• India puts on hold its search for missing Malaysian aircraft at the request of Kualampur.

• The JD(U) releases its second list of 37 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
• Government raises import tariff value of gold.
• Voting is on in Crimea to decide whether to leave Ukraine for Russia.
• NATO says, it websites have been hit by cyber attacks.
• Qualifier matches of ICC World cup cricket T20 championship begin in Bangladesh.

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India today put on hold its search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, at the request of the government in Kuala Lumpur, which wants to reassess the week-old hunt for the Boeing 777 that is now suspected of being hijacked. A spokesman for the country's Eastern Naval Command Commander Babu said, India had been searching in two areas, one around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and a second further west in the Bay of Bengal. Both searches have been suspended. He said, Malaysian authorities are reassessing the situation and will figure whether they need to shift the area of search.

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The lone Integrated command in Andaman and Nicobar islands carried out a massive search operation under the overall command of the Commander in Chief , Air Marshall P K Roy and covered more than 250,000 Sq Kms. Over the Indian air space and Andaman sea and Bay of Bengal for the last three days. A number of navy ships, Air force aircrafts and the patrolling vessels of the Coast Guard were deployed for this coordinated search operation. But, there has been no sighting of the missing Malaysian jet anywhere.

Meanwhile, US intelligence officials are now focusing on those in the cockpit - the pilots - who knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. A senior US law enforcement official was quoted by Media as saying that investigators are carefully reviewing the information so far collected on the pilots to determine whether there is something to indicate a plan or a motive. It followed news that Malaysian authorities searched the house of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of the missing flight.

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The JD(U) has released its second list of 37 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. 32 candidates will contest from Bihar, four from Jharkhand and one from Chandigarh. Announcing the list in New Delhi today, JD(U) Chief Sharad Yadav said Dr. Gopal Prasad Singh will contest from Patna Sahib, Prof. Ranjan Prasad Yadav from Patliaputra and Kushlendra Kumar from Nalanda.

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In Assam, 58 additional companies of central Para-military forces will be deployed to ensure hassle free polls. Sources in the state Home department said that these companies are expected to arrive after 20th of this month. It may be recalled that all steps are being taken to conduct peaceful polling in the state after intelligence report said that militant outfits may carry out subversive activities to de-rail poll process.

Meanwhile, political activities have been intensified for the first phase of polls to be held on the 7th of April. More from our Correspondent:

Many political parties and candidates are utilizing the Holi festival as a tool to make close contacts with the voters. Colorful rallies are being taken out to woo voters. Meanwhile, steps have been taken to prevent violation of model code of conducts. 190 Flying Squad and 175 Static Surveillance teams have been put on place to prevent distribution of money and liquor among voters. District administrations have also set up 151 check posts to keep an eye on movement of goods that may distribute during elections. Manas Pratim Sarma/AIR News/ Guwahati.

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The Jharkhand political scene is changing fast even as the campaign for the Lok Sabha Elections is yet to gather momentum. While many prominent leaders are switching political sides in the hope of getting benefits, some stalwarts have announced their retirement from electoral politics. More from Ranchi Correspondent:

"Jharkhand is witnessing massive political exodus of political leaders and workers from one party to another. JMM top -level leader Hemlal Murmu has already joined the BJP. Similarly, one ex- Central Minister Nagmani has also left his party and joined the AJSU. On the other hand, the announcement of retirements of two sitting MPs of the state- Yashwant Sinha and Inder Singh Namdhari has indicated that the state political scene is changing fast, and some of these may affect the state political future in big ways. Rajesh Sinha, AIR News, Ranchi

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Punjab State Election Commission is holding second special camps at all polling stations today for all those who could not fill Form-6 in the first phase of the campaign held on March 9. The State Chief Electoral Officer has asked the district electoral officers to enroll all of them in the electoral rolls latest by March 27. The CEO has also sought a report in this regard by March 18.

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The government has hiked the import tariff value on gold to 445 dollar per 10 grams from 433 dollar per 10 gram earlier. A notification by the Central Board of Excise and Customs however said, the import tariff value -- the base price at which customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing -- in case of silver has been reduced to 694 dollar per kg from 699 per kg earlier. The tariff value is revised on a fortnightly basis after analysing the global price trend. Gold is the second largest import item for India after petroleum. The government has taken several measures to curb gold shipments to address the high current account deficit.

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At least 2 people were killed and two others injured in a fire on the 10TH floor of a residential society building in Sundarban park area in Thane in Mumbai. Four fire fighters and a fire engine were rushed to the mishap site and the fire was brought under control in two hours and all residents rescued. The injured were rushed to a local hospital.

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In the Kashmir valley, authorities today imposed curfew in Bandipora district and restrictions are being enforced under section 144 in towns of Sopore, Pattan, Palhalan, Baramulla and some parts of interior Srinagar city. The step has been taken in view of a protest bandh called by separatist groups against killing of a youth in Naidkhai on 14th March allegedly in police firing. The Government has already ordered a majesterial inquiry into the firing incident in which the youth was killed. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in strength to maintain law and order during the bandh.

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Crimea is today voting on whether to re-join Russia or stay with Ukraine - a referendum condemned as illegal by Kiev and the West but backed by Moscow. Russian troops have taken de facto control of the majority ethnic-Russian region, and voters are expected to support leaving Ukraine. Crimean Tatars are boycotting the vote, pledging their allegiance to Kiev. Russia earlier vetoed a draft UN resolution criticising the vote - the only Security Council member to do so. Polling stations across Crimea opened at 08:00 local time, and will close 12 hours later. Some 1.5 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots, and the first results are expected to be released shortly after the referendum. Ethnic Russians form a clear majority in the region and many of them are expected to vote for joining Russia.

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NATO has said several of its websites were targeted in a significant cyber-attack yesterday. According to NATO it appeared to be the latest bout of virtual warfare linked to the Ukrainian crisis. The Ukrainian hackers claimed that they had targeted three NATO websites. Spokeswoman for the military alliance Oana Lungescu said on Twitter that the websites had been hit by a significant (denial of service) attack, but that it had had no operational impact. Under such attacks, hackers hijack multiple computers to send a flood of data to the target, crippling its computer system. She said experts are working to restore normal function but the websites remained down for hours and still could not be accessed today.

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The crisis in Syria has entered in its fourth year amidst continued violence and rise in the number of Syrian fleeing their homes. The violence and the displacement has made the lives of the people miserable. The International Redcross in its latest report has said that the situation in Syria has developed into a humanitarian disaster of appalling dimensions. A report :

The conflict in Syria which began three years ago has not only left more than 1, 40,000 people dead but also rendered more than 40 percent of its population homeless. The most worrisome aspect is that half of the displaced are children. A large and growing population is now confined to refugee camps without adequate facility for their food, shelter and education requirements. UN high Commission for Refugees says that around 65 lakh Syrians have been internally displaced while more than 25 lakh Syrians have taken shelter in the neighboring countries. With both sides -the Syrian Government and the rebel opposition sticking to their stand amidst continuing violence peace and stability still remains an elusive dream for the country. Atul K Tiwary,AIR News,Dubai

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According to sources, the second phase of peace talks between the Pakistan government and Taliban is likely to start next week. The possible dates and venues of direct talks between a government team and the Shura of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were discussed at a meeting. The sources said the government proposed the Bannu airport as the venue of the talks and Taliban negotiators suggested talks in Miranshah in North Waziristan.

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External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said, it was time that there should be a closure to the senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade issue for which the US should find a political solution. During an interview to a news agency, the minister termed the Khobragade episode as extremely irksome. Mr Khurshid was asked for his reaction to US prosecutors re-indicting Khobragade on visa fraud charges. The second indictment, yesterday, came a day after a US court dismissed an earlier indictment.

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In West Bengal, Doljatra festival is being celebrated all over the State with religious fervour . A large number of devotees have assembld at the birth place of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Mayapur in Nodia District . Special programms are also being held at ISCON temple and Goudiya Mission temples . Our correspondent reports that large number of people have gathered at Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan to celebrate Basanto Utsav. Students of Viswa Bharati University took part in the Utsav by singing Tagore's songs . It was a riot of colours, song and dance at Visva Bharati campus with people celebrating the Dol Yatra festival with enthusiasm. Security measures have been beefed up to avoid any untoward incident .

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In the National Capital Delhi, bus and metro services will remain curtailed for the first half tomorrow due to Holi. The services will resume after 2 pm and continue to operate normally afterwards. The Delhi Police has made elaborate security arrangements in the city to prevent any untoward incident. The traffic police has stationed about 200 special teams on roads, strategic locations and intersections across the city to check drunken driving and other traffic violations.

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Tourists and locals alike reveled in Holi celebrations today across central Gujarat districts. About 30 students from Germany celebrated Holi with eco-friendly colours and flowers, as well as danced to the tunes of Holi songs.

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In Nepal , the festival of colours Holi is being celebrated in the hilly regions and capital Kathmandu today. The people have gathered with their friends and family since early morning and commenced the celebration by applying colours on each other and making merry amongst themselves. Concerts and entertainment have been organized in various places in the capital.

This year, police has stepped up security against hooliganism during Holi. Anyone throwing water balloons or colour at someone without his or her consent is liable to face jail sentence. Traffic police is also conducting special checks to prevent drunk driving and ensure that traffic rules are followed and prevent untoward incidents.

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The President and the Vice President have greeted the people on the eve of Holi. In his message, President, Pranab Mukherjee said, Holi not only brings joy and gaiety but also provides an opportunity to strengthen the bonds of friendship and brotherhood among people of all faiths. Vice-President, Mohd. Hamid Ansari said Holi reinforces the message of unity in diversity and equality of all human beings.

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The ICC World T20 competition begins in Bangladesh today with Qualifier matches. Afghanistan will meet host Bangladesh in the first match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur this afternoon. The morale of Afghan cricketers is quite high after defeating Bangladesh in the recently held Asia Cup. India take on arch-rivals Pakistan on March 21 in their opening fixture. Defending champions West Indies would fight hard to retain the title while Sri Lanka would like to be this time lucky having lost two finals in 2009 and 2012. New Zealand with their new-found sensation Corey Anderson will like to end their major Trophy jinx, something that even South Africa under AB de Villiers would also be aiming at.

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Top Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap suffered heart breaking defeats in the semifinals of the Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament. World championship bronze medallist, Sindhu, who had stunned All England Champion Shixian Wang in the quarterfinals, got a drubbing from the Chinese shuttler Sun Yu 21-18 12-21 19-21 in a 79-minute women's singles match.

Kashyap, too slumped to a 17-21 11-21 loss to world number 27 China's Houwei Tian in a 42-minute men's singles match. Kashyap had booked the semifinal berth with a hard-fought 21-15 21-23 21-18 win over sixth seed Tien Chen Chou of Chinese Taipei.

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