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Archives for July 2018

New Karnataka assembly’s first session begins

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The first session of Karnataka’s newly-elected 15th assembly began here on Monday with Governor Vajubhai Vala addressing the joint session of the legislature in Hindi.

During the 10-day-long session, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who also holds the Finance portfolio, will present a full-fledged budget of the new coalition government for fiscal 2018-19 on July 5.

On the Governor’s choice of language, an official told IANS that as he “is comfortable reading his speech in Hindi, he has been addressing in the assembly in the language since he assumed office in September 2014”.

The official language of the southern state is Kannada.

The legislators, however, were given Kannada and English versions of Vala’s address as he began to read in Hindi.

However, for some legislators from central and northern regions who are acquainted with Hindi, a copy of Vala’s address was also made available to them in the same language, while many of the remaining lawmakers preferred to go through the Kannada version, said the official.

Though the new assembly met twice during May for the floor test of the 3-day BJP government first on May 19 and the coalition government of the JD-S and Congress on May 25, they were adjourned on the same respective day.

Chennai Bank refuses to return customer’s gold after his defaults on loan repayment by Re 1

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Claiming a default of Re 1 in repayment of a loan, a co-operative bank here has allegedly refused to return 138 grams of gold jewels pledged for the loan, prompting the customer to move the Madras High Court for relief.
In a petition, C Kumar, a member of the Pallavaram branch of Kancheepuram Central Cooperative Bank, submitted that he had been running from pillar to post for the past five years to get back the jewels worth around Rs 3.50 lakh and sought a direction to the bank to return them.

When the plea came up for hearing on Friday, Justice T Raja recorded the petitioner’s counsel submissions Sathyan and directed the government advocate to get instructions from the authorities within two weeks.

The petitioner said he had taken a loan of Rs 1.23 lakh from the bank by pledging 131 grams of gold jewellery on April 6, 2010.

In between, he took two fresh loans totalling Rs 1.65 lakh by pledging a total of 138 grams of gold.

On March 28,2011, he closed the first loan by settling the amount along with interest and redeemed the 131 grams of jewels.

He repaid the two other loans also shortly thereafter, but the bank refused to return the jewels saying there was a balance of Re 1 in each of the loans.

Petitioners counsel M Sathyan said even after repeated requests by the petitioner, the bank refused to release the jewellery or accept payment of pending Re 1 for each account.

The petitioner submitted that he nurtured a doubt with regard to the safety of his jewels.

Karnataka to protest Cauvery Water Management Authority formation

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Karnataka would protest against the formation of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CRMA) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) by the Central government at their first meeting in New Delhi on Monday, said an official on Sunday.

“As decided by the all-party meeting here on Saturday, the state’s nominated members on the Authority and the Committee will participate in their meeting to protest against their formation by the Centre without considering views of the state government,” an official of the Chief Minister’s office told IANS here.

State Water Resources Principal Secretary Rakesh Singh and Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd Managing Director H.L. Prasanna are Karnataka’s representatives on the CWMA and CWRC.

“The meeting also directed the representatives to express displeasure to the Centre and register objection at the first meeting of the CWMA and CWRC for constituting them without discussion in Parliament on the scheme, which affects the interests of the people, especially farmers,” added the official.

The Union Water Resources Ministry on June 1 notified the Authority and the Committee as part of the scheme the apex court directed on May 18 for implementing the 2007 Cauvery Water Tribunal Award.

Central Water Commission Chairman Masood Hussain heads the CWMA, while its Irrigation Management Organisation’s Chief Engineer Navin Kumar Chairman of the CWRC and also member of the Authority.

The technical panel, which will be based in Bengaluru, is mandated to ensure Karnataka releases 177.25 tmc (thousand million cubic) feet of the river water to Tamil Nadu in a normal year as per the Tribunal award and directed by the apex court.

1st T20I: Kohli’s men prepare for challenging English summer

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Fresh from a relatively easy 2-0 whitewash over minnows Ireland, India’s real test on the tour will start on Tuesday when the Virat Kohli-led brigade will be up against a formidable England side in the first of the three-match Twenty20 International series at the Old Trafford here.

While India has been a consistent limited overs side over the past 6-7 years, England has of late lifted their game in coloured clothes by miles, thanks to a group of fantastic limited overs players like Jos Buttler, Jason Roy and Ben Stokes.

Going by current form, both sides are at par on paper, with India having won 15 of their last 20 T20 Internationals, including the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka and the bilateral away series against South Africa.

England, on the other hand, will head to the series on the back of a 6-0 drubbing of Australia with Buttler, Roy, Jonny Bairstow in good form.

Regrouping after almost a three-month long gap, India used the Ireland T20Is as a good warm-up, registering facile wins of 72 and 143 runs but more importantly giving the whole squad good game time before the challenging series against the Englishmen.

Going into Tuesday’s series opener, India is expected to play around with set combinations which means Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma teaming up at the top of the order.

With veteran Suresh Raina in great hitting form at No.3, and skipper Kohli at No.4, it will be interesting to see if the team management includes the in-form Lokesh Rahul in the middle order.

All eyes will also be on the former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was in great touch in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for eventual champions Chennai Super Kings.

On the bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah’s thumb injury will be a concern as he has played a big role with his death overs bowling.

It will be interesting to see whether his replacement, Deepak Chahar, gets his maiden cap even though senior pro Umesh Yadav looks a more likely replacement.

Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have proven their worth in Ireland and look certain to play.

England, meanwhile, made a few strategic changes by putting assistant coach Paul Farbrace in charge of the T20 team for the Australia and India series, while head coach Trevor Bayliss simultaneously took to domestic cricket scouting.

England’s recent ploy to promote Jos Buttler as an opener worked in fine fashion as he struck the quickest T20I half-century by an English batsman, with a 22-ball 50, that included six fours and five sixes against the hapless Kangaroos.

Buttler continued from where he left in the IPL, where he struck five successive half-centuries for the Rajasthan Royals and finished the tournament with 548 runs from 13 matches at a strike-rate of 155.24.

Needless to say, he will be India’s greatest threat, albeit the likes of Roy and Alex Hales also add a lot of firepower to the English top-order.

Teams:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav.

England: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Jos Buttler (WK), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Dawid Malan.

Kashmir loses its cinema halls to prolonged conflict

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Srinagar, India-administered Kashmir – A few yards away from Srinagar city’s famous clock tower in India-administered Kashmir are the ruins of Palladium, once a famous film theatre.

All that remains of what used to be a thriving hangout in the strife-torn city are its faded yellow walls. That desolate look is the tale of Kashmir’s film theatres, which closed down after an armed rebellion against India’s rule in the region began in the late 1980s.

As protests demanding “azaadi” (freedom) on the streets of Kashmir grew in 1989, screening of movies became a major casualty. Soon, the arrival of Indian army in the valley saw some theatres turn into military garrisons. Others have turned into hotels, hospitals, shopping complexes, or remain abandoned.

Worse, the Kashmiri rebel fighters declared screening of films in “movie halls” or “talkies”, as they are commonly called in India, as un-Islamic.

Today, the deserted theatres only evoke nostalgia, especially among the older Kashmiris.

Arif Shafi’s family owned Naaz cinema, located in Srinagar’s famous Lal Chowk. He was 12 when the theatre closed.

“I used to spend time with my father at Naaz. I remember a huge rush when a major film was screened. Four to five shows happened in a day. There used to be separate cabins for families,” says Shafi.

Shafi has little hope of a revival of Kashmir’s cinema culture. “The political situation of Kashmir doesn’t allow the re-opening of cinema halls.”


Shah cinema is situated in Qamarwari area of Srinagar and was housing Central Reserve Police force after being closed down in late 80’s. It is in a dilapidated condition now and has been abandoned.
Failed revival
Almost 10 years later, in 1998, the government provided financial assistance of over $40,000 to encourage theatre owners to renovate and reopen.

Of the nine theatres in Srinagar, three theatres – Regal, Neelam and Broadway – defied the threat of the rebels and began screening films. Other theatres in the city could not reopen because they were situated in downtown Srinagar and more vulnerable to separatist attacks.

However, on the day Regal reopened in September 1999, a bomb was hurled inside the theatre, killing a man and injuring many others.

The Regal attack succeeded in dissuading other theatre owners from reopening. Soon, Broadway was also closed and later taken over by a telecom company.

Neelam continued to screen films for a while, but the stringent security measures took the fun out of watching movies, resulting in fewer people turning up for shows.

Neelam didn’t have a long run either. The lime green building now houses the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and is caged by barbed wire and bunkers. The sight of CRPF soldiers pointing their guns towards the street from the building makes its unique architecture look more fearsome.

Like Neelam, Sheraz cinema in downtown Srinagar was also occupied by Indian security forces after it was closed in the early 1990s. Another theatre named “Khayyam” has been turned into a hospital.

In November last year, the Kashmir World Film Festival had raked up a debate on the missing cinema culture in Kashmir. Speaking at the event, the then-Jammu and Kashmir minister Naeem Akhtar had assured of government support in reviving the closed theatres.

But little has happened on the ground so far.

Sites of nostalgia
However, memories of once thriving cinema halls are still afresh among the locals, who turn nostalgic while regaling stories of days gone by when cinema halls were packed all day long.

Bashir Ahmad Shah, 50, had worked for more than 20 years in Nishat talkies in Anantnag as an operator. He says people used to come in flocks to watch films.

“People used to watch movies with their families and friends. The prolonged conflict changed everything. There was bloodshed everywhere. After cinemas were closed down, I toiled day and night to feed my family,” Shah.

Khayam cinema, now Khyber Hospital, is situated in Khayam area of Srinagar
Shah, whose colleagues are no longer alive, says that if at all cinemas reopen, he would “love to work again”.

“I remember buying tickets in black (illegally), as it was almost impossible to buy a ticket from the counters of these theatres,” Ghulam Nabi, a shopkeeper from Anantnag in south Kashmir.

Nabi says he used to steal money from his father’s shop to catch the latest film. “We used to bunk school to watch a movie and end up getting beaten up at home.”

A generation left out
The absent cinema culture in Kashmir has resulted in a generation deprived of the pleasure of watching a film on the big screen.

Muneeb Ahmed is 27 and has not seen a single film in a theatre.

“As a child, I used to wait for the weekend to watch movies on DD National (India’s public broadcaster) despite the blurred picture quality. Mobile phones or laptops have come as a blessing, allowing us to watch good quality movies, although pirated,” he told press.

Before internet arrived, people in Kashmir would get pirated CDs and DVDs of movies and watch them on their computers or televisions.

“Now, it’s easy to download a movie from internet, and watch them after a hard day’s work,” Ahmad said.

Hussien Khan, a filmmaker from Kashmir, says it’s unfortunate that young men haven’t seen any films in theatres.

“There is a lot of difference in watching a movie in cinemas and watching the same on a TV or mobile phone. But if we can’t have a cinema where Bollywood [the Hindi film industry] or Hollywood films are showcased, our younger generation deserves at least a regional cinema where we can tell our own stories,” Khan told to source.

In the pre-rebellion era, Kashmiri journalist Yusuf Jameel says, he and other journalists wrote about cultural issues and enjoyed watching movies, as well.

“The business model of cinemas here faces the twin challenges of shutdowns and violence. While the government wants to showcase normalcy by opening the film halls, Kashmir’s ground situation portrays a different reality.”

“Today, a Kashmiri journalist’s focus has shifted from covering culture and tourism to counting dead bodies,” says Jameel. “Also, people would not like to be seen as enjoying movies when there is persistent violence on the streets and young boys are losing lives.”

Aljazeera

Nadal maintains top spot in ATP ranking

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Spain’s Rafael Nadal continued to lead the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world singles ranking released on Monday, just 50 points ahead of Switzerland’s Roger Federer.

The ranking witnessed no change ahead of Wimbledon’s first round as Germany’s Alexander Zverev stayed world No. 3, followed by Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, reports Efe.

Meanwhile, Bosnian Damir Dzumhur jumped seven places to be 23rd in the rankings after his victory at Antalya Open.

The current top-10 ATP rankings and point scores are as follows:

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 8,770 Points
2. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 8,720
3. Alexander Zverev (Germany) 5,755
4. Juan Martín del Potro (Argentina) 5,080
5. Marin Cilic (Croatia) 5,060
6. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) 4,780
7. Dominic Thiem (Austria) 3,835
8. Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 3,635
9. David Goffin (Belgium) 3,110
10. John Isner (US) 3,045.

India lose to Australia in Hockey Champions Trophy final

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India suffered a penalty shootout heartbreak in the Hockey Champions Trophy final for the second consecutive time as they lost 1-3 (1-1) to defending champions Australia here on Sunday.

Blake Govers put Australia ahead in the 24th minute. India equalised through Vivek Sagar Prasad’s strike in the 43rd minute to end 1-1 at the regulation 60 minutes of play.

In the penalty shootout, Australia prevailed thanks to the brilliance of goalkeeper Tyler Lovell, who blocked attempts from Harmanpreet Singh, Sardar Singh and Lalit Upadhyay.

Aran Zalewski, Daniel Beale and Jeremy Edwards scored for Australia, who got their record 15th title, while Manpreet Singh tucked one past Lovell for India, who had lost to Australia in the 2016 final via the penalty shootout in London.

During the 60 minutes of play, both Australia and India had plenty chances to score in a fast-paced match.

Although the defending Champions made a good start, India quickly took control with better ball possession (over 60 percent) coupled with eight circle entries, two shots on goal and two penalty corners in the first quarter.

While India could not capitalise on the penalty corner opportunities, they missed a golden chance to score a field goal towards the end of the first quarter when Surender Kumar made a beautiful pass to Dilpreet Singh who then crossed it over to S.V. Sunil. But the latter pulled the ball onto his own feet, thus could not score.

Australia, on the other hand, were extremely quick on their counters and waited for their chances.

An infringement in the circle saw India concede the first penalty corner of the match and the chance was brilliantly capitalised by Govers as he powered it through. Though Sreejesh got his left glove on the ball, it bounced off into the net giving Australia a critical 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

Though India had dominated major part of the first and second quarters, they had nothing to show on the scoreboard.

Looking for the equaliser, in the 38th minute, India appealed for a dangerous ball inside the striking circle but their fifth penalty corner was not only denied, they also ended up losing the video referral at a very crucial juncture of the match.

But their moment of reckoning came in the 42nd minute, Vivek hammered a cross by Chinglensana Singh. The equaliser had finally come after 17 circle entries. This was India’s seventh attempt on the goal.

Soon after, Mandeep Singh had a fabulous shot on goal with seconds remaining for the third hooter, but Lovell was exceptional in his save to keep India from taking a lead.

With the scores reading 1-1, India pushed up front with forwards Lalit Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh, yet three more shots on goals went amiss.

While the team’s defence stood out, another great chance was missed with Sunil making a strong foray into the circle but Manpreet Singh on the far post could not make this one count.

Seconds ticking away, neither teams could manage a lead thus resulting in yet another shootout where Australia walked away winners.

Belgium favourites against combative Japan

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Belgium, boasting one of the most talented squads in the FIFA World Cup, will be overwhelming favourites to go past Japan, the lone Asian side in the pre-quarterfinals, when the two sides clash here on Monday.

Belgium topped the Group D with a 100 percent winning record following wins over Panama (3-0), 5-2 victory over Tunisia (5-2) and England (1-0).

Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez left most of his first-choice footballers on the bench for the England match so they could rest and avoid suspensions for the Round-of-16 match.

Even with a weakened side, the Belgians still recorded a fine win that buoyed morale even further and has put some pressure on the squad’s habitual starters as they aim to reach their third World Cup quarter-final (after Mexico 1986 and Brazil 2014) and equal their World Cup record of four consecutive wins, set four years ago.

Their unbeaten 22-match run — the longest in Belgium’s history — reflects the quality of a hugely talented side.

The Belgians boast a number of stars in their line-up including the likes of Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku (four goals in two matches), Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard and Manchester City attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.

Other key players such as central defenders Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are expected to return to the lineup after missing the England game.

In the midfield, Mousa Dembele, Yannick Carrasco, and Axel Witsel are expected to start.

On paper, the world No.3 should have way too much firepower for Japan, who are ranked 58 places below the European outfit.

Japan have impressed so far in Russia with a 2-1 win over Colombia and a 2-2 draw in an entertaining match against Senegal before a 0-1 defeat to Poland. They advanced from the group phase on fair play points and are intent on winning a last-16 tie for the first time ever.

They have the experience to do just that — Eiji Kawashima, Makoto Hasebe, Yuto Nagatomo and Shinji Okazaki are each set to play their 11th match in the World Cup, a national record.

Along with Keizuke Honda, they will be looking to make up for the defeat to Paraguay at South Africa 2010, the last time that the Japanese featured in the knockout rounds.

Japan used a 4-4-2 formation in their last group match against Poland and lost. Coach Akira Nishino is likely to revert to the 4-2-3-1 system he deployed in the win over Colombia and the draw with Senegal.

Attacking midfielders Genki Haraguchi, Shinji Kagawa and Takashi Inui will have important roles to play just behind striker Yuya Osako. The Japanese will look to attack down the flanks and their chances of success will hinge on how well they can supply midfielder Gaku Shibasaki.

Brazil prepare for Samara samba in last 16 clash vs Mexico

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FBL-WC-2018-MATCH44-MEX-SWE


World Cup favourites Brazil continue their campaign for the 2018 World Cup here on Monday against a Mexican side which stated their campaign brilliantly before coming dangerously close to elimination.

Brazil produced their best display of the tournament in beating Serbia 2-0 to secure their place in the last 16, finding more connection between midfield and attack than in previous games, reports Xinhua news agency.

Much of that was due to the contribution of Phillipe Coutinho, who has been Brazil’s standout player despite Neymar’s attempts to grab the headlines.

Although he has scored just one goal, Neymar has had 18 shots so far in the World Cup and suffered 17 fouls, but has also been criticized for selfishness on the ball and play-acting when he receives challenges from rival players.

Neymar and Coutinho are certain to start and will be accompanied by Gabriel Jesus and Willian, with the latter the subject of transfer speculation linking him with a move from Chelsea to either Manchester United or FC Barcelona.

Left back Marcelo is doubtful for the game after suffering an injury apparently caused by his hotel mattress. If he is unable to play, he would be replaced by Atletico Madrid’s Felipe Luis.

Brazil struggled for fluidity in their opening two matches in Russia and will look to the win over Serbia as a turning point to their campaign and a confidence boost.

However, they will have to be wary of their disciplinary record with key trio Neymar, Coutinho and Casemiro a booking away from suspension.

Mexico travel to Samara after excellent performances against Germany and South Korea and a disastrous 90 minutes against Sweden, which nearly cost them a place in the last 16.

It will be interesting to see how coach Juan Carlos Osorio reacts after the 3-0 defeat to the Swedes and if he believes tiredness as a factor we can expect to see changes in his starting 11, with perhaps Jonathan Dos Santos coming into midfield and Hugo Ayala, who played against Germany, coming in to shore up the defence.

Brazil and Mexico are two of the countries who have the biggest number of fans with them in Brazil, and the stands in the 44,900 Samara Arena should be packed with color in what promises to a true ‘football fiesta’.

World Cup: Russia edge out Spain to enter QF

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Hosts Russia stunned pre-tournament favourites Spain 4-3 (1-1) via penalty shootouts here on Sunday to enter the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Russia’s Sergei Ignashevich’s own goal in the 12th minute opened Spain’s account before Artem Dzyuba struck in the 41st minute to equalise.

In the penalty shootout, Koke and Iago Aspas missed their attempts for Spain while the Russians converted their first four spot kicks.

This is the best performance by Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union. The best performance by the Soviet Union was a fourth place finish in 1966 when they lost 1-2 to the then West Germany in the semi-finals.

Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev emerged as the hero for Russia as he saved two penalties. His job was made easier by poor placement by Koke and Aspas.

Akinfeev become Russia’s second most capped player on Sunday, displacing former defender Viktor Onopko to third place. This is the 110th international game for Akinfeev, who made his debut in 2004. Onopko was capped 109 times for Russia from 1992 to 2004.

CSKA Moscow defender Sergei Ignashevich is Russia’s most capped player. The clash against Spain is the 38-year-old’s 126th game for his country since 2002, reported Sputnik news agency.

In Sunday’s match, Spain’s defender Sergio Ramos opened the scoring in the 11th minute. However, later it was announced that it was an own goal by Ignashevich, making the Russian defender the oldest player to score an own goal at the World Cup, FIFA said on their official website later.

The record had been held by Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares who scored into his own net in the 2014 World Cup match against France at the age of 37 years and 43 days.

Dzyuba scored in the 41st minute after Russia was awarded a penalty due to Spanish defender Pique’s handball.

Since the match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation time, the issue rolled into overtime.

However, even after overtime, neither team managed to take the lead and the game went to a penalty shoot-out.

Russia were perfect from the spot. Koke’s miss gave Russia the upper hand and Akinfeev sent the Luzhniki Stadium into bedlam as he saved Iago Aspas’ penalty with his feet.

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