Jitu Rai celebrates with his coach Mohinder Lal after winning the Gold Medal in the final of the 50m Pistol Men at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range for the 17th Asian Games in Incheon.
Fresh from his 50m Pistol silver in the World Championships, the Lucknow-based shooter completed a grand double as he had won a gold in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year.
Jitu Rai, who serves the Gurkha regiment, was on target from the word go after moving into the finals even as compatriot Omkar Singh failed to cross the qualification hurdle.
In the finals though, Rai was tested by Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Phuong, who had to settle for silver and bronze medallist Wang Zhiwei of China.
Rai accumulated 186.2 points in comparison to Phuong’s 183.4 and Zhiwei stood a distant third with 165.6 points. This was India’s second medal at the ongoing Games after Shweta Chaudhry’s bronze in the 10m air pistol event.
PANAJI: The Goa tourism department here said that it is open to tie up with Bollywood films that are shot in Goa, in order to target NRI tourists.
State tourism director Amey Abhyankar said that initiatives to tie up with films depicting beauty of Goa can result in the increased footfalls of the NRIs.
“NRIs are large communities outside country and our films have large fan following there. We might be surprised to see large number of NRIs coming in after watching Goa in the films,” Abhyankar, told PTI yesterday.
Goa tourism department has tied up with latest Bollywood release of Deepika Padakone, Arjun Kapoor starrer ‘Finding Fanny’.
The film, which is in both Hindi and English, has a potential international audience and Goa has been extensively showcased in it.
“Films definitely have spill over on tourism. State has single window system to make film shootings more convenient. We will be open to such ventures in near future,” Abhyankar added.
He said the film has explored areas which tourists might not have seen during their visit to Goa.
“You get to see glimpses of different parts of Goa (in the film). These are places which a person who has been before might not have seen,” he said.
Congress today deliberated on selection of candidates for 174 seats in Maharashtra, which it had contested in the last assembly polls, with no seat arrangement still decided with Sharad Pawar’s NCP for the October 15 vote.
State Congress chief Manikrao Thakre said that it was for the high command to decide on the issue of seat sharing with NCP.
In the last Assembly elections, Congress had contested 174 seats while the NCP had fought in 114 seats in the 288 member Maharashtra Assembly.
This time, the NCP is pitching for as many as 144 seats contending that the two parties should share 50:50 share in the wake of in the results in the Lok Sabha polls.
In the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress could secure only two seats while NCP had won four out of total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Thakre evaded questions on whether Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will be contesting the polls and, if yes, from which constituency.
Chavan had been saying that he will be contesting from Karad South seat in his home district of Satara.
Currently, he is a member of the state legislative council.
The development came as the process of filing nominations for the October 15 election to the state Assembly began today with authorities issuing the poll notification.
Maharashtra’s over 8.28 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the single-phase election for its 13th assembly.
September 27 is the deadline for filing nomination. After scrutiny of papers, the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 1. Counting of votes will take place on October 19. The existing assembly’s term expires on November 8.
GUWAHATI: Days after al-Qaeda issued a video threatening to carry out its campaign in India, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said the terror group is trying to set up base in the state and had “tacit understanding” with ULFA.
“We have got some information that al-Qaeda is trying to gain access to Assam. We have taken steps to prevent any such development and asked all concerned to remain cautious,” Gogoi told a press conference here.
The global terrorist outfit had earlier too tried to set up links in the north east and Assam in association with insurgent groups here but failed to do so, he said.
Asked specifically if al-Qaeda has any link with the banned ULFA, Gogoi said, “I think they have links. Even if there is no direct link as of now, they have tacit understanding … They never criticise each other.”
The Chief Minister said security forces have received intelligence report that there are possibilities of some incidents during the forthcoming Durga Puja.
Asked if repeated violence in Bodoland Territorial Area Districts and other parts of the state, where primarily one community has been affected in recent years, are to be blamed for Islamic fundamentalist groups like al-Qaeda’s possible entry to Assam, Gogoi said “These are in any case disturbing factors. These incidents help them.” ..
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said Indian Muslims will live and die for the country and would not dance to the tune of al-Qaeda.
On September 4, the Centre had sounded a country-wide alert after an al-Qaeda video surfaced in which the terror outfit threatened to carry out campaign in India and the initial assessment of Intelligence Bureau found the tape to be genuine.
The US media and intelligence agencies had said al-Qaeda has established a new branch to wage ‘jihad’ in India, return the Islamic rule and impose sharia in the Indian sub-continent
SRINAGAR: At a time when almost the entire healthcare infrastructure in Srinagar city has been rendered ineffective by the devastating floods, the Army’s 92 Base Hospital here has saved the lives of more than 300 people including 35 newborns.
The army doctors without caring about their own houses and families affected by the floods have been working day and night at the 600-bed facility, the biggest army hospital in the entire Kashmir Valley.
The family of Riyaz Ahmed, whose three-month-old daughter was suffering from encephalitis, was preparing to face the worst as the doctors at the district hospital in Anantnag gave up hope of saving the infant.
“Doctors in Anantnag told us that they won’t be able to save our daughter and that we should take her home and be prepared for the worst,
” Riyaz who is a driver by profession told PTI. However, after flood waters entered his village, an army helicopter rescued the family. “They brought us at the army hospital here and since then the treatment of my daughter is on,” Riyaz said.
The doctors treating the infant say that she has fully recovered and was now out of danger.
“She was brought here in a critical condition but the baby girl is fine now and we will discharge her in a day or two,” said Brigadier NS Lamba, the commander of the 92 Base Hospital located at the Badami Bagh cantonment area.
Riyaz said that the army doctors have performed a miracle by saving the life of his daughter. “Even if I have to give my life for them a thousand times, I will happily do that.
“These men here have given a new lease of life to my entire family,” Riyaz said.
Brigadier Lamba said that as soon as the water started entering the GB Panth children hospital in the Srinagar city, the army hospital opened its doors for the infants who were undergoing treatment at the hospital and had to be rescued.
“The babies coming to our hospital from the GB Panth hospital were in the age group of one day old to a few months old.
“They were undergoing treatment for various diseases. Some of these babies were brought in critical condition as some were cases of pre-mature deliveries and had to be kept in ICU,” he said.
Despite the floods, he said, the army doctors have been regularly reporting on duty to save the lives of the patients who were brought to the hospital.
“The houses of 17 of my officers including doctors and paramedics are still under water, but they are regularly coming to save the lives of the patients who were brought to this hospital,” Brig Lamba said.
Ghulam Rasool (70), a resident of Nowgam whose 27-day- old grandson is undergoing treatment at the ICU of the base hospital, said that he was indebted to the army for their timely help.
“They haven’t charged us a single penny and besides providing free treatment, medicines to the sick baby they are also taking caring of our family by giving us food and shelter here,” Rasool said.
A press note issued by AAP against the false allegations on Mayenk Gandhi regarding sexual harassment complaint lodged by a female volunteer during the campaign of Lok Shabha Elections.
Real News of India will however investigate the matter and bring the truth to its readers.
False, baseless and malicious campaign to defame AAP leader Mayank Gandhi,
Aam Aadmi Party totally decries the attempts to malign the character to Mayank Gandhi on completely unfounded and baseless allegations. We caution all news channels and publications to cease and desist from carrying news items without checking their veracity. They any are advised to check the case and understand that NO COMPLAINT OF SEXUAL HARSSMENT OR MOLESTATION has been filed against Mayank Gandhi or any AAP member.
During the election campaign Mayank Gandhi was approached by a young female volunteer from his constituency with a complaint of harassment by a male colleague. Without going into any details of the case, based on his strong support to women and belief in ensuring a good work place environment for them, Mayank Gandhi without hesitation suspended the male volunteer immediately. He then connected the young lady to Preeti Sharma Menon, member of the national committee on sexual harassment. Preeti had a brief conversation with the lady and asked her to file a police complaint. The girl was reticent so Preeti promised her an internally inquiry. Many local volunteers too told the girl to file a police complaint but she was not willing. Preeti mentioned the case to the National Committee on Sexual harassment and then asked the Maharashtra State Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) to conduct an inquiry under the Vishakha guidelines. The inquiry in under progress.
It is shocking that the same lady has today turned the harassment case into a molestation case and has chosen to file a complaint in which she has falsely alleged that Mayank Gandhi threatened her to refrain from filing a complaint at the police. It is to be noted that she HAS NOT ALLEGED ANY HARASSMENT OR MOLESTATION against Mayank Gandhi or any member of AAP.
AAP has advised the police to do a thorough investigation against the accused and punish him thoroughly if found guilty. But we are shocked and dismayed that the police could so easily include the name of national political leaders in a case without a shred of evidence. The police has admitted that the case against Mayank Gandhi is limited to the allegation that he prevented the victim from lodging a complaint (which is anyway false). They have also promised a fair investigation and strict action if the case if proven as false.
AAP is a party that has encouraged women participation, especially in Maharashtra where Mayank Gandhi and Praful Vora created an atmosphere that encourage Anjali Daminia, Medha Patkar, Meera Sanyal and many other women to take centre stage. It is a shame that political motives of some MLA aspirants are trying to destroy the only party that truly stands for gender justice.
http://youtu.be/J3e–jxB31E?list=UUxoQcj5v7JJ28ChDDw0-qdg
Hrithik Roshan, considered one of the best dancers in Bollywood is seen doing some high octane dance moves in his next ‘Bang Bang’ and his co-star Katrina Kaif says she had to try hard to match up to the actor.
The 31-year-old actress is playing the female lead in the action thriller, which is the official remake of the Hollywood film ‘Knight and Day’ starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.
“Dancing with Hrithik was the biggest challenge. His flexibility is incredible. It is at a different level altogether. You have to be really good to match up to his energy. He has natural energy when he dances. It comes to him so effortlessly,” Katrina said during the launch of the title track of the film here last night.
When asked who was the better dancer in the song among the two, the ‘Dhoom 3’ actress said till the time of the rehearsals she was doing fine, but Hrithik just blew everyone away during the final shoot.
Kat
“I was ok during rehearsals because Hrithik was not dancing! Finally when we danced on the sets, we all know who danced better,” said the actress, adding the title song ‘Bang Bang’ is one of her favourite tracks.
‘Bang Bang’ has been directed by Siddharth Raj Anand, who has previously helmed ‘Salaam Namaste’, ‘Ta Ra Rum Pum’, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ and ‘Anjaana Anjaani’.
Siddharth is returning behind the lens after a gap of four years and the director says ‘Bang Bang’ is a very important project for him as he has invested a lot in the movie.
“It has been a journey of blood, sweat and tears for me and a very difficult one. I am very emotional right now and might cry because this is the first time I am talking about all of it. But I am feeling happy now,” he said.
Hrithik is all praise for the director and said he is happy that he chose to do this film, which he considers one of his best movies till date.
“Normally I want to know every aspect in a film before saying yes. But this time I didn’t. This is the first film in my life which surprised me. This film truly belongs to one man – Sid. Everything he has done in this film is simply amazing.
“‘Bang Bang’ is one of my best films. I just saw the final rushes of the film and am very happy,” Hrithik said.
The film also stars Danny Denzongpa, Jaaved Jaffrey and will hit theatres on October 2
Traffic police launches smart safe stickers plan in Thane
Thane: Pushing for greater passenger safety, Thane Police Commissioner Vijay Kamble on Thursday launched Smart Safe Stickers (SSS) project under which travellers can get full information of the vehicle and driver by clicking picture of the sticker.
Launching the project here Kamble said under the project smart safe stickers with a QR Code, which will contain information like vehicle registration number, owner’s name and address, photo, which will be affixed on the rear of driver’s seat.
By clicking picture of the sticker through smartphone, data will be stored in mobile, which can be prove to be useful for passenger from security point of view.
He said auto rickshaw unions have also welcomed the project and are cooperating in its implementation.
It has been launched as a pilot project and nearly 5,000 rickshaws will be covered first, Kamble said, adding, if the pilot project is successful, it will be extended to other areas later.
Kamble has also asked traffic police officials to register complaints regarding the project.
DCP Traffic Rashmi Karandikar at the launch said that the idea was conceived after a 24-year-old techie Swapnali Lad jumped to safety from a moving auto-rickshaw in Thane when the driver allegedly tried to kidnap her, keeping in mind the safety of women passengers.
Incheon: Bolstered by a better-than-expected performance in the Commonwealth Games, Indian athletes would now look to assert themselves against the sporting might of continental powerhouses such as China and Japan in the 17th Asian Games commencing here tomorrow.
A total haul of 64 medals in the CWG held in July-August, which included 15 of the golden hue, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better the medal tally claimed at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.
However, the reality is that Asian Games is far tougher to excel in than CWG, barring a few disciplines, especially with the Chinese juggernaut set to roll once again followed by the might of South Korea, Japan and a few other countries, including the ones belonging to to the erstwhile Soviet Bloc.
In 2010, the total medals scooped by the Indian contingent at the Asiad was 65 — comprising 14 gold, 17 silver and 34 bronze — a month after a record haul of 101, including 38 gold, in the CWG held in New Delhi.
The sizeable heist in Guangzhou piloted the country to a highly creditable sixth spot on the table which was topped by hosts China with a staggering haul of 199 gold medals.
The sixth place finish in Guangzhou was India’s best in Asian Games history after the fifth spot it grabbed when hosting the pan-Asian sports spectacle in 1982 at New Delhi.
India ended up eighth in 2002 when South Korea previously hosted the Games and retained it four years later in Doha, Qatar, before improving it by two rungs in Guangzhou, leading to the current optimism that the country has the capability to finish even in the top five.
This time the government, on September 9, pruned down the size of the contingent, from what was sent to it by the Indian Olympic Association. The contingent is now 679-strong -– including 516 athletes — from the initial 942 comprising 662 athletes and the rest officials.
The size of the contingent is still quite big and would be seen in action in aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing and kayaking, cycling, equestrian, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, rowing, sepaktakraw, shooting, squash, taekwondo, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, wushu, weightlifting, and yachting.
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