THE HEADLINES
- Arvind Kejriwal to take oath as Chief Minister of Delhi tomorrow after a gap of one year.
- Nine persons killed in a train accident near Hosur in Karnataka.
- Prime Minister initiates Cricket diplomacy; calls four SAARC leaders; Foreign Secretary to visit SAARC countries.
- In Pakistan gunmen attack a mosque during Friday prayers killing 19 persons.
- Pakistan opposes India's entry to UN Security Council.
- Cricket World Cup begins tomorrow; opening ties Sri Lanka versus New Zealand and Australia vs England.
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The stage is set for the swearing-in ceremony of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party Government in Delhi. Lieutenant Governor Najib Jung will administer the oath of office to Mr. Kejriwal and members of his council of ministers at Ramlila Maidan tomorrow. Party sources say that the new cabinet will include Manish Sisodia as Deputy Chief Minister and four new faces. AAP MLAs Satyendra Jain, Jitendra Tomar, Kapil Mishra, Sandeep Kumar and Asim Ahmed Khan are among the probables for the cabinet berth. Party leaders Rakhi Birla, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Somnath Bharti, Girish Soni who were in AAP’s earlier cabinet are unlikely to find a place in the new government this time. A large number of people are expected to attend the swearing-in.
It is a coincidence that Arvind Kejriwal is assuming the charge of Delhi Chief Minister exactly on the same day when he resigned from the post last year. The venue is also the same Ramlila maidan where Arvind Kejriwal started anti corruption movement leading to entry in politics. However this time situation is quite different. Last time, Kejriwal government 's survival was dependent on Congress but this time he is commanding overwhelming majority of 67 MLAs in the 70 member assembly. People have a lot of expectations from the new government as they whole heartedly supported the AAP in this elections. With SANT BAHADUR Zakir Malik,AIR NEWS,Delhi.
Earlier in the day, the Union Cabinet recommended revocation of President's rule in Delhi, to pave the way for installation of a new Government.
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The Bangalore Ernakulam Intercity Express derailment has left nine persons dead and has severely injured 19 others. The nine bogies of the train that left Bangalore City this morning had derailed between Anekal Road and Hosur on the Bangalore City - Salem Section.
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has expressed profound grief over the loss of innocent lives. He has announced an ex-gratia of two lakh rupees to the next kin of the dead, 50,000/-rupees each to grievously injured passengers and 20,000 rupees to those who sustained simple injuries. Mr. Suresh Prabhu has given instructions to Railway officials to ensure effective and best medical treatment of the injured passengers.
The Helpline numbers are - at site 0948090599, & 08022371166, 09731666751 in Bangalore for information and assistance. An inquiry has been ordered by Railways under Commissioner Railway Safety, Southern Circle to ascertain the cause of the accident.
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The Supreme Court today gave protection from arrest to social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband for another six days. The bench has deferred the matter for the 19th of this month. The case against Setalvads pertains to the alleged embezzlement of funds for a museum at Ahmedabad's Gulbarg Society that was devastated in the 2002 riots. The Bench comprising Justices S. J. Mukhopadhaya and N. V. Ramana has asked the parties to place before it the Gujarat High Court judgement and other additional documents.
The Apex Court was hearing the appeal filed by the Setalvads against yesterday's judgement of the High Court which had rejected their plea for anticipatory bail for not co-operating with the investigation.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked Delhi Police Commissioner B. S. Bassi to speedily investigate the recent incidents of vandalism and ensure that the guilty are brought to book. Mr. Modi today summoned the Police Commissioner in view of the alleged vandalization of Holy Child Auxilium school in south Delhi and expressed his deep concern and anguish over the rising crime rate in the city.
The Prime Minister also spoke to the Union Home Secretary, L.C. Goyal and asked him to pay special attention to the rising incidents of crime and vandalism.
Early this morning, Holy Child Auxilium school was allegedly vandalized by a group of people. In the incident, the Principal's office was ransacked and cash of eight thousand rupees was missing. An FIR in this regard has been registered Later, talking to reporters, Delhi Police commissioner B. S. Bassi said he has assured the Christian community that police is sensitive to ensuring their safety and security. He said the investigation in the case has so far revealed that it is a case of theft and the probe is on.
Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani visited the school. She also talked to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and urged him to look into the incident.
On the other hand, Delhi Chief Minister designate Arvind Kejriwal has condemned the incident and said such acts will not be tolerated. Congress leader Ajay Maken has demanded strict action against the people involved in the incident.
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Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi today firmly stated that he would not step down before floor test in the state assembly. Talking to reporters in Patna, Mr.Manjhi reiterated that he would win the vote of confidence. He refuted the JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar's charges of horse-trading.
Senior BJP leader, Sushil Kumar Modi today accused Nitish Kumar of indulging in horse trading by offering two crore rupees each to the legislators supporting his candidature for Chief Ministership. Talking to reporters in Patna, Mr. Modi said that Nitish Kumar is trying his best to lure more and more legislators.
Earlier, the Janata Dal (United) has decided to sit in the opposition bench in the Bihar Assembly which is commencing from the 20th of this month.
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The Supreme Court today directed the CBI to probe RBI and SEBI saying these regulatory bodies cannot turn a blind eye to the multi-crore chit-fund scam spreading across several states. A bench of Justices T S Thakur and Adarsh Kumar Goel said that it has directed the CBI to investigate their role for effecting a mechanism. The bench observed that if the regulator turns a blind eye, it needs to be investigated and there is nothing which remains outside the scope of the investigation.
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Former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor today visited Sarojini Nagar Police Station in Delhi this afternoon before leaving for Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. Yesterday, Mr. Tharoor has been interrogated twice by the S.I.T of Delhi Police in connection with Sunanda Pushkar murder case.
The police has already sent the viscera samples of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Mr. Tharoor to the FBI laboratory in the United States.
Sunanda was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a hotel in Delhi in January last year.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to wish him on Cricket World Cup. In a tweet, Mr. Modi said that he had spoken to Mr Sharif and the heads of other SAARC countries whose teams are playing in the ICC World Cup to wish them luck. Mr. Modi spoke to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, President of Sri Lanka Maithiripala Sirisena and conveyed his good wishes. The Prime Minister also wished all the members of Team India.
Five SAARC Nations are playing and the Prime Minister used the opportunity to connect with the people in the region, says MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
Cricket is a metaphor for connectivity at the people to people level in those SAARC nations where Cricket is popular and you are also aware that the Prime Minister practices multi layer diplomacy. Therefore, Prime Minister's interaction today with those other South Asian leaders from the SAARC was in pursuit of this cricket as a metaphor for connectivity between our people.
The Prime Minister will also send the new Foreign Secretary Dr. S. Jaishankar on a SAARC Yatra soon to further strengthen the ties. We spoke to former Secretary General SAARC Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma on Prime Minister's cricket diplomacy:
Cricket you know is exceedingly popular in India, Pakistan, Bangaldesh, Nepal Srilanka and our people are hooked to cricket when the world cup is taking place. As the newspapers say,this is the second most important sports event after the world Cup Football. Naturally, on the eve of such a big event to congratulate the teams of all South Asian countries and to give them all the very best wishes is a very good move. It immediately connects the Prime Minister of India with the people across the four regions to bring them together to connect with them is consistent of Prime Minister's policy ever since he has taken office.
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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has told US President Barack Obama that India's permanent membership in the reformed UN Security Council is unacceptable to Pakistan. In a telephonic conversation with Obama, Sharif said that India cannot become a UNSC permanent member due to India's non-compliance of all the resolutions passed by the UN on Kashmir.
Quoting Pakistani daily The News, PTI says that Sharif also asked Obama to impress upon India to resume peace dialogue with Pakistan and address all outstanding issues, including Kashmir.
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In Pakistan, at least 19 people were today killed and several others injured in a militant attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar.
BBC reports that police and three gunmen exchanged gunfire at the mosque in Hayatabad district. Officials later said one militant was killed in the gunfight and the other one blew himself up. Another militant was arrested.
According to Police militants stormed the mosque wearing suicide vests. However, only one attacker managed to detonate his explosives. The other two reportedly threw grenades and shot at the congregation that had gathered for Friday prayers. The Pakistani Taliban said that their fighters had carried out the attack.
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Extending its gains for the fourth straight session, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange rallied 290 points to close above the 29,000-mark at 29, 095. The Sensex has now gained almost 870 points in four days.
The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange spurted 94 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 8,806.
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Cricket World Cup 2015 will begin early morning tomorrow. This edition of the World Cup is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The biggest tournament in the 50-over format will conclude on 29th of the next month.A report from our correspondent on the opening day clashes in the World Cup.
Yes the Cricket World Cup has arrived. The opening encounter between finalists from last two editions Sri Lanka and co-hosts and the dark horse New Zealand. The match is expected to tilt in favour of Kiwis on the basis of current form and it is said that this time around the squad can break their six-time semi final barrier. The second match is a humdinger between other host Australia and England. This encounter is the second most talked about cricketing rivalry after India-Pakistan. A full house is expected on the Valentine's Day at the MCG to see these old enemies start their World Cup campaigns. With four Cup wins under their belt, the Kangaroos have been the most successful team in the history of world cup and they look equally poised in this edition. Three times runners-up England, on the other hand, will look to fill its cabinet with the maiden trophy. This is Meeqat Hashmi reporting for AIR News, Delhi.
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As the 35th national games being held in Kerala concluded today, Services has emerged as champions with 91 gold medals,33 silver medals and 35 bronze medals.For Services,this is a hat-trick,topping the medals tally in the Games for the third consecutive time.
Golden boy, Sajan Prakash of Kerala, with his sparkling performance in swimming , was adjudged the Man of Sports in the 35th edition of the National Games. The 21-year-old boy not only bagged eight medals, including six gold, but also set five new records in individual events.
The two-week long sporting spectacle saw 10,000 sports- persons competing for top honours in 31disciplines.Competitions were held in venues spread across seven districts of Kerala. Events were well-organized and systematic.There was enthusiastic participation of the people at the sporting venues. The games sends a strong message that sports is a unifying factor,cutting across caste,creed,religion or political affiliations.
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Today is the World Radio Day. The day is observed every year on the 13th of February to celebrate radio as a forum for entertainment and information, as a bridge of communication for remote communities and its role in empowering people. Prasar Bharati Chairman Dr.A.Suryaprakash has said that the face of Doordarshan and Akashwani will be changed soon.
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