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Modi stresses on 4Ps for cleaner world

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that Swachh Bharat Mission has turned into the worlds biggest mass movement on sanitation and has given a mantra of 4Ps for a cleaner world.

“Political leadership, public funding, partnerships and people’s participation is the four mantras for making the world cleaner,” he said in his address at the closing session of the four-day Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention.

Referring to Gandhi’s remarks that he would give greater priority to cleanliness over independence, Modi said that he derived inspiration from the Mahatma and followed his guidelines while initiating the movement.

“Today, I am proud that our nation of 125 crore people is following in the footsteps of Gandhiji, and have turned Swacch Bharat Mission as the world’s biggest mass movement,” he said.

Asserting that the Swacch Bharat Mission has brought a behavioural change in the people, he said that rural sanitation has gone up to 94 per cent as against 38 per cent in 2014.

“Five lakh villages and 25 states have become Open Defecation Free,” he said.

IANS

Farmers’ protest politically motivated: Minister

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Union Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU)-led farmers’ protest was politically motivated.


“There is a reason behind it. Because this is an election year… For so many people there are different motives. That is the only reason. Otherwise, farmers across the country are very satisfied and thankful to the Modi government,” Shekhawat said.

He said the Modi government had announced assured Minimum Support Price (MSP) with 50 per cent of profit over the cost of production but the farmers were not concerned about the formula used while fixing MSP.

The protest by thousands of farmers at the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border turned violent on Tuesday as they tried to break barricades and run them over with tractors to enter the national capital, forcing police to use water cannons and tear gas.

IANS

Iran: Conditions not ripe for US talks

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Iran will not sit for talks with the US over the existing issues as the conditions are not ripe, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.

“I’m not ruling out the prospect of talks (with Washington) provided the necessary conditions for talks, and that is reliability,” Zarif was quoted as saying by Press TV.

“Reliability is that when you sign something you are bound by it. Otherwise, everything will fall apart,” he said, adding that “we are waiting for some sense of realism”.

Iranian authorities have stressed that Tehran will not sit for negotiations under Washington’s threats and sanction pressures.

Following US President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the historic Iranian nuclear pact, Washington vowed to reimpose sanctions lifted under the accord against Tehran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations having business links with Iran.

Washington’s withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal was criticized across the world. Some of its major European allies have been working to prevent the 2015 deal from falling apart.

The Trump administration, according to reports, has called for renegotiation of the Iranian 2015 nuclear deal as well as Tehran’s developing missile programme. However, Iran has ruled out possibility of talks over defence plans.

(IANS)

US begins denying visas to same-sex partners of diplomats

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US President Donald Trump’s administration has begun denying visas to unmarried, same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and UN employees, the media reported.

According to a report in Foreign Policy magazine on Monday, the policy affected same-sex partners of diplomats and staffers working at the UN global headquarters in New York. The partner must show proof of marriage by December 31 or leave the country within 30 days.

The majority of 193 UN member countries do not legalize same-sex marriage, meaning diplomats face a tough choice.

The report said the new policy meant at least 10 unmarried UN employees currently in the US will have to get married in order for their partners’ visas to be extended.

Since the 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the US policy has dictated that diplomatic visas are only extended to married spouses.

The US mission to the UN reportedly notified couples of the decision in July and it took effect on Monday, according to the report.

“Same-sex spouses of US diplomats now enjoy the same rights and benefits as opposite-sex spouses,” read the announcement obtained by Foreign Policy.

“Consistent with the (State) Department policy, partners accompanying members of permanent missions or seeking to join the same must generally be married in order to be eligible for a diplomatic visa,” it said.

Former US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power blasted the move as “needlessly cruel and bigoted”.

Alfonso Nam, the President of UN Globe, a UN LGBTI staff advocacy organization, told Foreign Policy that same-sex couples were at risk of prosecution if they return to a country that criminalizes homosexuality or has not legalized same-sex marriages.

Diplomats would be eligible for “limited exceptions” under the Trump administration’s policy if they can prove they are from countries that outlaw same-sex partners, the report said. That exception, however, reportedly does not extend to UN officials.

(IANS)

Cut use of chemicals, diversify crops: FAO chief

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Attaining sustainable development means shifting away from high-input and resource-intensive farming and food systems towards more sustainable practices, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said.

“Today, it is fundamental to produce food in a way that preserves the environment and biodiversity,” Graziano da Silva said in an address at the biennial meeting of FAO’s Committee on Agriculture (COAG) on Monday.

Current farming practices have contributed to deforestation, water scarcity, soil depletion and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, he told the meeting taking place in Rome from Monday through Friday.

“We have to implement sustainable practices that provide healthy and nutritious food, ecosystem services and climate-change resilience,” said da Silva.

To achieve this switch requires reducing the use of pesticides and chemicals, increasing crop diversification, and improving land conservation practices, among other measures, the FAO Director-General stressed.

He pointed to the inefficiency of current food systems in eradicating hunger, despite the fact that enough food was being produced to feed the entire global population, and underscored how hundreds of millions still do not have the income to buy the food they need or the means to produce it themselves.

“Changes are necessary to ensure that our ambition of nourishing people while nurturing the planet becomes a reality,” he added.

Many of the world’s more than 820 million chronically undernourished people are family farmers living in developing countries’ poor rural areas and who most need support to improve their livelihoods and build resilience, especially in relation to the impacts of conflicts and climate change, Graziano da Silva said.

“If we fail to create opportunities for poor rural people to thrive, especially women and youth, we will also fail to build a safer and more peaceful world,” he added.

Innovation, which is crucial for revitalizing rural areas and to make agriculture more attractive to young people, underpins these efforts, the Director-General said.

Da Silva noted how a lack of high quality and timely agricultural data was a key constraint on transforming the agriculture sectors and implementing the 2030 sustainable development Agenda and said extra funds were needed for data collection and other areas of FAO’s work to reach these goals.

Other discussions slated at this week’s meeting include a review of the implementation of FAO’s Climate Change Strategy the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture and a proposal to scale up the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems initiative, FAO stated.

IANS

US jails Chinese national over space tech smuggling scheme

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A Chinese national living in California has been jailed for 46 months over a scheme to smuggle sensitive space and military communications technology to China.

Si Chen, 33, was sentenced on Monday after she pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which restricts the export of certain goods to foreign nations, the Justice Department said in a statement cited by CNN on Tuesday.

Si Chen, a resident of Pomona, a suburb of Los Angeles, was arrested in May 2017 and has been in custody since. She also pleaded guilty to money laundering and using a forged passport, the report said.

Prosecutors say that between 2013 and 2015, Si Chen purchased and smuggled numerous sensitive items to China without the proper export license, including components used in military communications jammers and devices used for space communications.

“This defendant knowingly participated in a plot to secretly send items with military applications to China. The smuggled items could be used in a number of damaging ways, including in equipment that could jam our satellite communications,” said US Attorney Nick Hanna in a statement.

The report said that Si Chen went by several aliases, including “Chunping Ji”, for which she acquired a forged passport and rented an office in Pomona to take delivery of the export-controlled items.

From Pomona, the goods were shipped to Hong Kong and then on to China. Court documents mentioned three unindicted co-conspirators who worked with Si Chen to smuggle the items to Hong Kong.

Her case came a week after another Chinese national, Ji Chaoqun, was arrested in the US over accusations of acting as an “illegal agent” at the direction of a “high-level intelligence officer” of a provincial department of the Ministry of State Security, China’s top spy agency.

IANS

8-year boy killed in Bengal blast

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An eight-year-old boy was killed and at least nine persons were injured in a crude bomb blast in Dumdum in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday, police said.

The blast, which took place around 9 a.m., ripped through adjacent shops, shattered window panes of nearby houses and damaged the pedestrian walk, eyewitnesses said.

“A large explosion took place outside a shop in Nagerbazar area today morning. According to the probe so far, low intensity socket bombs were used in the blast,” Barrackpore Police Commissioner Rajesh Kumar Singh said.

“More explosives were used to magnify the effects of the low intensity crude bombs — parts of which ricocheted off the concrete floor and hit a terrace causing the impact of the blast to be double.

“Bibhash Gosh, an eight-year-old kid, who was injured in the blast, has succumbed at the hospital,” he said.

According to the officer, the bomb exploding on the solid surface created a tremor which caused the glass window panes of the adjacent multi-storied buildings to shatter.

“We are investigating the matter. The bomb squad of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has visited the spot. Several items including a bag has been seized from the spot and sent for forensic tests. We are still finding out the kind of explosives used in the bomb,” he added.

According to police, at least nine others, including a woman sustained injuries and have been admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital.

Trinamool Congress leader and Chairman of South Dumdum municipality Panchu Gopal Roy said the blast was targeted at him.

“I think they tried to target me. Today is October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. We all know which group was involved in Gandhiji’s killing. I will not be surprised if that same group was involved in this blast,” he said.

IANS

Karnataka unlikely to get separate flag by this Rajyotsava

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With the state government showing no interest in implementing the Kannada flag proposal — one of the pet projects of former CM Siddaramaiah — it is likely to remain only on paper this Karnataka Rajyotsava on November 1. In June 2017, an order was issued by the Kannada and Culture department to form a committee to look into the new design of the flag for Karnataka and also legalities of the state having its own flag.

Siddaramaiah had held several meetings with Kannada organisations, literary personalities, legal experts and other stakeholders for suggestions. The flag idea was approved by the State cabinet, and in March 2018, the then CM Siddaramaiah had unveiled it.

Kannada Development Authority Chairman S G Siddaramaiah told Express that former CM Siddaramaiah had sent the proposal for the flag to the Union government for final approval. “We sent it in March, but they are yet to approve it,’’ he said. Kannada and Culture Minister Jayamala said the proposal was likely to get approval soon, but did not commit to a date.

Sources from Congress said the coalition government is currently facing many challenges and hence less bothered about it. “There are many other issues, including farm loan waiver, flood and drought,’’ a source said.

In 2012, D V Sadananda Gowda had said that the bi-colour Kannada flag would be hoisted on all government buildings next to the national flag on November 1. A circular was also issued. However, it was challenged in the High Court, forcing them to withdraw the notification. When Jagadish Shettar was CM, his government gave an affidavit that there was no official state flag.

PTI

CM deny NIA reports, says plot to murder Dalai Lama not hatched in state

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Hours after the National Investigation Agency charged two terror suspects, arrested from Bengaluru recently of conspiring to kill Dalai Lama, Chief minister Kumaraswamy clarified that no such plot had been hatched in the state.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha here on Monday, Kumaraswamy said that as per the intel provided by the state police no such attempt was made in Karnataka.

The NIA, on Monday, stated that two persons, suspected to be members of a Bangladesh-based terror outfit, were the masterminds behind the planting of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at Bodh Gaya on January 19 this year. In a charge sheet filed before the Special Court in Patna on Thursday, the NIA said that the explosion was to have been carried out when the Dalai Lama and the governor of Bihar were at the Bodh Gaya temple.

On August 6 this year Adil Sheikh,29, who is believed to be a senior member of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), Bangladesh was arrested from Cantonment Railway Station and a day later the second suspect, Mohammed Jahidul Islam alias Munir Sheikh, 38, a native of Jamalpur, Bangladesh was arrested from Ramanagaram.

“The two men had played a role in planting IEDs at a kitchen set up in Bodh Gaya on January 19 this year to express solidarity with Rohingya Muslims fighting the Myanmar government and wage a war against the government of India,” the NIA statement said.

However the plot was foiled and the area secured by the police who immediately swung into action having received information regarding some suspicious objects lying near the Kalchakra Maidan, Bodh Gaya, under a generator set. During the search, the police had found two more live IEDs.

The charge sheet further states that suspect Jahidul Islam conspired with two others to carry out terror attacks in India by planting IEDs and carrying out explosions at Buddhist monuments and sites to show solidarity with the Rohingya Muslims.

“The accused met at multiple locations and carried out reconnaissance of the targets at Bodh Gaya and procured explosives and other materials to manufacture IEDs,” the NIA said.

Jahidul Islam, with the help of the other co-accused, allegedly made three IEDs and two hand grenades. The IEDs were allegedly planted by Adil Sheikh, Dilwar Hossain and Arif Hussain in Bodh Gaya. NIA had earlier established links to eight persons in the case out of whom seven were arrested. NIA is yet to arrest Arif Hussain.

PTI

Film Fest Round Up

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7th Dharamshala International Film Fest To Be Held At Mcleod Ganj From 1st Nov 2018 To 4th Nov 2018

The 7th Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) will take place from 1st Nov, 2018 to 4th Nov 2018 in the beautiful mountain town of McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama & the meeting point of a rich & cosmopolitan mix of people & cultures.

Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) is presented by White Crane Arts & Media, a trust founded by filmmakers Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam to promote contemporary cinema, art & independent media practices in the Himalayan regions of India.

The 1st ever edition of Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) was held in the year 2012. Since then, it has established itself as one of India’s leading independent film fest’s. The Dharamshala International Film Fest’s cutting-edge & eclectic programming, which includes many India premieres, and its policy of inviting as many directors as possible has made it one of the go-to events in any cinephile’s calendar. Last year, the films & side programmes at Dharamshala International (DIFF) attracted a viewership of around 6000, of which at least 60% were from out of town from places as far away as Kerala, Bangalore, Hyderabad & Mumbai. Some of India’s best-known film critics & journalists from leading media houses were on hand to cover the event.

This year, for the 3rd time in a row, the fest will take place in the peaceful environs of the Tibetan Children’s Village, a short distance from McLeod Ganj. Along with the 2 existing auditoriums at the school, this year DIFF is excited to partner with Delhi based PictureTime to set up a mobile digital theatre with state-of-the-art projection facilities at the festival venue.

Festival Director Ritu Sarin says, “We endeavor to bring a slate of unusual & trailblazing narrative, docu & short films from around the world, as well as showcasing some of the best recent Indian independent cinema, making it a rich experience for our audience.”

Fest directors Ritu Sarin & Tenzing are delighted with the way Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) has evolved over the years and are determined to consolidate & improve upon the standards set by previous editions. Ritu Sarin says, “A fest like Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF), taking place in a small town with very few resources & no cinema tradition as such, requires the support & dedication of numerous individuals & organizations, as well as interns & volunteers whose enthusiasm & passion are the engine that drives our fest’s. I am grateful to our long-term collaborators Thyssen-Bornemsiza Art Contemporary, the Himachal Pradesh Government who is supporting us through its Departments of Tourism & Language, Arts & Culture, and our many partners, including the National Film Development Corporation, PictureTime, Wishberry & Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films.

Preliminary highlights from this year’s selection of films include: Boom For Real (Sara Driver, USA, 2018), Sara Driver’s docu drama follows the pre-fame years of celebrated American artist Jean – Michael Basquiat & how New York City, the times, the people & its tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970’s & 1980’s shaped his vision, Father To Son (Hsiao Ya-Chuan, Taiwan, 2018), Hsiao Ya-Chuan’s official selection for the 47th International Film Fest Rotterdam (IFFR) takes its viewers through 2 unknown journeys of self-reconciliation, In the Intense Now (João Moreira Salles, Brazil, 2017). A Panorama selection at the 2017 Berlinale Film Festival, In the Intense Now is an immersive retelling of the Paris uprisings, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia & the Cultural Revolution in China using newsreel clips & home movies found through the late 1960’s, Little Forest (YIM Soon-Rye, South Korea, 2018), YIM Soon-Rye of The Whistleblower & Forever The Moment fame, makes her return to the celluloid silver screen with a coming-of-age story based on the 2002 Japanese manga of the same name, by Daisuke Igarashi, A Long Way Home (Luc Schaedler, Switzerland, 2018), A never-before heard or seen glimpse into the lives of 5 significant representatives of contemporary Chinese counterculture, including the famous Gao Brothers, who shed light on the social problems in their country through their own unique perspective, bravery & wit, Namme (Zaza Khalvashi, Georgia/Lithuania, 2017), Zaza Khalvashi’s art fantasy drama is Georgia’s official entry to the Oscars 2019, Inspired by Georgian literature & folklore, Namme narrates the story of 1 family’s mission to take care of a local healing water & treat fellow sick villagers with it, The Red Phallus (Tashi Gyeltshen, Bhutan, 2018), Bhutanese director Tashi Gyemtshen’s stunning debut, The Red Phallus, takes place in the gloomy & remote central Bhutan valley of Phobjika, where 16-year-old life with her widower father, a traditional painter & craftsman specialized in making wooden phalluses. Her dark secret comes back to haunt her.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (Stephen Nomura Schible, USA/Japan, 2017), An insight into the life & legacy of the legendary Japanese composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda is an intimate portrait of both the artist & the man & movingly captures the creative process.

Balekempa (Ere Gowda, India, 2018)
FIPRESCI award winner at the International Film Fest Rotterdam 2018, Balekempa tells the story of unspoken desires & relationships that cluster around the lives of Kempanna, the bangle seller & his wife set in Karnataka’s close-knit patriarchal community.

Ee.Ma.Yau (Lijo Jose Pellissery, India, 2018), Cult Kerala filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery of Angamaly Diaries fame returns with a black comedy set in the coastal village of Chellanam, Kochi.

Raghu Rai: An Unframed Portrait (Avani Rai, India/Finland, 2018), This intimate portrait of one of the world’s greatest photographers made its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Fest, Amsterdam, in Nov, 2017. The story of Raghu Rai & his India is told through the eyes of his own rebel daughter during their travels in & around Kashmir.

One of Dharamshala International Film Fest primary goals is to promote & encourage filmmaking in Himachal Pradesh. This year’s Spotlight on Himachal includes the North Indian premiere of Ridham Janve’s The Gold-Laden Sheep & the Sacred Mountain, a Gaddi-language feature film set in the Dhauladhar mountains with a cast of non-professional Gaddi shepherds. The director & his cast will present the film in person. Shimla based filmmaker Siddharth Chauhan will also present his much-lauded short film, Pashi.

Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) is proud to announce that this year, the Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) Film Fellows initiative, which was established in the year 2014, will focus specifically on up & coming filmmakers from Himachal Pradesh. This is supported by HP Government’s Department of Language, Arts & Culture. 5 filmmakers will be selected & mentored by renowned National Award-winning filmmaker Gurvinder Singh & award-winning documentary filmmaker Anupama Srinivasan.

This year, Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) is also thrilled to host the 1st ever Dharamshala-PJLF Editing Workshop. This initiative is supported by NFDC. 2 director-editor teams will be selected from across the country & mentored by internationally renowned editor Jacques Comets who co-headed the editing department at France’s leading film school, La Femis, along with editor & Artistic Director of the Kerala International Film Fest, Bina Paul & producer & script/editing mentor Olivia Stewart.

Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) has always recognized the importance of short films as a category in its own right and this year, for the 5th year in a row, filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni has curated a selection of the best of current Indian shorts. In addition, Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) is partnering with Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films to present a package of short films. The popular Dharamshala International Film Fest (DIFF) Children’s Film Programme is once again curated by Children’s Media Specialist, Monica Wahi.

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