2100 HRS.

17-04-2013

THE HEADLINES

• National Investigation Agency starts probe into the bomb blast in Bangalore.
• Eleven convicts of 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case surrender before the designated TADA court in Mumbai; Sanjay Dutt granted further four weeks time by supreme court to surrender.
• About 2300 candidates in fray as filing of nominations for Assembly Elections ends in Karntaka.
• Funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher held in St. Paul's Cathedral in London .
• Telugu writer Dr Ravuri Bharadwaja chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for the year 2012.

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In Karnataka, National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the blast case which left 16 persons injured near BJP office in Bangalore. NIA and forensic experts are studying the three burnt vehicles and other material to find what sort of bombs or material was used to trigger the blast. Special teams are also being set up to find those responsible for the terrorists act. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R.Ashoka has said that bomb like material exploded on a motorbike.

The Home Minister, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters in Kolkata that all details about the blast will be shared after the enquiry is over.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has termed the bomb blast in Bangalore as extremely unfortunate. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi this evening, Mr Tewari said terror has no place in a civilized society.

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The BJP today condemned the blast incident near party's office in Bangalore. Briefing reporters in New Delhi today, party spokesperson, Shahnawaz Hussain demanded concrete action against terrorism. He also criticized the congress over the controversial remarks about the blast .

There will never be any politics on terrorism. Country should unite on the terrorism .

Meanwhile, Congress has distanced itself form Shakeel Ahmad's remarks and said that terrorism should not be politicized. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, party spokesperson, Janardan Dwivedi condemned the incident and said it is a challenge for the country.

Any incident related to bomb blasts or terrorism is a national problem and to some extent international problem also. It is a matter of great concern and sorrow and a challenge for the whole country. It should not be seen as a political gain or loss.

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Eleven convicts of 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, who were out on bail, today surrendered before the designated TADA court in Mumbai following the dismissal of their appeals by the Supreme Court.

The court directed that they be taken to the Central Prison at Arthur Road in central Mumbai. They would be transferred to various central Prisons in the state.

The surrendered convicts include four retired police constables, a customs official and others who were involved in arranging the landing of RDX, arms and ammunition at Shekhadi coast in Raigad district.

Customs official Sadashiv Talwadekar was sentenced to eight years imprisonment ; he has served over six years in jail so far. Talwadekar was accused of taking bribe and allowing the landing of contraband at Shekhadi, allegedly sent by absconding accused Tiger Memon from Pakistan.

The remaining convicts including Zaibunissa Kazi, whose application seeking further time to surrender was rejected by the Supreme Court, are expected to appear before the TADA court tomorrow.

Meanwhile Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was today granted further four weeks time on humanitarian grounds to surrender before jail authorities to undergo 42 months remaining sentence in the case. Dutt had sought six months time to surrender to complete his seven movies in which producers have invested over 278 crore rupees. The apex court accepted the plea but made it clear that no further extension will be granted.

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A BSF helicopter, involved in lifting commandos conducting anti-Naxal operations, was today fired at by Naxalites in the jungles of south Bastar in Chhattisgarh, officials said. The Mi-17 helicopter suffered bullet shots in the cockpit area but landed safely with the last passenger load of 'Greyhound' commandos in Andhra Pradesh's Bhadrachalam in Khammam district, senior officials involved in the operation said.

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In Karnataka, 2295 candidates are in the fray for the Assembly Elections to be held on 5th of next month. Today on the last day of filing of nominations, 586 candidates filed their papers. The nominations will be scrutinised tomorrow and Saturday is the last day to withdraw nominations.

Meanwhile, election activities have gathered momentum with candidates addressing corner meetings.

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India today called for evolving workable solutions for promoting energy efficiency and ensure cost effectiveness of clean energy initiatives for faster transition to global green economy. Inaugurating the 4th Clean Energy Ministerial meeting in New Delhi, Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh termed the progress of discussions on climate change negotiations at the United Nations Framework on Climate Change as painfully slow.

Dr. Singh stressed on policy initiatives by governments, sharing of technology and reducing costs to promote clean energy initiatives. Saying that India offers tremendous potential for alternate energy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited global investments to set up solar energy manufacturing units in India.

Our 12th five year plan recognizes the importance of evolving a low carbon strategy for inclusive and sustainable growth. We have set ourselves a national target of increasing our efficiency of energy use to bring about a 20 to 25 per cent reduction in the energy intensity of our GDP by 2020.

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India and Tajikistan are working to enhance bilateral trade. Vice President, Mohd. Hamid Ansari told reporters on way back home after four day visit to Tajikistan that there are specific areas where trade can be enhanced. but the issue of connectivity needs to be addressed. In reply to a question, Mr. Ansari termed his talks with Tajik leadership as very productive.

My discussions with his excellency the President, with the Prime Minister, with other Ministers of the Government have been focussed substantively and no problem areas, no areas of desident, so all in all I think the relationship has been reiterated, underlined highlighted and we would continue to work on this.

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The National Human Rights Commission-NHRC today recommended to the government that close relatives of the prisoner Khalistani terrorist Devenderpal Singh Bhullar be given an opportunity to meet him. Bhullar has been awarded the death sentence in connection with the 1993 Delhi bomb blast case.The move came after a delegation including Bhullar's wife Navneet Kaur met NHRC Chairperson Justice K G Balakrishnan and other members on the issue of Bhullar's execution.

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 NEWS FROM THE BUSINESS WORLD

Snapping two days of gains, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange declined 14 points, or 0.1 percent to close at 18,731, amid falling European markets, today. The Nifty ended unchanged, at 5,689. Stock markets in Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore again ended mixed. The rupee weakened 7 paise, to close at 54.21 against the dollar. Falling for the fourth straight session, gold lost 90 rupees, to a 20-month low of 26,350 rupees per ten grams in Delhi. Silver dropped 425 rupees, to 45,700 rupees per kilo. And Brent crude oil futures stood below 99 dollars a barrel, while US crude slipped 1.50 dollars, to 87.22 dollars a barrel. AIR News

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The funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was held in St. Paul's Cathedral in London . Queen Elizabeth was among more than two thousand mourners representing countries from around the world. Lady Thatcher's coffin draped in the Union jack was taken by gun carriage through the streets. People on the streets were lined up to pay their last respects as the coffin went past.

Margaret Thatcher died last week at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke. She was the first woman to lead Britain's Conservative Party and the first to become Prime Minister.

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Telugu writer Dr Ravuri Bharadwaja has been selected for the prestigious Jnanpith award for the year 2012 . Oriya novelist Pratibha Ray gets the ward for 2011.

Bharadwaja, 86, has to his credit more than 37 volumes of short stories and 17 novels among other works.The books of Bharadwaja, who had education till Class VIII only, had been prescribed as text books in universities and even been the basis of many research works. Ray, also an academician, has written over 40 novels, travelogues and short stories.

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Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari presented Akashwani Annual Awards for outstanding contribution by professionals in respective fields this evening. The best news editor award went to D.Suprasanthi Devi and the best Correspondent to Manikant Thakur. Vinay Raj Tiwari was conferred the bold and courageous award for reporting and News Unit Hyderabad adjudged the best for Regional News Unit. Awards were also presented for best production in Drama, Feature, Science Programming and Engineering services. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Manish Tiwari said, government is exploring the possibilities of having a dedicated 24-hour news channel.

I have been working with both CEO Prasar Bharti and Secretary I&B to explore the possibility of whether without expanding too much of resource we can have a dedicated 24 hour FM news channel.

He called for creating a culture of gender equity as more number of young women from low income and middle income groups are entering the country's workforce.

Women have played increasingly important role as an integral part of workforce. So therefore within our organisation it is our bounded duty to create a culture of gender equity where by both men and women are able to work together to take this country and these institutions forward.

Mr Tewari has asked the Public Broadcaster to leverage the unique opportunity provided by telecom revolution that made the access to All India Radio easy. He said every cellular mobile phone in the hands of a common man has turned into a radio due to increase in the teledensity in the country.

Secretary Information and Broadcasting, Uday Verma and CEO Prasar Bharati, Jawahar Sirkar were present on the occasion.

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The Supreme Court today turned down the plea of a December 16 gangrape accused to shift the trial outside Delhi but it agreed to hear his plea for moving him out of Tihar jail for allegedly being tortured there. The court passed the order on a plea filed by Mukesh submitting that he is being tortured in the jail and fair trial is not possible in the capital.

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In Uttar Pradesh seven persons were killed and five injured in a road accident in the Kotwali Shafipur police area of Unnao today. The fateful incident occurred when a DCM truck collided head on with a tempo carrying twelve passengers on Shafipur Miyaganj road near Gaura village of the district.

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London Olympics quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap, Sai Praneeth B and rising Indian woman shuttler P V Sindhu have won their first round Singles matches in the Badminton Asia Championships.

At Taipei today, fourth seeded Kashyap beat Ji Hoon Hong of South Korea 18-21 21-15 22-20. The world No.7 Indian will take on local player, Han Chou Chu in the second round.

Sai Praneeth B advanced to the second round after beating Mohamed Ajfan Rasheed in straight games.

In women's singles, Sindhu recorded a comfortable 21-18 21-19 win over Tsz Ka Chan of Hong Kong. In Round Two, Sindhu is pitted against World No. 6 Wang Shixian.

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In the IPL match at Pune today, Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Pune Warriors by 11 runs. Put in to bat, the Hyderabad team made 119 for 8 in their twenty overs. Chasing the target of 120 runs, Pune Warriors were all out for 108 in 19 overs