Cabinet Green Signal To 7th Pay Panel Recommendations

Transcription

1 25 WEDNESDAY APRIL-2018 SRINAGAR TODAY : MOSTLY SUNNY 21 KASHMIR Contact : FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS & YOUR COPY OF Maximum : 24 O Minmum : 07 O Humidity : 74% SUNSET Today 07:09 PM SUNRISE Tommrow 05:49 AM 08 Shaban 1439 Hijri Vol:21 Issue:98 Pages:12 Price: `3 twitter.com / kashmirobserver facebook.com/kashmirobserver Postal Regn: L/159/KO/SK/ Opinion / 06 MODIFY IF NOT REVOKE AFSPA IN J&K One can ask what is stopping the centre from making necessary modifications... 7/ Panorama... YES, YOUR KIDS CAN RUN ALL DAY THEY VE GOT MUSCLES LIKE ENDURANCE ATHLETES Repeated experiments have shown that the muscles of children tend to fatigue more slowly than adults / Life and times... STRONGER MEN MAY HAVE HEALTHIER BRAINS When taking multiple factors into account such as age, gender, bodyweight and education... Wisdom There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart.~charles Dickens News Digest Leprosy No More Disability: SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre and all States to remove references to leprosy as a disability from statute books, saying leprosy is curable and patients should not be victims of social stigma. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, heading a threejudge Bench, said references to leprosy as a disability in the written laws P10 GoI Supports Hanging By Death New Delhi: The government of India on Tuesday strongly supported a legal provision that a death row convict would only be hanged to death and told the Supreme Court that other modes of execution like lethal injections and firing were not less painful. The response of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) was filed after the Apex Court had termed the Constitution as a compassionate and organic guiding book P10 ISRO GSAT-11 To Be Re-Tested New Delhi: Just over a fortnight after flying GSAT-11 out to Kourou for launch, the Indian Space Research Organisation has recalled the heaviest communication satellite it has built. The reason is said to be for conducting additional technical checks in Bengaluru, where it was built. The 5,700-kg high-throughput or Internet broadband satellite had reached French Guiana in South America on March P10 Iran May Quit NPT Tehran: A senior Iranian official said on Tuesday that Tehran might quit a treaty designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons if U.S. President Donald Trump scraps the nuclear accord Iran signed with world powers in Mr. Trump has said that unless European allies fix what he has called terrible flaws in the accord by May 12, he will restore U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, which would be a P10 Dokalam Happened Due Mistrust Beijing: The Dokalam standoff happened due to lack of mutual trust between India and China, and they need to work together to create favourable conditions and gradually settle the boundary issue, a top Chinese diplomat said today, ahead of this week s informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Indian and Chinese troops had been locked in a stand-off P10 Cabinet Green Signal To 7th Pay Panel Recommendations Employees Gratuity Ceiling Also Enhanced From Rs 10 To 20 Lakhs Observer News Service Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday decided to implement the 7th Pay Commission recommendations for its employees. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting in Jammu chaired by the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. The Information Department said that government employees will receive the current month's salary as per the revised rates. "All necessary notifications regarding implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations will be issued by Jammu and Kashmir's Finance Department by this evening," the Department tweeted. Finance Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari told the media that Jammu and Kashmir was the first state in the country to implement the recommendations. "We don't have resources, but our Chief Minister has made a commitment and we have fulfilled it," he said. The decision would benefit around five lakh employees and pensioners in the state. The financial implications for the implementations of 7th pay commission recommendations would be Rs 4201 crore annually while financial implications on account of one-time arrears would be Rs 7477 crores. The State government employees can now draw the salary for the month of April 2018 as per the revised scales. According to the decision, for the purpose of implementation of 7th Pay Commission Recommendations, basic pay as on of employees shall be multiplied by uniform factor of 2.57 and then adjusted in the matrix recommended by the Pay Committee. The benefit of House Rent Allowance on revised pay shall be available from April, 2018 and all allowances except Dearness Allowance (DA) shall continue as before while DA from January, 2016 onwards shall be paid on revised pay on new rates to be notified by Finance Department. P10 14 Officers Transferred Arrears Credited Into GP Fund With 3 Years Withdrawal Moratorium Consequent to the revision of pay of State Government employees notified vide SRO 193 on 24 April, the state government on Tuesday ordered that the payment of arrears on account of revision of pay of State Government employees for the period to is ordered as under: P10 Sarmad Hafeez Posted Spl Secy Info; Shah Faesal Addl Secy Tourism he Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday ordered transfer and postings with immediate effect o 14 officers, four of the IAS. According to an order issued by the government, Hilal Ahmad Parray (IAS--JK:2001), Commissioner Secretary to the Government, Youth Services and Sports TDepartment holding additional charge of Administrative Secretary, Technical Education Department, has been transferred and posted as Officer on Special Duty in the General Administration Department. P10 " ALL NECESSARY NOTIFICATIONS REGARDING implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations will be issued by Jammu and Kashmir's Finance Department by this evening," the Department tweeted. Kathua Rape And Murder Even Dead Have Dignity: SC On Naming Rape Victims Observer News Service New Delhi, April 24: Even the dead have dignity. They cannot be "named or shamed." This was the observation of the Supreme Court today as it dealt with the issue of disclosure of identity of rape victims, including the eight-year-old girl who was raped and brutally murdered recently in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir. It said that even in cases where the rape victims were alive and were either minors or of unsound mind, their identities should not be revealed as they have the right to privacy and they cannot live under such a "stigma" throughout their life. "Think of the dignity of dead also. It (media reporting) can be done without naming P10 CB To Move Court Against Lawyer For Twisting Facts Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Police Crime Branch on Tuesday decided to approach a court against a defence lawyer in the Kathua rape-murder case for allegedly "circulating twisted facts" on the matter, informed sources said. Crime Branch sources said that the probe agency had taken cognisance of a compact disc recording wherein a case witness is seen and heard claiming that he had been P10 JK Preventive Detention Laws Ordinance Gets Nod Fast-Track Promotion Of Officers Of Secretariat Sub-Ordinate Service Approves Temporary Engagement of 2200 Lecturers, 400 Teachers Okays Enhanced Salaries Of Chairman, Executive Councillors LAHDC T Observer News Service Court Denies Bail To Juvenile Accused Kathua: A Kathua court on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of an alleged juvenile offender, detained in the rape and murder case of an eight-year-old girl here. The bail application of the underage accused was turned down by Kathua Chief Judicial Magistrate A S Langeh, the local lawyers said. P10 Disengaged Wireless Operator To Be Re-Engaged As Wireless Assistants he state cabinet that met here today under the chairpersonship of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti approved the Jammu and Kashmir (Preventive Detention laws) Ordinance, According to the decision the Ordinance would provide the government a wider choice of retired eligible persons who could be considered for selection/ appointment as chairmen and members of the advisory boards under the legislations. P10 Ordinance Awarding Death For Child Rapists Approved Observer News Service Jammu: Amid outrage over the gruesome rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday came up with an ordinance making rape of girls under 16 years as punishable with rigorous imprisonment for 20 years, and that may extend to life sentence. The government also made rape of children under 12 years of age as punishable with death penalty. A government spokesman said the decision was taken by the Now Evidence To Be Recorded Via Video Jammu: Governor N. N. Vohra has promulgated The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, providing for recording of evidence through video electronic means (Video Conferencing).. The provisions of the existing Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat 1989, inter-alia, provide that all proceedings in a criminal trial are required to be taken in presence of the accused which would result in prolonged trial due to non-production of accused for one or other reason. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act), which is applicable to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir, has been amended by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008 (Central state cabinet, which met in Jammu under the chairpersonship of chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. He added that the cabinet approved the Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 and the Jammu and Kashmir Protection of Children from Sexual Violence Ordinance, As per the Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, committing rape on a girl under P10 4 JeM Militants, Soldier, Cop Killed In Tral Woods Observer News Service Srinagar: Four Jash-e-Mohammad militants, a soldier and a policeman were killed in an fierce gunfight in forests of Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Tuesday. Official sources said that the joint team of forces along with the additional reinforcement intercepted the militant group at the upper side of the Goiytengo forests who earlier fled after a brief exchange of gunfire. P10 All But JeI Want Better Relations With India: Aiyar New Delhi: Pakistan's political parties, except Jamaat-e-Islami, were resolved for better relations with India, former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has said, noting that mindset in the neighbouring country had changed post Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's rule. P10 Act No.5 of 2009) wherein Section 161, 164, 163 and 275 have been amended to provide for recording of evidence through video electronic means (Video Conferencing). To introduce the use of Video Conference in the State, as an admissible method/means for securing the presence of accused in criminal trials, variousprovisions of Code of Criminal Procedure, (Samvat 1989) corresponding to the amended provisions of Central Law, viz sections 167(2), 342, 353, 360, 364, 540-A are required to be amended. The introduction of the concept of securing the accused through Video Conference from the Jails as an alternative means would help in the speedy disposal of criminal trials, besides being P10 Cong Hands Stained With Muslims' Blood Aligarh : In a statement which might not go down well with his party, former Union minister Salman Khurshid has said there are Muslims' blood stains on the Congress hands. Khurshid made the remarks in response to a question by an Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student at a programme as to how the Congress would wash off the blood stains of Muslims from its hands. P10 Impeachment Motion Decision 'Not Hasty': Naidu New Delhi: Responding to opposition s allegations over the speed at which he dismissed a notice for the impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said that the decision was not hasty and came after over a month of due diligence. Rajya Sabha Chairman P10 TEST THE BEST BEST CARS WITH BEST BENEFITS HURRY! BOOK NOW *Terms & Conditions Apply HK NISSAN A UNIT OF HK AUTO WORLD PVT LTD SHOWROOM: NH-1A, South City Nowgam Byepass, Sgr )J&K) SERVICE: Athwajan Crossing, Near HK Cements, Sgr- (J&K) Cell: ,

2 To place an advertisement CALL Monday - Saturday (9am - 6pm) No 1- Dal Lake Boulevard Srinagar, , Kashmir BAZAR OBSERVER Wednesday PUBLIC NOTICE I Nawaz Ahmad Reshi S/O Mohammad Akram Reshi R/O Dowani Shopian had lent an amount of Rs 1Lakh thirty thousand to Arshid Ahmad Rather S/O Abdul Khaliq Rather R/O Check Sindoo Shirmal Shopian some years back. But Arshid didn t repay money he had taken from me, despite repeated reminders. So I was forced to take his vehicle bearing registration no JK13A Neither Arshid returned my money, nor did he approach me to take his vehicle back. Now I am selling the said vehicle to release my money. The amount fetch by the vehcile will be deducted from the debtd. The rest will remain on Arshid's Shoulders If anybody has any objection in this regard may contact Nawaz Ahmad Reshi on PUBLIC NOTICE SPN M I want to rectify my cast from Ganaie to Doom If anybody having any objection in this regard he/she may file his/ her objection in the office of the Principal High School Kawoosa Khalisa within a period of seven days from the date of publication of this notice. After that no objection shall be entertained. Younus Ahmad Ganaie S/o Bashir Ahmad Ganaie R/o Kawoosa Khalisa Office of the Assistant Director Tourism Pahalgam PUBLIC NOTICE BHT MGM I have applied for the registration of Mamal tour and Travels in tourism department pahalgam if anybody has any objection in this regard may file at Office of the Assistant Director Tourism Pahalgam within seven days after that no objection shall be entertained. Name: Zahid Ahmad Khanday S/O: Abdul Aziz Khanday R/O: Mamal Pahalgam SAM ANG SAM ANG Office Of The Assistant Regional Transport Officer Budgam NOTICE Whereas, an application has been received from one Shri Abdul Gani Baqal S/o Gh Mohi Din R/o Soibugh Budgam owner of vehicle No: JK04B-5448 for cancellation of Hire Purchase agreement with M/S Baramulla Central Co-Operative Bank B/u Magam Now it is therefore, notified for general information that objections, if any to the proposed cancellation of Hire Purchase Agreement shall be filed in writing in the office of the Regional Transport Officer, Budgam within a period of 12 days from the date of publication of this notice in the daily newspaper. No. JK/ ARTOB/9020 Dated Sd/ Regional Transport Officer, Budgam FIRD CERTIFICATE LOST I have lost the provosional Cum Character Certificate vide S. No 21 session Annual Regular 2016 of class 12th issued by the Govt Boys Higher Secondary Institute Magam. Now I want to apply for the duplicate of the same Anyone having objections shall submit at the above men Govt Boys Higher Secondary Institute Magam Within A Week's Time. After That No Objection Shall Be Entertained. Shahid Shafi S/o Mohammad Shafi Dar R/O Sozieth Goripora BHT MGM R N ANG Office of the Assistant Regional Transport Officer Kulgam NOTICE Whereas an application has been received from one Javeed Ah Makroo S/O Gh Hassan Makroo R/O Bata Tachloo Kulgam Owner of vehicle NO JK for cancellation of Hire PUrchase Agreement with M/S JK Bank KhudwanIi Kulgam Endorsement with Arhan Traders Pvt Ltd. Now it is therefore notified for General information that objection if any to the proposed cancellation/ endorsement of Hire Purchase Agreement sall be filled in writing in the office of ARTO Kulgam within a period of seven days from the publication of this notice in Daily Kashmir Observer R.N.ANT Office of the Executive Engineer, Construction Division No.2 nd Srinagar QUOTATION For and on behalf of Governor Jammu and Kashmir sealed quotation affixed with Revenue stamps worth Rs.2.00 are invited from the registered Stationery /Suppliers for the supply as detailed below. The quotation should be addressed to the office of undersigned which should reach this office on or before upto 2.00P.M S.No Particulars Quantity 1. Photostat paper A-4 power Quality Per Rim 2. File Cover Per Dozen 3. Toner 12 A HP Genuine Per No 4. Toner 88A HP Genuine Per No 5. Paper Pins Pony quality Per Box 6. Lases long Per Packet 7. Toner 18A HP Genuine Per No 8. Plastic File Cover Per Dozen 9. Long Register Hard Bound Per Register 10. Ball Pen (10 Pen in box) Per Box 11. Pen V-7& V-10 Sign Pen Per Box 12. Cello tape Per No 13. Stapler Pins24/6 Per No 14. Pen uniball impact Per box 15. Photostat Paper F/S Per Rim 16. Calculator casio big size Per No 17. 2H Pencil Per Box 18. Glue Stick Kores 15gm Per No 19. Highlighter Kores Per Packet 20. Fluid Pen Kores Per No 21. Marker Cello Per No 22. Duster Khadri Per No 23. Yellow envelope letter size Per No 24. Dak Pad leather superior Per No 25. Pen Drive 8 Gb HP Per No 26. Streplerkangroo folded big HP-45 Per No 27. Slip pad Per No 28. Self Sticky Big Size Per No 29. File Flags ColouredOddy Per No 30. File folder Per No 31. (A)Front Back A4 Per Packet (B)Front Back F/S Terms and Conditions: The suppliers should quote rate for each item inclusive of all taxes carriages etc. and nothing extra shall be paid. The stationery items shall have to be supplied within five days time positively from the date of issue of order and shall have to be delivered to Divisional office at Lalmandi Srinagar as per the requirement of the department. The approximate quantity advertised is subject to increase /decrease. In case the last date of receipt of quotation happens to be closed day the quotation shall be received up to 2.00 on next working day. The accepting authority reserves to himself the right of accepting or rejecting any or all quotations without assigning any reasons. The quotations should be accompanied with the C.D.R worth Rs.2000/-(Rupees one thousand) as earnest money pledged to the undersigned. No; For and on behalf of Governor J&K Dated; SD/- Executive Engineer, DIPK-874/18 Construction Division No.2 nd, Srinagar. Government of Jammu & Kashmir OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (R&B) DIVISION KULGAM (Office xenkul90@gmail.com) (Fax No: ) Mr. Shahzada Subzar Qasim, No: S/o: Mohammad Qasim Shah, Dtd: R/o: Munad Guffan Kulgam Subject: Assistant Regional Transport Officer Kulgam Office of the Assistant Regional Transport Officer Anantnag NOTICE Whereas joint application has been received by this office from Rehyana Akhtar W/o Hilal Ah Teeli R/o Dethu Shangus (Party No 1st) as Transferor, (seller) owner of the Vehicle Sumo Bearing Regd No JK03C-9435 (Commercial/non-commercial ) covering under R/P No. and Reyaz Ah Sheikh S/o Mohd Sultan Sheikh R/o Matipora Chittergul (Party No. 2nd) as Transferee (purchaser) requesting for transfer of R/C & R/P of the above noted vehicle from Party NO. 1st and. Before the case is disposed off on its merit, andy body having any objection regarding the proposed transfer amy file his objection within seven (7) days from the publication of this notice to the office of the undersigned. No any representation / objection shall be entertained after stipulated period. R.N.ANT Assistant Regional Transport Officer Anantnag Construction of First floor for A. D Ahmadabad Whereas the above noted work is allotted in your favour vide this office allotment No: dated Where as the work was to be completed within 45 days from the date of issuance of Allotment and the reckoned date of start was Whereas you have failed to start the execution till date despite notices being served to you at sub-division level as well as final notice have been served to you vide this office No: dated Whereas you have never bothered to fulfill the contractual obligations and complete the work as per terms and conditions of BOQ/ Allotment of contract. As such, through the medium of this notice via print media you are given a final chance to start the work within 03 days from the date of publication of this notice and complete it within the stipulated period of time, failing which the work shall be put to fresh tenders at your risk and cost without any further notice and no claim will be entertained on this account later on. Further, CDR/APS will be forfeited and your will be debarred for casting the tenders for one year in Phase 1 st. DIPK-899/18 NOTICE INVITING E-TENDER E-NIT No.; - IUST/EW/18/TEND/WALL/10 Dated; For and on behalf of Vice Chancellor, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, J&K State, E-Tenders (in single cover system) are invited on Item Rate Basis, from approved and eligible vendors for the following work. 1 Name of work CONSTRUCTION OF BOUNDARY WALL AROUND UNIVERSITY CAMPUS (from RD-250 to RD-375) 2 Estimated Cost of Construction Rs. 10,60,000.00/- 3 Cost of document Non-refundable) Rs. 1500/- (Rupees One Thousand Five Hundred only) 4 Earnest Money Rs. 21,200.00/- (2% of Estimated cost of Construction) Pledged in favour of Finance Officer Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora. VALID FOR 6 MONTHS 5 Time Allowed for Completion of 45 DAYS Work 6 Date of Publishing Time, Date & Address of opening of tender Bids shall be opened on-line in the office ofregistrar, Islamic University of Science and Technology,Awantipora on AT 2 PM 8 Availability of Tender document Tender document can be downloaded from website ( 9 The site for the work Available 10 Bidding process On-line 11 Bid Validity 120 Days SD/- EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, IUST Sd/- Executive Engineer P.W.D (R & B) Division Kulgam Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Department of Geology and Mining, Office of the District Mineral Officer Shopian Member Secretary District Auction Committee Shopian. Auction Notice Subject:- Postponement and Rescheduling of Auction. The Auction of minor mineral blocks (already published), Which was scheduled to be held on 18/04/2018 at 11:30 AM has been postponed on instructions of Deputy Commissioner Shopian (Chairman district auction committee) and same will now be held on 28/04/2018 at 11:30 AM in D.C Office Shopian.The terms and conditions as notified earlier shall remain the same and no fresh documents will be accepted. District Mineral Officer Shopian Geology & Mining Department. (Member Secretary) DIPK-891/18 District Auction Committee Shopian. 31 Janisar News Agency D C Office Anantnag 32 Mir News Agency Harwan Srinagar 33 Farooz News Agency Ganderbal R N ANG DISCLAIMER: KASHMIR OBSERVER MAKES EVERY EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT THE INFORMATION CARRIED IN DISPLAY/ CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS, APPEARING IN THE NEWSPAPER IS CORRECT. HOWEVER THE NEWSPAPER TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY NOR DOES IT NECESSARILY ENDORSE THE CONTENTS OF THESE ADVERTS. THE READERS ARE THEREFORE REQUESTED TO VERIFY THE CONTENTS BEFORE ACTING THEREUPON. MANAGEMENT G

3 Srinagar Observer Wednesday years on, SKIMS liver transplant unit fails to take off SRINAGAR: More than five years have passed since the liver transplant unit was sanctioned at SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), but it has failed to take off, said Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday in a statement. While the facility was approved to save lives, nothing has been done to make this life-saving unit functional, said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan. He said the liver transplant unit was envisaged in 2013, but since then no initiative has been taken by authorities at SKIMS to start the unit. A yearly grant of Rupees one crore was sanctioned for placement of trained staff, but till date no infrastructure has been put in place and no staff was trained, said DAK President. The space, which was designated for the unit, has been converted into chambers for consultants, he said. Dr Nisar said even the services of two trained liver transplant Div Com reviews beautification plan of city SRINAGAR: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan today convened a meeting to review the beautification plan of Srinagar city devised for Zero Bridge, Sonwar and Rajbagh areas. The meeting was attended by DDC Srinagar, IG CRPF, Director Radio Kashmir and officials from concerned departments. The beautification plan was earlier financed by Minister for Tourism Tassaduq Mufti and today Div Com reviewed the status of the works already undertaken. The Div Com said that any encumbrance on the roads needs to be removed at the earliest. He said that random signboards and shabbily erected advertisement boards need to be removed as they interfere with the aesthetics of the city. He said that encroachment of all sorts needs to be removed so that commuters and motorists move freely on the roads. Khan also directed the officials to work in tandem with different departments to beautify the entire area and implement all decision as have been directed by the Tourism Minister previously. FC HUDD reviews Srinagar Smart City Project SRINAGAR, APRIL 24: Financial Commissioner, Housing and Urban Development Department K B Agarwal chaired Srinagar Smart City Limited meeting here today. The meeting was attended by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Srinagar Smart City, Dr Farooq Lone, Inspector General of Police Kashmir range, S P Pani, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Syed Abid Rasheed, Vice Chairman Srinagar Job aspirants appeal SSRB to make Junior Assistant selection list public SRINAGAR: Job aspirants Tuesday appealed Chairman Jammu Kashmir Service Selection Recruitment Board (SSRB) to make selection list of Junior Assistants public. The job aspirants who emerged here in Press Enclave Srinagar said that two years back in June 2016 SSRB advertised some 545 Junior Assistant posts under notification vide number 01 of Our typing test was held in September-October 2016.Candidates who cleared this test were shortlisted for interview in December 2017, but unfortunately the same list was stayed in January 2018 and the case was withdrawn in March 2018, they said. SSB is claiming to recruit candidates on fast track basis but unfortunately it took them 2 years to conduct our test and selection list is yet to be published, the aspirants said. JKSSB has recently advertised 700 more Junior Assistant posts vide notification 02 of The candidates who cleared type test with good speed for notification 01 of 2016 are more likely to make it to 02 of 2017 as well. We request JKSSRB to declare the selection list of notification 01 of 2016 at the earliest so that the selected candidates will skip 02 of 2017 and will provide opportunity for other candidates to get through. (CNS) Development Authority, A. M. Raina, Commissioner Municipal Corporation Srinagar Riyaz Ahmad Wani and Assistant Director Archives and Museums besides other senior officers. Financial Commissioner, H&UDD said that implementation of the Smart city project should aim at value addition of Srinagar as a global tourist destination. During the meeting, various decisions regarding implementation of various projects under the convergence mode of Srinagar Smart city project were also discussed. He stressed on prioritizing strengthening of existing sewerage system and minimizing of solid waste generation in the city. It is pertinent to mention that the Srinagar Smart City Limited is a special purpose vehicle constituted by the state government for implementation of smart city mission in Srinagar city. Bali lays foundation of Health Secretariat at Bemina SRINAGAR: Minister for Health & Medical Education, Bali Baghat has laid foundation stone of the Health Secretariat (Swastha Bhawan) at Bemina here today. The Health Secretariat is aimed at to house the entire establishment of Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir and CMO, Srinagar under one roof. The project stands approved under PMDP for an estimated cost of Rs crore and the J&K Housing Board will be the executing agency. MLA Batamaloo, Noor Mohammad Sheikh, Principal Secretary Health & Medical Education, Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Mission Director, National Health Mission, Dr. Yashpal Sharma, Director Health Services, Kashmir, Dr Saleemur-Rehman and other senior surgeons have not been utilized and one of the them has submitted his resignation as his skill was wasted. He said the issue of liver transplant is not being even discussed at any platform and SKIMS authorities seem to be unwilling to start the unit. With no transplant facility, salvageable liver failure patients are dying, he added. Dr Nisar said patients with liver failure and end-stage liver disease are on rise in Kashmir and the only viable option for them is liver transplantation. Liver transplant is the replacement of a diseased liver by some or all of a healthy liver from a live or cadaveric (brain dead) donor, he said. The availability of liver transplantation has transformed the lives of patients with advanced liver disease, but in Kashmir valley they continue to be in despair and seem to have no hope of survival, said Dr Nisar. Arrest of girl student: Police rebuts news report SRINAGAR: Jammu Kashmir Police has termed the news reports about the arrest of a girl student from Srinagar city baseless and has rebutted the said report. Earlier some media houses and news portals published a report claiming that a girl student from Government College for Women Maulana Azad Raod Srinagar has again been arrested by police. The report said that girl was released on Monday evening but was again arrested on Tuesday morning. However, a police official rebutted such reports. Apropos to the news carried by some media houses and web portals regarding the arrest of a student of Women s College MA Road Srinagar, the news is strongly rebutted. It was an endeavour of the police with family and teachers to counsel the individual. We also thank teachers, parents and students who played key role with police in ensuring order, the spokesperson added. (CNS) Tulip garden to close for public from April 26 SRINAGAR: Director Floriculture Mathoora Masoom today informed that since the tulip bloom is almost over, Tulip garden Srinagar shall close for the general public from April 26, RTO Kashmir flags-off auto-rickshaw rally Gemini Group carries out cleanliness drive with SMC at Zakura SRINAGAR: In pursuance of its commitment to make Zone 4 of Srinagar Municipal Corporation waste free, Gemini Group Pvt. Ltd (IEC Partner Srinagar Municipal Corporation) in association with concerned SMC staff and local citizens, undertook a cleanliness drive at Nowbug Zakura today the 24th April Field staff of Gemini group, SMC staff and dozens of locals participated in the drive which was highly appreciated by the citizens of the locality. The Field staff of Gemini group also undertook a door to door awareness cum demonstration campaign regarding segregation and management of solid waste. The campaign stressed the importance of waste segregation in order to make Srinagar green and clean. People were made aware of the benefits of waste segregation and composting of the wet waste. Khomeini Chowk residents seek ban on entry of tippers KO News Desk officers of Health Department and J&K Housing Board were present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that it is endeavour of the present Government to ensure better infrastructural facilities across the State, and construction of health secretariat is part of the scheme. He expressed happiness that the entire administration of the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir and CMO, Srinagar will function under the one roof and facilitate ensuring close coordination between various wings of the health department and general masses. He called upon the executing agency to ensure quality work strictly as per the laid down design and specifications and complete the project in a time bound manner. SRINAGAR: Residents of Hydari colony, Khomeini Chowk, Bemina have demanded a strict and complete ban on the entry of tippers into the congested locality. A delegation of Hydari Colony told Kashmir observer that the tippers enter the area from different places creating a huge mess in the area. The residents have expressed resentment against traffic authorities for failing to deal with the tipper drivers who do not follow traffic norms and park the tippers in the area. The locals said, despite a ban imposed by government, tippers continue to ferry loose construction material from the rout, causing air pollution and spoiling roads in the summer capital. The uncovered material including sand, soil, stones, and bricks loaded in these tippers spills during transportation. It is a serious issue and must be redressed on priority. Some diseases like chest problems are the result of air pollution. When material like sand and soil falls on roads, it later comes into contact with air due to continuous movement of vehicles. Thus, commuters inhale all these pollutants, said Mushtaq Ahmad, a resident. The residents said many times the moment of the tippers have proven fatal for them In 2010 a nine-year-old boy on his way to Madrasa (religious school) was killed when a rashly driven tipper, ran over him. The boy was shifted to SKIMS Soura where he succumbed to his injuries said Mushtaq We have also many schools present in the locality and we always remain in fear about the safety of our kids because the tippers drivers run in a very high speed, said another local Nazir Khan. When KO contacted SSP Traffic Tahir Gilani, he said if the residents have any complaint they should contact with me, I will ensure that action is taken against the tipper drivers, Deputy Commissioner Budgam, Haroon Malik said, there were some tippers who were fairing soil in the area that has been stopped now, however, if residents feel they are still violating the rules, we will look into the matter, SRINAGAR: As part of the ongoing 29th Road Safety Week, Regional Transport Officer, Kashmir Khurshid Ahmad Shah today flagged-off auto-rickshaw rally here. The rally commenced from SRTC Bemina and culminated at Panthachowk in which 60 auto-rickshaws participated. A single doctor for all ailments SRINAGAR: Believe it or not, there is a single doctor posted at Primary Health Centre Lawyapora in the outskirts of Srinagar city who takes care of all patients. The doctor posted is a dental surgeon but she performs even the role of a gynecologist. Patients with different ailments visit this health centre and the doctor takes care of them, even prescribes medicines to them about which she has no scientific knowledge. It is not her fault. She is a dedicated doctor but is hapless as authorities are not posting anymore doctors here, said a group of locals to news agency CNS. It is a hell of a job and the doctor posted here really is overburdened. Due to staff crunch, she can t avail an off even, said lcoals. They appealed Health Department to depute another doctor at the Centre.(CNS) Bail pleas of Shahid, Ayaz to come up for hearing on May 03 SRINAGAR: Bail application of Shahid-ul-Islam the Spokesman of Hurriyat Conference (M) and Ayaz Akbar the Spokesman of Hurriyat Conference (G) will come up for hearing in the special NIA court at Patiala house on May 03. Family sources while disclosing this to KNS revealed that the bail application will be heard by the court and a decision from the court is expected the same day. It is in place to mention here that both Shahid-ul-Islam and Ayaz Akbar were arrested on July 25 last year in connection the money laundering case taken up for investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). DIAL-EMMA AIRPORTS TRAFFIC POLICE : , PCR: , PDD: FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES : , , CAPD: SMC HEALTH OFFICER: SHIEK UL ALAM AIRPORT: RAILWAYS SRINAGAR: ANANTNAG: BARAMULLA: BIJBHERA: PAMPORE: PATTAN: QAZIGUND: HIGHWAY STATUS SRINAGAR JAMMU: OPEN SRINAGAR-LEH: OPEN MUGHAL ROAD: OPEN SRINAGAR-MUZAFFARABAD: CLOSED HIJRI CALENDAR 08 SHABAN 1439 PRAYERS FAJR---4: 31 ZUHR---12: 31 ASR---5:23 Magrib 7:16 ISHA---8:38 This Day in History Sea battle at Dan-no-ura: Minamoto Yoritomo beats Taira-family German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller first to use the name America on his world map Universalis Cosmographia Battle at Gibraltar: Dutch fleet beats Spanish/Portuguese fleet Battle at the Dessau bridge: Albrecht von Wallenstein beats Ernst von Mansfeld French troops conquer Ypres Patent granted for thimble Patent granted for thimble Battle of Almansa; Franco-Spanish forces defeat British and Portuguese Battle of Lavaca, Texas (US Civil War) Jones & Harry Greenbacks musical premieres in London Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican-American War Ground broken for Suez Canal Battle of Lavaca, Texas (US Civil War) Spanish-American War: The United States declares state of war on Spain effective from 21st April Whites win right to vote in South Africa US President Woodrow Wilson is persuaded by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to accept mediation in the conflict with Mexico Persian cossack officer Reza Chan crowns himself Shah Palawi Spain routes 20,000 soldiers to Morocco (uprising Rifkabylen) Operation Merkur: Hitler orders conquest of Kreta Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java British troops reach Grebbe line Neth 1945 Red army completely surrounds Berlin Last Boeing B-17 attack against Nazi Germany st experimental sodium nuclear reactor operated Ibrahim Hashim forms Jordanian government Then-bishop Karol Wojtyla s celebrates newly completed Nowa Huta, Poland s first ever Mass at midnight of Christmas morning st submerged circumnavigation of Earth completed (Triton) US Ranger spacecraft crash lands on Moon Hans-Werner Grosse glides miles (1,461 km) in an AS-W Elections in Vietnam for a National Assembly to reunite the country France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island NASA space probe Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto s orbit Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by shuttle Discovery Iraq expects to resume crude oil and product exports by July Bomb attack on taxi stand in Johannesburg, 10 killed King Azlan Shah of Malaysia resigns From KO Archives Violent takeover supported MUZAFFARABAD: More than 10,000 people rallied at a soccer stadium here in support of a separatist movement In Indi anruled Kashmir. "We have no other alternative but to wage Jihad against Indian troops," Syed Salahuddin, chief of the militant Hizbul Mujahedeen group told participants at a conference in- Muzaffarabad. "Indians are killings innocent Kashmiris, raping our women and setting our houses on fire," said Salahuddin, who also heads the United Jihad Council - an umbrella organization of at -least 12 guerrilla groups fighting in Indian Kashmir. Salahuddin complained the United Nations was unable to implement its resolutions on Kashmir and said the international community; was indifferent to the issue. Kashmir, a former princely state, is divided between Pakistan and India and has already been the cause of two of their three wars since independence from Britain in Both the countries daim the region in its entirety. The U.N. resolutions call for a plebiscite among Kashmiris to determine the future status of the territory. But New Delhi flatly rejects international mediation and calls Kashmir,the only Muslim-majority state in Hindu-dominated India. For the last decade Indian troops have sought to curb the secessionist movement in Kashmir, where more than 25,000 people have been tolled in fighting. Muslim militants want Kashmir's merger with islamic Pakistan or indepen dence. Rally participants shouted "Down with India" and. Indians quit Kashmir," while waving Pakistan's green and white flag. A number of uniformed participants were armed with assault rifles. New Delhi accuses Pakistan of sponsoimg the insurgency and sending inflltrators. Islamabad denies the charge and labels it a home grown movement. Kashmir Observer, April 25, 2000

4 State Wednesday IN BRIEF Rajdhan Pass thrown open for traffic BANDIPORA: The 86 km long Bandipora-Gurez road was today thrown open for vehicular traffic after remained cut off due to heavy snow fall at Rajdhan pass at an altitude of fts. The road was thrown open to traffic by Maj Gen C P Ponnappa GOC 28 Infantry Division in the presence of Chief Engineer Project Beacon and Deputy Commissioner Bandipora. Maj Gen C P Ponnapa said that the highway remained open for an extended period last season as the efforts of the BRO personals came handy. Maj General said that over population of the of Gurez get effected during winters as the entire area remains cut off from the rest of the country. This season the work on snow clearance on the Bandipora Gurez road commenced much earlier resulting in the early opening of the Highway for vehicular traffic, he added. While terming it as a life line to the people of the Gurez Valley Maj Gen said that the movement of the vehicles on Rajdhan pass is no less a gift from Border Roads to the people of Gurez. While assuring the people of the frontier area he said that affords are on to make the road all weather for the people Gurez. While congratulating the jawans of Project Beacon Maj Gen C B Ponnappa said the snow clearance amid adverse circumstances always test the nerves of the BRO Personals as the threat of the avalanches and the snow storms always loom large in the areas while working at this altitude. Earlier Col Amit Chander, Commander 32 BRTF said that the BRO personals had to face the threat of the avalanches all the time with the rise in temperature and they carried out the snow clearance operation well before the schedule date. Col Amit said that it was a great moment for us to throw the road open by connecting a huge chunk of the population of the Gurez with the mainland. (KNS) Police recovers stolen vehicle SRINAGAR: Police Tuesday handed over a stolen vehicle to its real owner. The stolen vehicle Maruti 800 without registration number was spotted by a police party from Khag Budgam Station. In order to locate the owner of the vehicle, a signal was flashed to all police posts of Kashmir Valley. Accordingly it the real owner Riyaz Ahmad Wani son of Mohammed Yousuf Wani resident of Khomeini Chowk Bemina was located who had already brought the issue into the notice of police station Batamaloo, the official said. The owner of the vehicle appreciated the efforts of police. (CNS) Fulfilling commitments made with every section of society: Mehbooba Says employees welfare focus of her attention, a promise with State s women also fulfilled today JAMMU: Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today said that her Government is fulfilling the commitments made with every section of society in the State. The Chief Minister said this while interacting with a delegation of Employees Coordination Committee, led by its Chairman, Ghulam Rasool Mir, who had come to thank her for the historic decisions taken in today s cabinet meeting chaired by her. Mehbooba Mufti said she had committed to employees of State Government about implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations in their favour despite resource crunch and EJAC welcomes decision for implementation of 7th Pay Commission Hails CM, FM for fulfillment of commitment with employee leaders SRINAGAR: Senior JCC Leader and President EJAC Ab. Qayoom Wani termed the decision of implementation of 7th Pay Commission with retrospective effect from a welcome step as already agreed by the Govt. with the leaders of Employee fraternity. EJAC president hailed Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Finance Minister Syed Mohd. Altaf Bukhari for fulfilling their commitment with the employees of the state. Wani termed the decision victory without war for employees and this is all because of employee unity which they have showed in difficult times. Wani hailed the personal intervention of Chief Minister and Finance Minister for implementation of 7th pay commission on public sector and 9 arrested in Pulwama nocturnal raids PULWAMA: Merely a couple of hours after locals protested against the survey party of army in Muran Village of South Kashmir s Pulwama district, Combined Forces conducted nocturnal raids and arrested at least 9 youth including a pellet victim. On Monday, local youth pelted stones on army survey party who retaliated with some warning shots. Reports said that Government Forces emerged in the village during midnight and arrested 9 youth allegedly involved in stone pelting. The arrested youth have been identified as Mudasir Ahmad Yatoo, Rizwan Ahmad Sheikh, Sheikh Basharat, Amir Hassan, Danissh Ahmed Khan, Showkat Ahmed Mir, Kaiser Mir, Sahil Shah and Muhammad Amir Ahangar. Reports said that people staged protest against these arrests while a complete shutdown was observed in the area. Reports added that locals visited police station and demanded the release of youth. Some local youth pelted stones and blocked the road for traffic for some time. (CNS) today she was happy that the commitment stands fulfilled. She said employees being integral part of governance system, their welfare in terms of emoluments, accommodation, career progression etc. has remained focus of her attention. Similarly, she added, a mega housing project has been initiated by her Government for meeting the accommodation needs of the employees. A similar commitment, the Chief Minister said, she had made with the daughters, sisters and mothers of the State to bring a strong law prescribing capital punishment for convicts of sexual crimes against women which also has been fulfilled today. The employees delegation thanked the Chief Minister for taking other reformative steps also like removing stagnation of officers and creating avenues of promotions for other subordinate staff. (KNS) Education should be exempted from politicking: Tarigami Authorities should negotiate with tuition center owners to address any gaps, misconceptions or misgivings SRINAGAR: CPI (M) leader and MLA Kulgam Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami Tuesday said that education should be exempted from politicking as it can never serve any purpose to either side of the political divide except for aggravating the situation by making the future of youth bleak. Education sector has already suffered immensely and it is imperative on all parties, groups and individuals to ensure that students don t suffer further for no fault of theirs. Whatever atmosphere is existing, education should not suffer for the sake of future of our children. Academicians, teachers, administrators and all other related people should take measures for reconciliation and devise a strategy so that educational institutions remain open. Parents should also come forward and show an equal concern on normal functioning of schools like they have exhibited on closure of tuition centers. These centers offer an alternative to the students who really need academic tuition, but can never prove to be a viable substitute to formal schooling. Authorities should negotiate with the owners of these centers to address any gaps, misconceptions or misgivings. Precious academic days have been already lost in the current academic session which in long run will result in our students remaining behind in competitive exams. We have a short academic session in Kashmir already which is further shrunk by public holidays, strike calls and curfews. Education is one of the institutions that make up the social structure of any society. Can t all of us think to find and devise some mechanism so that education doesn t suffer due to the ongoing unrest? There are several examples in world, where despite wars, unrest and other problems leadership ensured that education doesn t suffer. Uncertainty and unrest prevails in several areas in the world, but leadership in these areas ensure that education is least affected. Due to frequent closure of schools and colleges, the discontinuity in the education process creeps in which results in irreversible loss to students. (KNS) Fraud: Despite getting money from Government, ZEO s of Baramulla Zones yet to provide uniforms to students BARAMULLA: Despite getting funds from the State Government, the Education Department in a couple of Zones in North Kashmir s Baramulla district has not distributed school uniforms among needy students. The parents of these Government School students from Pattan and Singpora Zones have alleged that some officers despite getting money autonomous bodies also. He said that EJAC had already put forth their reservation before the govt. with regard to 7th pay commission and other issues like PSU s, other autonomous bodies and issues of other categories of employees. Wani also hail Worthy Chief Secretary B.B Vyas, Principal Secretary Finance Naveen Choudhary and their team for implementation of 7th pay commission. President EJAC said that EJAC will minutely study the reckoner/ SRO and any lacuna in it will be strongly represented before the govt. for immediate redressal. Wani hoped that other issues of employees like removal of pay anomalies, delinking of salaries of SSA Teachers, inclusion of contingent paid workers and other left out temporary employees in SRO 520, removal of 202, regularization of all employees working under state and centrally sponsored schemes, increase in the honorium of Anganwari Workers and helpers and other issues will be redressed at an earliest. He also congratulated all EJAC leaders for their efforts and result oriented struggle. (KNS) from the government have neither bothered to purchase uniforms nor give any reason for the delay. It is mid-session and we have no uniforms for our children, they added. In Singpora and Pattan Zones, money has been deposited in the account of concerned ZEO to purchase uniforms for the school students. Only a few students were provided uniforms that shrank after single washing. It is a scam and the matter needs to be probed, said a group of parents. The parents while seeking the intervention of Chief Minister and Minister for Education into the matter demanded that ZEO s should be made accountable and the matter should be thoroughly probed. When Contacted Chief Education Officer Baramulla, Abdul Ahmad Ganaie told CNS that they have already transferred money to the accounts of concerned ZEO s. As per guidelines, we have to provide 2 uniforms to each student, but if they haven t got the single uniform yet, it is worrisome. I assure you that matter will be probed within any delay, he said. (CNS) KAS Officers Hail Time-bound Grade Promotion, 7th Pay Panel JAMMU: The KAS Officers Association today expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, the Finance Minister, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari,the Council of Ministers for sanctioning release of time-bound grade promotion in favor of the KAS Officers and implementation of 7th Pay Commission Recommendations. In a statement issued here today, a spokesman of the KAS Association said that the Association also expresses gratitude to the Chief Secretary, Mr B B Vyas, the Finance Secretary, Mr Navin Kumar Choudhary,Commissioner Secretary GAD, Mr Khurshid Ahmad Shah and other officers of the Establishment-cum-Selection Committee for their untiring efforts and unwaveringcommitment in this behalf. The Association feels that the sanctioning of time bound grade promotion is a milestone,which will go long way towards addressing the problem of stagnation within the KAS cadre and will surely bring about an upsurge in the motivation levels of the KAS officers, the statement said adding that at this watershed moment, the KAS Association congratulates the entire KAS fraternity for achieving this long, cherished goal and expresses gratitude towards the brethren for reposing their faith in the Association and for standing with it throughout, without which achieving this milestone would not have been possible. The KAS Association also expressed gratitude to State Government for fulfilling their commitment on implementation of the 7th Pay Commission Recommendations. The Association deems that these positive gestures from the Government are an assertion that it is sincere in addressing the long pending issues of the employees, it said. Meanwhile, the office-bearers of KAS Association called on the Minister for Finance & Education Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari,Minister for Horticulture Syed Basharat Bukhari, Minister for Information Technology,Youth Services & Sports Imran Raza Ansari, the Chief Secretary BB Vyas, Principal Secretary Finance Navin K Chaudhary and Commissioner Secretary GAD, Khurshid Ahmed Shah to personally express gratitude regarding sanctioning of the time-bound running grade in favor of the KAS cadre. The KAS Association believes that such positive,employeefriendly decisions will boost the morale of the employees who will be more determined to work with renewed zest and commitment towards implementation of the policies and programmes of the Government. Govt has completely failed on all fronts: Hurriyat (G) SRINAGAR: Hurriyat Conference (G) while slamming state authorities over deployment of forces, curbs, closure of educational institutions and harassment of students under the bogey of law and order said on Tuesday that it is ridiculous and further exposes the repressive regime. Strongly criticizing chief minister for her rhetoric of development, Hurriyat (G) in a statement issued to GNS said that forces are using brute methods and showering pellets and pava shells, maiming and mercilessly killing unarmed civilians. Detaining dozens of resistance activists and workers every day and lodging them in various jails illegally just for their political belief is a move to create fear among the people to stop them from demanding their basic right the right to self-determination, the statement said. These so-called rulers in Kashmir have completely failed on all fronts. On one hand, Kashmir is in the grip of lakhs of terrorizing forces and on the other, terror and fear has been unleashed upon people. Their slogans for Sadak, Pani and Bijli are hoax, Hurriyat (G) said. Meanwhile, Hurriyat (G) termed as state terrorism the slapping of 5th Public Safety Act (PSA) on 80-yearold pro-freedom leader, Mohd Subhan Wani, saying it is highly condemnable. Referring to prolonged and unlawful detention of Wani, Hurriyat (G) said he is languishing in jail since long. It is quite disheartening that he is being subjected to vengeance by state authorities, it said and appealed to world human rights organizations to take cognizance. Hurriyat (G) also expressed deep grief over the demise of wife of Gh Mohd Safi and extended condolences to the grieved family. In a condolence meeting chaired by its general secretary Gh Nabi Sumji, its executive members including Syed Mohd Shafi, Hakim Ab Rashid, spokesperson Gh Ahmad Gulzar, Mohd Shafi Lone, Peer Ab Rashid, and Mohd Amin prayed for the departed soul and forbearance to the grieved family to bear the irreparable loss. (GNS) Don t opt the way of destruction: JKPCC chief to students Condemns Govt for ordering closure of coaching centers SRINAGAR: Condemning the government order regarding the closure of coaching centres in the Valley, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JK- PCC) president, G A Mir on Tuesday appealed students to highlight their issues and demands in a peaceful manner. Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS) on the sidelines of the party function in South Kashmir s Anantnag district, the JKPCC chief said that the students shouldn t opt the way of destruction. I appeal the students to highlight their issues and demands in a peaceful manner. I believe protesting peacefully would be better than opting the way of destruction as it would only affect their education, he added. Mir said that the government has failed at every front and likewise it failed in keeping the schools open for students. The government should have counselled the students in a proper manner rather than using force against them, he said. He said that after shutting the schools across the Valley, the government has ordered closure of coaching centres in an undemocratic way. After schools, the coaching centres were the only option for the students to get education but unfortunately the government has ordered the closure of these tuition centres too, which is highly condemnable, he added. Mir also said that the present situation in the Valley was never witnessed in last 70 years. We condemn the government for making such situation in the Valley and also appeal them to restore the harmony among the people again, he said. (KNS) Govt issues traffic advisories for durbar move days JAMMU: According to traffic advisories issued by the government for durbar move days, only up traffic i.e. from Jammu to Srinagar shall be permitted on 28th and 29th April, 2018 on Srinagar-Jammu NHW therefore, no traffic movement including that of convoys of Army and Para-military forces, shall be permitted on the NHW-1A from Srinagar to Jammu on these dates. Similarly, in order to facilitate smooth movement of vehicles carrying Jammu based Darbar Move employees from Jammu to Srinagar on 5th and 6th May, 2018, only UP traffic i.e. from Jammu to Srinagar, shall be permitted on NHW-1A. Therefore, no traffic movement, including that of convoys of Army and para-military forces shall be permitted on the NHW-IA from Srinagar to Jammu on 5th and 6th May Pertinently, as per an earlier order issued by the Government, Darbar Move offices observing five-day week shall be closing at Jammu on 27th of April 2018 after the office hours and the offices observing six-day week shall close on 28th of April 2018 after the office hours. All the offices shall re-open at Srinagar on 7th of May 2018, in this connection the Srinagar based employees shall be moving to Srinagar on 28th and 29th April 2018 whereas the Jammu based employees shall be moving to Srinagar on 5th and 6th May, Moreover, the main convoy carrying the important official records from Civil Secretariat, Jammu / other Darbar Move offices shall proceed to Srinagar on 29th of April 2018 (Sunday). Mirwaiz condoles demise of Adv Shamsdin, GM Safi s wife SRINAGAR: Awami Action Committee patron and Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Tuesday along with party activists visited the residence of AAC s executive member and prominent lawyer Advocate Peerzada Shamsdin Shah at Warpora, Alesteng who passed away on Monday after a prolonged illness. Mirwaiz expressed sympathy and solidarity with the bereaved family, especially with Abdul Basit, the son of deceased and other family members, an AAC statement issued to GNS said. Mirwaiz while recalling the contribution of Shah said that he was an honest and committed member of AAC and his death has created a space in the party cadre which will be difficult to fill. He prayed for highest standards for the deceased in Jannah and patience to the bereaved family. Mirwaiz also expressed his grief and sorrow over the demise of the wife of prominent resistance leader based in PaK Ghulam Muhammad Safi and extended his sympathy and solidarity to the bereaved family. Meanwhile, a delegation of AAC comprising Muhammad Shafi Khan, Muhammad Yousuf Baht, Muhammad Sidiq Hazar, Muhammad Ashraf Changa and others visited the residence of Abdul Ahad Bhat, a long-time activist of AAC, on his demise.

5 NEWS Wednesday Toll rises to 69 in Kabul suicide attack KABUL: The death toll in the suicide attack on a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital here on Sunday increased to 69 and the number of injured to 120, police said on Tuesday. The toll increased as some of the bodies were taken directly to their homes and not to the hospitals. Thus the authorities could not immediately count them, Efe news quoted a police spokesman as saying. On Sunday, the official tally of victims in the attack stood at 57 dead and 119 wounded. Among the dead were 27 women and two police officers, with the bodies of the latter initially being taken to police hospitals, delaying their inclusion in the overall tally. The spokesman said that about half of the injured were women and five police officers were wounded. The attack took place at around 10 a.m. in the Qala-e-Nazir area when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives among the crowd as people queued to register themselves at the poll centre. The voter registration centre is situated in a district with a large population of the Shia minority Hazara community, often targeted by the Islamic State (IS) terror group. World s first penis, scrotum transplant done in US WASHINGTON: Doctors at Johns Hopkins University said on Monday they have performed the world s first total penis and scrotum transplant on a US military serviceman who was wounded in Afghanistan. The 14-hour operation took place on March 26, and was performed by a team of nine plastic surgeons and two urology surgeons, JHU said in a statement. The entire penis, scrotum without testicles and partial abdominal wall came from a deceased donor. The recipient has requested anonymity, but released a brief statement saying he is expected to be released from the hospital next week. It s a real mindboggling injury to suffer; it is not an easy one to accept, he said. When I first woke up, I felt finally more normal. The statement did not describe how the patient was injured, but said blasts from improvised explosive devices can cause such injuries. Doctors have previously succeeded at transplanting penises only, so adding the scrotum represented an additional advance for surgeons. HRW report slams China s men only job culture HONG KONG: Leading Chinese firms including e-commerce giant Alibaba were heavily criticised on Monday for gender discrimination in job adverts in a new report which said the landscape for the female workforce in China was deteriorating. The report by campaign group Human Rights Watch, entitled Only Men Need Apply: Gender Discrimination in Job Advertisements in China, details a host of offences by private companies and public bodies, from issuing men only job ads to requests for women applicants to be trim and aesthetically pleasing. The adverts reflect traditional and deeply discriminatory views that women are less capable than men and that they will not be committed to their jobs because of their role as family caregivers, it said. Head of Yemen's political council killed in Saudi raid AGENCIES SANAA: The political leader of Yemen's Ansarullah movement which controls capital Sanaa and much of the north has been killed in Saudi-led air strikes on Hudaida province, the group said on Monday. Al-Masirah TV network, close to the group, reported that Saleh al-sammad, the president of the Supreme Political Council that runs Yemen's capital and other rebel-held areas, was killed on Thursday. The group said it had elected Mahdi al-mashat as Sammad's successor. In a televised address later on Monday, the Ansarullah leader, Abdul Malik al-houthi, said that, overall, seven people were killed in Thursday's air raids. "This crime will not break the will of our people and state... [and] will not pass without accountability," he added. "The forces of this aggression led by Washington and the Saudi regime are legally responsible for such a crime and all its implications." There was no immediate comment by the Saudi-led coalition. Yemen's Defense Ministry also vowed a "crushing response" to the assassination of a senior official, saying Saudi Arabia and the US will regret their "criminal adventurism." In a statement carried by the official Saba news agency on Monday, the ministry stressed that the Yemeni armed forces reserve the right to deal severe blows to "the aggressors and their evil coalition," who will not be safe from ballistic missiles. Comprising mostly of Houthi tribe which is traditionally based in Yemen's northwest, Ansarullah overran much of the country, including Sanaa, in 2014, ousting the US and Saudi backed government of President Abd- Rabbu Mansour Hadi. In March 2015, a coalition Class 11 girl gagged, gangraped by classmate, 2 others in moving car AGENCIES NOIDA: A Class 11 student was allegedly gangraped by three youth including her classmate in a moving vehicle in Greater Noida last week, after which she was dropped on the roadside. The police informed that two people have been arrested in the case while the third person is absconding. A case has been registered and investigation is underway, they said. According to a report in NDTV, the girl told the police last Wednesday that the incident happened when she was returning home after she missed school bus at around 2.30 pm, and was offered a lift by three youth. She said the boys forced her to have a drink laced with drugs and then gangraped her. She also alleged that she was gagged. "We received information from the girl's father that on April 18, she could not be found and based on his statement a First Information Report was filed against three people. We have caught the main accused and another youth, while a third one is still on the run," Awneesh Kumar, a senior police officer, was quoted as saying by NDTV. In yet another incident of sexual assault on minors, a 12-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by three men outside an under-construction house in Jharkhand's Dumka on Monday. In a similar incident, a 13-year-old minor was gangraped near a temple in Haryana's Yamunanagar earlier on Sunday. The police have arrested three people in connection with the case, while two others are absconding. On Sunday, the minor was sleeping in her house with her siblings when the men barged into her house and kidnapped her. Man chases wife in court, kills her with sword, injures in-laws PRESS TRUST OF INDIA SAMBALPUR: A man killed his wife in the building of a family court in Odiha's Sambalpur on Monday and injured her mother and niece with a sword, police said. Ramesh Kumbhar of Sindurpankh in Sambalpur attacked his 18-year-old wife Sanjita Chowdhury with a sword and killed her. He also injured his mother-in-law Lalita Chowdhury and a two-and-half year old niece, police said. His father-in-law escaped the attack, the police said. Sanjita had appeared at the court with her parents for conciliation with her husband as she had returned to her parental home a few months after her marriage, they said. She had eloped with Ramesh last year and lived with him for several months, She had, however, returned to her parents as she was being tortured by her husband and had been married to another person. Ramesh had filed a petition in the family court to get back his wife. In a pre-planned attack, he hit Sanjita and her family members in the court premises with a sword injuring them severely when they reached there, the police said. According to eye witnesses Sanjita had run inside the family court building to escape the attack but Ramesh chased her and stabbed her. He also tried to attack Sanjita"s father Sudan Chowdhury, who ran into a room of the Sambalpur sadar tehsil office. People who were present there overpowered Ramesh and thrashed him before handing him to the police. Sanjita, her mother and her niece were rushed to the Sambalpur district hospital. As her condition worsened, Sanjita was shifted to a hospital at Burla where she died, the police said. of Arab countries assembled by Saudi Arabia launched a massive bombing campaign aimed at rolling back the rebels' advances. Since then, the Saudis have carried out more than 16,000 air raids, resulting in mass civilian casualties with weddings, hospitals and funerals targeted. The United States has been helping the coalition with weaponry and logistical support. On Sunday, two Saudi-led coalition air attacks killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens in northwestern Yemen, according to residents and medical personnel. Most of the dead were women and children who were gathering in a tent set up for a wedding party in Hajjah's Bani Qays district, a medical official told Al Jazeera. 'Biggest blow' Hakim Almasmari, editorin-chief of the Yemen Post, said al-sammad's death was a "very significant" development. "He was the acting president in the Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, so this is considered the biggest blow for the movement, politically, since the war started," he told Al Jazeera. Almasmari noted that the location of the incident was also important. "Hudaida is considered the most secure place for the movement," he said. "It's not a secret that Hudeida is much more secured than even Sanaa itself, so for him to be killed in Hudeidah, under all the extreme security measures that they go through there, [raises questions] whether they are infiltrated in Hudeida province itself or within the intelligence apparatus in general." Almasmari also said it was not surprising that al- Sammad's had been replaced by Mahdi al-mashat, whom he described as "a very influential figure within the movement". John Bolton chaired anti-muslim think tank AGENCIES WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump s new national security adviser, John Bolton, presided over a propaganda origination that has promoted misleading and false news against Muslims, according to a report. Bolton was chairman of the Gatestone Institute, a New York-based advocacy group that tells people that Muslims would take over Europe leading to a Great White Death, from 2013 until March 2018, NBC News reported on Monday. The group has published numerous reports on its website against Muslims and immigrants in Europe. Gatestone is a key part of the whole Islamaphobic cottage industry on the internet, said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group. He added that Bolton s association with Gatestone, "and in one of the most powerful positions on the planet, is very disturbing. Gatestone is putting out content that was clearly antiimmigrant, anti-muslim disinformation propaganda being spread on social media., said Alina Polyakova, a Brookings Institution fellow who studies PMO declines RTI query about Modi s promise of Rs 15 lakh AGENCIES NEW DELHI: A query on when the Rs 15 lakh promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 2014 election campaign would be transferred to people's bank accounts, does not come under the definition of 'information' under the RTI Act and so cannot be answered, the PMO has told the Central Information Commission. RTI applicant Mohan Kumar Sharma filed a plea on November 26, nearly 18 days after demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 was announced by the Prime Minister -- seeking to know the date of deposit of Rs 15 lakh in the account of each citizen as promised by Modi, besides other queries. During the hearing, Sharma told Chief Information Commissioner R K Mathur that complete information had not been provided to him by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Reserve Bank of India. 'The respondent no.1 (PMO) stated. they have informed the appellant that information sought by him on point nos.1 and 4 (regarding date of deposit of Rs 15 lakh in the account of each citizen as promised by PM Narendra Modi; how print media houses came to know before the announcement of PM Narendra Modi about the demonetisation, etc.) of the RTI application does not fall under the definition of 'information' as per Section 2(f) of the RTI Act,' Mathur noted. According to the section 2 (f) of the RTI Act, "information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, s, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information related to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force. 'The action/steps taken by the respondent nos.1 (PMO) and 2 (RBI) in dealing with the RTI application are satisfactory,' Mathur noted. During the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi had said each Indian would receive Rs 15 lakh when black money would be repatriated from abroad. far-right populism and disinformation campaigns in the European Union. Polyakova said it was surprising for several people that Bolton had presided over the group. Last month, Trump announced Gen. H.R. McMaster's replacement, making Bolton -- a former US ambassador to the United Nations -- his third national security adviser, part of a shake-up that creates one of the most hawkish national security teams of any White House in recent history. Bolton formally started as national security adviser in early April. Democrats and others have expressed concerns about Bolton's pro-war views, particularly during his time in the administration of George W. Bush leading up to the 2003 Iraq War. Some analysts have said that the appointment of Bolton as US national security adviser indicates that the Trump administration plans to escalate hostilities towards Islamic countries, particularly Iran. Kill me, said Toronto driver who mowed down 10 AGENCIES TORONTO ; A Toronto police officer who refused to shoot the man suspected of plowing a van into crowds of pedestrians on Monday, killing 10 people, was praised for restraint in the face of a suspect who claimed to have a gun. Video footage showed the police officer staring down the suspect at gunpoint in the middle of a street, while the man pointed what appeared to be a gun and shouted Kill me. The video, obtained by CBC News, showed the suspect repeatedly pulling an object from his side and aiming at police. The arrest was praised as a welcome example of police restraint in the midst of chaos, coming just minutes after a white rental van plowed into a lunchtime crowd in north Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15 in one of the most violent incidents in Canadian history. As the suspect shouted Kill me, the officer replied, No, get down. When the suspect said, I have a gun in my pocket, the officer responded: I don t care. Get down. Cong hand stained with Muslims blood PRESS TRUST OF INDIA ALIGARH : In a statement which might not go down well with his party, former Union minister Salman Khurshid has said there are Muslims' blood stains on the Congress hands. Pushed to the wall with a point blank query from an Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student at a programme as to how the Congress will wash off the blood stains of Muslims on its hands, he said, "It is a political question. There is blood on our hands. I am also a part of the Congress so let me say it, we have blood on our hands. Is this why you are trying to tell us that if someone attacks you, we must not come forward to protect you?" "I am telling you. We are ready to show the blood on our hands so that you realise that you too must not get blood on your hands. If you attack them, you are the ones who would get stains on your hands," he said at an AMU event on Sunday. "Learn something from our past. Learn from our history and don't create such situations for yourself where if you come back to Aligarh Muslim University after 10 years, you find no one like yourself putting out questions," he said. The student had asked, "The first amendment was in Then there was Presidential order in after that Hasanpura, Maliana, Muzaffarnagar and there is a long list of riots under the Congress regime. Then there was the opening of the gates of Babri Masjid, placing idols inside and then the demolition of Babri Masjid while the Congress was in power at the Centre. Congress has Muslims' blood on its hands. With what words will you wash them off?" The former Union minister was the chief guest at the annual function of BR Ambedkar Hall of the AMU. I am telling you. We are ready to show the blood on our hands so that you realise that you too must not get blood on your hands. If you attack them, you are the ones who would get stains on your hands

6 Wednesday KASHMIR NO HOLDS BARRED Send your write ups and feedback at OPINION ALL IN A DAYS WORK... Editor-in-Chief : Sajjad Haider Legal Counsel: Tasaduq Khwaja Switchboard: (0194) Editorial: (0194) editorial: editor@kashmirobserver.net Printed & Published by Sajjad Haider on behalf of the Kashmir Observer LLP Published from: # 1- Boulevard, Srinagar Printed at: KT Press Pvt. Ltd, Rangreth Ind Area, Srinagar. RNI Registration No: 69503/98 Postal Registration No-L/159/KO/SK/ Modify if not revoke AFSPA in J&K IN a major decision on Monday, the Union Home Ministry revoked the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Meghalaya. The decision was taken after consultations between centre and the state government. Similarly, AFSPA is now applicable only in eight police stations in Arunachal. The Home Ministry has also enhanced the aid under the surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy for militants in northeast from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. The decision has naturally caused some heartburn in Kashmir. Revocation of the controversial has been a longstanding political demand in J&K but despite repeated assurances to the previous governments and also a written commitment to the incumbent government in the agenda of alliance between the ruling PDP and BJP, the centre has backed out of any action. True, the security situation over the past two years has drastically deteriorated in the Valley lending weight to the security and political voices which frown on any repeal of the law. However, it is also true that until 2015 the militancy in the state had declined to an extent where the AFSPA could have been removed at least in parts of the state where militancy has reduced to zero. Then the argument advanced was that doing so would facilitate renewal of militancy. But it still has and despite the AFSPA being in place. If anything, one of the inferences that can be drawn from this state of affairs is that there may not be necessarily a direct co-relation or a causal relationship between the AFSA and the militancy. And there shouldn t be, in a sense. Militancy, especially the one engendered by the complex historical and political factors and also aided by a predominantly favourable public sentiment cannot be dealt exclusively by the force. More so, when that force is largely unaccountable and thereby leads to human rights violations which further complicate than address the situation. At a social level in Kashmir, the argument against AFSPA hasn t been so much about its removal as against some of its provisions which grant impunity to the soldiers responsible for even the heinous human rights excesses. In 2012, the then Home Minister P Chidambaram had revealed a plan to make three amendments to the law. The amendments reportedly included the requirement for the security forces to get arrests warrants in advance, taking away of the power of the armed forces to open fire causing death and setting up of a grievance redress cell. Six years down the line, such changes in the law remain a very pragmatic solution under the circumstances. One can ask what is stopping the centre from making necessary modifications in the law that makes the security personnel who commit human rights violations accountable for their actions. One hopes, if not entirely revoke the law from the state, the union government will at least take concrete steps to modify the AFSPA in ways that discourages the arbitrary use of the power by the security personnel. O T H E R O P I N O N Conscience call: On Rohingya crisis THE scale of the humanitarian crisis faced by Rohingya refugees was highlighted this month when Myanmar claimed it had repatriated a family of five. About 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh from their homes in Myanmar s Rakhine province since August Late last year, the two countries had struck an agreement for their return. Bangladesh, however, rejected the claim about the repatriation of the five family members, saying they had not travelled into its territory, so their so-called return did not qualify as repatriation. In fact, in London this week, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina repeated statements by her officials on the repatriation claim, and asked the international community to put more pressure on Myanmar to take back their own people and ensure their security. Facing persecution at home in Myanmar, Rohingya have for years been fleeing in the most hazardous of ways, and the UN reckons there were already 200,000 refugees in Bangladesh before the mass flight began in August, with most refugees now concentrated in Cox s Bazar. Bangladesh has been at the forefront of seeing to the needs of the refugees, and trying to get Myanmar to create the conditions for their eventual safe return to their homes. Aid workers are working to strengthen their shelters and move the more vulnerable to safer ground before the monsoon rain comes. The world needs to do a lot more especially India, as a neighbour that has an estimated 40,000 Rohingya refugees living precariously on its territory, and as a regional power that is failing this time round to keep up its legacy of providing succour to those fleeing persecution. At the heart of the human rights problem that confronts the world is that no one is confident that conditions obtain in Myanmar to receive the refugees. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said last week that conditions in Myanmar are not yet conducive for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees. It clarified that there needs to be more than physical infrastructure and logistical arrangements for their journey back. It is crucial that there be movement on Rohingya s legal status and citizenship in Myanmar and their identification with Rakhine. Myanmar refuses to recognise the Rohingya, who are mostly Muslim, as a separate ethnic group and denies them citizenship. It just gives them the option of self-identifying themselves as Bengali, which has its own implications for their rights as inhabitants of the country. Officials do not even use the word Rohingya. It has been rightly termed a case of ethnic cleansing. Pressure on Myanmar, which won plaudits for its recent democratic transition, to recognise the rights of a people who trace their ancestry in Rakhine for generations has so far yielded nothing. As Ms. Hasina suggested this week, it should be reason for the global community to double the pressure. The Hindu Pervez Hoodbhoy PANDIT Jawaharlal Nehru would never have won a popularity contest in Pakistan quite simply because he did his best to oppose our country s creation. But nowhere is he reviled more than in India s current ruling circles and among those whose loyalty they command. The accusations against Nehru are often breathtaking: that he was degenerate and dissolute; born in a brothel and eventually died of syphilis; impregnated a Catholic nun; claimed to be a Kashmiri Pandit but secretly ate onions; and from age 19 onwards would be drunk every day starting at 9 am. As with America s alt-right which insists that Barack Obama is a closet Muslim, Hindutva activists allege that Nehru s grandfather was Ghayas -ud din Ghazi, a Muslim kotwal serving the Mughal court. If only anonymous internet nutters were making such attacks, they wouldn t matter. But a concentrated attack by BJP-RSS sarsangchalaks is leading to the steady purge of Nehru from India s history books. Betwa Sharma reported in 2016 that students of Class VIII in BJP-ruled Rajasthan are no longer learning that Nehru was India s first prime minister or that Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru s iconic tryst-with-destiny speech has already been removed from school syllabi and textbooks in some states, reminding one of how Jinnah s famous Aug 11, 1947, speech was disappeared in the Ziaul Haq era. This campaign of personal vilification against Nehru is, in fact, a proxy war against the concept of India as a secular entity. Of course, here in Pakistan we never for a moment believed Nehru when he declared India s intent to become a pluralistic, liberal, syncretic state whose strength would lie in diversity. For us, all these were just fine words justifying Hindu majoritarianism under the cloak of democracy. Only now that the BJP controls India with a viciously communal agenda have some Pakistanis realised what loss of secularism even imperfect secularism actually means. But irrespective of what Muslims and Pakistanis may have thought in the past, or perhaps still think, the RSS always took Nehru at his word. It both feared and hated him for it. In particular, it has never forgiven him for banning the RSS after Gandhi s murder and for fiercely opposing OBSERVER MAIL PUBLIC protests play an important part in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural life of all societies. Protests encourage the development of an engaged and informed citizenry. They strengthen representative democracy by enabling direct participation in public affairs. However there is a thin line that separatesprotests from public violence. Though the Constitution of India protects the right to assemble peacefully, however demonstrations, whether political, religious or social or other demonstrations, which create public disturbances or operate as nuisances or create or manifestly threaten some tangible public or private mischief are not covered by protection under Article 19(1) (free speech). Why am I talking about all this is because the manner in which protests are being carried out in Kashmir don t only fall outside the lines of Indian constitution but they also fall beyond the lines of humanity. Public violence is increasingly evident in our valley. Whether it is people protesting about lack of services or about Kashmir conflict or justice for Asifa, the participants keep pushing the envelope so that violence All letters intended for publication must include the writer s name and address, even if a pseudonym is used. Letters are edited as clarity, spaceand accuracy of expression require. Our publishing a letter does not mean we agree with everything or even anything in it. -EDITOR Freedom Can Wait, Education Can Not and damage to public and private property or persons becomes the norm. It is time for this to stop. When, where and how protests should be carried out seems one important question that Kashmiris should think about seriously. While the manner in which our little Asifa was raped and murdered represents the heights of human brutality and barbarism, it is unfortunate to see the violent manner in which protesters are registering their anger on the streets of Kashmir. There is already lot of violence happening in her name which Asifa would have never liked. Thanks to the commendable work done by the concerned investigating team and the uncompromising stand taken by Chief Minister Ms Mufti, the case seems to be resolved to a great extent. The accused have already landed in the jail and are being tried in the court. In this situation, it becomes a bit irrelevant on our part to carry out protests in the manner in which we are doing it. Demanding justice for Asifa is great however adopting violent approaches is surely not a good idea. The process is not only hurting our young Dear students! As a teacher I tell you, there is no substitute for education; think over it, deliberate attempts are being played to keep you away from schools and colleges. Go back to where you belong to prove them wrong! school going kids physically, it is also hurting them mentally. For a young student, a night or two in a police station can never be a good mental tonic. And police here is not as sauve as that of Europe. They are alawys on a lookout to show their prowess on the hapless people. Mind it they will never spare a chance to breakpeoples limbs with their canes. Had the students behaved peacefully in their approach, chances of that happening could have been minimised. Remember Nelson Mandela, who once said to his people that we can wait for independence but we cannot wait for education. If our students are thinking that violence on streets would bring justice to Asifa, I am sorry, it will not. This violence in the name of Asifa is only bringing us more tears. Our innocent students are getting hurt, roads are being blocked, businesses are suffering. And all this is happening inspite of the fact that the case seems to be going into its right direction. What do we want now? Inspite of all that if we still feel we have something to protest about, why can t we do it in a dignified manner? How do we expect a stone thrown in the name of Asifa will do any justice Nighat Hafiz When icons take decades to understand what we already know & have been saying. In the interim, they mislead almost one generation. Can any nation afford it? Don t get swayed away in the future. Save time & avoid confusions. Mehboob Makhdoomi The latest decision by our education minister about the enclosure of coaching academies in the Kashmir valley seems like a recharge offer valid for 90 days How India is Becoming Pakistan s Mirror Image a Hindu rashtra (state). One Hindutva activist wistfully writes that had Nehru handed over charge of India after Independence to the deserving sanghis, India would have attained ram rajya by now, with a hundred crore people chanting hanuman chalisa a dozen times a day. Nevertheless, there are paradoxes and contradictions that Hindutva cannot escape as it seeks to banish Nehru. All Indians, including right-wingers, take great pride in their country s scientific achievements. But imagine for a moment that Narendra Modi, not Jawaharlal Nehru, had been India s prime minister in What might have today s India looked like in scientific terms? Instead of being noted for its exceptional space programme (Mangalyaan!) and brilliant string theorists (Ashoke Sen!), India would have become a garbage dump for every kind of crackpot science. Medical research would have concentrated on medicines made from cow urine and cow dung, the celibacy of peacocks would be under intense scrutiny, astrology would be taught in place of astronomy, and instead of teaching actual mathematics there would be Vedic mathematics. As in Pakistan, Darwinian evolution would be considered heretical and destructive of religious faith. Nehru s stamp upon Indian science can be seen across the length and breadth of India in the form of dozens of scientific institutes and universities that owe to him. India is probably the world s only country whose constitution explicitly declares commitment to the scientific temper a quintessential Nehruvian notion formulated during his years in prison. Briefly: only reason and science, not holy scriptures, provide us reliable knowledge of the physical world. I was able to see the huge difference that Nehru had made to his country while on a speaking tour in 2005 before audiences in about 40 Indian schools, colleges, and universities in seven cities. Without Nehru there could never have been the huge and palpable mass enthusiasm for science. This was manifested in the many science museums within a single city, and countless scientific societies working to spread understanding of basic science among ordinary Indians. I do not know how much of this has changed under Hindutva. But most definitely not even a fraction of such enthusiasm was visible then, or can be seen now, in Pakistan. Nehru must also be credited with keeping a lid on his generals. In a democracy the army should be subordinate and answerable to civilian authority, not the other way around. And so, immediately after Partition, Nehru ordered the grand residence of the army chief to be vacated and instead assigned to the prime minister. This move carried huge symbolism it said clearly who was boss. When Ayub Khan s coup across the border happened in 1958, it led to rules Snobar Shafi How much of Nehru s India will be undone by Modi and his cronies remains to be seen. A demoralised and broken Congress opposition means that they are here to stay for long. that further diminished the role of the Indian army in national affairs. Gen Cariappa, who had retired but praised the coup, was told to shut up. Officers, serving or retired, were strongly discouraged from commenting on matters related to public affairs and economics and particularly their pensions and retirement benefits. There was no concept of army owned enterprises and businesses. All this could now be changing. Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat, known for his bellicosity, has broken with the army s tradition by freely commenting on many foreign policy matters the Rohingya refugee problem, how India should deal with the Doklam crisis with China, and the need to call Pakistan s nuclear bluff. Time will tell whether Rawat is an exception or, instead, the new rule characterising an interventionist army. Ominously for Indian democracy, criticising the army chief is being described by its media as anti-national. How much of Nehru s India will be undone by Modi and his cronies remains to be seen. A demoralised and broken Congress opposition means that they are here to stay for long. Meanwhile, it is becoming easier by the day for Pakistan to recognise its mirror reflection across the border. Theprint.in MAIL YOUR LETTERS P.O. Box # 337, GPO, Srinagar editor@kashmirobserver.net editpage.ko@gmail.com to her when it is only hurting another innocent kid like her in return? While these protests might help us in putting some pressure on the concerned judge to speed up his process of delivering justice to Asifa, however how meaningful is it to lose more Asifs or Asifas in the process by involving ourselves directly with the armed forces is a moot question. I feel as Kashmiris we have a habit of messing up things. We have messed up our own history and enslaved our identity, making it difficult for us as well as others to decide who we really were. We continue messing up ourselves through our actions. We hardly know how to react to a particular event. We make it easy for others to label our protesters as violent mobs. We make it easy for our own crowds to go against us by blocking our roads and shutting down our own businesses. We make it difficult for all peace loving folks of our society who aspire for a peaceful and dignified life. We seem to be destroying ourselves as a tribe. Akhter Bhat <princerizvigs@gmail.com

7 Wednesday Why Every Sufi Master Is In Some Ways A Freudian Psychotherapist The mid-20th century Arab world saw an exchange between psychoanalysis and Islam. Omnia El Shakry This conception of reality as being at once an unreality, while at the same time not an illusion at all, brings to light another concept intimately connected to psychoanalysis, the concept of the Imaginary. The Imaginary is greatly elaborated in the later psychoanalytic tradition, most notably by Jacques Lacan Lacan had read about Ibn Arabi by way of Corbin. As the religious studies scholar William Chittick elaborates, Ibn Arabi perceived the Imaginal world as an intermediate realm, a world in between the spiritual and the corporeal. As Lacan would later do, Ibn Arabi theorised the example of one s own reflection in the mirror. Is my image in the mirror real or unreal? In one sense it is, and in another sense it is not. This clarifies the nature of the Imaginary as both existent and nonexistent. EVEN in the most revolutionary thinkers, you will find the uncannily familiar. Sigmund Freud was no exception. Arabs recognised in Freud s body of thought ideas from classical Islamic thinkers. In the 1940s and 50s, when intellectuals translated Freud s work into Arabic, they reached out to Ibn Arabi, the great 12th-13th-century Sufi mystic philosopher. The Egyptian playwright and novelist Tawfiq al- Hakim dates the impulse to blend traditions as far back as Alexander s conquest of Syria and the eventual translation of philosophical works from Greek to Syriac. Under Roman rule, Egypt was a centre of learning and part of a shared classical intellectual world, which included Alexandria as much as it did Athens and Rome. Subsequently, Greek philosophy, and particularly the works of Plato and Aristotle, had been energetically translated into Arabic throughout the early Islamic period, contributing to the vitality of Hellenic philosophy. For al-hakim, Greek ideas were poured into the mould of Islamic philosophy. This process was also evident in al- Hakim s own work combining Greek tragedy and Islamic legends, in order to effect what he called an intermarriage between two literatures and two mentalities. It is not at all surprising, then, given this tendency to draw on shared traditions, that Arab intellectuals turned to a mystical Islamic vocabulary when translating Freud in the middle of the 20th century. Focus on the unconscious Beginning in 1945, Yusuf Murad, an academic psychologist and purveyor of the Freudian and psychoanalytic tradition, published a dictionary of terms that provided the Arabic equivalents to English, French and German terms in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis. Freud s concept of the unconscious merited special attention. The Arabic term became Ibn Arabi s redolent al-la-shu ur, discussed in his classic, The Bezels of Wisdom. Ibn Arabi s poetic and elliptical work had fascinated readers for centuries, just as it fascinated 20thcentury Arab Freudians. In the Bezels, Ibn Arabi relates the parable of Abraham, whom God visits in a dream and tells to sacrifice his son. According to Ibn Arabi, sleep and dreams occur in the plane of the imagination (hadrat al-khayal) and must be subject to interpretation. As Ibn Arabi relates, God said to Abraham: You believed in a vision, which Ibn Arabi understands as Abraham s quintessential error. Ibn Arabi thinks that Abraham errs in taking the dream literally when he should have interpreted it instead. Or as the French psychoanalyst Jean- Michel Hirt phrased it in 2009, the dilemma is whether to believe or to interpret one s dream. It was precisely because he was unaware or unknowing (unconscious la-yashu ur) of what he saw ( the true expression of his vision with God ) that Abraham became heedless, neglecting the necessity of interpretation, and instead taking the dream literally. Indeed, Ibn Arabi continues, the Real is never unconscious of anything, while the servant is necessarily unconscious of such a thing in relation to some other. Later Arab interpreters of Freud drew upon this idea of an unknowing as indicating the presence of an unconscious in man. The parable of Abraham and his son provides rich material for a Freudian perspective. It deeply resonates with Freudian concepts and preoccupations, in addition to the idea of man s unconscious. The parable illustrates the need for the interpretation of dreams, for example. The understanding of dreams in Arab and Muslim cultures are part of very old and rich traditions of oneiric interpretation. Dreams, like texts, had both manifest (zahir) and latent (batin) meanings. The latent meanings of dreams could be understood with the help of signs (ayat) and allusions (isharat). A classic example from the Quran is Joseph s description to his father: I saw [in a dream] 11 stars, as well as the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves before me. For Joseph, this dream can be interpreted symbolically with the stars representing his brothers, who do in fact later prostrate before him once he is in a position of authority in Egypt. Ibn Arabi finds this interpretation sorely lacking and suggests, rather, that Joseph is unaware that he is in actuality still dreaming, even when he later sees his brothers in Egypt. Joseph believes his dream, and therefore the work of interpretation, to have ended. But as the Islamic studies scholar Henry Corbin has pointed out, Ibn Arabi proposes instead the prophetic tradition: Humans are asleep; at their death they awaken. Earthly existence, Ibn Arabi states, is a dream within a dream. As the Japanese scholar Toshihiko Izutsu noted in Sufism and Taoism (1983), this reveals the very startingpoint of Ibn Arabi s ontological thinking, namely, that so-called reality is but a dream...an unreality. But this does not mean that it is a subjective fantasy, rather we can view it, Izutsu argues, as an objective illusion. The Imaginary This conception of reality as being at once an unreality, while at the same time not an illusion at all, brings to light another concept intimately connected to psychoanalysis, the concept of the Imaginary. The Imaginary is greatly elaborated in the later psychoanalytic tradition, most notably by Jacques Lacan Lacan had read about Ibn Arabi by way of Corbin. As the religious studies scholar William Chittick elaborates, Ibn Arabi perceived the Imaginal world as an intermediate realm, a world in between the spiritual and the corporeal. As Lacan would later do, Ibn Arabi theorised the example of one s own reflection in the mirror. Is my image in the mirror real or unreal? In one sense it is, and in another sense it is not. This clarifies the nature of the Imaginary as both existent and non-existent. The affinities between mystical Islam and Freudian thought are clear, and deep. But did Islamic thinkers make these connections between psychoanalysis and Islam? They did, often pointing to the shared traditions of dream interpretation, as well as the shared technique of understanding texts and dreams through the relationship between the latent and manifest meaning of religious knowledge. Islamic thinkers also recognised the uncanny resemblance between the analyst-analysand and the shaykh (or spiritual master)-disciple relation in Sufism. The mid-20th-century Egyptian Abu al- Wafa al-ghunaymi al-taftazani, a shakyh of a Sufi order and later a professor of Islamic philosophy and Sufism at Cairo University, began writing about Sufism in the 1950s. He was widely read in Egypt and beyond, and he often compared Sufism and the psychoanalytic tradition. In particular, al-taftazani noted that both Sufism and psychoanalysis relied upon an introspective method; both engaged not with the manifest content of the psyche or soul (nafs), but with its latent content, a domain often marked by sexual desires. Most importantly, both exhibited a concern for the batin or the realm of hidden meaning, as well as for the inner reaches of the unconscious (alla-shu ur). The Sufi shaykh, much like the analyst, he observed, must ascertain unconscious thoughts and desires from his disciple, in order to facilitate a transformation of the self. Sufism and Freudianism were obviously closely related. Abd-al-Halim Mahmud, a scholar of Sufism who would eventually become Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, noted that every Sufi master is a psychotherapist, so to speak. The relationship between the Sufi shaykh and his disciple is, then, one of attunement with potential for psychotherapeutic transformation. Sufi practitioners understood their struggle to be part of a larger battle between the noble and ignoble tendencies of man. Al-Taftazani emphasised that Sufis aimed to attain direct knowledge and love of god. They sought a mystical union with God, annihilating the ego-self, in which God remains as a sublime excess. It was not, al-taftazani pointed out, a subjective and individual self-exploration; it was a union with the divine. Freud would likely have seen Sufism as nothing but psychology projected into the external world, but to al-taftazani and others it was as an ethical path toward the divine. Al-Taftazani s engagement with the Freudian tradition is just one example from the mid-20th century Arab world of the exchange between psychoanalysis and Islam. It was a sympathetic and creative exchange, involving a mutual recognition, and built on genuinely shared and deep affinities between Freudianism and the Islamic mystical tradition. This article first appeared on Aeon. MOST of us know children who can run and play for hours and hours, taking only short rests. As a parent or carer, it can be exhausting. For scientists, why this is the case has long been the source of debate is it due to fitness? Or something else? Our study published today looked at performance and recovery of children and adults doing strenuous cycling. It shows children not only out-perform most adults, but can perform as well as highly-trained adult endurance athletes, and then recover even faster afterwards. Children s muscles are different Repeated experiments have shown that the muscles of children tend to fatigue more slowly than adults These results seem to fly in the face of what science would predict. For example, children have shorter limbs, so they have to take more steps and should therefore theoretically use more energy. Children are also less able to make use of tendon energy return systems that is, they store less energy in their tendons so they can t reuse this energy to propel themselves during movement. And children show greater activity in muscles that oppose or control movement, a reflection of the fact that typically they are less skillful, and therefore use more energy. So how do their muscles stay fresh? Aerobic and anaerobic exercise One possible explanation for the remarkable muscle endurance of children could be their different use of energy pathways. Anaerobic ( oxygen-independent ) pathways produce large amounts of energy without the need for oxygen - but tend to cause rapid fatigue. For example, sprinters rely on anaerobic metabolism Yes, your kids can run all day they ve got muscles like endurance athletes to run fast over short distances. Aerobic ( oxygen-dependent ) pathways tend to produce energy at a slower rate but allow us to work for many hours without muscle shut down, like in a wellrun marathon.we know from existing research that children seem to be able to get more of their energy from aerobic pathways than adults, minimising the fatiguing anaerobic contribution. Their aerobic machinery also kicks into gear faster than adults, so they don t need to rely as much on anaerobic metabolism when exercise first starts. These benefits are believed to partly result from children having a greater proportion of so-called slow-twitch muscle fibres, which have a greater activity of important enzymes that drive release of energy from aerobic pathways. Such findings prompted us to speculate that children s muscles might actually respond to exercise in a similar way to adult endurance athletes, since they too show these characteristics. Let s go cycling We tested our speculation in a study run by researchers at Université Clermont Auvergne, in France. Children (average age 10.5 years), young adults (21.2 years) with a similar physical activity level as the children, and age- and height-matched endurancetrained male athletes (21.5 years) were asked to complete two cycling tests on a Anthony Blazevich Sébastien Ratel stationary bicycle. In the first test, power output was continually increased until exhaustion. In the second test, the subject completed a 30-second all-out cycle sprint. These tests allowed us to measure numerous physiological responses to exercise, and to assess both the rate of fatigue and then recovery specifically during brief, maximal-intensity exercise. We found that the children fatigued as much in the all-out cycle as the endurance-trained athletes (about 40% loss of power), and much less than the untrained adults (about 50% loss). Data also show that the proportion of energy derived from aerobic pathways in the 30-second cycle sprint was similar in the children and athletes, and more than in untrained adults. These results clearly show that fatigue rates in response to high-intensity exercise may be the same in children as they are in highly-trained adult endurance athletes, and that this is associated with an incredible generation of energy from aerobic energy pathways. But data collected during recovery from the exercise also revealed startling outcomes. The rate at which oxygen use declined after the exercise was the same in children and athletes. The rates at which heart rate returned to normal and lactate (a compound associated with muscle fatigue) cleared from the blood were even faster in the children, and again much faster than in untrained adults. These data show that children s muscles recover rapidly from high-intensity exercise, and possibly reveal why children are able to produce repeated exercise efforts when most of us adults continue to feel exhausted. How children s muscles work Such data provide strong hints as to how to optimise exercise and sporting performance in children. Children might benefit from short, high-intensity exercise bouts to boost anaerobic capacity, and a focus on movement skill, muscular strength, and other physical attributes more than in adults. Adults (and adolescents), on the other hand, may need to place a greater emphasis on improving their muscle aerobic capacity. There may also be important health implications. Metabolic diseases, including diabetes and many forms of cancer, are increasing in prevalence in adolescents and younger adults but are still rarely seen in children. It might be the case that the loss of muscle aerobic capacity between childhood and early adulthood is a key maturation step that allows metabolic diseases to take hold. It will be interesting in future to examine the link between muscle maturation and disease, and test whether the maintenance of our childhood muscles through exercise training might be the best medicine to prevent disease. Either way, at least we now have some idea as to why children are able to play, and play, and play, when we adults need to take a break. Kids are already elite. By arrangements with the Conversation

8 Life & Times Wednesday Stronger men may have healthier brains Washington DC: Turns out, muscular strength, measured by handgrip, is an indication of how healthy our brains are. Using data from the 475,397 participants from all around the UK, a research showed that on average, stronger people performed better across every test of brain functioning used. Tests included reaction speed, logical problem solving, and multiple different tests of memory. The study from the NICM Health Research Institute and Western Sydney University showed the relationships were consistently strong in both people aged under 55 and those aged over 55. "When taking multiple factors into account such as age, gender, bodyweight and education, our study confirms that people who are stronger do indeed tend to have better functioning brains," said researcher Joseph Firth. The study also showed that maximal handgrip was strongly correlated with both visual memory and reaction time in over one thousand people with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. He said: "We can see there is a clear connection between muscular strength and brain health. But really, what we need now, are more studies to test if we can actually make our brains healthier by doing things which make our muscles stronger - such as weight training." He added, "The study raises the strong possibility that weight training exercises could actually improve both the physical and mental functioning of people with these conditions." The findings are published in Schizophrenia Bulletin. (Agencies) WHEN TAKING MULTIPLE FACTORS INTO ACCOUNT such as age, gender, bodyweight and education, our study confirms that people who are stronger do indeed tend to have better functioning brains, Study shows new radiotherapy may help treat liver cancer A novel technique that delivers high doses of radiation to tumours while sparing the surrounding normal tissue may help treat patients with earlystage liver cancer, according to a study published today. Curative treatment options for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, include surgery, liver transplantation and radiofrequency ablation, said researchers from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the US. However, many patients are not candidates for these therapies due to the presence of other conditions. Radiation segmentectomy (RS) is a minimally invasive option that uses the radioisotope yttrium-90 (Y90) to destroy tumours. The isotope is embedded into tiny beads that are delivered through a catheter into a blood vessel in the liver. They then travel to the site of the tumour, where they come to rest and deliver their radioactive effect while sparing much of the surrounding healthy tissue. The procedure's name derives from the fact that surgeons divide the liver into a number of segments. Using an imaging approach called cone beam CT, interventional radiologists gain a detailed view of the complex liver vasculature and can focus delivery of the Y90 to the relevant segment. "Cone beam CT has revolutionised our ability to perform segmental injections isolated to very small tumours, sparing the majority of normal tissue," said Riad Salem from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "Before cone beam CT, we had the ability to focus radiation, but not with this level of accuracy," said Salem, senior author of the study published in the journal Radiology. Salem and colleagues studied long-term outcomes in 70 early-stage HCC patients who had undergone RS between 2003 and They analysed the patients' responses to treatment based on two commonly used sets of criteria. Based on one criteria, 90 per cent of patients showed positive response to the therapy, of which 59 per cent showed complete response. Based on a second criteria, 71 per cent achieved positive response, of which 16 per cent achieved complete response. RS controlled the target tumour, slowed the time to disease progression and improved survival outcomes at rates comparable to radiofrequency ablation, surgery and transplantation for early-stage HCC patients. Almost threequarters of patients had no progression of cancer in the target tumour five years after treatment, researchers said. Median overall survival was 6.7 years, and one-, three-, and five-year survival probabilities were 98 per cent, 66 per cent and 57 per cent, respectively, they said. One-, three-, and five-year overall survival probability was 100 per cent, 82 per cent and 75 per cent in patients with a baseline tumour size of 3 centimeters or less. "The results show that we are able to impart curative outcomes to these patients," Salem said. "Our numbers with radiation segmentectomy match or outperform those of other curative treatments in terms of tumour control, survival rate and recurrence," he said. (PTI) Fitness freaks, take it easy. Intense exercise may cause ALS Vigorous physical activity could heighten the risk of developing motor neurone disease - also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - suggests a study. The new class 1 evidence prompts the researchers to speculate whether ALS might be a trade-off for the many well-known benefits of physical exercise on other aspects of health. ALS is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease for which there is currently no treatment. Genes account for a proportion of cases, but a role for environmental factors, including physical activity, has also been mooted. But the evidence to date has been inconclusive, possibly because of the differences in research design and methods, say the researchers. In a bid to try and plug this gap, they compared the lifestyles of 1557 adults newly diagnosed with ALS in their mid 60s in Ireland, Italy, and The Netherlands with those of 2922 similarly aged people who didn t have the condition. Each of the participants provided details of their educational attainment; lifestyle, including smoking and alcohol intake; employment Washington: Listen to music or go for a relaxing walk after a bad day at work to get some sound sleep at night, suggests a study. "Sleep quality is crucial because sleep plays a major role in how employees perform and behave at work," said lead author Caitlin Demsky, PhD, of Oakland University. "In our fast-paced, competitive professional world, it is more important than ever that workers are in the best condition to succeed, and getting a good night's sleep is key to that." Demsky and her co-authors surveyed 699 employees of the U.S. Forest Service. Participants were asked to rate the level of rude behavior they history; and lifetime physical activity levels (weekly leisure and workplace quotas). Physical activity was measured in Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) minutes. These express the amount of energy (calories) expended per minute of physical activity. Analysis of the data showed that lifetime physical activity was associated with a heightened risk of ALS, after taking account of potentially experienced in the workplace, how often they had negative thoughts about work, whether they have insomnia symptoms and how much they were able to detach from work and relax. influential factors, such as age, sex, smoking and alcohol intake, and other potential workplace exposures. The heightened risk was 6% for leisure time activities; seven percent for workplace activities; and six percent for all activities combined. The associations were strongest among the Italian and Irish participants. And the higher the MET score, the greater was the Researchers also asked about the number of children under 18 living at home, hours worked per week, and frequency of alcoholic drinks as these have previously been linked with sleep issues. Experiencing rude or negative behavior at work, such as being judged or verbally abused, was linked with more symptoms of insomnia, including waking up multiple times during the night. But people who were able to detach and do something relaxing to recover after work -- such as yoga, listening to music or going for a walk - slept better. "Incivility in the workplace takes a toll on sleep quality," said Demsky. "It does so in part risk of ALS, which adds weight to other studies describing a higher prevalence of motor neurone disease among former professional athletes, say the researchers. This is an observational study, and as such, it can t establish causation. It was also based on recall, and factors such as diet, trauma or some metabolic or energy deficit induced by activity can t be ruled out, say the researchers. An [increased risk of 6%] for all activities combined can be translated into a 26% increase in risk when comparing a person who is more active than average and a person who is less [so], they explain. While exercise is not likely to be a major factor in the development of ALS, this level of increased risk might be important in those who are genetically predisposed, they suggest. Overall, [physical activity] has been demonstrated to be protective against many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and a variety of cancers, they point out, and suggest that Decreasing the risk of these common conditions may be a trade-off with increasing the risk of a relatively rare disease such as ALS. (Agencies) Here's what to do after a tough day at work by making people repeatedly think about their negative work experiences. Those who can take mental breaks from this fare better and do not lose as much sleep as those who are less capable of letting go." Repeated negative thoughts about work may also be linked to several health problems, including cardiovascular diseases, increased blood pressure and fatigue, according to the authors. Demsky suggests that managers can be role models for employees after work by not sending work-related messages outside of business hours, for example. The study appears in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. (Agencies)

9 Business Wednesday Sensex Nifty Gold Silver J&K Bank HDFC Bank Crude Oil Dollar Euro Pound Saudi Riyal Kuwaiti Dinar 34, , `2,930 (22K) ` INR 1, INR (0.48%) (0.28%) 1 Gram Oil prices rise to USD 75 a barrel, highest since 2014 LONDON: Oil rose on Tuesday above USD 75 a barrel to its highest since November 2014, supported by OPEC-led production cuts, strong demand and the prospect of renewed US sanctions on Iran. Brent crude, the global benchmark, hit its highest since OPEC on Nov. 27, 2014 turned its back on curbing output to support prices, a move that triggered a battle for market share and helped deepen a collapse to USD 27 in early Oil prices began to recover in 2016 as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries discussed a return to market management with the help of Russia and other non-members. A supply-cutting deal took effect in January Brent LCOc1 traded as high as USD 75.27, gaining for a sixth day, and was up 37 cents at USD by 0845 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 rose 51 cents to USD 69.15, having hit its highest since Nov. 28, 2014 on Thursday. The United States has until May 12 to decide whether to quit a nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions against OPEC s third-largest producer, tightening global supplies. Currently, all bets are off on the US staying in the nuclear agreement, said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM, who added this concern was the most significant element of Brent s recent rally. Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia- Pacific at futures brokerage OANDA, said new sanctions against Tehran could push oil prices up as much as USD 5 per barrel. OPEC s supply curtailments and the threat of new sanctions are occurring just as demand in Asia, the biggest oil-consuming region, has risen to a record as new and expanded refineries start up from China to Vietnam. The supply cut has virtually achieved its stated goal of reducing inventories in developed economies to their fiveyear average, but OPEC has shown little sign yet of wanting to wind down the deal. The latest US inventory figures are expected to show a 2.6-million-barrel drop in crude stocks. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, releases its data for last week at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday, a day before the government s supply report. One of the factors limiting the oil rally is rising US production. US output, supported by high prices, has hit record levels, partially offsetting the OPEC-led cuts. (Reuters) 3rd tranche of electoral bonds sale from May 1: Finance ministry NEW DELHI: The finance ministry on Tuesday said the third tranche of electoral bonds sale will take place from May Electoral bonds are being pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties and bring transparency in political funding. State Bank of India (SBI), in the 3rd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 11 authorised branches w.e.f. May 01, 2018 to May 10, 2018, the ministry said in a statement. The 11 specified SBI branches are in cities like New Delhi, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati. The government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 in January this year. As per provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or entities incorporated or established in India. Registered political parties which have secured not less than 1 per cent of the votes polled in the last election of the Lok Sabha or legislative assembly will be eligible to receive electoral bonds. 1 Gram 0.75 (1.29%) 1.65 (0.085%) (-0.28%) ED attaches assets worth Rs 1,122 crore of Vadodara-based DPIL in connection with bank fraud NEW DELHI: The ED today said it has attached assets worth Rs 1,122 crore, including windmills and an under-construction hotel, of Vadodara-based DPIL Pvt Ltd in connection with its money laundering probe in a bank fraud case. Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited (DPIL) is accused of cheating various banks to the tune of Rs 2,654 crore. The central probe agency had filed a criminal case against the firm and its promoters under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR, and had searched its premises last month. "The assets of DPIL and its related companies such as Diamond Power Transformer Ltd, Diamond Projects Ltd, Mayfair Leisures and Northway Spaces have been attached as part of the provisional order. "The properties include plant, machinery, building and land of in Vadodara, three windmills in Bhuj, residential bungalows/flats of the Bhatnagar (promoters) family, unsold flats, under-construction hotel and other land parcels held by related companies of DPIL, all located in Vadodara," the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said. The agency said the company, DPIL, through its related entities, was able to gain funds "fraudulently" to the tune of Rs 261 crore by twisting and manipulating the facility of Letter of Credit (LC) from the banks. "It also diverted huge amount of funds received as loan/cash credit to its real estate companies such as Northway Spaces and Mayfair Leisures," it said. The promoters, it said, through a web of companies and cross holdings were found to be the "main decision makers", controllers and thus the beneficial owners of the company and all the related companies. "Therefore, it appears there was little genuine business activity done by the Diamond group of companies and most of the business shown on records was from such fictitious transactions and this has resulted into default of Rs crore to banks," the ED said. The ED is probing if the alleged defaulted loans were laundered to create illegal assets and black money by the accused. The CBI had said DPIL, which manufactures electric cables and equipment, is promoted by S N Bhatnagar and his sons Amit Bhatnagar and Sumit Bhatnagar, who were also the executives of the firm. It is alleged that DPIL, through its management, had fraudulently availed credit facilities from a consortium of 11 banks (both public and private) since 2008, leaving behind an outstanding debit of Rs 2, crore as on June 29, 2016, the CBI said. The loan amount of Rs 2,654 crore was declared a non-performing asset in , it said. The company and its directors managed to get the term loans and credit facilities, in spite of the fact that they were named in the Reserve Bank's defaulters list and ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) caution list at the time of the initial sanction of credit limits by the banks' consortium. Among them, Bank of India's exposure to the company is Rs crore, Bank of Baroda's Rs crore and that of ICICI Bank Rs crore, the CBI FIR said. Car of the future: Electrified and autonomous, but what will it look like? BEIJING: An autonomous driving electric vehicle may not take to the sky any time soon but could one day start to look a bit like The Jetsons flying car a glass bubble without the long hood that is a signature feature of today s gasoline-fueled cars. The key game-changing technology behind that prospect is the electric motor a relatively simple and compact propulsion system which allows automakers to eliminate the hood and the ample room underneath needed for a bulky internal combustion engine, an engine cooling apparatus, and complex transmission gears. When that motor technology is combined with autonomous vehicle advances, the car not only no longer needs the hood but also what the industry calls crash zones. The EV shift might usher in the age of a bubble- or pod-shaped car like those popularised by the 1960s futuristic animated comedy series, The Jetsons. That is the next logical step, Karim Habib, the design chief for Nissan s premium brand Infiniti, told Reuters in an interview. It is definitely the next step, particularly if you image a world of zero accidents with autonomous drive technology fully working. If cars will never crash, the ultimate most efficient (shape) of a personal mobility could be a glass cube. TIMES ARE CHANGING Gwadar port aims to become new Dubai GWADAR: For over a decade, Pakistani officials have dreamed of transforming the small but strategically located fishing port of Gwadar into a duty-free port and free economic zone Pakistan s answer to Dubai. The aim is for Gwadar located on the Arabian Sea near Iran and the mouth of the Persian Gulf to become a regional commercial, industrial and shipping hub, as part of the ambitious China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The corridor is designed to give China a shorter, more secure trading route, via Pakistan, to the Middle East and beyond, while also boosting Pakistan s economy. Right now, however, the dusty next Dubai on Pakistan s coast resembles the original mainly in one respect it doesn t have much water. It hasn t rained here for the last three years, explains a local journalist, Sajid Baloch. Abdul Rahim, who works for the Gwadar Development Authority, under the provincial government of Balochistan, said climate change is playing a role in Gwadar s thirst. I would say because of climate change the rains have stopped it used to rain much more often and in every season. Now Gwadar is facing severe water issues. There is no fresh water here, Rahim said. Nearby Akra Kaur reservoir dried up two years ago, and water must now be brought from a more distant source, he said. Some of the water coming in is contaminated, leading to an increase in waterborne illnesses such as hepatitis, he added. Tapping groundwater isn t a solution. There is no point in digging wells as the underground water is all brackish, Rahim said. GROWING FAST Right now, the Gwadar peninsula a hammerhead-shaped projection of land into the Arabian Sea is home to about 100,000 people, following completion of the first phase of the port development. But as development continues, the area s population is expected to grow Going back to the 1920s, automobiles especially luxury cars have tended to have long hoods, as the Tesla Model S does now. But that s about to change. At the Detroit auto show in January, Infiniti showed a concept car whose styling points towards a not-so-distant future when most cars are going to be electrified. to 500,000 by 2020, according to the port authority s website. On one side of the peninsula is the deep-sea port, built by the Chinese state-owned China Overseas Holding Company. On the other side lies the local harbor. Fishing was Gwadar s main economic activity before the port started operations, and some local people say they so far see little benefit in the government s grand plans. We are dying from thirst, there are no doctors in our hospitals, the electricity comes and goes and there is garbage everywhere as no one collects it, complained Rasool Bux, a fisherman who lives near the harbor. First fix all these problems. Then develop this dream of Dubai, he urged. Bux said most in the town get their water from tankers that make the two-hour drive from Mirani Dam. But the tankers only come once or twice a month to his area, Bux said, and shortages are common. Muhammad Ali Kakar, the province s planning and development secretary, told a government committee in December that the total demand for water in Gwadar city was 6.5 million gallons a day, but tankers supplied only 2 million gallons. SATISFYING THIRST To help solve the water shortages two desalination plants have been built in the port, with Chinese expertise. The smaller can provide 200,000 gallons of potable water per day to the port, while the larger one, recently completed in the adjacent duty-free zone, can supply double that amount. Both plants rely on power from generators, as there is not enough grid power in Gwadar to run them, said Sajjd H. Baloch, the director general of Gwadar Development Authority. Some fishermen say they now buy clean drinking water from the port, paying up to 50 rupees for a threeliter can. Gul Mohammed, the operations director for the port authority, said his agency was willing to supply clean water outside the port and dutyfree zone, but would need to be paid to produce it. We are willing to provide water from the larger plant to the city of Gwadar at the rate of 0.98 rupees per gallon, but the Government of Balochistan has to sign an agreement with us, he said. The provincial government is reluctant to accept the offer, hoping for rains this year to fill the Akra Kaur dam, Rahim said. The Pakistani army, tasked with protecting the CPEC project, meanwhile, also has laid the foundation for a large desalination plant to be built with help from the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland. The plant, to be completed by July, will provide 4.4 million gallons of water a day, free of cost, to the inhabitants of Gwadar city, according to an army press release. The Q Inspiration Concept car, which is also going to be shown at the Beijing auto show that opens this week, has a shortened hood, an arcing, coupe-like roofline, and SUV-like interior room despite being a sedan. Daimler AG s Mercedes-Benz brand has also shown a concept car called the F015 that its wheels set close to the bumpers, and a large interior space under a dramatic roofline that arcs like a rainbow. Forced in part by stringent fuel economy requirements and other regulations, automakers around the world especially in China are scrambling to develop electric battery cars across a wide range of price points. The technology shift is bringing to Traffic jams in Indian cities aren t just frustrating they re also expensive NEW DELHI: India s biggest cities may be losing up to $22 billion annually to traffic congestion, and its commuters are bearing the burden. On average, travellers in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata spend 1.5 hours more on their daily commutes than their counterparts in other Asian cities during peak traffic times, according to an April 18 report released by The Boston Consulting Group and commissioned by Uber. In fact, peak-hour congestion, which implies the additional time taken during peak traffic to travel a given distance, in these four Indian cities is estimated at 149%, much higher than the Asian average of 67%. The cost of congestion was calculated on the basis of fuel burned and productivity loss, which includes the man-hours and opportunity cost, pollution, and accidents (health costs) incurred on an annual basis. Commuting woes Indian commuters have struggled for years now. Transport demand in India has increased by almost eight the industry change in the way cars are engineered and manufactured. In particular, because of the mechanical and structural simplicity of the EV, which have many fewer components than their gasoline car counterparts, offer greater opportunities for achieving commonality in vehicle platforms and components, as well as manufacturing processes. Vehicle styling could be equally radical. LOW SPEC LIFESTYLE Some industry players such as Chinese-funded smart electric car startup Byton think everyday cars, used for commuting and errands, will be much simplified if they are electrified and enabled by autonomous drive technology. That s because cars today are all over spec ed, Byton s co-founder and CEO Carsten Breitfeld said in an interview. Most have seats for four to seven people even though 70 per cent of the time those cars have just one or two people in them. Some have top speeds of 250 km per hour (155 miles per hour), even though no one drives that fast. Future everyday cars could shed all those over-specified features. They would have fewer seats, more luggage space and smaller wheels to further free up the interior room because those future everyday cars don t have to be capable of going 200kph. They can be very boxy since there s no need to make those lower-speed cars times since the 1980s as rapid economic development and increasing wealth among households has led to higher vehicle ownership. This is higher than anywhere else in the Asia-Pacific region, according to BCG. (Traffic congestion is) partly attributable to India s large population and high population density, as well as an under-developed public transportation network, especially rail-based transport, the BCG report says. While public transport in cities like Delhi and Mumbai has been improving in relative terms over the years, particularly with an expanding metro network, this just hasn t been enough. The reliance on cars is expected to increase, adding more pressure to road networks, the report said. Matters are worse in Bengaluru and Kolkata which have witnessed a more recent population explosion. Add to all this, a worsening pollution crisis which has often forced local governments to take dramatic measures. This article first appeared on Quartz. Google unveils new search experience for job-seekers in India NEW DELHI: Tech giant Google on Tuesday unveiled a new search experience for job-seekers in India that will allow users to find relevant employment opportunities from the company's search page. Google has partnered with players like Aasaanjobs, Freshersworld, Headhonchos, IBM Talent Management Solutions, LinkedIn, Quezx, QuikrJobs, Shine.com, T-Jobs, Times- Jobs and Wisdomjobs for the offering. Google's Vice President India and Southeast Asia, Rajan Anandan, said there was over 45 per cent increase in the number of job search queries in the fourth quarter of calendar year Of this, more than 50 per cent search was done through mobile phones. He explained that small and medium businesses, which are the largest job-creators in the country, often find it difficult to list these opportunities online. "We want to make discovery of relevant jobs easier and help people find opportunities that are near them... This new job search experience, powered by our partners and our open platform approach, attempts to bridge the gap (between employers and workforce)," he added. all that aerodynamic, Breitfeld said. You d design a smaller but roomy car for one or two passengers and make it more luxurious, Breitfeld said. You could offer the kind of the first-class experience you have in the commercial airplanes. Daimler believes the new generation of electric vehicles will have a much longer wheelbase to accommodate the batteries required for long range operation, Johannes Reifenrath, head of product and powertrain strategy for the Mercedes-Benz brand, said in an interview. The future Mercedes electric premium vehicles will provide a large interior space for passengers, with a shorter distance between the front bumper of the car and the front wheels. Meanwhile, designer and managers at Infiniti, a second-tier premium auto brand which has had trouble establishing a clear, differentiated positioning, believe the technology shift to electrification and autonomous drive offers an opportunity to reset the brand. Infiniti needs to find its own style, said Christian Meunier, Infiniti s division vice president for global sales and marketing. He believes electrification technology offers Infiniti a chance to inject more elegance and simplicity into automotive design. With EV, simplicity is going to be more and more.

10 FROM FRONT PAGE Wednesday Cabinet Green Signal To 7th According to the decision, Gratuity shall be enhanced from the existing ceiling of Rs lakh to Rs lakh with effect from , with increase in the ceiling on gratuity by 25 percent whenever DA rises by 50 percent as recommended by 7th CPC/ as per Central Government pattern. The pensioners shall be given option to choose revision of pension by any of the two formulations suggested by the Pay Committee. Arrears of pensioners shall be paid in cash in three six monthly instalments while arrears of all employees shall be drawn and credited to their G.P Fund accounts with moratorium of 3 years for withdrawal of same. However, there will be no moratorium for withdrawal in case of employees retiring upto The implementation of 7th pay commission recommendations for PSUs and autonomous organizations will depend on the availability of resources with the respective organizations. Regarding pay anomalies, the cabinet decided that the existing Pay Committee shall look into and address the issue of anomalies starting with the issue of anomalies of the Clerical Cadre. The cabinet also approved a slew of administrative reforms to streamline the functioning at various levels in the government. These measures include increasing working days and working hours for government business, putting in place system of automatic abolition of posts which are not filled for 3 years, establishment audit of all offices needs to be expedited to work out norms for optimal sanctioned strength of employees in all offices/ Departments across the State, making of illegal appointments of whatsoever nature (whether regular, adhoc or casual) by any officer be treated as major offence, Visitor Management System, particularly in Civil Secretariat to be streamlined, Drawl of pay by Drawing and Disbursing Officers in all offices to be linked to Biometric Attendance and objective assessment of skills & competencies required to be made. Arrears Credited Into GP Fund Arrears of all the employees including those appointed on or after governed under New Pension Scheme on account of revision of pay scales shall be drawn and credited to their G.P Fund accounts with moratorium of three years for withdrawal thereof, the government said in an order issued here. There will be no moratorium for withdrawal of arrears in respect of employees retiring upto JK Preventive Detention Cabinet approves time-bound grade promotion for KAS officers; cadre review of Secretariat Subordinate Services It also approved grant of time-bound grade promotion for the KAS officers. As per the decision, a Junior KAS/feeding service officer in the pay band of Rs with grade pay of Rs 4800 will be eligible for placement in scale of GP (Deputy Secretary levelnon-functional scale after 10 years of service) A Time Scale KAS officer with 4 years service in the Time Scale will be eligible for placement in the Selection Grade (non-functional) of Rs with grade pay of Rs A Time Scale KAS officer with 08 years of service in Time Scale may be considered for placement in Special Scale Rs GP Rs 8700 (non-functional). The cabinet also approved cadre review of secretariat subordinate services and approved measures to fast-track promotion of officers belonging to the secretariat sub-ordinate service. The cabinet also approved setting up of Jammu and Kashmir Renewable Energy Corporation. According to the decision, the corporation will be a private limited company wholly owned by the state government with the authorized share capital of Rs 1 crore fully paid up and subscribed by the state government. The cabinet authorized the administrative secretary Science and Technology department to take necessary steps for creation and setting up of the Renewable Energy Corporation. It also approved the enhancement of duty allowance of volunteer home guards from Rs 90 to Rs 300 per day. The proposed enhancement will benefit 4300 Home Guard. According to the decision, the Volunteer Home Guards will be entitled to Rs 300 per day instead of Rs.90/- which will cover both the training period of two months and three months call up duty in a year. The enhancement in remuneration/honorarium will be borne by the State Government and above the central share. It also approved to make academic arrangement for 2154 posts of teachers referred to the Service Selection Board. The cabinet observed that pending selection against the referred posts, the school education department would make academic arrangement for the session in respect of all the vacancies for all districts except Jammu and Srinagar where there is saturation of staff. The move is to address the deficiency of teachers in Zone-III far flung areas and the concerns raised by the Legislators during the Budget Session 2018 about the shortage of teachers in schools particularly in far flung areas. The cabinet observed that the school education department require putting in place a fool proof mechanism in place to ensure that academic arrangement against these posts of teachers is made in a most transparent manner. The cabinet also approved temporary engagement of 2200 Lecturers and 400 Teachers under up-gradation programme on academic arrangement basis for the academic Session The arrangement will be made at an enhanced honorarium of Rs.14000/- per month and at the rate of Rs.10500/- for third/hard zone and Plain areas in respect of Lecturers for ten months in Higher Secondary Schools and Rs.7500/- per month and Rs.4500/- per month for 3rd/ Hard Zone and Plain Areas respectively in respect of Teachers for 10 months in upgraded High Schools. The academic arrangement will subsist till regular selections are made. It approved re-engagement of Constable (Operators) as Wireless Assistants who were disengaged earlier owing to wrong advertisement. According to the decision, they will be called as Wireless Assistants and entitled to honorarium of Rs per month and entitled to regularization against commensurate positions after completing 10 years of continuous working and will be called designated wireless operators. The posts of constable operators will be utilized for their regularization and in the event of their nonavailability these positions shall be deemed to have been created. According to the decision, their past service in the Police Department will also be counted and will be allowed annual hike of 3% on higher consolidated remuneration, terminal benefits under NPS, leave and medical reimbursement. They will work under administrative control of PHQ and shall be considered a Belt Force and their service bio-data records will be maintained by PHQ as per the Police Rules. In the matter of work, conduct, discipline and appeal, they will be governed by Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Employees) Conduct Rules, 1979 and CCA Rules, 1956 while their career progression will be worked out separately. It also approved establishment of State Knowledge Initiative Platform (SKIP). SKIP aims to to implement the recommendations of the knowledge initiative group as to serve as for generating knowledge-based policies and a clearing house for new ideas and to serve as permanent think tank on all matters leading to education, knowledge and skills. The SKIP shall comprise a Governing Council headed by Chief Minister as Patron, Advisor to Chief Minister as Chairman, Minister for Education as Co-Chairman and all other Members of the working group for operationalization of knowledge initiate. Administrative Secretary, Higher Education Department shall be the ex-officio Secretary General of the Council. The SKIP shall carry out its activities through its Secretariat which shall comprise suitable personnel, initially drawn on deputation from the State Government/autonomous bodies/universities. Cabinet observed that the role of SKIP will be to advise the Government on implementation of recommendations of the knowledge initiative group, implementation of the vision documents, preparation and implementation of policies, guidelines and schemes with multiple objectives etc, evolve schemes and mechanism for promotion and preservation of classical, heritage and folk music and provide a forum for interaction among academia industry and service sectors. It also approved enhancement of salaries and allowances of Chairman, Executive Councillors and Councillors of Ladakh Hill Development Council (LAHDC). It also approved Promotion of Seven Officers of Accounts (Gazetted) Service to the Super Time Scale. The Officers promoted to the Super time scale includes, Laila Chanda, Director Finance (holding the Additional charge of Director General, Budget), Tehseena Mufti, Director Finance, Cooperative Department, Kuldeep Kumar Gupta, Director Finance, Mohammad Yousuf Pandith, Director Finance, Neelam Gupta, Director Finance, ARI & Trainings Department, Kulbir Kour Gujral, Director Finance(Principal), Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, Director Finance. The cabinet also approved promotion of Mohammad Rafi Andrabi, Director Codes against the vacancy occurring on the superannuation of Laila Chanda on Meanwhile cabinet also approved the promotion of Manzoor Ahmad Wani, Joint Director, J&K Funds Organization, Kashmir and Mohammad Ayoub Nasir, FA& CAO, JK Industries to the Special Scale. The cabinet also approved promotion of Manohar Lal, Treasury Officer, Additional Treasury, New Plot, Jammu and Tariq Ahmad Wani, Deputy Director, Audit & Inspections, Kashmir to the Selection Grade from It also approved transfer of irrigation land for widening and four laning of Jammu-Akhnoor Road Kanals of land belonging to 19 villages falling under the alignment of the Jammu-Akhnoor road belonging to the Irrigation Department have been transferred for widening/ four lanning purpose. It also approved the taking over of Abhinandan Home at Solina, Rambagh, Srinagar. According to the decision, Social welfare department will take over the administration, management and governance of Abhinandan Home along with land and construction therein and entrusting its administration and management to Director, Social Welfare, Kashmir. Earlier on the recommendations of the Chief Minister, Government of India, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment agreed in principle for opening of coeducational Residential School for visually impaired children in Srinagar with intake capacity of 200 children/hostel facility. The cabinet also approved grant of financial autonomy to the J&K State Sports Council. According to the decision, grant of annual grants by the Financial Department and Planning Development and Monitoring Department towards Revenue and Capital expenditure to the J&K State Sports Council will be as Grant-in-Aid with an annual hike upto 10 percent. The sports council will continue to be provided funds under Centrally Sponsored schemes, PMDP funds as the case may be. The Sports Council will be free to raise its own internal resources and it will constitute a finance committee/ standing council with the approval of President J&K State Sports Council for approval of expenditure plan and expenditure monitoring. The council will put in place a robust accountability mechanism to ensure judicious utilization of resources. It approved transfer of state land measuring 1255 Kanals and 10 Marlas situated at village Sanai of Tehsil Surankote and village Kalaban of Tehsil Mendhar, District Poonch to the Higher Education Department for establishing Surankote campus of the university of Jammu. The Cabinet also approved transfer of state land measuring 68 kanals situated in village Safapora, Tehsil Lar, district Ganderbal to the higher education department for establishment of Govt College of Engineering and Technology in district Ganderbal. The cabinet also approved transfer of state land measuring 92 kanals, situated at Aloochi Bagh Srinagar (under the possession of Sericulture department) to the Estates Department for construction of residential flats for VVIPs, legislators and government employees. Meanwhile the cabinet also approved the transfer f state land measuring 1000 kanals to the Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipura situated in Village and Tehsil Awantipura of district Pulwama for establishing Bio-Diverse Botanical Reserve, Solar Power Plant and expansion of the existing infrastructure of the university. The cabinet also approved use of approx ha Forest Land for Non-Forestry Purposes. Out of 24 proposals approved, 15 pertain to construction of road projects by PMGSY while two pertain to construction of gln & 50,000 gln service reservoir at Ban & Khanpur Nagrota respectively in Jammu Forest Division by PHE and one pertains to construction of 220 KV Multi Circuit Kishanganga to Amargarh Transmission Line. Ordinance Awarding 16 years of age has been made punishable with rigorous imprisonment for 20 years and may extend to life sentence, while rape of a child under 12 years has been made punishable with death sentence. "Gang-rape of a girl under 16 years has been made punishable with imprisonment for life, which shall mean remainder of that person s natural life, gang-rape of a child under 12 years of age has been made punishable with death sentence," the spokesman said. According to the ordinance, he said, the investigation in such cases is to be completed within a period of two months, whereas trial is to be completed within six months and reasons for any delay be communicated to the high court. "Stringent provisions for bail have been incorporated in the ordinance. It has been provided that no bail shall be granted without hearing Public Prosecutor", he added. The spokesman said Jammu and Kashmir Protection of Children from Sexual Violence Ordinance, 2018, will provide alternative punishment for an act or omission constituting an offence under the ordinance and also under various provisions of the state Penal Code relating to sexual assault. "The offender found guilty of such offence shall be liable to punishment only under such law or the ordinance as provides for punishment which is greater in degree," the spokesman said. The ordinance provides provisions relating to child-friendly procedures and reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and trial of offences. The ordinance also provides for provisions relating to establishment of special courts for speedy trial of such offences. The ordinance makes it mandatory for the educational institutions to ensure safety and protection of children and not to expose them to any kind of sexual abuse. "The cabinet observed that both the ordinances will prove useful and will act as a deterrent with regard to violence against women in general and sexual violence in particular in the state," the spokesman added. 4 JeM Militants, Soldier, In the exchange of firing two army men and one SOG personal identified as Latif Gojri also sustained serious bullet wounds. The critically injured Latif later succumbed. Prior to him, a soldier Ajay Kumar of 42 RR succumbed to injuries at 92 base hospital here in Srinagar. Four militants have been killed in the operation at Goiytengo forests in Laam area, a top police officer said. He said that all the bodies of the militants have been recovered along with as many AKrifles. Identities of the slain militants is being ascertained. "Apparently it looks like two among the slain militants are foreigners and belonged to the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant outfit," the officer said, adding that the search operation in the area is still going on. The officer said that separately the wreath laying ceremony of the policeman Latif Gojri was held at DPL Awantipora where among others IGP Kashmir Swayam Prakash Pani, DIG SKR Shri Amit Kumar and others SFs participated. The gunfight broke out in the area after the joint team of army's 42 RR, SOG and CRPF launched a cordon-and-search. ( with inputs from GNS) 14 Officers Transferred Mohammad Javed Khan (IAS --JK:2005), awaiting orders of posting in the General Administration Department, has been posted as Secretary to the Government, Technical Education, Youth Services and Sports Department. Sarmad Hafeez (IAS JK:2009), Managing Director, J&K Tourism Development Corporation also looking after the charge of Administrative Secretary, Tourism Department, has transferred and posted as Special Secretary to the Government, Information Department. He will also look after the charge of Administrative Secretary, Information Department. Shah Faesal (IAS (JK:2010), Managing Director, J&K State Power Development Corporation, has been transferred and posted as Additional Secretary to the Government, Tourism Department. Javed Ahmad Panzoo (IFS), Director, Soil and Water Conservation, has been transferred and posted as Secretary to the Government, ARI and Trainings Department, on ex-cadre basis. M.D. Khan (KAS), Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, has been transferred and posted as Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, Agriculture Production Department. Dr. Abdul Rashid (KAS), Labour Commissioner, J&K holding additional charge of Secretary to the Government, Information Department, has been transferred and posted as Secretary to the Government, Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs. Mohammad Saleem Shishgar (KAS), Secretary in the Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, has been transferred and posted as Secretary to the Government, Culture Department. Veer Ji Hangloo (KAS), Director, Social Welfare, Jammu, is transferred and posted as Mission Director, ICDS, J&K, vice G.A. Sofi. Bashir Ahmad Khan (KAS0, Chief Executive Officer, J&K Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, has been transferred and posted as Labour Commissioner, J&K, vice Dr. Abdul Rashid. He will continue to hold the charge of the post of Chief Executive Officer, J&K Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, in addition to his own duties, till further orders. Dr. Bharat Bushan (KAS), awaiting orders of posting in the General Administration Department, has been posted as Director, Social Welfare, Jammu, vice Mr. Veer Ji Hangloo. G.A. Sofi, Mission Director, ICDS, J&K, has been transferred and posted as Secretary (Technical) in the Transport Department. Shafat Sultan, awaiting orders of posting in the General Administration Department, has been posted as Mission Director, ICPS. Syed Abul Qasim, Joint Commissioner(Administration) in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, under orders of transfer as Chief Executive Officer/Secretary, KVIB, has been transferred and posted as Managing Director, J&K Horticulture Produce, Marketing and Processing Corporation Even Dead Have Dignity: SC or shaming them. The dead also have dignity," a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said while hearing the matter in which senior lawyer Indira Jaising raked up the issue of section 228-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with disclosure of identity of victims of sexual offences. The bench, which agreed to examine the aspect related to section 228-A of the IPC, also questioned as to how the identity of a minor rape victim could be disclosed even after getting consent from her parents. "Why should this happen, that the identity of a minor victim be disclosed just because her parents have given consent," the bench asked, adding, "Even if a person is of unsound mind, she has a right to privacy. A minor will become major. Why should this stigma be there for life". Jaising, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae, said it was necessary for the apex court to clarify section 228-A of the IPC. She said there cannot be a "blanket ban" on the media from reporting such incidents and the apex court would have to balance freedom of press and the rights of the victim. During the hearing, the bench observed that the issue required clarification. It asked that even in cases where the victim had died, "why should there be disclosure of name". Jaising, without directly referring to the Kathua incident, said in a recent case, the victim had died which had led to demand for justice not only in India but also globally. The bench said it would examine the issue related to section 228-A of the IPC, after which the Centre's counsel sought time to seek instructions. The court then listed the matter for hearing on May 8. The top court was hearing the petitions filed after the brutal gangrape-and-murder case in Delhi on December 16, 2012 raising concerns over safety and security of women. Last week, the Delhi High Court had directed 12 media houses to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for revealing the identity of the Kathua rape victim. These media houses had apologised in the high court for revealing the details of the victim. While Section 23 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act lays down the procedure for media to report cases of sexual offences against child victims, section 228-A of the IPC deals with disclosure of identity of victims of such offences. The penal law provides for jail term of up to two years along with a fine. The eight-year-old girl from a minority nomadic community had disappeared from near her home in a village near Kathua in Jammu region on January 10. Her body was found in the same area a week later. The state police's Crime Branch, which probed the case, has filed the main charge sheet against seven persons and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile in a court in Kathua district. The charge sheet revealed chilling details about how the girl was allegedly kidnapped, drugged and raped inside a place of worship before being killed. All But JeI Want Better Aiyar, who took part in a discussion on book "Born to be Hanged", Syeda Hameed's biography of the deposed and executed Pakistani leader, on Monday evening, described Bhutto as "vengeful, a deeply flawed personality and committed only to his personal advancement". He also called for steps towards better relations with Pakistan. "Each party other than Jamaat-e-Islami, pledges itself to better relations with India... post-bhutto Pakistan's mentality has changed and they want to be friends with us... We are battling Bhutto's Pakistan instead of making friends with (current) Pakistan," he said. Hameed said that as a student of literature, she always thought of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the protagonist of a Greek tragedy. "Parallels abound in the stories of Zulfikar of Larkana and Oedipus of Thebes. Both men larger than life are victims despite epitomising qualities which are antithesis of victimhood -- self-confidence, masterfulness and intensity. As the Greeks would say they were cursed by the Gods," said the social activist and educationist. She said she had crucial access to important materials for the book from her uncle across the border, Mubashir Hassan, who was Finance Minister in Bhutto's government and one of the founders of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Noted peace activist and documentaryfilmmaker Tapan Bose said Syeda Hameed had authored an interesting analysis of a very complicated personality of the subcontinent who started with certain commitments but later "power corrupted him absolutely". "Bhutto was an enigma who had threatened to wage a 1,000-year war against India. He was a patriot, influenced by Karl Marx, a progressive thinker working for a modern, democratic Pakistan with great schools and universities and also a deeply Islamic person," said Bose. Aiyar, who disagreed with Bhutto's assesment in the book, said a joint Pakistan (including erstwhile East Pakistan) would have always given, in a true democratic election, a majority to the Bengalis because their population was bigger and completely different in their political views to what was happening in the distant West Pakistan. "It was clear that he (Bhutto) could become Prime Minister only of a truncated Pakistan, he could never be the Prime Minister of a joint Pakistan and he allowed this truncating to take place," said Aiyar, who served as India's first Consul-General in Karachi from 1978 to "So, at the end of the day, somebody who hated India and Hindus as much as he did, what has been the outcome?... They (Pakistanis) are no longer anti-hindu or anti-india. They don't even allow an anti-indian platform to appear on any political party's agenda during the elections," he said. Cong Hands Stained "It is a political question. There is blood on our hands. I am also a part of the Congress so let me say it, we have blood on our hands. Is this why you are trying to tell us that if someone attacks you, we must not come forward to protect you?," said Khurshid. The student had posed the query referring to a series of communal riots and other controversial acts under the Congress rule in the past. "I am telling you. We are ready to show the blood on our hands so that you realise that you too must not get blood on your hands. If you attack them, you are the ones who would get stains on your hands," he said at an AMU event on Sunday. "Learn something from our past. Learn from our history and don't create such situations for yourself where if you come back to Aligarh Muslim University after 10 years, you find no one like yourself putting out questions," he said. Referring to a long list of communal conflagrations including those at Hasanpura, Maliana, Muzaffarnagar, the student had said even the opening of the gates of Babri Masjid, placing of idols inside it and then its demolition took place when the Congress was in power at the Centre. And then he had asked, The Congress has Muslims' blood on its hands. With what words will you wash them off?" The former Union minister was the chief guest at the annual function of BR Ambedkar Hall of the AMU. Decision 'Not Venkaiah Naidu on Monday rejected the notice submitted by the Congress and six other parties seeking the impeachment of the Chief Justice citing lack of substantial merit in it. Naidu further said that the decision to reject the notice is in strict conformity with provisions of the Constitution and the Judges Inquiry Act of I had responsibility cast on me. I have done my job and am satisfied with it, the Vice President added. Following the rejection of the impeachment notice, the Congress on Monday lashed out at Naidu and said it would move the Supreme Court to challenge the illegal order which had shattered the confidence of people. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal told reporters in New Delhi that Naidu's order jeopardised the country's legal system and said the government was not keen to see a probe into the case. Now Evidence To Be cost effective and helping in preventing law and order situations in certain cases. The amendment in the Central Act has rendered the recording of evidence through electronic video linkage to be legally permissible. It is considered as a valid practice in other States of the country as well. In J&K, the operationalisation of video conferencing facilities in jails is being done in a phased manner. Under e-courts Mission Mode Project, Video Conferencing facility has been provided in all twelve (12) jails in the State and also to the 12 District Court Complexes. The facility will also be extended to all the Court Complexes in the State in due course of time. CB To Court Against Defence coerced by the Crime Branch to give a statement against one of the eight accused, Vishal Sharma. Vishal is the son of rape-murder mastermind Sanjhi Ram. The defence lawyer was accused of passing off the CD content as a statement given by the witness in front of a Magistrate. Initial investigations allegedly showed that the CD was prepared outside a court premises by the said lawyer to mislead the public. "This is definitely an attempt to browbeat the witnesses. We have to immediately step in, keeping in mind the sensitivities attached to the case," the sources said. The rape-murder case is listed for court hearing on April 28. On April 21, the Crime Branch had dubbed as "false" reports appearing in a section of media regarding the rape-murder case. It had said that the medical experts had confirmed the sedation, sexual assault and subsequent murder of the eight-year-old girl, regarding which a case was registered at the Hiranagar police station in Kathua district. The Crime Branch had presented a chargesheet in court after completing all legal formalities of investigation and was also in the process of submitting a supplementary chargesheet. The girl, belonging to a Bakarwal Muslim family, was kidnapped on January 10 and her body found on January 17 near Rasana village in Hiranagar tehsil in Kathua district. Police investigations revealed she was held captive inside a temple, sedated and repeatedly raped before her murder. Police has filed chargesheet against eight persons in the case. Court Denies Bail The counsel for the underage accused had moved the court for his bail soon after the Crime Branch had filed its charge sheet against him and seven other adults allegedly involved in the January rape and murder case. The alleged juvenile offender had sought the bail on the ground of his age. According to the Crime Branch charge sheet, the juvenile accused had played a key role in the abduction, rape and gruesome murder of the girl. ( Leprosy No More amounted to statutory stigma. Remove all the observations on leprosy from the laws, only then will there be parity, the Chief Justice said. Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, for the Centre, said the government was taking steps to delete the erring provisions from the enactments. The court posted the case to July 5. GoI Supports and asked it to consider changing the law so that a convict, facing death penalty, dies in peace and not in pain. ISRO GSAT and was slated for launch on May 26 (IST), according to its launch agency Arianespace. ISRO s spokesman and officials were not reachable for comment. Iran May Quit NPT severe blow to the pact. In a news conference broadcast on state television, the secretary of Iran s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was ready for some surprising actions if the nuclear deal was scrapped. Answering a question about the possibility of Tehran withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Mr. Shamkhani said: This is one of three options that we are considering. Dokalam Happened for over two months last year in the Dokalam area near Sikkim before disengaging on August 28. The area of the standoff is also claimed by Bhutan.

11 ROYAL CHALLENGERS VS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS 24TH MATCH (N), AT BENGALURU SPORTS 11 Wednesday V/S 2019 ICC WORLD CUP India to open campaign versus South Africa on June 4 SHARAPOVA eyes more Grand Slam glory NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket team will play its first match of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup against South Africa on June 4 instead of June 2 as the BCCI will have to maintain a mandatory 15-day gap between IPL final and international assignment as per the Lodha Committee recommendation. The announcement was made in Kolkata during the ongoing fiveday ICC meet. India, who won the World Cup in 2011 and reached the semi-finals in 2015, will be the hot-favourites for the title. The ten-team World Cup is scheduled to run from May 30 to July 14, 2019 at 12 venues across England and Wales. It will span 48 matches in all, of which 45 will make up the group stage. Each team will play nine group stage matches, and the top four will progress to the knockouts, similar to how the 1992 Benson & Hedges World Cup was held. The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had been awarded the 2019 World Cup in 2006 following its withdrawal from the bidding to host the 2015 World Cup. This is the first time since 1999 that a World Cup is being held in the UK. England hosted the first three World Cup tournaments in 1975, 1979 and "The 2019 IPL will be played between March 29 and May 19. But we need to maintain a 15-day gap and World Cup starts on May 30. Therefore as per 15 day gap we could have only played on June 4. Earlier, we were scheduled to start on June 2 but we couldn't have played on that day," a senior BCCI official present told PTI on conditions of anonymity. "South Africa are our first opponents. The CEC agreed and the matter has been referred to the ICC board," he further added. Interestingly, ICC in their various marquee events have always started with an Indo-Pak fixture which is a sure-shot sell-out. It happened in the 2015 World Cup in Australia (at Adelaide) and 2017 Champions Trophy in UK (in Birmingham). "This is the first time Indo-Pak match won't be a starting affair. Since the format will be a round robin affair (all teams playing each other like 1992)," the official added. Among the other decisions that were formalised included the FTP for the next five year cycle from "As we had decided, India will play a maximum 309 days of international cricket in this cycle across formats, a reduction of 92 days from the earlier cycle. "However the number of home Test matches will increase from 15 to 19. All these Tests will be part of the World Test Championship," he added. It was also confirmed that India will not play any Day/Night Test match for now as it's not a part of World Test Championship. "All matches in ICC World Test Championship are day matches played with red ball. If that's the case, there is no point in playing pink ball Tests if it doesn't help in preparation for World Test Championship," he concluded. THE 2019 IPL WILL BE PLAYED BETWEEN MARCH 29 AND MAY 19. But we need to maintain a 15-day gap and World Cup starts on May 30. Therefore as per 15 day gap we could have only played on June 4. Earlier, we were scheduled to start on June 2 but we couldn't have played on that day." Maria Sharapova will not settle for lower-tier titles after making her comeback last year and the former world number one is determined to add to her five grand slam crowns. The 31-year-old Russian returned from a 15-month doping ban at the Stuttgart Grand Prix last April and Sharapova has since won one title, the Tianjin Open, after inconsistent performances and injury problems. She is back in Stuttgart this year and plays Caroline Garcia in the first round later on Tuesday. "When you've experienced grand slam victories, it's absolutely natural to have that goal in your mind," Sharapova told CNN. "It would be silly for me to say my goal for this year is to win a lower-tier tournament because I strive to be on the big stage and to win on the big stage. "I've experienced it, and I know what it's like and I want that feeling again. I continue to work for that." Sharapova, who won her last grand slam title at the 2014 French Open, has no plans to retire. "I haven't set a time table for myself, but I've always said that I would do it on my own terms... " she said. "I'd love to play in another Olympics, but I don't know if that will happen and at this point in 2018, I don't really want to know. I want to keep going and I want to keep working and see where that takes me." Off-spinner with leg-breaks is like a multilingual: Sachin Tendulkar NEW DELHI: An off-spinner who can bowl legbreaks is like a multi-lingual, said Sachin Tendulkar, reflecting on the growing demand for wrist spinners in limited-overs cricket given the difficult questions they are posing to batsmen all around. While Tendulkar did not take any names, his observation on off-spinners trying to bowl leg-break would certainly be music to Ravichandran Ashwin's ears, as he is trying his hand at wrist spin with an eye on national comeback in the shorter versions. "I feel it can only help. It's like you know two to three different languages. Now there is no harm in knowing five or six different languages. It can't take away anything from you," Tendulkar, who is celebrating his 45th birthday today, said. "It's exactly the same when one develops more variation. So it's wrong to say that they (finger spinners) are joining a bandwagon now that they are bowling leg spin. No, they aren't. Rather, we should see that they have put in effort to develop a delivery," he said. And what does he make of the view that the offspinners' attempts are futile? "I think it's wrong thinking of people (that offspinners can't bowl leg-breaks). I am not blaming the player here. I am blaming the people (perception) here. Leg-break could be just another weapon in your armoury. "People can bowl off-spin but along with that off-spin, if they are capable of bowling leg-spin as a variation, then why not," Tendulkar said. The legendary batsman feels that if someone can get his leg-breaks right, it should be considered a strength. "If doosra bowled by an off-spinner is seen as a weapon, then him bowling a leg-break if situation demands, shouldn't be considered his weakness. Rather, it should be considered his strength, when he gets it right. "I can talk about myself. In matches, I used to bowl off-spin to left handers and leg-breaks to right handers. If you are able to do it, then why not." On the younger lot of batsmen failing to read leg-break bowlers' wrists, Tendulkar feels that the current crop of bowlers have really made the willow-wielders think. "I don't think it would be a great thing to generalise that batsmen are not reading the googlies from leg-breaks. A batsman can see an outswinger and still manages to edge it. "To err is human. But I agree that leg-spinners have forced today's batsmen to think more," said the legend of 200 Test matches. Mumbai Indians' young leg-spinner Mayank Markande has been one of the finds of the season and Tendulkar lavished praise on the Punjab youngster. "Leg-spinners have got the batsmen to think. Mayank (Markande) has got the batters to think and watch him even closely. It is a compliment to Mayank's ability that he has been able to disguise his googly so well. It is indeed praiseworthy," the MI mentor said. But he does believe that if there is will power, the batsmen can do their homework against legspinners, like he did way back in 1998 in order to tackle Shane Warne before a home series against Australia. Tendulkar roped in former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan to bowl to him on under-prepared pitches with rough on both sides. But will today's players be able to find time with the pressure of three formats? "Of course, time is there. I don't see any reason to say there's no time. One needs to chalk out a plan and then follow that. It boils down to an individual. "There are guys who like preparing and there are players, who would like to deal with a situation when it arises." Tendulkar has seen an evolution happen in world cricket since the time he made his India debut as a teenage prodigy at the age of 16 in "Change has been the only constant thing. The biggest change has been the advent of T20 cricket and the kind of impact it has had on cricket-loving public. It has grabbed eye balls. "When I started playing, for a considerable period, I have played ODI cricket in whites. But now even IPL's standard of cricket has changed from what it was during first three years," Tendulkar opined. So would an 18-year-old Tendulkar have batted differently had IPL started in 1990 or 1991? "Of course, I would have batted differently," answered the man, who had scored a 17-ball halfcentury against Pakistan in an exhibition one-dayer in his debut series. Talking about his own journey, he recollected his twin hundreds against Australia at Sharjah, exactly two decades ago. The first is still known as the 'Desert Storm' hundred while the second came in the final in a match-winning cause. "It's a great feeling. All these things have happened in my life. I feel blessed to have had all these wonderful moments in my career. I think those two Sharjah matches are etched in people's memories." Tendulkar also spoke about the brutal assault on Abdul Qadir during the rain-curtailed exhibition match where his power-packed batting was noticed by one and all. "I never realised the kind of impact that little innings had on people. Obviously, it's moments like these that stay with people and I feel happy that about it." UNSTOPPABLE RONALDO the sole survivor of Real's 'BBC' MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema were once the untouchable trio, but only one of Real Madrid's feted "BBC" can be sure of their place against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Ronaldo has dragged Real into the Champions League semi-finals with, even by his standards, an astonishing goal glut that includes 22 in 12 games, and at least one in each of his last 11 matches in Europe. "It's impossible to completely stifle Ronaldo, we can only stop him as a team," Bayern defender Jerome Boateng said on Monday. "An attacker cannot be more complete than him -- left foot, right foot, head, he controls everything and in front of the goal, h e ' s a machine". B u t while Ronaldo has enjoyed a fresh spurt in his new role of predatorial centre-forward, his two partners have found their responsibilities reduced ahead of the first leg at the Allianz Arena. Bale's decline began first. After returning from injury earlier this year, he was on the bench for both legs against Paris Saint-Germain and the first leg against Juventus. In the second leg, he did start, only to endure the humiliation of being taken off at half-time. Benzema's fall has been more surprising given the striker had been Zinedine Zidane's preferred partner for Ronaldo, his work rate and supply highly valued despite the Frenchman's lack of goals. But Benzema's link-up play has slackened, thrusting that dry patch -- one goal in 10 games and only four in more clearly into view. "He does suffer a little bit, when he misses chances he suffers but the solution is easy," Zidane said. "He has to keep working. It is just a little blip he is in at the moment." Bale and Benzema's dip has coincided with Ronaldo's golden run, a parallel that may not be entirely coincidental. Ronaldo in a Real team centred on playing to his strengths is nothing new, but as the Portuguese has grown narrower in his scope, perhaps his teammates have had to sharpen their focus in providing service to him. Zidane has often deployed in the biggest games this season, with Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio preferred on the flanks for their defensive discipline and willingness to send crosses into the box. Bale is not viewed as conscientious enough in the wide midfielder role while Benzema's key selling point was his linkup play. When that broke down, his appeal diminished. "I don't see anyone looking sad," Zidane said. "I said to the pair of them the other day, they would both like to score more goals but everyone is working well. "It is always going to happen in a side like ours, there are players in good form and in the team and playing well." Even if Isco is selected, it means Real are likely to line up with one of their more modest-looking attacks for a crunch Champions League tie. "I'm not worried," Zidane said last week. "It's true that in the last two games we have had chances and we have not taken them but now we are going to have a game on Wednesday away from home. "We are going to try to score and what we have to do is to think positively and realise that this is football anything can happen, no matter who is playing on the pitch."

12 12 WEDNESDAY Kashmir Observer 170 potential lung cancer drug targets identified; may help treat disease Five-year project set out to identify new therapeutic targets for non-small cell lung cancer as well as potential drugs for targets. Houston: Scientists, who tested over 200,000 chemical compounds, have identified 170 candidates that can be potentially used for developing new drug therapies for lung cancer. The five-year project set out to identify new therapeutic targets for non-small cell lung cancer as well as potential drugs for these targets - a significant step forward towards personalising cancer care, researchers said. For the large majority of compounds, we identified a predictive biomarker - a feature that allows the development of precision medicine, or individualised treatment for each patient," said John Minna, from University of Texas in the US. For the study, published in the journal Cell, the researchers searched for compounds that would kill cancer cells but not harm normal lung cells. "We began an ambitious project with the goal of identifying therapeutic triads: chemicals that kill cancer cells, biomarkers that predict who would respond, and the therapeutic targets on which those active chemicals work," said Minna. Continuing to uncover the mechanism of action for the majority of the 170 chemicals will be a key focus of future research. Follow-up work will also include testing the chemicals on other types of cancer. Preliminary work shows some of the compounds are likely effective against certain breast and ovarian cancers as well. The researchers have carefully developed and curated a collection of lung cancer cell lines since the 1970s that is now recognised as the worlds largest. The team of scientists began by testing 200,000 chemicals against 12 lung cancer cell lines. "The initial screen gave us 15,000 chemical hits, way too many to work with in detail, but with repeat testing we eventually narrowed the number down to 170," said Bruce Posner, Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the High-Throughput Center at University of Texas. The set of 170 chemical compounds was then tested across 100 lung cancer lines. At the same time, researchers conducted indepth molecular analyses of the lung cancer lines, including identification of genome mutations and protein expression. This information, paired with whether or not an individual cancer cell line was sensitive to a particular chemical, allowed the researchers to develop a set of biomarkers - indicators that could be used to determine if a particular cancer will respond to one of the 170 chemical compounds. The final step of the study was determining how the drugs acts on the cancer. Observers OUT POST Medical tourism in India bringing infections into US: Health official WASHINGTON: Medical tourism, especially in a country like India, has been bringing its own sets of infection into the United States, a top health official has told lawmakers here. "We have a problem in India. We have been getting infections, particularly carbapenem-resistant enterobacteria, ACA and others, through people who go there, for example, on medical tourism and then come back to our hospitals. We now have problems with things that have originated elsewhere," Dr Anthony S Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing last week. He was responding to a question on Biodefense and Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases held by the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. "So we feel we have the responsibility to help them over there. Anytime you have a resistant microbe that emerges in another country, inevitably it will come to the United States," Fauci added. Dr Fauci, however, did not elaborate further on the nature and quantity of infections coming from India. "Anti-microbial resistance is an integral part of what we call biodefence against emerging infections, because we do consider an antibiotic-resistant bacteria as an emerging infectious disease," he said. Congresswoman Rosa Delauro, ranking member of the subcommittee, said there was a wide spectrum of threats facing the US. "We need enough laboratory capacity to analyse large volumes of samples and determine what pathogens are involved. We need effective plans, supplies and personnel to efficiently distribute and dispense vaccines and treatments," the lawmaker said. "We need the surge capacity in hospitals and other facilities to take care of large numbers of seriously ill patients. All this work needs to be done through partnership among federal agencies like the CDC, the state and the local health departments, and the medical and first responder communities," she said. Indian Air Force tests capability to handle nuclear warfare during mega drill New Delhi: The Indian Air Force or IAF tested its capability in dealing with a possible scenario of nuclear and biological warfare during a 13-daylong mega military exercise whose aim was to sharpen its war waging capability in the wake of fast evolving regional security situation. Official sources said the focus of the Gagan Shakti exercise from April 8 to 20 was to check the viability of IAF's operational plans to deal with any kind of challenge including nuclear warfare and a possible situation of a two-front war with China and Pakistan. A major focus of the exercise was to check combat capability of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft or LCA Tejas and their performance was satisfactory, IAF sources said. They said eight Tejas were deployed during the exercise and some of these had reported minor technical issues, adding each of the six Tejas had flown six sorties daily like any other platforms including Sukhoi, Mirage 2000 and MiG 29 jets. The sources said aim of the exercise was to test IAF's combat readiness in a real time scenario, adding it had never carried out an exercise of this scale earlier. A key focus of the exercise was to check IAF's readiness to deal with a biological, chemical and nuclear war and we were satisfied with our capability to deal with such situations, they said. They also said all types of aerial weapons, including standoff and precision weapons were deployed to validate their use in the air operations matrix. As part of the massive drill, the IAF deployed its entire assets for the pan-india exercise with fighter jets, equipped with strategic weapons like Brahmos and Harpoon anti ship missiles, carrying out deep penetration strikes to revalidate its strategic reach. During the exercise, the sources said over 11,000 sorties were flown which included nearly 9,000 sorties by fighter aircraft. The combat drill was carried out at a time when China was increasing its assertiveness along the borders with India and while Pakistan has been continuing its skirmishes along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The exercise covered all terrains including desert, high altitude areas like Ladakh and maritime sphere. During combat drills near Sino-India border, the IAF significantly focused on inter valley transfer of troops considering various possible situations of conflict and taking a lesson from the Doklam standoff. Ensuring serviceability of fighter aircraft and various missile systems were a priority area and the IAF succeeded in its endeavour, officials said. The serviceability of surfaceto-air missiles were around 97 per cent while serviceability of fighter jets were close to 80 per cent, they said. Serviceability refers to availability of an aircraft or a weapon system for deployment. The IAF has been struggling to maintain high serviceability levels of its platforms due to difficulty in getting required spares. Similarly, the IAF could ensure high levels of dispatch reliability which refers to ability to make the serviceable flying platforms airborne as and when required, the officials said. Lenovo eyes making smart wearables in India, higher market share Lenovo Group Ltd is looking to make smart wearables in India and raise its share of the local market by three-fold, in a plan that will help boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi s scheme to promote the country as an electronics manufacturing hub. The company is targeting to corner by this year a 20 per cent share of India s market for wearables, such as smartwatches and fitness bands, Sebastian Peng, head of accessories at Lenovo Mobile Business Group, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. Since the firm started selling its wearables in India last year, the company has achieved 6-7 per cent of the market share of smart wearables in the country, he said. The company is now planning to start manufacturing in India, where the smart wearables market is expected to grow per cent this year, Peng added. Lenovo currently makes its wearable products in China. We have started talks with local manufacturers to start manufacturing within the country. We re trying to start these operations sometime this year, Peng said over the phone from New Delhi, where he is attending a product launch. Lenovo has already partnered with homegrown e-commerce firm Flipkart to sell wearables on its platform, said Naveen Bajaj, India head at Shenzhen Aodishi Technology, which is Lenovo s authorized overseas accessories distributor. Lenovo, which also makes products ranging from smartphones to laptops, will expand its wearable offerings on other e-commerce portals, such as Amazon. com. The company will push to establish a physical retail network as well, starting with major Indian cities. Smart wearables is the key category we re trying to push for this year. We are very confident that we can achieve our target, Peng said. India s wearables market was worth $157 million in 2017, according to International Data Corporation. Other wearable sellers in the country include Xiaomi Technology, Huawei and Fitbit. Once local manufacturing kicks off, Peng said the company would consider India as an export hub for wearables. Lenovo already sells its HW02 fitness band and HX03W cardio smart band in India through its retail outlets and e-commerce platforms. Now buy Apple Watch 3 from Airtel online store Bharti Airtel has announced sale of Apple Watch Series 3 on its online store from May 11. Bharti Airtel - which provides telecom services under brand Airtel - on Tuesday said pre-registrations for Apple Watch Series 3 will commence on May 4. Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom company, also said Apple Watch Series 3 - with GPS and cellular features - will be available from May 11, Bharti Airtel said the cellular functions of the watch will work with the Airtel network. Series 3 or Apple Watch Series 3 is the third-generation of Apple Watch released in September Bharti Airtel also announced a "special introductory cellular trial" offer Here are five things to know about Bharti Airtel's announcement on Apple Watch Series 3: 1. "Apple Watch Series 3 comes to Airtel, the watch will be available on Airtel Online Store starting May 11," Bharti Airtel said in a statement on April 24. Pre-registrations will start on May 4 on Airtel's website - airtel.in. That means customers will be able to preregister for the offer through the Airtel website. 3. "With cellular, customers can go with just their Apple Watch and stay connected to the people and information they care about," Airtel said. 4. Bharti Airtel also announced a "special introductory cellular trial" offer to help Apple Watch Series 3 customers get started on the Airtel network. COMMENTS5. "To activate cellular service with Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular), customers first need to update iphone to ios 11.3 and watchos 4.3, then tap Settings on iphone > General > About and follow the prompt to update to the latest carrier settings," Bharti Airtel explained. The latest offer from Airtel comes amid intense competition among telecom operators in the sector. With addition of Apple Watch Series 3 to its online store, Airtel is looking to add more customers to its existing base, say analysts. 12-year-old boy uses parents credit card, goes on Bali holiday from Australia A 12-year-old Australian boy travelled alone to Indonesia s Bali after he had a row with his parents when they cancelled a holiday to the tourist island, BBC news reported on Tuesday. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said they will review the circumstances of the case to make sure similar incidents do not happen again. The police were alerted of the boy s presence in Bali on March 17. He was taken into protective custody before being reunited with his parents. The boy, from Sydney, booked flights and accommodation online using his parents credit card. He flew to Bali presenting only his passport and school ID. He had used a self-service check-in terminal in Sydney to board a flight to Perth and then a connection to Bali. He said he had checked into his hotel room in Bali by telling staff that he was waiting for his sister to arrive. The boy 4-Bagh-i-Islam Colony Lal Nagar, Chanapora Srinagar Tele-Fax / Website: cancersocietyofkashmir@gmail.com / Cancersocietyofkashmir@yahoo.com Ref. No:- CSK/68-RMZ/2018/ Dated: INFORMATION FOR GENERAL PUBLIC This is for the information of General Public that Cancer Society of Kashmir is receiving all kinds of Donations at:- CSK s office 4- Baghi Islam Colony Lalnagar Chanapora. By Direct Credit to Account No: - Sb maintained at Residency Road, Srinagar. This society has not authorized anyone else to collect any kind of donation in the name of this society. Issued in public interest by Cancer Society of Kashmir, 4-Baghi Islam Colony, Lalnagar Chanapora Tel No: , said he was questioned once by airline officials in Perth, reports the BBC. They just asked for my student ID and passport to prove that I am over 12 and that I am in secondary school, he said. It was great because I wanted to go on an adventure. The boy s mother said she was left shocked. All airlines have procedures that allow minors to travel on their own, but requirements vary between carriers.