0815 HRS
14th February, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Voting for Tripura Assembly polls begins.
• SEBI orders the freezing of bank accounts of two Sahara firms, including the Group Chief Subrata Roy, in investors money refund case.
• The Government approves proposal to extend timeline for sale of wheat by FCI.
• Fifty two fresh cases of Swine Flu reported in the national capital; The Delhi government keeping a close watch on preparedness.
• Australia and the West Indies storm into the finals of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup.

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In Tripura, polling for 60 member Assembly Constituencies has begun. Our correspondent reports that people are standing in front of the booths to cast their votes. More from our correspondent:

The Voting today will seal the fate of the 249 Candidates in the state which include Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Finance Minister Badal Choudhury, and Opposition Leader Ratan Lal Nath. The Polling is going on peacefully amidst tight security. Though it is the initial hour of polling but people are queuing up in polling booths. In last 5 years the three elections that state has seen, the polling percentage was more than 90%. The voting is expected to pick up as the day progresses. WITH MANAS PRATIM SARMA,THIS IS SUDIPTA KAR, AIR NEWS, AGARTALA.

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Taking stern action against Sahara in the high-profile investor refund case involving over 24 thousand crore rupees, market regulator SEBI has ordered the freezing of bank accounts and the attachment of all properties of the two group firms, SIRECL and SHCIL and the top executives, including Subrata Roy.

The properties being attached by SEBI include the land owned by the Sahara group firm Aamby Valley Ltd. Besides, SEBI has also ordered the attachment of equity shares held in the Aamby Valley Ltd, units of mutual funds, bank and demat accounts and investments in all the branches of all banks. The market regulator has also asked all the banks to transfer the amounts lying in these accounts to its SEBI-Sahara Refund Account.

SEBI's action follows directions from the Supreme Court, which had said last week that the market regulator was free to freeze accounts and attach properties, if the Sahara group firms were not depositing the money with it for refund to investors.

Meanwhile, the Sahara group late last night said the action taken by SEBI is based on old facts and the orders for attaching assets of individuals is incorrect on part of the market regulator.

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a proposal to extend the timeline for the sale of wheat under the open market sale scheme by the Food Corporation of India to bulk consumers till March-end. The decision was taken at the CCEA meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi last evening. Highly placed sources said, the decision will help ease the storage crunch that FCI is facing.

The Cabinet also approved a Constitutional Amendment Bill to facilitate the implementation of the India-Bangladesh boundary agreement signed in 2011. Official sources said that the Cabinet gave its nod to the draft of the Constitutional Bill to amend the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, 1974. Additional protocol for 1974 Land Boundary Agreement, signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka in September 2011, requires a constitutional amendment for ratification. The protocol involves the exchange of land in 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves on Indian soil. The Bill is expected to be tabled in the coming Budget session of Parliament for its approval. The Cabinet approved the draft of Presidential address to the joint session of Parliament beginning from the 21st of this month.

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The Centre has told the Supreme Court that convicted MPs and MLAs get disqualified only after exhausting all legal remedies and it is based on a legislative policy to ensure existence and continuity of an elected House. An affidavit, filed by an official of the Ministry of Law and Justice said that the object of enacting section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act was not merely on the right of an individual to contest an election or to continue as a member of a House, but to ensure the existence and continuity of a House democratically constituted. The affidavit was filed before a bench of justices A K Patnaik and Gyan Sudha Misra. The court was hearing two PILs, filed by Lily Thomas and NGO Lok Prahari.

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The Defence Minister Mr. A K Antony has asserted that nobody would be spared if found guilty of irregularities in the 3600 crore rupees VVIP chopper deal from Italy. Antony also said that the Government can cancel the deal and get back the money if charges of corruption and irregularities were found to be true in the CBI probe. The VVIP chopper purchase from an Italian firm has also come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate which is expected to register a criminal case of money laundering to probe the allegations of kickbacks in the deal.

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Supporters of the former Maldivian President Mohamad Nasheed staged a rally in Male last evening. Nasheed who has sought refuge in the Indian High Commission to evade arrest by the local police, spent the night there, while thousands of his supporters, rallied outside the building. The supporters at the rally called for setting up of an Interim Government to conduct free and fair elections.

Yesterday, India had issued a statement saying that its officials are in touch with the Maldivian authorities to resolve the tense situation. India expressed concern over the ongoing political instability and appealed to the Government and all political parties to adhere strictly to democratic principles so that free and fair elections can be held in the country later this year.

Nasheed has been nominated by his party as the Presidential candidate for the elections slated for the 7th of September.

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The UN nuclear watchdog and Iran ended a day of talks in Tehran yesterday. Iran has agreed on some points in talks with experts from the UN atomic watchdog. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, was quoted as saying after the meeting that some differences were resolved and an agreement on some issues in the modality was reached.

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French President Francois Hollande arrives on a two-day state visit to India today. Mr Hollande, who is accompanied by a high-level delegation of several key Cabinet Ministers, will hold delegation-level talks with the Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh which will be followed by signing of agreements between the two sides. During his stay in Delhi, the visiting dignitary will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and meet the top leadership of the country. He will honour Professor Amartya Sen with Commandeur de la legion d' Honneur. Mr Hollande will also visit Mumbai tomorrow to attend an economic conference and hold business meetings with the captains of the Indian industry.

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Fifty two fresh cases of Swine Flu have been reported from various parts of the national capital till yesterday. With this, the total number of cases has risen to 206 since January this year. So far four people have succumbed to the disease.

The Health Minister Dr A. K Walia said that his Ministry is keeping a close watch on the preparedness of hospitals for treatment and timely control over the management and treatment of disease. He also said that an adequate stock of medicine is available for treatment.

Meanwhile, swine flu has claimed 23 lives in Gujarat since the onset of winter and 82 patients are being treated. Talking to media persons yesterday, Nitin Patel, Health Minister and Gujarat Government spokesman said, the disease has aggravated because of the prolonged winter. He said, the patients are being provided free of cost swine-flu kits in both the state-run and private hospitals.

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In Assam, the death toll has risen to 21 in the violence hit areas of Krishnai and Mornoi in Goalpara district. Curfew still continues in both the areas. Last night some miscreants tried to burn down houses, but could not succeed due to timely intervention of security forces. Ferry boats on the river Brahmaputra have been restricted from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily by district authority until further orders due to the prevailing situation.

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All arrangements for the fourth most important bathing festival of Basant Panchami of the Maha Kumbh Mela have been completed. Mela administration has prepared a comprehensive plan to avoid crowd at bathing Ghats, railway stations and bus stands. The Allahabad Divisional Commissioner and Nodal Officer of the Mela, Devesh Chaturvedi has said that the Railways will be running above 70 special trains to ferry pilgrims for three days. Our correspondent reports that 15 hundred additional buses will be pressed into service by the UP roadways.

Two senior police officers including an IG and DIG have been deployed to monitor the security arrangements for Basant Panchami bathing. In addition to them about 60 more civil and police officers are also deployed for the Mela, in view of stampede at Allahabad railway station on last Sunday claiming 36 lives. Entry of heavy vehicles and Goods carrier is restricted into Allahabad city and it will be effective for three days. Astrologers have said that pious period for Basant Panchami bathing begins from today but festival will be celebrated tomorrow as traditionally people treat the auspicious day with sun rise. With Shariq Noor, this is Sunil Shukla, AIR News, Kumbh Mela, Allahabad.

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Australia and the West Indies have stormed into the finals of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. In a super-six match at Mumbai, opting to bat first, the West Indies were bundled out for 164 in 47 overs. Chasing 165 for victory, Australia were all out for 156, with 10 balls to spare. Even though the West Indies defeated Australia by 8 runs, both the teams finished with 8 points at the top of the points table, booking the final two berths. The finals will be played on 17th of this month.

In another Super-Six match yesterday, South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 110 runs at Cuttack.

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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
Most papers this morning have published photographs of former "Air Force Chief", S. P. Tyagi, who has been accused of receiving kickbacks in the VVIP helicopter deal. The story is splashed across the front pages of most papers.

The other news story extensively covered is that of the imminent hike in fuel prices. The Indian Express says that the Oil Marketing Companies who recently raised the retail price of diesel, said, they were set to review the price again in the next few days. The Indian Oil Corporation Chief hinted at a hike in petrol prices also, says the paper.

Air pollution has jumped to number five spot amongst top killers, writes The Asian Age. Air pollution is the fifth leading cause of death in India as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases are the key reasons for pollution-induced premature deaths, writes The Statesman. As many as 6.27 lakh Indians die each year because of air pollution, writes Mail Today.

In a related story, The Pioneer writes that school children bear the brunt of pollution in National Capital, Delhi. The paper adds that with schools surrounded by residential areas, and increasing vehicular traffic poisoning, children are inhaling harmful gasses during their daily travel to and from school.

President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected the mercy petitions of the four associates of "forest brigand Veerappan", says The Hindu and adds, that the men who have been in jail for the past 20 years could be sent to the gallows within a fortnight. The Pioneer, The Economic Times and other papers have also reported this story.

And finally, on the Valentines Day today, a billion people in 180 cities across the world are expected to rise on the streets, to raise their voices against "violence on women". The campaign titled 'One Billion Rising', aims to add a missionary tinge to the usual fervor of exchanging gifts and expressing love on Valentines Day. Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Statesman have reported this story.

With that it is back to you Sukanya