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Archives for September 2016

‘Great Khali’ to organise professional fights in Haryana

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Great Khali

Gurgaon: Dalip Singh Rana, better known by his ‘The Great Khali’ moniker, will organise two professional wrestling matches in Haryana next month.

Adressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Rana said that a professional wrestling bout will be organised at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on October 8 while a similar show would be held in Panipat on October 12.

He disclosed that 15 international fighters and 35 Indian wrestlers will feature in the two events.

HaryanaGymnastics Association chief Suraj Pal Ammu said on the occasion that the state government will not charge entertainment tax from the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler.

Originally hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Rana, an officer in the Punjab Police, was a bodybuilder before becoming a professional wrestler and had won the Mr. India title in 1997 and 1998.

(IANS)

Afghanistan: Pamlarena siege ends in Kabul

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Security forces say all three attackers killed, 11 hours after they took over Pamlarena’s offices in a residential area.

The siege came after at least 24 people were killed in the bombings [Jawad Jalali/EPA]

The siege came after at least 24 people were killed in the bombings [Jawad Jalali/EPA]

by Al Jazeera

Afghan officials say at least six civilians have been wounded after armed men stormed a building housing of an international aid organisation in Kabul, provoking a deadly firefight with security forces.

Early on Tuesday, police special forces killed all three men involved in the overnight attack in the Shar-e Naw district of Kabul, said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Afghan interior minister.

The interior ministry initially said one civilian had been killed but a later statement said only the attackers died in the gun battle.

Security forces blocked all roads leading to the Shar-e Naw neighbourhood while the siege last.

The assault began late on Monday night with a suicide car bombing close to a building belonging to Pamlarena, the charity CARE International, after which the attackers entered the building.

“Police special forces immediately reached the site of the attack and started rescuing people from the building. … 42 people who were trapped were evacuated by the security forces,” the interior ministry statement said.

In a statement on Tuesday, CARE said that “an armed group launched an attack on what is believed to have been an Afghan government compound located close to the Kabul office of CARE International”.

It said the incident continued through to the early morning, “with damage sustained to the CARE compound.

“All CARE staff have been evacuated, are safe and are accounted for”.

The area being home to several guest houses, many foreigners and diplomats reside there.

Amnesty International, the human-rights advocacy group, on Tuesday termed the attack a “war crime”.

“The attack by an armed group on the aid agency CARE International in Kabul is the deliberate targeting of civilians and constitutes a war crime,” said Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s South Asia director.

“The cardinal rule of international humanitarian law is that parties to an armed conflict must never deliberately attack civilians.”

The attack on Pamlarena’s offices commenced several hours after a double suicide bombing near the Afghan defence ministry killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 100 others.

An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a defence ministry official said.

Another official said the deputy head of President Ashraf Ghani’s personal protection force was among those killed.

The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack on the defence ministry.

Surging violence

The Taliban’s ability to conduct coordinated deadly attacks in Kabul has mounted pressure on Ghani’s government, which has struggled to reassure the population that it can guarantee security.

Two weeks ago, fighters attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people.

At least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23 in an attack claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Outside Kabul, the fighters have stepped up their military campaign, threatening Lashkar Gah, capital of the strategic southern province of Helmand, as well as Kunduz, the northern city they briefly took last year.

Rahul attacks Modi as he starts 2,500-km Yatra from UP

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Rahul-Gandhi

Deoria: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of bias towards the rich as he began a 2,500-km ‘Kisan Yatra’ in election-bound Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing a crowd at Rudrapur in Deoria district, Gandhi said the Prime Minister wanted to waive off loans of the rich but wasn’t ready to do that in the case of farmers.

“Modiji must waive off loans taken by farmers in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere in the country,” he said to applause.

“We have embarked on this Yatra to know the problems of the farmers and to help Modiji understand the situation too.”

The Congress leader also urged the government slash the electricity tariff by 50 percent and hike the minimum support price given to farmers’ produce.

The Gandhi scion was greeted by huge crowds.

While no one was allowed near the helipad or earlier when he landed with party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in Deoria, Gandhi later went to a Dalit settlement and interacted briefly with people there.

He offered prayers at a Shiva temple – Baba Dugdheshwarnath – and then started his Yatra in a specially designed bus.

Gandhi’s office said the Yatra will cover 39 districts as well as 55 of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.

“Door-to-door campaign begins from village Pachladi. Met farmers and collected Kisan Maang Patras outlining their demands,” Gandhi’s official twitter handle said.

“Arrived in Rudrapur to a warm welcome and great enthusiasm. Join @INCIndia on this Kisan Yatra as we fight for rights of farmers, labourers and the poor,” Gandhi tweeted earlier.

On way, the entourage was welcomed by crowds and students who showered rose petals on the vehicles. Gandhi repeatedly waved at them.

He is scheduled to hold a “khaat chaupal” at the Satasi Inter College, after which he will go to Ramlakhan square from where he will drive to Deoria.

After a brief stop in the city, his entourage is set to drive to Rampur Karkhana, Tarkulwa and other places where he will address ‘nukkad sabhas’.

He will spend the night at the Gorakhpur circuit house.

During the month-long campaign, there will also be roadshows in small and big towns but no large public meeting, Congress leaders said.

Uttar Pradesh will see assembly elections early next year.

(IANS)

Modi should apologise for false promises on black money: Congress

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Narendra Modi

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise “eight times” to people for his false promises over black money.

“The Prime Minister during his election campaign repeatedly said that he would bring all the black money back to India within 100 days. Today, it is the 827th day of this government. Where is the black money?” said Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari.

Tiwari said that Modi had promised that every person in India would get Rs 15 lakh each of the booty he would get back from foreign banks.

“The Prime Minister should apologise to the poor people who have been checking their bank accounts for the promised amount of Rs 15 lakh,” he said.

The Congress barb came the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of put a check on black money by eliminating safe havens for economic offenders at the G20 Summit at Hangzhouin in China.

Tiwari said that while black money is the favourite topic of Modi, his government has not taken any “visible” action against the high profile persons whose names surfaced in the Panama papers leak.

“The Prime Minister’s speech on black money is nothing but yet another crude attempt to obfuscate the fact that he and his political party had lied to the country on black money,” he said.

He said that whatever little black money the government has been able to bring back was a result of 100-odd dual taxation avoidance treaties and tax information exchange agreements signed during the UPA regime between 2008-2014.

“We would like to ask from the government as to how many new dual taxation agreements or tax information exchange agreements with countries we don’t have agreements with have been initiated by this government and the answer would be negligible,” Tiwari said.

(IANS)

India will be late by 50 yrs in achieving education goals: UNESCO

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india education

New Delhi: Going by the current trend, India will be half a century late in achieving its global education commitments and the country needs fundamental changes in the education system if it wants to meet the 2030 sustainable development goals, a UNESCO report has said.

UNESCO’s new Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report says that based on current trends universal primary education in Southern Asia will be achieved in 2051, lower secondary in 2062, and upper secondary in 2087.

India is expected to achieve universal primary education in 2050, universal lower secondary education in 2060 and universal upper secondary education in 2085, it said.
“This means the region would be more than half a century late for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline,” it added.

The report says there is an urgent need for greater headway in education and the sector needs a major transformation to fulfil the needed potential and meet the current challenges facing humanity and the planet.

It also talks of another report, Education for People and Planet, which, it said, shows the need for education systems to step up attention to environmental concerns.

“While in the majority of countries, education is the best indicator of climate change awareness, half of countries curricula worldwide do not explicitly mention climate change in their content. India is an exception, where currently some 300 million school students receive some environmental education,” it said.

The statistics cited in the report have revealed only six per cent of adults in the poorest countries and only five in India have ever attended literacy programmes, once they pass the formal schooling system.

The report has also called upon governments of various countries to start taking inequalities in education seriously, tracking them by collecting information directly from families.

“The new global development agenda calls for education ministers and other education actors to work in collaboration with other sectors,” it said.

The GEM Report lists various benefits that could come if education actors work in collaboration with other sectors.

The collaborative working may help delivery of health intervention through schools, contribution in increasing crop yields by 12 per cent and contribution of education in reducing population growth.

(PTI)

Cauvery row: Pro-Kannada organisations call for state-wide bandh on Sept 9

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cauvery

Mandya: Agitated farmers and activists belonging to pro-Kannada outfits today blocked Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway as protests intensified in the wake of the Supreme Court directive to the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. Pro-Kannada organisations and farmer unions have called for a Karnataka bandh on September 9.

Mandya district, the nucleus of Cauvery politics, saw a bandh with protesters holding road blockades and dharnas at several places, as hundreds of security personnel, including Central forces, were deployed in the Cauvery belt to maintain law and order.

Prohibitory orders have been clamped around Krishnarajasagar Dam and entry of visitors to it prohibited till September nine, as the Cauvery row hotted up after the Supreme Court direction to Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for the next 10 days to address the plight of the farmers there.

Protesters also mobbed and ransacked several government offices in Mandya forcing their shut down, while attendance at government offices remained thin, police said.

The Supreme Court’s direction yesterday triggered an immediate backlash with the farmers’ body spearheading the stir, calling for a bandh today in Mandya district.

Shops, hotels and other commercial establishments and theatres and hotels remained shut and schools and colleges declared a holiday in the district where state run and private buses are also not plying.

Protests are also being held in Mysuru and Hassan districts, fed by the Cauvery, demanding that Karnataka should not release water. Venting their anger, protesters burnt effigy of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at several places.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is holding a meeting of  senior Ministers, legal experts and officials, has also invited legislature floor leaders and MPs later today to discuss the further course of action.

Meanwhile, the government appealed to people not to resort to agitation and to maintain calm. “My appeal to the public is that don’t resort to agitation…and keep calm and we will make all efforts to protect the interest of the farmers,” Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra told reporters in Bengaluru.

Jayachandra said people should maintain calm as it is an order by the Supreme Court and the government needs to go before the Cauvery supervisory committee and convince it.

“My appeal is be calm, and don’t spoil any government property or anything because it is a Supreme Court order. We have to go before the Supervisory Committee and we want to try to convince (it) also,” the Minister said.

Former Chief Minister and State BJP President B S Yeddiyurappa asked the government to file a petition countering the Supreme Court order. In Mandya city, Kannada Rakshna Vedike outfit activists held a bike rally and burnt the effigy of Jayalalitha.

G Madegowda, President of Cauvery Hita Rakshana Samithi, the body spearheading the agitation, criticised the chief minister and irrigation minister for their “irresponsible” behaviour over the Cauvery issue. He also called the district MLAs to resign enmasse to protest against the “injustice.”

(Agencies)

Shahan becomes first Indian to win Asian Karting Championship

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Sepang: Young racer Shahan Ali Mohsin has become the first Indian to win the Asian Karting Championship.

The 12-year-old from Agra put up a valiant show during the final weekend after missing two days of track time due to a bout of food poisoning and staved off a strong challenge from his main rival Hayden Haikal to clinch the title here on Sunday.

He will now be hoping for a repeat in the JK Tyre National Rotax Max Karting Championship as well, with the final round scheduled on September 25.

Shahan was not completely fit as he fought the infection which surfaced early on Thursday. He was severely dehydrated and his participation in the event became a major question mark while his rivals pounded the track throughout Thursday and Friday during practice sessions.

He showed immense determination and hit the track on Saturday, even though he was not fully fit. Right from the first practice session, he was in the running for the top three spots albeit missing a few tenths from outright benchmark.

However, he almost magically put it together in qualifying — taking pole position by over two-tenths of a second (0.2 sec) — a dominating showing given the drivers from second to fifth positions were separated by just five-hundredth of a second (0.05 sec).

Shahan, who is leading the micro-max category of the JK Tyre National Rotax Max Karting Championship back home, carried his good form, coming into the weekend, with a five point lead in the Micro Max championship table over his title rival Hayden Haikal. Therefore it was critical to have a clean weekend with no risks and no surprises and finish ahead of Hayden in all sessions which included two heat races, a pre-final and the final.

In the two heat races, Shahan kept his composure despite a few brushes with Amer Harris, who was not in championship contention but was fighting aggressively for the win.

Shahan had the bigger picture in mind and did not want to push his luck and risk a ‘Did Not Finish’. He drove with composure and finished second in both the heats ahead of Hayden who finished third in both the races.

Starting second in the pre-finals, Shahan once again engaged in a fierce competition with Amer, with both the racers passing each other for the lead multiple times with Shahan eventually settling for second with Haikal finishing four seconds behind.

With Shahan holding a slight advantage over his rivals, the championship battle was now set to go down to the wire. Amer, Hayden and Shahan were engaged in a three-way fight, with places being switched between the two championship contenders while Amer led at the front but not far away.

Eventually Shahan settled for third with Hayden finishing second this time around; with the top three finishing within 0.2 seconds. Numbers were crunched and at the end of it – Shahan emerged four points ahead thanks to his consistent performance over the weekend which handed him the title.

“It is really unbelievable. I was in a seriously bad shape just two days back and could not even think of driving a kart, let alone fight for the Asian Championship title,” Shahan said.

“The strength I got from having both my parents alongside me throughout was incredible and I still do not know how I managed to walk, get into the kart and get pole position in qualifying. I surprised even myself a little bit. Everything after that was a blur and thanks to Wai Leong and the entire Top Kart team for a superb setup and excellent strategy which helped us secure the title with the least amount of risk”, he added.

(IANS)

Syria’s war: Blasts hit Tartous, Homs, Hasaka

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At least 40 killed and dozens wounded in five explosions in mostly government-held areas, including Tartous and Homs.

The blasts targeted four government control cities including Homs [EPA]

The blasts targeted four government control cities including Homs [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

At least 40 people have been killed and dozens wounded in five explosions across mostly government-controlled areas of Syria, according to state media reports.

Monday morning’s blasts hit the coastal city of Tartous, the central city of Homs, the suburbs of the capital Damascus as well as the northeastern city of Hasaka, which is mostly controlled by Kurdish forces but where the government maintains a presence.

The blast in Hasaka was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

State media said at least 11 people were killed and 45 injured in a double bomb attack just outside Tartous, in the coastal province of the same name, which is a base of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

“Two terrorist blasts on Arzuna bridge, the first a car bomb and the second a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive belt when people gathered to help the wounded,” Syrian state television said.

State media also reported five people killed in Hasaka, in the northeast of the country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based monitor, said the blast hit a checkpoint belonging to the Kurdish Asayesh security forces.

And state media also reported a car bomb at the entrance to the Al-Zahra neighbourhood in Homs, which is controlled by the government.

It said at least two people were killed and four wounded in the bombing, which is the latest in a series of attacks targeting Al-Zahra, where most residents are Alawite, the sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.

State media also reported another bomb attack on a road west of the capital Damascus, but gave no immediate toll in the blast.

That attack targeted a checkpoint and left three people dead, said the SOHR.

Top diplomats from the US and Russia on Monday failed to reach a deal to ease fighting in Syria amid the string of bomb attacks in the country.

As blasts maimed and killed in Syria, a senior State Department official said fresh crisis talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the G20 summit in China had ended without agreement.

A deal to provide aid to Aleppo’s ravaged civilians and at least partially halt Russian and Syrian bombardments had looked likely on Sunday, before talks collapsed.

US officials accused Russia of backtracking on already agreed issues which Washington refused to revisit, but the talks seemed to have been overtaken by developments on the ground.

Syrian government troops renewed their siege of Aleppo on Sunday, with state media saying they had taken an area south of the city, severing the last opposition-held route into its eastern neighbourhoods.

Once Syria’s economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s government in March 2011.

Kashmir Valley remains shut for 58th day

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Kashmir-firing

Srinagar: Authorities made heavy security deployment in Srinagar and other places of the Kashmir Valley Monday to maintain law and order.

“Deployments were made in sufficient strength to maintain law and order in the Valley. There will be no curfew anywhere today (Monday),” a senior police official said.

Over 200 civilians and security personnel were injured in different incidents on Sunday.

Separatists refused to engage in any dialogue with the members of the all party delegation who tried to break ice by calling on them on Sunday.

Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani refused to even open the door for Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury and D.Raja who called on his uptown Hyderpora residence in Srinagar.

Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Shabir Ahmad Shah and Yasin Malik met the the opposition members of the delegation but conveyed their joint decision not to engage in any dialogue under the prevailing situation.

The delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh had a detailed meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her cabinet colleagues.

Opposition leaders including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and state Congress leaders also met the delegation.

A delegation of civil society from Ladakh’s Kargil district also met the delegation in Srinagar.

The all party delegation will visit Jammu later on Monday.

(Agencies)

SC gives Centre four weeks to respond on triple talaq

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Triple talaq

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday gave the Centre four weeks’ time to file its response on the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters relating to divorce and maintenance, including triple talaq.

The bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud gave the time on the request of Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar.

The Solicitor General had sought time mentioning that the Centre had to file its response to a suo motu writ petition filed on the direction of the apex court on the issue of the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had in its response defended both polygamy and triple talaq saying that courts have no jurisdiction to examine the issue as it relates to their religion based on the Quran and Sharia law.

(Agencies)

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