2100 HRS
17th February, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• CBI team set to leave for Italy to investigate 3600 crore rupee VVIP chopper deal.
• Prime Minister appeals to trade unions to withdraws their 20th February countrywide strike.
• India looks forward to one trillion dollars investment in infrastructure in next five years, says the commerce Minister.
• General elections in Pakistan to be held before May 16th.
• In Iraq, 28 people killed and 80 injured in serial car bomb blasts in Shiite areas of Baghdad.
• Australia set a target of 260 runs for the West Indies in ICC's women world cup final at Mumbai.

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A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team comprising a senior investigating officer and a law officer is set to leave for Italy to investigate 3600 crore rupee VVIP chopper deal. It will also investigate whether firms were floated in India just to route kickbacks in the deal with Italian defence company Agusta Westland. Our correspondent quoting official sources reports that the departure of the team was delayed due to some last-minute formalities required to be fulfilled before traveling abroad for the purpose of investigation. The CBI team is also expected to meet Italian prosecutors to ascertain the details of the case. The Defence ministry has also deputed a senior Joint Secretary A K Bal to visit Italy to gather evidence relating to the allegations of corruption in the case.

The judge of the Italian court told the Indian embassy in Rome that his office would consider a fresh request for the details and documents of the probe from the Indian side once the secrecy obligations get over. Earlier, the court had rejected the Indian request.

India has already initiated action to scrap the deal for purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Agusta Westland.

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The Congress today said the government is very serious and committed to find out the truth behind the allegations of corruption in the VVIP chopper deal. Talking to mediapersons in New Delhi, Party spokesperson Rashid Alvi said those found guilty in the case will be punished.

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Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today appealed to the trade unions to withdraw their proposed countrywide strike on 20th of this month. Dr. Singh said the strike will cause loss to economy and inconvenience to public. The Prime Minister said he has asked senior ministers A K Antony, Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge and P Chidambaram to hold discussions with the trade unions. He expressed confidence that the discussions will result in the course of action that is acceptable both to the trade unions and the government. The Prime Minister said while some of the issues raised by the trade unions are already being acted upon and others are at various stages of consideration.

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Union Minister of Commerce Industry and Textiles, Anand Sharma met the NRI business leaders from UAE in Dubai today. He urged them to come and invest inIndia to meet the infrastructure needs of the country. Addressing the NRI Business leaders at a function organized by India Business Professional Council in Dubai, the Commerce Minister said India is looking forward to investments worth 1 trillion US dollars in infrastructure sector over the next five years. More from our West Asiacorrespondent :

The Commerce Minister told the NRI Business leaders at India Business Professional Council function in Dubai that India needs investments worth US$ 1 trillion in infrastructure sector over the next five years. The NRI business leaders and the foreign direct investment from gulf countries like UAE can play a major role in meeting this goal. Highlighting the investor friendly policy initiatives in India, he reminded that the future lies in Indiawhich has strong fundamentals and has achieved a growth rate of over 5.5 percent despite the global economic downturn. Mr. Anand Sharma met the UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi and told that UAE should take the lead to give a push to India-GCC Free Trade Agreement talks. Atul K Tiwary, AIR News, Dubai

The Commerce Minister will co-chair the first meeting of the High Level Task Force on Investment with the UAE Minister of Industries Sheikh Hamid Bin in Abu Dhabitomorrow. It is expected that the visit and the high level task force meeting will give a fillip to trade and investment between the two countries.

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Prime Minister of United Kingdom David Cameron is arriving tomorrow on a three day state visit to India. Accompanied by a large official business delegation, he will hold comprehensive talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues. Mr. Cameron will also call on President Pranab Mukherjee during his stay.

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Telecom operator Uninor has closed its Mumbai operations from midnight last night resulting in an estimated 1.8 million phones falling silent in the metropolis. The Supreme Court on Saturday ordered all the operators who did not win spectrum in the previous auctions should close down services immediately. Our correspondent has filed this report :

Telecom operator Uninor has closed its Mumbai operations from midnight on Saturday following a Supreme Court order which said an immediate closure of operations and no temporary license too is available to allow a gradual process. The court had cancelled 22 licenses of Uninor in February 2012. Uninor has declared that it would extend all possible assistance to its employees in Mumbai for finding new employment opportunities. Meanwhile, Uninor has said in a press statement that Telenor , the majority stakeholder of Uninor has won rights to airwaves in six circles and the operations will continue in these areas as fresh spectrum for 20 years has been secured. Parnika Hedavkar, for air news from Mumbai

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The Chief Justice of India, Justice Altamas Kabir today said a major problem being faced in the delivery of criminal justice is delay. Delivering the Justice P D Desai memorial lecture in Ahmedabad on Administration of Criminal Justice, the CJI said it takes almost 15 to 16 years from the time when an offence is registered to the stage of final conviction. He hoped everybody involved in the process would perform their duty to expedite the wheels of justice. While highlighting the ground reality of the country, Justice Kabir said that in India there are 6 judges for 1 million people as against 125 judges for the same number of citizens in the USA.

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For news updates, follow us on Twitter @ airnewsalerts. You can also visit our facebook page All India Radio News for more news and events.

News updates on SMS will now be available on a new short Code. SMS AIRNEWS and send it to 56060.

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Pakistan Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has said that general elections in the country will be held by May 16 after the national and provincial assemblies complete their five-year term. Briefing journalists in Lahore today after a meeting with cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, who has been demanding electoral reforms, Kaira said the present assemblies will be dissolved on March 16 and the election will be held within two months. He said according to an agreement with Qadri, the Cleric will be consulted on the nomination of the caretaker Prime Minister.

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In Iraq 28 people were killed and over 80 wounded in a series of car bomb blasts in and around Baghdad today. Iraqi officials said the explosions took place within minutes of each other in overwhelmingly Shiite areas. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. More than 100 people have been killed in violent attacks in Iraq since the start of the month.

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In Andhra Pradesh, the death toll rose to 17 due to untimely rains and hailstorm that occurred at different places in the state for past two days. According to met officials, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Medak, Adilabad and Nalgonda districts have received rainfall ranging from 70 to 100 millimeters in the last two days. State Disaster management Commissioner T Radha said standing crops in one lakh 48 thousand hectares and horticulture crops in one lakh four thousand hectares were damaged.

Meanwhile, Ministers Gita Reddy and Sridhar Babu are monitoring relief measures underway in the worst-hit Medak and Karimnagar districts. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has directed officials to provide all necessary relief and medical facilities to the affected in the rain-hit areas.

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In Jharkhand, curfew continues in Pathalgadda block of Chatra district imposed after clashes between two communities at Sihani village yesterday evening. The clashes broke out when some miscreants threw stones from a place of worship on a religious procession. One person was killed in the police firing and 12 others including six policemen were injured. Five police vehicles were also damaged by the rioting crowd. Our Correspondent reports that situation remains tense but under control.

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In Jammu and Kashmir, the situation is returning to normal in all the major towns ofKashmir valley. The day passed of peacefully today and no incident of violence was reported from anywhere. The curfew was lifted yesterday from all the ten districts of the valley. Additional police force has been deployed in sensitive areas to prevent any untoward incident.

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Information & Broadcasting Minister, Manish Tewari has said that the Right to Education is proving a boon for millions of under-privileged children in the country. He said the Centre is committed to bringing excellence in the field of education.

Addressing a function of the Association of Private Unaided Schools of Punjab inLudhiana, today, the Minister urged the association to implement the Right to Education Act in its true spirit. <><>

In Tripura, Election Commission has ordered re-poll in one of the polling booths in Kakrabon HS Scholl in booth number 36 under Kakrabon-salgora constituency. The re-Poll was ordered after malfunctioning in the EVM during the voting process for a particular voter. 516 voters will cast their vote tomorrow and the polling officials have already reached the polling station.

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The News Services Division of All India Radio in its weekly "PUBLIC SPEAK" programme tomorrow will bring you a discussion on "Religious belief and scientific temperament".

This can be heard on FM Gold Channel and additional frequencies at 9.30 p.m.Listeners can ask questions to the experts sitting in our studio on telephone number: 2331-4444.

This programme would also be available on Doordarshan DTH.

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Australia have set a target of 260 runs for the West Indies in ICC's Women's world cup final today. In reply, West Indies were 131 for 8 in 40 overs, a short while ago. The match is being played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 259 runs for the loss 7 wickets in the stipulated 50 overs. Jess Cameron was the highest scorer with 75 runs while Rachel Haynes scored 52 runs for the five-time champions. Shaquana Quintyne took 3 wickets for the Caribbean side.

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India will begin its campaign tomorrow in both the men's and women's section of the Hockey World League Round 2. The tournament is a qualifying event for the next year's world cup, which will be held at the Hague in the Netherlands