New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) The Delhi High Court today observed there was “nothing wrong” with the AAP government referring to itself as ‘Kejriwal sarkar’ as all governments do that.
“All governments do that. We have seen that. Nothing wrong with that,” a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said in response to a petitioner’s objection to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government referring to itself as ‘Kejriwal sarkar’.
On the allegations against Delhi government that it continues to violate the Supreme Court’s ruling that taxpayers’ money cannot be spent to build image of political leaders, the bench sought the Centre’s response on what steps it was taking to implement the apex court’s guidelines.
The court also sought Delhi government’s reply to Congress leader Ajay Maken’s affidavit claiming that the city government was still issuing advertisements in violation of Government Advertisement (Content Regulation) Guidelines, 2014.
The guidelines were approved by the apex court by its order of May 13.
Maken has also termed as “incorrect” the city government’s claim, of July 29 that it has taken down the advertisements which were violating the guidelines.
He placed before the court pictures taken post July 29 of various advertisements which were allegedly violating the guidelines.
His counsel today told the court that advertisements in violation of the guidelines as well as allegedly glorifying Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the party were still being put up.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on September 1.
The AAP government had on August 3 informed the court that it had spent Rs 22 crore on advertisements in the three months after the apex court’s ruling of May 13.
The city government had, however, denied the allegation that huge amount of money was being spent on advertisements glorifying Kejriwal and the party and said it was spending Rs eight crore per month and that too on ads related to its policies.
The AAP government’s response had come in the backdrop of the court’s July 29 direction which had asked them to give details of money spent on advertisements allegedly glorifying Kejriwal and AAP.
The Islamic State plans to take over large parts of the world, including almost the entire Indian subcontinent, by the next five years, according to a chilling map that features in a new book on the dreaded terror group.
According to the map, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plans to take control of the Middle East, North Africa, most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Europe, within the next five years, to complete its caliphate.
The caliphate — a state governed by Sharia law which ISIS plan to claim — covers areas from Spain in the west to China in the east, the Mirror reported citing the map. The map reveals the calculated way ISIS plans to take over the world by 2020.
According to the map, Andalus is the Arabic name given to the parts of Spain, Portugal and France that were occupied by the Moors from the 8th to the 15th century while the Indian subcontinent would come under ‘Khurasan’.
BBC reporter Andrew Hosken, who includes the map of the targeted areas in his new book ‘Empire of Fear: Inside the Islamic State’, said ISIS wants “to take over all of what they see as the Islamic world.
A seven-step ISIS programme, dating back almost 20 years, includes the US being provoked into declaring war on the Islamic world between 2000 and 2003 and an uprising against Arab rulers between 2010 and 2013, the report said.
ISIS have up to 50,000 members and cash and assets of nearly 2 billion pounds, partly due to their control of oil and gas fields in Iraq and Syria, it said.
“They want to take over all of what they see as the Islamic world. Once they have their caliphate, they plan to turn against the rest of the world. They envisage the whole world being under their rule,” Hosken was quoted as saying.
“They have 60 nations against them, including the United States and Russia, so one would think that is pretty unlikely. But one would have thought the first steps were unlikely as well,” he said.
Hosken says in his book that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who founded the terrorist group that would later become ISIS, in 1996 described the seven-step programme that would lead to Muslim victory by 2020.
“We were so close to destroying them back in 2010-11.
80% of their leaders had been captured or killed and they ended up as a little rump. We didn’t finish them off and like a cancer they came back,” Hosken said.
Mumbai, Aug 11 (PTI) The US dollar ended dearer against the rupee at 64.19/20 per dollar and the pound sterling also finished higher at Rs 100.01/03 per pound at the close of the Interbank Foreign Exchange market today.
Following are the Interbank Forex and RBI rates:
(In Rs Per Unit) Unit Interbank RBI Reference US Dollar 64.19/20 US Dollar Rs. 64.1732 Pound Sterling 100.01/03 Euro Rs. 70.3595 Euro 70.84/86 Japanese Yen(100) 51.
Hitting out at BJP over the execution of 1993 blasts case convict Yakub Memon, MNS president Raj Thackeray on Monday alleged that the BJP-led governments at the Centre and state wanted “riots to break out in the country”.
“Yakub Memon was a terrorist but his hanging episode was converted into a drama by both the Centre and the state government. Looking into the events preceding and following the hanging of this traitor who killed so many people, I feel that both governments only wanted riots to break out in the country,” he said.
The 47-year-old firebrand leader was addressing a gathering of party supporters in adjoining Thane. He alleged that the media was being fed with the details of Memon’s activities ahead of the July 30 hanging and the journalists, too, enthusiastically lapped them up.
“On the day of Yakub’s hanging, newspapers printed so many pictures of this traitor, while we could barely see photos of a nationalist like APJ Abdul Kalam (who was laid to rest on July 30),” he said.
Raj also blasted his long-time friend, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, over his tweets, that were perceived as being in favour of Yakub (some of which were withdrawn later), ahead of the execution.
“Salman is a man without brains, while his father is a respectable man. He does not read newspapers and does not know the law and thus went on tweeting in his (Yakub’s) favour.
Then there are people who sent letters to the President seeking mercy for the traitor. How can anybody question a Supreme Court order?” he asked.
Justifying his visit to the actor’s residence after he was pronounced guilty in the hit-and-run case, Raj said he has very old family ties with his father Salim Khan and thus went there to be with him at the time of crisis.
The MNS president also trained his guns at Gujaratis living in Mumbai, saying they have gone “out of control” ever since Narendra Modi, who hails from the state, became Prime Minister.
He took a dig at Gujaratis over their predominately vegetarian food habit, seeking to know how they can discriminate among people on the basis of what they eat? Taking a jibe at Modi, Raj said the Prime Minister does not speak on anything, he just makes declarations. “His ‘Man Ki Baat’ programme has turned into ‘Moun Ki Baat’.” Raj hailed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s initiative to bring new industries in the state but insisted that Marathi youths be given employment in these units.
She is the lesser-known daughter of Kamal Haasan, but Akshara, who boasts of distinctive bewitching eyes and a stunning figure, wowed the crowd as a bride at the BMW India Bridal Fashion Week 2015 for designer Rina Dhaka. The 170 cm tall svelte beauty who has graced the ramp on many occasions, wore an embellished pink lehenga at the event.
Hailing from a showbiz family, it wasn’t unusual for Akshara Haasan to follow the footsteps of her parents – Kamal Haasan and Sarika, and sister – Shruti Haasan, and try her luck in films. However, the 23-year was in no haste to hit the screen, turning down many directors including Mani Ratnam.
Akshara started off as an assistant director in 2010 for a movie titled Society. Earlier this year, she made her debut as an actress for R Balki’s Shamitabh, starring alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush.
Although she is yet to make her big break, the hazel-eyed beauty has 37. 4 K followers on Twitter. Her sister, Shruti, who is older to her by six years, is already an established actor, having worked across Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movie industries.
Writes: Dr. Vimal Khawas
Nepali speaking Indians are often confused with the Nepalese of Nepal
ONE OF my friends recently complained to me of being verbally abused by a woman. The immediate basis of the quandary was his motorcycle parked at the allotted space. On that fateful day while the woman was on her way through the area a part of her sari accidentally happened to mesh with the edge of one of the parts of his motorcycle. She allegedly roared at him by means of some of the most improper and unfounded statements as far as the Nepali speaking Indians are concerned. “You Nepalese! You foreigners! I know you people! You people do not know how to live!” were some of her remarks.
The point here is not a mere abuse of an individual by another individual but connotes a much larger issue that needs serious discourse among the responsible Nepali speaking Indian nationals. The victim is a bona fide citizen of India and permanent resident of Kalimpong located in the district of Darjeeling, West Bengal. Like many other Indians he too is struggling in Delhi in search of better economic pastures.
There are Bengalis and Punjabis, for example, with their counterparts residing in other countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan. But they have never been lamented as Bangladeshis or Pakistanis. In our case, however, the term Nepalese or foreigner has often been used by the mainstream Indians. So where is the problem? Why are Nepali speaking Indians often confused with the Nepalese of Nepal? Why don’t the mainstream Indians appreciate that there are about a crore Nepalis who have been the bona fide citizens of India for generations?
Before going further with the discussion let us be clear with the terms `Nepalese’ and `Nepali.’ The former is basically used to represent people with Nepalese citizenship while the latter is used to denote the Nepali speaking Indian nationals. `Nepalese’ refers to the national identity or nationality of the people of Nepal while the term `Nepali’ connotes the ethnic identity of the Indian Nepalis. Bengali, Tamil, Oriya, Punjabi, etc., are all ethnic identities of respective social groups with Indian nationality. The Nepalese from Nepal have scattered across the length and breadth of the Indian territory and got into the blue-collar jobs notably in the hotel industry, security services and as domestic helps. They are here mainly as seasonal migrant workers who would visit their country from time to time.
Two factors
Two important factors need serious debate here. First, India and Nepal signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship on July 31, 1950. Among other things Article 7 of the treaty grants, on reciprocal basis, to the nationals of one country in the territories of the other the same privileges in the matter of residence, ownership of property, participation in trade and commerce, movement and privileges of a similar nature. The treaty is, however, silent with respect to the impact of such agreement on the already settled and bona fide Nepali Indians. Over the years on the strength of this agreement the Nepalese have been crossing the borders and spreading across the Indian territory.
Secondly, the crux of the issue has been the ill reputation carried by the Nepalese in India. Take the following points that appeared in a leading newspaper in the capital as examples: `A Nepalese servant strangles a 60-year-old woman,’ `A Nepalese servant killed a 62-year-old businessman,’ `A retired lieutenant colonel and his wife were murdered by their Nepalese servant.’
What are the repercussions of such activities of the Nepalese on the settled Nepali speaking Indians? They look identical; speak almost the same language with some dialectical variations; and bear similar names. The consequences of their deeds and misdeeds have, however, often to be borne by the settled Indian Nepalis.
Alternative arrangement
The government of India either needs to abrogate this treaty or the settled Indian Nepalis have to be protected from such onslaughts by some other means. The GNLF led `Gorkhaland’ agitation had rightly highlighted this grave issue before the relevant authorities in the 1980s. But the agitation petered out before achieving any of its objectives. Mention should, however, be made that the GNLF led by Mr. Ghisingh has been successful in bargaining for and negotiating an alternative arrangement for the settled Indian Nepalis and other social groups of the Darjeeling hills in the recent talks held in New Delhi.
It is time to highlight relevant issues such as the ones mentioned above before the government. Since the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim are the places where the Nepali speakers constitute a majority of the inhabitants, it is from these regions that voices towards these ends need to originate.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a last push before the end of a stormy parliament sitting to pass a major tax reform aimed at boosting economic growth, but an opposition party dug in its heels to stop the bill.
Aimed at creating a customs union for India’s 1.2 billion people, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is the biggest revenue shake-up since independence from Britain in 1947. Supporters say it will add up to two percentage points to economic growth.
A series of obstacles to the prime minister’s ambitious agenda of economic reform has increased a sense among debt-laden domestic companies suffering subdued earnings that India’s fledgling economic recovery could take longer.
Indian shares fell about 1 percent on Tuesday led by declines in banking stocks along with jitters over the parliament showdown and China’s yuan devaluation.
As monsoon rain lashed the colonial-era parliament building, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the bill in the Rajya Sabha to yowls of protest from members of the opposition Congress party. Seconds later, the speaker adjourned the chamber, putting off any discussion until Wednesday.
The Congress party is demanding the resignation of senior BJP leaders it accuses of graft before allowing parliament to work. It also wants changes to the bill, which it says has been diluted to win support from states.
“They don’t want the Indian economy to grow,” Jaitley said, barely audible above opposition shouts of “this will not go on”. He called the protest “merely a pretext”.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said the obstruction replicated tactics by the BJP, which blocked GST and other reforms when Congress ruled India for a decade, before being defeated by Modi last year.
Modi made the constitutional amendment to allow the new tax the main goal of the summer sitting of parliament, which ends on Thursday.
Failure to pass the GST bill now will make it hard for Modi to meet a self-imposed 2016 deadline for implementing it. In a research note, DBS Bank said any holdup “will be negative for market sentiment and could further delay the recovery process”.
Even so, many foreign investors still see India as a bright spot in the world economy and expect Modi’s reforms to prevail eventually.
The government has already passed the bill in the lower house. It does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, where it needs two-thirds of votes to pass the amendment. That is only possible if most parties support it, or if Congress abstains.
Sania Mirza won the Wimbledon doubles championship partnering Martina Hingis
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza will be conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, Deccan Chronicle reports. Sania’s name has reportedly been chosen for India’s top-most sporting honour ahead of squash star Deepika Pallikal and discus thrower Vikas Gowda.
Other candidates for this year’s Khel Ratna included Tintu Luka (800m), Devendra Jhajhariya (paralympic javelin), Sardar Singh hockey) and Abhishek Verma (archery). The Awards Committee is headed by former cricketer Kapil Dev and former billiards player Michael Ferreira, and although an official confirmation on the matter is still pending, most reports are suggesting that Sania is a shoo-in for the award.
“It is a great honour to be nominated for the Khel Ratna award. This is surely going to inspire her to earn more laurels for the country,” Sania’s father Imran Mirza was quoted saying after she was nominated for the award.
If the reports are indeed true, it will cap off what has been a brilliant year so far for India’s tennis queen. The 28-year-old, who has already been conferred with the Arjuna award in 2004 and the Padma Shri in 2006, has been in stunning form of late.
Since opting to partner Swiss former World No. 1 Martina Hingis, Sania has climbed to the top of the WTA doubles ranking. The crowning glory came with the pair’s triumph at Wimbledon in June.
That victory, however, could not be considered as it came after the cut-off date for performances to be considered for the award. But in the relevant period Sania won the mixed doubles gold with Saketh Myneni and bronze in women’s doubles with Prarthana Thombare at the Incheon Asian Games. She also won the US Open mixed doubles title with Bruno Soares in 2014.
After her string of impressive performances, Sania was considered a front-runner for the award, especially considering India’s tennis association went out of their way to nominate her under a special clause in spite of missing the deadline for submission by two months.
“We had got a late recommendation from AITA, but the Minister accepted that and recommended the same to the Awards Committee,” Sports secretary Ajit Sharan said. “But the final decision to give the honour rests with the Awards Committee,” he clarified.
Jacqueline Fernandez, the gorgeous Sri Lankan model and actress debuted in the tinsel town with her film Aladin in 2010 for which she even bagged an IIFA best debut award and Stardust award. Post that, there was no looking back for her as she went on to work in successful ventures like Murder 2, Race 2, Housefull 2 and Kick. This stunning beauty will soon be seen in director Karan Malhotra’s Brothers opposite Akshay Kumar. As Jacqueline celebrates her 30th birthday on August 11, astroYogi takes a look at what is in store for her:
New York, Aug 11 (IANS) Silicon Valley giants Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Twitter are working with Britain’s Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to implement a new system that will help detect and block images of child pornography online.
IWF, a charitable foundation, has introduced a new technology that enables it to tag images of sexual abuse with distinct hashes — sort of codes that act like a digital fingerprint, The Verge reported.
Once a hash is assigned to an image, it’s unique to it, making it easy to identify a specific image.
The IWF keeps a record of all the hashes, which it has only shared with the five tech companies so far, but plans to roll out to others soon.
Once the system is implemented, any image that is uploaded to Facebook, Twitter or any other participating website is scanned.
If the image has previously been tagged by the IWF, the system will detect its hash and automatically prevent it from being uploaded — and thus from being shared.
Google has long scanned the images that pass through Gmail for child pornography. Now, the joint support of the tech giants should help widen the net.
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