Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / 2018 / Archives for March 2018

Archives for March 2018

Rahul Gandhi expresses shock at death of 39 Indians in Iraq

by

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi today expressed shock and his deepest condolences at the death of 39 Indians in captivity in Iraq. His party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, added that it was not just a tragedy for the families but for the entire country.

“I’m shocked to hear that 39 Indians who were in captivity since 2014, in Iraq, are now confirmed dead. “My deepest condolences to the families of those who have lived in hope, that their loved ones will return unharmed. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you today,” Gandhi said on Twitter.

Adding that the entire country was sad, Azad said the Ministry of External Affairs had forcefully asserted in Parliament last year that they are alive but was now saying they are dead. A group of 40 Indian workers, mostly from Punjab, were taken hostage by ISIS when it overran Iraq’s second largest city Mosul in 2014.

One of them escaped by posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in a statement in the Rajya Sabha. The other 39 are dead and their bodies have been recovered, she said.

While it was not immediately known when the Indians were killed, their bodies were recovered from Badosh, a village northwest of Mosul, and their identities established through DNA testing, she said. The mortal remains, which were exhumed from a mass grave in Badosh, will be brought back to India on a special plane and handed over to their relatives, she said.

“I had said that I will not declare anyone dead without substantive proof… today I have come to fulfil that commitment,” she said.

(PTI)

UNSC: 13 million people need humanitarian aid in DR Congo

by

Citing ongoing political turmoil, malnutrition, and a cholera outbreak, UN says millions need aid in the DRC.

A Congolese soldier carries a box of ammunition near the town of Kimbau, North Kivu province [File: Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Humanitarian needs caused by conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have doubled over the last year, the UN Security Council said.

Speaking on Monday, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock said 13 million people are affected by internal conflict gripping the country and require humanitarian assistance.

“More than 4.6 million children are acutely malnourished, including 2.2 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition,” Lowcock said.

“We’re seeing mushrooming epidemics including the worst outbreak of cholera in 15 years. There’s also an epidemic of sexual violence – most of it unreported and unaddressed – and much of it against children.”

Fighting in the central African country has much to do with the long-delayed vote to replace President Joseph Kabila.

While elections were initially set for November 2016, they were pushed to December 2018. But the electoral commission has since said voting may not be possible until April 2019.

In the meantime, political opposition has been building up and a report released by the UN on Monday said at least 47 people were killed in the past year in demonstration-related violence.

Various warlords
Speaking from the UN headquarters in New York City, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna said the UN Security Council is drawing attention to the crisis in DRC – one that involves many layers.

“There’s the ongoing political uncertainty with a president who has overstayed his constitutional term in office,” Hanna said.

“There’s been ongoing conflict particularly in the north of the country where there are rebel groups still operating. There are also military groups associated with various warlords in the particular region.”

This has resulted in a massive amount of internally displaced people, Hanna said.

The UN has scheduled a donor’s conference on April 13, where Lowcock said $1.7bn in aid is needed for this year. To date, only four percent of the funds needed for 2018 has been received by the UN.

“Underfunding is the largest single impediment to the humanitarian response in the DRC,” Lowcock said, adding the crisis will continue to escalate if there is no successful political transition and a halt to the violence.

New Davis Cup Format Difficult For India: Amritraj

by

the national tennis squad scheduled to face China next month, former star Vijay Amritraj on Tuesday said the new Davis Cup format is not ideal for emerging countries like India.

According to Amritraj, the new two-day format may be difficult for India as it will be difficult for players to compete in both singles and doubles.

“We have a good chance to win against China… I am not crazy about the two-day format in the Davis Cup.

“I don’t think the two-day format is a good thing because a country like us needs to have a good weekend of matches,” Amritraj told IANS.

“The three-day format is important for us because we may have a singles player who will also be required to play the doubles. The three-day format was a good one. It was a tried and tested format which worked very well,” he added.

The former World No.16 felt that it will be difficult for India to compete or even reach the World Group unless the country starts producing high quality singles players on a regular basis.

“We need to play four singles matches. They are most important as they give us four points. We have to try to get better singles players. Till we have guys who are good enough to be in the top 100 or 50, everything else is immaterial,” he said.

“To reach the World group we need players in top 50 and we can only achieve that by doing hard work.

“Our players are not good enough because results have shown we are not good enough. We are getting better,” he added.

Amritraj also asserted that current Indian stars Ramkumar Ramanathan and Yuki Bhambri have done well recently but will need more time to reach their full potential.

“Yuki and Ramkumar have been a bit better over the last six-to-seven month. I always said that their best years will be between 25 and 33 and not before that.

“Yuki had a terrific performance at Indian Wells. Ramkumar and Yuki are consistent these days and have qualified for a couple of ATP events,” the former star said.

“We start comparing them with western kids but it is a bit early. Indian kids mature physically later than western kids. I am still hoping our boys and girls can still do it between 25 and 33,” he added.

He also felt that Indian players needs better coaching and training facilities at the grassroots level.

“A lot of kids are playing at different levels but we don’t have kids excelling. The transformation is lacking completely. If you look at a particular level, they need better help,” Amritraj said.

“I think things have changed a lot now because you do get sponsorships and you do get coverage from media. You can get sponsorship to train abroad as well… like lots of kids have gone to Spain,” he added.

“There are lots of opportunities now. We have strong commitment from the children. We are in a little bit of dilemma. Our boys and girls are working hard but we need more results.”

Amritraj also opined that the high level of expenses and financial resources required for tennis put Indian kids at a disadvantage.

“It’s not easy… It costs… You need money. It is very very difficult to put together. You need lots of support to put those things together and we tried and keep trying,” he said.

French Ex-President Sarkozy Held On Funding From Gaddafi

by


Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken into police custody for questioning over allegations that he received funding from the regime of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi for the 2007 presidential election campaign.

Sarkozy, 63, was summoned to a police station in Nanterre and was being questioned in relation to “irregularities” over the financing of his 2007 campaign that swept him to power for a single five-year term, Le Monde daily reported citing court sources.

An inquiry was opened in April 2013 into allegations that Sarkozy’s campaign had benefited from illicit funds from Gaddafi but it was the first time that he is being questioned over the matter. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The development came several weeks after a former associate, Alexandre Djouhri, was arrested in London and later released on bail. One of Sarkozy’s former ministers and a close ally, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned on Tuesday, the BBC reported.

The former President can be held by police for up to 48 hours before facing magistrates.

French law bans candidates from receiving cash payments above 6,300 pounds, but the massive donation is said to have been laundered through bank accounts in Panama and Switzerland.

A document made public in Paris apparently showed that the French leader and the former Libyan dictator made an illegal financial deal, reports say.

Written in Arabic and signed by Mussa Kussa, Gaddafi’s intelligence chief, in 2006, it referred to an “agreement in principle to support the campaign for Sarkozy for a sum equivalent to 50 million euro”.

A bundle of evidence was originally leaked by senior members of Libya’s National Transitional Council to French investigative news site Mediapart, according to a Daily Mail report.

A governmental briefing note among papers sent to Mediapart pointed to numerous visits to Libya by Sarkozy and his colleagues which were aimed at securing funding, it said.

(IANS)

RICHA CHADHA TO HELM THE BIOPIC OF SHAKEELA!

by

Only a few actors, who are capable of incredible screen personality, can dare to take up parts which go onto becoming memorable. Vidya Balan once took such a chance with a film titled Dirty Picture. The film back then became a roaring success in a time when a film with a leading woman wasn’t such a common phenomenon. Joining this club is Richa Chadha who is all set to helm the biopic of Shakeela, one of the 90’s biggest actresses from Kerala who acted in several adult films in languages spanning Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam & Kannada. The biopic with Richa at the centre of it will tell the tale of Shakeela from when she entered the film business at the age of 16 and traces her life journey from there. Soon after Shakeela became a raging success in cinema halls making history & fanfare like never before. Her films weren’t only dubbed in languages across India but also were dubbed in languages like Chinese, Nepalese and several others. Shakeela became a popular figure in the film business at a time popularity was only for the men in the industry dominated by them. The film is being directed by Indrajit Lankesh who has won several acclaimed awards in his career that began in 2001. The film will go on floors this April and will release in early 2019.

SUNNY DEOL INTRODUCES REEL LIFE SON, UTKARSH SHARMA FOR ANIL SHARMA’S GENIUS

by


After 17 years of Gadar, Sunny Deol got together with his reel life son but not for a film and for another purpose instead. Sunny Deol came to an event to introduce Utkarsh Sharma (who played his son Cheete in Gadar) to the media who is making his debut with film Genius directed by his father Anil Sharma known for Gadar, Hero – Love Story Of A Spy, Apne etc. Genius is a science fiction film promising generous doses of romance thrill & drama also featuring Mithun Chakraborty Ayesha Jhulka & Nawazuddin Siddiqui in important roles. The event also was a celebration of Anil Sharma’s b’day and the wrapping of the shoot of Genius. Anil Sharma said, ” I am delighted to introduce my son to Bollywood. We started shooting Genius on his birthday and wrapped up on my birthday.” While Utkarsh thanked everyone and revealed how the father – son duo never behaved like father – son of sets. “I was never given any special treatment and we were always like a debut actor & a veteran director on sets. It was a learning experience to share screen with great actors like Nawazuddin & Mithunda”.

ASHUTOSH GOWARIKER & SANJAY DUTT TO REUNITE AFTER 32 YEARS FOR ‘PANIPAT’

by


Ashutosh Gowariker is excited about his upcoming project Panipat, a re – presentation of 3rd Battle of Panipat. The movie stars Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Kapoor & Kriti Sanon in the lead roles and is tentatively scheduled to go on floors by mid – 2018. Ashutosh said, “I shared screen space with Sanjay Dutt in Naam (1986), which was a memorable co – acting experience. What impresses me most about Arjun, apart from his fine performances, is his dynamism. He has played double roles twice (Aurangzeb, 2013 & Mubarakan, 2017), and has portrayed an action hero as well as a lover boy”. Ashutosh is excited to have Kriti Sanon on board. He added, “I needed someone who is beautiful & a good performer. The eclectic combination of these 3 is a 1st ever for me.” The action – packed period drama, is produced by Sunita Gowariker & Rohit Shelatkar’s company; Vision World, and is slated to release on 6th Dec, 2019. However, Gowariker’s last directorial venture, Mohenjo Daro (2016), did not do well on the Box – Office turnstiles, producer Rohit Shelatkar is certain that the filmmaker is perfect to wheel Panipat. “Ashutosh has a tremendous track record. Lagaan (2001), Jodhaa Akbar (2008) & Swades (2004) are my favourites. I am confident that he will represent the subject in the best cinematic form”.

15-day parole for Sasikala after husband dies

by


AIADMK’s jailed leader V.K. Sasikala was granted parole for 15 days on Tuesday to attend her husband M. Natarajan’s last rites, Bengaluru Central Jail Chief Superintendent M. Somashekar said.

Natarajan, 74, died on Tuesday in Chennai after he was hospitalized on March 16 for chest infection and kept on ventilator support.

His body is to be taken to his village in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, about 350 km south of Chennai, for last rites.

Sasikala is currently serving a four-year sentence since February 15 last year after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction in a corruption case.

39 Indians Kidnapped By IS In Iraq’s Mosul Are Dead: Sushma (Lead)

by

Thirty-nine Indians kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Iraq’s Mosul in 2014 are dead, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.

The minister confirmed the deaths in the Rajya Sabha and said the mortal remains will be brought back to India by Union Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh.

“General V.K. Singh will go to Iraq to bring back the mortal remains of the Indians killed in Iraq. The plane carrying the mortal remains will first reach Amritsar, then Patna and then go to Kolkata,” Sushma Swaraj said.

She said the bodies were spotted using deep penetration radar and were exhumed from mass graves.

Their identities were confirmed by DNA tests.

“The bodies were brought to Baghdad for DNA testing. The DNA of 38 Indians have been matched.

“For verification of the bodies, DNA samples of their relatives were sent there. Four state governments — Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar — were involved in the process,” the minister said.

The victims — 31 from Punjab, four from Himachal Pradesh and four from Bihar and West Bengal — were construction workers and were employed by an Iraqi company in Mosul.

They were taken hostage when the IS took control of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq. The workers were trying to leave Mosul when they were taken hostage.

Sushma Swaraj also dismissed claims of Harjeet Massi, one of them who escaped from Mosul.

“He was not willing to tell me how he escaped,” she said.

The minister said that she had concrete evidence that he was lying.

Massi had escaped along with Bangladeshis with the help of a caterer with a fake name ‘Ali’, she said.

She said the details were revealed to her by Massi’s employer and the caterer who helped him.

In July 2017, Sushma Swaraj had said that she would not declare the 39 Indians dead without concrete proof or evidence.

(IANS)

Sri Lanka lifts state of emergency as communal tensions subside

by

Buddhist mobs swept through towns, burning at least 11 Muslim-owned shops and homes [AP]

by Al Jazeera

Sri Lanka’s president announced he has lifted the nationwide state of emergency that was imposed after communal clashes resulted in the deaths of three people.

The latest series of violence began on March 4, after a Buddhist Sinhalese man was beaten to death by a group of Muslim men following a traffic accident in Teledeniya town in Kandy.

Several dozen people were wounded in the riots, in which mobs vandalised mosques and scores of Muslim homes and businesses.

“Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday,” President Maithripala Sirisena said on Twitter.

The measure was imposed on March 6 after police failed to control the riots and the military was deployed. Internet access was also blocked across the country.

Police have arrested the suspected instigators of the riots.

The United Nations condemned the string of anti-Muslim attacks in Sri Lanka last week.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman told the Sri Lankan government the people behind the violence should be brought to justice.

During his visit, Feltman “condemned the breakdown in law and order and the attacks against Muslims and their property”, a UN statement said.

The violence has raised fears of instability in Sri Lanka, a South Asian island nation still struggling to recover from nearly three decades of ethnic civil war.

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives