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[] | 2016-08-26T13:18:50 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | Is the Union government responsible for it (Dalit atrocities)? Is the party (BJP) responsible for it?,' Ahir asked. | Centre should not be blamed for Dalit atrocities: Union minister Ahir | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fcentre-should-not-be-blamed-for-dalit-atrocities-union-minister-ahir%2F20160822.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/jul/22live2.jpg | en | null | Centre should not be blamed for Dalit atrocities: Union minister Ahir | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 22, 2016 20:53 IST
The National Democratic Alliance -led Central government or the Bharatiya Janata Party should not be blamed for various incidents of atrocities on Dalits in the states, Union Minister Hansraj Ahir said on Monday.
"It is unfortunate that during last two and half years of the Modi government's rule, the Opposition could not find anything. It was unfortunate that an incident against Dalits occurred in Gujarat," the minister of state for home affairs told reporters in Panaji.
"But is the Union government responsible for it (Dalit atrocities)? Is the party (BJP) responsible for it?," he asked.
Ahir said it was unfortunate that the opposition tried to "make it (Dalit atrocities) a big issue against the Centre".
"The BJP has already made it clear that they do not support such actions against Dalits. Even Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) made the statement from an open platform on the issue," said the minister.
Ahir said the Centre was working towards "reducing atrocities on Dalits."
Speaking about the demand for beef ban, the Union minister said, "Beef eating practise has been going on since long. It did not start during our tenure. We still consider cow as 'Gaumata'. When there was a ban on beef in Maharashtra, we supported it."
He said the issue of transporting cows or buffaloes by vehicles for slaughtering has to be handled by the respective state governments.
"There are enough laws which can be invoked to stop such transportation," Ahir added. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/centre-should-not-be-blamed-for-dalit-atrocities-union-minister-ahir/20160822.htm | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/302fae9987119a57f1d8ad7a9b048b01d26b621c489939c1455c0ad2d9e076e1.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:02 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Arun Singh, India's Ambassador to US, is due for retirement and it is understood that Sarna's name has been finalised to succeed him. | Navtej Sarna could be India's next envoy to the US | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fnavtej-sarna-could-be-indias-next-envoy-to-the-us%2F20160826.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/15sl1.jpg | en | null | Navtej Sarna could be India's next envoy to the US | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 26, 2016 04:38 IST
India's High Commissioner to UK Navtej Sarna is set to head for Washington as Ambassador to the US, considered a high-profile posting.
Arun Singh, India's Ambassador to US, is due for retirement and it is understood that Sarna's name has been finalised to succeed him.
It is learnt the India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha may replace Sarna in the UK.
Sarna, an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1980 batch, was serving as Secretary (West) in the ministry of external affairs before he was posted to London in January.
The 59-year-old diplomat was among the longest-serving spokespersons of the MEA. He had held the post between 2002 and 2008.
Sarna is likely to take up the new assignment in the midst of the high-voltage presidential campaign in the US and his main task will be to ensure continuity in Indo-US relations when a new dispensation takes charge in Washington.
Sarna is an author of many fiction and non-fiction books, with the most recent being Second Thoughts: On Books, Authors and the Writerly Life released last year. He was also India's Ambassador to Israel from 2008 to 2012.
For two years from August 2012, Sarna had served as additional secretary in-charge of international organisations in the MEA.
Sarna had served at various Indian missions, including in Moscow, Warsaw, Tehran, Geneva, Thimphu and Washington.
Sinha, tipped to be Indian High Commissioner to the UK, is a seasoned diplomat and, in his career spanning 35 years, he has handled several important assignments at the MEA and in Indian diplomatic missions in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South America. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/navtej-sarna-could-be-indias-next-envoy-to-the-us/20160826.htm | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/9fe273a03879d2f3066a33c4947665f764ad1f420b29dd50627ae616eb2aa567.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:19:02 | null | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | Clinton has denied those allegations but says it was a mistake on her part to use a personal email.
| Colin Powell in spat with Hillary Clinton over email scandal | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fpowell-denies-reports-he-advised-clinton-on-emails%2F20160823.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/aug/12clinton.jpg | en | null | Colin Powell in spat with Hillary Clinton over email scandal | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 23, 2016 03:15 IST
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has denied reports that he advised Hillary Clinton to use her personal email and alleged that her people were trying to pin him down on the issue.
According to The New York Times, Democratic presidential nominee Clinton told the FBI that she was being advised by Powell, who served as the Secretary of State during the Bush Administration, to use her personal email.
Clinton is facing charges of using her personal emails hosted on a private server during her tenure as a Secretary of States, which her opponents allege some time includes classified information.
Clinton has denied those allegations but says it was a mistake on her part to use a personal email.
The issue was investigated by the FBI, which decided against filing a charge sheet against her.
The New York Post reported last week that Clinton told FBI that she was advised by Powell at beginning of her tenure to use personal email. Powell has denied this.
"The truth is, she was using (the private email server) for a year before I sent her a memo telling her what I did," Powell said according to multiple media reports. Her people have been trying to pin it on me," Powell, told at an event in New York.
Asked why he thought Clinton had named him in her defense of the email controversy, he replied, "Why do you think?" "It doesn't bother me. But it's okay; I'm free," Powell said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/powell-denies-reports-he-advised-clinton-on-emails/20160823.htm | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/893a2d4238703f8e175ed9b4c8fc20db80aa770ae8acf6f2ce64e0d5f138bb73.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:30:02 | null | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | India on Thursday said it has no 'locus standi' in the matter and its attempt to internationalise the issue will not 'whitewash' cross-border terrorism supported by it. | Pakistan has no 'locus standi' in addressing Kashmir situation, says EAM | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fpakistan-has-no-locus-standi-in-addressing-kashmir-situation-says-eam%2F20160811.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2013/sep/02lead8.jpg | en | null | Pakistan has no 'locus standi' in addressing Kashmir situation, says EAM | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 11, 2016 20:39 IST
Strongly rebuffing Pakistan on Kashmir, India on Thursday said it has no "locus standi" in the matter and its attempt to internationalise the issue will not "whitewash" cross-border terrorism supported by it.
It also asserted that the recent arrest of LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali is yet another proof of Pakistan’s continued involvement in cross-border terrorism and infiltration into India, despite several assurances that it will not allow its territory to be used for terrorism against any other country.
"Pakistan has no locus standi in addressing any aspect of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internal matter of India, except to put an end to all cross-border terrorism, infiltration and support and instigation to terrorism and violence against India.
"We are in touch with important interlocutors bilaterally as well as multilaterally to put across the correct picture. Let me also say it does not matter how many letters are written, it will still not whitewash cross-border terrorism," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
He was responding to a question on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif writing to the UN Secretary General and UN high commissioner for human rights, urging for efforts to end the "persistent and egregious violation of the basic human rights" of the Kashmiri people and also to implement UN Security Council resolutions.
Earlier, replying to a written question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said India has also emphasised to its international interlocutors that Indian security forces exercised extraordinary restraint, as evident in injury to over 3780 security personnel in mob attacks during the continuing violent protests in Jammu and Kashmir.
On Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali's arrest in Kashmir, Swarup said, his interrogation and confession has clearly revealed the details of the kind of training that is provided to such young men, the camps in which they are kept, the weapons that they are provided and, most importantly, the indoctrination that they undergo prior to infiltrating into India.
"Bahadur Ali has also revealed how his Pakistani handlers gave him instructions to mix with the local people, create disturbances and attack police and security forces. His confession proves that the Lashkar-e-Taiba is sending its cadre in connivance with Pakistani security forces, to fuel large-scale agitation in Kashmir.
"Pakistan now stands completely exposed. We have already taken up the matter bilaterally with Pakistan, including our offer to provide consular access to this Pakistani terrorist," Swarup said.
Asked if the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan were still in touch, the MEA spokesman avoided a direct reply, only saying new dynamics are at play and India cannot be oblivious to it.
India had said in the recent past that though the representatives of the two countries had not met to work out the modalities for resumption of the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, the foreign secretaries were in touch.
Commenting on the recent terror attacks in Pakistan including in Quetta, Swarup said there was no good or bad terrorism. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pakistan-has-no-locus-standi-in-addressing-kashmir-situation-says-eam/20160811.htm | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/568efcae8a048770c2c3f69a5f7ad520789f56ae21a42ca0afba6a5ac05144ec.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:35:45 | null | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | The said video, he had said, was handed over by the Iranians. | Donald Trump backtracks on 'video of Iran ransom payment' | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fdonald-trump-backtracks-on-video-of-iran-ransom-payment%2F20160805.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/05trump.jpg | en | null | Donald Trump backtracks on 'video of Iran ransom payment' | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 05, 2016 22:47 IST
In a rare reversal from his earlier stance, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on Friday acknowledged that he did not see the secret footage of transfer of USD 400 million (around Rs 26,00 crore) to Iran as ransom for the release of US prisoners.
"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying USD 400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump said in a tweet.
For the past several days, the Republican presidential nominee had been claiming that he had seen a top secret video of the unmarked plane that carried USD 400 million worth of cash to Tehran.
The said video, he had said, was handed over by the Iranians.
Independent mainstream media and the US government asserted that there was no such video.
However, Trump kept on repeating his allegations till Thursday.
This morning, he accepted his error and said he did not see the video.
It is a rare reversal of stance being taken by Trump, who is otherwise known for not apologising for his provocative and controversial statements.
Trump, meanwhile continued to blame the US President Barack Obama and his former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who is now the Democratic presidential nominee for the current instability in the Middle East.
"Clinton and President Obama bear the direct responsibility of destabilising the Middle East, having let ISIS take firm hold in Iraq, Libya and Syria, not to mention their allowing Americans to be slaughtered at Benghazi," Trump said in a statement.
"Clinton's home email server that she lied to the American people about was a profound national security risk, and it should come as no surprise that her campaign would push out another Obama-Clinton pawn (who is not independent) to try to change the subject in a week when Clinton's role in putting Iran on the path to nuclear weapons and this administration being called out for sending USD 400 million in cash to the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism is on every front page in the country," he alleged.
"Clinton has bad judgement and is unfit to serve as President," Trump said.
Meanwhile, in an op-ed in The New York Times, former CIA Director Michael Morell today endorsed Clinton.
"In sharp contrast to Clinton, Trump has no experience on national security. Even more important, the character traits he has exhibited during the primary season suggest he would be a poor, even dangerous, commander in chief," he alleged.
IMAGE: For the past several days, the Republican presidential nominee had been claiming that he had seen a top secret video of the unmarked plane that carried USD 400 million worth of cash to Tehran. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/donald-trump-backtracks-on-video-of-iran-ransom-payment/20160805.htm | en | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/45c2fef69c9df5f772ccd0c25f4e1d5b5a897a3bf577fa225579662ecf8fe8f0.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:16:51 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | The Congress MP said that national security in our country is not going to get compromised by few people shouting slogans. | Charging Amnesty with sedition a big mistake: Tharoor | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fcharging-amnesty-with-sedition-a-big-mistake-tharoor%2F20160822.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2014/jan/18tharoor1.jpg | en | null | Charging Amnesty with sedition a big mistake: Tharoor | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 22, 2016 10:33 IST
Congress Party MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday said that charging human rights watchdog Amnesty International with sedition is a big mistake.
“Amnesty has not advocated violence. If anyone indulges in encouragement of violence and hate speech, they should definitely act against them, but sedition is a grave charge,” Tharoor said.
He said that national security in our country is not going to get compromised by few people shouting slogans.
“As far as I am concerned this charge should not have been brought, and now that the home minister of Karnataka has decided to drop it, I think we should now turn the page and move on,” he added.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara had on Sunday said Amnesty International was not wrong in organising the event and that did not amount to sedition.
The comment garnered a strong reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley alleging that some political parties were indulging in vote bank politics for nefarious gains.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said, “My basic question to (Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara is why are they interpreting sedition, it is their constitutional duty to register cases of sedition against not only Amnesty India, but also against its office bearers and participants, who raised anti-India
slogans. They should book them immediately and take appropriate action.”On August 13, the Indian chapter of Amnesty International had organised an event as part of a campaign to seek justice for “victims of human rights violations” in Jammu and Kashmir. That event took an ugly turn with heated exchanges and a raising of anti-India slogans.Mounting pressure on the government post the incident, BJP activists staged protests in Bengaluru and other places demanding that a case of sedition be registered against Amnesty International.Karnataka Police filed an FIR under Section 124 (a) of the Indian Penal Code amounting to sedition against Amnesty on August 15. The case was registered at the JC Nagar police station in Bengaluru. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/charging-amnesty-with-sedition-a-big-mistake-tharoor/20160822.htm | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/c0bc788159c0a232bb2942a21956e900ec7a676794f03b5e134dc0fb8430077e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:16:09 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | On a day Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was in the Kashmir Valley where life remained paralysed for the 47th consecutive day, a youth died in a clash with security forces while 18 security personnel, including three officers, were injured in a terrorist attack. | Day 47: Another death in the Valley; terror attack on security forces | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ffresh-clashes-in-kashmir-curfew-continues%2F20160824.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/24kashmir1.jpg | en | null | Day 47: Another death in the Valley; terror attack on security forces | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 24, 2016 22:43 IST
IMAGE: Protesters run for cover as security forces fire tear gas shells in at Waniyar Safakadal in Srinagar. Photographs: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com
On a day Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was in the Kashmir Valley where life remained paralysed for the 47th consecutive day, a youth died in a clash with security forces while 18 security personnel, including three officers, were injured in a terrorist attack.
Curfew was in force in parts of Srinagar and two other towns even as restrictions and separatist-sponsored shutdown continued to paralyse life elsewhere in the valley.
In a clash between stone-pelting mobs and security forces in Pohu village of Pulwama district on Wednesday morning, a youth died due to pellet injuries, raising the toll in the ongoing unrest in Kashmir to 66.
"Aamir Bashir, who had pellet injuries in his chest, was brought to SMHS Hospital here but the doctors declared him brought dead," a police official said.
Several other persons sustained injuries in the clashes.
Later in the day, terrorists targeted security personnel near the Degree College in Pulwama town by hurling a grenade and then firing. 18 security personnel, including a Central Reserve Police Force Commandant, an Additional Superintendent of Police and a Deputy Superintendent of Police, were injured in the attack after which militants fled from the spot.
District Magistrate of Pulwama Muneer-ul-Islam said restrictions will be imposed in all parts of the district from 4 am on Thursday till further orders.
"No person, except ill persons or otherwise allowed by the Magistrates, shall be allowed to move," an order issued by the District Magistrate said.
IMAGE: A protester in Srinagar throws a tear gas shell back at cops.
Meanwhile, curfew was in force in five police station areas of downtown Srinagar and Batamaloo and Maisuma areas in the uptown, a police official said.
In south Kashmir, curfew continued in Anantnag town and was imposed in Pampore town today to maintain law and order.
On Tuesday, the authorities had lifted curfew from most areas of Srinagar in view of the improving situation.
However, restrictions on assembly of four or more people under Section 144 of the CrPC continued in rest of the Valley.
Due to the curfew, restrictions and separatist-sponsored strike, normal life remained paralysed for the 47th consecutive day.
Shops, private offices, educational institutions and petrol pumps remained closed while public transport continued to be off roads. The attendance in government offices and banks was also affected, the official said.
Mobile Internet also continued to remain suspended in the entire Valley, where the outgoing facility on prepaid mobiles remained barred.
The separatist camp has extended the strike till September 1. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/fresh-clashes-in-kashmir-curfew-continues/20160824.htm | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/ce5f973d84892cbc523f624364ee4b56ae7f8bc3bf295e6f3df793d9aaf2a78c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:25:45 | null | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | Glimpses of I-Day celebrations across India. | PHOTOS: States celebrate Independence Day with fervour | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fpix-states-celebrate-independence-day-with-fervour%2F20160815.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/15srinagar.jpg | en | null | PHOTOS: States celebrate Independence Day with fervour | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 15, 2016 22:11 IST
IMAGE: Women contigent of Indian Reserve police at the march past during the celebration of 70th Independence day at Bakhshi stadium in Srinagar on Monday. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI Photo
The Independence Day was celebrated in all states and Union territories on Monday with chief ministers announcing development initiatives, flagging the challenges ahead and pledging to take their states forward on the path of peace and progress.
Barring Assam, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, the celebrations, marked by unfurling of tricolour, colourful parades and other events, passed off peacefully amid tight security.
Soaked in patriotic fervour, hundreds of people took part in the events to mark 70th Independence Day in state capitals, district headquarters and other cities and towns.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in his Independence Day speech at Chhatrasal Stadium, made a strong pitch for statehood and attacked the Centre, alleging that it was chipping away at the elected government's power through a system which was akin to the national capital being governed by the colonial ‘Government of India Act, 1935’.
He claimed the citizens of Delhi were being made to feel that the value of their votes were less as compared to other states where electors have the ‘right to choose governments with powers’.
He said despite being left with ‘very less powers’, his government has delivered on several fronts which were being discussed across the globe.
IMAGE: Students of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad school in Jodhpur. Photographs: PTI Photo
In Jammu and Kashmir which has been rocked by violence for over a month, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti made an emotional appeal to the agitating youths not to be misled by vested interests who want to keep the valley burning and maintained that dialogue is the only way to resolve issues.
In her maiden Independence Day address as chief minister, Mehbooba cautioned that Kashmir should not be allowed to become another Syria or Afghanistan where there is instability and absence of safety of life and urged the people to give her time so that she could work on the plans and programmes she had charted for peace and progress of the state.
She blamed the successive central leaderships, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru, for the problems of Kashmir and hoped Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the issues, completing the process started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Mehbooba faced a deeply embarrassing moment when the national tricolour fell off the post when she attempted to hoist it at Bakshi stadium. She pulled the string attached to the post only to see the tricolour fall from the post and land on the ground.
IMAGE: National Cadet Corps cadres during Independence Day celebration at Nurul Amin Stadium in Nagaon, Assam.
In Assam, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said his government is committed to freeing the state from foreigners, corruption, terrorism and pollution.
“We are committed to make Assam one of the top five states in the country,” he said and appreciated the youths for celebrating Independence Day despite a boycott call by anti-social forces. He said his government is adopting a policy of zero-tolerance towards militancy and insurgency.
He also said the much-awaited update of the National Register of Citizens will be completed by 2017.
Mizoram CM Lal Thanhawla, after unfurling the national flag, exhorted the people of the state to re-dedicate themselves to the cause of peace so that the state could be an example for others to emulate.
In Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said he would ensure peace for speedy development of the state.
“Our government shall ensure that for the sake of development, there is peace in the state and any fringe elements attempting to disrupt peace will be dealt with an iron hand,” Khandu said.
He said the government would lay special emphasis on modernising the police force and equipping them with latest equipment and technology.
IMAGE: Fishermen community takes out Tiranga Yatra on boats in Lower Lake in Bhopal.
In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unfurled the tricolour at an event on Red Road. Cultural programmes were held by school children and various artistes at the venue showcasing the cultural heritage of the country.
As the colourful tableaux and marching contingents went past, a helicopter showered flower petals on people gathered to witness the celebrations.
On the occasion, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar appealed to the people to maintain communal harmony and peace.
Hoisting the tricolour at the Assam Rifles ground, he said, “The forces, which are against communal harmony and peace are active. We have to maintain and protect the communal harmony and peace at any cost and have to be vociferous against the divisive forces.”
IMAGE: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan waves at crowd during Independence day celebration at Motilal Nehru Stadium in Bhopal.
In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the state has set an ambitious target of generating 22,000 MW power by 2022 and plans to invest nearly Rs 9,000 crore in strengthening the power infrastructure in the next three years.
Highlighting the state's financial condition, Chouhan said, “It is because of able financial management that MP has remained a revenue-surplus state in the past 11 years and in last financial year, its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate was 16.62 per cent.”
On the occasion, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched yet another attack on the Narendra Modi government saying it ‘failed to honour the promises’ made to the state and vowed to not rest until he drew the ‘last paisa’ from the Centre.
Addressing a gathering after hoisting the national flag at Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy grounds, Naidu said, “They (the Centre) are not releasing funds to bridge our revenue deficit (caused by the state bifurcation). They are not releasing funds for the Polavaram irrigation project nor are they trying to resolve the contentious issues between the two states (AP and Telangana).”
IMAGE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa presents gifts to children at Fort St George in Chennai. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/PTI Photo
In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa asserted that her government was taking measures for development of key sectors to ensure growth and said the state’s foodgrain production touched a record 130 lakh tonne last year while its higher education enrolments went up by 44.8 per cent.
She said the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government was taking measures for the development of all sectors including priority sector, industrial sector and services sector.
Addressing the people in Mumbai on 70th Independence Day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the commencement of 34 cyber laboratories in various parts of the state as part of the government's efforts to crack down on cyber-crime.
He also highlighted his government’s achievements and reaffirmed its commitment to work for all-round development of the state.
IMAGE: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje hoisting national flag in Ajmer, Rajasthan.
In Hyderabad, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao aid his government would maintain cordial relations with neighbouring states as well as the Centre for faster development of the state.
After unfurling the tricolour, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah termed as ‘shameful’ the recent incidents of atrocities on Dalits, minorities and women in the country and said a movement akin to the freedom struggle needed to be launched to fight divisive forces.
In Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said people should be cautious against efforts by terror outfits to convert religious beliefs into communal hatred, apparently referring to some youths from the state going missing and suspected to have joined terrorist organisation Islamic State.
“It is a time when terrorists groups are vehemently trying their best to convert spirituality and religious beliefs into communal hatred. We have to be vigilant and ensure that our children, who go to schools and places of worship, are not reaching the hideouts of terror and communal forces,” he said.
IMAGE: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributes sweets to schoolchildren at his residence in Patna.
In Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a slew of development projects and schemed regarding the ‘seven resolves’ adopted by his government for the next five years and said that rule of law prevailed in the state.
On the occasion, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das expressed happiness that the state is marching in tandem with the nation in its 'Vikas Yatra'.
“I feel elated that in the country's ‘vikas yatra’, Jharkhand is also marching in tandem, contributing an important role in the development," Das said after unfurling the tricolour at the historic Morahbadi ground.
IMAGE: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik distributes biscuits to schoolchildren in Bhubanewar.
Noting that the road to development is not easy, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said a strong will power alone can steer people of the state to the ambitious development goals set by his government.
Amid tight security, Independence Day was celebrated in Punjab, Haryana and their joint capital Chandigarh. Patriotic fervour marked the occasion across the two states and Union Territory Chandigarh as flag hoisting ceremonies were held at district headquarters and educational institutes.
Independence Day was celebrated across Odisha with gaiety and enthusiasm amid tight security as the state government showed optimism that efforts to resolve the Mahanadi river water issue would be successful and state's rights would not be compromised.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh hoisted the national flag at Jawahar Park in Solan district. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pix-states-celebrate-independence-day-with-fervour/20160815.htm | en | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/37be0a2528681620fe68bc7b4a28eb864fe74adf23b1659c843006935d283678.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:50 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | A dozen Turkish tanks have rolled across the Syrian border to clear a town of Islamic State militants. | Turkish tanks cross border into Syria to attack IS | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fturkish-tanks-cross-border-into-syria-to-attack-is%2F20160824.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2014/oct/13week2.jpg | en | null | Turkish tanks cross border into Syria to attack IS | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 24, 2016 15:28 IST
A dozen Turkish tanks have rolled across the Syrian border to clear a town of Islamic State militants.
The operation, code named "Euphrates Shield" is aimed at clearing jihadists from the town of Jarabulus which lies directly opposite the Turkish town of Karakamis, the prime minister's office said.
Jarablus lies along the west bank of the Euphrates River, less than a kilometer from Turkey. It's the last major town held by IS on the Syrian-Turkish border.
The operation began around 4:00 am local time (0100 GMT) with Turkish artillery pounding dozens of IS targets around Jarabulus.
Turkish F-16 fighter jets and coalition war planes also hit targets inside Syria. Media said an unspecified number of elite Turkish special forces were already on the ground inside Syria.
Tensions had flared across the Syria-Turkey border the previous day, following rocket fire from Jarabulus which landed inside Turkey with the Turkish army firing howitzer rounds in response.
Turkey will want to show with the operation that it is serious about taking on IS, which has been blamed for a string of attacks inside the country, the latest a weekend attack on a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep that left 54 dead.
Representative image. Photograph: Murad Sezer/Reuters | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/turkish-tanks-cross-border-into-syria-to-attack-is/20160824.htm | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/6aaacb15c8a7fc4afa4be7a45b1418cbbec850493c7e1dc1b5f3412fbb8bfcda.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:51:21 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | 5.56 lakh people have been rescued so far from the 12 flood-affected districts. The government is plying 2,821 boats for evacuation. | Bihar flood toll reaches 156, twins born on boat | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fbihar-flood-toll-reaches-156-twins-born-on-boat%2F20160828.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/28flood3.jpg | en | null | Bihar flood toll reaches 156, twins born on boat | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 28, 2016 21:12 IST
IMAGE: Villagers wade though the flooded area in Katihar district of Bihar on Sunday. Photographs: PTI Photo
With three more deaths reported on Sunday the toll in Bihar rose to 156 as there was no let up in the flood situation in the state while in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh the Ganga continues to flow above the danger level.
In Bihar, the three deaths were reported from Samastipur while a twin was born on an National Disaster Response Force rescue boat in Patna.
The Ganga is flowing above the red marks in four districts.
In the national capital it was a sultry day and maximum temperature settled three notches above normal at 37°C. The minimum was 27.5°C.
An NDRF release said they got a request from the family members of Rekha Devi, 25, for help. Within 50 minutes, an NDRF team reached Bihar’s Chandrapura village to shift the pregnant woman to Mohanpur primary health centre but she gave birth to twins on board
The newborns and the mother were admitted to the Primary Health Centre.
IMAGE: Union Minister of Law Ravi Shankar Prasad having food with flood affected women at a relief camp in Bakhtiyarpur on Sunday.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inspected relief camps in Bhagalpur. He later reached Purnea where he held a meeting with top officials. He will visit Katihar on Monday.
5.56 lakh people have been rescued so far from the 12 flood-affected districts. The government is plying 2,821 boats for evacuation.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Ganga and Yamuna rivers have been receding with no fresh rainfall but they are still flowing above their respective danger marks at several places.
8.7 lakh people in 987 villages in Varanasi, Allahabad, Ghazipur and Ballia remain affected due to floods. The state government has alerted the health department for outbreak of any disease.
According to a Central Water Commission report, river Ganga is receding everywhere in the state but is still flowing above danger mark at Varanasi, Ghazipur and Ballia.
The flood situation in West Bengal's Malda district remained unchanged with the Ganga water level standing static at 48 cm above the extreme danger level.
Additional District Magistrate Kanchan Chowdhury said over 5,550 families in 45 villages are affected.
In Rajasthan, heavy rainfall occurred at isolated places in Kota, Udaipur and Jodhpur divisions. Light to moderate rains at many other areas in the state.
Keshoraipatan in Bundi recorded maximum of 14 cm rains followed Pirawa in Jhalawar (at 11 cm) till Sunday morning since Saturday while Kota registered 10 cm precipitation.
IMAGE: RJD Chief Lalu Prasad with Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav makes an aerial survey flood affected areas in Buxar district on Sunday.
The MeT department has issued heavy rainfall warning at isolated areas on Monday.
Several places in Himachal Pradesh received heavy rains with Dharamshala being the wettest (106 mm rains) while Jogindernagar received 80 mm rains.
Meanwhile, most parts of Punjab and Haryana faced their maximum temperatures up to three notches above normal, barring few places where it was one notch below normal.
In Chandigarh, the joint capital of the two states, the maximum settled at 36°C, three notches above normal. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/bihar-flood-toll-reaches-156-twins-born-on-boat/20160828.htm | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/e6b959035feaef6c8b9b35a50cd7067a0153785e5fbc7c8cc27a337bcc446a4c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:27:46 | null | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | The victim, identified as D Yadgiri, is undergoing treatment at a hospital and is stated to be out of danger.
| Congress leader Yadagiri shot at 6 times in Secunderabad | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fcongress-leader-yadagiri-shot-at-6-times-in-secunderabad%2F20160813.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/13secundrabad.jpg | en | null | Congress leader Yadagiri shot at 6 times in Secunderabad | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 13, 2016 23:42 IST
A local Congress leader was shot at by a person known to him near his residence in Bowenpally area in Secunderabad in Hyderabad on Saturday, police said.
The victim, identified as D Yadgiri, is undergoing treatment at a hospital and is stated to be out of danger.
Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy said as per the initial information given by Yadgiri, a person with whom he had a land dispute was involved in the firing.
The incident took place between 11 am and 11.30 am.
"Yadgiri said a person known to him was involved in the firing. We are investigating as to what the dispute is. We found that at least two rounds were fired at him. The victim ran into a nearby hospital to save himself. Later he came to the police station and registered a complaint," Reddy said.
"The assailant also tried to chase Yadgiri and entered that hospital, but later disappeared from the spot," he said.
Reddy said they found two weapons -- one in a dustbin at the hospital and the other with the victim.
A senior police official added that apart from the two bullets, they have also recovered four empty shells from the crime scene.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Mahesh said, "Yadgiri's daughter had unsuccessfully contested the recently-held elections of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation."
Further investigation into the case is on.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Zone) B Sumathi said the initial investigation revealed that two persons were involved in the incident. Of them one opened fire at the victim.
"As of now believe that land disputes are the reason for the incident. The victim also involved in real estate business," Sumathi told PTI.
According to her, Yadgiri received superficial injuries.
IMAGE: A screengrab of the CCTV footage shows the victim, identified as D Yadgiri, being shot at. Photograph: YouTube | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/congress-leader-yadagiri-shot-at-6-times-in-secunderabad/20160813.htm | en | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/cb9b0a62c8fec33310be6668834e12da605b5f515aee4302e64d50308cab12b2.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:40:34 | null | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | China continues to sell nuclear reactors to Pakistan, a US think-tank has said, expressing concern over export of nuclear materials in violation of international norms and established procedures. | China just got an 'F grade' on nuke control | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fchina-just-got-an-f-grade-on-nuke-control%2F20160801.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/jun/09lead1.jpg | en | null | China just got an 'F grade' on nuke control | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 01, 2016 23:52 IST
China continues to sell nuclear reactors to Pakistan, a US think-tank has said, expressing concern over export of nuclear materials in violation of international norms and established procedures.
"China has taken significant steps over the past several years to strengthen its export controls. However, Beijing’s decision to continue selling nuclear reactors to Pakistan in contravention of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and its sales of missile technologies to countries of concern earns China a failing grade," Washington-based Arms Control Association said in its latest report.
In its updates report card 2013-2016 'Assessing Progress on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament', it gives China a failing "F Grade" on nuclear weapons related export control.
China joined the NSG in 2004, and its national export controls include provisions related to export licensing, control lists, end-user controls, and import controls.
At the IAEA General Conference in 2015, China said it carries out "stringent reviews" on its export controls and adjusts its trigger lists according to technical progress and in March 2016, Beijing said it started to implement the Nuclear Export Control List that was updated in January 2016.
"Despite progress on its export controls China continues to supply Pakistan with nuclear power reactors, despite objections that the sale of the reactors did not receive a consensus exemption from the NSG," the report said.
"Pakistan, which is neither an NPT member nor under full-scope IAEA safeguards, is therefore ineligible to receive such assistance under NSG rules," it argued.
"China has argued that the reactor transfer was based on a contract negotiated with Pakistan in 2003, one year before Beijing joined the NSG, and grandfathered in when China joined the regime. However, the 2003 exemption was widely understood to apply solely to the two nuclear power reactors whose sale was completed before China’s acceptance into the NSG in 2004," the report said.
In February 2013, China is reported to have signed a formal agreement to build the Chashma-3 reactor.
In January 2014, there were reports that China and Pakistan were discussing three new reactors.
At a February 2015 press conference in Beijing, a Chinese official confirmed that China "has assisted in building six nuclear reactors in Pakistan".
The report alleged that the 2013 deal on the Chasma-3 also contradicts the consensus document of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, which "reaffirms that new supply arrangements" for the transfer of nuclear materials and technology should require that the recipient accept "IAEA full-scope safeguards and international legally-binding commitments not to acquire
nuclear weapons."
China applied to join the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2004, but its membership was blocked.
Prior to the MTCR application, China committed in 2000 not to assist, "in any way, any country, in the development" of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.
Despite NSG membership and partial compliance with the MTCR, serious concerns remain over the Chinese government’s ability to control the import and export of dual-use technologies, particularly for ballistic missile development, the report said.
Beijing voluntarily follows the MTCR’s export control guidelines. However, China has not adopted the full annex, which includes a common list of controlled items.
A 2016 State Department compliance report on arms control found that Chinese entities continue to supply missile technologies to countries of concern, it said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/china-just-got-an-f-grade-on-nuke-control/20160801.htm | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/cf016bc1772dbabe49051027090c2371277b7c1d31ad2253ea2c3c9063b0f135.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T06:51:00 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | The Food and Drug Administration says all those areas are currently in compliance with blood screening, but that expanded testing is now needed. | Zika epidemic: Donated blood across US to be screened for virus | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fzika-epidemic-donated-blood-across-us-to-be-screened-for-virus%2F20160828.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/sports/2016/feb/03aus-zika.jpg | en | null | Zika epidemic: Donated blood across US to be screened for virus | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 28, 2016 11:02 IST
In a move to prevent transmission of the Zika virus through blood supply, the United States Food and Drug Administration has recommended that all blood donated in the country and its territories be tested for the virus.
The decision to expand blood screening in the US was based on concerns about more cases of local transmission in Florida, the growing number of travel-related infections and concerns that Zika-tainted blood could unwittingly be given to a pregnant woman, putting her unborn baby at a risk of severe birth defects, an official release said on Saturday.
The Food and Drug Administration says all those areas are currently in compliance with blood screening, but that expanded testing is now needed.
"As new scientific and epidemiological information regarding Zika virus has become available, it's clear that additional precautionary measures are necessary," FDA's acting chief scientist, Luciana Borio said.
The expansion of testing won't happen all at once. The FDA is advising blood establishments in 11 states to begin the testing within the next four weeks.
The states include Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina and Texas.
These states are in proximity to areas where Zika is actively spreading via mosquitoes or where there are a significant number of cases related to other exposures, including sexual transmission, the release said.
Within 12 weeks, blood facilities in all states should be testing donations for Zika.
"The transfusion of a pregnant woman with blood infected with the Zika virus could have terrible consequences," Peter Marks, Director of FDA Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research said.
The current Zika outbreak was first detected in Brazil last year and has since spread across the Americas.
In Brazil, Zika has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly and US officials expect as many as 270 cases in Puerto Rico, where local transmission of the virus is widespread.
"Over 8,000 travel-associated and over 2,000 non-travel associated cases of Zika have been reported in the United States and US territories," Marks said.
Given the frequency of travel of individuals within the United States, he said there was a risk that people without symptoms of Zika could donate blood and transmit the virus. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/zika-epidemic-donated-blood-across-us-to-be-screened-for-virus/20160828.htm | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/4a025b5365fcbcc682e1fb59382eb94e8c4205017875c1581ccbf22827e85fc8.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:30:27 | null | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | A division bench of justices A S Oka and A A Sayed granted bail to Atif Mulla on a surety of Rs 1.50 lakh. | 2002-2003 Mumbai blasts case: HC releases Atif Mulla on bail | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fmumbai-blasts-case-hc-releases-atif-mulla-on-bail%2F20160810.htm.json | http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jul/28blast06a.jpg | en | null | 2002-2003 Mumbai blasts case: HC releases Atif Mulla on bail | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 10, 2016 19:41 IST
The Bombay high court on Wednesday granted bail to Atif Mulla, a convict in the series of blasts in Mumbai between December 2002 and March 2003, after observing that the accused abided by the conditions when he was out on bail during the trial.
A division bench of justices A S Oka and A A Sayed granted bail to Atif Mulla on a surety of Rs 1.50 lakh.
Atif was convicted by a special court in April this year and sentenced to ten years imprisonment for his involvement in the 2002-03 Mumbai blasts that killed 12 people and injured 27 others.
Soon after the conviction, Atif filed an appeal in the high court and sought bail on the ground that throughout the trial he was out on bail and abided by directions.
Meanwhile, another convict Saquib Nachan, who had also approached the high court seeking bail, withdrew his application after the bench said it was not inclined to grant him bail.
A special Prevention of Terrorism Act court in April this year convicted 10 persons in the case, out of whom three were sentenced to life, four were awarded 10 years imprisonment and the remaining three were handed over two years each in jail.
Between December 2002 and March 2003, there were three explosions in the city with the first blast on December 6, 2002 at Mumbai Central Railway Station, the second blast on January 27, 2003 at suburban Vile Parle, and the third blast took place in a local train at Mulund Railway Station on March 13, 2003. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/mumbai-blasts-case-hc-releases-atif-mulla-on-bail/20160810.htm | en | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/de6b738bd524abe1a490994415f943c93f7ce9fb26bcc8ea535ef1ab675f90c2.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:52:50 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | The terror group vowed to avenge his death. | IS 'in-charge of foreign attacks' killed in Syria | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fis-in-charge-of-foreign-attacks-killed-in-syria%2F20160831.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/31is-leader.jpg | en | null | IS 'in-charge of foreign attacks' killed in Syria | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 31, 2016 04:35 IST
Abu Muhammed al-Adnani, one the most senior leaders and spokesman of terror group Islamic State has been killed in Syira, IS-run Aamaq news agency said onTuesday.
The IS said that the terror group’s ‘in-charge of foreign attacks’ has been killed while overseeing military operations in northern Syria, and threatened to avenge his death.
Aamaq said Adnani was ‘martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns in Aleppo,’ without providing further details.
His death, if confirmed, would be the latest blow to the Islamic State group, which has been on the retreat in Syria and Iraq.
Adnani, a senior leader in the group, has been the voice of the IS over the past few years, and has released numerous, lengthy audio files online in which he delivered fiery sermons urging followers to carry out attacks.
He was the one who called for attacks in Western countries, telling Muslims in France to attack ‘the filthy French’ in any way they could, including ‘crush them with your car’.
He has also disparaged Saudi Arabia and its influential clerics for failing to rally behind the rebels that the monarchy supports in Syria like they did decades ago in Afghanistan.
There was no immediate comment or confirmation from Washington of his death. Aamaq vowed to revenge against the ‘filthy cowards in the sect of disbelief’. It said a generation raised in IS-held territory will take revenge.
IMAGE: IS spokesman and 'head of external operations' Abu Muhammad al-Adnani is pictured in this undated handout photo released by the US Department of State. Photograph: Reuters | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/is-in-charge-of-foreign-attacks-killed-in-syria/20160831.htm | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/2045f3d0568f7c2d7f76fc15df53a46ccdda9503f56ead89f684cbdf8f8b4d5f.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:52:34 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | The committee has been tasked to look into 'omissions and commissions' in the decision-making process and also to fix responsibility of individuals, including civil and criminal liability, if any, the LG's office said. | LG Jung forms panel to study files submitted by AAP government | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Flg-jung-forms-panel-to-study-files-submitted-by-aap-government%2F20160830.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/30lg.jpg | en | null | LG Jung forms panel to study files submitted by AAP government | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 30, 2016 18:28 IST
Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on Tuesday constituted a three-member panel to examine around 400 files containing “infirmities and irregularities” in taking decisions by the Aam Aadmi Party government.
The appointment of the panel comprising former comptroller auditor general V K Shunglu, former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami and ex-Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar, has come after the Delhi high court ruled that the Lt Governor is the administrative head of the city government.
The panel has been asked to submit its final report within six weeks of its first meeting.
Various departments of the city government have submitted the files to Jung following a directive from him in the wake of the high court order. The Lt Governor has been having a long-running battle with the AAP government on a host of jurisdictional issues.
The committee has been tasked to look into “omissions and commissions” in the decision-making process and also to fix responsibility of individuals, including civil and criminal liability, if any, the LG’s office said.
After the high court judgment, the principal secretaries and heads of department of the city government were directed by the LG to review instances where his prior approval was required as per rules, but was not obtained.
In response, around 400 files have been received by the LG’s secretariat for ex-post facto approval of Jung and some more files are awaited.
“On preliminary scrutiny of these files, it is found that over the last one-and-a-half years several decisions taken are in violation of acts/rules with attendant legal and financial implications. It has become necessary to examine them in depth and suggest forward action. Therefore, the committee has been constituted,” the LG’s office said in a statement.
It said the panel will determine whether the decisions taken in these files and the processes adopted were in violation of the acts/rules and the constitutional scheme for governance of GNCT of Delhi.
It will also examine whether such violations were wrong, illegal and “deliberate acts of omissions/commissions”.
The panel will examine the role played by the public functionaries/officers of the Delhi government and of any other individual related with these violations and fix responsibility, said the LG’s office.
It has been also asked to recommend “appropriate administrative/criminal/civil action as well as action for recovery of financial loss to the government exchequer, if any, by such wrong decisions against the public functionaries/officers/individuals concerned”.
The committee will recommend course of action to be taken on each of the files/proposals including whether the decisions can or cannot be regularised by the Lt Governor, said Jung’s office.
It has been requested to submit its interim reports and recommendations to the Lt Governor from time to time and to submit the final report within six weeks of the first meeting. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/lg-jung-forms-panel-to-study-files-submitted-by-aap-government/20160830.htm | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/be2c1acf9a69e8337eabe24d0209352674f8bb7a8c9d4fcbe9ee0e1bf4c89ae6.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:15:29 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | Even in times of disaster and distress, caste tensions continue to stay afloat at relief camps for flood victims in Bihar with reports coming in about Dalits at the Bihar Vidhyapeet Bhawan and B N collegiate camps in Patna being abused, humiliated and deprived of relief by some upper caste men, a district official said on Wednesday. | Bihar may be flooded, but caste bias stays afloat | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fbihar-may-be-flooded-but-caste-bias-stays-afloat%2F20160824.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/24lead1.jpg | en | null | Bihar may be flooded, but caste bias stays afloat | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 24, 2016 17:33 IST
Even in times of disaster and distress, caste tensions continue to stay afloat at relief camps for flood victims in Bihar with reports coming in about Dalits at the Bihar Vidhyapeet Bhawan and B N collegiate camps in Patna being abused, humiliated and deprived of relief by some upper caste men, a district official said on Wednesday.
"Flood victims have been given shelter at the Bihar Vidhyapeet Bhawan in Patna as per their caste. Dalits have been treated as unwanted," Mangri Devi, a Dalit flood victim told rediff.com.
According to officials, at the time of distribution of relief items on Tuesday, a group of upper caste men forcefully drove away Dalit women saying they could not have food alongside them.
The Dalit women later informed the concerned officials and lodged a complaint against their village panchayat head who had arranged a separate shelter for them far from that of the upper caste people.
A similar situation was reported from relief camps at B N Collegiate.
"Dalits were abused, misbehaved and humiliated during the distribution of relief items," Ramji Ram, a flood victim at the B N Collegiate camp, said.
When contacted, Patna District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said he was unaware of any such incident.
"If anything like this happened, it is unfortunate and we will investigate it," he told rediff.com.
Agarwal has been visiting various relief camps in the district and inspecting food preparations and other arrangements.
"As per the chief minster's directive, we are serving them (the flood affected victims) food in stainless steel utensils. The administration is taking every possible step to ensure that people at the camps are being served proper food," Agarwal said.
Mahender Yadav, an activist working among flood victims in Koshi region which comprises of five flood-prone districts, is not surprised by the reports of caste discrimination.
He said: "We found similar cases of caste discrimination in relief distribution last month and reported them to district officials in the Koshi region."
A Congress MLA, who did not wish to be identified, said he was shocked to learn that panchayat heads distributed relief among their own castemen and deprived other castes, particularly poorest Dalits and extremely backward castes during last month's flood in the Koshi region. "It is saddest part in time of crisis."
Over 22 people have been killed and 23.71 lakh affected in the Bihar floods with many areas, specially the riverine belt of 12 districts, submerged.
The state is facing one of the worst floods in the decade despite receiving less than normal rainfall as all the major rivers flowing through the state are in a spate. Ganga, Sone, Punpun, Burhi Gandak, Ghaghra and Kosi rivers have affected 23.71 lakh people in 1,115 villages living in 12 districts of the state, a statement from the Disaster Management Department said.
Of the 38 districts in the state, nearly 20 have been affected by the recent floods.
IMAGE: A man uses tube boat to wade through flooded area of Hajipur, Bihar on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/bihar-may-be-flooded-but-caste-bias-stays-afloat/20160824.htm | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/c73c285b9ef48ce14766debb3725b2362c3f82ab24285fa3e7531ac51f23d86c.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:52:35 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | The Hindutva brigade's silence on the rape may possibly be explained that this incident is an intra-Hindu affair for them.
What is even more intriguing is that vocal gender activists have preferred to almost ignore the incident.
Why?
Is it because homosexual rape does not involve the woman either as victim or as aggressor, asks Mohammad Sajjad. | Why was a horrifying rape at BHU hushed up? | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Fcolumn%2Fwhy-was-a-horrifying-rape-at-bhu-hushed-up%2F20160830.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/30bhu.jpg | en | null | Why was a horrifying rape at BHU hushed up? | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 30, 2016 20:24 IST
The Hindutva brigade's silence on the rape may possibly be explained that this incident is an intra-Hindu affair for them.
What is even more intriguing is that vocal gender activists have preferred to almost ignore the incident.
Why?
Is it because homosexual rape does not involve the woman either as victim or as aggressor, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
A few weeks ago, there was horrifying news from the Banaras Hindu University campus.
Five men raped a man pursuing research in Hindi literature. The alleged rapists included a laboratory attendant at the university. As per reports, the victim was kidnapped and forced into a car. He was forced to drink wine at knife-point. The wine probably had some drug which made him unconscious.
Thereafter he was raped (sodomised) and brutalised. This went on in the car which kept moving inside the campus. The rapists threw out the victim near the department of agriculture, from where he called the police.
Subsequently, after medical examination he went to the police station to register an FIR. But the police mocked him and refused to register a case.
It took four days to register the FIR, after a second medical examination, despite confirmation of rape in the first medical report.
Ever since members of the victim's family have been receiving alarming threats. The victim's mother has said her son has gone into acute depression and might commit suicide.
The chief proctor is reported to have said that he is helpless at the police inaction. He also said he would wait for the vice-chancellor, who is out of town, to return to institute an inquiry. There are allegations that the university administration is trying to hush up the matter.
Earlier, in January, a report of multiple rape of a female research scholar at the department of English by her senior had appeared, and no action was taken against the accused. Worse still, there was not much outcry by gender activists.
Reacting to the latest incident, some people from the Aligarh Muslim University took to social media to point out that had this happened at a Muslim university like AMU, the media, a section of which is controlled by liberals and another by communal reactionaries, would have vilified the university and by extension Muslims. The liberals and Leftists on the campus would have come out on the streets.
Another complaint about the brutality at BHU is: Had it happened at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the communalised segment of the media, taking recourse to Left-bashing, would have raised much hue and cry.
This raises many questions about our 'industries' of knowledge and information (university campuses, and media houses) and also about the state of affairs in our deeply divided society and proportionately fractious polities.
With these kinds of selective outcry or silence, the politics of playing the Muslim victimhood card gets certain strength with the argument that they and 'their' institutions are targets, maligned unduly by majoritarian communal reactionaries, by the liberals-Leftists, by the media, and also at times by the State apparatuses. This has got its own implications.
The votaries of Hindutva find it easy to attack three categories -- Muslims, Marxists (both Hindu and Muslim communalists treat liberals largely as Marxists), and Macaulayites (euphemism for Christians).
In the BHU incident neither the victim nor the aggressors fall in any such category. Is it one of the reasons why this issue is being hushed up?
Conservatives and reactionaries of all persuasions also believe in 'hiding' the oppressions prevalent as 'in-house' family affairs. The BHU functionaries may perhaps be doing this in this case.
However, the silence of the insiders -- the academics -- and also the student organisations, including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, on this horrendous issue, raises another set of questions.
Is it because the BHU is academically, hence politically too, very weak at social sciences, whereas its sciences could either have been de-politicised or have become apolitical?
Or is it because the current dispensation at BHU is too repressive to let the voices of justice to the victim be raised freely and fearlessly?
This incident partly reminds us of the BHU of the 1950s. The Union government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru had appointed the Mudaliar Commission to inquire into the state of affairs at BHU. Its report also mentioned homosexuality, though not rape, on the campus.
Ram Manohar Lohia, in October 1958, wrote a pamphlet on his alma mater that articulates, except rape, almost all kinds of ills the Indian universities still continue to suffer from.
'The Banaras university is bad, like any other university...' Dr Lohia said. 'To get at the core of the matter certain irrelevancies must first be peeled off.... The government reporters have found homosexuality... among the students of the university. They have indeed been obscenely allusive about it.'
'The inquiries of the government commissioners in this connection seem to be more graphic and gossipy than statistical... what it can and should do is to treat this problem in an indirect way, to inculcate among its students, the values of human dignity and clean academic pursuits.'
'The university and the government would do well to treat the problem of sex from yet another angle. The women's college and hostel of the university, although within the campus, is enclosed by a high wall. Government commissioners have probably found lesbianism within these walls, although they have not reported it, as they found homosexuality in the boys' hostels, without the walls. We are not suggesting that the demolition of the walls would clean this or other universities of their sexual aberrations, but that is a first inevitable step.'
Elaborating further upon this, he said, 'The Banaras university has been the home of much filth, which government commissioners can neither report nor diagnose, for they are part of it...the Banaras university is a replica of all other universities in India.'
Novelist Ismat Chughtai exposed the instance of lesbianism in AMU's women's college not only by her short story, Lihaf (The Quilt), but also reiterated the factuality of her fictionalised oeuvre by recording in her autobiography (Kaghazi hai Pairahan) that the lesbian character of her story had eventually not only gone for a heterosexual marriage, she also had children. She narrated her surprise by saying, 'Patthar mein bhi phool khiltey dekha.'
What about rapes, that too combining gruesome brutality?
The ABVP's silence on the rape at BHU may possibly be explained that this incident, however horrendous, is an intra-Hindu affair for the organisation. Hence, the politics of communal polarisation cannot be pursued.
What is even more intriguing is the fact that the more vocal gender activists have also preferred to almost ignore the BHU incident. Why? Is it because this homosexual rape does not involve the women either as victim or as aggressor?
In an interview to Outlook magazine, Flavia Agnes, the feminist lawyer, tried to clearly define that 'Feminism in its essence, is a movement for equality and justice for all. Feminism does not stomp out nuance; it trains us to highlight that which has been invisibilised by majoritarian opinion and attitudes. It seeks to unite a world that has been divided by gender, race and class distinctions.'
As I am outraged about the BHU incident with all its questions, I am also outraged by the fact that another centrally funded university, the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, has maintained a silence on the issue of the hapless tribal from Kalahandi, Dana Manjhi, who carried his wife's dead body for 10 kilometres as his 10-year-old daughter walked alongside. I call it our national shame.
While boasting of our ambition to create a knowledge economy and society, are we going to get answers to these deeply disturbing questions about the outrageous character of our universities running on national subsidies?
Mohammad Sajjad, associate professor, Centre of Advanced Study in History, Aligarh Muslim University, is thr author of Muslim Politics in Bihar: Changing Contours (Routledge, 2014) and Contesting Colonialism and Separatism: Muslims of Muzaffarpur (Primus, 2014). | http://www.rediff.com/news/column/why-was-a-horrifying-rape-at-bhu-hushed-up/20160830.htm | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/3c15171ad43e7c88fc8b20b3e875bf2aa7433bd025c6e90f4ec59f339ecbdbe7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:23:27 | null | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | Oscar Morel from Brooklyn was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon by New York police. | New York imam shooting suspect arrested on murder charges | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fnew-york-imam-shooting-suspect-arrested-on-murder-charges%2F20160816.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/16muslims1.jpg | en | null | New York imam shooting suspect arrested on murder charges | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 16, 2016 15:33 IST
The suspect in custody for brutally killing a Bangladeshi-origin imam and his associate was on Tuesday identified as a 35-year-old Hispanic man and charged with intentionally carrying out the double murders near a New York mosque that has shocked the Muslim community.
Oscar Morel from Brooklyn was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon by New York police, which did not give any motive for the Saturday killing in the borough of Queens.
The charges came hours after hundreds of mourners attended the funeral service for the 55-year-old mosque leader Maulana Alauddin Akonjee, who was respected locally, and his 65-year-old associate Thara Uddin.
The duo, who were walking home dressed in Islamic attire after afternoon Zuhr prayers at Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque in the OzonePark neighbourhood, were approached from behind by a male with medium complexion wearing a dark polo shirt and shorts who shot them multiple times in the head from point-blank range.
Video of the horrific execution-style killing had also shown the brazen crime to be a planned murder following which the killer fled.
Morel was originally arrested Sunday night on charges related to a hit-and-run accident, some five kilometres from the spot of the murders, and the assault of a police officer, New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters.
The murder charges were added later after police recovered a revolver and clothing from his house that matched what the shooter wore in a video of the attack, reports said.
“We believe, because of the evidence we’ve acquired thus far, that we strongly believe this is the individual,” Boyce said.
Police said witnesses saw his black Chevy TrailBlazer flee the scene of the shooting.
Muslim leaders chanted “We want justice” and sought a stepped up security including installation of CCTV cameras outside mosques in the area following the incident, that has sent a shockwave among the Bangladeshi community in the neighbourhood and prompted concerns over growing Islamophobia.
The leaders slammed “xenophobic statements” made against the community in speeches by “politicians and candidates seeking the highest office in the land”, in a clear reference to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, among those who paid respects to the slain duo, promised deployment of more police personnel to protect mosques and the Muslim community as he underlined the entire city stood shoulder-to-shoulder with those in mourning.
Authorities had earlier said hate crime was being probed as a possible motive -- as demanded by Muslim elders, who have rejected a report that said the killer may have been settling a score in a feud between Muslims and Hispanics.
The New York chapter of Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organisation Council on American-Islamic Relations had offered a $10,000 reward for any information that could lead to an arrest or conviction in the incident.
Image: Community members take part in a protest to demand stop hate crime during the funeral service of Imam Maulama Akonjee, and Thara Uddin in the Queens borough of New York City. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/new-york-imam-shooting-suspect-arrested-on-murder-charges/20160816.htm | en | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/afe6420be6fc0d15159f7ac7fc2f43406c9afd40b872afb4b9a509223add70dd.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:19:30 | null | 2016-08-21T00:00:00 | A day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley criticised Nehruvian model of development, saying it had held the country back, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday termed Jammu and Kashmir a glaring example of the 'failure' of Nehru's political model. | Kashmir: 'An example of Nehru's failed political model' | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fkashmir-an-example-of-nehrus-failed-political-model%2F20160821.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2013/feb/11curfew1.jpg | en | null | Kashmir: 'An example of Nehru's failed political model' | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 21, 2016 19:10 IST
A day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley criticised Nehruvian model of development, saying it had held the country back, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday termed Jammu and Kashmir a glaring example of the "failure" of Nehru's political model.
"Yesterday, Union Finance Minister spoke about the failed Nehruvian model of economy and today I say that if you want to see the failed political model of Nehru, then Jammu and Kashmir is the best example", Singh said while addressing a "Yaad Karo Kurbani" rally in the outskirts of Jammu on Sunday.
Speaking at a function in Mumbai, Jaitley had said, "But when he (Narasimha Rao) became the prime minister, he found that there was no foreign reserves left in its kitty, and that the country was heading towards bankruptcy. So, the reforms were brought in due to that compulsion, due to failure of that system."
Singh said Jammu and Kashmir is a glaring example of the "failed" politics of the first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru.
He said the area of Jammu and Kashmir under the control of Maharaja Hari Singh was 2.25 lakh square kilometers, but due to the "failed" political approach of first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, India got only one lakh square kilometers of the area, rest was occupied by Pakistan like area of Gilgit and Baltistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
"The Maharaja was so annoyed with Nehru that he decided never to return to Jammu and Kashmir and breathed his last in Mumbai", Singh said.
He said the 'Tiranga Yatra' started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be complete only after the Indian flag is unfurled in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kotli.
Singh said that raising issue of Human Rights abuses in Balochistan was necessary for the "self defense" of the country, as the situation in the neighborhood directly affects us.
"People say that by raising the issue of Balochistan we are interfering in the internal matters of other country, whether it is interference or not, but when someone across the wall of your house is indulge in slaughter, it is your right to act for your own safety and your defense", he said.
He said that if there was problem in the neighbourhood, then "we are affected, whether it is Baluchistan or Pakistan occupied Kashmir", he said.
BJP Minister Chandar Prakash Ganga while addressing the gathering alleged the stone pelters in Kashmir were being paid to target security personnel and the rate has increased.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and other senior BJP leaders also addressed the rally.
Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/kashmir-an-example-of-nehrus-failed-political-model/20160821.htm | en | 2016-08-21T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/573dae5a2ebf3c3b515e2bc3e9969aaf34a0c132c75509e4b719c3046bcb828e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:24:59 | null | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | Saeed claimed, 'Kashmiris had announced before the partition that it wanted to remain with Pakistan. But after partition India forcibly sent army to Jammu and Kashmir.' | March into Kashmir to 'obey' pending order of Jinnah: Saeed to Pak army | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fhafiz-saeed-asks-pak-army-to-march-into-kashmir%2F20160817.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2012/jul/20saeed1.jpg | en | null | March into Kashmir to 'obey' pending order of Jinnah: Saeed to Pak army | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 17, 2016 02:24 IST
In a fresh rhetoric, Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed has asked Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif to send troops to Kashmir to ‘obey’ the pending order of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Addressing a rally held under the banner of ‘Defence Council of Pakistan’ in Karachi on Sunday, Saeed claimed, “Kashmiris had announced before the partition that it wanted to remain with Pakistan. But after partition India forcibly sent army to Jammu and Kashmir.”
“On this Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah ordered commander-in-chief to respond by sending troops but he refused (to obey his orders). Now, I ask Gen Raheel Sharif to send troops in (Jammu and) Kashmir as Quaid-e-Azam’s order is pending,” Saeed said.
He said that he is not asking for a war with India but they (Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Raheel) must form a strategy with regard to Kashmir issue.
Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba who carries a $10-million (Rs 67 crores) bounty on his head, asked Prime Minister Sharif to break his silence and respond to Modi’s strong statements on Kashmir and Balochistan.
“Pakistan has become a war zone and innocent Kashmiris are being killed while Modi is talking of separating Balochistan. Why our prime minister is silent and reluctant to respond to Modi in the same manner,” he asked. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/hafiz-saeed-asks-pak-army-to-march-into-kashmir/20160817.htm | en | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/981638a81f71125a501ce5b9a03d80caa695814af09d0ffc3d0f7f951bff1b1e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:34:58 | null | 2016-08-06T00:00:00 | In a major blow to Donald Trump, the prestigious Harvard Republican Club today announced that it will not support the Republican presidential nominee in the November general elections. | 1st time in 125 years: Harvard Republican Club rejects Trump | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2F1st-time-in-125-years-harvard-republican-club-rejects-trump%2F20160806.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/jan/08lead2.jpg | en | null | 1st time in 125 years: Harvard Republican Club rejects Trump | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 06, 2016 04:32 IST
In a major blow to Donald Trump, the prestigious Harvard Republican Club has announced that it will not support the Republican presidential nominee in the November general elections.
Citing his recent rhetoric, in particular the statement against the parents of Muslim-American soldier who was killed in a terrorist attack in Iraq, the Harvard Republican Club in a statement asked party leaders to withdraw their support from Trump.
"For the first time in 128 years, we, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, will not be endorsing the Republican nominee," the club said in a statement.
Trump, they alleged, holds views that are antithetical to values not only as Republicans, but as Americans as well.
"The rhetoric he espouses -- from racist slander to misogynistic taunts – is not consistent with our conservative principles, and his repeated mocking of the disabled and belittling of the sacrifices made by prisoners of war, Gold Star families, and Purple Heart recipients is not only bad politics, but absurdly cruel," the statement said.
"If enacted, Trump's platform would endanger our security both at home and abroad. Domestically, his protectionist trade policies and draconian immigration restrictions would enlarge our federal deficit, raise prices for consumers, and throw our economy back into recession," the young Republicans feared.
Trump's global outlook, steeped in isolationism, is considerably out-of-step with the traditional Republican stance as well, they argued.
In a strongly worded statement, the Harvard Republican Club said: "Trump is a threat to the survival of the Republic".
"His authoritarian tendencies and flirtations with fascism are unparallelled in the history of our democracy. He hopes to divide us by race, by class, and by religion, instilling enough fear and anxiety to propel himself to the White House.
"He is looking to pit neighbour against neighbour, friend against friend, American against American. We will not stand for this vitriolic rhetoric that is poisoning our country and our children," the club said.
The Harvard Republican Club said the former US President Ronald Reagan would have been ashamed of Trump.
"We call on our party's elected leaders to renounce their support of Trump, and urge our fellow College Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from this dangerous man. The conservative movement in America should not and will not go quietly into the night," the statement said.
Photograph: Reuters | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/1st-time-in-125-years-harvard-republican-club-rejects-trump/20160806.htm | en | 2016-08-06T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/3a6665c085f5aefe7d045fceff98f4ad3b55d50de19bbdccfd752c01bcca6945.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:47 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | Baloch leaders have paid a heavy price for supporting PM Modi, an editorial in Sena
mouthpiece 'Saamana' said. | Will Modi send army to save Baloch leaders? Sena taunts PM | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fwill-modi-send-army-to-save-baloch-leaders-sena-taunts-pm-%2F20160824.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/24pm.jpg | en | null | Will Modi send army to save Baloch leaders? Sena taunts PM | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 24, 2016 15:47 IST
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his reference to Balochistan in Independence Day speech, Shiv Sena on Wednesday sought to know if he will send the army to save the Baloch leaders who have been charged with sedition for backing his remarks.
Five cases, including that of sedition, were registered recently against three top Baloch nationalist leaders in Pakistan who backed Modi's supportive words on their struggle in Balochistan.
"Baloch leaders have paid a heavy price for supporting PM Modi. Serious offences like waging war against Pakistan have been registered against them. This is a part of Pakistan's tyrannical attitude," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.
"What will our PM do in their support now? Will he send the army to save Baloch leaders from Pakistan or will he once again give a speech denouncing Pakistan's action against them? These leaders are facing trouble only because they supported PM Modi's speech," it said.
The Sena also questioned Modi on the action he planned to take against those waving Pakistani flags in Kashmir.
The Bharatiya Janata Party ally also said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's stand on holding talks with Hurriyat to improve the situation in the Valley is completely wrong.
On August 15, from the historic Red Fort, Modi had said people from Balochistan thanked him for highlighting the atrocities the Pakistani State inflicted on the people of Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan later said Modi crossed the "red line" by talking about Balochistan and asserted it will "forcefully" raise the Kashmir issue during the next month's United Nations General Assembly session.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri in a speech last week alleged that the Indian government "fully supports the ongoing insurgency in Balochistan".
IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Red Fort, August 15. Photograph: Press Information Bureau | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/will-modi-send-army-to-save-baloch-leaders-sena-taunts-pm-/20160824.htm | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/08c9218fe6a45b40a3b5319a7e86c8571c10476f324139535de5c92805db6bbe.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:43 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | Afghan forces ended the assault after 10 hours of gunfire. | Attack on American University in Kabul leaves 12 dead | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fmilitants-attack-american-university-in-kabul%2F20160824.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/24kabul03.jpg | en | null | Attack on American University in Kabul leaves 12 dead | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 25, 2016 15:49 IST
Afghan forces ended the assault after 10 hours of gunfire.
IMAGE: Afghan policemen stand guard at the site of an attack at American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
Afghan security forces on Thursday killed two gunmen who attacked the American University in Kabul, ending a 10-hour assault on the compound that left twelve dead. The dead included seven students, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi. Three police officers and two security guards were also killed, the ministry said.
Gunmen launched the assault on Wednesday evening which began with a large explosion that that officials said was a car bomb followed by gunfire that forced hundreds of students and faculty members to flee while precipitating a battle with security forces.
Officials said elite Afghan forces, with help from the United States and NATO military advisers, surrounded the walled compound and eventually worked their way inside. After a night of sporadic gunfire, officials said the forces killed at least two gunmen and ended the assault.
Police said they rescued more than 500 students from the university.
IMAGE: Afghan men walk towards an ambulance after they were rescued from the site of an attack at American University of Afghanistan. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as fundamentalist Taliban militants step up their summer fighting season against the central government.
Roman Dehsabzwal, who was inside a second-floor classroom when the assault began, told RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan that he believed an attacker blew himself up just outside a building and then others began entering.
“First there was a loud bang and windows shattered, then gunfire started,” Dehsabzwal said. “One of my friends was wounded.”
Dehsabzwal said he escaped by jumping from the second floor along with two others, then fleeing the scene.
IMAGE: An Twitter user posted this vantage view of the attack. Photograph: Twitter
A student, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was attending a lecture class when he heard a “very enormous and harsh sound” -- an explosion roughly 50 metres from his classroom.
“Everyone looked around the room looking for an escape,” he said. “We have an emergency exit area in the corner of the campus. It’s like a gate that opens when people need to get out of campus. Everyone was running out of there.”
He heard gunfire as they ran, then a second explosion. Both explosions came from the school’s entrance, he said.
“People were screaming for help. Everyone was screaming,” he said.
IMAGE: An Afghan policeman keeps watch at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photograph: Omar Sobhani/Reuters
The university, which opened in 2006, has more than 1,700 students, many of whom take classes part-time while working full-time jobs.
The campus attack comes two weeks after two teachers at the university -- an Australian and an American -- were abducted by unknown gunmen in Kabul. Their whereabouts are still unknown.
The violence came as the Taliban are escalating nationwide attacks.
IMAGE: A wounded man is helped by a medic inside an ambulance following an attack at American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. Photograph: Omar Sobhani/Reuters
Condemning in the strongest terms the terrorist attack on the American University in Kabul, the United States reaffirmed its support to the Afghanistan government and people and saluted the quick response of Afghan forces.
“The US condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack today on the American University of Afghanistan. We salute the quick work of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces who responded to the attack and secured the university,” Spokesman of the National Security Council, the White House, Ned Price said.
“We send our thoughts and prayers to the families and loved ones of those killed and our heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery to those wounded. We further reaffirm the support of the US for the Afghan government and people as they continue to build a more stable, secure, and prosperous Afghanistan,” he said.
IMAGE: Afghan security forces seen creating a perimeter around the attack site.
State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau said an attack on a university is an attack on the future of Afghanistan.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump sent his thoughts and prayers to everyone at the university in Kabul, saying “We must defeat radical Islamic terrorism. Anyone who will not name our enemy is not fit to lead this country”.
“This tragic attack on a symbol of hope and progress is yet another reminder of the increasingly perilous security situation in Afghanistan,” said Senator Richard Burr, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/militants-attack-american-university-in-kabul/20160824.htm | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/5a21b23e4af19b45607b7ae4255244bda25382b5da258900735dea42d786fe54.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:19:15 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | The bench said the statements made by Bhim Singh may not be 'relevant judicially' but they may be 'relevant politically'. | Meet PM, resolve Kashmir issue politically: SC to JKNPP leader | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fresolve-kashmir-issue-politically-sc-to-jknpp-leader%2F20160822.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/22kashmir.jpg | en | null | Meet PM, resolve Kashmir issue politically: SC to JKNPP leader | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 22, 2016 17:09 IST
The ongoing trouble in Kashmir should be ‘dealt with politically’ and everything cannot be managed within judicial parameters, the Supreme Court said on Monday.
The apex court also asked the solicitor general to help activist lawyer and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party leader Bhim Singh meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.
“This issue has various dimensions and therefore should be dealt politically and moreover, everything cannot be managed within the judicial parameters,” a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said.
The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, referred to a meeting on Monday between a delegation of the state’s opposition parties -- led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah -- and the prime minister and asked Singh to join the delegation.
When the senior lawyer said the ‘RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)-dictated’ government would not invite him, the court, which asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to facilitate Singh’s meeting with Modi, was annoyed.
“Don’t make a political statement here. You tell us whether you want to go and meet the political leadership or not,” the bench said.
The SG said with regard to facilitating the meeting with the prime minister, he would ‘personally talk’ to the home secretary.
In his plea, Singh also demanded imposition of Governor’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir.
The bench also asked Singh to file his response on the status report filed by the Centre on prevailing ground situation in the Valley.
At the outset, the Centre said the Jammu and Kashmir high court was already seized of the matter and hence the plea, pending in the apex court, be disposed of.
The bench said the statements made by Bhim Singh may not be ‘relevant judicially’ but they may be ‘relevant politically’.
Earlier, the Centre, in its status report filed in the court on August 5, had said that the law and order situation in the Valley has improved considerably with incidents of violent protests having gone down from 201 on July 9 to 11 on August 3.
The Valley has been witnessing a spate of violent protests following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
The Centre, in its report, had said that in view of the improved situation, curfew had been lifted from most parts of the Valley on July 30.
The solicitor general, referring to the report, had said that curfew was in force only in certain areas of three districts in the Valley.
“Due to persistent efforts of the security forces/Jammu and Kashmir Police, the situation has shown remarkable improvement, with the number of incidents declining progressively since the outbreak of violent protests and clashes.
“Compared to 201 incidents on July 9, 2016, only 11 incidents were witnessed as on August 3, 2016,” Kumar had said, adding that a total of 872 incidents of violence were reported mainly from south Kashmir and parts of central and north Kashmir.
He said that in these 872 incidents, 42 civilians and two security personnel were killed, while 2,656 civilians and 3,783 security personnel were injured.
Kumar said 28 government establishments were set ablaze and 49 such establishments were damaged. Due to the violent incidents, curfew was initially imposed in 10 districts out of 22 districts of the state.
He said the incidents of violence started after Wani and two other militants were killed by the security forces on July 8, leading to large-scale protests and law and order trouble in different parts of the Valley.
The apex court had earlier asked the Centre to file a status report detailing ‘ground realities’ prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir after Wani’s killing by security agencies.
Bhim Singh’s petition had said that due to the use of pellet guns by the security forces, people were becoming blind and there was a shortage of medicines and medical facilities available to the citizens.
The plea had said that governor’s rule under section 92 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir should be imposed and sought a direction to the governor to dissolve the assembly, claiming it ‘has failed to discharge its duties and functions’.
IMAGE: A security personnel stops women during curfew in Srinagar. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/resolve-kashmir-issue-politically-sc-to-jknpp-leader/20160822.htm | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/ba4eeb54e6761662767f9858b413c6ec2e0240e144f9e1a71974379f7ca1b5e5.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:41:22 | null | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | 'Other countries go out on a limb to save even a single life.'
'What to talk of civilian accidents and disasters, even our military does not have a priority for Combat Search and Rescue,' says Group Captain P I Muralidharan (retd). | As a nation we unfortunately do not value lives | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Fcolumn%2Fas-a-nation-we-unfortunately-do-not-value-lives%2F20160801.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/jul/23parrikar2.jpg | en | null | As a nation we unfortunately do not value lives | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 01, 2016 12:30 IST
'Other countries go out on a limb to save even a single life. What to talk of civilian accidents and disasters, even our military does not have a priority for Combat Search and Rescue...'
'It is an irony that the very same country that launches satellites for the Americans had to rely on American satellites to pick up possible signals from the AN 32's rescue beacon.'
'Why is this not a priority for our nation?' says Group Captain Group Captain P I Muralidharan (retd).
The IAF has lost aircraft and aircrew in large numbers earlier in the annals of Indian aviation history, sometimes in the hills with very delayed recovery of crash debris and mortal remains -- in one event, this materialising after several years.
Nevertheless, the anguish and heart wrench of the past week, caused by the ongoing reportage of the missing IAF AN 32 ought to make all professional fliers and policy makers rethink our nation's priorities in the vital ambit of Air, Land and Sea Rescue (SAR for short).
Surely, we do not need sagas such as that of the Malaysian MH 370, the Air France jet earlier in the Atlantic or this recent unfortunate IAF mishap to make us sit up. It is well known that our country does not have a dedicated SAR agency, much less dedicated Air Rescue Squadrons a la the US Air Force.
They have over fifty of them, one approximately for each of the 50 states. That now is something to speak for specialised air missions alright. One must admit that overall the SAR efforts of single service agencies have been comparatively more successful than others involving wholly civilian or other mixed air assets.
And to think that we now have a dedicated National Disaster Management Agency, but clearly oriented towards natural and man-made disasters and without any SAR mandate as such.
The funding required to provide the latest available technologies and equipment to the concerned single service agencies need to be provisioned, to address a key aspect directly linked to national and military morale. This applies not only in peace, but in war too.
Our Combat Search and Rescue capability needs buttressing too, so that we do not land up in situations of unrecovered Prisoners of War as indeed did happen in our 1965 and 1971 wars.
A holistic approach to SAR is called for marshaling resources available with the three services, the Coast Guard, the DRDO, our Intelligence agencies such as the NTRO and perhaps even private industry, to facilitate a timely and apt response to any kind of mishap involving our fighting assets, civil aircraft and other citizenry who become victims of natural and other calamities across the nation's air, land and sea frontiers.
Air element of rescue
The first responder in any contingency as articulated here in is normally the air element, from the IAF, Army Aviation or the Indian Navy. Perhaps on account of the flexibility that the medium affords, in terms of mobilising quickly.
Some IAF helicopter units had been tasked sectorally with SAR duties. They generally catered for fighter crashes, floods, earthquakes, fires, train/ bus crashes and likewise events.
The quantum of air effort required for SAR is dictated by the immensity of the disaster such as numbers of personnel involved, expected area of search and, of course, the terrain wherein the event occurred.
For a localised accident such as a fighter crash, the effort involved is normally focused in the area and numbers of casualties.
Also the prevailing SAR apparatus at various IAF stations is geared up to cope with it, given the specificities in aerial/ ground witnesses, radar assistance/air traffic control assistance which are normally available and the consequent triangulation of the accident site.
Should the area of incident/accident be vast or under water or even immersed in thick foliage as normally obtains in the eastern sector, the assets required would be of a different order.
Now after a week's search above water in the Bay of Bengal, we are reportedly having to switch our search domain to under water. Too late in the day perhaps, one could argue.
Some worthy erstwhile colleagues have been articulating on social media about the likely causes of this particular AN 32 disaster. Given the reported prevailing monsoon weather conditions, they feel it could well have been the result of rapid inflight icing over the wings or engines, leading to an uncontrolled left hand 'graveyard spiral.' This whilst the pilot apparently wished to skirt weather to the right.
Such inputs and quick analysis by concerned operations staff or from data that would invariably be available with the flight safety organisation concerned, which would help us focus on a realistic mode for the search. Doubts crop up when the weather is suspect or a factor preventing meaningful search operations post the accident. But an intelligent appreciation of the most probable causative factor would help in arriving at the optimal search zones.
Search over water bodies
Thus, any planned search pattern over water would normally start with initial scans over the skies immediately on the surface of that water body, be it the sea, a lake or a river from aerial platforms.
When it becomes evident that there is nothing to look for above the sea or river or lake, that is when the real challenges emerge in terms of underwater sensors such as sonars and bathyspheres.
Depending on the expected area of search several numbers of these assets coupled with diver assets would be called for. A watery grave is not something any soldier or citizen deserves.
The nation has the moral responsibility to bring those bodies home for a decent cremation or burial at the earliest. The goodwill generated thence would help hugely in bringing a sense of closure to the kin of the unfortunate victims.
Soon India is expected to have on its inventory large amphibious aircraft, to be acquired from Japan ,which could possibly be utilised to deploy specialists and divers rapidly to the expected disaster site, especially into large water bodies where suitable float-fitted SAR helicopters are not available.
Intelligent use of other unique assets such as Aerostats, AWACS and C 130Js need to be done.
Land search & satellite tracking
Search and rescue over remote, inaccessible areas in mountainous or forested areas would pose their own peculiar challenges. Not only would mountaineering teams be required, communication gear, associated GPS devices and dog squads would be needed.
They would need to work in tandem with aerial platforms and paramedic teams. Noise augmentation devices and other acoustic sensors would be required perhaps.
One of our veteran Air Marshals tells his story of eons ago when after an ejection from a fighter in the Tezpur sector, he could not be picked up for several days, hidden as he was in the thick foliage.
It is not far fetched to think of miniature drones as a standard fit in our survival packs. The agility and ease of maneuvering of these gadgets has to be seen to be believed. Of course, they would need GPS cueing or some other pre-programmed navigational software.
But now we are in the era of drones and satellite technology and nothing ought to stay unknown, or un-pinged for any length of time.
It is an irony that the very same country that launches satellites for the Americans had to rely on American satellites to pick up possible signals from the AN 32's rescue beacon. Why is this not a priority for our nation?
Surely we could plan for our own geostationary sensors to pick up distress signals from any of our aircraft, ships or even mountaineers for that matter.
One understands there are issues of masking of satellites etc, but emphasis on fail safe pinging on multiple sensors of the international distress frequencies such as 121.5 MHz or 243.0 MHz.
Further, it is believed that satellite monitoring on both these frequencies have been discontinued of late and the US Coast Guard only monitors digital 406 MHz as of February 1, 2009.
Are international agencies and India on the same 'frequency'? India has already sent up two indigenous GPS satellites. Shouldn't we be prioritising to have our own satellite tracking capability over the subcontinent and adjoining sea boards?
Uncertainties in SAR
Despite any amount of infrastructural design, we are still bound to have situations wherein aircraft especially vanish into thin air, indicating the tremendously uncertain realms of aviation in general.
Stories from the 'Bermuda Triangle' era abound and examples such as that of the Malaysian MH 370 stand out. India needs to have tie ups with neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives to monitor distress frequencies from ground stations.
Likewise, suitable civil and military installations on the Eastern and Western seaboard need to have the capability to monitor and record these frequencies.
National ethos
As a nation we unfortunately do not value lives. Other countries go out on a limb to save even a single life.
What to talk of civilian accidents and disasters, even our military does not have a priority for Combat Search and Rescue, CSAR. Proper attack helicopters, FGA aircraft and trained special forces need to be at hand to undertake effective CSAR. The same assets could be deployed in peacetime for anti-terror, anti-smuggling or counter insurgency situations.
Onboard equipment
Countries which are surrounded by water have a serious sea survival and SAR system in place. The UK is a classic example. The regimen for sea survival and rescue in the RAF is legion.
Such a training regimen ensures the optimal serviceability of all rescue equipment such as life jackets, dinghies, SARBE beacons, associated batteries and the works.
The Indian Air Force earlier on had a problem because our aircraft fleet were disparate, divided between Russian and limited Western gear. Now we have almost even numbers of both types of technologies and it is that much easier to standardise rescue gear such as personal rescue beacons, their power packs, radio frequencies and the like.
Any lackadaisical or delayed reaction by the system to activate effective SAR measures is tantamount to an anti-national disservice.
One stands to lose not only the well known high morale of our fighting units, but also hazard generating ill will amongst citizens at large through the hurt and anguish caused to the near and dear ones from prolonged unresolved accidents and incidents.
Contrariwise, a timely rescue effort generates out of proportion goodwill. Apex bodies such as the National Security Council or the Cabinet Committee on Security would have to coordinate the national effort for SAR depending on the nature of the disaster, whether military or civil assets and personnel are involved and the terrain/ sector of occurrence.
Single service agencies normally cut in their actions much ahead of others. But then some capabilities, such as deep sea search for example in the current disaster, may be beyond the capabilities of indigenous elements and extraneous assistance may have to be sought.
Suitable Memoranda of Understanding with other nations and international agencies would pay dividends when the disaster actually strikes. Besides our nation's overall SAR architecture needs to be rehashed to make available the most timely and effective response to all sectors.
IMAGE: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar being briefed on the search and rescue operations in Chennai. | http://www.rediff.com/news/column/as-a-nation-we-unfortunately-do-not-value-lives/20160801.htm | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/d4b44a280ff8e6ac70697ab969efca5935d87f40f105bd018acf0649e457600a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:32:18 | null | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | Locals, along with many other dignitaries, paid floral tributes to the former chief minister at his official residence. | Tributes paid to former Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftributes-paid-to-former-arunachal-cm-kalikho-pul%2F20160810.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/10pul.jpg | en | null | Tributes paid to former Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 10, 2016 11:05 IST
Locals on Wednesday morning paid homage to former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his residence on Tuesday.
Locals, along with many other dignitaries, paid floral tributes to the former chief minister at his official residence. The police honoured him with a gun-salute. Mortal remains of Pul were then taken to his hometown in Anjaw district.
T Taki, a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA said that Pul’s death was a big loss for Arunachal, and asked for a police investigation to find out the truth.
“His journey from a night security guard to a chief minister of the state is an example for the country,” Taki said.
Paying tribute to the late chief minister, Congress party member Ninong Ering said that Pul was a people’s chief minister.
“He will always remain in the hearts of the people. The way he developed the state is appreciable,” Ering said.
“I am very shocked that he took such an extreme step. A probe should be conduct for the satisfaction of the people and his family members,”
The former Arunachal chief minister was found dead at the chief minister’s official residence, which he had not vacated yet.
He was chief minister from the period February to July 2016. News reports suggest that he committed suicide at his residence, but the police is yet to confirm.
According to initial reports, Pul was suffering from depression and was extremely upset after his appointment was struck down by the Supreme Court.
In a setback to Pul, the Supreme Court had earlier on July 13 restored the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, declaring the actions of Governor J.P. Rajkhowa “illegal” and “violative of the constitutional provisions”.
Pul, 46, became the eighth chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh in February 2016.
Having lost his parents at an early age, Pul went on to learn carpentry, sell furniture and serve as a casual night chowkidar at Rs 212 per month. He also sold paan and beedi to attend a night school. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/tributes-paid-to-former-arunachal-cm-kalikho-pul/20160810.htm | en | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/9e30a7ee3a22cc09c5e27212b6fe6f4199cd93c087b23658541c8d975bf78d70.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:49:35 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | The meeting comes close on the heels of a clear message from the Centre to the chief minister to control the growing unrest in the state. | Facing flak over Kashmir handling, Mehbooba to meet PM on Saturday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ffacing-flak-over-kashmir-handling-mehbooba-to-meet-pm-on-saturday%2F20160826.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/25mufti5.jpg | en | null | Facing flak over Kashmir handling, Mehbooba to meet PM on Saturday | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 26, 2016 20:15 IST
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the situation in the Valley, which has been under curfew for past 48 days following death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
The meeting comes close on the heels of a clear message from the Centre to the chief minister to control the growing unrest in the state.
According to official sources, Mehbooba has been conveyed in no uncertain terms that there was a need for putting an end to the cycle of violence which has claimed 67 lives so far in the protest.
This is the first meeting between the Prime Minister and Mehbooba after the unrest broke in the Valley on July 8.
Mehbooba has been under fire for failing to control the violence as the Centre has made it clear that law and order was a state subject.
Earlier this week, Modi had a meeting with a delegation of Opposition parties from the state led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
After that meeting, for the first time, Modi had expressed his "deep concern and pain" over the situation in the Valley and asked all political parties to work together to find a "permanent and lasting" solution to problems in the state.
He had also made an appeal for restoration of normalcy in the Valley and emphasised that there has to be a dialogue.
In his statement, the prime minister had appreciated the "constructive suggestions" made by the Opposition delegation during the talks and reiterated his government's commitment to the welfare of people.
Mehbooba had strongly defended security forces' action on Thursday during a press conference and had said "People came on streets, we imposed curfew. Did the children go to army camps to buy toffees (candy)? Was the 15-year-old boy, who attacked the police station at Damhal Hanjipora (in south Kashmir), going there to get milk..."
She had said "Today 95 per cent who have been killed are youngsters belonging to poor families. They were killed in retaliation for attacking security camps... The situations of 2010 and present cannot be compared."
She claimed that 95 per cent of people want to resolve the Kashmir issue through political means and dialogue but five per cent people were resorting to agitation.
Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/facing-flak-over-kashmir-handling-mehbooba-to-meet-pm-on-saturday/20160826.htm | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/f311d42664d5ae5a4ed645a1a13d282d82e4f73a4dcc96db0b079b71db62095a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:34:12 | null | 2016-08-06T00:00:00 | The court noted that despite repeated orders, Mallya did not appear in the court and it was inevitable for the state machinery to intervene and ensure his presence. | Vijay Mallya in fresh trouble, Delhi court issues non-bailable warrant | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fdelhi-court-issues-non-bailable-warrant-against-vijay-mallya%2F20160806.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/money/2016/mar/14mallya.jpg | en | null | Vijay Mallya in fresh trouble, Delhi court issues non-bailable warrant | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 06, 2016 14:15 IST
In more trouble for Vijay Mallya, a non-bailable warrant was on Saturday issued against him in a 2012 cheque bounce case by a Delhi court which said that coercive steps were required to ensure his appearance.
Metropolitan Magistrate Sumeet Anand passed the order for bringing Mallya in court on November 4, with the direction that the non-bailable warrant be sent to him by Ministry of External Affairs as he is reportedly in London.
The court noted that despite repeated orders, Mallya did not appear in the court and it was inevitable for the state machinery to intervene and ensure his presence.
The trial court had summoned Mallya as accused following a complaint by DIAL, which operates the capital's IGI Airport, claiming that a cheque for Rs one crore issued by Kingfisher Airlines on February 22, 2012 was returned to them a month later containing remarks "fund insufficient".
DIAL had filed four cases in June 2012 against Mallya over KFA's cheques totalling Rs 7.5 crore not being honoured.
The grounded airline had issued the cheques towards payment for services availed by them at the IGI airport in New Delhi.
Mallya, Chairman of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is facing action after defaulting on over Rs 9,000-crore loan from 17 banks.
Late last month, he had skipped appearance before a PMLA court in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering probe against him in alleged bank loan fraud case.
Mallya had left the country in March and is currently said to be in the UK.
Several cheque bounce cases have been filed against him. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/delhi-court-issues-non-bailable-warrant-against-vijay-mallya/20160806.htm | en | 2016-08-06T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/15f708b8c4d2b5f64515026b8534c3b7b5efc24145f62c22e038fdfad8e0b2c0.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:38:35 | null | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | 'Success comes only to those who dare and act,' says proud father Ambassador T P Sreenivasan. | Sreexit and After | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Fcolumn%2Fsreexit-and-after%2F20160802.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/02sreenivasan.jpg | en | null | Sreexit and After | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 02, 2016 16:06 IST
'Success comes only to those who dare and act,' says proud father Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Things happen in life in strange ways. I was not scheduled to return to Thiruvananthapuram till late last night after participating in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Chinchwad Malayalee Association near Pune, together with former chief minister Oommen Chandy.
But I felt I should return sooner as my son Sree Sreenivasan and his twin children, Durga and Krishna, were at home. My hosts helpfully suggested that I could drive to Mumbai and catch a flight, that would bring me to Thiruvananthapuram in the afternoon.
The celebrated expressway from Pune turned out to be much more hazardous than I had expected with heavy rain above and pot holes below.
Once we reached Dharavi of Slumdog Millionaire fame, I thought that there was no way I could catch the flight. But my skillful driver, who makes this trip twice a day, assured me that he would get me there in time for the flight.
He expressed surprise, however, that I was not nervous or anxious about missing the flight! I did not believe his promise, but there I was on the flight as the doors were about to close. The flight, of course, did not take off for another hour!
Back in Thiruvananthapuram, my wife Lekha had lined up several options, the most important being a visit to the famed Ganesha temple, the most auspicious place to start anything new.
We delayed the visit to the temple as I had promised to take the children for a round of golf and then it was time to try out the new restaurant, 'Upper Crust', which, we thought, might suit the palates of the the three American citizens.
But Lekha had her priorities right and she had a kind of premonition that something good would come out of the visit. And there it was that the news came that Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City had just announced that my son Sree was appointed the Chief Digital Officer of New York City.
We knew this was coming, but to receive the news at the Ganesha temple was sheer delight. It was the culmination of a totally unexpected experience of seeing a well settled 45-year-old son with a wife and two children suddenly without a job.
When Sree accepted the post of Chief Digital Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art three years ago, leaving a comfortable position as the first Chief Digital Officer at Columbia University, we saw it as a splendid opportunity for him to spread his wings and to find greener pastures.
To those who wondered whether it was wise to leave Columbia, I said the American system of 'hire and fire' was much more congenial to career development than the escalator system in many countries, including India.
Success comes only to those who dare and act, I said to Sree after he took me around the Met just before he took the plunge. Having changed 10 schools in 12 years, he was fully prepared to accept change. His brother Sreekanth too has shown great resilience in facing the challenges of change.
The Met, with which Sree had a 30-year-old love affair ever since we lived on Madison Avenue in the 1980s, took to his new career like fish to water and enjoyed the experience. Hardly had he mastered his new art and taken the Met to greater heights came the news that the Met could not afford him and, even more, his ambitious plans to make the Met the most digitalised museum in the world.
I characterised it as an effort to turn the Museum into a virtual university with every art object as a lesson. When Sree broke the bad news to us, it was a shock, but I stuck to my position that the 'hire and fire' system had its blessings and challenges and both should be accepted with equanimity.
I said as much to PBS, which interviewed me on 'Sreexit' from the Met. As it happened, I was in New York for a few days during this period. Our family had great faith in the abilities of Sree and his wife Roopa (Roopa Unnikrishnan, champion shooter, Commonwealth gold medalist, Arjuna Award winner, Rhodes Scholar) to rise to the occasion and they did.
The news of his exit came on my birthday and somehow I felt that it was auspicious and that he would soon be back in a position commensurate with his vast abilities and experience in the digital world, which he had mastered without any technology training.
History graduates from St Stephen's rarely become tech gurus. But what astonished us was the way he handled the new situation. He turned adversity into an opportunity. A Quartz article noted: 'But while many high-profile executives might have responded by withdrawing to lick their wounds and work their networks behind the scenes, Sreenivasan went in entirely the opposite direction. The same day the news broke about his dismissal, he posted a note on Facebook. Sreenivasan shared the Met's company-wide memo and his gratitude to his bosses and team, and he outlined some loose plans (a book, consulting, a speaking tour, and a family vacation in India). Perhaps most importantly, he said he was open to any and all meetings and included a link to a form inviting friends to offer advice about what he should do next.
The responses he received were overwhelming, but he and we realised that it was a cruel world out there and it would take time. Tantalising offers came from different parts of the world, but he made it clear that he would not move out of New York till his children finished Hunter College in the next five years.
Nothing would have suited him better than the offer he received from New York City. From a single institution in New York City, he is moving to the City Administration itself. As an observer of the fortunes of the Indian community in New York, Dr Thomas Abraham noted, Indians are not rare even in the White House, but New York City does not have many Indians in high positions.
He saw some poetic justice in Sree's appointment. Indians had made a great contribution to the growth of New York as a maximum city.
As we bask in the glory of Sree's new appointment, we are counting the blessings of the 'hire and fire system,' which recognises merit and offers exceptional opportunities.
Lord Ganesha appeared to have a particularly benign smile on us that evening when we folded our hands in gratitude.
IMAGE: Sreenath Srinivasan, the newly appointed Chief Digital Officer of New York City. | http://www.rediff.com/news/column/sreexit-and-after/20160802.htm | en | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/cbd91cf75f9c827033cc95ce9c0062ee950d7ebe2d3592b18fd2c0fa2b1ed15d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:30:10 | null | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | Catch all the debates and discussions from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha | WATCH LIVE! All the action from Parliament | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fwatch-live-the-action-from-parliament%2F20160811.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/money/2014/dec/24par.jpg | en | null | WATCH LIVE! All the action from Parliament | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 11, 2016 10:59 IST
The Lok Sabha is likely to take up the issue of the recent attacks on Dalits around the country and the floods.
Watch it LIVE on Rediff.com | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/watch-live-the-action-from-parliament/20160811.htm | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/bde8add3ac91ff3b3e680bdccdd9526f0b2a4710e3b585e2a758aded7da4839b.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:32:15 | null | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | Congress members demanded that the prime minister should speak on the issue in the House rather than 'tweet'. They staged a walkout later. | Don't shed crocodile tears but act: Congress to PM on Dalits | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fdont-shed-crocodile-tears-but-act-congress-to-pm-on-dalits%2F20160808.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/08modi.jpg | en | null | Don't shed crocodile tears but act: Congress to PM on Dalits | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 08, 2016 16:17 IST
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed those indulging in atrocities on Dalits, Congress on Monday created uproar in the Lok Sabha, saying he should “not shed crocodile tears” but “act”.
Congress members demanded that the prime minister should speak on the issue in the House rather than “tweet”. They staged a walkout later.
Soon after the Zero Hour, Congress members stormed the Well of the House when Speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not immediately allow party leader Mallikarjun Karge to raise the issue.
The speaker said she would allow Kharge to speak but only after she finishes with the Zero Hour list as she has not got any notice. She repeatedly appealed to the Congress members to go back to their seats.
“I will allow him to speak. I have never said no to it, but let me be done with the (Zero Hour) list. There are many smaller parties here and it will be an injustice to the members,” she said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh as also the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar were seen gesturing to Kharge suggesting that a way could be found out through informal talks.
Congress members were unrelenting and demanded that the prime minister come to the House and speak on the issue.
“He (the PM) should not shed crocodile tears. He should not tweet, but act (against those perpetrating atrocities on Dalits),” the Congress MPs chanted.
Congress members were in no mood to relent and staged a walkout.
In an outreach to Dalits against the backdrop of the Una flogging incident, Modi, at an event in Telangana, on Sunday decried the attempts to politicise the issue of atrocities on Dalits and said he is ready to get “shot and attacked” in place of his Dalit “brothers”. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/dont-shed-crocodile-tears-but-act-congress-to-pm-on-dalits/20160808.htm | en | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/70a4af0fdf5c7968e0dc31f489399458393880eb45c55312e0a1652000d68ee3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:36:48 | null | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | Pakistan's parliament has unanimously passed a resolution, condemning the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. | Pakistan needles India again, passes resolution on Kashmir in parliament | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fpakistan-needles-india-again-passes-resolution-on-kashmir-in-parliament-%2F20160802.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2013/may/23nawaz.jpg | en | null | Pakistan needles India again, passes resolution on Kashmir in parliament | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 02, 2016 21:31 IST
Further needling India, Pakistan's parliament has unanimously passed a resolution, condemning the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and demanding the United Nations Human Rights Commission to send a fact finding mission to the Valley to investigate it.
The 34th session of the National Assembly (the parliament), which began last evening with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the chair, extended its support to the Kashmiris.
The National Assembly of Pakistan strongly condemns the recent atrocities perpetrated on innocent Kashmiris by Indian security forces," said the resolution passed on Monday night.
It said the use of pellet guns is "deplorable and is against the canons of international humanitarian laws".
"This House denounces these reprehensible acts...It is confident that these blatant violations of international law cannot deter the valiant, oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir from continuing to press their demand for realisation of their right to self-determination, which is enshrined in numerous UN Security Council Resolutions," it added.
It reiterated Pakistan's continuing political, moral and diplomatic support for the struggle in Kashmir.
The resolution pressed the government to urge the international community, inter-governmental and inter-parliamentary organisations, international nongovernmental organisations and civil society and media to ask India to immediately stop alleged violations of the human rights.
It also demanded that the Human Rights Commission in Geneva should be requested to immediately send a fact finding mission to Kashmir to investigate alleged Human Rights violations by Indian security forces. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pakistan-needles-india-again-passes-resolution-on-kashmir-in-parliament-/20160802.htm | en | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/6aabcd360baac7ffaa5dc129915756f954a90ccd24da6ddddc52fb181066808a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:21:50 | null | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | Sidhu had on Friday met Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal at the latter's residence, but the party remained tight lipped on what transpired at the meeting. | Sidhu keeps everyone guessing, AAP says it's his call | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fsidhu-keeps-everyone-even-aap-guessing-on-his-next-move%2F20160818.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/jul/18sidhu1.jpg | en | null | Sidhu keeps everyone guessing, AAP says it's his call | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 18, 2016 19:07 IST
Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, whose joining the Aam Aadmi Party was being seen as a foregone conclusion at one point, has left everyone guessing about his future plans.
The party on Thursday said it was Sidhu’s decision to quit the Rajya Sabha and it will be “entirely” his call to join the outfit.
Sidhu had on Friday met Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal at the latter’s residence, but the party remained tight lipped on what transpired at the meeting.
“It was Sidhu’s decision to quit the Rajya Sabha and we welcomed it. Now, it will be entirely his decision to join the party. The people of Punjab will decide who their MLA and the chief minister will be,” AAP’s national spokesperson Dilip Pandey said.
“It’s not clear whether he will join the party and when, if he does. AAP was on high in Punjab even before he expressed his desire to join it. So things will not play out exactly the way he wants,” said another senior party leader.
However, a party leader from Punjab said Sidhu is likely join the party soon.
After his sudden resignation from the Rajya Sabha last month, the former Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Amritsar, had lashed out at the party leadership, but kept mum on his future plans.
The buzz is that Sidhu is negotiating hard to be chief ministerial candidate of the party in Punjab and that he is also seeking a ticket for his wife, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, a BJP MLA from Amritsar (Rural).
The party at the time of his quitting the Rajya Sabha seat had made it clear that his joining will be not be on any term or condition. Also, the AAP’s constitution does not permit giving tickets to two members of a family. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/sidhu-keeps-everyone-even-aap-guessing-on-his-next-move/20160818.htm | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/c1d5edbce56702ccac5724ef42be777621276d7018a8beaede3dba4aae4f3e07.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:32:42 | null | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | 'Flooding forces the animals to disperse out of the park that, in turn, attracts the attention of poachers.' | Protecting Kaziranga's rhinos from floods, poachers | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Finterview%2Fprotecting-kazirangas-rhinos-from-floods-poachers%2F20160808.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/08rhino1.jpg | en | null | Protecting Kaziranga's rhinos from floods, poachers | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 08, 2016 15:39 IST
'Flooding forces the animals to disperse out of the park that, in turn, attracts the attention of poachers.'
IMAGE: The latest floods have left 80 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park under water, forcing rhinos to find dryer lands.
As the monsoon lashes across India, Assam is tackling a flood situation that has displaced lakhs of residents in the state.
Other than its human occupants, wildlife, including the one-horned rhinoceros, is also facing a dire situation.
Besides the challenge of saving rhinos and elephant calves from the treacherous water is the fear that a rescue operation may scare them into jumping right into the water. Ashraf Nvk, senior director and chief veterinarian at the Wildlife Trust of India, speaks to Manavi Kapur about how the impact of these and future floods can be reduced on the wildlife in Assam.
What is currently the condition of the rhinos affected by the floods? Where do you think will they be rehabilitated?
Eight rhino calves were admitted in a span of four days to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, Kaziranga. Four are males, the rest females. Their age varies from about three months to one year.
It was a pathetic sight to see them lying in our large animal nursery, resting most of the time. Except for one calf that had sustained some injuries, the rest looked alright externally.
All rhino and elephant calves take some time to get used to bottle feeding, especially given the trauma they have been through. The calves were reluctantly learning to suckle from bottles, and once fed properly, should be able to recover soon. They are all likely to be rehabilitated in the Manas National Park.
IMAGE: The Wildlife Trust of India is carrying out search operations trying to rescue these animals from the flood. Till date, they have been able to rescue 10 rhino and eight calves. Photograph: Kind courtesy @wti_org_india/Twitter
What has been the biggest challenge in carrying out rescue operations in Kaziranga? Has there been enough support from the authorities in prioritising wildlife?
In such situations, accessing the affected areas is the real challenge. When 80 per cent of the park gets flooded, the only option is to travel by boats.
However, if one actively travels on boats looking for stranded animals, animals that have taken refuge on small islands and mounds would get disturbed and jump into water. This can, in turn, be counter-productive and hence needs very tricky balance.
The strategy is not to approach them too closely.
In all this, the forest department has been very supportive and involved. In fact, we support their work in the mission to rescue stranded animals.
Assam floods drown out animals The flood fury in Assam has taken its toll on one of the world's most protected heritage sites -- The Kaziranga National Park.
As many as 218 animals, 17 of them being rhinos and over 166 hog deer, have drowned in a span of just seven days owing to the floods.
There have been frequent floods in Assam in the last few years. How can the authorities ensure that the animals are kept safe and are safeguarded against future incidents?
Flooding is normal for a park like Kaziranga because central Assam is a flood plain. It is only when the water level increases dramatically over a period of 24 hours that the impact is greater on wildlife.
Animals do not get enough time to search for higher areas and move out. This is what happened this year. We cannot prevent flooding from happening, but we can facilitate dispersal of animals from low lying areas to higher reaches (such as the Karbi Anglong Hills).
Unfortunately, there a lot of human settlements along the highway that roughly separates the part from the hill slopes of Karbi Anglong. Most of these are large resorts, and such human infrastructure blocks the safe movement of animals across the park to higher ground.
There are only three or four 'corridors' left for animals to use. The answer to minimise the impact of floods lies in wise, ecologically viable land use practices.
Wildlife needs to become a priority for not just the authorities but also for local residents and business owners. This is the only way forward.
Does this make the already endangered species vulnerable to poaching? How can this be prevented?
Yes, flooding forces the animals to disperse out of the park that, in turn, attracts the attention of poachers.
This is a very sensitive time that leaves animals more exposed. But ironically, it is also during the floods that there is increased patrolling on all sides.
The floods are also the time when the entire focus of the government machinery is on rescue operations and one hopes that illegal trade and poaching will be harder to accomplish. | http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/protecting-kazirangas-rhinos-from-floods-poachers/20160808.htm | en | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/f434ea35060e09e4f35556eb4f26ddd2f29d6904e645aa45c9e4fe80ffb16d08.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:37:29 | null | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | Obama added that Trump has shown he is 'woefully unprepared to do this job' after his comments on military families as well as his handle on foreign affairs. | Obama says Trump 'unfit' to serve as President, slams GOP for endorsing him | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fobama-says-trump-unfit-to-serve-as-president%2F20160802.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/02obama.jpg | en | null | Obama says Trump 'unfit' to serve as President, slams GOP for endorsing him | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 02, 2016 22:05 IST
US President Obama on Tuesday slammed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying he is "unfit to serve as president" as he does not abide by norms and rules.
IMAGE: Obama remarked that Republican denunciations of Trump "ring hollow" as they continue to endorse Trump . Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters
"I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president," Obama said at a White House news conference. "I said so last week. He keeps proving it."
Obama added that Trump has shown he is "woefully unprepared to do this job" after his comments on military families as well as his handle on foreign affairs.
He slammed Trump for his rhetoric, including the one against parents of a slain Muslim-American soldier, and said the Republican presidential nominee doesn't have the judgment, temperament or understanding to be the president of the country.
As such he was highly critical of the Republican leadership who are supporting the billionaire from New York.
"There has to come a point at which you say enough," Obama said of the Republican leaders.
"The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn’t appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia, means that he is woefully unprepared to do this job," the president said at the White House.
Obama remarked that Republican denunciations of Trump "ring hollow" as they continue to endorse Trump.
"The question that I think that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer?" Obama said.
"This isn’t a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves form statements he's making."
Obama said this opinion of Trump is shared by prominent Republicans.
"I think what's been interesting is the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading Republicans, including the speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader and prominent Republicans like John McCain," he said.
"There has to be a point in which you say this is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party," Obama said.
"The fact that it has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow. I don't doubt their sincerity. I don't doubt that they were outraged about some of the statements that Mr Trump and his supporters made about the Khan family," he said referring to the statements made by Trump against the parents of Muslim-American soldier Humayun Khan who was killed in Iraq war by a suicide bomber.
At some point, Republicans should realise that Trump has gone too far and that the things he says indicates he "doesn't have the judgment, the temperament the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world," Obama said.
The two-term Democratic president said this is different than just having policy disagreements.
While Obama said he has disagreed with former Republican presidents on policy issues, he did not have a doubt that they could function as president."
"I recognise that they all profoundly disagree with myself or Hillary Clinton on tax policy or on certain elements of foreign policy. But you know, there have been Republican presidents with whom I disagreed with but I didn't have adoubt that they could function as president," Obama said.
Obama explained that had he lost to Mitt Romney or McCain, he certainly "would have been disappointed," but that he would have conceded and had the confidence that they would "abide by certain norms and rules and common sense, will observe basic decency."
"But that's not the situation here, and that's not just my opinion. That is the opinion of many prominent Republicans. There has to come a point at which you say enough. And the alternative is that the entire party, the Republican Party effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being articulated by Mr Trump," Obama said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/obama-says-trump-unfit-to-serve-as-president/20160802.htm | en | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/34ee418b87423f725e00577ff5d351c1fcc79cc7f8e45c32ed09cd26a8e5bc8e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:12 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | A number of social media users suggested it was an assassination attempt 'ordered' by Hillary Clinton, while others thought US President Barack Obama was involved. | Assange supporters fear assassination attempt after Ecuadorian embassy broken-into | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fassange-supporters-fear-assassination-attempt-after-ecuadorian-embassy-broken-into%2F20160824.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2014/aug/19lead6.jpg | en | null | Assange supporters fear assassination attempt after Ecuadorian embassy broken-into | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 24, 2016 03:41 IST
Supporters of Julian Assange fear an assassination attempt was made on the Wikileaks founder after an intruder scaled the walls of his Ecuadorian Embassy hideout in London.
Ecuador on Tuesday expressed concern over the "inadequate" response from the British authorities to the incident at the embassy, which has been Assange's home for over four years.
An official statement from Ecuador said: "The Ecuadorian government expresses its concern about the inadequate response by the British authorities, who only arrived at the embassy more than two hours after the incident took place.
"The government of Ecuador regrets that, despite the enormous resources that the British government has undertaken to prevent Julian Assange leaving the Ecuadorian embassy, the authorities did not respond more quickly to this extremely serious attempt an unauthorised entry," the statement said.
The statement said it has made available all evidence in its possession to help clarify this "serious incident" to the UK diplomatic police.
"The government of Ecuador expresses its willingness to cooperate with the security forces in the UK to prevent future incidents and renews its commitment to protect Julian Assange," it added.
A number of social media users suggested it was an assassination attempt "ordered" by Hillary Clinton, while others thought US President Barack Obama was involved.
Wikileaks wrote on Twitter earlier on Tuesday: "At 2.47 am an unknown man scaled the side wall (and the) window of the Ecuadorian embassy in London; fled after being caught by security.
However, Scotland Yard seems to be treating the incident as an "attempted burglary".
"Police are investigating an alleged attempted burglary at diplomatic premises in Kensington and Chelsea. Detectives from Kensington and Chelsea's CID are leading the investigation alongside colleagues from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. There have been no arrests and enquiries continue," a Metropolitan Police statement said.
Assange is wanted in Sweden in relation to a 2010 rape allegation, which the Australian national denies. He has fought against being extradited to Sweden, saying he fears he would then be transferred to the US to face charges on Wikileaks' activities.
In 2012, while on bail, he claimed asylum inside the Ecuadorean embassy in central London after the UK Supreme Court had ruled the extradition against him could go ahead.
A UN working group had ruled in February that Assange was being arbitrarily detained. However, the UK Foreign Office has called for the UN decision to be reviewed, saying Assange was staying in the embassy voluntarily and that the UK had a legal duty to extradite him to Sweden.
Met Police had scaled back its multi-million-pound security presence from the Ecuadorean embassy last year, saying the operation was "no longer proportionate".
The round-the-clock vigil on Assange had reportedly cost the force around 11.1 million pounds.
Earlier this month it emerged that Swedish prosecutors investigating the rape allegation against Assange have agreed to question him at his embassy hideout. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/assange-supporters-fear-assassination-attempt-after-ecuadorian-embassy-broken-into/20160824.htm | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/95ea7e103b9ccae4cc89fda571068a3b3deed83ec14ff8a739959760f02a1ea6.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:11:51 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | The PM is also the second most followed politician in the world, right after US President Barack Obama. | Modi pips Big B to be most followed Indian on Twitter | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fmodi-pips-big-b-to-be-most-followed-indian-on-twitter%2F20160826.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/26modi1.jpg | en | null | Modi pips Big B to be most followed Indian on Twitter | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 26, 2016 08:03 IST
Active on Twitter since 2009, the PM is also the second most followed politician in the world, right after US President Barack Obama.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pipped Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan to become the most followed Indian on social media site Twitter.
As on Thursday, Modi had over 22.1 million followers on the social networking platform, while Bachchan trailed with 22 million at the last count.
In January, Modi’s Twitter followers surpassed those of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Modi, then, became the second-most followed Indian on Twitter, with over 17,371,600 followers, compared to Khan’s 17,351,100.
Now, Khan is the third-most followed Indian on Twitter, with 20.9 million users of the social media site following him.
The number of followers of Modi’s account (@narendramodi) consistently increased by about a million every two months in 2015. The figure crossed the 15-million mark on September 22 last year, and touched 16 million on November 20. In 2016, the growth rate of Modi’s Twitter followers slowed down, with about five million users being added in around eight months.
Active on Twitter since 2009, Modi is also the second-most followed politician in the world, right after US President Barack Obama (@barackobama), according to Twitter.
Modi has used Twitter for campaigns like #MakeInIndia, #SwachhBharat, #MannKiBaat, and #SelfieWithDaughter, to reach and connect with citizens. The government is encouraging people and officials to use Twitter to communicate with each other. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/modi-pips-big-b-to-be-most-followed-indian-on-twitter/20160826.htm | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/4b879baa0096d505b01462964160d8aa340be4c587b4871c15aa0c1596a38623.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:08 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Sayed was at her volatile best during a joint press conference in Srinagar with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. | PIX: When Mehbooba lost her cool | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fpix-when-mehbooba-lost-her-cool%2F20160825.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/25mufti6.jpg | en | null | PIX: When Mehbooba lost her cool | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 25, 2016 17:21 IST
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed was at her volatile best during a joint press conference with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Srinagar on Thursday. Umar Ganie captured the many moods of the mercurial chief minister.
SMILE BEFORE THE STORM: Finally someone from New Delhi has come. Hopefully with something concrete. Like a finance package for the state.
HERE THEY GO AGAIN: These pesky journalists and their stupid questions. How dare they!
THEY JUST WON'T STOP: They never seem to run out of irrelevant issues to raise. Did Omar coach them?
I CANNOT TAKE THIS ANYMORE: Enough is enough! Time to leave, but all of you please have your tea.
O KASHMIR!: Only God can help me, since Modi won't. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pix-when-mehbooba-lost-her-cool/20160825.htm | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/701433e276545df95301b2acc68843bab18f8db97303e7b45d7b536612d3928f.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:34:17 | null | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | Stringent action should also be taken against persons involved in terrorism and their extradition should be ensured, he said. | Terrorist for one nation can't be martyr for another: Rajnath to Pak | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Frajnath-asks-pak-to-act-tough-on-terror%2F20160805.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/05rajnath.jpg | en | null | Terrorist for one nation can't be martyr for another: Rajnath to Pak | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 05, 2016 12:38 IST
Asserting that terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr for another, India has asked the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations, including Pakistan, to take effective steps against state and non-state actors supporting terrorism and extradite persons involved in it.
In a suo motu statement on his visit to Islamabad to attend the 7th SAARC Home Ministers Meeting on August 4 in Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he had urged the members not to glorify terrorism or give patronage to it.
“A terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone,” he said.
“They should not make the mistake of distinguishing between good terrorism and bad terrorism,” he said. “It is necessary to take all effective steps against states or non-state actors encouraging or supporting terrorism.”
To ensure that terrorism is not encouraged, it was necessary that stringent action is not just initiated against terrorists but also against persons, organisations, institutions and states supporting them, Singh said.
He said he had suggested to SAARC ministers that sanctions and bans imposed against terrorists by the global community have to be honoured.
Stringent action should also be taken against persons involved in terrorism and their extradition should be ensured so that they can face the law, the home minister said.
“It is important for nations who have not ratified SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters to do it,” he said, adding Pakistan has so far not ratified this Convention as well as SAARC Terrorist Offenses Monitoring Desk and SAARC Drug Offenses Monitoring Desk.
“I was told on behalf of Pakistan that they will soon act on ratifying these. And I hope that ‘soon’ is actually soon,” he said.
“The agenda of the meeting was terrorism, smuggling of narcotic drugs, cyber crime and human trafficking. Almost all countries, condemned terrorism in strongest possible term,” Singh said.
India placed special emphasis on terrorism as it posed the single biggest threat to peace and prosperity of South Asia, he said. “I called upon them to firmly resolve to uproot terrorism.”
Also, New Delhi urged all SAARC nations not to glorify or give patronage to terrorism.
The home minister said dark clouds of terrorism have engulfed not just South Asia but the entire world. “The entire world community is concerned about this serious threat. This was clear not just from the clear message India gave on the threat it poses to humanity, but also from the fact that most nations also expressed concern over it.”
India’s message is for humanity and human rights because ‘terrorism is the biggest threat to human rights’, he said.
At the meeting, Singh said the initiatives announced by India included offering technical assistance to make STOMD and SDOMC more effective.
India has also offered to host a meeting of experts on SAARC Anti Terrorism Mechanism on September 22-23, he said, adding he offered provision of training to SAARC member nations on preventing narcotics trade.
New Delhi also said it was ready to hold the first meeting of member state on Computer Emergency Response Teams, the home minister said.
Singh said he informed the SAARC ministers about recent initiatives by the government for women and child safety as also about financial inclusion schemes of Jandhan and Aadhaar to provide honest, transparent and accountable governance. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/rajnath-asks-pak-to-act-tough-on-terror/20160805.htm | en | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/3f169761e1022dabbd71942d3a5c22d335b61528085d0c307f19e418387d87d7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:53 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | The calls taped by Rahul Mukerjea indicate that there was an attempt to cover up the Sheena Bora murder case. | Sheena Bora murder: Taped phone calls suggest cover-up attempt | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fsheena-bora-murder-taped-phone-calls-suggest-cover-up-attempt%2F20160826.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/aug/27sheena2.jpg | en | null | Sheena Bora murder: Taped phone calls suggest cover-up attempt | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 26, 2016 09:06 IST
Alleged taped conversations among Indrani Mukerjea, Peter Mukerjea and his son Rahul Mukerjea emerged in the media on Thursday, indicating that there was an attempt to cover up the Sheena Bora murder case.
Reports said that these tapes, recorded by Rahul Mukerjea, were handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation to assist them in the case and bolster the chargesheet against the Mukerjea couple. CBI has only used seven out the 20 recordings handed over to the CBI, citing the others to be irrelevant.
In one of the conversations, Rahul asks Peter about Sheena’s whereabouts to which Peter says that he did not know anything about her.
In another taped conversation, Indrani, Sheena’s mother and the main accused in the case, tells Rahul that Sheena might have found some other person to take money from. She also says that Sheena did not contact her after taking money from her.
In another conversation reveals that Peter and Indrani both wanted Rahul to move on and forget about Sheena, hinting that she may have left the country and settled down abroad.
In yet another tape, Indrani is heard telling Rahul that she was approached by the HR personnel of the company that Sheena worked for. She says that the HR person told her about Sheena taking a leave.
Another conversation exposes that Rahul felt that something was amiss and he knew that Peter and Indrani knew it too.
Though the tapes do not conclusively prove anything, if genuine they would imply that the Mukerjea couple did not want Rahul to continue with his pursuit of Sheena Bora.
Sheena went missing on April 24, 2012. More than three years later, Mumbai Police arrested her mother Indrani Mukerjea and stepfather Peter Mukerjea for allegedly abducting and killing her, and then burning her body. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/sheena-bora-murder-taped-phone-calls-suggest-cover-up-attempt/20160826.htm | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/46870b7da096820a01b1375592e3197d32f2e94f277dbcc1e0b0e464b3ae861d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:40:32 | null | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | The TDP and the YSR Congress forced brief adjournments of Lok Sabha proceedings demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh. | TDP, YSR create ruckus in LS over special status for Andhra | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fandhra-mps-force-two-adjournments-in-LS%2F20160802.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2014/feb/13sld1.jpg | en | null | TDP, YSR create ruckus in LS over special status for Andhra | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 02, 2016 13:10 IST
Members of the National Democratic Alliance partner the Telugu Desam Party and the opposition YSR Congress on Tuesday forced brief adjournments of Lok Sabha proceedings creating noisy scenes demanding special
category status for Andhra Pradesh.
This was the second consecutive day of their vociferous protests which drew the ire of the speaker who said sloganeering will not help meet their demand.
As soon as the House met for the day, members from the YSR Congress trooped into the Well holding placards demanding special category for Andhra Pradesh following the creation of Telangana.
Led by an MP wearing traditional attire including a yellow headgear, TDP members entered the House holding banners. Standing at the aisles, they refrained from entering the Well.
However, the member wearing the headgear was seen moving around the Well, wishing leaders of various parties sitting on front benches with folded hands.
An anguished Speaker Sumitra Mahajan reminded the members against displaying placards. "Raise your issue during Zero Hour. Doing like this will not solve your problem...I am sorry for your behaviour," she said.
The TDP is unhappy at the Narendra Modi government for not providing the desired funds to Andhra Pradesh after Telangana was carved out of it.
The fissures between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party are being seen as so serious that there is speculation that the party led by N Chandrababu Naidu could even walk out of the NDA.
The unruly scenes continued when the papers were laid at noon and Zero Hour taken up, with the speaker asking the protesting members to return to their seats, telling them that she will allow them to raise the issue if they went back.
"You have to go. You won't get anything from here," she said. But TDP and YSR Congress members remained unrelenting, forcing Mahajan to adjourn the House for about 15 minutes.
When the House reassembled, Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai again adjourned the proceedings till 1245 hours. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/andhra-mps-force-two-adjournments-in-LS/20160802.htm | en | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/999c1e1ad0a14b76d2935add4506748dac97b85fd74eea1f238f763fe6fd8825.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:16:37 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | Three Indian-origin Muslim siblings, including two hijab-clad girls, have claimed that they were hauled off a plane at an airport in London and questioned on the tarmac by British policemen after a passenger accused them of being ISIS supporters. | Muslim siblings kicked off UK flight over terror scare | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fspeak-english-whats-that-arabic-text-on-your-phone%2F20160824.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/24lead2a.jpg | en | null | Muslim siblings kicked off UK flight over terror scare | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 24, 2016 18:01 IST
Three Indian-origin Muslim siblings, including two hijab-clad girls, have claimed that they were hauled off a plane at an airport in London and questioned on the tarmac by British policemen after a passenger accused them of being ISIS supporters.
Sakina Dharas, 24, Maryam Dharas, 19, and Ali Dharas, 21, had boarded the easyJet flight from Stansted to the Italian city of Naples last week when they were approached by a cabin crew member and asked to accompany her off the aircraft without explanation, media reports said.
The trio from northwest London were hauled off the plane and grilled for an hour by officers, who first asked them, "Do you speak English?", according to Sakina, who narrated the ordeal writing in The Independent and in a Facebook post.
They were asked by one of the officers, "Right, we have to speak with you. A passenger on your flight has claimed that you three are members of ISIS," Sakina said.
"They saw you with Arabic or praise be to Allah on your phone," the officer was quoted as saying by Sakina.
In their reply, the siblings said, "Firstly, that's part of the Quran, our religious text, so even if we did have it, it wouldn't signify that we're a part of ISIS at all."
"Regardless, we've had nothing on our phone remotely Arabic related this morning. Also, we're Indian by ethnicity, so we wouldn't even have Arabic in conversation with anyone," they told the officers, according to Sakina.
During their one-hour interrogation on the tarmac, Sakina said she was asked to explain the details of various entry stamps on her passport. She also showed a MI5 agent recent WhatsApp messages.
The siblings provided answers relating to their personal lives and were questioned on their home addresses, workplaces,
social media history and parents' professions, Sakina wrote in her post.
"The MI5 and police officers apologised for the 'inconvenience' and assure(d) us that, at a time where we are all 'on edge', they have to respond to threats such as these. Our accusers, we are told, were very 'frightened'," Sakina wrote.
"We were only allowed back on that plane, to continue our journey, because there wasn't a shred of doubt on the part of investigators that we were innocent of the crimes accused -- but somebody has been lying and misleading the authorities. Why weren't those passengers who made the false claim about us removed from the plane for wasting valuable police time?" she asked.
They returned from their holiday on August 20.
A spokesman for easyJet said the three had been taken off the flight "following concerns raised by a passenger".
"The police then confirmed to the captain that the passengers were cleared to complete their journey and they re-boarded the aircraft and the flight departed to Naples," the spokesman was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
"The safety and security of its passengers and crew is our highest priority which means that if a security concern is raised we will always investigate it as a precautionary measure. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to the passengers," he said.
(Top Image): Representative image of EasyJet aircraft via Getty Images. (Lower) A video grab of the siblings | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/speak-english-whats-that-arabic-text-on-your-phone/20160824.htm | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/b0a565ea4dcb45fed59f543891c3170d9fcf0991f7c08de4b52087b7c8ff05d3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:24:12 | null | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | Hailing India for keeping 'neutral stand' over the South China Sea issue despite pressure from the US and Japan, state-run Chinese media on Wednesday said there are some contradictions and frictions between the two nations but the overall bilateral relations have been developing smoothly. | Chinese media hails India for being 'neutral' over South China Sea | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fchinese-media-hails-india-for-being-neutral-over-south-china-sea%2F20160817.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/17lead5.jpg | en | null | Chinese media hails India for being 'neutral' over South China Sea | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 17, 2016 12:11 IST
Hailing India for keeping "neutral stand" over the South China Sea issue despite pressure from the US and Japan, state-run Chinese media on Wednesday said there are some contradictions and frictions between the two nations but the overall bilateral relations have been developing smoothly.
"When it comes to security, after the final award of the South China Sea arbitration was announced, the Indian government has kept a neutral stance despite the pressure from Washington and Tokyo," an article in the state-run Global Times said.
Calling for "solid step forward" to improve relations, the article said "admittedly, there are some contradictions and frictions between China and India, but the overall bilateral relations have been developing smoothly".
It also flayed Indian media for "going too far" to blame China for blocking India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and linking last week's Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India to the South China Sea issue.
"Indian media has spared no effort in linking Wang's visit to the South China Sea issue and the country's failure in joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)," it said.
Last month an international tribunal struck down China’s claims over the South China Sea based on historic rights, pushing Beijing on the back foot in its maritime dispute with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan over the area.
"Regarding the NSG case, Indian media has gone too far, for it is not at all a problem between Beijing and New Delhi. It was the US, not China, who made the relevant rules for NSG membership, and India failed to meet the criteria of entering the club. A dozen NSG members are now opposing India's bid, thus, it does not make sense for Indian media to point an accusing finger at China," it said.
"The two nations may have discussed the issue during Wang's visit, and it is possible for both sides to clarify their own ideas, stances and policies over the matter. But the conjecture that Wang was trying to win India's support over the South China Sea by helping New Delhi with the NSG membership doesn't make sense at all," it said.
This is the second article in as many days by the daily to criticise Indian media.
On August 15, another article blamed the Indian media for "stirring up negative sentiments" against China by highlighting the divergences in the bilateral ties.
"During the Wang’s visit the two sides may have also discussed how to further promote a closer partnership, which was raised during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit," the article said.
"For the moment, when we talk about Sino-India ties, we tend to use the phrase 'relations are generally stable without major conflicts'. Yet this should not be the highest expectation we hold for the relationship," it said.
"Beijing and New Delhi have raised hopes for economic and trade cooperation, but turning them into reality requires wider consensus and more consultations," it said.
Acknowledging problems in the bilateral collaboration on economic and trade issues which "used to be one of the most positive parts of the bilateral relations, it said "joint works in this regard have not been going smoothly in recent years".
"Apart from the sluggish global economy, a major problem remains hard to resolve - India's growing trade deficit with China. Indian products are not competitive and New Delhi complains that Chinese markets are not open enough. Due to the remaining divergences, no good solution has yet been found," it said.
"In 2014, China promised to invest USD 20 billion in India over the next five years. How is this project going? No official figures have been revealed, and no information over major programs in this regard has been heard either over the past two years," it said.
Meanwhile, there is also no real progress on the Beijing-raised Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which is a vital part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Numerous reasons can be listed, including political changes and social turmoil in Myanmar, it said.
"More significantly, New Delhi has kept a negative attitude toward the initiative. It does not mean that India is not welcoming China's investment. Yet, given the nation's strategic interests, it does not fully trust China because part of the project goes through sensitive regions in India. China will hence listen to New Delhi's concerns and keep promoting the plan," it said.
"That said, taking a solid step forward over bilateral joint works that can bring mutual benefit is a crucial part of discussions not only during Wang's meetings in India, but also in the future," it said.
"We should not focus on the obstacles, but attach more importance to collaboration with mutual benefits. Due to some long-standing problems, such as territorial disputes, it might be hard for China and India to become true friends, but turning into enemies will not serve anyone's interests," it said.
As the two largest emerging powers in Asia, if China and India can enhance their friendly ties, and have more cooperation on international issues such as carbon emission reduction, reforming the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the two countries can share more mutual profits, it said.
Photograph: Reuters | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/chinese-media-hails-india-for-being-neutral-over-south-china-sea/20160817.htm | en | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/f3c89170d1292d2d12f7f4914fca2557d8d826fd8407242a24382c9d71d732cc.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:51:47 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Pushpa is facing sexual harassment case filed by her two domestic aides in Tamil Nadu. | Won't resign from Rajya Sabha: Expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fwont-resign-from-rajya-sabha-expelled-aiadmk-mp-sasikala-pushpa%2F20160829.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/01pushpa.jpg | en | null | Won't resign from Rajya Sabha: Expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 29, 2016 15:06 IST
Expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Rajya Sabha MP M Sasikala Pushpa, who is facing sexual harassment case filed by her two domestic aides, on Monday said she would not resign from the Upper House.
"There is no question my resignation from the Rajya Sabha," Sasikala, told reporters in Chennai on her arrival from Singapore.
Sasikala, who was expelled from the AIADMK earlier this month, said she will be appearing before the Madras high court's Madurai bench to respond to an allegation of having played fraud on the court while filing an anticipatory bail application registered by Thoothukudi police against her and her family members for allegedly ill-treating and sexually abusing two domestic aides.
The court had directed the MP to appear before it on Monday and explain how she could have signed a petition in Madurai on August 17 authorising her lawyer to argue the advance bail plea on behalf of her when the police claimed that she did not enter Tamil Nadu ever since the case was registered early this month.
Sasikala proceeded to Madurai from Chennai in a domestic flight from Chennai airport.
On August 11, the Delhi high court had asked the Tamil Nadu government not to take any coercive action till August 22 against the expelled AIADMK MP, her husband and their son in the case.
The domestic servants, who reportedly worked at Pushpa's house in Tamil Nadu, had filed a police complaint alleging that they were tortured and sexually harassed.
The high court had also asked her family to approach the appropriate court in Tamil Nadu for relief by then.
The Supreme Court had on August 26 granted protection from the arrest to her for six weeks in the case.
She was expelled from the AIADMK after an altercation with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Tiruchi Siva at the Delhi airport earlier last month. Since then she has alleged that she was being threatened into resigning from her post. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/wont-resign-from-rajya-sabha-expelled-aiadmk-mp-sasikala-pushpa/20160829.htm | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/8134e37714deb8486dbdf9f03519d3e053bb250b291a44a685897a565910d4fa.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:34:36 | null | 2016-08-04T00:00:00 | A newly-wed British Muslim woman was detained by airport police in the UK after cabin crew reported her reading a book on Syrian art on her honeymoon flight. | She was grilled for reading book about Syrian art on plane | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fshe-was-grilled-for-reading-book-about-syrian-art-on-plane%2F20160804.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/04book1.jpg | en | null | She was grilled for reading book about Syrian art on plane | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 04, 2016 23:07 IST
A newly-wed British Muslim woman was detained by airport police in the UK after cabin crew reported her reading a book on Syrian art on her honeymoon flight.
Faizah Shaheen was quizzed by officers at Doncaster Airport in South Yorkshire region of England last month after being reported by Thomson Holidays cabin crew.
The 27-year-old on Thursday said it had been a "hurtful and unpleasant" experience.
"I was queuing at passport control and saw police staring at me. I just got through passport control and then two police officers approached me and took me aside and asked me to show my passport again," she told The Independent newspaper.
"I asked what was going on and they said I had been reported due to a book I was reading and was to be questioned under the Terrorism Act. I became very angry and upset. I couldn’t understand how reading a book could cause people to suspect me like this. I told the police that I didn’t think it was right or acceptable," she said.
Shaheen, who works with the UK National Health Service to prevent teenage mental health patients from becoming radicalised, said she had been reading the book 'Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline' on the flight to her honeymoon destination of Marmaris, Turkey. She was questioned by police when she returned two weeks later on July 25.
"I'm aware that security is very important where terrorism is concerned but they need to keep a sense of proportion. To go off and contact the anti-terror police is quite an extreme overreaction," she said.
A spokesperson from Thomson Holidays said customer and employee safety was of "primary importance".
"We appreciate that in this instance Ms Shaheen may have felt that over caution had been exercised, however like all airlines, our crew are trained to report any concerns they may have as a precaution," the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police confirmed Shaheen had been "stopped and examined" under Schedule 7 of the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000.
"She was not arrested, she was held for 15 minutes and was subsequently released," the spokesperson said.
The award-winning book by Malu Halasa that Shaheen was reading is a collection of essays, short stories, poems, songs, cartoons and pictures from Syrian authors and artists.
She said she felt discriminated against because of her faith and now intends to make formal complaints against the police and Thomson Airways.
Indian-origin Labour MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the House of Commons' Home Affairs Committee, said the airline had overreacted and must apologise.
He said: "In the current climate people are worried. But there is always a balance to be struck in circumstances of this kind. We want the public to report suspicious activity.
"Reasonable people would not regard reading a book on Syria on its own, without any other concerns, as warranting the questioning of an individual. Thomson Airways should accept that a mistake was made and apologise to the woman concerned. I am sure if they had done so there would have been a better understanding of the entire situation."
Photographs Courtesy: Faizah Shaheen/Twitter | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/she-was-grilled-for-reading-book-about-syrian-art-on-plane/20160804.htm | en | 2016-08-04T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/82ca2ddd557a694cdfa4a158f28b3e9d38c7bc5bde44c898a36a499712ac103d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:30:14 | null | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | It is suspected that the electronic device at the ATM counter enabled the fraudsters to collect the secret pin code and card details. | Romanian national held for Kerala ATM theft | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fromanian-national-held-for-kerala-atm-theft%2F20160810.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/money/2014/dec/06atm.jpg | en | null | Romanian national held for Kerala ATM theft | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 10, 2016 18:43 IST
A Romanian national, who -- along with two other foreigners -- is suspected to be involved in the hi-tech ATM robbery in which a number of people lost money in Thiruvananthapuram, has been arrested in Mumbai, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, whose pictures were released by the Kerala police on Tuesday, was taken into custody by the Mumbai Police late on Tuesday night.
“A Romanian national has been taken into custody in Mumbai in connection with the ATM robbery. A team of Kerala Police has left to Mumbai to take him into custody,” a senior police official said.
“The Mumbai Police will first produce him before a court there and only then we will get him in custody,” he said.
However, he did not divulge any further details.
The Kerala Police on Tuesday zeroed in on three foreign nationals, who are suspected to be the key players behind the hi-tech ATM robbery, and decided to seek Interpol’s help.
The trio, found installing an electronic device inside an ATM kiosk of a public sector bank at Vellayambalam in Thiruvananthapuram, had been caught in the CCTV installed there.
According to police, the three foreign nationals were from Romania and had come to India on June 25 and reached Kerala on July 8. The three had come on tourist visas and had taken rooms in a hotel here for two days.
Police also seized from the hotel two scooters and three helmets, suspected to have been used by the trio.
The state police shared their photos and other available details with their counterparts in other states which led to the arrest of one among them, police said.
So far, more than 20 people had lodged complaints saying money was withdrawn from their account.
As per the preliminary assessment, about Rs 2.5 lakh had been lost, police said.
It is suspected that the electronic device at the ATM counter enabled the fraudsters to collect the secret pin code and card details.
Many of the customers who were duped came to know about the fraud after they received a text message on Monday, informing that money was withdrawn from their accounts.
Image used for representation only. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/romanian-national-held-for-kerala-atm-theft/20160810.htm | en | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/5df9dfbe3e4b81be021986c911bfeab607d78ee63b6652a3898c30b59c4a298e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:32:31 | null | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | Rediff.com compiles a list of recent incidents where some people, mainly belonging to the upper castes, took the law into their hands to punish those who allegedly slaughtered or transported cows. | MAPPED: Spread of cow vigilantism across the nation | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fmapped-spread-of-cow-vigilantism-across-the-nation%2F20160809.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/09cow1.jpg | en | null | MAPPED: Spread of cow vigilantism across the nation | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 09, 2016 11:33 IST
The recent flogging of Dalits in Una, Gujarat has brought the issue of cow vigilantism and right wing extremism to the forefront.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his silence over the violence caused by the cow brigade, saying these ‘gau rakshaks’ had made him angry.
Rediff.com compiles a list of recent incidents where some people, mainly belonging to the upper castes, took the law into their hands to punish those who allegedly slaughtered or transported cows.
(Take a look at the map below and move your mouse over the symbol to read about each of the incidents.) | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/mapped-spread-of-cow-vigilantism-across-the-nation/20160809.htm | en | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/5470369b097d3a80f86d0f1e6d1e5d59c77717b17e8c6fccc69deb59bdd62ba7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:41:07 | null | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | The verdict may have an impact in other states where former chief ministers are occupying government bungalows for life under the local laws. | Ex-CMs can't occupy government bungalows for lifetime, rules SC | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fex-cms-cant-occupy-government-bungalows-for-lifetime-rules-sc%2F20160801.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/aug/01sc.jpg | en | null | Ex-CMs can't occupy government bungalows for lifetime, rules SC | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 01, 2016 21:07 IST
Ex-Uttar Pradesh chief ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, will have to vacate their palatial Lucknow bungalows in two months with the Supreme Court on Monday quashing the state rules giving "largesse" only to former CMs without any "element of reasonableness".
The verdict may have an impact in other states where former chief ministers are occupying government bungalows for life under the local laws.
"It is held that the 1997 rules (Ex-Chief Ministers Residence Allotment Rules, 1997) so far as they are not in consonance with the provisions of the 1981 Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions Act), are bad in law.
"The government bungalows allotted to the respondents is held to be bad in law and the concerned respondents shall hand over possession of the bungalows occupied by them within two months from on Monday and the respondent government shall also recover appropriate rent from the occupants of the said bungalows for the period during which they were in unauthorised occupation of the said bungalows," a three-judge bench headed by Justice A R Dave said.
The bench also comprising N V Ramana and R Banumathi, said, "In fact, the impugned 1997 rules give largesse only to former chief ministers without any element of reasonableness."
Dealing with the legality of the impugned provisions, it said, "...In our opinion, the 1997 rules, which permit the former chief ministers to occupy government bungalows for life cannot be said to be valid.
"In the circumstances, respondent no.1 (State of Uttar Pradesh) cannot permit any former chief minister to occupy any government bungalow or any government accommodation after 15 days from the date on which his term comes to an end," it said.
The judgement came on a plea filed by a UP-based NGO Lok Prahari, which had sought a direction against allotment of government bungalows to ex-CMs and other "non-eligible" organisations under the state rules.
Referring to relevant provisions of the state act, the apex court said that the former chief ministers are not entitled for an official residence for lifetime.
"The term 'minister' includes the chief minister and Section 4 (1) (a) of the act, permits a minister to retain his residence for 15 days after he/she demits his/her office.
"In view of the above special provisions made, the chief minister is not entitled to privileges and protection as are available to the President of India and the vice-president of India, who are entitled to an official residence for life," it said.
The bench trashed the plea of UP government that some former CMs have been given 'Z' plus security by the Centre and hence, it was necessary for it to provide "proper accommodation with requisite infrastructure in a secure locality".
"The contention of respondent no.1 (UP) lacks merit and deserves to be rejected for the reason that as the said security is to be provided by ministry of home affairs, UOI and provisions are already made for such persons as per Office Memorandum ...issued by the Government of India on the recommendations of the MHA, it is the obligation of the Government of India to provide accommodation to such persons in accordance with its own guidelines and it is not for the respondent state to provide any accommodation...," it said.
It noted that many of former CMs, who are in occupation of government bungalows, are "either serving as MP or Governors or Cabinet Ministers in central government and they have already been provided another accommodation. It would, therefore, not be proper, in any case, to allot permanent residence at two places to one individual."
The NGO, comprising retired civil servants, journalists and other UP residents, had alleged that despite the direction of the Allahabad high court, the UP government had framed the 1997 rules which is not "statutory" and rather "executive" in nature and meant to allot bungalows to ex-chief ministers.
The bench agreed with the contention of the NGO and said that the 1997 rules are not statutory rules and they are in the nature of administrative or executive instructions.
"They (1997 rules) would not stand the test of legality if they are not in consonance with statutory provisions. The said rules are definitely in contravention of the statutory provisions and therefore, the said rules can be said to be bad in law so far as they are in contravention of the statutory provisions," it said.
"There cannot be any dispute that when the rules and regulations or executive institutions are contrary to any statutory provision, the statutory provision would prevail and the rules or executive institutions, so far as they are contrary to the statutory provisions, would fail," the court said.
Regarding allotment of bungalow to private trusts or societies, the bench said it is not in dispute that all those accommodations were allotted to them at the time when there was no provision to allot government bungalows to them.
"... Therefore, in our opinion, the said allotment cannot be held to be justified. One should remember here that public property cannot be disposed of in favour of any one without adequate consideration.
"Allotment of government property to someone without adequate market rent, in absence of any special statutory provision, would also be bad in law because the state has no right to fritter away government property in favour of private persons or bodies without adequate consideration and therefore, all such allotments, which have been made in absence of any statutory provision cannot be upheld," it said.
If any allotment was not made in accordance with a statutory provision at the relevant time, it must be discontinued and must be treated as cancelled and the state shall take possession of such premises as soon as possible and at the same time, the state should also recover appropriate rent in respect of such premises which had been allotted without any statutory provision, it said.
On the plea that the NGO has no locus standi on the issue, the court said it was formed by retired civil servants, journalists and other UP residents and they have no malafide intention in filing this petition and none of them has any personal grudge against any of the occupants of the government premises or any of the former chief ministers.
"So far as the first issue is concerned, in our opinion, the petitioner has locus standi to file the writ petition...
"In our opinion, when the petitioner society is challenging the validity of the 1997 rules, whereby government bungalows have been allotted to former chief ministers, especially when there is an acute shortage of government premises, it cannot be said that the petitioner has no locus standi to file the present petition," it said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/ex-cms-cant-occupy-government-bungalows-for-lifetime-rules-sc/20160801.htm | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/e7dd4273e057105f70ffeaf1e5e4ee0bc77044b115bb2ccf81608f671b646d90.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:13:29 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | Named Proxima b, the planet is in a 'temperate' zone compatible with the presence of liquid water -- a key ingredient for life.
| Proxima b: Earthlike planet discovered orbiting star nearest to the Sun | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fearthlike-planet-discovered-orbiting-proxima-centauri%2F20160825.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/24proxima.jpg | en | null | Proxima b: Earthlike planet discovered orbiting star nearest to the Sun | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 25, 2016 01:43 IST
Scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet orbiting the star nearest our Sun, opening up the glittering prospect of a habitable world that may one day be explored by robots.
Named Proxima b, the planet is in a "temperate" zone compatible with the presence of liquid water -- a key ingredient for life.
The findings, based on data collected over 16 years, were reported in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.
"We have finally succeeded in showing that a small-mass planet, most likely rocky, is orbiting the star closest to our solar system," said co-author Julien Morin, an astrophysicist at the University of Montpellier in southern France.
"Proxima b would probably be the first exoplanet visited by a probe made by humans," he said.
An exoplanet is any planet outside our Solar System.
Lead author Guillem Anglada-Escude, an astronomer at Queen Mary University London, described the find as the "experience of a lifetime".
Working with European Southern Observatory telescopes in the north Chilean desert, his team used the so-called Doppler method to detect Proxima b and describe its properties.
The professional star-gazers spent 60 consecutive days earlier this year looking for signs of gravitational pull on its host star, Proxima Centauri.
Regular shifts in the star's light spectrum – repeating every 11.2 days -- gave a tantalising clue.
They revealed that the star alternately moved towards and away from our Solar System at the pace of a leisurely stroll, about five kilometres (three miles) per hour.
After cross-checking an inconclusive 2000-2014 dataset and eliminating other possible causes, the researchers determined that the tug of an orbiting planet was responsible for this tiny to-and-fro.
"Statistically, there is no doubt," Anglada-Escude told journalists in a briefing.
"We have found a planet around Proxima Centauri."
Proxima b is a mere four light years from the Solar System, meaning that it is essentially in our back yard on the scale of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
It has a mass around 1.3 times that of Earth, and orbits about seven million kilometres (4.35 million miles) from its star.
A planet so near to our Sun -- 21 times closer than Earth -- would be an unlivable white-hot ball of fire.
But Proxima Centauri is a so-called red dwarf, meaning a star that burns at a lower temperature.
IMAGE: An artist's impression of the surface of Proxima b. The planet orbits the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our solar system. Photograph: ESO/M. Kornmesserhaus | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/earthlike-planet-discovered-orbiting-proxima-centauri/20160825.htm | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/766918093162cc843c66882df141b3397e10ec41bd4f3d4e8beb7b7ecb0646c2.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:26:21 | null | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | Abdul Rehman Mir had alleged that his son Shabir Ahmad Mir was killed by police at his home on July 10 while the Jammu and Kashmir Police had claimed that he died during protests in the Valley.
| SC orders exhumation, autopsy of Srinagar youth | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fsc-orders-exhumation-autopsy-of-srinagar-youth%2F20160812.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/12kashmir.jpg | en | null | SC orders exhumation, autopsy of Srinagar youth | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 12, 2016 17:10 IST
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that exhumation and autopsy of the body of a 26-year-old man, who was killed allegedly by police at Tengpora in Batamaloo area of Srinagar on July 10, would be carried out under the supervision of the District and Sessions Judge.
Abdul Rehman Mir had alleged that his son Shabir Ahmad Mir was killed by police at his home on July 10 while the Jammu and Kashmir Police had claimed that he died during protests in the Valley.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi assured the court that the probe would have the highest level of transparency and that the authorities would leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of the case.
The bench comprising justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy said that the district and sessions judge of Srinagar would be at liberty to have the assistance of officers of his choice for the impartial exercise of carrying out the exhumation and autopsy.
It said that all steps would be taken in accordance with the law and ordered that the entire exercise be completed within three weeks before posting the matter for further hearing on September 5.
The bench observed that it is a serious matter and such a situation should be handled with humane approach and extreme sensitivity.
The court passed the order after perusing the report submitted by the state police on the circumstances leading to the killing of Shabir Ahmad Mir.
The report, which was filed in a sealed cover, also contained the order of the district magistrate who had directed exhumation and autopsy of the body of the victim.
The attorney general requested the bench that the matter be taken up after the post-mortem report comes out and also that the father of the victim should join the investigation.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the victim’s father, said that the detailed first information report was lodged within 20 minutes of the incident which is an unlikely thing to happen.
He said that the autopsy will determine whether the victim was killed as a result of pellet firing or the gun shot.
The attorney general said the state government was ready for imposition of any conditions for carrying out the exercise of exhumation and autopsy as it was not treating the case as an adversarial matter and there will be a fair and impartial enquiry into the incident as Sibal has sought.
Sibal said the incident was not a case of ‘one transaction’ as depicted in the FIR.
While Sibal said that the transparency and fairness in the probe would send the right message, Rohatgi submitted that probe would have the highest level of transparency.
The bench had earlier stayed contempt proceedings initiated against the senior superintendent of police and inspector general of police (Kashmir range) for not lodging an FIR against the police men, including a deputy superintendent of police allegedly involved in the killing of Mir.
It had also issued notice to Mir’s father on the plea of the Jammu and Kashmir government.
The chief judicial magistrate, Srinagar, had on July 18 directed the SSP to file an FIR against DSP Yasir Qadri and others on an application of Mir’s father.
Later, contempt proceedings were initiated by the CJM on account of non-filing of the FIR against the police officers in connection with the incident.
The family of the deceased has contested the state’s plea, claiming the killing to be a separate incident which had nothing to do with the FIR registered by the police.
Image used for representational purposes only. Photograph: Umar Ganie | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/sc-orders-exhumation-autopsy-of-srinagar-youth/20160812.htm | en | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/ecdae2d2242af88eece8c38a7a6e9008302556a1e557a71b9e49d6a70bf274b0.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:31:03 | null | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | 'There is a need to apply balm to the wounds of Kashmiri people,' she said. | Win hearts of Kashmiris like Vajpayee did: Mehbooba to Modi | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fwin-hearts-of-kashmiris-like-vajpayee-did-mehbooba-to-modi%2F20160808.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/08mehbooba.jpg | en | null | Win hearts of Kashmiris like Vajpayee did: Mehbooba to Modi | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 08, 2016 20:09 IST
Facing a month-long turbulence and violence in the state, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open a dialogue process with the people of the state.
Talking to reporters after a two-hour meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, which was also attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Mehbooba also hinted at resuming a dialogue with Pakistan on Kashmir issue saying the state could act as a ‘bridge’ between the two nations.
“I believe there is a need to heal the wounds of people, to initiate dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. These are our own people. If process of dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir can improve the situation in valley, we should do it,” she said and adding, her state could become a bridge between India and Pakistan.
“There is a need to apply balm to the wounds of Kashmiri people,” she said.
Mehbooba, who has been facing difficulties in restoring normalcy in the Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8, said only the process of dialogue with the people of Kashmir can help improve the situation.
The chief minister said during the one month of unrest, which started after the killing of Wani, 55 people lost their lives and referred the deceased as ‘our own boys’.
“People will keep dying if we don't take initiative to bring normalcy. We want peace. There is an opportunity for dialogue and we should avail it,” she said.
“We have seen agitations in the past like in 2008 (Amarnath land row) and 2010 (over fake encounters by army). Our children have been killed. Our families have suffered. I don’t wish to see any more killing.
“Our prime minister has a huge mandate in the present Lok Sabha and he should seize the opportunity created by the unrest to win the hearts of the people and solve their problems, the way former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee did,” she said.
“I am hopeful that the Prime Minister will take this as an opportunity to initiate dialogue with people to address their problems. There is a need to take the same initiative of winning hearts of people, which was taken during Vajpayee ji’s tenure,” she said after the meeting which was also attended by National Security Advisor A K Doval and other senior officials of home, sefence and finance ministries.
The meeting took place on a day when month-long curfew in Kashmir echoed in Parliament with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad raising the matter during Zero Hour and demanding a statement from the Prime Minister about the steps being taken by the government for restoring normalcy.
“In such circumstances, we want to awaken the government... We feel the government and the Prime Minister are watching the situation deteriorate like a silent spectator,” he said, adding he wanted to know why Modi has not spoken on the grave situation in Kashmir so far.
IMAGE: Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti leaves after meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on current situation of J&K at North Block in New Delhi on Monday. Photograph: Subhav/PTI Photo | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/win-hearts-of-kashmiris-like-vajpayee-did-mehbooba-to-modi/20160808.htm | en | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/47795ea9be69c25b2cd27be0d4535bf10fbbbe003fb075f74231c566bef2f1ce.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:24:53 | null | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | He vowed to restore law and order, only days after a fatal police shooting of a black man sparked more street violence. | Trump courts black voters; calls Clinton a 'bigot', promises tougher policing | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftrump-calls-clinton-a-bigot%2F20160817.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/17trump.jpg | en | null | Trump courts black voters; calls Clinton a 'bigot', promises tougher policing | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 17, 2016 12:18 IST
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday accused Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of "bigotry", saying she sees African-Americans as no more than votes to be won.
IMAGE: Trump said his tough immigration policies would prevent illegals from coming into the country, who basically eat into the nation's job pool. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters
"We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton which panders to and talks down to communities of colour and sees them only as votes, not as individual human beings worthy of a better future. She doesn’t care at all about the hurting people of this country, or the suffering she has caused them," Trump said as he sought the support of African-American voters.
"I am asking for the vote of every African-American citizen struggling in our country today who wants a different future. It is time for our society to address some honest and very difficult truths," Trump said at an election rally in Wisconsin.
He vowed to restore law and order, only days after a fatal police shooting of a black man sparked more street violence.
"The Democratic Party has failed and betrayed the African-American community. Democratic crime policies, education policies, and economic policies have produced only more crime, more broken homes, and more poverty," he alleged.
Trump said his tough immigration would prevent illegal immigrants from coming into the country, who basically eat into their job.
"The Democratic Party has taken the votes of African American community for granted. They have just assumed they will get support and done nothing in return for it. They have taken advantage of the African American community," he said.
Trump said it is time to give Democrats some competition for these votes and it's time to rebuild the inner cities of American and to reject the failed leadership of a rigged political system.
"No community in this country has been hurt worse by Hillary Clinton’s immigration and all her policies than the African-American community and she considers them a guaranteed vote," he said.
Trump said he is fighting for a peaceful regime change and if elected he will give the people their voices back.
Trump reiterated his proposal for extreme vetting.
In his speech, Trump also accused Clinton of setting herself "against the police".
He called for more law enforcement officers in local communities and vowed to "break up the gangs, cartels, and syndicates terrorising our country."
Referring to the latest riots, Trump said the main victims of these riots are law-abiding African-Americans.
"Those peddling the narrative of cops as a racist force in our society...share directly in the responsibility for the uproar in Milwaukee. They have fostered the dangerous anti-police atmosphere [and] do a direct disservice to African-American residents who are hurt by the high crime in their community," he said.
The impact of Democratic control of major cities has been "more crime, more broken homes, and more poverty," he added.
"Just like Hillary Clinton is against the miners, she is against the police. You know it, and I know it.
In his speech, Trump said he would impose restrictions on spouses of US officials giving paid speeches. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/trump-calls-clinton-a-bigot/20160817.htm | en | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/08b0ff10da69a909b4f782bcfd11d2f32b44ae6902e51933276a8c3c64f294dd.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:15:56 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | A staff member at the town's hospital said 32 people were injured, five of them critically. | One killed, dozens wounded in Thailand car bomb attack | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fthailand-car-bomb-blast-insurgency-hit-southern-region%2F20160824.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/24thailand1.jpg | en | null | One killed, dozens wounded in Thailand car bomb attack | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 24, 2016 09:25 IST
IMAGE: Thai soldiers inspect the scene of a car bomb blast outside a hotel in the southern province of Pattani, on Wednesday. Photographs: Surapan Boonthanom/Reuters
One person was killed and more than 30 others were wounded after a car bomb exploded outside a hotel in Thailand’s insurgency-hit southern region on Tuesday night. Police said condition of some of the injured is critical.
The bomb struck shortly before midnight outside a hotel on the outskirts of Pattani, one of three Muslim-majority southern provinces that have been battered by insurgency for the past 12 years.
Though the area is not popular with tourists, Thailand has been on edge since a series of explosions struck resort towns in the northern part of the country earlier this month.
‘So far there is one killed and more than 30 injured,’ Major General Thanongsak Wangsupa, commander of Pattani provincial police was quoted as saying by news agencies.
‘The hotel building was considerably damaged,’ he added.
IMAGE: People stand at the scene after the blast.
Most countries advise their citizens visiting Thiland against traveling to Pattini because of the long-running conflict between the Buddhist-majority state and Muslim rebels seeking greater autonomy.
Shootings and bombings on almost a daily basis since 2004 have left more than 6,500 dead in the region, most of them civilians.
A staff member at the town’s hospital said 32 people were injured, five of them critically. All are Thai nationals, the worker added, requesting anonymity.
The rebels are reportedly trying to target Western nationals to spark international outrage as the kingdom’s junta leadership has been keen to downplay suggestions that the insurgency may have spread.
The rebels never claim their attacks but factions are known to be frustrated with their lack of progress after more than a decade of fighting, suggest media reports. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/thailand-car-bomb-blast-insurgency-hit-southern-region/20160824.htm | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/4b0a800bce185a3708cf56b083f8cbc2a87eaaf0ea9411d4e30a995ae7d6926e.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:51:47 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Music composer Vishal Dadlani has been booked by Haryana police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with his sarcastic tweet on Jain monk Tarun Sagar. | Vishal Dadlani booked over Jain monk tweet | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fvishal-dadlani-booked-over-jain-monk-tweet%2F20160829.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/29vishal.jpg | en | null | Vishal Dadlani booked over Jain monk tweet | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 29, 2016 18:11 IST
Music composer Vishal Dadlani has been booked by Haryana police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with his sarcastic tweet on Jain monk Tarun Sagar.
Ambala Cantt police registered a case against Dadlani and social activist Tehseen Poonawalla even as Jain community members staged a protest outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in the national capital, demanding the immediate arrest of the composer.
Delhi Public works department Minister Satyendar Jain, who met Sagar in Chandigarh on Monday, said efforts were on to politicise the whole issue and that the matter should be put to rest, claiming the monk has forgiven the guilty.
The case against Dadlani and Poonawala in Ambala was registered under relevant sections including 153A (promoting enmity between classes), 295A (maliciously insulting the religion or religious beliefs of any class) and 509 of the IPC (uttering any word or making any gesture to insult the modesty of a woman etc), police said.
Poonawala is a Congress activist who had also tweeted on the Jain monk.
The case was registered on a complaint filed by Punit Arora, a resident of Ambala Cantonment who is said to be a follower of the monk.
The complainant alleged that the accused had hurt religious sentiments intentionally with his sarcastic tweet on Sagar.
The Haryana government had invited the Jain monk, who appeared in nude, to deliver a lecture 'Kadve Vachan' in the assembly on Friday.
Dadlani came under sharp criticism from several quarters including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his "sarcastic" tweet on Sagar's address in the Haryana assembly.
After a barrage of criticism, Dadlani had tendered an apology for his tweet and also deleted it.
He also apologised to the Jain monk on Twitter.
Dadlani, a staunch AAP supporter, on Sunday also announced quitting "all active political work" but maintained it was his own decision to quit the party.
"I feel some people are doing politics over it, the issue should be ended now. (Congress man) Tehsin Poonawala who commented against Maharaj-ji has not even apologised and none of his party's leaders, including Soniaji and Rahul Gandhi, have expressed regret over it. The matter should be kept away from politics," Jain told reporters in Chandigarh.
Jain said he and Kejriwal had earlier sought forgiveness for Dadlani's tweets.
"I also carried Arvind Kejriwal's message that he felt sad for what was said about him to which Maharaji-ji said that he has already forgiven those who inadvertently did so," he said.
East Delhi police, meanwhile, is taking legal opinion for further action on a complaint against Dadlani for his tweet.
"We have received a general complaint stating hurt feelings of the Jain community by Vishal Dadlani's tweet. Legal opinion has been sought for further action," said a senior police officer. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/vishal-dadlani-booked-over-jain-monk-tweet/20160829.htm | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/11cb5a24f289e5f01548deed137c64084702556d488f2f51eb4bbd1b93fa83ff.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:19:39 | null | 2016-08-20T00:00:00 | Manafort, who had once lobbied for pro-Inter-Services Intelligence and anti-India groups, had been recently attracting negative publicity for his alleged lobbying activities in Ukraine.
| Trump's campaign chief who lobbied for anti-India groups quits | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftrumps-campaign-chief-who-lobbied-for-anti-india-groups-quits%2F20160820.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/jul/26trump01.jpg | en | null | Trump's campaign chief who lobbied for anti-India groups quits | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 20, 2016 01:36 IST
Paul Manafort, the beleaguered chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, resigned on Friday after a staff shake-up this week that marginalised him in the team amid growing speculation about his links with Ukrainian politics.
“This (Friday) morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign. I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process,” Trump said.
“Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success,” the 70-year-old business tycoon said.
Manafort’s role was reduced after Trump elevated two aides to senior positions on Tuesday, appointing Breitbart News chief Steve Bannon as campaign chief executive officer and Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager.
Manafort, who had once lobbied for pro-Inter-Services Intelligence and anti-India groups, had been recently attracting negative publicity for his alleged lobbying activities in Ukraine.
Manafort had joined the campaign after Trump’s historic wins in the Republican primaries.
He successfully led the campaign in the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, where Trump was formally nominated as the party’s presidential nominee.
Trump’s popularity rating had been falling down after the convention.
Manafort told Trump he was becoming a distraction and he wanted to end that, a Trump source was quoted as saying by CNN.
The resignation comes as the campaign seeks to correct course after weeks of damaging controversies and self-inflicted wounds, effectively evaporating Trump’s steady footing against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the polls and his post-convention bump. Trump is now trailing Clinton in every major poll.
The most damaging for Trump was his attack on a Gold Star family -- who lost their son, Army Captain Humayun Khan, while he served in Iraq -- for speaking out against him at the Democratic National Convention. He later refused to apologise or express regret.
Manafort’s personal business dealings have also come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, amid damaging questions over his ties to foreign governments and indications that he might have received $12 million (Rs 80 crore) in undisclosed cash payments, according to the Washington Post.
The alleged payments, which Manafort denied, were noted in a ledger kept by former Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych’s political party. Since then, more evidence has surfaced that raised concerns about his ties to the Kremlin.
One Grand Old Party strategist was quoted as saying that Manafort was undone by the combination of revelations about his work in behalf of pro-Russian forces in Ukraine and the elevation of Conway and Bannon. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/trumps-campaign-chief-who-lobbied-for-anti-india-groups-quits/20160820.htm | en | 2016-08-20T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/1cb63491a96ed868decdb40ee470f58c9c86cca4f273cf2fa4d93ec7b9dd7c51.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T06:52:13 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | 'During his visit to Vietnam on September 3 -- the first visit by an Indian prime minister in 15 years -- Modi will notice the widespread anti-China sentiment in that country.' | China shadow over Modi's Vietnam visit | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Fcolumn%2Fchina-shadow-over-modis-vietnam-visit%2F20160830.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/29modi-vietnam.jpg | en | null | China shadow over Modi's Vietnam visit | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 30, 2016 11:00 IST
IMAGE: Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a recent visit to New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
'During his visit to Vietnam on September 3 -- the first visit by an Indian prime minister in 15 years -- Modi will notice the widespread anti-China sentiment in that country,' says former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a busy and complicated agenda as he travels to South East Asia in the next few days. He will observe that dark clouds continue to linger on the horizons of the South China Sea well after the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague delivered its decision on July 12.
Countries that have maritime territorial disputes with China are increasingly uneasy. During his visit to Vietnam on September 3 -- the first visit by an Indian prime minister in 15 years -- Modi will notice the widespread anti-China sentiment in that country.
There is also palpable tension as Vietnam anticipates that China may take some robust steps in the South China Sea in the weeks following the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou on September 3-4.
Uncertainty is accentuated by the apparent unwillingness of the US to draw easily identifiable 'red lines.' China's economic and military might has pressured countries in the region and widened fissures in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations further weakening it. The Philippines and Taiwan are already feeling the adverse effects of China's economic pressure.
Expectation is high in Vietnam that Modi's visit will not only lend support to Vietnam's stance on the South China Sea, but qualitatively upgrade the bilateral relationship.
In addition to defence-related agreements and likely discussions on sale of the Brahmos missiles, assisting Vietnam to become self-sufficient in the production and maintenance of defence equipment, thereby lessening Hanoi's dependence on other countries would contribute to building an enduring relationship.
Potential areas of cooperation include pharmaceuticals, information technology, education and hospitals, all areas in which India's private sector has internationally demonstrated capabilities.
With an eye towards a long-term relationship with India, for example, Vietnam recently established a Centre for Indian Studies in the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, which trains upwardly mobile cadres and is directly under the politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Beijing is trying hard to ensure that the issue of the South China Sea is not raised during the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou as that would derail the agenda and mar the atmosphere. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India was part of this process.
Chinese interlocutors state that the visits this week of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the US and that of US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker to New Delhi for the second Strategic and Commercial Dialogue have raised concerns in Beijing that India and the US are moving still closer and India could side with the US on the issue.
Alluding to the recent statement by Hu Shisheng, director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceanian Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, which is a think-tank of China's external intelligence arm, the ministry of state security, a Chinese interlocutor hinted that the remark was intended as a warning to India.
China, it is learnt, has made special arrangements for Prime Minister Modi keeping in mind his religious preferences!
The effort to keep the focus on the economic agenda at Hangzhou saw Wang Yi become the first Chinese foreign minister to travel to Japan in four years when he visited Tokyo on August 23-24.
Though the spokesman for China's ministry of foreign affairs clarified at a press briefing that Wang had gone to attend the 8th China-Japan-Republic of Korea foreign ministers' meeting and not for a bilateral visit, there is little doubt that preparations for a one-on-one meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit figured during discussions with his Japanese counterpart.
Chinese observers have noted that Abe did not visit the Yasukuni shrine this year. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida also travelled to China earlier this May. China and the US are also set to announce ratification of a major climate change agreement on September 2, the eve of the G-20 Summit.
Beijing sees this G-20 Summit as important for the global economy and intends to push for international acceptance of its economic agenda at the G-20 Summit. It has said it will push for the reform of existing international financial institutions with enhanced representation for emerging markets and developing countries.
It will advocate that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, established under Chinese leadership, can be a useful supplement to the existing international financial system and argue that the 'One Belt, One Road' geo-economic initiative proposed by China, will upgrade economic cooperation and provide new momentum for the economic development of all countries.
Security in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province whose population has a high percentage of Christians, is a major consideration for the Chinese authorities. Over the past many months Zhejiang provincial authorities have cracked down on Christian 'underground' churches and congregations.
The authorities additionally seem particularly concerned at possible actions by Islamic extremists. According to a report in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on August 26, Chinese public security authorities in Guangzhou city ordered hostel operators to turn away guests from Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.
The prohibition will be in force till October. Dr Peng Peng of the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences said the move was not announced to the public but was to reduce security risks at Guangzhou's independent hostels. Separately, measures have been introduced to limit pollution by banning cars and vehicles during certain hours and closing factories.
Xi is reportedly scheduled to have one-on-one meetings on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit with Abe, Modi and US President Barack Obama. Anticipatedly important political issues will be discussed then.
Jayadeva Ranade, a former additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, is president of the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy.
ALSO READ | http://www.rediff.com/news/column/china-shadow-over-modis-vietnam-visit/20160830.htm | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/8f257f834ab1e5c597498d2bb3a8361ff0e99f108f471a4aadad55d0d3bb0c01.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:01:55 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | The incident took place on Wednesday when locals found Majhi carrying his wife Amang Dei's body along with his 12-year-old daughter. | Probe ordered after tribal man denied ambulance, forced to carry wife's body | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fodisha-man-carries-wifes-body-10-km-with-daughter%2F20160825.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/25live-odisha1.jpg | en | null | Probe ordered after tribal man denied ambulance, forced to carry wife's body | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 25, 2016 21:14 IST
A tribal man had to walk 10 km carrying his wife’s body on his shoulder in Odisha’s Kalahandi after failing to get a vehicle from a government hospital, a day after which a probe was ordered to ascertain the circumstances which led to the incident.
“The district collector of Kalahandi has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Sub-collector of Bhawanipatna has been directed to conduct the probe and submit a report at the earliest,” state Urban Development Minister Pushpendra Singhdeo, who hails from Kalahandi district, said in Bhubaneswar.
“Sub-Collector Sukanta Tripathy has been asked to ascertain whether the tribal man, Dana Majhi, had been denied a vehicle to take his wife’s body from the hospital here (Bhawanipatna) yesterday (on Wednesday),” said a senior officer.
The incident took place on Wednesday when locals found Majhi carrying his wife Amang Dei’s body along with his 12-year-old daughter.
The 42-year-old woman had died of tuberculosis at the district headquarters hospital at Bhawanipatna.
Majhi said despite all efforts, he failed to get any help from hospital authorities and had no other alternative than to wrap the body in a cloth and start walking to his village Melghara in Rampur block, about 60 km from Bhawanipatna.
Singhdeo, however, claimed an ambulance was sent for transportation of the body of Majhi’s wife to their village as soon as the authorities concerned came to know about it.
Unfortunately, the man had by then covered a distance of around 10 km, the minister said, adding ‘appropriate action would be taken after the inquiry report is submitted’.
When Majhi and his daughter were walking, some local reporters spotted the duo. They called up the district collector and arranged for an ambulance for the remaining 50 km.
‘I told the hospital authorities that I am a poor man and can’t afford a vehicle. Despite repeated requests, they said they can’t offer any help,’ Majhi told a local television channel.
“As we got to know of the incident, we spoke to the Chief District Medical Officer and arranged for an ambulance,” Kalahandi District Collector Brundha D said.
“I have instructed the Tehsildar to provide assistance under Harishchandra Yojana (assistance to the poor and destitute to perform last rites). I have also asked the BDO (Block Development Officer) to provide assistance from Red Cross and CMRF (Chief Minister’s Relief Fund),” she said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday launched the 'Mahaprayan' scheme, announced six months ago, for taking a body from the hospital to the deceased's house.
Mahaprayan scheme was launched keeping in view the success of Harischandra Yojana.
Under Harischandra Yojana, poor people get financial assistance for cremation, while Mahaprayan scheme would facilitate transportation of bodies from hospital to the village of the deceased, Patnaik said while launching the scheme at Mahanga in Cuttack district.
There has been a state-wide outcry over non-implementation of the scheme, which was announced in February this year. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/odisha-man-carries-wifes-body-10-km-with-daughter/20160825.htm | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/93a0e3c8de512f17dfadfe0868b4ee642b233d9113dce16d28ce4f83acb816da.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:35:58 | null | 2016-08-06T00:00:00 | 'It makes me angry that people are running shops in the name of cow protection. Most of them are anti-social elements hiding behind the mask of cow protection,' the PM said. | 'Angry' Modi hits out against cow brigade, says most are 'anti-social' | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fmodi-hits-out-against-cow-brigade-at-townhall%2F20160806.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/06cow.jpg | en | null | 'Angry' Modi hits out against cow brigade, says most are 'anti-social' | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 06, 2016 21:22 IST
In his first public denouncement of cow vigilantes, some of whom flogged Dalits in his home state Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he felt enraged at such “anti-social elements” who indulged in crimes by the night and masqueraded as cow protectors by the day.
Amid the continuing outrage over the brutal flogging of four Dalit men by cow brigade members in Gujarat, the prime minister said real cow protectors do not terrorise people and that some criminal elements has opened “shops” in the name of cow protection.
To prevent violence in the name of cow protection, he urged state governments to prepare “dossiers” on such so-called cow protectors and put them on a tight leash.
“I feel infuriated at some people who have opened shops in the name of cow protection. I have seen that some people who commit anti-social activities through the night, don the mantle of cow protectors by the day.
“I urge the state governments to prepare a dossier of such self-proclaimed volunteers and big cow protectors. It will be found that 70 to 80 per cent are such people who commit such bad deeds which society does not accept. To hide their bad activities, they don the mantle of cow protectors,” he said, in his first public snub to the vigilantes perpetrating brutalities in the name of cow protection.
Modi said volunteer groups and organisations are not meant to “terrorise and brutalise people” and should instead inculcate in themselves the feeling of compassion and sacrifice to do social work.
“For doing good work and social service, one does not need the prime minister to deliver a speech,” he said, asking people to help the poor of their own accord.
Modi’s denounced the cow vigilantes during his Townhall-style address to mark the second anniversary of his government’s MyGov initiative.
His comments come at a time when his government and the Bharatiya Janata Party are facing flak over incidents of violence against Dalits and Muslims by cow vigilantes in various states including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Noting that more cows die from consuming plastic than from slaughter, he said those who want to serve the animal should rather work towards stopping cows from eating plastic as that will be a bigger service.
Recalling his own work in the service of cow, he said at one health camp organised by him for the animal, at least two buckets full of plastic were removed from the stomach of one of them.
On the foreign policy front, the prime minister said “India first” is the central point of his government’s diplomatic engagements.
“India first is the central point (of our foreign policy). It is about protecting India’s strategic interest, it is to ensure that India marches forward in achieving economic prosperity by leaps and bounds and reaches the position which it is destined to reach,” Modi said.
The PM said time has changed and world has become interdependent, and no country can afford to live in a particular group.
“The time of grouping has come to an end. Every country is linked to some other country,” he said, adding walking together in most cases has become the norm.
Showering praise on the Indian diaspora, he said they can play an important role in strengthening India’s ties with foreign countries and we should utilise their strength.
“The diaspora community has become very proactive, assertive and they can help in improving ties with many countries. India is making its place (in the world) with new energy and prestige,” he said.
Answering a query on India’s external engagement, Modi said there was no need to use words like aggressive, progressive and proactive in talking about the country’s foreign policy which the questioner had used.
The prime minister also took a dig at the opposition for giving him advice day and night and said while he progressed in politics hearing all kinds of criticism, there are many who get fever if criticised as they are not used to it.
“We should all accept criticism and draw lessons from it,” he said.
Modi also took on the opinion makers for holding him responsible for everything happening even in a panchayat or the civic body of a state and termed it as “unfortunate”.
“It is unfortunate in our country that some opinion makers will question the PM for anything happening in a panchayat, zila parishad, nagar palika, municipal corporation even in a state, they will demand a reply from the prime minister.
“Politically it is OK, it is probably ok for TRP also. If prime minister is made to suffer, it is a good thing as it should happen in a democracy. But its ill-effect is that people do not realise their responsibilities and due to it governance suffers badly. There should be accountability in governance,” he said.
Modi said governments often think only about winning the next election and then their policies are also shaped accordingly.
He said the spirit of democracy is incomplete if one thinks that the citizen’s role ends with voting and stressed upon participative democracy.
On the health front, Modi talked of laying emphasis on preventive health care and said his government will soon come out with a health insurance scheme which was talked about in the budget.
“We are moving forward towards introducing an insurance scheme. We talked about it in the budget. We are bringing it in the next few days. We will bring in the next few days not just health assurance, but also health insurance that will benefit people,” he said.
Photo used for representational purposes. Photograph: Allison Joyce/Getty Images | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/modi-hits-out-against-cow-brigade-at-townhall/20160806.htm | en | 2016-08-06T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/b1a3dc7c07e1b8f8f85b414f6742a63611f2de0ba0136dc32d79a5bb51a58a05.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:21:36 | null | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | Cricket icon and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar has selected Donja village in Osmanabad district for development under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna. | Tendulkar adopts Osmanabad village reeling under drought | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftendulkar-adopts-osmanabad-village-reeling-under-drought%2F20160818.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/18lead4.jpg | en | null | Tendulkar adopts Osmanabad village reeling under drought | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 18, 2016 14:04 IST
Cricket icon and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar has selected Donja village in Osmanabad district for development under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna.
"We are happy that Tendulkar has picked Donja. We are sure this will inspire other villages in the region to emulate this model of development," Osmanabad Zilla Parishad CEO Anand Rayate said.
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, launched in October 2014, is a rural development programme focusing on development of villages which include social and cultural development, and spread motivation among the people on social mobilisation of the village community.
Osmanabad has been reeling under severe drought over the last few years and has also recorded a steep rise in incidents of farmers suicide.
Donja is a village in Paranda of Osmanabad. As per 2011 census 582 families residing there. It has a population of 2,863 of which 1,508 are males while 1,355 are females.
In the village, population in the age group of 0-6 years is 319 which makes up 11.14 per cent of the total population.
The average sex ratio of the village is 899, which is lower than Maharashtra's average of 929, while the Child Sex Ratio as per 2011 census is 910, higher than the state average of 894.
The literacy rate of Donja in 2011 was 72.17 per cent, lower than 82.34 per cent of Maharashtra. Male literacy rate stands at 78.75 per cent, while female literacy rate was 64.84 per cent. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/tendulkar-adopts-osmanabad-village-reeling-under-drought/20160818.htm | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/3ff40e9388e89c900b3ce5da9820d863dc3bd74ed8d59c750490b8cca9715607.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T10:50:11 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | The boys are seen shooting dead five men identified as captured Kurdish fighters who are kneeling.
| Islamic State video shows boys shooting hostage | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fislamic-state-video-shows-boys-shooting-hostage%2F20160827.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/27is.jpg | en | null | Islamic State video shows boys shooting hostage | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 27, 2016 15:48 IST
Islamic State terrorists have released a horrific new video that shows five boys, including one said to be from the United Kingdom, aged between 10 to 13 years shooting prisoners in Syria.
The boys are seen shooting dead five men identified as captured Kurdish fighters who are kneeling.
A caption claims the white boy in the video is Abu Abdullah al-Britani, who is allegedly British.
All the boys are pictured in full military fatigues and a black hat alongside the four other boys.
Five hostages are shown dressed in familiar orange jumpsuits seen in previous IS propaganda videos, ‘The Times’ reports.
“No one can save the Kurds even with the support of America, France, Britain, Germany, the devils in hell,” the British boy is heard to say in Arabic.
He then calls for the ‘takbir’ -- the term referring to the phrase ‘Allahu akbar’ -- which the other boys shout in unison, raising their pistols to the sky before shooting the hostages dead.
The video then pans to gunshot wounds to the men’s heads as they lie dead in the sand.
The four other boys in the footage are captioned as being Tunisian, Kurdish, Egyptian and Uzbekistani in origin.
There is no confirmation of the identity of the British boy from the UK Foreign Office but it is believed he could be the son of a white-British woman convert and was taken to join IS at the age of 10.
The name Abu Abdullah al-Britani may refer to his adopted father -- a young British terrorist who married in Syria and was killed in a drone strike.
Children have featured prominently in IS propaganda in which the militant group boasts about preparing the next generation of fighters. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/islamic-state-video-shows-boys-shooting-hostage/20160827.htm | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/6a69a9c010ff54b8754975d647fbb01ec5fc8efa108b9f60879c4d8d65aed4d3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:24:19 | null | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | 'The fabric of democracy is fraying,' says T V R Shenoy.
'It is being attacked not just by terrorists in Kashmir or by zealots in the North-East, but is being ripped apart even in Allahabad, in the Hindi heartland.' | Preserving India's democracy is not Hindus' job alone | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Fcolumn%2Fpreserving-indias-democracy-is-not-hindus-job-alone%2F20160816.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/jun/02tri-colour1.jpg | en | null | Preserving India's democracy is not Hindus' job alone | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 16, 2016 10:37 IST
'The fabric of democracy is fraying,' says T V R Shenoy.
'It is being attacked not just by terrorists in Kashmir or by zealots in the North-East, but is being ripped apart even in Allahabad, in the Hindi heartland.'
About a quarter of a century ago I played host to Girilal Jain, some time after he stepped down as editor-in-chief of one of India's largest newspaper groups. The Berlin Wall had fallen, German reunification was underway, and a nervous France was converting the European Economic Community into the European Union to contain Teutonic energies. My guest was openly dismissive of this last.
Drawing from Indian history, punching the air with his index finger for emphasis, the gist of his argument was that 'Kshatriyas' -- bureaucrats and politicians of all nations, not just the armed forces -- could never build a lasting union.
With the great mass of the people forced to concentrate on earning their daily bread, nation building, he proclaimed, was best left to 'Brahmins' and 'Vaishyas'.
Girilal Jain's thesis was that the 'Kshatriya' element of any society is always so consumed by petty politics that it would see power as an end in itself, finally alienating enough people to spark rebellion.
Political union had to follow the creation of a cultural union -- the task of the Brahmin elements -- and had to be sustained by the Vaishyas, who would ensure that everyone felt a common stake in it. He would not have been one whit surprised at Brexit.
The veteran was in his early twenties when India became independent, old enough to recall the cynicism among Western -- and Western-trained -- intellectuals about the continued existence of the Union of India, leave alone of Indian democracy.
This, he said, was erroneous because the Brahminical element had already created a cultural continuity that cut across language and topography.
Very simply, the fact that Kamakshi of Kanchipuram is the same as the Kamakhya of Kamrup made Sardar Patel's task of unification considerably easier. But if India had been a cultural entity for centuries and was forged into a political union between 1947 and 1950, the 'Vaishya' element -- economic unity -- lagged.
India was never an economic union, a fact only too clear to those unfortunates travelling between states. A pilgrimage, a wedding, a visit to a tourist attraction -- everything becomes a nightmare as commercial vehicles clog the roads while officials collect octroi.
The passage of the GST Bill through Parliament is a potential game-changer, replacing multiple state-level taxes with a single national tax. I write 'potential' for two reasons.
First, Constitutionally the measure must be approved by state assemblies too before getting the President's nod. Second, I have no idea if GST will lead to lower prices.
Similar promises were made when the VAT -- value-added taxation -- system was rolled out in 2005, and I don't remember its making any difference.
The prime minister placed the case for GST succinctly in the Lok Sabha: If India has a single railway system, a single postal system, and a single criminal code, why should it not have a single system of taxing commerce?
The logic is impeccable; is it enough?
The core of the Girilal Jain thesis was that cultural unity must precede, not follow, economic and political unity. Let us not fudge facts: The glue that holds India together is Hinduism, often described as 'a way of life', not just a 'religion'.
A central principle of that 'way of life' is respect for the opinion of another -- which, when you come right down to it, is the essence of democracy.
Let us not pretend for a minute that India would be the same if it were not principally Hindu. How many democracies are there west of India, from the Wagah border to the Mediterranean? Or ask the Tamils of Sri Lanka or the Muslims of Thailand what it means to live even in a Buddhist-dominated society. That rejection of Hindu values is at the heart of the chronic uproar in Kashmir.
Is it the only princely state absorbed into the Union? No, I myself was born a subject of the Maharaja of Cochin, whose realm was one of the 565 principalities welded together by Sardar Patel (with a lot of help from V P Menon).
Is it the only state whose people do not speak Hindi as their first language? The Eighth Schedule lists a whopping 22 languages -- and that still does not include English. Even that is an oversimplification; while technically 'Hindi', the Garhwali of the mountains of Uttarakhand and the Marwari of the deserts of Rajasthan are mutually incomprehensible.
Is it the only state that lies in the midst of the mountains rather than in the plains? The citizens of Himachal Pradesh or of Sikkim would laugh at such an absurdity.
The uncomfortable truth is that the Kashmiri claim to being unique rests on the fact that it is the only state with a Muslim majority. (Particularly since 1990, when terrified Kashmiri Pandits began to be chased out of the valley.) The frenzied chants of 'Azadi' ('freedom') are a distilled form of Jinnah's tenet that Muslims cannot live on equal terms alongside Hindus.
Calls for a separate state -- Telangana yesterday, possibly Vidarbha tomorrow -- are one thing because the agitations insist they want to remain in the Union of India. The stone-pelters in Srinagar desire a vivisection of India.
This contempt for common values is not limited to Kashmir. On August 7 this year the principal of a school in Allahabad, and eight of her colleagues, quit after the manager, Zia-ul Haq, banned singing the Jana Gana Mana on Independence Day. His reported justification is that the national anthem is 'un-Islamic.'
Maintaining India's democratic fabric cannot be the task of the so-called 'majority community' alone.
The fabric is fraying; it is being attacked not just by terrorists in Kashmir or by zealots in the states of the North-East but is being ripped apart even in Allahabad, in the Hindi heartland, in the city that is the 'home' of the Nehru-Gandhis.
Remove that cultural unity, and what do you have?
The Kshatriyas -- meaning the ruling class, not a specific caste -- shall revert to their old petty games. We had a foretaste of that in November 2015 when Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav raised the cry of 'Bihari ya Bahari' ('Outsider').
We can dismiss secessionists in Kashmir or Nagaland as operating on the fringes of India, we can dismiss hitherto obscure school managers in Allahabad as exceptions to the supposed 'Ganga-Jamuna culture', but Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav are in the heart of secular politics, are they not?
What happens when there is no overarching frame of shared cultural values?
From a political-military viewpoint the European Union makes perfect sense; individual members would crumble before Russia. From an economic perspective the European Union is a sensible way to ensure a market as large as that of an America or a China. None of that mattered when it came to the Brexit poll, and none of it seems to matter to large chunks of Europe alienated by 'Kshatriya' masters in Brussels and Berlin.
The GST Bill promises to further the economic union of India. We have entered the 70th year of our political union. Will that be enough when our cultural unity is under attack?
American schools start the day by asking students to recite the 'Pledge of Allegiance,' which ends with the words 'One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'
Would it have the same fine ring if that read 'One nation under the taxman, with freedom from octroi and the same prices for all'? | http://www.rediff.com/news/column/preserving-indias-democracy-is-not-hindus-job-alone/20160816.htm | en | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/305d16a247b991a018cfb2ed93a15541a9349baab936aae85f15113148a9363d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:33:34 | null | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | Needling India yet again, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said he was 'obliged' to become the voice of the 'oppressed' people of Kashmir and would 'leave no stone unturned' to make the world understand the 'plight' of the people in the Valley. | Obliged to raise voice for 'oppressed' Kashmiris: Pak PM | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fobliged-to-raise-voice-for-oppressed-kashmiris-pak-pm%2F20160809.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/09sharif01.jpg | en | null | Obliged to raise voice for 'oppressed' Kashmiris: Pak PM | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 09, 2016 23:59 IST
Needling India yet again, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said he was "obliged" to become the voice of the "oppressed" people of Kashmir and would "leave no stone unturned" to make the world understand the "plight" of the people in the Valley.
Sharif also shot off letters to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, urging efforts to end the "persistent and egregious violation of the basic human rights" of the Kashmiri people and also to implement UN Security Council resolutions, a Foreign Office statement said.
Sharif chaired a preparatory meeting for the upcoming UN General Assembly attended by his foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz, special assistant on foreign affairs Tariq Fatemi, foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Pakistan's permanent representative in the UN Maleeha Lodhi and Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani and other senior officials.
The meeting reviewed the agendas to be included in the next session of UN General Assembly in which the premier is expected to participate, a statement issued by the Premier's office said.
"It is an obligation for me as Prime Minister of Pakistan to become the voice of Kashmiris who have been oppressed in Kashmir. I will leave no stone unturned to make the world understand the plight and the legitimate struggle of the people of Kashmir," Sharif said.
The meeting observed that "Kashmir remains an unfinished agenda of the UN and accordingly India must realise that Kashmir is not its internal matter, rather it is a matter of regional and international concern".
Sharif said the denial of right of self-determination for Kashmiris is one of the persistent failures of the UN.
"The right of self-determination is the basic right of Kashmiris and we will make every effort to make Kashmiris captain of their own ship," the statement quoted Sharif as saying in the meeting.
The Foreign Office statement, giving details of the letters sent by Sharif to Ban and Zeid said, "Highlighting human rights abuses by Indian forces, the prime minister stated that more than 50 deaths and 3,500 injuries had taken place, out of which 400 were critical."
"The use of illegitimate and excessive force against innocent civilians protesting peacefully over extra-judicial killings was a blatant violation of a range of fundamental rights," the statement said.
In the letters, Sharif alleged that force was being used to prevent access to hospitals, to harass doctors and prevent access to medical facilities.
"The situation is a clear manifestation of Indian state terrorism to suppress the Kashmiris' struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination," the statement quoted the letters as saying.
Prime Minister Sharif called for investigation into the "brutalities and atrocities" committed by Indian forces, protection of Kashmiris' fundamental rights, a fair inquiry into the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani and implementation of UN resolutions. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/obliged-to-raise-voice-for-oppressed-kashmiris-pak-pm/20160809.htm | en | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/7232936822f08c62820a8684238dd12587869e792bd137e0f85d34b9a2f3f400.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:27:44 | null | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | Curfew remained in force in entire Srinagar district and Anantnag town on Saturday to thwart the separatists' plan to stage a two-day sit-in in the city centre even as the death toll in the ongoing unrest climbed to 56 in the Valley with the death of a youth injured in firing. | Kashmir unrest: Curfew-hit state remains peaceful but tense | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftempers-refuse-to-subside-in-curfew-hit-kashmir-toll-rises%2F20160813.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/13lead2.jpg | en | null | Kashmir unrest: Curfew-hit state remains peaceful but tense | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 13, 2016 23:49 IST
Barring clashes at some places, situation was by and large peaceful on Saturday in Kashmir where separatists had planned to take out processions, to prevent which curfew was in force in entire Srinagar district and Anantnag town.
Meanwhile, broadband internet services were suspended across Kashmir, except some areas housing government offices and residences of officials, while mobile internet services remained suspended in the valley for the 36th consecutive day.
About half a dozen incidents of stone-pelting were reported from different parts of the valley, a police spokesman said.
The policemen were injured in a clash with stone-pelting protesters at Ashtingoo in Bandipora district of north Kashmir, the spokesman said, adding one of the injured was shifted to Delhi for advance treatment.
The clashes were also witnessed at Kanoosa, Aloosa and Kemah villages in Bandipora during the day but there was no report of any casualty, he said.
The spokesman said clashes between stone-pelting mobs and security forces also took place at Zampa Kadal in interior Srinagar and Palhallan in Pattan area of Baramulla district.
Barring these clashes, the situation remained by and large peaceful across the valley, the spokesman added.
Earlier, the authorities had imposed curfew in entire Srinagar district to foil the plans of separatists to march to the historic Lal Chowk and stage a sit-in for two days.
Curfew also remained in force in Anantnag town, the epicentre of the current unrest.
Separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, both of whom are under house arrest, tried to take out processions from their residences to Lal Chowk but police thwarted their attempts.
In the first instance, Mirwaiz, the chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference, came out from his Nigeen residence located on the outskirts of Srinagar this afternoon.
He was immediately detained by the police and taken to Nigeen police station, officials said.
Separately, Geelani, who heads hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference, also tried to take out a march from his Hyderpora residence on Srinagar-Airport road.
However, the police stopped the octogenarian leader, following which he along with his supporters staged a sit-in on the link road, officials said.
The sit-in lasted for over half-an-hour and ended peacefully, the officials said.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the ongoing unrest went up to 56 as a youth, Suhail Ahmad Wani, who was injured last week in firing by a policeman, succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Srinagar on Saturday, an official said.
Wani had suffered a bullet injury in the head on August 2 at Lethpora in Pulwama district on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
Normal life remained affected in the Valley for the 36th consecutive day due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatist-sponsored strike against the killing of civilians in the security forces action.
Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off the roads.
The attendance in government offices and banks was also thin, the official said.
While mobile internet remained suspended, the broadband services were also snapped on Saturday around 4.30 pm without any reason being assigned for it.
The broadband services were restored after half an hour in some areas of the city like Bemina, Lal Chowk and Sonawar where most of the government offices and official residences of government officials are located.
A BSNL official, on the condition of anonymity, said the the state-run telecom operator was directed by the authorities to pull the plug on the services till August 15.
The mobile internet services were snapped across Kashmir last month as a precautionary measure to prevent rumour mongering following violent clashes in the wake of killing of Hibzul Mujahideen commander Burhan on July 8 in an encounter with security forces.
Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/tempers-refuse-to-subside-in-curfew-hit-kashmir-toll-rises/20160813.htm | en | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/14484d7bc98f850e258cdf13ee14728d7e6cda40f43b3b74ca61a6a9410c5e06.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:33:51 | null | 2016-08-06T00:00:00 | Fauzia Ansari, mother of the 31-year-old engineering and management graduate from Mumbai, who was sentenced to jail for three years, requested the Pakistan government to show mercy on him and send him back. | Save our son, bring him home, urges parents of man in Pakistani prison | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fsave-our-son-bring-him-home-urges-parents-of-man-in-pakistani-prison%2F20160806.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/06prison.jpg | en | null | Save our son, bring him home, urges parents of man in Pakistani prison | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 06, 2016 18:06 IST
The Indian government must do everything it can to bring back Hamid Nehal Ansari, lodged in a Pakistani jail since 2012 and was attacked at least thrice by the inmates in recent months, his mother said.
“We have come to know through media and our advocate also informed us that such an incident has happened with Hamid,” said Fauzia Ansari, mother of the 31-year-old engineering and management graduate from Mumbai, who was sentenced to jail for three years by a military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card.
According to Ansari’s lawyer, the Indian prisoner was attacked at least thrice by inmates in recent months in a Peshawar jail.
“Our request to the Indian government is to help Hamid, who has not committed any heinous crime. His mistake was to go there with fake documents and he has already suffered a lot for this,” she said.
It has been four years that Hamid is in a Pakistani jail, she said.
“I don’t know what crime my son has committed. As per his chats with his friends from Pakistan on Facebook before he went missing, he crossed over to Pakistan to help a girl who was a victim of a social evil,” she said.
She also requested the Pakistan government to show mercy on him and send him back.
Hamid Nehal Ansari, a Mumbai resident arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online, suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison.
On Thursday, his lawyer told a Peshawar high court bench that Ansari had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.
Ansari was attacked and injured three times over the last couple of months and shifted to the hospital for treatment, the counsel said, adding even the head warden would subject him to brutality and slap him on a daily basis without any reason.
He was convicted by the military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Chairman of Mumbai-based Observer Research Foundation Sudheendra Kulkarni termed the incident unfortunate and condemnable.
“Hamid Ansari has suffered this attack inside the Pakistani jail,” he said.
“We have been campaigning for his early release and return to India. We are convinced that he hasn’t committed any offence,” Kulkarni said.
“I urge authorities in Pakistan to ensure his safety and early return to India,” he said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/save-our-son-bring-him-home-urges-parents-of-man-in-pakistani-prison/20160806.htm | en | 2016-08-06T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/942cc7a3d3cad4b57ce9616a1e50319df753f7066b4158f3c30462aacfec2f69.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:38:55 | null | 2016-08-03T00:00:00 | Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started holding interactive sessions with his party MPs at which he wants them to open up. R Rajagopalan/Rediff.com reports on an unusual political exercise. | 'Tell me your criticism': Modi hosts open house sessions with BJP MPs | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftell-me-your-criticism-modi-hosts-open-house-sessions-with-bjp-mps%2F20160803.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2014/oct/30modi4.jpg | en | null | 'Tell me your criticism': Modi hosts open house sessions with BJP MPs | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 03, 2016 17:16 IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started holding interactive sessions with his party MPs at which he wants them to open up. R Rajagopalan/Rediff.com reports on an unusual political exercise.
On August 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent nearly four hours in an interactive session with nearly 60 BJP members of Parliament from various states at the NDMC Convention Hall in Parliament Street discussing the performance of his government.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting that lasted from 7 pm to 11 pm, with Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah also being present. Prime Minister Modi himself sat among the MPs, listening to their grievances.
The initiative, part of the prime minister's outreach to MPs, is the second of the series, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj chairing the first. Modi has so far met 120 MPs, the brief for them being clear: 'Identity issues where the BJP government has gone, you talk as much you want, and I don't want anyone to praise me.'
At Tuesday's session, a few MPs sought a hike in the member of Parliament local area development scheme funds from the present Rs 5 crore to Rs 25 crore, while some from Uttar Pradesh complained about Samajwadi Party government not allowing them to use their development funds. At this point, the PM intervened and asked the MPs to mention things wrong with the Centre, and that he was “not here to hear about the performance of other governments”.
Next on the anvil, on August 10, is Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, soon to be followed by ministers Nitin Gadkari and Manohar Parrikar.
Modi tells the MPs he wants to hear criticism about the functioning of his government.
“Do not tell me in person, please share your thoughts with fellow MPs. Let there be a lesson learnt; if the BJP is to stay in government for many more years to come we have to straighten up first,” -- is another message from Modi during these sessions.
The sessions are of an interactive nature, with Modi often intervening, putting forth questions, and listening to his MPs. He also narrates old stories to correlate the past to the present situation. Typically, the meets do not have a PA system so the MPs have to use their lung power to make themselves heard.
That is not all. At times, Modi has also taken to driving to the residences of Union ministers for breakfast, lunch or dinner and engages with them on issues facing his government.
And starting September, the prime minister plans to invite chief ministers and MLAs from BJP-run states for similar interactive luncheons.
Naturally, political circles in New Delhi are agog with speculation as to why Prime Minister Modi is indulging in this exercise. Is it because he anticipates a political threat from within, or is it another innovative idea he wants to implement, to break out of the echo chamber prime ministers usually find themselves confined to?
Alas, there are no answers forthcoming on this one. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/tell-me-your-criticism-modi-hosts-open-house-sessions-with-bjp-mps/20160803.htm | en | 2016-08-03T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/75dfa9b9e8cf97592ccc3caf6e4890d3b0953edb4b170f8deca6c556d2456f7d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:42 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Curfew was on Friday extended to several areas of Kashmir to foil a planned march by separatists to Eidgah in old city area as normal life continued to remain paralysed for the 49th consecutive day in the Valley in the wake of violence following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani last month. | Day 49: Curfew in Kashmir to prevent separatists' march | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fcurfew-continues-in-kashmir%2F20160826.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/26kashmir.jpg | en | null | Day 49: Curfew in Kashmir to prevent separatists' march | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 26, 2016 11:45 IST
Curfew was on Friday extended to several areas of Kashmir to foil a planned march by separatists to Eidgah in old city area as normal life continued to remain paralysed for the 49th consecutive day in the Valley in the wake of violence following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani last month.
"Curfew has been extended to entire Srinagar district, Pulwama district and south Kashmir towns of Shopian and Anantnag," a police official said.
He said north Kashmir towns of Baramulla, Pattan and Handwara were also placed under curfew while restrictions on assembly of people were in force in rest of the Valley.
The curfew was extended to thwart a march planned by separatist groups of Eidgah ground in Old city on Friday afternoon after prayers.
Meanwhile, normal life remained paralysed for the 49th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist sponsored strike.
Shops, private offices, educational institutions and petrol pumps remained closed while public transport continued to be off roads.
The attendance in government offices and banks was also affected, the official said.
Mobile internet also continued to remain suspended in the entire Valley, where the outgoing facility on prepaid mobiles remained barred.
The separatist camp, which is spearheading the agitation in the Valley over the civilian deaths during the protests against Wani's killing, have extended the strike call in the Valley till September 1.
As many as 66 persons, including two police personnel, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes that began on July 9, a day after Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of south Kashmir s Anantnag district.
Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/curfew-continues-in-kashmir/20160826.htm | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/cabc8bc26c6f8212d9cb9b5f07a8b634c77d83c410c8453e941837026e3a1746.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:41:58 | null | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | 14 jawans have attained martyrdom this year so far, the minister said. | Our forces have killed more than 70 terrorists this year: Parrikar | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Four-forces-have-killed-more-than-70-terrorists-this-year-parrikar%2F20160801.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/may/04parrikar2.jpg | en | null | Our forces have killed more than 70 terrorists this year: Parrikar | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 01, 2016 00:13 IST
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said we have put a check on infiltration along the Pakistan border and over 70 terrorists who were trying to enter India from Pakistan have been shot dead so far this year.
“We have put a check on infiltration into India along the Pakistan border. Terrorists trying to sneak into India have either been shot dead or beaten a retreat,” Parrikar said.
“More than 70 terrorists who were trying to enter India from Pakistan have been shot dead this year so far,” he said.
Parrikar cited a ‘ratio’ of the ‘martyrdom’ of jawans to slain terrorists while speaking to reporters in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
14 jawans have attained martyrdom this year so far, the minister said adding the figures reveal that if India lost one jawan, five terrorists had been killed against it.
The ratio come to 1:5, Parrikar said adding earlier it was ‘1:1.5’.
Denying that the Chinese Army breaches India's border, the defence minister said several points have been made for dialogues along the Indo-China border.
Border of India and China have not been demarked, he said, adding it is because of several historical reasons.
As a result of this, Parrikar said Chinese Army by mistake enters India thinking it was it’s areas.
“We stop them and send them back. Sometime they return on their own. Such incidents are being reported since last 20-30 years but their per cent has dropped by 40 per cent,” Parrikar claimed. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/our-forces-have-killed-more-than-70-terrorists-this-year-parrikar/20160801.htm | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/1a10a6d3ec6b46307666e4f16a31275486e164882014e196e2f3712cb7202442.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:21:47 | null | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | Addressing the nation on the 70th Independence Day from the Red Fort, the prime minister had announced a 20 per cent hike in the pension for freedom fighters. | Pension of freedom fighters hiked by Rs 5,000 | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fpension-of-freedom-fighters-hiked-by-rs-5000%2F20160819.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/19modi.jpg | en | null | Pension of freedom fighters hiked by Rs 5,000 | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 19, 2016 02:11 IST
The monthly pension of freedom fighters, who were incarcerated in Cellular Jail in Andaman Islands, has been hiked by Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000 following an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech.
Pension for freedom fighters in the category of ex-Andaman political prisoners and their spouses has been enhanced from Rs 24,775 to Rs 30,000 per month, a home ministry official said.
Pension of freedom fighters, who suffered outside British India, has been raised from Rs 23,085 to Rs 28,000 per month.
Pension of other freedom fighters, including those who were members of Indian National Army, has been raised from Rs 21,395 to Rs 26,000 per month.
Addressing the nation on the 70th Independence Day from the Red Fort, the prime minister had announced a 20 per cent hike in the pension for freedom fighters.
Central freedom fighter pensioners and eligible dependents under ‘Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension’ will get enhanced pension with effect from August 15, 2016, an official said.
Emoluments given to dependents and eligible daughters have been raised to 50 per cent of the sum that would have been admissible to freedom fighters.
Existing Dearness relief system has been replaced with Dearness Allowance system applicable to government employees twice a year for freedom fighter pensioners.
There are around 37,000 freedom fighters in the country.
A home ministry statement said the existing dearness relief system based on All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial workers, which was hitherto applied to freedom fighter pensioners on annual basis, is being discontinued and replaced by the dearness allowance system applicable to central government employees twice a year.
All freedom fighters and spouses and dependent parents, eligible daughter pensioners of deceased freedom fighters drawing pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980 would be benefited by the decision.
So far, 1,71,605 freedom fighters and their eligible dependents have been sanctioned pension under the scheme.
At present 37,981 freedom fighters and their eligible dependent pensioners are covered under the scheme. Of these, 11,690 are freedom fighters themselves, 24,792 are spouses (widows/widowers) and 1,499 are daughter pensioners.
In 1969, the central government had introduced the ‘Ex-Andaman Political Prisoners Pension Scheme’ to honour the freedom fighters who had been incarcerated in the Cellular Jail at Port Blair.
In 1972, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of country’s Independence, a regular scheme for grant of freedom fighters’ pension was introduced.
Thereafter, with effect from August 1, 1980, a liberalised scheme, namely the ‘Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme’ was implemented. Besides the freedom fighters, spouses (widows/widowers), unmarried and unemployed daughters (upto maximum three at any point of time) and parents of deceased freedom fighters are eligible for pension under the scheme. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pension-of-freedom-fighters-hiked-by-rs-5000/20160819.htm | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/69a606d29b11f87e4af54ec9a80b9b8a21891d16d40bbbb66250720122572a3a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:19:31 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | The Mumbai Police on Monday registered a case of criminal intimidation against unidentified persons who allegedly questioned a 24-year-old man in a menacing way on suspicion that his bag was made from cow skin. | Mumbai cops hunt for 'vigilantes' who bullied man over man 'cow' leather bag | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fmumbai-cops-hunt-for-vigilantes-who-bullied-man-over-man-cow-leather-bag%2F20160822.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/21lead1.jpg | en | null | Mumbai cops hunt for 'vigilantes' who bullied man over man 'cow' leather bag | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 22, 2016 21:25 IST
The Mumbai Police on Monday registered a case of criminal intimidation against unidentified persons who allegedly questioned a 24-year-old man in a menacing way on suspicion that his bag was made from cow skin.
The incident had happened on Friday with Barun Kashyap, who hails from Assam and works as creative director with a private firm, in suburban Andheri.
Kashyap wrote about it in a Facebook post, following which the police initially lodged a non-cognisable offence.
"With a permission from the magistrate's court, we today registered an FIR against a group of men who allegedly accosted Kashyap," a senior official said.
The FIR was lodged under sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
Further probe was underway, the official said.
According to Kashyap, when he was travelling to his workplace in an auto-rickshaw, the driver became curious about his identity.
At a traffic signal, the driver started looking at Kashyap's leather bag and concluded after touching it that it was made from cowhide.
Kashyap told him it was made from camel leather and bought from Pushkar. But the he was not satisfied.
The driver then stopped the vehicle near a temple and signalled three men sitting there. They asked Kashyap to step out, which he refused. One of them examined his bag.
"One of them asked my full name. He looked at the other two and said something in Marathi...I could only understand the word 'Brahmin'. May be hearing Kashyap, they thought I am a Brahmin and left the spot," he said.
Kashyap also noted the vehicle's registration number and asked the driver for his phone number before getting down at the next traffic signal.
Image Courtesy: Barun Kashyap/Facebook | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/mumbai-cops-hunt-for-vigilantes-who-bullied-man-over-man-cow-leather-bag/20160822.htm | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/b7ad91b695c312b27e0b690e166bdd076ccfe7e0485c01263a925b3ffbe0f850.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:41:24 | null | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | Till Sunday evening, floods in Assam had claimed 29 lives while in Bihar the flood toll stood at 26. | No let up in Assam, Bihar floods; 55 people dead and counting | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fpix-no-let-up-in-assam-bihar-floods%2F20160801.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/01rain1.jpg | en | null | No let up in Assam, Bihar floods; 55 people dead and counting | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 01, 2016 09:49 IST
The flood situation in Assam and Bihar remained grim with the death toll in Odisha going up to 32 with three more casualties.
In Bihar, where the flood toll stood at 26, an estimated 27.50 lakh people have been affected in 12 districts, though no fresh casualty was reported.
Rivers including Ghaghra, Bagmati, Koshi and Mahananda are flowing above the danger mark at several places. The floods have also damaged crops in 3.39 lakh hectares of land.
Till Sunday evening, floods in Assam had claimed 29 lives, and affected nearly 37 lakh people in 3,300 villages in 28 districts of the state.
On the flood situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme said the state governments and the Centre are working closely, making all efforts to help the affected people.
In Odisha, where at least 32 people have lost their lives in incident of lightning strikes in the past two days, heavy rainfall and thundershower coupled with gusty surface wind are likely to lash several parts due to a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.
The meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar said rain or thundershower is very likely to occur at most places over north and south Odisha on Monday. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pix-no-let-up-in-assam-bihar-floods/20160801.htm | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/da4d683e8983003e7214776aa65dbc482d807fd33b05599b0d860ff679ea1de7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:39:12 | null | 2016-08-03T00:00:00 | As authorities released water from Gangapur dam, the river level rose significantly, causing many bridges in Old Nashik area to undergo water. | Godavari in spate leaves Nashik flooded | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fgodavari-in-spate-leaves-nashik-flooded%2F20160803.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/02nashik.jpg | en | null | Godavari in spate leaves Nashik flooded | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 03, 2016 00:51 IST
Incessant rains pummelled Nashik city and other parts of the district in Maharashtra on Tuesday, triggering flood in Godavari river which has crossed the danger mark in the city.
Many rivers across the district are also in spate due to heavy rains.
While one elderly woman was killed in wall collapse in the district, a couple is feared washed away in flash flood in Umrale village.
Unabated downpour which gained intensity in last 48 hours, caused water-logging in areas like Ramwadi, Bohorpatti, Bhandi Bazar, Saraf Bazar and in some slum pockets.
As authorities released water from Gangapur dam, the river level rose significantly, causing many bridges in Old Nashik area to undergo water.
"Irrigation department released thousands of cusecs of water from Gangapur, Darna, Palkhed and other dams following heavy incessant rain. This caused flood in Darna, Kadva and other rivers in the district," said an official from district collectorate.
In Nashik city, Godavari river water gushed into many areas adjacent to the river.
Many ancient temples located on the banks of the river submerged due to flood while few steps of famous Naroshankar temple near 'Ramkund' are also under water.
The administration has already alerted people staying in vicinity of the river to move to safer places as more water is likely to released from Gangapur dam in night.
Authorities have declared holidays to schools and colleges for two days in view of rains.
Senior officials, including Police Commissioner S Jagannathan and Collector Radhakrishanan, are closely monitoring the flood situation.
Meanwhile, heavy rush of people to witness flood caused traffic snarls in areas like Someshwar, Old Nashik, Holkar Bridge, etc.
According to an official, all seven doors of Nandur Madhmeshwar dam were opened today, which caused flood water to gush into Chandori and Saykheda villages.
The administration has sought help of 300 Army jawans to meet any eventuality, especially in Chandori village.
In a rain-related mishap, a 75-year-old-woman was killed when wall of her house collapsed at Induri village in Dindori taluka. A couple, identified as Ashok Karate and his wife Sakhubai, are feared washed away in flood at Umrale village, an official said.
Photographs: PTI Photo & Nashik Police/Twitter | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/godavari-in-spate-leaves-nashik-flooded/20160803.htm | en | 2016-08-03T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/43ef32bc375cd821536ebdceea865c607dc1bfd11b6ade289675c5f3ed24ee5a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:10:24 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Sylvia Dyer's life began nearly 90 years ago in a forgotten, untamed land. She spent her childhood on a plantation on the Bihar-Nepal border in pre-Independent India, lived through the '65 war as the wife of a decorated army officer and saw an era grow and fade in front of her eyes. | The Spell of Sylvia Dyer | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Fspecial%2Fthe-spell-of-sylvia-dyer%2F20160826.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/25sylvia-dyer1.jpg | en | null | The Spell of Sylvia Dyer | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 26, 2016 15:14 IST
Sylvia Dyer’s life began nearly 90 years ago in a forgotten, untamed land. She spent her childhood on a plantation along the Bihar-Nepal border in pre-Independence India, lived through the 1965 war as the wife of a decorated army officer and saw an era grow and fade in front of her eyes.
Archana Masih/Rediff.com meets her and finds that family stories – ones that have been lived, narrated, felt, told and retold -- make for the most compelling of histories.
Sylvia Dyer as a young girl outside her home in Dhang on the Bihar-Nepal border. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Sylvia Dyer/Facebook.
India has grown up before Sylvia Dyer’s eyes. She was 19 when Independence came and remembers a letter arriving from the British High Commission in Calcutta asking her Anglo-Indian mother to move to the United Kingdom because they could no longer be responsible for their safety.
“Where do we go? This is our country, our home, the only home we’ve ever known. This is where I’ll live and die,” said her mother Gladys, wrote Sylvia in a fascinating account of life in pre-Independent India in The Spell of the Flying Foxes (Penguin Books India 2011).
Gladys died in India and was buried in Dhang, Bihar, where she lived; her three sons moved to England after her passing but Sylvia, her only daughter, stayed on. As a five-year-old, Sylvia had survived the earthquake of 1934 that devastated the untamed and beautiful land of Champaran. Her grandmother and aunt were killed in that great Bihar quake that old-timers still remember for its ferocity.
Sylvia Dyer on a visit to Hong Kong in 2012. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Sylvia Dyer/Facebook.
In a life which is a commemoration of gritty survival, Sylvia Dyer has fought the good fight. After a memorable childhood, she married twice, both times to men in the Indian Army, and widowed twice, rode out the ’65 war as an army officer’s wife in Kashmir, courageously faced the death of a young son and now lives alone with her memories and a treasure trove of history as seen through her eyes.
“The earthquake was the most terrible thing of my life. I was terrified and we spent the night waiting for the two mothers who had died. We lived with the cows after our house collapsed. It happened so many years ago but even now I don’t like to talk about it,” says Sylvia Dyer, 87, on a quiet evening in her home in Pune.
The well-kept house has sepia-tinted pictures of family in classic frames. A brass memento presented by the army to her husband, Brigadier Aloysius Dyer, who had fought in the Second World War like India’s famous field marshals – Cariappa, Thimayya and Manekshaw – is placed with the photographs.
There’s a garden outside that she loves to spend time in. Sitting under a soft yellow light, Mrs Dyer is dressed elegantly; the advancing years have fogged her memory in patches. But her frailness hasn’t diminished her delicate beauty.
The house was built after the original one collapsed in the Bihar earthquake of 1934, taking the lives of two family members. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Sylvia Dyer/Facebook.
Our collective history as a people survives when people who have lived it, survive to tell the tale. It is through the people’s individual histories that we learn about what the past must have been, and the changes that have taken place that have brought us to the present. Sylvia Dyer is one such. The excavations from her memory weave a tapestry of life lived in a far distant time, some vaguely familiar, some completely forgotten.
Dhang, on the banks of the Baghmati river in the wilds of Champaran, Bihar, was where she spent her childhood on a plantation started by her great grandfather in 1848. Alfred Augustus Tripe had sailed from England to India in search of Indigo, the ‘Blue Gold’ which at that time was the only blue dye in the world and thrived in the soil of Champaran, writes Sylvia in her book.
When German factories started making synthetic dyes and political changes brought about by Gandhiji’s movement crippled the Indigo business, the family’s fortunes suffered. But what they had in plenty was land.
They grew paddy, sugarcane, bamboo, fruit, went hunting, reared chicken, cows and pigs. A cousin even tried rearing elephants but the venture failed.
Tripe had married an Indian Rajput lady and prospered. He made an English double-storeyed house on land received as dowry which was destroyed in the earthquake. When his grand-daughter and only heir – Gladys – built a new home she ensured it had a single storey so that no more lives would be lost under its walls.
“My grandmother Gladys inherited this vast property and ran it. She was the matriarch of the family, who was widowed twice,” says Marilyn Dyer, 48. “We have a history of strong women in the family. Once there were two women alone in the house when they were attacked by dacoits and they fought them out. My grandmother could shoot from horseback.”
Champaran still has remnants of crumbling Indigo godowns set up by the British. Seventy years after Tripe arrived and long after his death, Gandhiji launched his first satyagrah against the British by protesting the exploitation of Indigo farmers. His initiation into the freedom movement began in these lands. The wheels of fate turned such that 100 years after Tripe’s arrival, when time came to choose between India and England, his great-grand daughter Gladys and her only child Sylvia chose India.
This was home.
The family in their garden. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Sylvia Dyer/Facebook.
“My mother’s three brothers took residence in the UK, the youngest stayed with the Indian Army,” says Gladys’s grand-daughter and Sylvia’s daughter Marilyn. “Mum is very Indian and would not have liked it there. She was also an army wife.”
Sylvia’s father worked with a tea factory in Calcutta but moved to Dhang to help look after the land. A faraway place, one that her daughter Marilyn says "did not even show up on the map till recently", Dhang belonged to another time.
'Nobody would ever forget Dhang, though after all these years it seems to me that it never really existed, and was just a long ago, stretched out dream,' writes Sylvia in her autobiographical book.
At the edges of the land spread out the thick jungles and beyond them rose the Himalayas, just 25 miles away. There were rows of sheesham trees with stories of bats resting on their branches, the nearest doctor was 50 miles away, the tiny railway station saw only one train that came bringing in newspapers, letters and bread, there was a wrestling akhara, a notorious daaku came as a saviour after the earthquake and remained a lifelong friend.
Sylvia Dyer in her home in Pune. Photograph: Seema Pant.
“Oh dear, I have become very old,” says Sylvia Dyer, “but we did such silly things as children. We had 10 dogs and I had a big orange cat. We had a big place with ages and ages of distance. Big fat rats used to fly out of the fields during harvesting,” she laughs.
Shortly after India was free, Sylvia married an Anglo-Indian army officer, Ronald Pereira, from the Gorkha Regiment after meeting him in the Muzaffarpur club. When the Banihal tunnel that would link Jammu and Srinagar was being constructed, Sylvia’s husband was posted in Banihal.
“They were stationed in the middle of nowhere. Their house used to be a sheep stable. When he was posted in the forward areas she would go to Dhang with her two boys,” says Marilyn in a Skype conversation from Hong Kong.
Officer Pereira tragically died of high fever, while travelling alone on a train journey back to his post from a holiday. He left behind a widow with two young boys.
“Some very bad things happened after my husband died. My two little boys had to be sent to a boarding school and I went back home to look after the small of plot of land in Dhang that my mother had left me. A lot had changed by then and I stayed on the fields till the sun went down everyday. It was hard,” says Sylvia Dyer, reminiscing about those days.
Brigadier Aloysius Dyer as a young army officer. He was decorated in Burma and served the Indian Army till his retirement after the '65 War. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Marilyn Dyer.
It was the early '60s, zamindari had been abolished and only a fraction of the land remained. She hired people and worked the land but the crop failed because of a poor monsoon.
“She was devastated,” says Marilyn, “But mum is a survivor and extremely spiritual, not in the Bible thumping way. She just puts her troubles up to the universe and things happen.”
Just as things were crumbling around her in her beloved Dhang, two of her friends from the army invited her to spend some time with them in Srinagar. When she packed her bag to leave, Sylvia did not know that life was to take yet another decisive turn.
In Sringar, she would meet Brigadier Aloysius Dyer, a 50-year-old bachelor who had served in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Burma and India.
Born in 1914, Aloysius Dyer was working in the Reserve Bank in Bombay when World War II broke out. He decided to sign up for the war and joined the Army Service Corps that was the only branch taking in recruits. “But he hardly served the ASC and was posted all over. He was decorated with an MBE in Burma and knew Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw very well. He was also General Thimayya's staff officer,” adds Marilyn.
Brigadier and Mrs Dyer on their wedding day in Srinagar.
The sub area commander of Jammu and Kashmir, Brigadier Dyer and Sylvia were married within a year of meeting. After a quick and magical honeymoon in the most beautiful place on earth, the army officer spent most of his time in a bunker planning his troop movement when India went to war with Pakistan in 1965 while his bride stayed in the house.
Brigadier Dyer retired soon after the war and moved to his hometown, Bombay. They finally settled down in Pune where he died of cancer in 1988.
“Her own father died when she was three, she lost both her husbands, one of her boys died in a road accident on Dadar bridge. She had a tough traumatic life but however bad things were, mum always had a sense of humour,” says Marilyn, adding that her mother learnt to drive in her late 30s, was an accomplished soprano, learnt to use the computer at 70, published her memoirs at 83 and used to do the drilling and wiring of the house herself.
Sylvia Dyer grew up in pre-Independence India and has seen an era grow and fade before her eyes. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Sylvia Dyer/Facebook.
Sylvia Dyer’s life captures an India of a different time, one that no longer exists or is fading away like her own memory. Her stories and anecdotes are what family stories and histories are made of. The ones that go down generations – and hers are populated with Anglo Indians, memorable characters, and memories of a childhood in a forgotten land where her ancestors lie in quiet graves. But she doesn’t know if the graveyard remains or has been desecrated or run over by weeds or has sunk into the earth.
In 1970 she sold whatever was left of the land in Dhang to local Rajputs and hasn’t been back since.
“It is all very personal to her. It would be like going and looking at a corpse. She’s never let me go there but I’m determined to go,” says Marilyn.
Sylvia Dyer’s book cover has a picture of the home she grew up in. It is painted red and white, with arched verandahs surrounded with trees.
The concluding pages of the The Spell of the Flying Foxes book captures her journey back from boarding school, as she hops off the train at Dhang’s tiny railway station and makes her way in a bullock cart to their home. The mud track goes past fields, groves and sheesham trees.
‘And there before us, set in the kaleidoscope of colours is -- Home!’ writes Sylvia Dyer. Her vivid descriptions almost takes you there. | http://www.rediff.com/news/special/the-spell-of-sylvia-dyer/20160826.htm | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/1457b8e51a6552aea91fce51aad0475e6bdcc0e6d6f4b7286590d13e7ca4738c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:17:11 | null | 2016-08-21T00:00:00 | 'The face-off between a small action team of ultras and a joint team of security forces took place about 2 kms deep inside the forests from the spot where the explosion took place at around 8 am,' Sukma Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela told PTI over phone. | Chhattisgarh: Naxal killed in face-off with security forces | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fcrpf-jawan-injured-in-bomb-blast-in-chhasttisgarh%2F20160821.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/jun/27blast.jpg | en | null | Chhattisgarh: Naxal killed in face-off with security forces | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 21, 2016 14:21 IST
A Naxal was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Errabor police station area of Chhattisgarh's Sukma district while a CRPF jawan was injured in a pressure bomb blast laid by Maoists in the same area.
"The face-off between a small action team of ultras and a joint team of security forces took place about 2 kms deep inside the forests from the spot where the explosion took place at around 8 am," Sukma Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela told PTI over phone.
CRPF's head constable Dilip Kumar Boro belonging to 212th battalion had sustained injuries in the explosion while a team of paramilitaries was heading for security duty at the weekly market of Errabor village, he said.
Security forces were tasked to ensure security to the weekly market, located just about 200 meters away from the Errabor police station which lies at 500 kms away from Raipur.
Following the blast, a separate team of security personnel, comprising CRPF, Special Task Force and district force, launched an intense combing operation in the forests around the village anticipating movement of ultras, he said.
Ultras, who were present at the spot during the blast, opened indiscriminate fire on security forces following which they retaliated leading to the death of an ultra, he added.
However, other cadres soon fled from the spot. During searches, the body of the rebel besides a country-made weapon was recovered from the spot, he said adding the operation was still underway inside the jungle.
The injured head constable was admitted to a local hospital and his condition is stable, he added. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/crpf-jawan-injured-in-bomb-blast-in-chhasttisgarh/20160821.htm | en | 2016-08-21T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/59a3cecc08bbee72dd750a2c64d5a919bea8a810401c249e76f6f3dc568aea0b.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:33:25 | null | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | Hillary is accused of having made 'false and defamatory statements negligently, recklessly and purposefully and/or intentionally with malice' in her public comments, including those about the connection between the attack and an anti-Muslim YouTube video. | Benghazi returns to haunt Hillary; parents sue her for wrongful death, defamation | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fbenghazi-returns-to-haunt-hillary-parents-sue-her%2F20160809.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/09lead1.jpg | en | null | Benghazi returns to haunt Hillary; parents sue her for wrongful death, defamation | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 09, 2016 10:08 IST
Benghazi has returned to haunt Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton once again after parents of two Americans killed in the 2012 attack on a United States diplomatic mission in Libya filed a lawsuit against the then US secretary of state, saying that her ‘extreme carelessness’ in handling confidential and classified information contributed to the conditions that led to their sons’ deaths.
In a petition filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia by Patricia Smith, the mother of Sean Smith, and Charles Woods, the father of Tyrone Woods -- both of whom were killed during the Benghazi attack -- Hillary is accused of having made “false and defamatory statements negligently, recklessly and purposefully and/or intentionally with malice” in her public comments, including those about the connection between the attack and an anti-Muslim YouTube video.
The petition says, "Islamic terrorists obtained the information sent and received by Clinton about the location of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and thus the US Department of State and the covert CIA and other government operations in Benghazi and used it to plan, orchestrate, and carry out the horrific and devastating attack on the American diplomatic compound."
"Immediately after the attack, Clinton, in an effort to save the re-election chances of President Barack Obama, and in turn, her own chances at the 2016 presidency, lied to the plaintiffs (victims' families) and the public at large that the Benghazi attacks were caused by Islamic reaction over an anti-Muslim YouTube video that had been posted on the internet.
"These lies were perpetrated despite the fact that she knew immediately that this video was actually not the cause of the attack—information that she shared with the prime minister of Egypt and her own daughter, Chelsea Clinton, but hid from plaintiffs and the public at large. Defendant Clinton even promised plaintiffs that the person responsible for the video would be arrested. Woods recorded the conversation with Clinton contemporaneously in his diary, which he has recorded in for many years.
"Now, Clinton, in an attempt to save her reputation and intimidate Plaintiffs and their surviving family members into silence as she attempts to be elected President in the November, 2016 election, has gone on a defamatory smear campaign to paint the Plaintiffs as liars in the public eye in order to discredit them, who have been vocal about Clinton's pattern and practice of dishonesty regarding what caused the Benghazi attack, its aftermath, and the death of their sons."
Responding to the charges, Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Clinton, said in a statement, "While no one can imagine the pain of the families of the brave Americans we lost at Benghazi, there have been nine different investigations into this attack and none found any evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing on the part of Hillary Clinton."
In an interview last week on Fox News Sunday, Clinton had denied telling family members of those killed that the attack was sparked by an anti-Islam video, and was not terrorism.
She instead suggested the family members misunderstood her because they were overwhelmed by grief.
"I understand the grief and the incredible sense of loss that can motivate that," Clinton said. "As other members of families who’ve lost loved ones have said, that's not what they heard. I don't hold any ill feeling for someone who, in that moment, may not fully recall everything that was or wasn't said."
Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/benghazi-returns-to-haunt-hillary-parents-sue-her/20160809.htm | en | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/7bddd24138de52c792c5c778e15a033f451ed5f01551dc256b4d89b32430a734.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T14:51:12 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | At least 25 persons were injured in clashes between protestors and security forces in Kashmir on Saturday. | Kashmir paralysed for 51st straight day as curfew continues | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fkashmir-paralysed-for-51st-straight-day-as-curfew-continues%2F20160828.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/28kashmir1.jpg | en | null | Kashmir paralysed for 51st straight day as curfew continues | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 28, 2016 19:00 IST
IMAGE: A security jawan checks identity cards of youth during the the 51st day of curfew in downtown Srinagar. Photographs: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com
Curfew continued in some parts of Srinagar and two towns in south Kashmir, while restrictions on the assembly of people were in force in the rest of the Valley where normal life remained paralysed for the 51st consecutive day on Sunday.
Curfew remained in force in five police station areas of downtown Srinagar, a police official said.
He said the curfew was lifted from many areas of Srinagar on Sunday -- two days after it was clamped in the entire city to thwart proposed marches by separatist groups to Eidgah in old city on Friday and towards Army headquarters at Badami Bagh cantonment area in Srinagar on Saturday.
The official said curfew also continued in the two south Kashmir towns of Pulwama and Pampore.
He also said restrictions on assembly of people were in force in rest of the Valley to maintain law and order.
IMAGE: A man carries a baby as he walks past an Army bunker during curfew in Srinagar on Sunday.
At least 25 persons were injured in clashes between protestors and security forces in Kashmir on Saturday as the death toll in the ongoing unrest, in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8, reached 68.
Meanwhile, normal life remained paralysed for the 51st consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist sponsored strike.
Shops, private offices and petrol pumps remained closed on Sunday as well, while public transport continued to be off roads, the official said.
Mobile Internet also continued to remain suspended in the entire Valley, where the outgoing facility on prepaid mobiles remained barred.
The separatist camp, which is spearheading the agitation in the Valley over the civilian killings during the protests against Wani’s killing, has extended the strike call in the Valley till September 1.
They have asked the mosque committees in all villages and localities to visit people to assess their needs.
Also visit the families of those killed and injured, and make arrangements for their support, the separatists said in their weekly protest programme. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/kashmir-paralysed-for-51st-straight-day-as-curfew-continues/20160828.htm | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/cac9d320d1681373020683cfe84aaa880b4f731a7ce69dd693760b82c984c66c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:42:02 | null | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | The Supreme Court's verdict puts nearly half a dozen former chief ministers in the state of Bihar in a hotspot. | After SC verdict, will ex-CMs vacate government bungalows in Bihar? | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fafter-sc-verdict-ex-chief-ministers-will-have-to-vacate-government-bungalows-in-bihar%2F20160801.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2011/dec/20mplads1.jpg | en | null | After SC verdict, will ex-CMs vacate government bungalows in Bihar? | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 01, 2016 19:17 IST
With the Supreme Court judgment stating that former chief ministers are not entitled for lifetime taxpayer-sponsored accommodation, several former Bihar chief ministers including Lalu Prasad, will have to vacate their bungalows. M I Khan/Rediff.com reports from Patna.
The Supreme Court on Monday held that former chief ministers are not entitled to government accommodation for lifetime.
A bench headed by Justice Anil R Dave, which pronounced its verdict on a 2004 plea, said that any such government accommodation should be vacated within two to three months. “They don’t have the right to occupy government accommodation for a lifetime,” the bench said.
This puts nearly half a dozen former chief ministers in the state of Bihar in a hotspot.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, both former chief ministers, are currently residing in the sprawling 10 Circular Road.
Lalu was chief minister from 1990 to 1997 and Rabri Devi was chief minister from 1997 to 2005.
The couple has shifted to this bunglow from 1 Anne Marg, the official residence of the state chief minister, after the RJD was ousted from the power in November 2005 when the Janata Dal-United-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance led by Nitish Kumar defeated them.
The couple's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, currently Bihar’s health minister, and younger son Tejaswi Yadav, the state's deputy chief minister, also reside in the same bunglow.
According to officials of the building department in Patna, the bungalow is spread across acres of land.
Similarly, Jagannath Mishra, who had served as chief minister in 1980s, has been staying in a government-owned bungalow for decades.
Satish Kumar, who had served as chief minister for only three days in 1968, has also been staying in a government bungalow for years.
Jitan Ram Manjhi, who was chief minister from May 2014 to March 2016, is staying in considerably large bungalow.
Even incumbent Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been occupying a sprawling bungalow at 7 Circular Road in his capacity as a former CM. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/after-sc-verdict-ex-chief-ministers-will-have-to-vacate-government-bungalows-in-bihar/20160801.htm | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/090e0a15e4d24aa8cde8d235ccc601ad5fe31329373a393f608b79a03011e2da.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:19:52 | null | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | 'By hoisting the national flag we have kindled a small flame of hope among the Adivasis.'
'We will strive to keep this flame burning forever among their hearts.' | Hoisting the Tricolour in the Maoist heartland | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Finterview%2Fhoisting-the-tricolour-in-the-maoist-heartland%2F20160818.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/19soni-sori-in-gompad.jpg | en | null | Hoisting the Tricolour in the Maoist heartland | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 19, 2016 11:35 IST
'By hoisting the national flag we have kindled a small flame of hope among the Adivasis.'
'We will strive to keep this flame burning forever among their hearts.'
IMAGE: Adivasi leader Soni Sori, in white, with Madkam Hidme's mother to her left, in red, who has approached the court to seek justice for her daughter. The girl with a duppatta on her head is Madkam Hidme's sister, and to Sori's right is Kawasi Hidme, who was imprisoned in various Chhattisgarh prisons for seven years on trumped up charges, and acquitted by the court last year. Photograph: Journalist Prabhat Singh
On August 9, tribal activist Soni Sori led a 200 kilometre-long padyatra from Dantewada, which culminated with her hoisting the Tricolour in Gompad on August 15.
After the padyatra, which highlighted the brutalities the people faced in the battle between the government and the Maoists, she spoke to Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore about her journey and the emotional moment when she hoisted the national flag in the Maoist heartland.
What was the mood like in Gompad when you unfurled the national flag?
We were surprised to see many villagers not only from Gompad but from adjoining villages during the flag hoisting in the morning.
All these villagers had defied the Naxals to reach Gompad for the function.
I had not gone there to fight the Naxals, but was heartened to see so many people come together in Gompad for the flag hoisting.
I wanted to hoist the flag amid the Adivasis of Chhattisgarh.
Did the people who you addressed know that India became free on August 15, 1947 and we all celebrate it as our Independence Day?
No. In fact, they were curious to know why we were hoisting the Tricolour. It was then that I explained the freedom struggle and how our freedom fighters sacrificed their lives for the love of the nation and released us from the yoke of British rule.
The Adivasis told us that India may have become Independent, but they were still not free to pursue the life they want.
They said they are not free because the fruits of freedom are yet to reach them.
They still lead their lives without electricity and have lived in the dark all their lives.
They said when they till their lands the police detain them, harass and rape their women and beat them up for farming their own land.
They said their women can't move around freely as they fear being raped by the police or getting killed.
They said they could not venture into forests, on which they depend for their livelihoods or visit bazaars which are almost 60 kilometre away from their homes.
They said they can't even sleep peacefully inside their homes as they always fear harassment by the police.
I empathised with them when they said that they were still not free in a free India.
But I made them see reason that they will get their rights by organising and agitating peacefully under the national flag and by proving themselves to be law abiding citizens of India.
I told them they must respect the national flag and fight peacefully with all their might against those who beat them up, don't allow them to earn their livelihoods from forest rights and rape their women.
We should organise ourselves and demand our rights from the government. When they asked me if I would support them, I said 'yes.'
Some of their demands were to have a bazaar in their villages. They should have ration shops, schools, health centres and anganwadis in their villages. They also wanted proper roads and power supply.
We sang the national anthem and unfurled the Indian flag at 9.30 am on August 15 in Gompad.
IMAGE: Soni Sori and her supporters along with the Adivasis of Gompad and surrounding villages in Chhattisgarh hoist the Tiranga on August 15. Photograph: Bastar Solidarity Network
Did the Maoists not threaten you?
No, they did not give us any trouble because the Adivasis of the region were with us.
We had strong local support when we hoisted the national flag and even after that when we started our return journey. Around 2,000 people had come to meet us and hoist the flag.
They happily celebrated Independence Day, but complained that 18 villagers had been killed by the police in fake encounters.
The families of these people gave us the list of the 18 villagers and narrated how the police killed them in cold blood. They wondered if they will ever get justice.
I assured them that I will fight for justice for these villagers and will lead an agitation in a peaceful and Constitutional manner.
Did you feel the Maoists kept a watch during the flag hoisting?
I don't know. All I can say is that I was among the oppressed Adivasis of Chhattisgarh and their (the Maoists) presence or absence hardly made any impact on us or the villagers.
By hoisting the national flag we have kindled a small flame of hope among the Adivasis. We will strive to keep this flame burning forever among their hearts.
Soon we will hold a press conference highlighting the fake encounters of these 18 people and give a petition of their demands to the district collector and the government of Chhattisgarh.
Just like we did in the Madkam Hidme case (the Chhattisgarh high court on June 21 directed the police to exhume Madkam Hidme's (external link) body and perform a post-mortem and videograph it) we will be taking the families of these 18 Adivasis to the court and file an affidavit seeking justice for them.
The police, as happens all the time, refused to file an FIR when these families reported the fake encounters.
The Hidme case, of which the court took direct cognisance, has given a lot of hope to these people who have no faith in the Chhattisgarh police. | http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/hoisting-the-tricolour-in-the-maoist-heartland/20160818.htm | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/4cef6f6976fb7dabd3c042d87353b60b856e5915921796708d56e341e75bc4a7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:17:59 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | The woman is a first-year PhD student and she has alleged that Anmol Ratan, a JNU student and AISA activist raped her on Saturday, police said. | JNU PhD scholar drugged, raped by fellow student | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fjnu-phd-scholar-drugged-raped-by-fellow-student%2F20160822.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/22jnu.jpg | en | null | JNU PhD scholar drugged, raped by fellow student | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 22, 2016 08:04 IST
A 28-year-old Jawaharlal Nehru University student has filed a rape case against an All India Students’ Association activist accusing him of raping her in a hostel room on the university campus, police said on Sunday night.
The woman is a first-year PhD student and she has alleged that Anmol Ratan, a JNU student and AISA activist raped her on Saturday, police said.
According to the complaint filed by her at Vasant Kunj (North) police station, she had posted on her Facebook profile that she wanted to watch ‘Sairat’ and asked if anyone had a CD of it.
It said Ratan apparently messaged her saying that he had a copy. Thereafter, he picked her up on the pretext of giving her a CD of the film and took her to Brahamputra Hostel, where he stays.
She said in the complaint that he offered her a spiked drink and allegedly raped her. He also threatened her and asked her to not report the matter.
However, the woman approached the police on Sunday and a case of rape was registered and further investigation is underway.
When contacted AISA said it has taken strong note of the allegations and has expelled Ratan from the membership.
“AISA takes serious note of the fact that Anmol Ratan, a leading activist of AISA, is facing a criminal complaint of sexual assault. He is, henceforth, expelled from the primary membership of AISA.
“AISA will reflect on and deal with this issue with all the firmness it deserves. AISA will be unflinching for the principles of gender justice even if it involves a leading member of the organisation. We stand by the complainant in her fight for justice,” Ashutosh Kumar, AISA Delhi state secretary, said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/jnu-phd-scholar-drugged-raped-by-fellow-student/20160822.htm | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/d227e1301275e6206c63024c573db07987063a33247bd2dd7cd715b97d5abd64.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:19:19 | null | 2016-08-20T00:00:00 | West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday tore into Narendra Modi government, accusing it of bulldozing the federal structure and running a Presidential form of government, drawing sharp reaction
from the Bharatiya Janata Party. | Modi government dictatorial, situation worse than emergency: Mamata | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fmodi-government-dictatorial-situation-worse-than-emergency-mamata%2F20160820.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/20mamata.jpg | en | null | Modi government dictatorial, situation worse than emergency: Mamata | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 20, 2016 23:08 IST
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday tore into Narendra Modi government, accusing it of bulldozing the federal structure and running a Presidential form of government, drawing sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"Has Presidential form of government started in India? This is a very sensitive and important question. It happens in Russia, China, America. If they (BJP) want to do that then change the Constitution. Ours is a federal structure," Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata.
The state government, she said, had received a letter from the Centre during the day, saying the Centre-sponsored schemes are being rationalised with effect from the current financial year.
"This is being done by force without taking the states into confidence. Only BJP-ruled states and some other smaller states have agreed to the recommendations of the sub-group of chief ministers in this regard," Banerjee said.
She pointed out that state subjects like law and order, fisheries, agriculture, public health, sanitation, irrigation have been brought under the ambit of national development agenda as per a circular of Niti Aayog.
"Modi government is bulldozing the federal structure and violating Constitution. It is interfering in the functioning of the state governments. They talk about cooperative federalism. They don't know what is cooperative federalism," she said.
The chief minister said the Centre is trying to monitor expenses of the state treasury, giving direct orders to district magistrates and leaving no space for state schemes.
"I will protest before the President. We will seek his opinion if this is constitutionally valid. We will speak with him and write a letter. Other states must also protest," she said.
Sharply reacting to her remarks, the BJP accused Banerjee of presiding over an anarchist state government for the last five years.
"Mamata Banerjee has presided over five years of an anarchist government in the state. She has not spared even a farmer, student and cartoonist for criticising for questioning her. Therefore, to call Modi government dictator is far from truth," BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said.
"Banerjee should be grateful that it is Modiji's believe in federal structure that state of Bengal will get under 14th Finance commission Rs 3,59,406 crores which is more by Rs 2,52,206 crore than that given by the 13th Finance Commission," he said.
Banerjee questioned why schemes should be run in the states in the name of the prime minister and BJP leaders.
"When the state has to pay for the schemes then why should I run the schemes in the name of their party leaders. Why? Don't we have Tagore, Netaji, Nazrul Islam?," she said claiming that now the Centre has started deciding the state's budget.
"This is total dictatorship. We have been humiliated many times before too. But I had never heard anything like this before," she said.
Attacking the Central government, Banerjee said it should have only four ministries -- finance, railways, external affairs and defence.
According to a memo issued by the Niti Aayog, existing 66 centrally-sponsored schemes have been rationalised into 28 umbrella schemes.
"In 20 schemes the Centre-state contribution will be 50:50, while in 6 other schemes the ratio will be 60:40 but the name will be theirs. They are forcing us to do it," she said.
"If they (Centre) interfere into the functioning of the states, there is no meaning of the existence of the state governments. It is a very serious matter," the TMC chief said.
Claiming that the situation in the country is "worse than emergency" now, Banerjee said the Centre's Kashmir policy has failed while its NSG diplomacy was a disaster. Pakistan issue has become worse because of the Centre's failure, she said.
Few days ago, the union finance minister paid tributes to Netaji on his death anniversary. Are these mistakes or planned actions, she asked.
Photograph: @AITCofficial/Twitter | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/modi-government-dictatorial-situation-worse-than-emergency-mamata/20160820.htm | en | 2016-08-20T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/845bc060087b9586d632239be54ee71ededdfe11ec82f4ad5c31415b5965b21d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:21:21 | null | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | 'The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, as recent events suggest, are quite content as New Delhi's collaborators rather than trying to be true representatives of the Kashmiri people,' says Athar Parvaiz. | How NC and PDP have failed Kashmir, and New Delhi | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Fcolumn%2Fhow-nc-and-pdp-have-failed-kashmir-and-new-delhi%2F20160817.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/feb/24kashmir2.jpg | en | null | How NC and PDP have failed Kashmir, and New Delhi | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 17, 2016 23:01 IST
'The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, as recent events suggest, are quite content as New Delhi's collaborators rather than trying to be true representatives of the Kashmiri people,' says Athar Parvaiz.
IMAGE: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti with BJP President Amit Shah, February 2015.
Kashmir is a political problem and it needs a political solution.
Kashmiris have been hearing this refrain as often as the region erupts into protests in favour of 'azadi.' Once transitory peace stages a comeback, the political seeds of the problem are sent into dormancy -- much like seeds in winter -- until they flourish in yet another spring of uprising.
Any major political solution to Kashmir -- involving India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris -- has remained elusive and would most likely be so at least in the near future, given the cranky politics and self-serving narratives of the present-day political leaders in New Delhi and Islamabad.
What is intriguing is the fact that despite an overflow of expressions like 'address the political dimensions of the Kashmir issue' and 'win the hearts of Kashmiris' being bandied about, the Kashmiris have never got even a semblance of respect with regard to their basic political and human rights.
Here, I'm only referring to respect for political and human rights as per the understanding of pro-India political parties like the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party, and not to the political aspiration for 'azadi' in Kashmir, which is currently witnessing a massive upsurge.
It took the rationality of a leader like Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- years after P V Narasimha Rao's 'anything short of azadi' and H D Deve Gowda's 'sky is the limit' catchphrases about autonomy had turned out to be mere slogans -- to consider a political engagement with Kashmiri leaders, including militant commanders, across the board.
Vajpayee's carefully chosen slogans of 'insaniyat' (humanity) and 'jhumuriyat' (democracy) were never adopted to reach out to the Kashmiris, even as his political engagement with Pakistan, in the light of yet another famous slogan coined by him -- 'you can change your friends, but not neighbours' -- achieved some results, like the famed Agra summit in July 2001.
Why the Vajpayee lexicon of insaniyat and jhumuriyat came down to sheer word play is not only New Delhi's fault, though it has always played the deadly games of political brinkmanship when it comes to Kashmir.
One big tragedy of Kashmir lies in the manner in which mainstream politics plays out in its attractive yet uneasy environs.
Kashmir's two major pro-India political parties, the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, have totally stopped pursuing their own political objectives or party visions on the resolution of the issue, despite their seemingly avowed ideology that political justice lay at the core of a solution on Kashmir.
Both parties have come up with their respective political solutions for the Kashmir issue which are well-documented, but neither of them has been able to convince New Delhi to implement their solutions, not even partly.
The National Conference's autonomy resolution, which seeks the restoration of the pre-1953 constitutional position for Kashmir, was passed in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly in June 2000 on the basis of a report prepared by the nine-member State Autonomy Committee.
The party's renewed faith in autonomy was the upshot of New Delhi's assurance to the National Conference in 1996 that Kashmir would be given maximum autonomy if the party agreed to contest the assembly elections.
New Delhi had grown extremely desperate to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir as it had extended President's rule several times in a row since January 19, 1990 -- which had caused severe damage to its democratic credentials.
Farooq Abdullah succumbed to the lure at a time when New Delhi had no option other than the National Conference to be at the vanguard of this exercise, given the presence of its cadres all across Kashmir.
After doing Delhi's bidding, the National Conference failed to secure the promised political capital. Ever since, the National Conference has made occasional half-hearted statements on Kashmir's autonomy as a mere formality.
And the PDP's October 2008 self-rule document, which prescribes political and economic integration of the divided parts of Kashmir -- along with de-militarisation as the 'best solution' without affecting the sovereignty of India and Pakistan -- has been around for the past eight years, but the party has also failed to build a significant pathway down that road.
Despite contesting two elections after releasing its self-rule document, the PDP never made significant efforts to realise its 'dream'.
It rather chose to hide behind the smokescreen of suggesting measures on the peace process and dialogue, words which Kashmir-based mainstream politicians find quite convenient and inoffensive with a fair idea about their futility, given how seriously their suggestions on involving Pakistan and Hurriyat leaders are taken in New Delhi.
Except the National Conference's failed June 2000 resolution on autonomy, we have never witnessed either of the parties pursuing its goals Constitutionally.
When the PDP faced the crucial test of defending its ideology following the 2014 elections, it chose to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party, whose position on Kashmir's so-called 'special status' was clear.
Provided the nature and compulsions of their politics, the PDP and National Conference were expected to convince New Delhi, even if it meant resorting to agitations, to adopt and implement their solutions for giving Kashmiris the much-needed solace and were expected to leave the 'azadi struggle' to pro-freedom politicians.
But they hardly showed any such signs, even when the political circumstances created by years of armed rebellion and massive resentment against New Delhi had presented them with a windfall.
Instead, what they do is a pure need-based, non-serious and extremely ambiguous politics of demanding the initiation of a 'dialogue' and 'peace process', that too when some human rights violation or a pure ideological drive, as is being witnessed currently, flares up passions in the valley.
They, as recent events suggest, are quite content as New Delhi's collaborators rather than trying to be true representatives of the Kashmiri people.
When New Delhi needed to carry out panchayat elections in 2011 in Jammu and Kashmir, to showcase the spread of grassroots democracy, these two major mainstream political parties promptly took the call, only to make many of their unguarded panchayat members sitting ducks to terrorist attacks while themselves enjoying the security of fortifying zones in Srinagar and huge security escorts on roads and public places.
Being the older player, the National Conference in particular has been a mute spectator to Delhi's self-destructive manoeuvring in Kashmir, as long as it remains in charge of state administration or an 'actor' in Kashmir politics even with a nondescript role.
Some events particularly clinch this argument.
For example, did the National Conference ever bother about carrying out the 'mass awareness programme' for 'educating people and political leaders across India' which it had talked about when its autonomy resolution was rejected by the Union Cabinet weeks after its submission in June 2000?
In fact, the statement about starting a 'mass awareness programme' was made to fend off criticism as to why the party does not deem it necessary to snap ties with the BJP, which then headed the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.
Even after its defeat in the 2002 assembly elections, the National Conference chose to remain silent on its autonomy demand until the 2008 elections, when it made a passing reference to this demand in its vision document.
It remained unfazed when the report submitted by the three interlocutors -- headed by Dileep Padgaonkar -- to the United Progressive Alliance government in 2011 was not taken with the seriousness it deserved.
The report, apart from recommending 'meaningful autonomy,' had pleaded that the army's visibility should be reduced, human rights violations should be urgently addressed and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act should be reviewed.
Before that, the National Conference had shown a similar response when the Justice Sagheer Committee report, which had also recommended greater autonomy, was consigned to cold storage.
If the pro-freedom leaders can manage massive agitations and endure house arrests in pursuance of a political objective which seems far difficult to achieve than the National Conference and the PDP's political demands within the Constitution, why could these two parties not even attempt warning New Delhi of launching an agitation in favour of their demands?
Similarly, both parties have failed to give any respite to common Kashmiris from a heavy army and paramilitary presence and the impunity they enjoy, even as the militancy, going by official figures, has almost faded into nothingness for years now.
Neither of the two parties has been able to convince New Delhi to withdraw troops from peaceful pockets in the valley, where the security presence is unwanted. Nor has the AFSPA been withdrawn even from a small pocket of any district.
As regards human rights violations, there is hardly any evidence for punishing the perpetrators, except in the case of the Machil fake encounter.
When he was out of power before 2008, Omar Abdullah had rightly demanded the setting up of a 'Truth and Reconciliation Commission' for probing the crimes committed by all the parties since 1988 in Kashmir, but he reneged on this demand after coming to power.
So, if the PDP and the National Conference have not been able to deliver on the basic expectations of the Kashmiri people, what moral authority do they have to tell Kashmiris that they represent them in New Delhi?
Rather, they represent New Delhi in Kashmir; and unfortunately for New Delhi, clumsily at that.
ALSO READ | http://www.rediff.com/news/column/how-nc-and-pdp-have-failed-kashmir-and-new-delhi/20160817.htm | en | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/0a228c46202386653039d4960f1d2fd5b452b9e4ff7de4e3bc9fff8401144818.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:25:13 | null | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | Reacting to Khan's detention at a US airport, for the third time in seven years, Sena said despite this 'common occurrence,' the 'tolerant actor' goes to the US repeatedly. | SRK should have displayed patriotic credentials; returned from US: Sena | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fsrk-should-have-displayed-patriotic-credentials-returned-from-us-sena%2F20160813.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/jan/22srk.jpg | en | null | SRK should have displayed patriotic credentials; returned from US: Sena | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 13, 2016 13:54 IST
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who was detained at an American airport, should have displayed his patriotic credentials and returned to India after suffering another "insult" in the US, which would have been a "slap on the face of America," Shiv Sena said on Saturday.
Reacting to Khan's detention at a US airport, for the third time in seven years, Sena said despite this "common occurrence," the "tolerant actor" goes to the US repeatedly.
"This has been a common occurrence with Shah Rukh at most big US airports. Still, this tolerant actor goes to the US repeatedly, only to get insulted," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said.
"He should have returned, displaying patriotic credentials, and telling the US that 'I won't step into your country if you are going to insult me in this manner,' the Sena said.
"Had he done so, it would have been a slap on the face of America. The US views every Muslim as a terrorist," the Sena said.
The Bollywood actor was detained briefly at the Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, after which he expressed disappointment on social media.
"I fully understand & respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigration every damn time really really sucks," (sic) the actor tweeted.
In April 2012, he was detained at the White Plains airport near New York for over two hours and, in 2009, at the Newark Airport in New Jersey for nearly two hours.
US Ambassador to India Richard Verma apologised to Shah Rukh Khan for his detention at Los Angeles airport and said the US was working to ensure that it does not happen again.
The Sena also suggested that the Khans, a reference to other Bollywood bigs with that surname, should give direction to the 'misguided" youth of Kashmir who are on rampage.
"The Khans of Bollywood should take to Twitter to 'show direction' to misguided youth in Kashmir who are on a rampage," the Sena said.
The editorial also referred to last November's incident when Bollywood actor Aamir Khan said that his wife Kiran Rao wondered whether they should move out of India, as she feared for the safety of their children in a climate of "insecurity".
That was the time when the issue of "rising intolerance" in India was being hotly debated, and when several artists and authors returned government awards to protest "intolerance". | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/srk-should-have-displayed-patriotic-credentials-returned-from-us-sena/20160813.htm | en | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/83efed23075c0b91576d1b5cb74cc0579cbe3619aeb3e3d721d451ae46641cc4.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:51:48 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Ground support staff quickly doused the flames and no one was injured in the fire. There was also no damage to the aircraft or the runway. | 2 external fuel tanks of navy's MiG-29K plane fall off, no casualty | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fpix-external-fuel-tanks-of-navys-mig-29k-plane-fall-off-no-casualty%2F20160829.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/29mig1.jpg | en | null | 2 external fuel tanks of navy's MiG-29K plane fall off, no casualty | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 29, 2016 17:02 IST
Two external fuel tanks of a Navy MiG-29K plane fell off separately at the naval air station INS Dega and near the Central Industrial Security Forces quarters in Visakhapatnam on Monday, even as the pilots miraculously escaped unhurt.
IMAGE: A minor fire broke out on the runway of INS Dega when the external fuel tank fell while the plane took off. Photograph: ANI/Twitter
A Board of Inquiry has been initiated into the incident.
A minor fire broke out on the runway of INS Dega when a drop tank, which carries additional fuel, jettisoned accidentally while the MiG was taking off on a routine training sortie around 10 am, Navy sources said.
Ground support staff quickly doused the flames and no one was injured in the fire. There was also no damage to the aircraft or the runway, the sources maintained.
IMAGE: No one was injured and there was no damage to property either. Photograph: ANI/Twitter
The pilot was directed to jettison the second drop tank in the sea but it could not be done due malfunctioning in the system. And when the aircraft was coming back for landing, the second drop tank fell near the CISF quarters.
However, no damage to life or property was reported. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pix-external-fuel-tanks-of-navys-mig-29k-plane-fall-off-no-casualty/20160829.htm | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/bbda3ba2c88481793daca92d476f8990ca17c9404c261f35063bb20183c8b2a9.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:07:11 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | The Republican has alleged that the actions of his Democrat rival during her tenure as the US Secretary of State constitutes all of the elements of a criminal enterprise. | Trump says Clinton ran 'criminal enterprise' | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftrump-says-clinton-ran-criminal-enterprise%2F20160826.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/jan/08lead2.jpg | en | null | Trump says Clinton ran 'criminal enterprise' | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 26, 2016 08:30 IST
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has alleged that the actions of his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton during her tenure as the US Secretary of State constitutes all of the elements of a criminal enterprise.
“Hillary Clinton’s actions constitute all of the elements of a major criminal enterprise,” Trump told his supporters at an election rally in New Hampshire.
“She created a private illegal e-mail server in order to hide her corrupt dealings. She did so knowing full well it would put American lives at risk by making classified information highly vulnerable to foreign hacking.
“But, she didn’t care, as long as it helped her get away with her crime, no risk to America was too great,” he said.
Trump claimed that to further cover-up her crime, Clinton deleted 33,000 e-mails to keep them out of the hands of authorities and the American public and as a further element of the criminal cover-up, she claimed under penalty of perjury that she turned over all of her work related e-mails.
“We now know this to be one more massive Clinton lie. The Federal Bureau of Investigation found thousands of work-related e-mails she failed to turn over, including the new discovery this week of 15,000 more work-related e-mails she failed to disclose,” he said.
“A Secretary of State sold her office to corporations and foreign governments, betraying the public trust, putting innocent lives in danger and then she went to great lengths to hide, delete, destroy and lie about the evidence,” he added.
Trump said that Clinton’s alleged corruption can be expected in a third world country, but not in America.
“Just imagine the damage to our security, to our integrity, to our standing in the world, if Hillary Clinton is allowed to sell the Oval Office the same way she sold her office as Secretary of State,” he said.
Responding to Clinton’s allegations that his campaign is racist, Trump called it as insult to the millions of Americans who are supporting him.
Hillary Clinton is going to try to accuse this campaign, and the millions of decent Americans who support it of being racists. It’s the oldest play in the Democratic playbook, he said.
“When Democratic policies fail, they are left with only this one tired argument. It’s the last refuge of the discredited politician,” Trump said.
He said the people who have been betrayed by Democratic policies, including millions of African-American and Hispanic-American citizens, will reject the politicians who have failed them and vote for change this year.
He also attacked Clinton for her policies, saying it has failed and betrayed communities of colour in this country.
“But she just doesn’t care, she’s too busy raking in cash from the people rigging the system. Nearly 4 in 10 African-American children live in poverty. Fifty-eight per cent of African-American youth are not working. More than 2,700 people have been shot in Chicago this year alone,” he said.
“These are the consequences of Hillary Clinton’s policies. She has brought nothing but pain and heartache to our inner cities. On top of that, she wants to raise taxes on African-American owned businesses to as much as nearly 50 per cent. We should be helping these businesses to grow and expand, but Hillary Clinton is trying to shut them down,” he added.
Trump alleged that instead of defending her record, Clinton has launched a negative campaign against him.
“As I discussed yesterday, these are the same tactics the establishment powers used to try to scare the British people out of voting for change too. It didn’t work there. It won’t work here, Trump said.
“Hillary Clinton isn’t just attacking me, she’s attacking all the people who support our movement. We can’t let that stand. Voters are used to the old game where failed politicians like Hillary Clinton falsely smear Republicans with charges of racism. Republicans then back down.”
“Democrats then continue to push policies that are devastating to the communities of colour,” he said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/trump-says-clinton-ran-criminal-enterprise/20160826.htm | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/0c49f2679ab1b071b2325343a9d74d56ae6d6f6abb9644b40a1fcc39aa02fe30.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:52:18 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | China's state-run media commented that India's close relationship with the US could create geopolitical rivalries in Asia. | 'India's bid to join US alliance could irk China, Pak or even Russia' | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Findias-bid-to-join-us-alliance-could-irk-china-pak-or-even-russia%2F20160830.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/dec/11parrikar-ash.jpg | en | null | 'India's bid to join US alliance could irk China, Pak or even Russia' | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 30, 2016 13:08 IST
Attempts by India to join United States' alliance could "irritate" China, Pakistan or even Russia and bring "strategic troubles" to New Delhi while making it a centre of geopolitical rivalries in Asia, China's state-run
media commented on Tuesday.
In an editorial written ahead of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter signing a logistics agreement, state-run Global Times said India may loose strategic independence if it leans towards the US.
The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement allows India and US militaries to access each other's military facilities for refuelling and replenishment.
"This is undoubtedly a leap forward in US-India military cooperation. US media highly applauded this deal, with Forbes hailing it as a 'war pact' and believing that India is shifting away from Russia, its Cold War ally, toward a new alliance with the US," the editorial said.
"If India hastily joins the US alliance system, it may irritate China, Pakistan or even Russia. It may not make India feel safer, but will bring strategic troubles to itself and make itself a centre of geopolitical rivalries in Asia," it said.
"India holds dear its independence and sovereignty after squeezing out of the UK's colonialism. It views itself as a major power and is developing on the wave of the emerging countries," the editorial said.
While India has adopted a prudent attitude so far refraining from joining US alliance, some defence analysts expressed worries that India may lose strategic independence and warned that the pact may render New Delhi a "follower" of Washington, it said.
Observing that India attaches high importance to national security, the editorial said, "It feels it is an urgent task because its defence levels are a necessary condition of being a major power, rather than out of a sense of crisis that requires an intimacy to the US."
Due to its non-alignment policy, India has been given attention from all the major powers such as the US, Japan, China and Russia in recent years, it noted.
"However, in recent years, Washington has deliberately wooed New Delhi to become its quasi ally so as to impose geopolitical pressure on China. It is possible that the (Narendra) Modi administration is trying an unconventional way to lean toward the US with the logistics agreement," the editorial said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/indias-bid-to-join-us-alliance-could-irk-china-pak-or-even-russia/20160830.htm | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/5b5aa0d916dd2d6b380a4004b4ec0000013f11ae2e44f51f050586a52446b7bc.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:41:11 | null | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | This means that the search and rescue team has no exact idea about where the plane could have gone down on July 22. | Missing IAF AN 32 flight was not fitted with underwater locator | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fmissing-iaf-an-32-flight-was-not-fitted-with-underwater-locator%2F20160801.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2014/sep/21lead1.jpg | en | null | Missing IAF AN 32 flight was not fitted with underwater locator | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 01, 2016 19:35 IST
The missing AN 32 aircraft, which had flown multiple times over the Bay of Bengal carrying military personnel and equipment, did not have an underwater locator system, making it difficult for rescuers to pinpoint the position of the plane which went down over the sea with 29 people on board.
In fact, none of the upgraded AN32 aircraft, the main workhorse of the military, has an underwater locator, unlike the modern transport planes like C130J or C17.
This means that the search and rescue team has no exact idea about where the plane, with 29 military personnel on board, could have gone down on July 22.
The search, which entered its 11th day on Monday, is being carried out based on an estimate taking into account the last contact point of the aircraft before it disappeared.
"We are using sonars of submarine, ships and other naval assets to locate the aircraft. There is no signal available to track the missing aircraft," a defence source said, adding the search will continue.
The missing aircraft came equipped with two emergency locator transmitter -- a stationary ARTEX C406-1 ELT manufactured by ACR Electronics/Artex Products, the US, and a French-made portable KANNAD 406AS ELT manufactured by Orolia.
In an emergency, the pilot has to activate the ELT beacon manually. The integrated ELT gets activated when the impact is about 2.3 G or 4.5 feet per second.
However, ELT would not get activated automatically since radio waves are not transmitted in the water. There is no signal from ELT under water for this reason, IAF sources said.
The sources said trials were already on to procure underwater ELTs for the aircraft and, as an emergency measure, effort is to have some kind of an underwater ELT on any aircraft that flies over water.
Also, the AN-32 aircraft does not have the Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast.
This system relies on navigational satellites to automatically transmit an aircraft's journey in real time and it can be switched on and off based on operational needs.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said overdue action, as per the Standard Operating Procedures, started at 1230 hours, one hour after the scheduled arrival at Port Blair and nearly three-and-a-half hours after the plane went out of ground radar cover area.
It was only at 1225 hours that Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre, Chennai reported that an IAF AN-32 (AF-330) was not in contact. The weather at the time when the plane went missing was overcast with multi-layered clouds and embedded convection.
The pilot had asked for deviation to the right to avoid a thundershower cloud before disappearing. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/missing-iaf-an-32-flight-was-not-fitted-with-underwater-locator/20160801.htm | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/44ee2d28f3c26f8db889dc63eca4f819c023378fd45e7f2d91b9b08470ab01d6.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:37:12 | null | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | The statement comes in the aftermath of the Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel's resignation. | Quota stir leader Hardik Patel compares Amit Shah to General Dyer | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fquota-stir-leader-hardik-patel-compares-bjp-president-amit-shah-to-general-dyer%2F20160802.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/02patel.jpg | en | null | Quota stir leader Hardik Patel compares Amit Shah to General Dyer | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 02, 2016 23:16 IST
Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti chief Hardik Patel has likened Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah to General Dyer, the man responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com reports.
IMAGE: Patel, a sword-wielding activist, emerged overnight as the most pressing political threat to the government of Gujarat, as he led a campaign demanding reservations for the Patel community. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
'If GMDC's General Dyer Amit Shah is made chief minister of Gujarat then we will launch an agitation for his ouster as well,' Hardik stated in a WhatsApp message.
The statement comes in the aftermath of the Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel's resignation on Monday which has stirred rumours of the possibility of the state falling under the helmsmanship of BJP president Amit Shah.
While speaking exclusively with Rediff.com, Hardik said that the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti would oppose Amit Shah's elevation as Gujarat CM even from Udaipur.
“If the nation can be run from Nagpur, why can't I run an agitation from Udaipur,” Hardik, who has been externed by the Gujarat high court for six months in a case of sedition filed by the Anandiben Patel government, said on the phone.
He said he will be back in Gujarat after six months and continue fighting for reservations for the Patidar community.
On August 25, 2015 more than 5 lakh people had gathered at Ahmedabad's GMDC ground to demand reservations for the Patel community in govt colleges and jobs.
While the agitation remained peaceful during the day, protestors turned violent and indulged in arson and stone pelting leading to police firing in which several patidars lost their lives. The patidars continue to maintain that their agitation was peaceful but the state police lathicharged them leading to the eventual violence.
Hardik Patel and other PAAS leaders have since then blamed Anandiben Patel and Amit Shah for unleashing a reign of terror on their movement. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/quota-stir-leader-hardik-patel-compares-bjp-president-amit-shah-to-general-dyer/20160802.htm | en | 2016-08-02T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/43c606c64ff961b7784d4e5eeb78ebe40d2d23925299107924282c30e8433a70.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:25:35 | null | 2016-08-14T00:00:00 | So far, there are no reports of casualties or injuries and a gunbattle is underway. | Pak violates ceasefire in Poonch with heavy firing, shelling | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Findia-pak-ceasefire-violation-in-poonch%2F20160814.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/aug/04ceasefire.jpg | en | null | Pak violates ceasefire in Poonch with heavy firing, shelling | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 14, 2016 10:35 IST
After a lull of over four months, the ceasefire on the Line of Control was violated again with Pakistan Army firing at two places and shelling mortars in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.
Indian troops retaliated to the firing which was still going on when last reports came in.
“The Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation along the Line of Control in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir,” Defence Spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said Jammu.
He said the Pakistan Army resorted to heavy mortar, small arm and automatic weapon fire in Poonch sector since 3 am.
“Our troops are responding appropriately and no casualties or damage to our troops was reported till the report last came in. The firing was still going on,” the spokesman added.
Today's ceasefire violation comes after over four months as the last such incident took place on April 10, this year in Poonch sector.
Earlier Pakistan had violated ceasefire on September 18, 2015 in Balakote sector of Poonch district.
Last year, 16 civilians were killed and 71 others injured in 405 incidents of cross-border firing by Pakistan, the officer said.
While 253 incidents of ceasefire violations took place along the International Border, 152 incidents were reported along the LoC, he said.
Around 8,000 people were temporarily affected due to the ceasefire violations and had to be shifted to safer locations.
Image used for representation only. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/india-pak-ceasefire-violation-in-poonch/20160814.htm | en | 2016-08-14T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/9d8ae2901b128fb65adec181456e2f1b468c41e4ae89c3a91e1caad6b6832083.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:52 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | On Friday, the Bombay high court reversing the ban imposed on women entering the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai said, 'The ban is contrary to articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Women should be permitted to enter the dargah on par with men.'
The news brought much cheer and joy to petitioner Zakia Soman who is also the founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan.
Zakia spoke to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf on what made this verdict historic and how it will bring about a change in the future. | 'Islam is not exclusively for men; it's for men and women' | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Finterview%2Fislam-is-not-exclusively-for-men-its-for-men-and-women%2F20160826.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/26haji1.jpg | en | null | 'Islam is not exclusively for men; it's for men and women' | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 26, 2016 15:24 IST
‘The Haji Ali dargah verdict will help Indian women from all faiths and backgrounds.’
‘It is our firm belief that Islam is a religion of gender equality.’
IMAGE: Devotees walk out of the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai. Photograph: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com
On Friday, the Bombay high court, reversing the ban on women entering the inner sanctum of the city's famed Haji Ali dargah, said, “The ban is contrary to Articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Women should be permitted to enter the dargah on par with men.”
The words brought much cheer and joy to petitioner Zakia Soman, founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, who has waged a lonely battle for gender equality.
Soon after the historic verdict, Zakia told Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com that the ruling will help in the reform of Muslim personal law.
How do you view the Bombay high court verdict that allows women to enter the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali dargah?
This is quite a historic judgment. It has restored the old order where women’s right to enter the mazar (tomb) has been restored. This is a historic judgment because it talks about Muslim women’s equality. The whole issue of reforming the Muslim personal law will be helped by this. This judgment will help all Indian women from all faiths and backgrounds. It will help women who are seeking entry into the Sabrimala temple and all other religious places in the country.
It is a truly historic judgment.
The people who opposed you said that Muslim women have no right to enter the sanctorum or to touch the tomb. What do you have to say to them?
Why then were we going to Haji Ali mazar (the saint's tomb) till 2011? Why do we go right up to the Kaaba Muazzama (Grand Kaaba) when we go to to Mecca perform the Hajj?
There are so many sufi dargahs in Mumbai and across the country where women go right up to the mazar. They have no argument. They never saw this problem before 2012.
Muslim women can read the Holy Quran, they can interpret it and they can educate themselves. Muslim women will not accept these kinds of patriarchal norms anymore.
But there is a general belief among Muslim women that they are not allowed inside religious places.
Who believes this? It is not our belief nor is it the belief of Sufi Islam. Sufi Islam is humanist Islam. It is Islam of peace, love, brotherhood and harmony. Sufi Islam is not exclusionary.
We do not follow extremist Islam. Their Islam excludes women. We believe in humanist Islam and we believe in Islam where all human beings are equal irrespective of gender, language or background.
2012 The year in which the Haji Ali Dargah banned the entry of women inside the inner sanctum
Do you feel the people who prevent women from entering the sanctum sanctorum want to reinforce male domination over Islam?
Our society is highly influenced by patriarchy. This includes the entire Indian society cutting across religions. We are a male- dominated society, but it is beginning to change.
This changed in Shani Shingnapur and we are going to see (the change) in Sabarimala.
In our country, the religious custodians have always been males. Be it Hinduism, Islam or Christianity, it is the male version of religion which is prevalent and ultimately it is the males who are arbiters. This is beginning to change now and our Constitution enables that change. What has happened today in the high court is an example of that change and therefore this is a historic judgment.
The people who lost the case against you are saying that courts must not interfere in religious matters.
We are also saying the same thing. The men who were barring us from entering the mazar are also interfering with our right to religion.
Islam is meant for both men and women, it is not exclusively for men. Actually, they have interfered in women’s right to religion and women’s right to religious freedom.
Do you know how many Islamic countries allow women to enter graveyards?
We go for Hajj. All Muslim men and women go for Hajj. The holiest place of Islam is the Kaaba. Men and women perform Hajj together. They go right up to the Kaaba. All these arguments are meant to obfuscate the truth. All these arguments are meant to continue the denial of justice. All these arguments are made to discriminate against women.
But I am asking about graveyards, not Hajj.
I have grown up going to my grandmother’s and my mother-in-law’s graveyards.
During Shab-e-barat (when Muslims visit the graveyard to pay their respects to the dead) all of us go to graveyards. As children we went, too. That is what I am saying.
Why should we follow their version? We are ourselves capable of reading the Quran, interpreting it and implementing it in our lives. That is what more and more women are doing now and quite a few men are supporting them.
Women outside the Bombay high court celebrate the court's decision. Photograph: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com
Is it written anywhere in the Quran or Hadith (sayings of Prophet Mohammed) that women must not enter graveyards?
No. It is not written. They are misinterpreting the Quranic injunctions. They are distorting the Quranic verses and they are giving it their own male dominated, patriarchal thinking colour. It is our firm belief that Islam is a religion of gender equality and the males are not arbiters of that belief. And this is our faith.
So how did this culture come about where women were not allowed into graveyards?
This is because we are a backward society, we are patriarchal, we are male-dominated, we do not have education and we do not have economical empowerment. This pertains to South Asia and India as all societies are male dominated in South Asia.
How does this judgment help in the ongoing debate on triple talaq (divorce) cases which are seen to be regressive and against women?
This judgment will help and build the climax for reform and gender justice for all women. It will help.
Could this verdict lead to public protests as we saw following the 1986 Shah Bano case?
I don’t think so. I think the majority of the Muslim community is ready for change. The majority of Muslim community wants change. They have suffered on account of this kind of extremist and conservative beliefs that have been imposed on them.
A lot has changed since Shah Bano. Today, the average Muslim wants education and jobs. They want to live a life of dignity. | http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/islam-is-not-exclusively-for-men-its-for-men-and-women/20160826.htm | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/53d556ac270ec938a55d3d6971d6ded6a66fb8549b41f3c0f0e8c4bc9ad588a5.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:20:23 | null | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | 'Modiji a prayer for you: 'Asatoma Sadgamaya Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya Mrityorma Amritam gamaya Om shanti shanti shanti' 'Lead me from ignorance to truth -- from darkness to light -- from death to immortality. Let there be peace for all living creatures,' the Congress vice-president said in two tweets. | Rahul tweets a prayer for PM Modi | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Frahul-tweets-a-prayer-for-pm-modi%2F20160819.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/19lead7.jpg | en | null | Rahul tweets a prayer for PM Modi | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 19, 2016 16:01 IST
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday tweeted a prayer for him which asks for freedom from ignorance, a day after Modi said that BJP suffered more adversities in independent India than Congress did during British rule.
"Modiji a prayer for you: "Asatoma Sadgamaya Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya Mrityorma Amritam gamaya Om shanti shanti shanti" "Lead me from ignorance to truth -- from darkness to light -- from death to immortality. Let there be peace for all living creatures," the Congress vice-president said in two tweets.
Gandhi was commenting on Modi's remarks made while laying the foundation stone of a new party office in New Delhi on Thursday.
Asserting that BJP has made more sacrifices than any other party, the Prime Minister had lamented that every effort of his party was seen in "bad light".
"BJP will be the only party which has faced adversities since its birth. It faced difficulties at every turn and its every effort was seen in bad light.
"Even during the British times, the Congress party would not have faced so much adversity that we, our dedicated workers have gone through in 50-60 years," he said at the event attended by top BJP leaders including party chief Amit Shah, L K Advani, Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley among others.
Photograph: PTI Photo | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/rahul-tweets-a-prayer-for-pm-modi/20160819.htm | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/44b7267e2e6c7203908cdd8bf5c364c3acccb4958820b648801aae80abfc4a69.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:37:30 | null | 2016-08-04T00:00:00 | The Republican presidential nominee said it would be embarrassing to lose against Clinton. | Terrible to lose against 'crooked' Hillary: Trump | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fterrible-to-lose-against-crooked-hillary-trump%2F20160804.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/dec/10trumpa.jpg | en | null | Terrible to lose against 'crooked' Hillary: Trump | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 04, 2016 10:26 IST
Hillary Clinton is a “founder of the Islamic State”, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has alleged as he stepped up his attack against the Democratic candidate.
“She (Clinton) should get an award from them as the founder of IS,” Trump said at an election rally in Florida .
“Take a look at Orlando. Take a look at San Bernardino. Take a look at the World Trade Center. Take a look at what’s going on and then worldwide, and we let IS take this position,” Trump, 70, said.
He said it would be embarrassing to lose against Clinton.
“Wouldn’t that be embarrassing to lose to crooked Hillary Clinton? That would be terrible,” he added.
Pushing back on reports that there is chaos in the Republican party, Trump said it was united.
“I think we’ve never been this united, and I just want to thank everybody for being here. This is incredible,” he said.
For the past several months, Trump has been calling Clinton as “crooked” and in the last few days he even said the former Secretary of State was a “devil.”
In Florida, Trump also claimed that 9/11 attack would have been prevented if he were the president.
“By the way, those people who knocked down the World Trade Center, most likely under the Trump policy wouldn’t have been here to knock down the World Trade Center,” he said. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/terrible-to-lose-against-crooked-hillary-trump/20160804.htm | en | 2016-08-04T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/c0763c0961265b35f08fb806f63d132af4af7801aa80e7ec025232a3e23e1fde.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:34:21 | null | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | The 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter will also receive an apartment each as compensation. | Bulandshahr gang rape victims to get Rs 3 lakh as compensation | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fbulandshahr-gang-rape-victims-to-get-rs-3-lakh-as-compensation%2F20160805.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2013/jan/23slide2.jpg | en | null | Bulandshahr gang rape victims to get Rs 3 lakh as compensation | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 05, 2016 09:12 IST
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday announced Rs three lakh compensation and a flat to each of the Bulandshahr gang rape victims.
Drawing criticism from all quarters in the wake of Bulandshahr gang rape incident, Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday slammed the Opposition and accused them of tutoring the survivors in an endeavour to serve their political motives.
“The incident is unfortunate. Action will be taken against those responsible. But the question is what are the Bharatiya Janata Party and other (opposition) parties tutoring the survivors and showing the way of politics,”
he said.The three men, who have been arrested, have been sent to 14-day judicial custody. However, the police is yet to arrest the gang leader Saleem Bawariya and other accused, who still remain absconding.The incident took place last week on Friday night when a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were allegedly gang-raped by a group of robbers in Bulandshahr district.The victims were on their way from Noida to Shahjahanpur with the other family members when their vehicle was stopped near a cycle repairing shop in Dostpur village on NH-9, which connects Noida and Bulandshahr. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/bulandshahr-gang-rape-victims-to-get-rs-3-lakh-as-compensation/20160805.htm | en | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/0bc1ca453948643a646da577c34baaea1b5579546b19e69b9b3fbee33f9468a1.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:08:08 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | 'He attempted suicide, I would have satisfied had he died that a sinner has gone from the earth. But, this is an indication of negligence on the part of our law enforcement agencies,' she rued. | He should've died: Dec 2012 gang rape victim's mother on Vinay's suicide bid | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fnirbhayas-mother-on-convicts-suicide-bid%2F20160825.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/dec/20protest03.jpg | en | null | He should've died: Dec 2012 gang rape victim's mother on Vinay's suicide bid | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 25, 2016 16:05 IST
Reacting to one of the six accused in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case Vinay Sharma’s alleged attempt to commit suicide at Tihar Jail late on Wednesday night, the victim's mother Asha Devi on Thursday said she would have satisfied had he died, but the incident indicated negligence on the part of our law enforcement agencies, which failed to punish the guilty despite their brutal act.
“The government and our law enforcing agencies should take a lesson from it that such a big incident took place, where a girl was killed brutally, but they failed to punish the guilty,” she said.
“He attempted suicide, I would have satisfied had he died that a sinner has gone from the earth. But, this is an indication of negligence on the part of our law enforcement agencies,” she rued.
When told that Vinay’s advocates said it was not a suicide attempt but was a murder bid, Asha Devi said, “Whatever he says; whether law punishes him or not; truth is truth, which is suppressed at times, but never vanishes.”
“The brutality with which they killed my daughter, the court punishes them or not, the nature will punish them. Their act will not let them live for long,” she added.
Expressing her anguish over tardy pace of proceedings against the convicts of brutal the gang rape, Devi said, “I want to say that the court and the government should take a lesson from it. There are many people like us who are fighting for justice. My daughter would not return, but there is a hope that we will get justice. I don’t know when the justice will come, but I pray to the God that people who are responsible for my daughter’s death should be punished.”
“I have full faith that there would be justice, even if the court fails to punish them, their act will not let them live for long,” she added.
When asked about another accused Ram Singh’s suicide in the jail in 2013, she said, “I don’t think that they are being harassed in the jail. They have got so much security and facilities that nobody could harm them. This is negligence on the part of the law enforcement agencies that they are doing such things. If they were punished within time, this would have not been the situation.”
“They will be punished for their brutal act either by the court or by the God,” she concluded.
Vinay’s father Hari Ram Sharma, however, alleged that there is some ‘conspiracy’ (mili bhagat) as the ‘government is planning to release his son’.
“There is some conspiracy between police and others. He could not do so; he never attempted suicide. Now, the government is planning to release him, they are doing this drama,” Vinay’s father said.
Alleging that it was a failure of the jail administration and staff, he said, “When I visit there (Tihar), they frisk me from top to the bottom (such is the security there); then how those medicines reached there,” Hari Ram Sharma sought to know.
He further said he recently met his son regarding his daughter’s marriage and Vinay told him that he would come soon after he was released.
Rejecting the allegation that Vinay hanged himself, his father said, “How could he hang himself when nothing can go inside his cell? He could not hang himself, he is not like that.”
“I want my son to get well soon,” said Hari Ram Sharma, adding, “They should either leave him or hang him, why they are doing so much drama around it. He is my son, and thus, I am traumatised.”
Vinay is recovering at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where he was admitted in ‘critical’ condition.
Police said he appeared to have consumed some pills before using a towel to hang himself.
However, another inmate, who woke up in the nick of time, brought Sharma down and alerted the jail authorities.
In March 2013, Ram Singh, another accused in the case, committed suicide by hanging in his cell, exposing the law and order situation at Tihar Jail. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/nirbhayas-mother-on-convicts-suicide-bid/20160825.htm | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/a99e94d32740d9ba8002989c249e207fb1c08e7ad9a1bb745ba1c037f4f2148e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:22:44 | null | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | Odisha minister Yogendra Behara couldn't buckle his own sandals at an Independence Day event in Kendujhar on Monday, so he made his personal security officer bend down and do it for him. | Odisha neta makes security officer open sandal straps, says 'I'm the VIP' | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fodisha-neta-makes-security-officer-open-sandal-straps-says-im-the-vip%2F20160816.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/16neta.jpg | en | null | Odisha neta makes security officer open sandal straps, says 'I'm the VIP' | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 16, 2016 10:35 IST
Odisha minister Yogendra Behara couldn’t buckle his own sandals at an Independence Day event in Kendujhar on Monday, so he made his personal security officer bend down and do it for him.
When asked about the misuse of power, the minister seemed surprised at the fuss, saying, “I am a VIP.”
“Well, I have hoisted the flag, he (the personal security officer) did not,” explained Odisha’s state’s minister for micro, small and medium enterprise, after local television channels aired footage of the shoe incident.
There were hundreds of people present at the function, when the security officer bent over and strapped the shoes of Behera, the chief guest. The minister, dressed in white kurta pyjama, stood looking the other way, clearly expecting the favour.
This isn’t the first time an Indian politician has stooped -- not literally -- to this level.
In May 2015, the then West Bengal planning and implementation minister Rachpal Singh was caught on camera getting his shoelaces tied by a policeman.
In a 2014 incident, a departmental probe was ordered against then DIG Jammu-Kathua range Shakeel Baig after he was seen making an orderly tie his shoelaces. The DIG’s son had proudly posted the picture on the internet. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/odisha-neta-makes-security-officer-open-sandal-straps-says-im-the-vip/20160816.htm | en | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/5c0c8b813f95f26f10390a3c411a36680fd6bb0d709c4eb16e6f2bd4de1e8e08.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:24:34 | null | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | As persources, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das will represent India at the 2-day event to be hosted in Islamabad from August 25-26. | After snub to Rajnath, Arun Jaitley to skip SAARC meet in Pakistan | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Farun-jaitley-to-skip-saarc-meet-in-pakistan%2F20160816.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/16jaitley.jpg | en | null | After snub to Rajnath, Arun Jaitley to skip SAARC meet in Pakistan | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 16, 2016 15:21 IST
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will not be attending the SAARC Finance Ministers' conference scheduled to take place in Pakistan.
As per government sources, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das will represent India at the two-day event to be hosted in Islamabad from August 25-26.
Earlier, media reports from Pakistan claimed that the country had decided to give a "warm welcome" to Jaitley amid speculation that he was likely to visit Islamabad for the conference.
The conference is taking place weeks after the SAARC Home Ministers' conference that was held last month.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had taken part in the conference where he called for tough action against terrorism and countries supporting it, saying terrorists should not be glorified as "martyrs". Pakistan blocked news media organizations from covering Rajnath Singh's speech which received bipartisan condemnation in Parliament.
"I did not see whether my speech was covered live or not. The media personnel from DD, ANI and PTI who had come from India were not allowed to enter," Singh had said in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan finance ministry officials have said that almost all regional countries except Bangladesh have confirmed their participation in the conference. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/arun-jaitley-to-skip-saarc-meet-in-pakistan/20160816.htm | en | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/fbec4242e5f59863b22c3b722a89d23db9d7beb8b6fedb15abeb2abd40f17443.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:27:29 | null | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | An MI-17 transport helicopter was on its way to Russia for maintenance when it crash landed on August 4 in a Taliban controlled area of Logar province. The rebels made the crew members as hostages. | Taliban releases crew of crashed Pakistani chopper | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftaliban-releases-crew-of-crashed-pakistani-chopper%2F20160813.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/05lead2.jpg | en | null | Taliban releases crew of crashed Pakistani chopper | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 13, 2016 13:56 IST
Afghan Taliban have released the crew members of a Pakistani helicopter which crash landed in Afghanistan last week, officials said on Saturday.
An MI-17 transport helicopter was on its way to Russia for maintenance when it crash landed on August 4 in a Taliban controlled area of Logar province. The rebels made the crew members as hostages.
An official said that local tribal elders were tasked to release the captives and after successful negotiation, the Taliban released the crew.
"All crew members were handed over to Pakistani in Kurram tribal region," an official said.
He refused to give further details.
Several private channels also reported that the crew was released and already in Pakistan.
There has been confusion about exact numbers of the captives, as initially Punjab government which owned the chopper said that six Pakistanis and one Russian were on board, while officials of the federal government said there were only six crew members.
Taliban did not formally confirm the capturing or release of the crew.
Representative Image: Mian Khursheed/Reuters | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/taliban-releases-crew-of-crashed-pakistani-chopper/20160813.htm | en | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/e7fc0cf1075dc34c26461a76aaef38f451ae33e4a7deed636da1de711d237958.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:29:57 | null | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | A Samajwadi Party MLA and a Bharatiya Janata Party leader too joined Mayawati's party, BSP General Secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui told a press conference in Lucknow. | UP polls: 3 expelled Congress MLAs jump ship to join BSP | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Fup-polls-3-expelled-congress-mlas-jump-ship-to-join-bsp%2F20160810.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2015/apr/28bsp.jpg | en | null | UP polls: 3 expelled Congress MLAs jump ship to join BSP | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 10, 2016 17:46 IST
Three expelled Congress MLAs on Wednesday joined the Bahujan Samaj Party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections due early next year.
A Samajwadi Party MLA and a Bharatiya Janata Party leader too joined Mayawati's party, BSP General Secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui told a press conference in Lucknow.
The MLAs are Nawab Qazim Ali Khan, Muslim Khan and Dil Nawaz Khan (all expelled from Congress) and Nawazish Alam Khan (SP).
BJP leader and former minister Awadhesh Verma also joined BSP, giving the party a boost after some senior leaders, including Swami Prasad Maurya and R K Chaudhary, quit accusing Mayawati of auctioning party tickets for the 2017 assembly polls.
Maurya, who was leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, has joined the BJP. He belongs to OBC while Chaudhary is a Dalit, communities which are considered a significant votebank of BSP.
The leaders who joined the BSP expressed confidence in the party's policies and programmes.
Asked whether the BSP will give them tickets for the upcoming elections to the 403-member assembly, Siddiqui said it would be decided later.
On Maurya's claim that several BSP MLAs were in touch with him, he dared him to disclose the names.
UP PCC Vice-President Satyadeo Tripathy downplayed Wednesday's development, saying it would not harm the prospects of Congress in any way as the party had already expelled them for indulging in anti-party activities.
The Congress is trying hard to regain its lost moorings in the state which was once its favourite hunting ground. | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/up-polls-3-expelled-congress-mlas-jump-ship-to-join-bsp/20160810.htm | en | 2016-08-10T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/b5519a06759220a904347e74b1aa40c3fad88f35b4ae87118af122830494d55c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:19:45 | null | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he regretted causing pain to people by not choosing the 'right words' sometimes and uttering 'wrong thing' even as his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton termed the statement as a mere 'well-written phrase'. | Trump regrets not using right words sometimes | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Ftrump-regrets-not-using-right-words-sometimes%2F20160819.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/19lead1.jpg | en | null | Trump regrets not using right words sometimes | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 19, 2016 10:31 IST
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he regretted causing pain to people by not choosing the "right words" sometimes and uttering "wrong thing" even as his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton termed the statement as a mere "well-written phrase".
"Sometimes, in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that, and I regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues," Trump said at an election rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He also said that he is not a politician.
"I have worked in business, creating jobs and rebuilding neighborhoods my entire adult life. I've never wanted to learn the language of the insiders, and I've never been politically correct -- it takes far too much time, and can often make more difficult," he said.
"But one thing I can promise you is this: I will always tell you the truth. I speak the truth for all of you, and for everyone in this country who doesn't have a voice. I speak the truth on behalf of the factory worker who lost his or her job," Trump asserted.
Trump said his only interest is the American people. "So while sometimes I can be too honest, Hillary Clinton is the exact opposite: she never tells the truth. One lie after another, and getting worse each passing day," he said.
In a late night statement, the Clinton Campaign said he has much for which he should apologize.
"Donald Trump literally started his campaign by insulting people. He has continued to do so through each of the 428 days from then until now, without shame or regret. We learned tonight that his speech writer and teleprompter knows he has much for which he should apologize," said Christina Reynolds from the Clinton Campaign.
"But that apology tonight is simply a well-written phrase until he tells us which of his many offensive, bullying and divisive comments he regrets—and changes his tune altogether," Reynolds said.
"The American people are still waiting for Hillary Clinton to apologize for all of the many lies she's told to them, and the many times she’s betrayed them. Tell me, has Hillary Clinton ever apologized for lying about her illegal email server and deleting 33,000 emails?" he asked.
"Has Hillary Clinton apologized for turning the State Department into a pay-for-play operation where favors are sold to the highest bidder? Has she apologized for lying to the families who lost loved ones at Benghazi? Has she apologized for putting Iran on the path to nuclear weapons?" he asked.
Trump alleged that Clinton's mistakes destroy innocent lives, sacrifice national security, and betray the working families of this country.
"Please remember this. I will never put personal profit before national security. I will never leave our border open to appease donors and special interests. I will never support a trade deal that kills American jobs. I will never put the special interests before the national interest. I will never put a donor before a voter, or a lobbyist before a citizen," he said.
"Instead, I will be a champion for the people," he said.
"The establishment media doesn’t cover what really matters in this country, or what's really going on in people’s lives. They will take words of mine out of context and spend a week obsessing over every single syllable, and then pretend to discover some hidden meaning in what I said," he alleged.
In a strong message to terrorists planning attacks against the US, Trump vowed to "find and destroy" them and asserted that he will focus on "radical Islamic terrorism".
"I have a message for the terrorists trying to kill our citizens: we will find you, we will destroy you, and we will win," Trump said.
"On terrorism, we are going to end the era of nation-building and instead focus on destroying ISIS and Radical Islamic terrorism," he said.
"We will use military, cyber and financial warfare and work with any partner in the world, and the Middle East, that shares our goal of defeating terrorism," Trump said.
He said that if he wins in the November general election, he will temporarily suspend immigration from any place where adequate screening cannot be performed.
"All applicants for immigration will be vetted for ties to radical ideology, and we will screen out anyone who doesn't share our values and love our people. Anyone who believes Sharia law supplants American law will not be given an immigrant visa," Trump said.
"If you want to join our society, then you must embrace our society, our values and our tolerant way of life. Those who believe in oppressing women, gays, Hispanics, African-Americans and people of different faiths are not welcome to join our country," he said.
"We will promote our America values, our American way of life, and our American system of government which are all the best in the world," he said.
Trump also alleged that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton is "running to become America's Angela Merkel". "We have seen how much crime and how many problems that's caused the German people. We have enough problems already, we don't need another one," he said.
"On trade, we are going to renegotiate NAFTA, withdraw from the TPP, stand up to China on our terrible trade agreement, and protect every last American job. Hillary Clinton has supported all of the major trade deals that have stripped this country of its jobs and its wealth," he said.
"On taxes, we are going to massively cut tax rates for workers and small businesses – creating millions of new good paying jobs. We are going to get rid of regulations that send jobs overseas and we are going to make it easier for young Americans to get the credit they need to start a small business and pursue their dreams," Trump said.
The Republican presidential nominee who has a very popularity ratings among the African Americans sought one chance from them.
"African-American voters give Donald Trump a chance by giving me their vote, the result for them will be amazing. Look at how badly things are going under decades of Democratic leadership -- look at the schools, look at the 58 per cent of young African-Americans not working. It is time for change," he said.
"What do you have to lose by trying something new? -- I will fix it. This means so much to me, and I will work as hard as I can to bring new opportunity to places in our country which have not known opportunity in a very long time," Trump said.
"Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party have taken African-American votes totally for granted. Because the votes have been automatically there, there has been no reason for Democrats to produce," he said.
IMAGE: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally on August 18, 2016 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photograph: Brian Blanco/Getty Images | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/trump-regrets-not-using-right-words-sometimes/20160819.htm | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/e4a566f23ae1df23b00ed99912d2a4793622c17923e81c474b611fbb41eeb355.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:17:39 | null | 2016-08-21T00:00:00 | The sprawling President's Estate has been found to be breeding mosquitoes at many accumulated pools of stagnant water -- with 52 notices slapped on Rashtrapati Bhavan by the New Delhi Municipal Council. | Rashtrapati Bhavan breeding mosquitoes! | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Frashtrapati-bhavan-breeding-mosquitoes%2F20160821.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/21lead5.jpg | en | null | Rashtrapati Bhavan breeding mosquitoes! | null | null | www.rediff.com | August 21, 2016 17:26 IST
The sprawling President's Estate has been found to be breeding mosquitoes at many accumulated pools of stagnant water -- with 52 notices slapped on Rashtrapati Bhavan by the New Delhi Municipal Council.
The notices were issued to Rashtrapati Bhavan since January by NDMC after mosquito larvae were found at many places dotting the 320-acre estate.
With the capital reporting many dengue cases, the NDMC has decided to control the mosquito menace, including in the President's Estate.
"We have issued 52 notices to various complexes and residential quarters in the Presidential Estate. We had formed teams to inspect the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises, which then spotted mosquitogenic conditions," a senior NDMC official said.
The teams included members from the sanitation and horticulture units at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and the civil engineering unit under the Central Public Works Department and personnel of the malaria unit of the NDMC health department.
Last year, NDMC had issued over 125 notices to the President's Estate after "heavy" mosquito-breeding was found at various places on its sprawling campus.
Advisories have been issued to more than 50 embassies that fall in the NDMC area to be active in controlling breeding of mosquitoes.
The NDMC official said the civic body does not have the authority to issue challan or serve notice to embassies, and would extend all support to embassies in controlling mosquito breeding.
Regarding government offices and residential colonies, the official said if after inspection, the premises are found to be positive for mosquito breeding, then notices are served.
Safdarjung hospital, prestigious Delhi Golf Club, Shivaji Stadium and Akashwani Bhawan are among the 146 buildings challaned by the civic body over dengue breeding this season.
The civic body has so far issued a total of 3,337 notices this season.
Among the buildings which have been issued notices by NDMC are prominent hospitals including AIIMS, Safdarjung, Lady Hardinge Medical Vollege and LHMC hospital.
Prestigious hotels such as Ashoka and Taj Man Singh have also been issued notices after the inspection team detected mosquitogenic conditions in their premises.
"We have issued 3,337 notices and 146 challans this season over dengue breeding. During the inspection, if the premises are tested positive for mosquito breeding, they are issued notices," the official said.
"But if no improvement is found in the hygiene conditions during the next inspection, the defaulters are issued challan," he added.
According to municipal reports, at least 171 cases of dengue have been reported this season in Delhi with 52 of these being recorded in the first week of August.
The vector-borne disease has claimed two lives so far during this season.
Photograph Courtesy: Deepak/Wikimedia Commons | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/rashtrapati-bhavan-breeding-mosquitoes/20160821.htm | en | 2016-08-21T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/15c1905ce42e4bcfd6bfaf5651b5c95ab09c3b99924c31ede516cd345db1d526.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:05:44 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | During a joint press conference with the Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the home minister also said that there is no future for India without Kashmir. | Alternatives to pellet guns in few days: Rajnath | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fnews%2Freport%2Frajnath-meets-mufti-in-kashmir%2F20160825.htm.json | http://im.rediff.com/news/2016/aug/25kashmir1.jpg | en | null | Alternatives to pellet guns in few days: Rajnath | null | null | www.rediff.com | Last updated on: August 25, 2016 18:14 IST
During a joint press conference with the Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the home minister also said that there is no future for India without Kashmir.
As the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir continued for the 48th day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said an alternative to pellet guns will be proposed within a few days in the wake of widespread criticism of the crowd-control device that has left thousands of people in the Valley blinded.
Declaring there is no future for India without Kashmir, Singh again invoked Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s policy of ‘Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat’ (Kashmir’s pluralist ethos, humanity and democracy) again to signal that the National Democratic Alliance government was ready for dialogue with anyone.
“We want to shape future of India. If future of Kashmir is not shaped, future of India cannot be shaped too,” Singh, with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti by his side, told reporters on the second day of his visit to Kashmir -- his second in one month -- as part of the Centre’s outreach to people of Kashmir.
Singh said an expert committee set up by the home minister and mandated to look for an alternative to pellet guns is expected to give its report in two-three days.
Replying to a question on use of pellet guns against violent protesters, the home minister said as promised during his last visit to Kashmir Valley, he has constituted an expert committee which would submit its report within two months.
“It is just one month and report of that committee will come within two-three days. Within few days, we will give an alternative to pellet guns.
“In 2010, it was said pellet gun is a non lethal weapon which can cause least damage but now we feel that there should be some alternate to this,” he said.
The home minister signalled that the NDA government was ready for dialogue.
“I will only say that we are willing to talk to anyone within the ambit of Jamhooriyat, Kashmiriyat and Insaniyat,” he said, avoiding a direct reply when asked whether the government was willing to talk to Hurriyat.
The home minister said young children and youths, who should have taken pen or laptops, have picked up stones to pelt on security forces.
“Who are these people, who has given them permission to take up stones. Can they guarantee to shape their (youths) future. We see future of Kashmiri children linked to the future of Indian children.
“I appeal to Kashmiri people to identify those who are trying to create such a situation in the Valley. Without the future of Kashmir, the future of India cannot exist,” he said.
The home minister said the security forces were told to exercise maximum restraint while dealing with people, who have been protesting in different parts of the KashmirValley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani on July 8.
“Security personnel told to exercise restraint and they are exercising maximum restraint and also bearing the brunt of protesters and as a result 4,500 security personnel have been injured so far.
“I would also like to appeal to everyone not to forget the role of security personnel during the floods in Kashmir (in 2014),” he said.
The home minister said those misguided youths who are picking up stones should be counselled.
“If some misguided youths are picking stones then such youths must be counselled. Children are children. We cannot think of separating the future of Kashmir with the future of India,” he said.
Singh said the government has identified those elements who are trying to mislead some of our youths in Kashmir.
He appealed to those people, who are misleading the youths in Kashmir, not to play with the future of the children of the Valley.
Singh said an all-party delegation will soon visit Jammu and Kashmir to interact with cross sections of people and the chief minister has been told to make arrangements for the same.
Replying to a question on the central government’s understanding of the prevailing situation in Kashmir, the home minister said, “Do not question our understanding of the situation. We are trying to find a solution”.
He said the central government will soon appoint a nodal officer to help Kashmiris in distress living in other parts of the country.
Singh said more than 20 delegations and about 300 people met him during the two-day visit and all of them conveyed to him that they all want peace in Kashmir. “We are also sad over the situation in the Valley.”
The chief minister said 95 per cent people of Jammu and Kashmir want a peaceful solution through dialogue and just five per cent are derailing the whole process.
“Ninety-five per cent people of the state don’t want violence, they want peace. We have to reach out to them,” she said.
Mehbooba said no solution can be found from stone pelting and attacking security camps.
The chief minister said focus of the central government and political parties should be those 95 per cent Kashmiris who do not want to create trouble, who do not want to attack establishment for vested interests.
“Let us differentiate between those people who want peaceful resolution through dialogue, reconciliation and those who train poor children to pelt stones on roads and camps.
“I hope focus should be those people who want reconciliation and within the ambit of Insaniyat, like Vajpayee had said. People who create trouble will be dealt as per law. They will not be allowed to make life hell for majority here,” she said.
Mehbooba said Kashmiri youths are being used by some elements as shields to attack army camps as “they want our children to suffer”.
The chief minister also said that the situation in 2016 can’t compared with that of 2010 as then it was triggered following an alleged fake encounter and an alleged rape while this was the unrest began after killing of three militants.
The home minister said whenever a Kashmiri youth or a security personnel is killed, the entire country suffers that pain.
“Can we not pull out Kashmir from such situation ? I would like to appeal every one - every brother and sister of Kashmir to not play with the future of Kashmiri youth,” he said.
“In 2010, it was said pellet gun is a non lethal weapon which can cause least damage but now we feel that there should be some alternate to this,” Singh said.
Replying to questions, he said the Centre wanted to bring an All Party Delegation to Kashmir in the coming days.
“I have told (Chief Minister) Mehbooba Mufti about it and asked her to make arrangements so that the delegation can meet the people here,” Singh said.
The Union home minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was concerned about the situation in Kashmir and had expressed his pain recently.
“He is constantly in touch with me over the situation in Kashmir,” Singh said.
Singh said the youth of Kashmir should have books and pens in their hands, instead of stones. “Who is forcing them to take stones in their hands? Will they guarantee their future?”
Asserting that the government was concerned about the Kashmiri youth, he said, “We see future of Kashmiri youth like we see the future of youth elsewhere in India.”
Singh said it was the duty of citizens of the country to protect and respect the people of Kashmir who might be studying or working in other parts of the country. “Kashmiris have to be treated as our family members,” he said.
He said there was a need to identify the trouble mongers and also counselling the ‘misguided youth’ against taking to violence.
He said the Centre wanted to see the killings in Kashmir come to an end and sought cooperation from people from all walks in this regard.
“We want the killings to stop. Who would not want it to stop?” he asked.
Asked if the Centre was treating Kashmir as a social problem instead of a political issue, Singh said, “Do not question our understanding of the situation. We understand it in right perspective and are trying to find a solution.”
In response to another question, the home minister said there was no need for creating unnecessary controversy about deployment of the Border Security Force in place of the Central Reserve Police Force in the city.
“(These) forces have been deployed in the past as well. We should not look for any indications in it,” he added.
Singh was responding to a question whether the BSF had been brought in to ‘discipline’ the CRPF which was accused of harassing people.
The home minister reiterated that the Centre wanted to develop Kashmir and that Bharatiya Janata Party’s Agenda of Alliance with the People’s Democratic Party would be adhered to.
“We are committed to the Agenda of Alliance. We want to develop Kashmir. The chief minister has announced recruitment of 10,000 SPOs.
“We will be recruiting one battalion of central armed paramilitary force,” he added.
Image: Family members stand beside an injured man as he lies in a hospital bed after clashes with the police. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/rajnath-meets-mufti-in-kashmir/20160825.htm | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.rediff.com/3f2dd23e2bd1c5a5400dc0ffb834c4f1bc679bdb00099c9cf429a586e45739b5.json |
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