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Bengaluru: The state government has issued an order to constitute a Bengaluru Blue Print Action Group headed by CM Siddaramaiah.
The Action Group will have several industry leaders, retired bureaucrats and urban experts as members, like N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys, Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Ltd., Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon, and new-age entrepreneur Sachin Bansal of Flipkart, among others.
Ahmed Manasra’s family condemns the ruling, saying it was an unjust court decision.
![An Israeli rammed his car into Manasra shortly after the alleged attack. [Photo by the Israeli Government Press Office via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/nasheman.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Manasra.jpg)
An Israeli rammed his car into Manasra shortly after the alleged attack. [Photo by the Israeli Government Press Office via Getty Images]
by Zena Tahhan, Al Jazeera
Israel’s Jerusalem District court has convicted a 14-year-old Palestinian boy on two charges of attempted murder after he allegedly carried out a stabbing attack on two Israelis.
Ahmed Manasra was with his cousin, 15-year-old Hassan Manasra, who was shot dead by Israeli police after the incident on October 12 at the illegal Pisgat Zeev settlement in occupied East Jerusalem.
“There was no kind of justice in the court’s handling of the case – this was an unjust decision. We did not expect it,” Ahmed’s father Saleh Manasra told Al Jazeera.
Shortly after the alleged attack, Manasra was hit by an Israeli driver who rammed him with his car. A video showing Ahmed bleeding on the ground and gasping for help was shared widely, garnering media attention.
Voices of Israeli bystanders shouting and swearing at the boy, telling him to ‘die’ were heard in the video, causing outrage.
“He did not have the intention to kill any one – he and his cousin were merely trying to scare Israelis with the knife. There is no evidence that he tried to stab any one,” Tariq Barghouti, Ahmed’s lawyer, told Al Jazeera.
“This is a racist court and a court of the occupation. It had a preconceived notion about the incident due to the media uproar and [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu’s statements about it. The Israeli public opinion influenced the court decision and led to the conviction of the child Ahmed Manasra on no basis and without any explanation,” he added.
After the incident, Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, appeared on television accusing Israel of using excessive force against Palestinians, in which he referred to Manasra’s case as an execution.
Netanyahu responded by saying Abbas’s comments constituted a “new big lie.” The Israeli government released videos and photos showing Manasra alive in an Israeli hospital shortly after.
Another video exposing an Israeli security interrogation of Manasra was leaked to local media. In the video (WARNING: some viewers may find this disturbing) which Al Jazeera cannot verify, several Israeli police interrogators are seen yelling at Manasra and accusing him of attempted murder, causing more uproar.
Barghouti expects that Manasra may face up to ten years in prison, but says they are planning to appeal the court’s decision. “How is this an attempted murder when the Israeli soldier, Elor Azarya, who was filmed executing a Palestinian man in Hebron wasn’t murder? A small comparison such as this one is enough to explain that we are dealing with a court without any kind of justice,” said Barghouti.
The soldier was charged with manslaughter, spurring thousands of Israelis to rally in support of Azarya at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on April 19.
Manasra’s next court case is set for July 11, but his lawyer says he expects the session to be postponed until the end of July, after which the sentencing is supposed to take place.
In the latest wave of violence since October, the Israeli army has killed at least 206 Palestinians, including protesters, bystanders and alleged attackers, while 33 Israelis have been killed in stabbing and shooting incidents.
Patna: Rocky Yadav, accused in the murder of teenager Aditya Sachdeva, has confessed to his crime, police said on Tuesday. With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asserting that no one will be spared in the case, the police promised to file a chargesheet within a month.
Rocky, son of a Janata Dal-United legislator, was arrested on Tuesday from a house in Bodh Gaya, police said. He has confessed to his involvement in the murder, Gaya’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Garima Malik told reporters.
Rocky allegedly shot dead Aditya, the teenaged son of a businessman, on Saturday night for overtaking his car on the Bodh Gaya-Gaya road.
Aditya’s mother Chanda Sachdeva and his father Keshav Chand Sachdeva have demanded a speedy trial in the case to ensure that justice is done.
Additional Director General (police headquarters) Sunil Kumar said: “Police have been working with a time frame to complete investigations in the case within three weeks. The chargesheet will be filed within a month to ensure speedy trial of the accused.”
The police have recovered the pistol used in the crime, SSP Malik said. “The licence for the pistol was issued in Delhi,” she added.
Rocky will now be presented in court, the SSP said.
Malik said some liquor bottles were recovered from the house of Rocky’s mother Manorama Devi, who is a JD-U member of the state legislative council.
“A separate case will be filed in this connection for violation of the liquor ban in Bihar,” Malik told reporters.
Rocky’s father Bindi Yadav is a criminal-turned-politician. He and his bodyguard were arrested and sent to judicial custody by a local court.
(IANS)
New Delhi: The ICIJ has published a massive trove of ‘Panama Papers’ information on detailed offshore holding of companies in various tax haven nations including thousands of documents related to India linking close to 2,000 individuals, entities and addresses from the country.
“The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) publishes today (Monday) a searchable database that strips away the secrecy of nearly 214,000 offshore entities created in 21 jurisdictions, from Nevada to Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands.
“The data, part of the Panama Papers investigation, is the largest ever release of information about offshore companies and the people behind them. This includes, when available, the names of the real owners of those opaque structures,” the consortium said in its latest message.
A random check of the database for India displays about 22 offshore entities, 1,046 officers or individual links, 42 intermediaries and as many as 828 addresses within the country ranging from the tony and posh locations of metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai to mofussil locations like that in Haryana’s Sirsa, Bihar’s Muzaffarpur and Madhya Pradesh’s Mandasaur and state capital Bhopal.
The global body that brought out the first edition of the ‘Panama Papers’, by way of secret offshore data sourced from a Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, said the information about a particular country could have “duplicates” as it reiterated that “there are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts.”
“We do not intend to suggest or imply that any persons, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly,” the body said on its web portal as part of the disclaimer on the release of the offshore “leaks” database.
India, taking note of over 500 entities figuring during the release of the first set of names last month, had created a Multi-Agency Group (MAG) comprising officers from various central investigative agencies like the Income Tax department, FIU, RBI and Foreign Tax and Tax Research (FT and TR) under the Central Board of Direct Taxes apart from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money reviewing the probe in these cases.
Government has also said in the ongoing session of Parliament that the IT department has issued notices to a number of entities named in the list.
Indian investigators had said they “will be looking into” into as much fresh information that comes in this case including the latest revelations.
While stating that the ICIJ was releasing these additional details on names and addresses in “public interest”, it added that the latest action was also an effort to “find out who’s behind almost 320,000 offshore companies and trusts from the Panama Papers and the offshore leaks investigations.”
A cursory glance of the names and addresses put up on the website of the body not only shows, in a graphic detail, Indian names and addresses along with the identities of their holding company but also specifies the date of incorporation of the firm in some cases.
The group said the “new data that ICIJ is now making public represents a fraction of the Panama Papers, a trove of more than 11.5 million leaked files from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the world’s top creators of hard-to-trace companies, trusts and foundations.
“ICIJ is not publishing the totality of the leak, and it is not disclosing raw documents or personal information en masse. The database contains a great deal of information about company owners, proxies and intermediaries in secrecy jurisdictions, but it doesn’t disclose bank accounts, email exchanges and financial transactions contained in the documents.
“The leaked data covers nearly 40 years, from 1977 through the end of 2015,” it said.
The Supreme Court also had yesterday sought response from the Centre on a plea seeking CBI inquiry against Indian offshore bank account holders named in the Panama papers.
(PTI)
Mohali: A valiant effort from Murali Vijay went in vain as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) sneaked past Kings XI Punjab by one run in a nail-biting league encounter of the Indian Premier League at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Monday.
Chasing 175, Vijay led from the front with a brilliant 57-ball 89 supported by an unbeaten 34 from Marcus Stoinis, only to his team to fall short by a run.
Vijay, who opened the innings with Hashim Amla, put on 45 runs for the first wicket as the teamraced to 50 in the powerplay.
Amla, who survived a run-out scare on 19, failed to make the opportunity count as Shane Watson sent the South African packing with a short ball which he mistimed to be caught by Stuart Binny at midwicket. His 20-ball 21 included two boundaries.
Wriddhiman Saha (16), along with Vijay added 43 runs for the second wicket only to be run out by keeper Lokesh Rahul and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal then struck the very next ball to dismiss South African power-hitter David Miller, who failed to disturb the scoreboard.
Stoinis, the architect of Punjab’s previous match’s win against Delhi Daredevils, then joined the skipper, who had completed his half-century of 36 balls, and then went on a spree.
Sensing danger, RCB skipper Virat Kohli employed his old war horse Watson for another spell and the veteran Aussie responded with the much-needed wicket which proved to be the turning point.
Cramped for runs, the Tamil Nadu opener, in his attempt to break the shackles, pulled a short ball from wide of off stump only to be caught by Chahal at the square leg boundary.
Vijay, who added 51 runs with Stoinis for the fourth wicket, consumed 57 balls for his knock, which was laced with 12 boundaries and a six.
With 16 needed off the last over, South African Farhaan Behardien and Stoinis could only add 15.
For the visitors, Watson was the pick of the bowlers with two scalps while Chahal picked one.
Earlier, South African smasher A.B. de Villiers hit a crucially-timed knock of 64 runs to guide RCB to a healthy 175/6.
He was helped in his efforts by Sachin Baby (33 off 29 balls) as they added 88 runs for the fourth wicket.
Legbreak bowler K.C. Cariappa picked up two wickets at the top of the innings (2/16) to become their most successful bowler.
RCB began strongly, putting up 56 in the powerplay without losing a wicket as openers K.L.Rahul (42) and Virat Kohli (20) batted with consummate ease mixing ones and twos with boundaries to score at a fast clip.
Punjab got a chance to break the momentum early, in the third over when Kohli offered a chance after coming down the track to pacer Mohit Sharma but only managed to slice his attempt to backward point. Stoinis however made a hash of the chance.
Rahul added insult to Stoinis’ injury by thrashing three fours and a huge six of the Australian in the next over.
At 61 in seven overs, RCB looked like setting up a big score but the introduction of Cariappa halted their march. He effected a double break in his very first over, off the third and the fifth ball, to account for Rahul and Kohli, respectively.
Punjab completed a turnaround in the next over with left-arm spinner Axar Patel castling Watson (1) to reduce RCB to 67/3 in nine overs.
But De Villers along with Baby guided the team past the 100-run mark in the 14th over, while launching some free-hitting, with Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma receiving some rough treatment as he brought up his half-century in 30 balls.
Brief scores: RCB 175/6 (A.B. de Villiers 64, Sachin Baby 33, K.C. Cariappa 2/16, Sandeep Sharma 2/49) beat Kings XI Punjab 174/4 (Murali Vijay 89, Marcus Stoinis 34, Shane Watson 2/22) by 1 run.
(IANS)
New Delhi: Shashank Manohar today stepped down as BCCI president barely seven months after being appointed for a second term in place of the late Jagmohan Dalmiya and is all set to take over as first independent chairman of ICC.
Manohar leaves at a time when the board is being directed to comply with the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha panel’s reform recommendations.
In a letter addressed to Thakur, Manohar said, “I hereby tender my resignation with immediate effect from the post of President of Board of Control for Cricket in India. I also resign with immediate effect as the representative of BCCI on the International Cricket Council, as also the Asian Cricket Council on which I was nominated by the General Body of BCCI. I thank all my colleagues and the staff for their support and cooperation during my tenure. I wish all of you all the very best in taking the cause of Cricket to greater heights.”
According to reliable sources, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur is being tipped to take over the hot seat. IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla is also in the running along with Maharashtra CA president and business magnet Ajay Shirke.
As per BCCI rules, a Special General Meeting (SGM) has to be convened within 15 days, apprising the members of the current situation. It is the prerogative of secretary Thakur to call such a meeting.
As per norms, Manohar has also resigned from ICC chairman’s post as he was a BCCI representative at the apex body and resignation in country’s board effectively means that he does not stay as ICC’s chairman. His tenure was supposed to end in June, 2016, after which he was set to take over as the first independant chairman of ICC.
The 58-year-old Manohar will not be a representative of any country’s cricket board as per the changes recommended by ICC board and will need two independant members of the ICC Board to recommend his name.
According to BCCI sources, Manohar was waiting for the Supreme Court’s final verdict but since it will only come out after the apex court opens post summer vacation, the Vidarbha lawyer possibly did not want to wait.
A top BCCI administrator told PTI: “We all had an idea that Shashank will be quitting BCCI post. But let’s not get into a debate as to whether he has dumped a sinking ship or not. Whether it has been prudent on his part to quit when BCCI is going through tough times is a matter of conjecture.”
Many BCCI members are of the opinion that they expected Manohar to anchor the clean-up process till his tenure ends in 2017 September, but his sudden change of heart to go for safer confines of ICC in Dubai has left everyone in the lurch.
(PTI)
Dehradun: Sacked Chief Minister Harish Rawat today appeared to have clinched the numbers in the floor test in the Uttarakhand Assembly with 33 of the 61 MLAs said to have voted for him.
With nine disqualified Congress MLAs kept away, Congress MLA Rita Arya claimed that 33 MLAs voted for Rawat while BJP MLAs conceded that their side got only 28 in a House with an effective strength of 61.
“The cloud of uncertainty hovering over Uttarakhand will disappear tomorrow,” an elated Rawat said after the voting in assembly.
Under the Supreme Court-monitored proceedings, the result of the vote will be given to the court tomorrow morning in a sealed envelope.
Both sides claimed that one MLA from each side had cross voted.
Independent MLA Harish Chandra Durgapal claimed that all six PDF (two BSP, 1 UKD and three Independents) members have voted for Rawat. BJP’s Bhimlal Arya’s vote also went to Congress. Likewise, Rekha Arya of Congress voted for the rival side, he said.
Ganesh Joshi of BJP claimed that it was a victory for BJP constitutionally because nine MLAs of Congress had voted for the BJP in the past and now one more MLA has voted for BJP. Everyone saw how Congress tried to buy votes with money and “that is why we were left behind in numbers in the Assembly,” he said.
Principal Secretary (Legislative Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs) of Uttarakhand government oversaw the conduct of the floor test for which President’s Rule was kept in abeyance for two-and-a-half hours from 10:30 AM.
Ahead of the floor test, Rawat sporting a ’tilak’ on his forehead had exuded confidence that he would comfortably win the trust vote.
“The people are with us. The Gods Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath — all are with us. We are all together, the people who are supporting us, we have their blessings.PDF, BSP, UKD.BJP can claim anything they want, winner will be Uttarakhand,” he said outside the Assembly.
Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Bhatt had said he was confident that the MLAs will listen to the voice of their conscience.
“On March 18 when the trouble erupted in the House, some members joined hands with us hearing the voice of their conscience. Today also some MLAs will pay heed to the voice of their conscience and join us,” he said.
Congress leader Ambika Soni had said, “We have the numbers and will win the floor test without any difficulty.”
She also alleged that huge amounts had been offered by the opposite side to lure legislators “on our side”.
The trust vote comes a day after the High Court yesterday dismissed the petition of nine Congress MLAs challenging their disqualification and the Supreme Court refusing to give any relief to them.
BJP MLAs, who were the first to come out of the assembly premises which was out of bounds for the media, said they could bag 28 votes.
The legislative exercise was conducted for nearly an hour with heavy deployment of security personnel around the Assembly and people other than members of the House and its employees not allowed into its precincts.
The entire media was kept waiting outside the gates of the Assembly.
Nainital MLA Sarita Arya said, “The floor test was conducted strictly as directed by the Supreme Court. I have shared only our victory in the floor test with the media from whom nothing can be hidden.”
Soon after the BJP members left one after another including Ajay Bhatt, Yatishwaranand, Bishan Singh Chufal, Tirath Singh Rawat, Pushkar Dhami and Dilip Singh Rawat,
President’s Rule was lifted for two hours to allow the exercise to take place in the state assembly which was under suspended animation ever since the state was brought under central rule on March 27.
The trust vote comes a day after the High Court yesterday dismissed the petition of nine Congress MLAs challenging their disqualification and the Supreme Court refusing to give any relief to them.
Passage across the face of the Sun for the first time in 10 years is an opportunity to learn about the solar system.
![Mercury will next pass directly across the face of the Sun in 2019, and then not until 2032 [NASA]](https://i0.wp.com/nasheman.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Mercury.jpg)
Mercury will next pass directly across the face of the Sun in 2019, and then not until 2032 [NASA]
The planet Mercury is passing directly across the face of the Sun for the first time in 10 years, as it casts a shadow across South America, Africa, Western Europe and the east of North America.
Mercury, which is slightly larger than the Earth’s moon, is too small to see without binoculars or a telescope, and experts warn that looking directly at the Sun during Monday’s event could damage eyes.
“On no account should anyone try to look directly at the Sun to see Mercury, as this is incredibly dangerous,” Robert Massey of the UK-based Royal Astronomical Society told Al Jazeera.
Many astronomical observatories around the world have opened their doors to view the event, while NASA and the European Space Agency are livestreaming images of the event.
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest and fastest-moving one in the solar system. It will take six and a half hours to transit.
Although the event is of limited scientific value, it does provide an opportunity to learn about the solar system.
“Seeing the silhouette of a planet in motion in front of the Sun is a clear demonstration of the solar system in action,” said astronomer Francisco Diego of University College London.
Helps with detecting planets
The transit is also an example of how scientists detect planets in other solar systems, where they are mostly hard to see because they are lost in the glare of the star they circle.
“The Kepler observatory has detected more than 1,000 of these by looking for the small but characteristic dip in brightness as a planet passes directly between its star and the Earth,” said Massey.
Since the last time Mercury transited the Sun, NASA’s Messenger spacecraft spent four years orbiting around the planet, before being deliberately crashed into its surface last year.
The mission revealed Mercury’s moon-like surface in unprecedented detail, scarred by the collision of asteroids and meteorites.
It also mapped ancient lava flows and discovered what is believed to be ice at the planet’s poles.
“Planets in our own solar system are particularly helpful, because we can see them close up and learn vastly more about their similarities and differences than is possible for more distant planets,” Andrew Pontzen, a lecturer at University College London, told Al Jazeera.
Mercury will next pass directly across the face of the Sun in 2019, and then not until 2032.
New Delhi: JNU student Umar Khalid, who is out on bail in a sedition case and was on a hunger strike for the last 11 days, was taken to AIIMS in wee hours today after his sugar. sodium and potassium levels fell significantly.
Khalid, who has been rusticated by the university for one semester for his involvement in the controversial February 9 event during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised, also had to withdraw the hunger strike due to bad health.
“Umar Khalid was forced to discontinue the hunger strike owing to acutely failing health. He had severe cramps in the evening because of low sodium-potassium level in his blood following which he was taken to AIIMS post midnight for saline drips,” a JNU Students Union statement said.
Seven students, including JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, have withdrawn from the fast against the punishment by the varsity in connection with the event while 13 others are still continuing with their hunger strike which entered the 12th day today.
JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA), university alumni and mothers residing on the campus have come out in solidarity with the fasting students by going on a one-day relay hunger strike on different days.
The university administration has appealed to the students not to invite outsiders on the campus and resort to “constitutional” means of putting forward their demands.
Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested in February in a sedition case over the event and are out on bail now.
While Kanhaiya has been slapped with a penalty of Rs 10,000, Umar, Anirban and a Kashmiri student, Mujeeb Gatoo have been rusticated for varying durations.
Financial penalty has been imposed on 14 students. Hostel facilities of two students have been withdrawn and the university has declared the campus out of bounds for two former students.
Saurabh, who is the lone ABVP member in JNU Students Union, has also been slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 for blocking traffic.
Five ABVP members including Saurabh, who were also on a hunger strike, had last week called off their fast claiming they have an assurance from the JNU administration about consideration of their demands.
(IANS)
Kolkata: Gujarat Lions came up with an all-round effort to outclass Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) comprehensively with five wickets and 12 balls to spare in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.
With the win, Gujarat go atop the points table with seven wins from 11 outings. Dinesh Karthik top scored for the visitors with a 29-ball 51, while Aaron Finch contributed with a quickfire 29 to their total of 164/5.
Chasing Kolkata’s 158/4, Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCulllum helped Gujarat get off to a bit of a flyer. However, the latter seemed to have edged one-through to the keeper in the second over but there was no appeal from the hosts. The partnership lasted just 5.3 overs but by then the Lions had gathered 42 runs.
Smith (27) was clean bowled by Shakib Al Hasan and then McCullum (29) after smashing Morne Morkel for a 17-run over was out caught at long on. The double blow brought a huge smile on KKR co-owner and Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan who had come in without his son AbRam.
But the innings did not show any signs of running out of steam as Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik got together to knit another brisk partnership. By the end of 10 overs the Lions were comfortably placed at 89/2.
The stand went on for a few more overs which got the Lions closer to the target. But, with 43 runs required, Raina perished trying to hook an Andre Russell delivery.
Finch who came in next did not hang around much and started clobbering the bowlers. He smashed 31 runs off the 15th and 16th over.
Though Brad Hogg got rid of Karthik in the next and Finch got run-out, it was too little too late for the men-in-purple.
Earlier in the evening, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan’s unconquered fifth wicket stand of 134 rescued KKR after a disastrous start and helped them post a challenging total.
Hasan remained unbeaten with a 49-ball 66, while Pathan carried his bat through with a knock of 63 from 41 deliveries. For the Lions, Praveen Kumar returned figures of 2-19 on a wicket that helped him swing the leather.
Put into bat, it was Uthappa for KKR who started on the right note slamming two back-to-back boundaries of Dhawal Kulkarni. But then in the very next over, veteran pacer Pravin Kumar got rid of Gautam Gambhir and then Manish Pandey.
Barely had KKR recovered from the double jolt, Uthappa, who was looking dangerous, headed back to the dugout. Next it was Suryakumar Yadav who perished as Suresh Raina held onto an incredible slip catch.
After six overs, the Knights were tottering at 28/4.
The hosts finally got hold of some momentum as Pathan hammered Chinaman bowler Shivil Kaushik for 14 runs in the 10th over.
Though it was not easy hitting the long ball in such humid conditions, Pathan managed to pierce the gap time and again. Hasan – dropped by Pravin Tambe in the seventh over – too played his role by giving his partner much of the strike.
The Bangladesh batsman brought up his side’s hundred next in the 16th over with a monstrous six. And Pathan completed his fifty a little later.
Hasan, who had been playing second fiddle finally found his feet in the 18th over as he lofted Dwayne Bravo for two back-to-back sixes.
In the last two overs, KKR amassed 25 runs to finish on a strong note.
Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): 158/4 (Shakib Al Hasan 66, Yusuf Pathan 63; Praveen Kumar 2-19) vs Gujarat Lions: 164/5 (Dinesh Karthik 51, Aaron Finch 29)
(IANS)