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Henderson, Vardy ready to face Croatia in World Cup semifinal

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England’s central midfielder Jordan Henderson and striker Jamie Vardy on Tuesday attended the English squad’s last training session prior to their crucial semifinal match against Croatia in the FIFA world cup 2018

Henderson, the Liverpool City captain and midfielder, who injured his hamstring during the quarter-final match against Sweden, has recovered enough to play on England’s starting-eleven formation versus Croatia’s Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, reports Efe.

On the other hand, Leicester City striker, Vardy, who has now recovered from a groin injury suffered during the round-of-16 match versus Colombia, will probably watch the kick-off from the sidelines, on the bench, unless England’s manager Gareth Southgate requires him to jump onto the playing field. Vardy tweeted his followers a brief: “Good to be back training with the lads.”

In line with the “Three Lions” tradition, the final training session before the match took place at their Zelenogorsk headquarters, a small town located 50 km North of Saint Petersburg.

The training session was characterized by a good deal of players’ laughter and banter as England’s team faces its first semifinal in 28 years. England had won the world cup 52 years ago, in 1966.

The English team will travel to Moscow after lunch and remain at Luzhniki stadium.

(IANS)

Former higher education minister B A Moideen passes away

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Former higher education minister B A Moideen passed away following a brief illness at a hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday. He was 81.

Born to Abdul Khader and Haleema at Pejawar in Bajpe village in May 1938, Moideen, joined Congress in 1969 and held various positions in the party before getting elected to Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1978 from Bantwal assembly constituency in Dakshina Kannada district.

The Congress party denied him the ticket which forced him to joint Janata Dal in the later days. He won from Bantwal constituency in 1978 and has served as MLC between 1990-2002. He was minister for higher education between 1995-99. He was conferred with the Devaraj Urs Award instituted by the State Government in 2016.

(Agencies)

One killed as heavy rains lash coastal, western Maharashtra

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One person was killed and normal life disrupted in many areas on Saturday as, for the second time this week, torrential rains lashed the Mumbai suburbs, and adjoining districts of Thane, Raigad and Palghar, officials said.

At least five picnickers went missing and another 30 were rescued from a picturesque hilly picnic spot, Chinchoti Falls in Palghar district.

An aerial search with helicopters and a NDRF team from here have launched a rescue operation to trace the missing persons.

Usha Sawant, 40, was electrocuted and her daughter Kumari, 5, injured following a short-circuit in their house in PMGP Colony in suburban Mankhurd.

The Central Railway suburban and long distance train traffic was again hit after at least three signal poles fell down in the rains.

It diverted two trains on the Mumbai-Pune sector and cancelled three services due to the downpour which continued till evening.

Though streams and water bodies adjoining the Western Railway were swollen, there was no major impact on the train traffic.

Large parts of towns like Palghar, Boisar, Dahanu, Saphale, Virar, Vasai, Kalyan, Ambernath, Badlapur, Vidyavihar, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar, Karjat, Pali and surrounding villages experienced flooding or heavy waterlogging, throwing traffic movement out of gear.

The busy Mumbai-Goa Highway was blocked for over three hours due to landslides or tree crashes resulting in massive traffic jams over several kilometres, and peoples’ weekend getaway plans went haywire.

A majority of the big and small rivers in western and coastal parts of the state including the Savitri River, were overflowing, with flood waters running into surrounding villages.

The famed hill stations of Matheran (Raigad) and Mahabaleshwar (Satara), Khandala (Pune) received heavy rains and over 10,000 people jostled in traffic snarls to visit the Bhushi Dam in neighbouring twin-hill station of Lonavala which received 160 mm rains.

While Matheran and Karjart in Raigad received around 190 mm and 150 mm respectively, Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani 160 mm, Murbad in Thane was inundated under 220 mm, and Wada in Palghar with 230 mm.

The IMD said most places in the Palghar, Thane and Raigad received an average of around 110-200 mm rains in the past 24 hours.

It has also forecast heavy to very heavy rains in Mumbai and adjoining districts over the next 24-48 hours, besides in places like Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nanded, Akola, Wardha, Chandrapure and the coastal Konkan.

Congress facing alliance blues in several states before 2019 polls

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The Congress party’s pursuit to stich a larger anti-BJP alliance for 2019 is already facing challenges from quarters within. This week the party was confronted with massive rumblings within its West Bengal unit where the state leadership is bitterly divided over alliance options.

While one section of the West Bengal Congress led by party chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is advocating a pact with the opposition left front in the state, another camp led by Congress secretary and local MLA A local MLA Mainul Haque has batted for an alliance with the ruling TMC.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had to meet all state leaders individually earlier this week to dissipate the crisis amid possibilities of Haque and some of his supporters switching over to the Mamata Banerjee led TMC, should Gandhi decide to go with the Left.

“We will not quit the Congress and will await the decision of Congress President Rahul Gandhi before taking any decision,” Haque told.
He felt no vote transfer to the Congress happened in the last assembly poll after the party aligned with CPI-M. “It will be suicidal to go with the CPI(M) again as it has no standing in the state anymore today,” he said.

Chowdhury, however, said his aim is to strengthen the party and all should work towards it.

“Some legislators have left the party and if some more are inclined to leave, no one can stop them.”

In the Delhi unit of the Congress too, the state party leadership has categorically ruled out any alliance with the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) even though Gandhi is yet to make his mind known.
Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken has accused the AAP of being “hand-in-glove” with the BJP and having allied with the RSS through the 2011 Anna Hazare movement to unseat the then Congress-led UPA.

Similar is the situation in party-ruled Punjab, where the state leadership is totally against any truck with the AAP.

In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, although the Congress is trying to forge ties with the BSP to prevent the division of anti-BJP vote, early reports do not signal much of a success.

Even for Madhya Pradesh, not all Congress leaders are endorsing an alliance with the BSP.

Former CWC member Anil Shastri has said that any pact with the BSP would prove “suicidal” for the party in Madhya Pradesh. Shastri questions the rationale behind the alliance citing the meager BSP presence in the state assembly.

The lobby advocating the pact in MP, however, says the Mayawati-led outfit has enough of a vote share to swing the poll.

Internal discussions are on in the party around questions such as whether to ally with the BSP, to what extent to ally or not to ally at all and go alone.

The party has made it clear that it will not hamper the interests of its state leaders while forging alliances across the country.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala has said that the party will not go for any alliance at the cost of its leaders in states.

In Rajasthan too, PCC chief Sachin Pilot is not in favour of an alliance with the BSP and wants the Congress to go it alone.

The BSP, however, has already announced its plans of going with the INLD in Haryana in 2019 general elections.

In Uttar Pradesh, however, the Congress is ready for being a part of the “mahagathbandhan” but is weary of the intentions of the SP and BSP, who don’t want the Congress to be given a bigger share in the seat-sharing in 2019.

The Congress is more or less settled in Karnataka with JDS, where it has a broad seat-sharing understanding with its new-found ally.

But, rumblings with its old partner RJD are brewing over the inclusion of JDU in the ‘mahagathbandhan’ again.

Breaking faith barriers, Shia Muslim artists create Hindu wedding mandaps

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For centuries, their creations have been used in sombre processions to commemorate and reconstruct the narrative of the 7th century Battle of Karbala in Islamic history. But now, these artists, mostly Shia Muslims, make Hindu wedding mandaps, replicating the design of the shrine of Prophet’s grandson Imam Hussain Ali, who was killed in that war.

Hundreds of couples in the country have exchanged wedding vows under these mandaps, representing the replicas of the complex, housing one of the oldest mosques in the world and a holy site of Shia Muslims in the Iraqi city of Karbala. These replicas, also called tazia, which otherwise Shia mourners use during their annual Muharram processions, are also used for decorating venues of birthday parties.

The art of tazia making arrived in India from Central Asia and is said to have flourished during Mughal rule. One of these artisans, Mohammad Bilal Azhimuddin, speaking to IANS, said they were in Mumbai recently to design a Hindu marriage mandap at the Hotel Grand Hyatt there.

“Our clients wanted us to design something exquisite, which we did,” he said, adding that caste and creed never come into the picture.

“Our designs have been used in Hindu weddings as well as in birthday parties of children. What clients love is the exquisitely adorned minarets which have won millions of hearts and are making waves across the nation,” he said.

Many art connoisseurs have also decorated their residences, offices, theme parties and corporate events with tazia-inspired minarets and lamps, he added.

Basically, these artisans make tazias during Muharram processions. As this symbolizes sorrow to their community, they never charge any price for it. “It is a service to God,” says Mohammad Bilal Azhimuddin, who learned this craft from his father who was known as Azhimuddin Bhai (brother) in community circles.

Meanwhile, their socio-economic standards have witnessed a sudden rise as they started taking up commercial projects.

The fortunes of this tazia community changed when a leading designer of the country, Geetanjali Kaswaliwal, owner of globally reputed Anantaya which is committed to the development of ideas using local crafts evolved over centuries, watched a tazia procession for the first time in Jaipur. Anantaya is known for showcasing Unesco award-winning luxury cutting-edge objects, furniture, textiles and accessories inspired by the culturally-rich artisanal world.

She was moved by the attractive presence of tazias on the streets. Soon after, when her husband’s firm, AKFD Studio, got the order for making markers for the entire city during the Jaipur Virasat Heritage Festival 2007, she thought of using tazia-inspired designs for the city.

“We wanted to make something sculptural for this event to ensure guests bask in the glory of a cultural craft. We created a huge structure of tazia. The task was commissioned to tazia artisans who were adept with the artistry associated with it. The project was headed by Azhimuddin bhai. With nine kids, he was keen to work with us and hence we had their designs and skills which helped them earn name, fame and revenue also,” she told IANS.

It was more like a pure engagement with these artisans who created impressive spheres. Even the tazia artisans enjoyed doing something innovative, said Kaswaliwal.

Later, she brought tazia-inspired designs to her house while celebrating birthday parties of her daughters. Instead of plastic balloons, tazia artisans decorated the venue with handmade craft. The big balloons and lamps were quite authentic which caught the attention of all those present.

Kaswaliwal ensured this art was taken to the next level and asked the artisans to decorate the wedding mandap of her sister’s marriage solemnized in New Delhi in 2009.

“They did it with their heart and soul and the response was amazing. Everybody was talking of these designs and this is how their art gained wings and reached heights from where there was no looking back,” she added.

“No one in our family had any resistance anywhere when my sister’s wedding mandap was being designed by Muslim artisans. They loved their integrity and engagement with which they did the decor,” she recalled.

There is another positive side to the story. The designs crafted by tazia artisans is via paper and bamboo which gives a strong message of sustainability and ecological balance.

When asked about remuneration, Bilal said it’s the size of the mandap and party venue which defines their remuneration and the number of people also depends on the quantum of work.

“Seeing our work, we have received orders to design the Rajasthan Heritage Week Festival. Also, we did the design in 2009 when Art Institute of Chicago delegates were in India. We used bamboo-made sets which were praised a lot,” said Bilal.

“What we love is the fact that people of all castes and communities admire our work — and tell others about it. What else does a grassroots artisan want?” Bilal asked with a smile.

Rahul moves to career-high third position in T20I rankings

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Top-order batsman Lokesh Rahuls scores of 70, 101 not out, six and 19 have made him India’s highest-ranked batsman in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) as he moved up nine places to a career-high third position in the ICC rankings.

Opener Rohit Sharma in 11th rank (up by two places) and captain Virat Kohli in 12th rank (down by four places) are the next highest-ranked India batsmen.

Meanwhile, Australia opener Aaron Finch became the first player in the history of T20Is to break the 900-point mark as he moved up three places to finish the tri-series in Harare against Pakistan and Zimbabwe as the top-ranked batsman in the shortest format of the game.

Finch, who captained Australia to the final, had touched the 900-point mark following his record-breaking knock of 172 (76b, 10×6, 16×4) against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 3.

The 31-year-old from Victoria eventually finished the T20Is (also comprising a one-off against England at Edgbaston) in number-one position on 891 points.

Finch had started the T20Is in fourth position on 763 points and a tour aggregate of 391 runs not only helped him leapfrog Babar Azam, Colin Munro and Glen Maxwell, but also earned him 128 points.

In the latest player rankings, which also takes into account India’s 2-0 and 2-1 series win against Ireland and England, respectively, Finch leads Pakistan’s left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman by 45 points.

Like Finch, Fakhar was in stellar form in Harare, when he totaled 278 runs in the series, including a match-winning 91 against Australia after Pakistan had slumped to two for two after being set a victory target of 184.

Fakhar’s string of good scores, that also included knocks of 61, six, 47 and 73, have helped him vault 44 places to claim second position. He has now become Pakistan’s highest-ranked batsman after Babar Azam slipped from first to fifth due to his absence because of an injury.

Australia’s D’Arcy Short, Jason Roy of England and Solomon Mire have also achieved career-best rankings following the latest update.

Short has broken into the top-10 for the first time in his career in 10th position, moving up 18 places. Roy has gained 19 places and is now in 15th spot, while Mire has rocketed 202 places to claim 25th position – seven places behind Hamilton Masakadza.

In the bowling table, Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and Shadab Khan of Pakistan have retained the top two positions, but there have been a number of movements down the order with Australia’s Andrew Tye and Billy Stanlake, and England’s trio of Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett and David Willey achieving career-high rankings.

Tye has risen 41 places to seventh in the latest rankings after taking 12 wickets in Harare, Rashid has claimed ninth position after moving up four places, Plunkett has gained 14 places and is now in 11th spot, Willey has risen 12 places to 15th and Stanlake’s seven wickets have given him a leap of 60 places that has put him in 19th position.

Other bowlers to head in the right direction include Mohammad Amir (12th, up by six places), Hardik Pandya (29th, up by five places), Mohammad Nawaz (32nd, up by nine places), Faheem Ashraf (33rd, up by 21 places), Kuldeep Yadav (34th, up by 41 places) and Ashton Agar (45th, up by 39 places).

There is no change in the top three all-rounders, with Maxwell leading the field. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi is second, while Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh is third.

Meanwhile, in the ICC T20I Team Rankings, Pakistan have retained the top position with their tri-series victory while India have overtaken Australia to take second place after clinching their three-match series against England 2-1.

The top three sides are now separated by 10 points, while three points separate fourth-ranked England and seventh-ranked West Indies.

Team rankings remain crucial as Australia plus the next nine highest-ranked sides will qualify directly for the 16-team ICC Men’s World T20 2020 in Australia.

The remaining six sides will qualify from the 14-team ICC Men’s World T20 Qualifier 2019, which will be participated in by the six sides from the ICC World T20 2016, which are not in the Top 10 of the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings as on 31 December 2018, alongside the eight qualifiers from the regional finals.

AMMA could have split on Dileep issue: Mohanlal

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 AMMA chief superstar Mohanlal on Monday said the actors’ body could have split if accused actor Dileep had not been removed following the kidnapping of a Malayalam actress. He denied there was any male dominance in the organization.

Facing the media for the first time after he took over as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes, Mohanlal said: “Had a decision then not been taken, maybe AMMA would have even split,” said Mohanlal. Dileep was removed from other film bodies too.

The decision to oust Dileep was taken in 2017 at an emergency executive meeting held at actor Mammootty’s house, following the February kidnapping in Kochi. “At that time it was one that had to be taken.”

Dileep is now out on bail after languishing in a Kerala jail for 85 days.

In June, another row over Dileep started after it surfaced that in the first meeting of AMMA after Mohanlal took over, Dileep’s membership was reinstated.

It led to four leading actresses, including the victim, quitting AMMA and another 14 actresses announcing their decision against joining AMMA that “lacks fairness”, while three sought an emergency meeting to discuss the revocation of the suspension.

Elaborating on the current row over the decision of the annual general body meeting to revoke the suspension of Dileep, Mohanlal said that on that day not a single member was against taking Dileep back.

“We are bound by the decision of the general body and since none opposed to taking back Dileep, it was done.

“But now things have changed. As a furor broke out and Dileep himself sent a letter saying he is not interested to be a member of AMMA, Dileep is not a member now.”

However, he added: “Maybe, once his case is over and if he is exonerated, he might return.”

On the quick departures of some AMMA members (who are all key members of the newly formed Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), the actor said only two — Remya Nambisan and Bhavana have resigned.

Denying any form of male dominance in the organization, Mohanlal said: “Any member of ours can stand up and ask any question. None of them was present at the meeting and also it’s not right to say that members were prevented to contest to the AMMA executive.”

Mohanlal clarified that the victim was given all the necessary emotional support by AMMA. “I had asked her to join a stage show in Muscat and told her not to remain aloof, but she did not accept the invite.”

He said it was unfortunate that at the height of the controversy there were demands that AMMA should be wound up.

“AMMA has 484 members of which 248 are males. It gives out a monthly pension of Rs 5,000 each to 143 members and provides medical insurance to all the members. Besides we are doing a lot of charity work.

“So this is a body formed for our welfare. Actors from several other states have said that this is something unique. Such a body does not exist in any other state on this scale,” added Mohanlal.

Mohanlal said AMMA has also accepted the demand for calling an urgent meeting by three prominent actresses — Revathy Asha Kelunni, Padmapriya Janakiraman, and A. Parvathy. “It can take place either July end or early August.

Jashn E Eid

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Newly elected MP from Rajya Sabha Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain and his wife Mehnaz organised Jashn E Eid an evening of Sufi Music to commemorate his nomination to Rajya Sabha as well as Jashn E Eid, The programme was attended by VIPs from various section of the society, Senior Congress leader Mr. Mallikarjuna Kharge, Mr. C K Jafer Shariff, C M Ibrahim Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao Baba Siddiqui attend the function.

China, India clinch deal to reduce tariffs on Indian medicines, anti-cancer drugs

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China on Monday said it has clinched a deal with India on the reduction of import duties on Indian medicines including anti-cancer drugs, which are highly expensive in the country.

Beijing, which earlier announced a cut on import duties on over 8,500 Indian items, said it will relax taxes on more goods from India and other countries as its trade war with the US heats up.

As discussed between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Wuhan summit in April, China has granted more access to Indian pharmaceutical companies.

“We believe the expansion of imports and slashing of tariffs on anti-cancer medicines will usher in great opportunities for India and other countries in the region,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

She referred to a recent popular Chinese movie about a leukemia patient, who imports and sells less expensive generic anticancer drugs from India for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in China.

“There is a popular movie ‘Dying to Survive’ about zero tariff imposition on anti-cancer medicines in China,” Hua added.

She was responding to a question about India’s decision to cut levies on 3,142 items from the member countries of Asia Pacific Trade Agreement. China is a signatory to the accord.

“According to the outcome of the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement, we agreed to slash tariffs by 33 per cent… So the slashing of tariffs by the Indian side is also part of this negotiation,” Hua said.

She added that China will also impose a negotiated agreed tariff rate on relevant items in accordance with its regulations.

“We have decided to expand our imports as well as opening up. This is what China needs in order to uphold the free trade and work against protectionism. It is also in keeping up with our own pace of development and opening up,” Hua said while referring to the ongoing trade war between China and the US.

The two countries slapped tariffs on each other’s products to the tune of $70 billion last week.

SC reaffirms death sentence to four in Nirbhaya case

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The Supreme Court on Monday reaffirmed its verdict upholding the death sentence to four convicts who gang-raped and murdered Nirbhaya.

Dismissing the plea for the recall of the May 5, 2017 verdict upholding the death sentence, Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Ashok Bhushan said that the petition lacked grounds for a review.

Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Bhushan said the review petition must show an error resulting in a miscarriage of justice. He said none of the petitions by the convicts pointed out to an error leading to miscarriage of justice.

A young professional, Nirbhaya, as she came to be known, was brutally sexually assaulted in a moving bus by five men — one of whom committed suicide in prison — on December 16, 2012.

The crime triggered nationwide outrage. Nirbhaya died in a Singapore hospital.

The court also said that the hearing on the appeals against the Delhi High Court judgment confirming the death sentence lasted 38 days as the lawyers for the four convicts were given full opportunity to state their case.

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