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Archives for December 2015

India, South Africa gear up for final Test

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amla

New Delhi: India aims to be “ruthless” in the final test against South Africa despite having taken a winning 2-0 lead in the four-game series,” captain Virat Kohli said on Wednesday.

“We want to be ruthless and will try to go 3-0 up,” Kohli said ahead of the match starting Thursday in Delhi. “We will not be experimenting just because we have won the series. We want to create a hard-working side with a winning culture. The team is in a good space and we will go all out for a win.”

India won the first test at Mohali by 104 runs, and the third at Nagpur by 124 runs. The second test at Bangalore was a rain-affected draw.

The Nagpur pitch, where South Africa folded for only 79 in the first innings, has been termed “poor” by match referee Jeff Crowe in his report to the International Cricket Council which awaits a reply from the Indian cricket board.

“I think the pitches have been discussed too much. No one talks about the Adelaide test (Australia vs New Zealand day-night game) which ended in two and a half days. People don’t talk about the number of times teams have been bowled out for less than 100 in South Africa but pitches are highlighted in India,” Kohli said.

Kohli, who will lead India for the first time on his home ground, said he was not giving a thought to whether the pitch at the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium will also help turn as much.

“We’re confident of our abilities whether the game lasts three days or four or five. The pitch being different won’t change our mindset. We’ve come to win,” Kohli said.

South Africa captain Hashim Amla hopes to end the series on a high.

“Since we started this tour by winning the one-day internationals and Twenty20 series we would like to win this match and make it 2-1. We’ve got the England series very close, two weeks after we get back. It’s very important for us to get back to winning ways and cap it off well,” Amla said.

South Africa had won a five-game ODI series 3-2 and a three-game T20 series 2-0.

“It’s been a challenge against good bowlers on difficult tracks. It has been exciting with the games condensed into three days. But as a batsman, you are never settled,” he added.

Amla said pace bowler Dale Steyn would miss a third consecutive test owing to a groin injury he got during the opening test but that the team was not looking to experiment even though the series was already lost.

“It’s important to win and salvage some pride,” said Amla.

(IANS)

It’s curtains down for 46th IFFI Goa 2015

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Allah Rakha Rahman

AR RAHMAN DELAYS THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF IFFI GOA 2015

And finally it was curtains down for the International Film Festival of India (IFFI GOA 2015) last monday. And as usual like every year there were some skirmishes and this time it was the airborne flight, carrying the musical maestro Allah Rakha Rahman, which got delayed by 3 hours and everything got delayed including the award ceremony as well as the screening of the closing film namely The Clan. So time to have a spotlight on the closing award ceremony! To start off with Indian filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly won the newly-instituted UNESCO Fellini medal for his film Cinemawala.

South American filmmaker Ciro Guerra’s film Embrace of the Serpent won the prestigious Golden Peacock award. British filmmaker Peter Greenaway won the best director award for his film Eisenstein in Guanajuato, while Julia Vargas’ film Sealed Cargo won the Special Jury award. The best actor male award was won by French actor Vincent Lindon for Measure of a man, while five actresses — Gunes Sensoy, Doga Dugusulo, Tukba Sungurugulu, Eltitz Kan, and Liada Akdogan, who acted in the Turkish film “Mustang” jointly won the best actor female award, which is the 1st time ever in the history of IFFI. Goran Radovanovic’s Serbian film Enclave won the special mention award from the IFFI jury headed by renowned director Shekhar Kapoor also.

The IFFI closing ceremony came to an end with the awarding of the lifetime achievement to Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhailkov. The 11-day festival began on 2oth Nov, 2015, with the opening film The Man Who Knew Infinity directed by Mathew Brown a film on the 1913 self-taught Indian mathematical genius Ramanajun and his friendship with G.H. Hardy who helped reveal the mathematics genius to the world. Over 7,000 delegates from 38 countries, most from India, attended the festival, which closed with the screening of the Argentinian film The Clan (El Clan). A total of 187 films from 89 countries, 26 of which are official Academy award entries, were screened at IFFI apart from the films which were part of the Indian Panorama section.

THE MOST POPULAR MOVIE OF IFFI GOA BOX

Augenschein Filmproduktion, Fantascope & MPM Films & director Forin Serban’s film Box is an unusual & silent love story of 2 unusual people namely Rafael and Cristina, they are 2 people that were never supposed to meet. Rafeal is 19 year old gypsy, who works in a car-wash and wants to make it big as a boxer; he lives with his grandfather and is about to have a breakthrough as an athlete. Cristina is 34, Hungarian, actress in the local theatre, married, and goes through a professional & personal crisis; her husband is the star of the theatre ensemble and it seems that she has been living in his shadow for a while. Without knowing each other, Rafael follows Cristina everyday on the cobblestone streets of an old provincial town. She knows it and enjoys the attention. One time, she turns back and they face each other. The following day he looks her in the eyes and asks: “If you hadn’t been married, would you have married me?” From that moment on there is no way back for neither of them, 2 different destinies, 2 different worlds facing different dilemmas. It stars Rafeal Floria as Rafeal & Hilda Peter as Crsitina. Bo was one of the film screened at the recently concluded IFFI Goa 2015.

JD(S) to announce MLC list soon

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jds

Bengaluru: The JD (S) today convened a meeting of the MLAs to discuss the upcoming Legislative Council polls scheduled for December 27.

The JD (S) has 13 representations in the Legislative Council and of these, five MLCs recently retired. The party has not yet taken a final call on whether it should field candidates for all the 25 seats. The party said the decision will be announced soon.

JD (S) said that there are no differences of opinion about the selection of MLCs among members and said all petty differences have been sorted out.

In an aside party supremo and former prime minister blamed the media for distorting the image of the party .

Israeli settlers, forces storm Al-Aqsa mosque

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Palestinian men walk past the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on October 23, 2015. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

Palestinian men walk past the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on October 23, 2015. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

by Press TV

Israeli settlers, protected by Israeli forces, have once again stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

According to reports on Wednesday, the settlers entered the holy site while escorted by a group of Israeli troops.

The development came after a large number of Israeli military forces arrested at least 23 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during their overnight raid on a refugee camp.

The Palestinians were detained when more than 1,500 Israeli forces, backed by a helicopter and several snipers, stormed the Shu’afat refugee camp in northeast of the occupied city of al-Quds (Jerusalem), reports said on Wednesday.

According to the reports, Israeli forces blocked entries to the refugee camp, fired tear gas at Palestinians and set off stun grenades. Local residents told the al-Aqsa TV that Israeli forces also prevented ambulances from entering the camp.

The Israeli soldiers were deployed in the refugee camp ahead of the planned demolition of a home of a Palestinian who allegedly carried out an attack against Israeli forces last year.

The home set to be demolished was the residence of Ibrahim al-Akari who, Israel alleges, carried out a car-ramming attack on November 5, 2014, which killed two people, including a border police officer. He was shot dead in the incident.

The reports come as tensions continue between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The wave of unrest, which was triggered by Israel’s imposition in August of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, has left over 100 Palestinians killed. Almost 20 Israelis have also lost their lives in the clashes.

More than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly behind bars in 17 Israeli prisons and detention centers, many of them without charge or trial.

Report: Arrivals by sea in Europe approach 1m mark

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Over 900,000 people reached the continent and 3,563 went missing or drowned trying to make the journey, monitors say.

About 5,000 refugees are reaching Europe each day along the so-called Balkan migrant route [Santi Palacios/AP]

About 5,000 refugees are reaching Europe each day along the so-called Balkan migrant route [Santi Palacios/AP]

by Al Jazeera

More than 900,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe since January 2015, and over 3,000 have drowned or gone missing during the same period, according to the UN and an organisation which monitors the migration flow.

Since January 2015, at least 907,712 refugees and migrants made the journey to Europe, including 878,495 who have arrived by sea, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

That means that almost 97 percent arrived by sea.

At least 3,563 people have gone missing or drowned trying to reach Europe, the IOM said.

The UNHCR put the number of arrivals by sea at 886,262, and 3,515 reported missing or dead.

The IOM and UNICEF said that children accounted for 20 percent of those arriving in 2015.

The share is greatest along the Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey to Greece and through the Western Balkans, where children make up over one-quarter of arrivals.

In October, more than 90 children died on their way to Greece, and in the past week, nine of the 12 deaths on this crossing were children, the IOM said.

Mostly Syrians and Afghans

Along the journey, children are also more at risk of illness and injury, as well as exploitation, separation from family, kidnapping and trafficking.

Greece has seen the largest number of refugees arriving by sea, where at least 738,465 refugees have arrived since January this year.

The majority of those arriving in Europe by sea come from the world’s top 10 refugees-producing countries, the highest being Syria and Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, the EU struck a deal with Turkey in Brussels that aims to limit the flow of refugees into the continent.

The agreement includes providing Turkey with $3.2bn, along with closer ties with the EU in return for handling the refugees from war-torn countries on its territory.

The UNHCR reported in June that the worldwide displacement was at the highest level ever recorded, in which, by the end of 2014, a staggering 59.5 million people were forcibly displaced.

It also said that globally one in every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum.

Since 2011, the main reason for such a rise in figures has been the war in Syria, now the world’s single-largest driver of displacement.

Iraq: We don’t need foreign troops to fight ISIL

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Iraqi PM’s comment comes after US defence secretary says extra troops will assist forces in fight against ISIL.

iraq-isis

by Al Jazeera

Iraq has said that any deployment of foreign troops on its soil cannot happen without approval of its government.

The Iraqi prime minister’s comments came in response to the earlier announcement by Ashton Carter, US defence secretary, that the US will deploy “specialised” troops to Iraq to help fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

“We do not need foreign ground combat forces on Iraqi land,” Haider al-Abbadi said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The Iraqi government stresses that any military operation or the deployment of any foreign forces – special or not – in any place in Iraq cannot happen without its approval and coordination and full respect of Iraqi sovereignty.”

Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee, the Pentagon chief had said a “specialised expeditionary targeting force” was being deployed to help Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

“In full coordination with the government of Iraq, we’re deploying a specialised expeditionary targeting force to assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces and to put even more pressure on ISIL,” Carter said on Tuesday.

“American special operators bring a unique suite of capabilities that make them force multipliers. They will help us garner valuable ground intelligence, further enhance our air campaign and, above all, enable local forces that can regain and then hold territory occupied by ISIL.”

Carter said the special forces would also be able to intervene in Syria, where the US has already announced it is sending about 50 special operations troops.

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington DC, said that the number of additional troops to be sent is still unknown.

“We don’t know yet how many forces are going to be deployed,” she said. “The Iraqi government wants US troops to be helping with the effort and move ISIL off its territory.

“In Syria, the US president has approved a plan to send in special forces, but is doing so without the consent of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and that’s something that has angered Assad since the coalition launched air strikes more than a year ago.”

Carter’s comments come as the British parliament prepares to debate whether the Royal Air Force should start bombing in Syria.

Extra planes could be sent to Cyprus if MPs vote on whether to extend British military intervention against ISIL.

If successfully passed by the MPs on Wednesday, British fighter jets will be allowed to extend their campaign against ISIL fighters in Iraq to neighbouring Syria, where the group has its headquarters in the city of Raqqa.

David Cameron, UK prime minister, called for military intervention in ISIL-held areas of Syria after the group’s attacks in Paris on November 13, which left 130 people dead.

Gujarat local polls: Congress leads in rural areas; BJP ahead in urban

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Gujarat-polls

Ahmedabad: In what could be a setback to the ruling BJP in crucial civic polls in Gujarat, the Congress is leading in district and taluka panchayats even as the saffron party is ahead in corporations and municipalities, as initial counting trends start pouring in from across the state.

The BJP had held almost all the local bodies earlier in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The civic elections have also assumed significance for the ruling party in the backdrop of Patel quota agitation and being the first major political battle for Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

The Congress has surged ahead in nine district panchayats of the state, while the BJP is leading in four out of the total 31 district panchayats that went to polls.

In the last election, the Congress had only won the Tapi district panchayat.

The BJP, however, is ahead in all the six municipal corporations that went to polls, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Vadodara. All the municipal corporations were earlier held by BJP.

The ruling party is also doing reasonably well in the 56 municipalities.

However, in the 230 taluka panchayats, the Congress is doing well at the initial stage, State Election Commission officials said.

In the prestigious Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation polls, the BJP is ahead in more than 50 seats, while the Congress is leading in 15 seats out of total of 192 seats.

However, in a major upset, the Congress is leading its way to win the Rajkot district panchayat, where it is ahead in 22 seats out of total 40, while BJP is ahead in one seat. In the last elections, the BJP had won 26 seats there and the Congress 14 seats.

The voting for six municipal corporations was held on November 26, while that for 31 district panchayats, 230 taluka panchayats and 56 municipalities was held on November 29.

Though the voting for the six municipal corporations was as low as 45 per cent, for other semi-urban and rural bodies it was over 60 per cent.

For the BJP and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, the polls are being seen as a challenge as they were held after the Patel quota stir and in absence of Narendra Modi.

The Congress is hoping to make a comeback in the state, riding on the Patel quota agitation.

The Patel leaders, who had launched a stir for inclusion under OBC category for reservation, had during the poll campaign told their community members to vote against the BJP, and in favour of the Congress.

(PTI)

‘Visibly’ upset Modi leaves Lok Sabha amid uproar

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Narendra Modi

New Delhi: A visibly upset Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as opposition members created a din demanding the sacking of minister V.K. Singh.

After some 40 minutes of uproar, during which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s repeated requests to the protesting MPs to calm down fell on deaf ears, Modi left the house.

The opposition MPs said they wanted Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh out of the government for making “derogatory comments” against Dalits.

The trouble began soon after the house met for question hour as opposition members assembled near the speaker’s chair shouting slogans against the minister.

“V.K. Singh should resign!” they shouted. Mahajan tried to pacify them on one hand and asked the rest of the house to continue with parliamentary business.

Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah looked on from the front rows of the treasury benches.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu also tried to pacify the agitated members, saying the minister had already clarified the issue and there was no point stretching it further.

As the question hour got over amid the din, the speaker again requested the opposition to let the house function but the protesting MPs instead walked out.

(IANS)

Chennai rain fury: Airport shut, Army assisting in rescue operations

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Heavy rain Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Rain-ravaged Chennai was today crawling with air and road traffic severely hit as Army, Navy and NDRF teams stepped up rescue operations in worst-hit localities of the city that is also witnessing power outages.

 

The non-stop torrential rains pounding the city since last night showed some let up in the morning but the inundated streets left commuters stranded.

In view of the water logging, Chennai Airport authorities have shut operations till 6 AM tomorrow. All airlines, including Air India, have cancelled their operations from Chennai airport.

The Airports Authority of India has issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to all air operators in this regard, an AAI spokesperson said in New Delhi.

The spokesperson said Chennai airport authorities had initially shut operations till this morning but due to incessant rains it has now decided to extend it till 6 AM tomorrow.

Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is a notice containing information concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any facility, service or procedure, among others, in airspace management.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in view of the situation, the Centre has deployed Army, Navy and NDRF teams in sufficient numbers.

“The Prime Minister has issued a memorandum and we have deployed our Central team there to assess the situation and make a report so that every possible help can also reach there,” Singh said.

Two columns of army’s Garrison Infantry Battalion have been pressed into service in Tambaram and Oorapakkam after the Tamil Nadu government sought military assistance.

The Navy has also been deployed to assist in the operations.

“More army personnel are coming to Chennai from Bengaluru,” a Defence Public Relations official said.

Navy personnel have been deployed in Sadiapet area of Chennai to rescue people marooned in low-lying areas.

The NDRF is airlifting another 15 teams to the rain-battered state. While 10 teams are being airlifted from Bhubaneshwar to Tirupati, another five teams are being lifted from Delhi, NDRF DG O P Singh said.

Each team comprises 40 personnel.

The teams are also carrying 20 inflatable boats along with them for the rescue operations.

NDRF DIG and commanding officer have been stationed in Chennai to take stock of the operations, he said.

Singh said that he is also in constant touch with the Relief Commissioner of Tamil Nadu.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said more forces will be deployed to tackle the situation.

However, “we are facing difficulty in bringing them (forces) there as the airport is also not operating,” he said.

The rains that have virtually broken a 100-year-old record with one day’s rainfall covering a month’s average have flooded areas in Vadapalani, Valasaravakkam and Nandamvakkam as nearby lakes overflowed into the city.

The situation has worsened in suburban areas of Tambaram and Mudichur after the Chembarakam lake overflowed and an unprecedented 26,000 cusecs of water was released flooding the downstream areas. These areas had already suffered heavily during the earlier spells of rains.

A large part of the road near Madhya Kailash temple in the heart of the city in an area that connects the IT corridor has caved in resulting in a huge crater and disrupting traffic.

Even in hitherto unaffected areas, people have complained that water entered their homes and roads flooded with surging waters. Several areas in the city went without power as supply was cut as a safety precaution.

DG MeT Department Laxman Singh Rathore said, “Extremely heavy rainfall has been occurring for sometime and today Tamil Nadu has witnessed 35 cm of rainfall that has created havoc.

“Its intensity, however, will decrease in the next 48 hours and further by 72 hours but it is likely to continue for five-seven days,” he said.

DMK MP Kanimozhi demanded that the Centre should declare it as a national disaster as it is not only Chennai that is affected but also coastal areas of Tamil Nadu.

“The rain is unrelenting and more rains have been predicted in another few more days. I really don’t understand how state government can handle the situation. We need more resources, more help and everything has to be rushed quickly. We need whatever support Centre can give to the state government,” she said.

Meanwhile, Spicejet has cancelled all its flights till tomorrow, while Jet Airways has cancelled all its flights to and from Chennai for today.

Budget carrier IndiGo has announced cancellation of all flights from Chennai.

“Due to heavy rains causing water logging on the Chennai runway all the inbound and outbound flights to and fro Chennai have been cancelled,” Indigo tweeted.

(Agencies)

Be the revolution – A street play

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SIBM

Bengaluru: In the memory of the tragic 26/11 Mumbai attacks that took place seven years back, students of Jzaa – the drama club of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bengaluru performed an outstanding street play on the theme “Shaurya” to enlighten the crowd on issues at hand,thereby creating awareness and developing a strong impetus for change.

With a crisp script, catchy phrases, songs and intelligent emphasis on speech, the nukkad-natak created a prevailing effect on viewers and reflected on the sacrifices made by the defense authorities we so easily dismiss as “useless”.

It was a tribute to brave-hearts like Hemant Karkare, Tukaram Gopal Omble, Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Vijay Salaskarand Ashok Kamte who lost their lives fighting terrorism on the day whichwas by far Mumbai’sworst nightmare. These high ranking, extremely proficient police officers lost their lives during the brazen 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks due to lack of proper defence aids (bulletproof jackets, advanced arms and ammunitionsetc.). Poor investment, negligence towards security and respect for policemen were the main focus of the act presented.

With an interesting depiction of crimes, performers illustrated the conventional reaction we righteous change seekers give, hampering the growth rather than being progressive-holding the government responsible, questioning the competency of our crime squads and policemen, and even blaming victims in cases of rape. The performers portrayed how change in society does not merely mean reacting-accusing-rioting-forgetting, playing the age-old blame game on the government for mishandling the affairs. It is to find an alternative that will help mitigate the situation.

Throwing in jingles like “HUM HAI AAJKE YOUTH.. “,” BANDE ME HAI DUM. . . . “,” HO GAI HAI PEER PARVAT..” and widely intense expression, with appropriate loudness in voice and well structured dialogues, the students stormed the floor emphasizing the power of youth to bring about improvement in society.Nothing is more impactful than a clever mixture of entertainment andan attempt to bring about change.

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