DELHI SIKH BODY CHIEF ATTACKED BYsouthasiandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/1-24_-4.pdf ·...

CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BR AMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON

DELHI SIKH BODY CHIEF ATTACKED BYPRO-KHALISTAN SUPPORTERS IN US

WSO CONDEMNS VIOLENCE ATYUBA CITY GURDWARA

I AM NOT AFRAID OF KHALISTANI ELEMENTS WHO HAVE ATTACKED ME - MANJIT SINGH GK. SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY INCANADA AT LARGE CONDEMNED THE VIOLENT AT TACK ON GK.

MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENCE HARJIT SAJJAN WITH GROUP EDITOR AND CEO Y MEDIA GROUP YUDHVIR JASWAL AT CHANNEL YSTUDIOS .DETAILED INTERVIEW COMING SOON AT CHANNEL Y - ROGERS 857, BELLFIBE 828.

NEW YORK: President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee(DSGMC) Manjit Singh GK was attacked in California allegedly by pro-Khalistan individuals, during which one of his associates was injured. MrSingh, who had travelled to California following a visit to New York, said thepurpose of his visit was to hold discussions among the Sikh communityabout the 550th bir thday anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak, to be com-memorated next year.This is the second attack on the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader. He wasearlier attacked in New York.Mr Singh was visiting the main Gurudwara in Yuba City, California yesterdaywhen, he said, a group of 30-35 people supporting the 'Khalistan 2020 refer-endum' attacked him. "I am hurt. They pushed me and kicked me brutally. Itwas a brutal murderous attack," he told PTI over phone from California.He said one of his associates has been hospitalised while the police hasarrested three people in connection with the attack. News agency ANI tweeteda video of the attack:The DSGMC chief said that the attack will not deter or intimidate him. "We arenot going to shy away," he said, adding that those demanding Khalistan cancontinue their fight but resorting to violence is not the answer."We will not be part of this fight for Khalistan," he said.

OTTAWA: The World Sikh Organization of Canada condemns the vio-lence that took place Saturday at the Yuba City Gurdwara in Califor-nia, USA. Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee PresidentManjit Singh GK was assaulted outside the gurdwara. WSO PresidentMukhbir Singh said today, “we condemn the violence that took placeat Yuba City Gurdwara on Saturday. Differences of political and reli-gious opinion must be discussed and debated but there can be notolerance for violence or intimidation. The Sikh community will notallow gurdwaras to become venues for physical altercations betweendisputing par ties. We call on all sides to avoid provocative languageand threats and to engage in a constructive dialogue”

MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND SPORT HONOURABLE KIRSTY DUNCANAWARDING CANADA 150 COMMUNITY AWARD TO COMMUNITYLEADER AND BUSINESSMAN MR JOGA SINGH KANG.

Y MEDIA'S CHANNEL Y TEAM TALKING TO NEIGHBOURS IN BRAMPTONAS A CAR CATCHES FIRE AFTER CRASHING INTO A BRAMPTON HOMENEAR WILLIAMS PARKWAY AND MISSISSAUGA ROAD.

Union Cabinet Minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal tweeted con-demning the attack on Mr Singh:Meanwhile, 'Sikhs For Justice' (SFJ), a group demanding justice for the 1984anti-Sikh riots victims and supporting the 'Khalistan 2020 referendum, in astatement issued through its legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, ac-cused Mr Singh and his suppor ters of "instigating violent attacks on pro-Khalistan activists" who were "peacefully protesting" in the SAD leader'spresence in Yuba City Gurdwara.

TALKING EXCLUSIVELY TOY MEDIA, MANJIT SINGH GK SAID1 . I WILL NOT BE AFRAID OF THE KHALISTANI ELEMENTS WHOATTACKED ME.2. I AM AN ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SIKHCOMMUNITY IN DELHI,INDIA AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE DELHISIKH GURUDWARA MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.3. I AM OPEN TO DIALOUGUE WITH ANY GROUPS INUS,CANADA OR ANY OTHER PART OF THE WORLD BUT VIOLENTATTACKS HAVE TO BE CONDEMNED.

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PAGE 3SONAM K AHUJA TOSPORT A NEW,CURLY-HAIRED LOOKIN 'THE ZOYAFACTOR'

SHAHID KAPOOR AND SHRADDHA KAPOOR IN THEIR UPCOMING MOVIE BATTI GUL METER CHALU.

Kareena Kapoor Khan: It will be an honour toshare screen space with Ranveer Singh in 'Takht'Kareena Kapoor Khan and Ranveer Singh will be co-starring in KaranJohar's period drama "Takht", and the Bollywood diva says she isexcited to collaborate with the actor.Calling Ranveer one of the most"phenomenal" per formers of this generation, the 37-year-old star saidshe is happy that they are finally working together."It is great that finally after so many years I will be sharing screenspace with him. It was long due collaboration. He is just a phenomenalactor. It will be an honour to share screen space with him. I am veryhappy," Kareena told PTI.The actor said the film is also special for her as after a long time sheis working on a Dharma Productions project, to be helmed by one ofher closest friends Karan. "I have done so many movies with Dharmain the past, but after a long time Karan is directing me. It feels great.Working with Karan is always a pleasure," she said.Kareena said the comfort level she and Karan share in real-life trans-lates well on-screen. "He is one of my closest friends. He is actuallylike my brother. He is somebody I trust and love immensely. For meit's like being at home whenever I work with Karan and Dharma. It'sgoing to be a blast for sure," she added."Takht" set in Mughal era also features Alia Bhatt, Bhumi Pednekar,Vicky Kaushal, Janhvi Kapoor and veteran actor Anil Kapoor. Kareena

was speaking on the sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Fes-tive 2018. She is the show-stopper for designer Monisha Jaising atthe grand finale of the fashion extravaganza. The actor also launchedher signature make-up range in collaboration with Lakme. The rangecurated by Kareena includes products, like cheek contour, face con-tours and pout definers. This line also brings alive Lakme's beautytheme of the season, 'Shades of a Diva'.

GURMEET CHOUDHARY'S 'PALTAN' TRAILER LEAVESWIFE DEBINA BONNERJEE TEARY-EYED

Veteran filmmaker JP Dutta has taken the director's seat after 11 longyears with his new venture Paltan. Dutta who is known for directingblockbusters like Border and LOC Kargil is yet again back with a wardrama based on the Indo-China war in 1967. Featuring an ensemblecast comprising Jackie Shroff, Arjun Rampal, Sonu Sood, Gurmeet

Choudhary, Harshvardhan Rane, Siddhanth Kapoor and Luv Sinhaamong others, the film showcases the untold story of the Indiansoldiers, who forced China into a ceasefire. In the promo of the film,we see all the lead stars in raw and gritty avatar. They suit their rolespretty well and look like they are in sync with their characters.In a recent chat with Bollywoodlife.com, Gurmeet Choudhary, whenasked about wife Debina Bonnerjee’s reaction on watching the trailersaid, “Mere wife ka pehla reaction, I called her launch hone ke baad,saara interviews dene ke baad ke kaisa laga? and she told me kiGuru maine trailer dekhi, mujhe rone aagaya… main ro rahi thi. Merisabse badi critic hai woh, mere kaam ka agar kuch lagta hai toh boldeti hai. Mujhe itna feel hua ke fauji bhaiyo ke baare mein sunke, yehsab dekh ke ki mere romte khade hogaye or mujhe rone aagaya.”Debina Bonnerjee was teary-eyed after watching the trailer of herhusband's film. Interestingly, JP Dutta who is impressed withGurmeet’s work, has signed him for one more upcoming venture.This proves that the actor is making a mark in Bollywood and mak-ing an impression that is likely to last.Produced by Zee Studios and JP Films, the film also features SonalChauhan, Esha Gupta and Dipika Kakar in pivotal roles.

KAJOL, MADHURI DIXIT-NENETO SHARE SCREEN SPACE

Kajol and Madhuri Dixit- Nene have never worked together in afilm, but the two superstars are all set to share screen space ontelevision. The fiesty light-eyed actress will be visiting the setsof Dance Deewane, which the diva is judging. Kajol, we hear, isgoing on the show to promote her upcoming film Helicopter Eelaand the episode is slated to be shot today. Since it is a rarity forthese two powerhouse per formers to come together, the show’smakers are planning on getting them to do something special.

No celeb kids at Shahid Kapoorand Mira Rajput's daughterMisha's 2nd birthday par ty

Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput's daughter Misha turnedtwo on August 26 and the parents threw a bir thday party forher at their Mumbai residence. Unlike Aaradhya Bachchanand Adira Chopra's star-studded birthday parties, this one wasmore of a private affair. Shahid's father Pankaj Kapoor, step motherSupriya Pathak, half-brother Ishaan Khatter, mom Neelima Azim, sisterSanah and Raveena Tandon were the only ones spotted outside theirhouse apart from Mira's mother ofcourse. Shahid and Misha tied theknow in 2015 and welcomed Misha into their lives in 2016.They are now expecting their second child.

SONAM K AHUJA TO SPORT ANEW, CURLY-HAIRED LOOK IN'THE ZOYA FACTOR'Sonam K Ahuja has star ted prep for her next film The ZoyaFactor, based on a book of the same title. Her chachu SanjayKapoor plays her father while she pairs up with Dulquer Salmanin this slice-of-life spor ts drama. The actress will be sporting a new,curly-haired avatar this time around. Sonam recently got hertresses curled at a Juhu salon and was spotted hiding her lookfrom the paparazzi waiting outside to click her pictures.

Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani get nearly mobbed by fans outside Mumbai restaurantAll through Sunday, most of our favourite stars were in the midst oftheir loved ones celebrating Raksha Bandhan. Hence, film promo-tions and photos clicked post gym sessions, for instance, wererare. The few celebs who were spotted were either seen at the airport orgoing about their routine through the course of the day.Tiger Shroff and his girlfriend actor Disha Patani were seen in front of upscaleMumbai restaurant Bastian and given their popularity, the duo were besieged byfans. While Disha seemed slightly amused with all the fuss around her (thoughher security seemed to be having a trying time controlling crowds), Tiger wasn’tovertly enthusiastic. With both of them, fans tried to take a selfie. Tiger alsoseems to be getting shoved a bit.Shilpa Shetty too was spotted at Bastian with her family.While most celebs were busy with rakhi celebrations, a few celebswere spotted at the airpor t. Anushka Sharma getting spotted notonce but twice through the course of the day as she star ted promot-ing Sui Dhaaga. Her co-star from the film, Varun Dhawan adjustinghis new pony tail was quite a sight.

Bobby Deol confesses that he wasnot focussed earlier, and feels thatcould be a reason for his hiatusMaking a space for himself being veteran actor Dharmendra’sson would not have been easy but Bobby Deol says he neverfelt he was under the shadows of his father. Bobby feels it isunfair to compare the work that his father has done with his andfeels getting successful is a mix of correct decisions and luck.“I never thought I had to come out of his shadows or was underthe shadows. People around me thought like that. One can’tcompare the work my father has done. You have to make theright decisions or the luck has to be on your side. Things hap-pen the way they happen, otherwise every actor would be asuperstar. For me to achieve even one third of what my fatherhas achieved would be a great achievement,” Bobby said.The actor says he saw several phases of his father’s career -- at its peak, his downfall and his eventual rise -- and realisedthat the only trick of the trade is to keep working. “My dad onlywanted to work, he never looked at the number game ever inhis life. If you calculate the maximum number of hits given, itsby my father. No other actor has given so many hits,” he says.While Bobby became the blue eyed boy of Bollywood soonafter his debut opposite Twinkle Khanna in the 1995 block-buster Barsaat, the roles star ted to dry up for him by mid 2000s.He returned to screen this year after a hiatus with Race 3 andthe actor insists that he is not the same Bobby anymore.“I was just not focused earlier. I was happy that I’m an actorand am working. When things star ted going slow I realised what ishappening... My ambition is to just keep working. Doing good work.”


TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018s p e c i a l r e p o r t

JAMMU AND KASHMIR GOVERNOR SATYA PAL MALIK MEETS PM MODI ON MONDAY.

Newly-appointed governors meet Prime Minister ModiNEW DELHI: Newly-appointed governors of Haryana, Uttarakhand andBihar on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.The Prime Minister’s Office tweeted pictures of Satyadev NarayanArya, Baby Rani Maurya and Lalji Tandon, the governors of Haryana,Uttarakhand and Bihar respectively, meeting the Prime Minister.Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik had met Modi on

Monday. Malik, who was governor of Bihar, was on August 21 ap-pointed the Governor of the militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir, replac-ing NN Vohra who held the post for 10 years.Tandon was appointed the Governor of Bihar, in place of Malik, whileArya and Maurya were given the gubernatorial posts in Haryana andUttarakhand.

UP: Three, including parents, sentenced to life term for murdering minor girlMUZAFFARNAGAR (UP): Three people, including the parents, weresentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a three-year-old girl bya court here on Tuesday.Additional District Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar also imposed a fine ofRs 1,12,000 each on the accused, Shamim, the father of the girl, hiswife Khushnaseeb and their friend Zahir Abbas, after holding themguilty under Sections 302 (murder) 120B (criminal conspiracy) of theIndian Penal Code.According to a government lawyer, three-year-old Liba was killed bythe trio by slitting her throat in Nagla Bajurg village under the Bhopapolice station in the district on May 3.He said the crime was committed by the convicts with a design toimplicate Shamim’s brother over a proper ty dispute.After committing the crime, Shamim had filed a police complaintagainst his brother for kidnapping his daughter.During investigation, Shamim, Khushnaseeb and Abbas’s involve-ment in the crime came to light and the police filed the chargesheet inthe case within 14 days.The cour t was hearing the case on a daily basis.

Women activists write to PMModi on 'illegal GMO impor ts'NEW DELHI: Leading women activists have written toPrime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to take imme-diate action to ban "illegal GMO impor ts" in India whilewarning about the "serious threat" the genetically engi-neered crops pose to India's legal framework, farmers'livelihoods, public health and democracy."Illegal GMO impor ts and planting of Roundup Resistance(genetically engineered) Bt Cotton is posing a serious threatto our legal framework, our farmers livelihoods, publichealth and democracy," said Vandana Shiva, ExecutiveDirector, Navdanya and Dr Mohini Giri, Chairperson, Guildof Service in their letter to the Prime Minister.While raising the issues-"illegal imports of GMOs, illegalplanting of Roundup Ready Bt Cotton and unnecessaryimpor ts of Roundup-laced pulses and oil seeds"-they alsodrew the attention of the Prime Minister towards a recentcase in the US, where the jury ruled that Monsanto'sRoundup weed killer had caused cancer to a farmer,Dewayne Johnson. The 46-year-old former groundskeeperused to spray 'Roundup' to maintain the grounds. The juryordered Monsanto to pay $289m to the victim, they saidStating that more than 8,000 cases had been filed in the USby cancer victims, they urged the Prime Minister to takeimmediate action to ban the illegal GMO import.They also called on the PM to stop unnecessary impor tsand support Indian farmers and strengthen India's Sover-eignty (Anna Swaraj) and public health. The Anna Swarajmovement is also preparing a People's Manifesto for thefuture of food and farming in India, which will be releasedon October 16-the World Food Day-as a people's voice for2019 National Elections, they said.

China’s 2nd carrier heads for trialsNEW DELHI: China’s second sea-borne aircraft carrier onMonday started a fresh round of trials at sea. The 50,000-tonne warship headed out from its base at the Dalian ship-yard on Sunday. The warship will undergo a series of testsbefore it is commissioned, possibly in 2019.China, like India, operates one carrier — the Liaoning. Acarrier can launch fighter jets from its deck and extend thearc of operations of these jets. India has one operationalcarrier — the INS Vikramaditya — and has more than 50years of experience in operating such warships that re-quire complex technologies. China star ted operating one just fouryears ago. Beijing’s upcoming aircraft carrier means it will soon havea two-carrier Navy. Both countries are literally racing to have, by2020, at least two carriers in their respective fleets. China’s secondcarrier will rival the INS Vikrant (also known as the IAC-1), which willbe New Delhi’s second carrier. Indian Navy Chief Admiral SunilLanba had in December 2017 announced that the INS Vikrantwould be ready for induction by 2020.

MANJIT SINGH WINS GOLD, JINSONJOHNSON WINS SILVER IN 800 METRES

India’s medal rush in athletics continued as Manjit Singh won the gold medal in men’s 800 metreswhile Jinson Johnson won the silver in the same event. Pincky Balhara won the silver medal inwomen’s 52 kg Kurash and Mallaprabha Jadhav settled for a silver. India also won the silver medalin the first ever mixed 4x400 metres relay with a timing of 3 minutes and 15.71 seconds. The teamcomprised Muhammed Anas, Hima Das, Rajiv Arokia & Poovamma Raju. PV?Sindhu created his-tory by becoming the first Indian to win a singles silver medal in badminton. The Indian men’s tabletennis team also got a bronze medal after losing to South Korea in the semi-finals. The Indian men’shockey team continued to impress as they thrashed Sri Lanka 20-0 in their final Pool A game.

Google rejects Donald Trump’s claim of ‘political bias’ in searchGoogle on Tuesday strongly denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that its news search resultswere skewed to suppress conservative voices and positive stories about his administration.“Search is not used to set a political agenda and we don’t bias our results toward any politicalideology,” a Google spokesperson said in an email after Trump’s attack on the internet giant.“Every year, we issue hundreds of improvements to our algorithms to ensure they surface high-quality content in response to users’ queries. We continually work to improve Google search and we neverrank search results to manipulate political sentiment.” Earlier, Trump said on Twitter: “Google & others are suppressingvoices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can& cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!”

Russia to hold biggest military drills since Cold WarRussia will next month hold its biggest war games since at least the 1980s, with around 300,000troops and 1,000 aircraft, the defence minister said Tuesday.The Vostok-2018 exercises will be car ried out from September 11 to 15 in the country’s east with thepar ticipation of China and Mongolia.“This will be something of a repeat of Zapad-81, but in some senses even bigger,” Sergei Shoigusaid of the 1981 war games in Eastern Europe, in comments repor ted by Russian news agencies.He said “more than 1,000 aircraft, almost 300,000 troops and almost all the ranges of the Centraland Eastern military districts” would be involved in the exercises.“Imagine 36,000 pieces of military equipment moving together at the same time -- tanks, armouredpersonnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles. And all of this, of course, in conditions as close tocombat as possible.”Moscow said last year’s Zapad-2017 military drills, conducted in ally Belarus and regions of Rus-sia, saw the par ticipation of roughly 12,700 troops.



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TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 s p e c i a l r e p o r t

ICCC welcomes Apparel & Textile delegation from India

Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce hosted a dinner reception in honor ofvisiting delegation from Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Indus-try (FICCI), the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and the Wool andWoollens Expor t Promotion Council (WWEPC) on 21 August 2018. The del-egation comprised of apparel and textile manufacturers and traders fromIndia who were in the city to par ticipate in the Apparel Textile SourcingCanada Expo at the International Centre in Toronto.Speaking on the occasion Mr. Kanwar Dhanjal, President ICCC welcomedthe delegation and said that the Apparel Textile Sourcing is a premier exhibi-tion to meet International apparel, textile, fashion and fabric manufacturersand leaders. It provides a single platform to meet hundreds of internationalmanufacturers, touching the fabrics and fashions first-hand, and hearingdirectly from industry leaders - all at one convenient destination.Mr. Sandip Samaddar, Director International Division FICCI said that FICCI isleading this delegation in par tnership with the Apparel Expor t PromotionCouncil (AEPC), sponsored by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India andThe Wool & Woollens Expor t Promotion Council (WWEPC), an autonomous

organisation under the ministry of Textiles, Government of India.Mr. Mahesh N Sahil Executive Director and Secretary, Wool & WoollensExport Promotional Council, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India briefedthe audience regarding the The Wool & Woollens Expor t Promotion Councilwhich helps Indian exporters in marketing, branding and showcasing "Madein India" products to the world. The council also helps overseas buyers inlocating suitable Indian manufacturers and provides information about theirtechnical and production strengths.Ms. Chandrima Chatterjee Advisor - Research & Policy Advocacy, ApparelExport Promotion Council said that the Apparel Expor t Promotion Council ismandated to promote, increase and develop exports of all types of readymade garments. AEPC is helping the Indian manufacturers to explore theinternational market to promote their products.ICCC board members Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Mr. Pramod Goyal, Mr.Nareshkumar Chavda, and Mr. Sanjay Brahmbhatt were also present. Mr.Pradyuman Jhala introduced the evening to the members. Over 70 partici-pants attended the event which was concluded with a Q & A session.

PEEL POLICE CENTRAL ROBBERYBUREAU ARREST MALE IN BANKROBBERY INVESTIGATIONREGION OF PEEL - Investigators from the Central RobberyBureau arrest and charge a 22 year old male in relation totwo bank robberies in the City of Brampton.On Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at approximately 9:16 a.m.the suspect entered a TD branch located in north Brampton.He approached the victim, a 64 year-old male of Brampton,who was standing at the counter making a cash deposit. Thesuspect put the victim in a head lock and held a gun to hishead demanding money. The victim complied and thesuspect fled the bank on foot. The victim was not injuredduring the incident.On Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at approximately 10:02 a.m.the suspect entered an RBC branch located in northBrampton. After speaking to a bank teller about opening anew account, he retrieved a black handgun and made ademand for money. The suspect then grabbed a customer, a50 year-old male of Toronto, around the neck and pointed thehandgun at him demanding more money. The teller compliedand the suspect fled the bank on foot. There were no injuriessustained in this incident.With the assistance of the community and media outlets theCentral Robbery Bureau were able to arrest and charge, SeanDemeritte, with two counts of robbery and two counts ofusing an imitation firearm while committing an offence. SeanDemeritte was held for a bail hearing at the Ontario Cour t ofJustice in Brampton on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked tocontact investigators with the Central Robbery Bureau at(905)453-2121 ext. 3410. Information may also be leftanonymously by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by visiting peelcrimestoppers.ca.

MORTGAGES

INDIAN DEFENCE VETERANS MARCHING IN THE WARRIORS DAY PARADE AT CNE GROUNDS.SEEN IN THE PICTURE - CDR HIMANSHUBAHUGUNA, CDR VINEET NAGIA, WG CDR DS CHAWLA, BRIG. DB NAGIA, WG CDR GS BHALLA, LT COL SANJAY SHARMA, MUKESHCHOPRA. SPECIAL THANKS TO KING PRINTING AND SIGNS FOR THE BANNER.


TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018c o m m u n i t y

REHAN CHAUDHARY (PRESIDENT - DELTA MORTGAGES),BILLY AULAKH WITH BRAMPTON MAYOR LINDA JEFFREY AT AN EVENT ORGANIZEDBY HARYANA CULTURAL & SPORTS CLUB OF CANADA AT SHINGAR BANQUET HALL BRAMPTON.

PREPARING FOR POST-SECONDARY LIFEFor young adults, summer is typically spent preparing for college oruniversity in the fall. If you are a parent or a student, lots of questionsmay be running through your mind about academics, campus life andwhat to expect in those first few months of school. It is an excitingtime, but can also be filled with concern about the unexpected. Beingprepared can help with the transition.The transition can be even tougher for international students as theyneed to settle into life in a new country as well. Taking the first stepsto set yourself up for success is a great way to feel at home faster.Four things a student should keep in mind:1. Get involved in campus life. Whether you are commuting fromhome or have moved to Canada for your studies, getting involved insocial activities on campus can help you adjust. Joining social activi-ties, interest clubs or spor ts teams are a few examples of gettinginvolved outside the classroom. Check your school's online websitepor tal to learn more.2. Keep active and take time for yourself. Adjusting to a new routinewill take some time. Between managing classes, assignments and asocial life, scheduling some much-needed "me time" can help main-tain a healthy balance while staying focused. Eating balanced meals,having a regular exercise routine that works for your schedule andgetting enough sleep each night, will help keep your mental and physi-cal wellness on track.3. Use resources available to you. Universities and colleges are filledwith incredible resources, many of which are free to you. Resourcesrange from guidance counselors offering help with academic ques-

tions, to an international student office that helps students navigatelife on campus in Canada. These services are offered for students touse, so remember to take advantage of them while you are a student.4. Build a budget. Keeping finances on track is another par t oftransitioning to post-secondary life. For many students, this may bethe first time you will need to manage your own finances. If you are aninternational student, you may have many questions about banking inCanada. A great first step is speaking with a financial advisor abouttips on keeping your finances in order throughout the year.Find more information for international students at www.rbc.com/newcomers.

CANADA’S WONDERLANDCELEBRATES LABOUR DAY LONGWEEKEND WITH SPECTACULARFIREWORKS DISPLAY

VAUGHAN, ON– Canada’s Wonderland is offering anaction-packed Labour Day long weekend, highlightedby a stunning fireworks display on Sunday, Sept. 2. At10 p.m. the night sky will light up with more than 6,000fireworks in a unique, custom-designed display,choreographed to music. Reaching heights of morethan 800 feet, the light show is guaranteed to amazeguests of all ages.Throughout the weekend, guests can also enjoy theirlast days of summer cooling off in Splash Works andseeing an amazing lineup of enter tainment, includingCirque Canadien, the Victoria Falls High Divers and theChinese Acrobats. All included with admission.For more park information including events, tickets andhours of operation, visit http://www.canadaswonderland.com/About Canada’s WonderlandCanada’s Wonderland, located in Vaughan, Ontario (justoutside Toronto), is a 300-acre theme park with morethan 200 attractions including 16 rollercoasters, and isthe home to Splash Works, a 20-acre water park.Canada’s Wonderland is owned and operated by CedarFair Enter tainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a publiclytraded par tnership and one of the largest regionalamusement-resor t operators in the world. The Com-pany owns and operates 11 amusement parks, twooutdoor water parks, one indoor water park and fourhotels. For more information, see www.cedar fair.com.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 c o m m u n i t y

Y MEDIA TEAM INTERVIEWING CHOUDHARY ABHAY SINGH CHAUTALA, LEADER OF OPPOSITION, HARYANA VIDHAN SABHA(INLD) AT AN EVENT ORGANIZED BY HARYANA CULTURAL & SPORTS CLUB OF CANADA AT SHINGAR BANQUET HALL BRAMPTON.

CANADA'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER CHRYSTIA FREELAND SPEAKS TO THE MEDIA AS SHE ARRIVES AT THE OFFICE OF THE UNITEDSTATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE WEDNESDAY. FREELAND SAID CANADA AND U.S. NEGOTIATORS WILL WORK THROUGHOUT THE NIGHTTO REACH A COMPROMISE ON SOME STICKING POINTS. (ANDREW HARNIK/CANADIAN PRESS)

DANGERSO F C L I M AT EP R E D I C T I O N

Many uncer tainties are involved in climate change predictions for countries like India whichexperience monsoon weather pattern. The predictions of climate trends for India by variousclimate models differ widely vis-à-vis the magnitude of change in rainfall and temperatureand the nature of change itself. The degree of uncer tainty is likely to be even higher when these

model outputs are used for fur ther predictions of river flows and crop yields. While these issuesrelated to climate predictions are widely discussed, a critical issue which was left unattended isthe implications of climate variability for the utility of model predictions. Yet, the governments arepreoccupied complying international protocols to reduce carbon emissions and measures to reducethe impacts of climate change. Little attention is paid to the implications of climate variability onhydrology and water flows in river basins and crop yields.CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND HYDROLOGYThere is a tendency among ‘Climate Crusaders’ to run roughshod on those confronting them with data onthe more visible phenomenon of ‘climate variability’, and how this phenomenon is systematically ignoredby the climate modellers. The subcontinent is known for its climatic variability for several millennia.Analysis also showed that lower the amount of mean annual rainfall in a region, higher the yearly varia-tion, and vice versa. Also, lower the rainfall, higher the aridity. The climate models do not capture suchnuances in their predictions. The result is that the values of the predicted change in temperature andrainfall are much lower than the actual year to year variability in them. Climate modellers come with‘doomsday prophecies’ vis-à-vis the impact of climate change. They would essentially include suchthings as: the river would have lesser stream flows or more frequent floods! Unfor tunately, these are allbased on aggregate figures. When we know that the annual discharge of Godavari river is found to varyfrom 29,000 MCM to 1,83,000 MCM, what purpose it serves if the climate change-hydrology model justpredicts that the average run-off in Godavari basin would increase by 10 per cent in 50 years?CROP YIELDS UNDER CHANGING CLIMATEThe model predictions on the impact of climate change on crop yields also suffer from such inadequacies.The models sometimes compute the yield impacts for a time scale of say, 50 or 80 years. These predic-tions are absurd, when we consider the fact that the crop yield is determined by a complex function, withsolar radiation, micro climate, and ecology playing a key role. But, most crop models seem to function in

a linear fashion and the complex interactions between climate parameters at the ‘local scale’ are conve-niently ignored. Internationally, scholars highlighted the impor tance of studying the impact of climatevariability on biological systems and examined the impact of rainfall patterns and temperature stress oncrop yields. Both intra- and inter-seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation are found to influencecereal yields. Increased rainfall variability will have substantial impacts on primary productivity andecosystem services provided by forests and agroforestry.Temperature rise beyond a threshold can have a negative effect on yield for many crops. But this can alterthe local temperature for a few days by causing increase in precipitation. Instead of running crop modelsto predict the impact of climate change on yields, we just need to see how the yield of a par ticular cropfluctuates between years, by sharp differences in daily/weekly/monthly rainfall, average temperature,humidity etc., within the same agroclimatic zone. Analysis of meteorological data shows that the tem-perature and humidity can fluctuate widely on the same day or between two consecutive days, and suchfluctuations are even higher than the difference between highest and lowest daily values experienced in ayear. It is possible to estimate the effect of changes in mean weekly or monthly temperatures andhumidity between two years on crop yields, provided we have proper controls on other parametersaffecting crop yield such as variety, seed quality, ir rigation requirements and soil nutrient regime. Indiahas 15 agroclimatic and 17 agroecological zones. It is unrealistic to assume that in a country with somany agroclimatic and agroecological zones and with a myriad of crops grown, the impact of temperaturechange on other weather parameters would be uniform, and the impacts of those changes on yields wouldbe negative for all crops.FUTURE AREAS OF CLIMATE RESEARCHTo understand the impacts of climate change on water, we should have long-term records of weather, hydrology andbiophysical systems, so as to ascertain how hydrological conditions change with changes in weather parameters and landuse and land cover. Crop models for analysing the effect of climate change on crop yields need to capture the effect of variabilityin weather parameters too, and this will be possible only if we do continuous monitoring of biophysical systems andweather parameters. We should design reservoirs which can absorb extremely variable flows for multiannual storage. Research is required on the development of drought-resistant crop varieties in semi-arid/arid regions, and flood resistant crop varieties in high-rainfall, sub-humid/humid regions.

Peel Regional Police officers are working around the clock to crackdown on gun violence and illegal gun possession. The majority ofgun crimes being committed in Peel Region involve guns that wereillegally obtained and possessed."The increasing violent crime and the use of firearms is unaccept-able. Peel Regional Police have seized 247 guns this year andcontinue to do excellent work in removing them off the streets. I haveinitiated a plan to add additional officers to front line to increaseenforcement and want criminals to know that if you commit a crimein Peel then my officers will find you. I encourage members of thecommunity that if you know of anyone who has an illegal weaponthen to call police or call Crime Stoppers." Said Chief EvansIn just over a week, our officers have laid nearly 80 firearm-relatedcharges. During that same period, eight guns were taken off the streetwhich we hope will help prevent fur ther violent crime in our Region.The eight guns seized occurred in the following separate incidentsacross our Region:" Wednesday, August 15: officers seized two 9mm hand-guns as a result of a traffic stop in the area of Highway 50 andBellchase Trail in Brampton. A 45-year-old man from Richmond Hillwas charged." Thursday, August 16: officers attended a complaint of sus-picious activity in the area of Flowertown Avenue and McLaughlin Road,Brampton. During investigation officers seized a shotgun from the trunk ofa vehicle. Four men in their 20's from Brampton were charged." Tuesday, August 21: officers seized a .22 caliber revolveras a result of a traffic stop in the area of Mclaughlin Road and Will-iams Parkway in Brampton. An 18-year-old man from Brampton wascharged." Friday, August 24: officers seized a Smith & Wesson .357Magnum long barrel revolver as a result of an armed robbery inMississauga. A 19-year-old man from Toronto was charged." Friday August 24: officers seized a 9mm semi-automatichandgun from a residence in the area of Chinguacousy Road andQueen St, Brampton. A 34-year-old man from Brampton has beencharged." Saturday, August 25: officers seized a Glock 22 .40 calibrehandgun with a loaded magazine and a Blue Line Solutions .22 cali-bre firearm with loaded magazine as a result of a traffic stop in the area ofTomken Road and Steeles Avenue in Brampton. An 18-year-old man fromCaledon and a 17-year-old man from Bolton were charged.From January through the end of July 2018, Peel Regional Policeofficers seized 247 firearms off the streets of Brampton andMississauga. In all of 2017, officers took 429 guns off the street.As a service we are concerned about the escalation in gun violence,not only within our region, but across the entire Greater Toronto Area.Our Street Level Organized Crime Unit is dedicated full-time to inves-tigating gun and gang-related activity.We continue to engage with the community to ensure partnershipand trust to ensure that community members know they can come topolice with any information regarding gun violence. For those whowish to share information anonymously we encourage them to callCrime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by visiting Peel CrimeStoppers at peelcrimestoppers.ca

PEEL POLICE SEIZED EIGHTFIREARMS IN JUST OVER A WEEK


TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018opinion

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Rahul In Europe: Emerging As A Tougher Opponent

The economy is a fickle beast. Exactly a year ago, the rupee,having experienced a prolonged appreciating spree, hadreached as high as 63.5 to a dollar. At the time, quite a fewcommentators wondered aloud if the Indian currency was

overvalued and whether was a moderation was necessary.The trend of the rupee has entirely flipped this year. It has almostslipped 10 per cent since January, closing below the psychological70-mark this month for the first time in history. Now, a wave of con-cern has swept the economy on the possible drawbacks from a de-preciating cur rency.There have been a mix of external factors that have contributed to thedownslide. The immediate reason has been the crisis in Turkey, wherePresident Recep Erdogan has chosen to pick a fight with Washington.Asa result, foreign investors have begun to withdraw money from emerg-ing market economies fearing that what happens in Turkey won't re-main in Turkey.But, India's cur rency slide predates the Turkey turmoil. Since thebeginning of the year, foreign investors have sold $6.8 billion in equitymarkets and $5.15 billion in debt markets. A leading reason has beenthe raising of the interest rates by the US Federal Reserve as a par t ofthe tightening of its monetary policy, which has prompted investors topull their funds out of the emerging markets. Advanced economiesare unwinding years of loose monetary policy practiced over the lastdecadein the post-crisis period. So, the financial market volatilityarising out of it is here to stay for the developing world in the nearfuture.India, therefore, has not been alone with a weakening currency. How-ever, it has been the hardest-hit in Asia. This points to inherent vul-nerabilities in the Indian economy itself. Even though a case can bemade that the currency has been merely adjusting to its true valueafter having appreciated a year ago, the issues that arise out of a

weak rupee are hard to deny.The most problematic aspect is the rising impor t bill that is mostlyled by oil for India. The country is the third-largest consumer of oil inthe world after US and China and about 82 per cent of this is impor ted.Global oil prices have already been on the rise this year and a weakrupee merely acts as a double whammy for the economy.As a result, India's current account deficit, the difference betweennational savings and domestic investment, is also on the rise and isexpected to touch 2.6 pervcent of the gross domestic product in thisfinancial year compared to 0.6 per cent merely two years ago. Thecountry's trade deficit in July had hit a five-year high of $18 billion.The other side of the story in a widening trade deficit is a sluggishgrowth in expor ts, which is a painful reality for the Indian economy.It is often argued that a depreciating currency is not bad since it helpsboost expor ts. However, in this case, even such gains might notmaterialise. First, since the currency depreciation is not unique toIndia and is occurring throughout the developing world, domestic ex-por ts might not seem par ticularly attractive in the global markets.Some of the othercompeting emerging markets have witnessed evengreater currency depreciations.Second, recent evidence has shown that depreciation does not al-ways boost expor ts. In the 2013 'taper tantrum' episode, when theIndian rupee lost about 20 percent of its value after the Fed hinted atwinding down its quantitative easing programme, the country's ex-por t levels remained unaffected.Finally, as the world economies are becoming more protectionist innature, the global demand is likely to remain subdued. Thus, India'sexpor t prospects seem bleak for the time being.

There is a dire need to address the repeated macroeconomic vulner-ability of the Indian economy that is linked to its currency fluctua-tions. It remains difficult for any government to devote resourcestowards developmental effor ts if cyclical external shocks keep defin-ing policy constraints. In the shor t run, the excessive dependence onimpor ts for crude oil has to be reduced. This would require a signifi-cant boost in domestic oil exploration and production, which has notbeen done in the last two decades.A more long-term approach should involve debunking the belief what-soever that depreciation of currencies has any relation with higherexpor ts. Instead, the focus should be on improving the productivity ofthe country's resources, which can help set its expor t basket apar tfrom that of its competitors in the world markets. Such an approachwould disassociate expor t per formance from periodical externalshocks and improve macro-economic stability.China, for instance, no longer competes on cheap labour and deval-ued cur rency. Higher efficiency and better quality are gradually be-coming the hallmarks of Chinese manufactures. The country's mobileexpor ts that are taking over the Indian markets are a case in point.Finally, in addition to keeping its house in order, India can also ad-dress its macroeconomic vulnerabilities with higher internationalcooperation on the monetary and financial front. The world is missingeffective international policy coordination that can ensure financialstability across global markets. India can take the lead on interna-tional forums with the support of developing nations that face similarfinancial risks and put such issues on the policy agenda. India needsto move away from a scenario of uncer tain cur rency fluctuations as ithas experienced over the course of last year.

Taking a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's book,Congress President Rahul Gandhi used his Europe tour to reachout to non-resident Indians, or NRIs -- a group largely known tosuppor t Modi's Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP) in recent years.Throughout the tour, he targeted Modi for his style and policies,bitterly attacked the BJP and its ideological parent, the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and tried to project him and theCongress par ty as a better alternative.Gandhi comes from a family where access is carefully controlledand only a select few are allowed to reach its members. But inLondon, he gave the impression that he's accessible to thecommon man. He even mingled with the guests at his gatheringsand shook their hands.Speaking to journalists on Saturday (August 25), he mocked Modifor not talking to them openly. He accused the Prime Minister ofnot having the courage to answer repor ters' questions. This wasa reminder of Modi's public event in London in April, where hewas accused of taking pre-planned and selected questions fromthe audience and not addressing even a single press conference.But one has to remember that Modi was also accessible to themedia before he became Prime Minister. The question is, willGandhi attend such open events and answer unscripted ques-tions if he ever becomes the Prime Minister of India?But still, this was a new Rahul Gandhi in London -- more mature,aggressive, confident and ready to challenge his rivals. Hissustained attacks on Modi, the BJP and the RSS were deliber-ate and sounded like par t of a well-planned theme. It's clearthat he wanted to provoke the ruling par ty in India in order toset an agenda for debate. By comparing the RSS with MuslimBrotherhood, he wanted to plant a doubt in the minds of theHindu right-wing organisation's new suppor ters in India. Thiswas also an attempt to drive away some voters from the BJP.By targeting Modi and raising the issue of the alleged threatto India's institutions under his government, Gandhi wastrying to become the darling of the intelligentsia that sup-por ted the BJP in 2014. By praising Sushma Swaraj, who he'sbitterly criticised in the past, and attacking Modi for isolatingher, Gandhi sought to create a wedge in the cabinet and wastrying to impress upon the audience that he favoured aninclusive government where individual ministers were asimpor tant as the Prime Minister.But we all know that Modi'S style of functioning is verysimilar to Rahul Gandhi's grandmother, Indira Gandhi. And it'sa fact that in present-day India, leaders of all political par ties

act like dictators and once in government they rarely allowindividual ministers to have an independent voice.In Europe, Rahul Gandhi cleverly avoided talking about his ownambitions of becoming Prime Minister. He didn't want otheropposition leaders to stop dreaming about that ambition andthus jeopardise their suppor t for an anti-BJP front during nextyear's elections. It also went with his theme of projectinghimself as a consensus politician.He fumbled at the press meet earlier when he seemed to agreewith Pakistan's position that the main problem currentlybetween the two countries was that India didn't want to talk. Butlater, in answer to a direct question about Imran Khan's elec-tion, he made it clear that relations with Pakistan couldn'timprove as long as institutions like the ISI continued to expor tviolence to India.The Congress president rightly focussed on the unemploymentissue and was honest in saying that most countries are facingthat problem and don't know how to tackle it. He wanted India tofollow China where he said small and medium industries hadresulted in large-scale industrialisation and massive jobcreation. But he should know that a democratic India can't becompared to a totalitarian China. In India, no government cantake a decision without attracting scrutiny by the opposition andthe media.But where Rahul Gandhi didn't come out really clever and mature is when hesaid that the Congress par ty was not responsible for the massacre of Sikhs afterthe assassination of his grandmother in 1984. For the second day in London, hefailed to correct himself that members of his par ty were not only responsible butsome of them led mobs to kil l Sikhs. Although later his par tydidn't give them tickets for parliament and state assemblies, theywere never expelled.Gandhi's explanation that he condemned all violence and wantedthe guilty to be punished, is similar to Modi and BJP leaders sayingthat they condemned all violence, including those by cow vigilan-tes, and wanted the perpetrators to be brought to justice. All of asudden, just months before the general election, Gandhi, has giventhe BJP and the Akali Dal a major political issue. As Sikhs are inlarge numbers among the NRIs, he has only managed to provoketheir anger against the Congress par ty.Gandhi still has a long way to go. He still appears to lack newideas and the political acumen required to take on Modi. But hisEurope tour suggests Modi and the BJP will have to take himseriously. The man they dismissed as "Pappu" for a long timeappears to have emerged as a tough challenger.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 c a n a d a

General Accounting & Bookkeeping

PREMIER DOUG FORD OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCING THE RETURN OF BUCK-A-BEER TO ONTARIO AT THE COOL BEER BREWING COMPANY IN TORONTO.

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA LAUNCHES FIRSTPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY

In a country as prosperous as Canada, all Canadians should have theoppor tunity to succeed. The Government of Canada is focused ongrowth that benefits all Canadians and on investments that help growthe middle class and reduce pover ty. Since 2015, $22 billion hasbeen invested and about 650,000 Canadians will have been lifted outof pover ty by 2019.Today, Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South,highlightedOppor tunity for All: Canada's First Pover ty Reduction Strat-egy, which builds on the Government of Canada's significant invest-ments since 2015.These include the Canada Child Benefit, the CanadaWorkers Benefit, the National Housing Strategy and the increase tothe Guaranteed Income Supplement. Restoring the eligibility age forOld Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits from67 to 65 helped an additional 100,000 Canadians from falling intopover ty.Oppor tunity for all is a plan for a concer ted, coordinated fight againstpoverty on multiple fronts. It is the Government's vision for a Canada as a worldleader in the eradication of pover ty and represents a whole-of-society approach totackling poverty, which means everyone has a role to play.This initiative is a direct result of extensive engagement with Canadi-ans across the country and introduces:" a Canada's official measure of pover ty;" concrete pover ty reduction targets; and" a National Advisory Council on Pover ty.Legislation is proposed for introduction in as early as possible inParliament that would entrench Canada's Official Poverty Line, thepover ty reduction targets and the National Advisory Council on Pov-er ty in law. Fur thermore, the Government's progress toward meetingthe targets every year will be published in an annual repor t and tabledin Parliament every year.Quotes"The launch of Oppor tunity for All represents the culmination of yearsof work our Government has under taken since 2015 to help grow themiddle class and those who are working hard to join it. Bringing

together the pover ty reduction investments that we introduced in thelast few years, Canada's first ever Pover ty Reduction Strategy setsconcrete pover ty targets that will lead to the lowest level of pover ty inCanada's history, bringing us one step closer to achieving our visionof a Canada without pover ty - a Canada where everyone has a realand fair chance to reach their full potential."- Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton SouthQuick Facts" In 2015, there were 4.2 million Canadians living in pover ty,representing 1 in 8 Canadians or 12.1 percent. By 2016, this numberdropped to 3.7 million Canadians, a half a million decrease.

" Oppor tunity for All targetsa 20 percent reduction in pover tyby 2020 and a 50 percent reduction in pover ty by 2030." The What We Heard About Pover ty So Far repor t, a sum-mary of the feedback gathered during the engagement process that took placewith Canadians, including people with lived experience of pover ty, community-and national-level organizations, Indigenous par tners as well as provinces andterritories was released on February 20, 2018.

STRATEGY WILL REDUCE POVERTY BY 50 PERCENT BY 2030

Most see affordability worsening in GTA Housing, say it willcontinue 'no matter what' government does - Angus Reid Survey

Both homeowners and non-owners agree that the price of real estate in the Greater Toronto Area is "unreasonablyhigh," and that it may be too late for government intervention to burst the bubble they say is hurting the region.These are some of the findings of a new study from the Angus Reid Institute that tracks questions first asked in the GTAin 2015. It finds housing concerns registering considerably higher for most residents of the regiontoday than they did back then. Correspond-ingly, area residents are now substantiallymore likely to find themselves in the groupARI researchers deem "Miserable" based onpersonal experiences with housing and transit,rather than the "Happy" or "Comfor table" groups.Renters, especially, are feeling shut out ofthe real estate market, and more than half(59%) say they are "seriously consider-ing" leaving Greater Toronto because of thehigh cost of housing in the region.Overall, fully half of GTA residents say they arehoping for at least a 10 per cent drop in pricesover the next few years, if not a bigger decline,and they voice strong support for a variety of government interventions aimed at cooling the red-hot market.All of this comes as Ontario residents await whatever action new Premier Doug Ford's government decides to take- after refraining from making specific policy proposals during the election campaign - on this key issue.Asked to name the top issues facing the region, most GTA residents (54%) list housing affordability as a top concern.In 2015, the number naming housing was 36 per cent" The share of respondents naming "low interest rates" as a major cause of high housingprices has fallen considerably since 2015 (from 44% to 30%), while the percentage placing the blame onforeign investors has risen (from 34% to 42%).

PROPORTION OF RESIDENTS MADE 'MISERABLE' BY HOUSING AND TRANSIT PAIN JUMPS 10 POINTS SINCE 2015

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PM Trudeau announces changes tothe Cabinet committeesThe Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced changes to the struc-ture and mandate of Cabinet committees to make them even more efficientand responsive to the needs of Canadians, and to reflect recent changes tothe Ministry.The new and modified Cabinet committees reflect the Government ofCanada’s top priorities: delivering economic growth, diversifying interna-tional trade, strengthening the middle class, advancing reconciliation withIndigenous peoples, and fighting climate change.The Treasury Board will assume responsibility for key delivery challengesincluding defence procurement and modernizing the public service paysystem. As the management board of government, the Treasury Board iswell-placed to lead the whole-of-government approach needed on thesekey files. A special sub-committee of Treasury Board will be tasked withaddressing the unacceptable hardships caused by the Phoenix pay sys-tem, and implementing a modern, reliable, long-term solution. This sub-committee will engage with all implicated Ministers and impacted stake-holders including organized labour.The Prime Minister is also creating a new Incident Response Group, simi-lar to those in place with our Five Eyes allies. It will be a dedicated, emer-gency committee that will convene in the event of a national crisis or duringincidents elsewhere that have major implications for Canada. The Groupwill bring together relevant ministers and senior government leadership tocoordinate a prompt federal response and make fast, effective decisions tokeep Canadians safe and secure, at home and abroad.The new list of Cabinet committees is as follows:Cabinet Committee on Agenda, Results and CommunicationsCabinet Committee on Growing the Middle Class and InclusionCabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations, Trade Diversification andInternal TradeCabinet Committee on ReconciliationCabinet Committee on Environment and Clean GrowthCabinet Committee on Canada in the World and Public Security



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 i n d i a

SAD CHIEF SUKHBIR BADAL TALKS TO THE MEDIA IN THE ASSEMBLY ON MONDAY.

US PROMISES FAIR PROBE INTO ASSAULT ON GKNEW DELHI: The US on Monday assured a fair and thorough probeinto the attack on DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK outside a gurdwarain California on Sunday. A delegation of the SAD and the DSGMC, ledby Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, met USAmbassador Ken Juster here on Monday.After the meeting, Harsimrat said the Ambassador had assured themof necessary action. “I am satisfied with the response,” she said.In a six-page memorandum to Jester, the delegation alleged that pro-Khalistani groups backed by Pakistan’s ISI were behind the attack. Itsought security cover for GK and his family while they were on a visitto the US. It alleged that one of the attackers had been identified asJasbir Singh Lauban, a witness in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case whohad turned hostile. The delegation claimed that Lauban had servedimprisonment in India for threatening riot witnesses and victims.It also accused Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ’s legal adviser oper-

ating from New York, of instigating youth against the Sikh communityfor vested interests. The delegation complained that no security coverhad been provided to Manjit Singh GK and his family members evenas he faced threats from radical elements.The Ambassador was told that the DSGMC president’s visit to the USwas par t of a mission to interact with the Sikh community to apprisethem of worldwide celebrations to commemorate 550th bir th anni-versary of Guru Nanak Dev next year.Later talking to the media, Harsimrat charged the Congress of colludingwith elements involved in the attacks. “Lubana is a confidant of JagdishTytler, one of the accused in anti-Sikh riots. Is it a coincidence that theattack on Majit Singh GK took place immediately after Rahul Gandhisaid in the UK that Congress was not behind the riots?” she claimed.GK had exposed Tytler in a sting operation and had also filed a FIRagainst him, she added.

Bargari stir to continue: ActivistsFARIDKOT: Radical Sikh leaders have decided not to lif ttheir dharna at Bargari despite the tabling of the Justice RanjitSingh (retd) Commission repor t in the Vidhan Sabha and theshow-cause notices issued to 32 officers on Monday.Parallel Jathedar Dhian Singh Mand said the agitation hadnothing to do with the tabling of the repor t.“We are sticking to our main demands: Arrest and punish-ment for culprits of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib; actionagainst cops who had opened fire on Sikhs at Behbal Kalanvillage in October 2015; transfer of Sikh political prisonersto Punjab jails; and premature release of those who havecompleted their sentence,” Mand said.“We will continue our peaceful dharna till the CM visitsBargari and accepts these demands,” he added.

AAP DIVIDED, YET MAKES ITSPRESENCE FELT IN HOUSECHANDIGARH: The rebel AAP MLAs, led by Sukhpal SinghKhaira, on Monday remained defiant even as the HarpalCheema group had a victory of sor ts when it forced theSpeaker to not expunge names of Congress leaders namedby Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh as “accused in the1984 riots”. It is rare for the Opposition to prevail upon theSpeaker and get its demand accepted. The victory wasthe bright point for the par ty even as the Khaira groupremained indifferent. Khaira and his suppor ters raisedissues separately and even staged a walkout when Leaderof Oppsotion Harpal Cheema got up to speak. The twoMLAs of the Lok Insaf Party (LIP), which had an alliancewith AAP earlier, joined the Khaira group in the walkout.Khaira returned the favour when he suppor ted LIP MLABalwinder Singh Bains who was being cornered by Con-gress MLAs.However, the Khaira group did not join other AAP MLAswhen they were led by Cheema to protest in the well ofthe House on the riots issue. Phoolka, who has beenfighting cases of riot victims, even jumped aggressivelyin the well of the House, and asked the Khaira group tojoin him in protest against the Speaker’s announcementto expunge names of Congress leaders “involved” in the1984 riots. The Khaira group, however, refused to budge.The controversy began when Akali MLA Bikram SinghMajithia drew Speaker’s attention on the recent state-ment of AICC president Rahul Gandhi saying that the Con-gress was not involved in the riots. Majithia termed it afalse claim as a number of Congress leaders were facingcour t cases for their “involvement”.Responding to the allegations, the CM said he had visitedDelhi immediately after the riots and some of the victimsnamed some Congress leaders. He insisted that the leadersmight be involved in their individual capacity, but it waswrong to blame the Congress par ty.

Amitabh Bachchan to give Rs 2.5 crore to families of martyrs, farmersMUMBAI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Tuesday said he would be donating Rs 1 crore to the families of mar tyrs and an additionalRs 1.5 crore to waive loans of farmers. The 75-year-old actor said he wanted to do something for the families of mar tyrs.“Just yesterday, we got a list of 44 families from the government. We have prepared 112 demand draf ts to the value of Rs 1 crore to takecare of the families,” Bachchan told reporters here.“There is a system in the government. Sixty per cent of the amount has to go to the wife, 20 per cent to the father and 20 per cent to themother... Like this, we have divided the amount for 44 families of mar tyrs,” he added.The actor said he was also pained by the farmer suicides and had decided to pitch in.“I have always been bothered by reading about farmer suicides. Many years ago, I was shooting in Vizag and read that farmers whohad loaned Rs 15,000, Rs 20,000 or Rs 30,000 and couldn’t pay back and were committing suicide...I came back and paid for 40-50families... “This time I am paying Rs 1.25 crore to 200 farmer families. I went to my bank and we got a list of all the farmer loans andthere were 200 loans and that’s what I am paying off,” he added.


TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018i n d i a

WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER MAMATA BANERJEE ADDRESSES HER SUPPORTERS ON THE FOUNDATION DAY PROGRAMMEOF PARTY'S STUDENT WING TRINAMOOL CHHATRA PARISHAD (TMCP), AT MAYO ROAD CROSSING, IN KOLKATA, INDIA.

SAD LEADER BIKRAM MAJITHIA ADDRESSES THE MEDIA AS SAD MLAS HELD A ''MOCK ASSEMBLY SESSION'' OUTSIDE THE HOUSE.

KERALA FLOODS: NASA'S BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOSSHOW UNBELIEVABLE EXTENT OF DEVASTATION

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the quaint towns and inland lagoons offlood-ravaged Kerala brace for the Herculean task of rebuilding ‘God’sOwn Country’, NASA before and after images released today showthe staggering extent of the devastation caused by century’s worstflood. The Operational Land Imager or OLI on the Landsat 8 satelliteacquired the left image (bands 6-5-3) on February 6, 2018, before theAugust flood. The Multispectral Instrument on the European SpaceAgency’s Sentinel-2 satellite acquired the right image (bands 11-8-3)on August 22, 2018, after flood water had inundated the area. Theimages are false-color, which makes flood water appear dark blue.Vegetation is bright green.Several rivers throughout the region spilled over their banks. Waterfrom the Karuvannur River ran through 40 villages, and washed awaya 2.2 kilometer stretch of land connecting two national highways.Elevated water levels along the Periyar River displaced thousands ofpeople.Meanwhile, around 70,000 people have volunteered in a massiveclean-up drive in Kuttanad, known as the Kerala's rice bowl, to re-move the slit and debris dumped by flood, as rehabilitation workcontinued in other affected areas of the state.The Kuttanad region, which is below the sea level, has several areasstill inundated, a week after the torrential rains that triggered thedevastating deluge across the state stopped and water receded inmost other par ts.State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and PWD Minister G Sudhakaranlaunched the drive in which nearly 70,000 volunteers will clean aroundone lakh buildings in Kainakary, Nedumudi and other areas of Kuttanadin Alapuzha district.At least 1,000 engineers, IT volunteers and snake catchers along withcleaning supplies have also joined the drive.The volunteers reached Kuttanad in boats and buses and have fannedout across 16 panchayats to clear around one lakh buildings, includ-ing houses, public places and places of worship, of the slush anddebris, Sudhakaran told repor ters.Asserting that there was an overwhelming response from the people,with many even from far off districts joining in the drive, he said the

initial plan was to complete the clean-up by August 30.However, since a large number of houses were still waterlogged, itwould take more time, the minister said.Isaac said they were overwhelmed by the response as people fromas far as northern Kannur district had come to help people clean theirhomes.Meanwhile, cleaning operations across the flood-hit areas are pro-gressing fast and in many places people have star ted returning home.Fifty-two-year-old Rema said she along with her family returned homelast night, 11 days after they fled as their house at Aluva in Kochisubmerged in flood water.She said a team of volunteers along with the family members cleanedtheir house."Some more cleaning up work has to be under taken," Rema said.As schools are reopening tomorrow after Onam vacation, focus willalso be on cleaning up of the campuses. People staying in schoolswhich have been conver ted into relief camps, would be shif ted toauditoriums and halls.According to the direct ions issued by Educat ion Minister CRaveendranath, children attending classes in flood-affected areaswould be taken special care.They would be provided counselling and programmes would be heldto cheer them up, officials said.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Vidhan Sabha unanimously haspassed the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill,2017 and The Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amend-ment) Bill that seeks life imprisonment to those who com-mit sacrilege.The Bills were originally introduced in assembly in March2016 but were withdrawn by the government after the Presi-dent refused to grant assent.Par ticipating in the debate, AAP MLA Aman Arora also de-mands that another amendment be made, that trial shouldbe complete within six months.Gurpratap Singh Wadala, Akali MLA, said that one shouldnot politicise the issue of religion. We are again trying topoliticise religion, which could have adverse repercus-sions for Punjab. He said that Akali Dal was suppor ting theBill, but said that the people should get closure on thissensitive issue.Bikram Singh Majithia too said that his par ty suppor ted theBill, but said that desecration of Guru Granth Sahib shouldbe treated separately as Guru Granth Sahib has been ac-cepted as a living guru.Capt Amarinder Singh clarified that GoI had said that it wasnot possible to consider one religion separately and giveseparate punishment. He said the GoI had sought legalopinion and it was said that being a secular country it wasnot possible to give special punishment for desecration ofholy book of one religion.Replying to this, Wadala said that we as legislators under-stand the unique case of Guru Granth Sahib.Technical Education Minister Charanjit singh Channi tauntsAkali Dal for having a double face on the issue, saying theydid not oppose when the Centre refused to accept the Bill.

PUNJAB ASSEMBLY PASSESBILLS SEEKING LIFEIMPRISONMENT FOR SACRILEGE

Punjab Assembly: Divided AAP unites on censure against Simarjit BainsCHANDIGARH: The divided house of the Aam Admi Par ty (AAP) inPunjab united in the Well of the Punjab Assembly, on Tuesday,over a censure motion moved by the Parliamentary Affairs Minis-ter, Brahm Mohindra, against use of unparliamentary words by theLok Insaaf Par ty (LIP) MLA Samarjit Singh Bains.The speaker allowed the motion.Bains was speaking on the issue of adulteration found in VerkaMilk plants and loopholes in its distribution system to which aCongress MLA intervened asking him to check the language heused in the Assembly. Bains had used provoking words. Majorityof the Congress MLAs got up seeking censure against Bains. BrahmMohindra moved the motion and it was accepted by the Speakerfollowing which the AAP MLAs came to the Well of the House.Sukhpal Khaira, who had transferred his question related to sup-ply of milk in the state to Bains as he had highlighted it big on thestate platform led the march to the Well of the House. Keepingaway from Khaira group these days, HS Phoolka followed Khaira

and signaled others to join them. Amarjit Singh Sandoa, leader therival group of the AAP and his aide Kultar Singh joined after somereluctance.Soon all members of the AAP and LIP were in front of the Speakerraising slogans.Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in reply to a question onmalfunctioning Sewa Kendras raised by BJP MLA Som Parkashsaid a new MOU had been signed for the project, which would star tworking very soon and take care of all problems.Badal also informed the House that the previous government hadsigned an agreement with the service providers after giving themRs 1,400 crore. The Congress government canceled the earlieragreement and instead signed a fresh agreement getting at leastRs 250 crores from the service providers.In reply to a suggestion by a MLA, Badal said he will be taking upthe matter with the Chief Minister and get an inquiry constituted forfixing responsibility for such a big scandal.

CHANDIGARH: Following Congress presiddent RahulGandhi’s asser tion that his par ty had no role in the 1984anti-Sikh riots, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Mondayraised the issue on the floor of the Punjab Assembly, rais-ing a din. As former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithiaasked the CM to spell out his stand, Capt Amarinder Singhsaid a few par ty leaders — HKL Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar,Arjan Das and Dharam Dass Shastri — might have beeninvolved at their own level.“I have been naming them for the past almost 34 years.” Hesaid their names were mentioned by riot victims residingin camps whom he had visited immediately after the car-nage. “The Congress, as a par ty, was never involved in theriots,” he emphasised.Facing flak for failure to nab those behind a string of sacri-leges during their tenure in government, the Akalis tried todeflect the issue by reviving the 1984 riots, minutes beforethe Justice Ranjit Singh Commission repor t was to be tabled.They later staged a walkout. Targeting Majithia, a combat-ive CM pointed out that the former was just eight years oldat the time of the riots. “What do you know about these?”Former Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal asked Capt AmarinderSingh to explain why the Congress leaders named by himwere allotted the par ty ticket and made ministers, if thepar ty was aware of their role in the riots. Retaliating, theCM accused the Akalis of playing with Sikh sentiments to meet theirown ends even as he fought attempts by rivals to push himinto naming another Congress leader, Jagdish Tytler.

AMRINDER SAYS 4 LEADERS MAYHAVE HAND IN ’84 RIOTS

CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akal i Dal (SAD) presidentSukhbir Singh Badal on Monday alleged that there was aconspiracy to defame the erstwhile SAD-BJP governmentand divide the Sikh community. Releasing call details withtower locations, he said Chief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh, his ministers and Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) wereconsor ting with radical Jathedars to vet the sacrilege probeCommission repor t, including a meeting held at the CM’sresidence on Sunday night. Capt Amarinder denied theseallegations on the floor of the House. When Sukhbir ac-cused the CM and ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwaand Sukhjinder Randhawa of having met radical leader BaljitSingh Daduwal late on Sunday night, the CM said he couldnot even recognise Daduwal. “I have met him only once,and that too when I went to Bargari after the sacrilege inci-dents had taken place,” he said. Later, addressing a pressconference, the SAD president said, “The unholy nexus be-tween the Congress, AAP and ISI-sponsored radical outfits to help theCongress is out in the open. We have conclusive evidence that the CMis not only encouraging radical elements but also consor ting withthem. This new evidence proves that the Justice Ranjit Singh (retd)Commission report was vetted at the farmhouse of radical leaderChanan Singh Sidhu at Mullanpur Garibdass near here.”

AMARINDER IN LEAGUE WITHRADICAL LEADERS, SAYS SAD



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 i n d i a

Modi assassination plot: Maoist ideologue PVara VaraRao arrested from Hyderabad, say family members

P VARA VARA RAO WAS ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY BEING INVOLVED IN PLOTTING THE ASSASSINATION OF PRIME MINISTERNARENDRA MODI. (SOURCED)

TELANGANA: Maoist ideologue and revolutionary writer P VaravaraRao was arrested on Tuesday by Pune Police in Hyderabad on chargesof being par t of a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi,sources close to his family said.The arrest was preceded by searches for nearly eight hours at Rao’shouse in Gandhi Nagar and those of seven others, including two jour-nalists close to him and a professor at English and Foreign LanguagesUniversity (EFLU), in different par ts of the city.One of the journalists, Tekula Kranthi, was also arrested af ter policerepor tedly seized his laptop and several documents allegedly show-ing his connections with the Maoist par ty.The 78-year old Rao was f i rst taken to Gandhi Hospi ta l inSecunderabad amidst tight security for a medical examination. He islikely to be taken to Pune af ter being produced in a local cour t inHyderabad later in the evening.Tension prevailed at Rao’s house, where a large number of his fol-lowers and representatives of various social organisations assembledwith placards condemning his arrest.“It is highly atrocious on the par t of the Maharashtra police to ar restVara Vara Rao on false grounds. How can an ordinary person sitting inHyderabad plot to kill the Prime Minister? They are fabricating thecase against him,” Progressive Organisation of Women (POW) presi-dent P Sandhya alleged.

Pune Police told a local cour t on June 8 this year that they had founda letter from the Delhi residence of a Maoist sympathiser Rona JacobWilson, one of the five people arrested for their alleged links with thebanned Maoist par ty. The letter repor tedly mentioned the requirementof Rs 8 crore to purchase M-4 rifle and four lakh rounds. It alsodiscussed the possibility of “another Rajiv Gandhi incident”.The letter also mentioned that Rao and Surendra Gadling, an advo-cate who was also arrested by the Pune Police in Mumbai, had beenguiding the revolutionaries in carrying out successful attacks in thepast. The letter mentioned that Rao “had arranged for funds for thesame (for another sensational attack) and Surendra would provideyou with the fund.”Apar t from Wilson and Gadling, Pune Police also arrested three oth-ers - Sudhir Dhawale from Mumbai and Shoma Sen and Mahesh Rautfrom Nagpur. However, Rao told media on the same day that he hadnothing to do with the so-called “incriminating letter”, which quotedhis name as being involved in a plot to assassinate Prime MinisterModi. Rao, however, admitted he knew Gadling and Wilson.“I don’t deny that I know the people who were arrested by the PunePolice. They have all been working for the downtrodden and releaseof political prisoners. They are all against murder politics,” he hadsaid, adding that he did not believe Maoists had the strength to assas-sinate the Prime Minister of the country.

IF TAJ MAHAL GOES, AUTHORITIES WILL NOT GET ASECOND CHANCE TO PRESERVE: SUPREME COURT

AGRA: There will be no “second chance” to preserve the Taj Mahal,the Supreme Court said on Tuesday, asking the authorities to take alarger perspective on issues of pollution and green cover to prepare avision document on protecting the monument.The top cour t, while observing that Taj Mahal would “of course be thecentre piece” of the matters to be considered, said other issues likevehicular traffic, pollution from the industries operating in the TajTrapezium Zone (TTZ) and the water level of river Yamuna, shouldalso be looked into while preparing the vision document.The TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts ofAgra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and theBharatpur district of Rajasthan.“If the Taj Mahal goes once, you will not get a second chance,” abench of Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Guptatold the project coordinator, who is involved in the process of prepar-ing the vision document.The bench said the authorities would have to look into several issuesto protect the Taj Mahal and sought to know about the green cover, thenumber of industries operating in the area and the hotels and restau-rants there. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta and ad-vocate Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Uttar Pradesh government,said the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi was preparing a

vision document. Besides looking into issue of protection of Taj Mahal,they were also considering a larger comprehensive plan to deal withall these issues.ASG A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the Centre, said that in pursuanceto the apex cour t’s order, they have received suggestions from exper tbodies like the Aga Khan Foundation, the Indian National Trust for Ar tand Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the International Council on Monu-ments and Sites (ICOMOS) in this regard.Nadkarni said that the Centre has communicated to the Uttar Pradeshgovernment to send a proposal to declare Agra a ‘heritage city’.He said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was in the processof preparing a heritage plan for the Taj which would be filed with theUNESCO in three months.The UP government told the cour t that they would respond to theCentre’s communication on declaring Agra as a heritage city within amonth. At the outset, environmentalist M C Mehta, the petitioner in thecase relating to the protection of Taj Mahal, told the cour t that greencover in the area has reduced and there were encroachments in andoutside the Yamuna flood plains there.He referred to the apex cour t’s 1996 order in the case and said sev-eral industries have come up in the area, with many of them operatingbeyond their capacity.

Ten for one: How MamataBanerjee wants Trinamool torebut BJP ‘falsehoods’

Azam Khan threatened my daughters with ‘acid attack’, says Amar SinghLUCKNOW: Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh on Tuesday accusedSP leader Azam Khan of threatening his minor daughters with anacid attack and said he will seek security for them.Amar Singh, who has been expelled from the SP,said he will meet Uttar Pradesh Governor RamNaik tomorrow with the demand.“I want security for my daughters, who feelthreatened,” he said.Singh also demanded a probe into the funding ofRampur’s Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Uni-versity, headed by Azam Khan as its chancellor.Singh claimed Azam Khan had threatened himand his twin 17-year-old daughters during an in-terview to a television channel.The former SP leader said he will be in Rampuron August 30 and asked Khan to “sacrifice” himand “spare” his daughters.He said western Uttar Pradesh saw no riots “even at the time ofPar tition,” but there were clashes when Azam Khan was “in charge”of the region under the previous SP government.Singh said Azam Khan did not have the right to stay in the country.

He called the Samajwadi Par ty ‘Namazwadi Par ty’.He said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and UP Governor RamNaik should probe the funding of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar

University.On Akhilesh Yadav’s plan to construct aVishnu temple if voted to power, Singh said,“Those who order firing on karsevaks aretalking about constructing a temple.”He was apparently referring to the 1990 fir-ing on karsevaks heading towards the dis-puted Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site.On the SP charge that he is an “awsarwadi”(oppor tunist), Singh said none of his fam-ily members are in politics, unlike theYadav family, “and they call me oppor tun-ist”.

He said if talking about protecting his own daughters is communal,he does not mind being called that.Singh has earlier said he is not averse to joining the BharatiyaJanata Par ty. “As a common man I will campaign for the BJP. Thereis no need for joining the par ty for it,” he said today.

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee turnedher address at the foundation day of her Trinamool Congress(TMC)’s student wing into a full-fledged political speech on Tues-day, urging activists to respond “vigorously” on social media tomembers of the Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP)-led dispensationat the Centre . “Are you on Facebook and Twitter? Wield the cybertools. If there is one jibe, respond so vigorously that they runaway,” she said at a public rally of more than 100,000 students inKolkata. “Never believe what BJP says on Facebook and Twitter.They are constantly trying to spread lies. Reply to every singlefalsehood propagated by them with at least 10 fitting retorts,”said the chief minister. Banerjee’s comments come at a time theTMC and other opposition parties are bracing for Lok Sabhaelections in 2019 in which social media is expected to be animportant campaign platform. In preparation for the elections,the TMC has revamped its cyber unit to take on the BJP, whichhas been seeking to make inroads into West Bengal. On June 20,TMC kicked off a series of workshops for 200 master cybertrainers who went back to their respective areas o select volun-teers and coach them. The party announced the formation of a40,000-strong digital unit headed by Trinamool Lok Sabha MPand the chief minister’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee“The ruling par ty of Bengal is a symbol of falsehood and corrup-tion. The chief minister had to say it (what she did) to inspire herfollowers,” BJP Bengal unit general secretary Sayantan Basusaid about Banerjee’s words of encouragement to TMC’s stu-dent-activists to take on his party on social media networks .The aim of creating the par ty’s own digital army was to take onthe might of the IT cell of BJP. Mamata has frequently alleged thatthe BJP’s IT cell is constantly spreading communal hatred in andmisinformation in Bengal.“Social media is going to play a very big role in the 2019 elec-tions because opposition parties have realized a while ago howwell it was executed by the BJP in 2014. They see it as one of themost influential platforms to reach youngsters which then getsamplified by print and tv media,” said B.G. Mahesh, founder ofOneindia.com, which provides content in regional languages.“However, the intelligent end voter will ignore the noise. Thebiggest challenge that political parties are going to face is thefalse narrative on social media.”Banerjee also dared the ruling dispensation at the Centre to carryout a citizenship screening exercise in Bengal like it did in Assam,where four million applicants were excluded from the final draftof the National Register of Citizens . “Let them try to conduct asimilar exercise here. They will be finished before that. Tigersare waiting in Bengal to pounce on them,” said the chief minister,who also alleged that the Centre was employing central agen-cies to harass opposition leaders.

In Kerala, liquor sales cross Rs500 crore during 10 days ofcentury's worst floodTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As Kerala reels under floods, a newreport has emerged that Keralites consumed liquor wor th overRs 500 crore in around 10-day period since rain started pouringin the state and caused massive destruction.According to ibtimes report, the Kerala State Beverages Corpo-ration (Bevco) released data stating that the total sale of liquorand beer stood at Rs 516 crore within the time period startingfrom Independence day August 15) to Onam (August 26).Kerala witnessed one of the worst flood situations in a century.Over 3.26 lakh people are still in relief camps across Keralaeven after a for tnight of the devastating deluge that left a trail ofdestruction claiming 322 lives and rendering thousands home-less. With rehabilitation measures on, the government said animmediate relief of Rs 10,000 would be disbursed soon to theflood-affected. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday urgedall Malayalis to donate one month salary to rebuild the state.In many districts, people have star ted moving from camps totheir homes after cleaning work has been completed. The reced-ing flood waters had left mounds of mud and debris in theirhomes and surroundings.As Kerala struggles to stand on her feet, water logging of homesin various places, especially in Kuttanad region of the worst-hitAlapuzha district continues to be a worrying factor.Huge pumps will be used to flush out water from homes andpremises, after which the cleaning process will be taken up byremoving the accumulated silt, authorities said.


TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018w o r l d

ANGRY WOMAN IN UK GETS INDIAN-ORIGINBOYFRIEND ARRESTED FOR DRUNK DRIVING

US-FLAG-HALF-STAFF FOR MCCAIN THE WHITE HOUSE FLAG IS SEEN AFTER BEING RETURNED TO HALF-STAFF IN HONOR OFSENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ) AFTER FIRST BEING LOWERED ON SUNDAY. (REUTERS)

US, MEXICO REACH NAFTA DEAL AS PRESSURE TURNS TO CANADA U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP GETS SOME ASSISTANCEWITH A SPEAKERPHONE CALL TO MEXICAN PRESIDENT ENRIQUE PENA NIETO TO ANNOUNCE A DEAL TO REPLACE THE NORTHAMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (NAFTA) AT THE WHITE HOUSE IN WASHINGTON, US.

LONDON: An Indian-origin man in the UK has been fined and bannedfrom driving for 17 months after his angry girlfriend called police fordrunk driving.Kamaljit Sagoo had been out celebrating his 44th bir thday with hisfriend on June 18 when the couple got into a fight.He jumped into his car to drive to a nearby store to buy cigarettepaper when she called the police and informed them that he wasdrunk behind the wheel of his car."Unusually, he has been repor ted by his par tner for driving whiledrunk and he was later found by police in the driver's seat of his car,"prosecutor Lorna Rimell told Nor th Tyneside Magistrates' Cour t innor th-east England. "He then failed a roadside breath test," she said.According to local media repor ts, Sagoo blew 61 microgrammes ofalcohol in 100ml of breath when the legal limit in the UK is 35microgrammes.He pleaded guilty to one count of drunk driving and also admitted toofficers that he had been driving without any insurance.His lawyer told the cour t: "It was his bir thday and, as things go, it wasa very bad bir thday for him. He had been out with his par tner and

there had been an argument and he had gone to get Rizla (cigarette)papers. He felt fine to drive. His par tner had been angry at him, shephoned the police. "Needless to say, that relationship is now over". The cour tfined Sagoo, who works as a plasterer, 583 pound and ordered him to pay 85 poundin legal costs and a 58 pound victim surcharge.

TRUMP, UNDER PRESSURE TOHONOUR JOHN MCCAIN, ORDERSFLAGS TO HALF-STAFFWASHINGTON: Donald Tr ump bowed to pressure today tohonour the late John McCain, ordering that flags be loweredto half-staff across the country, as the late senator fired aparting shot at the president in a farewell message to theUnited States.Trump's about-face came af ter he found himself mired incontroversy over his rather conspicuous failure to pay trib-ute to McCain, who died Saturday at 81 after a year-longbattle with brain cancer.When veterans' groups launched appeals for a more fittingsalute to McCain, a Navy veteran who was imprisoned formore than five years in Vietnam, the Republican leader --who had no love lost for the Arizona senator -- blinked."Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respectSenator John McCain's service to our country," Tr ump saidin a statement as he ordered the flag atop the White Houseand elsewhere to fly at half-staff until McCain's burial onSunday. He later told evangelical leaders that "we very muchappreciate everything that senator McCain has done for ourcountry." The White House flag was lowered after McCain'sdeath on Saturday -- but it was once again at the top of theflagpole on Monday morning.Trump's initial silence about McCain underscored the isola-tion of the US leader and fueled criticism that he is inca-pable of bringing a divided nation together even as it mournsa man widely seen as an American hero and a politicalicon. In Phoenix, where a week of tributes to McCain wassoon to get under way, the two-time presidential candidate'sformer campaign manager Rick Davis confirmed that Trumpwould not be attending the funeral.However, Vice President Mike Pence is set to speak at aceremony honoring McCain at the US Capitol on Friday.

STRONG 6.2 MAGNITUDEQUAKE STRIKES OFFEASTERN INDONESIA: USGSJAKARTA: A strong 6.2 magnitude ear thquake struck east-ern Indonesia today, the US Geological Survey said, butthere was no tsunami warning or immediate repor ts of dam-age. The offshore tremor struck at a shallow depth of eightkilometres, about 100 kilometres southeast of Kupang onthe Indonesian por tion of Timor island, the USGS said.A string of deadly earthquakes that rocked Indonesia'sLombok island this summer killed 555 people.Indonesia, one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth,straddles the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tec-tonic plates collide and many of the world's volcanic erup-tions and earthquakes occur.In 2004 a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 underseaearthquake off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesiakilled 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean,including 168,000 in Indonesia.

MALDIVES OPPOSITIONWARNS AGAINST BID TOSWAY SEPTEMBER ELECTION

MALÉ: The opposition presidential candidate in the Maldivessaid he did not expect September's election to be free andfair but trusted voters to decide on his challenge to Presi-dent Abdulla Yameen, who imposed a state of emergencythis year. Yameen is seeking a second five-year term in thetropical tourist paradise riven by political instability since apolice mutiny forced its first democratically-elected leader,Mohamed Nasheed, to quit in 2012.The Indian Ocean archipelago of 400,000 people has facedupheavals since February, when Yameen imposed the emer-gency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed theconvictions of nine opposition leaders, including Nasheed.Veteran lawmaker "Ibu" Mohamed Solih, who is challeng-ing Yameen in a coalition led by the main oppositionMaldivian Democratic Par ty (MDP), spoke to 400 citizensresident in Sri Lanka on Monday."We are very worried about the situation," Solih, who wasfirst elected to parliament in 1994, told reporters in Co-lombo, the Sri Lankan capital, ahead of his campaign meet.Asked if he expected the election to be free and fair, hereplied "No," but added that the opposition placed "very much trust"in voters in its battle against the government.Solih's party estimates about 30,000 Maldivians live in Sri Lanka,forming one of the largest blocs of overseas voters.The opposition has accused the Maldives government of locking upmost of the leaders who could challenge Yameen's bid for re-election,a charge the government denies."We are also very aware that President Yameen is going to rig it asmuch as he can," Nasheed, who also attended the meeting, said,referring to the election. "But when people come overwhelmingly, thereis very little he can do. We are going to win this election." Respondingto Solih's remarks, the Maldives ambassador to Sri Lanka, MohamedHussain Shareef, said, "The opposition is crying foul as anexit strategy and ploy to save face internationally for whenthey are eventually defeated."

NORTH KOREA STILL 'SERIOUS AND IMMINENT THREAT': JAPANPYONGYANG: Nor th Korea still poses a "serious and imminentthreat", Japan said today in its first annual defence review sincetensions eased on the Korean peninsula. Japan's 2018 defencewhite paper also took aim at China's rise as a military power,saying Beijing was sparking "strong security concerns in the re-gion and international community, including Japan".Last year's defence review was published at the height of the ten-sions with Nor th Korea, amid nuclear and missile tests and withUS President Donald Trump threatening to rain down "fire and fury"on Pyongyang if it kept up its threats.But since then, a spectacular diplomatic detente has taken place,culminating in the historic summit between Trump and the Nor th'sleader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12.Nevertheless, Tokyo insisted on Tuesday: "There is no change inour basic recognition concerning the threat of Nor th Korea'snuclear weapons and missiles." Pyongyang continues to post "anunprecedentedly serious and imminent threat to Japan's securityand (to) significantly damage the peace and security of the regionand the international community", according to Tokyo.Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera acknowledged in thedocument that Nor th Korea had begun dialogue with former foesthe US and South Korea."But we cannot overlook the fact that, even to this day, it pos-sesses and fully deploys several hundred missiles that put nearlyall of Japan within range," stressed the minister.In response, Japan is steadily upgrading its capacity to shield thenation from the Nor th's arsenal, including a plan to spend some

$4.2 billion over the next three decades on installing and operatingUS radar systems.The defence ministry is expected later this week to request a record5.3 trillion yen ($47.6 billion) for the budget for the fiscal yearstar ting from April.Despite the historic handshake in Singapore, there has been littleprogress in denuclearising the Korean peninsula and Washington-Pyongyang relations appear to have taken a turn for the worse,with Trump abruptly scrapping a planned visit to the Nor th by Sec-retary of State Mike Pompeo.The white paper also reiterated Japan's worries about China's in-creasing military spending and expanding naval ambitions.It complained that Beijing was trying to "change the status quo bycoercion", referring to such actions as building up disputed is-lands in the South China Sea and expanding naval activities aroundEast China Sea islands disputed with Japan.



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TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 w o r l d

GERMAN, US COMPANIES CONCERNED DESPITE EUTRADE TRUCE WITH DONALD TRUMP: SURVEY

AFTER YEARS OF PEACEFUL EXISTENCE IN THE HOUSE HE HAD BUILT WITH HIS WIFE AND RAISED A FAMILY IN, SHAHA ALISAW THE RIVER JAMUNA SWALLOW THE SUM THEIR LIVES ONE NIGHT – HIS WIFE’S WEDDING SARI, ALI’S CHERISHEDRADIO AND YEARS OF TREASURED BELONGINGS. A FARMER, ALI’S FAMILY OF SEVEN NOW LIVE IN A PLASTIC SHED. HEVISITS THE RIVERBANK EVERYDAY, TRYING TO MARK THE SPOT WHERE THEIR HOME ONCE STOOD.

WASHINGTON: Nearly three out of four companies doing businessin Germany and the United States doubt that a US-European tradetruce reached last month will be followed by a lasting agreement onlarge-scale tariff cuts, a survey showed on Tuesday.US President Donald Trump agreed during a meeting with EuropeanCommission President Jean-Claude Juncker in July to refrain fromimposing tariffs on European cars while the two sides said theywould negotiate to cut other tariffs.The interim deal has reduced the risk of a full-blown transatlantictrade dispute, bringing relief especially for German carmakers andlifting business morale in Europe's largest economy in August.A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany(AmCham) showed, however, that company executives on bothsides of the Atlantic remain sceptical, with 71% doubting whether alasting agreement to cut tariffs can be reached.More than 40% of German companies doing business in the UnitedStates said the US market had become less impor tant for themsince the escalation of the trade dispute, the survey showed.This compared with 20% of US companies doing business inGermany who said the German market had become less impor tantfor them. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Tr ump agreedduring a telephone call on Monday that they strongly supported

ongoing discussions between Washington and Brussels to removebarriers to a deeper trading relationship, the White House has said.Washington is pressing the EU to speed up the trade negotiationslaunched after last month's meeting between Tr ump and Juncker,German and US officials told Reuters over the weekend.

Iran parliament censures PresidentRouhani's explanation in sign

pragmatists losing sway

TEHRAN: Iran's parliament voted on Tuesday to reject Presi-dent Hassan Rouhani's explanations for economic hardship af-ter a dramatic grilling on live TV, a sign his pragmatic faction islosing sway to hardline rivals as new US sanctions begin tobite. The vote in parliament came two days after lawmakerssacked the minister of economy and finance and weeks afterthey sacked the labour minister, blaming them for the collapseof the rial currency and surging inflation. Rouhani won two land-slide elections on a platform of economic reform and openingIran up to the outside world, and his pragmatic suppor ters havea majority in the parliament. But his reputation and politicalinfluence have taken a sharp hit as his promised economicgains have failed to materialise. His highest profile achieve-ment was to negotiate the lifting of financial sanctions on Iran ina 2015 deal with world powers over its nuclear programme, butUS President Donald Tr ump pulled out in May and Washingtonhas re-imposed sanctions.Rouhani spoke out in parliament in defence of his economicrecord, blaming the country's woes on the US sanctions ratherthan his team's management. But a majority of lawmakers votedto reject his explanation in four out of five areas. There wereconflicting repor ts about what would follow from the vote: sev-eral Iranian news agencies said Rouhani's case would now berefer red to the judiciary, although the spokesman for the parlia-mentary leadership, Behrouz Nemati, said lawmakers must holdfur ther discussion before that would take place.The action in parliament is a fur ther sign of how the Tr umpadministration's decision to re-impose sanctions could affectIran's leadership and its relationship with the outside world,potentially for decades to come.Iran's rulers have been divided between a pragmatic factionthat aims for better international relations, and hardliners whoare wary of reforms. Trump's decision to abandon the nucleardeal was opposed by US allies in Europe, who argued that he under-mined Rouhani and strengthened the hands of the hardliners.While Rouhani and his cabinet run Iran's day-to-day affairs, ultimateauthority lies with the Supreme Leader, 79-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,in power since 1989. Weakening the pragmatists now could affect thechoice of Khamenei's successor.

This picture of Katrina Kaif fromthe sets of 'Bharat' is going tomake your Monday brighter

NEW DELHI: BOLLYWOOD ACTOR DHARMANDRA WITH HIS SONS BOBBY DEOL AND SUNNY DEOL DURING A MUSIC LAUNCH FORTHEIR UPCOMING FILM YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA PHIR SE, IN NEW DELHI. (PTI)

If the breathtaking still of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif from the sets of Bharatwas not enough to make your weekend much more happier, then there is yetanother picture from the sets that is going to make your Monday a lot more better!Yes, the film's director Ali Abbas Zafar shared a gorgeous picture of none other thanKatrina Kaif from the sets, and we must admit, the photo is drool worthy! Ali took tohis Instagram handle and shared a still of his BFF Katrina, who is donning a greenlehenga (the very same one that she was wearing in the still shared earlier) andposing for the camera. Along with the photo, Ali wrote, "Bharat#between#the#shots @katrinakaif #picture #by @marcinlaskawiec"

PRIYANKA CHOPRA, NICK JONAS ENJOY FIRST DATE AFTERENGAGEMENT, TO HEAD TO ITALY FOR A WEDDING

Priyanka Chopra and fiancée Nick Jonas were spotted hand in hand inLos Angeles as the Quantico star returned to the US after her roka inIndia; Nick and his family had gone back home last week after theengagement ceremony.Priyanka and Nick had some alone time as they headed to the high-end restaurant Nobu for a brunch date. Priyanka looked glam as shewas seen wearing high-waist jeans with a black shir t while Nickwore a blue shir t and brown pants. A Mumbai Mirror report said thatthe couple will be attending a wedding in Italy soon. “Priyanka com-pleted the first schedule of Shonali Bose’s The Sky is Pink with FarhanAkhtar and Zaira Wasim earlier last week and will now only join themagain towards the end of September. She had stayed back to com-plete some prior commitments and spend time with her family beforeheading to the US, a trip that was planned well in advance,” the report said,adding, “During the month-long trip, the actress will also be attending a wedding inItaly with Nick, the bride repor tedly being the daughter of a corporate bigwig.”Priyanka and Nick got engaged according to traditional Indian rituals in Mumbaiearlier this month. A puja was organized at the actor’s Mumbai resi-dence which was attended by the American singer and his parents.Priyanka also hosted a par ty later that was attended by her selectfriends including Mukesh and Nita Ambani, Alia Bhatt, Sanjay LeelaBhansali and Parineeti Chopra.

Abhishek Bachchan and Ileana D’Cruz roped in for for ‘Life In A Metro’ sequel?Casting of an ensemble cast is never easy and from what we have heard,Anurag Basu is having a hard time in casting stars for his film- the sequel of LifeIn A Metro. After Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Kapoor, thereare now rumours of Abhishek Bachchan and Ileana D’Cruz coming on boardfor the sequel of the 2007 hit film.According to a report by the Bollywood Bubble, the Manmarziyan actor and theRustom actress have been roped in for the film.A source was quoted as saying, “Anurag has launched Ileana and they sharea good rappor t. So, it’s no surprise that he approached her for this film. She isequally excited for this. However the paper work is yet to happen. AbhishekBachchan is too being considered for the film and Anurag has given him thenarration. He has liked the script.” The source further stated, “Anurag Basu is

currently working on the final edit of the script and simultaneously is alsolocking the cast. The makers are aiming to release the movie sometime inJuly-August next year. But the release date isn’t final yet.”

Shahid Afridi got ‘Boom Boom’nickname from this Indian cricketer

Shahid Afridi was one of the most destructive batsmen to play cricketever. The Pakistan all-rounder, who announced himself on the inter-national stage with a record-breaking 37-ball century, was known as ‘BoomBoom’ for his explosive style of play.However, Afridi has now revealedthe person who gave him this nick-name. Shahid Afridi was talking tofans during a Q&A session on Twit-ter handle on Sunday. One of hisfans asked him about the person whogave him the famous ‘Boom Boom’ title.Afridi then revealed that it was former In-dian cricketer Ravi Shastri who gave him the famous nickname. RaviShastri was working as a commentator after retirement during thetime of Afridi's rise in the international cricket. Shastri is known forcoining many phrases that become par t of the cricket lexicon duringhis commentary like 'tracer bullet' and 'pressure cooker situation'.

SWAPNA BARMAN BECOMES FIRSTINDIAN HEPTATHLETE TO WIN ASIAN

GAMES GOLD

ARPINDER SINGH BAGS GOLD IN MEN'STRIPLE JUMP

NEERAJ CHOPRA CLINCHES GOLD INJAVELIN THROW WITH NEW NATIONAL

RECORD


TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018b o l l y w o o d

BTOWN RAKSHA BANDHAN 2018Rakshan Bandhan was a special day for Bollywood as many stars(and tons of star kids) came out and celebrated the special day. Whilethe festivities involving Taimur Ali Khan and his family and AaradhyaBachchan and her family have been covered extensively, many oth-ers took par t in the festivities too.Kar tik Aryan, a new entrant to planet Bollywood, celebrated the daywith his sister. Pictures of Sagarika Ghatge applying tilak to her brotherShivjeet have also been shared online. A picture of Shraddha Kapoorwith her brother Siddhant are nice too, more so because of its sim-plicity. Actor Kriti Sanon too shared her rakhi, sent by her sister,Nupur. The message here was quite clear -- sisters can protect too.Celebrating the festival were also Malaika Arora, sister Amrita Aroraand their families with Arpita Khan. Chunky Pandey’s daughter Ananya(who will make her Bollywood debut in Karan Johar’s Student of theYear 2) with her cousins too celebrated the festival that binds broth-ers and sisters.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 b o l l y w o o d

CAST: SONAKSHI SINHA, JIMMY

SHERGILL, JASSIE GILL,

DIANA PENTY

DIRECTOR: MUDASSAR AZIZ

Sonakshi Sinha can’t keep up with the laughsThe 2016 film Happy Bhag Jayegi was a surprisingly fizzy con

coction, a forgettable yet rollicking comedy about a runawaybride. The sequel, set in Shanghai, tries too hard. Jimmy Shergill

is great as the man doomed to falling for girls named Happy, but newheroine Sonakshi Sinha can’t keep pace with the absurd gags, andthe film feels overlong and exhausting.Many a head will turn if you yell “Happy” at an Amritsar wedding. It isthe kind of name Punjabis affectionately bestow on man, woman andAlsatian alike. For some reason, Daman Singh Bagga, played by JimmyShergill, finds himself drawn to girls with that name. He was smittenby one in Mudassar Aziz’s Happy Bhag Jayegi, and once again in thissequel, he finds himself in a haphazard pursuit of Happy-ness.How I wish these movies were about Bagga.The first film star red Diana Penty as runaway bride Happy, tryinggratingly hard at being a Parineeti Chopra type, alongside Abhay Deolgrappling clumsily with broad comedy. In the new film, Happy PhirrBhag Jayegi, the tiresome Sonakshi Sinha plays a different Happy, agirl so given to scowling that her parents clearly got it wrong. So didthe film’s makers. The original was surprisingly fizzy, a film wherethe plot made little sense and the protagonists were duds, and yetthere were giggles to be had. The sequel has an even more ridiculousplot, a tedious heroine and — this is the crucial bit — not enoughgags. It runs out of steam long before the finish line.The plot involves kidnapped girls, kidnapped policemen and kidnappedPunjabi businessmen who like wearing outrageously flamboyanthoodies. This wholesale kidnapping comes cour tesy of Chinese gang-sters, which is why the wild goose chase is set in Shanghai this time.Sinha’s Happy is an academician (a hor ticulturist, if you will) whohas come to China for the first time and been immediately kidnapped,mistaken for the other Happy. Chang, a well-heeled Chinese gangster whospeaks in fluent Hindi, has his hands full with her and his other hostages: Pakistanipoliceman Usman Afridi, whisked away on the day of his retirement, and our friendBagga who was kidnapped — as he never tires of reminding anyone withinearshot — not only on the day of his wedding, but after he had alreadymounted his shaadi steed.Sinha looks confused from the star t, walking out of an airpor t open-mouthed and staying that way till the credits drop, occasionally tak-ing the time to harrumph. The film’s hero is a mild-mannered fellowwho sings Sunny Deol songs at open mic events, and while the char-acter is pleasant, he is played by pop-star Jassi Gill, a per former sounremarkable I have already forgotten him.This is the kind of movie where joining the dots is futile. There issome nonsense about a villain motivated by a China-Pakistan gov-

ernment contract, and none of it adds up, which would be acceptableif the film was funny, and if it didn’t devolve into a shouty mess at theend. The last for ty minutes — which feature a concer t for no apparentreason but to allow Piyush Mishra to dress as Batman — are plainexhausting.It’s a shame because Aziz is clearly the sor t of filmmaker who de-lights in small absurdities. One of these is language. At one pointBagga refers to himself as “Tere Bhai” (“Your brother”) in that highlyPunjabi way of expressing familiarity — as in “look what your brotherwill do” — something that is hilariously lost on the people aroundhim, who wonder whose brother he is talking about. The Chinese whospeak Hindi do so better than the Amritsar-residents, who are fre-quently flummoxed by Hindi, English and Urdu. There is promise here,but most of the gags don’t measure up to their ambition, while thedubious quality of several others is masked by two actors.Much like Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar in the inane Welcome fran-chise, these movies belong to Shergill and Mishra. Here is Mishra ina dodo-covered shir t, calling Denzel Smith ‘Kaancha Cheena’ be-cause he thinks he looks like Danny Dengzongpa. Here is Shergill,breaking into his sickeningly-coy Mohabbatein smile while being ledby the hand during a chase sequence. Mishra, a policeman, findshimself sorely envious of the infrastructure in Chinese prisons.Shergill, on encountering a man named Fa, brings down the house bycalling it a soapy kind of name. These two elevate the material atevery turn, but it is never a good sign when a comedy needs comicrelief.At one point, when a Chinese man is told someone is from India, hisresponse is “Dangal? Dangal?” It’s a smar tly oppor tunistic joke giventhe popularity of that film in China, and Aziz gives us enough asides todemonstrate his potential to make something genuinely clever. Allthe Indians in China stick to the questionable safety of cup-noodles, avillain teaches the Chinese to cheer for poetry and applaud cricketingshots, and in a delicious subversion of the way Hindi films used tothrow baddies into vegetable-car ts during fight scenes, here some-one is hastily shoved into a kiosk of dreamcatchers.Unfor tunately, Happy Phir r Bhag Jayegi relies too hard on obviousattempts at humour at the expense of the Chinese characters — fromtheir names conveniently made to sound like expletives, to the wayIndian characters can’t tell them apar t. This is lazy, juvenile and un-necessary. Inadver tent as it may be, the best joke is on us. It is whenChinese men, looking into a passpor t and then at a person across atable, mistake Sonakshi Sinha for Diana Penty. It isn’t their fault, yousee. We all look alike.

Lakme Fashion Week 2018Hema Malini, Esha Deol walkoff in a huff after ramp walk

Hema Malini and daughter Esha Deol took to the ramp onSunday at the Lakme Fashion Week 2018 and their tradi-tional appearance had the social media applauding. Themother-daughter duo looked nothing less than regal as theysashayed down the runway in vibrant outfits by designerSanjuktta Dutta. Esha called mother Hema her ‘most com-for table partner ’ and their ramp appearance proved it.While Esha wore a pink blouse paired with a white skir twith printed border and a dupatta draped in a Gujarati style,Hema looked elegant in a multi-colored silk saree with tra-ditional bangles, kamarbandh, and earrings. Both of themcompleted their look with maang-tikas, gajras, red bindiand heavy makeup.Taking to Instagram, Esha shared pictures of the event, writ-ing, “Walking the ramp with my most comfortable par tnermy mother @dreamgirlhemamalini for the awesome tal-ented designer @sanjukta_dutta.”After the ramp appearance, Esha was upset when she andHema arrived backstage for media interaction and photo opbut was interrupted mid-sentence. Hema and Esha wereasked about walking the ramp together and their outfits.Hema said she was glad to have walked the ramp for adesigner who was helping empower women in Assam. Shealso said she was going to promote Esha’s film, Cakewalk,and encouraged her daughter to say more about the film.This is when the organisers interrupted and said that this isnot an interaction for the media but a photo op. An upsetEsha Deol walked off , followed soon by her mother.The fifth and the final day of Lakme Fashion Week was agala gathering for tinsel town A-listers. From Kareena KapoorKhan to Karan Johar, B-Town celebrities set the ramp on fireas they turned showstoppers for various designers.Since its inception, Lakme Fashion Week has always lentsuppor t to young talent and provided them with relevantoppor tunities to make their mark in the fashion industry.

A SCORCHING KAREENA KAPOOR SETSLAKME FASHION WEEK 2018 RAMP ON FIRE

Kareena Kapoor Khan is the quintessential diva and she proved itonce again as she walked the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week 2018for designer Monisha Jaising. Kareena was the showstopper forthe grand finale of LFW 2018 and she lived up to the title as shetook to the ramp in a holographic off-shoulder gown.The Veere Di Wedding star is a pro at fashion shows and us oftenseen sashaying down the ramp for her designer friends. On Sun-day, she also launched a new make-up line for a brand she repre-sents. Talking to PTI before the LFW appearance, Kareena said,“To come on the runway and represent the brand I love (is alwaysspecial). But this season is even more special as we have some-thing big coming up and I cannot wait to reveal this to everyone.”As Kareena fulfilled her professional obligations, husband Saif AliKhan and son Taimur looked great as well in Raksha Bandhanphotos shared by Soha Ali Khan, Sara Ali Khan and Karisma Kapoor.

Taimur looked adorable in a white kur ta pyjama and pink waist-coat as Sara and Soha’s daughter Inaaya Naumi tied Rakhi to him.He was also seen with cousin Samaira at Karisma Kapoor’s resi-dence. Apar t from Kareena, actor-model Lisa Haydon also turnedup the heat as she strutted down the runway in a black and silverensemble. The 32-year-old completed the look with soft curls andminimal makeup, turning heads as the showstopper for labelMishru.Dressed in a peach ensemble with floor-length sleeve capes,model-actor Diana Penty rocked the elegant look as she walkedthe ramp for Disha Patil Precouture. The fashion event, whichstar ted on August 22, saw several Bollywood celebrities includingJacqueline Fernandez, Malaika Arora Khan, Karisma Kapoor, ShahidKapoor, Disha Patani, Sushmita Sen, Janhvi Kapoor and HumaQureshi turn show stoppers for renowned designers.

TAIMUR’S RAKSHA BANDHANCELEBRATIONS WITH INAAYA

As siblings Saif Ali Khan and Soha came together to cel-ebrate Raksha Bandhan, the focus was clearly on their chil-dren. From Soha’s adorable daughter Inaaya Naumi tyingthe sacred thread on cousin Taimur Ali Khan’s wrist to Saif’stwo elder children Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan cud-dling the two toddlers, it was a lovely celebration for thefamily. For Taimur, it was a double celebration as he wasspotted at aunt Karisma Kapoor’s residence too where herdaughter Samaira also tied him Rakhi. Karisma shared somephotos on social media.From Soha Ali Khan tying the rakhi for her brother Saif AliKhan to Saif’s daughter Sara celebrating it with her brotherIbrahim on Sunday, the family has been enjoying some greattime together. Soha shared some great pictures on herInstagram account. The family, especially the siblings, weredecked up in traditional attire. The two babies of the house -Inaaya and Taimur - looked super adorable. Inaaya wore apretty dress while Taimur looked cute in a white pyjama,with light pink waistcoat.Sara looked beautiful in an off-white dress while Ibrahimlooked handsome in a light yellow kur ta paired with den-ims. Ibrahim shared a picture of his siblings and cousinInaaya and he wrote, “Raksha Bandhan. #Strongertogether.”Soha shared pictures of Inaaya showing the rakhi to Taimur,who seems fascinated with the thread. She captioned thispicture, “Stronger together! #rakshabandhan.”She also shared one of herself and brother Saif and cap-tioned it, “Happy rakhee boys and girls #be good to oneanother !” She also shared a family picture and wrote, “Broth-ers and sisters #rakshabandhan.”


TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018b o l l y w o o d

hollywood

PRIYANKA CHOPRA LEFT THE COUNTRY A DAY BEFORE RAKSHA BANDHAN BUT NOT WITHOUT CELEBRATING HER 'FAVOURITEFESTIVAL'. HERE'S WHAT THE ACTRESS WROTE: "I'VE GOT AN ARMY OF BROTHERS, AND THIS ONE (SIDDHARTH CHOPRA)HAPPENS TO BE THE LEADER OF THE PACK (BY DEFAULT) HAPPY RAKSHA BANDHAN! IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE FESTIVALSWHERE THE SISTER TIES A SACRED THREAD AROUND THE BROTHER'S WRIST FOR PROTECTION, SYMBOLIC OF THE BEAUTI-FUL BOND BETWEEN SIBLINGS. I CAN'T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT HAVING MY BROTHERS IN MY CORNER... LOVE YOU GUYS!"

Angad Bedi wishespregnant wife NehaDhupia on birthdayHusband Angad Bedi posted a beautiful message for his pregnantwife Neha Dhupia on her 38th bir thday.To mark the special day, the 35-year-old actor took to his Instagramhandle and shared an adorable photo of himself and Neha, writing,"Happy bir thday my world @nehadhupia Mrs DhupiaBedi#happybir thday."Earlier this week, the much-in-love couple announced that they areexpecting their first child. They also shared a bunch of pictures inwhich the to-be mom can be seen flaunting her baby bump alongsideAngad.Neha and Angad recently walked down the ramp at Lakme FashionWeek 2018 for designer Payal Singh. The actors were spotted at theMumbai airpor t on Saturday morning where they ar rived hand-in-hand and with big smiles on their faces. Neha was seen in a light blueoutfit that showed off her big baby bump to everyone. Angad lookedhandsome as ever in a navy blue shir t. Check out their pics:They tied the knot on May 10 in a private ceremony.

Sui Daaga song Chaav Laga: Life’s hard, but VarunDhawan, Anushka Sharma’s fairytale love is real

Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma on Monday shared the first songfrom their upcoming drama, Sui Dhaaga. The almost three-minutenumber, Chaav Laga, is an emotional ride that showcases the ro-mance of Mauji (Varun Dhawan) and Mamta (Anushka Sharma whoplays Mauji’s wife).Sui Dhaaga song Chaav Laga - written by Varun Grover, composed byAnu Malik and sung by Papon and Ronkini Gupta - begins with Mamtareassuring her ailing mother that she’s happy with Mauji, who can’treally provide for her in the way that he had promised. We see glimpsesof the difficulties they face and overcome, difficulties that preparethem for the business they are about to launch.A sweet moment shows Mamta worrying for her husband when heisn’t able to squeeze himself onto a bus, leaving her alone in it. And

when he leaps aboard and finds his way to her, there is a smile on herface. “From life par tners to business par tners,” a title reads, indicat-ing the couple’s journey of becoming small-scale entrepreneurs inthe film. Directed by Dum Laga Ke Haisha’s Sharat Kataria, Sui Dhaagatells the story of a local tailor who star ts a business with the help ofhis resourceful wife.This is the first time either Anushka or Varun are playing characterssuch as these. They’re both toned down and belong to a small town. Ina recent interview to PTI, Varun said, “I approach even my fictionalcharacters as biopic characters. I am playing a tailor in Sui Dhaga.It’s not based on a par ticular person but it’s based on my observa-tions of common people and how they go to work.”The film has been scheduled for a September 28 release.

KANGANA RANAUT DONATESRS 10 LAKH TO CM RELIEFFUND FOR KERALA FLOODS

The havoc unleashed by the recent floods in Kerala hasshocked people across the country. Kangana Ranaut, whowas also moved seeing the visuals coming from the God’sOwn Country, as the state is called, decided to do her bit forthose affected and discussed it with her father.However, since the actress was shooting night shifts, shehad been unable to sit down and contribute to the cause.After a couple of days, when she came to know that herfather had made a donation, she, too, decided to make hercontribution immediately. Says our source, “Kangana didthe transaction online, donating Rs 10 lakh for the CM ReliefFund for Kerala Floods.” “I want to urge to people of thiscountry that in whichever capacity they can, they shouldcontribute, even a small amount will make a difference toKerala,” says the actress, adding, “To my people there, Iwant to say, the whole nation is praying for them and sup-por ts them. We feel their pain and sense of loss. And by thegrace of God, they will be soon back to their glory.”SONU SOOD AND ARJUN RAMPAL SEEK BLESSINGS AT GOLDEN TEMPLE AND RELISH DHABA-FOOD, AHEAD OF PALTAN'S RELEASE.

'Charlie's Angels' rebootlacks kitsch element, saysKristen Stewar tActor Kristen Stewar t has said that the upcoming rebootof Charlie's Angels will be more "grounded". The 28-year-old actor was announced as one of the leading ladies ofthe reboot which will be helmed by actor Elizabeth Banks."The re-imagining is so grounded and well-intentionedand really shows the way women can work together now.It tries to be warm and funny, but it lacks a kitsch elementthat we have seen before that works so well," Stewar ttold Enter tainment Tonight."We are not trying to do an impression of the last one, soyeah, I think Liz is like so genuinely naturally funny all thetime anyway," she added.Launched in 1976 on ABC, the original TV series, Charlie'sAngels, ran for five seasons with Farrah Fawcett, KateJackson and Jaclyn Smith playing private detectives work-ing for their unseen boss, Charlie Townsend.

EMMA WATSON IS THE NEWACTOR ONBOARD GRETAGERWIG'S 'LITTLE WOMEN'Actor Emma Watson has come aboard the cast of GretaGerwig's Little Women. According to The Hollywood Re-por ter, the "Beauty and the Beast" star will share screenspace with Meryl Streep and Emma Stone in the big screenadaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic.The film also reunites Gerwig with her debut directorial"Lady Bird" actors, Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet.Laura Dern, Florence Pugh and James Nor ton are alsopar t of the cast. The story follows sisters Amy, Jo, Bethand Meg and their mother in Civil War-era Massachusettsas they navigate first love and their first holiday withouttheir father, a travelling minister. Among many takes oncelluloid, Alcott's book was last adapted into a feature in1994, which star red Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon,Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst and Christian Bale.

BEN AFFLECK ENTERS REHABAFTER EX-WIFE JENNIFERGARNER INTERVENESActor-director Ben Affleck has repor tedly checked into arehabilitation facility at the insistence of his ex-wife Jen-nifer Garner. The Justice League star will be undergoing aprofessional treatment after Garner "begged" him to seekhelp for his alcohol issues, repor ted TMZ.Garner intervention came after Affleck was clicked bypaparazzi buying a box of liquor. The actor was said to be"receptive" to the rehab request, and was photographeden route to a facility. The publication has claimed Affleckhas now entered a "live-in facility" in LA County. This isthe third time that the Oscar winner has sought treatmentfor his alcohol issues. In 2001, the actor completed a 30-day residential rehabilitation program for alcohol abuse.He once again checked into rehab in 2017 and later sharedthe news in a post on his Facebook page. "I have com-pleted treatment for alcohol addiction; something I've dealtwith in the past and will continue to confront," he had said.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


10songsPANIYON SA SATYAMEVA JAYATE

CHOGADA LOVERATRI

MOHABBAT FANNEY KHAN

NAZARBATTU YAMLA PAGLA

DEEWANA PHIR SE

NAINO NE BAANDHI GOLD

HALKA HALKA FANNEY KHAN

DILBUR SATYAMEVA JAYATE

HIGH RATED GABRU NAWABZAADE

PIYA SAMAYE MULK

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SONG

MIDWEEK HIT OR FLOPSATYAMEVA JAYATE 14 CR

GOLD 12.5 CR

MULK 12 CR

FANNEY KHAN 9 CR

VISHWAROOP II 8 CR

MIDWEEK BOX OFFICESATYAMEVA JAYATE AVERAGE

GOLD AVERAGE

VISHWAROOP II AVERAGE

MULK HIT

FANNEY KHAN AVERAGE

b o l l y w o o d

FILM

1CHIN CHIN CHUHAPPY PHIRRBHAG JAYEGI

SONAM IS NOT HERE TO CELEBRATE THE FESTIVAL WITH FAMILY BUT SHE POSTED THIS LOVELY PICTURE FROM HER WEDDING ON SOCIALMEDIA AND WROTE, "TO MY BROTHERS A VERY VERY HAPPY RAKHEE... I’M SO THANKFUL TO HAVE ALL OF YOU IN MY LIFE.. LOVE YOU ALL ALOT! AND SORRY I’M NOT THERE TODAY TO TIE YOU RAKHEE.. YOUR FAVOURITE SISTER, SONAM ALSO JAHAAN KAPOOR YOU’RE THE BEST!"

KAREENA KAPOOR ON RK STUDIOS SALEIt is our family home, will be always close to heartBollywood’s Kapoor family, perhaps the first family of the Hindi filmindustry, has decided to sell the iconic RK Studios. Kareena KapoorKhan opened up about the sale of the sprawling landmark, calling ittheir family home which will always be close to the family’s hear t.The studio was built by her grandfather Raj Kapoor.Kareena, who has been under the weather for the last few days, toldHindustan Times that she is not aware of the reasons of the sale andthat the family elders are involved in the negotiations. “RK Studioswill always be close to our hear t. It is our family home. It is one of theglorious studios to have ever been made,” she said.Talking to IANS, the actor who walked the ramp at Lakme FashionWeek, added, “I don’t know how far what is actually happening. Infact, I have been quite under the weather and I haven’t even met myfather in the last four or five days... But of course, we have all grownup walking around in those corridors.”She added that the decision to sell RK Studio rests with “my father,his brothers and up to them... If that’s what they have decided, so beit”. Earlier, Rishi Kapoor had said in an inter view to Mumbai Mirrorthat the family has taken the tough decision of selling RK Studio 70years after it was established as it was not economically viable torebuild it af ter it was gutted in a fire last year.“For a while, we did juggle with the idea of renovating the place withstate-of-the-ar t technology. However, in reality it isn’t always pos-sible for a phoenix to rise from the ashes. We Kapoors are very emo-

tional lot but then… The investment in rebuilding the studio wouldjust not have yielded sufficient revenue to keep it going,” Rishi hadsaid. Raj kapoor established the studio with his film Aag, followed bythe superhit Barsaat. Its string of successes include Awaara (1951),Boot Polish (1954), Shri 420 (1955), Jaagte Raho (1956). Raj Kapoor’slast film before his death, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, was also producedunder the same banner.

ALIA BHATT TYING RAKHI TOKARAN JOHAR’S SON YASHIS AS ENDEARING AS IT GETS

Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar share a rare bond. Karan is her mentorin Bollywood and she almost looks up to him as a father-figure inBollywood. No wonder then that the pretty actor took time out andtied a rakhi on the wrist of Karan’s son, Yash. In a picture that tookmany by surprise, Alia can be seen tying a rakhi on the wrist oflittle Yash, who seems a little lost. Wearing a green shir t with nomakeup, Alia is a picture of sweetness. Yash, meanwhile, looksevery bit a munchkin with his mop of golden hair. He is seated onwhat looks like his food chair. Sharing the picture, Karan wrote:“Big sister love!!!! @aliaabhatt and Yash!!!!#happyrakshabandhan.”In other pictures to emerge from the Johar household are picturesof Karan celebrating Raksha Bandhan. The online post was cap-tioned: “Raksha Bandhan celebrations at Johar house #karanjohar#yashjohar #roohijohar #photoof theday #sunday.”Raksha Bandhan was a happy occasion in planet Bollywood withmany A-listers celebrating the special day with her siblings. Amongthem were toddlers too. Taimur Ali Khan, Inaaya Naummi Kemmuand Aaradhya Bachchan leading the pack. Among the biggies whoshared their Raksha Bandhan photos were Aamir Khan, thePataudis, Abhishek and Shweta Bachchan Nanda, the BoneyKapoor-Anil Kapoor clan and many more.Back to Alia, the pretty actor has her hands full with work. She hastwo big projects in hand, Ayan Mukherji’s Bramhastra where sheshared screen space with boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor and AmitabhBachchan and Karan’s production Kalank (which boasts of anensemble cast including Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan,Sonakshi Sinha among others) and his directorial, Takht whereAlia will be seen opposite Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan,Bhumi Pednekar, Vicky Kaushal and Janhvi Kapoor.

JAAVED JAAFERI TWEETS SALMAN KHAN DONATED RS 12 CRFOR KERALA FLOOD VICTIMS, DELETES IT LATERActor Jaaved Jaaferi tweeted about Salman Khan donating Rs 12crore as his contribution for the relief and rehabilitation of thoseaffected by Kerala floods, only to delete it later. While Jaaved’soriginal tweet said he had “Heard @BeingSalmanKhan donatedRs 12cr for Kerala.. this man is something else. Kitnon ki duaeinleke chal rahi hain isey. God Bless you bro. Love and #Respect,”his later tweet said that he is waiting to confirm the information.“I had tweeted that I had ‘heard’ about @BeingSalmanKhan ‘sbcontribution. Because it was a very strong possibility given histrack record, I put forward my thoughts and admiration,” hetweeted. Salman has not commented on this.Celebs from across the Indian film industries have par ticipated inKerala relief effor ts. Actor Sushant Singh Rajput donated Rs 1crore on a fan’s behalf while Gold star Kunal Kapoor gave Rs 1.2crore to the cause. Others who have contributed include AmitabhBachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Sunny Leone,Anushka Sharma, Rajinikanth, Thalapathy Vijay, Ram Charan andmany more. Randeep Hooda was seen in Kerala as par t of Khalsa

Aid initiative. Khalsa Aid posted a photograph of the actor cookingwith them to feed the affected people. “Bollywood actor RandeepHooda joins the Khalsa Aid team in Kerala! It’s great to see celeb-rities on the ground and not just simply commenting on socialmedia,” read an Instagram post by the organisation. On his par t,the actor said he felt blessed to be a par t of the team of volunteershelping in the relief work. “Every little step counts,” he added.

SHAH RUKH KHAN SHARES SUHANA, ABRAM’S RAKSHABANDHAN PHOTO, SEALS THE BOND WITH A PROMISE

Bollywood was at its festive best this Raksha Bandhan. Amongthe many celebs who celebrated the festival was Shah Rukh Khanand his family. SRK shared a picture of daughter Suhana Khan andson Abram Khan together. The picture is a delightful picture ofsibling affection. Litt le AbRam looks adorably protected inSuhana’s care. In the picture, we see Suhana wrapping her handsaround her kid brother ’s head warmly. There’s indulgence writtenon her face while Abram is obviously enjoying his sister’s atten-tion. Sharing the picture, Shah Rukh wrote: “Raakhi done...with apromise in the family to respect all women. Respect for womenwill make u inspired, make u tender hear ted & morally strong.Happy Raakhi to all ye bros out there...& respect to all sisters.”Shah Rukh shared another picture which showed his own rakhi. Asimple stone and thread rakhi sat pretty on his wrist.It many recalled that both Suhana and Abram’s pictures and vid-eos are huge hit online. What’s more is that Shah Rukh and wifeGauri Khan have shared pictures where Suhana is playing a sisterfussing over her kid brother. In a picture, shared by Gauri sometime back from their family vacation in Europe, we can see AbRamwarmly wrapped in Suhana’s arms.Few months back, Shah Rukh too had shared a picture of Suhanaand Abram closeup, where again she is holding on to him tightly.Meanwhile, Raksha Bandhan had many other celebrities sharing

their festive pictures too. Arjun Kapoor was clearly spoilt silly byhis sisters, Janhvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor, Anshula and ShanayaKapoor (daughter of Sanjay Kapoor). However, picture of the dayhad to cer tainly belong to Taimur Ali Khan with his cousin sister,baby Inaaya Naummi Kemmu and big sister Sara Ali Khan. In apicture of Taimur and Inàaya, the expression they share as Inàayais handing a Rakhi to her brother is priceless.

INDIAN ATHLETE HIMA DAS HOLDS THE INDIAN TRICOLOUR AFTER SECURING SILVER MEDAL IN THE WOMEN'S 400M FINALON ATHLETICS TRACK EVENT. (PTI)

FOLLOWING IS THE COMPLETE SCHEDULE:MEN'S SCHEDULE:Men Pool A (MA) - India, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Hong KongChinaMen Pool B (MB) - Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Oman,Thailand, IndonesiaMonday, 20 August 2018:12:00 - Korea v Hong Kong China14:00 - Japan v Sri Lanka16:00 - Bangladesh v Oman18:00 - Pakistan v Thailand20:00 - Malaysia v IndonesiaWednesday, 22 August 2018:12:00 - Malaysia v Thailand14:00 - Pakistan v Oman16:00 - Korea v Sri Lanka18:00 - India v Hong Kong China20:00 - Indonesia v BangladeshFriday, 24 August 2018:12:00 - Oman v Thailand14:00 - Bangladesh v Malaysia16:00 - Japan v India18:00 - Indonesia v Pakistan20:00 - Sri Lanka v Hong Kong ChinaSunday, 26 August 2018:12:00 - Hong Kong China v Japan14:00 - Thailand v Bangladesh16:00 - Korea v India18:00 - Pakistan v Malaysia20:00 - Oman v IndonesiaTuesday, 28 August 2018:12:00 - Bangladesh v Pakistan14:00 - India v Sri Lanka16:00 - Malaysia v Oman18:00 - Japan v Korea20:00 - Thailand v Indonesia

WOMEN'S SCHEDULE:Women Pool A (WA) - China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong China,Chinese TaipeiWomen Pool B (WB) - Korea, India, Thailand, Kazakhstan, In-donesiaSunday, 19 August 2018:14:00 - Japan v Chinese Taipei16:00 - Malaysia v Hong Kong China18:00 - Thailand v Kazakhstan20:00 - India v IndonesiaTuesday, 21 August 2018:14:00 - India v Kazakhstan16:00 - Japan v Hong Kong China18:00 - China v Chinese Taipei20:00 - Korea v IndonesiaThursday, 23 August 2018:14:00 - Thailand v Korea16:00 - Malaysia v China18:00 - Hong Kong China v Chinese Taipei20:00 - Kazakhstan v IndonesiaSaturday, 25 August 2018:14:00 - Chinese Taipei v Malaysia16:00 - Indonesia v Thailand18:00 - India v Korea20:00 - Japan v ChinaMonday, 27 August 2018:14:00 - China v Hong Kong China16:00 - Korea v Kazakhstan18:00 - Thailand v India20:00 - Malaysia v Japan

ASIAN GAMES 2018: SCHEDULE

Schedule for classification matches




HIMA DAS, MUHAMMED ANAS, DUTEE CHANDHERALD INDIA’S TRACK TURNAROUND

JAKARTA: The three could not be more different. One is a junior worldchampion just getting a taste of life in the fast lane. The other is aNavy man on a national record-breaking spree since 2016. And thethird, India’s fastest woman, has been at the forefront of a globalbattle against gender testing.On Sunday in Jakar ta, Hima Das, Muhammed Anas and Dutee Chandconverged in a series of dramatic per formances that first suggested,then insisted, and finally heralded India’s track turnaround on theAsian Games stage. India had been on the slide after Busan 2002,

when Saraswati Saha (200m), KM Beenamol (800m) and Sunita Rani(1500m) had emerged as the golden girls of Indian athletics.On Sunday, Das, 18, the only Indian to win at U-20 junior world cham-pionships in Helsinki last month, was the first to raise the bar whenshe clocked 50.79 seconds, finishing behind an inspired run by gold-medal winner Salwa Naser of Bahrain. Das broke the national recordtwice in two days — first in the heats (51 seconds), then in the final.“It is a silver but I am not disappointed. I’ve done my bit,” Das, stillout of breath, said moments after the finish.

Virat Kohli teaches Stuar t Broad a lesson for sledging Rishabh PantIndia not only beat England by 203 runs in the third Test at Trent Bridge, but skipper Virat Kohli also taught England pacer Stuar t Broada lesson. The pacer had given debutant Rishabh Pant a send-off after dismissing him for 1 in India’s second innings. But skipper Kohliensured that he stood right behind his player and gave it back to Broad.With Broad looking to delay the inevitable for England in their second innings as they stared at a humiliating loss in the Test, the Indianclose-in fielders were giving the tail-ender a hard time at the crease.Broad turned to Kohli and said that his boys were being aggressive. But Kohli told the bowler that this is what happens when one goesaf ter a youngster. On the personal front, Kohli has been the best per former for the Indian cricket team in the ongoing Test series againstEngland and he is showing no signs of slowing down.With 440 runs in six innings at an average of 73.33, Kohli has enjoyed a brilliant run of form in the series.At the star t of the series, a lot was written about Kohli’s disastrous form in England. However, the skipper has proven everyone wrongwith his impressive per formances and led from the front.Kohli’s 200 runs at Trent Bridge — the second time in the series he had compiled a double century of runs in the match, following hisdefiant effor t in a losing cause at Edgbaston — was exactly what India needed after going 2-0 down in the series to make a comeback.It was a comprehensive show at Trent Bridge from the Indians and they will now look to make it 2-2 at Southampton.

‘Rishabh Pant has guts but needs some improvements’Rishabh Pant passed his Test debut against England at Trent Bridge with flying colours, and delightedformer India stumper Farokh Engineer sees a bit of himself in the 20-year-old.Pant took seven catches in a composed showing but his fearlessness was hailed after becom-ing the first Indian to get off the mark in Test cricket with a six, hoicking England leg-spinnerAdil Rashid over long on off the second ball he faced.“I’m very impressed, he has tremendous reflexes,” he said on Sunday. “I love to seeyoungsters make a mark. He didn’t show any nerves and hit the second ball for a six. Myfirst three balls I faced in Test cricket, I hit them for fours, but that was out of sheernervousness.” Engineer made his Test debut against England at Kanpur in 1961, becom-ing popular for his sharp keeping to the famed spin quar tet, and aggressive batting in anera when playing in the air was a strict no.“Rishabh has guts and confidence. Some nerves are bound to happen being his debut.He wanted to get off the mark quickly and that is the shot he plays. But he was bubbling,”Engineer added.However, Engineer, who played for Lancashire in the English County and lives in Manchester, felt Pantcan improve his keeping with minor adjustments. The Delhi Ranji skipper replaced Dinesh Kar thik in the eleven for the game.Pant’s one blemish during India’s 203-run win in Trent Bridge was dropping Jos Buttler on one run. He went on to make 106, but it didn’thur t India as they were already in control of the match.“He gets up too soon. One must rise with the ball. He also positioned himself a bit too back, the slip cordon also. Jasprit Bumrah oncecalled him forward. If I meet him, I will tell him. A wicket-keeper should stay as low as possible to move quickly and even turn half-chances into catches. “But he will learn. Overall, his per formance was brilliant.”



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 s p o r t s

HOW FAMILY SUPPORT HELPEDTAJINDERPAL SINGH BAG GOLD MEDAL

INDIA'S TAJINDERPAL TOOR COMPETES IN THE FINAL OF THE MEN'S SHOT PUT ATHLETICS EVENT DURING THE 2018 ASIANGAMES IN JAKARTA ON AUGUST 25, 2018. (AFP)

Date Match Time

August 9-13 England vs India, 2nd Test 6:00 AM

August 18-22 England vs India, 3rd Test 6:00 AM

Aug 30- Sep 3 England vs India, 4th Test 6:00 AM

September 7-11 England vs India, 5th Test 6:00 AM

SCHEDULE OF INDIA TOUROF ENGLAND ACCORDING

TO TORONTO TIME

INDIA'S GOLD MEDALLISTS DIVIJ SHARAN (R) AND ROHAN BOPANNA (L) POSE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS DURING THE MEDALCEREMONY FOR MEN'S DOUBLES TENNIS AT THE 2018 ASIAN GAMES. (AFP)

ESPORTS MAKES DAZZLINGDEBUT, GIVES HOPE TO INDIA

Gaming is no more for enter tainment only. If you are anexper t, you have an opportunity to win laurels for the coun-try. Gaming has been a passion among Indian youth. Andby the time it becomes an official discipline at 2022 AsianGames, espor ts would have a big chunk of competitorsfrom India.On Sunday, esports kicked off its Asian Games journey asa demonstration spor t at a glittering ceremony with over150 athletes — including nine from India — from 18 differ-ent countries, tussling for supremacy in an electrifying at-mosphere.The Indians could make it to the national side only afterwinning in the South Asian Regional qualifiers. NavaneethaAnand, Ankur Diwakar, Tir th Mehta, Karan Manganani,Tanmay Kumar, Abhineel Bajoria, Giridhar K Sajeev, HarshMaan and Vishwajeet Singh Tomar are trying their luck ingames like Pro Evolution Soccer, Hear thstone, Clash Royaleand Arena of Valor.After Vietnam, India had the second highest number of teamswho had qualified for the main event post the regional quali-fiers along with Hong Kong. “It’s a big day for gaming worldover that the disciplines finally gets its real shape. We toohave millions of people back home, playing games on theirmobiles and other gadgets, and now they have a target toachieve something into it,” director of Espor ts Federationof India, Lokesh Suji said on Sunday.Team members too sounded excited on getting a uniqueoppor tunity to turn their gaming passion into a medal-win-ning one for country. “It’s like a dream come true and I amfeeling proud and honored to be able to par ticipate in AsianGames espor ts event,” AOV espor ts athlete Harsh said.“I never thought that one day my passion of gaming wouldbring me to Jakar ta in the Asian Games. I have practicedhard and hoping that it pays off at the main event,” Tir thMehta, a Hear thstone espor ts athlete said just before thestar t of the event on Sunday.Both Abhineel Bajoria and Giridhar K Sajeev, pursuing medi-cal undergraduate degrees, admitted that gaming at thislevel has boosted the confidence of many of his friends too.“It sounds different when you get to know that gaming canfetch you a medal, but now it seems a reality and I amexcited to it,” Abhineel said.

AFTER ASIAN GAMES 2018HIGH, ANKITA RAINA SETSOLYMPICS 2020 TARGET

Up against world No. 34 Zhang Shuai in the semi-finals, AnkitaRaina put up a strong fight despite being ranked 155 places be-low. Though the Indian lost a gruelling two-hour battle 4-6, 6-7 (6),she left a mark with her quality display.After being stretched, Shuai admitted Ankita belongs to the top-50category. A day before, Ankita had her hands full as she appearedin three matches — singles, doubles and mixed doubles — insapping conditions of Palembang.She was assured bronze after a dominating victory over EudiceChong 6-4, 6-1 of Hong Kong in the quarter-finals. In the process,she became only the second woman after Sania Mirza to win amedal in singles event. The 25-year-old could have played the USOpen qualifiers but instead chose to par ticipate in the AsianGames. “Now that I have won a medal I don’t regret my decision.It would have been nice had the Asian Games organisers en-sured there was no clash of dates. Winning a medal for the coun-try, it doesn’t come easy. I can still play at the US Open next yearbut this is once in a lifetime oppor tunity,” Ankita said.

JAKARTA: Tajinderpal Singh Toor extended India’s impressive recordin shot put at Asian Games, winning their ninth gold medal in thediscipline at the continental event.The win set off celebrations in his hometown of Moga where hisfamily had stood by him as his father fought cancer.Mother Pritpal Kaur, 50, said she was overwhelmed with his son’sachievement and the house was flooded with well-wishers. “He hada dream that he wanted to make his father proud by winning gold atthe Asian Games,” she said.“We all are proud of his achievement as he had to struggle a lot in hiscareer. He had to take care of the family along with his regular train-ing. We always told him that his father was keeping well just to keephim away from pressure. He wanted to visit the village but I told himto concentrate on his training and return with a medal. He has kept hispromise.”

The family watched Tajinderpal’s event live on television. His youngersister is settled in USA.Hailing from Khosa Pandu village, Moga district, in Punjab, Tajinderpalwas encouraged by his uncle to take up throwing events.Major Singh, the village sarpanch, said everyone at home was proudof the champion. “It will encourage youngsters of the village to takeup spor ts,” he added.In 2013, his father was diagnosed with the ailment and underwentsurgery. The family had to spend R10 lakh. Unfor tunately two yearslater, his health worsened. While it was skin cancer earlier, now he isalso suffering from brain cancer.The last three months have been emotionally draining for the AsianGames champion. He had to attend to his ailing father who was ad-mitted to Army Hospitals in both Panchkula and Delhi, and had tofocus on his training at the same time.

INDIA VS ENGLAND: VIRAT KOHLI & CO EYE HISTORICCOMEBACK AHEAD OF TRENT BRIDGE TEST

India end a deserved break af ter the Trent Bridge high and headto Southampton on Monday to build up for the crucial four thTest against England star ting at the Rose Bowl on August 30.

Prithvi Shaw, the 19-year-old opener, and fellow batsman, HanumaVihari have joined the team and await their first net session.The manner in which Virat Kohli and his team have turned thingsaround after going down 0-2 has put pressure on England andmany believe the visitors can complete a historic comeback vic-tory, and emulate Don Bradman’s Australia of 1936-37.India have won only three Test series in England. A key memberof the first, in 1971, was wicketkeeper-batsman Farokh Engineer.He believes Kohli’s team can better the achievements of the pastif they win this series. India won 2-0 in 1986 under Kapil Dev and1-0 in 2007 under Rahul Dravid.“I’m absolutely delighted, as every Indian is, with how India cameback, that too after losing the toss,” said the Manchester-basedEngineer. “They didn’t show much fight at Lord’s, but put theirheads down at Trent Bridge. (Hardik) Pandya came up with an all-round per formance.”Kohli has banished his 2014 blues with two centuries, and thebuzz around him is much like the attention Sachin Tendulkar usedto get, especially in England where he played five series in 21years. Kohli is the focus of the British media, be it India’s fightback,England’s poor batting or Joe Root’s captaincy.“Conditions are very different from India. The ball swings, and nocricketer is complete unless he takes wickets or scores runs inEngland,” said Engineer, who played 46 Tests from 1961-1974.FAMILIAR BUZZHe reminisced on a 19-year-old Tendulkar scoring his first Test

century at Old Trafford in 1990.“He scored his first 100 after having dinner at my house,” he re-called. “We had a barbecue in Manchester the previous night…Sachin at that stage was a wonder boy.“The buzz around Virat is unmistakable. He had a lot to prove after2014, and he has done that. I will be the happiest man being 2-2coming to the Oval. India is very capable of doing that (win theseries).”UNFAIR COMPARISONFormer India lef t-arm spinner, Di l ip Doshi , p layed forNottinghamshire, based at Trent Bridge, for long. “Sir Gary Sobersrecommended me to the county, he was my godfather,” he sayswith pride.He is delighted with India’s 203-run win. “The speed with whichIndia turned things around tells me this team has come of age,” hesaid. “These players fully understand what they have to do; theseries will get more interesting from here.”Doshi played 33 Tests between 1979 and 1984 and took 114 wickets– he has 898 first-class scalps – said it was unfair to compareTendulkar and Kohli in any way.“Virat loves responsibility, takes on challenges and at the sametime is pragmatic. If he gives off his best and still loses, he willaccept it. He leads from the front,” he said. “You can’t compare players ofdifferent eras, but Virat has the makings of an all-time great player.“Tendulkar was a different kind of player, Kohli is different, althoughI have no doubt Sunil Gavaskar has to be the greatest opening bats-man the world has seen. Close to him will be Jack Hobbs (England’spre-WW I batsman).“I feel, Virat will still get better because he is hungry to learn.”

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