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THE CONTACT WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ISSUE - 738, 26 SEPT. - 2 OCT., 2017 PH: (905) 671 - 4761

Jagmeet Singh leads in NDP leadership fundraising, eying Brampton East seat

Ottawa (Éric Grenier) NDP leadership candidate Jagmeet Singh has raised more money than his rivals through the summer, according to new fundraising data published on Monday.

According to the Ontario MPP’s interim campaign return, which includes donations received by the candidate up to Sept. 14, Singh has raised $618,779.62 since his entry into the race, more than either Ontario MP Charlie Angus or Manitoba MP

Niki Ashton.

The numbers for Quebec MP Guy Caron have yet to be posted on Elections Canada’s website.

At the end of the second quarter, Caron had raised the least, at just over $100,000, including the $25,000 he had donated to his own campaign.

Singh’s fundraising was drawn from 6,204 contributions. After removing duplicates, this totals about 5,475 unique contributors.

Angus has raised $374,146.88 from 4,526 contributions (or

about 3,460 individuals), though his filing runs up to donations received by Sept. 7.

Ashton, whose filing includes donations received by Sept. 14, has raised $250,937.11 from 4,125 contributions, or about 3,160 unique contributors.

The previous filings with Elections Canada showed donations received in the second quarter of 2017, and indicated Singh had raised more money than all his rivals combined in Continued on Page 4 that three

Rakhi Sawant is Rakhi Sawanting again as recent reports suggest that the lady is all set to produce and star in a biopic based on the Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram

Rahim Singh, who is currently serving a 20-year jail term after he convicted by the CBI court on August 25, 2017 in Panchkula on two counts of rape of his female disciples in 1999.

With this biopic, which will be directed by Rakhi’s brother, Rakesh Sawant, she wants to expose the self proclaimed Godman. Rakhi, who is currently shooting for the film in Delhi will

On wanted list, Honeypreet approaches Delhi HC for anticipatory bail Honeypreet Insan, who has been on the run following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in two rape cases, approached the Delhi High Court seeking transit anticipatory bail, her lawyer said.

Priyanka Taneja alias Honeypreet, the adopted daughter of the jailed dera chief, tops the list of 43 persons wanted by the Haryana Police in connection with incidents of violence that had followed Ram Rahim’s conviction in the rape cases.

Earlier, a lookout notice was issued against Honeypreet by the police.

Her lawyer Pradeep Kumar Arya told PTI that they have filed the anticipatory bail petition in the Delhi High Court and the matter would be mentioned this week before a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal for early hearing.

Ram Rahim was convicted by the special CBI court in Panchkula on August 25, following which violence and arson had erupted in Panchkula and Sirsa districts of Haryana which had left 41 people dead and several others injured.

The CBI court on August 28 had sentenced Ram Rahim to 20 years in prison for raping two of his disciples in 2002.

Honeypreet had accompanied the dera head when he had come to the special CBI court on August 25. She had also travelled along with him in the special chopper which ferried them to Rohtak from Panchkula after the conviction.

The controversial sect head is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak district of Haryana.

Several teams of Haryana Police have travelled across the country, including the IndoNepal border, to trace the whereabouts of Honeypreet.

Meanwhile, Ram Rahim today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the trial court’s verdict.

In April 2002, an anonymous letter was written to the then chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, complaining about the alleged sexual exploitation of women followers at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa.

In May Continued on Page 4

Rakhi Sawant to expose Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a biopic, shoots an item song in Delhi

play Honeypreet Insan, Ram Rahim’s adopted daughter, who is said to be hiding in Nepal.

Former Bigg Boss contestant Ajaz Khan will also feature in this film, and he will play the role of

an investigative officer because Rakhi alone was not enough.

Ab Hoga Insaf (Cinema Scandal) is the title of the film. And Rakhi shot for an item song, Bewafa Item in Continued on Page 4

Issue - 738 (2)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Honey wanted her son to inherit Dera

Former cult follower says she wanted to throw out godman’s son

GURMEET Ram Rahim and Honeypreet, who were allegedly having an incestuous relationship, had a secret Dera succession plan, which, however, did not materialise. Both, according to former Dera followers, wanted a child and had a plan to make him the Dera chief, former sect follower Gurdas Singh Toor told India TV Today. Toor has shocked the Dera community with his revelation. He claims that both were living like a couple and had a desire to give birth to a child, a male child in particular, to make him succeed Ram Rahim. The idea, in fact, was mooted

by Honeypreet herself as she was reportedly against Gurmeet’s son Jasmeet Singh Insan. “Ram Rahim was against his son Jasmeet as well and was not keen to make him the Dera chief. As Honeypreet was the number two in the sect, she wanted to give birth to a child from Gurmeet and both had plans to make him the future Dera chief,” Toor said.

According to Toor, Honeypreet and Ram Rahim wanted to use Vishwas Gupta’s name as the father in the eyes of society.

However, the plan did not materialise as Gupta divorced Honeypreet. Though the secrets of the relationship between Ram Rahim and Honeypreet are still a mystery, but a couple of former Dera followers say the Baba gave the same treatment to Honeypreet that he meted out to other victims. These witnesses believe Ram Rahim raped Honeypreet in his cave and the aspiring actress later blackmailed Baba to get his favours. Ram Rahim’s former Former cult follower says she wanted to throw out godman’s son driver

ACCUSED of raping his own female followers, Gurmeet Ram Rahim had of late started fancying high profile models and film actresses. After facing allegations of exploiting Dera girls, Ram Rahim, according to his relative Bhupinder Singh Gora, would either invite high-profile girls to Sirsa or temporarily shift to Mumbai to spend 15-20 days every month. And all this was arranged by Honeypreet.

Gora told India TV Today that Ram Rahim would spend most of his time in the company of women. “He would openly talk about naked sex workers in the presence of lakhs of female followers,” he said. Ram Rahim defined

love in three ways — mizazi (one-night stand), hakiki (soulful love) and ruhani (divine love). “Former Congress leader Harminder Singh Jassi had once told me that we should avoid sending our own women in front of Ram Rahim as he might exploit married women too,” Gora said. Ram Rahim never met one woman for the second time after she visited him in his cave. He also used to keep an eye on women sending him meeting requests. “The staff on duty told the women that Baba was busy in meditation. However, the truth is he never touched a religious book nor did any meditation,” Gora said.

WASHINGTON-Former US President Barack Obama personally urged Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to counter the rise of fake news on the social network during a meeting held shortly after last year’s election, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The encounter reportedly took place on the sidelines of a meeting of global leaders in Lima, Peru on November 19, two months before Trump’s inauguration and days after Zuckerberg had dismissed as “crazy” the idea that misleading stories driven by Russian operatives had made a major impact on the outcome of the vote.

“Zuckerberg acknowledged the problem posed by fake news. But he told Obama that those messages weren’t widespread on Facebook and that there was no easy remedy,” the newspaper said, quoting people it said had knowledge of the exchange.

The report comes days after Facebook announced it would be handing over to Congress advertisements it discovered were bought by Russia-linked fake accounts, aimed at inflaming political tensions ahead of and following the election. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.

He loved posh one-night stands

Obama personally warned Zuckberberg over fake news

Khatta Singh and his son Gurdas have alleged that they had seen Honeypreet entering the cave and come out in tears.

Gurdas claimed that he, along with his cousin, was guarding the cave on one particular day when this happened.

“Honeypreet was upset and had straightaway went off to meet her grandfather who worked as a cashier in the Dera. He was annoyed and slammed the Dera chief. He was, however, silenced

by Ram Rahim’s goons,” Gurdas said.

Issue - 738 (3)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Ram Rahim took viagra?

Yes, says controversy queen Rakhi Sawant Sawant also claimed that she was stunned to see the godman surrounded by girls in skimpy outfits

New Delhi Jailed Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh reportedly took viagra, claims controversy queen and Bollywood actor Rakhi Sawant.

Sawant, who’s been in headlines for her upcoming biopic on self-styled godman Singh, allegedly saw viagra lying in his room. “I was once invited to the Marriott to meet Ram Rahim by his secretary C P Arora and guess what I saw in Baba’s room? Viagra! What was Viagra doing in a godman’s room? Mera toh dimaag hil gaya (my mind was boggled). I decided that I will expose him one day, so here I am,” the controversial actor told The Quint.

Jail doctors, who examined Singh in Rohtak prison, called him a sex-addict, displaying symptoms of withdrawal. He also forced aides to turn homosexuals, revealed Gurdas Singh Toor, a former Dera follower.

Sawant also claimed that she was stunned to see the godman surrounded by girls in skimpy outfits.

Speaking on Honeypreet, the adopted

daughter of Singh who’s currently absconding, Sawant said, “I have known Gurmeet Ram Rahim and his adopted daughter Honeypreet since last three-anda-half years and met them on several occasions during this period. I once went inside the ‘Gufa’ (cave) built in the Dera premises. Gurmeet had invited me on his birthday.”

“I realised that Honeypreet was uncomfortable seeing my close proximity with Gurmeet and even feared that I may become her ‘Sautan’ (lover’s wife) by marrying him. I was ignorant about Gurmeet’s exploitation of his female disciples or that he made his male follower impotent,” she said.

Personality study finds fish have hidden depths

LONDON Fish have complex individual personalities, a British university study found in research published Monday.

Scientists from Exeter University in southwest England studied how individual Trinidadian guppy fish behaved in various stressful situations and discovered wide differences in how they responded.

The researchers studied their coping strategies in situations designed to trigger

various levels of stress. They found their modes of behaviour could not simply be explained as risk-taking or risk-averse.

“When placed into an unfamiliar environment, we found guppies have various strategies for coping with this stressful situation - many attempt to hide, others try to escape, some explore cautiously,” said Tom Houslay, of the university’s Centre for Ecology and Conservation. “The differences between them were consistent over time and in

different situations. “So, while the behaviour of all the guppies changed depending on the situation - for example, all becoming more cautious in more stressful situations - the relative differences between individuals remained intact.”

The tiny guppies were individually transferred to an unfamiliar tank, to create a mild level of stress, while a higher level of stress was caused by adding models of predatory birds or fish.

The study found that while introducing predators made the guppies overall more cautious, individuals still retained their distinct personalities.

“We are interested in why these various personalities exist, and the next phase of our research will look at the genetics underlying personality and associated traits,” said Alastair Wilson, from the CEC. “We want to know how personality relates to other facets of life, and to what extent this is driven by genetic - rather than environmental - influences.

“The goal is really gaining insight into evolutionary processes, how different behavioural strategies might persist as species evolve.” The paper, entitled “Testing the stability of behavioural coping style across stress contexts in the Trinidadian guppy”, was published in the journal Functional Ecology.

Issue - 738 (4)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Honeypreet didn’t let me come close to Gurmeet Ram Rahim, feared I may marry him: Rakhi Sawant Mumbai She is undoubtedly the ‘Queen of Controversy’ and is hard to ignore.

Bollywood item-girl and actor Rakhi Sawant recently poured her heart out as she spoke about her upcoming film on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and her short stint in the political world.

Rakhi made several revelations in a rare chat at ‘A Dialogue With JC’ show, hosted

by CEO, Zee Regional News Network Mr Jagdish Chandra.

Talking about her entry into Bollywood, Rakhi said that she struggled a lot to make her entry into the field of acting and credited Bollywood King Khan Shah Rukh and ace choreographer Farah Khan for what she is today.

“What I am today is because of Shah Rukh and Farah Khan,” she said.

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Rakhi has been in headlines of late for coming up with a biopic on controversial Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and not just that, she will be essaying the role of none

to see the ‘Rock Star Baba’ surrounded by girls in revealing outfits in one of her meetings.

Talking about her short stint in politics,

other but Honeypreet Insan in it.

Recalling her ties with he duo, she said, “I am the best-qualified person to drop the veil on both”.

“I have known Gurmeet Ram Rahim and his adopted daughter Honeypreet since last three-and-a-half years and met them on several occasions during this period. I once went inside the ‘Gufa’ (cave) built in the Dera premises. Gurmeet had invited me on his birthday,” she said.

“I realised that Honeypreet was uncomfortable seeing my close proximity with Gurmeet and even feared that I may become her ‘Sautan’ (lover’s wife) by marrying him. I was ignorant about Gurmeet’s exploitation of his female disciples or that he made his male follower impotent,” she said.

Rakhi also claimed that she was stunned

she said, “I have been doing social work in my locality and it was at the behest of the people that I stepped into the politics.” She also labeled herself a big fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Here are the excerpts from the interview: Q: What made you come with the idea of making a film on Ram Rahim and Honeypreet?

Rakhi: I have known Gurmeet and Honeypreet since last three-and-a-half years. It was during ‘Messenger of God’ when I met Baba in Mumbai. He praised me for my work and assured me of giving a Rajya Sabha ticket.

Q: Did Baba take you to his Dera?

Rakhi: I once went to Dera’s ‘Gufa’. I was given a drink after which I started feeling unconscious. Baba had evil intentions on me. However, Honeypreet

Jagmeet Singh leads in NDP leadership fundraising, eying Brampton East seat continued from page 1 month period ended June 30. Since then, however, Singh has raised about $262,000, compared to $140,000 for Angus and $126,000 for Ashton, suggesting his momentum might have tailed off.

He still raised the most money over the summer, but not more than the rest of his opponents combined.

Singh raised about $454,000, or about 73 per cent, of his fundraising in Ontario alone. More than two-thirds of that came from the Greater Toronto Area, where Singh holds a seat in the Ontario Legislature. Fundraising for Angus was similarly concentrated in his home province. He raised just under 75 per cent of his donations from Ontario, though it was dispersed more evenly across the province.

The results of the first round of voting for the NDP leadership will be announced on Oct. 1 in Toronto. If none of the four candidates in the running gets a majority of ballots cast, the candidate finishing last will be eliminated and a new weeklong round of voting will begin.

NDP leadership contender Jagmeet Singh eyes Brampton East seat (Rachel Aiello) NDP leadership hopeful Jagmeet Singh is eyeing Brampton East, the federal riding held by Liberal MP Raj Grewal, as his ticket in to the House of Commons.

In an interview with Evan Solomon, host of CTV’s Question Period, Singh said he’d want to run in a riding where he has roots, and the Brampton East riding would fit the bill.

“My current riding is in Bramalea-GoreMalton,” Singh said, referring to the provincial riding he’s held since 2011, “which would reflect Brampton East, that’s the riding that makes the most sense, where I’ve got the history.”

Grewal, his prospective opponent, is a rookie who won the federal Brampton East riding for the Liberals in 2015, with 52.3 per cent of the vote.

Both men are Sikh, under the age of 40, and worked as lawyers before entering politics. Bramalea-GoreMalton includes part of Brampton, and the area has a large Sikh population.

When asked if he’d consider a run earlier, potentially in the ScarboroughAgincourt, Ont. seat that was vacated as a result of Liberal MP Arnold Chan’s recent death, Singh said it’s something he’ll have to think about, but right now he says he’s fine to wait until 2019.

“I’d be open to hearing opinions on it, but again I’m not uncomfortable with the fact that I don’t have a seat right now.”

He said he’s okay to hold off because he’s interested in following in the footsteps of Jack Layton, who did not have a federal seat when he became leader of the NDP.

didn’t let him come close to me fearing I may marry him. I thank Honeypreet for not letting me come close to Baba. He once asked me to make sacrifices. I realised it now what he meant by ‘sacrifices’. He probably meant ‘casting couch’.

Q: Do you believe your film will taste success?

Rakhi: I will make several revelations in the movie that nobody knows. Neither media nor police. I will reveal what made Honeypreet a devout follower of Baba. I will also share why Baba arranged Honeypreet’s marriage despite the fact that they were involved together.

Q: Tell us more about Baba.

Rakhi: Baba and Honeypreet once called me at a hotel. Honeypreet used to invite girls to hotels in the name of giving a role in his films. They both stayed together in the same room. I found several herbs in the bathroom, which I believe was used

by Baba for ‘sinful purpose’. I was horrified to know his real intentions and feared getting killed by him.

Q: You have been in the glamour industry.

How did you think of joining politics?

Rakhi: I have always been a social activist and have worked for the deprived. People asked me to join politics and fight elections. Elections will happen in 2019 and I will give my support to the party that understands the economic problem of the country and help the needy.

On wanted list, Honeypreet approaches Delhi HC for anticipatory bail continued from page 1 2002, the high court had directed Sirsa district and session judge to probe the allegations in the letter. In September 2002, the high court handed over the matter to the CBI after the district court indicated the possibility of sexual exploitation. In December 2002, the CBI registered a case of rape, criminal intimidation against Ram Rahim. The CBI had filed a charge sheet against the Dera head in Ambala court in July 2007. The charge sheet mentioned the sexual exploitation of two ‘sadhvis’ between 1999 and 2001. In September 2008, the special CBI court framed charges of rape and criminal intimidation against Ram Rahim.

Rakhi Sawant to expose Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a biopic, shoots an item song in Delhi continued from page 1 the capital today. Pictures from the sets have made their way to the internet, and well, we’ll just leave them here for you to see. Confirming this, Rakhi said, “Yes, I’m playing Honeypreet as I have known her for seven to eight years. I know everything about her. I believe she is in London right now. My brother Rakesh Sawant and I are producing the film.”

She added, “I’m in Delhi right now. We will be shooting here only. Our set will be exactly like his Sacha Sauda. I promise my audiences that ‘Main baba ki sab pol khol ke hi dum lungi’ (I will be relieved only after exposing him).” We are waiting to know your thoughts on this piece of news.

Let us know in the comments below.

Issue - 738 (5)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Hindu Rohingyas forced to convert in B’desh camps

HINDU Rohingyas living in Bangladesh relief camps have purportedly become a soft target for Muslim Rohingyas in the country. Both have taken shelter after coming from Myanmar but the difference is in the numbers, and that is the key. Hindu Rohingya women say they were forced to remove sindoor, break bangles and even tie the knot with Muslim men for conversion of religion. Many of them were allegedly forced to even read namaz five times a day. Puja Mullick is among them and she recounted the trauma she has gone through for almost three weeks. Puja calls herself Rabia now: the change happened this month. She is a Hindu Rohingya who left Myanmar in hope of a refuge. But circumstances turned her life upside down. Puja, now Rabia, lost her husband to violence in the last week of August in Myanmar. She says he was not killed by the army but by men clad in black with their faces hidden, who were abusing in the name of religion. Theoman says her husband and entire family were shot in front of her but she was left alive to live as a captive. “They took us to the forest and said I would have to read namaz or they would releaseme... My sindoor was removed and my religious shakha pola bangles broken. I was told I would be allowed to live only if I changed my religion.

I was made to wear burqa and stay with them to learn their traditions for almost three weeks.

I was made to read namaz... I had to say Allah, but my heart was beating for Bhagwan... My

codwellers started searching for me and came to know that I was living in a Muslim camp.” The red saree is the only one she has now and her three-year-old son has no clothes at all. This reporter met many more such women in the Hindu Rohingya camp in Kotupalong area of Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. If Puja became Rabia, Rica was being turned into Sadia. Twentyeight-year-old Rica Dhar adjusted her orange saree to feed her yearold son as she narrated a similar

tragic tale. “On Friday (August 25) they entered all the Hindu residences and attacked. First the mobile phones were taken away and then men were tied and beaten brutally. My husband worked as a goldsmith. They took away all my jewellery and began beating me. All Hindus were identified and taken to a nearby hill. They were then killed in a row. Only eight women were allowed to stay among them… mostly young and beautiful. They were told ‘You will have to turn

Rishi: I’m in eye of storm as I catch bull by horns

RISHI Kapoor is honest when you ask how he takes all the trolling that comes his way on social media. “I get into the eye of the storm because I catch the bull by the horns. People correct me when I am wrong and I admit that. I am a human being and I make mistakes. If someone feels bad due to my words, I remove that tweet. I don’t want to hurt anyone,” declared the 65-year-old Bollywood veteran who is among the most active Indian celebrities on social media, habitually stirring up controversy with tweets. “I don’t want to start controversies. I don’t need controversies at my age. In fact, I have watered-down over the past five or six months,” claimed the temperamental actor, who has already been trolled twice this month — once for a jibe at Rahul Gandhi and then for abusing a woman with a direct message. You spot regret in his voice as he talks about how, despite being a star in his heydays, varied roles rarely came his way. “In our times, every actor had at least two to three films

based on lost-and-found formula. Kids would be separated at the start of a film and reunite in the end, after they killed the villain. The audience was forgiving. The youth today have access to social platforms and the net,” said Kapoor. In his second innings, as a character artist, he has been luckier. “My image all along was that of a romantic hero, and yet I got to play a villain in Agneepath, D-Day and Aurangzeb.

“I was called a star earlier but didn’t get credit as an actor. Maybe, I was responsible— for the first 25 years of my career, I only sang songs and romanced,” said Kapoor, who won a National Award as a child artist at 14, in dad Raj Kapoor’s 1970 release Mera Naam Joker. “An actor is an actor.

An actor can be good but there is nothing called a bad actor. Experience has taught me that you are either an actor or you are not,” said Kapoor, who was recently seen in the comedy Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi, co-starring Paresh Rawal. “I am happy with my career. Some films were good and others bad but I consider myself lucky,” he said.

Muslim and marry us’... We had no option but to surrender and go with them... We were taken to the forest and left without food to weaken us mentally also… Then we were brought to a camp in Bangladesh... Once my Hindu relatives heard about it...they brought me to this place...” Both Rica and Puja say there were six more women besides them who shared their fate. After they could not be traced anywhere in Myanamar or Bangladesh, they were identified at the Kotupalong

Rohingya camp where they were kept under close watch by those who were allegedly executing this forcible conversion. The government officials were clueless about what was going on till the newspaper brought this to their notice. “We do not have any such information,” said Md. Ali Hossain, deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar. “If it has occurred, we will take necessary action.” Men hailing from the same Rakhine state went out in search of these women and allegedly faced torture themselves. Vijay Ram Pal says he was assaulted during his quest. “We are victims of Burma army and now we are being tortured here also. Eight women who were here from Myanmar....they were forcibly taken to another camp and were asked to convert to Islam.

Thankfully, a person here in the camp came to know about this saved them,” he said. Puja alias Rabia can now breathe easy. “I am back in the Hindu camp for the past three days after being rescued by my some women,” she says. Around five lakh Rohingyas have entered Bangladeshi territory and are scattered in different parts of this district. Among them, a significant number is of Hindus. When this reporter apprised Bangladesh’s information minister Hasanul Haq Inu about the situation, he promised action. “The news is very bad and astounding...we have taken all measures to put Rohingya Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist families in separate camps,” he said. “We will be investigating this and we will be very tough.”

Mahira Khan trolled for smoking with Ranbir PICTURES of Ranbir Kapoor and Mahira Khan bonding over a smoke in New York hit the Internet on Friday, and netizens haven’t been able to keep calm since. There is a lot of conjecture about Ranbir and Mahira’s supposed secret romance, with some Twitteratti claiming to have spotted a love bite on Mahira’s back.

Not just gossipmongers, the picture has also attracted the attention of trolls. A lot of hate posts have been directed at Mahira for smoking and wearing a halter dress. One commenter even asked how Mahira could “do this”, being a mother. For the uninitiated, Mahira is a single mother and has a son, Azlaan, who was born in 2014.However, fans have also come out in support of her, maintaining that it is her life and

that she has the freedom to smoke and wear what she wants.

Meanwhile, Pakistani actor Ali

Zafar has defended Mahira’s decision in an Instagram post.

“Every woman has the right to make her own choices in life (as long as she’s not hurting anyone else) just like we men do,” one part of it read.

Issue - 738 (6)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Wonder kneels in defiance of Trump gig, Maxwell first big league player to take knee during national anthem

AMERICA didn’t have to wait until Sunday to see if sports stars and celebrities would take a knee in defiance of President Donald Trump. An Oakland Athletics baseball player became the first major leaguer to take a knee during the national anthem on Saturday. Later Saturday evening, pop music legend Stevie Wonder began his appearance at a concert in Central Park by dropping down to one knee in an act he said was ‘for America.’

In Oakland, Athletics rookie catcher Bruce Maxwell knelt as he held his baseball cap against the left side of his torso during the singing of the national anthem before his team’s game against the Texas Rangers at the Oakland Coliseum.

Teammate Mark Canha placed his hand on Maxwell’s shoulder. Earlier in the day Maxwell posted a number of tweets

denouncing Trump for saying that the NFL should bar players who knelt during the anthem in protest of police shootings of Afro-Americans. He also hinted that he would take a knee during the anthem – a gesture that no other professional baseball player has made since the trend was first started last year by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Maxwell, who is black, tweeted earlier Saturday: “Don’t be surprised if you start seeing athletes kneeling in other sports now!! Comments like that coming from our president. WOW!” He also tweeted: “Yeah I bet (Trump) doesn’t step to Kaepernick in person and call him and the other protesters a ‘son of a b***h’. Ignorance from our Pres.”

“Inequality is being displayed bigger than ever right now as our president shows that

freeedom of protest and speech is not allowed,” he tweeted. Meanwhile, on the opposite coast of the United States, pop legend Stevie Wonder began his set at the Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park by declaring: “I’m taking a knee for America.” Wonder then dropped down to both knees as he was helped by his son, Kwame Morris. Both Wonder and Maxwell became trending topics on Twitter after a day in which professional athletes reacted with anger to Trump’s comments on Friday about protesting football players.

Trump and the sports world engaged in an intensifying spat on Saturday after he called for National Football League owners to fire players who protest during the national anthem and disinvited a National Basketball Association star from a White House visit.

Trudeau’s trysts continue with Trumps IT was her first solo foreign engagement representing the United States as First Lady. So Melania Trump was unsurprisingly relieved to see a friendly face in Justin Trudeau as she arrived at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto ahead of the Invictus games opening ceremony on Saturday night. As soon as she clapped eyes on the Canadian Prime Minister and his family, Melania lit up and offered herself for a warm embrace.

Her excitement was reciprocated by Trudeau who lept in for a hug and a kiss, delicately enveloping her and her Dior dogtooth suit. His wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, was just as welcoming and gave Melania just as warm a greeting.

Their rendezvous came less than a week after the two first ladies met in New York

at a luncheon to coincide with the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

Melania was still dressed in the sharp suit she’d worn earlier in the day to meet Prince Harry. She was decidedly more animated in her greeting of Trudeau than she was when she sat down with the British Royal. The First Lady was also delighted by the sight of two of Trudeau kids Ella Grace, eight, and Xavier, nine.

She politely shook hands with Ella-Grace after giving her parents a kiss hello. Her body language told a very different story than that shown when she met Harry earlier in the day. Indeed according to body language expert Patti Wood, Melania appeared uptight and nervous during their 30-minute oneon-one.

Melania’s closed-off posture and tense

shoulders revealed she was nervous — a of Nations. Prince Harry then indulged predictable observation for the First Lady’s her in some small talk. first solo foreign engagement. “There’s a lot of tension. It’s polite but beyond that to a slight fear and tension like ‘Am I doing the right thing?’” she said. Harry, who is usually laid back and welcoming, was subdued and restrained and did not want to appear to be too excited about his sitdown with the First Lady, she explained.

“He started with his hands clasped and he’s gesturing very low to the body. It felt like he needed to protect himself during the interaction.” By the time she took her seat in the VIP box next to him, the pair both appeared to have loosened up somewhat. Melania rose to her feet to cheer on athletes, smiling widely as they entered the stadium as part of the Parade

Issue - 738 (7)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Tens of thousands flee rumbling Bali volcano

KARANGASEM More than 34,000 people have fled from a rumbling volcano on the resort island of Bali as the magnitude of tremors grows, prompting fears it could erupt for the first time in more than 50 years, an official said Sunday.

Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said the number of people fleeing their homes surrounding the volcano had tripled since Friday amid growing alarm that Mount Agung could erupt at any moment.“The evacuation process is ongoing and we expect the number of evacuees to continue to rise,” the agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told AFP. The volcano, the highest point in Bali and located about 75 kilometres (50 miles) from the tourist hub of Kuta, has been rumbling since August.

Officials announced the highest possible alert level on Friday following the increasing volcanic activity, and urged people stay at least nine kilometres away from the crater. “I am actually very worried to leave, I left my cows and pigs at home because we were ordered to vacate our village immediately,” villager Nyoman Asih who

British climber dies on Nepal peak KATHMANDU A British climber has died while attempting to climb Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth tallest peak, the expedition organiser said Monday. The mountaineer fell ill at the last camp before the 8,156-metre (26,759-foot) summit and died as he was being taken down the mountain. “We have confirmed that one person, a British national, has died between camp two and three. He went up to camp four but was not feeling well and was descending with our staff,” said Iswari Poudel, head of the Himalayan Guides Nepal climbing agency. The agency did not name the man. “The body is still in the same area and we are getting permission from his family for further action.” Nepal granted permits to 255 climbers this autumn season for Manaslu, a record number.

At least 13 climbers and their sherpa guides have reached the top this month, while heavy snow has left other teams waiting at base camp for clear weather.

fled with her entire family told AFP. The international airport in Bali’s capital, Denpasar, was anticipating the prospect of closure but no flight schedules had been

tourists to stay away from tourism spots located within the danger zone.

Pura Besakih temple, one of Bali’s most prominent temples which is located just a few kilometres away

the Pacific Ocean where frequent seismic activity occurs.

The volcano agency’s chief Kasbani said Mount Agung had a history of major eruptions that eclipsed

affected as of Sunday.

The airport has prepared buses and trains to divert passengers to alternative hubs in neighbouring provinces if the mountain erupts.

Flight disruptions due to drifting ash clouds are not uncommon in Indonesia, which sits on a belt of seismic activity known as the “Ring of Fire”.

Last year more than two dozen domestic and international flights to Bali’s neighbouring resort island Lombok were cancelled due to a drifting ash cloud from erupting Mount Rinjani. Bali officials said the island was still generally safe but urged

from the mountain’s slopes, has been closed to visitors since Saturday.

The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said the tremors had grown more powerful on Sunday.

“The mountain has not erupted until now. The earthquakes are happening less frequently but the magnitude is getting stronger,” Gede Suantika, a senior volcanologist at the agency told AFP. Indonesia is home to around 130 volcanoes due to its position on the “Ring of Fire”, a belt of tectonic plate boundaries circling

recent episodes in Indonesia, including the 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi in Central Java that claimed at least 350 lives.

The 1963 eruption of Mount Agung killed more than 1,000 people and devastated many villages.

The 2010 Merapi eruption, which also forced hundreds of thousands of villagers to flee, was that mountain’s biggest since 1872. However, it was 10 times smaller than Mount Agung’s 1963 eruption.

“We hope this time it will not be that big, but we need to be prepared for the worst case scenario and prioritise vigilance,” Kasbani told Metro TV.

Israeli PM’s son under fire for anti-Semitic post Jerusalem Israeli political leaders lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s eldest son Sunday for posting an antiSemitic caricature aimed at his father’s critics.

Yair Netanyahu’s meme shows American Jewish billionaire George Soros and a figure that resembles Nazi depictions of world Jewry manipulating former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and two leaders of weekly protests calling on Netanyahu to step down over corruption allegations.

The post was shared by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and other antiSemites. The opposition Labor Party’s chairman Avi Gabbay told Army Radio the post “crossed every line imaginable,” saying it was a “very sad” day for Israel and the Jewish people when the prime minister’s son posts a cartoon that the leader of the Ku Klux Klan agrees with. Barak wondered on Twitter whether Yair Netanyahu, who enjoys a state-funded driver and bodyguard while living at the prime minister’s official residence, absorbed such ideology at home.

“What is it, genetics or a spontaneous mental illness? It doesn’t matter. In any case, we ought to pay for him to have a psychiatrist, not a bodyguard and a chauffeur,” Barak wrote.

Yair Netanyahu responded by calling Barak a drunk who needed geriatric care.

Yair, 26, has drawn criticism for living a life of privilege at

taxpayers’ expense and for his crude social media posts.

The Netanyahu family is facing a slew of corruption allegations. The prime minister has been questioned about his ties to executives in media, international business and Hollywood. His associates have been engulfed in a probe relating to a possible conflict of interest involving a $2 billion purchase of German submarines.

Israel’s attorney general has said he intends to indict the prime minister’s wife, Sara, for fraud over her bloated household expenses.

Yair Netanyahu, who has reportedly taken a leading role in his father’s aggressive social media platform, has also been drawn into the scandals.

Australian billionaire James Packer has reportedly lavished Yair with gifts that included extended stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Colorado, as well as the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by Packer’s former fiancee, Mariah Carey.

Police are trying to determine whether these constitute bribes, since Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes.

The prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, portraying the accusations as a witch hunt against him and his family by a hostile media.

He has resisted increasing calls to step down.

Issue - 738 (8)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

US President Trump expands travel ban to North Korea, Venezuela and Chad; Sudan removed from list Washington President Donald Trump has issued a new travel ban that saw North Korea, Venezuela and Chad among a list of eight countries cited for poor security and lack of cooperation with US authorities.

Trump ordered the new restrictions Sunday to replace an expiring measure that had locked him into political and legal battles over what critics alleged was an effort to block Muslims from entry into the country since he took office in January.

“Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet,” Trump said in a tweet. was removed from the list. Under the new restrictions, eight nations now have complete or partial blocks on travel to the United States.

Full travel bans were placed on nationals from North Korea and Chad, while the restrictions for Venezuela were limited to officials from a long list of government agencies and their families.

Other countries included in the ban were Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

In a presidential order, Trump said the action was needed to press the countries to improve procedures for identifying their nationals and sharing information with the United States.

In addition, he said, the list was created to “advance foreign

policy, national security and counterterrorism objectives.”

on travellers to the United States.

Speaking on background,

counterterrorism partner.”

But the order noted the presence

“These restrictions are both vital to national security and conditions-based, not timebased,” a senior administration official said, noting that countries can be removed from the list if they can rise to US traveller vetting standards.

Officials stressed that while Iraq was not included on the new list, it was deeply deficient in security vetting of immigrants and travelers to the United States.

But Baghdad is a close ally and supports the presence of large numbers of US troops and civilian officials. But acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke recommended tough restrictions

government officials said the addition of North Korea and Venezuela demonstrated that the measure was set on the basis of security and was not a “Muslim ban,” as detractors have argued.“Religion, or the religious origin of individuals or nations, was not a factor,” a senior government official told reporters.

“The inclusion of those countries, Venezuela and North Korea, was about the fact that those governments are simply not compliant with our basic security requirements.”

Chad was added to the list even though Trump’s order called it “an important and valuable

in Chad of several designated terror groups like the so-called Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram.

Hindus in Australia protest meat ad featuring Lord Ganesha Sydney Hundreds of people attended rallies in Australia’s major cities on Sunday to protest an

Sunday the MLA had not listened to the Indian community’s earlier concerns when the ad initially screened.

advertisement the Indian community described as “highly insulting” in its depiction of the Hindu deity Lord Ganesha.

The India Forum Australia (IFA) arranged the protests in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in response to a Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) advertisement, aired earlier this month.The ad featured various religious figures including the Hindu god, considered vegetarian by followers, sitting down to a meal of lamb.

IFA president Nihal Agar said on

“To say something is legal is one thing, but it’s something else to touch the heart and that is how MLA has failed our community,” he said.

“This is not the multicultural Australia that we truly love.”

Earlier this month, India’s High Commission in Canberra lodged a complaint with the Australian government asking for the ad’s removal.

The Advertising Standards Bureau dismissed complaints, saying Lord Ganesha was depicted positively and that the

advertisement’s intent was to be inclusive.

Assistant Minister for Social Services and Multicultural Affairs, Zed Seselja, told Reuters on Sunday that he had met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and leaders of Australia’s Hindu community because of the “genuine hurt” that had been caused.

Seselja said organisations needed to consider the impact on people of faith when they exercised their freedom of speech but cautioned against censorship.

An MLA spokesman said in a statement after the ad first aired that the organisation had undertaken “extensive research and consultation” while making the advertisement.The industry association has a history of controversial campaigns, geared at generating discussion and promoting meat consumption.

Another advertisement this year featuring indigenous Australians welcoming boat arrivals to a barbecue on a beach was described as insensitive while a previous campaign was criticised for promoting violence against vegans.

Nevertheless, “Chad does not adequately share public- safety and terrorism-related information,” it said. And, the order added, the country failed on one “key” but unspecified criterion used in a broad review of countries for the travel ban.

North Korea, locked in a dangerous face-off with Washington over its nuclear weapons program, was added, the order said, because Pyongyang “does not cooperate with the United States government in any respect.”

Venezuela, in a political and economic crisis due to its embattled, increasingly oppressive regime, was listed for a limited ban.

The order placed a prohibition on officials from state agencies responsible for weak security vetting and lack of cooperation with the United States, including the interior and foreign ministries and the main police and intelligence services.

Brexit may give rise to ‘Euro English’ language

London The exit of the UK from the European Union may give rise to “Euro-English” a new language tailored to the cultures and needs of continental European societies, a study claims.

The term Euro-English best suits those continental Europeans whose speech is characterised by influences from standardised English as well as their native tongues, researchers said.

Researchers from Gavle University in Sweden argue that when the English leave the European Union (EU), 98 per cent of the population will not have English as their native language, and the absence of native speakers will lead the language to develop against its own variant, “Euro-English”.

“The departure of the British from the European Union will without doubt mark the beginning of a new era for the English language,” said Marko Modiano, language researcher at Gavle University. “Europeans who speak English already show signs of developing their own words and phrases and their own way of speaking,” said Modiano.

Researchers point out that with the British gone, nobody will be

there to defend UK English for competition, not only from American English but also from other languages.

“Moreover, when dealing with spellings, Europeans may debate the pros and cons of the US and the UK spellings without being influenced by ‘native speakers’ of either variety, and it is conceivable that the US English spelling system may be deemed more utilitarian,” researchers said.

Researchers also noted that the English grammar is changing.

One example is the expansion of the ‘-ing’ form in utterances such as ‘I am coming from Spain’, which, in standardised varieties of English would be ‘I come from Spain’.

Researchers also argue that Euro English provide its users with a sense of identity and is used as a medium of communication within the community at large, is something both logical and welcome.

Issue - 738 (9)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

4 shocking things we eat every day While reading food labels is helpful for identifying what ingredients have gone into your food, there are some things you won't see listed on packages but which most of us eat every day. Check out these five shocking things we unknowingly eat.

Arsenic

Lead

Many of us view rice as a pretty safe, healthy food; however, studies have suggested that it may also contain unsafe levels of the toxic substance arsenic. One study has suggested that one in five packs of American long-grain rice contain potentially harmful levels of the toxic substance, while others have reported concern for the levels of arsenic in rice milk and baby rice. In fact, according to tests by Consumer Reports, those who ate rice had 44 per cent greater levels of arsenic in their bodies than those who had not.

While there is relatively little risk of the odd bowl of rice causing any long lasting harm, the popular grain may be best enjoyed in moderation if reports are to be believed.

Ladies, how often have you applied your lipstick in the morning only to find your glossy pout has faded within a matter of hours? While some of your makeup will inevitably smear off on objects throughout the day, apparently the average woman also eats a whopping four to nine pounds of lipstick in her lifetime! As a 2004 study revealed that up to 28 per cent of lipsticks contain chemicals that can cause cancer and a 2007 study by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that more than 50 per cent of lipstick brands contained lead, this may be bad news for our health. To cut down your consumption of lead and look after your health, try switching to natural, organic brands of lipstick.

Wood

Insects Most of us wouldn't class insects as a component of our diets; however, you may be eating more of them than you think, as well as your fair share of rodent hair over the years. Surprisingly, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows for "natural defects" in food by permitting a certain amount of bugs and rodent hair to be present in food products. For example, chocolate products may contain an average of 60 insect fragments and one rodent hair per 100g, while citrus fruit juice can contain one maggot per 250ml.

Chinese father hires virtual hitman to ‘kill’ son in online games So he will get a job

A Chinese man concerned about his unemployed son’s gaming addiction hired online hitmen to ‘kill’ his avatar.The man, named as Mr Feng, blames his 23-yearold son’s love for online roleplaying games for his unemployment and found a radical way to get him into gear.

Mr Feng, who lives with his son in the Shaanxi province in central China, hired high-level players to kill his son’s character every time he went online to play in the hopes that this would see him tire of playing.

Mr Feng told Chinese newspaper Sanqing Daily that his son had begun playing online games in high school after which his grades deteriorated and Feng Jr. has struggled with keeping a job since.He said he was annoyed that when his son finally found a job at a software development company he failed to stick it out for more than three months. But unfortunately for Mr Feng, it appears his plan failed.The 23year-old, named by blog Kotaku East as Xiao Feng, eventually asked his ‘murderers’ why they kept targeting him, and found out

the truth.

Instead of encouraging him to get hired he told his father ‘I can play or I can not play, it doesn’t bother me.’I’m not looking for any job-I want to take some time to find one that suits me.’ A gambling and addictions expert was quoted by the BBC saying these types of interventions may do more harm than good to family relations and that in most cases gaming addiction is a symptom of an underlying problem.

Professor Mark Griffiths, gambling and addictions expert at Nottingham Trent University, told the BBC he had not known family members to go to such drastic measures before.

He said: ‘It’s not going to do much for family relations.

‘I’ve never heard of that kind of intervention before, but I don’t think these top-down approaches work. ‘Most excessive game playing is usually a symptom of an underlying problem.’

He said in his 25 years experience he had come across players who dedicated up to 14 hours a day gaming.

But he said it only has a detrimental affect if it impacts on their work or family life. Kotaku East reported that the pair had made up after Xiao confronted his father but it is not clear if he has now found work.

From cooking utensils to tables and chairs, wood is an essential ingredient of many of our must-have items.

However, did you know it is also a component of a large amount of the foods we eat? Cellulose (wood pulp) is increasingly added to processed foods to thicken foods, add texture and replace more expensive ingredients like flour and oil. While there are no reported health problems associated with consuming cellulose, it may come as a surprise to many that they are regularly splashing their cash on food products bulked out with wood.

Russian sex cult leader arrested in Bulgaria Sect believes prostitution & orgies bring enlightenment

RUSSIA is seeking to close down a bizarre ‘sect’ run by a former fitness coach who has recruited dozens of women to his teachings that enlightenment is only attainable through sex.

Sergey Kirienko, 41, accused of forcing his followers to take part in orgies and prostitution ‘in the name of god’, has been detained in Bulgaria and faces extradition to Moscow amid fears that children of his female disciples were kidnapped or abused. His wife Ksenia Khodyreva fled abroad but another concubine and sect founder Tatiana Severtseva is under house arrest

following her extradition from Sofia. Meanwhile, Russia staged an elaborate operation involving police in Belarus to rescue a five-year-old boy whose mother Anastasia Ziboreva has become ‘an ardent follower’ of Kirienko, cutting off all ties with her relatives, and apparently offering sexual services to clients in South America on his orders. She is also known by the name Masha More and features in cult online footage amid fears she was brainwashed by the ‘spiritual guru’. The boy Yakov was found recently in Belarus in a car ‘with two strangers’. He

had been kidnapped 14 months ago by members of the cult from his grandparents’ flat in Moscow, and police initially feared he had been murdered. Cult members released images showing he was still alive, but it took an international police operation to rescue him. A criminal case is investigating his abduction and seeking evidence of whether he was the victim of sexual crime and torture. The child has been returned to his grandparents, who are now caring for him. The Russian Investigative Committee remains concerned about seven-year-old twin girls who are still with sect followers.

An alleged crony of the cult leader — Dmitry Tsaturyan — was blamed for separating the boy from his mother. He is now detained pending investigations.

Bizarre ‘spiritual’ leader Kirienko, branded an ‘impostor’ by the Russian media, styles himself Mithradevananda Paramahamsa and also makes money by selling online porn films showing his concubines.

He preaches the benefits of tantric sex. Before fleeing Russia, the Siberianborn leader divided his women followers into ‘castes’. He and his women fled to Cancun in Mexico, where his entourage offered their services to rich clients.

Issue - 738 (10)

Jat Sikh parents seek an eligible alliance for their intelligent, down-to-earth and beautiful daughter, born Jan. 1984 (33 years old), 5'-4" tall, M.Sc. from University of Toronto and professionally employed as a project manager. The boy must be clean-shaven, university graduate and professionally employed. Serious enquiries only. Please respond with recent pictures and bio-data to: rc.match.784@gmail.com or contact: 647-229-4635 or 416-435-3013 ***739*** Well established Jat Sikh family of professionals, business owners in the USA for over 50 years seeking match for our beautiful daughter, 27yrs old, 5'11" tall. Very athletic, with down to earth values, currently in her last year of a Pediatric Dental Residency. Seeking professional respondents only from USA/ Canada/Europe. Please send full bio and recent photo to: jcsingh82@gmail.com ***738*** Hindu Brahmin parents looking for a suitable match for their daughter 28 yrs. old, 5'-4" tall, Bachelor’s degree from a Canadian University, employed seeking a well educated, professionally settled match from Canada preferably from GAT. Please respond with latest pictures and bio-data to : matrisearch7325@gmail.com ***738*** Ravidasia Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance for their daughter, Canadian citizen, 36 yrs. old, 5'-3" tall, well educated working as a registered nurse.

The boy should be professionally educated and employed, well settled non-smoker, non-drinker & clean-shaven, Canadian citizen, 35-38 yrs. in age preferably from GTA. Please respond with latest pictures and bio-data to :san1622002@yahoo.com or call :-647-293-6596 ***738*** 26 yrs. old, Punjabi Jatt Sikh boy, 6' tall, working as software engineer in Manhattan, New York city with multinational firm, born in a prominent Punjabi family, raised in Chandigarh, B. S Computer Science from Ny state university at Buffalo. The girl should be Jatt Sikh, US citizen, equally educated. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to : nycjatt90@gmail.com ***738*** Match for Jat Sikh beautiful, wellcultured girl, Canadian immigrant, 1985 born (looks like 24-25 yrs old), 5'-5" tall, B. Tech (India), PG Project Management (Canada).

Jat Sikh families may contact parents.

Email : dhillonintl@yahoo.com ***738*** Jat Sikh Canadian immigrant, well educated. 60 yrs. old, 5'-10" tall, retired, getting handsome pension, widower, owns good property in India. Two daughters happily married and settled in

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Canada. Looking for a suitable, sincere and educated life partner. cast no bar. Please call:-647821-7170 ***738*** Mair Rajput (Shienh) family seeking a suitable match for Canadian citizens daughter, 31 year old, height 5'-0 tall, medical doctor degree completed.The boy should be from Hindu or Sikh family, well educated, clean shaven, well settled in Canada and USA. Please send your biodata and picture:vksara92@gmail.com or call:647-894-4211 ***738*** BC based, a 60 years young female seeks a man between 60 to 65 years old. Although, my life is quite fine as such, but to live life fully, it will be an honor to share it with a gentleman who is well grounded, fun loving, respectful, and honest. I am a vegetarian, non-drinker, beautiful inside and out. Diplomacy/double standards are not acceptable.

Problem drinker plz may excuse.

If interested, please email a recent photo to: leeds_1977@hotmail.com ***738*** Suitable match for Doctor (Gastro Entomologist) Jat Sikh boy, 30 yrs. old, 5'-9" tall, innocently divorced looking for well educated, simple & Sikh cultured girl. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to : wraich2712@gmail.com or call :1-916-500-2391 ***738*** Jat Sikh parents looking for a suitable match for their son, 35 yrs. old, 6'-1" tall, born and raised in Canada, handsome, running his own successful business. The girl should be educated, beautiful and family oriented. Please email recent pictures and bio-data to: torontofamily@hotmail.com or call :- 416-846-6318 ***738*** Jatt Sikh Mann family seeking a suitable match for their Canadian PR daughter,28 yrs. old,5'-3" tall,M.sc nursing , pursuing career in same field.Family well settled in Canada. The boy should be well educated,family oriented, curently employed in own field,having 20+ acres land, residing in India or Canada. Please send your biodata & recent picture to: manngurshan654@yahoo.com or call: 011-91-98722-21180 ***738*** Sikh khatri family seek a beautiful, fair, educated girl for their handsome son.Mar82 born, 6' tall, B.Tech and MBA, nontrimmer, teetotaller, non-smoker, Canadian PR, working in Toronto earning good, Well to do family living in South Delhi. Caste no bar.Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: singhpisces7@gmail.com or call: 011-91-98688-78170 ***738*** Saini Sikh parents seek professionally qualified, USsettled match for their US-born daughter, 5’- 3" tall, 28 yrs. old,

MBA and working in her own field. Please send your bio-data and recent picture to: ptx3210@gmail.com. ***738*** Jat Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance for their son, 29 yrs. old, 6'-1" tall, handsome, born and raised in Canada, running his own successful business, belongs to a well established family. The boy should be beautiful, tall and family oriented. Girl on student visa/work permit/visitor visa may also be considered. Please call :-416-818-5764 or 647-404-5764 ***738*** Tonk Kshtriya family seeking a suitable match for their Canadian citizen daughter, 29yrs. old, 5'3" tall, CGA, B. Com, working in good job. The boy should be well educated, clean-shaven, professionally settled. Caste no bar. Toronto based family prefered. Please send your recent pictures and bio-data to : jagsingh13@gmail.com or call:416-722-9771 ***738*** Jat Sikh parents seek a suitable match for their daughter, 32yrs. old, 5'-5" tall, Canadian citizen, beautiful, family oriented, working as a nursing unit assistant in health care field.

The boy should be from Canada, well educated, tall, employed with good family values. Please send your recent picture and biodata to : amankang2011@gmail.com or call :-1-604-716-6242 ***738*** Jat Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance for their son, 25yrs. old, 5'-11" tall, bachelor degrees in Business Management from University of Toronto, currently working, earning six figure salary, handsome, non-smoker, belongs to a well settled family.

The girl should be between 2327 yrs., Canadian citizen/ immigrant, well educated and with family values. Please email recent picture and bio-data to gulraj.gill@yahoo.com or call :647-467-3472 ***738*** Jat Sikh Sandhu parents invite matrimonial alliance for their daughter, 31yrs. old, 5'-3" tall, beautiful, family oriented, B.com degree from Delhi University and upgraded in Canada, professionally employed. The boy should be from Canada, professionally educated, settled with family values. The family is well settled in Canada. Please respond with recent pictures and bio-data to : kulwant.sodhi@rogers.com or call :-416-818-8769 ***738*** Ramdasia Sikh family seek a suitable match for their daughter, 31 yrs. old, 5'-4" tall, Canadian immigrant, vegetarian, degree in software engineering, working as an support engineer in a reputed company of Toronto. The boy should be Canadian, educated, having good job. Please send

your bio-data & recent picture to : prabhneet_kaur25@yahoo.com or call :-905-782-8900 ***738*** Jat Sikh family seeks a suitable match for their daughter, 30 yrs. old, 5'-4" tall, born and raised in Canada from a reputed family, beautiful, diploma in business, settled in a good job. The boy should be born or raised in Canada, professionally educated and employed, cleanshaven, family oriented and from Vancouver (BC). Please call:-1604-671-0002 ***738*** Sanfrancisco based Arora Sikh clean-shaven boy, 34 yrs. old, 6' tall, working for Amazone, earning US $150 k annually. The girl should be beautiful, tall, well educated, family oriented.

Please send your bio-data & recent picture to : jashanbathla@gmail.com or call :-1-480-646-2882 ***738*** Jat Sikh parents seek an eligible alliance for their intelligent, down-to-earth and beautiful daughter, born Jan. 1984 (33 yrs. old) 5'-4" tall, M.Sc from University of Toronto, professionally employed as a project manager. The boy must be clean-shaven, university graduate and professionally employed, serious enquiries only. Please respond with recent pictures and bio-data to : rc.match.784@gmail.com or contact:-647-229-4635 or 416435-3013 ***738*** Ramgarhia Sikh parents invite matrimonial alliance for their son, 23 yrs. old, 6'-1" tall, diploma in accounting from Canada, currently on work permit and settled in good job.

The girl should be Canadian immigrant/citizen, family oriented, uncle in well settled in Canada and will support him for settlement in Canada. Please email recent pictures and biodata to: love.deep71@hotmail.com or call :-1-639-317-9996 or 647721-4880 ***738*** Seeking suitable match for Jatt Sikh Punjabi boy, 26 yrs. old, 6’ tall, born in a prominent Punjabi family, raised in Chandigarh, BS Computer Science from NY State University at Buffalo.working as Software Engineer in Manhattan, New York City with multinational firm. Please respond with recent photograph & details to: nycjatt90@gmail.com ***738*** Tonk Kashatriya Punjabi Sikh parents seeking a suitable match for their Canadian citizen daughter, 28 yrs. old, 5'-7" tall, slim, family oriented, Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Pharmacy Technician, working in hospital as a registered nurse. The boy should be Canadian citizen or PR, well educated, and professionally

settled with family values.

Caste no bar. Please email recent picture and bio-data to : infomatrimonial27@yahoo.com or call :-647-296-5065 ***738*** Jat Sikh family seek a suitable match for their son, 1988 born, 5'-11" tall, handsome Canadian citizen, working as an engineer.

The girl should be well educated, Canadian/American, immigrant/ citizen, having good family background. Girl on student visa/work permit may also be considered. Please send your bio-data and recent pictures to: prabh234@hotmail.com or call :-1-778-982-1172 ***738*** handsome six feet tall Sikh boy clean shaven software engineer well settled in USA. Divorced 39 years old. looking for homely girl.

Tobacco and liquor please excuse.

Caste no bar. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: grewaljagtar13@gmail.comor call:1-302-740-4164 ***738*** Khatri Sikh Uncle seeks alliance for Nephew, 37 yrs. old, 5’-7" tall, Turbaned Sikh, Never Married, B.Sc in Computer Science from the USA. Presently Visiting Canada. The girl should be well educated and humble. Uncle’s family is one of the oldest families in Canada. Please Contact Dalip Mehta @ 1-604261-9555 or 1-778-927-4669 ***738*** Well established Jat Sikh family of professionals and business owners seeking a partner for their 25 yrs old, USA born son currently in 3rd year of dental school at an elite east coast university. He is 6 ft 6 in tall, well versed in both Punjabi and Western Cultures. He is a scholar, has a wonderful personality with excellent family values and enjoys athletics.

Interested in finding a match from USA/Canada/Europe.

Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: jcsingh82@gmail.com. ***738*** JATT SIKH parents seeking suitable match for their handsome son residing in India, 26 years, 6’3 tall. Degrees in Bachelors of Business and MBA. Political family background.

Farming, Property and Commission Agents Business(Aahartiya) in Ludhiana district. Parents have PR in USA and living in California. Preferred well-qualified tall beautiful girl from USA. Please send your biodata & recent picture to: navneetbhandal@gmail.com or call: 1- 916-992-4538 ***738*** Match for Saini sikh girl, 1986 born, 5’-5" tall, slim , RN, New York based family looking for punjabisikh, clean shaven boy, USA citizen only from NY , NJ, CT, PA area. Please send your bio-data & recent picture to: 28jsingh@gmail.com or Call:1516-852-7032 ***738***

Issue - 738 (11)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in Lahore LAHORE On Sunday, smartly dressed gentlefolk’s straddled their classic and vintage motorcycles to raise funds and give awareness

for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and men’s mental health at Gloria Jean’s Café, DHA.This year 127 riders in Lahore participated in the event and raised funds for $382 USD for prostate cancer patients.

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride was founded in Sydney, Australia by Mark Hawwa. It was inspired by a photo of Mad Men’s Don Draper astride a classic bike and wearing his finest suit.

Mark decided a themed ride

would be a great way to combat the oftennegative stereotype of men on motorcycles, whilst connecting niche motorcycle communities together.Talking to

The Nation founder of DGR Mark Hawwa from Sydney, Australia said, “The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and I are extremely proud of our Pakistan community of riders. They continue to grow in numbers of registrants, cities and importantly the funds are being raised for prostate cancer research and male suicide prevention,” he said.

Rider Talat Mahfooz Butt, who had a Honda CB 350 said, “It is

Indian man flies to Singapore to buy new iPhone 8 Plus for his daughter

always a feast to watch so many vintage and classic bikes under one roof. They are very different with their own particular quick’s.

DGR is the most attractive annual charity event for fans of classicmotorcycles and distinguished dapper attire. We ride for awareness for research into prostate cancer and mental health programs as part of our mission to support men’s health globally,” he said.

Ibadat Guzar, a female rider who was attending the event for the first time said she felt honoured to be a part of Distinguish Gentleman’s Ride. “Since my childhood I have been riding sports bikes and promoting motorsports in Pakistan.

However, this is my first time I’m participating in DGR. Saving life is the biggest goal and the way Movember foundation is raising funds all over the world for prostate cancer can’t be explained in words,” she said.

Ahmad Butt organizer of the event said, “Dressing up like a gentlemen on your ride is always a great experience. I announced the location only three days ago to avoid bad crowd at the venue. We wanted to bring families so, that they can see the beauty of these classic and vintage style bikes and get to know about the awareness of prostate cancer. Each bike and the riders have their own story to tell. I’m glad with the passage of time Pakistan is raising more funds and number of riders are increasing,” Ahmad said.

Archaeologists discover secrets of mankind

EGYPT It has for centuries been one of the world’s greatest enigmas: how a Bronze Age society with little in the way of technology created Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza – the oldest and only survivor of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Now archaeologists have discovered fascinating proof that shows how the Egyptians transported 2½-ton blocks of limestone and granite from 500 miles away to build the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu in about 2,600 BC. At 481ft tall, it is the biggest of all the pyramids and was, until the Middle Ages, the largest manmade structure on Earth. Now the discovery of an ancient papyrus, a ceremonial boat and an ingenious system of waterworks have shed light on

the infrastructure created by the builders.

Archaeologists have discovered proof that shows how the Egyptians transported 2½-ton blocks of limestone and granite from 500 miles away to build the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu in about 2,600 BC. The detailed archaeological material shows that thousands of skilled workers transported 170,000 tons of limestone along the Nile in wooden boats held together by ropes, through a specially constructed system of canals to an inland port just yards from the base of the pyramid.

A scroll of ancient papyrus has also been found in the seaport Wadi Al-Jarf which has given a new insight into the role boats played in the pyramid’s construction.

Dirty money? Mystery over thousands of 500 euro notes found in Swiss sewers

Singapore An Indian businessman flew all the way to Singapore and lined up for 13 hours overnight outside an Apple store to buy the latest iPhone as a wedding gift for his daughter. Amin Ahmed Dholiya, 43, was the first in the queue outside the Apple store on Orchard Road, where he arrived around 7 pm on Thursday to get his hands on the iPhone 8 Plus which hit the shelves yesterday, reported The Straits Times.“I will buy two (phones), one for my other daughter (as well). This is my first-time queueing overnight for something.I am feeling good now but it will be hard to stand all night,” he was quoted as saying.When the store opened at 8 am yesterday, there were some 200 people, including many foreigners, in the queue.

Dholiya returned home last night, according to the Singapore daily. The new iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus

were the first major products launched at the store since it opened in May. Foreigners “have a bigger reason to queue up and buy” at the Apple store here because the new devices have not yet been launched in their countries, and many of them may have to buy the phones without contract even when the phones are launched back home,” said Kiranjeet Kaur, a senior research manager for client devices at market research firm IDC Asia-Pacific.

Apple had on September 12 unveiled the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus.

Singapore consumers will generally prefer to get the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus at a subsidised price with a telco contract, said Kaur. Many customers from the three Singapore telcos avoided queuing for too long as they could book time slots to collect their new iPhones elsewhere.

Geneva Tens of thousands of euros have been flushed down the toilet in Geneva, leaving Swiss prosecutors scratching their heads over whether the money is dirty.

Wads of €500 notes were discovered cut to shreds in the sewer system of a branch of Swiss bank UBS, while three more large deposits turned up in the toilets of nearby bistros.

Prosecutors confirmed the notes were worth tens of thousands of euros in total but said they had yet to identify the person who felt flush enough to dispose of the bills.

Swiss investigators said the money appeared to have come from a safe deposit box in Geneva belonging to unidentified Spanish women.

A lawyer for the women appeared at a local police station, according to the Tribune de

Genève , but only offered money to pay for plumbing work at the UBS branch and the three restaurants.

“The damage amounted to several thousand [Swiss] francs,” one source told the newspaper, which said the lawyer had not explained why the money had been stuffed down the toilet.

A waiter in the Pizzeria du Molard told the Tribune the restaurant had called the police after the

men’s toilets became blocked up. On investigating the cause of the blockage, staff found dozens of shredded €500 in the bathroom’s plumbing.

It is not an offence to destroy banknotes in Switzerland, but a spokesperson for the Geneva prosecutor’s office said the circumstances of the case warranted further investigation.

UBS, which discovered the notes at its branch on the Rue de la Corraterie, declined to comment.

Adolf Hitler’s ‘surprisingly large’ boxers sold for $5,500 at US auction New York A monogrammed pair of boxer shorts that belonged to German dictator Adolf Hitler has been sold for US $5,500 at an auction in the US.The white striped linen under shorts are “surprisingly large”, 19 inches long, with a waist of about 39 inches and bear

Hitler’s monogram: “A.H.” just to the right of the top of the fly, according to Alexander Historical Auctions in the US. The boxers were left behind by him, in the Parkhotel Graz Hotel in Austria, where he stayed in 1938. A notarised letter by the consignor explains that he is the

grandson of the previous owners of the Parkhotel Graz where Hitler stayed April 3-4, 1938 while travelling through the country, and that these items were left behind in his suite, the auction house said.The boxers were auctioned for US $5,500, the auction house said.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Long-lost Faberge silver knives resurface in Poland WARSAW They should have vanished a century ago after Russia’s October Revolution, melted down with the rest of a solid silver tableware set by Faberge, Imperial Russia’s legendary jeweller.

And yet, two knives from the collection have just resurfaced in Poland. After the 1917 revolution deposed Tsar Nicolas II, the Bolshevik-ruled Russia that emerged needed money to wage war and consolidate its power.

To this end, the valuable possessions of pre-revolutionary elites, including the tsar, aristocratic and bourgeois families as well as the Russian Orthodox Church, were nationalised.

Handcrafted gold and silverware, platters and goblets were melted down to obtain precious metals.

More than 100 pieces of silverware, including plates, dishes and cutlery, made by Peter Carl Faberge for Saint Petersburg’s wealthy and noble Kelch family, met the same fate.

But, as it turns out, not all was lost.

“Two fish knives - one for serving that is 35 centimetres (14 inches) long and another for individual use that is 21 centimetres - were miraculously spared,” Adam Szymanski, a Polish art historian and Faberge

expert, told AFP. Up to now “art historians and the Faberge Foundation thought that this silverware service had disappeared forever, in its entirety,” he said. But, as Szymanski reveals, the two knives were spared thanks to a Red Army soldier, who was given them in 1918 as a form of payment for helping in the melting down of the rest of the neo-gothic style tableware set.

In 1921, he sold them to a Polish doctor and the details of their whereabouts remain vague through the post-war years apart from the fact they were in the possession of one family.

The knives were sold to a new owner in 2016.

Their neo-gothic design, which Faberge used very rarely, makes the knives even more unique, he adds.The story of the knives dates back to 1900.

Barbara Kelch-Bazanova, who, before she married, had inherited one of the greatest Russian fortunes of the time, commissioned the silverware for the significant sum of 125,000 rubles from Faberge, a Russian jeweller of German-Danish origin.

He had inherited his father’s business in 1870 and became famous for the jewel-encrusted golden eggs he created for the tsar.

Alexander III commissioned his

first egg from Peter Carl Faberge as an Easter present for his wife, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna.

She was so taken by it that Faberge was named jeweller to Russia’s imperial court.

He created 52 eggs for the

invited to dinner in the neo-gothic dining hall of the Kelch Mansion, which later survived the revolution intact.

“There’s no doubt, the letter ‘K’ on the knives is exactly the same as the ones we find engraved in

Romanov tsars and seven for the Kelch family, all intricately decorated in gold and precious and semi-precious stones and in different styles such as rococo, Empire and Louis XVI. Living in Saint Petersburg, Barbara Kelch-Bazanova was fabulously wealthy but was the daughter of Muscovite merchants.

While her husband was of noble stock, she was a social climber and determined to further ascend the ranks of the rarefied Russian aristocracy.

The tableware for 32 people that she commissioned from Faberge was meant to dazzle guests

the Kelch dining hall,” Szymanski says.“The knives have the Faberge stamp... the name ‘Faberge’ in Cyrillic print is very legible,” he adds.

A photograph of the tableware set taken in 1902 for an exhibition of Faberge’s work by Tsarina Maria Feodorovna presents visual evidence of the knives’ authenticity.

Barbara Kelch moved to Moscow after getting divorced in 1905 and according to Szymanski, the tableware set likely followed. It was there that, after the revolution, the silverware was confiscated and destroyed.

Szymanski said that the Russian

Family to sue UK school for allowing boys to wear dresses

London A family from the south coast of England are planning to take legal action against their sixyear-old son’s school for allowing one of his classmates to wear a dress to school.

Nigel Rowe, 44, and Sally, 42, have withdrawn their son from the school, who will now be schooled at home with his older eightyear-old brother, who had also been removed from the same Church of England school a year ago when his classmate also started wearing dresses.

“A child aged six would sometimes come to school as a girl or sometimes come to school as a boy. Our concerns were raised when our son came back home from school saying

he was confused as to why and how a boy was now a girl,” Nigel Rowe told The Sunday Times.

“We believe it is wrong to encourage very young children to embrace transgenderism. Boys are boys and girls are girls.

Gender dysphoria is something we as Christians need to address with love and compassion, but not in the sphere of a primary school environment,” he said.

The couple argues the school has acted without due regard to the best interests of their son or other pupils; failed to consult other parents; and has not respected their rights as parents to bring up their children with biblical values.

The school, which has not been

Baba Phalahari Maharaj Sent to Judicial Custody For Allegedly Raping Law Student Jaipur : Self-styled Godman Kaushlendra Prapanacharya Phalahari Maharaj was sent to 15 days judicial custody by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Friday. Maharaj was arrested by Alwar Police on Thursday after a 21-year-old girl alleged sexual assault on him.The girl alleged that Maharaj sexually exploited her at his ashram located in Alwar on August 7. “Bilaspur police have sent the complaint here. We have registered a case of sexual exploitation and initiated investigation,” SHO Aravali police station, Hemraj Meena, said.Meena said that the police visited the ashram of the accused from where it was found that he was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Alwar. According to the police, the accused godman had been visiting the woman’s residence for quite a long time.Preliminary investigation revealed the woman had got an internship after completing her law studies.

She visited the godman’s ashram on August 7 to donate some money following which he allegedly sexually exploited her.

named, said that it followed Church of England guidance, and said transgender children were protected under the Equality Act 2010.

It added that the local East Sussex County Council’s guidance on transgender children set out that they should not be seen as a problem, but “as an opportunity to enrich the school community and to challenge gender stereotypes and norms on a wider scale”.

Lawyers for the couple are expected to say the school is wrong to rely on the Equality Act because legal recognition of gender reassignment applies only to people over 18.

They will also argue the school is discriminating against the Rowes by implying that their wish to bring up their sons with biblical beliefs is transphobic.

The family is also being supported by the Christian Legal Centre and its chief, Andrea Williams, said, “this new transgender ideology is being aggressively imposed on unsuspecting schools, parents and children. It is delusional and abusive.”

“School classrooms, which should be one of the safest environments for children, are rapidly becoming dangerous battlefields in a war brought on by a radical transgender ideology. Vulnerable children are being used as pawns and will be harmed the most. We need to call it what it is.”

soldier, who acquired the two surviving knives, soon sold them and other valuables to one Jozef Wolski, a Pole.

Their current owner, a Polish collector who learnt that the pieces were part of a Faberge set when he sought Szymanski’s expertise, keeps them in a bank safe.

According to Szymanski, a US collector has already offered a million euros ($1.2 million) for the two knives, and an anonymous Russian collector has also expressed an interest.

While two jewellery experts, contacted by AFP, expressed no doubt about the knives’ authenticity, they had a more nuanced opinion about their value.

“Cutlery is mass-produced and its value is never that extraordinary,” said Alexander von Solodkoff, a German expert and member of the Advisory Board of the Faberge Museum in Saint Petersburg.

“It’s the large central pieces of the set that were most valuable,” he added.

“If I were the owner, I’d accept a million dollars straight away!” commented French specialist Maxime Charron, with a hefty dose of irony.

“Despite being quite rare and interesting, it’s just simple cutlery,” he told AFP.

Nine alien planets in position to spot Earth, says study London In a bid to find how alien observers might be able to detect Earth, scientists have found that at least nine exoplanets are ideally placed to observe the transits of our world.

Scientists from Queen’s University Belfast in the UK and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany turned exoplanet-hunting on its head, by looking for alien planet that can spot the Earth.

Researchers identified parts of the distant sky from where various planets in our Solar System could be seen to pass in front of the Sun. They concluded that the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are actually much more likely to be spotted than the more distant ‘Jovian’ planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, despite their much larger size.

“Larger planets would naturally block out more light as they pass in front of their star,” said Robert Wells, a PhD student at Queen’s University Belfast.

“However the more important factor is actually how close the planet is to its parent star - since the terrestrial planets are much closer to the Sun than the gas giants, they’ll be more likely to be seen in transit,” said Wells, lead author of the study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

To look for worlds where civilisations would have the best chance of spotting our Solar

System, the astronomers looked for parts of the sky from which more than one planet could be seen crossing the face of the Sun. They found that three planets at most could be observed from anywhere outside of the Solar System, and that not all combinations of three planets are possible.

“We estimate that a randomly positioned observer would have roughly a 1 in 40 chance of observing at least one planet,” said Katja Poppenhaeger, from Queen’s University Belfast.

“The probability of detecting at least two planets would be about ten times lower, and to detect three would be a further ten times smaller than this,” said Poppenhaeger.

Of the thousands of known exoplanets, the team identified sixty-eight worlds where observers would see one or more of the planets in our Solar System transit the Sun. Nine of these planets are ideally placed to observe transits of Earth, although none of the worlds are deemed to be habitable.In addition, the team estimated that there should be about ten currently undiscovered worlds which are favourably located to detect the Earth and are capable of sustaining life as we know it.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Woman Tortured Like an Animal in Saudi Arabia Returns Home After 14-Month Ordeal Bengaluru After being tortured like an “animal”, Mangalore resident Jacintha Mendonca reunited with

her family on Friday this week.

Revealing about her ordeal, Mendonca said she was repeatedly beaten by her employers and was not paid for several months.

After an unsuccessful bid of escape, Mendonca alleged she

was denied basic necessities like food and water. She said local police officers took her back to the employer where her hand

was banged against the wall.

“I had a hellish experience in Yanbu…I was made to work day in and day out at three mansions belonging to the employer’s mother, his three wives and their children…I was tortured like an animal,” Mendonca said to PTI.

She added her employer’s children called her ‘gaddama’.

The victim said that she flew to Dubai from where she was taken to Saudi Arabia without any prior intimation. Working as a household in Yanbu, she was made to live like ‘slave’.

Jacintha was reunited with her family after the intervention of Human Rights Protection Foundation of Udupi. The foundation officials said they contacted head of the NRI Forum Rodrigues in Saudi Arabia in April this year.

Ravindra Shanbagh of Udupi Human Rights Foundation said they could locate the employer in Saudi Arabia only after a series of attempts. Mendonca appealed to the authorities to take stringent action against those who duped her. However, this is not first instance where people complained about excesses by Saudi Nationals.

US, Russia Have Half The Number of Total Nuclear Weapons in The World New Delhi The number of nuclear weapons in the world has drastically come down since the cold war era when the United States and Russia sat atop a gigantic nuclear stockpile that had the potential to end the world thousands of times over. Despite the de-escalation, the two countries still have half the number of world’s total nuclear weapons.A CNN report said that nine countries have nuclear

capabilities, and eight out of them have the technology to weaponise. North Korea is an emerging country on the nuclear world map; but it still lacks the full capacity to deliver payloads as its technology is underdeveloped. South Africa had the capability, but willingly gave it up.

Though Israel has not acknowledged its nuclear capability, it is believed to have 80 nukes. The report said that the world has 15,000 nuclear

weapons. 9,400 out of the total are military arsenals, while the remaining are awaiting dismantlement. 4,000 are operational; 1,800 on short notice. Russia has the biggest number of weapons: 4,300. The United States has 4,000 nukes.

The number is still very low if compared with the number during the cold war. In the 80s, the Soviet Union had 40,000 nuclear weapons. The United States had 24,000 warheads.

Northeastern Girl Labelled as Foreigner, Denied Entry Into Agra Tomb Agra A Northeastern girl was labelled as a foreigner and denied entry into the Tomb of I’timad-udDaulah by an official in Agra in yet another alleged case of racism. The incident dates back to September 15 when the girl Manjita Chanu who was accompanied by her friends was stopped at the entrance of the national monument by the guards.

Chanu explained her ordeal in a Facebook post in which she accused the security guards of asking her to prove that she is an Indian national. “Is this the land of my India? Am I safe here or not,” she wrote.

“They again called Northeastern girl a foreigner and didn’t allow to enter in Agra. Recently, I went Agra with my friend and her younger brother. I gave my phone to her brother to shoot the video.

They did not allow me to go and kept on calling me a foreigner. I could speak good Hindi but even then they were rude. While

shooting the video this man denied showing his identity card when my friend said to put this on YouTube,” Manjita wrote as she recounted the entire episode.

Further explaining her horrific experience, she wrote, “And there was also no lady security guard. The security man tried to check my bag but I denied because I had some personal

stuff. And, I asked for a security guard, but they said she is having lunch so I have to wait for long. Then I said, ‘I am getting late I have my train to Delhi, tell me where she is I will personally go and let her check my bag’.”

She also claimed that the police security guard showed her the direction but, there was no one there.

Professor’s Reply To Student Asking If She Can Bring Dog To Class Wins The Internet

Georgia What are the possibilities of a dog attending a Political Science class? Well, at Georgia Southern University in the United States, a dog did attend the class with her human Jessica Lewis and their story is now going viral on the internet.

Lewis had an important lecture to attend before she could leave for her home in Atlanta to stay away from Hurricane Irma. She wanted to beat the traffic after the class so thought of getting her dog along to the class. If not, she would have had to go back to her apartment after class and then drive home which would consume more time. With people already evacuating the coast and the entire state, she did not want to lose time in going back to her apartment.

So, she decided to ask her professor if she can get her dog along for the class. In an email to her professor, Dr Kennedy, Jessica wrote, “Can I bring my

dog to class today? It would help me out SO much because your class is my last class of the day and I have to leave as soon as your class gets out to try to get home to Atlanta as soon as possible (trying my hardest to beat this storm traffic but your class is important to me so I don’t want to skip it) and it would prevent me from having to go all the way back to my apartment to get her before I can get on the road. I promise she’ll be good and only the teeniest bit disruptive.” Jessica did not expect her professor to agree but his reply brightened her day.

He replied saying “Did you think calling me ‘cool’ would get me to say yes? Because it won’t work. What will work is that SHE’S OBVIOUSLY A GOOD GIRL SO OF COURSE, YOU CAN BRING HER.” She also attached pictures of her dog, in case she the professor doesn’t get convinced.

Teen finds and returns wallet filled with cold hard cash

New York A teen is receiving praise on the internet after returning a wallet he found with $1,500 cash inside.Melissa Vang posted a short clip to Facebook on Friday showing a young man waving a wallet at the security camera pointed at her front porch. After a few moments, the teen leaves the wallet on the home’s welcome mat, and slowly takes off. “My husband dropped his wallet (with hundreds of dollars and all his credit cards) in our drive way and this gentleman picked it up and left it at our doorstep,” Vang wrote on Facebook.The woman later

tracked the young man down, and says she thanked him and rewarded him with $150 for his actions. Although Vang was home at the time, she did not want to answer the door for a stranger. “It’s sad that I didn’t trust him to open my door when he was just doing a good deed.

Sadly, this is the world we live in today,” Vang wrote. “We hear so many terrible news and barely any good. I think we all need to be reminded that there are still good people out there.”The post has since racked up over 2,500 likes, and 543 shares. Many of the comments praise the man for doing the right thing.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Indian-Origin Bodybuilder Pradip Subramanian Dies an Hour After His First Kick-Boxing Match Singapore Pradeep Subramanian, a 32-year-old Indian-origin bodybuilder in Singapore died, almost an hour after he entered the ring for his

minutes after the referee noticed that nose of Subramanian was bleeding badly. He later called off the fight and declared Lim as the winner.The

first-ever Thai kickboxing match.Last evening, Subramanian had taken on YouTube personality Steven Lim, in the celebrity Muay Thai match held at Marina Bay Sands for the inaugural event of the Asian Fighting Championship.

The deceased was a president of the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation (WBPF) Singapore and had also replaced former “Singapore Idol” runner-up and singer Sylvester Sim. Some reports suggest that Sim pulled out of the match citing insurance issues.

The match got over in five

deceased took a few punches on his head but was still standing after the match ended. But some minutes later he was found standing in a corner with losing consciousness and had to be helped out of the ring, news agency Reuters reported.“In the first round, it seemed like Pradip was winning. But in the second round, Steven punched him a few times,” said a backstage staff member who did not want to be named. “Initially I thought it was just a concussion; plus there was no sign of a heart attack. He was then sent to the hospital

Moscow Workers have removed part of a new monument to Mikhail Kalashnikov, the

Shcherbakov had to admit that among them was the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44) assault rifle used by Nazi

inventor of the Soviet Union’s AK-47 assault rifle, after eagle-eyed Russians noticed that it mistakenly depicted a German second world war weapon.

The monument to the creator of one of Russia’s best known export brands was unveiled in central Moscow three days ago to much fanfare.

A metal bas-relief behind a statue of Kalashnikov depicts the AK-47 and other weapons all supposedly designed by the engineer, who died in 2013. But embarrassed sculptor Salavat

troops.“We will rectify this,” Shcherbakov said in comments broadcast by state-run Rossiya 24 channel. “It looks like this [mistake] sneaked in from the internet.”

By Friday evening a square hole gaped where the German rifle had been depicted in the bas-relief.

Kalashnikov’s weapon, created in 1947, does have a striking resemblance to German arms designer Hugo Schmeisser’s StG 44 rifle, created in 1942, although they have major design differences.

Kalashnikov was known to

via the ambulance. It was much later that I heard the news that he died.”

Mr Lim paid tribute to Mr Subramanian on Facebook, saying: “Rest in Peace, my really truly respected fearless warrior and fighter.”Official details about Mr Subramanian’s death were awaited, Singapore media said.Event organisers Axseed Events and Muse Fitness Club, Singapore said, “We are deeply saddened to share the news that Mr Subramanian, exhibition match-up fighter and president of the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation of Singapore (WBPF) has passed away at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on September 23.”

“We are in close contact with the medical staff at the hospital to ascertain the cause of death and request that during this difficult time we should come together and extend our support to Mr Subramanian’s family, friends and associates and refrain from any speculation,” they added.

Kalashnikov statue altered after sculptor’s monumental error

have said he had heard speculation that he had copied the German rifle.

Vladislav Kononov, executive director of the Russian military and historical society, was quoted by Russian media as saying that the fact that angry Russians had spotted the error disproved that. Many had earlier vented their disapproval on social media.

“Every cloud has its silver lining. Thanks to this mistake ... a myth has been destroyed that Kalashnikov borrowed some elements of his invention from his foreign colleagues,” he said.

The AK-47, the small-arms mainstay of Russia’s armed forces for more than 60 years, is described as the most effective weapon ever made by some experts.

Every fifth firearm in the world is a Kalashnikov, with more than 70m of the assault rifles produced over the past 60 years, gunmaker Kalashnikov Concern said on its website. Kalashnikovs are in service in 50 foreign armies, it added.

Pakistan Nuclear Weapons at Risk of Theft: Report Islamabad A report by a US think tank has said that Pakistan has stored its tactical nuclear weapons at nine places across the country, which are at a serious security risk.

The Federation of American Scientists said that Pakistan has hidden its nuclear warheads in storage facilities near bases that house nuclearcapable launchers.

Renowned US nuclear weapon expert Hans Kristensen said that Pakisan was building short-ranged nuclear weapons intended to be used against India in case of a limited nuclear conflict. The warheads for these weapons are stored in regional storage sites near places where nuclear weapon systems are placed.Kristensen said the short-range systems were intended to be used early in a conflict. They will be distributed early; which will raise the risk of accidents and incidents, he told TOI.“If used against conventional attacks, use of the tactical nuclear weapons would likely lead to escalation to a wider

nuclear war quickly,” Kristensen told TOI. The report further said that Pakistan has a nuclear stockpile of 130-140 tactical nuclear weapons and is rapidly increasing

a nuclear war in the region.

Pakistan refuted the allegations made by the Donald Trump administration, saying the nuclear sites were safe and the weapons were in the

their number.

The Trump administration recently said that the US was concerned about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. It said that the development of tactical nuclear weapons was particularly concerning as it was easier to steal them.

The administration had said that these tactical weapons could land in the hands of terrorists, and also increased the risk of

right hands. Pak PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had said that the weapons were under a strong commandand-control system. He also said that the weapons were a deterrent to India’s cold start policy.

Tactical-nuclear weapons different than the traditional strategic nuclear weapons. The tactical weapons are short-ranged; and have lower yield than strategic weapons.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

SUPER SATIRE Vinayak Chakravorty By

Newton Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, Raghubir Yadav Direction: Amit V. Masurkar NEWTON reminds of Charlie Chaplin’s immortal quote: “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”

Rajkummar Rao’s latest release brilliantly uses ironic black humour and mild slapstick to train a satirical long-shot at the unfortunate state of democracy and polling in grassroots India. The setting is the Indian general election, and if you are hunting for a comedy script very few topics probably create better scope for a colourful plot. Director Amit V. Masurkar along with co-screenwriter Mayank Tewari settles on possibly the most impossible locale you would associate with ‘normal polls’. They take the story deep into Maoist terrain, in the violenceprone boondocks of Chhattisgarh, where Red rebels are eternally at war with security forces. Into this space arrives Rajkummar Rao’s protagonist Newton Kumar, a peaceloving, well-meaning idealist who strives to execute his duty with diligence, in a world that hardly seems interested.

Newton, a rookie government clerk, is sent deep into the unrest-prone jungles to oversee smooth polling. The problem is no one gives a damn. Fear of the guerrillas looms large and the security forces couldn’t care less about whether elections are held or not. Most of Newton’s support staff is cynical cold to the whole exercise, even local janta is in no mood to come out and vote.

Newton, though, has vowed to make free and fair polling in the region a reality.

The humour overflow is balanced with a faint undercurrent of tension as the plot moves. A deliberately done faux-documentary style renders realism to the screenplay, and bars the comic element from turning the film into a trivial exercise. Newton exposes administrative woes that hound elections in the world’s biggest democracy with tongue-in-cheek dash, and is more complex than it looks. The film impresses with the way it explores and finds order within the absurdity that democracy in

grassroots India can often be. The script sets up one of the best roles for the supertalented Rajkummar Rao, who strikes a chord as Newton. Almost every character is driven by a socio-political context.

Pankaj Tripathi’s security chief and Anjali Patil’s Booth Level Officer are well utilised to push the plot. Raghubir Yadav as the wizened polling officer gets the funniest lines, and his act is integral to the comments the film seeks to impart. Newton proves Masurkar and Tewari’s debut collaboration Sulemani Keeda was no fluke. Here’s one Oscar entry which fully deserves that honour.

Old, cold revenge dish Bhoomi Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharad Kelkar, Sidhant Gupta Direction: Omung Kumar SANJAY Dutt’s comeback film has him doing roughly the same job that Sridevi in Mom and Raveena Tandon in Matr have already done this year. He plays an aggrieved parent who is out to avenge a rape committed on his daughter, which wrecked their happy life. The backdrop of the characters, of course, is varied, which makes Bhoomi a different story. The setting is Agra, and Dutt’s smalltown aam aadmi character lends him the advantage of turning on the action hero

prototype strongly while unleashing boxoffice compatible violence. In short, director Omung Kumar was merely trying to recreate Dutt’s vintage brooding avatar. The problem is Bhoomi does nothing to reinvent Dutt’s classic intense image to suit modern times.

The angry young man has morphed into an angry old man now, but the stereotypes driving the revenge script seem jaded. Omung Kumar thrives in serving heightened and loud melodrama (Mary Kom, Sarbjit), and that formula returns in Bhoomi. The

filmmaking style lets almost the entire cast burst into hamming trips once in a

while. Loud treatment remains the highlight feature of everything that unfolds on screen, as the hyper-angry father sets out to eliminate the rich powerful villains who destroyed the life of his daughter, Bhoomi (Aditi Rao Hydari). Despite the highly flawed script and execution, Dutt and Hydari manage to leave impact by sheer screen presence.

Over three and a half decades since he made his debut as leading man, and despite several roadblocks in his careers, Bollywood’s favourite Sanju Baba has lost none of that smooth swagger. Watch Bhoomi only for Sanjay Dutt if you really must.

— Vinayak Chakravorty

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Kriti Sanon has an advice for the paparazzi

Kriti Sanon is in the news frequently due to her alleged affair with actor Sushant Singh Rajput. But the actress is clearly not happy with the way her personal life is discussed in the media and also how she has been photographed often.

At a recently held even, Kriti Sanon expressed her displeasure of being constantly followed by the ‘paparazzi’. Kriti Sanon addressed the paparazzi stating that celebs are also humans and that they also need privacy. She further added that celebrities also

need to live like regular people and spend time with her family and friends without being under the constant microscope of the media. Kriti further said that due to social their private lives have already been discussed widely and so are their photographs going viral. She admits that at the end of the day they are also ‘normal human beings’ who deserve their right to privacy and respect. Kriti was last seen in the film ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’ which became a sleeper hit and will now be seen in ‘Farzi’.

Shah Rukh Khan: All women in my life are important Bollywood’s quintessential romantic hero Shah Rukh Khan, who attended the ‘Vogue Women of the Year Awards’ here, said that all the women in his life are important and it is extremely satisfying to have an award for them.

“All the women in my life are important to me, starting with my mother, wife, daughter, sister and all the ladies who have worked with me... The list is big because I’ve been working for 30 years, so there are lots of them, some 20-30 of them, all of them are important,” Shah Rukh said at the event here on Sunday night. ”I think women are important, so to have an award for them, I think it is extremely fulfilling and satisfying, not just for the women who get the award, but for the men who don’t win it... Bystanders like myself, who can come and applaud for them,” added Shah Rukh, who was given the ‘Vogue Entertainer of the Decade Award’.

Shah Rukh is making a comeback on television with

Saif Ali Khan admits that he is desperate for a hit

The box office hasn’t particularly favoured Saif Ali Khan for the last few years, with the actor braving almost 10 debacles since his last hit, Race 2 (2013), hit the marquee.

While his contemporaries dismiss BO numbers, citing that they may not reflect people’s choice, Khan,

who is currently prepping for the release of his Raja Krishna Menon-directed film, Chef, confesses that he is desperate for a hit. “It is important that Chef performs well, else I will have to question what is going wrong [with my career]. It affects my image of being a star, because,

a star is supposed to be bankable. Yet, it doesn’t affect my confidence.”

Khan, who is currently shooting for India’s first Netflix original, ‘Sacred Games’, says box-office success is a validation of an actor’s credibility. But, he is quick to add that the roles coming his way reveal a different story. “[Despite the debacles of my past films], I still have three films and a Netflix series in my kitty. I have been the first choice for all these projects. So, I am sure I have done something right.”

Addressing himself as a “late bloomer”, Khan says he has only begun understanding which script would develop into a notable outing, recently. “I am doing better work, working with better directors than I have,” says the actor, who has Akshat Verma’s ‘Kaalakandi’ and ‘Bazaar’, by Nikkhil Advani in the pipeline.

Star Plus’ new show ‘TED Talks: Nayi Soch’. Asked about it, he said: “I have no idea when the show is starting... I have to check for the details,” he said when asked about the progress of the show.

On the film front, the actor is busy with Aanand L Rai’s next.

The movie is yet untitled, but it will reunite Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma with Shah Rukh after ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’. ”Aanand L Rai’s film shooting is going on. Katrina Kaif has joined us and Anushka

Sharma will join us in a day or two. Shooting is going on at various places... It is going well,” Shah Rukh said.

The ‘Vogue Women of the Year Awards’ saw Gauri Khan, Shweta Bachchan, Karan Johar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Twinkle Khanna, Athiya Shetty, Radhika Apte, Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Natasha Poonawalla, Kiran Rao, Deepika Kumari, Rajkummar Rao and Jim Sarbh among others in attendance.

“Disha has been signed for the project. The makers will very soon make an official announcement. It’s going to be a role of a lifetime for her,” the source told IANS. To be helmed by Sundar C and produced by Sri Thenandal Films, the film will also be released in Telugu and Hindi.

“It will be simultaneously made in Telugu. In Hindi, however, it will be made with an entirely different cast and the process will take time,” he said.

The film, which will also star Jayam Ravi and Arya, will have music by A.R. Rahman.

Earlier this year, the project was launched amidst fanfare at Cannes International Film Festival.

On signing the project, Rahman told IANS: “It’s a very ambitious film. Six months back when I heard just 30 minutes of the narration, it was good enough for me to come on board.” The project is rumoured to cost Rs 150 crore.

Rahman added that “Sangamithra” not only has great story but “Sundar has good vision for music too”.

“Nothing as compelling as ‘Sangamithra’ came my way in recent times. The project is in rights hands,” he said, heaping praise on the makers - Sri Thenandal Studios.

“Sangamithra” will start shooting in December.

Disha Patani may play lead in ‘Sangamithra’

Athiya Shetty setting Taapsee Pannu: Don’t know what sights on endorsement will make me a Bollywood A-lister After Mubarakan, Athiya Shetty may not have signed another film, but she is gradually setting sights on the endorsement circuit. She has just inked a deal with a New Delhi-based jewellery brand. After her debut in Hero (2015), the gal has been going slow on the B-Town front. She has been lending a helping hand to raise funds for underprivileged kids. If not movies, something else to keep busy.

She is one of the up-and-coming actors in Hindi cinema but Taapsee Pannu says bagging a good project is not easy for her as she still has a long way to go before making it to the list of sought-after artistes in the film industry.

The 30-year-old actor, who received critical acclaim for her performances in films such as “Baby” and “Pink”, says she is yet to figure out how to make

the cut. In an interview with PTI, Taapsee says, “There will always be a time when there will be people better than you and also not as good as you. I still don’t consider myself an A-lister.

I don’t know what will make me a part of it.”

In a moving Facebook post earlier this year, she had written how actors in Bollywood “refused to work” with her as she was not an A-list actor.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Matt Damon to receive Stanley Johnny Depp accused of throwing Kubrick Britannia Award family under bus during lawsuit

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles has chosen Hollywood Matt Damon, as the recipient of this year’s Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Damon will take the stage at the event, as will previously announced honorees Dick Van Dyke, Ava DuVernay, Claire Foy and Kenneth Branagh.

In making the announcement, BAFTA LA chairman Kieran Breen praised Damon as ‘undoubtedly one of the most

talented and respected actors working in film today.’

He added, ‘Having made a remarkable impact at a young age with Good Will Hunting, he has developed a phenomenal career ‘ combining both big-budget studio movies and acclaimed independent films. As a favorite of some of the top contemporary directors in our industry, it seems particularly fitting that we are honoring his career with an award bearing the name of the legendary Stanley Kubrick.’

The Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award is given to individuals ‘upon whose work is stamped the indelible mark of authorship and commitment, and who has lifted the craft to new heights.’

Damon will follow in the footsteps of such previous recipients as Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, Robert Downey Jr., George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Denzel Washington, among other.

Controversy’s favourite child Johnny Depp has landed himself in one more controversy.

According to The Independent, Depp has been accused of throwing family and friends ‘under a bus’ during a multi-million dollar legal wrangling with his former management company.

The 54-year-old actor is now clashing with a number of people close to him ‘ after he accused them of taking money from him during a battle with The Management Company, who say he owes them huge debts.

After delaying naming them, Johnny Depp has named his sister, nephew and close friends as people who took ‘unauthorised loans’ from him in the ongoing legal battle with The Management Company. TMG have responded by amending their complaint, acknowledging the seven crossdefendants and calling Depp’s new loan claim a ‘charade’.

‘In his attempt to avoid paying his debts to TMG, Depp is knowingly throwing his closest family, friends and employees under the bus. He is falsely alleging that they took millions of dollars in unauthorised payments from him,’ said in a statement.

The statement continued, ‘It is no wonder that Depp delayed for months in revealing their names.’

‘Depp’s claims of unauthorised loans to the new Cross-Defendants are not a basis for Depp to obtain a judicial declaration requiring the disgorgement of any business management fees

from TMG, or for any of his other baseless claims. Depp’s closest friends, family, and

colleagues who have been added as new CrossDefendants in this action have only Depp to blame for their involvement in this charade,’ the statement concluded.

TMG insists that all the loans to people cited

by Depp were authorised by him or by Dembrowski in his name. Depp’s side insists that this was not the case.

A trial for the case is set to begin on August 15,2018.

Kate Winslet to play renowned Linda Hamilton back in WWII correspondent Lee Miller Terminator franchise

Kate Winslet is all set to join the list of British actresses which will portray noted war correspondents on the big screen.

The ‘Wonder Wheel’ star will play the distinguished World War II correspondent Lee Miller in an as-yet-untitled biopic about the famed American photographer, model, artist and correspondent who was a leading figure in documenting World War II for Vogue magazine, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Miller brought images of the Nazi concentration camps and the atrocities that were committed to the attention of the world.

The film will document Miller’s life, as told by her son, Antony Penrose, in the only authorized biography, ‘The Lives of Lee Miller’.

With director yet to be announced, the production is expected to begin in 2018.

Talking about the movie, Penrose said, ‘I am delighted to work with Kate Winslet, eOne

and Hopscotch to share the life story of my mother, Lee Miller. heir integrity and respect for the truth has earned them the absolute trust of myself and my family and we have allowed access to all aspects of our lives and history through interviews, our personal papers and material

held in The Lee Miller Archives and The Roland Penrose Archive, the latter being part of The Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.’

Many British actresses are going to play war correspondent in come times.

Earlier this year, Rosamund Pike signed up to star in ‘A Private War’ as renowned U.S. correspondent Marie Colvin, who reported from conflicts in Chechnya, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka and died in 2012 while covering the civil war in Syria.

In June, Carey Mulligan was announced as playing Australian reporter Kate Webb, who was held in captivity for 23 days during the Vietnam War, in ‘On the Other Side’.

Linda Hamilton is all set to reunite with director James Cameron for the new installment of the Terminator franchise.

The 60-year-old actor, who essayed the role of Sarah Connor in the cult scifi movie, will make a comeback to play one of the silver screen’s strongest female characters.

Cameron, 63, made the announcement a private event celebrating the popular franchise, where the filmmaker said he aims to make a statement on gender roles in action movies with Hamilton’s return.

“As meaningful as she was to gender and action stars verywhere back then, it’s going

to make a huge statement to have that seasoned warrior that

she’s become return. There are 50-year-old, 60-year-old guys out there killing bad guys but there isn’t an example of that for women,” the director said.

Gwyneth Paltrow is interested in criticism on facts, not on projections It seems like Gwyneth Paltrow is not at all worried about her haters and trollers.

The 44-year-old actress reminded her critics that in either case, baseless rumors aren’t going to bring her down, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

‘I’m interested in criticism based on fact, not on projections. If you want to f**k with me, bring your A game,’ said Paltrow.

The Goop CEO, Paltrow, also

revealed that she recognises the challenges (and the benefits) she faces being a celebrity in the world of entrepreneurs.

She noted, ‘[Being a celebrity] makes it much more difficult.

For the business I’m creating, it’s an obstacle I always have to overcome. For example, Reese [Witherspoon], who is a dear friend, has this quickly growing Draper James [clothing] business, and she leverages her celebrity in a

great way for her brand.’

The ‘Iron Man’ star also shared that she is thinking of starting a wellness show on Television.

However, she feels weird going back and forth to acting.

She said, ‘We’re growing fast, and balls are dropping all the time. But honestly, I was on set and thought, “You sit here for two hours sipping tea, Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle are making me laugh hysterically ‘ why the hell did I give this up?’

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

US builds world’s first $1bn embassy in London

THESE are the first photos of the world’s most expensive moat ever to be built, which it’s hoped will make the new US Embassy in London impenetrable to terrorists. The 100-foot, half moon strip of water in front of the building is meant to be able to withstand any type of attack although US officials have euphemistically called it a “water feature”. The embassy, being built in the Nine Elms area of London, is already the world’s costliest embassy — costs have spiralled upwards of $1 billion (64,850,700,000) — and it’s well past its due date. Security delays

meant that it was pushed back from the end of 2016 to Spring 2017, but as these exclusive images prove, there’s still a long way to go until it’s finished. After the project was announced in 2008, critics slammed the record construction costs, wavy glass cube design and moat entrance, while nearby residents expressed fears that their homes would become inadvertent terrorist targets. But the current US Embassy, in Grosvenor Square, is too small and too old-fashioned as it was built in the 1950s, and fraught with security issues for the modern world. The new high-tech

embassy will have a bomb-proof exterior and antiram barriers — which are just being built judging from our pictures — but its designer Kieran Timberlake didn’t want to put in the usual security measures such as high security walls and a defensive perimeter.

Instead, he wanted to achieve natural barriers through ‘gradings, walks and plantings,’ according to the US Embassy website.

“Instead of a perimeter-walled precinct, the site to the north and south is a welcoming urban amenity, a park for the city that fuses the new embassy to the city of London. Alternatives to perimeter walls and fences are achieved through landscape design,” the website states. It will be carbon neutral and virtually self-sufficient, which means that even if there was a power failure across London, it would virtually be able to operate off-grid for long periods of time. Unlike most glass office buildings, which appear slick and hard-edged, this one will look soft and pillowy thanks to the lightweight plastic scrims that will be attached to the facade like boat sails and would convert sunlight into energy.

Maria leaves Puerto Rico without power MILLIONS of Puerto Ricans are now without power after Hurricane Maria ripped through the island — crumbling the electric grid and paralysing the territory with landslides, flooding and downed trees. And the full of extent of the damage is still unclear as rescue teams have not been able to make communication with major parts of the island which were cut off by the storm. Maria moved north after pummelling the island through Wednesday night, but flooding continued through Thursday, leaving many San Juan streets looking like small rivers. The Category 4 hurricane had sustained winds of 155mph through Wednesday — and was the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in over 80 years. So far at least 19 people have been killed throughout the Caribbean — one on the US territory. Mayor of the capital Carmen Yulin Cruz said the devastation is like nothing she has ever seen, telling MSNBC ‘The San Juan that we knew yesterday is no longer there.’ Now the storm, which has downgraded to Category 3 with maximum

sustained winds at 120mph, is pounding the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic. Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas are also bracing themselves for impact as the US National Hurricane Center says the storm could regain Category 4 status by the time it reaches the islands. S President Donald Trump issued a disaster declaration for Puerto Rico on Thursday morning in response to news about Maria’s devastation throughout the island - which left all 3.4million residents without power. He described Puerto Rico as in ‘very, very, very perilous shape’ and said US emergency authorities were starting to work on helping in the recovery.

Uprooted trees and widespread flooding blocked many highways and streets across the island, creating a maze that forced drivers to go against traffic and past police cars. Police were on the streets to warn people they must respect a 6pm to 6am curfew imposed by the governor to ensure everyone’s safety.

People resorted to rafts and kayaks to get around because flooding made many roads remained impassable.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Terror suspect who loves weed & vodka

THE Syrian refugee arrested over the Parsons Green bombing appeared to enjoy smoking weed and drinking vodka as part of his ‘very westernised’ life.

Yahya Faroukh, 21, is being quizzed in a south London police station after he was arrested on Saturday night outside Aladdin’s Fried Chicken in Hounslow where he worked.

On his Instagram he wrote about ‘smoking weed every day’ and posted an image saying: “For better life you need to have weed, vodka and drugs.” Other pictures show him dining with friends with cigarettes on the table and smoking shisha in a bar. A Facebook profile in his name says he worked for promoters Dope Diamond Entertainment

and BSQ London.

Footage on Monday emerged of the moment Faroukh was pinned to the wall by police who pretended to be homeless people and Londoners waiting for a bus outside the takeaway where he worked. He was cuffed and then wrapped in plastic to preserve evidence.

Officers were at a bus stop while the 21-year-old suspect walked past them before they turned around and grabbed him while he allegedly yelled: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” and a pile of Maltesers and KitKats spilled out of his bag. Other police waiting in cars in surrounding streets grabbed his mobile phone, put plastic bags over his hands, feet and legs and forensics teams took pictures of him and the scene. A worker at the takeaway said: “The police must have been watching the chicken shop since Friday. I saw the police outside the station

looking over at it on Friday. I heard from some other members of staff that one of the undercover cops was dressed as a homeless person when they jumped out at him. “It happened near the bus stop and supposedly the police officer was sitting on the ground then jumped out at him.” The worker added: “We’re all shocked about it, Yahyah seemed just like the rest of us, he was into football and liked going out.” A day earlier, an 18-year-old boy in foster care with Faroukh was arrested at the Port of Dover and is believed to be the bucket bomber. Scotland Yard are investigating whether they first met abroad in the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp or even as far away as ISIS-controlled Syria or Iraq.

They had been showered with love by Penelope and Ronald Jones at their property in Surrey after seeking asylum. Onlooker Tareq Haque, 21, said when he was arrested his bag was dropped to the floor and fell open — showing it was full of chocolate bars. Law student

Tareq said: “I was just going to get some food and was right next to the shop. It looked totally normal but all of a sudden they just grabbed the guy and tackled him to the floor.

“The officers came out of nowhere. They had obviously had a tip off. They were acting like they were waiting for a bus, just standing there. They turned around and just took him to the floor. “It was quite sly. They were all not in uniform so really we had no idea what was going on until they said to him who they were. He was screaming on the floor with this woman on top of him pinning him to the floor. He was screaming. His bag went to the floor and it had chocolate bars in it and his phone was on the floor too.

“There were about four or five chocolate bars inside. They must have been Maltesers or Kit Kats because they were red.

Someone — a friend who was with him — tried to pick up his phone but the CID officers were shouting at him telling everyone not to touch anything.”

she was invited on the singer’s tour bus and found the singer naked with another woman, who Pace says was there to show her how to ‘please’ Kelly. “I went out there to his tour bus and you have him naked and you have her naked. And I’m looking like, ‘Ok, what is this?’ Pace said in a new interview on The Real.

“Because Rob (Kelly) is the one who took my virginity, so I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ And he said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ I guess he saw that I was looking uneasy.” “I wanted to know what am I doing.

That’s when he told me to look at her and (said), ‘She’s going to teach you everything you

need to know. She’s going to please you.’ He told me to remove my clothes.” Pace, who is now 24-years-old and a mother of three, also alleged Kelly would get physically violent with her. In the interview with the The Real, she said the singer would ‘slap you in your face’, ‘physically harm you’, and ‘lock you in a room for days’ as punishment. Pace has previously also claimed the singer was holding young women against their will at homes throughout the country in a ‘Charles Manson’ like cult. She says wasn’t able to escape the singer until she lied to him in

2010 and told him she was going to get shoes from a nearby uncle’s home and was instructed to come right back. She says she never returned to Kelly’s house. Pace claims the star controlled her life after embarking on a sexual relationship with him at age 16. The legal age of consent in Illinois is 17. She is currently suing the star who has previously made cash settlements to other women claiming they were mistreated by the singer. She previously told Buzzfeed that Kelly is running a ‘cult’ and she is concerned that a friend of hers may still be involved. She said: “If I can speak

Man jailed for raping lover’s twin calls it a ‘mistaken identity’ case A MELBOURNE man who raped his partner’s identical twin sister has been jailed — after claiming the assault occurred because he mistook her for her sibling. The 24-year-old was sentenced to four years imprisonment after being convicted of rape and indecent assault, the Herald Sun reports.

He had told police that his victim was a liar and had made unwanted advances towards him — but the court heard that he had told her that he had always fantasised

about sex with her. The woman had been staying with her sister and her partner after ending a relationship. She was sleeping in the spare bedroom when the man entered to talk to her, but later pulled down her clothing and raped her, according to the Herald Sun. But after the attack, she phoned his partner and told her that her sister had sexually assaulted him.

He repeated the claim to police and then told officers that he was confused because his partner and the victim looked identical to one another. “That was a bizarre thing to say given you’d been talking to (the victim) about her, and her issues, for over an hour,” County Court judge Felicity Hampel told him. The victim, who has become estranged from her twin since the attack, said she had attempted suicide more than a dozen times since. “All I have ever wanted was for him to say sorry and admit what he has done to me,” she said.

A couple of days earlier, when he was pronounced guilty, the judge had said, “She told you to stop but you continued. Instead of owning up and taking responsibility and trying to make amends, you denied it. You reduced her reputation, attacked her honesty, blamed her, and ruined her relationship with her twin.”

R Kelly’s ‘sex slave’ says her training began at 16

A WOMAN who claims she had underage sex with R. Kelly after meeting him outside his 2008

child pornography trial in Chicago, says she was ‘trained’ to please him. In a disturbing interview, Jerhonda Pace, said she was just 16 years old when

out and I can help them get out of that situation, that’s what I will do. “I didn’t have anybody to speak up on my behalf when I was going through what I was going through with him. He’s brainwashed them really bad, and it kind of reminds me of Charles Manson. I just really hope I can help these women out. Kelly needs to be stopped.” According to Pace, Kelly invited her back to his mansion in June 2009 when asked her to strip and pretend she was modelling. It was at this stage the sexual relationship between the pair began.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

N Koreans rise in support of Kim Students carry posters of red missiles hitting the US Capitol

TENS of thousands of Pyongyang residents gathered in the capital’s KimII Sung Square on Saturday to laud leader Kim Jong-un’s denunciation of US President Donald Trump. Students in white shirts and red ties held up the red flag of the ruling Workers’ Party, with a yellow ink brush representing intellectuals, a hammer for the workers, and a sickle for the peasantry. On one side of the square, a giant poster depicted red missiles plunging towards a collapsing US Capitol with the slogan “Korea’s Answer”. Ranks of workers and residents listened, their fists clenched, as speakers repeated Kim’s denigration of Trump as “mentally deranged” and a “dotard”. The US president dubbed Kim “Rocket Man” in a speech at the United Nations last week in which he threatened to “totally destroy” the North if it attacked the US or its allies. In a statement on Friday, Kim responded by saying Trump would “pay dearly” for his comments and described him as a “mentally deranged US dotard”. The supreme leader dusted off the archaic Middle English term, which means a “senile old person”. During a rally in Alabama on Friday, Trump doubled-down on his attacks on Kim, calling him “little rocket man” and a “madman”. He said: “We can’t have madmen out there, shooting rockets all over the place.” On Saturday morning, North Korea’s state media released a statement describing Trump as “wicked” and a “rabid dog”. The aggressive rhetoric between Kim and Trump has become increasingly personal, and raised fears of miscalculation in the standoff over the North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. “Just heard foreign minister of North Korea speak at UN. If he echoes

thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!” tweeted Trump on Saturday night. Meanwhile a student who gathered at the North Korean assembly of thousand people echoed his views why he was there. “I would like to put down my pen and take up arms again to perform my duty to defend the fatherland,” said Pyongyang Mechanical

University student Ri Il Ung, 24. “Trump is a warmonger and a backstreet gangster. It’s quite ridiculous that such a person could become a politician.”

Such set-piece rallies, organised by the authorities, are a regular feature of political life in Pyongyang, and are intended as a physical demonstration of popular support for the leadership. The

North Korean regime is intensely militaristic and bases its claim to legitimacy on defending the country from external aggression, and analysts say that Trump’s comments are grist to its mill. Kim is also using the drama to reinforce his leadership, they add.

Pyongyang insists it needs nuclear arms to protect itself from a US invasion, and carried out its sixth atomic test earlier this month, earning itself an eighth set of United Nations Security Council sanctions. It has also tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles that appeared to bring much of the US mainland into range, and regularly issues bloodcurdling threats. A powerful 3.4 magnitude earthquake rocked North Korea around 3.30am ET, sparking fears the nation may have conducted yet another nuclear test. The China Earthquake Networks Center said in a statement late Saturday that study of infrasonic data determined the incident is not a nuclear explosion, but had the nature of a natural earthquake.

Clooney: Hillary not fit for White House Mummy of mysteries

GEORGE Clooney, who supported Hillary Clinton amid the 2016 presidential campaign and once hosted a fundraiser for her, said he believes she wasn’t fit for the White House. The Alist actor and new father, 56, spoke during a wide-ranging interview with the Daily Beast revealing that while he believes the Democratic nominee was “qualified for the job”, she wasn’t a skilled communicator like some of her counterparts.

“Being qualified for the job does not necessarily mean you’re the right person to be president,” Clooney said in the interview.

“Here’s what I mean... She was more qualified than even her husband was when he was elected president, but she’s not as good at communicating things. That’s simply true.

“When she got up and gave a speech, it didn’t soar. Now, that doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t have done a great job as

president, and I supported her because by the time we did the fundraiser the primary was over at that point and it was time to

like, “She’s not good at this.”

And I see that, and I understand it. I also think, though, that if it was a guy it wouldn’t have been

get on with picking someone to move forward, and she was the right person to side with.” The Academy Award-winning filmmaker and humanitarian had several liberal acquaintances who also believed Clinton faced a “harder uphill battle” against Trump. “It was frustrating because I never saw her elevate her game. I saw it. And I had a lot of liberal friends who were

so polarising. “I think that she wasn’t particularly good at articulating the things that she wanted to do, and unfortunately we live at a time right now where articulating what you want to do is more potent in the electorate than the other way around, obviously, when Trump only said he was going to ‘Make America Great Again’,” said Clooney.

solved at Giza site

IT HAS for centuries been one of the world’s greatest enigmas: how a Bronze Age society with little in the way of technology created Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza – the oldest and only survivor of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Archaeologists have discovered proof that shows how the Egyptians transported 2½-tonne blocks of limestone and granite from 800 kms away to build the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu in about 2,600 BC. At 481-ft tall, it is the biggest of all the pyramids and was, until Middle Ages, the largest man-made structure on Earth. Now, the discovery of an ancient papyrus, a boat and an ingenious system of waterworks have shed light on the

infrastructure created by the builders.

The detailed archaeological material shows that thousands of skilled workers transported 170,000 tonne of limestone along the Nile in wooden boats held together by ropes, through a specially constructed system of canals to an inland port just yards from the base of the pyramid. A scroll of ancient papyrus has also been found in the seaport Wadi Al-Jarf which has given a new insight into the role boats played in the pyramid’s construction. Stones were shipped downstream from Tura to Giza. Archaeologist Mark Lehner has uncovered evidence of a lost waterway beneath the dusty Giza plateau.

Issue 738 (21)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Archaic 14th century word used by Kim to insult Trump takes internet by storm after his statement was released in media

Rocket man calls Donald the ‘dotard’ KIM JONG-UN has left a lot of English speakers scratching their heads — and reaching for their dictionaries — when he slammed President Donald Trump as a “mentally deranged US dotard”. The supreme leader dusted off the archaic Middle English term, which means a “senile old person”, while responding to Trump’s combative speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, in which the president dubbed Kim “Rocket Man” on a “suicide mission” and vowed to “totally destroy” North Korea if it continued threatening the US and its allies. In a 500-word statement released on Friday by North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, which was written in the first person and brimming with outrage and indignation, Kim had a few choice words for his American counterpart, whom he labeled “a rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire”, likened him to a “frightened dog” and suggested that he was unfit “to hold the precognitive to of supreme command of a country”. But it was the

“dotard” reference that took social media by storm and sent people to reference books. Online dictionary Merriam-Webster tweeted: “Kim Jong-un calls Trump a mentally deranged US dotard. Searches for ‘dotard’ are high as a kite.”

The obscure term traces its origins to the 14th century, and although Shakespeare and JRR Tolkien used it, it is rarely heard these days.

In the original Korean version, which is often much bolder than the official KCNA English declarations, the “dotard”

quote can be more directly translated as calling Trump an “old lunatic”. Observers joke that much of KCNA’s English seems to have been sourced with the help of an ancient dictionary. It was not long before #dotard began trending on Twitter and memes started popping up poking fun on the receiving end of Kim’s antiquated burn.

Test tremors North Korea has been rocked by a 3.4 magnitude earthquake sparking fears the nuclear-obsessed nation may be testing more

missiles.The tremor was detected in the Kilju area in the North Hamgyong province by the South Korean meteorological agency and China’s official Xinhua News Agency. The earthquake was detected at 8.30 am at a depth of zero miles, with the Chinese news agency saying it was a “suspected explosion”.

Recent tremors coming from within North Korea have been due to nuclear tests, the latest of which was earlier this month. The quake detected Saturday was near one of communist

state’s nuclear test sites and is roughly the same magnitude as the September 3 earthquake, which turned out to be a nuclear test. The head of

nuclear test monitoring agency CTBTO said analysts were pouring over the “unusual seismic activity of a much small magnitude” in North Korea

Tube blast suspect rode a lorry from Calais to UK

THE chicken shop worker arrested over the Parsons Green bombing had been in the Jungle migrant camp in Calais after seeing ‘no future’ for him in Egypt. Yahya Faroukh, 21, was arrested on Saturday night as he finished a shift at a fried chicken takeaway. His family have insisted he is innocent and ‘loves the UK’. They left Damascus, in war-torn Syria, in 2012 and moved to Egypt, where their ill father died recently. He took a boat to Italy from Egypt in 2013 after growing disillusioned with life there. He then made his way to the UK the same year on a lorry. His sister-in-law, living in the village of Terheijden, in the south of the Netherlands, told The Sun: “He and his friend got to England on a lorry. He didn’t want to stay in Egypt because there was no future there.” Faroukh had travelled to the Netherlands to visit them during the Muslim holy period of Eid, shortly after the death of their father, relatives said. Another unnamed brother, living in the Noord-Brabant region in the south of the Netherlands, told Arabic Al Aan TV reporter Jenan Moussa that Farroukh came to the UK in 2013 after

taking a boat over to Italy from Egypt. She tweeted: “Brother of arrested Parsons Green suspect told me: ‘I’m shocked by his arrest. He’s ambitious, loves the UK, studies to be journalist’. “Brother said: ‘I spoke Thursday or Friday over phone w/Yahya. He was normal.

My brother is only a suspect. Hope he’ll be cleared soon’.” Police have been given additional time to quiz him and the ‘bucket bomb’ suspect aged 18. On Tuesday night, a third man was arrested in connection with the Parsons Green terror attack, Scotland Yard said. The 25-yearold was held in a counter-terrorism raid in Newport, South Wales, shortly after 7 pm.

Witnesses to the arrest described officers ‘jumping’ a man who was put into a police car and driven away. On Wednesday morning, a 48-year-old man and 30-yearold man were also arrested in Newport. Pictures from social media revealed how Faroukh had visited fellow Syrian refugees in Scotland the year before the planned attack. He enjoyed a ferry ride to the Isle of Bute in January 2016. He posed on the deck of a passenger

ship with his hand in his pocket while smiling by a window with a young boy. The suspect, now being questioned in a south London police station, made the trip with his cousin Abo Zaid Fa who lives in Greenock, east of Glasgow. He posted an image of them on the bus together and wrote: “Had a good time with my cousin.” Abo then replied in Arabic: “God make you happy, cousin and protect you.” Bute is one of the locations where Syrian refugees have been put up in Britain. One local told the Daily Record: “Most people are aware that the bomber suspect has been on Bute.

“Everyone is talking about it. He was here visiting friends. He came over on the ferry. There are Syrian families who have come to stay here and there are no problems with them whatsoever. But we would be very concerned if someone suspected of links to terrorism was visiting here.” It comes as Faroukh’s brother insists the suspect is innocent and his cousin says he is like any other normal 21-year-old who likes ‘to smoke, meet girls and go to the clubs’.

Issue 738 (22)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

British pilots use drone-controlled missile to hit ISIS mass execution THIS is the moment a British RAF drone stopped a public execution staged by Islamic State with a single Hellfire missile. Astonishing footage released for the first time shows crowds of civilians being forced at gunpoint to gather in a Syrian town to watch an execution.

Moments later, a Reaper drone operated by pilots 2,000 miles away at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, unleashes its deadly arsenal — obliterating a sniper keeping watch on a roof nearby. As the terrified crowds scatter in panic, the IS fighters are unable to stage their barbaric killing. The ministry of defence on Tuesday night released the first footage from inside the Qatar military HQ of UK personnel in action against ISIS to illustrate operations in the warzone. The MoD said it could not target

OPERATION HELLFIRE

jihadis on the ground directly in the May attack because civilians could have been caught

air operations in Iraq and Syria, said of the video: “The individual who we engaged was a sniper

dedicated to mounting atrocities in the UK and Europe, he said.

But in the latest phase of the

up in the blast. By taking out the sniper, it forced ISIS fighters to run for their lives. The drone had been flying over the Syrian town of Abu Kamal when it spotted crowds starting to gather. As a van unloaded two shackled prisoners in front of the crowd, the RAF drone pilots watching on screens from thousands of miles away were clear that they were about to witness a public execution. The mission was overseen from the heavily fortified combined air operations centre (Caoc) at the Al Udeid air base in Qatar. The location of the centre was kept secret until recently.

AIR Commodore Johnny Stringer, commander of all UK

in over-watch to shoot civilians who sought to move away from the execution, let alone to protect the planned execution itself. “That particular example for us very much brought it home because civilians had been herded in, forced literally at gunpoint, to go and watch this going on in their hundreds.”

Secret strikes by RAF warplanes against jihadists in Iraq and Syria have stopped a series of home-grown terror attacks, a top commander reveals today. Air Commodore Johnny Stringer admitted British citizens had also been killed in the missions against Islamic State strongholds. The extremist group has a special unit

mission to crush IS, he said RAF jets and drones were forcing the jihadis on to the back foot, saying: “We have helped stop potential attacks in the UK.” He revealed the UK had taken out Britons to stop specific attacks, adding: “By dint of their activity, by being members of Daesh and frankly engaging the people we are here to protect, they (British citizens) become valid military targets and that’s the way we look at it.” Speaking from Al Udeid base in Qatar, where air operations against IS are controlled, Air Cmdre Stringer added: “These people know we can find them wherever they try to hide.” The Britons that have been killed were not targeted

Tube blast suspect a painter from Iraq

FOOTAGE has emerged of the moment when a ‘smiling’ terrorism suspect was arrested even as police continue to hunt for accomplices in the Parsons Green Tube bombing. The man, named as asylum seeker Bilal Mohammed, 25, was pinned down by armed officers in the middle of the street in Newport, South Wales — more than 130 miles from the scene of Friday’s attack in London.

Two other suspects, aged 30 and 48, were arrested a few hours later just two miles away in a raid on a ‘halfway house’ for asylum seekers. The raids in South Wales brought the number of people arrested over the attack to five, and came as investigators were said to be exploring the online links of the Iraqi 18-year-old suspected bomber who lived with his foster parents in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey.

Dozens of people were injured when the bomb partially exploded during Friday morning rush-hour.

Mohammed was held on Tuesday after leaving a halal meat shop. One witness said: ‘A big van pulled up and six officers got out and jumped this guy.

There were two armed officers. The guy was smiling.

I didn’t hear him saying anything.’ Ten hours later, at 5am yesterday, police arrested the two older men at a property in Newport that was being used by the Home Office as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Met Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, said: ‘This continues to be a fast-moving investigation. A significant amount of activity has taken place since the attack. We now have five men in custody and searches are continuing at four addresses.’ Locals said Mohammed is a Kurdish student and part-time painter from Iraq, the same country as the teenage refugee suspected of planting the bomb.

because of their citizenship, but due to the threat they posed, the officer said, adding that if UK jihadists were planning attacks on home soil, they would be taken out irrespective of their nationality. David Cameron caused a furore in September 2015 when he revealed that three British jihadists had been killed in Syria by a drone strike — without the approval of MPs. In total, MI5 has thwarted 19 attacks in Britain in the last five years. Five of those were in the two months until March this year.

However, the figures only apply to those stopped in the UK, and

not those targeted by RAF jets and drones in Iraq and Syria. The officer said terror attacks in Britain, such as the bomb at Parsons Green tube station in London last Friday, gave those under his command ‘fresh resolve’ to deal with the ‘death cult’ of ISIS. Personnel in Britain and the Middle East had indentified ‘threats to the UK or threats that may have materialised in the UK’. Air Cmdre Stringer said jihadis were either planning to come to Britain, or have accomplices in the UK who can execute the attacks. He would not discuss the planned targets.

Issue 738 (23)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

ABOUT 60 km away from Srinagar is a tiny village that is a living nightmare for countless children. This is Mondji, near Sopore town, where a self-styled faith healer has been accused of raping scores of minor boys on the pretext of summoning jinns to drive away evil “nazar” from his so-called patients. The Kashmir police have booked Aijaz Sheikh, called Maulvi Sahab by locals, under Section 377 of the state’s Ranbir Penal Code and filed a charge sheet in court. Absence of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in RPC has prevented access to justice for children who have been sexually abused. this paper spoke to Sheikh and his relatives who said he was being falsely implicated in the case by a family who had taken money from him and not returned it. The accused is married and has three children, including two boys and a girl.

“My elder brother is a pious man and he is being framed. Every Sunday, his followers swarm at his house seeking his blessings so that he would not have a single minute to speak to you,” said Aijaz’s elder brother, requesting anonymity. When this paper met Sheikh, he said,

“I am innocent. You do not even have to trust me; you can ask anyone in the village and you will get the idea of the reputation I hold.” While responding to a question about the jinns he claims to have, and how he heals people, Sheikh said he only gives taweez (amulets) to people to treat them and not any kind of medicines. “If I had them (jinns) then, I would have them now too,” said Sheikh who met this paper in the court. According to the victims, the Peer was approached by his followers to get rid of their problems ranging from love life to business to health. They alleged that he claimed to have jinns under his control who would only speak to a male child below 14 years of age. His followers would ask around and relatives would readily send young boys to stay with the accused. “He had a strategy to trap us. He would trap us in guilt and use it against us.

We were put through uncomfortable questions. He would ask us if we ever got physically intimate with a girl or if we like someone.,” a victim, who is now an adult, told this paper. “His favourite question was if we masturbate. What do

MANILA-The Philippines has banned companies from compelling women to wear high heels to work under a government order hailed by a labour group Monday as a victory against sexism and pain.

The labour department order took effect on Sunday as the government took up the cudgels for long-suffering shopping mall clerks, hotel receptionists and flight attendants.

Employers should implement the use of “practical and comfortable footwear” to improve the health of workers who stand for long periods, said the order, which applies to heels

measuring 2.54-centimetres (one inch) or higher unless the employee chooses to wear them.

“It’s a form of torture.

It’s a form of oppression and slavery. Imagine having to endure that pain for eight to 10 hours a day,” Alan Tanjusay, spokesman for the Associated Labor Unions, told AFP. “It’s also a form of sexism because culturally employers say women wearing high heels look taller and sexier and are then more attractive,

added. “A lot of people ask us why we did not come forward before. We were children who were vulnerable, scared to the core. Deep within, we were battling if we should fight the assault or succumb to it,” he said. “It has taken us several years to come out of the trauma.

Being men, we are not allowed to be vulnerable or timid. We have the burden of maintaining our reputation of the entire gene pool,” he added. This reporter met several victims who ,after the abuse of several years , have finally come out to fight. They said in court that they were told if they revealed the incident to someone, they would be vanished by a ghost or devoured by jinn. “I met this Peer at a mosque and I was quite impressed the way he read prayers,” said a follower of the the Peer of many years. “His aura was attractive. I learnt about his alleged healing powers and approached him as I was facing problems at work.” “Believing him, I sent my innocent nephew to him and later unknowingly pushed

granted bail to the accused after he contended that he needed

you expect from a 14-year-old kid? He would humiliate us to the core for sinning and being the cause of the problems of our families. He would use the guilt to sexually exploit us,” he

another nephew into this nightmare. Last year, I got to know about his evil act and it angers me. These people take advantage of people’s innocence and exploit children.” The court

time to prepare for his defence.

His counsel, Bashir Ahmad Mallah, told this paper that the case is in the initial stages of trial.

The court is scheduled to hear the case again on September 27.

more effective in selling products. They don’t know the

female sales clerks and security guards who had been compelled to work in high heels suffered from sore feet, aching muscles and “hazardous” pressure on joints.

“These (work shoes) should not pinch the feet or toes; are well-fitted and non-slipping; provide adequate cushion and support to the arch of the feet; either flat or with low heels that must be wide-based or wedge type,” it said.

The labour department also ordered companies to give these

Philippines bans compulsory high heels at workplace

women are suffering.”

The department order said

workers rest periods or seats to reduce the time they spend standing or walking. Tanjusay said unions lobbied the labour department last month following complaints from saleswomen, hotel receptionists and flight attendants.

Malls are a mainstay in the Southeast Asian nation, mainly employing women as sales clerks, cashiers and so-called “promo girls”.

Most of these women are shortterm contract workers, Tanjusay said. Under the department order female workers can still wear high heels if they prefer them, Tanjusay added.

Issue 738 (24)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

You are infused with youthful energy and brilliant ideas as you start a new business venture this Dussehra. You are firm and aggressive while managing financial matters and display great wisdom in practical aspects. You are diplomatic when dealing with clients and sensitive issues. Beware of an interfering woman who is cunning and frivolous. Look deeper to find genuine relationships and nourishing friendships.

As you break through old patterns of thinking and behaving you have a new vision of life. Personal relationships are loving but sensitive. Intellectual activity is rewarding this week.

The influence of Dussehra that is celebrated on the 30th manifests love, romance and excitement in your life. Good personal relationships and business partnerships are likely to get closer while stressed or limited relationships are likely to fall apart. You are likely to be presented with choices and options and it’s hard for you to make decisions as you can see both sides of every situation. Looking within at your truths and feelings gives you insight and direction. You meet new people and make interesting and valuable connections.

Dussehra on the 30th blesses you with good fortune and exposure as you are seen, noted and heard. Your connections with other countries are progressive. You are likely to express creative ideas and plans through media or theatre. This is a time of endings and beginnings in relationships or friendships as priorities and attitudes change. Health and energy need to be conserved as you have too much to do this week.

Spend time by yourself and meditate in natural surroundings after a busy day spent with people!

Witnessing the drama of life from a higher viewpoint gives you fresh insight and perspective towards life.

The goddess or Ardhanareshwara manifests and balances Yin and Yang energies to bring a gracious and aesthetic influence in your life this week. Personal relationships are full of love and celebration this Dussehra. Success and good fortune in business projects is assured and your grace and diplomacy take you to high places and important people. You make an impact with your elegance and insight in seminars, discussions or group activities. Beware of waste and dissipation. You can be lazy and laid back when you need to be energetic and get things done.

You make resolutions and restructure daily routines and business outfits for productivity and gain this week.

Settled work associations and slow, habitual activity may have to be abandoned for more creative, progressive and stimulating opportunities.

Intellectual activity at work is gainful but over analysis of situations at home may be tiring. Plans can be disrupted with fresh developments and new projects. Two different situations demand your attention and energy so take one careful step at a time to do justice to both. It’s good for you to participate in and enhance feelings in relationships.

It’s important to protect yourself from negative influences at home and disruptive elements at work. It’s best to be prudent and careful in all aspects of life this week. It’s not a good idea to disclose business plans and changes that you are wanting to make in the future as others try to discourage you or steal your ideas. A slow and steady approach allows you to fulfill ambitions and achieve professional goals. It’s best to underplay your hand and keep a low profile this week. A natural, easy and simple approach brings better results than a clever and brilliant one this Dussehra.

Feelings and emotions rather than intellectual ideas influence your professional direction and personal decisions as you celebrate Dussehra this week. An opportunity or meeting takes you closer to fulfilling a heart’s desire. Personal relationships are happy with a promise for the future. You can expect to spend time in natural surroundings while experiencing beauty and relaxation on a vacation. Business is brisk and you are highly productive and creative in professional ventures at this point. You are good with your hands and have special skills, which bring appreciation and exposure.

You are blessed with material abundance and physical well-being this week as friends and family gently assist you to flower and grow as you are meant to.

You are able to celebrate life and share hospitality with friends and family this Dussehra. You catch up with long lost friends and family. Domestic changes and redecorating spaces bring fresh ambiance and energy. You inspire and support people around you to make new beginnings and positive changes. Beware of getting involved in details and schedules at the cost of bigger issues.

Inner changes trigger off outer changes as professional opportunities and fresh relationships appear unexpectedly. You may have been going through inner transformation that now leads to a different set of priorities. A professional, residential or personal change is on the cards! There is likely to be spiritual growth through awareness and experience which involves some pain and letting go. Go through the fire and come out purified like gold with superficiality and lies burnt away. You are on a committal course towards progressive change. Meditate and be in touch with your intrinsic freedom and creativity.

You may have mixed feelings of success and failure at this point as some business projects are successful and others are blocked or disappointing. You focus on earthy, material issues and make all efforts to accept delays and unravel complications this week.

Financial transactions can be delayed so conserve your resources for now. Resist speculation or risky investments, as they are likely to be losing propositions. Voluntary work is satisfying for you and appreciated by others. Personal relationships and equations have a special note of tenderness.

Health problems need to be attended to.

You are active, skillful and clever in work situations this week. However, you may find it hard to make decisions, as you tend to be over analytical about issues and controversies. Beware of a crafty older man who wants to control you. You need to avoid tension and stress as they can manifest health problems.

You can be intense and serious in relationships while a light and playful attitude would be happier and healthier. You may frighten people away with a smoldering temper, it’s time to stop fighting and letting in some love and fresh energy. Yoga and meditation are recommended this Dussehra.

You go through change and difficulty towards progress and actualization this week. Family situations and individual plans move ahead in a positive and happy direction.

Success in a brilliant venture brings you material gain and professional stability. A Cancerian is loving and supportive. This is the right time to make a work or residential change. You know what you want professionally and personally, just go ahead and get it. Good health and energy enable you to cope with multifarious activity and busy schedules this Dussehra. Beware of depleting your energy, as involvement in different aspects is demanding.

Issue 738 (25)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Technology Twitter bots can promote good behaviour, not just fake news

New York Twitter bots earned a bad reputation for their alleged role in the 2016 US presidential election but researchers have found that automated tweets can also help promote good behaviour such as getting the flu shot among the social network‘s users.

In a large-scale experiment designed to analyse the spread of information on social networks, the researchers deployed a network of algorithmdriven Twitter accounts, or social bots, programmed to spread positive messages on Twitter.

“We found that bots can be used to run interventions on social media that trigger or foster good behaviour,” said Emilio Ferrara, Research Assistant Professor at University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering in

the US. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, also revealed another intriguing pattern — information is much more likely to become viral when people are exposed to the same piece of information multiple times through multiple sources.

“This milestone shatters a longheld belief that ideas spread like an infectious disease, or contagion, with each exposure resulting in the same probability of infection,” Ferrara said.

“Now we have seen empirically that when you are exposed to a given piece of information multiple times, your chances of adopting this information increase every time,” Ferrara added.

To reach these conclusions, the researchers first developed a dozen positive hashtags,

Snapchat still scores over Instagram in US San Francisco Even as Instagram is breaking all records in terms of user

growth, Snapchat still has a bigger share of new users in the US but the advantage may not remain for long, a report said on Wednesday.

According to US-based marketing analytics company Jumpshot, 52 percent of new US users signed up for Snapchat, compared to 48 percent for Instagram in August.

“The share represents a decline in Snapchat`s new enrollment dominance in the US,” ReCode quoted Jumpshot as saying.

Snapchat represented 38.5 percent of new signups globally compared with Instagram‘s 61.5 percent in August. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and the photosharing platform has seen its usership grow to 700 million monthly active users (MAU) globally. Snapchat during its second quarter earnings this year announced that it had 173 million daily active (DAU) users — up 21 percent from a year earlier.

ranging from health tips to fun activities, such as encouraging users to get the flu shot and high-five a stranger.

Then, they designed a network of 39 bots to deploy these hashtags in a synchronised manner to 25,000 real followers during a four-month period.

Each bot automatically recorded when a target user retweeted intervention-related content and also each exposure that had taken place prior to retweeting.

Several hashtags received more than one hundred retweets and likes, Ferrara said.

“We also saw that every exposure increased the probability of adoption - there is a cumulative reinforcement effect,” Ferrara said.

“It seems there are some cognitive mechanisms that reinforce your likelihood to believe in or adopt a piece of information when it is validated by multiple sources in your social network,” he said.

The researchers believe that this discovery could also improve how positive intervention strategies are deployed on social networks in many scenarios, including public health announcements for disease control or emergency management in the wake of a crisis.

Facebook introduces ad performance measurement solutions for advertisers

San Francisco In a bid to provide brands way to compare advertisements performances, Facebook has introduced new measurement solutions that will enable advertisers to see the impact of their ad campaigns on the social networking platform and TV. Facebook, in collaboration with data measurement firm Nielsen, launched “Nielsen Total Brand Effect with Lift” solution through which advertisers can interpret their cross-platform results, the company said in a statement late on Friday.

The solution leverages Nielsen‘s expertise in television measurement and its database of television programming to poll

for TV ad exposure. The results are delivered independently by the company.

The product is currently available to eligible advertisers via their Facebook representative in the US and the UK and will be available in Australia by the end of the year.

The social media giant is also working on a solution “Facebook Cross-Platform Brand Lift”, which will offer polling and results from crossplatform brand lift measurement for ads on Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network.

The tool, which may be available to advertisers in early 2018, will also provide self-serve reporting, including that of Facebook usage during commercial breaks.

Facebook tests WhatsApp shortcut in its app

San Francisco Facebook appears to be testing a new feature which will allow the users to launch WhatsApp directly from its app.

A dedicated WhatsApp button showed up in the Facebook app of some users on the Android platform, which acted like a shortcut to open the chat app, The Next Web reported late on Friday.

The new button, which can be found in the menu area of the app, is currently available to a few users on the Android version of the app, but might be available to some iOS users too.

There has not been any formal announcement by the social media giant and it is unclear whether it will become available to all Facebook users.

The feature was first reported by

Facebook user Arvind Iyer, who said the new shortcut appeared after he switched the app‘s language setting to Danish.

The company has previously chosen Denmark for other limited rollouts like its standalone video-sharing app “Bonfire”, the report added.

Facebook is also working on a

new feature called “Instant Videos” that downloads Facebook videos while connected with Wi-Fi to help the users save their data.

The “Instant Videos” would be similar to Facebook`s hosted content format “Instant Articles” that loads faster than mobile websites.

Issue 738 (26)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Rohingya terror mule photos fox agencies

INDIA’S security and intelligence agencies are disquieted by a set of photographs purportedly showing several Rohingya Muslims on the payrolls of Pakistan’s ISI, who have allegedly been pushed into India as porters-cumguides to accompany about half a dozen Jaish-eMohammed terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The development emerged even as home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday made a strong pitch for deportation of 40,000 Rohingyas from the country.

Sources say the pictures have been in custody of the Army Central Armed Police Forces and Jammu & Kashmir Police for days, but no agency has come forward to authenticate the sensitive information.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have fled from Myanmar following a military crackdown, which the UN has described as ethnic cleansing, with many taking refuge in Bangladesh and some then crossing a porous border into India. Myanmar says its forces are carrying out their legitimate duty to restore order after guerrilla attacks last month on security posts and an army camp in which about a dozen

people were killed. Sources in multiple agencies including IB, RAW and Indian Army said the pictures exist but have not been verified. Kashmir’s inspector general of police, Muneer Khan, said at least a part of the account appears true as some JeM terrorists seemed to have

to getting recruited by terrorist organisations and are also a burden on the country’s limited resources. However, IGP Khan said so far no Rohingya Muslim has been found to be involved in terror activity in the Kashmir valley. “The men in the pictures appear Caucasian, and the

killed in the Valley along with JeM commander Adil Pathan last year. But there has been no confirmation till now.

Intelligence officials point to a threat from the littleknown Rohingya terror group Aqa Mul Mujahidin (AMM) –blamed for the recent attacks on Myanmar

consequences if India deported members of the community.

“The Hindus in Kashmir would be persecuted if India deports Rohingyas. No Hindu will remain in Kashmir if they harass the Burmese Muslims,” he warned. Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said there is

infiltrated through Poonch district – three of these jihadis were killed in an encounter with police in Pulwama last month.

They were identified as Abu Saad, Dawood and Al Bakr.

Three others from the group were killed in Satora recently.

Sources say one terrorist could still be at large. The Centre sees the Rohingya refugees as a security threat, arguing that the Illegal migrants are vulnerable

grass tall and thick, unlike features in the Valley or even Poonch region,” he said. An intelligence source said the photographs may have been orchestrated with a foul intent.

However, the process of verification is still on. There are reports of Rohingya terrorists fighting alongside Pakistani extremists in Kashmir. One of their top leaders, Chotta Burmi, was rumoured to have been

border outposts– with links to Pakistanbased terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). But there are concerns that AMM may have forged ties with the Jaish cell in J&K. Several terror groups have rallied behind the Rohingya Muslims amid the Myanmar exodus. Zakir Musa, the face of the al-Qaeda cell in Kashmir has released two videos. In one, he threatened dire

sufficient proof that Rohingya porters have been used as guides by Pakistani infiltrators.

“As the matter of Rohingya Muslims escalates, security forces are on high alert to nip any infiltration bid,” he said.

Agencies are, however, cautious. “Prima facie there is no evidence, but Pakistan cannot be trusted and will look at possible chinks,” said a source.

Issue - 738 (27)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Doctor gets 32 years in jail for killing Indian-origin Yale physician

New Haven A mentally ill doctor who shot a Yale University physician to death and narrowly missed wounding the victim’s pregnant

wife was sentenced Friday to 32 years in prison, ending a sevenyear legal drama over the gunman’s sanity that included forcibly medicating him so he could be competent to stand trial.

Lishan Wang, 51, a Chinese citizen from Beijing, agreed to the sentence in June when he pleaded no contest to manslaughter, attempted assault and gun crimes.

Authorities said Wang opened fire at Dr Vajindeer Toor and his wife, Parneeta Sidhu, outside the

couple’s home in Branford in 2010, killing Toor but missing Sidhu. Police said Wang was upset about a workplace dispute with Toor two years earlier at a

New York City hospital where they both worked at the time.

Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford in New Haven handed down the punishment to Wang, calling him a “revengeful and disturbed person” and saying the shooting was a “senseless, cowardly act.”

Wang said that his medical career was destroyed because he was fired unfairly from the hospital and that Toor was to blame for the shooting.

After the hearing, Sidhu said the

Denied gun permit, US man shoots himself and 6-year-old son dead

Foxborough A man who had recently been denied a gun licence fatally shot his 6-year-old son before taking his own life, a Massachusetts prosecutor said Friday.

Police responding to a 911 call from a neighbour went to a Foxborough home at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday for what was described as a medical emergency. There they found Anthony Scaccia, 6, suffering from a single gunshot wound, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said. The boy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police also found William Scaccia Jr., 49, dead with a selfinflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Scaccia also apparently tried to start a fire in the home, but a resident put it out, Morrissey

said.

Police found a handgun, shell casings and a note that led them to believe the shootings were a murder-suicide, he said.

The boy lived in the home with other family members, but his father did not live there, Morrissey said.

Scaccia had recently been denied a gun permit, based on a history of interactions with police, including allegations of domestic violence, Foxborough Police Chief William Baker said.

Scaccia appealed to a judge, who upheld the chief’s denial.

While investigating an assault allegation last week, police found out that Scaccia had access to a gun, which Baker said was found at another residence.

How Scaccia got hold of the gun used Thursday remains under investigation.

prison sentence should have been longer.

“My loss cannot be replaced,” she said. “I have no ill feelings toward anybody else. You have to be pretty disturbed to do something like this.”

Wang has been under a judge’s order to be forcibly medicated against his will to treat his mental illness so he could remain competent to stand trial an issue that went all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Wang’s lawyers said an insanity defense was likely if the case had gone to trial. They have said that Wang has delusional disorder and paranoia, though he had insisted that he was competent and didn’t need medication.

Toor was a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Medicine who was working with the infectiousdisease section of Yale-New Haven Hospital. In 2008, he worked at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in New York City, where he and other doctors had confrontations with Wang that led to Wang’s firing, authorities said.

Wang was ruled incompetent to stand trial in 2015. Judge Thomas O’Keefe Jr. ordered that Wang be medicated against his will to see if he could become competent to stand trial. Wang’s public defenders appealed the forced-medication order, saying it violated his constitutional rights to a fair trial and mental and physical integrity. But the state Supreme Court upheld the ruling, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Croatia school removes Melania Trump English ads

ZAGREB Billboards featuring a glamourous image of US First Lady Melania Trump and the caption: “Just imagine how far you can go with a little bit of English” were supposed to attract students to a language school in Croatia.

But the five roadside adverts were taken down on Tuesday after just four days on display, following a complaint from Trump’s lawyer in her native Slovenia.

The American Institute school in Zagreb “grossly violated Croatia’s law... since they unlawfully used the image and personality of Mrs Trump for commercial purposes,” Trump’s lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar said in an email to AFP. “By using her image to advertise their services they have unlawfully intruded on her personality rights,” she said.

“We are pleased they have realised they made a huge mistake.” Ivis Buric, who created the billboards, said they were intended to send a “very positive

message” and present the First Lady as a role model. “The main goal was to promote the English language,” she said, speaking on behalf of the school. She confirmed the boards were removed on the request of Trump’s lawyers. Trump, 47, was born Melanija Knavs in Slovenia when it was part of communist Yugoslavia. She left home in the 1990s to pursue a modelling career.

This took her to the United States where she met Donald Trump, whom she married in 2005. After her husband’s election win, efforts by Slovenian businesses to cash in with Melania cakes and White House slippers were also dealt a setback when a lawyer warned them to be careful about trademarks. A honey producer removed jars that claimed the product came from “Melania’s home garden”, while others changed the name of their products, including the Rondo pizzeria whose “Trump” burger became the more generic “Presidential” burger.

Amazon Website Features Suggest Bomb-making Items, Review Ordered London Amazon.com on Wednesday said it’s reviewing its website after a British television report claimed the online retail giant’s algorithms were suggesting bomb-making items to customers.

According to the Channel 4 News, items suggested byAmazon.com under ”Frequently bought together” and “Customers who bought this also bought” features could be used to make explosives.

“Ingredients for black powder and thermite are grouped together under a “Frequently bought together” section on listings for specific chemicals,” found the British broadcaster. Material like ball bearings, ignition systems and remote detonators that could be used in the bombmaking process were available under ”Customers who bought this item also bought” category of Amazon.com.

Following the report, Amazon issued a statement saying all

products available on its website ‘must adhere to our selling guidelines and comply with UK laws’. “In light of recent events, we are reviewing our website to ensure that all these products are presented in an appropriate m a n n e r, ” t h e s ta t e m e n t continued. “We also continue to work closely with police and law enforcement agencies when circumstances arise where we can assist their

investigations.”

The report assumes significance as it came days after an apparently homemade bomb was detonated on the London Underground network. At least 30 people were injured when an improvised explosive device camouflaged inside a paint bucket partially detonated on a London Underground train at Parsons Green station on Friday.

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North Korea more opaque after North Korea Leader Kim YouTube propaganda ban: Monitors Jong-Un Prefers School Girls as His Sex Slaves

Seoul North Korea has become “more opaque” to the outside world following a decision by YouTube to silence an official propaganda channel, a monitoring group has warned, as new sanctions over

Pyongyang’s nuclear programme begin to bite.

Observers have long relied on state-run news for glimpses into Pyongyang’s shadowy regime and weapons programme, but one such source - the Uriminzokkiri channel - went dark earlier this month.YouTube “has cut off a vital supply of video used by open source researchers, which means there is now less visibility into what’s happening in

North Korea,” said Martyn Williams in a commentary published on Friday on the respected 38 North website, which focuses on North Korea analysis. “The Western world’s understanding of North Korea is

limited to begin with, cutting off access to these few windows into North Korean thinking and life further hampers our knowledge of the country.”

YouTube first pulled the channel in early September with a message stating that it was in violation of “community standards” and the page currently has a notice that it is subject to a “legal complaint”.

The Google-owned company was

not immediately available for comment.

Academics use official footage of missile launches and visits to factories by the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un to gain rare insights into the progress of the country’s weapons programmes.

Williams said the YouTube move “served to highlight the sometimes-unintended consequences of sanctions”.

North Korea was slapped with tough new restrictions this month after it conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test, following months of increasingly brazen missile launches. The United Nations measures include limits on oil shipments into the country and a ban on lucrative textile exports from the North.The resolution also imposes asset freezes on government agencies including the country’s Propaganda and Agitation Department, which the UN said has “has full control over the media”. Experts have raised concerns over further punishing the already deeply isolated North, which pressed on with nuclear and missile tests in defiance of a slew of previous embargoes.

Blue Whale Challenge: Scared to End Life, Writes Depressed Student in Examination Sheet Bhopal An examiner in the Raigarh of Madhya Pradesh was startled after reading an account of a depressed student who allegedly completed 49 stages

of notorious Blue Whale Challenge game. The boy in his account wrote he was scared to end his life as the final task of the game. Soon, after the examiner read the copy, he apprised the local administration about the distressed child.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Revenue, Praveen Prajapati of Khilchipur, where the incident took place, said on Thursday

that during the quarterly examination of Class 10 in the local Utkrisht Vidyalaya, a student wrote in his Sanskrit answer-sheet that he had reached the 49th stage of the

Blue Whale game.

According to Prajapati, the student wrote he was being pressured to undertake the final task of ending life. Besides, he was also being threatened that if he did not commit suicide, his parents would be killed.

“The answer-sheet was being evaluated by teacher Hemlata Shringi. When she read the lines written by the student, she

got alarmed. After that she informed the school and contacted us,” he said.

Prajapati said a group comprising teachers and some local people had been formed which was counselling the child to remove fear from his psyche.

Family members of the student said he had even uploaded the photograph of slitting his wrist and that at 49th stage, he was being asked to end his life.

What is Blue Whale Challenge?

Originated in Russia, Blue Whale Challenge is believed to have claimed the lives of more than 100 victims across the globe.

The game gained notoriety when its first victim in Russia shared her picture on Instagram before jumping from the 14th floor. The Challenge which lasts for 50 days starts with carving a blue whale on your body. Once the challenge commences, the game gives a daily challenge to the player which must be completed with a clicked picture.The game may a give a teen a challenge to do odd things like seeing horror movie alone or bath with cold water in Winters. But the level of games gets difficult with each stage finally leading to suicide.

The game was named Blue Whale as it symbolically represents the phenomenon of beached whales on shoresÍ

Pyongyang North Korea Leader Kim JongUn prefers school girls to be his sex slaves, a defector told the Daily Mirror. 26-year-old Hee Yeon told that her father was a senior officer in Kim’s regime.

She fled from Pyongyang in 2015 and went to Seoul last year after her father died. She said that Kim’s officials came to her school to pick up pretty girls with ‘straight legs’. Hee revealed that the teen girls were told to feed him caviar and massage him and they become sex slaves. She told Mirror, “They have to sleep with him and they cannot make a mistake or object because they could very easily simply disappear”. She recalled how the security men ordered her and her classmates to go out of their classrooms in the middle of the day and were

taken to Pyongyang’s Military Academy. Then, she was forced to watch a group of 11 musicians being killed who were accused of making pornographic videos. She said, “The musicians were brought out, tied up, hooded and apparently gagged, so they could not make a noise, not beg for mercy or even scream”. These musicians were thrashed to the end of anti-aircraft guns that blasted their bodies. If that wasn’t enough, tanks were run on their bodies repeatedly.

Hee said that this horrific incident made her sick in her stomach that day and she couldn’t eat food for at least three days. At least 10,000 people witnessed this terrible incident. She was standing 200 feet away from the site where these musicians were slaughtered.

Pervez Musharraf Says Asif Ali Zardari is Responsible For Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

Islamabad Asif Ali Zardari was responsible for the killing of his wife and the country’s first woman prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf claimed on Friday while accusing Zardari of gaining most from the assassination.

The 54-year-old Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief, Bhutto, was killed along with over 20 people in a bomb attack in Liaquat Bagh of Rawalpindi during an election campaign rally on December 27, 2007.

While addressing the three Bhutto-Zardari children, the Bhutto family and the people of Sindh, through a video posted on his official Facebook page, Musharraf said, ”Asif Ali Zardari

is responsible for the Bhutto family’s demise and is involved in the deaths of Benazir and Murtaza Bhutto.”

Explaining his analysis of the case, he said that as he was in the power, the murder of Bhutto would not have reaped him any benefits. “The murder put my government in a difficult situation,” he said while claiming that there was only one person who had everything to gain from her assassination and that was Asif Ali Zardari while questioning why he didn’t take any action in his tenure.

He also said that the charges levied against him that he did not provide appropriate security to Bhutto are baseless. “I was not responsible for her security,” he said.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Losing London licence not the only setback, it’s been a rocky year for Uber

London Uber will lose its licence to operate in London because it may be endangering public safety and security, according to a UK regulator, in a blow to a company facing questions over its corporate culture.

The company, which has been beset by a litany of scandals over its management style — from accusations of sexism to the illegal use of software to trick regulators was told it was not “fit and proper” to keep operating in London, where it has 3.5 million passengers and 40,000 drivers.

The regulator, Transport for London, said it “considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications.”

Uber has been facing legal and administrative challenges in Europe and other parts of the world since it began operations in 2012. Here is a list of Uber’s mounting troubles across the world this year: On January 28, after President Donald Trump releases his first executive order on immigration, New York taxi drivers protest by refusing to pick up passengers

at Kennedy Airport for an hour.

Some protesters say Uber tries to capitalise on the protest by picking up passengers anyway, prompting a Twitter protest urging people to delete Uber’s app from their smartphones.

On February 1, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was forced to step

female staffers had been subjected to sexual harassment at Uber; and when she reported the situation to HR and upper management, all she got was indifference. She was reportedly told that nothing could be done about the Manager who she accused because he “was a high

Holder to conduct a review of the sexual harassment claims.

Arianna Huffington, who joined Uber’s board last year, Liane Hornsey, Uber’s chief human resources officer, and Angela Padilla, the company’s associate general counsel, were also to help conduct the review.

down from President Donald Trump’s economic advisory council that he had joined in December, under pressure from employees who wondered why he was still willing to advise the President.

On February 19, former employee Susan Fowler, in an explosive revelation on her blog, claimed that she and other

performer”.

Kalanick tweeted his response calling the behaviour described in her blog post “abhorrent & against everything we believe in” and promised that “anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired.”

On February 21, it was announced that Uber had hired former US Attorney General Eric

Many criticised this as well, wondering at the efficacy of an enquiry conducted by people from within the company.

On February 23, Google-owned Waymo sued Uber for stealing its self-driving car technology.

The case accuses Anthony Levandowski, a former top manager for Google’s self-driving car project, of stealing pivotal technology that is now propelling Uber’s effort to assemble a fleet of autonomous vehicles for its ride-hailing service.

On February 24, venture capitalists Mitch and Freada Kapor, early investors in Uber,

India and Canada jointly release Diwali stamps Toronto India and Canada have unveiled their first joint stamp, as the countries simultaneously issued stamps to celebrate the festival of Diwali.

The Canadian event to mark this collaborative release was held in Toronto on Thursday and was attended by Canada Post president and CEO Deepak Chopra, India’s high commissioner Vikas Swarup, India’s consul general in Toronto Dinesh Bhatia and Toronto mayor John Tory.

“The Diwali stamps express our

pride in Canada being a land of diverse faiths, customs and celebrations. It is fitting that this historic first joint issue celebrates the strong relationship between Canada and India,” Chopra said.

The official first day cover was cancelled in Toronto. The stamps were designed by Doreen Colonello of Entro Communications and India Post.

A similar event was held in New Delhi and was attended by Canada’s envoy Nadir Patel and chief postmaster general (Delhi) LN Sharma. Both versions of the

publicly criticised the firm for failing to end a toxic culture of harassment. “Uber has had countless opportunities to do the right thing?,” they wrote. “We feel we have hit a dead end.”

On February 28, a senior executive at Uber, Amit Singhal, was asked to leave the company for failing to disclose a sexual harassment allegation stemming from his tenure at Alphabet Inc’s Google On March 1, the company’s CEO Travis Kalanick got into an argument with his Uber driver. In a dashcam video published by Bloomberg News, Kalanick was seen arguing with his Uber driver over the company’s treatment of drivers. After a conversation about policies at Uber, Kalanick ends the conversation by saying: “Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit.

They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!”.

On March 3, The New York Times reveals that Uber used a phony version of its app to thwart authorities in cities where it was operating illegally. Uber’s socalled Greyball software identified regulators who were posing as riders and blocked access to them. The US Justice Department is investigating Uber’s use of the Greyball software.

In March, Uber said it planned to withdraw from Denmark after the country passed a new taxi law that required ride-hailing services to install fare meters and meet other requirements.

2 Pakistan sisters murdered by father in ‘honour killing’ stamp feature diyas, the traditional Diwali lamps, with fireworks in the background.

Hindus in Bangladesh cutting Durga Puja expense to fund aid for Rohingyas Dhaka In a humanitarian gesture, Hindus in Bangladesh on Friday decided to cut the expenses of the upcoming Durga Puja to set up a fund to provide relief for the Rohingya refugees who poured into the country following the ethnic violence in Myanmar.

More than 420,000 Rohingyas, mostly Muslims, fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State to evade atrocities which the United States. Reports suggest that the violence also forced some 800 Hindus in Rakhine State to take refuge in Bangladesh.

“Their mass exodus has unfolded a horrific humanitarian crisis (and so) we will stand by the persecuted refugees with assistance by saving during the

Durga Puja festival,” general secretary of the apex Puja Celebration Council said.

He said puja celebration committees across Bangladesh had been asked to save to set up a fund to provide relief for the Rohingya refugees.

Bangladesh has been overwhelmed by Rohingya Muslims since violence erupted in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar’s Rakhine state on August 25.

The Rohingya are regarded as illegal immigrants in Myanmar.

Peshawar A young woman and her 10-yearold sister were murdered by their father in Pakistan in a so- called ‘honour killing’, police said here on?Saturday.Abdul Gani killed his daughters 20-year-old Shamim and Noreen and later confessed to the crime upon his arrest, according to DSP Fazal Wahid.The crime took place in Peshawar’s Achar Kali area on September 20.

The accused’s son reported the murders to police and lodged an FIR in the case, the officer said.

Police had to conduct several

raids before the accused was apprehended from the Mosam Ghari area here, two days after the murders.

According to the DSP, Abdul Gani said he killed his daughters because he was “ashamed at their conduct as they used to leave the house at all hours,” the Dawn reported.

Last year, Pakistan’s parliament unanimously approved antihonour killing and anti-rape bills.

The legislation on honour killings introduced tough punishment for convicts, making it stricter than that in usual murder cases.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Miss Turkey loses crown over contentious coup tweet STANBUL The winner of Turkey’s national beauty pageant was Friday forced to hand back her crown hours after winning, over a tweet relating to the failed coup which

was deemed offensive.

Itir Esen, 18, won Miss Turkey 2017 during a ceremony in Istanbul on Thursday night and was going to represent the country in the Miss World competition in China. But organisers said that would not be

possible after they discovered an “unacceptable” tweet Esen sent around the first anniversary of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In the tweet, she compared the blood shed in her menstrual cycle with that of the 249 people who lost their lives during the failed coup and are now celebrated in Turkey as martyrs.

“I am having my period this morning to celebrate the July 15

Senior Journalist KJ Singh And His Mother Found Dead in Mohali; Murder Suspected

martyrs’ day. I am celebrating the day by bleeding on behalf of our martyrs’ blood,” she wrote.

Organisers said they had seen the tweet after the beauty contest’s results were announced and had to hold an hours-long meeting to verify the post.

Can Sandikcioglu, head of Miss Turkey, said in a statement that the tweet was posted by Esen.

“The Miss Turkey organisation, whose objective is to promote Turkey in the world and to contribute to its image, cannot accept such a post,” he announced.

Esen’s title was handed to Asli Sumen, who came second and who will now represent Turkey in the Miss World contest in China on November 18.

Esen is not the first Turkish beauty queen to fall foul over a social media post.

In 2015, prosecutors launched an investigation against former Miss Turkey beauty queen Merve Buyuksarac on charges of insulting Erdogan through social media posts.

Buyuksarac was given a 14month sentence by an Istanbul court last year, but the sentence was suspended on condition that she does not reoffend within the next five years.

Opposition critics of the president have decried shrinking freedom of expression under Erdogan in Turkey, where thousands have been prosecuted for social media postings deemed to have insulted the Turkish leader.

Syria Opp activist, daughter found dead in Istanbul

STANBUL A senior Syrian opposition activist and her journalist daughter have been found dead at their apartment in Istanbul, the Dogan news agency reported on Friday.

Friends raised the alarm after being unable to reach Aroubeh Barakat and her daughter Halla Barakat by telephone, the news agency said. Turkish police then arrived at their apartment in the Uskudar district on the Asian side of Istanbul and found both women dead. Unconfirmed reports said that their throats had been cut.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey has become home to almost three million Syrian refugees, many of them opponents of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Aroubeh Barakat’s sister Shaza also confirmed the deaths in a Facebook post, saying the two “were assassinated at the hands of injustice and tyranny”. She said that they had been stabbed

to death. She said her sister had opposed the Assad regime from the 1980s going back to the rule of Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez.

The Yeni Safak daily said Aroubeh Barakat had carried out investigations into alleged torture in prisons run by the Assad regime.

It said she had initially lived in Britain, then the United Arab Emirates before coming to Istanbul.Syrian activist Rami Jarrah wrote on Facebook that the family believes the killing could be due to Aroubeh’s opposition activities.Halla Barakat, 22, was working for a website called Orient News and had also for a time worked for Turkish state broadcaster TRT.Syrian opposition activists and journalists have repeatedly complained of threats to their security.Two Syrian journalists from the city of Raqa who were opposed to the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and were found beheaded in southern Turkey in 2015.

Caught Ram Rahim, Honeypreet Nude, Fear For my Life: Ex-husband Vishwas Gupta New Delhi Senior journalist KJ Singh and his 92-year-old mother Gurcharan Kaur were found dead in their Mohali (Punjab) residence on Saturday, reported news agency ANI. It is being suspected that the two were allegedly murdered. The cops have launched an investigation into this matter.

Singh was a was a former news editor of The Indian Express and Times of India in Chandigarh.

Some visitors broke the door of the house after they got no response at the entrance gate.

The journalist was found dead with his throat slit and also his car is missing.

Former deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal took to Twitter to condemn the murder. He wrote, “Just heard

senior journalist KJ Singh has been murdered along with his mother.”

In another tweet, Badal urged the cops to nab the preparators immediately. “I condemn the ghastly murder of senior journalist KJ Singh and his mother at Mohali. Urge police to nab perpetrators immediately,” the Shiromani Akali Dal leader said.

Two other journalists were killed in the month of September. on September 20, Santanu Bhowmick, a journalist from ‘Dinrat’ news channel was kidnapped and killed in West Tripura district while covering the agitation and road blockade by the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT). Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was appalled by this murder.

“Appalled at the gruesome murder of TV journalist Shantanu Bhowmik. Repeated attacks on media are worrisome for our democracy,” Gandhi scion had penned on Twitter.

Sirsa Honeypreet Insan’s ex-husband Vishwas Gupta on Friday accused Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim and his adopted daughter of having sexual relations. Making startling revelations about the two, Vishwas Gupta revealed that Ram Rahim and Honeypreet Insan had been sleeping with each other and the jailed godman had threatened him when he caught them nude.

“Which father makes his daughter sleep on his bed? She always used to be with him,” said Vishwas Gupta, adding, “She (Honeypreet) never slept with me. Every night, she was with him (Ram Rahim). The sect chief virtually made me a captive and did not allow my (then) wife Honeypreet to come to me,” news agency IANS reported them as saying.

Vishwas Gupta, whose family was a staunch follower of Gurmeet Ram Rahim, marriedHoneypreet Insan in 2009 at the behest of Ram Rahim.

Honeypreet’s real name is Priyanka Taneja. Gupta moved

to the court for divorce two years later. (Also read: How Priyanka Taneja Became Honeypreet

July 2011 and shifted to Panchkula for the fear of his life.

“In Panchkula, I was trailed by

Insan)He claimed that he had caught the Dera chief and his exwife Honeypreet in a compromising situation in the ‘gufa’. Gurmeet Ram Rahim threatened him that his (Gupta) family would be eliminated if he uttered anything about what he had seen in the ‘gufa’. “My life was ruined,” he said.

Ram Rahim had also got Gupta booked in a dowry case and ordered for his ‘elimination’, Gupta alleged. “Two guards were given orders to eliminate me,” he claimed. Gupta left the dera in

dera followers,” claimed Gupta.

He said that the Dera chief forced him and his family to publicly seek forgiveness from him.He also revealed that Ram Rahim used to carry a box of arms in whichever car he used to travel. “Ram Rahim is very powerful even though he is in jail.

Once I go back to this press conference I don’t know if you’ll see me again,” Gupta said in a press conference. He also said that Ram Rahim forced his followers and aides to play ‘Bigg Boss’ in his cave.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

A-bombs and H-bombs explained

PARIS The world’s nuclear arsenals are comprised mainly of two types of warheads - atomic bombs, also called A-bombs, and the more powerful hydrogen or Hbombs.North Korea, escalating its war of rhetoric with the United States, on Friday hinted it may explode an H-bomb over the Pacific, having already carried out underground tests of atomic and hydrogen bombs.

Here is a rundown on both types of weapon.This weapons have only been used twice in conflict, when the United States bombed Japan in the final days of World War II, although they have been tested several hundred times.

Atomic bombs work on the principle of nuclear fission where energy is released by splitting atoms of enriched uranium or plutonium encased in a warhead.The first-ever explosion of an A-bomb was in a test in the deserts of the US state of New Mexico on July 16, 1945 the culmination of the secretive Manhattan project to develop such a weapon in the belief that Nazi Germany was doing the

same.

On August 6, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the southern Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people, according to estimates.

Three days later, a second bomb devastated Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people. Japan surrendered, bringing World War II to an end.

These bombs produced an explosive yield of roughly 20 kilotons, the equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT. The shock wave demolished

buildings of reinforced concrete and the intense heat vaporised people near the centre of the blast. Others were badly burned or succumbed to radiationrelated illnesses weeks, months or years later.

The Soviet Union was the second country to test an atomic bomb in 1949; Britain became the world’s third nuclear power with a test in 1952.

China, France, India, North Korea and Pakistan are also confirmed to possess nuclear weapons. Israel is considered to

India’s Smallest Baby Discharged From Hospital Mumbai India’s smallest and youngest pre-term baby who was in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for 132 days was finally discharged from Surya hospital in Mumbai on Friday. The boy named Nirvaan was born after only 22 weeks, on May 12, 2017. He weighed 610 grams, with 22 centimetres head size and a height of 32 centimetres.

Now, the boy weighs 3.72 kilograms. He was treated by a team of 14 doctors and 50 nursing staff, reports news agency IANS. The baby boy survived life-taking health conditions such as pneumothorax (air accumulation around the lungs) and brain bleeds, informed one of the doctors.Bhupendra Avasthi, Director of Surya Child Care, Surya Hospital told IANS that Nirvaan needed ventilatory support as he had immature lungs and hence, required 12 weeks of respiratory support that include six weeks of ventilator support. Avasthi added, “Multiple doses of surfactant injections were instilled into the breathing tube to expand his lungs”. The doctor said that Nirvaan is the country’s first smallest baby to have survived.

The baby has to go through multidisciplinary management in the form of heart and brain scans, bone integrity checks, hearing assessments, skin care, physiotherapy, and lactation support. Avasthi told IANS, “A month-long steroid treatment was needed to help him breathe on his own. The steroid treatment also increased his risk of having infection and high blood sugars

be an undeclared nuclear power, refusing to confirm or deny that it has such weapons.

Many times more powerful than the atomic bomb, the hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb works on the principle of the fusion of isotopes of hydrogen and generates temperatures on the order of those found at the sun’s core.

While no H-bomb has been used in a conflict so far, the world’s nuclear arsenals are comprised for the most part of such weapons.

The bomb has a two-stage process with a nuclear explosion triggering a huge increase in temperature that in turn provokes nuclear fusion, setting off a powerful explosion.

The US army tested the first Hbomb in 1952 in an explosion that was almost 700 times more powerful than an atomic bomb.

A year later the Soviet Union tested its own H-bomb. In 1961 it carried out the most powerful blast to date, exploding the “Tsar Bomba” in the Arctic with a force of around 57,000 kilotons (57 megatons).

North Korea said it tested a miniaturised H-bomb in January 2016, although scientists said the six-kiloton yield achieved then was far too low for a thermonuclear device.

It said that its September 3 nuclear test, its sixth, was also of a hydrogen bomb. The underground blast triggered landslides in the detonation area.

China raises bullet train speed six years after crash BEIJING China on Thursday increased the maximum speed of bullet trains on the Beijing-Shanghai line to 350 kilometres (217 miles) per hour, six years after a fatal accident led to a speed cap. The speed limit had been reduced to 300 kilometres per hour after 40 people died in a high-speed train crash near Wenzhou in July 2011. The acceleration cuts the 1,318-kilometre (819-mile) Beijing-Shanghai journey to 4 hours and 28 minutes, saving passengers nearly an hour.

Starting on Thursday, a total of 14 trains were running between Beijing and Shanghai at the higher speed daily, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

“These trains are so popular that the tickets for today already sold out a week ago,” Xinhua cited Huang Xin, an official with the China Railway Corporation, as saying.

The connection between the two metropolises is one of the country’s busiest, carrying more than 100 million passengers a year. China’s highspeed rail network is the largest in the world, and seen by Beijing as a symbol of the country’s advance. But the expansion which has cost hundreds of billions of dollars - has seen a series of scandals and widespread allegations of corruption, with accusations that safety has been compromised for speed.

World’s richest woman dies aged 94 which required antibiotic and insulin therapy”.

Avasthi said that the baby also required undergoing LASER treatment of eyes and hernia along with multiple blood transfusions. Nirvaan is born to a couple from Bandra in Mumbai.

The couple told Times of India that one morning in May, the mother of the child was having severe lower back pain and limbs that seemed like proper signs of labour pain. Hence, the couple came to Surya Hospital

as it had an NICU facility.

Nirvaan’s mother told TOI that they were initially disappointed due to the premature delivery, however, as Nirvaan kept fighting for weeks, everything changed.

Even the father who wasn’t sure about how a premature baby would look like with underdeveloped bodily features, gained his hope back when he saw the tiny baby. He toldTOI, “That was the moment we decided to try everything to help the baby live”.

UK airport to reunite lonely teddies with owners GLASGOW Hundreds of children separated from their beloved teddy bears are being given the chance to be reunited under an initiative launched by Glasgow Airport on Thursday. The Scottish airport published a video line-up of its lost teddie collection and invited children to identify and reclaim their soft toys.

“Lost teddies at Glasgow Bearport,” read the appeal.

“Glasgow Airport is asking the

public to paws for a moment and help it reunite lost cuddly toys with their owners.” The airport said they recovered hundreds of soft toys, from “two-foot high blue monsters to tiny cuddlies.”

L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, the world’s richest woman whose old age was clouded by dementia, has died at the age of 94, her family said Thursday.

“Liliane Bettencourt died last night at home,” her daughter Francoise Bettencourt Meyers said in a statement. “My mother left peacefully.”Bettencourt, the cosmetics giant’s principal shareholder, was the 14th richest person in the world, according to Forbes magazine, which estimated her net worth in March at $39.5 billion (33 billion euros).

She was rarely seen in public since leaving the L’Oreal board in 2012, but her name remained in the headlines as members of her entourage were charged with

exploiting her failing mental health.

Bettencourt had been declared unfit to run her own affairs in 2011 after a medical report showing she had suffered from “mixed dementia” and “moderately severe” Alzheimer’s disease since 2006.

The complex legal case involved a bitter feud with her only daughter and unscrupulous friends, and even dragged in former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Patrice de Maistre, who managed Bettencourt’s vast fortune, was accused of getting her to hand over envelopes of cash to members of Sarkozy’s right-wing UMP party during his 2007 presidential campaign.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Russia unveils controversial Stalin bust MOSCOW A bronze bust of Joseph Stalin was unveiled in Moscow on

Friday amid increasing concerns in Russia that the authorities are seeking to whitewash the Soviet dictator ’s crimes.Stalin’s sculpture - along with those of major Soviet leaders like Vladimir Lenin and Nikita Khrushchev - was unveiled outside a museum in central Moscow during a ceremony attended by lawmakers.The seven sculptures spanning the history of the USSR from Lenin to Mikhail Gorbachev are the latest addition to the recently opened “Alley of Rulers” composition that already features 33 Russian rulers.

The display shows heads of state from the Norman warrior Rurik, who founded the first Russian state, to Alexander Kerensky,

the head of the provisional government before Lenin seized power in 1917.

It is an initiative of the statebacked Russian Military History Society whose chairman Vladimir Medinsky is known for his fiercely nationalist views.

The display is the work of Zurab Tsereteli, a controversial Kremlin-backed artist whom critics accuse of producing divisive, tasteless sculptures.

At the unveiling ceremony director Stanislav Govorukhin, who chairs the culture committee in the Russian parliament’s lower house, said the project was aimed at the young generation who should study an “unvarnished” version of Russia’s history, “the way it really was.”

Since President Vladimir Putin took power in 2000, there has

been a growing chorus of Russians who take a positive view of the Soviet tyrant’s role in history.

Officials have increasingly sought to focus on Stalin’s role in winning World War II and downplaying the millions of people executed and sent to labour camps during his rule.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the display was dedicated to the heads of the Russian state. “Did Stalin not rule Russia?” he told reporters on Friday. While supporters of the “Alley of Rulers” initiative say Stalin - like Lenin - is an inalienable part of Russian history, its critics say a monument to Stalin does not belong in a public place.

“A monument in a public space is an acknowledgement of achievements,” said historian Yan Rachinsky, a senior member of Memorial, one of Russia’s most respected human rights organisations.“The problem is our compatriots simply do not understand the scale of his evil doings and do not understand what Stalin’s purges are,” he told AFP.“When it comes to the enormity of crimes, the only one who can compete with Stalin is Hitler.”This past summer a staterun Moscow university sparked outrage by reinstating the Sovietera plaque marking a speech delivered there by Stalin in 1924.

It had been removed in the 1960s.

Russia floats out powerful nuclear icebreaker

SAINT PETERSBURG- Russia on Friday held a launching ceremony for a powerful nuclear icebreaker, called Sibir (Siberia), in its drive to prepare a fleet for navigating the Northern Passage and hauling goods, particularly energy, to Asian markets.

The massive new ship measures 173 metres in length and has two nuclear reactors with the propulsion power of 60 megawatts. It can crush ice up to three metres thick and carry a crew of 53 people. Organisers at the launching ceremony in Saint-Petersburg’s Baltic Shipyard broke a bottle of champagne against the vessel’s massive hull.

The icebreaker also received a formal blessing from an Orthodox priest.

“Nuclear energy ensures Russia’s undisputed leadership in the far north,” said Vyacheslav Ruksha, head of Atomflot state company which manages Russia’s nuclear icebreakers.

“But only with nuclear icebreakers can our country fully unveil all possibilities and advantages of the Northern Passage to the world,” he said.

The Sibir is the second of three icebreakers of a new class of the biggest nuclear powered icebreakers ever constructed.

The first one, called Arktika (the Arctic), was floated out last summer and is set to be completed in 2019. The Sibir will be commissioned a year later.

The new series is meant to ensure year-round navigation in western Arctic, and the design of the vessels makes it possible to use them in the Arctic Ocean as well as in rivers, according to the Rosatom nuclear energy corporation. The Northern Passage is a naval route gradually becoming more accessible due to climate change. It is 12 to 15 days shorter than traditional commercial routes through the Suez canal.

For some, lunar village takes shape RIGA By 2040, a hundred people will live on the Moon, melting ice for water, 3D-printing homes and tools, eating plants grown in lunar soil, and competing in lowgravity, “flying” sports.

To those who mock such talk as science fiction, experts such as Bernard Foing, ambassador of the European Space Agencydriven “Moon Village” scheme, reply the goal is not only reasonable but feasible too. At a European Planetary Science Congress in Riga this week, Foing spelt out how humanity could gain a permanent foothold on Earth’s satellite, and then expand.

He likened it to the growth of the railways, when villages grew around train stations, followed by businesses.

By 2030, there could be an initial lunar settlement of six to 10 pioneers — scientists, technicians and engineers — which could grow to 100 by 2040, he predicted.

“In 2050, you could have a thousand and then... naturally you could envisage to have family” joining crews there, Foing told AFP .

Mere decades from now, “there may be the possibility to have children born on the Moon,” he

enthused.

ESA boss Jan Woerner has mooted replacing the orbiting International Space Station with a permanent lunar colony, a futuristic idea that was high on the agenda at this week’s expert meeting in the Latvian capital.

The ISS is due to be decommissioned in 2024 — the end of an era of unprecedented cooperation in space after the Cold War rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union.

Forty years after humankind set foot on Earth’s satellite as a result of that fierce contest of one-upmanship, Woerner has proposed a village on the longabandoned Moon as the next phase in space teamwork.

Scientists and commercial prospectors are keen on the concept, but politicians have yet to bite — a reluctance that, for now, cripples the idea.

“It is highly frustrating... We still don’t have the top leaders interested,” said physicist Vidvuds Beldavs of the University of Latvia, who runs a project called the International Lunar Decade, advocating joint exploration of the Moon.

The missing link? “To demonstrate that industrial activity on the Moon is feasible, that... large markets can

emerge.”

Potential Moon resources include basalt, a volcanic rock Beldavs said could be used as a raw material for 3D-printing satellites to be deployed from the Moon at a fraction of the cost of a launch from high-gravity Earth.

There is also helium-3, a rare isotope on our planet but common on the Moon, that could theoretically be used to generate cleaner, safer nuclear energy for Earth.

The main target is water, locked up in ice on the Moon’s poles.

Water can be separated into hydrogen and oxygen, two gases which explode when mixed — providing rocket fuel.

“To go into Earth orbit... it is 40 times cheaper to go from the Moon than from Earth, because the Earth has such high gravity that you have to fight against it,” explained Foing.

Experts argue that the future lies in collaboration between increasingly cash-strapped national space agencies and the private sector, which can profit from selling resources such as Moon-derived rocket fuel.

Robotic exploration is already underway, with several Moon landers and rovers planned for the coming years.

Woerner told AFP the goal “is

to join international efforts and to bridge Earthly borders and crises.”

But for those who think the Moon offers an escape from an Earth threatened by climate change and nuclear war, physicist Christiane Heinicke warns it is a “tough” life, and not for everyone.

She had spent a year in a mock Mars environment in Hawaii.

“It is completely devoid of any vegetation, all they see is rocks, regolith (loose rocks and dust), and a sky that is different from ours on Earth,” she told AFP by email.

“Being either inside the habitat or inside a suit means that you’re never able to actually FEEL the moon/planet you’re on. You can’t feel the wind (if there is any, like on Mars), you don’t feel the Sun on your skin, and whatever you touch feels like the inside of your gloves.”

Another problem: “You can never

escape your crew mates,” she said.But Foing, who himself spent some time in one of the many earthly modules preparing aspirant Moon or Mars explorers, is undeterred.

He hopes to visit the village by 2040.

As for his family, “that will depend on the price... The price of the ticket is in the order of 100 million euros. That’s now, but in 20 years, the price of the ticket could be 100 times less.”

This will depend largely on advances made by commercial Moon explorers developing new technologies, boosting demand for lunar resources, or tourism, and driving prices down.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, for example, hopes to send two humans on a trip around the Moon in the next few years, and Blue Origin of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has plans to deliver five tonnes of cargo to Earth’s satellite.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

India using chilli sprays, stun grenades to dissuade Rohingya NEW DELHI India has stepped up security along its largely porous eastern border with Bangladesh and is using “chilli and stun grenades” to block the entry of Rohingya Muslims fleeing from violence in their homeland of Myanmar, officials said on Friday.

Border forces in Hindu-majority India, which wants to deport around 40,000 Rohingya already living in the country, citing security risks, have been authorised to use “rude and crude” methods to stop any infiltration attempts.

“We don’t want to cause any serious injury or arrest them, but we won’t tolerate Rohingya on Indian soil,” said a senior official with the Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi.“We’re using grenades containing chilli spray to stop hundreds of Rohingyas trying to enter India ... the situation is tense,” added the official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media.

More than 420,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when a coordinated attack by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security forces triggered a counteroffensive, killing at least 400 people, mainly militants. The United Nations has called the assault a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

Densely populated Bangladesh is struggling to shelter all the refugees desperate for space to set up shacks, sparking worries in India that the influx could spill into its territory.R.P.S. Jaswal, a deputy inspector general of the BSF patrolling a large part of the border in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, said his troops were told to use both chilli grenades and stun grenades to push back the Rohingya.

A chilli grenade makes use of a naturally-occurring compound in chilli powder to cause severe irritation and temporarily immobilise its target.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government is growing increasingly hostile towards the Rohingya in India, with Home Minister Rajnath Singh calling on Thursday for their deportation as illegal migrants.

Fresh fires, bombblast in Rakhine Twenty homes caught fire and a bomb was detonated near a mosque in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, the government said Friday, the latest unrest in a region that has seen hundreds of thousands of Rohinyga Muslims flee in under a month.

The violence comes days after Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi declared that the military had ceased its “clearance operations” in the border area.The army claims it is trying to flush out Rohingya militants who attacked police posts on August 25.

But civilian refugees streaming into Bangladesh say they were terrorised by soldiers and vigilante Buddhist mobs who torched their villages to the

ground.

The testimony, alongside satellite images of some 200 villages reduced to ash, have fuelled accusations that

the Rohingyas in “safe zones that could be created inside Myanmar under UN supervision.”

The United Nations has described the military operation

Myanmar’s army is systematically purging a Muslim minority haunted by years of persecution.

The UN has described the military campaign as “ethnic cleansing”.

The latest violence saw 20 homes catch fire in Maungdaw’s Kyain Chaung village on Thursday night, according to a statement posted by the government’s Information Committee.

“Security members went and checked the fire and are investigating its cause,” said the statement, adding that the flames burned through a community previously hit by fire.

The following morning a bomb detonated outside of a mosque in Mi Chaung Zay village in nearby Buthidaung township, according to the government.

The statement said “terrorists” were to blame for the blast, without specifying if they were linked to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) - the Rohingya militant group behind the ambushes on police posts.

No deaths or injuries were reported in either incident.

Bangladesh’s PM at UN urges ‘safe zones’ Bangladesh’s prime minister on Thursday proposed creating UNsupervised safe zones inside Myanmar to protect Rohingya Muslims who are fleeing a military crackdown to seek refuge in her country.

“These people must be able to return to their homeland in safety, security and dignity,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the UN General Assembly.

The United Nations says more than 420,000 Rohingya have fled for safety to Bangladesh in the face of an army campaign in northern Rakhine state that includes rape and the burning of villages.

The military operation was sparked by attacks carried out

by Rohingya militants on police posts on August 25.

Hasina accused Myanmar authorities of laying landmines on the border to prevent the Rohingyas from returning and said the United Nations must take immediate measures to find a solution to the crisis. The prime minister laid out a five-point plan that called for the protection of

as “ethnic cleansing” and French President Emmanuel Macron went further, describing it as a “genocide.”

Rohingya refugee camps on the brink of a ‘health disaster’: MSF Bangladesh’s refugee camps are on the brink of a “public health disaster,” Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned, saying filthy water and faeces flow through shanties bursting with Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Myanmar.

Nearly 430,000 Rohingya have poured into Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar in under a month, seeking refuge from an army-led crackdown across the border in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, which the UN has described as “ethnic cleansing”.

The weary and wounded arrivals have shocked the world with stories of Myanmar soldiers and Buddhist mobs driving them out of their homes with gunshots and arson attacks that have razed entire villages to ash. While Bangladesh has offered sanctuary from the terror, there are dire shortages of nearly all forms of relief in what has become one of the world’s largest refugee settlements in a matter of weeks. MSF on Thursday warned that a “massive scale-up of humanitarian aid is needed in Bangladesh to avoid a public health disaster”.

“We are receiving adults every day on the cusp of dying from dehydration,” said Kate White, the group’s emergency medical coordinator.

“That’s very rare among adults, and signals that a public health

emergency could be just around the corner.”

UN needs $200 million for ‘catastrophic’ influx The United Nations will need $200 million over the next six months to face the “catastrophic” influx of more than 420,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh, a top UN official said Friday.

The Rohingya Muslims, escaping ethnic unrest in Myanmar, have overwhelmed Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar in under a month. The UN made an emergency appeal for $78 million on September 9, but UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh, Robert Watkins, said much more would be needed as the exodus grows.

“Our best estimate at this point is $200 million. We are putting together a plan right now that will be ready in about four or five days,” Watkins told.

Neanderthal brains ‘grew more slowly’ SPAIN-A new study shows that Neanderthal brains developed more slowly than ours.

An analysis of a Neanderthal child’s skeleton suggests that its brain was still developing at a time when the brains of modern human children are fully formed.

This is further evidence that this now extinct human was not more brutish and primitive than our species.

The research has been published in the journal Science.

Until now it had been thought that we were the only species whose brains developed relatively slowly. Unlike other apes and more primitive humans, Homo sapiens has an extended period of childhood lasting several years.

This is because it takes time and energy to develop our large brain.

Previous studies of Neanderthal remains indicated that they developed more quickly than modern humans - suggesting that their brains might be less sophisticated.

But a team led by Prof Antonio Rosas of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid found that if anything, Neanderthal brains may have developed more slowly than ours.“It was a surprise,” he told BBC News. “ The remains were discovered inside the El Sidrón cave in Asturias, Spain.

Prof Rosas and his team believe

they are right and the previous studies are wrong because for the first time they were able to study a relatively complete skeleton of a child at a crucial stage in their development.

It was of a boy, who was nearly seven-and-a-half years old when he died. His bones were found in the 49,000-year-old site of El Sidrón, in Spain.

The boy’s remains are exceptionally well preserved and include a mix of baby and adult teeth, which enabled the team to accurately determine his age.

This brain is estimated to have been 87.5% of the size of an average adult Neanderthal brain upon death. A modern human child at the same general age would have, on average, a brain that was 95% the size of an adult’s.

The researchers also found that some of the small bones forming the boy’s backbone were not fused. In modern humans, these bones tend to fuse by the time children reach the age of six.

The researchers were surprised to discover that Neanderthal brains develop more slowly According to Prof Rosas, the finding reinforces the idea that Neanderthals were not that different from us.

The brutish picture of Neanderthals is an old one. In the last few years there has been growing evidence to suggest that they were a distinct human species with some small differences. Now we can say that their growth pattern is similar to ours, too.

The finding raises the intriguing possibility that the Neanderthals’ slightly slower brain development meant that their brains might have been more advanced than ours.But Prof Rosas prefers a more prosaic interpretation.

“Neanderthals have a larger brain and larger body and so it is logical to think that the brain of the Neanderthal continues to grow for a little longer to allow their brains and bodies to get to their adult size,” he explained.

Before this finding, scientists believed that modern humans were the slowest growing species. Now we know that Neanderthals took slightly longer, suggesting that both species inherited this growth pattern from a now extinct common ancestor.

Modern African art gets pride of place in bold new Cape Town gallery Towering over Cape Town’s Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, a clutch of abandoned grain silos has been transformed into Africa’s largest museum dedicated to the continent’s contemporary art.

With its honeycomb lattice windows reflecting the Atlantic Ocean and the city’s landmark Table Mountain, the audacious structure is home to the new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MoCAA) which opens Friday.Inside, visitors are greeted

by a riotous assault of painted colour, including a portrait of deep greens, explosive reds and

shocks of turquoise.

In the centre of the rainbow, a woman sits cross-legged on a wicker peacock chair, her head tilted regally. “Miss Azania” says the sash across her chest, a

reference to the historic name for southern Africa.The artist, AthiPatra Ruga, likes to think of the woman -- called “Umesiyakazi (Queen) in Waiting”-- as MoCAA’s patron saint.“It’s a beautiful thing to see -- to know that my nephews and nieces are gong to be coming through this space and calling me and speaking about my work,” said the artist, who describes his style as “the clash between material and memory”.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Palestinian contortionist seeks to flip record books GAZA CITY As 12-year-old Palestinian Yousef al-Bahtini distorts his body into almost impossible

shapes, he dreams of entering the Guinness World Records.

That dream could come true in the coming weeks, provided Jordan and Israel grant him permits to travel for a time trial.

Bahtini lives in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave of two million people sealed off by Israel and Egypt.But using YouTube videos and with his family’s help, he has taught himself to bend in seemingly impossible ways. And now his family believe Guinness should recognise him.“This talent was discovered by my brother and I’ve improved it. I will participate

in the Guinness Book of Records with a forward movement of 20 metres in 14 seconds, and it’s name is ‘The

Roll,’” said Bahtini.The move involves rolling forward onto your stomach before flicking your bent legs up behind you into a crab position, then rolling back through and dropping onto your chest again.The current record, set in 2013 by Britain’s Leilani Franco, is 20 metres (45 feet) in 17 seconds.Bahtini’s family say he has done it in 14, and sent the evidence to Guinness to prove it.

The company wrote to the family in July to say he had been accepted for a time trial.

They don’t, however, have an office in Gaza so Bahtini must

travel to Jordan for an official test.

The family are waiting for a Jordanian permit, after which they will apply for permission to transit through Israel.

“Guinness are understanding of the circumstances in the Gaza Strip and therefore have not specified a particular date for our participation,” Yousef’s brother Mohammed, who is also his trainer, told AFP. He added they wanted to get his name into the Guinness World Records to “raise the name of Palestine high”.If successful, Bahtini would be the second Gazan contortionist to enter the Guinness records book in a year.In February, 13-year-old Mohammad al-Sheikh broke the record for the most full body revolutions maintaining a chest stand in one minute.

The move involves lying on the chest, bending the back to put the feet in front of the head then rotating the hips to run the feet in laps around the body.

Israel, which has fought three wars with Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2008, has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory for more than a decade, and its residents receive only a few hours of electricity a day.

Conjoined twins set for university in Tanzania

IRINGA A pair of conjoined sisters are settling into campus life at a Tanzanian university, a first in a country where disabled people are often marginalised or abandoned at birth. Maria and Consolata Mwakikuti, 20, who are joined at the abdomen, have become minor celebrities in the east African nation where the media have closely followed their path through high school and arrival at university earlier this month. Mwazarau Mathola, spokeswoman for the Ruaha Catholic University in Iringa in the centre of the country, said on Thursday the women arrived a few weeks before classes start in October to get used to their new life and take computer lessons. “A separate house has been provided for them, furnished and set up for their needs, because they can’t be housed in normal student accommodation,” said Mathola.

A couch has been installed in their classroom to allow them to sit comfortably, and they have a carer. The twins were abandoned

by their mother after the death of their father, and later taken in by a Catholic mission. They will study education, with the hope of becoming teachers of history, English and Swahili, said Mathola. In July, Maria made an emotional call on state television for parents not to “hide or lock up their handicapped children”.

“They must know they human beings, handicapped or not, are equal and have the same rights,” she said. The sisters, who enjoy knitting and cooking together, thanked the teachers who helped them through highschool, as well as the government who provided a vehicle to take them from their home to school each day. “We didn’t expect this day to come, it is by the grace of God that we are here today,” said Consolata, the chattier of the two. The sisters admit that they do not always get along, as Consolata told a local newspaper in 2015: “For example when I want to do laundry and Maria prefers to read. However we always find a way around it.”

In the meantime, he told AFP, steps were being taken to prevent further accidents by establishing clearly demarcated cruise ship routes and worldclass harbours.

But the accident has fuelled feelings of mistrust and exclusion often felt by Papua’s indigenous Melanesian population. The resource-rich region was annexed by Jakarta in 1969 and most Papuans feel they have not been given an even share of its natural riches.

The military retains heavy influence in the region and regularly stifles dissent.

After taking office in 2014, president Joko Widodo pledged to speed up development in Papua, but many locals insist they have been forgotten.

“There has been no change,” Ariel Fakdawer, head of Saukabu

village in Raja Ampat told AFP. “The yearly Raja Ampat festival, for example, attracts thousands of tourists but we gain nothing from that. We are still poor, but the organizers of such festivals, outsiders, they have made a fortune,” he added.

Indigenous groups say they need communication satellites, electricity, better infrastructure, and the right to govern themselves by customary law.

“The government never fulfils our needs because they don’t understand what we want,” chief Mayor said.

“I believe the government has to approach us by bearing in mind our cultural needs. They have to talk to us indigenous people,” he insisted.

But not everyone is against the rush to open up Raja Ampat to the world.

Poverty in paradise: The dark side of Indonesia’s new tourism hope A tableau of white sandy beaches, colourful coral reefs and turquoise water, the islands of Raja Ampat are set to be Indonesia’s next tourism hotspot -- but locals fear the government is failing both them and the environment in its development push.

Stretching across 67,000 square kilometres in Indonesia’s far east, the picture-perfect islands might be as close to paradise as visitors can find.

“It’s amazing. We’ve been to millions of islands and I would say it’s the most beautiful one,” Canadian Angelika RedweikLeung said at a lookout above the Pianemo island group.

Raja Ampat -- which means Four Kings -- is made up of 1,500 islands and is home to about 1,400 varieties of fish and 600 species of coral -- making it one of the most biodiverse marine habitats on earth.

Indonesia’s government is intent on turning the area into a tourism hotspot, building hotels, restaurants and investing in new harbours.

But on a palm-fringed island about two hours boat ride from

Raja Ampat’s capital Waisai, villagers still live in simple huts that lack electricity and clean water, while the nearest high school is scores of miles away.

Locals told AFP they had seen no improvements to their lives despite the dramatic rise in visitors. According to government estimates around 15,000 tourists now come to the area each year -- up from less than 5,000 in 2010.“They’ve hurt us indigenous people. They took our land, our water and our forest. We feel betrayed,” Paul Mayor, chief of the island’s Byak Betew tribe, said of the government’s tourism drive.

“That’s our land, our ocean, which now is a world-class tourist destination, but we’ve gained nothing from the influx of tourists,” he added.

Mayor also criticised authorities

for failing to properly protect the area’s unique ecosystem, pointing to a catastrophic cruise ship crash in March, which damaged 13,500 square metres of pristine coral reef.

The 4,200-ton Caledonian Sky ran aground near the island of Kri carrying 102 passengers and 79 crew, but half a year later no one has been held accountable.

- ‘We are still poor’ Researchers from the University of Papua, who assessed the impact of the accident, said restoring the damaged reef could cost as much as $16.2 million.

The head of tourism for Raja Ampat, Yusdi Lamatenggo, said the company operating the boat -- Noble Caledonia -- will be summoned to appear in court soon but so far they have not accepted responsibility or paid any damages.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Mean machine Pandya says he has been hitting sixes since childhood

HE has become the cynosure of all eyes with his six-hitting prowess but Hardik Pandya says it’s not a skill he has developed overnight as he has been clearing the ropes easily since childhood. Twice in the ongoing series against Australia, Pandya has seized the momentum for India with his bighitting abilities. During the first ODI in Chennai, Pandya had taken leg- spinner Adam Zampa to the cleaners while in the series- clinching ODI in Indore on Sunday, he came up with big shots against left-arm spinner Ashton Agar at a crucial juncture. Asked if his bludgeoning 76-run knock against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final was the turning point for him, Pandya politely made a statement. “If you want to think that way, you can, I have no problems. I played well in the IPL before that. Last year’s IPL wasn’t great for me, so I worked hard, and the form came back.” “And I used to hit sixes before too, it’s just that I am hitting them at a higher level now. I have been hitting sixes since childhood otherwise,” Pandya told reporters at the post-match press conference. “So whatever you say, if you say Pakistan changed my game, then so be it I have no problem,” he added. Pandya’s 78-run knock on Sunday came at a time when India had

lost four wickets in quick time. Further talking about his ability to hit sixes at will, Pandya said he prefers reading the game before making shot selection. “It’s not just about hitting. It’s pretty important that I read the game. That time (in Chennai) I thought that Zampa was bowling and I knew that I could hit a six off him anytime I wanted to. That’s why I waited till the seventh over and then I got the opportunity to change the momentum and eventually one over changed the momentum in that game,” he said. “I tried and it came out pretty well. That’s just my thinking. It’s about being positive and backing yourself. If I feel like, I go for it. I read the situation and go for it,” Pandya said. Pandya, who usually bats at number seven after MS Dhoni, came out to bat at number four yesterday. “It does not make any difference where I bat,” Pandya asserted.

“Rather than seeing this as a challenge, I see this as an opportunity to do something nice for the team. When I was told I was going to go out to bat next, I was happy. This is the first time I played so many balls, so it was great,” he said.

“The message was always simple. Play your game, however you play. I can play all kinds of innings. Obviously the plan was to target the spinners and it came out pretty well.”

Smith hails Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar AUSTRALIA skipper Steve Smith has described Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as currently the best death bowlers after his team suffered a fivewicket loss in the third ODI, in Indore. Opener Aaron Finch (124) had propelled Australia to 242-2 in 38 overs with his fiery century but the visitors struggled to score briskly in slog overs to settle for 293-6.

India then overhauled the target without fuss to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match ODI series. “I think a mixture of guys making probably the wrong decisions on the wrong balls. Also, some pretty well executed bowling. I think Bumrah and Bhuvi are probably two of

the best death bowlers going around, particularly when the wicket sort of slows up a little bit as it did,” a dejected Smith

said after the match. “We still need to find a way. We set a template really well.

The first 38 overs were magnificent. We set it up and we just weren’t to execute it in the back end.” Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar never allowed Australian batsmen to score freely despite having

the opportunity to play aggressive cricket.

Smith said it has actually become a trend for his side to get closer to winning games but they end up losing them. “We are quite often getting ourselves in good positions but not taking advantage of those.” “Today was no different, first 30 overs. We continually address it. Its just hard to put your finger on it what we are actually doing or not doing to get the results we are after. Today, it was about execution,” he said. The Australian captain admitted that it indeed becomes hard to motivate the team after such defeats.

Issue 738 (36) THESE were the last words that 12-yearold Navneet Prakash, a student of Class 5 in Saint Antony’s Convent School, Gorakhpur mentioned in his suicide note.

A bright student, Prakash was upset since he returned home on September 15 after being allegedly harassed and denied attending the exams. “He quietly went upstairs and after some time, he came down and asked for food. His mother gave him food and after having a bit, he took water in a glass that he brought along with him,” father Ravi Prakash, a Physics teacher in the Bapu Inter College, said. When he did not come down after some time, we rushed upstairs to find him lying on the bed with foam coming out of his mouth, he added.

Sensing trouble, the family rushed him to a nearby hospital from where he was rushed to the Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead on Wednesday afternoon. Irked by the incident, family members and relatives created ruckus in the school. A heavy force was deployed on the school since Wednesday and the school administration was absconding since Wednesday afternoon. “My son was a very bright student and he took tuition form the class teacher. He scored very high marks. Bhavna used to mentally harass him to join her tuition classes,” claimed his father. Later on Thursday afternoon, a postmortem was conducted and the report is awaited.

An FIR was also registered at Shahpur police station under section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code. “We have arrested the teacher, Bhavna, and the matter is being investigated,” Vinay Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city) told mediapersons. “We are Dalits and my son was very brilliant. He dreamt of becoming the chief minister and his role model was chief minister Yogi Adityanath. He also used to visit the Gorakhnath Dham regularly with us and wanted to become the CM,” a visibly moved Sunita Devi, the mother of Navneet, said. Interestingly, Yogi was present in Gorakhpur on Thursday to offer prayers on the first day of Navratra to establish the kalash and would be leaving for Varanasi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend a programme. After Naveet’s death, the parent searched his bag and found the

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

suicide note. They also found a glass rapped in a polythene and a foul smell was coming out from it. Navneet consumed the water in the same glass when he took food for the last time.

“Probably, he has consumed some poison as foam was coming out from his mouth when the family members rushed him to the hospital,” Singh informed.

Where have the iQueues gone?

Man survives after 6-ft rod spears body

ONLY A handful of people waited outside Apple’s flagship London store for the iPhone8 Friday morning — a far cry from the snaking queues of previous years. Queues were smaller than usual because of the anticipation surrounding the ultra premium iPhoneX, which offers a radical redesign, new screen and advanced camera features. That is released in November. The special edition iPhoneX features Apple’s first ever edge-to-edge screen and facial recognition technology. This can be used to unlock the phone and make

payments via Apple Pay, as well control new animated emoji — named Animoji — using their facial expressions. The iPhoneX is due to be released on November 3, starting at £999 (‘87,797.55), making it the most expensive iPhone ever. As a result many consumers appear willing to skip purchasing the iPhone8 and 8Plus. The smartphones support wireless battery charging, as well as improved camera and screen specifications. The two phones also house Apple’s new A11 Bionic processor chip, which the tech giant says is the “most powerful and

smartest” ever in a smartphone and makes the 8 up to 70 per cent faster than the previous iPhone. Technology expert and founder of news site Pocket-lint Stuart Miles said the iPhone8 would be a different kind of Apple launch. “The people that are considered the die-hard fans are more than likely, I suspect, to wait for the iPhone X in November,” he said. “I still expect the iPhone8 to do very well, but not to see the usual rush to get it first, as the people that this phone is now aimed at aren’t the people who queue up over night.”

A CONSTRUCTION worker in southwest China has miraculously survived after a sixfoot-long metal rod impaled his body from the groin to the shoulder. The 37-year-old man had been struck by lightning, which caused him to fall on the long stick. He was taken to a hospital in Sichuan with the rod inside his body. Doctors performed a seven-hour operation on Wednesday and successfully removed the rod. The man was struck by lightning on a construction site in Chengdu, after which he fell on the reinforcing bar. The bar was said to impale him at about 0.4 inches away from the anus and run through his torso before coming out his right shoulder. Dr Ma Lin of West China Medical Centre of Sichuan University, said: “The patient is very, very lucky. The rod did not damage any of his vital organs.”

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Health Rapid spread of ‘super malaria’ global threat: Scientists

London The rapid spread of “super malaria” in the South East Asia is an alarming global threat and there is an urgent need to eliminate it before the drugresistant strain of malaria becomes untreatable again, scientists have warned.

The dangerous form of the malaria parasite which cannot be killed with the main antimalaria drugs emerged in

Cambodia but has since spread through parts of Thailand, Laos and has arrived in southern Vietnam. Researchers at Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok in a letter, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, detail the “recent sinister development” that has seen resistance to the drug artemisinin emerge.

“We think it is a serious threat.

It is alarming that this strain is

This ‘rapid’ fingerprint test can detect cocaine use within seconds

London In a “breakthrough”, scientists have developed a rapid and highly sensitive fingerprint test that can detect whether someone has used cocaine within seconds.

The new non-invasive technique

developed by researchers, including those from University of Surrey in the UK, can pick up traces of cocaine, even after the subjects have washed their hands. “Our results show the technique was 99 per cent effective in detecting cocaine use among the patients,” said Catia Costa, from University of Surrey.

The team used chromatography paper to take fingerprint sample as part of a technique known as paper spray mass spectrometry.

Researchers took fingerprints from a group of patients seeking treatment at drug rehabilitation

centres, as well as a larger group not known to be drug users.

All of those taking part washed their hands before the test in a variety of ways, and then samples were collected on the prepared chromatography paper.

The fingerprint was developed using chemicals, so that the ridges of the fingerprint (and therefore the identity of the donor) could be established prior to analysis. When someone takes cocaine, they excrete traces of benzoylecgonine and methylecgonine as they metabolise the drug, and these chemical indicators are present in fingerprint residue.

Importantly, the traces can still be detected even after hand washing, researchers said.

“This is a real breakthrough in our work to bring a real time, noninvasive drug-testing method to the market that will provide a definitive result in a matter of minutes - we are already working on a 30 second method,” said Melanie Bailey from the University of Surrey.

Even a bit of air pollution could damage your kidneys

spreading so quickly through the whole region and we fear it can spread further and eventually jump to Africa,” Arjen Dondorp, professor at Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit was quoted as saying by the BBC. The first choice treatment for malaria is artemisinin in combination with piperaquine.

But as artemisinin has become less effective, the parasite has now evolved to resist piperaquine too, researchers said. There have now been alarming rates of failure. The treatment was failing around a third of the time in Vietnam while in some regions of Cambodia the failure rate was closer to 60 per cent, Dondorp said.

Resistance to the drugs would be catastrophic in Africa, where 92 per cent of all malaria cases happen, researchers warn.

About 212 million people are infected with malaria each year. It is caused by a parasite that is spread by blood- sucking mosquitoes and is a major killer of children.

New York Besides, negative effects on cardiovascular health and life expectancy, increased exposure to air pollution may also harm your kidneys, researchers warn.

The study suggests that there really is no “safe” level for air pollution, as even the lowest levels of particulate matter in the air can do great harm to the kidneys and lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD), a decline in glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)— the rate of blood flow through the kidneys as well as end stage renal disease (ESRD) — the last stage of CKD.

“Even levels below the limit set by the EPA were harmful to the kidneys. This suggests that there is no safe level of air pollution,” said Ziyad Al-Aly, Director at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System in Missouri, US. “Our findings demonstrate a significant association between exposure to PM2.5 and risk of incident CKD, eGFR decline, and ESRD,” Al-Aly added.

When we breathe, tiny particles present in the dirty air pass through our lungs and enter our bloodstream to finally reach kidneys.

London A quarter of girls and one in 10 boys are depressed at the age of 14, a study in the UK has found.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool and University College London in the UK analyzed information on more than 10,000 children born in 2000-01.

At ages three, five, seven, 11 and 14, parents reported on their children’s mental health. When they reached 14, the children were themselves asked questions about their depressive symptoms.

Based on the 14-year-olds reporting of their emotional problems, 24 per cent of girls and nine per cent of boys were found to suffer from depression.

“We have highlighted the increasing mental health difficulties faced by girls today compared to previous generations and this study further highlights the worryingly high rates of depression,” said Praveetha Patalay from the University of Liverpool, who led the study.

The research also investigated

links between depressive symptoms and family income.

Generally, 14-year-olds from better-off families were less likely to have high levels of depressive symptoms compared to their peers from poorer homes, researchers said.

Parents’ reports of emotional problems were roughly the same for boys and girls throughout childhood, increasing from seven per cent of children at age seven to 12 per cent at age 11.

However, by the time they reached early adolescence at

age 14, emotional problems became more prevalent in girls, with 18 per cent having symptoms of depression and anxiety, compared to 12 per cent of boys.

Behaviour problems, such as acting out, fighting and being rebellious decreased from infancy to age five, but then increased to age 14, the study found.

Boys were more likely than girls to have behaviour problems throughout childhood and early adolescence.

One in four girls depressed at age 14

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Sleep deprivation can effectively treat depression symptoms

Washington Sleep deprivation - administered in controlled settings - may rapidly reduce symptoms of depression, a study claims.

Researchers found that partial sleep deprivation - sleeping for three to four hours followed by wakefulness for 20-21 hours was as effective as total sleep deprivation for 36 hours.

Although total sleep deprivation or partial sleep deprivation can produce clinical improvement in depression symptoms within 24 hours, antidepressants are the most common treatment for depression, which typically takes weeks or longer to show results.

The first review on the subject in nearly 30 years, by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, hopes to provide relief

for the estimated 16.1 million adults who experienced a major depressive episode in 2014.

Previous studies have shown rapid antidepressant effects from sleep deprivation for roughly 4060 per cent of individuals, yet this response rate has not been analysed to obtain a more precise percentage since 1990 despite more than 75 studies since then on the subject.

“More than 30 years since the discovery of the antidepressant effects of sleep deprivation, we still do not have an effective grasp on precisely how effective the treatment is and how to achieve the best clinical results,” said Philip Gehrman, associate professor at University of Pennsylvania.

“Our analysis precisely reports how effective sleep deprivation is

Genetic syndrome behind formation of tumours identified by scientists

New Delhi Researchers claim to have identified a new genetic syndrome which is responsible for the formation of tumours and chemotherapy toxicity.

This new genetic syndrome is caused by alterations in the gene that predisposes the body to form tumours early on.

The findings showed that the genetic syndrome is caused by mutations in both copies of the FANCM gene — also known as biallelic mutations.

In the study, published in the journal Genetics in Medicine, the team analysed biallelic mutations in the FANCM gene.

They observed that there was an early onset of cancer and toxicity to chemotherapy, but the patients did not present any congenital malformations or haematological phenotype which could suggest being affected by Fanconi anaemia, a rare disease which affects one out of every 100,000 children.

Until now, it was believed that the FANCM gene was related to this disease, because in 2005 the biallelic mutation was observed in patients suffering from Fanconi anaemia. The patients, however, had suffered from cancer at very early ages and also presented chemotherapy toxicity.

Researchers led by Javier Benitez at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) confirmed that women with biallelic mutations in the FANCM gene did not develop Fanconi anaemia, but presented a higher risk of breast cancer, chemotherapy toxicity and chromosomal fragility.

“Therefore, in view of the new syndrome, there is a need to modify the clinical monitoring of patients with biallelic mutations in the FANCM gene and taking precautions when using chemotherapy and radiation therapies due to the acute toxicity they may produce,” the researchers suggested.

and in which populations it should be administered,” said Gehrman.

Reviewing more than 2,000 studies, the team pulled data from a final group of 66 studies executed over a 36 year period to determine how response may be affected by the type and timing of sleep deprivation performed, the clinical sample, medication status, and age and gender of the sample.

They also explored how the response to sleep deprivation may differ across studies according to how “response” is defined in each study.

“These studies in our analysis show that sleep deprivation is effective for many populations,” said lead author Elaine Boland, a research psychologist at the Corporal Michael J Crescenz VA Medical Center in the US. “Regardless of how the response was quantified, how the sleep deprivation was delivered, or the type of depression the subject was experiencing, we found a nearly equivalent response rate,” said Boland.

Further research is needed to identify precisely how sleep deprivation causes rapid and significant reductions in depression severity, the scientists said.

How do we assess food? Our weight gives us indication

New Delhi Researchers have found that that people of normal weight tend to associate natural foods such as apples with their sensory characteristics.

On the other hand, processed foods such as pizzas are generally associated with their function or the context in which they are eaten.Raffaella Rumiati, neuroscientist at the International School for Advanced Studies, said, “It can be considered an instance of `embodiment` in which our brain interacts with our body.

“With two behavioural and electroencephalographic experiments, the study demonstrated that people of normal weight tend to associate natural foods such as apples with their sensory characteristics such as sweetness or softness.

On the other hand, processed foods such as pizzas are generally associated with their function or the context in which they are eaten such as parties or picnics.Giulio Pergola, the work‘s primary author, shared, “The results are in line with the theory according to which sensory characteristics and the functions of items are processed differently by the brain.

They represent an important step forward in our understanding of the mechanisms at the basis of the assessments we make of food.

“The research also highlighted the ways in which underweight people pay greater attention to natural foods and overweight people to processed foods.Even when subjected to the same stimuli, these two groups show different electroencephalography signals.

Smartphone apps may help reduce depression Sydney Smartphone apps are an effective treatment option for depression, a finding which may pave the way for safe and accessible interventions for the millions of people with the mental disorder, researchers have confirmed.

The results showed that smartphones open up nonstigmatising and self-managing avenues of care for the people with depression because smartphones can help them monitor, understand and manage their own mental health.

“The majority of people in developed countries own smartphones, including younger people who are increasingly affected by depression,” said lead author Joseph Firth, postdoctoral research fellow at Australia`s National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM).

“Smartphone devices may ultimately be capable of providing instantly accessible and highly effective treatments for depression, reducing the societal and economic burden of this condition worldwide,” Firth added. Importantly, no difference was found in apps which apply principles of mindfulness compared to cognitive behavioural therapy or mood

monitoring programmes.

Apps, which are used as an “integrative medicine” approach, can be particularly useful for improving mood and tackling symptoms in patients with a range of mental health symptoms and conditions including major depression, mild to moderate depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and insomnia, the researchers said in the paper published in the journal World Psychiatry. “Given the multitude of apps available - many of them unregulated - it`s critical that we now unlock which specific app attributes reap the greatest benefits, to help ensure that all apps available to people with

depression are effective,” emphasised co-author Jennifer Nicholas, doctoral student at the Black Dog Institute — a Sydney based not-for profit organisation.

For the study, the team systematically reviewed 18 randomised controlled trials which examined a total of 22 different smartphones-delivered mental health interventions.

The studies involved more than 3,400 male and female participants between the ages of 18-59.

Issue 738 (39)

26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

Pumpernickel Rye Bread Curried Cumin Potatoes

Ingredients: 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 tablespoons molasses 1 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour 1 cup rye flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons dry milk powder 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tablespoon caraway seed 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast Directions: Place ingredients into the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select Whole Wheat cycle, and Start. After the first rise, remove dough from the machine. Shape, and place into a lightly oiled 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Cover, and let rise for 1 hour.

Bake at 350 degrees C (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, remove from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack before slicing.

Turkey-Lentil Chili Ingredients: 2 cups dry lentils 2 quarts vegetable broth 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 pound turkey sausage 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes sea salt to taste 1 (8 ounce) container plain lowfat yogurt 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish Directions: Bring lentils and vegetable broth to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Stir in the garlic, onion, celery, and sausage; cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, turmeric,

Ingredients: 2 pounds new potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch thick pieces 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons cumin seed 2 teaspoons ground turmeric 2 teaspoons curry powder 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions: Place whole potatoes into a saucepan with water to cover.

Bring to a boil, and cook until just tender. Drain, and cut potatoes into quarters. Set aside to keep warm. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute the cumin, turmeric, and curry powder for 1 minute. Add potatoes, and saute until toasted. Toss potatoes with sea salt, pepper and fresh cilantro, and serve hot.

One Pot Pinto Beans cumin, thyme, and red pepper flakes; cook 5 minutes more. Stir the sausage mixture into the simmering lentils. Continue simmering until the lentils are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Garnish each serving with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped parsley to serve.

Elk Chili

Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds ground elk meat 2 large yellow onions, diced 2 (10 ounce) cans tomato sauce 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles (optional) 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup brown sugar Directions: In a large deep skillet over medium heat, cook the ground elk with the onion until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease. Pour the tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, kidney beans and green chilies into the skillet with the meat, and stir to blend. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano and brown sugar. Cover, and simmer over low heat for at least one hour.

Ingredients: 6 1/4 cups water 1 cup condensed chicken broth 2 pounds dried pinto beans 5 cloves cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 red onion, chopped 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, or to taste salt, or to taste 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese (optional) 1 (16 ounce) container pico de gallo (optional) Directions: Combine water, con-

densed chicken broth, beans, garlic, onion, and crushed red pepper flakes into a large saucepan; season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer; cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are soft, about 3 1/2 hours. You may need to add additional water to keep the beans from drying out.

Mash cooked beans with a potato masher to desired consistency. Stir in mozzarella and pico de gallo before serving.

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26 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2017

GERMANY’S far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has warned Chancellor Angela Merkel that they will put a stop to what they call an ‘invasion of foreigners’, after becoming the third largest party in parliament on Monday night. The anti-immigration AfD won 12.6 per cent in an election which saw both Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and her coalition partners hemorrhaging millions of voters to the far-right. However the AfD’s celebrations came to an abrupt end on Monday morning when one of their leaders announced that she was refusing to join them in parliament. Frauke Petry, co-leader of AfD, stormed out of a news conference after saying she would take up her seat

German far-right vows fight against ‘invasion’

but would not be part of AfD’s parliamentary group. “I’ve decided I won’t be part of the AfD’s group in the German parliament but will initially be an individual member of parliament in the lower house,” Petry said.

Petry branded the AfD an ‘anarchistic party’ that could be successful in Opposition but would not be able to offer voters a credible option as a government. For this reason, she had decided not to take up her seat as part of the AfD group. She declined to answer further questions, including whether she would remain the AfD’s co-leader, but said the public would hear from her in the coming days. Alexander Gauland, one of the AfD’s top candidates, said neither he, nor the other top candidate Alice Weidel nor co-leader Joerg Meuthen knew why Petry left. Speaking during the conference, Gauland said the one million refugees and migrants who have entered Germany since 2015 were ‘taking a way a piece of this country’. He said the reason why the party had won such a large part of the votes was due to the way they ‘uncompromisingly addressed’ the aftermath of the migrant crisis. “One million people, foreigners, being brought into this country are taking away a piece of this country and we as AfD don’t want that,” Gauland was quotes as saying by the BBC. “We say, I don’t want to lose Germany to an invasion of for eigners from a different culture.” The news that the AfD had

become the third largest party in parliament led to protests across Germany on Sunday evening. Activists chanting anti-Nazi slogans and waving banners surrounded the Berlin nightclub being used by the AfD to celebrate their win on Sunday night. More marchers were pictured in Frankfurt, holding a banner which read ‘Frankfurt hates the AfD’. And their success is the first time in 60 years that the farRight has garnered enough votes to secure such a show of strength in the Bundestag The Greens said the shock

result meant that the Nazis were in Parliament again. One report said that in parts of the former East Germany, the AfD had polled 45 per cent of the vote. The AfD’s strong showing could see them taking as many as 90 seats. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) took 33 per cent of the vote, down 8.5 points from the last election, and its former coalition partners the Social Democratic Party (SPD) only nabbed 20 per cent — meaning both parties saw their worst results since since 1949.

ISIS challenges Prince Harry to a fight ISLAMIC State has challenged Prince Army and flew Apache attack helicopters Harry to fight the jihadis in a disturbing new in Afghanistan. The royal’s visit to Singapore extremist video. In the English-language clip, a man who has been identified as Abu Uqayl from Singapore takes issue with the royal — who during his visit to the country spoke about terror attacks in London. He says: “Why don’t you come here and fight us if you’re man enough, so that we can send you and your Apaches to hellfire?”

Prince Harry formerly served in the British in June came just days after the London

Bridge attack which saw a group of knifewielding men attacking revellers in the British capital. The jihadis killed seven people before they were gunned down by police.

Singapore’s interior ministry said it believed the person in the video was from the country.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement: “Our security agencies have been aware for some time now of the presence in Syria of a Singaporean, Megat Shahdan bin Abdul Samad, 39, and have been monitoring

his activities. It is believed that the person in the video calling himself Abu Uqayl is Shahdan.” Singapore’s leaders have warned the city-state is a prime target for a terror attack because of its strong stand against terrorism and reputation as a regional financial centre. Meanwhile, security experts said the video is evidence of the terror group’s determined focus on Southeast Asia and its English-speaking Muslims.