1400 HRS
5th October, 2013
THE HEADLINES:
- President Pranab Mukherjee says, there is no scope for progress in talks with Pakistan unless it dismantles the terror infrastructure on its soil.
- Army foils yet another infiltration bid along LoC in Keran sector of Kashmir; Four terrorists killed.
- Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh jointly inaugurate the Grid Inter-connection between the two countries at Bheramara in Bangladesh.
- Normal life hit in Rayalaseema and Coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh for the second day today due to the 72-hour bandh.
- Centre is launching the Inter Company LPG portability scheme in 24 cities across the country.
- India and Pakistan lock horns in Under-19 Asian Rugby Championship final at Lahore today.
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Coming down heavily on Pakistan, President Pranab Mukherjee has said, unless it dismantles the terror infrastructure on its soil, there is no scope for progress in talks between the two countries. In an interview to Turkish newspaper 'Today's Zaman', the President exhorted that a serious effort should be made by Pakistan on this subject as he said, most terrorist activities against India are emanating from territories under the control of Pakistan. He also expressed happiness over the steps taken by the two countries to resolve their differences. Mr. Mukherjee also reminded Pakistan about its commitment to bring to book the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
In the second leg of his official tour, President Pranab Mukherjee left Belgium today for a three day state visit to Turkey. Rounding up the President's Belgium visit, Our Correspondent has filed this report:
Mr. Mukherji had relatively a busy time in Brussels with the top Belgium leadership charting out possibility of deepening the Indo-Belgium tie. This includes his meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Elio De Rupo and his engagement with the King of Belgium King Phillipe signing the 5 MOUs between the two renowned universities of both the countries for co-operation in the field of education and finally topping his first visit to Belgium by jointly inaugurating Europalia India, the largest ever Indian cultural festival abroad. Looking at the trail of such illustrious activity one can expect Mr. Mukherji's first visit to Turkey as President to be equally meaningful. Girish Chandra Dash, AIR News, Brussels.
President Mukherji would be visiting Istanbul, Capadocia and the capital city of Ankara where he would interact with his counterpart. Mr. Mukherji will be conferred with an honorary degree by the Istanbul University today.
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Army today foiled a major infiltration bid along the LoC in Keran sector of Kashmir as the operation against the infiltrating ultras in the area entered the 12th day. A Defence Spokesman said in Srinagar that the infiltration bid was foiled in Fateh Gali area, 25 kms west from Shalbhati village. He said, four terrorists have been killed in today's operation. Six AK rifles were recovered from the spot, the spokesman added. Our Srinagar Correspondent quoting army sources reports, three intruders were killed yesterday in Gurjarpur area of the same sector adjacent to the location of the on going operation.
Even though picture is not yet clear about the ongoing operation inthe Keran sector , killing of seven militants during last 2 days shows that the strategy of army to flush the infiltrators out is yielding result. The terrain in the area is quite rugged but army sources say the militants who had infiltrated from 3,4 points simultaneously have been completely besieged. These militants are now being neutralized as 12 day long operation is progressing satisfactorily.<>MUSTAQ AHMAD TANTRAY, AIR NEWS, SRINAGAR.
Even though picture is not yet clear about the ongoing operation inthe Keran sector , killing of seven militants during last 2 days shows that the strategy of army to flush the infiltrators out is yielding result. The terrain in the area is quite rugged but army sources say the militants who had infiltrated from 3,4 points simultaneously have been completely besieged. These militants are now being neutralized as 12 day long operation is progressing satisfactorily.<>MUSTAQ AHMAD TANTRAY, AIR NEWS, SRINAGAR.
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Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina today jointly inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Grid Inter-connection at Bheramara in Bangladesh. Dr Singh launched the joint venture through video-conferencing from New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister described today's inauguration as an important milestone in connecting the two countries and the border region through a growing web of cross-border energy links and trade. The Prime Minister also assured Bangladesh that India will remain a steadfast and long-term partner in development efforts. He said, the transmission line in High Voltage Direct Current, HVDC, in Bheramara, will provide a safe and reliable interconnection between the power grids of the two countries. Dr Singh said, this will enable the supply of 500 megawatts of power from India to Bangladesh. The Prime Minister said, the initiative undertaken today will strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries and add a new dimension to bilateral relations.
The initiative being undertaken today strengthen the bonds of friendship between India and Bangladesh and add a rich new dimension to our bilateral relation. Economic development is the biggest challenge for all countries in South Asia. Our destinies are interlinked and so must our economy be.
Both the Prime Ministers also jointly laid the foundation stone for 1320 megawatt Maitri Thermal Power Project, being developed by Bangladesh-India friendship power company which is a joint venture of India's NTPC and Bangladesh Power Development Board.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the historic event has taken India Bangladesh relations to a greater height. She said the 500 MW of power which will become available to Bangladesh in November this year will substantially help to bridge the power deficit in Bangladesh.
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In Andhra Pradesh, normal life in Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra regions remained severely hit for the second day today due to the 72 hour long bandh against the Union cabinet decision to bifurcate the state. Supporters of united Andhra continued attacking private and public properties at some places. The offices of public representatives have been attacked at several places demanding their resignations. Electricity supply to southern states has been partially affected asElectricity employees joined the agitation by stopping generation activities in six units of Vijayawada Thermal Power Station. Electricity supply in several districts of coastal Andhra was also affected since last evening.
People in both the regions are facing hardships due to bandh with road and rail transport systems being badly affected due to public demonstrations. Our Correspondent reports that schools, colleges, business establishments and offices remained closed.
Several trains are running late due to demonstrations on rail tracks. Except emergency services, medical services in the Government teaching hospitals have been affected. Sporadic incidents of violence including attack on private and public properties and clashes between groups have been reported. Meanwhile, additional forces including paramilitary have been deployed at all major and sensitive areas to prevent any untoward incidents. Lakshmi, AIR News, Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress Party President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy began indefinite fast in Hyderabad in protest against the state bifurcation.
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The Centre is launching the Inter Company LPG portability scheme in 24 cities across the country. Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, M Veerappa Moily will launch the scheme in Bangaluru, Karnataka this evening. The cities are, Hyderabad, Patna, Dehradun, Faridabad, Kolkata, and Chandigarh among others. The scheme will not be launched in the five poll-bound states including Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Under the portability scheme, a consumer can now opt for the distributor of his choice within a cluster of LPG distributors in the vicinity and across the oil companies. Presently, an LPG consumer is attached to a distributor and cannot change its distributor even he is unhappy with the service. The consumers will be able to see the service ratings of all the distributors in their clusters and choose the one they want to based on service levels. This will usher in improvement in consumer service by the distributors as it will bring in competition in the cluster of distributors. Shiela, AIR News, Delhi.
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Sale of five kilogram cooking gas ( LPG) cylinder at select petrol pumps in four metro cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangaluru starts today. The sale will not be allowed in Delhi as it is a poll-bound state. The step is in the series of customer empowering initiatives by the Oil Ministry. The cylinders will be available at market price with minimal paperwork through company owned retail outlets. The step will be a boon to migratory population such as students, IT professionals, BPO employees and persons with odd duty timings as it will provide them the flexibility to pick up cylinders and obtain subsequent refills at the time of their choice. The scheme is being implemented on a pilot basis.
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Asserting that the government has the capacity to overcome this period of stress, Finance Minister Chidambaram today said the current account deficit will be contained below 70 billion dollar this fiscal. Speaking at a function in Bangalore, he said, people of India save like no other people anywhere in the world. Mr. Chidambaram said, if those savings are channelised into productive investment and if a climate is create where people can take risk, he has no doubt that the country will be able to get over this period of stress.
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India is preparing to introduce indigenous testing products for diabetes by December. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in New Delhi that he has asked the Indian Council for Medical research, ICMR, to bring indigenously developed testing strips for the disease by the year-end. Mr Azad said, at the moment, India is using the patented testing strips which are very costly.
Speaking on the occasion, ICMR Director General said, at present the cost of a diabetes testing strip is between 15 to 30 rupees. He added ICMR aims to bring down the cost to 3 to five rupees.
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Tropical Storm Karen has churned toward the US Gulf Coast, with forecasters warning of weekend flooding and heavy rainfall in several states, including Louisiana and Florida. As the system swirled yesterday, about 385 kilometres south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, authorities urged residents to stock up on essentials. Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in 18 counties to enable the potential deployment of resources as needed.
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An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale struck Chitral, Ghizer and Swat areas of Pakistan early this morning. Pak Meteorological Department said the epicentre of the earthquake was on Afghan-Tajikistan border at a depth of 80 kilometres. There are no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.
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In Nepal, 6,352 candidates have filed their nominations for the 240 seats for the coming Constituent Assembly polls to be held on the 19thof November. The nominations were filed on Thursday in the district election Offices across the country. According to the Election Commission, out of them one thousand are independent candidates.
Meanwhile one hundred and twenty- two parties have submitted the closed lists of their candidates for the 335 proportional seats. The Election Commission will publish the final list on the 15th of next month.
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Divers in Italy are hoping to resume their search for the bodies of more than 200 migrants, two days after their boat sank off the island of Lampedusa. Rescuers have so far found 111 bodies, and 155 people have been pulled alive from the seas, one kilometre from the island in the Mediterranean. Many bodies are expected to be found in the shipwreck. The search was hampered yesterday by rough seas. The boat was carrying some 500 people, mostly from Eritrea and Somalia.
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Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will lock horns in the under-19 Asian Rugby Championship final at Lahore in Pakistan today. Talking to reporters in Lahore, the Indian Captain Suraj Veer Sharma said, Pakistan will have the advantage of home ground but India will depend on its backs and the team will give its best to win the championship.
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The second semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament will be played between Mumbai Indians and Trinidad and Tobago in New Delhi today.
In the first semifinal at Jaipur last night, Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings by 14 runs. Put into bat, Rajasthan Royals made 159 for 9 in the stipulated twenty overs. Chasing the target of 160, Chennai Super Kings could score only 145 runs with the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs.
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