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BJP-led coalition will crumble soon: Shiv Sena

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Shiv Sena-Modi

Panaji: The BJP-led government in Goa will crumble soon, Shiv Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut said on Monday, while calling the ruling alliance of the BJP, two regional parties and two Independents a “corrupt nexus”.

“Manohar Parrikar came to Goa from the Defence Ministry to stabilise the government and stay in power. But he knows he is not on firm footing and his feet will crumble soon. This is a corrupt alliance,” Raut told the media.

He said the BJP had “stolen” a mandate which was against the party and that regional parties like the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Goa Forward, which had contested the elections on an anti-BJP plant but later joined the saffron party, were traitors to the Goan electorate.

“Both these parties contested the elections against the BJP but did not lose time to join the BJP after the votes were polled. This is a betrayal of the Goan people and they will never be pardoned.”

Raut also said that despite the rout the Shiv Sena faced in Goa, its work would continue in the state.

“We aren’t here for elections alone. Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena President) will be coming to Goa next month and a big meeting will be held where the future course of action for Goa will be announced.”

The BJP, which won 13 seats in the February assembly polls, formed the government with the support of the two regional parties and two Independent legislators. The Congress accused the ruling outfit of using illicit means to cobble together an alliance.

(IANS)

NIA issues another summons to Dr Zakir Naik

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zakir naik

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday issued a second notice to internationally acclaimed thinker and orator Dr Zakir Naik asking him to appear before it on March 30 in a case filed against him under a controversial anti-terror law.

The NIA had earlier this month issued the first summons to him asking him to appear on March 14. Officials said Naik has been summoned at the NIA’s headquarters here.

The notice has been sent to the Mumbai residence of 51-year-old NRI Dr Naik, who is believed to be staying in Saudi Arabia to amidst fears of ‘unfair treatment and false cases’.

Last week the Delhi High Court had dismissed the petition of Dr Naik’s NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) against the immediate ban and freezing of bank accounts. IRF was banned by the government for five years in November last year. The ban on IRF was enforced under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and approved at a meeting of the Union Cabinet.

Zakir Naik has repeatedly condemned all acts of terrorism in his public speeches. However, Home Ministry claims that Zakir Naik made many provocative speeches and had engaged in terror propaganda.

The Maharashtra Police have also registered criminal cases against Zakir Naik accusing him of involving in radicalisation of youths and luring them into terror activities.

He came under the scanner of the security agencies after Bangladeshi newspaper ‘Daily Star’ reported that one of the perpetrators of the July 1,2016 terror attack in Dhaka, Rohan Imtiaz, ran propaganda on Facebook in 2015 quoting Naik. However the newspaper had taken down the report later.

Last month, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons to Zakir Naik and the IRF under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Zakir Naik, in a 2,000-word open letter, urged the Modi government to be “fair” in its investigation and be “truthful with facts”.

(Agencies)

Nobel laureate Derek Walcott dies at 87 in St Lucia

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Winner of 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature dies at his house in Caribbean island of St Lucia after long illness.

The prolific and versatile poet was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1992 [Getty]

The prolific and versatile poet was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1992 [Getty]

by Al Jazeera

Nobel Prize-winning poet Derek Walcott has died at his home in the eastern Caribbean island of St Lucia at the age of 87.

A prolific and versatile poet, Walcott was widely respected as one of the greatest writers of the second half of the 20th century.

“Derek Alton Walcott, poet, playwright, and painter died peacefully today, Friday 17th March, 2017, at his home in Cap Estate, Saint Lucia,” read a statement his family released later in the morning. It said the funeral would be held in St Lucia and details would be announced shortly.

Jeff Seroy, a spokesman for publisher Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, said the cause of death was not immediately known, but added that Walcott had been ill for some time and had recently returned home from a hospital stay.

His longtime companion, Sigrid Nama, was with him at the time of his death, Seroy said.

With passions ranging from watercolour painting to teaching to theatre, Walcott’s work was widely praised for its depth and bold use of metaphor, as well as its mix of sensuousness and technical prowess.

Walcott received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1992 after being shortlisted for the honour for many years. In selecting him, the Swedish academy cited “the great luminosity” of his writings, including the 1990 “Omeros”, a 64-chapter Caribbean epic it praised as “majestic”.

“In him, West Indian culture has found its great poet,” said the academy in awarding the $1.2m prize to Walcott.

A distinctly Caribbean poet

Walcott proudly celebrated his role as a Caribbean writer.

“I am primarily, absolutely a Caribbean writer,” he once said during a 1985 interview published in The Paris Review.

“The English language is nobody’s special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself. I have never felt inhibited in trying to write as well as the greatest English poets.”

Walcott said his writing reflected the “very rich and complicated experience” of life in the Caribbean. He compared his feeling for poetry to a religious avocation.

Walcott was born in St Lucia’s capital of Castries on January 23, 1930 to a Methodist schoolteacher mother and a civil servant father, an aspiring artist who died when the poet and his twin brother, Roderick, were babies.

His mother, Alix, instilled the love of language in her children, often reciting the work of William Shakespeare and reading aloud other classics of English literature.

At the age of 14, he published his first work, a 44-line poem called “1944”, in a local newspaper. About four years later, while still in his teens, he self-published a collection of 25 poems. At 20, his play “Henri Christophe” was produced by an arts guild he co-founded.

He left St Lucia to immerse himself in literature at Jamaica’s University College of the West Indies. In the 1950s, he studied in New York and founded a theatre in Trinidad’s Port-of-Spain, a Caribbean capital he mentioned with great warmth during his Nobel lecture in 1992.

Walcott’s treatment of the Caribbean was always passionate but unsentimental. In his 1979 work about Jamaica, “The Star-Apple Kingdom”, he wrote of the “groom, the cattleboy, the housemaid … the good Negroes down in the village, their mouths in the locked jaw of a silent scream”.

For much of his life, Walcott, who taught at Boston University for many years, divided his time between the United States and the Caribbean, and the exile of millions of Caribbean citizens who have left the region in search of a better life is another frequent theme in his works.

Although he was best known for his poetry, Walcott was also a prolific playwright, penning some 40 plays, including “Dream on Monkey Mountain” and “The Last Carnival”, and founding theatres such as the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.

British writer Robert Graves said in 1984 that Walcott handled “English with a closer understanding of its inner magic than most – if not any – of his English-born contemporaries”.

Walcott’s reputation was weakened by sexual harassment allegations made against him at Harvard and Boston universities in the 1980s and 1990s.

He retired from teaching at Boston University in 2007 and spent more of his time in St Lucia.

SONAM KAPOOR TO GRACE BOUTIQUE LUXURY-PRET FASHION EXHIBITION ‘DIVALICIOUS LONDON’

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Sonam Kapoor

DIVAlicious London, presented by DIVAlicious & Sterling Media in association with Sterling Realty, will feature haute & affordable Indo -Fusion Designer Couture, décor & accessories, through its unique format of a mobile boutique, under one – roof on 25th & 26th Mar, 2017 at The May Fair Hotel, London.

DIVAlicious London held in support of Consortium for Street Children – a global network that raises street children’s voices, promotes their rights and improves their lives.

International cinema, style & fashion icon Sonam Kapoor is all set to grace DIVAlicious London, a unique, luxury boutique pop – up exhibition presented by DIVAlicious & Sterling Media in association with Sterling Realty & Danube Properties, on Sat 25th Mar, at The May Fair Hotel, London.

Sonam Kapoor will attend a special soiree that takes place concurrently with the main exhibition in support of Consortium for Street Children, a global network that raises street children’s voices, promotes their rights & improves their lives.

Attended by cultural tastemakers, international fashionistas, business stalwarts & VIPs, the event will also feature renowned celebrity fashion designer Anita Dongre, presented by DIVAlicious London partner The Rack – by Kachins.

Anita Dongre has been at the forefront of fashion for over 2 decades, having created one of the most successful fashion houses in India. A metaphor for supreme craftsmanship, Anita Dongre’s designs showcases Indian aesthetics in a contemporary language. Her prominent clientele includes an array of Bollywood celebrities & international public figures such as HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. At DIVAlicious London, Anita Dongre will be exclusively showcasing her acclaimed collection “Alchemy” (A Magical Transformation).

Speaking about her attendance at DIVAlicious London, Sonam Kapoor avers: “I am delighted to be attending DIVAlicious London, which is bringing together exceptional designers from across the Indian inspired luxury fashion segment to UK shores. More importantly, I am extending my support not just as a flag bearer of Indian fashion & culture, but also happy to associate with a project which is substance over style, supporting the incredible achievements of the Consortium for Street Children. My 3 passions have always been Films, Fashion & Fraternity, and to be part of a project that’s ‘fashion for a cause’ is fulfilling.”

At DIVAlicious London, UK shoppers will also see, experience & purchase creations by over 20 established & emerging Indian designers along with accessories & home décor brands from Dubai, India & Hong Kong, all inspired by the East & toned for the West. The finest Indian designer apparel will be brought to the event courtesy of The Rack – by Kachins and include collections by: Anamika Khanna, Gaurav Gupta, Pankaj & Nidhi, Payal Singhal, & Tarun Tahiliani.

Private banker turned fulltime fashion entrepreneur Vanitaa Bhatia launched DIVAlicious in Dubai in 2011 with the aim of closing a vital gap in the fashion market by introducing to shoppers both affordable & luxury designer apparel. “We are really excited to be introducing DIVAlicious to London and are grateful to our incredible partners. DIVAlicious’ success has been driven by a gap in the market we first identified. Most of the time, international Indian fashion exhibits just cover haute designer apparel, however we also invite affordable brands to showcase their creations to provide a holistic & direct – to -consumer shopping experience for customers, under one roof.”

In explaining why London was the obvious next stop destination for Divalicious, Vanitaa Bhatia adds: “London is a fashion – conscious market with an appetite to invest in brands catering to an affluent market. After taking DIVAlicious to 10 global cities and with its growing popularity, 2017 seemed the opportune time to bring DIVAlicious to the world’s fusion capital – London.”

DIVAlicious London’s partner is the globally renowned, multi – award – winning business & communications consultancy Sterling Media. Established in 1995, the company has a specialist luxury – lifestyle division, providing strategic consultancy to a range of clients including Harrods, Ralph & Russo, Aston Martin, Raghavendra Rathore of Jodhpur to The East India Company. Natasha Mudhar, CEO of Sterling Group says: “We are incredibly excited to work with DIVAlicious who have showcased the best in Indo – fusion design couture, by introducing them to a UK audience with a growing appetite for South Asian fashion. DIVAlicious London represents everything that London stands for: culture, innovation & creativity.

With 2017 representing a landmark year celebrating the business & the cultural partnership between UK & India, DIVAlicious London further embellishes the special relationship shared between the 2 great nations, bringing together a platform for cultural engagement.”

Bengaluru ATM Attack Case: Victim Identifies Accused Madhukar Reddy

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Madhukar Reddy

Bengaluru: Victim of Bengaluru ATM attack, Jyothi Uday has identified Madhukar Reddy in an identification parade held on Friday in Bengaluru. The accused Madhukar Reddy had brutally attacked Jyothi in a Corporation Bank ATM in the state capital 3 years earlier to rob money from her.

The victim of the incident has identified Reddy before the magistrate where the accused was standing with the persons who are similar to him. Initially, Jyothi was confused to identify the culprit, however later she succeeded to identify him. A second identification parade was also conducted to prove her identification. Karnataka police brought the accused from Andhra Pradesh after he was arrested by Andhra police in connection with a criminal case.

(Agencies)

Manoj Sinha to be new UP CM

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Manoj Sinha

New Delhi: Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha is “almost” certain to be the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, even as BJP state President Keshav Prasad Maurya was still in the race, informed sources said on Saturday.

A senior BJP leader, who declined to be named as the party was still keeping suspense over the post alive, told IANS that Sinha has emerged as the top choice to head the Uttar Pradesh government after strong backing from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah.

“It is almost decided. The announcement is likely to be made after the (newly-elected) BJP MLAs meet in Lucknow” on Saturday evening, the BJP leader said.

(IANS)

Car racer Ashwin Sundar, wife charred to death after BMW catches fire

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Ashwin Sundar

New Delhi: Professional Indian car racer Ashwin Sundar and his wife Nivedhitha were charred to death after their BMW car caught fire following a road accident in Chennai.

The car reportedly rammed on a roadside tree on the Santhome High Road in Chennai in the early hours of Saturday and the duo got trapped inside.

The car, which was being driven by Sundar, was stuck in between the tree and a wall after catching fire and the couple were burned to death.

Nivedhitha, a doctor by profession, was working in a private clinic.

Seeing the vehicle on fire, passersby alerted the Chennai city police control room, and a team of police personnel were quickly sent to the spot but it was too late for the couple to be evacuated from the car.

A passerby uploaded the video of the BMW car burning down.

They reportedly found it hard to open the car doors and hence got trapped inside of the burning vehicle.

The couple’s bodies have since been sent to the Royapettah Government Hospital for a postmortem.

Police officials claimed that the racer’s over speeding was the reason behind the crash.

Fire and rescue services personnel from Mylapore also rushed to spot but it took around half-an-hour to put out the fire.

FMSCI chief Akbar Ebrahim and former Indian F1 driver Karun Chadhok wrote condolence messages on Facebook.

Sundar had won the national title in car racing and two-wheeler events on several occasions. His wife Niveditha was a doctor in a private hospital in Chennai.

In 2008, Ashwin had clinched a deal with German racing team Ma Con Motorsport and drove for the German Formula Volkswagen ADAC Championship.

(Agencies)

Trivendra Singh Rawat sworn in as Uttarakhand CM

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Trivendra Singh Rawat

Dehradun: BJP leader Trivendra Singh Rawat was today sworn in as Uttarakhand Chief Minister.

Governor K K Paul administered the oath of office and secrecy to 56-year-old Rawat, a former RSS pracharak, and nine ministers at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and other national and state party leaders.

Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat, Madan Kaushik, Arvind Pandey, Subodh Uniyal, Yashpal Arya and Prakash Pant have been made Cabinet ministers.

Rekha Arya and Dhan Singh Rawat took oath as ministers of state.

The BJP decimated the Congress in the Assembly election, winning 57 of the 70 seats.

Coupled with his administrative and organisational skills and experience, Rawat’s loyalty to the party and RSS ideology catapulted him to the top post in the state.

Rawat was appointed the party’s national secretary in 2013. He was later made co-incharge of the party’s affairs in Uttar Pradesh in 2014. He was BJP in-charge of Jharkhand ahead of the crucial assembly election, a responsibility he discharged well to further strengthen the party leadership’s trust in him.

He had wrested the Doiwala seat from Congress with an impressive margin of 24,869 votes to win it for the third time.

(Agencies)

2 missing Indian clerics in custody of Pak’s intelligence agency

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Syed Asif Nizami Nazim Nizami

Lahore: The two missing Indian clerics of Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah are in custody of Pakistan’s intelligence agency over their alleged links with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), official sources said today.

Syed Asif Nizami and his nephew Nazim Nizami were offloaded from Karachi-bound Shaheen Airlines on March 14 at the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, they said.

“The personnel of an intelligence took both the clerics into custody after getting them offloaded and shifted them to an undisclosed location for investigation,” the sources told PTI on condition of anonymity.

They further said both clerics have been detained for their alleged link with MQM of Altaf Hussain.

“They are being interrogated for their alleged links with Altaf’s partymen in Karachi,” the sources said, adding they will be freed if nothing is established against them.

The MQM emerged as a largely ethnic party in the 1980s. It has political dominance in the southern Sindh province’s urban areas – notably in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur where a large number of Urdu-speaking people who fled to Pakistan from India during 1947’s partition reside.

80-year-old Asif Nizami is the head priest of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah. He along with his nephew Nazim Ali Nizami had gone to Pakistan on March 8 to see his sister in Karachi. They arrived in Lahore on March 13 and visited shrine of sufi saint Baba Farid Gang in Pakpattan. The two went missing on March 14 from Lahore.

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria yesterday said Pakistan was “pro-actively pursuing” and have asked all departments concerned to look into the matter.

He had told PTI in Islamabad that, “no clue to the missing Indian priests has been found so far”.

India has taken up this matter with Pakistan and ensure the safe recovery of Indian nationals. Official sources in New Delhi said Pakistan has conveyed that it was “seriously pursuing” the case with its law enforcement agencies.

“We have taken up this matter with Government of Pakistan and requested them for an update on both the Indian nationals in Pakistan. Both are missing after they landed in Karachi airport,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had tweeted.

“We have also contacted their host in Karachi who appears to be under pressure not to speak to the Indian High Commission. I am in constant touch with our High Commission. However, there is no official confirmation regarding their whereabouts,” she said.

Pakistan has launched a crackdown on the MQM after party leader Hussain made anti-Pakistan comments during speeches at a hunger strike camp in Karachi last year.

Pakistan has charged the self-exiled leader in London with treason for his inflammatory speech that incited party workers to attack media outlets.

(Agencies)

Israel carries out air strikes inside Syria

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Fighter jets bomb multiple targets, prompting Syrian retaliation with ground-to-air missiles, Israeli army says.

Israeli aircraft

by Al Jazeera

The Israeli army says its aircraft have carried out several strikes inside Syria overnight, prompting Syrian forces to retaliate with ground-to-air missiles, one of which was intercepted.

It was one of the most serious incidents between the two countries, which remain technically at war, since civil war broke out in Syria in March 2011.

In response of Thursday night’s attack, the Syrian government deployed air defence systems and fired a number of missiles towards Israeli jets, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

None of the missiles struck the jets, the army said, though one of the projectiles was intercepted by Israel’s Arrow missile defence system north of Jerusalem, according to Haaretz.

“Overnight … aircraft targeted several targets in Syria,” an Israeli army statement said.

“Several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria following the mission and [army] aerial defence systems intercepted one of the missiles.”

Rocket sirens sounded in Israeli settlements in the Jordan valley, the military said and two witnesses heard an explosion a few minutes later, Reuters news agency reported.

Unidentified object

Syria’s army high command confirmed in a statement on Friday that Israeli jets breached Syrian airspace early in the morning and attacked a military target near Palmyra.

The high command described the attack as an act of aggression that aided the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, which is fighting against the Syrian government.

It said its air defences shot down one of four Israeli jets over what it called “occupied ground” and damaged another.

There were no reports by the Israeli army of any aircraft lost in the operation.

Jordanian new media said an “unidentified object” fell from the skies on Thursday night in the northern area of Irbid, after which security forces surrounded the area of impact.

Pictures shared on social media showed what appeared to be part of a missile that had landed in a yard.

It was not clear whether the object was part of of missile intercepted by Israel, part of an Israeli missile, or another object.

Arms convoys targeted

Both Israeli and other news media have reported Israeli air strikes inside Syria targeting arms convoys of Lebanese group Hezbollah, which fought a 2006 war with Israel and is now fighting alongside the Syrian government.

But normally Israel makes no official comment.

The missile fire prompted air raid sirens to go off in the Jordan Valley during the night, the Israeli army said.

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