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Archives for March 2018

EU countries recall ambassadors from Russia: reports

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A car drives past a building of the Polish embassy in Moscow [Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]

by Mariya Petkova,Al Jazeera

Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have recalled their ambassadors from Moscow, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing “unknown reasons” for the move.

More than 10 European Union countries – including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Denmark – are also expected to expel Russian diplomats this week in show of support for the UK in its diplomatic dispute with Russia over a spy poisoning case.

The decision was made last Friday during a meeting of EU leaders.

Also on Friday, Bloomberg reported that US President Donald Trump’s aides are also urging him to expel Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK.

Brussels already recalled, Markus Ederer, head of the European Union Delegation in Russia, for consultations. The move came days after London expelled 23 Russian diplomats and Moscow responded with the same measure.

Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian presidency, told Russian media that Russia has not received any official notification from the US regarding expulsion of Russian diplomats and that Moscow is ready to respond in kind.

“Of course, in any such case [of expulsions], it is clear that the principal of reciprocity will be employed,” he said.

Tensions in UK-Russian relations escalated after UK Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia of poisoning former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent.

On March 4, Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench near a shopping centre in the town of Salisbury, 120km southwest of London. They are both still in a critical condition at Salisbury Discrict Hospital.

Skripal is a former Russian military intelligence officer accused of spying for the UK. He was imprisoned in 2006 and later exchanged for Russian citizens accused of espionage in the US.

Russian state media denials
On the eve of the latest expulsions of Russian diplomats, Russian state media dedicated much time to appearances of officials and coverage of the Skripal case, claiming that Russia has been falsely accused of poisoning Skripal.

“What Britain is doing right now is black PR on an international scale,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zaharova on state TV channel Rossiya 1.

She said that Britain is rushing in its investigation and sending “illiterate” responses to inquiries of the Russian embassy in London.

She also questioned the validity of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons investigation. Representatives of the OPCW collected samples on March 19 and their results are expected to be released in a week.

Earlier the same day, Peskov told Russian state channel NTV that the Britain’s behaviour “is bordering on banditry in international relations. What is behind this? Either internal problems in Britain or problems between Britain and its allies, or something else.”

Meanwhile, state TV channel Rossiya 24 aired an extensive report on the Skripal case claiming that May is “lying” because nerve gas agent “Novichok” does not exist.

The same day, a popular on Rossiya 1 late-night talk show with Vladimir Solovyev, a media personality thought to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, featured an interview with a Russia chemical weapons specialist who alleged that the US has also developed a substance like the one believed to have poisoned Skripal and his daughter.

According to Mark Galeotti, senior research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, the targeting of Skripal was meant to send a signal to the West.

“Presumably, if they decided to target Skripal […], they had two options – one, do it subtly, and two, do it demonstratively and they clearly made a choice,” Galeotti told Al Jazeera.

In his opinion, Russia will continue to employ similar provocative tactics with the West.

“[These tactics] keep Russia bubbling up in the news and in the attention of the West,” he said.

“Putin’s aim is to force the West into recognising Russia as a big power.”

Can’t disclose Modi’s flight records under RTI due to security

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New Delhi: Records pertaining to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chartered flights for visits abroad cannot be disclosed under the RTI Act due to security concerns as per instructions from the PMO, the national carrier has said in response to an application filed by an activist under the transparency law.

In his RTI application dated 2 February, 2018, Commodore (Retd) Lokesh Batra had sought to know from Air India the dates of invoices raised for chartered flights provided by it for foreign visits of the Prime Minister since November 2016, and the dates of forwarding each of these bills to the Civil Aviation Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry.

According to Batra, he got a response from the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) who said he cannot furnish information sought by him, and also sent him an e-mail communication from the PMO to Air India on the issue.

In that email, sent to an Air India official on December 26, 2016, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had said, “Records pertaining to PM’s flight have certain information which may have security implications and are, hence, exempted from disclosure under clause (g) of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act, 2005.”

“As such, the Air India is advised not to disclose information relating to PM’s flight to such RTI queries,” it said.

It was not clear what had prompted the PMO’s email in 2016.

Section 8(1)(g) of the RTI Act exempts from disclosure information that would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes.

After receiving the response of Air India, citing the PMO’s instructions, Batra wrote to Air India saying that there is no provision in the Act to deny information without giving reasons as per section 7(1) of the Act or without quoting the CIC or court orders for denial of Information.

Air India has responded to his letter saying, “We never deny any information which is available as per our records of accounts Dept. As per provision in the Act we are not supposed to supply any copy of our document or as per section 7(1) of the Act, which is informed by PMO.”

Batra has also written to the PMO calling the instruction to Air India a “serious lapse”.

(PTI)

Rahul accuses Modi of trying to build personal database via NaMo app

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Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of misusing his position to build personal database “with data on millions of Indians via the NaMo App promoted by the government”, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday termed him “Big Boss who likes to spy”.

In a hard-hitting attack, he also alleged that NaMo App secretly records audio, video, contacts and even tracks location via GPS.

Gandhi said if the Prime Minister wants to use technology to communicate with people, he should use the official PMO app.

“Modi misusing PM position to build personal database with data on millions of Indians via the NaMo App promoted by Govt. If as PM he wants to use tech to communicate with India, no problem. But use the official PMO APP for it. This data belongs to India, not Modi,” Gandhi said in a tweet.

“Modi’s NaMo App secretly records audio, video, contacts of your friends and family and even tracks your location via GPS. He’s the Big Boss who likes to spy on Indians. Now he wants data on our children. 13 lakh NCC (National Cadet Corps) cadets are being forced to download the app,” he added.

The Congress chief’s remarks comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) earlier on Monday accused the Congress of sharing users data with a Singapore-based firm.

Earlier, the BJP had accused the Congress of compromising national security by roping in London-based political data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica to run its 2019 election campaign. The firm is allegedly involved in social media data manipulation.

(IANS)

Kerala opposition slams Vijayan government over unruly police

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The Kerala opposition slammed the Pinarayi Vijayan government in the Assembly on Monday over “losing control” over the state police as they have “become a bunch of unruly hooligans and turned rabid”.

Seeking leave for an adjournment motion on this topic, former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan presented cases that took place in the past two weeks involving unruly police officer.

“Earlier this month, in Alappuzha, two civilians were killed by a police vehicle when officers were chasing a traffic violator. In another incident, a police officer punched a retired railway official when he had stopped his car for the Kerala Governor to pass through. Then, a video went viral on social media which showed a police officer hurling abuses,” said Radhakrishnan.

He added that Vijayan and the state police chief Loknath Behera were purposely absent from the House proceedings so that Minister for Culture A.K. Balan was saddled with the responsibility for replying on behalf of the government.

Balan said: “Yes we know of what has happened and it will take time as some officials are still under the hangover of the Congress-led UDF rule.

“While we have suspended five police officers, it will not end with that… No erring officials will get any protection.”

Unhappy with the reply, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala pointed out that the people’s police have now turned to be people’s tormentors.

“Vijayan appears to have lost control of the police… For the minister to reply, just reading out the version of the police won’t help,” Chennithala said before leading the opposition out of the House.

Rahul Gandhi and Congress apart, triple anti-incumbency looms as major threat to Narendra Modi’s return in 2019

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BJP is hopeful of bettering its 2014 Lok Sabha performance in 2019. It has formed governments in 13 states which have held elections after May 2014 and retained two states. Along with its allies, the party now rules 20 states which send 63 percent of total MPs to the Lower House. Narendra Modi’s approval ratings remain high and he enjoys a lead of over 30 percent versus Rahul Gandhi in India Today Mood of the Nation Survey.

However, all is not hunky dory for the party. BJP has lost four Lok Sabha by-polls held in 2018, all in the Hindi heartland. The Opposition has smelled blood and Congress is leading discussions to form a grand alliance. Whereas, regional parties like TMC and TRS have initiated a discussion to form a Federal Front. Amidst this background, a number of commentators have started questioning BJP’s ability to repeat its historic performance in 2019.

PM Narendra Modi with Hazrat Syed Muhammad Ashraf Ashrafi at the opening ceremony of the World Islamic Sufi Conference in New Delhi.


These alliances, formed purely on an anti-Modi plank, may not worry the prime minister at this stage too much.

While it is no mean feat to lead a majority government at the Centre, having chief ministers in two-third states and 274 MPs in Lok Sabha — the highest tally of any party since 1984 — could act as a double-edged sword. In addition to this, BJP now has 35 percent of all India MLAs and controls many municipalities across the country. This heightens the risk of BJP facing triple anti-incumbency in 2019. It is the biggest threat to Modi making a comeback in 2019 in my opinion.

Hazare’s strike enters day 4, aide claims he lost 4 kgs

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Social activist Anna Hazare has lost 4 kgs, his aide claimed, as his indefinite hunger strike entered its fourth day. Hazare’s blood pressure, however, is normal, his close associate Datta Awari said.

Hazare has been on an indefinite hunger strike since March 23 to press for his demands, including the appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states. His 2011 agitation had led to the passing of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013, but the Centre is yet to appoint an ombudsman.

This time Hazare is also demanding the government give better Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) to farmers to address agrarian distress.

Hindi Film Review

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“Hichki Is A Simple, A Meaningful & An Inspiring Film That Stays With You”.

Banner: Yash Raj Films

Producer: Aditya Chopra & Maneesh Sharma

Director: Siddharth P. Malhotra

Star Cast: Rani Mukherji, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Harsh Mayar, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Kunal Shinde, Shivkumar Subramanium, Neeraj Kabi, Ivan Rodrigues, Suprio Bose, Sparsh Khubchandani along with Jannat Zubair Rehmani, Hussian Dalal & Asif Basra

Music: Jasleen Royal & Hitesh–Sonik

Rani Mukherjee has indeed made a smashing comeback almost after 4 years with yet another woman oriented movie Hichki which has been produced by her husband Aditya Chopra under their own home production banner Yash Raj Films & directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra. The film indeed gives out positive & feel good vibes as it is the story about a teacher who turns her biggest weakness into her strength.

The story in tandem with the scripted scenario of Hichki revolves around Naina Mathur (Rani Mukerji) and her earnest struggle to break into her dream career of teaching while battling Tourette’s syndrome. After much trepidation & tussle with management & Principal (Shiv Subramanium) of a fancy public school, Naina Mathur lands a job as a teacher. The glitch here is that she is given a class full of mischief makers as students.

The challenge for Naina Mathur comes in the form of these unruly kids and of course, her own physical shortcoming. First, it starts with the students resisting her efforts, pulling pranks on her, absolutely frustrating her to the point of a breakdown and later it moves on to a great issue. Elitism prevalent in the education sector.

Soon enough it is Naina Mathur’s class of unruly kids from a nearby ghetto vs the privileged students of St. Notker’s High School who “legitimately belong” there. This class of 14 students essentially come from underprivileged background and are a part of the school, only because of the compulsion by the Right To Education Act on the school management.

It is a classic underdog–take–on–the-world and wins kind of situation. What happens when Naina Mathur takes up the challenge to teach this class of rejects is what forms the rest of the story of Hichki.

Director Siddharth P. Malhotra has done an earnest job by creating a heart-warming moments between Naina Mathur and her students who slowly but surely come around to appreciate their teacher’s efforts. Siddharth P. Malhotra takes a simple story but keeps it engaging throughout and that speaks a lot about his talent as a story-teller.
Hichki is inspired by Hollywood flick “Front Of The Class” based on the novella by Brad Cohen, “Front Of The Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me The Teacher I Never Had”, co-authored by Lisa Wysocky. The premise is old & films like Hindi Medium & Taare Zameen Par come to mind when one thinks of Hichki.
The film works when it comes to the basic storytelling and holds the attention in the 1st half. While the story is predictable, the screenplay is engaging and keeps you hooked on to its 1st half. Anckur Chaudhry’s dialogue, story & screenplay starts off on a great note. It is sharp, clever, zingy & funny but slips eventually towards 2nd half. Director Siddharth Malhotra has co-written the story & screenplay with Anckur Chaudhry, Ambar Hadap & Ganesh Pandit. Though their intention was genuine, they try too hard to somehow drive the message home towards the end.
Editor Shweta Venkat Mathew does a decent job, though the 2nd half could’ve been tighter. Avinash Arun handles the cinematography well as he plays with his lens to highlight small quirks about the key character of the film. His camera work makes the film look good overall. Music by Jasleen Royal is average. However background score by Hitesh-Sonik is good and goes with the narrative.

What makes Hichki a decent watch really is Rani Mukerji’s effervescent performance and the way she shoulders the film throughout with a renewed zest. Rani Mukherjee is likeable & inspiring and you sure empathize with her cause. She is relentless, spirited and totally right into her character. She does not lose her bearing even once and holds your attention with her amazing screen presence. There is a little “act” in her acting and it makes you wish she did more films. The actors playing her students are true to their characters and do a brilliant job in their bearing of the rebellious turned studious kids. Harsh Mayar playing the role of Aatish stands out. Neeraj Kabi as the disapproving teacher is spectacular. Ivan Rodrigues as the Principal is good. Supriya Pilgaonkar, Kunal Shinde, Shivkumar Subramaniam, Asif Basra, Hussain Dalal, Suprio Bose, Jannat Zubair Rahmani are all fantastic.

Tail Piece: On the whole, Hichki is a simple, meaningful & an inspiring film that stays with you. Rani Mukerji is back in full form and her fans will be immensely impressed.

At the box office, the film will mainly appeal to the younger audiences.

Kapil Sharma is back, and how

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So he is back, after all. The naysayers and party-poopers are biting their nails. To his credit, Kapil Sharma has adopted a completely new format for his comeback, and viewers don’t get to see even a shred of the earlier shows, except the sexist quips.

So switch on your television sets again because Kapil Sharma is back.

“Family Time With Kapil”, which kick-started on Sony Entertainment on Sunday evening, is fun to watch… If you like game shows where people, who would normally not be caught doing such things, are seen balancing playing-balls between their derriere.

The tempo was preserved to the end, and Kapil’s old colleagues Kiku Sharda and Chandan Prabhakar provided able support. No one missed the spoilsports from Kapil’s earlier shows who have chosen to their separate way. And yes, Navjot Singh Sidhu was also back on the show, though I am not very sure what his function would be this time.

Sidhu did get his judge’s chair, though. Old habits die hard. And who knows this better than Kapil?

But who cares? As Kapil said at the start, “Game toh ek bahana hai, har family ko saath jutana hai. (The game is just an excuse, the idea is to bring families together.)”

There were digs galore about Kapil’s mishaps during the past year, and Sidhu even slipped in a dig about the comedian’s flopped big-screen plans.

I had fun watching Kapil’s comeback timing. I can see families switching on to the show, for no better reason except to see Kapil act naughty. At one point, he asked a member of the audience why he didn’t bring his wife on the show.

“Insha Allah agli baar aapke liye laaonga biwi ko,” said the over-enthusiastic guest.

“Aapki biwi aapko mubarak ho,” Kapil remarked.

No offence meant. Let the fun begin. Even Ajay Devgn, who came on the show, seemed to enjoy himself.

Three stars for this one.

(IANS)

Smriti takes dig at Rahul amid data breach allegations

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Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on Monday took a swipe at Congress President Rahul Gandhi amid allegations that his party had shared user data with a Singapore-based firm from its official app “WithINC” that has now disappeared from the Google Play Store.

Irani tweeted to Gandhi, asking him if his team had misunderstood his demand to get Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “NaMo” app deleted and instead removed “WithINC” from the Google store.

“Ye kya Rahul Gandhi ji. It seems your team is doing the opposite of what you asked for. Instead of deleting NaMoApp, they have deleted the Congress App itself,” Irani said, posting screen shots of the play store that shows the Congress app is not available.

She asked the Congress chief if he would care to answer “why Congress sends data to Singapore servers which can be accessed by any Tom, Dick and Analytica”, referring to the British firm that was at the centre of a storm for illegally accessing Facebook user data for political purposes.

The minister’s remarks came after the Congress described the allegations of its involvement in the data breach baseless.

The Congress said the “WithINC” app was being used for social media updates alone since transitioning the membership to the website.

“This morning, we were forced to remove the app from the Playstore as the wrong URL was being circulated and people were being misled. The “WithINC” app is a membership app and has not been in use for over five months since we moved membership to http://www.inc.in from 16th Nov 2017,” the party said in a series of tweets.

Amid allegations and counter allegations, Gandhi also accused Modi of misusing his position to build a personal database with the data of millions of Indians via the NaMoApp promoted by the government.

“If as PM, he wants to use tech to communicate with India, no problem. But use the official PMO APP for it. This data belongs to India, not Modi,” Gandhi said hitting out at Modi and the BJP after the ruling party accused the Congress of sharing users’ data with a Singapore-based firm.

Caught between devil & deep-sea, BJP is a greater evil: Bhushan

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By David Bodapati

Lack of transparency in electoral funding and donations to political parties is destroying the moral fabric and values in India, said Prashant Bhushan and urged for a cashless funding for political parties. Deploring the unprecedented assault on the values and democratic institutions of India by the ruling government, anti-corruption crusader Prashant Bhushan gave a clarion call to the foot soldiers of Swaraj Abhiyan and other movements interested in social justice, equality and democracy to connect and engage with the people at grassroot level to end corruption and wage a relentless war against its many vicious facets in electoral politics.

Eminent Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is also the president of Swaraj Abhiyan, a social movement and a political forum to restore the rights of the citizens of India, spoke at length about the `Politcal Corruption and Dangers to Democracy’, a talk organised by Swaraj Abhiyan and Jana Sangrama Parishat here on Sunday.

Later addressing the Media, he said: “In Karnataka things have come to a passe. DK Shivakumar and the likes of Kheni have joined Congress, which ignored the corruption cases against them. The BJP has Mr Yediyurappa, as their face in Karnataka as CM candidate and leader of the election campaign despite indictment in many cases by Lok Ayukta and CBI. The parties have all been partners in crime, but the people are stuck.”

“Though it is a choice between the deveil and the deep sea, BJP is a far greater evil in Karnataka,” he exhorted commanding all democratic forces to join in advocating for transparent, corruption-free governance ahead of the Assembly Elections. He pooh-poohed the tainted Reedy brothers joining the BJP campaign despite their bleak and black record in the mining looting that went on for years in the State.

“All the democratic institutions are being destroyed. Central Vigilence commission, Central Bureau of Investigation, Media, et al. Bringing the allegedly corrupt and those with tainted history as saviours of corruption has eroded the existence of the watchdogs of corruption,” he added. For a long time the CVC three-member team was largely vacant. After a petition was filed in the SC that the vacancies were not filled, members with questionable integrity were nominated. Likewise, the Special Director of the CBI appointed by the BJP government had an ongoing investigation against himself, he revealed citing the appointment of Rakesh Asthana, an 84 batch IPS officer from Gujarat, who himself was under the scanner of CBI.

The respected lawyer, who along with Yogender Yadav is spearheading Swaraj India, the new political outfit advocating for clean and honest politics, also exposed the BJP governments finance bill last year which nullified the limit of 7.5 percent of profit of corporates that can be funded to political parties. “When we are talking about transparency in funding to political parties, the Electoral Bonds have become an instrument of changing black money to white. They are bearer bonds with no name or serial number,” he said quoting a Rafael deal that priced the machines three time over. “Bonds are given to a party and they cash it. And no one knows where the money came from, even if it is a clear kickbacks on the deals.” Is the government that promised to bring back the Black Money, actually promoting Black Money, the Kala Dhan, he questioned!

The Bengaluru based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is replaced by a bogus one-year old Ambani firm `Reliance Defence’ for the Rafale deal and they protect the corruption by invoking a `secrecy agreement’ with the French government, which appears ridiculous for me when you are talking about the public money laundering to the tune of 10,000 crores of rupees. “I have written a book on Bofors, compared to Rafale it’s chicken-feed,” the legal expert felt.

The celebrated public figure known for his no-nonsense and honest approach broached several other topics like proprtional representation, Lokpal, Santosh Hegde’s report in Karnataka, unending scams of Nirav Modi, Choksi and Mallya, and patiently replied to the questions of the Media, who flocked to the hall attended by over 200 audience.

Hiremat of Jana Sangrama Parishat, who spoke about the corruption and need to cleanse the political system in Karnataka, chaired the meeting. Nisha Gulur, a transgender leader from Swaraj Abhiyan and a founder member of Swaraj India anchored the programme in Kannada.

Pratima Nayak, State Committee member of Swaraj India, film actor Kishore and others from Swaraj Abhiyan and Jana Sangrama Parishat were also present.

Mr Bhushan left for the Youth4Jobs programme in the city after a quick and well-attended press conference.

Swaraj Abhiyan’s political wing, the Swaraj India, recently launched the all India farmers MSP Satyagraha agitation from Yadgir with Yogender Yadav launching the combined movement for farmers. The party is expected to announce its manifesto and the first list of 7 to 10 candidates in a few days for the Karnataka Assembly elections including the support to a couple of independent candidates after the loss of their respected farmers’ leader Puttanaiah. The former Sarvodaya Party leader and farmers voice was the only sitting MLA of Swaraj India in Karnataka before he passed away.

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