The Indian Panorama

Year: 2015

  • UK Supreme Court rules against Trump over wind farm

    UK Supreme Court rules against Trump over wind farm

    LONDON (TIP): Britain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled unanimously against tycoon and U.S. presidential contender Donald Trump in his pitched battle to stop an offshore wind farm near his upscale Scottish golf resort.

    Trump claims the 11-turbine project, approved by the Scottish government in 2013, will spoil the view from his golf course near Aberdeen in eastern Scotland. He has vowed to stop further development of the resort if the wind farm goes ahead.

    Two Scottish courts had previously ruled against Trump, who had claimed the Scottish ministers had no power to authorize the wind farm.

    The Trump Organization said the verdict is “extremely unfortunate” for all residents of the Aberdeen area and will “completely destroy the bucolic Aberdeen Bay and cast a terrible shadow upon the future of tourism for the area.”

    The organization said it will continue to fight the proposed wind farm “on every possible front.”

    Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said the Supreme Court ruling will make it possible to “test and demonstrate new technologies” to reduce energy costs, and help Aberdeeon develop renewable offshore energy sources.

    The decision comes amid a storm of criticism in Britain over Trump’s campaign comments about Muslims. The Scottish government has revoked Trump’s status as an unpaid business ambassador with its GlobalScot network, and Robert Gordon University revoked his honorary degree.

    A record number of Britons last week “signed” an electronic petition calling for Parliament ban Trump from entering the United Kingdom after he called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.

    Prime Minister David Cameron told the House of Commons that Trump’s comments about Muslims are “divisive, stupid and wrong,” but he opposed banning Trump from coming to Britain.

    “If he came to visit our country, I think he’d unite us all against him,” Cameron said.

    (AP)

  • CANADIAN COMPANY SELLS BOTTLED FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR IN CHINA AS SMOG LEVELS WORSEN

    CANADIAN COMPANY SELLS BOTTLED FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR IN CHINA AS SMOG LEVELS WORSEN

    BEIJING (TIP): s China’s pollution problems continue, a Canadian company has cashed in on the crisis by selling bottles of fresh mountain air to people for up to $28 (£18.50) each.

    Beijing was issued its first ever red alert in December over its hazardous pollution levels, causing the capital to shut down schools and construction for a period of time, while attempting to take a percentage of the city’s cars off the road and telling people to stay indoors.

    Since then Shanghai has seen its own smog problem hit its highest level since January, with schools being prompted to ban outdoor activities and factory work curbed on Tuesday.

    But sales of Vitality Air – bottles fresh mountain air from Banff and Lake Louise, Canada – have soared in China. A single bottle of the company’s “premium oxygen” costs$27.99 ($18.50) while a bottle of its Banff air costs up to $23.99 ($15.85).

    Harrison Wang, Vitality Air’s China representative, told Mail Online that the minute the bottles went on sale in Taobao, a Chinese website similar to eBay for online shopping, they “sold out almost instantly”.

    The company started marketing the product in China less than two months ago, but now that the first shipment of 500 bottles is sold out, another of 700 bottles is on its way.

    Wang said the company sees pollution as an issue in China “and we want to give people the opportunity to inject a little bit of fresh air into their daily lives”.

    Vitality Air markets itself as “enhancing vitality one breath at a time,” and says it can help with “hangovers, alertness and working out,” as well as being “your solution to pollution”.

    But Vitality Air is not the only business cashing in on China’s pollution problem – a restaurant in in Zhangjiagang city recently started charging patrons for fresh air, after owners bought air filtration machines for the establishment and added a surcharge to people’s bills for the operation costs (The Independent)

  • Brazil’s Rousseff scores court win in impeachment case

    Brazil’s Rousseff scores court win in impeachment case

    BRASILIA (TIP): Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled Dec 17 that Congress must restart impeachment proceedings against Dilma Rousseff from scratch and overhauled the procedure, in a badly needed win for the embattled president.

    In an 8-3 decision, the judges annulled an opposition-dominated impeachment commission established by secret ballot in the lower house last week and ordered the procedure be restarted in an open vote.

    It also gave the final word on whether to open an impeachment trial to the Senate, where Rousseff has greater support.

    Rousseff is accused of fudging the government’s accounts during her re-election campaign last year. The 68-year-old leftist maintains the budgeting maneuvers were accepted practice.

    Under the court’s ruling, a new commission to decide whether or not to impeach the president must now be created in an open vote by the lower house.

    If the commission recommends impeachment, the decision will then pass to the full lower house — and then, the judges ruled, to the Senate.

    “It would be illogical for the Senate to act as a rubber stamp and execute whatever the lower house determines,” said Supreme Court Justice Roberto Barroso.

    If both chambers are needed to overcome a presidential veto, then “something more grave, like relieving a president— shouldn’t that also depend on both chambers?” he asked.

    The march towards the unpopular president’s possible ouster was stalled by her allies in Congress, who say opposition legislators violated the constitution in their rush toward impeachment. They claimed the impeachment commission illegally insisted on secret votes while picking its members, and that it was stacked with Rousseff opponents.

    The speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha — an outspoken Rousseff opponent — oversaw the controversial session to form the commission and is an architect of the impeachment drive.

    However, Cunha himself has been charged with taking millions of dollars in bribes.

    Rousseff has not even completed the first year of her second term in office and is facing an economy in recession, a fiscal deficit, double-digit inflation and growing unemployment. Rating agency Fitch cut Brazil’s sovereign debt rating to junk status on Wednesday, the second downgrade for the world’s seventh-biggest economy.

    (AFP)

  • Transgender couple who plan to marry and have children tell others ‘DON’T GIVE UP’

    Transgender couple who plan to marry and have children tell others ‘DON’T GIVE UP’

    LONDON (TIP): A transgender couple have revealed how they plan to marry and have children after finding love, and urged others struggling to be accepted for their gender identity to “not give up.”

    Ryan Said, 24, and Jasmine Merino, 18, found each other on Instagram and spoke on Skype before deciding to meet in person.

    “Honestly, I think it was love at first sight,” Mr Said explained.

    In a video by Barcroft TV, Mr Said described how his family dismissed his feelings as a phase and sent him to psychiatrists because they thought he was “sick”.

    However, his family have since accepted him, and he has been using hormone therapy for four years.

    Ms Merino, meanwhile, has been undergoing hormone therapy for two years, and said that she likes having a transgender partner because she understands him during “rough times.”The couple now plan to get married and have children using Mr Said’s eggs and Ms Merino’s sperm.

    “Whoever is going through what we’re going through tell them hold on, don’t give up, talk to someone,” said Mr Said.

    Mr Said and Ms Merino recalled their story as transgender people have come to mainstream attention, as communities fight for greater acceptance and civil rights.

    The latest rights victory saw the UK’s Editors Code of Practice Committee introduce a new ruling which give transgender people the same protection as other minority groups.

    The decision came after the newspaper industry regulator, Independent Press Standards Organisation, found that the The Sun had “belittled” and “mocked” blind, transgendered Labour MP Emily Brothers.

    (THE INDEPENDENT)

  • Abdullah al-Zaher: Saudi Arabia is about to behead a teenage boy for attending a protest aged 15

    Abdullah al-Zaher: Saudi Arabia is about to behead a teenage boy for attending a protest aged 15

    Saudi ARABIA  (TIP) : Saudi Arabia is believed to be on the brink of executing a teenage boy who was arrested at the age of 15 for attending a protest.

    Abdullah al-ZaherCampaign group Reprieve told The Independent Abdullah al-Zaher, who is now 19, was the youngest in a group of juvenile offenders put on death row as part of a ruthless crackdown on political dissent in the conservative kingdom.

    Previously held alongside fellow juvenile offender Ali al-Nimr, whose case sparked outrage around the world, Abdullah has now been moved to solitary confinement at a new facility and could be beheaded at any moment.

    In a last-ditch attempt to save their son’s life – and in spite of the danger of repercussions from the Saudi authorities – Abdullah’s parents have gone public with his story.

    Speaking to the Guardian, his father Hassan al-Zaher issued a desperate appeal. He said: “Please help me save my son from the imminent threat of death. He doesn’t deserve to die just because he participated in a protest rally.”

    A spokeswoman for Reprieve said Abdullah was arrested “for being in the area of a protest” in March 2012, beaten on the spot by police and tortured.

    His family and lawyers believe he was forced to sign a document without knowing its contents, and which later was used as a “confession” in the closed trial against him.

    Saudi government-aligned media outlets have been carrying reports in the past couple of weeks suggesting a mass execution of 52 prisoners is due to take place imminently.

    And despite assurances to the contrary from the British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, Reprieve understands that this group includes Mr al-Nimr and his uncle, Sheikh Nimr, as well as Abdullah.

    The charity has been tracking the cases of three juveniles, the third being 17-year-old protester Dawoud al-Marhoon, and believes they could be killed at any moment.

    “What we know from the families of the three is that they are in solitary confinement and being prepared for execution,” a Reprieve spokeswoman said.

    “They have been moved and undergone medical examinations, which seem to suggest their beheading is imminent. The whole business of executions in Saudi Arabia is shrouded in secrecy, and prisoners are often beheaded without any notice to family or lawyers.”

    Mr al-Zaher described Abdullah as a popular and peaceful boy, and said the condition of his health when he last saw him in prison – three months ago now – was “not good”.

    “He loved to ride my horses and wanted to become a medical assistant or nurse someday,” he said. “My son … did not fully understand what the people are protesting for. He was only 15 years old, still a minor, so we expected a lesser punishment if he was proven guilty.” Going public is the last resort for families trying to save their loved ones from Saudi death row. Ali al-Nimr’s own father was arrested in October after speaking to Channel 4 News.

    “The Saudi government is very repressive, and a lot of people choose not to go public because of the risk of harassment by the authorities,” Reprieve said. “It seems Abdullah’s family feel they have nothing to lose.”

    (AP)

  • Putin rules out reconciliation with Turkey

    Putin rules out reconciliation with Turkey

    MOSCOW (TIP): Russian President Vladimir Putin fired off an angry tirade against Turkey on Dec 17, ruling out any reconciliation with its leaders and accusing Ankara of shooting down a Russian warplane to impress the United States.

    In comments littered with crude language, Putin dismissed the possibility that the downing of the warplane over the Turkey-Syria border last month was an accident, calling it a “hostile act”. “We find it difficult if not impossible to come to an agreement with the current leadership of Turkey,” the Kremlin strongman said at his annual news conference. “On the state level, I don’t see any prospects of improving relations with the Turkish leadership,” he said of Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ties between Russia and the NATO member have hit rock bottom since the November 24 incident, which led to deaths of two Russian military officers.

    Turkey has said the Russian jet strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, but Moscow insists it never left Syrian territory. Putin said he did not rule out that Ankara was acting with tacit approval from Washington, possibly so that the United States would look the other way to let Turkey “go onto Iraqi territory and occupy part of it”.

    “I don’t know if there was such a trade-off, maybe there was,” Putin said.

    “If somebody in the Turkish leadership decided to lick the Americans in one place… I don’t know, if they did the right thing,” he added. “Did they think we would run away now? Russia is not that kind of country,” Putin said, speaking of Moscow’s increased military presence in Syria.

    “If Turkey flew there all the time before, breaching Syrian airspace, well, let’s see how they fly now.”

    Turkey has voiced concern about Russian air raids in northern Syria because of the Turkmen minority in the area, a Turkic-speaking people who have had an uneasy relationship with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

    (AFP)

  • Paris attack fugitive may have eluded Belgian police

    Paris attack fugitive may have eluded Belgian police

    BRUSSELS: Fugitive Salah Abdeslam may have eluded capture two days after the Paris attacks when Belgian police waited overnight to search a Brussels house where he may have been hiding, a Belgian federal prosecutor said Thursday.

    “Did he escape? Did he not escape? Nobody knows,” prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said.

    Van der Sypt said police had waited until 10am on November 16 to move on the house in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels because of various factors, including a Belgian law banning home searches between 9pm and 5am except for certain crimes.

    Authorities also wanted to be certain no harm would come to the 200-300 worshippers who attend early morning prayers at a nearby mosque, as well as children on their way to school, the prosecutor said.

  • Hyderabadi Cultural Association of Greater New York organize 4th Annual Gala

    Hyderabadi Cultural Association of Greater New York organize 4th Annual Gala

    HICKSVILLE, NY (TIP): On Saturday the 12th of December 2015, the Hyderabadi Cultural Association of Greater New York (HCA) held its Fourth Annual Gala in New York City. The keynote address was delivered by Mr. M. A. Faiz Khan, a scion of the Paigah royalty of Hyderabad.

    Mr. Quddus Mohammed, the Chairman of the HCA, welcomed the over 250 attendees, and Mr. Hussain Baqueri, the President delivered the state of the organization and stressed the role of HCA as a secular cultural organization that not only sought to promote Hyderabadi culture among the diaspora, but also participated in charitable initiatives helping the underprivileged get educational access. The President also presented a donation check to two organizations: Equally Able and Indo-American Hospital in Hyderabad. The organization also felicitated a variety of diasporic Hyderabadis including Dr. Hussain Ali Mir, Professor, writer and lyricist, Ms. Dilshad Ali, an Autism Advocate, Mr. Rajender Dichapally, a former Youth President of Telugu Association, Mr. Iftekhar Shareef, an outstanding Entrepreneur, and Ms. Zaynah Abid, a medical student for youth leadership.

    The gala also featured a standup performance by New York comedian Mr. Aman Ali, a musical program featuring the famous singer Darshana Menon and a sumptuous authentic Hyderabadi-style dinner. The attendees lightedthe night in their traditional Hyderabadi attire as a team of panelist recognized the person wearing the best Sherwani.

    Photos/ Mohammed Jaffer-SnapsIndia

  • Al-Qaida in South Asia head is an Indian

    Al-Qaida in South Asia head is an Indian

    The head of Al-Qaeda’s South Asian wing is Sanaul Haq, a one-time resident of Sambhal, in Uttar Pradesh, over 150 km from the national capital, intelligence sources have confirmed to The Indian Express. Known to the world as Maulana Asim Umar, Haq was appointed amir of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, or AQIS, by its overall chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, last year.

    Haq was identified, sources said, on the basis of the questioning of Sambhal resident Mohammad Asif and Cuttack-based cleric Abdul Rehman, who the Delhi Police said, had been tasked by Haq with setting up “AQIS recruitment networks” in India.

    Rehman, 37, was arrested by a joint team of the Special Cell of Delhi Police and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate police from his house at Paschima Kachha village under Jagatpur police station early this morning. Asif was arrested in Delhi on December 14. Rehman, who holds two PhDs in Arabicand Islamic Studies from Deoband, runs a madrasa in the Tangi area of Cuttack district.

    Haq’s operational deputy, sources said, has also been identified as an Indian national from Sambhal, Said Akhtar. Investigators say they have evidence that at least five Indian nationals are part of the organisation’s network in Pakistan.

    Haq’s identification marks a breakthrough in the international hunt for the Pakistan-based AQIS chief who has never been photographed or appeared in propaganda videos without a digital mask. Last year, The Indian Express was the first to report on the speculation that newly appointed AQIS chief was suspected of being an Indian national.

    Delhi Police Special Commissioner Arvind Deep said today that Asif, who had grown up along with Haq, travelled to Pakistan through Iran in 2012, along with two other Uttar Pradesh men — whose identities have been withheld — to train at a jihadist camp in Miranshah, in Pakistan’s north-west. There, he said, Asif, a 37-year-old father of two, received only ideological instruction, because of ill health, before being sent home in October 2014, to recruit more Indian nationals.

    For his part, Rehman is alleged to have recruited at least one Odisha resident for training with AQIS.

    Earlier this year, the United States announced it had destroyed what it said was the largest al-Qaeda camp detected in Afghanistan where upwards of 150 AQIS personnel were thought to have been training. Pamphlets and videos recovered from the site threw up evidence that many of the recruits spoke Urdu and Bengali, officials said.

    Educated at the famous Dar-ul-Uloom seminary at Deoband, from where he graduated in 1991, Haq became allegedly involved in jihadist circles following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, investigators say they had been told by his alleged lieutenants whose arrest was announced today. He disappeared from Sambhal in 1995, severing contacts with his family.

    Maulana Ashraf Usmani, a spokesperson for the Deoband seminary, said he could not immediately confirm or deny if Haq had been a student there and added that there were no records for many students who dropped out before completing their theological education.

    From Pakistani sources familiar with the jihadi movement, though, The Indian Express learned that Haq arrived in Pakistan that year, beginning studies at the Jamia Uloom-e-Islamiaa Karachi seminary that has produced several jihadist leaders, including Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Muhammad; Qari Saifullah Akhtar, who headed the Har-kat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, and Fazl-ur-Rehman Khalil, the leader of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

    Haq, sources said, was mentored by Nizamuddin Shamzai, a cleric closely linked to the Taliban who once bragged of being treated as a “state guest” in Mullah Muhammad Omar’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

    In the late 1990s, after finishing his studies in Karachi, Haq is believed to have joined Fazlur-Rehman Khalil’s Harkat-ul-Mujahi-deen, teaching briefly at the Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania seminary in Peshawar, and serving at the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen’s training camps in PoK . Following the events of 9/11, sources said, Haq moved back to Karachi, living from 2004-2006 at the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen’s of-fice in Haroonabad.

    Haq’s turn towards al-Qaeda began in the summer of 2007, after General Pervez Musharraf ordered the storming of Lal Masjid in Islamabad, a seminary run by Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia alumnus Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi. He made contact with Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, a top jihadist with close links to al-Qaeda. Interestingly, jailed 26/11 perpetrator David Headley had told the FBI of a “Karachi project” run by Kashmiri, with plans to target India.

    In 2013, Haq delivered the first exhortations specifically targeting Muslims in India — the first of its kind in global jihadist writing. He invoked anti-Muslim communal violence in India, saying “the Red Fort in front of the mosque cries tears of blood at your slavery and mass killing at the hands of the Hindus”.

    Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Rajendra Prasad Sharma said the Delhi Police got to know know of Rehman’s links with the al-Qaeda group after tracking his telephone call records. The team, which landed in Bhubaneswar, yesterday raided Rehman’s residence in Paschima Kachha village last night. Rehman’s mobile phone, a tablet and his passport were seized.

  • ANISTON, THEROUX’S MARTIAL ARTS WORKOUT

    ANISTON, THEROUX’S MARTIAL ARTS WORKOUT

    Star couple Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are obsessed with martial arts workouts.

    The former “Friends” star has been enjoying yoga-style exercise Budokon for years and has now tempted Theroux to join her for similar training to improve their upper body strength and cardio.

    “They’ve become great sparring partners. Jen’s been into Budokon for years, and she and Courteney (Cox) used to do classes with well respected martial arts teacher Cameron Shayne,” an insider told the entertainment website National Enquirer, reports femalefirst.co.uk

    “Jen swears by it for upper body strength and cardio and Justin’s really into it now, too. It’s fast becoming an obsession for them,” the insider added. he ‘Wanderlust’ actor is said to have been initially ‘reluctant’ to do martial arts alongside his 46-year-old wife because he was scared of harming her.

  • PREGNANT ANNE HATHAWAY WORKS OUT IN GYM

    PREGNANT ANNE HATHAWAY WORKS OUT IN GYM

    Actress Anne Hathaway, who is expecting her first child with husband Adam Shulman, was spotted doing a high-energy workout at a gym here.

    “She spent over an hour on the cardio equipment looking as beautiful as ever,” a source told the New York Post’s Page Six column, reports femalefirst.co.uk

    Once the actress gives birth, she isn’t planning on rushing back to the gym to get her post-baby body back. “Anne wants to be healthy and because she doesn’t want to rush back into a film role, she’s not going to put herself under pressure to slim quickly. She does yoga every day and eats mainly organic food, although she has been tempted by bagels and doughnuts recently to combat morning sickness,” a source had shared earlier.

    “The Princess Diaries” actress may have more time for the gym after the birth of her little one as she is also said to be planning to “take a break from Hollywood” following the baby’s arrival.

    “Anne can’t wait to be a mum. She’s been wanting it for a long time and waited until the right time to take a break from Hollywood. She feels she’s achieved so much already, it’s time to take a break from acting. She’s told friends she wants to put her career on the back burner for a while and concentrate on being a full-time mum,” the source added.

  • Salma Hayek is Back with ‘Everly’ – MOVIE REVIEW

    Salma Hayek is Back with ‘Everly’ – MOVIE REVIEW

    STORY: The feisty Everly (Hayek) is an escort who works for a gangster named Taiko (Watanabe). Taiko finds out she has betrayed him (by working with the cops to bring him down) and wants revenge. She then finds herself trapped in an apartment where she has to battle wave after wave of Taiko’s goons.

    EverlyREVIEW: Salma Hayek in her barest essentials, oozing tough-girl sexuality? Check. Salma Hayek in the skimpiest of clothes and with all guns blazing while mowing down bad guys by the truckload? Yes indeed.

    If you’re a diehard Salma Hayek fan and want to see her in a role she’s probably never done before, you’ll get that here too. But while the blood, gore and body count
    (not to mention some typical action movie style one-liners) goes through the roof here, the action fest does get a bit repetitive and monotonous after a point. This is also largely due to the fact that most of the fighting takes place in an apartment. Whether intentional or not on the part of the filmmaker, this closed-structure shooting adds to a sense of claustrophobia that is slightly reminiscent of 2002’s Panic Room that also played out mostly indoors.

    Apart from trying to break away from her captors, Everly is also worried about her family (mother and daughter). But there’s a stream of creatively-named villains (eg, The Sadist and The Masochist), who are out to get her, courtesy a cruel game being played on her by Taiko.

    It’s almost impossible not to see Tarantino and Sam Peckinpah-style influences creeping in here. The action puts the ‘G’ in gratuitous. Also unexplained is how Everly becomes a commando-grade expert in the use of guns and cutting weapons, seemingly all of a sudden. Her transformation from victim to vixen is rocket-fuelled.

    On the plus side, the action scenes are slick and stylish. But as mentioned earlier, too much of it does weigh a bit heavily on you. But all said and done, this is Salma Hayek channeling her inner GI Jane. It could have been way more ambitions though.

  • Shikshayatan Celebrates Diwali and Children’s Day as part of 27th Anniversary Celebrations

    Shikshayatan Celebrates Diwali and Children’s Day as part of 27th Anniversary Celebrations

    Shikshayatan Cultural Center, a Flushing-based prestigious educational and cultural center celebrated its 27th anniversary with great patriotic fervor and Diwali festival spirit. The program was held in the Community hall of The Hindu Temple Society of North America in Flushing and the program was well appreciated by one and all. Many men and women with lamp (deep) in their right hand inaugurated this event.

    The lighting of the lamp (deep prajvalan ceremony) was done by Pandit Sanjeev Mishra of Hanuman Temple, Hillside Avenue, Queens. Shikshayatan students were blessed by Pandit ji and he started the program with Vedic Mantra chanting.

    The first half of the cultural show was all about displaying the talents of the hardworking and dedicated Shikshayatan students, ranging from the ages 8 to 65 years old. The performances were very well received due to their varieties.

    The program started with the Devanjali -Prayers to lord Ganesh, Mother Saraswati and Guru by Kavita and Shivani. They recited Sanskrit shlokas. Kavita sang Raag, Jayjayawanti and Meera bhajan “Baso mere nainan mei nandlal” and  the famous patriotic song, Vande Mataram.

    The most entertaining item was bhajan sung and played on keyboard by Shivani. 8 years old Shivani also sang Raag Marwaa with confidence  All the performances were worthy of praise.

    Our senior student Manohar played raag Bhairavi on violin with ease. Shikshayatan’s title song for peace was sung by Kavita and Purnima ji

    Special attraction was Sanskrit language spoken by our Sanskrit student Srikar Vadula recited Chapter 12 of Srimad bhagvad Geeta, spoke in Sanskrit about Dewali Festival and conversed in Sanskrit with his guru Purnima ji which was very much appreciated by our Chief Guest Hon. NYC Council Women Elizabeth S. Crowley.

    The second half of the program was performed by highly professional artists.

    American National Anthem was sung by Kirti Shukla.

    Dr. Raj Bhayani spoke about Shikshayatan’s contribution, achievements and continuous efforts in spreading Indian culture to young and adults for 27 years non-stop.

    A  renowned vocalist from Kolkata Santanu Bhowmick accompanied by Tapan Modak on tabla and Sayduzzaman Rid on Octopad sang few melodious songs and thrilled the audience.

    Dr. Smita Guha sang famous poet RabindranathTagore’s Hindi version song “Jodi Tore” and another Hindi song with her sweet voice.

    Suresh Ketwaroe sang two beautiful songs on his Guitar and he too mesmerized the audience.

    An eminent Bharatnatyam dancer Sridhar Shanmugam ji performed dance on Shiv Panchaakshar stotram with full of grace.

    Extra ordinary Kathak dances were performed by Pandit Krishan Mohan and Rachana Sinha who stole the show by their heart felt footwork and gestures. An eminent Sitar player Abhik Mukherjee and famous tabla player Narendra Budhakar accompanied Kathak master Pandit Krishan ji with full enthusiasm and grace.

    A Poetry Recital to promote Hindi was organized. Dr. Bindeshwari Aggarwal, Anand Ahuja Esq, Neena Wahi, Sushma Malhotra, Ashok Singh, Dr. Mangala Sand and Purnima Desai a recited their original poems in Hindi and audience truly appreciated their poems.

    ABHYUDAYA 2015 – MOUTHPIECE OF SHIKSHAYATAN was also released on the occasion.

    Purnima ji thanked all the advertisers, supporters, participants, parents and the wonderful audience.

    Special recognition awards were given to distinguished people in the field of philosophy, education, fine arts, literature and community services etc. Roger Sengupta of a big organization “Celebrations” presented a precious pin  with Rabindranath Tagore picture and honored Purnima ji’s community services.

    Recognition awards to all the students of Shikshayatan were given. Kavita Mahabir, Shivani Panchal, Manohar and Srikar Vadula received Trophies from our Chief Guest Hon. NYC Council Woman Elizabeth S. Crowley

    Mahaprasad: was sponsored by Shikshayatan Prasadalaya.

    Shikshayatan honored Our Chief Guest: Hon. NYC Council Woman Elizabeth S. Crowley.

    Special Guest: Hon. Uma Sengupta -Democratic District Leader

    Distinguished guests included  Consul General of Nepal: His Excellency Mr. Narayan Mainali, Bharat Goradia, Shivangi Maini – Miss Bollywood, Swami Paramanand, Dr. Hari Shukla, Kirti Shukla, Ushir Pandit Durant , Prof. Saluja, Ravi Batra, Roger Sengupta, Dr. Raj Bhayani, Michael Sillert, Sumita Kaufhold, Amit Parikh and many more.

    Many dignitaries, diplomats, and distinguished community leaders attended this event and blessed Shikshayatan. Their presence was inspiring and was much appreciated.

    Volunteers received very special thanks. Rosa Mori, Niranjan Row, Sangeet Sharma, Kirit Parikh, Butala Emporium, Arish Sawhney, Sunder Iyer, Mukund and Padma Mehta, Sunil Mehta, Mohan Tailors, Ronald and Keval Singh and Krishna Mahabir were recognized for their untiring work in organizing the event.

    Purnima A. Desai (Founder/ President/Director) received Proclamation from by our Chief Guest Hon. NYC Council Women Elizabeth S. Crowley. Citation from Hon. NYS State Assembly Woman Michaelle C. Solages

    Mrs. Uma Sengupta , Democratic District leader who was a special guest addressed the gathering and  praised Purnima Ji’s efforts at promoting Indian art and culture. She blessed Purnima Ji and assured of all help to her.

    Others who spoke on the occasion included Roger Sengupta and Narayan Mainali, Nepal’s Consul General.

    Kavita Mahabir led the singing of Indian National Anthem.

  • SUNNY LEONE IS ‘MOST GOOGLED INDIAN IN 2015’

    SUNNY LEONE IS ‘MOST GOOGLED INDIAN IN 2015’

    She’s bold, she’s beautiful and she’s always surrounded with some or the other controversy. To put it mildly, Sunny Leone has had an eventful 2015.

    If she’s not battling an obscenity case filed by a vile housewife, she’s dealing with ridiculous claims linking her condom ad or with reports of her being thrown out of her apartment.

    The actress even took everyone by surprise when her brilliant act in Ek Paheli Leela became the talking point and not her super hot bod she so generously flaunted. With so much going, why wouldn’t she be one of the most searched Indian on the internet?

    The actress, for the second time in a row, has made it to the top spot in the ‘Most Googled Indian of 2015’ list, leaving Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and other A-listers behind.

  • SONAKSHI SINHA: I WANTED TO BE AN ASTRONAUT

    SONAKSHI SINHA: I WANTED TO BE AN ASTRONAUT

    Actress Sonakshi Sinha, who started her career as a costume designer, says she wanted to be an astronaut and that it was fate which crafted her switch from fashion to cinema. The daughter of Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha forayed into the Hindi film industry with Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg in 2010.

    SONAKSHI SINHABollywood’s “Shotgun Junior” shared her sentiments in an interview on Colors Infinity’s show “Born Stylish” with host and designer Pria Kataaria Puri. She said: “To be honest, I wanted to be an astronaut, my math was so bad though that no institute would have given me admission. I love sports, I like to swim and play tennis so I also thought of becoming a swimmer once. “Being in fashion designing, I used to sketch well, I thought of becoming an artist also but eventually, I landed up being an actress. There were a lot of people from different walks of life who inspired me while making a career choice. I was always a courageous girl!”A simple dialogue like Thappad se darr nahi lagta saab ji. pyar se lagta hai from ‘Dabangg’ is still a rage among cinema buffs.

    The actress, who is busy shooting for her upcoming films ‘Akira’ and ‘Force 2’, says she “never thought a heroine can get famous for her dialogue”. She said: “For me, the switch from fashion to cinema was all destiny. Arbaaz (Khan) spotted me at one of the fashion shows and approached me for the movie ‘Dabangg’, though I never wanted to be there, it was an offer I could not say no to. I had never thought a heroine can get famous for her dialogue; my father’s expertise has clearly rubbed-off on me”.

  • Sorry Daddy – MOVIE REVIEW

    Sorry Daddy – MOVIE REVIEW

    STORY: Inspector Ravi Sharma’s daughter Aneeshka seeks his help in finding her friend Aditya, who goes missing. As Ravi begins his search, he excavates the details of a syndicate that is forcing young children into beggary.

    CAST: Shamim Khan, Tinu Verma, Mukesh Tiwari, Raghubir Yadav, Razzak Khan, Gayetri Singh
    DIRECTION: Shakur Sir, Vijay Pal | GENRE: Action | DURATION: 2 hours

    MOVIE REVIEW Sorry DaddyREVIEW: This film will surely be the latest entrant on your list of the so-bad-it’s-good variety of films. It is a must watch, just for the sake of guilty pleasure. This garish offering takes tackiness to an altogether new high. At a time when Indian cinema is upping its game, such run-in-the-mill formulaic films are so unabashedly and confidently giving the term ‘eye-sore’ a new meaning.

    Sorry Daddy is a full-blown ham fest with unintentionally funny dialogues. The film’s story revolves around the cop and how he busts a major nexus that thrives on the business of beggary. This is an outdated idea and the makers make no attempt show any flair in reinventing the concept. Using the stocks props of the genre, the film shifts between its heroes, villains and their altercations over gimmicky punchlines.

    The film puts on a 70s’ cloak but doesn’t have the benefit of a solid story. A series of scenes sewed together in a loose narrative fails to make an impact.

    The acting department puts together ludicrous histrionics in dialogues that will put Kanti Shah’s Gunda to shame. Aapke wajood ka ansh mere wajood se judd gaya hai is how a woman announces her pregnancy. If you are looking for two hours of laugh-out-loud moments, resort to this unapologetic film. You wish the makers were half as sorry as their title claims.

  • India to buy Russia missiles for Rs 39k crore

    India to buy Russia missiles for Rs 39k crore

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The government on December 17 approved the Rs 39,000-crore acquisition of five advanced Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems, which have even rattled NATO countries because they can destroy incoming hostile aircraft, stealth fighters, missiles and drones at ranges of up to 400 km.

     

    The decision by the Manohar Parrikar-led defence acquisitions council (DAC), which will take some time to materialize into an actual deal after commercial negotiations, comes just ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on December 24.

     

    HIGHLIGHTS

    • Govt approved the Rs 39,000-crore acquisition of five advanced Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems
    • The decision by the Manohar Parrikar-led defence acquisitions council comes just ahead of PM Modi’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on December 24.

    The DAC approval is just an “acceptance of necessity (AoN)” for Indian experts to now formally negotiate the government-to-government deal with their Russian counterparts. “It will take a few years for the S-400 systems to be actually inducted. The plan is to deploy three in the west (read Pakistan) and two in the east (read China) to seriously bolster the nation’s air defence capability,” said a source.

    With the IAF trying to steadily plug gaping holes in the country’s air defence coverage, including protection of strategic assets like nuclear reactors, the S-400 will come as a major shot in the arm for the force. India will be the second foreign customer for the S-400, which is designated ‘SA-21 Growler’ by NATO. China is slated to get deliveries of six S-400 batteries from 2017 onwards after a $3 billion deal inked with Russia last year.

    The DAC on Thursday also cleared other modernization proposals worth Rs 25,985 crore, including the Rs 14,600-crore acquisition of six more regiments of the indigenous Pinaka multiple-launch rocket systems. The army already has two regiments of the 40-km range Pinaka systems, while two more were approved earlier. But the S-400 was the clear takeaway to add “real defence substance” to Modi’s visit to Russia, which will also see the two countries ink the inter-governmental agreement for the over$1 billion project to manufacture 200 Russian Kamov Ka-226T light utility helicopters under the ‘Make in India’ policy.

    India is also on course to acquire a second nuclear-powered submarine on a $1.5 billion lease from Russia. Indian Navy had inducted the first Akula-II submarine, christened INS Chakra, on a 10-year lease from Russia in April 2012, under a secret $900 million deal inked way back in January 2004.

    When the S-400 contract is actually inked, it will among the largest-ever deals with Russia, which has been displaced by the US as India’s largest defence supplier over the last four years. The other big deals inked with Russia include the ones for 272 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters (over $12 billion) and INS Vikramaditya ($2.33 billion for the aircraft carrier and another $2 billion for 45 MiG-29Ks to operate from its deck).

  • Ignore opposition, tell all of govt’s good work: PM to ministers

    Ignore opposition, tell all of govt’s good work: PM to ministers

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his ministerial colleagues to have confidence about the “good works” being done by the government and not to worry about the opposition’s propaganda.

    Speaking at a review meeting with members of the Council of Ministers, Modi asserted that government has done a lot for the poor, and members of the government should see to it all such schemes are implemented and publicized well. This government is committed to work for poor who have always stood by those who care for them, PM is learnt to have reassured his ministers.

    The meeting happened against the backdrop of creeping perception that the results of the government’s schemes are not becoming evident and that the ministries have not been doing enough and speedily.

    The 90 minute- long interaction, where finance minister Arun Jaitley was conspicuous by his absence, also saw Prime Minister calling upon the attendees to spread awareness about the disruptive tactics of opposition as well as to come up with innovative ideas for the forthcoming budget. More often than not, it is the same set of ideas which gets recycled each time and we must come up with a fresh ones in order to prepare an effective budget, PM is learnt to have said.

    Modi laid considerable stress on the need for the ministers to be accessible to members of the general public and MPs , and to ensure that the budgetary allocation for their charges for the current financial year was fully utilized. There should be no last-minute scramble to spend money as that would be tantamount to injudicious expenditure

    He said the ministers should visit at least two Lok Sabha constituencies in the second week of January and spend at least 30 hours in the areas assigned to them to spread awareness about the measures taken by the government.

  • Ansari moots automatic expulsion of disruptive Rajya Sabha members

    Ansari moots automatic expulsion of disruptive Rajya Sabha members

    NEW DELHI  (TIP): Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari sought suggestions from political parties on December 17 for a new rule in the Upper House to automatically suspend disruptive members.

    Ansari’s proposal, that took many leaders by surprise, came amid the House being held hostage to continuous disruptions since last week.Towards the end of the multi-party Business Advisory Committee of the Upper House, the panel which decides its weekly agenda, Ansari raked up the disruption issue and spoke about the “perception” that there is no discipline in Rajya Sabha.

    He also added that the Chairman does not have the same power as of the Lok Sabha to deal with disruptions in the House. “In Rajya Sabha, no member can be automatically suspended. I have to take the permission of the House to suspend any member,” he said.

  • ATS QUESTIONS PUNE GIRL ‘RADICALISED’ BY ISIS SYMPATHISERS

    ATS QUESTIONS PUNE GIRL ‘RADICALISED’ BY ISIS SYMPATHISERS

    PUNE (TIP): A city-based 16-year-old Muslim girl, who was reportedly radicalised by her ISIS contacts abroad and brain-washed to go to Syria, has been questioned by sleuths of Pune Anti-Terrorism Squad and sent to a de-radicalisation programme, an ATS officer said here tonight.

    According to the officer, the girl is a bright convent educated class XI student, studying in a city college.

    “The girl was interrogated by the ATS last week after monitoring her movements for many days on getting information about her. It confirmed her initiation by the ISIS.

    “The interrogation of the girl revealed that she was ready to go to any extent to carry out the ISIS directive,” Pune ATS officer Bhanupratap Barge told PTI revealing the details of the ATS operation.

    The girl is now undergoing a de-radicalisation programme with the help of her family members and community religious leaders, who are fully cooperating with us, he added.

    According to the ATS, the minor girl got attracted to the ISIS ideology after watching a documentary on television and subsequently started regularly monitoring news on Al Jazeera channel.

    “Later, she used the internet to get in touch with ISIS contacts and got in touch with about 200 young persons from different countries. Her interrogation revealed that she was told to come to Syria for medical education and for further initiation,” Barge said.

    He said that the girl, who is highly intelligent, had recently changed her lifestyle and started wearing burqa, giving up jeans she used to wear before her exposure to the ISIS contacts.

    “Even her family members noticed the change in her and felt disturbed,” the ATS inspector said.

    Barge said the de-radicalisation programme of the ATS with the help of community clergy and family members was “working” for the girl with encouraging results.

    Pune has been on the terrorist radar and had witnessed bomb blasts including the German Bakery blast that killed 17 persons including many foreigners in 2010.

  • A NEW BEGINNNING BY INDIA, PAK: SWARAJ ON BILATERAL DIALOGUE

    A NEW BEGINNNING BY INDIA, PAK: SWARAJ ON BILATERAL DIALOGUE

    NEW DELHI (TIP): A new beginning has been made by India and Pakistan as the two countries have agreed on a new bilateral comprehensive dialogue to address all outstanding issues through peaceful means, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on December 17.

    To a question in Rajya Sabha on whether India has raised the issue of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in international fora, Swaraj replied in affirmative and said government’s principled and consistent position on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir has been that the entire state is an integral part of India.

    “A new beginning has been made in the form of the agreement of the two countries on a new bilateral comprehensive dialogue to address all outstanding issues between them through peaceful means,” she said.

    During her visit to Islamabad earlier this month to attend a multilateral meet on Afghanistan, both India and Pakistan announced that they have decided to engage in a “comprehensive” dialogue.

    Replying to a query, she said the Permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN has recently written three letters to the President of the UN Security Council which referred to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and asked the top decision making body to take note of situation along the Line of Control.

    To a separate question, Swaraj, who is also Overseas Indian Affairs Minister, said it was aware of an Amnesty International report which said that 279 Indian migrant workers died in Qatar in 2014.

    “The report also states that these figures are of migrant workers deaths from all causes, including fatalities, not directly related to labour conditions,” she said.

  • Android to have Indian dessert name? Pichai will ask mom!

    Android to have Indian dessert name? Pichai will ask mom!

    NEW DELHI (TIP): He runs global internet giant, but the question that stumped Sundar Pichai on his first India visit as Google CEO was whether the popular mobile operating system Android can be named after an Indian dessert!

    A smiling Pichai replied he will ask his mother for suggestions and Google can even go for an online poll to decide the name. He was interacting with students at the prestigious Shri Ram College of Commerce on the second day of his India visit.

    Some of the suggestions that came at the event itself included ‘peda’, ‘neyyappam’ and ‘nankhatai’.

    Previous versions of Android OS have been named after sweets like Donut, Eclair, Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, Kitkat and Lollipop. The latest version is called Android Marshmallow and is being rolled out across mobile devices.

    Asked why Google did not have any Indian dessert as Android version name, Pichai said, “When I meet my Mom, I will ask for suggestions” and added that Google could conduct an online poll to decide the name for Android N.

    He also revealed that he didn’t like sweets as a child and mixed sambar with payasam, so that the payasam wouldn’t taste sweet.

    The one-hour session was similar to the Townhall of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who conducted a session at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in October.

    Zuckerberg was also stumped when an audience member asked when would Facebook would stop the unwanted invites for Candy Crush mobile game.

    Pichai’s session at Shriram College of Commerce was moderated by cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle, who called the India-born executive the ‘Rahul Dravid of the tech industry’.

    Pichai suggested students to do their own thing in life. He said while India has a culture of valuing education, the system here should encourage creativity and make sure it doesn’t penalise the person for being different.

  • World Bank approves US$ 1.5 billion to support Swachh Bharat Mission

    World Bank approves US$ 1.5 billion to support Swachh Bharat Mission

    WASHINGTON (TIP): World Bank has approved a loan of US$ 1.5 billion to Government of India for its Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Support Operation Project which is aimed at ensuring all citizens in rural areas have access to improved sanitation and end the practice of open defecation by 2019.

    The loan will be disbursed over a five-year period and is for tenure of 18 years.

    The World Bank has extended this loan with a view to strengthen the implementation of the Swachh Bharat initiative of Indian government, which will thereby result in significant health benefits for the poor and vulnerable in the rural areas.

    Mr. Onno Ruhl, World Bank country director for India appreciated that the two important components of the project are incentivizing good performance by states and focusing on behavioral changes.

    The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) will play the overseeing and coordinating role for the program and support the participating states.

    The World Bank has also planned to provide a parallel US$ 25 million technical assistance to build the capacity of select state governments.

    The assistance to states will help them implement community-led behavioral change programs targeting social norms to help ensure widespread usage of toilets by rural households.

  • Pakistan military deals a blow to jihadis but not to ideology

    Pakistan military deals a blow to jihadis but not to ideology

    ISLAMABAD (TIP): All cellphone coverage was blocked by the government for three hours one recent afternoon in the Pakistani capital, and it did not take people long to discover why: Maulana Abdul Aziz, the radical preacher of the Red Mosque, was sermonizing again.

    Banned from giving sermons in the mosque, the scene of an army siege on extremists that killed as many as 75 people in 2007, Aziz had announced that he would relay his latest Friday sermon by cellphone, calling aides at the mosque who would rebroadcast it over the mosque’s loudspeakers.

    But instead of arresting the jihadi preacher, as many moderate Pakistanis would like, the authorities simply turned off the city’s cell networks last Friday from 11am to 2pm, the traditional time for Friday Prayer, according to senior Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the news media.

    Aziz’s relative untouchability is a measure of how enduring the power of militant Islamist ideology has remained in Pakistan. Even as the Pakistani military has driven some jihadi groups out of business or into hiding over the past year, other technically banned jihadi or sectarian groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat are still thriving, with little apparent effort by the government or military to curb them.

    The ascendance of such groups and of radical mosques and madrassas was well underway during the years that Tashfeen Malik, half of the husband-wife pair of mass shooters in California, returned to Pakistan for her university education in Punjab province.

    Many Pakistani officials have been quick to suggest that Malik must have found her extremist beliefs while she was growing up in Saudi Arabia. But the reality in Pakistan is that hard-line Islamist views in line with some of the most conservative Saudi teachings are more mainstream than ever.

    While the Shariah law the hard-liners here tend to espouse calls for their women to be kept in purdah — strictly separated from men at all times — some Pakistani women have been at the fore in pushing the Islamist agenda themselves.

    That fact came into view most prominently with the case of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist and member of al-Qaida who was convicted in 2010 of trying to kill American personnel in Afghanistan. She is serving an 86-year prison sentence in the United States.

    A recent example popped up here at the Jamia Hafsa school, a girls’ madrassa attached to Aziz’s Red Mosque. About 15 of the older students recently posted a video of themselves in full burqas in front of the flag of the Islamic State, praising the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and asking him to come help them avenge their followers and others who have been killed — especially Osama bin Laden. “May God annihilate America and those who support it,” their spokeswoman said. “We pray for you every night here in the land of Pakistan.” (NYT News Service)

  • Pakistan vows revenge one year after Taliban school massacre

    Pakistan vows revenge one year after Taliban school massacre

    PESHAWAR (TIP): Pakistan’s leader, speaking beneath portraits of children killed by Taliban bullets, called Dec 16 for vengeance as the country marked the first anniversary of a school massacre that killed 151 people in its worst-ever extremist attack.

    Families of the victims along with military and political leaders attended an emotional ceremony at the army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar to mark the assault, which mostly claimed the lives of schoolchildren and has been termed a “mini-9/11” for the country.

    Relatives were accompanied by students bearing images of their loved ones as they spoke one by one of children with bright smiles who worried about their hair and handwriting but had dreams of being artists and engineers.

    Many of the parents broke down on seeing students in the Army Public School uniforms, an AFP reporter said.

    “My children, today I make this promise to you, that I will take revenge for every drop of your blood,” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said, addressing the victims directly.

    But angry and distraught parents told AFP nothing could bring back their children, with many reiterating calls for a judicial inquiry into the security failings that led to the attack.

    “They can’t stop the tears of my wife,” said Jamal Abdul Nasir, breaking down into tears himself as he remembered his son Awais. “We want nothing, only justice.”

    At least a dozen families boycotted Wednesday’s ceremony in protest.

    Powerful military chief Raheel Sharif and opposition leader Imran Khan also attended the ceremony. A military official told AFP there were some 2,500 guests including celebrities and sports stars.

    “We think a lot about the students who lost their lives,” Abu Bakar, a teacher who was shot three times as he threw himself in front of fleeing children during the siege, told AFP, saying the loss was “something that cannot be described”.

    “This should not have happened to them. They were innocent students,” he said.

    Groups in other major cities organised their own vigils, while on social media, many Pakistanis changed their profile pictures to an image depicting an APS uniform with a bloody bullet hole and a caption reading: “Some stains don’t wash out”.

    The Taliban have said they carried out the attack, in which all nine gunmen died, in retaliation for an army offensive on extremists in the tribal areas.

    But the attack hardened public opinion against extremism and prompted a military-led crackdown that has improved security. This year is on course for the fewest deaths linked to extremist violence since 2007, the year the Pakistani Taliban were formed.

    Sharif said he hoped the day was “not very far when these terrorists will be eliminated forever and every corner of Pakistan will be a place of peace and prosperity”.

    (AFP)