8
S even civilian protesters, three terrorists and an Army jawan were killed, besides scores of youngsters wounded, in the counter-terrorist opera- tion by security forces in a vil- lage in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday morning. The killings evoked wide- spread condemnation from both separatist and mainstream political leadership in Kashmir while authorities snapped mobile internet services in sev- eral areas of the Valley, includ- ing Srinagar. The separatists have called for three-day shut- down against the killings. Eyewitnesses said young- sters were killed after security forces opened fire on the civil- ians who were protesting against the anti-terrorist oper- ation in Kharpora Sirnoo vil- lage in Pulwama. The protesters were march- ing towards the encounter site apparently to disrupt the counter-terrorist operation to give safe passage to the holed up terrorists. The civilians’ death occurred after three local Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed in an encounter in the area. An Army jawan was also killed in the operation while another injured was admitted to military hospital. The slain terrorists were identified as Adnan, alias Tahir Hizbi, a resident of Karimabad Pulwama; Bilal Ahmad, alias Hashim, a resident of Rajpora Pulwama; and a former Army man Zahoor Ahmad Thokar of Sirnoo Pulwama, who desert- ed the Army ranks last year to join Hizbul Mujahideen group. Thokar was one among senior commanders. Sources said in the initial phase of operation, two civil- ians were killed in action fol- lowing heavy violent clashes amid stone pelting with police and paramilitary forces after news spread about the killing of three terrorists in the area. Five more civilians succumbed to grievous injuries while at least two dozen injured civilians were undergoing treat- ment at various hospitals in Pulwama and Srinagar. Reports said a large num- ber of people, mostly youth, pelted stones on security forces near the encounter site at Sirnoo village. The security forces used first lobbed tear smoke shells. As the situation could not con- tained, they used pellets and then live ammunition to quell the protests. Local sources said the forces fired indiscriminately leading to large number of injuries. T he Congress has invited leaders from across the political spectrum for the swearing-in ceremony of party stalwarts Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot who would take charge as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan on Monday. The Congress will also form its Government in Chhatisgarh on Monday but the Chief Minister candidate will be announced on Sunday morning in Raipur following which the invitations for the oath cere- mony will be extended. While the oath ceremony at Jaipur is scheduled at 10.30 am, Bhopal timing is a t 1.30 pm followed by Raipur at 4.30 pm to facilitate the lead- ers including Congress High Command to move conve- niently. After selecting Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi held hectic parleys with top party leaders on Saturday to decide on the top post for Chhattisgarh. Sources said Rahul met Chhattisgarh’s four potential Chief Minister can- didates — TS Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Bhupesh Baghel and Charan Das Mahant — at his Tughlaq Lane residence and held discussions with them. This was the third round of discussion that the Congress chief held before selecting the Chief Minister for Chhattisgarh, where the party romped home to power after 15 years with two-third majority. Congress’ central observer Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC in-charge for party affairs in Chhattisgarh PL Punia were also present at the meeting. T he Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday seized assets worth 20.87 crore belonging to Pradip Burman, who is Director of Dabur India Limited, for allegedly holding assets abroad in violation of provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). In another case, the ED seized immovable proper- ty worth 10.28 crore of Shravan Gupta, Additional Managing Director, M/s Emmar MGF for holding US$ 15,40,650 in his bank account with HSBC, Switzerland under FEMA. The seizure order in Burman’s case has been issued pursuant to an investigation which prima facie revealed that the he had deposited $3.21 million in his account with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Zurich, according to ED officials. “Burman had declared before Income Tax Authority that he had earned US$ 32,12,000 whereas he had not shown this amount in his Income Tax Returns filed in India for the period 2007-08. Income Tax Authorities have filed a prosecution complaint against Burman in the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate which is pending,” ED officials said. Investigation revealed that Burman had deposited US$ 32,12,000 with HSBC, Zurich and holding the same in contravention of Section 4 of FEMA, 1999 and failed to repatriate the entire amount to India till date. Following the investigations it was found movable assets, identified in India to the tune of 20,87,80,000 held by him in his name. The seized assets comprised 50,000 tax free Government bonds of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) , which were purchased on different dates for 5 crore, 4 crore, and 11 crore, amounting to over 20 crore. His name had appeared in the black-money list hold- ers among 628 Indians in the HSBC Geneva list in FY 2006-2007. T he RLSP on Saturday received a major setback with all its members in the bicameral legislature of Bihar declaring that they are still with the NDA as they accused party president Upendra Kushwaha of pursuing per- sonal interests in announcing a break-up with the NDA. Both the RLSP MLAs — Sudhanshu Shekhar and Lalan Paswan — and its lone MLC — Sanjiv Singh Shyam — made a statement to this effect at a joint press conference here. They also pitched for a ministerial berth for Shekhar, a first-term MLA and the youngest among the three. We will also approach the Election Commission with the claim that we represent the real RLSP and we enjoy the support of most workers and office-bearers in the party, Shyam said making it clear that the RLSP was heading towards a split. The RLSP has three MPs, including Kushwaha. Among the two other Lok Sabha mem- bers — Arun Kumar from Jehanabad and Ram Kumar Sharma from Sitamarhi — the former has been charting an independent course for past two years. I n view of the heavy rainfall forecasted by the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) for three days from Sunday, the State Government on Saturday advised District Collectors to take appropriate steps. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi, in a letter to Collectors, advised them to sensitise farmers to take nec- essary measures to protect their crops. “As per the latest informa- tion received from IMD, the deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal lay centred at 08.30 am today about 440 km south east of Chennai and 890 km south east of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh,” Sethi stated in the let- ter. “It is very likely to further intensify into a cyclonic storm during next 24 hours and into a severe cyclonic storm in sub- sequent 24 hours. It is likely to cross Andhra coast between Ongole and Kakinada on December 17 afternoon,” the letter added. Under its influence, light to moderate rain is likely to occur at a many places over districts of south Odisha and a few places on December 16, at many places over the dis- tricts of Odisha on December 17 and at a few places over dis- tricts of Odisha on December 18. Similarly, isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over the districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada and Kalahandi on Sunday. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over Malakangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nuapada, Bargarh, Bolangir, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur. “Steps may please be taken as per the above revised warn- ing. Advice for fishermen to be strictly followed,” the SRC added. I n a new development in the Dhenkanal shelter home sexual harassment case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will probe the finan- cial transactions and sources of foreign funding of NGO Good News India, which runs the children home in Dhenkanal and several other parts of the State. A senior ED official on Saturday said a detailed probe would be carried out to ascertain the source from where 22 shelter homes of the Good News India used to receive funds. Basically, the sources of foreign funding would be under scanner. Official sources said the Central investigation agency has also asked the Dhenkanal police to submit an FIR copy and chargesheet of the case. “The ED might seek remand of Good News India managing director Fayaz Rahman under the Foreign Exchange Management FEMA Act (FEMA) for questioning on the money trail of the NGO,” said a senior official. The development came two days after National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) member Yashwant Jain alleged that the Odisha Government did not follow the guidelines on protection of children at the shelter homes stringently. M aster Blaster Sachin Tendulkar will visit Bhubaneswar on Sunday to watch the final match of Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in the city. The batting maestro took to Twitter on Saturday to con- firm his visit to Odisha. In his Tweet, Tendulkar also praised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Hockey India for the world-class arrangements made for the world cup. “Heartwarming to see the entire nation supporting the Men’s Hockey World Cup- 2018. To extend my support; I’ll be coming to the spectacular Kalinga Stadium tomorrow. See you there,” Tendulkar Tweeted. T he National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in a report submitted to the Chief Secretary and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests has stated that Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT) Mahavir died due to poaching. The finding is contrary to the claims of the Forest Department that the tiger died due to multiple organ failures following a wound on his neck. The NTCA has also blamed the Forest Department for the incident and issued instructions to initiate action against all concerned authori- ties, who have attempted to conceal the factors behind its death. In its report, the NTCA stated that prima facie analysis and investigation based on the pictures, documents, nature of injury sustained, tracking team investigations and indepen- dent interactions with the field staff revealed that the death of the tiger was due to injury sus- tained from a snare trap and, thus, it is a clear case of poach- ing. The NTCA further stated that the concerned authorities have not proceeded with logi- cal investigation. “There have been attempts to conceal factors behind the death of the tiger, which is due to snaring. This warrants serious action against all concerned,” the NTCA pointed out in the letter urging the State Government to initiate imme- diate action against those responsible.

ˇ ˆ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˝ ˜ ˛€¦ · t 1.30 pm followed by Raipur ... with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Zurich, ... Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC)

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Page 1: ˇ ˆ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˝ ˜ ˛€¦ · t 1.30 pm followed by Raipur ... with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Zurich, ... Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC)

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�� ���������������������������������� ������������� �������� ������������������ � ���!"���#�� ��������$$ ���������� � ��������������������� ���� �����$ ������$���������!��� ���������� ���� ����%��� �����!�#��� ��� � ������� ��� �� ���� &�� ���������� ��$������������ � �������'�� ��� �������������$ ��������!���� � ��� � ��������!�(�������� ���

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Seven civilian protesters,three terrorists and an Army

jawan were killed, besidesscores of youngsters wounded,in the counter-terrorist opera-tion by security forces in a vil-lage in South Kashmir’sPulwama district on Saturdaymorning.

The killings evoked wide-spread condemnation fromboth separatist and mainstreampolitical leadership in Kashmirwhile authorities snappedmobile internet services in sev-eral areas of the Valley, includ-ing Srinagar. The separatistshave called for three-day shut-down against the killings.

Eyewitnesses said young-sters were killed after securityforces opened fire on the civil-ians who were protestingagainst the anti-terrorist oper-ation in Kharpora Sirnoo vil-lage in Pulwama.

The protesters were march-ing towards the encounter siteapparently to disrupt thecounter-terrorist operation togive safe passage to the holedup terrorists.

The civilians’ deathoccurred after three localHizbul Mujahideen terroristswere killed in an encounter inthe area. An Army jawan wasalso killed in the operationwhile another injured was

admitted to military hospital.The slain terrorists were

identified as Adnan, alias TahirHizbi, a resident of KarimabadPulwama; Bilal Ahmad, aliasHashim, a resident of RajporaPulwama; and a former Armyman Zahoor Ahmad Thokar ofSirnoo Pulwama, who desert-ed the Army ranks last year tojoin Hizbul Mujahideen group.Thokar was one among seniorcommanders.

Sources said in the initial

phase of operation, two civil-ians were killed in action fol-lowing heavy violent clashesamid stone pelting with policeand paramilitary forces after news spread aboutthe killing of three terrorists inthe area. Five more civilianssuccumbed to grievous injurieswhile at least two dozen injuredcivilians were undergoing treat-ment at various hospitals inPulwama and Srinagar.

Reports said a large num-

ber of people, mostly youth,pelted stones on security forcesnear the encounter site atSirnoo village.

The security forces usedfirst lobbed tear smoke shells.As the situation could not con-tained, they used pellets andthen live ammunition to quellthe protests.

Local sources said theforces fired indiscriminatelyleading to large number ofinjuries.

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The Congress has invitedleaders from across the

political spectrum for theswearing-in ceremony of partystalwarts Kamal Nath andAshok Gehlot who would takecharge as Chief Minister ofMadhya Pradesh and Rajasthanon Monday. The Congress willalso form its Government inChhatisgarh on Monday but theChief Minister candidate will beannounced on Sunday morningin Raipur following which theinvitations for the oath cere-mony will be extended.

While the oath ceremonyat Jaipur is scheduled at 10.30am, Bhopal timing is at 1.30 pm followed by Raipurat 4.30 pm to facilitate the lead-ers including Congress HighCommand to move conve-niently.

After selecting ChiefMinisters of Rajasthan andMadhya Pradesh, Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi heldhectic parleys with top party

leaders on Saturday to decideon the top post forChhattisgarh. Sources saidRahul met Chhattisgarh’s fourpotential Chief Minister can-didates — TS Singh Deo,Tamradhwaj Sahu, BhupeshBaghel and Charan DasMahant — at his Tughlaq Laneresidence and held discussionswith them.

This was the third round ofdiscussion that the Congresschief held before selecting theChief Minister forChhattisgarh, where the partyromped home to power after 15years with two-third majority.Congress’ central observerMallikarjun Kharge and AICCin-charge for party affairs inChhattisgarh PL Punia werealso present at the meeting.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturdayseized assets worth �20.87 crore belonging to Pradip

Burman, who is Director of Dabur India Limited, forallegedly holding assets abroad in violation of provisionsof Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

In another case, the ED seized immovable proper-ty worth �10.28 crore of Shravan Gupta, AdditionalManaging Director, M/s Emmar MGF for holding US$15,40,650 in his bank account with HSBC, Switzerlandunder FEMA.

The seizure order in Burman’s case has been issuedpursuant to an investigation which prima facie revealedthat the he had deposited $3.21 million in his accountwith the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation(HSBC) in Zurich, according to ED officials.

“Burman had declared before Income Tax Authoritythat he had earned US$ 32,12,000 whereas he had notshown this amount in his Income Tax Returns filed inIndia for the period 2007-08. Income Tax Authoritieshave filed a prosecution complaint against Burman inthe Court of Metropolitan Magistrate which is pending,”ED officials said.

Investigation revealed that Burman had depositedUS$ 32,12,000 with HSBC, Zurich and holding the samein contravention of Section 4 of FEMA, 1999 and failedto repatriate the entire amount to India till date.

Following the investigations it was found movableassets, identified in India to the tune of �20,87,80,000held by him in his name. The seized assets comprised50,000 tax free Government bonds of the Housing andUrban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and theIndian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) , which werepurchased on different dates for �5 crore, �4 crore, and�11 crore, amounting to over �20 crore.

His name had appeared in the black-money list hold-ers among 628 Indians in the HSBC Geneva list in FY2006-2007.

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The RLSP on Saturdayreceived a major setback

with all its members in thebicameral legislature of Bihardeclaring that they are stillwith the NDA as they accusedparty president UpendraKushwaha of pursuing per-sonal interests in announcinga break-up with the NDA.

Both the RLSP MLAs —Sudhanshu Shekhar and LalanPaswan — and its lone MLC —Sanjiv Singh Shyam — made astatement to this effect at a jointpress conference here.

They also pitched for aministerial berth for Shekhar,a first-term MLA and theyoungest among the three.

We will also approach theElection Commission with theclaim that we represent the real RLSP and weenjoy the support of mostworkers and office-bearers inthe party, Shyam said makingit clear that the RLSP washeading towards a split.

The RLSP has three MPs,including Kushwaha. Amongthe two other Lok Sabha mem-bers — Arun Kumar fromJehanabad and Ram KumarSharma from Sitamarhi — theformer has been charting anindependent course for pasttwo years.

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In view of the heavy rainfallforecasted by the Indian

Metrological Department(IMD) for three days fromSunday, the State Governmenton Saturday advised DistrictCollectors to take appropriatesteps.

Special ReliefCommissioner (SRC)Bishnupada Sethi, in a letter toCollectors, advised them tosensitise farmers to take nec-essary measures to protecttheir crops.

“As per the latest informa-tion received from IMD, thedeep depression over southeastBay of Bengal lay centred at08.30 am today about 440 kmsouth east of Chennai and 890km south east ofMachilipatnam in AndhraPradesh,” Sethi stated in the let-ter.

“It is very likely to further

intensify into a cyclonic stormduring next 24 hours and intoa severe cyclonic storm in sub-sequent 24 hours. It is likely tocross Andhra coast betweenOngole and Kakinada onDecember 17 afternoon,” theletter added.

Under its influence, light tomoderate rain is likely to occurat a many places over districtsof south Odisha and a fewplaces on December16, at many places over the dis-tricts of Odisha on December17 and at a few places over dis-tricts of Odisha on December18.

Similarly, isolated heavyto very heavy rainfall is likelyover the districts of Gajapati,Ganjam, Rayagada andKalahandi on Sunday.

Isolated heavy to veryheavy rainfall is likely overMalakangiri, Koraput,Rayagada, Nabarangpur,Kalahandi, Kandhamal,Nuapada, Bargarh, Bolangir,Jharsuguda and Sambalpur.

“Steps may please be takenas per the above revised warn-ing. Advice for fishermen to bestrictly followed,” the SRCadded.

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In a new development in theDhenkanal shelter home sexual

harassment case, the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) will probe the finan-cial transactions and sources of foreignfunding of NGO Good News India,which runs the children home inDhenkanal and several other parts ofthe State.

A senior ED official on Saturdaysaid a detailed probe would be carriedout to ascertain the source from where22 shelter homes of the Good NewsIndia used to receive funds. Basically,the sources of foreign funding wouldbe under scanner.

Official sources said the Centralinvestigation agency has also asked theDhenkanal police to submit an FIRcopy and chargesheet of the case.

“The ED might seek remand ofGood News India managing directorFayaz Rahman under the ForeignExchange Management FEMA Act(FEMA) for questioning on the moneytrail of the NGO,” said a senior official.

The development came two daysafter National Commission forProtection of Child Rights (NCPCR)member Yashwant Jain alleged that theOdisha Government did not follow theguidelines on protection of children atthe shelter homes stringently.

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Master Blaster SachinTendulkar will visit

Bhubaneswar on Sunday towatch the final match ofOdisha Hockey Men’s WorldCup at the Kalinga Stadium inthe city.

The batting maestro tookto Twitter on Saturday to con-firm his visit to Odisha.

In his Tweet, Tendulkaralso praised Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik and HockeyIndia for the world-classarrangements made for theworld cup.

“Heartwarming to see theentire nation supporting the

Men’s Hockey World Cup-2018. To extend my support; I’llbe coming to the spectacularKalinga Stadium tomorrow.See you there,” TendulkarTweeted.

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The National TigerConservation Authority

(NTCA) in a report submittedto the Chief Secretary andPrincipal Chief Conservatorof Forests has stated that RoyalBengal Tiger (RBT) Mahavirdied due to poaching.

The finding is contrary tothe claims of the ForestDepartment that the tiger dieddue to multiple organ failuresfollowing a wound on his neck.

The NTCA has alsoblamed the Forest Departmentfor the incident and issuedinstructions to initiate action

against all concerned authori-ties, who have attempted toconceal the factors behind its

death. In its report, the NTCAstated that prima facie analysisand investigation based on the

pictures, documents, nature ofinjury sustained, tracking teaminvestigations and indepen-dent interactions with the fieldstaff revealed that the death ofthe tiger was due to injury sus-tained from a snare trap and,thus, it is a clear case of poach-ing.

The NTCA further statedthat the concerned authoritieshave not proceeded with logi-cal investigation.

“There have been attemptsto conceal factors behind thedeath of the tiger, which is dueto snaring.

This warrants seriousaction against all concerned,”the NTCA pointed out in theletter urging the StateGovernment to initiate imme-diate action against thoseresponsible.

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Aspidey overdose once the radioactive spider bites one too many inone too many verses. You could call

this animated spiderman thingie withseven spideys climbing the walls anoverdose, indeed. What with the humourquotient kind of sticking back on the wallswith the web and being left behind formost part of this swinging movie full ofemotion, confusion and altered realities.

So here you have a Black boy, a blondgirl, the original Peter Parker of coursethough with an expanded waistline andtrack pants instead of the spidey suit and apiglet if you please as spidermen! Thesituation gets complicated when a PeterParker is a dead man walking after beinghit fatally by Mr Big (you can’t imaginehow big and boxy he is) who of coursewants to destroy the world which tookaway his wife and child!

The rigmarole created is cool enoughfor kids but one must say here that themissing mirth in the film takes away a lot

from what could have been an entirelyenchanting world of webs and action.Having said that, it is also true that themulti-dimensioned spideys cook up quitea rollicking fare by being entirelycontemptuous of any kind of parentalstoryline and creating their own funmoments and sequences that may not everfigure in the Marvel comic book.

The imagination takes wings aseveryone from a piglet to a disillusionedPeter Parker get together to save the worldfrom the dark force. And, while doing so,these enemies of crooks inhabit thesummit of highrises in an altered NewYork skyline with the same gravitas as theoriginal spiderman has done over so manymovies.

The newness of the storyline, theintention to have fun at work, the brilliantanimation work and the near-perfect voiceovers by everyone from Shaimik Moore toNicholas Cage are what make this film sogreat.

An overdose of spidey cinema hasbeen the bane of critics for many years butnot much can be said in the negative forthis Sony production which soars the nightheights with elan and novelty, drawing inall and sundry, and from all ages, into theweb once again.A new homecoming forspidey guys so sit back and enjoy.

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

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�What is your new show Ladies Special2 all about?

The concept of the show is verydifferent and people will get tosee the journey of three womenwho come from completelydifferent backgrounds, how theymet in a train and startconnecting with each other, thechallenges they face and howthey fight with it. It is a veryspecial show sans saas-bahudrama. �What is your role in it show?

I play Prarthna Kashyap, a30-year-old single woman froma north-Indian family. She is amature and responsible personand also the sole breadwinner forher family. All her energy isspent in taking care of the family.She has given up on her dreamof getting married because shethinks it is too late for her. Thewhole story essays the everydaystruggle of an unmarried womanand the mental stress that shegoes through because of thesociety.�What made you say yes to thisrole?

I was both surprised andexcited when the show came tome. I'm from north India so wasable to relate to it. When I readthe script, I was sure that everywoman would be able relate tomy character.�How has your journey fromSmrita in Teri Meri LoveStories to Prarthna been?

It has been amazing. I havebeen fortunate enough to workwith good people and get goodshows with good concepts. I amwant to be known in theindustry for my hard work. Iwant to create an image wherepeople appreciate my work andmy performances, just likeRadhika Apte and SwaraBhaskar who are known fortheir strong performances.�How did acting happen?

It came as a surprise for me because Iam a professional singer. I come from amusical family. I learnt singing from my

father. Acting happened when I performedin India’s Got Talent Season 1 and SonaliBendre was the judge.

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Arare week when both big movies were fromthe Marvel and DC worlds and both wereimpactful in their own way. Aquaman, the

underwater (mostly) action-thriller, stitched togetherwith a lot of CGI perfection, is a Bollywood styleaction romance family drama kind of apocalypseapproaching movie which keeps you seated andengaged till the very end.

When it’s Hollywood, almost always the worldhas to come to an end and for the heroes to get intoaction. Aquaman is no different with the aquaticbeings of the legendary city of Atlantis, helmed by anunscrupulous power monger, is all set to attack thesurface beings in a concerted, hi-tech move tobecome the Ocean King. As always, there is one heroto foil all the evil designs on a grand scale and bringback humanity as we know it from the brink.

The larger than life man here is a half-breed anda love child of a surface-ocean couple which hassince separated due to the tidings of the underwaterkingdom’s rules. Nicole Kidman, the queen ofAtlantis, does a super short cameo full of tenderloving care before she has to leave her child andpartner to return to the machinations of her nativekingdom.

Jason Momoa as Aquaman is big, quirky andhappening as is this underwater extravaganza fromthe extended DC verse which is on a high tide allthrough and that’s really something that theaudiences would want as thrills on the waterfront. Amust see in that sense and not just for action junkies.The tender emotions too have been woven in.

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Putting all speculations in a sec-tion of the media to rest, senior

Congress leader and JharsugudaMLA Naba Kishore Das on Saturdaymade it clear that he is not quittingthe Congress to join the Biju JanataDal (BJD).

The prominent leader fromwestern Odisha said in a statement,“It is being rumoured that I am quit-ting the Congress to join the BJD.I have been associated with theCongress since my student days. Iam inspired by the principles andideologies of the Congress party. I

have been appointed working pres-ident of the Odisha PradeshCongress Committee (OPCC). I am

discharging my duties with utmostsincerity and will continue to do so.”

Das further said, “There is noquestion of quitting thye Congress.Those who are spreading rumoursabout me should refrain from it.”

Notably, the speculations wereto some extent fanned by Das’statement during a meeting withparty workers at Raghunathpalliunder Kolabira block in Jharsugudadistrict where he asked his Congresssupporters whether they wouldsupport him if he joined any otherpolitical party. The clipping of thesame was run by various regionalchannels in the State.

���� -(-��+���)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singhon Saturday assured Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik to release cyclone Titliassistance to Odisha as early as possible.

His response came when Patnaik hada telephonic discussion with him regard-ing Central assistance for victims of theTitli that ravaged the State in October thisyear.

Earlier on December 13, Patnaik hadwritten a letter to the Home Minister urg-ing him to immediately release Centralassistance for undertaking repair andrestoration works in the affected areas.

“The very cyclonic storm Titli of

October, 2018 and subsequent floods andlandslides had severely affected a vastpopulation of around 60.31 lakh in 128blocks of 17 districts in State,” Patnaikhad mentioned in the letter.

���� -�,+���)

The Odisha Crime Branch(CB) on Friday arrested an

employee of the Bank of India(BoI) Remuna branch inBaleswar district for allegedlyembezzling pension funds tothe tune of �1.32 crore.

Sources said the accusedPrabhat Das, who works as abusiness correspondent at thebank, used to draw pensionmoney from the accounts ofdead beneficiaries.

After arresting Das, offi-cials of the investigating agencybegan an investigation intothe matter and raided his houseat Remuna to collect evidence.Possible involvement of otherofficials of the bank in theembezzlement would also bebrought under the purview ofthe investigation, said a CBofficial.

However, he authorities ofthe bank concerned were notavailable to comment on thematter.

��� � -�,��*)

The Koshal StateCoordination Committee

has called a 12-hour KoshalMahabandh in 11districts ofwestern Odisha on December17, to press for creation of aseparate Koshal State.

This was announced byPramod Mishra at a Pressmeet held here on Saturdaymorning.

Mishra alleged that someleaders are opposing theKoshal Bandh at the instigationof Coastal area leaders to hidetheir non performance. Theyare doing more harm to their

own area, said Mishra.While schools, colleges,

business establishments, postoffices and banks would beclosed, train services have beenexcluded from the purview ofthe bandh, he said.

���� -(-��+���)

Union MinisterD h a r m e n d r a

Pradhan unveiled abook 'Hockey HaiZindegi' (amazing jour-ney of Odisha's tribalhockey players)authored by SatyendarPal Singh at a pro-gramme organised bythe National YuvaCooperative Society(NYCS) here onSaturday.

Pradhan saidOdisha players have aspecial place in worldsports arena.

They bring glory for thecountry for their dedicationand commitment. This is aproud moment for all to unveil

the book during the HockeyWorld cup being played inBhubaneswar.

He advised translation of

the book into Odia andEnglish.

Singh, the author, said theOdia hockey players are very

shy to talk about them-selves. But after DillipTirkey and LazarusBarla, the scenario haschanged.

The book containsinteresting stories ofmany iconic sports tal-ents of Odisha who haveregistered their claim tofame and achieved success with their own efforts though their struggles sincetheir childhood, Singhadded.

NYCS chairmanRajesh Pande said thebook would bring a newchapter of Odisha

Hockey. Among others, Indiateam captain Manpreet Singhand Hockey Olympian LazarusBarla were present.

���� �)*

There will be no need to visitSrimandir to invite Lord

Jagannath for auspicious socialceremonies like wedding, as thetechnology is here to sendyour invitation online to theLords.

The online service to inviteLord Jagannath will be func-tional soon by the KhuntiaNijog of Shreemandir for thedevotees residing outside theState. A website is being devel-oped in Mumbai to provide theservice to send an invitationcard to Lord Jagannath online.The site will be launched soon,officially announced theKhuntia Nijog recently.

The online service will befree of cost. However, willful

offerings from the devoteeswill be accepted, said KhuntiaNijog servitor ShambhunathKhuntia.

He said that the website isbeing developed by softwareengineer Nitin Kumar Singh.The website will be functionalwithin two to three days for thedevotees.

This is one step towardsstrengthening the bondbetween the Lords and devo-tees. All the data will be avail-able on the website about send-ing the invitation card to theLords. Although the move hasnot been taken yet regardingdonations, the offerings thatwill be made by the devoteeswill be received. The day whenthe card will be offered toLord Jagannath, the Khuntiaservitor, who will be on duty onthat day, will be paid theamount, said Khuntia.

The online sender of theinvitation card will be com-municated by the Khuntia

Nijog on the day when the cardwill be offered to the Lords.

Notably, the Khuntia Nijog

has been in service of LordJagannath in The Shreemandirsince centuries.

They used to offer thewedding invitation cards onbehalf of the devotees.

���� -(-��+���)

Congress workers and mem-bers of the Rajya Panchayat

Samiti Members’ Federationwill hold a ‘black day’ in theState on December 26 to pressfor immediate closure of the‘Ama Gaon Ama Bikash’ and‘Peetha’ programmes of theState Government.

“Ama Gaon Ama Bikash

and Peetha projects should beapproved at Gram Sabhaand implemented under guid-ance Panchayat representa-tives.

The two projects aredownplaying the role of elect-ed panchayat representativesand are against the PanchayatiRaj system,” alleged PCCspokesperson Sudarshan Dasand Mahasanga working pres-

ident at a Press meet here onSaturday.

Congress activists andSamiti members would wearblack badges, hoist black flagsand hold protest meetings at allPanchayat offices across theState to observe the black dayon December 26.

A memorandum wouldalso be sent to the ChiefMinister in respect of theirdemands, they said.

Among others, SonaliSahoo, Himansu Lenka andMahasangha’s Bishnu PriyaChand were present at thePress meet.

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Union Minister DharmendraPadhan on Saturday termed the

State Government’s ‘Peetha’ schemeas “a stale cake full of PC stuffs” andsaid the programme is meant tohoodwink people ahead of generalelections.

“Corruption has crossed alllimits in the State. Medicals lackdoctors and health sector has beenparalisyed. Schoolteachers are notgetting salaries but Biju BahiniVolunteers are being funded. Peoplehave been exploited during the last

19 years. The Peetha programme isnothing but an old cake with full ofPC stuffs,” said Pradhan at JanPparamarsha Padyatra in Barhgarhand Ganjam districts.

At a rally held at Digapahandi,Pradhan said local MLA and FoodSupplies and Consumer WelfareMinister Surjya Narayan Patro hastaken five subsidized LPG cylinders and, thereby, benefittedwith �1,850. While only 6,406households out of 36,521 families in Digapahandi were con-nected with LPG by 2014, the num-ber increased to 27,000 during the

last four years.At a rally held in Bargarh dis-

trict, he slammed the Chief Ministerfor not fulfilling his promise to pro-vide bonus of �100 per quintal ofpaddy over MSP to farmers.

Pradhan highlighted about var-ious welfare programmes of theModi Government and increasedamount of funds provided to Odishaduring the last four years at public meetings held in the twodistricts.

Reacting to Pradhan’s allegation,BJD spokesperson DebashisSamantray said, “Pradhan’s allega-tion is baseless as people of Odishaare getting benefits out of variousState Government schemes, be itBiju Swasthya Yojana or Biju PuccaGhar yojana or any other project.”

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Odisha has been selected by theUnion Ministry of Agriculture and

Farmers Welfare for the ‘CommendationAward’ under the ‘Total Food GrainsCategory II’ for 2016-17.

Union Agriculture Minister RadhaMohan Singh, in a letter to OdishaAgriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy,informed about this.

The Union Minister further con-gratulated the State Agriculture andFarmers’ Empowerment Departmentand Minister Maharathy for encouragingand supporting the farmers in achievingthe milestone.

The award carries a citation and cashaward of �1 crore that will be distributed

at the Krishi Unnati Mela likely to be dur-ing February-March 2019.

The date and venue of the functionwould be intimated separately, the letterstated.

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Baleswar district’s Bhogaraiblock leader Dr Ranjita

Pradhan on Saturday joined theBJP in presence of UnionMinister of Petroleum andNatural Gas Dharmendra

Pradhan. Dr Pradhan has joined the

BJP by getting inspired by thePrime Minister NarendraModi’s pro-people schemesand his leadership.

BJP State VP SameerMohanty also welcomed Dr

Pradhan and said her joiningwould strengthen the party inthe region.

Among others, BJP nation-al executive member PratapSarangi, MLA Gobind Das andsecretary Lekha Samantsingharwere present.

���� -(-��+���)

The BhubaneswarDevelopment Authority

(BDA) under its communityengagement and place-makingproject, named BhubaneswarPublic Spaces (BPSs), involved100 architecture students todesign 30 public spaces acrossthe city.

The project includedspaces such as under-flyoverspace, plazas at major junc-tions, underutilized spacesalong roads, entry plazas to thepublic buildings, etc.

These spaces typicallylacked pedestrian safety, clean-liness and were mostlyencroached by unauthorisedstreet vendors, in addition tobasic sanitation and cleanlinessissues.

The State Museum frontarea, one of the busiest junc-tions of the city leading to theOld Town on the one side andPuri on the other side, wastaken up with a motive tomake the space usable for thepublic by making an arrangedparking, seating for people

waiting for busses toPuri/Konark and visitors com-ing to the museum. It has alsocreated a safe and definedspace for pedestrians.

The major BPS projects arelocated at Kalpana Square, AG

Square, Forest Park, Old TownArea, Old Town area, MausimaSquare area, Power HouseSquare,120 Battalion Square,Commissionerate PoliceHeadquarters, Unit IX FoodStreet near St. Joseph High

School, Puri Cuttack Road areaunder Maharishi College flyover, Shaheed Nagar areaalong NH opposite to AayakarBhavan, Vani Vihar Squarearea under flyover, Vani Viharin front of Rama Devi College,

Kalinga Stadium area, JaydevVihar Square, Acharya Vihar under flyoverand near Planetarium, SciencePark, Master Canteen,Kedargouri Plaza and BDAFrontage.

���� -(-��+���)

ABJD delegation on Saturdaymet Nationalist Congress

Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawarin Pune seeking support fromhis party for ensuring 33 percent reservation for women inthe Parliament and StateAssemblies.

The team comprisingSchool and Mass EducationMinister Badri Narayan Patraand BJD leader Arup Patnaikmet Pawar and handed over aletter from BJD presidentNaveen Patnaik seeking supportin the matter. Pawar welcomedthe initiative of Patnaik in theregard and expressed his sup-port to the cause. He fondlyremembered his associationwith late Biju Patnaik andNaveen Patnaik.

Another delegation of theparty comprising MPBalabhadra Majhi and senior

BJD leader Arup Patnaik metsenior Shiv Sena leader and MP

Sanjay Raut in Mumbai andhanded over a letter seeking

support in the matter . Raut wel-coming the step said he would

discuss with the Shiv Sena pres-ident Uddhav Thackeray.

���� -(-��+���)

Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Saturday wrote

to Railways Minister PiyushGoyal, Civil Aviation MinisterSuresh Prabhakar Prabhu andhis Gujarat counterpart VijayRupani urging them to intro-duce two trains betweenBrahmapur and Surat, specialflights between Bhubaneswarand Surat and an acre of landfor construction of a commu-nity hall for Odia people atSurat, respectively.

In all his letters, Patnaikmentioned that about 7 lakhpeople from Odisha are resid-ing in Surat and most of themare from south Odisha, espe-cially Ganjam district. They aremainly engaged in power-looms, dyeing and printing,diamond cutting and other

spheres of trade and com-merce.

“There is no direct trainservice between Berhampurand Surat. I once again requestyou to kindly look into the gen-uine demand of the people ofsouth Odisha residing in Suratand consider introduction oftwo new daily trains betweenBerhampur and Surat at theearliest,” read the letter sent toGoyal.

In his letter to Prabhu,Patnaik mentioned, “Odishapeople living in Surat face lotof difficulties in reaching

Odisha at the time of urgentnecessity. Air connectivitybetween Bhubaneswar andSurat will not only cater to therequirement of the people fromOdisha residing in Surat butwould also increase the touristinflow to both the places.Hence kindly introduce directflights between Bhubaneswarand Surat at the earliest.”

Similarly, Patnaik urgedthe Gujarat Chief Minister toprovide a patch of land forestablishment of a communitycentre in Surat for Odisha peo-ple living there.

“The Government ofOdisha is planning to establisha community centre in Surat tomeet the requirements of Odiacommunity for their social cel-ebrations. The proposed com-plex will also serve as a nervecentre of cultural exchangebetween Odisha and Gujarat,”Patnaik mentioned and urtgedhim to provide an acre of landat a suitable place in Surat forthe purpose.

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Aperson was hacked to death by his twofriends following a drunken brawl at

Kairapalli village under the Kabisuryanagarpolice station in Ganjam district on Fridaynight. The deceased was identified as SukuriaNahak of Khairapali village.

Sources said Sukuria along with twofriends-Santosh Nahak and Kalia Nahak hadgone outside in an auto- rickshaw to con-sume liquor.

While returning, the trio got off andasked the auto-rickshaw driver to leave thespot.

Later a scuffle ensued between Sukuriaand the two others over some issue. In a fitof rage, Santosh and Kalia hacked Sukuriato death with an axe.

On receiving information, police reachedthe spot and sent the body for post-mortem.Police have detained Santosh for questioning, while Kalia isabsconding after the incident. A search is onto nab the other accused, said police.

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Vigilance sleuths arrestedMKCG Medical and

Hospital Pharmacist MaryKhan on the charge of accept-ing a bribe of Rs 800 fromManas Samantray ofAlandapada village under Puri

district’s Krushna Prasad blockto administer an anesthesiainjection to his ailing fatherbefore an operation onThursday.

Manas’ father KatakishoreSamantray was undergoingtreatment at the OrthopedicDepartment of the premierhospital following an accidenton November 26. The doctorshad fixed December 13 for asurgery. However, Marydemanded Rs 800 to adminis-ter the injection.

Acting on the Manas’ com-plaint, Vigilance officers said atrap and caught Mary red-handed taking the demandedbribe money from Manas inher office room. Followingarrest, Mary was forwarded tocourt.

Mary’s house at AravindaNagar 1st line was undersearch, said Vigilance SPMayadhar Swain.

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Health and Family Welfare,Law and Information and

Public Relation Minister PratapJena inaugurated dialysis andsickle cell centers at theKandhamal DHH here onSaturday.

Kandhamal District BarAssociation presidentDebabrata Pradhan, secretaryAjit Patnaik and senior mem-bers Bijaya Patnaik, PratapPatra and Birendra Subudhisubmitted a memorandum tothe Minister demanding med- ical insurance for lawyers and

establishment of a medical col-lege here.

Similarly, Press Club mem-bers submitted a memorandumdemanding health insurancecover for them.

On the occasion, Jenaasked the CDMO to send aproposal to the Governmentfor procurement of requiredmedical instruments for theDHH.

Among others, PhulbaniMLA Duguni Kanhar,GUdayagiri MLA JacobPradhan and BJD district pres-ident Saroj Karna were present.

���� -(-��+���)

The Samajwadi Party State unithere organised a demonstration

on Saturday demanding a stay orderon all constructions on the upstreamof the Mahanadi river as the tribunalon the river held its second sitting inNew Delhi.

The SP demanded a steady flowof water to the Hirakud reservoirfrom Kalama barrage in the non-monsoon season.

Hundreds of party workers led byits State unit president Rabi Beheramarched from Master CanteenSquare to Lower PMG with slogans'don't turn Mahanadi into a deadriver, don't make Odisha a desert.’

The party workers alleged thatwithout consulting Odisha and vio-lating the Inter-State River DisputeAct-1956, the ChhatisgarhGovernment in connivance with theCentral Water Commission (CWC)constructed six dams and several bar-rages on the upstream of Mahanadi

for which water flow into Hirakudreservoir was reduced by 78 per centin the last non-monsoon season ofMay and June.

The reduction of water flow hascreated drinking water problem andagriculture activities have been affect-ed. It has also impacted power pro-duction and the life and livelihoodsof three crore people in 15 districts

of Odisha. The biodiversity of Satakosia

reserve forest and Chilika lake is alsoat stake due to reduction of waterflow, alleged Behera.

He demanded that the tribunalmust take all these into considerationand grant a stay on all illegal con-structions by Chhatishgarh upstreamof Mahanadi.

��� � �*4���)�

The east-zone sports meetorganised by the Pingalakhi

Public Welfare Organisation(PPWO), Nimapara in collab-oration with the Social Securityand Empowerment of Personswith Disabilities (SSEPD)Department at NimaparaBarabati here was inauguratedon Saturday.

On the occasion, a mini-

marathon was organised underleadership of local MLA SamirRanjan Dash in which aroundone thousand sports loversparticipated. In the event morethan 500 participants fromOdisha, Bihar, Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh and West Bengalhave participated.

Later Dash hoisted thesports flag in presence ofSSEPD Director SusantaKumar Mohapatra, Under

Secretary Ambika PrasadPattnaik, NIEPMD DeputyDirector Dr Amarnath, PPWOhead Rajkishore Sabut andNimapara Athletic Associationsecretary JibananandaMohapatra.

Among others, PPWO spe-cial college Principal GaganBihari Das, Dr PravakarTripathy and former NACChairman Sanatan Pradhanwere present.

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Senior Congress leader PChidambaram on Saturday

took a dig at Finance MinisterArun Jaitley for saying that theNDA Government got theRafale aircraft deal at a cheap-er price, questioning if it was so,why did it not buy sevensquadrons instead of two.

In a series of tweets,Chidambaram said Jaitley hasbeen maintaining that in theRafale deal, negotiated by theNDA Government, the price ofthe aircraft was cheaper by 9per cent or 20 per cent. “If so,why did the government buyonly 36 aircraft and not 126 air-craft,” he asked.

The former finance andhome minister said the IndianAir Force has been maintainingthat its fighter aircraft strengthis depleted and it needs at least7 squadrons (126 aircraft).“Then, why did the governmentbuy only 2 squadrons (36 air-craft),” he questioned.

Chidambaram said the air-craft maker was willing to sell126 aircraft and according tothe finance minister the priceis cheaper. “Then, why buyonly 36 aircraft? Will someoneplease solve this mystery?

“By buying only 36 aircraftwhen 126 aircraft are on offer,the Government has gravelycompromised national securi-

ty,” he said.In a relief to the Modi

Government, the SupremeCourt on Friday dismissed thepleas challenging the dealbetween India and France forpurchase of 36 Rafale jets, say-ing there was no reason to“really doubt the decision mak-ing process” warranting settingaside of the contract.

The apex court rejected thepleas seeking lodging of an FIRand the court-monitored probealleging irregularities in the�58,000-crore deal, in whichboth the countries have enteredinto an inter-governmentalagreement. A bench headed byChief Justice Ranjan Gogoidealt with “three broad areas ofconcern” raised in the petitions— the decision-makingprocess, pricing and the choiceof Indian offset partners — andsaid there was no reason forintervention by the court onthe “sensitive issue” of purchaseof 36 jets.

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Starting from Saturday, themaximum speed limit for all

vehicles plying on the YamunaExpressway connecting GreaterNoida with Agra in UttarPradesh is fixed 75 km perhour from December 15, 2018to February 15, 2019.

The decision was taken inview of number of accidentsdue to foggy weather conditionin winter. “If vehicles foundexceeding 75 km per hourspeed limit, challan will beissued,” said officials. Earlier,the maximum speed limit wasfixed 100 km per hour for carsand 60 km per hour for heav-ier vehicles.

According to officials ofYamuna Expressway, the newspeed limit will be applicablefrom Saturday. “During win-ters, the number of road acci-dents increase due to foggyweather, which decreases visi-bility on the expressway road.To avoid and curb the numberof accidents, the speed limit hasbeen revised,” said officials.

The Yamuna Expressway,besides connecting Delhi toAgra through Noida-GreaterNoida Expressway, touches1,182 villages of Gautam BudhNagar, Bulandshahar , Aligarh,Hathras (Mahamaya Nagar)and Mathura district.

According to Yamunaexpressway authority officials,the maximum speed limit of 75km per hour will also be set onthe expressway mobile app -Highway Saathi, to guide thecommuters through the jour-

ney. On exceeding the speedlimit, a message will be sent tothe driver’s phone immediate-ly. This app which waslaunched in 2017, makes dri-ving safer on the expressway.

The app alerts the com-muters about traffic snarls,accidents and public amenitiesand also send SOSs alerts incase of emergencies. The appalso integrates the digital mapof the Greater Noida-AgraExpressway. Voice-basedoption for queries is also avail-able through the app. Users canupload images of an accident oran emergency, which will beshared with the expresswaycontrol room, expresswaypatrol, and other app users inthe vicinity. This will ensurethat people using the YamunaExpressway are aware of anemerging situation, and realtime assistance will be madeavailable to the commuters inthe quickest possible time.

Apart from this, in case ofaccidents, people can contact

the toll free line, or send a mes-sage on Whatsapp. An extraarrangement of four ambu-lances and cranes, as precau-tionary measures in case ofemergencies, has also beenmade on the expressway.

A total of 4,956 accidentswere reported across theYamuna Expressway ever sinceit was inaugurated. Out ofthese, 1,161 accidents weredue to speeding while 595were due to tyre burst. Fogacross the highway caused 235accidents while 2,965 were dueto other reasons.

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Union Minister NitinGadkari on Saturday asked

private players to invest liber-ally in expressways, waterwaysand irrigation projects as wellas towards the ‘Clean GangaMission’. “Private playersshould consider investing infast-growing expressways,highways, waterways, irrigationprojects and projects under‘Clean Ganga Mission’,” roadtransport and shipping minis-ter Gadkari said on the side-lines of an event in the nation-al Capital.

The Government hadbrought down the cost of landacquisition drastically to �80lakh per km from �7.5 croreper km earlier for the devel-opment of expressways,Gadkari said adding that pri-vate players should take advan-tage of the reduced land acqui-sition and labour cost. He fur-ther said that land can even be

made available to IndianRailways for bullet train routes.

“Access controlled express-way of Delhi would reduceautomotive pollution by 60per cent in the city as the traf-fic will pass through the exter-nal ring roads without enteringDelhi. The Bengaluru-Chennaiexpressway would be opera-tional from January next yearand the 12-lane Bombay-Delhiexpressway, currently under

construction, would reducethe distance between the twometros by 120 km,” the Gadkarisaid.

He suggested the use ofmethanol and LNG as fuel toreduce the cost of logistics andadded that the Governmentintent to achieve the target ofbuilding roads at 40 kms/dayby the end of this fiscal year.Gadkari said the Governmenthad decided to use 111 rivers

for waterways and soughtindustry’s cooperation in trans-port of goods through thischannel to reduce transporta-tion cost.

Under the ‘Clean GangaMission’, about 10-15 per centof the 280 projects had beencompleted. A total of 150 bio-digester units were to beinstalled along the river toupgrade sanitary conditions.Ganga rejuvenation was now asuccess story, he said, addingthat by March-end 2019, closeto 80 per cent of the river

would be clean and in the fol-lowing year the Ganga wouldbe fully clean.

He urged the Indian indus-try to contribute to the missionthrough electronic fund trans-fer and help create employmentopportunities for the local pop-ulace. The Minister said hisMinistry will be starting thecleaning work in Yamunashortly. WAPCOS has signedan MoU with the Australiancompany Dopplemayr, havingtechnical expertise in buildingropeways, cable cars forenhancing the public trans-portation in hilly areas likeJ&K, Uttarakhand, HimachalPradesh thus positively impact-ing tourism in these states.

He said that theGovernment is collaboratingwith a Russian company for thefeasibility of introducing airboats. A pilot would betaken up on January 26, 2019on river Yamuna from Delhi toTaj Mahal.

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India and France Saturdayheld discussions on deepen-

ing bilateral strategic partner-ship through cooperation inthe Indo-Pacific region,defence, space and civil nuclearenergy sectors.

External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj and Frenchminister of Europe and ForeignAffairs Jean Yves Le Drian dis-cussed ways to furtherstrengthen bilateral coopera-tion.

“We had very fruitful talks.We closely looked at all theaspects of our mutual ties. Weare taking our cooperation for-ward in the Indo-Pacific region,which will not only benefitthese two countries but alsoother countries in the region,”she told reporters.

Noting that the foundationof India and France relations isbased on “mutual trust”, Swarajsaid the two countries are look-ing to strengthen their ties invarious sectors.

“Our defence relations arehistoric and we have beeninvolved in a number ofexchanges in the form of train-ing and joint exercises,” shesaid.

The External Affairs min-ister also reiterated the resolveof the two countries to jointlyfight against terrorism.

“We both are also workingin strengthening our ties inspace sector. We both are alsoleading fight against climatechange,” she said.

“Last year, our bilateraltrade was worth 9.62 billioneuro, if we both have to reachthe trade of 15 million euro by2022 we both will have towork towards further strength-ening our trade relations,” shesaid.

There will also be anexchange of 10,000 studentsbetween the two countries by2020, Swaraj said.

Her French counterpartLe Drian said the two leadersreviewed the status of theEuropean Pressurized Reactor

(EPR) project in Jaitapur,Maharashtra and adopted anaction plan to guide our workfor the coming months so as toadvance as efficiently as possi-ble towards the final decisionfor building this power plant.

“Six EPRs account for atotal capacity of almost 10GW, which is a significantcontribution to India’s aim ofproducing 40 per cent of itselectricity from non-fossil fuelsby 2030, in keeping with itscommitments made ahead ofthe Paris Climate Conference,”he said.

The Jaitapur project willalso contribute to Make inIndia as it involves transfers ofproduction, technology, jointresearch and training, Le Drianadded.

He said the discussionbetween the two leaders was“characterised as always by agreat convergence of views andshared ambition”.

“It is not by chance thatFrance and India are celebrat-ing the 20th anniversary of

their strategic partnership thisyear. It is because we attach thesame importance to multilat-eralism, respect for the rule oflaw, the same ambition to usherin a just and sustainable world,”he said.

“It is also because Indiaknows that in France it has apartner that has never failed itand on which it can count inthe future.

This holds true on thestrategic front, notably with thestrengthening of our exchangeson the Indian Ocean, whichtoday are fast developing andour shared commitment tofighting terrorism, as we mark10 years since the deadlyMumbai attacks,” Le Drian said.

“This holds true on theeconomic front: our companiesare investing and innovating inIndia under the Make in Indiaprogramme. On the fronts ofurban development and thedigital economy, our compa-nies are present and working tobuild the India – and France –of tomorrow,” he added.

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The CPI(M) has filed anintervention plea in the

pending Special Leave Petitionin the Supreme Court chal-lenging the constitutional valid-ity of Article 370 of theConstitution, which grants spe-cial status to Jammu &Kashmir.

The intervention plea isfiled through advocate-on-record Resmitha R Chandran.Senior advocate PVSurendranath will argue thematter in the apex court for theparty.

“The party is of theunequivocal opinion thatArticle 370 shall in no cir-cumstance be annulled, mod-ified or repealed. The partyopposes the relief sought in theSpecial Leave Petition,” CPI(M)leader and MLA Kulgam MYTarigami said in a statement.

“The special status guar-anteed to the State of JammuKashmir under theConstitution of India which hasassumed the permanent featureof the Constitution requiresprotection as any alterationwould be against the policy offederalism envisaged by theframers of the Constitution,” hesaid.

Jammu & Kashmir acced-ed to India in unique circum-stances and it poses a uniqueproblem which requires aunique solution, he said.

It was the only State to declare its intention to haveits own Constitution drafted by its own constituent assem-bly as far back as March 5,1948, he said.

“Federalism is a basic fea-ture and part of basic structureof the Constitution. To pro-mote fraternity among all thecitizens, assuring the dignity ofthe individual and the unityand integrity of the nation isour constitutional motto asdeclared in the preamble of ourConstitution,” he said.

Tarigami said the relativeautonomy of States on federalprinciple was a pre-conditionfor preserving and developingunity and integrity of thenation.

“Federalism also presup-poses acknowledgment of his-torical realities and specialnature and objective factorswith respect to deferent statesand their population,” he said.

Article 370 grants specialstatus to Jammu & Kashmirwhile Article 35A empowersthe state legislature to definepermanent citizens.

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ADelhi court on Saturdayextended by four days the

CBI custody of ChristianMichel, alleged middlemancharge-sheeted and arrestedin the AgustaWestland VVIPchopper case.

The 57-year-old Britishnational was produced beforeSpecial Judge Arvind Kumar.The probe agency told thejudge that Michel needs to beconfronted with various docu-ments in the case and hadsought further custody of forfive days.

It also said that the accusedwas required to be taken to thepremises of Pawan Hans IndiaLtd in Mumbai to verify hisversion of his alleged attempt-ed negotiations to buy backWG-30 helicopters, to identifythe shipper and to confront theofficials of Pawan Hans India.

The agency said that volu-minous documents have beenreceived from various countriespursuant to the ‘Letter ofRequests’ and the accused wasyet to be confronted with anumber of them.

The defence counselopposed the CBI applicationfor further remand sayingalready enough time was grant-ed to the agency and nothingincriminating was foundagainst accused.

“Keeping in view the factsand circumstances, submis-sions made by the parties, I

deem it fit to grant further fourdays PC remand of the accused.Accordingly, the accused isremanded to PC for four days,”the judge said. Michel wasarrested in the UAE and extra-dited to India on December 4.

The next day, he was pro-duced in the court whichallowed his five-day custodialinterrogation by the CBI whichwas later extended by fivemore days.

Michel is among thethree alleged middlemenbeing probed in the case bythe Enforcement Directorate(ED) and the Central Bureauof Investigation (CBI). Theothers are Guido Haschkeand Carlo Gerosa.

Both the agencies noti-fied an Interpol red cornernotice (RCN) against himafter the court issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

The CBI has alleged therewas an estimated loss of Euro

398.21 million (about �2,666crore) to the exchequer in thedeal that was signed onFebruary 8, 2010 for the sup-ply of VVIP choppers worthEuro 556.262 million.

The ED, in its charge sheetfiled against Michel in June2016, had alleged that he receivedEUR 30 million (about Rs 225crore) from AgustaWestland.

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The 15th RajasthanAssembly has at least 46

MLAs with criminal caseslodged against them comparedto 36 MLAs elected in the StateAssembly elections in 2013.

Out of the 199 members oflegislative assembly (MLAs), 46MLAs have declared criminalcases against themselves.Twenty eight MLAs havedeclared ‘serious’ criminal casesagainst them, says theAssociation for DemocraticReforms (ADR) report.

In the 2013 Assembly elec-tions, 19 MLAs had declared‘serious’ criminal cases againstthem. Parsadi Lal of Congresswho contested from Lalsotconstituency of Dausa districthas declared one charge relat-ed to murder. Four MLAs, allfrom Congress, have declaredcases related to attempt tomurder (IPC section 307).

Comparing the candidatesas per their political affiliation,25 out of 99 MLAs fromCongress, 12 out of 73 MLAsfrom BJP and two out of sixMLAs from BSP among otherregional political outfits havedeclared criminal cases againstthemselves in their affidavits,the report said.

Sixteen out of 99 MLAsfrom Congress, seven out of 73MLAs from Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) and two out of sixMLAs from Bahujan SamajParty (BSP) have declared ‘seri-

ous’ criminal cases againstthem.

According to report, out ofthe 199 newly elected MLAs,158 are crorepatis compared to145 MLAs in the 2013 assem-bly elections.

A total of 82 out of 99MLAs from the Congress, 58 of73 MLAs from the BJP, 11 of 13Independent MLAs and five of six BSP MLAs have declared their assets worthover �1 crore.

Among the richest MLAswho have declared their totalassets in IT returns areCongress leaders ParasramMordia (172 crore) and UdaiLal Anjana (107crore), andRamkesh Meena (39 crore), anIndependent.

The candidates electedhaving fewer assets includeyoungest MLA Rajkumar Roat,Mukesh Kumar Bhakar andRamniwas Gawriya.

As per the report, 59

MLAs have declared their edu-cational qualification to bebetween 5th pass and 12thpass while 129 MLAs havedeclared having an education-al qualification of graduate orabove. There are seven MLAswho have declared themselvesto be just literate. Out of 199MLAs, 23 are women as against28 from the same gender in the2013 State polls.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi Saturday welcomed

the strengthening of tiesbetween India and France inareas such as defence, space,counter-terrorism, maritimesecurity, and civil nuclear coop-eration.

He also conveyed his con-dolences to the families of thevictims of the recent terroristattack in France’s Strasbourgand said that India stands withthe country in the fight againstterrorism.

On Tuesday, a gunmankilled four people at theChristmas market in theFrench city of Strasbourgbefore being shot dead.

Modi made these remarkswhen French Minister for

Europe and Foreign AffairsJean-Yves Le Drian called onhim.

The Prime Minister warm-ly recalled the State visit ofPresident Macron to India inMarch 2018, as well as theirrecent interaction on the side-lines of the G-20 Summit inArgentina, a statement fromthe Prime Minister’s office said.

Le Drian briefed the PrimeMinister on recent develop-ments in the bilateral relation-ship, and French perspective onregional and global issues, itsaid.

The Prime Minister wel-comed the strengthening ofbilateral ties in all spheres,including defence, space,counter-terrorism, maritimesecurity, and civil nuclear coop-eration, the statement said.

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The Congress said Saturdaythe Supreme Court, which

gave the Government relief inthe Rafale jet case, has not goneinto the pricing and technicalaspects of the aircraft and it isonly a joint Parliamentarycommittee that can probewhether there was any irregu-larity in the deal.

At a Press conference,Congress leader Kapil Sibalpointed to a part of Friday’sjudgment in which the

Supreme Court said the mate-rial placed before it shows theCentre did not disclose inParliament the pricing detailsof the fighter jet but revealed itto the Comptroller and AuditorGeneral.

The apex court also saidthe CAG report was evenexamined by the PublicAccounts Committee ofParliament.

Reacting to this, Sibal saidMallikarjun Kharge, the chair-man of PAC, has said he neverreceived any such report on

Rafale jet.“Who is responsible for

this? Who said this? It was theGovernment who said this.How did the attorney generalpass the affidavit?” he said.

He also rebuked theGovernment for not reading itsown affidavits.

“This is a very seriousmatter and there should be anaction in this case because themessage among people is thatCAG has cleared andParliament has seen the deal,which is wrong,” he said.

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Page 6: ˇ ˆ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˝ ˜ ˛€¦ · t 1.30 pm followed by Raipur ... with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Zurich, ... Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC)

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Washington: A major US-China trade deal is likely to hap-pen soon, President DonaldTrump said on Friday, assertingthat Beijing wants to make it"big and very comprehensive".

He also said China's posi-tion has been weakened by theeconomic impact of the tariffswar with America.

Earlier in the day, China

pressed on with its trade wartruce with the US andannounced that it will suspendextra tariffs added to 'Made inAmerica' cars and auto parts forthree months from January 1.

"China wants to make a bigand very comprehensive deal.It could happen, and rathersoon!" Trump tweeted.

"China just announced that

their economy is growingmuch slower than anticipatedbecause of our Trade Warwith them. They have just sus-pended US Tariff Hikes. US isdoing very well," he added.

Earlier this week, top offi-cials from the US and Chinahad a conference call on tradenegotiations.

The phone call follows upon the 90-day tariff cease-fireagreed by Trump and hisChinese counterpart Xi Jinpingat a meeting in Buenos Aires onthe sidelines of the G-20Summit.

The US-China trade con-flict stem from the Trumpadministration's demands that

China make sweeping changesto its intellectual propertypractices, rein in high-tech-nology industrial subsidies,open its markets to more for-eign competition and takesteps to cut a $375 billionAmerican goods trade surplus. PTI

��B�;�=���������������2��� %��<New Delhi: Union MinisterNitin Gadkari on Saturday askedprivate players to invest liberal-ly in expressways, waterways andirrigation projects as well astowards the 'Clean GangaMission'.

"Private players should con-sider investing in fast-growingexpressways, highways, water-ways, irrigation projects andprojects under 'Clean GangaMission'," road transport andshipping minister Gadkari saidwhile addressing the 91stAnnual General Meeting of theindustry body FICCI throughvideo conferencing.

The government hadbrought down the cost of landacquisition drastically to Rs 80lakh per km from Rs 7.5 croreper km earlier for the develop-ment of expressways, Gadkari

said adding that private playersshould take advantage of thereduced land acquisition andlabour cost.

He further said that land caneven be made available to IndianRailways for bullet train routes.

"Access controlled express-way of Delhi would reduceautomotive pollution by 60 percent in the city as the traffic willpass through the external ringroads without entering Delhi.The Bengaluru-Chennaiexpressway would be opera-tional from January next yearand the 12-lane Bombay-Delhiexpressway, currently underconstruction, would reduce thedistance between the two met-ros by 120 km," the ministersaid. He suggested the use ofmethanol and LNG as fuel toreduce the cost of logistics and

added that the governmentintent to achieve the target ofbuilding roads at 40 kms/day bythe end of this fiscal year.

Gadkari said the govern-ment had decided to use 111rivers for waterways and soughtindustry's cooperation in trans-port of goods through this chan-nel to reduce transportationcost. Under the 'Clean GangaMission', about 10-15 per centof the 280 projects had beencompleted. A total of 150 bio-digester units were to be installedalong the river to upgrade san-itary conditions.

Ganga rejuvenation wasnow a success story, he said,adding that by March-end 2019,close to 80 per cent of the riverwould be clean and in the fol-lowing year the Ganga would befully clean. PTI

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Chennai: The All India BankEmployees Association(AIBEA) which has called for anationwide strike on December26 opposing the merger of Bankof Baroda, Dena Bank andVijaya Bank, on Saturday saidthe move was unwarranted as itwould not be beneficial to theeconomy and the people atlarge.

"The merger will also affectthe interests of employees, theirjobs and job security. The movewould also affect employmentopportunities in the bankingindustry," the Association gen-eral secretary CHVenkatachalam said here.

Noting that several vil-lages were yet to receive bank-ing services, he said, "there isa huge exclusion of people.Banks need to be expanded. Noneed for consolidation".

Referring to theGovernment's contention thatthe merger would make thebanks stronger, Venkatachalamsaid, "there is no evidence tothis conclusion. Last year sixbanks were merged with SBI.But SBI (State Bank of India)has not become any bigger."

"After merger of the sixbanks with SBI, the non-per-forming assets have furthergone upto �2.25 lakh crore.Hence, it is also a wrong pre-

sumption," he said. The mergers of the banks

would "surely" result in closureof branches and would endan-ger job security, he added.

Urging the Centre to taketough measures to recover badloans, the association said the

Government was instead tryingto divert the attention and focuson resorting to bank mergers.

Claiming that the total NPAin Bank of Baroda, Dena Bankand Vijaya Bank was �80,000crore, he sought to know if thesebad loans would automaticallybe recovered if these bankswere merged.

Opposing the merger ofthese three banks, nearly 10 lakhbank employees and officerswould take part in the nation-wide srike on December 26, hesaid. PTI

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank prefers fundamental changes tosmoothen loan flow to micro-businesses through a public cred-it registry, rather than doling out forbearances, DeputyGovernor Viral Acharya said on Saturday.

The statement comes almost a month after the central board"advised" the monetary authority to consider a restructuringscheme for stressed standard assets of micro, small and medi-um enterprises borrowers up to Rs 25 crore.

The advisory was issued amid pressure from Governmentto do more to support small businesses, which have been impact-ed by the twin shocks of note-ban and GST introduction.

The poll-bound government has also been pitching for eas-ing the prompt corrective action norms, under which the RBIhas placed 11 of the 21 state-run banks, which will enable banksto lend more.

"At RBI, we are quite excited about how we can solve thecredit problems at the grassroots for micro entrepreneurs in afundamental way rather than saying that when they default wewill just give them forbearance and give them another six ornine months to pay up," he said while addressing IIT-Bombay'sannual Techfest.

Acharya, an alumni of the premier engineering institute,said RBI is putting together a public credit registry that will givebanks the entire profile, including past loan details, and also reg-ular income flows of borrowers.

This can make a lender more confident and also reduce therate of interest for a borrower as the risk assessment becomeseasier, Acharya said.

When asked about privacy concerns of such a registry,Acharya admitted that it is a "delicate" matter and advocatedan access rights design upfront rather than a lot of information

being gathered by companies.The Deputy Governor also

said in most countries whichhave a public credit registry,there exists a separate legislativeframework that focuses on crit-ical aspects including accessrights. PTI

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London-based shipping-to-retailing conglomerate

Foresight Group Internationalplans to invest $500 million inIndia across offshore drilling,shipping, port and LNG sectorsover the next five years. The fam-ily trust-owned group is commit-ted to a long term purpose andwill be making investments acrossvarious sectors in India with along-term growth perspective, acommuniqué issued by the groupmaintained on Thursday.

"India always had greatprospects in terms of the LNG andport sectors since beforeIndependence. We have previouslymade an investment of around$350 million in cyber rigs whichare working with ONGC and $30million in Pavers England brand-ed retail, Group's joint venturewith Pavers Limited UK whichwas India's number one FDI forsingle brand retail. Having thisinvestment done, India will con-tribute to upto 44 per cent ourglobal operations," Ravi KMehrotra, Founder and ExecutiveChairman, Foresight GroupInternational, said.

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CENTRAL PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT NOTICE INVITING e-TENDER

The Executive Engineer, 'G' Division, CPWD, EastBlock-ll, Level-II, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066 on behalfof the President of India invites online percentage ratetenders from the approved and eligible contractors ofCPWD for the following work:

1. NIT No. - 37/EE/G-Divn./2018-19, Name of work:Upgradation of Kitchen in GPRA Chanakyapuri, New Delhi,dg. 2018-19. (SH: Providing & fixing modular kitchen inplace of old existing provision in 20 Nos. DI & 20 Nos.CII Flats) Estimated Cost:- Rs. 21,46,058/-, EarnestMoney: - Rs. 42,921/-, Period of completion: 03 (Three)Months. Last date and time of submission of tenderUpto 03.00 PM on 24.12.2018The tender forms and other details can be obtained fromthe website www.tenderwizard.com/CPWD. The PressNotice is also available on www.eprocure.gov.in

Page 7: ˇ ˆ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˝ ˜ ˛€¦ · t 1.30 pm followed by Raipur ... with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Zurich, ... Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC)

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After clinging on to powerfor nearly two months, Sri

Lanka’s ex-strongman MahindaRajapaksa, who was appointedPrime Minister by PresidentMaithripala Sirisena in a con-troversial move, resignedSaturday to end the politicalturmoil and pave way for thereturn of ousted premier RanilWickremesinghe.

The 73-year-old ex-presi-dent signed a letter of resigna-tion during a multi-religiousservice at his home here thatwas attended by several law-makers of United People’sFreedom Alliance (UPFA),Buddhist and other religiousleaders.

Sirisena also agreed onFriday to reinstateWickremesinghe on Sundaydespite previously insisting thathe would never reappoint himas Prime Minister.

Rajapaksa resigned aftertwo crucial Supreme Courtdecisions made the embattledformer strongman’s efforts tocling to premiership untenable.

He was appointed as PrimeMinister on October 26 by

President Sirisena in a contro-versial move after sackingWickremesinghe, whichplunged the country into anunprecedented constitutionalcrisis.

Wickremesinghe hadrefused to step down assertingthat his sacking was illegal.

Rajapaksa had sought tosecure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed.Sirisena then dissolvedParliament and called snapelections on January 5.

However, the SupremeCourt overturned his decisionand halted the preparations forsnap polls. The Supreme Courton Thursday unanimouslydeclared that the dissolution ofParliament by Sirisena was“illegal”.

The apex court on Fridayalso refused to stay a courtorder restraining Rajapaksa,73, from holding the office ofPrime Minister until it fullyheard the case next month.

After signing the resigna-tion letter, Rajapaksa said thatfollowing the February 10 localgovernment election, the aim ofhis party is to have a generalelection.

However, he said that hehas no intention of remainingas Prime Minister without ageneral election being held,and in order to not hamper thePresident in any way, heresigned from the position ofPrime Minister and made wayfor the President to form a newGovernment.

“The Supreme Court hasdelivered a judgement againstthe holding of the general elec-tion that had already been

declared. Since that judgementis a long and complicated doc-ument, I will study it carefullyand in due course express myviews on the constitutionalimpact it will have on thefunctioning of the parliamen-tary system of government,”Rajapaksa said.

Rajapaksa said that since ageneral election can no longerbe held, the UPFA cannotimplement any of the measuresthey had planned to take “to

prevent the country frombecoming another Greece.”

“The change of govern-ment that the people expectedhas now had to be put off. Butthe people will definitely get thechange they desire. No one canprevent that,” he said.

Wickremesinghe’s UnitedNational Party (UNP) onSaturday said that Sirisena hasagreed to reinstate him in thepost after a discussion with himover the phone on Friday.

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Defiant “Yellow vest”demonstrators gathered

on the Champs-Elysees in Parison Saturday morning for afifth and decisive weekend ofprotests despite calls by theFrench Government to stayhome. President EmmanuelMacron, facing the biggest cri-sis of his presidency,announced a series of conces-sions on Monday to defuse theexplosive “yellow vest” move-ment which swelled up fromrural and small-town Francelast month.

He is hoping the package oftax and minimum wage mea-sures, coupled with a terrorattack on Tuesday night inStrasbourg and bitter winterweather, will help bring calm tothe country after a month ofviolent clashes and disruption.

The last three Saturdayshave been marked by violentdemonstrations, but by middayon Saturday the situationappeared calm in Paris and thenumber of protesters was downamid an overwhelming show offorce from police.

Around 60 people hadbeen arrested in the capital by11:00 am (1000 GMT) com-pared with 500 at the same timelast weekend, according to fig-

ures released by the local gov-ernment.

“I’ve come to demonstratepeacefully; as soon as there’sviolence, I’m leaving,” MonaemZarhouni, a 43-year-old fatherof two, told AFP in the capitalon Saturday.

“My wife’s unemployed tooand we live on 700 euros (800dollars) a month. It’s tough,we’re always struggling,” hesaid.

“Last time, we were herefor taxes,” a 28-year-old “yellowvest” called Jeremy told AFP ashe joined a group gathering infreezing cold on the Champs-Elysees shortly after 8:00 am(0700 GMT)

“This is for the institutions:we want more direct democ-racy,” he said, adding that peo-ple needed to “shout to makethemselves heard.”

Throughout the morning,riot police played a game of cat-and-mouse with groups of pro-testers who moved around thecentre of Paris, much of whichhas been cordoned off for traffic.

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Lille (France): A driver died inBelgium near the border withFrance on Friday evening afterhitting a truck which hadslowed down due to a blockadeby “yellow vest” protesters, alocal government official said.

The death takes to seventhe number of people whohave died in incidents linkedto the anti-governmentprotests in France whichbegan on November 17 overrising petrol and diesel costs.

Most of the deaths havebeen in accidents at blockadesor barriers set up by protest-ers on roundabouts or onroads leading to motorways.

On December 1, an 80-year-old woman was fatallyinjured by a tear-gas grenadefired by police in Marseille.

AFP

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Russia wants to sit down withPentagon officials for “open

and specific” talks on allegedviolations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, theRussian Defence Ministry saidon Saturday.

The US claims Russia isviolating the INF treaty, and onDecember 4 issued an ultima-tum that Moscow come intocompliance with the accord in60 days, or else Washington willwithdraw. Russia denies it’s inbreach of the treaty.

Russian Defence MinisterSergei Shoigu sent his coun-terpart, US Defence Secretary

James Mattis, a proposal forlaunching a dialogue threedays ago, according to a state-ment Saturday. But Russia saysit hasn’t received any officialreply from the Pentagon, whichspokesman Maj. Gen. IgorKonashenkov said proves thatthe US is unwilling to maintainprofessional dialogue withMoscow on security issues.

On Friday, the Russianmission to the UN submitted adraft resolution calling for theinternational community tosupport the INF treaty againstWashington’s threat of with-drawal, warning that a collapseof the treaty could underminenuclear arms control across the

board. Washington begansounding off on a potentialRussian violation of the INFtreaty under President BarackObama.

Under President DonaldTrump, those allegations havebeen specified and coupledwith threats of unilateral with-drawal from the landmark1987 arms agreement, whichbanned an entire class ofground-launched missiles withranges between 500 and 5,000kilometers (310-3,100 miles).

The US claims that a newRussian missile, designated byNATO as the SSC-8, operatesin ranges forbidden by theINF treaty.

Ramallah: Israeli troopsdemolished the home of aPalestinian accused of the Maykilling of a soldier on Saturday,completing a night-long incur-sion into the Palestinian-con-trolled city of Ramallah.

The raid on the West Bankcity where Palestinian presidentMahmud Abbas has his head-quarters comes as Israeli forces

search for the perpetrator of aThursday shooting that killedtwo Israeli soldiers. The incur-sion late Friday triggered clash-es with angry residents follow-ing a week of rising tensions.

Both Army and borderpolice units took part in theoperation, including membersof the commando unit in whichthe soldier was serving. AFP

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Asenior Government min-ister called on Saturday

for British MPs from all partiesto “forge a consensus” on Brexitto avoid a potentially damaging“no deal” withdrawal from theEU in March.

Work and pensions minis-ter Amber Rudd said Brexitcould succeed “if politicians arewilling to try a different wayand only if a coalition of thosewho want what’s best for thiscountry argue a little less andcompromise a little more”.

Her comments, in an arti-cle in the Daily Mail newspa-per, come after Prime MinisterTheresa May returned from anEU summit without the reas-surances she said she needed toget her Brexit deal through theHouse of Commons.

Few people now believe theagreement, forged over 17months of tough negotiationswith Brussels, will pass in a voteof MPs planned for January.

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Officials from around theworld are still working to

agree on the fine print of theParis climate accord after twoweeks of talks, even as workersdismantle sections of the con-ferenced venue around them.

Diplomats and ministersprepared for a closing meetingat noon on Saturday, a day pastthe original deadline, but suc-cess was still uncertain.

The UN talks in Katowice,Poland, are meant to provide arulebook for all signatories ofthe 2015 accord, ensure finan-cial support for poor countriesand send a signal that countriesare prepared to increase theirefforts in years to come.

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US President Donald Trumphas named his Budget

director Mick Mulvaney asinterim White House chief ofstaff, putting a halt to a chaot-ic search to who will take overone of the most importantpositions in the federalGovernment.

The US President tweetedon Friday that Mulvaney “hasdone an outstanding job” in hisadministration and would takeover from John Kelly in thenew year.

“I am pleased to announcethat Mick Mulvaney, Directorof the Office of Management &Budget, will be named ActingWhite House Chief of Staff.

8%�2�����C������<���������������<� �CDoha: Turkey’s ForeignMinister said on Saturday hiscountry would “not give up” onfinding out the truth about themurder of Saudi journalistJamal Khashoggi inside thekingdom’s consulate inIstanbul.

“We haven’t received anynew information or outcome ofthe investigation from theSaudi side,” Mevlut Cavusoglusaid on the sidelines of a con-ference in Turkish ally Qatar.

“Turkey will not give up onthis, we will go to the end.”Earlier this month, the minis-ter said Turkey was in talks overa possible United Nationsinvestigation into the October2 murder, which has provokedglobal outrage. AFP

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Several thousand Ukrainiansrallied outside one of Kiev’s

main cathedrals Saturdayahead of a historic synodexpected to establish anOrthodox church independentfrom Russia.

Ukrainian priests were tomeet in Kiev’s 11th-centurySaint Sophia Cathedral to work towardsfounding the church, in whatKiev authorities hope will be afurther step out of Russia’sorbit.

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Afederal judge in Texas onFriday struck down the

entire Affordable Care Act,popular as Obamacare, rulingthat the health-care law’s indi-vidual coverage mandate was“unconstitutional”, handing amajor political victory to US

President Donald Trump whohas long been seeking its end.

The ruling was over a law-suit filed this year by a group ofRepublican governors and stateattorneys general. It came on theeve of the Saturday deadline forAmericans to sign up for cov-erage in the federal insuranceexchange created under the law.

In a ruling, that is likely tobe challenged and was immedi-ately opposed by the Democrats,District Court Judge ReedO’Connor ruled that the indi-vidual mandate of AffordableCare Act requiring people tohave health insurance “can nolonger be sustained as an exer-cise of Congress’s tax power”.

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Harendra Singh's outburst against umpiring afterIndia's quarterfinal loss to Netherlands didn't

go down well with the world body (FIH) and itsPresident Narinder Batra on Saturday hinted at astrict action against the coach for his indecent behav-iour.

India lost 1-2 to Netherlands in quarterfinal tocrash out of the tournament on Thursday.

Soon after the defeat, Harendra blamed poorumpiring for his side's unexpected early ouster, say-ing FIH seriously need to address the issue as his sidehas been on the receiving end of poor on-field deci-sions twice this year.

But the India coach's vitriolic outburst came backto haunt him as the FIH chief said a team should begraceful in defeat and questioning umpires isagainst the spirit of the game.

"Being the FIH President I have to follow cer-tain protocols and I have my strong reservationsagainst this kind of behaviour. A sport has to beplayed in the right spirit," Batra said in a press con-ference also attended by FIH CEO Thierry Wiel onSaturday.

"One should be graceful whether you win or lose.Finding a fault is very easy. You should rather appre-ciate and respect. They (umpires) have only two eyes.They are doing a job, a thankless job. They will getcriticised by anybody who loses," he added.

Harendra's job has been under the scanned eversince India failed to defend its Asian Games title inJakarta and the World Cup was his last opportuni-ty to save his skin.

It seems the India coach is set to lose his job withHockey India mulling to take a drastic decision onthe matter after the conclusion of the World Cup.

A former chief of Hockey India, Batra, who hasconsiderable influence on the national federation, fur-ther indicated that some radical changes are on theoffing in Indian hockey.

FIH CEO Weil, too felt it was not wise to blameumpires after a defeat.

"I think the beauty of sports in principle is thatyou have a winner and a loser. The day you win, youare happy. The day you lose, you are sad, which Iunderstand. Even Argentina team cried on thebench," he said.

"I would just recommend (that) and definitelysay umpires have a tough job, decision to be madewithin seconds. It (questioning umpires) is notacceptable."

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World No 4 Netherlands brokeAustralia's dream of clinchinga hat-trick of World Cup titles,

beating the two-time defending cham-pions 4-3 in sudden death in a pulsat-ing semi-final of men hockey's show-piece tournament here on Saturday.

The Dutch thus took a sweet revengeof their 1-6 loss to the Kookaburras in thesummit clash of the 2014 World Cup atthe Hague.

The match went intoshoot-out after bothNetherlands and Australia werelocked 2-2 at the end of regulation60 minutes.

Glenn Schuurman (9th minute)and Seeve van Ass (20th) scored for theDutch before Tim Howard (45th) con-verted a penalty corner and EddieOckenden (60th) found the equaliser forAustralia just 26 seconds from the finalhooter.

In the shoot-off, Daniel Beale, TomCraig and Jake Whetton scored forAustralia while Jeroen Hertzberger, VanAss and Thijs van Dam were on target forthe Dutch to take the encounter into sud-den death.

But it was not to be Australia's day,as Beale's attempt was saved by Dutchgoalkeeper Pirmin Blaak after Hertbergerscored to take Netherlands to their sec-ond consecutive World Cup final.

Netherlands will face Olympic Silver

medallist Belgium in Sunday's summitclash after the Red Lions spankedEngland 6-0 in the other semi-final ear-lier in the day.

World No 1 Australia will look for aconsolation Bronze medal when they takeon England in the third-fourth place play-off match on Sunday.

After sitting back initially,Netherlands kept up the pressure on theAustralian defence and minutes later tookthe lead through Schuurman, who scoredfrom close range after being set up byJonas de Gues' brilliant run down theright flank.

Van Ass doubled Netherlands' leadafter his shot from right corner of the boxwent into the goal following a deflectionfrom Australian Tim Howard's stick.

Trailing by two goals, the Australianscame out with purpose after the changeof ends as they attacked in numbers insearch of breakthroughs.

Australia pulled a goal back just at thestroke of third quarter through Howardwho scored from a penalty corner aftertheir variation went wrong.

But the Australians did not give up

hope and fought till their last breath,which resulted in getting the equaliser just26 seconds from full time throughOckenden and take the match intoshoot-out.

- /��&������ ��/�%Olympic Silver medallist Belgium

created history by making their maid-en appearance in the men's hockeyWorld Cup summit clash, thrashingEngland 6-0 in a lopsided first semi-final.

Alexander Hendrickx (45th, 50thminutes) converted two penalty corners,while Tom Boon (8th), SimonGougnard (19th), Cedric Charlier(42nd) and Sebastien Dockier (53rd)were the other goal scorers for the worldnumber three at the Kalinga Stadium.

Prior to this, the Red Lions' best per-formance in the World Cup was a fifth-place finish in the last edition of thetournament at The Hague, Netherlandsin 2014.

The Belgium players, who woreblack armbands to pay respect to theirteammate Gougnard whose father

passed away before the match, domi-nated possession in the first two quar-ters and created a couple of promisingchances, two of which resulted in goals.

It didn't take long for Belgium totake the lead as Boon deflected inFlorent van Aubel's measured cross fromthe left in the eighth minute.

Belgium doubled their lead in the19th minute through Gougnard, whoscored from a rebound after Hendrickx'sflick from their first penalty corner wassaved by England captain and goal-keeper George Pinner.

Belgium extended their lead in the42nd minute through Charlier, whoscored with a fierce shot from a closerange.

Seconds from the end of the thirdquarter, they made it 4-0 whenHendrickx found the back of the Englishnet from his team's second penalty cor-ner.

Belgium continued to toy with theEnglish defence and pumped in twomore goals in the fourth and final quar-ter to make the last-four contest a thor-oughly one-sided affair.

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