The Indian Panorama

Month: November 2016

  • The Sikh Awards 2016 to honor global Sikh excellence given away in London

    The Sikh Awards 2016 to honor global Sikh excellence given away in London

    LONDON (TIP): Mr. Bob Singh Dhillon, Founder, President and CEO of Mainstreet Equity Corp, Canada’s highest performing real estate company with assets valued over $1.5 billion, was named Business Man of the Year at the 7th annual The Sikh Awards 2016 on Saturday, 19th November 2016 at Park Plaza Hotel, London. The coveted award is in recognition of an organization or individual that has best demonstrated how they have made exceptional financial returns, shown strong growth, innovative strategies and clear market leadership in the sector.

    Mr. Dhillon Founded Mainstreet which consists of nearly 10,000 apartment units in Western Canada. He sits on the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation Board and is also the Honorary Consul General for Belize, owning a private 3,000-acre island in Belize. Mr. Dhillon is also the owner of National Payments, a Visa and MasterCard approved merchant processing business. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, the Ernst & Young 2015.

    Entrepreneur of the Year, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People and recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential Indians in North America.

    A major philanthropist donating $500,000 to the town of San Pedro, Belize, he raised $60,000 for underprivileged children in San Pedro and donated free apartment suites to victims of the Slave Lake, Fort McMurray Alberta fires.

    Other high profile winners this year included:

    Ms Kiran Singh (UK) – Business Woman award; Mr. Supreet Singh Manchanda (USA) – Entrepreneur Award; Khalsa Aid (UK) – Sikhs in Charity;  Dr Brinder Singh Mahon (UK) – Sikhs in Education; Mrs. Manika Kaur (Dubai) – Sikhs in Entertainment;  Akaal Television / Mr. Amrik Singh Kooner (UK) – Sikhs in Media;  Mr. Jaspal Singh Bindra (India) – Sikhs in Profession;  Mr. Gurmeet Singh (India) – Sikhs in Seva;  Mr. Ram Singh Nayyar (Canada) – Sikhs in Sport;  Natasha Kaur Mudhar (UK) – The Sikh People’s Choice Award; Sant Baba Iqbal Singh Ji (India) – The Sikh Lifetime Achievement Award; and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Dubai) – The Special Recognition Award.

    Hosted by Ranvir Singh, a journalist and broadcaster, best known for her presenting role on the ITV Breakfast program ‘Good Morning Britain’, The Sikh Awards recognizes the pivotal contributions made by the Sikh community across a variety of fields, from business, charity, education, entertainment, professional services, seva (selfless service), and sport, with winners selected across the globe from Asia, USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

    The prestigious event saw 750 guests in attendance from elite international dignitaries to public figures, community heroes, sports stars and celebrities.

     

     

  • Indian woman among Journalists honored for Courageous Reporting

    Indian woman among Journalists honored for Courageous Reporting

    LONDON (TIP): Journalists from India, Egypt, Turkey, and El Salvador were honored Tuesday, November 22 night in New York, at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 26th annual International Press Freedom Awards for courageous work amid risks including imprisonment, threats, and legal action.

    “These awardees are truly remarkable journalists, all of whom have carried out their work with the knowledge that doing so puts them in real danger,” said Sandra Mims Rowe, CPJ Board Chairman. “It is heartening to see such resolve, and to know that even under the most threatening conditions, journalists will always find a way to do their job.”

    Malini Subramaniam, who has reported on issues including abuses by police and security forces, and sexual violence against women in her home state of Chhattisgarh, India, received the award from Susan Chira, former deputy executive director for The New York Times and CPJ board member. Award-winning U.S. photojournalist Lynsey Addario presented an award in absentia to Mahmoud Abou Zeid, the Egyptian photojournalist also known as Shawkan, who has been imprisoned since August 2013. Can Dündar, the former editor-in-chief of Turkish daily Cumhuriyet who is facing imprisonment on charges of disclosing state secrets, received his award from Lindsey Hilsum, international editor for the U.K.’s Channel 4 News. Héctor Tobar, op-ed contributor to The New York Times and former LA Times journalist, presented the award to Óscar Martínez, an investigative reporter for the online news magazine El Faro. Martínez has been threatened for his coverage of gang violence and extrajudicial killings in El Salvador.

    Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent and anchor at CNN, received the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for her extraordinary efforts in the cause of press freedom. Her award was presented by Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who appeared via video because she is under a travel ban. Both Rezaian and Ismayilova were imprisoned for their work. Amanpour has consistently used her own journalism to defend the rights of journalists around the world.

    The awards dinner at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel was chaired by Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, and hosted by David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker and CPJ board member. The dinner raised $1.75 million for CPJ’s global advocacy and new Emergencies Response Team-including a special appeal during the evening that was matched by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

  • Ravi Batra welcomes Trump’s choice of Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the UN

    Ravi Batra welcomes Trump’s choice of Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the UN

    Welcoming President-elect’s choice of Nikki Haley, New York based eminent attorney Ravi Batra, said in a statement released to The Indian Panorama, Wednesday, November 23, “President elect Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Governor Nikki Haley to be our ambassador to the United Nations and to sit at the Horse Shoe table of the Security Council, a cabinet level position, has taken my breath away as I celebrate the highest milestone for the Indian American community and the inherent trust that America has in her citizens’ love of America and our cherished Constitution. A trust that we hold dear and honor with our every act to protect these United States from enemies foreign and domestic.

    Just a little over 100 years ago, they used to be “NINA” signs – which meant No Irish need apply. The same sign was used for no Italians need apply, and then no Indians need apply. But because of America’s ability to continue its unique path of greatness is why every human being on earth wishes to live in America and be an American citizen. Indian Americans, like every other community that landed on the shores, leaving aside our original sin of slavery, has worked hard and honestly while embracing the American dream that rewards hard work, true grit as John Wayne personified, and love of nation and the human family.

    With the appointment of Governor Nikki Haley, America, acknowledged as the world’s sole superpower, POTUS45 declares that America will no longer act insecure and engage in John Boltonesque war lust or arrogance, and in its place use Charm and Respect as its preferred diplomatic arsenal.

    Trump’s Nikki Haley’s appointment, signals that the United States unilaterally declares the end of the rebirth of the Cold War, which in recent years was on a constant simmer to boil over into World War III – such that 40 million Russian citizens were doing weekly anti-nuclear drills.

    I now have hope that the Trump presidency will abstain from the discredited “counterbalance” tactic, the Cocaine of Statecraft, a universally discredited tool of statecraft that has brought us the worst conflicts and un-ending wars and perilous interventions, and use Charm and Respect to work wonders that no Insult ever could or did.

    A bright new dawn welcomes 193 nations of earth, who are members of the United Nations. Every capital of every nation can now step back, breathe in a long breath of relief, and refocus on finding means and methods of working with your neighbor states to not only enhance peace and security of their nation and the world, but honor Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg covenant: to be a government “for” the people.

    While hope may spring eternal, President-elect Trump has announced that it is Spring time in November 2016. As a Democrat, having voted for him to be president of these United States rather than the legally-fatigued Hillary and Bill Clinton, who I knew personally, I am duty-bound to aid and assist the Trump presidency make America greater than it has ever been. To complete Trump’s Confident America Policy (Philippines’ noisy Duterte are you listening?), appointing Gov. Mitt Romney as our secretary of state will give America a head-to-toe body armor of Charm and Respect. The world just got safer and less mean.”

     

  • Trump chooses Nikki Haley to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations

    Trump chooses Nikki Haley to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations

    NEW YORK (TIP): South Carolina’s Governor of Indian origin Nikki Haley has been chosen by President elect Donald Trump to be the US ambassador to the United Nations, the transition team announced Wednesday, November 23. She would be the first woman and minority representative to join Trump administration and the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration. Haley had a face-to-face meeting with Trump at Trump Tower in New York last week.

    Accepting the offer Haley said in a statement that the US “faces enormous challenges” both at home and internationally. She cited a “sense of duty” in accepting Trump’s offer.

    “When the President believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation’s standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed,” Haley said. “The second is a satisfaction with all that we have achieved in our state in the last six years and the knowledge that we are on a very strong footing.”

    Haley will keep serving as governor until the Senate confirms her nomination.

    “We still have much to do in South Carolina, and my commitment to the people of our state will always remain unbreakable, both while I continue to hold this office, and thereafter,” she said in a statement.

    Ravi Batra
    Ravi Batra

    Welcoming President-elect’s choice of Nikki Haley , New York based eminent attorney Ravi Batra, said in a statement released to The Indian Panorama, Wednesday, November 23, “President elect Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Governor Nikki Haley to be our ambassador to the United Nations and to sit at the Horse Shoe table of the Security Council, a cabinet level position, has taken my breath away as I celebrate the highest milestone for the Indian American community and the inherent trust that America has in her citizens’ love of America and our cherished Constitution. A trust that we hold dear and honor with our every act to protect these United States from enemies foreign and domestic.

    Just a little over 100 years ago, they used to be “NINA” signs – which meant No Irish need apply. The same sign was used for no Italians need apply, and then no Indians need apply. But because of America’s ability to continue its unique path of greatness is why every human being on earth wishes to live in America and be an American citizen. Indian Americans, like every other community that landed on the shores, leaving aside our original sin of slavery, has worked hard and honestly while embracing the American dream that rewards hard work, true grit as John Wayne personified, and love of nation and the human family.

    With the appointment of Governor Nikki Haley, America, acknowledged as the world’s sole superpower, POTUS45 declares that America will no longer act insecure and engage in John Boltonesque war lust or arrogance, and in its place use Charm and Respect as its preferred diplomatic arsenal.

    Trump’s Nikki Haley’s appointment, signals that the United States unilaterally declares the end of the rebirth of the Cold War, which in recent years was on a constant simmer to boil over into World War III – such that 40 million Russian citizens were doing weekly anti-nuclear drills.

    I now have hope that the Trump presidency will abstain from the discredited “counterbalance” tactic, the Cocaine of Statecraft, a universally discredited tool of statecraft that has brought us the worst conflicts and un-ending wars and perilous interventions, and use Charm and Respect to work wonders that no Insult ever could or did.

    A bright new dawn welcomes 193 nations of earth, who are members of the United Nations. Every capital of every nation can now step back, breathe in a long breath of relief, and refocus on finding means and methods of working with your neighbor states to not only enhance peace and security of their nation and the world, but honor Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg covenant: to be a government “for” the people.

    While hope may spring eternal, President-elect Trump has announced that it is Spring time in November 2016. As a Democrat, having voted for him to be president of these United States rather than the legally-fatigued Hillary and Bill Clinton, who I knew personally, I am duty-bound to aid and assist the Trump presidency make America greater than it has ever been. To complete Trump’s Confident America Policy (Philippines’ noisy Duterte are you listening?), appointing Gov. Mitt Romney as our secretary of state will give America a head-to-toe body armor of Charm and Respect. The world just got safer and less mean.”

    Nikki Haley (born Nimrata “Nikki” Randhawa; January 20, 1972) is a Republican who has served as the 116th Governor of South Carolina since 2011. Prior to becoming governor, she represented Lexington County in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011.

    Haley is the first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina; at the age of 44, she is the youngest current governor in the United States. She is the second Asian-American of Indian descent to serve as governor in the United States, after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. As governor, she also serves as chair, ex-officio, of the board of trustees of the University of South Carolina during her term in office.

    Born in Bamberg, the daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley’s first job was keeping the books for her family’s clothing store —at the age of 13. She is a proud graduate of Clemson University where she earned a degree in accounting.

    Haley and her husband, Michael, a Captain in the Army National Guard and combat veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, attend Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington. The Haleys have two children, Rena, 18, and Nalin, 15.

  • Three soldiers killed in LoC attack, body of one mutilated

    Three soldiers killed in LoC attack, body of one mutilated

    A counter-infiltration patrol party of the Indian Army was ambushed by Pakistani terrorists ahead of the fencing along the Line of Control in the forest belt in Machhil sector in Kupwara district on Tuesday, an Army officer said.

    Srinagar/Jammu: In a cross-LoC attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists, three Indian soldiers were on Tuesday killed, with body of one of them being mutilated in second such incident in less than a month, triggering outrage in India.

    The ambush on an army patrol took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir, following which the Indian Army vowed heavy “retribution”.

    “A counter-infiltration patrol party of the Indian Army was ambushed by terrorists ahead of the fencing along LoC in forest belt in Machhil sector in Kupwara district today,” a senior Army officer said.Three soldiers were killed in the attack, he said, adding the body of one of them was mutilated.

    Earlier, Army’s Northern Command spokesman tweeted, “3 soldiers killed in action on LC (Line of Control) in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated.” He said the “retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act.”

    A Defence spokesman said heavy cross-Line of Control shelling was going on at four places in Machhil sector from 3.30 pm.

    “Around 1530 hour, heavy cross-LoC shelling has started from both sides at Dana Machhil, Ashni, Ringsar and Ringsar Payeen in Machhil sector of Kupwara district,” he said. He did not give any further details. This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28.

    On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body in the Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident.

    In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by a Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.

  • People worldwide living longer, healthier lives: study

    People worldwide living longer, healthier lives: study

    Washington, Nov 22 – The last few generations of humans have enjoyed the biggest life expectancy boost in primate history, a new study of mortality patterns in humans, monkeys and apes suggests.

    The gains are partly due to advances in medicine and public health that have increased the odds of survival for human infants and reduced the death toll from childhood illness, researchers said.

    Yet males still lag behind females – not just in humans but across the primate family tree, they said.

    “The male disadvantage has deep evolutionary roots,” said Susan Alberts, biology professor at Duke University in the US.

    An international team from the US, Germany, Denmark, Kenya and Canada compiled records of births and deaths for more than a million people worldwide, from the 18th century to the present.

    The data included people in post-industrial societies such as Sweden and Japan, people born in pre-industrial times, and modern hunter-gatherers, who provide a baseline for how long people might have lived before supermarkets and modern medicine.

    The researchers combined these measurements with similar data for six species of wild primates that have been studied continuously for three to five decades, including Verreauxs sifaka lemurs, muriqui monkeys, capuchins, baboons, chimpanzees and gorillas.

    The data confirm a growing body of research suggesting that humans are making more rapid and dramatic gains than ever before seen in the primate family tree.

    For example, in the last 200 years life expectancy in Sweden has jumped from the mid-30s to over 80, meaning that a baby born today can hope to live more than twice as long as one born in the early 19th century.

    The data show that todays longest-lived human populations have a similar 40- to 50-year advantage over people who live traditional lifestyles, such as the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania and the Ache people of Paraguay.

    In contrast, these modern hunter-gatherers – the best lens we have into the lives of early humans – live on average just 10 to 20 years longer than wild primates such as muriquis or chimpanzees, from which human ancestors diverged millions of years ago.

    One indicator of healthcare improvement is infant mortality, which strikes fewer than three in 1000 babies born in Sweden or Japan today.

    However, it was more than 40 times higher for those born two centuries ago, and is still high among hunter-gatherers and wild primates.

    The researchers also studied lifespan equality, a measure similar to income equality that indicates whether longevity is distributed evenly across society, or only enjoyed by a few.

    They found that, for both humans and wild primates, every gain in average lifespan is accompanied by a gain in lifespan equality.

  • Indian-Origin Muslim Woman Wins Key Local Election In Maryland

    Indian-Origin Muslim Woman Wins Key Local Election In Maryland

    Washington: A Muslim-American woman, whose parents are from India and Pakistan, has won a key local election in the US state of Maryland which was dominated by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

    Raaheela Ahmed, 23, @RaaheelaAhmed won the school board race in Prince George’s county of Maryland by defeating a long-time system administrator by an impressive 15 per cent vote difference.

    She had unsuccessfully run for this position four years ago in 2012. Her father is from India and mother from Pakistan. Her victory gains significance as her district has 80 per cent of African-American population.

    She was endorsed by the former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steel.

    “It’s interesting that on the same day Donald Trump was elected as president of the US, I as a hijabi Muslim young woman was also elected to serve in a public office. I think that speaks volumes about the diversity of American opinion, and that American dream is still well and alive,” Ms Ahmed said.

    “I’d like to act as a form of inspiration for other minorities that they can achieve what they will, given prayer, circumstance and hard work. This win would not have been possible without the support and belief that other people had in me,” she said.

    “For my young minority women, please know that at the end of the day, you are worthy of your highest inspirations. You have to believe that you are able to achieve them, even if societal structures do not yet allow for that. Because one day, those glass ceilings WILL break. And who knows?” Ms Ahmed said.

  • Chemistry professor Pradip Mascharak receives Outstanding Faculty Award

    Chemistry professor Pradip Mascharak receives Outstanding Faculty Award

    An Indian-Origin professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Pradip Mascharak, has received the 2015-16 Outstanding Faculty Award from University of California, Santa Cruz’s Division of Physical and Biological Sciences.

    Mascharak earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees at the University of Burdwan, India, and his Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He joined the University of California, Santa Cruz faculty in 1984.

    The annual award is the division’s highest honor for faculty achievement, recognizing combined excellence in research, teaching, and service.

    Mascharak’s research focuses on the structure and function of enzymes, green chemistry, and designing novel drugs for cancer and other diseases. The author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, he is also recognized as a gifted teacher and mentor.

    “Professor Mascharak has an outstanding record in research, teaching and exceptional service to the campus and the broader scientific community. The Outstanding Faculty Award…is a richly deserved campus recognition for his exemplary record,” wrote Paul Koch, dean of physical and biological sciences, in a letter announcing the award.

    In recent years, Mascharak’s lab has been studying and synthesizing photoactive compounds that release nitric oxide or carbon monoxide when exposed to light. Since nitric oxide and carbon monoxide are biological signaling molecules with antimicrobial and other properties, there is great potential to use compounds that release them in biomedical therapies.

    Mascharak’s work with nitric oxide complexes has shown promise for both cancer therapy and antimicrobial treatments. For example, in collaboration with chemistry professor Scott Oliver, Mascharak has developed a composite powder that can be applied directly to a wound or incorporated into a bandage to prevent infection by drug-resistant bacteria. Since he began this thread of work in 2002, Mascharak has published nearly 70 papers in top chemistry and medical journals, and several of the complexes he developed have been patented.

    Despite teaching challenging courses, Mascharak regularly receives exceptional student evaluations. Over the course of his tenure at UC Santa Cruz, he has advised 24 Ph.D. students who have graduated, eight of whom are currently faculty members at other institutions. For his exceptional work mentoring minority students and encouraging them to succeed, he received the Excellence Through Diversity Award.

    Mascharak is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the recipient of a Sloan Research Fellowship. In 2017, he will receive the Chemical Research Society of India Medal, a highly selective award given to scientists of Indian origin who have contributed extensively to the promotion of the field.

    This great honor follows another unique achievement in 2014, when Mascharak was awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman Gold Medal in a ceremony at the House of Lords in London. This award recognizes outstanding service and achievements by Indians in the international arena.

  • Democratic Lawmakers Denounce Suggestion of Registry for Muslims

    Democratic Lawmakers Denounce Suggestion of Registry for Muslims

    WASHINGTON — Top Democratic lawmakers and rights bodies have slammed President-elect Donald Trump’s reported plan to reinstate a database of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.

    The National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) is a post-9/11 program which required travelers to the U.S. from specified Muslim-majority countries to immediately register with the federal government or face deportation.

    “Reinstating failed programs that target Arabs and Muslims in our country is exactly what ISIS was cheering on election night when America, a beacon of freedom in the world, gives in to fear and begins chipping away at civil rights, our enemies are emboldened and their ranks swell with new recruits,” Senator Dick Durbin said.

    “Back in 2002, I called for this program to be terminated because there were serious doubts it would help combat terrorism. Terrorism experts have since concluded that this program wasted precious homeland security funds and alienated Arab- and Muslim-Americans. Failed programs like this are the exact wrong approach to combating terrorism, and I will fight to ensure it never returns,” Durbin said.

    The Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs Raul M. Grijalva and Keith Ellison, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus chairwoman Judy Chu, CPC vice chair Congressman Mike Honda, and CPC vice chair Mark Takano slammed Trump surrogate Carl Higbie for suggesting that Japanese-American internment camps could serve as a precedent for the creation of a Muslim registry.

    “These remarks are beyond disturbing. This is fear, not courage. This is hate, not policy,” Honda said.

    “Since Trump was elected president, thousands of Americans have voiced fears over what our country might look like in the coming years. Last night, one of his surrogates showed us why so many people are afraid of a Trump administration.

    “The fact that our incoming president has considered internment as a model for how to move forward with the Muslim community is absolutely shocking. We cannot allow it to be normalized or enacted,” Ellison said.

    The South Asian Bar Association, which represents Indian American and other South Asian lawyers, has also denounced the suggestions of a registry for non-citizen Muslims in the U.S.

    “While once just a campaign promise, this xenophobic and un-American idea has been thrust back into our national consciousness by Carl Higbie, former spokesperson for a Super PAC supporting the president-elect,” SABA said in a statement.

    Higbie’s suggestion that internment camps that imprisoned countless Japanese-Americans during World War II is a “precedent” for a possible Muslim registry, presupposes the lawfulness of a program that’s only lasting impact is that of shame, regret and embarrassment, it said.

    SABA said this proposed registry is rooted in NSEERS that required certain “foreign citizens and nationals” to continuously check in with U.S. authorities.

    After repeated criticism and documented ineffectiveness, NSEERS was abandoned in 2011, leaving a legacy of deporting individuals who had committed no crimes and had no links to terrorism, it said.

    SABA called on Americans of all backgrounds to reject the notion that registration and potential mass incarceration of residents of this country solely based upon nationality, race or religion, without justification, cause or purpose is acceptable.

    “Discrimination towards any community cannot be condoned and we hope the president-elect and the pending administration uniformly reject such proposals. The perpetuation of hate solely serves to continue the divisiveness that tears at the core of our values of equal protection and freedom for all individuals,” it added.

  • Portuguese PM to Be Chief Guest at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

    Portuguese PM to Be Chief Guest at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

    NEW DELHI (TIP) — Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa will be the chief guest at next year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the foremost conclave of the Indian diaspora, it was announced Nov. 21.

    “Antonio Costa, Prime Minister of the Republic of Portugal, has accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to be the chief guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention to be held from January 7 to 9, 2017, in Bengaluru,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

    “He will participate in the inaugural session of the PBD convention on January 8 and address the delegates,” it stated.

    Costa, born in 1961 in Lisbon, is the son of writer Orlando da Costa, who was of Goan, Portuguese, and French descent. His mother was Maria Antonia Palla, a Portuguese journalist.

    Costa took charge as prime minister in November last year, creating media headlines in India.

    The ministry statement also said that 36-year-old Michael Ashwin Satyandre Adhin, vice president of the South American nation of Suriname, will be the special guest at the Youth PBD to be held on Jan. 7 in Bengaluru.

    “He will address the young overseas Indian delegates at the inaugural session of the Youth PBD, along with Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel,” the statement added.

    According to the Indian embassy in Paramaribo, over 230,000 people of Indian origin hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and some 50 Sindhi families live in Suriname.

  • Donald Trump met with Bernie Sanders supporter Tulsi Gabbard to discuss Syria

    Donald Trump met with Bernie Sanders supporter Tulsi Gabbard to discuss Syria

    The Democratic U.S. congresswoman from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard, was one of the first Democrats to support Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and now she is one of the first Democrats to meet with President-elect Donald Trump.

    Gabbard met with Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Monday, Nov 21, morning, but Trump spokesman Jason Miller said it was “premature” to discuss Gabbard’s potential role in the Trump administration.

    Gabbard is a noted critic of intervention in Syria, and does not support a no-fly zone or using U.S. resources to topple Syrian president Bashir al-Assad’s regime. She argues that fighting Assad makes it harder to resist ISIS and al-Qaeda.

    “Where I disagree with President-elect Trump on issues, I will not hesitate to express that disagreement. However, I believe we can disagree, even strongly, but still come together on issues that matter to the American people and affect their daily lives,” Gabbard said in a statement after the meeting.

    “President-elect Trump and I had a frank and positive conversation in which we discussed a variety of foreign policy issues in depth. I shared with him my grave concerns that escalating the war in Syria by implementing a so-called no fly/safe zone would be disastrous for the Syrian people, our country, and the world.”

    Gabbard is a noted opponent of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, and was part of a rally on Capitol Hill on Saturday to protest the deal that is supported by Barack Obama.

    Trump also opposes the TPP.

    “I think they both understood the country very well,” Trump senior adviser and former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said to pool reporters Monday afternoon. “Rep. Gabbard went against her party quite boldly early on. I think you are hearing people like Rep. Tim Ryan also raising concerns. So I think there’s a recognition that there’s a big country, a massive amount of voters that feel disaffected from their party, the Democrats.”

    Stephen Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, reportedly likes Gabbard because of her stance on guns, refugees and Islamic extremism along with her ability to invoke strong anti-establishment populist sentiment on the left.

    Gabbard did not join the majority of her Democratic colleagues in the House by co-sponsoring gun control legislation this summer. She was one of 47 Democrats who voted in favor of a Republican-sponsored bill that requires refugees from Iraq and Syria to receive background checks from the FBI.

    Her district is geographically diverse and rural, it includes all of Hawaii except for Honolulu and some of its suburbs.

    Last week, 169 Democrats signed a letter condemning Bannon’s appointment by Trump – but Gabbard was not among the signers.

    Gabbard, who voted for Hillary Clinton, was a write-in candidate for vice president among dissenting backers of Sanders who refused to vote for Clinton or Trump.

    The Democrat was elected to the Hawaii legislature at age 21 and stepped down from her post to serve two tours of duty in Iraq. Gabbard worked in local politics after leaving active duty and is in her second term in Congress. She is one of two female veterans to serve in Congress and is the first Hindu member.

    Gabbard resigned from the Democratic National Committee in protest of Clinton’s foreign policy stance to support Sanders.

    A request for comment from Gabbard’s Washington office was not immediately returned.

    Trump also met with former Texas governor Rick Perry on Monday, among others. His transition team is not expected to name any new Cabinet picks today.

    Read the entire text of Gabbard’s statement below:

    “President-elect Trump asked me to meet with him about our current policies regarding Syria, our fight against terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, as well as other foreign policy challenges we face. I felt it important to take the opportunity to meet with the President-elect now before the drumbeats of war that neocons have been beating drag us into an escalation of the war to overthrow the Syrian government—a war which has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of refugees to flee their homes in search of safety for themselves and their families.”

    “While the rules of political expediency would say I should have refused to meet with President-elect Trump, I never have and never will play politics with American and Syrian lives.”

    “Serving the people of Hawaiʻi and our nation is an honor and responsibility that I do not take lightly. Representing the aloha spirit and diversity of the people of Hawaiʻi, I will continue to seek common ground to deliver results that best serve all Americans, as I have tried to do during my time in Congress.”

    “Where I disagree with President-elect Trump on issues, I will not hesitate to express that disagreement. However, I believe we can disagree, even strongly, but still come together on issues that matter to the American people and affect their daily lives. We cannot allow continued divisiveness to destroy our country.”

    “President-elect Trump and I had a frank and positive conversation in which we discussed a variety of foreign policy issues in depth. I shared with him my grave concerns that escalating the war in Syria by implementing a so-called no fly/safe zone would be disastrous for the Syrian people, our country, and the world. It would lead to more death and suffering, exacerbate the refugee crisis, strengthen ISIS and al-Qaeda, and bring us into a direct conflict with Russia which could result in a nuclear war. We discussed my bill to end our country’s illegal war to overthrow the Syrian government, and the need to focus our precious resources on rebuilding our own country, and on defeating al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist groups who pose a threat to the American people.”

    “For years, the issue of ending interventionist, regime change warfare has been one of my top priorities. This was the major reason I ran for Congress—I saw firsthand the cost of war, and the lives lost due to the interventionist warmongering policies our country has pursued for far too long.”

    “Let me be clear, I will never allow partisanship to undermine our national security when the lives of countless people lay in the balance.”

  • India Offers Rs 15 lakh each for young techno innovators

    India Offers Rs 15 lakh each for young techno innovators

    New Delhi, Nov 22 : Have an innovative idea for a device that could provide solution to a medical issue? Then you stand to win a grant of Rs 15 lakh!

    To promote cost-effective innovations in the field of medicine and biotechnology, a government collaboration is awarding several grants worth 15 lakh rupees each to young innovators who can come with solutions to many day-to-day problems.

    Students from school level up to the doctoral level and grass-root innovators can apply for SRISTI-BIRAC GYTI awards by December 30, 2016.

    Winners will be awarded at the Festival of Innovations at Rashtrapati Bhavan in March, 2017.

    The competition is being organised by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a government of India enterprise, and Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) to promote frugal innovations in the field of medicine and biotechnology.

    “Fifteen students will get a grant of 15 lakh rupees each for development of the idea or a prototype related to medical or biotechnology field,” Professor Anil K Gupta, President Sristi, told PTI.

    “In addition to this, 100 grass-root innovators will get one lakh rupees each for value addition at different labs,” Gupta said.

    Terming lab innovations and grass-root innovations equally important to create a healthy nation, Dr Renu Swarup, Managing Director, BIRAC said, “India, being a developing nation has problems, which are specific to our country.”

    “Solutions that work pretty well in other parts of the world may not always be the best for us. Medical innovation is expected to come up with feasible solutions for such Indian problems,” Swarup said.

    “Devices, Diagnostics, drugs and vaccines, all require medical innovation equally,” she said.

  • Muslim teen suffers fractured eye socket in Astoria in possible hate crime

    Muslim teen suffers fractured eye socket in Astoria in possible hate crime

    Two days after an Arab-American Uber driver was the victim of a racist tirade in Astoria, two Muslim teens were attacked by three men outside of an Astoria bar.

    An NYPD spokesperson said the agency’s Hate Crime Investigations Unit is investigating this incident as a possible bias crime.

    On Nov. 19 at approximately 7:30 p.m., police said, two teenagers were sitting on a bench near Jarfi’s, a bar and restaurant at 27-35 21st St., when three white men approached them and started making anti-Muslim comments.

    One of the men said he didn’t “want any Muslim sitting on the bench,” an NYPD spokesperson said.

    One of the teenagers was struck in the face with a bottle, a police spokesperson said, and was taken to a local hospital after suffering an eye injury.

    According to the New York Post, the 17-year-old teenager suffered a fractured eye socket and was taken to Elmhurst Hospital.

    The first suspect was described as a white male, approximately 6 feet, 4 inches and about 280 pounds.

    The second suspect was described as a white male, approximately 5 feet, 5 inches and 160 pounds.

    There was no description available for the third suspect.

  • Donald Trump invites journalists for ‘meeting of minds’, ends up calling them dishonest, deceitful liars

    Donald Trump invites journalists for ‘meeting of minds’, ends up calling them dishonest, deceitful liars

    US President-elect Donald Trump invited media executives and journalists for a meeting on Monday only to lash out at them for failing to provide viewers with a fair coverage on presidential elections.

    US President-elect Donald Trump lashed out at top electronic media executives and journalists, calling them “dishonest” and “deceitful liars” after he invited them for a private meeting of minds.

    “Instead of striking a harmonious tone to build rapport following the election, Trump was combative,” The Washington Post quoted participants as saying.

    “In a calm and deliberate voice, he told the group sitting around a conference table that they had failed to provide their viewers with fair and accurate coverage, and told them they failed to understand him or his appeal to millions of Americans,” The Washington Post reported.

    “Instead of striking a harmonious tone to build rapport following the election, Trump was combative,” The Washington Post quoted participants as saying.

    “In a calm and deliberate voice, he told the group sitting around a conference table that they had failed to provide their viewers with fair and accurate coverage, and told them they failed to understand him or his appeal to millions of Americans,” The Washington Post reported.

    According to the daily, 70-year-old Trump repeatedly used the words “unfair” and “dishonest” to describe the coverage during yesterdays meeting in New York with television journalists and executives.

    Prominent among news anchors were ABC News anchors George Stephanopoulos and David Muir; CNNs Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett; ABC correspondent Martha Raddatz.

    Among the network news executives were CNN Worldwide Chairman Jeff Zucker, NBC News President Deborah Turness, MSNBC President Phil Griffin, ABC News President James Goldston, and the four top executives from Fox News, Bill Shine, Jack Abernethy, Jay Wallace and Suzanne Scott.

    Trump is scheduled to meet The New York Times reporters and executives today.

    “It was like a f—ing firing squad,” The New York Post reported based on information obtained from those inside the meeting.

    “Trump started with [CNN chief] Jeff Zucker and said I hate your network, everyone at CNN is a liar and you should be ashamed, ” the report said quoting a source.

    “The meeting was a total disaster. The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing down,” the source added.

    Trump kept saying Were in a room of liars, the deceitful dishonest media who got it all wrong.

    “He addressed everyone in the room calling the media dishonest, deceitful liars. He called out Zucker by name and said everyone at CNN was a liar, and CNN was [a] network of liars,” the report said.

    “It was like a f—ing firing squad,” The New York Post reported based on information obtained from those inside the meeting.

    TRUMP AIDE REFUTES ALLEGATIONS

    Kellyanne Conway, Chairman of the Trump Campaign, however, disputed such reports.

    “No, that’s not true at all. I sat right to his left. He did not explode in anger. By the way, its an off-the-record meeting so whoever said that and mis-characterised it should think twice,” she said on Bloomberg Poetics.

    Conway along with the incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus were present at the meeting along with Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon.

    “There was no need to mend fences. It was very cordial, very genial. But it was very candid and very honest. From my own perspective, it’s great to hit the reset button,” Conway said.

  • US man abuses Muslim driver, calls him terrorist

    US man abuses Muslim driver, calls him terrorist

    New York, Nov 22 – A man in the US allegedly hurled verbal abuses at a Muslim cab driver calling him a “terrorist” and telling him that he will “get deported” now as Donald Trump is going to be the President.

    The man was recorded on video lashing out at the Arab-American Uber driver in a neighbourhood in New York.

    The man, who was not identified, was driving a white sport-utility vehicle and can be heard calling another driver in a video an “Arab”, a “terrorist” and a “loser”, the Washington Post reported.

    “Trump is president! So you can kiss your f***ing visa goodbye, scumbag. Theyll deport you soon. Dont worry, you f***ing terrorist,” he said.

    The recipient of the verbal attacks was Chris Codys driver.

    The incident on Crescent Street in the Astoria neighbourhood in New York happened last week, just before the driver picked up Cody in Manhattan.

    Cody, a St Johns University adjunct professor who speaks Arabic, said he found out about the incident after striking up a conversation with his Uber driver, whom he knows only by his first name, Mohammed.

    He said his driver was surprised to meet an American who said “hello” to him in his language and does not have anything against Muslims.

    “Right before I picked you up, I had a horrible incident,” Cody recalled his driver saying.

    Based on Mohammeds account to Cody, he and the other driver ended up next to each other at a stop light. The man can be heard abusing after seeing Mohammed, who recorded the incident with his phone.

    “Youre a loser. Youre not even from here! You and your family you terrorist!,” the man said.

    Cody said Mohammed told him the attack was unprovoked.

    “I could tell he was upset. He didnt tell me exactly why he decided to take a video. I think he was just so shocked by what happened,” he said.

    “Theres definitely some Islamophobic and anti-Muslim sentiment out there right now,” Cody said.

    “I dont blame him for being intimidated, especially with the stuff coming out of that guys mouth.”

    The video has gone viral on Facebook. Cody said he sent it to his friend, who posted the clip to his Facebook fan page. The video had been viewed more than 3 million times and shared about 40,000 times as of Sunday.

    The Arab-American Family Support Center in New York also has publicly criticised the other driver, saying that “racism and anti-Muslim bigotry are real threats to our community”.

    Over 200 incidents of hateful harassment and intimidation across the US have been reported since Trump won the presidential election.

  • DEMONETIZATION: NRIs concerned over changing old currency notes

    DEMONETIZATION: NRIs concerned over changing old currency notes

    There has been a spate of mixed reactions from the NRIS living in America after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has imposed nation-wide ban on existing Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes in a move to eradicate the consequences of illegal black money transactions. While some welcomed the move and some criticized, NRIs showed more concern about how to exchange their old currency notes.

    Many Indians living in USA and holding Indian currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 were confused, as they had no idea about what to do. Rajeev B, a New Yorker who just returned from India on Nov 6, is not sure what he will do with his 15,000 cash in Rs 500 denomination. “I did some web research and found out that those holding old currency but living abroad will have to come to India within the next six months and get it deposited in banks or get it exchanged. They can get it exchanged till March from the Reserve Bank. It’s not possible for me to go back so soon. I have to send the old currency notes through his friend who is planning to visit India next month.”

    According to the Reserve Bank of India, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have the option of depositing the Indian notes in their non-resident ordinary rupee account (NRO) while Indian tourists can purchase foreign exchange equivalent to Rs 5,000 at airport exchange counters within 72 hours of the notification. However, several foreign exchange centers have declined to exchange the old denomination notes in USA.

    Many rushed to money exchange traders and banks to convert their currency soon after the announcement but their attempts were futile. “I went to HSBC Bank and J P Morgan, and both refused to exchange money. Since there is no way to exchange Rs 500 and 1000 notes at the moment, only possible way is to physically send them to India with someone,” said Diya Datta, a student of NYU.

    Nina Saha a resident of New Jersey went to SBI New York City branch to exchange Rs 20,000 in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes. ‘I was told by the officials that their branches in overseas locations are not authorized to exchange demonetized Indian currency as per the licenses issued to them by local regulators/RBI.

    Regarding eradication of black money from the subcontinent, some people feel Modi’s move won’t do much good. K Sen, a banker in NYC said, “Big honchos don’t keep their black money in notes. It’s all in either Swiss bank or in form of properties in India in real estates or other. This move will only hit small time black money holders. Nothing will change much.”

    Renowned Indian American attorney Ravi Batra feels that if such step reduces or eliminates corruption to any extent in any country, that too is a worthy goal. “I do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. So, speaking generally, and not specifically about India, I share with you my views”, he told Indian Panorama. “Eliminating an underground economy is a worthy goal of every government, not only because the tax collection goes up and the tax burden is fairly spread across the population, but also because it unleashes the growth potential of the invisible underground economy upon becoming visible and part of the nation’s economy. After all, money deposited in the bank can be used by the bank to lend it out, with the normal multiplier, to many more people who need money and wish to borrow it. To the extent that it reduces or eliminates corruption in any country, that too is a worthy goal. Finally, like every policy of every government in every nation, the success of the policy will depend upon the means and methods of effectuating same”, said Ravi.

  • Pak committed to discouraging regional arms race: Sharif

    Pak committed to discouraging regional arms race: Sharif

    Islamabad, Nov 22 (PTI) Pakistan discourages any arms race in the region today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said, underlining that the country is exploring the way forward for peace and stability in South Asia.

    Addressing at the inauguration of the ninth International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) here, Sharif said Pakistan was committed to discouraging arms race and promoting “the motto of arms for peace, which has always been the tagline of IDEAS”.

    He expressed Pakistans commitment to regional peace, saying that, “we will explore the way forward for peace and stability in the world in general and our region in particular”.

    Sharif said the environment for foreign investment was encouraging in the country in view of improved law and order situation, besides power projects being completed on time.

    The Prime Minister said Pakistan had achieved self-reliance in defence production and mentioned that IDEAS-2016 was a demonstration of the collaboration of local and foreign technologies.

    He said over 2,000 weapons system and equipment on display at the exhibition reflected broad-based participation of the countrys public and private sector in defence production, supported by research and development.

    The Prime Minister said the country?s defence products were state-of-the-art and stood fully tested by its armed forces.

    “Our defence products have made their mark in many countries of the world,” he said, adding there still existed many opportunities for further growth and exploration of new markets.

    He said Pakistan was fast emerging producer of quality defence products.

    The Prime Minister invited foreign companies to expand their business linkages with Pakistan in the field of defence production.

    Later, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the exhibition, flanked by Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Mohammad Zakaullah and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman.

    34 countries and a total of 418 companies are participating in IDEAS 2016, including 261 foreign and 157 Pakistani companies. The exhibition will continue till November 25.

  • ROCK ON 2 – Movie Review

    ROCK ON 2 – Movie Review

    Story: Having retreated into a shell and turned his back on music, Aditya (Akhtar) is now a do-gooder who seeks to spread joy in a quiet corner of Northeast India. But there is little joy in his own life. While one track of Rock On 2 follows the band seeking to reunite in the face of Aditya Shroff’s cussed foot-dragging, the other focuses on Jiah’s (Shraddha) battle to break free and follow her heart.

    It was as many as eight years ago that the motley Rock On!! band of boys, led by an enthusiastic first-time actor-singer Farhan Akhtar and orchestrated ably by director Abhishek Kapoor, arrived in our midst and struck an instant chord. What that film achieved may not have been earth-shattering. But it still remains surprisingly fresh in our minds. The world, of course, has moved on since. And so, as we learn from the sequel, have the members of the once-thriving rock band Magik.

    Why, then, does Rock On 2 look and sound so last decade? The answer is pretty obvious: because it is last decade both in conception and execution.

    Much of it centres on investment banker-turned-band front-man-turned-philanthropist Aditya Shroff (Farhan Akhtar), who, after a good run, is on a massive guilt trip triggered by a tragic mishap that he holds himself responsible for.

    Notwithstanding the apparent hard work that director Shujaat Saudagar has put into repackaging the original tropes, Rock On 2 appears too bent upon sticking to the old ways to be consistently engaging, let alone exciting.

    To put it simply, Rock On 2 is a middling attempt to revive the magic of the 2008 original. Not only is the music on offer here (by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) unable to hold a candle to the earlier score, the film, as a whole, rarely hits the right emotional notes.

    Rock On!! was marked by spunk and spontaneity. Rock On 2 is unabashedly manipulative, constantly seeking to push the audience in contrived directions.

    Although much broader in scope and ambition, the sequel is disappointingly bland. Neither the old band members nor the two new entrants, including the film’s young and determined female protagonist, lend much weight to the laboured drama.

    Band newbie Shraddha Kapoor plays Jiah Sharma, a girl who faces severe opposition from her conservative classical musician father (an as-efficient-as-ever Kumud Mishra), as she fights to make it big as a rock singer.

    The heaviest burden of the mouthful lyrics is borne by Shraddha Kapoor, who as a closet singer does an otherwise decent job of a girl tentatively exploring her talent and giving her vocal chords a try. In the so carefully careless look borne by the rest of the stars, particularly Akhtar, and at times Rampal, hers is a very interesting take of a girl experimenting with clothes and make-up, and struggling to decide on one. Kapoor or Jiya’s story is a father, a classical musician, who treats every music that doesn’t confirm to his purist tastes as blasphemy.

  • 2 killed, 100 wounded in suicide attack on German consulate in northern Afghanistan

    2 killed, 100 wounded in suicide attack on German consulate in northern Afghanistan

    MAZAR-I-SHARIF (TIP): A powerful Taliban truck bomb struck the German consulate in Afghanistan’s northern Mazar-i-Sharif city late on Nov 10, killing at least two people and wounding more than 100 in a major militant assault in the war-torn country.

    The Taliban called it a “revenge attack” for US air strikes in the volatile province of Kunduz earlier this month that left up to 32 civilians dead.

    The huge explosion, followed by sporadic gunfire, reverberated across the usually tranquil city, smashing windows of nearby shops and leaving terrified local residents fleeing for cover.

    “The suicide attacker rammed his explosives-laden car into the wall of the German consulate,” local police chief Sayed Kamal Sadat told AFP.

    The German foreign ministry said the attack had ended and that all German staff from the consulate were unharmed.

    “The consulate building has been heavily damaged. It is not yet clear how many Afghan civilians and security personnel died or were injured in the attack,” the ministry said in a statement.

    “Our sympathies go out to the Afghan injured and their families.”

    A diplomatic source in Berlin said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had convened a crisis meeting.

    “There was fighting outside and on the grounds of the consulate,” a ministry spokesman said. “Afghan security forces and Resolute Support (NATO) forces from Camp Marmal (German base in Mazar-i-Sharif) are on the scene.”

    Afghan special forces cordoned off the consulate, previously well-known as Mazar Hotel. Helicopters were heard flying over the diplomatic mission early Friday as ambulances with wailing sirens rushed to the area, according to an AFP reporter near the scene.

    At least two dead bodies and more than 100 wounded people — including at least 10 children — had so far been brought to two city hospitals, said local doctor Noor Mohammad Fayez. Some of the wounded were in a critical condition, he added. The carnage underscores worsening insecurity in Afghanistan as Taliban insurgents ramp up nationwide attacks despite repeated government attempts to jump-start stalled peace negotiations. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the “martyrdom attack” on the consulate had left “tens of invaders” dead. The insurgents routinely exaggerate battlefield claims. Posting a Google Earth image of the consulate on Twitter, Mujahid said the assault was in retaliation for American air strikes in Kunduz.

    US forces conceded last week that its air strikes “very likely” resulted in civilian casualties in Kunduz, pledging a full investigation into the incident.

    The strikes killed several children, after a Taliban assault left two American soldiers and three Afghan special forces soldiers dead near Kunduz city.

    The strikes triggered impassioned protests in Kunduz city, with the victims’ relatives parading mutilated bodies of dead children piled into open trucks through the streets. Civilian casualties caused by NATO forces have been one of the most contentious issues in the 15-year campaign against the insurgents, prompting strong public and government criticism.

    The country’s worsening conflict has prompted US forces to step up air strikes to support their struggling Afghan counterparts, fuelling the perception that they are increasingly being drawn back into the conflict. (AFP)

  • Pak army resorts to firing along LoC in Pallanwala sector

    Pak army resorts to firing along LoC in Pallanwala sector

    JAMMU (TIP): Pakistani troops resorted to firing along the Line of Control (LOC) in the Pallanwala sector of the Jammu district on Nov 17 evening prompting the army to give a “befitting response”.

    “Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in the Pallanwala sector at 1915 hours today, using automatic weapons and mortars.

    “The same is being responded to befittingly by own troops”, a Defence spokesperson said.

    Pakistani troops on Tuesday had targeted Indian posts with heavy firing and shelling for four hours along the LoC in Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, forcing Indian troops to retaliate.

    On Monday, Pakistani troops resorted to shelling and firing on Indian posts in four sectors along the LoC in Pallanwala sector of Jammu, Sunderbani and Naushera sectors of Rajouri and Khadi sector of Poonch district, in which two persons including a jawan were injured.

    Pakistan on Monday said seven of its soldiers were killed in firing by Indian troops across the LoC.

    The 2003 India-Pakistan ceasefire agreement has virtually become redundant with a whopping 286 incidents of firing and shelling along LoC and IB in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani troops that resulted in death of 26 people, including 14 security personnel, since the surgical strike on terrorist launch pads in PoK.

  • Suicide bomber kills 4 in Kabul: Officials

    Suicide bomber kills 4 in Kabul: Officials

    KABUL (TIP): Afghan security officials have confirmed that at least four security forces were killed when their vehicle was attacked by a suicide bomber in the capital Kabul.

    The security officials, who did not want to be named as the investigation into the attack is still underway, said Wednesday that 11 others were wounded in the attack which took place in Puli Mohmood Kahn area near the Afghan defense ministry compound.

    They said it is not clear if the bomber was on foot or on a motorbike when he attacked the forces.

    No any group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban insurgents have recently increased their attacks against Afghan security forces across the country.

  • Terror-hit Dhaka bakery returned to property owner

    Terror-hit Dhaka bakery returned to property owner

    DHAKA (TIP): Four-months after Bangladesh’s worst terror attack on an upscale cafe here in the capital’s diplomatic enclave, authorities have returned the eatery where 22 people, including an Indian girl, were killed during a bloody siege by Islamist militants.

    Police handed over the Holey Artisan Bakery to the owner of the plot, Samira Ahmed, on Sunday, following a court order, DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman said.

    Samira’s husband along with his friends had started the Holey Artisan Bakery in 2014, bdnews24.com reported.

    The cafe in Dhaka’s diplomatic district was popular with foreigners because of its food, lakeside view and sprawling grass-lawn.

    The cafe was attacked by a group of militants on July 1, who took around 30 people, mostly foreigners, hostage in the cafe.

    The militants killed 20 hostages, including 17 foreigners, before the army stormed the cafe early next morning, and killed five militants to free the remaining hostages.

    Indian girl Tarishi, 18, who was among the hostages was also killed by the attackers.

    Two police officers were also killed in the operation. The police took control of the cafe to preserve the evidence in the aftermath of the attack.

    Later, questions were raised over the illegal commercial use of the property.

    Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain had warned that the owner of the cafe would have to face action for opening it illegally. (PTI)

  • Bangladesh arrests killer of secular blogger, publisher

    Bangladesh arrests killer of secular blogger, publisher

    DHAKA: An Islamist militant leader, the prime suspect in the brutal murders of a secular blogger and a publisher in Bangladesh, has been arrested from the national capital, police said today.

    Khairul Islam alias Fahim, a leader of intelligence wing of the outlawed Ansar al-Islam also known as Ansarullah Bangla Team, was arrested from Kamlapur Rail Station area in Dhaka last night, said Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Branch of Police.

    Khairul, 24, was believed to be involved in the murders of Jagriti Prakashani publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan and secular activist Niladri Chatterjee Niloy, besides scores of deadly attacks on secular activists and foreigners.

    Khairul participated in the murders of Dipan and Niloy, Joint Commissioner Detective Branch of Police Abdul Baten was quoted as saying by ‘Dhaka Tribune’.

    Baten said Khairul admitted his involvement in the killings during primary interrogation. He said Khairul had joined the group in 2013 and the next year he met its senior leader Sayed Ziaul Haque, a sacked army major for his involvement in a failed coup in December 2011.

    Khairul had started to collect information about the duo since January 2015 and provided it to the outfit’s Askari section (armed wing) to carry out the killings, he added.

    “Seeing CCTV footage, Khairul has identified four people involved in blogger and secular writer Avijit’s killing and we are analysing the information,” Baten said. Dipan was hacked to death at his office in Dhaka’s Shabagh area in broad daylight on October 31, 2015. The group had claimed responsibility for the murder. (PTI)

  • Bangladesh buys two submarines from China

    Bangladesh buys two submarines from China

    DHAKA (TIP): Bangladesh took delivery on Nov 21 of its first submarines, bought from China, as it seeks to boost its naval power in the Bay of Bengal.

    Bangladesh paid a reported $203 million for the two submarines, a deal that reflects the country’s growing economic and defence ties with Beijing.

    Armed forces spokeswoman Taposhi Rabeya said they would become part of the country’s naval fleet at the beginning of next year.

    “This is the first ever addition of submarines in Bangladesh defence force,” she told AFP.

    Bangladesh has been expanding its defence capabilities in recent years, building a new airbase close to neighbouring Myanmar, opening several new military cantonments across the country and adding new frigates to its naval fleet.

    In 2013, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed a billion-dollar deal with Russia to buy fighter training jets, helicopters and anti-tank missiles.

    Hasina announced the plan to purchase two submarines the same year as part of her government’s move to build a modern navy to defend the resource-rich Bay of Bengal.

    A UN tribunal has settled Bangladesh’s long-standing maritime border disputes with neighbours Myanmar and India, paving the way for Dhaka to invite bids from multinational firms to explore for oil in the Bay.

    Bangladesh officials say that has ensured the country’s sovereignty over 111,631 square kilometres (43,100 square miles) of sea, an area nearly equal to its landmass.

    Xi Jinping last month became the first Chinese president in 30 years to visit Bangladesh, which has historically been more closely allied to rival regional power India. (PTI)

  • Strike paralyses normal life in Nepal, 100 arrested

    Strike paralyses normal life in Nepal, 100 arrested

    KATHMANDU (TIP): Normal life has been affected in Nepal as a Maoist faction imposed a nationwide strike to pressurise the government to ensure food security and lower the prices of essential goods, with police arresting more than 100 people for vandalising vehicles and forcing shops to close.

    The strike was called by the Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN (Maoist). Most of the educational institutions remained closed in Kathmandu and shops remained partially closed.

    Most of the public vehicles, including taxis, were off the road.

    Maoist cadres vandalised vehicles in different parts of the country.

    The police arrested at least 100 cadres belonging to the CPN-Maoist (Chanda), a smaller faction of Maoist party, who were involved in vandalising shops and vehicles to enforce the shut down, the police said.

    Media reports said that the party was demanding food guarantee of the people and opposing price hike of the consumer goods.

    A large number of security personnel have been deployed in the capital city streets to prevent any untoward incident.

    The agitators torched a parked taxi and two motorcycles as they defied the strike, according to the police. (PTI)