sh. satya pal malik hon’ble governor, j&k state · shri manoj kumar dwivedi, ias...

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“The Dreams Of 'Digital India' Were False As We Live In A World Where There Is No Digital Connectivity”

On the Occasion ofWildlife Week, let us rededicate ourselves to:• Save and conserve the richness of our wildlife and endemism.• Attractively underscore the value and worth of the living heritage of J&K.• Welcome visitors from the far corners of India and the world to our state

and promise them experiences they will remember for a lifetime.• Explore the sheer biodiversity and density of the protected spaces of the

State.• Replenish our natural eco-systems for our own existence.• Enthuse our young generation on the importance of conservation and

need to maintain our rich biodiversity.• Curb carbon footprints and encourage biological footprints as an antidote

to climate change.

Sh. Satya Pal MalikHon’ble Governor, J&K State

Shri K. Vijay Kumar, Advisor to the Hon’ble Governor, J&K

Shri B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, IASChief Secretary, J & K

Shri Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, IASCommissioner/Secretary to the Govt

Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, J&KWILDLIFE WEEK 2019

2nd to 8th October

Issued by: Department of Wildlife ProtectionGovernment of Jammu & Kashmir

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Healthy heart, improved blood flow

6 Reasons To Eat A Piece Of

Dark Chocolate Every Day

A popular superfood, dark chocolate is filled with many benefits for a

healthy heart and body. Sonia Narang, wellness and nutrition expert, Oriflame India and Meher Rajput, nutritionists and dieti-cian, FITPASS share that how dark chocolates can be healthy too.

* Dark chocolate is also pre-loaded with decent amounts of soluble fibre and potential minerals. It contains Oleic acid, Stearic acid and Palmitic acid.

* Loaded with organic compounds which are biologi-cally active, dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure and improve the flow of blood in your body. It greatly helps in decreasing the levels of oxi-dised LDL cholesterol in men.

* Eating dark chocolate (which has 65% polyphenol-rich cocoa) helps to lower blood pressure naturally.

* Flavanols found in dark chocolate help in improving your heart health by lowering blood pressure and refining the flow of blood to the heart

as well as to the brain. They also help in reducing the risk of cancer.

* Dark chocolate also reduces the level of insulin resistance, which is a very com-mon factor behind the birth of diseases like diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, and other heart ailments.

* Dark chocolate also has high concentration of an alka-loid called theobromine which has stimulant properties and relaxing effects. It can dilate the blood vessels.

Burn 600 calories in 2 hours by doing these 4 household chores

IT'S all about the indoors when it comes to get-ting in shape, according to a new study.

The study conducted by the Good House-keeping Institute (GHI) found that dusting,

mopping and cleaning the bathroom have proven to be effective ways to burn those calories, the Daily Mail reported.

In just two hours, researchers found an individ-

ual can burn 600 calories doing intense household chores. That is more than double the amount one can burn from a 5km run.

For the study, participants were fitted with Fit-Bit Flex 2 fitness trackers. This helped measure the amount of energy being used up while performing a chore. To determine the amount of calories burned during each work out, the team calculated the aver-age during 20 or 40-minute sessions, the report ex-plained.

Amount of calories burned doing specific chore:

Window cleaning - 115 calories in 20 min-utes.

Mopping the floor - 107 caloriesCleaning the bathroom - 100 caloriesDusting for 40 minutes - 200 calories.20 minutes of vacuuming - 86 calories in 20

minutes.While you may not always want to do house-

work, the benefit you now know may motivate you to do it more often. "Unfortunately, there are some labour-intensive chores that need to be done but the good news is that you will be getting fit while you're doing them," GHI cleaning expert Verity Mann told the Daily Mail.

In just two hours, researchers found an individual can burn 600 calories doing intense household chores. That is more

than double the amount one can burn from a 5km run.

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OPINION

P4Kashmiriyat is dead, this much is certain. And everything associated with it – religious harmony, secularism, the distinct relationship between Kashmir and India –is gone as well. Kashmiriyat has been in the throes of death for some decades now, but the latest moves by the Indian government to abrogate Article 370 and 35A, and demote the state of Jammu and Kashmir to a Union Territory, have put the final nail in its coffin. Constitutionally and rhetorically, Kashmir is no longer special.

Kashmiriyat The Death Of An Idea

OPINION



OPINION



OPINION

P6Political One

UPMANSHIP On Kashmir

“The Dreams Of 'Digital India' Were False As We Live In A World Where There Is No Digital Connectivity”

Grenade Blast In Anantnag, 3 Women Among 14 Injured

PTI/Agencies

SRINAGAR: Suspected mili-tants carried out a grenade attack on Saturday outside the Deputy Commissioner's of-fice in Anantnag township of south Kashmir, leaving at least 14 people injured.

It was the second grenade attack in the Valley since the

abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status. They targeted a security patrol outside the heavily guarded DC office complex in Anant-nag town, 55 km from here, around 11 am, an official said.

He said the grenade missed the target and exploded on the roadside, causing splinter injuries to 14 persons, includ-

ing a traffic policeman, three women and a local journalist. All the injured were admitted to a hospital and 13 of them were discharged after treat-ment. One person was still in hospital but he was stated to be out of danger. The blast sparked panic among people in the town.

The persons More On P8

Day 62: Normal Life Remains Out of GearAutorickshaw Reportedly Set Ablaze In Old CitySRINAGAR: Normal life in Kashmir on Saturday remained affected following the Centre's August 5 move to abrogate Article 370 that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, as markets and other business establishments remained closed while most of the public trans-port was off the roads across the Valley, officials said.However, government offices were open and attendance in most offices was near normal, they said. Private vehicles and some private taxis including autorickshaws could be seen plying in parts of the city while some roadside vendors were also visible, the officials said. Late evening reports suggest that an auto-rickshaw was burnt at Hawal near Islamia College in old city here but there was no official confirmation when this report was filed. More On P8

Want ‘Normal Political’ Activity In J&K Soon: MadhavSays Region ‘Becoming Peaceful’ After Over 200 Leaders Were Under House Arrest

Press Trust of India

HYDERABAD: Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav has said leaders who have been placed under house arrest in Jammu and Kash-mir after abrogation of Article 370 by the Centre, will be re-leased soon and they can resume their "normal" political activity.

Speaking at 'Jana Jagaran Sabha' on the Centre's decision to revoke special status of J&K granted under Article 370 on Friday, the BJP general secre-tary said once Governors rule is lifted and legislature takes over, constitutional entities

such as Commissions for SC, Women and Minorities will be set up in the region.

Describing Article 370 as can-cer for the past 70 years he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed it in just 70 hours.

He said the region which used to reel under law and order problems for months together is now "becoming peaceful" af-ter over 200 leaders of the State were under house arrest.

"There is this propaganda that you have arrested thou-sands of people (in J&K). Let me tell you today that those 200 plus leaders are More On P8

NC Delegation From Jammu To Meet Abdullahs Today Press Trust of India

SRINAGAR: A delegation of Nation-al Conference from Jammu prov-ince has been granted permission by the Jammu and Kashmir admin-istration to meet party president Farooq Abdullah and vice president Omar Abdullah, who are currently under detention, here on Sunday.

"The delegation led by provincial president Devender Singh Rana and comprising former party legis-lators will fly from Jammu Sunday morning," National Conference

spokesperson Madan Mantoo said.Rana had sought permission from

Governor Satya Pal Malik in this regard.Mantoo said the decision to

meet the Abdullahs was taken at an emergent meeting of senior func-tionaries and district presidents of the Jammu Province two days ago, soon after restrictions on the move-ment of Jammu-based National Conference leaders were lifted.

Eighty-one-year-old Farooq Abdul-lah is under house arrest at his Sri-nagar residence while his son Omar is detained at a state guest house.

Imran Warns PcK Residents Against Crossing LoC

‘Lodhi Was Not Removed’ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said Malee-ha Lodhi was not sacked and was re-placed with Munir Akram after the completion of her tenure as the coun-try's permanent representative to the UN, according to a media report.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in a surprise move this week appointed Akram, known for his strident anti-In-dia stand, as Pakistan's new permanent representative to the United Nations.

The development came a day af-ter Khan returned from New York, where he raised the Kashmir issue in his maiden address to the UN Gen-eral Assembly.

The Foreign Office on Friday cred-ited Lodhi for Prime Minister Khan's "successful participation" in the re-cent UN General Assembly session and denied that she has More On P8


ISLAMABAD: Prime Minis-ter Imran Khan on Saturday asked the residents of Paki-stan controlled Kashmir not to cross the Line of Control to extend humanitarian aid to the Kashmiri people after In-dia removed the special status of the state two months back.

"I understand the anguish of the Kashmiris seeing their fel-low Kashmiris in Jammu and Kashmir.... Anyone crossing the LoC to provide humanitar-ian aid or support for Kash-miri struggle will play into the hands of the Indian narrative,"

Khan said in a tweet.Tension between India and

Pakistan escalated after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5.

Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian High Commissioner.

Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its "internal matter". New Delhi has also asked Is-lamabad to accept the reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric

Khan's advice comes a day

after tens of hundreds of emo-tionally charged Kashmiris from different parts of PcK set out in vehicular and motorcycle ral-lies to Muzaffarabad on the call of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, the Dawn reported.

India has been condemning "provocative and irrespon-sible" statements against it by Khan over abrogation of pro-visions of Article 370.

In New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesper-son Raveesh Kumar on Friday said the comments made by Khan do not behove the post he holds.

In his maiden More On P8

2 Men Impersonating As Cops Held Observer News Service

SRINAGAR: Police have arrested two fraudsters impersonating as police personnel near Kaigam Crossing on highway near Awantipora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

“Officers at the checking point established near Kaigam Cross-ing intercepted a vehicle bearing registration No. JK01AF-7103. While checking the documents of the vehicle, they reflected registration No. as JK13D-1271 which didn’t match with the ve-hicle. The persons on board the vehicle were asked to provide ID cards which also turned to be fake identifying them as Sub In-spector Irshad Ahmad Shah and

Constable Abass Ali,” a police spokesman said.

During search, he said, officers recovered two fake stamps of Sr. Superintendent of Police, Srinagar and SHO police station Awantipora.

“Furthermore, 100 fake gold coins, two small idols and one toy pistol were also recovered from the vehicle. Both the per-sons were arrested on the spot and the vehicle was More On P8

Ram Jethmalani’s demise has been mourned very widely as his circle of friends was vast and varied. Jethmalani lived a full life with all the best the system was able to offer him. His death has caused a void that can never be filled. An eminent lawyer and an authority on India’s criminal justice system, Jethmalani will be remembered by a wide group of people in India and Pakistan.

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News In Brief

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New Traffic Advisory On Highway SRINAGAR: The Traffic Police Headquarters Srinagar has informed that the movement of vehicles on Jammu-Srinagar Highway shall be allowed accord-ing to a new schedule.As per the new schedule, Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) shall ply both sides from Jammu to Srinagar and vice versa during the day. The cut off timing for Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs)/Load Carriers shall be from Zig (Qazigund) 07 pm to 11 pm and from Jakheni (Udhampur) 6 am to 11 am. No HMVs shall be allowed from Zig (Qazigund)/Jakheni (Udhampur) after cut off timings. More On P8

Reasi Girl’s Rape: Accused Chargesheeted JAMMU: The crime branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday filed a charge sheet against a man for his alleged involvement in abduction and rape of a 17-year-old girl in Reasi district, according to an official.The minor, belonging to Katra town, was brought back from Delhi on July 23 by a special investigation team (SIT) after it nabbed the accused, Naimud-din Ansari of Bihar, after a long search, a crime branch spokes-man said. He said an FIR was lodged last year at the Katra Po-lice Station regarding abduction of the minor and later the case was transferred to the crime branch. More On P8

Porter Killed BARAMULLA: A porter was killed and another injured when they were hit by a shell fired by Paki-stani troops in the border town of Uri in this north Kashmir district, official sources said on Saturday.They said Pak troops on Friday violated ceasefire and resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate fir-ing and shelling, targeting forward posts and civilian areas in Uri.A shell exploded when a group of porters were on way to forward position with essentials at Kamal-kote, they said. Two local porters were injured critically after a shell exploded near them, they said, adding both the injured were rushed to hospi-tal, where one of them identified as Ishteyaq Ahmad succumbed. Sources said Indian troops also retaliated and hit Pak posts across the More On P8

‘Govt Claims Contrary To Ground Realities’ SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir People’s Moment (JKPM) leader Shehla Rashid on Saturday re-jected the government claim that everything was normal in valley.The former JNU student leader and General Secretary of JKPM told a local news agency, “Leader-ship is under detention, com-munication is under suspension, there are no students attending schools, business activities are at halt, public transport is off the roads and government is claiming that normalcy has returned in the valley.” | Full Report on P5

Zojila Tunnel Section On Sgr-Leh Highway Being Concretised

‘Annual Exams As Per Schedule’Observer News Servicer

BARAMULLA: Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, Dr G N Itoo on Saturday said that annual exams will be conducted as per schedule and the students will be facilitated with every possible educational support. Exam oriented material including assignments, study material etc shall be provided to the students enabling them to prepare for the exams in a hassle-free manner.

Deputy Commissioner was speaking in a meeting convened here today. The meeting was convened in view of the government’s decision of conducting the annual examinations in time,

Meeting was attended by CEO, Dy CEO, heads of various educational institutions and other con-cerned officers. Dr Itoo exhorted upon the school authorities to conduct Parent-Teaches meet on ev-ery Thursday so that proper and More On P8


SONAMARG: The Border Roads Organ-isation is concretising the Zojila tunnel section of the Srinagar-Leh national highway to streamline the movement of small and heavy vehicles and protect the strategic road from extreme weath-er events, a senior official has said.

"As the stretch is located at a very high altitude and faces extreme weather, the (concrete) blocks will provide friction and can withstand extreme weather in freezing cold and icy surface," said Col Mukesh Bhan-wala, Director, Works Project Beacon.

He said block laying is a fine replace-ment for black topping, which is not

possible at such unfavourable spots.Officials said nearly 3-km stretch

of the upper alignment of the Zojila Pass has been completely paved with "interlocking concrete blocks" on which vehicles can move smoothly.

Col Bhanwala said the plan is to lay con-crete blocks for about 6 km of the Pass.

"Pending work will be completed in upcoming season. Because of the heavy rush of transport due to stock-ing time, this season won't allow much time to complete it," he said.

Zojila Pass, at a height of 11,516 feet above the sea level, connects the picturesque Kashmir valley with the cold Indus Valley desert through the 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh road.

As the road is vulnerable to land-slides due to snowfall and rainfall, the interlocking of concrete blocks offer resistance against extreme weather and provides longer life.

The Srinagar-Leh NH remains closed for half of the year due to snowfall and landslides, and restor-ing and repairing the Zojila Pass is a daunting task for BRO. It sees a daily rush of hundreds of heavy truck loads and passenger vehicles moving in and out of the Ladakh region.

"Concrete blocking is best for such conditions. Blocks will not slide or move as they are fixed on all four sides for strong and firm grip," he Col Bhanwala said.

News04 Sunday | 06.10.2019

Guj: New Fines For Helmet, PUC Violations To Start From Oct 31Press Trust of India

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat gov-ernment has extended the dead-line to impose enhanced penal-ties for helmet and PUC violations from October 15 to October 31, a senior official said on Saturday.

Principal Secretary (Ports and Transport) Sunaina Tomar told reporters that the time limit for penalties for helmet, pollution-under-control and high security registration violations was ex-tended till October 31 due to the festival season underway.

The government also offered relief to autorickshaw drivers by reducing compounding fee to Rs 2,500 from Rs 10,000 for flouting permit issued to operate in a spe-cific area, as well as allowing them to take test on an autorickshaw for a new driving licence than a four-wheeler as required, she said.

"There are three types of licences, namely for two wheeler, LMV, which includes both 3-wheeler and 4-wheel-er, and HMV. The state government has decided test for LMV licence for an autorickshaw will be taken on an au-torickshaw and not a four-wheeler as was the case earlier," she said.

The government would also set up

camps to train these drivers to take the computer-based licence test.

The state government had re-duced some of the higher pen-alties imposed by the recently-amended Motor Vehicles Act.

While under the amended MV Act, the fine for driving a two-wheeler without helmet was Rs 1,000, the proposed fine in Gujarat is Rs 500, up from Rs 100 at present.

For not carrying a PUC certificate, the fine proposed by the state is Rs 500, the same as under the new MV Act, up from the current Rs 100.

"Compounding fee for autorick-shaw seized for flouting permit is-sued to operate in a specific area has been reduced from Rs 10,000 to Rs 2,500. They had demanded that fine for cases before September 16, 2019 should be as per the old rules, which

has been accepted by the state gov-ernment, and a notification for this will be issued soon," Tomar said.

Tomar said as per the new rule, drivers will have to renew their licence within a year of expiry, while those who fail to do so can obtain a learning licence after appearing for a test.

She said 108 new PUC centres will start soon and rules have been mod-ified to set up more such centres.

New Age Tribute To The Mahatma From BPCLMUMBAI: Maharashtra, India (NewsVoir) On 2nd Oc-tober 2019, the entire nation, and even people abroad, celebrated Mahatma Gandhi - Father of the Nation's 150th birth anniversary. The multiple events organ-ised at all levels reiterated the belief that today the Mahatma is even more relevant. His teachings, prin-ciples and the path that he showed make more sense in today's turbulent times.

Bharat Petroleum, which is hugely guided by Mahat-ma Gandhi's beliefs, paid homage to him in a unique way. Its social media handle today launched a melo-dious tribute for the Mahatma. BPCL showcased the remarkably talented group of their officers musical band named Vyaali , giving Bapu's most loved bhajan 'Vaishnava Janato' in a high quality and moving video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=giXdmomwNDM'Vaishnava Janato' is one of the most popular Hindu

bhajans, which speaks of respect, equality, renuncia-tion and faith - the immortal virtues he drew inspira-tion from. This video truly keeps the essence of that bhajan intact, however, adding a new fragrance with use of latest instruments.

CG: Rs 1.64 cr looted from cash van; three held within hoursBEMETARA: Four armed men on Saturday looted Rs 1.64 crore cash from a van on its way to replenish an ATM in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district, police said.

However, three of the accused were arrested within hours of the crime thanks to alertness shown by resi-dents of Baghul village in Navagarh area.

The incident occurred around 11:30 am under Khandsara police area when the private cash logistics firm van was on its way to the ATM of the State Bank of India to deposit cash in Navagarh area, said Bemetara Superintendent of Police Prashant Thakur.

When the van reached a turn between Jhaal and At-ariya villages, one of its tyres got punctured, he said.

As the armed guard and the driver were changing the tyre, four men, with their faces covered, arrived in a car at the spot and asked the guard to open the lock of the van at gun point, he said.

"The accused then fled with boxes containing Rs 1.64 crore. They also took away the gun of the guard," the SP said.

Following the incident, police launched a hunt and laid check posts at several places in the area, he said.

Thakur said the robbers abandoned the car at Ba-ghul village and were trying to flee when some villag-ers spotted them, and gave them a chase.

"Sensing trouble, the robbers fired in air to scare away villagers. However, the villagers overpowered three of the robbers while their accomplice managed to flee," the SP said, adding that the boxes containing cash have been recovered.

The accused were later handed over to police.

IIT-Guwahati Develops AI-based Tool For Electric Vehicle Motor

Agenceis

GUWAHATI: The Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) Saturday announced the development of an Ar-tificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted engi-neering system design tool for devel-oping the motor of an electric vehicle.

The tool, 'Smart-Engineer', seeks to address one of the primary hurdles in in-digenising the electric vehicle (EV) tech-nology -- the lack of trained human re-sources in engineering design and system integration, IIT-G said in a statement here.

'Smart-Engineer' was built by the e-mobility lab (EML) of the institute by a team of four PhD and post-graduate students -- Rajendra Kumar, Bikash Sah, Ankit Vishway and Rajendra Kumar.

The statement said the EML devel-oped an AI-based electric motor de-signer to help a novice design engineer to design a motor for EV application in the first phase without the need for much intervention from experts.

"The Smart-Engineer enables the fresh engineer to learn from the col-lective knowledge and wisdom of the

experts without necessarily having to interact with them," it added.

Whenever the design engineer has some query, the Smart-Engineer can be consulted to get the answer.

Prof Praveen Kumar of Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at IIT-G said, "The current version of Smart-Engineer is able to address the fundamen-tals involved in the design of induction mo-tors. The early results are very promising.

"We now intend to expand the ca-pability of Smart- Engineer to include the finer aspects of motor design. We are compiling the know-why of motor design that we have gathered over the years in the e-mobility lab," he said.

IIT-G said the significant advantage of the Smart-Engineer is it helps the engineer to climb the steep learning curve of motor design in the shortest possible time.

"Eventually, the capabilities of Smart-Engineer will be enhanced to address the other domains of EV such as power electronics, control systems, battery management systems among others," it added.

Maha polls: Sonia, Manmohan Star Campaigners Of Congress

Candidate Pays Poll Deposit In Rs 10 Coins For A CausePress Trust of India

MUMBAI: Inspired by a film, a candidate from Latur Assembly seat in Maharashtra paid the poll deposit amount in Rs 10 coins to highlight the fact that the coin is not being accepted as legal tender by local traders.

Santosh Sabde, who is contesting as independent from this central Maharashtra town, said Election Commission officials on Friday were hesitant to ac-cept the deposit in coins, but "acquiesced eventually".

An Assembly poll candidate has to pay Rs 10,000 as deposit. Friday was the last day to file nominations for the October 21 state elections.

Makrand Anaspure-starrer 2009 Marathi film "Gallit Gondhal Dillit Mujra" has a sequence where the protagonist, who is contesting an election, pays the deposit in coins, and officials sweat it out while counting them.

Speaking to PTI over phone on Saturday, 28-year-old Sabde, who is pursuing the law degree, said he took his cue from the film, "but for a public cause".

"I had watched the film. The idea to pay deposit amount in coins came from there," he said.

"I don't know why, but people in Latur are reluctant to use or accept Rs 10 coin in transactions at any level despite it being legal tender. So I decided to pay the deposit in Rs 10 coins to flag the issue," Sabde said.

He collected coins from people who could not spend them due to the `unacceptability', he said.

Election officials were reluctant to accept the coins initially, after which he approached the local media.

"The EC officials contacted me when they learnt I was speaking to the media. First they said they will accept Rs 1,000 in coins and remaining amount in notes.

"I insisted that coins were legal tender and must be accepted. Eventually, they acquiesced," Sabde said.


MUMBAI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh are among the 40 "star" campaigners of the party for the October 21 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the first major political contest after the Lok Sabha outing held earlier this year.

Among other top leaders of the party who are expected to hit the hustings are former party president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party general sec-retary in Uttar Pradesh.

Listing Sonia Gandhi, who had kept herself aloof from campaign-ing during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, as a star campaigner under-lines the importance the Congress, which has lost state after states, is as-signing to the Maharashtra elections.

Once a stronghold of the Congress, Maharashtra has slipped out of its grip since the emergence of the BJP.

In the 2014 assembly polls, the Congress could win only 42 seats out

of the total 288. Its performance in Lok Sabha polls, wherein it bagged two seats, was even dismal.

In the 2019 general elections, the party won just one seat.

For the October 21 elections, the Congress has tied up with the NCP. The talks with smaller allies for a grand alliance have hit a roadblock over the allocation of seats.

As per the seat-sharing arrange-ment, the Congress and the NCP were expected to contest 125 seats each. However, the Congress has ended up filing more nominations till October 4, the last date of filing papers.

Other prominent campaigners are former Maharashtra chief ministers Sushilkumar Shinde, Prithviraj Cha-van and Ashok Chavan.

Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, namely Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath, and Bhupesh Baghel also figure in the list of star campaigners.

Rajasthan deputy Chief minister Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sha-trughan Sinha will also campaign.

Interestingly, former Mumbai Con-gress presidents Milind Deora and Sanjay Nirupam, former MP Priya Dutt are not listed as star campaigners.

Some People Trying To Destroy Country's Harmonious Atmosphere: Naqvi

No Fresh Notice Needed For Tree Cutting In Aarey: MMRC MDMUMBAI: Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) dismissed green activists' contention on Saturday that a fresh notice was needed before cutting trees in Aarey Colony after the Bombay High Court dismissed peti-tions opposing it.

Protests broke out in Aarey Colony in north Mumbai on Friday night after MMRC started cutting trees for construction of a car shed for Mumbai Metro's phase III.

MMRC Managing Director Ashwini Bhide, in a series of tweets, said the activists should accept their defeat in the court "honorably".

"The Tree Authority (of the municipal corporation) per-mission was issued on September 13. HC has dismissed four petitions and has imposed fine of Rs 50000 for a friv-olous petition," she said. The court dismissed all petitions in unequivocally clear terms, "but some people consider themselves superior to judiciary as well," Bhide added.

"While their own actions are illegal, they cry foul.If you lose a battle in court, better to accept it honour-

ably than to take it to street," the MMRC MD tweeted."A new false propaganda is in the air that 15 days notice is

required after tree authority order getting uploaded on the website. This is absolutely baseless. The tree authority order is issued on September 13. 15 days are over on September 28. Action was awaited till HC verdict was out," she said.

The Police have imposed section 144 of the Crimi-nal Procedure Code in Aarey Colony, banning unlawful assembly, following strong protests against the felling of trees which began Friday night. While 38 protesters were booked under various sections of the IPC, at least 60 others were detained, police said. PTI

Agenceis

CHENNAI: Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said the BJP-led government was focusing on development of all sections of society without any discrimination, but unfortunately some people were trying to "destroy" the harmo-nious atmosphere.

However, these people were not getting any support and being 'iso-lated', he said, without elaborating.

The Union Minister of Minority Affairs said the Centre was commit-ted to the safety, security and pros-perity of every section of society.

"Unfortunately, some people are trying to destroy or disturb our harmonious atmosphere and these people are trying to do all sort of things," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

To a query whether any special law will be enacted against those who try to disturb communal har-mony, he said, "there is sufficient law to deal with these criminals.."

Asked whether people in Kashmir would be able to apply online for Hajj pilgrimage as internet services were yet to be restored, Naqvi said, "... there is no problem for the Kashmiri people

who want to fill their applications."On the coming Parliament ses-

sion, Naqvi said "This time also we are expecting (it to be productive)."

Referring to the resolution moved in the House, in August, to abolish Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, he said the previous session was productive.

Earlier at the Grahak Mela-Cus-tomer Outreach Initiative by Indian Overseas Bank, Naqvi disbursed sanc-tioned loans to various beneficiaries.

Noting that the BJP-led govern-ment at the Centre took "historic and bold" economic reforms, he said people-friendly policies of the

government have made the country a safe investment hub.

"The step to cut corporate tax is historic.. The decision will help In-dia become a USD 5 trillion econo-my in five years," he claimed.

The government's initiatives like implementatation of Goods and Service Tax, demonetisation, bank-ing and tax reforms have ensured a strong and stable economy, he said.

"Our government is giving pri-ority to expenditure on infrastruc-ture. Our government will spend Rs 100 lakh crore on infrastructure development in next five years," he added.PTI

Rape Victim Who Wanted To `Immolate Herself' Stopped Near CM's HouseBHOPAL: A minor girl, victim of an alleged gang-rape, was stopped near Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's official residence here on Satur-day as she was planning to set herself on fire, the police said.

The 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by three men in Sagar district a month ago.

Two of them were arrested but another accused was still at large, inspector B P Singh of Shyamala Hills police station here said.

The police deployed near the CM's residence stopped the girl on Satur-day when her movements seemed suspicious, and found that she was carrying a can of fuel.

The girl, who was accompanied by two people including her uncle, alleg-edly told the police that she was going to immolate herself outside the CM's residence as the Sagar police were shielding the absconding accused and trying to weaken the case.

The police pacified her and per-suaded her to return to Sagar, inspec-tor Singh said. PTI

10 Family Members Of Three Lals In Fray In Haryana PollsPress trust of India

CHANDIGARH: For nearly 30 years, the three Lals -- Chaudhary Devi Lal, Bansi Lal and Bhajan Lal -- ruled Haryana by turns after the state was carved out of Punjab in 1966, enjoying immense clout.

At least ten of their family members are contesting the Oc-tober 21 assembly polls in the state amid declining influence of these clans over the last 15 years.

In the family of former deputy prime minister and ex-chief min-ister Chaudhary Devi Lal, the youngest to enter the poll fray is 31-year-old Dushyant Chautala who is contesting from Uchana Kalan against sitting MLA Prem Lata, wife of former Union min-ister Chaudhary Birender Singh.

Dushyant, a former Hisar MP, is a candidate of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a breakaway of the In-dian National Lok Dal which wit-nessed spilt in 2018 following a feud in the Chautala clan. Dushyant is great grandson of late Devi Lal.

While two members of the Chautala family are JJP candidates, one each is contesting on tickets

from INLD and the BJP, while one is contesting as an Independent. Five from the other two families are fighting on Congress tickets.

Dushyant's mother Naina Chau-tala is contesting from Badhra constituency on JJP ticket. In 2014 assembly elections, Naina, wife of Ajay Singh Chautala, had won from Dabwali seat on INLD ticket.

INLD leader and sitting MLA Abhay Singh Chautala is in the fray from Ellanabad again.

Ajay and Abhay are sons of former chief minister Om Prakash Chau-tala and grandsons of Devi Lal. Ad-itya Singh Chautala, son of Jagdish Chautala who is one of the four sons of Devi Lal, is fighting from Dabwali assembly constituency on BJP ticket.

Ranjit Singh Chautala, 73, son of late deputy prime minister Devi Lal, has entered the electoral fray from Rania as Independent after failing to secure ticket from the Congress.

In the family of former chief min-ister Bhajan Lal, his two sons -- Kul-deep Bishnoi and Chander Mohan -- have filed nominations from Ad-ampur and Panchkula assembly seats respectively on Congress tickets.

Chander Mohan is a four-time

MLA from Kalka seat and former dep-uty chief minister of Haryana. From the family for former chief minister Bansi Lal, his son 75-year-old Ranbir Singh Mahendra is contesting from Badhra seat on Congress ticket.

Mahendra, who is a former presi-dent of the Board of Control for Crick-et in India (BCCI), is facing JJP nomi-nee Naina Chautala as his main rival.

Bansi Lal's daughter-in law Kiran Chaudhary, who is senior Congress leader, has filed her nomination from Tosham seat. Chaudhary is the wife of Surender Singh, who died in helicopter crash in 2005. The Congress has also fielded Somvir Singh, son-in-law of Bansi Lal, from Loharu seat.

The Indian National Lok Dal, founded by Devi Lal, split in 2018 af-ter a bitter power struggle between his two grandsons Ajay Chautala and Abhay Chautala. The feud saw Ajay Chautala and his sons Dushyant and Digvijay being expelled from the party by Om Prakash Chautala.

Following the 10-year rule of the Congress under Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the emergence of BJP as a major player in 2014, the influence of the three families has been confined to their pocket boroughs. PTI CHS

Indian Murder, Rape Accused Lands In UK After ExtraditionLONDON: An Indian man accused of rape and murder in the UK 10 years ago has been charged with the crimes as he landed here after being extra-dited from India, Scotland Yard said.

Aman Vyas, 35, landed at Heathrow Airport on Friday night and will appear before Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in west London charged with the mur-der and rape of Michelle Samaraweera who died after being attacked in Walthamstow, east London, on May 30 2009, the Metropolitan Police said.

"Vyas was also charged with the

following offences relating to three other women – one count of attempt-ed murder; five counts of assault; seven counts of rape; one count of possession of a knife or bladed article in a public place; one count of pos-session of an offensive weapon; and one count of sexual assault,” the Met Police statement noted.

All the offences are alleged to have taken place at locations across Walthamstow area of London between March 24, 2009, and May 30, 2009.

The dead body of Samaraweera, a

35-year-old woman, was discovered in a children's playground in Waltham-stow in 2009 and she had been found to have been sexually assaulted.

Vyas had been in judicial custody in Delhi and recently issued a state-ment through his lawyer claiming he was being made a "scapegoat".

"The (UK) media wrongly reported that Vyas was the son of a wealthy busi-nessman in India. He is the son of a very poor retired private school teacher and his mother is a housewife,” Vyas' law-yer Amrit Singh told PTI in Delhi.

News 05Sunday | 06.10.2019

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, R&B DIVISION SOPORE

SELF HELP GROUPSGIST OF TENDER NOTICE NO 107/08 0F 2019-2020

Issued vide endorsement No;- 955-75 dated;- 03.10.2019For and on behalf of the Governor of J&K State, the Executive Engineer, R&B Divi-sion Sopore hereby invites sealed tenders affixed with Re 2/- Revenue stamps from the approved Government contractors for the: works/ works mentioned in the an-nexure. The tenders should be addressed to the Executive Engineer, (R&B) Sopore which should reach in his office on or before 16 .10.2019 upto 2 P.M. The tender documents of the work/ work covering with terms and conditions of the contract can be had from the office of the Executive Engineer, R&B Division Sopore after production of available enlistment card by the contractor on any working day during office hours14.10.2019 upto/.10.2019 on case payment. No Tender form, shall be accepted. These will be opened on the same date or any other subsequent date convenient to the Executive Engineer, (R&B) Sopore , in presence of the contractors who may like to be present there. In case the last date of receipt of tenders happens to be holiday/ Hartal/ Curfew the same shall be received on next working day. The payment for the work shall be made as and when funds for the same are available. One time used CDR shall not be accepted. The terms and conditions can be seen in the tender notice available in the Divisional office.As per Annexure enclosed.For and on behalf of the, Governor of J&K State,

No: 6976-77 Date.03. 10.2019Sd/- EXECUTIVE ENGINEER,

R&B DIVISION SOPORE. DIPK NO. 1243/M

GOVT, OF JAMMU & KASHMIR

OFFICE OF THE WARDEN BOYS &

GIRLS PAHARI HOSTEL KUPWARA

[email protected] Ph.no 9797903797No. BPH/ Kup/19-60 Dated 28/09/2019

SIT No:-WPH/KUP of 2019 Dated:-28.09.2019For and on; behalf of the Govt, of Jammu and Kashmir sealed Tenders affix With Rs.5/= Revenue stamps are invited from authorized distributors and. those firms/dealers who either registered or by those who are dealing actually in the; Good items ,for which.the tender is floated for supply of office items/expense for Boys1 and Girls Paria Hostel Kupwara.run by the State ad-visory Board for Development of pahari Speaking people j&k for the year 2019.The tender should reach in the office of the u/sd with in seven days from publication of SIT up 4,00 pm. The tenders should be opened on the day or any other day.

Sd/- Warden Govt. Boys & Girls Pahari Hostel Dudwan Kupwara

DIPK NO. 1292/M

POLICE HEADQUATERS JAMMU AND KASHMIR

SRINAGARPhone/FaxNo: 0194-2443031/2143032 (Sgr)

0191-2459029/2459255(Jmu)Website :jkpolce.gov.nic [email protected]

[Provision Section]

AMENDMENT NOTICEThe list of Police Stations/ Police Posts is enclosed herewith as Annexure “I” of this Notice for e-NIT 74 of 2019 dated 21.09.2019 (installation of CCTV Surveillance System at Police Stations and Police Posts of J&K State) for the information of intending Bidders. Please be informed that in view of paucity of time period for current financial year, the last date for submission of bids shall not be extended further. All the intending bidders may login to J&K State e-procurement portal www jk-tenders.gov.in on tender-id 2019_DGPJK_82220_L for details. The other terms and conditions of the NIT shall remain the same.

Sd/ Mubassir Latifi (JKPS) AIG(Provision & Transport),

For Director General of Police, J&K- Srinagar.

No: Prov-II/ Elect-25/2019-20/59407/20Dated: 03/10/2019. DIPK NO.1255/M

Political Rights Of People Snatched After Revocation Of 370: Shehla RashidBDC Elections In Absence Of Opposition Last Nail In The Coffin Of Democracy

Schools Remain Deserted In KashmirSRINAGAR: Students continued to stay away from classes despite authorities reopening Higher Secondary Schools (HSSs) on Thurs-day after starting other primary and high schools last month in Kashmir, where shut-down against scrapping of Article 370 and 35 A completed 62 days on Saturday.

However, some private schools have rent-ed rooms in different localities in the sum-mer capital, Srinagar, where teachers of these educational institutes are trying to complete syllabus of Class 10 and Class 12 before the final board examinations later this month.

Meanwhile, degree and engineering col-leges and universities continued to remain closed since August 5.

The state government has already an-nounced that there will be no mass promo-tion and students will have to appear in the examinations.

The state government ordered closure of all educational institutions in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, when centre scrapped Article 370 and 35 A, besides divided the state into two Union Territories -- Ladakh region and Jammu and Kashmir.

The decision evoked sharp reaction from within the state and outside, including main-stream political party leaders. The authorities also put three former chief ministers Dr Farooq Abdullah, MP, his son Omar Abdullah, Mehboo-ba Mufti and dozens of other senior National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Communist Party of India (M), National Panthers Party (NPP), Peoples Conference (PC) and Congress under house arrest or detention.

Dr Abdullah was later booked under Pub-lic Safety Act (PSA) and his Gupkar residence was converted into a sub-jail. However, de-tained leaders in Jammu were released on Tuesday while there was no relief for Kash-

miri leaders. The authorities also snapped mobile and internet service of all Cellular companies, including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) from August 5.

Schools and colleges were reopened in Jammu and Ladakh regions in a phased man-ner last month. However, educational insti-tutions remained closed in Kashmir valley.

Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan announced reopening of upto primary schools followed by middle and High Schools last month. However, there was no response from the students, who stayed away. Parents, fearing trouble, said until communication was restored they will not sent their children to schools.

Even though students from lower classes did not attend their schools, Mr Khan earlier this week announced reopening of all HSSs from Thursday in the valley.

However, majority of the HSSs in the val-ley remained deserted as students preferred to stay indoors in view of the situation though teachers and other ministerial staff present were present in these institutions.

Not a single student attended classes in Government SP HSS on Moulana Azad road, where a large number of Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF) were present in the compound. “No student came to the school since the HSSs were reopened,” staff of the school told UNI.

In the downtown, all Government HSSs wore a deserted look with only security forc-es deployed outside and teachers waiting in-side. Similar reports were also received from headquarters of districts in south, north and central Kashmir.

Meanwhile, reports from far flung and re-mote areas could not be ascertained due to suspension of mobile and internet service in

the valley.Many private schools have asked their Class

10 and Class 12 students to attend classes in rooms rented in private accommodation. “The School authorities have asked us to send our children to private accommodation rented by them so that the syllabus of students is com-pleted before Class 10 and Class 12 examina-tions,” Nazir Ahmad, a parent, told UNI.

But, parents expressed reservation on sending their children to schools in view of current situation, communication gag and non-availability of transportation. “How can we send our children to schools since there is no public transport,” Rashid Ahmad, a par-ent said, adding ‘we won’t be able to com-municate with our in case there is any emer-gency in the absence of mobile phones’.

“Let government restore mobile service and public transport in the valley before an-nouncing such decisions,” he added.

The private educational institutions have already asked their students to fill examina-tion forms and complete other formalities for appearing in BOSE examination. The private institutions provided study material, includ-ing video lessons, to students of all classes from LKG to class 12th to study at homes. The private schools have also announced admis-sion for new classes in the valley, where new session starts from November every year.

However, students of government schools were not so lucky as there was no arrange-ments for providing video lessons and study material to them. “Besides casual approach by BOSE in providing relief to students by providing study materials, they (govern-ment school students) cannot afford com-puters to study video lessons at home since they are from poor and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families,” parents told UNI.

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir People’s Moment (JKPM) leader Shehla Rashid on Saturday reject-ed the government claim of ev-erything being normal in valley.

While talking to CNS, former JNU student leader and General Secretary of JKPM said, “Leader-ship is under detention, commu-nication is under suspension, there are no students attending schools, business activities are at halt, pub-lic transport is off the roads and government is claiming that nor-malcy has returned in the valley.”

“How bigger could be a joke other than the false claims of the government, which are in total contrast to the factual situation on ground in Kashmir?”, she said.

Coming down heavily on govern-ment said, “How can students reach their schools when there is no trans-port facility available, how children can attend classes, when mobile and internet connectivity is down and how can one say everything is normal, when all the cities and towns are observing a lockdown.”

Referring to upcoming BDC elections Shehla Rashid said that democracy in Jammu and Kashmir has been pushed to back stage, by choking the democratic voices of the people and rounding up almost whole political leadership and gov-ernment is talking about holding BDC elections in an atmosphere which is covered with uncertainty.

Shehla Rashid said, “It is bet-ter for government to bring members for BDC council from outside and forget about holding the elections for the purpose.”

Regarding ongoing proceedings

in Supreme Court against the abro-gation of Article 370 and deferment of the hearing for four weeks Shehla said,“ Unfortunately we could not succeed in getting a stay over the Center’s decision to revoke 370, but our efforts will continue in this di-rection, so that the constitutional position of the State is revived back to the position, which it enjoyed before 5th August and people are relieved of the sufferings they are presently faced with.”

She rejected the Center’s ar-gument that abrogation of Arti-cle 370 will pave way for the de-velopment of state Shehla said, “By taking the decision without taking the people of State into confidence, Center has put last nail in the coffin of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.”

“No amount of development can substitute democracy and democracy cannot be thought to be in place, when political activities are on halt and almost whole political leadership is un-der detention”, she added.

When asked if the leadership was set free, what has JKPM to offer to the people, Shehla said,” Nothing in this regard can be said till the leadership is out.” (CNS)

In 62 Days, Cellular Companies Suffer Loss Of Rs 120 Cr‘Companies Considering To Shift Offices To Jammu For Time Being’SRINAGAR: Amidst the continuous cellular gag in Kashmir, the cellular companies here have suffered a loss of over Rs 120 Crore from last 62 days while the companies are considering to shift their offices to Jammu till the situation turns normal in the Valley.

The Valley is facing communica-tion blackout since August 05, when the government in centre abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (Article 370) and divided the State into two Union Territories.

Sources told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that the cellular companies including the government-run BSNL, Airtel, Jio, Idea, Vodafone and others have suffered huge loss worth over Rs 120 crore in last 62 days, adding that the cellular companies are suffering a loss of Rs two crore in a day.

They said that the continuous shut-down of the cellular services has left many youth unemployed. “Due to the

continuous cellular clampdown, the cellular companies like 2016 Kashmir situation are considering to shift their respective offices to Jammu for time being,” sources said, adding that the cellular companies called on their engineers as well as the other senior officials here to Delhi and discussed the prevailing situation.

“It is likely that the authorities will shift the offices to Jammu till the situation returns to normalcy in Kashmir. But, in case the decision is taken by the officials, many of the youth working in these companies will become unemployed,” sources added.

Notably, the government has stated that the cellular services are suspended in Kashmir due to the provocations from across the Line of Control (LoC). “The services will be restored soon in Kashmir,” the gov-ernment had stated.

Pertinently, the landline services across Jammu and Kashmir were restored in the last month while as the mobile phone services were only restored in Jammu region. (KNS)

MAFW’s High Level Team To Visit J&K To Look Into Agri-Horti Infra For DevelopmentMIDH Holds Meeting To Boost Almond, Walnut Production In J&K, 3 StatesObserver News Service

NEW DELHI: A high level team from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India is going to visit J&K to look into the infrastructure for the overall development of Agricul-ture and Horticulture sector.

This was decided at a high level meeting which was con-vened under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), Minis-try of Agriculture Farmers and Welfare, today at Krishi Bhawan here to discuss the boost in pro-duction of Almonds and Walnut of four States including J&K.

The meeting was chaired by Rajveer Singh, Joint Secretary MIDH, Ministry of Agriculture Farmers and Welfare.

The meeting was also attend-ed by Commissioner Horticul-ture, B.N.S. Murthy Ministry of Agriculture, Farmers and Wel-fare GoI , Mission Director from J&K Aijaz A Bhat and Mission Di-rectors from Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand.

The main focus in the meeting was to boost the production of almonds and walnut in the concerned states.

Regarding J&K the production turnover per year is 6 crore ru-pees. The meeting was informed that the walnut production is 2.7 lakh MT with area covered 85,000 hectares where as Almond pro-duction is 10,000 MT under the area covered 6,000 hectares.

In Jammu province, it was given out, the walnut production is 84356 MT and in Kashmir it is 195066 MT whileas the almond production in Kashmir is 10321 MT while in Jammu province it is 5 MT.

Speaking on the occasion, the Joint Secretary asked for the proposals for cluster propaga-tion of 50,000 plants in walnut and almond per year especially for Jammu and Kashmir. During the meeting, it was also decided that a high level team from Min-istry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GoI shall visit J&K for looking into the infrastructure and concerned for the overall development of Agriculture and Horticulture Department.

It was also informed that un-der MIS scheme, apples cultivated in J&K are procured directly from farmers by the government-run Na-tional Agricultural Cooperative Mar-keting Federation of India (NAFED).

Under this scheme about 55,000 boxes of Apples have been procured till October 3, 2019 which weighs about 711 MT cost-ing about 3.36 crore while bene-fitting around 500 apple growers.

The meeting was also told that the total production during the current year is about 22-24 lakh MT generating 8 crore mandays thus involving 7 lakh families in the sector and covers 1.64 lakh Hectares in J&K.

It was also given out that J&K’s Horticulture Department has in-troduced high density plantation from 2017, and under this catego-ry about 200 hectares plantation has been completed till date. In the coming 8 to 10 years the target is to convert 1 lakh hectares into high density plantation, the rea-son being 8 times more in produc-tion than our traditional orchards, the meeting was informed.

‘Unbundling’ of PDD: JKPECC threatens to go on ‘mass protest leave’ on Oct 10Terms Decision As Anti-Department MoveSRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Power Employees Coordination Committee (JKPECC) on Saturday threatened to go for ‘mass protest leave’ on 10th of October in case the government fails to fulfill their de-mands. The employees are protest-ing from September 10 against the process of ‘unbundling’ of Power Development Department (PDD).

According to Kashmir News Ser-vice (KNS), Power Development Department employees under the banner of JKPECC protested at Chief Engineer’s Office Srinagar, against the process of ‘unbundling’ the department and threatened to go for ‘mass protest leave’ on 10th of October, 2019.

Protesting employees told Kash-mir News Service (KNS) that au-thorities are adamant for unbun-

dling without taking the situation of Jammu and Kashmir into con-sideration. They added the move is imposed in 28 states of the country but it has utterly failed in 27 states.

They told KNS that authorities are forcibly implementing this ‘flop policy’ in Jammu and Kashmir. “Af-ter abrogating of Article 370, au-thorities are taking undue advan-tage and are forcibly imposing laws including unbundling the PDD. Bi-har, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal etc are those states where this policy has proved flop”, they said.

According to Kashmir News Ser-vice (KNS), protesting employees termed this move as ‘anti-depart-ment’ and threatened to go for ‘mass protest leave’ on 10th of Oc-tober in case the government fails to address their demands. (KNS)

UNDER THIS SCHEME ABOUT 55,000 BOXES OF APPLES have been procured till October 3, 2019 which weighs about 711 MT costing about 3.36 crore while benefitting around 500 apple growers.

Sunday|06-10-2019

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Individuals and societies are waking up to climate change

Radhika khosla / hindustan times

WE are witnessing a global wave of climate strikes that are demanding more action on the climate emergency. The largest of these had six million people, from countries around the world, who united in their message momentari-

ly erased the diplomatic boundaries between developed and developing nations, which have long beset the international climate negotiations. The images spanning Jakarta, Nairobi, Mexico City, Sao Paulo – and closer to home in Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata – are striking, not least because these are cities with multiple development challenges and seemingly more immediate priorities (jobs, electricity, housing), as opposed to the more abstract and longer-term concerns of climate change. But the clear message from this growing public sentiment is that protecting the environment is no longer an issue for the future, nor is it one which is solely salient in UN corridors. Rather, it has pressing effects on everyday lives. Could this shift mean we are moving towards a tipping point in how climate actions are undertaken?

The reason it is important to ask this question is that tackling the climate crisis is not a task for heads of countries alone. In fact, any success towards the global temperature 2°Celsius target, laid out in the Paris Agreement, is inextricably dependent on how actions to-wards this goal will filter down from nations to cities, households, and individuals. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.5°C report states, there are only two pathways to achieve the global temperature target: One, by drastically reducing global energy demand; or two, by the use of negative emission technologies (includ-ing bio-energy with carbon capture and storage), which reduce carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. While the latter technologies are almost entirely in the demonstration phase without being avail-able at scale, the former option – reduction in energy demand – is both technologically feasible and cost-effective. The catch, however, is that it requires untangling the complex ways in which energy consumption is embedded in our daily lives.

The majority of energy services are used within four broad categories. These are in buildings, transportation, food, and commodities. The provi-sion of services within each of these areas is core to a better quality of life, which is important for regions starting from a low base of development. At the same time, the scale of current and future energy consumption poses difficult challenges for climate change because of its trade-offs with higher greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, cooling, especially from air conditioners, is expected to grow exponentially to require the equivalent of all electricity demand in the US and Germany today. Reducing energy demand, thereby, requires a fundamental examination of our everyday consumption patterns, and in turn, of our lifestyles and underlying social norms. Changing these is arguably a more difficult task than an ostensible technological fix to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Yet, simultaneously, the opportunity to tackle climate change by focusing on energy demand also locates the solution space within our everyday lives. The use of energy efficient appliances, reduced meat consumption, public transport use, and the reduction of waste, are key examples. These solutions are even more relevant for emerging econo-mies, where most of the infrastructure – which shapes preferences – is yet to be built. For instance, net-zero architectural designs or the avail-ability of reliable public transit can significantly reduce, and even re-move, the need for energy consumption for lighting, thermal comfort, and private vehicles.

The latest science tells us that we are already at 1.1°C of warming, and at the current rate, the earth is 15-20 years away from reaching 1.5°C. Halt-ing temperature increase well below 2°C at this stage will require a range of solution pathways. Within this set, demand-side options are well under-stood and widely available. But their uptake and acceptability is difficult because they require more than technological shifts, and instead, call for a transition in our material realities and deeply embedded individual be-haviours. Perhaps the most heartening message from the recent climate news is that as individuals and societies we are beginning to recognise that tackling the climate emergency is one in which we can all play a part.As geographer Mike Hulme has succinctly said, climate change is not so much a discrete problem to be solved as it is a condition under which human be-ings are to make choices about the way we live and govern ourselves.

O T H E R O P I N I O N

Political One-Upmanship On Kashmir

RAM Jethmalani’s de-mise has been mourned very widely as his circle of friends was vast and

varied. Jethmalani lived a full life with all the best the system was able to offer him. His death has caused a void that can never be filled. An eminent lawyer and an authority on India’s criminal justice system, Jethmalani will be remembered by a wide group of people in India and Pakistan.

Jethmalani had settled in In-dia for good after his migration from Sindh (Pakistan) and he was a thorough Hindustani. But then, he had assiduously nourished relationships all over the sub-continent including Pakistan. He was always welcome there, not only in Sindh but everywhere in Pakistan. There were occasions when he invited friends to join the celebrations often around his birthday parties. He was always cheerful and at his best. On occa-sions, he recited verses, particu-larly by Faiz. He knew quite a lot on Iqbaliyat. He could, if he had chosen to write, done a compre-hensive critique on the subject. He remembered many verses of Iqbal’s Shikwa and Jawabi Shi-kwa, too. Once he had surprised many Indian and Pakistani guests who had assembled in good num-bers to celebrate his birthday at his Krishna Menon Marg resi-dence: He interspersed his con-versations with verses not only of Iqbal and Faiz, but of many others such as Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi, Ahmad Faraz, Parveen Shakir, Bashir Badar and others. Jethmalani was an exceptional human being and a great friend — he could go to any lengths to maintain friendships.

Once I went to him with a per-sonal problem: The Union minis-

ter for urban development, Buta Singh, wanted me to quit my Hu-mayun Road residence and settle for a residence at South Avenue. It was a question of entitlement for a residence. My plea was that the same residence was being used by a businessman earlier, and after my election to the Lok Sabha, I was genuinely entitled to the resi-dence. Jethmalani directly took up

the matter with the then President of India. When he was 94, and he thought any more of his appear-ances in the Supreme Court would not be to his liking as he thought the court’s decorum could be im-paired, he flabbergasted the judges by saying “adieu!” Until then the lordships had been earnestly re-questing him to argue cases while sitting in the chair. He had empha-sised that he would stand on his feet and argue the cases that way until his last breath. And that is what he did.

Sometime in 2016, when I visit-ed his home, he broke the sad news to me that he would not be able to play his favourite game, tennis. He was 93 then.

Ram had many pursuits in life. One of them was his interest in Kashmir. He was sad that his pur-suit of the resolution of the Kash-mir problem remained unfulfilled because of political one-upmanship, which spoilt the atmosphere in In-

dia. Ram had a considerable knowl-edge of Kashmir’s history, and more importantly, of the development of the constitutional relationship be-tween the state and India.

When Khurshid Mahmud Ka-suri, Mani Shankar Aiyar, O P Shah and myself attended a meeting with Ram on April 17, 2017, he had ex-plained to us in detail that Pervez Musharraf’s four-point formula

was best suited to forge a friendship between India and Pakistan.

He had surprised us by nar-rating a story. He had gone to visit Atal Bihari Vajpayee soon after the Agra Summit and told him that he (Ram) would not even have changed a comma of what Mush-arraf had proposed for an abid-ing friendship between India and Pakistan. Why, then, had Vajpayee not moved to take the final step? Ram told us that Vajpayee chose to remain silent. But, then, Ram explained that Vajpayee’s real dif-ficulty was the party not getting along with him on what Musharraf had proposed!

---------This article first appeared in the

Indian Express on October 5, 2019 under the title ‘A formidable

friend’. The writer is a senior Congress leader and former

Union minister.

Ram had many pursuits in life. One

of them was his interest in Kashmir. He was sad that his pursuit of the resolution of the Kashmir problem remained unfulfilled because of political one-upmanship, which spoilt the atmosphere in India. Ram had a considerable knowledge of Kashmir’s history, and more importantly, of the development of the constitutional relationship between the state and India.

saifuddin soz

When Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Mani Shankar Aiyar, O P Shah and myself attended a

meeting with Ram on April 17, 2017, he had explained to us in detail that Pervez Musharraf’s four-point formula was best suited to forge a friendship between India and Pakistan.

India, That is Bharat India has no civilisational obligation towards persecuted people of non-Indic faiths, writes M. Nageswara Rao.

India, that is Bharat…” When framers of our Constitution used those words in that se-quence in its very first article, they were con-

scious of certain facts: One, India is just a new name of our country Bharat that is homeland of our millennia-old civilisation that gave birth to four major religions – Hinduism, Jainism, Bud-dhism and Sikhism – which primarily informed our ancient civilisational ethos and culture; Two, the Indian State is the inheritor and trustee of our ancient civilisation; Three, the Pream-bular exhortation of ‘unity and integrity of the Nation” has civilisational connotation as deep civilisational ties bound us spatially and inter-generationally spanning across yugas. Thus they were cognizant of India as a Civilisational Nation whose unity and integrity was primar-ily informed by Sanatana Dharma aeons before they assembled to frame the Constitution. There-fore, the moral obligation of the Constitution was largely to nurture our ancient civilisation and its values with a view to reintegrate our Nation and its people, for, bereft of those there will be no In-dia in India as mere geographical lumps alone do not make a nation.

Even though Hindus are about a billion popu-lation there is no Hindu State in the world. India being the only country with Hindu majority (ex-cept smaller Nepal) and the only homeland for adherents of Indic religions (except Buddhists) it goes without saying that it has civilizational responsibility towards adherents of Indic reli-gions. It’s an unfortunate reality that Hindus (which includes Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs as per Explanation-II of article 25) suffer religious persecution in some countries. They naturally look up to India for succor and refuge as they (except Buddhists) have nowhere else to go. But those who escaped to India have long been suffer-ing for want of Indian citizenship – an essential for a dignified living.

As per TRIPS agreement, Parliament enacted Geographical Indications of Goods (Registra-tion and Protection) Act, 1999 to protect mate-rial goods. If there could be so much anxiety for ephemeral material objects, should we not show an equal if not greater concern to protect the per-secuted people who are carriers of religious tra-ditions that originated in India and informed our ancient civilisation for millennia? As the moral-ity enshrined in the Constitution is hinged upon our civilisational mores, ensuring the wellbeing of people of Indic religions, wherever they may be, becomes India’s civilisational responsibility, nay constitutional morality.

BJP in its 2014 Election Manifesto promised, “India shall remain a natural home for perse-cuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here.” Accordingly, Citizenship Amend-ment Bill, 2016 (CAB-2016) was introduced in Parliament which since lapsed. Given that final NRC in Assam has left citizenship status of many in limbo, the passing of the new CAB assumes greater significance. In this context it is neces-sary to understand the shortcomings of CAB-2016 to overcome them so that the new law would not get mired in litigation and the long-suffering per-secuted people of Indic faiths would get citizen-ship expeditiously.

First, CAB-2016 dealt with religious perse-cution in only three countries i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It cannot be said that

persecution of adherents of Indic religions is or will be limited to these countries only. For in-stance, Hindu American Foundation reports, “Hindu American students continue to be bul-lied and feel socially ostracized for their reli-gious beliefs….” Hence, the law should factor in current as well as future eventualities by in-cluding all countries.

Second, CAB-2016 included all minorities in those three countries. This doesn’t make any sense. For, India has no civilisational obligation towards persecuted people of non-Indic faiths. We have been magnanimous to others like Jews and Zoroastrian-Parsis who were persecuted for their religion and had no place to go. But that’s not the case with persecuted Christians and Muslims who can seek refuge and citizenship in any Christian or Christian-majority and Islamic countries respectively. So is the case with regard to Jews who now have their own homeland – Is-rael. Further, we cannot afford to unnecessarily

burden an already overpopulated India. Hon’ble Prime Minister in his 2019 Independence Day rightly flagged the issue of population explosion. It is therefore prudent to limit citizenship only to persecuted adherents of Indic religions and Zoro-astrianParsis only.

Third, experts have raised questions regard-ing constitutional validity of CAB2016. So even if a fresh Bill becomes law, it may be challenged in courts, which will hardly help the long suffering persecuted Hindus etc. Therefore, it is necessary to amend Constitution before amending Citizen-ship Act.

Four, since religious persecution is the basis for grant of citizenship, his subsequent conver-sion, if any, to a non-Indic religion repudiates that very basis. He might as well have converted

and stayed in his homeland instead of moving to India. Moreover, it is not difficult to fake one’s re-ligion to gain Indian citizenship fraudulently and then proclaim the real identity. Therefore, with-out stringent safeguards, it will end up as legal route for demographic invasion, which CAB-2016 did not factor in.

In view of these, it is imperative to amend Constitution by inserting a new Article 11A to enable Parliament to amend Citizenship Act lim-iting citizenship to the persecuted Hindus, Bud-dhists, Jains, Sikhs and Zoroastrians only from any country with stringent safeguards against misuse by providing for termination of citizen-ship with consequent disabilities including de-portation to his former homeland, applying pro-visions of Enemy Property Act to confiscate his properties etc. –Courtesy, Outlook

(The author is a serving senior IPS officer. The views expressed are his own.)

BJP in its 2014 Election Manifesto promised, “India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and

they shall be welcome to seek refuge here.” Accordingly, Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 (CAB-2016) was introduced in Parliament which since lapsed. Given that final NRC in Assam has left citizenship status of many in limbo, the passing of the new CAB assumes greater significance.

“

Sunday|06-10-2019Think!Opinion, Analysis, Essays

Don’t Feel Ashamed If You’re Depressed

Depression is clearly a ticking time bomb but sadly most aren’t even aware that they are depressed. The extreme manifestation of depression is suicide and in 2015 alone, more than 50,000 youth in India took their lives

OTHER than the emotional pain and suffering, studies suggest that depression also puts them in the danger of

self-destructive behaviour, like rash driving, unsafe sex, teenage pregnan-cy, drug abuse, excessive drinking, dropping out of school or college, self-injury, etc

If you take India’s 364 million youth (10-29 years), and carve them out into a separate country, it would form the third most populated country in the world. Like young people everywhere, they are facing a long, hard road to adulthood. Internally, they fight anxi-eties, personal struggles, hormones, stresses and powerful emotions. Exter-nally, they grapple with a fast-changing India, pregnant with possibility but at the same time, difficult to comprehend and navigate.

These pressures, a changing life-style and society, combined with genet-ic and biological factors make depres-sion rampant among India’s youth. A 2016 study published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry revealed that depression among university students is at a whopping 53.2%. Other than the emotional pain and suffering, studies suggest that depression also puts them in the danger of self-destructive be-haviour, like rash driving, unsafe sex, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, exces-sive drinking, dropping out of school or college, self-injury, etc.

The extreme manifestation of de-pression is suicide!

Did you know that suicide is the leading cause for death among India’s youth, with suicide rates being among the highest in the world? In 2015, we lost 51,792 youth aged between 14-29 to suicide alone.

Depression is clearly a ticking time bomb but sadly most aren’t even aware that they are depressed.

Some of the common symptoms are pervasive low mood, a lack of interest, low energy, or restlessness, decreased or increased appetite, oversleeping or insomnia, impaired memory, lowered

self-confidence, and thoughts of death and suicide. Even if somebody realises that they are depressed, most do not seek help, and suffer in silence due to stigma. There is a general understand-ing that being depressed means being sad, while in actuality there is a differ-ence. If you or anyone you know is ex-periencing any of the above symptoms for two weeks or more, seeking profes-sional help is highly recommended.

Back in 2014, when I was in pain, suffering alone, and breaking down re-peatedly, I didn’t know I was depressed. I was going about my day, posing for cameras, getting interviewed and sign-ing autographs. But what nobody saw was that I didn’t feel like myself, I felt ‘different’ somehow. My breathing was irregular and shallow, my stomach was in knots, getting out of bed was a struggle and I would break down for no reason. All I wanted to do was to curl up and stay in bed.

Luckily for me, my mother un-derstood that this was more than just passing sadness and got me the help I required. And thanks to the timely ex-pert intervention of Anna Chandy and Shyam Bhat, and the love and support of my parents, sister and friends, I was able to treat my depression with medi-cation, therapy and lifestyle changes.

Soon after, I started The Live Love Laugh Foundation, a charitable trust to champion the cause of mental health in India, with a focus on anxiety and depression in particular. The founda-tion works towards destigmatizing and creating awareness about mental ill-ness while encouraging people to seek help. We launched our flagship aware-ness programme, You Are Not Alone in schools. It is an interactive and in-formative opportunity for adolescent students and teachers to gain a bet-ter understanding and increase their awareness of mental health.

As of March, we have covered ap-proximately 30,000 students and 6,000 teachers across India.

Last year, we launched India’s first ever public awareness campaign on mental health, Dobara Poocho that en-couraged over a hundred survivors to share their battles with mental illness.

I’d say there’s absolutely no shame if you suffer from depression. Please don’t hide it, feel angry, think of your-self as weak, or consider it a charac-ter flaw. It is not your fault if you are depressed. Acceptance is the first step on the road to recovery. Depression doesn’t discriminate; it can happen to anybody, at any point in their lives. Know that you are not alone, that we are in this together and most impor-tantly that there is hope; for in the words of comedian Stephen Fry, “It will be sunny one day”.

The Hindustan Times

Back in 2014, when I was in

pain, suffering alone, and breaking down repeatedly, I didn’t know I was depressed. I was going about my day, posing for cameras, getting interviewed and signing autographs. But what nobody saw was that I didn’t feel like myself, I felt ‘different’ somehow.

Deepika paDukone

THE human body is incredibly resilient. When you donate a pint of blood, you lose about 3.5 trillion red blood cells, but your body quickly replaces them. You can even

lose large chunks of vital organs and live. For ex-ample, people can live relatively normal lives with just half a brain). Other organs can be removed in their entirety without having too much impact on your life. Here are some of the “non-vital organs”.

Spleen

This organ sits on the left side of the ab-domen, towards the back under the ribs. It is most commonly removed as a result of injury. Because it sits close the ribs, it is vulnerable to abdominal trauma. It is enclosed by a tissue paper-like capsule, which easily tears, allowing blood to leak from the damaged spleen. If not diagnosed and treated, it will result in death.

When you look inside the spleen, it has two notable colours. A dark red colour and small pockets of white. These link to the functions. The red is involved in storing and recycling red blood cells, while the white is linked to storage of white cells and platelets.

You can comfortably live without a spleen. This is because the liver plays a role in recycling red blood cells and their components. Similarly, other lymphoid tissues in the body help with the immune function of the spleen.

Stomach

The stomach performs four main functions: me-chanical digestion by contracting to smash up food, chemical digestion by releasing acid to help chemi-cally break up food, and then absorption and secre-tion. The stomach is sometimes surgically removed as a result of cancer or trauma. In 2012, a British woman had to have her stomach removed after in-gesting a cocktail that contained liquid nitrogen.

When the stomach is removed, surgeons attach the oesophagus (gullet) directly to the small intes-tines. With a good recovery, people can eat a normal diet alongside vitamin supplements.

Reproductive organs

The primary reproductive organs in the male and female are the testes and ovaries, respectively. These structures are paired and people can still have children with only one functioning.

The removal of one or both are usually the result of cancer, or in males, trauma, often as a result of violence, sports or road traffic acci-dents. In females, the uterus (womb) may also be removed. This procedure (hysterectomy) stops women from having children and also halts the menstrual cycle in pre-menopausal women. Re-search suggests that women who have their ova-ries removed do not have a reduced life expec-tancy. Interestingly, in some male populations, removal of both testicles may lead to an increase in life expectancy.

Colon

The colon (or large intestine) is a tube that is about six-feet in length and has four named parts: ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid. The primary functions are to resorb water and pre-pare faeces by compacting it together. The presence of cancer or other diseases can result in the need to remove some or

all of t h e c o -lon.

Most people recover well after this surgery, al-though they notice a change in bowel habits. A diet of soft foods is initially recommended to aid the healing process.

Gallbladder

The gallbladder sits under the liver on the up-per-right side of the abdomen, just under the ribs. It stores something called bile. Bile is constantly pro-duced by the liver to help break down fats, but when not needed in digestion, it is stored in the gallbladder.

When the intestines detect fats, a hormone is released causing the gallbladder to contract, forc-ing bile into the intestines to help digest fat. How-

ever, excess cholesterol in bile can form gallstones, which can block the tiny pipes that move bile around. When this happens, people may need their gallbladder removed. The surgery is known as (cho-lecystectomy. Every year, about 70,000 people have this procedure in the UK.

Many people have gallstones that don’t cause any symptoms, others are not so fortunate. In 2015, an Indian woman had 12,000 gallstones removed – a world record.

Appendix

The appendix is a small blind-ended worm-like structure at the junction of the large and the small bowel. Initially thought to be vestigial, it is now believed to be involved in being a “safe-house” for the good bacteria of the bowel, en-abling them to repopulate when needed.

Due to the blind-ended nature of the ap-pendix, when intestinal contents enter it, it can be difficult for them to escape and so it becomes inflamed. This is called appendi-citis. In severe cases, the appendix needs

to be surgically removed.A word of warning though: just because you’ve

had your appendix out, doesn’t mean it can’t come back and cause you pain again. There are some cases where the stump of the appendix might not be fully removed, and this can become inflamed again, causing “stumpitis”. People who have had their ap-pendix removed notice no difference to their life.

Kidneys

Most people have two kidneys, but you can sur-vive with just one – or even none (with the aid of di-alysis). The role of the kidneys is to filter the blood to maintain water and electrolyte balance, as well as the acid-base balance. It does this by acting like a sieve, using a variety of processes to hold onto the useful things, such as proteins, cells and nutrients that the body needs. More importantly, it gets rid of many things we don’t need, letting them pass through the sieve to leave the kidneys as urine.

There are many reasons people have to have a kidney – or both kidneys – removed: inherited conditions, damage from drugs and alcohol, or even infection. If a person has both kidneys fail, they are placed onto dialysis. This comes in two forms: haemodialysis and peritoneal

dialysis. The first uses a machine containing dex-trose solution to clean the blood, the other uses a special catheter inserted into the abdomen to allow dextrose solution to be passed in and out manually. Both methods draw waste out of the body.

If a person is placed on dialysis, their life expec-tancy depends on many things, including the type of dialysis, sex, other diseases the person may have and their age. Recent research has shown someone placed on dialysis at age 20 can expect to live for 16-18 years, whereas someone in their 60s may only live for five years.

By arrangements with the Conversation

Seven Body Organs You Can Live Withoutkomsan Loonprom

There are many reasons people have

to have a kidney – or both kidneys – removed: inherited conditions, damage from drugs and alcohol, or even infection. If a person has both kidneys fail, they are placed onto dialysis. This comes in two forms: haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. The first uses a machine containing dextrose solution to clean the blood, the other uses a special catheter inserted into the abdomen to allow dextrose solution to be passed in and out manually. Both methods draw waste out of the body.

Sunday | 06.10.2019 08News

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Washington Post publishes missing journalist Khashoggi's 'last piece' on Arab press freedom


WASHINGTON: Two weeks after he disappeared, The Washington Post has published what it said ap-pears to be Jamal Khashoggi's final column, in which the missing Saudi journalist writes of the importance of a free press in the Arab world.

Such a forum is currently lacking, says Khashoggi, a Post contributor and US resident who disappeared

entering Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

"The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power," he writes.

"The Arab world needs a mod-ern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events. More impor-tant, we need to provide a platform

for Arab voices," Khashoggi writes."Through the creation of an in-

dependent international forum, isolated from the influence of na-tionalist governments spreading hate through propaganda, ordinary people in the Arab world would be able to address the structural prob-lems their societies face.

"The ultimate fate of Khashoggi - whose writings have been criti-cal of powerful Saudi Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman - is still unknown, but leaks by anonymous Turkish officials have painted a picture of him allegedly meeting a grisly demise in the consulate at the hands of Saudi agents.

Saudi Arabia has denied to the United States having knowledge of what happened at the consulate.

In the introduction to Khashog-gi's column - which was accom-panied by a photo of the smiling

writer -- the Post's Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah said the news-paper held off on publishing it in the hopes that he would return.

"Now I have to accept: That is not going to happen. This is the last piece of his I will edit for The Post," Attiah wrote.

"This column perfectly captures his commitment and passion for freedom in the Arab world. A free-dom he apparently gave his life for".

IHC directs ministries to submit inquiry reports of former ISI chiefThe Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the Defence Ministry to submit an inquiry report of former In-ter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt (r) Gen Asad Durrani by General Headquar-ters (GHQ) after he sought removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

IHC Judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Ki-yani was hearing Durrani’s petition and ordered the Interior Ministry to submit a reply explaining “why Durrani’s name had been placed on the ECL”.

Defence Ministry Law Branch Director Falak Naz said, “Durrani had written a book along with the former chief of the Indian spy agency,” adding that “Dur-

rani had remained the DG Military In-telligence and the DG ISI and there was a pending inquiry against him in GHQ”.

The law branch director further said that he could not speculate about when the inquiry would be completed.

He continued to add that the former ISI chief had also been a part of the 2012 Asghar Khan case regarding the distri-bution of money to politicians.

The former DG ISI’s lawyer Omar Fakhar Adam said they did not receive any notice regarding an inquiry into Durrani after the book was released.

Adam pointed out, “In the Asghar Khan case, General Beg’s name had not

been placed on the ECL.”He argued that his client had to “go

overseas for a conference on Novem-ber 26 and 27 and his name should be removed from the ECL”. Justice Kiyani said that until the GHQ inquiry report and Interior Ministry’s reply were sub-mitted, nothing could be done. The case was postponed until December 3.

Earlier, it was reported that upon Pakistan Army’s request, Durrani’s name was placed on the ECL after he visited GHQ to clarify his stance in The Spy Chronicles, a book co-authored by him and former chief of Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) Am-

arjit Singh Dulat.Following this, the former ISI director

general had petitioned the IHC seeking removal of his name from the no-fly list.

Moreover, Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan had accused former army chief General (r) Mirza Aslam Beg and Durra-ni of corrupting the democratic process with money. Following that, in 2012, the apex court ruled that “the 1990 general elections had been polluted by dishing out Rs140 million to a particular group of politicians only to deprive the people of being represented by their chosen representatives” and send notices to 21 army officials and politicians.

Facebook launches 'war room' to combat manipulationIn Facebook's “War Room,” a nondescript space adorned with American and Brazil-ian flags, a team of 20 people monitors computer screens for signs of suspicious activity.

The freshly launched unit at Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters in California is the nerve centre for the fight against misinformation and manipulation of the largest social network by foreign ac-tors trying to influence elec-tions in the United States and elsewhere.

Inside, the walls have clocks

showing the time in various regions of the US and Brazil, maps and TV screens showing CNN, Fox News and Twitter, and other monitors showing graphs of Facebook activity in real time.

Facebook, which has been blamed for doing too little to prevent misinformation ef-forts by Russia and others in the 2016 US election, now wants the world to know it is taking aggressive steps with initiatives like the war room.

“Our job is to detect ... any-one trying to manipulate the

public debate,” said Nathan-iel Gleicher, a former White House cybersecurity policy director for the National Secu-rity Council who is now head-ing Facebook's cybersecurity policy.

“We work to find and re-move these actors.”

Facebook has been racing to get measures in place and began operating this nerve centre — with a hastily taped “WAR ROOM” sign on the glass door — for the first round of the presidential vote in Brazil on October 7.

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DUBAI RAFFLE

Jordanian wins $1 million after purchasing 300 ticketsA 48-year-old Jordanian

expat finally won the $1 million (Dh3.67 mil-

lion) Dubai Duty Free raffle draw, after 19 years of pur-chasing about 300 tickets.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Nidal Marwan Taha said he's been buying tickets for the draw every time he travels since the promotion's in-ception in 1999. "I bought a minimum of 300 tickets over the past 19 years. This time alone, I bought three tickets for the draw, and thankfully one of them scored!" said Taha, a UAE resident for the past 28 years.

The Jordanian CEO, who travels on a monthly basis for work, said buying the Dh1,000 raffle ticket has be-come part of his trips.

"Just like shopping at the Dubai Duty Free, I never miss

a chance to participate in the Millennium Millionaire whenever I travel. It has be-come part of my trip," said Taha, father of three children.

"I'm a firm believer than once you chase a goal, you will inevitably get it. That's what Dubai has been dem-onstrating to us. I'm thrilled

that my perseverance finally paid off."

Taha noted that although he had a gut feeling that he would win someday, the an-

nouncement this year came as unexpected. He said part of the $1 million will go to char-ity, while the rest will be used in personal investments.

But even after the victory, Taha said he will continue to buy the raffle draw tickets every time he travels.

Taha is the ninth Jorda-nian national to win in the promotion since its incep-tion in 1999.

Following the Millen-nium Millionaire draw, two Indian winners were an-nounced in the Finest Sur-prise promotion, each win-ning a luxury vehicle.

Daphney Monsurate, a 58-year-old Indian national from Dubai, won a BMW 760Li xDrive, while Kaushik Thadesh-war, a 44-year-Indian national based in Mumbai, won an In-dian Scout motorbike.

Facebook gave data on user’s friends to certain companies, documents reveal

Facebook Inc offered some companies, including Netflix and Airbnb, access to data about users’ friends it did not

make available to most other apps in 2015, according to documents released by a Brit-ish lawmaker who said the social media company dodged questions about privacy practices and market dominance.

The 223 pages released on Wednes-day were internal communications from 2012 to 2015 between company leaders, including Chief Executive Mark Zuck-erberg, providing fresh evidence and sparking new political scrutiny about previously aired allegations that Face-book has picked favourites and engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.

Facebook said it stood by its delibera-tions and decisions. “The facts are clear. We’ve never sold peoples data,” it said.

The company said it would relax one ‘out-of-date’ policy that restricted competitors’ use of its data. Previously, “Mark level sign-off” would have been required for an exemption to the policy, according to one document, referring to Mr. Zuckerberg.

The documents show that Facebook tracked growth of competitors and de-nied them access to key data.

Mr. Zuckerberg agreed to senior exec-utive Justin Osofsky’s request in 2013 to stop giving friends’ list access to Vine on the day that social media rival Twitter Inc launched the video-sharing service.

“We’ve prepared reactive PR,” Mr. Os-ofsky wrote, to which Mr. Zuckerberg re-

plied, “Yup, go for it.”‘Mark’s friends’ or ‘Sheryl’s’ friends’Among non-competitors, Facebook

still drew distinctions.Ride service Lyft, which does not com-

pete with Facebook, wanted access to comprehensive lists of users’ friends to show carpool riders their mutual friends as an “ice breaker.” Facebook approved the request, saying in an email it would add to a feeling of safety for riders.

In 2014, the company described about 100 apps as being either “Mark’s friends” or “Sheryl’s friends” and also tracked how many apps were spending money on Facebook ads, according to the docu-ments, referring to Mr. Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.

Other emails describe Facebook deny-ing online ticket seller Ticketmaster and an automotive technology supplier ex-tended access to complete lists of users’ friends after Facebook questioned how the date would be used.

The documents also raised questions about Facebook’s transparency.

An exchange from 2015 shows Face-book leaders discussing how to begin collecting call logs from Android users’ smartphones without subjecting them to “scary” permissions screens.

The effort began with some disclosures in 2015. But when the data-collecting became more well known this year amid increased scrutiny on Facebook, the company drew criticism from lawmakers about not doing more to inform users.

Look: Emirates' Boeing 777 aircraft is encrusted with 'diamonds'DUBAI: UAE-based Emirates airline had avid flyers ex-cited after an image of one of its aircraft went viral in social media.

The much talked-about post, which the carrier itself shared on its official Twitter page on Wednesday, shows a Boeing 777 plane encrust-ed with what look like crys-tals and diamonds.

The jazzed-up aircraft is shown parked at a terminal in an airport, surrounded by luggage trucks and glittering in the sunset.

“Presenting the Emirates ‘Bling’ 777,” the caption reads.

The image was shared by Emirates on its official Twitter account, but it was originally posted on Instagram last Tues-

day by Sara Shakeel, a crystal artist. The first post had more than 47,000 likes on Instagram alone as of 2:30pm.

The aircraft in the image looks so real that it stirred a lot of curiosity among so-cial media users, especially those who love the idea of flying in luxury and style.

“That’s my kind of plane,” exclaimed one Instagram user.

“It’s raining diamonds,” said a user on Twitter. “Rap-pers are going to have a field day with this one,” said an-other one.

Contacted by Gulf News, an Emirates spokesperson clarified that Emirates didn’t have one of its planes cov-ered in bling.

“We just posted an art

piece made by crystal art-ist Sara Shakeel,” said the spokesperson.

“I can confirm it’s not [real].”

Shakeel is a Pakistani dentist-turned-artist with close to 500,000 followers. Her Instagram page is pep-pered with digitally-altered images jazzed up in crystals and diamonds.

By adding glitter to just about anything, from a Star-bucks cup to a piece of burg-er, or the New York skyline, Shakeel turns the mundane into extraordinary and get her followers mesmerized.

“I add crystals and diamonds to the most ordinary objects of everyday life,” she once told Forbes in an interview.

FROM FRONT PAGE

Grenade Blastinjured in the incident have been identified as

Mudasir Ahmed Dar s/o Gulzar Ahmed Dar r/o Navotra Anantnag, Umar Rashid Shah s/o Abdul Rashid Shah r/oKadipora Anantnag, Saima d/o Ghulam Nabi and Zeba w/o Ghulam Nabi both a mother daughter duo r/o Acchabal Anantnag, Asma Manzoor d/o Mnazoor Ahmed r/o Kadi-pora Anantnag, Yasir Rehman s/o Abdul Rehman r/o Khannabal Anantnag, Arif Amin Dar s/o Mo-hammad Amin Dar r/o Khudwani Anantnag, Javed Ahmed r/o Srguphwara Anantnag, Mohammad Ayub Khan s/o Ghulam Mohi-u-Din khan r/o Bat-maloo Srinagar, Danish a Biryani vendor from UP and constable Nazir Ahmed r/o Acchabal a traffic cop.

Day 62: Normal LifeAuthorities have been imposing restrictions on Friday in some parts of the Valley in view of ap-prehensions of violent protests. The curbs were lifted Saturday morning, the officials said.The efforts of the state government to open schools have not borne any fruit as parents con-tinued to keep the kids at home due to apprehen-sions about their safety.While landline telephony services have been restored across the Valley, mobile telephone services in most parts of Kashmir and all internet services continue to remain suspended since 5 August.

Want ‘Normalin preventive detention. Preventive detention

is a normal law and order arrangement. It doesn't amount to human rights violation.

Preventive detention in five star hotels with good facilities with TVs and books and all those things, is a temporary measure to ensure law and order in the state," Madhav said.

The state was largely quiet barring a few inci-dents with 200 people in jail, he claimed.

"Now you can imagine how effective this preven-tive detention is. Please don't mistake me that these people will be jail forever.

No. Very soon they will have their freedom. We want normal political activity to be restored in the state. But it has to be normal political activity," he added.

He claimed that Ladakh people were happy now and rejoicing as the region was made an union territory and Jammu region was also happy as "they are able to fully integrate with the coun-try. There are issues with Kashmir Valley and they will be dealt with at most sensitivity," he said.

According to him, no international community will come and inspect Kashmir based on the false propaganda that there is large-scale human rights violation in the valley.

Madhav said no private investment had come to J&K during the past few decades because of Ar-ticle 370 which prohibits private persons or enti-ties from owning land.

Calling Pakistan an "epicentre of terror”, the BJP

leader claimed that the US will be more friendlier with India than Pakistan keeping in view the huge trade between it and India.

‘Lodhi Wasbeen sacked, the Dawn reported.Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal

tweeted that Lodhi had "completed her tenure".There is no truth whatsoever in insinuations

that Dr Lodhi was 'removed' for any reason, Faisal tweeted after speculations about the reasons be-hind the change of the envoy in New York.

Quoting Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the spokesman said the outgoing envoy served Pakistan with distinction and commitment and organised the prime minister's successful UNGA visit with skill and dedication.

Lodhi, a former journalist, served as the ambas-sador to the UN for nearly four-and-a-half years. After the announcement of the name of her suc-cessor, she said that she had planned to move on after the UN General Assembly .

Akram, 74, is a veteran diplomat and is said to be one of the ambassadors who believe in hard-core approach towards India instead of appease-ment.

He served as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN from 2002 to 2008. He was dismissed by the then president Asif Ali Zardari over his disagreement in presenting the case of assassination of Benazir Bhutto to the United Na-tions. Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, was Zardari's wife.

Imran Warnsspeech at the UNGA last month, Khan raised the

Kashmir issue and demanded that India must lift the "inhuman curfew" in Kashmir and release all "political prisoners".

"I think he is not unaware of how international relations are conducted. On that basis, he gives such statements. He had given an open call for Ji-had against India. This is not a normal behaviour," Kumar said.

2 Men Impersonatingalso seized,” the spokesman said. “Materials

recovered from their possession have also been seized,” he added.

Both the arrested persons have been identified as Irshad Ahmad Shah son of Mohammad Afzal Shah resident of Gadikhal Awantipora and Abass Ali Wani son of Ali Mohammad resident of Aawa-npora Awantipora, the spokesman said.

“Case FIR No. 123/2019 under relevant sections of law was registered at Police Station Awantipora and investigation is going on,” the spokesman added.

‘Annual Exams Asproductive feedbacks and suggestions with re-

gard to the improvement of educational curricu-lum can be taken for consideration. He said that strict directions have been issued to the concerned authorities with regard to the smooth conduct of annual examination in all government as well as

private institutions of the district.Meanwhile, a detailed discussion on the subject

was held during which DC stressed for mobilizing human resource so that students may not suffer with respect to their educational pursuits.

New Traffic AdvisoryThe Traffic HQs have advised the commuters

not to travel during night hours. The public is ad-vised to undertake journey on NH only after con-firming the status of the road from Traffic Control Units of Jammu on telephone nos. (0191-2459048, 9419147732), Ramban, (9419993745) and Srinagar (0194-2450022, 2485396) respectively.

Reasi Girl’s Rape: After taking over the case on February 14, an

SIT was constituted and after a series of raids, the accused was arrested and the girl rescued, the spokesman said.

He said the charge sheet against the accused was filed in a court here.

The girl was handed over to her legal heirs after her rescue, the spokesman said.

Porter Killed Line of Control (LoC). However, damage suf-

fered by the Pak side was not immediately known, sources said.

They said Pak troops have been violating 2003 ceasefire to help militants in launch pads to sneak into this side before the infiltration routes are closed due to snowfall.

Business Sunday|06-10-2019 9I R A N F M I N S Y R I A

Forex Reserves Scale Record High Of $434.6 BillionPress Trust Of India

Mumbai : The foreign exchange reserves touched a record high of USD 434.6 billion as on October 1.

While announcing fourth bi-monthly monetary policy, the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said as of October 1 the forex kitty peaked to the record high. Between April and October 1, the country’s forex reserves had increased by USD 21.7 billion.

According to the latest weekly data, the reserves surged by massive USD 5.022 billion to USD 433.594 billion for the week to September 27.

In the previous week, the reserves had declined by USD 388 million to USD 428.572 billion.

The increase in re-serves in the reporting week on account of foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.

FCA increased by USD 4.944 billion to USD 401.615 billion in the week ended September 27, the RBI said.

Expressed in US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and the yen held in the foreign ex-change reserves.

During the week, gold reserves increased by USD 102 million to USD 26.945 billion.

The special drawing rights with the International Mon-etary Fund dipped by USD 7 million to USD 1.428 billion dur-ing the week.

The country’s reserve position with the Fund also declined by USD 17 million to USD 3.606 billion, the data showed.

Amazon, Flipkart See Record Growth In Festive SalesPress Trust Of India

NEW DELHI- E-commerce gi-ants Amazon.in and Walmart-owned Flipkart on Friday said they have seen record growth in the first phase of their fes-tive sales, on the back of new customers from ‘Bharat’ log-ging onto these platforms.

Amazon attributed its stel-lar performance to “availabil-ity of selection, convenience and affordability” on the platform, while Flipkart said its efforts around affordabil-ity constructs and engagement via video and Hindi language content had helped drive 50 per cent more new customers compared to its last year’s Big Billion Days (BBD) sale.

Both e-commerce market-places started their festive sale on September 29 and is sched-uled to end on Friday. “There was almost 50 per cent growth in the number of new custom-ers as compared to BBD 2018. On the seller front, over 40 per cent of transacting sellers dur-ing BBD were from tier II and beyond towns. There was a 50 per cent growth in the num-ber of sellers participating in the sale this year compared to last year,” said Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

He added that there has been strong growth across cat-

egories like fashion, mobile phones, large appliances, fur-niture and groceries.

Amazon cited a report by research agency Nielsen to state that it had the “highest share of transacting custom-ers and purchases across all online shopping platforms in the first five days” of its Great Indian Festival period.

“The first wave of the Great Indian Festival was our biggest celebration ever with Amazon.in -- witnessing highest share of transacting customers and pur-chases across all marketplaces in India. We received orders from 99.4 per cent pincodes and over 65,000 sellers from over 500 cities received orders in the five days,” Amazon India Se-nior Vice President and Coun-try Head Amit Agarwal said.

He added that small businesses across India are embracing technology and serving customers with a wide selection of products at great value and convenience through Amazon’s platform.

Agarwal pointed out that sellers witnessed about 3X increase in unit sales from non-metro customers, while customers from over 15,000 pin codes joined its Prime pro-gramme (which is paid) with a 69 per cent increase in sign-ups from small towns as com-

pared to previous year’s fes-tive season. Over 88 per cent of its new customers came from small towns. Fashion brought in the highest number of new customers (nearly 5X growth), while the smartphone segment saw 15X increase and large ap-pliances 8X growth.

E-commerce companies, which see a large chunk of their sales during the festive season, start preparing for fes-tive sales months in advance, ramping up logistics and hir-ing thousands of temporary workers to ensure timely de-livery of products.

While the first phase of festive sale closes on October 4, these platforms are expect-ed to bring in more sales as Diwali approaches.

According to Redseer, overall e-tailing is expected to clock gross sales of USD 3.7 bil-lion (Rs 24,000 crore) between September 29 to October 4, a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 60-65 per cent. Total online shoppers during the event are expected to be 32 million, up 60 per cent y-o-y, primarily driv-en by shoppers from tier-II and III cities, it added.

Another e-commerce play-er Snapdeal said the orders received so far are 52 per cent higher than in the sale period last year.

RBI Guv: Nothing To Panic About Banking System; To Review Coop Banks Regulations Soon Press Trust Of India

Mumbai: Allaying fears of any threat to the banking sys-tem, Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das has asked the public not to panic as the en-tire banking system, including cooperative ones, continue to remain sound and stable.

Das also said in the wake of

the crisis at Punjab & Maharash-tra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, the RBI is reviewing the existing regulatory framework for coop-erative banks and will discuss the matter with the government.

The statement assumes importance as PMC is the 24th cooperative bank to be placed under RBI administrators in 2019 and there are many regu-latory and administrative gaps in the system as the states have a big say in their matters. Also, there is political interfer-ence in their functioning.

Urban cooperative banks are registered as cooperative societies either with the State Cooperative Societies Act or

the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 and are reg-ulated and supervised by the Registrar of Cooperative So-cieties of the respective states or by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies.

The RBI regulates and supervises only the banking functions of the urban coop-eratives and carries out on-site inspections and off-site surveillance on them and also issues directions and opera-tional instructions to protect the interest of the depositors.

“So far as the RBI is con-cerned, I would like to make it very clear that our banking sector re-mains sound and stable and there is no reason for any unnecessary panic,” Das told reporters at the customary post-policy presser.

He said sometimes un-necessary rumours can create panic and urged the public to not to pay attention to them.

On September 23, RBI had put a slew of restrictions on PMC after finding financial ir-regularities and under-report-ing of loans given to the bank-rupt real estate developer HDIL.

Das claimed that RBI acted very swiftly and promptly, when the issue was brought to its notice. The RBI superseded the previous management and appointed administrator at the urban cooperative bank. It also revised the withdrawal limit from Rs an initial amount of Rs 1,000 per depositors to Rs 10,000 and very recently to Rs 25,000 per account.

‘PMC Bank created over 21,000 fake accounts to hide defaults by HDIL’Press Trust Of India

MUMBAI: Punjab and Maha-rashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank replaced 44 loan accounts of the HDIL group with over 21,000 fictitious loan accounts, and thus “camouflaged” de-faults by the group, the police

told a court here on Friday.The Economic Offences

Wings of city police disclosed the information while seek-ing custody of chairman and managing director of Housing Development and Infrastruc-ture Ltd (HDIL) Rakesh Wad-hawan and his son Sarang, ar-rested the day before.

The court remanded them in police (EOW) custody till October 9.

The EOW has registered an FIR against senior officials of HDIL and the PMC Bank, including its former managing director Joy Thomas, for alleg-edly causing losses to the tune of Rs 4,355.43 crore to the bank.

“In the details of loan ac-counts submitted to the Re-serve Bank of India for the year ended March 31, 2018, the PMC replaced the 44 loan ac-

counts of HDIL and its group of companies, whose outstand-ing balance were significantly higher, with 21,049 fictitious loan accounts,” the remand plea said.

These loans were not re-corded in core banking sys-tem, instead, they were mere

entries in the “master indent” (details of loan accounts) sub-mitted to the RBI for inspec-tion, the EOW said.

The bank’s board of direc-tors and executives, including managing director Joy Thom-as, had “full knowledge” of this act, it said (Thomas was arrested on Friday).

Through this forgery, bank officials “camouflaged” the real loan accounts of de-faulters (HDIL group), the EOW said.

The Wadhawans played an active role in the commis-sion of fraud, and their custo-dial interrogation was neces-sary to trace the operations carried out with the funds bor-rowed from the bank as well as to get in-depth information about businesses of the group companies, it said.

‘RBI Rate Cut To Complement Govt’’s Measures To Boost Growth’

Press Trust Of India

New Delhi ; The Finance Min-istry has said the Reserve Bank’s decision to lower benchmark lending rate will complement recent measures taken by the government to ac-celerate growth.

On Friday, RBI cut the

repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.15 per cent.

Government has noted the reduction in repo rate from 5.40 per cent to 5.15 per cent announced by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and believes that this will comple-ment the recent measures

taken by the government to accelerate growth, an official statement released by the Fi-nance Ministry said.

The government has taken a slew of measures since August 23 to pull the economy out of a six-year low growth and a 45-year high unemployment rate by reviv-ing private investments.

Last month, the govern-ment cut corporate tax rate by almost 10 percentage points, a move which has a tax implica-tion of Rs 1.45 lakh crore.

As part of the exercise, the government also withdrew en-hanced surcharge on long- and short-term capital gains for foreign portfolio investors as well as domestic portfolio in-vestors with revenue implica-tion of Rs 1,400 crore.


New Delhi : The Cabinet has approved a new process of strategic disinvestment with a view to expediting privati-sation of select PSUs, officials said on Friday.

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at its meeting on Thurs-day evening approved the new policy under which the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) under the Ministry of Finance has been made the nodal department for the stra-tegic stake sale.

This was done with a view to streamlining and speeding up the process, reducing the role of administrative minis-tries which often used to place hurdles in the path of major stake sales, officials said.

While presently PSUs for strategic sale are identified by NITI Aayog, the tweak in pol-icy has now brought DIPAM into the picture. DIPAM and NITI Aayog will now jointly identify PSUs for strategic dis-investment, they said.

Also, DIPAM secretary would now co-chair the inter-minister group on dis-investment, along with the

secretary of administrative ministries concerned.

The change comes within a week of a group of secretar-ies agreeing for sale of govern-ment’s entire 53.29 per cent stake in Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and its 63.75 per cent stake in Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), 30 per cent in Concor, 100 per cent NEEPCO and 75 per cent in THDC.

Officials said strategic sale may involve two-stage bidding beginning with an expression of interest (EoI) or a preliminary intent showing bid, and a final financial bid. Pre-bid meetings with likely bidders and road-shows to attract potential inves-tors will form part of the process to provide clarity on every as-pect of the stake sale.

Also, data centre will be set up for bidders to look for information on the PSUs up for sale, they added.

Officials said the idea is to complete the stake sale within a timeframe, say 4-5 months.

The government has set a target of mobalisingRs 1.05 lakh crore from disinvestment proceeds and achieving this has become more critical after it doled out Rs 1.45 lakh crore stimulus by way of a cut in cor-porate tax.

Cabinet Approves New Strategic Disinvestment Process

N E W S M A K E R S

Transmission of rate cut to boost demand for realty, auto

Tata Motors launches limited edition Tiago Wizz

New Delhi: Tata Motors on Friday said it has launched a limited edition of its entry level model Tiago priced at Rs

5.4 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).The Tiago

Wizz comes with a 1.2 litre multi-drive petrol engine.

“The Tiago is one of the most popular car in its segment and has been on constant growth since its launch..This youthful limited edition will add to the premium and fun quo-tient of the brand,” Tata Motors Passen-ger Vehicle Business Unit Head Market-ing Vivek Srivatsa said in a statement.

The company has sold over 2.5 lakh Tiago units since its launch in April 2016.

NEW DELHI: Industry lead-ers say the transmission of 25 basis points cut in Repo rate by the Reserve Bank

of India (RBI) to end-consumers will help revive real estate and auto sectors. The fifth cut this year has brought the Repo rate down to 5.15 per cent. However, most of the lend-ers are yet to link their lending rates to the Repo rates.

“A wave of Next-Gen reforms has set the stage for years of high growth for the real estate sector. However, the growth trajectory of the real estate sector will depend on the successive transmission of rate cuts to end-consumers,” said Suren-draHiranandani, CMD, House of Hiranandani. Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Property Consultants, said that efficient transmission will lower the cost of capital not only for consumers but also for developers,

making room for price revisions and further discounts.

However, the sector also feels that Friday’s rate cut is not enough and more is needed to stimulate de-mand. “In light of the ongoing eco-nomic distress in the country, the 25 basis points cut in policy rate falls short of expectations. It is in-sufficient to support the flagging demand,” said ShishirBaijal, chair-man and managing director, Knight Frank India.

The downward revision of GDP has come as negative sign for the sector. “The downward revision of GDP growth to 6.1 per cent from 6.9 per cent earlier is an ominous sign. Improved tax in-centives for home buying offer a quick fix, which the government may like to consider immediate-ly,” said Satish Magar, president, CREDAI National.

1,600 Samsung ‘Galaxy Fold’ gone in 30 minutes in India

NEW DELHI: Setting a sort of new record in the luxury smart-phone segment, Sam-

sung sold a total of 1,600 “Galaxy Fold” devices in flat 30 minutes after pre-bookings were open on the company’s official online store on Friday, highly-placed sources said.

The consumers who pre-booked “Galaxy Fold” have paid the full amount of Rs 1,64,999 upfront -- another first in the super-premium smartphone segment -- and will get devices delivered to them through a con-cierge on October 20, along with a dedicated expert on call 24x7.

According to sources, the company has now closed the pre-bookings of “Galaxy Fold” in India for sometime, as the initial stock was lim-

ited to 1,600 units.Each “Galaxy Fold” con-

sumer will also get a one-year “Infinity Flex Display Protec-tion”. “Galaxy Fold” comes with 12GB of RAM and 512GB internal storage.

In its standard form, the de-vice gives you a 4.6-inch screen experience for normal day-to-day task but as you unfold it --

the cross-screen functionalities go seamless on a bigger, immer-sive 7.3-inch form factor as the plastic OLED (P-OLED) display can bend like a book.

Each device comes with Gal-axy Buds in the box and “Ara-mid Fiber” case made of fibre that has high capacity to with-stand pressure.

Sporting the world’s first “Dynamic AMOLED Infinity Flex Display”, the device offers split-screen multi-tasking, hous-es six cameras, Android 9 with One UI on top and Snapdragon 855 chipset.

There are three selfie cameras: One 10MP selfie camera when the device is closed and a dual selfie cam-era (10MP main sensor and 8MP depth sensor) when you open the device.

‘Hope to see Indian player in NBA in 5 years’Press Trust Of India

MUMBAI - The NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Fri-day expressed optimism of starting a league in India in five years, saying a serious discussion on it has been go-ing on in recent times. Silver said besides hoping to see an Indian player in the NBA in the next five years, he also would aim at starting a league in India in this time.

“It is something my friend VivekRandive (owner of Sacramento Kings) is pushing me on, to launch a league here in India. I’m not sure five years ago that was some-thing even possible,” Silver said.

“But because of changes in technology... the engage-ment we are seeing from young fans here through mobile technology, plus the academy that we now have in Delhi and the large numbers of young people playing, I think there’s an opportunity to do that. It’s something we’re very engaged in,” Silver told reporters when asked what were their plans for the next couple of years.

He said the two most immediate goals were to see some top talent coming out of India to ultimately go into the NBA and WNBA, and serious consideration of the launch of a league in the country. “There’s an enormous pool of young women playing the game as well,” he said.

“In terms of timing on the league, as I said, it’s some-thing we’re giving serious consideration to right now. It’s my hope that within five years we have an Indian player in the NBA. And I think for serious consideration of a league, I’d use that same timing. It’s something we would hope to do within the next five years,” he added.

Silver, who was flanked by Kings ownerVivekRandive and Pacers owner Herb Simon, also spoke about how the NBA was connected with the Basketball Federation of India.

SPORTS Sunday|06-10-2019 10

Avinash Salbesmashes National Record, Qualifies For OlympicsPress Trust Of India

Doha: India’s Avinash Sable qualified for Tokyo Olympics in men’s 3000m steeplechase event by shattering his own national record for the second time in three days but finished 13th in the final of the World Championships here.

In the men’s 20km race walk event, national record holder K T Irfan finished a disappoint-ing 27th in 1 hour 35 minute 21 seconds while compatriot Dev-ender Singh stood 36th in 1:41:48 seconds among 40 athletes who completed the race.

A total of 52 competitors had started the race walk event which began at 11:30 PM local time under hot and humid con-ditions on Friday.

The 29-year-old Irfan and the 35-year-old Devender had finished 23rd and 50th respec-tively in the last edition in 2017 with a much better timing.

The 29-year-old Irfan has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, and holds the na-tional record.

Avinash, a farmer’s son

from Mandwa village in Maha-rashtra, clocked 8 minute 21.37 seconds to breach the Olym-pics qualifying standard of 8:22.00 seconds while finishing 13th in the men’s 3000m stee-plechase final on Friday night.

In the process, Avinash broke his own national record twice in three days. He had clocked 8:25.23 seconds during the first round heats on Tues-day, bettering the then nation-al record 8:28.94 seconds which he did during the Federation Cup in March.

In fact, this was his fourth national record in one year. His first national record (8:29.80 seconds) was set in September last year during the National Open in Bhubaneswar while the second came in March this year during the Federation Cup in Patiala.

During this period, he made an improvement of near-ly eight-and-a-half seconds.

Included in the final race under dramatic circumstanc-es, the 25-year-old Havaldar in the Indian Army was not ex-pected to stand on the podium

and he seemed to be running within his limitations as he finished far behind the medal winners.

From the very beginning, Avinash was running at the rear and by the halfway mark, the distance from the leading pack of runners was too long to cover up.

Reigning Olympic cham-pion ConseslusKipruto of Kenya defended his 2017 title with a time of 8:01.35 seconds, more than 20 seconds faster than Avinash, while Lame-chaGirma (8:01.36) of Ethiopia and SoufianeBakkali (8:03.76) of Morocco took the silver and bronze respectively.

Born in a farmer’s fam-ily, Avinash joined 5 Mahar regiment after completing 12th and was posted at the Siachen Glacier in 2013 2014, before shifting base to the deserts of north-western Rajasthan and in Sikkim in 2015.

He first took part in inter-army cross country running in 2015 before switching to stee-plechase under Army coach Amrish Kumar in 2017.

Sixth women’s T20I

India lose by 105 runs to SA, but win series 3-1Press Trust Of India

NEW DELHI -India put up a shoddy display to lose by a huge margin of 105 runs to South Africa in the sixth and final women’s T20 Interna-tional, but still managed to clinch the series 3-1 in Surat on Friday.

India clinched the six-match series 3-1, with two games being washed out due to rain.

Electing to bat first, South Africa made a challenging 175 for three, riding on the batting

heroics of openers Lizelle Lee (84 off 47 balls, 15x4s, 1x6) and SuneLuus (62 off 56 balls, 7x4s).

The duo put on a sizzling 144-run stand for the opening wicket that came off 95 balls to set the

tone for the challenging score.None of the Indian bowlers

were able to trouble the South African batters with skip-per Harmanpreet Kaur (1/5), Arundhati Reddy (1/28) and Poonam Yadav (1/34) sharing three wickets among them.

Chasing 176 for a win, In-dia never got going as South Africa produced a lethal bowl-ing effort to reduce the hosts to 13 for six after 6.2 overs.

Veda Krishnamurthy (26) and Reddy (22) showed some fightback, stitching 49 runs for

the seventh wicket but once the duo departed, it was all over for India. India crumbled against the South African bowling at-tack as they were bowled out for 70 in 17.3 overs.

Resurgent Rodgers returns to Anfield with flying Foxes

Agencies

LONDON: Liverpool’s perfect start to the Premier League season is under threat from an in-form Leicester City led by a manager with a point to prove at Anfield in Brendan Rodgers.

The European champions have a five-point lead at the top of the table over Manches-ter City, but Leicester are the closest challengers to the top two as they aim to break the glass ceiling of the top six.

The Foxes’ chances have been aided by the early-sea-son struggles of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.

All four have winnable fix-tures to get back on track this weekend, but Spurs are most in need of a lift after a 7-2 Champi-ons League mauling by Bayern Munich in midweek.

Rodgers returns to An-field for the first time since

he was sacked by the Reds in 2015. The Northern Irishman has since rebuilt his reputa-tion, winning seven trophies in two-and-a-half seasons at Celtic before making the move back to the Premier League with the Foxes in February.

Since Rodgers replaced Claude Puel, Leicester have the third-best record in the league behind relentless Liverpool and defending champions City.

A 5-0 thrashing of New-castle United last weekend saw Rodgers’s men open up a two-point lead on the chasing pack in third and they have shown their ability to test the traditional top six with a 1-1 draw at Chelsea and 2-1 vic-tory over Tottenham already this season.

However, Rodgers knows ending Liverpool’s unbeaten run at home in the Premier League since April 2017 is a much tougher challenge.

N E W S M A K E R S

‘Playing county cricket has helped me play spin better’

Sport is business now, can’’t help if players choose county over country: Pollock

Visakhapatnam ; South African great Shaun Pollock is con-cerned about players at their peak choosing county cricket

over the national team in his country but says it is a problem “you can’t fix as sport has become business”.

Earlier this year, 27-year-old pacer Duanne Oliver took the Kolpak deal after playing just 10 Tests for South Africa. Another fast bowler, Kyle Ab-bott had done the same in 2017. Mor-neMorkel too signed a Kolpak deal to play in county cricket but that was after he announced retirement as a 33-year-old last year.

The Kolpak deal allows players from countries with free trade deals with the European Union to play crick-et in any EU country without being con-sidered an overseas player. They can sign up with English counties without being considered overseas players.

Visakhapatnam: Opener Dean Elgar said he may have made his best hun-dred for South Africa on

Friday in the first Test against India here and credited county cricket, including his battles with R Ashwin there, for making him a better bats-man against quality spin.

Elgar made 160 off 287 balls, lead-ing South Africa’s fightback on day three here.

“Any three-figure mark for South Africa is a massive moment for me. It’s always an emotional time. A lot of hard graft has happened in

the previous series where you have failed. You look back and you realise that it’s very special. Even in the try-ing conditions that we have, we have not experienced heat like this back home,” Elgar said at the press confer-ence after the day’s play.

“The wicket obviously wears down quite quickly. I’d like to think it may be my best hundred I have had for South Africa, especially playing against the prowess of India and to show them that last time was a little bit easier but this time it is not going to be a pushover,” said Elgar.

Elgar was among the South Af-rican batsmen who had a disastrous tour of India four years ago. Even on Friday, South Africa were up against the wall at one stage it but Elgar and Quinton de Kock (111 off 163 balls) put their team back in the game with memorable knocks.

The southpaw said he learnt a lot from his past mistakes ahead of his second series in India.

To stay away from cricket was very tough: Ashwin

Visakhapatnam; Ravi-chandran Ashwin, playing his first Test match since December

last year, says he badly missed playing for India in the last 10 months, so much so that the wily off-spinner stopped watch-ing the game.

The 33-year-old, who has been playing only one format for India since July 2017, last played the Adelaide Test from Decem-ber 6 to 10, the first of the four on the tour of Australia.

To his disappointment, Ash-win did not feature in the play-ing eleven in the following Test series against the West Indies in August-September when India only played one spinner in Ra-vindraJadeja.

“To stay away from cricket itself was very tough for me. In order to substitute, I played whatever games I got. I tried and

made opportunity for myself to go and play some county cricket (for Nottinghamshire). I tried and played the TNPL as much as I could, played some league cricket in Chennai,” he said.

“It was very important to tick those numbers off because that is essentially where I came from. Going back and playing there is probably the best thing that could have happened,” said Ashwin, who when asked about time away from national duty.

After claiming his 27th five-

wicket haul in Tests on Friday, Ashwin showed that he re-mained India’s go to spinner in home conditions.

Asked how spent his time away from the spotlight, Ash-win said: “I felt like every time I watched the game on TV I felt like wanted to play the game.

“I was missing out I felt, it is very natural. I just wanted to play. Everybody goes through it. But that’s not the end. I tried dif-ferent things in my life.

“My life has revolved around cricket for the last 25 years. I thought my life, my family everybody deserved a bit more of my time so I tried to spend time away from the game. I discovered other interests (reading archaeology books was one of them). I did not fret too much about the game.”

Fitness issues had sidelined him on the tour of Australia.

Ireland, Netherlands to host Pak next yearAgencies

LAHORE: The Netherlands and Ireland will host Pakistan for three One-day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals, respectively before their official tour of England next year.

The VRA Cricket Club Ground in Amstelveen will host the three one-dayers on July 4, 7 and 9 before Pakistan travel to Ire-land for the T20 fixtures on July 12 and 14 at a venue to be decided.

Pakistan will then move to England to play three Tests of World Test Championship from July 30 to Aug 30 before taking on the 50-over world champions in three Twenty20 Internation-als, which are scheduled from Aug 31 to Sept 2.

The series between the Netherlands and Pakistan will be the first-ever between the two sides, though they have previously met thrice in ICC events in 1996, 2003 in World Cups and then once in ICC Champions Trophy in 2002.

The series will defi-nitely help the Dutch to shape up well to field a strong team in the 13-team ICC ODI League, which commences next year.

The Netherlands have qualified for the league by virtue of winning the ICC World Cricket League Championship.

The ODI league will be a direct qualification pathway to-wards the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 and will also be con-tested by the 12 Test-playing countries.

Meanwhile, the two T20s between Ireland and Pakistan will be the first instance of them playing each other in the shorter format in Ireland.

Pakistan to date have played six ODIs and a Test — that be-ing Ireland’s maiden appearance in the format — in Ireland.

Ireland and Pakistan have previously featured in just one T20 with Pakistan winning The Oval fixture by 39 runs on way to winning the ICC World Twenty20 in England in 2009.


ULAN-UDE, RUSSIA: Ja-munaBoro (54kg) gave a fly-ing start to India’s campaign in the World Women’s Boxing Championships by advancing to the pre-quarterfinals with a facile win here on Friday. Boro defeated Mongolia’s MichidmaaErdenedalai 5-0, recovering from a slow start for a resounding victory.

The 22-year-old, employed with Assam Rifles, has a tough one next up as she will square off against Algeria’s fifth-seeded OuidadSfouh in the pre-quarterfinals.

Sfouh had won a gold in the 2017 World Champion-

ships and was given a first-round bye here. Boro, a deb-utant at the event, took her

time to warm up but once she got going, the Assamese pu-gilist dominated Erdenedalai with her combination punch-es. Her jabs connected partic-ularly well and she also man-aged to not get distracted by

her sprightly rival’s grunting.The Indian was unstoppa-

ble in the final three minutes of the bout and thoroughly out-punched Erdenedalai. On Saturday, former national champion Neeraj (57kg) and Saweety Boora (75kg), a ex-silver-winner at the event, will be in action for India.

While Neeraj will face China’s QiaoJieru, Saweety will face Mongolia’s Myag-marjargalMunkhbat in the

opening round.The ongoing edition features

224 boxers from 57 countries.India’s best performance at

the showpiece was back in 2006 when the country won eight medals, including four gold.

Women’s Boxing Championships

Jamuna Gives India Winning Start

Life & Times 11 Sunday06.10.2019

Climate Change Poses Threat To Global

FOOD PRODUCTIONClimate change is adversely

affecting the production of key crops such as wheat

and rice, with some countries faring far worse than others, ac-cording to researchers including those of Indian origin.

The world's top 10 crops—barley, cassava, maize, oil palm, rapeseed, rice, sorghum, soy-bean, sugarcane and wheat—supply a combined 83 per cent of all calories produced on crop-land.

Yields have long been pro-jected to decrease in future cli-mate conditions.

The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, shows that climate change has already af-fected production of these key energy sources.

Scientists from the Univer-sity of Oxford in the UK and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark used weather and re-ported crop data to evaluate the potential impact of observed cli-mate change.

They found that observed cli-mate change causes a significant yield variation in the world's top 10 crops, ranging from a decrease of 13.4 per cent for oil

palm to an increase of 3.5 per cent for soybean, and resulting in an average reduction of about one per cent of consumable food calories from these top 10 crops.

"There are winners and losers, and some countries that are al-ready food insecure fare worse," said Deepak Ray of the Univer-sity of Minnesota in the US.

"These findings indicate which geographical areas and crops are most at risk, making them relevant to those working to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals of ending hunger and limiting the effects

of climate change. Insights like these lead to new questions and crucial next steps," said Ray.

The impacts of climate change on global food produc-tion are mostly negative in Eu-rope, Southern Africa, and Aus-tralia, generally positive in Latin America, and mixed in Asia and Northern and Central America.

About half of all food-inse-cure countries are experiencing decreases in crop production—and so are some affluent indus-trialised countries in Western Europe, the study found.

In contrast, recent climate

change has increased the yields of certain crops in some areas of the upper Midwest US.

"This is a very complex sys-tem, so a careful statistical and data science modeling compo-nent is crucial to understand the dependencies and cascading ef-fects of small or large changes," said Snigdhansu Chatterjee of University of Minnesota.

The report has implications for major food companies, com-modity traders and the coun-tries in which they operate, as well as for citizens worldwide, researchers said. (PTI)

THESE FINDINGS INDICATE WHICH GEOGRAPHICAL areas and crops are most at risk, making them relevant to those working to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals of ending hunger and

limiting the effects of climate change. Insights like these lead to new questions and crucial next steps,"

‘Afternoon Naps Can Boost Kid's Happiness, IQ’

An afternoon nap can boost hap-piness as well as improve be-haviour and academic perfor-

mance of children, a study has found.Researchers from the University of

California (UC) Irvine in the US con-ducted a study of nearly 3,000 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders aged 10-12.

The study, published in the journal SLEEP, showed a connection between midday napping and greater happi-ness, self-control, and grit; fewer be-havioural problems; and higher IQ.

"Children who napped three or more times per week benefit from a 7.6 per cent increase in academic perfor-mance in Grade 6," said Adrian Raine, from University of Pennsylvania.

"How many kids at school would not want their scores to go up by 7.6 points out of 100?" Raine said.

Sleep deficiency and daytime drowsiness are surprisingly wide-spread, with drowsiness affecting up to 20 per cent of all children, said Jianghong Liu, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

While the negative cognitive, emo-tional, and physical effects of poor sleep habits are well-established, and most previous research has focused on preschool age and younger.

Researchers used data from a study in China, where the practice of afternoon napping is embedded in daily life, continuing through el-ementary and middle school, even into adulthood.

From each of 2,928 children, the researchers collected data about napping frequency and duration once the children hit Grades 4 through 6, as well as outcome data when they reached Grade 6, includ-ing psychological measures like grit and happiness and physical mea-sures such as body mass index and glucose levels.

They also asked teachers to pro-vide behavioural and academic in-formation about each student.

The researchers then analysed associations between each out-come and napping, adjusting for sex, grade, school location, parental education, and nightly time in bed.

"Many lab studies across all ages have demonstrated that naps can show the same magnitude of im-provement as a full night of sleep on discrete cognitive tasks," said Sara Mednick, from UC Irvine.

"Here, we had the chance to ask real-world, adolescent schoolchildren questions across a wide range of be-havioural, academic, social, and phys-iological measures," said Mednick.

"The more students sleep during the day, the greater the benefit of naps on many of these measures," she said. Though the findings are correlational, the researchers say they may offer an alternative to the outcry from paediatricians and public health officials for later school start times.

Decoded: Role Of Fathers In Brain Development Of Their Child

WASHINGTON: The bigger the brain in relation to body size, the more intelligent a living organ-ism is. However, mothers of many mammals cannot bear the energet-ic costs of developing a large brain on their own; they are reliant on additional help from fathers.

Mammalian species with large brains are smarter than small-brained mammals. However, de-veloping a large brain comes at a price. An infant expends around two-thirds of its energy on supply-ing nourishment to its brain alone. That huge amount of energy must be continually available in the form of milk and, later on, through the intake of food.

The females of many large-brained animal species cannot bear the energetic costs of rearing off-spring on their own, they are reliant on additional help. Previously, it was generally assumed that it is immate-rial whether it is the father or other members of the group who assist the mother in caring for offspring.

However, evolutionary biologist Sandra Heldstab and her colleagues Karin Isler, Judith Burkart, and Carel van Schaik have now demonstrated for the first time that it very well does matter who helps the mother, according to the study published in the Journal of Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

Animal species with paternal care of offspring are particularly able to energetically afford bigger brains.

Help from other group members is far less essential to the evolution of a large brain. In their study, the re-searchers compared brain sizes and the extent and frequency of paternal and alloparental care in around 480 mammalian species.

"Fathers help consistently and dependable with the rearing of off-spring, whereas assistance from oth-er group members, such as elder sib-lings, for instance, is far less reliable. For example, in the case of wolves and African wild dogs – two mam-mal species with large brains, elder siblings often help out less, and they look out for themselves first when food is scarce. Sometimes they even steal the prey that parents bring for the infants. The father, in contrast, actually steps up his willingness to help his young offspring when envi-ronmental conditions worsen," San-dra Heldstab explained.

In the case of other species like meerkats and prairie voles, for in-stance, elder siblings often defect to a different group when they reach puberty and, unlike the fa-ther, are no longer available to help the mother. Moreover, the quality of the paternal help is usually su-perior to the help provided by oth-er group members, who are often young and inexperienced.

"A female cannot energetically af-ford offspring with large brains un-less she can rely on help, and such dependable help only comes from the father," Heldstab said. If the assis-

tance the female receives for rearing her young is inconsistent, evolution takes an alternative path. In mam-malian species that fit this bill - such as lions and red-ruffed lemurs for ex-ample - mothers do not give birth to few offspring with large brains, but to many with small brains. If there is plenty of help in caring for the young, the entire litter survives.

If the female receives little sup-port, some of the young die. This is evolution's way of making certain that at least some of the young sur-vive even in the event of scant help and ensuring that the female doesn't needlessly invest energy in an off-spring with a large brain that will die in the absence of dependable helpers.

The study demonstrates once more that only a stable and dependable supply of energy - procured through paternal help, for instance - enables a large brain to develop in the course of evolution. Humans are unique in this respect: Paternal assistance in child rearing is very reliable, but so is childcare help from other relatives and non-relatives. This circumstance enabled humans to develop the larg-est brain relative to body size in the animal kingdom and nonetheless to considerably shorten the time span between births compared to that for our closest relatives, apes.

"In the world of mammals, only help from fathers is dependable. We humans, though, fortunately, can also count on help from others," San-dra Heldstab concluded. (Agencies)

Maintain A Good Lifestyle Now For A Healthy FutureWASHINGTON: Researchers have identified factors associated with brain health in middle age in order to develop ways to preserve brain function when people are older. According to the findings, people's health in middle age predicts how healthy you'll be later in life.

Cognitive decline is the medical term for a decline in your abilities to think, remember, and make decisions. Researchers know now that cognitive decline may begin in midlife and can develop over a period of 20 years or so.

In a new study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), researchers identi-fied factors associated with brain health in middle age in order to identify ways to preserve brain function when people are older.

Several studies have shown links between changes in the senses and the development of cognitive decline. In earlier stud-ies, the research team responsible for the new JAGS report found that problems with hearing, vi-sion, or the sense of smell were associated with poorer cognitive function in middle-aged adults.

These changes also have been linked to developing cognitive im-pairments for older people. The find-ings were published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

To learn more in this new work, the researchers used information from the ongoing Beaver Dam Offspring Study (BOSS; conduct-ed from 2005 to the present), a study of the adult children of par-ticipants in the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study, a population-based study of aging.

Hearing, vision, and the ability to smell were measured with highly sensitive tests. The participants also took tests to measure their atten-tion, thinking, and decision-making abilities, as well as their memory and ability to communicate.

The researchers then combined the results of all these tests to use as a measure of the participants' brain function. Blood tests and other measurements were also taken to create a complete health picture for each participant.

There were 2,285 participants included in this study, and most were younger than 65 years of age.

Although those participants with signs of brain aging had overall worse performance on the sensory and cognitive tests, their losses in function were mild on average.

The researchers reported that participants who smoked, had larger waists, or had health is-sues related to inflammation or cardiovascular disease were more likely to show signs of brain aging. Older participants and those with diabetes were also more likely to develop brain aging over the fol-lowing five years. Participants who exercised regularly or had more years of education were less likely to show signs of brain aging.

The researchers said their find-ings add to evidence that issues like diabetes, as well as other re-lated health concerns impacting circulation, inflammation, and metabolism (the medical term for the chemical reactions in our bodies that help sustain life, such as converting food into energy), are important contributors to brain aging.

They noted that even minor in-juries to the brain can have long-term effects on brain function. Par-ticipants with a history of a head injury had a 77 per cent increased risk of developing brain aging. Symptoms of depression were also associated with an increased risk of brain aging. According to the researchers, their findings sug-gest that some brain aging may be delayed or prevented. Just as middle-aged people can take steps to prevent heart disease by main-taining a healthy diet and weight and keeping physically active, they can also take steps to prevent early changes in brain health.

The researchers concluded that identifying and targeting risk fac-tors associated with poor brain function when people are middle-aged could help prevent cognitive decline with age. (Agencies)

Cancer Can Recur From Blood Transfusion

WASHINGTON: In a study, re-searchers have claimed that re-ceiving blood transfusion during liver cancer surgery (hepatocel-lular carcinoma) increases the risk of cancer recurrence and dying prematurely. The risk was mark-edly increased even when only a small amount of blood was trans-fused, researchers said. The study is being presented at the 'Euro-pean Society of Anaesthesiology' in Vienna, Austria (1-3 June).

Findings showed that transfu-sion of one to four units of blood increased the risk of cancer recur-rence by 23 per cent and death by 55 per cent compared to matched controls.

"Our findings from a large co-hort highlighted a significant as-sociation between red blood cell transfusions and the risk of can-cer recurrence as well as a dose-response relationship between the number of transfusions and death after curative surgery for liver cancer," said Dr Ying-Hsuan Tai from Taipei Medical Univer-sity Shuang Ho Hospital in Taiwan who led the research.

"The reason why blood transfu-sions substantially worsen cancer prognosis remains unclear, but it is likely to be related to the sup-pressive effects on the immune system," Dr Tai added.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common form of cancer worldwide and the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. It occurs frequently in people with cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) due to previ-ous damage from hepatitis B or C virus, or long-term alcohol abuse. Surgery to remove cancer and a margin of healthy tissue that sur-

rounds it (resection) is a curative treatment for people with early-stage liver cancers who have a normal liver function.

In this study, Tai and colleagues investigated the effect of peri-operative blood transfusion on cancer prognosis following HCC resection in 1,469 patients with-out lymph node involvement or metastasis undergoing surgery between 2005 and 2016.

Researchers assessed postop-erative disease-free survival and overall survival up to September 2018. Using statistical modelling (a technique called the inverse probability of treatment weight-ing) they were able to match pa-tients who had equivalent age and health conditions when compar-ing their outcomes.

Almost one in three patients (30 per cent; 447 patients) received one to four units of allogeneic (from another individual) blood during or within seven days of surgery, while more than one in 10 (12 per cent; 179 patients) were given more than four units.

During a median 45 month follow-up, analyses showed that cancer was 23 per cent more likely to recur in patients who received a transfusion (1-4 units) compared to those not given a transfusion.

While those who received more than four units faced an 18 per cent greater risk of recurrence compared with those who re-ceived none.

Compared to those not given a transfusion, patients given 1-4 units of blood were 55 per cent more likely to die from any cause, while those receiving four or more units had almost double the risk of death. (Agencies)

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SUNDAY 06102019 Kashmir Observer12 News

Death Toll Mounts To 23 In Indonesia

Baghdad Curfew Lifted But Iraq On Alert For New ProtestsAgenceis

BAGHDAD: A curfew was lifted in Baghdad on Saturday following days of protests which have left nearly 100 dead, but tensions remained after firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr de-manded the government quit.

The largely spontaneous protests over chronic unemployment and poor public services that erupted in the capital on Tuesday have escalated into a broader movement demand-ing an end to official corruption and a change of government.

At least 93 people have been killed and nearly 4,000 wounded, as pro-tests spread to cities across the south, the parliamentary human rights commission said.

Sadr threw his weight behind the demonstrations on Friday with a call for the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.

His movement has the power and organisation to bring large numbers of supporters onto the streets, but at the risk of alienating many of those who have taken to the streets in re-cent days to express their rejection of all of Iraq's feuding political factions.

Speaker Mohammad al-Halbusi was due to convene a session of par-liament session later Saturday to dis-cuss job creation and social welfare schemes, after he too extended a hand to the protesters, saying: "Your voice is being heard." In Baghdad on Saturday, municipal workers were out and about cleaning up the rubbish burned by protesters in recent days.

Shoppers trickled back onto the streets to buy vegetables and other perishable goods the price of which has more than doubled since the deadly protests started.

With the daytime curfew in place since Thursday lifted, demonstrators began gathering near the emblem-atic Tahrir Square in the morning al-though many main thoroughfares re-

mained shut and an internet blackout was still in force.

The mainly young, male protesters have insisted their movement is not linked to any party or religious estab-lishment and have scoffed at recent overtures by politicians.

"These men don't represent us. We don't want parties anymore. We don't want anyone to speak in our name," said one protester late Friday.

Abu Salah, a 70-year-old resident of Baghdad with wispy white hair and a matching beard, said the streets would be full until Iraqis saw real change.

"If living conditions don't improve, the protests will come back even worse," he told AFP.

The protests have presented the big-gest challenge yet to the Iraqi premier, who came to power a year ago as a consensus candidate promising re-forms but whose response to the dem-onstrations has been seen as tepid.

"Abdel Mahdi should have come forward with decisive changes, like the sacking of leading politicians ac-cused of corruption," said Iraqi ana-lyst Sarmad al-Bayati.

Political and religious rifts run deep in Iraq, and protests are typical-ly called for by party or sect -- mak-ing the last five days exceptional, said Fanar Haddad an expert at Singapore University's Middle East Institute.

"This is the first time we hear peo-ple saying they want the downfall of the regime," Haddad said.

Sadr, a former militia leader turned nationalist politician, demanded on Friday that the government resign to clear the way for a fresh election su-pervised by the United Nations.

His bloc is the largest in parliament, and his intervention sets the scene for a possible showdown with the speak-er, who has made his own bid to make political capital out of the protests.

Calling Saturday's parliamentary session, Halbusi pledged he would "take off his suit jacket and be the first among the protesters," if he did not see the government improve liv-ing conditions. Adel Mahdi appealed on Friday for more time to imple-ment his reform agenda in a country plagued by corruption and unem-ployment after decades of conflict.

"There are no magic solutions."But his pleas for patience appeared

to underestimate the intensity of public anger.

Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani used his weekly prayer sermon to urge authorities to heed the demands of demonstrators, warning the protests could escalate un-less clear steps are taken immediately.

Sistani has repeatedly acted as final arbiter of the politics of Iraq's Shiite community, which dominates the government. (AFP)

Trump To Block Immigrants Unable To Pay For Healthcare

Agenceis

WASHINGTON: The US will block the entry of immigrants without health insurance or the ability to pay for medical bills, Presi-dent Donald Trump revealed Friday.

Consular officers will only be allowed to issue visas to prospective immigrants who can prove they "will not impose a substan-tial burden" on the US health care system, according to a proclamation authored by Trump.

"Lawful immigrants are about three times more likely than United States citi-zens to lack health insurance," Trump said in the proclamation.

"Immigrants who enter this country should not further saddle our healthcare system, and subsequently American tax-payers, with higher costs." The measure will go into effect on November 3.

Trump made cracking down on immigra-tion a key part of his 2016 presidential cam-paign platform.

He has pushed wide-ranging immigra-tion law reforms, while tasking authorities with carrying out mass deportations of people in the US illegally.

Last week Washington also announced plans to dramatically lower its ceiling on a decades-old refugee resettlement program by 40 percent. (AFP)

New Book Documents Gandhi's Legacy Launched In South Africa

Hong Kong Protesters Defy Mask Ban As City Grinds To Halt

Taliban Meet US Peace Envoy For First Time Since 'Dead' Deal

Agenceis

KABUL: The Taliban met US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in the Pakistan capital for the first time since President Donald Trump declared a seemingly imminent peace deal to end Afghanistan's 18-year war 'dead' a month ago, a Taliban official said early Saturday.

He offered few details of Friday's meeting between Khalilzad and the Taliban delega-tion led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the movement that was ousted in 2001 by the US-led coalition. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

US officials however have been keen to say there is no resumption of peace talks, at least not now in Islamabad.Still, the meet-ing is significant as the United States seeks an exit from Afghanistan's 18-year war.

Khalilzad has been in Islamabad for much of the week meeting with senior government officials in what the US State Department described as follow-up meetings he held in New York during last month's UN General As-sembly session. At the time he met Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been calling for a resumption of peace talks.

The Taliban delegation led by Mullah Bara-dar - one of its more powerful members - ar-rived separately in the Pakistani capital for meetings with government officials they said were being held to discuss a wide range of po-litical issues relating to the more than 1.5 mil-lion Afghans still living as refugees in Pakistan.

Baradar was arrested in Pakistan in 2010 in a joint Pakistani-CIA operation after he secretly opened peace talks with the then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai, attempt-ing to sideline Pakistan and against the US strategy at the time, which did not support talks with the Taliban.

In 2018, Baradar was released from jail to fa-cilitate peace talks after Khalilzad was appoint-ed U.S. peace as Washington sought a way to exit America's longest military engagement.

More than 14,000 US troops are still in Afghanistan and Trump has repeatedly ex-pressed his frustration with their continued deployment, complaining they have taken on the duties of policing the country, a job he said the Afghan government needed to do.

During the past year, Khalilzad held nine rounds of talks with the Taliban in the Mid-dle eastern State of Qatar, where the insur-gents maintain a political office.

In early September a deal seemed im-minent, but a fresh round of violence and the death of a US soldier caused Trump to suddenly tweet the end to talks, including the cancellation of an agreement signing ceremony in Camp David, about which few had been aware.

There were no details about the Pakistani meetings Friday.

During the Doha talks, Khalilzad and Baradar held one-on one meetings and in recent weeks the Taliban had travelled to China, Russia and Iran to drum up support for a return to talks.

But in Afghanistan, the country is still awaiting the results of presidential polls held on September 28.

The leading contenders are President Ashraf Ghani and his current partner in the unity government, Chief Executive Abdul-lah Abdullah.

Abdullah has already said he believes he has won while Ghani's supporters are de-claring he has the necessary votes, causing many to fear political chaos. Preliminary re-sults are not expected before October 17 and the final results until November 7. If there is no clear winner with 51 per cent of the vote, a second round will be held within two weeks of the final vote announcement. (AP)

Agenceis

HONG KONG: Pro-democracy protesters marched through Hong Kong in defiance of a ban on face masks as much of the city ground to a halt on Saturday with the subway suspended and swathes of shops and malls shuttered fol-lowing another night of violence.

Hundreds of protesters, almost all masked, staged an unsanc-tioned march through the popular shopping district of Causeway Bay, a day after the city's leader out-lawed face coverings at protests invoking colonial-era emergency powers not used for half a century.

The latest act of resistance came after a night of widespread night of chaos as hardcore pro-testers trashed dozens of subway stations vandalised shops with mainland China ties, built fires and blocked roads.

As the crowds were marching on Saturday, city leader Carrie Lam released a stony-faced video state-ment in which she condemned protesters for "a very dark night".

"We cannot allow rioters any more to destroy our treasured Hong Kong," Lam said as she called on citizens to distance themselves form

the more hardcore protesters.But the march in Causeway Bay,

which came despite the city-wide subway closure, showed protest-ers were still willing to defy the mask ban as they chanted "No rioters, only tyranny" and other popular slogans.

Hong Kong has been battered by four months of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests.

The rallies were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow ex-traditions to the mainland, which fuelled fears of an erosion of lib-erties promised under the "one country, two systems" model Chi-na uses for the finance hub.

After Beijing and local leaders took a hard line, the demonstra-tions snowballed into a wider movement calling for more dem-ocratic freedoms and police ac-countability.

Lam has refused any major con-cessions but struggled to come up with any political solution that might end the chaos, leaving po-lice and demonstrators to fight increasingly violent battles as the city tips into recession.

Hong Kong witnessed its worst clashes to date on Tuesday as China celebrated 70 years of Com-

munist Party rule, with a teenager shot and wounded by police as he attacked an officer.

On Friday, Lam used a colonial-era law to ban face masks at pro-tests, but it did little to clam ten-sions.

Instead it triggered another wave of mass protests and vows of defiance.

"The government doesn't listen to us. So we are upping our game," said 32-year-old protester Na-thalie, as hardcore demonstrators

trashed a station in the previously calm neighbourhood of Tseung Kwan O.

In the northern district of Yuen Long, a plain clothes police officer opened fire when he was sur-rounded in his car and attacked by

protesters, a petrol bomb explod-ing at his feet.

Local media reported a teenage boy was shot and wounded in the same district but police would not confirm whether the bullet came from the officer's gun.

As the city awoke on Saturday, the rail network remained out of action -- although the crucial air-port service partially re-opened in the afternoon.

The subway alone usually carries some four million passengers a day.

Shopping malls were closed, su-permarket chains said they would not open and many mainland Chi-nese banks stayed shuttered, their facades sprayed with graffiti.

In some locations, long lines formed at supermarkets as resi-dents stocked up on rice, eggs, toilet paper and other essentials, fearing further clashes.

Police sent text messages urging the public to avoid protests over the three day holiday weekend.

While the increased vandalism has shocked many in a city unused to such scenes, many more mod-erate activists say they still have sympathy for those using violence.

The movement deploys many slogans advocating unity within

the different camps pushing for democracy.

On Saturday afternoon a 67-year-old property agent, who gave his surname Luk, was survey-ing the damage to his local subway station, its windows shattered and walls daubed with graffiti.

He said he opposed vandalism but wouldn't condemn those trash-ing the station.

"The government will not make any concessions," he told AFP.

"The government isn't having a dialogue with citizens, they are just pushing this one-side behaviour."

A French resident, who gave his first name Marko, described the face mask ban as "adding oil to the fire".

"But I think the people who de-stroyed the stations are extrem-ists," he added.

Pro-China lawmakers and po-lice praised Lam's ban. Beijing also voiced support, calling it "ex-tremely necessary".

But critics said Lam's move was a major step towards authoritarianism.

The emergency power, last used by the British in 1967, allows Lam to bypass the city's parliament to make "any regulation whatso-ever" during an emergency or mo-ment of public danger. (AFP)

N Korean, US Officials At Nuclear Talks After Latest Missile Test

JOHANNESBURG: A new book on Mahat-ma Gandhi launched here documents how attempts to remember his sojourn in South Africa were stifled by the apartheid-era minority white government and revived after former president Nelson Mandela ac-knowledged his role in starting off democ-racy in the country.

The book was launched on Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.

'150 Years of Celebrating the Mahatma the South African Legacy', by author and journalist Fakir Hassen, is a 160-page cof-fee table that records how commemora-tions of Gandhi's activities, including his birth and death anniversaries, were con-fined to the local Indian community only.

"Honoured across the world with stat-ues, busts, and streets named after him, the apartheid government in South Af-rica provided absolutely no support, even while his great-grandchildren continued activities at the Phoenix settlement near Durban which Gandhi started during his tenure there.

The Phoenix settlement served as Ma-hatma Gandhi's home during his stay in South Africa.

"But as the advent of democracy dawned in 1990, a new wave of public acknowl-edgement of the great leader's role start-ed in South Africa, sparked particularly by comments made by the late President Mandela," Hassen writes in the book.

"Buoyed by this, there have been scores of Gandhian events added during the first quarter century of South Africa's new-found democracy to the few that had been

established already, such as the 30-year-old annual Gandhi Walk in Lenasia."

In 1915, the man who had come to South Africa as the young lawyer Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi two decades earlier, left to return to his homeland, where he was destined to lead India to indepen-dence from British rule.

By that time, Gandhi had already be-come a renowned leader in South Africa in opposing the discriminatory laws, particu-larly against the Indian community.

The book will be placed in public, uni-versity and high school libraries across the country free of charge through sponsor-ship from South African and expatriate In-dian companies.

It includes chapters about statues, busts and exhibitions; awards and accolades, both to Gandhi and to others made in his name; the Phoenix Settlements and Tol-stoy Farm communes that he started in Durban and Johanensburg respectively; and how Gandhi even inspired coins, com-ics, and sporting activities in the country.

"From the unveiling of statues, com-memorative coins, and conferences to vari-ous awards in his name and attempts to revive the once vibrant Tolstoy Farm near Johannesburg, I have been privileged to write about this and capture some of it in photographs," Hassen said.

"What this book is about is in no way any academic work, but purely a collection of articles I have written and pictures I have taken about Gandhian events in South Africa, especially since 1994 when we achieved our democracy, he said.

STOCKHOLM: North Korean and US officials on Saturday gathered for new nuclear talks in Stockholm af-ter months of deadlock and Pyong-yang's defiant test of a sea-launched ballistic missile this week.

North Korea's Kim Myong Gil and Stephen Biegun, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, are part of the teams at the talks.

The two were to meet at a heav-ily guarded venue on an island off Stockholm, several hundred metres from the North Korean embassy, an AFP correspondent said.

The first cars with tinted windows started arriving just after 9:00 am (0700 GMT).

"I am encouraged that US and (North Korean) working level del-egations are currently in Sweden to hold talks," Swedish Foreign Minis-ter Ann Lindh tweeted.

"Dialogue needed to reach denu-clearization and peaceful solution." Similar-level talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament were held in Stockholm in March 2018 and then in January this year.

North Korea frequently couples diplomatic overtures with military moves as a way of maintaining pres-sure on negotiating partners, analysts say, and many believe this weapons system gives it added leverage.

Pyongyang tested what it called a "super-large" rocket on Wednesday

just hours after it said it was willing to resume working-level talks with Washington.

Kim Myong Gil said he was "optimis-tic" about the talks, speaking in Beijing on his way to the Swedish capital.

Washington has been eagerly awaiting a resumption of the dia-logue, which has virtually stalled af-ter a Hanoi meeting in late February between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea claimed to have en-tered a new phase in its defence capability with Wednesday's test of a submarine-launched ballistic mis-sile -- the most provocative since Pyongyang began a dialogue with Washington in 2018.

The Pentagon said Thursday the missile seems to have been launched from a "sea-based platform" and not a submarine.

Trump has said he sees no problem with a string of short-range rocket tests conducted previously by North Korea, while insisting his personal ties with the North's leader remain good.

Photos carried by Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed a black and white missile emerging from the water and ap-pearing to shoot into the sky.

The images also showed a small towing vessel next to the missile, which analysts said indicates the test was conducted from a submers-

ible barge rather than an actual sub-marine, and that the system was in its early stages.

"The new-type ballistic missile was fired in vertical mode" in the waters off Wonsan Bay, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, identifying the weapon as a Pukguksong-3 and saying it "ushered in a new phase in containing the outside forces' threat." The United Nations Security Council meanwhile is expected to hold closed-door talks early next week on the lat-est test, diplomats said.

Those talks were requested by Britain, France and Germany, as the European powers push for the world body to keep up pressure on Pyong-yang which is under heavy US and UN sanctions over its weapons program.

North Korea is banned from bal-listic missile launches by Security Council resolutions.

It is also under three sets of UN sanctions adopted in 2017 in an ef-fort to force it to give up its nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes. They limit North Korea's oil imports and impose bans linked to its ex-ports of coal, fish and textiles.

Since the US-North Korea talks began, Russia and China have been calling for the UN to start lifting sanctions so as to create momentum towards the North's denuclearisa-tion. But the United States has re-fused. (AFP)