Quicktakes

LS election process begins todayNEW DELHI: Filing of nominations for the first phase of the four-stage 12th Lok Sabha elections will begin t...

LS election process begins today

NEW DELHI: Filing of nominations for the first phase of the four-stage 12th Lok Sabha elections will begin today with the formal notification being issued by the President for polls in Meghalaya and Tripura.

The second notification on January 21 will cover 18 states and union territories, the third on January 28 will be for 13 and the last on February ten would allow candidates in three constituencies of Jammu & Kashmir to file their papers.

Entry for Oscars

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NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) has decided to include the Indian entry for the Oscar awards in the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) next year onwards, festival sources said here today. The Indian entry, which is selected by the Film Federation of India (FFI), would be a regular feature among the Indian films to be shown in future festivals, the sources said.

Assam poll rolls

GUWAHATI: Guwahati High Court today admitted a writ petition filed by the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee challenging the recent Election Commission directive debarring about 3.70 lakh `D’ category citizens from exercising their franchise in the coming elections. A single-judge bench of justice J N Sharma admitting the petition served show cause notices on the Chief Election Commissioner, chief electoral officer of Assam and electoral registration officers of all districts of the state.

Fodder scam

PATNA: The Patna High Court today dismissed the bail petition filed by Dr Shyam Behari Sinha, the prime accused in fodder scam and former joint director of animal husbandry department at Ranchi. The case was related to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37 crore from Caibasa treasury during 1994-95.