VOL 6 ISSUE 7 ● DALLAS ● FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 01, 2018 ● ENQUIRIES: 646-247-9458 www.theindianpanorama.news

Students, Parents, Teachers ImplorePresident Trump to Ensure School Safety

Trump mulls arming teachers, increasing age for gun purchasesWASHINGTON (TIP): A week after the

shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HighSchool in Parkland in which 17 students werekilled, President Donald Trump hosted alistening session with a group of survivors,parents and teachers. On hand were VicePresident Mike Pence and EducationSecretary Betsy DeVos.

Trump held an emotional, hour-longmeeting with students who survived theFlorida shooting and a parent whose childdid not. He said arming teachers and otherschool staff could help prevent future massshootings, voicing support for an idea backedby the powerful National Rifle Associationgun lobby.

Trump sat in the middle of a semi-circle inthe White House State Dining Room.Photographers captured images of hishandwritten note card with questions and

contd on Page 20

President Donald Trump meets with students, parents and teachers affected by mass shootingsin Parkland, Fla., Newtown, Conn., and Columbine, Colo., at the White House on Feb 21 to talk

about policies to keep America's schools safe.

Trudeau’s India visit mired in controversy over dinner invite to ‘convicted Khalistani terrorist’

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau beingreceived on arrival, Feb 17, by a minister of

state for agriculture.(Image Tweeted by @Justin Trudeau)

US Women's Hockey TeamBeats Canada 3-2 for Gold atPyeongChang Olympics

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA (TIP):

US Women's Hockey team gave a shock to thefancied Canadians by winning the Gold in athrilling penalty shootout 3 to 2. JocelyneLamoureux-Davidson, the sixth U.S. shooterin a shootout, skated slowly toward the net,faked a shot, shifted the puck left, then pulledit right before tucking the puck past theoutstretched glove of diving Canada goalieShannon Szabados. contd on Page 20

Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson of the UnitedStates celebrates after winning the women's goldmedal hockey game at the 2018 Winter Olympics

in Gangneung, South Korea, Feb. 22, 2018

Special Counsel MuellerFiles New Charges againstManafort and Gates

WASHINGTON (TIP): Special CounselRobert Mueller filed, February 22, new fraud andmoney-laundering charges against formerTrump campaign chairman Paul Manafort andhis associate Rick Gates. In the 37-pageindictment, prosecutors describe a "scheme" inwhich the two longtime business partnersallegedly laundered $30 million, failed to paytaxes for almost 10 years and used real estate

contd on Page 20

Manafort faces 18 new charges in Virginia, whileGates faces 23 new charges.

NEW DELHI (TIP): Canadian PrimeMinister Justin Trudeau's India visit kickedoff with rather a cold reception by governmentof India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi whohas been very warm to visiting heads of stateand government who he received warmly onarrival, sent in a junior minister to receive thevisiting Prime Minister of Canada, ostensibly

contd on Page 20

Breaking News

School officer waited outside building for 4minutes as killings happened, Sheriff Israel says

TALLAHASSEE (TIP): A MarjoryStoneman Douglas school resource officer hasbeen suspended without pay after BrowardCounty Sheriff Scott Israel said video showshim taking up a defensive position during theshooting but never entering the school. Israelannounced Thursday that the decision tosuspend Deputy Scot Peterson was made afterreviewing video

contd on Page 20

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel addresses apress conference on Feb 22, 2018.

What is in store for a PossibleDallas-Houston Bullet Train?

DALLAS (TIP): The fight over Texas Central Railway -- aka. theTexas Bullet Train -- rests on many of the contentious fault lines thatshape the Lone Star State. City interests versus rural identity. Urbandwellers versus people who want their stars at night to shine big andbright.

Mostly, it is about land. Who controls it, what's the best use for it andhow much of it can the two metro areas -- Houston and Dallas -- claimso their economic futures are secure.

"How do you achieve that balance?" Harris County Precinct 4Commissioner Jack Cagle asked. He supports the project despite thestrong opposition of many in his district. "They don't want to have thatnext generation of development, and you have to be sensitive to that."

contd on Page 20

Indian-American seeks re-electionto city council in Texas

HOUSTON (TIP): Indian-AmericanHimesh Gandhi has filed for re-election toa city council in the US state of Texas.

He is a three-term incumbent of the At-Large Position 1 post on the Sugar Land,Texas, City Council and is seeking afourth and final term in the May 5election.

Gandhi, a longtime community leader,promised to continue his focus onimproving the lives of residents in thethriving community.

"Sugar Land has been my home formost of my adult life. It is a diverse,growing city where we are successfullymerging cultures, ideas and values,"Gandhi told PTI.

"I am committed to maintaining qualitydevelopment and robust city serviceswhile following smart spending practices," he said.

Himesh, first elected in 2012 at the age of 35, was the youngestcouncilman to be elected in a citywide vote. He has served onnumerous City Council committees and was also a member ofthe task force that spearheaded development of the SmartFinancial Centre at Sugar Landâ "an iconic concert andperformance hall that opened last year.

contd on page 20

Gandhi, a longtimecommunity leaderis a

three-termincumbent of the At-Large Position 1 post

on the Sugar Land,Texas, City Council

and is seeking afourth and final termin the May 5 election.

2 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018INDIANS ABROAD

Indian American student to build a primaryhealth clinic in Uttar Pradesh village

MARYLAND (TIP): An Indian Americanstudent at Towson University is leading aneffort to build a primary health clinic in aremote village in Uttar Pradesh.

Mohammad Siddiqi, 21, is helping to build aclinic in the village of Santokha, in theSandila district, 50 miles to the southwest ofLucknow. Siddiqi's parents Akhlaq andAnjum Siddiqi were born and grew up in thearea before they moved to the United Statesdecades ago.

There are no healthcare facilities inSantokha and villagers are forced to see quackdoctors with no medical background thatrecommend hazardous "treatments,"Mohammad Siddiqi said. His mission is toprovide quality healthcare to the poor peoplein the village and neighboring areas, headded.

"After visiting my parents' village for thefirst time, I realized there is very limitedaccess to emergency medical services as wellas a need for basic education regarding healthpractices in different situations, such asprenatal and postnatal care," he said. "I hopeto tackle these two needs with this clinic,which is already well into its development."

Siddiqi, who is currently studying atTowson University with a major inaccounting while interning part-time atMorgan Stanley as a finance analyst, has beenable to raise $75,000 for the construction of theclinic so far.

His father, Akhlaq Siddiqi, works for the USPatent Office and his mother Anjum Siddiqiruns an assisted living facility inGaithersburg, MD.

Although his studies and career plans arecentered around accounting and finance -upon completing his undergraduate degree inMay 2018, he plans to start an internship withDeloitte for Summer 2018 before pursuing aMaster's in Finance - Mohammad Siddiqi saidhe has developed a passion to help others notas fortunate.

Among other things, the clinic will screen

patients for serious illnesses, such as heartdiseases, cancer, blood diseases, eye diseasesand kidney diseases, as well as treat commondiseases including fever, malaria,tuberculosis, gastroenteritis, respiratorydiseases and infections, he said. It will havecurative, education and prevention programs.

Eventually, the clinic will have state-of-the-art diagnostic services, including X-ray,ultrasound and ECG, he added.

Siddiqi said a current challenge is buildingrelationships with the local government aswell as NGOs and healthcare professionals.Involvement of the local community andother stakeholders will ensure long-termviability of the project, he said.

Citing the assisted living facility hismother runs, Siddiqi said healthcare is a fieldthat his family deeply cares about and hasexpertise in, and, considering his parents'roots in the area, starting a clinic in theSandila region was quite natural.

His father Akhlaq Siddiqi said the familyhas a strong emotional bond with the villageand wanted to do something for the area. Aftera family visit a few years ago, Mohammad sawthe condition of the villagers and decided totake the initiative in building the clinic, hesaid.

"In future we plan to build similar clinic inother parts of Uttar Pradesh by mobilizingother people of Uttar Pradesh origin," AkhlaqSiddiqi said.

Mohammad Siddiqi, 21, is helping to build aclinic in the village of Santokha

Indian Origin Canada'sDefense Minister HarjitSingh Sajjansays HeFaced Discrimination inCanadian Military

NEW DELHI (TIP): Indian originCanada's Defense Minister Harjit SinghSajjan said he "faced discrimination" inthat country's military because he "lookeddifferent".

Sajjan, who moved to Canada as a youngboy, said this in the presence of SophieGregoire Trudeau, wife of Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau, currently on a week-longvisit to India.

"I was born in India and moved toCanada, when I was five... When I was 18and joined the military there, I faceddiscrimination, even though I am aCanadian...because I looked different," hesaid, during the Asia launch of the globalcampaign -- 'She Will Grow Into It' here.

Sajjan is travelling along with Trudeauand his wife, and they visited Amritsarand even offered 'sewa' (volunteer service).

"I hail from a small village and lived avery simple life, before migrating toCanada," he said.

Sajjan, who became the Defenseminister in 2015, also shared an anecdotefrom his youth days to underline themessage of equality.

"I was 12, and I came across a girl inIndia, with round, beautiful eyes, whocame towards me begging for money and Iasked her to go away...Years later inCanada, when I faced discrimination, herface flashed in front of my eyes, and Irealized she was begging because she washungry," he said.

The Canadian minister said that then herealized how it felt to be treated unequal.

"Sixty per cent of the world'smalnourished people are women, and thiscampaign seeks to fill the gap," Sajjan said.

During his interaction with youngwomen from high schools, he describedthem as "powerful agents of change".

"Every child has a gift and endeavor toaccomplish your inner potential andrealize what you dream to become," hesaid, adding, that "But, when you find youdream and success, go back and servepeople".

The campaign, led by Canada-based non-profit organization NutritionInternational, was launched globally inOttawa on the International Day of theGirl Child.

Harjit Singh Sajjan. File Photo

Indian American NUMC surgeon from Long Island walks free of allcriminal charges

LONG ISLAND, NY (TIP): Indian American surgeon Dr. VenkateshSasthakonar has been cleared of all criminal charges by a judge in NassauCounty, Long Island, according to news reports.

The well-known surgeon was accused by a nurse of allegedly trying tostrangle her with an 'elastic cord' following differences over some medicalprocedures. But a judge exonerated him on Feb. 20, and police said there wasinsufficient evidence that any crime occurred after examining videos andtalking to colleagues at the hospital. The 44-year old doctor is a veteranweight-loss surgeon. He had consistently maintained his innocence. Newsreports quoted the doctor's attorney saying the nurse's story was a completelie.

Outside the courtroom after the judge pronounced the verdict, Dr.Sasthakonar was surrounded by friends and well-wishers. He occasionallybecame emotional as he recounted his traumatic experience. "Whathappened to me didn't hurt me," he is quoted saying in the abc7ny report,adding, "What happened to (my wife) and the kids is what hurt me…I thoughtbeing a good person could protect you against bad things happening to you,against evil. I don't trust that anymore." Dr. Sasthakonar is married to aninternal medicine physician.

"I hope nobody goes through this hell including the person who started allthis," Sasthakonar's wife is quoted saying in the cbslocal.com report, adding,"What happened in the past month was a nightmare." "After thoroughlyreviewing this case, interviewing witnesses and analyzing surveillancevideo, it has been determined there is not enough evidence to support that acrime occurred," Brendan Brosh, a spokesman for Nassau County DistrictAttorney's office, is quoted saying in a statement on cbslocal.com.

Dr. Venkatesh Sasthakonar, on his way out of court in Mineola on Tuesday,Feb. 20, 2018. Photo / Courtesy Newsday

Indian American VandanaJhingan removed from IllinoisRepublican primary ballot inIllinois

CHICAGO (TIP:

Indian AmericanVandana Jhingan, theRepublican HinduC o a l i t i o n - b a c k e dcandidate, has beenremoved from the officiallist of Republicanprimary ballot in Illinois'8th CongressionalDistrict.

Jhingan was one of thetwo Indian AmericanRepublicans vying for theGOP nomination to runagainst the incumbentDemocrat RajaKrishnamoorthi in theNovember election.

Jhingan wasdisqualified after aconstituent, Steven Anderson, filed a complaint that manysignatories to her nomination were not residents of thedistrict.

Nonresidents, who are not registered voters, cannot beconsidered as signatories while filing the nomination.

According to election general counsel, Ken Menzel whospoke to the local Daily Herald, a second complaint was alsofiled against the Jhingan alleging improper circulation of thepetition.

The paper said she lacked enough signatures and thus failedto make it to the official ballot.

Jhingan, a Chicago-based journalist, is the Midwest BureauChief of the Indian American cable network TV Asia.

Another Indian American candidate Jitendra Digavker is onthe ballot in the Republican primary. He is a businessman andruns a successful credit card process firm based inSchaumburg, which provides processing services to all types ofbusinesses.

Krishnamoorthi, an attorney-turned-businessman, waselected to the US House of Representatives from the district inNovember 2016, defeating Republican Peter DiCianni.

Vandana Jhingan, a Chicago-basedjournalist, is the Midwest Bureau

Chief of the Indian American cablenetwork TV Asia

3INDIANS ABROADTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

Indian American from Californiaadopts village in Telangana

SACRAMENTO (TIP): Indian American Annapareddy AppiReddy from California has adopted the remote Dondapadu villagein Suryapet district as a part of Digithon Digital Village initiatedby the Telangana Information Technology Association (TITA).

Till a few months ago, residents of the village believed acomputer was just another gadget meant for students and theeducated. But this initiative helps villagers understand banking,agriculture and even access anything beyond their village.

218 villagers are selected to be given basic computer trainingthat equipped them to conduct digital transactions and befinancially literate. The team selected participants who did nothave access to a smartphone and trained them. They wereintroduced to E-Sage, an agriculture knowledge platformdeveloped by the IIIT-Hyderabad, where they could learn newmethods of farming and understand the market to sell theirproduce at apt prices.

While the team provided ground-level support, TITA presidentSundeep Kumar Makthala said more than 40 NRIs responded totheir call to adopt their villages under the Digithon program.

TITA, a non-profit and non-governmental organization workingfor the welfare of Telangana IT students, was started in 2013 by ITveterans who hail from Telangana region.

Annapareddy Appi Reddy (Center)

Photo courtesy: Facebook@Telangana Information TechnologyAssociation

Indian Origin Sikh Man's TurbanPulled Out Outside UK Parliament

LONDON (TIP) : An Indian Origin Sikhman's turban was pulled out by a white manshouting "Muslim go back" in an apparentracist attack outside the UK parliament,according to a media report.

Ravneet Singh, 37, from Punjab, waswaiting to enter the Portcullis House, part ofthe British Parliamentary Estate, to meetSikh Labor MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi whenthe assault took place on February 21st .

Mr. Singh said he was waiting in the queuewhen the man, who was shouting "Muslim goback", approached him and tried to removehis turban, a religious headgear.

"I was in the queue outside Portcullis Houseand this guy ran up to us. Just before we got tothe entrance he came up to me and attackedme. He was pulling at my turban strongly. Ithalf moved, and I grabbed it. Before he coulddo anything else I shouted at him and he ran,"Mr Singh was quoted as saying by TheIndependent.

Mr. Singh said the man made a "racistcomment" in another language that he did notunderstand.

"He was a white man, but he didn't soundEnglish. He said something like 'Muslim goback'," he added.

Mr. Dhesi, who was to host Mr. Singh,expressed "disgust" at the incident and soughtaction against the culprit.

"Disgusted to discover today that someonefilled with hatred tried to pull off the turbanof one of my guests standing in line outside

@UKParliament. I hope the @metpoliceuk/authorities will take urgent action," MrDhesi tweeted.

According to the report, the police haveconfirmed being alerted at 5.20 pm about theassault outside the building adjacent to theHouses of Parliament, which is home to

offices for MPs and their staff.Police said no arrest has been made so far

and they were probing the case.The Sikh community in the UK has often

been the mistaken target of hate crimesagainst Muslims that surged after the 9/11attack in the US.

Ravneet Singh, 37, from Punjab, was waiting to enter the Portcullis House

Indian American statehouse delegaterunning for Congress from Maryland'ssixth district gets Montgomery CountyExecutive Ike Leggett's endorsement

MARYLAND (TIP): Montgomery CountyExecutive Ike Leggett has endorsed IndianAmerican Democrat Aruna Miller, who isrunning for Congress from Maryland's 6thcongressional district.

"I am proud to endorse Aruna Miller to be thenext Congresswoman from Maryland," he said."In the years that I have known her, she has hadan exemplary commitment to the people ofMontgomery County and has dedicated herselfto serving every individual she represents. Herrecord of votes and constituent servicesdemonstrate that she is the right person for thejob. We will all benefit having Aruna Miller inCongress."

Thanking Leggett, Miller, who is a Maryland statehouse delegate, said,"County Executive Leggett is a legend here in Montgomery County but alsoacross the state. Every day he has made our state and our region a vibrant,thriving place to call home. His work will benefit generations ofMarylanders and I am lucky enough not only to have him as my CountyExecutive but also as a mentor, my former boss and as my friend. Ike'sleadership has inspired me in my own public service career."

According to the Miller campaign, the Indian American has receivedendorsements from Maryland statehouse Speaker Michael Busch andChairwoman Maggie McIntosh, in addition to many of her colleagues inthe Maryland House of Delegates. "I am so fortunate to work with leaderslike Ike Leggett who exemplify government service at its best," Miller saidin a press release.

Leggett, a Vietnam War veteran who served as the chairman ofMaryland Democratic Party, is retiring as the county executive later thisyear.

Miller moved to the US from India in 1972 following her parents and livedfor a while in Poughkeepsie, New York, then moved to St. Louis, Missouriwith family. She went to engineering school in Missouri University and isa civil engineer - a transportation engineer.

She married her college sweetheart and moved to Montgomery County,Maryland in the 1990s. The couple has three daughters. Two of them havegraduated and they are working in New York City. And the youngest is afreshman in University of Maryland, College Park.

Aruna Miller

Indian AmericansResearchers Selectedfor Virginia's 2018Outstanding STEMAwards Virginia's Outstanding STEMAwardsare for the contributionand deep commitment towardsthe betterment of human healthglobally.

WASHINGTON (TIP): IndianAmerican researchers have been selectedfor Virginia's Outstanding STEM Awardsfor their contribution and deepcommitment towards the betterment ofhuman health globally.

STEM stands for science, technology,engineering and mathematics.

Arun J Sanyal and Parthik Naidu areamong six people selected by VirginiaGovernor Ralph Northam for the 2018Outstanding STEM Awards.

While Sanyal has developed trainingprograms in liver disease diagnosis andtreatment, Naidu,18, has developed amachine learning software to study 3Dinteractions of the cancer.

Celebrating the academic excellenceand entrepreneurial spirit of theseVirginians helps showcase how STEMinnovations tie in to our everyday lives,said Governor Northam.

It also highlights the profoundcontribution that STEM makes to Virginiafamilies and our economy. I thank theseextraordinary awardees and everyone whoworks hard to make Virginia a leader inthese important fields, Mr. Northam said.

Sanyal is a pioneer in identifying themechanisms, clinical outcomes andmanagement of nonalcoholic fatty liverdisease (NASH) and metabolic syndrome,a disease of increasing prevalence andglobal consequences.

To address this, he has developedtraining programes in liver diseasediagnosis and treatment, and works toincorporate them in primary caresettings. He was selected for the VirginiaOutstanding Scientist award for his deepcommitment to the betterment of humanhealth globally via science, education andpublic policy. Naidu was selected as aSTEM Phenom for his sharing ofknowledge with others to inspire thosearound him to become change makers inaddition to his application of STEMprinciples, a statement said.

He developed a machine learningsoftware to study 3D interactions of thecancer when he was 17 years old.

The computational tool calledDNALoopR is faster, less expensive andmore accurately analyses the biologicalpatterns of cancer DNA than laboratorytools that currently exist.

DNALoopR gives unprecedented insightinto the inner workings of cancer, thushelping doctors create personalizedtreatments for millions of patients.

Naidu is currently a freshman atStanford University studying computerscience.

Parthik Naidu and Arun J Sanyal

4 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018US

Students Launch a Movement from Town Hall to Washington ‘Never Again’

NRA: GUNS ARE THE PROBLEM, DO SOMETHINGSUNRISE, FLORIDA (TIP): Survivors of the massacre at

Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, took centerstage, Feb 21, at a town hall hosted by CNN as thousands ofcommunity members cheered on the young people thrust into thenational spotlight by a massacre that killed 17 people.

Moderated by CNN anchor Jake Tapper, the Town Hall featuredstudents from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, parentsand community members. The event was closed to the generalpublic.

The students-turned-gun-control advocates, their teachers andparents asked frank questions of Sens. Marco Rubio and BillNelson and Rep. Ted Deutch about whether they would supportbanning certain assault-style rifles and refuse to take money fromthe NRA.National Rifle Association national spokeswoman DanaLoesch also participated in the discussion.

Sen Marco Rubio was the only Republican at the Town Hall.President Trump had declined to come. Republican Governor ofFlorida Rick Scott, too, stayed away as did other State lawmakers.Marco Rubio came in for much attack as did the NRASpokeswoman Dana Loesch.

"We would like to know why do we have to be the ones to do this?Why do we have to speak out to the (state) Capitol? Why do we haveto march on Washington, just to save innocent lives?" asked seniorRyan Deitsch, his voice rising with each question.

The Stoneman Douglas students and parents also confrontedNRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, who said the organization feels

the system for buying firearms is flawed and too many people whoshouldn't be able to buy guns are getting through the cracks.

The town hall on Wednesday, Feb 21 night followed days of sit-ins, walkouts and demonstrations in solidarity with survivors ofthe massacre.

Avery Anger, 14, who hid in a closet during the shooting, saidshe didn't know what to think after the town hall. "It was more ofa debate than a discussion," she said. She entered the town hallwith one question -- "is it going to be safe for me to go back toschool?" By the end, she still was unsure. "I don't feel like theyanswered the question." The shooting reignited the passionatenational discussion on gun laws and how to keep communitiessafe, catalyzing a protest movement led by the young studentsfrom Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed, angrilyaddressed Rubio, wanting the senator to agree that semiautomaticrifles like the AR-15 type used in the shooting were the problem.

"Sen. Rubio, I want to like you. Here's the problem. ... Yourcomments this week and those of our President have been

pathetically weak," he said to lasting applause and cheers. "Lookat me and tell me guns were the factor in the hunting of our kidsin the school this week."

Guttenberg called on the senator to do something about guns, towork with the people affected by the massacre. Rubio, aRepublican, replied, "I'm saying that the problems we are facinghere today cannot be solved by gun laws alone."

Cameron Kasky, a junior at the school, asked Rubio to turndown campaign contributions from the National RifleAssociation.

Rubio said he supports the Second Amendment, but he alsostood for school safety. He wouldn't say he would turn down anNRA contribution.

"The influence of these groups comes not from money," he said,"You can ask that question and I can say that people buy into myagenda."

Loesch, the National Rifle Association spokeswoman, told theaudience she was fighting for them and that people who shouldn'town guns should be reported by states to a national backgroundcheck system.

"I don't believe this insane monster should have ever been ableto obtain a firearm," Loesch said Wednesday night, calling thesuspect "nuts."

While some in the crowd yelled, "You're a murderer," Loeschsaid the system to buy firearms is flawed.

Student Emma Gonzalez, who has been outspoken about heropposition to semiautomatic rifles, asked Loesch what the NRA'sposition was on bump stocks and making it more difficult to buy

certain weapons.Loesch replied the NRA is waiting on the Justice Department to

make a ruling on bump stocks.Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel interrupted Loesch,

saying he knew she was standing up for the NRA."But you just told this group you were standing up for them," he

said. "You're not standing up for them until you say I want lessweapons."

Deitsch told Rubio he had been doing active shooter drills sincehe was in elementary school. When he was in fifth grade he had tohide in a bathroom for three hours when his school went onlockdown because there were reports of a shooter in the town.

"Now seven years later, I am in a closet with 19 other kidswaiting, fearing for my own life," he said.

Why do we have to lead the change, he asked?Rubio said change can come when people on different sides,

who have strong feelings, can agree on a way to make progress.He said he has proposed a concept called a gun violence

restraining order that would allow people to go to authorities withconcerns about someone who should not have a gun. Police wouldbe able to take away weapons, he said.

"I do appreciate your words there but that feels like the first stepof a 5K run," Deitsch said.

Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump, who declined toparticipate in the town hall, suggested at a listening session at theWhite House that part of the solution to preventing schoolshootings could be having some armed, trained teachers oncampus.

None of the politicians at the town hall was sympathetic to thethought.

Nelson, a Democrat said, "I think it is a terrible idea."Rubio and Deutch agreed.Robert Runcie, the Broward County school system

superintendent, told the audience beforehand that teachersshould be armed with more money.

Before the event, Israel fired up the crowd in the arena, saying,

"My generation, we did not get it done. You will get it done."Runcie told the Stoneman Douglas students that they have

started a movement."These are the young people that are going to change the world

for the better. And let me tell you, our students are ready for thismoment. They have been preparing for this moment," he said.

Some of the student participants came straight from the stateCapitol in Tallahassee after lobbying state lawmakers for tougher

restrictions on weapons like the one used to kill their friends andteachers.

The evening closed with poignant moments, one involving thewords of Alex Schachter, one of the students who died.

Read by his dad, Max Schachter, the poem was about rollercoasters. Alex loved them.

"He wasn't writing about his life and had no idea his poemwould become the future," Max Schachter said.

In the poem, Alex compared the ups and downs of life to a rollercoaster.

"It may be too much for you at times. The twists, the turns, theupside downs, but you get back up. You keep chugging along," hewrote.

The program closed with a song, "Shine," performed bymembers of the Stoneman Douglas drama club.

The song was addressed to the shooter, who is in jail.You may have hurt usBut I promise we are not going to let you in

We're putting up a fightYou may have brought the dark but together we will shine a

lightAnd we will be something specialWe're going to shine, shineDifferent students said these lines between verses:We refuse to be ignored by those who will not listen.There are so many things you can do to become involved.Reach out to your congressmen, mail, call and tweet.The smallest of words can make the biggest difference.Be the voice for those who don't have one.The President pledged to go to work after the meeting ended.

"We don't want others to go through the kind of pain you havegone through. It wouldn't be right," he said.

The father of Meadow Pollack, who was killed last week, said hewas speaking at Wednesday's session because his daughtercouldn't.

"We as a country failed our children," Andrew Pollack said.

(Source: CNN)

Moderated by CNN anchor Jake Tapper, the Town Hallfeatured students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High

School, parents and community members

A face off: Sheriff Scott Israel and NRA Spokeswoman DanaLoesch

A view of the gathering Photos / CNN screenshots

Robert Runcie, the Broward County school systemsuperintendent, told the audience that teachers should be

armed with more money, not with guns.

Cameron Kasky, a junior at the school, asked Rubio to turndown campaign contributions from the National Rifle

Association

5WORLDTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

'Racist' white powderletter sent to MeghanMarkle: Report

LONDON (TIP): A letter with whitepowder was sent to Prince Harry and hisfiancee Meghan Markle, the EveningStandard newspaper reported on Thursday,saying it was also believed to contain aracist message.

The paper said that officers from theMetropolitan Police's counter-terrorismcommand were called in after the letter wasreceived on February 12 at a sorting office inSt James's Palace in central London.

But analysis of the powder found that itwas harmless. Contacted by AFP, PrinceHarry's press service at Kensington Palacedeclined to comment on the report.

"Police are investigating after a packagecontaining a substance was delivered to StJames's Palace on Monday, 12 February,"police said in a statement.

"The substance was tested and confirmedas non-suspicious. Officers are alsoinvestigating an allegation of maliciouscommunications which relates to the samepackage," the statement said.

The Evening Standard said police werebelieved to be examining whether theincident was linked to a package containingwhite powder that was sent to the Britishparliament on February 13. The couple aredue to marry in Windsor on May 19.

When their relationship was firstrevealed in 2016, Harry issued a strongly-worded statement against mediaharassment of his mixed-race girlfriend.(AP)

Court considersbanning diesel cars inGerman cities

BERLIN (TIP): A German court beganconsidering today whether authoritiesshould ban diesel cars from cities to lowerair pollution, a move that could have drasticconsequences for the country's powerfulauto industry.

The Federal Administrative Court inLeipzig is hearing an appeal by two Germanstates against lower court rulings thatsuggested driving bans for particularly dirtydiesel cars would be effective and should beseriously considered as a means ofprotecting public health.

The court has said a verdict could beissued as early as later today. If judges rejectthe appeal, dozens of cities would have a fewmonths to enact measures to remove heavilypolluting diesel vehicles from the roads -- anadministrative nightmare for localauthorities and a heavy blow to drivers whobought cars they were promised metemissions standards.

The original court cases were brought byenvironmental campaigners, who accuse thegovernment of putting automakers'interests before people's health.

German car manufacturer Volkswagenwas found three years ago to have used in-car software to cheat on US diesel emissionstests. The discovery resulted in large finesand costly buybacks for VW in the UnitedStates, but the German government hasrefrained from punishing VW, a majoremployer that's partly owned by the state ofLower Saxony.

Apart from hitting Volkswagen and otherGerman carmakers, officials warn that aban could paralyse bus companies, garbagecollection services and tradespeople whorely heavily on diesel vehicles.

The European Union is also puttingpressure on Germany and other countriesfor failing to rein in air pollution. (AP)

Immigration in Italy: Facts andmyths ahead of election

ROME (TIP): A right-wing coalitionshepherded by ex-prime minister SilvioBerlusconi is capitalising on anti-immigrantfeeling in the lead up to Italy's generalelections on March 4.

Here are four sets of facts about commoncomplaints, misconceptions and otheraspects of immigration in Italy:

Italy's national statistics institute Istatsays that there are five million foreignerslegally resident in Italy. That's 8.3 percent ofthe country's population of 60.5 million.

More than 690,000 migrants, most fromSub-Saharan Africa, have arrived by boatfrom Libya since 2013. Migration studyfoundation ISMU estimates that around500,000 are living in the country illegally -- 0.9percent of the population.

Government figures put the cost in 2017 ofmigrants arriving via Libya at more than 4.2billion euros, of which 65 percent was spenton taking care of asylum seekers duringtheir application process.

According to a study by the Idos Institute,overall immigrants bring in between 2.1 and2.8 billion euros more than they cost thestate.

"People go crazy there. There are manyyoung people whose brains just go numbafter a few months," says Moussa Bamba, a32-year-old Ivorian. He spent several monthscrammed in a crowded reception centre nearVenice with 1,400 other migrants.

The Conetta facility was dubbed a "human

warehouse" by local mayor Alberto Panfilio.While some facilities offer activities andsupport, others are accused of scrimping oncosts while immigrants wait for up to twoyears on a decision on their status.

Italy's Interior Ministry says the crimerate has dropped by 8.3 percent the last 10years, despite the fact that the number offoreigners in the country has increased fromthree to five million.

Figures presented by the ministry showedthat in 2017 murders dropped by nearly 12percent, robberies by 11 percent andburglaries by nine percent.

A controversial agreement signed by Romewith the Libyan authorities and militias lastsummer reduced arrivals by 70 percent.

The government also oversaw a 12 percentincrease in expulsions last year, from 5,817 in2016 to 6,514. (AFP)

As China puts pressure on Taiwan,signs of a US pushback

BEIJING (TIP): As China ratchets uppressure on Taiwan, the self-governing island itclaims as its territory, the United States iscautiously starting to push back.

In recent months, Chinese strategic bombershave been conducting “island encirclement”flights, escorted by fighter jets. The Chinesegovernment has discouraged tourism toTaiwan and imports of goods such as fish overthe past year and a half, hurting its economy.And China persuaded the island’s mostimportant remaining diplomatic ally, Panama,to switch diplomatic recognition last summerfrom Taipei to Beijing.

Concern about Taiwan’s fate now appears tobe building slowly in Washington, even as USPresident Donald Trump continues to seekChina’s help on other issues. Through his firstyear in office, Trump pressed Beijing to putmore pressure on North Korea to abandon itsnuclear and ballistic missile programs, withlimited success. He has also sought to limitChina’s nearly $400 billion trade surplus withthe United States, which has nonethelesscontinued to widen.

Against that backdrop, Washington hasrecently begun moving gradually to reinforceits ties to Taiwan, a vigorous democracy facingan increasingly authoritarian government inBeijing.

Bills have been introduced in Congress topromote visits to Taiwan by warships and bycivilian officials. A small gathering of defensecontractors is planned for May to discussTaiwan’s production of parts for weaponsassembled in the United States. And in June, aUS institute that functions as an informaldiplomatic channel plans to open an elegantnew complex in Taiwan’s capital.

“It looks like the Trump administration isplaying the Taiwan card for whatever purpose— to put pressure or to seek concessions,” saidWilly Lam, an adjunct professor at the ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong.

Chinese officials are showing signs ofannoyance, and raising accusations that theUnited States is interfering in what Beijingconsiders one of its redline issues. “It ishorrible that the present situation of the twosides of the Taiwan Strait will probably beturbulent,” said a commentary earlier thismonth on Huaxia, a Beijing-controlled newsservice on Taiwan issues.

Senator James Inhofe, R-Okla., the second-ranking Republican on the Senate ArmedForces Committee after Senator John McCain,R-Ariz., is in Taiwan this week, leading a largedelegation of House and Senate committeemembers and staff.

They have been meeting with President TsaiIng-wen and her senior ministers, a dialoguelikely to offend Beijing officials. In an emailedreply to questions, Inhofe endorsed continuedUS support for Taiwan, including a bill pendingin the Senate that would encourage senioradministration officials to visit the island. Thebill has already passed the House.

“With China becoming more aggressive andintent on expanding its influence globally, theUnited States-Taiwan security relationship isnow more important than ever,” the senatorsaid. “By ensuring they have the ability todefend themselves, Taiwan will continue to bean important part of promoting regionalstability.” Trump signed separate legislation inDecember, bitterly opposed by Beijing, thatincluded a provision encouraging mutual portcalls by naval vessels from Taiwan and theUnited States. (NYT Service)

6 THEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 INDIA

ED FREEZES DEPOSITS,SHARES WORTH RS 44 CROF NIRAV GROUP

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (TIP): The ED on Friday said ithad frozen bank deposits and shares worth about Rs 44 croreof the Nirav Modi group, and seized a huge collection ofimported watches from locations linked to the billionairediamantaire.

Officials said they had put freeze orders on bank accountscontaining Rs 30 crore and shares worth Rs 13.86 crore of thegroup under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA).

A huge collection of imported watches, 176 steel almirahs,158 boxes and 60 other containers had been seized during EDsearches at multiple locations linked to the billionairediamond jewellery designer over last week, they said.

Only on Thursday, the agency seized deposits, shares andluxury cars worth over Rs 100 crore of the businesssman andhis group.

Modi, his uncle and Gitanjali Gems promoter MehulChoksi and others are being investigated by the ED and otherprobe agencies after it recently came to light, following acomplaint by the PNB, that they allegedly cheated thenationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with thepurported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

The CBI and the ED have registered two FIRs each to probethe case. Both Modi and Choski are said to have left thecountry before criminal cases were lodged against them.

Source: PTI

Congress will not name CM candidate before Rajasthan polls

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Congress will not declare itschief ministerial face ahead of the Rajasthan Assemblypolls, party general secretary in-charge for the state AvinashPande said on Thursday, stressing that it has been the party’s“tradition”.

He said the party’s Rajasthan leaders will put on a unitedperformance to ensure victory “as they did” during therecently-held bypolls in Ajmer and Alwar parliamentaryseats and Mandalgarh assembly segment in the state.

“It has been the Congress tradition that it never declares aCM face, barring exceptional cases, ahead of assembly polls.The high command decides the chief minister afterdiscussing it with elected MLAs. This tradition will befollowed in Rajasthan too,” Pande said.

Earlier in the day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi held ameeting with Rajasthan Congress leaders, including formerChief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state unit chief Sachin Pilotand others on the party’s activities for the next six months.

Pande maintained that the leadership issue in connectionwith the state assembly polls, scheduled to be held later thisyear, did not figure during the meeting.

“We sought the final approval for the party programme fornext six months (from Gandhi). All the leaders in unisonassured that the programme will be implemented jointly.Rahul ji wished them good luck,” he added.

Pande also said that the leaders have decided that the stateunit’s ‘Mera Booth, Mera Gaurav’ programme will beimplemented in all the assembly segments of the state, whichgoes to polls later this year.

“Hamara hoga ek hi agenda, Congress ka jhanda (Our onlyagenda is to see Congress flag flies high),” Pande added.

Asked about the meeting with Gandhi, Pilot said it wasdecided that the party will undertake a mass outreachprogramme in all the 200 assembly segments of the state.

“We have now a lot of weight on our shoulders (followingthe success in bypolls). Expectations are very high from theCongress and we must not rest and immediately start a massoutreach programme the youth, farmers, middle class, ruralareas in 200 constituencies. The meeting discussed the detailsof the same,” Pilot added. Source: PTI

Bank loan default: Rotomac promoterKothari, son arrested by CBI

NEW DELHI (TIP): The CentralBureau of Investigation on Feb 22arrested Rotomac promoter VikramKothari and his son Rahul Kothari oncharges of cheating a consortium ofseven banks by siphoning off bank loansto the tune Rs 2,919 crore.

“Both the accused were not cooperatingwith the investigators and were evasive intheir replies during questioning whichnecessitated their custodialinterrogation,” said a CBI spokesperson.

The arrests came after the Kothariswere questioned for the fourthconsecutive day on Thursday followingsearches at their residences and officepremises in Kanpur.

The CBI had registered an FIR in thecase on the basis of a complaint receivedfrom the Bank of Baroda, which was partof the consortium, that allegedmisappropriation of funds and violationof Fema guidelines.

The banks had claimed that their totaloutstanding dues, including interest,stood at Rs 3,695 crore.

The agency had named Rotomac GlobalPrivate Ltd, its directors Vikram Kothari,his wife Sadhana Kothari and son RahulKothari, and unknown bank officials asaccused in the case.

The Enforcement Directorate isprobing the money launderingallegations against the Kotharis. TheIncome Tax Department has attachedfour properties of Kothari -- three inKanpur and one in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The Bank of Baroda had said in itscomplaint it had discovered that offices ofRotomac’s overseas suppliers and buyers

in Hong Kong, Dubai and Sharjah wereeither closed or operating virtually. Thisprompted the state-owned bank tocomplain to the CBI that the company’spromoters were carrying out fakemercantile trade.

The case comes on the heels of a Rs11,400-crore alleged fraud in PunjabNational Bank (PNB) in which jewellerNirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksiare accused.

Meanwhile, the Institute of CharteredAccountants of India (ICAI) chairpersonsaid they will probe if the charteredaccountants (CAs) associated with theRotomac group followed standard norms.

“Action will be taken if the CAs arefound to be involved in anyirregularities,” chairman of the Central

India Regional Council of ICAI (CIRC-ICAI) Deep Kumar Misra said.

CBI officials at the Rotomac Global Private Limited office at Mall Road in Kanpur.

Vikram Kothari

India 81st on global corruption indexNEW DELHI (TIP): India has been

ranked 81st on the global corruptionperception index for 2017, released byTransparency International, whichnamed the country among the “worstoffenders” in terms of graft and pressfreedom in the Asia Pacific region.

The index, which ranks 180 countriesand territories by their perceived levelsof public sector corruption, placed Indiaat the 81st place. In the 2016, India was at79th place among 176 countries. Theindex uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 ishighly corrupt and 100 is very clean.India’s score in the latest ranking,however, remained unchanged at 40. In2015, the score was 38.

Transparency International furthersaid, “In some countries across theregion (Asia Pacific), journalists,activists, Opposition leaders and evenstaff of law enforcement or watchdogagencies are threatened, and in theworst cases, even murdered.”

“Philippines, India and the Maldivesare among the worst regional offendersin this respect. These countries scorehigh for corruption and have fewer pressfreedoms and higher number ofjournalist deaths,” it added.

In the last six years, 15 journalistsworking on corruption stories in thesecountries were murdered, as reported bythe Committee to Protect Journalists(CPJ).

In the latest ranking, New Zealand

and Denmark were placed the highest,with scores of 89 and 88, respectively. Onthe other hand Syria, South Sudan andSomalia were ranked lowest with scoresof 14, 12 and 9, respectively.

Meanwhile, China with a score of 41was ranked 77th on the list, while Brazilwas placed at 96th with a score of 37 andRussia was at the 135th place with ascore of 29.

Further analysis of the resultsindicates that countries with the leastprotection for press and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) alsotend to have the worst rates of corruption.The analysis, which incorporates datafrom the CPJ, showed that in the last sixyears, nine out of 10 journalists werekilled in countries that score 45 or less onthe index. Source: ANI

In the latest ranking, New Zealand and Denmark occupied the first two spotsat the top of the index, with scores of 89 and 88 respectively.

On the other hand, Syria (178th), South Sudan (179th) and Somalia (180th)were ranked the lowest in the index, with scores of 14, 12 and nine.

Among other South Asian countries, Bhutan fared the best with a ranking of26th.

Other countries include Pakistan (117th), Afghanistan (177th), Nepal (122th),Myanmar (130th), Bangladesh (143rd), the Maldives (112th) and Sri Lanka(91st).

China fared a bit better than India and was ranked 77th, with a score of 41.

7INDIATHEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

CHINA’S GROWING TIES WITHMALDIVES GIVE INDIA JITTERS

NEW DELHI (TIP): Relative to India, China is a lateentrant in the Maldives, a key Indian Ocean nation and theonly SAARC member-state Prime Minister Narendra Modi isyet to visit.

But China may well have stolen a march over India, whichhasn’t quite managed to have its concerns over happenings inthe island nation addressed by Maldives president AbdullahYameen, who extended the emergency in his country much toNew Delhi’s dismay, according to Hindustan Times report.

Maldives’ reluctance to follow its promised “India-first”policy has, in recent times, become an irritant for New Delhi.External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj conveyed this toher Maldivian counterpart, Mohamed Asim, in as manywords when they met in New Delhi last month, an officialfamiliar with the development recalled. “The ministerconveyed the message that the India-first policy is asimportant a part of taking bilateral ties forward as India’sneighbourhood-first policy,” he said on condition ofanonymity.

Although the Chinese footprint in South Asia and theIndian Ocean region is something New Delhi has learnt tolive with despite an understandable unease, the rapidexpansion in ties between Male and Beijing has become alarger cause of concern. The Maldives – located around 700km from Indian shores – has become a showpiece of megaprojects-driven Chinese foreign policy as well as animportant player in President Xi Jinping’s marquee one-road-one-belt project. Chinese presence in the island nationhas been growing steadily ever since Beijing opened anembassy in Male in 2011, about 37 years after India set up itsmission there.

The Indian Ocean region has around 40 countries and ishome to 40% of the world’s population. It touches Australia,Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia and the eastern seabend of Africa — making the countries that rim the oceanvital cogs in the geopolitical ambitions of both India andChina. Source: HT

AFTER 70 YEARS OFINDEPENDENCE ELECTRICITYREACHES ELEPHANTA CAVES

MUMBAI (TIP): After 70 years of Independence powersupply has finally reached Elephanta Caves near Mumbai.

A 7.5-km long undersea cable has brought electricity to theworld-famous Gharapuri Isle, which houses the UNESCOworld heritage site.

“It's a historic day today. This is the first time that suchkind of big wire cable is used in the Arabian Sea to spreadthe lines for electricity,” said Chandrashekhar Bawankule,Minister of Energy, New and Renewable Energy.

He further said that the step would now increase thetourism and more people would visit the world heritage site.

The step will also benefit three villages including RajBander, Mora Bander and Shet Bander. Source: ANI

Pakistan will pay for Jammu attack:Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat

NEW DELHI (TIP): Army chiefGeneral Bipin Rawat said Indian armywill give Pakistan a reply “sooner ratherthan later” for the February 10 terrorattack on a military camp in Jammu,reported Hindustan Times.

Six soldiers and a civilian were killedin the fidayeen attack in Sunjuwan byJaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists.Soon after the incident, defence ministerNirmala Sitharaman had said thatPakistan, which she accused of backingthe attackers, would pay for its“misadventure”.

“Pakistan thinks it is fighting a warthat is paying them dividends but wehave several options, including surgicalstrikes,” the army chief said in aninterview on Wednesday, without givingdetails that would compromise India’stactical and strategic response.

Rawat said that he would order aceasefire at the Line of Control (LoC) assoon as Pakistan stops sendingterrorists to India. “The Indian Armywill honour the ceasefire and de-escalatetensions the day Pakistan stops sendingterrorists across the line of control,”Rawat said, referring to the 2003agreement put in place as a confidence-building measure, Hindustan Timesreported.

Ceasefire violations at the LoC havespiked over the last year. There were 860such violations recorded in 2017 fromeither side, as compared to 271 theprevious year, according to governmentdata.

Asked about the January 27 firing inShopian, in which three protestors werekilled by army bullets at a time when thePDP-BJP government had withdrawncases against first-time stone-pelters onthe suggestion of the Centre’sinterlocutor Dineshwar Sharma, Rawat

said: “The cases were withdrawn as agoodwill gesture but what goodwill arethey (the stone pelters) showing? Thepelting continues.”

He defended the military action,saying stone-pelters were hamperingmilitary operations. “The army has a jobto do. We don’t want collateral damagebut what do you expect us to do when weget surrounded by a stone pelting mob?Even in Shopian, we fired in the airfirst.”

Referring to the controversialincident when Major Gogoi tiedKashmiri shawl weaver Farooq AhmadDar to the bonnet of a jeep last year, “Letme tell you, we honour local sentimentsand don’t conduct operations duringjanazas (funeral processions) eventhough terrorists come there and fire inthe air. What do you want me to do, havea seat in front of all jeeps. We got flakeven for that.”

The Jammu & Kashmir police hadregistered an FIR against the army afterthe Shopian firing. Asked if he hadgiven permission to the father of MajorAditya (named in the Shopian FIR) toapproach the Supreme Court to get thepolice complaint quashed, Rawat said,“The father has a right to defend his son.If a girl (Kerala actress Priya Varrier)can approach the court because herwink has offended people can’t a fatherdo the same if he apprehends that hisson would be arrested?”

The General also had a piece of advicefor the media: to not show visuals ofgrief-stricken family members ofmartyrs. “Because the media onlyfocuses on soldiers killed by Pakistan,they build a narrative on how they havemanaged to inflict a blow on us.”

All martyrs are equal, he added, “eventhose killed in an avalanche”.

Source: HT

The army chief also defended Shopian firing by forces, saying stone-pelters were hampering

military operations

Maldivian president Abdullah Yameen with Chinesepresident Xi Jinping in Beijing in December 2017.

‘Act East Policy’ tobe reality: PM

KOHIMA (TIP): PrimeMinister Narendra Moditoday expressed firm resolvethat the “Act East Policy”would be made a reality toconnect people of the North-East with South East Asiancountries to ensure speedydevelopment.

He emphasised that thedevelopment of the North-East was an essential component torealise the dream of a developed country. “Transformation of theregion by transportation is being worked out to bring about fasterdevelopment in the region,” he said. Modi was addressing a pollrally at Tuensang Town public ground in Nagaland ahead ofAssembly poll on February 27.

He affirmed that the BJP-led NDA government was committedto the transformation of Nagaland. “The dream of having a newIndia will go alongside the vision of the Naga people towardshaving a new Nagaland,” he said.

“Unless the North-East is developed, the dream of having adeveloped country will not be achieved and, therefore, the BJPgovernment is paying special attention to the requirement of theregion,” Modi said. “Connectivity is a huge challenge inNagaland. We are working relentlessly towards it. In less thanfour years, we have added 500 km of national highways. We planto invest over Rs 10,000 crore in roads in Nagaland,” he said.

Kamal Haasan launches political party

CHENNAI (TIP): KamalHaasan's telegenic charm was onfull display on Feb 21 night whenhe told a rapturous crowd ofsupporters in Madurai that hisnew party would be called theMakkal Needhi Maiam.

The Tamil words roughlytranslate into People's JusticeParty, or People's Justice Front,although technically, "maiam" means centre.

"The newly founded Makkal Needhi Miram is your party. It'shere to stay, and to make the change we all aspire for. Guide usto serve you," Kamal Haasan wrote on Twitter, even as he wasjoined on stage in Madurai by Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party's Tamil Nadu unit chief,Somnath Bharti.

He explained that people had asked him if he was on theRight or the Left. Maiam means "centre," and that's why henamed his party Makkal Needhi Maiam, he said.

"Six hands is the representation of the six states and thestar in the centre is you," he added.

Earlier, Kamal met former president APJ Abdul Kalam'selder brother and other family members at the residence here.

"Greatness can come from simple beginnings," he said."Actually it will come only from simplicity. Glad to start my

journey from a great man's simple abode," the actor added in atweet.

8 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018EDITORIAL

Deepa Seetharam, a reporter from WallStreet Journal called me and asked if Ispoke in a rally at White House in

September 2016? I said no, and then shereminded me that my name was a listed as aspeaker.

Seetharam wrote in WSJ's October 30, 2017,publication, "Representatives from theFacebook page "United Muslims of America"asked Mike Ghouse, an interfaith activist, tospeak at a Sept. 3, 2016, event in Washington,D.C. billed as "a peaceful rally, to makemosques and their neighborhood safe!"

The group sent Mr. Ghouse placards theyintended to use that included anti-Trumpmessages, causing him to back out, he said. "Isaid they should be more pluralistic, moreinclusive because there's no need to attackTrump," Mr. Ghouse said. "They wouldn't, so Ididn't go." Obviously, I did not speak thereeither.

"Some events stoked public discord. At therally in front of the Islamic center in Houston,about a dozen protesters gathered, somewaving confederate flags or holding a signthat said "#WhiteLivesMatter," according tovideo footage."

Russians had an elaborate plan of pittingone American against the other, their end goalwas to weaken democracies and creatediscord within each nation - their logic was;for Russia to shine, other countries have to beweakened, and Russia will stand out as thestrongest nation in the world with a strongman running the nation. Putin is the Czarunder his skin.

CNN reports that "80 times Trump talkedabout Putin." Indeed, "Throughout the 2016presidential campaign, Donald Trumpconsistently broke from political orthodoxy inhis effusive praise of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. His glowing statements onPutin have become central in stoking thesuspicion that he and his campaign weresomehow connected to Russian interferencein the election."

Narendra Modi in Russia praises PresidentVladimir Putin's family for sacrificing lives

for the country. Modi praises Putin's effort inconvening 1st Tiger conservation Summit.

https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Pic-2-Russian-Meddling.jpgBoth Modi and Trump thinkPutin is awesome, someone to be modeledafter, as they want to dictate to the public.

Senator John McCain said in an interviewthat Putin is determined to prove to the worldthat Democracies don't work. Indeed, that iswhat the fascists think about democracies -they get their devoted slaves to do whateverthey want - attacking others as Sikularist andcalling the news that goes against them asfake news. It's amazing how many people buythat stuff in India and the United States.

Both Modi and Trump have resorted todivide and rule policies; they are determinedto pit one Indian against the other in case ofModi, and one American against the other byTrump.

Russians staged "Anti-Trump rallies' in thename of American Muslims. Perhaps, thatmay be the reason Trump is so anti-Muslim.Some of the rallies were held against Hillaryto give the impression that it is the work ofpublic, and some were devised against Trumpjust to make it look real. build up support forhim.

What happens in India? Manohar Joshiwrites in the Wire, "The fact that communalviolence is rising in India is not hidden. Eventhe government acknowledges that there hasbeen a steady uptick in communal incidents.In response to a question in parliament onTuesday (February 6), minister of stateHansraj Ahir disclosed that as many as 111people were killed and nearly 2,500 injured in822 communal incidents in 2017, as comparedto 751 incidents in 2016 that took the life of 97people and 703 in 2016 when 86 were killed."

Did the Russians stage these events? Did

they pay these men to stage communal riotsand murder people?

The fake encounters set up by the Gujaratpolice earned further support for BJP from anaverage innocent Hindu. Of course,Musharraf's Kargil invasion strengthened thehold of BJP in power.

Putin failed in France and Germany butsucceeded in Austria, India, United States andother nations.

Most Indians will resist the idea of aninvestigation; they simply do not want tobelieve that the Indian Elections may havebeen rigged. They are afraid of even exploringthe possibilities. If they have lost their lovedones, they would want to know if Russia ispaying the goons to create chaos. Is YogiAdityanath paid agent of Russia? Thepurpose of the investigation is to find thetruths if they are clean, that would be goodnews. What if they were not? Should theycontinue in governing India and continue topit one Indian against the other?

Do you see a correlation in getting theinnocent Hindus to develop anti-Muslimssentiments through the communal riots,leading into to complete takeover of the UttarPradesh? The likes of which were done herein the United States. Did Russia pay for thoseriots through the Sangh Parivarorganizations to weaken the IndianDemocracy? Both Modi and Trump have aspecial affection for Putin; both of them wantto emulate Putin.

Neither Trump nor Modi was expecting towin; all the surveys, reports and pollsindicated the win for Congress in India andDemocrats Trump in America. Both the menwere surprised with the win, let alone land-slide wins.

The Russians publicized or financed at least60 events - on all sides of most polarizingissues - before and after the 2016 election.What about India's 2014 election?

Is it worth investigating Russian hand inthe mess that is created in India? Should wesave the nation from divisive men? These menwill come and go in one or two terms, but it isthe common men and women in India thatwill bear the brunt of their karma.

(The author is an Indian-American committedto building cohesive societies and offers

pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Aswe learn to respect the "otherness" of othersand accept the God-given uniqueness of each

one of us, conflicts will fade, and solutionsemerge. He is the president of the Center for

Pluralism in Washington, DC.)

AS I SEE IT

By Dr. Mike Ghouse

THE INDIAN PANORAMA PPRREESSIIDDEENNTT//PPUUBBLLIISSHHEERR: Prof. Indrajit S. SalujaVVIICCEE PPRREESSIIDDEENNTT:: Chitagam SalujaCCHHIIEEFF EEDDIITTOORR:: Prof Indrajit S. SalujaAASSSSIISSTTAANNTT EEDDIITTOORR:: Bidisha RoyGGRRAAPPHHIICCSS DDIIRREECCTTOORR:: Om Parkash MalikDDIIRREECCTTOORR AADDMMIINNIISSTTRRAATTIIOONN:: Gauri BeriCCOONNTTRRIIBBUUTTIINNGG PPHHOOTTOOGGRRAAPPHHEERRSS:: Baldev Singh / BJ VideosGunjesh Desai / Masala JunctionJay Mandal, Mohammad Jaffer/ SnapsIndia

Mohammad Shahzad, Zia Khan Nisha RaniVaaho PhotographersVijay Shah -Photo Journalist.DDIISSTTRRIIBBUUTTOORR :: Sukhwinder SinghCCOORRRREESSPPOONNDDEENNTTSS : SSAACCRRAAMMEENNTTOO:: Parminder S. AujlaNNEEWW YYOORRKK : Chitagam FFRREESSNNOO:: Tarlochan Singh DDAALLLLAASS:: Harjit Dhesi, Amarjit Dhillon OOVVEERRSSEEAASS CCOORRRREESSPPOONNDDEENNTTSS

DDEELLHHII BBUURREEAAUU CCHHIIEEFF:: Ashishpal Singh CCHHAANNDDIIGGAARRHH:: Manjit Sidhu LLUUDDHHIIAANNAA:: A.S. Arora, R.P.Sharma

TThhee IInnddiiaann PPaannoorraammaaP.O. Box No. 190067, South Richmond Hill, NY 11419,

Tel: 646-247-9458 Email: editor@theindianpanorama.com

DDAALLLLAASS EEDDIITTIIOONNP.O. BOX 121695, ARLINGTON, TX 76012

LLoovvlllliieenn KKaauurrrr, VP & Bureau Chief

E-mail tipdallas01@gmail.com; Phone: 646-247-9458www.theindianpanorama.news

PPuubblliisshheedd bbyy PPrrooff.. IInnddrraajjiitt SSaalluujjaa

DISCLAIMERThe Indian Panorama assumes no responsibility for the

claims made in advertisements. We only sell space. Viewspublished in the newspaper are those of the authors and donot necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper. All rights

are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part withoutpermission in writing from The Indian Panorama is prohibited.

Russian Meddling with India - Wasthe 2014 Indian Election rigged? Listen to the

Imploring Voice of the People, Mr. President

President Trump seems convinced thatmore guns in the hands of more peoplecan secure school and community. In

his listening session with survivorsofStoneman Douglas High School Parkland,Florida shooting which resulted in death of17 young students, Trump suggested arming20 % to 30 % teachers of a school as a safetymeasure at a school. Obviously, President isobsessed with the idea of more guns in thehands of more people. I recall how he said heplanned to make America great again. One ofthe ways he suggested was to have moreweapons and be the strongest nation in theworld. Well, he has a right to his opinion. Butso have others. Many were surprised at hisidea. Many were simply shocked. Many poohpoohed the suggestion, as Sen Nelson whodescribed it as "a terrible idea" later in theevening at the CNN Town Hall inTallahassee. Even one of the most committedsupporters of NRA Sen Marco Rubio, at theCNN Town Hall in Tallahassee scoffed at theidea. He said the job of the teachers is toteach, not to carry guns. At the same time, heexpressed fear that an armed teacher mayjust as well cause another tragedy in having agun in hand, in the event of an attack at acampus and arrival of a SWAT team who aremore likely to act fast on seeing a gun in thehand of a person. They are not going to waitto know that it is ateacher who has beengiven a gun for protection. A teacher at theTown Hall said it plainly that she could notthink of carrying a gun. Broward CountySheriff Scott Israel simply laughed at theidea, saying how could a few teachers securea large school campus.

What is needed is a common-sense guncontrol policy. We must respect 2ndAmendment which was passed for the safetyand security of people, not for their killing.Over the decades since it was passed therehave been so many situational shifts that afresh look has to be given with the objectiveof ensuring that dangerous guns do not get into hands of everyone and that our schoolsand neighborhoods are safe.

Raising the age limit for securing a gun,background checks, mental health checksand taking off the shelf guns with highcaliber could be some solutions to theproblem, to begin with. What is needed isloyalty to people of America, not to NRA. Iwill repeat what I had said in an earliercomment, "gun in the hand of a good guyagainst a gun in the hand of a bad guy" policydoes not work. I hope, President of Americawill listen to the voice of the people.

“‘Do you see a correlation in getting the innocent Hindus todevelop anti-Muslims sentiments through the communalriots, leading into to complete takeover of the Uttar

Pradesh? The likes of which were done here in the UnitedStates. Did Russia pay for those riots through the Sangh Parivarorganizations to weaken the Indian Democracy? Both Modi andTrump have a special affection for Putin; and both of them wantto emulate Putin", says the author.

COMMENTProf I.S.Saluja

9PERESPECTIVETHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

When the Rev. Billy Graham passed on to eternity onWednesday, February 21, 2018 one of the mostinfluential spiritual leaders of the twentieth century

left the world scene. There are not many parallels to thespiritual legacy that he leaves behind. William FranklinGraham Jr. was on November 7, 1918 in Charlotte, NorthCarolina to parents who were farmers.

Billy Graham rose to prominence through his successfullarge indoor and outdoor rallies which were broadcast throughradio and television. He became the pioneer tele-evangelistproclaiming the Gospel to a global audience. Graham preachedto live audiences of nearly 250 million people in more than 185countries through his evangelistic campaigns. He also reachedhundreds of millions more through television, video, film andwebcasts. Billy Graham's life time audience is estimated to beover 2.5 billion.

Graham's message of peace, reconciliation and hope wasmainly based on the Bible verse found in the Gospel of JohnChapter 3:16 "God so loved the world that He gave His onlybegotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish

but have everlasting life". His messages were simple, clear,direct and passionate. They brought hope for a fallen sinfulhumanity to find peace and reconciliation with their creatorthrough Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

Billy Graham was a spiritual counselor to US presidentsfrom Harry Truman to Donald Trump. During major personal,national and international crisis they turned to him for adviceand prayer. Political leaders belonging to both Democratic andRepublican parties held him in high esteem. He repudiatedsegregation and was instrumental in bringing Christians ofall backgrounds together for humanitarian purposes andevangelism. World leaders sought his counsel and prayer.

Graham's first visit to India was in 1956 and he maintaineda very close relationship with the Christian leadership inIndia. He had a heart for the Indian sub-continent and hadpersonal friendship with many political and religious leadersin India.

Billy Graham played multiple roles on the world stage as aspiritual leader. He was the most admired religious leader inthe world. He was considered to be America's pastor and a

pastor to US presidents.Graham was married to his Wheaton classmate Ruth Bell on

August 13, 1943. Ruth Graham went to her eternal rest on June14, 2007 at the age of 87. Graham and his wife had five children.His son Franklin Graham is the president of Billy GrahamEvangelistic Association and he is also the president of theinternational relief organization, Samaritan Purse.

Billy Graham will be remembered as a preacher whobrought hope to millions around the world and as a spiritualicon who touched the lives of those who lived in palaces as wellas in huts! May his Soul Rest in Peace!

By Rev. Wilson Jose

TRIBUTE

Billy Graham: The Most Influential Spiritual Leader of the Modern WorldBilly Graham played multiple roles on the worldstage as a spiritual leader. He was the mostadmired religious leader in the world. He wasconsidered to be America's pastor and a pastorto US presidents.

Billy Graham will be remembered as a preacher who broughthope to millions around the world and as a spiritual icon who

touched the lives of those who lived in palaces as well as in huts!

NiravGate: Another Case of Organized Loot

BY KISHOR SATWICK

Categorical Statement by whistleblower Dinesh Dubey onTV explaining how Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi werehelped by the entire Board of Allahabad Bank in 2012-2013

leaves no doubt that the same drama must have been enacted inother Banks at the highest level.

Dinesh Dubey was the nominee director appointed by the UPAGovernment on the Board of Allahabad Bank. He had objected tothe renewal of loans given to Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi. Hisdissent note was not considered by the Board of the AllahabadBank.

Dinesh Dubey had written to then RBI Dy. GovernorChakravarty. Except praising Dubey for his alertness, the then Dy.Governor Chakravarty did precious little to stop this loan. Role ofthen RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan also needs to be probed. Theman is conspicuous by his silence in this matter. The RBI also hadits nominee Mr. Udgatha as Director on the Board. His reaction tothe objections raised by Dinesh Dubey that suchsanctions/disbursement do happen in rare cases are equallyshocking.

His charge against then Finance Secretary Takru that he forcedhim to resign as there was pressure from above is a testimony ofinvolvement of powerful in this scam. This clearly shows theentire system was smoothly working to the advantage ofscamster/fraudster Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Who were the higher ups who could influence the FinanceSecretary?

Was it Finance Minister Chidambaram? Or PM Dr ManmohanSingh? Or INC President and then de facto PM Sonia Gandhi? OrRahul Gandhi who had reportedly inaugurated Nirav Modi'sDelhi show room one day earlier? Or someone from the powerfulcoterie of Sonia Gandhi such as Ahmed Patel?

Even as the Congress targeted PM Modi for being pictured atthe World Economic Forum 2018 in Davos, Switzerland, Congressrebel and Rahul Gandhi baiter Shehzad Poonawalla alleged thatthe Congress President had attended Nirav Modi's event in 2013:

A thorough, sincere and time bound investigation should revealthe brain and the collaborators in this fraud. This cannot be thebrain of a mid-level Deputy Managerlike Gokulnath Shetty orKharat.

The exposure of various banks is:●● Allahabad Bank: Rs. 4,000 crore ●● Union Bank: Rs. 2,300

crore ●● Axis Bank: Rs. 2,000 crore ●● SBI: Rs.960 crore

●● BOI: Rs.300 crore. ●● Total: Rs. 9,560 crore.

Raids on premises of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi yieldedrecovery of 294 fake LOUs and 224 fake LCs.

It is said that the magnitude of fraud is around Rs. 35,000 croreand not Rs. 11,100 crore as is made out to be. Republic TV iscarrying out expose in this regard.

So far, only 18 PNB officials are suspended. No one has yet beenarrested. No action has so far been initiated against the membersof the Allahabad Bank Board, the then Finance Secretary RajeshTakru, then Dy. Governor of RBI Chakravarty, RBI GovernorRaghuram Rajan for acting as a moot spectator to this loot.

No investigation has been ordered into other Banks mentionedabove. Who was that higher authority that was forcing FinanceSecretary Takru to silence the dissent towards disbursement ofloans to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi team? It does not requiremuch of intelligence to infer that similar influence must havebeen exerted on the Boards of other Banks. If not, they wereclearly in cahoot with the fraudsters.

If one applies for vehicle loan, the Banks cross check theproforma invoice with the dealer. In this case, no suchcrossverification that is known as 'confirmation' in bankingparlance, was done by any of these Banks lending money on thebasis of LOUs/LCs of PNB is difficult to digest. This cannot bebrushed aside as mere failure - systemic or systematic.

In a FICCI session that was held in Kolkata on July 10, 2017,Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman of State Bank of India made

a jaw-dropping remark justifying emergence of NPAs: "In IndiaNPA is treated as criminal, which it should not be. There is nopermission for failures. Permission to fail is not given by thesociety. But failures will take place."

In its RTI request, Reuters sought data from 20 of India's 21state-run lenders and obtained 15 replies.

PNB topped the list with 389 cases totaling 65.62 billion rupees($1.03 billion) over the last five financial years, in terms of the totalamounts involved. Reuters was unable to obtain a detailedbreakdown on the exact nature and method of the loan frauds thebanks reported to RBI over the last five financial years.

After PNB, Bank of Baroda had the highest amount of loanfrauds reported, with 44.73 billion rupees from 389 cases. Bank ofIndia ranked third, with loan frauds totaling 40.5 billion rupeesfrom 231 cases.

India's biggest lender, State Bank of India has reported 1,069loan fraud cases in the last five financial years but has notdisclosed the amount. That is the magnitude of "accepted failure"in SBI under the Chairmanship of Arundhati Bhattacharya. Thatis perhaps why she wanted to decriminalize the NPAs so that thelikes of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi could leadtheir luxurious life at the expense of a common man. And SBI hasmastered that skill. SBI has already recovered Rs. 1,772 crore fromsmall depositors in the form of penal charges for not maintainingminimum balance in their savings account during the periodApril 2017 to November 2017. Tax the poor to pay for the Failure.

It is high time Government came down heavily on thisorganized loot and prosecuted the higher ups in the hierarchyrather than making a scapegoat of ordinary foot soldiers.

(The author is a Chartered Accountant based in Mumbai, India)

#PNBScam began with fraudulent LoUs &transactions which began in 2011 - Just FYI: RahulGandhi was spotted at Nirav Modi events - did notknow he had interest in bridal jewelry - 2013 ImperialHotel event in Delhi. SCAM began in 2011- should findout Nirav's political links https://t.co/SfbIQyIosS

- Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 15, 2018

Challenge to @OfficeOfRG - was he not at NiravModi's event in Delhi's Imperial Hotel in 2013-SPGdetails will leave no doubt if made public- #PNBScamstarted in 2011;Nirav hobnobs with Rahul (whose govtin power) in 2013 ;Rahul had interest in women'sjewelry? Or something else https://t.co/kbg9U8Hr7i

- Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 15, 2018

Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi

India's biggest lender, State Bank of India has reported1,069 loan fraud cases in the last five financial years buthas not disclosed the amount. That is the magnitude of"accepted failure" in SBI under the Chairmanship ofArundhati Bhattacharya. That is perhaps why she wantedto decriminalize the NPAs so that the likes of Vijay Mallya,Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi could lead their luxuriouslife at the expense of a common man.

After PNB, Bank of Baroda had the highest amount of loanfrauds reported, with 44.73 billion rupees from 389cases. Bank of India ranked third, with loan fraudstotaling 40.5 billion rupees from 231 cases.

It is high time Government came down heavily on thisorganized loot and prosecuted the higher ups in thehierarchy rather than making a scapegoat of ordinary footsoldiers.

10 THEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 TRUDEAU IN INDIA

NEW DELHI (TIP): As Canadian PrimeMinister Justin Trudeau visited India, bothcountries have strengthened their relations topromote innovation and entrepreneurshipthrough a slew of MoU and partnerships inkedbetween both countries.

On Feb 19, an Indo-Canada Innovation Bridgewas formed. This was through an MoU signedbetween Canada-based public-privateinnovation hub Communitech and Hyderabad-based startup incubator T-Hub with intent topartner in support of global commercializationof each other’s technology companies.

The MoU was signed in Mumbai by LisaCashmore, Communitech’s Director ofInternational Strategy and Jay Krishnan, T-Hub CEO in the presence of the BardishChagger, Leader of the Government in theCanadian House of Commons and Minister ofSmall Business and Tourism.

Communitech and T-Hub will share officespace, programming and mentorship as well ascreate a program where companies of bothcountries will join to resolve corporateinnovation challenges.

Through the partnership, a co-innovationprogram with joint development betweenCanadian and Indian innovators andentrepreneurs will be formed. Communitechentrepreneurs will have market access throughT-Hub’s India Market Access Program based onproduct-market fit and will promote Indian andCanadian startups and researchers workingtogether on solutions to innovation challengescorporate businesses face in both countries.

“These partnerships also help to encourage

investment and forward thinking, giving ourbest and brightest a stage on which they canshine. Today’s agreement betweenCommunitech and T-Hub will help to enablethis important work. I congratulate bothorganizations on this agreement, and wishthem, and the many great companies they willwork with, the best of success for many years to

come,” said Minister Chagger.This partnership will help Canadian startups

and technology firms have direct access toIndian markets and support on the ground.

“T-Hub and Communitech share a commonphilosophy to make our correspondingecosystems vibrant, technology-driven, andalso driven by international aspirations. With

the signing of this MOU, we will be providing aplatform and opportunity for startups andcorporates from both countries to access eachother with support provided on the ground in astructured, programmatic way,” said JayKrishnan.

Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Scienceand Economic Development also visited T-Hubto interact with startups and womenentrepreneurs and addressed them on thenecessity of inclusivity at startup incubatorssuch as T-Hub.

The two countries also launched a BilateralEntrepreneurship Program, with a focus onWomen Entrepreneurs, in partnership withMumbai-based Zone Startups on Tuesday. Theprogram is jointly funded by respectiveministries from Canada and India, under theaegis of the Canada-India S&T Agreement.

Zone Startups is a global brand of technologyaccelerators, operated by Toronto-basedRyerson Futures. Zone Startups’ flagshipprogram in India, Zone Startups India is set upas a joint venture with the BSE Institute andSimon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada),and partly funded by Department of Scienceand Technology, Government of India.

India, Canada sign partnerships to promote innovation and entrepreneurship

Canada doesn’t support any separatist movement, Trudeau assures Amarinder

AMRITSAR (TIP): Afterslamming the Canadiangovernment for its reportedlinks with radical Sikhseparatists, it was a rathermellow Punjab chief ministerAmarinder Singh who emergedfrom a meeting with CanadianPrime Minister Justin Trudeauon Wednesday, seeminglyreassured by the visitor’spledges to tackle anti-Indiaelements.

Talking to reporters after half-hour-long discussions, Singhdescribed Trudeau as a “verywonderful person” with themeeting making him “feel good.”

While the conversationrevolved around trade,cooperation in agriculture andthe services sector, Singh said hehad discussed the issue ofKhalistan separatism withTrudeau. Later, Singh tweeted:“Really happy to receivecategorical assurance fromCanadian PM @JustinTrudeauthat his country does not supportany separatist movement. Hiswords are a big relief to all of ushere in India and we lookforward to his government’ssupport in tackling fringeseparatist elements.”

Previously, the Punjab chiefminister had refused to meetCanada’s defence ministerHarjit Singh Sajjan in April,claiming he had links withsupporters of the Khalistanmovement—an allegation Sajjandenies.

A little more than 1% of

Canada’s 40 million people are ofIndian origin and a vast numberof them trace their roots toPunjab. Many of them aretraditional supporters ofTrudeau’s Liberal Party.

At Wednesday’s meeting—which took place after Trudeauvisited the Golden Temple inAmritsar—Singh was seen onTV greeting Sajjan as he joinedTrudeau for talks.

Singh’s social media messagemirrored what he toldreporters—that Trudeau hadpromised to look into the thornyissue of Sikh separatists andthat the visiting prime ministerhad conveyed to him thatCanada believed in a unitedIndia.

Singh added that he had givenhim a list of suspectedKhalistani sympathizersfunneling money into Punjab ina bid to resurrect the movement.But the chief minister struck aconciliatory note as well, addingthat those suspected ofchannelling money were notconfined to Canada alone butwere also in the US, Germanyand other countries.

Earlier in the day, Trudeauwas received by Union ministerof state for housing and urbanaffairs Hardeep Singh Puri atAmritsar airport. Trudeau laterdrove down to the GoldenTemple to offer prayers —agesture laden with symbolismback home given the large Sikhimmigrant population inCanada. Source: Livemint

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Punjab chief ministerAmarinder Singh in Amritsar.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with his wife SophieGregoire Trudeau, son Xavier and daughter Ella-Grace prepare

chapatis in the Golden Temple kitchen in Amritsar on February 21.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with hiswife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, their son Xavierand daughter Ella-Grace paying obeisance at

Golden Temple in Amritsar on Feb 21.

TRUDEAU GETS PMMODI'S BEAR HUG

PM Narendra Modi greets Canadian PM JustinTrudeau at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

11SOUTH ASIATHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

Nawaz Sharif alleges efforts to 'oust' him from politics for life

ISLAMABAD (TIP): Pakistan's deposedpremier Nawaz Sharif on Feb 22 alleged thatefforts were being made to "oust" him frompolitics for life, a day after he was disqualifiedby the Supreme Court from leading his party.

Sharif spoke to the media after appearingbefore the accountability court in Islamabadwhere he is being tried for alleged corruptionin the Panama Papers case.

"This decision (disqualification fromleading a party) is not unexpected for me.First, they paralysed the executive andyesterday they snatched the powers ofparliament," he said.

He did not specify who he meant by "they"but apparently it was a reference to the judgesof the top court.

Sharif, 68, was disqualified as primeminister by the apex court in July last yearunder Article 62 for failing to declare areceivable salary as an asset.

He said yesterday's decision was acontinuation of the apex court verdict of July28 when he was sacked as prime minister, andadded that "deliberations were being made tooust him from politics for life".

"In the decision of July 28 my premiershipwas snatched. In the decision of yesterday thepost of president of Pakistan Muslim League(N) was snatched...My name is MuhammadNawaz Sharif. If you want to snatch this namefrom me, go ahead and take it away," he said.

He criticised the decision of the courtwhich said the Election Act 2017 was "person-specific" to facilitate Sharif to lead his party,adding that "decisions of the Supreme Courtare Nawaz Sharif-specific".

"These decisions are being given in angerand smack of vengeance," he said.

Sharif appeared in court accompanied bydaughter Maryam and son-in-law MohammadSafdar, who are co-accused in one of the threecases.

It was his 18th appearance in the court.The court reserved judgment on objections

by Sharif about supplementary references bythe National Accountability Bureau (NAB)

and postponed the hearing until thisafternoon.

It also decided to record statements of twoUK-based witnesses via video link.

Later, Sharif consulted his party leadersduring a high-level meeting about theimplications of the decision and appointing anew president of the PML-N.

Sources said Sharif's ailing wife KulsoomNawaz and his younger brother Shahbaz werefavourites to get the coveted post of PML-Npresident.

Some party leaders favour Yaqoob Nasir orRaja Zafarul Haq as interim president beforesettling on a permanent choice, according tosources. Earlier, when Sharif stepped down asprime minister and PML-N chief after hisdisqualification by the Supreme Court, Nasirhad been appointed as interim president ofthe party.

Sharif later on took over leadership ofparty after Election Law 2017 removed thedisqualification bar to become head of apolitical party.

Sharif was given a warm welcome when hearrived at the Punjab House to participate inthe meeting.

Meanwhile, PML-N leaders rejected the

decision by the court and promised that theparty would bounce back to win the electionthis year.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi saidthe PML-N had faced a "worse time than theexisting one and will overcome alldifficulties".

Minister of State for InformationMarriyum Aurangzeb said the future of theparty will be decided in consultation with thesenior leadership but that Sharif would takefinal decisions about who will lead the party.

The decision of court was welcomed bySharif's arch rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafchief Imran Khan who today claimed thatSharif had secretly met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

"What sort of leader Sharif is, as he metModi in secret because he wanted to keep itsecret from the army," Khan said withoutsharing any details of the alleged meeting.

Sharif and some of his family members arefacing charges relating to their ownership ofposh properties in London.

Three cases were registered by the NationalAccountability Bureau against Sharif, hischildren and son-in-law in the court onSeptember 8 (PTI)

Taliban attacklocal police,killing 8: Afghanofficial

Kabul (TIP): An Afghanofficial says Taliban fightershave attacked a police securitypost in central Ghazniprovince, killing eight localpolice.

Arif Noori, spokesman forthe provincial governor, saidtoday the attack happened theprevious night.

He said the insurgentsattacked from four sides usingheavy weapons, includingartillery, killing eight policeand wounding another in a two-hour attack.

Government reinforcementreached the area too late to stopthe attack, Noori said.

Zabihullah Mujahid,spokesman for the Taliban,claimed responsibility for theattack in a statement, and saidnine local police were killedand one other captured in theattack. (AP)

India has nothing to worryabout China-Bangladesh ties:Sheikh Hasina

DHAKA (TIP): India should not be worried aboutBangladesh's growing ties with China, Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina has said, asserting that the cooperationwith Beijing was meant only for the country's development.Hasina said her government was only concerned about thedevelopment, and is ready to cooperate with any countrythat helps Bangladesh's growth. Bangladesh is the largestleast developed country (LDC) in terms of population andeconomic size, according to the UN. The country is likely toleave the LDC category by 2024, propelled by better healthand education, lower vulnerability and an economic boom, the UN said in its report last year.

"We want investment and cooperation from whoever offers it. We want development of the country... Wehave to think about our people as they are the beneficiaries of the development," Hasina on Tuesday told adelegation of visiting Indian journalists at her official residence. She said India, China, Japan and even theMiddle Eastern countries were coming to Bangladesh for cooperation.

"India has nothing to be worried about it," Hasina said. "I will (rather) suggest India should have goodrelations with its neighbours, including Bangladesh, so this region could be developed further and we canshow the world that we all work together," she said.

Hasina, 70, said Bangladesh and India shared "excellent" ties and the two countries have set an exampleof solving problems like maritime and boundary disputes. "If there is any problem, we could solve itthrough discussions as we did it in the past. We want to build a peaceful South Asia," Hasina said.

She said that during her 1996-2001 tenure, the two countries had signed the Ganges water treaty while inher second term maritime and boundary issues were resolved. China has vowed to boost military-to-military relations with Bangladesh by stepping up defence ties, including broadening of personneltraining and cooperation in equipment technology. Earlier, China said it planned to provide Bangladeshwith a whopping $9 billion low-interest loan to build six rail projects including one close to the Indianborder. Hasina also sought India's support in repatriation of over a million Rohingyas to Myanmar, fearingthat their prolonged stay in Bangladesh could create security risks. (PTI)

Pakistan court movedfor renamingroundabout in Lahoreafter Bhagat Singh

LAHORE (TIP): A petition has been filedin a Pakistani court seeking renaming ofLahore's Shaadman Chowk where freedomfighter Bhagat Singh was hanged 86 yearsago and installation of his statue there.

Bhagat Singh was hanged along with histwo comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev byBritish rulers on March 23, 1931 in theerstwhile Lahore Jail, which stood at the spotwhere the roundabout was built later.

During the hearing of the plea filed byBhagat Singh Memorial FoundationChairman Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi yesterday,the LahoreH igh Court was informed that asimilar petition was pending with it.

Justice Shahid Jamil Khan orderedclubbing of both petitions and fixed March 5for hearing.

The petitioner stated that Bhagat Singhwas a freedom fighter of the sub-continentand gave his life along with his companionsfor the cause of freedom.

He pointed out that founder of PakistanQuaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah hadalso paid tribute to him saying, "There hadnever been any brave person in thesubcontinent like Bhagat Singh."

He pleaded that it would be in the interestof justice to name Shadman Chowk afterBhagat Singh and also install his statue at thesquare so as to inspire the people of Pakistanand the world.

In the plea, Qureshi said that in India therewere many roads and thoroughfares namedafter Muslim rulers like Akbar Road, ShahJahan Road and Bahadar Shah Road. (PTI)

Pakistan summonsIndian envoy for fourthtime this month

ISLAMABAD (TIP): Pakistan todaysummoned India's Deputy HighCommissioner J P Singh here for the fourthtime in a month to condemn the "unprovokedfiring" by Indian troops across the Line ofControl (LoC).

Director General (South Asia and SAARC)Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and"condemned the unprovoked ceasefireviolations" by Indian forces on February 22 inRawalakot/Satwal Sector, the Foreign Officesaid in a statement.

The firing killed a labourer, working at acivilian crush plant, at Poonch river bank, itsaid.

Faisal said despite calls for restraint, India"continues to indulge in LoC firing".

The Foreign Office had summoned India'sdeputy high commissioner on February 5, 15and 20.

Last month, the Indian envoy wassummoned five times on on January 15, 18,19, 20 and 21.

Faisal said, "the deliberate targetting ofcivilian populated areas is indeed deplorableand contrary to human dignity, internationalhuman rights and humanitarian laws."

Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the2003 ceasefire arrangement and investigatethe repeated incidents of ceasefireviolations, the statement said.

He also urged the Indian side to allow theUN Military Observer Group in India andPakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandatedrole as per the UN Security Councilresolutions.

India maintains that UNMOGIP hasoutlived its utility and is irrelevant after theSimla Agreement and the consequentestablishment of the Line of Control. (PTI)

12 THEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 BOLLYWOOD

KANGANA TO DON KHADIIN ON SILVERSCREEN IN

MANIKARNIKA

Vidya Balan picked powerful womencharacters even before "female-centric cinema" became mainstream

in Bollywood and the actor, who haspioneered a change in the concept of theHindi film heroine in the last decade, says herchoices are often guided by her personalexperiences.

Vidya has successfully established herselfas an actor par excellence with films such as"Parineeta", "Ishqiya", "No One KilledJessica", "The Dirty Picture", "Kahaani" and"Begum Jaan" among others.

But she says the films that are among herpersonal favorites and have become turningpoints in her career, are "Kahaani", "TheDirty Picture" and her last release "TumhariSulu".

"Every film or role that I have done has hadsome personal connection. All these women(characters) follow their heart and do exactlywhat they want to do and in a way they wereall an extension of me," Vidya told PTI in anexclusive interview.

"I am a shy person. There are two sides tome when the actor side comes out, I am

different. I can do anything for the characterbut as a person, I am quite shy," the actor

adds.Vidya, 39, counts her portrayal of Vidya

Bagchi in the Sujoy Ghosh-directed movie asone of her finest performances. She says theonly brief that Ghosh gave her was that thefilm would be about a pregnant woman whocomes to Kolkata to look for her missinghusband.

"I found the story interesting and said,'Let's do it'. It (climax) developed organicallyand when he narrated it to me, it blew mymind. People who were approached for thefilm were not told about the (twist) ending.Only, Sujoy, me, cinematographer, and theADs knew about it. We kept it a secret," sherecalls. Vidya reveals she even lied to herpregnant sister about the ending of"Kahaani", which is now counted among oneof the best Hindi cinema thrillers.

The film, which went on to become a hit atthe box office, however, faced many financialhurdles and was eventually shot on a shoe-string budget.

"They could not get their head around thefact that it was about a pregnant woman andthey were like, 'Why would audiences want tosee a pregnant woman in theatres'?

Source: PTI

PARINEETI CHOPRAEXCITED TO WORKWITH AKSHAY KUMAR

Parineeti Chopra, who will be sharingscreen space for the first time withAkshay Kumar, says she is excited to

work with the superstar in "Kesari".The film, being directed by Anurag Singh,

will see Akshay essaying the role of HavildarIshar Singh, while Parineeti plays his wife.

"(I) am very excited to be working with him.In three days I will be leaving for 'NamasteyEngland'. But I am more excited for 'Kesari'.

"It has been a dream to work with Akshay fora long time. He is a Punjabi and so is I and weare doing a Punjabi film together. I am veryexcited to start the shoot," Parineeti toldreporters here at an event last night.

Besides this, Parineeti will also be busyshooting for "Namastey England" with ArjunKapoor.

"I‚ have to do it simultaneously as,unfortunately, the dates are planned like that.So I will be shooting in Amritsar (for 'Kesari')and in London (for Namastey England')," shesays.

Recently, Akshay's look from the film wasreleased, and talking about her look, Parineetisays, the makers will decide when to unveil it.

Actress Kangana Ranaut willdon khadi outfits in herupcoming film

'Manikarnika: The Queen ofJhansi'. In a statement, Khadi andVillage Industries Commission(KVIC) said the attire of the leadcast of the movie is beingsponsored by it. The movieshowcases the Queen's love for thecountryâs heritage fabric khadiin the epic biographical film.

"It is official now - after dressingup officials in several governmentoffices, Khadi is now making itsway to silverscreen! KanganaRanaut, in her lead role in'Manikarnika: The Queen ofJhansi'," KVIC said.

Sponsored by Khadi and VillageIndustries Commission (KVIC), thecostume line for the film shall bedesigned by ace designer NeetaLulla. Lulla has already picked upfabric costing around Rs 26 lakhfrom KVIC. According to KVICChairman Vinai Kumar Saxena,the fabric being used for the filmincludes a mix bag of silk, cotton,muslin and some wool too.

Kangana, who plays the lead rolein this movie, would also be seenusing a using a charkha in the film,which is also being sponsored byKVIC. The KVIC chairman saidthat it is a morale booster in termsof aggressive marketing andpromotion strategy for KVIC thatshe would be spinning the wheel inthis movie.

Source: PTI

Women I play on screen are an extension of me: Vidya

13HOLLYWOOD THEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

Former star couple Jennifer Anistonand Justin Theroux, who announcedtheir separation earlier this week,

might not have been legally married asthere is no evidence about their wedding, aTMZ report has claimed.

The actress and actor-filmmaker seemedto be headed for a divorce court followingthe announcement of their split earlier thisweek, but based on TMZ.com’s recordssearch and sources, they may never havebeen married in the first place.

Aniston and Theroux announced the endof their two-year marriage and nearlyseven-year relationship in a joint statementon Thursday. The pair, who shared amansion in the upscale Bel Airneighbourhood of Los Angeles, met on theset of the 2008 film Tropic Thunder inHawaii, and started dating in 2011. “In aneffort to reduce any further speculation, wehave decided to announce our separation,”the former couple said in the statementreleased by Aniston’s publicist StephenHuvane.

However, Tmz.com checked marriagerecords in Los Angeles County all the way

back to 2010 and found that there is norecord of a marriage license.

There’s a confidential marriage license,but the site was told they did not get one inLos Angeles County.

The celeb couple could have gotten amarriage license in any of the 57 othercounties in California, but according tosome of Aniston’s sources who have hadregular contact with her for years, there’sbeen talk for a long time they might not belegally married.

Tmz.com also checked with numerousdivorce lawyers, and no one has beencontacted either by Aniston or Theroux.

It was the second marriage for formerFriends star Aniston, who wed Hollywoodheartthrob Brad Pitt in 2000 -- forming oneof Tinseltown’s most glamorous couples atthe time. They divorced in 2005 after Pittmet Angelina Jolie, from whom he is nowestranged, on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith.Theroux (Miami Vice, The Girl on theTrain) was in a relationship with stylistHeidi Bivens for 14 years but the 46-year-oldhad never been married before meetingAniston. Source: IANS

NATALIE PORTMAN’S SCI-FI MOVIE DISMANTLES

EVERY GENDER CLICHE

JENNIFER LAWRENCEWANTS YOUNG PEOPLE TOGET INVOLVED IN POLITICS

Actor Jennifer Lawrence says she istaking a year off and in her free time shewill work towards motivating young

people to focus on politics.The 27-year-old actor says she will step back

from the spotlight in 2019 in order to focus allher energy on working with charity RepresentUs. "I'm going to take the next year off. I'm goingto be working with this organisation as a part ofRepresent Us... trying to get young peopleengaged politically on a local level.

"It doesn't have anything to do with partisan(politics). It's just anti-corruption and stufftrying to pass state by state laws that can helpprevent corruption, fix our democracy,"Lawrence told Entertainment Tonight. The "RedSparrow" star is already working with the anti-corruption charity, and recently surprised agroup of high school students at ClevelandHeights High School in Cleveland, Ohio with atalk about politics in association with thecharity. Source: PTI

Alex Garland’s sci-fi blockbusterAnnihilation, to be released in theUS on February 23 and on Netflix

worldwide a few weeks later, is a rareexample of a sci-fi movie led by women thatavoids some of cinema’s worst cliches.

Here is a list of gender-related tropes infilm that often have critics gnashing theirteeth.

The Smurfette principleThe Smurfette principle, coined by

American poet and essayist Katha Pollitt in1991, is the practice of including only onewoman in an otherwise entirely male cast.

These movies are typically driven by amale-dominated narrative, with the womanexisting only in relation to how she affectsthe men.

Examples: Jumanji: Welcome to theJungle, Justice League and Rogue One: AStar Wars Story.

‘Bechdel test’ failuresThe Bechdel test asks whether a movie

features at least two named femalecharacters who talk to each other aboutsomething other than a man.

Various surveys have shown that onlyaround half of all movies pass the test,named after the American cartoonistAlison Bechdel, who credited the idea inpart to the writings of Virginia Woolf.

Examples: Harry Potter and the DeathlyHallows: Part 2, Avatar, the entire Lord ofthe Rings and original Star Wars trilogies.

Damsel in DistressThe Damsel in Distress is one of the most

widely used cliches in cinema. This trope isa plot device placing a female character inperil from which she must be rescued by amale character.

She often provides the core motivation for

the male protagonist’s quest or journey.Examples: Pirates of the Caribbean,

Taken, Spider-Man and the Twilight saga.

Hotness Gap, or ‘Beast and the Beauty’ It doesn’t matter how schlubby, lazy and

unkempt the man is -- he always ends upwith the woman with supermodel looks.

Whether it’s Fred Flintstone, Quasimodoor King Kong, these guys can skip brushingtheir teeth, spend all day drinking beer infront of the TV and crack silly dad jokes andthey’ll still get their girl.

Examples: Vince Vaughn and Jennifer

Anniston in The Break-Up, Jason Segel andKristen Bell/Mila Kunis Forgetting SarahMarshall, Kevin James and Rosario Dawsonin The Zookeeper and Jack Black ineverything.

The Straw Feminist This trope, identified by the Feminist

Frequency pop culture website, is an over-the-top caricature of a feminist designed toundermine the very idea of feminism.

Examples: Mona Lisa Smile, LegallyBlonde and Down with Love.

Source: AFP

Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux may not have been legally married

Kerala is a destination where beautybreathes, wonders are created andnature smiles in all its glory! The

place has rightfully earned the sobriquet of‘God’s Own Country’ and is frequented bythousands of travellers, nature enthusiastsand explorers from far and beyond each year.

For those who have a quest to travel tooffbeat places in Kerala, attractions that areless explored and off the beaten track, thereare options aplenty. The state will surpriseyou in several ways with its grand andundiscovered landscapes. Here, to give you aglimpse of what lies under the blanket ofmist and mountains of the other side ofKerala, we have come up with a list of somebrilliant and less populated places that willdaze you with their sunning scenery andnatural splendour.

he National Geographic called MarariBeach one of the best ‘hammock beaches’ inone of its magazine editions. The place isextremely gorgeous and perfect for a relaxedand peaceful vacation. Located only 11 kmfrom Alleppey, this less explored beach inKerala is a cure for the sore eyes. The bestfeature of the beach is that not many peopleare aware of its existence and hence it is notyet hit by worldly developments. The placebreathes in natural environment and makesfor a perfect getaway from the city buzz!There are some pretty decent staying optionsavailable in the vicinity, where travellers canseek accommodation.

Chembra Peak, WayanadThis one is a trekker’s delight, Chembra

Peak! Perched at an elevation of 2100 mabove sea level, this place is a wonderlandfor adventure seekers. Those looking forsome offbeat, wondrous and out of the worldexperience, this peak in Wayanad will fillyour heart with much-needed excitement!However, to go on your trekking expedition,you need to get prior permission from theforest office in Meppady and come back thesame day as camping is not allowed at thetop. For a normal or beginner level trekker, itdoesn’t take more than three hours to reachthe peak. Stay there for some time, take inthe gorgeous natural vistas and enjoybreathing in amidst lush greenery. Whilecoming back, you will encounter a gorgeousheart-shaped lake called Hridaya Thadakam.It is believed that this lake has never driedup ever. So pack your trekking bag and getgoing!

Vembanad Lake, KumarakomBeautiful, less-frequented, and absolutely

perfect for solitude seekers! The VembanadLake in Kumarakom is comparatively one ofthe less explored lakes in Kerala, now fastdeveloping as a backwater tourismdestination.

The place is largely visited for picnicpurpose by the locals. One can simply sit onthe shores for hours amidst nature, andenjoy fishing or boating here. The green,algae-filled waters of Vembanad come aliveduring the occasion of Onam. If you arevisiting Kottayam during this period, you’llbe greeted with spectacular snake boat racesas well. And we all know how amazing theseboat races in Kerala are! Watching hundredsof oarsmen cutting their way through thebackwaters singing songs of victory and joyis not a sight you get to behold every day.Staying options are also available here.

Silent Valley National Park,Palakkad

The Silent Valley National park is asmysterious as its name and is one of the bestkept secrets of South India! This sprawling

tropical evergreen rain forest is situated in the Nilgiri hills of Palakkad district, and is

home to a variety of flora and fauna. Wildlifelovers and people in the travel circuit areaware of this beauty, yet it remains one ofthe less-explored places in Kerala. However,it is the garden of curiosity for biologists,nature lovers and science students. As perthe records, owing to its rich Western Ghats’biodiversity, this forest has more than ahundred species of orchids, butterflies,beetles, moths and birds. Needless to say, theSilent Valley National Park is gorgeous,mysterious and full of natural splendour.Those who were super impressed with themovie, Into the Wild, and have alwayswanted to have somewhat similar (positive)kind of experience, they can head into thisgorgeousness and feel the same!

Areekkal Waterfalls, KochiAnother gem of a place in the south!

Around 35 km from Ernakulam, thiswaterfall is a little hidden away and if youmiss the signboard on the highway, youmight just miss an experience. A popularpicnic spot for the locals, this waterfall issurrounded with rubber trees and the areamight experience unpredictable rainfalls,which adds to the beauty of the place! If youare planning a monsoon visit, then makesure to keep your eyes open for thisspectacular hidden magnificence becausethis place is at its scenic best during therains!

Nelliampathy, PalakkadYou are most likely to get stunned with this

gorgeously cascading waterfall in the hillstation of Nelliampathy in Palakkad. Thedestination will give you much-needed thrillswith its beauty and the cloud-kissed, soaring,Nelliampathy ranges are truly a sight tobehold! You might fall short of words todescribe the magnificence of the place and thecalming effect it has on you. Reaching thedestination is another adventure as there aremore than 10 hairpin bends and the roads areas exquisite as the destination. Less crowded,full of pretty surprises and extremelysoothing, this hill station is a peace lover’sparadise in all the true senses. Surroundedwith greenery and vast paddy fields,Nelliampathy is also renowned for its orangecultivation and gorgeous tea and coffee estates.

14TRAVELTHEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

OFFBEAT PLACES IN KERALA

Holi, the festival of colors, is one of themost anticipated festivals in the year,and is celebrated with much gusto by

Indians across the world every year.According to the Bikram Samvat Hinducalendar, the festival is celebrated on the dayof Purnima, the full moon, in the month ofFalgun for two consecutive days — the firstday known as Chhoti Holi or Holika Dahanand the second as Rangwali Holi, Dhuleti,Dhulandi or Dhulivandan. This year,thefestival falls on March 1 and March 2,respectively.

Holi celebration begins with lighting up ofbonfire on the Holi eve. Numerous legends &stories associated with Holi celebrationmakes the festival more exuberant and vivid.People rub 'gulal' and 'abeer' on each others'faces and cheer up saying, "bura na maanoHoli hai".

History of HoliHoli is an ancient festival of India and was

originally known as 'Holika'. The festivalsfinds a detailed description in early religiousworks such as Jaimini's Purvamimamsa-Sutras and Kathaka-Grhya-Sutras.Historians also believe that Holi wascelebrated by all Aryans but more so in theEastern part of India. It is said that Holiexisted several centuries before Christ.However, the meaning of the festival isbelieved to have changed over the years.Earlier it was a special rite performed bymarried women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon(Raka) was worshiped.

Holika DahanThere are numerous mythological

explanations that are described in thehistorical books regarding the death ofHolika and its reference for the celebration ofHoli. In accordance to those historicalexplanations Holika was booned by Brahmafor not getting any harm from fire or nevergetting burnt in fire. Following the order ofhis Brother Hiranyakashyap (who was alsothe father of Prahlad) Holika sat on fire withPrahladf in order to burn him in fire and letto death. It was Prahlad’s prayers to LordVishnu that saved him from burning in fire.It was the protective shawl of Holika thatflew to cover Prahlad’s body from Holika whowas having it. This is the story behind thecelebration of Holika Dahan that is stillfollowed by the people of India.

Legend of Holika and PrahladThere was once a demon king by the name

of Hiranyakashyap who won over thekingdom of earth. He was so egoistic that hecommanded everybody in his kingdom toworship only him. But to his greatdisappointment, his son, Prahlad became anardent devotee of Lord Naarayana andrefused to worship his father.

Hiranyakashyap tried several ways to killhis son Prahlad but Lord Vishnu saved himevery time. Finally, he asked his sister,Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad inher lap. For, Hiranyakashyap knew thatHolika had a boon, whereby, she could enterthe fire unscathed.

Treacherously, Holika coaxed youngPrahlad to sit in her lap and she herself tookher seat in a blazing fire. The legend has itthat Holika had to pay the price of hersinister desire by her life. Holika was notaware that the boon worked only when sheentered the fire alone.

Prahlad, who kept chanting the name ofLord Naarayana all this while, came outunharmed, as the lord blessed him for hisextreme devotion. Thus, Holi derives itsname from Holika. And, is celebrated as afestival of victory of good over evil.

Holi is also celebrated as the triumph of adevotee. As the legend depicts that anybody,howsoever strong, cannot harm a truedevotee. And, those who dare torture a true

devotee of god shall be reduced to ashes.

The Legend of Radha-KrishnaYoung Krishna is known to be very playful

and mischievous. The story goes that as achild, Krishna was extremely jealous ofRadha's fair complexion since he himselfwas very dark.

One day, Krishna complained to his motherYashoda about the injustice of nature whichmade Radha so fair and he so dark. To pacifythe crying young Krishna, the doting motherasked him to go and colour Radha's face inwhichever colour he wanted.

In a mischievous mood, naughty Krishnaheeded the advice of mother Yashoda andapplied colour on her beloved Radha's face;Making her one like himself.

Well, there is also a legend to explainKrishna's dark complexion. It so happenedthat once a demon attempted to kill infantKrishna by giving him poisoned milk.Because of which Krishna turned blue. ButKrishna did not die and the demon shriveledup into ashes.

The Legend of DhundhiIt is believed that there was once an Ogress

called Dhundhi in the kingdom of Prithu (orRaghu). The female monster used to speciallytrouble little children who became fed- up ofher. Dhundhi, had a boon from Lord Shivathat she would not be killed by gods, men norsuffer from arms nor from heat, cold or rain.These boons which made her almostinvincible but she also had a weak point. Shewas also cursed by Lord Shiva that she wouldbe in danger from boys going about crazy.

Deeply troubled by the Ogress, the King ofRaghu consulted his priest. Giving thesolution, the priest said that on Phalguna 15,the season of cold vanishes and summerstarts. Boys with bits of wood in their handsmay go out of their house, collect a heap ofwood and grass, set it on fire with mantras,clap their hands, go around the fire thrice,laugh, sing and by their noise, laughter andhoma, the ogress would die.

The legend has it that on the day of Holi,village boys displayed their united might andchased Dhundhi away by a blitzkrieg ofshouts, abuses and pranks. It is for thisreason that young boys are allowed to userude words on the day of Holi withoutanybody taking offence. Children also takegreat pleasure in burning Holika.

Lathmaar HoliIn what is known as the hub of holi in

India - Barsana, Holi is known as LathmaarHoli. Sounds violence?? There is moreviolece than the name signals off. The stick isin the hands of the women on this day andthe men need to work a lot to save themselvesfrom the immensely charged up womenfolk.

The birth place of Lord Krishna's belovedRadha, Barsana celebrates Holi with extremeenthusiasm as Krishna was famous forplaying pranks on Radha and gopis. In fact, itwas Krishna who started the tradition ofcolours by first applying colour on Radha'sface.

Womenfolk, of Barsana it seems, afterthousands of centuries want to take a sweetrevenge of that prank of Krishna. Even menhave not left their mischief and are stilleager to apply colour on the women ofBarsana.

Following the tradition, men of Nandgaon,the birthplace of Krishna, come to play Holiwith the girls of Barsana, but instead ofcolours they are greeted with sticks.

Completely aware of what welcome awaitsthem in Barsana, men come fully padded andtry their best to escape from the spiritedwomen. Men are not supposed to retaliate onthe day. The unlucky ones are forcefully ledaway and get a good thrashing from thewomen. Further, they are made to wear afemale attire and dance in public. All in thespirit of Holi.

The next day, it is the turn of men ofBarsana. They reciprocate by invadingNandgaon and drench the womenfolk ofNandgaon in colours of kesudo, naturallyoccurring orange-red dye and palash. Thisday, women of Nadagow beat the invadersfrom Barsana. It is a colourful site.

15SPIRITUALITYTHEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

HOLI: FESTIVAL OF COLORS

ARISH K. SAHANI SSeerrvviinngg SSiinnccee 11997722

Please Call or Write for Your Insurance Needs

Arish K Sahani (Father)

Shiv Sahani (Son)

Priya Sahani Sood (Daughter)

7 1 8 - 2 7 1 - 1 9 0 6arish.sahani@gmail.com

PPAAGGEE SSPPOONNSSOORREEDD BBYY

‘If Hindus don’t maintain Hinduism, who shall save it? If India’s ownchildren don’t cling to their faith, who shall guard it? Indian alone can

save India, and India and Hinduism are one.’

People who commit moraltransgression like cheating andshoplifting are viewed as less able

to do their jobs or complete taskseffectively and low in social intelligencelevels, researchers say.

The study showed that people whoacted immorally were simply less well-liked, struggle to get on with colleaguesand foster a healthy workingenvironment and therefore perceived asworse in every way, including being lesscompetent.

This stems from our assumption thatdishonest people have low socialintelligence, the researchers said.

“Social intelligence is often conceivedof as the ability to manage complexsocial situations.

“It includes characteristics such astaking the others’ perspectives, beingadaptable, managing impressions ofoneself and adhering to establishedsocial norms,” said lead author JenniferStellar from the University of Toronto inCanada.

“A person who is socially intelligentwould understand when and why a co-worker is angry and effectively managetheir co-worker’s potentially destructiveemotional response,” she added.

For the study, published in theJournal of Personality and SocialPsychology, the team conducted a seriesof six experiments involving more than1,500 participants.

Across these experiments, theresearchers depicted individuals actingimmorally in hypothetical scenarios(e.g., shoplifting), acting selfishly ineconomic games, cheating on a lab taskor receiving low morality ratings fromco-workers.

Individuals, who had acted immorally,were consistently rated as less capable ofdoing their jobs, and were viewed asgenerally less competent than someonewho had acted morally by, for instance,donating to charity.

While most people rated immoral

behaviour in one’s private life asirrelevant to determining how good thatperson was at their job, but when

provided with the moral information,they would use it to determinecompetence, Stellar said. Source: HT

Ingredients 250 gm chicken, 1 tablespoon all purpose flour, 1/4 cup refinedoil, 1/4 teaspoon, crushed green peppercorns, 1/4 teaspoon,chopped green chilli, 120 ml chicken stock, 1/4, teaspoonground black pepper, 30 ml water, 1 tablespoon corn flour, 1beaten egg, 1/4 teaspoon crushed ginger, 1/4 teaspoon crushedgarlic, 1 handful chopped into cubes cilantro, 10 ml light soyasauce, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1 finely chopped spring onions

MethodTo prepare this delicious Chicken Manchurian recipe, takea bowl and add corn flour, flour, salt and pepper alongwith the beaten egg in it. Mix all these ingredientsproperly and prepare a batter. Next, dip the chickenpieces in the batter one by one. Make sure it is properlycoated.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan over medium flame. Oncethe oil is sufficiently hot, place the coated chicken piecesin the oil and deep fry till they turns golden brown incolour. Once done, drain the excess oil and keep aside till

further use. Now, to prepare the manchurian sauce,heat oil in another pan over medium flame. Once the oilis hot enough, add the garlic and ginger in it. Fry till itbecomes slightly brown in colour. Now add in greenchilies and cilantro leaves. Saute these for about aminute or so.

Then, bring the flame to low and add in the chickenstock, soya sauce, salt, sugar and pepper. Allow thismixture to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Once done,add in corn flour along with water in it and bring themixture to a boil.

The last step is to place the fried chicken pieces into themanchurian sauce. Bring the flame to medium low andallow the dish to cook for close to 5 minutes. Once done,turn off the flame and transfer the Chicken Manchurianinto a serving bowl.

16 THEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 WOMEN

CHICKENMANCHURIAN

CHEATERS PERCEIVEDAS LESS CAPABLE: STUDY

F O O D C O R N E R

Your hug reveals howyou feel about othersIf you are feeling emotional, you are more likely to embrace

others from the left side than from the right, a study hasfound.

Hugs, which have been part of social interactions betweenhumans since birth, demonstrate emotions such as affection,love, sadness or afraid, depending on the side we embraceothers. Hugs occur in both positive and neutral contexts: wehug when we are sad or afraid, or simply when saying hello.

While most people showed an increased preference forright-sided hugs, left-sided hugs occurred more frequently inpositive as well as negative situations, the study showed.

“This is because of the influence of the right hemisphere,which controls the left side of the body and processes bothpositive and negative emotions,” said lead author JulianPackheiser from the Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum in Germany.

“When people hug, emotional and motor networks in thebrain interact and cause a stronger drift to the left inemotional contexts,” Packheiser added.

Moreover, predictions about which hand will be on topduring an embrace can be based on the participants’handedness and footedness, the researchers observed.

“Handedness and footedness can indeed predict thelateralisation of an embrace,” Packheiser said.

Right-handed people usually tend to hug the other personfrom the right side, much more often than left-handed people.

However, a strong left-hand drift was observed in anembrace between two men, even in neutral situations.

Source: IANS

POTATO ROLLSIngredients 1 cup flour, 2 cup vegetable oil, 8 potato, 1/2 tablespoon cuminpowder, 1 tablespoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon red chillipowder, water as required, salt as required, 1/2 teaspoon drymango powder, 1 green chilli

Add flour to a bowl along with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 tablespoon oil. Add water tothis and mix all the ingredients to make a soft dough. Putthe potatoes in a cooker along with water and salt andboil them. After this, let them cool down for a while. Peelthe potatoes and then mash them.

Add salt, 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1/2 teaspooncumin powder, 1/2 teaspoon dry mango powder, 1tablespoon coriander powder and 1 chopped green chillito the mashed potatoes and mix properly. After this,divide the dough prepared in step 1 into 8 portions and rollthe dough with a rolling pin to make thin chapatis.

Now, spread the potato mixture on the chapati and rollthem from one end to the other. Cut this roll into 1 inchthick pieces. Take a deep bottomed pan , add 2 cupvegetable oil and heat it on medium flame. Add the piecesto the pan and deep frying them until they turn goldenbrown. Take them out on a tissue paper to soak excess oil.Serve hot with green chutney and tomato sauce.

NEW YORK (TIP): Higher intake ofyogurt may lower the risk ofcardiovascular disease amonghypertensive men and women, a newstudy suggests.

According to the researchers, clinicaltrials have previously demonstratedbeneficial effects of dairy consumptionon cardiovascular health. Yogurt mayindependently be related tocardiovascular disease risk.

“Our results provide important newevidence that yogurt may benefit hearthealth alone or as a consistent part of adiet rich in fibre-rich fruits, vegetablesand whole grains,” said co-author of thestudy Justin R. Buendia from the BostonUniversity School of Medicine in the US.

For the study, published in AmericanJournal of Hypertension, researchersincluded over 55,000 women agedbetween 30-55 with high blood pressurefrom the Nurses’ Health Study and18,000 men aged between 40-75 whoparticipated in the Health ProfessionalsFollow-Up Study.

In the Nurses’ Health Study,participants were asked to complete amailed 61-item questionnaire in 1980 toreport usual dietary intake in thepreceding year.

Participants subsequently reportedany interim physician-diagnosed eventsincluding myocardial infarction, strokeand revascularisation.

The researchers found that higherintakes of yogurt were associated with a30 per cent reduction in risk ofmyocardial infarction among theNurses’ Health Study women and a 19per cent reduction in the Health

Professionals Follow-Up Study men.There were 3,300 and 2,148 total

cardiovascular disease cases(myocardial infarction, stroke, andrevascularisation) in the Nurses’ HealthStudy and the Health ProfessionalsFollow-Up Study, respectively, theresearchers said.

Higher yogurt intake in women wasassociated with a 16 per cent lower riskof undergoing revascularisation.

In both groups, participantsconsuming more than two servings aweek of yogurt had an approximately 20

per cent lower risks of major coronaryheart disease or stroke during thefollow-up period.

When revascularisation was added tothe total cardiovascular disease outcomevariable, the risk estimates werereduced for both men and women butremained significant.

Higher yogurt intake in combinationwith an overall heart-healthy diet wasassociated with greater reductions incardiovascular disease risk amonghypertensive men and women, theresearchers noted. Source: IANS

17HEALTH & FITNESSTHEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

EATING YOGURT MAY REDUCERISK OF HEART DISEASES

DR. SATISH AND GITANJLI ANAND DDRR.. SSAATTIISSHH AANNAANNDD

FFoorrmmeerr CChhaaiirrmmaann,, BBooaarrdd ooffTTrruusstteeeess,, AAAAPPII NNaattiioonnaall

EE--MMaaiill::ssaannaannddmmdd@@ggmmaaiill..ccoomm

GGIITTAANNJJLLII AANNAANNDD

FFoorrmmeerr PPrreessiiddeenntt,, IInnddiiaaAAssssoocciiaattiioonn ooff LLoonngg IIssllaanndd((IIAALLII))

EE--mmaaiill::ggiittaannjjlliiaannaanndd@@ggmmaaiill..ccoomm

PPAAGGEE SSPPOONNSSOORREEDD BBYY

Wine may begood for oral

healthLONDON (TIP): Sipping wine may be good for your oral

health, say scientists who found that certain compounds inthe drink can fend of harmful bacteria in the teeth and gums.

Traditionally, some health benefits of polyphenols havebeen attributed to the fact that these compounds areantioxidants, meaning they likely protect the body fromharm caused by free radicals.

However, recent work indicates polyphenols might alsopromote health by actively interacting with bacteria in thegut. Plants and fruits produce polyphenols to ward offinfection by harmful bacteria and other pathogens.

Researchers including M Victoria Moreno-Arribas fromInstitute of Food Science Research (CIAL) in Spain wanted toknow whether wine and grape polyphenols would alsoprotect teeth and gums, and how this could work on amolecular level.

The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural andFood Chemistry, checked out the effect of two red winepolyphenols, as well as commercially available grape seedand red wine extracts, on bacteria that stick to teeth andgums and cause dental plaque, cavities and periodontaldisease.

Working with cells that model gum tissue, they found thatthe two wine polyphenols in isolation - caffeic and p-coumaric acids - were generally better than the total wineextracts at cutting back on the bacteria's ability to stick to thecells.

When combined with the Streptococcus dentisani, whichis believed to be an oral probiotic, the polyphenols were evenbetter at fending off the pathogenic bacteria.

The researchers also showed that metabolites formedwhen digestion of the polyphenols begins in the mouth mightbe responsible for some of these effects. Source: PTI

Blood pressure drug may help prevent Type 1 diabetes

WASHINGTON (TIP): A drugcommonly used to control high bloodpressure may also help prevent the onsetof Type 1 diabetes in up to 60 per cent ofthose at risk for the disease, a study hasfound.

The drug, methyldopa, has been usedfor over 50 years to treat high bloodpressure in pregnant women andchildren, according to the studypublished in the Journal of ClinicalInvestigation.

It is on the World HealthOrganization’s (WHO) list of essentialdrugs. But like many drugs used for onecondition, researchers found it usefulfor something totally unrelated.

“With this drug, we can potentiallyprevent up to 60 per cent of type 1diabetes in those at risk for the disease,”said Aaron Michels from the Universityof Colorado Anschutz Medical Campusin the US.

“This is a very significantdevelopment.” Michels said.

Some 60 per cent of people at risk ofgetting Type 1 diabetes possess the DQ8molecule which significantly increasesthe chance of getting the disease.

The researchers believed that if theycould block specifically the DQ8

molecule they could also block the onsetof the disease.

“All drugs have off-target effects. Ifyou take too much acetaminophen youcan hurt your liver,” Michels said.

“We took every FDA approved smallmolecule drug and analyzed HLA-DQ8binding through a supercomputer. Wesearched a thousand orientations foreach drug to identify those that would fitwithin the DQ8 molecule binding

groove,” Michels said.After running thousands of drugs

through the supercomputer, they foundthat methyldopa not only blocked DQ8,but it didn’t harm the immune functionof other cells like manyimmunosuppressant drugs do.

The research spanned 10 years and itsefficacy was shown in mice and in 20Type 1 diabetes patients who took partin a clinical trial. Source: PTI

18 THEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 SCIENCE & TECH

HOW HUMANS GOT BIGGERBRAINS DECODED

WASHINGTON (TIP): Average brain size of humansincreased gradually and consistently over the past threemillion years, growing to over three times larger than ourclosest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of theRoyal Society B, shows that the trend was caused primarilyby evolution of larger brains within populations ofindividual species, but the introduction of new, larger-brained species and extinction of smaller-brained ones alsoplayed a part.

"Brain size is one of the most obvious traits that makes ushuman. It's related to cultural complexity, language, toolmaking and all these other things that make us unique," saidAndrew Du, a postdoctoral scholar at the University ofChicago in the US.

"The earliest hominins had brain sizes like chimpanzees,and they have increased dramatically since then. So, it'simportant to understand how we got here," said Du.

"Think about the entrance to a building. You can reach thefront door by walking up a ramp, or you can take the steps,"said Bernard Wood, from George Washington University(GW) in the US.

"The conventional wisdom was that our large brains hadevolved because of a series of step-like increases each onemaking our ancestors smarter," said Wood.

"Not surprisingly the reality is more complex, with noclear link between brain size and behaviour," he said.

Researchers compared published research data on theskull volumes of 94 fossil specimens from 13 differentspecies, beginning with the earliest unambiguous humanancestors, Australopithecus, from 3.2 million years ago topre-modern species, including Homo erectus, from 500,000years ago when brain size began to overlap with that ofmodern-day humans.

They saw that when the species were counted at the cladelevel, or groups descending from a common ancestor, theaverage brain size increased gradually over three millionyears.

Looking more closely, the increase was driven by threedifferent factors, primarily evolution of larger brain sizeswithin individual species populations, but also by theaddition of new, larger-brained species and extinction ofsmaller-brained ones.

The team also found that the rate of brain size evolutionwithin hominin lineages was much slower than how itoperates today, although why this discrepancy exists is stillan open question. Source: PTI

Most distant supernova ever confirmed

LONDON (TIP): Scientists have confirmed the discoveryof the most distant supernova ever detected—a huge cosmicexplosion that took place 10.5 billion years ago, or three-quarters the age of the universe.

A supernova is the explosion of a massive star at the endof its life cycle.

The exploding star, named DES16C2nm, was detected bythe Dark Energy Survey (DES), an internationalcollaboration to map several hundred million galaxies inorder to find out more about dark energy—the mysteriousforce believed to be causing the accelerated expansion of theuniverse.

As detailed in the study published in The AstrophysicalJournal, light from the event has taken 10.5 billion years toreach Earth, making it the oldest supernova ever discoveredand studied.

The universe itself is thought to be 13.8 billion years old.DES16C2nm is classified as a superluminous supernova

(SLSN), the brightest and rarest class of supernovae, firstdiscovered ten years ago, thought to be caused by materialfalling onto the densest object in the universe - a rapidlyrotating neutron star newly formed in the explosion of amassive star. Source: PTI

3D printed clip-on can turn yoursmartphone into microscope

MELBOURNE (TIP): Scientists havedeveloped a 3D printable clip-on thatallows anyone to turn their smartphoneinto a fully functional microscope.

The smartphone microscope ispowerful enough to visualise specimensas small as 1/200th of a millimetre,including microscopic organisms,animal and plant cells, blood cells, cellnuclei and more, researchers said.

They are making the technology freelyavailable, sharing the 3D printing filespublicly so anyone with access to a 3Dprinter can turn their own smartphoneinto a microscope.

Developed at the RMIT Universitynode of the ARC Centre of Excellence forNanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP) inAustralia, the clip-on technology does notrely on external power or light source towork, yet offers high-poweredmicroscopic performance in a robust andmobile hand-held package.

According to lead developer AntonyOrth, the technology has immensepotential as a scientific tool, one that isideal for use in remote areas and for field-

work where larger stand-alonemicroscopes are unavailable orimpractical.

We have designed a simple mobilephone microscope that takes advantageof the integrated illumination availablewith nearly all smartphone cameras, saidOrth, CNBP Research Fellow at RMIT.

The clip-on has been engineered withinternal illumination tunnels that guidelight from the camera flash to illuminatethe sample from behind.

This overcomes issues seen with othermicroscopy-enabled mobile phonedevices, said Orth in the researchpublished in the journal Scientific

Reports.Almost all other phone-based

microscopes use externally powered lightsources, while there is a perfectly goodflash on the phone itself.

External LEDs and power sources canmake these other systems surprisinglycomplex, bulky and difficult to assemble,he said.

A further advantage is that the clip-onenables both bright-field and dark-fieldmicroscopy techniques to be undertaken,Orth said.

Bright-field microscopy is where aspecimen is observed on a brightbackground. Conversely, dark-field showsthe specimen illuminated on a darkbackground.

“The added dark-field functionalitylets us observe samples that are nearlyinvisible under conventional bright-fieldoperation such as cells in media, he said.

Having both capabilities in such asmall device is extremely beneficial andincreases the range of activity that themicroscope can be successfully used for,”Orth added. Source: PTI

Google can now detect heart diseasethrough AI-based retina scan

Using machine learning,scientistsfrom Google and its health-techsubsidiary, Verily, can now detect

a person’s risk of getting a heart disease.This new method scans the back of an

individual’s eye to analyse the factorsthat can cause heart disease, accordingto a report by The Verge.

Google said that it is using technologysuch as machine learning and artificialintelligence (AI), the company’ssoftware can accurately deduce data,including an individual’s age, bloodpressure, and whether or not theysmoke. This can then be used to predicttheir risk of suffering a major cardiacevent, such as a heart attack, with nearlythe same accuracy as current methods.

With this in place, doctors can detect apatient’s cardiovascular risk, as itdoesn’t require a blood test. However,scientists stated that the method willneed to be tested more thoroughly beforeit can be used in a clinical setting.

Google and Verily’s scientists usedmachine learning to analyse a medicaldataset of nearly 300,000 patients, as perthe report. This information includedeye scans as well as general medicaldata. Neural networks were then usedresearch information for patterns,detecting signs in the eye scans with themetrics needed to predictcardiovascular risks, such as age andblood pressure.

Research states that the rear interiorwall of the eye (the fundus) is chock-fullof blood vessels that reflect the body’soverall health. By studying theirappearance with camera andmicroscope, doctors can infer things likean individual’s blood pressure, age, andwhether or not they smoke, all of whichare crucial indicators of cardiovascular

health.As part of the research, retinal

images of two patients were presented,one of whom suffered a cardiovascularevent and one of whom did not. Usingthe aforementioned technology, Google’s

algorithm was able to tell the two apart.If successful, this technology can

significantly enhance the medical fieldin terms of early detection, primarilythrough minimum human involvement.

Source: ANI

A scan of the back of the human eye (left), and how Google's algorithm sees it. The green highlights are the parts the algorithm found most helpful in

predicting blood pressure.

19BIZ & FINANCETHEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

PNB TRANSFERS 1,415EMPLOYEES POST SCAM

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Punjab National Bank (PNB) hastransferred 1,415 employees after the scam involving Rs11,400 crore, using fake letters of undertakings (LoUs) todiamond jeweller Nirav Modi and associates, surfaced earlierthis month.

Modi has allegedly cheated the country’s second largestbank through issuance of LoUs in connivance with a fewofficials of the bank from one of its Mumbai branch. Thebank filed a FIR in this regard on February 13.

“...the Bank has transferred 257 sub-staff, 437 clerks and721 officers (total 1,415 employees) since February 19, 2018, asper prevailing Rotational Transfer Policy of the Bank,” PNBsaid in a statement.

It however denied reports that the bank has transferredclose to 18,000 employees saying it is “factually incorrect”.

It has been alleged that certain employees involved in thescam remained posted in the same position and the samebranch for a very long time in violation of the HR policy.

On February 19, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)had held a meeting with senior officials of PNB to enquireabout the scam involving Nirav Modi and his uncle MehulChoksi of Gitanjali group.

The lender further said that its branches are functioningsmoothly and the “transfers are in no way affecting thecustomer service in the bank”. Source: PTI

Bid of Liberty House for Bhushan Steel rejected

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Committee of Creditors hasrejected the bid of UK-based Liberty House to acquireBhushan Power and Steel Ltd, leaving Tata Steel and JSWSteel in the race for taking over the assets of the bankruptfirm, a source said.

“Committee of creditors (COC) in a meeting today hasrejected the bids of Liberty House (of the UK) because thecompany submitted the bids after the last date of submissiondate which was February 8,” a source privy to thedevelopment said.

Liberty House had submitted the bid yesterday, he said. Intoday’s COC meeting the bids of Tata Steel and JSW Steelwere disclosed and now the process as well as legal adviserswill evaluate them, the source said.

The detailed terms and conditions of the bids weredisclosed to the lenders at the meeting, the source said.Bhushan Power and Steel owes about Rs 45,000 crore to itslenders.

When contacted, Resolution Professional (RP) MahenderKumar Khandelwal declined to comment on thedevelopments.

The source said that Tata Steel offered Rs 17,000 crore tothe lenders as upfront amount and Rs 7,200 crore foroperations of Bhushan, JSW made an offer of Rs 11,000 croreto the lenders and Rs 2,000 crore for the operations of thebeleaguered power firm.

The COC will now meet on March 6 to take the processforward, including declaration of the highest bidder.

Source: PTI

RBI’s new NPA norms may underminebank earnings: Credit rating agency

NEW DELHI (TIP): The ReserveBank’s new norms for overhauling themechanism to deal with bad loans areaimed at speeding up the NPAresolution, but would undermine thebanking sector earnings in the near-term, credit rating agency Fitch said.

However, stronger regulatory effortsto clean up bad loan problems,combined with planned recapitalisationof state banks, could help support arecovery in the sector over the mediumterm, the US-based agency said in astatement.

Regulators appear increasinglyimpatient with the slow resolution ofNPL stock, which has prolonged thenon-performing loan (NPL) cycle, itadded.

“India’s new framework aimed atspeeding up NPL resolution is likely topush up banks’ credit costs andundermine earnings in the near term,”said Fitch, which has a negative outlookon the banking sector.

The new framework gives banks lessdiscretion over the reporting andresolution of bad assets and attempts toaddress the complexities involved inresolving the stressed loans of largeborrowers.

“Banks will need to report defaults bylarge borrowers weekly, indicating amore invasive approach to tracking badassets,” it said.

The timeline for dealing with badloans has also been made prescriptive,with banks and borrowers forced toimplement a plan for resolving loanswithin 180 days of default or go toinsolvency court.

“The new framework’s overall focusis on recognising and quickly resolvingbad loans. It is likely to result in a risein NPLs, as banks are forced toreclassify stressed accounts previouslyrecorded as special mention loans orrestructured loans.

“More accounts are also likely to bepushed towards insolvency courts andinto liquidation, particularly since thenew guidelines require all of aborrower’s lenders to agree on aresolution plan to keep it away from thecourts,” Fitch said.

Fitch said most of the USD 32 billion(Rs 2.11 lakh crore) of fresh capital thegovernment plans to inject into statebanks by end-March 2019 is likely to beabsorbed by losses associated with NPLresolution. “Asset growth is, therefore,likely to remain low and earning willstay under pressure.”

It said the USD 1.8 billion (Rs 11,400

crore) fraud in a Mumbai branch ofPunjab National Bank (PNB) underlinesthe risks to bank performance posed bypoor risk control and managementsupervision, which are a weaknessacross much of the sector, and havecontributed to bad loan problems.

Fitch has placed PNB on ‘RatingWatch Negative’ with possibility offuture downgrade.

In the new norms at dealing withNPAs, the RBI last week specified rulesfor “early identification” of stressedassets, timelines for implementation ofresolution plans, and a penalty on banksfor failing to adhere to the prescribedtimelines.

It has also withdrawn mechanismslike Corporate Debt RestructuringScheme, Strategic Debt RestructuringScheme (SDR), and Scheme forSustainable Structuring of StressedAssets (S4A). Source: PTI

Ford ousts top exec over ‘inappropriate behavior’

WASHINGTON (TIP): Top FordMotor Company executive Raj Nair hasleft the company following an internalinvestigation into reports ofinappropriate behavior, the automakersaid on Feb 21.

Nair has been president of Ford’sNorth America division since June 2017.But he’s held a number of key positionsat the automaker over several decades,including as Ford’s head of globalproduct development and chief technicalofficer. Nair was one of four executivesawarded a retention stock bonus lastyear, just days before Ford ousted MarkFields and named Jim Hackett as CEO.Nair’s stock bonus, which won’t vestuntil 2020, was valued at about $5 million.

Ford said in its announcement that thedecision follows a recent internalinvestigation into reports ofinappropriate behavior. The reviewdetermined certain behavior by Nair wasinconsistent with the company’s code ofconduct. Ford didn’t say who would takeNair’s position, except to add that hisreplacement would be announced in the“near future.”

“We made this decision after athorough review and carefulconsideration,” Hackett said in astatement. “Ford is deeply committed to

providing and nurturing a safe andrespectful culture and we expect ourleaders to fully uphold these values.”

Nair said in a statement issued by Fordthat he regretted “that there have beeninstances where I have not exhibitedleadership behaviors consistent with theprinciples that the company and I havealways espoused.”

Raj Nair

Gupta empire crumbles as Zumaexits South Africanpresidency

JOHANNESBURG (TIP): Foryears, brothers Ajay, Atul andRajesh Gupta were ranked amongSouth Africa's most prominentbusinessmen and socialized with theruling elite, including their friend,then-President Jacob Zuma.

They weathered accusations thatthey'd exploited their politicalconnections to land an aircraft at ahigh-security military base to ferryguests to a private wedding,installed their allies in keypositions at state companies, tried toinfluence cabinet appointments andlooted billions of rand of taxpayerfunds. Law enforcement agenciestook no visible action against them,saying only that investigations wereongoing.

That all changed on February 14,when Zuma quit as president underpressure+ from the ruling AfricanNational Congress the same day thepolice's Hawks investigative unitstaged a dawn raid on the Guptas'sprawling luxury estate inJohannesburg's Saxonwold suburb.Some of their top lieutenants werearrested and the eldest brother, Ajay,was declared a fugitive.

20 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018MISCELLANY

contd from page 1

Students, Parents, Teachers...responses such as: "What would you most want me to know

about your experience?" and "I hear you." Trump said he wantsto hear suggestions for addressing the issue, saying, "After Ilisten, we're going to get things done."

Trump listened intently to ideas from about 40 people,including those from six students who survived the Floridashooting.

The students, many weeping, described the trauma of theshootings and pleaded that the government bring an end togun violence.

The Republican president, who has championed gun rightsand was endorsed by the NRA during the 2016 campaign, saidhe would move quickly to tighten background checks for gunbuyers and would consider raising the age for buying certaintypes of guns.

He said he had "many ideas" and promised, "We're going tobe very strong on background checks."

Trump spoke at length during the televised White House"listening session.

"If you had a teacher ... who was adept at firearms, theycould very well end the attack very quickly," he said, whileacknowledging the proposal was controversial. Some of themeeting participants indicated support. Others were opposed.

Mark Barden, whose son was killed in the 2012 Sandy HookElementary School shooting in Connecticut, said his wife,Jackie, a teacher "will tell you that school teachers have morethan enough responsibilities right now than to have to have theawesome responsibility of lethal force to take a life."

"I don't understand why I could still go in a store and buy aweapon of war," said Sam Zeif, 18, sobbing after he describedtexting his family members during the attack. "Let's never letthis happen again, please, please."

US Women's Hockey Team..."I knew she was going to pull something," forward Kendall

Coyne said. "She is phenomenal in shootouts. She always hadsomething up her sleeve."

Lamoureux-Davidson said the move is called "Oops, I did itagain" and she has practiced it "thousands of times."

"I butchered it a thousand times," she said. "Just glad itworked this time."

That was the game-winner in a 3-2 victory that endsCanada's streak of four consecutive Olympic women's hockeygold medals and perhaps changes the course of U.S. women'shockey for years to come.

"This is greater than a trophy and a medal," said U.S. centerGigi Marvin, a three-time Olympian who also scored in ashootout.

The fact that the Americans won the game in dramaticfashion merely adds to its historical significance. The gamewas played on Feb. 22, 38 years to the day after Herb Brooks'team downed the Soviets on Mike Eruzione's goal in the"Miracle on Ice."

Trudeau’s India visit mired ...to convey the displeasure of his government for his assumed

close proximity to Sikh separatists in Canada. And, onFebruary 22,Canadian Prime Minister's maiden India visitplunged into yet another controversy over a dinner invitationto a convicted Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal by theCanadian High Commissioner to India.

Swiftly moving to control damage, High CommissionerNadir Patel cancelled the invite for the dinner, hosted forTrudeau, while the external affairs ministry said it will"ascertain" how Atwal entered India.

"The High Commission has rescinded Mr Atwal's invitation.We do not comment of matters relating to the PM's security,"the Canadian mission said in a statement.

Reacting to the controversy, Trudeau told reporters"Obviously we take this situation extremely seriously. Theindividual in question never should have received aninvitation and, as soon as we found out, we rescinded theinvitation immediately... The member of Parliament whoincluded this individual has, and will, assume fullresponsibility for his actions."

The Canadian PMO also said in a statement that Atwal wasnot part of Trudeau's official delegation.

Atwal was convicted for trying to kill the then Punjabminister Malkiat Singh Sidhu in Vancouver in 1986.

When asked how Atwal got a visa, external affairs ministryspokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the government is"ascertaining" details how he got a visa to enter India.

"There are two aspects of this. One is his presence at theevent. I think this is something which should be addressed bythe Canadian side. They have said that it was an oversight.

And that is the reason theinvitation for the reception tonighthas been withdrawn." "On the visapart, I cannot immediately say howthat happened. There are differentways of people coming into India,whether you are an Indiannational, or OCI card holder. Weare ascertaining details from ourmission. We will have to see howthis happened," Kumar toldreporters.

He also said that the fact theministry issued a visa means thatAtwal is not an Indian national.

On whether Atwal can bearrested in India, Kumar said therewere cases against him for which he has served his sentence.The ministry is not aware whether there are cases against himin India, that has to be checked with the law-enforcementagencies, he added.

Union home ministry officials said Atwal no longer figuredin the government's blacklist of Sikh extremists.

The invite cancellation comes at a time when Trudeau's pro-Khalistan approach is being criticized by many includingPunjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who raised the issuewith the Canadian prime minister during a meeting.

On his part, Trudeau had assured Singh that his countrydoes not support separatism in India or elsewhere.

Reacting to the controversy involving him, Atwal toldCanada's Postmedia that he did not plan to attend the dinner ashe was in Mumbai on business, The Vancouver Sun reported.

He also said it was unfair to raise his criminal conviction forshooting a visiting Punjabi cabinet minister on VancouverIsland in 1986 given how long ago the crime occurred.

(With inputs from PTI)

Special Counsel Mueller Files...they owned to fraudulently secure more than $20 million in

loans. The indictments show increasing pressure from Muelleron the former top Trump campaign officials and highlight hisaggressive effort to investigate Russian interference in the2016 presidential election and any related matters uncoveredduring the investigation.

Last Friday, the special counsel produced grand juryindictments for 13 Russian nationals, accusing them ofoperating a misinformation campaign to hurt Hillary Clinton'spresidential effort.

In the indictment released Thursday, prosecutors allegeManafort and Gates "hid the existence and ownership of theforeign companies and bank accounts" they oversaw andlaundered more than $30 million in income.

Some of the fraud was possible because the men disguisedtheir income as "loans" from shell corporations they ran, theprosecutors said. More than $75 million dollars flowed throughoffshore accounts the men had set up in foreign countries,including Cyprus, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and theSeychelles, the indictment alleges. These are small islandnations where local laws make it easy to park money.

Manafort used some of the money to buy real estate in theUS, and they both used the money on home improvement andto refinance their mortgages, the indictment alleges. They alsoallegedly used money from their offshore accounts to pay forluxury goods, and, in Gates' case, for his mortgage andchildren's tuition.

They were able to defraud banks because of the tens ofmillions of dollars they earned doing Ukrainian political workand lobbying from 2006 until 2015, the prosecutors allege.

Manafort faces 18 new charges in Virginia, while Gates faces23 new charges.

Already, the pair face a combined 12 criminal charges infederal court in Washington for alleged money laundering andfailing to disclose banking information and foreign lobbyingwork they did prior to 2015. Those charges are also connectedto the offshore accounts in the new indictment.

Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty to those charges inOctober.

Thursday's indictment adds more pressure on Manafort andGates as their Washington trial approaches this year. Withmounting legal expenses and the potential for lengthy prisonsentences, Manafort and Gates might reconsider cutting a dealwith Mueller's team.

But they can only make a deal if they have valuableinformation that Mueller can use in other prosecutions. Gatescould testify against Manafort, and Manafort could testifyabout any potential crimes he witnessed during Trump'spresidential campaign -- if any occurred.

School officer waited outside...

from the shooting and taking statements from witnesses andPeterson himself, Israel said. "He should have went in,addressed the killer, killed the killer," Israel said.

What is in store for a Possible...Sensitivity, however, has not dissuaded local officials from

full-throated support of the project.Supporters call the project an honest attempt at taking

Texas' size and shrinking it, so the metro regions will prosper.The train and its tracks -- 200 feet wide, 240 miles long -- are anall-electric attempt and a new option for convenience andconveyance, for Americans.

"It is just marvelous to go from the downtown of one city tothe downtown of another city," said Felix Madrigal, a Hutchinsresident who came to support the train in Dallas at a Jan. 29meeting held by the Federal Railroad Administration.

When both metro areas have 10 million or more residents --which demographers expect over the next 25 to 30 years --Interstate 45 will be overloaded. Widening it won't handle theanticipated travel demand, even with autonomous carscruising at more than 90 mph.

"It is false security to think automated technology will solveour travel," said Sam Lott, an engineer and professor who hasoverseen dozens of rail plans and feasibility studies in aroughly 40-year career.

Texas Central wants to build another way to move. It isseeking federal approval for a privately-funded high-speed railline using Japanese Shinkansen trains. The line would be asealed corridor between a station on the southern end ofdowntown Dallas and Northwest Mall in Houston at Loop 610and U.S. 290.

Trains would operate every 30 minutes, with the trip taking90 minutes end-to-end. A third stop is planned in the RoansPrairie area northeast of Navasota, aimed at luring travelersfrom College Station and Huntsville.

A ticket for the train would be comparable to airline prices,which average $199 each way for Houston-to-Dallas flights.Like airline tickets, prices would fluctuate based on sales andhow early in advance someone purchases a fare.

"We have different prices for families," Texas Central CEOCarlos Aguilar said, noting his priority is making the trainstempting for all travelers.

The company expects at least 5 million people to hop aboardannually, as airlines focus on other connections and traveltimes via I-45 prompt some to look for alternatives. A FederalRailroad Administration draft environmental reportestimated ridership as high as 7.2 million a year.

The ridership estimate, which opponents call preposterous,is ambitious, compared to the roughly 700,000 travelers who flybetween the metro areas each year. (Source: NBC)

Indian-American seeks re...Other successes and projects launched by the city during his

previous term include the successful annexations ofGreatwood and New Territory, the acquisition of a formerprison site for re-development, the completion of drainageprojects and the return to normal operations after thedevastating effects of Hurricane Harvey.

"As a member of City Council, I will continue to listen to myconstituents and work with my fellow council members andthe city staff to ensure that Sugar Land remains a premier citywith a solid vision for the future," Gandhi said.

"Together, with our forward-looking residents, we canaccomplish even more great things for this city," he said.

Gandhi is an attorney and shareholder with the law firm'Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey PC'. He is boardcertified in commercial real estate law by the Texas Board ofLegal Specialization. He has served leading roles in numerouscommunity organizations.

In 2015, he was honored by the Houston Business Journal asone of the region's 40 Under-40 young leaders. (Source: PTI)

21ASTROLOGYTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

Weekly Horoscope: February 26 - March 4, 2018

Aries: Ganesha says you feel a strong pull to explore newfacets of your personality. Till now you havefocused on your work and home and have seenglimpses of complex emotional issues emerge. Youhave tackled the professional front efficiently butnow you are eager to explore the creative side ofyour personality. Hobbies, children, pets, intimaterelations are highlighted, and you feel the urge tocreate. Innovation and ingenuity are the key wordshere.

Taurus: Ganesha rewards you with closer bonds, genuinelove and romance. This fills you with a sense ofpeace and well - being which no amount of moneyor material success can buy. These relationshipsare your bedrock, inspiring you to take giantstrides in your chosen field. At work a new outlook,one that is caring and tolerant, will get you the co-operation and support of your workmates and thiswill increase the kudos coming your way. Childrenwill also be a source of joy.

Gemini: You switch from the relationship-rich period of thelast period to professional concerns. Personalassociations have been supportive on the road tomaterial success, but you now realize that renewedefforts are required to push ahead. Rewards,promotions and other material gains pour in andyou even begin to feel smug and self-satisfied in allthis adulation. You need a balance for life to bemore harmonious and must make time for familyobligations too.

Cancer: This is a pleasant phase. You have deliveredvirtuoso performances in both the importantsectors of your life - home and work. You are thetoast of everyone, the blue-eyed boy / girl and alsothe center of envy. Your confidence and chutzpah,combined with your good heart, helps younegotiate these dangerous waters and emergevictorious. But this is not all, says Ganesha.Another trend overlaps - finances engage yourattention too.

Leo: A whole new trend begins this period and Ganeshapredicts that it will definitely be the main theme inthis period. It involves the evolution of your fast-moving, impulsive nature into a calmer, more soberone in which you develop a love for humanitarianactivities. No half-measures here, as you go all outto share your resources with the underprivileged.You are at the forefront, making things happen athome, work and in the community.

Virgo: The successful pursuit of your goals requires out ofthe box thinking and you whole-heartedly acceptthe challenges that confront you. Ganeshamotivates you to seek greener pastures. You couldbe busy with funds / loans, negotiations and deals,a job change or even a surge in responsibilities. Youcould be also looking out for collaborations,partnerships and even dealerships.

Libra: Your spiritual practices have given you fortitudeand the courage of your convictions. You feel muchmore calm and peaceful and ready to face life'schallenges with equanimity. This doesn't mean thatyou are lethargic and laidback; quite the contraryreally. Ganesha says that you will be full of pep andvigor, a joie de vivre, an unalloyed enthusiasm,which helps you fulfil your responsibilities at homeand at work.

Scorpio: There is a repetition of last period's theme. Thespotlight continues to shine on you at work, thanksto your awesome performance. Relationships are onthe upswing with inter-personal tensions sorted out.Your home is your haven and you enjoy warm andcaring interactions with your near and dear ones.Socializing, partying and entertaining your friendsand family helps you unwind. Curb unhealthy egodrives, or you will be the target of envy.

Sagittarius: This phase kick-starts a trend of hard work andfervent play. Dedicated efforts and large doses ofluck give you success on the domestic and

professional fronts. You are more organized at workand read the fine print. You are also enthusiasticand confident and filled with a new energy whichensures success. You use your resources in aprudent manner, introduce innovative and effectivemeasures at work, revive old contacts andfriendships and clear the air with those you mayhave had a run-in with earlier.

Capricorn: The work formats put into place last period takeyour productivity levels to dizzy heights. There is alot of work, but the systems are in place and sowhile the productivity increases, the effort doesn't.This not only makes your work easier but also givesyou more time to devote to domestic affairs. Youwill have tender moments with your loved one asyou multi-task and juggle several projectseffortlessly. Certain unforeseen legal matters couldcrop up; though not serious they could be time-consuming.

Aquarius: You need a break from the hectic activities andevents of the past period. Stress levels are high, andyou need to recuperate. You look at social work andmay spend time at old people's homes and othercharities. You look at ways to give back to society.Those in the health care professions such asnursing, psychiatry, psychotherapy, counselling etc.Could scale new heights, perhaps even wininternational acclaim for their work. Almost all ofyou will have unusual intuition which is actuallyquite different to your normal leanings, but thisphase makes it happen.

Pisces: Astrology is a logical science, says your Ganeshadevotee and you can definitely see the proof. Youindulge in genuine self-evaluation and self-awareness and life inspires you to make changesthat may be against your basic nature, but whichhelp you reach your higher self. You are usuallyvery impatient and hasty to get your work done.You will make rapid progress on all fronts andbecome a much more whole and roundedpersonality.

Ganesha says in digital terms speed + space + spirituality + showmanship = Sagittarius. Add to it the great divide between illusion / reality, evolution / revolution, freedom /

captivity, knowledge / wisdom. The archer pierces the eye of the Sun and hits infinity.Finally, Sagittarius is all about freedom. Sagittarius is both fast and furious.

Shree Ganeshaya Namah

Bejan Daruwalla is world's most famousastrologertoday. He appears regularly onworld wide TV shows. Bejan who has been aprofessor in English, hasauthored a numberof books on astrology. India'sPrime MinisterNarendra Modi , on March 29, 2012,lunchedone of Bejan's books, '2012- End oftheWorld? Bejan contributes to a number ofjournals andnewspapers in many parts of theworld which includeBerkley Communications(London) Times of India(Delhi, Mumbai,Kolkata, Chennai) and The IndianPanorama (New York and Texas). Bejan'spredictionshave mostly been correct andpeople the world overrely on his predictions.

Bejan Daruwalla is available for astrologicalconsultations. He can be reached atinfo@bejandaruwalla.com and on phone 011-91-8141234275www.bejandaruwalla.com

22 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018SPORTS

Special Report byPrabhjot Singh in

PyeongChang

PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games

‘DOUBLE’ Olympians in limelightPYEONGCHANG (TIP): One of the toughest things in sports

is to be an Olympian. On an average, every four years only 5,000 to7,000 sportsmen and women qualify to be Olympians and less than1 per cent of them distinguish themselves and become Olympicmedalists.

Naturally, it becomes much tougher to be both Winter andSummer Olympian.Though there are not many instances whenathletes have competed in both summer and winter OlympicGames, yet few sportsmen and women, with their hard work anddedication, have scripted success stories in these mega sportsevents held within two years of each other.

Most recent case is of Kaillie Humphries and Phylicia Georgeof Canada who won a bronze medal at PyeongChang.

Who does not remember Tonga's Pita Taufatofua who became aglobal sensation overnight when he arrived shirtless in freezingcold of the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 winterOlympic Games. He belongs to a select band of those athletes whohave competed in successive summer and winter Olympic Games.

He competed in Taekwondo event in the 2016 summer OlympicGames in Rio and finished 114th in 15 km Cross-country skiinghere.

It may be more than a dream for those who make it. It is thereality for a number of athletes fromCanada who are competinghere at PyeongChang. Two of them, Phylicia George and SeyiSmith, moved from track and field to Bobsleigh, an event that hasalso attracted some African athletes, including all-womanNigerian team, to Winter Olympic Games.

"I started cross country skiing in 2017 and the training wasperhaps the hardest I have ever done in my life," Pita told media."Races where we hope we could do well were getting cancelled andwe had to book last minute one way ticket to the race where myselfand German Madrazo of Mexico could finally qualify forPyeongChang 2018."

Pita's story is for those who after setting a target staydetermined to achieve it.

"I was one of those people who thought I could sort of walk on

and continue doing what I was doing before," says Canadian trackand field star Smith, who competed in the 4 x 100m relay at London2012. "The overlap between track and bobsled is not as much aspeople think."

Phylicia George, who competed in the 100m hurdles at London2012 and Rio 2016, echoes Smith's sentiment about bobsleigh beinga whole lot more than just running fast on ice.

"The biggest thing was getting stronger, lifting a lot heavier,"says George. "I think I did not respect how much strength played arole and how much stronger I needed to get to be able to find thepositions that I needed behind the sled."

Beyond the need for physical strength, Smith and George alsoneeded to dip into their reserves of psychological strength toovercome the inevitable obstacles of adapting to a whole newathletic discipline.

For Smith, though, there was never serious thought given toabandoning the quest.

"Everybody warned me when I first started out, saying, 'Youbetter watch out, Seyi, this is not track, there is not the glamour,you are going to be working in the cold and lifting sleds,''" saysSmith.

"It has been quite the opposite. Every month I have liked it moreand more. I told one of the guys that the only time I actually saidthat I was having fun out loud is right before we crashed intraining. So, I don't say it out loud anymore. But inside, I am stillenjoying myself quite a bit."

George fared a bit differently, having competed at the SummerGames less than two years ago, and still being active in track andfield. She says getting started in bobsleigh was "very rough" andshe definitely second-guessed her decision.

But having been recruited to bobsleigh by Kaillie Humphries,the two-time reigning Olympic champion in the two-women event,it was perhaps inevitable that George's competitive spirit wouldeventually win the day.

"There definitely were days when I was like, 'man, what am Idoing out here?'" says George. "But seeing myself get better andbeing a part of a team was a really cool and interesting aspect forme, where I'm used to being an individual. … I am really happy Istuck with it and saw my potential through."

Pita Taufatofua decided immediately after finding out he wouldbe Tonga's flag-bearer that he would wear traditional Tongandress instead of the usual team uniform at the openingceremony. Photo / courtesy TODAY

Seyi Smith, moved from track and field to Bobsleigh

I t is not a usualcombinationthat would end

on Olympic podium.While onehad two Olympic medals to herbelt, she gets a new partner whohappens to be veteran of two summer OlympicGames, and the new combination ends with OlympicBobsleigh bronze.

The pair is none other than mentor KaillieHumphries and her new partner Phylicia George,otherwise Hurdler in Track and Field.

For Kaillie it has been her third straight Olympicbobsleigh medal.

With this medal, Canada has taken its tally to 21with nine golds and is currently placed at overallnumber three position.

Humphries and George had been in fifth place afterthe first two runs, but were just four-one hundredthsof a second out of a podium position. They made upthat ground in their third run, moving into third placewith a cumulative time of 2:32.12. That gave them abuffer of 0.05 on fourth-placed Americans JamieGreubel Poser and Aja Evans.

In the final run, Humphries steered the sled downthe track in 50.77 seconds for a four-run total timeof 3:22.89, ensuring a podium finish with just thetwo leading tandems to go.

Humphries came to PyeongChang as the two-timereigning Olympic champion. She is now the firstCanadian bobsledder to win three Olympic medals.

For George, it is her first Olympic medal and itcomes in her Winter Olympic debut after shecompeted at two Summer Games in the 100mhurdles, making the final at both London 2012 andRio 2016. She began bobsleigh training late lastsummer and competed in her first international racejust this past November. She and Humphries wonWorld Cup gold and silver together in January.

Kaillie Humphries (right), and Phylicia George after winningbronze in women's bobsleigh on Wednesday, February 21

As the PyeongChang 2018 WinterOlympic Games are inching towards aclose, another case of violation of

doping controls saw a Slovenia Ice Hockeyplayer voluntarily accepting the charge andoffered to quit the Olympic village.

The Anti-doping Division of the Court ofArbitration for Sport (CAS ADD) at thePyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games(OWG) announced that it has registered a newcase.

Further to a request from the InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC), and based upon theagreement of the parties, the CAS ADD hasissued the following decision:

Zika Jeglic, Ice Hockey, Slovenia, testedpositive in-competition test with fenoterol(beta-2 agonist; specified substance). Heaccepted an anti-doping rule violation. As a

consequence, the athlete is suspended fromcompeting in the remainder of the OlympicWinter Games Pyeongchang 2018; the athletewill leave the Olympic Village within 24hours; the procedure will continue and theCAS ADD will issue a final award after theconclusion of the Games.

At the start of the second week of theGames, the Anti-doping Division of the Courtof Arbitration for Sport, started procedureinvolving the athlete AleksandrKrushelnitckii (mixed curling; OAR).

Though a date has been fixed forhearing,yetno further information is being provided atthis point.

Earlier, a Japanese athlete also testedpositive for doping and was suspended.

-Courtesy PTC News

Slovenian Ice Hockey player tests positive for doping

Amassive fraud of Rs. 11,300 crore atPunjab National Bank or PNB by itsown officials has landed India's second

largest bank in a huge controversy. The PNBscam came to limelight on February 14 afterthe bank complained to the CBI that its ownofficials violated rules and put out illegalguarantee documents to help celebrityjeweller Nirav Modi secure credit from banksabroad. PNB is now making attempts torecover the dues from the jeweller who fledthe country last month. Two central agencies -the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) andthe Enforcement Directorate (ED) - areinvestigating the matter and so far, fivepersons have been arrested. Raids have alsobeen conducted on Nirav Modi's firms andjewellery, luxury cars and other assets havebeen seized; property, bank accountsassociated with him have also been attached.

What is the fraud?According to the bank's complaint, the PNB

fraud surfaced after one of the key accusedbank officials retired. When Modi’s executivescame calling for a letter of undertaking, orLoU (essentially a bank guarantee againstwhich another lender gives a foreign currencyloan), the new official in charge demanded themandatory collateral. Modi’s executivesinsisted they had never given collateralbefore, raising a red flag. An internalinvestigation showed the bank had issuedhundreds of unauthorized PNB LoUs to Modiand his uncle, Mehul Choksi of GitanjaliGems Ltd, baring the bank fraud thatproceeded undetected for the past seven years.

“Nobody seems to be talking about whatprecisely needs to be done. This is importantbecause the scam clearly shows thatsupervisory process at public sector banksfailed to detect the fraud and, hence, it needsto be improved,” said Abizer Diwanji, partnerand national leader (financial services) at EYIndia.

On Monday, 19 February, when a MintAsiareporter visited the Brady House branch, thebranch that was at the epicentre of the PNBfraud, bore the look of a makeshift jail, withshutters down and the branch sealed. TheBrady House branch that exclusively servesmid-sized corporates barred entry tocustomers, while inside, officials from theCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India'sfederal detective agency, pored over papersand questioned bank officials.

Financial frauds are not rare in India. Thecentral bank’s June 2017 Financial StabilityReport says losses from financial sectorfrauds rose 72% in the five years to fiscal 2017to Rs16,770 crore. Banks have filed recoverysuits worth Rs64,743 crore against wilfuldefaulters. Wilful defaulters are thosedefaulting on bank loans even though they ortheir promoters have the ability to repay, orthey have siphoned off money, or put it someother use than was agreed on.

Still, PNB’s innocuously worded stockexchange notice stunned the nation. The bankfraud is the second largest in India aftergovernment-owned UCO Bank was found tohave advanced $3.2 billion in export advancesto Iran against overseas sales that were nevermade. The PNB fraud showed the ease withwhich fraudsters could game the system.

The PNB notice to the stock exchanges,without naming anyone, said it had detectedfraudulent and unauthorized transactions“for the benefit of a few select accountholders, with their apparent connivance”. Thebank termed it a contingent liability.

Things became clearer during the day, whenit emerged that the fraud the bank wasreferring to was the same one it had flaggedtwo weeks earlier.

On 1 February, CBI had registered a caseagainst Modi and some related entities forallegedly cheating PNB of Rs 280 crorethrough unauthorized transactions. The bankhad said at that time that it was investigatingfurther to see whether there were more such

transactions. The Rs280 crore turned out to bejust the tip of an iceberg.

As it investigated the case internally, beforethe public revelation, PNB found two juniorbranch officials had issued LoUs to foreignbranches of Indian lenders, on behalf offirms associated with Nirav Modi and hisuncle, Mehul Choksi. These bank guaranteeswere essentially to help these firms raisebuyer’s credit from these overseas banks topay for their imports.

PNB’s complaint to CBI named two bankofficials—Gokulnath Shetty, a deputymanager in its foreign exchange department;and Manoj Kharat, who operated the financialmessaging system SWIFT. Both have sincebeen arrested. These individuals, says PNB,had issued LoUs without getting properapprovals and without making entries in thecore banking system (CBS), the software usedto support a bank’s most commontransactions. It also acts as a record keeper.SWIFT stands for the Society for WorldwideInterbank Financial Telecommunication. Thescam happening via SWIFT went undetectedsince it was not linked to CBS and becausechecks failed at several levels, said experts

In the normal course, when an importergoes to a bank for such a guarantee, one of twothings happens. One, the bank asks him forcollateral, which could be land or a fixed

deposit. Two, the bank sanctions a credit limitafter a credit appraisal. Here, neither of theseprocedures were followed.

The bank claimed Modi did not use thefunds obtained through this method for theintended purpose of paying import bills. Inmany cases, PNB alleged, the funds were usedto settle earlier loans. In effect, every time aModi-related firm asked for a bank guarantee,it was to settle an older loan taken through aprevious bank guarantee. According to thePNB complaint, the scam had been going onfor about seven years. When the new man atthe bank spotted it, the amount had balloonedto around Rs11,400 crore.

The CBI approached Interpol to issue a so-called diffusion notice against Modi, his wifeAmi Nirav Modi, brother Nishal Modi as wellas uncle Choksi, all four of whom had leftIndia in the first week of January. A diffusionnotice is a request for arresting or locating anindividual, or providing additionalinformation in relation to a policeinvestigation. Separately, the ministry ofexternal affairs suspended the passports ofModi and Choksi for four weeks.

Who is Nirav Modi?Modi, 47, shot to prominence in the past

decade when he became the first Indian tofeature on the cover of a Christie’s auction

catalogue in 2010 for a Golconda diamondnecklace that fetched $3.56 million at itsauction in Hong Kong.

Born in India and raised in the Belgian cityof Antwerp, the diamond capital of the world,Modi is a third-generation diamantaire. Afterdropping out of the University ofPennsylvania’s Wharton School, he joined thefamily business of his maternal uncle Choksiat Gitanjali Gems. Choksi, director at GitanjaliGems, is also one of the accused in the ongoingCBI investigation. It was his initial nine yearsat Gitanjali Gems in the 1990s that laid thefoundation for Modi’s own jewellery business.Incidentally, a PNB complaint said theGitanjali Gems group companies used thesame methods as the Modi companies tosecure guarantees or comfort letters.

Since 2010, Modi’s fame only increased as hebecame a jeweller to the rich and famous.Many of India’s biggest business families havebeen buying diamonds from him for years.

In October 2012, his Riviere DiamondNecklace was sold for $5.1 million at aSotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. In 2013,Modi entered the Forbes list of billionaires.Competing with the likes of pedigreedluxury jewellers such as Tiffany and Co. andCartier, Modi went on to set up Nirav Modiboutique shops around the world. His clientsinclude Hollywood star Kate Winslet, whowore diamond creations by the jewellerydesigner for her red-carpet walk at the 2016Oscars.

23PNB FRAUDTHEINDIANPANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

The great Indian bank robbery: How Nirav Modi pulled it off ?

Nirav Modi’s flagship store boutique at 727 Madison Avenue in New York.

Nirav Modi

The PNB fraud is the second largest in India after UCO Bank wasfound to have advanced $3.2 billion in export advances to Iran

against overseas sales that were never made

Diamantaire Nirav Modi hasleft a $1.8 billion hole inPunjab National Bank’sbooks, something that

Indian tax payers will mostlikely have to fill

Nirav Modi is a billionaire, who isknown as a luxury diamond jewellerydesigner. Founder and creativedirector of the Nirav Modi chain, hehas several retail outlets spreadacross the globe.

Modi also feature in Forbes billionairelist in 2017, he was ranked number 57in the India list.

Modi is fairly well-known in thefashion circle. His designs have beenworn by ‘50 Shades’ star DakotaJohnson and Taraji P Henson of‘Hidden Figures’ fame.

24 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018ADVERTISEMENT