0815 HRS

  15^th October, 2013

THE HEADLINES: 

• Heavy Rainfall causes severe flood in Odisha; Helicopters pressed into service to rescue marooned population in Phailin hit areas.
• Four district officials of Datia suspended over alleged lapse in connection with  stampede in Madhya Pradesh.
• Security Forces book crew members of US based ship detained off Tuticorin coast in Tamilnadu for illegally carrying  arms.
• UN Security Council members and Germany to hold talks with Iran today in Geneva over its controversial nuclear program.
• Americans Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Schiller bag Nobel Prize for Economics.

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In Odisha, heavy rainfall with upper basins of Budhabalanga, Subarnarekha and Baitarani rivers has caused severe floods in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts.  Our correspondent reports that these rivers are flowing above the danger mark. 

Rescue and relief operation has been augmented by engaging the Army, Navy, NDRF and ODRAF teams along with state government machinery. Road communication between Balasore and Kolkata has been cut off as flood water is flowing over National Highway Number 60. Supply of electricity and telephone networks have completely disrupted in most parts of the flood-affected district since four days. An East Coast Railway spokesperson said most of the trains resumed on normal route in scheduled timings while some trains were rescheduled and a very few have been cancelled. Prakash Dah Air News Bhubaneswar.

Meanwhile, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack limped back to normalcy two days after cyclone Phailin hit the Odisha coast on Saturday last. While power and water supply have almost been restored in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, flights and train services too resumed in full scale. Helicopters have been pressed into service to rescue the marooned population as well as to drop relief material in the Phailin hit areas. In Andhra Pradesh, officials said rescue and relief operations are on in full swing and they expect normalcy to be restored in cyclone-hit Srikakulam district in a couple of days. 

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In Bihar, normal life has been badly affected due to continuos rain since the last two days. The incessant rain has claimed 7 lives so far. Water level of many rivers has risen creating a flood like situation in many districts. Met department has predicted heavy and light rainfall today at many places. The Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the district magistrates and Superintendent of Police to take all precautionary measures to handle any emergency situation.

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In Madhya Pradesh, the Collector of Datia and three other top district officials were suspended yesterday over the alleged lapse in connection with the stampede which left 139 dead and more than 100 injured.  The four officials were suspended  after getting the nod from the Election Commission as the state is under the Model Code of Conduct following announcement of assembly polls. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has already announced the setting up of a judicial commission to probe the stampede. The Commission headed by a sitting High Court judge, will submit its report within two months and its recommendations will be implemented within 15 days after the state government gets the report. 

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Government is  bringing all post offices across the country under the core banking solution system  to cover more people in the rural areas with  AADHAAR seeded accounts. Participating in AIR's  Phone-in programme, Public Speak  last night, the Adviser to the Planning Commission, Nidhi Khare said that this will help people to avail of the benefits of various schemes including old age pension and MGNREGA  through  direct benefits transfer.

The pension scheme of rural development ministry whether  old age pension,  to the disabled or women pension , all these are being credited in to AADHAAR linked bank accounts.
Replying to a question in the programme, Deputy Director General of UIDAI, Ashok Pal Singh  said that the AADHAAR card can be used as proof of identity as well as residence for opening bank accounts of any individual.  
 
Aadhaar is a proof of address as well as identity , and it is complete in itself for an opening bank account, If any bank official says that Aadhaar card is not enough to open an account , he is wrong."

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The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Manish Tewari has stressed on an agreed global rule of engagement to contend with the misuse of cyber space. Addressing a conference on cyber-security and cyber-governance in New Delhi last evening, the Minister said that it is very difficult to monitor the huge cyber space continuously to prevent the incitement of conflict made by mischievous elements as Government does not have the required legal and technical mechanism in place. Citing the examples of cyber related incidents in the North-East and group clashes in Muzaffarnagar of UP,  he also asked experts to work out an architectural structure to ensure the safety and security of the Internet.
  
"It is the responsibility of government  to keep your safe even when you are  fast asleep. What should the government. do when it knows certain people are using the Internet to fan violence. This is where concepts of surveillance, monitoring, cyber experts come in. Should not the government have both a legal and technological way to stop such activity? 

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The Tamilnadu Coastal Security group has booked cases against ten crew members and 25 security guards of a ship belonging to a US based security company detained off Tuticorin coast for illegally carrying  arms. The ten crew members comprise of two Ukrainian Guards and eight Indians. Reports say that 31 assault rifles and nearly 5000 rounds of ammunition have been seized from the ship. The ship has been booked under the provisions of the Arms Act 1956, Essential Commodities Act 1995 and Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel Order. No decision has been taken to arrest any of the suspects yet. The Additional Director General of Police of the Coastal Security Group said that the  ship had entered the exclusive economic zone without permission. The Centre has sought a report from the Tamilnadu Government on the detention of the vessel. Tuticorin District Collector made a spot assessment of the ship and said he had submitted his report to the government. 

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World powers are meeting with Iran today in Geneva for two days of talks over its controversial nuclear program. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, USA, UK, France, Russia and China along with Germany will hold the next round of talks. The meeting will be the first of such talks since Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani took office in August, pledging to engage constructively to resolve the nuclear question and ultimately to secure the lifting of sanctions. On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that easing pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme would be a historic mistake. 

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The 29 Indian fishermen who strayed off from the United Arab Emirates to Qatari waters on September 30 while fishing have been released by Qatari authorities. The Indian Ambassador to Qatar, Sanjeev Arora told AIR from Doha that the 29 fishermen from Tamilnadu including three from UAE along with their three boats have been released and  left for UAE. The fishermen were jailed for two weeks by a Qatari court for illegally entering Qatari waters on September 30 and their sentence ended yesterday.

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A magistrate’s court in Sri Lanka has extended the judicial remand of 23 Indian fishermen arrested for violating international maritime border till the 28th of this month. 19 of these fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy on September 19, while 4 were arrested on the 3rd of this month. All the fishermen are lodged in Jaffna prison. Officials of the Consulate General of India in Jaffna are in touch with the local authorities to ensure an early release of these fishermen. 

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The Indian Embassy in Riyadh has extended its special registration drive by another two days till October 17 for all those NRIs who have not corrected their legal status or are facing difficulty in obtaining final exit passes. So far, around 500 expatriate Indians have registered with the Embassy during this special drive which began three days ago. In a statement, the Indian Embassy has urged all the overstaying NRIs to rectify their legal status and approach the Embassy or the volunteers registered with the Embassy immediately, in case of any difficulty being faced by them. 

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Chinese rescue teams have stepped up efforts to reach 78 tourists, including 13 foreigners, who are trapped in heavy snow at Mt Everest's base camp. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the depth of snow near the camp crossed 45 cm. The local government mobilised three loaders to clear the way to the camp and doctors and relief material have been sent to the camp. The tourists were about to go downhill after sightseeing at the base camp, when they got stuck in heavy snow. No casualties have been reported so far. 

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The Nobel Prize for Economics has been awarded to Americans Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Schiller for their empirical analysis of asset prices, to make and refine predictions. The economics award was not among the original prizes instituted in 1895 by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel to honor work in Physics, Chemistry, literature and peace. It was added as a category in 1969 by the Swedish central bank in memory of the industrialist. 

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India's top player Aditya Mehta constructed two century breaks to defeat former world No. 1 Peter Ebdon in the opening round of the Indian Open World - ranking snooker tournament in New Delhi. Mehta ranked 72nd asserted his supremacy with the day's highest break of 127 to clinch a 4-3 victory over his rival from Scotland.

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India have started their campaign at the World Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan on a disappointing note.  At Almaty yesterday, Madan Lal went down 0-3 to Alexandros Riscan of Moldova in the first round itself in the 52kg event. Madan managed to clinch just one round in the mandatory three and eventually fell short by a solitary point in the final analysis. Today, Vikash Malik will be in action against Kyrgyzstan's Meder Mamakeev in the 60 kg category.  

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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

• The flood situation in the wake of cyclone Phailin has been reported, with pictures, by all dailies today. The Pioneer and Asian Age call it a "Flood of misery". "Lives saved but not means of livelihoods" reports the Indian Express.
• "Skyrocketing costs of onion and other vegetables.... spurred the biggest surge in prices across the country" says The Hindustan Timesin its top story. The Hindu and other newspapers say "Higher food prices push inflation to 7 month high".
• The detaining of the US ship Seaman Guard Ohio by the Coast Guard for suspicious movement in Indian Waters finds mention on the front pages of  most dailies. "Foreign vessel crew booked under Arms Act" report The Hindu, Asian Age and The Pioneer.
• The Indian Express in its lead story reports "China set to give Pak 2 more nuclear reactors, India protests" adding at the China is well on track to firm up sale of these to Pakistan raising serious concern in India." In a related story the paper reports "The Union home ministry is working on a proposal to create Lok Sabha seats in Pak-occupied Kashmir..... a potentially controversial move to assert India's right on the territory."
• "Monkey Business?" 25 lakh rupees is what the forest department spends every month to feed the monkeys in Asola Sanctuary." reports The Hindustan Times in a front page, investigative story that highlights the clear violation of store purchase rules.
• Almost all newspapers carry news of the death of the schoolboy in a freak accident. "Schoolboy struck by javelin dies" after battling for life for 14 days reports The Statesman, The Hindustan Times and The Pioneer.
• And finally "Scientists have discovered six new planetary candidates with super fast orbits-- as short as four hours-- and nearly skimming the stellar surface at incredible speeds" reports The Times of India.  It's getting very crowded out there, isn't it?

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Army's Northern Command has issued a global tender for procuring latest snow mobiles which will ensure better mobility for jawans and intensified patrolling in the snow-bound areas of Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command recently issued a Request for Proposal tender for procurement of 20 snow mobiles for the Army units deployed in Northern Command theatre in Jammu and Kashmir. The bids are invited from Original Equipment Manufacturer of Defence Procurement Manual 2009.