0815 HRS
11th January , 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Pakistani troops fire at Indian posts in Poonch sector in another ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir; Indian Army to seek a flag meeting between the formation commanders to defuse tension.

• Home Minister says, operations launched by security forces in Jharkhand will continue till the area is cleared of Maoists.

• Centre raises housing assistance under Indira Awas Yojana to 70 thousand rupees in plains and 75 thousand in hilly areas.

• At least 101 people killed in bombings in two Pakistani cities.

• India take on England in the first one dayer at Rajkot today.

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In yet another ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistani troops across the Line of Control fired at Indian posts in the Poonch sector yesterday. The firing by Pakistani troops started from Roza and Battal posts in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir at4.30 PM. The firing was effectively retaliated by the Indian troops. The firing took place in the area guarded by the 13 Rajputana Rifles, whose two soldiers Lance Naiks Sudhakar Singh and Hemraj were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistani troops on Tuesday. The Army is planning to seek a flag meeting between the formation commanders of India and Pakistan deployed along the Poonch sector of the LoC in a bid to defuse the tension.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has outrightly rejected Pakistan's proposal for a UNprobe into Tuesday's incident on the LoC in which two Indian soldiers were brutally killed by Pakistani troops. He said, the issue figured at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, which was briefed by Defence Minister A K Antony on the incident.

We are certainly not going to agree to internationalise the issue or allow the UN to hold an inquiry that demand is obviously rejected out of hand.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said, Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed was present in Pak-occupied Kashmir, a few days before Tuesday's incident.

It has been our information just 4-5 days back that in PoK area, Hafiz Saeed had entered and he had talked with some people.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, he, however, said that the visa agreements between India and Pakistan will stay. Mr Shinde said it will be operationalised as per the schedule.

Meanwhile, Pakistani army yesterday refused to allow trucks from India carrying goods to cross the LoC trade point in Poonch district. 25 trucks carrying goods, mostly vegetables, from India were not allowed to cross the LoC and enter Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir at Chakan-Da-Bagh. Our correspondent has filed this report:

If the repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the Line of Control are raising tension along the LoC, Pakistan's continued denial of having done something wrong by crossing the Line of Control or indulging in barbaric act of mutilating the bodies is aggravating the tension. By suggesting a UN probe Pakistan is trying to internationalise the issue. It forgets that the two countries have long ago resolved to settle issues bilaterally. Islamabadneeds to take a fresh look at its policies to ease tension between the two countries. Ashok Handoo, AIR News, Delhi.

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Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has said that the operations launched by security forces in Jharkhand will continue till the area is cleared of Maoists. Addressing a Press conference in New Delhi yesterday, he said, security forces have launched a large scale operation in the area.

The morale of the jawans is very strong. Strategies that they are applying my CRPF jawans, my colleagues they are very strong enough to fight.

In a barbaric and cowardly act, the Naxals planted a bomb inside the stomach of a CRPF jawan, who was killed in an encounter with the Maoists in Latehar of Jharkhand. This tactic is perhaps the first of its kind by the Naxals in the country. The Naxals had surgically inserted a 1.5 kg Improvised Explosive Device in the body of the slain jawan of CRPF. The bomb was detected in a Ranchi hospital during autopsy. Meanwhile, the Jharkhand government has announced a compensation of 2.35 lakh rupees to the families of the four villagers who died during the encounter. One dependent of each family will also be given a job.

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The Union Cabinet has raised housing assistance substantially under the Indira Awas Yojana to provide quality and affordable houses. This was disclosed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi yesterday after the Cabinet meeting.

Assistance will be increased from 45 thousand rupees to 70 thousand rupees in plain areas and from rupees 48,500 to rupees 75,000 in hilly districts, difficult districts and the IAP districts.

The unit assistance provided for homestead site to those living below the poverty line has been doubled to 20 thousand rupees. Those, who have neither agricultural land nor a house site for buying a homestead site will be eligible for the assistance.

The Cabinet has also approved infusion of 12,517 crore rupees of additional capital in public sector banks. Mr Chidambaram said this will be completed by March this year and will enable the banks to maintain their Cash reserve ratio. Disinvestment of ten per cent paid up equity of Public sector Engineers India Ltd. was also given nod by the cabinet.

The divestment of 10 per cent paid up equity in Engineers India Ltd, current holding is 80.4 per cent, 10 per cent will be disinvested. We expect to get around about 800 crore at current prices.

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Delhi Police has tendered an unconditional apology to Delhi High Court for not naming in its report the cops patrolling the area in which a girl was gang raped in a moving bus on the 16th of last month. The Police has filed a fresh report containing the names of the policemen who were present at the time when the 23 year old victim and her friend sought help. The court accepted the fresh status report of the Police.

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Justice Usha Mehra Commission, constituted to review the responses to the Delhigang-rape case has extended its deadline for receiving suggestions from the public till the 18th of this month. Earlier, the last date for receiving suggestions was 10th of January. A Home Ministry release said that any information, suggestions and responses could be sent to the Justice Usha Mehra Commission of Inquiry through e-mail at usha.mehracommission@nic.in or through Fax at 011-23022364.

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Three days Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit will begin at Mahatma Mandir in state capital Gandhinagar this morning. This is the sixth edition of biannual summit with the aim to attract the foreign investment in the state on large scale. Chief Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit-2013 at a grand opening Ceremony today. Our correspondent has filed this report:

Chief Minister has claimed that the state has already attracted investment worth of Rs. 820 billion during the last five summits which has now become a global business hub. Though, there is a big gap in Memorandum of Understanding signed and actual implementation of the projects during the last five summits, but it is sure that sixth edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit will create a fascinating confluence of knowledge, thoughts and ideas for sustainable, holistic and inclusive development of the state. Yogesh Pandya, AIR News, Gandhinagar.

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In Madhya Pradesh, the situation in curfew bound Raisen town is totally peaceful and under control. After relaxation of 15 hours in curfew yesterday, curfew was again imposed in the town last night from 9 PM till 6 AM today morning as a precautionary measure. The situation is normal in the town this morning and people are buying essential commodities. Indefinite curfew was imposed in Raisen Wednesday night as a precautionary measure after a dispute between two groups.

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In Uttar Pradesh, the death toll due to severe cold has crossed 250. Lucknow and Najibabad remained the coldest place in the state where minimum temperature was recorded 0.5 degree Celsius. Our Gorakhpur correspondent reports that bright sunshine in several districts has brought down intensity of cold to some extent. However, rail and road traffic remained disrupted due to fog in morning and evening hours.

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At least 101 people have been killed in bombings in two Pakistan cities with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in the city of Quetta. City Deputy Inspector of Police Hamid Shakil said two coordinated explosions killed at least 69 people and injured more than 100 in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, last evening.

Eyewitnesses said the first of two coordinated attacks in Quetta appeared to be a suicide bombing in a snooker hall. About ten minutes later, a car bomb went off that killed five policemen and a cameraman among the dead from that blast.

The attack happened in a predominately Shia neighbourhood. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned sectarian group claimed the responsibility for the Quetta attack.

Earlier in the day, a blast in Quetta's market killed 11 people and injured more than 40. The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for that blast.

In another incident yesterday, 21 people were killed and more than 60 injured in a bombing when people gathered to hear a religious leader speak in Mingora city of northwestern

province of Swat. 'The death toll may rise as some of the injured are in a critical conditions. The Taliban said they were not responsible for yesterday's bombing last October, the Taliban shot a schoolgirl campaigner Malala Yousufzai in Mingora.

Sectarian attacks are also on the rise in Pakistan, and militant groups frequently bomb or shoot Shia passengers on buses travelling to neighbouring Iran.

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The first one day international of the 5-match series between India and England will be played at the SCA Stadium in Rajkot today. The match begin at 12 noon.

All India Radio will broadcast live commentary on the match. It can be heard on the Rajdhani and FM Gold channels from 11:30 AM.

Fiery opener Virender Sehwag has been dropped from the Indian squad for the first three matches and in-form batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is his replacement. While Indian Skipper MS Dhoni will look to regain some lost pride, England captain Alistair Cook, just like the recent Test series triumph, will eye an ODI series victory at the Indian soil after 28 years.India recently lost to Pakistan 1-2 in the 3-match ODI series, which saw the resumption of cricketing ties between the two sub-continent giants after 5 years.

Before the Pakistan series, England defeated India 2-1 in the 4-match Test series, while the 2-match Twenty-20 series ended square.

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NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

• The story of the aftermath of the sneak attack from across the LOC byPakistan that left two Indian jawans mutilated, and strained the India Pakistan relations severely, has been prominently covered by all prominent newspapers of their front pages. The Times of India says that border truce violations have almost doubled in 2012.
• The Asian Age reports that twenty five days after the Delhi gang rape and subsequent death of a 23 year old paramedic student, the Delhi Government is working on a recommendation of making auto-rickshaw kiosks on the pattern of taxi kiosks so that commuters could get auto-rickshaws round the clock.
• Under the headline, Decriminalising Politics", The Tribune reports that the Supreme Court has directed the Centre to justify the existence of two different laws - one for ordinary citizens involved in criminal cases and another for the similarly placed elected representatives.
• The Indian Express writes that Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has suggested that Aadhaar numbers should be included on birth certificates and university degrees which will help in accessing services and overcoming bogus beneficiaries and duplication.
• "Schools for Tibetans, run by Tibetans" - under this headline, The Indian Express says that the Cabinet has decided to transfer 71 schools, set up in the 60s for kids of Tibetan refugees, from the HRD ministry to the Dalai Lama led administration in Dharamshala.
• Under the caption "Insulin code out, say bye to needles", The Times of India says that in a major breakthrough that could help millions of diabetics, Australian researchers have solved a 20-year-old mystery on how Insulin works at the molecular level that may soon enable diabetics to get rid of daily injections.
• "Jayashri's Pi lullaby in race for Oscar". Under this headline, The Indian Express says that the lilting, tender song in Tamil called "Pi's Lullaby", in the movie "Life of Pi" which has been nominated in 11 categories, is in the race for the Best Music (Original Song) at the Oscars 2013.