1400 HRS.

25th October, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh claim 15 lives; Two more washed away in floods.

• Nomination filing begins for 72 seats in the second phase of Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh.

• Vice President Hamid Ansari leaves this morning on a tri-nation tour of Peru, Cuba and Britain; India is keen on extending cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration in mineral rich Peru.

• Nepali Congress proposes Parliamentary form of government with an executive Prime Minister and President as Constitutional head.

• Delhi High Court declines to stay the ongoing inquiry proceedings by Badminton Association of India against ace shuttler Jwala Gutta for alleged indiscipline.

• Sensex slips over 30 points in afternoon trade; Rupee loses 21 paise to 61.67 against the dollar.

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In Andhra Pradesh, the death toll due to torrential rains went up to 15, two others were washed away in flood waters. Massive evacuation of people from low lying areas is underway in the coastal districts. The normal life has been badly hit due to very heavy rains that are lashing several parts of the state under the influence of low pressure in the Bay of Bengal and the North-East monsoon. The state Disaster Management authorities told our Correspondent that 135 relief camps have been opened in the coastal districts and over 67 thousand people from low lying areas have been shifted to safer locations so far.

Meanwhile, major rivers including Godavari, Krishna and Vamsadhara are in spate due to incessant rains for the past four days.  Road and rail transport systems have been badly hit in the coastal districts. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy directed concerned district authorities to take up relief operations on a war footing. 

Massive rescue and relief operations have been launched in the rain affected districts of Andhra Pradesh. Normal life has been severely hit due to the downpour for the past four days especially in Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Prakasam and east and West Godavari districts. People from low laying areas have been advised to go to safer locations as thousands of villages and residential colonies in urban areas marooned. Official reports say that more than three thousand houses were damaged due to continuous rainfall rendering many people homeless. So far 67 thousand people are taking shelter in relief camps. About 10 teams of the National Disaster Response teams have been sent to affected areas to carry our rescue operations. -Lakshmi, airnews, Hyderabad.

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In Chhattisgarh, notification has been issued today for the second phase of elections, marking the beginning of filing of nominations in 72 constituencies. Our Correspondent reports that for the second phase, nomination papers can be filed till the November 1st. Scrutiny will take place on November 2nd and the last date for withdrawal of papers is the November 4 th and polling is scheduled for November 19.

In Chhattisgarh the process of filing of nominations for 72 seats began today. These constituencies will go to poll in the second phase on 19th November. Out of these 72 constituencies 9 are reserved for schedule caste and 17 are reserved for schedule tribe. The process of nomination filing began under strict monitoring and guidelines of Election commission. Barricading has been made in collectorates of 19 districts were nominations will be filed. Only 5 persons including candidate will be allowed at the time of nomination. Vikalp Shukla, AIR News, Raipur.

Meanwhile, today is also the last date for filing of nominations for the first phase of elections in 18 constituencies of Chhattisgarh. Scrutiny will take place on October 26th while nomination papers can be withdrawn till October 28th. In the first phase, eighteen constituencies in the Maoist affected region of the state will go to polls on 11th November.

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Food Minister Prof. K V Thomas has expressed the hope that onion prices will come down within ten days as the NAFED has begun importing it. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi today, he asked the traders not to hoard the stock. He however said, the government is not going to ban onion exports as it will result in losing the international market.    

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The CBI today questioned former Rajasthan Minister, Babulal Nagar who is accused of raping and assaulting a 35-year-old woman. An official said that the statement of Nagar has been recorded by the CBI at the Circuit House in Jaipur. Nagar has denied the charges and assured to cooperate with the agency in the investigation. The Sodala Police station had booked Nagar for allegedly raping and beating up the woman on September 11, after calling her to his official bungalow in Jaipur on the pretext of giving her a job.

The CBI on October 9th, took over the probe from the Rajasthan Police which had registered the case against Nagar, following which he resigned as the Minister of Dairy, Khadi and Rural Industries. Nagar, who tendered his resignation as Minister, was suspended from Congress by the party high command, last month.

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The Janata Dal (U) has complained to the Election Commission and the Income Tax department about the spending on public rallies organized by the BJP and other parties in their election campaigns. Talking to reporters in New Delhi today, JD(U) spokesman K C Tyagi alleged that more than five crore rupees are being spent in each of the public rallies. He said, the Election Commission should take note of the amount being spent on these rallies and the same should be included in their election expenditure. He also alleged that the BJP is distributing sarees and Kurtas to the people which is a gross violation of the model code of conduct.

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Vice President Hamid Ansari left this morning on a tri-nation tour of Peru, Cuba and Britain. Mr. Ansari after an overnight stay in Frankfurt, will arrive in Peru on a three-day official visit beginning tomorrow. The high level official visit after a gap of 15 years, would enhance India's bilateral relationship with latin American nations. India is also keen on extending cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration in mineral rich Peru. The Vice President will be visiting Cuba on the 29th and 30th of this month on the final leg of his visit.  Mr. Ansari will deliver a public lecture at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in Britain.

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In Nepal, the Nepali Congress has proposed  the Parliamentary form of government with an executive Prime Minister and President as Constitutional head. Releasing the party manifesto in Kathmandu yesterday, it has proposed that the country should be restructured into seven states based on multi-ethnic identity and viability. It has committed to reach a conclusion on the formation of the states within the first six months after forging an agreement with all the parties. The Party manifesto which was jointly released by the General Secretaries, Prakash Man Singh and Krishna Prasad Sitaula, has committed to writing the Constitution within one year  and institutionalize democracy and concentrate on the development of the country. Advocating a strong local government, it has proposed three tiers of government, federal, provincial and local government.

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Air India Express, the low cost arm of  the airliner, has scheduled 109 flights to the gulf region every week to cope up with the passenger rush during the winter season. From Kochi, the Air India Express will operate daily flights to Dubai. There will be four flights to Sharjah, three to Muscat, and three to Kuwait per week. The Airlines will operate seven flights a week to Doha with halts at Kozhikode and Bahrain. From Thiruvananthapuram, there will be daily flights to Abu Dhabi. Besides five  flights in a week to Dubai have been scheduled. Three flights will be to Muscat and three to Sharjah every week. There will be one flight to Salalah via Kochi and one to Salalah directly. From Mangalore, there will be 14 flights a week to Dubai, three to Muscat via Abu Dhabi, two to Bahrain and two to Doha.

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The Delhi High Court today declined to grant a stay on the ongoing inquiry proceedings by a Committee against ace shuttler Jwala Gutta for alleged indiscipline. The Committee has been set up by the Badminton Association of India, BAI. Gutta had approached the High Court, challenging the show cause notice by the Committee on the October 14th and also sought a stay on its proceedings against her.

Justice V K Jain referred to his October 10th order and said no interim order is required as the court has already granted her relief by asking BAI to allow her to participate in the national and international tournaments. However, the court granted her two weeks time to respond to the Committee's show cause notice.

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The seventh India-Russia joint army exercise, INDRA 2013 is going on at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. Today, both the armies exhibited their excellent warfare technologies. Our Correspondent reports, that the aim of this joint exercise is to prepare soldiers to work in coordination for UN peacekeeping operations.

500 soldiers of both the countries displayed their ability in counter terrorism operations. Col. Rajesh Nambiar and Lt. Gen. Vladimir G Tzilko were the leaders of Indian and Russian troops. In the tough terrain of Thar desert they used T 72 Tanks, modern Infantry vehicles and various types of ammunition to neutralize imaginary terrorist camps. This exercise was divided into two parts, VINDHURAL derived from combination of Vindhya and Ural mountains was aimed to joint search and destroy operation while GANGNEVA derived from Ganga and Neva rivers of India was a mechanized force operation. This exercise will conclude tomorrow. INDRA 2013 is a joint battle exercise to train soldiers for destruction of illegal armed forces under future UN operations.  Anurag Vajpeyi AIR News Mahajan Field Firing Range Bikaner.

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A fire broke out on the 5th floor of the AGCR Building, opposite the Income Tax Office (ITO) in Delhi today. Fire Brigade officials told AIR that 12 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to bring down the fire. There is no report about the loss of lives. They said the fire was under control when the reports last came in.

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Remaining slightly weak, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock stood 34 points, or 0.2 percent in negative territory, at 20,692 in afternoon trade, a short while ago. Earlier, in morning deals, the Sensex had fallen 65 points, or 0.3 percent, to 20,660 on continued selling by funds, amid falling regional bourses. The Sensex had lost nearly 170 points in the previous three trading sessions.

Elsewhere in Asia, stock indices in Japan, China, Hong South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia had declined between 0.2 percent and 2.8 percent, today. But the US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.6 per cent higher yesterday.

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The rupee today snapped its two-day gains against the dollar in late morning deals by losing 21 paise to 61.67 on fresh demand for the American currency from banks and importers. The Indian currency had resumed lower at 61.50 per dollar as against the last closing level of 61.46 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market.

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Afghanistan and the United States have  expressed willingness to strengthen their bilateral relations during the US Armed Services Committee Chairman Senator Carl Levin's meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul yesterday. A statement released by the President's office last evening said, the two sides discussed various aspects of their relations, including security and defense agreements between the two countries and regional issues. According to the statement, President Karzai said that Afghanistan wants to expand mutually beneficial long term relations with the US, acceptable to the Afghan people. Senator Carl Levin also expressed his country's willingness to develop strong and long term ties with Afghanistan. National Security Adviser Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta and international relations adviser Yahya Maroofi were present during the meeting.

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In the ongoing FIFA-Under 17 Football World Cup today, defending champions Mexico takes on Sweden while Austria plays against Iran in Al Ain. Nigeria is pitted against Iraq while Argentina takes on Canada in Dubai. Brazil, Honduras, Uruguay, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Tunisia, Morocco and Uzbekistan have entered the quarter finals. In the matches yesterday, European Champions Russia thrashed Venezuela, 4-0, in Fujairah today to raise hopes for a place in the last 16 while Uzbekistan defeated Croatia, 2-1, Morocco beat Panama, 4-2, while Japan came from behind to defeat Tunisia, 2-1, in Sharjah.

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A new report suggests that the lives of women and men around the world have become more equal over the past year. The annual survey by the World Economic Forum, indicates that economic equality has improved.  Iceland, Finland and Norway top the list of 136 nations, based on political participation, economic equality and rights like education and health. West Asia and North Africa are the only regions not to improve in the past year, with Yemen at the bottom. The Philippines and Nicaragua both feature in the top 10. The World Economic Forum has produced the report annually for the past eight years.