0815 HRS

29th April, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Pakistan grants Consular access to Sarabjit for second time; his condition remains extremely critical.
• Government calls District Magistrates of 121 targeted districts to address glitches of Direct Benefit Transfer scheme.
• Two day special session of West Bengal assembly begins in Kolkata to discuss chit fund scam.
• Fire in ammunition depot of missile testing facility at Chandipur in Odisha.
• The duo of Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands lose the summit clash ofStuttgart WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

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Indian High Commission officials yesterday visited Sarabjit Singh for the second time after permission was granted by Pakistani authorities following an initial denial. A spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said, the officials visited Singh inLahore's Jinnah hospital.

The Pakistani doctors treating a comatose Sarabjit Singh have said, there has been no improvement in his condition and chances of his survival are slim. His distraught family visited him and demanded that he be sent to India for better treatment. Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur, wife Sukhpreet Kaur and daughters Swapandeep and Poonam, visited him at the hospital after arriving in Lahore yesterday. They were allowed to see him through a window from outside the intensive care unit.

Sarabjit was attacked by at least six other prisoners within his barrack at Kot Lakhpat Jail on Friday. He was hit on the head with bricks and his face and torso cut with weapons fashioned from spoons and pieces of ghee tins.

The Indian chapter of Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy has condemned the brutal attack on Sarabjit Singh and sought a probe to go to the bottom of the attack in order to punish those responsible for this brutal attack.

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The government has convened a meeting of District Magistrates, DMs, of all 121 targeted districts in New Delhi today to discuss ways to address glitches in the implementation of Direct Benefits Transfer, DBT scheme. Official sources said, the meeting takes place against the backdrop of concerns expressed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh over the unsatisfactory nature of tracking and monitoring systems in various departments regarding the DBT.

At the meeting, feedback will be sought from the DMs, particularly of 43 districts where the scheme is operational since the 1st January. DMs of other 78 districts, where the scheme is to be rolled out on the 1st July, are expected to report the progress made in groundwork done for the launch. The meeting has been convened to ensure glitch-free implementation of the programme which is expected to cover one-fifth of the country. The meeting will be addressed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

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In West Bengal a two day special session of the state assembly begins in Kolkata today to discuss the situation arising out of the chit fund scam. A new bill for protection of investors will be tabled in the house on Tuesday following the Saradha Group scam which has hit thousand of investors. Our correspondent reports that this will be the second special session in the history of the assembly after 1960 when the then chief minister V.C.Roy had called such a session in view of eviction of Bengali's from Assam

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A CBI team will visit Assam to hold discussion on cases registered against chit fund companies. Official sources said that a Joint Director of the investigative agency will meet Additional DGP, CID on Tuesday to screen the cases having interstate and national ramification which may be handed over to the CBI. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has already said that the Government is seriously contemplating to move CBI against some companies for swindling public money including Saradha. The Special Investigative Team has registered 222 cases so far against 128 companies in the state. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate is mulling the option to attach properties of Saradha in the state and interrogated several persons including Saradha chief Sudipto Sen.

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Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will arrive in Karnataka today to campaign for the Congress. He will address two public functions in the state. He will address the voters first at Hubli and then go to Kumbalgodu near Bangalore. More from our Correspondent:

"The security has been beefed up for the visit of the Prime Minister. Roads leading to the venue of the function is sanitised with vigorous security checks and buffer zone created around the entire stage where the event will be held. Despite the absence of banners, buntings and other paraphernalia associated with the election, people have responded to the electorate process in their own way. They have shown keen interest in registering in the electoral roll, they are taking part in the public functions organised by various parties and taking part in the voter’s awareness campaigns organised by the election commission and other NGOs. Sudhindra AIR News Bangalore."

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Meanwhile, the Belgaum police have arrested a person in connection with the rape and murder of a 20-year-old student from Modaga village in Belgaum taluk. The crime took place last Friday. The district Superintendent of Police said, the girl’s fiance Basavant Yadwad allegedly raped and murdered the girl when she resisted his physical advances. The police is interrogating the accused to ascertain if anyone else was also involved in the crime.

As part of electioneering, the Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari had visited Bangalore yesterday. Talking to media persons, he said, the gang-rape and murder in Belgaum shows the deteriorating law and order situation in the State.

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In Odisha, large number of arms and ammunitions have been destroyed in a devastating fire in the Proof and Experimental Establishment of Ministry of Defence near the Integrated Missile Test Range in Chandipur this morning. Though the reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained, a short circuit could have been the reason behind it.

According to reports, the magazine house of the establishment caught fire about 3.30 this morning, following which fire fighting tenders were called. Latest reports say, the fire has been controlled.

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India and Saudi Arabia have decided to set up a joint working group to address the concerns of expatriate Indian workers in Saudi Arabia on the Nitaqat law. The India-Saudi Arabia Joint Working Group on Labour will discuss a Memorandum of Understanding on labour co-operation and other issues. The decisions were taken at a meeting of a high level Indian delegation led by the Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi with the Saudi Labour Minister Adel Fakieh in Jeddah yesterday.

"It was decided that a Joint working group led by a Saudi Deputy Minister and India’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Saudi Arabia will discuss and evolve mechanism to address all immediate problems facing the NRI community including issues related to overstaying Indian workers. The first meeting of the group will be held in Riyadh on 1st of May. The process of recruitment of Indian workers would be made more transparent. The visiting Indian delegation met the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal to discuss areas of bilateral and regional importance. Atul K Tiwary, AIR News."

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In Bangladesh, a fire broke out in the collapsed factory building in Savar on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, hampering efforts to reach the remaining survivors of a disaster that killed nearly 400 people. The fire started by sparks from cutters being used in a failed attempt to free a female survivor. Four injured fire-fighters were taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the fugitive owner of the eight-storey structure, Sohel Rana, was arrested dramatically while attempting to flee to India. This is the fifth arrest in the case.

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In Mexico, at least 13 inmates were killed and 87 others injured in a prison riot in the state of San Luis Potosi. The state Governor Fernando Toranzo said in press conference yesterday that of those injured, at least 22 were hospitalised with serious injuries.

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In Jharkhand, in the erstwhile naxal affected areas of Saranda, the Union Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh inaugurated an Integrated Development Centre IDC,at Digha in West Singhbhum district. Established by the Steel Authority of India Limited, the IDC would be of help in monitoring the progress of the Saranda Action Plan, which is a Central government programme that is being implemented in 56 villages in Saranda. A report from our correspondent:

"The first IDC, set up by PSU giant SAIL at a cost of 5 crore 40 lakh rupees under Corporate social responsibility scheme, is part of 249-crore rupees Saranda Development Plan covering 56 villages across six panchayats in Manoharpur block. This is seen as innovative project of Union Minister Jairam Ramesh. Now, the people of Saranda expect the pace of development of other related welfare schemes of healthcare, roads, schools and jobs to be increased. Rajesh Sinha, AIR News, Ranchi."

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27 centers of the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, are proposed to be set up across the country under the 12th Five Year Plan to combat communicable diseases. The Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said this after laying the foundation stone of NCDC's new building complex in New Delhi.

Noting that the NCDC has played a leading role in surveillance and control of major communicable diseases, Mr. Azad said such centers would help meet the challenges of an increasing number of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases effectively.

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Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands lost their summit clash to Sabine Lisicki and Mona Barthel of WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The unseeded Indo-American pair lost 4-6 5-7 in one hour and 33 minutes to the local favourites. Sania and Bethanie had won the Brisbane and Dubai events early in the year. With this result, Sania and Bethanie earned 320 ranking points each.

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In today's IPL fixture, Rajasthan Royals will take on Royal Challenger Bangalore in Jaipur and Mumbai Indians will take on King XI Punjab in Mumbai.

Earlier yesterday, Delhi Daredevils defeated Pune Warriors by 15 runs. This was Daredevils' second win in nine matches. The win also technically kept them in the hunt for a place in the knock-outs. In another match, Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 14 runs.

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President Pranab Mukherjee will arrive in Jharkhand today afternoon on a two-days' state visit. Our Correspondent reports that the President will be the Chief Guest in the convocation function of the Sidho-Kanho University in Dumka today.

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NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

Most papers show pictures of Sarabjit's family in Pakistan. ‘Sarabjit critical, family wants to bring him home for treatment’, reads the Hindu headline.

A Hindustan Times special says ‘UPA-2 tenure sees most parliament disruptions'. The Times of India has covered this story on its front page under the headline, ‘This Lok Sabha could be the least productive in history.’ The paper adds that after 4 years, this Lok Sabha has had just 1,157 hours of sittings.

The Indian Express has given prominence to the coal scam. The paper’s lead headline reads, ‘In submission to Supreme Court, CBI listed government changes, included para-by-para, line-by-line changes made by law minister and two officers from the PMO’.

‘Opposition to raise pitch for Ashwani’s ouster’, writes the Tribune. the Asian Age says, ‘2-day BJP stir from May 4 on Coalgate’.

The Times of India writes of the vigilance enquiry report in connection with the Gudiya rape case. ‘Probe denies hush up by cops - report blames SHO for offering bribe to victim’s parents’, says the paper.

The Hindu, Hindustan Times and the Times of India report of a Guinness record holder who died while crossing the Teesta river, hanging on a rope by his hair. Sadly, a case of a daredevil stunt going horribly wrong.

On the international front, many papers have reported of the shooting incident which occurred in Rome, while the new Prime Minister was taking oath.

Is your teenager child obese and has diabetes as well? Well, there’s hope - and it is something like killing two birds with one stone. Mail Today reports of cases where after bariatric surgery, all symptoms of type-2 diabetes vanish within days of operation.

And finally, never underestimate the power of prayer. Besides giving you peace of mind, it may improve treatment for those suffering from depression, writes the Times of India citing a study