The Indian Panorama

Month: March 2016

  • West Indies beat India: storm in to Final with a flourish

    West Indies beat India: storm in to Final with a flourish

    MUMBAI (TIP): In a thrilling finish, West Indies dashed India’s hopes for a world cup win. West Indies were replying to India’s mammoth score of 192.   With 3 balls remaining they needed 3 runs to win. At the crease were Andre Russel and Lendl Simmons., Andre Russell hit Virat Kohli to a powerful six to win the match for West Indies, with 2 balls remaining.

    Earlier, chasing a mammoth Indian score of 192, the West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle got out cheaply at 5. However, Johnson Charles and Lendl Simmons stood their ground and together took the West Indies score to 116 for 2.  At this point, Indian skipper Dhoni introduced an unconventional bowling change. He brought in Virat Kohli to bowl. And lucky as Virat is, he had Johnson Charles caught right on the first ball of his over.

    At this point, West Indies were 116 for 3, having lost Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Johnson Charles.

    The next batsman in was Andre Russell. He and Simmons went in hungrily for runs. While Simmons hit 82 off 51 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes, his co- batsman Russell scored 43 off 20 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes. West Indies reached the winning target of 193 with 2 balls to spare.

    India vs Westindies World T20 2016: Dhoni reply after losing aganist Westindies

     

    india vs WIIndia 192 for 2 (20 overs)

    Virat Kohli 89 not out (47 balls)

    Rohit Sharma 43 (31 balls)

    West Indies bowling: Samuel Badree 1/26

    West Indies 196 for 3 (19.4 overs)

    Lendl Simmons 82 not out (51 balls)

    Johnson Charles 52 (36 balls)

    India bowling: Ashish Nehra 1/24

    Virat Kohli 1/15

    Man of the Match: Lendl Simmons

    West Indies will now play England in the finals at Kolkata on April 3rd.

  • CONTACT LENSES MAY ALTER EYE’S NATURAL BACTERIA, SAYS STUDY

    CONTACT LENSES MAY ALTER EYE’S NATURAL BACTERIA, SAYS STUDY

    A new study has found that contact lenses may alter the natural microbial environment of the eyes and increase the risk for eye infections.

    According to researchers, contact lenses make the eye microbiome more skin-like, with higher proportions of the skin bacteria and make them more prone to eye infections.

    “It’s unclear how these changes occur, whether these bacteria are transferred from the fingers to the lens and to the eye surface, or if the lenses exert selective pressures on the eye bacterial community in favour of skin bacteria,” said senior study author Maria Dominguez-Bello from New York University School of Medicine.

    “Wearing contact lenses has been identified as a risk factor for the development of eye infections such as giant papillary conjunctivitis and keratitis,” Dominguez-Bello added in the paper was published in the journal mBio.

    “Our study has the potential to help future studies explore novel insights into a possible role of the microbiome in the increased risk for eye infections in contact lens wearers,” Dominguez-Bello stated.

    The team compared 58 adults with the bacterial communities of the conjunctiva — the eye surface — and the skin under the eye.

    They also analysed samples from 20 of the study participants (9 lens wearers and 11 non-lens wearers) at three time points over the course of six weeks.

    The results showed that looking at 250 samples — 116 from cotton swabs of the conjunctiva, 114 from cotton swabs of skin under the eye, and 20 contact lenses — a higher diversity of bacteria on the ocular surface than on the skin under the eye or on the contact lenses. The ocular surface microbiota of those who wore contact lenses was more skin-like compared to those who did not wear lenses. It was enriched in the bacteria Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Methylobacterium and Lactobacillus. In non-lens wearers, these bacteria were detected at a higher relative abundance in skin samples compared to the eye, suggesting that these bacteria could be classified as skin bacteria. “Other studies have shown increased risks for eye infections in contact lens wearers and this might relate to impacting the microbiome. When we can better understand the mechanisms, we will be able to test hypotheses and propose preventive measurements,” Dominguez-Bello stated.

  • EXPERIENCE MUSIC CONCERT AT HOME WITH NUGS

    EXPERIENCE MUSIC CONCERT AT HOME WITH NUGS

    NEW YORK (TIP): Bruce Springsteen’s generous gesture to snowbound followers this winter was the first time many music fans became aware of Nugs.net, a website that offers concert experiences to those who can’t make it to the arena.

    Phish, Metallica and Pearl Jam also sell recordings of their shows through Nugs. The website’s emergence illustrates the growing importance of the live music industry at a time recording sales have sharply fallen, giving acts with strong live reputations a new revenue stream.

    “As the future unfolds, I think every touring act is going to have to do something along these lines,” said Marc Reiter, who manages Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers at Q Prime.

    The website’s roots date back to the 1990s when two friends who grew up in the Philadelphia area, Brad Serling and Jon Richter, created it to share their recordings of Grateful Dead concerts. They reached out to the band for permission and the response, basically, was “what’s a website?”

    By the beginning of the century, their recordings had become so popular that the band’s lawyers gave them two choices: shut it down or go into business together. Serling worked briefly for the Dead.

    Nugs officially became a business when the men offered copies of Phish’s 2002 New Year’s Eve concert for sale. As its only client at the time, the site grossed more than a million dollars.

    “That’s when we knew we were on to something,” Richter said.

    Nugs has expanded to stream audio and video of live shows on a pay-per-view basis; Metallica streamed a concert through the site the night before the Super Bowl. For a monthly or yearly subscription, Nugs also grants unlimited access to a library of more than 10,000 shows.

    Springsteen offered a free concert recording for a limited time after he had to postpone a New York City show due to snow. More than 100,000 copies were downloaded. His concert downloads generally cost $9.95, with CD copies $23 and audiophile options also available.

    The top eight sellers listed on Nugs.net last week were from Springsteen’s current “River” tour.

    The jam band community is big on Nugs because its acts view each concert as a unique experience. A band that follows the same setlist every night, hitting precise cues for dancers and lights, isn’t made for Nugs. The acts must be confident enough to sell all their shows without editing, even on lousy nights.

    If something is held back, fans notice and conspiracy theories begin.

    “Sometimes I can be somewhat hesitant,” admitted Aron Magner, keyboard player for Disco Biscuits. “The segues don’t go as planned or there was a wrong note, or a series of wrong notes. But that’s what this genre is all about. It’s walking on a tightrope without a net. Everyone understands that and it’s part of the fun of it. You don’t get these amazing moments unless you are willing to jump off a cliff.”

    If Springsteen hadn’t spent time surfing YouTube and come across snippets of his concerts with terrible sound quality, he might not have reached out to Nugs, Serling said.

    The recordings come from a mix of a band’s sound board at a show and from the venue itself, a combination that promotes clarity and avoids sterility. Nugs sells recordings through their acts’ website and on their own, trying to make it an easy experience for the musicians. Financial details of the arrangements aren’t released.

    Take away the recording costs, and it’s essentially found money — a way to profit from a concert outside of ticket sales. It’s primarily a service for the die-hard fan: Springsteen offers a discount to fans who purchase every single show of the “River” tour.

    “Our fans are both loyal and rabid and have always been voracious to devour as much content as we are willing to deliver,” Magner said. As Disco Biscuit members get older, they don’t tour as much, he said. Nugs offers them a way to stay in touch.

    The recordings sell at a consistent level, he said. “But if there is a specific show that rises above (the norm), the word will spread pretty quickly,” he said.

    Reiter said that for the bands he manages, Nugs has been great service to their most loyal fans. “It has been better than we ever thought,” he said.

  • Most ‘outrageously luminous’ galaxies ever discovered

    Most ‘outrageously luminous’ galaxies ever discovered

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Astronomers have observed the most luminous galaxies ever seen in the universe —objects so bright that the researchers have taken to calling them
    “outrageously luminous”.

    Researchers at University of Massachusetts Amherst in the US said that established descriptors such as “ultra- and hyper-luminous” used to describe previously brightest known galaxies do not even come close to describing the newly discovered objects.

    “We’ve taken to calling them ‘outrageously luminous’ among ourselves, because there is no scientific term to apply,” said undergraduate student Kevin Harrington, study’s lead author. Researchers used the 50-metre diameter Large Millimetre Telescope (LMT), the largest, most sensitive single-aperture instrument in the world for studying star formation.

    It is located on the summit of Sierra Negra, a 15,000-foot extinct volcano in the central state of Puebla, a companion peak to Mexico’s highest mountain. Researchers also used the latest generation of satellite telescope and a cosmology experiment on the Nasa/ESA collaboration Planck satellite that detects the glow of the “Big Bang” and microwave background for this work.

    They estimate that the newly observed galaxies they identified are about 10 billion years old and were formed only about 4 billion years after the Big Bang.

    Harrington said that in categorising luminous sources, astronomers call an infrared galaxy “ultra-luminous” when it has a rating of about 1 trillion solar luminosities, and that rises to about 10 trillion solar luminosities at the “hyper-luminous” level.

    Beyond that, for the 100 trillion solar luminosities range of the new objects, “we don’t even have a name,” he said.

  • THE NEXT BIG THING IN PHONES UNLIKELY TO BE A PHONE

    THE NEXT BIG THING IN PHONES UNLIKELY TO BE A PHONE

    FRANKFURT (TIP): Nearly a decade after the iPhone broke the mould for mobile phones the question being asked is whether the evolution of the smartphone has finally come to an end, as even Apple now treats older, smaller 4-inch screens as something new.

    Industry experts believe innovation in smartphones is giving way to phone functions popping up as software or services in all manner of new devices from cars to fridges to watches and jewellery rather than remaining with handheld devices.

    And analysts and product designers said fresh breakthroughs are running up against the practical limits of what’s possible in current smartphone hardware in terms of screen size, battery life and network capacity.

    “Everything in the phone industry now is incremental: slightly faster, slightly bigger, slightly more storage or better resolution,” said Christian Lindholm, inventor of the easy text-messaging keyboards in old Nokia phones that made them the best-selling mobile devices of all time.

    The financial stakes are high as the futures of Apple, Google, and Microsoft, the world’s three biggest listed companies at the end of last year, may now turn on who gets the jump on making handsets redundant.

    Many firms are experimenting with new ways to help consumers interact with the wider world through touch, sight and sound.

    These include voice-activated personal assistant devices dangling from “smart jewellery” necklaces with tiny embedded microphones or tiny earpieces that get things done for us based on our verbal commands.

    The world’s biggest tech companies have made real progress in this arena with Google Now, Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon.com’s Alexa now able to read texts or emails for users, answer practical questions, control phone features, handle basic communications or read a map.

    “The way the whole thing is evolving, the device itself is becoming just another way to provide access to a user’s digital life,” said independent financial analyst Richard Windsor.

    Lindholm now runs KoruLab, developers of compact, ultra-efficient software for running wearable devices. He sees smartphone functions splitting into two camps – big-screen devices for rich entertainment and compact wearables for more transactional activities like keeping up with one’s calendar, health or fitness monitoring or paying for goods or services.

    NAGGING QUESTIONS

    Financial analysts at UBS estimate smartphone makers will generate more than $323 billion in revenue this year, a 1.4 percent decline from last year. Apple alone took in half of that revenue and more than three quarters of all profits, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

    Seeking to reverse declining iPhone sales, Apple announced a range of new products on Monday including including a cheaper 4-inch (10 cm) screen iPhone SE.

    Google generates virtually all of its revenue from advertising sold alongside its wide variety of Web services, rather than from its Android software, which drives roughly 80 percent of the world’s phones.

    It is cagey about how much revenue comes from mobile advertising, but analysts estimate this contributed roughly a quarter to a third of its $75 billion revenue reported in 2015.

    Last year Microsoft pulled back from the handset business, writing off $7.6 billion for its fruitless acquisition of Nokia’s handset business. Increasingly, its strategy has become to make money off the back-end of mobile software, through selling cloud-based services, now its fastest growing business.

    For while phones are now the Swiss Army knives of the electronic age, their essential appeal to consumers has shifted from their eye-catching shiny screens and sleek bevelled edges to the apps and services running on the phones, often as Internet-based services hosted in the cloud.

    “Mobile networks are moving to connect to all these other devices,” said Bob O’Donnell, a consumer electronics analyst and president of Technalysis Research in Foster City, Calif.

    Whatever platform might displace the handheld phone also will need to resolve nagging questions about battery life, which have become more pressing as consumers watch more and more video.

    The next big device also needs more flexible screens capable of working in different lighting conditions. That’s a decades-old dream of gadget enthusiasts that has eluded recognised market leaders Samsung and LG of Korea, which have struggled for years to mass-produce flexible screens at anything close to mass-market prices.

    Richard Windsor said flexible displays that could be unfolded or unrolled to up to 10 or 14 inches would set phones free from being defined by screen size. “What is a tablet computer?” Windsor asks. “Why would you bother having a tablet? That market would just evaporate overnight,” he said.

  • Will retire from chairmanship of Sanofi India: Vijay Mallya

    Will retire from chairmanship of Sanofi India: Vijay Mallya

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya announced he will retire as chairman of Sanofi India and will not seek reelection as a director of the drug maker.

    Mallya, who has been the chairman of the drug maker formerly known as Hoescht Pharmaceuticals, for over 32 years and served over 42 years as director, gave the similar reason of wanting to spend more time in England closer to his children as he did while agreeing to step down from USL chairmanship, for his decision.

    In a letter to the board of directors of Sanofi India, Mallya wrote, “Having been a director of your company for over 42 years and chairman of the board for over 32 years, I have decided it is time for me to retire without resorting to the ‘first-in, last out formula’.

    Mallya further said: “I have decided to step down progressively from my responsibilities and therefore will not be seeking as a director at the forthcoming AGM at the end of April 2016.”

    Elaborating reasons for his move, Mallya said: “As you are aware, I celebrated my 60th birthday and I am spending more time in England closer to my children, it is also the company’s diamond jubilee which marks two important milestones.”

    Reacting the Mallya’s letter, Sanofi India said its board, which met on Wednesday accepted his decision.

    “Consequently, Mallya will cease to be a director and chairman of the board of directors of Sanofi India Ltd at the conclusion of the company’s AGM,” the company said in a BSE filing.

    The company said it will seek approval to appoint Aditya Narayan and Usha Thorat as independent directors for a term of five years each from April 30, 2016.

    Mallya left the country earlier this month amid continuing efforts by banks to recover dues totalling over Rs 9,000 crore of unpaid loans and interest owed by grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

    He has been summoned by Enforcement Directorate (ED) to make a personal appearance before its investigating officer in Mumbai on April 2 in connection with its money laundering probe in the over Rs 900 crore IDBI loan fraud case. He has sought more time from the agency to present himself on a later date instead of the scheduled time of March 18.

    Last month, Mallya signed an agreement with Diageo under which he agreed to step down as chairman of United Spirits in return for which he was to be paid 75 million dollar, out of which 40 million was paid immediately and the balance to be paid over a period of five years.

  • STEEL LOANS WORTH 50K-CR MAY TURN BAD IN FEW MONTHS

    STEEL LOANS WORTH 50K-CR MAY TURN BAD IN FEW MONTHS

    MUMBAI (TIP): As banks close their books for the financial year, they are talking tough with stressed steelmakers and making clear their intent to classify them as defaulters. Banks have also asked the government to seriously consider a specialized funding organization for the steel industry on the lines of the Power Finance Corporation for the power sector.Last week, lenders met highly leveraged steel manufacturers and put them on notice. Although classifying loans to these companies as non-performing assets (NPAs) will mean banks taking a hit on their profits, it will shift the balance of power in favour of the lenders as they will now stop coaxing borrowers and instead initiate recovery proceedings.

    The immediate impact would be that Rs 50,000 crore worth of steel loans could be added to non-performing assets. Some of them will be recognized as default cases in the fourth quarter of this fiscal while others would be classified as bad loans in the first quarter of FY17. The companies that banks are holding discussions with include Essar, Bhushan, Visa and Electro Steel.

    Ironically , some of these lenders have had their loans restructured under the 525 scheme. The scheme was introduced in 2014 by Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, where loans were extended to 25 years with a condition that interest rates would be reset after every five.The 525 scheme involved zero sacrifice from lenders but it made repayment easier for the borrower by reducing the instalment size. Around 21% of the restruc tured loans as of December 2015, amounting to Rs 54,051 crore, were from the iron & steel industry. The gross non-performing assets in the steel sector as of September 2015 stood at 8.4%. This is expected to rise to nearly 12% by March 2017.The steel industry is the highest leveraged sector in India and banks are not in a position to extend fresh loans.

    In a recent industry note, State Bank of India managing director B Sriram had said, “We think time has come for the government to seriously look into the possibility of setting up a funding agency for the steel sector, as well, on the same lines of PFC or REC for the power sector. For, the industry will be requiring more than Rs 10 lakh crore to raise its capacity to 300 MTPA by 2025.”

    The note pointed out that government measures on safeguard duty and minimum import price were benefiting steelmakers, but the impact of this on margins of user industry such as automobile, appliances and engineering needs to be seen.

    Lenders hope that the demand for steel will go up with the government’s push to infra and construction sector through its thrust on highways, railways and smart cities. The 26 nationalized banks, which are expecting a Rs 25,000 crore government bailout in the coming financial year, have lost at least Rs 30,873 crore to frauds in four years -2011-12 to 201415. According to finance ministry documents, these losses are only due to frauds of Rs 1 lakh or more. Some of these cases are being probed by investigating agencies.

    In the latest development, the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is also probing the Kingfisher Airlines case, arrested a chartered accountant of Udaipur and a businessman of Jaipur in an ongoing investigation of a case re ating to an alleged loss of approximately Rs 1,000 crore to Syndicate Bank.

    Syndicate Bank is headquartered in Karnataka. In the said period, the bank has lost Rs 1,133 crore and has reported 445 cases of fraud involving Rs 1lakh or more.

    SBI and its five associate banks have lost Rs 5,881crore in the said period. SBI, which reported 2,049 fraud cases.lost the majority of this amount (Rs 3,461 crore), followed by State Bank of Hyderabad which lost Rs 876 crore and reported 139 fraud cases.

    IDBI, which is also being probed in the Kingfisher Airlines case, has lost Rs 1,350 crore in the period, while reporting 388 fraud cases.

    The four banks headqu artered in Karnataka -Syndicate, Corporation, Canara and Vijaya -have lost a cumulative Rs 4,342 crore, with the highest by Canara Bank (Rs 1,309 crore), which reported 334 cases of frauds.

    The CBI, which is investigating the Syndicate Bank case, has registered a case under several sections of the IPC, besides the Prevention of Corruption Act, indicating involvement of insiders.

    In March last year, the CBI investigated a case against a private firm in Ahmedabad and its director after a joint complaint received from State Bank of India, Vijaya Bank and Canara Bank.

    It was alleged that the firm had got the fund released, expressing urgency , pending execution of documents. Sources had pointed out that after the release of the money , the man (owner) disappeared from India.

  • EgyptAir Hostage Drama Ends; Hijacker Arrested, Passengers Safe

    EgyptAir Hostage Drama Ends; Hijacker Arrested, Passengers Safe

    Authorities arrested the hijacker of an Egyptian airliner that was diverted to Cyprus today, after the plane’s passengers and crew were able to escape unharmed.

    The hijacker, who officials said was motivated by personal reasons and who had reportedly claimed to be wearing an explosives belt, was detained after several tense hours at Larnaca airport where the plane had landed.

    “The hijacker has just been arrested,” Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Twitter. No further details were immediately available.

    An AFP correspondent saw a man emerging from the aircraft, walking across the tarmac and then raising his hands to two awaiting counter-terrorism officers. They laid him on the ground and searched him for around two minutes before taking him away.

    Passengers and crew had earlier been seen leaving the aircraft, including one who climbed out of the cockpit window.

    “The passengers are safe and the crew is safe,” Egypt’s civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said on state television minutes after Cyprus said the hijacker had been taken into custody.

    Egypt’s Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in televised remarks that the alleged hijacker was an Egyptian and had demanded to speak to a European Union representative.

    Officials earlier said there was no link to “terrorism” in the incident and that the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman who was his estranged lover, with whom he had children.

    “This is not about terrorism. This is about the individual action of a person who is psychologically unstable,” said the Cypriot foreign ministry’s permanent secretary, Alexandros Zenon.

    The EgyptAir plane landed at the airport in the southern coastal city of Larnaca at 8:50 am (1120 IST), after the hijacker had contacted the control tower 20 minutes earlier to demand the diversion.

    Egyptian civil aviation said he had threatened to detonate an explosives belt on the Airbus A-320, which had been headed from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo.

    Most of the passengers were allowed to disembark after the plane landed, but a handful of crew and passengers had remained on board until shortly before the hijacker’s arrest.

    Fathy had told a press conference that the captain, a co-pilot, an air hostess and a security guard, along with three passengers, had remained on board after other passengers and crew were released.

    Fathy said there had been 55 passengers on board the plane and that the hijacker had demanded it land in either Turkey or Cyprus.

    The plane had been carrying 21 foreigners including eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons and a French citizen, an Egyptian civil aviation ministry statement said.

  • Pak Releases Video Of Arrested Indian ‘Spy’ Confessing RAW’s Role In Baluchistan; India Dismisses Claim

    Pak Releases Video Of Arrested Indian ‘Spy’ Confessing RAW’s Role In Baluchistan; India Dismisses Claim

    Pakistan on Tuesday released a video in which an arrested Indian spy is heard confessing New Delhi’s alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan.

    Kulbushan Yadav says in the video that he had been directing various activities in Karachi and Balochistan “at the behest of RAW”, the Indian intelligence agency, and that he was still with the Indian Navy.

    Yadav added that he had played a role in the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, Dawn reported.

    The video was released at a press conference attended by Pakistan Army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa and Information Minister Pervez Rashid.

    Terming Yadav’s arrest a “big achievement”, Bajwa said Yadav was directly handled by the RAW chief and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

    “His goal was to disrupt development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Gwadar port as a special target,” Bajwa said.

    “This is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism… There can be no clearer evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan.”

    Yadav is heard saying in the video that he was still a serving officer in the Indian Navy and would be due for retirement in 2022.

    “By 2002, I commenced intelligence operations. In 2003, I established a small business in Chabahar in Iran.

    “As I was able to achieve undetected existence and visits to Karachi in 2003 and 2004. Having done some basic assignments within India for RAW, I was picked up by RAW in 2013 end,” Yadav said.

    He said his purpose was to meet Baloch insurgents and carry out “activities with their collaboration”.

    Law enforcement agencies arrested Yadav in an intelligence-based raid in Balochistan’s Chaman near the border with Afghanistan last week. He held a valid Indian visa.

    India denied Yadav was an intelligence operative and said he was formerly from the navy. New Delhi also demanded consular access to Yadav, which has been denied.

    Yadav was shifted to Islamabad for interrogation, during which an unnamed official said the spy revealed he had bought boats at the Iranian port in Chabahar in order to target Karachi and Gwadar ports, Dawn reported.

    India on Tuesday dismissed, as baseless, remarks made by an alleged Indian spy in a video released by Pakistan in which he “confessed” New Delhi’s alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan.

    “We have seen a video released by Pakistani authorities of a former Indian naval officer, doing business in Iran, who is in Pakistani custody under unexplained circumstances,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

    “The video has this individual making statements which have no basis in fact. That the individual claims to make the statements of his own free will not only challenges credulity but clearly indicates tutoring,” it said.

  • SEBI directed to Sell SAHARA Properties To Repay Investors | Supreme Court

    SEBI directed to Sell SAHARA Properties To Repay Investors | Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 29, allowed market regulator SEBI to go ahead with the sale of Sahara properties whose unencumbered title deeds are in its possession.

    The step is being taken to recover investors’ money that Sahara groups’ two companies had collected from public through Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures.

    The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur said that the market regulator would appoint an agency to decide the mechanism for the sale of Sahara properties.

    The court said that properties would not be sold at a price that is less than 90 per cent of the prevailing circle rates.

    The SEBI will appoint an agency to work out the mechanism for the sale of properties which are stated to be worth Rs.40,000 crore.

    The entire process would be undertaken under the supervision of former Supreme Court judge Justice B.N. Agarwala and Sahara would be kept informed about the steps being taken for the sale of its properties.

  • Apple’s iPhone hackable?

    Apple’s iPhone hackable?

    The US Department of Justice (DOJ) scraped its request for Apple Inc.’s assistance to hack into the phone of a terrorist killer.

    The federal government department, on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the move on Monday at a US court in Central California, Xinhua reported.

    The two-page court filing said that the FBI had accessed data stored in the iPhone 5c.

    A week ago, a day before the DOJ and the Silicon Valley technology company were scheduled to appear at a hearing at the court, the government said it was trying a new way to unlock the phone used by Syed Farook.

    Farook, together with his wife Tashfeen Malik, shot dead 14 people on December 2, 2015 in San Bernardino, California, before being killed by police.

    The smartphone has a feature that erases data after 10 unsuccessful unlocking attempts.

    Successfully bypassing Apple in its efforts to look into the phone for information probably helpful in the terror attack investigation, the DOJ did not make public on Monday any details about who did help and how did it make through.

    Apple had been resisting the order by Judge Pym since February 16, when she ordered the manufacturer to provide the FBI with specialised software to disable the security feature.

    In an earlier TV interview, citing privacy protection for customers as a reason, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook suggested that he would fight the case all the way up the US Supreme Court.

    The argument was heated, as the government side fought on the ground that it was a work phone owned by the San Bernardino county, and the software would be in the possession of Apple rather than in the hands of FBI agents.

    Both sides seemed to have failed to win full public support.

    However, the DOJ’s decision not to go after Apple’s assistance effectively put the dispute to an end, at least for now.

    And it is now Apple’s turn to figure out, and for iPhone users to wonder, how secure is the phone and data on the device.

  • Trump campaign manager charged with assaulting reporter

    Trump campaign manager charged with assaulting reporter

    Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has been charged with assaulting a journalist at a campaign event.

    Mr Lewandowski is charged with simple battery over his encounter with former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields.

    On 8 March after a news conference in Florida, he allegedly grabbed her arm when she tried to ask a question and bruised her.

    Mr Lewandowski plans to plead not guilty, the Trump campaign said.

    Police in Jupiter, Florida, where he was arrested, issued Lewandowski a notice Tuesday, March 29, to appear before a judge on May 4 for the misdemeanor charge. A surveillance video released by the police appears to show Lewandowski grabbing a reporter for Breitbart News as she tried to ask Trump a question during a March 8 campaign event.

    The footage appears to show him trying to pull her out of the way as she walks alongside Mr Trump and tries to speak to him.

    The Trump campaign said Lewandowski “is absolutely innocent of this charge” in a statement released late Tuesday morning.

    “He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court,” said the statement. “He is completely confident that he will be exonerated.”

    A police report obtained by The Associated Press includes an interview with the reporter, Michelle Fields, who worked for Breitbart News at the time.

    “Lewandowski grabbed Fields’ left arm with his right hand causing her to turn and step back,” reads the report. Fields showed police her left forearm which “appeared to show a grabbing-type injury,” according to the investigating officer.

    The charge comes during a difficult time for Mr Trump, just ahead of next week’s Wisconsin primary where he is neck-and-neck with Senator Ted Cruz.

    Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has just endorsed Mr Cruz for president.

    He will participate in a CNN town hall event on Tuesday night when all three Republican contenders will face questions.

    Mr Trump is currently well ahead in the Republican race with 739 delegates to Cruz’s 465.

    Ohio Governor John Kasich is well behind with 143, with the 1,237 needed to win the nomination probably out of his reach.

    In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton will try in Wisconsin to stem the momentum of a resurgent Bernie Sanders, who is on a roll after a string of wins.

  • Hindu-Americans Oppose Proposed Textbook Changes on Hinduism In California

    Hindu-Americans Oppose Proposed Textbook Changes on Hinduism In California

    WASHINGTON:  Hindus in the US are strongly opposing against suggestions mooted by California’s Department of Education to make changes in textbooks which they allege not only distort India’s history but ignore facts on Hinduism.

    Following protests from Hindus across the nation, the California Education Department has decided not to go ahead with some of the suggested changes like replacing ‘India’ with ‘South Asia’ in state text books.

    Bill Honig, Chair of the Subject Matter Committee of the Commission, said at a public hearing that they reject the suggestion for removal of India but agreed to add “South Asia” in parenthesis after most mentions to ancient India.

    New recommendations will be forwarded to the State Board of Education for their consideration and the final draft of the framework is to be accepted later this year.

    But Hindu-Americans continue to oppose some of the proposed edits like removing mention of Hinduism’s acceptance of religious diversity, re-linking Hinduism with caste, and removing mentions of the contributions of Hindu sages of different backgrounds such as Valmiki and Vyasa.

    “We question the move to insert a large number of adverse edits on India and Hinduism at the last minute at the instance of a few Leftist scholars,” said the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF), which has been working with commission for the past many years.

    “While some important inaccuracies have been rolled back, a large number of adverse edits these academics submitted have still found their way into the recommendations and need to be scrutinised,” it said.

    It also protested the removal of the mention of non-Brahmin sages like Valmiki and Vyasa from the textbooks at the suggestion of these academics.

    “It is strange that while claiming to represent the underprivileged, the Leftist professors of South Asian faculty group have sought the removal of the mention that these sages came from lower castes which had specifically been added at the suggestion of Hindu groups to give fair representation to all communities,” the statement said.

    A large number of students and parents testified at the public hearing of the commission held in Sacramento on March 24 seeking the rejection of these changes.

    “India is not just a landmass but a living civilization. By removing the mention of India as a civilization, my identity as an Indian-American is sought to be erased,” Vidhima Shetty, a student studying in 9th grade in San Ramon, said during her testimony at the Department of Education.

    Narrating different incidents of stereotypes they encounter, the students demanded that Hinduism and India be portrayed in proper light. The students also demanded that the suggestions that Vedas belong to “ancient Indian religions” and not to Hinduism amounted to stripping them of their Hindu identity.

    The community’s efforts was also supported by a coalition of 20 government leaders and elected officials, including Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), CA State Senator Steven M. Glazer (District 7), and several local leaders.

    California is home to the country’s largest Hindu population, with roughly one million of diverse cultural, racial, and national backgrounds.

  • YOUR BRAIN CELLS MAY HELP YOU KEEP A CHECK ON OVEREATING

    YOUR BRAIN CELLS MAY HELP YOU KEEP A CHECK ON OVEREATING

    Do you find it difficult to not overeat? Have you lost the track of diet plans that you almost always fail to implement?

    Well, stop fretting, for researchers have identified brain cells that can send signals to prevent over-eating, making a breakthrough for potential new anti-obesity treatments.

    The study, conducted on mice, showed that when the cells fired and sent signals to other parts of the brain, the mice decreased the amount they ate in a day by about 25%.

    “When the type of brain cells we discovered fire and send off signals, our laboratory mice stop eating soon after,” said Richard Huganir, director at the Johns Hopkins University in the US.

    But switching off the satiety cells in the brain caused the mice to eat more, and double their weight in three weeks.

    The findings, published by the journal Science, add significant detail to the way brains tell animals when to stop eating and, if confirmed in humans, could lead to new tools for fighting obesity. The team found the cells in a small brain region called the para-ventricular nucleus, which was already known to send and receive signals related to appetite and food intake.

    The signals seem to tell the mice that they have had enough, Huganir noted.

    A particular enzyme called OGT — a biological catalyst involved in many bodily functions, including insulin use and sugar —was found to play a key role in the process by stimulating synaptic connections — an electrical or chemical signal passed from a neuron to the other — between the cells.

    When the gene for OGT was silenced, the mice ate more. Although they consumed the same number of meals as normal mice, they ate bigger portions.

    Also, the absence of OGT interfered with the animals’ ability to sense when they were full, suggesting that, OGT helps maintain synapses. “These mice don’t understand that they’ve had enough food, so they keep eating,” said Olof Lagerlof, graduate student from Johns Hopkins University.

    “We believe we have found a new receiver of information that directly affects brain activity and feeding behaviour, and if our findings bear out in other animals, including people, they may advance the search for drugs or other means of controlling appetites,” Lagerlof suggested.

  • DEPRESSED? BLAME IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

    DEPRESSED? BLAME IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

    Are you the one who is always clicking new selfies to be posted on Instagram or who updates the tiniest details of life on Facebook?

    Chances are that you are probably depressed!

    According to a new study, the more time young adults spend on social media, the more likely they are to be depressed.

    Spending more time on social media may increase the risk of exposure to cyber-bullying or other similar negative interactions, which can cause feelings of depression.

    Also, unlimited use of social media could fuel “Internet addiction,” a proposed psychiatric condition closely associated with depression.

    The results of the study showed that on an average the participants used social media a total of 61 minutes per day and visited various social media accounts 30 times per week.

    Compared with those who checked social media least frequently, participants who reported most frequent checking throughout the week had 2.7 times the likelihood of depression.

    Similarly,participants who spent the most total time on social media throughout the day had 1.7 times the risk of depression, when compared to peers who spent less time on social media.

    The research is published online in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

    However, exposure to social media also may cause depression, which could then in turn fuel more use of social media, the researchers pointed out.

    “It may be that people who already are depressed are turning to social media to fill a void,” said lead author Lui yi Lin from the University of Pittsburgh in the US.

    The findings revealed that the exposure to highly idealised representations of peers on social media elicits feelings of envy and the distorted belief that others lead happier, more successful lives.

    Engaging in activities of little meaning on social media may give a feeling of “time wasted” that negatively influences mood.

    In 2014, the team sampled 1,787 US adults’ aged 19 through 32, using questionnaires to determine social media use and an established depression assessment tool. The questionnaires asked about the 11 most popular social media platforms at the time: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine and LinkedIn.

    The researchers controlled for other factors that may contribute to depression, including age, sex, race, ethnicity, relationship status, living situation, household income and education level.

    More than a quarter of the participants were classified as having “high” indicators of depression.

    “Because social media has become such an integrated component of human interaction, it is important for clinicians interacting with young adults to recognise the balance to be struck in encouraging potential positive use, while redirecting from problematic use,” said one of the authors Brian A. Primack, director at the Pittsburgh University.

    In addition, the findings can also be used as a basis for public health interventions leveraging social media.

  • ISIS ‘crucifies Catholic priest on Good Friday’

    ISIS ‘crucifies Catholic priest on Good Friday’

    YAMEN (TIP): The Indian Catholic priest kidnapped by ISIS-linked terrorists in Yemen earlier this month was crucified on Good Friday, it has been claimed.

    Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, 56, was taken by Islamist gunmen, reportedly linked to ISIS, killing at least 16 people, on March 4 – including four nuns – during the incident at the home in Aden, which is run by missionaries, the International Business Times India said.

    The terrorists reportedly carried out the heinous murder on Good Friday, after threatening to do so earlier in the week, according to the Archbishop of Vienna.

    However, a member of Bangalore’s Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, Bangalore, of which Father Uzhunnalil was previously a part, told the International Business Times India: “There is no information about the whereabouts of Father Tom. We are only praying for him.”

    For more of the latest Islamic State news visit theindianpanorama.news/isis/

     

  • KATHERINE HEIGL ALL SET TO TURN INTO CAT LITTER-ADVERTISER

    KATHERINE HEIGL ALL SET TO TURN INTO CAT LITTER-ADVERTISER

    After showing her acting skills in the flicks like ‘Knocked Up’ and ’27 Dresses,’ Katherine Heigl is now advertising cat litter.

    The 37-year-old is the new face of Cat’s Pride Fresh and Light Ultimate Care cat litter and will be fronting a TV advertising campaign for the product, reports News.com.au

    Though Heigl is reputated for being difficult to work with, it will be interesting to see how good she performs in her role of a feline therapist in the TV campaign for Cat’s Pride.

    Talking about her new campaign in a video, Heigl said that as soon as she read the script for the television commercials, she knew that Cat’s Pride was a company she could work with.

    She added that these commercials are about showing the complicated relationship between owners and their pets and how a lot of the inherent tension could be resolved by the litter.

  • HILARY SWANK ENGAGED TO FORMER TENNIS PRO

    HILARY SWANK ENGAGED TO FORMER TENNIS PRO

    Hilary Swank took to Instagram  to announce her engagement to former professional tennis player Ruben Torres.

    And, her photo shows her proudly sporting a big emerald ring that Torres presented.

    “Went on a hike and this happened! I am so happy to share with you all this exciting and incredible news … the engagement to my dear Ruben!!!”

    I’d be happy getting that ring, too. And, of course, getting engaged. People magazine reports that the two have been dating nearly a year. A source told People that Torres popped the question to the two-time Academy Award winner at the BNP Paribas Tennis Open in Palm Springs.

    Swank, 41, won Academy Awards in 1999 for “Boys Don’t Cry” and in 2004 for “Million Dollar Baby.” This will be her second marriage. She was married to actor Chad Lowe for 10 years, divorcing in 2007.

    Torres is now a financial advisor with UBS.

  • KAREENA KAPOOR NOT DOING BAADSHAHO

    KAREENA KAPOOR NOT DOING BAADSHAHO

    Actor Ajay Devgn starrer ‘Baadshaho’ has been in news over its casting and both Kareena Kapoor Khan and Priyanka Chopra are not part of this project.

    Speculations were rife about Kareena teaming up with Ajay for ‘Baadshaho’. “She (Kareena) was approached for the film. She had liked the idea as well. But things did not work out due to date issues. We haven’t finalised anyone yet. We are still working on the script,” sources said. On Priyanka being part of the project, the source said, “Only speculations are on. It’s just a rumour.” Earlier actresses Shruti Haasan and Lisa Haydon were going to be part of this project.

    T-Series (producer) brings back the intense actor – director pair of ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai’ Ajay Devgn and Milan Luthria in ‘Baadshaho’. Both Milan and Ajay have done three films together ‘Kachche Dhaage’, ‘Chori Chori’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai’. When contacted Milan told PTI, “There is too much of speculation happening. We have not finalised anyone. I don’t want to say anything at the moment (give names).” The film is likely to go on floors by May end or early June this year. “It’s a big release so we need to start on time and get it (shooting) finished by October. The film releases in January (2017) so we need two months for promotions,” the source added.

  • ALLOW PERSONAL SPACE TO CELEBRITIES: KANGANA

    ALLOW PERSONAL SPACE TO CELEBRITIES: KANGANA

    Actress Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday urged the media to allow ‘personal space’ to celebrities, when she was repeatedly questioned on her ongoing legal tiff with actor Hrithik

    “Sometimes you guys have to allow personal space to celebrities also… It can be very overwhelming. (Being) Strong doesn’t mean you can just walk through life without being affected or intimidated. Being strong means that standing up against things in spite of all of this.”So, you guys need to give me some personal space. It is not that I won’t talk about it. I will. As of now, please grant me that space,” Kangana said when asked for her comments on the sidelines of an event meant for the announcement of the ‘Queen’ actress’ appointment as the Melange by Lifestyle brand ambassador.

    Kangana is said to have been in a relationship with her ‘Krrish 3’ co-star Hrithik in the past. A controversy came into being when Kangana hinted at Hrithik being her ‘ex’ as she said in an interview that she fails to understand “why exes do silly things to get your attention”. The topic of discussion was Hrithik’s purported hand in getting Kangana replaced by Sonam Kapoor in ‘Aashiqui 3′. The matter took an ugly turn with both of them slapping legal notices against each other. Hrithik has accused Ranaut of stalking him repeatedly through “senseless, personal, and absurd” emails; while Kangana’ lawyer said Hrithik’s accusations are “baseless”.

  • Kapoor & Sons | MOVIE REVIEW

    Kapoor & Sons | MOVIE REVIEW

    STORY: Rahul and Arjun visit home – but with family secrets tumbling out, is their reunion a happy one? And what happens when pretty Tia joins the Kapoors and sons?

    REVIEW: So, Kapoor & Sons remixes Bollywood’s family drama in a bold new-age avataar. Forever bickering Harsh (Rajat) and Sunita (Ratna) have two sons, successful Rahul (Fawad) and confused Arjun (Sidharth). Suddenly, Tia (Alia) enters the Kapoors’ lives, kissing Rahul – but dating Arjun. How does this triangle square up – and does grandad Kapoor (Rishi) get the family photo he desires?

    Kapoor & Sons’ star is its story. This is an entirely real family, full of uncomfortable secrets, awkward jealousies and sharp pain, where brothers steal, parents cheat, siblings suspect and ‘perfect bachchas’ don’t have perfect love-lives. This is a family with its make-up off, screaming through hilarious situations – a sequence involving a plumber is side-splittingly good.

    There are subtle touches – Sunita making bhindi which Rahul loves, Arjun hates – bizarre cameos (aspiring ‘Mr. Ooty’, whose bosom jiggles on command) and cinematography that captures lush Coonor with frames where you can, well, almost smell the plentiful grass.

    The acting shines. In a wheelchair, Rishi Kapoor runs away with the film, smashing it with hilarious lines – an ‘apology’ goes, “Sorry, bhains” – and his dirty old man portrayal, lusting after Mandakini’s wet sari and using his grandson’s ‘I-Papad’ for porn. Fawad and Sidharth make terrific contrasts, Sidharth vulnerable, yet loving, Fawad, slick, yet asking with pain, “Aap ko mere jhoot bolne ka gham hai – ya meri asliyat ka?”

    And Ratna Pathak Shah seals it with a fabulous performance that evolves from angry edginess to calm grief. Alongside, small, silken touches – the shoes of someone who’s gone, the chemistry of Alia and Sidharth, an old-world small town, a new world where children and parents comfort and confront – make Kapoor & Sons special.

    On the downside, the music’s forgettable and Alia plays yet another boho-chick, with chic but predictable charm. However, the direction, frequently evoking Monsoon Wedding, keeps things family-focused, with a moving camera and characters in meltdown. Wicked, witty and wise, Kapoor & Sons does Karan Johar proud.

  • Nation salutes Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their martyrdom day

    Nation salutes Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their martyrdom day

    23rd March is the day that Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev attained martyrdom. One example of the resoluteness of Bhagat Singh and his associates remains inspirational even today. In order to disgrace Bhagat Singh and his associates, the then British Government informed them,’ If you feel that you should be spared from being hanged, then you must apply for mercy.’ The spirited answer to that advice, as given by Bhagat Singh, was: “The government says that we should apply for mercy. But why should we do so? Are we thieves or dacoits or goondas? We are political prisoners in this war for freedom. The blood of complete freedom is circulating in every blood vessel of ours. Whatever bold action we did was for the sake of freedom alone! We may not be worshippers of non-violence; our path may not be devoid of atrocities but is it not true that we are freedom-fighters? If the government has even a fraction of justice left within it, it has to treat us as political prisoners. We will never beg for mercy.

    We do not intend to face this death sentence by saying ‘Do whatever you like but spare us from being hanged’. We dislike even climbing on the foot board meant for hanging. We are brave soldiers and true men!Hence treat us like that by either shooting us with bullets or blast us with cannons. Who wants to face such a feeble sentence as hanging? We request you to respect this last wish of ours!”

    Bhagat Singh | Born: 27th Sept. 1907, Punjab | Hanged on 23rd March 1931

    As a freedom fighter, he was considered to be one of the most famous revolutionaries of Indian Independence movement. For this reason, he is often referred to as Martyr Bhagat Singh. At such a young age, if anyone was smiling just before being hanged to death, it was Martyr Bhagat Singh. His uncle, Sardar Ajit Singh as well as his father, were both great freedom fighters, so Bhagat Singh grew up in a patriotic atmosphere.

    At an early age, Bhagat Singh started dreaming of uprooting the British Empire. Never afraid of fighting during his childhood, he thought of ‘growing guns in the fields’, so that he could fight the British. The Ghadar Movement left a deep imprint on his mind. Kartar Singh Sarabha, hanged at the age of 19, became his hero. The massacre at Jallianwala Bagh on 13th April, 1919 drove him to Amritsar, where he kissed the earth sanctified by the martyrs’ blood and brought back home a little of the soaked soil. At the age of 16, he used to wonder why so many Indians could not drive away a fistful of invaders.

    In search of revolutionary groups and ideas, he met Sukhdev and Rajguru. Bhagat Singh, along with the help of Chandrashekhar Azad, formed the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA). The aim of this Indian revolutionary movement was now defined as not only to make Bharat independent, but also to create a socialist Bharat.

    A brutal attack by the police on veteran freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai at an anti-British procession caused his death on 17th November 1928, in Lahore. Bhagat Singh was determined to avenge Lajpat Rai’s death by shooting the British official responsible for the killing, Deputy Inspector General Scott.

    However he shot down Assistant Superintendent Saunders instead, mistaking him for Scott. Then he made a dramatic escape from Lahore to Calcutta and from there to Agra, where he established a bomb factory.

    The British Government responded to the act by imposing severe measures like the Trades Disputes Bill. It was to protest against the passing of the Bill that he threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall (now our Loksabha) while the Assembly was in session. The bombs did not hurt anyone, but the noise they made was loud enough to wake up an enslaved Nation from a long sleep.

    After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and his friend deliberately courted arrest by refusing to run away from the scene. During his trial, Bhagat Singh refused to employ any defense counsel.

    Despite great popular pressure and numerous appeals by political leaders of Bharat, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were accorded the death sentence and hanged in the early hours of 23rd March 1931. Their bodies were cremated on the bank of the Sutlej in Ferozepur. Bhagat Singh was just 23 years old at that time. Old timers say that in many places, not a single hearth fire burned that day.

    The last paragraph of the leaflet that he distributed (and wrote) in the Assembly Hall said: “We are sorry that we who attach such great sanctity to human life, we who dream of a very glorious future when man will be enjoying perfect peace and full liberty, have been forced to shed human blood. But sacrifice of individuals at the altar of the Revolution will bring freedom to all, rendering exploitation of man by man impossible. Inquilab Zindabad (Long live the Revolution).”

    Sukhdev Thapar | Born: 15th May 1907, Punjab

    He was an active member of the HSRA, being one of its senior most leaders. He is known to have started study circles at the National College (Lahore), in order to delve into Bharat’s past as well as to scrutinize the finer aspects of the world’s revolutionary literature. Along with Bhagat Singh and others he started the ‘Naujawan Bharat Sabha’ at Lahore. The main aims of this organization were to activate the youth for the freedom struggle, inculcate a rational scientific attitude, fight communalism and end the practice of untouchability.

    His letter to Mahatma Gandhi written just prior to his hanging, protesting against the latter’s disapproval of revolutionary tactics, throws light on the disparities between the two major schools of thought among Indian freedom fighters at that time.

    Shivram Rajguru | Born: 1908, Pune 

    He was born in an average middle-class Hindu Brahmin family at Khed in Pune District in 1908. He came to Varanasi at a very early age where he learnt Sanskrit and read the Hindu religious scriptures. He had a great admiration for Shivaji and his guerrilla tactics.

    At Varanasi, he came in contact with revolutionaries. He joined the movement and became an active member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA). Rajguru had a fearless spirit and indomitable courage. The only object of his adoration and worship was his motherland, for whose liberation, he considered no sacrifice too great. He was a close associate of Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh and his field of activity was UP and Punjab, with Kanpur, Agra and Lahore as his headquarters.

    Rajguru was a good shot and was regarded as the gunman of the party. He took part in various activities of the revolutionary movement, the most important being Saunder’s murder. Chandrashekhar Azad, Shivram Rajguru, Bhagat Singh and Jai Gopal were deputed for the job. On 17th December 1928, while Saunders came out of his office and started his motor-cycle, he was shot dead in front of the police headquarters at Lahore by Rajguru.

  • Former Pakistan PM Gilani visited my house after father’s death: Headley

    Former Pakistan PM Gilani visited my house after father’s death: Headley

    Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was Pakistan’s Prime Minister in 2008, had visited David Coleman Headley’s home within weeks after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the Lashkar terrorist told a Mumbai court today, giving a new twist to his testimony.

    “It is not correct to say that the then Prime Minister of Pakistan–Yousuf Raza Gilani– had attended the funeral of my father who passed away a month after the Mumbai terror attacks on 26/12/2008. Infact, he (Gilani) visited our house (in Pakistan) a few weeks thereafter,” the Pakistani-American terrorist told special judge G A Sanap, who is hearing the case against Abu Jundal in the sessions court here.

    Deposing for the third day after his cross-examination began on Wednesday, Headley said his father, who was a Director General with Pakistan Radio, knew about his links with with LeT.

    “My father was aware of my association with LeT and he was not happy about it,” he said.

    When asked was it true that his half-brother Daniel knew about his LeT connection, Headley just said that he (Daniel) was not living in the same city (in Pakistan).

    Headley, who has been convicted in the US, for his role in the November 2008 attacks, also denied using Daniel’s mobile phone during his visit to Pakistan before the dastardly strikes in Mumbai.He is serving a 35 year jail term in the US.

    During his deposition, Headley said,”Saulat Rana, my friend in Pakistan, was aware of my connection with LeT and my visit to Mumbai prior to the 26/11 attacks.”

    “Rana neither objected nor encouraged me,” he told the court.

    On whether Rana was associated to LeT, Headley said, “No”. When asked whether he (Headley) toured Pakistani locations with Rana before the Mumbai attacks, he replied in the negative and wondered why he would go around in Pakistan when the target was India.

    Headley also told the court that he had no knowledge of any women cell and suicide bomber cell in LeT.

    He denied that NIA suggested to him to name Ishrat Jehan (in the case). He also refuted meeting special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam and Joint Commissioner of Police, (Crime) in USA before his deposition in February this year.

    When asked if he was treated for any mental illness, Headley replied in the negative and chuckled, “Yeh kya kya cheeze mere khaate mein daal rahe hain Wahab Sahab. Nahin, aisa koi wakya nahin hua (Wahab Sahab, what all things are you ascribing to me…nothing of this sort happened).”

    Headley also said that he does not know about who decided the date for the first attack (failed one in Mumbai).

    Earlier in the day, Headley told the court that he had “arranged” a fund-raising programme for the Shiv Sena in the US and had planned to invite the then party supremo Bal Thackeray to the event.

  • Hated India Since School Was Bombed In 1971: Headley

    Hated India Since School Was Bombed In 1971: Headley

    MUMBAI (TIP): David Headley spoke coolly as he told a stunned Mumbai court on March 25 that he has hated India since childhood and wanted to inflict “maximum loss and damage” here.

    “Since childhood I hate India and Indians and wanted to cause maximum loss and damage to India,” said Headley, who is serving a 35-year prison term in the US for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack that killed 166 people in 2008.

    Responding to questions on Day 3 of his cross-examination, Headley’s voice betrayed no emotion as he explained his hatred, “My school was bombed on December 7, 1971. My school was destroyed and the people who worked there died,” Headley claimed.

    He did not mention it, but the reference was to the India-Pakistan war fought in December 1971. 55-year-old Headley would have been 11 years old then.

    At another time, when the judge advised Headley not to lose his patience on being asked the same questions repeatedly by a defence lawyer, the terrorist said in English, “I am not losing my patience,” and then switched to Hindi, saying, “Main bohot kharab insaan hoon (I am a very bad person). Maine maan liya hai (I have admitted it). I have pleaded guilty. Phir maan leta hoon (Let me admit it again). But I thought I was a government witness.”

    Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had objected saying Headley had already answered questions being posed to him today and he was apprehensive that Headley may lose his patience and insult the the defence lawyer.

    Headley – who had recced sites for the Mumbai terror attacks on multiple visits before 10 Lashkar terrorists struck the city on November 26, 2008 – was arrested in 2009 in the US, which guaranteed he will not face the death penalty or be extradited in exchange for his disclosing information about the terror group.

    In December last year, Headley agreed to turn approver or witness for the prosecution in the 26/11 case being heard in Mumbai, in exchange for a pardon.

  • Mehbooba set to become first woman CM of J&K

    Mehbooba set to become first woman CM of J&K

    JAMMU/NEW DELHI (TIP): Mehbooba Mufti was unanimously elected as PDP legislature party leader, with a senior leader saying that she is the PDP nominee for the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister’s post.

    The 56-year-old PDP President was elected the leader of the legislature party at a meeting of PDP MLAs, MLCs and MPs at her residence in high-security Gupkar this evening.

    Mehbooba is PDP’s nominee for the Chief Minister’s post, said senior party leader Muzaffar Baig after the meeting.

    Mehbooba thanked the party legislators for showing faith in her leadership and electing her as the legislature party leader.

    She also thanked PDP leaders and workers for their support to her during the nearly three-month-long stalemate over government formation in the state.

    “Mehbooba Mufti is nothing without your support. I thank you for your support over the last three months,” she said.

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLAs met in Srinagar today to take the final call regarding the formation of a new government in the state.

    The meeting was to deliberate upon the continuance of the PDP’s alliance with BJP following party Chief Mehbooba Mufti’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday.

    Soon after the meeting, Mufti had said that she would take a final decision regarding the government formation and PDP-BJP alliance after consulting her party MLAs in the legislature meeting.

    Describing her meeting with the Prime Minister as positive, the PDP Chief had had expressed satisfaction about its outcome.

    “I am satisfied after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was a very positive meeting. A stalemate was going on for a long time. A final call will be taken after the legislature meet on Thursday,” Mehbooba told the media here.

    Mufti met Prime Minister Modi at the 7 Race Course Road in a last ditch effort to renew a partnership between the PDP and the BJP to form government in Jammu and Kashmir.

    Earlierb BJP said it was committed to the implementation of already agreed Agenda of Alliance. PDP is yet to come up with the reaction to the allegations of opposition parties.

    State Governor NN Vohra has called separate meetings with PDP Chief and BJP State Unit President tomorrow.

    Meanwhile BJP has clarified that it has not accepted any new condition from PDP for the formation of a new government in the state.

    Talking to media persons in New Delhi, party General Secretary Ram Madhav said during her meeting with the Prime Minister thePDP Chief did not raise any demand.