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09 March 2014

  • One civilian killed and two injured in an accident at Indian Navy's ship building centre in Vishakhapatnam; DRDO orders probe into the incident involving Arihant class submarine.

  • Malaysian Prime Minister says they are looking at all possibilities including a terrorist angle in the plane crash.
  • Special election camps will be organised across the country today for enrollment of voters whose names are missing in the electoral rolls.
  • US President Barack Obama holds telephonic talks with key European allies over Ukraine crisis.
  • Sri Lanka beat Paksitan by five wickets to bag Asia Cup Cricket tournament.
  • Railways meet Mizoram in the final of Santosh Trophy Football in Siliguri today.
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In yet another accident involving the Navy, one civilian worker was killed and two injured in an accident at the under-construction nuclear submarine at the shipbuilding centre of the Eastern Naval Command at Vishakhapatnam last night. The accident took place when the pressure of the hydraulic tank of the Arihant class submarine was being tested and the tank's lid fell on the workers.
The incident occurred when the engineers were conducting a routine hydro pressure test at the Ship Building Centre . The cause of the accident is believed to be due to high pressure in the cylinders. The two injured have been admitted to the Naval hospital while the body of the deceased has been sent to Government King George Hospital. Henry, AIR News, Visakhapatnam
Defence Research Development Organization, DRDO chief Avinash Chander has said an inquiry has been ordered but maintained that there is no setback to the programme for the development of Arihant class submarines. Yesterday's incident came a day after leakage of a deadly gas in an under-construction warship in Mumbai's Mazagon dock which claimed the life of a Navy Commander. This is the 12th incident involving naval assets in the recent past. Around 10 days ago, warship INS Sindhuratna had suffered a mishap under water when smoke and fire killed two officers and the incident led to the exit of former Navy Chief Admiral DK Joshi who resigned taking moral responsibility.
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Special election camps will be organised across the country today for enrollment of voters whose names are missing in the electoral rolls. The Election Commission has written to all Chief Electoral Officers of States and Union Territories to organise such camps in every polling station where electoral rolls will be displayed.
Election Commission is organising a special camp across the country in front of each and every polling station for registration of voters who have missed the previous deadline. Citizens who are eligible to vote but are not enrolled can visit their polling stations and submit form 6 at the camp. Booth level officer will be there to help voters check their names in the electoral rolls, assist them in filling up their forms and will also receive filled out copies of the form. Voters can check their names in the electoral roll which are available on the state Election Commission website. They can also check their name through special SMS facility. Sant Bahadur for AIR NEWS DELHI.
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Cabinet Secretary AK Seth has advised all Union Ministers to ensure strict observance of Election Commission guidelines which bar them from using their official position for poll campaign. In separate letters to all the ministers, he reminded them that with the announcement of the Lok Sabha and some assembly poll schedules, the model code for political parties and candidates has come into force.
He urged the ministers not to combine their official visits with electioneering work and also not to make use of official machinery or personnel during electioneering. The Election Commission had spelt out in details the does and don'ts to be followed till the electoral exercise comes to an end in a detailed note to the Cabinet Secretary and Chief secretaries and Chief Electoral Officers of all states. The Commission has also cautioned political parties against dishonouring the national flag during election rallies. It however said that there is no bar on its proper use in such events.
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In Andhra Pradesh, senior Congress leader and former state minister for Mines, Galla Aruna Kumari has joined the Telugu Desam Party. She took TDP membership in the presence of party chief and former chief minister N Chanderbabu Naidu in Hyderabad yesterday. Galla Aruna Kumari represents Chandragiri constituency in Chittoor district of Rayalseema and was elected for the third time in 2009 elections. Her son Galla Jaydev, an industrialist also joined the TDP.
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Still in Andhra Pradesh, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has set up two state committees for Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh in view of the states bifurcation. Former party legislator, Tammineni Veerabhadram has been named as State Secretary for Telangana and former Rajya Sabha member P. Madhu as State Secretary for Seemandhra. The appointments were made at the party’s state committee meeting in Hyderabad yesterday attended by National Secretary Prakash Karat and polit buro member Sitaram Yechury. Our correspondent reports that the CPIM is the first party in the state to set up two separate committees following creation of the Telangana state. The Congress is also expected to announce two separate Pradesh Committees in a day or two.
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The aerial search for the missing Malaysian Airliner is set to resume this morning but marine rescue teams from several countries worked through the night to search the sea south of Vietnam. Flight MH370 disappeared en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, with 239 people on board early yesterday morning. No distress signal was received from the plane and there has been no trace of wreckage.
There were no reports of bad weather and no sign as to why the Boeing 777-200ER would have vanished from the radar screens about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia Airlines has told passengers' next of kin to come to the international airport in Kuala Lumpur with their passports to prepare to fly to the crash site, once it was identified. About 20-30 families are being kept in a holding room at the airport, where they were being guarded by security officials, away from media glare.
The airline said people of 14 nationalities were among the 227 passengers, including at least 152 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French and three Americans. It has been reported that two passengers who were listed on the plane's manifest, an Italian and an Austrian, were not actually on the flight. They both reportedly had their passports stolen in Thailand years ago. Asked whether terrorism was suspected as a reason for the plane's disappearance, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said they are looking at all possibilities, but it is too early to make any conclusive remark.
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US President Barack Obama has held telephonic talks with key European allies over the crisis in Ukraine, amid warnings of new measures against Russia. The White House confirmed that Obama discussed the situation in Ukraine with French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italian leader Matteo Renzi. The White House said the leaders reiterated their serious concern and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Obama also hosted a conference call with the leaders of former Soviet states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to discuss the ongoing situation.
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European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has arrived in Teheran to hold talks with the top Iranian leaders including President Rouhani, Parliament speaker Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif today on Iran's nuclear programme. Ahead of her visit , the Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Akbar Salehi urged the world powers to seize the opportunity and resolve the West's decade-old standoff with Iran over the country's nuclear program.
Catherine Marie Ashton’s visit to Iran is the first visit by a European foreign policy chief to Iran since 2008. Her visit comes at a time when relations of Iran with the western nations are showing signs of improvement amidst positive vibes by President Rouhani and the interim nuclear deal signed in last November. The visit assumes significance since Catherine Marie Ashton heads the negotiating team on behalf of EU at the nuclear talks. The two sides have been engaged in talks to arrive at a comprehensive nuclear deal by July this year. The next round of talks between Iran and P5+1 is due in Vienna on March 18. Iran looks forward to enhance its trade and economic co-operation with European nations after the the partial easing of sanctions. Atul K Tiwary,AIR News.
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The stranded passengers of the Indigo plane which caught fire after landing at the Kathmandu Airport in Nepal yesterday have been ferried back to New Delhi. An Indigo plane landed at Kathmandu last night to carry the passengers back home. A technical team from India is already in Kathmandu to investigate the cause of the mishap. As already reported the Indigo plane with 182 people on board caught fire after landing at Kathmandu Airport from New Delhi yesterday. All passengers were off-loaded with the help of ground engineers through emergency exits.
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Sri Lanka beat Paksitan by five wickets to bag the Asia Cup Cricket Tournament. In the final, they defeated defending champion Pakistan at Mirpur in Bangaldesh last night riding on a brilliant century by Lahiru Thirimanne and Mahila Jaywardane's 75 runs. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat, scoring 260 runs for the loss of five wickets in the stipulated 50 overs. Lasith Malinga who took all the five wickets was declared man of the match and Lahiru Thirimanne man of the series. For Pakistan, Fawad Alam remained not out with 114 runs in 134 balls. Misbah-ul Haq contributed 65 and Umar Akmal 59.
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Railways will meet Mizoram in the final of the 68th Santosh Trophy Football Championship in Siliguri today. While Railways will try to break their 48-year old jinx, Mizoram will look to become first-time winner. The Railways had last bagged the Santosh Trophy in 1966. In the semifinals, Mizoram beat Tamil Nadu 3-1, while the Railways overcame Maharashtra 4-2 in the penalty shoot out.
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In the men's singles final of the All England Badminton Championship, world number one Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei will meet China's Chen Long for the second year in a row today. In the semifinals at Birmingham Lee Chong Wei beat Son Wan Ho of Korea 14-21, 21-19, 21-15 which took him to his sixth successive All-England Open final. In the other semifinal, world number two and the All-England champion, Chen Long of China beat compatriot Wang Zhengming 21-17, 21-14. India's challenge at the championship ended in Birmingham with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal losing to China's Shixian Wang. The world number 7, Saina lost 17-21, 10-21 to the world number 3 Shixian Wang.
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NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES:
  • The heat generated by the announcement of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls by the BJP gets top billing in the papers today. "BJP rumblings out in the open as Sushma, Joshi question Rajnath ; BJP chief cornered on Varanasi seat for Modi, entry of tainted leaders" reads the Hindustan Times lead. Highlighting trouble in Lalu Yadav's RJD from one of his closest aides, the Times of India reports "Ram Kripal quits from RJD posts".
  • The first list of Congress candidates is also highlighted in all the papers."Rahul retains Amethi, Sonia Rae Bareli in Congress first list".
  • Aam Admi Party leader Yogendra Yadav's ink-smeared face can be seen in all the papers today. How did it happen? The Indian Express explains as it writes "Disgruntled Aam Admi Party worker smears ink on Yogendra Yadav's face".
  • An Indigo plane catching fire after landing in Kathmandu is prominently noticed in the papers. "Indigo Plane catches fire in Kathmandu, 182 safely evacuated" reports the Pioneer.
  • Various events to mark International Women's Day yesterday are widely reported. The Asain Age Quotes BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi during his interaction with women as part of the Chai Pe Charcha programme, saying "Women must have choice in career, education, marriage". The Tribune writes that women in some districts of Haryana took a pledge to shun the veil or 'ghoonghat'. On a more sobering note, the Times of India cites an Inter-Parliamentary Union list that ranks India a lowly 111th out of 189 countries on the basis of the number of women parliamentarians.
  • Kolkata is to have its own answer to London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum reports the Hindustan Times. The paper says that Mahatma Gandhi, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar will rub shoulders with Rabindranath Tagore, KAzi Nazrul Islam and Jagdish Chandra Bose at the museum.
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At least six Afghan security personnel were killed in a landmine blast in eastern Laghman province of Afghanistan yesterday. Media reports quoting provincial officials said they were trying to defuse a landmine planted by the insurgents in the provincial capital Mehtarlam which accidentally went off killing four Afghan Army soldiers and 2 Local Policemen.
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