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Filmmaker and BJP loyalist Pahlaj Nihalani appointed new Censor Board chief

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Pahlaj Nihalani. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Pahlaj Nihalani. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

New Delhi: Bollywood film producer Pahlaj Nihalani, also brother-in-law of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister Shatrughan Sinha, is the new chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Days after it accused UPA of politicizing the Censor Board, the BJP-ruled government chose to follow its predecessor and pack the panel with those who have links with the saffron party.

Among those appointed on the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) include an RSS ideologue, a BJP general secretary, the BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Howrah and a playwright who has scripted a movie on PM Narendra Modi.

The government appointed him within a week after Leela Samson resigned from the post accusing the government, politicians and religious groups of “coercing” the board to give certification to films.

Nihalani will hold the post in an honorary capacity from Monday for a period of three years or “until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated.

Known for producing several blockbusters, including Bollywood star Govinda’s 1992 mega-hit “Aankhen”, Nihalani also produced a full-length music video titled “Har Ghar Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi” ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The government also appointed nine new members as the posts fell vacant after the sitting members resigned. Almost all new members are associated with the BJP.

The newly appointed members will continue to hold the post for a period of three years or until further orders, the ministry stated.

Telugu actor-turned-filmmaker Jeevitha is one among the nine members. The actor, who landed in a controversy after getting embroiled in a check bounce case a few years ago, had joined the BJP ahead of the general election.

Former national secretary of the BJP Vani Tripathi Tikoo, George Baker, who contested the Lok Sabha polls from Howrah in West Bengal on a BJP ticket and Ramesh Patange, who has links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, have all been appointed members of the CBFC.

(Agencies)

Dalits angry as Bihar court acquits 24 accused in 1999 massacre

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jehanabad-massacre

Patna: Family members of the Dalits who were killed in 1999 in Bihar’s Arwal district, allegedly by activists of outlawed Ranvir Sena, are disheartened over the release of all the accused.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Raghvendra Kumar Singh of Jehanabad district civil court on 13 January acquitted 24 accused in Shankarbigha massacre case citing lack of evidence against them.

Etwaria Devi, in her late 50s, lost her husband Ganga Paswan and another relative Nanhu Paswan in the massacre of 22 Dalits on January 25, 1999, at Shankar Bigha village.

The surviving family members are not only upset and sad over the verdict, they are also angry and feel there is nobody to do them justice.

“There is no one to do justice to the poor like us. We have only pain and misery in our life,” said Etwaria Devi in a choked voice.

Another resident of the village, Rajmani Devi, whose husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law were killed in the massacre, said: “Who cares for justice to the poor? We have lost hope. It is bad news for us that all accused were acquitted.”

Both of them said they have no hope left as money and muscle power of the powerful feudal forces were responsible for the gruesome incident.

Lakshman Ram, a village elderly, said most of the villagers were unhappy and angry over the court acquittal.

“The villagers are not ready to accept that the accused have been let off…,” said villager Ram, who also had lost a relative.

Outlawed Ranvir Sena men had allegedly killed 22 Dalits Jan 25, 1999, in Shankar Bigha village in Jehanabad. The Sena was a private army of landed upper caste Bhumihars.

The victims were landless agricultural workers and were all Dalits.

Police had filed an FIR against 29 accused in the case.

Shankar Bigha is located near Lakshmanpur-Bathe where the Ranbir Sena killed 61 agricultural workers belonging to backward communities in December 1997.

(With inputs from IndiaToday)

Indian-American Frank Islam receives Martin Luther King Jr Award

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frank_islam

by Lalit K Jha

Washington: An eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist has been presented with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award in recognition of his contribution to the legacy of the civil rights pioneer through his efforts in international service and civil engagement.

Azamgarh-born Frank Islam was given the annual award yesterday by the president of the Memorial Foundation, Harry Johnson, for working to keep the “dream alive.”

Islam said he was proud and humbled to have received the award. He noted there is an “indelible connection” between Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi.

“King visited India in 1954, studied the non-violent movement and patterned the protests he led after those of Gandhi. As an Indian-American, I am proud and humbled to receive this award which honours the memory of one great man directly and another indirectly,” he said.

“King and Gandhi have been beacons to me in my personal life and charitable and philanthropic involvement. I have given to numerous causes to support humanitarian efforts and to advance the interests of the under-served in the world,” Islam said during his speech.

King Peggy (Peggieliene Bartel) was honoured with Dorothy I Height Leadership Award.

The annual awards ceremony was started in 1991 to honour the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr and the legendary Dorothy I Height and their impacts both at home and abroad.

Born to a peasant father, Islam moved to US when he was 15 years old, with less than USD 500 in his pocket, to become an entrepreneur. He bought a struggling IT company in Maryland in 1993 with USD 50,000 raised by mortgaging his house.

Islam sold of his IT company in 2007 to spend the rest of his life in philanthropy, both in India and the US, and lends his palatial house for fund raising activities — for both political and charitable events.

He is a board member of several think-tanks, academic and cultural organisations including Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts, the Brookings Institute and US Institute of Peace.

(PTI)

Kiran Bedi BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Delhi; hoarding vandalised outside party office

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Kiran Bedi

New Delhi: Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who joined the BJP less than a week ago, will be the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the Feb 7 Delhi assembly polls, taking on her former anti-corruption stir colleague Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

She will contest from Krishna Nagar seat in east Delhi. It was earlier held by Harsh Vardhan, the chief ministerial candidate in the December 2013 elections and now a union minister.

Making the announcement after a meeting of the party parliamentary board, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah expressed confidence that the decision will result in the party getting full majority.

“The BJP parliamentary board has decided that the party will fight the forthcoming polls under leadership of Kiran Bedi. Kiranji will also be the chief ministerial candidate,” Shah said at a late night press conference.

“I feel the name that the BJP has decided will meet the peoples’ expectations and our decision will definitely lead to victory,” he added.

Shah said that workers were feeling enthused since Bedi took membership of the party. “It has raised their morale,” he said.

Bedi joined the BJP Jan 15.

Shah dismissed suggestions that there were differences among party leaders over Bedi’s projection as the chief ministerial candidate.

“Every worker is one on this,” he said.

Hoarding Vandalised

Hours after the announcement, however, a hoarding of Bedi outside the BJP office here was vandalised.

Some vandals had cut out the faces of Bedi and party president Satish Upadhyay from a hoarding that was put up outside the office of BJP’s state unit at 14, Pandit Pant Marg following the announcement.

The banner showed Upadhyay and Bedi on one side and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah on the other with the lines “Kiran Bedi ji ka Bhajapa me hardik swagat hain” (A hearty welcome to Kiran Bedi in BJP) written in the centre.

The incident appears to be giving credibility to some media reports that the decision to opt for Bedi — considered to be an “outsider” — over other senior leaders has divided the party, with one section overjoyed and the other left sulking.

The BJP’s decision on naming Bedi, 65, as chief ministerial candidate came after the party leadership felt that they needed a credible local face to take on Kejriwal, who has strong anti-corruption credentials. AAP finished close to the BJP in the 2013 assembly poll.

The party’s decision came just two days before the end of nomination process for the Feb 7 polls to the 70-member assembly.

Bedi has been an anti-corruption activist, a former tennis player and her innings in Delhi Police is still widely remembered in the city. She initiated prison reforms in the Tihar Central Jail when she was heading it.

She has won the Ramon Magsaysay award, an honour she shares with Kejriwal. Both were part of the anti-corruption agitation led by Gandhian Anna Hazare.

Since her induction in the BJP, Bedi has talked about her priorities — as a likely candidate to lead the party’s campaign.

Asked about the change in BJP’s stance of not projecting a chief ministerial candidate, Shah said the party had also projected chief ministerial candidates in states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

“There is an atmosphere. A decision is taken after taking into account all factors… the political factors,” he said.

Before it took decision to induct Bedi and project a local face, the BJP in Delhi appeared to bank mainly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Answering a query about Bedi being an “outsider”, Shah said that the party had provided platform to people from various fields and they had delivered successfully.

“The decision was taken with consensus. It has support of all,” he said.

Shah said the party would continue to have a tie-up with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Delhi.

On Bedi, he said: “She has lived in Delhi throughout her life. She is a well-known name in the fight against corruption and in service of people.”

Answering a query, he said the decision to field Bedi from Krishna Nagar, a “traditional seat” of the party, was taken so that she could devote time to campaign in all the seats.

(IANS)

CCB sleuths take terror suspects to Bhatkal, search their homes

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Bhatkal

Bhatkal: The four youths from Bhatkal, who were arrested recently on alleged terror charges, were on Monday brought to Bhatkal by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) to “collect evidence”.

The team, headed by Assistant Commissioner Omkaraiah, went to the house of arrested Dr. Syed Ismail Afaq and Abdus Saboor in the Tengengundi Cross area.

The team also reportedly visited the house of another youth Afeef Mota and questioned him. However, he was not picked up. The team is also said to have visited the Tengengundi port. The team, comprising four officials, reached the city at 4.30 pm. They did not speak to the media.

Meanwhile, Home Minister KJ George has claimed that the Bangalore city police have not framed anyone in the four terror suspects’ arrest. “The case is under investigation and we cannot reveal more details at this stage. He clarified the Bangalore city police have followed the standard proce dure while raiding the house from where the explosives were seized in Bhatkal. “Our police have arrested the people involved in terror activities. We have not framed anybody in the case. The charge sheet will reveal their role in a few days,” George said.

His statement came, after allegations of police framing the youths were made by prime accused Dr. Syed Ismail Afaq’s defense counsel Advocate Sultan Beary recently at a press conference.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner M N Reddi said that they had not zeroed in on any organisation responsible for the Church Street blast, but claimed that the investigation was on the right track.

"King of Sports" F. Samraj turns 75

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Bengaluru: St. Germain High School Sunday celebrated their “King of Sports” Mr. F. Samraj’s 75th birthday here at the Karnataka State Billiards Association.

More than 500 former students attend the birthday celebrations of Mr. Samraj, a former physical education teacher at the school from 1975 to 2006.

Before joining St. Germains, he had served the Indian Army from 1954 to 1975. He was paied glorious tributes for his commitment towards the students in training them to the highest standards in physical fitness.

From L-R: Rizwan Asad,

From L-R: Rizwan Asad, Arif Ali, F. Samraj, M M Shakeel.

He was known for his simplicity, love and his famous quotes. He is always dressed in his traditional white dress, white shoes and his trademark maroon blazer. Under him, many stalwarts have been trained, in various field like cricket, hockey, footbal, gymnastics and atheltics.

Mr. Samraj is instrumental in conducting mini olympics floodlights sports meet in the school, which was unique and still talked about.

He was a known disciplner, and never let things go out of hand, and was a tough task master, when it came to training in various fields and he was feared and was also loved the most.

His birthday was celebarted and feliciated by one and all. Mr. Samraj, will live in our hearts, and whatever discipline, you have taught us, will always be with us. We thank you, for whatever you have made us today. May you live long.

Kashmiri Pandits protest to commemorate 25 years of their exile

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Kashmiri Pandits

Srinagar: A group of Kashmiri Pandits Monday staged a protest in Srinagar to commemorate the 25 years of their migration from Kashmir.

The protesting group urged the regional and federal governments to issue a white paper roadmapping their return to the Kashmir valley.

“We are holding a bigger protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to highlight our problems. Since we belong to Kashmir which is our homeland, we decided to hold a symbolic protest here also,” Vinod Pandit said.

The chairman of the all parties migrant coordination committee (APMCC), told reporters: “It was on this day in 1990 that a forced exodus of Kashmiri Pandits began.”

Thousands of Pandits left Kashmir in 1990 when infamous Jagmoham Malhotra was sent by New Delhi as the governor of the region to contain the eruption of armed insurgency against India’s rule.

(With inputs from IANS)

Israel attempts to cut ICC funding in retaliation for Gaza inquiry

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Palestinians who fled their home due to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip in July and August 2014 hold on life amid the debris of destroyed buildings in cold weather conditions in Khan Yunis on January 8,2015. Anadolu/Abed Rahim Khatib

Palestinians who fled their home due to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip in July and August 2014 hold on life amid the debris of destroyed buildings in cold weather conditions in Khan Yunis on January 8,2015. Anadolu/Abed Rahim Khatib

by Al-Akhbar

Israel is lobbying member-states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to cut funding for the tribunal in response to its launch of a preliminary inquiry into possible war crimes in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, officials said on Sunday.

ICC prosecutors said on Friday they would examine “in full independence and impartiality” crimes that may have occurred in these Palestinian territories since June 13, 2014. This allows the court to delve into the Israeli assault on Gaza in July and August that killed more than 2,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 72 Israelis, most of them soldiers.

The decision came after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in the absence of peace talks and against strong opposition from Israel and the United States, requested ICC membership, which will come into effect on April 1.

Israel, which like the United States does not belong to the ICC, hopes to dent funding for the court that is drawn from the 122 member-states in accordance with the size of their economies, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday.

“We will demand of our friends in Canada, in Australia and in Germany simply to stop funding it,” he told Israel Radio.

“This body represents no one. It is a political body,” he said. “There are a quite a few countries — I’ve already taken telephone calls about this — that also think there is no justification for this body’s existence.”

He said he would raise the matter with visiting Canadian counterpart John Baird on Sunday.

Another Israeli official said that a similar request was sent to Germany, traditionally one of the court’s strongest supporters, and would also be made to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is separately visiting Jerusalem and whose nation is the largest contributor to the ICC.

Meanwhile, Hamas on Saturday welcomed the ICC inquiry and said it was prepared to provide material for complaints against the Zionist state.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Saturday the group appreciated the move.

“What is needed now is to quickly take practical steps in this direction and we are ready to provide (the court) with thousands of reports and documents that confirm the Zionist enemy has committed horrible crimes against Gaza and against our people,” he said in a statement.

The US State Department, echoing Israel’s stances, said on Friday that it strongly disagreed with the move. The United States has argued that Palestine is not a state and therefore not eligible to join the ICC.

“We strongly disagree with the ICC prosecutor’s action,” spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a statement. “The place to resolve the differences between the parties is through direct negotiation, not unilateral actions by either side.”

An initial ICC inquiry could lead to war crimes charges against Israel, whether relating to the recent Gaza war or its 47-year-long occupation of the West Bank. It also occupied Gaza from 1967 to 2005.

ICC membership also exposes the Palestinians to prosecution, possibly for rocket attacks on Israeli targets by armed groups operating out of Gaza.

The ICC, the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal, is the court of last resort for its 122 member states, aiming to hold the powerful accountable for the most heinous crimes when national authorities are unable or unwilling to act.

But the ICC has struggled over its first decade, completing just three cases and securing two convictions. Critics say it has been vulnerable to political pressure and opposition from non-members the United States, China and Russia.

(AFP, Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

Freedom of speech: Long-time presenter Jim Clancy leaves CNN after ‘anti-Israel’ Twitter rant

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Jim Clancy

by RT

Veteran US TV journalist Jim Clancy has abruptly left the international news broadcaster after 34 years, following a seemingly tangential Twitter argument over Charlie Hebdo that escalated to a verbal war between Clancy and pro-Israel social media users.

“Jim Clancy is no longer with CNN. We thank him for more than three decades of distinguished service, and wish him nothing but the best,” said a terse statement from the Atlanta-headquartered network, which had sent Clancy as a reporter to Beirut, London, and Berlin before making him a senior anchor and contributor.

Although neither Clancy nor CNN revealed the reasons for the departure, almost all media outlets connected it with a somewhat incoherent Twitter spat that began in the wake of the fatal attacks on Charlie Hebdo, the satirical French magazine.

“The cartoons NEVER mocked the Prophet. They mocked how the COWARDS tried to distort his word. Pay attention,” tweeted Clancy on January 7 – from an account that has since been deleted – referring to the magazine’s editorial output.

The ironically-named anonymous pro-Israeli blogger Elder of Ziyon, and Oren Kessler, a Jewish-American Middle East analyst, both piped in with comments contradicting Clancy, saying that there had been explicitly anti-religious cartoons, and reminding the journalist that the magazine had been previously targeted by Islamists.

The debate then took an odd turn, with Clancy tweeting “Hasbara” – the name for Israel’s policy of spreading its message through mass media.

“This is great, a pro-Israel voice try [sic] to convince us that cartoonists were really anti-Muslim, and that’s why they were attacked. FALSE. These accounts are part of a campaign to do PR for Israel(including “Jews Making News”) but not HR (Human Rights.),” read one tweet.

Despite being met with incomprehension, Clancy then mysteriously tweeted “It’s called satire” before launching into a series of general anti-Israeli comments.

Several included mentions of Israeli officials being tried at the International Criminal Court, as well as Israeli settlements – a subject Clancy has covered extensively.

Perhaps the most offensive and telling tweet read “It’s my Friday night” – this was actually a Wednesday – and said “the Hasbara team need to pick on some cripple on the edge of the herd.”

The seemingly unprovoked outpouring sparked the ire of the Ruderman Family Foundation, a Jewish disabled people’s foundation.

Its head, Jay Ruderman, wrote an open letter to CNN, calling Clancy’s remarks “appalling” and asking why “in this day and age a senior anchor at CNN, a world leader in the media, would use a word such as ‘cripple,’ which is a derogatory term for people with disabilities.”

More and more media outlets picked up on the story, and Clancy first deleted several of the more inflammatory posts, and then eventually his account. However, screenshots of the tweets had been saved by Gawker and several other outlets.

By Friday, Clancy’s biography had been taken off the CNN website, and the journalist wrote a goodbye letter, saying “CNN has been a family to my own family,” and thanking it for providing “great adventures and achievements.”

Mali declared free of Ebola

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West African country says no new cases of infections have been registered after 42-day period signaling end of outbreak.

The outbreak has killed more than 8,400 people, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia [AFP]

The outbreak has killed more than 8,400 people, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia [AFP]

by Al Jazeera

Mali’s government and the United Nations have declared the West African nation free of Ebola following a 42-day period without a new case of the deadly virus.

“I declare on this day, January 18, 2015, the end of the end of the Ebola epidemic in Mali,” Ousmane Koné said in a statement in which he thanked the country’s health workers and international partners for their work to halt the outbreak.

The country “had come out” of the epidemic, confirmed Ibrahima Soce Fall, the head of the Malian office of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).

Countries must report no new cases for 42 days – or two incubation periods of 21 days – to be declared Ebola-free.

Mali recorded seven deaths caused by the Ebola outbreak that began just over a year ago

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) data the worst epidemic of the viral haemorrhagic fever on record has killed more than 8,400 people, mostly in neighbouring Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

At least 21,296 people have so far been infected with the virus, the WHO has said,

Mali’s last infected patient recovered and left hospital early last month. At one point health officials had been monitoring more than 300 contact cases.

Mali became the sixth West African country to record a case of Ebola when a two-year-old girl from Guinea died in October. It was close to being declared Ebola free in November before a second wave of infections.

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