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280 persons died of ‘shock’ over Jayalalithaa’s demise so far: AIADMK

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jayalalithaa

Chennai: The ruling AIADMK today released a list of 203 deceased persons, saying they died of “shock” over the demise of party supremo and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on December 5, taking the number of toll in this regard to 280.

The party headquarters released the list containing the names of 203 such deceased persons from different parts of the state, including Chennai, Vellore, Tiruvallore, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore, Krishnagiri, Erode and Tirupur districts.

The party condoled their death and announced a welfare fund of Rs three lakh each to families of the deceased.

Earlier, the party had said that 77 persons had died of shock and grief following Jayalalithaa’s death and announced a similar sum as relief to the dead persons’ families.

The number of people having died of shock over Jayalalithaa’s death stands at 280 now.

Hospitalised on September 22 and having suffered a cardiac arrest on December 4, the 68-year-old chief minister passed away the next day.

(Agencies)

Anti-Islam Geert Wilders found guilty of hate speech

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Dutch court convicts anti-Islam PVV party leader Geert Wilders of hate speech for leading a chant against Moroccans.

Wilders has maintained that he was merely repeating his party's political programme [EPA]

Wilders has maintained that he was merely repeating his party’s political programme [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

A court in the Netherlands has found Geert Wilders, an anti-Islam politician, guilty of hate speech for leading a chant against Moroccans at a 2014 campaign rally.

Wilders was convicted of discrimination and hate speech, but sentenced to no punishment on Friday for comments he made at a March 2014 local government election rally in The Hague.

When he asked supporters whether they wanted “fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands”, the crowd shouted back “Fewer! Fewer!” and a smiling Wilders answered: “We’re going to organise that.”

Wilders boycotted most of the trial, but in closing remarks on November 23 told judges his comments were obviously not intended as a call to genocide – but rather a reference to his official party platform.

Prosecutors, who rejected Wilders’ assertions that the trial was politically motivated and an unfair attempt to limit his right to free speech, had asked that a fine of 5,000 euros, but no prison sentence, be imposed.

Dutch TV channel RTL news reported that Wilders would appeal against the conviction.

Wilders, who is leading in several polls for the March elections, said he was not guilty of any wrongdoing.

“Every verdict, acquittal, or conviction will de facto change nothing,” he said in an interview with De Telegraaf published on Friday.

“I will continue to speak the truth regardless, including about the Moroccan problem, and no judge, politician or terrorist will stop me.”

A previous attempt to prosecute Wilders for anti-Islam remarks, such as likening the religion to Nazism and calling for a ban on the Quran, ended in acquittal in 2011.

That process was widely seen as strengthening his reputation as a defender of freedom of speech and increased his popularity.

Al Jazeera’s Neave Barker, reporting from Schipol, said a conviction like this could work in Wilders’ favour.

“This could drum up support for some of the issues he is keen to champion: euro-scepticism, clamping down on migrants,” Barker said. “But what he is convinced he will continue to do is beat the nationalist drum, so how he plays this conviction is really yet to be seen.”

Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PVV) is leading in the polls ahead of a crunch vote on March 15 with the latest numbers putting the PVV at 34 seats in the 150-seat lower house of Dutch parliament, some 10 seats ahead of his nearest rival, Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals.

India post 62/1 at tea

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india

Mumbai: India posted 62/1 in their first innings — in reply to England’s 400 — at tea in their first innings on the second day of the fourth cricket Test match here on Friday.

Opener Murali Vijay was unbeaten on 31 along with Chesteshwar Pujara (7 batting) at the Wankhede Stadium.

Murali’s opening partner K.L. Rahul was out for 24, bowled by Moeen Ali (1-22).

(IANS)

12 injured as car rams into queue outside ATM; driver held

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atms

Solapur: Twelve persons were injured after a car, allegedly being driven by a drunk driver, today rammed into a queue outside an ATM in Solapur district, police said.

The injured have been admitted into a nearby hospital, where the condition of three is stated to be serious, police said.

The incident happened around 11 AM at Atarnagar on the Solapur-Bijapur road, they said. “We have registered a case against the driver under relevant sections of IPC and he has been arrested. Bijapur Road police is investigating the matter,” Solapur SP Ravindra Sengaonkar said.

The car driver, who was allegedly in an inebriated state, was beaten up by the crowd and handed over to police.

(Agencies)

Scores killed in Indonesian earthquake

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A 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia’s Sumatra island has killed at least 97 people and trapped dozens in rubble.

pidie-jaya

by Al Jazeera

Scores have died and dozens were feared trapped in rubble after a strong earthquake struck off the coast of Aceh province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, officials and local media said.

The province’s army chief, Major General Tatang Sulaiman, told the DPA news agency that 97 people have died in the shallow 6.5-magnitude undersea quake that struck early on Wednesday.

The national disaster mitigation agency on the other hand, said that 78 people have suffered serious injuries from the quake.

Aiyub Abbas, the district chief of Pidie Jayat, said that hundreds of people in the district had been injured and dozens of buildings had collapsed.

There was an urgent need for excavation equipment to move heavy debris and emergency supplies, Abbas said.

Said Mulyadi, deputy district chief of Pidie Jaya, told the AFP news agency that seven children were among the dead, with a local hospital overwhelmed by the number of people arriving with injuries.

“The hospital here couldn’t take the patients, so we sent some to the neighbouring district,” he said.

The quake struck at dawn, as some in the predominantly Muslim region prepared for morning prayers.

“It happened at five o’clock this morning, people were shaken by a heavy earthquake,” Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Jakarta, said. “People rushed out of their houses, because they have the experience from 2004 when a huge tsunami hit Aceh and many died.”

Vaessen said many people rushed to surrounding hills to seek cover.

‘Death toll likely to rise’

No tsunami alert was issued and there was no risk of a tsunami, according to Indonesian authorities.

But mosques, homes and shops were flattened in the quake, with images from the worst-hit areas showing significant damage.

The local disaster management agency said that rescue efforts were under way to save those trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

“Some people are still trapped inside shophouses, and we are trying to evacuate them using heavy machines and by hand,” local agency head Puteh Manaf said.

“At the moment a search and rescue operation is under way, teams are still heading to the area also trying to find more survivors,” said Al Jazeera’s Vaessen. “But the death toll is likely to rise … there are people believed to be trapped in buildings.”

Seismologists said the earthquake was felt across much of Aceh province, which was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

At least five aftershocks followed the quake, said Erida Wati, local head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.

Aceh lies on the northern tip of Sumatra island, which is particularly prone to quakes. In June, a 6.5-magnitude quake struck off the west of Sumatra, damaging scores of buildings and injuring eight people.

A huge undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004 triggered a tsunami that engulfed parts of Aceh.

The tsunami killed more than 170,000 people in Indonesia and tens of thousands more in other countries around the Indian Ocean.

(Agencies)

India aim to extend winning run in fourth Test vs England

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© AFP

© AFP

Mumbai: Having already pocketed the five-match cricket Test rubber, with an unassailable 2-0 lead, a confident India will be aiming to keep the winning momentum going when they face an inconsistent England in the fourth match at the Wankhede Stadium here from Thursday.

This will be the first instance since 1989 when India will play a Test at the Wankhede sans retired batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.

The fourth Test will also give India a chance to exact revenge for their loss in their previous two Test meetings at the ground before heading to Chennai for the final encounter.

Going into Thursday’s encounter, the Virat Kohli-led side will aim to extend their dominant run despite some injury concerns in the squad.

The top-order batting has clicked well for the hosts with Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli himself exhibiting great form in the middle while all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have handled any hiccups brilliantly lower down the order.

Senior wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel, who was drafted into the national side after after an eight-year long wait, has displayed good maturity behind the stumps as well as an opening bat with scores of 42 and unbeaten 67 in the third Test at Mohali.

But with the return to fitness after a forearm injury of opener Lokesh Rahul, Patel may be asked to bat down the order.

Youngster Karun Nair, who made his Test debut at Mohali, looks likely to make way for Rahul.

Kohli will however, be concerned with the form of opener Murali Vijay who has failed to click in this series so far.

Kohli’s deputy Ajinkya Rahane, however, has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test rubber after the Mumbai batsman sustained an avulsion fracture on his right index finger during training on Wednesday.

Manish Pandey has been named as Rahane’s replacement.

The bowling department have so far fared decently with pacers Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami managing to be amongst the wickets with the new ball.

However, Shami’s concerns with a sore knee makes him a doubtful starter. In his absence, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be Umesh’s likely new ball partner.

Local boy Shardul Thakur has been named as a back-up option in case Shami is ruled out of the squad.

The spin department, comprising the trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant Yadav have well established their supremacy over the English batsman and Kohli is likely retain the trio at the spin-friendly Wankhede.

India will also aim to keep their 16-match unbeaten streak and are just one short of equalling their own unbeaten record of 17 games without a loss.

On the other hand, despite conceding the series, the visitors are expected to come hard after spending a week away in Dubai.

England had also replaced two injured players — teenaged opener Haseeb Hameed and left arm spinner Zafar Ansari — with two uncapped players — Keaton Jennings and Liam Dawson.

For any chance of reviving their fortune in the ongoing series, the visitors will bank on their batting, which has failed to click as a unit so far.

Skipper Alastair Cook will be expecting atleast two of his main batsmen — Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler and stumper Jonny Bairstow — to spend enough time in the middle while handling the Indian spinners.

Promising left-handed opener Jennings is likely to partner Cook at the top.

Meanwhile, the return of pacer Stuart Broad, who missed the third game after sustaining a foot injury in the Visakhapatnam Test, will lend enough teeth to their bowling attack.

The visitors are likely to go in with four pacers with leg-spinner Adil Rashid and Moeen filling the spinners’ slots.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Manish Pandey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.

England: Alastair Cook (Captain), Keaton Jennings, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett, Steven Finn, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.

(IANS)

Neither Speaker, nor Parl Affairs Minister running LS: Advani

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lk-advani

New Delhi: With noisy protests continuing to stall Parliament for the third week, BJP veteran L K Advani today expressed deep distress over the way the Lok Sabha proceedings were being conducted, saying neither the Speaker nor the Parliamentary Affairs Minister was running the House.

A visibly agitated Advani was heard expressing his unhappiness to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar over the continuing protests in the House at a time when some opposition members had even come to the side of Treasury benches raising slogans in the Well.

“Neither the Speaker nor the Parliamentary Affairs Minister is running the House,” he was heard remarking just before the House was adjourned 15 minutes ahead of the lunch recess, amid slogan-shouting by Congress and TMC members.

“I am going to tell the Speaker that she is not running the House … I am going to say it publicly. Both sides are a party to this,” he said as Kumar was seen pacifying the senior parliamentarian. He also pointed to the media gallery, apparently suggesting that his comments will be reported.

As the House was adjourned, the 89-year-old leader asked a Lok Sabha official till what time it has been adjourned. When told that it was till 1400 hours, he snapped, “Why not sine die?”

Earlier too, Advani was seen expressing his displeasure over the situation in the House to Kumar.

(PTI)

Veteran journalist Cho Ramaswamy passes away

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cho-ramaswamy

Chennai: Veteran journalist, former Rajya Sabha member and political commentator Cho Ramaswamy (82) died here today following illness.

Fondly addressed as Cho, he was suffering from illness and breathed his last at a private hospital this morning, sources close to his family said.

He is survived by wife, son and daughter.

Ramaswamy was founder editor of Thuglak magazine and was known as a satirist.

He had acted in many movies and featured with top actors like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

(Agencies)

Bellary driver’s suicide note claims Janardhan Reddy converted Rs 100 cr ‘black money’

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Janardhan Reddy

Bellary: A driver on Wednesday allegedly committed suicide after blaming Karnataka mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy and a KAS officer of harassing him.

The incident took place in Mandya on Tuesday.

In his suicide note, deceased Ramesh Gowda claimed that he knew information on how Janaradhan Reddy converted 100 crore black money into white, thus received constant death threats. Nayak is said to have gotten a 20 per cent cut for helping Reddy covert the money that was much needed for his lavish daughter’s wedding

The suicide note claims, Reddy along with BJP MP Sriramulu met Bheema Nayak several times in a five star hotel in Bangalore before the opulent Reddy’ daughter’s wedding. Along with 20 percent cut, Nayak wanted to Reddy to help him get a ticket to contest the 2018 Karnataka elections. A case has been booked against Bheema Nayak and his driver Mohammed.

The Income Tax department after the “500 crore” wedding visited Janardhan Reddy’s house in Bellary and asked him to produce details of the income for the wedding.

Earlier, IT sleuths had unearthed around Rs 150 crore in unaccounted property and cash – Rs 5.7 crore was in new notes of Rs 2,000 – at the palatial residences of two state government engineers. Chikkarayappa and SC Jayachandra have been suspended now. These engineers are said to be close aides of CM Siddaramaiah , however he was quick to reject such allegations.

Gowda is the son of Chikka Hombalegowda from Kadukottanahalli in the Taluk. He worked as a driver in Bengaluru with Bheema Nayak, a special land acquisition officer.

According to reports, BJP leader Reddy, who spent four years in Hyderabad and Bengaluru jails, had returned to Karnataka’s Bellary after five years and two months on November 1 to make preparations for his daughter’s wedding. The Bellary mining baron reportedly splurged Rs 500 crore for hosting his daughter’s lavish wedding.

More than 10,000 people had lined up to receive him in his former fiefdom after he got the court’s permission to visit Bellary to make preparations for his daughter’s wedding.

(Agencies)

Dozens of Rohingya missing as boat sinks off Bangladesh

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Boat packed with at least 31 people reportedly chased by a Myanmar army speedboat as it tried to reach Bangladesh.

Hundreds of thousands live in camps in Bangladesh [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

Hundreds of thousands live in camps in Bangladesh [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Dozens have been reported missing, feared drowned, after a boat packed with Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar and trying to reach Bangladesh sank in a border river, according to the AFP news agency.

A Bangladeshi fisherman told AFP that he had rescued on Monday one woman, who told him that the “overcrowded” boat had sunk in the Naf river, after it was chased by a Myanmar army speedboat.

“We heard a woman’s desperate cry for help in the morning while we were fishing in the Naf. We quickly paddled to the spot and saw she was fighting to stay afloat,” fisherman Suman Das said by phone.

“The woman told us that their boat was overcrowded with Rohingya villagers who tried to cross the river to enter Bangladesh.”

The woman did not know what had happened to the others, and Das could not say how many people were on the boat.

But the private UNB news agency, quoting a Bangladeshi village councillor, said there were at least 31 Rohingya on board.

A Rohingya source told AFP by phone that the bodies of 13 women and children, two of whom had bullet wounds, had washed ashore in his village on Myanmar’s side of the Naf.

This could not be independently confirmed, however, and Bangladesh police and border guards said they were not aware of the incident.

An estimated 30,000 Rohingya have been forced to leave their homes since a bloody October crackdown by the Myanmar army in the western Rakhine state, where many of them live.

At least 10,000 have arrived in Bangladesh, the United Nations said last week, although Bangladesh said it has prevented large numbers from entering.

Myanmar has denied allegations of abuse, but has also banned foreign journalists and independent investigators from accessing the area to investigate.

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