0815 HRS.

MORNING NEWS

18^th   November, 2013

THE HEADLINES :

• NIA releases sketches of five suspects in the Patna serial blasts; Announces cash reward of 10 lakh rupees for information.

• GoM to meet Union Ministers from Andhra Pradesh today on the issue of bifurcation of the State.

• Scrutiny of Nomination papers for Assembly elections in Delhi to be held today; Second phase of polling in Chhattisgarh tomorrow.

• 50 people killed in an air crash in the Russian city of Kazan.

• Badrinath shrine gates to be closed from this evening, marking the end of this year's Char Dham yatra.

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The National Investigation Agency, the NIA has announced a cash reward of up to 10 lakh rupees for any information leading to the arrest of five absconding persons accused of belonging to the banned Indian Mujahideen terror group and suspected of being involved in the Bodh Gaya and Patna serial blasts.  It also released their sketches. The names of the accused are Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, Haider Ali alias Abdullah, Numan Ansari, Taufeeq Ansari and Mojibullah. The NIA released their sketches on its website and appealed to the general public to provide information about them. It clarified that the identity of those providing the information shall not be disclosed.

Five monks were injured in the Bodh Gaya blasts on the 7th of July while six people died in the Patna blasts during a rally addressed by BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on the 27th of October this year .

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The GoM meeting on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh with Union Ministers from the state will be held today. Three Union ministers from the Telangana region - S Jaipal Reddy, Porika Balram Naik and Sarve Satyanarayana would meet the GoM. Congress leaders from Telangana region yesterday deliberated on crucial issues to be taken up with the high-level ministerial panel. Briefing news-persons, Union Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said the meeting was convened to finalise the response to questions to be raised by the GoM.

 Party sources in New Delhi said key issues, including retaining Bhadrachalam with the proposed Telangana state and power requirements were discussed at length.   

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Scrutiny of nomination papers for Assembly elections in Delhi will take place today and candidatures can be withdrawn till Wednesday. As many as 1,178 candidates of different political parties and independents have filed their nominations for the Assembly polls. Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her cabinet colleagues, BJP Chief Ministerial candidate Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Aam Admi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal. Polling for the 70 member Delhi Assembly will  be held  on the 4th of next month and counting will take place on the 8th.

In Chhattisgarh, the second and the final phase of polling in 72 assembly constituencies will be held tomorrow. Campaigning for these constituencies ended last evening. Out of 72 assembly seats, 17 are reserved for the scheduled tribes and nine for the scheduled castes. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of polling. More from our correspondent: 

"In the second phase of elections, prominent among the contestants are assembly speaker Dharamlal Kaushik, leader of opposition in the Assembly Ravindra Choubey and nine ministers in the Raman Singh cabinet. Among the 72 constituencies going to polls tomorrow, some of them are witnessing triangular and multi-corner contests as Bahujan Samaj Party, Chhattisgarh Swabhiman Manch and Gondwana Gantantra Party have fielded their candidates. Both the BJP and the Congress are also facing rebels in some of the constituencies. Vikalp Shukla, AIR News, Raipur."

In Madhya Pradesh, campaigning for assembly elections is in full swing with just six days left for polling. Our correspondent has filed this report:         

"Major political parties are making all out efforts to woo the voters. Due to the strict compliance of the model code of conduct, candidates are resorting to door to door campaigning. Congress has released a black paper regarding purchase of power during the 10 years rule of BJP in the state. It has alleged that a scam of 32 thousand crore rupees took place in the purchase of power. On the other hand Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife Sadhana Singh have sent a notice of defamation to the state Congress President Kantilal Bhuria and Sonia Gandhi in connection with an election advertisement published in the news papers. Shariq Noor, AIR News, Bhopal."

In Rajasthan the election campaign is gearing up in the state. Star campaigners of both the BJP and the Congress will address election rallies from tomorrow. Meanwhile the Congress released its manifesto yesterday while the BJP will release the election manifesto on the 20th of November.

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The winter session of the West Bengal Assembly begins today in Kolkata. The Speaker of the House Mr. Biman Banerjee told AIR that an all-party meeting has been convened before commencement of the session. The House will be adjourned today after adopting obituary references. Our Kolkata correspondent reports that about 14 bills including the setting up of two private universities and a bill to check piracy of CD’s and Cassettes are likely to be placed in the house during the session.

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In Russia, all 50 people onboard a Boeing 737 were  killed, when the passenger plane crashed while attempting to land at the Kazan airport in western Tatarstan yesterday. Officials told local media that the plane, which took off from Moscow, crashed at the airport at 7:25 pm local time (2055 IST), and that 50 people, including 6 crew members, were killed.

Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement that the Tatarstan Airlines plane hit the runway and burst into flames. Kazan is the capital city of the Russian republic of Tatarstan.

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A Commonwealth disciplinary panel  dropped the Maldives from its formal agenda after a successful presidential election and the inauguration of Abdulla Yameen as the country's new President.  External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid moved the proposal to remove the Maldives from the agenda of the  Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group,CMAG.

The CMAG  reviewed the situation in the Maldives following the holding of a presidential run-off election on the 16th of November.

The CMAG had placed the Maldives on its agenda - implying its suspension from the panel - on Wednesday after the country failed to elect a new President before the constitutional deadline of November the 11th.

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In a major development in Bangladesh, an-all party cabinet to oversee the elections will be sworn in today in Dhaka.  The announcement to this effect was made after  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met President Abdul Hamid and informed him about the size and structure of the cabinet.  

"Four out of eight parties, represented in Parliament are likely to join the cabinet. It remains unclear till now whether Sheikh Hasina will step down as demanded by Opposition BNP. The strongest indication that she might opt for a senior party colleague to head the cabinet is her statement last week that she would prefer peace to prime ministership. Meanwhile, Opposition BNP called the initiative a farce and has ruled out any chance of joining the cabinet. Melinda Dias, AIR News, Dhaka.

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The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh wrote to the cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and acclaimed scientist CNR Rao, congratulating them on being chosen for the Bharat Ratna award. In a letter to Tendulkar, Dr. Singh described him as a true ambassador of India in the world of sports.  In his congratulatory letter to Rao, the Prime Minister lauded his efforts of passionately nurturing young scientists.

Prof. CNR Rao has expressed profound happiness for being chosen for the Bharat Ratna. Speaking to media persons in Bangalore yesterday, Rao said that Science has got its due and thanked the country for the recognition. Meanwhile Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has said that he wants to pen down an autobiography of his life. Talking to a private news channel, the master blaster expressed his wish and said he wants people to know about his life.

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The Gates of the famous Badrinath shrine will be closed for devotees from today, marking the end of this year's Char Dham yatra. Badrinath-Kedarnath committee officials said, the shrine's doors will be closed at 7.38 PM. The shrine, situated in the Garhwal Himalayas, was re-opened on October the 5th, after remaining closed for nearly three months due to the damage caused by the rain fury in June. Reports say that the number of pilgrims were almost half than that of last year and is the lowest in a decade.

Portals of all four shrines of the 'Char Dham' circuit  Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath are closed every year, ahead of the onset of winter.

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In Bihar, the Indira Awas Yojna has changed the lives of poor people by  providing them shelter. During the current financial year, 7 Lakh 98 thousand houses will be allotted, out of which around 5 Lakh 39 thousand have already been given. A report:       

"42 lakh Indira Awas rural houses have been constructed since last 10 years. Central government has allotted highest number of houses under this scheme in Bihar. Special camps have been organized for the beneficiaries to expedite the process of allocation and to bring transparency. People are getting financial assistance after participation in these camps which help them to construct their houses timely. In many districts, almost all SC/ST families have been given the houses under the scheme. Diwakar Kumar, AIR News, Patna."

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The News Services Division of All India Radio in its weekly Live Phone-in programme “PUBLIC SPEAK” today will bring you a discussion on the “Problem of unauthorized constructions in urban areas." This can be heard on FM Gold Channel and on additional frequencies from 9.30 to 10.05 p.m.  Listeners can ask questions from experts sitting in our Studio on telephone number: 011: 2331-4444. This programme  is also available on Doordarshan DTH.

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The seventh game of the World Chess Championship between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and Norwegian Magnus Carlsen will be played in Chennai today. Carlsen is leading 4-2, after two consecutive wins in the fifth and sixth games. The first four games ended in a draw.

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The 58th Senior National Wrestling Championships concluded at the Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra in Kolkata yesterday. Haryana Women clinched the championship with 70 points, while Uttar Pradesh finished second with 51 points. Delhi came third with 46 points.

In the Men's Freestyle section, Railways reigned supreme with 52 points, followed by Haryana with 44 points.  And Delhi came third with 35 points.

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NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES 

• Day II after retirement - and Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar continues to make headlines. "It was the perfect time to leave"- writes the Indian Express. Speaking to the media Sachin said that while he still enjoyed cricket, his body had started signaling that it may be time to call it a day. Times of India quotes him as saying - "I woke up at 6:50 am, but realized I didn't need to take an early shower. So I made some tea for my self and had a lovely breakfast with my wife."

• The other Bharat Ratna awardee - eminent Scientist C.N.R. Rao's words are also quoted in the Press. According to The Hindu, he said, if a place in the top 10 eludes India in global ranking for science performance, it is because "Funding for is science grossly inadequate".

• In significant recommendations, submitted to the Supreme Court - India's Law Commission has asked for speeding up the trial and probe of cases involving influential persons to ensure that they do not manipulate the criminal Justice system and benefit from it, reports Mail Today.

• The Hindustan Times writes of six election commission officials in Chhattisgarh who will trek for over 5 km of forested zone, 350 km from the capital Raipur, to carry one electronic voting machine so that two tribals, a father and son, can exercise their right to franchise.

• There is a beautiful picture in the Pioneer of the ghats on the Ganga at Varanasi, spectacularly lit-up on the occasion of Kartik Purnima or Dev Dipawali, on Sunday.

• And finally, The Times of India informs us that, "Space sounds like the chirping of birds". Citing, scientists in Leicester's Space Research Centre, the paper says that if you tuned a radio into outer space, it would sound like the dawn chorus of birds singing in spring, interspersed with deep bass pulses from the Sun. Not so quiet out there.