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B JP working president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday took over the reins of the party from Amit Shah and is faced with several tough electoral and organisational challenges in the days ahead. Nadda’s first task will be to galvanise the party to take on Kejriwal-led AAP Government in the next month’s Delhi Assembly polls. The AAP is seen as a clear favourite and Nadda would require all his skills to make it an even con- test. His other challenges are Assembly elections of Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, all scheduled within one year or so. The reverses faced by the party in Jharkhand and loss of power in a big State, like Maharashtra, have made Nadda’s task all the more diffi- cult. Nadda would be required to revamp party organisation in several States and also step up the BJP’s pro-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) campaign across the country. Enjoying the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, the new head of the BJP is largely expected to continue with the course it took under Shah with Modi laying out the broader agenda. Considered an affable and accessible politician, Nadda strikes good rapport with all top party leaders and is seen as seasoned organisation man. Nadda, with parental roots in Bihar, was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from his col- lege days before joining the youth wing of the BJP and ris- ing through its ranks. Nadda has also served as a Minister in the BJP Governments in Himachal Pradesh, his home State, and at the Centre. He has also been in charge of his party’s campaigns in a number of States, includ- ing in Uttar Pradesh, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Nadda was unanimously elected as BJP president in party headquarters here at a function in the presence of Shah and all top Central lead- ers, Ministers and Chief Ministers of the BJP-ruled States. The PM, who later joined party leaders in felici- tating Nadda, said he is sure that the party will scale newer heights during his presidency. The PM also praised Shah for his contribution, describing him as “an outstanding karyakarta (worker)” “I do not think words can do justice to the rich contribu- tion of Shah as the BJP presi- dent. During his presidency, the BJP got opportunities to serve in several parts of India,” Modi said in a series of tweets. Continued on Page 4 C iting differences on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizen (NRC), BJP’s old ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Badal, on Monday announced that the party will not contest Delhi Assembly polls. However, well placed sources in the BJP said that the SAD wanted to contest elec- tions on six seats whereas they were offered three seats. SAD was also not very keen to contest on BJP’s ‘lotus symbol’ as it wanted to contest on its own party symbol of “weighing scale”. BJP leaders tried to convince SAD leader- ship to let its candidate contest on its symbol as they have won while going with this symbol during past elections. SAD president was not very keen to forego his party’s identity and decided not to field its candi- dates on the seats being offered by the BJP. Importantly, the SAD will keep its alliance with the BJP intact and remain in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Incidentally, SAD leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the sit- ting MLA from Rajouri Garden Assembly constituency who had won on BJP symbol said, “SAD and BJP have an old rela- tionship but SAD’s stand has been quite clear on CAA and NRC. The SAD president has welcomed the CAA which was supposed to include people from all religions but we never demanded that any one religion should be excluded from the list.” Continued on Page 4 A Delhi court Monday con- victed key accused Brajesh Thakur and 18 others for sex- ually assaulting several girls in a shelter home run by him in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha convict- ed Thakur, who once unsuc- cessfully contested assembly polls on Bihar People’s Party (BPP) ticket, for several offences including the aggra- vated penetrative sexual assault under section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and offences of rape and gang rape under the Indian Penal code (IPC). In its bulky judgement running into 1,546 pages, the court also convicted Thakur for the offences under sec- tions 120-B (criminal con- spiracy), 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 323 (voluntarily caus- ing hurt) and abetment under IPC, section 21 (failure to report commission of an offence) of the POCSO Act section 75 (cru- elty to child) of Juvenile Justice Act. I n a respite to over 12,000 has- sled homebuyers of Unitech Ltd, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Centre to take total management control of the embattled realty firm and appoint a new board of nomi- nee directors. The top court approved the name of retired Haryana cadre IAS officer Yudvir Singh Malik as chairman and managing director (CMD) of the new board and directed that the existing board of directors of the company would stand superseded. It also refused to appoint Unitech Group founder Ramesh Chandra, as a member of the new board saying that it would not be appropriate at this stage. A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah asked the new board to submit its report in two months on the resolution framework of the company. It also approved the names of members of the board which include AK Mittal, ex-CMD of National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC); Renu Sud Karnad, Chairman of HDFC Credila Finance Service Pvt Ltd; Jitu Virwani, CMD of Embassy Group; and Niranjan Hiranandani, Managing Director of Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group. “The idea of a profession- al board is to allow them to take control of the company and complete the pending projects in the interest of homebuyers,” the bench said and indicated that the court would stop mon- itoring the Unitech matter once everything falls in place. T he Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the plea of Pawan Kumar Gupta, a death row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and mur- der case, to be declared a juve- nile at the time of the com- mission of offence. A bench comprising jus- tices R Banumathi, Ashok Bushan and A S Bopanna said there was no ground to inter- fere with the Delhi High court order that rejected Pawan’s plea. The trial court had also rejected Pawan’s claim of being a juvenile. Advocate A P Singh, appearing for Pawan, said as per his school leaving certifi- cate he was a minor at the time of the offence and none of the courts, including trial court and High Court, ever considered his documents. But, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi police, said that his claim of juve- nility was considered at each and every judicial forum and it will be a travesty of justice if the con- vict is allowed to raise the claim of juvenility repeatedly and at this point of time. A AP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who missed filing his nomination due to the delay in rally, will file it on Tuesday. Kejriwal said he will file his nomination on Tuesday. “I was supposed to file my nom- ination today but the office closes at 3 pm. I was asked to go in between and file the nomination but I said how can I leave people at the road show and go? I will go to file nomination tomorrow with my family,” he said. Thousands of AAP sup- porters gathered in Central Delhi on Monday to take part in Kejriwal’s mega road- show called ‘Walk With Kejriwal’ which was to be fol- lowed by him filing his nom- ination but was postponed till Tuesday owing to the delay in the rally. The rally started at Valmiki Mandir near RK Ashram Marg metro station to the Hanuman Mandir near Connaught Place traversing around 2.2 kilometres in over two hours and dancing to the tunes of the party’s anthem - ‘Acche Beete Paanch Saal, Lage Raho Kejriwal’. S oft-spoken, affable and low- key, the newly elected BJP president Jagat Prasad Nadda is a quintessential organisation man who is expected to con- solidate the rapid gains the party has made under his pre- decessor Amit Shah. He takes over at a time when the BJP is witnessing vig- orous challenge from a united opposition in assembly elec- tions amid signs that it needs to rejig its electoral strategy fol- lowing a string of losses in state polls. If a relatively inexperi- enced Shah in 2014 was seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handpicked man to shake up the saffron organisa- tion by easing out veterans and infusing young blood to gal- vanise party cadres and fuel its expansion drive, Nadda is con- sidered a seasoned hand who will build on these gains with- out causing too many disrup- tions. His immediate challenge is the February 8 Delhi Assembly polls where the BJP is locked in a tough fight with Aam Aadmy Party, followed by year-end elections in Bihar. C hief Minister Hemant Soren was felicitated with ‘Champion of Change Award – 2019’ for better and exemplary work as a people's repre- sentative in Barhait and Dumka Assembly Constituencies of Jharkhand in New Delhi on Monday. Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee honoured Soren at a ceremony held at the residence of the former President. After receiving the award the CM dedicated it to the people of the State and Dishom Guru Shibu Soren. “Our State is a Sone ki Chidiya(Golden Bird) because more than 40 per cent of mineral reserves of the country are here in Jharkhand. From these mineral resources many states get employment opportunities and are brightened. And, on the other hand our State is devoid of sev- eral basic amenities,” he said at the award cere- mony. “Our State is tribal dominated. The ben- efits of development schemes and programmes are somehow not reaching the needy persons of the State,” said the CM, adding that the purpose for which the people of the State have chosen him, he will try his best to fulfil the aspirations of the people. C hief Minister Hemant Soren today wrote a letter to the people of the State on the problems being faced by the residents across the State due to long power cuts. The CM, posting the letter to his social media accounts, urged people to bear for a couple of days to get better electricity supply. “Dear, residents of Jharkhand. In the entire State, the work of maintenance and upgrading of all the grids of the State is going on at a cost of 154 crores, due to which you all have to face some inconve- nience,” he wrote in the mes- sage. The CM stated further that for maintenance of Hatia Grid there was need of shutdown for 10 hours each for five days, out of which work has been done for 3 days. “For another 2 days in the two weeks 10 hour shut- down will occur. Once these works are done we will have a huge relief from the problems of power cuts,” he added. “I assure all of you that your convenience and safety is my priority. I sincerely hope that all of you are with us in this work. I apologise for all this inconvenience to you all,” the CM stated. Meanwhile, trying to solve an issue through Twitter the CM came to know that there is school in Tilyakuti of Kenjra Panchayat, Tonto Block of West Singhbhum, where children have not gone to school for over a year. He was made aware that there was not teacher in the school, which had only one para teacher, who is not com- ing to school since February 2019 and children are devoid of education. Continued on page 4

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Page 1: 0˘1&(˙’$2˚ 3 ˇ# !536 3/1?%&* @6&.3 @6/@.%50*.2 2.%16 2./2

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BJP working president JagatPrakash Nadda on Monday

took over the reins of the partyfrom Amit Shah and is facedwith several tough electoral andorganisational challenges inthe days ahead.

Nadda’s first task will be togalvanise the party to take onKejriwal-led AAP Governmentin the next month’s DelhiAssembly polls. The AAP isseen as a clear favourite andNadda would require all hisskills to make it an even con-test. His other challenges areAssembly elections of Bihar,West Bengal, Assam, Keralaand Tamil Nadu, all scheduledwithin one year or so.

The reverses faced by theparty in Jharkhand and loss ofpower in a big State, likeMaharashtra, have madeNadda’s task all the more diffi-cult. Nadda would be requiredto revamp party organisation inseveral States and also step upthe BJP’s pro-CAA (CitizenshipAmendment Act) campaignacross the country.

Enjoying the confidenceof Prime Minister NarendraModi and Shah, the new headof the BJP is largely expected tocontinue with the course it tookunder Shah with Modi layingout the broader agenda.

Considered an affable andaccessible politician, Naddastrikes good rapport with alltop party leaders and is seen asseasoned organisation man.

Nadda, with parental roots inBihar, was associated with theAkhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP) from his col-lege days before joining theyouth wing of the BJP and ris-ing through its ranks.

Nadda has also served as aMinister in the BJPGovernments in Himachal

Pradesh, his home State, and atthe Centre. He has also been incharge of his party’s campaignsin a number of States, includ-ing in Uttar Pradesh, during the2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Nadda was unanimouslyelected as BJP president inparty headquarters here at afunction in the presence of

Shah and all top Central lead-ers, Ministers and ChiefMinisters of the BJP-ruledStates. The PM, who laterjoined party leaders in felici-tating Nadda, said he is surethat the party will scale newerheights during his presidency.

The PM also praised Shahfor his contribution, describing

him as “an outstandingkaryakarta (worker)”

“I do not think words cando justice to the rich contribu-tion of Shah as the BJP presi-dent. During his presidency,the BJP got opportunities toserve in several parts of India,”Modi said in a series of tweets.

Continued on Page 4

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Citing differences onCitizenship Amendment

Act (CAA) and NationalRegister of Citizen (NRC),BJP’s old ally Shiromani AkaliDal (SAD) Badal, on Mondayannounced that the party willnot contest Delhi Assemblypolls. However, well placedsources in the BJP said that theSAD wanted to contest elec-tions on six seats whereas theywere offered three seats.

SAD was also not verykeen to contest on BJP’s ‘lotussymbol’ as it wanted to conteston its own party symbol of“weighing scale”. BJP leaderstried to convince SAD leader-ship to let its candidate conteston its symbol as they have wonwhile going with this symbolduring past elections. SADpresident was not very keen toforego his party’s identity anddecided not to field its candi-dates on the seats being offeredby the BJP.

Importantly, the SAD willkeep its alliance with the BJP

intact and remain in theNational Democratic Alliance(NDA).

Incidentally, SAD leaderManjinder Singh Sirsa, the sit-ting MLA from Rajouri GardenAssembly constituency whohad won on BJP symbol said,“SAD and BJP have an old rela-tionship but SAD’s stand hasbeen quite clear on CAA andNRC. The SAD president haswelcomed the CAA which wassupposed to include peoplefrom all religions but we neverdemanded that any one religionshould be excluded from thelist.”

Continued on Page 4

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ADelhi court Monday con-victed key accused Brajesh

Thakur and 18 others for sex-ually assaulting several girls ina shelter home run by him inMuzaffarpur, Bihar.

Additional Sessions JudgeSaurabh Kulshreshtha convict-ed Thakur, who once unsuc-cessfully contested assemblypolls on Bihar People’s Party(BPP) ticket, for severaloffences including the aggra-vated penetrative sexual assaultunder section 6 of Protection ofChildren from Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act, and offences ofrape and gang rape under theIndian Penal code (IPC).

In its bulky judgementrunning into 1,546 pages, thecourt also convicted Thakurfor the offences under sec-tions 120-B (criminal con-spiracy), 324 (causing hurt bydangerous weapons ormeans), 323 (voluntarily caus-ing hurt) and abetment underIPC, section 21 (failure toreport commission of anoffence) of the POCSO Act section 75 (cru-elty to child) of Juvenile Justice Act.

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In a respite to over 12,000 has-sled homebuyers of Unitech

Ltd, the Supreme Court onMonday allowed the Centre totake total management controlof the embattled realty firm andappoint a new board of nomi-nee directors.

The top court approved thename of retired Haryana cadreIAS officer Yudvir Singh Malikas chairman and managingdirector (CMD) of the newboard and directed that theexisting board of directors ofthe company would standsuperseded.

It also refused to appointUnitech Group founderRamesh Chandra, as a memberof the new board saying that itwould not be appropriate at thisstage.

A Bench of Justices DYChandrachud and MR Shahasked the new board to submitits report in two months on theresolution framework of thecompany.

It also approved the namesof members of the board whichinclude AK Mittal, ex-CMD ofNational Buildings

Construction Corporation(NBCC); Renu Sud Karnad,Chairman of HDFC CredilaFinance Service Pvt Ltd; JituVirwani, CMD of EmbassyGroup; and NiranjanHiranandani, ManagingDirector of Mumbai-basedHiranandani Group.

“The idea of a profession-al board is to allow them to takecontrol of the company andcomplete the pending projectsin the interest of homebuyers,”the bench said and indicatedthat the court would stop mon-itoring the Unitech matter onceeverything falls in place.

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The Supreme Court onMonday dismissed the plea

of Pawan Kumar Gupta, adeath row convict in theNirbhaya gang rape and mur-der case, to be declared a juve-nile at the time of the com-mission of offence.

A bench comprising jus-tices R Banumathi, AshokBushan and A S Bopanna saidthere was no ground to inter-fere with the Delhi High courtorder that rejected Pawan’splea. The trial court had alsorejected Pawan’s claim of beinga juvenile.

Advocate A P Singh,appearing for Pawan, said asper his school leaving certifi-

cate he was a minor at the timeof the offence and none of thecourts, including trial court andHigh Court, ever consideredhis documents.

But, solicitor general TusharMehta, appearing for Delhi

police, said that his claim of juve-nility was considered at each andevery judicial forum and it willbe a travesty of justice if the con-vict is allowed to raise the claimof juvenility repeatedly and atthis point of time.

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AAP national convener andDelhi Chief Minister

Arvind Kejriwal, who missedfiling his nomination due tothe delay in rally, will file it onTuesday.

Kejriwal said he will filehis nomination on Tuesday. “Iwas supposed to file my nom-ination today but the officecloses at 3 pm. I was asked togo in between and file thenomination but I said howcan I leave people at the roadshow and go? I will go to filenomination tomorrow withmy family,” he said.

Thousands of AAP sup-porters gathered in CentralDelhi on Monday to takepart in Kejriwal’s mega road-show called ‘Walk WithKejriwal’ which was to be fol-lowed by him filing his nom-ination but was postponed tillTuesday owing to the delay inthe rally.

The rally started atValmiki Mandir near RKAshram Marg metro stationto the Hanuman Mandir nearConnaught Place traversingaround 2.2 kilometres in overtwo hours and dancing to thetunes of the party’s anthem -‘Acche Beete Paanch Saal,Lage Raho Kejriwal’.

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Soft-spoken, affable and low-key, the newly elected BJP

president Jagat Prasad Nadda isa quintessential organisationman who is expected to con-solidate the rapid gains theparty has made under his pre-decessor Amit Shah.

He takes over at a timewhen the BJP is witnessing vig-orous challenge from a unitedopposition in assembly elec-tions amid signs that it needsto rejig its electoral strategy fol-lowing a string of losses in statepolls.

If a relatively inexperi-enced Shah in 2014 was seen asPrime Minister NarendraModi’s handpicked man toshake up the saffron organisa-tion by easing out veterans andinfusing young blood to gal-vanise party cadres and fuel itsexpansion drive, Nadda is con-sidered a seasoned hand whowill build on these gains with-out causing too many disrup-tions.

His immediate challenge isthe February 8 Delhi Assemblypolls where the BJP is locked ina tough fight with Aam AadmyParty, followed by year-endelections in Bihar.

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Chief Minister Hemant Soren was felicitatedwith ‘Champion of Change Award – 2019’ for

better and exemplary work as a people's repre-sentative in Barhait and Dumka AssemblyConstituencies of Jharkhand in New Delhi onMonday. Former President of India PranabMukherjee honoured Soren at a ceremony heldat the residence of the former President.

After receiving the award the CM dedicatedit to the people of the State and Dishom GuruShibu Soren. “Our State is a Sone kiChidiya(Golden Bird) because more than 40 percent of mineral reserves of the country are herein Jharkhand.

From these mineral resources many states getemployment opportunities and are brightened.And, on the other hand our State is devoid of sev-eral basic amenities,” he said at the award cere-mony. “Our State is tribal dominated. The ben-efits of development schemes and programmesare somehow not reaching the needy persons ofthe State,” said the CM, adding that the purposefor which the people of the State have chosen him,he will try his best to fulfil the aspirations of thepeople.

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Chief Minister HemantSoren today wrote a letter

to the people of the State on theproblems being faced by theresidents across the State due tolong power cuts. The CM,posting the letter to his socialmedia accounts, urged peopleto bear for a couple of days toget better electricity supply.

“Dear, residents ofJharkhand. In the entire State,the work of maintenance andupgrading of all the grids of theState is going on at a cost of�154 crores, due to which youall have to face some inconve-nience,” he wrote in the mes-sage.

The CM stated further thatfor maintenance of Hatia Gridthere was need of shutdown for10 hours each for five days, outof which work has been donefor 3 days. “For another 2 daysin the two weeks 10 hour shut-down will occur. Once theseworks are done we will have ahuge relief from the problemsof power cuts,” he added.

“I assure all of you that

your convenience and safety ismy priority. I sincerely hopethat all of you are with us in thiswork. I apologise for all thisinconvenience to you all,” theCM stated.

Meanwhile, trying to solvean issue through Twitter theCM came to know that there isschool in Tilyakuti of KenjraPanchayat, Tonto Block of West

Singhbhum, where childrenhave not gone to school forover a year.

He was made aware thatthere was not teacher in theschool, which had only onepara teacher, who is not com-ing to school since February2019 and children are devoid ofeducation.

Continued on page 4

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Police have solved the mur-der case of a 21-year-old

youth by arresting two 25-year-old youths fromLokmanya Tilak Station inMumbai on Sunday. The twoassailants have been identifiedas Rishu Srivastava and RahulDubey, both residents of Ulidihin Mango.

Police have revealed thatthe 21-year-old youth SumanRakshit was murdered due toa dispute over transaction ofmoney related to betting ininternational cricket matchesbetween Australia and Indiafour months ago.

The police recovered anine MM pistol and a live car-tridge from Rishu and also amotorcycle that they used inthe murder.

Senior SP, Anoop Birtharay

said that as per their investi-gation they found that Sumanhad betted Rs 3 lakh for thematch between India-Australia,but lost the challenge.

Rishu and Rahul wanted totake the Rs 3 lakh from Suman,but the latter was not willing topay the betting money. As aresult of which both Rishuand Rahul had visited the vic-tim's house on several time forthe money, but after Sumanrefused to pay them so theydecided to teach the victim alesson.

" We have gathered crucialinformation that Rishu hadopened the shot while Rahulwas riding the bike. After theattack, the duo had left the bikePujanjali apartment in Ulidiihand left for Ranchi in anotherbike. From Ranchi they tooka train to Mumbai, were theywere arrested," said Birtharay.

During interrogation,Rishu had revealed that theywanted to simply injure Suman,but incidentally the pellet hadhit the victim's chest andproved fatal.

According to the senior SP,during the same internationalcricket match, Suman had wonbetting and Rishu and Rahulhad paid him to the bettingmoney he had own, but whenhe lost the betting he hadrefused to pay the assailants themoney, resulting enmitybetween themselves.

The senior SP said thatthey had tried to make the twoarrested persons to reveal ifanyone else was involved in thebetting racket, but they did notreveal anyone's name. " As perour plans we will take both theaccused to police remand andwill try to find out the kingpinof the betting racket in the steel

city," Birtharay said.Son of Vijay Rakshit,

Suman was shot dead while hewas returning home on PatelNagar in Ulidih from a gymnear Moon City in Mango onJanuary 15 monring. He wasrushed to Tata Main Hospitalwhere the doctors declaredhim as brought dead.

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State police discounted anddispelled any fear of rise of

extremism in the State. Sourcessaid common people havebegun to tell that extremismwill rear its head again inJharkhand and fear extortioncalls coming over to their cellphones. State BJP has chargedthree week old Govt with risein extremism in the State.

State police spokespersonSaket Kumar Singh cum DIGSTF said, “There were defi-nitely incidents of arson bynaxals in the months ofNovember and December butpolice curbed and containedthem and this last 15 days therehas been all quiet on this front.”

He said, “Police have infor-mation that naxals have goneinto a kind of hibernation fora month or so now but for usthere is never any room forrelaxing nor for any compla-cency either.”

Reminded that for inci-dents of extremism there is no

place & time fixed but can hap-pen most abruptly to which hesaid, “Nothing can be predict-ed in such a matter but what Iwant to drive my point homeis that naxals went for arson fora couple of reasons.”

Explaining the reasons hesaid, “Forests remain too denseup to December.Then startsleaf fall. Once leaf falls the jun-gles start getting bare visibleand naxals again turn to junglesto set up their hide outs.”

Singh said, “Winter nightskeep naxals notorious as longnights give them a feeling thatthey can go about their sinis-ter design.”

Asked as to which crimeapart from extremismJharkhand police find toughand challenging to which Singhsaid “It is the cyber crime. It iserupting all over the country. Itwill be the biggest threat that iscoming to Jharkhand policeand police of other states aswell.”

What Saket K Singh saidappears to be true as

Jharkhand’s Jamtara which isthe hub of cyber crime has evenforced a Bollywood directorSoumendra Padhi to make aHindi movie on Jamtara whichdeals with the story of phish-ing scam!

On urban naxals Singhsaid, “Naxalism has no dictio-nary either of urban or rural. Ifone is naxal one is no matterwhere he resides or from wherehe operates.”

Again asked that peoplewho hold left wing ideologiesor stand by it are easily dubbedas urban naxals to which hesaid ,“I do not subscribe to suchopinion. Urban naxal is themost misunderstood thing.”

He added “ To me if oneuses arms, ammunition, spendstime in forests and again comesto town, lives here for someperiod and then again sneaksin to his hide outs in forest thenthat man is straight way anaxal and there is no need tocompartmentalize his identityby rusticity or urbanenesseither.”

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Thousands of people in theage group of five to late

eighties enthusiastically par-ticipated in 'Global Active City'programme organized atBokaro Steel City on Sunday.

Aiming to bring attentionof the entire Indian citizenstowards sports and healthylifestyle several programs wereorgansied by the districtadministration in participa-tion with mass at LibraryGround. Mukesh KumarDeputy Commissioner Bokaroinaugurated the programmeat Aerodram More, from wherea mini-marathon kicked-offand concluded at LibraryGround.

Speaking on the occasionthe DC said, sports pays a veryvital role in our life, helps tokeep fit among the people of allages. By playing sports, notonly our stress level decrease,but it also increases our ener-gy level.

Being physically active willreduce the risk of diseasessuch as heart disease, highblood pressure and diabeteswhich occurs due to the irreg-ular lifestyle of the people min-imizes the expenditure onhealth services across theworld. And thus the incidenceof early deaths will also come

down drastically, he said.The 'Global Active City'

programme is targeted to linkhealth and social life programs.You may call it the internationalversion of the 'Fit IndiaMovement'. Our aim is tobring health awareness amongmass and to inspire them tojoin some sports events, hesaid.

Recently, Bokaro Steel Cityhas been honored with ‘GlobalActive City’ (GAC) standard.Now Bokaro becomes the firstcity in India and second in Asiato get this place. Karasiyaka inTurkey in Asia is the first city,got a prestigious standard.

The Global Active Cityprogramme is fully aligned

with the agenda, guidelinesand recommendations of UN,WHO UNESCO all of whichaim at improving the healthand well being of people as partof sustainable development.

The Global Active pro-gramme is additionally sup-ported by the InternationalOlympic Committee. BokaroSteel City is the first city inIndia to join the network. Onbehalf of the EvaleoAssociation and theAssociation for InternationalSport for All (TAFISA), found-ing partners at the GlobalActive City programme haswelcomed Bokaro Steel City tothe Global Active City net-work.

The success of the GlobalActive City approach relies onthe vision and support of lead-ers such as Bokaro districtadministration and all key pub-lic and private stakeholders,said an official.

Many sports like bad-minton, football and volleyballwere organsied on this eve.Chhau dance was the mainattraction of the program.Besides Blood donation camp,rangoli, music and painting-painting, camps were also orga-nized to provide informationabout Disaster Management,First Aid, Road Safety, Healthand Nutrition, AnimalHusbandry, Anti Tobacco andothers at the ground on this eve.

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The tigress that had enteredinto Galudih jungle in

Ghatshila sub-division bor-dering Bengal about 60 kmsaway from here over week agomight have returned back toBengal.

However, the locals are stillgripped with fear. The people,including the children, arescared in the Dainmari andBasadera jungles in Galudih.

People living in Baguriapanchayat adjoining the stretchof 15 kms-long Dainmari andBasadera jungles are panicgripped of the tigress.

Not only the school chil-dren, their parents who arecoming to drop the children atthe school at Jhanti Jharnaand Mirgi Tand both close tothe border of the stretch ofDainmari jungles are also car-rying bows and arrow or anytraditional weapon.

Divisional forest officer,Jamshedpur, Abhishek Kumarstill doubts that the tigressmight be in some of thesedense jungle though no infor-mation of any fresh killing hasreached to them.

The DFO, when queriedsaid that they are not sure

whether the tigress which hadmost probably come fromSimilipal Tiger Reserve inneighbouring Mayurbhanj dis-trict of Odisha has returnedback.

A tigress had sneaked intothe jungle of Dainmari inGaludih in Ghatshila sub-divi-sion, about 60 kms away fromhere from Bengal about a weekago when an ox had gonemissing and a cow was left witha wound inflicted by its nails.Forest department officials also

found pug marks near a waterbody at the dense Dainmarijngle. The presence of thetigress became evident when itkilled another ox nearDharagiri fall about five kmsaway from Dainmari.

The department has alsoissued an advisory aiming atthe villagers living in andaround Dainmari jungle inGaludih in Ghatshila sub-divi-sion about 50 kms away fromhere over presence of a tigressin the region.

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Michael Gross, Director ofthe Global Active City

(GAC), has thanked BokaroDeputy Commissioner MukeshKumar and appreciated hishard work in organizing theevents under GAC programmin Bokaro.

In his mail to BokaroDeputy Commissioner MukeshKumar Gross said, it’s a greatachievement to cover thismoment and successfully com-pletion of the programme; such

program must be carried out inthe future. I also wish to Bokaroresidents all the best for theirfuture.

This is a matter of greatpride for the people of Bokaro,we are getting appreciationform the different countriesacross the world, said a districtadministration official.

On Sunday, over thou-sands of people from five yearsto late eighties enthusiastical-ly participated in 'Global ActiveCity' program organized atBokaro Steel City. Aiming to

bring out the attention of theentire Indian citizens towardsthe sports and healthy lifestyleseveral programs were organ-sied by the district adminis-tration at Library Ground.

The 'Global Active City'program is targeted to linkhealth and social life programs.You may call it the internationalversion of the 'Fit IndiaMovement'. Our aim is to bringhealth awareness among massand to inspire them to joinsome sports events, said DC.

Recently, Bokaro Steel Citygot the tag of ‘Global ActiveCity’ (GAC) standard. NowBokaro becomes the first city inIndia and second in Asia to getthis place. Karasiyaka in Turkeyin Asia is the first city, got aprestigious standard.

The Global Active Cityprogramme is fully alignedwith the agenda, guidelinesand recommendations of UN,WHO UNESCO all of whichaim at improving the healthand well being of people as partof sustainable development.

The Global Active pro-gramme is additionally sup-ported by the InternationalOlympic Committee. BokaroSteel City is the first city inIndia to join the network.Onbehalf of the EvaleoAssociation and theAssociation for InternationalSport for All (TAFISA), found-ing partners at the GlobalActive City programme haswelcomed Bokaro Steel City tothe Global Active City network.

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Aman identified asDhaneshwar Yadav,

accused of Bokaro Thermalcase no 50/09 has been arrest-ed for his alleged involvementin the violence near Katharaarea. A case was lodged against150 unidentified and 35 namedpersons, but for some reason noaction could be taken for about10 years. Now, one DhaneshwarYadav, a resident of BhaltongariaBasti has been arrested.

Police sources said entirearea had turned into a battlefieldin year 2009 as police reachedthe spot and also used force, fol-lowing protest against the roadaccident, in which one womanhad died, police said on Sunday.

The entire Kathara area hadvirtually turned into a battlefieldfollowing protest against theroad accident that led to violenceand arson in which 9 dumpers& other private vehicles weredamaged. Situation hadremained tense in the area thattime as protesters, includingDhaneshwar Mahto and localresidents, converged outside thedead body holding traditionalweapons to continue theirdemonstration against police.

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Following inputs formIntelligence Bureau (IB),

high alert has been sounded bytop police officers to tackle anyuntoward incident across thedistrict ahead of the RepublicDay. Security has been beefedup across the Bokaro district,ahead Republic Day; cops arekeeping a hawk-eyed vigil tospoil any possible threats, saidP Murugun, SP Bokaro.

Sources said, IB has issuedan alert that Maoists couldcarry out strikes during theRepublic Day; they could tar-get security cops and govern-ment properties too. Maoists

could plant landmines to tar-get security forces in Dhanbad,Bokaro and Giridih districts.

Senior officials asked thedistrict Superintendents ofpolice of Bokaro, Dhanbad,Hazaribagh, Ramgarh, Girdih,Koderma and Chatra to expe-dite the patrolling in theirzones to tackle any suchmovements of the Naxaliteswhose movements in smallgroups have been observed bythe security forces atUparghat, Nawadih, Gomia,Vishnugarh border area andParasnath zone, police sourcesinformed.

Meanwhile, the district'spolice have decided to putcities in foolproof securitycover.

On the direction of high-er-ups, a high alert has beendeclared across the district,said police.

More than 35 spots wereidentified as the most sensitiveplace only in Bokaro and copswere asked to keep specialattention, said SP.

Cops are instructed totackle all adverse situationsand keep strong securityarrangements. Patrolling hasbeen intensified in the districts,he said.

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Garhwa police have arrested3 criminals in connection

with shooting at a flower trad-er on January 18, 2020.According to Garhwa SPAshwani Kumar Sinha, arrest-ed accused have been identifiedas Sony Soni (25), AkashKumar, 18 and a minor boy allnative of Garhwa town. While3 others accused are abscond-ing. One country made pistol,3 live cartridges, 2 mobile anda scooty recovered from them.

“A police team worked forseveral days probing into dif-ferent angles police arrestedthree criminals out of six in theconnection," said. Sonu used toflirt with Mantu's girl andabout 45 days ago Mantu hadslapped Sonu. In the retaliationof this, Sonu attacked on Mantuwith his associates.

Dhiraj Kumar alias MantuMalakar, the victim was return-ing home after closing his shopfrom main road when thearmed men shot at him nearDanro River on Friday latenight. Police launched man-hunt to arrest others accused,SP said.

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Aprotest led by womenagainst the Citizenship

(Amendment) Act sprung upnear Haj House, Kadru onMonday and has been likenedto the stir at Delhi's ShaheenBagh, which started over amonth ago and has been led bywomen.

The protest at StateCapital’s Kadru assumesimportance as various citiesacross the country includingLucknow, Patna, Kolkatta have

witnessed Shaheen Bagh likeprotests. Shaheen Bagh hasemerged as the epicenter of theprotests in Delhi, which isbeing organised mainly bywomen.

Like protest at other cities,the Kadru protest too was leadby fair sex who were house-wives, working women, collegegoing students, teachers, andresearch scholars among others.The protestors outside the mainentrance of Haj House have puta makeshift pandals having thepictures of Mahatma Gandhi,BR Ambedkar, Maulana AbulKalam Azad, APJ Abdul Kalam,martyrs Bhagat Singh,Chandrashekhar Azad andAshfaqulla Khan along withslogans of Hindu Muslim unity.

The protestors chanted slo-gans of ‘Azadi’ and ‘CAA-NCR

par Halla Bol’ and placardssuch as “We reject CAA, NRCand NPR”, “Hindu MuslimSikh Isai, Aapas Mein BhaiBhai” were also on display.

Shagufta Yashin a socialworker who had come all theway from Delhi for participat-ing at the protest said, “TheCAA is just the beginning asthe Modi-Shah government isplanning with some sinisterdesign against minorities andunder privileged section ofsociety.”

The woman said that thegovernment has failed on allfronts with Country’s facingsevere economic crisis, indus-tries are getting closed, andunemployment at its peak, jobcuts and adding misery to peo-ple woes is increasing inflation.She said, “The government to

divert the attention of peoplefrom such core issue hasbrought CAA and going tointroduce NRC dividing peo-ple on the basis of religion.”

Yashmin said, “TheGovernment don’t have theresources to fulfill the needs ofits own citizens by CAA is giv-ing citizenship to people fromother countries.” Echoing theviews of Yashmin, another pro-testors, Khadija Ambreen afinal year post graduate studentfrom Aligarh MuslimUniversity narrated the vio-lence at her university andJamia Millia Islamia, how stu-dents were targeted by police.

Ranchi, in past few days,has become centre of anti-CAA protest. On Sunday, for-mer JNU student leader OmarKhalid participated at

Samvidhan Bachao DeshBachao, rally at Urs Maidan inDoranda in Ranchi to protestagainst the Citizenship(Amendment) Act (CAA), theNational Register of Citizens(NRC) and the NationalPopulation Register (NPR).

Khalid, in his address, saidwomen were protesting againstthe amended citizenship lawsnot only at Delhi’s ShaheenBagh, but elsewhere too.“Women are actually at theforefront of the resistance inmany places across the coun-try and they deserve our salute,”said Khalid. The RJD too onTuesday is going to hold a rallyat historic Morhabadi groundprotesting against CAA, NRCand NPA. Senior RJD leadersare going to participate at theprotest march.

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As many as 18 students par-ticipated from Jharkhand

in the third edition of “Parikshape Charcha”. The programmewas held at Talkatora Stadiumin New Delhi on Monday.

The HRD Ministry in part-nership with MyGov launcheda 'short essay' competition onfive different themes for stu-dents of classes 9 to 12 for theprogramme.

This time program wasattended by 2000 students fromacross the country. Out ofthese 1050 were selectedthrough essay competition. 50disabled students were alsoincluded in this event. Studentsfrom classes 9th to 12th par-ticipated in it.

This year, four KendriyaVidyalaya Sangathan (KVS)schools students conductedthe program.

Children from Ranchi,Ramgarh, Koderma, Godda,Jamshedpur, Deoghar, EastSinghbhum, West Singhbhum,S a r a i k e l a - K h a r s a n w a ,Ghatshila participated in theprogramme. However, the chil-dren of Jharkhand, who attend-

ed the programme, looked a bitdisappointed after not beingable to ask the Prime Ministerabout the questions in theirmind.

Only one student fromGhatshila could put her ques-tion online to the PrimeMinister.

Emphasising to read hisbook “Exam Warrior” the PMsaid that timetable for studyingcompletely depends upon thestudents, be it late night or early

morning. “Your comfort iscompletely in your hand.Copying from other peer mightnot go well with your routine,”said he.

Arrangements were madeto watch the live discussionprogram on the spot at vari-ous places including Ranchi.Teachers and studentswatched the PM's programmetogether. Shiko Kumari fromKoderma and SumanSaurabh, a student of

Lalmatiya Jawahar NavodayaVidyalaya in Godda andShweta Sharma from Deogharwere also present.

At DPS Ranchi, students ofclasses VI-XII and teachersparticipated and watched thelive broadcast in the schoolpremises as per the guidelinesof CBSE.

The students were moti-vated by the in-depth discus-sion upon stress-free exams.The chief motive behind this

program was to boost stu-dent’s morals and adopt vari-ous exam bursting techniques.Principal Dr. Ram Singhappreciated the efforts andextended his best wishes to thestudents for their boardexams.

Several other schools,including Oxford PublicSchool, Ranchi also organisedlive show of the prgramme, inwhich students of std VI to XIIattended and listened to the

talk of the Prime Minister.The PM suggested the studentsto study for knowledge not formarks.

If they gain knowledge,marks will automatically followthem. To destress, studentsmust have proper time man-agement thorough prepara-tion and focus and to be readyto accept the result whatsoev-er.

In the case of any upheavalof emotion, it is the bestmethod to destess by writingand expressing on a piece ofpaper, tear and throw it in thedustbin.

A lot of excitement andenthusiasm was being seenamong the students, teachersand parents to not only par-ticipate in the unique eventbut also to receive valuabletips from the Prime Ministerwho is keen to ensure that thestudents take exams in arelaxed atmosphere and donot come under stress, toensure better results in thelong run.

Before this such event wasorganised twice by the PrimeMinister, to discuss with stu-dents regarding exams.

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Nearly seven months afterbecoming the executive

president of BJP, Jagat PrakashNadda popularly known as JPNadda took reins of party pres-ident from Amit Shah. The 59-year old BJP leader havingexperience in Govt as well asorganisation first task will be toconstitute his team whichincludes appointing State pres-idents and office bearers.

Jharkhand is one of theStates which is going to get newBJP president. Present BJP pres-ident Laxman Gilua after humil-iating defeat of party in just con-cluded Assembly election hastendered his resignation, but theBJP central leadership is yet toaccept his resignation.

Sources said central lead-ership this time is going tomake a president who apartfrom having mass appeal too isvocal with good oratorical skills.A senior BJP leader requestinganonymity said, “The appoint-ment of new BJP presidentdepends upon joining of JVMChief Babulal Marandi in BJP.If Marandi merges his partywith BJP, either he will bemade new tate president orleader of opposition in house.In this case any of either postwill be given to non-tribals.”

Sources said that among thenon-tribal leaders the names ofRanchi MP Sanjay Seth, AnantOjha, Sunil Singh, DeepakPrakash and others are doing therounds. Seth and Anant Ojha,

apart from having long experi-ence in party, have good orato-ry skills. Sunil Singh has goodrapport in BJP’s Delhi Durbar ashe is close to many BJP leaders.Deepak Prakash is also consid-ered as strong contender for BJPpresident post as he is close toNadda, sources said.

However, party statespokesperson Pratul Shahdeosaid, “The party will go for suchleader who will rejuvenate theparty and is acceptable to all.”Sources said that after theappointment of new president,the BJP central leadership willalso make new State workingcommittee appointing newoffice bearers which includesvice presidents, general secre-tary, secretaries, spokesper-sons and presidents of differentcells and district presidents.

Meanwhile, the State presi-dent Laxman Gilua has con-gratulated Nadda on hisappointment as new nationalpresident of BJP. Gilua said,Nadda has long association withJharkhand soil as being healthminister he choose Jharkhand tolaunch Prime Minister NarendraModi much ambitiousAyushman Bharat Yojana.

Sources said Nadda has achallenge to take party to newheights as since late 2018, BJPhas lost control of westernstates of Raj and Maha,Jharkhand in the east andChhattisgarh in central India -shrinking its national footprint,even though Modi’s popularityseems largely undiminished.

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Jharkhand Pradesh CongressCommittee will launch

Statewide campaign against“intensified communal polar-isation by diverting attentionfrom rising prices of all essen-tial commodities includingpetrol-diesel-LPG, economicslowdown, rising unemploy-ment, farmer suicides, closureof large scale industrial units inthe BJP Government’s tenure.”A meeting chaired by JPCCpresident Dr RameshwarOraon on the strategy of agi-tation was held at CongressBhawan here on Monday.

State CongressSpokesperson Alok KumarDubey said that according to theinstructions of the All IndiaCongress Committee, it wasdecided to organise a nationwidepeace movement in the meetingof the entire opposition partieson Jan 13, to protect the IndianConstitution on the day ofnational importance. The pro-gramme has been ensured to beconducted in a peaceful manner

Under the leadership of Dr.Rameshwar Oraon, on Jan 23,the birthday of Netaji SubhashChandra Bose, garlanding willbe done on the statue of Netaji

installed outside the Congressoffice, then a seminar on thehistoric saga of INA and fightagainst royal power at theCongress Bhawan will beorganised. A symposium willbe held on the contribution ofall the communities in thecountry, in which the speakerswill present their ideas. Suchprogrammes will also be organ-ised at district headquarters.

The Preamble to theConstitution will be read in theCongress Office from 11:00 AMafter the flag hoisting at the StateCongress Headquarters on 26January and Congressmen willbe administered oath by the State

Congress President Dr. Oraon toprotect the Constitution. Afterthat, through the symposium inthe Congress building how thevalues and principles laid downin the Constitution are affectedby the policies of present Govt atthe Centre will be highlighted,said Dubey.

He further said that onJanuary 30, to commemorate thedeath anniversary of Father ofthe Nation Mahatma Gandhi,the State Congress Committeewill organize an all-religionprayer meeting in front ofGandhiji's statue at Morhabadifrom 11: 45 am and unity con-ference to advance Mahatma

Gandhi's non-violence and com-munal harmony and Gandhiji'sideals will be highlighted onorganizing the prayer ceremony

The meeting was attendedby Keshav Mahato Kamlesh,Executive President of StateCongress Committee, RajeshThakur, Spokesperson AlokKumar Dubey, Dr. RajeshGupta, Lal Kishore NathShahdev, OrganizationIncharge Ravindra Singh, StatePresident of CongressPanchayati Raj SangathanJayanskar Pathak, AmitabhRanjan, Sushil Verma, JitendraTrivedi, Abhishek Sahu, SanjeetYadav were mainly present.

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Directing DeputyCommissioner, Chaibasa, theChief Minister said that thematter was really painful.“Please make this school as amodel ooschool by arrangingteachers and midday meals atthe earliest. Education andhealth are the priority of ourgovernment, so no compro-mise will be made,” he tweet-ed. Taking swift action on theissue DC Chaibasa has deput-ed a teacher at the school andsent a team led by trainee IASofficer that discussed the mat-ter with the villagers there.Also, the DC tweeted thatrequirements of the schoolwere assessed and within 15days the school will be devel-oped into a model one. He saidthat DSE, BEEO and BRC ofthe block have been servedshow cause notice on the issue.

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The weather in Jharkhand isonce again taking turn-

around. There have beencloudy skies since morning.Due to light showers, temper-ature has fallen down withstate witnessing cold wave. Atthe same time fog is likely toprevail in the morning for thenext two days. On January 22and 23, there will be a fog in themorning with skies partlycloudy. The MeteorologicalDepartment on Sunday mea-sured 0.6 mm. rainfall.

According to the meteoro-logical department, fromJanuary 1 till date, Ranchi hasrecorded 39.4 mm rainfall.According to meteorologists,Jharkhand including othereastern states will be affected

due to western disturbancesfrom January 20. At present, itis 2.1 and 3.6 km above sealevel in northwest Uttar

Pradesh and surrounding areas.Cyclonic circulation is locatedbetween the regions. Whilethere is a turf attached to this

system in the form of westerndisturbance. According toweather scientists, Ranchirecorded increase of 3.0 and 4.0

degrees Celsius in maximumtemperature on Sunday.

Similarly, as per weatherforecast, night temperaturesare expected to fall by two tofour degrees Celsius for thenext two-three days. Light tomoderate fog is likely to occurat one or two places for the nexttwo days, while the weather willremain dry in most parts of thestate for the next four days. OnSunday, Jamshedpur recordedincrease of maximum temper-ature by 3.0 and minimumtemperature of 4.0 degreeCelsius. Daltonganj recordeddrop of 4.0 degree Celsius inmaximum temperature andincarse of 6 degree Celsius inminimum temperature. At thesame time Daltonganj record-ed a rainfall of 10.2 mm in thelast 24 hours.

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From Page 1Wishing Nadda very best for

his tenure, the PM said, “Naddais a dedicated and disciplinedkaryakarta who has worked foryears to strengthen the party atthe grassroots. His affable natureis also known to all.”

“Be it as a young partykaryakarta, MLA, Minister inHimachal Pradesh or organisa-tional duties at the Centre, MPand Union Minister, Nadda hasadded value to any responsibil-ity he has held,” Modi added.

BJP leader Radha MohanSingh, who was the in-charge ofthe organisational electionprocess, made the announcementof Nadda’s election as the party’s11th president after he emergedas the only nominee in the fray.

Modi later arrived at theparty headquarters to felicitate theelected president at a ceremonythat was attended by members ofthe BJP Parliamentary Board, itshighest body, and veterans like LKAdvani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

Earlier, Shah was joined bysenior party leaders, includingUnion Ministers Rajnath Singhand Nitin Gadkari, besidesseveral functionaries from Stateunits in filing nominations insupport of Nadda.

BJP Chief Ministers, likeYogi Adityanath of UttarPradesh and Vijay Rupani ofGujarat, were also at the partyheadquarters. Nadda’s eleva-tion was on expected linessince his appointment as theBJP working president lastJune after Shah joined theModi Government as theHome Minister. The BJP hastraditionally abided by thenorm of ‘one party one post’.

BJP leaders hailed theappointment, expressing con-fidence that the party wouldachieve new successes underhis leadership.

Shah congratulated Naddaand expressed confidence thatunder the new BJP presidentand the guidance of Modi, theparty will scale new heights ofsuccess and grow from strengthto strength. Wishing Nadda asuccessful tenure, RajnathSingh said, “I am confident theparty will achieve new gloryand success under his leader-ship. Known for his organisa-tional experience Naddaji hasalways been an asset to theparty.” Gadkari said the eleva-tion of Nadda, who started asa common party worker androse through its ranks, showsthat the BJP was an organisa-tion of workers unlike partiesrun by dynasties. eom

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From Page 1“BJP leadership wanted us

to reconsider this stand, so, wedecided to not fight these pollsinstead of changing our stand,”Sirsa added.

Sirsa who was accompa-nied by Harmeet Singh Kalka,president, Delhi unit of theSAD said that they have optedout as they refused to changetheir stand on includingMuslims in the CAA. “Ourparty’s stand was questioned bythe alliance partner - BJP,”Sirsa said.

“We were questioned onSAD leadership’s stand on CAAand told in meetings that thiswas not the BJP stand. Ourstand is clear that country can-not be divided on the basis ofreligion, the party was asked toreconsider the stand on includ-ing our Muslim brothers in theCAA. The Akali Dal does notfavour the NRC also,” Sirsa said.

Pertinently, Delhi has over10 lakh sikh voters and SADcontested elections in Delhifrom the four Sikh dominatedAssembly seats which are - HariNagar, Rajouri Garden, TilakNagar and Kalkaji.

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The Centre on Mondayapproved a major bureau-

cratic reshuffle posting 31 offi-cers as joint secretaries including Rajeev Singh Thakurand Shantanu in the newly-cre-ated department of militaryaffairs.

Thakur, a 1995 batch IASofficer of Rajasthan cadre, willhave a tenure till December 3,2022. Shantanu, a 1997 batchTripura cadre IAS officer, hasbeen appointed to the post tillMarch 27, 2024, an order issuedby the personnel ministry said.

The Government had lastmonth created the departmentof military affairs, which isheaded by Chief of DefenceStaff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat.

Odisha cadre IAS officerVishal Gagan will be joint sec-retary, department of defencefor a tenure of five years, it said.

Ashutosh Agnihotri hasbeen appointed joint secretaryin home ministry. Jammu andKashmir cadre IAS officerAshok Kumar Parmar will beadvisor, inter-state council secretariat under the HomeMinistry.

Bharat H Khera has beenappointed joint secretary inCabinet Secretariat.Vimalendra AnandPatwardhan, an officer ofIndian Audit and AccountsService,has been named asjoint secretary and financialadviser in ministry of civil avi-ation, and IAS officer NagarajuMaddirala will be joint secre-

tary in the coal ministry. S Suresh Kumar and

Puneet Agarwal have beenappointed as joint secretaries indepartment of commerce anddepartment of defence pro-duction respectively.

Vineet Mathur, a 1994batch officer of Indian PostalService, will be JS, departmentof consumer affairs and IndianForest Service (IFoS) officerSanjukta Mudgal has beenappointed as joint secretary inculture ministry.

IAS officer Tanmay Kumarhas been appointed joint sec-retary in the power ministry.Madhya Pradesh cadre IASofficer Hari Ranjan Rao will bejoint secretary, department oftelecommunications for five years.

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Atechnology-free room inthe house and keeping

oneself away from gadgets forsome time everyday were thetwo big takeaways for the stu-dents from Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s ‘Pariksha PeCharcha’ on Monday.

Modi used examples fromcricket to the Chandrayaan 2mission besides experiencesof his personal life to reach outto the students, teachers andparents on a range of issues,including exam stress and timemanagement.

Through the third editionof the programme in thenational Capital, while Modiasked the examinees not to getdemotivated by temporary set-backs, he also urged over 10crore audiences across 28 coun-tries not to become slaves oftechnology.

But the most talked abouttopic among the students afterthe two-hour-session was hisidea of keeping away from thetechnological conveniences like

smart phones, computers andtelevisions daily for some timebesides a technology-freeroom.

“Good marks in exams arenot everything. We have tocome out of the thinking thatexams are everything,” Modisaid.

In the event organised byHRD Ministry for whichpreparations went on for amonth, was telecast andstreamed live, Modi said every-one should keep abreast of thelatest technology but stressedthat it should not be allowed togovern lives.

“Technological trends arechanging quickly. It is essentialto stay updated with thesetrends. Fear of technology is notgood. Technology is a friend.Mere knowledge of technologyisn’t enough. Its application is asimportant,” he said.

“We should have thestrength to keep technologyunder our control and ensureit does not waste our time. Oneroom in our homes should betechnology free. Whoeverenters will not carry any gad-

gets,” he said. The PrimeMinister asked students tospend their spare time with theelderly.

The Prime Ministerappealed to students to not be

demotivated if they face tem-porary setbacks and take fail-ures in their stride. “We canadd enthusiasm to every aspectof life. A temporary setbackdoesn’t mean success is not

waiting. In fact, a setback maymean the best is yet to come.Motivation, demotivation arevery common. Everyone goesthrough these feelings,” he said.

“In this regard, I can never

forget my visit to ISRO duringChandrayaan and the timespent with our hardworkingscientists. I was told I should-n’t attend Chandrayaan landingas there was no guarantee ofsuccess but I needed to bethere,” he added, recalling thefailed landing of theChandrayaan-2 mission’sVikram lander.

The PM sought to speak tothe students in their own lan-guage and said his conversa-tions with them will be “hash-tag without filter”.

During the freewheelingcourse, the PM also asked stu-dents to remember the India-Australia test series in 2001 toemphasise his message aboutpositive thinking.”Our cricketteam was facing setbacks. Themood was not very good. Butin those moments can we everforget what Rahul Dravid andV V S Laxman did? Theyturned the match around.Similarly, who can forget AnilKumble bowling with aninjury. This is the power ofmotivation and positive think-ing,” he said to the much inter-

est of the youngsters at the jam-packed Talkatora Stadium.

The Prime Minister alsohighlighted the importance oftaking on extra-curricularactivities and said there is agrowing tendency among par-ents to push their childreninto activities considered“glamorous” which they candiscuss in their conversationswith their friends. “Parentsshould instead take time out tofind out what their childrenwant to do,” he said.

Asserting that childrenshould be “pursued not pres-sured into studies”, he recom-mended that students read hisbook “Exam Warriors” to getover the stress of appearing forexams. He urged students to beconfident about their ownpreparation.

Students who got to askquestions to the Prime Ministerwere short-listed on the basis ofessays submitted on five sub-jects — Gratitude is Great,Your Future Depends on YourAspirations, Examining Exams,Our Duties, Your Take, andBalance is Beneficial.

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Women daredevilry will beon full display on Rajpath

this Republic Day, as an all-women bikers’ contingent ofthe CRPF will make its debut andshowcase its nail-biting stunts.

The 65-member team ofwomen will display its acrobat-ic skills on 350 cc Royal EnfieldBullet motorcycles towards theend of the over 90-minute-longparade.

It will be the first time thatthe women bikers will performin the Republic Day parade.This squad was raised in 2014 toinvolve women in the entirespectrum of roles performed bythe Force.

The contingent will be led byInspector Seema Nag, who is

deployed with the Rapid ActionForce (RAF), a special anti-riotscombat unit of the CRPF.

The Central Reserve PoliceForce is the world’s largest para-military force with about 3.25lakh personnel in its ranks.

The members of the squadhave been specially chosen fromvarious combat units of theForce and are in the age groupof 25 to 30, officials said.

This contingent had earlier

performed at the birth anniver-sary celebrations of country’s firstHome Minister SardarVallabhbhai Patel on October 31last year at Kevadia in Gujarat,an event that saw Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in attendance.

In 1986, the CRPF hadraised the first armed women’sbattalion in the Asia region.Presently, the CRPF has sixMahila Battalions (6,000 per-soonel.

The all-women bikers con-tingent is slated to perform asmany as nine acts of daring bikeriding and conclude by forminga human pyramid on multiplemotorcycles and is expected tofly the tricolor and the CRPF flagon the top.

At the 2018 Republic Dayparade, a women bikers contin-gent of the Border SecurityForce (BSF) had debuted on theoccasion that year.

In 2015, women marchingcontingents of Army, Navy andAir Force had debuted in thenational parade. According totradition, the BSF and the Army’sbike-borne daredevils end theRepublic Day parade every alter-nate year riding their roaringbikes. This year, the opportuni-ty has been given to the CRPFwomen personnel, officials said.

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Though preventable andtreatable, sepsis — a life

threatening complication ofan infection— claimed about11 million lives worldwide in2017, almost twice as high aspreviously estimated.

According to a study pub-lished in the latest edition ofThe Lancet, among the victimsare a disproportionately highnumber of children in poorareas. Sepsis is caused by thebody’s defense system(immune system) workingovertime to fight infection.The large number of chemicalsreleased into the blood during

this process triggers wide-spread inflammation.

Blood clotting during sep-sis reduces blood flow to limbsand internal organs.

This deprives them ofnutrients and oxygen. In severecases, one or more organs may fail.

India too is facing tremen-dous sepsis burden. At least,34 per cent of sepsis patientsdied in the intensive care unit(ICU) in 2016, as per anotherstudy.

The Lancet study, which isled by researchers at theUniversity of Pittsburgh andUniversity of Washingtonschools of medicine, revealed48.9 million global cases of

sepsis in 2017 and 11 milliondeaths, representing 1 in 5deaths worldwide.

The large majority of sep-sis cases - 85 per cent in 2017- occurred in low- or middle-income countries, higheramong females than males.By age, the incidence of sepsispeaks in early childhood, withmore than 40 per cent of allcases occurring in childrenunder 5.

“I’ve worked in ruralUganda, and sepsis is what wesaw every single day. Watchinga baby die of a disease thatcould have been preventedwith basic public health mea-sures really sticks with you,”said lead author Kristina E

Rudd, assistant professor inPitt’s Department of CriticalCare Medicine.

For their analysis, Ruddand colleagues leveraged theGlobal Burden of DiseaseStudy, a comprehensive epi-demiological analysis coordi-nated by the Institute forHealth Metrics and Evaluation(IHME) at the University ofWashington School ofMedicine.

The study findings areunprecedented as they repre-sent mortality both in and outof the hospital.

“We are alarmed to findsepsis deaths are much higherthan previously estimated,especially as the condition is

both preventable and treat-able,” said senior authorMohsen Naghavi, professor ofhealth metrics sciences atIHME at the University ofWashington School ofMedicine. “We need renewedfocus on sepsis preventionamong newborns and on tack-ling antimicrobial resistance,an important driver of thecondition.”

The study authors ana-lyzed annual sepsis incidenceand mortality trends from1990 through 2017 and foundrates are improving.

In 1990, there were anestimated 60.2 million sepsiscases and 15.7 million deaths;by 2017, incidence had

dropped by 19 per cent to 48.9million cases and deaths by 30per cent to 11.0 million.

“So what is the solution?Well, to start with its basic pub-lic health infrastructure.Vaccines, making sure every-one has access to a toilet andclean drinking water, adequatenutrition for children andmaternal health care wouldaddress a lot of these cases,”said Rudd.

The research was fundedby The Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation, the NationalInstitutes of Health Pitt, theBritish Columbia Children’sHospital Foundation, theWellcome Trust and theFleming Fund.

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Union Minister of State forHome Nityanand Rai on

Monday inaugurated revampedpolice communication services— POLNET 2.0. The new plat-form is armed with a robustmulti-media facility and is a cap-tive satellite-based network thatprovides video, audio and dataconnectivity across the country,

especially in times of disasterswhen regular communicationeither gets jammed or crashes.

“The operationalisation ofPOLNET 2.0 is a big achieve-ment for the country and theDCPW is to be complimentedfor rendering this task. Thissystem will work in any weath-er,” Rai said while launching thefacility at Vigyan Bhawan here.

The Directorate of

Coordination Police Wireless(DCPW) that operates POLNETor the police network services inthe country has brought out anenhanced communication plat-form for police and securityforces to communicate betterduring law and order problemsand disasters, including linkupfrom remote border and coastalareas. The DCPW was set up in1946 and it was placed under the

Ministry of Home Affairs in1950 with the primary mandateof coordination between stateand central police and securityagencies for radio communica-tion and frequency allocation. Ithas been operating POLNETsince 2006.

The new platform is namedPOLNET 2.0 and for the firsttime it will provide video-con-ferencing facility to four entities

sitting at different locations in thecountry with Internet-enabledmultimedia services,

a senior official said. Fromits control room in Delhi, it canhost 40 people talking at onepoint of time, the official added.POLNET 2.0 will also have aphone calling facility for per-sonnel of police and paramilitaryforces deployed in remote areasto talk to their families.

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Citing slowdown in economy,CPI(M) general secretary

Sitaram Yechury on Mondayslammed the Government say-ing this was not just “misman-agement” but “destruction oflives”. Reacting to reports thatthe Government’s tax collectionis likely to fall short of its esti-mate by Rs 2.5 lakh crore or 1.2per cent of GDP in 2019-20,Yechury said that the Centre willbe made accountable.

“This is not mere misman-agement of the economy. It isthe destruction of lives andlivelihoods of millions ofIndians, while Modi’s richcronies continue to benefit andfund the BJP. The people on thestreets have taken note, account-ability will be fixed,” he tweet-ed.

Quoting an Oxfam studywhich said that India’s richestone per cent hold more thanfour-times the wealth held by953 million people who makeup for the bottom 70 per cent ofthe country’s population,

while the total wealth of allIndian billionaires is more thanthe full-year budget, Yechurysaid that this is the reason

Prime Minister Narendra Modidoesn’t want people to knowwho funds the BJP.

“The whole electoral bondscheme is opaque and points toa collusion between the BJP andthose who have become richeras a majority of Indians becomepoorer,” he claimed.

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Amid the controversy overpharma firms allegedly

‘bribing’ medical professionals,the Alliance of Doctors forEthical Healthcare (ADEH), anetwork of doctors from acrossthe country has demandedthat the Uniform Code ofPharmaceutical MarketingPractices (UCPMP) framed five years ago be mademandatory.

“Presently, even after fiveyears the code remains volun-tary. This is despite the factthat several medical organisa-tions have demanded thisrepeatedly from theGovernment. The global expe-rience also shows that volun-tary code does not work”, saidDr GS Grewal, one of theADEH members and formerpresident- Punjab Medical

Council, Ludhiana.Prime Minister Narendra

Modi, as published in a sectionof the media has warned phar-maceutical companies not toindulge in unethical practicesand stop giving freebies to thedoctors with a purpose to pro-cure business. However, thatany such deliberationsoccurred in the meeting withthe Prime Minister has been

denied by the pharmaceuticalcompanies, said Dr Grewal.

He alleged that the com-panies spend crores of rupeesthrough associations by spon-soring the medical confer-ences. “They spend hugeamount on travel, accommo-dation and other expenditureson the doctors for lavisharrangements of the confer-ences.”

As per the clause 7.2 of theUCPMP “companies or theirassociations/representativesshall not extend any hospital-ity like hotel accommodation tohealthcare practitioners andtheir family members underany pretext”.

The implied meaning ofthis is that even extendingbenefits to the doctors throughassociations is unethical. Butthis is being flouted withimpunity, alleged Dr ArunMitra, ENT specialist and for-mer Chairperson, EthicsCommittee of the PMC,Ludhiana.

It is also equally importantthat the any freebies from thepharmaceutical companies bemade taxable. These were tax-able earlier but the decisionwas reversed later by the PuneBench of the Income TaxAppellate Tribunal, said thedoctor.

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Congress leader RahulGandhi on Monday alleged

that Prime Minister NarendraModi extracts wealth fromIndia’s poor and gives it to his“crony capitalist friends” andthe big power brokers he isdependent on.

Rahul Gandhi’s attack onthe prime minister came overan Oxfam report whichclaimed that India’s richest 1per cent hold more than four-times the wealth held by 953million people who make upfor the bottom 70 per cent ofthe country’s population.

“Modi extracts wealth fromIndia’s poor and gives it to hiscrony capitalist friends & thebig power brokers he’s depen-dent on. 1% of India’s superrich, now own 4 times morewealth than 1 billion of India’s

poor,” the former Congresspresident said in a tweet.

The total wealth of allIndian billionaires is more thanthe full-year budget, said thestudy titled ‘Time to Care’which was tagged by RahulGandhi Oxfam also said theworld’s 2,153 billionaires havemore wealth than the 4.6 billionpeople who make up 60 percent of the planet’s population.

The Gandhi scion hasoften used the term ̀ crony cap-italism’ to attack Modi.

He first used the term postdemonetization when healleged that Prime Minister’sdemonetisation decision was a“huge scam” and its objectivewas to rob from the commonpeople of India to benefit hiscrony capitalist friends. Heagain used the same terminol-ogy during the Rafale scamcontroversy.

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The Indian Air Force onMonday commissioned a

squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI atthe Air Force Station here, thefirst such base in south Indiafor the high profile fighter jets,seen as a gamechanger inguarding the strategicallyimportant Indian OceanRegion (IOR).

The ‘Tigersharks’ squadronof Sukhoi 30 MKI jets inte-grated with the BrahMos cruisemissiles was inducted by Chiefof Defence Staff Bipin Rawat inthe presence of top officialsincluding Air Chief MarshalRakesh Kumar SinghBhadauria.

The Su-30 MKI is a state-of-the-art all weather fighteraircraft capable of undertakingvaried air defence, groundattack and maritime missions.

A defence release said with

the operationalisation of the222 Squadron, the air defencecapablilites of the IAF, partic-ularly in the Southern AirCommand area will bestrengthened.

“This would also provideprotection to our island terri-tories and sea lines of commu-nication in the Indian OceanRegion. The IOR is increasinglygaining importance and thepresence of a fighter squadronwill provide security cover to allour strategic and vital assets inthe region.”

The squadron that wasinducted was raised at Ambalain 1969. During the IAFexercise Gagan Shakti-2018,the capabilities of this aircraftwere amply demonstrated.Also, it showcased an extend-ed air operational range withthe help of air to air refuellingby the IL-78 flight refuellingaircraft.

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Chief of Defence Staff GenBipin Rawat on Monday

said it was very difficult to predict if a scenario of a warwith Pakistan would emerge ornot but all the defence serviceswere prepared to take on anychallenge.

The top general, whoinducted the Sukhoi-30 MKIsquadron here, was respondingto a question about any possi-bility of a war emergingbetween India and Pakistan.

“All the defence servicesare tasked to be prepared forany option that may emerge.

It is very difficult to predicta scenario. But, we are alwaysprepared for any task that may

be assigned to us,” Gen Rawatsaid.

The Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) said his new role wasaimed at integrating defencesystems and the three services(the Army, the Navy and theIndian Air Force).

It was for this reason thepost of CDS was created, hesaid.

“...We will keep movingtowards better integration andjointness,” Rawat, who wasappointed the country’s firstChief of Defence Staff onDecember 30 last year, added.

On strengthening the Airbase here, Air Chief MarshalRakesh Kumar SinghBhadauria said it will undertakethe role of the southern penin-

sula’s air defence.The Indian Air Force

commissioned a squadron ofSukhoi-30 MKI at the AirForce Station here, the firstsuch base in south India for thehigh profile fighter jets, seen asa gamechanger in guardingthe strategically importantIndian Ocean Region (IOR).

The ‘Tigersharks’ squadronof Sukhoi 30 MKI jets inte-grated with the BrahMos cruisemissiles was inducted in thepresence of the Air Chief andtop officials.

The Su-30 MKI is a state-of-the-art all weather multi-rolefighter aircraft capable ofundertaking varied air defence,ground attack and maritimemissions.

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After Kerala and Punjab it isBengal’s turn to pass reso-

lution rejecting the CitizenshipAmendment Act. Accusing theBJP of playing a “dangerousgame” by forcibly imposingCAA and National PopulationRegister Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Mondaysaid the Trinamool Congresstoo will pass a resolutionagainst the CAA soon. Themove is a sharp departurefrom the stand taken by herGovernment a few days ago.

Moments before leavingfor North Bengal where he sub-sequently told an audience thather Government would neverallow either CAA or NPR totake place in Bengal, Banerjeesaid “the NPR is a very dan-gerous game … it is NationalCitizenship Register in dis-

guise and is being pushedthrough in the name of NPR.We condemn the Centre’s movefor NPR.”

Accusing BJP for trying tosqueeze out absurd informationfrom the citizens in the nameof NPR so as to use it againstthem in future Banerjee saidCAA, NRC and NPR are mul-tiple sides of the same actadding her Government wouldsoon pass a resolution rejectingCAA.

“We passed a resolutionagainst NRC and CAB —whichwas only a bill then — a fewmonths ago. Now as it hasbecome a law will pass a resolution against CAA anddemand its withdrawal,”Banerjee said adding the reso-lution will be passed within 4-5 days.

The Left and the Congressimmediately lashed out at the

Chief Minister for “makingvolte-face too often.”Opposition Leader AbdulMannan and Left LegislatureParty Leader SujanChakrabarty said: “only a fewdays we had brought the pro-posal in the State Assembly butthe government stopped theCongress and the Left frombringing a resolution againstthe CAA like Kerala andPunjab … now finding that the

public opinion is goingagainst her she hashurriedly decided topass the resolution.”

On NPR Banerjeesaid, “I have come toknow from mediareports that they aredemanding absurdinformation about theparents of a person inthe NPR format.There is a column

seeking information about par-ents, their birth place and birthcertificate. How can anyoneprovide such information…

“They say that the columnis optional. Have you seen anyblank column in the marksheet when you appear for anexamination. This is a mis-chievous column. I want toknow that if this column is notmandatory then why they haveput it there? Again where is a

guarantee that if you do notprovide the information yourname will not be marked forfuture reference in NRC orthings like that? We havepassed a resolution againstNPR and request all the Statesincluding the BJP-ruled statesof the North East to follow suit.”

State BJP leader JPMajumdar said such resolu-tions are of little value in theface of a parliamentary law.

In a public meeting atDarjeeling, she said, “Even Iwill not be able to provide thesedocuments,” adding how theother parties were acting hyp-ocritically by making loudcomments in the media againstthe CAA but joining the meet-ing in Delhi on NPR.

When asked as to whethershe would like to call a meet-ing of opposition leaders inorder to unite them Banerjee

said she might invite the ChiefMinisters particularly of thenorth-eastern States to take adecision on the issue.

“I have no problem inhosting a meeting of the ChiefMinisters in Kolkata if they areinterested to join it,” she saidappealing to all the ChiefMinisters and Governmentsof the North East like Tripura,Assam and elsewhere tooppose, CAA, NRC andNPR.

Meanwhile, BJP leaderChandra Bose on Mondaywondered whether imposingany law on the people withouttheir consent was the right wayof doing things. The grandnephew of Netaji SubhasChandra Bose said, “you can-not impose a law. You cannotthreaten the people to followsome law. This is not fare indemocracy.”

Kolkata: Principals of missionary schools and churchpriests on Monday took out a rally to register their protestagainst the Citizenship Amendment Act and the NationalRegister of Citizens.

The participants walked a 1.5-km distance from St Paul’sCathedral to the Gandhi statue in the city, holding placardsthat read “No division among people”, “We are all childrenof Jesus” and “No CAA”. They also chanted hymns in Englishand Bengali.

“We only wanted to drive home the message that all areequal and we should not discriminate between religions andcommunities,” said the principal of a renowned missionaryschool. The Kolkata diocese of the Church of North India(CNI) also urged other protestant churches to join the rally.

“This was the first time the CNI, Kolkata Diocese, con-vened such a large anti-CAA rally here. We chose two pointsfor the march — St Paul’s Cathedral, that is part of the her-itage of the city, and the statue of Mahatma, an apostle ofnon-violence and harmony,” a spokesman said. PTI

Guwahati: Ten prominent person-alities of Assam, including SahityaAkademi awardees Hiren Gohainand Homen Borgohain and eminentfilmmaker Jahnu Barua, have writ-ten to Chief Justice of India SharadArvind Bobde urging him to delib-erate on the prevailing “public out-rage and anger in the country”.

The letter, made available to themedia on Monday, stated that theGovernment has characterised theongoing protests across in the coun-try as being organised by “mis-chievous elements” whereas the“reaction of thousands of people hasearned the sympathy of all rightthinking sections of the society”.

“It is quite possible that theremay have been certain excesses, asmentioned in some press reports,and these are to be deplored but thepublic discontent and unrest canhardly be dismissed as wilful vio-lence, as is being currently done bythe Government,” the lettersaid.

Signatories to the letter includeSahitya Akademi awardee NagenSaikia, scientist Dinesh ChandraGoswami, former GauhatiUniversity vice chancellor GajendraNath Talukdar and ex-principals ofCotton College and GauhatiMedical College, Udayaditya Bharaliand N N Barman respectively.

“The younger generation asadmitted by all impartial observersis particularly aggrieved and agi-tated by certain issues that have casta dark shadow on their lives.

“In Assam, the threat ofunchecked migration from neigh-bouring countries like Bangladeshhad been compared by the SupremeCourt to a silent invasion and theNRC for Assam was expeditiouslyprepared under the monitoring ofthe highest Court,” it said. The let-ter said that at this juncture, grant-ing citizenship to a large number offoreigners will put immense pres-sure on scant resources of the stateand its native population. PTI

Allahabad: The Vishva HinduParishad on Monday said seers willtravel to villages to dispel the “con-fusion” being created over theCitizenship Amendment Act.

The decision was taken at a meet-ing here of the VHP “margdarshakmandal”. Mandal memberAkhileshwaranand told reporters thatthe “sadhus” will go from village to vil-lage and tell people, especiallyMuslims, that the new law does nottake away anyone’s citizenship.

He said the seers also expressedhappiness over the abrogation of thespecial status of Jammu & Kashmir

and thanked the Union Governmentfor “removing hurdles” in the way ofnational unity.

On the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya,Akhileshwaranand said the VHP willdeclare a date after the Centre sets upthe trust for that.

In a landmark judgment onNovember 9 last year, the SupremeCourt had directed the Centre to setup a trust in three months to formu-late a scheme for the construction ofa Ram temple at the site where theBabri mosque was demolished. PTI

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Kerala Governor ArifMohammad Khan said on

Monday that he was not satis-fied with the explanation givenby the Chief Secretary on theLeft Government moving theSupreme Court against theCitizenship law withoutinforming him.

“No explanation can sat-isfy me”, the Governor toldreporters here this evening.

“My view is approval is

needed. They have gone to theSupreme Court withoutinforming me. That is anunlawful act. Not legally cor-rect. Hence it is neither a clashof egos or personal differ-ences”, he said.

Chief Secretary Tom Josemet the Governor on Monday,a day after the latter sought areport from the Left govern-ment over moving the apexcourt against the CitizenshipAmendment Act withoutinforming him.

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Nagpur: Vanchit BahujanAghadi chief PrakashAmbedkar on Monday saidthe Centre’s NationalPopulation Register exercisewas an “evil design” aimed atferreting out information aboutthe caste and ideology of peo-ple in the country.

The Centre had, onDecember 24, approved ��3,941.35 crore for updatingthe National PopulationRegister. As per theGovernment, the NPR is a listof “usual residents” of thecountry, with “usual resident”being defined as a person whohas resided in a local area forthe past six months or more, ora person who intends to residein that area for the next sixmonths or more.”The motive ofthe Government is to get casteand ideology information ofevery family. This is an evildesign of the Narendra Modigovernment,” Ambedkar toldreporters here.

The National PopulationRegister (NPR) was prepared in2010 under the provisions ofthe Citizenship Act, 1955 andCitizenship Rules, 2003, andwas subsequently updated in2015 by seeding it withAadhaar. PTI

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav onMonday called the Centre’s plans onNPR and NRC “anti-poor” andpitched for conducting a caste cen-sus. Yadav has made the suggestionin the past as well. His demand nowcomes days after the Odisha Cabinetadopted a resolution seeking reve-lation of caste details in the nextCensus.

Referring to an earlier Census,he said,” We all wanted a caste cen-sus but the Congress did not let thathappen and the numbers did notcome out.”

He said the Census is going totake place again. “But again we are

not going to be counted.”“The reason is that the day the

caste census takes place, the Hindu-Muslim conflict will come to an end,”he said without elaborating. Headded that once this happens“nobody will be upset with Yadavbrothers”. Yadav was addressingparty workers at an event here towelcome new members to the SP.They included leaders at the blockpanchayat level and those who hadfought elections in the past.

Criticising the National Registerof Citizens (NRC) in Assam, heclaimed it had created a rift in thatstate.

Lakhs of people in Assam had

found themselves excluded from theNRC at the end of the exercise toweed out illegal migrants. The SPchief claimed that the NRC and therecently enacted CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA) are “anti-poor” . In an apparent reference tothe recent criticism of the NRC andthe National Population Register(NPR), he said the poor will find itdifficult to get their date of birth cer-tificates.

“Earlier there were no calendarsand the birthdays of most people invillages were based on festivals,” hesaid. He compared this to theinconvenience people went throughwhen the Narendra Modi govern-

ment demonetised high-value cur-rency notes.

“The BJP created a rift betweenthe rich and poor through demon-etisation. All of us stood in queues.Tell me how many farmers benefit-ted. And the dream that corruptionand terrorism will be eradicated,what happened to it?” he said.

Hitting out at the BJPGovernment in Uttar Pradesh, theformer chief minister claimed thatthe state has now become “numberone in cybercrime, crime againstwomen and children, bad qualitymidday meals, fake encounters,unemployment and farmer sui-cides.” PTI

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In yet another successful jointoperation by the security

forces, a group of three terror-ists headed by a dreaded HizbulMujahideen commanderWaseem Ahmad Wani alongwith Adil Bashir, former SpecialPolice Officer of J&K police,who decamped with seven AK-47 rifles and a pistol belongingto security guards of a formerPDP MLA, Aijaz Ahmad Mir,were killed in Wachi area ofShopian on Monday.

Since January 1, eight ter-rorists have been killed in foursuccessful operations inKashmir valley.

Addressing a press confer-ence in Srinagar, DGP DilbaghSingh said, “three terrorists

were gunned down by thesecurity forces in a successfuloperation in Shopian districton Monday”. DGP said, thekilled terrorists have been iden-tified as Waseem Ahmad Waniresident of Wurpora NagbalShopian, Adil Bashir Sheikhresident of Zainapora Shopianand Hidayatullah Malik resi-dent of Sharadpora Shopian.

DGP said, the killed ter-rorists as per police recordswere affiliated with proscribedterror outfit HizbulMujahideen and were wantedby law for their complicity interror crimes including attackon security establishments andcivilian atrocities.

Briefing media personsDilbagh Singh said, “HMCommander Waseem and Adil

Bashir were both involved inkilling of four police personneland four civilians in the area”.He said, a total number of 19FIR’s were registered againstWaseem Ahmad Wani.

As per police records,Wanihad a history of terror crimerecords since 2017.

Similarly Adil Bashir as perpolice records had a history ofterror crime records since 2018.He was involved in many ter-ror attacks and civilian atroci-ties.

He was involved in caseFIR No 57/2018 pertaining tothe decamping of weaponsfrom Jawahar Nagar area. Hewas part of groups involved inkilling of civilian NadeemManzoor at Safnagri, killing offour policemen at guard post in

Zainapora, killing of 02 civil-ians Ilyas Khan & Zahid Khanat Chittragam Shopian and

killing of civilian Irfan HamidLone of Zainapora for whichcase FIR No 25/2019 stands

registered. Several other terrorcrime cases were also registeredagainst him including case FIRnumbers 12/2019, 23/2019,25/2019, 27/2019, 39/2019,49/2019, 56/2019, 61/2019,62/2019, 01/2020 of PSZainapora.

Before joining police ranksin 2017, Adil was a stone-pel-ter and was having links withterrorists,official sources said.

The third terrorist,Hidayatullah Malik, as perpolice records was alsoinvolved in terror attacks andother crimes in the area.

Meanwhile, InspectorGeneral of Police Jammu Zone,Mukesh Singh- IPS, Mondaychaired a meeting to reviewsecurity arrangements toensure incident free Republic

day celebrations.During the meeting IGP

directed the officers to carryout intensive foot patrollingand surveillance of the areas inand around the M.A. StadiumJammu to prevent any terrorstrike.

On the border manage-ment front, IGP stressed uponthe DIG JSK Range and districtSSP Jammu, to lay joint secu-rity check points on all the infil-tration routes and also on theroads originating from borderand touching national highway.He also stressed on checking ofhotels and other lodgements’on regular basis, setting up ofjoint nakas in border areas sothat ANE/ASE trying to sneakin the city are intercepted inborder area.

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Afierce controversy overPathri village in Parbhani

district being declared as birth-place of Saibaba blew over onMonday, after MaharashtraChief Minister UddhavThackeray withdrew his earli-er statement and said thatPathri would be developed asa pilgrim centre and not as thebirth place of the 19th centu-ry saint.

The people of Shirdi and 30neighbouring villages — whohad on an agitation for the pastfew days in protest against thechief minister’s recent state-ment that Pathri would bedeveloped as Saibaba’s birth-place — called off their indef-inite agitation after a delegationof their leaders, Shri SaibabaSansthan Trust (SSST) CEO,local elected representativesmet Uddhav, his Cabinet col-leagues Ajit Pawar, CongressBalasaheb Thorat and AdityaThackeray.

At the meeting, Uddhavtold the aggrieved villagersthat he was withdrawing hisearlier statement describingPathri as the birthplace ofSababa. He said that Pathri vil-lage in Parbhani district ofMarathwada region would bedeveloped as pilgrim centre ata cost of �100 crore and not asthe birthplace of Saibaba.

The people of Shirdi andneighbouring had opposed thechief minister’s reference toPathri as the birthplace ofSaibaba so much so that theyhad observed a total bandh inthe temple town on Sunday,

causing considerable inconve-nience to thousands of devoteesvisiting the place for a darshanof the presiding deity at thetemple there.

During his meeting withthe delegation from Shirdi, thechief minister said: “I do notknow if Pathri is the birthplaceof Saibaba or not. I am not aresearcher. Based on the infor-mation that I had received, Ihad made a mention of Pathribeing the birthplace ofSaibaba.”

“You should have taken meinto confidence before resort-ing to a bandh in Shirdi... Let’snot have a controversy overSaibaba’s birthplace. The stategovernment will allocate fundsto Pathri village as a pilgrimcentre. As the Chief Minister,all the people are equal to me.Let’s all of us pray beforeSaikaba,” Uddhav told the del-egation of villagers that methim. In all, there were 40 rep-resentatives in the delegation.The delegates from Shirdi andneighbouring villages told thechief minister that they had noobjection whatsoever in Patrivillage being developed as a pil-grim centre and not as thebirthplace of Saibaba.

Shiv Sena MPfrom ShirdiS a d a s h i vLokhande, localBJP MLAR a d h a k r i s h n aVikhe-Patil andSSST’s CEODeepak Muglikarwere prominentamong others whowere present at the

meeting.The controversy over the

birthplace of Saibaba had arisenafter a delegation of peoplefrom Pathri village met thechief minister, during the lat-ter’s recent tour of Marathwada.They had claimed that Pathriwas the birthplace of the 19thcentury saint and urged thechief minister to make finan-cial allocation for developingthe place into a pilgrim centre.

On his part, the chief min-ister had announced that Pathriwould be developed as as abirthplace of Saibaba, that thestate government had prepareda development plan for the pur-pose and that it would soonperform a bhoomi pooja fordeveloping a pilgrim centrethere.

Following the announce-ment, the people of Shirdi andneighbouring villages were upin arms against the StateGovernment’s Pathri develop-ment move. What has sur-prised many as to how theclaim of Pathri being the birth-place of Saibaba has come upall of a sudden.

There is no concrete evi-dence as to the date or place ofbirth of Saibaha. However there

is evidence to suggest thatSaibaba came to Shirdi when hewas about 16 years’ old in1858 and he remained there tillhis death in 1918.

Three months ahead ofhis death on October 15, 1918,Saibaba told his devotees hewould soon be “leaving hismortal body” (dying). By theend of September 1918, hehad high fever and stopped eat-ing. As his condition deterio-rated, he asked his disciples torecite holy texts to him andcontinued to meet visitors. OnOctober 15, 1918 which hap-pened to Vijayadashami, hebreathed his last.

His mortal remains wereinterred at “Buti Wada” inShirdi, after which it has nowbecome place of worshipknown today as Shree SamadhiMandir or Shirdi Sai BabaTemple.

The claim that Saibaba wasborn in Pathri village inParbhani district ofMarathwada region is based ona reference made in the eighthedition of “Sai Charitra” (his-tory of Saibaba), a Hindi pub-lication brought by the SaiSansthan between 1972 and 76.So far, the Sai Sansthan hasbrought out 36 editions of “SaiCharitra”.

Incidentally, the eighth edi-tion of “Sai Charitra” in whicha mention of Saibaba’s birth-place has been made has gonemissing. The Shirdi templeauthorities have ordered aninquiry into the missing pub-lication which can no way beconsidered as an authenticateddocument.

Srinagar: Jammu & KashmirDGP Dilbagh Singh onMonday said there was no baron investigating past crimescommitted by sacked policeofficer Davinder Singh.

“There is no bar on investigating any complaintsagainst him (Davinder Singh)if we receive a formal com-plaint,” the DGP told reporters.

He was responding to aquestion about reports thatthe sacked police officer hadcommitted several illegal actsin early years of his career butthose acts were overlooked.

A senior police officerposted with the strategic anti-hijacking team at the Srinagarairport, Davinder Singh wasarrested along with two ter-rorists whom he was allegedlyferrying in a car in KashmirValley. “You are talking aboutincidents of long ago. The offi-cers concerned at that timemust have looked into it. Butthere is no bar on investigatingif something comes to the foreformally,” he said. PTI

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Srinagar: Only five out of 36Union Ministers will be visit-ing Kashmir as part of theCentre’s outreach programmein the newly-created UnionTerritory of Jammu & Kashmir.

According to officials, theministers visiting the Valleyover the next four days areTelecommunications MinisterRavi Shankar Prasad, HRDminister Ramesh Pokhriyal,Minority Affairs MinisterMukhtar Abbas Naqvi,Minister of State for DefenceShripad Naik and minister ofstate for Home Affairs GKishan Reddy.

Naqvi will kick-start thevalley leg of the outreach pro-gramme on Tuesday where hewill lay the foundation stone fora high school in the Dara areaon the outskirts of Srinagar.

He will also lay the foun-dation stone for the water con-servation project at Sarband inthe Harwan area of the city.

Reddy will begin his two-day programme of interac-tions in Ganderbal district onWednesday, while Prasad willbe stationed in Baramulla district for two days startingThursday.

Naik will be in Srinagar onThursday, while Pokhriyal willbe in the summer capital of theunion territory on Friday.

According to the officials,only eight meetings are sched-uled to be held in Kashmir overthe next four days, while over50 such meetings and pro-grammes are scheduled in theJammu division.

The aim of the visits byMinisters is to make peopleaware of the “positive impact”of abrogation of Article 370,which granted erstwhile state ofJammu and Kashmir the spe-cial status, and share “develop-ment initiatives taken by theGovernment” with them, theofficials said. PTI

Jammu: A senior police offi-cer on Monday reviewed secu-rity arrangements for theRepublic Day celebrations here,stressing for a proper briefingto the security personneldeployed in view of the threatof terror attacks and frequentceasefire violations by Pakistan.

Jammu zone InspectorGeneral of Police MukeshSingh also called for effectiveand coordinated efforts at thegrossroots level for a smoothconduct of the main functionto be held at M A Stadium, apolice spokesman said. PTI

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Amaravati : The YS JaganMohan Reddy Government onMonday introduced a Bill in theAndhra Pradesh LegislativeAssembly to give shape to itsplan of having three capitals forthe state, with the executivecapital in Visakhapatnam,Legislative capital in Amaravatiand judicial capital in Kurnool.

The AP Decentralisationand Inclusive Development ofAll Regions Bill, 2020, also pro-vides for dividing the State intovarious zones and establishingzonal planning and developmentboards.The village and (munic-ipal) ward secretariats systemthat the Government brought inin October last year now getsstatutory backing as it has beenmade part of the new Bill.

Moving the Bill in the

Assembly on the first day of theextended winter session,Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister BugganaRajendranath said the govern-ment decided to enact a newlegislation for decentralisationand inclusive development ofall regions in the state forensuring “balanced and inclu-sive growth” of AP.

“Regional imbalances,absence of equitable growthhave caused an acute sense ofdeprivation among various sec-tions of the state population,leading to disturbances.

“The logical solutionwould be to lay emphasis ondistributed development anddecentralised administrationto ensure fruits of socio-eco-nomic progress are enjoyed

equally by people of variousregions,” the Minister said,quoting the recommendations

of the High-Power Committeeof ministers and bureaucrats,which formed the basis of the

new legislation.The TDP members raised

objection to the introduction ofthe Bill and stormed theSpeakers podium. Amid thedin, the Government alsomoved another Bill to repealthe AP Capital RegionDevelopment Authority Act,2014. The Government said itintended to constitute a newAmaravati MetropolitanRegion Development Areaunder the provisions of APMetropolitan Region andUrban DevelopmentAuthorities Act, 2016.

The CRDA Act was enact-ed on December 22, 2014 forthe development of the statecapital post-bifurcation with aspecific area demarcated asthe Capital region. PTI

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Few would have missed the videosof children (under 10 years ofage) chanting azadi and abusingthe Prime Minister and HomeMinister for alleged animosity

and evil intent towards one community.Since one cannot expect children of suchtender age to have knowledge or under-standing of the Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) and the National PopulationRegister (NPR), it is safe to conclude thatfamily elders tutored them to express suchvisceral anger towards the Government.

A dangerous radicalisation of theMuslim community is being fostered —with deliberate intent — the consequencesof which are yet to unravel. Barring per-haps Saudi Arabia, it is doubtful if evenIslamic countries make girls of such ten-der age wear full abaya (head and neck cov-ering). Certainly, it has not been seen inIndia before. This points to deep indoctri-nation of every family within a targettedarea and does not bode well for the future.

On the one hand, it will intensify theghetto mentality within the community.On the other, it will make other citizenswary of dealing with those who wish toleave or avoid the ghetto. This is a dou-ble-edged sword that can only harm theMuslim community in the long andshort run.

Doubtless, a powerful section of thecommunity is behind the radicalisation agen-da, for reasons unknown. The first indica-tion of this phenomenon came during thethree-day Ijtema (religious gathering) organ-ised by Tablighi Jamaat (November 30 toDecember 2, 2018), when 15 lakh Muslimsgathered at Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh,though permission was given for only twolakh people. Many guests came from abroad.

The proceedings of this gathering arenot known. It attracted national attentionwhen some cows were killed in a villageon the road to Bulandshahr. Policeinspector Subodh Kumar Singh died inthe violence that followed but managedto contain the situation within the affect-ed village. The Ijtema concluded peace-fully but analysts said such a large gath-ering should not have been permitted insuch a sensitive State and by such anorthodox body. Tablighi Jamaat exhortsMuslims to strictly follow practicesadhered to during the lifetime of theProphet, especially in matters of dressand ritual. All traces of non-Islamic (syn-cretic) behaviour are to be erased.

This converges with a larger trend ofhome-grown radicalism within the coun-try. After the Students Islamic Movementof India (SIMI) and the Indian Mujahideen(IM) were banned, the Kerala-basedPopular Front of India (PFI) emerged as thesuccessor militant body and spread to TamilNadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra,Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh and Bihar.

Experts expect the IslamicState (IS) to formally tie up withthe PFI to entrench itself inIndia and reach Nepal,Bangladesh and Myanmar. SriLanka has already been radi-calised by people who visitedsouthern India before the Easterblasts in 2019. Several youthfrom Kerala have travelled toSyria, Iraq and Afghanistan tojoin the IS; others have beencaught doing online propagan-da for it. Intelligence agenciesare aware that the IS is attract-ing youth in India and in May2019, it announced a new“Wilayah of Hind” (HindProvince) without specifying itsgeographical limits.

The CounterterrorismGroup (CTG) Analysis &Intelligence Report (November2019) states that after being dri-ven out of Syria and the MiddleEast, the IS asked its leaders tomove to South-east Asia asalmost every country in thisregion has deep ties to theMiddle East. Its focus is onfemale domestic workers inHong Kong and Singapore,who are vulnerable on variouscounts; Malaysia, Indonesiaand the Philippines are next.

Female migrant workersare chosen because of their low(but stable) incomes, familiar-ity with English and wide net-work of international connec-tions. Typically, they earnaround $1.00 to $1.50 perhour and are often in need offinancial help, for which theyagree to join the Caliphate.English-speaking workers help

the IS reach other demograph-ics and regions. They help itacquire resources and intelli-gence from areas its membersnormally don’t frequent.

Migrant workers are easyto manipulate as they arepoorly educated, live in analien environment and arelonely. Radicalisation usuallybegins after a traumatic eventsuch as divorce, financial hard-ship or culture shock. Therecruiter contacts the mostvulnerable and offers a secure,romantic, and loving relation-ship; soon the migrant is invit-ed for training via online chatrooms. Often migrants arerecruited by fellow workers ata prayer group or social gath-ering on their day off. Someworkers have been known toreach out to militants; they arequickly inducted into radicalgroups and groomed tobecome militants.

In a survey of radicaliseddomestic workers, the Institutefor Policy Analysis of Conflict(IPAC) found that at least 50Indonesian women workingoverseas as maids, nannies andcaretakers for the elderly wereradicalised by the IS and its affil-iates. A study between 2013 and2018 found that around 800domestic workers from South-east Asia tried to enter Syria orIraq to join the IS after beingradicalised abroad. This showsthe efficacy of the IS’ recruit-ment methods. IPAC has askedGovernments to create manda-tory training modules to edu-cate migrant workers about the

signs of exploitation and tohelp exploited victims.

In September 2019,Singapore arrested threeIndonesian women domesticworkers who promoted the ISonline in their spare time,donated money to militantsoverseas and became so com-mitted that at least one wasready to die as a suicide bomberin Syria. One Indonesian maidrevealed that she listened toSalafi podcasts while workingand an Indonesian butcher shemet online encouraged her togo to Syria to join the IS.However, the Singapore authorities discovered her plansand deported her back toIndonesia in 2017.

Zachary Abuza, expert on ISin South-east Asia at theNational War College,Washington, says the real stuffhappens in dedicated chat roomson encrypted apps — frombomb designs to active coordi-nation. The female recruits serveas financiers, recruiters andcoordinators; they collect fundsfrom radicalised maids andsend them to domestic jihadistgroups. India is sitting on a tin-derbox. When elementaryschool children chant obnoxiousslogans against the nation and itstop leadership, the mastermindsbehind the scenes should pon-der what poison harvest theywill reap from these toxic seeds.Azadi cannot hide behind thetiranga; India will never submitto further loss of territory.

(The author is a senior journalist)

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Sir — One fails to understandwhy so many chances are beinggiven to depraved humansindulging in heinous acts. Whydo we need to empathise with anundeserving handful of the worstbehaved citizens? It is time tochange this thinking. There is aworldwide debate on whether thedeath penalty stands scrutiny.There have been strong argu-ments for and against. Suffice itto say that our legal system cur-rently allows death penalty to beprescribed only for the rarest ofrare cases.

Rather than discussing thisaspect, I would like to draw atten-tion to the “sentence” meted outby criminals to innocent citizensfor no fault of theirs. The relativesof the accused, sometimes abettedby the local officials, put pressureon the victim to withdraw thecase. The victim and her familythus live under fear and dreadconstantly. Now activists havejoined the bandwagon. Instead offocussing on the human rights ofthe criminals, why do we notvociferously argue about the rightto life and liberty of the victim asguaranteed by Article 21 of our

Constitution? Or the human rightagainst cruelty in the UniversalDeclaration?

It is ironical how those, whobrutally violate the rights of anoth-er, clamour for their own rights tobe protected and are listened to

with a great show of fairness.Those adults, who commit theseheinous crimes, know it well thatthey are punishable with severesentences.

Padmini Raghavendra Secunderabad

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Sir — US President DonaldTrump and Swedish climateactivist Greta Thunberg are bothattending the ongoing World

Economic Forum (WEF) meet.For sure, Trump will renew hisrunning battle with the young cli-mate campaigner when they jointhe A-list movers and shakersattending the 50th anniversary ofthe Davos conclave this week.Thunberg has already made hermessage clear: Put an end to thefossil fuel “madness.” That hermissive is aimed at Trump, amongothers, would be anybody’s guess.

Thunberg hogged the lime-light when she began a grassrootcampaign at the age of 15 by skip-ping school every Friday todemonstrate outside the SwedishParliament. The protests hadinspired millions of young peo-ple to take action against climatechange. Her meteoric rise from anordinary school-going child tobecoming a world-renowned cli-mate campaigner must be appre-ciated. If Trump and other lead-ers cannot appreciate her effortsto fight climate change, then wecan only pity them. If they can’thelp her cause, they must at leastnot throw a spanner in her effortsto fight climate change.

TK NandananChennai

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Do those among the linguistic and religiousminorities of Assam, who have failed the testof citizenship in the recently-concluded

updation of the National Register of Citizens(NRC), become the soft target of the heightened cryfor protection of indigenous identity in Assam andNorth-east India? With the passage of the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA), one section of those leftout of the NRC now gets an opportunity to be cit-izens, solely on the basis of religion, while anothersection remains ignored. Does such a contrived out-come make anyone happy in Assam?

Assam’s Bengali-origin religious minorities, pop-ularly called Miyas or Bhatiyas in BrahmaputraValley and Bangals in Barak Valley face the biggestthreat of proving their credentials after being left outof the NRC. Those excluded will now have to pre-pare for a complicated legal battle to prove their cit-izenship through the Foreigners’ Tribunals. Thesetribunals are supposed to decide the fate of an esti-mated five lakh presumed illegals and how manywould succeed in such a trial is anyone’s guess. Thetribunals, governed by the Foreigners’ Act, 1946,place the “onus of proof” on the suspect and not onthe prosecution, making it difficult for a “suspect”to get natural justice. As citizenship is consideredthe most basic right to have or not to have all otherrights, the shifting of the “onus of proof” makes itextremely difficult for anyone to prove credentials.Worse is the case when the tribunals at random ex-parte declare too many people foreigners. Many ofthose people have been put in inhumane detentioncamps in six places, numbering around a thousand,of which 23 have already died in custody.

The protest against the CAA remains silent onthis humanitarian crisis and the ignominy of effac-ing these unfortunate excluded people from publicdiscourse. With the coming of CAA, a section ofthese excluded people now wait for some redemp-tion, while another section silently prepares for a longand uncertain legal battle that lies ahead. Both thesections, however, face another cultural test of prov-ing their antecedents, which could be satisfied onlyby accepting the dominant language of the State.

Any democratic movement, such as one cur-rently against the CAA, should have taken intoaccount the plight of these people. But they arelooked upon as “foreigners” and “illegal immigrants”whose very presence threatens indigenous languageand culture. This is how, much of the protestersfavour the NRC to weed them out while they rejectthe CAA. The CAA bears the signature of shelter-ing “persecuted religious minorities from threeneighbouring countries” and thereby changes therules of the game with which the NRC was carriedout. Because of CAA, even the NRC exercise getsautomatically debunked. This gives a further jolt toethnonationalist identities, who take CAA to be abigger threat than illegal immigration. The layeredand nuanced ideas of citizenship as indigenity standin contrast to granting citizenship to a section of ille-gal immigrants on the basis of religion. In effect, oldfaultlines between indigenous ethnic identity andnon-indigenous Indian citizens is reinvoked, turn-ing both the CAA and NRC exercise as detrimen-tal to the language, land and culture of ethnic groups.The question is no longer just saving the indigenoushabitats of North-east from illegals but it is also aquestion of “protective discrimination” for the nativeand the indigenous from non-indigenous Indian cit-izens. The land policy of the Government of Assam

stated clearly why non-indigenous citizens,being settlers cannot buy/own land.

CAA’s exclusion of the Sixth Scheduletribal States from its ambit created a senseof heightened anxiety in Assam andTripura for being forced to accept thosenon-indigenous settler immigrants whowould be legalised by the CAA. The pos-sible demographic impact and squeeze onlanguage and culture has reinvoked thefear of getting outnumbered. To rein insuch a majoritarian impact of the CAA,there are rising demands for introductionof an Inner Line Permit (ILP) system tophysically restrict the movement of othercitizens from outside the State.

In a sense, the CAA meets its tough-est resistance from such demands of pro-tective discrimination, as it would furtheralienate the North-east and its people fromthe mainstream while ensuring their spe-cific rights. Certainly this would negative-ly impact economic transaction betweenthe North-east and the rest of India andas a corollary break the idea of seamlesseconomic connections with South andSouth-east Asian countries, as mooted inthe Act East Policy of the Centre.

The governance structure of States inthe North-east seemingly is not able to facethe implosion of sentiments of ethnic andindigenous groups against the CAA andis also unable to contain the fight againstthe CAA from relapsing into a full fightagainst the State and the Government. Inan Assam-specific way, a slew of measureslike amendment to Article 345, 347 andArticle 371B to ensure protection ofAhomia as the State language, culture andidentity of the people of Assam has beenannounced by the State Government toneutralise the anti-CAA protests, but socialorganisations are not convinced of somemeasures. They argued that if protectivemeasures had preceded CAA, probably itwould not have become such a big

protest. The shift of focus in the protestfrom illegal immigrants to strict measuresof protection in Assam and Tripura notonly created an alternative political dis-course of pre-colonial identity assertionand securing of homelands, but it alsoharmed those who are supposed to ben-efit from the CAA, notably the HinduBengalis. This change into communityaffirmation rigidly redraws several bound-aries, creates a reverse discriminationtowards the beneficiaries of the CAA byuniting everyone else.

The announcement of the NationalPopulation Register (NPR) at the nation-al level and much of the resistance to theidea that the NPR and National Registerof Indian Citizens (NRIC) are the samearose from transmission of Northeasternreactions to the mainland due to greatervisibility of protests in the North-east.After the first wave of protests in theNorth-east, major Indian cities witnesseda stir against the NPR and NRC exercisethat are supposed to supplement CAA byseparating the infiltrators from persecut-ed religious minorities. This inherently dif-ferentiating tenor of CAA made a nation-wide resurgence of demands for a castecensus and rejection of any test of citizen-ship. The dystopic Assam experienceoccupied much of the national imagina-tion in calling for a boycott of NPR cumNRIC, especially when CAA makes itclearer for whom the bell will toll.

The fear and anxiety surrounding thenew entries relating to father’s birthplaceand date of birth in the NPR format anddropping of all Muslim festivals from thelist of holidays, as suggested in the NPR,create a bigger sense of discrimination.The sense of protection generated out offear of being outnumbered in the North-east feeds this fear of discrimination at thenational level and vice-versa. Althoughfear transmits easily, yet the cause and pur-

pose of anti-CAA protests also remain dif-ferent between North-east and the rest ofIndia. The question of defending theConstitution, an essential part of the pan-Indian discourse of resistance to CAAfinds very little speck in the North-eastwhere the it is more about protection fromthe non-indigenous and the illegals. Theconvergences and the divergences are bothingenuous as they promise to set up newequations and alliances between socialidentities. The beauty of such disjointedresistance to the CAA is that it gives riseto a new form of federal relations. Howthe Government manages it will decide thefuture course of politics in India.

It is also worth nothing the debatescentering around some of the Statesopposing implementation of the CAA andtheir moves by filing cases against it in theSupreme Court. Interestingly enough,Arunachal Pradesh, being a State with ILPis exempted from CAA, yet it has decid-ed to file a petition in the apex courtopposing any procedure to grant citizen-ship to Chakma and Hajong refugees. Itis also widely contended that the CAAmight lead to exodus of tribal refugeesfrom CAA-exempted tribal States of theNorth-east to Tripura and Assam, wherethey can apply for citizenship throughCAA. The case of Bengali Hindu refugeesin Bodoland Territorial Council of Assamis even more dismal, as they have to moveout of areas falling under the council andresettle in a neighbouring district withinAssam to become eligible to apply underCAA. While these anomalies continue, thelived reality of “illegal immigrants” con-tinues to be difficult, as they try to sur-vive through double-edged laws grantingbenefit and withholding them at the sametime.

(The writer is Associate Professor atNorth Eastern Hill University, Shillong anda human rights activist)

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Religion has emerged as a major sourceof conflict across the globe. Ideologicalstrife has now given place to the “clash

of civilisations” and it is felt that in the fore-seeable future, religion will be a major sourceof conflict within and among nations. Thepossibilities of conflict are greater in coun-tries such as India where different culturesand religions meet. However, such clashescan be prevented if appropriate strategies areformulated and implemented at an earlystage so as to ensure religious harmony.

The United Nations (UN) designates thefirst week of February every year as theWorld Interfaith Harmony Week. All reli-gions lead to the same God and differencesamong them are not essential. Indeed, thegoal of every religion is the same. The spir-

it of the founders of the different religionswas the same though rituals differ. All reli-gions proclaim similar principles.

Mahatma Gandhi, who devoted a largepart of his life to the study of religion anddiscussions with religious leaders of all faiths,affirmed that every scripture should be treat-ed equally, that there is no justification forthe claim of supremacy of any one religionand that we are all children of the same God.

He said, “What is needed is a livingfriendly contact among the followers of thereligions of the world and not a clash amongthem in the fruitless attempt on the part ofeach community to show the supremacy ofits faith over the rest.”

Swami Vivekananda asserted that allreligions preach ethics, virtues and goodcharacter. Yet, all major religions, instead ofuniting people often divide them due to thelack of understanding of the purpose of reli-gion by their followers.

India has the largest number of religionsand religious people in the world. In ourcountry, we have millions of Hindus,Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains andBuddhists. There are also Parsees and Jews.We have eight religions in India, the max-imum number of religions and religious peo-ple anywhere in the world. Communal har-

mony is essential for peace and stability inthe country.

Article 51A of the Constitution affirmsthat it is the fundamental duty of every cit-izen to promote harmony among the peo-ple of the nation transcending religious, lin-guistic and regional or sectional diversities.Respect for religious diversity and interfaithdialogue are an essential and urgent need.

Some years ago, I decided to study theissues that affect inter-religious peace andharmony in the country. In this connection,I visited several States and held meetingswith leaders and organisations of differentreligions. I spent the whole of September2004 in the villages of Odisha, in the districtsof Kandhamal and Mayurbanj, whereGraham Staines and his two sons were killedsome years earlier.

The purpose of my visit was to studyand understand the open confrontation thathas existed for long in that State betweenChristian and Hindu missionaries for con-version and re-conversion (ghar vapsi)respectively. I informed Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik of what I had observed inthose areas and he promised to take neces-sary action. Mainline Christian theologianssee both the Sangh Parivar’s Hindutva ide-ology and Christian campaigns for evange-

lisation as having a fundamentalist attitudeand an aggressive methodology to achievetheir respective goals.

Proselytism is opposed on severalgrounds; it attacks other religious beliefs andpractices and asserts that its own religion isthe only way to moksha (salvation). It is oftensupported by financial resources and mar-keting techniques that make local religiousactivities seem shabby.

The Federation of Asian BishopsConferences (FABC) articulates its theolog-ical vision thus, “Asia is the womb of thegreat world religions. All great scriptural reli-gions were born on Asian soil. The Churchhas to be in constant dialogue with the reli-gions of Asia and to embark on this withgreat seriousness… There may be moretruth about God and life than is madeknown to us through the Church. As such,Christians who take Jesus Christ’s injunc-tion seriously must search for this truth inthe various religions of the world.”

On the question of proselytism, theFABC says, “A phenomenon which contin-ues to awaken the most resentment amongthe peoples of Asia is that of proselytism andconversion. In the minds of Asians, theChurch’s primary objective seems to be toconvert as many people as she can so as to

increase her little flock. The Church’sexpansion is also seen as a Western exten-sion. The increase in the number of Churchmovements engaged in aggressive evange-lisation (understood in the very narrowsense of the word) is certainly a cause forconcern for our brothers and sisters of otherfaiths. Perhaps, it might be good to bereminded of the golden rule which nearlyall religions speak of: Do not do to otherswhat you do not want done to yourself.”

The traditional way of teaching religionputs emphasis on theology and ritualsignoring the social dimension, namely theneed for interaction and tolerance amongthe followers of different religions. Religiousleaders and theologians from across thecountry should come together to review thedifferent religions from the perspective ofpluralism and social justice.

The following steps ought to be takento ensure peace and harmony in India:Organised drives for conversion and recon-version should stop. They violate theConstitution. The Government should pro-mote an agreement among the religiousheads of all the major faiths in the countryto stop proselytism. Given the positive mind-set of theologians belonging to different reli-gions, this is possible.

Combat all forms of expression whichincite sectarian hatred and take actionagainst dissemination of such material in themedia.

Adequate training and awareness pro-grammes about religion and religious har-mony for young leaders at all levels andGovernment officials, particularly the policeand other law enforcement agencies, judges,teachers and social workers must be held.

Introduce inter-religious education inschools as part of the curriculum so as topromote communal harmony.

Assure all victims of religious intoler-ance adequate support and speedy admin-istrative and judicial remedies.

Provide effective access to all citizens,including religious minorities, to the deci-sion-making process in society.

Counter social exclusion and margin-alisation in particular by providing adequateaccess to all to education, health andemployment. Pay specific attention todevelopment of vulnerable groups such astribals and other weaker sections and thosewho suffer discrimination on differentgrounds.

With this we will ensure peace that fos-ters inclusive development.

(The writer is a former Union Minister)

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The IMF on Monday low-ered India’s economic

growth estimate for the currentfiscal to 4.8 per cent and list-ed, the country’s much lower-than-expected GDP numbersas the single biggest drag on itsglobal growth forecast for twoyears.

In October, theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) had pegged India eco-nomic growth at 6.1 per centfor 2019.

Listing decline in ruraldemand growth and an overallcredit sluggishness for loweringof India forecasts, IMF ChiefEconomist Gita Gopinath how-ever said the growth momen-tum should improve next year

due to factors like positiveimpact of corporate tax ratereduction.

“Global growth, estimatedat 2.9 per cent in 2019, is pro-jected to increase to 3.3 percent in 2020 and inch up fur-ther to 3.4 per cent in 2021,” theIMF said while releasing anupdate to its World EconomicOutlook (WEO).

Compared to the OctoberWEO forecast, the estimatefor 2019 and the projection for2020 represent 0.1 percentagepoint reductions for each yearwhile that for 2021 is 0.2 per-centage point lower.

“A more subdued growthforecast for India... Accountsfor the lion’s share of the down-ward revisions,” the IMF saidahead of the start of the World

Economic Forum (WEF)annual summit here.

India-born IMF ChiefEconomist Gita Gopinath saidgrowth in India slowed sharplyowing to stress in the non-bankfinancial sector and weak rural

income growth.The country’s growth is

estimated at 4.8 per cent in2019, projected to improve to5.8 per cent in 2020 and 6.5percent in 2021 (1.2 and 0.9percentage point lower than in

the October WEO), supportedby monetary and fiscal stimu-lus as well as subdued oilprices, it added.

2019 refers to fiscal year2019-20.

India’s economy grew just4.5 per cent in July-September2019 period --- the weakestpace in nearly six years. TheIndian government has beentaking various measures tobolster growth.

For the emerging marketand developing economygroup, the IMF said growth isexpected to increase to 4.4 percent in 2020 and 4.6 per centin 2021 (0.2 percentage pointlower for both years than in theOctober WEO) from an esti-mated 3.7 per cent in 2019.

“The growth profile for

the group reflects a combina-tion of projected recovery fromdeep downturns for stressedand underperforming emerg-ing market economies and anongoing structural slowdownin China,” it noted.

Gopinath also said thepickup in global growth for2020 remains highly uncertainas it relies on improved growthoutcomes for stressedeconomies like Argentina, Iranand Turkey, and for underper-forming emerging and devel-oping economies such as Brazil,India and Mexico.

Further, the IMF said thebalance of risks to the globaloutlook remains on the down-side, but less skewed towardadverse outcomes than in theOctober WEO.

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Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman has said the

government’s earnest attemptwas to decriminalise every-thing that has to do withCompanies Law or related actsas part of initiatives towards a$5 trillion economy.

She said the Governmentdoes not want a law that couldtreat every business house withsuspicion.

Delivering the NaniPalkhiwala Memorial lectureon Sunday evening here,Sitharaman said she wasimpressed with the commentsmade by TATA Sons LtdChairman NChandrashekharan whoremarked that the governmentshould trust people and itsown citizens.

“My first attempt and alsoan earnest attempt which con-tinues today is to decrimi-nalise everything to do withCompanies law or related laws.The very point Prime Minister

(Narendra Modi) keeps talk-ing,” she said.

Sitharaman said inCompanies Law, there are anumber of sections leading toa criminal approach and penal-ties of even jail terms.

“I had gone through thiswith a tooth comb.Decriminalising CompaniesLaw ensuring no other act ofGovernment whether it isIncome Tax or your PMLA(Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act) will have suchan impact.

We are making sure thataspect will be addressed,” shesaid. Elaborating, she said “wedo not want a law which isgoing to treat every businesshouse with suspicion. That isnot the intent of this govern-ment at all”.

She said it was one of theinitiatives the government hadplanned as part of stepstowards taking the country toa USD 5 trillion economy,ensuring trust between thegovernment and businesses.

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State-run electronics and tele-com gear manufacturer

Indian Telephone Industries(ITI) plans to raise �1,600crore through a follow-on pub-lic offer which will be utilisedfor partial debt repayment aswell as to meet working capi-tal requirements.

The issue will open onJanuary 24 and close onJanuary 28. The price band forthe offer will be announced onJanuary 22, a top official of thecompany said.

“A significant part of thisissue, around �607 crore, will

be utilised for partial repay-ment of loans while over �640crore would be used to fundour working capital require-ments,” company’s chairman and managing direc-tor RM Agarwal told reportershere.

ITI’s total outstanding debtas on December 31, 2019,stood at �978.38 crore.

The follow-on offer (FPO)comprises a fresh issue of up to18 crore equity shares andadditional issue of up to 18 lakhshares, constituting 1 per centof the net issue, which wouldbe reserved for employees on aproportionate bases.

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The AdvertisementStandards Council of India

(ASCI) on Monday announcedto introduce guidelines forusage of claims of awards andrankings by the companies intheir respective advertisements.

Now, brands and servicesneed to ensure that the accred-iting bodies involved in dis-seminating or presentingawards or rankings are authen-tic and credible, while validat-ing their claims in advertise-ments.

The new guidelines, whichwould be effective fromFebruary 1, 2020, aim to curbthe “superiority claims” inadvertising for the productsand services based on awardsand rankings received, which“sometimes misled into believ-ing” by the consumers, theASCI said in a statement.

It has become increasing-ly common for advertisers tomake superiority claims inadvertising for their productsand services based on awardsand rankings received.Consumers are sometimes mis-led into believing that an award or ranking whichis given to a brand, product,institute or service makes itsuperior and /or more authentic.

“Awards, Rankings shouldnot be used as an alternative forconsumer or scientific researchor testing which is required tosubstantiate a superiority claimabout the effective use or per-formance of products or ser-vices,” the new guidelines said.

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The Income Tax Departmenthas launched searches at

multiple locations of the BharatHotels group, its associates anda leading automobile dealerfirm in connection with a taxevasion probe, officials said onMonday.

They said about 8 premis-es linked to Bharat HotelsCMD Jyotsna Suri and some ofher associates as well as JayantNanda, promoter of CargoMotors, one of the largest deal-ers of Tata motors in the country, are being searchedin and around the national Capital.

The searches, they said,were launched late on Sundayand are related to a tax evasionprobe being conducted by thedepartment.

Transactions of thesegroups, under the scanner ofthe department, are related,official sources said.

The Bharat Hotels groupowns the chain of Lalit hotelsin the country. It runs over adozen such luxury facilities atpresent.

Jyotsna Suri has been asso-ciated with the Bharat Hotelsgroup since 1989 and tookover as the Chairperson andManaging Director (CMD) in2006, after the death of her hus-band and hotelier Lalit Suri.

The businesswoman hasalso been the chairman ofindustry body FICCI in thepast.

Mumbai: In a major setback tothe Adani Group’s bid to get ahold on Mumbai airport, anarbitration tribunal hasrestrained it from going aheadwith buying out the 13.5 per centstake of South African partnerBidvest Services in the country’sthe second largest airport.

The tribunal has also askedBidvest to maintain status quoon its stake but asked GVK,which owns 50.5 per cent in theairport, to compensate it for the

delay by way of paying intereston the agreed share purchaseagreement (�1,248 crore) tillthe pendency of the case.

“It is directed that pendingthe final disposal of the arbi-tration proceedings, BidServices or anyone acting forand on behalf of it is restrainedfrom alienating in any mannerits 16.20 crore (13.5 per cent)equity shares in Mumbai inter-national airport” the tribunalsaid. PTI

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Armed with informationemanating from data ana-

lytics, the finance ministry hasinitiated enquiry into hugeamount of cash deposited byjewellers, disproportionate totheir known sources of income,during the demonetisationperiod.

These jewellers underscrutiny have also not reflect-ed such transactions in theirreturn of income for theAssessment Year 2017-18,sources said.

It has been found that hugeamount of unaccounted cashwas deposited by a number ofjewellers during the demon-etisation period which theycould not explain or justify as sale proceeds andwhich in one of the case wasalmost 93,648 per cent of thecash deposited by him vis-a-visthe corresponding period of earlier year, sourcessaid.

Mumbai: Market benchmarkstumbled from record highs toclose deep in the red onMonday as investors bookedprofits in index heavyweightsReliance Industries, KotakBank, HDFC Bank and TCSfollowing their quarterlyresults.

After hitting a record intra-day high of 42,273.87, the 30-share BSE Sensex gave up allgains to settle 416.46 points, or0.99 per cent, lower at41,528.91.

Likewise, the broader NSENifty sank 127.80 points, or1.03 per cent, to 12,224.55. It hita record intra-day high of12,430.50 in early session.PTI

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The rupee slipped 3 paise toclose at 71.11 against the

US dollar on Monday, trackinga steady rise in crude oil pricesand weakness in domestic equi-ties. Forex traders said thedrop in the rupee was largelydue to a spurt in crude oilprices following rising ten-sions in the Middle East andNorth Africa.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened on a weaknote at 71.07 and fell further toa low of 71.15. It finally settledat 71.11, lower by 3 paiseagainst its previous close.

Davos: The number of bil-lionaires has doubled in thepast decade and the world’s 22richest men now have morewealth than all the women inAfrica, Oxfam said Monday inan appeal to the Davos elite toget serious about inequality.

“Our broken economiesare lining the pockets of bil-lionaires and big business at theexpense of ordinary men andwomen. No wonder people arestarting to question whetherbillionaires should even exist,”

Oxfam’s India head AmitabhBehar said.

“Women and girls areamong those who benefit leastfrom today’s economic sys-tem,” Behar said ahead of theannual World EconomicForum in Davos, where hewill represent Oxfam.

“The very top of the eco-nomic pyramid sees trillions ofdollars of wealth in the handsof a very small group of people,predominantly men,” theOxfam report said. AFP

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India was among the top 10recipients of Foreign Direct

Investment in 2019, attracting$49 billion in inflows, a 16 percent increase from the previousyear, driving the FDI growth inSouth Asia, according to a UNreport released on Monday.

The Global InvestmentTrend Monitor report compiledby United Nations Conferenceon Trade and Development(UNCTAD) states that theglobal foreign direct investmentremained flat in 2019 at $1.39trillion, a 1 per cent declinefrom a revised $1.41 trillion in2018.

This is against the back-drop of weaker macroeco-nomic performance and poli-cy uncertainty for investors,including trade tensions, itsaid.

Developing economiescontinue to absorb more thanhalf of global FDI flows. SouthAsia recorded a 10 per centincrease in FDI to $60 billionand “this growth was driven byIndia, with a 16 per cent

increase in inflows to an esti-mated $49 billion. The major-ity went into services indus-tries, including informationtechnology,” the report said.

India attracted an estimat-ed 49 billion dollars of FDI in2019, a 16 per cent increasefrom the 42 billion dollarsrecorded in 2018, it said.

The FDI flows to devel-oped countries remained at ahistorically low level, decreas-ing by a further 6 per cent toan estimated $643 billion.

The FDI to the EuropeanUnion (EU) fell by 15 per centto $305 billion, while there waszero-growth of flows to UnitedStates, which received $251billion FDI in 2019, as com-pared to $254 billion in 2018,the report said.

Despite this, the UnitedStates remained the largestrecipient of FDI, followed byChina with flows of $140 bil-lion and Singapore with USD110 billion. China also sawzero-growth in FDI inflows. ItsFDI inflows in 2018 were $139billion and stood at $140 billionin 2019. The FDI in the UK was

down 6 per cent as Brexitunfolded.

The report added thatcross-border M&As decreasedby 40 per cent in 2019 to USD490 billion — the lowest levelsince 2014.

Slowed down by sluggishEurozone growth and Brexit,European M&A sales halved to$190 billion. Deals targetingUnited States companiesremained significant —accounting for 31 per cent oftotal M&As.

The fall in global cross-border M&As sales was deep-est in the services sector (a 56per cent decline to $207 bil-lion), followed by manufactur-ing (a 19 per cent decline to$249 billion) and primary sec-tor (14 per cent decline to $34billion), the report said.

In particular, sales of assetsrelated to financial and insur-ance activities and chemicalsfell sharply. The decline inM&A values was driven also bya lower number of megadeals.In 2019, there were 30megadeals above $5 billioncompared to 39 in 2018, it said.

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Wear and tear is a natural and inevitable damage that affectsnot just machines, but human beings too. As we age and

constantly keep up with the activities of everyday lives, our bod-ies might show fatigue and degeneration. Thankfully, advancesin medical sciences have helped us cope better. Human body partscan be repaired, refurbished or replaced. Knee replacementsurgery is an elective clinical procedure performed to resurfacea damaged knee. Metal and plastic parts along with the knee capare used to top the ends of the knee joint bone. However, noteveryone resumes to their normal pain-free lifestyle after thesurgery. Pre-rehabilitation or rehabilitation before the kneereplacement surgery has been a respite for many since it has beenproven to bring considerable difference in patient's quality andpace of recovery.

A fit body always recovers first is a no-brainer. Yet mostpatients undergoing knee replacement surgery consider rehabil-itation only after the procedure. After the surgery, in most cases,patient receives physical therapy sessions in the hospital for onlya couple of days until discharge. Normally, physiotherapist willadvise exercises which should be followed at home for up to threemonths to improve balance, strength and movement. However,patients who followed an active lifestyle and performed pre-reha-bilitation tactics including performing of exercises for up to eightweeks until the surgery, recover faster.

Exercising before the surgery can be painful since itinvolves the movement of the damaged joint. Therefore only lightimpact exercises are recommended during this time. Activities

like swimming, walking andcycling can help in keeping oneto stay active without layingmuch stress on the knee. It isimportant to warm up beforeany exercise and only graduallymove to vigorous movements.

The following set of kneeexercises will help you recover tooptimum function and activitiessoon after a knee replacementsurgery.

�Knee Straightening: Placea rolled towel under the kneesand another between the thighs.Squeeze the thighs inward whilelifting one foot to straighten theknee. Hold for five to 10 seconds.Repeat eight to 15 times. You cando this exercise for three to five

days a week.�Ankle activities: Lie on your back keeping legs straight.

Now pull your ankle up towards you and push back the oppo-site way. Repeat six times.

�Heel slides: Pull your knee to your chest using a towel underthe thigh and slide heel towards the buttocks. Hold it for five to10 seconds and repeat at least 10 times.

�Sitting knee bend and straighten: Sitting on the edge ofa chair, move your heel backward to bend the knee and forwardto straighten it.

�Hamstring stretch: Sitting up tall on the edge of the chair,pull your lower belly to the spine. Now bend forward from yourhips until you feel the stretch at the back of the thigh.

�Arm chair push ups: Strengthen the muscles under yourarms called triceps through this exercise. Sit in a chair with armrest with hands on it, elbows bent. Now try to lift your body bystraightening the elbows. Hold for five to 10 seconds and repeatfor at least eight to 15 times per day.

All the above are indicative and actual exercises shall be per-sonalised based on your existing condition.

Pre-rehabilitation before knee replacement surgery compris-es of several components beyond exercises including diet adjust-ment, pain management, counseling and lifestyle modifications.This systematic way of preparing the body for the surgery reapssignificant results in the recovery.

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!�����#�� Broccoli is an edible green plant in the cabbagefamily whose large flowering head and stalk is eaten as avegetable. It is rich in many vitaminsand minerals, including folate,potassium, manganese, iron,and Vitamins C and K1which may helppromote skin andbone health.

It also help inpreventing heartdiseases and can-cer. Two of themain carotenoidsin broccoli, luteinand zeaxanthin, areassociated with adecreased risk of age-related eyedisorders.

It is also known to have a warm taasir (nature) which makesit a great option for winters.

It also contains numerous other vitamins and minerals insmaller amounts. In fact, it provides a little bit of almost everynutrient that your body needs.

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Researchers haverevealed that lessactive infants may

accumulate more fat,which in turn may put themat risk for obesity later in life.

For the study, published in the jour-nal Obesity, researchers tracked the phys-ical activity levels of 506 infants usingsmall ankle-worn accelerometers for fourdays per tracking period at ages three, six,nine and 12 months.

For each tracking period after three,average physical activity increased byabout four per cent, in line with infantsbecoming generally more mobile andactive over the course of their first year.

Among infants, higher physical activ-ity measured by the accelerometer wasassociated with lower central adiposity, ameasure of lower-torso fat accumulation,the study said.

“This is the first study to demonstratean association over time between higherlevels of objectively measured physicalactivity and lower central adiposity ininfancy,” said study lead author SaraBenjamin-Neelon from Johns HopkinsUniversity in US. Of this group, theresearch team were able to get adequateaccelerometer data for 506 infants.

The researcher noted that larger,longer-term studies will be necessary todetermine the sustained effect of infantphysical activity, but that preventingextended periods of inactivity for infantswill almost certainly be good for them.

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Almost all of us have gotinto scrapes and endedup with minor cuts and

bruises while playing or justfalling down. A visit to a doc-tor for many kids can beharrowing. However,the wound has tobe treated. Hereare a few quicktips that moth-ers can follow.

� T h emost impor-tant and basicrule — clean thewound properly toremove any dirty withclean water. Be gentle whiledoing so.

�One can always use alovera. The gel is soothing andimproves healing.

�In most homes there ishoney, especially in winters.Natural honey has great heal-ing power. Apply this on the

dressing and put it on thewound and wrap.

�Coconut oil is an effec-tively healer. It has anti-bacte-rial, anti-inflammatory, mois-

turising and healing prop-erties. The oil keeps

infection at bayand preventsscarring. Applypure coconutoil. Put a ban-dage over thecut. Do this

two-three timesa day and change

the bandage eachtime. Do this for a

week.�One should not forget

the turmeric, a natural antisep-tic and anti-biotic agent. Mixhalf a tablespoon of turmeric inflaxseed oil and make a paste.Apply it on the wound two-three times a day to preventinfection.

With kids at home, especiallyboys, minor injuries — cuts and

scrapes — are common. There area few home remedies that moms

can do for healing that are natural and easy to follow, says

ROSHANI DEVI

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Ababy’s skin is much thinner and sensitivethan an adult’s and needs special care and

protection. Because they have a higher chanceto get infected by some infection or disease. Newborn babies can develop many types of skin con-ditions shortly after their birth. A lot of theseconditions last only a period of time after thebirth and get cured as they grow. Babies devel-op a myriad of skin conditions during the firstfew months of life. Cradle cap, diaper rash, toxicerythema, milia, infantile acne, and others arecommon among them. Some of these conditionsare caused by normal hormonal changes orimmature pores, while others are caused byinflammation or, rarely, an infection.

Some of the common skin problems in newborn babies are:

�Diaper rash is one of the most commonskin problems in new born babies. It is oftencaused by irritation to the skin due to contactwith urine and stool. Sometimes it is caused byyeast infections, bacterial infections, or even dueto an allergy to diaper material.

�Baby acne is also common among babiesand it is caused by maternal hormones calledestrogens. Estrogens are involved in causing acnein adolescents also.

�Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis,is a itchy rash that occurs in response to a spe-cific exposure or allergy of the skin. It is gener-ally seen in children over three months of ageand appears most commonly on the scalp, face,trunk, elbows and knees and even in the diaperarea.

�Babies have dry peeling skin in the initialperiod after birth. Because the infant exists ina fluid environment for several months and afterbirth, the skin cells start to regenerate, whichresults in the peeling of the old skin cells.

�Cradle cap is a one of the common rashseen in newborns. These rashes are usually seenin the first month of life, starts on the scalp andhas a red, waxy, and scaly appearance. Sometimesthese rashes can extend to the face and neck.

�Most of the healthy newborns developmilia, which are tiny white or yellow bumpsabout one-three mm in size. Milia is caused fromblocked pores and typically develop on the face,often around the eye and nose. These bumps canappear in large numbers, and usually a rough-ly equal number form on each side of the face.In new born babies, milia can also develop inthe mouth.

Some tips to avoid skin problems in newborn babies:

�Use a gentle shampoo/soap to massage thebaby, which is rich in herbs.

�Choose a moisturiser for children that con-tain olive oil and almond oil, which improves thesoftness of children’s skin.

�In the sticky skin which becomes dry, andchapped where the skin rubs, such as wrinkleson the wrists. In such a situation, using a mois-turiser such as aspirin, aquaphor, or petroleumjelly on the baby’s cheeks increases natural block-age and helps treat any already scorched skin.

�The problem of red patches in the cheeksof infants due to UV rays is common. In this case,do not forget to use sunscreen with SPF 30 orhigher.

�Avoid products with dyes and fragrancesin them because these may result in allergic reac-tions to babies.

�Skin of new born babies is sensitive andcan easily burn from sun exposure, even caus-ing permanent damage. So it is important toavoid direct sunlight.8 ����������&������������I����� �����" �������5�/�����B

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With no let-up in theextreme cold, healthexperts have advised the

people with Diabetes to be extracareful as bitter weather can playhavoc with their well-being inmany ways given their weakimmune system.

They warn that fluctuatingsugar levels often stemming froma weaker immune system and slow-er circulation during the wintermonths reduces the effectiveness ofinsulin. They can be prone tostroke, hypertension and heart-attacks. Elderly people report lowblood sugar levels with disturbedgaits. Type II Diabetes is a chron-ic disease that can cause bloodsugar (glucose) to be higher thannormal.

Dr V Mohan Chairman andChief Diabetologist from Chennaibased Dr Mohan’s DiabetesSpecialists Centre explains thatdue to the cold weather, theirwalking schedule is affected. “Itmeans that their blood sugar can goout of control because the dose ofmedicines may not be sufficient tocontrol their Diabetes minus theirusual exercise schedule,” he tellsyou.

It is known that cold weathercan aggravate chest pain related toheart or angina. But people withDiabetes need not have the usualsymptoms of chest pain because ofautonomic neuropathy whichaffects the nerves which producepain.

Hence they should be carefulwhen walking or doing excercise incold weather specially when walk-ing up a slope or a hill, he warns.

Besides these, extreme coldweather can lead to frostbites whichin a person with Diabetes can leadto gangrene. Hence, proper

footwear and gloves have to be usedby people with Diabetes.

“While frigid weather by itselfmay not increase the blood sugarlevels, during the winter people aremore prone to cold cough, throatinfections bronchitis and pneumo-nia. If they develop upper or lowerrespiratory infections, this can pro-foundly affect the blood sugarlevel. An increase in medicines maybe required, hence more frequentsugar level check-up should bedone,” Dr Mohan says.

Dr AK Jhingan, Diabetologistand chairman of Delhi DiabetesResearch Center warns that suddenexposure to extreme cold can resulthigh blood sugar due to constrict-ed blood vessels. There are chancesof getting stroke, heart attacks andaccelerated hypertension, henceone should be extra careful whilegoing out in the cold. High bloodglucose levels make it hard to fightinfections.

Smokers, alcohol consumers, orthose sick or with asthma andelderly ones are more vulnerable.

Even just a little physical activ-ity each day can help your glucoselevels in a number of supporting

ways. Also, people tend to eatmore during the winter in a bid tokeep themselves warm.

Besides, this is also a festive andmarriage season so people tend toeat more. So “no fast and no feast”policy should be followed.

Studies have revealed that herbsand supplements have shownpromise in lowering blood sugar,boosting insulin sensitivity andreducing high blood pressure andcholesterol.

For instance, there are antidi-abetic herbal drugs like BGR-34,developed by the scientists fromprominent research institutes likeCentral of Science and IndustrialResearch (CSIR) scientists.Formulation of time-tested herbslike gudmar, jamun, vijyasar andfenugreek have properties toenhance immunity level and low-ering blood sugar level, said formersenior scientist with CSIR who hadhelped developed the drug.

Dr Jhingan sums up saying thatnever leave the medicine and don’tignore the symptoms of feeling suf-focation or pain.

With some adjustments duringwinters, one can lead a healthy life.

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Areport by theWorld HealthOrganisation

(WHO) revealed that 7.5per cent of the Indianssuffers from some formof mental disorder. Itpredicts that by 2020,roughly 20 per cent ofIndia will suffer frommental illnesses. What isworrying is that to treatthese, we only have 4,000mental professionals. Insuch a scenario, the bookWhen The Soul Heals:Explorations in SpiritualPsychology by Dr PulkitSharma, a practicingclinical psychologist since2005 makes for not justan interesting read butcan be of great help whoare looking for self-help.

We are living in aworld where we are at thepeak as achievers but whenit comes to peace and hap-piness, it is way beyond ourreach. Why? The answeraccording to Sharma’s book

lies in healing the soulwhich will lead to healingthe mind and bring self-discovery and growth andfinally help one to revampone’s life and be happy.

In order to make it easyfor the reader to under-

stand what the author istrying to say, the issuesdealt with here — stress,depression, anger, grief,anxiety, beauty obsessions,addictions and caregiverburden — start with anexample of the author’spatients (names have beenchanged). This gives thereader a connection withthe real life cases and howthey felt and dealt with thesituation. It then talksabout present psychologi-cal understanding, treat-ment and how it finally hadan impact on the subject.

Then there are thepractice sessions — breath-ing exercises — that willmake the person intro-spect and see the real causeof the problem, take a cor-rective route, heal theshould and the mind andmove forward with a pos-itive step in life.

All this an much moreforms the bases of a bookthat looks at psychologyfrom a different perspec-tive, interprets it and putsit out in a language that iseasy to understand withoutdiluting the subject matter.

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US President DonaldTrump’s defence team and

the prosecutors of his impeach-ment are laying out their argu-ments over whether his con-duct toward Ukraine warrantshis removal from office.

Trump’s lawyers on Sundaypreviewed their impeachmentdefence with the questionableassertion that the chargesagainst him are invalid, adopt-ing a position rejected byDemocrats as “nonsense.”

The trial resumes onTuesday with what could be afight over the ground rules. By

then, both sides will have sub-mitted briefs and fourDemocratic presidential candi-dates will have been forced backto Washington from the earlynominating states to join everyother senator in silence, sansphones, on the Senate floor.

What they’re likely to hearin this extraordinary setting isthe House Democrats’impeachment articles thatcharge Trump with abuse ofpower and obstruction ofCongress over his pressure onUkraine for political help. Fromthe White House, the senator-jurors are expected to hear thatTrump committed no crime,

the impeachment articles areinvalid and he’s the victim ofDemocrats who want to over-turn his election.

“Criminal-like conduct isrequired,” said Alan Dershowitz,a constitutional lawyer onTrump’s defense team.Dershowitz said he will be mak-ing the same argument to theSenate and if it prevails, therewill be “no need” to pursue thewitness testimony or documentsthat Democrats are demanding.

But the “no crime, noimpeachment” approach hasbeen roundly dismissed byscholars and Democrats, whowere fresh off a trial brief that

called Trump’s behaviour the“worst nightmare” of the coun-try’s founders. In their view, thestandard of “high crimes andmisdemeanors” is vague andopen-ended in the Constitutionand meant to encompass abus-es of power that aren’t neces-

sarily illegal.The White House is push-

ing an “absurdist position,”said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead Democraticprosecutor of the impeach-ment case. “That’s the argu-ment I suppose you have tomake if the facts are so dead setagainst you.” Rep. JerroldNadler, D-N.Y., anotherimpeachment prosecutor,called it “arrant nonsense” andsaid evidence of Trump’s mis-conduct is overwhelming.

The back-and-forth cameas all concerned agitated for theSenate to get on with the thirdimpeachment trial in the

nation’s history. Behind thescenes. the seven House man-agers were shoring up whichprosecutor will handle whichparts of the case and doing awalk-through of the Senate.

No senators were moreeager to get going than the fourDemocratic presidential can-didates facing the prospect ofbeing marooned in the Senateahead of kickoff nominatingvotes in Iowa and NewHampshire.

“I’d rather be here,” saidVermont Sen. Bernie Sanderson New Hampshire PublicRadio while campaigningSunday in Concord.

During the trial, Sandersand other senators are requiredto sit for perhaps six gruelinghours of proceedings daily —except Sundays, per Senate rules— in pursuit of the “impartialjustice” they pledged to pursue.But there was scant evidencethat anyone’s mind was reallyopen about whether Trumpearned vindication or ouster.

Mystery, however, abound-ed over the trial’s ground rules.Senate Majority Leader MitchMcConnell, R-Ky., shed nolight on how the proceedingswill follow — and differ from— the precedent of PresidentBill Clinton’s impeachment

trial in 1999. “The President deserves a

fair trial. The American peopledeserve a fair trial. So let’s havethat fair trial,” said DemocraticRep. Jason Crow of Colorado,one of the seven impeachmentprosecutors.

Whatever happens in theSenate, House Speaker NancyPelosi, D-Calif., has said,Trump will “be impeached for-ever.” Members of Trump’steam countered that if they wina vindication for Trump, itmeans “there will be an acquit-tal forever as well,” Trumpattorney Robert Ray said. “Thatis the task ahead.”

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Five former police officialswere sentenced to death by

a Bangladesh court on Mondayfor opening fire on a motorcadeof then Opposition leaderSheikh Hasina in 1988 thatkilled her 24 supporters duringan anti-government rally.

The court in Bangladesh’ssoutheastern port city ofChattagram handed down theverdict on Monday after thecompletion of the defence’sargument. As many as 53 wit-nesses testified in the court overthe attack on the current PrimeMinister Hasina’s convoy.

“They will be hanged byneck until they are dead,” pro-nounced Chattogram Districtand Sessions Judge Md IsmailHossain, as four of the five con-victs were present in the crowd-ed courtroom while the fifthconvict, a former police inspec-tor, was tried in absentia as afugitive. On January 24, 1988,police opened fire on a proces-sion which was escorting themotorcade of Hasina while shewas going to address a rally in theport city against regime of thenmilitary dictator HM Ershad.

Hasina narrowly escapedthe attack in which her 24 sup-porters were killed. Attack wasseen by Awami League leadersas an “attempt to assassinate”Hasina. Prosecution said Hasinawas visibly the target but sheescaped the shooting as her sup-porters formed a human shieldto protect her. The shooting wasdubbed as “Chattagram mas-sacre” when police cremated thebodies at a Hindu crematoriumregardless of the victims’ reli-gious identities, giving theirfamilies no chance to see them.

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Iran said on Monday it willconsider withdrawing from

the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of NuclearWeapons (NPT) if a disputeover its atomic programme goesbefore the UN Security Council.

Britain, France andGermany launched a processlast week charging Iran withfailing to observe the terms ofthe 2015 nuclear deal, a movethat could eventually see theSecurity Council reimposeinternational sanctions on thecountry.

Iran has accused the threeEU member states of inactionover sanctions the United Statesreimposed on it after unilater-ally withdrawing from the

landmark accord in 2018.The European move “has

no legal basis” and if they takefurther measures “Iran’s with-drawal from the NPT will beconsidered,” Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif wasquoted as saying by the Iranianparliament’s website.

The landmark 2015 dealreached with Britain, China,France, Germany, Russia andthe United States gave Iranrelief from sanctions in returnfor curbs on its nuclear pro-gramme. Since the US pullout,Iran has progressively rolledback its commitments to theaccord —the JointComprehensive Plan of Action— in retaliation.

It has hit out at the threeEuropean nations that remain

party to the JCPOA for failingto live up to their promises toease the impact of US sanctionson its oil-based economy.

“If the Europeans return tothe commitments, Iran willalso stop reducing its commit-ments, but if the Europeanscontinue as they have been...We have different options,”said Zarif.

The foreign minister saidIran’s President HassanRouhani had warned formerEU foreign affairs chiefFederica Mogherini about suchconsequences in three letterssent in 2018.

“It was stated in the presi-dent’s letter that if this issue isreferred to the SecurityCouncil, Iran’s withdrawal fromthe NPT will be discussed but

before that we can considerother (options),” he said.European officials have madeit clear that the decision to trig-ger the dispute resolutionmechanism was made in a bid

to bring Iran back into com-pliance and save the accord.

But Iran’s foreign ministryon Monday warned more mea-sures could be taken in retali-ation for the European move.

Baghdad: Thousands of Iraqianti-government protesters grap-pled with security forces in a bidto shut streets across the coun-try on Monday, a deadline theyhad given authorities to imple-ment long-awaited reforms.Rallies have rocked Iraq sinceOctober but fearing they wouldlose momentum amid spirallingregional tensions protesters lastMonday told the government ithad one week to meet theirdemands or they would escalate.

They have called for earlyelections under a new voting law,an independent prime ministerto replace outgoing premierAdel Abdel Mahdi and for allcorrupt officials to be heldaccountable. On Sunday, youngprotesters began sealing offhighways and bridges acrossBaghdad and Iraq’s south. Theytried to do the same earlyMonday in the capital but secu-rity forces acted fast, with themilitary saying it had reopeneda major Baghdad thoroughfareand arrested nine young menwho had attempted to seal it off.

AFP

London: Three persons werestabbed to death after a clashbetween two groups within theSikh community in eastLondon, police said on Monday.The victims were believed to bein their 20s or 30s, they said.Police said they received a callabout 19:40 GMT on Sunday toreports of a disturbance inElmstead Road in Seven Kings,Ilford. “We believe the groupsinvolved are members of theSikh community,” ChiefSuperintendent StephenClayman was quoted as sayingby the Telegraph. PTI

Kansas City: Police in KansasCity, Missouri, say at least twopeople are dead and 15 peoplewere reportedly injured in ashooting.

The shooting took placeshortly before midnightSunday, Kansas City policesaid at a press conference at thescene. A police spokesmansaid responding officers found“a chaotic scene” and had to callin help from around the city.Two people were found dead,including a woman in the park-ing lot. AFP

Tanauan (Philippines):Philippine authorities ordereda crackdown Monday on evac-uees’ daily visits to their homesin the danger zone aroundTaal volcano as scientistswarned it could be “recharging”for a more powerful explosion.

More than 110,000 peoplehave taken refuge in evacuationcentres since Taal burst to lifea week ago, but many hard-hittowns have let residents backfor hours each day to fetchitems, feed livestock and cleanup their houses. “We are direct-ing DRRMCs (civil defenceofficers)... Not to allow anyoneto enter the danger zone,” saidEpimaco Densing, undersec-retary for the Department ofInterior. AFP

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Chinese President Xi Jinpingon Monday ordered res-

olute efforts to curb the spreadof a new coronavirus that hasinfected more than 220 peopleand resulted in the death ofthree persons in the country asan expert warned that the virusis contagious between people.

Chinese authorities said athird person died over the week-end from coronavirus infectionin Wuhan city where the viruswas first reported. As public con-cerns mounted specially aheadof Chinese New Year festivalstarting January 24 during whichmillions travel within and out-side the country to avail week-long public holidays, Xi said theGovernment and departments atall levels should put the healthand safety of the people first.

He said it’s “extremely cru-cial” to take every possiblemeasure to contain the virus,especially during a time when

China is experiencing hugemobility in the Chinese NewYear which is also known as theSpring Festival. Xi asked thehealth officials to take effectivemeasures to stop the spread ofthe virus, find out its originsand how it has been spreading,official media reported.

So far, a total of 224 cases ofpneumonia caused by the novelcoronavirus had been reportedin China. Of them, 217 had beenconfirmed and seven remainedsuspected, state run news agencyXinhua reported on Monday.Reports say two cases of thevirus was identified in Beijing,eight in Shanghai and one inShenzhen. The mysterious viruswas first reported in Wuhan Cityin December 2019, where itoriginated at a seafood market.

Meanwhile, the virus hasreached a third Asian country. One case has beenconfirmed in Japan, two inThailand and one in SouthKorea, Xinhua said.

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Tehran: Iran’s top diplomat has cancelled his trip and will notbe attending the Davos Forum, the Iranian Foreign Ministry saidon Monday amid a crisis with Washington and disputes withEurope over Iran’s nuclear steps.

The summit in the Swiss resort also comes after Iran earli-er this month shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killingall 176 people on board. Tensions also remain high between Iranand the US after an America drone killed Revolutionary GuardGen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Iran’s top diplomat,Mohammad Javad Zarif, had been invited and plans had beenmade for him to attend the annual meeting of the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos, Foreign Ministry spokesman AbbasMousavi said. AP

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Off-camera and during commer-cials, the stars at the 26th annualScreen Actors Guild Awards got

to rub shoulders, give congratulatory kiss-es, and meet for the first or the 50th time.Here are some of the more memorablemoments from the Sunday night’s cere-mony

�Party time for ParasiteThe Parasite table was one of the hap-

pier places in the Shrine ballroom — andthat was before its cast won the night’sbiggest award. Song Kang Ho and thefilm’s other stars got whoops, whistles anda standing ovation from much of theroom of mostly American actors early inthe show, when they took the stage to pre-sent their nominated film. That was fol-lowed by a full-blown ovation at the end,when theirs became the first foreign-lan-guage film to win the best ensemble SAGAward. In between the two hours, thegleeful cast and director Bong Joon Ho,savoured their moment in the Hollywoodspotlight, taking group selfies duringevery commercial break. They greeted asteady stream of fellow-actor fans, includ-ing Steve Buscemi. “I’m a little embar-rassed,” cast member Lee Sun Kyun saidafter the show through a translator.“We’re feeling a little like the parasites ofHollywood now.”

�Some SAG stars loom larger than oth-ers

TV and film screens tend to obscureactors’ heights, but when they’re all in aroom together it’s very clear who loomsover whom. The winners of the show’sfirst two awards for actresses, PhoebeWaller-Bridge and Laura Dern, bothreportedly five-foot-10, made it seem likethe night was going to be dominated bythe tallest nominees, but the trendended there. The win of a muchshorter Joaquin Phoenix — forJoker — over a reportedly 6-foot-3 Adam Driver for best actor ina film was more typical of thenight. And the tallest actorand actress in the crowd,Stephen Merchant of JojoRabbit, who stands about6-foot-7, and GwendolineChristie of Game ofThrones, who standsabout 6-foot-3, nevergot to take the stagewith their casts, overwhom they towered whenthey stood up during com-mercial breaks.

�Lithgow visits dri-ver’s seat

John Lithgow

is even taller than Driver, and is nearly40 years older, but it was Lithgow doingthe looking up when the two met for thefirst time during a commercial break.Lithgow, nominated along with the restof the cast of Bombshell, smiled andgushed to Driver, nominated for bestactor for Marriage Story, expressing hisadmiration for Driver’s run of recent per-formances. “Great to meet you Adam,”Lithgow said with enthusiasm as the SAGAwards telecast returned from commer-cial and Lithgow rejoined CharlizeTheron, Margot Robbie and his other castmates at the neighbouring table.

�Small stars scramble for SAG selfies You could be excused for thinking it

was “Take Our Daughters and Sons toWork Day” for the professional actors ofthe SAG Awards. Actually, the wee onesrunning around the ballroom were act-ing pros, too, on a night where childrenabounded among the nominees. The kidactors from Big Little Lies, includingbrothers Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti,were all over the ballroom during com-mercial breaks, taking photos with stars

including their cast mates NicoleKidman and Reese Witherspoon.Twelve-year-old Roman Griffin Davissat proudly at his table like he utterlybelonged alongside his fellow JojoRabbit cast members, who include

Scarlett Johannson. LeonardoDiCaprio politely spoke to a steady

stream of people excited to meet himduring commercial breaks, but hepositively beamed when his 10-year-

old Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywoodco-star Julia Butters, in a shiny silver

suit, brought three young friends to meethim. He greeted each of them with a hugegrin just moments before he lost out onbest actor to Phoenix.

�De Niro and Streep make SAG crowdswoon

If anyone inspired more awe in theballroom than DiCaprio it was Robert

De Niro, to whom DiCaprio presentedthe “SAG Life Achievement Award” dur-ing the ceremony. Many major stars cameto pay tribute to De Niro as he sat at atable that included his The Irishman co-stars Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel. Butwhen Meryl Streep — his co-star in TheDeer Hunter more than 40 years ago —stopped by to exchange kisses and kudos,photographers descended in droves andphone cameras came out on all sides tocapture the meet-up of the pair that manyregard as the greatest actor and actress oftheir generation.

�Telling teleprompters Virtually the entire ballroom can see

the SAG Awards telecast’s telepromptersif they look over their shoulder, and cansee who’s going off-script. When RayRomano said while introducing the bestensemble nomination for The Irishmanthat he still couldn’t believe he played amob lawyer opposite De Niro and Keitel,Keitel roasted him by responding “I can’tbelieve it either.” Romano replied, “Hey,that’s not up there,” pointing at theteleprompter. Romano was right. It was-n’t.

�Rogers, Judy Garland are neighbours Actors usually sit with their cast

mates at SAG Awards tables, but some-times the seating chart yields more novelpairings, like the adjacent placement ofTom Hanks, nominated for A BeautifulDay in the Neighborhood, and RenéeZellweger, nominated for Judy. The pair-ing made theirs a popular table for fansand cameras, and it proved prescient.They met up again onstage late in theshow, when Hanks handed Zellweger thetrophy for best actress in a film.

�De Niro gets political as he acceptsSAG Awards honour

De Niro received the “Screen ActorsGuild lifetime achievement Award” to

praise for his illustrious career and thun-derous applause from his fellow perform-ers, but spent much of his acceptancespeech on politics.

“There’s right and there’s wrong, andthere’s common sense and there’s abuse ofpower,” said De Niro, who received astanding ovation that lasted nearly aminute after Leonardo DiCaprio present-ed him with the award. About half of theroom stood and applauded when the actorsaid it was his responsibility to speak aboutpolitics and seemingly took aim atPresident Donald Trump, whose name hedidn’t mention. “As a citizen, I have asmuch right as anybody — an actor, an ath-lete, anybody else — to voice my opinion.And if I have a bigger voice because of mysituation, I’m going to use it whenever Isee a blatant abuse of power,” he added.

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�An you give us a rundown of how things wereleft in season 3 and what’s new this season?

The scene where the third season left and thefourth picks up is that Taylor has left Axe capital,he is on the odds with not only Bobby but withWendy and Ben Kim as well. The only personTaylor has on their side is the loyal Mafee, whoas we know was the first person we saw Taylor within season 2. So it’s been quite an evolution forTaylor in particular.

�What motivated Taylor’s decision to pull theAxe capital?

At the beginning of season 3, Taylor was putin charge of Axe capital, while Bobby sorts out allhis problems. They handle the ups and downs quitewell. And we also see that Bobby becomesobsessed with saving his money and reputation.I also think Taylor gets swapped to their sidebecause when he asks how to help Mafee, Axe tellshim that they didn’t need his help right now.Hence, Taylor starts feeling left out. Taylor is toosmart to not see the moves ahead more than Axedoes. Moreover, once Axe stepped in and ruinedTaylor’s relationship with Oscar for the sake of thebusiness, that broke the trust and loyalty betweenTaylor and Axe.

�It seems as if this season is about shifting loy-alty. Who is loyal to Taylor? Whose loyalty didhe break?

Loyalty is a huge theme in every season ofBillions and particularly the fourth one. There arethings from Taylor’s past that are going to comeup. I don’t want to spoil anything but I think Taylorwould like to be out of access line of fire.

�Where do we pickup with Taylor at the begin-ning of this season?

At the beginning of season 4, Taylor runs hisown company, dealing with the ups and downsof what it means to be in-charge of his own shipfor the first time. So, during season 3 there is ascene between the two where Taylor really comesdown hard on Axe about the money move thathe wanted to make.

Taylor is playing a big game this season. I thinkhe is the type of person who functions at their bestwhen put under pressure. The pressure that comesfrom Axe and Axe Capital is just fuelling Taylorto work even more efficiently than ever. This timewe get to see more about Taylor’s past, specifical-

ly, in relation to his family.

�What do you feel about the script of the showand what excites you the most?

Working in this show was really the best. Thescripts are incredible, unexpected, exciting, enter-taining and socially relevant. Though I work inthe show, but as its fan I would say it makes for agreat drama, which is exciting and entertaining.

�What is Taylor’s biggest conflict during thisseason?

I think Taylor’s biggest conflict during season4 is figuring out how to maintain moral ethicalcentre and a really strong sense of identity.

�What motivates Taylor the most in season 4?I’m weary of naming it, but I certainly think

revenge or money. Also just wanting to be the bestat what he does, which is trading since he is a math-ematical genius. I think that’s just the world thatthey live in and the only way that they know them-selves.

(The show airs on AXN on every Saturday andSunday at 10 pm.)

Actor Kangana Ranaut saysbeing an actor is the most

privileged job in our countrywhile filmmakers are not as val-ued as they should be.

Kangana’s observation camewhile she was commenting on thecontroversy that erupted whenshe took over the directorialreigns of her 2019 release,Manikarnika: The Queen OfJhansi. She was in the capital topromote her forthcoming filmPanga, directed by Ashwiny IyerTiwari.

“There was no panga. Thedirector left the film and I com-pleted it. It was just that. If Ihelped my producer and studio,toh us cheez ke liye mera sammaanhona chahiye (I should be reveredfor that). People should see I amso responsible. I got many brick-bats and I am shocked,” she said.

She then added: “I thinkbeing an actor on set is the most

privileged job. (Being) a director,I am sorry to say, and evenAshwiny will agree with me, is notas valued as it should be.Filmmakers in our country, unlikeAmerica, are literally de-valued.This industry is of the actors.”

Kangana also said that shewants to pursue her moviemak-ing ambitions. “There is a part ofme that wants to pursue myfilmmaking ambitions but if youask me, it is a privilege to be anactor on the set — especially ifyour director is sorted,” sheadded.

Panga also features NeenaGupta, Richa Chadha and JassieGill. The film, slated to hit screenson January 24, revolves around akabaddi player, played byKangana, who wants to make acomeback in the game after mar-riage and motherhood.

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LIST OF AWARDEES

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Recreating the anthologies writtenby iconic writers of Bengali lit-erature, Kolkata-based Aakriti

Art Gallery brings artist Ganesh Pyne’s10 drawings to the year’s India Art Fair,setting a tone of ‘less is more’. He show-cases the 1982 illustrations forShotoborsher Roopkatha — 100 years offairy tales. The authors include theTagores to Ishwar Chandra VidyaSagar to Sunil Gangopadhyay.

��������������#�"����#����The 10 pen and ink works are not

just about drawing but also the art ofconcealing rather than revealing. Pyne,the foremost exponent of the BengalSchool of Art, was known for his abil-ity to blend fantasy and romanticismalong with an inventive play of light anddark. In Mone, we look at the labyrinths

of the subconscious in the imagery ofthe young prince smelling the flowers.The expression of solitude and the nar-rative of simplicity both come togeth-er in the fine lithe detailing that he cre-ates without being oppressive or overt.

��������������Pyne shapes his signature style of

drawings with dulcet ease and effort-lessness. The piece de resistance of thesuite of works belongs to Saat BhaiChampa, the famous Bengali fairytale,which translates to Seven Champakflower brothers. Originally collected inthe Thakurmar Jhuli (Grandmother’sBag of Stories), it received a detailedupdate in 1944.

The King gazing at the seven flow-ers offers us a scent of the story and wecan imagine him in his garden. The

king’s robes, head dress, almond-shaped oriental eyes and the cross-hatching of the skies make us think ofthe sun leaning across its windows andsentient shadows nestling in its deeprecesses, a spectacle of light and dark-ness enacted every day. As the kinggazes at the seven flowers that finallybecome his seven sons, you can feel ahint of the radiation of a subtle mag-netism. Pyne takes us back to the worldof grandmother’s tales which stimulat-ed the wide-eyed wonder of children.

���������##���Pori-ir Golpo is absolutely captivat-

ing for its compositional control andthe strokes are as enchanting as thestory. It makes one go back to the sto-ries of how Pyne’s grandmother narrat-ed tales to him on the verandah of hishome during the evenings in the1940s. Pyne’s imagination and sensitiv-ity both come into play when you lookclosely at these drawings. It is said thatas a result of listening to the stories,Pyne as a child artist was able to inventhis own private mythology and famil-iar kingdom.

Questions come to our minds

when we look at the drawings — Whattales would a Bengali Hindu grand-mother narrate in the early 1940s to hergrandson? Epics, religious fables, folk-tales, and stories of valour and braveryand that of victory of the good overevil?

�"�4���������Essayist and critic Nanak Ganguly

states, “Pyne’s fascination with thefables and mythology in various set-tings depict not only a reality butprimeval values about what an artistchooses to look at and his strong andsubliminal feelings about it.”

The beauty of these drawings is thefact that it gives us a window into themeticulous working of Pyne’s hand andmind as in Rajkumar Poncho andManiraj. We are also compelled torecall that Pyne as a painter workedmostly in tempera. His paintings wererich in imagery and symbolism.

One also recalls Pyne talkingabout his early life in a crumblingKolkata mansion, his evenings insmoky cafes discussing communismand Picasso with friends. “My child-hood memories revolve around

Kolkata. The sounds and smells of thiscity fill my being. I love Kolkata,” saidPyne in one of his exhibitions.

�#�����������������Pyne’s signature style has shaped

from his own experiences of solitude,sight of sorrow, pathos of pain, heart-ened horror and tenderness and tran-quility. At times, in these drawings, wesee a minimalist resonance with poet-ic and lyrical annotations.

The contours and lines alternatebetween bold and soft, loose andcontrolled to give us a series thatemerge in potency both in context andcontent. Stripped of colour, theirmonochromatic mood has about it anarchitectonic quality in the structur-ing of the imagery and the weaving inof the tale.

Equally enticing is the suggestionof his life’s leanings-we recall howPyne had drawn inspiration frommovies made by Fellini and IngmarBergman.This booth is bound toensnare you in the ambience of nos-talgia.

(The fair starts from January 30 toFebruary 2.)

Amere survival of the art isnot the aim. The mission is

to promote artists and theirvarious art forms for the years tocome and make them popularamong the global audience.

Confluence: CelebratingIndia-Bangladesh Printmaking,organised by The Art Route, fea-tures a group of printmakersfrom both the nations who aimto promote the medium of cre-ative expression, which has sur-vived the test of time even aftercurrent technological advance-ment.

Lubna Sen, co-curator andorganiser, says, “It has alwaysbeen our endeavour to promoteart forms which deserve a broad-er platform of recognition. Thevalue of this art needs to be pro-moted through a framework ofeducation, experimentation andpatronage. Confluence was bornout of this mission to createsomething collectively for print-making to promote a deeperappreciation amongst the collec-tors and to extend its scope.”

Artist Ananda Moy Banerjisays that the artists will presenta confluence of body, mind andsoul. “Art, culture and sports arethe three major wings of a greatflight between any two bordersand our “confluence” of printswill certainly open up a prag-matic and broader perspective.”

Another main objective ofthe exhibition is to educate andinform connoisseurs and thepublic in general about print-making. The term ‘print’ pro-vides limited understanding fora generation, which is mostlyused to the concept of digital

prints. The team wants to edu-cate art collectors on the meritof buying prints as an accessibleway to start a collection ofmature and talented artists.

Nisar Hossain, dean, facul-ty of Fine Arts, University of

Dhaka and co-curator, talksabout printmaking inBangladesh, “It is marked by thecontribution of several globally-acclaimed Bangladeshi artistswho have brought in the aesthet-ics from countries like Spain,

Greece, Germany, and Japan.The development is further get-ting deepened now by the com-mitment of several talentedyoung artists. The show will givethe viewers an opportunity towitness the contribution of this

eclectic mix of artists.”The artworks showcased in

the exhibition will include var-ious techniques of printmaking— intaglio, relief, serigraphy, mixmedia — and will also stretchthe traditional boundaries ofprintmaking into the realm offurther experimentation.

Rafique Nabi, Bangladeshiartist, explains his area of exper-tise in printmaking. He says,“Wood has some interestingvisual qualities on the surfacewhich help the object of print. Itake advantage of its potential toenrich the design. I keep draw-

ings and broken forms for wood-cut to depict the subject of thedesign while keeping the wood’sfibres and textures to give it amore meaningful look.”

At the end of the festival, theteam hopes to have generatedappropriate value to the fine artof printmaking through a frame-work of experimentation, pro-motion and patronage. Therewill be a display of portfolioprints, history of printmaking inIndia. Participants will alsoorganise curated walks of theshow, workshops and camps onprintmaking, research presenta-tions on printmaking throughseminars by senior art practi-tioners.

The Visual Art Gallery is setto exhibit works of 24 contem-porary artists from India andBangladesh who established aniche of their own with their vir-tuosity and commitment to themedium. Artists from India areAjit Seal, Ananda Moy Banerji,Anant Nikam, Dattatreya Apte,Kavita Nayar, Moti Zharotia,Salil Sahni, Sukhvinder Singh,Surender K Mishra, SushantaGuha, Vijay Bagodi and WalterD Souza. Artists fromBangladesh are Abul Barq Alvi,Anisuzzaman, MahmudulHaque, Monirul Islam,Nagarbasi Barman, RafiqunNabi, Rashid Amin, RokeyaSultana, SM Roknuzzaman,Saidul Haque Juise, Shahid Kabirand Wakilur Rahman.

(The show begins fromJanuary 22 and goes on till 31 atthe Visual Art Gallery & OpenPalm Court, India HabitatCentre.)

Art experts have confirmed that a painting discov-ered hidden inside an Italian art gallery’s walls last

month is Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of a Lady, which wasstolen from the gallery nearly 23 years ago.

The authentication of the painting solved one of theart world’s enduring mysteries — Where did the miss-ing work end up? — but left several questions unan-swered, including who had taken it and whether it everleft the museum’s property.

A gardener at the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Galleryin the northern city of Piacenza who was clearing awayivy noticed a small panel door on a wall outside andopened it. Inside the space, he found a plastic bag con-taining a painting that appeared to be the missing mas-terpiece. “It’s with no small emotion that I can tell youthe work is authentic,” Piacenza Prosecutor OrnellaChicca said.

Portrait of a Lady depicts a young woman sensu-ally glancing over her shoulder against a dreamy mossgreen background. Klimt finished the painting in 1917,the year before he died. The Ricci Oddi galleryacquired it in 1925 and reported it missing in February1997. Since the gardener’s discovery on December 10,the canvas had been kept in a vault of a local branchof Italy’s central bank while experts used infrared radi-ation and other non-invasive techniques to determineif it was the original Portrait of a Lady.

Experts said the painting was in remarkably goodcondition. One of the few signs of damage was a scratchnear the edge of the canvas that may have resulted “froma clumsy effort to remove the portrait from its frame,”said Anna Selleri, an art restorer from the NationalGallery in Bologna. The experts who did the verifica-tion work found persuasive evidence in the work of theirpeers more than two decades ago.

An Italian high school student, preparing for hergraduation exams in 1996, noticed striking similaritiesbetween the painting that would go missing a year laterand an earlier Klimt work of a woman with a similarposture and gaze but wearing a hat and scarf, accessoriesthat the artist didn’t include in Portrait of a Lady.Intrigued by the observations of the student — who wenton to become an art researcher herself - experts backthen examined the artwork in the Piacenza gallery’s col-lection and found that Klimt had painted it on top ofan earlier portrait of a woman.

Those studying the work in recent weeks, with theaid of X-rays, saw the earlier portrait. Selleri said theradiation analysis revealed that while painting the laterportrait, Klimt didn’t redo much of the face, but usedwhitish pigment from the earlier version for the skin.Portrait of a Lady was officially listed as missing onFebruary 22, 1997 but might have been snatched froma gallery wall a few days earlier, during the exhibit prepa-ration work.

So who stole the painting? Chicca said that policewere studying some traces of organic material on therecovered canvas in hopes they might provide leads.Asked if authorities knew whether the piece had everleft the gallery’s grounds, investigators said that’ssomething else they hope to find out.

As for why and when the painting ended up stashedbehind a wall, journalist Anne-Marie O’Connor, theauthor of a book about the dramatic fortunes of Klimt’sPortrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, has an educated theory.Before the 1990s, Klimt was largely “considered anAustrian painter, but his stature really grew at this point,”O’Connor said. When Portrait of a Lady was taken, thevalue of the art nouveau artist’s paintings was “soaring,”she said.

O’Connor ventured that perhaps whoever took thepainting stowed it behind the gallery’s walls while wait-ing for news about the heist to die down but the stolenwork proved “too hot to handle.” “It would have beenhard to sell it to a private buyer” on the so-called graymarket, O’Connor noted. Some of Klimt’s works haveexperienced stunning turns of fortune. O’Connor’s 2012book The Lady In Gold chronicled the ultimately suc-cessful effort by a woman to gain back Klimt’s Portraitof Adele Bloch-Bauer.

That portrait was snatched from the Bloch-Bauerhome in Vienna in 1941 by a Nazi officer. The woman,Bloch-Bauer’s niece, later sold the painting to cosmet-ics mogul Ronald Lauder in 2006 for $135 million.Another celebrity Klimt piece was a second portrait ofthe woman, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II. OprahWinfrey eventually purchased that painting and report-edly sold it a few years ago for $150 million.

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Cristiano Ronaldostruck twice as

Juventus beat Parma 2-1 topull four points clear ofInter Milan at the top ofthe Serie A table.

Inter’s title push hitanother stumbling blockafter a 1-1 draw at lowlyLecce on Sunday whileAnte Rebic fired city rivalsAC Milan to a last gasp 3-2 win over Udinese.

Ronaldo brokethrough just before thebreak, to score in a seventhconsecutive league game,and almost set up a secondjust after for AaronRamsey, but the Welshinternational rattled thepost.

Andreas Corneliusscored with a toweringheader to get seventh-placed Parma back levelten minutes after thebreak.

But the visitors hard-ly had time to celebratewhen Ronaldo brokethrough again after latch-ing onto a Paulo Dybalacross for his 11th goal inseven games to bring hisleague tally this season to16.

The eight-time reign-ing champions have a four-point cushion on Inter,who have won only two oftheir last six league games,and are now also underthreat from Lazio, whoare just two points behindwith a game in hand afterhammering Sampdoria 5-1 on Saturday.

Antonio Conte’s side

had looked set to takemaximum points from hishometown team, wherehe started his footballingcareer in the 1980s, whenAlessandro Bastoni head-ed the away side in frontwith 18 minutes remain-ing.

But Marco Mancosugrabbed a precious pointfor the southerners fiveminutes after goingbehind.

�!���!����Croatian forward

Rebic hit a brace, includ-ing the stoppage time win-ner, against Udinese thatsnatched a dramatic winthat gave troubled ACMilan back-to-back leaguevictories and moved themup to eighth, two pointsfrom the Europa Leaguespots.

Star striker ZlatanIbrahimovic got his first

start at the San Siro afterscoring last weekend atCagliari.

The 38-year-oldSwede did not get to cele-brate in front of the homecrowd but he has provid-ed a confidence-boost forthe seven-time Europeanchampions, who havetaken seven points in threematches since his return.

“The arrival ofIbrahimovic has given useven more depth and con-viction, which has helpedus,” said coach StefanoPioli.

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Novak Djokovic survived a scareto join Roger Federer andSerena Will iams in the

Australian Open second round asheavy downpours caused chaos onMonday, forcing organisers to post-pone a swathe of matches.

Defending championDjokovic was made to sweatbefore beating Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in four sets on thefirst day, when fears over air pol-

lution were replaced by disruptioncaused by rain.

While play continued at thethree stadiums with retractable roofs,half of the 64 scheduled matches werepostponed, ensuring a big backlog forTuesday.

Wet conditions are unusual forthe Australian Open, which is moreused to extreme heat and was plaguedby smog from bushfires during qual-ifying, when players suffered cough-ing fits and breathing problems.

Air quality was rated ‘good’ as thefirst round started on Monday butabout four hours later play was sus-pended on outside courts when theheavens opened in Melbourne.

World number three Federer wasbriefly hauled off court while the roofwas closed on Rod Laver Arenabefore returning to complete a routine6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over AmericanSteve Johnson.

Williams, on the hunt for arecord-equalling 24th Grand Slamtitle, won the first set againstAnastasia Potapova in just 19 minutes

as she cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 win in lessthan an hour.

“I feel like I can still improve andget better throughout this tourna-ment, for sure. This is a good steppingstone for right now,” Williams said.

However, Williams' elder sisterVenus was ousted in stunning fashionby 15-year-old Coco Gauff, who won7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in a repeat of her first-round upset at Wimbledon last year.

In the late match, defendingchampion Djokovic dropped his firstset since 2006 in the opening roundbefore recovering to beat Jan-LennardStruff 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

“There is a lot of pressure and alot of different emotions involved. Idefinitely try to remind myself to staypresent and really enjoy,” said theseven-time Melbourne winner, whobrought up his 900th Tour-level vic-

tory.Former US Open champion

Sloane Stephens was the biggestwomen’s casualty on day one whenshe crashed out in three sets toZhang Shuai of China — her fourthfirst-round exit in Melbourne.

����+�#�+����G��������Defending champion Naomi

Osaka was done well before thedownpour as she dismissed MarieBouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-2,6-4 in 80 minutes, smashing one pow-erful serve that broke a net fastening.

"It was really tough for me tryingto control my nerves," said Osaka. "It'stough to play someone you've neverplayed before in the first round of aGrand Slam."

Later on the covered centre court,Australian world number oneAshleigh Barty recovered stronglyfrom a set down to beat LesiaTsurenko 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

In the men's draw, Greek sixthseed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beatFederer en route to last year's semis,crushed Salvatore Caruso 6-0, 6-2, 6-3.

Player anger over smog dominat-ed the final days before the tourna-ment, which is taking place afterbushfires ravaged large parts ofAustralia, destroying thousands ofhomes and killing 29 people.

Tournament officials are closelymonitoring pollution and will haltplay and close the three main stadi-ums' roofs if particulate matter sus-pended in the air hits PM2.5 200.

In other results, Canadian 13thseed Denis Shapovalov argued furi-ously with the umpire over a code vio-lation for throwing his racquet as helost in four sets to Marton Fucsovics.

Croatian 25th seed Borna Coricwas another first-round loser as hewent down to experienced AmericanSam Querrey, while Australia’s SamStosur bombed out against CatyMcNally.

But former champion CarolineWozniacki, playing her last tourna-ment before retiring, safely reachedthe second round as she beat KristieAhn 6-1, 6-3.

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Quique Setien may wanta different Barcelona

but he needed the same oldLionel Messi on Sunday asthe Argentinian gave hisnew coach a winning startby scoring in a 1-0 victoryover Granada.

Messi’s strike in the76th minute decided acagey contest at the CampNou and prevented themuch-anticipated launchof Setien’s new era becom-ing something of a dampsquib.

Victory also sendsBarca back to the top of LaLiga on goal difference,after Madrid had briefly

claimed first place follow-ing their win over Sevillaon Saturday.

I already saw some ofthem against Atletico (lastweekend) because Barcahas been doing great thingsfor many years.” It wouldhave been different ifGranada’s Yan Eteki hadn’tstruck the post with justover 20 minutes left ortheir central defenderGerman Sanchez not beensent off for a needless sec-ond yellow card soon after.

The extra man was theboost Barca needed andMessi duly poked home his17th goal in 21 games thisseason following goodwork by Arturo Vidal,

Antoine Griezmann andthe 20-year-old Riqui Puig.

All three had reasonsto impress, particularlyPuig, whose inclusion onthe bench was an earlyindication of Setien’s beliefin youth. Puig's contribu-tion after coming onshould mean more oppor-tunities are to come.

Setien said last weekthat if he could make oneguarantee, it was that Barcawould play good footballwhile he is in charge andalthough few could arguethis was a transformativedisplay following the sack-ing of Ernesto Valverde,there were certainly someencouraging signs.

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All eyes will be onworld No. 2 Tai Tzu

Ying when BengaluruRaptors begin their titledefence against NorthEastern Warriors in thefif th season of thePremier BadmintonLeague (PBL) here onTuesday.

The clash betweenTzu Ying, the formerWorld No. 1, and 2014Commonwealth Gameschampion Michelle Li ofNorth Eastern Warriorswill be the highlight ofthe best of five match tobe played at the NehruIndoor Stadium.

The North EasternWarriors team alsoincludes the legendary

Lee Yong Dae andGuwahati's rising starAshmita Chaliha.

Li has two careerwins over the ChineseTaipei ace with her lastvictory coming at the2019 Japan Open andthe North EasternWarriors shuttler wouldaim for an encore

against PBL’s joint-costliest player, Tai.

Sai Praneeth, whohas been retained bythe Bengaluru franchise,will be coming to theleague fresh from hishistoric Bronze medalwin at the WorldChampionships.

With former World

No. 19 Brice Leverdez inthe squad as well aspromising talent AnsalYadav, the Raptorsboasts of a strong men'ssingles line-up.

The North EasternWarriors, on the otherhand, will be boosted bythe presence of WorldNo. 23 Lee Cheuk Yiu,who made it to thesemi-f inals of theIndonesia Masters lastweek.

T a n o n g s a kSaensomboonsuk willbe continuing his asso-ciation with theGuwahati-based fran-chise for the second yearin a row with PBL debu-tant KaushalDharmamer being inthe team.

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Indian men’s hockey teamchief coach Graham Reid

feels his wards need toimprove their “one-on-one”tackling and 3D skills aheadof the FIH Pro League tiesagainst Belgium andAustralia.

The Indian team made adream debut at the FIH ProLeague, beating world num-ber three Netherlands 5-2 inthe first tie of the doubleheader on Saturday. Thehosts then came from twogoals down to beat theDutch 3-1 in shoot-out afterthe second game ended 3-3in regulation time.

India garnered f ivepoints (3 from the outrightwin and 2 from the secondgame) from their opening

Pro League tie.India will next host

world champions Belgiumon February 8 and 9 fol-lowed by two more home

ties against Australia onFebruary 22 and 23.

“The good thing waswe struggled to win this(second) match and some-

times, it’s good to strugglefor a win because you learna lot and also it is a proofthat if we apply ourselvesand use some aggressive-ness, we can bounce back,”Reid said.

“I still feel our one-on-one tackling can improveand we have also been work-ing on 3D (three dimension-al) skills to beat players inshort space.

“This can help createpenalty corners and whenyou have a world-classdragflick battery, we candefinitely make use of this.”

It was at the 2015 FIHHockey World League Finalin Raipur when India hadmanaged to overcome a 0-2goal deficit in the first half todraw against the Netherlands5-5 in regulation time before

prevailing in a penaltyshootout to secure thebronze medal.

And dragflicker RupinerPal Singh, who scored a goalon Sunday, said the team hasmatured a lot in the last twoyears.

“If this probably hap-pened to us two years ago(conceding early goals), wemay not have been able tomake a comeback. But Ithink we have now matured,players are taking responsi-bility and adhering to coach’sinstruction of 'tackle andplay forward',” he said.

“There is definitely achange in attitude on how weapproach a game even whenwe are down,” added thedragflicker, who was adjust-ed man-of-the-match onSunday.

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Pablo Sarabia put Paris Saint-Germain into the last 16 of

the French Cup on Sunday withthe late winner in a tight 1-0win over spirited Lorient.

Spaniard Sarabia headedhome the only goal with 10minutes remaining to putThomas Tuchel’s much-changed side into the nextround after struggling to breakLigue 2 leaders Lorient downin an underwhelming contest.

They have been rewardedwith a tie at third-tier Pau, whoknocked out Ligue 1 sideBordeaux on Thursday.

PSG came into the matchmissing a host of injured starsincluding Edinson Cavani,Marco Verratti, Juan Bernatand Marquinhos, and withboth Neymar and Kylian

Mbappe on the bench the awayside lacked creative sparkdespite the presence of in-form striker Mauro Icardi.

The French championswere lucky to go into the breaklevel after Yoane Wissa some-how managed to head JimmyCabot’s pinpoint cross widefrom just a couple of yards out.

The second half continuedto lack clear chances for eitherside, with Paul Nardi doing wellto charge down Icardi's closerange header in the 68thminute before pushing PabloSarabia’s shot wide 11 minuteslater.

However the 25-year-oldcould do nothing aboutSarabia’s header seconds later,the Spaniard beautifully guid-ing home Thiago Silva’s cross tosqueeze the top flight outfit intothe next round.

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India captain Virat Kohli andhis deputy Rohit Sharma con-

solidated their top two positionsin the batting chart, while paceace Jasprit Bumrah continued tolead among bowlers in the ICCODI Rankings issued onMonday.

Following their stellar per-formances against Australia inthe just-concludedseries, which Indiawon 2-1, Kohli(No.1) and Rohit(No.2) havestrengthened theirpositions.

With 183runs under hisbelt againstAustralia, Kohliwas the player-of-the-serieswhile Rohitwas a closes e c o n d ,garnering171 runs inthe rubber,including amatch-win-ning 119 inthe deciding ODI inBengaluru on Sunday.

Kohli (886points) and Rohit(868 points) havegained two and threeratings points, respec-tively to occupy the toptwo positions in thebatting rankings.

Left-handedopener ShikharDhawan has alsogained seven slotsto reach 15thposition with 170runs in twoinnings, missinga chance to batin Bengaluruafter injuringhis shoulderwhile field-

ing.K L Rahul, who opened in

his place in the final ODI, hasgained 21 slots to reach 50thposition with an aggregate of 146runs.

Bumrah, who returnedfrom injury in the Australiaseries, is atop the bowlers chartwith 764 points, ahead of NewZealand left-arm pacer TrentBoult and Afghanistan’s MujeebUr Rahman. South Africa’sKagiso Rabada and AustralianPat Cummins complete the topfive.

India all-rounder RavindraJadeja has moved up two slots

to be 27th among bowlersafter finishing with four wick-ets in the series.

He also scored 45 runs intwo innings and has gained

four places in the all-rounders' list to beranked 10th.

Au s t r a l i a nSteve Smith, whotopped the serieswith an aggregateof 229 runsincluding a knockof 131 in the finalODI, has been

rewarded with afour-place jump to

23rd position.David Warner, a

formerly top-rankedbatsman in the for-mat, has also movedup one place to sixthwhile captain Aaron

Finch has moved up oneplace into 10th.Wicketkeeper Alex Carey is

in 31st position after gain-ing two slots.

Leg-spinner AdamZampa’s five wickets inthe series saw him

advance 20 places toreach 37th position,

while KaneRichardson has

moved from77th to 65th.

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Opening batsman Lendl Simmonsblasted 10 sixes in an undefeated 91

as West Indies routed Ireland by ninewickets in the third and final Twenty20International at Warner Park here onSunday.

Simmons, the nephew of West Indiescoach Phil Simmons, also hit five bound-aries in his 40-ball blitz. It was his high-est score in the format and came just fivedays before his 35th birthday.

Chasing a modest 139 to win,Simmons won the match in style with asix over midwicket off spinner SimiSingh whose three overs cost 41 runs.

Fellow opener Evin Lewis made 46with four boundaries and three sixes asWest Indies raced to victory with 54 ballsremaining.

The three-match series ended 1-1after Ireland edged a first-game thriller byfour runs in Grenada before Saturday’smatch at Warner Park was abandoned dueto rain. Earlier, veteran all-roundersKieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo sharedsix wickets as West Indies restrictedIreland to 138 all out. Captain Pollard,who produced the best bowling spell bya West Indian in T20 internationals (4-25) in Saturday’s abandoned game,claimed 3-17.

Bravo finished with 3-19 to becomethe West Indies’leading all-time wicket-taker in the format with 57 victims in his69th game. That beat the previous best of54 by leg-spinner Samuel Badree.

Put into bat, Ireland raced to 50-0 offjust 3.3 overs with openers Kevin O'Brien(top scoring with 36) and Paul Stirlingagain getting their team off to a storm-ing start. However, Pollard dismissedO'Brien after the Irishman hit his runs offonly 18 balls with Bravo then accountingfor Stirling (11).

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Aseries win against a strongAustralia and the performancein New Zealand last year gives

India a lot of confidence ahead of afresh tour beginning on January 24,said skipper Virat Kohli whose teamwill be aiming to put the Black Capsunder pressure from the word go.

India will be playing five T20s,three ODIs and two Tests in NewZealand. They had beaten the hosts 4-1 in ODIs before losing the T20 series1-2.

“We are taking a lot of confidencefrom our performance (in NZ) lastyear. We were very positive in how weplayed, very sure of what we wantedto do. The thing about playing awayis if you’re able to put the home teamunder pressure, you can enjoy yourcricket,” Kohli said.

“You have to win at home, there’sthat sort of feeling (for hosts). So if youbring out your A game, you can real-ly put them under pressure. That’swhat we did last year, squeezed themin the middle overs, picked up wick-ets, spinners were outstanding.Looking forward to take that sameintensity into the series.”

Ahead of the New Zealand tour,Kohli said it became even more impor-tant to win the home series againstAustralia here on Sunday. The teamleaves for New Zealand on Mondaynight.

“We spoke of that at the huddle,that this is the last game we’re playingin the series and if we win, you go ona tour on a happy note. If you lose, itcan go under the radar, you canbrush it aside as ‘oh it’s just one loss’.

“But when you win and winunder pressure, the last two gameswere tough wins, it boosts your con-fidence which we’re carrying for-ward,” he said.

On the limited overs leg of theNew Zealand tour, Kohli picked outthe areas of improvement.

“Again, we want to bat well when

we bat first and in case we’re defend-ing a low total, we should be able todo that as well. We can't afford to easeinto the series after two games, becausethen it keeps getting tougher andtougher, so we'll look to make a markin the first game that we play,” he said.

The skipper loves playing againstAustralia as it brings the best out ofhim. He explained why he relishes theAustralian challenge.

“Last year (at home) after 2-0 up,we thought we’re definitely going towin one of the three at home, but theyshowed us that they understand theseconditions very well now (to win 3-2),having played here a lot in the IPL andso many tours over the years,” Kohlisaid.

“So, although they had a strongerside (with Steve Smith and DavidWarner back) than last time, wethought if we play good enough, wecan beat this team. The only thing weneeded to be wary of was our bodylanguage and intent because that’sAustralia’s strongest point.

“All the teams in the world areskilled but these guys play with theintent of making things happen everyover you play against them. So youcan’t take your foot off the pedal at all,that’s what we’ve done in the last twogames. The partnerships that I men-tioned today, even the singles weretaken with intent,” said Kohli.

India raced to victory in theseries-deciding third ODI againstAustralia, courtesy fine knocks fromKohli himself and Rohit Sharma.They both could not stay till the endbut the finishing touches were provid-ed by Shreays Iyer, who remainedunbeaten on 44. And the skipperwas all praise for Iyer.

“I don’t think he’s (Iyer) going tohave any issues anymore because hereally went after their best bowlers andgot the results. It took pressure off ofme as well not having to take risks andthe other guy striking at 140-145. Ithink it was really smart how we wentabout it” Kohli added.

����� @5% .3/2/

Australian captain AaronFinch has rated his Indian

counterpart Virat Kohli as“probably” the greatest ODIplayer of all-time, while pickingRohit Sharma in the top-five.

Rohit (119) scored his 29thODI hundred and Kohli made89 off 91 balls as they shared amatch-winning stand of 137 inthe decisive third game againstAustralia here on Sunday.

For Finch, what stood outwas that India overhauled the287-run target with ease despiteopener Shikhar Dhawan notcoming out to bat due to ashoulder injury.

“They’ve got Virat whois probably the greatestODI player of all-time, andRohit who’d probably be inthe top five batters of all-time. They’re excep-tional, and thething with theIndian side at themoment is theirexperienced play-ers are getting thejob done in thebig games,” Finchsaid.

“Rohit’s 100,especially withoutShikhar theretonight, for themto shuffle and theirtwo most domi-nant players to stillget majority of theruns is a sign of areally settled and

really quality top-order,” saidFinch.

Australia could not get thefinal flourish they were lookingfor, mustering only 63 runs inthe last 10 overs at the loss of fivewickets, far too many in Finch’sview.

“In the last two games wehave had the bowlers batting forthe majority of the last fewovers. Which we saw in Rajkotthe damage that KL (Rahul)could do in the back end becausehe was a settled batter. I thinkthat’s an area we just missed acouple of tricks. “Just nothaving an in batter being in and

having faced 20 or 30 ballsto get us deeper and get us

to the back end,” Finchsaid.

He also praised India’sdeath over bowling at the

same time.“But credit to India,

their death bowling in thelast few games wase x c e p t i o n a l .(Mohammed) Shamiwas nailing his yorkers,(Navdeep) Saini in thelast two games and(Jasprit) Bumrah. In

both games theywere exceptional.

You can look atwhere we could

h a v eimprovedbut alsoyou’ve gotto give

some credit toIndia,” said Finch.

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England completed acomprehensive win by

an innings and 53 runs onthe fifth day of the thirdTest against South Africa atSt George’s Park onMonday, taking an unbeat-able 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

England were held upby a last wicket stand of 99between Keshav Maharaj(71) and Dane Paterson(39 not out) and it neededa direct-hit run-out by SamCurran from mid-on toclinch the result shortlybefore lunch. South Africawere bowled out for 237.

The partnership

between Maharaj andPaterson was easily SouthAfrica’s best of the matchand showed up an other-wise poor batting perfor-mance by the hosts.

South Africa added 135runs in losing their last fourwickets, which seemedunlikely when VernonPhilander chipped a catchto midwicket off StuartBroad three balls into theday.

Mark Wood and DomBess also took wickets butEngland captain Joe Rootcould not add to his fourwickets taken on Sunday,conceding 56 runs in 10overs on Monday to finishwith four for 87.

��������Maharaj hit Root for

three fours and two sixes inan over which ended withfour byes, costing 28 intotal.

Despite the late face-saving flourish for the hosts,it was a result which was atriumph for England’syouth policy, while the waySouth Africa were out-played was a devastatingblow for captain Faf duPlessis and new coach MarkBoucher.

Even before Monday’slast rites there was specula-tion about Du Plessis'future. He has expressed hisdesire to lead South Africain the T20 World Cup inAustralia in October andNovember, by which timehe will be 36.

It seems possible thatthe fourth Test inJohannesburg from Fridaycould be his last homeseries in charge.

It was South Africa’sseventh defeat in their lasteight Tests, the only excep-tion being their win in thefirst Test against Englandwhen it seemed that radicalchanges in the team man-agement might have herald-ed a new dawn.

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Delhi’s miserable season just gotworse as premier speedster

Ishant Sharma twisted his ankle afteranother woeful outing with the batagainst defending championsVidarbha in a Ranji Trophy group Aencounter on Monday.

On a helpful track, former IndiaU-19 seamer Aditya Thakare”s career-best 7 for 55 restricted Delhi to 163in reply to visitors’ first innings scoreof 179.

By the time, play was called offdue to bad light, Vidarbha were 35 forno loss as the track got easier for bat-ting.

Vidarbha now have an overalllead of 51 but more importantly, thepitch has eased out. With a bowlershort and the wily artist WasimJaffer longing for an easy secondinnings pitch, Delhi at the momentis looking down the barrel.

And it didn’t help Delhi’s cause

that Ishant’s 15th delivery saw himsustain a freak injury while appeal-ing for a leg-before against rival skip-per Fazal beaten by a fuller delivery.The senior speedster twisted his

ankle while back pedalling and wasseen writhing in pain.

The first two sessions belongedto Vidarbha as Delhi's youngstersinept tchnique against incisive swing

bowling was exposed again.IPL specialist Nitish Rana

became Thakare's fifth victim of theinnings giving a catch to skipperFazal.

Only keeper Anuj Rawat (37 off101 balls) showed some stomach forfight adding 36 for the ninth wicket

with Simarjeet Singh (23) even asUmesh Yadav (2/45) removed all-rounder Lalit Yadav (7) and KunarBidhuri (19).

"���+H����!#�����#�������!��Mumbai : Batsman-wicketkeeperUpendra Yadav’s maiden double tonpropelled Uttar Pradesh to a mam-moth 625/8 declared on the secondday of their Elite Group B RanjiTrophy game against Mumbai onMonday.

Twenty three-year-old Yadav wasthe cynosure of all eyes at WankhedeStadium as he took a listless Mumbaiattack to the cleaners first in the com-pany of Saurabh Kumar (44 off 47balls; 8x4) and then with skipperAnkit Rajpoot (32 off 63 balls; 5x4)and Yash Dayal (41 not out).

Yadav (203 not out off 239 balls)conjured 72 runs for the seventhwicket with Saurabh to take thegame away from Mumbai, and then

forged a 119-run eight-wicket standwith Rajpoot, as Uttar Pradesh tookcomplete control.

Adding to Mumbai’s woes, Yadavand Dayal put up an unbroken 131-run stand for the ninth wicket.

Yadav, who registered the high-est score by a number 7 batsmanagainst Mumbai, smashed 27 foursand one six in his 239 balls unbeat-en knock.

�����"������#�����������!���#������Kalyani (WB) : Senior batsmanManoj Tiwary cracked his maidenfirst class triple century to put Bengalin the driver's seat against Hyderabadin their Ranji Trophy Group A clashhere on Monday.

The 34-year-old, who has played12 ODIs and 3 T20 Internationals,was at his sublime best, smashing 30fours and five sixes, en route to hisunbeaten 303 from 414 balls at astrike rate of 73.19. His marathon

knock lasted 10 hours and 30 min-utes.

His final 50 came off just 37 ballsas he got to the landmark in thefourth ball of the final session of thesecond day, gliding part-timer BuddhiRahul through covers boundary.Bengal immediately declared theirfirst innings at 635 for seven.

Tiwary, who last played for Indiain 2015, also became the only secondbatsman from Bengal to hit a tripleton — after Devang Gandhi’s 323 ver-sus Assam at Guwahati in 1998-99season. His previous best was 267 asBengal skipper against MadhyaPradesh in a drawn encounter inKolkata in 2011-12 season.

After Tiwary’s sensationalinnings, it was time for Bengal paceduo of Akash Deep (3/46) andMukesh Kumar (2/29) to wreakhavoc as they reduced Hyderabad to83 for five in the final session.Hyderabad still trail Bengal by 552runs with two days left.

����� 6.2.25

Donald Tiripano struck earlyto remove Oshada Fernando

and complete an excellent secondday of the first Test for Zimbabweagainst Sri Lanka in Harare.

The 31-year-old seamer hadearlier made a handy 44 not outbatting at number eight asZimbabwe advanced from theirovernight 189 for two to 358 allout.

Left-arm spinner LasithEmbuldeniya, playing in hissixth Test, was the stand-outbowler with five for 114.

When bad light stoppedplay for the day, Sri Lanka hadreached 42 for the loss ofFernando who had his off stumpflattened by Tiripano's very firstdelivery.

The day began withZimbabwe Craig Ervine wellset on 55 and looking for histhird Test century.

The 34-year-old progressedcomfortably to 85 until pace

bowler Suranga Lakmal nippedone through his defence short-ly before lunch.

It was the third wicket to fallduring the morning as Lakmalalso produced a full inswinger tohave Brendan Taylor leg beforefor 21 and Zimbabwe captainSean Williams edged left-armspinner Embuldeniya toNiroshan Dickwella behind thestumps.

The left-armer spinnerremoved Regis Chakabva short-ly after lunch but Sikandar Razaand Tiripano then both settledin.

Raza fell for a flighty 41,stumped by Dickwella as hecharged at Embuldeniya, whoalso bowled Jarvis.

Ndlovu was brilliantlysnapped up at short-leg by KusalMendis off Lahiru Kumara.Lakmal dismissed last manVictor Nyauchi just after thedelayed break to finish withthree for 53, leaving Tiripanoundefeated on 44.

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