Earthquake hits Andaman, Nicobar islands, Orissa, 2 injured

An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale shook parts of Andaman and Nicobar islands tonight leaving two persons injured but there was no report of any death or damage.



The quake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter Scale in Bhubaneshwar, jolted coastal areas of Orissa, bringing panic-stricken people in some areas out of their houses.

"The epicentre of the earthquake was located at Landfall Island, 240 km north of Port Blair. The earthquake shook parts of Andaman islands but no tsunami alert was sounded," Deputy Commissioner of South Andaman S N Jha told PTI.

Chief Secretary Vivek Roy said two persons were injured when they fell from the roof of a house in north Andaman.

The tremors were felt in middle and north Andaman, he added.

Authorities of North Andaman and Defence have been alerted, he said.


Hyderabad: Tennis star Sania Mirza and her father Imran Mirza (L) in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Sania, who is set to marry Pakistani cricket player Shoaib Malik, returned from New Delhi after getting her visa to Pakistan.


Mumbai Indians fined for slow over rate

Mumbai, Mar 31 (PTI) Table-toppers Mumbai Indians were today fined for maintaining a slow over-rate for the second time in the Indian Premier League with skipper Sachin Tendulkar losing USD 40,000 after the win against Kings XI Punjab here.

Each of the other members of the team were slapped with a USD 10,000 fine.

"The IPL today advised that Mumbai Indians have been fined for maintaining a slow over rate during last night's IPL match against Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai," the IPL said in a statement.

At the end of the match, Mumbai Indians were assessed to be one over behind the required rate after allowances were taken into consideration.


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India's air defence missile test fails

Tags - air defence, missile, test, fails, Orissa, Wheeler Island,
A crucial test of the endo-atmospheric anti-missile weapon failed during launch on Monday, causing a setback to India's missile defence programme.

The team has time till Wednesday afternoon to complete the launch from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa.




Scientists told Headlines Today there were serious coordination problems with the launch control system. The test will go through as soon as some critical issues were sorted out.

The Advanced Air Defence Missile test is the second of its kind. It seeks to validate a lower atmospheric mid-air interception of a simulated enemy ballistic missile attack.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/88352/India/India%E2%80%99s+air+defence+missile+test+fails.html

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AGNI-III test-fired successfully | nuclear-capable Agni-III | Orissa

India’s longest range nuclear-capable Agni-III was successfully test-fired from the Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast on Sunday.

The more than 3,500-km range home-grown ballistic missile, believed to be most lethal of the weapon systems developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists, was test-fired at 10.50 hrs and covered the pre-designated range with 100 per cent accuracy, top officials told The Hindu from Wheeler Island soon after the successful launch.


The solid-propelled, two-stage missile can carry nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes. It is 17 metres tall and has a launch weight of 50 tonnes with a two-metre diameter.

When contacted, V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Director-General, DRDO, said it was a fantastic launch and a “hat-trick for Agni-III with three successes”. The trajectory went perfectly according to plan till the last decimal place, he said. “It gave us full range and pinpoint accuracy,” he added.

Avinash Chander, Agni-III mission director, called it a “perfect success”, stating that all the mission objectives were met. Chander, also the Director of Advanced Systems Laboratory - which designed and developed the Agni-III - said all the events listed in the launch were executed with accuracy and described it as a “thrilling experience".

A. Sivathanu Pillai, CEO and MD, BrahMos Aerospace, called the success an “important milestone for the country. It will lead to induction of the missile”. The success would bring credit to DRDO scientists, he said.

W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller, Life Sciences and Human Resources, DRDO also termed it as an “important milestone in developing the country's defence and developing the second strike capability. The flight proved the robustbness of all the systems and software”.

With the third consecutive success of Agni-III, he said “it is now a proven missile. It is a big morale booster for our missile scientists and institutions”, he observed.

A top DRDO missile technologist said the mission was a “good success and the trajectory of the flight was excellent. Everything worked well, including all payload systems”, he added.

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