Voice of South Asian Community Since March 2002 Page...

1Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019

Voice of South Asian Community Since March 2002

Vol. 15 Issue 41 Friday 1 March to 7 March 2019 $1 w w w . t h e s o u t h a s i a n insider. com t h e s o u t h a s i a n i n s i d e r @ g m a i l . c o m

Paris Jackson reacts to 'LeavingNeverland' accusations

Yes, There's a Crisis at the Border

(News Agencies) Toronto -Prime Minister Justin Trudeauinsisted Thursday that there was nothing sinister abouthis role in a scandal swamping his government andthreatening his reelection prospects.At a formal pressconference, he spoke in detail for the first time aboutthe episode. Continued on 9

Page 23

Page 19

Rahul leads Opposition inbacking expose on Rafale deal(News Agencies) New Delhi-Congress presidentRahul Gandhi onThursday said TheHindu was beingtargeted for havingbeen "brave" enoughto expose thegovernment of PrimeMinister NarendraModi over the Rafaledeal. His commentcame in the wake of the Centre'scontention that the Rafale fileshad been "stolen" from theDefence Ministry and thatpublication of news reports based

on these files, including by TheHindu, was aviolation of theOfficial Secrets Act(OSA). OtherOpposition leaders,including WestBengal ChiefMinister MamataBanerjee and AndhraPradesh ChiefMinister Chandrababu

Naidu, also expressed disquiet overthe government’s threat to invokethe OSA, condemning it as a moveto muzzle the media.

Continued on Page 19

Ex-Nassau County Executive Ed Manganoand wife Linda found guilty in bribery case(By our staff reporter)- LongIsland, New York - FormerNassau County ExecutiveEdward Mangano and his wife,Linda, have been found guiltyat their seven-week corruptionretrial on Long Island — andeach now faces as much as20 years prison.In a late-morning split verdict

Friday, a jury found Manganoguilty of accepting hundreds

of thousands of dol lars inbr ibes f rom ex- res taurantowner Harendra S ingh inexchange for the once powerfulpol’s help in securing morethan $20 million in loans.Ed was cleared of a singlecount of extortion. He was alsocleared of charges

Continued on Page 19

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Dilip Chauhan introduces Indian Heritage at US basketball game

During Diya Lightting Ceremony, Left: Co-Chair, Raj Shah, Ruchika Chauhan, Anil Shah,Dy.CG Shatrugna Sinha, Organizer Dilip Chauhan and Roopa Sridhar. Page no 2-3

Justin Trudeautries to save face

2Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 COMMUNITY

Bollyball DiplomacyDilip Chauhan introduces Indian Heritage at US basketball game

The game ball deliver ceremony wasperformed by the Winner of 2018 Miss

Teen Bharat New York, Kahini Chauhan.

Indian American Community In Joyous Mood during Indian Heritage Night at NYCB LIVE’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Students of Navatman Art InstitutePerforming during Half Time

Students of Arya Dance Academy Performingduring Prime Time.

Students of Arya Dance AcademyPerforming during Prime Time.

(By our staff reporter)-In aunique display of “Bollyballdiplomacy”, Dilip Chauhan,t h e f o r m e r D e p u t yC o m p t r o l l e r o f N a s s a uCounty,and Co-Chair RajS h a h c r e a t e d h i s t o r yrecently by organizing anevent where India’s culturalp rowess , espec ia l l y theI n d i a n c u l t u r a lperformances was on ful ld i s p l a y a n d t h e I n d i a ncommuni ty showed the i rc o m m i t m e n t t o am a i n s t r e a m g a m e . T h ee v e n t , I n d i a n H e r i t a g eN i g h t , w a s h e l d o n

Wednesday, February 27, atN Y C B L I V E ’ s N a s s a uVe t e r a n s M e m o r i a lCol iseum on Long Island,where -- for the f irst t ime --I n d i a n c o m m u n i t y w a sinvited to jointly participateat a major basketball gamebetween two big teams --L o n g I s l a n d N e t s a n dDelaware Blue Coats.

It was the f irst t imein the history of basketballin Nassau Col iseum thatIndian groups performed atthe Prime Time as well asd u r i n g t h e h a l f - t i m e a sNassau Veterans Coliseum

gave a special permiss ionto the med ia to cover theI n d i a n s e g m e n t s o f t h eevent.I n d i a n s a r e r a r e a s a naudience at the Col iseum.B u t o n t h i s d a y l a r g en u m b e r o f c o m m u n i t ym e m b e r s p e o p l e t u r n e dout to watch the game andce leb ra te I nd i an cu l t u reas co lo r fu l c lo thes madet h e y o u n g c h i l d r e n l o o kl ike cu l tura l ambassadorso f Ind ia wh i le a mass iveaud ience app lauded the i rper formance at the arena.The evening began with an

a n n o u n c e m e n t b y t h eE m c e e . “ To d a y ' sm e m o r a b l e e v e n t i s ab r a i n c h i l d o f D i l i pChauhan, the President ofN e w Yo r k S o u t h A s i a nC h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e .He has in a ve ry un iquea n d s o p h i s t i c a t e d w a yweaved th is p rogram to agrand success , ” he sa id ,i n v i t i n g D i l i p C h a u h a n ,a l o n g w i t h R a j S h a h ,I n d i a n D e p u t y C GS h a t r u g h n a S i n h a ,Ruch ika Chauhan, RoopaSr idhar and An i l Shah tol i t the t rad i t i ona l l amp.

Af ter the Ind ian d ip lomatw a s j o i n e d b y t h eprominen t Ind ians in thel i g h t i n g o f l a m p a m i dchan t ing o f mant ra , theE m c e e c a l l e d o n t h eaud ience to observe 30-s e c o n d s s i l e n c e i n t h ememory of the mar tyrs o fthe recen t te r ro r a t tacka tPu lwama in Jammu &K a s h m i r . T h e n D i l i pChauhan was inv i ted bythe o f f i c i a l s t o add ressthe august gathering in thearena. “It is an honor andprivi lege to we lcome andg r e e t y o u a t t h e F i r s t

Community leaders and Indian Dy CG attend Nassau Veterans Coliseum game as Indian groups perform before the game – Prime Time andat half-time, it’s such a great occasion for Indian Community to be a part of major basketball game at Nassau Coliseum

Kids Enjoying High5 Time with Player


Students of Nartan Dance Academy Performing Folk Dance during Prime Time. Navatman Art Institute Peforming During Half Time

Winner of 2018 MissTeen Bharat New York,Kahini Chauhan at the

Center Stage.

Indian Kids with Players during American National Anthem

RoopaJi, Ruchikaji, RashmiJi, Winner of 2018 Miss Teen Bharat New York, KahiniChauhan, Dy.CG Shatrugna Sinha, Dr. Himanshu Pandya, Honoree Sudhir Vaishnav,Dilip Chauhan President of New York South Asian American Chamber of Commerce.

Sudhir Vaishnav Honored withCommunity Hero

Students of Navatman Art Institute Performing During Half Time. Students of Nartan Dance Academy Performing Folk Dance

Ind ian Her i tage N igh t inNassau County. Ind ia ' scu l tu re i s r i ch , co lo r fu la n d v i b r a n t . W e a r edel ighted th is evening too f f e r a t a s t e o f o u rh e r i t a g e , o u r d a n c e ,c o s t u m e s , t r a d i t i o n s ,pure ly to share w i th youa n d e n j o y . I t i s m yp r i v i l e g e t o i n t r o d u c eyou to the Organ ize r o f

I n d i a n H e r i t a g e N i g h t .P l e a s e w e l c o m e m y c o -c h a i r R a j S h a h a n d t h eI n d i a n A m e r i c a nA d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e f o rp u t t i n g t h i s e v e n tt o ge ther. Thanks to morethan 20 Ind ian Amer icanO r g a n i z a t i o n s f o r y o u rsuppor t , honored gues tsand media,” Di l ip Chauhans a i d i n h i s o p e n i n g

remarks. “Today is indeeda v e r y s p e c i a l a n dinsp i r ing day fo r Ind iansin Long Is land as we a rec e l e b r a t i n g t h e I n d i aH e r i t a g e N i g h t a t t h eP r e s t i g i o u s N a s s a uColiseum,” he added.Dilip Chauhan also used hisspeech as an opportunity tomake an important appea la s h e a s k e d p e o p l e t or e g i s t e r t h e m s e l v e s t ovote . “I also wish to appeal

t o e a c h o f y o u . T h i s i ssomething very personal tom y h e a r t . E a c h a n deveryone , i f you a re no treg is tered to vote, p leaseregister to Vote.And i f youa r e a l r e a d y r e g i s t e r e d ,p l e a s e m a k e s u r e y o uc a s t y o u r v o t e . P l e a s er e m e m b e r ‘ I f y o u d o n ’ tvo te you l ose a r i gh t t ocompla in ’ , ” he sa id . “Godbless Amer ica and Ind ia . ”I n h i s a d d r e s s t o t h e

g a t h e r i n g , t h e D e p u t yConsu l Genera l o f Ind iasa id tha t i t was a g rea tvenue to showcase r i chh e r i t a g e o f I n d i a . “ T h i sk ind o f ac t i v i t i es makesour re la t ionship stronger.“The beauty of this event issuch a la rge number o fc h i l d r e n a n d y o u t hp a r t i c i p a t i o n s a i dShatrughna Sinha .Dur ingthe Pr ime T ime, reg iona lf o l k dances of India andBollywood by young childrenas well as women groupswere performed. The firstperformance was done by AryaDance Academy. It wasfollowed by a performance bytheNartan Rang DanceAcademy.

Sunil Hali Indian Express, Jai Singh Hum Hindustani,Dr. Himanshu Pandya President AAPI QLI, SharanjitSingh Thind Former Human Rights Commissioner

Nassau County, Balwant Hothi PTC Punjabi


Natya Darpan: A NJ-based annual short play festival to showcase social issues(By a staff reporter)-IndianHer i tage & Cul tura lAssociation (IHCA-NJ) is avolunteer based non-profitcu l tura l organ izat ion,dedicated to promoting localtalent and preserving the richher i tage o f Ind ia in NewJersey, New York andPhiladelphia area throughshowcasing of performing artslike classical music, dance,and theater. Since the last 4years, IHCA-NJ has organized'Natya-Darpan' a multi-lingualshort play festival in New Jersey.

'Natya-Darpan'literally mean "themirror of Society throughperforming arts". Each year, 6 to8 highly acclaimed and award-winning US-based theatergroups have been performinghigh-quality short plays in Hindi,Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and inEnglish on social issues,including WomenEmpowerment, Immigration,Human Trafficking, LGBTQIssues, CommunityRelationships, Mental illness andothers. 'Natya-Darpan'hasreceived an overwhelming

response in the years 2016, 2017with a 'SOLD OUT' show in 2018.That program was partiallyfunded by Middlesex CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders forlast 4 years.IHCA-NJ was founded by DrAshok Chaudhary in the year2013. The main goal of theassociation is to bring a varietyof highly talented professionallocal talent and communitiestogether with the common bond ofperforming arts through differentlanguages. IHCA-NJ membership isopen to people of all ages, races,

religions and nationalities. APh.D. in Organic Chemistry from theIICT, India, Dr Chaudhary is anaccomplished Scientist & SrManager with more than 25 years

of experience overseeingresearch & development inFortune 500 pharmaceuticalcompanies including Pfizer, Merck& Siemens USA.

Veteran Indian American Journalist gets State Award

(By a staff reporter)-Dr PrakashM Swamy, a veteran journalistof 40 years and currently a

diplomatic correspondent atUnited Nations headquarters inNew York, who gave a mediascoop on Rajiv Gandhiassassination that he was killedby a human bomb, has beenchosen for the Tamil NaduGovernment's highest stateaward - Kalai Mamani (meaningconnoisseur of arts)

Dr Swamy started hiscareer at The Hindu as a staffreporter in the year 1978 andwas sent to University ofFlorida, Gainesville, for master’sdegree in journalism under

Rotary International scholarshipand subsequently was madeprincipal correspondent and incharge of the internationaledition. He later joined IndiaToday as bureau chief in 1991and moved to Ananda VikatanGroup as executive editor in1993. He took the circulation ofJunior Vikatan to new heightsand was praised by The NewYork Times for his fearlesswritings.““Swamy moved to theUS in 1997 and worked in senioreditorial positions in severalIndian-American publications

such as India Abroad, The NewsIndia Times, The South AsianInsider, The Urban Indian and TheIndian Express North Americanedition. He also served as NewYork and UN Correspondent forPress Trust of India. He wasmade a judge of Emmy Awardsin New York and also serves asPresident of America TamilSangam.““He was recognized bythe US Congress with specialproclamations for his contributionto Indian-American ties andunderstanding. He was alsohonored in the New York and New

Jersey State Assemblies for hisachievements. In India, he won“For The Sake of” and “LifetimeAchievement” awards of theRotary International.““RecentlyAmerica Tamil Sangam and hisnonprofit organization Shri VariFoundation Trust adopted twocorporation schools in Mylapore,Chennai and built ten toilets forgirl students besides improvingthe environment of the schoolpremises. Other awardeesinclude actors Prabhu Deva,Vijay Sethupathi, Santhanam,Karthik, Suri and Priya Mani.

AIA New York’s Desi Next Valentine Dinner & Dance

(By a staff reporter)-TheAssociation of Indians inAmerica, NY Chapter (AIA-NY)organized their first ValentineDinner & Dance Event under itsrecently launched "Desi Next" atbeautiful venue Leonard'sPalazzoin Long Island on FridayMarch 1st, 2019to promotenetworking within young adultswhile having fun filled evening.Over 50 young couples attendedthe event and had a great time.Everybody was introduced witheach other to encourageconversation between them andget to know each other whileenjoying the funnyvalentine

games,couples photo booth, sitdown dinner and dancing on thevibrant tunes of renownedDJ.Everybody enjoyed a lot andcomplimented the organizationand the young team of Anuj,Atul & Rajeev for arrangingsuch fun filled event, whichwas a huge success. AIA NYChapter has been strivinghard to br ing programsfocused on young familiesand their children with a viewto attract younger generation. Toname a few, Activities like theIntercollegiate DanceCompetition called "NaachInferno", young singer artists

like Jay Sean of Bollywood fame,and bringing Neel Sethi, theHollywood child star of theDisney movie "The Jungle Book",Ronald Mcdonaldof Mcdonald'sfameand above all launching of "DesiNext" for the younger generation.Wehave been trying to continue toexpand and streng then youthdevelopment programs andactivities and have been workingtowards energizing our youths,while understanding theirconcerns, said Gobind Munjal,the president of AIA NY Chapter.We try to give the young adultsthe autonomy to build theirprograms that suits and attracts

the younger generation. Keepingthat in mind, AIA NY Chapterlaunched "Desi Next" in January2017 to provide a platform for the

young adults,where they cansocialize, interact, address theirissues and concerns and developprograms to suit their need.


A global coalition of concerned citizens led by Indian American Community protest at theUnited Nations, New York on March 3rd to stop Global Terrorism sponsored by Pakistan

City Hosts immigrant worker convening in the Bronx

(By our staff reporter)-NEWYORK, NY Department ofConsumer Affairs (DCA, a.k.a.the Department of Consumer andWorker Protection), inpartnership with New York CityCommission on Human Rights(CCHR), the Mayor’s Office ofImmigrant Affairs (MOIA), andpartner organizations hostedBuilding Bridges: A Convening forNYC Immigrant Workers lastnight at Lincoln Hospital in theBronx. Following a successful

convening in Manhattan lastNovember, this important eventbrought together immigrantworkers and workers’ rightsorganizations to discuss theissues workers face at work,efforts to transform workingconditions, and other strategiesto raise workplace standards.The event featured three panels—one with the commissioners fromDCA, CCHR, and MOIA; asecond with representatives fromCatholic Charities, Cooperative

Home Care Associates, NewYork Committee for OccupationalSafety and Health, and UrbanHealth Plan’s Project HOPE; andfinally, a panel with immigrantworkers including day laborers,construction workers, and homehealth aides, among others.Panelists engaged with the 100attendees on topics such aswage theft, issues related toworksite immigrationenforcement, employmentagency fraud, Occupational

Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) certification issues, andworker discrimination.“With the federal governmentshifting away from protectingvulnerable workforces andcreating anti-immigrant policiesthat foster an increasingly hostilework environment for immigrants,we are committed to advocatingon their behalf,” said DCACommissioner Lorelei Salas.“It’s vital that we hear fromimmigrant workers across thecity about the unique challengesthat they face in the workplace,including harassment,discrimination, and wage theft. Wewant all immigrants to know that wehere and that NYC’s workplacerights apply regardless of

immigration status.”“New YorkCity has been – and always willbe – a city that supports andprotects its diverse workforce,including immigrant New Yorkersand their communities,” saidCarmelyn P. Malalis, Chair andCommissioner of the NYCCommission on Human Rights.“While the statements of federalofficials have sought to sow fearand bigotry directed atimmigrants and their families, theCommission is using everyresource to protect their vulnerablecommunities. Tonight’s event iscrucial for the continued protectionof immigrant workers – all of whomare entitled to justice under theNYC Human Rights Law,regardless of immigration status.”

(By our staff reporter)- New York-About 400 people from differentnationalities protested againstPakistan outside the UnitedNations, New York for its crossborder terrorism in India andAfghanistan and sponsorship ofGlobal Terrorism. Theycondemned the dastardly attackon CRPF personnel in Pulwama,Jammu & Kashmir state on Feb14th, 2018. Forty lives were lostin the cowardly act by Pakistanbased Jaish-e-Mohammadheaded by Masood Azhar .People from different nationalitiesincluding India, Caribbeancountries, Bangladesh, SriLanka, Israel, Balochistan (partof Pakistan) expressed theirsolidarity to the protest. RichardBenkin, a Jewish Americancommented, ‘Pakistan long hasbeen a cancer on theinternational body politic. It was

allowed to get away withsponsored attacks on India fordecades, but that time haspassed. A new and strong Indianresolve defends the nation. Weall must stand with India and letPakistan know that its cowardiceand support for terror will gounanswered no longer. While itoppresses its own minorities, itlashes out against other, peace-loving nations. Failure to stopPakistan now only means greaterproblems and more deathslater’.A Bangladeshi American fromBHBCU (Bangladesh HinduBuddhis t Chr is t ian un i tyCouncil) commented that halfmillion Bangladeshi womenwere raped as war booty duringPakistan 1971 war and theworld need to understand thescourge o f Pak is tanestablishment. Vincent Bruno,

a Hindu American activistsa id , ‘ Ind ia has aresponsibility to her citizensand the world to end the statebred Islamic terrorism withinPakistani borders. My adviceis India take her own in thisand not be overly influencedby any foreign power’.Protesters included young andold f rom across d i f ferentOrganizations in NY/NJ area,raised slogans about all majorterrorist attacks originatingf rom Pak is tan such asMumbai 26/11 a t tacks,Pulwama and URI attacks,2001 Indian Parliament attack,9/11 US attacks, Kabul USEmbassy attacks, London busand subway bombings, Germanyembassy attack, extra-judicialkil l ings of activists fromBalochistan province of Pakistanperpetrated by those who are

nurtured, protected and fundedby Pakistani establishment.Slogans and posters threwlight on the many terroristOrganizations that grew out ofPakis tan so i l such as Al-Qaeda, Lakshar-e-Taiba, Jaish-

e-Mohammed, Haqqani network,Taliban, Laskshar-e-Omar,Sipah-e-Sahaba, JKLF and theirassociated terrorists such asOsama Bin Laden, MasoodAzhar, Rashid Rauf, Hafiz Saeed,Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Sai Baba Temple of North Brunswick Cultural associationorganized Maha Shivarathri special puja, archana &

abhishekam on March 4th

Protest at the United Nations

6Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 EDITORIAL

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Islamabad must now act decisively on terrorAbsent US diplomacy, India andPakistan stand at the precipice of warWe will surprise you. Wait for thatsurprise" was the message Maj. Gen. AsifGhafoor, the director general of PakistanInter-Services Public Relations, had for hisneighbors in India on Tuesday evening. Itwas a testy moment after an even testierday, one that served only to heightenexisting tensions between nuclear-armedIndia and Pakistan. Even as PresidentDonald Trump landed in Hanoi, Vietnam,for a landmark summit intended to tamenuclear-armed North Korea, the other sideof Asia seemed poised for its own potentialwar -- and without an intervening power,such as the United States, interested incalming things down. Pakistan and India'smost recent squabble began February 14when an armed militant in the disputedterritory of Kashmir (claimed by bothcountries) drove an explosive-laden vehicleinto an Indian paramilitary convoy andkilled at least 40 soldiers. Indiaimmediately blamed Pakistan for theattack. "We will give a befitting reply. Ourneighbor will not be allowed to destabilizeus," irate Prime Minister Narendra Modideclared as his government, which is upfor re-election in May, asked theinternational community to isolatePakistan. Despite these menacing moves,there were few significant statements fromthe international community -- except forthe UN Security Council, which issued arather weak condemnation of the violence.And while the European Union did urge thetwo countries to de-escalate tensions, itoffered no diplomatic efforts to do just that.Not surprisingly, tensions escalated evenfurther. In the early morning hours ofTuesday, the Indian air force entered intoPakistani airspace and dropped a payloadof bombs. India claimed it had attacked aterrorist training camp and killed "a largenumber" of militants. For its part, Pakistaninsisted the attack had hit an uninhabitedforest, damaging only trees. Then, onWednesday, Pakistan said it shot downtwo Indian fighter jets and arrested onepilot. India claimed Pakistan had only shotdown one plane and that one pilot wasmissing. This escalation is reminiscent ofthe press conference in which Ghafoor, themajor general, promised a surprise, tellingPakistanis to "get ready for everyeventuality." Surprises promised bynuclear-armed nations bode poorly not onlyfor their own populations but for the largerworld. While India and Pakistan have beenon the brink of nuclear battle before, otherpowers, notably the United States, havebeen engaged and present to serve asvoices of calm and reason against the war-mongering rhetoric emerging from thecountries themselves. In May 1999, duringthe Kargil conflict, which (like this one)traces back to the two countries' disputeover Kashmir, Pakistani commandosentered Indian territory in an attempt to

reclaim parts of the valley that Pakistanwanted at the time of partition in 1947.India promised dire consequences.Then, just like now, war seemedpossible, and the United Nations, whichhas long urged a plebiscite in Kashmir,seemed unable to stop it. Thankfully,President Bill Clinton used hisdiplomatic skills to talk both countriesoff the ledge of nuclear oblivion. Then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifwas summoned to Washington. In ameeting recounted in riveting detail inthe memoirs of then-Deputy Secretaryof State Strobe Talbott, Clinton satSharif down and invoked the Cubanmissile crisis as an analogy to thesituation in the Indian subcontinent. Inthe words of Talbott, "unlike Kennedyand Khrushchev in 1962, (Atal Bihari)Vajpayee (then the Indian PrimeMinister) and Sharif did not realize howclose they were to the brink, so therewas an even greater risk that they wouldblindly stumble across it." It tookClinton's direct intervention for Sharif toadmit that unless he withdrew hiscommandos, "it would be acatastrophe." The blind stumbling intowar seems entirely within the realm ofpossibility in this moment, too. Eventhough the United States is present inthe region, negotiating peace with theTaliban in Doha, Qatar, there have beenonly two top-level forays into the conflictthat we know of. On Tuesday, Gen.Joseph Dunford, chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff, spoke to Pakistan Chiefof Defense Gen. Zubair MahmoodHayat and discussed the currenttensions. And Secretary of State MikePompeo spoke with his counterparts inIndia and Pakistan, urging them to"prioritize direct communication andavoid further military activity." And whileDunford and Pompeo appear to have atleast entered the fray -- at least inwords, President Donald Trump hasremained largely silent. Following theattack on Indian paramilitary personnelearlier this month, he said it was a"horrible situation" but that hisadministration would have a comment when"it was appropriate." "It would be wonderful,"the President added, if "India and Pakistanwere to get along." Indeed, it would bewonderful, but it seems unlikely, especiallywith the United States uninterested orunaware that it needs to play a keymediating role. Trump, likely diverted byhis ambitions in North Korea and by thecontinuing accusations of obstructionof justice and corruption againstmembers of his campaign andadministration, seems unlikely to arrangea Clinton-esque meeting in which he insiststhat the parties involved recognize the scaleof devastation at play.

Widening the lens beyondPulwama and Balakot reveals a broadcoincidence with Prime Minister ImranKhan completing six months in power.Regionally, Pakistan found itself in thenot unfamiliar position that the threeneighbours with whom it has most incommon - Afghanistan, Iran and India -all accusing it with the same charge:allowing terrorists to use territory itcontrols. A wide angle would also showa definite lowering of threshold by Indiawhen faced with the question ofresponding to terrorist attacks.The aftermath of major terrorist strikeshas always been revealing of the stateof India-Pakistan relations as a whole.Mumbai in November 2008 andPathankot in January 2016 took placeduring a relative upswing in therelationship. Uri in September 2016 andPulwama in February 2019 happenedwhen things were at a low plateau. Bothafter Mumbai and Pathankot, a realeffort was made by India to meet thePakistan demand for "evidence". Theterm itself merits a pause. In Mumbai,there was a huge volume of informationavailable confirming the complicity ofPakistan-based groups in the attack andin the conspiracy that planned it. Thisinformation was shared with Pakistanboth in the immediate aftermath of theattack and in the months that followed.The expectation was that authorities inPakistan would act on this informationand convert it into evidence forpresenting in their courts and securingconvictions against the conspirators.What happened instead was perverseas every lacuna of the Pakistan criminaljustice system was used to defeat the

object of the exercise. Defending theselacuna became upholding thesovereignty of Pakistan. Former PMNawaz Sharif's complaint in the famousDawn leaks case in October 2016against the subversion of the Mumbaitrail and on the free pass given toterrorist groups was precisely this andit led inevitably to his own downfall.After Pathankot, the process was takenfurther. Inviting a Pakistan team to thesite of the attack was to facilitate theprocess of conversion of information intoevidence. It met a longstandingPakistan demand that terrorist attacksshould be investigated by it too. Thiswas in many ways both a calling of thePakistan bluff but would have also actedto safeguard the gains of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's Lahore visit in theprevious month. A return visit by anIndian team could have signalled thebeginning of a bilateral counter terrorismprocess. This was, however, subvertedlargely through an attempted changeof narrative and the production ofKulbhushan Jhadhav amid shril lcharges o f spy ing and Ind iaterrorism.In this background, the response tothe Uri terrorist attack and, evenmore emphatically, post-Pulwamarepresents a lowering of the Indianthreshold and is recognised sointernationally. It is accompanied by agrowing concern about the possibilitiesof escalation. At the same time, there is anacute sense of frustration with Pakistanicomplicity, denial and recklessness whenit comes to the protection extended toterrorist groups on grounds ofsovereignty and self respect.

7Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 OP-ED

Time now for diplomacy to take overIt is necessary that India, along with the rest of the world, frees Islamabad from the clutches of Rawalpindi.

"Namaskar, I read yourarticle, felt a litt ledisappointed. The idea ofrevenge in the frenzy of warwill give immediatesatisfaction but not apermanent solution.Manmohan Singh did nottake revenge but Kashmirbecame peaceful to a largeextent. If the terror attacksdid not stop even after that,then will Islamabad beattacked? The surgicalstrike is not the solution,it is the problem. But inthis age, it's blasphemousto say so."This messagewas sent to me by a friendafter reading my quickcomment on the recentairstrike by the Indian AirForce. "Finally we havelearnt to avenge the deathof our sons" was the titleof this article in which I hadsupported the airstrikes. Ifeel that self-defence is ourright and that when

dialogue doesn't succeedthen there is nothing wrongin taking up the arms. Infact, leaders from morethan 50 countriesexpressed the samesentiment.The world has changedrapidly in last few years.The new emergingequations have changedthe old limitations ofdiplomatic courtesy.Twenty five years ago, whowould have thought thatChina will be looking theUS in the eye, that theNorth Korean leader KimJong-un will be shakinghands with the USPresident, and that theRussian army will beconducting joint drills withthe Pakistanis? Whyshould India continue tofollow old dictums?No matter what claimsPakistan makes, it cannotbe denied that with the

airstrikes on February 26,and the way Pakistan'splanes were forced towithdraw, India made itclear that we will not backoff. India now is not goingto stop. The Pakistaniregime committed anothermistake by making viralthe photos of bloodied andwounded WingCommander AbhinandanVarthaman. The wholecountry was consumed bya strong wave of anger andthe ruling regime was alsonot left untouched by thissentiment.India made itclear that Varthamanshould be returnedimmediately. Clearly, thebackdoor efforts for peacewere in full swing. Be itPakistan's ally China or theself-declared custodian ofthe world the US, theconflict between twonuclear states that arelarge emerging markets

was not considered in thebest interests of the worldeconomy. To defuse thetension, the US PresidentDonald Trump announcedthat some good news wasabout to come from Indiaand Pakistan. He also saidthat there is hope ofresolving the decades-olddispute between the twocountries.Prime minister Imran Khanwho was already offeringtalks did announce the

release of Varthaman. Butwe need to remember thatin the excitement of hiscoming back we should notstray from our original goal.All of this started with thePulwama terror attack.Masood Azhar, the architectof Pulwama massacre, is stillsafe under the protection ofthe Pakistani army. The UShas declared a huge rewardon Hafiz Saeed, but he isroaming free in Pakistan.India will have to increase

pressure on Pakistan tohand over DawoodIbrahim, Saeed, Azharand other anti-Indiaelements.History is witness to thefact that incomplete battleshave proved fatal to thewinners.Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and hisgovernment have definitelyconsidered this fact. That iswhy in the first public speechafter PM Khan'sannouncement, PM Modisaid that the pilot projectwas completed. It is quiteclear that New Delhi isready to take this conflictto its conclusion. Pastexperience shows thatPakistan does not changeits colours, even in defeat.Even after 1971 war, whenPakistan was divided intotwo, it did not stopspreading terrorism inPunjab and Kashmir.

With polls round the corner, a newtrade deal with the US is unlikely

India had adequate warningthat the United States (US)could terminate importanttrade preferences to thecountry. The two countrieshaven't engaged in a tradewar (yet), but there havebeen several skirmishes,and it has always beenclear that President DonaldTrump is a hawk when itcomes to trade (as indeed,many of today's strong-minded and domestically-focused leaders are). Whatis the benefit of thegeneralised system ofpreferences (GSP), whichMr Trump, in a letter toCongress on Monday saidhe intended to terminate forIndia and Turkey after a 60-day notice period? GSPallows duty-free imports of

around 2,000 products,including textiles and autoparts. India is the biggestbeneficiary of theprogramme and accordingto US government data, in2017, $5.7 billion of India'sexports were under thispreferential system.In his letter to Congress,Mr Trump said the Indiangovernment "has notassured the United Statesthat it will provideequitable and reasonableaccess to the markets ofIndia". Commercesecretary AnupWadhawan told Reutersthe move would not havemuch of an impact andadded that India and theUS have been trying towork out a trade deal. Mr

Wadhawan is right in termsof arithmetic - in 2017,India's exports to the USthat came under GSPaccounted for 1.9% of thecountry's overall exports.It is also not clear whetherthe two countries will beable to address the twotrade-related issues (and, inthe background, aninvestment-related one)that prompted the USaction. American dairyand medica l dev icescompanies havecompla ined to the i rgovernment about Indianot giving them access(in the case of the first)and capping prices (inthe case of the second).Ind ia is un l ike ly tochange its position on

either. Cows in the US arefed a diet that includesanimal products and NewDelhi is of the opinion thatUS dairy products aretherefore "non-vegetarian".In the case of medicaldevices, the two countriesseemed to have hammeredout a deal with New Delhiagreeing to cap margins,and not prices, but clearly,medical dev icesmanufacturers in the US

aren't entirely happy withthis.On the investment front,India's recent rules on e-commerce haveinconvenienced Walmartand Amazon, both UScompanies, and which runIndia's top two e-commercemarket places. The changewas made to placate India'ssmall retailers.With elections around thecorner in India, it is unlikely

that the government willhave too much interest inhammering out a traded e a l w i t h t h e US -especia l ly since themessaging from such adeal could hurt it politically- before the 50-day window,after which Mr Trump canend India's preferentialtreatment.This couldperhaps be a task for thenew government once ittakes office in late May.

On the investment front, India's recent rules on e-commerce have inconvenienced Walmart and Amazon,

both US companies, and which run India's top two e-commerce market places. The change was made to

placate India's small retailers.

8Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 OPINION

China and India align in the monetary cosmos

To preserve life in Haryana, re-notify Aravallis as forests

China and India are leading theworld. Kind of.In the dovish tilt that's definedinterest rates lately, only twonoteworthy central banks haveactually loosened monetarypolicy: the People's Bank ofChina and the Reserve Bankof India. Both have indicatedthere's more to come.When people talk about Asia'stwo giants moving out front,they tend to be thinking aboutgeopolitics, or the often-asserted retreat of Americanpre-eminence. They may alsobe talking about how the sheersize of these economies,backed by large populations,has grown. Few mentionmonetary policy.The Federal Reserve's pausemade it much easier for othercentral banks to follow, mostly

rhetorically, without seeing theircurrencies crumble. In one case,Japan, major easing remains inplace. But the Bank of Japanhasn't undertaken fresh easingsteps. Europe is prevaricating.These other central banks aren'texactly vacant space. There'sbeen lots of talk about theslowing world economy andacknowledgment that inflationisn't firing, to put it mildly. Riskmanagement is on officials' lips,glasses that were once half-fullhave become half-empty andpredilections to raise rates havebeen replaced by anoverwhelming rush to ... wait andsee.It's remarkable given the leadmajor economies have taken -China and India by doingsomething, and the US byholding off - how few economists

see imminent steps elsewhere.That's despite China's slowdownreverberating through the region,tech industry woes hitting exportsand a very pronounced bout ofdisinflation.Take Malaysia, which setsinterest rates this week. Of themore than 20 economistssurveyed by Bloomberg Newsahead of Bank Negara Malaysia'smonthly decision Tuesday, agrand total of zero predict anudge lower.I'm not picking on Malaysia; it'sjust that this projection of stasisis emblematic of howconservative forecasting andpolicy feels. Why there isn't aclamour for a rate reduction inIndonesia, the Philippines orThailand is perplexing to me.What is the case for Malaysia totrim borrowing costs? Export

growth slowing, and there's thatdecline in consumer prices Iwrote about. The governmentsays the economy doesn't lookanything like it did in 2009, whenCPI last dropped. That's true. Yetit doesn't translate into anargument for doing nothing. It'sentirely possible Malaysia'scentral bank will lay the groundfor a move later in the year.Caution only makes India andChina stand out more.Not that monetary boffins inBeijing and New Delhi hatchedgrand plans to become thebenchmark for interest-ratesetting.They must wish they didn't haveto take these steps. The PBOCand RBI are responding todomestic circumstances, andglobal headwinds that have localramifications. (Arguably, China's

slackening expansion is theprimary global headwind.)They are also big enough totake a degree of unilateralaction, though the Fed's leanaway from tighter policy helped.Questions about independenceare worth airing: The PBOC isn'tautonomous and India is on itsthird central banker duringPrime Minister Narendra Modi'sfive-year term. That doesn'tmean policy is wrong.How often have we heard abouta global order dominated by theUS, China and India? There'sbeen plenty of scepticism,rightly, about whether the lasttwo are ready to lead on multiplefronts.In the monetary cosmos, atleast, it feels like there'salignment.We may havestumbled into the future.

James Cameron, the director ofthe globally acclaimed filmAvatar, once said that his filmwas a lesson for humankind tostop damaging the environment.But blockbuster movies such asAvatar, the stark evidence ofclimate change around us, andgreen awareness campaignshave still not made us realisethat we cannot any longer messwith our environment and thatthe human race must formulatestrong policies to protect theenvironment. But we continue topollute our skies, our oceansand rivers, denude our forestsand exhaust our naturalresources in the name ofdevelopment. If the life-

sustaining systems of our planetget choked, who will be left toenjoy the fruits of this so-calleddevelopment? It will be ahopeless future for us and ourchildren.For landlocked areas especially,forests are the most vital life-sustaining systems. They domuch more than provide a greencanopy. They purify the air, bindthe soil, prevent floods, help inwater recharge, and are home tosome rare species of flora andfauna. Perhaps that is why theyare called the healing forests.For a city like Gurugram, whereair pollution is high, porousground surface is negligible andgreen belts are few and far

between, the presence of theAravallis is the lifeline for thecity's residents and the lastvestige of hope for the city's fast-degrading environment.Gurugram sadly is also a citywhere hungry real-estatedevelopers are vying to grab everyany inch of land for constructionand profiteering. This mountainrange of India that majesticallylines the skyline of the city hasbeen under a constant threat. Afew activists have been trying tosave this precious cover throughpetitions and court orders. Butthey find themselves up againsta powerful lobby.Recently, in a blatantlyirresponsible move, the 118-year-

old Punjab Land Preservation Act(PLPA), which legally protectsand preserves the Aravallis, wasamended in the Haryana VidhanSabha, opening room foruninhibited construction in theAravallis. Environmentalists arecalling this amendment nothingshort of an "ecological disaster".The Act protects areas 'notnotified' under the Indian ForestAct as reserve or protected forestin Punjab and Haryana.In effect,the PLPA in Haryana extendsprotection to forests and trees onprivate lands, community lands,panchayat and municipal landsin both the Aravallis in SouthHaryana and the Shivaliks inNorth Haryana.The amendment

accords unlimited powers tothe government to classify landas it pleases. This will legaliseall the illegal transactions,mining and constructionundertaken on these lands. Atrisk are 16,000 plus acres offorest in Gurugram and 10,000plus acres of forest inFaridabad, as well as 10,000acres of Shivalik hills aroundChandigarh.Natural forests,such as the Aravallis and theShivaliks, should bepermanently protected for alltimes to come. After all, forestland cannot simply be treated assurplus land available to be utilisedfor expanding cities, mining orbeing cut up to build roads.

Get used to a thousand mini climate cutsThe northern part of India isexperiencing an unusually longwinter this year. On Sunday, theIndia Meteorological Department(IMD) said two more westerndisturbances (WDs), the 16thand 17th of this season, maybring rainfall and chilly winds tothe northern plains and snowfallin western Himalayas on March6 and 11. Delhi experienced itssecond coldest March day in 27years on March 2, almostbreaching yet another decades-old record after March 1 saw thecoldest overall Marchtemperature since 1979. In 2018,Delhi had witnessed the thirdcoldest December in 50 years.

The IMD said the frequency ofWDs this season was highbecause of the weakening of thepolar vortex and it is moreintense this time because of thehigher temperature gradient,which is a result of the weakeningof the polar vortex. The WDsystem develops due to atemperature difference betweennorthern and southern latitudes.The number and intensity ofthe weather phenomena havesurpr ised sc ient is ts , andmany believe that such freakweather is the new normal inan age of climate change. In areport released on January 21,the IMD said that such freak

weather is going to rise in thecoming two decades and therewill be a cataclysmic falloutby 2040 if emissions are notcontained. The report linkedthis trend to climate changebecause Ind ia 's warmingtrends are very similar to thepattern of global warming.These findings are also insync with last year's criticalIntergovernmental Panel onCl imate Change's ( IPCC)"Globa l Warming o f 1 .5degrees" report, whose co-author, Joyashree Roy, toldHindustan Times: "India mayface serious consequencesincluding severe heat stress in

big cities, high air pollution levels,salt-water intrusion in coastalareas triggered by rise in sealevels, and increased vulnerabilityto disasters in high mountainecosystems." While the threat ofa "cataclysmic fallout' loomslarge, expect a thousand more

mini climate cuts along the way.The policy prescription to avoidsuch recurring damages hasbeen clear for a long time: loweremission, a push forsustainability in whatever we doand climate-proof cities andagriculture.


Indian american Women's Gala

(By a staff reporter)- As Town ofHempstead Supervisor LauraGillen, Town of North HempsteadSupervisor Judi Bosworth,Nassau County LegislatorRose Walker, New York StateAssembly woman Judy Griffinl (Among many other VIP’s)walked into Akbar’s Ballroomin Garden City, on FridayMarch 1,2019,, they all verywel l fe l t the pr ide andachievement in the air. TheGrand ball room was full of so

many accomplished and elite,who’s who of the s o c i e t yga thered fo r one s ingu la rpurpose, to be the part ofa n d t o c e l e b ra te 8 theOuts tand ing Women’sAchievements Gala, part ofWomen’s History Month andInternational Women’s DayCelebrat ions IAF ( Ind ianAmerican Forum) led by InduJaiswal, known for her strongcommitment and dedication tothe community cause was the

organizing force behind the gala.This year well known CommunityLeader Shammi Singh was theChairperson of the Gala. And ofcourse the hall was beautifullydecorated with spring flowerstheme courtesy Sunita Sadhnaniof Glamorous Event Planners.Evening started with lighting ofthe lamp. Shammi SinghChairperson, of Gala in herremarks welcomed all theguests congratulated all thehonorees and praised their efforts

in achieving such success.American National Anthem sungby Gurbani Kaur Sethi and IndianNational Anthem sung byRoopam Maini . Master ofCeremonies Mr Anuj Rihal andChanbir Kaur Sethi made theevening enjoyable. ChanbirKaur, Roopam Maini , RohiniSingh, Isha Rihal and IneshaSingh coordinated a br iefQ&A; A sess ion wi th thehonorees d iscuss ing andemphas iz ing the i r

accomplishments. Mr SantSingh and Mrs. Daman Chatwalcongratulated all honorees andacknowledged the efforts of IAFTeam.

Five distinguishedwomen Sonia k Bain, SylinthiaBurges, Dr Subhadra Nori,Manu Saluja, StephanieBenedictus who had excelled intheir profession and communityservices were presented withOutstanding Women’sachievements Awards.

10Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 INDIA

Indian Army warns Pakistan againsttargeting civilians along LoC

(Agencies)- The Indian Army onWednesday warned Pakistan of"dire consequences" after itstroops targeted Indian posts andcivilian areas along the Line ofControl (LoC) with heavy artilleryas Islamabad's chief militaryspokesman put the onus for de-

escalation on New Delhi.Indian posts and civilians inselect areas of Krishna Ghatiand Sunderbani along the LoCwere targeted in "intense andunprovoked" firing by mortarsand heavy artillery guns sinceTuesday, an Indian defence

ministry statement said. TheIndian Army retaliated effectivelyand there were no casualties onthe Indian side, it added.The statement said the overallsituation along the LoC was"relatively calm" after Indiawarned the Pakistan Army "not

to target civil ian areas". Aspokesperson said, "All actionstaken by our defence forces aretargeted towards counter-terrorism and terroristinfrastructure, away from civilianareas…to avoid civil iancasualties. "We are maintainingstrict vigil along the LoC andinternational border. Any furtherprovocation or misadventure byPakistan will be responded in abefitting manner with direconsequences," thespokesperson added.Pakistan's chief militaryspokesman Maj Gen As i fGhafoor told CNN the twosides "came close" to war andthe release of captured Indianp i lo t , Wing commanderAbhinandan Varthaman, hadbrought them back from thebrink. It is now "up to India" totake up Pakistan's "peacegesture and move forwardtowards de-escalation", he

said."We feel the ball is in theIndian court . Should theydecide to escalate more, thesituation will go bad," Ghafoorsaid. Troops from the twocountries were "eyeball toeyeball" on the LoC, thoughboth sides had put in placesafeguards, he added.Pakistan's foreign ministerShah Mahmood Qureshi hadsaid last week the governmentwas in touch with the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terror groupwhich claimed the Februarysuicide attack at Pulwamathat triggered the latest stand-off , but Ghafoor said this"claim has not been madefrom within Pakistan becauseJeM does not ex is t inPakistan".Ghafoor said actionis not being taken against JeM"under anybody's pressure".He said it is in Pakistan'sinterest to crack down onterrorists.

Indian posts and civilians in select areas of Krishna Ghati andSunderbani along the LoC were targeted in "intense and

unprovoked" firing by mortars and heavy artillery guns sinceTuesday, an Indian defence ministry statement said.

11Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 ADVERTISEMENT


Parliamentary panel asks Facebook to curb divisive posts on platforms

(By Our Staff Reporter)-Aparliamentary panel oninformation technology onWednesday asked socialmedia giant Facebook toensure that its platform andthose of its photo-sharingsite Instagram andmessaging app WhatsAppare not misused to createdivisions, incite violence,pose a threat to India'ssecurity, or let foreignpowers meddle in theupcoming general election,people aware of thedevelopments said.The panel also toldFacebook, whose vicepresident for global publicpolicy Joel Kaplanappeared before it onWednesday, thatprotecting citizens' datawas as much a priority asnational security and askedthe company to spell out in10 days the steps it willtake to meet the

objectives.According to a personaware of the development,Kaplan accepted that aneed existed for correctivemeasures, which he saidthe company was ready toput in place. Kaplan, whowas accompanied by AjitMohan, managing directorof Facebook India, is leantto have said the companywould be in touch with theElection Commission andgovernment ministries oninformation related to theidentity and location ofadvertisers. The companysaid all information relatedto political advertisementswill be put out on a specialweb page for users, theperson said on thecondition of anonymity.The panel, citing tensionsbetween India andPakistan following theFebruary 14 Pulwamaattack in Jammu and

Kashmir that left at least40 paramilitary troopersdead, is learnt to haveasked Facebook to ensurethere is no threat ofinformation leakage thoughsocial media.It is learnt that Facebookexecutives told the panelthat it was a hybridcompany, but could notgive details about whichregulatory framework couldapply to its content,advertising and marketingoperations in India.According to a secondperson, a few membersreferred to a UKparliamentary report ondisinformation and fakenews, which said themanagement structure ofFacebook was opaque tothose outside the businessand seemed designed toconceal knowledge of andresponsibility for specificdecisions.A few members

The panel, citing tensions between India and Pakistan following the February 14 Pulwama attack inJammu and Kashmir that left at least 40 paramilitary troopers dead, is learnt to have asked

Facebook to ensure there is no threat of information leakage though social media.

also raised concernsover "speculative posts"put out by Facebookemployees following thePulwama attack and thesubsequent strikecarried out by the Indianair force. When memberspointed out that these

posts had the potential topoliticise a critical issue,Kaplan is learnt to haveapologised.Panel membersalso raised the issue ofpending complaints with thecompany. One membercomplained of havingmultiple accounts in his

name.Kaplan said: "We aregrateful to the honourableparliamentary committeefor giving us the opportunityto show how we arepreparing for the Indianelections and helping keeppeople safe."


Government's counter to Rafale plea: Papers were stolen (Insider Bureau)- Brandishingthe British-era Official SecretsAct, the government's top legalofficer on Wednesdaydemanded that the SupremeCourt turn down petitionsseeking a review of its ownDecember verdict rejecting aprobe of the Rafale jet fighterdeal, saying the petitioners'case rested on stolen papersacquired from "present or formeremployees" of the defenceministry.Arguing for the NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA)government, attorney generalKK Venugopal said at an opencourt hearing that the"documents relied on by thepetitioners in their reviewpetitions were stolen from theministry and should not be reliedon"."It's a criminal act on the partof petitioners to bring thesedocuments with them. Theyhave come with uncleanhands," Venugopal said."Defence is the most importantmatter of state and nationalsecurity. They have beenillegally obtained and the source

Arguing for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, attorney general KK Venugopal said atan open court hearing that the "documents relied on by the petitioners in their review petitions were

stolen from the ministry and should not be relied on".

is not disclosed by thepetitioners. It's a privilegeddocument. These documentshave made the cost of weaponspublic and has been taken fromnotes and has been put in thepetition."The court questionedthe attorney general's propositionon stolen documents.JusticeKM Jospeh, part of the benchhearing the case, said, "Therewere allegations of corruption inthe Bofors [gun deal of 1986]case. Now will you say the samething that the criminal courtshould not look into any suchdocument in the case? Here wehave an open system. Are yougoing to take shelter undernational security when theallegation is of grave crime orcorruption?"Justice SK Kaul, too, deflectedthe attorney's argument, sayingif the document had been stolenthe government should put itshouse in order. "It is one thing tosay that these documents mustbe looked at with suspicion. Butto say that we cannot even lookat those documents may not becorrect submission in law."Chief Justice of India Gogoi said:

"We can understand thegovernment saying that thepetitioners have come withunclean hands and that theyhave got the documents throughdoubtful sources. But it isanother thing to say that thecourt cannot consider them at alland that they are untouchable."Former Union ministersYashwant Sinha and ArunShourie, and lawyer PrashantBhushan have filed a petitionseeking a review of the SupremeCourt's December verdict, whichfound that there was "nooccasion to doubt" the decision-making process behind the2016 purchase of 36 jet fightersfrom Dassault Aviation of Francein a ?59,000 crore deal.The petition says that theinformation that came into thepublic domain after the court'sjudgment proved that thegovernment had "misled" thecourt on various counts.Venugopal told the three-judgebench that the government mayinvoke the Official Secrets Act,a colonial era law that makespossession of secret officialdocuments punishable with three

to 14 years of imprisonment. Hesaid it also plans to prosecutethe newspapers that publishedthe documents along withBhushan, who has relied onthem.One document is an eight-page dissent note written bythree domain experts in theIndian negotiating team that hasalready been published by TheHindu newspaper.AdvocateBhushan countered the attorneygeneral's argument, saying thatin past he had relied ondocuments given to him bywhistle-blowers in the caserelated to alleged irregularities inthe 2008 allocation of 2G telecomspectrum and licences and alsothe entry register at the residence

of former Central Bureau ofInvestigation director RanjitSinha, and the court had reliedon these documents.The Centrealso urged the Supreme Court to"exercise restraint" in itsobservations on the procurementof Rafale fighter jets, underliningthat every statement by the topcourt will be used to target eitherthe government or theOpposition."Would it beappropriate for the court to decidean issue which will be used forpolitical purpose? Any singlesentence that falls from the courtwill destabilise either thegovernment or the Opposition. AllI am saying is exercise restraint,"the attorney general said.

Prince Charles charity strikes new pact for girls' education in India (Insider Bureau)- A charityfounded by Britain's PrinceCharles on Wednesdayannounced a new partnershipwith British Telecom (BT) tolaunch a three-year programmeto use digital technology to helpimprove education and lifeskills for adolescent girls inIndia.British Asian Trust,founded by the royal in 2007 tofight poverty in South Asia, saidthe pact with one of the UK'sleading telecom companies willexplore the different waystechnology can be used tobreak down social barriers andhelp enhance employability,health choices and autonomyfor the target group of largelyyoung girls in India. Theprogramme will work in andaround BT's India operations inDelhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru,and Kolkata, with the aim tohelp improve the educationopportunities, health and skillsof around 500,000 young

people."The world of work haschanged enormously during the30 years BT has been in India.We recognise that digitaltechnologies have the potentialto transform opportunities for thisand future generations of girls,"said BT Group Chief ExecutivePhilip Jansen."We're delighted tobe partnering with the BritishAsian Trust to deliver sustainablesocial impacts, and hope togalvanise our team of 10,500 BTpeople based in India to supportthis programme," he said.Working with innovators andsector leaders, the newpartnership hopes to create asustainable movement forchange that will increase theopportunities available to girlsbetween the ages of 10 and 19.According to official estimates,India's population includes 120million adolescent girls, which isabout 10 per cent of the population.The British Asian Trust notes fromits work with local partners that many

of these girls have little control overtheir own futures and face multiplebarriers to fulfilling their potential.The data indicates that India has thehighest rate of teen pregnancyglobally and 18 per cent of girls dropout before they finish secondaryschool; furthermore, 27 per cent ofwomen aged between 20 and 24 aremarried before the age of 18.Richard Hawkes, Chief Executiveof the British Asian Trust, said:"At the British Asian Trust, wepride ourselves on taking aninnovative approach to tacklingdevelopment challenges.Brokering partnerships andpromoting economicdevelopment through scalablesolutions is at the heart ofwhat we do. "We're delightedto find a partner in BT whoshares this vision and excited tobe working together with them ona programme that will directlyimprove the lives of hundreds ofthousands of adolescent girlsacross India." The BT-British

Asian Trust partnership will workwith partners on the ground todeliver the programme.Some ofthe organisations chosen includeBreakthrough, which will workthrough schools as well as thegovernment health system andcommunities to ensure thatyoung women and men adoptpositive gender norms to tacklegender-based discrimination. Itwill use digital media and techto sensitise communities andgirls about gender roles andhealth and hygiene services, andtrain teachers and frontline health

workers to improve services forgirls.IT for Change will work withgirls in schools throughworkshops and classroom-based training in rights-basedperspectives on genderequality, sexual andreproductive health, and digitalliteracy. This will includecreating digital labs in schoolsto train girls as well as teachers,and video clubs that enable girlsto create digital learningmaterials that will be used forpeer learning among other girlsin Bengaluru.

INDIA

15Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 SOUTH ASIA

Pak intel used JeM for attacks in Indiaduring my tenure: Musharraf

( Ins ider Bureau)- FormerPakistan president GeneralPervez Musharraf has in aninterview said that the MasoodAzhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammadwas instrumental in carryingout attacks on Indian soi lduring his tenure as head ofthe state.In a telephonic interview givento Pakistan-based journalistNadeem Malik, Musharrafwelcomed the action beingtaken against the Jaish-e-Mohammad and said that itwas the same organisationthat had car r ied out twoassassination attempts onhim when he was president ofPakistan. A 2-minute clip ofthe interview was put out onTwitter on Malik's handle onMarch 5, 2019."This is a good move. I havealways said that the JeM is aterrorist organisation and theyonly had carried out a suicideat tack in an a t tempt toassass inate me. Act ionshould be taken against them.I am happy the government is

taking a tough stand againstthem," he said. During histenure as president, Musharrafhad surv ived twoassassination attempts.A su ic ide bomber hadat tempted to assassinateGeneral Pervez Musharraf inDecember 2003 at JhandaChich i in Rawalp ind i .Reca l l ing the inc ident ,Musharraf said that it wasfortunate that he wasn't killedin the attempt."The attacker pressed thebutton a few seconds too lateand I had crossed the bridgeby that time," Musharraf said,adding that the action againstthe JeM was a right action andthat it should have been doneearlier.Responding to a question asto why he himself had nottaken any action against theJaish leadersh ip and theorganisation when he was inpower, Musharraf suggestedthat Pakistan's intelligenceagencies were using the Jaishto carry out bombings in India.

"Those weredifferent times.Our intelligencemen wereinvolved in a tit-for-tat betweenInd ia andPakistan. Theywere conductingbomb blasts inPakistan and wewere getting itdone there (inIndia). This wascont inu ing a tthat t ime andamid all of this,no major action was takenagainst the Jaish. And I alsodid not insist," Musharraf said.On Tuesday, the Imran Khan-led Pak is tan governmentordered the detent ion o fterror is t Masoo d A z h a r ' sbrother Abdul Rauf Asghara n d 4 3 o t h e r s l i n k e d t ob a n n e d o u t f i t s i n t h ecountry.The order for their detentionwas issued on Tuesday aftera high-level meeting to review

the Nat iona l Act ion P lan(NAP).The Pakistan government'smove comes barely 10 daysafter an Indian air force strikeon a Ja ish-e-Mohammadtraining facility at Balakot inPakistan on February 26.P a k i s t a n i s o n a t i g h tdeadline with the FinancialAct ion Task Force (FATF)n u d g i n g i t to s top ter rorfunding and to act against theterror organisations operating

on its soil. In case Pakistanfails to keep its promises, i tmight find itself being movedfrom the 'grey' l is t to the'black' l ist, making it evenmore difficult for Pakistan tog e t f u n d i n g f r o minternational organisationssuch as the World Bank.

The Indian Air Forcestrike at Balakot had comebarely 13 days after a suicidebombing at Pulwama hadkilled 40 CRPF jawans.


1 suspected Maoist killed in gun battle with police in KeralaINDIA

A suspected Maoist was killedand two others were injured ina gun battle with police in aforested area in Vythiri ofKerala's Wayanad district lateon Wednesday, officials saidon Thursday.Police said the exchange offire continued till early hoursof Thursday and theyrecovered the body o f asuspected Maoist leader, whowas later identif ied as CPJaleel. One of the suspectedMaoists, who was injured inthe firing, is in police custody.Police said members of therebel group came to a resorton Wednesday night to extortmoney and sought food for tenpeople. When they threatenedto take the resort's guests ashostages, employeesin formed the po l ice who

rushed to the spot.When pol ice reached thereport, they came under heavyfiring from the rebels.Police said the death toll islikely to go up as many rebelswere wounded in the firing andthat they will search the forestareas for them. Senior officershave directed commandos ofThunderbolt, the special forceto dea l w i th Maois ts , toproceed cautiously to avoidbooby traps or mines in theforest.According to officials, some'dalams' of the Western GhatsZonal Commit tee o f theMaoists have been active inthe area and they noticed themovement of some of theirsenior leaders.Two years ago,two Maoists were killed in anambush in the district.

Police said the exchange of firecontinued till early hours of

Thursday and they recoveredthe body of a suspected Maoist

leader, who was lateridentified as CP Jaleel.


(By a Staff Reporter) - The UnitedStates said Tuesday it hadplayed an "essential role" in de-escalating tensions on the sub-continent and that it continuesto follow "very closely" reportsthat Pakistan used American-made military hardware - F-16sand missiles - in a retaliatorystrike against India.Phone calls by Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo to Indianand Pakistani leaders last week"played an essential role in de-escalating tensions betweenthe two sides", statedepartment spokespersonRobert Palladino told reportersin response to a question at thedaily briefing.While in Hanoi, Vietnam for thesecond US-North Koreansummit, Pompeo had spoken to

'Enough proof to prosecute PM'

US says it played 'essential role' in de-escalating India-Pakistan tensionsThe United States said Tuesday it had played an "essential role" in de-

escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.India's external affairs ministerSushma Swaraj and NSA AjitDoval and Pakistan's foreignminister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.These conversations took placeafter the Indian airstrike againsta Jaish-e-Mohammad camp inBalakot, Pakistan, and after thePakistani retaliatory action whichresulted in the capture of Indianair force pilot Wing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman.It was on the morning afterPompeo's calls that PresidentDonald Trump had said at anews conference in Hanoi thathe had some "reasonablydecent" news from India andPakistan.He didn't elaborate, but hourslater, Prime Minister Imran Khanannounced that Pakistan wouldrelease Varthaman as a "gesture

of peace" to India. Supporters ofthe prime minister have sincesaid he deserves the NobelPeace prize for it, unmindful ofthe international pressure thatforced him to it.The United States was slow torespond to the Pulwama attack- as was widely noted amongexperts and observers here - asits top officials reached Hanoifor the summit with NorthKorea's Kim Jong-un, a keyforeign policy initiative of theTrump administration. But itwas unequivocal of its supportfor India from the start andPakistan's role in the attackcalling upon it to deny safehaven to terrorists in line withits responsibilities as a memberof the UN in multiple statementsthereafter.

And as India weighed options onwho to respond to the terroristsattack, with a military strikeamong them, American NSAJohn Bolton announced publiclyhe had conveyed to his Indiancounterpart USacknowledgment of India'sright to self-defense.The United States, along withother P-5 members Franceand Britain, pushed the UNSecurity Council to condemnthe Pulwama at tack in a"pathbreaking" statement thatnamed Jaish-e-Mohammadand scored several f i rsts,despite stiff resistance fromChina.Washington has since joineda French-led initiative at theUNSC, along with the UnitedKingdom, to designate JeMfounder and leader MasoodAzhar as a terrorist. This is thefourth such attempt, the previous

three were all foiled by China,batting for Pakistan. There is talkof a "Plan B" if Beijing blockedthis move as well.Palladino said "high-level contacthas continued" both in New Delhiand Washington and "there's alot of private diplomacy that'sgoing on right now".The spokesperson also said,in response to a question, theUnited States continues tofollow "very closely" issueslinked to Pakistan's use of F-16 and AMRAAMs (AdvancedMedium-Range A i r - to-A i rMissiles). But he refused toelaborate saying that as a"matter of policy, we don'tpub l ic ly comment on thecontents o f b i la tera lagreements that we have inth is regard invo lv ing USdefense technologies nor thecommunications that we havewith other countries about that."

Rahul Gandhi renews attack over Rafale rowLeading the party's charge, Rahul Gandhi alleged "the trail of

corruption" in the Rafale fighter jet deal "begins and ends with" Modi.(By a Staff Reporter) - The CongressWednesday sought registration of anFIR against Prime Minister NarendraModi for "corruption" in the Rafalefighter jet deal, with party presidentRahul Gandhi claiming that there "isnow enough evidence" to prosecutehim.Leading the party's charge, Gandhialleged "the trail of corruption" in theRafale fighter jet deal "begins and endswith" Modi.He also alleged "destruction ofevidence" and "obvious cover-up" afterthe government told the SupremeCourt on Wednesday that crucial filespertaining to the fighter jet deal withFrench firm Dassault Aviation were"stolen" from the Defence Ministry."There is now enough evidence toprosecute the PM in the Rafale Scam.The trail of corruption begins & endswith him. That crucial Rafale filesincriminating him are now reported'stolen' by the Govt, is destruction ofevidence & an obvious coverup," hesaid on Twitter, using the hashtag"FIRagainstCorruptModi".The Congress chief's attack came ona day the government said in theSupreme Court that documents relatedto the Rafale fighter jet deal have beenstolen from the Defence Ministry and

threatened The Hindu newspaper withaction under the the Official SecretsAct for publishing articles based onthem."The corruption and malfeasance inRafale deal is out in the open. PM Modimisused his office to give benefits toDassault Aviation and caused loss tothe public exchequer," Congress chiefspokesperson Randeep Surjewala toldreporters."It is now crystal clear that blatant andmassive corruption has taken place inthe Rafale deal. It is undoubtedlyestablished that Modi misused hisoffice as Prime Minister to grant unduebenefit to Dassault Aviation andcaused a loss to public exchequer."This is a clear cut case under Section13 (1) (d) of the Prevention ofCorruption Act, 1988 and differentprovisions of Indian Penal Code. Timehas now come to register an FIRagainst PM Modi and every otherindividual so that a time-boundinvestigation takes place in this entiresage of Rafale corruption reaching thehighest echelons of power," he said.Citing a report of the Indian NegotiationTeam (INT), now in the public domain,Surjewala said it was now crystal clearthat Modi "misled Parliament andduped the country to cover up the

murky dealings and blatant corruption,besides, squandering away nationalsecurity interests"."This conspiracy has now beenuncovered," he said, alleging that Modidid away with the 'bank guarantee'condition to cause a loss to the publicexchequer and neither was the costof India-specific enhancementsincluded and nor was the cost oftransfer of technology added.The Congress has claimed that thecost of 36 Rafale aircraft finalised bythe Modi dispensation was higher thanthat negotiated by the previous UPAgovernment.He said while calculating the price of36 Rafale aircraft, the cost of India-specific enhancement, which is 1,300Million Euros or Rs 9,750 crore, wasnot included."Almost Rs 10,000 crorehave to be paid and look at the angleof corruption further. When we werebuying with the same specifications126 Rafale aircraft during CongressParty regime, the cost of India-specific enhancements with samespecification was 11.11 Million Eurosor around Rs 82-83 crore. It hassuddenly gone up...same India-specific enhancements...when ModiJi buys 36 aircraft, it goes up 350 percent to Rs 271 crore per aircraft.

19Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 CONTD

Yes, There's a Crisis at the Border

Justin Trudeau tries to save face

Rahul leads Opposition inbacking expose on Rafale deal

'It gets real personal, real fast': Dems feartargeting Trump kids could backfire

We interrupt the talk of thepresident "manufacturing" acrisis at the border with this hair-raising report about the crisis atthe border.Alarming new numbers aboutborder apprehensions from U.S.Customs and Border Protectionshould puncture the lazyconventional wisdom about theborder being under control,except in the lurid imagination ofPresident Donald Trump.All during the fight over a borderwall, we were told by the mediaand progressives commentators

that the border is practicallylocked down becauseapprehensions are down fromhighs in the 2000s. Along withalmost every other critic of thepresident, Steve Schmidt wasoutraged that "the president of theUnited States would manufactureout of whole cloth this crisis."Being anti-Trump means neverhaving to say you are sorry or youwere wrong, so the latestevidence won't make animpression on anyone whoblithely dismissed the idea ofborder crisis. But it should.

More than 76,000 migrants wereapprehended crossing thesouthern border last month, thehighest February in more than10 years and the highest monthof the Trump administration. Thenumber of apprehensions topsany month during the 2014border surge under PresidentBarack Obama, which no onehad a problem calling a crisis atthe time.Every indication is that thesituation is going to get worse.We could be about toexperience a migrant surge

worthy of Angela Merkel at hermost open-handed, even though,in immigration terms, ViktorOrbán-the Hungarian primeminister who favors tough borderenforcement-is president.The commentary and fact-checks about there being nocr is is have missed, orde l ibera te ly ignored, thechanging nature of borderapprehensions.

Yes, there were more overallapprehensions in the 2000s.But i t was a d i f fe rentpopula t ion, made upoverwhelmingly of adult malesfrom Mexico who might beapprehended trying to crossmul t ip le t imes and werereliably returned home whenthey were caught. Now, we areapprehending people but notreturning them.

He admitted to urging his formerattorney general to reach an out-of-court settlement with acompany from his home turffacing corruption charges.But herepeatedly said it was all in thename of protecting jobs andpensioners."I continue to saythere was no inappropriatepressure," he said. "There wasno breakdown of our system, ofthe rule of law, of the integrity ofour institutions."The damage fromhis former attorney general'saccusations has been swift andsignificant. The fallout has dividedTrudeau's party, cost him twocabinet members, prompted twoparliamentary probes, forced the

resignation of a top aide andfriend, and sent his personal pollnumbers plummeting with anelection months away."This hasbeen a tough few weeks," Trudeausaid.Trudeau's version of events isthat he simply stated to his formerAttorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould the fact that the Quebec-based construction company, SNC-Lavalin, is a major employer. He alsonoted at the press conference thata leading public pension fund ownspart of the company that is inlegal jeopardy."I wish she hadcome forward to me in the fallsubsequent to that meeting tohighlight that" she felt it wasinappropriate that we continued

to discuss the matter throughoutthe fall, Trudeau said. "She didnot."While Trudeau largely stuckto the points he wanted to make,he appeared less stiff than inrecent public appearanceswhere he was repeatedlypeppered with questions abouthis handling of the affair.Trudeaurepeatedly evaded statingwhether he or his staff broughtup both his and QuebecLiberals' electoral prospectsduring conversations with Wilson-Raybould, saying "there weredetailed conversations on a broadrange of things that werediscussed" and "laid bare" in thetestimonies of the last few days.

Climate of fear: Naidu"Instead of coming clean on thealleged irregularities of the Rafaledeal brought out by The Hinduand Mr. N. Ram, the Modi govt.is trying to silence the pressthrough unconstitutional meansby creating a climate of fear. Itsignals an imminent possibilityof the breakdown of democracy,"Mr. Naidu tweeted.Ms. Banerjee said in a post onTwitter, "I strongly condemnthreats by BJP govt. to one ofIndia's most senior & respectededitors, N. Ram. Invoking OfficialSecrets Act to threatenjournalists is a shame. Theycannot curb freedom & rights ofthe press as per theirconvenience."On Wednesday, Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal told theSupreme Court that the "secret"documents published by TheHindu on the purchase of Rafalejets were "stolen" from the

Ministry of Defence, probably byformer employees. Thegovernment was thinking of taking"criminal action" under the OSAas the publication of thedocuments had put nationalsecurity at risk, he contended.BSP chief Mayawati said theRafale issue had now becomemore than just an issue ofcorruption and instead a matterof national security following thegovernment's "sensationaldisclosure" that documents hadbeen stolen."Very strange & irresponsiblechowkidari. Is national security &interest in safe hands? Think long& loud," Ms. Mayawati tweeted.Addressing a press conferenceat the Congress headquarters,Mr. Gandhi said parallelnegotiations by the PrimeMinister's Office (PMO) had notonly delayed the delivery of thecombat jets but also inflated theprice.

Democrats, in fact, would preferto let federal prosecutors handlethe family while they take on thepresident themselves.YetTrump's family members -including Donald Jr., Eric,Ivanka and son-in-law JaredKushner - are so deeply involvedin his business and presidencythat it likely would be impossibleto take a completely hands-offapproach."Getting to familymembers I think is dangerous,"said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.),a senior member of the HouseOversight and Reform Committee."Only because it gets real personal,real fast. And it risksbackfiring."Maybe at some pointwe have to call them in," Connollyadded, "but I'd rather letprosecutors look at that."Thoseconcerns have more to do withpolitical optics than investigativenecessities: Democrats fear thatthe appearance of going after

Trump's children is the one thing thatcould elicit sympathy for a presidentwho has attacked Democraticinvestigations as "a big, fat, fishingexpedition desperately in search ofa crime" and "presidentialharassment."A Democratic source saidOversight Committee ChairmanElijah Cummings (D-Md.) hasprivately expressed reservationsabout directly investigatingTrump's adult children. Lastweek, Cummings said thecommittee would follow up on allpotential leads from former Trumpattorney Michael Cohen's bombshelltestimony before the panel.Cummings is expected to seekinterviews with individuals implicatedin Cohen's testimony.Cummings declined to comment.The Oversight panel is battling withthe White House over the processfor approving Kushner's securityclearance, including whether Trump

intervened in getting the clearanceapproved. The White House hasrefused to turn over documentsrelated to Kushner's clearance,and the committee is likely toissue a subpoena as early as nextweek, according to Democraticsources. Ivanka Trump could soonfind herself ensnared in that probe,the Oversight chief said.Moreover,the House Judiciary Committeehas demanded documents fromKushner, Donald Trump Jr., EricTrump and dozens of others aspart of a sweeping probe intoallegations of obstruction ofjustice, corruption and abusesof power.Cohen gave lawmakersa road map for their myriadinvestigations into Trump and hisinner circle. He name-droppedseveral individuals who purportedlyhave knowledge of crimes Cohenhas pleaded guilty to and crimesthat he said the presidentcommitted.

Ex-Nassau County Executive Ed Manganoand wife Linda found guilty in bribery case

that alleged he swungto Singh a lucrative contractto provide bread and rolls tothe county jail, and a secondcontract to feed the county’semergency workers a f terHurricane Sandy.But he coulds t i l l go to pr ison for twodecades under the one top-count conviction. The samejury found Linda guilty of fourof the five counts against her:two for obstructing justice andtwo for mak ing fa lsestatements, all to cover up thebribe scheme. Ed was alsoconv ic ted o f a s ing leobstruction charge. She, too,faces a potential two-decadeprison term. Their sentencingdate has not yet been set.Thetwo are mainta in ing theirinnocence, and said they will

appeal the verdicts in thecase, which proved anembarrassment for Mayor deBlasio. At both this trial andlast year’s mistr ial, Singhtestified under a cooperationagreement that he was a bigdonor and had the mayor at hisbeck-and-call. Outside thecourthouse with his sobbingwife by his side, a seeminglyshaken Ed told reporters Lindashould never have beencharged, and denied everillegally taking money fromanyone.“That is very hurtful tous, right through the heart.Hurtful that Linda has to gothrough any of this,” he said.“I’m very proud of my serviceas county executive and Iwould not, and could not, bebribed.

21Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 US & THE WORLD

(Insider Bureau)- HouseDemocrats on Wednesdaysparred with HomelandSecurity Secretary KirstjenNielsen over whether illegalimmigration at the U.S.-Mexicoborder justifies the nationalemergency declared last monthby President Donald Trump.During a three-hour hearingbefore the House HomelandSecurity Committee,Democratic lawmakers alsopressed Nielsen over theadministration's practice ofseparating families. Thousandsof migrant families were splitapart from April to June underTrump's "zero tolerance"enforcement strategy.Chairman Bennie Thompson(D-Miss.) slammed Nielsen for

not providing the committee withdocuments related to familyseparation and the treatment ofchildren in custody. He alsoasserted that Trump used "anemergency that does not exist"to obtain funds for a border walloutside the will of Congress."The president wants to build awall so there is something topoint to," he said.The hearing comes amid apitched political battle overTrump's decision to declare anational emergency afterCongress declined to provide$5.7 billion to build a border wall.The House voted last week toblock the emergencydeclaration, and the Senate isexpected to do the same laterthis month. Trump has said hewill veto the bill, and neither theHouse nor the Senate appearsto have sufficient votes tooverride.A spate of lawsuits have arguedthat Trump exceeded hisauthority by declaring theemergency. While plaintiffs inthose cases have sought to block

Trump's declaration, no courtshave taken that step yet.In opening remarks at the hearingWednesday, Nielsen said that thesituation along the southernborder is a "humanitariancatastrophe," and described thearea as a conduit for criminals,drugs and human trafficking."This chain of human misery isgetting worse," she said, citingrecent statistics that show aspike in border arrests, a metricused to estimate crossings.Border Patrol arrested 66,450migrants at the southwest borderin February, the highest single-month total since March 2009.Since October, monthly arrestshave averaged 53,600, thehighest rate since 2008 but stillfar below arrest rates in the1990s and early 2000s.In one exchange Wednesday,Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.)pressed Nielsen to acknowledgethat the current level of arrestsremains far below historic highs- and that Trump spoke falselywhen he said during a Januaryvisit to South Texas that there

have "never [been] so manyapprehensions ever in ourhistory."Langevin cited Customs andBorder Protection statistics thatshow 1.6 million border arrestsin fiscal year 2000 - far above the397,000 arrests recorded lastyear.Nielsen said she did not "knowthe full context" of Trump'sstatement, and emphasizedinstead that arrests of familymembers have reached thehighest level on record. CBP hasbeen tracking such records onlysince fiscal 2012."In some categories," Nielsensaid, "we have had record-breaking apprehensions."Langevin, though, slammedTrump's claims as "deceitful."White House officials watchedNielsen's appearance closelyand were pleased with it, sayingshe did a stellar job representingthe administration."She held her own," one formerDHS official who served underTrump toldPOLITICO. "It's tough[because] Trump speaks in

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlines new 'privacy-focused vision'(Insider Bureau)- Embroiled intoo many data scandals to count,Facebook now says it's shiftingtoward a 'privacy-focused' future.In lengthy blog post onWednesday, CEO MarkZuckerberg detailed a plan tobring end-to-end encryption toMessenger, WhatsApp, andInstagram messaging services -confirming previous reports thatthe firm planned to stitch thethree together.The Facebook bossacknowledged the site'sreputation, which has beentarnished in recent years as aresult of its lax-approach to theprotection of its users'information, and promised torebuild its services on theprinciple of privacy.Zuckerberg also said he'sworking to ensure your onlineactivity won't come back to hauntyou later in life.Ultimately, the CEO says the firmis striving to make interactionsacross Facebook 'a

fundamentally more privateexperience.'I believe the future ofcommunication will increasinglyshift to private, encryptedservices where people can beconfident what they say to eachother stays secure and theirmessages and content won'ts t ick around forever, 'Zuckerberg wrote in the March6 post.'This is the future I hope wewill help bring about.'The Facebook CEO's postdetailing his 'privacy-focusedvision' comes just days aftera tweet f rom Emoj iped iafounder Jeremy Burgerevealed the site allows usersto search for specific profilesusing phone numbers providedfor two-factor authentication.And, just a week prior, a WallStreet Journal investigationrevealed Facebook has beencollecting 'highly sensitiveinformation' from at least adozen apps without users'

consent.In perhaps its best-knownprivacy scandal, Facebookcame under fire in 2018 wheni t was revea led po l i t i ca lconsultancy firm CambridgeAnalytica was given access tothe data of 87 million users.Zuckerberg is now promisingto apply the same privacyprinciples it used in WhatsAppto all of its services movingforward.In a mul t i -year p lan,Zuckerberg says Facebookwi l l merge i ts messagingserv ices - WhatsApp,Ins tagram Di rec t , andFacebook Messenger - in away that a l lows users tocommunicate across all threeapps.All will be equipped with end-to-end encryption to keep outanyone who isn't the intendedreader, including 'hackers,criminals, over-reachinggovernments, or even the peopleoperating the services they're

using,' Zuckerberg said.While WhatsApp already hasend-to-end encryption,Facebook's other messagingplatforms do not.Facebook and Instagram will stilloperate like 'the digital equivalentof a town square,' allowing usersto openly share content as theychoose, the CEO said.'I understand that many peopledon't think Facebook can orwould even want to build this kind

of privacy-focused platform --because frankly we don'tcurrently have a strong reputationfor building privacy protectiveservices, and we've historicallyfocused on tools for moreopen sharing,' Zuckerbergsaid.'But we've repeatedly shownthat we can evolve to build theservices that people reallywant, inc luding in pr ivatemessaging and stories.'

generalist terms andcommittees deal in specifics."Nielsen also won accoladesfrom House Republicans,several of whom praisedTrump's emergencydeclaration."I think it is a crisis," said Rep.Michael McCaul (R-Texas), whochaired the committee in thelast session of Congress. "Ithink the president's correct insaying it's an emergency andthat we need dire action now."McCaul added that Nielsenshouldn't shoulder responsibilityfor the continued arrival ofmigrants at the border becauseU.S. asylum laws serve as a"magnet" for people trekking tothe U.S."It's not your fault," he toldNielsen. "It's Congress that'sfailed to act to solve thisproblem."Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), ranking member of thecommittee, said be supportedan "all of the above" approachto border security that includesmanpower, technology andbarriers.

Democrats blast Nielsenover border policies


Getting the chop! Dollar Tree to close nearly 400 Family Dollarstores and rebrand 200 more after reporting losses of $2.3 BILLION

U.S. trade deficit in goods hits record high of $891 billionin 2018 despite Trump's pledge to reduce the gap

(Insider Bureau)- DollarTree Inc has announcedplans to close 390 FamilyDollar stores after reportinglosses of $2.3 billion.The company announcedthe plans as it wrote off$2.7 billion, or nearly a thirdof the value of thestruggling discount chain itbought for $9 billion fouryears ago.It also announced 200other stores will berebranded under the DollarTree name.Though Family Dollar hasremodeled some storesand expanded its productrange, same-store salesgrowth has been nearly flaton average in the past twoyears, pushing down theparent company's sharesseven per cent in the last12 months.CNBC reports that on anunadjusted basis thecompany had a fourth-quarter loss of $2.31

billion.The company said it wouldshut 390 Family Dollarstores, besides plannedremodeling of 1,000 storesthis year to add $1-onlyitems. Dollar Tree hadalready closed 122 FamilyDollar stores in the fiscalyear ending February 2.Chief Executive OfficerGary Ph i lb in sa id inWednesday's statement:'We are confident we aretaking the appropriatesteps to reposition ourFamily Dollar brand forincreasing profitability asbusiness initiatives gaintraction in the back half offiscal 2019.'The rebranded locations willreportedly get expandedfreezer sections and evensell alcohol. They will alsoreportedly include a $1Dollar Tree merchandisesection.Dollar Tree Inc. acquiredFamily Dollar in 2015 for

almost $9 billion. The movewas expected to bolster itsbusiness and bettercompete with chains likeWalmart and rival DollarGeneral Corp.Hedge fund investorStarboard Value LP inJanuary urged Dollar Treeto explore all alternativesfor its Family Dollarbusiness, including a sale,after years of weaknessthat has hurt thecompany's overallprofitability.The Chesapeake,Virginia-based company,which took a $2.73billion one-time chargefor the decline in thechain's value in the fourthquarter, also said it wouldexplore pr ic ing somegoods above the $1-mark, as Starboard hasdemanded.Jeffrey Smith, CEO ofStarboard Value, wrote tothe company in January,

saying: 'Dollar Treesignificantly overpaid forFamily Dollar, and thisbusiness is proving to bea meaningfu ldistraction.'Shares of the companyrose two per cent as itreported bet ter- than-expected fourth-quartersame-store sales, alongwith the results of its fullstrategic assessment ofthe Fami ly Dol la r

business.Same-store sales rose1.4 percent at the smallercha in in the four thquarter, the strongest ina year and push ingoverall numbers up 2.4percent , above anaverage analyst estimateof 1 .5 percent r ise ,according to IBES datafrom Refinitiv.The restructuring will weighon operating income in the

first half of 2019 fiscal year,it said, but lead to materialimprovement in the secondhalf.The company forecast firstquarter earnings of $1.05-$1.15 per share, belowanalysts' expectation of$1.29 per share. It saidits forecast takes intoaccount a possible risein U.S. tariff on Chineseproducts to 25 percent in2019.

(Insider Bureau)- The U.S.goods trade deficit surgedto a record high in 2018as strong domesticdemand fueled by lowertaxes pulled in imports,despite the Trumpadministration's 'AmericaFirst' policies, includingtariffs, aimed at shrinkingthe trade gap.President Donald Trumpis pursuing a protectionisttrade agenda to shieldU.S. manufacturing fromwhat he says is unfairforeign competition.Trump, who has dubbedhimself 'the tariff man,'pledged on both thecampaign trail and aspresident to reduce thedeficit by shutting outmore unfairly tradedimports and renegotiatingfree trade agreements.The CommerceDepartment said onWednesday that a 12.4per cent jump in the goods

deficit in December hadcontributed to the record$891.3 billion goods tradeshortfall last year. Theoverall trade deficit surged12.5 per cent to $621.0billion in 2018, the largestsince 2008.'The trade deficit explodedlast year despite theTrump administrationefforts to make Americagreat again, and the trendis unlikely to get any betterin 2019,' said ChrisRupkey chief economist atMUFG in New York.The White House hasargued that reducing thetrade deficit would boostannual economic growth toits goal of 3 percent on asustainable basis. Thegovernment also sought tostimulate the economywith a $1.5 trillion tax cutpackage, which jolted bothconsumer and businessspending, helping to liftimported goods to a record

$2.6 trillion in 2018.The United States last yearimposed tariffs on $250billion worth of goodsimported from China, withBeijing hitting back withduties on $110 billion worthof American products,including soybeans andother commodities. Trumphas delayed tariffs on $200billion worth of Chineseimports as negotiations toresolve the eight-monthtrade war continue.Businesses likely stockedup on imports inanticipation of furtherduties on Chinese goods,which ironically contributedto the deterioration in thetrade deficit last year.The goods trade deficit withChina increased 11.6percent to an all-time highof $419.2 billion in 2018.The United States, whichalso slapped duties onimported steel, aluminum,solar panels and washing

machines, had recordimports from 60 countriesin 2018, led by China,Mexico and Germany.'Perhaps Donald Trump willnow discover that tweetsand bluster alone won'tdramatically shrink thetrade deficit,' said ScottPaul, president of theAlliance for AmericanManufacturing inWashington. 'Theadministration's fiscalpolicies have helped toboost the trade deficit.'While goods exports hit arecord $1.7 trillion in 2018,they declined in the lastthree months of the year,weighed by the U.S.-Chinatrade dispute, slowingglobal demand and astrong dollar, which ismaking American-madegoods less competitive onthe international market.The dollar was litt lechanged against a basketof currencies, while U.S.

Treasury prices rose.Stocks on Wall Street weretrading lower as investorsawaited freshdevelopments on the tradenegotiations.Economists expectexports to remain weakeven if Washington andBeijing strike a trade deal.'That will take time and ifthe Chinese growth is assoft as most economistsbelieve, it is hard to seehow they can ramp updemand for U.S. productsvery much this year,' saidJoel Naroff, chief economistat Naroff EconomicAdvisors in Holland,Pennsylvania.A 1.9 percent drop inexports of goods andservices drove the tradedeficit in December to$59.8 billion, the largestsince October 2008.Imports of goods andservices increased 2.1percent to $264.9 billion in

December.When adjusted forinflation, the goods tradedeficit surged $10.0 billionto a record $91.6 billion inDecember.The jump in the so-calledreal goods trade deficitsuggests that the dragfrom trade on fourth-quarter gross domesticproduct growth wasprobably bigger than the0.22 percentage pointestimated by thegovernment last week.Economists expect thegovernment will revisedown fourth-quarter GDPgrowth to a 2.3 percentannualized rate from the2.6 percent it reported lastThursday.Other data on Wednesdaysuggested some slowingin the labor market,though the pace of jobgains remains more thanenough to drive theunemployment rate down.


call, they kiss my ass."Clinton, on the other hand, tooktremendous flak for her sourcesof money, and Sen. BernieSanders (I-Vt.) bashed herrepeatedly for giving paidspeeches to Wall Street firms.And with the Democratic Party'sinsurgency on the left this year- and a long list of contendersfor the nomination - financiallitmus tests could once againcome into play.Harris, for one - among the earlyfront-runners and a lightning rodfor some Twitter backers ofSanders - has attracted somenegative liberal attention for herdonations from Trump andMnuchin. The Black Socialistsof America tweeteddisapprovingly; a meme poppedup last month.Nobody in the burgeoningDemocratic 2020 field has takenas much from the Trumps asMcAuliffe and Booker. McAuliffelanded $25,000 from Trump in

his failed Virginia gubernatorialprimary bid in 2009. (He won fouryears later.)Ivanka Trump and JaredKushner, now top advisers to thepresident, each sent Booker$10,400 in 2013. They bundled$41,000 and hosted a fundraiserfor his Senate campaign thatyear.Kushner hails from a prominentNew Jersey Democratic family;his brother, Joshua, madeidentical donations to Booker.(Joshua Kushner has also givento former Rep. Beto O'Rourkeand Rep. Seth Moulton, who areboth considering White Houseruns.)But in the wake of Trump's 2016election, some Democrats beganto look askance at the moneythey once took from his family.In 2017, Booker reflected on thesupport from Ivanka Trump andKushner in an interview withBuzzFeed's "Another Round"podcast. The headline:

Awkward: How Trump's pastdonations could haunt 2020 Dems

(Insider Bureau)- Donations fromTrump and his family add anotherwrinkle to a Democratic primarywhere candidates are trumpetingtheir distance from the president.Kamala Harris received moneyfrom Donald Trump as recentlyas six years ago. Ivanka Trumpand Jared Kushner hosted a ParkAvenue fundraiser for CoryBooker. Kirsten Gillibrand took inTrump family donations threetimes across a seven-year period- and then gave a similar amountof money to a nonprofit years laterafter the president mocked herin a tweet.As the president gears up for hisre-election fight, donor recordsshow that six of the declared orpotential Democrats itching totake him on have themselvesbeen the beneficiaries of his - orhis daughter's - largesse.Harris, Booker and Gillibrand -along with Joe Biden, John Kerryand Terry McAuliffe - all share acommon bond of receiving Trumpfamily donations, adding anotherwrinkle to a crowded primarywhere candidates are expectedto trumpet their distance from thepresident.An ideological shapeshifterwhose decades in the public eyehave spanned stints as aRepublican, Democrat, ReformParty candidate andindependent, Trump has donatedacross the spectrum from theestablishment left to the far right.The recipients include bothSenate Minority Leader Chuck

Schumer (D-N.Y.) and politicallyexiled Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).Many of Donald Trump'sdonations fall into two categories:contributions to local pols andofficials with whom he wanted tocurry favor, or one-offs toprominent players on the nationalstage.But he strayed outside his usualNew York and New Jersey turf togive Harris two donations totaling$6,000 in 2011 and 2013, whenshe was already considered arising Democratic star asCalifornia attorney general.Those were two of severalcontributions he made to stateattorneys general who wereinvestigating or had previouslyinvestigated Trump University.Harris also landed $2,000 fromIvanka Trump for her re-electioncampaign, and another $2,000from future Treasury SecretarySteven Mnuchin when she ran forSenate in 2016.Trump historians who havestudied his family and real estatecareer said he learned hispolitical worldview from his father- and in a New York City industrywhere greasing politicians forfavorable zoning exemptions ortax abatements was par for thecourse."This was completely irrespectiveof anything to do with principles,political perspectives," saidGwenda Blair, a ColumbiaUniversity journalism professorwho wrote "The Trumps: ThreeGenerations That Built an

Empire." "It was about levers ofpower, period. And this has notchanged. This has neverchanged."Spokespeople for the Trump re-election campaign, Biden andMcAuliffe declined to commenton the record. Other campaignsdid not respond to multiplerequests for comment. TheHarris campaign told TheSacramento Bee that Harris gaveaway the $6,000 from DonaldTrump to a nonprofit in 2015 - andthat she never met with him orgave him special treatment.Whether their prior financialentanglements could surface asattack lines against Trump or anyof these Democrats remains tobe seen. In 2016, Trump wonover crowds by insisting that hiswealth inoculated him fromundue external pressures. Sen.Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tried to turnTrump's contributions to Harrisand other California Democratsinto a cudgel, but Trump wasalready cruising to thenomination by the state's lateprimary.During the primary campaign, infact, Trump touted his donationsto opponents. "It's interesting: Iwas looking at the ones I'mrunning against. I've contributedto most of them. Can you believeit?" he said in an Iowa stop. "I'vegiven to Democrats. I've given toHillary. I've given to everybody!Because that was my job. I gottagive to them. Because when Iwant something, I get it. When I

He was an unapologetic imperialist, who believed thatIndia could never become a nation, that Indians should

remain forever under the British yoke. Paris Jackson reacts to 'Leaving Neverland'accusations, urges calm: 'Chillax my dudes'

(Insider Bureau)- MichaelJackson's daughter, Paris,weighed in Thursday on theallegations made against herfather in the Leaving Neverlanddocumentary.Jackson has been fairly mum onthe HBO documentary, whichdetails allegations of childmolestation against the "King ofPop" by Wade Robson andJames "Jimmy" Safechuckduring their childhood.The latesinger's family has vehementlydenied the allegations.The 20-year-old's response came in athread on Twitter, which beganwhen she wrote that "injusticesare frustrating," but encouragedothers to instead try reactingcalmly. In a follow-up tweet, shesuggested that people should"think about the bigger picture."COREY FELDMAN DENIESMICHAEL JACKSONTOUCHED HIMINAPPROPRIATELY AMID'LEAVING NEVERLAND'

MOLESTATION CLAIMSBut someone responded to themodel's comment, telling her that"The bigger picture is yourfather's legacy ruined and hisname smeared forever butwhatever though."Jacksoncountered, posing whether "loveand peace and trying to carry thatmessage out" should be whatthey focused on instead."tabloids and lies are the biggerpicture? i'll pray for you," shewrote."No, they want to tear hisname down and stop playing hismusic but it's cool like who caresthat he died for this," theindividual replied. Appearing tostick up for her father, Jacksonwrote that "they do that toeveryone with a good heart andtries to make a difference but doyou really think that it's possibleto tear his name down ?""like do you truly believe theystand a chance ?" shecontinued. "relax and havepeace."

24Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 SPECIAL FEATURE

(Agencies)- American whitesupremacists are facing adilemma: They want to share theirhateful ideology, but they don'twant to face the consequences.They want to find an audience fortheir racism and anti-Semitism,but they don't want to get caught.Under increased scrutiny fromlaw enforcement and the media,how do they disseminate theirracist ideas and recruit newmembers, but also limit the riskof doxing, firing and ostracismthat comes with publicexposure?Within the past few months, theyseem to have landed on ananswer that keeps their groupsin the spotlight while shieldingthe individual identities of theirmembers: far more propagandaefforts and fewer pre-announcedpublic events.There's a very good chanceyou've seen a white supremacistflyer or banner in the past year.Data collected by the Anti-Defamation League's Center onExtremism shows a staggering182 percent increase ofpropaganda incidents in 2018,

with 1,187 cases reported,compared with 421 in 2017. Thisis the highest number of reportedpropaganda efforts on record.And the messages areeverywhere: Hanging fromfreeway overpasses, stuck toutility poles, plastered to shopwindows or left on thewindshields of parked cars.They're even found tucked intobooks inside neighborhood bookswap boxes, libraries and bookstores.In 2018, white supremacistgroups - most notably alt-rightmainstays Identity Evropa andPatriot Front - continued to postpropaganda on college anduniversity campuses. Theseefforts, which were notinsignificant, were overshadowedby the dramatic increase of theiroff-campus propaganda. Joinedby the Loyal White Knights, aNazified Klan group, they leveledtheir attention on urban areas,especially in California, Texas,Colorado, New York, Illinois,Florida and Virginia.If you know what you're lookingat, the white supremacists'

banners, stickers and flyersclearly convey racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Butthe messaging is not alwaysovertly hateful. Identity Evropaoften posts flyers that appear tobe innocuous paeans toWestern European art. PatriotFront leans heavily on red, whiteand blue signage withmainstream conservativemessaging, including "AmericaFirst" and "Fake news - don't buyit." When they gather for events,Patriot Front members are farless circumspect about theirracism, frequently shouting"Blood and Soil!" - a callback toa Nazi slogan.The placement of propaganda isoften calibrated to elicit aresponse from a specificcommunity. One flyer campaignby the Daily Stormer BookClubs, launched after right-wingconspiracy theorist Alex Joneswas de-platformed by socialmedia sites, targeted Jewishinstitutions in multiple stateswith anti-Semitic flyers accusingJews of censoring free speech.In another case, a Northern

California synagogue wasthreatened with flyers from theneo-Nazi Atomwaffen Divisionthat warned, "There is noescaping the day of the rope,"and "The kikes are all done!"And Jews aren't the only groupthat has been targeted.Throughout 2018, Patriot Fronttargeted LGBT resource centers,newspaper publishers,journalists, a human rights lawoffice and a gay politicalcandidate with propagandamessages including, "BetterDead Than Red" and "Patriotismwith Teeth."

Under-the-radar events andstealth propaganda efforts alikeshield white supremacists frompublic exposure and, notably,public displays of opposition.They also provide the groups withinvaluable marketing materials.Non-public situations are easilycontrolled, and easilymanipulated after the fact. Thephotos and videos from flyeringand events are largely sharedonline, particularly by the alt-rightgroups, which make up theyoungest and most tech-savvysubset of the white supremacistmovement.

White Supremacists Have a New StrategyExtremist groups, fearing a crackdown, have launched a stealthy propaganda offensive.

Tensions flare as Dems struggle to calm furor over Omar

(Agencies)- House Democraticleaders are struggling to containthe controversy over Rep. IlhanOmar's comments about Israel,with the caucus fighting behindclosed doors over whether - andhow - to respond.Tensions ran high at a caucusmeeting Wednesday as someDemocrats privately vented thatSpeaker Nancy Pelosi and herleadership team had failed toadequately respond to theescalating political crisis, with toolittle outreach to their own rankand file.Freshman Rep. JahanaHayes of Connecticut stood upand confronted Pelosi directly,arguing that she shouldn't haveto learn about the officialDemocratic Caucus responsefrom MSNBC. Hayes said shenow has to vote on a resolutionthat she's barely read, without aprivate briefing from leadership,according to five sources.Pelosi countered that the

Democratic measure to condemnanti-Semitism is not final, thoughtext had been circulating and avote had been tentatively plannedfor Wednesday. That vote waspostponed amid a last-minutebacklash from progressives in thecaucus.House Majority Leader StenyHoyer (D-Md.) later told reportersthat leadership hadn't decidedwhether a vote on the resolutionwould take place this week,adding, "We're working onlanguage."Pelosi also said Democraticleaders were forced to respondquickly over the weekend - a taskmade trickier with Omar on acongressional delegation trip toEast Africa over the weekend.As Hayes was then talking toanother member, Pelosi said,"Well if you're not going to listento me, I'm done talking," then setdown the microphone and walkedout of the room, the sources said.

A senior Democratic aidedisputed that it was a tenseexchange, saying Pelosi wasmerely trying to explain whythings unfolded the way they didover the past few days.Hayes later said in an interviewthat she didn't hear Pelosiresponding to her and hadalready started to walk out of theroom."I'm not interested in legislatingthrough the media and socialmedia," Hayes said, noting whenshe received a copy of the draftresolution it wasn't even clearwhich lawmakers were the leadauthors. "I know that leadershiphas the ability to tighten up theprocess and do something aboutit."That moment of frustrationreflects widespread anxiety in thecaucus over how to handle thelatest bout of remarks from Omar- one of the first Muslim womento serve in Congress - after shesuggested that pro-Israel

advocates had "allegiance" toIsrael. The remarks offendedmultiple top Democrats, whosaid it alluded to painful,decades-old stereotypes thatJews had "dual loyalties."Multiple Jewish lawmakers,including Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) stood up in the caucusmeeting to explain why Omar'slatest remarks were so offensiveand potentially dangerous. Butother Democrats - including aJewish lawmaker - stood up todefend Omar and say they didn'tsee the remarks as deeply

offensive.Omar did not speak in themeeting, multiple sources said,although she was spottedchatting with some Democratsone-on-one and received hugsfrom others.Democratic leaders, includingPelosi, are attempting to sootherelations within the caucus afterabruptly halting plans to vote ona measure condemning anti-Semitism, which somelawmakers complained wouldhad gone too far in targetingOmar.

Lawmakers clashed behind closed doors, with somecomplaining that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership

team had failed to handle the escalating political crisis.

25Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 BUSINESS

Tokyo court grants ex-Nissanchief Carlos Ghosn bail (Agencies)- Asia will see the

fastest billionaire populationgrowth in the world over the nextfour years, despite economicuncertainties in the regiontriggered by the China-US tradewar.The number of Asian billionaireswill rise by 27 percent to 1,003between 2018 and 2023, makingup more than a third of theworld's total billionaire populationof 2,696, according to a reportreleased Wednesday by KnightFrank LLP. The bill ionairepopulation growth rates for NorthAmerica and Europe are 17percent and 18 percentrespectively.Asia will also see the biggestincrease in ultra-high net worthindividuals (people with netassets of $30 million or more).India leads the world with anexpected 39 percent surge,followed by the Philippines andChina.But while the rich may begetting richer, they're alsobecoming more cautious. Anincreasing number of individuals

in Asia plan to keep more of theirwealth in cash and less in assetsexposed to market cycles suchas gold or bonds. Propertyremains a mainstay of theirportfolios, the Knight Frank reportfound: real estate comprisesaround 23 percent, slightly higherthan the global average. "We areseeing a re-balancing of portfoliosaway from equities toward moredefensive asset classes," saidNicholas Holt, Knight Frank AsiaPacific's head of research."While cash, gold and privateequity are likely to beincreasingly targeted,investment-grade property withstrong tenant covenants will alsosee significant interest over thenext 12 months."Investors in the Philippines weremost likely to put more moneyinto real estate, the survey found,while 40 percent of respondentsin Australia, in the midst of aproperty-market downturn,expected allocations to realestate to decrease over thecoming 12 months.

(Agencies)- A Tokyo court onTuesday granted ex-Nissan chiefCarlos Ghosn bail in a shockdecision that could see the autotycoon freed after more than threemonths of detention.The court setthe bail at one billion yen (USD 9million), but prosecutors are likelyto appeal the decision and couldeven file additional allegationsagainst Ghosn to keep him fromleaving detention.It was the latesttwist in a case that has keptJapan and the business worldgripped since the tycoon's shockarrest on November 19 oversuspicions of financialmisconduct.The court has

previously said Ghosn'scontinued detention was justifiedbecause he posed a flight riskand could seek to tamper withevidence.Ghosn and his lawyershave argued that neither of thoseis the case, and he evenoffered to wear a trackingbracelet and hire guards tomoni tor h is whereabouts,pledging to stay in Japan.Thesurprise decision came afterGhosn's new lead defencelawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, toldreporters he had filed a"convincing" application for bailthat contained freshelements.Hironaka, who has a

reputation for securing acquittalsfor high-profile clients in acountry where almost all courtcases end in conviction, offeredgreater surveillance of Ghosn anda limit on his electroniccommunications to win bail.But the court had previouslyshown no inclination to end thelengthy pre-trial detention, whichhas drawn some criticisminternationally and from rightsgroups.Prosecutors havedefended his detention while theyinvestigate three charges offinancial misconduct, twoinvolving alleged under-reportingof his salary and a third over acomplex scheme in whichGhosn allegedly sought totransfer his losses to Nissan'sbooks. And they are likely toappeal the bail decision, thoughthe courts have previously ruledagainst the prosecutors whenthey sought to extend Ghosn'sdetention as allegations againsthim were being investigated.

Asia still leads the world when itcomes to minting billionaires

(Agencies)- Capital marketsregulator Sebi has asked thegovernment to amend theCompanies Act to ensure that adirector declared by it as adisqualified person shouldimmediately vacate the position,a plea triggered by defaulterbusinessman Vijay Mallya'sreluctance to do so.Under theCompanies Act, the office of adirector becomes vacant in caseof he or she being disqualified byan order of a court or a tribunal,among other reasons, but thereis no explicit mention of an orderby the Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi), which ismandated with regulation ofthousands of listed firms in India.In a proposal, Sebi has nowproposed that the CompaniesAct should also clearly mentionthat a person should vacate theoffice of a director if it orders hisor her disqualification. Officialssaid the finance ministry is inagreement with Sebi on the

proposed amendment and hasasked the regulator to get itapproved by its board andsubsequently forward it to thecorporate affairs ministry, whichis the nodal ministry for theCompanies Act.In its proposal,Sebi has referred to its interimorder dated January 25, 2017,through which the regulator hadbarred Mallya and six others fromholding directorship in any listedcompany till further directions.The Sebi order followed a probeinto alleged illegal fund diversionsat United Spirits Ltd, an erstwhilefirm of business group headed byMallya which he had later soldto global liquor giant Diageo.Mallya and others were alsobarred from the securitiesmarkets in the same order.However, Mallya did not complywith the order by not steppingdown as a director of UnitedBreweries Ltd, another listedcompany of his group, formonths. Soon after the Sebi

Mallya failed to comply with itsdirection has brought forward a"legal conundrum" in respect ofwhether Sebi has the power toenforce its direction when a directorrefuses to comply with thesame.At present, Sebi's directionrestraining a person from acting asa director is not a ground forvacation of his or her directorshipunder the existing provisions ofSection 167 of the Companies Act,2013.Further, Sections 164, 167and 169 of the Companies Act,dealing with appointment,vacancy and removal ofdirectors, are administered onlyby the central governmentthrough the Corporate AffairsMinistry."These provisions have

In a proposal, Sebi has now proposed that the Companies Act shouldalso clearly mention that a person should vacate the office of a

director if it orders his or her disqualification.order, Mallya had also criticisedSebi in a series of tweets andhad said the allegations of funddiversion were baseless and hadalleged that he was a target of"witch hunt".After refusing to quitthe United Breweries Board formonths, Mallya finally ceased tobe its director in August 2017,presumably after pressure fromother directors. In case of UnitedSpirits, he was asked by the newowner Diageo in April 2015 itselfto quit the board for alleged funddiversion.Mallya is facing a numberof cases against him, including ofloan default, and a court in the UKhas already ordered his extraditionback to India and the same was alsoapproved by the British governmentlast month. Subsequently, 63-year-old Mallya, who had left India inMarch 2016 for the UK, has alsofiled an application for permissionto appeal against the extraditionorder.Explaining its rationale forseeking changes in the CompaniesAct, Sebi has said the fact that

Vijay Mallya's defiance prompts Sebi toseek amendments to Companies Act

not been delegated to Sebi foradministering them in respect ofthe listed companies," the officialsaid, citing the regulator'sproposal for the amendment inthe law.While Sebi is empoweredto initiate adjudicationproceedings under the Sebi Actfor non-compliance of itsdirections in such cases, it canonly be a penal proceeding fornon-compliance and not forenforcement of the direction. Inview of these concerns, Sebi hasproposed that the issue can beresolved by amending theSection 167 of the CompaniesAct to include "order of Sebi" asone of the grounds for vacationof office of a director.

27Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 HEALTH

Futuristic lab at National Cancer Institute inHaryana can test 60,000 samples 24x7

With its fully roboticautomation track, stand-aloneinstrumentation, integratedworkflow, and chrome and whiteinteriors, the Robotic CoreLaboratory at National CancerInstitute (NCI) at Haryana'sJhajjar looks more like the deckof the Starship Enterprise than aclinical laboratory at a cancerhospital.

The centralised lab has acapacity to test 60,000 samplesa day and run 24x7. It has anexpanded menu of tests,including genetic screening formutations and moleculardiagnostic for personalisedmedicine, which does away withthe need to send samples toperipheral labs.

The advantage is twofold. "Itallows us to run a large number

of patient samples to deal withthe huge patient load and run thelab 24x7 rather than just duringthe daytime. Patients can get thetests done anytime of the dayand night. Standardised testingprotocols, workflow managementand automated calibrationreduces manual errors and hasa shorter, consistent andpredictable turnaround time,which means most diagnosticsresults are available within twohours of sample collection," saidDr G K Rath, head, NCI.

The automation also lowersmanpower requirement and freesup technicians to work in shiftsaround the clock.

Pneumatic chutes are usedto propel containers withampoules containing samples fortesting between stations through

networks of tubes usingcompressed air. "The Core Labis station 101 and 102, so peoplejust need to punch in stationnumber and the ampule reachesus from different departments in30 seconds. One of the chuteshas an auto-unloader, so I don'teven have to physically take outthe ampoule from the chute," saidJasbir Bhardwaj, a lab technicianwho has asked for a transfer toNCI Jhajjar from AIIMS New Delhito learn how stuff works infuturistic labs.

The samples are barcoded atsource by the nurse who collectsthem and the diagnostic resultsare directly uploaded on labinformatics system, which canbe accessed by cliniciansacross the hospitals. "There isno need to send reports. It's

super simplified and completelypaperless," said Dr Rath.

"The lab focuses onprocesses, digitisation andintelligent software that makediagnostics faster, simpler andmore accurate, lowering the needfor collecting multiple samplesfrom patients," said Dr Rath. "Itsaves 48,000 man hours of workper year, which can be up to 80%less effort than what is requiredin a traditional lab of a 700-plus

bed hospital."The lab technicians on the

shift are not threatened by theautomation. "The machineruns 24x7 but we have to behere to run quality-controlchecks and validate samples.We don't have to waste timeon sample transport, capping,sorting, sending reports andmaking registry entries," saidDinesh Kumar, another labtechnician.

Large study again confirms MMRvaccine doesn't cause autism

The centralised lab at the National Cancer Institute in Jhajjarhas a capacity to test 60,000 samples a day and run 24x7.

The authors, from the Statens Serum Institut, the University of Copenhagen and StandUniversity School of Medicine, point out that their study comes to the same conclusion as

a 2002 study that followed 537,000 Danish children.

A study following more than650,000 Danish children forover a decade has ledresearchers to the sameconclusion as previous efforts:the measles, mumps, rubella(MMR) vacc ine does notincrease a child's risk of autism.

The study, which followed allDanish children born between1999 and 2010 until 2013,compared the number ofvaccinated and unvaccinatedkids who were diagnosed withautism, and found no difference

"We found no support for thehypothesis of increased risk for

autism after MMR vaccination ina nationwide unselectedpopulation of Danish children,"researchers wrote in the USjournal Annals of InternalMedicine.

The authors, from theStatens Serum Institut, theUniversity of Copenhagen andStand University School ofMedicine, point out that theirstudy comes to the sameconclusion as a 2002 study thatfollowed 537,000 Danishchildren.

And they cite 10 other studieson childhood vaccines, including

Older adults with poorcognitive function are found tohave impaired oral health andhigher risk of tooth loss later,says a study. According to thestudy, there was a clearassociation between cognitivefunction and tooth loss whencognitive function score wascategorised into quintiles.

The study, published in theCommunity Dentistry & OralEpidemiology, showed peoplein the lowest quintile reflectingpoorer cognitive function had39% higher odds of tooth lossthan those in the highestquintile.

"Our study suggested aclose link between cognitive

function and oral health inolder adults," said JianhuaWu, Researcher a t theUniversity of Leeds in Britain.

"The findings indicate thatan improvement in cognitivefunct ion could potent ia l lyimprove oral health and reducethe risk of tooth loss in theageing population," said Wu.

The study included 4,416adults aged 50 years andabove. According to previousstudies, older adults with just10-19 teeth are at a higher riskof malnutrition in addition tohigher rates of weight loss andlower appetite. They are also atincreased risk for dementia and/or depression.

six on the MMR vaccine, whichalso found no links betweenvaccination and autism.

In comparison to thehundreds of thousands of childrenstudied for years whose dataresearchers say shows no linkbetween the MMR vaccine andautism, the 1998 study that anti-vaccine proponents still often citeto claim a link included only 12children.

That study was retracted bythe medical journal that publishedit and the author, who hadfalsified the results, lost hismedical license.

Poor cognition raises badoral health in elderly

The study included 4,416 adults aged 50 years and above.According to previous studies, older adults with just 10-19

teeth are at a higher risk of malnutrition in addition tohigher rates of weight loss and lower appetite.

28Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 FASHION AND TRENDS

Despite all the talk of innovation, there waslots of the classic luxury casual looks -- and

classics with a casual luxury touch.

Louis Vuitton ends Paris fashionweek with night in two museums

Designer Nicolas Ghesquiere had teasedthat his Louis Vuitton Paris fashion weekshow late Tuesday would be a "shock".He wasn't kidding. While guests had beeninvited to the Louvre Museum in the centreof the French capital, when they took theirseats they actually found themselves in thePompidou Centre, a kilometre away to theeast. This wasn't some sort teleporter trickfrom "Star Trek". Ghesquiere had recreatedthe groundbreaking architecture of thePompidou's modern art galleries inside theLouvre -- "a museum inside a museum" --to demonstrate the shock of the new.And his clothes for autumn/winter where justas tricksy, mixing stripes, checks, floraland all sorts of prints and patterns in whatthe New York Times's Vanessa Friedmanquickly called a "good taste, bad tastemash up". On the last of nine packed daysof shows, it was hard for some exhaustedfashionistas to get their heads round,particularly as many had shed a silent tearearl ier in the day as the late KarlLagerfeld's final collection was shownat Chanel.But Ghesquiere had warned that changewas a-coming in a tongue-in-checksocial media teaser video from his"muse", American actress and modelIndya Moore, the transgender star of theUS television series "Pose"."I was busyadmiring myself being admired by myself,"Moore drawled archly in what may havebeen a swipe at the latest trendy moderntribe, the autosexuals.No need to panicExcessive self-regard is not somethingfashion designers as smart as Ghesquiere

could be accused of.Before the shareholders of the world's richestfashion brand start panicking, there wasmethod to this.In fact, the pick 'n' mix pattern palate was anhommage to what Ghesquiere called the"sartorial melting pot" of the still rather rough-edged shopping district near the PompidouCentre, where the timelessly tastefulwardrobe codes of upper class Parisians rubup uneasily against the more eclectic streetstyle of the youthful multicultural suburbs."It's an incredible mix which convergestowards this epicentre" near the Chatelettransport hub, Ghesquiere said."That is where I am taking Louis Vuittontoday: a house of multiple expressions," headded.The supernova of Hollywood stars on theshow's front row who have hitched themselvesto the Vuitton wagon -- Emma Stone, JenniferConnolly, Lea Seydoux and Swedish Oscarwinner Alicia Vikander -- definitely dug it.Supermodel Karlie Kloss also seemed to lapup the mash-up mix of inspirations fromMondrian to Cubism to futuristic street,typified by the black leather swimminghats.A big shouldered floral kaftan coat with astripey interior somehow worked, andthere was plenty of expensively sleekblack leather also in the mix for thewoman who likes to keep it rock 'n' roll.Despite all the talk of innovation, therewas lots of the classic luxury casual looks-- and classics with a casual luxury touch -that has won Ghesquiere such a fan club,one that extends to the nearby Elysee Palaceand France's first lady Brigitte Macron.


Leaving Neverland movie review

HBO destroys Michael Jackson's legacy with unforgettable braveryHBO crucifies Michael Jackson's legacy with brave first-per-son account of two men, who allege that the King of Pop

abused them when they were children. Rating: 4/5.

Luka Chuppi review:Pankaj Tripathi is the unlikely victim of this Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon comedy

Leaving NeverlandDirector - Dan ReedRating - 4/5It's astonishing that LeavingNeverland got made, especiallysince similarly risky films havehistorically had a rather difficulttime.Only a few years ago,director Amy Berg's An OpenSecret, which claimed to haveresounding new informationabout filmmaker Bryan Singer'shistory of child abuse, wasburied by Hollywood. It remainsunreleased. Singer, meanwhile,has since directed his fourth X-Men movie and the multipleOscar-winning box office smash,Bohemian Rhapsody.I remember An Open Secretmaking exactly the same kindof noise in its festival run asLeaving Neverland did atSundance this year. Both filmspromised unquestionable newproof that would end all debateabout their subjects' innocence;both films boasted shocking

first-person testimony, and wereheaved along by solid buzz.I have not seen An Open Secret,but I can imagine the sort ofimpact it could have had if it notbeen blacklisted. Perhaps Singerwould not have been allowed todirect Rhapsody, and thereby notcash in the reported $40 millionpaycheque he received for it.It remains to be seen what sortof impact Leaving Neverland willhave on Michael Jackson'slegacy. MJ certainly has moredefenders than Singer - heremains the world's highestearning dead celebrity - and hisfans' dedication towards him hashistorically been proven duringthe well-publicised trials he hasbeen through.Leaving Neverland,which was aired on HBO in two2-hour parts over the weekend,is neither an indictment nor is itparticularly journalistic. It is astaunchly one-sided account ofJackson's alleged history of childsexual abuse, as told by two

brave men who only recentlydecided to step forward with theirstories.To make matters morecomplicated, one of them - thefamed choreographer WadeRobson - had testified in defenceof Jackson at both his previoustrials. Robson first becameacquainted with Jackson as aseven-year-old. Like so manychildren his age at the time, heworshipped the King of Pop - he'dplastered his walls withJackson's posters and taughthimself all his signature dancemoves.The film's other subject isJimmy Savechuck, who was inmany ways inspired to comeforward with his own story afterwatching Robson go public withhis. Like most accusers, bothmen have been pilloried by thepublic, who have questionedeverything from their intentions totheir reasons for not having saidanything earlier.LeavingNeverland isn't an easy watch,but no sane person would expect

it to be. For four unrelentinghours, it forces you to confrontyour emotions as Robson andSavechuck - framed mostly inclose-ups - go into deeplyagonising details about whatJackson allegedly did to them.Isee no point in repeating theirallegations here. It is not mystory to tell, and nor does ithave any place in a review ofthis film. In fact, reviewingFinding Neverland feels just asuncomfortable. Am I supposedto tell you whether or not youshould watch th is f i lm, ahorrific story about the mostterrible tragedy that could

befall a human being, basedon whether or not I found itssub jec ts compel l ing orbelievable enough? Would astar rating suffice?While thef i lmmaking in Leav ingNeverland is always ratherrudimentary - talking headsare intercut with (frequentlyrepeated) archive footage - itis impossible to look away.Regardless of how well-versedyou are with Jackson's history,the level-headed manner in whichthe film conducts itself adds toits credibility, as does Robsonand Savechuck's inherentforthrightness.

Luka ChuppiDirector - Laxman UtekarCast - Kartik Aaryan, KritiSanon, Aparshakti Khurana,Pankaj TripathiRating - 2.5There is something about PankajTripathi. His presence in a film/web series/advertisement/musicvideo/on a juice stall postermakes you believe that whateverhe is a part of will be wholesomeand fulsome. You want to orderthat glass of mix juice becauseyou believe it will be a morehonest glass of mix juice. Youhope that the political partiesdon't find out about thissuperpower of Pankaj Tripathi'sbecause who knows how theywill use it.And it is when Luka Chuppitakes Pankaj Tripathi, dresseshim up in red trousers, a yellow

shirt and green sunglasses;saddles him with a clichéd roleand worse dialogues, that youwant to give up. Tripathi stillmanages to carry it off - with greatpower comes great responsibility,and our actor knows it - but justabout.In the above two paragraphs liesthe inherent problem with LukaChuppi - it takes good materialand excellent performers andturns them into caricatures. Sure,it has its moments and thesecond half is largely enjoyable,but you have to wait for the fun.After a slew of excellent small-town dramas, my expectationsare high and my patience thin.At the heart of the story is themoral policing in India and therefusal of our self-appointed moralguardians to allow any kind ofsexual agency to the youth over

their own lives. Film actorNazeem Khan (Abhinav Shukla)becomes the enemy number oneof the Sanskriti Raksha Manch -the name is self explanatory -after he accepts that he is in alive-in relationship. They can'tbeat up Khan for destroying oursanskriti, so they do the nextbest thing - attack defencelesslovers in the by-lanes of Mathura.Heading this organization isVinay Pathak's Vishnu Trivedi,whose religious grandstanding isin the hope of winning theupcoming election. Rashmi (KritiSanon) is his daughter, who hasreturned home to Mathura afterfinishing her journalism course inDelhi. Kartik Aaryan's Guddu,with his spiked hair and thereputation of being a one-starkalaakar, is the star of the localnews channel. The two soon

The Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon film takes an important topic andsquanders it away. The film has its moments but you have to wait for

them. Rating: 2.5/5.

ENTERTAINMENT

become a team, joined byAparshakti Khurana's Abbas - thechannel's cameraman. The trioscours Mathura -- doing a voxpop of sorts to understand whatpeople largely feel about thedivisive topic of l ive-inrelationships; the best commentscome from where we least expectit - a man clad in saffron. Lovesoon blossoms between Kriti andKartik, but instead of taking thesaat pheras, Rashmi wants totest their compatibility via a live-in.It is left to Abbas to find a wayfor the young lovers to find a

sanctuary outside the confinesof a small-town. They head toGwalior - pronounced 'Gawalior',as is the wont in the region -- onthe pretext of conducting ajournalism project and take anapartment, without telling theirfamilies.The thorn in Guddu'sflesh is his meddlesome relativeBabulal (Pankaj Tripathi) whofinds his love nest and brings theentire family - parents, brothers,sister-in-law and nephew -- there.A quickly made-up tale of the twobeing married spirals out ofcontrol as Rashmi's father getsinvolved.

30Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 ENTERTAINMENT

Varun Dhawan plays the fearless Zafar,Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha share pics

Kalank first poster:

Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha andDharma Productions have shared the first look of the

upcoming period drama.

Actors Varun Dhawan, AliaBhatt and Sonakshi Sinha haveshared the first poster for theirupcoming ensemble drama,Kalank. On Wednesday,producer Karan Johar hadteased a big reveal for Thursday.The first poster reveals Varun'scharacter's name as Zafar. "It'sbeen a hell of a journey playingthis gem of a character. Soguys, meet Zafar," Varun wrotein a Twitter post. Sharing thesame poster, Alia wrote onTwitter, "Fearless in love.Fearless for love. Super happyto present Zafar!" Meanwhile,Sonakshi's post came with thecaption, "The flamboyant heroof our larger-than-life world.Presenting Zafar!"Karan in his Wednesday posthad written that Kalank was a"A film that was born in myheart and mind 15 yearsago....a film I passionatelybelieve in...the last film myfather worked on before he leftus....it was his dream to see

this film come through....Icouldn't fulfi l his dreamthen....my spirit wasbroken....but today his wish hasfound a relationship withcelluloid....the story of turbulentrelationships and eternal lovehas found a voice....the film hasbeen woven,nurtured andvisualised by ABHISHEKVARMAN....and the film IsKALANK! Set in the 40's but it'sheart lives on.....TOMORROWthe journey begins.....am excited...anxious and emotional about thisone...I do hope you join us on ourpath to undying love." The filmalso stars Madhuri Dixit, SanjayDutt, Aditya Roy Kapur and

others.Madhuri was signed for Kalankafter Sridevi's death, who wasoriginally supposed to staropposite Sanjay Dutt. "When Iwas on the sets, I looked at it asjust another role. But, yes, I wasextremely emotional when Karan(Johar) asked me to take up herrole. I hope I make her proud,"Madhuri had earlier told DNA.Varun and Alia have previouslyworked together in their debutmovie Student of the Year,Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania andBadrinath Ki Dulhania; Kalank istheir fourth movie together.Speaking about working with Aliaon Kalank, Varun wrote in anInstagram post, "It's my fourthfilm with Alia Bhatt. Wow, and italways feels like it's new. She isamazing in the film but one thingshe has done great is run verywell, and I'm proud of her. Lol.She knows she is my favouritebut Shanaya, Kavya, Vaidehi and...wait for it, you guys are going to beas blown away as I was by her.

Superstar Akshay Kumar makes hisdigital streaming debut with Amazon's

Global, March 5, 2019: AmazonPrime Video today announcedIndian Superstar, AkshayKumar, as lead actor inAmazon's upcoming action-packed Prime Original thrillerseries, THE END (workingt i t le ) . Coming f rom

Abundantia Entertainment, thecreators o f c r i t i ca l lyaccla imed Pr ime Or ig inalSeries,Breathe, the show,also the streaming debut ofAkshay Kumar, marks thesecond collaboration betweenAmazon Prime Video and

Abundantia Entertainment.The new series will be a globe-spanning, latest offering to theactor'sfans across 200countries and territories upon itsrelease exclusively on AmazonPrime Video. The multi-seasonshow, THE END (working title),is presently under activedevelopment and aims to appealto fans of the action-thrillergenre worldwide. Beingenvisioned at an unprecedentedscale and cinematicexperience, the show promisesto bring in the next level of theaction genre.Jennifer Salke,Head, Amazon Studios, said,"The scale at which THE END(working title) is being conceivedis enormous and speaks of ourpassion for creating breakoutprogramming across genres.

The most ant ic ipatedBol lywood ep ic o f 2019,Brahmastra, became the firstfilm ever to unveil its logo atKumbh Mela in India and starsAlia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoorplus director Ayan Mukerji

were on hand for the exclusivereveal. 150 drones lit up the nightsky to premiere the logo for themagnum opus which also starsAmitabh Bachchan and releasesin theaters across North Americathis Christmas.

BRAHMASTRA

31Friday 8 March to 15 March 2019 ENTERTAINMENT

Kim Kardashian leavesNOTHING to the imagination

Katie Price 'could be forced to sell her countrymansion in Sussex after £2.1m debt is revealed'

She is a fashion icon who has touched down in one ofthe most stylish cities in the world.And Kim Kardashian left nothing to the imagination asshe slipped into a racy semi-sheer bodysuit for an eveningstroll in Paris on Wednesday.The reality star, 38, exposedher braless cleavage and her scanty underwear in theeye-popping golden garment, which was decorated withleopard print markings.The transparent top revealed themother-of-three's ample cleavage, with her modesty just

preserved by black velvet panels. Thebrunette beauty also revealed her

honed midriff in the scantygarment. Oozing confidenceas she strolled along, the staralso flashed her high-cutunderwear and lean legs asshe strutted along invertiginous heels. Her raventresses were styled in softwaves and the glamourpussopted for a rich palette ofmake-up to complete herensemble. Providing some

coverage from the chillytemperatures, the star slipped

on a black velvet coat whichgaped open to reveal the full jaw-

dropping look as she walked along.Kim's outing was notthe first time she has returned to Paris after her horrificordeal in late 2016, when she was robbed at gunpoint bya gang of thieves.The star was robbed by five armed menwearing ski masks and clothes with police markings. Ataround 3am, the robbers entered the building after theconcierge let them in. Handcuffed and at gunpoint, hethen led them to the starlet's flat. Kim reportedly 'beggedfor her life' and told the gunmen she had children at homewhen two of them entered her room and held the gun toher head.The men stole a jewellery box worth •6 million($6.7 million/ £5.24 million) and a ring worth •4 million($4.5 million/ £3.5 million), prompting fears that thevaluables were personal ones, and not just jewellery Kimwas borrowing for fashion week. Following the ordealKim immediately flew back to the US by private jet, anddid not return to France in June 2018, to attend ParisFashion Week's Spring/Summer 2018 Louis VuittonShow.On Keeping Up With The Kardashians Kim spokecandidly about her decision to return to the city, saying:'I have so many special memories in Paris. I hope thatthis trip will just be so good that I can start to rememberall the magical things about Paris and why Kanye and Ifell in love with it.'The fashion icon also said that shewas nervous upon first arriving at the Fashion Show, butupon completing her trip said she would head back to Francefor a longer visit.

Katie Price could reportedly be forced to sell hercountry mansion in Sussex to pay off a £2.1m debtreports The Sun.Files allegedly sent to Companies House show theformer glamour model, 40, is millions in debt, afternarrowly avoiding bankruptcy last year.It was reported that in a new agreement withcreditors, if her bill remain unpaid after four years,her nine-bedroom mansion will be put up for auctionto pay the debt.The agreement is said to have set up after hercompany, Jordan Trading, went into liquidation.The star will only have to pay back 41 per cent ofher total debts (£856, 358) in monthly instalmentsover five years,They added: 'Most people will wonder how she hasmanaged to avoid bankruptcy with an agreementwhich lets her get away without paying 59 per centof what she owes.'MailOnline has contacted Katie's representative forcomment.The star purchased her £2million Horsham home in2014, shortly after tying the knot with her nowestranged husband Kieran Hayler, 31.At the beginning of December 2018, she avoidedbankruptcy after coming to an agreement over hertax bill and a close pal allegedly loaned the star£22,000 to bail her out.Katie's case was heard at a specialist insolvency

and companies court in Central London, whichestimated her total debts ranged from £250,000to £500,000.She was not at the court for the hearing, whichlasted less than two minutes.

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