Cong nixes Rushdie trip on poll eve

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

With Army Chief General V.K.Singh having filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court on the issue of his date of birth, most papers lead with the Government's response to this development. "Govt closes ranks, readies to battle army chief in court" reports Hindustan Times in its front page lead. Highlighting that the government has filed a caveat to avoid any ex-parte or one sided order from the court, the Pioneer writes "Centre's SC caveat seeks to defuse crisis".

There is great speculation in the press about author Salman Rushdie's likely presence at the Jaipur Literary Festival in the wake of some protests against his participation. The Hindustan Times reports "Rushdie visit on, lit fest itinerary kept under wraps". However the Mail Today writes "Cong nixes Rushdie trip on poll eve".

Most papers report that the Supreme Court of Portugal has upheld the observations of the Lisbon High Court on underworld don Abu Salem's extradition. "Portugal SC cancels Salem's extradition" writes the Hindustan Times while the Indian Express reports the Supreme Court as saying "Extradition rules flouted". The Pioneer says "CBI to challenge Portugese SC order".

The prices of gold and silver are set to increase according to reports in all the papers. Explaining why this would happen, the Times of India says "Import duty up, jewels to cost more". Analysing the move, the Financial Express writes "Higher gold import duty to trim current account deficit".

India's announcement that it will continue to import oil from Iran even as the US and the European Union are set to impose fresh sanctions on Iran is widely noticed. "India rejects US embargo on Iran" reports the Times of India. The Hindustan Times writes " India stands upto US, will continue to buy oil from Iran".

And finally, the decision of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia to shut down its website for 24 hours today is prominently noticed. "24 hr Wikipedia blackout to protest US anti piracy bill" reports the Indian Express. The Economic Times says that the protest is against the Stop Online Piracy Act or SOPA bill which can lead to censorship of international websites inside America.