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THE CONTACT WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ISSUE - 659, 22 MARCH - 28 MARCH 2016 PH: (905) 671 - 4761

Video shows inhuman existence under ISIS!

cars to run it over until nothing is left.”

Video shows how the faces of female models used to advertise hair products have been

BY SIOBHAN MCFADYEN Raqqa: A group of women living under extreme rule of law in Syria have risked their lives to show the harsh reality of their existence. Shot in the Syrian de facto capital of Raqqa , the film shows armed guards patrolling streets that have been blown apart by fighting and air strikes. Two women, wearing traditional Islamic dress, have used the camera to record what life is like in the horrendous poverty stricken environment. And even

as they go to the store to buy seemingly innocuous products like hair dye - the women’s faces are scribbled out in black marker pen over fears their faces could cause offence.

The video commissioned by CNN’s Swedish affiliate Expressen TV , explains how there’s been a mass exodus of the once powerful ISIS caliphate’s capital. And they say foreign ISIS fighters are stealing ID cards from Syrians as they try to escape over the border to Turkey to evade

capture by forces loyal to President Assad. Describing the harsh reality of capital punishment reminiscent of medieval times, one woman named Oum Mohammad said: “I could see there was a man sitting on the ground. “The executioners were lined up, they were dressed in black.

They execute with bullets, desecrate the body, decapitate it, stick the head on a spike and put it on display at the roundabout or they will put the body on the road and force

scribbled out with black marker pens by shopkeepers terrified of their hard line ISIS rulers. With her voice disguised Oum Continued on Page 20

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Pathankot attack: NIA releases photos of terrorists ahead of Pakistan SIT’s visit A week before Pakistan’s Special Investigation Team reaches Pathankot to probe the January attack, the National Investigation Agency

Through the release, the NIA hopes to get more information from Pakistani authorities on the four men, suspected to be the

Force base on January 2 this year.

Seven security personnel and all six attackers were killed in the three-day

(NIA) has released pictures of four terrorists killed in the siege at the air base in Punjab.

members of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, accused by India of attacking the Indian Air

attack at the air base. The Pakistani probe team is expected to arrive in India on March 27 and the probe will begin the next day, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said last week.

The announcement was made after Swaraj met Sartaj Aziz, foreign affairs advisor to the Pakistan prime minister, on the sidelines of the 37th Saarc Ministerial Meeting held in Nepal’s Pokhara. siege.

India and Pakistan have India and Pakistan had agreed to conduct a joint earlier agreed to conduct a investigation into the terror joint investigation but could

The United States should significantly cut spending on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said on Monday, questioning a policy that has underpinned US foreign relations for nearly 70 years.

Trump, whose worldviews have been rebuked by a section of the Republican establishment, made the comments as he unveiled a partial list of foreign policy advisers, who are relatively little known.

“We are paying disproportionately (for NATO). It’s too much and frankly it’s a different world than it was when we originally conceived of the idea,” Trump said in an interview on CNN. “We have to reconsider. Keep NATO, but maybe we have to pay a lot less toward NATO itself.”

NATO, now consisting of 28 members, was formed after World War Two as a Western military alliance against the Soviet bloc.

The comments reinforced Trump’s relatively isolationist stance on foreign policy. The New York billionaire businessman has alarmed establishment Republican foreign policy thinkers with comments denigrating

Muslims and Mexican immigrants, and with his vows to tear up international trade deals.

Announcing his foreign policy advisers in an interview with the Washington Post editorial

been critical of its European allies for not spending more.

NATO is planning its biggest buildup in Eastern Europe since the Cold War to deter Russia, helped by an increase in

board, he said the United States should not be “nation-building anymore,” adding that Washington could not afford to keep funding NATO at current levels.

“We certainly can’t afford to do this anymore,” he said.

Trump has said he is willing to work more closely with authoritarian Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military intervention in Ukraine has increased tensions with NATO. Washington is the biggest contributor to NATO, and US officials have long

planned US spending.

“The happiest person hearing this would be Vladimir Putin,” said retired Admiral James Stavridis, NATO’s former Supreme Allied Commander Europe. “We are all frustrated with low European defense spending, but pulling away from NATO would be an extraordinary geopolitical mistake.”

Trump’s advisory team includes terrorism expert Walid Phares, energy industry executive Carter Page, international energy lawyer George Papadopoulos, former

Donald Trump questions US financial backing for NATO

Pentagon Inspector General Joe Schmitz and former Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg.

‘Obscure’ team He said he would soon name more people helping him shape his foreign policies as part of the team, led by US Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican from Alabama who endorsed Trump last month.

“Taken as a group, it’s a fairly obscure set of individuals,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a national security and defense policy specialist at the Brookings Institution, adding he did not recognize most of the names on Trump’s list.

Trump, one of three remaining Republican presidential candidates for the Nov. 8 election, has been under increasing pressure in recent weeks to say who advises him on foreign and security matters.

One hundred and twenty Republican national security experts who served in past presidential administrations have signed a letter saying they cannot support Trump and will work to ensure he is not elected.

not finalise the date for starting the probe.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had on Friday said the government was “prepared” for the upcoming visit of the Pakistani SIT to probe the Pathankot terror attack but the modalities were yet to be worked upon.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, Singh skirted a direct reply on whether the visiting

Joint Investigation Team would be given access to the strategic India Air Force (IAF) base, saying: “We are prepared.”

Sources told India Today TV that the strategy to work with the Pakistan SIT has been worked out. The Defence Ministry, which earlier had objections to the Pakistani team visiting an air base has reportedly come on board and has allowed limited access.

Bengaluru woman thrashes 8 puppies to death to teach dog a lesson

Police in Bengaluru have registered a case against a woman who allegedly bashed eight newborn puppies against a boulder to teach their mother a lesson, who reportedly gave birth to the puppies in a drain under her gate.

According to a report in Bangalore Mirror, Ponnamma, wife of an exhonorary flight lieutenant, mercilessly flung the puppies onto the boulders in Bengaluru’s Krishnanagar area on March 15. Seven puppies died on the day, one died the next.

The outraged neighbours,

mostly ex-servicemen, buried the puppies and registered a complaint against Ponnamma.

Meanwhile, the female stray dog, four-year-old Ammu, dug up the graves and took out her dead puppies to feed them. Five days later, she still roams around the site where her pups were killed.

Police have booked Ponnamma for cruelty towards animals under various sections. If found guilty, she could end up in jail for up to five years. The report, quoting neighbours, says that she is remorseless.

US woman charged for putting her 2-year-old daughter into heated oven Officials say a Texas woman has been charged after her 2-year-old daughter suffered burns and witnesses said she told them she’d put the child in the oven.

The Somervell County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that deputies were called late Thursday to a home because a child had burns. The sheriff’s

office says witnesses told deputies upon arrival that 35-year-old Tasha Shontell Hatcher said she’d put her child in the oven.

Hatcher was charged with injury to a child with serious bodily injury and arraigned Saturday. Bond was set at $300,000. It wasn’t immediately known whether Hatcher has a lawyer.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Issue - 659 (4)

22 March - 28 March 2016

Bharat Mata Ki Jai or Jai Hind, the debate is on!

It just occurred to me that I have never chanted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ even once in my forty years of existence. Not as a 7 year old watching those black and white soggy movies related to the Indian independence struggle showing Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukdev waiting to be hanged or Lata Mangeshkar singing “Ai mere vatan ke logo, zara aankh mein bhar lo paani”. Or not as an 11 year old watching Manoj Kumar’s high octane patriotic melodrama called Kranti. Not even as a 15 year old hearing fellow Indians scream, sigh and utter during an India-Pakistan cricket match. ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ was never a part of the language of my patriotism or the cultural experiences that partially shaped it. For me, it was something that belonged to the movies, and like several other things, was better off staying just there.

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For me, ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ was one of the many slogans used during the Indian independence struggle along with slogans like Vande Mataram, Jai Hind, Hindustan Zindabad, Inquilab Zindabad, etc. The Indian independence movement included many people of various languages and faiths. In fact, there was never a uniting slogan that became a rallying cry. Even these slogans kept changing through the course of the Indian history. If there were one such uniting slogan, it would have come in the national motto. But the Indian national motto says “Satyameva Jayate,” unlike France and other countries that maintain their revolutionary cries as their national mottos.

Did I vehemently reject the implications of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’? For a better half of my life, not consciously. Later on, the idea of deifying the country as a mythical mother figure when a majority of its women inhabitants continue to be dispossessed and violated didn’t appeal to me. But I never knowingly held any grudge against anyone who found solace, inspiration or just that satisfying feeling of having done their bit for the country by chanting those words. That was till ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ was turned into a litmus test for patriotism. If today, someone like that BJP MP in the Maharashtra assembly who dared AIMIM MLA Warris Pathan, came and demanded that I chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ to test my patriotism, I would most definitely decline to do it. That’s not because I am averse to appreciating my motherland, but because I don’t take too well to someone breathing down my neck and insisting that it’s no patriotism unless it sounds like his or hers. Also, it is an act of aggression that anchors itself in the power in numbers.

After being suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for not chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, Pathan, said, “I am proud of having been born in this country and god willing will be buried in the very earth here. I have not disrespected my country. And I cannot think of doing so. Jai Hind. Jai Bharat. Jai Maharashtra.” It’s not difficult to see why Pathan has a problem with ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ but not with ‘Jai Hind’. The latter refers to the country, which was named after its Hindu majority, but not Hinduism itself. The former is rooted in Hindu culture. The latter exudes a quiet pride in the country, the former has an undeniable hint of belligerence, perhaps why it never figured in my Punjabi Sikh upbringing either.

When Javed Akhtar claims that chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ is his ‘right’, he should perhaps realize that it is completely within someone else’s ‘right’ to not chant the same in the name of patriotism. Or that not chanting the same doesn’t warrant condemnation. Javed Akhtar, a vocal atheist, fails to see the problem with demanding worship of ‘Bharat Mata’.

Akhtar’s claims finds echo in a majority of people who see no problem in imposing ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ as the new passport for patriotism. However, it is necessary to point out the obvious here. ‘Bharat’ is a religion-less entity, ‘Bharat Mata’ has Hindu undertones due to its history and origin.

SUNNY BAINS

As Ajaz Ashraf wrote in Scroll.in, the slogan ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ comes from a history and context that gives it strong Hindutva undertones.

Muslim, or anyone for that matter, might refuse to raise the slogan principally because their patriotism is being questioned and being held against an arbitrary standard about which there is no common agreement. Or because, as some Muslims do, they worry that shouting the slogan might be against their religious tenets that prohibit idol worship.

Mr. Owaisi may have never said ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ maybe because he speaks Urdu and it Urdu you say Jai Hind, or maybe he has an objection that comes

from his faith. The Urdu equivalent to Bharat Mata Ki Jai is Jai Hind or Hindustan Zindabad, and he may have said it so many times. The Bengali from West Bengal has probably never said it either because he says Vande Mataram. There are many different languages and ways one can praise their country and express their patriotism.

Even the Supreme Court of India, in a landmark case where some people from the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith in Kerala were suspended from school for refusing to sing the national anthem, said that they had a right not to sing it. No person can be asked to say anything, each person has the right to maintain their silence or express themselves in a manner they see fit. India is a strangely diverse country, linguistically, ethnically and socially and that’s what makes it so wonderful. When did we get to a point where Vande Mataram, Hindustan Zindabad or even Jai Hind were somehow not as good as ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’? Surely Jai Hind has the same meaning as Bharat Mata ki Jai? Both call for the victory of motherland India, but they clearly do not seem to convey the same meaning and therein lies the objection when the RSS tries to say that every nationalist and patriot should say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai,’ for they do not see Jai Hind as being equally valid.

India has Bharat Mata, then Britain has Britannia, France has Marianne, New Zealand has Zealandia, Sweden has Mother Svea and America has Columbia.

These are Homeland goddesses who emerged in the colonial times and consolidated themselves as ‘mothers’ with the rise of the nation-state. Britannia emerged when kingdoms of Scotland and England were merged to create a ‘United

Kingdom’ in the 18th century. She was visualized wearing a Greek helmet and shield, indicative of Greek influence symbolizing rationality. She rode a lion indicating her imperial nature. The word imperial was not bad then, as it is today.

Later, she was shown holding the trident of the sea-god Poseidon displaying the power of the British navy that controlled the seas and created the empire where the sun never set. The image was a reminder of the great queens of England: Elizabeth I and of course, Queen Victoria.

Imitating Britannia, New Zealand embodied itself in Zealandia, though she did not become the rage. And, in Sweden, there rose Mother Svea, embodiment of the patriotic spirit of the Swedish people, inspired by the image of Viking Valkyries, the shield maiden of the gods and noble warriors. Kathleen Ni Houlihan, or Kathleen of the House of Houlihan, inspired Irish nationalists. They spoke of her as an old woman who had lost her home, who turned young when she inspired young men to fight, and even die, for her, like noble knights. Later, when many Irish people migrated to America, she embodied the homeland remembered nostalgically. In France, Marianne embodies the Republic and the ideals of reason. A woman was chosen to counter the monarchy represented by male figures. She was visualized wearing a Phrygian cap - soft and conical with the tip pointing forward - that came to represent liberty.

This is because in Roman times, this cap is what the freemen wore and this is what was given to slaves when their masters set them free.

In the 18th century, it was illegal to publish debates that went on in the British Parliament, so the political magazines published those using fictitious names for people and places. In these reports, colonies in America came to be known as Columbia. Later, with a Phrygian cap and draped in American flag, she became the symbol of a republic, who invited young people to fight for her. The idea of homeland mother goddesses probably originated with the concept of Roma, embodiment of the Roman Empire, who was seen as laurel wreath wearing mother by the Romans, a w***e by Christian martyrs, and a saint in the Holy Roman Empire.

The idea of Bharat Mata emerged during India’s freedom struggle from the 19th century play of Kiran Chandra Banerjee, novel of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya who also coined the hymn Vande Mataram (salutations to the mother), essays of Bipin Chandra Pal, and the painting of Abanindranath Tagore, where she is depicted wearing saffron, and holding in her four hands beads (faith), Vedas (knowledge), rice stalks (food) and fabric (clothing) for her children. Later, she was visualized riding a lion, or a chariot pulled by lions, with the tricolor flag in her hands, presented as Sita who is abducted by the British-Ravana or Draupadi abused by the British-Kichaka, or Kali, unclothed and naked, because of the greed of Britannia, and even Durga ready to lead ‘noble patriot children’ in war against ‘anti-national scum’.

Thus is nationalist mythology constructed by boys, for boys, who want to impress their Ma.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Workers tackle piles of trash as Beirut clean-up begins

People often imagine that what they want, in their most important relationships, is the truth. There is, though, a big difference between a commitment to honesty and a policy of absolute, uncensored candor. Some things don’t need to be said. Some points don’t have to be explained. It is important, in your personal life to see the difference between deception and discretion.

The former is, of course unacceptable. The latter, though, may turn out to be as understandable as it is justifiable. !!!

‘Every action gives rise to a reaction.’ That is the principle of ‘duality’, as outlined by various Asian spiritual philosophies. It, in turn, is closely linked to the concept of karma. What we do makes a difference.

As we sow, so shall we reap. In our emotional and personal lives, we need to treat people as we wish they would treat us. We can’t just consider ourselves victims of circumstances beyond our control. If there is something you wish you could change now, put your heart into doing the right thing. !!!

You’ve got what’s wanted. You are in demand. Or, at least, you will be if you get out into the world and interact. Whilst it is remotely possible that opportunity will make its way to you even if you lead the life of a recluse, it will arrive with so much more energy if you send out a signal that you believe in good fortune and are willing to welcome it into your life. Now this won’t give you enough luck to win a lottery but will, at least, assist you in your effort to succeed at the lottery of life. !!!

The world may or may not, owe you a living, but it certainly doesn’t owe you a hard time. You don’t deserve that and, if you secretly suspect you do, that just means that what the world owes you is some assurance, comfort and friendship! This looks rather like the kind of time during which it may be possible for you to receive a fair amount of what the world owes you. It is almost as if the cosmos has been aware for some time that you have been struggling against daunting odds and now intends to set some of that straight. !!!

Our closest emotional and personal involvements sometimes cause us to feel as if we are tiptoeing through a minefield. We don’t fully understand what’s going on in someone else’s mind. Only once we have inadvertently upset them do we wish we could turn back the time. That happens to the best of us and whilst it isn’t easy, it isn’t proof either that disaster is about to stare us in the face. Have faith now, not just in what your own heart feels, but in the depth and integrity of someone else’s heart. !!!

There are rules and restrictions, precedents and protocols, ways in which things can happen and other ways that cannot even be contemplated.

That’s just the way it goes when you are dealing with an organization, an institution or a situation that is somehow bigger than you are. But you know the score, you’ve been here before. You can also see how life puts you in the best possible position from which to play the game and win. Accept what you can’t change, then change what you need to change!

Workers have begun removing tonnes of rubbish that have piled up around Beirut under a government plan to end an eightmonth crisis that has sparked repeated protests.

Beirut’s suburbs have been awash in trash for months following the closure in July of the country’s largest landfill at Naameh, just south of the Lebanese capital.

Rubbish has piled up on beaches and in forests and riverbeds elsewhere in the country.

The government last week said it would temporarily

reopen the landfill to ease the crisis, but civil society activists have opposed the plan, demanding a permanent, more environmentally sound solution. Workers could be seen Sunday at Jdeideh, a

suburb just north of Beirut, using front loaders to pack piles of trash into dozens of trucks. Two other landfills in the Beirut suburbs are to be opened under the plan.

Naameh was set up in the early 1990s as a temporary

measure. Activists and nearby residents have long opposed the use of the site but when it was shut in July no alternative was proposed.

Activists from the “You Stink” movement and other groups are demanding longterm solutions, including investment in recycling and the transfer of waste management duties to municipalities.

The movement has won widespread support for its efforts to tackle the crisis, including with online videos of mountains of trash festering across Lebanon.

India’s monopoly to end as Nepal gets trade point in China China on Monday agreed to Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli’s request to build a strategic railway link between the two countries through Tibet to reduce land-locked Nepal’s total dependence on India, as the two sides cemented their ties by signing 10 agreements including a landmark transit trade deal.

Oli, who arrived here on Sunday on his maiden seven-day visit to China, was given a red carpet welcome by Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People. He also called on Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Oli’s high-profile visit comes as Nepal seeks to open more supply routes from China amid fears of a repeat of recent nearly six-month long crippling blockade when the Indian-origin Madhesis blocked Nepal’s trade-routes with India, throwing normal life out of

gear.

During the talks, the two Prime Ministers made a comprehensive review of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction over steadily growing relations between the two countries.

“The two sides exchanged substantive views on further strengthening and consolidating mutual trust and understanding as well as promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields,” according to a press release issued by Nepalese Foreign Ministry.

Trade diversification, cross

border connectivity and infrastructure development, cooperation on energy, tourism, finance, education and culture were among the matters that figured prominently during the talks, it said.

During his talks with Li, Oli mooted extension of China’s strategic railway link with Tibet further to Nepal.

Briefing the media after LiOli talks, Hou Yanqi, deputy head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said: “Nepal Prime Minister wanted to explore two rail lines.”

Hou said the government would encourage Chinese firms to look at the internal rail plan and that China was already planning to extend the railway from the Tibetan city of Shigatse to Gyirong on the Nepal border.

“Of course, a further extension from Gyirong is an even long-term plan. It’s up to geographic and technical conditions, financing ability. We believe that far in the future the two countries will be connected by rail,” she said.

The two countries sealed 10 agreements including the much-publicised transit trade treaty which will end Nepal’s total dependency on Indian sea ports for third-country trade.

The other agreements included a feasibility study on the establishment of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), China’s assistance to build a new airport and a border bridge.

The other agreements included a treaty on economic and technical cooperation to build a Regional International Airport Project at Pokhara, Nepal’s famous tourist site.

Over the longer term, the possibilities of state collapse or extremist takeover cannot be entirely ruled out, though the nearterm probability of such events appears to be low.

The report from the Harvard Kennedy School comes a week after a top American diplomat had raised a similar concern.

“We’ve been very concerned about Pakistan’s deployment of battlefield nuclear weapons,” US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Rise E Gottemoeller told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Thursday.

High risk of theft of Pakistan nuclear weapons

With Pakistan moving towards tactical nuclear weapons, there is an increasingly higher risk of nuclear theft, a US thinktank report has warned ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit here later this month.

“Overall, the risk of nuclear theft in Pakistan appears to be high,” said the report ‘Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: Continuous Improvement or Dangerous Decline?’ released by the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School.

“The trend seems to be

toward increasing risk, as Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal expands and shifts toward tactical nuclear weapons, while adversary capabilities remain extremely high,” it said.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Earliest evidence of humans in Ireland Dublin A bear bone found in a cave may push back dates for the earliest human settlement of Ireland by 2,500 years. The bone shows clear signs of cut marks with stone tools, and has been radiocarbon dated to 12,500 years ago.

This places humans in Ireland in the Palaeolithic era; previously, the earliest evidence of people came from the Mesolithic, after 10,000 years ago. The brown bear bone had been stored in a cardboard box at the National Museum of Ireland for almost a century.

Since the 1970s, the oldest evidence of human occupation in Ireland has been the huntergatherer settlement of Mount Sandel on the banks of the River Bann, County Derry, which dates to 8,000 years ago. Antiquarians and scientists have been searching for an Irish Palaeolithic since the second half of the 19th

Century. Over this 150-year period, occasional Palaeolithic tools have surfaced but in each case have been dismissed as objects originating from Britain

bear patella - or knee bone dates to a time at the end of the Ice Age when the climate was considerably colder. In addition to brown bears, humans would

that had simply been carried along by ice sheets or other geological processes. During the Palaeolithic, Ireland was already an island, cut off from the rest of northwest Europe, so nomadic hunter-gatherer groups would have arrived by boat. The brown

have come into contact with and possibly hunted - giant deer, red deer, reindeer, hare and wolves. The discovery was made

by Dr Marion Dowd, an archaeologist at IT Sligo; and Dr Ruth Carden, from the National Museum of Ireland.

Passenger scare delays Russian plane in Thailand BANGKOK A Moscow-bound flight with 369 passengers on board was grounded temporarily at Phuket

airport in southern Thailand on Sunday after a passenger refused to fly, saying that his presence endangered the aircraft.

The incident comes a day after

all 62 people aboard a Flydubai Boeing 737-800 flying from Dubai to southern Russia were killed when their plane crashed on its

second attempt to land.

Sunday’s Phuket to Moscow flight operated by Russia’s Nordwind Airlines was due to depart at 10.35 a.m. local time

but the captain asked to suspend the flight because of a passenger incident, Airports of Thailand said in a statement.

The company, which runs Thailand’s international airports, said: “As the plane was leaving Bay number 6 a passenger named Alexander Nosov asked not to fly.

He said: ‘If I travel with this plane, this plane will not be safe’.”

An inspection by an explosive ordnance disposal team found nothing suspicious on the aircraft, the company said. The passenger was detained for questioning at the airport, police said, and did not fly with the plane when it took off more than six hours behind schedule. The Thai holiday island of Phuket is popular with Russian holidaymakers and is home to a large Russian expatriate community.

‘Archaeologists have been searching for the Irish Palaeolithic since the 19th Century, and now, finally, the first piece of the jigsaw has been revealed. This find adds a new chapter to the human history of Ireland,’ said Dr Dowd.

The adult bear bone was one of thousands of bones originally discovered in Alice and Gwendoline Cave, County Clare, in 1903. The excavators published a report on their investigations and noted that the bear bone had knife marks.

The bone has been stored in a collection at the National Museum of Ireland since the 1920s.

In 2010 and 2011, Dr Carden reanalysed and documented the museum’s animal bone collection. As a specialist in cave archaeology, Dr Dowd became interested in the bone from the butchered bear and the two scientists sought to carry out

radiocarbon dating of the Chrono Centre at Queen’s University Belfast. ‘When a Palaeolithic date was returned, it came as quite a shock. Here we had evidence of someone butchering a brown bear carcass and cutting through the knee probably to extract the tendons,’ said Dr Dowd.

The examinations determined that the cut marks were made on fresh bone, confirming they were of the same date as the patella, and therefore that humans were in Ireland during the Palaeolithic period.

‘This made sense as the location of the marks spoke of someone trying to cut through the tough knee joint, perhaps someone who was inexperienced,’ explains Dr Dowd. ‘In their repeated attempts, they left seven marks on the bone surface. The implement used would probably have been something like a long flint blade.’

Swiss billionaire businesswoman has twins at 53 GENEVA Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, a Russian-born Swiss businesswoman who owns the French football club Olympique de Marseille, has given birth to twin girls at the age of 53, her spokeswoman said on Monday. ‘The mother and babies are doing well,’ the spokeswoman said in an email to AFP, confirming press reports at the weekend. LouisDreyfus, who will be 54 in June, inherited the group Louis-Dreyfus Commodities, a 160-year-old giant in the world commodities business, after her husband Robert Louis-Dreyfus died in 2009. They had three boys

including twins.

The father of the girls is Swiss banker Philipp Hildebrand, 52, who was head of the Swiss

nation’s largest protection against tsunamis and cyclones, is already facing unprecedented human and industrial encroachment and poaching by gangs of sophisticated pirates.

This month thousands of Bangladeshi environmental activists joined a 250-kilometre (155-mile) long-march to the

country’s southwest to protest the construction of two coal-fired power plants near the Sundarbans. Experts fear the industrial waste of the 1,320megawatt plant, a $1.7 billion joint venture of India and Bangladesh, and another one by a private company would destroy the forest.

central bank until he resigned in a storm involving alleged insider trading on the currency markets involving his former wife. He has since become a vice chairman of the US financial group BlackRock.

Bangladesh bans ships in rare dolphin sanctuaries DHAKA Bangladesh on Monday banned boats from sailing through a key southwestern river after a ship loaded with coal capsized, threatening the sanctuaries of rare dolphins in the world’s largest mangrove forest. The authorities imposed the ban after the ship sank in the Shela river on Saturday carrying over a thousand tonnes of coal, raising fears for two sanctuaries of endangered Irrawaddy and Ganges river dolphins and the delicate ecology of the Sundarbans forest.

‘We have decided to ban all types of naval movement at the Shela river indefinitely,’ shipping secretary Ashok Madhob Roy told AFP, saying the ships would

be rerouted to another channel on the edge of the forest.

Bangladesh suspended cargo boat transport through the same river in 2014 after a catastrophic oil spill that damaged the Sundarbans and triggered concerns for the forest’s dolphins and other endangered animals including Bengal tigers.

But the suspension was lifted under pressure from local trade groups, who have said the Shela river must be open for cargo vessels to ensure the smooth supply of industrial goods and food-grains to the southwestern region. Officials said the hull of the vessel, which sank carrying more than 1,200 metric tonnes of coal and is yet to be salvaged, was cracked.

‘The sunken coal could pose grave threat to the aquatic biodiversity of the Sundarbans,’ forest conservator Zahir Uddin Ahmed told AFP. ‘If the coal contains too much sulphur and if it dissolves into the water, then it is a dire concern,’ Ahmed said.

‘The effect of oil spillage from the ship could also be damaging.’

Spread over 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 square miles), the Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest and the core part of it is a UNESCOlisted World Heritage Site. The forest is home to scores of endangered Bengal tigers, spotted deers, fresh-water crocodiles and rare dolphins.

The pristine mangrove forest, said to be the South Asian

Issue - 659 (7)

22 March - 28 March 2016

New York state man gets longestever sentence for supporting ISIS A New York state resident was sentenced on Thursday to 22-1/2 years in prison for trying to recruit fighters to join Islamic State in Syria - the longest prison term handed out yet to an American convicted

A Reuters analysis, confirmed by the US Department of Justice, found they were the two stiffest such sentences yet issued. Convictions for Islamic State-related activity by Americans have

of supporting the militant group.

Mufid Elfgeeh, 32, of Rochester, was sentenced

by US District Judge Elizabeth Wolford of the Western District of New York. The district’s US attorney, William Hochul, called Elfgeeh “one of the first ISIL recruiters ever captured,” using another acronym for the militant group. A North Carolina federal judge last May issued the second-longest sentence for Islamic Staterelated activity – 20 years and three months in prison – to Donald Ray Morgan, 44, for trying to provide material support to Islamic State, and for unlawfully possessing a firearm.

become more frequent in recent months as more than 80 such cases brought by US prosecutors since 2013 work their way through federal courts.

An Arizona man was convicted by a jury on Thursday of conspiring to support Islamic State and other terrorism-related charges, while two men in unrelated cases in Mississippi and Ohio pleaded guilty on Friday and Wednesday to trying to join or convince others to join Islamic State. They have not yet been sentenced. Although Elfgeeh pleaded guilty in December only to trying to recruit two individuals to join Islamic State, he was

also originally charged with trying to kill US service members and unlawfully possessing firearms and silencers.

Beginning in 2013, the FBI paid two informants to help investigate Elfgeeh, according to court records.

The informants recorded conversations in which Elfgeeh talked about wanting to kill members of the US military and Shi’a Muslims in New York. One of the informants eventually sold Elfgeeh firearms and ammunition.

Elfgeeh tried to send the two individuals to Syria to fight on behalf of Islamic State, buying them a laptop computer, a h i g h definition camera, an expedited passport and other travel documents, according to his plea agreement.

He used Facebook and WhatsApp to activate a network of Islamic State sympathizers in Turkey, Syria and Yemen who could facilitate their trip, the plea agreement said.

During the same months, Elfgeeh also helped the alleged commander of a Syrian rebel battalion contact Islamic State leadership so that the battalion could join the larger group, prosecutors said.

To hit at the root of terror, Jordan looking to Sufi message of ‘love & peace’ Seeking to combat terror by hitting at its root, Jordan is looking to the Sufi message of “love and peace” to counter

sidelines of the Sufi conference, he said “they (Jordan) want us to work with them and hold programmes like the

extremist ideology and has asked the All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) for its help in this regard.

AIUMB president Syed Mohammad Kachhuchvi said the Middle-Eastern kingdom is “impressed” with Sufism and now planning to organise an event similar to the ongoing World Sufi Forum.

Following a meeting with a representative of Jordan’s King Abullah II bin Al-Hussein on the

World Sufi Forum there.

They want to spread our message of unity in diversity and tolerance in their country. “In this tieup, our people will go to Jordan and deliver lectures on Sufism there.

They also plan to hold this (World Sufi Forum) kind of an event there. We will be happy to work with them,” Kachhuchvi said after meeting the Jordanian representative Dr Abdul Rahim Okour.

He said this was a “matter of pride” for India

as its ‘Ganga-Yamuni’ culture is being “exported” to other parts of the world to counter the “import” of terrorism and radicalisation. Although Okour refused to speak to reporters, AIUMB national secretary Hasan Jamee quoted the Jordanian representative as having said during the discussion that they “know which are the organisations engaged in extremist activities”. “But targeting such organisations is not sufficient, we want to hit at the root, the extremist ideology,” Jamee said quoting Okour. According to Jamee, Okour also said he was “quite impressed” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech during the inaugural session of the Sufi meet, which has been organised

by AIUMB. The four-day event, which began on Thursday, is being attended by representatives from 22 countries and will conclude with a mass congregation on Sunday.

Hurdles in bringing Mallya back from London despite treaty with UK Liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s flight to his British nest to allegedly escape financial fraud charges back home could be a masterstroke because extraditing an Indian economic offender from the UK is extremely difficult.

India has an extradition treaty with the UK but criminal lawyer Majeed Memon said it is tough to convince British authorities that a foreigner on their soil can be considered fugitive for a financial crime he had committed in his home country.

Legal experts said a dualcriminality clause could help initiate extradition proceedings, which means the accused has to be charged for an offence that is recognised as crime in both countries.

But Article 9 of the UK-India treaty provides several grounds of defence, such as a person can argue that the extradition request is a facade for persecution. A long delay in making the extradition request by Indian authorities could help a person escape.

The option to appeal at every level of judiciary further complicates the process.

Indian agencies have failed

to extradite navy war room leak accused Ravi Shankaran from the UK almost 10 years after he was implicated. The UK’s

bailable warrant (NBW) for arrest from an Indian court.

But for the CBI and enforcement directorate (ED) investigating Mallya’s

Crown Prosecution Service had argued that the CBI has substantial evidence to prove Shankaran’s role in passing naval secrets to arms dealers.

But Shankaran’s appeal at the UK high court turned the case against India.

“Economic offenders are generally powerful people.

They exhaust all options with the executive and judiciary and only then leave India. Any action against such people is difficult,” a top bureaucrat said.

Investigating agencies can make a watertight case to ensure extradition. The first step is obtaining a non-

loan default, it will be years before they can obtain the warrant.

India’s best bet to bring Mallya back is to use the money laundering case, which is a criminal offence in both countries.

There is no guarantee, though. The ED managed to get an NBW last year despite its 2012 money laundering case against cricket czar Lalit Modi, another high-profile Indian accused living in the UK. “India’s best chance would be to persuade Mallya to come back. Otherwise, it is a risky, timeconsuming, an expensive process,” lawyer Memon said.

Issue - 659 (8)

22 March - 28 March 2016

Paris attacks top fugitive Abdeslam arrested in Brussels raid BRUSSELS The main fugitive from Islamic extremist attacks in Paris in November, Salah Abdeslam, has been arrested in Belgium’s capital after four months at large, French police officials said on Friday.

The officials told Associated Press that he was arrested on Friday in a major police operation in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek.Both officials are in contact with people involved in the operation and spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing operation.Abdeslam, 26, was among the attackers who killed 130 people at a rock concert, the national stadium and cafes on November 13 in Paris.In addition to Abdeslam, the whereabouts of two Paris attack suspects remains unknown, including fellow Molenbeek resident Mohamed Abrini and a man known under the alias of Soufiane Kayal.

Friday’s caputure of Abdeslam comes after Belgian authorities

say they found his fingerprints in an apartment raided earlier this week in another Brussels neighborhood.In that raid, a man believed to have been an accomplice of Abdeslam — Mohamed Belkaid — was shot dead, Belgian prosecutors say.

But two men escaped from the apartment, one of whom appears to have been Abdeslam.

Federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said it was possible Abdeslam had spent “days, weeks or months”, in the apartment.

Abdeslam fled Paris after the November 13 attacks. Most of the Paris attackers died that night, including Abdeslam’s brother Brahim, who blew himself up. Brahim Abdeslam was buried in the area on Thursday.

Brussels-born Salah Abdeslam, a childhood friend of suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, is believed to have driven a group of gunmen who took part.

The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attacks, in which Belgian

nationals played key roles.

On Tuesday, a joint team of Belgian and French police showed up to search a residence in the Forest area of Brussels in

found by his body, as well as a book on Salafism, an ultraconservative strain of Islam.

Elsewhere in the apartment, police found an Islamic State

connection with the Paris investigation, and were unexpectedly fired upon by at least two people inside. Four officers were slightly wounded.

An occupant of the residence was shot dead by a police sniper as he prepared to open fire on police from a window. Police identified him as Belkaid, 35, an Algerian national living illegally in Belgium.

A Kalashnikov assault rifle was

banner as well as 11 Kalashnikov loaders and a large quantity of ammunition, the prosecutor said.

Belgian authorities initially said Belkaid had no known background in radical Islamic activities. But Friday afternoon, prosecutors issued a statement saying he was ``most probably’’ an accomplice of Abdeslam who had been using a fake Belgian ID card in the name of Samir Bouzid.A man using that ID card

Not poor or ignorant, engineers 17 times more likely to become jihadis Washington Did you subscribe to the widely-held view of only poor and ignorant ones becoming jihadi? Well, you’ve just been proved wrong. A new study finds

that Islamist radicals born and educated in Muslim countries are 17 times more likely to have an engineering qualification than the general population in these countries.

The finding published in a new book ‘Engineers of Jihad’, being launched at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), relies on a study of over 800 members of violent Islamist groups.

The book challenges a widelyheld view that many terrorists are “poor, ignorant and have nothing to lose,” according to its authors, LSE academic Dr Steffen Hertog and European University Institute Professor Diego Gambetta.

“There is little doubt that violent Islamist radicals are vastly more educated than the general population born and educated

in the Muslim world, and engineers are dramatically overrepresented,” Hertog said.

The authors claim that the strong presence of graduates among Islamist radicals is due to

economic development failures in core Muslim countries.

“Ambitious young graduates, particularly engineers and to a lesser extent, newly-trained doctors, were frustrated by a lack of job opportunities when their economies turned south in the 1970s,” the authors said.

“Unlike Western-educated graduates who enjoyed good economic opportunities, their counterparts - educated in Muslim countries - were disaffected and ripe for recruitment by radical Islamic networks,” they said.

Engineers are over-represented because they represent “the most talented and ambitious graduates at the sharp end of frustrated expectations,” according to the authors.

The book shows that the overrepresentation of engineers

extends to Islamist radicals born and bred in Asian and Western countries, where labour market opportunities have been much better than in Muslim countries. Out of 71 Western-based cases with known higher education credentials, 45 per cent have at some point been enrolled in an engineering degree compared to 16.2 per cent in the general population of Western graduates.

There is no evidence that the technical skills of engineering graduates are the reason they are so well represented among jihadists, the authors claim.

“Bomb-making skills are not a pre-requisite in the recruiting process,” Hertog said. “An alQaeda training manual instead instructs members to look for individuals who are at once inquisitive and intelligent with the ability to observe and analyse, but who are also disciplined and obedient. If anything, it is these traits that radical groups look for in engineers,” he said. The other striking finding in the book is that engineers are also significantly represented among far right groups, while the far left is dominated by humanities and social science graduates.This is consistent with the fact that the ideology of Islamist radicals, stripped of its religious components, overlaps far more with that of extreme right-wingers than with that of radical left-wingers, the authors said.

was one of the two men seen with Abdeslam in a rental car on the Hungarian-Austrian border in September.

Four days after the November 13 Paris attacks, the same false ID card was used to transfer 750 euros ($847) to Hasna Ait Boulahcen, Abaaoud’s niece.

Both Ait Boulahcen and Abaaoud died afterward in a police siege.

Where are the protests in JNU against this? Cowards only protest against prosecution of Indian traitors.Vishnu is Gilipollas. Abdeslam slipped through a police dragnet to return to Brussels after the bloodbath in Paris, and though the target of an international manhunt, has not been found since.

In January, Belgian authorities said one of his fingerprints was found alongside homemade suicide bomb belts at an apartment in another area of Brussels. Belgian prosecutors said it wasn’t known whether he had been at the address in the Schaerbeek district before or after the Paris attacks, or how long he had spent there.

HIDDEN ROOMS FOUND IN SEARCH FOR FAMED EGYPT QUEEN’S TOMB

Washington Scans of King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber have revealed two hidden rooms, Egypt’s antiquities minister said Thursday a discovery that could intensify speculation that the chambers contain the remains of the famed Queen Nefertiti.

There is huge international interest in Nefertiti, who died in the 14th century BC and is thought to be Tutankhamun’s stepmother, and confirmation of her final resting place would be the most remarkable Egyptian archaeological find this century.

Famed for her beauty, Nefertiti was the subject of a famous 3,300-year-old bust. Antiquities minister Mamdouh elDamaty said the secret chambers may contain metal or organic material, but he declined to comment on whether royal treasure or mummies could be inside.

Analysis of the scans made by a Japanese team showed chambers that would be scanned again at the end of the month to get a better idea of what may lay inside, he said.

The discovery could shine new light on one of ancient Egypt’s most turbulent times, and one prominent researcher has theorised that the Nefertiti’s remains could be inside. British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves speculates Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti’s tomb, which archaeologists have yet to find.

Tut’s tomb lies in Luxor, which served as the Pharaonic capital in ancient times, and is home to sprawling temples and ancient tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Issue - 659 (9)

22 March - 28 March 2016

NYC teacher fined $300 for showing students IS beheading video

A New York City middle school teacher was fined $300 for showing students a video of an Islamic State beheading, according to a published report.

The New York Post reports that Alexiss Nazario, a veteran teacher earning $105,000 a year, showed the video to eighthgraders at the South Bronx Academy for Applied Media during the 2014-2015 school year.

Students told investigators probing the incident that the video blacked out the actual beheading but showed the victim’s severed head afterwards.

The students said they were scared by the video. One called it “gross.” City Department of Education officials sought to fire Nazario, but an arbitrator ruled

in favour of the lighter penalty of a $300 fine.

“This teacher demonstrated a complete lack of judgment, and this incident betrayed our schools’ promise to provide a safe and supportive environment,” department spokeswoman Devora Kaye said. Nazario now works as a roving substitute teacher at different schools, officials said.

There was no answer today at a phone number listed for Nazario.

She told the Post she accidentally played the wrong video. “I was scrolling looking for a specific video. I clicked on the wrong thing. It was a mistake. It was an error,” Nazario said. “I freaked out. I had no idea that was playing.”

The group seeking to overturn the 15-year-old ban on the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) said its

“Having reviewed, with other countries, what information is available about the current activities of the ISYF and after

‘Omar the Chechen’: The notorious IS warlord dies, confirms Pentagon The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that one of the most notorious faces of the Islamic State, Omar al-Shishani died after being wounded in a US-led coalition strike in northeastern Syria earlier this month.

Shishani, with a real name Tarkhan Batirashvili and a thick red beard and , was a fierce, battlehardened warlord with roots in Georgia.

US officials previously said Shishani “likely died” in the strike, but reports surfaced that he had survived.

Shishani, whose warname means Omar the Chechen, was one of the IS leaders most wanted by Washington which put a $5 million bounty on his head.

On Monday, Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesperson, told AFP the US military now believed “he subsequently died of his injuries” following the strike.US officials had branded Shishani the “equivalent of the secretary of

Decks cleared to lift UK ban on pro-Khalistan ISYF

campaign for ‘Khalistan’ had received a “massive boost” after decks were cleared on Thursday to remove ISYF from the list of proscribed organisations in Britain.

After the House of Commons approved the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2016 on Tuesday, the House of Lords also approved the government motion on Thursday, enabling the lifting of the ban on Friday.

Home secretary Theresa May is expected to sign the order lifting the ban on Friday.

Moving the motion in the House of Lords, minister of state in the home office Michael Bates said:

careful and appropriate consideration, the Home Secretary concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to support a reasonable belief that the ISYF is currently concerned with terrorism, as defined by section 3(5) of the Terrorism Act 2000”.

ISYF, which was previously engaged in attacks against india and Indian interests, was banned in Britain in 2001. The ISYF was launched in 1984 in Britain as the international branch of the All India Sikh Students Federation.

Bhai Amrik Singh, chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) that campaigned to overturn the ban,

said after the motion was approved in the House of Lords: “We are delighted at the unanimous verdict in the House of Commons and Lords that has resulted in the lifting of the ban.”

“The Sikh Federation (UK) and the Sikh community has always maintained for the last 15 years that the ISYF as an organisation has never been involved with terrorism…We feel we have been vindicated, there is nothing wrong with peacefully campaigning for an independent Sikh homeland, Khalistan”.

“The ban on the ISYF in the UK alone in 2001 was politically motivated and almost certainly more to do with appeasing the Indian authorities. This is what many UK politicians on all sides have told us, including ministers,” Singh said.

The Home Office said: “The government does not condone any terrorist activity.

Deproscription of a proscribed group should not be interpreted as condoning any previous activities of that group. The British Government has always been clear that the ISYF was a brutal terrorist organisation.”

Bates denied in the House of Lords that the ban on ISYF was continued for so long since 2001 due to “diplomatic pressure from India”. He said other countries were “engaged” before arriving at the decision to “de-proscribe” the ISYF.

defence” for the jihadist group.

Shishani came from the exSoviet state of Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge region, which is populated mainly by ethnic Chechens.

He fought as a Chechen rebel against Russian forces before joining the Georgian military in 2006, and fought Russian forces

again in Georgia in 2008.

He resurfaced in northern Syria in 2012 as the leader of a battalion of foreign fighters, said Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, research fellow at the Middle East Forum, a US think-tank.

As early as May 2013, when IS was just emerging in Syria, he was appointed the group’s military commander for the north of the country, Tamimi said.

While Shishani’s exact rank was unclear, Richard Barrett of the US-based Soufan Group described him as IS’s “most senior military commander”, adding that he had been in charge of key battles.

“He is clearly a very capable commander and has the loyalty of Chechen fighters who are considered by ISIS as elite troops,” Barrett told AFP, using

another acronym for IS. Shishani was not however a member of IS’s political leadership, a structure that is even murkier than its military command.

Born to Christian father A profile of Shishani written by an IS supporter and posted online described him as “one of the best strategic and tactical leaders”.

He was born in 1986 to a Christian father and a Muslim mother, according to the text, which claims he “never lost any of his battles”.

In an indication of Shishani’s popularity among jihadist sympathisers, the text describes him as “the new Khalid Ibn al-Walid” -- a reference to a leader from the early days of Islam who played a crucial role in spreading the nascent religion in Syria and Iraq. Observers, however, downplayed Shishani’s importance. “He was a fierce fighter,” according to Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict.

“He would be sent to frontlines across IS-held territory,” he said.

Still, Abdel Rahman said the impact of Shishani’s death would be minimal.

“It won’t have an actual impact on the battlefield. There are many other leaders,” he said.

“IS chooses which faces to make known in the media -while it conceals the real leaders.”

British journalist abducted with James Foley appears in new IS video

British journalist John Cantlie, who is being held prisoner by the Islamic State group, appeared in a new video released on Saturday supposedly filmed in the jihadists’ Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.In the latest instalment in a series of propaganda videos released by IS, Cantlie speaks to the camera in the style of a news report.

It is unclear when it was shot but Cantlie last appeared in an IS video in early 2015.In Saturday’s video, a gauntlooking Cantlie says he is in Mosul, IS’ main city in northern Iraq.Dressed in black and squinting in the sunshine, he is seen standing in front of a metal shack he describes as a media

kiosk that distributes IS pamphlets, which was destroyed in an air strike by a US-led coalition.Speaking in English with Arabic subtitles, as in previous clips of the same style, Cantlie criticises and derides the US-led campaign launched in 2014 against IS. He was kidnapped along with journalist James Foley in November 2012 in Syria while covering the war there.Foley then became the first of several hostages to be slain by the jihadists.Media rights watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, has condemned IS for its “cowardly” use of a hostage in a forced role to push the jihadists’ propaganda.

Issue - 659 (10)

Jat Sikh parents seeking a suitable match for their daughter, born and raised in Canada, D.O.B. 1989, 5’-3” tall, Bachelor’s degree in Social Science from York University, currently working for Peel School Education Board. The boy should be Jat Sikh born or raised in Canada, professionally educated and settled with family values.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

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Issue - 659 (11)

22 March - 28 March 2016

Many Guantanamo inmates are apparently not ‘too dangerous’ after all In the last comprehensive review of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, the US government had decided that nearly 50 were “too dangerous to transfer but not feasible for prosecution,” leaving them in an open-ended legal limbo.Now it seems many may not be so dangerous after all.A review board that includes military and intelligence officials has been taking a hard look at these men and helping to steadily chip away at the list of indefinite detainees, who are a

decisions announced by the Periodic Review Board as of this month have skewed heavily in favour of the prisoners. It has unanimously cleared 19 for release, and said five will continue to be held but will be re-evaluated again later.

Some of the approved have already left Guantanamo while the rest are expected to depart over the summer.

Lawyers for detainees welcomed the initial results, although they say the men shouldn’t have been held without charge for so long in the first place.

“These people have not

significant obstacle to President Barack Obama’s push to shut down the detention centre at the US military base in Cuba.The first 23

been reviewed in over six years. They have changed, circumstances have changed, and they have needed a fresh look,” said Pardiss Kebriaei, a lawyer

for the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights who represented a prisoner cleared by the Periodic Review Board.

The deliberations of the board are private. But David Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School who has analysed records of the proceedings released by the Pentagon, said the members appear to be treating past assessments of prisoners “with a healthier degree of scepticism” than officials did in the past. “If you just care about justice for human beings it’s a little odd that it’s taken 14 years to ask the questions in a hard enough way to discover that,” said Glazier, a former Navy officer and expert in military l a w. D e t a i n e e s approved for release by the board over the past two years have included a Saudi accused of being a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden who waged one of the longest hunger strikes while at Guantanamo and a Kuwaiti who was alleged to be a “spiritual adviser” to the al-

Student with IS links planned to free Bhatkal from jail: NIA Mechanical Engineering student Ashiq Ahmed may be just 19, but the NIA believes he had big plans for the Islamic State-affiliated organisation he joined only a few months ago.

This included freeing India’s most dreaded terrorist, Ahmed Zarrar Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal, from jail.Hooghly resident Ahmed was arrested by the NIA on Thursday for allegedly being part of the Junud-alKhilafa-e-Hind (JKH), a self-declared affiliate of the Islamic State run on the directions of former Indian Mujahideen operative Shafi Armar.According to details of his interrogation, Ahmed, along with Mohammed Nafees from Hyderabad, planned a prison escape for Bhatkal, who once headed the Indian Mujahideen and executed a series of blasts across the country for six years before he was arrested from Nepal in August 2013. He is currently lodged in the high security Tihar Jail.“They had not yet spelt out the whole plan. Among the various things they had discussed JKH would do in the coming months, freeing Yasin Bhatkal was one of them. This was found in one of the social media conversations between the two,” an officer said. But a senior NIA officer chose to play down the revelation saying it sounded more like grandstanding as the group does not seem to have the wherewithal to pull off such a task. “Even Yasin Bhatkal had grand plans of acquiring nuclear weapons and hitting Surat. It is one thing to plan things and another to be able to achieve

them,” he said. A salesman by profession, Hyderabad’s Mohammed Nafees was finance chief of JKH and was instrumental in recruiting Ahmed to head the group’s West Bengal unit. He is already in NIA custody along with 20 others from the group. Before Ahmed was arrested by the NIA, he had already started to build a unit, said NIA sources. “He was motivating five young men none of them have attended college to join the organisation and participate in terror activities,” claimed an officer. NIA sources said Ahmed was not only in touch with various members of the group but was also allegedly planning to assassinate a TMC MLA accused of being involved in the murder of a political rival from the Muslim community.

Sources said Ahmed had come in contact with Mohammed Nafees Khan while surfing jihadi videos on the internet.

“Ahmed took Khan around Kolkata to identify vital installations that could be targeted by JKH. Ahmed also expressed his intention to target a TMC MLA for the alleged murder of a Muslim political rival.

However, all these plans were still at a nascent stage,” said an NIA officer. Son of a farmer in Hooghly, Ahmed, NIA sources said, was good in studies and had a “polished” personality. However, the lure of the Islamic State pulled him into jihadi chatter forums on the internet over the past one year, sources said. This is how he met Khan and several other members of the group, they said.

Qaida leader, though he would only have been about 20 at the time.

A Yemeni prisoner was cleared in January after authorities determined he was just a low-level jihadist fighter but had been mistaken for an al-Qaida facilitator or courier with a similar alias.In Congress, where there is strong opposition to closing the detention centre, the administration is seen as moving too fast to release men some fear will resume the behaviour that got them locked up in the first place.

“The administration’s mad rush to push detainees on allies and partners has to stop,” Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican who is chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said in January after 10 prisoners on the cleared list of 2010 were sent to Oman for resettlement. There are 91 men held at Guantanamo, down from nearly 250 when Obama assumed the presidency. Those left include 36 who are cleared for release if security conditions can be met in the countries where they will settle. Seven face trial by military commission, including five charged with planning and supporting

the terrorist attack of Sept.

11, 2001. Three others have been convicted.The

considered for prosecution. But few can now be tried due to court

Obama administration wants to close the detention centre and hopes to overcome the opposition in Congress to moving any prisoners to the US by bringing down the population at Guantanamo to what officials have called the “irreducible minimum.”

The administration says it has no plans to go further and turn the base itself over to Cuba a demand Obama is likely to hear during his visit to Havana starting Sunday.

The January 2010 review designated 48 men for indefinite detention under the international law of war until the end of hostilities, a vague time frame in the war against terrorist groups such as al-Qaida.

It also said 44 other detainees should be

rulings that limited the jurisdiction of military commissions and the ban on sending them to the US, where they might otherwise be tried in federal court. Men from both categories are now eligible to go before the Periodic Review Board, including some not likely to be released. “There are people in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility who it is not safe to transfer ...

They have to stay in US detention,” Defence Secretary Ash Carter told reporters last month.

The board is made up of representatives of six agencies, including the Defense Department, Justice Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Issue - 659 (12)

22 March - 28 March 2016

Harry meets Nepal quake survivors KATHMANDU Britain’s Prince Harry, on a fourday tour of Nepal, visited centuries-old heritage sites on Sunday devastated by earthquakes last year and met some survivors, many of whom are still living in makeshift shelters.

Nearly 9,000 people were killed, 22,000 injured and close to a million homes were destroyed in

the tiny Himalayan country in two earthquakes in April and May last year. Tens of thousands of survivors are still living in huts made from tin sheets and tarpaulin as

reconstruction has been delayed by political bickering over a new constitution.

“I pay my respects to those who perished and hope to do what I can to shine a spotlight on the resolve and resilience of the Nepalese people,” Harry said at a government reception celebrating 200 years of ties with Britain. The 31-year-old prince, who

is fifth in line to the British throne, visited the Patan Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, near capital Kathmandu, to see damage to an ancient royal pal-

ace and surrounding temples due to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake on April 25. The second, 7.3 magnitude quake struck on May 12.

The restoration of monuments is going on with traditional craft skills like wood-carving and gilding. He also visited some artisans working at the site. Later Harry travelled to the temple town of Bhaktapur, east of Kathmandu, and visited a pre-positioning site for quake emergency supplies shelter kits, water and sanitation equipment and met survivors at a camp for displaced families.

Since arriving in Nepal on Saturday, Harry has met with Nepal’s first woman president, Vidhya Devi Bhandari, and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. During the tour that ends on Wednesday, he will also meet families of Gurkha soldiers with whom he had served in Afghanistan at the lake city of Pokhara, 125 km (79 miles) west of Kathmandu.

Nurse banned after disabled victim blinks ‘evidence of sexual abuse’ A nurse has been struck off after a severely disabled patient used a series of blinks to allege that he was being abused.

Ernesto Corpus, who worked at the University Hospital of South Manchester Trust, was banned from the profession by a disciplinary panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

The decision came after the panel watched video evidence from the patient, whose communication had improved since the time of the alleged abuse, revealing the claims.

The Manchester Evening News reported that the patient used a series of blinks to spell out the words “I am being abused”.

Mr Corpus was initially acquitted of sex attacks by a jury at Manchester Crown Court in October 2013, but has now been struck off after the panel deemed the allegations “credible and reliable”.

The panel, sitting in London, said

Mr Corpus had shown “no remorse” and that he must be removed from the nursing register protect the public and the reputation of the profession, the MEN

reported.

It added that he had acted in a “sexually predatory manner” towards the patient, “stripp[ing] him of his dignity and caus[ing] him and his family emotional turmoil and psychological distress”.

Last year, figures revealed that nearly two-third of sexual abuse incidents were attacks on disabled victims.

Unesco adds 20 new sites to Bird hits passenger jet landing list of biosphere reserves at Heathrow leaving a large

SYDNEY The United Nation’s cultural body UNESCO has added 20 new sites to its network of protected biosphere nature reserves, including two in Canada and two in Portugal.

nated a reserve in addition to the Tajo River region between Portugal and Spain.

The list of new UNESCO biosphere reserves also includes sites in Algeria, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy,

The status was conferred during a two-day meeting in Lima that ended Saturday, which brought the total number of biosphere reserves to 669 across 120 countries. In Canada, the Tsa Tue area in the country’s Northwest Territories that includes the last pristine arctic lake was added to the list, as was the Beaver Hills region of Alberta, which has a landscape formed by a retreating glacier.

Britain’s Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea in a biologically diverse marine environment, and Mexico’s Isla Cozumel were also selected for the network. And in Portugal, the entire Island of Sao Jorge, the fourth largest in the Azores Archipelago, was desig-

Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines and Tanzania. Of the hundreds of locations on the list, 16 are sites that stretch across more than one country. Spain is the country with the largest number of registered reserves. During the meeting, nine extensions to existing biosphere reserves were also approved.

Meanwhile, the Australian government ended its push to log World Heritage-listed forests on the southern island state of Tasmania on Sunday, after the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO issued a report calling for the area to remain protected from logging. Australia’s government in 2014 sought unsuccess-

fully to have parts of the Tasmanian wilderness, some one million hectares (2.47 million acres) or a fifth of the island, removed from UNESCO’s World Heritage listing to enable logging.

A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation report issued on Saturday said the whole area “should be offlimits to commercial logging in its entirety” and that it “does not consider a World Heritage property recognised for its outstanding cultural and natural values the place to experiment with commercial logging of any kind”.

On Sunday both Australia’s national and Tasmanian state governments adhered to the UNESCO request.

“We accept the recommendation that special species timber harvesting should not be allowed anywhere in the world heritage area,” Tasmania’s environment minister Matthew Groom said in a joint statement with national environment minister Greg Hunt.

The statement said no commercial forestry will be permitted in the World Heritage-listed area.

The Tasmanian forest, added to the World Heritage list in 1982, “constitutes one of the last expanses of temperate rainforest in the world”, according to UNESCO. Conservation groups welcomed the UNESCO report and government commitment not to log the Tasmanian wilderness.

bloody dent on its nose

A bird has struck a passenger jet leaving a large dent in its nose as it was coming in to land at Heathrow. The Egypt Air flight from Cairo was grounded for 21 hours after the incident before a replacement nose could be located. Pictures of the damage show a large exposed dent in the Boeing 737-800 complete with blood and feathers. The aircraft, which had 71 passengers on board, managed to safely land at the airport on Friday, reports

the Aviation Herald. Amir Hashim, a Senior Procurement Specialist for Egyptair, posted these images on to Facebook.

Mr Hashim wrote alongside the photographs:”SU-GDZ operating yesterday evening’s MS779 arrival suffered a bird strike on approach. “The damage caused is clearly evident and SU-GDZ will be grounded until a new radome is fitted. Now, who has a spare?”

The Independent has contacted Egyptair for comment.

Issue - 659 (13)

22 March - 28 March 2016

Indian-origin student wins first Noor Inayat Khan Prize in London New Delhi An Indian-origin student was awarded the inaugural Noor

Inayat Khan Prize consisting of 1,000 pounds for a dissertation which was in “keeping with the spirit” of the famous World War II heroine.

Geetakshi Arora of SOAS South Asia Institute has won the first Noor Inayat Khan Prize, the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust announced in London on Thursday.The Trust is awarding the annual prize to the postgraduate student from SOAS,

University of London, working in the area of gender studies and South Asian history.

The prize which consists of 1,000 pounds and a certificate -- is for a dissertation which is in keeping with the spirit of Noor Inayat Khan, a descendant of Tipu Sultan.

“We are delighted to award the prize to Geetakshi for her excellent dissertation. We hope the annual award keeps the memory of Noor Inayat Khan alive in the student community,” said Shrabani Basu, founder and

chair of the trust.

Noor was born in Moscow in 1914 to Indian father Hazrat Inayat Khan and American mother Ora Ray Baker. She was a secret agent in World War II and was sent behind enemy lines. She operated from Paris, doing crucial work for the allies.

Noor was betrayed, arrested and killed in Dachau Concentration Camp at the age of 30.

Her last word was ‘Liberte’.

Noor was a Sufi and believed in non-violence and religious harmony. Hazrat Inayat Khan was a descendant of Tipu Sultan, the famous 18th-century ruler of the kingdom of Mysore. In November 2012, after a highprofile campaign by the Trust, Princess Anne unveiled a memorial to Noor in Gordon Square in London, near the house where she lived. The Square, which is part of the University of London, is often visited by students. Geetakshi was presented the award in Delhi

by Michael Hu, head of SOAS South Asia Institute.

2 Muslims herding buffaloes thrashed, hanged RANCHI In an incident reminiscent of the Dadri lynching, two Muslim men herding eight buffaloes on their

way to a Friday market were beaten up and hanged to death from a tree by suspected cattleprotection vigilantes in Balumath forests in Latehar district, 100km from the state capital, early on Friday.The deceased, Muhammad Majloom, 35, and Azad Khan alias Ibrahim, 15, were cattle traders and related to each other. Their bodies were strung up with their hands tried behind their backs and their mouths stuffed with cloth.

“The manner of their hanging showed that the assailants were led by extreme hatred,” said Latehar SP Anoop Birthary.

Local MLA from the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) Prakash Ram claimed that Hindu radicals were behind the

killings. Reports said villagers who protested the deaths claimed the victims were targeted as they were cattle traders.Birthary, however, did not identify the assailants. “We are gathering leads to verify whether personal or business enmity led to the murder or it was due to some other motive.

The buffaloes were freed. It is yet to be known if the buffaloes were taken away by the assailants or they strayed into the forest,” Birthary said.

The hanging sparked protests by people in Jhabbar village that turned violent when police tried to take down the bodies. The

situation poses a serious political and law and order challenge for the BJP government in Jharkhand. In the case of Dadri case when a Muslim man was killed over rumours of beef eating, BJP had said law and order was under the SP government.But in the Jharkhand incident, the buck stops with the state and central leadership. SDO Kamleshwar Narayan and six cops were injured when villagers threw stones at officials who arrived in the morning to manage the situation and ensure that it did not take a communal turn.

Injuries to senior officials forced police to fire in the air and lathi charge the villagers.

Sources said protesting villagers have periodically claimed that assailants have targeted them in the past because they are engaged in cattle trade. “Four months ago, a group of men tried to kill a cattle trader in Gomia village of Balumath. The man managed to escape,” Latehar MLA Prakash Ram said.

Local MLA Prakash Ram from the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) party led by former BJP member Babulal Marandi alleged a group of Hindu radicals was responsible for the attack on the cattle traders. “They are supported by the police who do not act against them,” Ram said.

The MLA’s claims appeared to tally with statements of villagers who blocked Latehar-Chatra National Highway after the killings. An FIR was lodged against unknown persons for the murder and another FIR was lodged against unknown persons.

SAR Geelani gets bail in sedition case, told not to leave Delhi

New Delhi Delhi University professor SAR Geelani, who was arrested on charges of sedition, was granted bail by the Patiala House court on Saturday.

Geelani, who was tried in the 2001 Parliament attack case with Afzal Guru, was arrested for allegedly organising an event in Press Club of India where antinational slogans were raised. The event generated “hatred” for the government, police said.

Additional sessions judge Deepak Garg granted bail to Geelani, 46, on a personal bond of `50,000 and one surety of the like amount.

“In the circumstances of this case, in my view, no purpose would be served by keeping the applicant (Geelani) in judicial custody anymore, pending further investigations. There is no apprehension by the state of the accused fleeing from justice if released,” the court said.

The judge said Geelani “shall not leave the jurisdiction of Delhi without permission of the court” and asked him to surrender his

passport. Detained within days of JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest, Geelani’s judicial custody had earlier been upheld by a magistrate’s court.

The accused pleaded for bail before a Delhi court on February 19 but his application was denied the next day by metropolitan magistrate Harwinder Singh. Delhi Police told the court that “anti-national” visual representations and speeches were made during the protest.Geelani’s lawyer Satish Tamta said he had expected “a better reply” from the police as they had time to investigate the matter.Police said that they were trying to trace the other suspects.“It has been days since his arrest. If they can’t find the other suspects, then how is that his fault?” asked Tamta.

Tamta said police had brought up Geelani’s alleged involvement in the Parliament attack case “just to prejudice” his client. He added that the professor was honourably acquitted by the Delhi high court.

NRI sets up India’s 1st gay marriage bureau

Vadodara Gay people now have an avenue to find their soulmate.

An NRI has set up India’s first marriage bureau for homosexuals to help them find the right match, both within and outside the country. The general belief is that most homosexuals tend to identify their own partners and settle with them. But Benhur Samson, who used to help gays with surrogacy in India till 2013, was surprised when he received requests from them regarding prospective life partners. Samson started the arranged gay marriage service to cater to such persons. He has also roped in the gay prince of Rajpipla, Manvendrasingh Gohil, as a consultant, along with lawyers to look into the legal aspects of the marriages, including immigration if an Indian marries a person abroad.

“Several people wanting an

arranged marriage were looking for partners from India. The reason seems to that arranged marriages are common in India.

Also, Indians are known for their commitment, their loyalty to partners and hard-working nature,” said Samson. He added that issues like drug abuse were also less common among Indians.Samson said the marriage bureau has been operational for around three months now. “We have received around 250 inquiries and around 24 people are enrolled with us. We are in the process of identifying the right match for them,” he said. Those who sign up have to undergo counselling under experts. “We take a couple of months to know the person and only then begin the process,” Samson said. He added that to ensure that only serious candidates came forward the bureau charges $5,000, which is refundable if the person does not find a match.

Issue - 659 (14)

22 March - 28 March 2016

SIS inspired California Situation dangerous as ISIS committing genocide: US student in stabbings: FBI WASHINGTON The situation in ISIScontrolled territories in Syria and Iraq is “dangerous” as the dreaded terror group is

Syria. In some cases, there have been military actions that have been ordered specifically to protect religious minorities,” he said.

committing genocide targetting religious minorities there, the US has said, indicating it will ramp up its operation in the region.“What’s happening in Iraq and in Syria is deeply troubling. We do see this extremist organisation targeting religious minorities. In their propaganda they’re featuring evidence of trying to wipe out these religious minorities,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday.

US President Barack Obama has talked on a number of occasions about how this is deeply troubling and is an affront to every person of faith, he said.

“That is why the President has ordered military action against ISIL in Iraq and in

“There certainly is the example of Mount Sinjar, which we have cited here frequently that there were Yazidis who were trapped in it. ISIL fighters had them cornered, and those ISIL fighters were vowing to slaughter them,” he said, using a different acronym for the Islamic State.

This designation is significant, Earnest said.

“It reflects the gravity of the situation there. And it’s one that continues to attract the attention not just of the United States, but it’s also why the United States has been able to build a strong moral case against ISIL, and build a substantial international coalition,” he added.The US has taken steps to try to protect religious minorities in that region of the world from being the

victims of violence at the hands of ISIL, he asserted.

“What it essentially indicates is that the United States will cooperate with independent efforts to investigate genocide,” Earnest said.

“There obviously is evidence that has been collected, and we’ll make sure that that evidence is preserved, and we’ll assist in the effort, collecting and analysing additional evidence of atrocities to support that investigation.

But that’s the next step in the process, and the United States will be supportive of it,” he said while responding to a question.

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said ISIS is committing genocide in the areas under its control.

“In my judgement, Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. Daesh is genocidal by selfproclamation, by ideology, and by actions - in what it says, what it believes, and what it does. Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other minorities,” Kerry told reporters.

London The Islamic State jihadist group on Thursday released pictures of six men being executed on charges of “spying” for the Iraqi government in the city of Fallujah.

In a statement posted on social media, the IS jihadists use three different methods to execute their victims, all wearing orange jumpsuits.

“The judicial police carried out death sentences issued by an Islamic court in Fallujah against several apostates after they were convicted of spying,” the statement said.

The statement was written like an official government release and described the circumstances that led to the capture of each of the six men.

The pictures showed masked ISIS fighters in full tactical gear, against the backdrop of a heavily damaged city.

Four of the victims were

shot in the head, one was decapitated with a knife and another with an explosive rope.

tide. Fallujah is almost completely isolated from other IS-controlled territory and IS is believed to be

Fallujah lies in Anbar province only 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad and is the jihadist group’s largest remaining stronghold in Iraq after the city of Mosul.

IS controlled most of Anbar a few months ago but sweeping military operations by the Iraqi security forces backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition are turning the

increasingly struggling to get supplies into the city.

The situation also appears to be causing increased internal tension in Fallujah, with IS paranoid that residents are assisting with an impending government offensive.

Jihadists detained dozens of residents of the city last month after clashes between IS and Iraqi tribesmen.

New ISIS video shows six Iraqi govt men being executed for ‘spying’

Fresno A California college student who went on a stabbing rampage that wounded four people before he was shot down by a campus police officer was inspired by the Islamic State group but acted alone, the FBI said.

Faisal Mohammad, 18, appears to have become self-radicalised, drawing motivation from terrorist propaganda that he found online before launching the Nov. 4 attack at the University of California, Merced, authorities said Thursday.

“Every indication is that Mohammad acted on his own,” Gina Swankie, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Sacramento field office, said in a statement.

“It may never be possible to definitively determine why he chose to attack people on the U.C. Merced Campus.”

The knife attack happened a month before a gunwielding husband-and-wife team in San Bernardino killed 14 people and wounded 21 others at a workplace holiday party. In that case, too, investigators said they were influenced by the Islamic State group, but not

directly connected to it.

Like Mohammad, they had not raised red flags that put them on a watch list.

backpack containing a two-page, hand-written manifesto detailing plans to bind students to their

In both cases family members said they were unaware of their loved ones’ interests in terrorists groups. In Merced, Mohammad burst into a classroom, stabbing two students. He stabbed a construction worker who intervened, then ran from the building, where he knifed a school employee sitting on a bench. Police shot and killed Mohammad. The FBI says the college freshman from Santa Clara, California, for several weeks had visited the websites of Islamic State and other extremist groups. He planned the attack at least a week before carrying it out, investigators said.

During the rampage, Mohammad carried a

desks with zip-tie handcuffs, authorities have said. Then, he was going to make a fake 911 distress call, ambush responding officers with a hunting knife and steal their guns to shoot a list of targeted classmates.

Mohammad’s backpack also held a photocopy of an Islamic State group flag and a list of items he would need for the attack, the FBI said.

Attorney Daniel Mayfield, who represents Mohammad’s relatives, said the family remains in the dark about what prompted the violent outburst just days after he turned 18. They are asking investigators to provide them with more information, he said.

Issue 659 (15)

22 March - 28 March 2016

Fawad, Alia, Sidharth in a madhouse drama Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt, Rishi Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah Direction: Shakun Batra Ratings: 3 Stars Not every family is perfect.

Hell, no family is perfect.

Shakun Batra’s Kapoor And Sons wins in being able to portray the quick fixes that every family has to employ sometime or the other. In Sidharth Malhotra and Fawad Khan’s dysfunctional Kapoor family, this is what shines through.

Dadu (Rishi Kapoor), the 89-year-old patriarch of the Kapoor family suffers a heart attack. Rahul (Fawad Khan) and Arjun’s (Sidharth Malhotra) lives in London and New Jersey respectively are disrupted, and the brothers come back home to Coonoor. In this picturesque small town in Tamil Nadu resides this not-so-picturesque Kapoor family. Rahul and Arjun’s mom (Ratna Pathak Shah) and dad (Rajat Kapoor) are stuck in a bickering, at-eachother’s-throats marriage.

Family fights are an everyday affair and the story sucks you in into it in a way that seems real. The Kapoors get under your skin and make a home for themselves there.

Tia (Alia) and Arjun have a

drunken night between them when the latter gatecrashes and lands in the party at her place. Arjun is instantly taken by Tia. On the other hand, Tia wants to sell her bungalow that Rahul wants converted into an artists’ retreat, and in the process, the girl develops a massive crush on the guy.

Younger brother Arjun desists living in the shadow of his elder brother, the ‘perfect son’, the successful novelist who has a perfect life in London. On the other side is Dadu, whose only wish in life is a family photo, which will have ‘Kapoor and Sons Since 1921’ captioned beneath it.

Rahul and Arjun throw their lot behind trying to fulfil their grandfather’s wish, and also want to throw a surprise party for the octogenarian’s 90th birthday. But how?

With these several parallel tracks running through Kapoor And Sons, director Shakun Batra crafts a refreshing tale of family problems and the art of sweeping them under the carpet.

There are scenes in the film which remind you of your own not-so-absolute families. A special mention for the scene where a plumber gets unwillingly stuck in a family fight and leaves everyone in splits.

Batra, along with Ayesha Devitre Dhillon, displays a

story that is at once the beauty and ugliness of rain in the mountains. Sure, sitting on the window-sill, you breathe in the fragrance of the wet earth; but there’s the claustrophobia too, of being stuck indoors.

Kapoor And Sons is a depiction of the lives spent dithering, of time that you’ve lost doing nothing but waiting for a better period of time.

In this tale of the flawed family, Fawad Khan is spectacular. The actor, whose debut in Khoobsurat was lauded by most people, does a fabulous job of bringing Rahul’s dilemmas and the burden of protecting secrets on screen. Sidharth Malhotra tries his best to infuse life into Arjun, and is successful in doing so. However, in the frames with the two brothers on screen, you can’t help but realise that Fawad outshines Sidharth.

As the bubbly, outgoing Tia, Alia is the quintessential pretty distraction. But her role doesn’t allow her to be a lot more than that.

In her not-as-fleshed-out part too, Alia makes her presence felt.

Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah are both incomparable in the way they bring alive the problems of a marriage in tatters. Rishi Kapoor is unbelievable in the film. His character teaches people

how to live, and full marks to the actor for being able to nail that.

However, underneath all the brilliance of Kapoor And Sons, there lies the problem of the quick-fix solution. Half of Batra’s film is a lesson in embracing the imperfections and searching for a proper solution to

them. Therefore, when the story uses that very hasty, knee-jerk climax to get things in place, it comes across as a betrayal.

Jeffery F Bierman’s camera captures the essence of Coonoor in the best way possible. A middle class family in a small town, sons who stay abroad, the

beauty of the sun setting on the hills... Coonoor comes alive in Kapoor And Sons, thanks to the cinematography.

The music is soothing.

Ladki Beautiful, of course, is already the party anthem of the year. Among the other tracks, Bolna is a memorable one.

Ben Foster’s eyes wear a constant watchful look Directed by Stephen Frears Cast: Ben Foster, Guillaume Canet, Jesse Plemons, Chris O’Dowd Ratings: 3 Stars Even by sport’s definition of a comeback, Lance Armstrong was unique.

Surviving cancer and winning one of the world’s most gruelling tournaments, Tour de France, seven times made him a champion like none other.

Even by sport’s definition of a letdown, Armstrong remains unique. Indicted for running “one of the most sophisticated doping programmes in the history of sport”, he was stripped off all his tiles.

The Program is based on a book on him written by journalist David Walsh (here played by O’Dowd), who doggedly pursued his suspicion that Armstrong was using performance-en-

hancing drugs. Foster plays Armstrong as a fanatically ambitious competitor, with a hunger so deep to win that it overruled everything else.

Foster’s eyes wear this constant watchful look, taking on almost a gleam when he talks of winning.

The Program makes an equally compelling case of how even “the world’s most tested athlete” got away with cheating for so long. And of how a sport turns a willing blind eye and makes a cosy circle that few dare or want to break, and even how everyone wants a hero to believe in.

When Armstrong says he is only trying to stay “one step ahead of the others” while either having his dirty blood taken out, or clean blood injected back in you can see how it looks from his point of view.

Where The Program fails is in giving

us a deeper insight into the man himself, beyond the athlete, and the moral compunctions he played down.

Armstrong eventually decided to confess and not challenge his lifetime ban for what the controversy was doing to his children. However, but for one wedding scene, there is no sign of either his wife or those kids in the film.

In comparison, for a film so focused on just one aspect of the Armstrong story, there is a surprisingly protracted sequence of his cancer fight.

Plemons gets a fuller role than Foster as fellow cyclist and teammate Flyod Landis, who fights back his deeply religious background when the doping gets too bad. Apart from the physical toll the drugs are having on him, Landis struggles with what to tell his parents and finds it harder and harder to keep his doubts away.

Issue 659 (16)

22 March - 28 March 2016

Lauren Gottlieb gets one million Instagram followers Dancer-actress Lauren Gottlieb, who shot to fame with her debut film “ABCD: Any Body Can Dance” in 2013, has reached the one million milestone on Instagram.

She says that her fans’ love “inspires and encourages” her to keep pursuing her dreams.

“I feel so blessed to receive so much love from my fans and well wishers from across the world. More gratitude for the adoration I have received from my fans here in India,” Lauren said in a statement.

The “Welcome to Karachi” star also celebrated the milestone at the Gateway of India here with her friends.

“What better way than to celebrate this occasion with my girlfriends at the Gateway of India. Every day my fans inspire and encourage me to keep pursuing my dreams and I can’t thank them enough. I love sharing my life with them,” she added.

The contemporary dancer is very active on the photosharing website and likes to share day-to-day activities creating an instant connect with her fans.

Lauren is currently gearing up for her next release “Ambarsariya”, which also stars Punjabi actor Dilijit Dosanjh.

Farhan Akhtar and Kalki Koechlin are dating?

Link-ups and break-ups aren’t new to the Bollywood industry.

According to the latest buzz, Farhan Akhtar and Kalki Koechlin are reportedly dating each other.

According to a report in Mid-Day, a source said, “Even though they didn’t have many chances to meet, the two kept in touch with each other because they got along really well on the sets of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

But now that Farhan is alone, they seem to have gotten back together not just as friends. They have been meeting each other since last couple of months.” The report further states that the two are even planning to move in together. Farhan

and Kalki met each other on the sets of the 2011 film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and became good friends. Farhan had recently ended his 16year-old marriage with Adhuna Bhabhani and Kalki too had a divorce with husband Anurag Kashyap last year. And now it seems the two want to give each others’ love lives an another chance. Earlier, Farhan was also rumoured to be dating his Wazir co-star Aditi Rao Hydari. But Aditi had refuted all the rumours of their link-up.

She had earlier said, “I don’t want to comment on someone else’s life. I think everybody needs their peace and privacy, and I wish to give that to them.

Amitabh Bachchan charged this much for singing the national anthem

Amitabh Bachchan was present at the Eden Garden grounds ahead of the India vs Pakistan T-20 match and he sang the National Anthem before the match began.

Amitabh’s rendition of Jana Gana Mana captivated every single Indian who was watching the match. Many fans even took to Twitter and Facebook to appreciate Amitabh for singing the national anthem.

But the reports of Amitabh charging Rs 4 crore for it went viral and the Piku actor was even questioned for his patriotism. And now Cricket Association of Bengal’s president Saurav Ganguly has rubbished all such reports and confirmed

Kangana Ranaut turns down Homi Adajania’s next film Actress Kangana Ranaut, who has been approached by filmmaker Homi Adajania for his next directorial venture, has apparently refused to do that film because of date issues.

“Homi has narrated (the script) to Kangana and she is keen to work with him, but she is already committed to Hansal Mehta’s film after ‘Rangoon’ and the dates are clashing.

But they have promised to work with each other in the future,” a source close to Kangana told IANS. Adajania has reportedly finished writing the script for his next directorial venture, which has a very unique pairing. The director, who has already signed Sushant Singh Rajput and Irrfan for the film, was keen to cast Kangana in a prominent role.

that the megastar didn’t charge a single penny for it.

In an interview with Anandabazar Patrika, Ganguly was all praises for the Deewaar actor. He said, “Mr Bachchan is one and only, a special person. I am eternally grateful to him.”

The former caption of India also told the Bengal’s leading daily, “Can you ever imagine someone paying Rs 30 lakhs of his own pocket to perform? He booked his own flight, bought his own tickets and even paid the hotel bills. I literally begged him to take some money but he said that I am doing it for love and there is no question of money being involved”.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

I had suicidal thoughts says Iggy Azalea

Gwen Stefani was never comfortable being a ‘sex symbol’

Iggy Azalea recently made a shocking disclosure, revealing that the abuse she received on the Internet got to her so much that she wanted to end her life.

Speaking to a radio station, the 25-year-old revealed that she was so disturbed after the backlash over alleged ‘cultural appropriation’ that it was affecting her career, adding that she was really terrified that she would have to leave America, a website reports.

The singer further said that the jabs about her music and her race, from people within showbiz and outside the circuit made her suicidal. “Sometimes I did.

Sometimes I would drive through the canyons to get to my horses and I would be like, ‘What if I just kept driving off the canyon?’

Sometimes, I would feel like that,” she said.

“It was the people in the industry who would be like, ‘oh, this is it for your career now, so what are you gonna do?’ And you know, I live in this country on a work visa, so if I don’t have a job, that means I go home, and my whole life is here, so that’s a lot for somebody to deal with. I didn’t really feel like I did anything to be deserving of that much hate. “ However, she said it was her fiance Nick Young, who helped her through the difficult time.

The “Voice” star Gwen Stefani has admitted she was never comfortable being a “sex symbol”. The “Voice” star debuted the charts with blonde locks and hot red lips when she fronted punk band No Doubt and has widely been considered one of the sexiest women in the music industry ever since, but the singer, who was raised a Catholic, never saw herself in that light.

“The way my parents brought me up was Catholic. I had conservative parents, and I was raised to be very true to my morals. Thank God... I never felt comfortable being a sex symbol. I never, ever saw myself as that,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted her as saying.

Meanwhile, the “Hollaback Girl” singer, who split from her husband Gavin Rossdale in 2015, revealed she would recommend fellow female stars find their “unique” look, because simply being raunchy will soon become boring.

Evanna Lynch gets jealous over ‘Harry Potter’ prequel

The ‘Harry Potter’ series’s Luna Lovegood, essayed by Evanna Lynch feels jealous as the ‘Harry Potter’ prequel

‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ which is set in the wizarding world of New York in 1926 is being

filmed.

“I am so excited. Those are my two favourite things: animals and Harry Potter. Eddie Redmayne is going to be fantastic! He’s definitely a wizard. I do get a little bit jealous when I think of them filming right now. I miss it,” Lynch told people.com Actor Redmayne will be essaying the role of Newt Scamander who is a ‘Magizoologist’ adamant on tracking down an array of magical creatures in 1926 New York.

In the prequel Luna is married to Newt Scamander’s grandson, Rolf. Asked when the scene featuring Luna will be flashed? “I’m just waiting for the call! Fans have been concocting all these scenarios where Luna narrates the film.

As if telling it to her children or grandchildren,” she said. “They didn’t go that direction,” she added.

Kristen Stewart kisses rumoured girlfriend Soko in Paris Kristen Stewart and her rumoured girlfriend, Soko were spotted locking lips in Paris.

The Twilight actor and the French singer were not shy to show their affection as they walked hand in hand in the French capital on Tuesday.

Stewart was seen wearing a black leather blazer atop a grey Tshirt and black pants.

Soko was in a brown plaid coat over a white shirt and high-waist pants complete with sunglasses, reported aceshowbiz.com. In another image, the two looked happy as they held hands as they walked. Earlier this week, Soko was spotted giving the actor a bouquet of flowers.

One must be wondering what Robert Pattinson has to say about all this PDA. Pattinson, Stewart’s ex-boyfriend, has moved on with his fiance FKA Twigs, who

is also a singer. Tabloids have reported story after story about Robert Pattinson and FKA Twigs finally getting married this summer.

ship with Robert Pattinson and issued a public apology.

Back then, People magazine had quoted Kristen Stewart as

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson were in relationship since 2008.

The two never opened up about their relationship until 2012, when a media tabloid published photos of Kristen and Snow White And The Hunstman director Rupert Sanders getting cozy. For the first time, Kristen Stewart spoke about her relation-

saying, “I’m deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I’ve caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected. This momentary indiscretion has jeopardised the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I’m so sorry.”

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22 March - 28 March 2016

2 out of 3 Indians drink milk laced with detergent, urea and paint New Delhi Two out of three Indians drink milk laced with detergent, caustic soda, urea and paint, union minister for science and technology Harsh Vardhan told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, underscoring the country’s struggle with adulteration of

and is a cheap source of protein for millions of vegetarians.

Last year, a US government report projected an increase in fluid milk consumption by 5% to reach 62.75 million metric tonnes in India in 2016 based on population growth.

food items by unscrupulous traders.

Vardhan said over 68% of the milk sold did not conform to standards laid down by India’s food regulator FSSAI, quoting figures from a nationwide survey conducted by the agency in 2011.

The statement is likely to spark an outcry in the world’s largest milk producer, where the drink is used for religious rituals

“The adulterants added are very hazardous, and could cause serious diseases.

Since milk is commonly consumed in everyday diet, the issue is of grave concern,” the minister said in Parliament.

A new scanner that can detect adulteration in milk in 40 seconds and identify the adulterant will help in testing milk for safety, he said.

Until now, a separate

chemical test was needed for each adulterant, which was expensive and timeconsuming.

The first-of-its-kind technology has been developed by the Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute in Rajasthan’s Pilani town.

“The innovation represents the first fully Indian concept towards implementation effort in the instrumentation related to milk and dairy, addressing an unmet need,” he said.

The minister was replying to questions on whether a new technology to analyse and detect adulteration in milk has been developed by the institute and whether any survey or study was commissioned to determine the availability of adulterated milk in the market.

“In the near future, GPSbased technology could be used to track the exact location where the milk supplied in the cold chain has been tampered with,” he said. Milk is collected from 200,000 villages across India for sale and distribution.

Mumbai court orders FIR against Radhe Maa for flying with Trishul Mumbai A Mumbai magistrate ordered police to lodge an FIR under the Arms Act against self-styled godwoman Radhe Maa on Wednesday for carrying a sharp ‘trishul’ (trident) on a flight last year.

The Andheri metropolitan magistrate’s order followed a complaint

by RTI activist Asad Patel a year ago against Sukhwinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa for entering the domestic and international airport premises in August 2015 carrying the trishul, where it is banned under law.

“Though I wrote to various authorities in the matter, including police and airport officials, they took no cognizance of the matter.

On August 13, 2015, I sent legal notice to all concerned parties and then filed a complaint

with the magistrate’s court which issued the directions today (Wednesday),” Patel told IANS. Patel said a trident, which was dangerous and could

vate airlines.

An official of the airport police station said they would initiate action in the matter after receiving the court order.

cause harm to passengers, was among many other such sharp items banned by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

However, since Radhe Maa claims to be a godwoman, she was not restrained by the airport security staff from carrying it with her on the flight operated by a pri-

The controversial godwoman was earlier accused in a dowry-abetment case by a Mumbai housewife, Nikki Gupta, and later television actress Dolly Bindra had filed a criminal case of alleged threats and sexual harassment against her.

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Sena wants Owaisi’s head over Bharat Mata remarks MumbaI The Shiv Sena wants All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi beheaded for his March 13 comment that he won’t chant “Bharat Mata ki Jai” even if a knife is put to his throat.

quota stir leader) Hardik Patel was charged with sedition and is in prison for unintentionally insulting the national flag. And then there’s this Owaisi who declines to say Bharat Mata ki Jai even at knifepoint. Why even place a knife at such people’s necks? In fact, they

Besides, the row over his comment prompted Uttar Pradesh authorities on Thursday to deny the Hyderabad MP permission to hold two events in the state.

The Sena, a partner in the BJP-led NDA government, also sought revocation of citizenship and voting rights of those who refuse to chant the nationalistic slogan. But orthodox Muslims have reservations since the Hindu right wing portrays Bharat Mata or Mother India as a devi or goddess, which goes against the Islamic tenet of worshipping only Allah. “(The Gujarat Patel

should be beheaded,” said an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna.

In Dharamshala, Saamna editor and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said the government should take away “such people’s citizenship and disenfranchise them because refusing to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai amounts to sedition”.

Activists of Hindu Sena, lesser-known radical group, put up posters branding Owaisi as traitor outside his Ashoka Road residence in New Delhi.

The outfit’s leader, Vishnu Gupta, said: “He was trying to

instigate Muslims with his anti-nationalistic remarks. He should go to Pakistan if he refuses to respect the country.”

Owaisi’s efforts to hold a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh to start his party’s campaign for the 2017 assembly polls were thwarted after the administration denied him permission, forcing him to cancel his March 17 event in Lucknow.

“The state government does not want the AIMIM to make inroads into the state’s Muslim vote base, which the ruling Samajwadi Party considers its stronghold,” party leader Mohammed Tauheed Siddiqui said.

After Lucknow, the AIMIM leader was scheduled to leave for Azamgarh, an eastern UP district famous for shaping Muslim politics in the state, and attend Friday namaz at the Jama Masjid on March 18.

On the way, he was scheduled to visit Deva Sharif in Barabanki district. Owaisi’s itinerary included regions having a sizeable Muslim population.

The Samajwadi Party is wary of the AIMIM’s design because any split in Muslim votes will help the BJP, which is attempting to wrest power in Uttar Pradesh after winning the state’s 71 of 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014.

Bitten by rat, train passenger suffers for 11 hours with no medical aid Thiruvananthapuram A train passenger allegedly suffered a rat bite aboard an express train and had to endure a bleeding toe for 11 hours before he received medical aid.

The incident took place on the

ties, such incidents are regularly reported from across the country. In February, Railways paid Rs 13,000 as compensation to a passenger from Kottayam who too had suffered a rat bite on an AC coach of the Mumbai-

Mangalore Express on Monday night, said TKG Nair, the victim.

Nair, however, said railway minister Suresh Prabhu responded to a tweet by a fellow-passenger and promised prompt action against errant staff who allegedly failed to provide medical assistance on time. Though the country’s largest public carrier has initiated a slew of measures to improve passenger ameni-

Ernakulam Duranto Express.

“The Railways is talking about big things like bullet train and Gatiman Express. What about (the) existing ones? As a regular traveller, I feel the situation is going from bad to worse,” said Nair, 64, a manager with a petro-chemical company.

Narrating the incident, Nair said he was jolted out of his slumber in an AC three-tier compartment around midnight

after the train had left Kottayam station.

He said that after waking up, he saw a rat scurrying for cover. As all passengers were asleep, he approached the AC mechanic who in turn informed the ticket examiner.

“My toe was bleeding and it was painful. (The) TTE made many calls and told me that a medical team would examine me at Ernakulam junction.

But nobody turned up there.

Then I was told a doctor would attend me in Thrissur. But the situation remained same,” he said.

When the train ticket examiner’s (TTE) area of jurisdiction ended, he left without uttering a word.

“Next morning, when the train reached Kannur, a medical team came and cleaned my wound with anti-septic lotion.

When I asked about an antitetanus injection I was told there was no doctor or paramedical staff to apply it. Finally, I was given an injection and some tablets including pain-killer after the train reached its destination Mangalore,” Nair added.

‘Superwoman’ Lilly Singh, PM Modi in Time’s most influential online list Toronto Young YouTube star Lilly Singh is among just two persons of Indian origin to figure in Time magazine’s list of 30 Most Influential People on the Internet. The other, of course, is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also appeared in the inaugural listing that was released last year. In the brief profile accompanying the entry for Singh, Time noted the “IndoCanadian vlogger is rapidly becoming one of the biggest stars on YouTube, both on and off-screen.” It added that as her “alter ego Superwoman, she is equal parts funny and motivational, which has helped her amass more than 8 million subscribers and over 1.1 billion total views.” Much of fame originates from her YouTube channel, IISuperwomanII, where she describes herself thus: “I make funny videos every Monday and Thursday. I rant, create sketches and sometimes even dress up as my parents!” Reacting to the news, Singh said, in an Instagram post: “What an honour! Thank you! Hopefully people are influenced to also wear sweat pants all day like me.

Then I wouldn’t be considered lazy.

I would be trendy. GOALS.” In February, the 27-year-old also released a documentary, A Trip to Unicorn Island, that tracks her 27nation international tour. Singh, born in Scarborough, Ontario, a Toronto suburb, is scheduled to participate in the YouTube FanFest in Mumbai on Friday. She is hardly a novice to lists since Forbes counted her

among its 30 Under 30 list last year and also ranked her eighth among YouTube millionaires.

Modi returns to the list as an “Internet star, boasting more than 18 million Twitter followers and over 32 million Facebook likes. And unlike some of his contemporaries, he often uses social media to break

news and conduct diplomacy.”

Time mentioned in particular his surprise Christmas visit to Pakistan to meet its PM Nawaz Sharif, a diplomatic move that was revealed on Twitter. It also dryly alludes to the gaffe when Modi wished Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani on the wrong day.

In explaining how it created this list, Time said it “sized up contenders by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.”

Others on this list include British author and creator of the Harry Potter series JK Rowling, Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo, US presidential election contender Donald Trump, as well as entertainers like Kanye West, Drake and Kim Kardashian.

Issue 659 (20)

%HKHDGLQJV FUXFLIL[LRQV DQG ERPEV IDOOLQJ IURP WKH VN\ /LIH LQVLGH WKH EXUQHG RXW œJKRVW WRZQ¡ RI ,6,6 FDSLWDO 5DTTD ZKHUH œSULVRQHUV¡ OLYH DPRQJVW WKH UXEEOH ZLWK QR HOHFWULFLW\ RU KRW ZDWHU Raqqa is the de facto capital of ISIS, taken over in 2013, where the people must live under group’s draconian laws Women are banned from walking the street unaccompanied by a man and must adhere to strict Muslim dress code They live with no electricity or hot water and are prevented from working, so cannot afford luxuries like chocolate

Continued from Page 1 Mohammad goes on to say that she wishes she could “take off the niqab and the darkness that cloaks us.� She added: “All women like to show their faces. We’ve lost that option.

We’ve lost our femininity.� The news comes after Russia announced it is to team up with the US-led coalition in Syria to push ISIS out of Raqqa.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “We are ready to coordinate our actions with the Americans, because Raqqa is in the eastern part of Syria, and the American coalition is mainly acting there. “Perhaps, this is no secret, if I say that at some stage the Americans suggested performing a ‘division of labour.’ “The Russian Air Forces should concentrate on the liberation of Palmyra, and the American coalition with Russian support will focus on the liberation

of Raqqa.�

Crucifixions, beheadings and gay men thrown from tall buildings to a baying mob below. Piles of rubble and burned out shells where families once lived. No electricity or running water. This is the daily hell of those forced to live under ISIS in Raqqa. The first thing father of three Mohammed sees when he leaves his home is ISIS’s religious police, Hisbah, patrolling the streets, looking for people to punish. ‘I’m afraid to lose my children, I am afraid that my wife will be flogged for not wearing the right clothes,’ said the former teacher, 37, who was too frightened to give his surname.

He added: ‘Things have changed from bad to worse under ISIS - the cost of food, there is no fuel or firewood. ‘Water is available but it must be boiled and cooled. There are fruit and vegetables and bread, but prices

are very high. Electricity became scarce and we had to start buying it because the current only comes in some districts [of Raqqa].’ He went on to tell activist group Raqqa Is Being Silently Slaughtered (RBSS): ‘From 5am, I need to be at the mosque and I can’t be absent. ‘When I am there I watch the sky for aircrafts. Then I return to the house as quickly as possible to avoid arbitrary arrests.

It’s the same routine every day. ‘I used to be able to teach students what I believed in. Now I am forced to teach them what I don’t believe, what ISIS want me to. They stopped me giving private lessons which means I do not earn as much. ‘It scares me

in Raqqa that I can suddenly be arrested and never know the reason. I could be imprisoned and my family and wife will not know anything. ‘But what scares me most is that ISIS is planting ideas in the minds of my children who I am forced to take to school.’ Tim Ramadan, am RBSS activist, told reporters how people there have to live under Islamic State’s draconian laws. ‘When you walk through the city, you see people being decapitated, their wrists tied with rope and their hands cut off or being given lashes,’ he said. ‘We are stopped from leaving, forced to keep up the pretence that everything is normal here, when people are living in horror.’ Thousands of civilians like Mohammed, most of whom have no link to ISIS, live in Raqqa and have no means of escape. They are kept within the city’s concrete wall parameter. Women are banned from walking unaccompanied by a man in the street. They are prohibited from showing their hair. Smoking is forbidden and criticising the city’s rulers in public is punishable by death. Prevented from working, locals can no longer afford even the simplest of luxuries, like chocolate.

Lines of starving people queue for food and water. Alongside unimaginable tyranny and violence in the streets, people here live in constant fear of bombs falling from the sky.

First it was the US’ airstrikes, then Russia’s, and now France – reeling from the terror attack in Paris in November which killed 130 people – has joined in, along with Britain. Shop owner Waleed, 34, told reporters: ‘Life here was difficult after the American airstrikes, but now we have a bigger problem because the Russians don’t make a difference between civilian and military targets. ‘The regime bombs us more than before and two weeks ago there was a massacre of civilians in Al Bab (an ISIS city to the north-west) by Russian airstrikes.

People here are terrified. ‘They don’t have any way to leave Raqqa because the (Syrian-Turkish) border is shut.

If you need to leave you have to get permission from ISIS, which sometimes isn’t that difficult to get, but now the Turkish border is closed so what’s the point? ‘Food is expensive now because we used to import it from Turkey but ISIS is trying to keep prices low and keep it under control. It

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22 March - 28 March 2016

is very dangerous to cross the border. ‘ISIS are trying to not make the prices expensive because they don’t want to make the people angry. The security situation is good, like before, but people are scared of the airstrikes.

WALKING THE STREETS OF RAQQA: ONE BRAVE WOMAN REVEALS THE REALITY OF DAY-TO-DAY LIFE IN THE CITY These photographers are not the only people risking their lives to ensure the truth about what is happening in Raqqa is shared with the world. One brave woman decided to secretly film as she walked the streets of the city in September 2014,

shortly after the terror group caught the world’s attention. The video shows a city ruled by fear - where music is banned, the men are all armed, and women take their children into parks armed with Kalashnikovs.

,VODPLF VHPLQDU\ LVVXHV IDWZD RQ %KDUDW 0DWD VORJDQ HYDERABAD (Syed Mohammed) to sacrifice his or her life Islamic seminary Al Mahad al Aali al Islami for it, but (the Muslim) this week issued a fatwa deeming it prostrates only before impermissible for Muslims to chant the Allah.

(For the expression, “Bharat Mata ki Jai.” The Muslims), only Allah fatwa released from the Darul Ifta of the should be worshipped.” seminary in Pahadi Shareef, founded by Confirming that the Muslim Personal Law Board secretary fatwa was issued, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, noted Islamic scholar from the that the slogan seeks to “deify” the Mahad Omar Abideen country. on Monday reiterated This follows a similar fatwa issued by that love for the country another city-based influential seminary and worshipping it are Jamia Nizamia, rejecting the slogan last two separate subjects week. Explaining the rationale behind the which should not be fatwa, which is an Islamic jurisprudential confused with each opinion, Mufti Shahid Ali Qasmi said that other.

“Without expressions such as “motherland” worshipping it, one can signify immense love for the country. love the country as much as any other However, Muslims cannot worship a country as a Goddess.

Mata ki jai is not permissible as the land countryman. The person is like any other An excerpt from the fatwa reads: of Hind (India) is not a goddess. Every patriot,” he said. He got it right, once you “Therefore, for a Muslim chanting Bharat Muslim loves the country and is also willing are muslin, you no longer are attached to

the country, you are slave to Saudi’s.

The United Muslim Forum (UMF), a body of religious figures too, on Monday issued a statement expressing outrage over the “environment being created in the country using the Bharat Mata” slogan.

The panel sought to buttress its point by claiming that the Supreme Court in 1987 had ruled that singing the national song Vande Mataram is not mandatory. “When the apex court is clear it its ruling of the national song, then the “Bharat Mata” slogan is neither the national song, nor is it mentioned in the Constitution,” an excerpt from the statement reads.

Speaking to reporters, UMF treasurer Syed Ahmedul Hussaini Sayeed Quadri said: “We can say “Bharat desh ki jai”, “jai Hind” or “Hindustan zindabad”, but Bharat Mata symbolises a goddess which Muslims cannot worship. There Islamic scholars are unanimous on the issue.”

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Asaram ‘met’ man suspected to have killed witnesses in rape case

Ahmedabad The role of tainted godman Asaram Bapu in the murders of three witnesses in the rape case against him and his son has come under the scanner of the Ahmedabad police.

Police sources said that suspicion of the 74-yearold spiritual leader’s involvement in the crime has arisen as Karthik Haldar – arrested by the Gujarat ATS in connection with the killings – had visited him at a Jodhpur jail. “Haldar had met Asaram between 2014 and 2015, the period during which he committed the murder”, said an officer with the Ahmedabad crime branch. Asaram and his son Narayan Sai are lodged in separate jails in Rajasthan and Gujarat, facing cases of

rape and intimidation in Ahmedabad, Surat in Gujarat, and in Jodhpur (Rajasthan).

Haldar, an amateur shooter, is accused of eliminating three witnesses in these cases.

He had also attempted to kill four others, allegedly at the behest of Asaram, sources said.

The shooter is a follower of Asaram. Haldar, who has no arms training, had attended a few discourses by Asaram before joining one of his ashrams.

He is suspected of shooting Amrut Prajapati, a former aide of Asaram and a key witness, at his Rajkot clinic, in June 2014.

Kripal Singh, another witness, was attacked in June 2015 in Uttar Pradesh.

Pakistan, Bangladesh are happier than India, reveals UN index New Delhi India did not make any improvement in its happiness quotient, ranking 118th out of 156 countries in a global list of the happiest nations, down one slot from last year on the index and coming behind China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Denmark tops list Denmark takes the top spot as the happiest country in the world, displacing Switzerland, according to The World Happiness Report 2016, published by the Sustainable Development

The report takes into account GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support and freedom to make life choices as indicators of happiness.

Switzerland was ranked second on the list, followed

by Iceland (3), Norway (4) and Finland (5).

India ranked 118th, down from 117th in 2015. The report said that India was among the group of 10 countries witnessing the largest happiness declines along with Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen and Botswana.

Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative for the United Nations.

What are the happiness indicators

India comes below nations like Somalia (76), China (83), Pakistan (92), Iran (105), Palestinian Territories (108) and Bangladesh

(110). India had ranked 111th in 2013.

The US is ranked 13th, coming behind Australia (9) and Israel (11).

Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi were the least happiest countries, according to the report. The report, released in advance of UN World Happiness Day on March 20, for the first time gives a special role to the measurement and consequences of inequality in the distribution of well-being among countries and regions. Leading experts across fields – economics, psychology, survey analysis, national statistics, health, public policy and more – describe how measurements of well-being can be

used effectively to assess the progress of nations.

It reflects a “new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness as a criteria for government policy”.

Previous reports have argued that happiness provides a better indicator of human welfare than do income, poverty, education, health and good government measured separately but now they also point out that the inequality of wellbeing provides a broader measure of inequality.

“People are happier living in societies where there is less inequality of happiness. They also find that happiness inequality has increased significantly (comparing 2012-2015 to 2005-2011) in most countries, in almost all global regions, and for the population of the world as a whole,” the report said.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

From 99 names of Allah to terrorism: Top 10 quotes of PM Modi’s speech Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised Islam for its message of peace and harmony and described Sufism as one of its greatest contributions.

He said this while addressing a global audience on the opening day of the World Sufi Forum in New Delhi on Thursday.

Terrorism dominated the discussion at the threeday event in which Sufi scholars from around the world are taking part.

“Of the 99 names of Allah , none stand for force and violence and the first two names denote compassionate and merciful. Allah is Rahman and Raheem…Those who spread terror in the name of religion are anti-religious,” Modi said.

“When the spiritual love of Sufism, not the violent force of terrorism, flows across the border, this re-

gion will be the paradise on earth that Amir Khusrau spoke about,” Modi added, referring to the 13th century Sufi poet.

Here are the top 10 quotes from PM Modi’s speech: 1.Of the 99 names of Allah, none stand for force and violence and the first two names denote compassionate and merciful. Allah is Rahman and Raheem…Those who spread terror in the name of religion are anti-religious.

2. When the spiritual love of Sufism, not the violent force of terrorism, flows across the border, this region will be the paradise on earth that Amir Khusrau spoke about.

3. Sufism became the face

of Islam in India, even as it remained deeply rooted in the Holy Quran, and Hadis.

Sufism blossomed in

tion that define the Muslims in India. They are steeped in the democratic tradition of India, confident

India’s openness and pluralism. It engaged with her spiritual tradition, and evolved its own Indian ethos. And, it helped shape a distinct Islamic heritage of India.

4. It is this spirit of Sufism, the love for their country and the pride in their na-

of their place in the country and invested in the future of their nation; And, above all, they are shaped by the values of the Islamic heritage of India. It upholds the highest ideals of Islam and has always rejected the forces of terrorism and extremism.

Matter of pride if Amitabh becomes the next president says Shatrughan BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday pitched the name of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan as the next President of India.

“It will be a matter of pride if Amitabh Bachchan, a cultural icon, is made

president of the country,” Sinha told reporters in Patna, a day before the release of a biography on him “Anything but Khamosh”.

Amitabh Bachchan had favoured Sinha’s name as the next President of India recently. Reacting to the comment, the second term BJP Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib, said “It’s

his greatness. But, I will be happy if he graces the chair of President after Pranab Mukherjee.

“Amitabh Bachchan has achieved many a milestone in cultural and social fields and if he becomes president, it will

fetch a good name for the country,” said Sinha, who has worked with the star in many successful movies like Kaala Pathar, Dostana and Shaan.

Bachchan had also launched the biography on Sinha in Mumbai few days back.

‘Much time for retirement’ Sinha also took the occasion to rule out any possibility of his retirement from

politics anytime soon and promised to continue raising issues “objectively”.

“I am yet to see many springs in politics ... there is too much time for that (retirement),” said Sinha, who was apparently sidelined by the BJP during Bihar election last year.

Asked if wished to withdraw from politics like Bachhan, 70-year-old Sinha said the comparison was not even as “I have been member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for four times.”

The second term Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib also denied that he was being “ignored” by the BJP and said he would participate in the party functions in days to come.

He also dismissed chance of leaving BJP. “I have said many times and say even today, BJP is my first choice and most probably would be the last choice,” he said.

2009. “During online updation in 2012, the Hummer changed to a Scorpio,

which was a typing error. We will rectify it,” he said.

The transport department will ask for an invoice to determine the tax, which is 4% of the cost of the vehicle. A Hummer H2, which is imported to India, costs between Rs 75 lakh to Rs

tified. Terrorists distort a religion whose cause they profess to support.

They kill and destroy more in their own land and among their own people than they do elsewhere.

8. The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion. It cannot be. It is a struggle between the values of humanism and the forces of inhumanity.

9. We must reject any link between terrorism and religion. Those who spread terror in the name of religion are anti-religious.

10. We need just not constitutional provisions or legal safeguards, but also social values to build an inclusive and peaceful society, in which everyone belongs, secure about his rights and confident of her future

Homosexuality shouldn’t be considered a criminal offence: RSS The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)has said that homosexuality shouldn’t be considered criminal offence and sexual preferences are private and personal.

“I don’t think homosexuality should be considered a criminal offence as long as it does not affect the lives of others in society,” RSS joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said at the India Today Conclave on Thursday.

His statement was in response to a question on whether homosexuality is a crime as considered under Article 377 IPC. “Sexual preferences are private and personal. Why should RSS express its views in a public forum?

RSS has no view on that.

It is for people to have their way. Personal preference of sex is not discussed in RSS and we don’t even want to discuss that,” Dattatreya added.

Ranchi transport dept goof-up leaves Dhoni with hefty Hummer tax bill Indian skipper MS Dhoni will have to pay a one-time tax and penalty for his Hummer H2 SUV that was “mistakenly registered” as a Scorpio by the transport office in his hometown of Ranchi.

Ranchi district transport officer Nagendra Paswan said Dhoni’s vehicle was registered as a Hummer in

5. As a nation, we stood against colonialism and in our struggle for freedom. At the dawn of independence some chose to go away. The tallest of our leaders, such as Maulana Azad, and important spiritual leaders, such as Maulana Hussain Madani, and millions and millions of ordinary citizens, rejected the idea of division on the basis of religion.

6. Terrorism divides and destroys us. Indeed, when terrorism and extremism have become the most destructive force of our times, the message of Sufism has global relevance.

7. Terrorism uses diverse motivations and causes, none of which can be jus-

1 crore, so Dhoni will have to pay around Rs 4 lakh, excluding the fine. The tax for Scorpio is around Rs 53,000.

Before changes were made to the motor vehicle act in 2011, road tax had to be paid every year. Now, it is a one-time payment.

“He (Dhoni) has paid tax till 2010.

Section 377 of Indian Penal Code terms homosexuality as unnatural and car-

also said AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi was an “anti-national” as he said

ries a maximum punishment of 10 years in jail.

Going by the global trends in this regard, there have been demands in India to decriminalise homosexuality.

Hosabale replied to a series of questions from RSS having a “remote control” over the Centre to AIMIM leader Owaisi’s refusal to chant pro-India slogan. He said RSS sends “signals” to the BJP-led government at the Centre but dismissed suggestions it held a “remote control” over it. “There is no control, but certainly remote is there. Remote is there, signal is there. RSS is not having any remote control on BJP or any other political party.

“RSS swayamsevaks are working actively and are participants in BJP. BJP also subscribes to certain views and ideology of RSS and the inspiration they take in public life. If family members come to RSS for suggestions, is it remote control or affection. There is no complaint from BJP and there is no wish from RSS,” Hosabale said. Hosabale

he would not chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, a slogan not coined by RSS but during the freedom struggle.

Asked if one was a ‘traitor’ by not chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, he said, “Of course, he is an anti-national... All the political leaders except Owaisi’s party opposed what he said.” “If someone says he/ she does not want to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ at all, you are not allowing others also to not chant the slogan....If anybody says so, he is anti-national.”

He said ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are not RSS slogans, but coined during freedom struggle and it is not required that these should be chanted all the time or every morning “but there is nothing wrong in saying it”.

On beef eating, the RSS leader said one should respect the sensibilities of others too.

“Can’t you live without beef, can’t you respect the sensibilities of majority and respect feelings of other people also? Beef eating has not been acceptable in this country.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

You’ll be very aware of what needs to be done this week. You likely have a lot on your plate, too, and will need to keep your focus in order to get it all done.

However, last week’s Lunar Eclipse in Aries may have shaken your resolve, and you could find yourself getting upset or emotional about a key situation.

You may think you’re fine with a certain situation, but your feelings could reveal a completely different picture. You could find yourself getting emotional even though you’re trying hard not to. This could be due to last Sunday’s Lunar Eclipse stirring up feelings and perhaps causing you to consider the worst-case scenario.

Your social life may still be affected by last Sunday’s Lunar Eclipse, causing situations to become quite emotional.

If you’re holding a party or celebration, it could be boisterous, so be prepared for plenty of noise. In fact, if you want to have an easier time, it might be a good idea to invite fewer people.

The Moon is your personal planet, so you may notice the residual effects of last Sunday’s Lunar Eclipse more than most.

Be ready for action in your career sector, which might include a new opportunity or the chance to change to a more lucrative job. When one door closes, another opens. The cosmos may have big plans for you, so look at the bigger picture.

Mercury’s retrograde phase could be causing a few delays to your best-laid plans, but try not to let it faze you. Remember to keep your personal details safe, back up important files, and keep receipts and paperwork if you buy big-ticket items or sign contracts. The Lunar Eclipse may have stirred up a desire for adventure perhaps a kind of wanderlust!

You’re full of vitality and eager to take the world by storm. However, Sunday’s Lunar Eclipse may have brought up emotions that you didn’t know you had, which could derail you somewhat. Consider lightening your schedule if you can, as it might make your life a lot easier.

Where finances are concerned, you may experience delays.

Though you may have good intentions at the start of the week, go easy, as your relationship sector is affected and could unleash powerful feelings. If you’ve sensed that you and another have an issue, you might want to tread with care on Monday and for a few days after. It might not be easy to compromise either, so go with the flow.

Take care of yourself, especially early in the week as there could be minor accidents, especially if you’re feeling upset or frustrated. Try to leave Monday and Tuesday free of too many appointments and unnecessary stress, as you’ll find life a lot easier if you do. The Sun in your spiritual sector encourages you to relax.

Try to resist should you find yourself falling in love this week. If you can’t, then at least avoid rushing into anything. Last Sunday’s Lunar Eclipse probably stirred up feelings, even obsessive ones. Should you be in the midst of an emotional maelstrom, then knowing what’s happening might help you avoid acting impulsively.

Beware from Monday to midweek, as there could be an upset at home. If you already know what this is about, then it might help to try and resolve it sooner rather than later. Opt for a heart-to-heart talk, if possible. If that isn’t going to work, then you might need to go with the flow and tackle any problems if and when they show up.

Watch out for communication snafus, especially on Monday and in the days following. A volatile vibe could see you ready to stand your ground and be completely honest. Given the emotional factor that’s showing up, it might be better to try a more tactful or conciliatory approach. If you don’t mind losing a friend or business connection, go for it.

Watch your spending this week, as you may be encouraged to splurge on impulse. If you see something you like, you’ll be very tempted to go for it no matter how much it costs. However, it’s best to avoid doing anything you might regret at a later date or that might wreck your credit rating. Relationships continue to be fun and motivational.

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Technology New bug makes millions of Android devices vulnerable to hacking Sending a message to millions of Android users that their devices are vulnerable to virus attack, a team of researchers has successfully exploited the Androidbased “Stagefright” bug and remotely hacked a smartphone.

Israeli software research company NorthBit claimed it had “properly” exploited the Android bug that was originally described as the “worst ever discovered”, Wired.co.uk reported.

The exploitation, called “Metaphor”, also has a video that shows the exploit being run on a Nexus 5 smartphone.

NorthBit said it had also successfully tested the exploit on a LG G3, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S5 devices.

The exploit could be altered by those wanting to cause more damage. “Approximately 36 percent of the 1.4 billion active Android phones and tablets run Android 5 or 5.1 and devices lacking the latest updates would be vulnerable,” NorthBit co-founder Gil Dabah was quoted as

saying.

“Our research managed to get it [the attack] to the level of production grade, meaning that everyone both the bad guys and good guys, or governments - could use our research in

order to facilitate it in the wild,” Dabah added.

Reportedly, the hack is able to execute remote code on Android devices and could possibly affect up to 95 percent of Android devices.

The researchers said they have been able to create an exploit that can be used against Stagefright on Android 2.2, 4.0, 5.0 and 5.1. Other versions are not affected.

The company’s research paper says it is built on work from

Google itself.

Google released a patch for the bug and promised regular security updates for Android phones following the publication of Stagefright’s details.

Stagefright is a software li-

brary, written in C++ (computer language), that is built inside the Android operating system.

Google released a patch for the bug and promised regular security updates for Android phones following the publication of Stagefright’s details.

According to a report by Cheetah Mobile, a Chinabased mobile tools provider, India ranks two on the list of countries having malware-affected Android smartphones due to an

It’s official! Windows 10 mobiles finally get Twitter app The popular micro-blogging site Twitter surely knows how to keep its users happy. This is certainly a good news for all Windows 10 smartphone users who

while the newly-launched smartphones and the existing Windows Phone devices already have this new app, venturebeat.com reported on Wednesday.

are also avid users of Twitter. Recently, a report stated that Twitter has launched its app for Windows 10 smartphones to effectively update its universal Windows app to support desktops and tablets.

Microsoft officially plans to launch Windows 10 Mobile in the first quarter of 2016,

“When bringing the app to mobile phones we carefully considered each section of Twitter and how the user interaction translates from desktops and tablets,” Twitter product designer Angela Lam said. “We found that 90 percent of the UI (User Interface) and interaction models could be shared

from these devices to mobile phones, but there were places where we decided to make adjustments to optimise for each,” Lam added.

Twitter for Windows 10 includes almost all the new features the social network has recently implemented, including Moments, group Direct Messages, camera support (shoot, edit, and tweet videos), and quote tweet. You can even check out top tweets, search, check out profiles, and peruse Moments without logging in, the report said.

Twitter for Windows Phone includes a dark theme, which the company says was popular and has thus been included in the updated Windows app, that is available on desktops and tablets as well, not just phones.

extensive use of third-party apps.

“The number of Android viruses, especially Root Trojans, rose sharply with a growth rate of 22 percent infecting a total of 11,170,960 devices in India in 2015,” the report said.

The report, which focused on virus infections in Android devices all over the world, said the number of Android viruses exceeded 9.5 million in 2015, which is larger than twice the total number in the past three years. The number stood at 2.8 million in 2014.

“Stagefright” is the collective name for a group of software bugs that affect Android operating system, allowing an attacker to perform arbitrary operations on the victim device through remote code execution.

A Trojan Horse or Trojan is a type of malware that is often disguised as legitimate software. Trojans can be employed by cyberthieves and hackers trying to gain access to users’ systems.

New ‘social’ robot can teach better than humans A team led by Cynthia Breazeal, director of the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Laboratory, developed a socially assistive robot called ‘Tega’ that is designed to serve as a one-on-one peer learner in or outside of the classroom.

‘Tega’, the latest in a line of smartphone-based, socially assistive robots developed in the MIT Media Lab, is unique as it can interpret the emotional response of the student it is working with and, based on those cues, create a personalised motivational strategy.

“We started with a very high-quality approach, and what is amazing is that we were able to show that we could do even better,” said Goren Gordon, an artificial intelligence (AI) researcher from Tel Aviv University in Israel.

After testing the set-up in a pre-school classroom, the team showed that the system can learn and improve itself in response to the unique characteristics of the students it worked with.

The results, shared at the

30th Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, recently, proved the machine to be more effective

at increasing students’ positive attitude towards the robot and activity than a non-personalized robot assistant.

Specifically developed to enable long-term interactions with children, ‘Tega’ uses an Android device to process movement, perception and thinking and can respond appropriately to children’s behaviours.

The robot is equipped with an Android phone containing customised software that can interpret the emotional content of facial expressions, a method known as ‘affective computing.’

Now, Facebook, Google and WhatsApp to fortify user data security As Apple battles the US government over encryption to unlock an iPhone used by an attacker in a mass shooting in San Bernadino last year, top US companies Google, Facebook and Snapchat are expanding encryption of user data in their services, media reported.

According to The Guardian, while Whatsapp is set to roll out encryption for its voice calls in addition to its existing privacy features, Google is investigating “extra uses” for encryption in secure email.

Social networking giant Facebook too is working on to better protect its Messenger service.

The popular messaging service Snapchat is also considering a more secure

messaging system.

Apple, which is expected to appear in a federal court in California on March 22 to fight the order, has accused the US Department of Justice (DoJ) of trying to

an attacker in a mass shooting last year, BBC reported.

The department said that Apple’s stance was “corrosive” of institutions trying to protect “liberty and

“smear” the company with “desperate” and “unsubstantiated” claims.

It followed the Justice Department’s latest court filing over its demand that Apple create software to unlock an iPhone used by

rights”.

It also claims Apple helped the Chinese government with iPhone security.

Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell said: “The tone of the brief reads like an indictment.”

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Pathankot attack: After Pak probe team’s visit, NIA may visit Islamabad New Delhi A reciprocal visit of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the Pathankot airbase attack, to Islamabad is on cards after the Pakistani investi-

gators complete their fourday visit to India from March 27 onwards.

India is allowing the Pakistani investigators access to the Pathankot airbase , excluding the technical area where country’s air assets are stationed, sources said.

“Pakistan’s joint investigation team will reach New Delhi on the evening of March 27 and from next

day onwards it will visit the airbase and other places which it may deem necessary for its probe. After the completion of Pak team’s visit, the NIA may visit Islamabad for a possible

reciprocal visit,” said a senior home ministry official requesting anonymity.

Sources said the NIA may seek access to Bahawalpur, where terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) is headquartered.

The NIA probe has found that the Pathankot attackers were associated with JeM. “The NIA may like to question Maulana Masood

Azhar, the chief of JeM, his brother Rauf, who allegedly put a statement on internet on Pathankot attack and the border areas in Pakistan, from where the federal anti-terror agency sus-

pects attackers crossed over to India,” said a central counter terror official involved in the probe.

Sources said government has deliberated upon a reciprocal visit of NIA to Islamabad but final decision will be taken after the Pak team goes back.

Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju told HT that the Pakistani team will be provided access to all places

including the Pathankot airbase that was targeted by six attackers on January 2.

When asked whether the Pak team will be allowed to visit Bamiyal village on Indo-Pak border in Pathankot’s neighbouring Gurdaspur district in Punjab, which the NIA probe has found to be the place from where alleged Pakistani attackers entered India, Rijiju said: “We will allow them to visit wherever necessary for the investigation.”

Earlier, defence minister Manohar Parrikar had hinted that the airbase was out of bounds for the Pak investigators. Aides of Union home minister Rajnath Singh had also indicated that the minister was not in favour of Pak probe team’s visit to the airbase. But an indication on change in government’s thinking came when Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said the air force had no objection to Pak team’s visit to the airbase, also adding that any permission in this regard will be a political decision.

London mayoral poll candidate uses Modi flyers to woo British Indians

New Delhi The Conservative party candidate for the high-profile London mayoral polls is using leaflets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image to woo Indian-origin voters against his veteran Labour party rival who is the son of Pakistani immigrants.

Zac Goldsmith, an Oxford-educated millionaire, is the Conservative party candidate for the race for the polls on May 5 to replace Boris Johnson when his term comes to end.

He is up against Labour’s Sadiq Khan, a politician who proudly proclaims his working class roots as the son of a Pakistani

bus driver. In an effort to grab an edge over Khan, Goldsmith’s team has been using a leaflet with an image of him shaking hands with the Indian prime minister alongside British counterpart David Cameron during Modi’s visit to the UK last November.

The message reads: “Standing up for the British Indian community.”

However, the 41-yearold’s tactic seems to have backfired as he was accused of a Hindu bias by only mentioning festivals of “Diwali, Navratri and Janamashtami” in reference to his “strong engagement with the Indian community.”

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We are ‘Back to the Future’ Nike unveils self-lacing shoes

Innovation gets personal as the world’s biggest sportswear firm Nike unveiled its first shoe that ties itself and will go on sale at the end of 2016.Sports lovers are in for an amazing and innovative self-lacing sneakers this holiday season with the HyperAdapt 1.0, confirmed the US sportswear giant at its ‘Innovation 2016’ event on Wednesday.According to Beers, the laces tighten when your feet hit a sensor built into the shoe. There are two buttons on the side to loosen and tighten

them for the perfect fit. “We’ve entered a new era of personalised performance,” said Mark Parker, Nike’s president and CEO. “Today, athletes want more than just a dash board. They want a relationship.” The self-lacing shoes have been designed by legendary sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield and Tiffany Beers, Nike’s senior innovator, who’s worked on the Nike Air Mag and Nike Air Yeezy.

HyperAdapt 1.0 is the first performance vehicle for Nike’s

US military punishes more than a dozen for Afghan MSF hospital airstrike

latest platform breakthrough adaptive lacing. The shoe translates deep research in digital, electrical and mechanical engineering into a product designed for movement. It challenges traditional understanding of fit, proposing an ultimate solution to individual idiosyncrasies in lacing and tension preference. Beers was tasked with figuring out how to engineer self-lacing sneakers to meet Back to the Future’s fictional release day last year.

Nike made one pair of the selflacing Nike Mag kicks for Michael J Fox - the actor who played Marty McFly in the film -which they are planning to auction to support his non-profit organisation for Parkinson’s.

The potential of adaptive lacing for the athlete is huge, Hatfield said, adding that it would provide tailored-to-the-moment custom fit. “It is amazing to consider a shoe that senses what the body needs in real-time. That eliminates a multitude of distractions, including mental attrition, and thus truly benefits performance,” Hatfield said.

“Could it take you even tighter than you’d normally go if it senses you really need extra snugness in a quick maneuver?

US to start accepting H-1B applications from April 1

The US would start accepting applications for the much sought-after H-1B work visas for highly-skilled workers for the fiscal year 2017 from the beginning of next month, officials said. H-1B visa, popular among Indian techies, is used

by American companies to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialised knowledge in fields such as science, engineering and computer programming.

There is no change in the congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 on H-1B visas for the Financial Year 2017, beginning October 1. The first 20,000 H1B petitions filed for individuals

with a US Master’s degree or higher are exempted from the 65,000 cap. In a statement, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said this year it expects to receive more than 65,000 petitions during the first five business days of the programme. The agency will monitor the number of petitions received and notify the public when the H-1B cap has been met. “If USCIS receives an excess of petitions during the first five business days, the agency will use a computergenerated lottery system to randomly select the number of petitions required to meet the cap,” the official statement said.

payments that Ng made through intermediaries including Lorenzo and Jeff Yin, Ng’s assistant.

Ashe also received more than $800,000 from Chinese

saying he “maintains he is personally innocent.”

Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon’s spokesman, told

businessmen to support their interests within the United Nations and Antigua, prosecutors said.

Those bribes were arranged through Sheri Yan, who was the Global Sustainability Foundation’s chief executive, and Heidi Hong Piao, the foundation’s finance director, prosecutors said. Both women pleaded guilty in January.

Ashe, Ng and Yin have pleaded not guilty. Benjamin Brafman, Ng’s lawyer, said outside of court that Lorenzo’s plea would not affect the billionaire’s determination to go to trial,

reporters on Wednesday that audits the United Nations launched as a result of the bribery case were expected to be completed by the end of the month.

Dujarric also said the case revealed “some structural flaws” in how the office of the General Assembly president had been organized. A task force established by Ban looking at the issue will within 10 days publish recommendations on how to “strengthen” and improve transparency of the office to avoid a repeat of the scandal, Dujarric said.

Suspended UN diplomat pleads guilty in US bribery case

The US military has disciplined more than a dozen personnel, including officers, following a deadly October airstrike in Afghanistan that destroyed a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontiers and killed at least 42 people, US officials told Reuters on Friday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US military took administrative and non-judicial actions against the US personnel, instead of seeking criminal charges.

In November, the US military

described the strike, which killed at least 42 medical staff, patients, and caretakers, as a tragic, avoidable accident caused primarily by human error.

According to the initial US investigation, US forces had meant to target a different building in the city and were initially led off-track by a technical error in their aircraft’s mapping system but then misidentified their intended target.

The full results of an investigation into the strike are expected to be released in the coming days.

White House appoints first transgender person as primary LGBT liaison US President Barack Obama has appointed the White House’s first transgender person as their primary LGBT liaison on Tuesday.

Raffi Freedman-Gurspan’s new appointment was heralded by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) as being a move towards a more diverse American political body.

“Raffia is a great choice. President Obama has said he wants his administration to look like America, and they have moved to include trans Americans. Raffi’s skills and personality make her the exact right person for this important job,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of NCTE, in a

statement. Freedman-Gurspan was the policy adviser at NCTE, and a legislative director in teh

Massachusetts House of Representatives. Championing a political body that reflects the diversity of modern-day America has been a cornerstone of Obama’s agenda, especially during his final term.

A suspended deputy United Nations ambassador from the Dominican Republic pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges that he participated in a scheme to bribe a former UN General Assembly president.

Francis Lorenzo, 48, admitted in federal court in Manhattan that he engaged in conspiracies to commit bribery and money laundering, as part of an agreement to cooperate in the US investigation.

Lorenzo admitted he facilitated bribe payments from Ng Lap Seng, a billionaire real estate developer in Macau, to John Ashe, a former UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda and who served as General Assembly president from 2013 to 2014.

Those bribes, Lorenzo admitted, were paid to Ashe to seek UN support of a UN-sponsored conference center in Macau.

Lorenzo, who prosecutors said received bribes himself from Ng, said payments were also made to other unnamed foreign officials.

“I understand what I was doing, as I described it, was wrong,” he said in court.

Lorenzo is the third defendant to plead guilty to charges arising out of a case US prosecutors announced in October involving a scheme starting in 2011 to pay more than $1.3 million in bribes to Ashe.

Prosecutors said the bribes included more than $500,000 in

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Obama’s SC pick is not Srinivasan, Indian-origin journo heckled at Indian-Americans disappointed Trump rally cleared of charges President Barack Obama on Wednesday picked an appeals court judge to the Supreme Court, ending weeks of speculation if he might go with Indian-American Sri Srinivasan.

At a brief event at the White House, Obama named Merrick

Garland, chief judge of the District of Columbia circuit courts of appeal, where Srinivasan has been a judge since 2014.

Srinivasan would have made history as the first IndianAmerican, first Asian-American and first Hindu to be named to the country’s highest court. And there had been a fair chance of it.Srinivasan has long been called Obama’s “SC nominee in waiting”, and shot to the top of the list of contenders for the vacancy created by the sudden passing of Antonin Scalia.

He was among the last two before Obama picked Garland, which came as both a

disappointment to the IndianAmerican community that felt at the verge of making history, and a relief.“We are disappointed indeed,” said M Rangaswamy, founder of Indiaspora, an outfit that tracks the community. But he added, “Sri made it to the top

two and that is creditable.”

Rangaswamy saw a lesson in the disappointment: “The community needs to get more politically active and engaged to make sure that next time around this becomes a reality.”Others in the community said they felt relieved, given how messy the confirmation process is likely to be with the Republicans determined to block whoever is named.“I would rather have Sri (Srinivasan) get a fair shot and not be a political football,” said an Indian-American federal government official who didn’t want to be identified.They were both confident Srinivasan will get

another chance.Garland was considered by Obama twice before, according to reports, but the president went with female judges on both occasions- Sonia Sotomayor and Elia Kagan.Apart from being eminently qualified for the job after 19 years on the DC circuit, experts said Garland is a moderate who has already found traction with Republicans and can build on it.

Republicans worry that an Obama nominee, who will be a liberal by definition, will most certainly tilt the ideological balance on the Supreme Court bench towards liberals.

Scalia was a conservative, and an outspoken one at that.

Republicans wanted Scalia’s replacement to be named by the next president, who they hoped would be from their party.

They control both chambers of Congress, and crucially the Senate, whose approval is mandatory for presidential appointments such as this one to go through.And they have threatened to not even consider the nomination. Obama addressed that issue in his speech introducing Garland, saying all he expects is a “fair” chance for his nominee.

The confirmation process is going to be messy, from all available indications, and one that could end up damaging the nominee’s chances forever if blocked this time.

Worker dies after falling from 53rd floor of Los Angeles skyscraper

An electrician in his second day on the project plunged some 800 feet (245 metres) to his death on Thursday from a Los Angeles skyscraper that will be the tallest on the West Coast once it’s completed, officials said.

The worker fell around noon from Wilshire Grand Center onto the back edge of a passing car. It happened at one of the busiest intersections in downtown Los Angeles when the streets were thronged with people.

The electrician hit the trunk of the car parked below.

The woman who was driving did not appear to be seriously hurt but was taken to a hospital, city fire officials said.

The 73-story skyscraper will be about 1,100 feet-tall (335 metres) when it’s completed. A ceremony was held earlier this month when the top beam was hoisted into place on the 73rd

floor. The $1 billion-office and hotel tower being developed by

Korean Airlines Co. Ltd. is expected to open in early 2017.

The building is near the Staples Centre arena where the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers play and is at the centre of the bustling and fast-growing financial district of downtown.

Chris Martin, CEO of Martin Project Management that is supervising the construction, did not immediately say whether the man had a safety harness on as is required on the project. The floor from which he fell, the 53rd, has no windows.

US boy, 4, dies after being put in boiling water for punishment by his stepmother A 4-year-old boy died after being put in boiling water by his stepmother as a punishment, it has been reported. Ohio police were called to the home of Anna Ritchie, 25, on Wednesday morning after she reported that she awoke to find her step son Austin Cooper was not breathing.

Medics tended to the scene but could not revive the child.Ritchie told police that she had put Austin’s legs in boiling water as a punishment the evening beforehand, CBS News reports. She says that she put the child to bed that evening and did not believe he was seriously injured. She has been arrested

and charged with child endangerment. Investigations to establish the precise cause of

the child’s death and an autopsy is due to be performed by Warren County Coroner. Ritchie is being held at Warren County Jail and is due to be arraigned later on Friday.

All charges have been dropped against an Indian-American journalist, who was arrested last week while covering Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s election rally in Chicago which was called off due to unprecedented protests, his news network said.

Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police in a statement said they have dropped all charges against CBS News reporter Sopan Deb, who is assigned to cover Trump’s presidential campaign.

“While this incident was very dynamic and troopers and officers were forced to make splitsecond decisions in the interest of public safety of demonstrators and police officers, we have collectively decided to drop the administrative charges in this case.“This decision was made after a methodical review of the physical evidence including video and interviewing both troopers and police officers involved in the incident,” CBS News reported,

citing the statement.

Last week while covering an election rally of Trump in Chicago, which was marred by violence, Deb was handcuffed and briefly detained by the Chicago Police.

The White House had condemned the incident. “A police officer, at least one police officer, maybe multiple, pulled me down from the back of my hoodie and threw me to the ground and bashed my face into the street and then this police officer put his boot to my neck and cuffed me.

“I am continuously identifying myself as press, I said, ‘I have credentials, I can show you I have credentials,’ but they are not listening to me,” Deb said, adding that he was then taken to a police van and driven to the station, where he was charged with resisting arrest.

“Eventually they put me into the back of this police van along with the man that was bloodied and another gentleman.

Lori Robinson nominated as first US female combatant chief

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter has nominated the first female in US military history to lead a combatant command.

General Lori Robinson has been nominated to lead the US Northern Command, Mr Carter announced on Friday.

The position is one of the most senior in the US military and must be confirmed by the Senate.

She is currently commander for the Pacific Air Forces and enrolled in the Air Force in 1982.

“General Robinson, it just so happens, would also be the first ever female combatant commander,” Mr Carter said at an event in Washington hosted

by Politico.

“That shows yet another thing -

which is that we have, coming along now, a lot of female officers who are exceptionally strong.

And Lori certainly fits into that category.”

The US Northern Command oversees all of North America.

US media reported that Ms Robinson would be the likely choice in January. If appointed, she would replace Admiral Bill Gortney, who has had the position since 2014.

In December of last year Mr Carter opened all combat roles in the US military to women.

“America’s force of the future,” he said, must be able to benefit from the “broadest possible pool of talent”.

The move opened up about 220,000 positions to women.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Picasso custody battle heats up as NY trial looms A custody battle for a $100 million Picasso sculpture has intensified in New York between British agents acting on behalf of the Qatari royal family and a prominent American art dealer.

Unless an out of court settlement can be reached, the case is scheduled to go to trial before Judge William Pauley in Manhattan on September 19 to determine its rightful owner and to seek damages against New York dealer Larry Gagosian and Picasso’s granddaughter Diana Widmaier-Picasso.

The sculpture in question is the 1931 “Bust of a Woman (MarieTherese),” which was on display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art until last month as part of the largest exhibit of sculpture by the Spanish master in 50 years. The tortured legal dispute stretches from courts in France to Switzerland and America, lifting a lid on a breakdown in communications and rivalry among the descendants of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists.

Lawyers for London-based agents Pelham Europe are demanding that the US court hand over the sculpture, invalidate a rival claim from Gagosian and billionaire Leon Black, and for Gagosian and Widmaier-Picasso, to pay damages. They say Picasso’s daughter, Maya, whose mother Marie-Therese is depicted in the sculpture, directed its sale to Pelham in November 2014 for

Toddlers shot more people than terrorists in US last year: Reports Toddlers aged three or younger were involved in more shooting incidents than Islamic terrorists in the United Sates in 2015, US media reports suggest, lending support to the growing demand in the country for stricter gun control laws.According to the Washington Post, there were 58 toddler-involved shootings in 2015. Out of these, toddlers accidentally shot and killed themselves in 19 cases, and in two other instances they killed two people.

Meanwhile, a report in the Guardian said there were only three Islamic terrorist related shootings in 2015. In May 2015, two ISIS gunmen opened fire outside a Muhammad art exhibit event at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. This was followed by a lone gunman opening fire at two military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Finally, two gunmen with links to ISIS opened fire at the Inland Regional Center in San

Bernardino, California in December 2015.

A total of 19 people were killed in these three terrorist related shootings.

Thus, comparatively, these reports suggest that US toddlers shot and killed more people last year than Islamic terrorists.

An analysis by New York Times, of child shooting deaths, shows that about 71% of the times they happen in the shooter/victim’s home. This shows the callous attitude of adults when it comes to safe storage of arms and ammunition, the report adds.

On an average, 30 people die every day in the US, in gun related violence.

Note: The above data was collected from news paper reports as US authorities consider unintentional shootings by children as homicides or suicides and don’t record them separately.

$47 million so it could go on public display in a Qatar museum. Maya had made it clear she did not want her daughter Diana to be involved, worrying that she would make reproductions of the sculpture or sell it to Gagosian, according to

the court papers filed at the US federal court Friday. Her son, Olivier, however, was fully involved, they say.

But days before the final payment was due, Maya renounced the agreement and rejected the final payment from Pelham.

Pelham’s lawyers say an “enraged” Diana had found out and hatched a plot with her longtime associate Gagosian, by which Maya would sell the sculpture to him in secret so he could sell it on for a much higher price.Court papers say that Gagosian made the deal with Black, who reportedly bought Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” for $120 million in 2012, then the highest price for a work of art sold at auction. Although Pelham went to court in Switzerland and France to claim the sculpture back and stop Maya moving it from Paris, it was

sold regardless in May 2015, according to US court papers.

That September, the sculpture went on display in the MoMA exhibition in New York as “courtesy of Gagosian Gallery” without Pelham’s knowledge.

Pelham went to court in New York, where Gagosian disclosed he had acquired the sculpture for “more than $100 million” and sold it to an undisclosed buyer. In January, Gagosian filed a petition saying he was the rightful owner and had concluded an agreement with a New York buyer, who would take possession of the sculpture once the exhibit ended on February 7.

But last month, the French court tossed out defense allegations that Maya had acted out of diminished mental capacity and said Pelham could renew its claim.

Transgender father Stefonknee Wolscht leaves family in Toronto to start new life as six-year-old girl A Canadian transgender father left behind a wife and seven children to begin a new life as a six-year-old girl.

Stefonknee (pronounced ‘Stephanie’) Wolschtt, 46, had been married for 23 years when she realised she was transgender.

She’s now living with an adoptive family, and says she does not “want to be an adult right now”.

“I can’t deny I was married. I can’t deny I have children. But I’ve moved forward now and I’ve gone back to being a child,” she said in a video series by The Transgender Project, published

by Daily Xtra.

Ms Wolschtt said her wife could not accept her as a transgender woman. She was told to either “stop being trans or leave”.

“To me, ‘stop being trans’ isn’t something I could do,” she says. “It would be like telling me to stop being 6ft 2 or leave.”

Feeling rejected by her family, Ms Wolschtt left and now lives with her adoptive family, who she says are “totally comfortable with me being a little girl”.She explains how her new parents’ youngest granddaughter wanted a little sister and decided Ms Wolschtt should be younger

than her. “We have a great time.

We colour, we do kid’s stuff,”

In 2012, her eldest daughter invited Ms Wolschtt to her

she says. “It’s called play therapy. No medication, no suicide thoughts. And I just get to play.”In an earlier part of the series, Ms Wolschtt spoke of how she became suicidal and was hospitalised a month after taking part in the first Toronto transgender march in 2009.After she was discharged, her wife accused her of harassment and assault, and pressed charges against her to achieve a restraining order.

wedding, but requested she “dress like her dad” and to sit at the back of the church and not address any members of the family.

The day of her daughter’s wedding, Ms Wolschtt attempted suicide for the last time, and was unsuccessful.

She now receives support from the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, where the congregation is mostly made up of LGBT people.

Anne Frank-themed ‘Escape Bunker’ game slammed for ‘very little empathy’ The Anne Frank foundation on Friday criticized an “escape room” game made to look like the Amsterdam apartment where the teenage Jewish diarist hid with her family from the Netherlands’ Nazi occupiers during World War II. According to its website, the recently opened Escape Bunker in the town of Valkenswaard, 140 km south of Amsterdam, has a room styled to look like the apartment. As part of the game, visitors are locked in and have to escape within an hour using teamwork, creativity and “out-ofthe-box” thinking.

The Anne Frank foundation, which manages the museum in the canal-side house that includes

the Frank family’s hidden apartment, said the apartment was one of the places where the Holocaust, or Shoah, played out and said, “It shows very little empathy for survivors of the Shoah to use the annex as a backdrop for an escape room. ”The bunker “creates the impression that hiding (from the Nazis) is an exciting game and if those hiding are smart enough they won’t be caught,” the foundation said, calling that impression historically wrong.

Thijs Verberne, the operator of the bunker, defended it in a telephone interview, calling the escape room “an educational experience”.

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People with autism die younger

London People with autism are dying earlier than the general population, often through epilepsy or suicide, a charity has warned. Citing recent research carried out in Sweden, the charity Autistica described the problem as an “enormous hidden crisis”.

The study, in the British Journal of Psychiatry, suggested autistic people die on average 16 years early. The charity now wants to raise £10m for more research into

the condition.

In the UK it is estimated 1 percent of the population - or 700,000 people - have autism and it causes difficulties in how they communicate and relate to others.

The Swedish study looked at the health records of 27,000 autistic adults and used 2.

7 million people as a control sample for the general population.

The research, carried out by the Karolinska Institute, found that

those with autism and an associated learning disability, died more than 30 years early with the average age of death being 39.

Scientists still cannot exactly explain the link between autism and epilepsy, which is partly why the charity wants to raise the money over the next five years to enable more research.

The Swedish study also suggested that people with autism, who were not held back by any intellectual disability, died on average 12 years younger at 58 years old rather than 70.

After heart disease, suicide was the most common cause of death for this group of people.

Past research has suggested that autistic women are more at risk of suicide than men and only half of autistic people who have considered suicide were categorised as depressed although this latter point may be down to problems with communication in diagnosis.

The research, which was published online in November

2015, was carried out by Dr Tatja Hirvikoski, who described her findings as “shocking and disheartening” and she said there was an “urgent need for increased knowledge”.

Autistica’s chief executive Jon Spiers told the BBC the number of deaths in autistic adults was an “enormous hidden crisis”.

“The inequality in outcomes for autistic people shown in this data is shameful,” he said.

As a “spectrum” condition, it impacts on people in different ways and has symptoms that range from mild to very severe.

Around a quarter of people with autism speak very few or no words, while statistically only 15% go on to find full-time employment. And almost threequarters of people have at least one associated mental health condition, while 40% have two, the charity said. Autistica also wants the government to carry out a national autism mortality review, and a petition demanding this action will be delivered to Downing Street later in the year.

Google owner to sell robot developer Boston Dynamics

Google’s parent company Alphabet is seeking to sell its Boston Dynamics subsidiary specialised in developing and manufacturing robots, the Financial Times reported Friday.

“The move is part of an effort to refocus robotics efforts under its Google X unit”, the newspaper said quoting sources familiar with the plans. Financial agency Bloomberg, which also reported Alphabet intends to sell the company it acquired in 2013 as part of efforts to boost its efforts in robotics, cited two people with knowledge of the company’s plans. A spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston Dynamics was launched in 1992 and has received funding from the US government to develop robots for the military.

One in 4 deaths due to environment factors Chinese journalist linked to Jinping resignation petition disappears

GENEVA One in four deaths worldwide are due to environmental factors like air, water and soil pollution, as well as unsafe roads and workplace stress, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday. An estimated 12.6 million people died in 2012 as a result of living and working in unhealthy environments, 23 percent of all deaths reported globally, according to the new study. “If countries do not take actions to make environments where people live and work healthy, millions will continue to become ill and die too young,” warned WHO chief Margaret Chan in a statement. The report defines environmental causes broadly, drawing links between a long line of environmental risk factors like pollution, chemical exposure, climate change and ultraviolet radiation, as well as access to firearms and more than 100 diseases and injuries.As many as 8.2 million of the deaths could be blamed on air pollution, including exposure to second-hand smoke, which is responsible for heart disease, cancers and chronic respiratory disease, the report said. Among the deaths attributed to environmental factors were 1.7 million caused by “unintentional injuries”, including road accidents.

The report also counted 846,000 diarrhoeal disease deaths among

environmental mortalities, adding that many were linked to pollution and unsafe drinking water. The WHO reported 246,000 deaths due to intentional injuries, including suicides, which it linked to the unsafe storage and access to firearms, as well as to pesticides - used in a full third of the world’s suicides - among other factors.The report found that most environmentally-linked deaths happened in Southeast Asia, which accounted for 3.8 million such deaths in 2012, followed by the Western Pacific region with 3.5 million. The least affected region was the Americas, with 847,000 deaths blamed on environmental conditions.Europe had 1.4 million environmentally-linked deaths while Africa reported 2.2 million.

The WHO said that better environmental management could prevent the deaths of 1.7 million children under five, who are especially prone to serious illnesses arising from respiratory infections and diarrhoea. “There’s an urgent need for investment in strategies to reduce environmental risks in our cities, homes and workplaces,” said Maria Neira, WHO’s public health chief.“Such investments can significantly reduce the rising worldwide burden of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, injuries and cancers, and lead to immediate savings in healthcare costs,” she said.

Beijing A Beijing-based journalist linked with an online petition calling for the Chinese president’s resignation has been missing since he disappeared from the Beijing airport on his way to Hong Kong several days ago, his lawyer said on Saturday.

Jia Jia has not been seen since Tuesday, said the lawyer, Yan Xin, in the latest instance of a Chinese government critic vanishing without a trace.

Yan said he could not confirm that the government is holding Jia because local police and airport, airline and immigration officials have all denied knowledge of his case. But Jia’s friends believe he may have unwittingly implicated himself when he warned an editor friend about the publication of an anonymous letter asking President Xi Jinping to step down.

Jia’s friends believe that his disappearance is related to the petition, which surfaced briefly on the government-linked news site Wujie earlier this month during China’s parliamentary session and attracted intense interest among watchers of Chinese politics.

The petition criticized Xi’s handling of economic and domestic affairs and noted that more and more factions of the Communist Party oppose the president’s tightening grip over speech, government bureaucracy and dissent within the party. The letter was taken down shortly after it was published, with the website saying it had been hacked.

Even though similar letters have been published before,

the petition, which was signed “Loyal Communist Party Members,” struck a raw nerve

someone will be fired.”

Jia denied any involvement in the petition, according to two

because there have been hints of resistance to Xi’s rule within the uppermost ranks of the party, said Chinese University of Hong Kong politics expert Willy Lam. Jia’s wife has not heard any word on her husband’s whereabouts, Yan said. Chinese police are required by law to notify family members of a detained person within 24 hours unless the case endangers state security.

Detainees in politically sensitive cases are frequently held much longer without any official acknowledgment.

Jia has worked for news outlets in the mainland and in Hong Kong, and his past criticism of state censorship and corruption may have made him a person of interest for government investigators.

In the early hours of March 5, Jia told a group chat in an online messaging app that he had spoken to Ouyang Hongliang, a Wujie editor, to let him know that the petition had been published on the site.

“They’re handling it,” Jia told the chat group, according to a screenshot seen by The Associated Press. “I bet

of his friends.

Jia is the latest critic of China’s government to go missing.

Several booksellers in Hong Kong disappeared in recent months after publishing salacious material about Xi and other Chinese leaders. The booksellers have resurfaced to say that they left for mainland China on their own volition, while their friends maintain they were abducted by Chinese agents but compelled to later say otherwise.

Yan, Jia’s lawyer, said he has been fruitlessly inquiring about Jia. He said government agencies would not give information about his client unless a formal case has been brought against him.

“The authorities will only answer our questions if we have a case to refer to, but we haven’t received any notification of a case,” Yan said.

Rights groups have expressed concern about Jia’s disappearance, with the Committee to Protect Journalists calling on Chinese officials to disclose if and where they are holding him.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Two Canadian soldiers knifed at recruiting station

MONTREAL A man brandishing a knife stabbed two Canadian soldiers at a Toronto recruiting station before he was subdued and arrested, police said late Monday. The 27 year-old male suspect made some comments before the police arrived “which has caused some concern,” suggesting that the attack could related to terrorism, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters. But he emphasized: “We don’t have at this time a clear understanding of what the motivation is.” The suspect entered the government office building Monday afternoon and without provocation stabbed a soldier at the reception desk, then managed to wound a second soldier. “At this time, through the training of the Canadian Forces, they were able to subdue” the suspect,

Saunders said.

Neither of the victims were seriously wounded, he said. Had the other soldiers “not reacted the chances of this being much more severe, much more serious definitely would’ve occurred.”

The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested and taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation “before the investigation will be further initiated,” Saunders said.

Saunders said that his agents were working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to investigate the case.

Saunders said that any connection with a militant group would be “seriously” analyzed.

Further information on the case will be announced on Tuesday, he added.

Riyadh The first ever all-female flight deck crew for Royal Brunei Airlines has operated a plane from Brunei to Jeddah in Saudi

Captain Czarena became the first female captain of a flag carrier in Southeast Asia. She told The Brunei Times in 2012: “Being a pilot, people normally

Google computer wins final game against Go master SEOUL A Google-developed computer programme had the last word Tuesday in its machine vs human challenge with South Korean Go grandmaster Lee Se-Dol, winning the final game for a sweeping 4-1 series victory.

The win was vindication for AlphaGo’s creators, DeepMind, who had touted the programme as a new form of artificial intelligence (AI) capable of “intuitive” thought and with wideranging real-world applications.

“I’m kind of speechless, that was the most mind-blowing game experience so far,” said DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. “Early on it seemed that AlphaGo made quite a big mistake, but in the end it was able to get back into the match for an incredibly close, intense finish,” Hassabis said.

“We’re just kind of stunned really,” he added. A visibly upset Lee was left at the table with his head in his hands, after resigning at the end of a close-fought, five-hour battle with the AlphaGo programme. After Lee had managed to pull one back for humanity in game four, AlphaGo was back on its best destructive form, using its deep neural networks to finally outwit the 33year-old in a nerve-wracking end game.“I started off the match thinking that I had an advantage, but the fact that I was still defeated showed up my shortcomings,” Lee told reporters afterwards. The South Korean, who has 18 international titles

Brunei Airlines female pilot crew lands plane in KSA

Arabia.Although it was a milestone for the airline, the pilot crew touched down in a country where women are still not allowed to drive a car. To mark Brunei’s National Day, which celebrates the country’s independence, Captain Sharifah Czarena Surainy, Senior First Officer Dk Nadiah Pg Khashiem and Senior First Officer Sariana Nordin flew flight BI081 to the Middle Eastern country on 23 February. The occasion came just over three years after

see it as being a male dominant occupation.” “As a woman, a Bruneian woman, it is such a great achievement. It’s really showing the younger generation or the girls especially that whatever they dream of, they can achieve it,” said the captain, who completed her initial pilot training at the Cabair Flying School in Cranfield. And Royal Brunei Airlines is committed to getting more women into the industry as it currently offers an Engineering Apprentice programme to both

males and females.

But the airline’s landmark voyage also highlighted the restrictions women still face in Saudi Arabia.

Although there is no law that prohibits women from driving, it is a rule imposed by conservative Muslim clerics. In recent years, women have used social media to protest against being forbidden from getting behind the wheel.

The Women2Drive campaign has nearly 18,000 “likes” on Facebook and asks women to post images of them driving. In December 2014, Loujain alHathloul was detained after she tried to drive into Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirates.

Maysa al-Amoudi, a friend who turned up to support her, was also detained. Both were released after more than 70 days in custody.Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East and North Africa director for Human Rights Watch said at the time: “After years of false promises to end its absurd restrictions on women, Saudi authorities are still arresting them for getting behind the wheel.“The Saudi government’s degrading restrictions on women are what bring shame to the country, not the brave activists standing up for their rights.”

under his belt and is widely considered one of the greatest Go players of the modern era, said he felt he had under-performed against a formidable, but beatable opponent.“I think (AlphaGo) is still at a level that can be

China, had long remained the holy grail for AI developers due to its complexity and near-infinite number of potential configurations.AlphaGo uses two sets of neural networks that allow it to crunch data in a more

challenged by humans and in that sense, like I said earlier, I feel a bit disappointed,” Lee said. “It is different, there’s no doubt. First of all, its not human. It took time for me to get used to its playing style,” Lee said. “It’s not shaken up psychologically and stays focused right until the end,” he added.Described as the “match of the century” by local media, the series was closely watched by tens of millions of fans of the ancient board game - mostly in East Asia - as well as AI scientists. The “machine vs human” element meant the games also made headlines around the world, with AlphaGo’s winning performance hailed as a watershed for the future of AI. The most famous AI victory to date came in 1997, when the IBMdeveloped supercomputer Deep Blue beat the then-world class chess champion Garry Kasparov.

But Go, played for centuries mostly in Korea, Japan and

human-like fashion - dumping millions of potential moves that human players would instinctively know were pointless. It also employs algorithms that allow it to learn and improve from matchplay experience. DeepMind says the technology has farranging, real-world applications from making smartphones smarter to health care, although Hassabis said they had no clear idea what the next step might be.

“We’ve really just been focusing on the match until this moment,” he told the post-match press conference. “We think there are many things we can improve.

Maybe in the next few months we’ll be able to announce more concrete plans,” he added. Before the final game, South Korea’s Go Association said it was awarding AlphaGo the highest Go grandmaster rank of “ninth dan”, reserved for those whose ability at the ancient board game borders on “divinity.”

SANTIAGO Scientists in Chile have created a chicken embryo that developed dinosaur-like feet after genetic manipulation, highlighting the evolutionary link between theropod dinosaurs and birds.The research published last week in the journal Evolution - shows that “by inhibiting early maturation of a leg of the chicken embryo, the leg reverts to the shape that dinosaurs’ legs had,” said Alexander Vargas, one of the six researchers at the University of Chile. “The result is a chicken embryo with dinosaur legs,” Vargas told AFP on Tuesday, explaining what amounts to reverse evolution. Theropods, a group of dinosaurs, started as carnivores but evolved to eat plants and insects.Birds evolved from small theropods in the Jurassic period more than 145 million years ago. In their study, scientists manipulated the Indian Hedgehog Homolog gene common to all animals,

including man. They were trying to pinpoint when birds had a dinosaur-like fibula bone. When

Scientists develop chick with ‘dinosaur’ feet

the researchers delayed early development, the bone took on the tubular shape it once had in dinosaurs. The research should help shed new light not just on the links between birds and dinosaurs, but on the genetic changes involved in the evolution, Vargas said. It also confirmed the hypothesis that a bone can be made to regrow with characteristics from the evolutionary past by interfering with early maturation, according to the study led by Brazilian Joao Botelho at the University of Chile.

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Most Pak army officers support jihad against India: Ex-envoy’s book

Most officers of the Pakistan Army still view India as “Enemy Number One” and consider jihad or asymmetric warfare as a weapon of choice, according to a book by former Pakistani envoy Husain Haqqani.

There is also a widespread view among Pakistan Army officers that “terrorism in Pakistan is sponsored by India and the United States” and the officer corps “suspects that the goal of foreign-sponsored Jihadi terrorism is to cause Pakistan’s implosion in an effort to denuclearise it”.

These were among the key findings of a survey of National Strategy Papers written at the National Defence University in Islamabad during 2007-2012 and an examination of the last decade’s army “Green Book”, Haqqani writes in an updated version of his book “Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military”.

The Green Book is an internal publication of the army with essays by serving and retired officers that reflects the military’s overall strategy and objectives.

“Any civilian offering an alternative view is liable to be looked upon with suspicion by the men in uniform,” writes Haqqani, who was forced to leave Pakistan and move to the US after he was accused of being behind a secret memo seeking American help to prevent a possible coup in 2011.

In many ways, these findings reflect the Pakistan Army’s longstanding animosity towards India and its close links with groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed that have been responsible for assaults such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the January 2 strike on Pathankot airbase.

The book, originally published in 2005 and updated to reflect subsequent developments, notes that former army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had, during an interaction with media in 2010, said that the force “remains an India-centric institution” and this status would not change “until the Kashmir issue and water disputes were resolved”.

Pakistan’s parliament has passed a resolution moved by a Hindu lawmaker seeking holidays on festivals such as Holi, Diwali and Easter though the move is being seen as a cosmetic measure to appease religious minorities.

On Tuesday, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, an MP from the PMLN elected from a seat reserved for minorities in Tharparkar district of Sindh, presented the resolution which said: “This House is of the opinion that the government should take steps to declare Holi, Diwali and Easter as closed holidays for minorities.”

Vankwani, who is also patronin-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, was of the view that such an announcement is inevitable for Pakistan’s good image since such holidays are being observed in the US and India.The resolution, however, took cabinet ministers by surprise. Minister of state for religious affairs Pir Aminul Hasnat Shah was visibly confused when Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq asked him if he agreed with the resolution.

Shah said the interior ministry has the authority to notify such holidays and his ministry has

nothing to do with the matter. He was hesitant to give a categorical reply when the Speaker asked him again if he opposed the

that the facility was already accorded to religious minorities under government rules.

Amarnath Motumal of the Human

resolution.

Information minister Pervaiz Rashid came to Shah’s rescue and said minorities could be granted holiday by their employers. Rashid further said he would not oppose the resolution but suggested it should be reconsidered because “Pakistan already has one of the highest rates of public holidays compared to the rest of the world”.

What Rashid did not say was

Rights Commission of Pakistan described the resolution as a farce. “We are already given these holidays in the public and private sector,” he said.

Festivals such as Holi and Diwali were official holidays in Pakistan after the country’s independence but they were subsequently made optional. Large-scale celebrations of the festivals became rare after military ruler Zia-ul-Haq adopted his policy of Islamisation”.

servants would now “carry smartphones in their socks. “ “Smartphones help officials do elementary things like check the weather before they go on a trip or see how a word translates from Russian into Kazakh,” he said. “They could have simply introduced these limitations for people who work with confidential materials, rather than all officials,” he

added.“This is an exciting opportunity for New Zealand. over the last 12 months I’ve been actively and aggressively promoting New Zealand as a test bed for new transport technology trials,” he said.

New Zealand is still working on regulations relating to driverless vehicles such as the DRU, which is designed to operate on both roads and footpaths.

Kazakhstan bans smartphones for police, civil servants

Ex-Soviet Kazakhstan is set to enforce a ban on smartphones in the workplace for police and government workers in an effort to prevent information leaks, according to a document that was itself leaked.

A government document leaked to the media in the Central Asian state on Thursday said smartphones would be banned starting March 24 for on-duty police officers and civil servants given “increasingly frequent cases of confidential information leaking through the WhatsApp mobile application”.

Domino’s to trial robots for pizza delivery

Fast food giant Domino’s is to trial pizza delivery robots in New Zealand, it said Friday, describing the hi-tech, driverless units as a world first.In a move enthusiastically backed by the New Zealand government, Domino’s said it was working with authorities on plans to roll out its DRU (Domino’s Robotic Unit).

The four-wheeler, developed in Australia, is just under a metre (three foot) high and contains a heated compartment that can hold up to 10 pizzas.It is battery powered and uses on-board sensors to avoid obstacles, with Domino’s saying it can deliver pizzas within a 20 kilometre (12.

5 mile) radius of a store before returning to recharge.

Customers are given a code when they order, which they enter onto a keypad to unlock

Holi, Diwali to become official holidays in Pakistan

the compartment containing their pizza. “DRU is cheeky and endearing and we are confident

A Kazakh civil servant told AFP on Friday that government workers had heard they would soon be searched for smartphones at the entrance of their workplaces but that such measures had not yet been implemented.

The Kazakh government has yet to comment on the leaked document’s authenticity.

Interior Minister Kalmukhanbet Kasymov said Thursday that police had already been informally forbidden from using smartphones on the job.

Kasymov denied that the new ban was connected to a scandal that saw a photograph of a murdered student’s corpse taken by police leaked and shared on social networks last month.

Ex-Kazakh officials have already spoken out against the ban.

Murat Abenov, a former deputy education minister, told AFP civil

North Korea releases CCTV footage of US student stealing banner

that one day he will become an integral part of the Domino’s family,” the chain’s New Zealand general manager Scott Bush said.

“He’s a road to the future and one that we are very excited about exploring further.“ While a date for the trial is yet to be finalised, Transport Minister Simon Bridges said the government working with Domino’s on the project and was keen for it to proceed.

North Korea has released CCTV images showing American student Otto Warmbier removing a political banner from a wall in a hotel -a “crime” that saw him sentenced to 15 years hard labour.The brief CCTV clip, taken in a staff-only area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang, was submitted as evidence during Warmbier’s trial on Wednesday.The United States has accused the North of using Warmbier as a political pawn and condemned the sentence as way out of

proportion to what amounted to little more than a misdemeanour.

The grainy, black-and-white footage showed the 21-year-old student from the University of Virginia removing the metrelong, mounted poster from the wll and laying it on the ground.

The banner carried a slogan in bold white lettering on a red background. Part of the banner was blanked out at the trial, but it appeared to read: “Let us strongly arm ourselves with Kim Jong-il’s patriotism.”

The CCTV images, released late Thursday, did not show exactly what Warmbier did after taking it down, and it was unclear if he attempted to take the poster out of the country.Warmbier was arrested at the airport as he was leaving the country with a tour group on January 2.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Thai gardener behind $20 mn Saudi gem heist becomes Buddhist monk A Thai gardener behind a $20 million gem heist from a Saudi palace became a monk on Thursday in hope of redeeming his karma.

Kriangkrai Techamong stole the precious gems from the palace of a Saudi prince where he

worked in 1989, triggering a feud between Thailand and Saudi Arabia dubbed the “Blue Diamond Affair” that has yet to be resolved. Thai police later

returned some of the jewels but Saudi officials claimed most were counterfeits while the whereabouts of the most precious gem -- a rare 50-carat blue diamond -- remains unknown.

On Thursday Kriangkrai told

local media his life has been haunted by the theft that unleashed an “avalanche” of suffering on his family.

“I am confident that all my

American ISIS fighter I made a bad decision

The American Islamic State group fighter who handed himself over to Kurdish forces in Iraq’s north earlier this week said he made “a bad decision” joining IS, according to a heavily edited interview he gave to an Iraqi Kurdish television station. Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 26, from Alexandria, Virginia detailed his weeks-long journey from the United States to London, Amsterdam, Turkey, through Syria and finally to the IScontrolled Iraqi city of Mosul, where he was moved into a house with dozens of other foreign fighters.Khweis said in the interview aired late Thursday night that he met an Iraqi woman with ties to IS in Turkey who arranged his travel into Syria and then across to Mosul. There Khweis said he began more than a month of intensive Islamic studies and it was then he decided to try and flee. “I didn’t agree with their ideology,” he said, explaining why he decided to escape a few weeks after arriving. “I made a bad decision to go with the girl and go to Mosul.” Khweis said a friend helped him escape Mosul to nearby Tal Afar. From there he said he walked toward Kurdish troops. “I wanted to go to the Kurdish side,” he said, “because I know they are good with the Americans.” The surrender took

place on the front lines near the town of Sinjar, which was retaken

by Iraqi forces from IS militants late last year. In the past year IS fighters have lost large amounts of territory in Syria and Iraq.

Khweis is currently being held by Kurdish forces for interrogation.

Though such defections are rare, Syrian Kurdish fighters battling IS have told The Associated Press that they are seeing an increase in the number of IS members surrendering following recent territorial losses. As the militants lose territory, US officials predict there will be more desertions.“I wasn’t thinking straight,” Khweis said. “My message to the American people is that the life in Mosul is really, really bad,” he said, adding that he doesn’t believe the Islamic State group accurately represents Islam. The United Nations estimated that around 30,000 so-called foreign fighters from 100 countries are actively working with the Islamic State group, al-Qaida or other extremist groups. An earlier estimate by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization, a think tank at King’s College London, said IS fighters include 3,300 Western Europeans and 100 or so Americans.

misfortunes are the result of a curse from the (blue) Saudi diamond I stole, so I’ve decided to enter the monkhood for the rest of my life to redeem my bad karma,” he told Thai Rath newspaper.

Local TV channels showed the middle-aged man receive alms from templegoers as he marched in an ordination ceremony with a shaved head and white robes in northern Lampang province.

Channel 7 reported that he had been blessed with a new monk name that translates to “He Who Has Diamond Knowledge”.

Kriangkrai was jailed for five years soon after the theft, but managed to sell most of the gems before his arrest.

Saudi Arabia has long accused Thai police of bungling its investigation, with widespread allegations at the time that the stolen items were snapped up by senior officers.Riyadh sent a businessman to conduct his own investigation, but he disappeared in Bangkok days after three Saudi diplomats were shot dead, execution style, in the city.

In 2014 a case was dropped against five men, including a senior Thai policeman, for alleged involvement in the businessman’s murder over lack of evidence. The decision came after a last-minute change in judge.Saudi Arabia has not sent an ambassador to Thailand for decades and restricts travel between the two countries because of the unresolved theft and murders.

Two Indians among 62 dead in FlyDubai plane crash in Russia Two Indians were among the 62 people who were killed in a plane crash in South Russia today. FlyDubai flight FZ981 was from its way to Rostov-onDon from Dubai when it crashed on its second attempt to land at Rostov-on-Don airport.

According to reports, those killed in the crash include 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one person from Uzbekistan. | See photos The names of the Indians in the list put out by Russian authorities are: Anju Kathirvel Aiyappan and Mohan Shyam, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

“Our mission is checking with the local university and Indian nationals for confirmation,” he told PTI. Seven crew members were also among those killed in the crash at Rostov-on-Don. Six of the crew were non-Russians, Russian emergency ministry said in a statement on it’s website.“The aircraft hit the ground and broke into pieces,” the Investigative Committee of Russia said in a statement on its website. “According to preliminary data, there were 55 passengers aboard and 7 crew members. They all died.”

The plane’s wing hit the ground on its second landing attempt and burst into flames, the Rostov region emergency ministry said in a statement.

The region’s governor, Vasily Golubev, said bad weather -

strong, gusting wind in the Rostov area - was the primary line of investigation for the crash, but Zhanna Terekohova, an adviser to the Russian transport minister, said pilot error could also be a factor.

The plane came down inside the airport’s perimeter, about 250 metres (yards) short of the start of the runway.

Grainy pictures from a security

had admitted that he had spied for foreign services out of dissatisfaction with his job at the BND.“No one trusted me with anything at the BND. At the CIA

the BND offered him a position in its personnel division.

As a member of staff in the lowest salary band, he drew a monthly net pay of 1,200 euros.

it was different,” he told the court at the opening of his trial in November.Not only did the CIA offer “adventure”, the Americans also gave him what he craved – recognition.

“I would be lying if I said that I didn’t like that,” he told the court.

“I wanted something new, to experience something exciting.”

After finishing his studies at a training centre for the disabled in 2004, Reichel had struggled to find a job until late 2007, when

The CIA did not pay him significantly more – he received between 10,000 and 20,000 euros a year in cash at a secret meeting point in Austria, but it gave him a thrill, he said.

Using the undercover name “Uwe”, Reichel first sent documents to a US agent codenamed “Alex” by post before later transmitting them by email and later directly entering them into hidden software on a computer provided by the CIA.

camera pointing towards the airport, which were broadcast on Russian television, showed a large explosion at ground level, with flames and sparks leaping high into the air.

A representative of Rostov’s emergency ministry said at a briefing that flight recorders have not yet been recovered.

The Investigative Committee of Russia said on Saturday that it is looking into a pilot error or a technical failure as the most likely causes for the plane crash that killed 62 in southern Russia, Russian news agencies reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that assistance to the relatives of those killed in a plane crash in southern Russia was the priority, local news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

German agent sent to jail for spying for CIA and Russians A Munich court has handed down an eight-year prison sentence to a German former intelligence agent who spied for both the CIA and the Russian secret service because he wanted to “experience something exciting”.

Markus Reichel had admitted to handing over “scores of documents and internal information” to the CIA, including names and addresses of agents for the Federal Intelligence Service or BND, in exchange for 95,000 euros ($107,000).

Some 200 of those documents sent to the CIA were deemed very sensitive, and even included papers detailing the BND’s counter-espionage strategies.

The 32-year-old also delivered three classified documents to the Russian secret service.

Reichel’s case had emerged during a furore over revelations of widespread US spying in documents released by former CIA intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, which had also plunged its partner service the BND into an unprecedented crisis.Partially disabled after a botched childhood vaccination, Reichel, who speaks haltingly,

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Donald Trump warns of possible riots if he doesn’t get White House nod Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that “riots” could break out if he is denied the Republican presidential

nomination despite having won most of the party’s primary and caucus elections.

“We’re way ahead of everybody.

I don’t think you can say that we don’t get it automatically,” Trump told CNN the morning after his latest round of election victories, in the states of Illinois, North Carolina and Florida.

“I think you would have riots,” he said. “You know, I’m representing many, many millions of people.”

Trump, who has never held elected office, has dominated the 2016 presidential campaign thus far with his bombastic style

and his unexpectedly strong popularity with masses of American voters.

The billionaire businessman says many of his supporters disenfranchised Americans who normally steer clear of politics are already seething about what they perceive as a political and economic system that is rigged against them.

“These are people who haven’t voted, because they didn’t believe in the system, or didn’t

US man dies after police ‘tasered him and high-fived’ in front of his parents

like candidates. They are 40, 50, and 60 years old and never voted. Many Democrats and many independents (are) coming in,” he said.

But while Trump is the frontrunner for the nomination, political observers believe he may fall short of the 1,237 delegates needed for an outright win.That could lead to a complicated process of horsetrading and backroom dealing at the party convention in Cleveland, Ohio this summer which supporters fear could result in someone other than Trump being named the Republican standard bearer.

“Now, if you disenfranchise those people and say, ‘I’m sorry, you’re 100 votes short, even though the next one is 500 votes short, I think you would see problems like you’ve never seen before. I think bad things would happen. I really do,” he told CNN. “I wouldn’t lead it, but I think bad things would happen.”

Trump’s incendiary attacks on immigrants, threats of mass deportations and a proposal for a wall on the border with Mexico have ignited the campaign trail and drawn condemnation in some quarters, including President Barack Obama.

Protests at Trump rallies have sparked angry confrontations. A protester was punched as he was being evicted at one rally, clashes erupted at another, and a protester rushed Trump on the stage at a third.

Only playscript in Shakespeare’s hand now online

The British Library has posted online 300 items relating to William Shakespeare, including the only surviving playscript in his hand, making it widely accessible for the first time.The playscript is from the manuscript of a play called “Sir Thomas More”, to which Shakespeare contributed a scene. In the scene, More courageously quells a mob of anti-French rioters who are calling for immigrants to be banished, the library said on Tuesday.The play, written in approximately 1600 about the life of Henry VIII’s councillor and lord chancellor, was not by Shakespeare and it was not staged because of fears it might incite unrest. The scene is described as a “stirring piece of rhetoric”.

Among the other items posted online by the library are manuscripts, books, maps, paintings, illustrations, pamphlets, ballads, playbills and photos.Britain is currently celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare’s legacy (his death is recorded on April 23, 1616).

Other highlighted digitised items

include a 17th-century manuscript thought to preserve the original tune of one of the Fool’s songs from “King Lear” and Samuel Coleridge’s personal copy of “The Dramatic Works of Shakespeare” with extensive annotations on the plays, including his famous comments on Iago’s “motiveless malignity”.

Alex Whitfield of the British Library said: “From the influential first drawings of Native Americans of the ‘New World’, to depictions of exotic Venice and civil unrest in the streets of London, seeing original digitised artefacts can vividly evoke the political, social and historical times in which Shakespeare was writing, shrinking the gap between the past and the present and bringing the world that shaped his imagination to life.“Until now, you would have had to visit the British Library Reading Rooms or exhibitions to see these treasures – now Discovering Literature: Shakespeare makes these wonderful research materials accessible to students and lovers of literature everywhere.”

US wrestler Hulk Hogan wins at least $115 million in sex-tape suit Two police officers in the US allegedly Tasered a man to death, high-fiving one another in front of his family as his body lay on the ground.

Chase Sherman, 32, had been Tasered by police in Coweta, Georgia after becoming agitated during a car journey with his parents, whom he told he had previously taken synthetic marijuana, known as Spice.

Having been Tasered, reportedly while one of his hands was handcuffed, Mr Sherman stopped breathing and a medic on the scene performed chest compressions, at which point his parents said the two officers, from Coweta County, “high-fived”, 11Alive reported.

The family were returning from Mr Sherman’s cousin’s wedding in the Dominican Republic, from where they had flown to Atlanta, deciding against taking an onward flight to their home in Destin, Florida after it became clear Mr Sherman was having a mental episode.

Having decided to rent a car, the

Shermans made an emergency phone call as their son’s condition worsened, and believed to have told them he had taken Spice previously - but not on the trip they were returning from.

The drug has been linked to psychotic episode and hallucinations, and is banned in the US and the UK. Following an initial phone call to the emergency services, following which Mr Sherman calmed down, a second call was made - at which point officers were dispatched to the scene.

Mr Sherman’s mother. Mary Ann Sherman, told 11Alive: “They both told me they had to protect themselves, I mean, what were they protecting themselves from? He was already handcuffed. He was unarmed.

What did they have to protect themselves from?”

The family has called for charges to be brought against the officers involved in the incident, although Coweta County sheriff Mike Yeager has previously said they acting in self-defence.

A Florida jury on Friday awarded Hulk Hogan $115 million with the possibility of more after finding the Gawker website violated his privacy by publishing a sex tape of the celebrity wrestler.

After deliberating six hours, the jury awarded Hogan $60 million for emotional distress and $55 million for economic damages.

They remain sequestered until Monday when the jury will consider punitive damages and other matters.“This is a victory for everyone who has had their privacy violated,” Hogan’s attorney, David Houston, said.

As the award was announced, Hogan cried and hugged Houston.Gawker publisher Nick Denton said the website would appeal the verdict.

Hogan had sought $100 million in damages over the edited video that Gawker, a New Yorkbased outlet known for gossip and media reporting, posted online in 2012.

The jury of two men and four women agreed with Hogan that his privacy had been violated, that the violation had caused him harm and that Hogan had a reasonable expectation of privacy. The case drew attention as a digital-age test of a

celebrity’s privacy rights and freedom of the press under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.Gawker’s one-

video was viewed 2.5 million times on the Gawker site.

The mustachioed wrestling icon wore a signature black

minute, 41-second video depicted Hogan, 62, engaged in sex with the wife of his then-best friend, radio “shock jock” personality Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.

Hogan, a longtime star of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), said he did not know the consensual encounter had been recorded when it occurred nearly a decade ago in Bubba’s home.Gawker’s video included excerpts from a 30-minute sex tape the company obtained without knowing its origin.

Hogan, whose legal name is Terry Bollea, testified that he still suffers from the humiliation of a video that went viral. The

bandana during a two-week trial in St. Petersburg, Florida, near his home. Testimony touched on media ethics, website analytics and Hogan’s statements about his sex life, including descriptions of his genitalia. Gawker said the posting was in keeping with the outlet’s mission to cover true and interesting subjects, stressing Hogan had made his sex life a public matter. Denton and the editor responsible for the post, AJ Daulerio, were called as defense witnesses.

Both named in the lawsuit, they stood by the post, which Denton said “stands up to the test of time.”

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Even my kids want to see Virat Kohli is a man in control of Kohli bat, says Virender Sehwag his batting says Chappell Former opener Virender Sehwag feels India remain overwhelming favourites to

win the World Twenty20 title and showered praise on Virat Kohli, saying that even his kids can’t move away from the TV set when the batting star is at the crease.

“I had picked India, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies before the start of the tournament. I still feel that way, with India winning the title 99 percent. Okay, they lost to New Zealand in Nagpur but the same thing happened

in 2011 (when India lost to South Africa in Nagpur) and we went on to the win

the World Cup,” Sehwag told ‘NDTV’. India’s next match is against Bangladesh on March 23 and Sehwag sees the hosts winning it comfortably. Talking about India’s win against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, the former opener richly praised the team’s batting mainstay Kohli.

“The way Kohli is batting at the moment is amazing.

It is difficult to take your eyes off the TV when he is

Bangladesh urge ICC to lift Taskin ban Bangladesh have appealed to cricket’s world governing body to lift the suspension on paceman Taskin

Ahmed, who was ruled out of the ongoing World Twenty20 in India due to an illegal action. Taskin and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny were suspended from bowling in international cricket on Saturday

after being reported by match officials following Bangladesh’s qualifying match against the Netherlands in Dharamsala on March 9.

While Sunny’s elbow extension for the majority of his deliveries exceeded the 15-degree limit, not all of Taskin’s balls were found to be legal, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said while announcing their suspensions. “We are not convinced about Taskin as of now.

We don’t have any reason to be satisfied with the report,” Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan told reporters.

“And that’s disappointing, so we have appealed to the ICC.

batting. Even my kids want to see him bat,” said Sehwag after being re-

minded of his witty one-liners while commentating on the Indo-Pak clash.

He had quipped during commentary that “Pakistan ko goli se nahi Kohli se dar lagta hain (Pakistan don’t fear bullets, they fear Kohli)”.

Asked about replacing Hardik Pandya with spinner Harbhajan Singh in the playing eleven, Sehwag said: “I had said it on air during the Pakistan game that Bhajji should have

played. He is your most experienced spinner and if the pitch is turning he should play. He will bowl his four overs and that will be good for the team”.

Sehwag, however, wants Ravindra Jadeja to remain in the eleven though he has been not at his best with the bat of late.

“He is bowling well and you need him batting at number six-seven in case the top order fails. I would not want to replace him yet,” he said. The once feared batsman also feels M S Dhoni has at least four to five years of cricket left in him. “He is just 34, Sachin (Tendulkar) played till 40.

He can play for another four years and it will be great if he can end on a high after the 2019 World Cup.” Sehwag, who retired from all forms of international cricket last year, was asked to pick a player who is capable of carrying forward his legacy. “At the moment no one is there.

We will see about the future,” the great with a nononsense approach summed up.

Virat Kohli’s match-winning knock under pressure in a crucial World T20 tie against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday earned him accolades from many. One among them is former Australia captain Ian Chappell.

Ian, who is a World T20 analyst for a cricket-specific website, praised Kohli saying that he was a man in “control of his batting”.

“He is a man who is in control of his batting and he knows exactly what he is trying to do. He knows how to do it and for a guy who has got a fiery temperament in a lot of ways, you seem to be getting involved in shouting matches on the field... It is the fiery tempera-

ment, but he seems to be able to keep it under control in tense situations where he is chasing down the target,” Ian said. “He seems to have himself totally under control... Whereas at other times I have seen him where he looks out of control, but never with the bat in his hand,” said Chappell.

Chappell said that Virat’s innings at the Eden reminded him of the Indian’s second innings century at Adelaide in 2014.

“I saw him doing it a couple of times in Australia. That sort of innings reminded me very much of the second innings of the Adelaide Test...

He got a hundred in each innings.

In favourable conditions, we are a hard team to beat says Ashwin India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday said that “under favourable conditions”, the hosts will be a “hard side to beat” in the ongoing World T20.

India lost to New Zealand on a turner in the opening game but beat Pakistan easily in their next game on a similar surface.

“I think, we are a very good team. On our day and under conditions favourable for us, we are going to be a pretty hard side to beat,” Ashwin told bcci.tv after the team’s six wicket win over Pakistan.

But as exception proves the rule, it can happen with ‘Men In Blue’ too.

“There will be exceptions.

We lost a recent game in Pune against Sri Lanka and another one in Nagpur against New Zealand. On both occasions, the oppo-

sition read the game better than us,” said Ashwin.

Ashwin, who is known to to be a thinking cricketer, said that even though there

ing that variation of pace is another important aspect for a spinner to taste success on this kind of a turf.

As regards the variations

was much turn on offer at the Eden gardens, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. “(Ravindra) Jadeja and me were hitting a particular length. That is very important for the ball to grip and for the other one to go straight,” said Ashwin, add-

he tries to bring in while bowling, Ashwin said that he varies his pace and trajectory. “When you vary the trajectory, you can force the batsman to go for a cut or a pull and beat them in the flight,” he added.

Toss played an important

factor against Pakistan, feels Ashwin.

“Thankfully, we won the toss and it (the pitch) spun a little which made things easier. The wicket was moist. I for once thought we should bowl first,” the 29-year-old said.

Ashwin explained why he thought bowling first was a wise call. “What happens on this type of wickets is that you are never sure of what sort of a score you should post. So, it’s important that you get your bowling right, try and contain the opponent within a certain score. Once you do that, it’s easier to bat. You can pace your innings much better on this kind of a wicket when you are chasing,” added the offspinner, who returned figures of 3-0-12-0, while sharing the new ball with pacer Ashish Nehra.

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MODI TO JOIN WORLD LEADERS IN WAX AT MADAME TUSSAUDS Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join the ranks of prominent global leaders at Madame Tussauds in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok next month, the world famous wax museum announced today.

Describing him as a “hugely important figure in world politics”, the museum said the Indian Prime Minister had given the museum’s team of artists and experts a sitting at his residence in New Delhi earlier this year. “Madame Tussauds has crafted figures of very distinguished dignitaries from around the world how could I regard myself worthy of being alongside them? But when I was informed that your decision had emanated from public opinion and public sentiment, I was comforted,” Modi said in a statement to the museum.

“During my sitting, I observed the team carefully

and was deeply impressed by its dedication, professionalism and skill.

I have visited Madame Tussauds three or four times and had the pleasure of getting myself pho-

tographed standing next to the figures of various dignitaries,” he said.

The wax figures at each of the museum’s locations around Europe and Asia will be dressed in Modi’s “signature kurta” in cream with a jacket and he will be featured in a tra-

ditional pose “making a namaste gesture”. “Prime Minister Modi is a hugely important figure in world politics, a position supported by his place in the top 10 of Time Magazine’s

Person of the Year List 2015,” said museum spokesperson Kieran Lancini.

“His massive social media presence - he is currently the second most followed politician on twitter after President Obama - also confirms the intense inter-

est the public have in him, a fact supported by the requests our guests have made for us to create his figure. We are delighted to be including the Prime Minister’s figure in our attractions in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok,” he said.

Each figure took a team of Madame Tussauds’ artists four months and cost around 150,000 pounds to create.

“Guests will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder and measure up to one of the most powerful men in the world - and even grab a selfie when the figures arrive in their locations,” the museum said.

The launch in London and all other centres is expected around late April and it is yet to be confirmed if Modi would be personally unveiling himself in wax at any of the four locations.

Should pre-1947 India be called S. Asia? US academics lock horns over name

The battle for India, pre-independence India, is being fought in California. In a long-running wrangle that has stretched over decades, academics and historians are once again fighting a pitched verbal battle over how sub-continental history will be taught in American schools. At the heart of the latest clash, the nomenclature of pre-1947 India as “South Asia” at the instance of some left-leaning academics, because, they maintain, the geographic entities of India and Pakistan came into being only after the two countries gained independence from

British India.In other words, India did not exist before 1947.

The proposal has enraged academics on the right side of the debate who say attempts to delete references to India and replace it with the “geopolitically motivated Cold War-era phrase ‘South Asia”.... is “misinformed and bizarre.”

“If this is indeed correct that ‘India’ is not an accurate term for India before 1947, how is it possible that the word ‘India’ has been in usage in some form or another from the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans? Did Columbus go sear ching for ‘South Asia’?

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Health Gum disease linked with memory decline in Alzheimer’s A team of British researchers has found a link between gum disease and greater rates of cognitive decline in people with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

According to researchers, periodontitis or gum dis-

ease is associated with increased dementia severity and subsequent greater progression of cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“However, if there is a direct relationship between periodontitis and cognitive decline, as this current study suggests, then treatment of gum disease might be a possible treatment option for Alzheimer’s,” added senior author Clive Holmes from the University of Southampton in Britain.

In the observational study, published in the journal

PLOS ONE, 59 participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease were cognitively assessed and a blood sample was taken to measure inflammatory markers in their blood.

A dental hygienist who was

blind to cognitive outcomes assessed participants’ dental health.

The majority of participants (52) were followed-up at six months when all assessments were repeated.

The presence of gum disease at baseline was linked to six-fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline in participants over the six-month follow-up period of the study.

Periodontitis at baseline was also associated with a relative increase in the pro-inflammatory state over the six-month followup period.

The authors conclude that gum disease is associated with an increase in cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, possibly via mechanisms linked to the body’s inflammatory response.

However, growing evidence from a number of studies links the body’s inflammatory response to increased rates of cognitive decline, suggesting that it would be worth exploring whether the treatment of gum disease might also benefit the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

We also believe, based on various research findings that the presence of teeth with active gum disease results in higher body-wide levels of the sorts of inflammatory molecules which have also been associated with an elevated risk of other outcomes such as cognitive decline or cardiovascular disease, the researchers stated.

Research has suggested that effective gum treatment can reduce the levels of these molecules closer to that seen in a healthy state.

What your parents eat can affect your health In a recent study researchers used mice that had become obese and had developed type 2 diabetes due to a high-fat diet and then obtained their offspring solely through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) from isolated oocytes and sperm, so that changes in the offspring could only be passed on via these cells.

The offspring were carried and born by healthy surrogate mothers.

This enabled the researchers from the Institute of Experimental Genetics to rule out additional factors such as the behavior of the parents and influences of the mother during pregnancy and lactation.

The director of the study Prof. Johannes Beckers said that the results showed that both oocytes and sperm passed on epigenetic information, which particularly in the female offspring led to severe obesity.

In the male offspring, by contrast, the blood glucose level was more affected than in the female siblings.

The data also show that like in humans the maternal contribution to the change in metabolism in the offspring is greater than the paternal contribution.

Prof. Martin Hrab De Angelis said that this kind of epigenetic inheritance of a metabolic disorder due to an unhealthy diet could be another major cause for the dramatic global increase in the prevalence of diabetes since the 1960s.

The increase in diabetic patients observed throughout the world can hardly

be explained by mutations in the genes themselves (DNA) because the increase has been too fast. Since epigenetic inheritance - as opposed to genetic inheritance - is in principle reversible, new possibilities to influence the development of obesity and diabetes arise from these observations, according to the scientists.

Five reasons kissing is great for your health!

Tips men should follow to keep themselves fit So what if you are the sole bread-earner in the family?

It is clearly not the escape route to follow a unhealthy routine. You might be spending 10-12 hours doing business and rest of time time looking after daily household chores but you can still follow a healthy rountine simultaneously.

No need to alter your time-tables. All the men can stick to it and still lead a healthy and disease-free life. Wondering how? Read below: Early to bed and early to rise In simpler words, it is essential to get enough and proper sleep. For that you

should make it a point to hit sack early at night and also wake up early in the

morning. Lack of proper sleep can surely deteriorate your mental as well as physical health.

Consume healthy diet Consuming a mixed bag

full of carbs, proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables is a must if you want to stay

fit. Eating a balanced meal which includes all these things will definitely make you a healthier individual.

Consume food on time and avoid junk foods.

Take plenty of fluids Keeping your body hydrated all the time is a must and you should ensure that you follow it religiously. It acts as a natural cleanser for the digestive system and also helps in flushing out toxins through sweat and urine. Consuming 8-10 glasses of water along with fresh fruit juices is a must.

Checks-ups This is not something that you need to follow on a regular basis. You can take some time out for it biannually or even annually but make sure that you do it. Go for physical check up tom make sure that everything is perfect.

Kissing plays an important role in relationships as it helps to improve your bond with your partner. Whether it’s your first kiss or your thousandth, kissing isn’t only fun to do, but surprisingly, is also very beneficial to your health.

Know the science behind the kiss and the health benefits of doing it: • Kissing helps lower your blood pressure • Releases happy hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin,

thus making you happier while reducing stress.

• Kissing can curb headache or cramps – the blood dilation brought on by lip locking can help ease your pain.

• Kissing fights cavities – because when you kiss, you secrete more saliva, which washes out your mouth and removes cavity causing food particles.

• Kissing also burns calories – it is said that a vigorous kiss may burn 8-16 calories.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

New blood test may detect multiple diseases Scientists have developed a new blood test that may detect multiple diseases, including diabetes, cancer, traumatic injury and neuro degeneration, in a highly sensitive and specific manner. The novel method, developed in a series of experiments involving 320 patients and controls, infers cell death in specific tissue from the methylation patterns of circulating DNA that is released by dying cells.

Cell death is a central feature of human biology in health and disease, according to researchers led

by Ruth Shemer and Yuval Dor from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Benjamin Glaser from

Hadassah Medical Centre.

It can signify the early stages of pathology (eg a developing tumour or the beginning of an autoimmune or neurodegenerative disease), mark disease progression, reflect the success of therapy (eg anti cancer drugs), identify unintended toxic effects of treatment and more.

However to date, it is not possible to measure cell death in specific human tissues non-invasively.

The new blood test detects cell death in specific tissues by combining two important biological principles. First, dying cells release fragmented DNA to the circulation, where it

travels for a short time.

The second principle is that the DNA of each cell type carries a unique chemical modification called methylation. Methylation patterns of DNA account for the identity of cells (the genes that they express), are similar among different cells of the same type and among individuals, and are stable in healthy and disease conditions.

For example, the DNA methylation pattern of pancreatic cells differs from the pattern of all other cell types in the body.

The researchers have identified multiple DNA sequences that are methylated in a tissue-specific manner (for example,

Quit smoking at one go!

A new study says that quitting smoking all of a sudden is more abstinence compared to quitting gradually.

Current guidelines recom-

mend abrupt smoking cessation, where smokers choose a quit date and stop smoking; however, more people seem to prefer taking a gradual approach to quitting, where they cut back on the amount they smoke over time.

Physicians need to know

if both approaches are effective so they can provide evidence-based advice to their patients.

Researchers randomly assigned 697 adult smokers

to quit abruptly or to gradually cut back on smoking before quitting.

Participants in the abrupt cessation group chose a quit date with support from a nurse and stopped smoking on that day. Participants in the gradual cessation group reduced their smoking by 75 per-

cent in two weeks leading up to an agreed-upon quit date.

Other than the cessation strategy, treatment was similar for both groups.

Participants received behavioral support from nurses and used nicotine replacement therapy before and after their quit date.

The researchers compared four-week and six-month abstinence between the two groups, and also assessed whether outcomes differed based on participants’ preferred method of quitting.

They found that patients in the abrupt quitting group were 25 percent more likely to stop smoking in both the short and long term, regardless of their method preference.

unmethylated in DNA of neurons and methylated elsewhere), and can serve as biomarkers for the detection of DNA derived from each tissue.

They then developed a method to detect these methylated patterns in DNA circulating in blood, and demonstrated its utility for identifying the origins of circulating DNA in differ-

A new standardized equation developed by SMU scientists is about four times more accurate for adults and kids together, and about two to three times more accurate for adults only, Ludlow said.

Ludlow noted that the new equation is formulated to apply regardless of the height, weight and speed of the walker and it’s appreciably more accurate. The study appears in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

and exocrine pancreas cell death in patients with pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis. “Our work demonstrates that the tissue origins of circulating DNA can be measured in humans.

This represents a new method for sensitive detection of cell death in specific tissues, and an exciting approach for diagnostic medicine,” said Shemer.

Beer offers new weapon against cancer Turns out, beer contains a key ingredient that could be used in the war against cancer and disease.

Hops, which give the tipple its distinctive bitter taste, pack a surprisingly healthful punch with their ability to halt bacterial growth and disease.

They contain acids called humulones and lupulones which scientists hope to be able to turn into drugs.

University of Idaho researchers are working to extract the compounds and also find a way of creating them in the lab.

Kristopher Waynant said that they were “very close” to achieving this after a lot of “trial and error.”

He is planning to collaborate with biologists and medical researchers to develop active agents for

Walking burns more calories than previously believed Turns out, you’re likely burning more calories than you thought when you’re walking.

A Southern Methodist University study found that under firm, level ground conditions, the leading standards are relatively inaccurate and have significant bias.

The standards predicted too few calories burned in 97 percent of the cases researchers examined, said SMU physiologist Lindsay Ludlow.

ent human pathologies, as an indication of cell death in specific tissues.

They were able to detect evidence for pancreatic beta-cell death in the blood of patients with new-onset type 1 diabetes, oligodendrocyte death in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis, brain cell death in patients after traumatic or ischemic brain damage,

pharmaceuticals to treat cancers or inflammatory diseases from the beer-inspired compounds.

The study is due to be presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Yoga may help people with abnormal heart rhythm

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac rhythm disorder, affecting 1.5 to 2 per cent of the general population in the developed world.

“AF episodes are accompanied by chest pain, dyspnoea and dizziness.

These symptoms are unpleasant and patients feel anxious, worried and stressed that an AF episode will occur,” said Maria Wahlstrom from Karolinska Institute in Sweden. There is no cure for AF, and management fo-

cuses on relief of symptoms and the prevention of complications such as stroke using cardioversion, ablation and medication, researchers said.

Patients with paroxysmal AF experience episodes of AF that usually last less than 48 hours and stop by themselves, although in some patients they can last up to seven days. The current study included 80 patients with paroxysmal AF who were randomised to yoga or a control group that did not do yoga.

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22 March - 28 March 2016

Spicy Lasagna

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 1 onion, chopped, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste 12 dry lasagna noodles 2 eggs, beaten, 1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons dried parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded, 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Directions: In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion and garlic; drain fat.

Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 1 1/ 2 teaspoons salt, diced tomatoes and

tomato paste. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

Add lasagna noodles, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until al dente; drain. Lay noodles flat on towels, and blot dry. In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 1 teaspoon salt. Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.

Heat an iron skillet over medium heat.

Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

Chicken Enchiladas

ginger glazed Mahi Ingredients: 3 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root 1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste 2 teaspoons olive oil 4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon vegetable oil Directions: In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed 1/8 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 lime, juiced, 1 teaspoon white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 green onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon dried oregano 10 (6 inch) flour tortillas 1 tomato, diced 1/4 cup shredded lettuce 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, 1/4 cup salsa Directions: Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm. Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.

Ingredients: 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1 onion, chopped 1/2 pint sour cream 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1 tablespoon dried parsley 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1/2 cup water 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper 1 clove garlic, minced 8 (10 inch) flour tortillas 1 (12 ounce) jar taco sauce 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium, non-stick skil-

Baked honey Mustard chicken

Spanish Roasted Chicken

Ingredients: 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup prepared mustard 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika, and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken, and brush to cover.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Turn chicken pieces over and brush with

Ingredients: 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed salt and black pepper to taste 1 tablespoon onion powder, or to taste 1/2 cup margarine, divided 1 stalk celery, leaves removed Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken's exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.

the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

let over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear. Drain excess fat. Cube the chicken and return it to the skillet. Add the onion, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano and ground black pepper. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in salt, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, green pepper and garlic. Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas. Arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Cover with taco sauce and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings.

Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

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22 March - 28 March 2016