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PM Modi arrives in US to attend Nuclear Security Summit

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Modi-Britain

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here early today to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit where world leaders from over 50 countries are expected to share their assessment of the threat from nuclear weapons and materials.

During his two-day stay in Washington, Modi is scheduled to interact with a number of world leaders including the host President Barack Obama.

Attending the Nuclear Security Summit for the first time, Modi is expected to lay out his vision of securing nuclear weapons.

This is Modi’s third visit to the US and second to Washington since becoming Prime Minister in 2014.

In September 2014, Modi visited US and had a meeting with Obama at the White House. He made his second trip to the US a year later which took him to New York and Silicon Valley.

While the details of his schedule in Washington have not been released yet, the Prime Minister is expected to hold a series of meetings throughout the day, which range from bilaterals with heads of state to community leaders, to scientists and top executives from the corporate world.

Modi is scheduled to hold a meeting with John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand later today and meet with scientists from Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO).

Even as he has no public engagement with the Indian American community, which has been a trademark of his overseas trips, a large number of Indian Americans from in and around Washington said they would be standing outside his hotel, despite tight security, to get a glimpse of Modi.

The official summit engagement of the Prime Minister would begin in the evening when he would drive down to the White House to attend a dinner hosted by Obama in honour of the world leaders attending the fourth Nuclear Security Summit.

No Modi-Obama bilateral meeting has been announced yet from either side, but the two leaders are expected to get multiple opportunities for interaction and talks over the next two days.

“The summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material,” Modi had said in a statement before leaving on the current three-nation tour of Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia.

Joint Secretary (Disarmament & International Security Affairs) Amandeep Singh Gill said during the summit India’s written National Progress Report would be circulated at the summit.

The Prime Minister would intervene in this discussion on national actions to underline some of the important measures we have taken to strengthen nuclear security.

“India expects that the summit would contribute further to raising high level awareness of the threat of nuclear terrorism and the need to strengthen international cooperation against terrorists and nuclear traffickers,” Gill said.

“We also expect that the summit would help bolster legal, institutional and enforcement measures to strengthen the security of nuclear material, radioactive sources, associated facilities and technologies,” he said.

(Agencies)

Bangalorean on wheels to Scotland to spread awareness about organ donation

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Columbia Asia Hospital

Bengaluru: The route map has been chalked. The journey is about to begin. Meet 48 year old Anil Srivatsa, CEO and Co-Founder Radiowalla Network Pvt. Ltd, who will be the man behind the wheels driving his wife, son and daughter and 3 others Geetu Dhillon, Vivek Singh and Vishwas Avathi for 80 days. This is not an ordinary journey. The Crew will be traveling across two continents- Asia and Europe, crossing 17 countries to reach their final destination- Scotland. This trip has been triggered to support a cause: Organ Donation.

Organ donation does not deplete the quality of life of both the donor and the recipient. One of the most prominent examples of this is Anil and his brother Dr Arjun Sritvatsa, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Columbia Asia Hospital. Almost Two years ago, when Dr. Arjun was diagnosed with kidney failure, Anil donated a kidney to his brother and saved his life. Today, both the brothers are leading healthy and normal lives.

Addressing the media on the eve of the flag off to his road trip, Anil said, “Our aim is to reach John O Groats, the northern tip of Scotland. We chose this destination basically because we wanted to drive as far as we can and it’s the farthest we can travel by road without having to ship the car across stretches of ocean or sea.” “Why not drive in India I have been asked often and my simple answer has been that it’s too easy and not as challenging. After all India is home and home is always more comfortable” he added

The entire trip is going to take close to three months. During their journey Anil and his family will be spending nights in hotel rooms, hostels or the welcoming homes of people they know and don’t know along the way and where possible or have to, in tents and sleeping bags.

“We’re looking forward to doing some camping as well so we’ve got our tents and sleeping bags ready,” said an excited and practical Anil.

The main purpose of this trip is to generate awareness about organ donation across geographies. But how does the team of seven aim to do this? “The idea is to get people to notice us doing something extra ordinary, ask what we’re doing and why and in this way get people talking about organ donation. The main reason many people don’t opt in for becoming an organ donor is misinformation. Through our social media posts from the trip and interactions with people along the way, we want to be able to continue getting attention and then introducing the messages about organ donation and myth busting information to get rid of the common misconceptions associated with organ donation,” added Anil.

“We get umpteen queries from patients seeking Kidney Transplantation. The number of recipients undergoing Hemo-dialysis in the waiting list for Transplant is huge and swelling! Also, in most instances family members are not willing to become Donors as they believe it would adversely affect their day-to-day life. It therefore, becomes essential for all of us to increase awareness & education on the Transplantation processes and post-transplant life to prospective donors, remove the stigmas associated with it and motivate family members to Donate,” said Dr. Prashanth, General Manager, Columbia Asia Hospital, Hebbal.

Generating awareness about organ donation is the need of the hour. “In a country like India, pledging your organs for donation is not enough because the family is given the ultimate decision making power. This makes it important for all family members to understand and accept a person’s request to be an organ donor. Family support is critical. Also, the strict nature of donation laws makes it far easier for people to donate their organs to a family member than to donate it to anyone else in the case of live organ donors,” said Dr Kanchan Sanyal, CMS- Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur.

Thanking his brother for gifting him a second innings of life, Dr Arjun said, “Patients in need of organ donation need to register themselves and wait long for cadaver organs. Many lose their life while waiting for an organ donor. The best option in such a case is to get the organ from a family member,” said Dr Arjun

“Karnataka is one of the leading states for kidney transplants and Bangalore in particular is important. The major challenge for kidney transplant is shortage of donors. Despite increase in deceased donor transplants in the state only a miniscule percentage of transplants are from deceased donors. The live donor program is very important for kidney transplant program and anil Srivatsa s efforts to promote the gift of life program for organ donation more so kidney donation is laudable. God has given us 2 kidneys and 1 in 1000 is born with 1 kidney telling us that we should donate 1 of our kidneys to our near and dear ones and save lives. Kidney donors are heros and should be honored and recognized. Hospitals media and society should spread this message. The government needs to simplify rules of organ donation and save lives,” said Dr. Sundar Sankaran, Chief Nephrologist, Columbia Asia Hospitals

Apart from his family members, Anil will be accompanied by Vishwas Avathi, film maker and photographer, Geetu Dhillon, working with Infosys, and Vivek Singh, supply chain manager at a pharmaceutical company.

Mallya offers to pay up Rs.4,000 crore, SC told

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Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

New Delhi: The Supreme Court was told that beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya has on Wednesday morning offered to pay Rs.4,000 crore for settling outstanding dues against the grounded Kingfisher Airlines on account of loans extended to it by a consortium of 13 banks headed by the State Bank of India.

The apex court bench of Justice Kurien Joseph and Rohington F. Nariman was also told that Mallya has offered another Rs.2,000 crore that he expects to get, if he succeeds in his suit against multinational General Electric.

Mallya’s counsel said that the proposal for the payment of Rs.4,000 crore by September was made to the chief general manager of the State Bank of India (SBI).

The SBI told the court that it needed a week’s time to consider the proposal made by Vijay Mallya, and submitted that way back in 2013 the bank had filed a suit claiming Rs.6,903 crore plus interest thereon.

In a query from the bank about Mallya’s location, his counsel told the court that he was still abroad but had two video conferencing sessions with the bank officials after his departure from India to London.

(Agencies)

Hrithik sent notice for ‘hurting Christian sentments’ with his ‘Pope’ tweet

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Pope Hrithik Roshan

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan has been sent a legal notice by former Vice-Chairman of Maharashtra Minority Commission Abraham Mathai accusing him of “hurting sentiments” of Christian community by making a reference to “Pope” in a tweet directed at actress Kangana Ranaut.

Mathai’s lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee said the notice has been sent to the 42-year-old actor under the provision of Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code asking the actor to apologise in seven days failing which a criminal complaint will be filed.

The “hurtful” remarks were made on Twitter after the ‘Bang Bang’ star’s alleged ex-lover Kangana apparently referred to him as her silly ‘ex’.

“Hrithik Roshan has hurt the religious sentiments, feelings and beliefs of Christians (Roman Catholics) all over the world which includes my client as well. My client wants a written public apology from Hrithik Roshan within 7 days,” Siddiquee said.

Hrithik, on January 28, had tweeted, “There r more chances of me having had an affair with d Pope dan any of d (I m sure wonderful) women d media hs ben naming. Thanks but no thanks (sic).”

The notice also said that by making such a statement on a public platform Hrithik has not only willfully challenged the chastity of the respected Pope but has also shown him in poor light.

“Thus malafidely, mischievously and intentionally outraged the religious feelings and insulted the religious beliefs of Romans Catholics all over the world who consider the Pope to be absolutely chaste as their spiritual and religious leader,” the notice read.

The notice also reads that by indulging in such a criminal act Roshan has rendered himself guilty and liable to be tried under the provision of Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).

Siddiquee in the notice has asked the actor to apologise in seven days failing which he will proceed ahead with the matter and obtain the required government sanction, under of Section 196 of Criminal Procedure Code and accordingly file a criminal complaint against Roshan.

Neither the actor nor his representative was available for comment.

(PTI)

3 madrasa students brutally assaulted for not shouting ‘Jai Mata Di’

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Madrasa bharat mata

New Delhi: In another heinous incident that has ashamed humanity, three students of a madrasa were brutally assaulted by a group of saffron extremists in Delhi’s Begumpur area over a trivial issue.

As per reports, Dilkash and his friends, Ajmal and Naeem were strolling in a park when they were thrashed for not saying ‘Jai Mata Di’.

“My friends and I had gone to Bans Wala park, some 300 metres from the madrasa, when we were attacked by a group of young men. They spotted us because we were wearing caps and asked us to say Jai Mata Di,” Dikash was quoted as saying by a news paper.

Meanwhile, some reports claim that the Delhi Police has arrested three people in the incident.

The police registered FIR three days after the incident on charges of assault and wrongful restraint.

“We were waiting for the medico-legal report. The case was registered on the basis of Dilkash’s complaint as he had suffered a fracture. In their complaint, he mentioned that he and his friends were forced to say Jai Mata Di,” the report quoted Deputy Commissioner of Police Vikramjit Singh.

All three victims hail from Bihar’s Purnia district and had come to Delhi in 2015 to study at the Faiz-ul-uloom Ghausia madrasa in Ramesh Enclave’s Mohammadi Masjid.

Violence over petty issues has become rampant in the city. A few days ago a dentist in west Delhi was mercilessly beaten to death by some anti-social elements over a road rage incident.

(Agencies)

7 CRPF men killed in Dantewada landmine blast, weapons looted

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Dantewada

Raipur: Seven CRPF men were killed today and their weapons looted after Naxals carried out a deadly landmine blast on their vehicle in the jungles of the worst Naxal-affected Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.

Officials said the incident occurred near the Basaras-Kuakonda axis in the Melawada village in the said district when a Tata-709 mini-truck of the force went over a landmine at about 4 PM and all the seven occupants were killed from the impact of the blast.

The landmine was planted cleverly by Maoists under the ‘black top or puccka’ road and the troops were travelling in a three-vehicle convoy, they said.

The vehicle and the troops were blown to smithereens and a four-feet crater has been created at the place were the blast took place, they said.

They said the troops belonged to the 230th battalion of the force deployed in south Bastar area for anti-Naxal operations.

Preliminary reports said the squad was led by a Sub-Inspector-rank officer and was moving on an administrative task as they were not in uniform.

“All the weapons of the troops have been looted by Naxals. Reinforcement squads have reached the spot,” they said.

Chhattisgarh’s acting Home Minister Ajay Chandrakar also informed in the state Assembly that seven security personnel were killed in the Naxal attack.

(Agencies)

“13 year old walks normally first time after deformity correction surgery at Fortis Hospitals”

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fortis

Bengaluru: The constant appointments at different hospitals, the disheartening results, difficulty in performing basic routine and with no or little ray of hope left in her to be able to walk normal, little Gaganashree was going through a tough time when she visited Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road. A six hour long complex surgery by the doctors at Fortis Hospitals gave her a new lease of life and bought her smile back.

It was a painful reality that the little girl faced day in and day out; it put not just physical but also mental stress on the child. Thirteen-year-old Gaganashree found it difficult to carry out even basic activities and daily personal chores because of the deformity in her lower limbs. She had problems walking normally and was distraught because her windswept (waddling) gait embarrassed her and she often had to face discrimination and ridicule in school and outside. She was hardly able to participate in any sporting activity.
With the hope of getting the deformity treated, Gaganashree and her parents made the rounds of many hospitals and visited specialists in the city, but almost everywhere they were told that the teenager’s condition could not be treated because of lack of expertise or she was asked to wait till she grew up and completed her development.

With the hope of getting the deformity treated, Gaganashree and her parents made the rounds of many hospitals and visited specialists in the city, but almost everywhere they were told that the teenager’s condition could not be treated because of lack of expertise or she was asked to wait till she grew up and completed her development.

Finally, she came to Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road where Orthopaedic specialist performed a specialised deformity correction surgery that helped straighten her lower limbs and ensured that she walked normally.

“The child and her parents came to us after visiting quite a few centres, where they were told that she had a genetic disorder that could not be corrected. We did a detailed evaluation and diagnosed her with a condition called Spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia, wherein her long bones are not growing normally because the growing ends of her bones were malformed. We informed the parents that the disorder would require complex deformity correction surgery,” said Dr Mohan Puttaswamy, Consultant Reconstructive Orthopaedic Surgeon at Fortis Hospitals.

Spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia (MED) is a rare, genetic disorder characterised by a malformation of the growing ends of the long bones. The deformity could involve the spine, hips and knees. In Gaganashree, the deformity was seen in the knees, thighbones as well as the leg bones resulting in a windswept gait and difficulty in walking. Such growth deformities also lead to children being shorter than the normally expected height at their age. Stiffness and diminished joint mobility at the knees, elbows, and hips may develop over time.

“She used to rarely get out of the house because of her deformity except for going to school. As her legs were not straight and almost crossed, walking was quite difficult and we were worried about the condition,” says Gaganashree’s elder brother Hemant.

After the evaluation, the Orthopaedic team led by Dr Mohan Puttuswamy formulated a surgical plan according to which a single stage multi-level procedure would be performed. He explained that the 13-year-old’s condition was worsened because not only was she short in stature, but she also had ligament dysfunction in the knee joints. The surgery was planned in such a way that the growing ends of the bones should be preserved and the ligaments in the knees would be tightened.

In a highly complex and challenging surgery, which lasted for six hours, Fortis doctors corrected the deformities in her right femur (thigh bone) and left tibia (shin bone) and her bones were straightened. A special technique called as Open-closed wedge technique was employed so that the length of the right thighbone was not decreased. In the left leg too, a similar strategy was used to avoid shortening of the limb and both her legs were straightened. The loose ligaments in the knee joints were tightened to enable her to walk with stability.

Three months after her surgery, she has made a steady recovery and today Gaganashree is walking straight and tall.

“She is happy to be able to walk normally and is waiting to get outdoors and go to school,” says Hemant.

Over 12 lakh cases pending in Odisha courts

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Odisha court

Bhubaneswar: Over 12 lakh cases are pending in different courts in Odisha, including 1.69 lakh cases in the state’s high court, a minister said on Tuesday.

Replying to a question by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Dilip Ray, Law Minister Arun Sahu told the assembly that 12,33,492 cases were pending in the Orissa High Court and lower courts as in December 2015.

A total of 1,30,748 civil cases and 38,705 criminal cases are pending in the Orissa High Court while 2.63 lakh civil cases and over eight lakh criminal cases are pending in the lower courts, the minister added.

The state government has yet to gather information about the pending cases from the state in the Supreme Court.

In response to a question by Biju Janata Dal legislator Prafulla Samal, the law minister said the government was taking steps to fill up the 76 vacant posts of judges in different courts.

Sahu said the government was in the process of setting up courts and Lok Adalats to ensure speedy delivery of justice to people.

The Odisha government has planned to appoint one lawyer at Gram Panchayat level from July this year, Sahu said.

“They will sensitise the people about the welfare programmes of the government besides giving legal advice.”

(IANS)

Will end fast if AFSPA repealed, Sharmila tells court

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Irom-Sharmila

Imphal/New Delhi: Rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast unto death since November 4, 2000 demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, on Tuesday assured a court in Delhi that she shall call off the fast if the Act is repealed.

Sharmila appeared before Judge H. Singh at the Patiala House Court in a case of attempt to commit suicide during her fast at Jantar Mantar on October 6-7, 2006 soon after being released in Imphal.

She told the jam-packed court room that she loves her life and was merely using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal.

“It is no crime,” she contended.

“Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands,” she told the court.

The district and sessions court in Imphal had earlier found her not guilty of the charge of attempting to commit suicide.

However she was rearrested within a few days as she continued the fast.

Sharmila said she was using the fast “for more impact” in her demand for repealing the AFSPA.

“I am fed up by trials on the same charge again and again,” she said.

“Since there is no meaning of true democracy in the country, human rights activists should join hands. The matter should be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations,” she said.

Sharmila also reiterated her desire to have a meeting with the prime minister on the AFSPA issue.

She said she had expressed her desire a long time back, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not met her so far.

The hearing will continue on Wednesday.

(IANS)

Widespread sexual harassment still persists in Delhi: study

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Violence-against-women

Washington/New Delhi: Sexual harassment remains a pervasive problem in Delhi despite tougher laws being enacted after the gruesome Nirbhaya rape and murder case in 2012, according to a new study that found 40 per cent of female respondents were sexually harassed in the past year.

About 40 per cent of women surveyed in Delhi said they have been sexually harassed in a public place such as a bus or park in the past year, with most of the crimes occurring in the daytime, researchers said.

Further, 33 per cent of women have stopped going out in public and 17 per cent have quit their jobs rather than face harassment in public places.

“What this means is that women, despite Nirbhaya, are still afraid,” said Mahesh Nalla, from the Michigan State University in US.

Nirbhaya became the pseudonym given to the gang rape victim whose death in 2012 brought worldwide attention to violence against women.

“Women in India do not feel safe being in public spaces, which is clearly a human rights issue,” Nalla said.

While sexual harassment is a problem experienced by women worldwide, it may be more prevalent in emerging democracies such as India and other countries in South Asia where women are becoming more involved in the workforce, said Nalla.

“The problem is intensified by the existence of a cramped, inadequate public transportation system, massive youth migration to urban areas and the fact that India is a traditional patriarchal society where many still believe a woman’s place is in the home,” he said.

Nalla and Manish Madan, assistant professor at Stockton University, surveyed about 1,400 men and women in the capital city of New Delhi on a host of issues including perceptions and history of sexual harassment, use of public transportation, safety in public spaces and police effectiveness in dealing with these concerns.

Researchers found that 40 per cent of female respondents were sexually harassed in the past year and 58 per cent were sexually harassed at least once during their lifetime.

Respondents were asked to gauge the seriousness of sexual incidents ranging from whistling to asking a woman for sexual favours to patting her buttocks or squeezing her breasts.

While both men and women generally considered all incidents serious, men considered them considerably less serious, illustrating “a disjunction between how males and females think,” Nalla said.

Sexual harassment of women in public spaces in India and elsewhere in South Asia – known as “Eve teasing” – has long been a common occurrence, particularly by groups of young male perpetrators, he said.

The December 16, 2012 rape and murder of Nirbhaya by a group of men on a moving bus in Delhi brought about new laws for rape and criminalised voyeurism and stalking.

However, despite these efforts, sexual harassment continues on a broad scale, the study suggests.

The research was published in the journal International Criminal Justice Review.

(Agencies)

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