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Archives for April 2016

Movie Review: ‘Ki & Ka’ is an interesting fare catering to classy audience

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Producer: R. Balki, R. K. Damani, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala & Sunil Lulla
Director: R. Balki
Star Cast: Kareena Kapoor – Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Swaroop Sampat, Rajit Kapoor & Amitabh Bachchan & Jaya Bachchan (Sp App)
Music: Ilayaraja, Mithoon, Meet Bros & Anjjan.

Kia (Kareena Kapoor Khan) and Kabir Bansal (Arjun Kapoor) meet on a flight and after a few drinking spree Kabeer proposes to Kia and they get married. But there is a catch as Kia is a successful marketing woman who prefers being the man of the house and Kabir does nothing and prefers to be a house husband. And what this role reversal leads them to, forms the crux of the story.

Director R. Balki has taken up a novel idea of a young married couple contradicting the gender roles placed upon women and men in Indian society. Balki’s directorial treatment also deserves a special mention along with his technical crew namely the art director and music directors Ilyaraja, Mithoon, Meet Bros and Anjjan. Performance wise both the Kapoor’s Kareena and Arjun have excelled in their respective roles ably supported by Swaroop Sampat and Rajit Kapoor.

The bedroom and the smooching scenes galore between the lead couples which may not suit the Indian audience’s sensibilities.

Tail Piece: Although the central idea of Ki & Ka is appreciable its prospects at the Box office appears bleak. And one wonders where was the need to justify the role reversal idea by bringing in the Abhimaan movie angle by bringing in the Bachchan couple in cameo roles to stress the fact.

India to finally join nuclear security ‘gift baskets’

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Narendra Modi

Washington: India has finally decided to join “gift baskets” at the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit here on Friday even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held meetings with several leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, on the sidelines of the summit.

Addressing a media briefing here as the summit got underway, Amandeep Singh Gill, joint secretary (disarmament and international security affairs), said that India has decided to join some gift baskets, including those on counter nuclear smuggling and sharing best practices.

Gift basket diplomacy involves an approach to a crucial issue where, if consensus is not reached till the lowest common denominator, then those willing can join in. In other words, it is a system of getting around the system of universal consensus at any multilateral summit.

The US had first introduced the gift basket diplomacy during negotiations in 2011 for the Second Nuclear Security Summit.

Fourteen such gift baskets were put up in the summit held in Seoul next year.

India, which had so far refrained from joining any of these gift baskets, has finally decided to go for it.

Gill said India would join the Trilateral Initiative which is the joint statement of the previous three co-chairs of the nuclear security summit which has been circulated in the form of a document in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“So, this group of countries which India is joining are committed to holding the bar high on nuclear security,” the joint secretary said.

“We will also be joining three other gift baskets in priority areas like counter nuclear smuggling, the sharing of best practices through centres of excellence such as GCNEP (Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership), and finally NSS follow-up through contact group in Vienna,” he said.

In Friday’s summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would underline that India would continue to reflect its nuclear obligations to the international community through its national actions, Gill said.

In the national progress report on the work India has done in terms of nuclear security in the two years since the last summit, Modi would underline the continued priority the country attached to nuclear security at home.

“Second, the prime minister will underline the continued priority we attach to the technology direction of nuclear security,” he said.

As leaders of over 50 nations met for the biennial summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister Cameron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“My meeting with PM @David_Cameron focused on defence cooperation, @makeinindia & other key issues,” Modi tweeted.

The meeting assumes significance as Tata Steel, after having suffered nearly $3 billion in losses on its British operations, is exploring to put its entire portfolio there up for sale, some 10 years after it forayed into Europe by acquiring Anglo-Dutch Corus for over $8.1 billion.

With around 40,000 jobs at stake, Cameron was expected to take up the matter with Modi during the meeting, according to media reports.

Earlier in the day, Modi met with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and invited Canadian faculty members to teach at institutes of higher learning in India for short stretches.

“He (Modi) said that Canadian professors and teachers, including retired faculty members, could consider coming to India during the harsh winter months in Canada and teaching at Indian universities for periods ranging from three to six months under the GIAN (Global Initiative of Academic Networks),” external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing here following the meeting.

GIAN is a programme under the union human resources ministry that aims at tapping the talent pool of academia and scientists internationally to encourage their engagement with institutes of higher education in India.

Trudeau, according to Swarup, said that there was “real potential for harnessing the opportunity of helping so many young people in India get better skills and Canada would also be happy to provide help in education and infrastructure support”.

Modi also invited Canadian companies to participate in India’s flagship development programmes such as the smart cities project and in India’s new policy for hydrocarbon sector, in particular for deep sea and high temperature exploration, that came into effect on Friday.

On the sidelines of the summit, Modi also had informal meetings with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

This year’s summit is the fourth and final edition of the biennial affair.

The first summit was held in Washington in 2010 which was followed by the summits in Seoul in 2012 and The Hague in 2014.

(Agencies)

Survey: AAP likely to win 100 seats in Punjab

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punjab-aap

Chandigarh: In what is likely to be an encouraging development for the Aam Aadmi Party supporters, a new survey has predicted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s party to win nearly 100 seats in Punjab.

The survey conducted by HuffPost-CVoter in February shows a consolidation of favourable sentiment in favour of AAP from the same time last year.

As per the findings of the survey, AAP is likely to bag between 94-100 out of the 117 seats in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, up from the 83-89 projection of the CVoter poll from April, 2015.

The latest CVoter-HuffPost poll has the Congress Party trailing in the second position with 8-14 seats in the Assembly, down from the 12-18 seats projection, last year.

The ruling SAD-BJP alliance will come with just 6-12 seats, down from 13-19 seats last year, the survey claimed.

Interestingly, the survey claimed that 48 percent would vote for AAP if the election was held today.

In the 2012 State Assembly Election for Punjab, SAD won 56 seats followed by the Congress Party with 46 seats, and the BJP with 12 seats. 78 percent of respondents said that they wanted a change in government, indicating a huge wave of anti-incumbency.

According to the survey, AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal is the most favoured face as chief ministerial candidate for Punjab, while Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh turns out to be the second favourite choice for the top job.

While 59% respondents wanted Kejriwal to be declared the chief ministerial candidate for Punjab, 51% said they would choose Arvind Kejriwal over Amarinder Singh. They also chose him over deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Among Kejriwal, Sukhbir Badal and Captain Amarinder for CM’s choice, 51% backed Kejriwal, 35% Amarinder and 7% Sukhbir.

Unemployment, drug abuse and corruption were identified as the three main problems of Punjab.

(Agencies)

‘Balika Vadhu’ suicide : Boyfriend taken into custody, friends cry foul

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Pratyusha Banerjee

Mumbai: With the truth behind television star Pratyusha Banerjee’s suicide yet to be unravelled–the anticipation around the case is only increasing by the minute.

While some have assigned Banerjee’s death to her tumultuous relationship with boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh, others have gone on to say she was suffering from an acute case of depression.

Rahul Raj Singh who has been under the radar of the police since the news of Banerjee’s death surfaced–has now been taken into custody for interrogation. While the location of the inquiry remains a secret–the tension around Singh’s involvement in the case is gaining attention from all quarters.
According to reports, Rahul Raj Singh has said that he left the house at 10 in the morning and when he got back home at 4 pm, he saw Pratyusha hanging from the ceiling. He added that Pratyusha was fine at the time he left the house.

Reports say he wasn’t taken into custody yesterday because there was nothing to indicate his involvement in the death. After the cops spoke to their cook and watchman, it emerged that Pratyusha and Rahul used to have frequent fights.

The Jamshedpur-born actress, Banerjee who had been part of shows like Balika Vadhu, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and Bigg Boss was declared dead at Mumbai’s Koikilaben Hospital last night after her body was discovered by her boyfriend.

Her parents landed in Mumbai this morning.

The 24-year-old television actress was found hanging from the ceiling of her Bangur Nagar flat in suburban Kandivli, according to the Police. After being rushed to Mumbai’s Koikilaben Hospital, the actress was declared dead soon after.

With Banerjee’s friends from the television industry are still in shock over her sudden demise–actor Ajaz Khan alleged that Pratyusha Banerjee’s death wasn’t a case of a suicide, but a murder. Banerjee’s close friend Dolly Bindra was also quoted as saying that “Pratyusha was a strong girl, and couldn’t have committed suicide.”

(Agencies)

Villagers Stop Women Activists At Shani Temple Despite Court Orders

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Shani Shingnapur

Nashik: A day after the Bombay High Court ruled that it is the fundamental right of women to go into places of worship, around 25 women activists led by Trupti Desai today entered the premises of Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra, but were stopped by locals from offering prayer in the inner sanctum.

As the standoff escalated, the police took away Ms Desai and other protesters away from the temple premises.

Angry women villagers allegedly pushed the members of Bhumata Ranragini Brigade led by Ms Desai as they tried to enter the inner sanctum of the temple which according to tradition is forbidden for women.

Activist Desai, who had pledged to pray at the famous temple in the state’s Ahmednagar district, said: “We are not going to turn around we have the court order and if need be we will file an FIR (first information report) against the home minister and chief minister.”

“What is the police doing? They were directed to provide protection to us by the court,” Ms Desai said questioning the state government.

The court on Friday ruled that offering prayers at a temple “is the fundamental right of a woman and the government’s fundamental duty to protect their (women) right.”

The Maharashtra government had said that it will take all steps to comply with the order by enforcing a law that provides six months in prison for preventing anyone from entering a temple.

Ms Desai has been stopped in the past by the police and hundreds of locals, including women, from forcing her way into the Shani Shingnapur temple.

Last year, after a woman worshipper managed to offer her prayers to the idol at the Shani Shingnapur temple, an elaborate cleansing ritual was immediately carried out by a priest.

Meanwhile, member of an action committee formed to maintain the 400-year-old tradition, Sambhaji Dahatonde said: “We will soon approach the Supreme Court against the High Court ruling as it is a matter of protecting the faith of devotees.”

(Agencies)

International peacekeepers ‘forced Central African Republic girls into sex with dog’

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French soldiers patrol a street in Bangui [AFP]

French soldiers patrol a street in Bangui [AFP]

by Al Jazeera

The United Nations announced 108 new sexual abuse cases allegedly by international peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR) with the vast majority of victims being children.

A report by a US-based advocacy group said three girls in CAR told UN staff they were tied up and forced to have sex with a dog by a French military commander in 2014.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Thursday called the allegations “shocking to the core” and promised “exemplary disciplinary action” if they’re proven true.

France’s UN Ambassador Francois Delattre called the allegations “sickening and odious”.

The accusations, dating from 2013 through last year, were first announced by the group AIDS-Free World late on Wednesday.

Dujarric told reporters the UN can’t confirm the allegations involving the dog at this point, but investigations continue.

“This issue has been out there in the public for almost a year [but] the allegations keep on coming,” said Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from the United Nations in New York.

“People who were sent to protect the civilians are in fact becoming the perpetrators.”

A report published in late January condemned the UN for failing to respond to allegations of child abuse against peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.

The independent investigation said the UN’s handling of the case was “seriously flawed”, accusing it of not taking the required action after the alleged abuse of young boys by French soldiers became known.
AIDS-Free World said 98 girls in CAR reported being sexually abused between 2013 and 2015 by perpetrators who have left the country.

It also said information on the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl by a Congolese peacekeeper only three days ago in a hotel room has been turned over to the United Nations.

The UN has been in the spotlight for months over dozens of allegations of child rape and other sexual abuses by its peacekeepers, especially those based in CAR, which has faced sectarian violence since 2013.

Similar allegations have surfaced against the French force known as Sangaris, which operates independently in the country.

“We must face the fact that a number of troops sent to protect people instead acted with hearts of darkness,” Dujarric said.

The UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, in a statement called the allegations “sickening”.

He said all three countries whose peacekeepers are accused – Burundi, Gabon and France – have been formally notified.

Governments must do more to stop abuse and hold their troops accountable, “otherwise this awful cycle of abuse will never end”, Hussein said.

West Indies stun India to enter World T20 final

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west-indies

Mumbai: West Indies defeated India by seven wickets in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday to enter the final of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Batting first, India posted a competitive total of 192/2 in 20 overs, thanks to Virat Kohli’s 89.

In reply, star batsmen Lendl Simmons and Johnson Charles struck quickfire half-centuries as Windies chased down the score, posting 196/3 in 19.4 overs.

(IANS)

6 from Karnataka qualify for Mrs India 2016

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kowser

It was an evening of glitz and glamour in Bengaluru when the women walked the ramp for the coveted Mrs India-Karnataka 2016. Hundreds of contestants from different parts of the state had participated in the event that was dedicated to honour the married women. After various rounds, 28 women were shortlisted for the finale. The finale held on Sunday night turned out to be one of the most exciting and well organised events in the recent times. The finale had everything from the rocking dance performances to stunning cat walks. As the event progressed, the audience were on the edge of the seat waiting as to who would be the proud winner of the event. Finally, six winners; three each from under 45 and under 60 categories were chosen by the panel of judges.

The winners from under-45 category were; Archana, Shubha Shriram and Asha Jois; in 45-60 were; Vajahathunisa Kowser Khan, Chavi Sharma and Usha Rani. The winners of Mrs India-Karnataka 2016 will qualify for the national event to be held at Pune on May 20, 2016. The winners at the nationals will represent India in three different international beauty pageants; MRS ASIA INTERNATIONAL, MRS PLANET and MRS WORLD. MRS INDIA-KARNATAKA 2016 is the first of its kind beauty pageant for married women in Karnataka; providing a platform to women of all age groups to compete and showcase their talents and their hidden potential.

Vajahathunisa Kowser Khan

Even the tinsel world stars had descended to cheer for the Mrs Karnataka event. The teams from Kirigoorina Gayyaligalu headed by Suman Kittur and Cinema My Darling headed by Gowrish Akki added glitter to the evening as they shared anecdotes and wished the participants. This time, the beauty pageant had also had a separate category for TV artistes where in the leading artistes from the state participated.

The highlight of the event was the 60 plus category. When the participants walked the ramp, they were welcomed by a thunderous applause. The winners of this category were Radha Ramachandra and Pushpa Swamy while the first runner up was Rajeshwari Patil.

The winners were also adjudged for the following titles; Best Hair, Skin, Smile, Walk, Photogenic, Glamour, Inner Beauty, Eyes, Personality, Intellectual, Healthy and Diva. The chief guests of the event were; former hockey player Ashish Ballal, former cricketer Syed Kirmani.

Protest against the declaration form issued by the National Council for Promotion of Urdu language

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National Council for Promotion of Urdu language

The following is a statement:

We, Writers/Poets/Play wrights hereby strongly condemn the declaration form issued by NCPUL to give an undertaking by the author who is entitled for monetary assistance by the council should not write anything against the Government policies.

Such declaration Form has been introduced by the ministry of Human Resources Development recently.

So far we had not heard of any such declaration nor we have sign such imposed draconian declaration by the government in a democratic country like India.

Writers across the world, from all languages, have the freedom to criticize the government.

Why should we be made to sign such a declaration?

Why do the Government demand it to be signed by two witnesses?

This is an insult to the writers, and such interference cannot be tolerated by the writers community.

We strongly feel this undemocratic move by the Government is aimed at humiliating a section of the Indian  population with preconceived notion that Urdu writers belong to a certain community, they would criticize the Government, and hence should be doubted and would have to keep proving himself/herself a loyal citizen.

As the history goes and everyone knows that Urdu is an Indian language Born and brought up by Indians. (Imbibed or nation) Urdu played a very vital and instrumental role in the freedom movement of India. Freedom fighters such as Bhagat singh Wrote his diary in Urdu  before sacrificing his life for the Nation.

Munshi Premchand, Raghupati Sahay (Firaq Gorakhpuri), Brij narayan Chakbast, Jagannath Azad, Ratan nath Sharshar, were the great Urdu writers and poets of our nation.

The Present renowned contemporary writers such as Gopi chand Narang, Gulzar (Sampooran Singh Kalra), Rajesh reddy, are known for their versatility in Urdu prose and poetry.

The narrow minds that have drafted this declaration form are unaware of our history and the Contribution of Urdu to the freedom struggle of our Nation.

A government is not the Nation, criticism of any Government is an important part of a democracy and this right cannot be snatched away from the citizens.

It is disgusting the present government is restoring to these steps because it has no economic, social or political agenda.

This is an undeclared censorship on poetry, literature and theatre.

We the writers community ask the Government of India why are only Urdu writers asked to give such an autocratic declaration?

This clearly indicated that the present Union Government looks at Urdu publications and its writers with an eye of suspicion.

Its an attack on all creative work in society.

We are able and matured enough to understand the objection to content that goes against national interest, but how can they ask us not to criticize Government.

This is nothing but to stifle our creativity and freedom of Speech.

We all the writers, poets and play writes will continue our rightful protest against the move and will continue asserting our demand the HRD ministry  withdraw this anti-art and anti-literature dictum which is nothing but sign of fascism. We strongly recommend the government to immediately withdraw the Declaration Form.

Temple entry row: HC asks Maha govt to protect ‘fundamental right’ of women

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Bombay High Court

Pune: The Bombay High Court today directed Maharashtra government to take pro-active steps for ensuring compliance of law to prevent discrimination against women on entry to places of worship, saying “it is the fundamental right of a woman” and the government should protect it.

The court, which disposed of a PIL challenging the bar on entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple in the state’s Ahmednagar district, said that it can only pass a general direction to the government and cannot go into individual and specific cases.

The Maharashtra government assured the High Court that it is completely against gender discrimination and the provisions of Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act shall be scrupulously implemented.

“Secretary of Home Department, Maharashtra, will ensure due compliance and enforcement of the provisions of the Act, and in order to ensure that the policy and purpose of the Act is fully carried out, they (Home department) will issue directions to all superintendents of police and collectors in each district of Maharashtra,” a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice M S Sonak said.

“The government shall take all necessary steps to implement the Act,” it further said.
“Ultimately it is the fundamental right of a woman and the government’s fundamental duty to protect their (women) right,” Chief Justice Waghela said.

The state’s acting Advocate General Rohit Deo, in a submission to the high court, said that a circular or a directive shall be issued to all district collectors and Superintendents of Police, making them aware of the provisions of the Act.

The accepted the government’s statement.
The government’s submission was made following high court’s rap to the government on Wednesday on the issue, during the hearing of a PIL challenging the prohibition of entry of women in the Shani Shingnapur temple.

“The acting Advocate General has assured the court that the state government is against gender discrimination and keeping in view Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution. The government can take pro-active steps to ensure that the fundamental rights are fully realised and not allowed to be encroached upon by any authority,” he observed.
The high court further said that it can only pass a general direction to the government and cannot go into individual and specific cases.

The court said if any person has any grievance that the Act is not being implemented, then he or she can approach local authority with their complaint.

Under the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956, if any temple or person prohibits any person from entering a temple then he or she faces a six-month imprisonment.

The acting AG, however, clarified to HC that if a temple in the state does not allow any person, irrespective of their gender, inside the sanctum sanctorum, then this Act and its provisions will not be of any help.

“However, if a temple allows men in the sanctum sanctorum but prohibits women, then this Act and its provisions can be used,” Deo said.

(PTI)

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