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Modi praises Modi: Ex-IPL chief seeks to mend fences with PM

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narendra-modi-lalit-modi

New Delhi: The man who is instrumental in inviting the wrath of the opposition on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leader Narendra Modi now appears to be seeking to make amends, after the party said it would seek an interpol ‘red corner notice’ against him.

Lalit Modi, sitting in London, tweeted on Saturday that Prime Minister Modi was a “most savy (sic) man”.

The former chief of the Indian Premier League, embroiled in several controversies and whose passport was revoked by the Indian government, said that “when he (Modi) bats, he will hit the ball out of the park”.

Lalit Modi, who has been putting out reams of information through tweets and other media, was apparently helped by External Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, at a time when he was being sought by the Enforcement Directorate during the previous United Progressive Alliance regime.

Modi’s tweet praising the prime minister came on the day Raje was in Delhi, for an official meeting, but was planning to meet the BJP brass to give her side of the story. According to sources, she was expected to meet the prime minister, but latest reports said that the meeting had not come through.

Raje has accepted that she had signed a document supporting the application of Lalit Modi for a residence visa in Britain. The opposition parties say that at best this points to an impropriety by a leading BJP leader when the IPL chief was wanted by the authorities in India.

Lalit Modi, who has been staying in London for several years, is sought by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial irregularities when he was the IPL head.

He has been tweeting regularly, often implying nothing more than a meeting with political figures.

On Friday he said that he and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal had chatted over three days during a wedding in Istanbul.

Earlier the same day, Modi tweeted that he “bumped into” Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka and her husband Robert Vadra in a London restaurant last year.

He did not imply any wrongdoing or impropriety on their part. But the BJP, under attack for “supporting a fugitive”, immediately reacted asking the Congress president to explain what the meeting between the three was all about.

(Agencies)

Movie Review: ‘Insidious: Chapter 3’ – This horror saga is not so scary

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Insidious Chapter 3

Producer: Jason Blum, Oren Peli and James Wan
Director: Leigh Whannell
Star Cast: Ashton Mojo, Angus Sampson, Dermont Mulroney, Hayley Kiyoko, Lin Shaye, Tate Berney and Stefanie Scott
Genre: Horror
Verdict: Average

Director Leigh Whannell can very well be termed as the Horror master as he has mainly gained recognition in the past with films like Dead Silence, Death Sentence and the Saw and now the Insidious Chapter franchise. Normally sequels are made after the success of a prequel but in case of Insidious Chapter 3 it is a prequel after the success of the 2 earlier franchises of the same.

Plot: This chilling prequel, set before the haunting of the Lambert family, reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.

Aces: The only thing that goes in its favour is the outstanding performances by its principal cast namely Dermont Mulroney, Lin Shaye and Stefanie Scott while the rest of the cast are just used like props to carry the movie forward.

Minuses: The gaps between the scary scenes are painfully slow and stiflingly boring which tests the viewers patience.

Last Word: This horror saga can be safely skipped.

Movie Review: ‘Inside Out’ is an enjoyable fare

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Inside Out

Producer: Jonas Rivera
Director: Pete Docter
Star Cast: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Kaitlyn Dias, Lewis black, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith and Richard Kind
Genre: Fantasy
Verdict: Good

Six times Oscar nominated and one time Oscar winner (for his film Up) director Pete Docter has till this date tried his hands at varied genres of filmmaking like horror, animation et al. In his latest animated outing Inside Out he has tackled the memory powers of a human being in lieu with his five basic emotions namely Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger.

Plot: Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions, Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life.

Aces: The excellent manifestation and psychological interpretation of the human mind and its five basic emotions.

Minuses: Inside Out has a very complexed theme, which will be hard for children to grasp.

Last Word: It’s an entertaining film which will make you laugh and cry in unison.

Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde accused of Rs 206 cr 'scam'

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Pankaja Munde

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Women and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde was in trouble today following allegations that she cleared purchases worth Rs 206 crore through 24 Government Resolutions on a single day instead of inviting tenders.

The alleged purchases relate to a host of items including snacks and books for children in institutions across the state.

Dubbing it as a “big scam”, Congress and other opposition parties attacked the 8-month-old BJP-led government headed by Devendra Fadnavis.

Former chief minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan demanded a CBI inquiry and said the scam exposed the “true colours” of the government.

Asked if he would demand Munde’s resignation, Chavan said “Be it Pankaja Munde or Vinod Tawade (education minister caught in a row over educational qualification), this government would not remove anyone. After all, this the policy of the Modi government to brazen out all allegations.”

“The scam has exposed the real character of this government. The Minister (Munde) must give an explanation on the issue”, Chavan said.

The scam first came to light on June 15, when the office of Pankaja Munde received a letter from Ahmednagar Zila Parishad president Manjushree Gund complaining about the quality of chikki (a popular snack) distributed to tribal students under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Gund said the chikki was contaminated with clay.

This is the first time that an alleged scam of this magnitude has come to light after the BJP-Shiv Sena government took office.

All purchases were cleared by Munde, daughter of BJP stalwart late Gopinath Munde on a single day on February 13 through 24 Government Resolutions (GR).

As per norms, all government purchases above Rs 3 lakh have to be done through e-tendering. Fadnavis has banned purchases through the rate contract system, in which material is purchased after rates have been negotiated.

Pankaja Munde was unavailable for comments. An official in her department said the minister was out of India and was expected to return on June 28.

Munde said her decision to check corruption had “troubled” some “money-minded” people and that she was not scared of such accusations.

For years the women and child development department had been neglected and was taken “less seriously”, she said, adding that “I as a minister (have) taken some dynamic decision to reduce currption…has also troubled some money minded bunch of ppl (sic) involved…I hv not broken any rules as far I m concerned n also not feared any allegations”.

Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Minister Eknath Khadse, while responding to the allegations, said,”Opposition keeps on levelling charges. We don’t take them seriously until they submit proof.”

BJP spokesperson Shaina NC said the opposition had levelled allegations “to be in news”. “The opposition wants to be in news. If Munde has done anything, it should be substantiated with proof.”

Accusing BJP and the Centre of double-speak, Congress’ media department chief Randeep Surjewala said,”We hope that BJP and its government will seriously investigate the way they used to say ‘na khayenge, na khane denge’ and will provide a corruption-free government.

“We hope that they will, before 1.25 crore people of India, prove that they do what they say,” he said, adding “as layers and layers of corruption get unveiled, one leader after another of BJP is getting exposed. First it was the External Affairs Minister helping a fugitive of law and a black money hoarder, we also saw forged degrees of Irani and now….Pankaja Munde.”

(PTI)

Palestine Delivers 'Evidence' of Israeli Abuses to ICC

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Israel's 2014 invasion of Gaza devastated the coastal enclave and left over 2,000 people dead. | Photo: Reuters

Israel’s 2014 invasion of Gaza devastated the coastal enclave and left over 2,000 people dead. | Photo: Reuters

by teleSUR

Palestinian leaders say they have solid evidence Israel has committed widespread human rights abuses.

Palestinians will hand evidence of alleged Israeli war crimes to the International Criminal Court Thursday as part of a preliminary investigation into the 2014 invasion of Gaza.

“The files to be presented to the court refer to war crimes and crimes committed by individuals of the Israeli leadership,” the Palestinian Liberation Organization said in a statement.

Prominent peace activist Mustafa Barghouthi, head of the Palestine National Initiative, said the files include hundreds of pages of evidence against Israeli forces.

“Our aim is to establish war crimes in order that an investigation by the chief prosecutor’s office is carried out and to remove immunity from Israel and its leaders, achieve justice, apply human rights conventions, protect Palestinians and hold criminals accountable for their crimes,” he said, according to Ma’an News Agency.

The ICC case is still in its early stages, but could potentially lead to indictments against Israeli officials if the court finds evidence of human rights abuses.

The Palestinian submissions to the ICC are unlikely to speed up the court’s preliminary investigation, but could reinforce United Nations allegations of Israeli war crimes during its assault on Gaza last year. Earlier this week a damning U.N. report accused both Hamas and Israel of human rights abuses stemming from the 2014 conflict that left over 2000 people dead – almost all Palestinian civilians.

Israel has disputed the U.N.’s findings and argued Palestinians shouldn’t be entitled to petition the ICC for an investigation, as Palestine isn’t universally recognized as a state. Israeli officials have argued any international investigation into alleged Israeli human rights abuses will undermine peace talks – a stance widely dismissed by both Palestinian leaders and human rights groups.

Yet allegations of Israeli abuses don’t just stem from the Gaza invasion. Many of the documents set to be handed over to the ICC reportedly include details of allegations of Israeli violations of international law in the West Bank. One document alone from the think tank Applied Research Institute includes nearly 500 pages of concerns stemming from Israel’s controversial West Bank settlements. The settlements have been labeled illegal by the U.N., while Palestinians say they are a major hurdle for peace talks.

HC orders Karnataka goverment, EC to conduct BBMP polls by Aug 5

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karnataka-high-court

Bengaluru: The High Court has ordered the state government and the Election Commission to conduct elections to the BBMP by August 5, recently. The court also slammed the government for filing an interlocutory application (IA) in a bid to delay the elections.

Justice B V Nagarathna said, “All IAs, except one filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation, are dismissed with costs, as these applications are not only an abuse of the process of this court, but contrary to the principle of the finality of litigation, and have taken up considerable time of this court”, in the given judgment.

She directed the authorities to comply with the spirit of a High Court order dated March 30, 2015, and an order of the Supreme Court dated May 5, 2015, by taking steps to hold elections.

The state government, Karnataka State Commission for SC/STs and others had filed impleading applications without any further prayers. This is not only frivolous, but an instance of the court being taken for granted, the judge said.

“The IA filed by state is dismissed with a cost of 10,000, payable to each petitioner. The applications filed by the other applicants are dismissed with a cost of 1,000, payable by each of the applicants to each petitioner, on every application filed by them, other than the Namma Bengaluru Foundation,” the order said.

Further the state Election Commission had objected to the plea, saying it would be held responsible if the elections were not held in time.

(Agencies)

US domestic Terrorists more deadly than 'Jihadis': Report

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“With non-Muslims, the media bends over backward to identify some psychological traits that may have pushed them over the edge. Whereas if it’s a Muslim, the assumption is that they must have done it because of their religion.”

Last week's shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina was the deadliest right-wing attack on U.S. soil since 2001. Dylann Roof, pictured, reportedly told parishioners he wanted to start a race war before shooting dead nine black men and women.

Last week’s shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina was the deadliest right-wing attack on U.S. soil since 2001. Dylann Roof, pictured, reportedly told parishioners he wanted to start a race war before shooting dead nine black men and women.

by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

In the 14 years since the September 11, 2001 attacks, nearly twice as many Americans have been killed by white supremacists, right-wing extremists, and other non-Muslim domestic terrorists than by people motivated by “jihadist ideology,” a report by the New America research group published Wednesday has found.

Using a database that catalogs information on U.S. citizens and permanent residents engaged in “violent extremist activity,” the report, Homegrown Extremism 2001-2015, found that 48 people were killed by non-Muslim terrorists during that time frame, as opposed to 26 who were killed by self-described jihadis.

The New York Times reports:

The slaying of nine African-Americans in a Charleston, S.C., church last week, with an avowed white supremacist charged with their murders, was a particularly savage case. But it is only the latest in a string of lethal attacks by people espousing racial hatred, hostility to government and theories such as those of the “sovereign citizen” movement, which denies the legitimacy of most statutory law. The assaults have taken the lives of police officers, members of racial or religious minorities and random civilians.

…John G. Horgan, who studies terrorism at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, said the mismatch between public perceptions and actual cases has become steadily more obvious to scholars.

“There’s an acceptance now of the idea that the threat from jihadi terrorism in the United States has been overblown,” Dr. Horgan said. “And there’s a belief that the threat of right-wing, antigovernment violence has been underestimated.”

Last week’s shooting at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine black men and women were killed, was the deadliest right-wing attack in the U.S. since 2001, the report states. The suspect in the murders, 21-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof, said he had intended to start a race war through his attack.

But despite these findings, the general public and mainstream media resist the language of “terrorism” when describing so-called homegrown radicals.

As Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) editor Jim Naureckas wrote in a column published on Common Dreams this week, “Corporate media are demonstrably reluctant to use the word ‘terrorist’ with regards to Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Roof—even though the massacre would seem to meet the legal definition of terrorism, as violent crimes that ‘appear to be intended…to intimidate or coerce a civilian population’.”

Abdul Cader Asmal, a retired physician and a spokesman for Boston’s Muslim community, told the Times on Wednesday, “With non-Muslims, the media bends over backward to identify some psychological traits that may have pushed them over the edge. Whereas if it’s a Muslim, the assumption is that they must have done it because of their religion.”

Roof’s attack was “not an act of just ‘one hateful person.’ It is a manifestation of the racial hatred and white supremacy that continues to pervade our society,” wrote University of Pennsylvania professor Anthea Butler in an op-ed for the Washington Post last week, just as Roof was captured by law enforcement. “It should be covered as such. And now that authorities have found their suspect, we should be calling him what he is: a terrorist.”

ISIL re-enters Syrian Kurdish town Kobane

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At least 12 killed in bomb blast in battleground border town, as fighting flares in several other key Syrian cities.

ISIL fighters attacked the battleground town from three sides [Getty Images]

ISIL fighters attacked the battleground town from three sides [Getty Images]

by Al Jazeera

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters have launched attacks on two fronts in northern Syria, re-entering the Kurdish town of Kobane and seizing parts of the city of Hasakah.

Dozens of ISIL fighters attacked Kobane on the border with Turkey, where at least 12 people were killed in a car bomb attack at the start of the offensive on Thursday morning.

ISIL fighters were wearing Kurdish and Free Syrian Army uniforms, the sources told Al Jazeera, as they attacked from three sides and took several positions inside the battleground town.

Al Jazeera’s Nisreen El Shamayleh, reporting from Amman, said several ISIL fighters “carried out suicide attacks; decimated themselves and caused a lot of casualties” after entering the city.

“There’s a lot of fighting going on there, that we understand is ongoing,” our correspondent said.

“Dozens of people have been trying to flee.”

The Kurdish group YPG asked civilians to stay home as it sent reinforcements to the town.

The fighting prompted Kurdish activists and Syrian state television to accuse Turkey of allowing ISIL to attack Kobane from its side of the border.

A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman later “strongly denied” that the ISIL fighters crossed into Syria from Turkey.

Kurdish forces in January had reclaimed Kobane from ISIL in a victory touted by Anwar Muslim, the prime minister of the self-declared Kurdish canton of Kobane, as “the beginning of the end for Daesh [ISIL]”.

Losing Kobane after more than four months of intense fighting was seen as a significant propaganda blow to ISIL after it had invested extensive military resources to capture the isolated border town.

“Daesh [ISIL] took most of the places it wanted in Syria and Iraq but could not capture Kobane,” Muslim told Al Jazeera at the time.

ISIL storms Hasakah

Meanwhile, ISIL launched an overnight offensive on the largely Kurdish city of Hasakah in northeast Syria where dozens of Syrian and ISIL fighters were reportedly killed, sources told Al Jazeera.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group estimated that at least 30 Syrian soldiers and 20 ISIL fighters died in the raid.

Dozens of people fled Hasakah towards the northern countryside after the sudden offensive, Al Jazeera’s sources reported.

Fighting was ongoing on Thursday morning as ISIL stormed the city from its southern entrance in its attempt to take control of more territories in Hasakah.

A suicide bomber also blew up a car bomb at the city’s western entrance.

Fighting in Aleppo and Deraa

Meanwhile, after two years of fighting for Layramoun Square in Aleppo, rebels were saying on Thursday that they had seized the area from government forces.

They also took control of a surrounding government barracks northwest of the city, Al Jazeera’s sources said.

Syrian rebels and groups including the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front also attacked government-held areas of the southern city of Deraa overnight.

Rebels previously held Deraa’s eastern half while the Syrian government held western areas of the city.

Heavy fighting in Deraa is continuing, according to Al Jazeera’s sources.

ISIL prisoners beheaded

In a separate development, ISIL beheaded 12 men from rival Syrian rebel movements accused of fighting against them, in a video released on Thursday.

It is the latest in a long series of mass beheadings by ISIL, and comes two days after the group released a video showing it killing 16 people in neighbouring Iraq, drowning some of them in a cage.

Four men were killed with a rocket-propelled grenade fired at a car and seven by wrapping explosive cord around their necks and detonating it.

Three of those killed in the new video were from Jaysh al-Islam, one of the main rebel groups in the Damascus area, and a fourth from al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate and ISIL’s main rival in the country.

India beat Bangladesh in third ODI to salvage lost pride

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Mirpur: India came back strong and dominated with an all-round performance to win the third One-Day International against Bangladesh by 77 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium here on Wednesday.

The hosts, however, clinched the three-match series 2-1 having won both the earlier matches.

Chasing India’s total of 317/6, Bangladesh managed to get to a total of only 240 runs in 47 overs.

For Bangladesh, Shabbir Rahman top-scored with a knock of 43, while Suresh Raina picked up three wickets for 45 in eight overs.

In reply to India’s challenging total, the hosts were jolted early as Dhawal Kulkarni picked up the hard-hitting Tamim Iqbal (5) in the second over of the innings.

But Tamim’s opening partner Soumya Sarkar ensured that his side were off to a bit of a flyer as he struck a flurry of boundaries.

Just when Sarkar (40) looked set for a big score, the team in blue struck sending him back to the pavilion.

Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim then got together to knit another useful partnership of 50 runs the latter then edged one to India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off a Suresh Raina delivery with the score reading 112/3.

Das also fell thereafter as a fast delivery from left-arm spinner Axar Patel crashed onto his citadel with Bangladesh struggling at 136/4 in the 25th over.

Shakib Al Hasan (20) for once missed out in the series as he spooned one to long-on two overs later.

With India in the driver’s seat, the pair of Nasir Hossain and Rahman tried to take the game by the scruff of the neck with some brave and lusty hitting.

Rahman was the aggressor as he clobbered his way to a 38 ball 43 but was clean bowled by Stuart Binny in one of the turning points of the game.

The Bangladesh innings stuttered after that as they kept losing wickets with the batsmen succumbing to the scoreboard pressure.

Earlier in the day, opener Shikhar Dhawan (75) top scored for the visitors who also had notable contributions from Dhoni (69), Ambati Rayadu (44) and Raina (38).

For Bangladesh, skipper Mashrafe Mortaza was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/76. Teen sensation Mustafizur Rahman finished with 2/57.

The visitors were off to a very cautious start and the openers looked steady from the very start. Right-hand opener Rohit Sharma managed to pick up a few early boundaries.

However, Rohit, going for a booming drive, edged one to the keeper (India 39/1). The wicket took Mustafizur’s tally to 12 victims in only his third outing.

The pair of Dhawan and No 3 batsman Virat Kohli then steadied the innings as they put on 75 runs for the second wicket in 12.5 overs. Kohli (25) began sedately but then fell to a Shakib Al Hasan delivery, getting bowled while attempting a big sweep.

Dhawan, unfazed with the loss of the two wickets, continued belting the bowlers to the ropes with Dhoni by his side who again promoted himself to the No 4 spot after batting at that position in the second ODI.

Dhoni was aggressive from the very start and steered India to 145/2 at the halfway stage.

Dhawan then fell after adding a few more runs to the total as he pulled one straight to mid-wicket off a Mortaza delivery in the 27th over.

His dismissal prompted Dhoni to take the batting powerplay he teamed up with Rayadu and consolidated.

The latter settled in nicely and was inching towards a half century but was controversially adjudged caught behind off a Mortaza delivery.

The experienced Raina took over charge after Rayadu’s exit and gave the Indian innings momentum with some meaty blows and, despite Dhoni’s untimely dismissal in the 46th over, guided the team to a challenging total.

(IANS)

India announces $1 billion aid for Nepal reconstruction

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Kathmandu: India on Thursday announced $1 billion in aid to rebuild Nepal, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj saying that from “the debris of destruction a stronger united and more confident Nepal will rise”.

The aid will be used in the reconstruction of physical infrastructure as well as some key heritage sites. India’s contribution is almost one seventh of the total requirement of $6.7 billion.

Nepal was hit by a massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake on April 25, leaving over 8,500 people dead and causing widespread devastation.

At the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction here, Sushma Swaraj said: “Nepal is not alone. Today I convey to you the deep and abiding commitment of the government of India and 1.25 billion people of India to stand shoulder to shoulder with you.”

Referring to the operation India undertook to help Nepal, Sushma Swaraj said: “Operation Maitri was our largest ever disaster assistance effort abroad valued at nearly Rs.400 billion.”

“…what is important is not that this support was larger than other foreign countries; what matters is the strong feeling of empathy and the instantaneous, instinctive and heart-felt response from Indians for their Nepali brothers and sisters.”

She said: “From the debris of destruction a stronger united and more confident Nepal will rise.”

Sushma Swaraj hailed Nepal’s efforts in making a major bid to rebuild the nation and said raising $6.7 billion was a challenging task.

“As the oldest and closest friend, India is ready to stand with Nepal,” she said.

“We can do so more meaningfully in areas where our expertise and Nepal’s need match. These include agriculture, housing, roads and transport, electricity, health, education, cultural heritage, and disaster risk reduction.”

Sushma Swaraj announced government of India’s pledge for Nepal’s post-earthquake reconstruction of “Nepali Rupees 10,000 crores, equivalent to $1 billion, one fourth of it as grant. This pledge is over and above our existing bilateral developmental assistance of another $1 billion over the next five years, 40 percent of which would be grant. This takes our total assistance to Nepal over the next five years to $2 billion”.

(IANS)

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