006
Defense attorney Robert George also asked Burke today if he was aware that Murphy had been arrested on a charge of assault and battery with a deadly weapon in December 2001 -- the month before Worthington's murder -- after Murphy allegedly assaulted his wife. Burke said he was not aware of the arrest.The judge in the case has issued a court order for Elaine Gambrazzio, the girlfriend of Mulvey's father, to submit her cell phone and credit card records around the time of the murder. Gambrazzio, a realtor living in the off-Cape town of Abington 20 miles south of Boston, is being called this week as a witness for the defense in an apparent attempt to refute Frazier's claim that he spent the night of the murder at the Mulvey house in Eastham. Burke also testified yesterday that McCowen on the day of his arrest initially denied having any physical contact with Worthington, as he had in two prior interviews with police.
These power struggles are par for the course
The Scottish Government protested that Westminster had short-changed Scottish farmers of £8.1 million. Before Gordon Brown saw the opinion polls that didn't influence his decision against having an election, Westminster Environment Secretary Hilary Benn had intended to pay Scottish sheep farmers compensation for the financial havoc caused by the foot-and-mouth outbreak. Hallelujah - cheated of an election, another opportunity popped up for one-trick political hacks to ferret around the corridors of power, this time to uncover details of the breakdown in cooperation between Westminster and Holyrood. But just as it takes two to tango, cooperation isn't a solo effort, as was recognised by the people who devised devolution when they incorporated "Concordats" into the grand plan of how it would work.
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