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There is no question of replacing Parrikar, says GFP’s Sardesai

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Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai Friday said there was no question of replacing ailing Manohar Parrikar as Goa Chief Minister.

Sardesai is Agriculture minister in the Parrikar cabinet.

Parikkar is undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at his residence after returning to the state on October 14 following hospitalisation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

While the ruling BJP has maintained that Parrikar has been looking after the affairs of governance even as he undergoes treatment, the state’s opposition parties, and occasionally allies in the state government, have alleged that his health-related absence was bringing administration to a standstill.

Sardesai Friday told media he met Parrikar on November 28.

“I had met the CM while coming back from the closing ceremony function of IFFI (International Film Festival of India) (on November 28). He is fine. Where is the question of replacing him?” Sardesai said.

 

PTI

 

 

Himalayan tremor predicted in near future

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 Growing warnings by scientists of an impending high-magnitude earthquake in the Himalayas have got further credence from yet another study by Indian researchers.

The new study, led by seismologist C.P. Rajendran of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru, says the “enormous stacking up of strain in the region portends at least one earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more in one of the overlapping segments of the central Himalayas anytime in the future”.

According to the study, published in “Geological Journal”, the researchers critically evaluated existing databases along with the data from two newly explored locales — Mohana Khola in far western Nepal and Chorgalia, which falls within the Indian border, to determine the timing of the last faulting event on the frontal thrust of the central Himalayas.

The researchers followed the local geology and structural map published by the Geological Survey of India, besides using Google Earth and imagery from Indian space agency ISRO’s Cartosat-1 satellite.

The analysis, the researchers say, “compels us to conclude that a great earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more that occurred between 1315 and 1440 had unzipped a stretch of about 600 km (the length of central seismic gap from Bhatpur to beyond Mohana Khola) in the central Himalayas with an average slip (or displacement) of 15 metres”.

The present study underlines the fact after this massive earthquake, the frontal thrust in the central Himalayas (covering parts of India and eastern Nepal) has remained seismically quiet for 600 to 700 years, implying enormous build-up of strain in the region.

“An earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more is overdue in this part of the Himalayas, given the long-elapsed time.

“Considering this potentially high seismic risk, this will be particularly catastrophic for a region marked by an ever-growing population and unhindered expansion of the built-up environment, to be contrasted with poor preparedness to meet this contingency,” Rajendran told this correspondent.

Roger Bilham, a US geophysicist at the University of Colorado whose years of work laid the basis for the current knowledge about earthquakes in the Himalayan region, fully supports the Indian researchers’ findings.

“They are undeniably correct in concluding that should an earthquake occur now, its magnitude could equal 8.5,” Bilham told this correspondent in an email.

“My own evaluation of the available evidence suggests their estimate is conservative, and should the rupture zone extend from east of Almora to west of Pockara (Nepal) the earthquake will exceed 8.7,” he added

The findings by Rajendran and his team confirm two other studies by Indian geophysicists — one led by K.M. Sreejith at the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, and another led by Vineet Gahalaut, director of the National Centre for Seismology in New Delhi.

Analysing data from a network of 36 Global positioning System (GPS) stations and using a geodetic method called InSAR (Interferometric synthetic aperture radar) Sreejit and his team reported (in the journal Scientific Reports) that an earthquake of a magnitude similar to or greater than that of 2015 Gorkha earthquake (7.8) is due in the central Himalayas.

Gahalaut and his team, who analysed the continuous GPS measurements of crustal deformation from 28 sites reported (in Earth & Planetary Science Letters) that the next major earthquake is likely to occur in the Garhwal-Kumaun segment of the northwest Himalayas.

Arun Bapat, a Pune-based research seismologist who correctly predicted the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami, told this correspondent: “The predicted large magnitude earthquake in the Himalayas could occur most probably in 2018 or its proximity.”

India is a land of inequality: Writer Anand Neelakantan

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 Noted writer Anand Neelakantan has described India as a land of inequality and has said that even though the concept of equality has always been there in the country, it has never been put to practise.

Neelkantan, who is the writer of the famous “Baahubali” series, explores some unknown stories hidden in epics and scriptures. His new book “Vanara: The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara” tells the honour, love, jealousy and betrayal we seldom read of.

“India is a land of inequality. The concept of equality was always there in Indian thought but never in practise. In my novel, ‘Vanara’, Kishkinda is established as a place of equal opportunities. One of the subplots of the story is how this city so established with such lofty ideals slowly descended to become a highly unequal society, mirroring present day India.

“The entire caste system evolved as a tool of grading people and treating people unequally. Whatever arguments one may say about caste or Jaati differing from Varna etc, in practice, for at least 2,000 years, the discrimination on the basis of caste and creed has existed in India and the same continues to hold India back from evolving into a modern society,” the 45-year-old author told IANS.

He maintained that in India discrimination based on religion, caste, language, economic condition and the colour of the skin is a practise.

“One cannot shut our eyes to this reality and talk only about glorious things of our nation. Real patriotism is accepting our faults and working to rectify the same rather than blind glorification of anything related to religion, country or culture,” he said.

Neelakantan said that the interest in Puranas for an average Indian had never waned and emphasised that the Puranas have always played an important role in Indian psyche.

“Why it looks so amplified is because of the power of social media, 24 X 7 news channels. Even Gandhiji used the concept of Ramarajya in the freedom struggle. Puranas were once used to teach people how to live. Storytelling is a powerful tool of conveying ideas and the rich stories of Puranas were used to make the knowledge of Vedas and Upanishads in an accessible format for the common man. Once, it was a tool to unite people like how Gandhiji did. It is unfortunate that some people are using such age-old tales to divide people for selfish gains,” said the author.

Hockey WC 2018: New Zealand defeat France 2-1

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 New Zealand pipped France 2-1 in its opening game of the Hockey World Cup 2018 at the Kalinga stadium here on Thursday.

After a goalless first quarter, Kane Russell scored for New Zealand in the 17th minute and as France failed to convert opportunities in the later part of the second quarter, the Kiwis enjoyed a 1-0 lead at half-time.

Later, a long pass from midfield was well controlled by Stephen Jenness, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net, making the scoreline read 2-0 in New Zealand’s favour with just four minutes of play left.

It seemed France wouldn’t be able to open its account but Victor Charlet converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute to make the score 2-1.

IANS

KL Rahul should bat more responsibly, says Bangar

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 Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels KL Rahul should play responsibly being an experienced player of the side.

While five different Indian batsmen notched up their respective half-centuries against Cricket Australia XI in the warm-up game here on Thursday, Rahul failed to make a significant contribution after falling for just three runs.

“He (Rahul) is not a young player anymore and he is on his second tour here. He has played 30 Tests and he has a responsibility. We expect him to play with that responsibility and play his role for the team,” Bangar told reporters here.

“He (Rahul) has been looking in good shape, including today. It is just that he is finding new ways to get out. Even today, the ball was quite afar when he played it away from his body and lost his wicket. But what we are reading he is playing the ball well and he is one hit away (from form),” the batting coach expressed.

“We know his ability and if he converts that to performances then it is important for the team.”

The 46-year-old also said that the opening combination and as the number six slot for the first Test in Adelaide are still up for grabs and the team management will take a call on it after the second innings of the ongoing game.

“I would say there are still some spots to be taken. We will keep a close eye on how the second innings goes and it gives some other batsmen a hit especially Murali Vijay and middle order batsmen, and see how they go,” said Bangar.

“There are certain spots to be taken still. We are looking at the opening slot as well as the number six slot. Those are the positions we are still looking at, we have not decided yet,” he added.

Praising youngster Prithvi Shaw (66 runs off 69 deliveries), who slammed a half-century, on Thursday, the batting coach said: “He has made a mark straightaway in whichever format he has played limited overs or first-class cricket, Irani Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy or India A. He has shown he can adapt to the conditions and to the stage as well.”

“He plays with a lot of clarity and the impressive thing about him is that he gets into good positions with a clarity of mind and fearlessness of youth that helps him quite a bit,” Bangar pointed out.

IANS

Bengal stun Bengaluru in PKL clash

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 Bengal Warriors staged a remarkable comeback to stun Zone B leaders Bengaluru Bulls 44-37 in an exciting Pro Kabaddi League clash here on Thursday.

This was only the third defeat of the season for Bengaluru.

In a contest of contrasting halves, Bengaluru dominated the first period and opened up a comfortable 19-12 lead by half-time.

But Bengal made a strong comeback to draw level at 21-21 early in the second-half.

They then took a two-point lead before Bengaluru levelled at 23-23.

But Bengal earned an all-out soon after to regain the lead.

The lead soon swelled to 10 points as Bengal started to dominate.

Bengaluru tried hard to make a comeback with star raiders skipper Rohit Kumar and Pawan Kumar picking up several points.

But Bengal maintained their grip on the proceedings and clinched a decisive victory.

Earlier in the evening, Gujarat Fortunegiants came up with a power packed performance to overpower local favourites Puneri Paltan 45-20.

It was a neck-and-neck battle until the middle of the first-half.

But some successful tackles by the Gujarat defence put Pune under pressure.

The Pune defence also gave away a couple of easy points.

Gujarat’s Sachin Tanwar pulled off two consecutive successful raids, the second a two-point one as Pune suffered an all-out.

Gujarat maintained the upper hand and took a comfortable 20-11 lead into the break.

Gujarat continued to dominate in the second-half and inflicted another all-out on Pune to clinch a comprehensive victory.

 

IANS

Modi attends ‘Yoga for Peace’ event in Argentina

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a “Yoga for Peace” event after his arrival here to participate in the G20 summit during which he will hold several bilateral meetings, said an official statement on Friday.

In the event on Thursday night, Modi said that issues such as global economy, sustainable development, climate change and economic fugitives, which are of interest to the entire global community will come up for discussion at the two-day summit that will begin on Saturday.

The event featured a mass yoga demonstration by 600 people and a song by famous Argentine singer Patricia Sosa, a chanting of “Om Namah Shivaya” and a short Indian classical dance performance.

Congratulating “The Art of Living” for organising this event, the Prime Minister said that yoga improves the health of both mind and body.

He described yoga as India’s gift to the world for health, wellness and peace and said: “Today, yoga is joining India and Argentina with a spiritual bond.”

Modi spoke of Argentina’s interest in Indian philosophy, art, music, and dance; and the immense popularity of Argentine football stars, such as Diego Maradona, in India.

The Prime also congratulated the Argentine hockey team for winning their first match during the Hockey World Cup held in Odisha.

Modi is slated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit.

IANS

DJ Khaled, Floyd Mayweather Jr. charged with cryptocurrency fraud

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 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged music producer DJ Khaled and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. with promoting investments in initial cryptocurrency coin offerings without revealing that they had been paid.

The stock market regulatory authority on Thursday said that cryptocurrency coins sold in initial coin offerings (ICO) may be considered securities and subject to federal securities laws, reports CNN.

Both Khaled and Mayweather settled with the SEC and agreed not to promote any securities, even digital ones, for two years and three years, respectively, it said.

They also agreed to give back the money they had received to the SEC and pay penalties with interest.

Mayweather failed to disclose that he had received $300,000 from three different ICO issuers, including $100,000 from Centra Tech.

Khaled failed to disclose a payment of $50,000 from the same company.

Centra has separately been charged by the SEC, which alleged that its ICO was fraudulent.

Both Mayweather and Khaled promoted Centra’s ICO on their social media accounts. Khaled called it a “game changer” while Mayweather encouraged his followers to get in on the ICO.

This is the first time the SEC has brought charges against individuals for promoting ICOs and the investigation was ongoing.

 

Sabarimala continues to rock Kerala Assembly

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 For the third consecutive day the Congress-led opposition disrupted the Kerala Assembly over the Sabarimala issue forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House within 20 minutes after it met on Friday.

As soon as Speaker P. took his seat, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala demanded that either the Chair should suspend the question hour or allow an adjournment motion during the zero hour to discuss the “poor facilities” being provided in the temple town and end the prohibitory orders in place in Sabarimala.

“Yesterday the State Minister of Devasoms Kadakampally Surendran told the media that we (opposition) ran away.

“We are very much here, but you do not give us the time and the space to present our case. We demand that we be given time today,” said Chennithala and blamed the Speaker of prejudice in his attitude towards the opposition.

Sreeramakrishnan then told the opposition that it was flouting all the accepted norms of the legislature and was behaving irresponsible.

“This issue has already been discussed for more than eight hours and there has been no new development at all. We will allow you to raise this issue as a submission,” said the Speaker.

This led to sloganeering by the opposition near the Speaker’s podium, forcing Sreeramakrishnan to rush through the day’s business and adjourn the House till Monday.

The Kerala Police has clamped prohibitory orders at the temple town till Friday midnight following ongoing protests by Hindu groups and some political parties that began in there on September 28 when the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to enter the temple that hitherto banned girls and women aged 10-50.

IANS

If Pakistan is willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity, says Gen Rawat

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Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has reacted to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statements.  On Imran Khan’s statement that if France and Germany can stay together why not India and Pakistan, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said that for Pakistan to stay together with India, it will first have to become a secular state. He said, ” Pakistan has made its state an Islamic State. If they have to stay together with India, then they’ve to develop as a secular state. We are a secular state. If they’re willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity.”
General Rawat made the statement while interacting with the media on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of 135th course of National Defence Academy in Pune, which he reviewed on Friday morning.
“They’re (Pak) saying you take one step, we’ll take 2. There is a contradiction in what they’re saying. 1 step from there should come in a positive manner,we’ll see if the step has an effect on the ground. Till then our nation has a clear policy- terror and talks can’t go together,” stated the General as a matter of fact.

General Rawat also spoke about the scope of increasing the role of women in the Armed forces and said that areas like information warfare, psychological warfare and role as interpreters in military diplomacy are some of the areas where there will be a bigger role played by women in coming days.“Seeing if women can be given Permanent Commission. In some fields where we need permanency&male officers in a command-oriented Army don’t fit everywhere.Keeping women officers in fields like language interpreter, military diplomacy will be beneficial,”General said adding, “You’ll see increase in role of women in Armed forces. We haven’t yet taken them in front-line combat role. We feel we aren’t yet ready. Western nations are more open. Boys and girls are operating together in big cities here but people in Army don’t only come from big cities.”

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