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Global campaign for Pride Hotels dazzles Mumbai

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Sanjeev Gupta, MD , Global Advertisers

Mumbai: Global Advertisers is promoting Pride Hotels’ brand new property Pride Plaza situated at Aerocity in New Delhi. Global’s has engaged over four dozen premium hoarding and gantry sites across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for the purpose for the ongoing campaign, which is in its first phase.

Pride Group positions itself as an eminently successful chain with fully owned Five Star Luxury Hotels making their mark in Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Delhi – Aerocity (upcoming), Pune, Dharamshala, Kanha, The group has also acquired a few more properties in Goa, Jaipur, and there is also the Pride Tiger Woods Resort in Kanha.

The outdoor sites spanning from South Mumbai to Central suburbs of Mulund are making quite a splash in the market. “The buzz is noticeable.,” admits, Sanjeev Gupta, Managing Director of Global Advertisers. “Pride Hotels is a premium brand that sells five-star luxury in style. Our selection of sites, phasing of the campaign and the execution had to do justice to this positioning. My team has put in long hours to make this happen, and we are happy that the client is satisfied with the results so far. We expect it to get even better in the days ahead.” he says.

Global has executed approximately 1.5 lakh successful campaigns, 1 lakh product launches, 80,000 in-film branding contracts and over 2 lakh event sponsorships in the last two decades. Global’s creativity, innovation and ability to deliver out-of-the-box OOH media solutions have won them 350 awards, and over 500 letters of appreciation.

Global Advertisers, a leader in outdoor, print, TV, and radio advertising, also offers premium graphic design and public realtions support services.

Actor Rajesh Vivek of dies of heart attack

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Rajesh Vivek

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Rajesh Vivek, mainly known for his roles in superhits like ‘Lagaan’ and ‘Swades’, died due to a heart attack in Hyderabad Thursday.

He was 66.

“Rajesh passed away around 3 PM in Hyderabad due to a heart attack. He was shooting there for a south Indian film.

It is very shocking news,” Vivek’s friend Vishnu Sharma told PTI here tonight.

“We were close friends. We knew each other for last 40 years. He was fine. It was not that he was unwell or anything like that,” he said.

Vivek was first introduced by Shyam Benegal in his film ‘Junoon’ (1978).

Basically a theatre actor, he had also acted in popular television series ‘Mahabharata’, ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’ and in ‘Aghori’.

He made his mark as a villain in the beginning with films like ‘Veerana’ and ‘Joshilay’, often playing roles of henchman, but later on he started doing comic or supporting roles.

Some of his latest films include “Bunty Aur Babli”, “Bhoot Unkle”, “What is Your Rashee”, “Agnipath”, “Son of Sardaar”, “Dishkiyaaun”.

He had played the role of a dreaded dacoit in “Bandit Queen” (1994).

(Agencies)

Indian techie who went missing 3 yrs ago now in Pak army custody

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Hamid Nehal Ansari

Mumbai: The parents of a Mumbai youth Hamid Nehal Ansari, who was missing for over three years, breathed a sigh of relief after they found out that he was in Pakistan army’s custody.

Over three years after the Indian engineer went missing in Pakistan where he had gone to meet a girl he had befriended on the Internet, authorities have admitted that he has been in Army custody and facing trial in military courts. In a divisional bench of the Peshawar high court, deputy attorney-general Musarratullah presented a reply from the ministry of defence which stated that Nehal Hamid Ansari was being held by the Army and would be tried by a military court, the Express Tribune reported.

Ansari had travelled to Afghanistan for job prospects back in November 2012, Qazi Muhammad Anwar, counsel for Ansari’s mother Fauzia, had told the court.

He had befriended a Kohat-based woman through social media and had crossed over into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

He had been staying at a hotel in Kohat when the police, assisted by the Intelligence Bureau officials, arrested him on November 12, 2012.

“The intelligence agencies arrested him from a hotel in Kohat and since then his family and friends have been unaware of his whereabouts,” Anwar was quoted as saying by the paper. He added that as per a police inquiry report, Mr Ansari was being held by intelligence agencies.

After Ansari went missing, his mother had filed a complaint at a police station in Mumbai. She had also contacted the Afghan consulate in the city. The petitioner subsequently sent an application to the human rights cell of the Supreme Court in Islamabad, which forwarded the case to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in March 2014, the paper said.

In April, the commission directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa home and tribal affairs department to form a joint investigation team to trace Mr Ansari.

An FIR was subsequently lodged at the city police station in Karak district in connection with Mr Ansari’s missing.

Hamid’s mother Fauzia Ansari said that her son had gone to Kabul looking for a job.

“After a long struggle, we came to know that he is safe there under the watch of government. We are at least satisfied that he is fine. He is very talented but he never got desired job. He didn’t have job satisfaction,” she told ANI.

“He came to know about the job opening of manager at Kabul airport. He went to Kabul. We were in continuous touch but after 10 days there was no contact,” she added.

She said that they had approached the Afghanistan embassy to inquire about her son. They then found out that Hamid was trying to help a tribal girl who was being ill-treated in Pakistan.

“He was trying to help her and then he contacted other friends of nearby areas. They said that the girl is from tribal area, and no one can intervene in this,” she said.

“Maybe it wasn’t a right step though his intentions were good. We were so anxious whether he is dead or alive but we came to know yesterday that he is there,” she added.

She also thanked the Government of India for their efforts to help her son.

“Indian government has been very supportive, they showed us many letters which they sent to Pakistan high commission,” she said.

According to reports, a divisional bench of the Peshawar High Court disposed off the case of Hamid Ansari after the government confirmed that he was currently in army custody and facing a trial in military courts.

(Agencies)

Muslim Personal Law Board spokesman Qureshi passes away

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Mohammed Abdul Rahim Qureshi

Hyderabad: Mohammed Abdul Rahim Qureshi, assistant general secretary and spokesman of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, died of cardiac arrest here on Thursday. He was 81 and survived by wife and 11 children.

He was admitted to a private hospital in Nampally for the past 15 days. His funeral prayer, Namaz-e-Janaza was conducted at Mecca Masjid in the city at 5 p.m.

Qureshi was not just an Islamic scholar but also one who held a B.Sc degree in Mathematics and a law graduate from Osmania University. After a short stint with Accountant General’s office in Hyderabad, Qureshi joined the progressive cultural organisation, Tameer-e-Millat which was founded in 1950. He has been a member of AIMPLB since 1971.

He was the president of Tameer-e-Millat that works in the field of educational and professional empowerment among Muslims at the time of his death.

Leading community leaders in Hyderabad deemed Qureshi as a leader with a stern voice who always rose to the occasion when it came to injustices towards and within the community. Under his co-leadership, AIMPLB was marching towards a massive campaign against communalism, titled Deen aur Dastur Bachao Tehreek.

Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana, Md. Mahmood Ali who called on Qureshi’s family at Darussalam said, “He was the first to ask community elders and youth to take up legal recourse following demolition of Babri Masjid. He was a knowledgeable scholar and it was a great loss to the community”.

Following Qureshi’s demise at 4 am, Asaduddin Owaisi, president, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen tweeted his condolence, “Huge void and emptiness one feels with the passing away of scholars and Ulemas. Difficult to find selfless people with knowledge of Shariat and politics”. For people who knew Qureshi over the past four decades, he was a man of resolve and a legal luminary. “His legal contribution in Babri Masjid case and various other cases pertaining to Muslim personal law cannot be forgotten,” said Syed Amin Jafri, AIMIM, MLC.

“Remember Qureshi’s role in AIMPLB that had come to limelight during Babri Masjid demolition. He was a resilient voice during the time as he spoke not to flare sentiments but to give voice to the voiceless,” said Abid Rasool Khan, chairman, State Minorities Commission. He was buried at 6.15 pm after community leaders and general public paid homage.

(Agencies)

Muslim couple on train beaten, bags searched over beef suspicion

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Gauraksha Samiti

Bhopal: A Muslim couple was among passengers assaulted by at least seven members of the Gauraksha Samiti at Khirkiya railway station, in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh, when they objected to their luggage being searched on suspicion that they were carrying beef, police said.

 

Police said the right-wing activists claimed to have seized “beef” from a bag during the “raid” on the general compartment of the Kushinagar Express on Wednesday before laboratory tests proved it was buffalo meat.

Police have arrested two members of the Samiti — identified as Hemant Rajput and Santosh — who claimed they acted on a tip-off about beef being transported by some passengers.

Nine local residents, including at least one relative of the couple, were also arrested and released on bail after they engaged in a scuffle with the Samiti members on the platform.

43-year-old Mohammed Hussain said he and his 38-year-old wife Naseema Bano were on way to their hometown in Harda after visiting an ailing relative in Hyderabad, when they were assaulted.

“They pushed my wife around when she objected to our luggage being searched. We live in India and know what is wrong and right, we eat only goat meat.

Besides, the black bag from which the meat was seized did not belong to us.

Finally, a constable came to our rescue and saved my wife,” said Hussain.

He also alleged that he was beaten up by the Samiti members on the platform after he “abused them when they misbehaved with my wife”.

Describing the sequence of events — the couple had stopped over for a night at another relative’s house in Khandwa — Hussain said he was standing near the door of the “crowded compartment” while his wife was given a seat by other passengers, when the activists started their search.

“When some passengers objected to their luggage being turned upside down, the activists roughed them up before they started searching the bags kept near Naseema. When she objected, they pushed her towards the toilet. Then, I called a relative who lives near the station. He rushed over with other local residents and engaged in a scuffle with the samiti members,” said Hussain.

“The samiti members threw several bags on to the platform to inspect their contents before they found the black bag. The owners of that bag were not found,” he said.

When contacted, K Richhariya, Assistant Sub-Inspector (Khirkiya police station), said the contents of the bag were tested at a local laboratory which confirmed they were pieces of buffalo meat.

Itarsi railway police station in-charge D K Joshi said Rajput and Santosh were sent to jail and a search launched for at least five other members of the samiti.

The arrested duo has been booked under sections 294 (obscene language), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC and Section 153 of the Railways Act (endangering safety of passengers travelling by railway by willful act or omission).

Police have also registered a case under Section 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle.) of the IPC against two unknown persons to whom the bag belonged.

Harda MLA Ramkishore Dogne, meanwhile, alleged that the administration had lodged the complaint against local relatives of Hussain under pressure from the Bajrang Dal and VHP. “First, they were harassed, then a complaint lodged against their relatives,’’ the Congress legislator alleged.

(Agencies)

Bengaluru bomb threat call turns out to be hoax

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Cauvery Theatre bomb

New Delhi: Bomb scare at a popular Bengaluru theatre turned out to be a hoax following a thorough search conducted by bomb squad and local police on Friday.

 

Bengaluru’s popular Cauvery theatre was on Friday evacuated following the bomb threat.

Bomb disposal squad reached the spot immediately after people informed the police about an unidentified box which was lying near the theatre.

No explosives were found at the said spot, the police said. The city has been kept under alert following the bomb scare.

(Agencies)

Sunanda death not natural: Delhi Police chief

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sunanda pushkar

New Delhi: The death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, was not natural but no radioactive substance was found in her body, Delhi Police said today on the basis of report by a medical board of AIIMS which analysed FBI findings on her viscera sample.

Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said the high-profile case will be taken to its logical conclusion soon and all possible angles are being examined.

“One thing is clear that the death was not natural. It was unnatural as per our investigation till now and evidences collected so far. I can say that with certainty,” Bassi told reporters here.

In January last year, Delhi Police had registered a case of murder in connection with the death of Sunanda. An AIIMS medical board had found poisoning as reason for her death following which the police had sent her viscera samples to an FBI lab in Washington last year.

There was earlier speculation that Sunanda may have died as a result of poisoning through radioactive substances.

The FBI had sent its report to Delhi Police two months back. The report said the radiation levels in Sunanda’s viscera samples were “within the standard safety norms” besides mentioning other details.

As police could not firm up about cause of the death based on the FBI report, they requested a medical board of AIIMS to analyse the contents of the report.

“The medical board has submitted to us 11-page report with 32 pages of annexures which are to be examined. They have mentioned about certain conclusions which are now to be investigated,” Bassi said.

51-year-old Sunanda was found dead at a suite in five-star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014, a day after her spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar on micro-blogging website Twitter over her alleged affair with Tharoor.

“I have no knowledge on the mention of any dangerous chemical in the FBI report. The FBI report had said none of the samples contained any radioactive material. I can confirm there’s no radiaoactive material but certain other findings are there. We had given the entire report to the medical board which has examined and gave us a report.

“FBI report had said that radioactive levels were within acceptable range. It had ruled out the radioactive angle. Certain other chemical compounds were found by the FBI lab. The medical board has given certain conclusions. We will investigate those,” Bassi said.

The Delhi Police Commissioner today held a meeting which was attended by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case. Special Commissioner of Delhi Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra briefed all about all related angle in the case.

“Have been told that Medical Board’s advice in late Sunanda’s case has been received,” Bassi tweeted earlier. Bassi added Mishra was reviewing the progress in the case.

The investigators have so far conducted polygraph test on six persons, all prime witnesses in the case, including Tharoors’ domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and Sanjay Dewan, a close friend of the couple. Tharoor was not subjected to the test but was questioned thrice in the case.

The FBI report had ruled out the theory of the variant of a radioactive element named Polonium having caused Sunanda’s death, noting that radiation levels in her viscera sample were within the standard safety norms.

In January last year, police had claimed that Sunanda was poisoned, and registered a murder case against unknown persons. Three others — S K Sharma, Vikas Ahlawat and Sunil Takru, had also undergone the polygraph test.

The police team probing the case has so far questioned at least 15 people. Tharoor, his staff members and close friends were among those questioned by Delhi Police. Sunanda’s son Shiv Menon was quizzed by the SIT on February 5 last year.

(Agencies)

Urdu teachers with two wives not eligible for govt jobs in UP

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Urdu_Schools

Agra: The new notice of the Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party government, pertaining to appointment of Urdu teachers to government-run schools has sparked widespread protests among Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.

The notice for appointment of 3,500 Urdu teachers says: “All those who have two wives, both living, will be considered non-eligible for the post. Also, female candidates who are married to a man who has two wives, both living, will also be considered non-eligible.”

While the Muslims have been calling this rule to be discriminatory, justifying the move the government officials say that it has been done only to avoid confusion with regard to payment of widow or widower’s pension.

However, the Muslim clerics refuse to accept this explanation.

Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, Imam of Lucknow’s Eidgah and member of the Muslim Personal Law Board told Times of India that the government cannot impose such conditions when it comes to recruitment of staff.

“There is a provision for four marriages in Islam. Even though just about one percent of Muslim men have two wives, such conditions should not become part of the job application process,” he opines further adding that if a man leaves behind him two wives, the pension can be divided among the two wives, rather than snatching away a man’s right to job.

(Agencies)

Madani can approach trial court seeking to combine trials: SC

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abdul_nasser_madani

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday has said PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani can approach the trial court seeking to combine the trials in all the nine cases against him in connection with the 2008 Bengaluru blasts.

The apex court, while considering Madani’s plea, also asked him to file a plea in the trial court in this regard in a week. “The trial court should take a decision on it in a week,” the court said.

The Supreme Court also questioned the trial court how long would it take to complete the trial proceedings in the case.

Madani is among the 31 persons chargesheeted for the 2008 Bangalore blasts, which killed one person and injured 20 others, on charges of conspiracy and sheltering some of the key accused.

(Agencies)

India’s Aadhaar increased access, reduced corruption: World Bank

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Aadhaar

Washington: Citing how India increased access and reduced corruption in public services by providing unique digital identification to one billion people in five years, the World Bank says digital technologies can promote inclusion, efficiency, and innovation.

Indian are using their digital IDs called Aadhaar “to open bank accounts, monitor attendance of civil servants, and identify recipients of government subsidies,” noted the new ‘World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends,’ released here on Thursday.

“In public health services, simple SMS messages have proven effective in reminding people living with HIV to take their lifesaving drugs,” said the 350 plus page report that was two years in the making by a 15 member team led by co-directors, Deepak Mishra and Uwe Deichmann.

However, the report noted that while the internet, mobile phones and other digital technologies are spreading rapidly throughout the developing world, the anticipated digital dividends of higher growth, more jobs, and better public services have fallen short of expectations.

As many as 60 percent of the world’s population remains excluded from the ever-expanding digital economy with the benefits of rapid digital expansion skewed towards the wealthy, skilled, and influential around the world.

In addition, though the number of internet users worldwide has more than tripled since 2005, four billion people still lack access to the internet.

“The digital revolution is transforming the world, aiding information flows, and facilitating the rise of developing nations that are able to take advantage of these new opportunities,” said Kaushik Basu, World Bank Chief Economist.

To deliver fully on the development promise of a new digital age, the World Bank suggested two main actions that the report calls analog complements to digital investments.

These are closing the digital divide by making the internet universal, affordable, open, and safe and strengthening regulations that ensure competition among business, adapting workers’ skills to the demands of the new economy, and fostering accountable institutions.

China has the largest number of internet users, followed by the US, with India, Japan, and Brazil filling out the top five.

The world’s offline population is mainly in India and China, but more than 120 million people are still offline in North America.

With the internet enabling more products to be exported to more markets, often by newer and younger firms, the report noted firms in India, Jamaica, and the Philippines have captured a share of global markets for services ranging from traditional back-office services to long-distance online tutoring.

The internet’s ability to reduce transaction costs increases opportunities for people who face barriers in finding jobs or productive inputs. This promotes inclusion for women, for persons with disabilities, and for people in remote areas, the report said.

The Indian state of Kerala, for example, set up the Kudumbashree project to outsource information technology services to cooperatives of women from poor families; 90 percent of the women had not previously worked outside the home.

The internet is also encouraging more cross-border exchanges of goods and services, allowing consumers and firms to bypass national borders.

But cross-border issues-such as barriers to data flows and uncoordinated intellectual property rights regimes-are impairing the growth of internet firms and robbing consumers of gains from increased digital trade.

The small scale imposed by cross-border barriers may also partly explain why e-commerce firms are often losing money in Africa while being profitable in China and India, the report said.

(IANS)

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