The contact

THE CONTACT WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ISSUE - 628, 18 AUG. - 24 AUG. 2015 PH: (905) 671 - 4761

Indian intelligence report highlights four new addresses in Pakistan where notorious gangster Dawood has stayed intelligence inputs, the government has been successful in tracking four new locations of Dawood other than the three communicated to Pakistan in 2012. There are now seven addresses listed where Dawood has been staying over the years, with most of them being in Karachi. The dossier says

that the ISI safe house is on the Islamabad-Muree road, about 20 kms outside the capital city of Islamabad in a hilly region. Muree is a hill station located North East of Islamabad connecting Pakistan’s Punjab province to PoK. Sources said Continued on Page 2

Secret jihadi document discovered in Pakistan blames Israel for ISIS’s emergence The document is in Urdu and was found by American Media Institute

By ABHISHEK BHALLA An ISI safe house is among several addresses that have been listed in a fresh dossier on India’s most wanted fugitive, Dawood Ibrahim. Ahead of NSA-

level talks between India and Pakistan, New Delhi has prepared a new dossier on Dawood with evidence that the dreaded don is in Pakistan and is being looked after by the ISI. For the first time, based on

By TOM WYKE Found in one of the tribal areas of Pakistan, a new jihadi document has been billed as the ISIS equivalent of Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf. Titled ‘A Brief History of the Islamic State Caliphate (ISC): The Caliphate According

to the Prophet’, the mysterious document includes a graphic depiction of the six stages of the Islamic State. According to the diagram, the fifth phase ‘declaring the caliphate’ will be followed by the final phase Continued on Page 2

Saintly or sleazy? With her lavish lifestyle and penchant for kissing, Radhe Maa is attracting the masses ...

By GANESH N She is a 50-year-old, married mother of three,

and a grandmother. Yet she does not look her age. She hugs her ecstatic devotees, lets them carry her, and

sometimes plants a kiss on devotees and the mediapersons interviewing

her. She also sports a trident and dances to Hindi film songs. When she is not adorned in a red attire

draped with floral offerings, she poses in a pink mini skirt, matching long boots and a cap. Sukhwinder Kaur, alias Radhe Maa, has the right ingredients to command a large fan following. Among all other self-styled ‘godly men’ and women who command the following of large number of devotees, Radhe Maa stands apart, due to her penchant for a lavish lifestyle.

Though Rajneesh had a fondness for Rolls Royce, Radhe Maa’s lavish lifestyle is further accentuated by her eccentricity. There is

striking similarity in the ways of Radhee Maa and Mata Amritanandmayi.

Both hug, kiss and whisper into the ears of their

devotees. However, Radhe Maa’s uniqueness lies in the fact that she gets her devotees to carry her.

Radhe Maa, who sports

dark red lipstick, is known to get offerings of cosmetic products from her devotees.

Her penchant for clothes Continued on Page 2

Indian-origin brides in UK use spies before arranged marriages London A growing number of Indian-origin families are using the services of private detectives to check on prospective grooms for their daughters before finalising an arranged marriage. Companies based in the UK claim that demand for this new kind of pre-wedding service by Asian families with roots in the Indian sub-continent Continued on Page 5

Issue - 628 (2)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Secret jihadi document discovered...

Continued from Page 1 ‘open warfare’ in 2017. ‘It reads like the caliphate’s own Mein Kampf,’ an U.S. intelligence official told Israel National News after reading over the 32-page document. He said: ‘While the world is watching videos of beheadings and crucifixions in Iraq and Syria the Islamic State is moving into North Africa the Middle East. ‘We see it has a strategy in South Asia. It’s a magician’s trick, watch this hand and you’ll never see what the other is doing,’ he said.

The authenticity of the document has reportedly been confirmed as genuine by retired U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency Director Gen. Michael Flynn. Barbaric video shows ISIS militants blowing up 10 ‘apostates’ Yet some of its claims seem out of place, particularly the idea that the jihadi group perceive India as its future battleground rather than

Western Europe. The document also contains a lengthy history of Islamic State and militant jihadism before conveniently suggesting that Pakistan and Afghanistan would be the next areas for terror camps.

Reading more like the work of a dedicated fan rather than an official document, the file claims; ‘Accept the fact that this caliphate will survive and prosper until it takes over the entire world and beheads every last person that rebels against Allah. This is the bitter truth, swallow it.’

The document also moves away from ISIS’s longstanding strategy to inflict terror on the West and develop the caliphate across North African countries like Libya. Instead it claims: ‘Instead of wasting energy in a direct confrontation with the U.S., we should focus on an armed uprising in the Arab world for the establishment of the caliphate.’ The document was found by American Media Institute (AMI) and was written in Urdu.

Indian intelligence report...

Continued from Page 1 the dossier has been prepared keeping in mind the talks scheduled for next week. “We have prepared a dossier with the latest intelligence inputs.

If required, it can be taken up during the scheduled talks,” said a government official.

Pending issue Dawood’s case has been listed as one of the pending issues with Pakistan. Dawood is wanted for the Bombay

Phase V, Defence Housing Area, Karachi, Pakistan and Margalla Road, P-6/2, Street No. 22, House No. 29, Islamabad. Other than these three addresses, four more have been added in the list now, including the ISI safe house where he is said to have recently shifted.

The fresh information based on latest intelligence gathered by Indian agencies was put together soon after the Home Ministry’s goof up in Parliament in June.

in the latest dossiers being prepared that could be take up during the talks. The MHA has asked for freezing of their assets since all three are in the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC’s) Al Qaeda’s sanctions list. “Since Pakistan is a UN member state they should act and freeze their assets. These are international obligations that Pakistan is bound to fulfil,” said a government official.

Dawood has been in the

blasts in 1993 and has reportedly been in Pakistan since then. The last dossier sent to Pakistan on Dawood in 2012 had specific addresses and details of three Pakistani passports held by him. The three addresses mentioned were: Moin Palace, 2nd Floor, Opposite Abdullah Shah Ghazi Durgah, Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan, 6/A, Khyaban Tanzeem,

The Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary had said in Parliament that Dawood has not been located so far, leading to a controversy that embarrassed the government. Other than Dawood, details of assets and residential addresses of Zaki-Ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Hafiz Saeed, the masterminds of 26\11 Mumbai attack, also figure

UNSC sanction since 2003 and the action against Saeed and Lakhvi was initiated after the Mumbai attack in 2008. Saeed is the head of Jamat-UdDawa that works in the garb of a charitable organisation and is linked to LeT. Despite India handing over evidence of Saeed’s role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has maintained that he not associated with LeT. Lakhvi, who was in

prison facing terror charges for his involvement in the 26\11 attacks, was released from Adiala jail in Pakistan in April. India has prepared the fresh dossier ahead of the meeting between NSA Ajit Doval (right) and Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz (left) on August 23.

Bitter ties Terror attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and incidents of ceasefire violations ahead of NSA-level talks have vitiated the atmosphere despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif deciding to revive the process of dialogue between the two countries. New Delhi summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Sunday to discuss the issue of ceasefire violations.

Pakistan hit back, saying India was responsible for the recent violations.

Saintly or sleazy? With her lavish lifestyle and penchant...

Continued from Page 1 and fashion may have roots in her occupation as a tailor prior to adorning her godly avatar. Though Indian spirituality advocates renunciation, Radhe Maa espouses indulgence - and that too without any regrets. In congregations, she claims to her devotees that they have to accept her as she is, and they are free to stop the practice if they do not like her.

However, it is not for style and fashion that the devotees follow her. The godwoman derives most of her fan following from her congregations, known as chowkis. She claims those who attend nine chowkis of Maa Durga and take darshan of herself would get all their wishes fulfilled by none other than Lord Shiva.

The claim is tempting and alluring. In Mumbai, her congregation is held at the residence of the Gupta family in Malad in the western suburbs. It is a carefully orchestrated event, with only the godwoman and small radius around her showered with light and rest of the hall in pitch darkness.

Radhe Maa then makes

her entrance, swaying to the tune of a Hindi film song or a bhajan. If Radhe Maa chooses the dance with her devotees, the intensity in the gathering reaches a crescendo.

“What I

witnessed was disturbing and nauseating. On cue from Radhe Maa, her devotees would lift her with bodies pressed very close. She would be intimate with her devotees, hug them, grope the breasts of her female devotees and would also kiss them if she wanted to,” advocate Falguni Brahmbhatt said.

The same lawyer had complained to the police

against Radhe Maa for obscenity. A police investigation into the allegations of dowry, levelled by woman who was married into Radhe Maa’s family, is already pending. Radhe Maa had been questioned by the Mumbai police for close to four hours in the dowry and harrasement case, which was lodged by one Nikki Gupta. Nikki had had married Nakul Gupta in 2012, whose family devoutly followed Radhe Maa. In May, she approached the magistrate court with a complaint of dowry harrasement against her husband, inlaws and Radhe Maa. Nikki claimed that Radhe Maa had abused and harassed her. Radhe Maa, who bestows blessings and protects her devotees, seems to fear being arrested in the dowry case.

The Bombay High Court granted her anticipatory bail on the condition she would cooperate with investigations.

Sanjeev Gupta, owner of Global advertisers and one of her the closest and earliest devotees, claims that all allegations against Radhe Maa are false and

baseless. The rich and famous have always thronged holy men and women, and Radhe Maa is no different.

The dancing, hugging and kissing saint commands the following of several celebrities who swear by her divinity.

The celebrity list of Radhe Maa, which appeared to have a few names, is growing.

Leading the list is former showman Subhash Ghai, who got in touch with Radhe Maa in 2013. Since then Ghai has been enamored with her. He even arranged a chowki at his residence, where she blessed his family and friends. “We held one mata ki chowki at our residence and invited her to bless us and our friends. She had been very affectionate to

both of us and treats us like her parents. We have never experienced any such kind of indecent act or atmosphere which is being talked about in the society today,” Ghai was quoted as saying in a report. In fact, Ghai claims Radhe Maa to be a responsible and sensitive married woman.

Ghai is not alone. Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari is also among her devotees. Controversial Film and Television Institute chairman Gajendra Chauhan is another BJP member who has sought the blessing of Radhe Maa. Actor Ravi Kishan has also attended Radhe Maa’s chowki. Photographs of Divyanka Tripathi, the actress who featured in Ye Hai Mohabbatein paying obeisance to Radhe Maa,

have been circulating on social media. Actress Dolly Bindra and singer Abhijit also are devotees of the godwoman. Who would have thought Radhe Maa could get the attention of ad guru Pralhad Kakkar?

However, Radhe Maa appears to have benefited more from the recent controversies. This is even being acknowledged by the devotees of Radhe Maa. On the official Facebook page of Radhe Maa is a post by a regional newspaper editor: “On the controversy, the publicity she got was not possible even if she had spent Rs 100 crore. She is not an orator or magnetic personality but media has made her ‘goddess’ and it seems that she will encash it. The adverse projection turned beneficial to her.”

Housekeeper Wanted Everyday duties include: Cleaning the house on 3 levels (16 rooms), kitchen, dishes, counter, floor, fridge, cupboards, dishwashers, washing, drying clothing and ironing, preparing lunch & dinner, grocery shopping, keeping the household supplies fully stocked, receiving & servinng guests, rotate seasonal clothing in closets, maintain pantry and routinely clear out of date & spoiled items, bed making, linen changing, eldercare responsibilities (massage). Driving license a must. Live-in preferred. Serious inquiries only. Be prepared to state your salary expectations. Must have 1-2 yrs. of working experience in a fast paced environment.

Please call: 647-632-3999

Issue - 628 (3)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Issue - 628 (4)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Pakistan, India meet may not achieve anything!

Even as Pakistan formally conveyed that it will attend the NSA-level talks on August 23, it also undertook diplomatic posturing to dictate the agenda for the discussion — as evident by the protest lodged by Islamabad over the NIA’s decision to not contest the bail for an accused in Samjhauta train bomb blasts and Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit reiterating support for Kashmir issue in a speech to mark the Islamist Republic’s Independence Day. After announcing that he will be in Delhi on August 23, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser for National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz summoned Indian High Commissioner T.C.A. Raghavan to his office to convey his decision to hold talks with NSA Ajit Doval.

In Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Sirajul-Haq, at a rally said that Kashmir was like the ‘body’ of Pakistan and that the struggle to establish the rule of Allah in Kashmir was the sacred jihad. The JuD and other Kashmiri jihadi organizations in Pakistan on Pakistan’s Independence Day

THE CONTACT STAFF: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sunny Bains Lt. Hon. President : Dr. (Prof.) Darshan Singh Executive Editor: Kanwaljit Kaur Bains EDITOR Vinny Bains Foreign Editor: Syed Asif Shahkar (Sweden) Sr. Assistant Editor: Prempal Bajwa Marketing Executive Vinny Bains Special Correspondents: Balkar Chatha France Financial Advisor : Sarabjit Singh Sagoo Photographer: Sandeep Brar 647 294 4948 Head Office: 2-7015 TRANMERE DRIVE, MISSISSAUGA ONTARIO CANADA L5S 1T7 For Advertisement : Call Kanwaljit 416-899-2548 Tel: 905-671-4761 TOLL FREE: 1-888-371-2548 FAX: 1888-982-2818 EMAIL: INFO@AJITWEEKLY.COM

The Contact Weekly and people associated with it are not responsible for any claims made by the advertisers and don’t endorse any product or services advertised in the Contact Weekly. Please consult your lawyer before buying/hiring/ contracting through the ads published in the newspaper. The Contact Weekly is in the business of selling space and claims made by the advertisers are not tested/ confirmed by an independent source.

renewed their calls for Kashmiri unification with Pakistan. And against this backdrop the National Security Adviser level talks are to be held on August 23 and 24 .... which neither country really wants. It is like an estranged couple going in for a pregnancy in the misguided hope that by giving birth to a child the relationship would improve. Instead what it brings is a new host of problems right after the ‘act’ that may or may not be enjoyable either.

Now that I have got that awkward metaphor out of the way, let’s talk about what to expect from the talks. And here I agree with the Pakistani daily … nothing really.

Some more tu-tu-mai-mai. Both sides will not deviate from the straight and narrow, which is to blame the other side for destabilizing each other, cross-border terrorism, propaganda and other stuff like ‘water terrorism’. There is little or no warmth between the protagonists Ajit Doval from India and Sartaj Aziz from Pakistan.

The Indian National Security Advisor does not come from the jhappi-pappi brigade of the India-Pak negotiators and diplomats.

Doval is a man of few words, and sharp ones at that. He knows the Pakistani establishment’s ways, having been posted there and worked with Kashmiri separatists too. Needless to add, Pakistanis have deep-seated mistrust of the Indian NSA. The problem, as ever, remains the misplaced notion that the Pakistani and Indian states can carefully calibrate the tensions - or indeed low-level violence - in the region. They cannot. On the Pakistani side, it is “fairly evident that nonstate actors can and have caused great convulsions through well-timed and frighteningly well-executed acts of violence. The Peshawar carnage last December and the Mumbai attacks of 2008 are the foremost examples of what just a few fanatics can do and the militant elements and extremist groups remain worryingly well entrenched in the Pakistani social milieu and the long war against militancy and terrorism will take many years, perhaps even a generation, before it can be won.

The overall context - regional and global to the meeting is defined by flux and fluidity: the Taliban in Afghanistan, post Mullah Omar’s death, is apparently in a bit of disarray; mysteriously and rather enigmatically, the Islamic State (IS) has declared war against the Taliban; there was a bit of a lull in intra-Pakistan violence till Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (Pakistani Taliban) killed the home minister of Punjab province in a suicide attack at his home; the global context is marked by a declining superpower, defined by an attention deficit disorder and some degree of disorientation, getting ready for presidential elections. This is overlain by an increasingly assertive India wherein the

Opinion By: SUNNY BAINS

National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, makes no bones about India acquiring and displaying hard power rather unabashedly.

Quite different to their opinion about India’s previous NSA who had also served in Islamabad, but as High Commissioner and was cut of a different cloth. Shiv Shankar Menon was the quintessential diplomat, who played golf with Musharraf, prepared the groundwork for foreign minister, foreign secretary and home secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, also played a major role during the Sharm-el-Sheikh talks between Dr. Manmohan Singh and Yusuf Raza Gilani. But as NSA, Menon also did not advise Dr. Singh to visit Islamabad or Gah, in Pakistani Punjab, which was the former PM’s birthplace.

Towards the end of his term Dr. Manmohan Singh realized that there is no place for

sentimentality in dealing with Pakistan.

Islamabad’s rulers have for long exploited the nostalgia of India’s partition-displaced leaders. That is now completely changed with PM Modi who will call a spade a spade in relation to Pakistan and will not extend any benefit of the doubt.

What can be expected from the NSA level talks? Not much. While the NSA level talks are a welcome development, given that the estranged neighbors were loath to countenance each other except for in a confrontational dynamic and idiom, by themselves, the talks will not lead to a break through. After the exchange of pleasantries and the related bonhomie, the two National Security advisors will confront each other with the ‘evidence’ implicating the two countries and make accusations (away from the media glare, of course) and counter accusations, the meeting will , in all likelihood be , concluded by a photo op. These NSA level talks are going to be unusual. The Indian NSA is driven solely

by facts and intelligence reports and does not believe in diplomatic niceties. The cold facts of Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism as evidenced by the Gurdaspur attack and the capture of Naved are likely to be placed before Sartaj Aziz.

It will be tough, with straight talking, and no one expects a cordial outcome. ‘You wanted talks, here you are getting talks’ is the attitude that India is displaying.

Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, presides over a patrimonial oligarchical state where real power resides elsewhere. He can neither afford to antagonize what Stephen Cohen of Brookings Institution called, ‘the establishment’ nor over ride it. Moreover, the Pakistani public is so wedded to the idea of Kashmir’s independence or merger with Pakistan that any departure from this would exact a heavy political price. On the Indian side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, heads a far right government whose electoral plank and rhetoric did not lend itself to conciliation or reconciliation with Pakistan. In an eerie echo, albeit in a different permutation and combination, public opinion is hostile to the idea of any reconciliation with Pakistan.

Both leaders are then hamstrung by structural, legacy and popular issues and conditions; any meaningful progress in the Indo Pak relational dynamic is then hostage to the factors beyond the two leader’s control.

India-Pakistan tensions could escalate because Pakistan does not like to hear the truth. And Pakistan is getting a lot of plain speak these days … from Afghanistan too, where President Ashraf Ghani terminated the shortest love affair between Kabul and Islamabad last week.

Islamabad is finding itself without many friends. The meeting on Aug 23 needs to get beyond the familiar template of trading accusations and do what the Ufa joint statement suggested it is meant to do: ‘discuss all issues connected to terrorism’. That would mean establishing a common, mutually acceptable and inclusive definition of terrorism; identifying ways to cooperate to pre-empt and investigate terror attacks; and addressing the long-term problems that fuel instability in the region. The days of proverbial burying the head in the sand are over. It’s time to see it the way it is.

Obamas, Clintons golf and fete friend on Martha’s Vineyard US President Barack Obama played golf with former President Bill Clinton and attended a party with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Washington power broker and mutual friend Vernon Jordan.

The birthday bash, which took place on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard, reunited the two powerful Democratic families in the midst of a second White House bid by Hillary Clinton, who is under fire for using a

private email server during her time as the top US diplomat. The Obamas and

Clintons crossed paths last year on Martha’s Vineyard at a similar celebration for Jordan’s wife, Ann. That event came just after the former secretary of state criticized her one-time boss’s foreign policy vision, prompting an apology and a pledge to reconcile by “hugging it out.” This year’s gathering had some 200 guests, including actor Morgan Freeman and American Express Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault. The president toasted Jordan during the party.

Issue - 628 (5)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Gaming fans resurrect beloved 1980s ZX Spectrum in UK

When a scientist encounters a mystery, they have only one thought: ‘If I keep examining this situation I am bound to find a logical explanation that helps me make sense of it.’ When a poet or an artist comes up against the same challenge, they may well take the opposite view.

‘What can be more attractive? More inspiring?

More exotic?’ The last thing they want to do is remove the air of mystery, they want to celebrate it.

Perhaps, in your personal life now, you need to try to take a more poetic approach to a confusing matter. !!!

We are all superstitious.

That’s a fine thing for me to say, given who I am and what I believe in, but even the most serious sceptics have a residue of respect for unreasonable associations and unfeasible expectations.

We are human, after all.

We are naturally inclined to create (or to buy into) belief systems with credulous enthusiasm.

And I mention all this because? Because, you don’t have to see the world the way someone else sees it. Indeed, finding freedom from their inhibiting view, will be the secret of much success. !!!

Every day we have to eat.

It doesn’t matter how well we ate the day before. The process has to begin all over again. Is that a waste of time and energy? Of course not. It’s just the natural way of things.

Some dramas have to be played out more than once. Some exercises need to be repeated.

Accept as much, please, and don’t worry about what’s happening in your life now. It’s not the same old thing again. It’s something subtly different and it’s leading to a moment of revelation that could bring exactly the

change you need. !!!

We think we know how the world works. We imagine that our science is perfect, our philosophy is impeccable, our beliefs beyond question, and our understandings about people and situations are faultless. There is, though, something we have to learn. But we cannot learn anything when we think we already have all the answers. That’s why we keep being pushed into positions from which we are obliged to ask questions. You think you know what’s wrong. You are about to find out what’s wonderfully right. !!!

‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ Lao Tzu. Chinese philosopher. We don’t always know how far a single step will take us.

We ought to have more faith in our ability to accomplish great things.

Persistence is a wonderful thing. Combine that with some intelligence, and you soon become a force to be reckoned with. You may feel that you have a long way to go, but don’t let that daunt you. Just keep putting one foot in front of another in the only direction that can possibly make any sense. !!!

People think, ‘If only this could happen...’ Or, ‘if only that would occur...’ they would be happy. The ‘this’ or the ‘that’ are almost irrelevant. It’s the ‘if only’ that needs a close eye keeping on it. Whether you are hoping for a lottery win or a bus to turn up on time, whether you want someone to say good morning to you or to tell you that they love you, the fact is you want something and you are making your happiness dependent upon the fulfilment of that condition.

Don’t hold yourself to ransom in your personal life now.

NOTTINGHAM A gaming console that was the forerunner of today’s PlayStation and Xbox has been brought back to life more than 30 years later after an online fundraising campaign by nostalgic fans.

The ZX Spectrum became a classic after its release in Britain in 1982 and its success helped introduce a generation to computing and simple but addictive games. Its newly created successor, the handheld ZX Vega, replicates the original’s signature rainbow stripes on a black rectangular joypad with red arrow buttons.

Players can access 1,000 retro games stored in the memory by linking to a TV screen. The first 4,000 have already rolled off the production line of the SMS

Elephant skin graft gives mutilate rhino second chance

JOHANNESBURG A rhinoceros in South Africa that was mutilated by poachers for its horn is getting a chance to recover after receiving a skin graft from an elephant, a veterinarian told AFP Saturday.

The female rhino was attacked two weeks ago by poachers who removed one of its horns and also killed the rhino’s baby. The operation to treat the wound took an hour and a half and was funded by the NGO “Saving the Survivors” which rescues animals left mutilated by poachers.

“This is the first time we are using elephant skin to heal a wound on a rhinoceros,” said Johan Marais, the veterinarian who performed the operation in Pretoria.

Marais said that the procedure was not intended to reconstruct the horn, but simply to cover the wound.

The elephant skin came from an animal that died of natural causes, and was obtained from a taxidermist, Marais said.

Electronics factory on the outskirts of the central English town of Nottingham, produced by company Retro Computers.

It all kicked off with a

140,000 euros) in two months, offering to sell the new version for £100 each.

The target was reached in 36 hours. For David Levy, CEO of Retro Computers,

crowdfunding campaign backed by the inventor of the original, Sir Clive Sinclair, something of a legend in the history of video games.

The campaign aimed to raise £100,000 ($156,000,

the success of the campaign is no surprise.

“There are a huge number of people from the 1980s who played the Spectrum, enjoyed it, and want to have the same experience again,” Levy told AFP. “And

quite a lot want their children to see what they were enthusiastic about 30 years ago.” More than five million units were sold of the original Spectrums, affectionately known as “Speccys”, one of the first home computers to be widely used in Britain.

But it eventually lost out to competition from Japanese giants Nintendo and Sega. “It was the PlayStation, the Xbox of its day,” said gamer Jonathan Cauldwell, a fan of the console for 30 years. Faced with cinematic game graphics and virtual reality headsets, renewed enthusiasm for the simple concepts and pixellated graphics of yesteryear is fuelling a revival of “retro” games from decades past.

iCars can look like that San Francisco Eye-catching, sleek, incorporating Apple’s trademark sleek design, these are what the world’s graphic designers believe an iCar could look like.

Refuelling rumours the tech giant’s next big project is to bring a selfdriving car to market, documents obtained by the Guardian say the company is searching for a location to test the autonomous vehicles to rival designs already manufactured by Google.

In May, engineers met with officials from GoMentum Station, a 2,100-acre former naval base near San Francisco, in a bid to set up a high-security site.

Typically secretive, the company - who recently launched the Apple Watch - have yet to confirm or deny the rumours - but that

a public records request, Apple engineer Frank Fearon wrote: ‘We would like to get an understanding of timing and

hasn’t stopped Apple fans speculating and imagining what it could look like. In a correspondence obtained by the newspaper through

availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using it.’

Indian-origin brides in UK...

Continued from Page 1

mostly comes from brides-to-be. While costs for such background checks start at 100 pounds, Raj Singh, a director of Lion Investigations, recently charged as much as 4,500 pounds for several weeks of surveillance. “It’s a range of different things, sometimes from as simple as what car he (the groom) drives or how much he drinks, to international surveillance,” he told ‘The Times’.

Sukhdev Malotarah, 54, used Singh’s services to find out more about his potential son-in-law from India. “I contacted the investigators

because I needed to be sure that everything was above board. The first time we met the family [of the prospective groom] it just didn’t feel right - they were very interested in our way of life in England and my daughter’s earnings,” he said. A three-week investigation involving the use of local agents in India yielded information of a kind he “could not see coming”.

The groom-to-be, Malotarah told the newspaper, had openly boasted of his plan to marry his daughter only to get into Britain and then leave her once he was settled. He was also heard insulting her weight and was found to drink heavily. “It cost

me over 2,500 pounds but it was worth it in the end. I would have paid out a lot more if the wedding had happened, and my daughter would have been heartbroken,” he said.

Leon Hart, another private investigator, said he gets between 10 and 20 inquiries a month from Asians who are about to marry and about 70 per cent of his clients are female. Many of his clients hire investigators to simply trail a prospective groom to explore if he is hiding any unpleasant secrets, while others pay out further to dig into details of his sexual history and health.

Issue - 628 (6)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Stabbing of Bupu Surat Singh’s son-in-law likely not related to robbery

Police currently has not identified any suspects. When the Peoria police responded to a call at 12:02 am, Satwinder Singh was found dead in a nearby parking lot.

PEORIA Satwinder Singh Bhola, son-in-law of Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa, was been found dead outside his apartment building at midnight.

Bhola, aged 52, received multiple stab wounds, however as per Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll, injury to his neck likely proved fatal. As autopsy has been scheduled for Monday, however investigations are currently being carried on. Police currently has not identified any suspects. When the Peoria police responded to a call at 12:02 am, Satwinder Singh was found dead in a nearby parking lot.

Cause of the murder was likely not related to robbery. Satwinder Singh had over $2,000 and a blank check in his pocket, which were not taken during the incident. Bhola is the son-in-law of Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa, an 83 year old human rights activist. Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa has been on a hunger strike since January 16, 2015, to seek the release of political prisoners who have not been released, despite the completion of their sentences. Bhola’s wife Sarvarinder Kaur accompanied her father in India for six months, she returned recently to the USA.

British queen poised for monarchy record LONDON Queen Elizabeth, who rallied support for the monarchy despite presiding over what was once known as the world’s most famous dysfunctional family, next month becomes Britain’s longestreigning monarch.

She never expected to take the throne and only did so because her uncle abdicated, but on Sept. 9 she will beat the record held by her great-greatgrandmother, Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.

“It is a job for life,” the 89-year-old Elizabeth once said, and unlike some European monarchs recently, and even a pope, she is not expected to abdicate. While the world and British society have changed dramatically during her reign, the queen has always appeared dependable and reassuring.

Despite traumas in the 1990s, such as the death of Princess Diana, that seemed to threaten the monarchy’s very existence, the queen has been able to lead the thousand-year-old institution into a new era of popularity.

“The key to the change has been anticipating what’s coming next,” Simon

27 killed in blast outside temple in Thai capital Bangkok At least 27 people were killed and 78 others wounded mostly foreigners in two powerful bomb blasts on Monday close to Hindu Erawan Shrine in the centre of the Thai

capital, police said. “It was a TNT bomb... the people who did it targeted foreigners and to damage tourism and the economy,” Thailand’s Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwong said, Channel News Asia reported. The twin blasts, which the government believed was aimed at damaging economy and tourism, occurred in a space of minutes around 7

pm (5:30 IST) outside Erawan Shrine dedicated to Lord Brahma in the downtown Chidlom district, creating panic as people fled the place that was spilled with blood. The temple is located on a

main road through Bangkok’s commercial hub and is surrounded by three major shopping malls. Most of those injured in the explosion were said to be predominantly Asian tourists, with the majority taken to Police General Hospital and Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

However, there were no reports of any Indian

casualties in the explosions that caused a huge amount of chaos, with body parts scattered everywhere. It is among Bangkok’s most popular tourist attractions. Police said first an improvised explosive device fastened to a utility pole in front of the temple at the Ratchaprasong intersection detonated which was immediately followed by a motorbike bomb blast, causing two nearby taxis to explode. However, some sources said a bomb was hidden under a roadside bench in front of the Phra Prom (Brahma temple). No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

The Rajprasong intersection has been the centre of political demonstrations in recent years.

Thai TV said at least 27 people were killed during the evening rush hour. The nationality of four foreigners killed in the blast is not known yet. The iron fence surrounding the shrine was bent outward by the force of the blast.

Lewis, her former communications secretary, told Reuters.

“The lesson of these last 20, 30 years has been for the institution always to be slightly ahead perhaps of where the British people are.” Britain itself has become a more egalitarian

Robert Lacey. “The monarchy has continued the process of disassociating itself from the social pyramid headed by an aristocracy and attempting to make itself classless.”

At the start of her reign she was a glamorous figure

society as old class divides were broken down and deference based on background ebbed away, something reflected in the monarchy itself. “It’s become much less elitist,” said royal biographer

who seemed to typify Britain’s post-war resurgence, but by the 40th anniversary of her accession the royal family appeared to have become little more than celebrity fodder for the tabloids.

While her marriage to Philip, a Greek prince, has stayed solid, she described 1992 as an “annus horribilis” when three of her four children’s relationships broke up, with scandalous details exhaustively reported in the papers.

Diana’s death in a Paris car crash in 1997 was undoubtedly the darkest moment of her long reign, with the queen forced to return from Scotland to address the nation amid a general outpouring of grief and dismay.

“For about a week it seemed as though the institution had been rocked to its foundation,” said Lewis. With a more professional and sophisticated media operation, the royal family’s reputation has been restored from the dark days of the 1990s and even taken to new heights.

Bike for mom: Thai prince at cycling event BANGKOK Thailand’s Crown Prince led tens of thousands of blue-clad cyclists through Bangkok on Sunday in a rare high-profile public appearance amid anxiety over the health of the ailing king.

Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 63, headed the first group of cyclists at the “Bike for Mom” event in the capital’s historic quarter a celebration of the role of his elderly mother Queen Sirikit. Bangkok has been awash with blue T-shirts bearing the slogan “Bike for Mom” since her 83rd birthday last Wednesday - blue is the official colour of the Queen, who is hospitalised with her husband.

The tightly-choreographed event thrusts the crown prince centre stage at a time of heightened concern over the health of his revered father - 87-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej as well as over the political and economic fortunes of the country. The crown prince, in cycling lycra, helmet and sunglasses, was followed by a who’s who of Thailand’s key political players including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, and several other junta members braving the Bangkok

afternoon heat.

The powerful head of the privy council, Prem Tinsulanonda, watched the start of proceedings from under an awning as crowds shouted “Long live the crown prince!” Fears over the future - with elites competing for influence as Bhumibol’s reign enters its twilight years - are seen as

event, which is taking place across the country, aims to break the world record of 72,919 people for a mass cycling event. The record is currently held by Taiwan. But it is also billed as a chance to promote unity among Thais 15 months after a coup swept away the civilian government- the latest

a factor behind a decade of political turmoil.

Palace doctors last week revealed the king has been treated for water on the brain and a chest infection at Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital. In recent years Prince Vajiralongkorn has spent much of his time away from the public eye.

But he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father’s health declines. “It’ll be my first time to see the prince in my life... I’m happy,” said cyclist Sirikarn Bamrungjit, 39, shortly before the race started.

The 43-kilometre (27-mile)

episode in a seemingly endless succession of elections and coups.

Before the event began, Prayut - who led last year’s coup - saluted the crown prince and said the event was to “show our love for royalty”. Prayut justified the toppling of the elected government as necessary to end months of protests and to combat corruption.

The army also depicts itself as the defender of the monarchy, winning the support of arch-royalists who dominate Bangkok’s elite and the southern portion of the country.

Issue - 628 (7)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Japan ends nuclear shutdown sparked by Fukushima crisis TOKYO Japan on Tuesday restarted its nuclear power programme after a shutdown triggered by the 2011 Fukushima crisis, as the government pushes to return to a cheaper energy source despite widespread public opposition.Utility Kyushu Electric Power turned on a reactor at Sendai, about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) southwest of Tokyo, at 10:30 am (0130 GMT). The 31-year-old reactor - operating under tougher post-Fukushima safety rules was expected to reach full capacity around 11:00 pm Tuesday and would start generating power by Friday.

Commercial operations would begin early next month, a company spokesman said. The restart comes more than four years after a quake-sparked

tsunami swamped cooling systems and triggered reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima plant, prompting the shutdown of Japan’s stable of 50 reactors and starting a pitched battle over the future use of atomic power. The accident sent radiation over a wide area and forced tens of thousands from their homes many of whom will likely never return - in the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986. Decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima reactors is expected to take decades and compensation expenses excluding the cost of the site’s cleanup - now top $57b. Antinuclear sentiment still runs high in Japan and television showed protesters scuffling with police in front of the plant, which is on the southernmost main island of Kyushu. Among the 200

protesters was Naoto Kan, prime minister at the time of Fukushima and now a high-profile antinuclear activist. He said the failure of pro-atomic premier Shinzo Abe to cancel the restart “cannot be forgiven”.The resource-poor nation, which once relied on nuclear power for a quarter of its electricity, restarted two reactors temporarily to feed its needs after Fukushima. But they both went offline by September 2013, making Japan completely nuclear-free for about two years.

The country adopted stricter safety regulations to avoid a repeat of the accident, including more backup prevention measures and higher tsunamiblocking walls in some areas. “It is important to restart reactors one by one from the perspective of energy security, the economy

Chasing fair skin, Ivorians ignore whitening cream ban

ABIDJAN At just 26, Fatou’s skin is marbled from layer on layer of whitening cream. Some even call her a “salamander” woman after the little reptile with light spots and translucent skin.But nothing can stop the hairdresser in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan from using the skinlightening cream in her quest for a paler complexion. “I love light skin,” Fatou said. “I can’t stop.”

Many Ivorian women - as well as more and more men - are using creams with dangerous chemicals for depigmentation,

despite government attempts to stop the practice.

In late April, Ivory Coast banned whitening creams because of the negative health effects associated with them, ranging from white spots and acne to cancer. If applied liberally, the cosmetics can also cause high blood pressure and diabetes, according to Professor Elidje Ekra, a dermatologist at Abidjan’s Treichville university hospital. The banned products include creams containing mercury, certain steroids, vitamin A, or with hydroquinone levels above two

percent.Hydroquinone is often used in black and white photography and is banned as a skin-lightening ingredient in Europe as it is considered a potential carcinogen. The dangers don’t seem to deter consumers, though. While no official statistics are available, “tchatchos” - or those with lightened skin, often recognisable by their darker knuckles and elbows - are omnipresent in Abidjan.

Businesses continue to sell the whitening products, because they know people will continue to buy them despite the risks.

and measures against global warming, but safety always comes first,” Industry Minister Yoichi Miyazawa told reporters.

Yukio Edano, a senior member of the opposition Democratic

Party of Japan who criticised Abe for taking a holiday near Mount Fuji on Tuesday, said the restart was ill-advised and “trampled on the grave sacrifice seen in Fukushima”.

Oregon cat, world’s oldest at 26 years

Warsaw An Oregon cat with a fondness for sharp cheddar and catching mice has become the oldest pet feline in the world at 26 years and 13 days, Guinness World Records officials said on Thursday.Corduroy lives in the rural community of Sisters, Oregon, about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Portland, and spends plenty of time outside, the organization said in a statement. Since kittenhood, Corduroy has lived with owner Ashley Reed Okura, who was only seven years old when the cat entered her life, Guinness officials said. “The secret has been allowing him to be a cat -

hunting and getting plenty of love,” Reed Okura said in a statement. Aside from chasing mice, the cat also likes to eat cheddar cheese, according to Guinness officials. The previous record-holder was a San Diego feline named Tiffany Two, who was 26 years and 204 days old when she died on June 3, the officials said.Kristen Ott, a spokeswoman for Guinness World Records, acknowledged that an older cat than Corduroy might be out there. To hold the record, an owner must submit evidence such as video recordings of a pet feline throughout the decades, as well as witness statements.

Scientists closer to growing human arm Sydney Expert scientists are on the verge of discovering how to grow human limbs which could one day attach to the bodies of amputees.Led by mastermind young Austrian surgeon Harald Ott, the team at Massachusetts General Hospital are aiming to create the first ever ‘bio-limb’ to be attached to a monkey.

They’ve already performed such a feat on lab rats, and believe that if their primate experiment proves successful then they’ll have a working blueprint with which to advance the process even further -

adapting it to the human body.Vermont College of Medicine lung expert Daniel Weiss told The Times: This is science fiction come to life.

‘Harald is a bright young man and he is setting the world on its edge with the things he comes up with.’The operation sees scientists use a powerful detergent to get rid of a donor limb’s soft tissues - killing all its cells - leaving only a ‘scaffold’ of blood vessels, muscles, tendons and bones.

New cells are then grown in the lab, which form blood or muscle cells with the limb, allowing it

to adapt and mould to the body without being attacked by the immune system.The team has already used the technique derived by Dr Ott - to create an arm for a rat. They are now trying to do the same for a macaque, with expectations high. Dr Weiss admitted, however, that the step up from rodent to monkey offered many challenges. He said: ‘There is just a lot more that primate limbs can do. ‘Opposable thumbs, for one thing.’ The Boston lab has already grown cells to help create human organs.

Issue - 628 (8)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Spanish bullfighter in hospital after being gored

MADRID A prominent Spanish bullfighter was in serious but stable condition in hospital after being gored in the groin by a bull, the government of the northeastern Aragon region said Tuesday. Francisco “Paquirri” Rivera Ordonez suffered the injury while fighting the bull in the town of Huesca and was in intensive care.

The bull’s horn sank some 25 centimetres (10 inches) into Paquirri’s groin but did not threaten any vital organs, doctors

said.Television footage showed the bull hoisting Paquirri into the air for a few seconds on a horn.

The bullfighter’s nickname, Paquirri, is “Little Frank.” His father, of the same name, was gored to death, in Andalusia in 1984.He was the son of Antonio Ordonez, considered one of the greatest bullfighters of all time. On Sunday, a Spanish man died after being gored in the neck while using his cell phone to film a bull run through the streets of Villaseca de la Sagra, central Spain.

Postboxes in Taipei battered by typhoon become visitor attraction

TAIPEI A pair of Taipei postboxes battered by the deadly Typhoon Soudelor over the weekend have become an unlikely attraction, drawing thousands of visitors and even serving as the backdrop to a wedding photo shoot. The two iron mailboxes, one green and the other red, were bent out of shape by a billboard ripped from a nearby building by strong winds, and now stand as if leaning to the right. “The mailboxes drew thousands of visitors the past three days,” said Tu Li-teng, an official from Chunghwa Post Co., which owns the boxes. “On Sunday alone, we estimated that around 4,000 people came.

We’ve had to send three people over every day to help maintain order and traffic.” A 20-year-old

woman, who identified herself as Mimi, said while waiting in a long line for photos on Tuesday: “The two boxes are really cute. We saw them on Internet, so we decided to have some photos with them.” A bride and groom were also waiting their turn to pose with the postboxes. “I’ve never seen such thing during a career of more than 30 years,” a postman, who was helping to manage the queue, told AFP. “This could be the only happy event I could think of from the typhoon,” he said. Typhoon Soudelor - which hit in the early hours of Saturday and was billed as this year’s most powerful storm - uprooted trees, brought down electricity poles and knocked out power to a record 4.3 million households, leaving eight dead and four missing.

Ailing Thai king treated for ‘water on brain’ BANGKOK Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been treated for “water on the brain” and a chest infection, the palace revealed in a rare statement, amid public concern over the health of the world’s longest serving monarch.

The 87-year-old king, who is perceived as a near-deity by many Thais, has been in Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital since being re-admitted in May, but information on his condition has been scarce. Doctors at the hospital have “reduced the level of water on his brain”, the Royal Household Bureau said in a statement on Monday.

“During his stay at the Siriraj, he has had fever periodically and a raised heartbeat - assumed to be caused from an earlier lung infection,” it said, adding his heart rate had returned to normal after treatment. Fears over Thailand’s future among competing elites as Bhumibol’s reign enters its twilight years are seen as a motivating factor behind a decade of political turmoil in the kingdom.

Since 2006, the nation has witnessed two coups, the removal of three prime ministers by the courts and several rounds of street protests that have often ended in violence. Royalist generals seized power in a coup in May last year after weeks of protests against the civilian government of Yingluck Shinawatra, whose family and their proxies have won every election since 2001. The Shinawatras are loathed by the royalist elite who accuse them

Cambodian senator to face treason for facebook posting

PHNOM PENH A prominent Cambodian opposition senator who angered Prime Minister Hun Sen with a Facebook posting of a phoney pledge to dissolve the border with Vietnam has been arrested and will be charged with treason, a government spokesman said.

Senator Hong Sok Hour of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), who posted a fake border treaty with Vietnam, has been “detained in the police department for questioning”, spokesman Phay Siphan said. The party of Sok Hour, who is also a French citizen, recently alleged Vietnamese encroachment into Cambodia. The online posting said the two countries pledged to dissolve their border. On Thursday, Hun Sen ordered the

arrest of Sok Hour, who went into hiding. “The offence is a treason,” Hun Sen said. “Please, embassies, don’t allow him in if he runs into,” he added. A CNRP lawmaker from the lower house, Ou Chanrith, said the posted treaty is a fake, but said Sok Hour had not committed a treason and his arrest was “illegal” as senators have immunity from arrest or prosecution. Phay Siphan, the government spokesman, said the senator will be charged in court with treason.

The senator’s lawyer said he did not know what the possible punishment would be if there is a conviction for treason. Tension has been rising between CNRP and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, which struck a political deal last year to foster a “new culture of dialogue”.

Artist Anish Kapoor threatens to sue China for copying ‘Cloud Gate’ sculpture

London Anish Kapoor has threatened China with a lawsuit claiming that they copied his famous Cloud Gate sculpture.The Indian born Brit artist has complained of plagiarism following reports that a sculpture ‘big oil bubble,’ which is a lookalike of his 2006 Chicago art, will open later this month in Karamay, Xinjiang province, the BBC reported. Kapor’s work, nicknamed The Bean reflects Chicago’s dramatic skyline and was featured

prominently in Jake Gyllenhaal starrer 2011 thriller ‘Source Code.’He said in a statement “It seems that in China today it is permissible to steal the creativity of others,” adding that he felt the need to take the matter to the highest level, hoping that the Mayor of Chicago would back him in the action.However, Chinese media denied the claims insisting that their stainless steel work is intended to represent “a big oil bubble” & any similarities were coincidental.

of widespread corruption and subverting the kingdom’s political status quo.Thailand’s generals have said they will hand back power once the constitution has been rewritten and corruption expunged. But critics say the military has used its selfdesignated status as the defender of the monarchy as a pretext to grab power and ensure the Shinawatras never return to politics. The king’s health is a controversial topic. The Thai monarchy is shielded by one of the world’s toughest lese majeste laws and prosecutions have increased dramatically since the military took over.

Japan closes beaches after shark sightings

TOKYO Japanese authorities closed several busy beaches near Tokyo popular among surfers on Friday after a large group of sharks was sighted off the coast.A police helicopter spotted some 30 sharks swimming near the beaches south of the Japanese capital, including a group of 10 hammerheads, local media reported. Sharks have been sighted along Japan’s Pacific coast in recent days and officials from Chigasaki in Kanagawa prefecture posted a warning on the city’s website on Friday advising beach-goers to stay out of the water.Nine beaches in Ibaraki, some 60 miles (100 kilometres) north of Tokyo, banned bathing as a precautionary measure after sharks were spotted cruising the shore, followed by four more along the eastern seaboard.

Beaches in Japan are at their busiest at this time of year during the summer holidays.

Japan’s long coastline is home to a variety of sharks, but attacks on people are relatively rare. Other beaches across Japan have also been forced to take action after a spate of shark sightings, including one in the southern island of Kagoshima where a 1.5 metre (5 feet) hammerhead was spotted.

Issue - 628 (9)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Rio airport agents bribed in Chinese immigrant scandal

Immigration agents at Rio de Janeiro’s airport are under investigation for allegedly accepting bribes to allow Chinese immigrants into the country illegally, Brazilian newspaper O Globo has reported.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated the probe after a man who worked with the Chinese for the past 15 years tipped off the Ministry of Labor in July.“Chinese fast food restaurant owners in Rio -- who recruit Chinese workers and maintain forcedlabor-like conditions -- would spend up to 42,000 reais (around USD12,000) for an illegal immigrant’s entry,” the tipster’s report said, according to O Globo.The witness recounted one incident in which a fast-food restaurant owner who was part of the corruption ring arrived at the airport 20 minutes after the time arranged with immigration

officials.Lacking payment, the officials had already sent the would- be immigrants back to China.

Last week, four Chinese workers kept in semi-slavery conditions were freed from a fast-food restaurant in Rio’s northern suburbs by the Ministry of Labor, Globo yesterday reported.

According to information provided by the witness, the Chinese immigrants’ passports are stamped by the immigration workers then “lost” to erase the evidence. The Chinese immigrants then receive new passports.

A source from the Public Prosecutor’s Office told Globo that “the visas were probably falsified in China and when the immigrants arrived in Rio, the immigration department pretended to not notice that they were fake and would validate them, after payment of a bribe.”

Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi’s defence filed

in 2013, was sentenced to death in June for allegedly

an appeal against a death sentence and prison term for the Islamist former leader, a lawyer said on Saturday.Morsi, who was toppled by the army

participating in prison breaks and violence against police, and to life in prison for espionage.Morsi had been in prison at the start of the 2011

Sweden drops some sex cases against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Swedish prosecutors on Thursday dropped cases of lesser sexual misconduct against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.Swedish prosecutors on Thursday dropped cases of lesser sexual misconduct against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange but said they still want to question him on accusations of rape made after his visit to Stockholm five years ago.The Swedish Prosecution Authority said it has been unable to charge the 44year-old Australian, who escaped a Swedish arrest warrant by taking refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012, because it has not been possible to question him.The agency said it has stopped investigating a case of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion that expired Thursday, and a third case of sexual molestation, which would have seen its statute of limitations expire on Aug. 18. However, it said Assange who has not been indicted in Sweden was still wanted for questioning on allegations of rape that expire in 2020.Public prosecutor Marianne Ny said she has tried to interview Assange since autumn 2010, but that “he has consistently refused to appear.”

“I still hope, however, that I will be able to arrange for an interview, as there are ongoing

negotiations between Sweden and Ecuador,” Ny said in a statement on the agency’s website.The allegations of sexual misconduct and rape by two women stem from a 2010 visit to Stockholm by Assange who drew crowds to his meetings.

March, a U.S. federal court confirmed there are “active and ongoing” attempts to prosecute him and WikiLeaks in an investigation involving espionage, conspiracy, and computer fraud.

After failing to fight extradition to Sweden through the British

After having separate sexual encounters with him, the women went together to the police in Stockholm.

Assange was questioned by the police, denied all allegations, and said he had consensual sexual encounters with the women.

Police passed on the case to the prosecutor who ordered his arrest, but he escaped to England.

Assange has refused to go back to Sweden for fear of being extradited to the United States because of an investigation into WikiLeaks’ dissemination of hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents. In

courts, Assange took refuge in June 2012 inside Ecuador’s small diplomatic mission. British police stand guard around the clock ready to detain him if he steps out, in an operation believed to have cost so far some 12 million pounds ($19 million).

Swedish prosecutors initially refused to travel to London to question Assange at the embassy, but changed their minds in March as the statute of limitations approached. However, prosecutors have not heard back from the embassy after attempting to contact it in March and June, according to spokeswoman Karin Rosander.

Tw o p e o p l e h a v e b e e n arrested for the murder of Banngladeshi secular blogger N i l a d r i C h a t t e r j e e N i l o y, police said on Friday.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Muntasirl Islam said Jatiya Party leader Chunnu’s nephew Sad Al Nahin was detained from Uttara and Masud Rana from Kalshi area o n T h u r s d a y, b d n e w s 2 4 reported.

He said they were both members of Ansarullah Bangla Team, an Islamist militant group accused of links to the murders of three other bloggers.

Studying BBA at the Dhaka U n i v e r s i t y, N a h i n w a s arrested earlier over the murder attempt on blogger

Asif Mohiuddin two years ago.

He was freed on bail around a year back.

Police have claimed that Ansarullah Bangla Team is responsible for the murders.

Niloy was hacked to death on August 7 by a five-member gang armed with machetes at his home in the capital Dhaka.

It was the fourth such killing of a secular blogger this year.

The other three bloggers Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman Babu and Ananta Bijoy Das -- were also killed in a similar manner.

All four were involved with the ‘Ganajagaran Mancha’, a movement demanding maximum penalty for those who committed war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh freedom struggle and a ban on religion-based politics.

Mohamed Morsi’s defence files Two arrested over appeal against death sentence Bangladeshi blogger murder uprising against veteran leader Hosni Mubarak, and escaped along with thousands of others after protesters attacked police stations across the country.“We submitted an appeal to the Court of Cassation to all prisoners sentenced, including Morsi,” his lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud told AFP. Hundreds of Islamists have been sentenced to death in a crackdown following Morsi’s overthrow.

Most have won retrials.

Seven so far have been executed, including six defendants sentenced to death by a military court for allegedly participating in militant attacks.

Pakistan protests bail to Samjhauta Express convict Pakistan on Friday lodged a protest over the bail granted to the alleged mastermind of the Samjhauta Express blast by an Indian court, the media reported. Authorities in Islamabad summoned the Indian High Commissioner, expressed their reservations and conveyed that New Delhi has not taken action against the mastermind and other culprits of the attack, Geo News reported.

An Indian court has granted bail to Swami Aseemanand, arrested for masterminding the attack on the Samjhauta Express, a train headed to Pakistan, which killed 68 people.

Issue - 628 (10)

Ramdasia Sikh Parents invite matrimonial alliance for their daughter, 29 yrs. old, 5'-4" tall, raised and educated in Canada.

E.C.E. diploma holder and settled in permanent job, innocently divorced after short marriage. The boy should be educated, settled with family values. Please call: 416-845-9819 ***628*** Amritdhari Jat Sikh Binning family seeks Amritdhari, professionally qualified boy with a good family background for their Canadian immigrant daughter 27 yrs. Old, 5'-5" tall, BA Tech (India). Please send your bio data and recent picture to: jasmeenjass96@gmail.com Or call: 1-604-808-0755 ***628*** Jat Sikh parents seeking a suitable match for their son, 31 yrs. old, 6' tall, clean shaven, Canadian citizen, well educated, professionally employed. The girl should be well educated, slim, tall, having good family values and from Canada only. Please send your biodata and recent picture to: njinder78@gmail.com ***628*** Ramdasia Sikh Parents invite matrimonial alliance for their son, 30 yrs. old, 6’ tall, Canadian Citizen, Bio-medical engineering degree holder and professionally employed. The girl should be Canadian immigrant or Citizen., beartiful, tall, slim, well educated with family values. caste no bar Please call : 1-604-328-5749 ***628*** Jat Sikh Parents from Vancouver seeking an educated,clean shaven, Canadian Jat Sikh boy from Vancouver or Calgary only for their daughter, 31 yrs. old. 5’3” tall, beautiful, working as RN, well versed in both cultures and sweet natured. Please send your biodata and recent picture to : pam_johal@yahoo.ca Or call : 1-604-780-8010 ***628*** Nai Sikh boy, 27 yrs. old, 5’11’’ tall, clean shaven, non-smoker, non-drinker, fair, handsome, Canadian immigrant, only son, one sister in Canada, good job in Toronto (Automobile) urban-rural property in Canada. The girl should be tall, beautiful, of equal status with family values. Toronto preferred. Please send your biodata and recent picture to: singh1112015@hotmail.com Or call: 289-242-6151 ***628*** Jat Sikh parents invite correspondence for their daughter 25 yrs. old, 5’7” tall, degree holder, beautiful. The boy should be university graduate clean shaven, atleast 5’11” honest and working.

Vancouver area preferred. Please send your biodata and recent picture to: jatinder96@gmail.com Or call: 1-604-679-0692 ***628*** Seeking compatible match for Canadian raised, beautiful, Sikh Lobana MD girl, born in 1985, 5ft, 6", doing final year of Internal Medicine residency in the US. The boy should be doctor,

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Sikh, and between 30-36 years of age. Caste no bar. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: sukhi1822@hotmail.com or 416469-2801 *** 628*** Lubana sikh family seeks a suitable match for their son, Canadian citizen, Medical Doctor in residency, 29 yrs. old, 5'9" tall, turbaned. The girl should be equally qualified in medical field from USA or Canada.

Contact: kmultani333@gmail.com or 647479-8389 *** 628*** Saini Sikh parents, seeking a suitable match for their well settled daughter, US citizen, 1985 born, 5'-1", BS (Accounting), working in her field.

The boy must be US citizen/PR, equally or more qualified, clean shaven and well settled. New York / New Jersey preferred. Respond with recent photo and biodata to: kaurm14@yahoo.com or call: 1- 718-779-2763 *** 628*** Jat Sikh family seeks a qualified and well-settled/employed, professional/business man, having good family values, reputable background, Jat Sikh, clean shaven and handsome match for their daughter, Canadian citizen, family-oriented, having good cultural and family values, well versed in both cultures, beautiful, very fair, slim, Dental Hygienist, 27 yrs. old, 5’4” tall. Preferred well settled professional/ business man in GTA (Toronto). Respond with biodata and recent pictures to: sarjeet-dhugge@hotmail.com or call: 647- 502- 4220 *** 628*** Jatt Sikh well settled parents seek a suitable match for their daughter 33 yrs. old, 5’3” tall, slim, fair with sharp features, M.B.B.S. (UK), doing residency in England. The boy should be Canadian immigrant or citizen, equally educated, family oriented. Please send your recent picture and bio-data to: laurenaujla@gmail.com Or Call: 1-604-987-6454 ***628*** Preferably Canada PR, professionally Qualified match for Sarswat Brahmin, Manglik Boy, 7-7-1990/ 12:30 PM (Noon) Khanna (Punjab) India, B.Tech (civil), Presently working as Consulting Architect & Valuer. Father Retired as SDO (Pb.Govt), Mother Retired as AGM from food corporation on India. Sister married & well settled in Europe. Only son. Please call: 011-91-9815655384 or Email: ashiana.khanna@gmail.com ***628*** Jat Sikh parents seek a suitable match for their Canadian born son, D.O.B.- 1980. 5’11” tall, professionally empolyed. The girl should be educated, beautiful and family oriented. Please call : 416540-2764 ***628*** Jat Sikh parents seek professionally qualified match for their

daughter, 28yrs. old, 5’4” tall, born and raised in USA, MBA degree, working for a prestigious federal govt agency. The boy should be professionally qualified and empolyed with family values. Only medical doctor may cotact from India. Serious inquiries only. Please email recent pictur and biodaata: match_matrimonial@yahoo.com or call : 1-650-822-3679 ***628*** Ramgariha Sikh parents seek a suitable match for their daughter ,44 yrs old, 5’4” tall, British Citizen, divvorcse (Issueless), slim, attractive. The partner should be Canadian Citizen or immigrant educated, betwwen 44 -48 yrs. of age, family oriented. Preferably from Vancouver area. Please send your biodata and recent picture to: warishsingh1942@gmail.com or Call: 1-604-790-7210 ***628*** Jat Sikh Parents seek a suitable alliance for their son,Canadian Citizen, Certified Professional Engineer, May 87 born, 5'-6.5" tall, smart, handsome, B.Engg and M.Engg from Toronto based, universities employed in Toronto, drawing handsome salary. The girl should be slim,qualified and well settled in job. Interested please contact with picture of girl to: rdrandhawa@yahoo.com or call: 647 295 9106 *** 628*** Professional, well qualified match for Jat Sikh, beautiful girl, 27 yrs old, 5’6” tall, B.Sc. computer science, M.Sc Maths, B.Ed, M.Sc in information technology, UGC NET cleared, one year M.B.A, working as a professor in a reputed college in India, family is well settled in USA. The boy should be Canadian/American, immigrant/Citizen educated and family oriented. Please email detail to : bandesha1988@gmail.com or call : 1-707-782-6244 ***628*** Ramgaria Sikh parents seek a match for their, son 26 yrs old, 5’6” tall, Bachelor in engineering, living in India. The girl should be beautiful, Canadian/American immigrant or citizen, Please email recent picture and bio data to : sohalsp@gmail.com or call : 647-829-5872 ( leave message) ***628*** Well settled Ravidassia Sikh parents seek a suitable match for their son, 29 yrs old, 5’10” tall, Canadian citizen, Graduate from Canada, professionally employed, family oriented, The girl should be educated, family oriented, beautiful and from Canada. student visa/work permit/visitor visa can also be considered. Please send your bio data and recent picture to : rickylealh@gmail.com or call : 1-604-780-9927 ***628*** Ramgarhia Sikh parents seek a match for their daughter, 27-1/2 yrs. old, 5’3” tall, done registered nursing and now finishing B.sc nursing in a few months, living in India. The boy should be

Canadian/American immigrant or citizen. Please email recent picture and bio data to : sohalsp@gmail.com or contact : 647-829-5872 ( leave message) ***628*** Jat Sikh Sanghera Parents invite matrimonial alliance for their daughter, D.O.B june, 1992, 5’6” tall beautiful, GNM nursing degree holder, currently residing in India. The boy should be Canadian Immigrant/Citizen, educated and family oriented, Aunt, Uncle and cousin sister is well settled in Canada. Please call : 1-778-882-8886 ***628*** Jat Sikh Male, 55 yrs, old, 6’tall, Divorcee, good job, American Citizen, family oriented looking for a family oriented, Homely, cooperative, adjustable life partner.

Please call : 1-661-378-7103 ***628*** Jat Sikh Parents seek a suitable match for their only son , Canadian immigrant, 29 yrs.old, 5’9” tall, handsome, educated, good earning, non-drinker, innocently divorced. The girl should be educated, beautiful and family oriented, Girl on student visa/work permit may also be considered.

Please call : 905-216-3620 or 905203-3551 (after 5 pm weekdays, weekends any time) ***628*** Jat Sikh Parents invite Matrimonial alliance for their Son, 38 yrs. old, 6’tall, born and raised in Canada, vegetarian, working in IT field, never married before. The girl should be vegetarian beautiful well versed in both cultures.

Please email recent picture and bio-data to : harp.h@hormail.com or call : 416-840-7626 ***628*** Ramdasia Sikh Parents seek a suitable Match for their daughter, 24 yrs. old, 5’10” born and raised in U.S.A, well versed in both cultures, bachelors degree in accountancy. The boy should be from U.S.A, 5’11” or taller, educated and family oriented.

Please send your recent picture and bio data to : kainthsingh@yahoo.com or call : 1-916-717-8949 ***628*** Parents invite matrimonial alliance for their daughter American Citizen 29 yrs. old, 5’1” tall, radiology technologist, settled in a good job in hospital, caste Nai, divorced after a short marriage. The boy shoud be educated, settled and family oriented. Please send your recent picture and bio-data to: njagpal1951@yahoo.com Or Call:

1-604-496-1651 ***628*** Situable match for Khatri Sikh boy 41 yrs. old, 5’-11” tall, born in India, Canadian Citizen, Engineer MBA U.S.A, working with Federal Govt.

Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: sunnyorillia@gmail.com Or Call: 778-903-6003 ***628*** Nai Family Seek Suitable match there Son Canadian Citizeny, 27 yrs old, 5’-8” tall, Pharmacy Technician well settled in Pharmacy job, Caste Nai. The girl should be educated, beautiful and family oriented. Please send your recent bio-data and picture to: njagpal1951@ yahoo.com Or call: 1-604-496-1651 ***628*** Jatt Sikh parents looking for suitable match for their 32 yrs old son, 5’-10” tall, Canadian born, clean shaven, Degree holder, Currently working on Govt. Job. The girl should be well-educated, family oriented, well versed in both cultures. Please send your recent picture and bio-data to: bestwishes2016@outlook.com Or call: 647-965-0959 ***628*** Thind Kamboj Sikh parents seeks matrimonial alliance for their daughter Canadian Immigrant 27 yrs. old, 5’-4” tall, graduate in B.Sc. Nursing, working as a Registered Practical Nurse. The boy should be well educated, Canadian Immigrant or Citizen, working in Canada & from Kamboj Sikh family only. Uncle's family well settled in Canada Please send your bio-data to: b.s.thind@hotmail.com Or Call: 647-281-9450 or 011-91-9872117801 ***628*** Sikh parent seeks matrimonial alliance for their Canadian Citizen, 27 years old son, qualified and employed as a Mechanical Technologist, holds uncut hair and wears Dastar. The girl should be professionally compatible, family oriented and beautiful. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: rsrehal1@gmail.com or Call: 1-778-869-7172 *** 628*** Professionally qualified match for a handsome Arora Sikh boy 25yrs. old, 5'-7'’ tall, MBA Finance, family business, only son, now in California on multiple entry visa seek a beautiful American Sikh girl. Caste no bar. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: singh.cali05@gmail.com or call: 1-661-472-2374 or 1-661-9128323 *** 628***

Housekeeper Wanted Everyday duties include: Cleaning the house on 3 levels (16 rooms), kitchen, dishes, counter, floor, fridge, cupboards, dishwashers, washing, drying clothing and ironing, preparing lunch & dinner, grocery shopping, keeping the household supplies fully stocked, receiving & servinng guests, rotate seasonal clothing in closets, maintain pantry and routinely clear out of date & spoiled items, bed making, linen changing, eldercare responsibilities (massage).

Driving license a must. Live-in preferred. Serious inquiries only.

Be prepared to state your salary expectations. Must have 1-2 yrs. of working experience in a fast paced environment. Please call: 647-632-3999

Issue - 628 (11)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Nepal’s first transgender passport issued to rights activist

Kathmandu In what signals a longoverdue respect for the country’s transgender community, activist Monica Shahi has made history as Nepal’s first citizen to carry a passport bearing a third gender.

Nepal moved towards recognizing a third gender when the Supreme Court in 2007 ruled that individuals should have their gender legally recognized based on “selffeeling” and that they should not have to limit themselves to “female” or “male.” Since then, activists have fought successfully to have a third category added to citizenship documents, public bathrooms, and even the federal census.

For Shahi, this means her passport is marked “O” for “other” rather than the traditional “F” for “female” or “M” for “male.”Only a limited number of countries recognize more than “male” and “female” on travel documents,

which could pose challenges for people like Shahi as they travel.

However an increasing number of governments are beginning to acknowledge that legal recognition including of identities outside the male-female binary - can be, and should be, acknowledged on documents.The United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism argued that “measures that involve increased travel document security, such as stricter procedures for issuing, changing and verifying identity documents, risk unduly penalizing transgender persons whose personal appearance and data are subject to change.”At least seven countries Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Malta, New Zealand, and Australia - now legally recognize more than two genders in some way.

Moscow Russia’s Communist Party announced on Thursday it has submitted a bill to Parliament calling for

importer, as well as Montenegro, Albania and Liechtenstein.Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Ukraine will be added

smuggled Western food to be given to the needy instead of being destroyed.

Authorities last week pulped hundreds of tonnes of cheese, vegetables and fruit as they began a campaign ordered by President Vladimir Putin to destroy food brought in despite an embargo imposed in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine.

Russia on Thursday extended the list of countries under a food import embargo to include Iceland, a significant fish

to the embargo from January 1 next year when a landmark EU-Ukraine trade deal enters force, unless Kiev makes a deal with Moscow.Scenes of imported peaches and nectarines being burnt or thrown on rubbish tips and cheese being crushed by steamroller have angered many in a country where nearly 23 million people live below the poverty line.

The Communist bill calls for banned food that is fit for consumption to be given to people living in poverty or

Neo-Nazis not allowed in Austrian academy that rejected Hitler

Vienna Hungarian neo-Nazis hoping to visit the Austrian art academy that rejected Hitler more than a century ago received the same response on Thursday -- no admittance.Advised of the group’s plans, the Academy of Fine Arts shut its doors and about 30 protesters congregated in front of the institute, holding banners with antiNazi slogans in German and Hungarian.Deputy rector Andrea B Braidt said the academy will stay closed until late in the day, reopening only after the six adults and one child leave Vienna.The academy twice rejected Hitler’s application for admission in the early 1900s. Braidt said some Hitler fans argue that this turned him toward pursuing politics. “That makes some neo-Nazis obliged to thank the academy, which is something we don’t want,” Braidt said.The adults are members of the Hungarian chapter of “Blood & Honour”, an international neo-Nazi organisation constituted by an estimated 10,000 members.

Russian Communists want to give smuggled Western food to poor victims of humanitarian disasters, as well as to foreign states.The food “can be used as free aid to people in poverty, people suffering from emergency situations, as humanitarian aid, for example to the residents of Donetsk and Lugansk,” a note to the bill says, referring to east Ukraine’s conflict-torn separatist regions.It is rare for the Communist Party to oppose a decision by Putin, but the move could offer the Kremlin an exit strategy after its policy proved unpopular with the public.Putin’s decree did not require a vote in Parliament, which will return from summer recess in September.“Russia is destroying food in front of the eyes of the world,” the Communists said.

“Hundreds of tonnes of food are being burnt in crematoriums or destroyed in other ways. But this destruction is an extreme, excessive measure,” a note to the bill reads. “In order to ensure the ban on imports of farm product, raw products and foods, it’s enough to confiscate them.”

Lalit Modi linked to Prince Charles elephant charity London Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi, against whom a nonbailable warrant has been issued in a case of money laundering, gave at least USD 30,000 to a charity set up to protect elephants in India headed

by Britain’s Prince Charles, a media report said today. Modi, who denies the allegations of money laundering, has helped fund the Elephant Family charity as one of its patrons, The ‘Sunday Times’ reported. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were last year made joint presidents of the charity set up by Mark Shand, Camilla’s late brother.The group is the largest British funder of the endangered Asian elephant and has many high-profile supporters working on creating safe corridors for elephants in northeast India. Modi gave almost USD 30,000 to the organisation in October 2011, according to leaked documents seen by the newspaper.

A later payment of 5,000

pounds was made to Shand “for the purchase of artwork” in February 2013.

Shand died in April last year after a fall outside a bar in New York. Modi told

kilometres as part of a planned “epic Indian adventure” across?

Madhya Pradesh to the? elephant?Tara’s home at Kipling Camp.The event is

the newspaper via his lawyer that “the charges made against him in India are politically motivated and without any foundation.”

In November, the charity will have a group of high-profile celebrities take part in an auto-rickshaw race across India. The ‘Travels to My? Elephant’ campaign will see a fleet of 30 rickshaws?race?500

inspired by Shand’s own rescue of Tara, which is recorded in his best-selling book ‘Travels on my?Elephant.’ Modi is listed as one of more than two dozen patrons on the charity’s website alongside the Duchess of York, Sarah Fergusson, the former wife of Prince Andrew Prince Charles’ brother.

Issue - 628 (12)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Partner BJP continues to be sharply critical of Badal government in Punjab Chandigarh Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal might continue to compare the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance with flesh and nail relationship and the same might have been seconded by none other than Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh publicly during 350th anniversary celebrations of Anandpur Sahib but the chasm between the two parties continues to widen and it is on the record.

It is a public knowledge that irritants continue to crop up between the two partners now and then but the BJP leadership has been protesting only meekly although some of the leaders like Chief Parliamentary Secretary Navjot Kaur Sidhu who represents Amritsar East in the Assembly have been too vocal. During the 200712 tenure of the alliance government, Manoranjan Kalia headed the BJP legislature group and he used to be aggressive to confront the over-riding attitude of the senior alliance partner with the party even threatening to boycott cabinet meetings.

State party chief Kamal Sharma tried to dictate terms with the alliance partner when the Enforcement Directorate summoned Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia but had

to make a hasty retreat. He himself is now in the eye of the storm on the very issue of his associates being involved in criminal activities, including drugs. Local bodies department is with Anil Joshi of the BJP who is also from Amritsar but going by the Facebook page of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, it is he who has “ordered” Commissioner, Municipal Corporation to take certain steps about sanitation of the holy city. Amritsar has been listed among the dirtiest Class A cities in the country in a recent survey by the centre and it should be matter of shame for the Akalis.However, what should be of concern to the Akali Dal leadership is the highly critical references to the working of the government in the latest issue of BJP’s official organ ‘Kamal Suneha’ that articulates party’s point of view in its editorial.

The last two lines of the editorial are particularly important. It has been stated : “Maximum complaints of the people are against police and revenue department. The Chief Minister should pay special attention to such issues”.Home department is with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal while Revenue Minister is Bikram Singh Majithia. Majithia has done a lot to streamline the functioning of the corruption riddled revenue department by taking steps to minimise it as

ending corruption is Herculean task. The basic issue is why should the BJP be especially targeting Sukhbir followed by Majithia, and that too in writing. There is one issue taken up by the BJP that craves for yet more attention. It is the BJP that has focussed on the nonimplementation of the Anand Marriage Act in Punjab that

was legislated to provide legal sanctity to the Sikh marriages.

In this context, it has been mentioned that while the Haryana government has implemented it, it is still “under consideration” in Punjab. The Akali Dal should do some introspection as this legislation concerns separate and exclusive identity of the Sikhs.

It has also been pointed out that the BJP government at the centrehas already given

directions to the state government to implement this Act. It is for Parkash Singh Badal to tell the people as to what stops his government from going ahead with this legislation when the BJP government in Haryana has already done it.

The editorial talks about the “loot by toll plazas” and has given the example of Haryana closing down five such toll plazas in the state for the third time while in Punjab, these toll plazas are the source of law and order problem and deepening negative perception about the government

among the people. “This loot by the toll plazas must stop as even the centre is agreeable to that”.The Badal family has come under direct attack with the mention of controversies relating to the buses of the Orbit transport, the companies owned by the Badal family. The attitude of the bureaucracy has also come under attack.

In this context, the editorial has raised the public protest by Industries Minister Madan Mohan Mittal against indifferent attitude of the bureaucracy about the BJP ministers. Mittal is one ministers who has always maintained very cordial relations with Badal. However, his public outburst against the bureaucracy should be a matter of grave concern. Special reference has been made to sycophant bureaucrats.

“Complaints by more than two and a half dozen legislators against 33 bureaucrats to the Assembly Speaker is not a good news about the functioning of the administration”, it has been stated.Clearly, the BJP is in no mood compromise on certain issues. This editorial also reinforces the earlier perception that the BJP has not ruled out breaking alliance with the Akali Dal as the party would not like to share strong anti-incumbency against the Akali Dal-BJP government.

investigators. It were the leaders like Sharma who had launched malicious campaign against Majithia. It is Sharma himself who now stands exposed. Of course, he denies his involvement but the fact is that these very people were his associates. There is only a difference of degrees between direct involvement and indirect patronage by way of association with such elements.What is confronting Punjab is not just smuggling of drugs like heroine from across the border or the easy availability of chemical drugs within the state. As the problem got magnified and the state government came under severe attack including from the national leadership of the BJP, the state government initiated damage control exercise but arresting small time smugglers and druggists which created rather more problems than it solved. The issue is tackling this problem at various levels

as police action is just one part.

Those in power should make a sincere commitment tomorrow to launch war against this menace as it needs long term measures including the creation of employment opportunities within the state that needs capital investment which is not within the capacity of the bankrupt state government. private investment has a natural flow.Punjab’s predominantly agrarian economy has the potential to absorb even educated youth provided there is adequate marketing support from the government which has been missing all along. The state government can’t pass on the buck to the centre on every issue.Punjab would have to make a fresh beginning before the situation takes more serious turn. The state has been subjected to cyclical political violence and this crucial dimension should never be overlooked.

TIME TO FREE PUNJAB FROM MENACE OF DRUGS Chandigarh When close associates of the Bharatiya Janata Party chief Kamal Sharma, the party with holier than thou attitude, were recently caught in the scandal with the trail leading towards drug smuggling in Ferozepur, a new dimension was added to the situation. The BJP in the state stands vertically divided on the leadership issue. Its

timing could not have been the worst for Sharma who is known to be ambitious for the second term.

However, the issues are larger and it is time to free Punjab from the drug menace and this should be the most solemn pledge that should be taken on the Independence Day. Not that this is the problem that is something new that has

come to confront this border state during the last several years. Opium and poppy husk have been in use for decades in this region. Opium used to be smuggled from Uttar Pradesh and Pakistan and this was one Pakistani product that used to be preferred for its purity. That was the time when the international border was open. Opium used to be given

to the farm workers, besides its consumption being part of lifestyle of generally the big landlords especially in the Malwa region.

Opium smuggling was something very normal in the border villages of undivided Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur districts.

The main problem now is not opium but chemical drugs and heroine. The government

should have taken steps when the chemist shops started mushrooming even in those villages which had no access to medical care. These drugs are cheaper and introduced first in the Malwa region about four decades earlier. Going by the history, the menace is nothing new but it was not of this proportion. What has now complicated the problem is the higher incidence of unemployable youth roaming the state and the changing life style. Even girls are getting hooked to drugs.

The issue here is not blame game as even the BJP stands exposed, not only on the issue of drugs but also the criminalisation of politics.

Details have already appeared about the people with links in the world of crime who are directly or indirectly associated with the state BJP chief. It may be mentioned that it was Kamal Sharma who was the most vociferous in the attack on Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia whose name was dropped by former police cop turned drug lord Jagdish Bhola and that too in a casual manner while talking to the media during his appearance in the court case in Mohali. The Enforcement Directorate has found nothing incriminating against Majithia who was also questioned by the

Issue - 628 (13)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Indian American lawyer shortlisted for prestigious award

NEW YORK Indian American attorney Richa Naujoks has been shortlisted for Thomson Reuters Foundation’s TrustLaw Lawyer of the Year award. Celebrating groundbreaking pro bono projects undertaken by legal teams with NGOs and social enterprises around the world, the award recognises lawyers who have gone above and beyond in providing exceptional pro bono support. Among individual nominees, Richa Naujoks is the only Indian and the only US lawyer shortlisted for this prestigious award, said a statement. A senior associate at Nixon Peabody LLP’s New York City office, she is a graduate of the National Law School of India University in Bangalore and the University of Washington in Seattle (LLM).

She currently serves as co-chair of the India Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law. Richa Naujoks was nominated

by Mumbai-based Wello for her outstanding pro bono work on the complex restructuring of Wello’s US and Indian legal and operational structure. Wello makes water wheels that help women safely carry water from distant water sources to their homes. TrustLaw connects the world’s leading legal teams to provide free legal assistance to organisations working for social and environmental change. It is able to draw from its network of over 100,000 lawyers across the world to meet the legal needs of NGOs and social enterprises. In addition to Wello, other South Asian projects and NGOs are represented within the various categories for the 2015 awards.

Indian firm LawQuest is nominated for its support of Nazdeek Trust with multiple projects around its efforts to organise tea workers for right of association and a basic minimum wage. Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa

Jawan beaten to death while trying to save girl from molestation Meerut A group of men in Meerut beat an army jawan to death after he tried to prevent them from molesting a girl, police said Saturday.

Vedmitra Choudhary, a lance naik with the 416 Engineering Brigade, had gone to get milk from a booth in the TP Nagar locality when he saw one of the accused, Akash Saini, allegedly trying to molest the teenaged daughter of the shop owner. Choudhary went to the rescue of the girl and slapped Akash, who immediately called up his friends.

The men then allegedly assaulted him with iron rods, inflicting serious head injuries.The jawan, who was staying at TP nagar with his wife and children,

was rushed to a private hospital and then to a nearby military

on for the other accused named in the attack. “Teams have been

hospital. “Last night he succumbed to his head injuries during treatment,” superintendent of police, Meerut city, OP Singh said.Akash and two of his friends were arrested, and a search was

dispatched to different locations to arrest him”, Singh said adding that a case of murder has been registered against the three identified accused and their friends.

New Delhi Last week, the MBBS graduate had filed an FIR in Cuttack’s Mangalabag police station accusing four persons, including an estranged aide of Sarathi, of threatening her.The controversy that led to the arrest of selfstyled godman Sarathi Baba arrest from an ashram in Odisha’s Kendrapara took a new turn Saturday with a Dalit woman accusing him of plotting to kill her by paying a “supari” of Rs 10 lakh.Last week, the MBBS graduate had filed an FIR

in Cuttack’s Mangalabag police station accusing four persons, including an estranged aide of Sarathi, of threatening her. On

threatened to kill her if she spoke out against him. She added that she had been forced by Sarathi’s women associates to file the initial FIR.The woman is a key figure in the scandal. She had allegedly accompanied Sarathi to a Hyderabad hotel, where he was also allegedly seen eating chicken and liquor, leading to protests.

ADGP, Crime Branch, B K Sharma said the woman alleged that she was asked by another woman who identified herself as a CBI officer to file the first FIR.

Associate accuses godman Sarathi Baba of plotting to kill her

India has $1 tn investment potential, Modi tells UAE ABU DHABI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged top UAE businesses to invest in India,

saying the country provides a $1 trillion potential.

Addressing an investors meet in Masdar City, a zero carbon city, Modi also promised to erase the deficit of prime ministerial interactions of the past 34 years.

Indira Gandhi was the last prime minister to visit in 1981.

He said that though there are 700 flights between India and the UAE but it took 34 years for an

Indian prime minister to visit, adding: "I promise this will not happen again."

He said in India's agriculture

sector, "we need cold storage network and warehousing network where UAE businesses have an advantage".

"Infrastructure development and real estate offer tremendous opportunities for UAE businesses in India," he added.

Modi said he was told about some problems being faced by UAE businesspersons and added: "I want to assure we are

solving these problems."

He said he will send the commerce minister to try and find solutions to the problems being faced by some UAE investors.

He said that "UAE's power and India's potential can make the dream of an Asian Century a reality".

"It is now commonly believed that India is one of the fastest growing economies. There are several opportunities of development in India. I feel India is a land of many opportunities. The 125 crore people of India are not a market but they are a source of great strength," he said.

Top corporate honchos attended the meet.

"A Who's Who of UAE Business.

UAE and Indian industrialists come together to meet PM @narendramodi," said external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

Among them were Etisalat CEO Ahmed Abdulkarim Julfar and Emaar Properties chairperson Mohammed Ali Al Abbar.

Earlier, Modi undertook a tour of Masdar City, a hub of clean technology.

Saturday, she filed a new FIR with Crime Branch police station, alleging that the godman, through his women associates,

BJP MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu calls off fast unto death AMRITSAR BJP MLA and chief parliamentary secretary Mrs. Navjot Kaur Sidhu who was sitting on hunger strike for indefinite period today called off with the intervention of Punjab

cabinet Minister Anil Joshi. BJP MLA from Amritsar North Assembly Constituency Mr. Anil Joshi also Punjab Local Bodies Minister visited spot where Mrs. Sidhu was sitting on hunger strike, offered a glass of juice after assuring her adequate funds as promised by chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. Joshi assured her, tender for developmental works of Rs. 10 crore to be floated by coming Wednesday and developmental works in this regards to be initiated at the earliest possible period.

Sidhu, wife of cricketer-turnedpolitician Navjot Singh Sidhu agreed with Joshi’s assurance

said, “Joshi has come here as my brother and he did what brother could do for his sister but at the same time Punjab CM Badal failed to do duty of father towards daughter”, she said adding that Badal always called me his own daughter but here he failed to prove the relationship of father towards daughter. By simply saying the word daughter was not enough unless one act as per his words. Joshi while talking to media said, “Mrs. Sidhu is my sister and I am here as her brother. It is Indian culture sister often get annoyed from brothers but it becomes the duty of brother be always take care of their sisters. I will always take care of my respectable sister in future too”. When Joshi asked, wheatear he was here on the direction of Punjab Govt, he declined and said that he was here being a brother of Mrs. Sidhu to whom he couldn’t afford her see in trouble. It may be mentioned here that Sidhu, an MLA from Amritsar East Assembly constituency, had demanded SAD-BJP government should allocate adequate funds for carrying out development projects which have been pending for long in her area.

Issue - 628 (14)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Islamic State leader Baghdadi took US hostage Kayla Mueller as ‘wife’, repeatedly raped her Al-Baghdadi took Mueller as a “wife,” repeatedly raping her when he visited, according to a Yazidi teenager who was held with

captives while passing around women as sex slaves. Mueller was held for a time by Islamic State financier Abu Sayyaf and

Mueller and escaped in October 2014.

American hostage Kayla Mueller was repeatedly forced to have sex with Abu Bakr Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group, US intelligence officials told her family in June. The news is but the latest in a litany of horrors perpetrated by the Islamic State group, which has beheaded, burned and crucified male

his wife, known as Umm Sayyaf. Al-Baghdadi took Mueller as a “wife,” repeatedly raping her when he visited, according to a Yazidi teenager who was held with Mueller and escaped in October 2014.

The 14-year-old made her way to Iraqi Kurdistan, where she talked to US commandos in November 2014. Intelligence agencies corroborated her account

and American officials passed it on to her parents in June.

“They told us that he married her, and we all understand what that means,” Carl Mueller, Kayla’s father, said on Friday, which would have been his daughter’s 27th birthday. Her death was reported in February.

Her mother, Marsha Mueller, added, “Kayla did not marry this man.

He took her to his room and he abused her and she came back crying.”

Umm Sayyaf confirmed that al-Baghdadi had “owned” Kayla during Umm Sayyaf’s lengthy American interrogation in Iraq, the Muellers said they were told

by American officials.

A US official confirmed their account, first reported by London’s Independent newspaper. The official was not authorized to be quoted by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has rejected Russian calls to join hands with the Syrian authorities in the battle against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).According to News24, Jubeir insisted that Saudi Arabia will never work with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Russia has called for coordination between the few remaining allies of Syria and members of

an international coalition fighting the extremist group ISIS.Jubeir’s statement came after a

meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov who rejected the former’s proposal.

Saudi Arabia rejects Russian calls to join Syria in battle against ISIS

Jamia ‘Sexist and hypocritical’: Students slam new rules for women residents The new rules have attracted the ire of a section of students, who found the measures sexist. New rules imposed on the residents of the women’s hostel at Jamia Millia Islamia, which authorities believe they should follow “in their own best interest”, has not gone down well with some of them.The new rules bar women residents from taking permission for ‘late nights’ and asks them to be back inside the hostel premises by 8 pm.“Residents of the Hall of Girls are informed that no late night is allowed any more. You are, therefore, required to follow the norms, in your own best interests,” stated a notice from the varsity.The new rules are not applicable to residents of the men’s hostels.

“Security and safety

concerns” prompted the authorities to modify their earlier rules, said Mukesh Ranjan, public relations

officer, Jamia Millia Islamia.

“This measure has been put in place keeping in mind security and safety concerns, especially with the nature of crimes that take place in the city. There is also the issue of attendance and fixed meal timings. With students reaching the hostel late, attendance cannot be taken at a fixed time. So a

committee, which had been formed to look into this issue, came up with this measure. However, this does not mean that women students cannot be out with parents or their local guardian. The university can relax these rules on a caseto-case basis and in case there is an emergency,” he said.

The new rules have attracted the ire of a section of students, who found the measures sexist.“All of us are adults. How can the university control our lives and tell us where to go and when to go because we are staying in the Jamia hostel? It is extremely humiliating. It seems that the university does not believe that I can take responsibility for myself,” said a post-graduate student.

Pak minister quits after claiming ex-ISI chief wanted to oust govt A senior Pakistani minister resigned on Saturday over his claim that the InterServices Intelligence (ISI) agency had plotted to topple the civilian and military leadership during protests by opposition parties last year.

Mushahidullah Khan, a top leader of the ruling PML-N party and a member of the Senate or upper house of Parliament, sent his resignation to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from Maldives, where he was on an official visit. In an interview to BBC Urdu on the first anniversary of the protests organised by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-eInsaf and Tahir-ul-Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehrik, Khan said the conspiracy allegedly involving the ISI was foiled after the Intelligence Bureau intercepted a call by former ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam. Khan was quoted as saying that Islam had allegedly instructed the opposition leaders to create chaos during the protests and to take control of the Prime Minister’s house.

Information minister Pervez Rashid said in a statement that Khan had sent his resignation to the Prime

Minister. On his return from the Maldives, Khan will provide an explanation to Sharif regarding his comments, Rashid said.

The Prime Minister had on Friday asked Khan, who held the climate change portfolio, to explain his

army chief Gen Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Sharif. He said the recording made by the Intelligence Bureau had been sent to the Prime Minister, who passed it on to the army chief during a meeting held on August

remarks. The military’s chief spokesperson, Maj Gen Asim Bajwa, had described claims about a recording of the former ISI chief’s purported conversation as baseless.

“The story about any tape recording as being discussed in media is totally baseless, unfounded and farthest from truth,” Bajwa tweeted.

“Such rumours are irresponsible and unprofessional.” Khan had told BBC Urdu that the former ISI chief had hatched a plot to oust both

28, 2014. “The army chief was astonished to hear the tape and called for Gen Zaheerul Islam, who came to the meeting and after hearing the (tape) acknowledged that it was his voice,” Khan said in the interview. Last year’s protest by the opposition parties, which continued for almost four months, had considerably weakened the civilian government. But a spokesperson for the government said on Friday that no tape of the former ISI chief’s purported conversation existed.

Issue 628 (15)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

jaws drop. The contact fighting scenes look bru-

to do: Portray MMA in all its glory (and goriness).

That the two leads have worked their butts off in getting their moves right emerges through the film.

Even though emotions, and not the fights, have been called the USP of the film, it is quite the opposite. The thoroughly enjoyable parts of Brothers are the ones inside the cage. Nothing else matters. And that Akshay and Sidharth emote well is the icing on the cake.

Sidharth, though, looks like he’s straight out of the Ek Villain sets. His Goan accent, mannerisms, the angry-youngman act, et al is reminiscent of it.

Jackie Shroff is good at times and unbearably hammy at others.

Jacqueline doesn’t have much room for anything apart from shedding tears, either out of happiness or sorrow. The supporting cast manages to

tally real, with the bloody faces and broken noses making you twitch more than once. Brothers achieves what it sets out

get their parts right, with Ashutosh Rana’s Umesh, the Arjun in this Mahabharat, deserving a special mention.

Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra shine in this tale Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jackie Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shefali Shah, Ashutosh Rana, Kiran Kumar Direction: Karan Malhotra Ratings: 4 Stars Making a sports-based film in India can work as a double-edged sword. If the audience here is allowed the luxury to see drama (melodrama, too) with just the exact amount of action and sport thrown in, the dish can turn out delectable. Oh, and did we mention the spicy ‘special song’?

Karan Malhotra, whose 2013 Agneepath had shattered numerous box office records and Aguamenti-ed lachrymal glands, has now given us Akshay Kumar-

Sidharth Malhotra’s Brothers. The remake of the 2011 Hollywood film Warrior, this tale of estranged brothers David and Monty Fernandes is brilliantly brilliant in parts. And sags with the heaviness in others.

Gavin O’Connor and Cliff Dorfman’s tale of Tommy and Brendan is given a Colaba twist. Old and ailing ex-streetfighter Garson Fernandes (Jackie Shroff) is released from jail, and his son Monty (Sidharth) receives him at the prisongates. Garry (Garson) inquires about his elder son David (Akshay), who is conspicuous by his absence on his dad’s big day.

And we realise that there’s hatred for David running deep in Monty’s veins.

Flashbacks of his dead wife Maria (Shefali Shah)

greet Garry once at their place. A long-drawn-sceneinvolving-innumerablememories later, we’re given the preface to David and Monty’s story. In another part of town, David lives a happy life with his wife Jenny (Jacqueline) and daughter. This high-school physics teacher is an intriguing subject to his students, who don’t miss an opportunity delving into his ‘other’ side. David and Jenny try to make ends meet, with his daughter’s kidneys needing dialysis frequently. When he is sacked from his school, David re-enters the arena.

Billionaire Peter Briganza (Kiran Kumar) gifts streetfighting a legal status by beginning R2F (Right 2 Fight), a two-day Mixed Martial Arts tournament.

And much like O’Connor’s original, this winner-takesit-all tourney has prize money of Rs 9 crore, which is the motivation for David.

For Monty, it is his angst.

Brothers has been touted as India’s first out-and-out MMA film, and it does justice to that claim. Post interval, the pace of the film peaks, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The need vs anger divide shines through after long, and after much drama (read: melodrama). The snooze-fest-y sepia-tinted sequences are a major drawback of the film. The ‘special song’ Mera Naam Mary again serves no purpose apart from making people drool over the uberhot Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Akshay and Sidharth’s fight sequences make

Watch ‘Umrao Jaan’ or ‘Gaman’ instead, Muzaffar Ali’s timeless triumphs Cast: Imran Abbas, Pernia Qureshi, Dalip Tahil, Muzaffar Ali, Carl Wharton, Beena Kak Director: Muzaffar Ali Ratings: 1 Star It is 1877 in Avadh, twenty years after India’s first ‘war’ of Independence. A handsome prince returns from England, falls in love with a ‘tawaaif’, and gets to know some deep dark secrets about his parentage. He also learns that the British are not-not all of them, at any rate – the truthful people he has come to believe; some of them

can be conniving liars and savage murderers.

Muzaffar Ali’s period piece comes to us more than three decades after his ‘Umrao Jaan’, which was based on practically the same theme. You reach out reflexively for its memory when you see ‘Jaanisaar’: the older film is rightfully a classic, with Rekha acing her part as the gorgeous ‘naatchgirl’ and the superb Farooq Sheikh as the noble-man who loses his heart to her, the film a lyrical testament to its times; of this one, the

less said the better.

Neither Imran Abbas nor Pernia Qureshi do justice to their meaty parts, except he is a tad better than her. A period film demands correct body language: both look modish but contemporary. The way they speak is also very here and now.

The awful Englishman (Carl Wharton), representative of the Queen and cruel collector of ‘lagaan’, is theatrical, as are the rest of the supporting acts.

The only upside: the wonderful costumes.

Issue 628 (16)

Nargis Fakhri loses almost four kgs in a month

Nargis Fakhri eliminated “certain foods that I am allergic to” from her diet and the ‘Rockstar’ fame actress says she has lost a good amount of weight.”I lost almost four kilos in one month just by eliminating certain foods that I am allergic to out of my diet. And walking 10,000 steps a day! Amazed,” Nargis tweeted on Sunday. The actress has been often tweeting about food.

Nargis had earlier shared about French fries craving and how she overcame it.

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

I play a real-life tough cop in ‘Udta Punjab’ says Diljit Dosanjh It is not the first time that Diljit Dosanjh is donning the khakee for a film but the Punjabi heartthrob says unlike his previous outings, his cop act in ‘Udta Punjab’ is close to reality and devoid of frills. The 31year-old singer-actor is making his Bollywood debut with the Abhishek Chaubey-directed thriller, which is backed by fouryears of research and based around the drugrelated problems prevalent in Punjab. “In the film, I play a Punjab Police cop. I have played a policeman before in my films but this time the part is very real. There are no tight clothes, no body at display.

Abhishek sir has done a research of 3 to 4 years.

I did not have to do anything at all. He just asked me to act the way I felt,” Diljit told PTI. The Jatt & Juliet star, who made his acting debut in 2011 with Punjabi film The Lion of Punjab, said bagging Udta Punjab in which he stars opposite Kareena Kapoor Khan,

as his debut in Bollywood is a dream come true for him. “I just don’t have words to describe how I feel about working with Kareena and that too in my debut Bollywood film. I have been her admirer. I thought getting a photograph with her would be an accomplishment, but here I am working with her. She is very dedicated.” For the role, Diljit got a call from casting director Honey Trehan and met Chaubey and Vikramaditya Motwane, who is producing the movie via Phantom Films. Diljit said before the meeting he was not sure whether he would do the film, but after the narration, he had no thread of doubt and immediately said yes.

“Before the meeting, I decided in my mind that I will say yes to the project only if the role is good, not just for the sake of doing a Bollywood film. But when I heard the script and my role, it was beyond my expectation. I didn’t

expect that I would get a proper role with such an amazing star cast,” Diljit said. The upcoming film also stars Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. In most of his films, Diljit also lends his voice to the songs besides his acting part. He said he is glad that the makers of Udta Punjab did not approach him to sing because it would have taken the essence out of his character.

“I never bothered to ask them if I have to sing a song as well. I was too happy with my role. I liked the fact that I was offered the film as an actor. I am playing a character in the film. Earlier also I have been offered films in which the makers

would tell me that I have to sing few songs.

My grandfather is larger than Box-office number is actually a life for me says Athiya Shetty pressure says Akshay Kumar Athiya Shetty, 22, is not just stylish but she is also simple, genuine, quiet, affectionate and sensitive.

And while she is mature and confident, she is also completely mad and stressed out, but prefers to not show her emotions until she knows the person completely. Ahead of her debut film Hero being di-

rected by Nikhil Advani, she opens up to Bombay Times in her first ever interview. Excerpts from our

conversation with this clear star in the making.

Let’s talk about your childhood? I am born and brought up in Mumbai. My dad got into the film industry around the time I was born. I went to Cathedral

first for a bit, after which my parents shifted me to the American School as they wanted me to do the IB programme. I was amongst the first few Indian kids along with Tiger and his sister Krishna Shroff to join the school.

Shraddha Kapoor and Tiger were two years older to me and they were classmates. While Tiger would always be bullying and troubling me, Krishna and I were best friends. I used to look at Shraddha in awe when I was in school, as she was good at everything. She was a drama student, she used to dance, she used to sing.

Even at that time everyone knew that she would be an actor. She is also extremely warm. I remember she, Krishna, Tiger and me would be doing dance performances together and she would be choreographing it. Our school, of course, is really happy and proud now that we have all gone into Bollywood. My mom would make sure I had my breakfast and would go and and drop me all the way to school every day from Altamount Road in town to Bandra Kurla Complex. While growing up, I never went to my dad’s set.

Superstar Akshay Kumar says he prefers to stay away from the pressure of box office by taking up characters which challenge him as a performer. “Box-office number is actually a pressure.

And that is what I don’t want.

So, I do a film like Baby, which has a limited audience and there are no songs. Many people warned me against it because songs are an integral part of Hindi cinema.

“It will affect the trade of the film by approximately Rs 40-50 crores. But I didn’t pay heed to it. I wanted to give something new to my audience. If I will think about box-office collection, I will not be able to do diverse films,” he said. The 47year-old actor’s latest re-

lease Brothers has so far earned Rs 36.63 crore at the box office, according to trade analysts. Akshay considers Brothers as his toughest film thanks to the hardcore action required for certain scenes. Brothers was not an easy film to make. We worked hard. We started prepping for the film five months before the shooting. We got punches on our faces because the fight sequences in the film are mostly contact fights,” he said. Directed by Karan Malhotra of Agneepath fame, Brothers also stars Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Jackie Shroff and Shefali Shah. It is a remake of 2011 Hollywood film Warrior.

‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ will set off waterworks, claims Salman Khan After leaving his fans with a teary eye in ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, Salman Khan has now claimed that his upcoming movie ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ will also set off the waterworks. Giving an insight into the flick, the 49-yearold actor said that the Sooraj R. Barjatya’s directorial will bring out the internal conflicts in fami-

lies, between brothers and

sisters and the audience should get prepared to hold their tears, reported the Dawn.

Interestingly the Dabangg Khan, who plays a double role in the film, will be portraying the character of a King who swaps places with an ordinary man who looks exactly like him to get rid of his responsibilities.

Issue 628 (17)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Sharon Stone feels effects James Bond part of cinema history says Monica Bellucci of brain damage

Actress Sharon Stone feels like her “entire DNA changed” after suffering a brain haemorrhage in the year 2001 and that she is still feeling the effects of brain damage.

“It almost feels like my entire DNA changed.

My brain isn’t sitting where it used to, my body type changed, and even my food allergies are different,” Stone said. The Basic Instinct actress, who once feared she would never be able to read or

speak again, believes that the experience taught her a lot, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“I became more emotionally intelligent. I chose to work very hard to open up other parts of my mind. Now I’m stronger. And I can be abrasively direct. That scares people, but I think that’s not my problem. “It’s like, I have brain damage; you’ll just have to deal with it,” she told Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

Her casting in “Spectre” created a lot of buzz and for Italian beauty Monica Bellucci it was an opportunity to be a part of cinema history by playing a Bond girl. Bellucci, 50, plays a mysterious seductress in the 24th James Bond movie. Bellucci was full of praise for the other Bond girl, French actress Lea Seydoux. Talking about playing Lucia Sciarra in the movie, Bellucci said, “She is an Italian widow with secrets... James Bond is part of cinema history. I respect all the James Bond girls as they were incredible actresses and now we have Lea Seydoux. She is very beautiful, very talented and she is a great Bond girl.” In the Sam Mendes-directed movie, the 007 agent embarks on a rogue mission to Mexico City following a cryptic message from his past.

From Mexico, he travels to Rome, where he meets Lucia, the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE. He enlists the help of Moneypenny and Q to seek out Madeleine Swann, the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White, who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. As Bond ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks, played by double Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz. Seydoux described playing Madeleine a great adventure.

“She’s a doctor, she’s intelligent and very sensitive human character. I am very lucky to work with amazing

actors and a great director. It’s been a great adventure.”

Mendes, who returns to his second and final Bond movie after the success of Skyfall, said he wanted actresses with depth and mystery to play Bond girls in Spectre. “In SPECTRE, the two women who Bond hooks up with, both have great mystery, they both have depths and for that you need fantastic actresses. “I thought who else but Monica Bellucci. It makes sense with the story, for the age of the character we are dealing with. She has an incredibly seductive presence in the life and in the movie...,” Mendes said. Lea Seydoux is a relative newcomer compared to the experienced cast of the movie but her filmography boasts of critically acclaimed turn in Blue Is the Warmest Colour besides roles in big ticket Hollywood dramas like Inglourious Basterds, Robin Hood, Midnight in Paris. “Lea Seydoux plays Madeleine. The actress needed to be ... feisty and complicated. This is a pivotal relationship so it could not have been a total newcomer. It needed to be someone with certain amount of life experience and maturity. She is sort of the whole package,” Mendes said.

Motherhood made Johnny Depp awarded Disney Legend award me love my body says Keira Knightley

Actress Keira Knightley, who welcomed her daughter three months ago, says pregnancy and giving birth have helped her get past any body insecurities that she had. Knightley told Elle magazine: “I have to say, as a woman, you hate certain parts of your body. You go through those periods where you look in the mirror and you think, ‘Oh, if only I had different legs or arms or whatever’. “You go through pregnancy and giving birth and then feeding the kid and you go, ‘Wow, my body is totally amazing, and I’m never going to not like it again, because it did this, and this is f***ing extraordinary’.”

Knightley also said that she was thrilled to turn 30 this year as it has stopped her worrying about things, including what she should wear, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“It’s the difficult thing of getting out of your own head. To stop going, ‘Oh, there’s something I should be doing, there’s a way I should be behaving, I should be dressing ...’ All of those shoulds, you can drown in them,” she said.

Hollywood star Johnny Depp was awarded a Disney Legend award at the D23 expo in Anaheim, California.

The legendary actor said he looks at “fans” as his “employers” and it’s a “great opportunity to do stupid things for a living”. He said he hopes he can now “meet Micky Mouse”. Amid palpable excitement and fans singing along with Duck Tales, the legendary George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, arrived at the D23 Expo which kicked off at Anaheim Convention Centre, Friday morning.

The Disney Legends Awards had attracted die-hard fans from all over the state and even across boarders and continents. As Disney Chairperson and CEO Bob Iger declared that he had the “happiest job on earth” the crowd cheered enthusiastically. He had just said “I can see you have brought your enthusiasm along” “we are thrilled to have you here and to give you a a little glimpse of what Disney has in store... At our fourth D23 expo which is our biggest and best yet,” he said.

“Walt Disney would have been so proud to see how far we have come,” he said to more cheer and applause. He said “my magic plus” at Disney Orlando will make the experience more fun for guests. “Since we last met Walt Disney animation studio has won two Academy awards , for Frozen and Big Hero six”.

Will Smith developing sitcom in the vein of ‘Fresh Prince’

Actor Will Smith is developing a new family comedy which will be on similar lines of his hit 90s sitcom ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’.

Despite earlier reports that the new series would reboot the sitcom for modern audiences, the project will only share some surface similarities to the classic, reported Entertainment Weekly.

Issue 628 (18)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Indian-origin woman dies saving 200 Indian workers in parents from blaze in Trinidad & Tobago Oman without salary

Port of Spain An Indian-origin woman died saving her parents in central Trinidad’s Cunupia town after a fire engulfed her house on Tuesday, media reported. The mother of Rhea Heeralal, 24, described her as a ‘hero’ who attempted to rescue her parents after she was alerted to the fire

around 5 a.m., Trinidad and Tobago Guardian reported on Wednesday.

Rhea’s father Ramdeo Heeralal, a freelance video journalist, also sustained burn injuries after he attempted to douse the flames to rescue her daughter. The body of the woman was found in the kitchen.

38,000 attend US parade to mark I-day WASHINGTON Some 38,000 people, including Indian celebrities, attended a spectacular parade in the US town of Edison to mark India’s 69th Independence Day, a media report said. The 11th Annual Official New Jersey India Day Parade saw over 20 floats, dozens of walking groups and marching bands perform in the nearly two-kilometre parade, which commenced from Edison and concluded in

India Square near Woodbridge town, India

West reported on Friday.

Indian celebrities including

talk show host Richa Anirudh, Bollywood actresses Avani Modi, Prachee Shah, Madalsa Sherma, Sameksha Singh and Sujata Mehta attended the parade.

The event, which was attended by over 100 New Jersey-based organi-zations, featured a 110 member marching band and several dance groups as well. Leading the political delegation were Edison Ma

Muscat At least 200 Indians working with an Omanbased construction company have not been paid for the past five months, a media report said on Wednesday.

“Our salaries are pending for the past five months.

We were waiting for the company to pay us, but they have failed to keep their promise. It has become quite difficult to survive,” the Times of Oman quoted workers as saying on Tuesday.

The workers have lodged a complaint with the Indian embassy to get their dues. “We have lodged a complaint with the Indian embassy on August 10. We are ready

to leave but we need to be paid for our work. We cannot leave emptyhanded,” the workers said.

He added that the company, which has project sites in Ibri, Mabelah, Nakhal and Bausher, is asking the workers to leave.

“They are not ready to clear our dues,” the workers said. Attempts to get a comment from the company over the workers’ claims failed, the report said. “The Oman government and the labour law guarantee a salary for the workers according to the signed job contract agreed upon at the time of employment.

Issue 628 (19)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

19-year-old year-old firefighter Origins of lager beer traced back to 15th century Bavaria rescued from Tianjin blaze Tianjin A young firefighter was rescued on Friday from the site of the powerful blasts at a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals,

A State Council investigation team was quoted by the staterun CCTV as saying that one survivor and the remains of five victims were found on Friday,

that have rocked the Chinese port city of Tianjin, killing at least 55 people in one of China’s worst industrial disasters. Rescuers have been racing against time to find survivors amid chemical contamination fears. The survivor, who was pulled out 32 hours after the twin explosions shattered the Ruihai warehouse, was identified as a 19-year-old firefighter named Zhou Ti who belongs to the Binhai New Area brigade of Tianjin’s fire department. More than 1,020 firefighters and 140 fire engines have been deployed to douse the fire, said Zhou Tian, head of Tianjin’s fire department at a press conference on Friday.

The enormous blasts, which occurred late Wednesday night, have killed 55 people, including 17 firefighters. A total of 701 were injured, of whom 70 remain in critical condition.

raising the death toll to 55.

Authorities have also detained the senior management of Ruihai International Logistics.

Thick smoke billowed from the blast site, 140 km from Beijing,

grave,” Zhou said. He did not specify the number of missing firemen. However, news organizations in Beijing have reported that 36 fire fighters are still missing. “Forces from all sides are searching for the missing firefighters,” Zhou said.

Meanwhile, the dangerous chemicals stored in the warehouses that exploded cannot be determined at the moment, Chinese officials said. Gao Huaiyou, deputy director of Tianjin’s work safety watchdog, cited major discrepancies between the accounts of company management and customs and damage to the company’s office as reasons they are unable to identify the chemicals. Cargo is stored in a warehouse for no more than 40 days before being transferred elsewhere, Gao

as most of the fire had been doused. “When the blast occurred, several firefighters were working to put out the fire, and backup forces had just arrived. They were caught off guard, so the casualties are

told media. The environmental organisation Greenpeace Beijing expressed concerns over the health risks posed by certain chemicals after the two massive explosions rocked the city home to 15 million people.

China to scrutinise mails to be sent to Tibet ahead of parade Beijing China will strictly scrutinise all mails and parcels to be sent to Tibet as part of the stringent scrutiny measures ahead of the 70th anniversary of its

August 20 and September 12 the real names of both receiver and sender must be submitted before packages and mails can be sent to the Tibet Autonomous Region. A

victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression on September 3.

China’s State Post Bureau (SPB) said that between

series of celebrations will be held from August to midSeptember to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in World War II and the War of Resistance against Japanese

Aggression besides events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region which will be held in Tibet in early September.

The authorities need to step up checks for illegal packages, especially for guns, flammable materials and explosives, illegal knives, hazardous chemicals and banned political publications, state-run Global Times reported. China is also turning capital Beijing into a veritable fortress ahead of the parade by shutting down airports, roads and close subway stations for night rehearsals.

Streets surrounding Tienanmen Square and Chang’an Avenue, where soldiers will march, will be closed during the rehearsal. Night parking will also be banned on several roads.

Berlin Using next-generation sequencing techniques, scientists have traced the origins of the yeast used in making the most popular lager beer all the way back to 15th Century Bavaria in Germany. The beer world is divided into ales and lagers. The original and highly versatile yeast, Saccharromyces cerevisiae, has been used for millennium to make ales, wine and bread. But the second great beer innovation was the origins of lager beer during the 15th century, when Bavarians first noticed that beer stored in the caves during the winter continued to ferment, researchers said. The result was a lighter and smoother beer that, after sharing it with their neighbouring Bohemians, went on to dominate 19th and 20th century beers tastes, especially in America.

Lager yeasts are hybrid strains, made of two different yeast species, S cerevisiae and S eubayanus, which was discovered in 2011. Lagers now represent a whopping 94 per cent of the world beer market. But the origins of different hybrid lineages has been a bone of contention for lager beer makers. Taking advantage of a newly described wild yeast species from Patagonia, Saccharomyces eubayanus, the researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison were able to complete and

assemble a high-quality genome of S eubayanus using next-generation sequencing. They compared it to domesticated hybrids that are used to brew lager style beers, allowing for the first time the ability to study the complete genomes of both

parental yeast species contributing to lager beer. They show two independent origin events for S cerevisiae and S eubanyus hybrids that brew lager beers. The findings show that domestication for beer making has placed yeast on similar evolutionary trajectories multiple times. The results suggest that the Saaz and Frohberg lineages (named for their area of origin) were created by at least two distinct hybridisation events between nearly identical strains of S eubayanus with relatively more diverse ale strains of S cerevisiae. “Lager yeasts did not just originate once. This unlikely marriage between two species, genetically as different from one another as humans and birds, happened at least twice,” said corresponding author Chris Todd Hittinger of the University of isconsin-Madison.

,VVXH

02', :2:6 30 PDNHV YHLOHG DWWDFN RQ 3DNLVWDQ RYHU WHUURULVP DV KH DGGUHVVHV ,QGLDQ GLDVSRUD

7KH ,QGLDQ 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU ZDV JUHHWHG ZLWK µ0DUEKD 1D0R¶ RU µ:HOFRPH 1DUHQGUD 0RGL¶ DORQJ ZLWK SRVWHUV GHFODULQJ µ)RUZDUG 7RJHWKHU¶ DW WKH FULFNHW VWDGLXP LQ 'XEDL ZKLFK VHHPHG WR EXUVW DW WKH VHDPV ZLWK WKH KRUGHV FKDQWLQJ KLV QDPH DQG WKDW RI µ%KDUDW 0DWD¶ 0RGL GHOLYHUHG DQ HPSKDWLF VSHHFK LQ KLV FKDUDFWHULVWLF VW\OH RI GLDORJXH ZLWK WKH VSHFWDWRUV DQG WRXFKHG RQ QHDUO\ HYHU\ DFKLHYHPHQW RI KLV *RYHUQPHQW RQ WKH GRPHVWLF DV ZHOO DV GLSORPDWLF IURQWV :KLOH KH WDUJHWHG RSSRQHQWV DW KRPH DV ZHOO DV WUXDQW QHLJKERXU 3DNLVWDQ LQ D YHLOHG EXW SRZHUIXO DWWDFN WKH HPSKDVLV RI WKH 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU UHPDLQHG ,QGLD¶V UHVROYH DJDLQVW WHUURULVP :LWKRXW WDNLQJ QDPHV WKH 30 LQGLFDWHG ³EDG WLPHV IRU 'DZRRG ,EUDKLP´ DV KH XQGHUOLQHG WKH 8$(¶V FRRSHUDWLYH DWWLWXGH WRZDUGV WKH SUREOHP RI WHUURULVP ³7KH &URZQ 3ULQFH RI WKH 8$( KDV PDGH KLV RSSRVLWLRQ WR WHUURULVP FOHDU LQ XQDPELJXRXV WHUPV 7KH XQHTXLYRFDO PHVVDJH LV WKDW WKRVH LQYROYHG LQ WHUURULVP ZLOO EH SXQLVKHG 7KRVH ZKR QHHG WR XQGHUVWDQG ZLOO JHW WKH PHVVDJH VDPDMKGDU NR LVKDUD NDDIL KDL ´ 0RGL VDLG ³7KH ZRUOG GUHDGV WHUURULVP EXW ,QGLD KDV EHHQ EHDULQJ WKH EUXQW RI WKH SUREOHP IRU RYHU \HDUV QRZ 2XU LQQRFHQW SHRSOH KDYH EHHQ PXUGHUHG 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU 1DUHQGUD 0RGL VSHDNV WR WKRXVDQGV ,W LV QRZ WKDW WKH ZRUOG KDV DZDNHQ WR WKH IDFW RI H[ SDW ,QGLDQV DW D FULFNHW VWDGLXP LQ 'XEDL WKDW WHUURULVP KDV QR ERUGHUV ³:KLOH , ZDV FRPLQJ KHUH %DQJNRN ZDV URFNHG E\ D ERPE 1RZ LV WKH WLPH WKDW ZRUOG EH GLYLGHG EHWZHHQ QDWLRQV UDQJHG 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU 1DUHQGUD 0RGL RQ 0RQGD\ WKDQNHG WKH 8$( WRJHWKHU IRU KXPDQLVP YHUVXV JRYHUQPHQW IRU GHFLGLQJ WR DOORW D SORW RI ODQG IRU EXLOGLQJ D WKRVH IRU WHUURULVP 6XFK WHPSOH KHUH WKH ILUVW LQ WKH (PLUDWL FDSLWDO GHVFULELQJ LW DV D FODVVLILFDWLRQV VXFK DV µEDG JUHDW VWHS 7DOLEDQ¶ DQG µJRRG 7DOLEDQ¶ ZLOO GR $ MRLQW VWDWHPHQW LVVXHG DIWHU 0RGL¶V WDONV ZLWK 8$( OHDGHUVKLS QR PRUH 1DWLRQV ZLOO KDYH WR VDLG KH WKDQNHG WKH 8$( &URZQ 3ULQFH 0RKDPHG %LQ =D\HG $, 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU 1DUHQGUD 0RGL 0RGL WROG 8$( LQYHVWRUV WKDW ,QGLD GHFLGH ZKHWKHU WKH\ DUH IRU RU 1DK\D IRU GHFLGLQJ WR DOORW ODQG IRU D WHPSOH LQ $EX 'KDEL UHFHLYHV D ERRN IURP WKH 9LFH KDV DQ LPPHGLDWH LQYHVWPHQW DJDLQVW WHUURULVP ´ 0RGL VDLG 3UHVLGHQW DQG 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU RI WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ RI WULOOLRQ DQG WKH ³, DP YHU\ WKDQNIXO WR WKH 8$( JRYHUQPHQW IRU WKHLU GHFLVLRQ WR ³)RU PDQ\ \HDUV WKH 81 DOORW ODQG LQ RUGHU WR EXLOG D 7HPSOH LQ $EX 'KDEL 7KLV LV D JUHDW 8$( 0RKDPPHG ELQ 5DVKLG $O JRYHUQPHQW ZLOO WDNH XUJHQW VWHSV WR UHVROXWLRQ RQ WHUURULVP LV KDQJLQJ VWHS ´ 0RGL VDLG LQ WZHHW DGGUHVV FRQFHUQV RI WKH 0DNWRXP ULJKW LQ 'XEDL ILUH 7KH ERG\ FDPH LQWR H[LVWHQFH :KLOH WKHUH DUH WZR WHPSOHV LQ 'XEDL RQH RI /RUG 6KLYD DQG EXVLQHVVPHQ DQG HUDVH 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU 0RGL V NH\ QHDUO\ \HDUV DJR LQ WKH DQRWKHU RI .ULVKQD WKHUH LV QRQH LQ $EX 'KDEL GHILFLW RI \HDUV 1DUHQGUD 0RGL SULRULWLHV LV WR DIWHUPDWK RI WKH WZR :RUOG :DUV 7KHUH DUH QHDUO\ PLOOLRQ ,QGLDQV LQ 8$( ZKLFK FRQVWLWXWHV ³, KDYH JRW VRPH SUREOHPV UHFHLYHV D ERRN IURP SHUVXDGH WKH 8$( WR EULQJ VXFFRXU WR QDWLRQV EXW LW SHU FHQW RI WKH WRWDO SRSXODWLRQ LQ OHJDF\ , FDQQRW WDNH WKH 9LFH 3UHVLGHQW DGPLQ WR LQYHVW VRPH KDV IDLOHG VR IDU WR HYHQ GHILQH $ QXPEHU RI ,QGLDQV KHUH H[SUHVVHG KDSSLQHVV RYHU 8$( RQO\ WKH JRRG SRLQWV DQG DQG 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU RI LWV ELOOLRQ WHUURULVP DQG WHUURULVWV OHDYH DVLGH WKH SUREOHPV RI WKH 8$( *RYHUQPHQW¶V GHFLVLRQ IXQG LQ ,QGLDQ ³,QGLD¶V ORQJVWDQGLQJ SRVLWLRQ KDV 6RPH WKLQJV ZHUH VWDOOHG 0RKDPPHG ELQ LQIUDVWUXFWXUH EHHQ WKDW WKH UHVROXWLRQ VKRXOG EH GLVFXVVHG OHIW D QXPEHU RI JRRG WKLQJV IRU PH WR GR 0\ GXH WR WKH LQGHFLVLYHQHVV DQG 5DVKLG $O 0DNWRXP DQG UDWLILHG 1RZ WKH &URZQ 3ULQFH KDV HQGRUVHG YLVLW WR 'XEDL DQG WKH 8$( LV RQH VXFK WKLQJ DV OHWKDUJ\ RI WKH JRYHUQPHQWV LQ ULJKW LQ 'XEDL RXU SRVLWLRQ DV DOVR RXU ELG IRU D SHUPDQHQW VHDW LW FRPHV DIWHU \HDUV ´ KH VDLG 5HDFKLQJ RXW WR LQYHVWRUV LQ WKH WKH ODVW ,W LV P\ SULRULW\ WR VWDUW DW WKH 81 6HFXULW\ &RXQFLO ´ 0RGL VDLG ,Q \HW DQRWKHU LQVWDQFH KH VDLG ³7KH WUDYHO WLPH 8$( 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU 1DUHQGUD 0RGL WKRVH WKLQJV ´ 0RGL VDLG ZKLOH 30 0RGL DOVR WRRN SRWVKRWV DW WKH &RQJUHVV WR 1HSDO LV OHVV WKDQ PLQXWHV EXW ,QGLDQ 30V VDLG WKDW ,QGLD KDV KXJH LQYHVWPHQW DGGUHVVLQJ EXVLQHVV OHDGHUV IURP DQG SUHYLRXV JRYHUQPHQWV \HW DJDLQ ZLWKRXW WRRN \HDUV WR UHDFK WKHUH ´ RSSRUWXQLW\ DV KH DVVXUHG WKDW WKH WKH 8$( KHUH DW WKH 0DVGDU &LW\ WDNLQJ QDPHV 0RGL DOVR VDLG WKH 8$( KDG SOHGJHG LQYHVWPHQWV SUREOHPV LQ VHWWLQJ XS EXVLQHVVHV 0RGL VDLG ,QGLD KDV KXJH LQYHVWPHQW ³, DP IRUWXQDWH WKDW SUHYLRXV JRYHUQPHQWV KDYH WR WKH WXQH RI 5V ODNK FURUH LQ ,QGLD RSSRUWXQLWLHV IRU LQYHVWRUV IURP WKH LQ WKH FRXQWU\ ZLOO EH UHPRYHG

$ 7(03/( ,1 $%8 '+$%,

30 SDYHV WKH ZD\ IRU VPRRWK EXVLQHVV

'8%$,

0RVTXH YLVLW FDXVHV VWLU EDFN KRPH

3ULPH 0LQLVWHU 1DUHQGUD 0RGL¶V YLVLW WR 6KHLNK =D\HG *UDQG 0RVTXH LQ $EX 'KDEL FDXVHG D VWLU EDFN KRPH DV VRPH 0XVOLP OHDGHUV DQG WKH &RQJUHVV WULHG WR GHFLSKHU WKH VLJQDOOLQJ EHKLQG WKH PRYH $GGLQJ WR WKH JDPH RI SROLWLFDO IDOORXW RI WKH YLVLW ZDV WKH GHFLVLRQ RI WKH 8$( JRYHUQPHQW WR DOORW ODQG IRU WKH ILUVW HYHU +LQGX WHPSOH LQ $EX 'KDEL 7KHUH DUH WZR WHPSOHV DQG D JXUGZDUD LQ 'XEDL EXW QRQH LQ $EX 'KDEL 7KH PRYH KDV EURXJKW VXFFRXU WR WKH PLOOLRQ VWURQJ ,QGLDQ SRSXODWLRQ LQ WKH 8$( WKDW FRPSULVHV D WKLUG RI LWV WRWDO

8$( LQ VHFWRUV OLNH LQIUDVWUXFWXUH HQHUJ\ DQG UHDO HVWDWH DQG XUJHG WKHP WR FRPH WR LQYHVW LQ ,QGLD DQG WRJHWKHU PDNH WKH VW FHQWXU\ µ$VLD¶V &HQWXU\¶ 7KH 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU VDLG DOO PDMRU JOREDO LQVWLWXWLRQV VXFK DV WKH ,0) :RUOG %DQN DQG 0RRG\¶V DJUHH WKDW ,QGLD LV WKH ZRUOG¶V IDVWHVW JURZLQJ HFRQRP\ DQG LW KDV KXJH GHYHORSPHQW SRWHQWLDO ³2Q RQH KDQG ,QGLD LV JURZLQJ IDVW DQG RQ WKH RWKHU KDQG WKH ZRUOG LV ORRNLQJ DW $VLD %XW LV $VLD FRPSOHWH ZLWKRXW 8$(" , FDQ FOHDUO\ VHH WKDW WKH 8$( VKRXOG EH DW WKH FHQWUH RI PDLQVWUHDP RI WKLQJV LQ $VLD

SRSXODWLRQ 7KH 30 ODXGHG WKH JHVWXUH DV D ³JUHDW VWHS´ LQ D WZHHW 6RPH RI KLV RSSRQHQWV KLJKOLJKWHG WKDW WKH 30 YLVLWHG WKH 6KHLNK =D\HG *UDQG 0RVTXH DW $EX 'KDEL ZKHQ KH KDG QRW DFFRUGHG WKH FRPPXQLW\ DQ\ VXFK JHVWXUH LQ ,QGLD $OO ,QGLD 0XVOLP 3HUVRQDO /DZ %RDUG $,03/% VDLG WKDW 0RGL FRXOG KDYH FKRVHQ WR YLVLW D PRVTXH LQ WKH FRXQWU\ EHIRUH YLVLWLQJ D PRVTXH LQ WKH 8$( ³%HIRUH YLVLWLQJ D PRVTXH LQ VRPH RWKHU FRXQWU\ LW ZRXOG KDYH EHHQ EHWWHU LI 0RGL KDG YLVLWHG D PDVMLG LQ ,QGLD ´ $,03/% ZRUNLQJ JHQHUDO VHFUHWDU\ 0DXODQD 0RKDPPDG :DOL 5HKPDQL VDLG 5HKPDQL DOVR DFFXVHG WKH 1'$ *RYHUQPHQW RI FRPSURPLVLQJ WKH EDVLF WHQHWV RI WKH &RQVWLWXWLRQ DQG DOOHJHG WKDW LW ZDV WU\LQJ WR FRQYHUW ,QGLD IURP D VHFXODU VWDWH WR RQH EDVHG RQ D SDUWLFXODU UHOLJLRQ &RQJUHVV OHDGHU 'LJYLMD\D 6LQJK VDLG ³, DP KDSS\ WKDW D SHUVRQ ZKR GLG QRW ZLVK WR ZHDU D VNXOO FDS LV YLVLWLQJ D PRVTXH ´

$XJ $XJ

*HHODQL ZDUQV RI ¶VHULRXV FRQVHTXHQFHV· LI - . ODQG LV JLYHQ WR $UP\ YHWHUDQV

%\ 1DVHHU *DQDL +DUGOLQH +XUUL\DW &RQIHUHQFH IDFWLRQ OHDGHU 6\HG $OL 6KDK *HHODQL RQ 0RQGD\ UHMHFWHG DQ\ SODQ RI WKH *RYHUQPHQW RI ,QGLD WR SHUPDQHQWO\ VHWWOH UHWLUHG ,QGLDQ DUP\ SHUVRQQHO RU WKHLU FKLOGUHQ LQ -DPPX DQG .DVKPLU 0HDQZKLOH WKH %-3 FODULILHG WKDW RQO\ WKRVH VROGLHUV ZKR DUH UHVLGHQWV RI .DVKPLU ZLOO EH SURYLGHG VSDFH LQ SURSRVHG 6DLQLN FRORQLHV *HHODQL VDLG ³-DPPX DQG .DVKPLU LV DQ LQWHUQDWLRQDOO\ DFFHSWHG GLVSXWHG WHUULWRU\ DQG GHFLVLRQ UHJDUGLQJ LWV IXWXUH LV VWLOO SHQGLQJ VR VHWWOLQJ RU DOORWWLQJ RI ODQG WR DQ\ DUP\ SHUVRQQHO RU DQ\ FLWL]HQ RI ,QGLD RQ WKLV GLVSXWHG ODQG LV D FOHDU YLRODWLRQ RI LQWHUQDWLRQDO UXOHV DQG LW KDV QR FRQVWLWXWLRQDO RU PRUDO MXVWLILFDWLRQ ´ ³6WDWXV RI - . LV GLIIHUHQW IURP %LKDU RU 83 ,VVXLQJ FLWL]HQVKLS RI WKLV VWDWH WR DQ\ ,QGLDQ QDWLRQDO LV DJDLQVW FRQVWLWXWLRQ RI WKLV VWDWH DQG WKH ,QGLDQ *RYHUQPHQW GRHVQ¶W KDYH SRZHUV WR DPHQG WKH VWDWH FRQVWLWXWLRQ ´ KH DGGHG +H FDXWLRQHG WKDW ³DOORWWLQJ ODQG WR UHWLUHG DUP\ SHUVRQQHO LQ -DPPX DQG .DVKPLU ZLOO EH D JUDYH PLVWDNH RQ WKH SDUW RI WKH *RYHUQPHQW DQG LW ZLOO KDYH VHULRXV FRQVHTXHQFHV ´ ³7KH SUR IUHHGRP SHRSOH ZLOO KLW WKH URDG WR SURWHVW DJDLQVW WKLV PRYH ´ *HHODQL VDLG ³,I DQ\ SLHFH

RI ODQG LV DOORWWHG WR ,QGLDQ DUP\ SHUVRQQHO LQ - . ZH ZLOO ODXQFK D SXEOLF PRYHPHQW DJDLQVW LW ´ 7DNLQJ RQ WKH 0XIWL 0RKDPPDG 6D\HHG JRYHUQPHQW RQ WKH LVVXH *HHODQL VDLG WKH VWDWH JRYHUQPHQW ZDV \HW WR VD\ DQ\WKLQJ DERXW LW (DUOLHU DGGUHVVLQJ D SUHVV FRQIHUHQFH WKH %-3 OHDGHU DQG VWDWH VSRNHVPDQ .KDOLG -HKDQJLU VDLG WKH ODQG ZLOO EH DOORWWHG LQ SURSRVHG 6DLQLN FRORQLHV WR RQO\ WKRVH UHWLUHG VHUYLFHPHQ ZKR DUH SHUPDQHQW UHVLGHQWV RI - . ³$OO HPSOR\HHV DIWHU UHWLUHPHQW JHW KRXVLQJ IDFLOLWLHV ,Q - .

DOVR DUP\ SHUVRQQHO EHORQJLQJ WR WKH VWDWH ZKR VHUYH LQ -DPPX DQG .DVKPLU /LJKW ,QIDQWU\ -./,

GHVHUYH KRXVLQJ 6R WKHUH LV QRWKLQJ ZURQJ ZLWK WKH SURSRVDO ´ -HKDQJLU VDLG (DUO\ WKLV PRQWK %-3 SDUOLDPHQWDULDQ 7DUXQ 9LMD\ ODXQFKHG D FDPSDLJQ VHHNLQJ VHWWOHPHQW ULJKWV IRU VROGLHUV ZKR KDYH VHUYHG LQ - . RU WR WKH IDPLOLHV RI WKRVH SHUVRQQHO ZKR KDYH GLHG GXULQJ FRXQWHU LQVXUJHQF\ RSHUDWLRQV ³)LUVW RI DOO 9LMD\ VKRXOG ORRN IRU D FRQVWLWXHQF\ DQG WKHQ ILJKW HOHFWLRQV IURP WKHUH DQG LI DW DOO KH ZLQV WKHQ KH VKRXOG ORRN DIWHU WKDW FRQVWLWXHQF\ +H KDV QR ORFXV VWDQGL RQ .DVKPLU DQG KH VKRXOGQ¶W WDON DERXW - . ´ 1& VSRNHVPDQ -XQDLG $]LP 0DWWX KDG VDLG

(' OLNHO\ WR FORVH 1DWLRQDO +HUDOG FDVH ,Q D KXJH UHOLHI WR &RQJUHVV SUHVLGHQW 6RQLD *DQGKL DQG KHU VRQ 5DKXO *DQGKL WKH (QIRUFHPHQW 'LUHFWRUDWH (' LV OLNHO\ WR FORVH WKH 1DWLRQDO +HUDOG FDVH 7KH (' KDV GHFLGHG WR FORVH WKH FDVH GXH WR ODFN RI VXEVWDQWLDO HYLGHQFHV DJDLQVW ERWK &RQJUHVV OHDGHUV VRXUFHV VDLG RQ 0RQGD\ %RWK OHDGHUV ZHUH VXPPRQHG E\ D WULDO FRXUW RQ -XQH IROORZLQJ %KDUDWL\D -DQDWD 3DUW\ %-3 OHDGHU 6XEUDPDQLDQ 6ZDP\¶V FRPSODLQW DFFXVLQJ ERWK RI FKHDWLQJ DQG PLVDSSURSULDWLRQ RI IXQGV LQ DFTXLULQJ WKH RZQHUVKLS RI WKH QRZ GHIXQFW (QJOLVK GDLO\ 1DWLRQDO +HUDOG &RQJUHVV WUHDVXUHU 0RWLODO 9RUD VHQLRU SDUW\ OHDGHUV 2VFDU )HUQDQGHV

6XPDQ 'XEH\ DQG WHOHFRP HQJLQHHU 6DP 3LWURGD ZHUH DOVR VXPPRQHG E\ WKH FRXUW RQ $XJXVW 7KH SDUW\ OHDGHUV KDG PRYHG WKH KLJK FRXUW RQ -XO\ DJDLQVW WKH WULDO FRXUW RUGHU 2Q $XJXVW WKH KLJK FRXUW VWD\HG WKH VXPPRQV LVVXHG DJDLQVW WKHP 6ZDP\ DOOHJHG PLVDSSURSULDWLRQ RI DVVHWV ZRUWK 5V FURUH RI WKH 1DWLRQDO +HUDOG QHZVSDSHU 5HDFWLQJ WR WKH GHYHORSPHQW 6ZDP\ VDLG ³7KHUH KDV EHHQ SROLWLFDO LQIOXHQFH IURP WKH &RQJUHVV WR FORVH WKH 1DWLRQDO +HUDOG FDVH ´ 6RQLD DQG 5DKXO *DQGKL DUH SULQFLSDO VKDUHKROGHUV LQ D FRPSDQ\ VHW XS WR UHODXQFK 1DWLRQDO +HUDOG WKH &RQJUHVV PRXWKSLHFH EHJXQ E\ -DZDKDUODO 1HKUX ZD\ EDFN LQ

Issue 628 (22)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Historic moment! US flag raised in Cuba after 54 years Washington In a historic moment, the US on Friday raised its national flag at its new Embassy in Cuba after a gap of over five decades, marking the end of one

of the last vestige of the Cold War. The US and Cuba officially restored their diplomatic ties last month with reopening of the Cuban Embassy in Washington.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who specially flew for this occasion became

the first top American diplomat to visit Cuba after 1945, described as another historic moment. “This truly is a memorable occasion, a day for pushing aside old barriers

and exploring new possibilities and it is in that spirit that I say on behalf of my country,” Kerry said.

In his remarks, Kerry said despite restoration of diplomatic ties, leaders in Havana and the Cuban people should also know that the US always remain

a champion of Democratic principles and reforms.

“Like many other governments in and outside this hemisphere, we will continue to urge the Cuban government to fulfill

its obligations under the UN and Inter-American human rights covenants, obligations shared by the United States and every other country in the Americas,” he said. “And indeed, we remain convinced the people of Cuba would be best served

by genuine Democracy, where people are free to choose leaders, express their ideas, practice faith with a commitment to economic and social justice, is realised more fully where institutions are answerable to those they serve, and where civil society is independent and allowed to flourish,” Kerry said.

However, the Republicans slammed the Obama Administration for its Cuba policy.

“US policy has changed, but Cuba has not. It remains an unyielding dictatorship, a tragic example of the folly of communism, and an affront to the conscience of the free nations of the Western Hemisphere,” said Jeb Bush, a Republican presidential candidate. If am elected as the president, Bush said he will reverse Obama’s strategy of accommodation and appeasement and commit to helping the Cuban people claim their freedom and determine their future, free from tyranny.

Ashes of Gabriel Garcia Marquez to be buried in Colombia

Bogota The ashes of Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez will be buried in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, said Juan Carlos Gossain, governor of the state of Bolivar. “A bronze bust of the author, in which Gabo’s ashes will lie, was sculpted and donated by Katie Murray, a British artist close to Garcia Marquez,” Xinhua quoted the governor as saying on Tuesday.

Garcia Marquez, born in March 1927 and commonly known as Gabo throughout Latin America, started out as a journalist and wrote many literary works. His best known works include One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Autumn of the Patriarch and Love in the Time of Cholera. He was awarded Nobel Prize in

literature in 1982. He died on April 17, 2014 in Mexico city where he had lived since the 1960s. Since a state funeral was held for him in the capital, his ashes had remained there awaiting a decision over the final resting place for the late Colombian writer.

According to Gossain, Cartagena de Indias (Cartagena) beat other cities to become the final resting place of Garcia Marquez based on the decision by his widow and children. Cartagena is the site of the family’s ancestral home and the foundation to train journalists across Latin America. The remains will arrive on December 12 in Cartagena de Indias, where ‘Gabo’ began his journalistic career in a local newspaper.

Issue 628 (23)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Iraqi brothers smuggled to Greece wore burqas to escape IS Greece When the Islamic State group took over their Iraqi city and burned down the family’s home, two teenaged brothers decided to risk everything to leave Iraq, cross Syria and reach Europe.

One night in October 2014, “a Syrian man drove us from Al-Qaim (Iraq) to Albu Kamal (Syria). We wore the (full Islamic) veil” to avoid being recognised at IS checkpoints on the way, 18-year-old Tayib

said. Tayib and his brother Mustafa travelled from the east of Syria across to the northwestern border with

Turkey, an epic journey riddled with danger at least 600 kilometres (400 miles) long. Tayib says they paid the smuggler $1,100 (1,000 euros) for this part of the journey, and then another $1,200 each to travel earlier this week on an inflatable boat from Bodrum in Turkey to the Greek island of Kos. The two are now waiting to take a ferry to Athens, and onward to northern Europe.

They decided to leave their home city, Mosul, which

was seized by IS in June last year, after jihadists demanded the family pay $1,000 in “tax”. “My mother

refused to give them $1,000 so they burnt our house down,” Tayib told AFP as he rested by his tent on the beach on the resort island of Kos. Reaching Kos was also a challenge, but Tayib says he is glad “that the most dangerous part is over, they call them the boats of death”. On Monday, “we will leave here, and then go from Macedonia to Serbia to Bulgaria to Austria. We will see the situation there and choose the best country” to apply for asylum, Tayib says.

Mustafa, 17, expressed fears for their family who are now in Baghdad. “The family has received threats from IS and the militias,” he said.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled their country since last year’s IS jihadist offensive, the UN refugee agency says.

“So far, since January and up until late July 2015,

we’ve had around 5,600 Iraqis arriving in the Greek islands,” UNHCR spokeswoman Stella Nanou told AFP. But unlike Syrians, Iraqis are being registered in Greece as “immigrants, not refugees,” according to Major General Zakharoula Tsirigoti, the head of the Greek police’s immigration department. Because registration takes significantly longer for nonSyrians, several Iraqis interviewed by AFP have admitted lying to the authorities about their nationality.

‘I knew I would die’ Jaber, 35, was a soldier who decided to flee after the Iraqi army lost the battle last summer against IS. He is now living in a tent with his family on the beach, waiting to leave for Athens. “My wife, my three children and I were smuggled out of Mosul in the back of a truck. We hid in stacks of hay as we crossed the (Iraqi) border and travelled across Syria to Turkey,” Jaber said, using a pseudonym for fear of reprisal against relatives in Iraq. “Daesh massacred many Iraqi

soldiers,” said Jaber, using another acronym to refer to IS. “I knew that I would die if I stayed.” Then, for about a year in Turkey, Jaber’s two-year-old son was in and out of hospital because “he was frequently falling ill”. But the Turkish authorities would not cover the medical bills, he says. “So we decided to go to Europe. When we arrived in Kos it was like we were born again, but the road ahead is still long, we don’t even know how long,” Jaber sighed as he sipped coffee at a Kos cafe.

Pakistan to hang Peshawar pakIStanI daIly rUeS Sex school massacre plotters abUSe of 300 chIldren Islamabad Six militants who plotted and aided Pakistan’s worst

Pakistan in deep shock and provoked international outrage. Those who aided

ever terrorist attack at a Peshawar school are set to be hanged after Army Chief General Raheel Sharif confirmed their death sentences. The men, belonging to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, were convicted late Thursday for their role in the December 2014 massacre at Peshawar’s Army Public School (APS) that claimed the lives of 151 people, including 141 children, The Nation reported.

They harboured and drove the killers who stormed into the school, raked the assembly hall with machinegun fire and stalked the corridors, shooting children and teachers cowering in their classrooms. The gunmen were killed by the security forces but the attack left

and abetted them were convicted for their role in this and other attacks in special military courts, established in the wake of the massacre to fast-track terrorist cases, earlier this year.

Their death sentences, however, were delayed following a legal challenge to the constitutional amendment under which the military courts were established.

That challenge was rejected last week when the Supreme Court upheld the 21st Amendment and the military courts created under the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act 2015. Its ruling cleared the way for trying suspected terrorists in the new courts but said they must be given fair trails and the right to

appeal. Inter Services Public Relations, late Thursday, said the men were given fair trials. All legal formalities, following their convictions, were completed as well and Raheel Sharif confirmed their sentences.

Those facing the gallows include Hazrat Ali, who was found guilty of killing members of the security forces, kidnappings and raising funds for the APS attack; and Mujeebur Rehman, who abetted an attack on the Pakistan Air Force base in Peshawar and helped transport suicide bombers to the APS. Others include Sabeel, who supported both attacks, and Moulvi Abdus Salam who was convicted of harbouring the suicide bombers prior to the attacks.

Taj Muhammad was convicted of harbouring the APS suicide bombers. The sixth terrorist to face execution is Ateequr Rehman. A seventh Taliban terrorist, Kifayat Ullah, who supported the APS massacre and carried out IED attacks, was jailed for life.

Islamabad Almost 300 children were forced to have sex in front of mobile phone cameras, said a Pakistani daily which added that these children and their families need urgent psychological treatment as well as a rehabilitation programme.

An editorial in The Nation said on Thursday that sexual abuse of children is “probably the worst news we have read all year. Hundreds of children have paid dearly for the greed and negligence of adults. There were almost 300 children involved, ones that were forced to have sex in front of mobile phone cameras. “These children

and their families require urgent psychological treatment, and a steady rehabilitation programme,

a sensitive issue, the editorial said that “any therapeutic treatment has to factor in problems of

one that can be a starting point for them to move beyond this tragedy,” said the daily. Describing it as

communal acceptance of treatment, local culture and issues of poverty and access”.

Pakistan wants tension-free ties with India says Pakistan President Islamabad Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday expressed his country’s desire to have tension-free relations with India.

Addressing a flag hoisting ceremony to mark the Independence Day celebrations here, Hussain regretted what he said were ‘acts of aggression’ by India.

He said Pakistan desired

peaceful coexistence with India and all other neighbouring countries but

any ‘threat to its security will be thwarted’, reports Xinhua. Hussain’s remarks come amid tensions between India and Pakistan following crossborder shelling and firing on their Jammu and Kashmir border.

The national security advisers of Pakistan and India will meet in New Delhi later this month.

Issue 628 (24)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

A desire for financial growth and security may act as a catalyst for ideas that can increase your income, but this likely won't happen overnight. However, with persistence you can do very well.

Mercury glides into Gemini on Thursday, making this one of the better times to advertise your goods and services, start earning money online.

Spending money could be a lot of fun as Venus encourages you to purchase the small luxuries you love. Your more logical side may kick in once Mercury moves into Gemini, encouraging you to think about the effects to your bank account.

This can be a good time to rework your budget and think about being a little thriftier where possible.

Relying on gut instinct could help you save time and resources this week. A focus on Taurus and your spiritual sector suggests you should pay attention to those intuitive nudges if you want to get ahead. You'll be in your element once Mercury enters your sign. Your natural curiosity will come to the fore, encouraging you to swap and share information.

There are opportunities for friendly interactions this week. You may be eager to show your gratitude to friends for their recent support. A meal or relaxed gettogether at your place could be just the ticket. Even so, you may have one or two secrets that you'd prefer to keep to yourself, no matter how much you trust a certain person.

A continued focus on your goals and ambitions may be keeping you busy.

This is one of the better times to channel your energy into getting ahead. Mercury's move into Gemini on Thursday can also be helpful, providing opportunities to mix with people who share your ideas and ideals.

It's all systems go if you want to make travel plans. The Taurus focus can help you hunt for bargains online and choose a deal to suit your circumstances and budget. You have a reputation as a workaholic, but it's time to chill out and enjoy the good things in life. You know you deserve it! Try to avoid arguing over the weekend, though.

Jupiter forging ahead adds extra sparkle to your social sector. This, along with Venus and Mercury in Gemini, could see you moving outside your comfort zone to expand your network of friends.

Looking to date? Avoid the tried and trusted and seek out something a little bit unusual. The weekend is a different matter.

This week brings romantic options - and all on your terms. A midweek transit can be excellent for a special date night that sparkles with tender promise. If there's someone you're hoping to impress, this is the time to go for it. The Full Moon in your sign on Sunday could bring out your darker side in all its passion and intensity.

You need to look after your body and this is the time to lavish special attention on it. With a tendency to ignore your well-being much of the time, the current Taurus focus is your opportunity to feed it good food and give it the right kind of exercise.

In addition, if you make this a regular habit, you'll have more energy available for other areas of your life.

Grab opportunities for romance while you can. It isn't often you get such a sensuous lineup! It's perfect for wining and dining a significant other. Smell the roses, savor the chocolates, and relax and enjoy the company of someone you love. After this phase, your naturally ambitious persona could lead you into other activities.

Keep those cookies coming and enjoy spending time in the kitchen or garden.

This very easygoing focus is perfect for friendly get-togethers at your place.

Once Mercury eases into Gemini on Thursday you'll be eager to seek out other pleasures, including romance. The weekend could bring your competitive side out into the open.

Learning a foreign language could be beneficial, especially if you want to travel.

A focus on study and gaining new skills makes this one of the better times to take a course with a practical application. A focus on your home zone could bring on a desire to redecorate and remove clutter, making your nest as cozy and pleasant as possible.

Issue 628 (25)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Technology Facebook expands ads formats to help app monetisation Social networking website Facebook on Friday said it was expanding its advertisement formats for

apps under the Audience Network programme that would help developers monetise their apps.

Facebook‘s Audience Network, which was launched in May 2014, was developed as a way for

developers to incorporate the social network‘s advertising features, particularly targeting, into

their apps.

“We have a deep understanding of what formats perform well and drive engagement in Facebook news feed and are taking two of our best performing units and

making them available off Facebook to further empower Audience Network publishers and

help drive results for advertisers,” said Facebook software engineer Erika Washburn.

The expanded offerings would include native autoplay video feature, click-to-play video,

Twitter raises direct message limit to 10,000 characters Micro-blogging platform Twitter on Thursday said it has increased the Direct Message (DM) limit to 10,000 characters from

limitless. Twitter aims to improve users’ messaging experience to give them the real estate to express themselves more freely

the existing 140, enabling the users to send longer private messages to friends.

“Twitter has eliminated the 140-character limit for DM, and users can now exchange messages privately of up to 10,000 characters, with the idea being that direct messages should seem

and getting rid of the 140 character limit is just another step in that direction,” the company said in a statement.

The company announced in June that it planned to remove the 140-character limit from its direct messaging feature.

DM allows users to have private conversations

about the memes, news, movements, and events that unfold on the microblogging platform.

“The aim is to make the private side of Twitter just as fulfilling as the public side,” the company said.

Earlier this year, the company had launched Group Direct Messages, where multiple users could chat at once and any user could message another privately, irrespective of the fact that they might not be following each other.

The update will be available to all users worldwide, who log into Twitter.Com, TweetDeck and Twitter-owned-andoperated applications.

The company said it will support reading and writing long DMs for Android, Twitter for Mac and TweetDeck.

carousel advertisements and dynamic product advertisements.

“With the native autoplay video feature publishers can now bring the autoplay video ads experience from Facebook directly to their apps. Video demand will also compete with native display in the same auction to maximise yield for each impression served,” Washburn said.

“We`ll now show click-toplay video ads from mobile app install advertisers in full screen interstitials,” she added.

She said that carousel advertisements will also be delivered in a format which shows multiple advertisements in a single view so that people can scroll through.

The company via a blog post claimed that: “Facebook ads work because they`re personal, relevant and easy to measure on both desktop and mobile. The Audience Network brings these same powerful features to additional appbased mobile experiences, giving marketers even more scale for their Facebook campaigns.”

Facebook, Google, Twitter join hands against child porn

Silicon Valley giants Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Twitter are working with Britain’s Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to implement a new system that will help detect and block images of child pornography online.

IWF, a charitable foundation, has introduced a new technology that enables it to tag images of sexual abuse with distinct hashes — sort of codes that act like a digital fingerprint, The Verge reported.

Once a hash is assigned to an image, it’s unique to it, making it easy to identify a specific image.

The IWF keeps a record

of all the hashes, which it has only shared with the five tech companies so far, but plans to roll out to others soon.

Once the system is implemented, any image that is uploaded to Facebook, Twitter or any other participating website is scanned.

If the image has previously been tagged by the IWF, the system will detect its hash and automatically prevent it from being uploaded and thus from being shared.

Google has long scanned the images that pass through Gmail for child pornography. Now, the joint support of the tech giants should help widen the net.

cyber Safety: avoId pUttIng phone nUmber on facebook Beware! If you put your phone number on your Facebook profile, anybody can then find your details and location by just typing the number in Facebook search bar despite your privacy settings and your details could be misused by cyber criminals.

Reza Moaiandin, technical director of Salt.agency, used a coding script to generate every possible number combination in Britain, US and Canada, Daily Mail reported.

He then sent millions of numbers to Facebook’s app-building programme (API) in bulk. In return, he received millions of unobstructed personal profiles.

“With this security

loophole, a person with the right knowledge can harvest the non-private details of the users who

with,” Moaiandin was quoted as saying by the Mail.

Despite notifying

allow public access to their phone numbers, enabling the harvester to then use or sell the user details for purposes that the user may not be happy

Facebook in April, and calling for APIs to be preencrypted, the security loophole remains intact, leaving the site’s 1.44 billion users open to hacks.

Issue 628 (26)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Kejriwal under fire over display of his name at Independence Day event New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday drew flak over students creating a formation of his name during Independence Day celebrations here, soon after which AAP government went into damage control mode by claiming that it was part of a “tradition” being followed over the years. Kejriwal’s name was a part of several such designs, including the tricolour and ‘thank you’, created by students using multi-coloured cloth pieces at the stands of the Chhatrasal Stadium, the venue of the event.

“Some school students made visual formation of my name during independnce celebrations. I was not at all aware that students wud do this (sic),” Kejriwal posted on Twitter. Some school

students made visual formation of my name during independnce celebrations. I was not at all aware that students wud do this(1/ 3) - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal)

“I am told it has been a practice in del govt to form visual formation of whoever chief guest is (CM or LG). I agree this is a wrong practice. I will stop this practice forthwith,” he said in a series of tweets. I agree this is a wrong practice.

I will stop this practice forthwith (3/3) - Arvind

Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) Reacting to the episode, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai said, “We enquired about it and came to know that it’s a tradition. This has been

happening which is not right.” The government also released pictures showing similar designs, one showing Najeeb Jung’s name and the other Sheila Dikshit’s created on previous such occasions. “I think it is deliberate mischief. Last year school children had displayed LG’s name at

I-day function. Before that name of CM was regularly displayed at Iday celebrations. School children displayed variety of placards, why selective targeting?” a government spokesperson said.

The pattern came up few times during Kejriwal’s 40- minute-long speech, where he highlighted his government’s “achievements”, punctuated with loud cheers from the students. While state Congress chief Ajay Maken decried it as a “shame”, Delhi BJP President Satish Upadhyay condemned the government for “politically misusing” the Independence Day function.

BJP National Secretary RP Singh said, “It is very clear that the Chief Minister is a megalomaniac who can see none other then himself.”

Indian descent investment adviser admits to $9M Facebook stock fraud

New York An investment adviser of Indian descent has admitted to a $9millionfraud involving Facebook stock Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced.

Gignesh Movalia, the founder of OM Global Investment Fund, pleaded guilty in Tampa before Federal Magistrate Judge Anthony E. Porcelli to one count of investment advisor fraud. He is to be sentenced later. Federal Prosecutor A. Lee Bentley III said Movalia solicited investments in his fund claiming that he could get shares of Facebook before its initial public offering. He raised more than $15 million, of which $9 million was buying Facebook shares.

However, Bentley said in a

statement, Movalia used the $9 million for other investments and hid this from the investors.

Ultimately, OM Global Investment Fund lost $9 million and went broke, Bentley said. Last year in June in a separate civil suit filed by the Securities and Exchanges Commission, Federal Judge Jose E. Martinez in Miami ordered Movalia and OM Investment fund to pay up $1.729 million in illegal profits and fined him $300,000. In additon to the Facebook stocks fraud, the SEC had also accused him of making improper loans to third parties and creating an institution with a name similar to OM Investment Funds to evade monitoring by a Florida state court and using it to solicit funds.

Issue - 628 (27)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Kate Middleton’s brother James’s mobile marshmallow picture-printing firm has lost $400,000 in one year Washington Kate Middleton's brother's marshmallow image-printing business lost almost £250,000 between November 2013 and December last year.

According to The Sun, business accounts showed James Middleton's business venture Boomf took a hit of £243,986.Boomf aims to create 'multi-sensory' marshmallows by allowing customers to have their own Instagram pictures printed onto a set of the sweets.

However, the paper reported the company was not in the red because it had raised £1million in funding. Last year, Mr Middleton revealed the business had gone ‘mobile’ when he unveiled an 'on-the-go

printing machine' in the form of a repurposed tricycle. The

machine allows images to be printed onto marshmallows

Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel among Obama’s summer reading list Washington Indian-American Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri’s second novel ‘The Lowland’ is among the six books which are part of the summer reading list of US President Barack Obama. Obama is currently on a summer vacation along with his family in Martha’s Vineyard - an island in Massachusetts. Published in 2013, ‘The Lowland’ is a novel about two brothers in Kolkata.

The book was placed on the

shortlist for the 2013 Man Booker Prize and also went to The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.

Besides ‘The Lowland’, five other books for Obama’s vacation include ‘All That Is’ by James

SHANGHAI US universities ruled the top 10 spots in a global ranking conducted by a Chinese

University and University of Chicago came in at eighth and ninth.

University of Cambridge and

Salter, ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr, ‘The Sixth Extinction’ by Elizabeth Kolbert, ‘Between The World and Me’ by Ta-Nehisi Coates and ‘Washington: A Life’

by Ron Chernow, the White House said yesterday. One is not sure, if Obama is reading actual books or using a digital device, but it is well known that Obama bought Lahiri’s hardcover book during an event when it first came out a while back.

US leads universities ranking

research centre with Harvard taking the crown for the 13th year.

The top 10 universities were virtually unchanged from last year with Stanford and MIT again coming in second and third, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities released by a centre under Shanghai Jiaotong University.

The University of California at Berkeley, Princeton University and the California Institute of Technology remained in the same places ranking fourth, sixth and seventh respectively. Columbia

University of Oxford, the only two non-American universities in the top 10, were fifth and 10th.

The only difference was that last year Chicago and Oxford were tied for ninth place while this year the US establishment held the place alone with the British institution slipping a notch. The Center of World-Class Universities under Jiaotong University surveys 1,200 universities and picks the top 500 every year.

Though the Chinese organiser claims the ranking to be “the most

trustworthy”, European officials have in the past criticised it for being biased against Europe’s universities as it underemphasise the humanities and stresses sciences.

Only two other non-American institutions, both from Europe, made it into the top 20, with University College London climbing two places from last year to 18th and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich dropping to 20th from 19th but still remaining as the highest-ranked continental European institution.

The organiser, which initially intended to benchmark the performance of Chinese universities, said the result was based on transparent methodology and third-party data.

It said the result was calculated based on several parameters, including the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals.

For mainland China, Shanghai Jiaotong University itself advanced four places to come in 118th and Peking University climbed to 115th and remained as the highest-ranked school in the country. In the Asia-Pacific region, the University of Tokyo was 21st and Kyoto University, also in Japan, remained in the same place as last year to come in 26th.

instantly before they are sold as a box of nine for £15.

It means members of the public can give the business their favourite images before watching them be transferred onto the tasty treats, ready for eating. The Boomf brand was launched by Mint Digital towards the end of 2013, but James Middleton’s involvement was only revealed in January last year. Speaking in a tonguein-cheek manner at the launch of the ‘mobile Boomf’ in July last year, Mint Digital chief creative officer Andy Bell described how the pair successfully transferred a tricycle idea into a reality.

He said: ‘For many months, deep in the Berkshire countryside, a man dreamed of

a tricycle that could create personalised marshmallows at the touch of a button. Many scoffed at his vision. Some said it couldn’t be done. ‘Luckily this was the 21st century and eBay had been invented. Every obscure part needed to assemble this vision could be tracked down using a technique known as “searching the web”.

The bike was described as a ‘Willy-Wonka like machine that’s built out of a refurbished 1950s Pashley’s ice cream tricycle’. A spokesman said: ‘Boomf on Demand takes Boomf out of the factory, and lets you create your marshmallows live, in real time.

‘In short, Boomf on Demand lets you eat your face without delay.

Former US President Jimmy Carter has cancer Washington Former President Jimmy Carter has revealed that he is suffering from cancer. In a statement the 39th president said that a recent liver surgery showed he had the disease which has now spread to other parts of his body, E! Online reported. Though he didn’t reveal what type of cancer he has, the 90-year-old politician added that he would be rearranging his

schedule to undergo treatment at Emory Healthcare. Earlier this month, it was reported that Carterhad a small mass removed from his liver, which The Carter Center said was an elective procedure after which he was expected to make a full recovery.

Carter’s family has a history of pancreatic cancer, and his father, both his sisters and his brother had died of pancreatic cancer.

Dog killed in US found with note: ‘WE BEAT IT 2 Death lol! :) HAHAHA!’

Florida A 13-year-old dog was found beaten to death at a home in the Miami area with a handwritten note taped to it that read: “WE BEAT IT 2 Death lol! :) HAHAHA!,” police have said.

The Pomeranian was found at the back of a home in the small southeast Florida city of Pembroke Pines, police said in a statement. Although officers saw no visible injuries on the dog, the police statement said, a veterinarian at the Saint Francis Animal Hospital determined the canine suffered multiple bone fractures “consistent with blunt force trauma.” The Pembroke Pines Police Department said the dog-beating appeared to be an isolated incident and there was no evidence to suggest other animals in the area were in danger. Police said they had

opened an investigation of animal cruelty.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper reported that the dog, named Foxx, scampered down the stairs of the family’s condo on Friday evening to relieve itself on the lawn behind their building, but did not return.

“I called for him and I didn’t hear anything,” Verline Barthelemy, who shares the condo with her boyfriend Ronald Boisvert, told the newspaper. “He’d always come back.”

On Saturday morning, a neighbor discovered Foxx’s red-hued 7pound (3-kg) body on a stair leading to the patio and alerted Boisvert, the newspaper reported Barthelemy as saying. “I’m hoping that after the first hit, he was already gone and didn’t feel what came next,” she told the newspaper.

Issue - 628 (28)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

3-year-old becomes Obama reveals classic tastes in Spotify playlists mayor of US town!

CHICAGO A 3-year-old boy in the US has become the youngest mayor of a small US town and has been advised by his elder brother who has held the post previously to be nice and “no poopy talk”.

James Tufts, 3, was elected as the new mayor of Dorset the youngest mayor to lead the small tourist town in northern Minnesota. The spunky redhead was sworn into the ceremonial role on August 2 during the town’s local food festival. His brother Robert Tufts served two terms when he was 3 and 4, his proud family said. “He (James) kind of fell into it. He went with his brother to shake hands with him and talk to people. He would introduce himself as the mayor when he wasn’t. He would tell people he was the vice mayor depending on how he was feeling. That’s just what he

wanted to do,” his mother Emma Tufts told the New York Daily News. Dorset, which has 22 residents, elects a mayor each year by picking a name out of a hat filled with $ 1 ballots purchased and filled out by voters. James’ first matter of business was passing out four free ice cream cones. Next on the agenda, James said, was to “give presents to kids when they’re sick at the hospital.”

“I wanted to be the mayor so much. It’s pretty awesome,” James was quoted as saying.

He hit the campaign trail running, with Robert, who taught him how to shake hands and look voters in the eye.

Robert, who was two days older than James when he was first elected, is pleased that his brother is following in his footsteps and becoming the face of town.

WASHINGTON US President Barack Obama has lifted any remaining secrecy on his musical tastes, revealing that his favorite artists tend to be classics, are sometimes his political supporters and are overwhelmingly American.

Obama, on vacation in the

joined Prince at a White House concert that raised some controversy in Washington for being private and unannounced.

The Beyonce song chosen by Obama - on his playlist for nighttime listening - was “Superpower,” a title that could seem fitting for the commander-

upscale resort of Martha’s Vineyard, shared his current listening habits by releasing two playlists on Spotify, the popular streaming platform. He posted a link to the playlists on Twitter, saying he was releasing his playlists “by popular request.”

Obama’s musical preferences have not been a state secret. His playlists included tracks by Beyonce - who with her husband Jay Z campaigned for him on his 2012 re-election campaign - and Stevie Wonder, who recently

in-chief even though the song, performed with Frank Ocean, is more about love than geopolitics.

One song that could be more appropriate for Obama’s job appropriately listed on his playlist for daytime listening was “So Much Trouble in the World” by Jamaican reggae legends Bob Marley and the Wailers. Among the most current of Obama’s

Terrence Howard tearfully describes ex-wife’s threats LOS ANGELES Terrence Howard tearfully told a judge Friday that his ex-wife repeatedly threatened to leak damaging information about him to get him to sign a divorce settlement in 2012.The Oscarnominated actor broke down while discussing the threats during a hearing in which he is trying to overturn the settlement agreement on grounds he signed

it under duress. Howard said he was concerned his ex-wife, Michelle Ghent, would leak details about his sex life, and audio and video recordings of him.

Howard said the release of such information in 2012 would have ended his career. The 46-year-old actor now stars on the hit Fox series “Empire.”

“I was terrified of her releasing the private tapes,” Howard said, explaining that the video showed him in “intimate settings.”

Howard again lost his composure

during cross-examination by Ghent’s attorney, who questioned the actor about domestic violence allegations.

Howard requested a court recess after being questioned about several allegations of violence toward women.With a photo of a Ghent with a black eye displayed on a screen in the courtroom, Howard acknowledged that he had struck his first wife out of

anger. But he denied he had abused Ghent, saying any attacks on her were self-defense.

The actor said he married Ghent in 2010 out of love but was already aware that she had taken private audio recordings he had made and downloaded them to her computer. He testified that she threatened to release them during their engagement, during which he admitted he was unfaithful to her with multiple women.

Ghent’s attorney, Sai’id Vakili, pointedly questioned Howard

about why he would remain with Ghent despite her alleged blackmail scheme.

“I loved her,” Howard said. “I thought she had perhaps made the threats out of anger.”

In a deposition, Ghent denied she tried to blackmail Howard, her attorneys have said. She has accused Howard of domestic violence several times and has an active restraining order against him.Howard said he had hoped to get the recordings back from Ghent during their marriage but was unsuccessful. Among the items he said Ghent had obtained were a recording of Howard’s last conversation with his mother, phone sex conversations with other women, and recordings of songs he had written.

None of those materials have been played in court, but a key piece of evidence has been a 2011 recording of Ghent berating Howard and threatening to release embarrassing material about him.

Howard said he paid Ghent $40,000 after she threatened to release materials including a video of him naked and dancing in the bathroom. Asked by his attorney whether he considered the payment hush money, Howard responded, “I consider it blood money.”

The actor said the threats continued while their divorce settlement was being finalized.

He said he was afraid Ghent would “release the video and audio of me in a very private and intimate place and I would never be able to work again in this business.”

selections was a track by Florence and the Machine, the British rockers who have won glowing acclaim among alternative rock fans and critics.

He also picked a song by pop star Justin Timberlake, who is rarely political but has himself been associated with Obama.

But Obama largely picked tracks by classic artists of American rock and soul, many of them African American. His selections included songs by The Temptations, The Isley Brothers, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.

As might be expected of the leader of the United States, the overwhelming majority of artists were American. But he also picked songs by English rock giants The Rolling Stones, Northern Irish crooner Van Morrison and legendary Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen. And, in one artist who was not a surprise, Obama chose a track by Al Green - “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”

Obama impressed a crowd at New York’s Apollo Theater in 2012 when he sang Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” with accurate pitch.

Daredevil Nik walks high wire above racetrack

MILWAUKEE Acrobat Nik Wallenda has completed his longest high-wire walk ever above the Milwaukee Mile racetrack during the Wisconsin State Fair, ending with a thumbs up to the crowd below giving him a wild ovation, a fair official said.Wallenda took 33

minutes to walk 1,560 feet (475 m) on a wire no wider than a US nickel 10 stories above the racetrack near the state fair grounds.Wallenda, the selfproclaimed King of the High Wire, has several records listed with the Guinness World Records organization.

Hillary Clinton agrees to hand over private email server to FBI London Hillary Clinton has agreed to give the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) access to her private email server, which she used when she was Secretary of State.According to the BBC, the use of a private email server by Clinton has generated a lot of criticism during her campaign for seeking the office of president in 2016.The FBI

is investigating whether classified information was improperly sent via the server or stored there. Clinton had initially handed over thousands of pages of emails to the State Department but retained the server. Clinton’s lawyers have said that they will also hand over memory sticks which contain copies of the emails to the FBI.

Issue - 628 (29)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Indian-origin scientist discovers wake-sleep mechanism

WASHINGTON An Indian-American circadian rhythms expert at Northwestern University in Illinois, discovered how an animal’s biological clock wakes it up in the morning and puts it to sleep at night.

The clock’s mechanism, it turns out, is much like a light switch.

In a study of brain circadian neurons that govern the daily sleep-wake cycle’s timing, doctor Ravi Allada and his team found that high sodium channel activity in these neurons during the day turn the cells on and ultimately awaken an animal. At night, high potassium channel activity turn them off, allowing the animal to sleep. Investigating further, Allada was surprised to discover the same sleep-wake switch in both flies and mice. “This suggests the underlying mechanism controlling our sleep-wake cycle is ancient,” Allada said. This oscillation mechanism appears to be conserved across several hundred million years of evolution.

“And if it is in the mouse, it is likely in humans, too,” he noted.

Better understanding of this mechanism could lead to new drug targets to address sleepwake trouble related to jet lag, shift work and other clockinduced problems. Eventually, it might be possible to reset a person’s internal clock to suit his or her situation. The researchers call this a “bicycle” mechanism: two pedals that go up and down across a 24-hour day, conveying important time information to the neurons. The researchers found the two pedals -- a sodium current and potassium currents -- active in both the simple fruit fly and the more complex mouse was unexpected. The balance between sodium and potassium currents controls the animal’s circadian rhythms. “Our starting point for this research was mutant flies missing a sodium channel who walked in a halting manner and had poor circadian rhythms,” Allada noted. “Now, of course, we have more questions about what’s regulating this sleep-wake pathway, so there is more work to be done,a he concluded.

Indian-Canadian to lead Ontario human rights commission

OTTAWA An India-Canadian international human rights law expert is set to be the next chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, a media report said.“I want to extend my congratulations to Renu Mandhane on her nomination as Ontario’s new human rights commissioner,” Canada-based The Voice quoted Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne as saying on Thursday.Mandhane is currently serving as the University of Toronto’s executive director of the international human rights programme.A long-time advocate for the advancement of women’s rights, Mandhane is a member

of the Canada Committee of Human Rights watch.“As a long-time advocate for human rights with a focus on advancing women’s rights, we are fortunate that someone so passionate and experienced will lead the important work done by the Ontario Human Rights Commission,” Wynne said.

Mandhane welcomed the nomination as an opportunity to serve “the needs of the most vulnerable members of our society”.“My work at the international level has impressed upon me how important it is to act locally to ensure sustainable social change. I am humbled to be provided with an opportunity to take up that challenge,” she said.

US ‘shocked’ by UN peacekeeper abuse claims, calls for punishment Washington The United States called for perpetrators to be punished as it said it was “profoundly shocked” by claims of abuse by United Nations peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.

Mark Toner said Friday.

The MINUSCA force, which took over from an African Union mission nearly a year ago, has been plagued by a series of allegations involving its soldiers.

Washington also warned that such instances undermine the credibility of all UN peacekeeping missions and welcomed moves by UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon to deal with the matter.

“The United States is profoundly shocked and dismayed by allegations and incidents of serious misconduct by UN peacekeepers serving in the UN Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA),” State Department

So far, there have been 57 claims of misconduct, 11 of which possibly involve child sex abuse.

The latest allegations involve a 12-year-old girl who allegedly was raped by a UN soldier during a search operation in the Muslim PK5 district of Bangui last week.

Another alleged incident involved the shooting death of a teenager and his father.

“These allegations raise serious concerns about the mission’s discipline and command,”

Toner said. “They must be investigated immediately and thoroughly, with appropriate punishment and accountability for the perpetrators.”

In response to the claims, Ban on Wednesday fired the UN mission chief in the Central African Republic, which is struggling to recover from sectarian violence that exploded after a 2013 coup.

On Thursday, Ban outlined a series of steps to the Security Council to ratchet up pressure on countries whose nationals are accused of sexual abuse while serving in peacekeeping missions.

Ban told the council he plans to name-and-shame countries whose troops face allegations of misconduct in his annual report and asked the council to follow up on all reported cases.

Washington welcomed Ban’s efforts and said it remained convinced of MINUSCA’s importance and the “central utility of UN peacekeeping in advancing peace and reconciliation in regions afflicted with violence.”Toner also warned that “instances of abuse such as these and others in recent years, however, threaten to undermine the credibility of this crucial tool for conflict resolution.”

Indian-American Atul Keshap sworn in as US envoy to Sri Lanka WASHINGTON Indian-American Atul Keshap has been sworn in as the US ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, becoming the second Indian-origin diplomat to be posted to the region after Richard Rahul Verma.

Keshap, 44, a former official at the US Embassy in India, was administered the oath of office by deputy US secretary of state for management and resources Heather Anne Higginbottom.

“American people want to partner with the people of Sri Lanka as they forge a diverse, prosperous, unified, reconciled and democratic nation,” Keshap said on Wednesday. “In Maldives, we want to be partners with the people and government in expanding rule of law and human rights, and combating violent extremism and the effects of climate change,” he said.

Keshap was confirmed by the US Senate as the country’s envoy last week. It would be his first ambassadorial posting.

In his previous capacity as the deputy assistant secretary of state in South and Central Asian affairs, Keshap had visited Sri Lanka and Maldives on several occasions. “For me to serve as the Ambassador of the United States of America to Sri Lanka and Maldives gives me great personal joy and a renewed and tremendous sense of dedication

and solemn commitment to the values that make our country a beacon of Liberty, a lamp lit beside the golden door. I very much look forward to working with the people of these beautiful and wondrous lands,” he said.

“He is an individual of a deep

Keshap and Verma, the US envoy to India, both trace their origin to Punjab. His father, Keshap Chander Sen, who was from Punjab, was a UN development economist working in Nigeria where Keshap was born in June, 1971. His mother,

strategic insight, a fearless tenacity and unrelenting royalty,” assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said.

“Atul believes in transformational power of engaging directly with a wide range of actors from government officials to civil society, even to Bollywood actor,” Higginbottom said.

The top American diplomat praised the role played by Keshap in creating consensus on India US civil nuclear deal while being posted at the US Embassy in New Delhi.

Zoe Calvert, had been in the US Foreign Service when she met and married Sen in London. She had also served at the US embassy in India.

“If I have achieved anything in life, it is because of the wisdom my parents imparted and the sacrifices they undertook. I am forever in their debt,” he said. Sri Lankan ambassador to the US Prasad Kariyawasam and Maldives deputy UN permanent representative Jeff Waheed were present at the swearing in ceremony, attended by a number of Indian-Americans.

Issue - 628 (30)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Indian-origin woman jailed for sex assaults on elderly LONDON A 25-year-old Indian-origin care home worker has been jailed for 10 years by a British court for sexually assaulting elderly patients, including a 101-year-

old woman.

Christina Sethi targeted three victims, one male and two female, at a care home in Devon, south-west England, between January 2014 and May this year.

She also filmed the assaults on her mobile phone before sharing them with her boyfriend, Plymouth Crown Court was told during her trial.

Sethi deliberately targeted

victims suffering from dementia, the oldest of whom was a 101year-old female. One of her victims has died since the incident.

During the sentencing on

Thursday, judge Richard Stead said she had committed “horrific abuse of three vulnerable and elderly victims who were in a care home under your care”.

“You humiliated three elderly people who trusted you,” he said.

Devon and Cornwall Police described Sethi’s actions as “incomprehensible”.

Detective inspector Ed Wright said, “Sethi committed crimes

that most ordinary people could never comprehend.

“This depraved individual carried out shocking acts of abuse and grossly abused her position at the care home. She committed these atrocious acts on the very people she had been trusted to care for and targeted their vulnerabilities in order to satisfy her own sexual deviance.”

“She has shown herself to be selfish, chilling and manipulative, committing an abhorrent breach of trust and responsibility,” Wright said.

The abuse came to light when a man who knew Sethi bought a computer from her and found deleted films of the sexual assaults which he reported to police.

The video files showed her sexually abusing two elderly female residents, one of whom was recorded helplessly asking, “What are you doing to me?”.

Sethi sent the footage to her boyfriend, who she said during police interviews she loved and would do anything for.

A 32-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit sexual assault has since been released without charge.

Pakistani singer Adnan Sami wants to live in India New Delhi Singer Adnan Sami Khan first arrived in India in 2001 on a visitor’s visa with the validity of one year that was issued by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. His visa was extended from time to time, allowing him to live in India for 15 years. However, his Pakistani

passport, re-issued in 2010, expired in May this year and the Pakistan government chose not to renew it. This made him reach out to the Indian government, which has responded favourably.

He has been allowed to stay in India for an indefinite period following his appeal to legalise his stay in the country.

I make several attempts to reach Sami but it seems his legal counsel has advised him to currently stay mum on this matter. But when he first heard the news in the first week of August, he told Hindustan Times that he was thrilled. “The love, adulation and warmth that I got from India is the reason why I

chose this country. People all over the world know me as an Indian artist. I could have chosen any other country and wouldn’t have had to go through problems claiming my citizenship. But it is India where my heart is and has always been.”

People in Pakistan aren’t happy with this turn of events, and have

been burning his effigies in protest. Sami, on his part, seems unperturbed by these reports and is just “happy that I have finally found my home”.

Sami was one of Indie pop’s biggest names in the early 2000s, when his songs “Kabhi To Nazar Milao” and “Lift Karaa De” starred reigning Bollywood stars and became all the rage on TV and radio. Sami’s talent was first spotted by singer Asha Bhonsle, who Sami has always been immensely grateful for mentoring him. Bollywood came calling soon after, and Sami produced a few more hit-makers such as Saathiya’s “Aye Udi Udi Udi” and Ajnabee’s “Tu Sirf Mera

Mehboob”.

A few years down the line, plagued by marriage and health problems, Sami had kept mostly a low profile. A miraculous makeover later, which included settling down with his third wife Roya Jaan and losing over 200 kgs, he has now even made a name for himself down South, having sung for many Telugu, Malayam, Kannada and Tamil films in the last five years.

Recently though, Sami has hit mainstream headlines again, for recording a song for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the Salman Khan blockbuster. “Bhar Do Jholi Meri” is a legendary qawwali by Pakistan’s Sabri Brothers, and it was Khan’s idea that this be rendered by Sami in the movie.

Sami, who is trained in Hindustani classical music, had never sung a qawwali before but has succeeded in bringing a “pop” freshness into it. The composer and concert pianist who turned 46 this week is active on Facebook and Twitter and uses the social media to reach out to his fans.

He tweeted about his training as a barrister in London, the alternative career if music had not found him. Sami has also become a poster boy for fitness, after he lost staggering amount of weight, and tweets using the hashtag #WeLike ToStayFitWednesdays. “Just remember that the Biryani is going no where... It will stay...

But your clock is ticking and your life is passing by & so get your health back in shape.”

Indian origin man jailed in UK for illegal sale of medicines

LONDON An Essex-based Indian origin man has been sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment for the illegal sale of erectile dysfunction drugs following an investigation by Britain’s medicines regulator.

Sundeep Amin, 57, pleaded guilty to 21 counts of importing, possessing and supplying unlicensed medicines. Illegal medicines worth nearly £900,000 were seized by officials of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). They were imported from India and destined for customers across the UK and Europe.He also admitted possession of a large quantity of the controlled drug, Phenazepam

and to laundering the proceeds of his crimes, official sources said.Alastair Jeffrey, head of Enforcement at MHRA, said: “Mr Amin had no medical qualifications and was dealing in unlicensed medicines, which is a lethal combination and a serious risk to public health. His operation ran for several years”.

MHRA’s investigation found that Amin had several companies registered in his name and rented a number of storage facilities across Essex. Several large quantities of erectile dysfunction drugs on route to these addresses were seized on arrival in the UK, including one haul worth £100,000 at Heathrow Airport.

Was Lal Bahadur Shashtri planning to meet Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Russia?

New Delhi Decades after the demise of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, his son Sunil Shastri, first time on an Indian television, has revealed what Shastriji told him over phone 40 minutes prior to his death.

In the ‘Offbeat’ show, Sunil Shastri told that Shastriji spoke to him about a man he was going to meet during his Russia tour which would have become a ‘big news in India’.

In the year 1963, the then prime minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away few hours after signing the historic Tashkent Pact in Russia. After half-a-century has passed, Shastriji’s death is still shrouded in mystery.

Sunil further said that Shastriji had called up his family only 40 minutes before he passed away.

“Shastriji told over the phone that he was going to meet someone special on his Russia tour,” he

added.

Notably, who is this special person Shastriji was supposed to meet? Who was the person about whom he was referring to?

Was he Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose? The suspicion only grows stronger because before departing for Tashkent, Shastriji wanted to form a new commission to look into Netaji’s mysterious disappearance. He told this to the brother of Netaji, Amiya Sen, when he came to unveil a statue of Netaji at Red Road.

First his wish to set-up a commission, then the guarded phone call from Russia - are the incidents anyhow related? Lot of historians feel that the events of disappearance of Netaji and the death of Shastriji are entwined with each other intrinsically. Even after 68 years of India’s Independence, the mystry behind these events is still to be unraveled.

Issue - 628 (31)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Kutch’s mass suicide case: BJP MLA seeks action against Radhe Maa New Delhi Ahir said the alleged suicide by seven members of a single family in Ningal village of Anjar taluka had affected public sentiment in his constituency.

At a time when Mumbai police have booked Sukhwinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa in a dowry case, BJP MLA from Anjar in Kutch district has written to the Gujarat minister of state for home, seeking action against the self-proclaimed godwoman in connection with mass suicide in Kutch last year. Vasan Ahir is the BJP MLA from Anjar in Kutch.Ahir, who is also parliamentary secretary for Kutch district, wrote a letter to MoS for home, Rajnikant Patel, on Wednesday, saying the alleged suicide by seven members of a single family in Ningal village of Anjar taluka had affected public sentiment in his constituency. He further wrote in the letter that after the suicide en masse, he had informed home department and the Director General of Police (DGP) but the whereabouts of Radhe Maa were not known at that time and therefore action had not been taken against her.

At a time when Mumbai police have booked Sukhwinder Kaur

alias Radhe Maa in a dowry case, BJP MLA from Anjar in Kutch district has written to the Gujarat minister of state for home, seeking action against the self-proclaimed godwoman

in connection with mass suicide in Kutch last year. Vasan Ahir is the BJP MLA from Anjar in Kutch.Ahir, who is also parliamentary secretary for Kutch district, wrote a letter to MoS for home, Rajnikant Patel, on Wednesday, saying the alleged suicide by seven members of a single family in Ningal village of Anjar taluka had affected public sentiment in his constituency. He further wrote in the letter that after the suicide en masse, he had informed home department and the Director General of Police (DGP) but the whereabouts of Radhe Maa were not known at that time and therefore action had not been taken against her.

“But presently, a number of complaints have been filed against Radhe Maa and Mumbai police are investigating them. A complaint has been submitted to Mumbai police commissioner in respect with the above-mentioned case (mass suicide). It is my recommendation to you to

Now Taj Mahal on Twitter

New Delhi The Uttar Pradesh Tourism said the Taj had become the first historical monument in the world to have its own Twitter account.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav marked Independence Day on Saturday by launching the official Twitter account of the 17th century Taj Mahal. The Uttar Pradesh Tourism said the Taj had become the first historical monument in the world to have its own Twitter account. Tourism industry sources here said the Twitter

handle will help have a better interaction with tourists and the feedback would help address grievances. Introducing the page, the tourism department said: “The official Twitter handle of the world’s most loved monument, located in Agra. One of the wonders of the world.”

The page claimed there were two types of people: “Those who have visited me and follow me here and those who haven’t seen me and yet follow me here.” Within an hour, it had more than 2,000 followers.

ensure that the Ahir family of Ningal get justice and that action is taken against Radhe Maa, who is promoting blind faith in the garb of religion,” Ahir wrote in his letter. Ramesh Joshi, a native of Kutch but currently living in Mumbai, has given an application to Mumbai police, demanding Radhe Maa be booked for the mass suicide in Kutch. The MLA has marked a copy of his letter to DGP Amitabh Pathak also.Raghu Jaru, his wife Lakshmi, Raghu’s younger brother, Lakhu, and his wife Kanku were found hanging from a wooden beam in their house on March 24 last year.

They had allegedly poisoned their three children before hanging themselves to death.

The children were identified as Raghu’s son Shaym (10) and Lakhu’s son and daughter Sashwat (4) and Prachi (6), respectively.However, police said in the investigation of the case Radhe Maa’s name never figured. Instead, Anjar police had booked Sonal Ahir of Jamnagar and one Baldev from Delhi for abetting the Jaru family’s suicide. Police said the Jarus were the devotees of Sonal Ahir, who in turn owed her devotion to Baldev, an alleged sadhu who owns an Ashram in Delhi.

Bus driver dies of heart failure, but saves 54 lives BENGALURU A 53-year-old driver of a Karnataka State Road Transport Company (KSRTC) bus saved 54 passengers minutes before he died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday. Conductor C M Manjunath said B Ramachandra complained of uneasiness and chest pain when the bus reached the Nelamangala bypass on its way to Donimalai village in Ballari. “I had finished issuing tickets and was on my seat.

Suddenly, Ramachandra switched on the lights in the bus and signaled to me,” he said.

Manjunath walked to the driver’s cabin and was shocked to see Ramachandra clutching his chest with his left hand and steering the bus to the left side of the road. “I was speechless and did not know what was happening’’ Manjunath said. A passenger, Honnappa, who was sitting next to the driver’s seat, said he was not feeling well even when the bus left Bengaluru. “I could see he had some problem.

When the bus stopped at a tollgate, he closed his eyes for a minute and I could see the pain on his face,” Honnappa said. By the time Manjunath reached the driver’s cabin, Ramachandra had stopped the bus to the extreme left. “He told me to drive to the nearest hospital and slept near the engine bonnet.

By the time, I reached a private hospital, he had passed away,” Manjunath told police.

Indian hackers bring down Pak websites on Independence day

New Delhi A group of anonymous Indian hackers, called ‘Hell Shield Hackers’, claimed on Saturday to have taken down around 100 Pakistani business websites as a “tribute to Indian jawans” on the occasion of Independence Day. Injector Devil, one of the hackers, told Hindustan Times, “We belong to Hell Shield Hackers, currently most active ‘black hat’ team in India. We have more than 1000 defaces registered on our team name. Our founder is L@z@rus and other members are psychotic_overloadD, indig3@r, Mr.404, poison operator are stated there in the deface page.”

The term black hat refers to the hacking of a website with

malicious intent, while white hat refers to ethical hacking.

In the hacking terminology, defacing means taking down a website.The hackers posted a message in all the websites asking Pakistani citizens to “be prepared for a full day of website attacks”. According to Injector Devil, Pakistan hackers had hacked many Indian sites on Friday (to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14) and this was payback.

“We want to pass the message that Pakistan hackers should not attack Indian cyber space without any reason. If they do it, we are ready to defend it.

Cyber space needs peace but they keep on violating it. But Pakistan hackers were in full blown war on August 14. So it’s a little payback from our side as we always do.”

68 Indians detained in Washington for crossing into US illegally

New Delhi At least 68 Indian nationals have been taken into custody at a detention center near Seattle in the US state of Washington for allegedly crossing into the country illegally, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department has said.Of them, about half were detained in the last one month while they tried to sneak illegally into the United States from across the border, said Satnam Singh Chahal, the director of US-based North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) that obtained the information from the ICE.Most of them hail from Punjab, he

said.At present 68 Indians are in custody at its contract detention center in Tacoma, the ICE’s western regional spokesperson Virginia Kice said.While their arrest dates vary widely, majority of them were taken into custody this year and about half were arrested in the last 30 days, she said. When undocumented immigrants move through government-run detention centers in the US, it can take months before they find out if they’ll be deported or allowed to stay in the country, Chahal said.During this long wait, many become frustrated, he said.

Issue - 628 (32)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

IS ‘beheads’ 12 in battle for Libya’s Sirte Tripoli Islamic State group jihadists have beheaded 12 people and hung them on crosses during a battle for the coastal city of Sirte, the national news agency LANA reported on Saturday.

The fighting for control of Sirte, hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, has been raging since Tuesday, with one top Libyan diplomat warning of a “massacre” in the city.

LANA said the 12 people beheaded were local gunmen who had been battling IS in the eastern Sirte district known as “neighbourhood three”.

The agency also reported that IS militants executed 22 other Sirte residents who had taken up arms against the jihadist group as they lay wounded in a city hospital.

It said the jihadists also set the hospital on fire.

A Sirte city council official told AFP that clashes continued to rage on Saturday.

“There is continuous fighting, especially in neighbourhood three, and the casualty toll is rising,” said the unnamed official.

Libya’s ambassador to France, Chibani Abuhamoud, told AFP on Friday that fighting in Sirte had left between 150 and 200 dead.

“A real massacre is taking place, and we call on the international community to intervene,” the diplomat said.

The ambassador answers to Libya’s internationally recognised government, which has taken refuge in the east of the country and is in a power struggle with a rival administration based in Tripoli.

Authorities in Tripoli, which was seized last year by a militia alliance known as Fajr Libya, announced on Tuesday the launch of an operation to liberate

Pregnant Swedish teen flees foster home to join Al-Qaeda in Syria

Washington A pregnant 15-year-old Swedish girl is being held by the Islamic State group in Syria after running away from her foster home with her boyfriend to join Al-Qaeda, Swedish media reported today.

The Swedish foreign ministry remained tight-lipped about the case, confirming only minimal details. “We have been informed that a Swedish minor is in Syria.

We are in contact with family members,” ministry spokesman Gabriel Wernstedt told AFP, refusing to disclose any other details.

Swedish daily Expressen and local paper Boras Tidning reported that the 15-yearold girl, whose name was not disclosed, disappeared from her

foster home in Boras, near the southwestern town of Gothenburg, on May 31.

It said she is six months pregnant. She and her 19-yearold boyfriend reportedly travelled to Syria via Turkey, and were recruited on arrival by an AlQaeda-linked group. The couple were captured by IS fighters in the northern city of Aleppo in early August, and have been moved to an IS-controlled area, media reports said, adding that the boyfriend was now being forced to fight for the jihadist group.

The couple were married in a Muslim ceremony in Stockholm earlier this year, without their parents’ knowledge.

Sirte, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli.

Media loyal to the Tripoli authorities said warplanes were bombing armed groups linked to IS in Sirte.The Libyan ambassador said the fighting erupted after IS assassinated earlier this week an influential

imam from the powerful Al-Farjan tribe.The jihadists have since been “massacring people, even killing people in their homes,” Abuhamoud charged.

Late Friday, the Dar al-Iftaa Muslim organisation that issues religious decrees issued a statement calling on Libyans to

mobilise against IS. “All Libyans able to carry weapons must mobilise to confront this cancer which is trying to destroy our Muslim nation,” said the statement.

Libya has descended into chaos since the fall of Kadhafi in 2011.

Al Qaeda leader Zawahiri pledges support to Afghan Taliban chief Dubai Al Qaeda leader Ayman alZawahiri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the recently appointed head of the Afghan Taliban, Mohammad Akhtar Mansour, in a move that could bolster his accession after the death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar. “We pledge our allegiance ... (to the) commander of the faithful, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour, may God protect him,” said Ayman al-Zawahiri, believed to be hiding in a border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan that is a militant bastion.The authenticity of the recording could not be immediately verified, but it had all the stamps of an al Qaeda video.Divisions within the Taliban insurgent movement have emerged since the news last month of the death of Mullah Omar.The swift announcement that Mansour, Omar’s longtime deputy, would be the new leader has riled many senior Taliban figures, and Omar’s family said this month that it did not endorse the move.Mansour’s position could be shored up by the vote

of confidence by al Qaeda, the global militant group that has maintained ties with the Taliban for almost two decades since the tenure of its founder and late leader Osama bin Laden. “As leader of the al Qaeda organisation for jihad, I offer our pledge of allegiance, renewing

has gained the support of a few Afghan insurgent commanders.Al Qaeda is being challenged by Islamic State for leadership of the global jihadist movement, as determined backers of IS have cropped up in Libya and Yemen this year.Al Qaeda was set up by Arab

the path of Sheikh Osama and the devoted martyrs in their pledge to the commander of the faithful, the holy warrior Mullah Omar,” Zawahiri added.

Reiterating support for the Taliban is also a tacit rejection of Islamic State, the new ultra-radical Sunni Muslim movement that is ensconced in Iraq and Syria and

guerrillas who flocked to Afghanistan to fight Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s.

It thrived under the Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule in Afghanistan before the US invasion that followed al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington drove both groups underground.

Use of mustard gas by IS against Iraqi Kurds ‘plausible’ Washington A US official on Thursday deemed it “plausible” that the Islamic State group used mustard gas against Iraqi Kurd fighters this week.

“Based on previous information, we found these reports plausible,” the official told AFP, referring to a Wall Street Journalstory citing US and German sources that said the extremist group had used the banned chemical weapon.

For its part, the Pentagon said on Thursday it is “seeking additional information” about the alleged attack.

“We continue to take these and all allegations of chemical weapons use very seriously,” said Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis.

According to the Wall Street Journal, German officials said approximately 60 Iraqi Kurd fighters, known as Peshmerga, reportedly “suffered injuries to their throats consistent with a chemical attack while fighting Islamic State” on Wednesday.

US officials confirmed to the US newspaper that mustard gas was likely used in the attack and that the jihadists could have obtained the chemical weapons

in Syria. US officials did not confirm to AFP when the attack had taken place.

Peshmerga fighters told AFP on Thursday that they had been the target of a chemical attack on Tuesday. They suggested rockets filled with chlorine gas were to blame and did not mention mustard gas.

The German Defense Ministry has said that Iraqi and US specialists are on their way to the scene of the attack to investigate. Mustard gas is an asphyxiant that has been banned in war by the UN since 1993.

Issue - 628 (33)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Food shocks likely due to extreme weather

LONDON Extreme weather such as intense storms, droughts and heat waves will cause more frequent and severe food shortages as the global climate and food supply systems change, British and American experts warned on Friday. The pressure on the world’s food supplies is so great, and the increase in extreme weather events so rapid, they said, that food shortages on a scale likely to occur once a century under past conditions, may in future hit as often as once every 30 years.

“The chance of having a weatherrelated food shock is increasing, and the size of that shock is also increasing,” said Tim Benton, a professor of population ecology at Leeds University who presented a report commissioned by the British government. “And as these

events become more frequent, the imperative for doing something about it becomes even greater.”

The report, prepared by the UKUS Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience, also warned that knee-jerk national responses to production drops, such as the imposition of export or import bans on certain foods or crops, risk exacerbating a problem and fuelling spikes in food prices.

“If you put the worst case institutional responses together with a worst case production shock, that’s when it starts spiralling out of control,” said Rob Bailey, research director for energy, environment and resources at Britain’s Chatham House think tank, the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

The experts looked at production of the world’s most important

Brave heifer that fled abattoir, spared

PARIS A young cow which fled an abattoir to avoid being slaughtered has been saved by well-wishers, a French animal rights group announced on Saturday. The heifer made a lastditch effort to save her life at an abattoir near Ambert, southeastern France, on June 30. The desperate animal rampaged through the building and got outside, taking refuge in the grounds of a nearby hospital.

She was tranquilised with a dart gun — a move that gave her a stay of execution because the drug made her meat unfit for consumption. Dubbed “Cornette” (Little Horn) and “The Cow Which Refused To Die,” she

became an Internet celebrity.

Stephane Lamart, who runs an animal rights group, joined with a French singer and actress, Stone, to raise money to save her.

“This cow is a symbol,” Lamart told AFP. “It shows that animals do have emotions and consciousness, and can feel stress and sense the smell of death. We wanted to give her a second chance.” Well-wishers paid Cornette’s owner 1,500 euros ($1,650), plus another 500 euros to transport her to the Paris area. Cornette now pregnant will spend the rest of her life with her calf at a farm in Montmagny, near Paris, which teaches urban schoolchildren about rural life.

Two Japanese climbers found dead in Swiss Alps

commodity crops maize, soybean, wheat and rice and how droughts, floods and storms might impact it in future. Since most of the global production of these four crops comes from a small number of countries such as China, the United States and India, extreme weather events in these regions will have the largest impact on global food supplies, they said.And while greater interconnectedness reduces countries’ vulnerability to local production shocks, it may also perversely increase vulnerability to large shocks in distant socalled “breadbasket” regions.

The report recommended drawing up international contingency plans, developing better modelling methods to accurately predict the effects of falls in supply, and identifying international trading ‘pinch points’ to try and minimise them.

TOKYO The bodies of two Japanese climbers have been found on the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps, a Tokyo official said Wednesday, three days after the pair got into difficulty on the mountain.

Japan’s foreign ministry said the two were both men in their 60s, but declined to supply further details because their families had not given consent.

The two mountaineers had on Saturday scaled the 4,478-metre (14,700 feet) Matterhorn, whose pyramidal shape makes it one of the world’s most recognisable mountains. Swiss police said Tuesday the body of one climber had been found but his climbing partner was still missing. His body was later discovered, the Tokyo official said. “Local police confirmed the information with the Japanese consular office in Geneva.” During their descent,

the pair were caught off guard by bad weather and tried to return to the Solvay hut, which lies at 4,003 metres, but were unsuccessful, police in Valais canton said. A Polish mountaineer who glimpsed one of the climbers on Sunday raised the alarm but the mountain rescue service was unable to reach the site until Monday due to bad weather. The Matterhorn, which lies on the border of Switzerland and Italy, is one of the highest peaks in Europe and attracts around 3,000 climbers per year. Since it was first ascended in 1865, some 500 climbers have lost their lives trying to get to the top. DNA tests recently confirmed that skeletal remains found in the Swiss Alps were those of two Japanese climbers who vanished in 1970.

The remains were found after emerging from melting ice.

LONDON The office of Prince William and his wife Kate warned on Friday that paparazzi attempts to photograph their son Prince George were becoming increasingly “alarming” and urged media to boycott their pictures.

In an open letter, Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf said that “a line has been crossed and any further escalation in tactics would represent a very real security risk” to the two-year-old prince.

“Prince George is currently their (the paparazzi’s) number one target,” said the letter.

“We have made the decision to discuss these issues now as the incidents are becoming more frequent and the tactics more alarming.” The royal couple guards the privacy of their children closely and George has only appeared in public five times, most recently at the christening of his younger sister Charlotte last month.Most media publications have respected the family’s wishes to only publish official photos of the prince, which have been released intermittently. But some publications, mainly from abroad, have not.In one incident last week, police apparently

discovered a car parked near a children’s play area in which a photographer had hung sheets to create what the palace called “a hide stocked with food and drinks

into view around playgrounds.

Photographers have also been found hiding in fields and woodland around the couple’s country home in Norfolk, eastern

to get him through a full day of surveillance”. The photographer was lying in the boot trying to take pictures with a long lens through a small gap.

“In a heightened security environment, such tactics are a risk to all involved,” the letter said.

Other incidents detailed include multiple attempts to snap the prince in private parks, the monitoring of the movements of the prince and his nanny, the tailing of family vehicles and the use other children to draw George

England, and in sand dunes on a beach to take images of George playing with his grandmother. “All of this has left the duke and duchess concerned about their ability to provide a childhood for Prince George and Princess Charlotte that is free from harassment and surveillance,” added the communication. Prince William is thought to be particularly wary of the paparazzi because he blames them for his mother’s death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

Royals warn against paparazzi of Prince George

Issue - 628 (34)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Only his headgear was colourful, missing was Modi Magic ! By Jagtar Singh What was common between August 15, 2014 and August 15, 2015 was the colourful headgear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Amiss was what has come to be known as the Modi Magic associated with this wizard of words and hyperbolic assertions.

His emphasis was on delivery but during the last 15 months, his performance as The Deliverer has come under question with little change at the grassroots.

The only new addition to his terminology this time was Team India that he used repeatedly in his 86 minutes speech, the term that signifies inclusive approach which has to be seen in the context of the jarring notes coming from even his party MPs as majority of cadre of the Bharatiya Janata Party has its political and ideological rooting in that school of thought whose approach is known to be parochial. When the Prime Minister addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, his or her words carry high degree of significance and are considered to be sacrosanct.As he was addressing the nation, protest was going on in the national capital by a section of the society whom Narendra Modi had made a commitment in his capacity as the prime ministerial candidate during his election rally in Haryana. That rally was that of ex-servicemen and the promise was to implement long pending demand for one rank one pension which had been accepted in principle by the earlier UPA government while modalities were to be worked out. The protest was by the ex-servicemen who were in the national capital to remind him about his promise as even mediation by General V P

Malik (retd) a few days back had failed to produce the desired effect.A reference to history in this context would not be out of place and the year was 1921 when the Akali Dal had launched Guru Ka Bagh Morcha (agitation) as part of the gurdwara liberation movement. The British India government got a sudden jolt when a group of ex-servicemen volunteers joined what has been the most peaceful protest in the country during the British rule.

The government stopped repression on the unarmed agitators when the second group of ex-servicemen in black robes came forward to face lathis. Sikhs constituted a major part of the British Indian army and this could have led to unrest in the armed forces, at least this was the assessment. The government immediately moved to come to settlement to resolve the dispute regarding management of gurdwara Guru Ka Bagh near Amritsar on the Ajnala road.In the

present context, the situation can have demoralising effect on the armed forces. The babus dealing with the policy matters have a priority and that is to take care of their own welfare first, be it revision of pay scales or pensions.The Prime Minister did not come out with any new scheme and even rhetoric was missing. Modi has been missing from the Parliament during the disrupted monsoon session over what has come to be known as the Lalitgate with which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are linked, although in different ways. Then there is Vyapam scam for which the opposition has been pressing for resignation of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.As expected, he did not utter a word about these controversies. Disruption of Parliament is the tactic that was perfected into art by the BJP itself while in opposition. Now when on

treasury benches, the ruling BJP is speaking the very language of UPA when it continued to disrupt Parliament session after session.Of course, he talked more of weaker sections and farmers this time to remove the impression that his government was pro-corporate. But it is the corporate sector that exposed its nexus with the BJP towards the end of the monsoon session by pressing for the adoption of certain bills, including the GST.The shift in emphasis seems to have been dictated more by Bihar elections to be held within the year and that too when the Modi Magic is losing its lustre. Losing Bihar after Delhi would be too heavy a price for the BJP in general and Modi in particular. The Congress is

already on the revival path with Rahul Gandhi emerging as the leader.Yet another example is Punjab.

The Akali Dal government in the state in which the BJP too is a partner is now frustrated as the Modi government has belied all its expectations. Comparatively, Dr Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister perhaps cared more for Punjab. The Akali Dal is back with its discrimination discourse.

Punjab case is just an example as to how the enthusiasm about the Modi government is on the wane.Modi had emerged as the symbol of hope but it is frustration that is now again taking over the people at large for whom he has used the term Team India.

UK man starts ‘pizza war’ between telecom cos, wins free pizzas

Aussie artist to connect ‘ear’ on arm to web

SYDNEY An Australian artist and academic plans to connect an ear which he has been growing for years on his arm to the Internet so people can hear and track his movements.The project by a professor from Curtin University in Western Australia, known as Stelarc, is his latest in a series of artworks exploring the boundaries of blending robotics, prosthetics and the human body.“Increasingly now, people are becoming Internet

portals of experience... imagine if I could hear with the ears of someone in New York, imagine if I at the same time, could see with the eyes of someone in London,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A miniature microphone with wireless Internet connection will be inserted into the “ear”, while people will be able to track it through a GPS device placed on the body part. “There won’t be an on-off switch,” he said of the microphone. “If I’m not in a wi-fi

hotspot or I switch off my home modem, then perhaps I’ll be offline, but the idea actually is to try to keep the ear online all the time.”

Stelarc, the director of Alternate Anatomies Lab at Curtin, has previously created an exoskeleton, inserted a sculpture into his stomach and used a third, robotic, arm for writing. He said the idea of having a ear implanted and grown on his arm first emerged in 1996.

“In previous performances I’ve used a third hand, an extended arm, a six-legged robot. Having an extra ear was sort of a natural progression,” Stelarc told commercial broadcaster Channel Nine Wednesday.

Stelarc said the ear was “partly surgically constructed and partly cell-grown”. “A biopolymer scaffold was inserted into my arm, skin was suctioned over it and then over a period of six months that encourages your cells to grow into the scaffold. “It grows its own blood supply so this ear becomes not only fixed, but a part of your body.”

London A man in UK won himself a yearlong free pizza supply after initiating ‘pizza war’ between two rival British phone companies by playing them against each other to vie for his subscription.

The ‘hijack’ of the marketing campaigns began when mobile company ‘O2’ offered its Twitter followers free pizzas delivered to their office. All people had to do was reply to O2’s message with their location and a hashtag, and a handful of lucky winners would get their hands on the pizza.

Dan May decided to give it a go but the promised pizza never arrived. Disappointed, he Tweeted O2 again, threatening to switch to rival phone provider ‘Three’ unless they made good on their pizza promise. Three noticed his tweet, and picked up O2’s slack, delivering a pile of pizzas and a hefty amount of ice

cream to his office on the same day. Not to be outdone, O2 went for the nuclear option --offering May free pizza for the rest of the year, the Independent reported.

His pitting of the two mobile giants against each other was well-timed with a deal to merge Three and O2, which came after Hong Kong telecoms conglomerate Hutchison agreed to buy O2 from Telefonica for 10.5 billion pounds, will go before European competition watchdogs next month. But till then they were rival firms. An O2 spokesperson was quoted as saying, “We often like to surprise and delight customers and we’re pleased that we were able to put a smile on @dpmay’s face by giving him free pizza until the end of the year.”May, later admitted on his Twitter handle that he started the pizza war between the two companies.

Issue 628 (35)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Dhawan ruled out of series Team India’s No.3 conundrum

Opening batsman and first-Test centurion Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the rest of the series with a hairline fracture on his right wrist. The injury was sustained when he dropped Kaushal Silva at first slip on day one of the Galle Test. “It is unfortunate because Shikhar is a class act,” said Team Director Ravi Shastri on Monday. “It also shows the courage he showed in the last Test because that injury was sustained before he batted in the first innings.

“He played with a crack and he got a hundred and he came out in the second innings when his hand was

really bad and got 30.

That’s the positive I take from a player: courage, and when the team needed, he was there.”

Ahead of the series, India seemed to be spoilt for choice when it came to opening batsmen. Now, with the second Test only two days away, it is saddled with a yet-to-be-fit M. Vijay, who has a pulled hamstring though the team management said he had been responding well to treatment and K.L. Rahul, who had a twin failure in Galle. However, no replacement has been called in yet, and only Stuart Binny will be joining the team.

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal blamed her loss in the World Championships final on silly errors at crucial times during the second

I have no problems with fitness. But the final is more mental than physical. I made one silly error during a crucial moment in the

In his book The Art of Captaincy, Mike Brearley writes that a cricket team thrives due to a ‘dint of differentiation’. Not everybody can attack and not everybody can defend.

For example, the openers’ role is to provide a solid start, the middleorder’s to consolidate and the tail’s in case it has decent batsmen to flatten the opposition out.

This raises a vital question: in the middle of all this, what is a No.3 batsman supposed to do?

And, in the current Indian scenario, who is the better fit? Rohit Sharma or Cheteshwar Pujara?

The already raging debate has now been further accentuated by Rohit’s failure in the Galle Test.

It is well known that the basic requirement from a No.3 is match-awareness for he is often the one who gives the innings a direction. In the company of the openers he helps build the foundation and with the middle-order he capitalises on it.

How he manages to do this depends, more often than not, on the team’s ethos.

The No.3 is a reflection of the attributes of the team he represents.

An Australian team which

Despite World Championships final loss, Saina Nehwal will be No.1

game. Admitting that she did not play at her best, Saina said that the final was more a mental battle than physical.

“I could have done better today. I made too many mistakes in the first game.

second game,” said Saina, adding that the experience of having already played a World Championships final helped Carolina more.

“In the second game, I was on the slower side. I was trying to make rallies hap-

pen but the points went very quickly. When you have experience of playing a WC final, it’s easier. She was more at ease and not thinking of winning or losing,” added Saina, who will be come No.1 when the rankings are announced next Thursday.

Despite her win, Carolina who is the reigning No.1, will only retain her 80,612 points and will not get a single point more. However, Saina, who lost in the quarterfinals last year will secure an additional 3600 points which will take her overall tally to 82,792 points. Saina became world No.1 for the first time on April 2 this year and was there for five weeks.

attacked from the beginning and counter-attacked in adversity had Ricky Ponting. An Indian team which was not so sure of its footing overseas and

had to first blunt the opposition before attacking had Rahul Dravid.

When Virat Kohli says that he needs an impact player at No.3 someone who can dominate, someone who scores quickly and gives the side more chances to bowl those extra overs to dismiss the opposition the kind of player he seeks is clear, especially with the series being perceived as a marker of change in the Indian team’s approach, into that of an aggressive unit closely mimicking its captain’s persona.

But is it fair to say that Pujara doesn’t fit the description? Not so long ago it was said that India has been “blessed” with Pujara, for many saw a Dravid in him, and also someone who could score faster. His hunger for runs

and his brisk scoring-rate after the consolidation is well known.

In fairness to Kohli, he has not suggested that Pujara cannot be an impact player.

After the defeat at Galle, he said: “the reason Rohit started getting more chances again was because Cheteshwar was going through a phase where he wasn’t getting too many runs. So it was a case of giving another batsman a chance.

Right now, Rohit has got three-four chances at No. 3. The idea has been to persist with him.”

True, Rohit has played all of four innings at No.3. But the problem is that he has shown the technique required to excel at that spot neither while attacking nor while defending, neither while playing pace nor while playing spin.

“We will have to wait and see,” said Ravi Shastri when asked if Rohit would get another game.

Give respect to spinners early on says Rahul Dravid Former India captain and coach of India A team Rahul Dravid has had his fair share of failures in a career spanning over 16 years but he always learnt very quickly to rectify any deficiencies in his technique.

He was probably one of the most technically correct players India produced over the years after Sunil Gavaskar.

Dravid, one of the most dependable of players explores India’s recent nemesis of playing spin, how Test cricket was the most valued possession in the years gone by and the importance of back lift while trying to cope with the very best in bowling.

India going down to spin in the recent years has not been a surprise. In 2012, English spinners Graeme Swann Swann and Monty Panesar went through the Indian batting line-up by picking up 37 wickets

among themselves which was followed by a dismal show against England where the visitors gave away as many as 8 wickets to the part-timer Moeen Ali at Southampton.

Nathan Lyon did his bit in undressing the Indian batting order at Adelaide Oval and did so the entire series where the offspinner scalped 23 wickets.

And the latest addition to the list is Rangana Herath who picked up seven wickets in the second innings of Galle Test to take the game away from the Indians.

Dwelling on India’s vulnerabilty of playing spin in recent years, Dravid said, “Playing spin was one of our big strengths.

What can happen is that when you are with an international team you are not getting to play a lot of spin bowling in matches. Perhaps the pitches in India have changed.”

“Good footwork certainly helps, but different players can play spin differently. Even in the team that I played, Laxman for example, would use his feet, but not that much. He had great reach and used the depth of the crease well. He didn’t have a sweep shot, but had a great on-drive.

Sehwag used his feet against spin a lot more than some of us. Ganguly stepped down to the leftarm spinner whenever he could. It always helps to have a sweep shot,” Dravid emphasized.

Issue 628 (36)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Sexually abused Pak boy jumps Sweden drops sex assault case against before train over ‘police apathy’

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Stockholm Swedish prosecutors on Thursday dropped a sexual assault probe against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange since the time limit on the

claimed political asylum in Ecuador’s embassy in London in June 2012, The Guardian reported.

Assange, who denies the allegations, fears that travelling to Sweden would

case has expired, the media reported. Two women made allegations against Assange in 2010 in Stockholm, but no charges have been brought because the prosecutor has been unable to interrogate him after he challenged an extradition order and

leave him vulnerable to extradition to the US to face espionage charges.

His requests to the Swedish government for a firm guarantee of his safety have been declined. “Julian Assange has voluntarily stayed away from justice by taking refuge in the

Ecuadorian embassy.

Now that the limitation period has passed for some of the [alleged] crimes I am forced to discontinue the preliminary investigation in these parts,” Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny said.

“This means that the investigation of the events is left unfinished because the suspect has not been heard, which I regret,” the prosecutor added.

Assange said he was extremely disappointed in the outcome, saying the Swedish prosecutor has managed to avoid hearing his side of the story entirely. “From the beginning I offered simple solutions,” Assange said. “Come to the embassy to take my statement or promise not to send me to the United States. This Swedish official refused both. She even refused a written statement.

Lahore A 14-year-old boy, who was kidnapped and sexually abused by three men, committed suicide after police in Pakistan’s Punjab province refused to help and instead demanded Rs 50,000 to register a case, the victim’s father said today. Muhammad Akram was kidnapped by three men while he was returning from his workshop in the Rahim Yar Khan district, some 450 kilometres from Lahore, said his father Malik Iqbal. Iqbal said the three men sexually abused his son for two days after giving him intoxicants, and later threw him near his house.

He said the family searched for Akram and informed police after they could not locate him. But they refused to help. On Wednesday, Iqbal said his son was dumped unconscious near the house. “We reported the matter to Head Tallaywala check post and sought registration of a case against the suspects. But the police officials demanded Rs 50,000 to

register a case against the suspects,” he said.

“My son, who was already in trauma, could not bear the stress and humiliation...and jumped before a goods train yesterday,” the distressed

They also sacked the check-post in-charge Imtiaz Ali and arrested him under section 155-C of the Police Order of 2002. An FIR has been registered against the suspects under sections 266, 377 and 322 of the

father said. The family sat on a protest, with the body, on Rahim Yar KhanBahawalpur Road and blocked it for several hours.

Senior police officers reached the spot and assured action against the culprits and police officials responsible for not registering the FIR.

Pakistan Penal Code. The incident has come days after Punjab police arrested 16 suspects for allegedly sexually abusing more than 280 children in Kasur district, some 50 kilometres from here. The scandal is being termed as Pakistan’s biggest child sex abuse scandal.

Issue 628 (37)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Health Exercise helps flow of mysterious hormone in your blood

An exercise-induced hormone does exists in humans, say scientists, adding that this hormone, called irisin, circulates in the blood at nanogram levels and increases during exercise.

Irisin’s discovery in 2012 was exciting because scientists had potentially found one reason why exercise keeps us healthy.

When irisin levels were increased in mice, their blood and metabolism improved.

But the presence of Irisin in humans was recently questioned by groups of scientists.

In new research, the authors show that human

irisin is similar to the mouse hormone and that it circulates in the range previously reported.

Although irisin circulates at low levels (nanograms), this range is comparable to that observed for other important biological hormones such as insulin.

Omega-3 may reduce psychosis risk

According to senior study author Bruce Spiegelman from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, that the confusion over irisin comes down to disagreement over how irisin protein is made in skeletal muscle cells and the detection limits of protocols.

He and co-author Steven Gygi turned to state-of-theart techniques to show that the human hormone uses a rare signal ATA (start codon) to initiate the production of irisin.

Furthermore, the investigators developed a protocol, that does not rely on antibodies, to precisely measure how much irisin increases in people after exercise.

“The data is compelling and clearly demonstrates the existence of irisin in

Healthwon’t benefits of Stress give mulberry! you cancer

blood circulation,” said endocrinologist Francesco Celi from the Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical center, who was not involved with the study.

“Importantly, the authors provide a precise and reproducible protocol to measure irisin,” he added.

Further studies are necessary to fully understand how the hormone works in humans, specifically how it relates to brown and beige fat tissue and energy use, the authors noted in a paper detailed in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Results from human studies are still mixed as to what kinds of exercise raise irisin, but data suggest that high-intensity training protocols are particularly effective.

Stressful events are not associated with cancer, researchers have said, adding that people suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are not at the risk of developing the deadly disease. The large population sample study by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) also showed no strong evidence of associations even among select groups of the population.

“The general public may have a perception that stress contributes to cancer occurrence,” said corresponding author Jaimie L. Gradus, assistant professor of psychiatry and epidemiology. “This study, however, provided no evidence that a severe

chronic stress disorder such as PTSD is associated with cancer incidence,” he added.

According to the researchers, the large sample and long study period allowed them to examine associations that have not been studied previously as they were able to look at rare cancer outcomes and associations among important subgroups.

Researchers compared the rate of various cancer diagnoses among people with PTSD with the standardised cancer rate from the general population in the same time period.

The association between stress and cancer has been discussed in scientific literature for more than 70 years.

Extra vitamin D pills can increase cholesterol in teens For young people at high risk of developing schizophrenia, a 12-week intervention with omega-3 supplements might reduce the long-term risk of progression to the psychotic disorder.

According to a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from Australia carried out a study over seven years on the effect of omega-3 on the risk of psychotic disorder, reported Xinhua news agency. Schizophrenia typically manifests in adolescence or early adulthood and the majority of those affected gradually develop a variety of clinically significant signs and symptoms. In 2010,

researchers reported that dietary supplements of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), in participants aged 13 to 25, prevented a first episode of a psychotic disorder for up to one year. The new results showed this intervention had long-term effects even after a period of 6.7 years for 71 of the original 81 participants.

They found that 9.8 percent of the omega-3 group (4 out 41) developed psychosis compared to 40 percent (16 out of 40) in the placebo group.

In addition, the placebo group showed more rapid onset of psychosis and a higher overall incidence of other psychiatric disorders.

Giving obese teenagers extra vitamin D pills can elevate their cholesterol and fat-storing triglycerides levels, an Indian American researcher has discovered.

Seema Kumar, pediatric endocrinologist in the Mayo Clinic Children’s Centre also found no benefits of extra vitamin D supplements in improving heart health or decreasing diabetes risk. Parents and providers often put obese adolescent children on vitamin D regiments — sometimes at more than 5to-10 times the recommended daily intake.

“After three months of having vitamin D boosted into the normal range with supplements, the teenagers showed no changes in body weight,

body mass index, waistline, blood pressure or blood flow,” Kumar noted.

“We are not saying the links between vitamin D deficiency and chronic diseases do not exist for children - we just haven’t found any yet,” she added.

This is the first of Kumar’s studies to report increased cholesterol and triglycerides during vitamin D supplementation. Kumar has been studying the effects of vitamin D supplementation in children for 10 years through four clinical trials and six published studies. To date, her team has found limited benefit from vitamin D supplements in adolescents.

She, however, calls for larger, placebo-controlled studies

to examine the long-term effects of vitamin D supplementation on teenagers and children.

“This is because some studies have shown a link between vitamin D in the blood and improved vascular function,” Kumar said in a paper appeared online in the journal

Pediatric Obesity. She opted to study vitamin D in overweight teenagers because this population is at increased risk for chronic disease. According to her, it is possible to ingest too much vitamin D, a condition called vitamin D toxicity or hypervitaminosis, which can result in poor appetite, nausea, vomiting and kidney complications.

Issue 628 (38)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

Five simple ways to combat fatigue Fatigue refers to extreme tiredness resulting from mental and/or physical exertion or illness and is a common complaint with most people. Work, travel, static lifestyle, ageing, etc. can be listed as some of the causes of fatigue apart from illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, thyroid, arthritis, etc.

While fatigue is common, it’s certainly not biologically normal. This false assumption makes many people settle for feeling lousy and tired most of the time. Fatigue can affect every aspect of our life: our family, friends, job and activities can and will suffer.

Fortunately, however, there are plenty of simple ways to boost energy. Some even slow the ageing process.

Here are five ways that can help refill your tank when your energy levels sputter.

Get moving: The last thing you may feel like doing

when you’re tired is exercising. But many studies show that physical activity boosts energy levels. An early morning run or brisk walk,

yoga, cycling, etc. can help give you the energy boost you need.

Drink plenty of water: Water is to the body as petrol is to a car.

Dehydration zaps energy and impairs physical

performance and has also been shown to decrease alertness and concentration. Therefore, drink plenty of water to keep yourself well-

hydrated and active.

Sleep on time: Lack of sleep is one of the leading causes of fatigue and may affect health conditions as well. Appropriate rest can raise your energy levels and help you remain alert

Low-fat diet Leads to more fat Loss than carb restriction Contrary to popular claims, restricting dietary fat can lead to greater body fat loss than carbohydrate restriction, even though a low-carb diet reduces

insulin and increases fat burning, new researcher has found.

“A lot of people have very strong opinions about what matters for weight loss,

and the physiological data upon which those beliefs are based are sometimes lacking,” said one of the researchers Kevin Hall from National Institute of

Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“I wanted to rigorously test the theory that

carbohydrate restriction is particularly effective for losing body fat since this idea has been influencing many people’s decisions about their diets,” Hall noted.

For the study, the researchers confined 19 consenting adults with obesity to a metabolic ward for two dieting periods of two weeks each.

At the end of the two dieting periods, the researchers found that body fat lost with dietary fat restriction was greater compared with carbohydrate restriction, even though more fat was burned with the low-carb diet.

through the day.

Shed extra weight: Losing that extra flab can provide a powerful energy boost. Even small reductions in body fat

improve mood, vigour, and quality of life. Most weight loss experts recommend cutting back on portion sizes, eating balanced meals, and increasing physical activity.

Eat more often and eat right: Some people may benefit by eating smaller meals more frequently during the day. This may help steady your blood sugar levels. Favour whole grains and other complex carbohydrates. It is essential to remember that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Having a good, filling breakfast in the morning will help maintain your energy levels.

Cured meats, the new favourite, aren’t most healthy

With westernisation of diets, cured meats are becoming increasingly popular and people travel distances to reach their favourite delis.

Preserving the entire pig (or any animal) after it was killed a process that began centuries ago has occupied an important place in the food market today.

There are no clear regulations on which part of the animal, type of meat, fat and fillers can be used for preparing these meats. Meat from any carcass along with animal fat is usually added. This is highly seasoned with herbs, spices, garlic flavouring, salt, and preservatives such as sugar and saltpetre (potassium nitrate), sodium nitrate.

Casings used in these meats can be intestines or chitterlings (large

intestines of pig).

Synthetic alternatives are also widely used.

Some manufacturers use fillers such as breadcrumbs or special type of binders.

Modified by chemical treatment and extensive manipulation, processed meats such as bacon, salami, ham, sausages, luncheon meat, cold cuts, pepperoni are some of the fattest foods available. Upto 80 per cent of calories come from fat. Three pork sausages weighing 100g contain 25g of fat.

Moreover, most animal fat is predominantly saturated fat, which is associated with cardiovascular disease.

It is interesting to know that the term sausage is derived from the Latin word “Salsus”, meaning “season with salt”.

Feeling sleepy at work?

Try aerobic exercises

Sun screens at bedtime for better sleep

Limit screen time and caffeine for your kids at bedtime if you want them to get quality sleep and perform better in life, says a study.

“Good quality and sufficient sleep are vital for children.

Just like a healthy diet and exercise, sleep is critical for children to stay healthy, grow, learn, do well in

school, and function at their best,” said Orfeu Buxton, associate professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Reducing the encroachment of technology and media into sleep time and supporting well-known sleep hygiene principles should be a focus of public health intervention goals for sleep health, Buxton said. For the study, the researchers evaluated children aged six to 17 years old through internet-based interviews. A total of 1,103 parents or guardians of an average age of 42 completed surveys.

If you find it too hard to stay awake at work despite a good night’s sleep, daily aerobic exercise can help you focus, say researchers, including one of Indian-origin. Exercise reduces the levels of the two proteins, resulting in reduced excessive sleepiness, the findings showed. The study involved people with hypersomnia, which is characterised by sleeping too much at night as well as excessive daytime sleepiness.

“Identifying these

biomarkers, combined with new understanding of the important role of exercise in reducing hypersomnia, have potential implications in the treatment of major depressive disorder,” said study senior author Madhukar Trivedi from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US. People with hypersomnia are compelled to nap repeatedly during the day, often at inappropriate times such as at work, during a

meal, or in conversation.

They often have difficulty waking from a long sleep, and may feel disoriented upon waking, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Other symptoms may include anxiety, increased irritation, decreased energy, restlessness, slow thinking, slow speech, loss of appetite, hallucinations, and memory difficulty.

Issue 628 (39)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015

bow ties with sausage

Curried Coconut Chicken

Ingredients: 1 (12 ounce) package bow tie pasta 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 cup diced onion 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley Directions: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes

Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons curry powder 1/2 onion, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce 3 tablespoons sugar Directions: Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken,

until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.

Meatball Nirvana Ingredients: 1 pound extra lean ground beef 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 small onion, diced 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 dash hot pepper sauce (such as Frank's RedHot速), or to taste 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/3 cup skim milk 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs Directions: Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place the beef into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well.

Baked Salmon

Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, minced 6 tablespoons light olive oil 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped 2 (6 ounce) fillets salmon Directions: In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, (190 degrees C). Place fillets in alumi- and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily num foil, cover with marinade, and seal. flaked with a fork.

Honey Chicken Kabobs

szechwan shrimp Ingredients: 4 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons ketchup 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon honey 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/4 cup sliced green onions 4 cloves garlic, minced 12 ounces cooked shrimp, tails removed Directions: In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over mediumhigh heat. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in

tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear. Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened.

Ingredients: 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes 2 cloves garlic 5 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces 2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces skewers Directions: In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours

(the longer the better).

Preheat the grill for high heat.

Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Issue 628 (40)

18 Aug. - 24 Aug. 2015