VOL 6 ISSUE 10 ● DALLAS ● MARCH 16 - MARCH 22, 2018 ● ENQUIRIES: 646-247-9458 www.theindianpanorama.news

Trump ousts Secretary of State RexTillerson, brings in Mike Pompeo

WASHINGTON (TIP): President Trumphas removed Rex Tillerson as secretary ofstate and replaced him with current CIADirector Mike Pompeo, after months ofspeculation surrounding Tillerson's role inthe Trump administration, a fact Tillersononly learned was official when theannouncement was made on Tuesday, March13 morning.

Mr. Trump announced the news ofTillerson's ouster on Twitter, thanking himfor his service. The Washington Post firstreported news of Tillerson's firing, shortlybefore the president's tweet. Mike Pompeo,Director of the CIA, will become our newSecretary of State. He will do a fantastic job!

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RexTillerson (left)is replaced with Mike Pompeo, the 6th Director of the CentralIntelligence Agency (right) Tillerson pic courtesy CBS. Pompeo / official portrait

MUELLER SUBPOENAS TRUMPORGANIZATION FORDOCUMENTS IN RUSSIA PROBE

WASHINGTON (TIP): Special counsel Robert Mueller hassubpoenaed the Trump Organization for business documents,CNN reported, quoting a source, on March 15.

The New York Times, which first reported the development,said the subpoena included documents related to Russia. Thereports mark the first publicly known time that Mueller has

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Specialcounsel Robert

Mueller, theman in charge

of RussiaInvestigation

Trump has decided to remove his national securityadviser, says Washington PostTrump has complained that H.R. McMaster, a three-star Armygeneral, is too rigid and that his briefings go on too long andseem irrelevant, the Post reported.

WASHINGTON (TIP): U.S.President Donald Trump has decidedto replace his national securityadviser, H.R. McMaster, but the moveis not expected to be madeimmediately, the Washington Postreported on Thursday, March 15.

Citing five people with knowledge ofthe plans, the Post said Trump wasconsidering several possiblereplacements, including former U.S.Ambassador to the United NationsJohn Bolton and Keith Kellogg, thechief of staff of the National Security

Council. On Tuesday, Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the president has contd on page 32

H.R. McMaster (screenshot)/Photo of Donald TrumpFlicker photo

UK snaps diplomatic ties with Russia: 23 Russianofficials told to leave in a week British PM May says Moscow behind murderous bid

LONDON (TIP): British Prime MinisterTheresa May, on March 14, held Russiaresponsible for the nerve agent attackagainst a former Russian spy and hisdaughter as she expelled 23 Russiandiplomats and suspended high-levelbilateral contact.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66,and his daughter Yulia, 33, were foundcollapsed after being poisoned last week.Both remain in a serious condition alongwith a police officer who came in contactwith the same substance.

Russia denies being involved in theattempted murder of the former spy and his daughter. "The Russian state was culpable of theattempted murder" of spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, May told lawmakers. She saidBritain will suspend high-level bilateral contact

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British Prime Minister Theresa May said onWednesday, March 14, she had come to theconclusion that Russia was culpable for the

attempted murder of Sergei Skripal Screenshot

Euless middle school signsagreement with Delhi Public Schoolin IndiaA North Texas school has found a way towork with campus some 8,000 miles away.

EULESS, TX (TIP): Central Junior High in Euless last weeksigned a memorandum of understanding with Delhi Public Schoolin India. The arrangement will help Central students who arestudying Hindi learn more about life in India.

Dr. Jyoti Gupta, principal of Delhi Public School in Ghaziabad,came to Central on Wednesday, March 14, to sign the agreement.Her school is known as an innovative campus providing a qualityeducation for students in India. Like the Hurst-Euless-Bedfordschool district, Delhi Public School offers an InternationalBaccalaureate program.

A delegation from the North Texas school district visited theIndian school in November. The school is northeast of New Delhiin Uttar Pradesh.

This new effort is an example of HEB ISD's commitment tooffering students a global education. The district is one of the fewin Texas to offer Hindi, Arabic and Chinese classes in middleschool.

Bhavani Parpai, the district's former global initiativescoordinator, said in an earlier interview: "We wanted to give thestudents two more years to set a strong foundation through highschool."

To learn more about HEB ISD, visit hebisd.edu.

Texas chemical plant explosion leaves1 person missing, another injured

CRESSON, TX (TIP): Firefighterssay an explosion occurred at achemical plant in Hood County,Texas, CBS Dallas-Fort Worthreported, March 15. One person wasmissing, and another was badlyburned in the blast, which occurredat Tri-Chem Industries.

The family of Dillon Mitchell, a 27-year-old man who works at the plant,says he is the employee that remainsmissing at the site. They also say he"saw sparks" before the explosionoccurred.

At least four ambulancesresponded to the scene. Authoritiesare advising the public to go to ahospital if they came into contactwith smoke from the explosion.

The incident occurred in the city ofCresson. Billowing smoke from thefire forced the Texas Department ofPublic Safety (DPS) to close part ofsouthbound Highway 377 in Hood

County and Highway 171 in Cresson.Cresson Mayor Bob Cornett said

the liquid chemical plantmanufactures products like soap andacid. He said there has been amassive fire department response tothe explosion.

The Fort Worth Fire Department issending 10 units to the scene for fireand hazardous materials support.

No evacuations have beenreported.

The cause of the explosion is beinginvestigated.

2 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018INDIANS ABROAD

Indian American Renu KhatorAwarded for her Role inMentoring Professionals in US

HOUSTON (TIP): A top Indian American womanacademic, Renu Khator, has been awarded by AmericanCouncil in Education for her role as a mentoringprofessional.

Ms. Khator, 62, Chancellor of University of HoustonSystem and President of University of Houston (UH),awarded the 2018 Council of Fellows/FidelityInvestments Mentor Award during the opening plenaryof American Council in Education's 100th annualmeeting.

The award is bestowed annually to acknowledge thesubstantial role of mentors in the success of thecouncil's fellows program participants.

Ms. Khator, who was born in Uttar Pradesh andeducated at the University of Kanpur, is the UH System'sfirst woman chancellor, UH's first foreign-bornpresident, and the first ever Indian immigrant to lead acomprehensive research university in the US.

Ms Khator assumed her current post in January 2008.She now oversees a four-university system that servesnearly 71,000 students.

Indian Origin Jay Shetty Goesto US for Potentially Path-breaking Autism Treatment

LONDON (TIP): Jay Shetty, a seven-year-old Indianorigin, suffers from a debilitating form of cerebral palsyand autism since he was a baby, which means he cannotwalk, talk or sit up unaided. He left with his family forthe US on March 11th for a revolutionary treatment thathas the potential to improve the quality of his life andgive hope to others with neurological disorders.

He is now set to undergo a pioneering clinical trial atDuke University Medical Centre in North Carolina,which relies on the infusion of his younger brother'sumbilical cord blood frozen at birth. "After a lot ofresearch on stem cells, we had decided before I got

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Indian American Ram Villivalamrunning for Illinois state Senate

CHICAGO(TIP): Indian American,former congressional aide Ram Villivalamis challenging 20-year incumbent IraSilverstein in the next week's Democraticprimary for the Illinois state Senate 8thdistrict.

If he wins, Villivalam will be the firstIndian American elected to the Illinoisstatehouse.

The primary will be held on March 20,next Tuesday.

The 8th Senate district has the highestconcentration of Asian Americans inIllinois. It includes 21 Chicagoneighborhoods, among them, all of DevonAve.'s business district - which is knownas a "Little India" - and the suburbs ofLincolnwood, Skokie, Morton Grove,Niles, Des Plaines and Glenview.

Villivalam, whose parents immigratedfrom India in the 1970s, believes Illinoisneeds more diversity in government and anew generation of elected officials likehim to lead on challenging issues it facesat the moment.

Villivalam was born and raised on theNorthwest side of Chicago, where hecontinues to live. The area is part of the8th district.

"As the son of Indian immigrants whocame to this country to seek out a betterquality of life and opportunities for theirchildren, I feel the responsibility to stepforward and speak out on the importantissues that working and middle-classfamilies are experiencing every day," saidVillivalam.

He added that his parents, who wereprofessionals in India, had to workminimum wage jobs before going back toschool. They retired with a combined 50years in public service.

Villivalam said, based on his ownfamily's experience, he believes inlowering taxes for middle-class families

while raising them for millionaires andbillionaires, reducing gun violence,equitably funding public schools, andending discrimination based on race,gender and religion.

He pointed out that, his opponent,Silverstein, was reprimanded by anindependent inspector general forviolating the legislative ethics act andbehaving in a manner "unbecoming of alegislator."

The taxpayers of the 8th state Senatedistrict deserve a senator who is solelyfocused on effective representation, hesaid. The candidate said he has both theadvocacy and legislative experience tomake progress on his agenda inSpringfield.

His experience includes working as alegislative coordinator for the ServiceEmployees International Union (SEIU),where he fought to protect home care forseniors and people with disabilities, childcare for working families, and Medicaidfor those in need.

Prior to that, Villivalam was theOutreach Director for Rep. BradSchneider, D-IL, where he signed peopleup for the Affordable Care Act and put onjob fairs.

Villivalam said he has built a broadcoalition of support, including from fourmembers of the Illinois' Democraticcongressional delegation - Rep. RajaKrishnamoorthi, Jan Schakowsky, MikeQuigley and Brad Schneider. He also hasthe endorsement of the Chicago Tribune,Chicago Sun-Times, and the Indo-American Democratic Organization.These elected officials and organizationstrust his to be the effective, proactive, andtruly progressive our communitydeserves, said Villivalam.

"As I knock on doors to speak withvoters about the challenging issues weface, I hear the frustration people havewith business as usual in Springfield," hesaid. "Voters want a change. We can'texpect different results if we keep sendingthe same people down there."

American Council of Education (ACE) on March 12thawarded Indian American Renu Khator with the 2018

Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments MentorAward during its 100th Annual Meeting.

If he wins, Villivalam will be the first Indian American elected to the Illinois statehouse.

ORLANDO (TIP): Indian American,Nikesh Patel has been slapped with a 25-year jail term after he was foundimpersonating as a bank executive to fundhis escape to Ecuador to evade a convictionfor swindling $179 million worth of fakeloans to a Milwaukee investment firm.

According to the Justice Department,Nikesh Patel was the CEO of First FarmersFinancial LLC from 2012 to 2014, duringwhich the company sold close to $179million worth fabricated loan to aMilwaukee investment firm and $20million to another investment firm basedin Tennessee.

Court documents state that during theperiod of defrauding, Patel created falsedocuments in favor of his company tosubmit before the Milwaukee investmentfirm showing that his company had lentmoney to borrowers in Florida andGeorgia.

He also made false claims that a portionof the loans were guaranteed by the federalgovernment.

In October 2014, Patel, 30, who had thenlaunched a hotel redevelopment company,Alena Hospitality, was arrested by federalauthorities on fraud charges.

He pleaded guilty in 2015 but requestedto allow him to remain free on bail till hissentencing so that he would helpauthorities recover funds to repay hisvictims.

Patel deceived the court by not making

any effort to repay the defrauded; instead,he spent huge amounts on luxury trips andhosted a $30,000 birthday celebration forhis one-year-old daughter.

He funded his trips and expensive eventsby once again involving in a swindle,posing as a VP of Banco do Brasil. Using acon name "Ron Elias," he sold more than$19 million bogus loans to differentinvestors in Iowa.

To add authenticity to his illicit deals,Patel created a phony website and sentemails to convince the victims that hisloans were legitimate.

'There's a certain diabolical genius towhat he did here," Judge Charles Kocorassaid at sentencing.

"It's a little insulting," Kocoras saidadding that "His (US) citizenship was thegift of his birth, yet he's so quick to throwit away because he doesn't want to face thepiper."

Patel is a former executive of Fifth Third

Bank, Beach Business Bank and ComericaBank. He has also been involved inrestaurant businesses, including partownership of downtown Orlando's Mingos.

There are also reports that Patel was aspendthrift who had an addiction to latestluxury cars. As per reports, theprosecutors made the court aware that heowned a Rolls Royce, a Lamborghini andother high-end cars.

He also reportedly wore custom-madejewels and flew around the world in privatejets with Panama being his favoriteholyday getaway where he "blew off steam"at brothels, according to the prosecutor.

An influential political donor, Patelfunded Florida Gov. Rick Scott andFlorida's Republican Party during hisprime years, and both gave all of Patel'sdonations to charity after the FBI bookedhim for fraud.

Hundreds of public school districts,parks departments and other publicentities, including Illinois MetropolitanInvestment Fund, became the victims ofPatel's bogus loans, which had taxpayerdollars invested in Pennant throughmanagement funds. According to reports,after Judge Kocoras announced his 25-years prison sentence calling him "acertain diabolical genius," a sobbing Patelreportedly told the court that "Greed andselfishness may have a short-term benefit,but in the long run it only hurts thoseclosest to you." (Source: DOJ)

Indian American Nikesh Patel sentenced to 25 years for fraud

Judge Kocoras announced his 25-yearsprison sentence calling him "a certain

diabolical genius"

Jay will be in the US for the treatment for a week

3ADVERTISEMENTTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

4 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018US

AAPI Legislative Day on April 12thWASHINGTON DC (TIP): The growing

influence of doctors of Indian heritage isevident, as increasingly physicians of Indianorigin hold critical positions in thehealthcare, academic, research andadministrative positions across the nation.With their hard work, dedication, compassion,and skills, they have thus carved an enviableniche in the American medical community.AAPI's role has come to be recognized as vitalamong members and among lawmakers.

In this context, as the nation continues to bedivided on the health reforms, AAPI'slegislative day planned for next month oncapitol and is expected to be addressed bydozens of US lawmakers from both the majorparties, comes to be a vital part of AAPI'sgrowing influence and having its united voiceheard in the corridors of power. "We areexcited to announce that our next LegislativeDay is on April 12th on capitol Hill inWashington, DC," said Dr. Gautam Samadder,President of AAPI.

"Our daytime program begins at 09:00 amand will include lunch on the Capitol in theRayburn Building. We will conclude in theafternoon, giving participants theopportunity to meet their own Congressmanon their own time. That evening, we areplanning for a reception and dinner withseveral dignitaries at the Indian Embassy,"summarized, Dr. Samadder.

Describing that AAPI is a non-politicalumbrella organization which has nearly 90local chapters, specialty societies and alumniorganizations. Almost 10%-12% of medicalstudents entering US schools are of Indianorigin. AAPI represents the interests of over60,000 physicians and 25,000 medical studentsand residents of Indian heritage in the UnitedStates, Dr. Samadder, a prominent physicianwith decades of service to the country, said,"The mission AAPI, the largest ethnicorganization of physicians, is to provide aforum to facilitate and enable IndianAmerican physicians to excel at inpatientcare, teaching and research, and to pursue

their aspirations in professional andcommunity affairs. The Executive Committeeis working hard to ensure active participationof young physicians, increasing membership,and enabling AAPI's voice to be heard in thecorridors of power, and thus taking AAPI tonew heights."

There are many issues affecting ourcommunity. An important debate is about themerits of doing away with the individualmandate. "As Congress has now passed arepeal of this part of the Affordable Care Act,which takes place in 2019, what does this meanfor the average physician practice if patientsdrop their health care coverage and how willthis impact premiums?" Dr. Naresh Parikh,President-Elect of AAPI, asks.

"Now is the time to ensure our voices areheard on these vital issues. Additionally, thosewith good contacts with their owncongressman, should reach out to his/heroffice and ask them to join us at our programin the Rayburn Building, banquet room B-338,between 10:30 am to 1:30 pm. If yourcongressman would like to speak, we canarrange their participation," Dr. Ashok Jain,BOT chair, said.

According to AAPI Legislative Chairman,Dr. Vinod K. Shah, AAPI's legislativeinitiatives for 2017-18 include, addressingPhysician Shortage, and urged the Congressto increase Residency Positions across USA."Our nation is currently experiencing aphysician shortage, which will be exacerbatedby retiring baby boomers. The result of such ashortage may affect thousands of patients'access to a physician, and ultimately thehealth care they need. The only way toaddress this future crisis is to increase thenumber of residency positions available forfuture physicians to get trained, so that ournation can effectively manage the need forincreased patient care. Increasing the size ofmedical school classes is not enough. Theremust be a simultaneous increase in the size ofresidency positions to train these futuredoctors. As Congress capped the number of

residency positions in 1997, it is time forCongress to act NOW to remedy this criticalsituation. AAPI believes that all Americanshave the right to see a physician."

AAPI Legislative Co-Chair, Dr. SampatShivangi, pointed to some of the otherinitiatives that are being presented to theCongressmen. "They include: Lowering theCost of Prescription Drugs; ImmigrationReform: H-1 and J-1 visas are used by manyIndian American physicians, playing animportant role in providing critical healthcare across the country. Combined with theGreen Card backlog consisting of more than 4million people, AAPI members are veryconcerned about the impact immigrationreform will have on the Indian Americancommunity."

Dr. Samadder pointed to Medicare andMedicaid Reimbursements. He said, "Theseprograms have not kept up with the cost ofcare and the growing populations utilizingthem. It is critical that Congress reviewreimbursement schedules; otherwise, patientsmay not be able to find a physician in theircommunity who accepts Medicare and/orMedicaid patients.

AAPI has been urging the Congress to enactTort Reform: In order to reduce the practice ofdefensive medicine, bring down the overallcost of health care, and limit the number ofmeritless lawsuits, tort reform will bringfairness into the court system and betterserve both the doctor and patientcommunities.

AAPI supports federal and state legislationthat places effective caps on non-economicdamages, limits the use of joint-and-severalliability, provides physicians with flexibilityto negotiate settlements with medicalinsurers and further limits the statute oflimitations for filing medical malpracticeclaims.

Pointing out that from 1980-2005, whilemedical school enrollment remained flat, theU.S. population increased by more than 70

million people. Because the percentage ofbaby-boomer generation doctors (55 and older)rose from 27 percent to 34 percent during thistime, the Association of American MedicalColleges (AAMC) predicts that America willneed 90,000 physicians by 2020, Dr. Ashok Jain,said, the number of physicians needed by 2025according to the AAMC will reach astaggering 130,000. One way to address thisshortage is to increase medical school classsizes to meet this future health care need. Thisissue is vital as it pertains to health carereform, as more physicians will be needed toprovide quality health care to our nation'suninsured patients.

"In order to raise our voices together and tohave our voices heard on Capitol, Hill, we lookforward to seeing you on Capitol Hill onThursday, April 12th, for our Legislative Day,"Dr. Samadder added. For more informationon AAPI and its programs and initiatives,please visit: www.aapiusa.org

(Based on a Press Release)

:"We are excited to announce that our nextLegislative Day is on April 12th on capitol Hill

in Washington, DC," said Dr. GautamSamadder, President of AAPI

Hindus commend Emory University forRamayana exhibition curated by students

ATLANTA (TIP): "Tell the Whole Storyfrom Beginning to End:" The Ramayana inIndian Painting- exhibition has been launchedat Michael C. Carlos Museum of EmoryUniversity (Carlos Museum), which willcontinue till May 20.

Claimed to be first-of-its kind art exhibitwhich was curated, organized and researchedexclusively by Emory students; unitingartwork and classwork; in the class "The Artof an Hindu Epic"; which was taught byprofessors Ellen Gough and Marko Geslanifrom Emory's Department of Religion.

The paintings in this exhibition arereportedly dated between the 17th and 19thcenturies, including "The Coronation ofRama" (1840). Students included Darby Caso,Parth Goyal, Kristin Kimberlain, SaayliKokitkar, Marshall Kupka-Moore, ElizabethMuse, Thomas Shen, Tarun Swaminathan;most of whom had little background in arthistory; reports suggest.

Hindu statesman Rajan ZedcommendedEmory University for highlighting Hinduheritage through Ramayana exhibition.

Rajan Zed, who is President of UniversalSociety of Hinduism, urged majoruniversities of the world; including Harvard,Oxford, Stanford, Cambridge, Princeton, UCBerkeley, Yale, Columbia, Toronto, Tokyo,Melbourne, etc.; to frequently offer Hinduism

focused classes and exhibitions, thus sharingrich philosophy-concepts-symbols-traditions-art of this oldest religion with the rest of theworld. If they needed any assistance, he orother Hindu scholars would gladly help, Zedadded.

Carlos Museum, founded in 1919, "collects,preserves, exhibits, and interprets art andartifacts from antiquity to the present". Itscollections include some 17,000 artifacts.Bonnie Speed is the Director.

Internationally recognized Emory

University in Atlanta (Georgia), one of theworld's leading research universities, wasfounded by Methodists (university maintainsa formal affiliation with the United MethodistChurch) in 1836. It serves about 15,252students with about $5.4 billion annualoperating budget and has been ranked amongtop in most beautiful campuses and happiestcolleges. Dr. Claire E. Sterk is the President,while Robert C. Goddard III is its TrusteesChair.

Hinduism, third largest religion of theworld, has about 1.1 billion adherents andmoksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. Thereare about three million Hindus in USA.Ramayana, a narrative poem of about 25,000slokas beginning in BCE period is divided intoseven kandas.

The paintings in this exhibition are reportedly datedbetween the 17th and 19th centuries, including "TheCoronation of Rama" (1840). Students included DarbyCaso, Parth Goyal, Kristin Kimberlain, Saayli Kokitkar,Marshall Kupka-Moore, Elizabeth Muse, Thomas Shen,Tarun Swaminathan; most of whom had little backgroundin art history; reports suggest.

5USTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

Perhaps by now, Stephen Hawking, who spent a lifetime studying physics and cosmology, has alreadyunlocked the mysteries of the universe. That is, if we go by the theory of God's existence and the commonbelief that we get to meet the Creator after death. Or, perhaps, he's nothing now, after having lived for 76

years. That is, if we go by Stephen Hawking's conviction that the brain is akin to a computer and you just ceaseto exist when its parts fail. There is no heaven or afterlife. So, how did the universe come into being? ProfessorHawking believed: "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something." Both points of view areunsubstantiated. The curiosity to fathom the depth of the universe has been eternal: where do we come from?

It is this quest to know why the universe is as it is and why it exists that had led Hawking to trailblazingbreakthroughs in the deep dark world of the cosmos. He earned a name for himself in the scientific communitythat often regarded him in the same league as Newton and Einstein. This distinction came from the Britishprofessor's theoretical prediction that black holes are not so dense that things cannot escape their gravity, thusdebunking the earlier theory on these objects. Scientists christened the thermal radiations theoreticallyemanating from the black holes as "Hawking radiation". To explain the origins of the world, the physicistworked on uniting two theories: theory of relativity (the nature of space and time) and quantum theory (howthe smallest particles in the universe behave). The common man connected with Hawking's book, A BriefHistory of Time (1988), that delves into the ways of the space without jargon. It is an enduring bestseller.

Hawking became a star, with the brilliance of his mind that dazzled, more so because it incredibly overcamea debilitating progressing disease; one that left him wheelchair-bound and paralyzed for most of his life. A truetribute to the genius who pushed the limits of widely accepted truths about our universe as also the dauntingdiagnosis would be to follow his advocacy: use technology towards a more equitable world order. Meanwhile, theeternal question remains: Where do we come from? (Tribune, India)

WASHINGTON DC (TIP):

Mohajirs have welcomed India'sstatement in United Nations humanrights session on state atrocitiescommitted by Pakistan in Sindh,Baluchistan and KPK. This was saidin a statement sent to The IndianPanorama on March by NadeemNusrat, Spokesperson of ' FreeKarachi ' Campaign and formerConvener of MQM.

Nadeem Nusrat said that theinclusion of the name of Sindh inIndia's statement on human rightsviolations is an important andencouraging development for 70million Mohajirs.

The people of Karachi and UrbanSindh are grateful to Indiangovernment for raising voice on theplight of Mohajirs in Pakistan.

Nusrat further said that Sindh,especially Karachi and Urbancenters of Sindh province had beenneglected previously by world

community while highlightingpersecution of ethnic groups inPakistan. More than 25,000 innocentMohajirs have been brutally killedin Army and para militaryoperations in Karachi since 1992.Enforced disappearances,abductions and extra judicialkillings are on the rise in Pakistan'sport city of Karachi since the latestphase of operation in 2013.

Highlighting the issue ofterrorism, Mr. Nusrat said thatreligious extremism, fanaticismand terrorism is being nourished bythe state of Pakistan which has putpeace and security of the region atstake. Pakistani soil has been usedto plan and launch major terrorattacks in the region. The providersand facilitators of terrorsanctuaries in Pakistan must behold accountable by United Nationsand all peace-loving Nations.

He further added that ' Free

Karachi ' Campaign has beendrawing world's attention towardsthe state atrocities of Pakistan onMohajirs, Balochs, Pashtuns andother religious minorities.

Nusrat said that ' Free Karachi 'team is approaching internationalcommunity, lawmakers, decisionmaking bodies, human rightsgroups and is getting tremendoussupport from all quarters.

Nadeem Nusrat urged all themajor regional powers of SouthAsia and international powers toput pressure on Pakistan to endcrimes against humanity inKarachi and urban centers of Sindhalong with Balochistan, KPK andFATA.

' Free Karachi ' Campaign waslaunched on January 15th on theeve of Martin Luther King Day toraise global awareness on humanrights violations in Karachi andUrban Sindh.

Mohajirs welcome India's statement in UN Humanrights session: Nadeem Nusrat

TRUMP SETS NOV 11 ASDATEFOR MILITARY PARADENo Heavy Tanks, but heavy air component

WASHINGTON (TIP):

President Trump isbelieved to have decidedon the date of his Parade.It is Nov 11 or Veteran'sDay. However, accordingto a Pentagon memo, thespectacle won't includetanks, to "minimize thedamage done to localinfrastructure," AlJazeera reported.

Trump asked thePentagon to plan a parade in February after he visited France in July forBastille Day festivities.

Per the Pentagon memo, which released on Friday, March 9, theparade will travel from the White House to the Capitol in WashingtonD.C. Instead of tanks, the show will end with a "heavy air component,"which will incorporate older aircraft. While the memo didn't reveal theparade's cost, it did mention that it will "highlight the evolution ofwomen veterans from separate formations in World War II to today'sintegrated formations."

Military parades are unusual in America; the last time we had onewas in D.C. in 1991, after the Gulf War. That parade cost $8 million andwould cost considerably more today. According to White House presssecretary Sarah Sanders, Trump's goal is to have "a celebration" of themilitary. People have criticized Trump for the idea, comparing theparade to those that occur in China and North Korea.

And speaking of North Korea: A couple of days after news broke thatTrump wanted to plan a military parade, Kim Jong-Un executed his ownon Feb. 8, the eve of the opening ceremony of South Korea's WinterOlympics. Kim's celebration included troops, missiles, and tanks, theentirety of which traveled to Kim II Sung Square in a largechoreographed military display. An estimated 50,000 people assembledto watch the parade, 13,000 of which were troops.

contd from page 4

Indian Origin Jay Shetty Goes to...pregnant with Kairav, our younger son, that we would save our child's

cord blood. Then towards the end of the pregnancy in 2015, I got in touchwith Duke University and they were planning on doing a sibling cordblood therapy trial", said Jay's mother Shilpa.

She and husband Raj had the umbilical cord blood of their youngerchild frozen and stored by UK-based blood bank Cells4Life.

Umbilical cord blood is rich in a kind of stem cell that can, in theory,help heal most parts of the body, either by stimulating growth or bytransforming into the required type of mature cell.

These can then be put back into the body, even many years later. Itrelies on a close tissue match for the recipient, to lower the odds of thebody rejecting it.

When the Shettys contacted Duke University, they were told thatKairav's blood was a match for Jay's raising the prospect of the UK'sfirst such sibling cord blood therapy on Jay.

Stem cell is a cure for some and improvement for all, so we are prettysure it will definitely have some improvement in Jay's life, said Shilpa.

The family from Maharashtra, who have been based in London forover 15 years, are determined not to be put off by some dissenting voiceswithin the medical community who cast doubts on the rare procedure.

According to Shilpa, because it is not an invasive therapy , they wantto go into it with a positive nothing to lose attitude.

It is in its early stages and it has always been the norm that peoplewill doubt treatments which have not been proved yet. But stem cells ingeneral after years of proven research are known to have the ability toreach the damaged organ and regenerate new cells, she said.

Claudia Rees, Operations Director at Cells4Life, describes theprocedure as a cutting-edge treatment , considered a cornerstone of arelatively new area of science known as regenerative medicine.

Stem cells and cord blood have already been used to cure diseasessuch as leukemia, lymphoma and testicular cancer; in the near future itis likely that these treatments will provide hope for common and oftenlife-threatening conditions such as heart disease, Alzheimer's anddiabetes, said Rees.

Jay will be in the US for the treatment for a week and undergorehabilitation in the UK after the cord blood transfusion procedure. Thefamily have managed to raise nearly 26,000 pounds through fundraisingto assist with the massive costs involved.

Jay cannot express and communicate much but we are pretty sure heknows what's going on as he is pretty bright.

Kairav is two and half, so doesn't know much. But he knows a lot oftravelling revolves around Jay for therapies. So, he is used to it, saidtheir mother, who believes even a small improvement in Jay's quality oflife as a result of the therapy would be a success story for their family.

President Trump wants a military paradewhich outshines all parades and displays the

might of USA

TRIBUTE

STAR SCIENTISTHAWKING

JOINS THE STARS

Stephen Hawking died Wednesday, March 14, at the age of 76 from complications due to amyotrophic lateralsclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease

6 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 INDIA

RAHUL MAY UNVEIL BLUEPRINTFOR CONGRESS REVIVAL ATTHREE-DAY PLENARY

NEW DELHI (TIP): Is theCongress ready to shed itsstatus quoist tag and take harddecisions as it prepares tofight a rampant BJP in the2019 Lok Sabha elections? Theanswer may lie in RahulGandhi’s choice of candidatesfor the upcoming Rajya Sabhaelections.

Selecting the “right”candidates for the RajyaSabha elections was a key testfor the 47-year Gandhi, who took over the reins of the grandold party from his mother Sonia Gandhi two months ago .

Gandhi nominated local leaders as the party’s candidates,ignoring, in the process, some well-entrenched Congressmen.The move has rekindled hopes among Congress workers thatGandhi may be willing to take tough decisions in the party’sinterest.

Sonia Gandhi would try not to antagonise the “Delhicoterie” and at times ignore the aspirations of regionalleaders.

“Rahulji’s decision to field local leaders in Rajya Sabhaelections has gone down well within the rank and file. Itmarks a significant shift in the party’s policies when it comesto rewarding hard working local workers,” senior Congressleader from Bihar Kishore Kumar Jha said.

“I am confident this will also check the growth ofparatroopers and opportunists who seek all the benefits andthen desert the party at critical times. The move will alsoencourage regional leaders to put in more effort on theground and work for the party’s revival across the country,”he added.

Commenting on Rahul’s style of functioning, SoniaGandhi said last week at an event that every person has aparticular style of working. Source: HT

Media should not act like popessitting on pulpit deliveringsermons: CJI Dipak Misra

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Supreme Court today heard apetition filed by journalist Rohini Singh for the newswebsite The Wire seeking quashing of the defamationproceedings against the website initiated by Jay Shah.

During the hearing the court called for greaterresponsibility from the press and media.

The case pertains to an article published by thewebsite against Jay Shah, son of BJP president AmitShah. The article raised questions on thedisproportionate rise of Jay Shah's company's income inthe past two years.

The defamation case is currently pending at amagistrate court.

The Supreme Court has not technically granted a stayas Jay Shah's lawyers assured the court that they won'tproceed with the case at the magistrate court till theSupreme Court is seized of the matter. The case is due tobe next heard on April 12.

During the hearing Chief Justice of India Dipak Misrasaid that a section of the media and especially "someelectronic media channels" have become "popes sittingon pulpit delivering sermons".

The court said it did not wish to name the channels buttheir conduct has been against the culture of journalism.

CBI registers fresh case relatedto Rs 9 cr fraud at PNB branch

NEW DELHI (TIP): The CBI has registered a fresh caserelating to “fraudulent” issuance of Rs 9 crore of LoUs toChandri Papers and Allied Products by PNB’s Brady Housebranch, at the centre of a storm over a similar fraud byjewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Retired PNB employee Gokulnath Shetty and single-window operator at the branch, Manoj Kharat, who arefacing the CBI probe in the Modi-Choksi case, had beenbooked by the agency in the fresh FIR registered by it, theofficials said. The agency had also named the company andits directors as accused in the case, they said.

Samajwadi Party wins YogiAdityanath’s Gorakhpur, UP CM

says result ‘unexpected’

UTTAR PRADESH BY-ELECTION

LUCKNOW (TIP): Delivering a majorblow to the BJP, the Samajwadi Partywon Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabhaseats in Uttar Pradesh by-election.Samajwadi Party's Nagendra PratapSingh Patel defeated BJP's KaushlendraSingh Patel by 59,613 votes in Phulpur. InYogi Adityanath's bastion, SP's PraveenKumar Nishad defeated BJP's UpendraDutt Shukla by 21000 votes.

Gorakhpur and Phulpur are high-profile constituencies as both the seatswere represented by BJP's firebrandleader and current UP Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath and Deputy ChiefMinister Keshav Prasad Mauryarespectively. Adityanath representedGorakhpur five times in the Lok Sabha,and it went vacant in 2017 when he waselected to UP Assembly to take over asthe Chief Minister of the state.

In 2014, BJP had won both the seatswith over 3 lakh vote margin. InGorakhpur, BJP's Yogi Adityanath haddefeated SP's Rajmati Nishad by 31,2783votes. And in Phulpur, BJP's KeshavPrasad Maurya defeated SP's DharamRaj Singh Patel by 3,08,308 votes.However, currently the BJP is trailingon both the seats. Ten candidates are infray from Gorakhpur and 22 candidatescontested from Phulpur.

ALARM BELLS IN BJP The defeat of the Bharatiya Janata

Party in all six Lok Sabha seats where by-

elections were held this year has soundedalarm bells in the party in Uttar Pradeshahead of the 2019 Parliamentary polls,while stoking speculation about theOpposition stitching an alliance togetherto take the BJP on after tasting success inthe recent bypolls.

The BJP failed to break the jinx ofrepeated failures in Parliamentary by-elections in 2018 when it was defeatedyesterday in Gorakhpur, the bastion ofChief Minister Yogi Adityanath, andPhulpur, earlier held by deputy ChiefMinister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

The ruling partys candidates in thetwo constituencies lost to the SamajwadiParty (SP), triggering a debate onwhether political outfits opposed to theBJP could forge a mega alliance beforethe 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The SP, supported by the BSP, romped

home in the bypolls.SPs Pravin Nishad defeated Upendra

Dutt Shukla of the BJP by 21,961 votes inGorakhpur, a seat which had been withthe BJP since 1989. Nagendra PratapSingh Patel of SP cornered the Phulpurseat, drubbing the saffron partysKaushalendra Singh Patel by 59,460 votes.

As the results of the two by-electionwere declared yesterday, Adityanath saidthere was a "lesson" to be learnt from theoutcome, and cited over-confidence andthe inability to understand theimplications of the pact between SP andBSP as the prime reasons for the BJPsdefeat.

UP Congress spokesperson AshokSingh told PTI the outcome hadbrightened the prospects of theformation of a "maha gathbandhan"(grand alliance) ahead of the 2019 polls todefeat the saffron party.

"We will ponder seriously about alarger alliance keeping the next LokSabha polls in mind," he said.

The Congress had contested the 2017UP Assembly polls jointly with the SPand might want to tackle the pollstogether next year, too, another seniorparty leader told PTI, requesting that henot be named.

The outcome of the March 11 bypollshas sparked talk in political circles abouta continuing pact between the SP and theBSP -- once bitter critics in UttarPradesh.

YSR Congress gives notice for no-confidence motion against govt

NEW DELHI (TIP): For the first timein its term, the Narendra Modigovernment may face a no-confidencemotion on the floor of the house.

Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Congress Partyled by Jagan Mohan Reddy, has given anotice to move a no-confidence motionagainst the government in the Lok Sabhaover the issue of not giving the so-called“special category” status to his state. Butbefore any vote takes place, the noticeneeds the support of 50 MPs ‘in an orderlyhouse’. It is not clear the notice will getthat.

With a comfortable majority in thehouse, the government is safe and willcruise through, even if the motion isadmitted. The move is however expectedto hasten the exit of The Telugu DesamParty (TDP), which pulled its ministersout of the Bharatiya Janata Party ledgovernment, from National DemocraticAlliance. The YSRCP has nine MPs, butfour have defected, leaving it with aneffective strength of five; the TDP has 16MPs, and it can’t risk not supporting amotion that purportedly has the state’sbest interests in mind.

TDP MP Thota Narasimham told PTIthat the party will also support the

motion. Later, Andhra Pradesh chiefminister N Chandrababu Naidu too saidthe TDP would support the no-confidencemotion.

“We will support a no-confidencemotion, whoever moves it. We will beready for that and our 16-17 MPs will fullysupport that. We will cooperate withwhoever fights for the state’s rights,”Naidu told the state assembly, according toPTI. YSRCP MP YV Subba Reddysubmitted a notice with the Lok Sabhasecretariat, desiring to move a noconfidence motion on Friday. Reddy hasalso written a letter seeking support fromall non-NDA parties. The party initiallyplanned to the motion on March 21, butadvanced it amid apprehension that

Parliament might adjourn sine die earlyin the wake of disruptions.

It has also suggested that its MPs willquit from Lok Sabha at the end of thesession if the demands are not met.

The budget session is scheduled to endon April 6. The Congress, with 48 MPs, andthe Trinamool Congress, with 34, were yetto take a call on the no-confidence motionlate on Thursday. “We will firm up ourstrategy by Friday morning,” Congress’chief spokesperson Randeep SinghSurjewala said. A TMC leader said theYSRCP had not reached out to the partyyet. The Biju Janata Dal is unlikely tosupport the notice. A party leader said, “Itis for a parochial issue. We may notsupport it.”

TDP leaders hold placards and shout slogans demanding special status for AndhraPradesh, during the ongoing budget session at Parliament House in New Delhi.

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Lok Sabha (LS)on March 15 passed two Bills on minorityeducational institutions and energyconservation without discussion amidruckus over Trinamool Congress MP SudipBandopadhyay’s allegedly un-parliamentaryremarks against Basudeb Acharya of theCPI (M).

With the protesting leftist MPs staging asit-in-demonstration in the well of theHouse and demanding apology fromBandopadhyay; the National Commissionfor Minority Educational Institutions(Amendment) 2009 and EnergyConservation (Amendment) Bill 2010 wereput to vote and passed. The BJP MPsprotested the way the Bills were passedwithout any discussion.

The LS had also passed three Bills –Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill 2010,Employees State Insurance (Amendment)Bill 2009 and the Clinical Establishment(Registration and Regulation) Bill 2010 –without discussion on Monday, as the MPs ofthe AIADMK and other opposition partiescreated ruckus over alleged corruption inallocation of 2G Spectrum.

“This is murder of democracy,” the BJPMPs, led by Gopinath Munde and ShahNawaz Hussain, shouted slogans as the Billson minority educational institution andenergy conservation were passed withoutdiscussion on Tuesday.

Speaker Meira Kumar requested the LeftMPs to maintain order in the House, butthey did not relent.

7INDIATHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

PAK CALLS ENVOY HOME,INDIA SAYS ROUTINE

NEW DELHI (TIP): Thebickering between India andPakistan over allegedharassment of each other’sdiplomats took a new turn afterIslamabad called its HighCommissioner home forconsultations, which was termedby India as “routine” and“normal”.

Pakistan said it has calledhome its envoy Sohail Mahmoodfor consultations after repeatedincidents of “harassment” of itsdiplomatic staff in New Delhi.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumarsaid the Indian High Commission in Islamabad was alsofacing a “litany of issues” that have not been resolved forseveral months.

“It is pretty normal and routine for any country to call itsenvoy for consultations,” Kumar said. Source: PTI

DHINAKARAN NAMES PARTYAFTER JAYALALITHAA

MADURAI (TIP): RebelAIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaranon March 15 floated a newpolitical party — Amma MakkalMunnetra Kazhagam — namedafter late Tamil Nadu CM JJayalalithaa.

“From today, we will functionwith a name to retrieve the greatmovement of AIADMK from thebetrayers,” Dhinakaran told agathering on the occasion, challenging the rulingdispensation in the state. Dhinakaran and his followers oftenuse the word “betrayers” to refer to the ruling AIADMK inTamil Nadu, led by CM K Palaniswami and his deputy, OPanneerselvam. The party’s name roughly translates to“Amma’s party for people’s development”.

Source: PTI

Judgement in fourth fodder scam against Lalu deferred

RANCHI (TIP): The judgement in the fourth case ofmulti-crore fodder scam against former Bihar chiefministers Lalu Yadav and Jagannath Mishra was deferred onMarch 15 by a CBI special court after the RJD leader's counselfiled a plea.

No date has been fixed yet for the pronouncement ofjudgement in the case which is related to fraudulentwithdrawal of Rs. 3.13 crore from Dumka Treasury.

Special CBI Judge Shiv Pal Singh put off the judgement inview of the counsel for Lalu Yadav on Wednesday filing apetition under 319 CrPC, asking that the then three officialsof the Accountant General of Office in the 1990s be made aparty to the case under 319 CrPC.

Kejriwal apologises to Majithia overdrugs charge; AAP’s Punjab leaders

term it ‘meek surrender’NEW DELHI (TIP): Delhi Chief

Minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 15apologised to former Punjab ministerBikram Singh Majithia for making"unfounded" allegations against himover his involvement in the illegal drugtrade.

Majithia, a senior Shiromani AkaliDal leader, had filed a criminaldefamation case against Kejriwal andtwo other AAP leaders for allegedly"tarnishing" his reputation by levelling"false, baseless and malicious charges".Following the apology, Majithia hasdecided to withdraw the court caseagainst him.

However, the "meek surrender" drewflak from AAP Punjab unit leaders whotermed Kejriwal's step a "letdown".

AAP leaders in New Delhi, however,said the move was to shed court cases, inwhich the party convenor finds himselfmired, and hinted that a similar coursecould be adopted in the defamation casefiled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Kejriwal apology "In the recent past, I made certain

statements and allegations against youregarding your alleged involvement indrug trade. These statements became apolitical issue. Now I have learnt thatallegations are unfounded," Kejriwalsaid in a letter addressed to Majithia.

"I hereby withdraw all my statementsand allegations made against you andapologies for the same," the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) chief said.

The damage caused to your esteem,the hurt caused to you, your family,friends, well-wishers, followers and theloss caused to you is regretted, he said.

Former Punjab minister Majithiaclaimed he was grateful that truth hadwon and Kejriwal had realized hismistake. Since the AAP leader had"tendered his apology", he did not wantto pursue the defamation case filedagainst him, Majithia said.

Accusing Majithia of playing with theyouth of Punjab by "unleashing narco-terrorism in the state," Kejriwal hadonce declared that he would "drag" thethen Punjab cabinet minister "by hiscollar" to jail for his alleged role in a

multi-million rupee drug racket.Majithia, who was once probed by the

ED in connection with the alleged Rs6,000 crore money laundering drugsracket case, had often been at thereceiving end of Kejriwal's ire during theAAP convenor's rallies in Punjab in therun-up to the Assembly election last year.Drug abuse was a major issue in thehigh-octane Punjab Assembly electionslast year and Kejriwal, who was leadingthe AAP charge, accused Majithia, then aminister in the state government, ofbeing involved in narcotics trade.

Majithia had denied the chargesagainst him.

In May 2016, he filed a criminaldefamation case against Kejriwal, SanjaySingh and Ashish Khaitan.

Majithia said Kejriwal, Singh andKhaitan have "made it a habit" to targettheir political opponents by resorting tostatements "filled with lies with the solemotive of hoodwinking the people".

"I will not let anyone besmirch my andfamily's honour. Anyone doing so willhave to face the consequences. I amdetermined to make them face trial andbe punished for their misdeeds," theminister had said.

Majithia 'accepts' Kejriwal's apology Talking to reporters, Majithia said he

had accepted the apology."I thank Kejriwal for showing

greatness in seeking apology for hisremarks made against me. I have told mylawyers that from our side, this case ends

as Kejriwal has sought apology. I haveasked my counsels to withdraw thedefamation case. Person makes mistakeand with the grace of God, if I have theability to forgive and I will forgive," theSAD leader said.

Majithia had filed a defamation caseagainst Kejriwal and Ashish Khetan inMay 2015.

"I had said from the beginning thateither he will say sorry or he will go tojail. Sending someone to jail is not myintention," he asserted.

It is indeed a historical moment that asitting chief minister has submitted awritten apology in court withdrawing allstatements he made against me,"saidMajithia.

The SAD leader said although it was"very torturous journey" for him as hebattled the allegations. "The AAP,however, did not benefit as theircandidate lost his security forfeited inmy constitutency," he said.

Majithia said the entire controversyhad taken a toll on his mother becauseshe could not understand this kind ofpolitics.

"My wife also went through a difficultphase, I thank the almighty that thischapter has ended and truth hasprevailed," he said, adding, "If my twolittle kids were asked in school that yourfather does such things, you can imaginewhat could have been my position. Whatanswer I could have given to them." AAPleader Ashish Khetan had apologized aswell, he added.

Bikram Singh MajithiaArvind Kejriwal

Sohail Mahmood

Two more Bills passed in Lok Sabha amid din

8 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018EDITORIAL

AS I SEE IT

By KC Singh

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

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Democracy put to test: Change inparadigms of contemporary polity Rex Tillerson sacking:

Rexit and beyondMore proof that propriety, protocol, punditryno longer hold sway in the U.S.administration

Even by his standards for unexpecteddiktats, U.S. President Donald Trump'sdecision to fire his Secretary of State,

Rex Tillerson, and replace him with CIADirector Mike Pompeo, came out of the blue.Mr. Tillerson, who was the CEO of ExxonMobilCorporation before taking up the role, did notagree with Mr. Trump on fundamental policymatters, the President said. This is widely seenas an allusion to Mr. Tillerson's preference,contra-Trump, for diplomacy as a means ofdefusing the North Korean crisis. Also impliedwas a widening chasm between the two men onthe merits of the Iran nuclear deal. With Mr.Tillerson's departure, the number of seniorofficials exiting the Trump administration aftera little more than a year has reached at least 24.Less than a week before the long-rumored"Rexit", White House Chief Economic AdviserGary Cohn, formerly a Wall Street banker, quithis post over his opposition to Mr. Trump'sproposal to levy hefty steel and aluminumtariffs. And, less than a week before Mr. Cohn,White House Communications Director HopeHicks resigned after admitting to aCongressional panel investigating Russianinfluence on the 2016 election that she hadoccasionally told "white lies" on Mr. Trump'sbehalf. Rumors now swirl that NationalSecurity Adviser H.R. McMaster may also soonbe ousted. The question at this point is: does theexisting coterie of senior White House officialsenjoy the confidence of their President to asufficient magnitude as to ensure that policiescan be executed in a meaningful way?

In one sense, there does not appear to because for alarm over the incessant departuresfrom the White House. It is quite possible thatMr. Trump has used his first year in office toconsolidate his vision and attract the righttalent to realize his governance paradigm,essentially rooted in a nationalistic, or"America First", world view. Take the case ofMr. Pompeo: he is far more aligned with Mr.Trump's hawkish approach towards the KimJong-un regime than Mr. Tillerson was. There isa case to be made that Mr. Trump's hardlinestance is what is ultimately bringing the NorthKoreans to the negotiating table. Mr. Tillerson,insistent on talks, was likely to have been animpediment to this strategy. The deepermessage is that the liberal order of the Obamayears is gone. Propriety, protocol and punditryno longer hold sway - Mr. Trump had no quarrelwith Mr. Tillerson over the Secretary leavingnumerous senior State Department postsvacant, but only cared about the top diplomat'sconcurrence with his strategy. The Presidentwill likely apply this principle - and find himselfthe right people - in other policy areas as well,such as trade and immigration. Nations thatengage with America may glean valuablelessons from this churn.

(The Hindu)

“The debate now veers around the reliability of the EVMs. Would they be the determinantof victory rather than public's will? Two recent books and a Belfer Center, HarvardKennedy School, report on the risks to democratic elections of cyber attacks andinformation operations raise some uncomfortable questions. How Democracies Die bySteven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt and People v. Democracy by Yascha Mounk debate thedirection of democracy globally. The lessons apply to India under Modi".

GUESTCOMMENT

While Prime Minister Narendra Modiaccompanied visiting FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macron on the

Ganges at Varanasi, at times hand-in-hand, foran iconic view of the Ghats, India hovered overmultiple domestic inflexion points. Whileagreements were signed with France forstrategic engagement, either by "reciprocallogistics" to enable mutual utilization ofmilitary facilities in the Indian Ocean or byadvancing opaque defense purchases like theRafale deal, or the kick-starting of the stalledgiant nuclear project at Jataipur, promisinguntested EPR design reactors; farmersmarched, many barefooted and hungry, towardsthe center of India's financial capital Mumbai.Rural India, where still a majority of Indianvoters reside, was signaling that India could notbecome a great power by lopsided growth andmere promises of achhe din.

The Modi government has, at best, just a yearleft or less, if early Lok Sabha elections are held,in tandem with the crucial state elections, dueby December, in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradeshand Chhattisgarh, where the BJP faces anti-incumbency. But the Modi slogan of acorruption-free India is no longer paraded. TheNirav Modi and Mehul Choksi duo fleeing afterswindling Punjab National Bank of over Rs13,000 crore have dented the government'sreputation. A photo of Nirav amid top Indianbusinessman with PM Modi, and a video withprominent jewelers where the PM identifies"Mehul Bhai" by name while speaking, are seenas clues to their coziness with the regime.

The BJP's poor performance in the recentbypolls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and evenUttar Pradesh fuel the debate that the re-election of Modi, taken as a given months ago,may no longer be certain. The debate now veersaround the reliability of the EVMs. Would theybe the determinant of victory rather thanpublic's will? Two recent books and a BelferCenter, Harvard Kennedy School, report on therisks to democratic elections of cyber attacksand information operations raise someuncomfortable questions. How Democracies Dieby Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt andPeople v. Democracy by Yascha Mounk debatethe direction of democracy globally. The lessonsapply to India under Modi.

Levitsky-Ziblatt argue that in the 21st centurydemocracies are endangered, not so much bymilitary coups, like in the 20th century SouthAsia, or by younger hereditary rulers in theGulf or by clerical rule (supreme leader inIran), but the election of populist autocrats. Theplaybook is old, as Mussolini and Hitler alsotook the electoral route, albeit laced with threatof street violence, but the methodology is now

subtler. The elected leader debases stateinstitutions by weakening the judiciary, puttingcompliant appointees in control of the ElectionCommission, handing over investigativeagencies to reliable and ruthless protégés fortargeting businessmen and opposition figures,emasculates Parliament by negating its checksand balances. Intelligence agencies are co-optedor devalued, as Trump does regularly, andmedia bought or bludgeoned into submission.

The Mounk book explores flagging interest indemocracy amongst youth and the millennials.While 71 per cent of those born in the 1930s inEurope and the US value living in a democracy,only 29 per cent of those born in the 1980s are soinclined. In fact, a quarter of the millennialsthink democracy is a bad way to run a nation. Inpolls in India, there is a tendency to favorauthoritarian rulers, something that feedsModi's persona as a leader unmatched by hispeers. Social media algorithms entrap users invacuum chambers of similar prejudices andthus curtail debate. The leaders use the reach ofTwitter and Facebook to perpetuate theirskewed thoughts and browbeat opponentsdirectly, or by their armies of bots. PresidentDonald Trump routinely terms independentnews outlets as "fake news". A former IndianArmy Chief, and now minister of state in theModi government, coined the phrase"presstitutes". As Rudyard Kipling wrote: "Forthe colonel's lady and Judy O'Grady, Are sistersunder their skins". It seems so are the new breedof populist, rabble-rousing politicians across allcontinents.

The Belfer report is more worrisome as itreflects a debate in India that the AamAadmiParty initiated but was ignored - the possibilityof integrity of EVMs being compromised - andthus the electoral process itself gettinghighjacked by the ruling party. In the US, thestates have greater control over the electoralprocess, but two methods are used for vote

casting. One, is optical scanners (OS), wherevoters cast a ballot by traditional pen and paper,or electronic ballot marking device, and then,the ballot is run through scanning machines.Thus, while an electronic tabulation is retainedin the machine, so are the original paper ballotsas physical record for subsequent audit or voteverification. Two, is direct recording electronic(DRE), as is done in India with option, as nowproposed, of voter-verified paper audit trail(VVPAT). The problem is that the test audit ofVVPATs by the Election Commission is of smallsamples and in a few constituencies.

The Belfer report concludes that "votingmachines can be compromised via physicaltampering (including using removable media)or through external connectivity (e.g. WiFi)". Itrecommends that the OS method is safer thanthe DRE machines, including with VVPATs.This is a matter that needs debate in India, as asecond time, after Indira Gandhi in the 1970s, apowerful Prime Minister is bending institutionsto his own will. Therefore, the integrity of theelectoral process needs to be not onlysafeguarded against the slightest doubt, but alsodone so publicly.

The next year is critical for Indiandemocracy, as indeed the idea of India asenshrined in the Constitution. While in 1975-77,when the Emergency was declared, the worldwas still mired in Cold War and democratic rulehad not flowered globally. Now even the US andits Western allies are casting doubts on theefficacy of its functioning. President Xi Jinpinghaving seized almost total power from the partyand the military posits the Chinese model ofeconomic success via authoritarian structures.Can India keep the flame of democracy andliberalism alive in Asia as a counterpoint? Thatis the drama that is about to unfold in comingyear.

(The author is a former Secretary, Ministry ofExternal Affairs)

People's voice In India, as across the world, democracy as a concept is losing favor.

9PERESPECTIVETHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

By Rakesh Sood

THE FRENCH CONNECTIONSThe Macron visit underlined the growing strategic convergence that draws India and France together

“The slew ofbilateralagreements and

memoranda ofunderstandingsigned, the detailed'joint statement' andaccompanying'vision statements'on cooperation inspace and theIndian OceanRegion, the boatride in Varanasi, andPrime MinisterNarendra Modi'swarmly reciprocateddiplohugs indicatethat the relationshiphas received amomentum thatgives it critical massand greatercoherence", saysthe author.

With French President EmmanuelMacron's recent visit to India, theIndia-France Strategic Partnership

launched in 1998 seems finally to have come ofage. In these two decades, both sides havegradually enhanced cooperation in diversefields covering civil nuclear, defense, space,counter-terrorism, education, research anddevelopment in science and technology,culture, urban development, climate change,trade and economics and people-to-peoplecontacts. The slew of bilateral agreements andmemoranda of understanding signed, thedetailed 'joint statement' and accompanying'vision statements' on cooperation in space andthe Indian Ocean Region, the boat ride inVaranasi, and Prime Minister NarendraModi's warmly reciprocated diplohugsindicate that the relationship has received amomentum that gives it critical mass andgreater coherence.

A shared worldviewAs a country that has prided itself on its

'exceptionalism', France has always beensympathetic to similar Indian claims based onits ancient civilization. This is why bothcountries were quick to voice support forglobal multi-polarity once the Cold War ended.French discomfort with the U.S.'s unipolarmoment in the 1990s was evident when itdescribed it as a 'hyperpower'.

Defense cooperation with France began in the1950s when India acquired the Ouragan aircraftand continued with the Mystères, Jaguar(Anglo-French), Mirage 2000, Alizè planes andthe Alouette helicopter. Joint naval exercises,later christened Varuna, date back to 1983.

Cooperation in the space sector hascontinued since the 1960s when France helpedIndia set up the Sriharikota launch site,followed by liquid engine development andhosting of payloads. Today, it is a relationshipof near equals and the 'vision statement' refersto world class joint missions for spacesituational awareness, high resolution earthobservation missions with applications inmeteorology, oceanography and cartography.Inter-planetary exploration and spacetransportation systems are cutting edgescience and technology areas that have alsobeen identified.

Yet the Cold War imposed limitations on thepartnership. After the Cold War, Francedecided that its preferred partner in theIndian Ocean Region would be India. InJanuary 1998, President Jacques Chiracdeclared that India's exclusion from the globalnuclear order was an anomaly that needed tobe rectified. After the nuclear tests in May 1998when India declared itself a nuclear weaponstate, France was the first major power to opendialogue and displayed a far greaterunderstanding of India's securitycompulsions compared to other countries. Itwas the first P-5 country to support India'sclaim for a permanent seat in an expanded andreformed UN Security Council.

Building a partnershipWith the establishment of a Strategic

Dialogue, cooperation in defense, civil nuclear,space, intelligence sharing, and counter-terrorism has grown. An agreement forbuilding six Scorpène submarines in Indiawith French help was signed in 2005. Similarly,technology sharing, and acquisitions of shortrange missiles and radar equipment wereconcluded. Joint exercises between the airforces and the armies were instituted in 2003and 2011, respectively. The government-to-government agreement for 36 Rafale aircraft,salvaged out of the prolonged negotiations forthe original 126 which were at an impasse, wasas much driven by technical requirements as

by political considerations. The ambitiousoffset target of 50% (nearly ?25,000 crore),properly implemented, can help in building upIndia's budding aerospace industry.

In the nuclear field, an agreement wassigned about a decade ago for building six EPRnuclear power reactors with a total capacity of9.6 GW for which negotiations have beenongoing between the Nuclear PowerCorporation of India (NPCIL) and Areva, andnow EdF. Terror strikes in France in recentyears by home-grown terrorists have enlargedthe scope of counter-terrorism cooperation toinclude cyber security and discussions onradicalization.

Even though these areas provided a robustbasis for engagement, it remained primarily ata government-to-government level. In recentyears, it was clear that for a wider partnership,strengthening business-to-business andpeople-to-people relationships was essential.Climate change and renewable energyresources, particularly solar, soon emerged asa new plank, reflected in the multilateralinitiative of the International Solar Alliance.Another area identified was urban planningand management of services like housing,transport, water, sanitation, etc. using thepublic private partnership model which theFrench have employed successfully. Mr.Macron's visit has enabled progress to beregistered across a variety of sectorsincluding the strategic partnership areas.

There has been a growing convergence ofinterests in maritime cooperation. Like India,France has expressed concern about China'sgrowing presence in the Indian Ocean Region.French overseas territories in the Indian andthe Pacific Oceans provide it with the secondlargest exclusive economic zone globally. It haslong maintained bases in Reunion Islands andDjibouti and established one in Abu Dhabi in2009. This regional dimension is reflected inthe Vision Statement on cooperation in theIndian Ocean Region.

The signing of MoUs regarding theprovision of reciprocal logistics support toeach other's armed forces, exchange andreciprocal protection of classified informationand developing shared space studies andassets for maritime awareness provide thebasis on which to strengthen joint navalexercises. With the U.S., naval cooperation hasbeen easier with the Pacific Command whichcovers China and the region up to the Bay ofBengal but more difficult with the CentralCommand which covers western Indian Oceanand the Arabian Sea because of CentralCommand's privileged relationship withPakistan. Therefore, strengtheningcooperation with France, particularly in thewestern Indian Ocean Region makes eminentstrategic sense even as India develops its

presence in Oman (Duqm) and Seychelles(Assumption Island).

The agreement on the industrial wayforward between NPCIL and EdF affirms thatwork at Jaitapur will commence before theend of 2018. Equally significant are the twoagreements signed between EdF and otherFrench entities and L&T and Reliance,respectively, reflecting the engagement ofIndian industry.

Trade has grown in recent years but at $10billion is half of the trade with Germany. Thesigning of nearly $16 billion worth ofagreements at the business summit indicatesthat private sectors in both countries arebeginning to take notice. There are nearly 1,000French companies present in India including39 of the CAC 40 while over a hundred Indianbusinesses have established a presence inFrance. In the past, Indian companies saw theU.K. as the entry point for Europe; now withBrexit approaching, Mr. Macron has cleverlypitched that India should look at France as itsentry point for Europe and Francophonie! Theflagship program of Smart Cities in whichFrance is focusing on Chandigarh, Nagpur andPuducherry is taking shape as more than halfthe business agreements signed related toelectric mobility, water supply, wastemanagement and smart grids.

Educational linksPotentially, the most significant was the

focus on youth and student exchanges.Currently about 2,500 Indians go to Franceannually to pursue higher education,compared to more than 250,000 from China. Atarget has been set to raise it to 10,000 by 2020.The agreement on mutual recognition ofacademic degrees and the follow-onKnowledge Summit, where 14 MoUs betweeneducational and scientific institutions weresigned, is a welcome move.

Tourism is another area that has receivedattention. A target of a million Indian touristsand 335,000 French tourists has been set for2020. Given that France receives over 80million tourists a year and India around ninemillion, these targets may seem modest butreflect that while there are only about 20flights a week between India and France, thereare four times as many to Germany and 10times as many to the U.K.

The Strategic Partnership has alreadycreated a solid foundation; other aspects havenow received the much needed focus and withproper implementation, it can add to thegrowing strategic convergence that drawsIndia and France together.

(The author is a former Ambassador to Franceand currently Distinguished Fellow at the

Observer Research Foundation. E-mail:rakeshsood2001@yahoo.com)

The diplohug. Indian PrimeMinister hugs Modi hugs French

President Emmanuel Macron

10 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018WORLD

UK, US, France, Germany jointlycondemn chemical attack on ex-spy

LONDON (TIP): The leaders of France, Germany,Britain and the United States issued a joint statement onThursday condemning a chemical attack on a Russianformer double agent in England and blaming Moscow for it.

Moscow has denied any responsibility for the attack onSergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Britain has expelled23 Russian diplomats, and Moscow is expected to retaliate.

"We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United Statesand the United Kingdom, abhor the attack that took placeagainst Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK, on 4March 2018," the statement said.

"This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a typedeveloped by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of anerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.

"It is an assault on UK sovereignty and any such use by aState party is a clear violation of the Chemical WeaponsConvention and a breach of international law. It threatensthe security of us all."

The four nations called on Russia to provide full andcomplete disclosure of its Novichok nerve agentprogramme to the Organisation for the Prohibition ofChemical Weapons (Reuters)

Slovak Prime Minister Ficoresigns, successor named

BRATISLAVA (TIP): Slovak Prime Minister Robert Ficoresigned on March 15 after more than two weeks of politicalturmoil and public protests sparked by the murder of aninvestigative journalist in late February.

President Andrej Kiska accepted Fico's resignation at aceremony and mandated his deputy, Peter Pellegrini, toform a new government. (Reuters)

China ramps up securitypresence in Tajikistan: Report

BEIJING (TIP): An independent think tank says China'smilitary is ramping up its security presence in Tajikistanwith troop deployments amid fears that militants based innearby Afghanistan could strike at western China.

The International Crisis Group said in a reportWednesday that China has deployed soldiers and built a"counter-terrorism center" in Tajikistan near the three-wayborder of Tajikistan, China and Afghanistan.

China has repeatedly warned about ethnic Uighurmilitants who have left their homeland in western China tojoin extremist groups such as the Turkistan Islamic Party, apredominantly Uighur group that has bases in Syria andAfghanistan and is allied with al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The Chinese defense ministry did not immediatelyrespond to a fax seeking comment. (AP)

Turkey raps EuropeanParliament over call to halt Afrinoffensive in Syria

ANKARA (TIP): Turkey slammed a motion approved bythe European Parliament on March 15 that calls for a halt toAnkara's military offensive in northern Syria's Afrinregion, saying it demonstrated "clear support" for militants.

The non-binding motion also urges Turkey to remove itstroops from Afrin, where Ankara is targeting the SyrianKurdish YPG militia in an offensive launched nearly twomonths ago. The Parliament's motion stressed "the need tofocus on defeating the U.N.-listed terrorist organisations", areference to Islamic State and other militant Islamistgroups operating in Syria. Turkey considers the YPG aterrorist organisation that is a Syrian extension of theoutlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has wageda three-decade against the Turkish state. The PKK isdeemed a terrorist organisation by the European Union andthe United States as well as by Turkey.

"The latest decision is the most visionless decision theEuropean Parliament has taken in recent years... Calling onTurkey to withdraw its troops is a clear support forterrorist organisations," Turkey's minister for EU affairs,Omer Celik, told reporters. Turkish President TayyipErdogan also dismissed the motion. "Don't get your hopesup, we will not leave there until the job is done. TheEuropean Parliament has nothing to say to Turkey andwhatever it has to say on this issue will go through one earand out the other," he said. (Reuters)

Theresa May visits city whereRussian double agent was poisoned

SALISBURY (TIP): British PrimeMinister Theresa May visitedSalisbury on March 15, the elegantcathedral city which became theunlikely backdrop to a chemical attackagainst a Russian former double agentthis month.

Dominated by its 13th Centurycathedral with England's highest spire,Salisbury has witnessed dramaticscenes since the attack as soldiers inchemical suits and gas masks conductforensic searches.

Dozens of passersby andschoolchildren crowded outside thecity's Guildhall to get a view of May asshe met emergency service workers,police and local politicians.

Most locals who have spoken toreporters have welcomed her toughstance against Russia in the affair butsome worry about the effect on tourismand possible lingering health dangers.

Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughterYulia, 33, were found unconscious on abench outside a shopping centre onMarch 4 after being exposed to what theBritish authorities have identified as amilitary-grade, Soviet era Novichoknerve agent. They remain critically illin hospital.

The pair had visited a pizzeria and apub before collapsing and althoughofficials have said there is no publichealth danger, they have advisedanyone who was in the vicinity to washtheir clothes and clean all jewellery,mobile phones and spectacles withantiseptic wipes.

"I don't think these things can ever beinvestigated quickly, but there's sort ofmixed messages," said Tommy Roberts,50, who runs a nearby bar and hotel.

"First there is no risk to the public

health, then there's a little bit, then it's'make sure you wash everything'."

FALLING TRADESeveral local traders have noticed a

drop in custom since the incident andMay made a point of meeting some ofthem.

She visited a small clothes boutique,speaking to shop owner Sarah Haydon,who welcomed her arrival.

"We just need people to come back tothe city," Haydon told reporters afterMay had left. "I love the city and weshould promote that the city is fine."

May has blamed President VladimirPutin for the attack and on Wednesdayannounced Britain would expel 23Russian diplomats she said wereintelligence agents. Russia denies anyinvolvement.

"I was surprised at how tough she'sbeen. I though she might pussyfoot

around, but she hasn't," said SamanthaSmith, 22 who works for a productdesign firm in Salisbury.

May said her visit was to thankemergency and health services andreassure the public about their safety.

"It's been great to meet some touristshere in Salisbury, people coming toSalisbury, still enjoying this great city,"she said.

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel inRussia's GRU military intelligenceservice, betrayed dozens of Russianspies to British intelligence before hewas arrested in Moscow in 2004.

He was given a lengthy jail term in2006 but was released four years lateras part of a swap for 10 Russian spiescaught in the United States.

Since arriving in Britain, he hadlived modestly in Salisbury, keepingout of the spotlight until earlier thismonth. (Reuters)

German President Steinmeier tovisit India from March 22

NEW DELHI (TIP): GermanPresident Frank-Walter Steinmeier willvisit India from March 22 to 25 with anaim to strengthen bilateral ties.

It will be his first visit to India as theGerman President.

"The visit is significant as it will bethe President's first visit after the newGerman government was sworn inyesterday," External Affairs MinistrySpokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

Apart from his engagements here,Steinmeier, who will be accompanied bya delegation of top Germanbusinessmen and indologists, will visitVaranasi and Chennai.

He had visited India several times inhis former capacity as the ForeignMinister and Vice Chancellor ofGermany.

The last German President to visitIndia was Joachim Gauck in February2014.

"India's relationship with Germany isamongst our foremost relations,bilaterally and in global context. Afterhaving established strategic partnershipsince 2000, successive governments onthe two sides have endeavoured tobroaden and deepen this relationship,"the Ministry of External Affairs said in

a statement. Germany is India's largesttrading partner in Europe and the sixthlargest trading partner in the world.India was ranked 24th in Germany'sglobal trade. "India's current prioritiesin most areas match with Germanexpertise, such as renewable energy,skills development, smart city, water andwaste management," the MEA said.

In 2016-17, the bilateral trade turnover

was USD 18.76 billion. In 2016-17, Indiaexported goods worth USD 7.18 billion toGermany and imported goods worthUSD 11.58 billion.

Germany is the 7th largest foreigndirect investor in India and thecumulative German FDI in India fromApril 2000 to December 2017 is USD 10.71billion or 2.91 per cent of total FDI,according to official figures. (PTI)

11WORLDTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

Saudi Arabia crown prince sayswill develop nuclear bomb ifIran does

RIYADH (TIP): Saudi Arabia will develop a nuclearbomb if its arch-rival Iran does so, the kingdom’s 32-year-old crown prince said in a preview of a television interviewreleased on Thursday.

“Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclearbomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclearbomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible,” PrinceMohammed bin Salman told CBS in an interview that willair on Sunday.

The kingdom, locked in a tussle for influence with Iranacross the Middle East and beyond, is stepping up plans todevelop a nuclear energy capability as part of a reformplan led by Prince Mohammed to reduce the economy’sdependence on oil.

The United States, South Korea, Russia, France andChina are bidding on a multi-billion dollar tender to buildSaudi Arabia’s first two nuclear reactors.

The world’s top oil exporter has previously said it wantsnuclear technology only for peaceful uses but has leftunclear whether it also wants to enrich uranium toproduce nuclear fuel, a process which can also be used inthe production of atomic weapons.

The government approved a national policy for itsatomic energy program on Tuesday, including limiting allnuclear activities to peaceful purposes, within the limitsdefined by international treaties.

Reactors need uranium enriched to around five percentpurity but the same technology in this process can also beused to enrich the heavy metal to a higher, weapons-gradelevel. This has been at the heart of Western and regionalconcerns over the nuclear work of Iran, Saudi Arabia’sarch-rival which enriches uranium domestically. (Reuters)

Iran and Russia sign deal todevelop two oilfields - Iranianstate TV

BEIRUT (TIP): Iran and Russia signed a deal onWednesday to develop two oilfields in Iran, according toIranian state TV.

The National Iranian Oil Company signed a deal withRussia's Zarubezhneft to develop the fields, according toSHANA, the news site of the Iranian oil ministry.

The Aban and Paydar-e Gharb fields are both in westernIran and jointly owned by Iran and Iraq, according toSHANA. Their combined oil output is currently 36,000barrels per day.

The 10-year agreement is intended to boost theproduction of the fields to 48,000 bpd. The fields areexpected to produce 67 million barrels of oil during the tenyears, SHANA reported.

Zarubezhneft has an 80 percent share in the deal and itsIranian partner, Dana Energy, the remaining 20 percent.

The cost of developing the fields is estimated at $674million, with an additional $68 million in indirect costs,according to SHANA. (Reuters)

South Korea fuel oil importssoar as coal, nuclear plants shut

SINGAPORE/SEOUL (TIP): South Korea’s move toshut coal-fired generators to control air pollution at thesame time as nuclear reactors are going into scheduledmaintenance is resulting in surging fuel oil imports, asutilities burn the dirty feedstock to meet power demand.

South Korea’s trade ministry said in February it wouldsuspend five coal-fired power plants, with a combinedcapacity of 2.32 gigawatts (GW), from March to June, partof a broad campaign to reduce pollution.

That plan may backfire, at least in the short-term. A coldwinter has raised power and heating demand, forcingutilities to burn more fuel oil in order to meet demand.

A by-product of the crude oil refining process, fuel oil’sbiggest use ahead of power generation is as a shipping fuel.

“In the near-term, fuel oil imports will increase to makeup for the shortfall in coal-fired generation capacity,” saidPat Markey, managing director of consultancy Sierra VistaResources. Fuel oil imports by power producers into Asia’sfourth largest economy have jumped to 200,000 tonnes inMarch so far, up from 92,000 tonnes in February, tender datacompiled by Reuters showed. (Reuters)

Vladimir Putin rides ‘Russia First’wave towards election victory

MOSCOW/YEKATERINBURG:

(TIP)) - Russian voters are set to propelVladimir Putin to another term aspresident in an election on Sunday,giving him credit for standing up forRussia against Western governmentsthat view him as a dangerous autocrat.

Opinion polls show Putin, 65, with acommanding election lead, all butguaranteeing him another term that willtake him to nearly a quarter century inpower — a longevity among Kremlinleaders second only to Josef Stalin.

The only thing that could dampenPutin's poll triumph is if voter apathy ata predictable contest leads to a lowturnout, or if the minority of Russianswho vocally oppose him take to thestreets to protest against what they seeas an undemocratic farce.

In an election campaign where Putinhas benefited from glowing coverage onmainstream television, he has casthimself as the only person who candefend Russia's national interests in ahostile world.

"We will withstand this onslaught,"Svetlana Andrus, a ribbon round herneck in the colours of the Russian flag,said during a rally in Moscow in supportof Putin. "We will support our countryand Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin)."

Putin's supporters point to Russia'smilitary intervention in Syria and itsannexation of Ukraine's Crimea regionin 2014 as proof of his patrioticcredentials. They say US and Europeansanctions imposed over the Ukrainecrisis are a price worth paying.

A row with Britain over allegationsthe Kremlin used a nerve agent to poisona Russian double agent in a sleepyEnglish town — denied by Moscow —has not dented his standing.

BOYCOTT CAMPAIGNA March 9 survey by state-run pollster

VTsIOM gave Putin, who was first

elected president in 2000, support of 69percent. His nearest rival PavelGrudinin, the Communist Party'scandidate, is on just 7 percent.

Another candidate, Ksenia Sobchak, aTV presenter and family friend of Putin,has upended expectations by robustlycriticising the Kremlin, but she has only2 percent support, the same surveyshowed.

Kremlin officials acknowledge thatPutin's dominance could turn people offvoting. A low turnout would dent hislegitimacy within the ruling elite,founded in part on his ability tocommand popular support.

In Yekaterinburg, an industrial city inthe Ural mountains, unemployed 38-year-old Sergei Khaziev described theelection as a "circus performance whichfor some reason is described aselections... I won't turn out this time."

The first politician in years tochallenge the Kremlin's grip on power,Alexei Navalny, is not on the ballot. Hewas barred because of a corruptionconviction he says was fabricated by theKremlin.

Navalny, who uses social media towhip up anger among his mainly young

followers over official corruption, ispushing an election boycott.

"Our boycott campaign is working," hesaid this week. As evidence, Navalnypointed to a drive by officials toencourage people to turn out to vote byoffering discounted food at pollingstations. He also said state officials wereapplying pressure on civil servants andstudents to vote.

BURDENS OF OFFICEThough winning another term is

virtually assured, governing Russia foranother six years will throw up plentifulchallenges.

Buffeted by lower oil prices and theeffect of Western sanctions, Russia'sgross domestic product expanded byonly 1.5 percent last year, well below therobust growth Russians had come toexpect in the earlier years of Putin'srule.

Putin has spoken of the need to reviveeconomic growth but the steps thatmany economists prescribe - especiallyshrinking the state's role in the economy- are resisted by those in the president'scircle who owe their status and wealth tothe state (Reuters)

Wang Yang elected chief of China’stop political advisory body

BEIJING (TIP): Vice Premier WangYang was on March 14 elected as thechairman of China's political advisorybody - the National Committee of theChinese People's Political ConsultativeConference (CPPCC).

The CPPCC is largely a ceremonialbody of over 2,100 members whoincluded film star Jackie Chan. It meetsannually once along with the rubber-stamp parliament, the National People'sCongress (NPC). Both are currentlyunder session.

Wang, 63, was elected to the powerfulseven member Standing Committee ofthe ruling Communist Party of China(CPC) during the once-in-a-five-yearCongress of the party last Octoberapparently with the support of thegroup belonging to former ChinesePresident Hu Jintao.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, 64, whois ranked second in the leadershiphierarchy after President Xi Jinping, toobelonged to Hu's group of ChineseCommunist Youth League.

Another Standing Committee

member Han Zheng, 63, is reported tohave been backed by another formerpresident, Jiang Zemin, 91.

Both Hu and Jiang retired butcontinue to have support base in CPC.

Li, Wang and Han who were all elected

to the powerful Standing Committee,which rules China, were part of whatwas previously stated to be collectiveleadership system.

However, CPC's leadershiporientation has changed this monthwith elevation of Xi as the core leader bythe CPC, making him a leader rankedabove others in the party.

Xi further consolidated his hold onMarch 11 when the NPC ratified aconstitutional amendment to removetwo-term limit for the president.

This made Xi as the only leader afterparty founder Chairman Mao Zedong tocontinue as China's leader for life.

Wang's appointment to head theadvisory body was seen as furtherconsolidation of power by Xi in CPC'shierarchy.

NPC is set to ratify the names of alltop positions in the next few days.

While Xi was expected to remain headof the CPC, the military and presidency,Premier Li who maintained a low profilein the last five years was expected toretain his post. (PTI)

12 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 BOLLYWOOD

RICHA CHADHA TO PLAYADULT FILM STAR

SHAKEELA IN BIOPIC

PARINEETI CHOPRAREFUTES CLAIMS OFSIGNING HOUSEFULL 4

Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra has putan end to the speculations doing roundsthat she will be a part of the next

instalment in the Housefull franchise, Housefull4.

In her tweet, the Ishaqzaade star rebuked thetabloid which released the story speculating herinvolvement in the movie and tagged its Twitterhandle.

The 29-year-old actress’ official spokespersonalso negated the claims, “Parineeti Choprahasn’t been approached for Housefull 4. So therumours doing the rounds are absolutelyuntrue”.

Despite the mix-up, Parineeti has a good line-up of films in her future. She will be soon seenin Namaste England, Sandeep Aur PinkyFaraar, and Kesari in the near future.

Source: ANI

Actor Richa Chadha will play therole of real-life adult film starShakeela in her biopic which will

be directed by Indrajit Lankesh.Shakeela is one of the biggest stars of

the 90s from Kerala and has acted inseveral adult films in languages spanningTamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

The film will go on floors next month

and will chronicle the life of Shakeelawho entered the film business at the ageof 16 and traces her life journey fromthere.

"The film is the story of Shakeela, oneof the most famous actors fromMalayalam cinema from the 90s who roseto a spectacular amount of fame. Her fanswere spread across Asia and she earned

fanfare as a woman which back then wasunheard of," said a spokesperson forRicha.

"The film's script was exciting and is agreat story to tell and the story will makefor a great watch for the audience. Thepreparations will begin soon and the filmshould be going on floors in end April orMay," he added. Source: PTI

JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ LEARNSMIXED MARTIAL ARTS FOR RACE 3

Bollywood actor JacquelineFernandez is going through anextensive training in Mixed Martial

Arts (MMA) to shoot action sequences inher upcoming film Race 3, opposite SalmanKhan.

Talking about her training, her fitnesstrainer Kuldeep Sashi said: “Jacqueline issomeone who has an athletic body type, soshe does not require any special regime totone up herself. However, as a requirementto her character, she is undergoingextensive MMA training, focusing towardskicking and punching.”

“The action sequences that Jacquelinehas to perform are very demanding. Theyrequire application of the righttechniques. As she has never performedhand-to-hand combat or martial artsbefore, getting the style and techniquesright is our only focus.”

Her diet has also changed. Kuldeep said:“There has been a lot of additions toJacqueline’s diet. She is consuming morecalories these days owing to the extensive

action sequences she has to deliveronscreen.”

The upcoming schedule of the film willbe shot in mid-March in Abu Dhabi.

Race 3, being produced by Salman Khanand directed by Remo D’Souza, is slated torelease on June 15. Source: IANS

Sonam Kapoor’s ‘The ZoyaFactor’ to release in April

Actress Sonam Kapoor-starrer 'The ZoyaFactor' is scheduled to release on April 5next year. The project will also feature

Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan.The two actors will be seen together for the

screen adaptation of Anuja Chauhan's best-sellingnovel by the same name. Sonam announced thenews on Twitter on Tuesday along with aphotoshoot image.

"Super happy to be a part of this unique story'The Zoya Factor' an adaptation of AnujaChauhan's bestseller. Releasing on April 5, 2019!Directed by Abhishek Sharma, co-starringDulquer, Fox Star Hindi, Adlabs Films," she posted.

In the photograph shared by Sonam, she andDulquer are posing with a copy of the novel withthe name of their characters mentioned on it.Dulquer also shared the image with the caption""Now this one is really special for me! Introducing'The Zoya Factor', a movie based on AnujaChauhan's bestseller.

Source: IANS

13HOLLYWOOD THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

Actor Angelina Jolie said she does not taketime out to relax and gets irritated whenpeople ask her to do so.

The 42-year-old actor-director said manymothers, like her, "find pleasure" in being ontheir toes most of the time.

"I really don't (relax). I'm one of those people. Itdrives me nuts when people tell me to relax. Ithink a lot of moms don't really rest. Andsomehow we find a real pleasure in that.

"I mean, even if I try to take a bath, I'll end upwith at least two of my kids in there with me,which is lovely. I wouldn't trade it at all," Jolietold HELLO! magazine.

The actor said, as a parent, she believesempathy is the most important lesson that needsto be taught to children.

"To value others. If you live life and walkaround thinking of yourself and your own needsand desires then not only is it a selfish life, but itends up being quite an unhappy life, I imagine.And that's where everything goes wrong. Thewars and hostility, the ugliness and inhumanityin this world comes from this lack of being ableto have real empathy for someone else.

"If you can value others, I think thingsnaturally balance out in your own life. When youdon't live with ignorant perceptions and thatsmallness, you open up in a beautiful way," shesaid. Source: PTI

MILEY CYRUS SUED FOR $300MILLION FOR ALLEGEDLY

STEALING ‘WE CAN'T STOP’

MICHELLE COLLINS HATESBEING CALLED COUGAR

British actress Michelle Collins, 56, saidshe hates being labelled a 'cougar' overher relationship with Mike Davison, who

is 22 years her junior and is tagged her 'toyboy'.Collins has been dating Davison, 34, for over

five years.Reportedly, she expressed his angst to Daily

Star about it.She said: "Mike is 22 years younger than me

and I'm regarded as a predator. It drives memad. People call him my toyboy beau. He'snearly 35, for God's sake. He turned to me theother day and said, 'Surely I'm not still yourtoyboy, am I?'

"I laugh about it now but it is annoying. And Ihate that word cougar. I can't stand it. I find it sodemeaning. A cougar is a predator going aroundlooking for young flesh. I'm certainly not likethat. But then, women are judged far moreharshly than men. And, funnily enough, oftenby other women.

"If people think I look old enough to be hismum then let them! There's nothing I can doabout it. It's one of the downsides, I suppose, ofbeing in the public eye."

Collins also questioned the double standardswhen it comes to age-gap relationships, sayingthat no one questions when the man is olderthan the woman. Source: IANS

Miley Cyrus was sued for $300million on Tuesday by a Jamaicansongwriter who said the pop

singer's 2013 smash "We Can't Stop" closelyresembles a song he recorded 25 yearsearlier, and that she is infringing hiscopyright.

Michael May, who performs as Flourgon,said his 1988 song "We Run Things" hasbeen "a favourite for lovers of reggae musicworldwide" since reaching No. 1 in hishome country, and that about 50 percent of"We Can't Stop" comes from him.

He accused Cyrus and her label RCARecords, owned by Sony Corp, ofmisappropriating his material, includingthe phrase "We run things. Things no runwe," which she sings as "We run things.Things don't run we."

Representatives for Cyrus, 25, did notimmediately respond to requests forcomment. A spokeswoman for Sony did notimmediately respond to a similar request.

May said he sought to protect his worklast year with the US Copyright Office, andin November won "formal copyrightprotection" for all musical arrangements in"We Run Things."

He said Cyrus' song "owes the basis of itschart-topping popularity to and its highly-lucrative success to plaintiff May'sprotected, unique, creative and originalcontent."

The Kingston, Jamaica resident is alsoseeking a halt to further sales andperformances of "We Can't Stop," accordingto his complaint filed with the US DistrictCourt in Manhattan.

While the complaint did not specifydamages, May's lawyers in a pressstatement described it as a $300 millioncase.

"We Can't Stop," from Cyrus' album"Bangerz," peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard

Hot 100 in August 2013.It was kept from the top by Robin

Thicke's "Blurred Lines," itself the subject

of a high-profile copyright case over itsresemblance to a 1977 Marvin Gaye song.

Source: Reuters

IT DRIVES ME NUTS WHEN PEOPLETELL ME TO RELAX: ANGELINA JOLIE

Cameron Diaz not retiringfrom acting

Actress Cameron Diaz is notretiring from the world ofacting.

The news was confirmed by apublication which had taken herspokesperson's interview earlier.

In an interview, Diaz'sspokesperson Selma Blair hadjoked that Diaz was done withacting. It was taken seriously bymany as Diaz has not been seen ina single movie in the last fiveyears, reports metro.co.uk.

Blair made a clarification abouther statement via a tweet.

The post read: "Breaking news.Guys please, I was making a jokein an interview. Cameron Diaz isnot retiring from anything. Andfor more breaking news -- I amnow retiring from being CameronDiaz's spokesperson."

14 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018SOUTH ASIA

Chahbahar andGawadar are sisterports: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (TIP): Pakistan today saidChahbahar and Gawadar are sister ports andcomplement each other in promoting futuretrade, transit and connectivity.

Chahbahar, the port in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-richnation's southern coast is easily accessiblefrom India's western coast and isincreasingly seen as a counter to Pakistan'sGwadar Port, which is being developed withChinese investment and is located at distanceof around 80 kms from Chabahar.

Foreign Office spokesman Dr MuhammadFaisal said Chahbahar and Gawadar aresister ports and complement each other inpromoting future trade, transit andconnectivity.

"Our Minister of Maritime Affairsparticipated in the inauguration of a part ofthe Chabahar port. We will continue to workwith Iran for deepening connectivitybetween the two ports," he said.

The spokesman also said Iranian ForeignMinister, who visited Islamabad this week,discussed the idea of Iran's participation inChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor. (PTI)

Pakistani court chargesdeputy minister forinsulting judges

ISLAMABAD (TIP): A Pakistani courthas charged the country's deputy interiorminister with insulting judges and set ahearing date for his testimony later thismonth. The official, Talal Chaudhry, pleadednot guilty during an appearance before thecourt on Thursday.

Chaudhry is alleged to have insultedjudges in a speech he made after the judiciarydisqualified former Prime Minister NawazSharif from office last July.

The court set a hearing for March 27 forChaudhry to testify. Sharif, dismissed forconcealing financial assets abroad, has alsocriticized judges but his criticism has not ledto any indictment so far. He is currentlyfacing trial on corruption charges. TheSupreme Court on Tuesday indicted anotherofficial, Minister for Privatization DanyalAziz, in a contempt case for making criticalspeeches against judges. (PTI)

7 killed in blast nearSharif's residence inPakistan

LAHORE (TIP): A powerful blast tonightnear the residence of Pakistan's oustedprime minister Nawaz Sharif here killed atleast seven persons, including threepolicemen. The blast took place close to apolice check post, a few kilometers from thepalatial residence of the Sharif family andclose to the congregation of the TableeghiJamaat. "Seven persons have been killed inthe blast. Some seven policemen among the20 or so suffered injuries. The condition offour policemen is stated to be critical,"Rescue 1122 spokesman Jam Sajjad told PTI.

He said the Rescue ambulances areshifting the injured to the Sharif medicalcomplex and other nearby hospitals.

Deputy Inspector General Police LahoreDr Haider Ashraf told reporters that threepolicemen were among the dead. "Thecondition of some policemen is critical," hesaid. "It is not confirmed yet whether it was asuicide blast or planted device," he said,adding "police personnel" were the target ofthe blast. (PTI)

CHINA GIVES RS 48 MILLION ASSISTANCE TO NEPAL

KATHMANDU (TIP): China today agreedto provide Rs 48 billion assistance to Nepal fordevelopment, including post-disaster recoveryplan for the strategic Tatopani border pointthat was damaged in a devastatingearthquake in 2015.

China and Nepal have been stepping upefforts to improve road connectivity whilespeeding up plans to build a railway lineconnecting to Nepal's border after a TransitTrade Treaty was signed in 2016 with Beijing.

The Government of China has agreed toextend the assistance to Nepal for the projectson post-disaster recovery for Tatopani borderpoint, the hospital reconstruction inSindhupalchowk and reconstruction of JiriSecondary School, the Nepal's Ministry ofFinance said in a statement.

The Tatopani border point, a major traderoute between Nepal and China, has remainedclosed since the 2015 earthquake, that killednearly 9,000 people and injured nearly 22,000,after it suffered massive damage.

Since Tatopani could not function, theKerung port, also known as Rasuwagadhi, hasbeen in operation for the cross border tradingand tourism.

The project includes repairing of buildings,establishing protection measures to preventfrom secondary disasters, including debrisflow and landslide, and improving tradeclearance capabilities.

The Chinese government has pledged toprovide Nepalese Rupees 48 billion in grantsfor the purpose and an agreement was signedwas signed today, the Ministry said in astatement.

Finance Secretary Shankar PrasadAdhikari and Chinese Ambassador to NepalYu Hong signed the agreements on behalf ofthe government of Nepal and the Chinese

governments."I am confident that the economic

cooperation between Nepal and China willhelp especially to overcome ourinfrastructure bottleneck and improveconnectivity," Adhikari said.

"The Chinese government has been makingpositive effort to reopen the Tatopani port. Wewill carry out work of disaster treatment androad repair on the Chinese side. Consideringthe construction of border inspection station,both the countries have been discussingreconstruction of the border bridge," Yu wasquoted as saying by China's state-run Xinhuanews agency.

For the resumption of the border point, thebudget would be used for the renovation of

the building and establishment of protectionmeasures, so that trade clearance capabilitieswould be improved.

In Sindhupalchowk, a middle-sized hospitalequipped with facilities like 39 beds capacitywould be constructed and the schoolreconstruction is aimed at recovering andimproving school facilities and functions.

Post earthquake, China had pledged to helpNepal with post-disaster reconstruction infive areas - infrastructure, livelihood recoveryin hilly regions, cultural heritage renovation,capacity building of disaster prevention andhealth.

Till now, 22 China-Aid projects have beenalready initiated and are in the process ofimplementation. (PTI)

Sri Lanka lifts ban onFacebook afterassurance from socialmedia giant

COLOMBO (TIP): The Sri Lankangovernment today lifted a week-long ban onaccess to the Facebook, after officials fromthe US social media giant agreed to step upefforts to remove hate speech posted on itsplatform during the anti-Muslim violence inKandy district.

The government imposed a state ofemergency March 6 and blocked Facebook,WhatsApp and other social media sitesfollowing anti-Muslim violence in theisland's central hills Kandy and Amparadistricts.

It restricted the use of social media afterpolice claimed that they were being used tospread hatred against the minoritycommunity.

The nationwide restrictions, however, onimage and video sharing on messaging appsWhatsApp and Viber were lifted yesterday.

President Maithripala Sirisena orderedthe telecom regulator to lift the ban followingtalks between the government, led by hisSecretary and head of theTelecommunications RegulatoryCommission Austin Fernando and Facebookofficials here.

"My secretary has discussed with officialsof Facebook, who have agreed that itsplatform will not be used for spreading hatespeech and inciting violence," the president,who is currently touring Japan, said onTwitter. (PTI)

Bangladesh courtsentences 39 ruling partyactivists to death

DHAKA (TIP): A court in southeasternBangladesh today sentenced to death 39 activistsof the ruling Awami League for brutally killing afellow local level party leader four years ago.

Ekramul Haque, the upazila Awami Leaguepresident, was hacked, shot and burnt alive bymiscreants inside his car in broad daylight inFeni town's Academy area on May 20, 2014.

"The court handed down the death penalty to39 people in this single case," a prosecutor toldPTI over telephone from Feni.

"All the convicts were local leaders andactivists of Awami League," he added.

He said the district judge's court, however,acquitted 16 people, one being a local leader ofthe main opposition BNP, though initially heappeared to be the prime accused in the case.

Haque's brother Rezaul Haque Jasim had filedthe murder case accusing BNP leader Minar and30-35 unidentified people.

A total of 44 arrests were made over the yearsand 15 of them confessed in court. (PTI)

No need to extend 'State ofEmergency' in Lanka: Govt

COLOMBO (TIP): The Sri Lankangovernment is unlikely to extend the 10-daynationwide state of emergency imposed aftercommunal riots erupted in Kandy district, as nofresh incidents of violence has been reportedfrom anywhere in the country, the new Law andOrder Minister has said.

Also, the government said that the restrictionon the use of social media, including theFacebook would lifted by Friday. (PTI)

Bidya Devi Bhandari re-elected Presidentof Nepal

KATHMANDU: Nepal's first womanpresident Bidya Devi Bhandari was onTuesday re-elected for a second term inoffice.

Incumbent President Bhandaridefeated Nepali Congress leader KumariLaxmi Rai with an overwhelmingmajority in the presidential election.

Bhandari, 56, won since hernomination was backed by the rulingLeft alliance of the CPN-UML and CPN(Maoist Centre), the SanghiyaSamajbadi Forum-Nepal and otherfringe parties.

She became Nepal's first womanpresident in 2015.

With 148 lawmakers in the FederalParliament and 243 in ProvincialAssemblies, the CPN-UML commands atotal vote of 23,356.

CPN (Maoist Centre) has 65lawmakers in parliament and 108 inprovincial assemblies, which accountfor 10,319 votes.

The Nepali Congress, which has 76seats in parliament and 113 in provincialassemblies, has a total vote of 11,428.

As Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepaland other fringe parties also deciding tosupport Bhandari, she could easilygarner 26,921 votes for her re-election.

An electoral college, includingmembers of parliament and provincialassemblies, will vote in the election.(PTI)

Exploring the rare wildlife in Indian woodshas its own glee. From the regal beasts tothe sweet chirping avifauna, the verdant

beauty of this glorious country embraceseverything that can rejuvenate and galvanise thesenses of a nature aficionado. The nationalparks in India are certainly wonderful forwildlife buffs to scout the engrossingexquisiteness of nature.

All the protected regions in the country havebeautiful vistas to offer. However, some of theseprotected areas are bejewelled with a number ofinimitable features that make them unique. Hereare some unique national parks of India that arepopular among wildlife enthusiasts and naturebuffs.

HEMIS NATIONAL PARKThis high altitude national park is located in

eastern Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.The north of this protected area is enclosed bythe banks of the Indus River. The area is anabode to an immense population of snowleopards. It does not receive heavy amount ofprecipitation; therefore, the flora present in thepark comprises arid woods of juniper, birch, fir,and Populus-Salix. Apart from snow leopards,the flora includes bharal, argali, Asiatic ibex,Eurasian brown bear, Tibetan wolf, red fox, etc.The Hemis National Park is the second largestcontiguous protected region of the country afterthe Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. The parkincorporates a trekking route that is one of theprime attractions for tourists. The factor thatdraws wildlife lovers the most is the sight ofsnow leopards. There are around 200 snowleopards in the region and witnessing themamid the fascinating snowy panorama givesgreat pleasure.

SUNDARBANS NATIONAL PARKThe Sundarbans National Park is a national

park, biosphere reserve and tiger reserve locatedin West Bengal. The park is a part of Sundarbanwoods, extended on the Ganges Delta. Themangrove woods cover the delta and make itlook verdant. The main attraction of this park isthe dense population of tigers. Apart from tigersthat can be witnessed here, the park is also hometo fishing cat, macaque, leopard, Indian greymongoose, wild boar, jungle cat, fox, pangolin,chital, flying fox, etc.

Sundarban is one of the largest reserves fortigers, boasting around 400 tigers. In 2012, thecamera traps in the park snapped the picture ofan unknown animal. It was a never-seen-beforecat in Sundarbans. This cat was smaller than aleopard and bigger than a wild cat.

KEIBUL LAMJAO Located in the beautiful state of Manipur, the

Keibul Lamjao National Park stretches over 40sq km of floating vegetation. Other than the richtopography and foliage, a major attraction thatentices nature lovers to the park is Loktak Lake.It is the largest freshwater lake in the country.The park also embraces an immense assortmentof exotic fauna species. The area is the preferredabode of the brow-antlered deer. The KeibulLamjao National Park is considered unique as itis the only floating sanctuary in the world. Thepark has a 1.5-metre deep vegetation, whichkeeps floating, and this floating foliage is knownas phumdi.

MARINE NATIONAL PARKThe Marine National Park is located seawards

from the southern coastline of the Gulf ofKutch. It spreads over an area of 458 sq km, andcomprises a group of 42 islands. Few of thepopular islands among them are Poshitra,Pirotan, Karubhar and Narara. The exoticwildlife of the national park attracts everynature admirer. The fauna that can be witnessedin the park includes coral lichen, sea slug,painted storks, shelled molluscs, etc. Thisnational park is the first marine wildlifesanctuary and the first marine national park inIndia. The impressive sea creatures such asjellyfish, octopus and sea cucumber make thetrip to the park unique and gratifying.

JIM CORBETT NATIONAL PARKJim Corbett National Park is the oldest

national park in India and was established in1936 as Hailey National Park to protect theendangered Bengal tiger. It is located in Nainitaldistrict of Uttarakhand and was named afterJim Corbett who played a key role in itsestablishment. The park was the first to comeunder the Project Tiger initiative.

The park has sub-Himalayan beltgeographical and ecological characteristics. Anecotourism destination, it contains 488 differentspecies of plants and a diverse variety of fauna.The increase in tourist activities, among otherproblems, continues to present a seriouschallenge to the park's ecological balance.

Corbett has been a haunt for tourists andwildlife lovers for a long time. Tourism activityis only allowed in selected areas of Corbett TigerReserve so that people get an opportunity to seeits splendid landscape and the diverse wildlife.In recent years the number of people cominghere has increased dramatically. Presently, everyseason more than 70,000 visitors come to thepark.

Corbett National Park comprises 520.8 km2(201.1 sq mi) area of hills, riverine belts, marshydepressions, grasslands and a large lake. Theelevation ranges from 1,300 to 4,000 ft (400 to 1,220m). Winter nights are cold but the days arebright and sunny. It rains from July toSeptember.

Dense moist deciduous forest mainly consistsof sal, haldu, peepal, rohini and mango trees.Forest covers almost 73% of the park, 10% of thearea consists of grasslands. It houses around 110tree species, 50 species of mammals, 580 birdspecies and 25 reptile species.

KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARKKaziranga National Park is a national park in

the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state ofAssam, India. The sanctuary, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-hornedrhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site.According to the census held in March 2015,which was jointly conducted by the ForestDepartment of the Government of Assam andsome recognized wildlife NGOs, the rhinopopulation in Kaziranga National Park is 2,401.

It comprises 1,651 adult rhinos (663 male, 802 arefemales, 186 unsexed); 294 sub-adults (90 males,114 females, 90 unsexed); 251 juveniles and 205cubs. Kaziranga is home to the highest density oftigers among protected areas in the world, andwas declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The park ishome to large breeding populations ofelephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.

Kaziranga is recognized as an Important BirdArea by BirdLife International for conservationof avifaunal species. When compared with otherprotected areas in India, Kaziranga has achievednotable success in wildlife conservation. Locatedon the edge of the Eastern Himalayabiodiversity hotspot, the park combines highspecies diversity and visibility.

15TRAVELTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

EXPLORE THEWILDLIFE KINGDOM

Love is patient, love is kind. It doesnot envy, it does not boast, it is notproud..." We’ve all heard this

reading before. It is one of the mostcommon quotes on love we often hear:"Love is patient, love is kind."

Is it as true as we’ve been led tobelieve? Is love all of these things? Notreally.

Love can be impatient. Love can bejealous. Love is beautiful, but love is notperfect. I believe love is self-seeking; loveis selfish.

When you love someone, you wantthat person to love you and only you, tolove you fiercely and to stay forever. Thatsounds selfish to me. There's goodselfish, and there's also too much selfish,so how do we learn what selfish shouldlook like?

SELFISH DOES NOT MEANEVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU

When you love someone or you're in arelationship with someone, you committo that person, and all of the hardshipsthat come with commitment. Otherthings can come first, but they cannotalways come first. There has to be abalance.

You have to evenly distribute yourselfishness and selflessness when youhave someone who is depending on youto do this. You can be career-focused, butyou cannot be career-consumed. Careersare important, but so is love, and abalance needs to be struck between thetwo.

Love your career the way you loveyour partner; both need a lot ofattention, but sometimes, they needspace in order to continue loving youback.

CAREER COMES FIRST ALWAYS Selfish is not always putting someone

else's needs before your own.The person you are with is so

important, but so are you. Occasionally,you need to be able to say, "Hey, I know

you need this, but I need somethingdifferent." You may need to compromise.

Sometimes, you're with someone whoneeds very different things than you do.You must never ignore your own needsor give up something you need in orderto accommodate someone else.

If there cannot be compromise, therecannot be love. We cannot be completelyselfless. We need a little selfish in ourlives, too.

Selfish is knowing when it’s too much.This person lives far away and the

distance is weighing down on you. Thisperson does not value sex in arelationship in the same way you do andcannot give you what you need. Thisperson loves you more than you knowhow to love in return.

Selfish is knowing that sometimes,there are things on which we just can’tcompromise. We need to take care ofourselves, too. The things that havealways been important to us areimportant for a reason. We cannot givethose up.

If it’s too much, we need to accept that. We can’t keep going if it’sbringing us down. Someone can be soimportant to us, but not right for us, andwe need to know when to be selfish

enough to admit that.Selfish is not to be used as an excuse."I need to be selfish today" should not

be a phrase used to get out of things orexcuse bad behavior.

We cannot use selfishness when wefeel like being lazy or don’t want to stickto a commitment we made. If we are sickor desperately need a mental health day,we get to be selfish because that’s not anexcuse; it’s necessary.

Using selfish as an excuse devalues it.It turns it back into the horrible traitpeople make it out to be. Don’t taint theword, and try to be honorable in yourselfishness.

SELFISH IS KNOWING WHEN,MAYBE, IT ISN’T LOVE

If you know you can’t see yourselfwith someone forever, for whatever thereason may be, don’t let him or her stay.Don’t be that kind of selfish.

If you can’t see a forever, please, letthat person go go.

Everyone will see selfish the way theywant to. They will justify theirselfishness away; be aware of it. Beconscious of the way you are beingselfish. Do not let it overcome you, but donot let it leave you completely, either.

Ingredients4 Large Potatoes, boiled, 250 Gram Paneer (cottage cheese), 50Gram Maida, 1 Tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped), 3 Onion, 1Tbsp Ginger-garlic paste, 2 Tomatoes, 200 Ml Malai or cream, 2Tbsp Raisins and cashew nuts, 50 Gram Cashew nuts paste, 1/2tsp Haldi, 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp Kitchen kingmasala, 1 Tbsp Kasuri methi (dry fenugreek), To taste Salt, 1Tbsp Sugar

Method Refrigerate the boiled potatoes for 4 to 6 hours as this

makes it easy to cook koftas.

Mash the boiled potatoes and paneer along with maida.The mix should not be too hard or too soft. Add salt,chopped coriander leaves and mix well.

Cut the raisins and cashew nuts into very small piecesand add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the mix.

Heat up the oil for deep frying.

Roll out the balls from the dough you prepared and stuffthe dry fruit mix in the center.6.Fry the koftas and if theybreak in hot oil then dust them with dry maida beforeputting them in.

Fry some onion, ginger-garlic paste and tomato paste.

Mix the cashew nut paste with 2 tablespoon of warm milkand pour it into the paste.

Except for kasuri methi, add all the dry masala into thepaste and saute till the oil separates itself.

Add half a cup of water and simmer the gravy till it'sdone.

Add cream/malai along with a tablespoon of sugar andkasuri methi.

Simmer the gravy till the oil starts separating and onceit's done, put the fried koftas into the gravy.

Serve hot with chapatis.

16 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 WOMEN

MALAI KOFTA

IT’S OKAY TO BE ALITTLE SELFISH IN LOVE

F O O D C O R N E R

How to wake upwith glowing skin

Remove all that makeupYes, we know you have heard it before, but do you always

remove all your makeup before you go to bed? Sleeping withmakeup on your face will clog up your pores and it will causeacne and blemishes. You can’t even think of waking up toglowing skin, if you went to bed with your makeup still on.

Exfoliate regularlyRegular exfoliation is one of the keys to glowing clear skin;

it removes dead skin cells from the surface of your skin andit will help to keep the pores in your skin clear. How often youexfoliate will depend on your own skin type, but usually,three times a week will be enough. Exfoliating your skinshould make it feel soft and smooth, not sore. If your skinstarts to get red and sore, you are exfoliating too much.

Wash your face both in the morning and at nightAccording to one survey, only around fifty percent of

women actually wash their face often enough. Wash your faceat night, to remove any makeup residue that may be left, andfirst thing in the morning, to clean up any excess oil andsweat that may have accumulated on your skin overnight.This regular routine will help you wake up with fresh andclear skin every morning.

Drink a glass of water before you go to bedYou do get dehydrated when you sleep, and that can show

on your skin. Drink a glass of water before you go to bed andthat will help keep you hydrated through the night. Properhydration is more important for healthy looking, glowingskin than you might think. If you do become dehydrated, oneof the very first things you will notice is that your skin losessome of its colour and life.

PANEER BESAN CHILLA Ingredients 1 Cup Besan, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1tsp Black Pepper, 1 Onion,chopped, 1/2 Cup Paneer,grated, 1 Tomato, 2 GreenChillies, 1/2 tsp Ajwain, 1/2Cup Coriander Leaves, 1 CupWater.

Method Take besan in a bowl, add salt, black pepper, onion,

grated paneer, tomato, green chillies, ajwain andcoriander leaves.

Whisk all the ingredients together in the bowl along withwater to make a mixture.

Add more water to make its consistency light.

Now take a pan and put some amount of the besanmixture to pan fry it.

Fry till it turns solid, crispy and golden brown.

Put some grated paneer, onion, black pepper andcoriander leaves over.

Fold it and serve hot with red chilli chutney.

Smokers are at a greater risk ofhearing loss, according to astudy.

The research was conducted on over50,000 participants over a span ofeight years. Researchers analyseddata from annual health checkups,which included audio testingperformed by a technician and ahealth-related lifestyle questionnairecompleted by each participant.

They examined the effects ofsmoking status (current, former, andnever), the number of cigarettessmoked per day, and the duration ofsmoking cessation on the extent ofhearing loss.

While the association betweensmoking and high-frequency hearingloss was stronger than that of low-frequency hearing loss, the risk ofboth high- and low-frequency hearingloss increased with cigaretteconsumption. The increased risk ofhearing loss decreased within 5 yearsafter quitting smoking.

“With a large sample size, longfollow-up period, and objectiveassessment of hearing loss, our studyprovides strong evidence thatsmoking is an independent risk factorof hearing loss,” said the study’s leadauthor Dr. Huanhuan Hu of Japan’sNational Center for Global Health andMedicine.

“These results provide strongevidence to support that smoking is acausal factor for hearing loss andemphasize the need for tobaccocontrol to prevent or delay thedevelopment of hearing loss.” Thestudy has been published in thejournal Nicotine and Tobacco

Research.

Benefits of kicking the butt Cutting down on risk of skin

diseases Healthier lungs

Decreased risk of heart relatedproblems

Lowering risk of Age-relatedMacular Degeneration

Getting back your virility Stronger bones

Researchers have identified 36 newgenes that plays a causal role incardiac hypertrophy -- abnormal

thickening of the heart muscle -- whichcan lead to heart failure. “This is anexciting direction for personalisedmedicine, and also for identifying genesand therapeutic targets for complexdiseases that involve many genes,” saidco-author of the study Alain Karma,professor at the NortheasternUniversity. According to the Centres forDisease Control and Prevention, one infour deaths in the US each year are dueto heart disease.

“The framework described in thepaper can also be used to predictwhether individuals suffering from aparticular disease will respond to agiven drug treatment,” said lead authorMarc Santolini, a postdoctoral researchassociate at Centre for Complex NetworkResearch. For the study, published in thejournal npj Systems Biology, theresearchers took an entirely differentapproach -- using the Hybrid MouseDiversity Panel, a collection of 100genetically different strains of mice thatcan be used to analyse the genetic andenvironmental factors underlyingcomplex traits. Within each strain, themice are inbred, making them allidentical twins on a genetic level.

Researchers took two mice from the

same strain and gave one of them astressor drug that induces heart failure.They then compared the stressedmouse’s gene expression with its non-stressed twin. Since the mice have thesame genome, they were able to pinpointindividual genes that changedexpression as a direct result of the heartstressor. Among the identified 36 suchgenes, many of these genes werepreviously unknown to be implicated inheart failure, the researcher said.

They mentioned that one of them isknown as a transcription factor,meaning it controls the expression ofmany other genes. They confirmed thegene’s role by using molecular biologytechniques to silence it and observe theresulting changes of expression. Theyfound the transcription factor gene wasdirectly connected to a whole network ofproteins known to play a role in cardiachypertrophy. Source: IANS

17HEALTH & FITNESSTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY 36NEW GENES THAT PLAY A

ROLE IN CARDIAC DISEASE

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LOW-DOSE ‘TRIPLE PILL’LOWERS BLOODPRESSURE BETTER

MELBOURNE (TIP): Triple pill' - a drug combining dosesof three blood pressure-lowering medications - cansignificantly increase the number of patients reaching theirhealthy BP targets, a study has found.

Despite the availability of effective blood pressure-lowering drugs, high blood pressure remains a majorproblem around the world, researchers said.

Effectively treating high blood pressure can help toprevent heart attacks, strokes and kidney problems.

Globally, however, many people with high blood pressurereceive no treatment, and only about a third of those who aretreated achieve recommended reductions in blood pressure.

Achieving desired reductions in blood pressure oftenrequires treatment with more than one medication, whichincreases the complexity of treatment, and patients oftenhave difficulty adhering to regimens that involve takingmultiple pills every day.

"Most people - 70 per cent - reached blood pressure targetswith the Triple Pill," said Ruth Webster, from the Universityof New South Wales in Australia.

"The benefits were seen straight away and maintaineduntil six months, whereas with usual care control rates were55 per cent at six months and even lower earlier in the trial,"said Webster.

"Based on our findings, we conclude that this new methodof using blood pressure-lowering drugs was more effectiveand just as safe as current approaches," she said.

The study was the first large trial designed to test thetheory that starting treatment with low doses of three drugscould achieve better blood pressure control compared withusual care and that combining these drugs in a single pillwould make it easier both for doctors to prescribe treatmentand for patients to adhere to it.

The trial conducted in Sri Lanka enrolled 700 patientswhose average age was 56 years, 58 per cent of whom werewomen.

Over half (59 per cent) were receiving no treatment forhigh blood pressure before they enrolled in the trial. Inaddition to high blood pressure, 32 per cent of participantshad diabetes or chronic kidney disease.

Patients were randomly assigned to receive either thecombination pill or usual care. The Triple Pill consisted ofthe blood pressure medications telmisartan (20 mg),amlodipine (2.5 mg) and chlorthalidone (12.5 mg).

These medications use different mechanisms to reduceblood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels, so the heartdoes not need to pump as hard to send blood throughout thebody. Source: PTI

Smoking linked withincreased risk of hearing loss

18 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 SCIENCE & TECH

NASA’S HUBBLE FINDS ‘RELICGALAXY’ NEAR MILKY WAY

LONDON (TIP): Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope,astronomers have unearthed a "relic galaxy" in the MilkyWay's backyard.

The galaxy NGC 1277 lies near the centre of the Perseuscluster of over 1,000 galaxies located 240 million light-yearsaway.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, showed thatthe relic galaxy has twice as many stars as our Milky Way,but physically it is as small as one quarter the size of ourgalaxy.

Essentially, NGC 1277 is in a state of "arresteddevelopment".

Further, the scientists found that NGC 1277 does not havethe same kinds of globular clusters that other large galaxieshave.

While massive galaxies tend to have both metal-poor(appearing blue) and metal-rich (appearing red) globularclusters, NGC 1277 is almost entirely lacking in blue globularclusters.

This suggests that NGC 1277 never grew further bygobbling up surrounding galaxies.

"I've been studying globular clusters in galaxies for a longtime, and this is the first time I've ever seen this," saidMichael Beasley, of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canariasat the University of La Laguna, Spain.

NGC 1277 started its life with a bang long ago, ferociouslychurning out stars 1,000 times faster than seen in our ownMilky Way today.

But it abruptly went quiescent as the baby boomer starsaged and grew ever redder.

The very rare and odd assemblage of stars has remainedessentially unchanged for the past 10 billion years, scientistssaid.

In addition, NGC 1277 also has a central black hole that ismuch more massive than it should be for a galaxy of thatsize.

This reinforces the scenario that the supermassive blackhole and dense hub of the galaxy grew simultaneously, butthe galaxy's stellar population stopped growing andexpanding because it was starved of outside material, thestudy showed.

While Hubble has spotted relic galaxies before, but thisone is by far the closest.

"We can explore such original galaxies in full detail andprobe the conditions of the early universe," said IgnacioTrujillo, from the varsity.

For the study, the team started looking for "arresteddevelopment" galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey andfound 50 candidate massive compact galaxies. Source: IANS

Robot solves Rubik’s cube in 0.38 secondsBOSTON (TIP): Scientists have created a robot that has

possibly set a new world record by solving the Rubik's cube in 0.38seconds.

The current Guinness World Record for a Rubik's cube solvedby a robot is 0.637 seconds.

The robot was built by Ben Katz, a student at MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT) and software developer Jared DiCarlo, who posted the video of the robot in action.

"The machine can definitely go faster, but the tuning process isreally time consuming since debugging needs to be done with thehigh speed camera, and mistakes often break the cube or blow upthe transistor," Katz wrote in the blog post.

"We noticed that all of the fast Rubik's Cube solvers were usingstepper motors and thought that we could do better if we usedbetter motors," Di Carlo wrote in a separate blog post.

The 0.38 seconds starts from the moment the keypress isregistered on the computer, to when the last face is flipped, Katzsaid in his blog. It includes image capture and computation time,

as well as actually moving the cube. The motion time is about 335millisecond, and the remaining time is that of image acquisitionand computation. The robot had difficulty identifying thedifference between the red and orange sides of the cube, so theresearchers blackened the orange squares with a marker pen.

"For the time being, Jared and I have both lost interest inplaying the tuning game, but we might come back to it eventuallyand shave off another 100 ms or so," Katz said.

As of now, the record has not been independently verified byGuinness, so the title for the fastest robot to solve a Rubik's Cuberemains with 'Sub1 Reloaded' built by Albert Beer of Germany.

A robot that can solve a Rubik's cube puzzle in 0.38 secondshas been developed by two researchers in the US. The

current world record is 0.637 seconds, which was set byGerman engineer Albert Beer and his robot Sub1 Reloaded.

GOOGLE SAID TO PRIORITISESTORIES FOR PAPERS’ PAYING SUBSCRIBERS

Google users who subscribe tonewspapers will find articlesfrom those publications

appearing higher in their search results,part of the tech giant’s efforts to helpmedia companies find and retain payingreaders, according to people familiarwith the matter.

The Alphabet unit will also beginsharing search data that show who’smost likely to buy a subscription, saidthe people, who asked to be anonymousbecause they weren’t authorized tospeak publicly. Google executives plan todisclose specific details at an event inNew York on March 20, according to thepeople. Google declined to comment.

The moves could help publishersbetter target potential digitalsubscribers and keep the ones they’vealready got by highlighting stories fromthe outlets they’re paying for. Theinitiative marks the latest olive branchfrom Silicon Valley in its evolvingrelationship with media companies.

Several publishers, including the WallStreet Journal, New York Times and theWashington Post, are focusing on gettingreaders to pay for their content as itbecomes more difficult to supportnewsrooms with advertising revenue.Many have been pushing Google andFacebook for new tools to drivesubscriptions, arguing they should helpsupport trusted journalism at a timewhen their platforms have beenexploited to publish fake news.

Facebook recently made majorchanges to its News Feed algorithm thatare expected to shrink publishers’online audiences. But it’s helpingpublishers in other ways. In October, thecompany began a test to supportpaywalls in Instant Articles, lettingpublishers process payments directlyand keep all of the revenue. In February,Facebook announced a program to helpmetro papers build subscriptions.

Apple, meanwhile, bought Texture, adigital magazine service, this week inwhat the company said was a sign thatit’s committed to supporting qualityjournalism.

Last year, Google changed its “First

Click Free” policy that led some mediaoutlets with strict online paywalls toappear lower in search results. Now,instead of requiring publishers withpaywalls to provide at least three freearticles per day, media companies candecide how many articles to let Googleusers read without paying.

Google image search ischanging on your phone

Search giant Google has rolled out anew update to its mobile search. Thecompany is adding captions to images togive them more context. After the updatethe image searches done onsmartphones on Google will offer usersbetter visual discovery with addedcontext.

The company revealed that the imagessearched using Google will now includecaptions in bold along with the title ofthe web page. The company said in a

blog post, "This extra piece ofinformation gives you more context soyou can easily find out what the image isabout and whether the website wouldcontain more relevant content for yourneeds.”

The image results offer visualconfirmation that the search result isaccurate and the caption providesadditional context to the search. Forexample, users can also learn that thisfruit is called carambola or starfruit,and that it’s popular in China. This alsohelps you choose the result page to clickand explore further.

19BIZ & FINANCETHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

INFOSYS APPROVES UP TO RS 13,000 CR BUYBACK OFFER

MUMBAI (TIP): The Infosys Board on Saturdayannounced a share buyback programme of up to Rs 13,000crore, a day after Vishal Sikka resigned as chief executiveafter a long-running feud with the company’s founders.

The Bengaluru-headquartered Infosys, India’s secondbiggest IT firm, said it would buy back shares up to Rs 13,000crore at a fixed price of Rs 1,150 each. The company plans tobuy back 113 million shares, or 4.92% of its equity capital,moneycontrol.com reported.

The free fall in Infosys stock had erased Rs 27,000 crore ofshareholder value on Friday as investors dumped the stockand headed for the exit doors. The fall in the scrip had topped10% and broke the lower circuit, which stopped the trade ofInfy shares on the exchange briefly.

The company said given the significant shareholding ofthe US residents by way of ADS’ and equity shares, it wasnecessary to obtain exemptive relief from the Americanmarket regulator US SEC on certain aspects of the tenderoffer procedures.

This is due to conflicting regulatory requirements betweenIndian and US laws for tender offer buybacks and the samehas been obtained, Infosys explained.

The share buyback — the first in the company’s 36-yearhistory — has been a long-standing demand by some of thefounders and high-profile former executives, who have beenpushing Infosys to return surplus capital to its shareholders.

While Pravin Rao, currently chief operating officer, hasbeen named interim CEO, Sikka will become executive vice-chairman and will be paid $1 in annual salary. Sikka will helpthe company search a new MD and CEO and the deadline hasbeen set for March 31, 2018.

PROPOSAL TO SELL 51%STAKE OF AIR INDIA

NEW DELHI (TIP): A proposal to revive Air India byselling 51 percent stake within five years might be on thecards. As per sources, the talks are at an initial stage betweeninterested parties and the finance ministry as well as primeminister’s office

The former carrier has undergone the woes facingcutthroat competition from domestic airlines and burdenedby a debt of $7 billion that has been unprofitable since 2007.

In the past six years $3.6 billion have been contributedIndian taxpayers following a bailout plan.

The finance ministry would only be announcing the offerafter all detailed discussions have been conducted to ensurethere are takers for the offer.

The Air India share has declined to 14 percent in the localmarket while a decade ago it was 35 percent.

India, Germany collaborate todevelop infra worth 1 lakh crore

NEW DELHI (TIP): India looks poised to augment itsinfrastructure by collaborating with Germany for projectsworth Rs 1 lakh crore, Union Transport Minister NitinGadkari said.

Gadkari met with a German delegation led by TransportMinister Alexander Dobrindt and had a detailed discussionon developing infrastructure for port rail connectivity forefficient cargo release and reduction of logistics cost.

“We have sought Germany’s co-operation to sync up ourports with railway connectivity through projects worth Rs1lakh crore which will be undertaken by Indian Port RailCorporation Ltd (IPRCL),” Gadkari said.

The development came after a pact between GermanRailways Deutsche Bahn (DB) and IPRCL during theMaritime India Summit held earlier this year for carryingout 22 different projects under the Union Government’sesteemed Sagarmaala Project.

World Bank report projects India’sFY19 GDP growth at 7.3%

NEW DELHI (TIP): The World Bankon March 14 projected India’s GDPgrowth at 7.3% for the next financialyear, and accelerate further to 7.5%, in2019-20.

The World Bank’s biannualpublication, India Development Update:India’s Growth Story, expects theeconomy to clock a growth rate of 6.7%in the current fiscal ending March 31.

The report, however, observed that agrowth of over 8% will require“continued reform and a widening oftheir scope” aimed at resolving issuesrelated to credit and investment, andenhancing competitiveness of exports.

“The Indian economy is likely torecover from the impact ofdemonetisation and the GST, and growthshould revert slowly to a level consistentwith its proximate factors -- that is, toabout 7.5% a year,” the report said.

In November 2016, the governmenthad scrapped high value currency notesof Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in a bid to checkblack money, among others.

Later, India implemented its biggestindirect tax reform -- Goods and ServicesTax (GST).

Both of these initiatives had impactedthe economic activities in the country in

short run.India’s economic growth had slipped

to a three year low of 5.7% in April-Junequarter of the current fiscal, though itrecovered in the subsequent quarters.

The economy is expected to grow at6.6% in the current fiscal ending March31, as per the second advanced estimatesof the Central Statistics Office (CSO),compared to 7.1% in 2016-17. The earlierestimate was 6.5%.

The Economic Survey tabled inParliament has projected a growth rateof 7 to 7.5% in the 2018-19 financial year.

The World Bank report further saidthat accelerating the growth rate willalso require continued integration intoglobal economy.

It pitches for making growth moreinclusive and enhancing theeffectiveness of the Indian public sector.

Source: PTI

FRANCE TO SUEGOOGLE, APPLE FOR‘ABUSIVE’ PRACTICES

PARIS (TIP): France will take legal actionagainst Google and Apple for “abusivebusiness practices”, Finance Minister BrunoLe Maire said today as transatlantic tiesthreaten to be riven by a trade war.

“I believe in an economy based on justiceand I will take Google and Apple before theParis Commercial Court for abusive businesspractices” against French start-ups, Le Mairesaid on RTL radio.

He said startups face conditions imposedon them when selling their apps on Googleand Apple which “also gather data” and “bothcan unilaterally modify contracts.” Theminister said the situation is unacceptable.

“I consider that Google and Apple, aspowerful as they are, shouldn’t treat ourstartups and our developers in the way theydo today,” said Le Maire.

The action against the firms comes as USPresident Donald Trump has moved towardsimposing a 25% tariff on imported steel and10% tariff on import of aluminium. It isunclear if European nations will obtainwaivers, with Trump having singled out theEU as treating the US badly in trade ties andthreatening to tax cars as well.

Le Maire has previously threatened to taxthe two firms based on their sales in France,denouncing the legal strategies they use topay taxes at lower rates in other EUcountries. Source: AFP

Trump blocksBroadcom’s $117-bn bid

to buy QualcommWASHINGTON (TIP): US

President Donald Trump blocked anunsolicited $117-billiontakeover bid ofAmerican chipmakerQualcomm bySingapore-based rivalBroadcom citingnational securityreasons, scuttling whatwould have been thebiggest technologydeal ever amidconcerns that it wouldallow China to take the lead in thebooming chip market.

Trump, in his executive order, saidthere is “credible evidence” that leadshim to believe that if Broadcom

Limited took control of the San Diego-based Qualcomm it “might take action

that threatens to impairthe national security ofthe US”.

As such, Broadcomand Qualcomm “shallimmediately andpermanently abandonthe proposed takeover”,Trump ordered.

“The proposedtakeover of Qualcommby the Purchaser is

prohibited, and any substantiallyequivalent merger, acquisition, ortakeover, whether effected directly orindirectly, is also prohibited,” Trumpsaid in the executive order. Source: PTI

Google to ban ads promoting cryptocurrency

Google will ban onlineadvertisements promotingcryptocurrencies and initial

coin offerings starting in June, part ofa broader crackdown on themarketing of a new breed of high-risk financial products.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google announcedthe decision Wednesday night in anupdate to its policy, which says it willbegin to block ads for“cryptocurrencies and relatedcontent.” Facebook Inc. took a similarstep in January, leaving the two

largest web-ad sellers out of reach ofthe nascent digital-currency sector.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrencyby market value, pared an advance ofabout 2% after Google’sannouncement, trading little changedat $9,099 as of 1:04 p.m. in Hong Kong.Rival coins Ripple and Ether alsopared gains.

The internet-search giant is alsorestricting ads for financial productsincluding binary options, a riskyderivative with an all-or-nothingpayoff.

20 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018MISCELLANY

contd from page 1

Trump ousts Secretary of State...Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will

become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman sochosen. Congratulations to all!

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018As Mr. Trump departed for a California trip Tuesday,

March 13 morning, he told reporters that he and Tillerson"disagree on things," and he singled out the Iran nuclear dealas an issue.

"Rex and I have been talking about this for a long time. We gotalong actually quite well, but we disagreed on things," he said."When you look at the Iran deal -- I think it's terrible. I guess hethought it was OK. I wanted to either break it or do something.And he felt a little bit differently. So we were not really thinkingthe same."

Mr. Trump released a statement shortly before leaving for histrip to California saying he was "proud" to nominate Pompeo toreplace Tillerson.

"His experience in the military, Congress, and as leader ofthe CIA have prepared him well for his new role and I urge hisswift confirmation," said Mr. Trump in a statement. He added," want to thank Rex Tillerson for his service. A great deal hasbeen accomplished over the last fourteen months, and I wishhim and his family well." According to the White House, GinaHaspel, the Deputy Director of the CIA, will be nominated toreplace Director Pompeo. If confirmed, she would become theCIA's first female director. She was only recently nameddeputy director.

Pompeo said in a statement of the president's decision, "Ifconfirmed, I look forward to guiding the world's finest diplomaticcorps in formulating and executing the President's foreignpolicy."

He added, "In my time as Director of the Central IntelligenceAgency, I have worked alongside many remarkable ForeignService officers and Department of State leaders serving here inthe United States and on the very edge of freedom. I know I willlearn from them and, as President Trump set out in his State ofthe Union Address, work hard to ensure that "our nation willforever be safe and strong and proud and mighty and free."

Mueller subpoenas Trump...demanded documents related to President Donald Trump's

businesses.The subpoena is a sign that the Mueller investigation

continues to pick up steam, even as Trump decries remainingquestions about potential coordination between his associatesand Russia and denies any wrongdoing. Trump has said he wouldview any investigation of his or his family's personal financesthat didn't involve Russia as a "violation" by Mueller that crossesa red line.

CNN reported in January that the company had voluntarilyprovided documents on a range of events, conversations andmeetings from Trump's real estate business to Mueller andcongressional investigators, according to three people familiarwith the matter. It will be interesting to watch how Trump reactsto this move of Mueller.

Trump has decided to remove...signaled in recent days that a shake-up at the top levels of his

administration was not over. "I'm really at a point where we'regetting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that Iwant," Trump told reporters after Tillerson was fired.

McMaster is not expected to be ousted immediately, the Postreported. Trump is willing to take his time making the change toavoid humiliating McMaster and carefully choose a strongreplacement, the Post said.

Trump never personally gelled with McMaster and thePresident recently told White House Chief of Staff John Kellythat he wanted McMaster replaced, according to the Post.

Trump has complained that McMaster, a three-star Armygeneral, is too rigid and that his briefings go on too long and seemirrelevant, the Post reported. McMaster is Trump's secondnational security adviser, succeeding Michael Flynn who wasdismissed a year ago for misleading Vice President Mike Penceabout his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the UnitedStates.

UK snaps diplomatic ties with...with Russia and revoke an invitation to Russian Foreign

Minister Sergei Lavrov to visit the UK.The Prime Minister announced that Britain will expel 23

Russian diplomats, saying they have one week to leave the UK.She identified those diplomats as "undeclared intelligenceofficers", BBC reported.

Moscow, which had been given an ultimatum to provide a"credible response" over how a Russian-made nerve agent cameto be used on British soil, had warned of "an equal and oppositereaction" against any UK reprisals.

The reprisals follow days of diplomacy since May firstinformed Parliament that there was enough evidence toconclude that it is "highly likely" that Russia is behind thepoisoning of Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury on March 4.

"Russia's record of conducting state-sponsoredassassinations; and our assessment that Russia views somedefectors as legitimate targets for assassinations; thegovernment has concluded that it is highly likely that Russiawas responsible for the act against Sergei and Yulia Skripal,"she had said.

"It was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the UnitedKingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk. And wewill not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder innocentcivilians on our soil," she added, giving Moscow a Tuesdaymidnight deadline to respond on the circumstancessurrounding the attack.

Downing Street said the British prime minister received thebacking of Trump, who agreed in a phone call that Moscow"must provide unambiguous answers as to how this nerve agentcame to be used". Skripal was convicted of treason in 2006 andjailed for 13 years for selling secrets to MI6, which hadrecruited him in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, France and Germany have also held Russiaresponsible for the murderous attempt in London.

Mangano, Linda, Venditto Trial...It is learnt prosecutors have a long list of witnesses which

includes a former Nassau County employee close toMangano who frequently organized fundraisers forMangano.

Between 2010 and last December, Mangano held thehighest elected position in Nassau County.

NEW YORK (TIP): Upset Hindus are urging Brooklyn (New York) headquartered e-commerce company Etsy, Inc. for immediate withdrawal of flip-flops carrying image ofHindu deity Lord Ganesh; calling it highly inappropriate.

In July last, Etsy withdrew toilet seat carrying image of Lord Ganesh from its websitewithin less than two hours after a protest spearheaded by Hindu statesman Rajan Zed onthis product, which Hindus thought was highly insensitive.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduismsaid that Etsy should havebeen enlightened by now that Lord Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and wasmeant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn one's feet. Hindusconsidered it a sacrilege to trample his image under one's feet. Inappropriate usage ofHindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt thedevotees.

Rajan Zed also urged Etsy and its CEO Josh Silverman to offer a formal apology, besideswithdrawing Ganesh Flip Flops.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billionadherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbolsof any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Zed noted.

Rajan Zed further said that such trivialization of Hindu deities was disturbing to theHindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybodyelse if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt thefollowers, Zed added.

Is offering products like Ganesh Flip Flops really matches Etsy's belief that "the power ofbusiness can create a better world", its claim to "Keep Commerce Human" and its stated Mission"to reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world"? Zed asks.

Rajan Zed suggested that Etsy and other companies should send their senior executives fortraining in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they had an understanding of the feelingsof customers and communities when introducing new products or launching advertisingcampaigns.

Item description of Ganesh Flip Flops states: "Traditionally, Ganesh is thought to provideprosperity, fortune and success. He is the Lord of Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles ofboth material & spiritual kinds… Stand out from the crowd in these cute flip flops!" It sells for$25.00. Etsy, founded in 2005 in an apartment in Brooklyn and now headquartered in its Dumboneighborhood with additional offices in France, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom,Ireland, San Francisco (California), Hudson (New York); describes itself as "a globalcreative commerce platform". It claims to have had annual gross merchandise sales of $3.25B in 2017.

In Hinduism, Lord Ganesh is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning ofany major undertaking. There are about three million Hindus in USA.

Ganesh Flip Flops at Etsy

Indian Overseas Congress, USAcondemns vandalizing of statuesin India

NEW YORK (TIP): TheIOC Vice Chairman GeorgeAbraham, in a statement toThe Indian Panorama saidthat the Indian OverseasCongress stronglycondemned the vandalizing ofstatues in India.

"We strongly condemn thewidespread vandalizing ofstatues across India to scorecheap political points therebyexacerbating tension betweencommunities and politicalparties' said GeorgeAbraham, Vice-Chairman ofthe Indian Overseas Congress,USA. 'attacking and defacingstatues of Indian icons such

as Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, and PeriyarRamasamy is a symptom of growing intolerance in thesociety that is anathema to the basic tenets of thedemocratic tradition' Mr. Abraham added. IOC alsocondemns the destruction of statues in Tripura and WestBengal and calls for the peaceful transition of power afteran election.

"Undoubtedly, under BJP rule, a climate of division andintolerance has been fostered for political gains. It is to benoted that these acts of vandalism are primarily directed atfigures mostly revered by Dalits, whom some of the BJPsupporters disdain. Emboldened by the BJP victory inTripura, the vandals appeared to have destroyed the statueof a Lenin and ransacked the offices of the CommunistParty of India. While BJP is trying to woo the Dalits withtheir 'Hindu card' strategy, the true color of their attitudetowards them is quite evident with their destructive andpolarizing actions.

"We welcome the statement by the Prime Ministercondemning these pernicious acts by a few and call uponthe authorities to bring those who are responsible for toswift justice".

IOC Vice Chairman GeorgeAbraham released to The

Indian Panorama a resolutioncondemning vandalizing of

statues in India

Upset Hindus seek apology asBrooklyn’s Etsy sells Ganesh Flip Flops

after removing Ganesh Toilet Seat

21ASTROLOGYTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

W E E K LY H O R O S C O P EMARCH 19 - MARCH 25, 2018

Aries: Ganesha says as the period dawns, yourattention will be drawn towards laying strongfoundations for your finances. Though you arein a stable financial position, you realize thatyou need to make more money and make yourfamily more secure. Dig the well before youneed the water - this proverb could aptlydescribe your mindset as you exploreinvestment options that will give you lucrativereturns.

Taurus: You continue to make determined effortstowards strengthening your financial positionand explore every investment opportunity. Youare generally restless and are always on thelookout for action of some kind. Travelling forwork / higher studies / business is a possibilitythis period. You are always open to learningnew strategies that could help you in yourcareer and yet also indulge in play in equalmeasure. Your industrious, result-orientednature finds approval from your boss.

Gemini: You have been involved, till now, in seriouslyand conservatively building your family's nest-egg. You have been a responsible child / parent/ spouse / friend / employee and have wonkudos for your cool, caring and calm nature.Now, at this phase, you could feel an upsurge ofemotional energy which could causerestlessness and loneliness. You may indulge indisruptive and decadent behavior and shockyour loved ones.

Cancer: Your reckless behavior is under control as youknuckle down to the sedate job of making aliving and creating wealth. You are interestedright now in fulfilling your professional andpersonal obligations. You determinedly slogaway at your routine chores, commitments.There could be some problems at work whichyou will have to resolve, and accusations fromthe home front of being a workaholic couldcause added stress. It will be a good idea to finda balance and spend more time with yourfamily / loved ones.

Leo: You have been devoting to much of yourenergies to work and this has been causingdifficulties in your relationships. You arebenefitted too as improved ties and bonds giveyou great joy and harmony. Besides your closefamily, you show interest in the activities ofyour local community and even volunteer tohelp out. There could be collaborations withinternational partners / job opportunities in amulti - national company, and your reputationat work receives a huge boost. You earnapplause and are the toast of all.

Virgo: Your natural inclination is towards spiritualityand you involve yourself in studying thescriptures / visiting holy and sacred shrines /meditation / chanting. Finances continue tooccupy your attention but Ganesha advises youto stay alert in all money matters. This is theright time for parking your money in safe andstable investments and not risking orsquandering it away in get-rich-quick schemes.

Libra: You are on a high as you involve the 3 Cs -communication, contacts and correspondence -to take your career / business up the next rungof success. Your stupendous inter-personalskills attract attention and just dividends. Youcould be tempted to venture into riskyterritory; the indications are all there and youwill have to control yourself. Ganesha advisescaution in money matters, love affairs and inover-indulgence.

Scorpio: Money matters continue to demand attention.But along with that, friends / loved ones /extended family demand your attention andyou do not hold back as you respond. Youoverextend yourself to bring peace andharmony in all your relationships, bothprofessional and personal, and the results arespectacular. Ganesha blesses you with happybonding. You have pleasurable moments withyour lover and, if a parent, great times withyour kids.

Sagittarius: You have an inherent edge in communicatingwith people and so any relationship issues withchildren / family elders / siblings can be sortedout by talking. Friends are the source of funand frolic and you will enjoy partying virtuallyall period. You manage to give equal andquality time to both your career and yourchildren. Spirituality and religious mattersalso interest you.

Capricorn: The Moon gives you significant gains especiallyin relationships. The trend of the past periodcontinues, and you put in dedicated efforts in allyour projects and initiatives. The focus hasshifted from work to home and this requiresdetailed planning. All issues related to the homeand highlighted; from restorations / renovations/ additions to investments in property, land,leases and loans. Tact and diplomacy arerequired to tackle awkward issues and to resolvethem to everyone's satisfaction.

Aquarius: The 3 Cs - contacts, communications andcorrespondence - are this period's theme andthere will be a flurry of letters, e-mails, SMS aswell as travel and trips. You will be in touchwith the world and there will be many newwork projects. A personal situation / workissues could put you in a dilemma, but youmanage to come through unstuck with somedeft maneuvering. There is a good chance tomeet up with extended family and friends inreligious functions / family, get-togethers /celebrations.

Pisces: You have continued to work hard and diligentlyeven in the midst of all the interpersonaldrama in your private life, winning approvalwith your superiors. Your reputation will soar.Prestige, promotions and pelf are the results ofyour own hard work and dedication and youdeserve it. As your self - esteem and self -confidence, along with your social standing,soar you manage to, thankfully, retain yourhelpful and gracious attitude with all andsundry irrespective of their status in life.

Shree Ganeshaya Namah

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

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

22 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 SPORTS

Rohit hammers 89, takes India into finalCOLOMBO (TIP): India’s stand-in captain

Rohit Sharma returned to form with a fine 89to set up a 17-run victory over Bangladesh onMarch 14 and reach the final of the T20 tri-series.

Leading the side in the absence of restedregular skipper Virat Kohli, opening batsmanRohit hit five fours and an equal number ofsixes in his 61-ball knock to guide India to 176/3in their 20 overs.

Bangladesh, who also lost their first match ofthe tournament to India, managed 159/6 inreply. The winner of Friday’s match betweenSri Lanka and Bangladesh will meet India inthe final on Sunday.

Off-spinner Washington Sundar ran throughthe Bangladesh top order with the new ball,taking three wickets in his first spell of threeovers. The 18-year-old finished with 3/22, hisbest figures in the format.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was alsoeconomical in his four-over spell of 1/21.

Former captain Mushfiqur Rahim notchedup his second consecutive fifty but his 72 notout in 55 balls was not enough.

Rohit’s highest score in his previous six T20matches, including the three-match series in

South Africa, was 21 and he opted to bewatchful at the start of his innings after Indiawere asked to bat. He added 70 with ShikharDhawan for the opening wicket before thelatter was bowled by paceman Rubel Hossainfor 35. Rohit then had another fruitful

partnership of 102 with Suresh Raina, who fellto Rubel in the final over of the innings after a30-ball 47. The 30-year-old Rohit, who has twohundreds in the shortest format of the game,was run out on the final ball of the innings.

Source: Reuters

Kagiso Rabada to appeal guilty verdictand keep series hopes alive

CAPE TOWN (TIP): Kagiso Rabada is appealing the guiltyverdict handed to him by the International Cricket Council(ICC) for breaching their code of conduct in a last-ditch bid tobe able to play in the rest of the gripping test series againstAustralia.

Fast bowler Rabada was found guilty of “inappropriate anddeliberate physical contact with a player” after leaning withhis shoulder into Steve Smith when he dismissed the Australiacaptain in the first innings of South Africa’s six wicket win inthe second test in Port Elizabeth. The result levelled the four-match series at 1-1.

The 22-year-old, who took 11-150 in the game, was fined 50percent of his match fee and given three demerit points, whichtook him past the tally of eight that triggers an automatic two-game suspension.

“ICC confirms that Kagiso Rabada has appealed against thelevel two breach following the incident with Steve Smithduring the Port Elizabeth Test. ICC will now appoint a JudicialCommissioner at the earliest opportunity and hearing detailswill be confirmed in due course,” the governing body said onWednesday.

The ICC have 48 hours to appoint a commissioner and ahearing will be heard within a seven day period. Rabada willremain suspended unless the commissioner takes a decision toallow him to play in the third test in Cape Town starting onMarch 22.

Although there was contact made with Smith, Rabadamaintains that it was accidental and at the time he was noteven aware he had brushed against his opponent.

“If I knew I did it deliberately, I wouldn’t have gone tocontest (the charge),” Rabada told reporters after the game. “Ididn’t even feel contact in that moment because I was sopumped up.”

Smith has suggested the Australian team wanted Rabada toplay the remainder of the series as the seamer rose to the topof the test bowling rankings following his performance in PortElizabeth.

“He’s a world class bowler and you always want to come upagainst the best, that’s for sure,” Smith said. “He’s right upthere. He’s unbelievable the way he’s been bowling.

“If he’s there, he’s there... if he’s not, he’s not. It’s our job totry and play some better cricket.”

Rabada is the fifth player to be punished by the ICC in whathas been a tempestuous test series so far along withAustralians David Warner, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Marsh,and South African Quinton de Kock. Source: Reuters

LIONEL MESSI REACHES 100CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GOALS AS FCBARCELONA CRUSH CHELSEA FC

BARCELONA (TIP): Lionel Messi scored two brilliantgoals and created another for Ousmane Dembele as Barcelonathrashed Chelsea 3-0 on March 14 to reach the ChampionsLeague quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.

Messi opened the scoring after two minutes and eightseconds, the quickest goal of his career, slipping the ballthrough Thibaut Courtois’ legs from a tight angle.

The Argentine forward created the second with a blisteringrun from the halfway line which left three Chelsea defendersstumbling in his wake, before squaring the ball for OusmaneDembele to rifle home his first goal for the club.

Marcos Alonso hit the post and Olivier Giroud wasunfortunate not to be awarded a penalty for a tangle withGerard Pique as Chelsea tried to launch a comeback, beforeMessi killed the tie with his 100th Champions League goal.

“To have Messi in the team is a luxury, he’s such a goodplayer that in any move he can create danger against you,”Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said.

“Our attacking play goes through him and any move isimproved by his touch.”

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said his side needed aperfect display to progress but they started disastrously at apacked Nou Camp when Luis Suarez teed up Messi, whosqueezed a low strike through the legs of Courtois from a tightangle. The visitors responded well with Giroud and Willian,who scored in the 1-1 first-leg draw at Stamford Bridge,particularly bright in attack. ut a mistake from Cesc Fabregason the halfway line allowed Messi to break in again after 20minutes and the number 10 left the Chelsea backline in tattersto set up the second goal, expertly finished by Dembele.

Source: Reuters

T20 TRI-SERIES

Washington Sundar relishingchallenge of bowling in

powerplaysWashington Sundar’s performance in thepowerplay during the Nidahas Trophy 2018tri-series has been phenomenal. The 18-year-old Tamil Nadu offspinner displayed his skillyet again as he picked up three wickets andconceded just 22 runs to set-up India’s 17-runwin over Bangladesh and qualify for theNidahas Trophy 2018 tri-series final. Speakingafter the end of the match, Sundar said he isfortunate to have this skill and approach inthis crucial period. “I have to admit I amfortunate to have this skill (bowling inpowerplay). It is more of reading thebatsmen’s mind in the powerplays,” Sundarsaid. “Every six balls, they will be looking tohit you at least for a four and six. It isimportant to read the mind. I myself am abatsman to an extent; I can suspect what heis thinking and where he is going to hit me,”he added. The youngster picked up thewickets of Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das andSoumya Sarkar to wreck Bangladesh’s toporder and despite Mushfiqur Rahim’s lateblitz, Mahmudullah’s side suffered theirseventh-straight Twenty20 loss against India.

Kagiso Rabada was found guilty of‘inappropriate and deliberate physical

contact with a player’ after leaning withhis shoulder into Steve Smith when hedismissed the Australia captain in the

first innings of South Africa’s six wicketwin in the second test in Port Elizabeth

Navratri is a Hindu festivals that isdedicated to the worship of GoddessDurga and her nine divine avatars for

a period of nine days. Some of you would besurprised to know that there are 4 Navratri ina year but only two of them Chaitra Navratriand Sharad Navratri are celebrated widelyacross the country. This year Chaitra Navratriwould begin from 18th March and go on till26th March. Chaitra Navratri is celebrated inthe Hindu month of Chaitra that falls usuallyaround March and April.

The period of nine days of Navratri isconsidered to be very holy for Hindus, an theydo all that they can to appease their beloveddeity. People wake up and bathe early morningand pray to the Goddess. They perform specialpoojas and havans to welcome Goddess Durgato take shelter in their homes. Offerings interms of delicious bhog, fruits and flowers arealso made to the deity. Devotees also observeritualistic fasts as a mark of showing theirdevotion for the goddess. Both ChaitraNavratri and Sharad Navratri fall around twomajor seasonal change of the year. ChaitraNavratri marks transition from spring tosummer, while Sharad Navratra falls aroundOctober-November marking the beginning ofwinter. During this time our immunities aremost vulnerable and one is more prone toencounter a host of sickness and disease.Bingeing ion oily, sugary or very heavy foodcould further take its toll on our dippingimmunity levels, which is why it is advisableto eat light and clean. By fasting or eatingsattvik food you are allowing your body todetox and fortify from within.

Around Navratri several deliciouspreparations like Kuttu Ki Puri, Singhade KaHalwa, Singhare Ke Pakore, SabudanaVadaand Sabudana Khichdi gain immensepopularity amongst those who are fasting.Along with the special vrat ka khana, peoplealso tend to load up on fruits and milk to keepthemselves energized through the day.

During this period, the nine forms of Durgaare worshipped. Here’s taking a look at thesignificance of each of her avatars:

ShailputriShailputri, in Sanskrit means 'daughter of

the mountains'. This form is the first oneamong the nine forms of the goddess andShailputri is worshipped as the absolute formof Mother Nature. During the festival ofNavratri, the goddess is portrayed with a half-moon on her forehead, a trident in her righthand along with a lotus in her left hand. She isseen mounted on the back of a bull.

The first day of Navratri is marked for theworship of Shailputri.

BrahmachariniThe ‘charming’ form of Durga, the idol of

Brahmacharini is presented to herworshipers with a Kamandal in her left handand jap mala in her right hand.

Brahmacharini, the unmarried form of theGoddess is worshipped on the second day ofNavratri and is mostly known as thepersonification of love and loyalty.

ChandraghantaAdorned with a bell shaped like a crescent

moon in her hand, this form of Maa Durga isresponsible for restoring justice and dharmain the world. On the third day of Navratri,goddess Chandraghanta is worshipped.

Kushmanda

This form of Durga is believed to be the onethat eliminates darkness from the world withher smile. Each idol of goddess Durga in thisform is therefore carved with a smile on herface. On the fourth day of Navratri, devoteesworship this manifestation of Maa Durga.

Skanda MataThis form of the goddess is always

accompanied by an infant form of LordSkanda or Kartikeya. The goddess isportrayed with having four arms and threeeyes. She is presented as sitting on a lotus andis worshiped on the fifth day of Navratri.

KatyayaniThis incarnation of goddess Durga is the

epitome of love and anger and the idolshaving this form are portrayed as having fourarms and three eyes and are mounted on alion. The sixth day of Navratri is dedicated toKatyayani form of goddess Durga.

KalratriThis form of the goddess is famous in

ancient Hindu literature as being the mostviolent one. Worshipped on the seventh day,this is the form that evokes fear in a devotee'smind. Kalratri is believed to be the destroyerof all demonic powers, i.e. kaal.

Maha GauriDiametrically opposite to Kalratri, this

form of the goddess Durga is intelligent,

peaceful and calm. The ‘extremely white’goddess is depicted in idols as such and isshown as wearing white clothes, mounted on abull. Maha Gauri is worshiped on the eighthday of Navratri.

SiddhidatriOn the last day of Navratri, the form

Siddhidatri of goddess Durga is worshipped.This is the form that is known for her wish-fulfilling capabilities and the goddess isbelieved to possess several types of healingpowers.

23SPIRITUALITYTHE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

CHAITRA NAVRATRI: NINE NIGHTSOF THE DIVINE FEMININE

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

save India, and India and Hinduism are one.’

This year, Chaitra Navratri will begin from March 18 and go on till 26th. Chaitra Navratri is celebrated in the Hindu month of Chaitra that

falls at cusp of spring and summer

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