16
T he BSE Sensex crashed 788 points, its worst session in about six months, as escalating US-Iran tensions sent crude oil prices soaring and also made investors shun equities and rush to safe haven assets. At the closing bell, Sensex was at 40,676.63, down 1.90 per cent or 787.98 points — the biggest single-day drop since July 8. Similarly, the 50-scrip NSE Nifty closed at 11,993.05, falling by 1.91 per cent or 233.60 points. On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance was the top loser, dropping 4.63 per cent, fol- lowed by SBI, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries. Bucking the broader trend, only Titan and PowerGrid ended with gains. All sectoral indices ended in the red, with BSE metal, finance, realty, bankex, energy, auto, oil and gas, capital goods and healthcare indices cracking up to 2.96 per cent. Detailed report on P10 T he elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will take place on February 8 and results will be declared on February 11, the Election Commission announced on Monday. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the notification for the polls will be issued on January 14 while the last date for the withdrawal of candidature will be January 24. With the issuance of the notification, the nomination process will commence. Responding to a question on the law and order situation in the national Capital, the Chief Election Commissioner said, “I won’t say we (the Commission) are very sanguine, but we are hopeful that they (police) will be able to con- trol the situation (and make it) conducive for polls. And in any case in the polling process, if there is some kind of an extra-ordinary situa- tion, always (there) are provisions for kind of deferring the polls. All these provisions are there. The Constitution empowers ECI to take a call if needed.” This time Delhi will have 13,659 polling sta- tions as compared to 11,763 in 2014, a jump of 16.89 per cent, according to an EC press note. Over 1.46 crore voters can exercise their franchise in the February 8 Assembly election. The Commission has decided to extend the facility of postal ballot for “absentee voters”, peo- ple with disability and those above 80 years of age in all 70 Assembly constituencies. In a separate Press conference earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said there were no instructions regarding reg- istration of refugees covered under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the elec- toral roll this time. He said that as compared to the final vot- ers list in 2019, the number of voters in Delhi has increased by 9.96 lakh in the final roll of 2020 (up to January 1). For Delhi elections, the Commission will deploy 33,600 ballot units, 18,200 control units and 20,600 paper trail machines. W ith the Election Commission declaring the dates of Delhi Assembly elections, the die is cast for a humdinger of a poll. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government led by Arvind Kejriwal is expecting to reap rich dividends on the basis of its performance and the works done in various fields, where- as its main political rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come out with all guns blazing to corner Kejriwal. The AAP and the BJP are locked in tussle on the issue of regularisation of 1,734 illegal colonies. BJP leaders are paint- ing the town red with the posters and hoardings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having passed a Bill in Parliament to provide owner- ship rights to the people living in these colonies. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri handed over registry papers to 20 persons. The AAP has been quick to punch holes in the claims of the BJP Government. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leaders have targeted the Centre alleging that the BJP befooled the people of Delhi as the registry of properties in the “unauthorised colonies has not started yet.” The AAP claimed to have carried out develop- mental works in all the listed unauthorised colonies from laying sewer lines to building roads and other amenities. AAP convener and its main face Kejriwal on Monday addressed the media and said the AAP will fight Delhi Assembly election on basis of its work. He appealed to the people of Delhi to “vote for us (AAP) only if you think we have done good work in the last five years”. The AAP’s poll campaign has listed its notable performances in the fields of education, health, transport, free power and water and women safety. Reacting to Kejriwal’s state- ment, Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah claimed that people of Delhi will defeat the AAP Government which has misled everyone for 5 years and the BJP will form a Government on the policies of Modi. The Assembly elections in Delhi will be fought on the basis of performance, and not “lies and hollow talks”, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Monday after the EC announced the poll dates. Shah said the peo- ple of Delhi are still looking for free Wi-Fi, 15 lakh CCTV cam- eras, new colleges and hospitals, as promised by the AAP Government. Continued on P4 A day after the masked assailants attacked several students, including Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh, and faculty members with sticks and iron rods on the uni- versity campus on Sunday, no arrest was made by the Delhi Police till Monday night. Even as the palpable sense of unease filled the campus after the unprecedented assault on students and faculty mem- bers, with allegations of unholy nexus among JNU adminis- tration, local police and hooli- gans, scores of students, includ- ing girls, preferred to leave their hostels till normalcy returns on the campus. Despite massive deployment of security per- sonnel on the JNU campus and outside and authorities allow- ing entry of only students with valid ID cards, these measures did not assuage the concerns of students over their safety. As the horrific first-person accounts of the violence that left 34 people injured emerged, the Delhi Police on Monday transferred the case to the Crime Branch, which claimed to have found “vital clues” about the masked attackers. They are sifting through CCTV footage to identify the rioters and have registered an FIR against unknown assailants. The JNU administration, which had called in the police soon after the Sunday attack, on Monday appealed to the stu- dents to keep calm and has sent an initial report to the Human Resource Development Ministry which took stock of the situation. The JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Monday took out a march from Sabarmati T-Point to the main gate of the campus to protest against the attack on students and demanded sack- ing of the Vice Chancellor. Meanwhile Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday also spoke to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and directed him to call representatives from JNU for discussion. The Delhi Police has reject- ed the charge of reaching the JNU late, asserting that they responded to the Police Control Rooms (PCR) calls and law-and-order situation professionally to control the violence on the campus. According to Mandeep Singh Randhawa, the Deputy Commissioner of Police and PRO, the internal security of the JNU lies with the varsity administration. “Police have responded to the PCR calls, and law-and- order situation professionally. A fact finding committee under Shalini Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police, Western range, has been formed and the committee will be looking after all aspects. The Crime Branch also visited the spot on Monday and they have collected vital clues. Police are also collecting CCTV footages and even the entry register at JNU gate is being checked to identify the miscreants behind the violence,” said Randhawa. Continued on Page 4 A day after the violence on the campus, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar’s absence from a meet- ing with the team of the Ministry of Human Resource Department (HRD) raised questions about his where- abouts. Though, a statement was released by the V-C appeal- ing students to maintain peace on the campus. The JNU officials kept con- veying that the V-C was on his way and will reach shortly for the meeting which lasted for almost two hours in the after- noon, sources in the HRD Ministry said. The Ministry met officials from the JNU administration and took stock of the situation on the campus following Sunday’s violence. The meeting was attended by the JNU Registrar, Proctor and other administration officials who briefed the Ministry offi- cials on the sequence of events that took place on the campus and the measures taken to restore normalcy. The HRD Ministry had called an urgent meeting over the violence that took place at JNU. The Ministry had on Sunday sought an immediate report from JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar. Alleging that the V-C was unable to cope with the present situation, the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) demand- ed his resignation on Monday. “Where was our supreme authority, the V-C when this attack was happening? Where was he? Why no action was taken?,” asked former JNUTA president Sonajharia Minz. Former JNU Chancellor and senior Congress leader Karan Singh on Monday slammed the V-C over the violence on campus, alleging that he had been “absent” at this crucial juncture and was completely ineffective. “As a former Chancellor of the JNU, I have been shocked beyond belief at the violent and condemnable incidents that took place,” said Singh. Continued on Page 4 C ampuses across the country as well abroad reverberat- ed with voices of protest and anguish on Monday over the violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and attacks on students and faculty members by an armed masked mob on Sunday evening. Oxford University and Sussex University in London besides Columbia University in the US witnessed protest over the JNU violence, while with- in the country, demonstra- tions took place at Pondicherry University, Bangalore University, Hyderabad University, Aligarh Muslim University, University of Mumbai, Delhi University, Ambedkar University, Banaras Hindu University, Chandigarh University, National Law University in Bengaluru, Savitri Bai Phule University in Pune, TISS Mumbai, Jadavpur University, Presidency University, Kolkata and IIT Bombay. Students staged peaceful marches to register their protest against the violence on the JNU campus and also took to twit- ter with hashtag “SOSJNU” trending on social media. Continued on Page 4 A day after the violent attack on some students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) by masked miscreants on the campus, JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh — receiving injuries on head — on Monday alleged that the incident was a pre-planned attack by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarti Parishad (ABVP) and some “RSS affili- ated professors”. “It was an organised attack. They were singling out people and attacking. There is a clear nexus of JNU security and vandals. They did not intervene to stop violence,” Ghosh told reporters. “For last 4-5 days, some RSS-affiliated professors were promoting violence to break our movement. Are we wrong to ask for the safety from the JNU and Delhi Police?” the JNUSU president added. “I was surrounded by 30 people who hit me with iron rods continuously. We were punched. They were about to lynch us and were abusing us,” said Ghosh. However, the ABVP alleged that the masked goons belonged to the Left-backed students union. The ABVP said the secretary of ABVP JNU unit and ABVP’s JNUSU presidential candidate Manish Jangid sustained severe injuries and was left with a frac- tured hand. “Many ABVP activists have suffered head injuries, while eleven are missing. Rumours are making round that the masked men belong to ABVP. Such mischief must be unequivocally condemned by every right-thinking citizen,” said the ABVP spokesperson.

English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ...€¦ · deploy 33,600 ballot units, 18,200 control units#4# * The BSE Sensex crashed 788 points, its worst session in

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���� #4#��*

The BSE Sensex crashed 788points, its worst session in

about six months, as escalatingUS-Iran tensions sent crude oilprices soaring and also madeinvestors shun equities andrush to safe haven assets.

At the closing bell, Sensexwas at 40,676.63, down 1.90 percent or 787.98 points — the biggest single-day dropsince July 8.

Similarly, the 50-scrip NSENifty closed at 11,993.05, fallingby 1.91 per cent or 233.60points. On the Sensex chart,Bajaj Finance was the top loser,dropping 4.63 per cent, fol-lowed by SBI, IndusInd Bank,Maruti, HDFC, HeroMotoCorp, Axis Bank, ICICIBank and Reliance Industries.

Bucking the broader trend,only Titan and PowerGridended with gains.

All sectoral indices endedin the red, with BSE metal,finance, realty, bankex, energy,auto, oil and gas, capital goodsand healthcare indices crackingup to 2.96 per cent.

Detailed report on P10

���##��������� 356�758/*�

The elections to the 70-member DelhiAssembly will take place on February 8 and

results will be declared on February 11, theElection Commission announced on Monday.Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora saidthe notification for the polls will be issued onJanuary 14 while the last date for the withdrawalof candidature will be January 24. With theissuance of the notification, the nominationprocess will commence.

Responding to a question on the law andorder situation in the national Capital, the ChiefElection Commissioner said, “I won’t say we (theCommission) are very sanguine, but we arehopeful that they (police) will be able to con-trol the situation (and make it) conducive forpolls. And in any case in the polling process, ifthere is some kind of an extra-ordinary situa-tion, always (there) are provisions for kind ofdeferring the polls. All these provisions are there.The Constitution empowers ECI to take a callif needed.”

This time Delhi will have 13,659 polling sta-tions as compared to 11,763 in 2014, a jump of16.89 per cent, according to an EC press note.

Over 1.46 crore voters can exercise theirfranchise in the February 8 Assembly election.

The Commission has decided to extend thefacility of postal ballot for “absentee voters”, peo-ple with disability and those above 80 years ofage in all 70 Assembly constituencies.

In a separate Press conference earlier in theday, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singhsaid there were no instructions regarding reg-istration of refugees covered under theCitizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the elec-toral roll this time.

He said that as compared to the final vot-ers list in 2019, the number of voters in Delhihas increased by 9.96 lakh in the final roll of 2020(up to January 1).

For Delhi elections, the Commission willdeploy 33,600 ballot units, 18,200 control unitsand 20,600 paper trail machines.

���##��������� 356�758/*

With the ElectionCommission declaring

the dates of Delhi Assemblyelections, the die is cast for ahumdinger of a poll. The AamAadmi Party (AAP)Government led by ArvindKejriwal is expecting to reaprich dividends on the basis ofits performance and the worksdone in various fields, where-as its main political rivalBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)has come out with all gunsblazing to corner Kejriwal.

The AAP and the BJP arelocked in tussle on the issue ofregularisation of 1,734 illegalcolonies. BJP leaders are paint-ing the town red with theposters and hoardings of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi forhaving passed a Bill inParliament to provide owner-ship rights to the people livingin these colonies. UnionHousing and Urban AffairsMinister Hardeep Singh Purihanded over registry papers to

20 persons.The AAP has been quick to

punch holes in the claims of theBJP Government. ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal andAAP leaders have targeted theCentre alleging that the BJPbefooled the people of Delhi asthe registry of properties in the“unauthorised colonies has notstarted yet.” The AAP claimedto have carried out develop-mental works in all the listedunauthorised colonies fromlaying sewer lines to buildingroads and other amenities.

AAP convener and itsmain face Kejriwal on Mondayaddressed the media and saidthe AAP will fight DelhiAssembly electionon basis of itswork. He appealedto the people ofDelhi to “votefor us (AAP)only if youthink we havedone goodwork in thelast five years”.

The AAP’s poll campaign haslisted its notable performancesin the fields of education,health, transport, free powerand water and women safety.

Reacting to Kejriwal’s state-ment, Union Home Ministerand BJP president Amit Shahclaimed that people of Delhiwill defeat the AAPGovernment which has misledeveryone for 5 years and theBJP will form a Government onthe policies of Modi.

The Assembly elections inDelhi will be fought on thebasis of performance, and not“lies and hollow talks”, Union Minister Prakash

Javadekar said on Mondayafter the EC announced

the poll dates.Shah said the peo-

ple of Delhi are stilllooking for free Wi-Fi,15 lakh CCTV cam-eras, new collegesand hospitals, aspromised by the AAPGovernment.

Continued on P4

������������ ��������������� ������� ��������� ���� ��

�� ������������������������ ����� ����� ��� �� �������

���!��������� 356�758/*

Aday after the maskedassailants attacked several

students, including JawaharlalNehru University Students’Union president Aishe Ghosh,and faculty members withsticks and iron rods on the uni-versity campus on Sunday, noarrest was made by the DelhiPolice till Monday night.

Even as the palpable sense

of unease filled the campusafter the unprecedented assaulton students and faculty mem-bers, with allegations of unholynexus among JNU adminis-tration, local police and hooli-gans, scores of students, includ-ing girls, preferred to leave theirhostels till normalcy returns onthe campus. Despite massivedeployment of security per-sonnel on the JNU campus andoutside and authorities allow-

ing entry of only students withvalid ID cards, these measuresdid not assuage the concerns ofstudents over their safety.

As the horrific first-personaccounts of the violence thatleft 34 people injured emerged,the Delhi Police on Mondaytransferred the case to theCrime Branch, which claimedto have found “vital clues”about the masked attackers.They are sifting through CCTV

footage to identify the riotersand have registered an FIRagainst unknown assailants.

The JNU administration,which had called in the policesoon after the Sunday attack,on Monday appealed to the stu-dents to keep calm and has sentan initial report to the HumanResource DevelopmentMinistry which took stock ofthe situation.

The JNU Teachers’

Association (JNUTA) onMonday took out a marchfrom Sabarmati T-Point to themain gate of the campus toprotest against the attack onstudents and demanded sack-ing of the Vice Chancellor.

Meanwhile Union HomeMinister Amit Shah onMonday also spoke to DelhiLieutenant Governor AnilBaijal and directed him to callrepresentatives from JNU fordiscussion.

The Delhi Police has reject-ed the charge of reaching theJNU late, asserting that theyresponded to the PoliceControl Rooms (PCR) callsand law-and-order situationprofessionally to control theviolence on the campus.According to Mandeep SinghRandhawa, the DeputyCommissioner of Police andPRO, the internal security ofthe JNU lies with the varsityadministration.

“Police have responded tothe PCR calls, and law-and-order situation professionally.A fact finding committee underShalini Singh, JointCommissioner of Police,Western range, has beenformed and the committee willbe looking after all aspects. TheCrime Branch also visited thespot on Monday and they havecollected vital clues. Police arealso collecting CCTV footagesand even the entry register atJNU gate is being checked toidentify the miscreants behindthe violence,” said Randhawa.

Continued on Page 4

���##��������� 356�758/*

Aday after the violence onthe campus, Jawaharlal

Nehru University (JNU) ViceChancellor M JagadeshKumar’s absence from a meet-ing with the team of theMinistry of Human ResourceDepartment (HRD) raisedquestions about his where-abouts. Though, a statementwas released by the V-C appeal-ing students to maintain peaceon the campus.

The JNU officials kept con-veying that the V-C was on hisway and will reach shortly forthe meeting which lasted foralmost two hours in the after-noon, sources in the HRDMinistry said. The Ministrymet officials from the JNUadministration and took stockof the situation on the campusfollowing Sunday’s violence.The meeting was attended by

the JNU Registrar, Proctor andother administration officialswho briefed the Ministry offi-cials on the sequence of eventsthat took place on the campusand the measures taken to

restore normalcy. The HRD Ministry had

called an urgent meeting overthe violence that took place atJNU. The Ministry had onSunday sought an immediate

report from JNU RegistrarPramod Kumar.

Alleging that the V-C wasunable to cope with the presentsituation, the JNU Teachers’Association (JNUTA) demand-ed his resignation on Monday.

“Where was our supremeauthority, the V-C when thisattack was happening? Wherewas he? Why no action wastaken?,” asked former JNUTApresident Sonajharia Minz.

Former JNU Chancellorand senior Congress leaderKaran Singh on Mondayslammed the V-C over theviolence on campus, allegingthat he had been “absent” atthis crucial juncture and wascompletely ineffective.

“As a former Chancellor ofthe JNU, I have been shockedbeyond belief at the violent andcondemnable incidents thattook place,” said Singh.

Continued on Page 4

���� 356�758/*

Campuses across the countryas well abroad reverberat-

ed with voices of protest andanguish on Monday over theviolence in Jawaharlal NehruUniversity (JNU) and attacks onstudents and faculty membersby an armed masked mob onSunday evening.

Oxford University andSussex University in Londonbesides Columbia University inthe US witnessed protest overthe JNU violence, while with-in the country, demonstra-tions took place at PondicherryUniversity, BangaloreUniversity, HyderabadUniversity, Aligarh MuslimUniversity, University ofMumbai, Delhi University,Ambedkar University, BanarasHindu University, ChandigarhUniversity, National LawUniversity in Bengaluru, Savitri

Bai Phule University in Pune,TISS Mumbai, JadavpurUniversity, PresidencyUniversity, Kolkata and IIT

Bombay.Students staged peaceful

marches to register their protestagainst the violence on the JNU

campus and also took to twit-ter with hashtag “SOSJNU”trending on social media.

Continued on Page 4

���##��������� 356�758/*�

Aday after the violent attackon some students of

Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) by masked miscreantson the campus, JNU Students’Union (JNUSU) presidentAishe Ghosh — receivinginjuries on head — on Mondayalleged that the incident was apre-planned attack by the AkhilBharatiya Vidyarti Parishad(ABVP) and some “RSS affili-ated professors”.

“It was an organised attack.They were singling out peopleand attacking. There is a clear

nexus of JNU security andvandals. They did not interveneto stop violence,” Ghosh toldreporters.

“For last 4-5 days, someRSS-affiliated professors werepromoting violence to breakour movement. Are we wrongto ask for the safety from theJNU and Delhi Police?” theJNUSU president added.

“I was surrounded by 30people who hit me with ironrods continuously. We werepunched. They were about tolynch us and were abusing us,”said Ghosh.

However, the ABVP

alleged that the masked goonsbelonged to the Left-backedstudents union. The ABVP said the secretary ofABVP JNU unit and ABVP’sJNUSU presidential candidate Manish Jangid sustained severeinjuries and was left with a frac-tured hand.

“Many ABVP activists havesuffered head injuries, whileeleven are missing. Rumoursare making round that themasked men belong to ABVP.Such mischief must beunequivocally condemned byevery right-thinking citizen,”said the ABVP spokesperson.

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The Jawaharlal NehruUniversity Teachers'

Association on Mondaydemanded the removal of ViceChancellor M Jagadesh Kumarafter the attack on students andfaculty members by an armedmasked mob.

The JNU teachers alsodemanded an inquiry into theviolence on Sunday when amasked mob armed with sticksand rods attacked studentsand teachers.

After what happened oncampus on Sunday night, "theVC has to go," the JNUTA said.Saugata Bhaduri, a professor,said Sucharita Sen, anotherprofessor, couldn't make it tothe press conference as she sus-tained severe head injuries.

"I and my three colleagues,we were standing near a busstand. Suddenly we saw a hugemob, close to 50 people, inmasks. After they reached clos-er, they started pelting stones,and also beat us up. They cir-cled me and started beating meon my limbs," he claimed.

Bhaduri said he and hiscolleagues were not the target,

but it is unbelievable that theywere also assaulted by therampaging mob on the cam-pus.

"Where was our supremeauthority, the VC when thisattack was happening? Wherewas he? Why no action wastaken?," asked former JNUTApresident Sonajharia Minz.

Vikramaditya Chaudhary,the former JNUTA secretary,alleged that they tried to callthe administration officialsbut no one responded.

"My wife was chased by amob. She ran for her life whileshe was abused and chased.She came inside and locked theroom of the house. Theybanged practically every doorin the housing complex," hesaid.

"A faculty from a foreigncountry opened the doorthinking these were some stu-dents. And then the mobentered her house, andsearched everywhere," heclaimed.

"We are being scared bythe Government and the JNUadministration. I am shamefulto be part of the institutionwhose VC is like this,"Chaudhary rued.

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Atotal of 36 people admittedto AIIMS Trauma Centre in

the national Capital after violenceat the JNU campus were dis-charged on Monday morning.

Four out of the 36 people,which included faculty andstudents of JNU, had minorhead injuries, while other hadabrasions, fracture and lacera-tions on the forehead amongothers.

"36 people including stu-

dents and faculty members ofJNU were admitted at the AIIStrauma centre after violence inJNU on Sunday. Four of themwhich includes JNU Students'Union president Aishe Ghoshhad head injuries. One personhad a fracture in fingers," saida doctor.

"They were attended to bythe doctors, underwent inves-tigations and were given treat-ment. All of them were dis-charged by Monday earlymorning," a senior doctor said.

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Following the violence atJawaharlal Nehru University

(JNU) campus on Sunday, theDelhi Police on Mondaydeployed around 700 policepersonnel outside campus gateto maintain law and order sit-uation and to avoid any unto-ward incident. Meanwhile,police have also registered a caseunder section of rioting anddamage to property againstunidentified people in connec-tion with violence on JNU cam-pus. Police said that the case hasbeen transferred to CrimeBranch for further investigation.

There was an uneasy calmin the campus where there wasa massive deployment of secu-rity personnel and authoritiesonly allowed students with validID cards inside. However, thesemeasures did not assuage theconcerns of students over theirsafety.

Delhi Police on Mondayalso rejected the charge ofreaching the JNU late despiteseveral pleas by students'unions, asserting that theyresponded to the Police ControlRooms (PCR) calls and law-and-order situation profession-ally to control the violence onthe campus.

According to Mandeep

Singh Randhawa, the DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP)and Public relation Officer(PRO), the internal security ofthe JNU lies with the varsityadministration.

"Police have responded tothe PCR calls, and law-and-order situation professionally. Afact finding committee underShalini Singh, JointCommissioner of Police,Western range has been formed

and the committee will be look-ing after all aspects.

"The Crime Branch also vis-ited the spot on Monday andthey have collected vital clues.Police teams are also collectingCCTV footages and even theentry register at JNU gate isbeing checked to identify themiscreants behind the violence,"said Randhawa.

Violence broke out atJawaharlal Nehru University

(JNU) on Sunday night asmasked men armed with sticksand rods attacked students andteachers and damaged proper-ty on the campus, promptingthe administration to call inpolice which conducted a flagmarch.

At least 28 people, includ-ing JNU Students' Union pres-ident Aishe Ghosh, were injuredas chaos reigned on the campusfor nearly two hours.

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Aday after 36 students andfaculty members sustained

injuries in violence that erupt-ed on Sunday night atJawaharlal Nehru University(JNU), scores of students onMonday demanded that guiltyshould be booked and pun-ished. Some students followingthe violence said they just wishto go home.

Several students were alsoseen leaving the campus. A stu-dent, Pancham, who did notreveal her last name, said shewas leaving the hostel becauseher parents feared for her safe-ty.

Students with anger andfear alleged that the attackcould not have happened with-out the connivance of theadministration and police.Akarsh Ranjan from Periyarhostel said students havereceived threats that theyshould not come out fromtheir rooms.

Shreya Ghosh, a resident of

Shipra Hostel, asked how goonscould enter the campus withrods and sticks. She claimedthat she had to hide inSabaramati Hostel after themasked men chased her andsome other people.

A Kashmiri student,requesting anonymity said, hewas also chased by the mob

along with other students andhe had to jump from the firstfloor of the hostel to savethemselves.

"We were 3-4 friends insidea room. Suddenly, some ofour friends came running andsaid, 'The ABVP is coming withlathis and rods'. We latched theroom but within a few seconds,

they started banging on it withlathis. They also broke glasswindows on top of the door.Scared, we opened the balconydoor and jumped from the firstfloor. Otherwise they wouldhave killed us," the student said.

Surya Prakash, a visuallychallenged student, said hewas scared after being attacked

in Sunday's violence."They came to my room

and beat with me rods. I toldthem I am blind but they con-tinued the assault. I have beenhit badly and I will have to gofor an X-ray. I'm scared afteryesterday's violence," Prakashsaid.

Mallika Sinha, a computerscience student from Nepalwho lives in the YamunaHostel, said she received a callfrom her parents asking her toleave the campus.

At the entrance ofSabarmati Hostel, the premis-es was littered with shards ofwindow panes and some stu-dents were seen clearing thedebris. The hostel mess wasalso damaged in the violence onSunday evening when maskedmob had gone on a rampage,vandalising property and attack-ing the staff and students,including the JNUSU presidentAishe Ghosh. The mob alsoentered two other hostels —Periyar and Koyna — wherethey took to vandalism.

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The Jawaharlal NehruUniversity's (JNU), Vice-

Chancellor (VC) M JagadeshKumar on Monday appealedto all students to maintainpeace, saying top priority ofuniversity is to protect the aca-demic interests of students.

In a statement issued onMonday, Kumar stated that"Would like to appeal to allstudents to maintain peace.The university stands by allstudents to facilitate their pur-suit of academic activities.We will ensure that their win-ter semester registration willtake place without any hin-drance. They need not fearabout their process."

"The top priority of theuniversity is to protect the aca-demic interests of our stu-

dents. The origin of the pre-sent situation in JNU lies insome agitating students turn-ing violent and obstructing theacademic activities of a largenumber of non-protesting stu-dents," JNU VC stated.

"The protesting studentsdamaged the University com-munication servers to disruptthe winter semester registra-tion. They prevented thou-sands of students from doingtheir winter registration. Theirintent is clearly aimed at dis-rupting the functioning ofthe University. This is simplyhooliganism and against theethos of JNU," stated VC.

"No such person will bespared and appropriate actionwill be taken. JNU adminis-tration will use all possiblemeans to protect the safetyand security of our students,"the VC said.

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Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Monday said

the upcoming Assembly elec-tions will be fought on thebasis of the AAP Government'swork. People will compareworks done by the AAPGovernment in the field ofeducation, health, electricityamong others with those of theBJP-controlled MCD, DDAand Delhi Police, he said,adding that the party will runa positive campaign.

Addressing the media,Kejriwal appealed to the peo-ple of Delhi to "vote for us(AAP) only if you think wehave done good work in thelast five years".

"We will run a positivecampaign, will not abuse any-one. We will visit each andevery home and asked peopleto vote for us on the name ofdevelopment. We will tell themabout various facilities anddevelopmental works com-pleted by the Governmentsuch as developing hospitals,providing water and con-structing schools buildingsand roads," he said.

"People have decided to

vote in the name of develop-ment. This will be the first timein last 70 years that voters willcast their votes on hospitals,schools etc. Earlier, peoplecast their votes on promisesbut this time they will vote onpositive works done by theAAP government," he added.

The Chief Minister saidthat people will compare worksof the AAP and the BJP thistime before voting. "We areentrusted upon with responsi-bility of departments like edu-cation, health, PWD and JalBoard. Similarly, the BJP hascontrol over MCD, Delhi Police

and DDA. People will comparework done by the BJP in MCDwith that of AAP's in educa-tion, health, power and trans-port before voting," he said.

The election to the 70-member Delhi Assembly willtake place on February 8 andresults will be declared onFebruary 11, the ElectionCommission announced onMonday. Chief ElectionCommissioner Sunil Arorasaid the notification for thepolls will be issued on January14 while the last date of with-drawal of candidature will beJanuary 24.

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Hitting out at Aam Aadmi Party(AAP), Union Home Minister

Amit Shah on Monday accused ArvindKejriwal's party for misleading the peo-ple in its five year tenure. "A new dis-pensation will take over and acceleratedevelopment in the national Capitalafter Assembly polls," Said Shah.

Taking social media platform, Shahalleged the Aam Aadmi Party made onlypromises. "I am confident that throughthis festival of democracy, theGovernment led by a party, which mis-led people for five years and gave hol-low promises, will be defeated and aGovernment will be formed under theleadership of Prime Minister NarendraModi that can fulfil the people's aspi-rations," he tweeted.

A new dispensation will take overand accelerate development in thenational capital," Shah said. In a seriesof tweets, Shah also alleged the AAPgovernment made only promisesthroughout its tenure and now in the lastthree months, public money was beingspent on advertisements for itsannouncements.

Shah said the people of Delhi arestill looking for free Wi-Fi, 15 lakhCCTV cameras, new colleges and hos-pitals, as promised by the AAP gov-ernment. Welcoming the announce-ment of the polls, Shah said this elec-tion will lay the foundation for accel-

erating development in Delhi. "I hopethat the people of Delhi will vote in largenumbers and create a new record," hesaid.

"Some students shouted anti-Indiaslogans, said 'Bharat tere tukde honge'.Tell me, should not they be sent to jail?"Shah asked . "But Kejriwal isnot granting sanction to prosecutethem," the Bharatiya Janata Party leadersaid. "Who do you want to save, Kejriwalji? Those who want to break India intopieces?"

On Sunday, Shah had also accusedthe Aam Aadmi Party convener offavouring the "tukde tukde gang" by notgiving sanction to prosecute formerJawaharlal Nehru University students'union president Kanhaiya Kumar in asedition case.

The elections to the 70-memberDelhi Assembly will take place onFebruary 8 and results will be declaredon February 11, the ElectionCommission announced on Monday.

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Union Minister and DelhiAssembly Elections in-charge

Prakash Javadekar on Monday saidthe wait for the elections in Delhi hascome to an end and the people areready to vote for Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) Government which willserve the people of Delhi.

Welcoming the announcementof election schedule, Javedkar said,"After winning MunicipalCorporation of Delhi (MCD) and LokSabha Elections, BJP will provide aTriple Engine Government by win-ning Assembly Elections in Delhi.Once BJP will form the Government,the tenure of Kejriwal Governmentwill come to an end which createdobstruction in Delhi."

Attacking the Delhi CM and AAPnational convener, Arvind Kejriwal, hesaid, During the last five years tenure,Kejriwal neither allowed expansion ofMetro nor allowed payment of �6,000annually to the farmers. It did notallow the Aayushman Bharat, PradhanMantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) to beimplemented in Delhi and alsodeprived the people of the benefits ofpublic welfare schemes.

"The false claims and excuses ofKejriwal will not work because AAPGovernment has completely failed.People have already rejected the AAP

government which questioned theSurgical Strike, Air Strike and sup-ported Tukde-Tukde Gang becausethe real face of Kejriwal has beenexposed. BJP has the full support ofthe people of Delhi and it will contestthe Assembly Elections with newenergy and power to win the elec-tions," said Javedkar.

While the Delhi BJP PresidentManoj Tiwari said that counting willbe held on Tuesday (Mangalwar) the11th February and this day will bringgood results and Delhi will get free-dom from the negative Government.

"Kejriwal Government has beencheating the people in the name offree power-water, wi-fi etc. and whenpeople raised questions to him thenhe tried to mislead them by makingnew announcements. ThisGovernment compelled the people todrink poisonous water and breathetoxic air but now the falsehood ofKejriwal has been exposed. Kejriwaland his Ministers also tried to insti-gate violence and vitiate the atmos-phere but BJP did not allow them tosucceed. Now, BJP is progressingahead with the blessings of the peo-ple. Now, the people of Delhi havedecided that they will not ask ques-tions to Kejriwal but teach a lesson toKejriwal Government by making BJPvictorious in the Assembly Elections,"Tiwari added.

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About 1.46 crore voters willexercise their franchise in

the upcoming Delhi AssemblyElections scheduled onFebruary 8, 2020. According tothe office of the Chief ElectoralOfficer (CEO) Ranbir Singh,there are total 1,46,92,136 vot-ers — 80,55,686 males,66,35,635 females and 815belonging to third gender — inthe final voters list.

The election to the 70-member Delhi Assembly willtake place on February 8 andresults will be declared onFebruary 11, the ElectionCommission announced onMonday.

All the voters will be pro-vided a QR code-enabled vot-ers slip which will speed up vot-ing through easy identification,said Singh.

The CEO said that thereare over 11.55 lakh voters inDelhi who come under 'ASD'(absent, shifted, deceased) listand added that there were noinstructions regarding regis-tration of refugees covered

under the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA) in theelectoral roll this time.

Despite publication of thefinal electoral roll (up to January1, 2020), any eligible person canapply for registration as voter tillthe last date of nomination ofthe Assembly polls, he said.

The special summary revi-sion of voters list was conduct-ed in the months of September-October 2019. The draft of vot-ers list was published onNovember 15, objections wereinvited till December 26.

Singh said no complaintsfrom any political party or anyother quarter had been receivedregarding "irregularities" in dele-tion or addition of names in thedraft voters list.

The ruling AAP, before the2019 Lok Sabha polls, hadalleged deletion of names of vot-ers belonging to various com-munities from the list on thebehest of the BJP.

Singh said a meeting ofpolitical parties will be heldand they will be providedcopies of the final electoral roll.It is also available on the web-site of the CEO.

He said that as comparedto the numbers in Lok Sabhapolls, the number of voters hasincreased by over three lakh inthe final voters list. There are13,750 polling booths located at2,689 locations across Delhi.

Delhi CEO said that ascompared to the final voters list

in 2019, the number of votersin Delhi has increased by 9.96lakh in the final roll of 2020 (upto January 1).

The number of voters hasincreased by 1, 87, 000 in thefinal roll of 2020 as comparedto the draft roll published onNovember 15, 2019.

There were deletions of60,848 names and addition of 2,47, 950 names in the draft elec-toral roll, resulting in net addi-tion of around 1,87, 000 voters.The number of voters in variouscategories include overseas voter(489), service voters (11,556),voters in age group 18-19 years(2,08,883) and aged above 80years (2,05,035), and speciallychallenged (55,823).

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The four stations such asMehrauli, Lado Sarai,

Kishangarh and Masoodpurfalling in the Phase IV(Tughlakabad to Aerocity cor-ridor) have been removed fromthe plan due to the permissionsdenied by Archeological Surveyof India (ASI). The stations willno longer be a part of this sec-tion as the (ASI) has not givenclearance for the four stationssaying the route are falling on thearchaeological sites.

The four station are part ofthe Phase IV corridor(Tughalakabad to Aerocity),which first contract has beenrecently awarded for the con-struction of Metro viaduct fromSangam Vihar to Saket - Gincluding four elevated Metrostations - Sangam Vihar,

Khanpur-Devoli, AmbedkarNagar and Saket-G.

Peeved over the develop-ment, local residents of Mehrauliand Kishangargh area have alsostarted a protest against theDelhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) over the removal offour stations saying the peoplewere waiting for years to get ametro connectivity and nearbytransport facility in their area.

While the DMRC officialsay that such things happenwhile carrying out a project.

"Even to construct a smallroad, you need permissionfrom the concerned officials.Also, the four stations were partof the corridor and DelhiMetro wanted to construct itbut at the same time route andalignment is falling near thearchaeological sites where theASI's clearance is mandatory.The ASI denied permissions forthe following stations." Officialsalso added that the Delhi metrois working on these stationsand will find alternate route to

locate these stations. Responding to a query, an

official of ASI, said, "The per-mission was rejected on theground that the proposed routewas passing through the pro-tected and prohibited area ofASImonuments I.e. LalKot, Adamkhan Tomb , mehrauli, themonument where the walls ofLal kot meet with kila Rai Pithoaetc." Qila Rai Pithora wall,Adamkhan's Tomb, Rajon ki Bain,Gandhak ki Baoli, Walls of RaiPithora and Lal kot meet toge-hter, Azim Khan's Tomb, QutbComplex and Walls of RaiPithora wall near Saket metrostation, the ASI official added.

The Delhi Metro RailCorporation (DMRC) hasrecently issued tender for thedouble deck construction ofmetro corridor on top and a sixlane flyover below that metro

viaduct. The Sangam Vihar toSaket section of Tughalakabad toAerocity - G will have four ele-vated Metro stations - SangamVihar, Khanpur-Devoli,Ambedkar Nagar and Saket-G.

The total length of theAerocity to Tughlakabad 20kmwith 16 stations out of which 12are underground and four sta-tions will be completely elevat-ed. The stations are Aerocity,Mahipalpur, Vasant KunjSector-D, Masoodpur,Kishangarh, Mehrauli, LadoSarai, Saket, Saket G Block,Ambedkar Nagar, Khanpur,Tigri, Anandmayee MargJunction, Tughlakabad RailwayColony and Tughlakabad.Saket-G station will be con-structed as an interchange sta-tion between Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor andLajpat Nagar-Saket G corridor.

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Wresting power in Delhifrom the ruling Aam

Aadmi Party (AAP) is no lessthan a 'do or die' battle for theBhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Inits quest to get into the players'building, the BJP is leaving nostone unturned and the partyhas planned a strategy with tac-tics, multiple meetings of partyworkers with the top brassand surveying each VidhanSabha constituency to get pub-lic views and submitting it toparliamentarians are few stepswhich showed the party isworking aggressively to achieveits victory.

Talking to The Pioneer,senior BJP leader said that ourfocus is very clear because weknow the target. "Aam AadmiParty (AAP) itself has givenhint. They always say we areelected Government withmajority, so we know the tar-get, means chances are verylikely that AAP will repeat itsmaximum candidates, on con-trary, AAP wants from us toexhibit Chief Ministerial can-

didate.., but we believe in onething strategy without tacticsis the slowest route to the vic-tory, three names from eachconstituency have been given toCentral leadership for MLAseat, Election Commissionannounced the dates of election- Feb 8th, the MLA list isexpected to release after 15th -16th, (Makar Sakranti)" said aBJP leader

When asked about therelease of MLA list as ElectionCommission (EC) hasannounced Delhi poll datewhich is February 8th, the BJPleader said, "Party is workingon this and meetings are going

on," "MLA's name for 70Assembly seats will beannounced on 15th or 16th."

Pertinently, on Sunday ,Union Minister Amit Shah ina rally to address party boothworkers on Sunday had saidthat Kejriwal has failed to ful-fill its promises about openingof new schools, health andinfrastructure whereas replyingto Shah , Kejriwal asked BJP togive suggestions on Delhi, theAAP is ready to implement inits next tenure.

On one side AAP is vouch-ing for its next tenure claimingbetter health and education forDelhi, however, BJP has pre-pared an insight on CitizenAmendment Act (CAA) andother National issues and gear-ing up AAP on public healthissue - Air and Water pollution.

Top sources in Centralcommand told that BJP hasprepared small group of itsworkers which will visitUniversities. "College studentsare young and it is required tomake them understand whatCAA is ? These students willbecome the part of adminis-

tration and other pivotal ser-vices in near future," said aleader.

"Our leaders will goUniversities, homes and otherareas convey people about theact ," Our major focus in Delhiis - regularisation of unatho-rised colonies," said BJP leader."After the intervention ofCentral Government, Delhipeople will soon have registryof their home.. after registrationprocess, the price of their prop-erty will shoot up," said a BJPworker adding that "What isthe first requirement of aam(common man), a roof first,then other amenities, and BJPis dedicated with PradhanMantri Awaas Yojna," "Ourtarget is clear and we willachieve with big victory.

It may be recalled that BJPwas voted out of power in 1998and since then it had failed toregain power. Congress had a15 year old long run underSheila Dikshit and after hercrushing defeat in 2013 and2015, it has been ArvindKejriwal led AAP that hasoccupied Players Building.

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With an aim to reduce pol-lution in the national

Capital, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah on Monday laid thefoundation stone for the 'DelhiCycleWalk', a dedicated 200-km track for cycling and walk-ing, claiming it will reduce pol-lution in the national Capital "atleast by 20 per cent".

The 'CycleWalk', to bebuilt in the city over the nextfour years, will give an impetusto Prime Minister NarendraModi's vision of 'Fit India', hesaid.

"It will reduce air pollutionof Delhi by at least 20 per centand green commuting will nowbe possible in the city," Shahsaid, addressing the gather-ing.

The move will usher in anera where green transportationlike cycles will become fash-ionable and will be widelyused, he said.

Around 11 lakh people inthe city commute on bicycles atpresent, and efforts should bemade to increase this numberto 50 lakh, which would makea major difference in Delhi'straffic and pollution levels, thehome minister said.

He suggested that theDelhi Development Authority(DDA) establish cycle clubs andencourage the use of cycles byall citizens, especially college-going students.

Union UrbanDevelopment MinisterHardeep Singh Puri said thecorridor will loop around thecity like a ring and connectwith metro stations, bus stands,high density residential areas,business districts and indus-trial, recreational and educa-

tional districts."The CycleWalk will also

connect all master plan greensand make Delhi a city of con-nected forests and lakes withthe objective to promote ahealthy lifestyle and providelast mile connectivity. This willbecome a safer and greeneralternative that would reducevehicular traffic in the city," hetweeted.

According to the DDA, theproject seeks to make the citymost walkable and environ-ment-friendly and its total costis estimated to be is �550 crore.

"While the whole net-

work over the years shallexceed 200 km, in phase one itwill be 36 km," the DDA said."There are three lines chosenfor fast and quick adaption.Also, these areas have abundantforests, dense residential areasand workplaces in close prox-imity."

The three lines are —Nilgai Line: Badarpur toMalviya Nagar metro station(20.5 km); Peacock Line:Malviya Nagar metro station toVasant Kunj Mall (8.5 km); andBulbul Line: Chirag Dilli toNehru Place and ISKCONTemple, it said

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The Central IndustrialSecurity Force (CISF) has

apprehended a 34-year-old manfor allegedly carrying a pistol andfive live rounds at Delhi's JamiaMillia Islamia Metro Station.

The accused, Ameer HamzaKhan, a resident of southeastDelhi's Zakir Nagar, hails fromMeerut district of Uttar Pardesh.Police said that Khan worked asa mathematics teacher in aninstitute in Gurugram.

According to a senior policeofficial, the incident took placeat 10.30 am on Monday. "Theaccused was caught carrying apistol and five live rounds by

CISF at a frisking point at JamiaMillia Islamia Metro Station,"said the senior police official.

"A case under relevant sec-tions of Indian Penal Code(IPC) has been registered atOkhla Vihar police station. Theaccused has been arrested underthe provisions of Arms Act.Further interrogation is goingon," said a police official.

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The Congress is prepared forthe upcoming Assembly

polls in the national Capitaland will run an "aggressive"campaign in the run-up to theelections to be held onFebruary 8.

Kirti Azad, campaigncommittee chairman of theparty's Delhi unit on Mondaysaid "We are prepared andwill run an aggressive cam-paign, which will compare theworks done by the Congressunder (former Chief Minister)

Sheila Dikshit and the current(Arvind) Kejriwal Governmentin Delhi,".

The Congress will cornerthe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)and the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), questioning them overthe condition of schools, hos-pitals and regularisation of

unauthorised colonies in Delhi,he added.

The polls to the 70-mem-ber Delhi Assembly will takeplace on February 8 and theresults will be declared onFebruary 11, the ElectionCommission announced onMonday.

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With changing aspirationsof the youth and society,

the National Cadet Corps (NCC)is now focusing on personalitydevelopment, leadership traitsand improving soft skills of thecadets, NCC Director General LtGeneral Rajeev Chopra said hereon Monday.

Highlighting the point thatthe NCC is committed to grooming the youth into respon-sible citizens who contributeimmensely in nation building, healso underlined the major role ofNCC in empowering the youthin nation building, creating socialawareness, community development, environment pro-tection, sports and adventureamong them.

Addressing a press confer-ence here during the ongoingannual Republic Day NCC camp,Chopra said the training philos-ophy of the NCC cadets has beenrefined to accommodate thechanging aspirations of the youthand expectations of the society.“The focus is now on personal-ity development, leadership traitsand improving soft skills of thecadets, so as to equip them forfuture challenges,” he added.

He said Memoranda ofUnderstanding (MoUs) havebeen signed with 10 countries forYouth Exchange Programme(YEP). However, to give thecadets a wider exposure, YEPwith seven more countries is inan advanced stage of approval, hesaid.

The Republic Day 2020

commenced at the CariappaParade Ground on January 01,2020 and he asked the cadets andofficials to participate whole-heartedly and derive maximumbenefits from each activity dur-ing the camp.

The aim of the camp is toprovide an exposure to the richculture and traditions of thecountry through importantevents that take place in thenational capital during the runup to the Republic Day as well asto enhance the personal traits ofthe cadets by strengthening theirvalue system.

Cadets attending the campparticipate in a number of activ-ities like cultural competitions,national integration awarenessprogramme and various institu-tional training competitions.

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Plagued by fake summons andimposters, the Enforcement

Directorate on Monday appealed tothe stakeholders to share suchinstances with the agency for takingaction. To overcome such nuisancesED has taken appropriate measuresand started following certain practices so that these unscrupulouselements are not able to harass private persons.

“Directorate of Enforcement(ED) shall continue to take impacting action against unscrupu-lous imposters who attempt to imper-sonate as ED officers and indulge inmaking fake correspondences withgeneral public with ulterior motive

to extract money,” the agency said ina statement.

The ED further said, “It hascome to notice that certainunscrupulous persons have beensending fake communications onbehalf of ED to private parties in theform of summons/letters with syn-onymous or anonymous identity.”

On receipt of complaints of suchnature, ED takes swift action byapproaching local police authoritiesand make complaints/FIRs. Suchcomplaints/FIRs have been made byED at various police stations acrossIndia in recent past. In one such case,an accused was identified and arrest-ed for his involvement in sending anemail from a fake email-ID synony-mous to an ED officer, it said.

Guwahati: Calling PrimeMinister Narendra Modi India’s“Hindu Jinnah”, former AssamChief Minister Tarun Gogoi onMonday accused him of following the “two-nation theo-ry” of the Pakistan founder todivide the nation on the basis ofreligion.

The Congress veteran leaderalso decried Sunday night attackon JNU students, saying it wasreflective of the BJP’s “policy ofrepression that would bring fur-ther misfortune” for the country.

The massive protests againstthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act and the proposed pan-IndiaNRC have made it clear thatIndians do not want the kind ofHindutva the BJP and the RSSseek to bring into the country, hesaid.

“The Prime Minister allegesthat we (the Congress) are talk-

ing the language of Pakistan, butit is he who has reduced himselfto the level of the neighbouringcountry. He is following(Muhammad Ali) Jinnah’s two-nation theory (to divide thecountry) on the basis of religionand has emerged as India’s HinduJinnah,” Gogoi said, launching astinging attack on Modi.

“We are Hindus but we don’twant our country to become aHindu Rashtra. The majority ofpeople who are protesting, andeven those who have been killed,are Hindus. They do not want theHindutva the BJP and RSS arepropagating,” he told a pressconference.

He said violence of the kindthat was seen at JNU on Sundaynight posed a threat to the country’s unity and integrity.

The 3-time former ChiefMinister of Assam said the anti-

CAA protests began in the Stateand gathered steam there, but itspread across the country becauseof the BJP’s “policy of repression”.

Calling the ModiGovernment “arrogant”, theCongress leader claimed it wouldgo to any extent to enforce thenew citizenship law.

Referring to the killing of fiveprotesters in police action duringthe anti-CAA stir in Assam,Gogoi said the BJP Governmentsat the Centre and in the Statewere still blaming the Congressand the Left for the violence.

“Are we so powerful that wecan instigate AASU, AJYCP,KMSS and all other regionalorganisations to come out on thestreets to protest? There is noconspiracy. The BJP has no polit-ical knowledge and is not inter-ested in listening to the voice ofthe people,” Gogoi said. PTI

Coimbatore: A boxing trainer was arrested here on Mondayon charges of attempting to sexually assault a minor girl traineein the city, police said.

The 21-year old Sibu, an undergraduate student, was work-ing as a part-time assistant trainer at a boxing centre atRamanathapuram here, they said.

He became friends with the 16-year old girl, took ‘selfies’with her on his mobile and allegedly attempted to sexuallyassault her following which a complaint was lodged.

Sibu was arrested under the Protection of Children fromSexual Offences (POCSO) Act and lodged in the Central jailhere, police said. PTI

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Apprehending “politicallyinfluenced disturbances”,

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Mondaydirected administrative offi-cials and police personnel tostay alert and ensure CCTVcoverage of the entireGangasagar Mela ground,ahead of Makar Sankranti.

Addressing an adminis-trative meeting at Kakdwip inSouth 24 Parganas, Banerjee,without taking names of anyparty, said “some elements”might try to create trouble during the week-longmela.

She also stated that hergovernment had arranged aninsurance policy of Rs 5 lakhper person for all individualsvisiting the GangasagarMela, set to begin on January

11.The CM, while reviewing

the preparations for the mela,

enquired about drinking watersupply and accommodationfacilities for the pilgrims.

Thousands of pilgrimsgather at Sagar Island duringthis time of the year to take adip at the confluence of theHooghly river and the Bay ofBengal and offer prayers at theKapil Muni Ashram.

Meanwhile, a governmentofficial said frequency of ferrymovement would increase thisyear, now that the dredgingwork for two ferry channels hasbeen completed.

The state government hadallocated Rs 120 crore for thedredging project. Low tide inthe Ganges delta often made it difficult for thevessels to operate, leaving thepilgrims waiting at the ghats forlong, he said. “Ferries will nowoperate round the clock with-out getting affected by lowtide,” the officialadded.

New Delhi: The Supreme CourtMonday sought an explanation from theAssam Government over the allegationthat the State coordinator for NRC wasmaking communal statements. “Heshould not be saying all this. You(Assam government) have to explainthis. Whatever you want (to say),” abench headed by Chief Justice S ABobde observed after senior advocateKapil Sibal drew the attention to thealleged statement made by the stateNRC coordinator.

The bench was hearing the petitionfiled by an NGO which also soughtremoval of state NRC coordinatorHitesh Dev Sarma. The NGO claimedthat the new state coordinator’s com-ments were against Bengali Muslimsand Rohingyas.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta,appearing for the Assam Government,said the NRC exercise in the state hasbeen completed and there is no role leftfor the state coordinator.

Several other petitions have beenfiled relating to the NRC in Assam andthe bench issued notices to the Centreand the state government and soughtresponse within four weeks.

A petition was also heard in whichit was stated that around 60 childrenhave been excluded from the NRC buttheir parents have been granted citi-zenship through NRC. AttorneyGeneral K K Venugopal and SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta, appearing forthe Centre and the Assam government,said such children will not be separated from their parents. PTI

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After Delhi Chief Ministerfaced flak from some quar-

ters for not visiting the spotafter masked men armed withsticks attacked students andteachers and damaged proper-ty on the JNU campus onSunday, Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) leader Sanjay Singh saidthat had the party chief gone tothe university, the BJP wouldhave vitiated the atmospherethere and blamed it on him.

Singh said that a responsemust be sought from UnionHome Minister Amit Shah inthe matter under whom theDelhi Police functions. “TheAAP is very concerned on theongoing situation. The centreshould step in to maintain law

and order in Delhi,” he said. Responding to the criti-

cism, Singh said that hadKejriwal gone to the spot, theBJP would have vitiated theatmosphere there and blamedit on him. Singh had visitedAIIMS late Sunday night, andinteracted with the injured stu-dents getting treatment there.

“The law and order situa-tion is in shambles in thenational Capital. Why is AmitShah sleeping? What has hap-pened is very unfortunate. Ithas shocked the whole country

and it is a very worrying issuefor us,” he said. However, herefuted report that it is a polit-ical issue, saying deterioratinglaw and order situation is theissue. “We have come here toexpress our solidarity with thestudents,” he said.

His reaction came afterDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal drew criticism for notvisiting JNU campus afterSunday’s violence.

Reacting to the violence,Kejriwal on Sunday tweeted, “Iam so shocked to know aboutthe violence at JNU. Studentsattacked brutally. Police shouldimmediately stop violence andrestore peace. How will thecountry progress if our studentswill not be safe inside univcampus?”

Jammu: Jammu University students affiliated to theABVP on Monday held “anti-Left” protests, blocked roads,condemned the JNU violence and demanded a probe intoit.

They blamed some political organisations, particularlythe Left, for using the students as “canon fodder” for hold-ing countrywide protests and creating a massive studentunrest for their political gains.

Carrying the tricolour and pictures of BhimraoAmbedkar, hundreds of students cutting across the orga-nizational affiliations took out at a protest rally holdingbanners against the Left parties at the JU campus.

Raising slogans against the Left parties, the studentssat on dharna of the road leading to the university, caus-ing traffic disruption.

The dharna continued for over half-an-hour.The students demanded a probe into the violence and

“creation of pan-India student unrest”.“It is a general protest rally here against the violence

at JNU campus. We want a probe into this violence. Weare against this violence and use of students by politicalparties, particularly by the Left, to create pan-India stu-dent unrest”, Monika, a JU student, told reporters. PTI

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G u w a h at i :There areover threelakh ‘ghostchildren’ inGovernmentschools inAssam whowere regis-tered duringthe erstwhileC o n g r e s sgovernment in the State forembezzling public money, anofficial release said on Monday.

The figure of enrolledschool students was 46,69,970from class I to XII in the 2018-19 academic session, which islower than 49,82,180 of 2016-17 session in government andprovincialised schools, therelease said.

The erstwhile Congressgovernment had showed thesefake figures in governmentschools to embezzle public

money sanctioned for textbooks, midday meals and uni-forms of the non-existent stu-dents, it said.

Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal, who reviewed theSamagra Shiksha Abhiyan, wastold that more than 3,12,000were identified as ‘ghost chil-dren’, it said. Taking a seri-ous view of the corrupt prac-tice, Sonowal said at the reviewmeeting that strict actionwould be initiated against thosefound guilty. PTI

From Page 1“Today it is them, tomorrow it can

be us. Violence in any form is con-demnable. We stand by our friends inJNU,” Raiza, a Pondicherry Universitystudent said.

Students at Oxford Universityand University of Sussex in the UKand Columbia University in the USalso staged silent marches holdingposters demanding safety of studentson campus.

In Nepal, JNU alumni gathered atMaitighar Mandala in Kathmandu toprotest against the violence on cam-pus.

In Mumbai, the protest by stu-dents at the Gateway of India thatstarted at midnight continued withmore people flocking at the iconicmonument to express solidarity withthe JNU students.

Maharashtra Minister JitendraAwhad of NCP joined the students atthe protest and sat with them to dis-cuss their demands.

“When people begin to fear intel-lect, there is anarchy,” the Ministertold reporters as students shouted slo-gans condemning the violence.

Students of the Film andTelevision Institute of India in Punealso staged a demonstration outsidethe FTII gate, holding banners withmessages like - ‘FTIIstands with JNU,condemns the violence of ABVPGoons’.

A day after the violence in JNUcampus, a group of students at PanjabUniversity disrupted the address ofHaryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta.

Carrying banners, the studentsbelonging to some Left-leaning stu-dent bodies, shouted slogans againstthe BJP, RSS and the ABVP when theHaryana speaker was addressing aseminar at the Panjab University onMonday.

In Kolkata, students of JadavpurUniversity began their protest aftermidnight and chanted slogans againstthe violence at JNU. Students of theJadavpur and the Presidency univer-sities also took out rallies in Kolkatato protest the violence at JNU cam-pus.

Violence broke out at JNU onSunday night as masked men armedwith sticks and rods attacked studentsand teachers and vandalised proper-ty on the campus, prompting the uni-versity administration to call in thepolice to control the situation.

Many JNU students were injuredand admitted to the All India Instituteof Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.JNU Students’ Union president AisheGhosh suffered a head injury. All 34students who were admitted to AIIMStrauma centre were discharged onMonday morning.

The Left-controlled JNUSU andthe ABVP blamed each other for theviolence that continued for nearly twohours on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police onMonday registered a case againstunidentified people for rioting anddamage to property.

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From Page 1Delhi BJP leaders said they will seek votes on

the failures of the AAP Government as it did noth-ing for the first four years and blamed the Centreand the Lieutenant Governor for not letting themfunction.

“Having realised that time was running out, APGovernment started doling out freebies to divertpeoples’ attention from the core issues of regular-isation of unauthorized colonies. KejriwalGovernment has been cheating the people in thename of free power-water, wi-fi etc. and when peo-ple raised questions to him then he tried to misleadthem by making new announcements.

This Government compelled the people todrink poisonous water and breathe toxic air but nowthe falsehood of Kejriwal has been exposed.Kejriwal and his Ministers also tried to instigate vio-lence and vitiate the atmosphere but BJP did notallow them to succeed”, Delhi BJP president ManojTiwari said.

Delhi BJP Assembly poll in-charge Javadekarattacked AAP supremo and Kejriwal, saying his “lies”were exposed and people have seen his “real face”.“BJP will provide a Triple Engine Government bywinning Assembly Elections in Delhi. After form-ing Government BJP will add new dimensions todevelopment of Delhi because the tenure of KejriwalGovernment will come to an end on February 11next, that created obstruction in Delhi”.

From Page 1A total of 34 students and

faculty member of JNU whosustained injuries on Sundaynight clashes were dischargedon Monday morning from theAll India Institute of MedicalSciences.

A doctor said that four outof the 34 people, which includ-ed faculty and students of JNU,had minor head injuries, whileother had abrasions, fractureand lacerations on the foreheadamong others.

The JNU Students’ UnionPresident Aishe Ghosh, whowas injured in violence on thecampus, on Monday alleged itwas an organised attack. “It wasan organised attack. They weresingling out people and attack-ing. There is a clear nexus ofJNU security and vandals. Theydid not intervene to stop vio-lence,” said Ghosh.

“The origin of present sit-uation in JNU lies in some agi-tating students turning violentand obstructing academicactivities of a large number ofnon-protesting students. Theprotesting students damagedthe communication servers todisrupt the winter semesterregistration,” JNU VC Kumarposted on Twitter.

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From Page 1“The Vice Chancellor,

regretfully, has been absent atthis crucial juncture. He seemsto be completely ineffectiveand surely needs to step outand deal with the crisis,” hesaid.

JNU Student Union presi-dent Aishe Ghosh, also accusedthe VC of incompetency anddemanded that he should stepdown. The CPI(M) generalsecretary Sitaram Yechury, aformer JNUSU president, said,“the vice chancellor is alsocomplicit in this attack. Hemust be sacked immediately.”

However, a statement wasissued by VC Kumar urgingstudents to maintain peace inthe campus. In a statementissued on Monday Kumar stat-ed that “Would like to appealto all students to maintainpeace. The University stands byall students to facilitate theirpursuit of academic activities.We will ensure that their win-ter semester registration willtake place without any hin-drance. They need not fearabout their process.”

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The Congress on Mondayaccused the Government of

unleashing “state-sponsoredterrorism” on campuses acrossthe country and said the vio-lence in the Jawaharlal Nehru(JNU) campus reminded it ofthe Nazi rule. Party chief SoniaGandhi appointed a four-mem-ber fact-finding committee tocarry out a detailed inquiry intothe violence at JNU.

Demanding a judicialprobe into the violence thaterupted in the JNU campus, theparty said the enquiry shouldlook into the role of the gov-ernment, the JNU administra-tion and the Delhi police.

Questioning the role of theDelhi Police in the entireepisode, former Home MinisterP Chidambaram demandedthat Delhi Police CommissionerAmulya Patnaik be heldaccountable for the attacks onstudents saying the perpetratorsmust be identified and arrest-ed. The buck starts with theCommissioner of Police andstops with Home Minister AmitShah,” Chidambaram said.

Chidambaram said theJNU violence was an exampleof the country’s “descent intofascism” and the incident wasthe most clinching evidence ofIndia rapidly descending intoanarchy. He said he was

“absolutely sure” that therewere intelligence inputs onSunday’s attacks and pointedtowards the failure of the DelhiPolice in preventing the vio-lence on JNU campus.

“This incident is perhapsthe most clinching evidencethat we are rapidly descendinginto anarchy. It has taken placein the national Capital in India’sforemost University under thewatch of the CentralGovernment, the HomeMinister, the L-G and theCommissioner of Police. Thisis the gravest act of impunitythat we have seen in recent

times. Nothing can be moreshocking and shameful,”Chidambaram said.

Congress leader PriyankaGandhi Vadra met injured JNUstudents at AIIMS and allegedthat it was “deeply sickening”about the Government thatallowed violence inflicted onstudents. AICC chiefspokesman Randeep Surjewalasaid the ABVP goons wentfrom hostel to hostel andentered girls hostel, Sabarmatihostel, Periyar hostel and KaveriHostel. They entered half adozen hostels and they beat upeach and every student on their

way, calling them “anti-nation-als and urban naxals”.

“What is the enmity thatyou have with students and theyouth of India Modi ji andAmit Shah ji, that’s the questionthe INC and the people of Indiaask. Why are you torturing, suf-focating, subjugating the youthof India under your autocraticrule. The more you suppressvoice of the youth, moreemboldened it will become,”Surjewala told reporters.

“The manner in whichyouth is being attacked andtheir voices stifled, reminds usof the Nazi Germany of 1933which seems to have comeback under the rule of Modiand Amit Shah after 90 years,”he said. The Congress presidenthas appointed a fact-findingcommittee on the JNU inci-dent. The members of the fact-finding committee areSushmita Dev, the MahilaCongress chief, Hibi Eden, anMP and former NSUI presi-dent, Syed Naseer Hussain, anMP and former president ofJNU NSUI and AmritaDhawan, a former NSUI pres-ident and ex-DUSU president.

They have been asked toconduct a detailed inquiry intothe incident of violence inJNU campus and (will) submitthe report to the party chiefwithin a week, a statementfrom AICC general secretaryKC Venugopal said.

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Three days after an attack onNankana Sahib Gurdwara

in Pakistan’s Punjab threeprovince by a mob, India onMonday summoned Pakistan’sCharge d’affaires Syed HaiderShah here and lodged a strongprotest over the desecration ofthe holy shrine and killing of aSikh youth in Peshawar.

Pakistan was called upon toensure safety, security and wel-fare of members of minoritycommunities there, the exter-nal affairs ministry said addingIslamabad was asked to takeimmediate steps to bring to jus-tice perpetrators in NankanaSahib incident and killing ofSikh man.

The External AffairsMinistry statement saidPakistan’s Chargé d’affaires wassummoned to lodge strongprotest at the recent acts of van-dalism and desecration of theholy Gurdwara and the target-ed killing of minority Sikhcommunity member inPeshawar, Pakistan.

India also shared strongconcerns raised by members ofcivil society, parliamentariansand others at the continuedpersecution of religious andethnic minorities in Pakistan,including the recent despicableand heinous acts. Pakistan wascalled upon to ensure safety,security, and welfare of themembers of the minority com-munities in Pakistan, includingtheir places of worship, andtake immediate measures toexpeditiously bring the perpe-trators of such despicable andheinous acts to justice.

A Sikh minority commu-nity member Ravinder Singhwas on Sunday murdered inPeshawar by an “unidentified”gunman, leading to a strongprotest from India which con-demned the “targeted killing”of the young Sikh man.

The Ministry of ExternalAffairs on Sunday had saidPakistan should stop “prevar-icating” and take immediate

action to apprehend and giveexemplary punishment to theperpetrators of the crime.

The incident involvingkilling of 25-year-old Sikhminority community membercame two days after a mobattacked, desecrated and van-dalized the most revered gur-dwara at Nankana Sahib. Thevictim Ravinder Singh was thebrother of Public News anchorHarmeet Singh. He was shotdead in Peshawar by anunidentified man, according tomedia reports.

Ravinder Singh was a res-ident of Shangla district atKhyber Pakhtunkhwa and wasin Peshawar for shoppingahead of his planned wedding.His Peshawar visit came soonafter he returned home fromhis Malaysia visit. After killinghim, the murderer made aphone call to Ravinder Singh’sfamily, a media report saidquoting the Peshawar police.

“India strongly condemnsthe targeted killing of minori-ty Sikh community member inPeshawar that follows therecent despicable vandalismand desecration of the holyGurdwara Sri Janam Asthan at

Nankana Sahib and the unre-solved case of abduction, forcedconversion and marriage of aSikh girl Jagjit Kaur,” the MEAhad said.

India also said Pakistanshould stop “prevaricating”and take immediate action toapprehend and give exemplarypunishment to the perpetratorsof the crime.

“India strongly condemnsthe targeted killing of minori-ty Sikh community member inPeshawar that follows therecent despicable vandalismand desecration of the holyGurdwara Sri Janam Asthan atNankana Sahib and the unre-solved case of abduction, forcedconversion and marriage of aSikh girl Jagjit Kaur,” the MEAsaid.

It said the Government ofPakistan should act in defenceof their own minorities insteadof “preaching sermons” aboutit to other countries.

The MEA said these rep-rehensible actions followed theforcible abduction and con-version of a Sikh girl who waskidnapped from her home inthe city of Nankana Sahib inAugust last year.

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The Supreme Court onMonday set up a nine-

judge Bench to hear cases relat-ed to entry of women of men-struating age into Sabarimalashrine which had earlier creat-ed a political divide in the stateof Kerala and triggered a heat-ed debate whether a time-hon-oured temple-tradition bereplaced by modern law, givingequality to all on the questionof entry to the famed temple.

The nine-judgeConstitution Bench of the apexcourt will hear from January 13the issue of allowing womenand girls of all ages to enterKerala’s Sabarimala templealong with other contentiousissues of alleged discriminationagainst Muslim and Parsiwomen in mosque, dargarhand Parsi holy fire place of an“Agyari” respectively.

The top court issued anotice informing listing of peti-tion filed by Indian YoungLawyers Association seekingreview of its historic 2018judgement allowing womenand girls of all ages to enterSabarimala temple.

“Take notice that the fol-lowing matters will be listed forhearing before a Nine JudgesConstitution Bench commenc-ing from Monday the January

13, 2020,” the notice said.On November 14, last year,

a five-judge ConstitutionBench in a 3:2 majority verdicthad referred to a larger seven-judge Bench, the pleas seekingreview of its historic 2018judgement allowing womenand girls of all ages to enterSabarimala temple.

It had however said that thedebate about the constitution-al validity of religious practices like bar on entry ofwomen and girls into a place ofworship was not limited to theSabarimala case.

The top court said suchrestrictions are there withregard to entry of Muslimwomen into mosques and ‘dar-gah’ and Parsi women, marriedto non-Parsi men, being barred from the holy fire placeof an Agyari.

It said it was time for theapex court to evolve a judicialpolicy to do “substantial and

complete justice”. While saying last year that

it will endeavour to constitutethe larger Bench at the earliestto hear the matter, the top courthad declined to pass any orderon the pleas by two womenactivists seeking a direction tothe Kerala Government toensure safe entry of women inthe Ayyappa temple underpolice protection.

The Left parties and theBJP in Kerala had earlier takenlegal and traditional view onthe entry of menstruatingwomen into the temple andtried to arouse public opinionaround their respective stands.With the apex court’s largerBench set to hear the issue ofequality of opportunity forentry of women in all religiousplaces, the contentious issue ofSabarimala is expected to besettled along with other con-troversies relating to Muslimand Parsi communities.

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The Supreme Court onMonday said fugitive eco-

nomic offender Vijay Mallyacannot use pendency of his pleain the apex court to stall insol-vency proceedings initiatedagainst him by lenders in othercountries.

A Bench headed by ChiefJustice SA Bobde passed theorder after the Centre told thecourt that Mallya used pen-dency of his plea to stall the UKcourt from delivering verdict ininsolvency proceedings.

Pendency of the case is nota ground for holding any caseanywhere in the world, theapex court said.

“In view of the letter cir-culated by Advocate-on-Record for the petitioner, listthese matters on January 10,2020...Subject to the condi-tion that the pendency of thesespecial leave petitions shallnot be used as a cause for seek-ing adjournment in any matterbefore any Tribunal, Court orAuthority anywhere,” said theBench, also comprising JusticesBR Gavai and Surya Kant.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for theCentre, informed the courtthat proceedings in the UK in

an insolvency case filed by SBIagainst Mallya, have been con-cluded and the order reserved.Mallya’s lawyers have askedthe UK court not to pass anyorder contending that settle-ment proposal is pending in theapex court here, Mehta saidand asked the court to clarifythe position. Mallya, current-ly in the UK, has been chargedby the Enforcement Directorateof defaulting on bank loansamounting to Rs 9,000 crore.He is facing extradition trial inthe UK.

Mehta told the court thatMallya has been assuring theconsortium of banks since2013 that he will repay themoney and not a single rupeehas come from him till date.

Mallya had earlier movedthe apex court challenging theconfiscation of propertiesbelonging to the companiesowned by him and his familymembers. He said in the pleathat no property other thanthat of Kingfisher Airlines, fac-ing cases of alleged irregulari-ties, should be attached.

On July 11, last year theBombay High Court hadrefused to grant stay on pro-ceedings before a special courton confiscation of Mallya’sproperties.

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The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) has

booked 51 entities for alleged-ly remitting Rs 1,038 crore ofblack money to Hong Kongduring 2014-15.

The 51 accused entities,mostly owned by Chennai res-idents, remitted Rs 1,038 croreunaccounted black money toHong Kong in connivance withunidentified officials of threepublic sector banks — Bank of

India, SBI and Punjab NationalBank, according to an FIR reg-istered by the CBI in Bangalore.

The CBI had receivedinformation that 51 currentaccounts of 48 firms wereopened in four branches ofthese banks “solely for effectingoutward remittances” to thetune of Rs 1,038.34 crore,according to the FIR.

The CBI has alleged that 24accounts were used for outwardforeign remittances in USDequivalent to Rs 488.39 crore as

advance payment of goods’imported and 27 were used toremit Rs 549.95 crore towardsforeign travel of Indian tourists.

The agency has named threeindividuals — MohammedIbramsa Johny, Zinta Midharand Nizamuddin, besides 48companies in the FIR, it said.

The CBI has alleged thatout of 24 companies, 10 hadmade imports in small quanti-ties but the goods imported andvalue of imports did not matchwith the invoices submitted by

the firms to the banks.“It is further revealed that

the accused and others whowere involved...Were paid com-mission on the basis of amounttransferred and duration forwhich the bank accountsremained active and that theconcerned bank officials werealso bribed in cash,” it furtheralleged.

The agency also allegedthat most of the remittanceswere made in the second halfof 2015 and annual turnover of

the firms was shown in lakhswhereas the amounts remittedwere in crores, which was“fraudulently and dishonestly”facilitated by the bank officials.

“It is further revealed thatthe imports and travels havenot taken place and theamounts so credited is fraud-ulently transferred for the pur-poses and thereby causedwrongful loss of foreignexchange equivalent to Rs1038.34 crore to Governmentof India,” the FIR added.

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Delhi has become the thirdState in the country, after

Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, todevelop an action plan to tack-le antimicrobial resistance(AMR) menace. A global pub-lic threat, AMR primarilycaused by indiscriminate usageof antibiotics could kill near-ly 10 million people by 2050 upfrom current 70,000 people.

As per the WHO, AMR isthe “resistance of a microor-ganism to an antimicrobialdrug that was originally effec-tive for the treatment of infec-tions caused by it”.

To take the AMR head on,the Delhi Government onJanuary 3, 2020 launched theState Action Plan to CombatAntimicrobial Resistance(SAPCAR), focusing on a ‘OneHealth’ approach through sixkey strategic priority areas andmulti-sectoral involvement.

The State plans followsNational Action Plan (NAP) onantibiotic resistance framed bythe Union health Ministry in2017, on the lines of the WHO’sglobal action plan.

Speaking at an event hereduring the launch of the SAP-CAR , Dr Sujeet Singh,Director of National Centre for

Disease Control (NCDC) saidthat the move will help combatthe AMR threat while Dr SunilGupta, MS Safdarjung Hospitalemphasised the need forstrengthening and expandingthe regulatory mechanisms forproduction, sale and use ofantibiotics.

Echoing similar views, DrRavindra Aggarwal, addition-al MS Lok Nayak Hospital andChief coordinator AMR, out-lined the evolution and devel-opment of SAPCAR and theway forward. Six Strategic pri-orities along with key focusareas have been identified foroverall coordination and sur-

veillance, research, infectionprevention and control, antimi-crobial stewardship for AMRcontainment. SAP-CARD inaddition, has included moni-toring and evaluation indica-tors to check the implementa-

tion of SAP-CARD and reduc-tion in AMR.

Dr Sangeeta Sharma, nodalofficer AMR and PresidentDSPRUD, shared the “AntibioticAwareness Campaign in SchoolChildren” organized in collabo-

ration with the DelhiGovernment’s School HealthProgramme to make Delhi’syouth aware about AMR.

Later, she said that Delhi,being the transit point for var-ious agricultural and animal

husbandry products besidespharmaceuticals face differentkind of AMR threat. Moreover,major reason for emergence ofantibiotic resistance is inap-propriate use of antibiotics byhealthcare practitioners withover the counter sale of antibi-otics and poor regulatorymechanisms. Also, antibioticsare also being misused in agri-culture leading to supply ofantibiotic-laden foods. Thepoor handling of sewage wastein treatment plant, domesticwaste, disposal of pharmaceu-tical products are other majorissues that need concerted andcollaborative efforts across var-

ious departments.Though AMR in India came

into limelight way back in 2010with the discovery of superbugsharbouring New Delhi metallo-lactamase (NDM-1) gene, ignit-ing much needed discussionand action on AMR at the glob-al and national level, so far onlythree States, (Kerala, MadhyaPradesh and Delhi ) in Indiahave come forward with theAMR containment plan. TheWHO warns that the economiclosses could be devastating, esti-mated to be about $100 trillionin total by 2050. AMR couldpush 2.4 crore people intoextreme poverty by 2030, it said.

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JNU Vice-Chancellor MJagadesh Kumar who has

not been seen anywhere sincethe brutal attack by mask menat the university campus onSunday evening, is not availableeven for the Human ResourceDevelopment (HRD) Ministry!

The man who should havebeen there to pacify the vio-lence, skipped a high-levelmeeting convened by HRDSecretary Amit Khare to takestock of the situation at JNU inthe aftermath of massive vio-lence. The HRD Ministry onMonday had summoned theentire JNU administration toreview the steps taken to con-trol the situation.

Sources in the Ministrysaid for almost few minutes, theJNU officials kept conveyingthat the V-C was on his way andwill reach shortly for the meet-ing which lasted for almost twohours in the afternoon.

During the meeting, theJNU administration apprisedthe HRD Ministry of what ledto the Sunday’s violence at thecampus. A source present in themeeting said a JNU adminis-trative official complainedabout the “lackadaisical”approach of the V-C who was

already informedabout the situationprevailing and wasbriefed that situa-tion might “worsen”in the campus as“restlessness” wasobserved within thestudent community.

The official washowever interruptedby another JNU offi-cial saying thatKumar was very much peevedabout the second such incidentin the campus and has soughttime from “two cabinet” min-isters to brief them about theprevailing condition in thecampus in last couple ofmonths.

With the Home MinisterAmit Shah himself asking forimmediate reports into theincident from Delhi L-G aswell as Delhi Police, HRDMinistry too is preparing adetailed report based on thetwo page facts provided byJNU administration.

“HRD Secretary AmitKhare held a meeting with ateam of JNU authorities,including Pro-VC ChintamaniMahapatra, Registrar PromodKumar, Rector Rana PratapSingh and Proctor DhananjaySingh. The secretary held a

detailed discussionwith them and wasalso briefed aboutthe current situa-tion in JNU,” asenior HRDMinistry officialsaid. There washeavy deploymentof police onMonday outsidethe ShashtriBhawan which

houses the HRD Ministry.Though the V-C remainedconfined, he took to socialmedia to express his displea-sure over the incident.

Sources also said theincumbent HRD Secretary isalso treading in the matter cau-tiously as his predecessor RSubramanyam was axed fromHRD last month after the JNUfee related agitation.Subramanyan during a toplevel meeting of HRD Ministryto resolve the fee agitationhad advocated for the JNUStudents’ concern and in themeeting it was pointed that hehimself is a JNU alumni.

The Ministry had onSunday sought an immediatereport from JNU RegistrarPramod Kumar after the vio-lence broke out and studentsand teachers were attacked.

JNU registrar, proctor andother admin officials werebriefed the ministry officials onthe sequence of events thatunfoded on the campus andthe measures taken to restorenormalcy.

HRD Minister RameshPokhriyal asserted educationalinstitutions cannot be allowed tobecome “political adda”, andvowed “strong action” againstthe perpetrators of violence atJNU. “I have said this earlier alsothat these autonomous institu-tions cannot be allowed tobecome political ‘adda’ (dens).Strong action will be initiatedagainst people involved in suchan attack,” Pokhriyal said on thesidelines of an event inBhubaneshwar. The HRDMinister urged JNU students tomaintain the dignity of the uni-versity and peace on campus.

Violence broke out in thecampus as a group of maskedpeople armed with sticksattacked students and teachersand damaged property on thecampus, prompting the admin-istration to call in the police.Many sustained injuries andwere admitted to AIIMSTrauma Centre here. They weredischarged on Monday. JNUStudents’ Union president AisheGhosh suffered a head injury.

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Likening Sunday’s violence atNew Delhi’s Jawaharlal

Nehru University (JNU) to the26/11 attacks in Mumbai,Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray says thatthe masked men behind theviolence were “cowards” andthey needed to be identified and punished stern-ly.

“From we saw on televisionof what happened at JNU, I cansay that the masked men whoindulged in violence were cow-ards. If they were brave enough,they would not have indulgedsuch kind of violence. When they did whatever theydid, why they wear masks?...Whatever I saw on televisionreminded me of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai,” Uddhavsaid.

Talking to media personshere, Uddhav said: “This kindof cowards will not get supportfrom any quarter in the country.... I will not tolerate thiskind of attack in Maharashtra....All those masked men behindyesterday’s violence at JNUneed to be identified and dealtwith sternly”.

When his attention to theprotests being witnessed in thenational capital in the after-math of the violence at JNU,Uddhav said: “The protestswill definitely take place.Because, whatever happened atJNU should not have hap-pened in the country. All those responsible for the

incident —be it even police —should be identified and pun-ished”.

Asked about the protestsbeing witnessed in Mumbaiand other parts of the State, theChief Minister said: “There isnothing to worry about theprotests happening in Mumbaiand other places in the state.We are here to take care ofthem. I would like to assure thestudents in the state that I willnot only not allow JNU-likeincidents in Maharashtra, butI will also not tolerate such inci-dents here”.

“If there is need to increasesecurity on the university campuses in the State, we willdefinitely do it. But, we will notlet anyone harm our studentsin the state. If someone tries toharm, we will deal with themsternly,” the Chief Ministersaid.

‘At the same time, we allneed to come together, takecognisance and address theunrest that is being witnessedamong the students across thecountry, by taking the stu-dents concerned into confi-dence... The incident has happened in Delhi.. The anger within thestudent community in the stateis coming out. I would like tothe students that I share theiranger and assure them thatthere is no need for them tofear,” Uddhav said.

Maintaining that he did notwant to politicise the incidentat JNU, Uddhav said: “I do notwant to politicise the incident.

At this stage, I do not want totake sides on the incident. But,I am all for baring the masks ofthe people behind the JNU.They deserve to the unmasked.The real faces of those behindthe incident should comebefore the country.. Whoeverwere behind the incidentshould be punished”.

Uddhav agreed with aquestioner that the policeappeared to be biased in han-dling the JNU incident. “If thepolice have not performedtheir duty, the needle of suspicion also turns towardsthem,” he said.

Asked if Union HomeMinister Amit Shah should beheld responsible for the inci-dent, Uddhav said: “Like I saidearlier I do not want to politi-cise the incident. What I wantimmediately is that all thosebehind the incident should bebrought to book and punishedseverely. What we need now isan impartial inquiry into theincident....If no action is taken,then questions will arise if itwas a sponsored attack andthere is politics in the wholething”.

Asked if he concurred withthe demand made by the teach-ers’ association of JNU that thevice chancellor should besacked, Uddhav said: “Don’tworry, things will come out (onwhether there was derelictionof duty on his part). Things cannot be hidden for long...Ultimately, it is for theGovernment there to initiateaction”.

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Aligarh: Aligarh MuslimUniversity students on Mondaydemanded the resignation ofJawaharlal Nehru University vicechancellor Jagadesh Kumar ashundreds took part in a rally hereover violence by masked men atJNU’s campus in Delhi.

In a statement, the AMUStudents CoordinationCommittee (AMUSCC) demand-ed JNU VC’s resignation, askinghim to take “moral responsibili-ty” for the violence in the varsity.

Terming as “shocking” thereports that even medical teamsheading to assist the injured wereprevented by the mob from enter-ing the JNU campus, theAMUSCC, in a statement saidonly a time-bound judicial inquirywould uncover the full truth.

The AMUSCC has beenspearheading an agitation against the amended citizenshiplaw.

The alleged involvement ofgoons linked to the ABVP wouldbe confirmed by a judicial probe,it said, while strongly condemn-ing the manhandling of SwarajParty President Yogendra Yadavby miscreants allegedly under thepolice patronage.

The AMU’s students also helda Tiranga March inside the AMUcampus later in the day in soli-darity with the JNU students andall other student bodies current-ly holding peaceful protestsagainst the CAA.

Raising slogans “JNU tumsangharsh karo, hum tumharesaath hain” (JNU! You fight, weare with you), the protesters hand-ed over a memorandum,addressed to President of India, tothe district authorities here.

The memorandum by theprotesting students, among otherthings, also demanded “immedi-ate punishment to those respon-sible for attack on JNU studentsand teachers”. PTI

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Terming the Sunday’s attackon Jawaharlal Nehru

University campus a “fascistsurgical strike,” Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onMonday called upon theOpposition parties to uniteagainst the “fascist rule beingperpetrated by the BJP-ledGovernment.”

Even as academic campuses all over Bengal erupted in protest against theSunday’s “barbaric attack” onstudents of JNU the ChiefMinister said an “emergency-like situation” wasprevailing in India which hadto be countered immediately toretrieve and save the Indiandemocracy.

“I started my politicalcareer as a student worker buthave never seen a situation likethis where the academic cam-pus of the entire country isbeing attacked just to gag theprotesting voices,” the ChiefMinister said adding “if anyoneraises his voice he will betermed as anti-national … thiswas not how politicians workedin the past.”

Lambasting the BJPGovernment for allowing theviolence to be perpetrated bythe members of its students’arm Akhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad in JNU campusBanerjee said “I was watchinghow one side they sent their

ABVP goons inside the campusto brutally attack the studentsand on the other they kept thepolice administration inactive… similar things hap-pened at Jamia Millia Islamia,Lucknow, Muradabad. Theyare doing whatever they like…this (JNU attack) is nothing buta fascist surgical strikeabsolutely.”

India had been shamedand its democracy tormentedas never before, Banerjee said“It is shameful to speak abouthow democracy is beingattacked by a planted game. Ifanyone speaks anything inprotest they call them anti-national, a Pakistani… What ishappening? Pakistan is not ademocratic country. The dif-ference between India andPakistan is that we are secularcountry and they are funda-mentalist country. So whyalways compare with Pakistan?Does it mean that you want topull India to the level of thatcountry?”

Banerjee’s angry remarkscame at a time when parts ofBengal including educationalcampuses in Kolkata erupted inrevolt against the JNU incident

with thousands of studentstaking out rallies fromPresidency College, JadavpurUniversity and other places.

A massive procession ofthe civil society members wastaken out from North Kolkatapast the BJP State party officeto the Governor’s House.

In the evening the policehad a tough time to keep JUstudents and the followers ofthe ABVP separated from eachother. “An apparent BJP sup-porter was roughed up by thealleged JU students for callingthe, Pakistanis even as theywere taking out a processioncondemning the Sunday’sincident.

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In what the Opposition Leftparties promptly called an

“admission” on the part of theBJP of its involvement in theSunday’s attack on JNU cam-pus, Bengal BJP president DilipGhosh on Monday justified theJNU incident saying suchaction was long overdue andthat the Left had been paidback by their own coin.

When asked to commenton the Sunday’s incident thatleft about 30 students andteaching staff injured, Ghoshjustified the action saying, “thecommunists deserved this.They are getting their due.”

He said “why campuses inBengal, Kerala and Tripura areviolent? This is because the Left

had perpetrated this culture inthese regions. Today they aregetting paid back. They are getting what they deserved.There is nothing wrong in it.”

When asked to commenton whether the level of politicsshould stoop to such levels theState BJP chief said “they hadperpetrated silent terror earli-er, now they are getting itback. Good that the score isbeing settled,” adding however “the BJP does notbelieve in violence.”

Reacting strongly toGhosh’s comments formerCPI(M) MP Samik Lahiri said“when such comments comeout of the mouth of none otherthan the chief of the Statewing of a party then one has tobelieve that the attack was pre-planned.

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Hundreds of students fromvarious student

organisations, NGOs andprominent personalities stageda sit-in protest at the historicGateway of India in southMumbai against the hooliganism witnessed on theJawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) campus on Sundaynight.

The students from variouscolleges, carrying the nationaltricolours, banners and posters,staged a dharna, shouted slo-gans against the violence at theJNU and expressed their soli-darity with the affected stu-dents and professors in thenational capital. Protests werealso staged at the IIT Bombay

Powai campus.The protests were

continuing in Mumbai till verylate in the evening.

Bollywood film makersAnurag Kashyap, AnubhavSinha, Zoya Akthar, actorsRahul Bose, Gauhar Khan andcomedian Kunal Kamra stageda demonstration at Carter Roadin Bandra’s Carter Road innorth-west Mumbai onMonday night, to condemnthe violence at JNU and expresssolidarity with the students.

State Housing Minister andNCP leader Jitendra Awhad,who joined the protest at theGateway of India in the morn-ing, hit out at the NJP govern-ment at the Centre for itsattempts to “destroy” democracy in the country.

Talking to media persons,Awhad said: “The JNU violenceis (Amit) Shah-sponsored ter-rorism. The country condemnsthis barbaric act. Its nice to seethat #Modi #Shah are scared ofonly one thing, that’s theintellect in JNU”.

On Sunday night, studentsstaged a “torch protest” infront of the Film and TelevisionInstitute of India (FTII) inPune to express their solidari-ty with the affected JNU stu-dents.

Students from various col-leges in Pune and the PuneUniversity had joined the FTIIstudents in the protest whichwent on till 1 am on Monday.

The FTII students are plan-ning a “silent march” from

their institute campus to thePune University at 5.30 pm onTuesday in protest against theviolence at the JNU anddemand action against thosebehind the incident. “ Weexpect the students from vari-ous colleges and PuneUnviersity and also peoplefrom various walks of life tojoin the silent march,” a studentleader said.

Meanwhile, students owingallegiance to Akhila BharatiyaVidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)staged a protest near RuiaCollege at Matunga in north-central Mumbai against theJNU attack and alleged that theLeft backed students werebehind the incident. Theyraised slogans against the leftparties and JNUSU.

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Mumbai: Several political leaders, including NCP chiefSharad Pawar and State Environment Minister AdityaThackeray, have come out against violence on Jawaharal NehruUniversity campus on Sunday. “JNU students and professorswere subjected to a cowardly but planned attack. I strongly con-demn this undemocratic act of vandalism and violence. Useof violent means to suppress democratic values and thoughtwill never succeed,” Pawar tweeted. “The violence and brutalityfaced by students, while protesting, is worrisome. Be it Jamia,be it JNU. Students mustn’t face brutal force! Let them be! Thesegoons must face action. They must be brought to time boundand swift justice,” Aditya Thackeray tweeted.

Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik strongly con-demned the JNU violence and demanded strict action againstthe culprits. “Hostels are being attacked. Students and staff arebeing beaten up. Police is not acting upon to protect them. BJP’spolitics is playing with the future of the country,” Malik said.

Today’s protest was a continuation of the demonstrationswhich started at midnight at the Gateway of India in Mumbaiand Pune. PNS

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Tamil Nadu LegislativeAssembly’s session in 2020

began on a stormy note onMonday with the DMK, theprincipal Opposition party andits allies staging a walkout inprotest against the controversialCitizenship Amendment Actpassed by both Houses ofParliament.

The opening sequences ofthe session had all theingredients of a drama as theproceedings which commencedin a sober mood turned volatileas Governor Bawarilal Purohitstarted his customary address tothe members of the House. MKStalin, leader of the Oppositionwho had given notice for a private resolution condemn-ing the CAA was on his feet shouting slogans and demand-ing a thorough discussion in theHouse about the “discrimina-tory Act”. An unperturbedPurohit asked Stalin and his col-

leagues to be calm and listen tothe speech. “You are a best ora-tor. Use your skills for debate.Let this House be used fordebate,” said the Governor whoreverted to his prepared speech.

Stalin along with the con-stituents of the DMK — ledfront shouted slogans andwalked out of the House.

Interestingly, TTVDhinakaran, the lone memberof the AMMK and TamimumAnsari , an ally of the rulingAIADMK too joined the DMKin the walk out which also gaveindication of a future possiblealliance between the DMK andthe AMMK.

The Governor steered clearof any controversies throughouthis speech and was silent aboutthe CAA. The close he came toreferring the CAA was aboutthe move by the AIADMKGovernment to help SriLankan Tamils who have takenrefuge in the State . “TheGovernment of Tamil Nadu willurge the Government of India

to provide dual citizenship toSri Lankan Tamil refugees inTamil Nadu. Government ofTamil Nadu will ensure that theinterests of all citizens regard-less of religion or creed are pro-tected,” said the Governor.

While patting the EdappadiPalaniswami Government forits efforts in making the State adeveloped one and the leadState sought after by investors,the Governor declared thatTamil Nadu has become thenumero uno State in India asenvisaged by former ChiefMinister late J Jayalalithaa.Purohit paid glowing tributes toAmma at least half a dozentimes in his hour long speechand this drew thumping ofdesks by the AIADMK legisla-tors. The Governor was criticalof the 14th FinanceCommission recommendationsthat led Tamil Nadu, a best per-forming State in the county los-ing heavily despite its com-mendable achievements.“There has been a diminution

in the overall flow of Centralfunds to Tamil Nadu. Contraryto the impression thatthe Fourteenth FinanceCommission’s recommenda-tions increased the gross flow ofresources from the Centre tothe States, in reality there hasbeen a reduction in the grosstransfers from the Centre toStates. Moreover, Tamil Naduhas faced a more severe adverseimpact due to the horizontaldistribution formula of theFourteenth FinanceCommission,” said Purohit.

The Governor also saidthat Tamil Nadu lost Rs 4073crore because of the discrep-ancies in allocating the share ofGST to the State and he blamedthe 14th Finance Commissionfor the same. The MekedatuDam to be built by Karnatakaacross Cauvery River and thereservoir to be built byKarnataka along theMarkandeya River too came forsharp attacks in the Goernor’sspeech.

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Jammu: Sikh organisationsstaged a protest in Jammu &Kashmir's Kathua district onMonday against the vandalism at GurdwaraNankana Sahib in Pakistan'sPunjab province.

Over 300 Sikhs raisinganti-Pakistan slogans blockeda highway in Rajbagh area anddemanded protection tominorities and their places ofworship in Pakistan.

The protesters burnt effigyof Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan as they con-

demned the killing of a Sikh inthe mob attack at the Gurdwaraon Friday.

“We demand protection tominorities and their places ofworship in Pakistan,”Charanpreet Singh, a sikhleader, told reporters.

He said the incident was amatter of “shame” for PrimeMinister Imran Khan.Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, alsoknown as Gurdwara JanamAsthan, is a site near Lahorewhere the first Guru of Sikhs,Guru Nanak, was born. PTI

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Crimes against womenincreased nearly 50 per cent

in Rajasthan in 2019 with a totalof 41,155 cases being registered,which is 13,561 more than theprevious year.

The maximum rise in crimesagainst women was in molestation(68 per cent) while rape cases tooincreased by 38.34 per cent ascompared to the cases registeredin 2018, according to the crimedata released by the State's

Director General of PoliceBhupendra Singh here onMonday.

The cases of rape committedagainst minors also registered anincrease of 22 per cent.

Singh said police have registered every FIR that hasresulted in an increase in thenumber of registered cases in2019. The overall increase incases registered under varioussections of the Indian Penal Codewas 31.08 per cent.

“Our focus in 2019 was on

ensuring that every case is regis-tered and no grievance gets leftunattended. We took effectiveaction against organised crimeslast year,” the DGP told a pressconference here.

For 2020, he said maximumpriority will be given to focussingon crimes against women andchildren.

Last year, a total of 41,155cases of crimes against womenwere registered which is 49.14 percent more than 2018 and 61.01per cent more than 2017.

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The BJP is set to raise thepitch in Bihar in support of

the Citizenship (Amendment)Act, with two of its top lead-ers flying down to the State toaddress public meetings andraise awareness about the contentious legislation, a seniorparty official said on Monday.

Union Home Minister andparty chief Amit Shah is sched-uled to address people inVaishali district on January 16,two days after Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathholds a public meeting inGaya, state BJP vice- presidentDevesh Kumar told PTI.

A massive door-to-doorcampaign is currently under-way in the State, after itslaunch on Sunday with rallies

addressed in Patna by Unionminister of state for HomeNityanand Rai and DeputyChief Minister Sushil KumarModi.

Notably, Bihar witnessedmassive anti-CAA protests inthe recent past, includingstatewide bandhs called ondifferent days by Left partiesand the RJD and its allies.

A demonstration staged bya motley group of student outfits in December hadcaught the police off guard asthe agitators went on the ram-page, setting on fire a policeoutpost and many vehicles atKargil Chowk, a stone's throwfrom the district police chief 'soffice and the collectorate.

Meanwhile, the State BJPmocked Pavan K Varma, thedisgruntled national general

secretary of the JD(U), for hisopen letter in protest against“unilateral announcement” onNational Population Register(NPR) exercise by the deputyCM.

Modi had made the dis-closure at a press conference onSaturday and issued a sternwarning that “administrativeand punitive action” will betaken against officials, foundguilty of dereliction of duty.

State BJP spokesmanNikhil Anand came out with aflurry of tweets, addressed toVarma, pointing out that whathe assumed to be a “unilater-al announcement” by thedeputy CM has been set inmotion by a notification issuedby the State Government lastmonth. PTI

Lucknow: A Bahujan SamajParty delegation on Mondaymet Uttar Pradesh GovernorAnandiben Patel and soughther intervention for the releaseof “innocent” people jailed inconnection with protestsagainst the amended citizenship law and immediatewithdrawal of cases againstthem.

The delegation, led byparty MP Satish Mishra, hand-ed over a memorandum to theGovernor at Raj Bhawan a day

after BSP chief Mayawati askedthe Uttar Pradesh Governmentto apologise to the people forputting anti-citizenship lawprotesters behind bars withoutthorough investigation.

“The BSP has opposedthis law which grants citizen-ship on the basis of religion,making it divisive and uncon-stitutional... And had alsovoted against it in Parliament,”the memorandum signed byMayawati said.

“There was widespread

opposition to this law all overthe country and in UP therewas violence. Earlier the policeand state government held theprotestors solely responsiblefor it and also acted in a vin-dictive manner, putting peoplein large numbers behind thebars,” it said.

It claimed media reportshad brought to fore the attitudeof the state government, policeand administration which hadbeen most barbaric and biased. PTI

Shahjahanpur (UP): FormerUnion Minister SwamiChinmayanand, who has beenaccused of sexual exploitationby a law student, appearedbefore a local court here onMonday.

Chinmayanad was broughtto the court of Chief JudicialMagistrate (CJM) Omvir fromthe jail amidst tight security,said his counsel Om Singh.

He said the court has fixedJanuary 20 as the next date forhearing.

The counsel for the lawstudent, Kalvinder Singh, saidshe could not appear before thecourt as she was unwell.

Chinmayanand, whosetrust runs Shahjahanpur LawCollege, where the studentstudied, was arrested underSection 376C of the IPC, anoffence pertaining to abuse ofone's position by a person inauthority to “induce or seduce”a woman under his charge to

have “sexual intercourse notamounting to the offence ofrape”. Chinmayanand also facescharges of stalking underSection 354D, wrongful con-finement under Section 342and criminal intimidationunder Section 506 of the IPC.

The 23-year-old law student, who was arrested forallegedly trying to extort � 5 crore from Chinmayanand,was released on bail onDecember 11.

The former Union minis-ter had alleged that they hadthreatened to make publicsome video clips that showedhim getting massage from thelaw student, who was arrestedon September 25. PTI

Bengaluru: Karnataka ChiefMinister BS Yediyurappa onMonday said the much await-ed Cabinet expansion will takeplace in about a week to 10 daysand that he wants to completethe exercise before his pro-posed visit to Davos to attendthe World Economic Forummeet later this month.

“Cabinet expansion has tobe done in a week or 8-10 days.

There is also informationthat Amit Shah (Union HomeMinister and BJP nationalPresident) will be coming toBengaluru on January 16 or 18.Before that I will go to Delhiand get things cleared and willexpand the Cabinet at the ear-liest,” Yediyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters here,he said he wanted to completethe exercise before his Davosvisit. He said he was not keenon leaving for Davos, but wastold that some Chief Ministerswould have to g and so wouldattend it as it is a very impor-tant event.

“I will make all efforts toexpand the cabinet before that,”he said. With Yediyurappamaking it clear that 11 of thedisqualified JDS-CongressMLAs who got re-elected in theDecember 5 bypolls on BJPtickets will be made Ministers,lobbying has been on withinthe party for the remainingministerial berths.

Currently there are 18Ministers, including the ChiefMinister, in the cabinet that hasa sanctioned strength is 34.

Cabinet expansion will notbe an easy task for the ChiefMinister as he willhave tostrike a balance by accommo-dating the victorious disquali-

fied legislators as promisedand also make place for oldguards, upset at being “neglect-ed” in the first round of theinduction exercise.

He also has to give adequate representation to var-ious castes and regions in his-cabinet and also deal with allo-cation of key portfolios.

The Chief Minister, whohas indicated that the Ministryexpansion may take place anytime after Sankranti, is likely totravel to Davos on January 20,according to sources.

Yediyurappa, along withUnion Ministers Piyush Goyaland Mansukh Mandaviya, aswell as Chief MinistersAmarinder Singh (Punjab),Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh),are expected join over 100Indian CEOs at Davos inSwitzerland later this month forthe WEF's 50th annual meeting,which will be attended by thou-sands of rich and powerfulfrom across theglobe. PTI

Bengaluru: JD(S) leader HDKumaraswamy on Mondaysaid he would not get involvedin any 'wicked act' of bringingdown the BS Yediyurappa-ledGovernment in Karnataka,amid claims that 15 to 20 BJPMLAs were ready to comeout.

Clarifying that he wouldnot disturb the Government,the former Chief Minister said for him develop-ment of the State was impor-tant.

“With great difficulty you(Yediyurappa) have becomeChief Minister for the fourthtime, (i am) happy, I havenowhere said that I will disturbyour Government.

Even now some peoplecome and ask why Im sittingsilent when 15-20 people areready to come out of BJP andwhy dont I make an attempt (topoach them), Kumaraswamysaid. PTI

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Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav on Monday

demanded a probe by a sittingSupreme Court or High Courtjudge into deaths of children atGorakhpur Medical College.

Blood tests conducted on1,800 children admitted in thehospital between January andOctober last year showed thatthey were suffering fromencephalitis, but the govern-ment admitted only 500 such cases by “tweaking therecords”, he told reporters here.

He alleged that acting atthe behest of the government,the doctors there describedillness of the children as acutefever and claimed that around1,500 children had died therebetween January and Octoberlast year.

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The paroxysms of religious intoler-ance increasingly engulfingPakistan and sections of its civilsociety, not to mention the frenziedanti-India exhortations of its

favourite militant outfits, are inexorablypushing the nation towards political incoher-ence and religious apoplexy, from whichreturn to sanity seems unlikely.

Two recent events best exemplify thistrend. One is the attack on Nankana SahibGurdwara (January 3) led by the brother ofMohammad Hassan, the boy who alleged-ly abducted Jagjit Kaur, daughter of asenior gurdwara official, from her home inAugust 2019 and forcibly converted andmarried her. Reports suggest that ahead ofthe court hearing on January 9, policeentered the Hassan family home and arrest-ed some members. Enraged, Hassan’s broth-er collected a crowd, surrounded the gur-dwara, pelted stones on pilgrims and threat-ened to convert all shrines into mosques. Asauthorities moved to control the situation,he issued an apology on video.

In India, the incident embarrassed polit-ical parties opposing the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA) and forced them tocondemn it. The ruling party, the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), the Congress and theShiromani Akali Dal (SAD) protested near thePakistan High Commission in Delhi, whichwas placed under tight security.

The second and more serious incidentconcerns Pakistan’s treatment of its own cit-izens. Junaid Hafeez, a teacher in the liter-ature department of Bahauddin ZakariyaUniversity, has been languishing in solitaryconfinement since March 2013, after anIslamist group claimed he had made blas-phemous remarks during a lecture.

A gold medallist, Junaid was studyingmedicine at Lahore’s prestigious King EdwardMedical College when the poet in him sur-faced; he moved to Bahauddin ZakariyaUniversity, Multan, to study English litera-ture. In 2009, he went to study American lit-erature at the Jackson State University, the US,on a Fulbright scholarship and returned toteach at his alma mater. Here, in the univer-sity’s growing Islamic environment, hepushed for secular debate around differenttopics. Though eminently qualified for a per-manent faculty position, the Islamist studentgroup on the campus, the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, wanted the post to Islamise thedepartment. Suddenly, blasphemy chargesprevented him from getting the job.

One accusation was that Junaid sharedblasphemous content on a Facebook account,which has never been linked to him.Nevertheless, Junaid, then just 27-years-old,was jailed and his career ruined. When lawyerRashed Rahman was assassinated (2014),advocate Asad Jamal courageously took thebrief, despite several death threats. OnDecember 21, 2019, Junaid Hafeez was sen-tenced to death for “outraging religious sen-timents” (under Section 295-C of the Pakistan

Penal Code that was introducedin 1986 by Zia ul-Haq). His par-ents have appealed to ChiefJustice Asif Saeed Khosa, point-ing out many problems — fromrefusal to hear the case, constanttransfer of judges and delay tac-tics by the prosecution — to denyjustice to the young teacher.Many journalists and writershave supported them.

Within Pakistan, criticsquestion the very need for thislaw, pointing out that it inhibitsreforms in Islam and sanctionsdeath for words, cartoons andother forms of free thought.They point out that critique ofa religion does not mean vio-lence against that faith or denythe rights of its adherents.Instead, the blasphemy lawsundermine basic human rights.

Asiya Bibi, a poor Christianwoman, received the deathpenalty in 2010 for alleged blas-phemy, and Punjab GovernorSalman Taseer was assassinatedfor supporting her and trying totake up cudgels against the well-known abuse of this law. Taseersaid the Pakistan of MohammadAli Jinnah did not have such alaw and such a cruel punish-ment. Claiming that Islam pro-vided for the protection ofminorities, he promised to takeher appeal to the President, forpardon. As the case became aninternational cause célèbre, theSupreme Court of Pakistanacquitted her in October 2018,citing insufficient evidence.However, as frenzied mobs came

on the streets chanting that theywould not let her leave Pakistan,it was only in May 2019 that shewas discreetly flown to Canada,where her family had alreadybeen given asylum.

It is an open secret thatPakistan’s blasphemy law is aweapon to harass individuals orgroups for personal or pettyagenda or to persecute religiousminorities for vicarious majori-tarian satisfaction. Invariably,the accused are unable to defendthemselves and have to sufferpainful imprisonment beforereceiving capital punishment,though the Supreme Court hasoften overruled judgments of thelower courts for having poor evi-dentiary value. At times, howev-er, the apex court has upheld thesentence, leaving the lucklessaccused with no recourse but tobeg for pardon from thePresident. Along the way, intre-pid lawyers have lost their lives,fighting for justice, dignity andhuman rights.

Vigilantism, as seen atNankana Sahib, has become thenew confession in Pakistan.Rabble-rousers reminiscent of theDominican monk, GirolamoSavonarola, but without his pietyand learning, exhort intoleranceof secular dissenters and minori-ties as a national creed. Mini-tyrants populate every village andcity street, sniffing out potentialvictims. Former President Zia-ul-Haq’s tweaking of the British-made blasphemy law (that Indiajunked because Hindu dharma

has no canon and, therefore, nolaw, and Pakistan retainedbecause it was a religion of theBook) has rained hell on its poorvictims.

As of now, there is no onewho can put the genie back in thebottle. Many lament that Jinnah’splea for a secular nation, made onAugust 11, 1947, before Pakistanwas officially born, was not hon-oured by the elite of the newcountry. Some say the speech wasoptics at the behest of LordIsmay to stem the communalfrenzy and bloodbath. Others saythat the communal passionsunleashed by Jinnah to achievePakistan had assumed a momen-tum of their own and could notbe controlled.

Secular thinkers in Pakistanassert that there is no blasphemylaw in the Quran or in anyHadith or in the writings of thedominant Hanafi school.Blasphemy is a man-made deviceto control dissidence or tormentinnocents, who may have earnedone’s ire for some petty reason orother. In Asiya Bibi’s case, it wasdrinking water from a potreserved for Muslims.

Pakistan’s Islamic revolu-tion, like all revolutions, is eat-ing its own children. It needs tobe reversed by an Ataturk-typeof powerful leader but theArmy has been thoroughly rad-icalised. Islam has becomePakistan’s cul-de-sac; the way inis the only way out.

(The author is a senior journalist)

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Sir — It was heart-breaking toread about all the animals thatdied when a fire tore through amonkey enclosure at the KrefeldZoo in northwestern Germany atthe dawn of the new year. Policesuspect that paper lanterns lit andlaunched into the sky by revellers— in spite of there being a ban onthese items — caused the fire. Thelanterns, bought off the internet,fell into the enclosure where rarespecies of apes — including mar-mosets, chimpanzees, orangutansand gorillas — as well as birdswere kept. This might have beenan accident but it occurred onlybecause of the carelessness andnegligence of human beings.

M PradyuKannur

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “We didn’t start the fire”(January 6). The recent killing ofIranian military commanderQasem Soleimani by forces in theUS has heightened fears of anattack from Iran directed atAmerica, raising fears of an all-

out war. But it’s unclear how orwhen a response might come. Ifa disproportionate responsecomes from the Iranian side, itcan have catastrophic repercus-sions for the US as well as for Iran.As the Middle-East simmers,

prices of crude oil are likely toincrease. One hopes that theongoing stand-off betweenTehran and Washington doesnot escalate into a serious conflict.

Devendra KhuranaBhopal

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Sir — Justice delivery is the basicingredient of a civilised society,but it seems to have collapsed inour case. The alarming rise in the

pendency of cases in Indiancourts is worrisome. The presentstatus of 19 judges for 10 lakhpeople is woefully inadequate.The Law Commission’s recom-mendations to increase the ratioto 50 has been observed more inbreach than in honour.

Even if the courts work roundthe clock, making severe dent onthe pendency of cases is a hopeagainst hope. Besides, corruptionwithin the judiciary has gainedground. Delayed delivery of jus-tice must become a thing of past.Only then can the courts existmeaningfully.

KV SeetharamaiahHasaan

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “New Year births” (January 3).Overpopulation gives birth toseveral serious problems in anycountry. India must undertakeexpeditious measures to pre-vent such huge increase in itspopulation.

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2020 is an election year in the USA. PresidentDonald Trump is trying for a second term. TheAmerican public will definitely review his per-

formance before giving him a second chance. Asfar as foreign policy is concerned, Trump’s recordhas been a mixed bag. While many term it as a “termof controversies,” the cornerstone of the TrumpAdministration’s foreign policy has been “principledrealism” or more popular “America First.” After all,what else is the purpose of any country’s foreign pol-icy except to put its own interests first? Trump’s for-eign policy vision smacked of sabre rattling ratherthan reconciliation. He was not only distrustful ofUS allies, scornful of international institutions andindifferent to the liberal international order that theUS had sustained for nearly eight decades but alsodisplayed inconsistency by blowing hot and cold onmany occasions.

Trump is bound to tout his record on foreignpolicy as a resounding success. While he hasn’t builta wall and expensed it to Mexico, he has followedthrough on pledges to withdraw from the Irannuclear agreement and the Paris climate accord, torenegotiate NAFTA and to aggressively pressChina on trade. He has delivered on many of hiscampaign promises, whether the rest of the US sup-ports them or not. In doing so he has earned thetitle of “international bully,” annoying many alliesand friendly nations, undermining internationalinstitutions, dishonouring treaties and accords andcreating flashpoints. Conventional wisdom says thatforeign policy does not win polls. But Trump seemsto be faced with a challenge that may break this.

The majoritarian view in the US still favoursengagement and shared leadership in global affairs,as well as US participation in alliances and pacts,while Trump continues to move in the oppositedirection. As per a survey, 57 per cent Americansdisapprove his foreign policy performance. The lat-est episode in the Middle East will definitely addto his woes and the democratic hopefuls will exploitthese vulnerabilities during campaigning. This time,foreign policy might be a major theme for the elec-tion and just might tip the balance.

The tension in the Middle East has been build-ing for quite some time and Trump did displayrestraint. Iran, no doubt, was testing Trump’spatience by repeated misadventures like the shoot-ing down of a US surveillance drone, mining theStrait of Hormuz and an assault on Saudi oil facil-ities in response to sanctions. Trump all the whileavoided retaliating militarily, preferring to tightenthe noose with additional sanctions. The brainbehind Iran’s defiance was the commander of Iran’sIslamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) QudsForce, Major General Qasem Soleimani.

Soleimani had been in the bad books of the USever since he emerged as the mastermind of Iranianuse of proxies to target US and Western assets andservicemen, promoting terrorism and conductingdestabilising activities in countries hostile to Iran.He was credited with conducting proxy wars in Iraq,Syria and Yemen. He controlled much of Lebanonthrough the Hezbollah. He was also the mastermindbehind the survival of the Assad regime in Syria.The Americans hated him for being responsible forthe deaths of hundreds of soldiers in Iraq at thehands of Shia militias after US invasion of Iraq in2003. Though, later he cooperated with the US infighting the ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

But once Trump called off the nuclear treaty

with Iran and imposed sanctions, he onceagain became a sworn enemy of the US.He crossed the red line by attacking anUS military base in Iraq that resulted inthe death of a US contractor and injuredseveral servicemen. That Trump wouldnot tolerate any loss to American lives wasclear by the way he ordered air strikesagainst five targets in Iraq and Syria asso-ciated with Iran-backed Shia militiaKataib Hezbollah that was believed to beresponsible for the attack on the US basenear Kirkuk. Justifiably, the Pentagontermed these strikes as “defensive” sincethey were in retaliation to attacks on USservicemen and civilians in Iraq. ButTrump surprised the world by using USmilitary power to kill Soleimani througha rocket attack. Pentagon once againtermed it as “defensive” since Trump wasconvinced that Soleimani was visiting Iraqto intensify attacks against US bases inIraq. The US strike also killed a top Iraqimilitia commander Abu Mahdi alMuhandis, an adviser to Soleimani anda dozen of militia men, evoking a quickand angry response from both Iran andIraq. While Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran,to whom Soleimani reported directly,vowed revenge, the Iraqi Prime Ministertermed it as a violation of a deal for keep-ing US troops in his country.

Is it really a defensive act or aprovocative one? Has Trump overreact-ed? The chances of an all-out war may notbe very high but it would lead to escala-tion in the low-level conflict between theUS and Iran with global consequences.Violent retaliations will be there.Considering that the Americans are thinon the ground and widely dispersed inforeign lands, a chain of reprisals is goingto hit them unless the US is willing toescalate to a full blown war. This mayprove costly as far as American casualties

are concerned. Under such circum-stances, would Trump be able to sustainhis doctrine of military retaliation when-ever an American life is lost, is a milliondollar question. That, too, in an electionyear. Additional deployment of 3,000troops in Kuwait to ward off the Iranianthreat and failure to reduce the jackbootstrength in Afghanistan may also provecostly for Trump. What is surprising iswhy Trump decided to strike now whenhe is also facing an impeachment? Trumpwas possibly irked by ransacking of theUS Embassy 104 acre Green Zone com-pound in Baghdad. Yet, killing the IranianGeneral on Iraqi soil will remain a ques-tionable strategic decision. Continuationof American troops in Iraq will comeunder pressure in view of the response ofthe Iraqi Prime Minister.

Apart from usual attack on US mil-itary commanders and soldiers or launch-ing operations to destroy its bases andassets, Iran may also resort to cyber-attacks considering the over dependenceof Americans on the internet. In a worstcase scenario, Iran may try to enlistChinese and Russian support and com-bined with their cyber forces launch a pro-paganda cum perception operationagainst Trump, which may mar his cam-paign. Americans should prepare for theunexpected. There has been fair amountof criticism from the Democratic oppo-nents of the President.

The situation in the Middle East willbe highly tense, with Israel and SaudiArabia at the receiving end. Shia terrorgroups in Pakistan may also becomeactive against US targets as well as troopsin Afghanistan. Soaring oil prices andtumbling share markets will be theimmediate global consequences.Democratic presidential frontrunner JoeBiden has termed it “a highly escalatory

move in a highly dangerous region.” Thepossibility of it turning into a Shia versusSunni conflict may disturb peace inmany countries in the region.

Former Foreign Secretary NirupamaRao has criticised Trump’s decision, “USmilitary personnel are in Iraq supposed-ly on an anti-IS mission. Under the Trumpadministration, there appears to have beenmission creep, in Iraq as well as Syria, inwhich somehow confronting Iran hasbecome part of a new mission. That mis-sion has never been justified.”

India cannot remain unaffected bythe events in the Middle East since itremains one of the largest oil importersof the world. Soaring oil prices apart fromhitting the pockets of the common manare also going to add to India’s econom-ic woes when it is struggling to revive asluggish economy. Tensions in the regionmay also affect the smooth oil supply.Strategically, it would have an adverseimpact on India’s bid to develop ChabaharPort and develop an alternative rail,road axis to Afghanistan bypassingPakistan and the open trade route to land-locked Central Asian Republics.

Majority across the globe term it asan “unnecessary provocation.”Surprisingly, a usually hyper Trump haschosen to remain quiet. He will be in adilemma since he ran his campaign andcontinues to do so ahead of 2020 election-on the promise of an end to Middle Eastwars. Does he have that choice now?

While US troops will remain on ten-terhooks, Trump has provided enoughammunition to his Democratic opponentsfor a very interesting election campaignat home. While the target will not be ques-tioned, timing will definitely be the con-tentious issue.

(The writer is a political commenta-tor, political, security and strategic analyst)

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If the Iranians played the gamethe same way that the AmericanPresident Donald Trump does,

then their revenge for the Americanassassination of Iran’s leading gen-eral, Qassem Soleimani, would be asimple tit-for-tat. Just kill UnitedStates (US) Secretary of State MikePompeo, the man who actuallyorganised the hit and then boastedabout it.

If Pompeo was too hard to getat, the Iranians could get even bymurdering any one or two of a hun-dred other senior US officials.Probably two, because the US dronethat hit Soleimani’s car coming outof Baghdad airport also killed Abu

Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader ofKata’ib Hezbollah, the most power-ful pro-Iranian militia in Iraq.

An eye for an eye, and so forth.Tit-for-tat is clearly the game Trumpthought he was playing. That’s whyhe warned late on Saturday onTwitter that the US has identified 52Iranian sites, some “at a very highlevel and important to Iran and theIranian culture”, and warned theywould be “hit very fast and hard” ifTehran retaliates for Soleimani’smurder.

But that’s not the game theIranians are playing at all. It’s a muchlonger game than tit-for-tat, andtheir targets are political, not per-sonal.

Tehran’s first response has beento announce that it will no longerrespect any of the limits placed onits nuclear programmes by the 2015nuclear treaty, the JointComprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA).

Donald Trump pulled the USout of that treaty in 2018 and Iranhas given up hope that the other sig-natories to the pact, i.e. China,

France, Russia, the UnitedKingdom, and Germany, woulddefy the US and go on trading withIran.

It signed the deal in order to endthe sanctions but all the sanctionsare effectively still in place.

Tehran didn’t say that it is nowgoing to start working on nuclearweapons but it will resume produc-ing enriched nuclear fuels in quan-tities that would make that possible.

Iran knew that it was going tohave to pull the plug on the JCPOAeventually but Trump’s assassinationof Soleimani lets it do so with theopen or unspoken sympathy of

almost every other country in theworld.

And there’s a second, less visi-ble benefit for Iran from Soleimani’smurder. It greatly strengthens Iran’spolitical influence in Iraq, which hasbeen deteriorating quite fast inrecent months.

Ever since the US invasion in2003, Iraq has been the scene ofintense competition for influencebetween the US, which dominatedthe country militarily and Iran,whose State religion, the Shia ver-sion of Islam, is also the faith of themajority of Iraqis.

There are still about 5,000American troops in Iraq but they arenow vastly outnumbered by localpro-Iran Shia militias, who did theheavy lifting during the 2014-17military campaign to crush IslamicState (IS) militants in northernIraq. Lately, however, the pro-Iranfaction has been losing ground.

When popular protests brokeout in September against the hugecorruption of Iraqi politicians andthe impoverishment of the generalpopulation, the pro-Iran militias

started killing the protesters. Thatwas General Soleimani’s idea and avery serious mistake on his part:The street protests began to targetIranian influence as well.

But Soleimani’s murder haslargely erased that resentment: Heis now yet another Shia martyr tothe cause. The Prime Minister ofIraq showed up at his huge funeralprocession in Baghdad and anextraordinary session of the IraqiParliament passed a resolutiondemanding the expulsion of UStroops from Iraq.

The Iraqi political elite may ormay not carry through on that pol-icy but there is genuine outrage thatthe US, technically an ally, wouldmake an air strike just outsideBaghdad airport without tellingIraq. All the worse when it kills aninvited guest of the IraqiGovernment who is the secondmost important person in Iraq’sother main ally, Iran. This is whatcontempt looks like and it rankles.

In just one careless stroke by theUS, Iran has had two big diplomat-ic wins thanks to Soleimani’s assas-

sination. The Iranians will certain-ly go on making deniable, pin-prickattacks on US assets and allies in theGulf in retaliation for the US sanc-tions that are strangling the coun-try’s economy but they may feel thatthey have already had their revengefor Soleimani.

Iran doesn’t want an all-out warwith the US. The US could not winthat war (unless it just nuked thewhole country) but neither couldIran and it would suffer huge dam-age if there were a flat-out Americanbombing campaign using only con-ventional bombs and warheads.

Apocalyptic outcomes to thisconfrontation are possible, butthey’re not very likely.

The Iranians will probably justchug along as before, staying with-in the letter of the law most of thetime, cultivating their allies in theArab world and waiting for Trumpto make his next mistake in theirfavour. He’s reliable in that, if innothing else.

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is‘Growing Pains: The Future ofDemocracy and Work.’)

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New Delhi: Gold prices in thenational capital hit an all-timehigh level on Monday andzoomed �720 to �41,730 per 10gram following a pick-up insafe-haven demand for themetal amid weak equities andbullish global trends, accordingto HDFC Securities.

Silver also witnessedincreased buying as it surged Rs1,105 to �49,430 per kg from�48,325 per kg in the previoustrade.

Gold had in the previoustrade closed at �41,010 per 10gram.

"Safe-haven demand con-tinued in the precious metalwith word of war between theUS and Iran. Along with aweaker rupee, rise in interna-tional gold prices supporteddomestic gold prices to trade atlife-time high level," DevarshVakil, Head (PCG-Advisory),

HDFC Securities, said.In the global market, gold

traded with gains at $1,575 perounce and, likewise, silver alsoquoted higher at $18.34 perounce.

International gold pricesat COMEX climbed as much as2.3 per cent to USD 1,588.13 anounce, the highest level sinceApril 2013, and traded at $1,575an ounce. Along with the otherAsian currencies, the rupeetraded with a loss of 25 paiseamid higher crude oil prices.

In the morning trade, therupee depreciated 31 paise to72.11 weighed by the spike incrude oil prices, amid risingconcerns over US-Iran ten-sions.

The Sensex crashed near-ly 788 points on Monday asheightened tensions in theMiddle East kept investors onedge. PTI

Mumbai: The rupee plunged 13paise to settle at 71.93 against theUS currency on Monday,weighed down by the spike inglobal crude oil prices as esca-lating US-Iran tensions fannedfresh fears of conflict in theMiddle East.

Forex traders said growinggeopolitical tensions could con-tinue to keep the domestic unitunder pressure.

At the interbank foreignexchange, the rupee openedweak at 72.03 against the US dol-lar. During the day, the domes-tic unit touched a low of 72.11.

The local unit recoveredsome lost ground and finallyclosed at 71.93 against the USdollar, lower by 13 paise over itsprevious closing.

The rupee on Friday hadclosed at 71.80 against the USdollar.

This is the third straight ses-sion of loss for the domestic cur-rency, during which it has lost 71paise.

Meanwhile, Brent futures,the global oil benchmark, rose1.49 per cent to $69.62 per bar-

rel. "The renewed geopolitical

worries will remain for couple ofdays, lending support to oilprices and taking a toll on theemerging market currenciesincluding rupee," said RahulGupta, Head of Research-Currency , Emkay GlobalFinancial Services.

US President Donald Trumphas warned Iran of "major retal-iation" if Tehran carries out anyattack against America to avengethe killing of top military com-mander Qasem Soleimani andhinted at striking its cultural sites.

His statement came hoursafter Iran announced it will nolonger abide by the limits con-tained in the 2015 landmarknuclear deal.

"Most Asian markets also fellafter news of the air strikes.Market participants are awaitingfor more clarity on the same butescalation in geopolitical tensionscould continue to keep the cur-rency weighed down," saidGaurang Somaiyaa, Forex &Bullion Analyst, Motilal OswalFinancial Services. PTI

New Delhi: Amazon India onMonday said it has entered intolong-term business agreementswith Future Group for expand-ing the reach of the latter's retailstores and consumer brandsthrough its online marketplace.

The development comesafter Amazon had agreed to buy49 per cent stake in FutureCoupons Ltd that in turn holdsstake in Future Retail Ltd (FRL)last year.

"FRL and Amazon Indiasigned two agreements focusingon key categories - grocery andgeneral merchandise, and fash-ion and footwear," according toa statement released Monday.

Amazon India will alsobecome the authorised onlinesales channel for FRL stores, andFRL will ensure participation ofits relevant stores and pro-grammes on the Amazon Indiamarketplace, it added.

Besides, Future ConsumerLtd (FCL) has also inked a long-term agreement with AmazonRetail India Pvt Ltd (ARIPL) fordistribution of FutureConsumer's portfolio of brandsonline. Some of FCL brandsinclude Tasty Treat, Voom,

Dreamery, Karmiq, MotherEarth, Kara, CleanMate andothers.

As part of the partnership,FRL will augment existing store-infrastructure at its retail outletsfor facilitating seamless packag-ing and pickup of productsordered online. FRL andAmazon India have alreadylaunched this service across 22stores. Both companies plan onrolling this out across the entireFRL store chain based on agreedtimelines.

"FRL will leverage its exist-ing infrastructure, strong prod-uct knowledge and extensivebrand portfolio resulting in high-er store productivity andimproved margins," as per thestatement.

Currently, FRL attracts over350 million footfalls across itsretail network, and AmazonIndia's marketplace will enableFRL to reach a wider customerbase. Also, FRL will list on theAmazon Prime Now pro-gramme, allowing customers toget food, grocery and generalmerchandise delivery withintwo hours in Delhi, Mumbai,Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

FRL plans to soon list storeslike Big Bazaar, and Foodhall inmore cites on the Amazon Indiamarketplace.

"In order to drive efficien-cies, the two organisations willwork closely through a dedicat-ed team, and will explore syner-gies in distribution, customeracquisition, and marketing ini-tiatives. This creates an enviablecollaboration bringing togetherthe best of consumer insights andgeographical reach from theonline and offline world," thestatement said.

Kishore Biyani, Chairmanand Managing Director of FRL,said "this arrangement will allowus to build upon each other'sstrengths in the physical and dig-ital space so that customers ben-efit from the best services, prod-ucts, assortment and price".

"FRL's national footprint ofstores offering thousands ofproducts across fashion, appli-ances, home, kitchen and gro-cery will now be available to mil-lions of customers shopping onAmazon.In, in hours across over25 cities,” Amazon India SeniorVice President and CountryHead Amit Agarwal said. PTI

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Investor wealth tumbled by a whopping�3.36 lakh crore in two successive ses-

sions of decline in the equity market fol-lowing escalation in tensions in the MiddleEast.

Equity markets fell for second con-secutive session, with the 30-share key BSEindex plummeting 787.98 points, or 1.90per cent, to close at 40,676.63, on Monday.During the trade, it dropped 850.65 pointsto 40,613.96.

The Sensex had ended 162.03 points,or 0.39 per cent, lower at 41,464.61 onFriday as well.

Led by the weakness in equities in twoconsecutive trading sessions, the marketcapitalisation of BSE-listed companiesplunged by �3,36,559.82 crore to�1,53,90,312.60 crore.

"Indian markets started the week ona negative note amid escalation of geopo-litical tensions between the US and Iran.Rising crude oil prices and adverse rupeemovement too impacted the sentiments,"

Religare Broking Ltd VP — Research AjitMishra said.

"Amongst the broader markets, BSEmidcap and smallcap underperformed. Allthe sectoral indices witnessed heavy sell-ing pressure and ended with losses where-in auto, banking and metals were the toplosers," he added.

US President Donald Trump onSunday vowed "major retaliation" if Irantries to avenge the killing of its key mili-tary commander Qasem Soleimani.

Brent crude oil futures surged near-

ly 2 per cent to $69.81 on Monday, whilethe rupee depreciated 24 paise against theUS dollar to 72.04 (intra-day).

On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Financewas the top loser, dropping 4.63 per cent,followed by SBI, IndusInd Bank, Marutiand HDFC.

At the BSE, 1,944 stocks declined,while 604 advanced and 181 remainedunchanged.

The S&P BSE Smallcap index closed1.96 per cent lower, while the BSE Midcapindex fell 2.31 per cent.

New Delhi: The NationalCompany Law AppellateTribunal on Monday dismissedthe Registrar of Companies'petition seeking modification ofthe judgement in the Tata-Mistry case and said its rulinghad not cast any aspersions onthe RoC.

"There is no ground toamend judgement datedDecember 18, 2019," a two-member NCLAT bench said.

On December 18, the tri-bunal ruled reinstating CyrusMistry as the ExecutiveChairman of Tata Group andalso termed conversion of TataSons from a public company toa private one by the RoC as "ille-gal".

Tata Sons, Chairman

Emeritus Ratan Tata and TataConsultancy Services (TCS)have separately moved theSupreme Court against theNCLAT order.

In its plea, RoC -- underthe corporate affairs ministry -- had sought to be impleaded asa party in the two petitions anddeletion of words "illegal" and"with the help of the RoC" usedby the NCLAT in its 172-pagejudgement.

In its plea, RoC, whichfunctions under the Ministry ofCorporate Affairs, had sought tobe impleaded as a party in thetwo petitions and deletion ofwords "illegal" and "with thehelp of the RoC" used by theNCLAT in its 172-page-longjudgement.

The tribunal had termedthe appointment of NChandrasekaran, as 'illegal' fol-lowing the October 2016 sack-ing of Mistry as Tata Sons'executive chairman. It had alsodirected the RoC to reverse TataSons' status from a 'privatecompany' to a 'public company'.

In its urgent application,which was mentioned onDecember 23, just five days afterthe NCLAT's December 18,judgement, RoC Mumbai hadasked the appellate tribunal "tocarry out requisite amend-ments" in Para 186 and 187 (iv)of its judgement "to correctlyreflect the conduct of the RoC,Mumbai as not being illegal andbeing as per the provisions ofthe Companies Act". PTI

Mumbai: Lubricants makerGulf Oil has extended its pactwith auto major Bajaj Auto forsupply of its engine oil byanother three years, the com-pany said on Monday.

At present, Gulf Oil sup-plies engine oil to Bajaj Auto inmarkets across 20 countries,including India, it said in arelease.

The company has beenable to use its channel to sub-stantially increase the pres-ence of its product offerings,designed for Bajaj Auto'srequirement, in more than15,000 outlets and grow thebusiness consistently, therelease stated.

"I am glad to renew theagreement with Bajaj Auto.Our association with the brandstarted in 2016. This was ourfirst OEM association in thetwo-wheeler category thathelped us grow further inmotorcycle oils where wealready had a strong presencein the 'Bazaar' segment," GulfOil Lubricants ManagingDirector Ravi Chawla said.

PTI

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The US-Iran standoff canpull down Indian equities

and small caps are expected tobe dominant investmentthemes in the markets, ICICIPrudential Mutual Fund saidon Monday.

The extent to which geo-political tension in the MiddleEast can hurt the domesticmarkets, however, cannot bepredicted, the second largestasset manager's chief invest-ment officer S Naren toldreporters here.

The small cap segment isset to dominante the land-scape for the next three to fiveyears, after under-performingfor two years, he added.

The large caps are extreme-ly over-valued at present mak-ing them a no-go area, despitethe vital roles that the compa-nies are playing, he said.

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Brain tumours are cate-gorised as primary and sec-

ondary. A primary braintumour is the one which orig-inates in the brain. Many ofthem are benign. A secondarybrain tumour is known asmetastatic brain tumour. Itoccurs when the cancer cellsspread to brain from the anoth-er organs such as lungs andbreast.

Primary brain tumours:These tumours can originate inyour brain and can developfrom:

� Brain cells� Nerve cells� The membranes that sur-rounds the brain� Glands

Primary brain tumours canbe benign or cancerous. Inadults, the most common typesof brain tumours are gilomas(which develops from glialcells) and meningiomas (thatdevelops on the membranes ofbrain and spinal cord).

Secondary brain tumours:These consists majority of thebrain cancers. They start fromthe one part of the body andthen spreads of metastasize tothe brain.

The following can metas-tasize to the brain.� Lung cancer� Breast cancer� Kidney cancer� Skin cancer

These tumours are alwaysmalignant as benign tumoursdo not spread from one toanother part of the body.

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Acongenital disorder (CD), also known as a birth defect, con-genital defect, is a health issue that occurs with the health

of the baby while it is still in the womb. In India, congenital mal-formations and genetic disorders are the third most commoncause of mortality in newborns in urban areas. As medical sci-ence is developing at a fast pace, treatments and follow-up carefor defects have improved drastically over the past few decades.

The severity of the disorders varies depending on its nature.For example, in some cases, the condition may not manifest untilmuch later in life, if ever, and at other times, the disorder is incom-patible with life.

Many congenital conditions are genetic in nature. The riskof genetic problems gets higher in families with a history of thedisorder, and it is also elevated in older parents, as they are morelikely to pass down imperfectly duplicated chromosomes.

Types of congenital disorders:Birth defects can be broken down into three different cate-

gories:�Chromosomal Birth Defects (CBD): Babies who have a

problem with one or more of their chromosomes. Chromosomescontain genes, and genes help tell your body how to grow andwork. When there is something wrong with your genes it canresult in Down’s syndrome.

�Biochemical Birth Defects (BBD): A form of defect thatoccurs when there is a problem with the baby’s body chemistry.BBDs prevent the body from properly breaking down food tocreate energy.

�Anatomical Birth Defects(ABD): When a baby is bornwith a body part missing or mal-formed, it’s called AnatomicalBirth Defect. The common typesof ABDs are heart defects, cleftpalate, clubfoot and congenitaldislocated hip.

Causes:Congenital disorders are

caused by genetic factors:�Chromosomal defects:

Caused by too few or too manychromosomes, or problems inthe structure of the chromo-somes single gene defects — amutation in one gene causes thedefect.

�Dominant inheritance:When one parent (who may or

may not have the disease) passes along a single faulty gene.�Recessive inheritance: When both parents, who do not have

the disease, pass along the gene for the disease to the child.Treatment:�Gene therapy: In this therapy, the defective or missing gene

is replaced. Gene therapy is generally used to help treat a raregroup of diseases known as severe combined immunodeficien-cy disease.

�Surgery: Is used to help repair anatomical congenital dis-orders such as severe heart defects.

� Enzyme replacement therapy: When a gene is mutated andis unable to produce the gene product, an enzyme is missing ordefective. One of the ways to treat this is to replace the enzymethat the gene is incapable of producing.

Prevention:A woman can make many alterations in her lifestyle for low-

ering down the chances of having a child with a birth defect. Someof them include:

�Quit smoking.�Eat a healthy diet.�Maintain a healthy weight.�Keep folic acid in check.�Avoid exposure to alcohol and drugs during pregnancy.�Stay away from foods having chemicals and pesiticides. �Take daily vitamins.

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���/���: A pigweed alsoknown as bathua is a leafy veg-etable widely eaten during win-ters because of its varioushealth benefits.

Pigweed is rich in nutri-ents, Vitamin A, C, andVitamin B complex.

It also act as a lax-ative and and elimi-nates constipationand other digestiveproblems. Being richin Vitamins, it alsohelps in preventinglung and mouth cancer.

It also act as anantiseptic agent andcures fire burns and sca-bies.

It purifies the blood andhelp the body to recover fromchronic illness. It also keepsyour cholesterol levels in

check.The leafy vegetable is also

said to help improve immuni-ty because of its nutritious

nature.

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The average intakeof added sugar ismore among

women than in men saida survey report undertakenby Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR)-National Institute of Nutrition(NIN), Hyderabad and sponsored by theInternational Life Sciences Institute -India(ILSI-India).

According to the survey, women takearound 20.2 grams of added sugar in a daywhile men's intake of added sugar is 18.7grams per day.

The other significant finding of thestudy was that the mean intake of addedsugar among metro cities of India, mea-sured in grams per day, was highest inMumbai and least in Hyderabad.

Prof P K Seth, Chairman, ILSA-India said: “The survey shows populationof Mumbai and Ahmedabad with theiraverage intake level of added sugar at 26.3grams and 25.9 grams per day has a muchhigher intake than their counterparts inDelhi (23.2 grams/ day), Bengaluru (19.3grams day), Kolkata (17.1 grams per day)and Chennai (16.1 grams per day).”

The survey measured the intake ofadded sugar by age groups as well. In gen-eral, adults and elderly people were con-suming slightly higher sugar than theyounger ones. The highest intake ofsugar was observed among older adults,36-59 years age group was 20.5 grams perday, followed by elderly ( greater than 60years) 20.3 grams per day.

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There are some peoplewho are allergic to fooditems like nuts, mush-

rooms and are lactose intoler-ant. However, many peoplewho have never had anyallergy in their lifeend up with rash-es all over theirbodies. Mostdoctors willtell you thatallergies can

be triggereddue to any-thing; it can bea fruit you have

consumed or could bea sandwich which one ate. Formost of these allergies, one hasto pop pills for a few days orin extreme cases, take anti-allergy injections. But there area few home remedies that onecan follow.

Baking soda is an excellenthome medicine for skin aller-

gy. It helps the skin rash to dry.It also relieves itchiness. Makea paste by mixing half a tea-spoon of baking soda in somewater. Apply on the affected

area and leave it on for afew minutes and

then rinse it off.There are

many plantsknown for theirantibacterial,anti-fungal anda nt i - i r r i t a nt

p r o p e r t i e s .Hence making

them an excellentagent when it comes to

treating some of the skin aller-gies. Aloe vera leaf is a goodoption.

Then there is tulsi. Boilhalf a cup of these leaves tillthe water is reduced to half.Allow it to cool and then dipa clean cloth and apply it onthe itchy skin.

Winters not only bring coughand cold, but also cause

allergies. If you are tired ofpopping pills, try some home

remedies, says ROSHANI DEVI

A12-year-old boy from Uzbekistan,Khusanbek Ozotilla, met with an acci-

dent in his home country at the age of three,wherein he fell from his terrace and sufferedcritical head injuries for which, he wasadmitted at a city hospital inUzbekistan and underwent alifesaving procedure calledtracheostomy (surgicalProcedure that involves cre-ating an opening in the neckin order to place a tube intoa person’s windpipe).Thereafter, the child had a per-manent hole in his neck due towhich he lost his ability to speak and wasnot able to communicate normally.

Childhood is all about talking, learn-ing and exploring the world. However,Khusanbek was deprived of the pleasuresof life as he was unable to speak. Post 10years of not being able to communicate,

Khusanbek’s mother decided to get himtreated at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.The team of Dr Suresh Singh Naruka,Consultant, Department of ENT,Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, along with

Dr(Prof) Ameet Kishore, SeniorConsultant Surgeon, ENT,

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitalsand Dr Nishant RanaRegistrar, Indraprastha ApolloHospitals recently carried outthe surgery wherein the tra-

chea of the child was recon-structed.

The child was then kept inpediatric intensive care unit for one dayunder the supervision of Dr NameetJerath, Senior Pediatrician, IndraprasthaApollo Hospitals. Next morning the childwas removed off the ventilator and wasfound that the tube which he carried for10 long years was removed.

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Skin changes with every season and weather.There are different care and precautions that

are required to maintain a healthy skin. Winterseason bring party fouls along the way. Cold tem-peratures and low humidity levels can lead tomany skin problems. Cold waves make it dry,itchy and irritated. Cold, blustery conditions canleave skin feeling raw, while indoor heat zapsmoisture from the air and from the skin.

The freezing weather and pollution can takea toll on the skin, and make it dull. Dry skin andrashes is a common problem during these days.So, it is extremely important to take precautionsto avoid rashes and blisters. Even in winters skinget exposed to sunlight. Ultraviolet rays makethe skin dehydrated. These rays can penetratedeeply into the skin from the epidermis right tothe dermis, cause hazardous side effects and leavered patches on the skin.

Apart from dryness of the skin, winter skinproblems can become severe which can lead toskin cracks and flakes. These skinflare-ups canhappen due to use of new and different skincareproducts in certain areas of the body. There aremany severe skin conditions that grow duringwinters such as eczema and psoriasis that aretriggered when skin moisture is compromised.

Due to cold weather many Itchy patches, alsoknown as winter itch, grow in the hidden areasof the body. It isthe result of the cold winter daysthat strips away the natural barrier of your skin,

which leads to dry, itchy and irritated skin.Asthe temperature drops, the air holds less mois-ture which draws that moisture out of our skinand makes it dry.

Acne is one of common skin problems dur-ing winters. The main reason for acne in win-ters is sebum, which is a kind of oil which issecreted by the skin. Sebum is secreted as a resultof dry skin during winters. Excess sebum pro-duction can make the cells in skin to stick togeth-er. Which can lead to clogged pores and acnebreakouts on the skin. Dehydration, sun expo-sure and windburn is very common which causechapped skin, which has a severe impact on thehealthy skin. In this season, skin around the nailoften bear the brunt of cold weather and can bepainful cuticles.

Here are few tips for healthy skin during win-ters:

�Avoid dry skin in winter by applying reg-ular massage of oil. It can protect the skin fromfree radicals caused due to exposure to sunlightand locks in the moisture.

�Dry skin and rashes are very common dur-ing winters. So modify your facial skin-care reg-imen cream-based cleansers, and apply toners.

�Moisturise your skin frequently, especial-ly your hands after washing up. Use any creamor ointment in the winter for your healthy skin.

�During winters eat healthy diet and stayhydrated. Eat foods or supplements that containomega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids, such as fish oiland flaxseed oil.

�During this season wearing wet clothes andshoes can further irritate your skin and causeitchiness and rashes. Change out of wet clothesquickly to avoid itchy skin and patches.

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Brain tumour is the 10th leading cause ofmorbidity in India. The incidence of thisdeadly disease is rising and different

kinds of tumours manifest at different agegroups. As per the Globocan 2018 report,issued by the International Association ofCancer Registries (IARC) associated with theWorld Health Organisation (WHO), in Indiaover 28,000 cases new brain tumour caseswere reported annually. Around 24,000patients lost their lives battling this neurolog-ical ailment.

A brain tumour is a collection, or massof abnormal cells in the brain. These tumourscan be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancer-ous.

When a benign or malignant tumourgrows, they cause immense pressure in theskull. This can lead to brain damage and it canbe life-threatening.

What are signs and symptoms of it?Symptoms and signs of brain tumour

depend on the size and location of the tumour.Some tumours can directly affect by invad-ing the brain tissue while some cause pres-sure on the surrounding brain. Major symp-toms of brain tumour include:� Headaches (worsens in the morning).� Vomiting� Blurred vision or double vision� A change in the mental functioning� Seizures� Weakness of a limb or part of the face� Difficulty in physical movements

���!#������Family history: As per the recent study,

only five to 10 percent of cancers are geneti-cally inherited, or hereditary. It’s a rare thatbrain tumour can be inherited but if you havefamily history of the disease then you shouldget health screenings and consult the doctorat regular intervals of time.

Age: Though the frequency of this diseaseis likely to affect people above the age of 55years, but many such cases have also been seenin children in the age bracket of three yearsto 15 years of age, irrespective of the gender.

Exposure to radiations and chemicals:People who have been exposed to ionisingradiations and chemicals have an elevated riskof developing brain tumour.

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Endoscopic brain surgery is minimal-ly invasive treatment procedure that

allows neurosurgeons to find and treatthe conditions that are deep within thebrain.

During this surgical method, thintubing that transmits the video images ofthe brain is inserted through one or twosmall incisions in the skull or through anopening in the body. This tube likeinstrument is called an endoscope whichcontains a small camera that allows theneurosurgeon to see the problem area ofthe brain.

The ultimate goal is to removetumour without causing damage tohealthy parts of the brain. It has revolu-tionised the treatment method as it pro-vides crystal clear visualisation of tumour.

Early treatment can prevent compli-cations that can occur as a tumourgrows and puts pressure on the skull andbrain tissue. If experiencing any symp-toms then one should consult the doc-tor immediately.

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Diagnosis of brain tumour begins with a physicalexam and a look at the patient’s medical history.

After the physical tests, the doctor will recommendfor the further tests which include:� CT scan of the head: These scans helps the doc-tors get a more detailed scan of the body than X-rays.Using a special dye it helps them to view some struc-tures like blood vessels more clearly.� Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): An MRI isdifferent than CT Scan as it does involve any radia-tions and provides much more detailed pictures of thebrain.� Angiography: This study involves a special dyewhich is injected in the artery. The dye travels to thearteries in the brain. It helps the doctors to see whatthe blood supply of tumour looks like.

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The main accused in therecent vandalism at the

Gurdwara Nankana Sahib inPakistan’s Punjab province wasarrested and charged with anon-bailable section of thestringent anti-terrorism actand blasphemy, a senior policeofficer said on Monday.

Gurdwara Nankana Sahib,also known as Gurdwara JanamAsthan, is a site near Lahorewhere the first Guru of Sikhs,Guru Nanak, was born.

The suspect, identified asImran Chisti, is the elder broth-er of Mohammad Hassan whomarried a teenage Sikh girl inSeptember last after allegedlyabducting and converting herto Islam, triggering a contro-versy.

Chisti, a Governmentemployee working in theFisheries Department, wasarrested on Sunday for his rolein the violent incident at the Gurudwara, Nankanapolice station InspectorMuhammad Jamil told PTI onMonday.

“We have arrested ImranChishti, a Governmentemployee, under terrorism andblasphemy charges. He hasbeen booked under sections295A, 290, 291, 341,506, 148and 149 of Pakistan PenalCode and 7-ATA (anti-terror-ism act),” the officer said.

According to the FIR,Chishti incited a mob on Fridayin the name of religion andthreatened to destroy a worshipplace of a minority communi-ty (Gurdwara Janam Asthan) tobuild a shrine there.

“The suspect incited thesentiments of Muslims in orderto have settled his family issueand created a law and order sit-

uation in the Nankana city,” itsaid.

A large number of people,led by Chishti on Friday, helda day-long sit-in outsideGurdwara Janam Asthanagainst the alleged policeharassment and arrest of theirfamily members over theabduction and conversionissue. He also vowed to build aMuslim shrine in the place ofthe Gurdwara.

Chishti claimed that hisbrother Hassan was beaten upby police for “lawfully andconsensually” marrying thedaughter of the Gurdwara’sgranthi.

Police officer Jamil saidthat Chishti had deliberatelymisled Muslims in the areaagainst the Sikhs. He also saidpolice patrolling has beenincreased around all the holyplaces of the Sikhs in NankanaSahib.

When asked Hassan andany other member of his fam-ily are detained too, Jamil said:“We have only arrested Chishtias he is the main suspect mis-leading the people in the nameof religion.”

Interestingly, earlier neitherpolice nor Evacuee TrustProperty Board which looksafter the minority places inPakistan admitted thatGurwara Janam Asthan cameunder attack/threat by the localMuslims.

The arrest of Chishti cameafter Prime Minister ImranKhan Sunday broke his silenceon the incident and said it goesagainst his “vision” and theGovernment will show “zerotolerance” against thoseinvolved in it.

India has strongly con-demned the incident of van-dalism at the revered.

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President Donald Trump onMonday threatened to

impose “very big” sanctions onIraq after its Parliament calledon the US military to leave thecountry for assassinating topIranian General QasemSoleimani in a drone attack inBaghdad.

The Iraqi Parliament onSunday voted to expel the UStroops from its territory whichhave been there to help the Iraqdispensation fight the IslamicState terror group.

Some 5,000 US soldiersare in Iraq as part of the inter-national coalition against the ISterror group.

Iraq’s move comes inresponse to the killing of MajGen Soleimani, 62, the head ofIran’s elite al-Quds force andarchitect of its regional securi-ty apparatus, in a US droneattack on a convoy that wasleaving the BaghdadInternational Airport early onFriday. The strike also killed thedeputy chief of Iraq’s powerfulHashed al-Shaabi paramilitaryforce Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Soleimani’s killing was themost dramatic escalation yet inspiralling tensions betweenIran and the US, already hit byserious differences overTehran’s ambitious nuclear pro-gramme.

“We’re not leaving (Iraq)unless they pay us back for it,”Trump said while respondingto a question on the resolutionpassed by the Iraqi Parliament.

He was speaking toreporters aboard Air ForceOne while travelling from Mar-a-Lago in Florida to AndrewsJoint Base in Maryland as hereturned to the White Housefrom his Christmas and NewYear vacation.

“We have a very extraordi-narily expensive air base that’sthere. It cost billions of dollarsto build. Long before my timeWe’re not leaving unless theypay us back for it,” he said.

However, Trump did notname the airbase.

“If they do ask us to leave,if we don’t do it in a very friend-ly basis. We will charge themsanctions like they’ve neverseen before ever. It’ll makeIranian sanctions look some-what tame,” Trump said issuing

a strong warning to Iraq.Trump also threatened to

put “very big” sanctions on Iraqif there is any opposition fromthe Gulf country.

“If there’s any hostility, thatthey do anything we think is

inappropriate, we are going toput sanctions on Iraq, very bigsanctions on Iraq,” he said.

Trump said that the US hasspent a lot of money in Iraq.

“I told you, Iraq, was theworst decision, going into the

Middle East was the worstdecision ever made in the his-tory of our country, and I’vesaid that publicly so I guess Ican say that right now goinginto the Middle East was theworst decision ever made in the

history of our country, but weare there and they went intoIraq,” he said.

“Iraq, by the way, they did-n’t knock down the WorldTrade Center. That’s been verynicely proven. But we went in

and we’re there and we’repulling out, pulling out of a lotof different areas. With Syria,I pulled out because I’m notgoing to guard his border. Whyshould I be guarding the bor-der?” he asked.

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The Iran nuclear deal wasalready in tatters before

the country announced thelatest rollback of its commit-ments under the 2015 accordfollowing the US assassinationof a top general.

But Iran has not said itwants to quit the agreement,leaving some room for thedeal’s remaining parties -Britain, China, France,Germany and Russia - to tryto save it, according to ana-lysts.

Iran had been expected toannounce a new step backfrom its commitments underthe deal following a series ofmeasures since May last yearin response to the US pullingout of the accord in 2018 andreinstating sanctions.

The latest decision -- toforego the limit on the num-ber of centrifuges used inuranium enrichment -- was inline with Iran’s previousannouncements, according to

a diplomat.“There is nothing enor-

mously new,” the diplomatwho is familiar with the mat-ter told AFP, adding it was a“relief ” the Islamic republicdid not go even further.

Iran is “politically verycareful. They are not saying weare leaving the deal,” saidRobert Kelley, a former inspec-tions chief at the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency(IAEA), which monitors thedeal’s implementation.

Friday’s US killing of a topIranian commander, QasemSoleimani, in Baghdad in adrone strike has added togeopolitical tensions, whilethe 2015 accord -- known for-mally as the JointComprehensive Plan ofAction -- had already beenshaky.

The JCPOA offered Iransanctions relief in exchangefor scaling back its nuclearprogramme, but remainingparties to the deal have so farbeen unable to find an effi-

cient way to skirt reimposedUS sanctions.

“Iran’s decision to putaside the cap on the numberof centrifuges as its fifth stepaway from its JCPOA com-mitments is less harsh thanthe initially feared resumptionof 20 per cent enrichment,” AliVaez of International CrisisGroup tweeted.

The accord capped Iran’suranium enrichment at 3.67per cent, sufficient for powergeneration but far below themore than 90 per cent levelrequired for a nuclear weapon.

Iran has already brokenthat limit with enrichmentreaching 4.5 per cent byNovember - still below the 20per cent level it had previouslyoperated. It has always deniedany military dimension to itsnuclear programme.OnSunday, Tehran also stressedit would continue to workwith the UN’s nuclear watch-dog, the IAEA, which sendsinspectors to Iran to monitorits activities.

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NATO’s ruling committeewill meet Monday to dis-

cuss the future of the alliance’straining mission in Iraq asMiddle East tensions mountafter US forces killed a topIranian general.

Ambassadors from the 29allies will gather at theirBrussels headquarters at 3.00pm (local time) with SecretaryGeneral Jens Stoltenbergexpected to brief journalistsafterwards.

US officials are due to givean update on the situationafter Washington killedQasem Soleimani, head ofIran’s Middle East operationsas commander of theRevolutionary Guards’ QudsForce, in a US drone strike atBaghdad airport.

“The North AtlanticCouncil will address the situ-ation in the region,” a NATOofficial said.

“The secretary generaldecided to convene the meet-ing of NATO ambassadors fol-lowing consultations with

allies.” Stoltenberg had spokenby telephone with USSecretary of Defence MarkEsper since Friday’s strike,but the killing of Soleimanisurprised many ofWashington’s allies and trig-gered calls for de-escalation.

The situation has alsodeteriorated in Iraq, wherelawmakers have called for the5,200 US soldiers deployedthere to leave.

NATO maintains a 500-strong training mission in Iraq,preparing local forces to takeon Islamic State group extrem-ists, but this would be in doubtif coalition forces pull out.

“The big issue is the futureof the NATO mission in Iraqafter the demand of the Iraqiparliament yesterday toremove US-led coalition andforeign forces. We have to seewhat we will do now,” a NATOdiplomat told AFP.

On Saturday, a NATOspokesman said the mission,which involves several hun-dred allied personnel, wascontinuing “but training activ-ities are currently suspended”.

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The EU’s diplomatic chiefon Monday voiced regret

at Tehran’s latest step awayfrom the beleaguered 2015Iran nuclear deal as the Islamic republic seethes overUS killing of a top comman-der.

Josep Borrell, the EU’shigh representative for foreignaffairs, tweeted that the accord,which has been teetering onthe brink of collapse since USPresident Donald Trumppulled out, was “now moreimportant than ever”.

European-led efforts tokeep Iran in the deal - whichcurbed its nuclear programmein return for sanctions relief -- have borne little fruit sincethe US withdrew in May 2018and reimposed punishingsanctions.

In line with the usual EUpolicy, Borrell said the blocwould wait for further detailsof Iranian breaches from theInternational Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA) before decid-ing how to respond.

“Deeply regret Iran’s latestannouncement on #JCPOA.As ever we will rely on

@iaeaorg verification,” Borrelltweeted, using an abbreviationfor the deal’s formal name.

“Full implementation of#NuclearDeal by all is nowmore important than ever, forregional stability & globalsecurity.

I will continue workingwith all participants on wayforward.”

On Sunday Iran said itwould forego the “limit on thenumber of centrifuges” it hadpledged to honour in the 2015agreement, casting doubt onan EU push for talks to salvagethe deal.

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The Nepal Govt has initiat-ed the process to deport

122 Chinese nationals detainedfor alleged cross border cybercrimes and criminal activitieslast month from different partsof Kathmandu, authorities said.

On Sunday, KathmanduDistrict Court imposed a fine of�1,000 each on Chinese nation-als for their ‘indecent behaviour’and ordered their release.

The Department ofImmigration has started

process of screening docu-ments in an attempt to deport122, who were arrested oncharges of attempting to com-mit cyber crime and cross bor-der criminal activities.

Of those arrested, 92Chinese do not have any validtravel documents and author-ities here have asked theChinese Embassy to providethe necessary travel document,according to official sources.

They will be deported afterthe immigration departmentcompletes all the legal proce-

dures, Senior Superintendent ofPolice Teku was quoted as say-ing by the Himalayan Times onSunday.

Director General ofDepartment of ImmigrationEshwor Raj Poudel said theChinese would be deported toChina within two days.

“Since police investigationhas shown that the arrestedChinese were not involved incrime related to Nepal, we willhave to deport them from thecountry after recording theirstatement,” added Poudel.

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US President DonaldTrump’s threat to slap

sanctions on Iraq shouldBaghdad expel US troopsbased there “is not very help-ful”, German Foreign MinisterHeiko Maas said Monday.

“I don’t think you canconvince Iraq with threats, butwith arguments,” Maas toldDeutschlandfunk radio,warning that years-longefforts to rebuild Iraq “couldall be lost” if the situationescalates.

Trump earlier vowed tohit Iraq with sanctions “likethey’ve never seen before” ifUS troops are forced to leavethe country.

The threat came afterIraqi lawmakers voted onSunday to request Govt end anagreement with a US-ledinternational coalition to fightthe hardline Islamist group ISin the region.

Tensions have soared fol-lowing the killing of topIranian general QasemSoleimani by a US dronestrike in Baghdad on Friday.

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Asea of black-clad Iranianson Monday mourned the

top commander killed in lastweek’s US drone strike thatinflamed tensions across theMiddle East as NATO ambas-sadors met to discuss the spi-ralling crisis.

Iranians clutching anti-American signs and portraits oftheir hero Qasem Soleimanimassed as supreme leaderAyatollah Ali Khameneipresided over the emotionalservice for the slain head of the

Revolutionary Guards’ QudsForce.

The targeted killing of 62-year-old Soleimani ordered byUS President Trump saw theIslamic republic vow “severerevenge” before Tehran also tooka further step back from thealready tattered 2015 nuclearaccord with world powers.

In an escalating war ofwords that has heightenedinternational concern andrattled financial markets,Trump threatened yet more“major retaliation” if Tehranhits back, including strikes on

Iranian cultural sites.Iraq’s parliament has

meanwhile demanded theGovernment expel the 5,200American troops stationed inthe country in response to thedrone attack.

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The 77th Golden Globeswere meant to be a corona-tion for Netflix. Instead, a

pair of big-screen epics took tophonours, as Sam Mendes’ tech-nically dazzling World War I tale1917 won best picture, drama,and Quentin Tarantino’s radiantLos Angeles fable Once Upon aTime in Hollywood won bestfilm, comedy or musical. Thewins for 1917 were a surprise,besting such favorites as NoahBaumbach’s Marriage Story, theleading nominee with six nods,and Martin Scorsese’s TheIrishman. Both are acclaimedNetflix releases but collectivelytook home just one award, forLaura Dern’s supporting perfor-mance as a divorce attorney inMarriage Story. The Irishmanwas shut out. 1917 also won bestdirector for Mendes. The filmwas made in sinuous long takes,giving the impression that thefilm unfolds in one lengthy shot.“I hope this means that peoplewill turn up and see this on thebig screen, the way it was intend-ed,” said Mendes, whose filmexpands nationwide on Friday.

Though set around the 1969Manson murders Once Upon aTime in Hollywood was classifieda comedy and had an easier pathto victory than the more compet-itive drama category. Brad Pittwon for best supporting actor, hisfirst acting Globe since winningin 1996 for 12 Monkeys, paddinghis front-runner status for theOscars. Tarantino also won bestscreenplay. “I wanted to bring mymom but I couldn’t because anywoman I stand next to they sayI am dating so it’d just be awk-ward,” Pitt said.

Ricky Gervais, hosting theNBC-telecast ceremony for thefifth time, began the evening withan expletive-laden plea againsthypocrisy, telling winners tostick to thanking their agentand their god. Gervais openedthe show by stating that Netflixhad taken over Hollywood, givenits commanding 34 nominationscoming into the Globes. As itturned out, he was wrong. Netflixwon only two awards: Dern’s winplus one for Olivia Colman’sperformance in The Crown.

Michelle Williams was anexception, where the talk most-ly avoided politics despite fears ofwar amid increasing tensionswith Iran. The actress used heracceptance speech to speak outabout the coming US election,the status of women and abortionrights. “I’m grateful for theacknowledgement of the choic-es I’ve made and also grateful to

have lived at a moment in oursociety where choice exists,because as women and as girlsthings can happen to our bodiesthat are not our choice,” Williamssaid as she accepted the GoldenGlobe for best actress in a limit-ed television series for her role onFX’s Fosse/Verdon. “I wouldn’thave been able to do this with-out employing a woman’s right tochoose. To choose when to havemy children and with whom,”Williams said. “When I felt sup-ported and able to balance ourlives, knowing as all mothersknow that the scales must andwill tilt towards our children.”

Best actor has been thisyear’s most competitive catego-ry, with nominees includingAdam Driver (Marriage Story)and Antonio Banderas (Pain andGlory). But Joaquin Phoenixwon for his loose-limbed perfor-mance in the divisive but huge-ly popular Joker. Phoenix gave arambling speech that began withcrediting the HFPA with thevegan meal served at the ceremo-ny.

Tom Hanks, also a nomineefor his supporting turn as FredRogers in A Beautiful Day in theNeighborhood, received the CecilB DeMille lifetime achievementaward. The Carol Burnett Award,a similar honourary award givenfor television accomplishment,went to Ellen DeGeneres. Shewas movingly introduced byKate McKinnon who saidDeGeneres’ example guided herin her own coming out. “Theonly thing that made it less scarywas seeing Ellen on TV,” saidMcKinnon. Hanks’ speech had itsown emotional moment when hecaught sight of his wife and fourchildren at a table near the stageand choked up. “A man is blessedwith the family’s sitting downfront like that,” Hanks said.

Fleabag, Succession, Chernobylwin top Globes

Real-life stories ruled theGolden Globe TV honours, asOlivia Colman’s portrayal ofQueen Elizabeth II, MichelleWilliams’ turn as Broadway starGwen Verdon and the nucleardisaster drama Chernobyl wontop honours.

Fleabag, which dominatedlast fall’s Emmy Awards, washonoured as best comedy seriesand its star-creator PhoebeWaller-Bridge claimed the bestactress award. She credited herco-star, Andrew Scott aka theshow’s “Hot Priest,” for theirmuch-lauded chemistry. FormerPresident Barack Obama also got

a shout out from Waller-Bridgefor putting Fleabag on his 2019best-of list. “As some of you mayknow, he’s always been on mine,”she said, playfully, referring curi-ous viewers to season one of herseries.

The broadcast networks,including Globes host NBC, did-n’t have a chance: All of themwere shut out of the nominationsin an unprecedented sign of thesmall-screen’s shift to cable andstreaming in attention and pres-tige. The growth in streamingplatforms, including Apple andDisney Plus, is a dominant mediastory. But while streamers per-formed well at the Globes withNetflix’s The Crown andAmazon’s Fleabag they didn’tshut out cable contenders includ-ing FX’s Fosse/Verdon and HBO’sSuccession.

Succession, about a mediaempire beset by family infighting,won the best drama series award.Brian Cox, who stars as thepatriarch, was honoured as bestactor. “I want to apologise to myfellow nominees for winningthis. I’m sorry. I never thoughtthis would ever happen to me,”the veteran actor said.

Well-wishes send to Australiafrom the stage

Australian communities bat-tling wildfires were given sever-al messages of support at theGolden Globes, with EllenDeGeneres, Patricia Arquetteand Australian-born CateBlanchett among those sendingbest wishes. Russell Crowe could-n’t be there because he was help-ing fight the flames. The wildfireshave so far scorched an area twicethe size of the US state ofMaryland. They have killed atleast two dozen people anddestroyed about 2,000 homes.Crowe’s statement read, “Makeno mistake, the tragedy unfold-ing in Australia is climatechange-based. We need to actbased on science, move our glob-al workforce to renewable ener-gy and respect our planet for theunique and amazing place it is.That way, we all have a future.”

DeGeneres took time at thetop of her speech accepting theCarol Burnett Award to honourthose fighting the fires. PatriciaArquette mourned “the continentof Australia on fire.” PhoebeWaller-Bridge said she wouldauction off her Globe outfit andhave the proceeds go to firefight-er relief.

Blanchett said she wanted togive a special call-out to the vol-unteer firefighters fighting the

blazes. “When one country facesa climate disaster, we all face a cli-mate disaster,” she said. PierceBrosnan said everyone wasbehind Australia: “Stay strong.We’re with you. God bless.”

Joaquin Phoenix said heappreciated the well-wishes butsaid, “We have to do more thanthat.” He said voting for changeis fine, but sometimes peoplehave to take matters into theirown hands. He criticised those inthe room for flying private planesto Palm Springs for the awards.“I’ll try to better and I hope youwill, too.” he said.

The starry comments camedespite an admonishment byhost Ricky Gervais to the crowdto not talk about politics. “You’rein no position to lecture the pub-lic about anything,” Gervaisdeclared at the top of the show.“You know nothing about thereal world.”

Plenty of pink, puffy sleeves andshimmer

There were plenty of pink,puffy sleeves and a touch of neonon the Golden Globes red carpetas the stars shimmered andshined on one of the award sea-son’s biggest nights for fashion.

Pink had a moment in soft

hues for Kirsten Dunst (Rodarte)and Dakota Fanning. Isla Fisherand Tiffany Haddish went forbold hot pink, while MargotRobbie showed off a burst ofencrusted colour in a straplesstop with a white column skirtbelow by Chanel, her hair looseand beach wavy. PriyankaChopra Jonas and her husbandNick Jonas made a stylish appear-ance at the red carpet. Dressed ina pink off-shoulder ensemble,Priyanka looked no less than anydiva and it was her diamondneckpiece which grabbed themaximum attention. On theother hand, Nick look dapper ina black suit.

And then there was JenniferLopez, in Valentino Couturewith a huge gold and emeraldgreen bow at the bodice, her hairpiled high in high braided bunand her jewels — all 145 caratsof Colombian emeralds and 58diamonds — courtesy of HarryWinston. The Lopez look includ-ed a voluminous white gownunder that statement bow. Whileshe toted plenty of fabric,Gwyneth Paltrow was travellinglight in a bronze, two-piece Fendilook of sheers over sheers. Skinwas exposed with a statementnecklace thrown into the mix.

Reese Witherspoon (whiteRoland Mouret), JenniferAnniston (black Dior) and NicoleKidman were among the starswho went classic Hollywood.Charlize Theron took a risk thatpaid off with a draped sash onone shoulder in neon green anda black bustier underneath.

Chokers were abundant,from Theron to Cynthia Erivo,the latter wearing a huge bluestone at the center of hershort necklace.

Jodie Comer, fromKilling Eve, sportedanother fashion trendof the evening —puffy sleeves — inemerald green.Kidman represent-ed for the reds in astrapless look withsubtle draping and ashort train. So didScarlett Johansson ina longer train andbustle bow customlook in crimson fromVera Wang and OliviaColman in custom rasp-berry from the EmiliaWickstead Collection(big sleeves, check).

Gugu Mbatha-Raw stunned in

metallic golden yellow sequindress from Gucci, her haircropped, while Zoe Kravitz wentfor dots — smaller ones on topand large ones on the bottom ofher dress, courtesy of SaintLaurent by Anthony Vaccarello.Kravitz wasn’t the only star toreach for a pattern. Taylor Swiftshowed up in a power printfrom Etro. It was a custom lookin navy silk jacquard with a flo-ral design of huge blooms. CateBlanchett went architectural in aMary Katrantzou gown. MichelleWilliams was dressed in LouisVuitton, a custom look in softorange with one dropped shoul-der.

And the men? Andrew Scott,the “hot priest” from Fleabag, lefthis cream tuxedo jacket unbut-toned for interviews and wore ahuge smile on his face during hisfirst trip to the Globes, a dark curlfalling over his forehead.

Billy Porter, the Pose nomi-nee and fashion trailblazer, failedto disappoint in an epic long trainin cream. It was adorned withwhite feathers and attached to atuxedo jacket in the same hue. It’sa custom look by Alex Vinashand — bonus — the train zips off.“It is a dinner and I do have tosit down,” he smiled. Porter’s geartook three months to create,well before nominations wereannounced. “It’s really odd tohave to work on clothes beforeyou’re even nominated,” he said.

The gender-bending star andsinger carried a mirrored bag byEmm Kuo, with a diamond drag-on fly on one lapel by Tiffany &Co.

Fred Leighton had a bignight, providing jewels for MerylStreep, Aniston, Kidman, Dunst

and Rooney Mara, toname a few. So didHarry Winston, whoalso adorned Helen

Mirren ($4 mil-lion worth), andJoey King, alongwith a slew ofothers. Kingwore one ofthe evening’smost interest-ing looks: Anoptical swirl of

black and whitestripes. It was a

short dress with aruffly cape effectand a delicate highcollar that contin-ued the lines. Thedesigner was Irisvan Herpen HauteCouture.

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Did someone invite a spy into yourhome over the holidays? Maybe,

especially if a friend or family membergifted you a voice-controlled speaker orsome other smart device.

It’s easy to forget but everything frominternet-connected speakers with voiceassistants such as Amazon’s Alexa to tele-vision sets with built-in Netflix can bealways listening — and sometimes watch-ing, too. As with almost all new technol-ogy, installing such devices means balanc-ing privacy risks with the conveniencesthey offer.

A research firm estimates worldwideshipments of 815 million smart speakers,security cameras and other devices in2019, up by 23 per cent from 2018. Manyof the sales are for gifts.

You could sidestep the risks altogeth-er by returning the devices right away. Butif you decide to keep them — and the arti-ficial intelligence behind them — thereare a few things you can do to minimisetheir eavesdropping potential.

The speakers listen... and watchSmart speakers such as Amazon’s

Echo and Google Home let you checkweather and appointments with simplevoice commands. Fancier versions comewith cameras and screens.

Many of these devices listen constant-ly for commands and connect to corpo-rate servers to carry them out. Typically,they will ignore private chatter andtransmit sound recordings only when you

trigger the device such as by pressing abutton or speaking a command phraselike “OK Google.” Some gadgets alsohave a mute button to disable themicrophones completely.

But there’s no easy way for con-sumers to verify those safeguards. In one

case, the Alexa assistant in an Echodevice misheard background conversa-tion as a command to send the chatterto an acquittance — and so it did.

One more catch: Voice commandssent over the internet are typicallystored indefinitely and may include

conversations in the background. Theycan be sought in lawsuits and investiga-tions.

Reputable companies let you reviewand delete your voice history. Amazonnow lets you request automatic deletionsafter three or 18 months but you needto set that up, and there’s no option tokeep Amazon from saving your com-mand history at all.

Until recently, tech companiesallowed employees and contractors toreview the voice interactions for quali-ty control — and some of those detailsleaked. Following a backlash, manycompanies are at least making it clear-er and easier to opt out of human review.

As for those screen models, manyalso have cameras for video chats.When you’re not using the device, con-sider turning it around to face the wall,especially in the bedroom and other pri-vate settings. Or stick a bandage or sometape over the camera. It shouldn’t berecording but why tempt fate?

��������/����������� ����Online security cameras let you

check in on your pets or kids whenyou’re not home. Amazon’s Ring door-bell lets you check who’s at the doorwithout getting up. Here’s the rub: If youcan view video on an app, it’s possiblethat a skilled hacker can, too.

When you use the same password atmultiple services, a hacker stealing yourpassword from one place can try it onthe camera service, too. So never reusea password. When available, enabletwo-factor authentication, whichrequires you to enter a temporary codesent as a text to ensure it’s you.

�����������!������������DSmart locks let you unlock doors

with an app so you can let guests in evenwhen you’re not home. Burglars mighttry to hack the system, though it’s ofteneasier for them to just break a window.As a precaution, disable any capabilitiesto unlock doors through a smart speak-er voice command.

Though digital keys can be conve-nient for letting in guests and contrac-tors, they can also leave a digital trail.

����������� �Many smart TVs and TV streaming

devices come with mics for voice-activat-ed playback controls and video search.That means having audio snippets trans-mitted over the internet. There’s a sim-ple fix: Just don’t connect the TV to yourWi-Fi in the first place.

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Over a decade ago, a nation-al daily had given a headlineto an article, “India’s art

market blooming.” Cut to the begin-ning of 2020, the boom hasn’t last-ed as the market has been deflatingfollowing the economic crises in thecountry.

Saffronart, Sotheby’s andAstaguru sales whimper

The three sales organised bySotheby’s, Saffronart and AstaGuruproduced unexpectedly poor resultsin 2019 as they failed to meet tar-gets. Sotheby’s and Astaguru bothhad to deal with front cover worksthat bombed. It had nothing to dowith the quality of the worksbecause these were by India’sProgressives. While the Gaitonde atSotheby’s was not such a classyaffair, the Tyeb at Astaguru was atop of the line Rickshaw Puller thatfailed to meet the aspired price.

Bidding on the top lot, atSotheby’s was a 60”x40” in abstract

oil on canvas by VS Gaitonde,which stopped at a mere �14 crore,well below the estimate of around�21 crore. This, however, did notseem surprising because it paled incomparison to the successful �26.9crore sale, including buyer’s premi-um of a Gaitonde in the SaffronartDelhi auction in September.

Saffronart, too, the currentmarket leader in South Asian mod-ern and contemporary art, had itswoes in their auction that closed onDecember 10, last year, with four of

the top six lots failing to meet theirreserve prices.

Leading the sale were two oil oncanvas paintings by SH Raza, cre-ated a decade ago and depicting theevolution of the artist’s oeuvre.Paysage (1960) was sold for �3.23crore, exceeding its upper esti-mate. Auctioned for the very firsttime, the work is a fine example ofthe beginning of Raza’s unrestrainedstyle that recalled both his Frenchsurroundings and Indian roots.Another painting by the artist,

titled La Terre 3 (1970) sold for�2.02 crore.

Saffronart’s auction total was�12.66 crore with 72 per cent of thelot sold. In the art mart, clearly, tra-ditional ways of buying and sellinghave fragmented considerably withoptions ranging from Instagram toboutique, high-end art advisersand direct artist links. While thereare a lot of choices — art fairs,online auctions, exhibitions —buyers are getting pickier. The gapbetween good and great works

keeps growing and collectors mustask if they would get the same orhigher price for the works that theyhad bought earlier.

Christie’s: A lasting engagementJanuary 2020 opens on a

promising note as Christie’s whohave announced a single-ownerauction, A Lasting Engagement:The Jane and Kito de BoerCollection, offering more than 150works of Indian art from the pres-tigious collection of Jane and Kito

de Boer. This is the largest and mostimportant single-owner sale ofSouth Asian modern and contem-porary art that Christie’s has had inthe last few years. A live auction, tobe held on March 18, will beaccompanied by an online sale,offering additional works from thecollection between March 13-20.

A strong selection of high-lights will be on view at Christie’sIndia representative office duringMumbai Gallery Weekend fromJanuary 9 to 12, and then will beexhibited at a preview at the OberoiHotel in New Delhi on January 31and February 1, coinciding with theIndia Art Fair.

Speaking about their collection,Jane and Kito de Boer noted, “Wepurchased our first paintings onimpulse. These were an emotionalresponse, reflecting our excitementat the vibrancy and energy ofIndia’s culture. Since then, collect-ing India’s art has become an obses-sion. It has come to shape our lives.

Today our collection has over 1,000works of Indian art. Far too manyto display. The moment you run outof wall space and yet continue toacquire is the time to admit thatobsession has turned to addiction.”

The collection, which started asa way for the duo to understand andengage with India, where they werebased in the 1990s, represents oneof the largest holdings of modernIndian art today in any private col-lection, comprising paintings, workson paper, photography and sculp-ture made in the country over thepast 120 years. It has the strong rep-resentation of works from theBengal School.

The first work in this impres-sive collection, Ganesh Pyne’s paint-ing, Lady before the Pillar, wasacquired 25 years ago, in 1993,when the de Boers relocated to NewDelhi. It took the de Boers a cou-ple of days to purchase the work asthey were not familiar with Indianart or with collecting at the time.This moment — getting started —was the first of four collectingstages they identify in retrospect.The second — getting hooked —happened when they boughtRameshwar Broota’s large triptychTraces of a Man shortly after its exe-cution in 1998. Until this moment,the duo had justifications and ratio-nal arguments for each purchase butnot in this case, where they felt theyhad no choice but to buy the work.The next two stages go in tandem— getting confused and findingpeace — in the effort to stay true toa collecting method, and not toplease or to be influenced. In thesefinal stages, the only reason to buya work of art for someone is the per-sonal connection to the work itself.

Unsurprisingly, the highlightsof the auction include a suite of rareworks by Ganesh Pyne dating fromthe 1950s to the 1990s and a rangeof works by Broota including theseminal 1982 painting, The LastChapter. Additional highlightsinclude early paintings by AkbarPadamsee and Maqbool FidaHusain, alongside a strong selectionof works from the Bengal Schooland artists like Francis NewtonSouza, A Ramachandran, BikashBhattacharjee and K Laxma Goud.Contemporary works in the auctioninclude important early paintings byAnju Dodiya and Atul Dodiya aswell as works by Anish Kapoor,Chittrovanu Mazumdar and HemaUpadhyay.

The sculptures carved by sevenart trainees were lined up out-

side a makeshift workshop inBaghdad’s Tahrir Square. Withthem were posters depicting pro-testers who have been killed inanti-government demonstrationsin the past three months.

One sculpture showed a pro-tester with a tear gas canister inhis eye. Another showed a volun-teer tuk-tuk driver next to histhree-wheeled vehicle who waskilled while evacuating woundedprotesters during clashes. A thirdillustrated a protester’s handflashing the victory sign and col-ored by the Iraqi flag.

For Iraqi artist MahdiQarnous, 53, the exhibition thatwas recently inaugurated inBaghdad’s central Tahrir Square— the epicentre of Iraq’s anti-gov-ernment protest movement — is

a personal contribution to themovement. It is aimed at immor-talising fellow protesters killedand kidnapped during thedemonstrations that haveengulfed Iraq since October 1. Itis also a way, he says, to allowyoung, talented Iraqis to channeltheir talents away from violence.

Iraq has been roiled byprotests that have left at least 490people dead, the vast majority ofthem demonstrators killed bysecurity forces firing tear gasand live ammunition. The massuprisings prompted the resigna-tion of former Prime MinisterAdel Abdul-Mahdi late lastmonth.

Qarnous said he recruitedseven uneducated and unem-ployed young protesters fromTahrir Square, put them throughan intensive six-week course thathe personally funded, and afterthree weeks, they were able tostart their own art projects.

“We see this activity as part ofthe ongoing protests and a

memorial monument for ourmartyrs and our abducted fellowprotesters,” he said.

Tahrir Square has emerged asa focal point of the protests, withprotesters camped out in tents.Dozens of people took part in thesimple opening of the sculptureexhibition on a recent day. Noneof the art trainees who were pre-senting their work attended theevent, however, and their nameswere withheld due to securityconcerns.

“The current regime pro-duced a generation that is poor inproducing and cherishing arts.You see here in this exhibitionthat our people have potential butlack the path,” said Qarnous.

Murtada Muthanna, 23, anartist and activist, said the exhi-bition is a message to the world.

“It says we are a people withinspiration for life, not death. Ourrevolution is peaceful and we areseeking reform, not destruction,”he said.

F&+

Isolated and wild landscape,unique wildlife, Buddhist monas-

teries, warm people — the journeyto Spiti Valley will take you throughall of this and also, unexploredroads. Life there is quiet and per-haps that’s why every moment hasits own significance.

A visit to the valley will certain-ly leave you with a thousand pic-tures. And so was the case with fineart photographer Amit Verma. Butwhat makes his photographsunusual is his monochrome love.He has captured all the pictures inblack and white. “People ask mewhy I shoot without colour and Itell them, ‘I only see in mono-chrome.’ I don’t see in colour. I onlysee light and tones,” said he.

His solo exhibition Light andLines in the Middle Land, a collec-tion of 25 photographs was a mono-chrome journey through the valley.Shot in a single, 10-day trip, Verma’simages are a trifecta of the region’swild beauty, a photographer’s con-trol and the optics of the Leica Mcamera. Light and Lines is also a tes-tament to the professional, digitalphotographic print.

Explaining the reason to namethe exhibition such, Amit in aninterview earlier had said, “You willsee the drama of light in the land-scapes. The drama which the lightis throwing where I was, plus thelines and the contours of the land-scape because I have captured thesephotographs in such a way that ifthere was a river, it also looks likea line reflecting the light.”

Though monochrome has itsown charm and popularity butpeople usually people find beautyin colours. However contrary to thisthe photographer said,“Monochrome photography for meis the purest form of expression asit presents the soul of image.”

The photographer feels thatsuch paintings have their charmintact as they are very subtle andnuanced. He recently said in aninterview, “There is a fine nuancein black and white photography tocapture light and present it in a very

raw form. It makes the older gen-eration nostalgic as they have seenmonochrome prints throughouttheir life and also created a wonder-land for the new generation.”

When it comes to the perspec-tive of fine art, he believes thatmonochrome photography forcesthe viewer to imagine where thelandscapes are.

For him it is very important toleave his legacy in the analog form.“I started printing on my ownbecause I don’t want to leave mypaintings behind as digital dust inhard drives,” said he.

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Awashed out series-open-er means ShikharDhawan has one game

less to make a statement in hisquest to outperform an in-formK L Rahul, making the opener’sfortunes an interesting sub-plotof India’s second T20I against SriLanka at Holkar stadium today.

Dhawan, 34, is a provenperformer in limited overs crick-et but with age on Rahul’s side(27), time is running out for theeasy-going Delhi-based crick-eter to cement his place for theT20 World Cup later this year.

The left-hander’s strike ratein the shortest format has beenan issue for a while and that isone thing he must address in theremaining two matches.

The fact that Dhawan iscoming back from an injury, oneof the many he suffered in2019, makes his task all the morechallenging.

In the year that went by,Dhawan managed 272 runs in12 games at a strike rate of 110.

Rahul, on the other hand,has made the most of his oppor-tunities at the top and was inscintillating form in the previ-ous limited overs series (threeODIs and three T20s) againstthe West Indies, scoring a hun-dred and three fifties in sixinnings.

Skipper Virat Kohli has

already stated that choosingbetween Dhawan and Rahulwill be a tough call after Rohit,who is rested from the Sri Lankaseries, returns to opening theinnings.

Considering not a ball wasbowled in Guwahati, it is unlike-ly that Kohli will make changesto the playing XI, having pickedthree specialist pacers and twospinners for the series-opener.

India are being experimen-tal ahead of the World Cup inOctober-November but themanagement has so far notgiven an opportunity to Pandeyand Samson, who are likely to sitout again.

Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah’scomeback after four monthswas highly anticipated in

Guwahati but rain and subse-quent wet outfield played spoil-sport. He is certain to get gametime today with clear weatherpredicted in Indore.

All-rounder AngeloMathews, one of Sri Lanka’smost experienced players along-side skipper Lasith Malinga,did not find a place in the play-ing XI in Guwahati with the vis-itors also going for three special-ist pacers and two spinners. Itremains to be seen if Mathewsmakes the team today.

Sri Lanka, who have notwon a bilateral series againstIndia across formats for morethan 10 years now, will have toproduce a special performanceto upstage the domineeringhosts here.

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Plagued by injuries in 2019, open-er Shikhar Dhawan is aiming for

a fresh start in the new year and wantsto become a “more impactful” bats-man in his quest to help India lift theICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

“Last year I had lots of injuries butthat’s part and parcel of our work. It’sa new year and I am looking forwardfor a new start and it’s gonna go a longway,” Dhawan told bcci.Tv.

“This year looking I am forwardto score lots of runs for the team andfor myself and be a more impactfulplayer, win matches for my team andwin the World Cup,” he said, elabo-rating on his goal for 2020.

Dhawan, who is back in theIndian team for the three-match T20series against Sri Lanka, believes theongoing rubber is a great opportuni-ty for him to be back among runs.

“I am really looking forward tothis series. It’s a good opportunity forme to come and express myself andscore big runs,” he said.

“I am always developing my game,developing new shots. I always makesure that I do my preparation well andcome on the ground and enjoymyself.”

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Nathan Lyon captured five for50 and 10 match wickets as

Australia crushed New Zealandby 279 runs on Monday, cappinga golden domestic summer asthey swept the three-Test series.

The off-spinner led thepowerful Australian bowlingattack to dismiss the Kiwis for136 and seal another heavy winover the Black Caps after simi-lar victories in Perth andMelbourne.

Australia have been unbeat-able this season, winning all fiveTests at home — two againstPakistan and three against NewZealand — after retaining theAshes by drawing the series 2-2 in England.

“It’s been a great summer forthe Australian Test side,” Lyonsaid.

“It’s pretty special to be partof it, we have been impressive,pretty clinical, the batters havedone well and given us bowlersplenty of time.”

Australia declared their sec-ond innings at 217 for two withDavid Warner scoring anunbeaten century, leaving theBlack Caps with a revised 416-run target in the fourth inningson a wearing Sydney CricketGround pitch.

But the Kiwis buckled underthe pressure of Australia’s supe-rior bowling attack with MitchellStarc taking three for 25 tosupport the wiles of spinnerLyon.

“They were clinical in allareas and after the first matchthey put us under pressure ses-sion after session,” said skipperKane Williamson, who missedthe Test with a virus.

������ The ICC’s cricketcommittee is set to discuss thefour-day Test proposal inMarch despite growing criti-cism from the world’s leadingplayers including India skipperVirat Kohli.

Former India captain AnilKumble, who heads the crick-et committee of the sport’s gov-erning body, said the propos-al will be discussed in the nextround of the ICC meetings, toheld in Dubai from March 27-31.

“Since I am part of thecommittee, I can’t tell what Iam thinking about it (propos-al) at the moment. We will dis-cuss it in the meeting and letyou know,” Kumble said,adding that he is fine with pastand current cricketers haveexpressed their views aboutfour-day Tests.

The likes of AndrewStrauss, Rahul Dravid, MahelaJayawardene and ShaunPollock are also on cricketcommittee.

The proposal, which hasbeen floated for the 2023-2031 cycle, has not gone downwell with the greats of the gameincluding Kohli, SachinTendulkar and Ricky Ponting.

However, member boardsfrom England and Australiaare open to the idea whileBCCI boss Sourav Ganguly hassaid that “it is too early” to talkabout it. PTI

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Ben Stokes launched an astonishing assaultwhich enabled England to give themselves

plenty of time to push for victory, but thetourists had to work hard to take two SouthAfrican wickets before the close on the fourthday of the second Test at Newlands onMonday.

Set to make a world record 438 to win,South Africa were 126 for two at the close.They used up 56 overs on Monday but willneed to bat out another 90 today to preventEngland from levelling the four-match series.

Opening batsman PieterMalan, making his Test debut,scored 63 not out and sharedhalf-century partnerships with Dean Elgar (34)and Zubayr Hamza, who was caught behindoff James Anderson in the penultimate over ofthe day for 18.

Stokes slammed 72 off 47 balls to over-shadow a maiden Test century by DominicSibley, who continued his sedate progress ashe took his overnight score of 85 to 133 notout. He reached his hundred off 269 balls andfaced 311 deliveries in his innings.

England’s batting on Monday was in dra-matic contrast to their effort on Sunday whenthey ground their way to 218 for four off 79overs. Sparked by Stokes they added another157 runs off only 32 overs before declaring fiveovers after lunch on 391 for eight.

While Sibley continued to play the anchorrole, Stokes went on the attack against everybowler he faced. He survived a chance on 38when an attempted pull against Kagiso Rabada

could not be held by a diving Quinton de Kockafter the wicketkeeper ran about 35 metres intrying to take the catch.

Stokes was caught at long-on off left-armspinner Keshav Maharaj after an inningswhich included three sixes and seven fours andhad a large English contingent in the crowdroaring their approval.

Ollie Pope fell quickly but Jos Buttler con-tinued the attack, hitting 23 off 18 balls as thelead went beyond 400.

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In an effort to counter theeffects of dew, the Madhya

Pradesh Cricket Association(MPCA) has been spraying aspecial chemical on the outfieldat the Holkar Stadium.

MPCA chief curatorSamander Singh Chauhan saidon Monday that to beat theeffects of dew, a special chem-ical was being sprayed over theground since the last three

days. Besides, he said, the grasson the ground was also notbeing watered since the lastthree days to minimise theeffects of dew.

“We sincerely hope thespectators will get to see foursand sixes raining in the match,”he said.

Since the game will com-mence at 7pm, dew could be afactor in deciding the out-come, especially in the secondhalf of the match.

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His performance not up to the mark by hisown admission, Sri Lanka wicket-keeper

batsman Kusal Perera says the senior players inthe side will have to share more responsibility ifthey are to beat India in the T20 series.

“I didn’t play consistent Test cricket but inwhite ball cricket, I played last series in Australia.

There I played well but not upto the mark. So Iwill try to do my best in this series,” Perera, whohas played 18 Tests, 98 ODIs and 43 T20s.

“We need to play together as a team.Obviously the senior players will have to pull uptheir socks. They will have to do much better butat the same time the good thing is we have someyoung bowlers and batsmen in the squad,”Perera told bcci.Tv.

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An ominous Rafael Nadal was incruise control for Spain at the ATPCup on Monday but Serbia’s Novak

Djokovic was forced to sweat through bru-tal conditions for his second win in a row.

The Spanish world number one sweptpast Uruguay’s experienced Pablo Cuevas6-2, 6-1 in just 73 minutes in Perth to ensurehis country won their second consecutivetie at the inaugural 24-team event andmoved closer to the quarter-finals.

He came on court after teammate andworld number 10 Roberto Bautista Agutmade short work of Franco Roncadelli 6-1, 6-2.

“A great match. I played better than theother day. It was a very positive victoryagainst an opponent for who I have a lotof respect,” said 19-time Grand Slam win-ner Nadal. “I’m super happy.”

Djokovic was back to his dominant bestagainst France’s Gael Monfils, but the sap-ping heat and humidity made the 6-3, 6-2win harder than the score suggested.

“It was definitely one of themost humid conditions that Ihave ever had in my career.Tonight was brutal,” said theworld number two, whoextended his record overMonfils to 16-0, dating back 15years.

“Obviously playing Gael, youknow you are going to have a lot ofexchanges, a lot of rallies. He is a great fight-er and a great friend of mine. Tough lucktoday.”

Eight of the 24 nations will make thequarter-finals in Sydney from the roundrobin — six group winners and two bestrunners up.

Other winners on Monday includedJapan, Croatia, South Africa and Austria.

World number four Dominic Thiembounced back from a shock loss in hisopening match to beat tenacious DiegoSchwartzman in two tough sets to steerAustria to victory over Argentina.

The unbeaten Croats are sitting pret-ty, spearheaded by former US Open cham-pion Marin Cilic who eased past Poland’sKacper Zuk in straight sets — his secondvictory in a row.

One of the biggest surprises has beenJapan, which has won both its ties — againstUruguay and Georgia — despite beingwithout injured stars Kei Nishikori andYasutaka Uchiyama, their third best play-er.

Yoshihito Nishioka has stepped up,beating world number 26 NikolozBasilashvili in straight sets in Perth afterthrashing world number 45 Pablo Cuevason Saturday.

South Africa, spearheaded byAnderson, remain in contention afterclean-sweeping Chile 3-0 in Brisbane.

PRAJNESH STARTS WITH WIN, RAMKUMAR LOSESBendigo: $��������A������������������������������ �����0-0-����� ��"��<��+����<�����������)����� �� ���� ����� ���"����� *�������� ���� � �� ����� �� ������ �� ������ �� # ���%� *���O�� � �����+�� ������������������00�$�������� ��������� ��������������� � "����E�,��>����������������� �� ������X��>01.-��&$����������� �'���%� &��� ���������� *����� ����� ��� �����0.��������� � ���������'�������+��0,E� ������&$��������������%�/���������)������������������������&�� � 7������� ���+�� �->%� <��+����� �� ���� ��� � ����� �� >���� 0�>�� ��>� ������ � �� ������ �������?�����O��5����<�' ��� ������ ����������� ������ ��� �����0E�������%�

MAHA, ASSAM TO FIELD BIGGEST CONTINGENTSNew Delhi: #��������������� �����������������������"������� � ���������� ��� ���� ����� ���� �� �� ���� ��� *����B ���A����� � �"������ ���A������� �� ���� ���������-�� �00%�I*�O��'������������������������ ������������������ �� ������ ��� �*����B ���A����%�6��������������������������������������������� �������%����������� ����� >,>� ��������� ��� ���� � ������� ��J� ������ 7�#���� �� �� ������� 3�'��� ��� ���������� ���%� &��� ���������������� ����"�����'�������������������������� ����������� ����� ��������� '�����"���" ���� ��������������%�@������ ������������������������ ��#����������������������E,����� ���� ��������%�

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MAGESH WINS HASTINGS INT'L CHESS TITLEChennai: *���O�� $� #������ �������� ��������"������ ��� ����� � ��� � � ���� ���� ������ ��� ���� P,������ �� �������������� ��/��������*�������� ���������� ����������/���������5�����%�&����>������ ��A���#�������������?*75�������� ��01EP�����������"������������������������������������������E%,�� ������� �������������������������������� '�������������������� ���������� ������ ��A������������� ���A#� ������%�

ANAHAT FALLS TO TOP SEED IN FINALBirmingham: *���O��������������O��"��'���������������4���������O�������� �������� �������5�������������@�������������������� �������-�����������1���������������������� ��@�����D���%�& ������������)��"�������� �� ����� ��5���������������� ���� ��������������� � � � ��� ��� �������� �� � ��� �� �+�� ������ �������������A����� ��5����� ��� ��������������%5�������� ���� �'���� ����� �� ������� �� �� ��'���� � ���'����� ���� ���� ��'��� � ������� ��� ��� ����� ���� �� �������� �� � �� �� '��� ���� �)��� � � ���� *����� ���������� ������D��+�����%�5���������������" ���4��P������������� �� ����� *����� (���� �� ������ � ��� � � � �� ���# ������5�������%

IOA GETS SUPPORT FROM WORLD ARCHERYnew delhi: &���*�����@���������� ����� �� ��# ��������'�� ���� ��� ��� �� �� 6 ��� �������� �� ����� � ����� �� ������ �� �������������� ������%�*@�������3������������������������� ������ �� �������A����� ?������ �� M�A?N� �� ������� ��� �� � ����� � � ��� � �� �������� ������ ������� ��� �� ����� ����������� ������ ��� ��� �����"�� ��� I�� � ������ ������������ �'����� � � ���� 0-00� � �� �������A����J%�6 ����������O��������������������& ��7��������� �� ������� � � ������ �� # ����� "��+�� ���� *@�O��� � ����� �� ������ �� �������������� ����������������������� '������������������������������ ������������ �������% &(8��-8'

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�����Paris Saint-Germainrested superstars Neymarand Kylian Mbappe beforedefeating sixth-tier Linas-Montlhery 6-0 in the FrenchCup on Sunday as theamateur side, and self-confessed fans of theirmonied rivals, were left torue a missed penalty whentrailing just 1-0.

The part-timers, whosebudget is 2,000-times small-er than the Qatari-backedParisian giants, fell behindto a goal on the half-hour byteenager Adil Aouchiche.

However,they were thenawarded apenalty afterColin Dagbabrought downIssa Cisse.

Up stepped IdrissaKanoute but his tamespot kick was well-saved by Sergio Rico inthe PSG goal.

Less than a

minute later, Uruguayanstar Edinson Cavani, namedcaptain for the night, tuckedaway PSG’s second and thegame was up.

Cavani, starting forthe first time in twomonths, added his sec-ond just on the hour

mark before PabloSarabia (63rd and 70th min-utes) and Eric MaximChoupo-Moting (87th)completed the rout.

“We played seriouslyand with humility,” saidPSG coach Thomas Tuchel.

“We deserved to win,it was a good match forthe team and the club

and a good start to2020.”

Tuchel wasfull of praise for

Cavani whohas beenlinked with awinter trans-fer move.

AFP

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India’s P V Sindhu will hope to start thenew year on a positive note when she

begins her campaign at the MalaysiaMasters Super 500 tournament, startinghere from today.

World number six Sindhu had adream run at the World Championshipsin Basel, winning the title last year, butshe made early exits in the rest of the sea-son, including her failure to defend theWorld Tour Finals crown in December.

With the Olympics less than sevenmonths away, Sindhu will look to ironout the flaws and hit the right note whenshe begins her women’s singles campaignat the $ 400,000 event.

Sixth seed Sindhu will have an easyopponent in Russia’s EvgeniyaKosetskaya in the first round and theIndian will look to stay on course for an

expected clash with world number 1Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying in thequarterfinals.

The other Indian women’s singlesplayer, Saina Nehwal, whoclaimed the IndonesiaMasters last year beforeslumping to a series of earlyexits in the rest of the year,will open against a qualifier at

the Axiata Arena.Kidambi Srikanth will start the new

year with a clash against second seedChou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

B Sai Praneeth will open againstDenmark’s Rasmus Gemke, whileSameer Verma, having endured a diffi-cult 2019, will square off againstThailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen inthe first round. Former world numbersix Parupalli Kashyap, who showedsome sparks of his earlier self last year,

will face top seed and world number oneKento Momota of Japan in the firstround, while H S Prannoy, who wasdown with health issues for most partof last season, will meet Japan’s KantaTsuneyama.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and ChiragShetty will open against local shuttlersOng Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi.

Ashwini Ponnappa will pair up withher women’s doubles partner N SikkiReddy, to take on Korea’s Chang Ye Naand Kim Hye Rin.

However, Ashwini and Sikki will havea tough task at hand in mixed doubles.

While Ashwini and Satwik will facesecond seeded Chinese pair of Wang YiLyu and Huang Dong Ping, world num-ber one Zheng Si Wei and Huang YaQiong will stand in the way of Sikki andPranaav Jerry Chopra in the openinground.

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Pep Guardiola says ManchesterUnited are starting to play the way

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants them toas he prepares for a blockbuster LeagueCup semi-final between the two sides.

City head to Old Trafford for the first leg of thelast-four encounter today, having won the compe-tition for the past two seasons.

Guardiola’s side are third in the PremierLeague, 13 points ahead of fifth-placed United, butlost 2-1 to their rivals last month as Solskjaer’s menproduced an exhilarating display of counter-attack-ing football at the Etihad Stadium.

Asked what he had learned from that defeat, theSpaniard added: “How fast they are. How they runon the counter-attack. How solid, how aggressive.

“We conceded a few counter-attacks and in justtwo or three seconds they were in the box.”

Speaking about Solskjaer, he said: “I think heis starting to see his team like he wants. The last(league) game against Arsenal they lost, but you seeclearly what he wants.

“It was not easy to handle a team at a big, bigclub, always demanding to be champions in all com-petitions, but I think every manager needs time.

“I have the feeling United have started to playthe way he wants.”

With the Premier League title apparently head-ing to Anfield, Pep is forced to focus on the cup com-petitions after winning a domestic treble last year.

“A third semi-final in a row. It is not the bestcompetition in the world but it is nice to be hereagain and against our city opponents,” said City boss.

Guardiola will have Nicolas Otamendi availableagain after an injury but has not yet settled on a start-ing XI.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp describedTakumi Minamino as “super and outstanding”

after the Japanese international made his debutin the 1-0 FA Cup win over Everton on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Minamino, who signed for£7.25 million ($9.4 million) from Salzburg inAustria, was part of a much-changed Reds line-up at Anfield.

The 22-time international almost enjoyed agoal-scoring debut when heglanced a header wide of themark before he was eventu-ally replaced by AlexOxlade-Chamberlain after70 minutes.

“Super, outstanding.Exactly the player wewanted, exactly the play-er we wished for,” saidKlopp of his new for-ward.

“Your first game ina team you don’t know,if it’s a settled team it’salready difficult — thisteam we threw more or less onthe pitch with two sessionstogether.

“And then showing this kindof game understanding, footballskills are exceptional, attitude isoutstanding, led the chasing packso often in different situations,which I loved.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored hisfirst Serie A hat-trick to lift

Juventus top of Serie A with a 4-0 win over Cagliari on Monday asZlatan Ibrahimovic made hisdebut for AC Milan in a goallessdraw against Sampdoria.

Portugal forward Ronaldostruck for the fifth consecutiveleague game to move the cham-pions back above Inter Milan intheir first match since the ItalianSuperCup defeat to Lazio in SaudiArabia last month.

Maurizio Sarri’s side had beenpegged back in the first half by thesixth-placed Sardinians who have

been pushing for a spot in theChampions League placesthis season but fell to theirthird consecutive defeat.

The second-half was allone-way traffic with 34-year-old

Ronaldo breaking the deadlockjust after the interval.

He added a second from thepenalty spot on 67 minutes withArgentina’s Gonzalo Higuaincoming off the bench to strike athird on 81 minutes, beforeRonaldo completed his hat-tricka minute later.

Juve are three points ahead of

Inter in the table with AntonioConte’s side travelling to Napoli,looking to keep pace with theeight-time reigning champi-ons.

Atalanta closed to with-in a point of fourth-placedRoma, who lost 2-0 to Torinoon Sunday, with a 5-0 rout ofParma, having also beaten ACMilan by the same scorelinebefore the winter break.

The side from Bergamo werealready three goals up before thebreak thanks to Alejandro Gomez,Remo Freuler and Robin Gosens,with Josip Ilicic adding a doublein a nine minute second-halfspell.

IBRAHIMOVIC RETURNSAt the San Siro, Swedish star

Ibrahimovic made his debut forMilan coming off the bench after55 minutes against Sampdoria.

The 38-year-old came on forPoland striker Krzysztof Piatek todeafening applause from the58,000 crowd in his first appear-ance after rejoining the club lastweek.

But there was little else tocheer for the hosts who extendedtheir winless run to three gamesand remain 12th in the table.

New Fiorentina coachGiuseppe Iachini had to settle fora 1-1 draw against Bologna in his

first game after taking overfrom Vincenzo Montella.

The Tuscany side hadlead for most of the gameafter Marco Benassi volleyedin on 27 minutes but

Riccardo Orsolini grabbed a pointfor Bologna deep into injurytime.

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They’re friends, they’re former WorldNo 1s in singles and on Monday

they became doubles partners for thefirst time as Serena Williams andCaroline Wozniacki teamed to win afirst round match at the ASB Classic inAuckland.

Williams and Wozniacki over-whelmed Japan’s Nao Hibino andMikoto Ninomiya 6-2, 6-4 in a matchwhich was both historic and poignant.

Serena hasn’t played doubles withanyone other than Venus since 2015and last played a WTA tournamentwith anyone other than Venus in 2002.

Wozniacki hasn’t played doubles atall in the last three years.

But the pair have long harbored adesire to take the court as a doublespairing and on Monday theytook what may be their lastopportunity to do so.

Wozniacki is playing theAuckland tournament for thesixth-straight year as a prelude tothe Australian Open after whichshe will retire from competitive tennis.

Wozniacki and Williams will faceeach other one last time in an exhibi-tion match in Copehagen in Maywhich will be Wozniacki’s tennisfarewell.

On Monday the pair formed arelaxed and intuitive combination,laughing and exchanging high-fives as they swept past Hibino andNinomiya in 70 minutes.

Earlier, American teenagerCoco Gauff beat Slovakia'sViktoria Kuzmova 6-3, 6-1 in 61

minutes to stay on course for a quar-terfinal meeting with Williams.

Williams, the top seed, playsCamilia Giorgi of Italy in her first roundsingles today while Wozniacki playsNew Zealand wildcard Paige Hourigan.

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Former world number oneGarbine Muguruza recovered

from a slow start to avoid an upsetat the Shenzhen Open on Monday.

The 26-year-old Spaniard beatChinese youngster Wang Xinyu 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 and plays the AmericanShelby Rogers in round two insouthern China.

The Shenzhen Open serves asbuild-up for the Australian Open atthe end of the month.

It was the two-time Grand Slamwinner Muguruza’s first match sincean early exit at the China Open inlate September.

“I think it was my first match ina long time and you cannot expectto play your best tennis,” saidMuguruza, now 35th in the world.

Defending champion ArynaSabalenka made a fast start to

her season, blowing awayRussian qualifier MargaritaGasparyan in just 71 min-utes.

The world number 11from Belarus eased to a 6-3,

6-0 victory as she looks to seala place inside the top 10 for the

Australian Open. The 21-year-oldwill play Kristyna Pliskova of theCzech Republic next.

“It was a tough match and real-ly tough to start,” said the powerfulSabalenka, who won three titles lastyear in China, including inShenzhen.

“She’s a great player and it wastough to play against her. She hasstrong strokes. I tried my best andI’m happy I finished with the win.”

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������� �#��)���#� �������������������� AmericanDanielle Collins thrashedfourth seed and formerchampion Elina Svitolinain the first round of theBrisbane International onMonday as AngeliqueKerber also crashed out.Svitolina, the world num-ber five, went into thematch as firm favouritebut was never in the hunt againstCollins, going down meekly 6-1, 6-1 in just 56 minutes.

She joins two other US players in the second roundfollowing wins by Sophia Kenin and Alison Riske.

Kenin beat Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 7-6 (7/1),6-4 while Riske downed Czech player KarolinaMuchova 6-4, 6-2.

In a battle of former Grand Slam champions,Australia’s Samantha Stosur upset former German worldnumber one Kerber in two tough sets.

In other matches, Barbora Strycova upset seventhseeded Johanna Konta 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and AjlaTomljanovic beat Priscilla Hon 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. AFP

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