0815 HRS.

7 September, 2010

THE HEADLINES:

• Poll schedule for Bihar Assembly elections announced; Six phased polling to begin from 21st of October; Counting to take place on 24th of November.

 

• Prime Minister says no quick fix solution to naxal problem; Calls for two-pronged strategy of development and effective enforcement of law and order.

 

• Pakistan  government decides to investigate assets of all cricket players who represented the country over the last five years.

 

• India's Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi advance to men's doubles quarter-finals in New York.

 

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The Election Commission has announced the poll schedule for Assembly elections in Bihar. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi yesterday, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said that the election will be held in six phases from 21st of October to 20th of November. While, the first three phases will be held on 21st, 24th, and 28th of October, the remaining phases will take place on Ist, 9th and 20th of November. Counting will take place on the 24th of November. Dr Quraishi said, the dates had been decided after taking into consideration several aspects including festivals, the availability of central forces and the law and order situation.

 

"Attention of the political parties and candidates is particularly invited to the following provisions of the model code. There shall be no appeal to  caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, Churches, Temples and other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda."

 

The bye election to Banka Lok Sabha constituency, which fell vacant after the death of Digvijay Singh will be held on the Ist of November in the fourth phase.  Dr Quraishi said, the Commission will soon convene an all party meeting on the use of Electronic Voting Machines.

 

"Poll in the state of Bihar will be conducted at all  the polling stations using electronic voting machines. The Commission has already made arrangements to ensure availability of adequate number of EVMs for the smooth conduct of elections. The Commission has issued a  new set of instructions with regard to the first level check of EVM and the entire process will also be videographed."

 

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The Prime Minister has said that there are no  quick fixes to the Naxal problem.  During an interaction with a group of editors at his residence, Dr.Manmohan Singh said the problem is more menacing than ever before and is required to be tackled in two ways -  addressing valid economic and social issues and also enforcing law and order.  The Prime Minister said, Home Minister is doing an exceedingly good job and Mr Chidambaram enjoys his full confidence and support.  Indicating a reshuffle in the Cabinet before the winter session of Parliament, the Prime Minister said that he would like to reduce the average age of his Cabinet.  Dr Singh said, his cabinet was functioning with a much greater degree of cohesion and rejected the perceptions of disconnect between the Congress party and the government. He also made it clear that he had no plans of retiring. On Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister said that the Cabinet Committee on Security will meet later this week for a threadbare discussion on the situation in the Kashmir valley. He also indicated that  Centre may initiate new steps to break the impasse.

 

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The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has no intention of having any confrontation with it on the issue of distribution of foodgrains to the poor in the country.  Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran submitted to a bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma that wrong reports were appearing in a section of the press giving an impression that the government wants to have a confrontation with the judiciary on the issue.  The apex court, while taking on record the affidavit, said it was very happy at the comprehensive reply filed by the government in pursuance of its earlier direction for supply of foodgrains at low cost or at no cost.  However, the government affidavit is silent on the apex court's direction for free distribution of food grains to the poor instead of allowing it to rot.  Mr Prasaran told the apex court that pursuant to its earlier direction, the Centre had decided to allocate 25 lakh tonnes of additional foodgrains to states and Union Territories for distribution at BPL prices. In a related development, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh  said  that the Supreme Court should not get into the realm of policy formulation. Interacting with editors at his residence, he wondered, how foodgrains could be distributed free to an estimated 37 per cent of the population who live below the poverty line.

 

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In the Hooch tragedy in Malappuram District of Kerala, the death toll has risen to 17.  Our correspondent reports that 150 persons have been admitted to Kozhikode Medical College.

 

The hooch tragedy in 3 places in Malappuram district in which 17 persons died raises many ethical questions. The main place of the tragedy was Kuttippuram and Tiroor in which 10 persons lost their lives. Seven persons died in Vandoor area. The victims include poor coolie workers from Tamil Nadu. They consume liquor to forget the hardship of their manual labour. But the illicit liquor has broken their hopes of a good livelihood. The dead include 4 persons from Tamil Nadu. 150 persons have been admitted to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. The hooch tragedy in Malappuram is the 4th highest in Kerala and the largest in the Northern part of the state. The highest was in 1982 at Vypeen in Eranakulam in which 72 persons lost their lives.

 

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In Rajasthan, senior doctors have withdrawn their strike and returned to work. But resident doctors of all medical colleges continued to be on strike.

 

Senior doctors decided to withdraw the strike and returned to hospitals ,The state Govt has also decided to set up a one member committee to inquire incident of jodhpur and demands raised by resident doctors. This time when impact of swine flu and other seasonal diseases is increasing in the state resident doctors strike has doubled the problems of common people. Hundreds of patients have returned without treatment and operations are being post pond in hospitals affiliated with these 6 medical colleges. Main opposition party BJP also criticised this strike . Meanwhile the State Govt has deputed 201 senior doctors in these hospitals .CM Mr. Ashok Gehlot and health minister Amaduddin Ahmed Khan also reviewed the situation.

 

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The 24-hour nationwide general strike called by the major trade unions began this morning.  The strike has been called by the INTUC, CITU and other seven Central Trade Unions in protest against price hike of essential commodities and alleged anti-working class policies of the UPA Government. AITUC general secretary and CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta  told  AIR that  nearly  six crore workers  are participating  in the strike across the country.

 

Our Kolkata correspondent reports that most of the shops and establishments are closed in the city.  Public transport is off the roads.  However, train services in Howrah and Sealdh Division of the Eastern and South-Eastern Railways have remained normal so far.  Flight operation from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata are also as usual though some private Airliner have cancelled their flights.

 

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In Jammu and Kashmir, curfew has been imposed in large parts of Srinagar city.  This follows overnight protests and clashes against yesterday's police firing in Palhalan of Baramulla district.  Four civilians were killed and eight injured in the incident.  Curfew like restrictions have been imposed in many other towns of the valley including Baramulla, Patan and Anantnag.

 

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Widespread rain continued to lash several parts of Uttar Pradesh causing water level to rise in Ganga, Ramganga, Ghaghra and Rapti.  Our correspondent reports that this has further worsened the flood situation in western and Terai districts.

 

The number of flood affected villages in Gonda and Bahraich has shot up to 180. The heavy inflow from the breach in Parsawal embankment is continued engulfing more villages in Colonelganj tehsil of Gonda. The Kharif crops of paddy, Maize and Jawar is badly hit as thousands of acres of cultivated land have been inundated by the flash flood. The relief work is going on amid the prediction of more rain in the rivers’ catchments during next 24 hours.

 

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Strengthening bilateral relations in the fields of defence and trade and investment will be high on the agenda of talks between the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk. The two sides are expected to sign an agreement in the field of cultural exchanges after the talks today. Banashri Bose Harrison, Joint Secretary  in Ministry of External Affairs told reporters in New Delhi that a number of other agreements were also on the cards. The Polish leader is scheduled to address industry leaders in New Delhi at a meeting jointly organized by the industry chambers that is aimed at encouraging Indian investment in Poland. The bi-lateral trade between two countries stands at 4.12 billion US dollars. External Affairs Ministry Spokesman, Vishnu Prakash said that Poland is interested not only in selling Defence equipment but also the transfer of  technology.

 

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The Pakistan  government has decided to investigate the assets of current and former players who have represented the country over the last five years.  According to a Newspaper report, the  Federal Bureau of Revenue, FBR has directed its regional officers to collect details of the bank accounts and other assets of the cricketers.  The report said, the officials have been asked to take account of the number of cars in the possession of the cricketers.

 

Quoting official sources, the Daily reports that the Pakistan Cricket Board will also be asked to submit its expenses for the players, selectors, coaches and managers.

 

The ICC has suspended Pakistan captain Salman Butt and the pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir after the spot fixing scandal surfaced following a sting operation by a British tabloid.

 

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In US Open tennis  tournament, India's Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi advanced to the men's doubles quarterfinals with an upset win over second seeded Canadian-Serbian pair of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.   The 16th seeded Indo-Pak pair of Bopanna and Qureshi streamrolled their opponents 6-3, 6-4 in a one-sided pre-quarterfinal clash at Flushing Meadows.     

 

Indo-Zimbabwean pair of Leander Paes and Cara Black also advanced to the last-eight stage of the tournament in the mixed doubles event.  Paes and Black  defeated unseeded Estonia-Swedish pair of Kaia Kanepi and Robert Lindstedt 6-1, 6-4.

 

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TODAY'S NEWSPAPERS

 

Most Newspapers cover the press conference convened by the Prime Minister at his residence. The Statesman quotes the Prime Minister as saying "Free distribution of foodgrains not possible" Prime Minister, writes the Statesman.''PM rules out retirement,wants younger cabinet " headlines the Economic Times. "China wants India to be in a state of low-level-equilibrium: PM" says the Times of India.

 

The other major story dominating the headlines is the release of the three policemen by the Maoists in Bihar. Most papers have photographs of the tearful reunions with families.

 

The Former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman and the guiding force behind Indias first nuclear test, Homi Sethna's death at 86 is also widely reported by most newspapers.

 

The Pioneer, Times of India and other papers report on their front pages, the shocking story of a British MP wife being a sex worker in London. According to the papers, the conservative British member of parliament is shocked beyond imagination and claims to have been separated from his Brazilian wife since February.

 

At 27 inches Edward Hernandez has been declared as worlds shortest living man by Guinness World Records. At 24 years of age he is just slightly taller than a piece of carry on luggage and weighs just 22 pounds. Photographs of Hernandez have been displayed in most newspapers posing with the Guinness World Record book  2011 in Colombia.

 

Just 11 hours of meditation might boost brain function reports a study at the University of Oregon. The technique called integrative body-mind training or IBMT has been the focus of intense scrutiny. Just 11 hours of learning a meditation technique evokes positive structural changes in brain connectivity by boosting efficiency in a part of the brain that helps regulate behaviour. The Asian Age has reported this study.

 

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The Finance Ministry says that economy is likely to clock 8.75 percent growth this fiscal, if global recovery is on track. The Chief Economic Adviser to the Finance Ministry, Kaushik Basu said that the 8.8 per cent growth in the first quarter was encouraging but the second quarter may be difficult. He, however, expressed confidence that the third quarter would register a growth of over 9 per cent.  This, he attributed to the  better agricultural performance following a good monsoon. Mr. Basu said, the shortage of power and road connectivity were the biggest bottlenecks for industrial development. He said, with the completion of golden quadrilateral and industrial corridor, the growth trajectory would be on higher pedestal.

 

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