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Archives for May 2015

17 injured in train blast in West Bengal

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kolkata-blast

Kolkata: Seventeen people were injured in a low intensity bomb blast on a passenger train in West Bengal on Tuesday, railway sources said.

Seven of the injured have been hospitalised after the explosion, which took place at 3.55 a.m. on the Sealdah-Krishnagar local of Eastern Railway between Titagarh and Barrackpore station.

A railway spokesman told IANS the low intensity bomb blast took place following an altercation and scuffle between anti-social who had boarded the train.

Two trains were cancelled as train movement was hit following the incident.

(IANS)

IPL: Warner, Henriques guide Sunrisers to five-run win over Kings XI

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warner

Hyderabad: Leading from the front, skipper David Warner struck a decent knock, while his bowlers bowled economically, picking up wickets at regular intervals to beat Kings XI Punjab by 5 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Monday.

With the win, Sunrisers move two places up the points table from fifth position to third with 14 points from 12 games, having won seven and lost five, whereas Kings XI stayed at the bottom of the table struggling with just four points from 12 games.

Opting to bat first, Warner top-scored with a 52-ball 81, hitting six boundaries and five sixes to lift Sunrisers to a modest 185/5. In reply, despite a late cameo by David Miller (89 not out off 44 balls), the visitors fell short by just 5 runs, thereby ending their innings at 180/7 in 20 overs.

For the home side, Moises Henriques (3/16) and Bipul Sharma (2/13) were the pick of the bowlers.

Chasing a challenging 186-run target, Kings XI got off to a good start scoring 37 off the first four overs, but lost opener Murali Vijay (24) in the very next over. Shikhar Dhawan held on to a smart, low catch off the bowling off spinner Bipul Sharma.

His opening partner Manan Vohra (20) also got out trying to up the scoring rate. Incoming batsman Glenn Maxwell continued his poor run in IPL 2015, scoring just 11 off six deliveries, before being caught behind off the bowling of Trent Boult.

But Miller had other plans in mind. Right from the word go, his positive approach was reflected in his bat. Scoring freely against both pacers and spinners helped team score 100 in the 15th over.

But with wickets falling at the other end it, the South African was running out of partners. George Bailey (6), Gurkeerat Singh (3), Axar Patel (15) all fell one after the other.

Earlier in the innings, Sunrisers got off to a flying start with openers Warner and Shikhar Dhawan scoring 56 off first six overs.

But a bowling change by Kings XI captain George Bailey worked wonders for the visitors, as spinner Glenn Maxwell broke the opening stand in his very first ball of the seventh over

A clever Maxwell looped the ball up outside off seeing Dhawan stepping out of the crease. The batsman was beaten in flight and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha made no mistake whipping the bails off in a flash.

The wicket did not bother Warner as he kept on scoring freely, thus bringing up his half-century in just 36 balls.

He was well supported in the other end by incoming batsman Moises Henriques (28). The duo struck the ball to all parts of the ground and also sneaked in quick singles and twos to help the team reach 100 in the 13th over.

But Henriques had to return back to the pavilion in the very next over as he was caught off the bowling off Gurkeerat Singh.

Eoin Morgan (17) and Naman Ojha (2) also did not last long.

For Kings XI, Beuran Hendricks (2/40) was the pick of the bowlers.

(IANS)

Another massive earthquake: 26 killed in Nepal, eight in Bihar

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NEPAL-EARTHQUAKE

Kathmandu: At least 26 people were killed and over 150 were injured when a big earthquake struck Nepal on Tuesday.

Initial reports reaching here said that 19 people were killed in Dolakha district, located about 170 km from here.

Dolakha is about 130 km from Kodari, the epicentre of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck in the afternoon.

Two five-storeyed buildings collapsed in capital Kathmandu, an official said.

Police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam earlier said that four people were killed in Chautara town in Sindhupalchowk district and three people died in capital Kathmandu.

He said that the number of deaths is likely to go up as they await news from other areas.

A major earthquake on Tuesday jolted Nepal, striking fear among the people and causing panic in a country which was barely recovering from the devastating April 25 temblor.

Cracked buildings collapsed in a heap of debris and landslides cut off roads as an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit Nepal, with its epicentre not far from Mount Everest — the world’s highest peak at 8,848 m.

Terrified people ran out of homes and offices as the buildings began to shake violently due to the earthquake. They ran to open space and parks here.

“It was frightening,” said an eyewitness who clutched her daughter. “It felt worse than last time,” she added

Six strong aftershocks followed in quick succession. Four of the aftershocks were in the epicentre Kodari while the strongest aftershock measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has directed authorities to be on alert for rescue and relief operations.

A tweet from the prime minister’s office said: “PM took stock of the situation following the fresh major earthquake felt in Nepal and parts of India, at a high-level meeting.”

India Meteorological Department chief L.S. Rathore said that aftershocks could well continue for a few more weeks and months.

The tremors were felt in India, particularly in capital Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Amritsar, Kolkata and the northeastern city of Guwahati. Buildings also shook in faraway Kochi in Kerala.

In Delhi, people ran out as buildings began to shake. Metro services were brought to a halt.

Rohtash Sharma said in Delhi: “I was at a bank when I felt the earthquake. I immediately ran out along with others.”

“Oh…this time I felt that it lasted longer than the one that we had in April. We all rushed out of our houses,” said Rakesh Sharma, who lives on the fifth floor in a high-rise building in C-Scheme area of Jaipur in India’s Rajasthan state.

In Kathmandu, an eyewitness said that he saw a building fall.

Another witness told IANS that he saw debris falling on a taxi packed with people. The fate of the people in the taxi was not immediately known.

Onlookers were left dazed and distraught on seeing the buildings collapse with a roar, a replay of the April 25 quake horror.

There was no electricity in Kathmandu. Internet connectivity too snapped.

People desperate for news tried to get in touch through their mobile phones, but that too did not work. The mobile network was jammed.

In Kathmandu, people made a beeline for shops to stock on water and other essential commodities here.

Harried shopkeepers were seen trying to manage the surging crowds at their shops.

People feared a repeat of the April 25 earthquake which caused widespread devastation.

“It is really scary,” said a Kathmandu resident as he rushed to join the people at the local grocery shop.

Nepal’s National Assembly was in session when the earth began to shake, creating panic among the lawmakers. They quickly trooped out of the building, which was soon plunged into darkness.

Kathmandu airport was closed temporarily as the ATC staff hurried out of the tower.

Eight killed as quake strikes Bihar

At least eight people, including three children, were killed and nearly two dozen people were injured when a massive earthquake caused walls to collapse in parts of Bihar on Tuesday, officials said.

The 7.3 magnitude earthquake’s epicentre was in Kodari, Nepal and its effect was felt across north India, including Bihar.

A labourer was killed when an under-construction wall collapsed in Danapur near Patna and a child was killed in Siwan district when a wall collapsed. Another child was seriously injured, officials of state disaster management department said.

Two children were killed in Manigachi in Darbhanga district in a wall collapse and a woman was killed in Dumra of Sitamarhi district when she came under the debris of a wall that fell.

One person died in Hajipur in Vaishali district, Nawada and Saran districts due to the quake.

Over half a dozen girl students of a government middle school at Bihya in Bhojpur district were injured when they were trying to rush out of class room.

“All of them were admitted at a primary health centre for treatment,” a district official said.

In Forbesganj in Araria district, bordering Nepal, at least 12 people were injured in a stampede during the quake.

People in Patna, Darbhanga, Purnea, Kishanganj, Madhubani, Jehanabad and Aurangabad felt the tremors for over a minute.

“People across Bihar felt the tremors,” Patna Met Office director A.K. Sen said.

According to state disaster management department officials here, there were reports of cracks in several houses in Jehanabad, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Gaya, and Raxaul in East Champaran district.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting of the state disaster management department and directed officials concerned to assess the damage caused by the quake.

Hundreds of thousands of people came out of their houses across the state as soon as they felt temblor.

In Patna, people rushed out of their houses and took shelter in open spaces.

(IANS)

Five labourers from Tamil Nadu hacked to death in Chamrajnagar

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Tamil-nadu-workers-hacked-to-death-in-karnataka

Chamarajanagara: Five persons including two women and a girl, all from Tamil Nadu, were brutally hacked to death near Harale village in Chamarajanagara district, some 100 kms away from TN border on Tuesday.

They are all agricultural labourers from Tamil Nadu and were camping in make-shift tents near sugarcane farm where they worked.

Police have given the names of deceased as Roja (11), Shivamma (35), Kashi (40), Rajendra (35) and Rajamma (35). They had been attacked with sickle and heavy objects. They were found dead when landlord Shekar arrived there early on Tuesday.

Kollegala rural police suspect drunken brawl over payment between the labourers and contractor Rajendra, who too was killed. The brawl ensued during wee hours of Tuesday resulting in brutal killing.

Police confirmed about 16 labourers from Tamil Nadu who had come to Karnataka in search of work and were staying at the farm near Harale village in Chamarajanagara district. Cops claim the rest have fled soon after the killing and suspect few in the group are involved in the heinous crime.

Chamarajanagara additional SP Muthuraj confirmed the murder of labourers including one at a farm house. The assailants have used sharp edged weapons and blunt objects to kill five people, all from Tamil Nadu.

(Agencies)

Salim Khan rejected Padma award; Ramdev was not even considered for award, reveals RTI

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Baba Ramdev

New Delhi: Noted movie writer Salim Khan, former diplomat K S Bajpai and spiritual gurus Sri Ravi Shanker, Mohammed Burhanuddin and Mata Amritanandamayi had refused to accept the Padma awards this year while Ramdev was not considered for the honours, according to an RTI response.

To a query seeking to know the names of persons who were shortlisted for the civilian honours but turned it down, the Home Ministry said Salim Khan, former diplomat K S Bajpai and spiritual gurus Sri Ravi Shanker, late Mohammed Burhanuddin and Mata Amritanandamayi had refused to accept the Padma awards.

The Ministry in an RTI response to activist Subhash Agrawal referred him to web site which had lists of people considered for Padma awards and those shortlisted for them but it did not have name of yoga guru Ramdev.

Two days before the awards were to be presented on January 26, 2015, Ramdev had claimed that he had written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh declining the award as he came to know that he was being considered for it.

“Meeting of the Padma Awards Committee was held on October 31, December 5, and December 13-14, 2014 for two days. The minutes of the meeting were not maintained,” the Ministry said in its response.

The reply said recommendations for the awards were dispatched from MHA to Awards-Committee members for their study and perusal before the meeting of the committee on October 25, 2014.

The Ministry refused to give information about persons whose names were recommended but were not considered following objections from agencies like CBI, IB and tax authorities saying information received from such agencies is secret in nature and cannot be provided under RTI Act.

It said search committee meetings were held on August 21, 2014 and September 8, 2014.

Recently, Ramdev created controversy saying lobbying takes place for Padma awards.

(PTI)

Southern Movies Round Up

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As compared to films produced in Bollywoodian & Hollywoodian Cinema arena, South Indian Cinema is rapidly & regularly progressing by churning out its own brand of gems of milestone movies in all the 4 languages namely Kannada, Malyalam, Telugu & Tamil. In an exclusive Nasheman.In, Shaheen Raaj will present a sneak preview of the productional happenings of Southern Cinema every fortnight. Time to stay tuned in.

Killing Veerappan

Anjali All Set To Regain Lost Ground

Anjali is now all set to regain her lost ground with firm determination after sorting out all her domestic issues. Incidentally speaking right from her debut Tamil movie ‘Kattradhu Thamizh’ Anjali had alreedy proved that she is an actress of immense talent & potential and her later films like ‘Angadi Theru’, ‘Thoonga Nagaram’, ‘Engeyum Eppodhum’ ‘Mankaatha’ & ‘Kalakalappu’ stand testimony to the fact. When she was just beginning to challenge the top Kollywood heroines she got bogged down by her domestic issues and went into a self imposed hibernation. And now Anjali has sorted out her personal life and all her domestic issues and is back doing the lead roles in ‘Appa Takkar’ with Jayam Ravi & ‘Mapla Singam’ with her lucky co-star Vemal. She has also signed the path breaking director Karthik Subburaj’s ‘Iraivi’ which has Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha & S. J. Surya and is playing the title role in ‘Geethanjali 2’ the sequel to her telugu hit ‘Geethanjali.

Simran Makes A Grand Comback In Kollywood

Simran makes a grand comback In Kollywood. In fact Simran is not just making a comeback in Kollywood, but in the neighbouring Sandalwood too. The actress will soon be seen playing a police officer in a Kannada film, titled ‘Alone’. It is not the regular role. As she always liked the action genre and is happy that she has bagged one such film in ‘Alone’. Simran will shoot for the movie later this month. Simran’s last Kannada movie was a Shivaraj Kumar starrer ‘Simhada Mari’ in 1997. Whereas in Tamil, she is a part of ‘Karaioram’ & ‘Trisha Illana Nayanthara’.

Poonam Bajwa Offers A Deniel

Of late Poonam Bajwa has offered a clarifying denial regarding reports stating that Jiiva is backing her filmy career. No doubt that ever since Poonam Bajwa had acted with Jiiva in 2 films namely in ‘Kacheri Aarambam’ & ‘Thenavattu’, there was a buzz that the actor was recommending the actress to all his directors & producers. In fact Poonam, who is now back in Kollywood after a break, denies this strongly statng that, “Jiiva is my good friend. But this doesn’t mean that he recommends me to bag new offers. I wonder how this rumor is alive in after a lapse of so many years. The actress, who was recently seen shaking a leg with Vishal in ‘Aambala’, is now also part of a couple of other projects in Tamil, including Jayam Ravi starrer ‘Romeo Juliet’.

Prashanth’s Latest Heroine Is From Australia

Prashanth’s latest heroine Amenda hails from Australia. Yes! Amenda happens to be a hotshot model from Australia. She will be the heroine of Prashanth in the actor’s comeback vehicle ‘Saahasam’, written & produced by his father and veteran actor Thiyagarajan. Amenda, who was trained at an acting institute in London, is thrilled about making her debut in Kollywood. She plans to commit more Tamil movies after the release of Saahasam. While Prashanth on his part stated that ‘Saahasam’ has brought out the full talent in him. Its songs will be canned in Japan & Korea. Plans are on to release the audio this month. Arunraj Varma is directing the film.

Nagarjuna Has A Change Of mind

Nagarjuna, of late, has had a change of mind. Incidentally speaking Nagarjuna had recently denied reports that he is going to act in the remake of Kannada super hit film ‘Mythri’, which stars Puneeth Rajkumar & Mohanlal in the leads. But all of a sudden he seems to have changed his mind. The latest buzz in filmnagar is that Nagarjuna loved the film after watching it recently and has given his nod to act in the remake. More details are awaited about this project.

The Shooting Of ‘Baahubali 2’ To Commence From Aug 2015

The shooting of ‘Baahubali 2’ is all planned to commence from Aug, 2015. Incidentally speaking the shooting of the 1st part of ‘Baahubali’ was wrapped up recently and the post production work is in full swing currently. This film is expected to be released very soon and not only Telugu & Tamil audiences, even Bollywood fans are eagerly waiting to watch the film. Now Rana Daggubati has confirmed that the shooting of ‘Baahubali 2’ will start in Aug, 2015. Prabhas will complete his project with Sujeeth meanwhile. Rana Daggubati is currently working for the Tamil version of ‘Bangalore Days’.

Pawan Kalyan Is All Geared Up To Fight Against Government

Pawan Kalyan is now all geared up to fight against the Government. Earlier on Pawan Kalyan had met farmers in the capital region of Andhra Pradesh and said that the Government should not acquire land from farmers who are not willing to give it. Recently there were reports that the Andhra Pradesh Government is going to impose land acquisition act against farmers, Pawan Kalyan took to his twitter handle and wrote, “According to media reports, Andhra Pradesh Government is going to impose land acquisition act on farmers who are not willing to give their lands for capital construction and they even informed High court about it. If it is their decision, I am ready to fight against the Government on the behalf of the farmers”.

‘Baa Naale Baa’ Is Now Ready

Catching on the old fear in the villages a horror subject ‘Baa Naale Baa’ has completed the shooting silently. For fear of ghost the doors outside the houses were written ‘Come Tomorrow’ – meaning ‘Baa Naale Baala’. The presumption is that ghosts reading it would go away. A superstitious belief. 1st time director & producer T K Urs has developed a story of grudge of a village chieftain on this to safeguard his property. It bounces back on him resulting in repentance. Sri Yogeshwari Arts Creations has roped in AT Ravish for music & Dhanush for cinematography. While Srinidi Sangeetha Urs has penned the dialogues, Raju & Jaggu are the choreographers, Sriman has written lyrics, Mass Madha & Style King Williams handled the stunts.

The Cult Film ‘Shiva’ To Be Released Again

The cult film ‘Shiva’ to be re-released. A film that redefined Telugu cinema, ‘Shiva’, is going to be released again. The digitally remastered version of the film will be released on 15th May, 2015 and it has been officially confirmed. The quality of the sound and the other technical aspects is enhanced now. Ram Gopal Varma & Nagarjuna had announced that they will re-release the film at the 25 years celebrations of the movie a few months back. The film will be released under Annapurna Studios banner in a good number of theatres.

‘Honeybee’ Sequel Coming Soon

Incidentally speaking the sequel of the hit movie ‘Honeybee’ which was the directorial debut of Lal Jr, is scheduled to take off. The scripting has been completed and the original cast of Asif Ali, Baburaj, Sreentah Bhasi, Lal, Bhavana et al will reprise their roles in the upcoming movie too. It is also said that certain popular actors of M’Town will play a part in special appearances in the movie. Jean Paul aka Lal Jr. also has another movie lined up. It is a Mammootty starrer titled ‘Driving License’.

Pearle Maaney To Enact The Role Of A Bride in ‘Loham’

Pearle Maaney to enact the role of a bride in ‘Loham’. And contrary to the reports that Pearle Maaney is doing an item dance in the movie ‘Loham’, the actress has posted a picture of her in a bridal get up, with Mohanlal. She had earlier stated that she won’t be updating the picture since it would give away the characterization. However, she has done so, probably with fake news about her “item dance” spreading. She plays a cameo in the movie and does have a dance number, which will have Mohanlal and & Andrea Jeremiah too in it.

Ram Gopal Varma & Dr. Shivraj Kumar Join Hands

Stalwart director Ram Gopal Varma is directing Dr Shivaraj Kumar of 100 plus films in the film ‘Killing Veerappan’. The film on ‘Killing Veerappan’ in rumour mill for quite some time is the finally happening as Ramgopal Varma is ready with the perfect script. As he has more information on Veerappan a very dangerous fugitive. The person who killed Veerappan according to Varma is a great personality. This film on ‘Killing Veerappan’ explains what others have not told in the narration. Veerappan was most cruel compared to other criminals. The killer of ‘Veerappan’ in this film is Dr Shivaraj Kumar. It is Dr Shivaraj Kumar’s father icon of Karnataka Dr Rajkumar kidnapped by fugitive Veerappan and kept in dense forest for 108 days. Such kidnapping & struggle of Dr Rajkumar resulted badly in his health condition.

Movie Review: 'Piku' is a delightful journey of emotions via motions

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piku

Banner: MSM Motion Pictures, Saraswati Entertainment Creations Limited & Rising Sun Films
Producer: N. P. Singh, Ronnie Lahiri & Sneha Rajani
Director: Shoojit Sircar
Cast: Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Moushumi Chatterjee, Raghuvir Yadav, Jishu Sengupta, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury & Akshay Oberoi
Music: Anupam Roy

Director Shoojit Sircar of ‘Vicky Donor’ fame is a good & powerful director no doubt and he raises earth shaking humor in most of his films with the aid of a substance then be it a “sperm” (‘Vicky Donor’) or a man’s absolute necessity “motion” (the film in question ‘Piku’). So ‘Piku’ is a delightful journey of emotions via motions
Interlaced with comic interludes.

The plot of ‘Piku’ entails the story of Piku. Deepika Padukone portrays the titular protagonist, a Bengali architect living in New Delhi and Amitabh Bachchan plays her hypochondriac father. Irrfan Khan, Moushumi Chatterjee & Jishu Sengupta portray supporting roles. Piku Bannerji (Deepika Padukone), a successful architect is struggling to manage both her career and the responsibility of her 70 year old father Bhashkor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan), who can be quite the handful. The cranky Bengali senior is a hypochondriac and also happens to be perpetually constipated. His motions, or lack thereof, are the subject of virtually every conversation in their Chittaranjan Park home. He’s obsessed with details of the color, the texture, the size, and the consistency of his poop, which he insists on sharing with his daughter even when she’s at work or out on a date. In the father – daughter’s constant petty squabbles there are other character’s like Bhashkor’s 3 times divorced sister – in -law (Maushami Chatterjee), Sayed Afroz (Jishu Sengupta) Piku’s prospective suitor who is also the victim of his own motion problem &  completing the triangle with Piku & Bhaskor is Rana Chowdhary (Irrfan Khan), the owner of a private taxi company who volunteers to drive Piku and her father all the way from Delhi to Kolkata when the old man strongly insists on visiting his ancestral home. The film takes the shape of a road – trip movie from this point on and it’s Rana applying his trademark dry humor, who gets some of the best moments here. Amused by Bhaskor’s fixation on his tummy issues, Rana explains the merits of squatting on a Western style toilet, and in another hilarious scene draws out the entire digestive route of food for a fascinated Bhashkor.

Director Shoojit Sircar does not let even once the lead characters idiosyncrasies, turn into caricatures while all along delivering big laughs thanks to all the actor’s spot – on comic timing. Also bringing his best game to the film is Irrfan Khan. But it’s with the character of Piku that writer Juhi Chaturvedi pushes the envelope farthest, giving us a fully flesh & blood modern woman. Unembarrassed to admit she has sexual needs, unafraid to pursue a casual relationship with a colleague Sayed Afroz and never shy of snapping back at her patience – testing father. Shoojit Sircar and his entire team of the crew in lieu with the cast deserves a standing ovation for bringing such a marvellous film for the “meangful film” starved cinegoers. Shoojit Sircar keeps a breezy, light – hearted tone throughout, infusing a hint of humor even in the decidedly emotional or motion bits.

Performance wise Amitabh Bachchan towers above all with his towering performance. His mannerisms, his gait, his get up, his body language, his representation of a 70 year old man’s whimsical eccentrics in tandem with the finely tuned gamuts & nuances speaks volumes of his eternal histrionics skills. While the film also belongs to Deepika Padukone, she is just a bit too perfect as Piku. She has matched Sr. Bachchan step by step, scene by scene in fact in every single frame. Irrfan Khan, the 3rd angle of the eccentric triangle, is as usual too good to be true. In fact the trio of Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone & Irrfan Khan are simply outstanding. The rest of the cast comprising of Moushumi Chatterjee, Raghuvir Yadav, Jishu Sengupta, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury & Akshay Oberoi not only form a far from perfect foil to the lead actors but they are all just too superb in their “Brief” roles.

Tail Piece: Film’s like ‘Piku’ comes once in a while bringing along with it a whiff of fresh air. So go ahead partake of its aroma before it gets withered & weather beaten. Once again a cautionary advice “Don’t Miss ‘Piku’ At Any Cost”.

IPL: AB, Kohli power Bangalore to 39-run win over Mumbai

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AB de Villiers

Mumbai: AB de Villiers smashed a brilliant century and skipper Virat Kohli played the perfect foil as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) outscored Mumbai Indians by 39 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here on Sunday.

The win propelled RCB two places up the league ladder from sixth to fourth with 13 points in their kitty from 11 games.

In contrast, Sunrisers Hyderabad (12 from 11) dropped to the fifth place, whereas Mumbai (12 from 12) slipped to the sixth spot.

Riding on de Villiers’ (133, 59b, 19×4, 4×6) and skipper Kohli’s (82, 50b, 6×4, 4×6) unbeaten 215-run partnership for the second wicket, RCB piled up a massive 235/1.

In reply, Mumbai Indians could go only as far as 196/7 at the Wankhede stadium.

For RCB, Harshal Patel (2/34) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/51) were the pick of the bowlers.

For Mumbai, Lendl Simmons (68 not out off 53 balls) and Kieron Pollard (49 off 24 balls) showed some intent to chase down the rival total, unleashing some big shots but the duo’s efforts were not enough.

The home side got off to a worst possible start losing opener Parthiv Patel (19) in the fourth over.

Skipper Rohit Sharma (15) after striking one boundary and a six failed to read a slower ball by Harshal Patel, thus finishing in the grip of Mandeep Singh at long on.

But wickets did not bother opener Simmons and Pollard as the West Indies pair went all out at the bowlers.

After smashing six fours and two sixes, Pollard got a top edge from his bat which was gleefully accepted by Mitchell Starc.

Hardik Pandya (8), Ambati Rayudu (14), Harbhajan Singh (3) Jagadeesha Suchith (4) all fell soon after.

Earlier opting to bat, RCB got 14 runs off the first two overs, but what followed in the third over was some real drama.

Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma dropped Chris Gayle on the fourth ball off Mitchell McClenaghan and Harbhajan Singh spilled Virat Kohli’s catch in first slip off the next ball. Gayle and Kohli were 12 and 8, respectively, when the catches were dropped.

But Gayle (13 off 12) didn’t hurt them much as Lasith Malinga in the very next over got rid of the Jamaican left-hander.

Gayle looked to slap the slower off-cutter well outside off and got another thick edge to fine leg. At that point, RCB were 20/1 in 3.1 overs.

The swashbuckling de Villers did not take much time to settle down as he unleashed his skillful shots soon after along with Kohli.

De Villiers hit the ball mercilessly, bringing up his 50 in just 29 deliveries. He went on hitting, sweeping, slogging the ball to bring up his hundred in only 47 balls.

He was well supported at the other end by Kohli who played with ease scoring his half-century in 39 balls.

This was the sixth consecutive IPL season where Kohli has scored 300-plus runs. He also completed 3,000 runs in the IPL.

(IANS)

Renewed violence forces 100,000 to flee in South Sudan

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UN says fighting in Unity State has displaced 100,000 people, as two aid agencies withdraw from Leer fearing attack.

South Sudan

by Al Jazeera

Fighting has escalated in war-torn South Sudan forcing up to 100,000 people to flee their homes, the United Nations has said.

Toby Lanzer, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan said up to 100,000 people had been displaced from their homes in Unity State, as clashes intensified between rebels and government troops.

“Since the beginning of May, military activities south of Bentiu in Unity State have forced up to 100,000 people from their homes,” Lanzer said in a statement.

“People should never be harmed, and certainly not targeted or forced to flee from their homes,” he added.

Also on Saturday, two global aid agencies evacuated their international staff from part of Unity State fearing clashes.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said they withdrew from the town of Leer, Machar’s hometown, over concerns of an “imminent attack”.

“Today, we withdraw again with a heavy heart, because we know how civilians will suffer when they are cut off from critical, lifesaving medical care,” Paul Critchley, head of mission at MSF said.

MSF was previously forced to abandon Leer in January last year when fighting over the town made it too dangerous to stay.

When aid workers were able to return four months later they found the hospital burned and looted and vehicles stolen.

Franz Rauchenstein, the head of the ICRC in South Sudan, urged the warring sides to respect international law.

“At all times, those who do not take part in the hostilities must be spared and the distinction needs to be made between civilian objectives and military objectives,” he said.

Violence in the world’s youngest nation has been characterised by rape, attacks on civilians and medical facilities and ethnic massacres.

Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

Seymour Hersh: Obama's entire account Of bin Laden's Death is one big lie

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Osama bin Laden

An expose published on Sunday alleges that President Obama deceived Americans with his narrative of the 2011 assassination of Osama bin Laden.

Author Seymour M. Hersh accuses Obama of rushing to take credit for the al Qaeda leader’s death.

This decision, Hersh argues in the London Review of Books, forced the military and intelligence communities to scramble and then corroborate the president’s version of events.

“High-level lying nonetheless remains the modus operandi of U.S. policy, along with secret prisons, drone attacks, Special Forces night raids, bypassing the chain of command, and cutting out those who might say no,” Hersh wrote of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism policies.

Hersh based his report on a single, anonymous source. This individual, he said, is a “retired senior intelligence official who was knowledgeable about the initial intelligence about bin Laden’s presence in Abottabad.”

Hersh’s source alleged that the Pakistani government had an active role in approving and implementing the raid on bin Laden’s compound.

In addition, the source said that the Obama administration originally agreed to announce bin Laden had been killed in a drone strike rather than shot during an active Special Forces mission.

“Obama’s speech was put together in a rush,” Hersh wrote of Obama’s announcement of Operation Neptune Spear to Americans.

“This series of self-serving and inaccurate statements would create chaos in the weeks following,” he added.

“This was not the fog of war,” Hersh quoted his anonymous source as saying.

“The fact that there was an agreement with the Pakistanis and no contingency analysis of what was to be disclosed if something went wrong – that wasn’t even discussed,” the source added.

“And once it went wrong, they had to make up a new cover story on the fly,” the source said of Obama’s advisers’ response to his speech on the raid, Hersh wrote.

Hersh’s report also accuses the Obama administration of embellishing the details of the raid itself and presenting al Qaeda as a bigger threat than it actually was before bin Laden’s death.

The White House did not comment on Hersh’s claims.

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