Today's Important NEWS !!!!!!

1)FIR against Moily, Mukesh, Deora

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily, former Minister Murli Deora and former Director-General of Hydrocarbons V.K. Sibal have been named in an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi government over alleged collusion in fixing natural gas prices and hoarding in the KG-D6 basin.The top politicians and the corporate head have been charged under Section 13 (1) (C) and (D) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, ACB sources said.The FIR was lodged late on Tuesday evening, the same day that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed the unit to probe the allegations made by former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian, former Navy Chief Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, lawyer Kamini Jaiswal and former Union Secretary E.A.S. Sarma.Mr. Kejriwal on Wednesday told journalists that all the four had been named in the FIR. The Chief Minister also wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to suspend the Central government’s decision to hike gas prices from April 1, citing the cascading effect it would have on the people.According to the complaint, the allegations include inflating gas prices much above the cost of production and keeping production much below the capacity to seek upward revision.Quoting the complaint, Mr. Kejriwal questioned the relevance of fixing gas prices in terms of U.S. dollars when the entire production was consumed internally. The complaint alleges that gas prices will be doubled from April 1 to $8.4 (Rs.524.20) per mbtu as against $4.2 (Rs.262.25) per mbtu because of collusion between RIL and UPA-II government servants. The hike would cost the country a minimum of Rs.54,500 crore a year and allow RIL to make a windfall of Rs.1.2 lakh crore, the complaint alleged.

2)Spectrum auction bids cross Rs.61,000 cr

On the ninth day of the ongoing auction of spectrum on Wednesday, the total value of radio waves on sale has crossed Rs.61,000-crore mark at Rs.61,091.83 crore, which is Rs.2,000 crore more compared to Tuesday’s closure amount. With this, the government has been ensured at least Rs.18,000 crore this fiscal against the estimated collection of Rs.11,000 crore.

3)Kingfisher loss widens in Q3

Kingfisher Airlines has widened its net loss to Rs.822 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013, as compared to a net loss of Rs.755 crore in the year ago period. During the previous quarter the company had reported a net loss of Rs.715 crore. During the third quarter the company had no income as it had stopped flying operations since end of October 2012. s on December 31, 2013, the company has built up an accumulated loss of Rs.18,718 crore.

4)IPL-VII auction: Yuvraj is the rock star

5)Sri Lanka wins a thriller

Thisara Perera removed danger man Anamul Haque off the final ball to hand Sri Lanka a dramatic two-run victory over Bangladesh in the first Twenty20 international in Chittagong on Wednesday.Sri Lanka, the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 side, made 168 for seven after being sent in to bat, and then restricted Bangladesh to 166 for seven to take the lead in the two-match series.With Bangladesh needing 17 runs from the final over, Anamul smashed 14 runs off the first five deliveries, but then offered Perera a return catch off the last ball.Anamul returned disappointed after making a gallant 58 off 45 balls with seven boundaries, including three in the tense final over.Tamim Iqbal and Shamsur Rahman gave the hosts a flying start with an opening stand of 52 in six overs before both batsmen fell in the space of two overs to make it 64 for two.Shakib Al Hasan helped Anamul add 43 for the third wicket, but Bangladesh lost four quick wickets to slip from 107 for two in the 14th over to 158 for six.Anamul faltered when it mattered most to leave Sri Lanka the victor.For Sri Lanka, left-handed opener Kusal Perera top-scored with 64 off 44 balls, but he found little support from the rest of the top order batsmen.Sri Lanka was reduced to 120 for six in the 15th over, before Kulasekara and Thisara Perera boosted the total. 

6)Indian team to visit Pakistan

An Indian visually impaired cricket team will travel to Pakistan on Thursday via Wagah border to play three one-day games and as many T20s from February 14-24. The matches will be played in Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi.

7)The missing Sri Lankan link

At a reserve price of Rs. two crore, Mahela Jayawardene was the second player on the block. Just that when auctioneer Richard Madley mentioned the former Sri Lankan captain’s name, the room lapsed into silence.Dubiously Jayawardene became the first player to remain unsold. As the day progressed, Jayawardene wasn’t alone in the rejection-bag and startlingly he had company in fellow players from the Emerald Isle with Angelo Mathews, Tillakaratne Dilshan and others finding no buyers.Suddenly there were whispers about geo-political undercurrents while the truth was actually steeped in pragmatism. Sri Lanka is scheduled to tour England in May and the team-owners were wary about that.Meanwhile, IPL Chairman Ranjib Biswal clarified: “The Sri Lankans are very much part of the auction just that the teams have their own strategies.”It was not entirely doom for the Sri Lankans as Thisara Perera and Muttiah Muralitharan were bagged by King’s XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively.

8)Marsh and Smith steer Australia out of trouble

Shaun Marsh marked his return to Test cricket with a fighting century as Australia overcame a poor start on the first day of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park on Wednesday. Australia was 297 for four at close.

The visitors were reeling at 98 for four after being sent in to bat before Marsh (122 batting) and Steve Smith (91 batting) added an unbeaten 199 for the fifth wicket with positive stroke play.

9)Impressive Karnataka clinches the Irani Cup

DOMINANT DISPLAY:Karnataka, with its innings victory against Rest of India, became the first Ranji Trophy champion in the last eight seasons to win the Irani Cup.