Pranab triggers political football

Transcription

1 Follow us on: OPINION 8 SEAS OF TROUBLE: WE NEED TO ACT WORLD 11 WOULD INVITE KIM TO WH IF S PORE TALKS GO WELL facebook.com/dailypioneer SPORT 14 TEAM PROFILE: GERMANY ON A ROLL LUCKNOW, SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2018; PAGES 16 `3 RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/ Established 1864 Published From DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL BHUBANESWAR RANCHI RAIPUR CHANDIGARH DEHRADUN Late City Vol. 154 Issue 156 *Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable } BOURDAIN S LEGACY IS UNIQUE 13 VIVACITY } Pranab triggers political football Day after RSS event, political circle abuzz with wild speculation, social media on fire PNS n NEW DELHI T he reverberation of former President Pranab Mukherjee s visit on Thursday to the RSS headquarters and his speech to the graduating RSS cadre there has continued in the political corridor amid wild speculation about his future political moves. In what is seen as a noteworthy reaction, BJP patriarch LK Advani, who rarely comments on any contemporary issues, described Pranab s speech and his visit to the RSS headquarters as significant events in the contemporary Indian history. Advani s reaction was put up on the official website of the BJP even as majority of senior BJP leadership maintained a curious silence on the issue. The political circles remained abuzz with subtle suggestions that the 82-year-old former Congressman who after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, could have even be a candidate for the post of Prime Minister may even be a consensus nominee for the PM post, acceptable to the Opposition and not opposed by the present ruling dispensation. The news highlighted by more than one TV channel was source-based, but it was enough to set the social media on fire. Pranab s visit to the RSS head office in Nagpur came against serious reservation of secular circles, but he silenced them by highlighting their STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI n 18-year-old girl, who Achecked into a five star hotel in East Delhi s Mayur Vihar with her boyfriend of 10 months on Wednesday, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Thursday evening, police Preliminary investigation suggests that there is no injury mark on the body of the girl, identified as Neelima, who finished her Class XI from Open School and was employed with a beauty parlour in South Delhi and lived at her relative s home in Chanakyapuri area. After coming to know about the incident, the forensic team of the Delhi Police rushed to Hotel Holiday Inn to inspect room no 1137 where Neelima was living with her boyfriend Uday, a resident of Delhi s Shahdara. Police detained Uday and CAPSULE EC REJECTS CONG FAKE VOTERS ALLEGATION New Delhi: Rejecting the Congress claim of 60 lakh fake voters being included in the Madhya Pradesh electoral list, the Election Commission on Friday said allegations of discrepancies in the voters list are not correct. HARYANA SHELVES PLAN ON ATHLETES' EARNINGS Chandigarh: Following uproar over Haryana Government asking sportspersons employed by it to deposit one-third of their earnings to the State sports council, the Government shelved its plan. SC REFUSES TO ORDER STAY ON DOG CULLING New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to pass any interim order on a plea seeking a direction to stop alleged culling of stray dogs in Sitapur. p BJP patriarch LK Advani described Pranab s speech and his visit to the RSS headquarters as significant events in the contemporary Indian history p The political corridor remained abuzz with subtle suggestions that Pranab may concerns on intolerance and pluralism. At the same time, Pranab also kept his hosts in good humour by describing RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar as the great son of Mother India. The controversy that preceded Pranab s visit to Nagpur has kept dogging him even though he is back to Delhi. On Friday, a morphed picture showing Pranab in RSS-style of salutation appeared on social Mystery shrouds 18-year-old girl s death in 5-star hotel Delhi Police grills victim s boyfriend questioned him to know the sequence of the event that led to death of the girl, who belonged to Uttarakhand. Speaking to the media, the girl s mother said she was in depression as Uday had refused to marry her. Senior police officers involved in the probe said they have not got anything so far to suggest that there was any foul play because the room was locked from inside and her friend had gone home for some urgent work. However, the incident is being probed on all possible angles involving drug overdose and suicide as forensic experts did collect some suspicious substance that could be a drug or poison. The substance has been sent for testing. They had checked into the hotel room and submitted their identity cards as proofs, said the official, adding that around 4.30 pm, the male friend left, saying his father was unwell and was admitted to a hospital. Continued on Page 6 MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU fter giving a befitting reply Ato unprovoked border shelling from the Pakistani side and smashing bunkers occupied by Pakistan Rangers, the Union Home Ministry has readied a foolproof plan to start construction of community and individual bunkers on war footing in the region to ensure safety of border residents. The Centre has also decided to deploy bulletproof ambulances/mobile bunkers to ferry injured persons and evacuate stranded residents during cross-border shelling. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who arrived here on the second day of his trip to the State, visited RS Pura area on Friday and labelled residents of border villages as strategic assets. E C H O L I N G E R S be a consensus nominee for PM post, acceptable to the Opposition and not opposed by the present ruling dispensation p On Friday, a morphed picture showing Pranab in RSS-style of salutation appeared on social media media. RSS joint general secretary Manmohan Vaidhya blamed divisive political forces for first trying to make former President refrain from attending its event and then for posting a morphed photograph showing him in a prayer position identified with the organisation. Some divisive political forces have posted a morphed photo of former President Pranab Mukherjee standing in Pune Police seizes incriminating letter from five arrested Naxal activists TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI une police investigating the PJanuary 1, 2018 Bhima- Koregaon caste riots have recovered from a laptop of one of the five arrested activists an incriminating letter, which uncovers a plot by the Maoists to carry out Rajiv Gandhitype assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The purported letter, which was produced by police before a Pune court on Thursday while seeking the custody of five Maoist-linked activists, including a professor from Nagpur University, for their role in Bhima-Koregaon riots, speaks of targeting his (Modi s) roadshows as an effective strategy to eliminate the Prime Minister. Pune s Joint Commissioner of police Ravindra Kadam confirmed that a scanned copy of the incriminating letter was recovered from the laptop of human rights activists Rona Wilson Jacob, who is one of the five persons with alleged Acknowledging their sacrifices, Rajnath said these people have made lot of sacrifices but their resolve to stand upfront was never shattered. I a prayer position with a folded hand during recitation of Sangha prarthana (prayer) at Thursday s RSS function at Nagpur, Vaidya said in a statement. Pranab s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee, a Congress leader who had opposed his visit to the RSS event, had highlighted the photograph and said, See, this is exactly what I was fearing & warned my father about. Not even a few hours have passed, Maoist links arrested on Wednesday in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon riots. The scanned copy of the letter was among the virtual and physical documents recovered by the investigators during their simultaneous raids conducted by the investigators on April 17 in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur on residences of various Dalit leaders and other functionaries associated with the Elgaar Parishad organised in Pune ahead of the January 1, 2018 caste riots. Apart from Jacob, four other arrested activists, who have been remanded in police custody by the Pune court till June 14, are: Surendra Gadling, general secretary Indian Association of People s Lawyers from Nagpur, Sudhir Dhawale, Editor Vidrohi from Mumbai, Prof Shoma Sen, Head of Department of English, Nagpur University and Mahesh Raut, anti-displacement activist from Bharat Jan Andolan. salute their courage. I am proud of their commitment towards mother Nation. To motivate the border residents, Rajnath also made a slew of announcements, but BJP/RSS dirty tricks dept is at work in full swing!. On Thursday, Pranab addressed the RSS cadre passing Tritiya Shiksha Varg (three year graduation course), one of the most important milestones in the life of an RSS cadre. Only the third-year graduates in the Sangh can become RSS pracharaks or full-timers. Pranab, who has been for long the main strategist of the Congress and two successive UPA Governments, has been lauded by Advani for accepting the invitation of the Hindutva organisation. The senior BJP leader also praised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for inviting him, saying there was significant concord and resonance in the views expressed by both of them. As a lifelong swayamsevak of the RSS, BJP veteran Advani said he believed that Pranab and Bhagwat have truly set a praiseworthy example of dialogue transcending ideological affiliations and differences. Both of them highlighted the essential unity of India, which accepts and respects all diversities, including the pluralism of faiths, Advani said in a statement. Advani, who has served as the BJP president for the longest period, expressed his happiness over the RSS under Bhagwat expanding and intensifying its efforts to reach out to various sections of the nation in the spirit of dialogue. Continued on Page 6 The letter, written by R (which the investigators suspect might be Rona Jacob himself) and addressed to one comrade Prakash, states, We are thinking along the lines of another including raising of two border battalions for the unemployed youth of the border area and deployment of bulletproof ambulances and mobile bunkers. SC makes Jagannath Puri visit hassle-free PNS n NEW DELHI aying a visit to the Lord PJagannath Temple at Puri may now become easier for devotees who have to face extreme hardship in offering prayers there. The Supreme Court on Friday directed both the Odisha Government and the Centre to set up separate committees to study the best management practices followed by shrines of national importance across the country and recommend changes to be carried out in administration of the temple by June 30. The direction came on a PIL that highlighted poor hygiene, harassment faced by devotees, malpractices by sebayats (sevaks) who perform rituals, and misappropriation of offerings made to the temple offertory. A Vacation Bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and Ashok Bhushan ordered a probe by the District Judge, Puri, into these allegations and sought an interim report from him by July 5. For suggesting measures to reform the existing practices followed in the temple, the Bench directed both the Odisha Government and the Centre to set up separate committees to study the best management practices followed by shrines such as Vaishno Devi in Jammu & Kashmir, Somnath temple in Gujarat, Golden Temple in Punjab, Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh and Maoists plotted to kill Modi in Rajiv style Rajiv Gandhi-type incident. It sounds suicidal and there is a good chance we might fail but we feel the party must deliberate over our proposal. Continued on Page 6 Addressing a Press conference, Rajnath said the Union Home Ministry has sanctioned construction of 14,460 bunkers, including 1,431 community and 13,029 individual bunkers Apex court orders Puri District Judge to probe harassment of devotees, temple malpractices Dharamsthala temple in Karnataka. The elaborate orders were passed on a PIL filed by a practising lawyer Mrinalini Padhi, who is a member of the Odisha Legal Services Committee. The lawyer approached the apex court after coming across a news item about the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar at the Lord Jagannatha Temple. This came to light after the Orissa High Court in a PIL proceeding directed Archaeological Survey of India at an estimated cost of `415 crore, to ensure safety of border residents living in the direct line of enemy fire. These bunkers would be constructed across border districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch across Jammu province. Since beginning of holy month of Ramzan, the entire border belt across Jammu frontier witnessed intense crossborder shelling in which nine civilians lost their lives while four BSF jawans attained martyrdom. Reading out a list of decisions of his Ministry, Rajnath said, We have decided to raise a total of nine battalions, including two border battalions, two women battalions and five battalions of Indian Reserve Police to help the unemployed youth from these (ASI) to inspect the temple for renovation and restoration work. The ASI team was denied inspection of the Ratna Bhandar. Later it came to light that the keys to the Bhandar housing priceless jewels, ornaments offered to the temple was missing and there is no accounting of it since The apex court kept this issue open to be considered by the Orissa HC and focused instead to end the exploitative practices against devotees. Continued on Page 6 Silver bullet for border villagers to take on Pak blitzkrieg MHA has readied a foolproof plan for bulletproof ambulances/mobile bunkers to ensure safety of border residents... To motivate the locals, Rajnath announced raising of two border battalions for the unemployed youth of the area p Reacting to the morphed picture, RSS joint general secretary Manmohan Vaidya said, "Some divisive political forces have posted a morphed photo of former President Dr Pranab Mukherjee at yesterday's RSS function at Nagpur Bizman released after apology PNS n LUCKNOW he issue of alleged demand Tof bribe by the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister snowballed into a major controversy on Friday when, on the complaint of an office-bearer of the BJP, the Lucknow police registered a case against complainant Abhishek Gupta and detained him for recording his statement under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code. He was later released in the evening after he tendered an apology for levelling charges against the Principal Secretary. According to SSP, Lucknow, Deepak Kumar, Abhishek Gupta told the police that he taken one crore rupees as loan from a bank and other sources for the petrol pump and was paying one lakh rupees per month as interest. Gupta also told the police that as he was presently unemployed and was facing huge mental stress, he had used the names of BJP leaders to influence officials to get his work done. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also responded to the allegations by asking Chief Secretary Rajeev Kumar to go into the root of the controversy, check the veracity of the bribery charges and dig out the details pertaining to the allegations levelled by Abhishek Gupta. Chief Secretary Rajeev Kumar submitted his report in which he said that the demand of Abhishek Gupta to allot gram sabha land for petrol pump in Hardoi was unjustified and against public interest. He said in his report that diversion of land use depended on public utility and in that case the land could not be given for public use as it was against public interest. In the meantime, the kin of the whistleblower also staged a dharna near Chief Minister s residence in Kalidas Marg, demanding justice and release of the complainant. We registered a case against Abhishek Gupta on the complaint handed over to them by BJP headquarters incharge Bharat Dikshit, accusing him of misusing the name of party senior leaders and office -bearers to seek benefits, disclosed SSP Deepak Kumar. Dikshit, in his letter to the Continued on Page 6 border areas. Rajnath said a quota of 60 per cent has been fixed for border residents in 5 IRP battalions and two women battalions, one each for Jammu and Kashmir province. During my interaction with the border residents, the local villagers had raised the issue of shortage of bulletproof mobile bunkers and ambulances in the area. After understanding their hardships, I have directed the authorities to provide five bulletproof ambulances for residents of border areas in Jammu, he The Union Home Minister also announced a landmark decision to give financial assistance of `5.5 lakh per family to West Pakistan refugees settled in Jammu & Kashmir. Continued on Page 6

2 city 02 CM exhorts gram pradhans to change face of villages Akhilesh demands CBI probe into bribe charges PNS n SITAPUR E xhorting gram pradhans to implement government policies, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that an alert pradhan could change the face of his village because the resources under him are immense and had the potential to extend benefits of government programmes to the masses. The Chief Minister was addressing people in village Bandhera of Sitapur district during a Swaraj Gram Yojana campaign on Friday. I have no hesitation in saying that MPs and MLAs are envious of gram pradhans. The opportunities they (pradhans) have to usher in development in villages is immense. They have resources in form of funds. They are the last chain of the delivery system. If they work judiciously, they can change the face of gram sabhas (villages) in no time, the Chief Minister During his visit, Yogi inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 325 crore. Majority of these projects relate to development of infrastructure and include construction of roads. PNS n LUCKNOW he Central Bureau of TInvestigation is tightening the noose round Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his close aides. After booking the MLA in the Unnao rape case, the sleuths have named Sengar and four others for planting a country-made revolver on the rape victim s father, who later died in district jail in Unnao. The CBI sleuths took Sengar and his aides into custody again on remand on Friday to find out from the MLA from where he had procured the weapon and how he got it planted on the rape victim s father, who was arrested in a false case. Sources said that the CBI would now include the name of Sengar in the murder of the rape victim s father. The MLA s brother is already in jail after being arrested by the CBI in connection with the murder case. WANTED Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath interacting with gram pradhans in Sitapur, on Friday The Chief Minister said that the UP government, in collaboration with Central government, had launched many welfare schemes for the uplift of the poor and the below poverty line (BPL) families. He said the target of both the governments was to ensure that the benefits of the welfare schemes reach the last man. This is the spirit of antyodaya and the government is following it in totality, he Yogi spoke at length about Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, ODF, Aayushman Bharat Yojana, pension schemes, crop loan waiver schemes, Mukhya Mantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana, Mudra Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Bima Yojana. When many villagers told the Chief Minister that they had been denied the benefits of the government schemes, Yogi asked the district magistrate to ensure that the names of all the eligible beneficiaries were included in the list. The high point of our Unnao case: CBI to grill MLA again The CBI, which took Tinku Singh on four days police custody remand on Thursday morning, grilled him and he disclosed the name of MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and four aides, identified as Ram Saran Singh, Vinay Mishra aka Vineet, Virendra Singh aka Babuwa and Shashi Pratap Singh aka Suman Singh (already arrested in the rape case), claiming that they got a false case registered against the rape victim s father showing recovery of arms from his possession. All the five, including Sengar, were taken into custody by the CBI on Friday morning and they would be confronted PNS n LUCKNOW he Uttar Pradesh government has Tdecided to implement RBI proposed e- kuber system in 20 treasuries, including treasuries of 17 divisional headquarters of the state, from July 11 next. According to the order issued in this regard by the Finance department, e-kuber system will be introduced in the treasuries of 17 divisional headquarters including Agra, Aligarh, Allahabad (collectorate treasury), Azamgarh, Bareilly, Basti, Chitrakoot, Gonda, Faizabad, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Lucknow, Meerut, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Saharanpur and Varanasi and 3 treasuries including Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Barabanki. FUNDS SANCTIONED FOR GIRLS MODEL INTER COLLEGE The government, under the Multi Purpose Lucknow (PTI): A comprehensive action plan will be drawn up to develop the main tourist places in Garhmukteshwar as part of the Uttar Pradesh government s efforts to promote tourism in the state. Chief Secretary Rajive Kumar, at a meeting here to discuss how the place can be promoted as a tourist destination, laid emphasis on developing the area where fairs are held, keeping in view its religious and with Tinku Singh to find out who provided the weapon. Earlier, the cops took into custody two arrested policemen in the case of arms recovery and grilled them. We grilled the then station officer of Makhi police station, Ashok Singh Bhadauriya, and subinspector Kamta Prasad Singh, to extract information about the circumstances under which they showed recovery of country-made weapon from the possession of the rape victim s father, disclosed a CBI sleuth who grilled the two cops. The cops also recorded the statement of then Unnao district police chief Geetanjali, as the investigation revealed that the MLA and one of his henchmen had met her on the fateful night at her command office regarding the case. It may be mentioned here that some audio tapes of the conversation between the MLA and the victim s uncle revealed how the MLA was issuing threats of dire consequences if the cases against him and his brother were not withdrawn. government is that we have provided houses to the poor. During the previous government, they used to build four houses but we have constructed 14 houses. Similarly, we have given free electric connections to villagers and ensured that they get all basic facilities, he Interestingly, Bandhera, which was denied piped water supply, got running tap before Yogi descended on the village. Similarly Fattepur village was electrified a day before the Chief Minister s visit. PNS n LUCKNOW Dalit outfit of western AUttar Pradesh, Bhim Army, which played a pivotal role in mobilising Dalits against Bharatiya Janata Party in Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls, is gearing for the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, saying defeating BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh in general elections would be its top agenda. Bhim Army s national president and Chandrashekhar s close associate, Vinay Ratan Singh, who was recently released from jail, told reporters that the coming general election would be crucial for the organisation and they had a clear agenda to defeat the BJP/RSS at any cost. Our organisation played a silent, but very crucial role in Kairana. Our members fanned out across villages and mobilised voters against the BJP. Though we had nothing personal against BJP candidate Mriganka Singh, the party she stood for has spearheaded caste discrimination and atrocities. Besides, the appeal Govt to introduce e-kuber system in 20 treasuries Educational Hub Scheme in minorities dominated areas, has sanctioned `151 lakh in the current financial year for construction of a Model Inter College for girls in Bijnor for uplift of people belonging to minority communities. According to the government order issued in this regard, the sanctioned amount has been kept at the disposal of the District Magistrate of Bijnor. It may be noted that `302 lakh was sanctioned for construction of the model inter college, out of which the first installment was sanctioned earlier. The government also sanctioned `302 for setting up a model inter college each for boys and girls in Baghpat for uplift of minority communities. Likewise, a sum of `151 lakh has been sanctioned for constructing a model inter college in Moradabad district under the scheme. Plan to develop Garhmukteshwar tourism importance. Garhmukteshwar, situated on the NH 24 that joins Delhi with Lucknow, is in Hapur district and is a revered centre of pilgrimage for Hindus and is also a spiritual tourism destination that attracts both domestic and foreign tourists. Kumar said there was need to declare the mela area as a green belt and directed the authorities to prepare an action plan towards that end, an official release Pioneer PNS n LUCKNOW amajwadi Party president SAkhilesh Yadav has demanded a CBI probe into the bribe charges against the Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying the issue was serious and it should be probed thoroughly. It is unfortunate that the whistleblower who had raised the issue has been arrested by the police while there has been no action, not even a probe against the accused, Yadav said while addressing reporters here on Friday. Questioning the Yogi Adityanath government s role in the reported arrest of Abhishek Gupta, who had complained about the bribe sought by a senior government officer, Yadav told media persons that a CBI probe could bring out the truth into the charges. The reported arrest of Abhishek, who had complained against the officer, shows how the police and the government are working. The arrest was one-sided, even without any investigation. As per the law, both the people who demand and give bribe are punishable, he by our founder Ravan from the jail had worked, Singh He clarified that Bhim Sena per se would not contest election but would help the likeminded parties. Sources said that Bhim Army s top leaders, including Ravan, had been in touch with top leaders of the Congress through a local party heavyweight, who had played a big role in the opposition s victory in Kairana. The organisation has seen rapid advancement across western UP, but has faced a stormy year since Saharanpur caste violence in 2017 and subsequent arrest of its founder Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan. The outfit has decided to launch a campaign Lucknow (PNS): Bahujan Samaj Party received a shot in the arm when over 200 workers who had left the party along with four-time MLA and party s foundermember Indrajeet Saroj about a year back, returned to the party fold on Thursday. The return of these workers is being seen as a big boost for the party in further strengthening its base in the state in the wake of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for next year. Sources said that in August last year, Saroj had quit the BSP alleging that party supremo Mayawati was selling tickets for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Over 200 party workers had also left BSP along with Saroj. However, now realising that only the BSP could do justice to the Dalits and the downtrodden section of society, all these workers returned to the party fold on Thursday, expressing their full faith in Mayawati. Meanwhile, sources in the BSP confirmed that to strengthen the party in Lucknow, Mayawati had replaced three Assembly incharges out of the total nine Assembly constituencies in the state capital. A senior BSP leader claimed that finding that the incharges of Lucknow (North), Lucknow Central and Sarojininagar were not giving their full time to strengthen the party, Mayawati replaced them. It may be mentioned that one of the incharges was also not well so he was replaced on personal request. The former Chief Minister of UP said that several Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs and even ministers had alleged that the officials were taking bribe openly and the Chief Minister was doing nothing and now the Abhishek Gupta incident had proved that the entire administration has crumbled. The corruption charges against the top officer of the Chief Minister s secretariat has vindicated the opposition charge of large-scale irregularities in the state during the present BJP regime, the SP chief Akhilesh also questioned the anti-corruption portal launched by the government and its use. The government claims that no such complaint has been made on this portal but we have specific information that most of the time the portal is closed. So how can people register their complaint? he asked. The SP president also questioned the action against the district magistrates of Gonda and Fatehpur on Thursday. When illegal mining is rampant in several districts, action against these two DMs Defeating BJP in LS poll Bhim Army s top agenda Our organisation played a silent, but very crucial role in Kairana. Our members fanned out across villages and mobilised voters against the BJP. Though we had nothing personal against BJP candidate Mriganka Singh, the party she stood for has spearheaded caste discrimination and atrocities. Vinay Ratan Singh Homecoming for 200 BSP ex-workers for the release of their founder Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, currently lodged in jail after being booked under the National Security Act. Meanwhile, as political battle gains pace in the build-up to 2019, Bhim Army is busy mobilising popular support for Chandrashekhar s case. Prominent human rights organisation, Amnesty International India, has also come forward in support of the jailed leader. Amnesty s programme director Asmita Basu said, Laws are being misused by the Yogi Adityanath government to keep Chandrashekhar behind the bars. Invoking NSA against him is unjustified and he should be released at the earliest. shows that the BJP government has ignored the real problem of illegal mining and is punishing the IAS officers for no fault, he Reacting to the death of patients in Kanpur and Lucknow due to mismanagement of officials, the SP chief said the health system in the state was in a bad state and people were being denied treatment. The free ambulance service has collapsed and people are not getting the facilities launched by our (SP) government, Yadav The government has not taken any lesson from the Gorakhpur incident, where several children had died due to lack of oxygen. The incident in Kanpur is a glaring example as five people died (in government hospital) due to failure of air-conditioners while in Lucknow, strike at the King George s Medical University resulted in death of three children on Thursday, Akhilesh Revoke suspension of DMs, demands UP IAS Assn Lucknow (PNS): A day after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suspended two IAS officers, a delegation of the UP IAS Association met Chief Secretary Rajive Kumar and requested him to withdraw the suspension letters as due procedure was not followed while issuing them. UP IAS Association secretary Alok Kumar said the delegation tried to impress upon the Chief Secretary that the way the two IAS officers were suspended was in violation of Service Rules and thus it suspension order be withdrawn. The two officers, who were posted as district magistrates, are good officers and such stringent action will send a bad message among the bureaucracy, Alok Kumar The Chief Minister had suspended Gonda District Magistrate J Singh and Fatehpur District Magistrate Kumar Prashant over food grain scam and non-purchase of wheat. While suspending both the district magistrates, the Chief Minister had said in a statement that the action was taken against them to send a strong message that his government would not spare even senior officials for any irregularities. Eight junior officers were also suspended on Thursday. Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) / Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: Fax: Allahabad Office: (95532) , , Kanpur Office: (95512) , Varanasi Office: (95542) , Delhi Office: Link House, II Floor, 3 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi Tel: (011) ,

3 city 03 Woes pour in after rain relief PNS n LUCKNOW P eople in the state capital got some respite from the heat after skies opened up on Friday. As heavy rains lashed the city for more than two hours, youngsters took to streets and drenched themselves in the first rains of the season. The regional Met office said these were premonsoon showers and the weather would remain the same for the next 24 hours. The skies would be overcast with intermittent rains in Lucknow and eastern Uttar Pradesh. It predicted gusty winds along with rains in Lucknow, Barabanki, Unnao, Sitapur and Hardoi in the next 24 hours till Saturday. But they also brought in their share of woes with increased humidity levels, waterlogging and the disruption in the electricity supply in several parts of the city. Lucknow received over 58.4 mm rainfall. There were heavy traffic snarls at many places like Hazratganj, Alambagh, Narhi, Indira Nagar, Aliganj and Gomti Nagar with office-goers and commuters facing a tough time. As roads were dug up for sewer pipeline laying to improve the drainage system ahead of the monsoon, many low lying areas turned into pools and people had to wade through them. Angry residents questioned the rationale behind the government s pre-monsoon preparations. Internet connectivity was also been hit at some places due to water logging or snapping of the optical fibre cable. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 35.5 degree Celsius which was 6 degrees above normal and a minimum temperature of 27.2 Commuters wading through waterlogged roads following the downpour in Lucknow on Friday morning degrees Celsius which was one degree above normal. The relative humidity levels which were recorded was 98 per cent. City folks woke up to overcast skies which was later followed by thunderstorm, lightning and rains that was a refreshing change as against the hot mornings which they had been experiencing lately. However, with the skies clearing in the late afternoon, there was an increase in the humidity levels of the city. The maximum temperatures dipped across the state in various districts but Fatehgarh recorded a maximum temperature of 43.5 degree Celsius. The commuters faced problems with waterlogging at many places in the city. Soon after the rains, colourful umbrellas were propped up by vendors for sale on the sides of the road. Power outages were also reported from many localities here. Chief engineer, LESA, cis-gomti, Anshul Aggarwal said that there were several small breakdowns in his areas. These breakdowns happened from 9 am soon after the rains but we repaired them all by 12 noon. These breakdowns occurred in areas of Alambagh, Bangla Bazaar and some other parts of the city he Lightning hurts 2 children Lucknow (PNS): Two children were seriously injured after they were struck by lightning in Phool Mandi area situated behind Imam Bada under the Chowk police station on Friday morning. They were identified as Mohammad Sahil, aged 9, and Jasmin, aged 15. Both are resident of Phool Mandi. They were rushed to Trauma Centre and their condition stated to be serious. The police said that they were among several children who were playing and enjoying the rainfall around 9 am in the locality. The attention of residents was drawn following their screams. Raju, father of Sahil, is running a tea stall there while Lallan, father of Jasmin, is engaged in selling in flowers. Alvida Juma prayers held amid confusion Pioneer Aggarwal said that they had already prepared themselves for the rains but the first rains always exposed areas of weakness. We have all spare wires and insulation material available for carrying out repairs and because of the preparedness, we can handle the breakdowns. Chief engineer, Trans Gomti, said that disruption of supply occurred at Munshipulia which was restored. There was only a five per cent impact of the rains on the supply of the electricity, he added. Damaged road repaired PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW ucknow Metro Rail LCorporation repaired the Shahnajaf road (near St Cathedral School) after rains caused settling of the soil in the area. The road was blocked for repair work and traffic from Hazratganj could not move towards Shahnajaf and vice-versa from morning onwards. An LMRC official said that the road was opened for the public in the evening The staff of the company carrying out the construction at the site, while talking to The Pioneer, said: We spotted some problem in this area in the morning soon after the rains and immediately went in for repair. The road had been recently opened to allow the movement of traffic and had to be closed for repair after the rains, he added. A senior Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) official, while talking to The Pioneer, said that that soil had been swept away because of the sewer line running below the area when the rains occurred. This caused the soil to sink which resulted in this situation, he added. On being asked if this showed laxity on the part of the company doing construction works, he said such things were usual during rains. This normally happens when it rains and cannot be termed laxity, he added. It may be noted that LMRC is carrying out the underground construction of Metro in Hazratganj area which has three underground stations, including one at Hazratganj and others at Sachivalaya and Hussainganj. The main Hazratganj area currently has several traffic diversions imposed for the construction works. Murder case worked out; couple arrested PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW alcoholic and unemployed. He SUICIDE and his wife were disgusted with Harishanker, a resident of he police claimed to have his behaviour as he used to Fatehpur village under Para Tworked out a murder case demand money daily. The police station, hanged himself on Friday by arresting a couple for their involvement in the incident reported at Kanausi area under the Krishna Nagar police station on June 4. They were identified as Dilip, an e-rickshaw-puller and a resident of Kanausi and his wife Kanchan. A wooden stick, blood-stained shirt of the deceased and e-rickshaw used in the crime were also recovered. The deceased was the elder brother of Dilip and both were living in the same house. The couple was nabbed a few metres away from their house when they were trying to flee in the morning. During interrogation, Dilip told the police that the deceased was his elder brother and was an deceased used to pick up quarrel with the couple when they refused to give money to him. This happened so many time in the past. The deceased started beating Kanchan on June 4 last when she refused to give money to him. It was by chance, Dilip was there in the house at that time. They decided to eliminate the elder brother. Both hit him with the wooden stick and thrashed him till he died due to excessive bleeding. They kept elder brother death a secret and later washed away the blood and cleaned the place. They took his body on the e-rickshaw the following morning to be thrown in a canal between Telibagh and Gosainganj areas. in his house. A suicide note was found from his possession in which he stated no one should be held responsible for his death and added he was ending his life on his own volition. He also mentioned in his suicide note that he had taken a huge amount of money as loan which he was unable to repay. The deceased was the linesman in the Electricity department and was survived by his wife and a 20-year-old son. The son told police that his father was suffering from depression for the past six months as he was not able to pay monthly instalment of the loan. He was being treated by the doctor of Lok Bandhu Hospital. People offering Alvida Juma namaz at Asafi Masjid Pioneer PNS n LUCKNOW he Alvida Juma namaz Twas offered by Muslims at various mosques of the city. At Asafi Masjid, the prayers were led by Maulana Kalbe Jawwad. Several rozedaars who offered the namaz said there were confusion and talks of two Alvida Fridays if Eid was celebrated on June 16 (Saturday). However, Imam of Eidgah Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali told The Pioneer that there was no confusion and it was the last Alvida namaz. Even if Eid is celebrated on Saturday, there will be no second Alvida namaz, he asserted. Meanwhile, MA Khan, a resident, said it was announced at the mosque where he offered namaz in Mall Avenue that Alvida namaz might be held for the second time if Eid was celebrated on June 16. Majority of people started fasting from May 17 but there are others who did it from May 18. If Eid falls on June 16, the last Friday will be June 15 and hence the confusion, he elaborated. Masood Abdullah, who offered prayers at Asafi Masjid, said the number of namazis was less as compared t previous years. There was some confusion due to which the attendance was less, he added. However, Farangi Mahali said there was a large crowd for the Alvida namaz at various mosques in the city. There was no confusion and there is still no confusion. If Eid is celebrated on June 16 which is Saturday, the next Friday (June 15) will be taken as a normal Friday and there will be no Alvida namaz, he insisted.

4 a LUCKNOW SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2018 city 04 Alambagh bus stn to be inaugurated on June 12 PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW hief Minister Yogi CAdityanath will inaugurate the state-of-the-art bus station at Alambagh on June 12. Transport Minister Swanantra Deo Singh carried out an inspection of the bus station on Friday. He was accompanied by senior transport officials. Built in a short span of two years and at the cost of Rs 235 crore, this bus station is stated to be one of its kind in the country. Media spokesperson, UPSRTC, Anwar Anzaar, while talking to The Pioneer, said: It is on the lines of the modern transport where the bus station has been connected to Lucknow Metro with the first floor of the station connected with Alambagh Metro station so that the passenger can avail of bus services by disembarking at the Metro station he He added that the station had been built under the PPP model wherein UPSRTC has Transport Minister Swanantra Deo Singh and other officials inspecting Alambagh bus station leased out the land over which the bus station has been constructed for a period of 30 years. The corporation has leased out the land while the company has put in the cost of the construction. While the corporation will collect the revenue from bus operations, the company will collect the revenue from commercial activities at the shops and the mall, said the official. The bus station has a mall and a budget hotel while it will be Wi-Fi-enabled. It will be able to house over 100 buses. There are 50 platforms dk;kzy; v/kh{k.k vfhk;urk fo qr ikjs k.k e.my xks.mk bz&vsumfjax fufonk lwpuk vuqhkoh QeksZa@Bsdsnkjksaaa ls fueufyf[kr dk;z gsrq lhycun fufonk;sa nks Hkkxksa esa fnukad dks cts rd vkefu=r dh tkrh gsa ¼1½ bz&fufonk la[;k 41@bZ0Vh0lh0 ¼xks.Mk½@2018&19% fo qr ikjs k.k [k.m] xks.mk ds vurxzr 132 dsoh0 midsunz eudkiqj ij?kkl dvkbz lecu/kh dk;za /kjksgj jkf k : fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk dks 12%00 cts] fufonk izi= ewy; : ¼dj lfgr½a ¼2½ bz&fufonk la[;k 42@bZ0Vh0lh0 ¼xks.Mk½@2018&19% fo qr ikjs k.k [k.m] xks.mk ds vurxzr 220 dsoh0 midsunz xks.mk ij cl ckj izksvsd ku isuy dh LFkkiuk lecu/kh dk;za /kjksgj jkf k : fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk dks 12%00 cts] fufonk izi= ewy; : ¼dj lfgr½a ¼3½ bz&fufonk la[;k 43@bZ0Vh0lh0 ¼xks.Mk½@2018&19% fo qr ikjs k.k [k.m] xks.mk ds vurxzr 132 ds0oh0 xks.mk&uokcxat ykbu ds Vkoj vffkzax lecu/kh dk;za /kjksgj jkf k : fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk dks 12%00 cts] fufonk izi= ewy; : ¼dj lfgr½a fufonk izi= kqyd,oa bz0,e0mh0 vf/k kklh vfhk;urk] fo qr ikjs k.k [k.m] xks.mk ds csad [kkrs esa ¼cSad dk uke& iatkc us kuy csad] [kkrk la& ] vkbz,q,llh dksm& PUNB ½ vkj0vh0th0,l@,ubz,qvh ds ek/;e ls tek djkbz tkuh gs rfkk csad es a tek fd;s tkus dk lk{; ;Fkk ;kst; ;wvhvkj la[;k] [kkrs dk uke] fuxzrdrkz cs ad vf/kdkjh }kjk glrk{kfjr,oa fufonknkrk }kjk izfrglrk{kfjr is&bu flyi dh LdSUM dkih] bz,emh ds fy, cs ad xkj.vh dh LdS.M dkih] tkjhdrkz csad ds duqjes ku esy dh izfr bz&vs.mj izi=ks a ds lkfk vkwu ykbu viyksm dh tk;sxh] vu;fkk fd flfkfr esa fufonknkrk }kjk izlrqr fufonk dks Lor% fujlr le>k tk;sxka lkfk gh fufonk ds Hkkx&1 esa rduhdh fcm ¼iSu dkmz] budevsdl fjvuz] th0,l0vh0 iathdj.k dh Lo;a izekf.kr Nk;kizfr,ao rduhdh vuqhko br;kfn½] layxu djuk vfuok;z gsa /kjksgj jkf k@fufonk kqyd tek u gksus vfkok fdlh izdkj dh =`fv gksuas ij fufonk dk Hkkx&2 ftlesa njsa nh tkuh gs] ugh [kksyh tk;sxha Hkkx&2 esa njsa,oa okf.kt;d fu;e o 'krsz gksuh pkfg;sa rfkk gkmz dkih dk;kzy; esa tek djus dh vko ;drk ugha gksxha fufonk dk Hkkx izfke,oa f}rh;%&¼izkbtfcm njsa,ao krsz½ fnuakd dks cts rd ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsaa fufonk dk izfke Hkkx fnukad dks cts,oa Hkkx&2 ¼izkbt ikvz½ fufonk kqyd,oa /kjksgj /kujkf k izkfir dh iqf V gksus ds i pkr lkoztfud :i ls [kksyh tk;sxha fufonk [kqyus dh frffk ij vodk k gksus dh flfkfr esa fufonk vxys dk;z fnol ij fu/kkzfjr le; ij [kksyh tk;sxha fufonkvks a dks fcuk dksbz dkj.k crk;s fufonk@fufonkvksa dks vlohsdkj@fohkkftr djus dk vf/kdkj v/kksglrk{kjdrkz ds ikl lqjf{kr jgsxka /kjksgj@fufonk jkf k jfgr o l krz fufonk;sa Lohdkj ugh dh tk;sxha Ñi;k folr`r tkudkjh] Mkmu yksm] vu; la kks/kuksa,ao fufonk izlrqr djus ds fnukad rd foslrkj vkfn ds lecu/k es a Ñi;k dh osclkbzv ij ykwx vku djsaa v/kh{k.k vfhk;urk fo qr ikjs k.k e.my xks.mk la[;k- 578@fo0ik0e0@xks.Mk@bZ&Vs.Mj ua0&41 ls 43@2018&19 Dt: jk"vª fgr esa fctyh cpk;sa for parking of the buses and an underground area for parking of 50 buses. The three-storeyed bus station building will have CCTV cameras and it will be housing the office on the third floor and a food court on the second. The first floor will have a bank, post office, an m0 iz0 ikoj VªkUlfe'ku dkjiksjs'ku fy0 & kqf+) i=& bl dk;zky; }kjk vkeaf=r fufonk l[;k&16@ fo0ik0e0@xks0@ 2018&19] tks fnaukd dks cts [kksyh tkuh gs ds lecu/k es a fueu 'kqf) i= tkjh fd;k tkrk gsa fufonk la 42 % fufonk ds fufonk izi= ds Prequalifying condition work esa The tenderer may have experience of execution of similar nature of work in any transmission utility or any Govt. department ds LFkku ij i- The tenderer must have 02 years experience certificate by Executive Engineer/Superintending Engineer for execution of similar nature of work (Operation and Maintenance of 132 KV or above S/S) in any transmission utility or any Govt. department. ii- The tenderer must have A Class certificate i<+k tk;sa fufonk dh vu; fu;e o 'krsz ;Fkkor jgsaxha v/kh{k.k vfhk;urk fo qr ikjs"k.k e.my 220 ds0oh0 midsunz ifjlj tsy jksm] xks.mk la[;k- 599@fo0ik0e0@xks.Mk@ Dt: ^jk"vª fgr esa fctyh cpk;sa Lkk/kkj.k cyc ds LFkku ij,y0bz0mh0 cyc dk iz;ksx djs a** office for UP Tourism, a cloak room, and air-conditioned waiting rooms, Anzaar added. There are bays for the buses where passengers can alight and nearly 1500 departures have been planned from this station. Incidentally, there will also be a control room at the bus station which will monitor whether or not the bays are empty for the buses, thus helping in streamlining of the movement of buses. He further pointed out that they were making this bus station as the hub of AC buses and those covering a distance of 100 kilometres and more will depart from this station. This will be the primary hub of AC buses with both high-end and middle-seater buses and there will also be arrangements for scanning luggage at the bus station, Anzaar He added that there would be one entry point for the buses and the buses would move out through Cantonment area towards their respective destinations. AC failure in ICU claims 5 lives PTI n KANPUR ive elderly patients died in the FICU of a state-run hospital here during the last two days, with their attendants alleging that AC plant failure was the reason for their deaths, a charge denied by hospital authorities. The incident brought back memories of the Gorakhpur hospital deaths last year allegedly due to shortage of oxygen. While the attendants of patients alleged that the AC plant in the ICU of Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital was not working for the past several days leading to their deaths, the principal of the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Medical College, under which the hospital functions, said the patients died due to serious illness and not because of any AC failure. There were problems in the AC plant yesterday. The problems were fixed, but they again cropped up, Principal Navneet Kumar admitted but emphatically denied the charge that the patients died due to air conditioning problem. The ICU has serious patients but none died due to AC failure, he told reporters here. He said technicians have been asked to rectify the problem in the AC plant at the earliest and a probe has been instituted into the matter. The deceased patients were identified as Indrapal (75) of Nurwal, Ganga Prasad Yadav (75) of Budhi-Khera Unnao, Rasool Baksh (62) of Sandeela Hardoi, Murari Lal (65) of Azamgarh and another person whose identity could not be established immediately. Accepting that there were certain air conditioning problems, ICU in-charge Saurav Agarwal said the AC plant of the medicine department s ICU had shut down just two days back. Superintending in-charge PNS n LUCKNOW he Uttar Pradesh unit of TCongress has demanded immediate removal of Medical and Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh from the Cabinet for the death of patients in state-run hospitals and for making undue demands from the health directorate. The demand for the minister s removal was made by UPCC after another letter of Singh s personal staff was leaked in the social media on Thursday. After several deaths in BRD Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur due to shortage of oxygen, and also in some other government hospitals of the state, now five elderly patients died in the ICU of a state-run hospital in Kanpur because of failure of AC plant on Thursday. This shows that all is not well in the government hospitals, said UPCC spokesman Siddharth Priya Srivastava while attacking Sidharth Nath Singh. In a statement issued of LLR Hospital, chief medical superintendent, power department officials and the agency concerned were informed and the problem was rectified. But the compressor again got burnt on Thursday, Agarwal Although it was hot inside, life-saving machines like ventilators and monitors were not affected and were working properly. Only the AC became defective, he Cong demands removal of Health Minister here on Friday, Srivastava said that on one hand, the government failed to provide proper facilities to hospitals and, on the other, the minister, through his personal staff, was making undue demands from the Health department. The personal staff of Singh first dispatched a letter to the Health Directorate asking it to fix colour LEDs in Singh s house at Gautampalli. The matter was hushed up by the minister, claiming that the letter was wrongly sent by his staff without his knowledge, the UPCC spokesman said, adding that now another letter of same staff was leaked in which he asked the health directorate to arrange a laptop for the minister for official use. Singh should explain under which provision the health directorate would provide him a laptop. The government should take action against the minister for making undue demands through his personal staff, the UPCC spokesman LDA to develop residential scheme on PPP model Lucknow (PNS): The Lucknow Development Authority has invited offers from both national and international companies for development of Mohaan road residential scheme from June 12 to August 7. Senior LDA officials said on Friday that the developers to be selected would be given the rights of sales and marketing as well as development of the area for a period of ten years. The officials said that there would be certain conditions on which the time period would be increased and when that period was over, the developers would have to give an upfront share of revenue for the remaining property for a period of five years. The project is proposed between Mohaan road and Kanpur road and is at a distance of 4 km from Lucknow-Agra Expressway road and 8 km from the airport. The project is being developed for people from all kinds of financial and social categories and includes a residential area of acres while acres is commercial. SCHOOLSCAN SCHOLARSHIP Pradhyuman Yadav of CMS has been offered admission with scholarship by six USA universit i e s. Pradhyuman has been offered admission by Florida Institute of Technology with scholarship of US$ 40,000 while University of Kansas has offered him a scholarship of US$ 36,000 and University of Cincinnati US$ 20,000 for the entire study period of four years. Three others are University of Stirling, University of Sheffield and University of Huddersfield with each offering US$ 8,000. Yogi to kick off mango festival on June 23 PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW hief Minister Yogi CAdityanath will be inaugurating the mango festival on June 23 and Governor Ram Naik will be the chief guest at the valedictory function. This was disclosed by director of Horticulture Raghvendra Pratap Singh at a press conference on Friday. He said that the mango fest would help in the promotion of the coloured varieties of mango which had emerged lately and were becoming popular. Mango is the king of fruits and Uttar Pradesh produces 45 lakh metric tonnes and has several varieties which will be highlighted in the show. Talking to The Pioneer, he said that over 1,200 farmers from all parts of the state would be coming to the state capital for showcasing the mangoes which were grown in their areas. An exhibition of mangoes will be organised to showcase all their varieties at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here and we will also be able to work out as to which variety of mango can be grown in which area, he He pointed out that the Horticulture department was promoting the cultivation of mango in the state by providing subsidies in various schemes. Raghvendra Pratap Singh said that the farmers would be informed about the high-density orchards which were easy to manage and could double their income and were being promoted by the Central government. These orchards have plants which are planted in close proximity and can be Lucknow (PNS): The board of directors of LMRCL, under the chairmanship of Durga Shanker Mishra, secretary of Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), has approved its reconstitution as Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) Limited for faster implementation of Metro rail projects in various cities of UP through one special purpose vehicle (SPV). The board will remain same as of LMRCL, comprising 13 directors - five nominated by the state government, five representing the Centre while three whole-time directors of finance, works and rolling stock departments. While the SPV is headed by the chairman who is managed through the use of the latest technology, he added. The director said that the state government was also promoting the clustering of mango belts which had the facility of mango pack houses along with other provisions. Director, CISH, Shailendra Rajan said that the institute would be displaying mango varieties representing different regions of the country along with some of the unique ones which had an exotic origin. Varieties developed from CISH like Ambika and Arunika are becoming one of the most attracting exhibits of several stalls due to their very attractive appearance in shows. Lesser known varieties but unique in colour, size and appearance will be displayed to show the variability which exists in the CISH collection as the Institute has the largest collection of mango varieties. The Institute has shared mango varieties not only with the government departments but also with the farmers and many of the collections of farmers serve as a safety duplicate as the variety, he CISH will be organising a technical session wherein many of the farmers who are attending the mango show will be benefited with the recent Centre's nominee - secretary of Union housing and urban ministry - the managing director is state's head of SPV. The newly formed SPV approved the DPR of Lucknow's second phase Metro Route - East-West Corridor - and gave nod to the creation of a new post and selection of dk;kzy; mi funs'kd ¼fuekZ.k½ jkt; d`f"k mriknu e.mh ifj"kn] m0iz0] fdlku e.mh Hkou] fohkwfr [k.m] xkserh uxj] y[kuåa i=kad % fu0y0@¼fufonk izdk0½@2018&348 fnukad vfr vyidkyhu fufonk lwpuk ¼bZ&Vs.Mj½ fueufyf[kr dk;ksza gsrq bz&fufonk;sa forrh; :i ls lqn`<+] vuqhkoh rfkk e.mh ifj"kn esa flfoy dk;ksza gsrq iathd`r Bsdsnkjksa ls fnukad dks vijkug 3-00 cts bz&vs.mj ds ek/;e ls vkuykbzu dk;kzy; mi funs'kd ¼fuekZ.k½] e.mh ifj"kn] fdlku e.mh Hkou] xkserh uxj y[kuå esa [kksyh tk;sxha mdr fufonk;sa fnukad dks vijkug 3-00 cts rd osclkbv ij vkuykbzu Hkjdj MkmuyksM dh tk ldrh gsa fufonknkrk dks fnukad vijkug 5-00 cts rd lelr fcm MkD;wesUV,oa iathdj.k ls lacaf/kr lelr vko';d izi= lfgr tks osclkbv ij viyksm fd;s x;s gsa mudh ewy izfr dk;kzy; mi funs'kd ¼fuekZ.k½ jkt; d`f"k mriknu e.mh ifj"kn] fdlku e.mh] Hkou] xkserhuxj y[kuå ds dk;kzy; esa tek djuk vfuok;z gksxka dk;ksza dk fooj.k fueu izdkj gs %& Ø0 dk;z dk uke fufonk dk ewy; 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y[kuå ls tkjh fd;k x;k gks] ds lkfk # dk jlhnh fvdv yxkdj tek djuk vfuok;z gksxk vu;fkk fufonk ij fopkj fd;k tkuk lahko ugha gksxka 4- lelr VSDl,oa Je fohkkx ds fu;eksa ds vuqlkj dvksrh Bsdsnkj ds ns;dksa ls dh tk;sxha vuqca/k xbu ds i'pkr vunj Je fohkkx ls Jfedksa ds izek.k&i= ;Fkk'kh?kz miyc/k djkuk vfuok;z gksxk vu;fkk dh flfkfr esa xfbr vuqcu/k ij ns;d ls fu;ekuqlkj dvksrh dj yh tk;sxha 5- bz&fufonknkrk ckj dkmafly dk lnl; ugha gksuk pkfg,a ;fn bl ckr dh iqf"v Hkfo"; esa gksrh gs rks muds fo#) dk;zokgh dh tk;sxha,sls fufonknkrk dks fufonk Mkyus dh vuqefr ugha gksxh ftudk lxk laca/kh ¼izFke Cyd fjysvsm½] e.mh ifj"kn esa dk;zjr gksxka 6- osclkbzv ls MkmuyksM fd;s x;s QkeZ esa fdlh Hkh rjg dh fhkuurk dh flfkfr esa dk;kzy; esa vuqjf{kr fufonk QkeZ dh ewy izfr gh eku; gksxka 7-,d ;k lelr bz&fufonk;s a fcuk dkj.k cuk;s fujlr djus dk iw.kz vf/kdkj mi funs'kd ¼fuekZ.k½ jkt; d`f"k mriknu e.mh ifj"kn] m0iz0] y[kuå dks gksxka 8- bz&fufonk l{ke Lrj ls fufonk Lohd`rksijkUr vuqcu/k xbu dh frffk rd eku; gksxha 9-,sls jktif=r vfhk;urk@vf/kdkjh] ftudk jkt; ljdkj vfkok dsunz ljdkj dh lsok ls lsokfuo`rr gq, nks o"kz ls de vof/k iw.kz dh gks] bz&fufonk Mkyus dk vf/kdkj ugha gksxka 10- 'kklukns'k la[;k 4435@N% & iq&14&06&50¼7½@2006&fnukad ds vuqlkj ftykf/kdkjh egksn; ls fuxzr uohure pfj= izek.k i=,oa gsfl;r izek.k i= rfkk dks"kkxkj }kjk tkjh # ds LVSEi isij ij izk:i Vh&6 dk QeZ@Bsdsnkj }kjk tkjh fd;k x;k 'kifk i= layxu djuk vfuok;z gksxk rfkk iathdj.k iqflrdk ds rkfydk la[;k 09 ds vuqlkj #0 ds LVkEi isij ij mijksdrkuqlkj uksvjh }kjk izekf.kr 'kifk i= izlrqr djuk vfuok;z gksxk] blh izdkj fufonknkrk dks Vh&4] Vh&5] Vh&6,oa ftyk dks"kkxkj ls izkir 100 #i;s ds LVSEi isij ij uksvjh }kjk izekf.kr 'kifk i= layxu djuk Hkh vfuok;z gksxka 11- fufonk ds le;10 izfr'kr tekur /kujkf'k dk,q0mh0vkj0 tks mi funs'kd ¼fuekZ.k½ jkt; d`f"k mriknu e.mh ifj"kn] miz0 y[kuå ds inuke ls cu/kd gks] tek djuk vfuok;z gksxk rhkh fufonk ij fopkj djuk lahko gksxk vu;fkk Mkyh x;h fufonk ij fopkj ugha fd;k tk;sxka 12- dk;z {kerk ls vf/kd dh fufonk Mkyus ij fufonk ij dksbz fopkj ugha fd;k tk;sxka 13- ifj"kn }kjk fu/kkzfjr vkxf.kr ykxr ls 10 izfr'kr ls vf/kd de njsa izkir gksus dh n'kk esa fufofnknkrk dks 10 izfr'kr tekur /kujkf'k ds vfrfjdr fu;ekuqlkj tekur /kujkf'k vuqcu/k xbu ds le; 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lfpo m0iz0 'kklu }kjk fuxzr vkbz0vh0,oa bysdvªkfudl vuqhkkx&2] ds 'kklukns'k la[;k&3@2017@1067@78&2&2017&42 vkbz0vh0@2017 fnukad 12 ebz 2017 rfkk eq[; lfpo m0iz0 'kklu ds }kjk vkbz0vh0,oa bysdvªkfudl vuqhkkx&2] ds 'kklukns'k la[;k&4036@23&7&18 fnukad 03 tuojh 2018 }kjk bz&vs.mfjax ds ek/;e ls m0iz0 'kklu }kjk iqu% fn'kk funsz'k tkjh fd;s x;s gsa] ds vuqikyu esa ifj"kn ds dk;kzy; Kki i=kad d0ls0@30@2017&364 fnukad ,oa vkns'k i=kad eq0vfhk0@bz&vs.mfjax@2017&784 fnukad ds ek/;e ls e.mh ifj"kn m0iz0 esa fnukad ls lelr dk;ksza gsrq bz&izksd;ksjes.v@bz&vs.mfjax ;Fkkor ykxw gsa blh Øe esa ifj"kn vkns'k i=kad eq0vfhk0@bz&vs.mfjax ¼8042½@2018&3284 fnukad rfkk eq0vfhk0@bz&vs.mfjax@2018&3298 fnukad }kjk iqu% fn'kk funsz'k tkjh fd;s x;s gsaa 18- e.mh ifj"kn dh iathdj.k fu;ekoyh esa nh x;h O;oLFkk ds vuq:i QeZ@Bsdsnkj }kjk fd;s x;s fuekz.k dk;z@dk;ksz@d`r;ksa ls e.mh ifj"kn dks gqbz {kfr@gkfu dh olwyh eamh vf/kfu;e dh /kkjk&20 ds vurxzr jktlo olwyh dh Hkkafr QeZ@Bsdsnkj ls dh tk;sxha 19- 'ks"k fu;e,oa 'krsz dk;kzy; es a vkdj ns[kh,oa i<+h tk ldrh gsa technologies and tips for managing pests and diseases. There is a lot of knowledge update during the seminar as the Institute disseminates technologies through farmers interaction. Mango show provides a suitable platform for such interactions and cross-learning. The institute will be displaying technology related with value-added products and scientists will be involved in judging these exhibits, he He further pointed out that the Institute had linkages with a good number of farmers in the state and they were being encouraged by being provided know-how for the display of fruits. They also benefit by seeing the fruits themselves for adding varieties to their orchards and thus the collection process grows further. During the show, farmers are linked with the purchasers and some of the unique variety lovers who used to attend the events in the festival due to their love for mangoes. Kitchen garden lovers also get information about the special varieties of mangoes. Thus the Institute plays an important role in making the mango festival successful at the technological, social and commercial levels, he LMRC expands its horizon Director (Operations) for ensuring smooth and effective operations of the Metro system. Selection of a director for operations post was urgently required as Lucknow Metro is scheduled to commission the entire 23 km of Phase I Corridor from Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport to Munshipulia by April Officials said that instead of making separate Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for different Metro projects in Uttar Pradesh, it was better to make one SPV that could oversee all projects in the state. This, apart from saving cost and time, will also ensure faster and efficient implementation of other Metro projects in the state. mi funs'kd ¼fuekZ.k½ y[kuå

5 nation 05 2 more joint logistics hubs for forces soon PNS n NEW DELHI n effort to rationalise Imanpower and resources, the armed forces have gone in for joint logistical nodes or hubs in some parts of the country. Two such centres will come up shortly in Mumbai and Guwahati wherein the Navy and the Army will be lead agencies. Explaining the concept of these centres, officials said here on Friday till now the three Services used to procure their own rations, critical spares and ammunition for basic weapons like rifles used by the Navy, IAF and Army thereby multiplying chains of supply or logistics besides increasing manpower. The need for enhancing inter-operability and synergy amongst the three Services was a long standing issue and the first decision in principle to have a joint logistical node was taken in Thereafter, a study by the Services was conducted and report submitted in It proposed setting up 12 such stations like in Jodhpur, Ambala, Chennai and Port Blair amongst others. The first station was opened early last year in Port DEEPAK KUMAR JHA n NEW DELHI endriya Vidyalaya students Kand teachers are all set to fly, literally! With railway passenger fares, including the expensive flexi-fare system, burning a deep hole in the pocket, the HRD Ministry has decided to allow KV students and staff use air services instead. Some conditions have been laid out, though. The Kendriya Vidyalayas Sangathan (KVS) can extend air travel facility to its students and teachers attending/participating in different activities organised by the Central schools authority at the national level in different parts of the country. The Ministry s decision of allowing KVS to use air facility will lead to its other autonomous bodies like Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya too extending similar facilities to its students and teachers. PNS n NEW DELHI he world is facing a serious Tmental health crisis. A little under 8,00,000 people commit suicide each year; there are not enough health workers trained in mental health; there is poor investment in community-based mental health facilities and just a few countries have suicide prevention strategies. Painting a gloomy picture of the mental health scenario, the WHO Mental Health Atlas 2017 released recently also noted that the Government expenditure on mental health is less than 1 US Dollar per capita in low and lower middle income countries whereas high-income countries spend more than $80. The first station was opened early last year in Port Blair after the Chiefs of Staff Committee gave the go ahead in The successful venture prompted the Ministry to open two centres in Mumbai and Guwahati Blair which houses the lone Tri- Service Command after the Chiefs of Staff Committee gave the go ahead in The successful venture there prompted the Defence Ministry to open two centres in Mumbai The majority of spending is going to mental hospitals, which serve a small proportion of those who need care. In low-income countries, the rate of mental health workers can be as low as 2 per 1,00,000 population, compared with more than 70 in highincome countries. This is in stark contrast with needs, given that 1 in every 10 person is estimated to need mental health care at any one time, as per the report. Also, despite a slight increase in the number of countries reporting having a national suicide prevention strategy since the Mental Health Atlas 2014, only a third of upper-middle and highincome countries reported having such a strategy, with just 10 and Guwahati. Since the Navy s procurement procedures are matured, it will procure all the items needed for the Army and IAF in Mumbai, they It will free up the manpower now engaged in the Army supply depots leading to rationalisation and better deployment of the soldiers, they Given the vast infrastructure of the Army in the North- East, it will be the premier agency for all procurements of general nature and the IAF will source them through the Army, they The remaining stations will become functional in a phased manner in the next two to three years. per cent of low and lowermiddle income countries with a strategy, the WHO report added. In a statement it said that there is a global shortage of J GOPIKRISHNAN n NEW DELHI s the Aircel-Maxis scam Aprobe involving former Finance Minister P Chidambaram gains momentum, frivolous petitions against the Enforcement Directorate s Investigating Officer Rajeshwar Singh have once again started surfacing. This continues despite Supreme Court s repeated orders against such petitions. This time, on the day (June 5), the Investigating Officer along with his team was interrogating Chidambaram, a new petition was filed against Singh before the Vacation Bench of the Supreme Court. The petition was a rehash of the contents of the old petitions, which had led the Supreme Court to take strong exception to the earlier petitioners. The Vacation Bench headed by Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Ashok Bhushan directed the new petition to be tagged before the 2G Bench of Supreme Court on its next hearing on July 3. The new petitioner Rajneesh Kapur s petition made the same old allegations that were earlier health workers trained in mental health and a lack of investment in community-based mental health facilities. The revelations are based on data provided by 177 WHO rejected by the 2G Bench of the Supreme Court. Apart from the old rejected allegations that Rajeshwar Singh amassed thousands of crores of assets, the new petition also went on with a new allegation that the probe officer is a threat to sovereignty of the Nation. The threat to sovereignty of the country complaint was earlier filed by anonymous petitioners to the Finance Ministry, when Singh s promotion as Additional Director was due. A Bench headed by Justice Chelameswar had in October last year barred the Government from proceeding on this frivolous complaint. In KV students to fly as rail gets expensive! HRD Ministry nod to KVS to extend air travel facility to students and teachers attending/ participating in national level activities For the overall development of children, KVS organises various national level events in the field of sports, arts, culture, science and social Sciences in every academic year. For this reason, students have to travel long distances within the country. But taking a train was not only becoming increasingly expensive, its inordinate delays too were becoming routine. Hence, this decision was taken. This will also give an opportunity to students from all backgrounds to travel by air and realize their childhood dreams, said a senior HRD Ministry official. The official pointed out that the Indian Railways had surreptitiously increased its fares during the last couple of years. Fares have almost doubled and on top of it, they have the flexi fare system that puts big a financial burden on passengers. Traveling by train in recent times has become uneconomical. The average File photo Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday called on Bishop of Delhi Warris K Masih at his residence here as part of the BJP's contact for support' campaign ahead of 2019 general elections and shared the achievements of the Modi Government in the last four years. Naqvi said he sought Masih's blessings for development, peace and prosperity in the country, besides apprising him of the achievements of the Government PTI Frivolous petitions against ED officer surface again on day of PC s grilling fare of `1000 (approximately), which we used to pay a couple of years ago, now stands at `1700. A Garib Rath fare used to be a maximum of `675 two years ago but it is `980 now. They have also withdrawn the concessions between the age group of 5 and 12 years which means, the full fare as that of an adult has to be paid, explained the official. As per the order, Deputy Commissioner of the concerned KVS Region will assess and allow the air travel in cases where cost of air travel (by any airlines operating in the sector) of the contingent is less or equal to the total cost of travel of the contingent by Railway 3 AC/separate Rail Coach fare plus DA thereon of estimated journey period. The first condition for availing air travel is that the distance between the KV (starting point) and the venue (reaching point) of the event should be more than 500 Km. Secondly, in case of exigency, natural hazards, cancellation of trains, bad weather conditions and non availability of confirmed tickets in III AC/II AC, they may decide to go by Air. The escort teachers/officials accompanying the participating students will also be entitled for air journey at par ED Joint Director Rajeshwar Singh with participating students. The new provisions laid down by KVS will be a great relief for the KVs located at difficult stations and remote areas and save a lot of time, said a senior HRD Ministry official. The first of this kind experience is to be seen in the forthcoming National Sports Meet. The KVS on Friday also launched a portal for this Meet as yet another Digital initiative. The complete data management of this mega event will be digitised from this year including travel, lodging, boarding, eligibility certificates, I-cards and points tally of the participants. Talking to The Pioneer, Singh said the he will file his version before the 2G Bench of the Supreme Court seeking strict action against these repeated offenders trying to intimidate him for the past eight years his petition to the SC, Singh alleged the complaints were generated at the behest of Chidambaram s son Karti and the fake complaint was made days after the ED attached the latter s bank accounts in connection with the two million dollar bribe in Aircel-Maxis probe. The PMO had directed intelligence agencies to probe into the origin of the fake petitions. The agencies reported that certain bureaucrats and power brokers were attempting to intimidate the officer who is leading the probes against many corrupt politicians and corporate bigwigs. The fake complaints started against Singh days after he summoned controversial lobbyist Niira Radia in October But in mid 2011, the PNS n NEW DELHI enior officials of India and SMyanmar met for the 17th round of Foreign Office Consultations on Thursday during which various aspects of bilateral relations including security concerns were discussed at length. The two sides also discussed developments in the Rakhine State and Myanmar s efforts for repatriation of Rohingya refugees. The Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale while the Myanmar side was led by U Myint Thu, Permanent Secretary, Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said that during the discussions, the two sides reviewed the complete range of bilateral relations, including high level visits, security and defence related issues, boundary matters and border management, trade and commerce, development cooperation, connectivity, cultural and consular matters. They also member states, representing 97 per cent of the world's population and measure the extent to which countries are strengthening leadership and governance for mental health and providing comprehensive mental health and social care. It also took into account the strategies that were implemented to promote mental health and prevent problems, and strengthen evidence and research as outlined in WHO's Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan Less than half of the 139 countries that have instituted mental health policies and plans, have these aligned with human rights conventions which stress the importance of transition from psychiatric institution to communitybased services and the participation of people with mental disorders in decisions concerning them. And all too often, when mental health plans are made, they are not supported by adequate human and financial resources. The global rate of beds in mental hospitals was Supreme Court quashed all allegations and directed the Government Departments not to entertain such frivolous petitions without its approval. The court also slapped contempt charges against the petitioners Sahara Group owner Subrata Roy and journalists Upendra Rai and Subodh Jain. In December 2013, the Finance Ministry under Chidambaram ordered relieving Singh from the ED and his repatriation to his parent cadre in UP Police. It also ordered withholding his promotion. This strange order came after the UPSC absorbed the officer permanently in ED. On BJP leader Subramanian Swamy s petition, Supreme Court ordered the Centre to absorb Singh permanently in ED within three days. But the Finance Ministry continued services cases against him in all forums up to Supreme Court till 2016 only to lose all of them. After seven years, Upendra Rai again filed a similar petition against the Investigating Officer. This petition was filed in March 2018, a week after the 2G Bench ordered the CBI and ED to finish the probe in Prevent excessive exposure to illumination PNS n NEW DELHI currently accessed in Strong Operating Procedures (SOPs) Trail units, produce a printout Rooms till 45 days Election regarding Do s and Don t s and of the vote cast using an EVM, ollowing the widespread Petition period is over), the EC have also formed a Committee which can be shown to the Fcomplaints about the said in a statement. to examine further strengthening voter to dispel any doubts. VVPAT machines malfunctioning in the Kairana and Bhandara-Gondiya bypolls, the Election Commission (EC) has The EC had earlier set up two special teams to probe incidence of VVPAT glitches during the recently held of the SOPs. According to EC, the Commission has also decided to make the first level checking This printout is then deposited in a box and can be used to resolve any dispute regarding the election. asked the manufacturers, BEL Kairana and Bhandara- process stricter. The Last month, the and ECIL, and the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) to suggest additional design improvements as well as suggestions on any layout changes in the polling stations to prevent any excessive exposure to illumination in future. Manufacturers have also been asked to do a detailed technical analysis once the VVPATs are free from Election Petition (as these cannot be Gondiya bypolls. The preliminary investigation reports submitted to the Commission, have indicated two major technical failure of contrast sensor and failure of length sensor in the VVPAT machines, for malfunctioning of VVPAT machines. This was caused due excessive exposure to illumination in the Polling Station. The Commission has decided to reiterate its Standard Commission has also adopted the hardware improvement recommended by TEC to prevent auto shutdown of VVPATs due to excessive light. The Commission has directed that the training of the polling officials be further strengthened and streamlined, so that failures due to human errors are minimized, it VVPAT units, also known as Voter Verified Paper Audit Commission had to order reelection in 73 polling stations of the Kairana seat, 49 in Bhandara-Gondiya and one in Nagaland after a large number of VVPATs malfunctioned during the polling on May 28. The repoll was ordered on the ground that the poll officers took inordinately long to replace the malfunctioning VVPATs, which may have affected the voter turnout. reported to be six times more (11.3 per 1,00,000 population) than the rate of beds in the psychiatric wards of general hospitals. Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of WHO's Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse said that the latest edition of the Mental Health Atlas provides more evidence that scale-up of resources for mental health is not happening quickly enough. In India too the scenario is dismal. An estimated 6-7 per cent of the country's population suffers from some kind of mental illness; in 1-2 per cent of the population, the illness is acute. There are just about 5,000 psychiatrists and less than 2,000 clinical psychologists in India. Aircel-Maxis scam within six months. The main petitioners, Swamy, Prashant Bhushan and Singh s advocate Mukul Rohtagi, asked the Supreme Court to verify the merit of the allegations and impose strict actions against Rai, who on Friday got bail after 40 days of imprisonment for money laundering and creation of fake documents. Rai had withdrawn the complaints, when he was caught for rehashing the old rejected petitions. Swamy and Bhushan sought action against Rai for frivolous petitions to intimidate the investigating officers in 2G scam. This case is now posted for July 3 before the 2G Bench of Supreme Court headed by Justice AK Sikri. The current petition filed before the Vacation Bench also relies on the complaints of Subodh Jain, who faced contempt of court for the frivolous allegations in Talking to The Pioneer, Singh said the he will file his version before the 2G Bench of Supreme Court seeking strict action against these repeated offenders trying to intimidate him for the past eight years. India, Myanmar hold 17th round of consultations EC FINDS CAUSE OF VVPAT MALFUNCTIONING INDIA IS HELPING MYANMAR WITH FINANCIAL AID FOR THE RESETTLEMENT OF ROHINGYAS FOLLOWING THEIR REPATRIATION Global shortage of health workers on mental health: WHO exchanged views on subregional, regional and global issues of mutual interest. India has major concerns with regard to security in the bordering areas with Mayanmar. Last month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her twoday visit to Myanmar had extensive discussions with her counterpart on this issue and also that of repatriation of Rohingya refugees. India is helping Myanmar with financial aid for the resettlement of Rohingyas following their repatriation. INSHORT BHIMA-KOREGAON: CONG SEEKS PROBE New Delhi: The Congress on Friday demanded a thorough and fair probe into the Bhima- Koregaon violence after five activists with alleged Maoist links were arrested in connection with it, and said the BJP's doublespeak on the matter had been exposed. Congress communications incharge Randeep Surjewala said that BJP's duplicity and doublespeak exposed again in Bhima-Koregaon, citing the remarks of Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, who termed the arrests of Dalit activists in connection with the incident as an injustice and said there was no relation of Elgaar Parishad with violence. PASSIVE SMOKING DECLINES IN INDIA New Delhi: Exposure to second-hand smoke remains a major concern in India even though there has been a reduction in such exposure at home and public places since , as per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2 (GATS 2), released here by the Health Ministry. The survey showed that little more than one-third (35 per cent) of the non-smokers were exposed to second hand smoke (SHS) at home in India. NOT URGENT, SAYS SC ON PLEA OVER K TAKA GOVT New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to accord an urgent hearing to a plea which questioned Government formation in Karnataka on the grounds that Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's party JD(S) had not emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly elections.

6 nation 06 Firing at Mitsubishi s HR head in Gurugram Sacked employee, aide arrested STAFF REPORTER n Gurugram A day after the General Manager Human Resources of Mitsubishi Corporation Private Limited, a Japanese company in Gurugram, was shot at, the police have arrested the two accused persons. One of the accused was sacked by the victim over his alleged unprofessional behaviour, officials The accused persons were produced before the district court on Friday and sent to three days police remand for further questioning. The police said further efforts are on to apprehend others who were involved in the crime. Those arrested have been identified as Dayachand Master and Joginder. The matter is under investigation we are questioning Joginder whether he shot the victim or he had hired someone. Also, hunts are on to nab other culprits, Arun Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Bilaspur police station Both men have been named in the FIR registered at Unemployed alumnus jumps to death from IIT-Delhi building STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI former student of Indian AInstitute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi ended his life on Friday by jumping from a building on the campus in south Delhi, police Identified as Anshuman Gupta (31), he was unemployed and stayed with his family in Greater Kailash area of South east Delhi. A police official said that they have not recovered any suicide note. Anshuman, who had completed B.Tech in 2010 from IIT Delhi, was found lying in a pool of blood around 11 am after he jumped off the seventh floor of a campus building. Anshuman was declared brought dead at the nearby hospital, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South west district, Milind Mahadeo Dumbere He was unemployed and had left his house early morning after telling his family that he was going to meet some college friend, the DCP We are trying to ascertain the reason for his extreme step. Prima facie, it appears that he was disturbed over his job. We are questioning his family members, the officer added. the Bilaspur police station on Thursday by the family of the victim, Binesh Sharma, who is the HR head at Mitsubishi Corporation's. Sharma's family alleged that Binesh had been receiving threats from Joginder and his friends. Joginder worked as an apprentice at the company and had been sacked three months ago on the grounds of indiscipline and unprofessional attitude. Joginder, Dayanand Master, Krishan Kumar along with others had threatened my son' on Wednesday evening near Bilaspur on Delhi- Gurugram National Highway. They threatened him with dire 2 gunrunners held, 31 country-made pistols recovered STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI elhi Police s Special Cell D(anti-terrorist unit) on Friday claimed to have arrested two gunrunners and recovered 31 country-made pistols from them. They were intercepted on the basis of a specific information that the gang was in touch with criminals and gangsters active in the Delhi and National Capital Region. The seized weapons were meant to be supplied to the gangs. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Special Cell, Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said, Mohammad Azam Saifi, 52, and his accomplice Akbar, 28, are natives of Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, and were arrested during raids in Delhi and Meerut on Tuesday and Thursday. Akbar was arrested on a tip-off on Tuesday when he visited east Delhi's Loni flyover area to deliver a consignment of illegal firearms to a contact Akram. Akbar was asked to surrender but he pulled out a pistol in a bid to escape but was overpowered, As many as 24 more pistols concealed in a cloth were seized from him, Yadav Akbar told police that he worked as a courier for a gang led by Saifi who, he said, was a blacksmith and manufactured illegal firearms at his Meerut residence. consequences if Singh was not reinstated, claimed Sharma's father. Apart from these two men, other accomplices who were involved in the incident will also be identified and arrested soon. Strict action will be initiated against all those responsible, the SHO, Meanwhile, Gurugram's Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh along with the Commissioner of Police Sandeep Khirwar visited the victim on Friday morning at Rockland Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Speaking about the incident, the DC said, We will focus on ensuring that relations between the labour and company management remain healthy. So that such type of incidents could not take place in the future. It was an unfortunate incident. The incident occurred at around 8.30 am on Thursday when Binesh Sharma was going towards his company located near Pathreri village in a car on the Bilaspur-Tauru road. Two persons on a bike had opened fire at him. Despite injuries, the victim managed to drive to his office where his college admitted him to Rockland Hospital. However Binesh is still undergoing treatment, doctors have said he is out of danger. J&K border residents to get 60 pc reservation in 5 new IRP battalions PTI n SRINAGAR nion Home Minister URajnath Singh on Friday said the Centre had decided to raise five Indian Reserve Police (IRP) battalions in which people from border areas of Jammu and Kashmir would be given 60 per cent reservation. The minister was speaking after meeting people living in border areas in the frontier Kupwara district, on the second day of his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Singh reached the north Kashmir district this morning and later, took a flight to the state s Jammu region, officials He was accompanied by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh to Kupwara, they We have decided to create two battalions from the people living from zero to 10 km distance from the border, and also create five IRP battalions having over 5,000 personnel in which 60 per cent reservation will be given to people living in zero to 10 km range from the border, Singh Besides, two female battalions will also be created, he The Home Minister met several local delegations, including that from the Gujar and the Bakerwal communities, at the Dak Bungalow, the officials The delegations informed him about the initiatives taken by the state as well as the central government, they They also talked about what needs to be done in this area, the minister Singh also visited the District Police Lines in Kupwara where he paid tributes to police personnel killed in the line of duty, the officials He also addressed police and CRPF jawans at the police lines. Talking to reporters in Kupwara, Singh reiterated that a decision on extension of Centre s unilateral ceasefire would be taken after reviewing the security situation in the Valley. We will have a meeting after a few days and will review the whole security situation. We will also talk to some of the representatives from here to take a decision, he Culling of stray dogs in UP: SC refuses to pass interim stay PTI n NEW DELHI he Supreme Court on TFriday refused to pass any interim order on a plea seeking a direction to authorities to stop alleged rampant culling of stray dogs in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh following deaths of several children in the region. A vacation bench comprising Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Ashok Bhushan said the matter would be heard in July. The counsel appearing for one of the parties urged the bench to pass an interim order directing authorities to stop culling of dogs in the district. We are not issuing any direction now. We will see it in July, the bench observed. At the outset, the counsel alleged that dogs were illegally culled at Sitapur due to fear psychosis which was created by the administration as the district magistrate had given statements that children were killed by stray dogs. The lawyer argued that one of the committees, which had gone to Sitapur to look into IANS n CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI ithin hours of a contro- generated by the Wversy issuing of a notification asking sportspersons to deposit onethird of their earnings with the Haryana Sports Council, the State Government put the notification on hold. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar tweeted that he had put the notification on hold and called for the file I have asked for the relevant file of Sports Department to be shown to me & the notification dated 30th April to be put on hold till further orders.we are proud of the immense contribution by our sportspersons & I assure them of a just consideration of all issues affecting them, Khattar tweeted on Friday evening. The Haryana Government drew flak from the sporting fraternity over its move to seek one-third earnings of its sportspersons who have government jobs. The State Government had earlier on Friday defended its decision to do so. The notification issued by the Sports and Youth Welfare Department Principal Secretary Ashok Khemka had directed sportspersons from Haryana to hand over one third of their earnings from professional events and endorsement to the sports council. One third of the income of sportspersons from professional sports or commercial endorsement will be deposited with the Haryana State Sports Council. The money shall be used for development of sports in the State, the order signed by Khemka on April 27 read. Though the move has drawn widespread condemnation from athletes, Sports Minister Anil Vij as well as Khemka, a senior IAS officer, defended the move. There is nothing new in this decision. It is an old government rule. Under Rule 56, if a government employee earns professional or commercial income, he has to deposit one third of the earning with the state government. We had allowed (international boxer) Vijender Singh to play professionally. The (Punjab and Haryana) High Court asked us reasons behind the death of children, had said that none of the children were killed by dogs and perhaps some wild animals were responsible for these deaths. Earlier, one of the lawyers in the case had told the apex court that there were two conflicting reports on deaths of children in Sitapur district. One report said that children have died after being bitten by wild animals like hyenas, while the district magistrate s report suggested that deaths have occurred due to dog bites, the lawyer had The court had earlier agreed to hear the plea filed by Gargi Srivastava against alleged rampant culling of stray dogs in Sitapur. The plea has sought a direction to the state government to ensure that no more killings of community dogs take place in the state as an after-effect of death of 13 children in the past seven months in Sitapur unless it was established that dogs were behind such attacks. According to the plea, the attacks have increased due to lack of proper and timely efforts by district administration and magnitude of the problem grew this month when unconfirmed reports of attacks being carried out by stray dogs appeared in the media after statements given by the district magistrate. It has claimed that the top court, in its November 18, 2015 order, had categorically directed all local authorities and panchayats not to kill stray dogs. The plea has sought a direction to the state government to take immediate action and lodge FIRs against individuals who were involved in aiding and abetting the killing of stray dogs without following due process of law and also initiate inquiry against erring officials of the district administration. Haryana puts notification on hold after controversy to frame rules in this regard. We have brought out the rules now, Vij said on Friday. Khemka said the notification had been issued after the state gave an assurance to the court that the Haryana government would bring a policy visa-vis those who play professional sports. Normally, Government employees are not allowed to play professional sports. The money will be used for the benefit of sportspersons only, he On the other hand, star wrestler Geeta Phogat told a TV channel: This new rule makes a mockery of sportspersons. There is no such rule for cricketers who earn much more than those from other sports. Cricketers make a lot of money from endorsement but those from other sports like boxing, kabaddi, and wrestling do not earn much. If we give up a third of our earnings, what will be left for us? she asked. International sportspersons like wrestler Sushil Kumar and others have also questioned Haryana's move to take away the hard-earned money of sportspersons. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 MAOISTS PLOTTED... Targeting his roadshows could be an effective strategy. We collectively believe that survival of the party is supreme to all sacrifices. The letter also talks about the requirement of Rs 8 crore to procure M-4 rifles as an annual supply and four lakh rounds of ammunition. Among other things, the letter states, Modi-led Hindu fascist regime is bulldozing its way into the lives of indigenous adivasis, in spite of big defeats like Bihar and West Bengal. Modi has successfully established BJP Government in more than 15 States. If this pace continues then it would mean immense trouble for the party on all fronts. Greater suppression of dissent and more brutal form of Mission 2016 (OGH). Com Kisan and few other comrades have proposed concrete steps to end Modi-raj. Defeating Hindu fascism has been our core agenda and a major concern for the party... We are trying to consolidate ties with like-minded organisations, political parties and representatives of minorities across the country, the letter stated. The arrests of five Maoist-linked activists were made on Wednesday under the FIR registered on January 8 at the Pune s Vishram Baug police station in connection with the Elgar Parishad organised on December 31, 2017 by the Leftist outfit Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) and Republican Panthers Party ahead of the January 1, 2018 Bhima-Koregaon riots. The FIR, originally registered u/s 153(A), 505 (1)(b), 117 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), was made a conspiracy case in March 2018 and now has Sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) added to it. It may be recalled that on January 1, one Rahul Phatangale (28), a Dalit, was killed and another 40-odd vehicles and some other property were damaged after some miscreants attacked Dalits celebrating the January 1, 1818 victory of British troops over Peshwa Bajirao II s army at Bhima-Koregaon in Pune district of western Maharashtra. Following the incident, Maharashtra had witnessed large-scale Dalit protests which turned violent at some places. In related development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has received two letters of threat from the Maoist groups during the last one fortnight in the wake of the killing of 40 Maoists in two separate encounters carried out by the security agencies in Gadchirioli district on April 22 and 23. Confirming the development, sources in the Home Ministry said on Friday that the State Government had ordered an enquiry into the two letters and asked the police machinery attached to Fadnavis and his family to be more alert in security matters. In one of the letters addressed to Fadnavis, the author stated, We are inspired by the Maoist ideology. By eliminating some of our colleagues in the encounters, you cannot finish our ideology. We will definitely avenge the killings in Gadchiroli district. SILVER BULLET... Nearly 5,764 families will be benefited from this decision, Rajnath told reporters. Reacting to the announcement, Labha Ram Gandhi, leader of West Pakistan Refugees, who is spearheading a campaign in support of citizenship rights told The Pioneer, I welcome the decision of the Union Home Ministry but we will continue to struggle for our citizenship rights. We have been deprived of our basic citizenship rights since 1947, we will not take rest, we will continue our struggle for the same. Rajnath said the Union Home Ministry has revisited scheme of giving `5 lakh for persons killed during cross border firing and ceasefire violations. Now this amount of `5 lakh will be directly credited to the account of next of kin and all conditions relating to fixed deposit have been removed. The relief given to Kashmiri and Jammu migrants was increased to `10,000 in Now we have decided to give 30 per cent hike. This amount will be increased to `13,000 per family per month, he added. He said out of 36,484 refugees so far 12,763 POJK refugees have received `5.50 lakh compensation package while Government is issuing advertisements seeking applications from the left out families. PRANAB TRIGGERS... Such conversations, conducted in the spirit of openness and mutual respect, will surely help in creating a muchneeded atmosphere of tolerance, harmony and cooperation to build an India of our common dreams, he Praising Pranab, Advani said he showed grace and goodwill in accepting the RSS invite as he recalled his long association with him. His own reflective nature, combined with his long and varied experience in public life, has made him a statesman who strongly believes in the necessity of dialogue and cooperation among people of various ideological and political backgrounds, he said of Pranab. The former President s decision to accept the RSS invite to address its members had drawn a lot of adverse responses from senior Congress leaders and other political parties which had reservations against the Nagpur outfit. But shortly after Pranab delivered his written speech at the RSS headquarters, he drew praise from Congress leaders as well as from those associated with the RSS. SC MAKES... The temple being one of the four great Char Dham pilgrimage sites (four divine sites) comprising of Rameswaram, Badrinath, Puri and Dwarka, considered sacred to Hindus, the Bench said, These centres are of undoubted religious, social, historical, and architectural importance, representing cultural heritage of the country. The petitioner alleged blatant commercialisation and exploitation of the devotees by sebayats who extract money and offerings from devotees. There is a history of stampedes having taken place due to overcrowding of the passage and slippery floors but no corrective measures have been put in place. The Bench directed the administrator of the temple to report on installation of CCTVs and asked the District Judge to examine the footage once every month to put curbs on sebayats collecting offerings from the devotees. The Bench said this must go directly into the temple hundis kept for this purpose so that proper accounting of offerings can be done. The court appointed senior advocate Gopal Subramanium to assist them as amicus curiae and in framing suggestions to make the Puri Temple at par with other shrines such as Tirupati, Vaishno Devi, Somnath, Golden Temple, etc. MYSTERY... He told her that he would come on Thursday and she should wait for him in the hotel room, he According to police, her male friend tried to contact her on her mobile phone but did not get any answer. He then called the hotel authorities and asked them to check on his friend. When the hotel staff reached the 11 floor room, they found it to be locked from inside. The hotel staff found Neelima lying in an unconscious state inside the room. Alarmed over her condition, they rushed her to nearby hospital for the treatment. The doctors at the hospital declared her dead on arrival. The victim s brotherin-law said the boy had allegedly called Neelima on her mobile phone and had asked her to accompany him to the hotel. He further stated that after a couple of hours the family received a call from the hospital and said Neelima has been admitted in a hospital. When we reached the hospital, she was already dead, he Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Pankaj Singh said they are waiting for the girl s autopsy to ascertain the exact cause of death. The autopsy was conducted at Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital on Friday. BIZMAN RELEASED... police, said that he had been informed by Special Secretary in the CM Secretariat Shubhrant Shukla about the misdeed of Gupta and sought strict action against the accused. Kumar said that the FIR was registered under sections 501 and 420 of the IPC at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow.

7 nation 07 Farmers take centre stage at Chintan Shivir PNS n GANDHINAGAR n the second day of the 9th OChintan Shivir main topic of discussion was agriculture in lines with Prime Minister Narendra Modi s vision to double farmers income by 2022 at the sprawling campus of Vadodara based Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation (GSFC). Agriculture Minister RC Faldu led the discussion on Possibilities in Agricultural Sector around the eight major issues covered in the model Gujarat Khetiwadi Adhiniyam- 2007, incorporated in the budget proposals for agriculture and animal husbandry. He said that most of the genuine problems of the farmers could be solved by the district level officers, well within the framework of rules and regulations. He insisted officials in the agriculture department to work as guides of the farmers. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the deadline of doubling the farmers income by 2022 for which many innovative schemes have to be taken up. Lands shown as grasslands for grazing in revenue records could not be used for any other purpose, but has been used for growing fodder with good result. He called for the need to adopt scientific methods to SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA n what could provide a fillip Ito the moribund humanities streams students reading arts have done exceptionally well in the West Bengal Higher Secondary examinations, Breaking established tradition an arts student has topped the WBHS examinations, with near-full marks while another arts student has bagged the joint first rank among the girls. Granthan Sengupta from Jalpaiguri Zilla School has scored 99.2 percent marks getting 496 out of 500. Those coming second and third however are from Science stream. Ritwik Kumar Sahoo has come second with 98.6 percent marks getting 493 while Timir Baron Das and Saswata Roy have jointly come Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and others perform Yogasana on the 2nd day of the 9th Chintan Shivir in Vadodara on Friday PTI increase milk yield per cattle and farm yield per acre. He said the SSP dam on the Narmada is complete, while work on canal network is on. He suggested extension services to reach out to the farmers with stress on micro irrigation and drip irrigation. Chief Secretary Dr JN Singh suggested early steps to firm up marketing of farm produces and milk to ensure farmers and cattle owners get remunerative prices. Horticulture is another way to augment farmers income. There is need to create awareness among farmers for increasing the scope of contract farming, maintaining quality to fetch better prices. Additional Chief Secretary Arts students top Bengal Plus-2 exams PTI n CHENNAI efence Minister Nirmala DSitharaman on Friday again asserted that there was no scam in the Rafale deal with France as being alleged by Congress and said disclosure of specifics about it could reveal the aircraft s capabilities to the country s rivals. There was no scam in the four-year old NDA Government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and therefore the Congress was coming up with such allegations, she told reporters here. Congress President Rahul Gandhi had been taking frequent potshots over the Modi third. Granthan who had History, Geography, Philosophy, Computers, English and Bengali and scored a perfect hundred in Geography and Philosophy, wants to be a historian. Among girls Arkadipta Ghosh and Anima Garai have jointly secured the first position with 97.2 percent each. Garai from Bankura Ranibandh School is an arts student. It is a matter of pride for those pursuing career in humanities, said Education Minister Partho Chatterjee hoping this year s result might throw open a new vista for those willing to take arts but have to pursue science because career issues. The results have shown that those who pursue arts also have good future. Government on the defence deal,alleging escalation of costs over that when UPA was in power. The Opposition party has been demanding specific details in this regard. Drawing the analogy of a for Agriculture Sanjay Prasad in his presentation said that about 96 lakh hectares of land is under agriculture in Gujarat and the State Government s efforts resulted in 46 per cent increase in agricultural production during the last 15 years. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) Managing Director RM Sodhi, invited as an expert, said that past efforts have resulted in increasing milk production. He said that animal husbandry has to be treated at par with agriculture, motivating new generation take up animal husbandry, marketing and rationalising exportimport policy of agriculture produces to achieve doubling farmers income. Members of the Federation of Karnataka Muslim Association and other non-governmental organisations hold placards during a protest against Israel, US, and Saudi Arabia, as they observe International Al-Quds Day on the last Friday of the Ramzan, in Bengaluru on Friday PTI No scam in Rafale deal as alleged by Cong: Nirmala car, Sitharaman said the same brand could cost a person more if the buyer wanted additional accessories and equipment fitted into it. These are accessories, additional fittings he (Gandhi) just says disclose the price. If it is done so, it will reveal what kind of technology and equipment determined the price of the aircraft, she Ordinary citizens may not be bothered about it, but forces inimical to us, countries, would have realised the extent of the (capabilities of) Rafale. So will that be our strength or weakness? she asked. The Defence Minister said PTI n CHENNAI oting that `25-35 lakh fee Nper annum for medical courses was prima facie far too high, the Madras High Court on Firday directed deemed universities in Tamil Nadu to collect `13 lakh for MBBS courses as an interim measure, pending University Grants any disclosure by her in this regard may satisfy Gandhi but also our rivals. Training her guns on the Congress for its charges on escalation of cost,sitharaman asked how one can determine if a particular product was cheaper or costlier without buying it. If they had purchased (the flights), had Congress concluded the deal and said we bought so many flights at said rate and then claimed we had paid more, then it is reasonable. But they did not conclude the deal at all. When you didn t buy (any aircraft), on what basis are you talking about additional cost? she asked. Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, with members of Surat Municipal Corporation, inspects the working of Smart UnderGround waste collection system, in Surat on Friday PTI Kerala Cong rocked by infighting over RS seat Chandy, Chennithala under fire VR JAYARAJ n KOCHI he Congress in Kerala has Tfallen into a deep crisis as revolt is spreading through the party against the top State leadership for gifting its Rajya Sabha seat being vacated by PJ Kurien to the Kerala Congress (M) of former minister KM Mani, which had quit the Congress-led UDF nearly two years ago. A day after the Rajya Sabha seat was gifted to it, the KC(M) on Friday announced its return to the UDF. Congress workers held protest marches in various places against the decision allegedly of the party s leadership trinity former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala and acting PCC chief MM Hassan that had arbitrarily and unilaterally decided to gift the Rajya Sabha seat to Mani s party while several leaders openly attacked them. Coming just days after the shocking defeat party and the UDF suffered in the Chengannur Assembly by-election, the new development has hurled the Congress workers into anxiety and confusion. The decision on the Rajya Sabha seat is a setback to our sense of political pride and confidence, said a leader from Thrissur who has till the other day been a Chandy-loyalist. The KC(M), which had been a UDF partner for over three decades, had left the coalition on August 7, 2016 and its six legislators had been sitting as a separate bloc in the Assembly since then. It had left the UDF because the Congress had allegedly backstabbed Mani in the issue of the bar bribery scandal which forced him to resign as Finance minister in November, Former State Congress president VM Sudheeran, HC fixes `13L interim fee for MBBS courses in TN s deemed varsities Commission s (UGC) fee fixation committee s decision. A bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice PT Asha gave the direction while disposing of a PIL by Jawaharlal Shanmugam, who submitted that these institutions were charging exorbitant tuition fees and gave details in a tabular column. PTI n MUMBAI prison cellmate of Tulsiram APrajapati, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter, on Friday told a special CBI court that he had expressed fear for his life at the hands of the Gujarat Police and had even written to the National Human Rights Commission about this. Dinesh Gurjar (64) was deposing before a special court, conducting trial against several Gujarat Police officials for carrying out alleged fake encounters of Prajapati in known as Mr Clean of the State party, on Friday walked out of a UDF meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram for announcing the decision to allot the RS seat to Mani s party, while K Muraleedharan MLA, another former PCC chief, boycotted the meeting after which Chandy and Chennithala struggled to justify the decision. The opponents of the trinity, like PJ Kurien himself, are alleging that they had misled party president Rahul Gandhi, who endorsed their decision on Thursday, into believing that the re-induction of the KC(M), a party backed by the Catholic Church, to the UDF was necessary to win the minorities support and that gifting the RS seat to it was necessary for this. They are also alleging that the top leaders had come to the decision as a result of a plan formulated secretly by the socalled Ku trinity of Kunjoonju, Kunjumani and Kunhappa Chandy, Mani and PK It appears to us that fees varying between `25 lakh to `35 lakh per annum is prima facie far too high and the fee committee constituted by UGC ought to make an in-depth study and recommend the fees to be collected by the institutions, the bench said in its order. It recorded an undertaking given by the UGC to December 2006, and his associate Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi, in Gurjar was the co-inmate of Prajapati in 2006 in Udaipur Central Jail. He on Friday told the court that Prajapati had, at that time, told him that Gujarat Police had killed his friend Sohrabuddin and his wife and that he feared he too would face the same fate. The witness deposed that Prajapati had told him that he and Sohrabuddin had tried to extort around `25 crore from a Gujarat-based businessman PTI n BENGALURU arnataka Chief Minister H KD Kumaraswamy on Friday stepped in to check the spiralling dissident activities of the MLAs of ally Congress, who were unhappy with the Cabinet expansion, and asked the Congress central leadership to act immediately to find a solution. The Chief Minister and several state Congress leaders met the dissatisfied lawmakers, who, however appeared to be in no mood to relent, at least immediately. Kumaraswamy met M B Patil, a prominent state Congress leader under whose leadership a section of dissatisfied legislators have been holding meetings. Senior state Congress leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwa, Ministers D K Shivakumar, K J George and R V Deshpande, met M B Patil at his residence to mollify him, but reportedly failed to get a positive response. Speaking to reporters after meeting Patil, the Chief Minister said though the issue is not directly related to him, he had gone to pacify the lawmakers as the leader of the Congress-JD(S) coalition, for the stability of the government. This is an issue that is not related to me, because these are decisions made within Congress party... I have understood his (Patil) feeling of pain that he has worked for Congress party when it needed, but feels let down now, Kumaraswamy,who is the Kunhalikutty, leader of the Muslim League. It was a conspiracy and the tragedy is that none of us could foresee it, said a senior Congress leader. This decision will in no way help the Congress or the UDF. It will lead only to destruction of the Congress, Sudheeran said after walking out of the UDF meet just after Mani entered the venue. The way that decision was taken was arbitrary, autocratic and undemocratic. Also, it was not transparent. I am registering my protest against it openly, he told newsmen. Let Mani come. That is good. But the way they chose to bring his party into the UDF is destructive. I don t buy their theory that this is for strengthening the UDF. How can you strengthen the UDF by destroying the Congress? The ultimate beneficiary of this will be the BJP, Sudheeran added. There is no party interest behind this decision. Also, there is no UDF interest. It is solely in interest of the leaders, constitute a committee by June 30 to fix the fee structure in these universities. Making it clear thatr there was a need for regulating and streamlining the fees after taking into account all relevant factors, the bench directed that the UGC fees committee shall positively submit its recommendation within six weeks after Another IAF s Jaguar crashes in Gujarat PNS n GANDHINAGAR ust a couple of days after Jthe tragic incident in which Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jet Jaguar crashed and its pilot Air Commodore Sanjai Chauhan killed in Gujarat, in another occurrence on Friday a pilot of the jet narrowly escaped unhurt. Confirming the mishap IAF s official sources said around 9.20 am, pilot of a Jaguar aircraft on a routine training mission from Jamnagar safely ejected when the aircraft developed a snag during the landing phase. It was a minor mishap said sources adding that the pilot is safe as he successfully landed the aircraft. It was during the landing that there was some technical glitch and fire was seen emanating from underbelly of the aircraft, sources informed. It is worth mentioning that on Tuesday Air Commodore Chauhan, who had taken off on a routine sortie from Jamnagar Air Force Base on a routine mission saw his aircraft crash at Bareja village in Mundra taluka of bordering Kutch district Kutch district. The impact of that crash was such that debris was seen strewn all over and other than fatal injury to the pilot. As the aircraft fell down on a herd of cows, more than a dozen cows were killed in that incident. IAF has already initiated a court of inquiry in to the mishap to investigate the cause. Sohrabuddin case: Prajapati feared for his life, cellmate informs court who complained to a senior bureaucrat who in turn got Sohrabuddin killed in a police encounter. Gurjar added that, according to Prajapati, when Sohrabuddin was picked up by the police, his wife Kausar Bi insisted on accompanying him and, hence, she too was killed. The witness further said that he had drafted letters on behalf of Prajapati, in which the latter express his fears, and sent it to various authorities including the National Human Rights Commission. Kumaraswamy steps in to pacify disgruntled Congress MLAs leader of Congress-JD(S) joint legislature party, Kumaraswamy said Patil had told him that he was not alone and would take a decision after consulting other likeminded MLAs, adding, I have gathered his feelings; I request Delhi leaders (Congress) to immediately act to find a solution. A group of disgruntled MLAs, including M T B Nagaraj, Satish Jarkiholi, Sudhakar and Roshan Baig, among others, had yesterday met at Patil s residence. According to party sources, several such meetings have taken place separately, including one under the leadership of senior Congress leader and former minister H K Patil, as also by Shamanur Sivashankarappa. said young Congress leader Mathew Kuzhalnadan even as intense protests broke out at several places in the State against Chennithala, Chandy and their decision. Workers also burned their effigies. At the same time, Chandy and Chennithala justified the decision to gift the Rajya Sabha seat to the KC(M) by saying that it was necessary to strengthen the UDF and that the seat was being given to that party only as a temporary arrangement. Chennithala also said that it was not always possible to hold extensive discussions in party forums before taking such decisions. We had talked to them (Mani) several times. But their stand was firm. That is how we reached this decision, Chennithala said after the UDF meeting. Reports from Delhi say that the party high command had received a flood of complaints against the gifting of the RS seat to the KC(M) but it has made it clear that the decision cannot be revoked. hearing all stake holders. The bench said the court was informed that the committee had earlier fixed `11.5 lakh per annum for management quota seats, adding students may now be admitted by collecting `13 lakh on a condition that once the committee determined the fee, balance, if any, would have to be paid back. Modi's murder plot' news planted: Cong TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI lamming the ruling BJP for Sits selective leaks about threats to life faced by Narendra Modi, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Friday demanded an enquiry into whether false information was being fed to the media about assassination threat faced by the Prime Minister. Reacting to an incriminating letter recovered by the Pune police about the Maoists plans to assassinate Modi, Nirupam said, Information is being leaked selectively. I do not know as to how much truth is there in it. We have been witnessing a trend ever since Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Whenever his popularity takes a dent, news gets planted in the media that he faces a threat to his life. Today, Modi s popularity has gone down markedly and the popularity of Congress president Rahul Gandhi has shot up by three folds. An atmosphere has built up in all sections of the society against against the BJP and Modi. That being the case, it needs to be investigated if the BJP as parts of its strategy is feeding false information about threats faced by the Prime Minister. I am not saying that everything is wrong. But we cannot ignore the fact that Modi has in the past spread planted stories about threats faced to his life, Nirupam 9-year-old, woman hurt in accidental firing by RPF jawan PNS n KOLKATA wo persons, including a 9- Tyear-old child and a woman, were injured in what is thought to be an accidental firing from an automatic Self Loading Rifle possessed by a Railway Protection Force jawan posted at the Dum Dum Metro Rail Station, police According to reports, the accident occurred when the RPF jawan dropped his gun during change of duty following which its safety catch got unlocked. When the other jawan tried to pick it up his hands accidentally fell on the trigger and it went off. Two bullets were fired first hitting the wall and then ricocheted to hit the child in its leg. The woman, his mother was hit under her arm. Both were immediately rushed to the RH Kar Medical College Hospital, sources

8 opinion 08 paper with passion Untouchable no more Both Mukherjee and Bhagwat deserve kudos for mainlining a discourse of moderation F ormer President Pranab Mukherjee, following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Jayaprakash Narayan to name just a few stalwarts of modern India including those from the Congress Party did well to accept the invitation of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat to deliver the closing address of the Tritiya Varsha Sangh Shiksha Varg at the organisation's headquarters in Nagpur. What he said in his address has been widely reported and needs no repetition. Suffice it to say that while both Mukherjee and Bhagwat, who spoke before him, stuck to the themes which they believe needed iteration for the preservation of an ancient culture and building a modern, inclusive, democratic state, the unstated synergy between their different worldviews, as it were, was the implicit acceptance of the notion of an Indian/Indic/Hindu (take your pick) exceptionalism. That's a start, because it is an exceptionalism that is premised on moderation, accepts that patriotism and nationalism can be co-terminus and is unapologetic about its unique civilisational heritage while not being triumphalist about it. Mukherjee, as a lifelong student of Indian politics and the various ideological streams that have contributed to how we view the construct of our nation, knows that unlike the current-day avatar of the Congress, when it was at its zenith the party reached out to all strands of thought. Nehru famously invited the RSS to send a contingent to the Republic Day parade in 1963 and had interactions with MS Guruji' Golwalkar in the 1950s. Sardar Patel, even when he argued and disagreed with the Sangh on many of its positions on the issues of the day, never stopped interacting with leaders of what he considered a patriotic organization working for society though it did not stop him, as Independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister in-charge of the Home Ministry, from either proscribing the RSS in the aftermath of the Mahatma's assassination or, indeed, lifting the ban when he was satisfied it was unfair. JP, of course, despite his well-known hesitation in working with the Sangh earlier, became one of its most rational critics-turned-friends when he worked closely with the RSS' political cadre in the Total Revolution and subsequent anti- Emergency movements. But perhaps the example Mukherjee looked to first in deciding to accept the Sarsanghachalak's invite was that of the original champion of demolishing untouchability in all its forms, the Mahatma. Gandhiji's engagement with those who disagreed with him including the RSS, the Communists and even the Muslim League remains an example of outreach that has never since been emulated. It is a different matter that of the afore-mentioned organizations, the leadership (at the time) of the first did end up incorporating aspects of Gandhian thought in its own ideological position while remaining steadfast in its opposition to what they saw as his appeasement of the Muslim community; the leadership of the second attempted to reconcile socialism with an Indic cultural idiom but a coup from within effectively put paid to that effort and; the leadership of the third cynically used the Mahatma's generosity to achieve its own supremacist, religious and political ends. The lesson? If only the leadership of political parties across the spectrum today reflect, introspect, perchance read a little more, we may finally be able to establish a tradition of samvaad in the public sphere. Mukherjee has done his bit. Sacked and vengeful Thanks to jobs for life and unions, Indians are unable to deal with being fired A ll things told, it is was appropriate that Joginder Singh, the employee who was fired from Mitsubishi Corporation, was dismissed from his job. We hope that the Human Resources General Manager Binesh Sharma recovers from his injuries he was shot by the sacked employee soon. But this is not the first case of a disgruntled former employee or employees threatening and then going on to commit violence or resort to other forms of vengeance. In past years, workers in Maruti-Suzuki and Honda Motorcycles plants in Manesar have rioted against employees being dismissed. The Maruti-Suzuki incident ended with a dead executive and the lives of hundreds of young men ruined in the following police crackdown where innocents and instigators both were jailed. Of course, it is wrong to say that these incidents are unique to India; across the world, particularly in countries like the United States where there is easy access to guns, disgruntled employees do lash out at their seniors and have been known to even go on shooting sprees at their organisations if they have been laid off. Until liberalisation, most Indian worked for either the government or the public sector and were virtually impossible to sack. Getting a job was seen as 'it'. Actually working came a distant second. And this culture of entitlement spilled over to the private sector too and spread from workmen to those holding executive positions too. However, in today s day and age, the private sector demands performance from employees and apparently this man was unfit for the job so was asked to leave. That is how it works in any private sector job, where workers do not live of the largesse of the Indian taxpayer. It is important for the Haryana Government to ensure protection, legal and physical, to those threatened with 'dire consequences' when they lay employees off. It was only quick thinking on Binesh's part who did not slow down his vehicle even after being shot that kept him alive. Such incidents will damage the reputation of the State look at what happened to West Bengal under CPI-M sponsored militant trade unionism that went on till well into the 21st century. Being part of the badlands in the view of companies will not do any State or its residents any good. Investment, jobs and people will move to States like Gujarat and Maharashtra where the law and order situation is considered better and innocents can't be attacked physically or false claims made against them by those who have lost their job. Employee training has to be improved and employees should realise that the gravy train no longer runs. The rewards and opportunities in the private sector are very different from those of the past. But it is becoming increasingly obvious that many Indians entering the workforce over the past two decades do not have either the skills or the temperament to be gainfully employed. Seas of trouble: We need to act now Human intervention is making the oceans increasingly inhospitable to marine life. We must work individually and collectively to stop this preventable tragedy. If we all do the bare minimum, our combined actions can be massive HIRANMAY KARLEKAR T he reported death of a whale, which had swallowed 80 plastic bags, in southern Thailand, warrants serious concern. First, it focuses on the plight of whales. Second, its death, despite all efforts at revival, further underlines how dangerous the consequences of swallowing plastic can be. Third, it focuses on oceanic pollution of which the presence of plastic bags is a major part. As to the first, not just plastic bags, container ships are killing a growing number of whales through accidents. Then there is killing for commercial purposes. Japan s whaling expedition in the Antarctic waters, that began early this year, planned to kill 333 Minke whales in four months. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) imposed a moratorium on hunting in Ever since then Japan has been using a loophole that allows killing for scientific research. Even the International court of Justice s (ICJ) order of 2014, directing it to halt its regular hunt in the Antarctic Waters because the project did not meet conventional research norms, has not deterred it. Though it cancelled its hunt, it renewed it the following year in the garb of a new programme, which is widely regarded as a cover for commercial whaling, banned under the IWC s moratorium. Japan s claim that the killings advanced research in whale behaviour and biology, is spurious. As Australia s federal environment minister Josh Frydenberg has stated, It is not necessary to kill whales in order to study them. Japan is unlikely to heed growing international condemnation. Last year, its Parliament passed a series of laws aiming at a return to full-scale commercial whaling in the high seas. One reason for Japan s defiance is clearly that international criticism of its whaling has mainly taken the form of verbal and/or written statements and proceedings before the IWC or the ICJ. Japan s Government has consistently ignored or bypassed IWC s objections and injunctions and dribbled past the ICJ s judgement of Moreover, after the judgement, Japan has ruled out the ICJ s jurisdiction in any dispute arising out of, concerning, or relating to research on, or conservation, management or exploitation of, living resources of the sea. Shamefully, no country has taken the kind of deterrent action for example, those enabled by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and direct intervention in the form of surveillance and heading off of whaling vessels that would have counted with Japan. Whether this is because of concern with furthering economic ties with Tokyo or not, whales pay the price. The consequences, including fatality, of swallowing plastic are well-known, as is the fact of the alarming global spread of plastic pollution. The havoc it plays on marine life has once again been underlined by Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist who SOUNDBITE I would like to repeat that no matter how many obstacles come in our (Centre) way, we will not be deterred in our aim to bring lasting peace to Kashmir. Home Minister Rajnath Singh We will not design or deploy AI in weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people. Google CEO Sundar Pichai Conservatives and rightwing groups are increasingly becoming the moral police. Censoring bodies are becoming bigoted and their rulings are getting more arbitrary. Actor Nandita Das Regional countries should work together to deal with maritime terrorism, maritime crimes, including human trafficking and drugs; smuggling of arms, and weapons of mass destruction. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan An inspiration lectures at Thailand s Kasetsart University, who said that at least 300 marine animals, including pilot whales, sea turtles and dolphins are killed every year in Thai waters after consuming plastic. The total number of deaths worldwide would be much higher because there are innumerable other beaches in the world besides those in Thailand, and millions of plastic bags are thrown from these into adjacent oceans. In fact, 70 per cent of marine debris today is plastic, most of which comes from land. According to Susan Ronaldson, there are at least 165 million tonnes of plastic in the oceans, with eight million tonnes added annually. She, along with two other women, Jessica Rego and Caroline Wilson, will participate in the annual Talisker Whiskey Challenge race across the Atlantic (a distance of over 3,000 miles) in December this year in a mission to spread awareness of the need to end plastic being thrown into oceans. Talking of plastic, one must dwell on the wider issue of pollution of which it is a major cause. Pollution is a result of human activity. In a paper titled Marine Defaunation: Human caused animal loss in oceans, the authors Douglas J. McCauley, Malin L. Pinsky, Stephen R Palumbi, James A Estes, Francis H Joyce and Robert R. Warner state that marine defaunation or human caused animal loss in oceans today remains mainly driven by human harvest. The paper, published in Science 347 magazine (2015) further says, Great whale species, no longer extensively hunted, are now threatened by noise disruption, oil exploration, vessel traffic, and entanglement with moored marine gear. There are other factors. Fish farms are LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Sir This refers to the report, Soul of India in pluralism, tolerance: Pranab (June 8). No visit of any former Indian President to a sociopolitical organisation must have created as much buzz as that of Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur. Mukherjee s mastery over English, his ability to unambiguously drive home the intended message, and, of course, a vast political career culminating into the zenith India s President, make him an interesting speaker to lend an ear to. He began soberly, touched upon history fluently and dwelt on the nuances of Indian history. Mukherjee, widely considered as one of India s best parliamentarians ever, spoke like a wise sage and left it to the political parties to interpret what he meant. On one hand, he spoke highly of India s path to economic recovery and on the other, he lamented the country s lowly Happiness Index rank. Mukherjee, having graced some top ministries of the Centre during his remarkable political journey would know well how crucial it is to strike a balance between welfare and well-being. The deft and suave politician in Mukherjee came to the fore when he stressed on the importance of dialogue and engagement, throwing the ball into the top political parties courts to indulge in intense guessing about what he meant, and about whom. The phrase, being an Indian first of Mukherjee has already become a crossword puzzle with parties trying hard to fill in the blanks with words that suit them the best. Time will tell whether or not destroying mangroves. Bottom trawlers, scraping ocean floors with their nets, had already affected 20,000 square miles and reduced tracts of continental shelves to rubble. The effect of this will be severe. Continental shelves teem with life because sunlight can penetrate their shallow waters and not the depths of oceans, But then, Trawling may represent just the beginning of our capacity to alter marine habitats. Development of coastal cities, where ~ 40 per cent of the human population lives, has an insatiable demand for coastal land, reads the paper. Countries like China and the United Arab Emirates have ambitious programmes of constructing artificial land in the oceans to meet this demand. Such construction and coastal area human populations add both to pollution and adverse modification of marine life habitats. Not surprisingly, the paper in Science 347 states, Many of the most threatened groups of marine animals are those that directly interact with land (and land-based humans) during some portion of their life history). Terrestrial contact may also explain why diadromous/ brackish water fishes are more threatened than exclusively marine fishes Seabed mining threatens to destroy unique ecosystems besides taking pollution to the deep sea. Contracts covering 460,000 square miles against zero in 2,000 have been signed. Rivers bring toxic industrial waste from hinterlands. Oil spills pollute hundreds of square miles. Increasing carbon emission is making sea water acidic and hence inhospitable to marine life. Global warming has worsened matters. The threat it poses to the survival Not everyone is interested in harmony T his refers to the report, Soul of India in pluralism, tolerance: Pranab (June 8). The hullabaloo that was unleashed by Congress bigots Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala following the announcement by former President Pranab Mukherjee to participate in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) annual event in Nagpur, at the invitation of the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, appeared a storm in a tea cup. Mukherjee was dignified when he started his visit with the memorial of the RSS founder, with KB Hedgewar paying him respect as a great son of Mother India. Both leaders, Bhagwat, speaking first, and then Mukherjee, emphasised on unity in diversity as the key element in forging communal harmony and understanding in the country. While the former President also spoke against violence in all forms to set an example for peace, harmony and happiness, Bhagwat stated that the Sangh wanted to unite the entire society any one born in India is an Indian. Those who listened to both leaders at the RSS event must have been struck by the similarity of their patriotic and progressive views. But, unfortunately, we have a number of malicious, anti-national elements who are hellbent upon ridiculing Bhagwat's remarks. No doubt, they are not interested in communal harmony and tranquility. M Ratan Via mail of polar marine fauna is obvious. Further, it has caused a 40 per cent decline in coral reefs besides leading to the migration of some fish to cooler waters. Not all breeds may not be lucky enough to be able to do so and may become extinct. According to the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, acidification, caused by excessive carbon absorption and warming, is making oceans increasingly inhospitable to life, as is de-oxygenation, caused by nutrient run-off resulting from agriculture and climate change. What is to be done? Marine habitats being increasingly threatened by human intervention, the creation of marine protected areas, where such intervention is severely restricted, can provide much-needed protection to marine species. Unfortunately, the establishment of these has made poor progress covering, as the paper cited states, only about 3.6 per cent of the world s oceans according to an upper-bound estimate. Further, most marine protected areas remain smaller than the home range size of many marine animals. This and the fact that protected areas on land, four times larger than their oceanic counterparts, have failed to successfully rein in defaunation, indicate that such areas cannot be the sole answer. One must also ensure that, in areas outside these, seabed mining, energy development, and intensive aquaculture take important marine wildlife habitats into consideration, not vice versa. This is a tall order, but what is at stake is the future of marine wildlife. (The writer is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer, and an author) his visit to the RSS had a political overtone. Perhaps, the man of letters, who authored five well-written books, may pen another in due course to let the cat out of the bag. Ganapathi Bhat Akola Laudable speech Sir This refers to the report, Soul of India in pluralism, tolerance: Pranab (June 8). After playing the glorious innings of Presidency and serving as the conscience of the nation for five years, Pranab Mukherjee has once again made us all proud. While indirectly condemning the current dominant force practicing intolerance and hatred in the crudest manner possible with sole emphasis on a particular religion, Mukherjee boldly batted for pluralism and secularism. He also pointed out that ensuring the happiness and welfare of people should be the first priority of any ideal State. Sooner the concerned authorities, obsessed with statues, Moon exploration, Gaumata, yoga, bullet trains, learn a bit from Mukherjee; the better it is for the future of the country. However RSS deserves a thank you for showing the courage to invite Mukherjee despite knowing that this impeccably secular personality will not endorse any divisive philosophy. Let s hope that from now on, this camp will try to work and speak for all Indians by drawing inspiration from the historic speech of Pranab Mukherjee Kajal Chatterjee Kolkata Send your feedback to: letterstopioneer@gmail.com

9 3rdeye {saturday special} 09 Spiritual India vs godless China: Article of faith hina and India are civilisational states Chaving some similarities but they adopted different ways in the last seven decades. China vehemently rejects religion and categorically terms it as an evil thing. On the other hand, religion has got sympathetic treatment in the independent secular India. The way of life in India has remained deeply embedded in religion. Indian system has never suppressed any faith. Multicultural underpinning is its USP. The Communist Party in China penalised people for practicing religion. The case in point is recent instructions by Xi Jinping vis-a-vis Saka Dawa festival, considered to be the holiest festival of Tibetan Buddhism. China has imposed a series of measures prohibiting Tibetan schoolchildren from participating in the festival that began last week. People have been barred from performing Buddhist practices. The notification is similar to one issued by China s education bureau in the predominantly Muslim Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the country s northwest. China has banned Muslim civil servants, students and teachers from observing fast during Ramzan. Though China is officially an atheist state as a survey conducted in 2014 and 2015 proved that more than 61 per cent of Chinese are atheist, action by Chinese rulers to suppress religious practices faces disapproval even from the Han Chinese. Fundamental questions are being raised: What is beyond material comforts? What is the meaning of good life? How could we achieve it? These basic questions have rattled the Communist Party of China which still holds the doctrine that religion is poison. Father of Xi Jinping was a prominent leader of the Communist Party of China. He challenged the Communist Party s approach to the religion. In 1980s, he drafted a 20-page report and advocated for acceptance of faith of different religions especially three religions which are historically connected to China: Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. This document is known as Document -19. In fact, one of signature lines of Xi s father is said to have been If the people have faith, the nation has hope and the country has strength. But the current President is relentless in suppressing the religious beliefs and faiths not merely in Tibet and Xinjiang but throughout China. The desperation among the people is equally high. At a similar or even stronger move towards spiritualism is emerging among the Han Chinese, the ethnic group that makes up 91 per cent of the country s population. China is undergoing a spiritual revival similar to the Great Awakening that took place in the United States in the nineteenth century. The burst of religious and spiritual activity poses risks for the Chinese Communist Party. Across China, hundreds of temples, churches and mosques open every year, attracting millions of new followers. The faith and values are returning to the centre of a national discussion over how to organise Chinese life. China s ethnic minorities, especially Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims, have long valued religion as a form of resistance against an oppressive central state. The two different things are happening in today s prosperous China. One is the common people who are exploring their lost spiritual thrusts which had been suppressed by the successive regimes. Second, the Communist regime is more determined not to allow any kind of liberal approach which will may challenge the Communist regime. The tussle is set to create problems in the foreseeable future in China. The history of religious repression in China has a long history. The first phase began in 1912 with Sun Yat-Sen when he started demolishing local temples. Nationalist party chief Chiang Kai Shek who followed him in 1926 started the New Life Movement to cleanse China of its old ways. On the name of destroying superstitions, he attacked rituals and demolished temples. The rest was done by the Communist Party of China. In the late 1950s, Mao Zedong began to Temple of Heaven suppress most religious activities. During the Cultural Revolution in 1966 began the most furious attack on religion. Virtually every place of worship was closed, and almost all clergies were driven out. Priests and nuns were put behind bars. China s good number of Christian followers went underground during the Cultural Revolution. Christianity began to spread in China s economic heartland and among its most influential classes. But the major uprisings are from Tibet and Xinjiang. The reasons are very simple. In the last 65 years of suppressive rule of the Communist Party, China has failed to trample Tibetan voice. It has miserably failed to win hearts and minds of Buddhist lamas. China claims that the Tibetan culture and people have been much better off since its occupation rule began in It claims, Tibet s traditional culture is well protected and promoted, and freedom of religious belief in the region is respected, while its ecological environment is protected. The White Paper also presents data to justify its rule over the last 59 years. It claims: earlier Tibet did not have a single school in the modern sense; its illiteracy rate was as high as 95 per cent among the young and middle aged; there was no modern medical service, and praying to the Buddha for succour was the main resort for most people if they fell ill; their average life expectancy was 35.5 years. Beijing compares these to the rapid development and modernisation that has occurred in the last 65 years. The fact of the matter is that the Tibetan community has been butchered and subjugated to reduce them to slavery. Their twin identities of faith and pastoral lives were forcefully destroyed by the Communist regime. Tibet had been strategically divided into two parts. The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has been converted into a nuclear dustbin, spreading deadly diseases such as cancer. Thousands of Tibetans are behind bars. Their economic status is very low. The policy of transferring the Han Chinese into TAR is making the Tibetans a minority community in their own region. There was further disappointment for the Tibetans and supporters across the world at the beginning of 2015 when China announced plans to increase the Han- Chinese population of Tibet by 30 per cent by 2020, a total of approximately 2,80,000 arrivals. Difference between Modi and Xi Getting June 21 declared as International Yoga Day is a success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi s cultural diplomacy. Indian heritage of culture is based on Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam : The world is one. Whereas Chinese cultural baggage is driven by economic confabulation. The recent attempt of Xi to play the Buddhist card is stirred by force and coercion. All Buddhist countries from South Asia to South East Asia were lured and threatened to expand the signature campaign of One Belt One Road of Xi. However, Modi s approach is completely different from the Chinese. During his first Nepal visit, Modi talked about Buddha and Yuddha. Both cannot move together. India is connecting to the Buddhist countries without ignoring or skipping any one. How is it possible to build the Buddhist Circuit by ignoring the Dalai Lama? India believes that the world peace and fraternity are only possible through the spirit of spiritualism. The Yogic philosophy is the reassertion of mental fitness and thinking beyond your own self-interests. China is amassing economic capital by using Buddhism as a tool. That is why China is desperate to bring the Dalai Lama back to Tibet before he dies. If his Holiness does not go there during his life time, the legitimacy of Tibet and supremacy of Buddhism will remain disputed for China. (The writer is Head of the Department of Political Science, Central University of Haryana) China has banned Muslim civil servants, students and teachers from observing fast during Ramzan. Though China is officially an atheist state as a survey conducted in 2014 and 2015 proved that more than 61 per cent of Chinese are atheist, action by Chinese rulers to suppress religious practices faces disapproval even from the Han Chinese SATISH KUMAR INSIGHT Artificial Intelligence bane or boon: Task Force to define ith the establishment of the Artificial WIntelligence Task Force last year, India has taken its first step in the simulated world of immense possibilities. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has submitted a detailed report speaking about the usage of Artificial Intelligence in multiple fields and its aim to transform India s economy. The report submitted by the Ministry is meticulous and invariably states all the aspects of human existence like pharmaceuticals, Defence, technology, household, entertainment, education, environment, farming, finance and many more. The report mentions the usage and benefits of Artificial Intelligence in all these arenas. It is definitely built with a robust and comprehensive vision. The agenda of the vision takes into consideration the role a Government body must play, the employment opportunities that can be created with any application and implementation of Artificial Intelligence and resolving problems on a grand scale for Indian citizens. This phenomenon termed as Artificial Intelligence has been there for around 60 years now. But the major reform has come up in the last decade. The expanses like neural networking and machine learning have acted as a catalyst for Artificial Intelligence to boom. Starting from resolving basic problems to becoming an equivalent or rather smarter than human beings, this miracle has come a long way in a short span. But the vision with which this plan is launched requires more foresight and prudence. Bearing in mind its advantages and application arenas, the status of this campaign should be perpetual in nature instead of a 5-year plan. In this expanse, we already lag behind other developed nations by a couple of decades. The world will again be ahead of India in these 5 years given the fact that the task force is not even one year old. A brilliant initiative taken by the Artificial Intelligence Task Force is that it is open to public opinion. But is the public aware of the phenomenon? We are still consumers of the Artificial Intelligence-based services and are yet to become potential producers of it. Also, we have a small consumer base for Artificial Intelligence-based services because of our limited knowledge in this field. As per the report, the vision advocates a three-point agenda focusing at areas where the Government must play a role: employment opportunities and improving quality of life, solving problems at scale for Indian citizens. The vision is comprehensive in nature when it talks about exploiting the technology to benefit the human race. It addresses the issue of privacy of data for the users and the responsibility and ethics to be followed when designing Artificial Intelligence-based applications. The vision must also consider the negative implications of Artificial Intelligence. The society must be vigilant about the potential threat of this enchanted technology trained to do almost everything. Machines were not intelligent ever since their inception. They were trained and programmed to be intelligent by humans. But have we trained them to such an extent that we are falling prey to their intelligence? Human beings are considered superior organisms because of their ability to think, learn from their mistakes, intuitive understanding and decisionmaking abilities. Now that machines have become clever enough that they outsmart their makers, it is a threat to our very existence. The incident that the reigning Chess Champion Gary Kasparov lost to Deep Blue, the supercomputer created by IBM, aptly questions this threat. Or consider the very recent case of Google Duplex, which has not yet been launched for public use, the robot makes calls to a salon for appointment and to a restaurant for reservation in close to human voice. With the use of mono syllables and intonation in voice, it can definitely replace human voice! Elon Musk (CEO and product architect of Tesla, an American MNC that specialises in electric vehicles) and SpaceX, cochair of a non-for-profit organisation called OpenAI) predicted long back that Artificial Intelligence could be more dangerous than nukes! He recently promoted the movie Do You Trust This Computer?, which talks about the perils of Artificial Intelligence in detail. The movie advocates the fact the intelligence of a computer grows exponentially and thus outsmarts human intellect. Job automation, big data, privacy breaches being other concerns to be looked after. By now we realise that launching Artificial Intelligence comes with a huge Machines have become clever enough to outsmart their makers. It is a threat to our very existence. The incident that the reigning Chess Champion Gary Kasparov lost to Deep Blue, the supercomputer created by IBM, aptly highlights this threat. Launching Artificial Intelligence comes with a huge responsibility towards mankind. In order to avail the benefits to the fullest, we must remain focused and vigilant at the same time NAVREET RANA responsibility towards mankind. We have to determine an adequate balance between merits and perils of Artificial Intelligence. In order to avail the benefits to the fullest, we must remain focused and vigilant at the same time. Since India is just pacing into this new venture, it can be attentive, cautious and progressive simultaneously. Concentrating on the vision of the Artificial Intelligence Task Force about creating employment opportunities and resolving problems of the society, it is essential to start from the grassroots. To begin with, not many engineering colleges have Artificial Intelligence as a subject, others have it as an elective. There is a dearth of teachers specialising in the field. If the subject is taught in the universities, we will eventually have specialised teaching staff and innovators. The current situation is that there are a few private firms providing Artificial Intelligencebased services and products, and they find it challenging to hire new workforce as the skill set does not match easily. Teaching the subject in universities, India will have its skill specific human resource ready to lead the Artificial Intelligence movement by the time we have enough infrastructure to manufacture, test and launch Artificial Intelligence-based products. Simultaneously, India should also look after formulating standards for this emerging technology. Entering the field of Artificial Intelligence is as remarkable a step as stepping on the moon. What was said then holds true in this development as well: That s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. What the physicist Stephen Hawking once remarked either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity there is no denying that Artificial Intelligence will have a significant impact on our society. It is up to the mankind whether it wants to use technology as a blessing for itself, or a menace. However thin, there must exist a line beyond which the use of technology should be reconsidered. (The writer is a software engineer currently working as an executive at JIRICO, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat) PERSPECTIVE Indonesia pivotal to our Being the largest among the ASEAN states and the most populated Muslim nation in the world, Indonesia offers incomparable advantages for India not just in addressing its security concerns but also in meeting New Delhi s global aspirations JYOTISHMAN BHAGAWATI Indo-pacific strategy rime Minister Narendra Modi s recent spurt in ties got further sustained by the Pvisit to Indonesia as part of his threenation tour to Indonesia, Malaysia and and Indonesia s a thousand friends and convergence of India s Look East policy Singapore, highlighted the new-found zero enemies approach, whereby it sought strategic convergence between the two to engage with all the major powers in the nations at a time when the centre of global economic and geopolitical attention has However, Jakarta s recent clash with region through a dynamic equilibrium. shifted to the Indo-pacific region. Both Beijing over fishing rights around the India and Indonesia are strategically Natuna Islands as well as India s growing located at the fulcrum of global geopolitics as well as major trade and energy cor- border and more recently in the Indian differences with China in its disputed land ridors in the region. While India occupies Ocean has put both India and Indonesia a central position in the Indian Ocean at odds with Beijing s increasing belligerence in the region. During Modi s visit, the region by virtue of being situated in close proximity to important maritime chokepoints and Sea Lanes of Communications of achieving a free, open, transparent, two sides emphasised on the importance (SLOCs), Indonesia holds an extremely rules-based, peaceful, prosperous and crucial geostrategic space because of the inclusive Indo-pacific region, where sovereignty and territorial integrity, interna- four strategic maritime passages namely the Straits of Malacca, Lombok, Sunda tional law, in particular United Nations and Ombai-Wetar which fall under its Convention on the Laws of the Seas maritime jurisdiction. Its control of these (UNCLOS), freedom of navigation, sustainable development and an open, free, four maritime openings makes Indonesia the linchpin of India s Indo-pacific strategy as the archipelagic state not only gives investment system are respected. This was fair and mutually beneficial trade and India unrestricted access to the Pacific, but a veiled reference to their opposition to also offers the prospect to jointly monitor the shipping lanes in the region, espe- activities in the Indo-pacific region, which China s territorial claims and militarisation cially since Beijing s naval footprints have not only overlap the exclusive economic increased dramatically over the last decade. zones of states like Malaysia, Vietnam, The criticality of Indonesia is such that Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, etc, but are without the country s support and cooperation, any strategy to link the Indian and the UNCLOS. also in contradiction to the provisions of the Pacific Ocean cannot sustain. However, Indonesia s significance for It, therefore, comes as no surprise that India lies not just in checking Beijing s even though 15 agreements were signed growing naval ambitions in the region, but between Modi and Indonesian President is also extremely important in addressing Joko Widodo, the highlight of the visit was unconventional threats to the Andaman India s decision to invest in the Sabang and Nicobar Islands. Of particular importance is the Aceh province of Indonesia, port, situated at the gateway to the Strait of Malacca, the most important and located at the northern end of Sumatra. busiest shipping lane in the world. While The presence of terrorist entities like Alnot much is known about the terms of the Qaeda, ISIS and the rise of religious fundamentalism in the province highlights the agreement between the two countries, the fact that there is a clear military dimension to the port is evident from Indonesia s habited islands of the Andaman and likelihood of these groups using the unin- coordinating minister for maritime affairs Nicobar Islands for their nefarious activities. Against this backdrop, New Delhi s Luhut Pandjaitam s statement that the port s 40-metre depth is suitable for all investment plans in the Sabang port in kinds of vessels, including submarines. Aceh and the recent decision of India and Expectedly, the Chinese media s reaction Indonesia to set up a special task force to was quite vocal, threatening India and enhance connectivity, promote trade, Indonesia to steer clear of any military tourism and people-to-people contacts cooperation. That geopolitics dominated assumes a lot of importance. the discussions between the two leaders For Indonesia, which stood against was also apparent in India s request to be India in its 1962 war with China and the allowed to join the Malacca Straits Patrol 1965 war with Pakistan, to make a strate- (MSP) with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand (which was, however, declined by the Indonesian side citing operational limitations and differences). India and Indonesia are separated by a mere 80 nautical miles of water. But the mental distance between the two Indian Ocean littoral states had been way too far for much of their independent history, except for a brief period in the 1950s. Jakarta s close ties with Beijing and Islamabad and suspicions about New Delhi s hegemonic ambitions in the region put relations with India on the back burner for much of the twentieth century. It was only after the onset of democracy following the downfall of the Suharto regime in 1998 and most prominently after the 2005 India-Indonesia Strategic Partnership Agreement that relations between the two countries took a more positive turn. This gic turnaround in the twenty-first century and have a comprehensive strategic partnership with New Delhi shows the increasing recognition in Jakarta of India s ability to play a prominent role in the Indopacific region. Indonesia s growing relevance for India is also evident from the discussions between the two sides to hold annual summits between their leaders, on the lines of the summits that India holds with Russia and Japan. This reflects the immense strategic value that New Delhi attaches to Indonesia. Moreover, being the largest among the ASEAN states and the most populated Muslim nation in the world, Indonesia offers incomparable advantages for India not just in addressing its security concerns but also in meeting New Delhi s global aspirations. As India gradually attains centrestage in the Indo-pacific region, new opportunities and challenges are cropping up before it. However, what becomes extremely necessary for New Delhi in view of the changing dynamics of the region is to shed off its image of a rhetorical actor in Southeast Asia and become more actively engaged in the region. Modi s visit to Indonesia did provide the initial sparks at a very opportune time in history, but whether that spark can hold on to ignite and propel the relationship between the two countries to greater heights will depend a lot on India s actions rather than rhetoric. (The writer is a research scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia) Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Indonesian President Joko Widodo as they visit the Arjuna Wijaya Chariot statue in Jakarta PTI/File

10 money 10 Markets snap 2-day rally; post 3rd weekly gains PTI n MUMBAI S tocks took a breather on Friday after two sessions of robust gains as investors booked profit in recent winners amid uncertainty over global trade relations ahead of a key G7 meeting. Healthcare counters were the session s biggest gainers following a clutch of USFDA approvals for Indian drug makers. Overseas, European stocks followed Asian peers lower after a mixed close on Wall Street overnight. Global investors are keeping a keen eye on the upcoming G7 meeting against the backdrop of the US slapping tariffs on a wide range of imports from allies like the EU and Canada The 30-share Sensex opened lower and stayed in the negative terrain for the major part of the session, hitting a low of 35,260. It staged a mild recovery towards the end to touch a high of 35,484.94, before finally finishing at 35,443.67, down by points, or 0.05%. The index had gained points in the past two sessions after the RBI hiked the policy rate on inflation concerns but maintained its neutral stance and growth outlook. The 50-share NSE Nifty settled 0.70 points, or 0.01%, lower at 10, During the session, it moved between 10, and 10, Both the key indices finished with gains for the third week in a row. The BSE Sensex recorded a rise of points, or 0.61%, while the NSE Nifty advanced points, or 0.67%, this week. Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth ` crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of `1, crore, as per provisional data. Market reversed from low despite weak global sentiment as positive cues on pharma stocks and prospects of government measures on PSU banks supported the market to end flat. Weakening rupee and favourable USFDA outcomes on domestic pharma helped to regain positive sentiment in the sector. Volatility in oil price and mixed earnings in the fourth quarter may lead the market to stay on the consolidation path, said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. Sun Pharma was by far the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 8.13%, followed by Dr Reddy s at 4.92%. Aurobindo Pharma rose 4.42% after the company said it had received final approval from the US health regulator to manufacture Omeprazole tablets, used in the treatment of frequent heartburn. Lupin also rose by 5.66%, Cadila healthcare 2.48% and Glenmark Pharma 3.82%. However, Power Grid lost the most among Sensex constituents, declining 2.12%, followed by HDFC Ltd 1.42%, ITC 0.98%, Asian Paints 0.97%, M&M 0.91%, L&T 0.78% and Bharti Airtel 0.75%. Banking stocks ended lower. Axis Bank lost 1.05%, ICICI Bank 0.91%, IndusInd Bank 0.77%, HDFC Bank 0.71% and Yes Bank 0.59%. Oil marketing companies drifted lower after global crude prices crossed USD 77 per barrel as Venezuela struggled to meet its supply obligations amid the ongoing voluntary output cuts led by producer cartel OPEC. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd fell 1.62%, OIL 1.35% and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd 1.17%. Sectorally, the BSE Power index fell 0.74%, followed by metal 0.43%, FMCG 0.36%, bankex 0.24%, capital goods 0.24% and auto 0.12%. Bucking the trend, healthcare spurted 3.62%, IT 0.77%, teck 0.73%, oil and gas 0.60%, PSU 0.38%, consumer durables 0.38% and realty 0.38%. Broader markets too showed a firm trend, with the BSE small-cap index rising 0.58% and mid-caps gaining 0.42%. In Asia, Singapore fell 0.99% and Hong Kong s Hang Seng lost 1.76%. Japan s Nikkei dipped 0.56% and China s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.36%. Taiwan too drifted lower by 0.85%. In Europe, Frankfurt s DAX fell 1.46%, while Paris CAC shed 0.59% in early deals. London too fell 0.70%. Reliance Retail to leverage Jio s strength to consolidate position PTI n NEW DELHI eliance Retail plans to continue its aggres- expansion plans in the organised retail Rsive segment and consolidate its position to keep up with evolving consumer shopping habits, said RIL in its latest annual report. Reliance Retail, which crossed USD 10 billion sales and became the first Indian company to enter the world s top 200 retail chains, is getting future ready and is set to further strengthen leadership position in organised retail. It will leverage the strength of group s telecom vertical, Jio, to further consolidate its position in the organised retail sector in India through aggressive expansion plans, according to RIL s latest annual report. As per its strategy, it would continue to expand network in tier II and III cities in the country. It has identified four key pillars to achieve expansion that includes augmenting geographical reach, innovating newer store concepts and channels, enhancing customer experience and leveraging technology. Reliance Retail has the ambition of reaching the hinterlands of the country and is putting together a framework of expanding each store concepts across tier 2 and tier 3 cities and beyond to achieve market leadership, RIL said in its annual report for FY It further said, the company will leverage and interplay strengths with Reliance Jio to execute this. According to the company, the retail sector has huge scope to grow as organised retail has a 9 per cent share in the overall Indian retailing market, providing significant growth opportunities to the formal sector. Reliance Retail s revenues grew per cent YoY to `69,198 crore, sustaining a revenue CAGR of 45 per cent over the last 5 years. QUICK TAKES ACME bags 75 MW solar project in UP at `3.32/unit New Delhi: ACME Group bagged another 75 MW Solar PV capacity for Parasan solar park in Uttar Pradesh under a tariff-based reverse auction conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on Friday. The ACME Group had won a 50 MW solar power project at Gujrai solar park in UP in an auction conducted by the SECI on Thursday. The SECI had invited solar tenders with cumulative capacity of 275 MW to be executed at multiple solar parks in UP. Today ACME bid for 75 MW at Parasan solar park in Jalaun district of UP and won it at a tariff of `3.32/unit. The second best tariff offered was `3.34/unit, a company statement ACME Solar is an independent power producer which constructs, owns and operates solar power plants in India. After bagging 125 MW solar capacity, the company s total portfolio in UP stands at 155 MW while its total portfolio will increase to 2900 MWp, the company USFDA nod to Aurobindo Pharma for heartburn drug New Delhi: Aurobindo Pharma said it had received final approval from the US health regulator to manufacture Omeprazole delayedrelease tablets, used in the treatment of frequent heartburn. The approved product is a generic equivalent of AstraZeneca s Prilosec tablets. The product will be launched in June Omeprazole tablets are indicated for the treatment of frequent heartburn (occurring two or more days a week). Quoting Nielsen data, Aurobindo Pharma said the estimated market size of Prilosec OTC tablets was USD 222 million for the twelve months ending March This is the 141st ANDA (abbreviated new drug application), including 20 tentative approvals, to be approved out of unit VII formulation facility in Hyderabad used for manufacturing oral products, the company Tata Motors global sales up 24% in May New Delhi: Tata Motors on Friday reported 24 per cent rise in global sales, including that of Jaguar Land Rover, to 1,07,343 units in last month. It had sold 86,385 units in May last year. Global wholesale units of all Tata Motors commercial vehicles and Tata Daewoo range in May 2018 stood at 40,989 units, up 45 per cent from 28,310 units a year ago, the company said in a statement, adding that global sales of all passenger vehicles were at 66,354 units, 14 per cent higher that 58,075 units in May Global sales of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) were 48,786 units. Jaguar wholesale units for the month were 15,320 vehicles, while Land Rover wholesale stood at 33,466 vehicles. JLR had sold a total of 47,131 units in May IHCL bids for Taj Mansingh, two other hotels New Delhi: Tata group hospitality arm Indian Hotels Company disclosed that it has bid for Taj Mahal Hotel at Mansingh Road and for two other hotels in Delhi. The other two hotels are The Connaught and Hotel Asian International. Taj Mansingh was earlier given to Tata Group s Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) on a lease for 33 years, which ended in It was since given nine temporary extensions. Cipla partners with Eli Lilly to market diabetes drug in India New Delhi: Drug firm Cipla on Friday said it had partnered with Eli Lilly to market and distribute Lilly s insulin glargine injection, Basaglar, in India. Cipla s tie-up is with Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the US based firm, the two firms said in a joint statement. The companies did not disclose the financial details of the deal. Cipla expects to start commercialising Basaglar in India by end of this year. PTI NIFTY 50 SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGE SUNPHARMA LUPIN DRREDDY 1, , , , CIPLA GAIL BAJFINANCE 2, , , , INFRATEL ZEEL SBIN RELIANCE TATAMOTORS UPL HCLTECH TITAN TECHM INFY 1, , , , TCS 1, , , , MARUTI 8, , , , COALINDIA KOTAKBANK 1, , , , ONGC IOC ULTRACEMCO 3, , , , ADANIPORTS BAJAJFINSV 5, , , , WIPRO INDUSINDBK 1, , , , BAJAJ-AUTO 2, , , , YESBANK IBULHSGFIN 1, , , , TATASTEEL HEROMOTOCO 3, , , , HDFCBANK 2, , , , EICHERMOT 29, , , , VEDL NTPC HINDUNILVR 1, , , , ICICIBANK BHARTIARTL ASIANPAINT 1, , , , LT 1, , , , AXISBANK ITC M&M GRASIM 1, , , , HINDPETRO BPCL HDFC 1, , , , POWERGRID HINDALCO NIFTY NEXT 50 SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGE PNB AUROPHARMA IDEA MARICO EMAMILTD 1, , , , DMART 1, , , , CADILAHC CUMMINSIND DLF GICRE PETRONET ICICIPRULI NMDC SAIL LICHSGFIN BHEL CONCOR 1, , , , SIEMENS 998 1, , HAVELLS L&TFH BANKBARODA INDIGO 1, , , , MRF 75, , , , PGHH 9, , , , MCDOWELL-N 3, , , , GODREJCP 1, , , , PEL 2, , , , SBILIFE AMBUJACEM JSWSTEEL OFSS 3, , , , NHPC COLPAL 1, , , , ACC 1, , , , ABCAPITAL DABUR HINDZINC MOTHERSUMI SHREECEM 16, , , , BOSCHLTD 18, , , , PFC ABB 1, , , , SRTRANSFIN 1, , , , SUNTV OIL BRITANNIA 6, , , , PIDILITIND 1, , , , RECLTD ASHOKLEY BEL BSE 500 Script Last Abs Change Traded Price Change % 3MINDIA KMILES AARTIIND ABAN ABB ABBOTINDIA ABFRL ACC ADANIPORTS ADANIPOWER ADANITRANS ADVENZYMES AEGISLOG AIAENG AJANTPHARM AKZOINDIA ALBK ALKEM ALLCARGO AMARAJABAT AMBUJACEM ANDHRABANK APARINDS APLAPOLLO APLLTD APOLLOHOSP APOLLOTYRE ARVIND ASAHIINDIA ASHOKA ASHOKLEY ASIANPAINT ASTRAL ASTRAMICRO ATUL AUBANK AUROPHARMA AVANTI AXISBANK BAJAJ-AUTO BSE: GAINERS Current (Chng %) SPARC (11.36) SINTEX (11.07) UCOBANK (9.46) SUNPHARMA (8.13) PVR (6.02) BAJAJCORP BAJAJELEC BAJAJFINSV BAJAJHIND BAJAJHLDNG BAJFINANCE BALKRISIND BALMLAWRIE BALRAMCHIN BANKBARODA BANKINDIA BASF BATAINDIA BAYERCROP BBTC BEL BEML BERGEPAINT BFUTILITIE BHARATFIN BHARATFORG BHARTIARTL BHEL BIOCON BIRLACORPN BLISSGVS BLUEDART BLUESTARCO BOMDYEING BOSCHLTD BPCL BRITANNIA CADILAHC CANBK CANFINHOME CAPF CAPPL CARBORUNIV CARERATING CASTROLIND CCL CEATLTD CENTRALBK CENTRUM CENTURYPLY CENTURYTEX CERA CESC CGPOWER CHAMBLFERT CHENNPETRO CHOLAFIN CIPLA COALINDIA COFFEEDAY COLPAL CONCOR COROMANDEL CORPBANK COX&KINGS CRISIL CROMPTON CUB CUMMINSIND CYIENT DABUR DALMIABHA DBCORP DBL DCBBANK DCMSHRIRAM DEEPAKFERT DEEPAKNI DELTACORP DENABANK DHANUKA DHFL DISHTV DIVISLAB DLF DMART DRREDDY ECLERX EDELWEISS EICHERMOT EIDPARRY EIHOTEL ELGIEQUIP NSE: GAINERS Current (Chng %) SUNPHARMA (8.02) LUPIN (5.35) DRREDDY 2, (4.83) CIPLA (3.01) GAIL (1.98) EMAMILTD ENDURANCE ENGINERSIN ENIL EQUITAS ERIS EROSMEDIA ESCORTS ESSELPRO EVEREADY EXIDEIND FCONSUMER FDC FEDERALBNK FINCABLES FINOLEXIND FLFL FORCEMOT FORTIS FRETAIL FSL GAIL GATI GDL GEPIL GESHIP GET&D GHCL GICHSGFIN GILLETTE GLAXO GLENMARK GMDCLTD GMRINFRA GNFC GODFRYPHLP GODREJCP GODREJIND GODREJPROP GPPL GRANULES GRAPHITE GRASIM GREAVESCOT GREENPLY GRINDWELL SENSEX GRUH GSFC GSKCONS GSPL GUJALKALI GUJFLUORO GUJGAS GULFOILLUB HATSUN HAVELLS HCC HCLTECH HDFC HDFCBANK HDIL HEG HEIDELBERG HERITGFOOD HEROMOTOCO HEXAWARE HFCL HIMATSEIDE HINDALCO HINDCOPPER HINDPETRO HINDUNILVR HINDZINC HSCL HSIL HUDCO IBREALEST* IBULHSGFIN IBVENTURES ICICIBANK ICICIPRULI ICIL ICRA IDBI IDEA IDFC IDFCBANK IFCI IGL IL&FSTRANS INDHOTEL INDIACEM INDIANB INDIGO INDUSINDBK INFIBEAM INFRATEL INFY INOXLEISUR INOXWIND INTELLECT IOB IOC IPCALAB IRB ISGEC ITC ITDCEM J&KBANK JAGRAN JAICORPLTD JAMNAAUTO JBCHEPHARM JBFIND JCHAC JETAIRWAYS JINDALSAW JINDALSTEL JISLJALEQS JKCEMENT JKIL BSE: SENSEX Open High Low Current value Previous close Change (Pts) Change (%) JKLAKSHMI JKTYRE JMFINANCIL JPASSOCIAT JSL JSLHISAR JSWENERGY JSWSTEEL JUBILANT JUBLFOOD JUSTDIAL JYOTHYLAB KAJARIACER KALPATPOWR KANSAINER KEC KEI KESORAMIND KIRLOSENG KOTAKBANK KPIT KPRMILL KRBL KSCL KTKBANK KWALITY L&TFH LAKSHVILAS LALPATHLAB LAOPALA LAURUSLABS LAXMIMACH LICHSGFIN LINDEINDIA LT LTI LTTS LUPIN M&M M&MFIN MAGMA MAHABANK MAHINDCIE MAHLIFE MANAPPURAM MANPASAND MARICO MARKSANS MARUTI MAXINDIA MCLEODRUSS MCX MEGH MFSL MGL MHRIL MINDACORP MINDAIND MINDTREE MMTC MOIL MONSANTO MOTHERSUMI MOTILALOFS MPHASIS MRF MRPL MUTHOOTFIN NATCOPHARM NATIONALUM NAUKRI NAVINFLUOR NAVKARCORP NAVNETEDUL NBCC VITAL STATS GOLD SILVER Mumbai Delhi Kolkata NIFTY NBVENTURES NCC NESTLEIND NETWORK NH NHPC NIITLTD NIITTECH NILKAMAL NLCINDIA NMDC NOCIL NTPC OBEROIRLTY OFSS OIL OMAXE ONGC ORIENTBANK ORIENTCEM PAGEIND PARAGMILK PCJEWELLER PEL PERSISTENT PETRONET PFC PFIZER PFS PGHH PHILIPCARB PHOENIXLTD PIDILITIND PIIND PNB PNBHOUSING PNCINFRA POWERGRID PRAJIND PRESTIGE PRSMJOHNSN PTC BSE: LOSERS Current (Chng %) KWALITY (4.90) CASTROLIND (4.61) EDELWEISS (4.14) ICIL (3.82) GDL (3.24) PVR QUESS RADICO RAIN RAJESHEXPO RALLIS RAMCOCEM RATNAMANI RAYMOND RBLBANK RCF RCOM RECLTD REDINGTON RELAXO RELCAPITAL RELIANCE RELINFRA RENUKA REPCOHOME RNAVAL RPOWER SADBHAV SAIL SANOFI SBIN SCHAEFFLER SCHNEIDER SCI SFL SHANKARA SHARDACROP SHILPAMED SHK SHOPERSTOP SHREECEM SHRIRAMCIT SIEMENS SINTEX SITINET SJVN SKFINDIA SOBHA SOLARINDS SOMANYCERA SONATSOFTW SOUTHBANK SPARC SPICEJET SREINFRA SRF SRTRANSFIN STRTECH SUDARSCHEM SUNCLAYLTD SUNDRMFAST SUNPHARMA SUNTECK SUNTV SUPPETRO SUPRAJIT SUPREMEIND SUVEN SUZLON SWANENERGY SYMPHONY SYNDIBANK SYNGENE TAKE TATACHEM TATACOFFEE TATACOMM TATAELXSI TATAGLOBAL TATAINVEST TATAMETALI TATAMOTORS TATAMTRDVR TATAPOWER TATASPONGE TATASTEEL TCS TECHM TECHNO TEJASNET TEXRAIL THERMAX THOMASCOOK NSE: LOSERS Current (Chng %) HINDALCO (2.55) POWERGRID (2.42) HDFC 1, (1.67) BPCL (1.45) HINDPETRO (1.37) THYROCARE TIMETECHNO TIMKEN TITAN TNPL TORNTPHARM TORNTPOWER TRENT TRIDENT TRITURBINE TTKPRESTIG TV18BRDCST TVSMOTOR TVSSRICHAK TVTODAY TWL UBL UCOBANK UFLEX UJJIVAN ULTRACEMCO UNICHEMLAB UNIONBANK UNITECH UPL VAKRANGEE VBL VEDL VENKYS VGUARD VIJAYABANK VINATIORGA VIPIND VMART VOLTAS VSTIND VTL WABAG WABCOINDIA WELCORP WELSPUNIND WHIRLPOOL WIPRO WOCKPHARMA YESBANK ZEEL ZENSARTECH

11 world 11 Would invite Kim to WH if S pore talks go well PTI n WASHINGTON resident Donald Trump on PFriday said he would consider inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the White House if their Singapore summit on Tuesday goes well but made it clear that he is ready to walk away from the meeting if his goals were not achieved.the US and its regional allies want to see North Korea give up its nuclear weapons. Trump and Kim will meet on Sentosa, a smaller island off the coast of Singapore s main island. The June 12 summit would represent the first ever meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting US president. Trump made the remarks after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House to discuss the June 12 summit. Abe s visit is part of a flurry of diplomatic activity in the run-up to the summit, as countries try to ensure their interests are not overlooked. Maybe we ll start with the White House, he told reporters after he was asked whether he would invite the North Korean leader to the White House or his Mar-a-lago resort in Florida. He said it was possible an agreement to end the Korean War could be reached, though he called that the easy part of the negotiations. It s what happens after that that is really important, he told reporters. He, however, made it clear that he was ready to walk away from the meeting if his goals were not achieved. I am totally prepared to walk. It could happen. Maybe it won t be necessary. I hope it won t be necessary to walk, because I really believe that Kim Jong-un wants to do something that is going to be great for his people, and also great for his family, and great for himself, Trump I am totally prepared to walk away. I did it once before. You have to be able to walk away. If you re not going to be able to walk away we didn t walk away from the horrible Iran deal that was signed, and if you look at what s happened, since I signed that deal, Iran and in all fairness, I say it with great respect for the people of Iran, but Iran is acting a lot differently. They re no longer looking so much to the Mediterranean, he Iran, he said, is no longer looking so much to what was going on in Syria, Yemen and other places. They re a much different country over the last three months. And again, I say that with hope that maybe something can happen, said the US President. AFP n SYRIA ir strikes thought to have Abeen carried out by Russian jets on a rebel-held residential area in northwestern Syria have killed 44 civilians, a Britain-based monitor said on on Friday. Six children were among those killed when the strikes hit the Zardana area of Idlib province late yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights The Russian defence ministry dismissed the Observatory s reports of strikes on Zardana as having nothing to do with reality, in a statement carried by the TASS news agency. Zardana is largely controlled by Islamist rebels, with a small presence of the Hayat Tahrir al-sham alliance led by Syria s former Al-Qaeda affiliate. An AFP correspondent at the scene saw volunteers with a crane still searching the rubble in the early morning. Half a dozen men in civilian clothes helped carry a person in a black body bag away from the site of the strikes, which pulverised several buildings. At night, dozens of wounded streamed in to the local hospital, including children, women, elderly people and rescue volunteers, the correspondent Dust dashed with blood covered the twisted bodies of the dead. Most of Idlib province is About Kim s personal letter delivered to Trump by the North Korean leader s top aide last week, the President said, The letter was just a greeting. It was really very nice. Perhaps I can get approval to put it out. It was really a very warm letter, a very nice letter. I appreciated it very much, and nothing other than. We look forward to seeing you, and we look forward to the summit, and hopefully, some wonderful things will work out. So it was really very warm, very nice. We appreciated it, Trump US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking later at the White House, said Kim had indicated to him personally that he was willing to denuclearise - although it is not clear if that means North Korea is coming closer to the US vision of what that entails. Earlier, Trump said he did not think preparation was essential for his meeting with the North Korean leader. I think I m very well prepared. I don t think I have to prepare very much. It s about attitude, it s about willingness to get things done, he held by an array of Islamist and jihadist groups with only parts controlled by the Russian-backed government. Since Russia intervened in its support in 2015, the government has regained control of around half of the country. More than 350,000 people have been killed in the Syrian N Korea has confirmed to US its willingness to denuclearise: Pompeo PTI n WASHINGTON orth Korea has confirmed Nto the US its willingness to denuclearise, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday, asserting that President Donald Trump will not stand by a bad deal in his summit with Kim Jong-un in Singapore next week. Any deal reached as a result of the meeting between Trump and the North Korean leader Kim would be brought before the Congress for its stamp of approval so that it cannot be reversed by any future administration, said Pompeo, who is spearheading the American efforts for talks with Pyongyang. The United States and North Korea have been holding direct talks in preparation for a summit, and North Korea has confirmed to us its willingness to denuclearise, he told reporters at a White House news conference. Noting that a comprehensive whole-of-government effort in support of Trump s upcoming summit was underway, Pompeo said a White House and State Departmentled advance teams were finalising logistical preparations and will remain in place in Singapore until the summit begins. Trump continues to follow every development closely and is getting daily briefings from his national security team, he The fact that the two leaders are coming to the table shows that they are very serious, Pompeo said, noting that the diplomatic model that they have used to date is different from past efforts. The efforts gives them hope that Suspected Russian strikes kill 44 in Syria FB says privacy-setting bug affected as many as 14 mn New York (AP): Facebook said a software bug led some users to post publicly by default regardless of their previous settings. The bug affected as many as 14 million users over several days in May. The problem, which Facebook said it has fixed, is the latest privacy scandal for the world s largest social media company. It said the bug automatically suggested that users make new posts public, even if they had previously restricted posts to friends only or another private setting. If users did not notice the new default suggestion, they unwittingly sent their post to a broader audience than they had intended. Erin Egan, Facebook s chief privacy officer, said the bug did not affect past posts. Facebook is notifying users who were affected and posted publicly during the time the bug was active, advising them to review their posts. The news follows recent furor over Facebook s sharing of user data with device makers, including China s Huawei. The company is also still recovering from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a Trump-affiliated data-mining firm got access to the personal data of as many as 87 million Facebook users. Jonathan Mayer, a professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton University, said on Twitter that this latest privacy gaffe looks like a viable This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows civil defense workers and civilians inspecting damaged buildings after airstrikes hit in the village of Zardana, in Idlib province, Syria on Friday. AP Federal Trade Commission/state attorney general deception case. That s because the company had promised that the setting users set in their most recent privacy preferences would be maintained for future posts. In this case, this did not happen for several days. Facebook s 2011 consent decree with the FTC calls for the company to get express consent from users before sharing their information beyond what they established in their privacy settings. Even if the bug was an accident on Facebook s part, Mayer said in an that the FTC can bring enforcement action for privacy mistakes. Facebook, which has 2.2 billion users, says the bug was active from May 18 until May 27. While the company says it stopped the error on May 22, it was not able to change all the posts back to their original privacy parameters until later. The mistake happened when the company built a new way for people to share featured items on their profiles. These items, which include posts and photo albums, are automatically public. In the process of creating this feature, Facebook said it accidentally made the suggested audience for all new posts public. When people post to Facebook, the service suggests a default distribution for their posts based on past privacy settings. war since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. The Observatory says it relies on sources inside Syria for its information, and determines who carried out strikes on the basis of flight patterns, and the type of aircraft and ammunition used. they can find real success where past efforts have fallen short, he added. Pompeo said Trump was hopeful, but he is also going into the summit with his eyes wide open. We ve seen how many inadequate agreements have been struck in the past. You can be sure that President Trump will not stand for a bad deal, he The US has been clear, time and time again, that complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula is the only outcome that we will find acceptable, Pompeo Trump, he said, recognises that North Korea has great potential, and he looks forward to a day when sanctions on it can begin to be removed. However, that cannot happen until the Pyongyang completely and verifiably eliminates its weapons of mass destruction programs, he reiterated. Pompeo said Trump and Kim will certainly also discuss security assurances for North Korea, establishing a peace regime and improving relations between the two countries. US: Foundational agreements with India to provide framework for defence coop PTI n WASHINGTON ndia signing two founda- agreements with the Itional US would provide the framework for additional and longlasting defence co-operation between the two countries, the Trump Administration has Tina Kaidanow, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political- Military Affairs was in New Delhi recently and discussed these agreements with Indian officials. It matters that we pursue some of the foundational agreements that we ve been trying to pursue. It matters that we continue our efforts on technology security. It matters because those are the kinds of things that would provide the framework for additional and long lasting cooperation, whether it s space or another things, she Kaidanow said the US wants to build long lasting, long term relationships with the countries in the region. These foundational agreements, she insisted, are very similar for the vast array of partners and friends that the US does on a routine basis. We want very much India to be in that group. We improved obviously. We have indicated that India is now major defence partner for US. We want very much to do similar things with India as we are doing with a number of those other countries, she GLOBE TROTTING If we want that defense relationship to be everything it can be, if we want to realize that full potential, then those foundational agreements are important and we are going to need to find that way forward, Kaidanow Kaidanow said the US has presented to Indians some good options to move forward. I think we can hopefully make some progress in that relatively soon, she Noting that bilateral defense trade has gone up from near zero to USD 15 million since 2008, she said there is a lot more that could be done by putting some of those foundational agreements in place. Austria to expel up to 60 imams AFP n VIENNA ustria could expel up to A60 Turkish-funded imams and their families as part of a crackdown on political Islam, Interior Minister Herbert Kickl said today. The circle of people possibly affected by these measures - the pool that we re talking about - comprises around 60 imams, said Kickl of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), the junior partner in Austria s coalition government. In total 150 people risked losing their right to residence, he said at a press conference in Vienna. Seven mosques will also be shut after an investigation by the religious affairs authority into images which emerged in April of children in a Turkish-backed mosque playing dead and reenacting the World War I battle of Gallipoli. Parallel societies, political Islam and radicalisation have no place in our country, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the ruling centre-right People s Party In several cases the process of expelling imams connected to the Turkish- Islamic Cultural Associations (ATIB) organisation was underway, Kickl The interior minister added that the government suspects them of contravening a ban on foreign funding of religious office holders. ATIB is a branch of Turkey s religious affairs agency Diyanet. The photos of children, published by the Falter weekly, showed the young boys in camouflage uniforms marching, saluting, waving Turkish flags and then playing dead. Their corpses were then lined up and draped in the flags.the mosque in question was run by ATIB and is one of those that will be closed. ATIB itself condemned the photos at the time, calling the highly regrettable event and said that called off before it had even ended. Turkey s relations with Austria have long been strained, with Kurz calling on the European Union to break off negotiations on Ankara joining the bloc. Last week Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacked Kurz, saying: This immoral chancellor has a problem with us. He s throwing his weight around and making a scene, Erdogan went on. Sharif slams SC s ruling to allow Mush to file nomination papers PTI n ISLAMABAD akistan s ousted prime min- Nawaz Sharif on Pister Friday criticised the Supreme Court s verdict of allowing General Pervez Musharraf to file nomination papers to contest the general elections on July 25, saying the former military dictator was being given preferential treatment. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar, yesterday ruled that the 74-year-old Musharraf, disqualified for life, can conditionally file his nomination papers to contest the polls. The bench asked retired General Musharraf to appear before the court on June 13 as it resumed the hearing of his review petition against his disqualification for life by the Peshawar High Court in Speaking to reporters outside the accountability court, Reincarnation of Dalai Lama should be chosen by Tibetans WASHINGTON: Drinking coffee can help people work together as a team and boost their productivity, according to a study. Researchers from The Ohio State University in the US found that people gave more positive reviews for their group s performance on a task - and their own contribution - if they drank caffeinated coffee beforehand. The study, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, showed that people talked more in a group setting under the influence of caffeinated coffee - but they also were more ontopic than those who drank decaf. Coffee seems to work its magic in teams by making people more alert, said Amit Singh, a doctoral student at The Ohio State University. We found that increased alertness was what led to the positive results for team performance. Not surprisingly, people who drank caffeinated coffee tended to be more alert, Singh He conducted the study with Vasu Unnava and H Rao Unnava, both formerly at Ohio State and now with the University of California, Davis. While many studies have looked at how caffeine affects individual performance, this is Washington (PTI): Tibetans should choose Buddhist lamas, including the Dalai Lama, as per their beliefs and without interference, the Trump administration has said in an apparent reference to China s intervention. In its latest Tibet negotiations report sent to the Congress, the Trump administration said it was concerned by the Chinese government s interference in the selection, education and veneration of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders. The US government believes that respect for Tibetan Buddhists universal human right of religious freedom dictates that the succession or identification of Tibetan Buddhist lamas, including the Dalai Lama, should occur without interference, in a manner consistent with their beliefs, said the report signed by Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Mary K Waters. The US continues to urge the Chinese Government to revise its policies in Tibetan areas that have created tensions, respect and preserve the distinct religious, linguistic and cultural identity of the Tibetan people and permit Tibetans to express their grievances freely, publicly, peacefully and without fear of retribution, it China says that the successor to the Dalai Lama must be chosen according to the religious rituals and historical conventions as well as the backing from the ruling Communist Party. Coffee may boost quality of teamwork the first to examine the impact it has on teams, Singh The first study involved 72 undergraduate students who said they were coffee drinkers. They were instructed not to drink coffee before the experiment. Half of them first participated in what they were told was a coffee-tasting task. They were split into groups of five. After drinking a cup of coffee and rating its flavour, they were given 30 minutes of filler tasks to give the caffeine a chance to kick in. The other half of the participants did the coffee tasting at the end of the experiment. Each group then read about and were asked to discuss a controversial topic - the Occupy movement, a liberal movement that highlighted social and economic inequality. Sharif said how can Musharraf be allowed to file the nomination when he was accused of high treason and wanted in several criminal cases. He said that on the one hand Musharraf was being given preferential treatment while on the other hand he himself was not allowed to go to London to see his ailing wife. He is named and accused in several cases but he is promised on-arrival leniency. I, on the other hand, cannot even obtain five-day permission to visit my wife, Sharif On one hand, he has been booked for treason. On the other, he has been granted conditional permission to contest elections. Under what law has he been allowed to contest elections? I want to see such laws too, he Sharif questioned how an individual could be above the Constitution and being honoured while facing high treason under Article 6 of the Constitution. Sharif and his family are facing investigations since July, when the Supreme Court disqualified the three-time prime minister from office as well as from heading the ruling Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz party over undisclosed assets. Earlier, a Pakistani anticorruption court rejected a plea of the embattled family of Sharif for a week-long exemption to go to London where the deposed premier s wife is being treated for cancer. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had argued that the trial was at a concluding stage hence Sharif s family should not be allowed to leave the country. Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, has been declared a fugitive in the Benazir Bhutto murder case and Red Mosque cleric killing case. Amanda to star in You Should Have Left Los Angeles: Mamma Mia star Amanda Seyfried has joined the cast of thriller You Should Have Left.The film, written and to be directed by David Koepp, also features actor Kevin Bacon and will be produced by Blumhouse Productions.Koepp, an industry veteran, is best known for writing films such as Mission: Impossible, Jurassic Park, Spider- Man, War of the Worlds and others.the film, which is expected to start shooting later this year, follows the unsettling story of a wealthy man with a younger wife and a 6-year-old child. Mistrust and suspicion characterize their marriage while they are in a remote location that may or may not be obeying all the physical laws of the universe. Bacon will portray the wealthy man, while Seyfried will play his wife, an actress with a secret, reported Variety. Legally Blonde 3 is officially happening, confirms Reese Witherspoon Los Angeles: Actor Reese Witherspoon has confirmed that she will be reprising her role of idealistic Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 3.The actor took to Twitter and shared a video of herself clad in a pink bikini, floating in a pool in a nod to a scene in the film. It s true, Witherspoon captioned the video.witherspoon, 42, last played the character in 2003 s Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. After the actor s tweet, MGM Studios announced that the third part will release on Valentine s Day in Back in Pink in 2020! #LegallyBlonde3, read a tweet from the studio s official Twitter handle.witherspoon s production company Hello Sunshine is also expected to produce the film.

12 world 12 Entry of India, Pak strengthens security cooperation of SCO PTI n BEIJING he entry of India and TPakistan into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will strengthen security cooperation in the eight-member grouping, a top Chinese official said ahead of the SCO summit starting in Qingdao city today. SCO members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The upcoming meeting will be the first SCO summit after India and Pakistan were accepted as full members in June, 2017 at the Astana summit in Kazakhstan. The summit will focus on enhancing cooperation to address the challenges of terrorism, drug trafficking, crossborder crimes, information security threats, Liao Jinrong, head of the international cooperation department with the Ministry of Public Security, said at a media briefing ahead of the summit, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The organisation is drawing up measures to tackle these challenges, he As India and Pakistan both have rich experience in maintaining security and combating crime, their entry will enhance the development potential and expand the room for cooperation between SCO members in terms of security, Liao After their entry, the SCO will be able to better Brussels (AFP): A oneweek ceasefire with the Taliban announced by the Afghan government will allow the fight against the Islamic State group to be stepped up, the top US general in the country said o Friday. Afghan commandos backed by US special forces and air support are tackling IS and Al-Qaeda fighters who hold pockets of territory in the northern and eastern provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Jowzjan. We are in the middle of a new offensive against ISIS in Nangahar. This will continue and in fact will be intensified during the period of ceasefire, General John Nicholson, who commands US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, told reporters. Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels, Nicholson said US forces would respect the apparently unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban announced by Afghan respond to new expectations in the security domain from people within the region and the international community, he Terrorism is the most severe security challenge the SCO faces. Over the past years, SCO member states have jointly made achievements in deterring terrorist attacks and arresting members of international terrorist organisations, he Besides continuously fighting against three evil forces of terrorism, extremism and separatism, SCO members have been cooperating in terms of drug control, cracking down on cross-border crime, safeguarding information security and enhancing border controls, Liao Security will be one of the major topics at this summit, which will analyse international and regional security situations and discuss concrete measures to enhance cooperation, he added. We expect that documents on fighting terrorism, extremism and separatism, as well as drug control, will be deliberated at the summit, Liao Participants at the summit will discuss about issues including information security, combating cross-border crime and the formation of permanent bodies to ensure law enforcement and security, he President Ashraf Ghani yesterday. But Nicholson said his troops would not hesitate to respond if the Taliban broke the ceasefire. We will act in self defence of coalition and Afghan forces, Nicholson This means that we will be watching and prepared to respond to any threat that occurs or appears imminent to affect our forces. The Taliban, ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, have not yet Modi to attend SCO Summit, India s focus on combating terror Qingdao (China): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive here tomorrow on a two-day visit to attend the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit where India is likely to pitch for concerted regional and global action against terror networks and favour effective connectivity links to boost trade. India became a full member of the the China-dominated grouping last year and New Delhi s entry into it is expected to increase the eight-member group s heft in regional geopolitics and trade negotiations besides giving it a pan-asian hue. Hours after his arrival in this central port city, Modi is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow during which the two leaders are expected to explore ways to deepen ties in areas of trade and investment besides reviewing the overall bilateral cooperation. The meeting is taking place weeks after the two leaders held an informal summit in central China s Wuhan city during which they exchanged views on Fight against IS will step up during Af truce: US general The onus of responsibility of the peace process on Taliban, says White House Washington: The White House has said that the onus of responsibility of the peace process is now on the Taliban and it needs to acknowledge that it cannot achieve its objectives on the battlefield, a day after Afghan government offered a temporary ceasefire. Afghanistan s President Ashraf Ghani announced the ceasefire with the Taliban after the country s Islamic Council issued an edict that forbade suicide bombing and had urged the group to join peace efforts. President Ghani s remarks at the Kabul Process conference combined with the announcement of the ceasefire initiative demonstrate the Afghan governments willingness to undertake difficult steps toward a political settlement, said Lisa Curtis, the Deputy Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council. The onus of responsibility is now on the Taliban to respond positively, so a peace process begins with all sides sitting down at the table, said Curtis The US is ready to participate in the discussion but it cannot serve as a substitute for the Afghan government and the Afghan people, Curtis said in her keynote address to an event The Long Search for Peace in Afghanistan organised by the US Institute of Peace. Reiterating that no one believes that there is a military solution to this conflict, she said that military force plays a role in helping to set conditions for an ultimate peace settlement. We also believe that the Taliban will have to accept that they cannot achieve their own objectives on the battlefield, she Of course, we recognise the scope of the challenge with which we are faced. One positive point that we can look at today is the consensus within the Afghan government on the necessity for a peace process. Given the sheer brutality of this conflict and attacks by the Taliban and the Haqqani network, including those that have recently taken place in Kabul, a natural reaction would be to pull back from talking about peace, she However, as we saw in today s courageous ceasefire announcement, our Afghan partners are sustaining their focus and pursuing with persistence the goal of a peaceful solution, Curtis A political settlement must be negotiated through a process that is Afghan-led and Afghanowned. Unfortunately, the Taliban spring offensive announcement and wave of heinous attacks, especially those we ve seen in Kabul call into question the Taliban s interest in a peace process, she The Taliban must understand that it can only achieve its goals at the negotiating table, and let me assure you that the US, for its part, prioritizes the pursuit of a peace process, Curtis said and assured the audience that the US, for its part, prioritizes the pursuit of a peace process. confirmed if they will respect the ceasefire, which was called to coincide with Eid-al-Fitr, the holiday that caps the holy month of Ramadan. Ghani s surprise declaration came on the heels of a fatwa issued by Afghanistan s top clerics branding suicide attacks haram, or forbidden, and a Pentagon announcement that senior Taliban officials had been negotiating with Afghan authorities on a possible ceasefire. Shanghai (AFP): Yoga class starts shortly, the pristine massage centre is open for business and cheesecake is served on a platter of pastries and fruit. And then the muffled cry of a baby emerges down the hallway. The setting may resemble a five-star hotel, but this is a sitting centre on Shanghai s outskirts where mothers pay up to 70,000 yuan ($11,000) a month to stay with their newborns. Chinese culture dictates that mothers confine themselves after giving birth, also known as a sitting month. Such confinement was once widely practised in many areas of the world and continues to be popular in other parts of Asia. But as incomes rise in China, the sitting month no longer means being cooped up solidifying the relationship between the two Asian powers. In today s meeting, Modi and Xi are likely to take stock of the progress in the implementation of decisions they had taken at the informal summit. About the SCO summit, officials said India will pitch for evolving effective ways to deal with the growing challenge of terrorism and enhancing security cooperation among SCO countries. India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence. India was an observer at the SCO since 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its members last year. Pak has responsibility to address use of its territory by malign factors PTI n WASHINGTON akistan has a fundamental Presponsibility to address the use of its territory by malign actors like the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, a senior White House official has Lisa Curtis, the Deputy Assistant to the US president and Senior Director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council, said an important component to catalysing a peace process in Afghanistan was ensuring that Pakistan plays a constructive role. The fact is that the Afghan Taliban, including the Haqqani network, has enjoyed sanctuary in Pakistan throughout the past 16 years of conflict, Curtis said in her keynote address to The Long Search for Peace in Afghanistan organised by the US Institute of Peace, a non-partisan, independent body that provides analysis of conflicts around the world. She said the US had asked for Pakistan s assistance in facilitating a peace process in Afghanistan and sought to understand Islamabad s core security concerns. However, we have to be clear that Pakistan s interests are not served by a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan. Pakistan has a fundamental responsibility to address the use of its territory by these malign actors, the top White House official Curtis said regional engagement is central to America s efforts in Afghanistan. We must ensure Afghanistan s near and far neighbours all agree that Afghanistan should be stable and peaceful, she The US and others have long complained that Pakistan provides safe haven to the Afghan Taliban and their allies, the Haqqani network, allowing them to carry out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies these allegations but President Donald Trump has escalated the criticism against Islamabad since he took office. Maldives sets presidential vote with opposition in jail or exile AFP n COLOMBO he Maldives has set the date for its Tnext presidential election with incumbent Abdulla Yameen in a commanding position - and his two main rivals either in jail or exiled abroad. Voters in the Indian Ocean archipelago will go to the polls on September 23, officials said late yesterday, with election authorities to accept candidate nominations next month. But Yameen has moved against potential rivals since winning a controversial runoff vote against then-president Mohamed Nasheed in 2013, launching a crackdown on dissent that has seen two of the country s former leaders put behind bars. Nasheed was convicted on a terrorism charge in 2015 and handed a 13-year jail sentence. He was allowed to Pence calls Pak s interim PM Mulk; expresses support Islamabad (PTI): US Vice President Mike Pence has telephoned Pakistan s caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk and expressed his support to the government. A six-member caretaker federal Cabinet on Tuesday took oath to run the Pakistan government under interim Prime Minister Mulk, 67, till the general election on July 25. The call of Pence yesterday came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked to Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss various issues, including the peace process in Afghanistan. Pence expressed support for the caretaker government on behalf of President Donald Trump, as both the leaders agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, Radio Pakistan reported. They also agreed to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan. Mulk said that the caretaker government is providing all possible assistance to the Election Commission to hold free, fair, transparent and peaceful general election on time. Earlier, US State Department said that Pompeo and General Bajwa discussed ways to advance US-Pakistan bilateral relations, the need for political reconciliation in Afghanistan and the importance of targeting all militant and terrorist groups in South Asia without distinction. Pakistan has not formally issued any response to the conversation between Pompeo and Bajwa. But the army spokesman said that that billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates called Bajwa and supported efforts by the army to help eradicate polio from Pakistan. Former South African President Jacob Zuma dances in front of supporters after appearing in the High Court in Durban, South Africa on Friday. The corruption case against former South African president Zuma was delayed until late next month, while Zuma took to a stage near the courthouse on Friday before thousands of cheering supporters and again declared his innocence. AP at home without bathing or visitors. We prefer to find a professional facility to take care of our baby. We have no experience in taking care of the baby or ourselves after birth, said Yu Xueting, 34, a first-time mother, her weeks-old son Kangkang lying contentedly beside her. Both appear well lookedafter at the private Lake Malaren International Postpartum Care Center in a modern building embellished go to London in 2016 for medical treatment and has remained there in exile since. Meanwhile Yameen s half brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a former strongman who ruled the country for 30 years until 2008, is in prison facing terrorism charges for his alleged role in a February Supreme Court ruling that could have led to Yameen s impeachment. The court had also paved the way for Nasheed s return to the Maldives after ruling to quash criminal convictions against high profile opposition politicians. But its powers were curtailed after Yameen declared a state of emergency in February and arrested two of the court s judges. Nasheed plans to contest the presidency with the endorsement of his Maldivian Democratic Party, but election laws prevent anyone with a criminal conviction from contesting. However, the MDP said Nasheed will submit his nomination papers to challenge Yameen, who has ignored UN Human Rights Committee calls to quash Nasheed s conviction. Colombo-based MDP official Omar Razak said Nasheed will campaign through social media as he cannot return home. The authorities have said he cannot contest because of the conviction, but we will go ahead and submit the nominations on his behalf in July, Razak told AFP.In 2013, the Supreme Court annulled the results of the first round of voting when Nasheed was leading and twice postponed votes, giving Yameen more time to organise an electoral pact and narrowly win the run-off. Pak Prez lauds BRI as global revolutionary movement Beijing(PTI): Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain has hailed China s Belt and Road Initiative as a global revolutionary movement and said its USD 50 billion flagship project - the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor - is reaching fruition. Hussain, who will represent Pakistan at the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Qingdao beginning tomorrow, said Pakistan and China are all-weather and time-tested friends. Successive generations of the leaders in both the countries have worked hard to strengthen this relationship... Pakistan supports China on all its core issues, he The BRI and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, proposed by China in 2013, is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure with turrets and intended to mimic old northern European architecture. Mother and son are accompanied at all times by a nanny who sleeps in the same room. Numerous specialists, nurses and cooks are on hand. A photography studio captures those precious early days of life, while a Mother s Classroom runs lectures for new mums to learn how to care for their baby - and themselves. Dads can stay too, but usually just visit. Yu, who works for IT firm Hewlett-Packard, said the lengthy stay liberates our family. If we do it at home (take care of the baby), then the whole family can t sleep well. I can take maternity leave, but my husband needs to go to work. Sitting month, or Zuoyuezi, stretches back to network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes. The BRI is a revolutionary global movement connecting over 60 countries with generational impact, Hussain was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency. It is a win-win partnership that is already catalysing growth and integrating economies all across Eurasia, the Middle East and Africa. Pakistan is a strong believer and an ardent supporter of the BRI, he told Chinese official media ahead of his visit. He expected that the SCO can be a vehicle for the BRI as all SCO countries are connected through the ancient Silk Route. He said that the USD 50 billion a flagship of project of the CPEC is fast reaching fruition. It entails greater connectivity and trade linkages between Pakistan and about 200 BC and the Han Dynasty, said Elizabeth Hui- Choi, a lecturer at Hong Kong University s School of Nursing. Empresses would be well looked-after following childbirth, including a special diet and lifestyle to restore their broken body and prevent future illness, said Hui-Choi. They believed that treating the mother well would also bring good things to the baby, and it is still believed to be that way. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) also plays a very important part in how most Chinese women still think after childbirth, dictating they should eat more of certain foods, such as ginger, and cut out others such as fruit, she Some stop showering, China through a network of road, rail, fibre optic cable, energy pipelines and power generation projects, he India has protested to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). India did not endorse the BRI at SCO Foreign Ministers meeting held here on April 24 while the rest of the eightmember bloc backed it. China has dismissed global concern that the projects involving massive loans from it are leaving smaller countries including Pakistan in debt trap. Hussain said Pakistan is already reaping benefits from CPEC. Many infrastructure and other projects are fast approaching completion. Gwadar port has become operational. Many projects of social welfare have also been completed in Gwadar, he Yoga session held at UK s Stonehenge London (PTI): The India Tourism office in association with the Indian High Commission here organised a yoga session at Britain s historic Stonehenge as a precursor to the International Day of Yoga later this month. Every year, June 21 is celebrated as the International Day of Yoga or Yoga Day. The unique event witnessed yoga practitioners coming early yesterday morning at 6.00 am to perform Surya Namaskar and other yoga asanas in front of the British cultural icon and world heritage site Stonehenge. Stonehenge is considered as one of the wonders of the world and the best-known prehistoric monument in Europe. India s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK Dinesh Patnaik said, Yoga is one of the greatest cultural exports from India to the world. The ancient art of yoga enhances and enriches the quality of body, mind and soul. To be able to perform yoga at such a historic place, makes one feel proud. B B Mukherjee, Additional Director, India Tourism London, said he was excited at the idea of performing yoga early morning at Stonehenge and commented, We all know the benefits of performing yoga. However performing yoga early morning is a great way to kick-start a day and leaves one with a feeling of freshness and energises the body for the rest of the day. We are increasingly witnessing a trend where UK tourists are now travelling to India for wellness and health reasons that include attending yoga classes and meditation. Jennifer Davies, English Heritage Head of Historic Properties for Stonehenge said, English Heritage is delighted to welcome India Tourism and the High Commission of India to Stonehenge to practise yoga. There is an idea that in prehistoric times Stonehenge was a place of healing and pilgrimage, and so it seems fitting to use the image of the ancient, iconic stones to celebrate yoga. Yoga and cheesecake for new mums in plush Chinese sitting centres washing their hair, or even brushing their teeth for the month, and won t venture outside TCM says these can upset the body s balance. Yu did not wash her hair for a week, but doctors told her that was unnecessary and the centre recommends a more scientific approach that blends TCM and Western medicine. Hui-Choi, a registered midwife trained in Western medicine, said some of the old rituals are unhygienic and that studies suggest strict observance of tradition can make women feel isolated, risking post-partum depression. According to the Legal Daily, a state newspaper, the number of sitting centres in China has exploded from dozens in 2000 to more than 4,000 in 2017.

13 vivacity {48 hours} 13 S H O R T C I R C U I T S ALI ZAFAR GURU RANDHAWA SONAKSHI SINHA MICHAEL B. JORDAN GEORGE CLOONEY I believe that with faith, the right intentions, goodwill and hard work, you can achieve your dreams. I am humbled to have a huge dream fulfilled. To take our cinema global in the best possible manner and to do it with a company that is not just a company but an idea that love transcends all. I have signed a film. If everything goes well, it will be released soon. But I don't want to compromise on my singing or drop down its level to start acting. I want to learn first and take acting and singing together. It is very important to learn. And I try to learn from everything around me. I feel honoured to be part of the charity gala this year and help them raise funds. Women s India Association is one of the oldest Indian charitable organisations in the UK and is dedicated in its commitment to empowering women and children through education. Right around the time Fruitvale Station' went down, I told my agents I didn't want to go out for any roles written for African-Americans. I didn t want that. I wanted only white men s roles. I wanted to go out for these roles because it was just playing people. I love being a part of this industry. I am very proud of the changes that I am seeing in this industry. They are much overdue. I thought you couldn't have it all. I thought if you had a successful career you could not have one great love but everything, then I met Amal. ENCOUNTER 20 MINUTES GENTLEMEN S RACE BOBBY DEOL and SAQIB SALEEM are all primed for Race 3 with which they are hoping to rescue themselves back in the game. But both hold themselves with extreme grace under pressure. At a launch of a fashion line, they tell MUSKAAN KATHURIA how they dealt with missed chances T hey may be apart in years but are united by their singular pursuit of gentlemanly fashion. At 49 years, actor Bobby Deol is the more seasoned of the two, the style following some substance that he has acquired from years of experience. Born to a charmed life of a star son and rapid early successes with his rugged looks, he had, by his own admission, taken his days for granted. Until they slipped out of his hands completely. I wish I knew that I had reached the level up with two-three movies but I never realised that. I never understood that I had reached a certain level of stardom. I was very normal about it. I wish I had noticed it. May be that would have made me focus about not losing it. I should have been more attentive towards it, he says candidly. It took Salman Khan to convince him to get back into the race with Race 3, not to prove a point but to clamber a way out of an emotional trough and restore his sense of self-worth. That can-do spirit has worked wonders as Bobby is back with his swag and toned self, looking every bit as desirable as he was all those years ago. Saqib is an outsider, a youngster, who has been battling his own lows, the big banner eluding him though he has grown up on a diet of masala films. But the acting chops were latent, waiting to be tapped but for long was compromised by circumstance. Collaborating with the right people helps a young actor build a stable career. I have taken projects where in the end, the studio or producer disowned the film before its release, he says. So when they stride into the room, endorsing a fashion line, it is about confidence born of patience and grit. And that shows as they bounce off our questions with each other. nwhat is it about the new fashion collection that you like the most? Bobby: It s all about what appeals to you when you walk into the store. Sometimes you even find pieces attractive from the old collections. Style can never just disappear, it s how your wear it. Years ago, I was looking for the blue colour I m wearing, couldn t find it. This collection (Blackberry s) brings such great variety to choose from, it s good. Saqib: I am a person who is very particular about the fit of the trouser. I think the jacket can be fixed but perfect trousers are hard to find, especially the way I want them to be. I want them slightly tapered from the down. I love special Phoenix-fit pants. nwhat are your personal style statements? Bobby: Style for me is how you carry what you wear. Especially when you re fit, anything looks good on you. So I suggest if you want to look good in your clothes, get fit first. Saqib: Bobby s very right, it s important to be fit. Even the best clothes wouldn t look good on you if you are not fit. In that case, the fault is yours and not the brand s (laughs). But my personal style statement is that I like to express myself through my clothing. I like to be dressed smart all the time. In my childhood I used to WHEN YOU RE MENTALLY UPSET AND HURTING, THAT IS THE TIME WHEN YOU ALONE CAN MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER. EVERY HUMAN BEING GOES THROUGH SUCH A PHASE. I CREATED A SITUATION FOR MYSELF. BOBBY DEOL copy Salman Khan s ganji look, but now I am trying to build my own fashion statement. nhow has working out together and sharing the same trainer impacted the equation that you both have? Bobby: Ye munna hai mera! He s too young and when you work out with younger people, their energy motivates you. The same happened with me. Saqib: No, Bobby s being too sweet right now. I ll tell you the truth. We were shooting in Abu Dhabi and I was working out with this thought in my mind that I m perfectly fit and Bobby s going through his transformation, so I d help him with that extra push. Two days later the entire concept reversed. He was motivating me in the gym and pushing me to do more sets. We call him BODY DEOL now. So I think he s been a huge inspiration for me on the sets. n(to Bobby) Even though it s not technically a comeback, why did you choose Race 3? Bobby: It s a very exciting franchise and I was looking for a big film to be a part of so that I could show myself off to a larger audience. Race 3 has a big following and now Salman is a part of it. It was very sweet of Salman to have thought of me for the film and the only criteria was that I had to remove my shirt, haha. I m very excited for the film as I had the nicest time shooting for this one. Moreover, it s in 3D! I used to always think about when I d be in a 3D film and now I ve got this. n(to Bobby) Has the lack of work in these years affected you in any way? Bobby: When you re mentally upset and your heart is hurting, that is the time when you alone can make yourself feel better. Every human being goes through such a phase. It s just that I created that situation for myself, no one else did it for me. So, when I realised I was doing this to myself, I had to get myself out of that situation. That was my awakening. In my earlier days, I never thought people were competing with me. I was like everybody deserves work and why should I come in their way. But things had changed, everybody was going to the producers office to get work, which could have been mine. I did not realise that and slowly started losing. I wish I had realised then. I wish I had a better physique but it is never too late. Then I looked around me. Salman is a big star and he still has the fire, Anil (Kapoor) has tremendous energy. My dad is 82 years old and he wants to work every day of his life, even my brother. I don t know why I did not take that positivity from them. n(to Bobby) The Bollywood that you are stepping in now is a changed and an evolved one. There are movies on social issues and historical events and what not. What are your observations on the same? Bobby: See, movies like these were made earlier too but the audience was not ready to accept them then. My dad did a film called Satyakam, which was an amazing film but nobody wanted to flag that type of film or story as path-breaking then. So, things have changed definitely for the better, where you can make different kinds of films. That s a good sign but the thing is that if an actor in the industry already has an image, it s very difficult to break that and do other films. I did Poster Boys and it also had a message about controlling population but it didn t work out well. I would like to do more of these films but the producers wouldn t want me doing that. I guess, we ll never know until we do such a film and it works well. n(to Bobby) Can you tell us anything about your new projects? Bobby: Yamla Pagla Deewana Part 3 is happening this August. I ve just signed Houseful 4 for which I ll start shooting in July. And then I m just hoping after Race 3, I get more work. n(to Saqib) You re a young actor amid three extremely experienced ones. How does that feel? Saqib: It was a very, very big thing for me to be able to work with these guys. I ve looked up to them, I ve idolised them. Growing up, I ve worn those jeans and ganjis and started working out watching Salman Bhai. I ve been a huge fan of Bobby, I loved Soldier but my absolute favourite was Anil Kapoor s Mr India. That movie had impacted me in ways I cannot express. I am getting to work with all three of them and the experience is beyond amazing. Everyone was looking out for each other. n(to Saqib) How do you feel about living with Huma? Tell us about the bond you share. Saqib: We have our ups and downs like any other siblings; we fight a lot. But at the same time, we keep joking, that after you get married or I get married, either you have to find a husband who s okay with me being in the house or I get a wife who s okay with you being in the house. I can t stay without her and neither can she. The beauty of the relationship that I share with Huma is that we don t consider each other siblings. We talk about anything and everything and sometimes people are shocked. But it wasn t always like that. There was a time, in Delhi, where we hated each other. We even wanted to kill each other. But distance brings you closer and that s what happened. n(to Saqib) Is there any particular experience you d like to share with us from the sets of Race 3? Saqib: So, I remember Anil Sir started shooting for the film on the seventh day and his first day happened to be with just me. I was nervous as I wanted him to think that I was a good actor and think highly of me. So, I was in my van preparing the pleasantries in my head. At the same time, there was some issue with my pants, and the crew was trying to fix it when the ED came running, shouting, Anil Sir s here. I m like, I should ve been there before him, I m the young actor, and I ran to the set as I zipped my pants, out of breath. When I reached there, he walked up to me and said such good things about the films I had done, about how I looked and this and that. All the nervousness I had just went out of the window. I was reflecting upon it the other day and I m hundred per cent sure that he recalled his debutant days too. May be he sensed that nervousness in me which he felt when he had started out, so he made sure that he made me feel comfortable. I ll cherish these memories forever. n(to Saqib) How have you managed to hold on in a competitive industry? Film-making is a time-consuming process. If the producer loses interest or director loses its vision in the middle of the process, the film suffers. With two of my films Dobaara and Dil Junglee such things happened. I think these days, a good script is not enough for a film to get success. There was a time when I would go simply with the purity of the script. Good theatrical release and good marketing are also important to get a proper visibility. I lived under the impression that for the first few years people will call me for work once my film releases. Slowly I realised that that is not how it functions. Acting skill is not enough for someone to survive here, networking is needed. The producers and directors you are working with are equally important. Photo: Pankaj Kumar CHAT SHOW 20 MINUTES Distribution key to Indian content: Amritraj ndian tennis great Vijay Amritraj, Iwho was part of the James Bond film Octopussy and was a regular character in the American sitcoms The Last Precinct and What a Country, says that making a mark internationally is not easy and one of the toughest frontiers is Hollywood. Having my own TV series on an American channel at that time was a huge process, said Amritraj on the sidelines of a celebratory dinner to mark the success of Grover Zampa s Vijay Amritraj s wine collection which was launched in association with the man himself in Amritraj s California-based company, First Serve Entertainment, is one of the leading multimedia production companies that deals with Asian-American content, and helped Disney, Turner and ESPN enter the Indian market. Talking about how Indian movies are creating an impact, he said: It is definitely creating an impact. It just needs to be on a more regular basis with worldwide distribution that appeals to more cinemas than what they are today. Distribution is the key. In Mumbai to mark the success of his wine collection, the tennis legend reveals the formula of being evergreen with every passion that he pursues Amritraj lives in California with wife Shyamala, who is a Sri Lankan Tamil, and sons Prakash Amritraj and Vikram. He has also been appointed a United Nations ambassador for peace and has been raising awareness on the issues of drugs and HIV/AIDS and in raising funds to fight the spread of AIDS worldwide. He is also the founder of The Vijay Amritraj Foundation in 2006, apart from being the first few Indians who created an impact on the world s tennis courts that were dominated by Americans, Europeans and Australians. Amritraj had a career singles win-loss record , winning 16 singles and 13 doubles titles. He was part of the Indian Davis Cup team that reached the finals in 1974 and Being one of the tennis legends, how does he see India emerging in tennis globally and why have we failed to produce someone like Roger Federer or Andy Murray who have done wonders in singles games? It s a long-term process. We really haven t had anyone anywhere close to them. As it turns out, I am still the number one Asian with most number of titles won by any Asian in the Open era and I suppose that s not a good record to hold on to. I am looking for someone else to break it. I think we are a long way off to even getting anywhere near, he So what is the solution? I think we need more commitments on all sides from sponsors, from the athletes, from the families and from the associations. We haven t really got a strong system in place for most of them to do well, said Amritraj. The Vijay Amritraj Reserve Collection has won 22 international awards since its inception, winning the hearts of consumers and critics alike, around the world. The wines are distributed in India My wines have won success and recognition, just like what I have achieved for India for tennis at global circuits. I would love for my fans to enjoy these award-winning wines which share the same success story as mine, wines that are of excellent quality and great to drink. I am certain my fans would definitely enjoy a sip and across key international markets such as the US, UK, Australia, France, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Singapore. So what is the idea behind this association? My wines have won success and recognition, just like what I have achieved for India for tennis at global circuits. I would love for my fans to enjoy these award-winning wines which share the same success story as mine, wines that are of excellent quality and great to drink. I am certain my fans would definitely enjoy these wines that I have carefully created with the oldest winery of India, Grover Zampa Vineyards, he He enjoys pairing it with different types of food. As far as wine is concerned, you can acquire a taste and both these wines, red and white, are very good for the palate. The white goes extremely well with chicken and fish depending on what your tastes are. It also goes well with light vegetarian food. The red goes better with strong meats. So it depends on your preference and it is something clearly worth trying, said Amritraj. IANS

14 LUCKNOW SATURDAY JUNE 9, MARCUS RASHFORD FEELS HIS FINE PERFORMANCE FOR ENGLAND AGAINST COSTA RICA CAME FROM PLAYING IN A MORE RELAXED MANNER HAZARD DESPERATE FOR BELGIUM TO LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS AND NOT UNDERACHIEVE LIKE ENGLISH GOLDEN GENERATION GARETH SOUTHGATE SAYS DANNY ROSE HAS THE FULL SUPPORT OF HIS ENGLAND TEAM-MATES AROUND POTENTIAL RACISM AT WC PORTUGAL COACH FERNANDO SANTOS SAID THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT HEADING INTO THE TOURNEY TEAM PROFILE: GERMANY ACHTUNG! GERMANS ARE ON A ROLL Golden generation' primed for WC defence Germany coach Joachim Loew is brimming with confidence just over ten days before what he calls the country's "golden generation" begins its World Cup defense against Mexico. "I have a very good feeling," Loew said at the team's training camp in South Tyrol, Italy. "I don't know what will happen with this golden generation after the tournament. It's possible there will be a break-up. But all the players are on fire for the World Cup." Germany is one of the favorites in Russia despite the retirements of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose since winning the tournament in Brazil four years ago. Players like Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller have grown into leading figures with the side, which wrapped up qualification with 10 wins from 10 games and 43 goals, a record number of goals for a European team in qualifying. Now they are charged with attempting to make Germany the first team to retain the title since Brazil in "I don't have to coax new craving or new enthusiasm from the players," Loew said in comments reported by news agency dpa. "The craving and ambition are still there, even among those who became world champions." Germany's only worries concern the fitness of captain Manuel Neuer, defender Jerome Boateng and midfielder Mesut Ozil. Neuer hasn't played since September with a hairline fracture in his left foot after being injured in training. Boateng is still recovering from a thigh injury sustained in the Champions League semifinals. Ozil missed Arsenal's last AP n MOSCOW F or many fans of food and football, a World Cup in Russia is unfamiliar territory. Russian cuisine has a reputation for being stodgy, unimaginative fare. While that may have been true for many in the days of Soviet supply shortages, a new generation of Russians in the World Cup's host cities mix together influences from across Europe and Asia. Russia's imperial past also makes it a great place to encounter unfamiliar dishes from neighboring countries like Georgia's spicy stews or Central Asia's hearty rice-and-lamb concoctions. Here's a look at what you can eat in Russia: SANCTIONS Russia's food scene was shaken in 2014 when the government banned the import of most foodstuffs from the European Union and the United States. That was in response to international sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. That's driven up prices for some ingredients, particularly fruit and dairy products, but also stimulated a revival of Russia's agricultural sector. Cheesemaker Oleg Sirota wants to use the World Cup to sell his tilsiter, parmesan and gouda from his creamery near Moscow. We will be testing our cheese on football fans who are coming to the World Cup. There will be lots of them, the French national team will be staying two kilometers (1.25 miles) away from us," he told the Associated Press. "I hope that even the most sophisticated clients won't tell our cheese from European ones. Sanctions also mean top-end restaurants, particularly in Moscow, have started reimagining obscure Russian dishes, working with meats like boar, venison and even bear. few games of the season with back problems. Team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt gave Ozil the green light to start training with the team and he was to decide on Saturday if Boateng should stay in Munich for further treatment or join the squad. "We don't want to make any mistakes," Loew said of Boateng. "I think he'll be able to at least take part in some team training next week." Neuer, too, is being given every chance to prove his fitness. Loew named four goalkeepers in his 27-man preliminary squad and was hoping that the 32-year-old Neuer won't be the one sent home before FIFA's June 4 deadline for final squads to be submitted. "He can tolerate all the strains, even the most strenuous strains like jumping," Loew "If he has the feeling he can perform at 100 percent he can be at the World Cup." Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen will keep the No 1 spot if Neuer doesn't get recover fully before match. Ter Stegen joined the rest of the squad on Friday, along with Bayern's Hummels, Mueller, Joshua Kimmich and Niklas Suele, as well as Chelsea defender Antonio Ruediger. "It's clear to everyone that the training camp is to get the required strength and power for the tournament. The fuel has to be there," said Loew, who also hopes it boosts team spirit. "Everyone has to know that he is just a puzzle piece for success. Nobody can be world champion on their own." Loew recently signed a contract extension through the next World Cup in Qatar in The 58-year-old former assistant coach took over after the 2006 World Cup and has led Germany to the semifinal stage or further in every major tournament since. LET S TALK ABOUT PLATTERS THAT FLATTER TRADITION In a country with a cold climate, Russian food is big on what you might think of as winter ingredients - cabbage and root vegetables - and pies filled with beef, potato or fish. The beetroot soup known as borscht is actually a traditionally Polish and Ukrainian dish, but expect to find it all over Russia. Another soup, shchi, is more traditionally Russian. Don't be put off by the intimidating name - pronounced "shi" with a soft "sh". Cabbage is the one constant ingredient, but beef, onion and mushroom can be added. In traditionally Muslim Kazan, expect to find local delicacies such as echpochmak, triangular lamb dumplings like samosas which are the local snack food. THE TWIST Russia's traditionally gone easy on seasoning because of the high cost of spices in earlier eras, but that's starting to change. While you might still see a menu which flags dishes up as "spicy" if they contain so much as a little paprika, MOTION PICTURE Manuel Neuer returns to Germany s squad after suffering with a hairline fracture in his left foot after being injured during training in September last year AP Fans, food & football, Russian style People gather to enjoy craft beer at the Rule Taproom pub in Moscow, (Right) Russian cheese maker Oleg Sirota holds a cheese wheel restaurants are starting to experiment with a little more spice. Still, chili sauce definitely isn't a standard condiment and some dishes may seem a little bland to fans of Mexican or South Asian food. For a reserve option, most big Russian cities have other options like Italian or sushi restaurants, or a European-style gastropub with gourmet burgers and craft beer. THE SNACK After a thirsty day at the game, what do you eat along with your beer? Ever since the Soviet era, Russians go crazy for beer snacks, typically dried fish and seafood. Some of the best selections are in Volga River cities like Samara, Volgograd and Kazan - all of which are hosting World Cup games. Potato chips and beef jerky have gained popularity too in recent decades. ROYAL EATS Just like the British Empire absorbed food influences from India, the Caribbean and Africa, so Russia's imperial past has introduced its citizen's taste buds to new flavours. The South Caucasus countries of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan specialize in spice, along with juicy meat-filled dumplings and succulent grilled meat known as shashlyk. Each country has its own specialties and the diasporas mean numerous restaurants across the host cities. Central Asian cultures like Uzbekistan introduced Russians to the juicy, greasy lamb-and-rice stew that is plov, now a firm favorite. Moscow has some more unusual options like huge, kimchi-stuffed Korean-style dumplings from the Far East called pyan-se, and Mongolian restaurants specializing in quality organic lamb. SLIDER HIGH POINT They have the experience of playing the most matches in World Cup (106) and have scored the most (124) goals in the tournament Players like Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller have grown into leading figures with the side Real Madrid midfielder Kroos has long been an integral player and was instrumental in their 2014 World Cup-winning campaign In case Neuer fails to make into the playing XI, Ter Stegen is there to fill the gap Thomas Muller has been in finest touch in World Cup matches, where he scored 10 goals in two editions and is eyeing for Klose s record Even in absence of Man City winger Leory Sane, side s attack look strong with Timo Werner and Mario Gomez leading upfront LOW POINT Concern lies with the fitness of captain Manuel Neuer, defender Jerome Boateng and midfielder Mesut Ozil Retirements of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose left a mark TACTIC AP THE CULTURE Russian restaurant service has improved hugely in recent years, with a greater focus on the customer. Don't expect staff to check in regularly during a meal Russians prefer to eat and chat in peace. Moscow and St. Petersburg prices will be comparable to other European capitals, a reflection of higher rents and wages, but in provincial cities like Saransk a main course at a restaurant could easily come in below $10. One quirk of Russian restauranteurs - they prefer printing a few elaborate, leather-bound menus over a greater number of simpler ones. Don't be surprised if you're left waiting to see a menu when you arrive. RAISE A GLASS Vodka's definitely still popular in Russia, especially for ritual toasts at celebrations like weddings - when everyone's expected to down a shot in one. Still, there's more to the drink scene. South-western Russia produces a lot of wine, though many Russians favor sweet or fortified reds which can be a little unusual to Western drinkers. Varieties from Georgia like the saperavi red or rkatsiteli white offer something dry with a little more depth. When the ruble plunged in 2014, it sent the price of imported beer soaring and gave a jolt to Russia's nascent craft beer industry. Most big cities now have two or three breweries churning out citrusy IPAs and coffee stouts. Non-alcoholic options include mors, a traditional drink made from cranberries offering a characteristic sweet-and-sour experience. MUSCOB TES MOTION PICTURE STARING ON THE WRONG FOOT: Argentina s midfielder Manuel Lanzini (Jersey 15) in a file picture LANZINI OUT OF WORLD CUP BARCELONA: West Ham's Argentine midfielder Manuel Lanzini will miss the World Cup after injuring a knee during training in Spain, the Argentine football federation said on Friday. "Manuel Lanzini suffered, in Friday's morning training, the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee," the federation wrote in a Twitter message. The 25-year-old, who had been linked with a summer transfer to Liverpool, now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. His injury is a blow for Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli who had counted on Lanzini for his starting line up. Argentina's national team is due to travel to Russia on Saturday for the World Cup. Argentina have been drawn in Group D alongside Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria. FRED INJURED IN TRAINING LONDON: Midfielder Fred, who is also one of Tite's options for Fernandinho's spot, was forced out of the training after a tackle by Casemiro affected his right ankle. The newly signed Manchester United player tried to remain on the pitch but couldn't. He was treated with ice on the sidelines. "It is too early to say, we have to see how he develops in the next 24 hours," Brazilian football confederation physician Rodrigo Lasmar said of Fred's condition. "He started working out right after. On Saturday we will know whether he will have to be further examined or not." Brazil's two-week training camp in London ends on Friday, when the team travels to Austria for the friendly. GHANA RISKS FIFA BAN ACCRA: Ghana risks being suspended from the 2026 World Cup hosting vote by FIFA after its government said on Thursday it had disbanded the national soccer federation amid allegations of "widespread" corruption made in an undercover documentary. The allegations implicated, among others, the federation president, who is a member of the FIFA Council. Ghana was expected to vote for fellow African country Morocco next Wednesday in Moscow against the joint World Cup bid of the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Ghana government said the documentary had exposed "widespread fraud, corruption and bribery" at the Ghana Football Association. PORTUGAL BEAT ALGERIA 3-0 LISBON: With Cristiano Ronaldo back in action, Portugal cruised to a 3-0 win over Algeria in its final warmup match before traveling to Russia for the World Cup. Ronaldo, who hadn't played since leading Real Madrid to a third straight Champions League title last month, set up one of Portugal's goals at the Stadium of Light. He also had one disallowed for offside before being substituted in the 75th minute. Portugal opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a shot from inside the area by Goncalo Guedes after a nice head-pass by Bernardo Silva. Bruno Fernandes added to the lead in the 37th with a close-range header. KOREA HELD BY BOLIVIA INNSBRUCK: South Korea was held by Bolivia to a goalless draw in a World Cup warmup on Thursday. South Korea dominated possession but missed forward Son Heung-min, who was rested for the first hour. Central defender Jang Hyun-soo, who missed the two previous games because of an ankle injury, was back as coach Shin Tae-yong returned to a formation after experimenting recently. South Korea will play another friendly against Senegal on Monday before traveling to Russia. It was the fifth straight winless match for Bolivia, which failed to qualify for the World Cup. UK CONCERNED OVER SAFETY LONDON: The safety of England fans in Russia, especially homosexuals and those with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, at the World Cup finals is a concern, a parliamentary committee said on Friday. An estimated 10,000 fans are expected to travel to Russia to watch England - who have been drawn against Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in the group stage - and have already been warned by police not to wave St George flags as they can be deemed imperialistic. Fans have been warned to be particularly careful in Volgograd, which hosts England's opening game against Tunisia on June 18, as it is regarded by Russians as a symbol of the Great Patriotic War (World War II) and contains many important memorials. Russian and English fans clashed violently in Marseille when France hosted the 2016 European Championships. Agenices AP

15 LUCKNOW SATURDAY JUNE 9, URUGUAY DEFENDER JOSE MARIA GIMENEZ SAYS HE IS SOLELY FOCUSED ON THE WORLD CUP & SHOWDOWN AGAINST EGYPT THE WC IN RUSSIA WILL BE ICELAND'S FIRST AFTER THEY SHOCKED UKRAINE, CROATIA, AND TURKEY TO TOP THEIR GROUP BELGIUM FANS BREATHE SIGH OF RELIEF AFTER EDEN HAZARD CONFIRMS KNEE INJURY IS JUST A MINOR KNOCK FORMER US WOMEN S TEAM GOALKEEPER HOPE SOLO SAYS FIFA SHOULD NOT VOTE UNITED STATES AS HOST OF 2026 WORLD CUP BANG IN THE MIDDLE MUSCOB TES MOTION PICTURE Though there is no middle ground on road to victory, the midfielders are the ones who have potential to tilt the game either side. PIONEER SPORT brings you a topender list of midfield performers this World Cup CANARY MAGIC PHILIPPE COUTINHO (BRAZIL) AGE: 25 years; CLUB: Barcelona (Spanish Primera Division) CLUB STATS FOR THE SEASON GOALS: 15 ASSISTS: 8 APPEARANCES: 27 INTERNATIONAL CONMEBOL WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS GOALS: 4 ASSISTS: 2 APPEARANCES: 13 PASSING ACCURACY: 85% PASSES PER 90 MINUTES: W ith the distinctive Brazilian magic on his feet, which this season he has sprinkled partly at Merseyside and partly by the Mediterranean shore of Catalonia, the 25-year old Coutinho now sets his eyes on football's biggest event in Russia. He can break through defences ball on feet with blistering pace that almost mimics lightning, weave circles around defenders, wrong-footing most of them, find a teammate even across complex rival formations and as a cherry on top sned sweet letters of love to the backof the net from both long and short range efforts. A shimmy of the hip, a momentary drop of the shoulder, a sublime turn and before you know it, the ball has already begun its graceful sojourn through the air to send ripples through the net a picture that might become all too familiar this year in Russia. P erhaps, the archetype of the modern attacking midfielder." Such were the words of British writer Jonathan Wilson when he gave an account of Toni Kroos, and the statement typifies the general opinion that surrounds the German, who played a crucial role in Die Mannschaft's World Cup winning campaign four years ago in Brazil. Kroos has certainly proved himself as a master of all trades with the diverse roles he offers to his side. These include those of a central, deep-lying playmaker, and even those of a defensive midfielder which he readily serves on the platter owing to his high ball-retention quality and his ability to break up play. With a piercing vision Kroos can find a teammate in an optimal position to score, and the 28-year-old German is also likely to find the back of the net himself if the opponent is careless enough to allow a loose ball stroll to his feet by the edge of the penalty box. THE ILLUSIONIST ANDRES INIESTA (SPAIN) : AGE: 34 years; CLUB: Barcelona (Spanish Primera Division) INTERNATIONAL UEFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS ASSISTS: 2 APPEARANCES: 6 First and foremost, Iniesta is timeless, and although the illusionist has cast his final spell at the Spanish top division to seek milder adventures in China, he still remains the first to be mentioned when the discourse is on the best midfielders who are bound to Russia this summer. This World Cup is going to be the swansong for the Spanish magician, and as long as he dons the colours of La Roja on Russian soil, most players will simply have to play second fiddle to his prowess. Just like he united all of Spain with the decisive goal in the World Cup final 8 years ago, Iniesta connects and pulls the strings of the Spanish formation on the pitch and shows up precisely when he needs to. PACE SETTER TONI KROOS (GERMANY): AGE: 28 years; CLUB: Real Madrid (Spanish Primera Division) CLUB STATS FOR THE SEASON GOALS: 5 ASSISTS: 8 APPEARANCES: 40 INTERNATIONAL UEFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS GOALS: 1 ASSISTS: 1 APPEARANCES: 7; PASS ACCURACY: 94% WORLD CUP 2014 WORLD CUP WINNER WITH GERMANY GOALS: 2, ASSISTS: 4, APPEARANCES: 7 PASS ACCURACY: 91% CROSS ACCURACY: 75% WORLD CUP HIGHLIGHTS 2010 WORLD CUP WINNER WITH SPAIN WHERE HE SCORED THE DECISIVE GOAL IN EXTRA TIME OF THE FINAL AGAINST THE NETHERLANDS FINEST OF FINE KEVIN DE BRUYNE (BELGIUM) AGE: 26 years; CLUB: Manchester City (English Premier League) CLUB STATS FOR THE SEASON GOALS: 12 ASSISTS: 18 APPEARANCES: 52 INTERNATIONAL UEFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS ASSISTS: 3 PASS ACCURACY: 84% APPEARANCES: 7 WORLD CUP 2014 GOALS: 1; ASSISTS: 2; APPEARACES: 4 REACHED QUARTERFINALS WITH BELGIUM The 26-year old Belgian is gifted with immense technique on the ball, an eye for defence-piercing ball-distribution and world class ability to send a ball rocketing from long ranges to unsettle even the most steadfast of goalkeepers. Under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, de Bruyne seems to have unleashed his full potential this season, and Belgium who have enough ammunition on their offensive front in the form of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku can surely use some of that intensity to cast an impressive spell in Russia. With his machine gun-like shooting power and an X-Ray vision that sees through burly defences, de Bruyne will be seen racking goals and chiming assists for his teammates in Russia. FLYING FRENCHMAN PAUL POGBA (FRANCE): AGE: 25 years; CLUB: Manchester United (English Premier League) CLUB STATS FOR THE SEASON GOALS: 6 ASSISTS: 12 APPEARANCES: 36 INTERNATIONAL UEFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS GOALS: 2 ASSISTS: 0 APPEARANCES: 7 WORLD CUP 2014: GOALS: 1 ASSIST: 1 APPEARANCES: 5; REACHED QUARTERFINALS WITH FRANCE M uch of the general opinion on the Frenchman who plays for Manchester United is divided, but there remains little doubt that Paul Pogba is bound to deliver crucial contributions to Les Bleus' run at the World Cup. The 25-year old is quite the playmaker a side needs and can also display glimpses of a lethal goal scorer if and when needed. On the defensive front, the midfielder, who can usually be seen playing a central role, can also provide his services both as a holding midfielder and an attacking midfielder with a good ability to retain ball possession for his side and excelling in the art of winning aerial duels along with the bravado it requires to venture forward and break the rivals' defensive formations something that can come in handy for Deschamps side that will have an in-form Antoine Greizmann up front waiting with unrestrained anticipation to combine and connect with any ball driven forward through the opponents defences. LIGHTS WILL GUIDE YOU HOME: A bokeh of lights surrounds a cathedral in the Russian capital of Moscow as the city draws closer to its moment of playing host to the 32 nations participating in the FIFA World Cup FIFA.com MIDFIELDERS TO WATCH OUT FOR FRANCESCO ISCO ALARCON, SPAIN: The 26-year old Spanish midfielder has been that intriguing piece of magic and romance in an otherwise straightforward and ruthless Real Madrid lineup, but when Isco puts on the distinctive red of Spain this summer in Russia, connoisseurs of La Roja's beautiful game will be compelled to point their fingers at him and remark, "This man he belongs here!" adding, "fits like a glove." DAVID SILVA, SPAIN: The 32-year old midfielder who plays for English club Manchester city will be a major part of the central creative force in the Spanish ranks. Silva made his senior international debut in the 1-0 to Romania on 15 November He has an excellent first touch, good dribbling skills, which, along with his intelligence, allow him to retain possession in tight spaces, and to create space for himself. CASEMIRO, BRAZIL: The 26- year old Brazilian defensive midfielder made his debut for the Brazil senior side on 14 September 2011 in a 0-0 draw against Argentina. He was just 19 at the time. Seven years hence, Casemiro has excellend in tackling, ball interception, aerial duels and passes besides an eye for often providing good assists to his teammates. MESUT OZIL, GERMANY: Ozil made his debut for the senior side during a friendly match against Norway on 11 February He scored his first goal for the senior team in his third appearance, another friendly, against South Africa. Ozil has impressed at all levels with his advanced playmaking role, as a winger on either flank, or as an attacking midfielder through the centre of the pitch. RODRIGO BENTANCUR, URUGUAY: Like all Uruguayans, the 20-year old midfielder has shown utter grit and tenacity in the game both for Juventus at club level and more recently for the Celeste, ehich earned him a call from manager Oscar Tabarez for the team's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Venenzula and Bolivia in October. Having impressed there, Bentancur is now part of the final Russia-bound Uruguayan squad. LUKA MODRIC, CROATIA: The 32- year old Croatian who is the captain of hte national team is quick, creative, and gifted with playmaking virtues which provide for an excellent vision in getting the ball through the rivals defences. The seemingly fragile Real Madrid man has a penchant for providing deft passes and lending nimble touches on the ball that are likely to render even giants helpless on the pitch. CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN, DENMARK: The 26-year old Dane, who has grabbed eyeball with his talents in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt at the English Premier League, was eight years ago the youngest player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Presently, with maturity by his side, he awaits his chance to deliver the kind of performance at the World that may turn out to be a flattering chapter in his career and make this summer in Russia a memorable one for him and his compatriots. WILLIAN, BRAZIL: The deft and agile Brazilian is a conjurer of sneaky little tricks like most Brazilians are and contributes a good share to the creativity of the men in canary yellow something that is so inherent to their players and the collective voice of the team. One can not be wrong to be expecting much from the Chelsea man.

16 sport 16 Rafa, Thiem set final showdown Nadal thrashes Potro to reach final; Thiem enters maiden decider AGENCIES n PARIS T en-time champion Rafael Nadal reached his 11th French Open final on Friday when he demolished Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets, setting up a title showdown with Dominic Thiem, the only man to defeat him on clay in the last two years. Nadal, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, claimed his 85th win in Paris against just two losses after weathering a big-hitting opening from 2009 US Open winner Del Potro to win 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. In his 24th Grand Slam final, Nadal will face Thiem who ended Marco Cecchinato's French Open fairytale, reaching his first major final with a 7-5, 7-6 (12/10), 6-1 victory. Seventh seed Thiem is the first Austrian to make a final at the majors since Thomas Muster was champion in Paris in "It was a very difficult first set and Juan Martin had lots of opportunities. He was a little unfortunate," said Nadal, who reeled off 14 of the last 17 games, having seen Del Potro fail to convert any of his seven break points. Nadal is now just the second man to reach 11 finals at the same Slam, equalling Roger Federer's mark at Wimbledon. "It's impossible without hard work and going through tough moments. You have to be focussed and keep your passion for the game. I never dreamed in 2005 when I played my first final here that I would be in another one." Thiem is the only man to beat Nadal on clay in the last two seasons - in Madrid this year and Rome in But the Spaniard was impressive on Friday, finishing with 35 winners and 19 unforced errors to Del Potro's analysis of 20 and 32. "Thiem is an amazing player. He beat me in Madrid, he has big power so I have to be at my best and improve," said Nadal. "But I believe I will be ready for the final." World number one Nadal went into Friday's clash with a 9-5 career record against Del Potro, including all three meetings on clay. However, it was Del Potro who was in the ascendancy in the rallies in the first set. The fifth seed, playing in his first Roland Garros semi-final in nine years, had three break points in the third game and three more in the ninth. However, the 29-year-old was unable to capitalise and Nadal made him pay in the 10th game when he claimed the opener off a netted backhand. Del Potro had required the doctor early in the first set after appearing to jar his ankle in the red clay. He suffered a worrying power cut in the second set, slipping to 5-0 down on a double break, wasting his seventh break point out of seven on the way. Nadal tightened his grip, going to 5-1 on another double break in the third set and sealed the match when Del Potro hit a backhand long. World 72 Cecchinato had knocked out three seeded players to reach the semi-finals, including 12-time major winner Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. But Thiem, 24, was too strong and now believes he has a particularly powerful weapon on his side for the final - breakfast. "I need to regenerate and have a good breakfast to keep up my good level. Full power on Sunday." Thiem, who was playing in his third successive French Open semi-final, admitted the second set had been a nervy encounter after needing five set points to get through it. "The big key was the second set," he It was a really close tiebreak and I didn't want that especially after I missed an easy volley at 6/4. That was not a nice feeling." Cecchinato had never won a Grand Slam match before this year's Roland Garros but made the semis with a string of stunning wins. He put out seeded players Pablo Carreno Busta and David Goffin before the seismic shock of knocking out 2016 champion Djokovic in the quarter-finals. "Today, all day, on Philippe Chatrier, the fans said 'Forza, Marco', so I think this is the best moment for me," said Cecchinato. "Against Dominic Thiem, he is top 10, and today all the people were for me." UPSET WINS IN DOUBLES SF Unseeded Japanese pair Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya will take on sixth-seeded Czech duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the French Open women's doubles final. Both teams are through to the final at Roland Garros for the first time after securing uspet wins on Court Suzanne Lenglen. The Czech pair beat secondseeded Andrea Sestini Hlavackova and Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-2. Earlier, the Japanese duo won 6-2, 6-2 against Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan and Zhaoxuan Yang of China 6-2, 6-2. Earlier, Second-seeded Olivier Marach of Austria and Mate Pavic of Croatia also made through to the French Open men's doubles final, beating 2016 champions Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez of Spain 6-4, 7-5. Marach and Pavic are going for their second straight major title together after winning the Australian Open in January. SLOANE, SIMONA FIGHT FOR TRIUMPH Sloane Stephens enters Saturday's French Open final against No 1 Simona Halep with a 6-0 record in tournament title matches. "I'm pretty calm on the court all the time, I'd say. I don't get too up, too down," Stephens "I think that it has helped me." Halep, meanwhile, is 0-3 with a Grand Slam trophy at stake. "Hopefully," Halep said, "Saturday, I will be better than previous ones." Here's something the women who meet for the championship at Roland Garros do have in common: They rarely seem to let a point end quickly. Halep, a 26-year-old Romanian, and the 10th-seeded Stephens, a 25-year-old American, are among the best there is right now at using instinct and speed to track down tough-to-reach shots and force opponents to hit another. And that's not to say they're merely content to push balls back. Both have learned to pick the right spots to be aggressive and are quite capable of switching from retriever to attacker in a blink. "They obviously both move really well. It's going to be who can stay in the point the longest," said Madison Keys, who lost to Stephens in the French Open semifinals Thursday and in the US Open final last September. Individual errors cost us: Constantine PTI n MUMBAI ndia's chief coach Stephen IConstantine has blamed "individual errors" as the reason behind the hosts' 1-2 defeat against New Zealand in the Intercontinental Cup football tournament here. The Sunil Chhetri-led India scored resounding 5-0 and 3-0 wins over Chinese Taipei and Kenya before producing a below-par performance to slump to its first defeat in the tournament on Thursday. And Constantine said silly individual errors cost India the match. "Look, whenever you win two games 5-0, 3-0, maybe you get a littlebit carried away. New Zealand were a young and disciplined side, they played quite well. We made some mistakes. We didn't start off as we did in the previous two games. We scored first and we let two silly goals in. Individual errors cost us today," the coach told reporters on Thursday. "This is part of the learning process. We are not going to beat every team 3-0." The Englishman made as many as seven changes to India's starting lineup on Friday and he said it was preplanned after the hosts had registered two convincing wins on the trot. "It (making seven changes) was always going to happen, because we are using this tournament to prepare for the Asian Cup. We were always going to change the team. Obviously we didn't get the result we wanted, but it was important that the youngsters got the opportunity to play," Constantine New Zealand scored a come-frombehind win after skipper Chhetri had given India the lead in one of the most bizarre ways immediately after the resumption of second half. "We are going to find these players and this is why we use these games. On Thursday some players didn't take this opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight," Constantine "We knew that we were in the finals, unless we lost 4 or 5-0 to New Zealand, that was not going to happen. It is not the end of the world, we are into the final and job done after the first two games. We got the first six points (and) can't ask for more," he added. Meanwhile, Kiwi coach Fritz Schmid said he was proud of the performance of his boys. S I N G L E S ANAND FINISHES JOINT 2ND IN NORWAY CHESS STAVANGER: Playing out his his third successive decisive game, Viswanathan Anand got the better of Sergey Karjakin of Russia in the final round to end joint second in the Altibox Norway chess tournament, here on Friday. In a solid start, the Indian ace started off with as many as six drawn games and ended with three decisive games in a row. But for his loss against Fabiano Caruana of United States in the previous round, the Indian ace could have been at the helm in the strongest chess tournament of the year. Having lost the tournament-opener itself, the rise of Fabiano Caruana continued as the American scored a fine victory over compatriot Wesley So to win the tournament with five points. While Anand, Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlseny ended tied for the second spot on 4.5 points apiece. NZ EVES SCORE HIGHEST EVER ODI TOTAL DUBLIN: New Zealand women's cricket team posted the highest ever total in One-day cricket by scoring an incredible 490 for four against Ireland in the first match against Ireland in Dublin with skipper Suzie Bates leading from the front with a blistering 151-run knock. The total posted by the 'White Ferns' is the highest ever in ODIs including men's matches. In men's cricket, the highest total in ODI is 444 for three, made by England against Pakistan in August 2016 at Nottingham. With their incredible batting, New Zealand women team bettered their own 21-year old world record of 455 for five against Pakistan at Christchurch in January It's only third time that a 400-plus score has been made in women's ODIs. GOPICHAND SIGNS MOU WITH ODISHA GOVT BHUBANESWAR: The Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation (PGMF) on Friday signed an MOU with Government of Odisha with an aim to nurture and groom badminton talents in the state. The MoU was signed between the Sports and Youth Services Department and Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation here at the Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sports Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera and P Gopichand. "It is an honour for us to be associated with the Govt Of Odisha and we are aligned to their vision to keep producing world class talent," Gopichand The trajectory of Badminton as a sport in India has hit new highs in the recent past, with top players like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu winning major honours at regular intervals. "The academy in Odisha will help in keeping the momentum up, and we hope to nurture great talent right from the grass roots to the international levels," he added. JISNA WINS GOLD IN ASIAN JR ATHLETICS GIFU: Quartermiler Jisna Matthew clinched a Gold to lead India's medal charge on the second day of the Asian Junior Athletics Championships here on Friday. Five other Indian athletes also grabbed a Bronze each on Friday as India took their total medal tally on the second day to two Gold, one Silver and seven Bronze. Junior national record holder long jumper M Sreeshankar did not come close to matching his personal best of 7.99m but still clinched a Bronze medal after clearing a distance of 7.47m. Sreeshankar, who nearly touched the 8m mark at the Federation Cup in Patiala in March, was named in India's Gold Coast CWG team but had to undergo a surgery to remove his appendicitis just before the CWG. Agencies