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6^th November, 2013

THE HEADLINES

• First ever India-Bangladesh joint retreat ceremony begins at Petrapole-Benapole border in West Bengal.

• BJP declares second list of 64 candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh; Campaigning picks up in Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.

• More than 14 lakh Indians legalise their status in Saudi Arabia; Over 1 lakh 34 thousand return home during the grace period.

• Sensex down 40 points in afternoon trade; Rupee drops 25 paise to 61.87 against the dollar.

• West Indies lose early wickets; Were 192 for 7 against India at tea on Day one.

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The bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh will come closer with the launching of the first ever joint retreat ceremony of their border guarding forces. The joint retreat ceremony began at the zero point at Petrapole-Benapole border point in West Bengal in the presence of Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Muhiuddin Khan Alam Geer. The joint retreat ceremony of the Border Security Force and the Border Guard of Bangladesh is being launched on the lines of Attari-Wagha border in Amritsar.

Our correspondent reports from Petrapole border that joint exercise is a part of confidence building measures aimed at evolving better cordial relations between the people of India and Bangladesh. The retreat will be carried out before sunset every day. The Director General of BSF and Border Guard of Bangladesh and distinguished persons from both the countries are present on the occasion.

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The National Investigation Agency, NIA and Ranchi police have intensified their investigation after they recovered documentary proof that the Ranchi module of Indian Mujahideen had planned and executed both the Bodh Gaya temple blast and Patna serial blasts. Bodh Gaya blast was masterminded by one Haider of Indian Mujahideen who could not be arrested so far. Police is also looking for a girl who is from Bokaro in Jharkhand and a close associate of Haider. More from our correspondent:

Ranchi police and NIA team are looking for more than 120 youths from Ranchi and nearby areas on the suspicion of them being involved in various terror activities of Indian Mujanideen. Police sources have confirmed that time bombs were made in Ranchi for both Patna and Bodh Gaya serial blast, and there were terror training centres in Ranchi. It has also come to light that huge amount of money used to come to Ranchi for supporting terror network. Rajesh Sinja,AIR News, Ranchi

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In Madhya Pradesh, the ruling BJP today declared its second list of 64 candidates for the upcoming state legislative assembly elections. Our correspondent reports that the party has denied tickets to 14 sitting MLAs.

The second list of BJP includes names of six ministers including Rajana Baghel, Paras Jain and Narayan Singh Kushwaha. Chairman of MP tourism corporation Mohan Yadav and member of state scheduled caste commission Ghanshyam Pironiya have also got assembly tickets. Ashok Rohani, the elder son of speaker Ishwardas Rohani who died yesterday, got ticket from Jabalpur Cantt in place of his father. The BJP has now announced its 210 candidates for the 230 member state assembly while Congress has announced its 197 candidates. Shariq Noor, AIR News, Bhopal

In Chhattisgarh, campaigning is picking up for the first phase of Assembly elections, which will go to the polls on Monday. Out of the 18 constituencies in the first phase, 12 are in the Maoist-affected tribal Bastar region, while 6 are in Rajnandgaon division. More from our Correspondent:

Be it campaigning or holding of polls, it is a challenging task in the Maoist affected tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. All candidates will have to provide prior information to the administration about their movements so that they can move around under tight security cover. Road Opening Party of security forces carryout their exercise to prevent a landmine attack. Candidates make surprise visits to the villages as the details about their movement are kept secret. Election meetings are being held only in major villages where heavy contingent of security forces are deployed. Under unprecedented security and elaborate arrangements by the election commission, democracy is all set to win in this tribal heartland. VIKALP SHUKLA, AIR NEWS, RAIPUR

Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath has expressed satisfaction at the poll preparedness in Mizoram. He said that the history of free, fair, clear and good participation of voters in Mizoram election is the envy of entire country. In a press conference in Aizawl today, Mr. Sampath said, the Election Commission appreciates the role of participation of Civil Society Organisations in the state and is holding a meeting to discuss issues with them, which is not usually done in other states. Our Correspondent has the details :

The Election Commission of India  has made arrangement for special polling stations for Bru refugee voters to enable them to exercise their franchise  at Bru refugee camps in Tripura as per High Court  order issued in 1999. The ECI announced that Electoral roll in Bru Camps will be verified and re-verified and that necessary arrangement would be made to ensure free and fair election in Bru polling stations to be good as any other parts of Mizoram. Jonathan L Hnamte, AIR News, Aizawl

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The DGP-level talks between Assam and Meghalaya will take place in Guwahati today. Official sources said that the meeting is likely to draw a strategy on joint combing operations against militants. It may be recalled that militants from both states are being involved in subversive activities in the past few years in the bordering areas.

Meanwhile, campaigning is gaining momentum at Rabha Hasong area for 3 phase Council polls to be held from the 13th of this month. A total of 176 candidates are in the fray. The state government has taken all steps to ensure free and fair polls as several organizations are protesting against Rabha Hasong Council polls, demanding exclusion of non-Rabha areas.

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The Minority Affairs Ministry is planning to bring a separate legislation to prevent encroachment of  Wakf properties. It will also ensure better management of Wakf properties. Addressing a National Conference in New Delhi today, Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan said such a law will deter encroachment, alienation and unauthorized occupation of Wakf properties. Khan sought the views of the Chairmen and CEOs of the State Wakf Boards on leasing out the Wakf properties.

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More than 14 lakh Indian nationals have availed of the concessions granted by the Saudi Government and legalized their status in the Kingdom. Nearly 4 lakh, 35 thousand Indians transferred their services to other firms, around 4 lakh, 81 thousand changed their jobs or professions and over 4,70,000 Indians renewed their licenses or job permits. Over 1 lakh, 34 thousand have returned home during the seven month long grace period. These are the latest figures provided by the Saudi authorities to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

The Charge de affairs of Indian Embassy in Riyadh, Sibi George told AIR that despite the return of expatriate Indians back home, the total number of Indians in Saudi Arabia has gone up and it continues to grow. It shows that the Indian community has benefited from the grace period and Nitaqat. He said that efforts are on to help those who could not avail the grace period.

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US Secretary of State, John Kerry will try to revive peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians today, on the latest stage of his visit to the Middle-East. He will meet the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem before travelling to Bethlehem for discussions with the Palestinian president Mehmood Abbas.

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Despite the failure to set up a tentative date for the Geneva -II peace conference on Syria, the UN Special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said that all is not over yet and efforts will continue. Brahimi will hold another round of talks with the US and Russian delegations on the 25th of this month in Geneva to prepare for the conference. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow that talks are unlikely to be held before December as he rejected any pre conditions set by the Syrian opposition for participation at the upcoming conference. In another development, United Nations has announced that as many as 40 per cent of Syrians now need humanitarian aid. A UN spokesman said in Geneva that the Syrian war has left over 9 million citizens in need of humanitarian aid, including 6.5 million people who are now internally displaced.

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The UN nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA will resume talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear program in Geneva tomorrow. The two sides have held several rounds of talks without any result so far. The IAEA’s talks with Iran are aimed at setting up an inspection regime to allow it to prove or disprove Western fears that Iran’s nuclear program includes weapons research. The UN agency wants access to sites, officials and documents in Iran including the Parchin military base, where it believes nuclear-related tests might have taken place, possibly a decade ago. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, saying it wants only civilian atomic energy.

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The State Bank of India, SBI has raised its lending rates by 0.20 per cent with effect from tomorrow. Home, auto and consumer loans are expected to become costlier with the revision of rates. SBI said in a statement that the bank has revised the base rate or the minimum lending rate to 10 per cent from 9.80 per cent. At the same time, the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate was also raised by 0.20 per cent from 14.55 per cent to 14.75 per cent.

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Giving up all its initial gains, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange stood 40 points, or 0.2 percent in the negative zone, at 20,935 in afternoon trade, a short while ago. But earlier in morning trade, the Sensex had gained 48 points, or 0.2 percent, to 21,023, on fresh buying by funds. Stock markets in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia had climbed between 0.1 percent and 0.8 percent, today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.1 per cent lower in yesterday's trade.

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The rupee dropped by 25 paise to 61 rupees 87 paise against the dollar in late morning trade today. The fall was attributed to good dollar demand from banks and importers despite weakness of dollar overseas. Earlier, the rupee resumed lower at 61 rupees 93 paise, as against the last closing level of 61 rupees 62 paise at the Forex Market.

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In Tamil Nadu, fishermen from Rameswaram resorted to indefinite strike from today. They are urging the government to ensure release of fishermen lodged in Sri Lankan jails. Hundreds of Tamil fishermen from coastal areas of Tamil Nadu like Rameswaram, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai Jagadapattinam are languishing in Sri Lankan jails for fishing in Lankan waters. Tamil fishermen crossed the international maritime boundary near Kachatheevu island, when they were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy.

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An earthquake of moderate intensity measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale, rocked Assam today. No casualty or damage to property has been reported. The tremor, lasting a few seconds, occurred at 9.46 am. MET office in Guwahati said, the epicentre of the tremor was at Karbi Anglong at a depth of 20 kilometres.

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The 4-day long festival of Sun worship, Chhath Puja began today with full faith and enthusiasm in Bihar. Our correspondent reports that the administration has made all arrangements for maintaining peace and cleanliness at the Ganga Ghats.

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The West Indies were 210 for 7 against India in the post-tea session on day 1 of the first cricket test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, when reports last came in. Marlon Samuels knock of 65 runs helped the visitors recover from early wicket loss. For the Indian side, Mohamed Shami claimed three wickets. Earlier, West Indies won the toss and opted to bat first. This is the first test of the 2-match series. The second test at Mumbai from November 14 will be the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar's last international match.

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In Tennis, India's Leander Paes and his Czech team-mate Radek Stepanek will play their Men's Doubles second Group-B match of the ATP World Finals at London, England today. The seventh seeded Indo-Czech pair will clash with the sixth seeded Spanish duo of David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco. Paes and Stepanek, who are currently second in 4-pair Group-B, behind Marrero and Verdasco, yesterday defeated the Austrian-Brazilian combination of Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8.