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Israeli army kills Palestinian in Qalandiya incursion

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At least ten Palestinians injured by live fire in clashes with Israeli army in occupied West Bank refugee camp.

Clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli forces broke out after soldiers entered the Qalandiya camp [File: Majdi Mohammed/AP]

Clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli forces broke out after soldiers entered the Qalandiya camp [File: Majdi Mohammed/AP]

by Al Jazeera

Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian and injured several more by live ammunition during an incursion into a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Eyad Omar Sajadiya, 22, was shot dead, while at least ten others were injured by live fire during Tuesday morning’s clashes with Israeli troops in the Qalandiya refugee camp, according to Palestinian medical sources.

The armed clashes broke out after an army jeep entered the camp – situated between occupied East Jerusalem and the central West Bank city of Ramallah – by mistake, an Israeli police spokesperson told the AFP news agency.

Palestinian protests against Israel’s occupation have increased and tensions have soared in the occupied territories and Israel since October, as anger gave way to violence.

A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll.

Arrests

Before dawn on Monday morning, Israeli forces carried out raids in cities and towns across the West Bank, arresting at least 27 Palestinians.

Later in the day, Israeli troops arrested two Palestinians who allegedly carried out shooting attacks in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, a focal point during the recent unrest.

In a statement, the Israeli army said the two men – Nazar Badi, 23, and Akram Badi, 23 – both confessed to carrying out at least five shooting attacks targeting Israeli settlers in Hebron’s Old City between November and January, according to the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency.

Hebron is divided into three spheres of control – including full Palestinian Authority administration, joint administration between Israeli military forces and PA police, and full Israeli control.

Amid the 37,000 Palestinians that live there, thousands of soldiers are stationed in the “H2 area” of the city – under full Israeli military control – to protect the 600-strong Jewish settler population.

Dozens of Israeli military checkpoints severely restrict Palestinian movement into, out of and within Hebron.

Upwards of half-a-million Israelis live in more than 150 Jewish-only settlements across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group B’Tselem.

US police shoot Somali teen refugee, triggering protest

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Hundreds rally in Salt Lake City to demonstrate against the shooting, which left 17-year-old in critical condition.

Abdi Mohamed

by Al Jazeera

Hundreds of people have rallied in Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah to protest against a police shooting that left a 17-year-old Somali refugee critically wounded.

The Monday night protest in Utah – where speakers urged people to stand up to police and demand accountability – highlighted the latest flashpoint in the national discussion about police use of force, especially with minority victims.

The teenager, Abdi Mohamed, was shot twice in the torso by police on Saturday night. Officers say the incident occurred in downtown Salt Lake City when Mohamed and another person attacked somebody with metal sticks, the AP news agency reported.

Citing his family, local media reported that Mohamed is now out of a coma.

On Monday night, protesters held signs saying “Stop killer cops” as they questioned why the police had to use lethal force to combat the teenager and his offsider.

Despite calls for police to release the video from body cameras worn by the officers involved in the incident, authorities have so far withheld the footage, saying it would be prejudicial to the ongoing investigation.

“While there is body camera footage, there is currently an active and open investigation into this matter, and release of the body camera recordings could reasonably be expected to interfere with that investigation,” police said in a statement.

Civil rights groups, however, say police must release the tapes for transparency.

“Because of past unfortunate incidents of controversial police shootings nationwide, the release of the body camera video could help allay community concerns about transparency and accountability,” said Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Aden Batar of Catholic Community Services in Salt Lake City says Mohamed’s family fled Somalia and lived for an unknown amount of time in Kenya before coming to the US in 2004.

Online petition against retirement tax goes viral

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Arun-Jaitley

New Delhi: An online petition against retirement tax has gone viral on social media with nearly 3,000 signups seeking urgent and immediate withdrawal of EPF Tax just a day after it was announced in the Budget.

The petition was started by a finance professional from Gurgaon, Vaibhav Aggarwal, and nearly 3,000 people have already supported his appeal to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to immediately withdraw the decision to tax EPF.

Budget for 2016-17 seeks to impose a retirement tax at the time of final withdrawal on 60 per cent of contributions made after April 1, 2016, to EPF and other schemes.

“This is a draconian act and will be a killer blow to the already tax burdened salaried class which pays 30 per cent income tax and 30 per cent taxes in indirect form customs, excise, service tax etc,” the petition said.

Meanwhile, the government today said PPF will not be taxed on withdrawal and only the interest accrued on contributions to employee provident fund made after April 1 will be taxed while the principal will continue to remain tax exempt.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the proposal, is to tax the interest accrued on PF contributions made after April 1, 2016. “The principal amount will not be taxed and will continue to remain tax exempt on withdrawal. What we have said is 40 per cent of the interest accrued on contributions made after April 1 will be tax exempt and its remaining 60 per cent will be taxed.”

Aggarwal in the petition, said that “the money which is left after paying more direct/indirect taxes is saved into PPF/EPF and used for retirement planning. But, now even this corpus will be snatched away to a major extent”.

Commenting on the petition, Preethi Herman, Country Lead of Change.org said, “Taxing a huge chunk of that fund will affect crores of people. The fact that this Change.org petition by Vaibhav Aggarwal is gathering so much support so rapidly is indicative of the deep unhappiness people are feeling about this move.”

(Agencies)

Bollywood News Round Up

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Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles

Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles (IFFLA) Announces Galas & A stellar Line-up

The 14 edition of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) to be held at ArcLight, Hollywood in Los Angeles, California from 6th Apr, 2016 to 10th Apr, 2016, recently announced its eclectic line-up of 27 films (16 features & 11 shorts) to be screened this year. The festival is widely recognised as the premiere showcase of ground breaking Indian cinema globally.

Opening the festival on 6th Apr, 2016 is the US premiere of the powerful Angry Indian Goddesses, from film maker and 4 time IFFLA alum Pan Nalin. Anu Menon’s poignant Waiting, starring Naseeruddin Shah & Kalki Koechlin, closes the festival with its North American premiere on 10th Apr, 2016. Gala tickets & passes are now available at http://www.indianfilmfestival.org/.

3 films will have their world premiere at the 5 day film festival namely, CRD by Kranti Kanade, Babu’s Dilemma by Collin D’Cunha, & Anurag Kashyap produced Mochi (The Cobbler) by Saqib Pandor. In addition, there will be 2 North American premieres & US premieres.

Rocky Handsome’s Violence Puts Censor Board On The Defensive

John Abraham’s new film Rocky Handsome has got itself into a situation of conflict with the censor board. Reportedly the film is too violent for mass consumption and was reluctantly granted an ‘A’ certificate. However the makers are not willing to take the ‘A’ certificate. If you’ve seen the original Korean film The Man From Nowhere that too was a very violent film. Rocky Handsome has scenes of graphic violence. There are also references to human trafficking; the flesh trade & violence against children. No censor in the world would allow this film for universal exhibition.” Apparently the producers refused to take an ‘A’ certificate and insist on a ‘UA’ certificate.

Neerja Now Declared Tax Free In Uttar Pradesh & Delhi

Just recently Sonam Kapoor starrer Neerja directed by Ram Madhvani was declared Tax Free in the state of Maharashtra. And now the Gujarat Government has also granted the film a Tax Free status. It seems like the makers of the recently released Sonam Kapoor starrer Neerja have an added reason to celebrate. While on one hand the film that released a week back has the audience going gaga over the story, on the other, the film has been receiving a Tax Free status in varied states. In fact after Maharashtra & Gujarat, Neerja has now been declared Tax Free in Uttar Pradesh & Delhi. Tweeting about the same, Akhilesh Yadav the Chief Minister Of Uttar Pradesh posted, “Neerja, the movie will be tax free in UP.” Responding to the tweet the film’s producer Atul Kasbekar immediately took to the social networking platform thanking him saying, “Awesome news! Thank You Hon CM @yadavakhilesh ji”.Following these tweets, Manish Sisodia the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi posted a tweet saying, “Have ordered to make movie Neerja Tax free. Decison to be implemented with immediate effect. @sonamakapoor #NeerjaBhanot @AzmiShabana”. Later talking about the film Sisodia added, “We are grateful to you for reminding us about the brave #Neerja. Its so inspiring. @AzmiShabana”. Once again responding to the tweets Kasbekar added, “Thank you Sir and many thanks to the Hon CM @ArvindKejriwal for this prompt decision. #Neerja”.

Sagar Sarhadi Felicitated With Lifetime Achievement Award

Just recently the International Film Festival of Prayag 2016 kick started in Allahabad. The 2nd edition of the International Film Festival of Prayag (IIFP) was inaugurated by veteran writer Sagar Sarhadi by lighting the lamp. Sagar Sarhadi, writer of films like Kabhie Kabhie, Silsila, Bazaar, Anubhav et al was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by Hasan Haider, the founder -director of IFFP. Along with him veteran writer Kamlesh Pandey was honored with Shaan – E – Prayag, producer & director N. Chandra got the Excellence in Cinema award while Deepak Mahaan received the Emerging Filmmaker award. Gaurav Dwivedi & Anita Sehgal were felicitated as the guest of honours at the ceremony. Manto Pashupatinath’s A Daughter’s Dream kick started the event as the opening film. This auspicious occasion was also marked with the presence of some of the eminent people from the film fraternity which included film writer Kamlesh Pandey, producer & director N. Chandra, filmmaker Deepak Mahaan, Gaurav Dwivedi (Vice president, UP Film Development Board). The founder & director of IFFP, Hasan Haider welcomed all the guests. The whole ceremony was conducted by Anita Sehgal. 56 documentary, shorts, feature & animation films from Indian & foreign filmmakers were screened at the festival. This year’s theme of IFFP is ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’.

Now Unauthorized Downloading Of Songs & Contents Without The Requisite License Is No More Permissible

On Complaint of M/s Super Cassettes Industries Pvt Ltd (Formerly known as Super Cassettes Ind Ltd), Delhi Police (PS KOTWALI, North Delhi) had conducted a raid at Stall No. 21 (Opp Shop No. 888) Old Lajpat Rai Market, Delhi – 110 006 for illegal downloading of T-Series contents and recovered & seized Laptop. with black Charger, Pen Drive et al. The accused Yash Vardhan s/o Late Jitendra Singh r/o 93, Sarojini Park, Gali No. 1, Shashtri Nagar, Delhi – 110 031 was arrested & an FIR No. 219/2016 under Section 51, 63, 65 & 68A registered against him. M/s Super Cassettes Ind Pvt Ltd is conducting the raid(s) against the person(s) nationwide involved in unauthorized & illegal downloading the digital contents of T-Series through Memory Cards, SD Cards, Pen Drive, Hard Drive et al without the downloading license.

Meena Kumari Retro & Rare Memorabilia On Display At Osianama At Liberty

Actress & poetess Meena Kumari aka Mahjabeen Bano, starred in over 90 classic, cult films in the 3 decades from her childhood to her death. Now, the Tragedy Queen of Indian cinema is back on the silver screen. Osianama as part of its ongoing Womanhood festival brought to the Indian audiences, rare original publicity material & priceless memorabilia from Meena Kumari’s films and a retro of her Best Films, Pakeezah, Parineeta, Daayra et al straight out of Osian’s Archive & Library Collection on 25th Feb, 2016 at Osianama at Liberty Cinema. Besides the films, Osianama at Liberty also displayed the Pakeezah & the Daera paintings, the Kohinoor & the Benazir Portraits, besides the Posters of Meena Kumari ki Amar Kahani, Behana, Phool Aur Pathar and the images of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam amongst others, an opportunity that was unmisseble.

Imposter Alert For Prakash Jha!

The filmmaker has filed an FIR against an impersonator who has been trying to seek favours under Jha’s name through fake accounts on the social media. It was a real cop – drama for Prakash Jha as he filed an FIR against an imposter who created fake ids & accounts on varied social media under the name of the filmmaker. The impersonator went to the extent of trying to extract information & seeking favours under Jha’s name. When this was brought to the notice of the filmmaker, he immediately filed an FIR at the Amboli police station.

A statement issued by Jha’s office read: “It has come to our notice that an impersonator having mobile No. 8286549965 has been operating fake accounts on whatsApp, LinkedIn and other Social Media links to extract information, telephone numbers & favours in the name of Prakash Jha. This is to inform everyone that I, Prakash Jha do not use any social media platform except Twitter (@prakash27).We have filed an FIR at Amboli Police Station vide FIR NO. 408 dated 17/02/2016 and also complained to the operators of social media and warned everyone to ignore / and if possible, to send snaps shot on 9324797773 Sudhirbhai Mishra (Executive Producer) of Prakash Jha Productions, so that same can be passed to the Police.”

Longinus Fernandes Excels At International Fleet Review 2016

Longinus Fernandes, the Oscar award winning choreographer for Slumdog Millionaire’s “Jai Ho” song, was the official choreographer for the “Colours Of India” dance showcase presented at the prestigious International Fleet Review 2016 that entertained an audience of 6 lakhs of people. This recently concluded mega event was a bombastic show of India’s Naval prowess along with a “Colourful Ceremony”, which saw a dash of cultural performance, participated by Navies of 42 countries across the globe. The cultural performance choreographed by Longinus, was titled “Colors Of India” and was performed by a troupe of 150 dancers with 75 dancers from Mumbai, while the rest belonging from different states of the country, showcasing the traditional Indian yoga & dance forms from varied parts of India namely Bhangra from Punjab, Bharatnatyam from Tamil Nadu, Durgapuja dance from West Bengal, Garba dance from Gujrat amongst others.

The International Fleet Review 2016 organised by Indian Navy was graced by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi & President Pranab Mukherjee during the naval parade. While the “Colors Of India” show was held at the Command Stadium, INS Satavahana where Governor of Andhra Pradesh E S L Narasimhan was Chief Guest, while Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was the Guest of Honour.

Legendary Lyricist NaqshLyallpuri Honoured

Global Advertisers has thrown its weight behind “Main Shaayar – The Eternal Soul of Lyrics”, a grand musical extravaganza organised by Jalota Welfare Foundation on 25th Feb, 2016 at Sri Shanmukhananda Auditorium in Sion, Mumbai from 7.00 PM Onwards.

Jalota Welfare Foundation had organised the event to felicitate legendary lyricist Naqsh Lyallpuri in association with Liquid Air Events Pvt Ltd and Tathaastu Creations. Amongst the artists who performed were Anup Jalota, Suresh Wadkar, Talat Aziz, Anuradha Paudwal, Richa Sharma, Madhushree, Shailaja Subramanium & KshitijTarey. Global Advertisers Group Company MM Mithaiwala was the official catering partner for the prestigious event.

Tarey. Global Advertisers Group Company MM Mithaiwala was the official catering partner for the prestigious event.

Global Advertisers Raises The Pitch

Global Advertisers recently went all out to support the Kala Coast Music Festival 2016 with its advertising & marketing knowledge and through it’s strategically placed outdoor media hoardings and other properties. Kala Coast Music Festival was organised from 19th Feb, 2016 to 21st Feb, 2016 which started from 6.00 PM & ended at 10.00 PM at Gyan Sagar Amphitheatre, Brahmakumari Garden, Devidas Lane, Govind Nagar, Borivali(w),Mumbai. The new flag bearers of Indian classical music including Shounak Abhisheki, Rahul Deshpande, Anand Bhate, Nikhil Pathak, Aditya Oke, Raghavendra Mallya & Pratap Rath graced the event with their presence. The event was inaugurated by legendary harmonium maestro & revered guru Padmashree Pandit Tulsidas Borkar & compered by Mangala Khadilkar.

Anil Nagrath To Be Awarded Golden Achiever’s Award

Anil Nagrath will be awarded with the prestigious Golden Achiever Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema & television by the All India Achievers’ Conference on 9th Mar, 2016 at 8 pm at The Club, Andheri (W), Mumbai as informed to him by Abhishek Bachchan, Executive Director & Secretary General of the All India Achievers’ Conference.

Global Advertisers Creates A Buzz For Ishq Forever

India’s smartest out – of -home agency, Global Advertisers has put up a. large display for upcoming Bollywood film Ishq Forever. Its a romantic & musical film directed by Sameer Sippy, starring Lisa Ray, debutante Krishna Chaturvedi & Ruhi Singh. Speaking on the campaign, Sanjeev Gupta Managing Director, Global Advertisers said “We have 18+ years of experience in promoting movies through outdoor medium. Our team at Global has selected the right mix of hoardings to promote the movie across Mumbai. We expect to see great result of our campaign on the Box Office collection of the movie.”

32nd Annual Function Of Film Studious Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union Held

The 32nd annual function of the Film Studious Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union was held for their union members recently at Bangur Nagar Ground, Goregaon (West), Mumbai, where their Chairman & BJP MLA Ram Kadam & General Secretary Gangeshwarlal Shrivastava (Sanju) delighted thousands of members and filled the rafter of the Union with an evening that provided serious insight into their welfare policies for the workers. Led by the Chairman, elected annually, the Union acts as a channel of communication between the worker and the film bodies. In addition, the Union acts as a point of contact between the workers and relevant external bodies.
The evening began with the National Anthem sung by the guests, lighting of diyas & bursting of crackers. Each guest on stage was honoured with a “Pheta” (Pagadi) and welcomed with the sound of biguls. Addressing a jam -packed crowd featuring more than 45,000 Labours and other allied members, the Chairman & BJP MLA Ram Kadam averred, “The stages, sets for films featuring big stars like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and others is erected by our workers painstakingly, who take care of every single nail. A little failure from their end can collapse down the whole stage / set. Thus we should respect every category of workers.”

While the General Secretary Gangeshwarlal Shrivastava (Sanju) averred, “We craft welfare for our members including Marriage Funds, Medical Funds, Retirement Pension, Education Fund and other facilities.” The event featured a special conversational series with the Union’s Chairman & BJP MLA Ram Kadam, General Secretary Gangeshwarlal Shrivastava (Sanju), Dinesh Chaturvedi (Daddu), Ashok Dubey, Vijay Khadechkar, Treasures Bhagwati Prasad Shukla, Senior Vice Chairman – Sharaffudin Mohammed, Vice Chairman – Tej Bahadur Yadav, Joint Secretary Rakesh Mourya (Munna) and other guests who graced the occasion were actors Raza Murad, Ali Khan, Shivkumar Tiwari, Teena Ghai, Spiritual Guruji Kumaran Swami et al. All the members were well rewarded and it was indeed a grand evening of insight & laughter in equal measure.

Global Advertisers Adds Extra Zing To Celebrity Cricket League

Mumbai based OOH Giant was chosen as the official outdoor partner for the high profile event held in Ahmadabad on 30th Jan, 2016. Cricket Celebrity League (CCL) had roped in outdoor services major Global Advertisers to promote its big event this year. The CCL is formatted as a cricket tournament between film stars from different languages in the T20 League format that brings together 60 artistes working in cinemas in 4 different languages across India, with some of the best known stars in the country attending. Sohail Khan Director & brother of Salman was the director of CCL. Sanjeev Gupta, Managing Director of Global Advertisers averred,”We have had a good working relationship with Sohail Khan and with Salman Khan too in the past. We are happy to work with Sohailbhai again. We feel honored to be chosen for an event as prestigious as CCL. Our campaign had generated a big buzz for the event. The client is happy. We are happy too,”

Film On INA Trails will also be A 6 Part TV Show: Tigmanshu Dhulia

The full length feature film based on the Indian National Army trials also known as The Red Fort trials which is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, will also be a 6 part TV show which is produced by Rajya Sabha TV who are also producing the film. Research on the film has been going on since 6 months and will revolve around the joint court martial of Col. Prem Sahgal, Col. Gurubaksh Singh Dhillon & Major General Shahnawaz Khan. The shooting would happen simultaneously both for the film and the TV show. Tigmanshu averred, “Yes this will be a 6 part TV show as well as a feature film on the INA trials which were held at the red fort and the 3 accused Shah Nawaz, Gurubaksh Dhillon and Prem Sehgal were tried for treason & murder”. Rajya Sabha TV besides producing a series of TV episodes, documentaries & films, will sell these to other channels and go for theatre release as well.

JNU students Umar, Anirban sent to 14 days judicial custody

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Umar Khalid

New Delhi: A court here on Tuesday sent, to 14 days judicial custody, JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, facing sedition charges for allegedly raising “anti-India” slogans, sources said.

Both the accused were presented before a magistrate in a police station in south Delhi due to security concerns after expiry of their additional one day police custody, sources said.

On Monday, a magistrate allowed police to quiz the two Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students for one more day.

Both the students surrendered before police on last Tuesday last week outside a gate of the university.

A case against Khalid and Bhattacharya was registered at Vasant Kunj police station, soon after JNU Student Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested under the same charges on February 12 after the event held on the university campus against the execution of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. He allegedly shouted anti-India slogans at the event.

(IANS)

Shiv Sena leader hits Mumbai shopkeeper for refusing to give him free Vada Pavs

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Shiv Sena Vada Pavs

Mumbai: Days after a Shiv Sena member was arrested for assaulting a woman traffic constable, another member has caused some major trouble for the party.

A member of the youth wing of the Shiv Sena was caught on CCTV, beating up a shopkeeper with a bamboo stick. Sunil Mahadik, who was arrested later, allegedly lost his cool a shopkeeper refused to give him 100 free vada pavs.

The incident took place in Vile Parle (West) area. The CCTV footage shows the Shiv Sena leader assaulting 28-year-old Chetan Geveriya, who works at Trupti Sweet and Farsan Mart on DJ Road, with a bamboo stick.

According to reports, Shiv Sena has expelled the leader from the party following the incident.

According to reports, a day ago, Mahadik had sent another person to the shop demanding 100 vada pavs, a popular street-food in Mumbai, free of cost. Geveria told him that they didn’t have so much stock, so the person left.

The next day, Mahadik allegedly called the shopkeeper on his mobile phone and abused him, and said he must hand over 100 vada pavs immediately to a person he was sending.

Geveria said Mahadik should speak to the owner of the shop first. Irked, Mahadik himself went to the shop and hit Geveria with a bamboo stick and threatened to kill him, police said, reports PTI.

Geveria, though not seriously injured, was taken to Cooper hospital in Juhu, police said.

The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the shop and Juhu police registered an FIR. The footage was also aired by some local news channels. Mahadik was arrested and a local court sent him to police custody.

(Agencies)

Privilege Motion vs Privilege Motion in LS; BJP targets Scindia

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Lok Sabha

New Delhi: With Congress gunning for HRD Minister Smriti Irani with a Privilege Motion, BJP today hit back in Lok Sabha by pressing for similar action against the opposition party’s Chief Whip Jyotiraditya Scindia for “defamatory” remarks against Minister Bandaru Dattatreya.

BJP’s Chief Whip Arjun Ram Meghwal accused Scindia of “misleading” the House on February 24 by alleging that Dattatreya had called Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student of Hyderabad University who committed suicide, “anti-national, casteist and extremist”.

Meghwal said he and many other members, including Dattatreya, had given a notice of breach of privilege against Scindia.

He raised the issue amid uproarious scenes in the House as AIADMK members were demanding action against former Union Minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis issue.

At this, Congress members too rushed to the Well, demanding that the Speaker decide on their privilege motion.

Dattatreya accused Scindia of “defaming him and tarnishing” his image by attributing such comments to him that he never made about Vemula.

“My mother used to sell onions. I have always worked for OBCs, Dalits… I have made sacrifices for Dalits,” he said, recalling his humble background and work for the downtrodden.

He said his letter to Irani, over which he has been attacked by Congress, made no mention of Vemula’s name. “I never made such charge against him.”

Congress members continued to protest with K C Venugopal showing the rule book to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to which she shot back, saying “Don’t show me the rule book. I know.”

She repeatedly tried to pacify the members saying all the notices for privilege motion are under her consideration.

With AIADMK and Congress members continuing to protest, she adjourned the House.

The issue of privilege motion against Irani had created a brief uproar in the Lok Sabha yesterday before Finance Minister Arun Jaitely started presenting the Union Budget 2016-17 with opposition members seeking to know the status of their notices against Irani for “misleading” the House on the Rohith Vemula issue.

(Agencies)

Oscars 2016: Leonardo DiCaprio finally wins Academy Award

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Leonardo DiCaprio

by BBC

Leonardo DiCaprio has finally won his first Oscar for survival epic The Revenant, after six nominations.

He was named best actor at the 88th Academy Awards, with Brie Larson named best actress for Room.

Spotlight took home the best picture Oscar with Mad Max: Fury Road picking up the most awards of the night, with six accolades.

Mark Rylance won the best supporting actor Oscar, with fellow Briton Sam Smith winning best original song.

DiCaprio received a standing ovation as he picked up his award, after five acting nominations and one nomination as producer of best picture nominee Wolf of Wall Street.

He thanked his director and co-star Tom Hardy for his “fierce talent on screen” and “friendship off screen” before campaigning for action to combat climate change, saying making The Revenant was “about man’s relationship to the natural world”.

“Climate change is real – it is happening right now,” said DiCaprio. “It is the most urgent threat facing our species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.”

He asked the audience to “support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters or the big corporations but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people who’ll be affected by this”.

He added: “Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted.”

It is 22 years since he was first nominated for an Academy Award, having been nominated for best supporting actor for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.

Speaking to reporters after his win, DiCaprio said: “I feel very honoured, to share this has been an amazing experience, to sit there and talk about the film.

“I also got to talk about something I have been obsessed with – the environment and climate change – on a platform with hundreds of millions of people watching worldwide.”

As he accepted his award, Inarritu said it was a “great opportunity to our generation to liberate ourselves from all prejudice”, saying the colour of someone’s skin should be “as irrelevant as the length of their hair”.

It is the fourth Oscar for Inarritu, having won best director, best original screenplay (as co-writer) and best picture (as producer) for Birdman in 2015.

Pakistan hangs Mumtaz Qadri for murder of Salman Taseer

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Mumtaz Qadri was executed for the 2011 killing of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who sought to reform blasphemy laws.

Pakistan hanged the convicted killer of a former governor shot dead in 2011 [Anjum Naveed/AP]

Pakistan hanged the convicted killer of a former governor shot dead in 2011 [Anjum Naveed/AP]

by Al Jazeera

Pakistan has hanged the assassin of a governor who sought to reform the country’s controversial blasphemy laws, officials and supporters said

Mumtaz Qadri – feted as a hero by many supporters – was executed at a prison in Rawalpindi.

“I can confirm that Qadri was hanged in Adialia jail early Monday morning,” police official Sajjid Gondal told the AFP news agency.

Qadri, a bodyguard of Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province, shot him dead in the capital, Islamabad, in 2011.

Dozens of rangers and police in riot gear as well as ambulances were stationed outside Qadri’s home in the city early on Monday.

During his trial, Qadri’s legal defence was that Taseer opposed Pakistan’s so-called blasphemy laws by supporting Christian woman Asia Bibi, who was charged with allegedly desecrating Islam’s holy book, the Quran.

Qadri was convicted and sentenced in late 2011. But he is viewed as a hero by many people who thought Taseer was a blasphemer.

Blasphemy is a highly controversial issue in Pakistan, and angry mobs have killed many people accused of insulting Islam in the Muslim-majority country. The law does not define blasphemy but stipulates that the penalty is death.

Since 1990, dozens of people have been extrajudicially killed as a result of blasphemy cases.

The main road between Rawalpindi and the capital Islamabad was blocked by protesters within hours of the hanging.

“At this time, the sentiments of all Muslims have been injured, and our feelings have been badly hurt. For any Muslim believer – no matter what school of thought he belongs to – Ghazi Mumtaz Qadri is a hero of Islam,” said Tahir Iqbal Chistie, president of Sunni Tehreek, Rawalpindi Chapter, during the protest.

“He sent to hell a person who showed disrespect for the holy Prophet. What he did was according to the orders of the Quran and the collected reports of what the Prophet Muhammad said and did during his lifetime,” he added.

Police later dispersed the demonstrators and closed off the road to prevent more protests.

Qadri’s attorney, Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, predicted larger demonstrations coinciding with Qadri’s funeral, which his legal group said would be held on Tuesday.

Some lawyers showered Qadri with rose petals when he first arrived in court days after the killing. The judge who first convicted him was forced to flee the country after death threats.

Thousands may have starved to death in Syria: UN

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As UN prepares to roll out aid in besieged areas, official says “thousands” cut off may have already starved to death.

Residents work on fixing a house in the town of Darat Izza, province of Aleppo on Sunday [Reuters]

Residents work on fixing a house in the town of Darat Izza, province of Aleppo on Sunday [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

The United Nations human rights chief warned on Monday that thousands of people may have died of starvation during sieges affecting nearly half a million people in war-torn Syria.

The comments by Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein came as the first major ceasefire in the five-year conflict entered its third day, and as the UN prepared to deploy trucks loaded with humanitarian aid into the country during the lull in fighting.

“The deliberate starvation of people is unequivocally forbidden as a weapon of warfare. By extension, so are sieges,” said Hussein.

He added: “Thousands of people may have starved to death.”

Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from the Turkish border town of Gaziantep, noted that US Secretary of State John Kerry had accused the Syrian government of using food as “a weapon of war”.

“This war in recent months hasn’t just been fought with weapons – it has also been fought through the use of food,” he said. “The guns here haven’t gone totally silent, so it’s still dangerous for aid workers.”

The UN and its partner organisations were planning to start delivering aid to Syrians in several besieged areas previously cut off by the violence.

A UN spokesman told Al Jazeera that trucks bound for Mouadamiya in the southern outskirts of Damascus were loaded and were planning to move shortly.

Aid deliveries were also planned to arrive in the towns of Zabadani, Kefraya, Fouaa and Madaya by Wednesday.

The deliveries are part of humanitarian aid planned for 1.7 million people in hard-to-reach areas in the first quarter of 2016, Yacoub El Hillo, UN Resident Coordinator in Damascus, said in a statement on Sunday.

The UN estimates there are almost 500,000 people living under siege of a total of 4.6 million who are hard to reach with aid.

“It is the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability,” El Hillo said.

“But we all know that without a meaningful political process and a political solution, both cessation of hostilities and entry of humanitarian assistance will not be enough to end the crisis in Syria.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone on Sunday at the initiative of Moscow on the progress of the ceasefire, Russia’s foreign ministry reported on Monday.

Syria’s main opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), on Sunday described the ceasefire as “positive”, but lodged a formal complaint with the UN and foreign governments about breaches on the first day.

A HNC letter to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, accused Bashar al-Assad’s government and its allies of committing “24 violations with artillery shelling and five ground operations … in 26 areas held by the moderate opposition”.

The letter, signed by HNC head Riad Hijab, also criticised Russia for conducting “26 air strikes on areas falling within the ceasefire”.

It said continued breaches of the ceasefire would make peace talks unattainable.

Syria’s ally Russia has said it has only targeted areas under the control of  al-Nusra Front, which is linked to al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Nusra and ISIL are excluded from the terms of the international pact.

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