204_CH_28_July_2016

CITY 

HILIGHTS 

Vol 1, Issue 204 `.1.00/- 

WEATHER 

FORECAST 

TODAY 

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Scattered Thunderstorms 

TOMORROW 

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CITY 

I B C 

W RLD NEWS 

www.cityhilights.news 

HILIGHTS 

Thursday, July 28, 2016 

English Daily 

Gold 22 carat 29400 per 10 gms 

Gold 24 carat 31430 per 10 gms 

Silver 51352 per Kg 

P2 

P3 

CHAMUNDESHWARI VARDHANTI MAHOTSAVA 

MAHADAYI ROW: VERDICT GOES AGAINST 

STATE, BANDH CALL ECHOS ACROSS STATE 

P4 

P5 

MAHA CM HINTS AT FOUL PLAY IN NARSINGH DOPING SCANDAL 

RUSSIANS POSSIBLY TRYING TO SWAY 

US POLLS: OBAMA ON DNC HACK 

P6 

P6 

HISTORY 

JAPAN READY FOR 

$266 BN STIMULUS 

P7 

P8 

NARSINGH REPLACED BY RANA, 

SCANDAL REACHES POLICE 

CALVIN HARRIS LIKELY TO COLLABORATE 

WITH JENNIFER LOPEZ

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CITY 

RESIDENTS COMPLAIN 

ABOUT UNATTENDED 

GARBAGE 

The locals of Ujire have 

submitted a written complaint 

to the Gram Panchayat 

about the quantity of garbage 

being dumped at a waste disposal 

unit. The residents say 

that the garbage piling up is 

posing threat to health and 

that there has been no action 

taken so far. Waste water 

from the unit flows directly 

to the wells and ponds on the 

low level areas polluting water. 

The locals have urged the 

concerned authorities to take 

note of the issue and solve it 

at the earliest. 

JOYLUS D’SOUZA CHO- 

SEN PRESIDENT OF BJP 

MINORITY MORCHA 

Joylus D’Souza from Taccode, 

Moodbidri has been 

chosen as the President of 

Dakshina Kannada district’s 

BJP minority morcha. BJP 

district president Sanjeeva 

Matandur has appointed 

Joylus as the president of minority 

morcha for a term of 

three years. 

Joylus has served as General 

Secretary of Mangalore 

diocese YCS central. He 

is also the mentor of YCS 

Taccode unit. Presently, he 

serves as the political convener 

of Catholic Sabha Moodbidri 

deanery. 

BAJRANG DAL ACTIV- 

ISTS ATTACK LABOUR- 

ERS AT ALDUR 

Bajrang Dal workers attacked 

a group of labourers 

at Aldur on Monday, alleging 

that they were from Bangladesh. 

The labourers had 

arrived in a bus to work in 

coffee plantations. The police 

have arrested six Bajrang Dal 

activists. One of the labourers, 

identified as Hoyeisun, 

suffered serious injuries and 

got admitted into local hospital. 

The policemen, who immediately 

rushed to the spot, 

took into custody youngsters 

from Aldur named Tejas, Shivakumar, 

Sudarshan, Sharat 

and Rohit, who are said to be 

activists of Bajrang Dal. They 

are being interrogated. 

Senior citizens get 

ID’ed 

Senior Citizens’ Forum, 

Michaelpalya and Indiranagar, 

is issuing ID cards 

to seniors above the age of 

60. The seniors who want 

to apply need to bring documents 

for authenticating 

date of birth, blood group, 

address and two stamp-size 

photographs. For any help, 

the forum authorities can be 

contacted on 9740207450/ 

25292497. 

Whole milk for 39 lakh 

kids 

The cabinet on Tuesday 

decided to provide whole 

milk to 39 lakh anganwadi 

children to counter malnutrition 

at an estimated cost 

of Rs 42.5 crore. The cabinet 

also approved a Rs 8.23-crore 

proposal to provide sanitary 

kits to students under the 

Karnataka Residential Educational 

Institutions Society. 

The kits will include products 

like soap, toothpaste 

and toothbrush for students 

in 506 residential schools. 

They will be acquired from 

Karnataka Soaps and Detergents 

Limited (KSDL), which 

will get the contract to avoid 

delays. The government has 

also sanctioned solar panels 

atop government warehouses. 

However, as opposed to 

the 162 MW of solar power 

generation, the cabinet approved 

only 68 MW for now. 

HC DECLINES TO QUASH MEDKERI’S COURT 

ORDER ON DYSP GANPATHI SUICIDE 

The Karnataka High Court 

on Tuesday declined to stay 

the order passed by the Madikeri 

court guiding police to 

file an FIR against K J George 

and two senior IPS officers 

AM Prasad and Pranov 

Mohanty, investigate and 

report on DSP MK Ganapathi’s 

suicide case. The judge, 

hearing a criminal petition 

documented by two senior 

IPS officers AM Prasad and 

Pranov Mohanty, instructed 

the public prosecutor to clarify 

the legal position by July 

28 to speed up the process. 

Counsel for the two senior 

officers CV Nagesh requested 

the High court to 

quash the order passed by 

Madikeri court. He informed 

the court that the order of 

the magistrate reflects non 

application of use of mind 

as it was based only on the 

submission made by counsel 

of the complainant Nehal Ganapathi, 

son of the deceased 

cop. The senior Advocate 

submitted to the court that 

the petitioners had not 

played any role in the above 

suicide. He said that they are 

innocent, and are honest 

senior cops. 

At that point , the judge 

asked who was the other 

accused in the complaint 

and the court was informed 

that it was Ex Minister KJ 

George has been named. 

“When he (George) stepped 

down to make the probe 

easier, why are you asking 

for it to be quashed? If you 

are innocent, what is there 

to fear? “The judge asked the 

petitioners’ counsel. 

Concerning the argument 

RACING DUO FROM KODAGU 

Youth from Kodagu have 

a special liking for racing 

sport. This love along with 

expertise of driving through 

sharp curves on the roads 

with ease has helped two 

youths to enter the field of 

racing in both two and four 

wheeler categories. Kongetira 

Bopaiah and Konganda 

Karumbaiah have taken part 

in both regional and national 

level racing competitions 

and are currently undergoing 

rigorous training on the 

curvy roads of the district. 

that the magistrate was required 

to verify the facts as 

the objection needed essential 

fixings, the judge noted 

when the entire world 

thought about Ganapathi’s 

suicide, what was there to 

check? In reference to the 

hype created around Ganapathi’s 

suicide. 

The youth combo from 

Kodagu won 2nd and 4th 

place in the recent leg of Coimbatore 

2016 in the Volkswagen 

polo cup in which 

39 participants from various 

parts of the country had taken 

part. Their performance 

is commendable considering 

the fact that they bagged 

the top 2 positions in the 

first five. The Kodagu youth 

are trying to reach the top 

by taking up training in the 

racing tracks that have been 

established in Noida, UP and 

at three other places in Tamil 

Nadu. 

PROFESSOR ALLEGES SEXUAL 

HARASSMENT BY CIIL DIRECTOR 

A lady professor from 

West Bengal lodged a complaint 

of sexual harassment 

by the Director of Central 

Institute of Indian language 

(CIIL) situated in Mysuru. 

In her written complaint, 

Dr.Sangeetha Saikia, Assistant 

Professor at language 

foundation, Vishwa Bharathi 

in Assam, has accused the 

CIIL Director Professor 

Avdesh Kumar Mishra of 

emotionally harassing her 

by forcing her to get into 

sexual relationship with 

him and using foul and vulgar 

language over calls. She 

lodged the complaint with 

the National Womens Commission 

(NCW) requesting 

them to take action against 

the Director. The NCW had 

diverted the complaint to 

Mysuru city police commissioner 

for further action. 

Jayalakshmi Puram police 

had registered an FIR on July 

25 against the director (CIIL 

falls under Jayalakshmi puram 

police headquarters) and 

read out the complaint before 

the jurisdictional court 

judge on July 26. 

In view of her objection, 

the Jayalakshmipuram police 

station registered a FIR 

against Prof. Mishra on Monday. 

He has been booked 

under Section 354 A of IPC, 

other than Section 354 D of 

IPC for stalking, a police official 

said to media. 

SEARCH FOR AN-32 CONTINUES WITH NO HOPE 

Five days have gone since 

Indian Air Force’s AN-32 

flying machine carrying 

29 people disappeared 

over the Bay of Bengal. 

Search operations have 

not yielded any results 

yet. Leading RSS leader 

Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat 

went to Eknath Shtetty’s 

residence to comfort to the 

family. 

As no information is 

known about the missing air 

plane, it has turned out to 

be very difficult to draw any 

conclusion. The coast guard 

too said that it has not found 

any debris or survivors. In 

the wake of getting the satellite 

imagery, combined efforts 

of finding the aircraft 

have been in vain. 

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah 

spoke to Eknath Shetty’s 

wife Jayanthi over telephone 

to comfort the family 

on Tuesday. 

ANNUL FEAST OF ST ANNA’S CHURCH CELEBRATED AT THOTTAM 

The feast of St Anna’s 

Church, Thottam was celebrated 

on Tuesday. A 

ceremonial mass was conducted 

as part of the feast. 

This feast was dedicated 

to all the grandparents 

in the Catholic Church. St 

Joachim and St. Anna are 

AIR MARSHAL KHANDEKAR VISITS AIR 

FORCE TECHNICAL COLLEGE 

Air Marshal PP Khandekar, 

Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance, 

Air Headquarters 

and Commodore Commandant 

of AFTC visited Air 

Force Technical College, 

Bengaluru recently. He was 

accompanied by his wife 

Manisha Khandekar. 

During his visit, the 

the parents 

of Mother 

Mary and 

grandparents 

of Jesus 

Christ. The 

gathering 

was welcomed 

by Fr 

Francis Cornelio, 

parish 

priest of Thottam. On the 

occasion of the feast, new 

website for the parish was 

launched www.stannathottam.com. 

The chief celebrant of 

the Mass, Fr Louis D’Sa, 

parish priest of Mukamar, 

Air Marshal 

inspected various 

Faculties 

and interacted 

with Senior 

Officers, Directing 

Staff, 

Trainee Officers 

and Air 

warriors of the 

College. In his 

address he expressed his 

nostalgia towards the College 

which is the alma mater 

of all Aeronautical Engineers 

of the Indian Air Force. He 

emphasized that engineers 

of Indian Air Force play a vital 

role in the field of aviation 

and are pillars of aerospace 

in his homily said “The 

life led by these saints is 

an example to be followed 

in our life. The family life 

should be holy and valuable. 

It should be counted 

as a blessing 

from God. 

At the end 

of the day, a 

man should 

come back 

to his family 

to gain peace 

of mind from 

the earthly 

disturbances. 

It is every individual’s duty 

to love, lead and to protect 

safety. He called upon the 

young officers to keep on upgrading 

their knowledge and 

skills as per ever changing 

technological environment, 

lead from the front, build 

strong team, exhibit highest 

degree of professionalism 

and maintain impeccable 

integrity with unwavering 

commitment towards the 

service and the nation. 

their family.” 

The feast was to stress 

on the importance of loving 

and taking care of their 

Grandparents in their old 

age. 14 priests took part 

in the Eucharistic celebrations. 

The Air Marshal 

was also the Chief Guest for 

‘Samanvaya’ a TFG (Technology 

Focus Groups) colloquium 

on propulsion system. 

‘Samanvaya’ is an outreach 

programme with academia, 

Defence Research & Development 

and Defence Public 

Sector Undertaking to give 

an impetus to the institutional 

knowledge and research 

work in Indian Air 

Force technologies. The formation 

of the Technology Focus 

Groups will also enhance 

the standard of academics 

environment at Air Force 

Technical College by providing 

increased awareness of 

the current and emerging 

trends in these technologies. 

It will also generate interest 

for self learning in the officers 

undergoing training as 

well as to those engaged in 

instruction. 

CHAMUNDESHWARI VARDHANTI MA- 

HOTSAVA 

Chamundeshwari Vardhanti 

Mahotsava was held 

at Chamundi Hills temple in 

Mysuru on Tuesday. Thousands 

of people including 

the newly married royal 

couple Yaduveer Krishnadatta 

Chamaraja Wodeyar 

and Trishika Kumari were 

present to have a darshan of 

Goddess Chamundeshwari. 

The special puja rituals began 

at 3.30 am with Abhyanjana, 

Panchamruta abhisheka 

and Ekadashavara 

Rudrabhisheka followed by 

Sahasranama archane and 

Mahamangalarati. 

Pramoda Devi Wodeyar, 

Yaduveer Krishnadatta 

Chamaraja Wadiyar and 

his wife Trishikha Kumari 

Wadiyar offered puja. The 

procession was started by 

pulling the silver palanquin 

(pallaki). The deity was then 

placed on a decorated palanquin 

and taken in a procession 

around the temple. 

Speaking on the occasion, 

Pramoda Devi Wodeyar 

said it was their regular 

custom to offer puja on this 

auspicious day every year 

as Chamundeshwari is the 

family deity of the ‘Yadu’ 

Dynasty. Among others who 

performed the puja were Labour 

Minister Santosh Lad 

and MLA G.T. Devegowda 

The crowd at the Chamundi 

hill temple was uncontrollable. 

Even though 

there were no KSRTC buses 

to commute, people travelled 

to the place by the 

private vehicles to take part 

in the ceremony. The district 

administration had arranged 

25 private buses to 

the temple from Lalitha Mahal 

helipad. There was tight 

security at the temple. Some 

of the devotees reached the 

temple by climbing all the 

1000 steps. 

TWO UNIVERSITIES CONTINUE TO FIGHT 

OVER JNANA JYOTI AUDITORIUM 

Both Bangalore University 

and Bengaluru Central 

University are fighting over 

prestigious ‘Jnana Jyoti Auditorium.’ 

They are trying 

to acquire ownership of 

the Jnana Jyoti Auditorium 

which is one of the major 

sources of income. The auditorium 

is now with the 

central college campus falling 

under Bengaluru Central 

University and it was part of 

Bangalore University some 

time ago. It is being used as a 

common property as of now. 

It is in a building that houses 

a boardroom and a seminar 

hall. 

The auditorium was established 

in 1999 and has 

a seating capacity of 1,100 

and is presently used for 

academic and cultural programmes. 

Various departments 

of the universities 

use this auditorium for their 

academic seminars and conferences. 

While students opine that 

it would better if both the 

universities were allowed to 

access the auditorium, K.N. 

Ninge Gowda, Bangalore 

University Registrar said 

“At present, we charge Rs. 

1.2 lakh per day if outsiders 

want to use the auditorium. 

We do not charge any 

fees when our departments 

want to use it.” There is still 

no clarity on which university 

will get to possess the 

auditorium. The officials 

from Higher Education Department 

would convene a 

meeting to sort out this issue. 

INTERNATIONAL TIGER DAY CELEBRATION 

‘Heritage Foundation of 

Art and Culture’ organised 

a programme for children 

called “Tiger, My Friend” as 

part of International Tiger 

Day observation. 

The programme, which 

was organised at Venkatappa 

Art Gallery on Tuesday, 

saw the participation of 

enthusiastic children from 

different schools in the city. 

A painting exhibition and 

story-telling competition 

with ‘Tiger’ as a theme were 

conducted as the part of the 

programme. The closing 

ceremony was packed with 

tiger dance and a musical 

drama on Tiger. 

‘International Tiger Day’ 

also known as ‘Global Tiger 

Day’ which is held annually 

on July 29 to create awareness 

on tiger conservation. 

DISQUALIFICATION OF CORPORATOR 

MADESH IN PROGRESS 

days’ time. 

Regional Commissioner 

of Mysuru, A. M. Kunjappa 

has begun the prcedure of 

disqualification of Corporator 

C Madesh who is serving 

life imprisonment at Hindalga 

jail. He was 

convicted in 

connection 

with Hunsur 

double 

murder case. 

According to 

sources, the 

disqualification 

process 

is expected to 

be completed 

in another 15 

Regional Commissioner 

has served notice to corporator 

Madesh based on the 

provision of Karnataka Municipal 

Corporations Act of 

1976 through Mysuru Central 

Jail Superintendent and 

is seeking his reply. Madesh 

has been given time till August 

4 to file his reply. A report 

will be sent based on 

his reply to state election 

commission who will decide 

whether he can go ahead 

with the by-elections or not. 

On February 26, Corporator 

Madesh and his brother 

Manjunath along with six 

others had been given life 

term by the District Court, in 

connection to an eight-yearold 

double murder case. 

TAZANIAN STUDENT ACCUSED OF THEFT 

AND BURGLARY 

The city police have arrested 

two foreign students 

on charges of thieft and burglary. 

Among the arrested, 

one is from Tanzania, named 

Paul, a student at a private 

college in the city. Police 

have recovered 45-50 lakh 

worth gold, wrist watch and 

cash from the Tanzanian. 

The investigating team also 

found fake passports and 

skimming machine among 

the others. Another 

accused is believed to 

be a Brazilian whos 

original name is still 

unknown. Both the accused 

who, police believe, 

came to Bengaluru 

in 2015, worked 

separetly but communicated 

over phones. 

The travel papers 

of the arrested duo 

have been sent for 

confirmation.

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CITY 

TEENAGE BOY FALLS 

INTO POND, DIES 

A teenage boy fell into a 

temple pond by accident and 

died on Tuesday at Gangolli. 

The deceased has been identified 

as Sarfraz (13), son of Abdul 

Razak. 

It is believed that Sarfraz 

must slipped and fallen into 

the pond while walking near 

the pond which belongs to a 

temple. When Sarfraz did not 

come home, the family panicked 

and started searching for 

him. Later, a neighbour spotted 

the body of Sarfraz floating in 

the pond. The body has been 

sent to Kundapur government 

hospital. A case has been registered 

at Gangolli police station. 

One dead, five injured 

in an accident 

In a serial accident that took 

place on National Highway 

near Bandyodu on July 26, one 

girl lost her life and ten others 

suffered injuries. The deceased 

has been identified as 

Fathimath Nihal (4), she is the 

daughter of Mogral Kadvath. 

The accident involved one 

Innova car, two auto-rikshaws 

and another car. The tragic 

accident occurred when the 

Innova car hit an auto coming 

from Uppala. Meanwhile, another 

car and an auto hit in the 

rear side of the Innova car. 

The injured girl who was 

rushed to a hospital in Mangaluru 

did not survive. The rest of 

them were shifted to hospitals 

in Uppala and Mangaluru. 

Among the injured are 

Ashraf, Abdul Khadar, Samira 

and Bathisha are residents 

of Paivalike Kayarkatte. Five 

among the injured are said to 

be serious. 

Kodagu army doctor 

appointed as honorary 

surgeon to Prez 

Lt Gen BNBM Prasad, an 

Army doctor from Kodagu, has 

been appointed as the honorary 

surgeon to the President 

of India Pranab Mukherjee. 

(Dr)Lt.Gen Prasad hails from 

Biligeri in Kodagu district and 

is the sixth Lt-General from the 

district. 

Lt Gen Prasad was serving 

as the DG of Army Hospital 

Services, New Delhi and is one 

of the renowned surgeons in 

treating Lung disorders in super 

specialty hospitals. 

He was awarded the Sena 

Medal for his service during 

the Kargil conflict. He had 

served Field Marshal Manekshaw 

and has submitted Medical 

thesis at various conferences 

in India and abroad. 

Lt Gen Prasad joined the 

Army in 1977 as a medical officer. 

Horrific Tuesday morning 

on outer ring road 

It was a horrific Tuesday 

morning for motorists on Outer 

Ring Road (ORR) and KR 

Puram, east Bengaluru. Waterlogging 

under the railway 

bridge near Rainbow Hospital 

brought traffic to a standstill. 

The situation eased only at 

2pm, after two fire tenders 

pumped out the stagnant 

water. Trouble began at 8am 

when vehicle users started 

taking the service road on both 

sides of ORR. “The road beneath 

the railway bridge was 

clogged with rainwater and 

office-goers used the service 

roads, leading to a bottleneck,” 

traffic police said to media. 

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MAHADAYI ROW: VERDICT GOES AGAINST 

STATE, BANDH CALL ECHOS ACROSS STATE 

Even as commuters 

heaved a sigh of relief after 

transport corporation workers 

called off their strike, 

farmers’ associations have 

called for a bandh over Mahadayi 

row on Thursday. 

Protests broke out in 

North Karnataka region 

BUSES BACK ON ROADS AS STRIKE CALLED OFF 

Karnataka’s three-day 

transport strike has been 

called off after the joint advisory 

group of workers’ 

unions reached to an amicable 

agreement with the state 

government on Wednesday 

evening. The government 

has agreed to give 12.5% 

hike in the basic pay. Public 

got a sigh of relieve as Buses 

over the verdict of Mahadayi 

Water Dispute Tribunal’s 

verdict on Wednesday 

which rejected Karnataka’s 

request seeking that Goa 

discharge 7.5 tmc of water. 

The Tribunal, headed by JN 

Panchal heard arguments by 

counsels for the two states 

started to ply on the roads. 

The normal life was affected 

to the strike for past three 

days. Despite the fact that the 

transport strike has called 

off, different unions have 

called a bandh on the Mahadayi 

water issue. Schools 

and universities over the 

state are likely to be closed 

on Thursday due to bandh. . 

KARNATAKA STATE PRE-UNIVERSITY COLLEGE 

OFFICERS ASSOCIATION 

A state level academic felicitation programme was held at SJRC Auditorium. The programme was organised to congratulate 

and felicitate the academic thinkers. The programme was inaugurated by Tanveer Seth, Minister of Primary 

and Higher education. Felicitation was done by B. Shanker Murthy, MLC and Ramachandrappa MLC. The chief guests for 

the occasion were Captain Ganesh Karmik, MLC along with Sharanappa Mattur, MLC. 

KILLER ROADS OF BENGALURU 

WHO IS TO BE BLAMED FOR THE PATHETIC STATE OF ROADS 

IN THE COSMOPOLITAN CITY? 

DEADLY STORM WATER DRAIN AT 

THIMMAIAH CIRCLE 

BATTERED ROAD AT KEMPEGOWDA BUS STATION 

on Tuesday, and saved its 

verdict for Wednesday. Karnataka 

had filed an interim 

application with the Tribunal 

for 7.5tmc water to be 

discharged from the Mahadayi 

in Goa for the Malaprabha 

Lift Irrigation venture. 

Wednesday’s decision is just 

the interim order not the final 

verdict. 

The verdict did not go 

down will with people of 

Gadag, Belagavi, and Dharwad 

who face acute shortage 

of water during the recent 

drought in the state. Pro Karnataka 

groups and farmers’s 

associations took to streets, 

burning down effigies and 

shouting slogans. 

Karnataka Rajya Raitha 

Sangha President Kodihalli 

Chandrashekar has called 

for a statewide bandh on 

Thursday while Vatal Nagaraj 

has called for a bandh on 

July 30. Holding a press conference 

in Bengaluru, he said 

that Kannada organizations 

would start protest from 

Thursday onwards. 

President of the Karnataka 

Film Chamber of Commerce 

and the film industry 

too have extended their support 

to the protests. Call for 

bandh resounded in Betageri 

and Bailhongal in Belagavi 

district, Gajendragadh in 

Gadag region too. Few universities 

and schools have 

officially declared holiday in 

lieu of bandh. 

MODI HOSPITAL ROAD 

GANGADHAR CHETTI ROAD 

ANNAMALAI TO BE THE NEXT CHIKKA- 

MAGALURU SP 

After the DySP Kallappa 

Handibhag case that caught 

the attention of the state, 

Chikkamagaluru SP Santhosh 

Babu has been trasferred 

to Gadag and SP of 

Udupi, Annamalai will take 

charge as the next Chikkamagaluru 

SP. Kallappa Handibhag 

ended his life after 

his name sprung up in a kidnapping 

and extortion case 

in Chikkamagaluru. It is said 

3 KILLED AND 9 INJURED AS PRIVATE 

BUS CATCHES FIRE 

Three passengers dies 

and atleast Nine passengers 

were injured as a private bus 

travelling between Bengaluru 

and Hubballi was caught 

in flames all of a sudden on 

Wednesday morning. The 

bus had left Bengaluru the 

previous evening carrying 

15 travelers and was supposed 

to reach Hubballi 

at 6 am. However, an hour 

prior to reaching the destination, 

the flames spread 

in the bus all of a sudden at 

Varur where the sleeping 

passengers had little time 

to escape. Short circuit is 

said to be the reason for the 

mishap. The air conditioned 

MAN SELLING ILLEGAL ARMS ARRESTED 

The city police arrested a 

man who was dealing with 

illegal arms business near 

Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru. 

The police arrested him 

BENGALURU WITNESSES HIGHEST 

RAINFALL IN THREE YEARS 

that Chikkamagaluru 

SP Santhosh 

Babu too was in 

light as Kallappa’s 

family accused the 

SP being responsible 

for Kallappa’s 

death. 

In the mean 

time, Annamalai, 

an upright and no 

non-sense officer who has 

won the hearts of the general 

public as an SP is going 

to take the responsibility of 

Chikkamagaluru SP. He was 

in charge of transformation 

of Karkala police station 

into model station when he 

was the ASP. The SP brought 

methods to boost the morale 

of the police force. 

Annamalai’s 

bus belonged to Durgamba 

Travels. 

Primary reports said that 

after shooting him on 

his left leg. 

The man identified 

as Amir Hussain, 

33, had came from 

Utrapradesh to sell his 

home made pistol to 

the customers in Bengaluru. 

After getting a 

tip off, police in civil 

cloaths followed the suspect. 

Hussain soon sensed 

that police had followed him 

and opened fire and seriously 

injured at the two policemen 

when they approached 

The city witnessed its 

highest rainfall in the last 

three years on Monday evening. 

With a rainfall of 32.6 

mm on Monday evening, the 

city has received an average 

background 

Annamalai is a native of 

karur district of Tamil Nadu. 

He completed his schooling 

in Coimbatore. He pursued 

Mechanical engineering and 

later completed his MBA at 

IIM-Lucknow. While studying 

MBA, Annamalai decided 

to become a government 

servant. 

Annamalai belong to 2011 

batch of IPS and was posted 

for the first time to karkalla 

sub division in 2013. He 

was incharge of four police 

stations under the karkala 

sub-division- Karkala town, 

Karkala rural, kaup and 

Padubidri- he was posted 

as Superintendent of Police 

of Udupi district and took 

charge on January 1st 2015. 

the transport contained a 

few chemicals utilized for 

agriculture. More details are 

awaited. 

MINISTER INAUGURATES JANA 

SPANDANA PROGRAMME AT UDUPI 

JANA SPANDANA, the 

Udupi district level programme 

was inaugurated 

by District-incharge Minister 

Pramod Madhwaraj on 

Tuesday. Speaking on the occasion, 

Madhwaraj said “As 

per the chief minister Siddaramaiah’s 

instructions, district 

authorities have to conduct 

Jana Samparka Sabha 

and Jana Spandana before 

organizing KDP meeting in 

the district. There are nine 

Hoblis in the districts and 

the district authorities will 

organize hobli-level Jana 

Spandana programme to 

hear the grievances of public 

in days to come.” 

He said during the public 

grievance meeting, he said 

that they have instructed 

the officers to respond to the 

complaints immediately and 

solve the problems of the 

public on the spot. Promising 

corruption-free governance, 

Madhwaraj said 

government officials will 

also have to make strong 

resolution of providing good 

service. Zilla panchayat CEO, 

Priyanka Mary Francis, CMC 

president, SP Annamalai 

and others were present. 

him. In defense, HAL inspector 

Sadiq Pasha who lead the 

team had to open fire and 

shoot him in the left leg. 

Hussain has been arrested 

and police have confiscated 

a country-made pistol 

and 13 bullets from him. 

A police officer said, 

“Amir has been supplying 

arms to many people in the 

city for a long time. There is 

a dealer in the city. We will 

arrest him too as soon as 

possible.” 

of 92 mm rainfall in this July. 

The rainfall on Monday was 

the highest rainfall recorded 

since 2013. According to 

the Indian Meteorological 

Department, Bengaluru has 

received around 284 mm 

rainfall since June 1 which 

is higher than the expected 

rainfall in this season. The 

weather forecast reveals 

that the weather will be 

similar to what city has witnessed 

in the past two days. 

The days are expected to be 

warm – with maximum temperatures 

of around 29{+o} 

C – while, rain and thundershowers 

will hit the city in 

the evenings.

CITY 

HILIGHTS 





NATION 

Kalam’s statue unveiled 

in Rameswaram 

A life-size statue of former 

president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam 

was unveiled at Peikarumbu 

on the occasion of his first 

death anniversary. Inaugurating 

the bronze statue, Union 

Minister M Venkaiah Naidu 

said, “Dr. Kalam will live forever 

in our minds and hearts. 

His thoughts continue to be 

with us all the time. “It is difficult 

still to believe that Dr. 

Kalam passed away and that 

this great man left all of us for 

his heavenly abode,” he said. 

Naidu and Defence Minister 

Manohar Parrikar also laid the 

foundation stone for a national 

memorial for the ‘Missile man’ 

of India. Kalam passed away 

on July 27 last year after he suffered 

a massive cardiac arrest 

while delivering a lecture at 

IIM- Shillong in Meghalaya 

Modi speaks to new 

British PM 

Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi spoke to British Prime 

Minister Theresa May to congratulate 

her on her assumption 

of new responsibility and 

affirmed India’s commitment 

to further strengthen the strategic 

bilateral partnership. 

During the telephonic conversation, 

Modi also appreciated 

UK’s consistent support to 

India in various global fora. 

Thanking Prime Minister 

Modi, May said she looked forward 

to working closely with 

him for developing stronger 

bilateral ties and enhancing cooperation 

in tackling pressing 

global challenges. Modi also 

recalled his memorable visit to 

the UK last November. Theresa 

May was sworn in as Britain’s 

new Prime Minister on July 

13, succeeding David Cameron 

who resigned after the country 

voted in favour of exiting the 

European Union 

Three of family 

sentenced in dowry 

death case 

A court sentenced three 

members of a family to varying 

jail terms of up to 10 years in 

connection with a 2013 dowry 

death case. Additional District 

Judge K K Asthana convicted 

the victim’s husband Rajesh 

Sahu, father-in-law Moolchand 

and mother-in-law Prema Devi 

in the dowry death case of 

Archana in in September 2013. 

According to the prosecution, 

the body of the victim was 

found hanging from the ceiling 

in Mataudh town following 

which her father filed a dowry 

death case against the convicts. 

After hearing both the sides, 

the court awarded 10 years of 

imprisonment to Rajesh and 

seven years each to the in-laws, 

Assistant Government Counsel 

Moolchandra Kushwaha said. 

The court has also slapped a 

fine of Rs 5,000 each on them. 

79 terrorists killed in 

J-K till June 30 

With 79 terrorists being 

killed in Jammu and Kashmir 

till June 30, militant groups 

based in Pakistan have intensified 

their efforts to radicalise 

youths, who are targeting 

security forces and giving it a 

shape of civil resistance, Rajya 

Sabha was told. Minister of 

State for Home Hansraj Ahir 

said there has been a spurt in 

infiltration attempts from Pakistan 

and the security forces 

have responded to it, resulting 

in killing of 79 terrorists till 

June 30 this year. 

Geelani arrested for 

defying restrictions 

Hardline Hurriyat Conference 

Chairman Syed Ali Shah 

Geelani was arrested by police 

after he tried to defy restrictions 

to march towards Kulgam 

district of south Kashmir. 

Geelani was arrested by police 

at New Airport Road outside 

his Humhama residence, a 

Hurriyat spokesman said.He 

said the separatist leader, who 

was under house arrest, was 

then taken to Police Station 

Humhama. The separatists 

had called for a march to Kulgam 

district, which has seen 10 

deaths in the unrest in the Valley. 

“Geelani tried to march towards 

Kulgam to participate in 

a rally for expressing solidarity 

with people,” the spokesman 

said. 

MAHARASTRA CM FADNAVIS HINTS AT FOUL 

PLAY IN NARSINGH DOPING SCANDAL 

Raising doubts on the 

possibility of foul play in 

the Narsingh Yadav doping 

scandal, Maharashtra Chief 

Minister Devendra Fadnavis 

hinted the wrestler 

may have been “tricked or 

framed”, while asking the 

Union Sports Minister to 

look into the case. 

CHINESE INCURSION IN U’KHAND 

Chinese troops recently 

violated the border in 

Chamoli district of Uttarakhand 

area and were seen 

camping along with arms 

despite the two nations having 

agreed to keep it a demilitarised 

area. 

The incident took place 

on July 19 when a team led 

by Chamoli District Magistrate 

and others including 

officials from ITBP went for 

a survey of Barahoti ground, 

official sources said. 

The sources said that the 

civilian team was sent back 

by Chinese People’s Liberation 

Army troops, who 

claimed it to be their land. 

The 80 square kilometre 

ground has been agreed 

by the two countries to be 

a disputed part since 1957 

TWO WOMEN ASSAULTED IN COW VIGILANTISM 

IN MP, OPP ATTACKS BJP 

In yet another instance of 

cow vigilantism, two Muslim 

women who were carrying 

buffalo meat were assaulted 

by people at a railway station 

on suspicion that it was 

beef in the presence of police 

which arrested the duo. 

The incident came close 

on the heels of the attack 

on dalit youths in Gujarat by 

cow vigilantes for skinning a 

dead cow, drawing outrage 

and triggering a slugfest between 

BJP and its rivals. 

Mandsaur Superintendent 

of Police Manoj Sharma 

said they received a call from 

a person on tuesday stating 

that two women were being 

manhandled by people on 

suspicion of carrying beef at 

SIDHU VERY MUCH IN BJP: RAJYA SABHA MP MALIK 

Not with standing Navjot 

Singh Sidhu’s criticism of 

the BJP leadership, a party 

MP from Punjab said he is 

still “very much in BJP”. 

“He (Sidhu) is a very senior 

member of the party. 

And, he may have quit Rajya 

Sabha but is still very much 

in the party,” Rajya Sabha 

member Shwait Malik said. 

He was responding to 

queries from the press at the 

Punjab Bhawan here over 

speculation that Sidhu may 

join the AAP. 

Days after quitting the 

Upper House, the cricketer-turned- 

politician had 

made clear his displeasure 

with BJP and targeted it, 

saying he was asked to stay 

away from Punjab. 

When asked about Sidhu’s 

criticism of the party, 

“There is a widespread 

belief that he has been 

tricked or framed by some 

vested interests, however, 

it’s difficult to substantiate 

the same without proper investigation,” 

Fadnavis wrote 

in a letter addressed to 

Sports Minister Vijay Goel. 

India’s build-up to the 

Rio Olympic Games was 

rocked when medal hopeful 

Narsingh was found to have 

tested positive for a banned 

substance. 

Narsingh, who was 

picked ahead of the double 

Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar 

to represent India at the 

Rio Games, has been put under 

provisional suspension. 

and was to be sorted out at 

the negotiating table by the 

two sides. 

Over the past few years, 

Chinese troops have been 

spotted in the area and even 

air violations have taken 

place in this area, the sources 

said. 

Chinese side had sent in 

a delegation on April 19, 

1958 for negotiations with 

their Indian counterparts 

and both sides had agreed 

not to send troops into the 

area but had avoided a discussion 

on final settlement 

of the Barahoti ground. 

The sources said that ever 

since this agreement, ITBP, 

which means the 3,488-km 

Sino-Indian border from 

Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir 

to Arunachal Pradesh 

the railway station. 

Two police constables, 

including a woman, then 

rushed to the platform and 

took the two women away, 

he said. 

After that, the meat was 

sent for examination which 

revealed that it was of buffalo, 

he said, adding one of the 

two women had earlier also 

been booked for carrying 

meat in an illegal manner. 

Following their arrest, the 

two women were produced 

before a local court which 

sent them in judicial remand 

under relevant sections of 

The Prevention of Cruelty to 

Animals Act-1960. 

“It is a law and order situation 

and people should 

exercise restraint. Under no 

circumstances, they should 

take the law in their hands. 

We are gradually making 

efforts to check such incidents,” 

the SP said 

Malik said, “You may want to 

put this query to Sidhu himself. 

I do not have the prerogative 

to comment on this 

and it is up to the party high 

command to talk about it.” 

Sidhu has alleged that he 

was told to keep away from 

the state to “serve personal 

interests,” apparently suggesting 

that BJP was acting 

under its ally Shiromani 

Akali Dal’s pressure. 

Sidhu also said he delivered 

the prestigious Amritsar 

seat to the party during 

adverse circumstances but 

was “drowned in the Modi 

wave” in 2014, when he was 

asked to shift from the constituency. 

In a brief interaction 

with the media on Monday, 

he had asserted that he 

will choose to serve Punjab 

Batting for the World 

Championship bronze medallist, 

who hails from his 

state, Fadnavis wrote to 

Goel, “You are aware that 

Mr Narsingh Yadav has been 

one of the most successful 

and award winning wrestlers 

from our country. We 

all were hoping that he will 

win a medal for our country 

in the Rio Olympic. 

It came to us as a shock 

that the result of his doping 

test was found positive for a 

banned substance. 

“Looking at his past record 

and the way he was 

preparing for Rio Olympics, 

it seems impossible that this 

may happen. He has been 

taking utmost care in his 

diet and was under proper 

training in accordance with 

the international norms.” 

in Northeast, had never entered 

the area with arms. 

However, shepherds from 

both sides were allowed to 

enter the ground. 

The Chinese troops have 

since the reported incursion 

returned even as apprehensions 

persisted that 

they may be taking undue 

advantage of the agreement 

of 1958 by pushing in their 

Asked about the attack 

on the two women, Madhya 

Pradesh Home Minister 

Bhupendra Singh denied 

that the two women were 

assaulted by other women 

passengers in police custody 

and said the policemen who 

were on the site had saved 

them during a scuffle. 

He claimed that the two 

women had an argument 

with fellow passengers and 

there was a scuffle involving 

both sides. 

“If they (the two women) 

give us any representation 

that something objectionable 

has happened, we will 

conduct an inquiry and ensure 

that the culprits are 

punished,” the minister said. 

Kotwali police station incharge 

M P Singh Parihar 

said they had received a 

“tip-off” that the two women 

were on their way to 

Mandsaur from Jaora with 

beef following which they 

“hundred times” above any 

party or family. 

Malik, a former Mayor 

of Amritsar, demanded 

that a high-level committee 

be constituted to examine 

why “Amritsar airport’s 

revenues are falling despite 

an increase in tourist 

influx”. 

“The annual tourist inflow 

has increased from 

200 million in 2010 to 350 

million now, but the airport 

is suffering a loss of Rs 50 

crore,” he claimed. 

Calling it the “rise and fall 

of Amritsar airport”, he had 

on tuesday raised this issue 

during Zero Hour in Rajya 

Sabha. 

Soon after failing dope 

test for taking an anabolic 

steroid, metadienone, Narsingh 

cried foul and said he 

was a victim of conspiracy. 

Fadnavis further said, 

“Hence I request you to 

kindly look personally into 

this case and to go into the 

depth of the incidence. The 

test may be conducted again 

and through scientific process, 

we should try to ascertain 

whether something has 

been done only with a view 

to make him fail the test. 

“I sincerely hope that you 

would take the steps with 

urgency and give justice to 

the medal aspirant sportsman 

our country.” 

Fadnavis, on Tuesday told 

the state Assembly that “justice” 

should be done to players 

like Narsingh. 

“Due to such episodes, 

genuine players like Narsingh 

Yadav are bearing the 

brunt. Justice should be 

done to him,” he said in the 

Lower House. 

soldiers into the area which 

they recognise as ‘Wu-Je’. 

While Uttarakhand Chief 

Minister Harish Rawat 

termed the development as 

“something to worry about” 

hoping that Centre will pay 

heed to his request for increased 

vigil, Union Minister 

of State for Home Kiren Rijiju 

said ITBP had been asked 

to look into the matter. 

were caught outside the railway 

station with nearly 30 

kg meat. 

“On examination it was 

found that the two women 

were not carrying beef and 

it was found to be buffalo 

meat,” he said. 

“No report was filed by 

them that they were beaten 

by radical elements at the 

station,” the police officer 

said. 

Opposition BSP and Congress 

created uproar in Rajya 

Sabha over the issue. The 

BJP-led Government was 

again targeted by the Opposition 

leaders which had accused 

it of being “anti dalit” 

after the Gujarat incident. 

BSP chief Mayawati hit 

out at BJP, alleging that on 

one hand, it talks of protecting 

the girl child and giving 

dignity and honour to women 

but on the other unleashes 

goons on them. 

“It was a profitable airport 

till 2010. But later, 

there was a conspiracy and 

flight operations were sabotaged 

as flights were gradually 

diverted to benefit the 

Delhi airport,” he alleged. 

On tourism facilities in 

Amritsar, Malik said, “The 

Centre has sanctioned Rs 

69 crore to the city under its 

Heritage Development and 

Augmentation Yojana (HRI- 

DAY) scheme and the Punjab 

government has added 

Rs 100 crore to it.” 

On the Parliament video 

row involving AAP MP 

Bhagwant Mann, he said, 

“It must be probed why 

he made that video of 

Parliament premises. 

INDIA TO BRING BACK STRANDED 

ELEPHANT FROM B’DESH 

The Centre has cleared 

a proposal to send a rescue 

team to Bangladesh to bring 

back an elephant stranded 

in the neighbouring country 

after being washed away by 

the strong currents of the 

Brahmaputra from Assam. 

Officials of the Union 

Ministry of Environment, 

Forest and Climate Change 

said on Tuesday that they 

had received the political 

clearance for the visit by an 

expert team to Bangladesh. 

The Chief Wildlife Warden 

of Assam is trying to 

get visa for members of the 

team. 

Project Elephant director 

R K Srivastava told the media 

from Delhi that it was 

decided to send the rescue 

team to the neighbouring 

country on August 3 for rescuing 

the jumbo but it would 

depend on factors like the 

weather condition. 

“The Project Elephant 

division of the ministry is 

constantly in touch with 

the Bangladesh forest department, 

Chief Wildlife 

Wardens of Assam and 

Meghalaya and other relevant 

agencies to rescue the 

stranded elephant and bring 

it back to India,” he said. 

Assam has constituted a 

team of five experts including 

Rithesh Bhattacharjee, 

retired conservator of forests 

of Assam, elephant expert 

Kaushik Baruah, DFO 

(Dhubri division) A S Talukder, 

etc. 

“The Bangladesh forest 

department is constantly 

tracking the movement of 

the stranded elephant,” the 

official said. 

On June 27 it was reported 

that a wild female elephant 

was separated from 

her herd in Assam and floated 

along with the currents 

of the Brahmaputra river 

into the neighbouring Bangladesh. 

In search of food, the 

pachyderm is now reportedly 

in conflict with villagers 

living in those regions. 

“The elephant has reportedly 

become feeble due to 

lack of food so her rescue at 

the earliest is necessary to 

prevent further distress to 

her as well as the locals living 

in the region,” an animal 

rights NGO Humane Society 

International had said in a 

statement recently. 

GUJARAT PROPOSES TO SELL 

SURPLUS POWER TO RAILWAYS 

Gujarat Finance Minister 

Saurabh Patel said he held a 

discussion with Union minister 

Suresh Prabhu over the 

state government’s prospect 

of selling surplus power to 

the Indian Railways. 

Patel said he held a meeting 

with Prabhu in New 

Delhi on Tuesday and discussed 

the prospect of Gujarat 

selling surplus power to 

the Indian Railways, which 

has been buying electricity 

from private firms beside 

state-run electricity boards 

of several states to meet its 

demand. 

“We discussed that Gujarat 

can offer its surplus power 

to the Railways. The meeting 

was positive as Prabhu 

has asked Railway officials 

to discuss the offer with the 

state government officials. 

Several power plants in Gujarat 

are staring closure due 

to lack of demand,” Patel told 

the media. 

“If this offer gets materialised, 

it will be a win-win 

situation for both Railway 

and the government. It can 

save the railway crores of 

rupees,” he said. 

Notably, Indian Railways 

also has a plan to procure 

440 MW of power for the 

western region, 350 MW 

for eastern and 220 MW for 

northern region. 

SPECTRUM, COAL ALLOCATION 

WAS TAMPERED WITH: CVC 

The allocation process of 

coal blocks and 2G spectrum 

was “tampered with” leading 

to ineligible people becoming 

beneficiaries and this has 

been “universally accepted”, 

Central Vigilance Commissioner 

K V Chowdary said on 

the alleged scams under the 

UPA. 

“If we look at two most 

controversial matters of recent 

times -- allocation of 

spectrum and allocation of 

coal, as of today there has 

not been a conclusive proof 

of X giving money to Y. The 

matter is under trial... What 

has been universally accepted 

is that the process was 

tampered with,” he said at a 

function. 

According to the sources, 

Chowdary said the tampered 

processes led to “ineligible 

people getting the allocation 

and the more eligible people 

missing the opportunity”. 

CBI is looking into allegations 

of corruption in allocation 

of second generation 

(2G) spectrum to telecom 

companies, besides coal 

block allocation. 

He said it is essential that 

all conditions are laid down 

properly in the tender documents 

and tendering processes 

are transparent. 

Chowdary was speaking 

at the ‘10th public procurement 

summit on enhancing 

transparency, efficiency and 

accountability’, organised by 

industry body Assocham. 

He said about 30 per 

cent of India’s Gross Domestic 

Product (GDP), which 

is about Rs 25 lakh crore, 

comes out of tendering of 

goods and services being 

procured by the government. 

The CVC noted that tendering 

processes in a few 

2 CRPF JAWANS INJURED IN 

IED BLAST IN CHHATTISGARH 

Two CRPF jawans were 

injured in a pressure bomb 

blast triggered by Naxals on 

an under-construction road 

in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit 

Dantewada district, 

police said. 

The incident took place 

when a team of Central Reserve 

Police Force (CRPF) 

personnel was patrolling to 

ensure security of the under-construction 

Aranpur 

(Dantewada)-Jagargunda 

(Sukma) road which passes 

through the restive dense 

forests, under Aranpur police 

station limits, a CRPF 

official told the media. 

When the security men 

were cordoning-off a patch 

near Kondapara village, two 

personnel inadvertently 

stepped over a pressure IED, 

triggering the blast. 

Constables Umashankar 

and Aman, belonging 

to CRPF’s 231st battalion, 

were injured in the blast, he 

said. 

Reinforcement was 

rushed to the spot and the 

cases take one to three years 

which need to be cut down. 

Chowdary said there 

was a need to apply certain 

checks on the issue of L-1 or 

a lowest bidder in any tendering 

process. 

“By and large, it is believed 

that L-1 is the best. But there 

may be several other issues,” 

he said, suggesting that the 

authorities need to look at 

other aspects of this provision. 

Chowdary said that the 

Commission is in the process 

of finalising a discussion 

paper to look into all 

the aspects of tendering and 

recommend comprehensive 

guidelines. 

injured were being taken to 

Dantewada from where they 

will be airlifted to Raipur for 

further treatment, the official 

said. 

Troopers have many a 

times suffered losses due to 

pressure IED blasts on this 

route in recent past, he said.

CITY 

HILIGHTS 





WORLD 

Iran announces May 19 

presidential election 

Tehran: Iran’s Guardian 

Council announced on Wednesday 

that next year’s presidential 

election will take place on May 

19 with embattled incumbent 

Hassan Rouhani expected to 

run for a second term. 

Rouhani, a moderate who 

oversaw a deal with world 

powers to end sanctions in exchange 

for curbing Iran’s nuclear 

programme, faces mounting 

pressure from conservatives 

who want to limit rapprochement 

with the West. 

Hardliners argue the nuclear 

deal has brought few economic 

benefits to struggling Iranians, 

and Rouhani has also been hit 

by a scandal over exorbitant 

pay at public sector companies 

after payslips were leaked to 

the media. 

Although the president is the 

public face of Iran to the world, 

real power remains with the 

supreme leader and institutions 

such as the Revolutionary 

Guards that are dominated by 

conservatives. 

If Rouhani loses, it would be 

the first time since the Islamic 

revolution in 1979 that a sitting 

president has not won a second 

term. No candidates have yet 

been formally announced. 

The conservative-minded 

Guardian Council oversees elections 

and has powers to veto 

candidates. 

Suicide bomber was 

former Somali MP: 

Shabaab 

Mogadishu: A former Somali 

MP who joined the Shabaab 

group in 2010 was one of two 

suicide bombers who killed 13 

people near a United Nations 

and African Union base, the militants 

announced on Wednesday. 

Car bombs driven by suicide 

attackers exploded on Tuesday 

morning near Mogadishu’s airport, 

one of which went off 200 

metres from the base, killing 

mainly security staff. 

Salah Badbado, 53, served 

in Somalia’s parliament from 

2004 until 2010, when he declared 

at a press conference he 

was leaving politics to join the 

Somali al-Qaeda affiliate. 

“Salah Nuh Ismail known as 

Salah Badbado was among the 

braves who have carried out the 

attack on Halane military base,” 

the group said in statement released 

on the Telegram app and 

their Andalus radio station. 

“He was a former lawmaker 

but he has repented from the 

apostasy in the year 2010 when 

he publicly announced defecting 

from the apostates,” the 

Shabaab statement said. 

The attack was condemned 

by the African Union and the 

United Nations, which said 

that none of its personnel were 

among the confirmed dead. 

Ships rescue 46 people 

from boat off Alaska 

Anchorage (US): Two ships 

brought 46 people to safety after 

they abandoned their sinking 

fishing boat and boarded life 

rafts off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. 

There were no reports of any 

injuries as the good Samaritan 

vessels rescued the crew members 

last evening, Coast Guard 

Petty Officer Lauren Steenson 

said.The ships then began a 13- 

hour voyage to port in Adak, 

Alaska. 

When the 220-foot Alaska 

Juris started taking on water 

on Tuesday, all crew members 

donned survival suits and got 

into three rafts.An emergency 

beacon alerted the Coast Guard 

to the sinking ship just after 

11:30 a.m. (local time). 

The Spar Canis and the Vienna 

Express rushed to the scene 

in response to the Coast Guard’s 

emergency broadcast for help, as 

did two other merchant vessels. 

“The good Samaritans’ willingness 

to respond was paramount 

to getting the Alaska Juris 

crew to safety,” Coast Guard District 

17 command duty officer Lt. 

Greg Isbell said. 

The Coast Guard also diverted 

the cutter Midgett and dispatched 

two C-130 transport 

planes and two helicopters from 

Kodiak to the site of the sinking 

ship, located near Kiska Island, 

which is about 690 miles west of 

Dutch Harbor, one of the nation’s 

busiest fishing ports. 

RUSSIANS POSSIBLY TRYING TO SWAY US 

POLLS: OBAMA ON DNC HACK 

Philadelphia: US President 

Barack Obama has 

said it is possible that Russia 

was trying to interfere 

in the US presidential election, 

after a leak of Democratic 

National Committee 

emails that have been attributed 

to Russian hackers 

by experts. 

“What we do know is 

that the Russians hack our 

systems.Not just government 

systems, but private 

systems. But you know, 

what the motives were in 

terms of the leaks, all that 

I can’t say directly,” Obama 

told in an interview. 

“What I do know is that 

Donald Trump has repeatedly 

expressed admiration 

HILLARY MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST 

WOMAN WHITE HOUSE NOMINEE 

Philadelphia: Hillary 

Clinton scripted history on 

Wednesday by becaming 

the first woman to win the 

presidential nomination 

of a major US party as she 

secured the backing of the 

Democrats at the convention 

to set up an epic clash 

with Republican rival Donald 

Trump in the November 

polls. 

Clinton, who has been 

secretary of state, first lady 

and a Senator from New 

York, secured her nomination 

at the Democratic National 

Convention here after 

a majority of the 4,764 

party delegates formally 

backed her. 

If elected in the November 

8 polls, Clinton would 

become America’s first female 

president and commander-in-chief. 

In an electrifying end 

to the Democratic convention’s 

second night, Clinton 

appeared by video from 

New York, saying, “What an 

INDONESIAN PREZ ANNOUNCES NEW CAB LINE-UP 

Jakarta: Indonesian 

President Joko “Jokowi” 

Widodo announced a new 

Cabinet line-up on Wednesday 

that returns a reformist 

to the Finance Ministry and 

puts a former head of the 

military in charge of security. 

Jokowi said that Sri 

MulyaniIndrawati, who 

was finance minister from 

CHINA TO CRACKDOWN ON CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO GREAT WALL 

Beijing: China will launch 

a campaign to crackdown 

on criminal damage to the 

country’s historic treasure, 

the Great Wall, which is decaying 

in many places. 

The campaign will be 

launched by China’s State 

Administration of Cultural 

Heritage (SACH) which 

will involve regular inspections 

and random checks 

on protection efforts by 

authorities in 15 provinces, 

autonomous regions and 

municipalities. 

The SACH will open a 

special tip-line for information 

about violations and 

damage to the Great Wall 

from the public, state-run 

Xinhua news agency reported. 

Built from the third century 

BC to the Ming Dynasty 

(1368-1644), the Great 

for Vladimir Putin,” 

he said as the interviewer 

promoted 

that it looks like he 

is suggesting that 

Putin might be motivated 

to prefer 

Trump in the White 

House. 

“Well, I am basing 

this on what Mr Trump 

himself has said. And I 

think that Trump’s gotten 

pretty favourable coverage 

back in Russia,” Obama said 

in response to a question. 

Asked if the Russians 

were trying to influence 

the US elections, Obama 

replied: “Anything is possible.” 

Obama’s comments 

come in the wake of release 

of emails by WikiLeaks 

which were obtained illegally 

by hacking into the 

server of the Democratic 

National Committee.These 

emails indicated that the 

party leadership supported 

Clinton in the primaries 

incredible honour that you 

have given me and I can’t 

believe we just put the biggest 

crack in that glass ceiling 

yet.” 

“This is really your victory. 

This is really your night. 

And if there are any little 

girls out there who stayed 

up late to watch, let me just 

say I may become the first 

woman president but one 

of you is next,” the 68-yearold 

said. 

Her rival from the primaries, 

Bernie Sanders 

moved a resolution for her 

nomination when the roll 

call got to his home state of 

Vermont sending out a vital 

message of unity for a party 

struck by deep divisions. 

“I move that Hillary Clinton 

be nominated as the 

Democratic Party’s presidential 

candidate of the 

United States,” Sanders said 

as he called for suspension 

of rules to pave the way for 

unanimous nomination of 

2005-2010, is returning to 

the role from her current 

position as managing director 

at the World Bank. 

In her first stint as finance 

minister she was praised 

for overhauling a corrupt 

taxation department 

and guiding the economy 

through the 2008 global financial 

crisis. 

Wiranto, a former general 

who was head of the 

military when Indonesia’s 

armed forces committed 

serious human rights 

abuses in East Timor, was 

named the minister for security, 

political and legal 

affairs. 

Wall stretches over 21,000 

kilometers from the northwestern 

province of Gansu 

to north China’s Hebei 

Province. 

Over a four million tourists 

visit the Great Wall every 

year as it is the centre of 

China’s tourism campaign. 

Each tourist pays about 

USD 17 to visit different 

places, specially in Beijing. 

According to SACH statistics, 

about 30 per cent 

of a 6,200-km section of 

the wall built in the Ming 

Dynasty has disappeared, 

and less than 10 per cent is 

considered well-preserved. 

The Great Wall has faced 

threats from both nature 

and humans. Earthquakes, 

rain, wind and other natural 

elements have left the 

wall with many decayed 

and crumbling bricks. 

against her rival Senator 

Bernie Sanders from Vermont. 

Meanwhile, the Democratic 

Party and the Clinton 

campaign acknowledged 

more emails could be released 

in the coming weeks, 

the timing of which would 

be scheduled to inflict most 

damage to the Democratic 

presidential nominee. 

“The WikiLeaks leak 

was obviously designed to 

hurt our convention. I don’t 

think they’re done. That’s 

how they operate,” Jennifer 

Palmieri, communications 

director for Hillary for 

America, told reporters at a 

news conference. 

“We can’t know, but it’s 

part of the reason that we 

wanted people to understand 

our belief that the 

Russians are behind this. 

People need to understand 

when these leaks happen 

what they’re designed to 

do,” she said. 

Clinton as the party’s 

presidential candidate. 

Moments later, the 

Democratic delegates 

nominated Clinton as 

the party’s presidential 

candidate, setting 

up a high-stakes 

showdown with Republican 

Trump. 

“This moment is for every 

little girl who dreams 

big.#WeMadeHistory,” 

tweeted Clinton. 

“Stronger together,” she 

said in another tweet. 

Clinton’s nomination 

was proposed by Congresswoman 

Barbara A Mikulski, 

the first Democratic 

woman elected to the Senate, 

and the first woman to 

chair the powerful Senate 

Committee on Appropriations. 

He replaced Luhut Binsar 

Pandjaitan, a close ally 

of Jokowi, who becomes 

the chief minister for maritime 

issues at a time when 

Southeast Asian nations 

are at odds with China over 

its territorial ambitions in 

the South China Sea. 

It is the second reorganization 

of Jokowi’s Cabinet 

since the maverick politician 

became president in 

2014, after defeating an establishment 

candidate in a 

national election. 

A total of 13 ministries 

were changed and nine of 

the ministers are new to 

the Cabinet. Many of the 

Human activities, 

such 

as reckless 

development 

by some governments 

and theft of 

bricks by 

local villagers 

for use 

as building 

materials, 

as well as agriculture near 

the wall, have damaged the 

landmark, according to a 

research by the China Great 

Wall Society. 

The lack of protection 

efforts in remote regions 

and a weak plan have also 

contributed to the damage, 

the society said. 

In 2006, China released 

a national regulation on 

Great Wall protection.However, 

Great Wall experts 

In an interview to CNN, 

Wikileaks founder Julian 

Assange said they plan to 

release more emails in the 

coming weeks. 

“What we have right 

now is the Hillary Clinton 

campaign using a speculative 

allegation about hacks 

that have occurred in the 

past to try and divert attention 

from our emails, 

another separate issue that 

WikiLeaks has published,” 

he said. 

“I think this raises a very 

serious question, which is 

that the natural instincts of 

Hillary Clinton and the people 

around her, that when 

confronted with a serious 

domestic political scandal, 

that she tries to blame the 

Russians, blame the Chinese, 

etc,” he said. 

“If she does that when 

she’s in government, that’s 

a political, managerial style 

that can lead to conflict,” 

Assange said. 

“It is with a full heart 

that I am here today as we 

nominate Hillary Clinton to 

be the first woman president,” 

she said. 

“Many of you have broken 

barriers. You were the 

first to go to college. You 

were the first to start a 

business. Maybe the first to 

be a citizen. But you knew 

when you broke a barrier 

you didn’t do it for yourself. 

You did it so others would 

not have to face them again. 

That’s what Hillary wants 

to do. She wants to break 

down all the barriers to opportunity,” 

Mikulski said. 

Legendary civil rights 

leader and Congressman 

John Lewis seconded Clinton’s 

name as the Democratic 

presidential nominee. 

new appointments were 

in economy-related ministries, 

reflecting Jokowi’s 

focus on developing an 

economy that is one of the 

largest in Asia but suffers 

from weak infrastructure 

and entrenched poverty. 

“We have to resolve the 

poverty problem. We have 

to reduce the economic 

gap between the rich and 

the poor, the gap among 

regions,” Jokowi said. “We 

have to strengthen the national 

economy, we have 

to open job opportunities 

as wide as possible for the 

people. 

have urged local authorities 

to draw up more practical 

measures to better implement 

the regulation. 

This year, Inner Mongolia 

Autonomous Region 

included Great Wall protection 

expenditures in its 

budget. The government 

of Fangcheng City, Henan 

Province, began a campaign 

for conservation experts 

and local residents to work 

together to protect the wall. 

3 THAI ACTIVISTS CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL DEFAMATION 

Bangkok: Three Thai 

human rights activists have 

been charged with criminal 

defamation over a report 

that detailed alleged systematic 

torture inside military 

enclosures in the country’s 

southern provinces. 

All three denied the 

charges and were freed on 

Wednesday without having 

to post bail.They were 

freed on the condition they 

submit detailed testimony 

to the lead investigator in 

the case, explaining circumstances 

around the study 

they wrote. 

They have about two 

months to submit the report 

so the investigator can 

decide whether to go ahead 

with the case, said one the 

activists’ lawyers, Preeda 

Nakphew from the Cross 

Cultural Foundation advocacy 

group. 

The charges involve a report 

the three issued alleging 

torture by security forces 

in Thailand’s southern 

provinces, where a Muslim 

insurgency has lasted more 

than a decade. If convicted 

they face up to five years in 

jail. 

Amnesty International 

has called on Thai 

authorities to drop the 

charges and instead investigate 

the allegations 

in the report. 

The report issued in 

February described acts of 

torture in the southern provinces 

as systematic and said 

that in spite of complaints 

and campaigns by victims 

and rights organizations, 

“the state has not taken any 

significant action to prevent 

and address torture.” 

Government spokesman 

Winthai Suvaree said in response 

to their report that 

there was no evidence to 

support the allegations. 

In a separate case, the 

niece of an army conscript 

who was tortured to death 

by soldiers was released on 

bail early Wednesday after 

being arrested a day earlier 

on a complaint filed by a 

military officer over her internet 

postings. 

She was taken to the 

province of Narathiwat, 

800 kilometers (500 miles) 

south of Bangkok late Tuesday 

night, where she denied 

the charges. She was let out 

on bail early on Wednesday. 

Naritsarawan Kaewnopparat 

posted photos last 

year of her uncle’s body and 

information about the torture 

he endured. She was 

arrested at her workplace in 

Bangkok on charges of criminal 

defamation and violating 

the Computer Crime Act. 

The military officer behind 

the defamation suit 

against Naritsarawan was 

one of the 10 army officers 

involved in the torture of her 

uncle. 

Military personnel are 

rarely prosecuted for human 

rights abuses or other 

crimes in Thailand, and the 

military government that 

seized power in May 2014 

has clamped down on free 

speech. 

INDIA QUITE CAPABLE OF MEETING 100 SMART CITY GOAL 

Singapore: India is more 

than capable of achieving 

its 100 Smart City goal but 

needs a “collaborative” and 

focussed approach to complete 

the ambitious plan, a 

top executive of a leading 

global Financial services 

company has said. 

“With its ambitious plan, 

it is more crucial than ever 

for India to stay realistic and 

focused. (For) Smart city 

planning and development, 

India needs a collaborative 

approach of shared technology, 

expertise, learning and 

governance. That is what 

India needs to keep focused 

on to meet their 100 Smart 

City goal,” said Hany Fam, 

Executive Vice President, Enterprise 

Partnerships, Mastercard. 

He noted that India was 

working towards leveraging 

the smart city experience 

and technology available 

across the globe to drive the 

transformation it needs. Fam, 

however, cautioned that it 

was also important not to 

overlook the current problems 

plaguing society while 

they ambitiously work on developing 

India’s future. 

“In order to unlock cities’ 

full potential, they (India) 

need to remain focused on 

simultaneously developing 

basic services and infrastructure,” 

Fam said. 

India needs to keep its 

smart city vision in mind 

while it addresses issues such 

as sanitation and transport, 

in order to achieve its 100 

Smart City goal. 

“It needs time, patience 

and work, but with a solid 

plan, governance and focus, 

India is more than capable of 

achieving it,” he stressed. 

The major concern for 

India is tackling the implications 

of urbanisation, with 

people moving from countryside 

to cities in unprecedented 

numbers, Fam said. 

“This is a trend that has 

global impact and is not 

specific to developing economies. 

So now, more than 

ever, there is a need to come 

up with technology that can 

be applied to the challenges 

cities face in order to make 

cities smarter, enabling business 

growth and quality of 

life,” he advised. 

A collaborative approach 

is needed with regards to 

shared technology, expertise 

and learning in order to recognise 

the potential in future 

cities and deliver truly impactful 

transformation, Fam 

said. 

“The Indian government 

has ambitious plans and recently 

announced 20 priority 

cities that will be the focus 

for the first phase of its smart 

city investment,” he said. 

“By taking into account 

the experiences citizens have 

with the city they live in, and 

applying technology to transform 

these interactions, we 

(Mastercard) can help to develop 

cities that are dynamic, 

liveable and sustainable,” he 

said. 

Mastercard is already 

working with 50 cities from 

all over the globe. In September 

last year, the company 

launched the Urbanomics 

Mobility Project, a new data 

analysis platform to fuel 

smarter, more inclusive cities. 

ONE DEAD IN MEXICO AFTER FUEL THEFT CAUSES SPILL 

Coatzacoalcos (Mexico): 

Fuel thieves pierced a pipeline 

in eastern Mexico, causing 

a spill that killed a man 

who fainted from the fumes 

and fell down a ravine, authorities 

said. 

Six other people were 

intoxicated after they approached 

the spill in Veracruz 

state to scoop up fuel, a 

police officer in the town of 

Ixtaczoquitlan said on condition 

of anonymity because he 

was not authorised to speak 

publicly. 

The state civil protection 

agency said in a statement on 

Tuesday that a 43-year-old 

man died “from being close to 

the location and inhaling the 

vapours, fainting and falling 

in a gully.” 

Some 600 people were 

evacuated from their homes 

while workers from the 

state-run Pemex energy firm 

worked to clean up the spill 

and fix the pipeline. 

Fuel thefts have increased 

in Mexico in recent years as 

drug cartels and other gangs 

diversify their illegal activities. 

Thousands of illegal taps 

were discovered in pipelines 

last year. 

Illegal taps have caused 

environmental disasters and 

deaths in the past. 

In April 2015, some 

100,000 people were left 

without drinking water in the 

southern state of Tabasco after 

oil spilled into rivers. 

In December 2010, an illegal 

tap caused a deadly explosion 

that killed 29 people in 

the central town of San Martin 

Texmelucan. 

TRUMP CASHED IN ON 9/11 TERROR ATTACKS: DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER 

Philadelphia: A top Democratic 

lawmaker has accused 

Republican presidential 

candidate Donald Trump 

of cashing in on the 9/11 

terror attacks even as he applauded 

Hillary Clinton’s role 

as the New York senator in 

the aftermath of the tragedy. 

“Where was Donald 

Trump in the days, and 

months, and the years after 

9/11? He didn’t stand at the 

pile. He didn’t lobby Congress 

for help. He didn’t fight for the 

first responders,” Congressman 

Joe Crowley asked in his 

address to the Democratic 

National Convention. 

“He cashed in, collecting 

USD 150,000 in federal funds 

intended to help small businesses 

recover, even though 

days after the attack, Trump 

said his properties were not 

affected,” Crowley said. 

On the other hand, Hillary, 

the Democratic presidential 

nominee sought those funds 

to help local mom and pop 

shops get back on their feet, 

he said. 

“Donald Trump saw it as a 

payday for his empire. It was 

one of our nation’s darkest 

days, but for Trump, it was 

just another chance to make 

a quick buck,” he said. 

“Hillary has never and will 

never forget the reality of that 

day, and that is why she will 

never give up on making us a 

better and stronger nation,” 

said Crowley, who is a former 

Co-Chair of the Congressional 

Caucus on India and Indian 

Americans. 

Crowley said Hillary Clinton, 

as the then Senator from 

New York understood the 

pain of the 9/11 families. 

AFP 

“She fought to help our city 

rebuild, and she delivered. 

People forget, but the assistance 

package that was first 

proposed didn’t have a dime, 

not a dime for New York. Hillary 

helped turn that around, 

securing USD 20 billion we 

need to help get New York 

going again,” he said. 

“But she didn’t stop there. 

Hundreds worked on the pile 

in the days after 9/11. First, 

they came to find survivors, 

but eventually searched for 

remains. They didn’t worry 

about their own health. They 

were told the air was fine, but 

it wasn’t,” he added. 

“And when health issues 

emerged years later, Hillary 

Clinton was still by their side. 

She brought families and first 

responders to Washington. 

She took them door to door, 

never letting her colleagues 

forget the consequences of 

that terrible day,” Crowley 

said. 

“For almost a decade, Hillary 

never gave up, and she 

was there with us when the 

9/11 Health and Compensation 

Act was finally passed,” 

he said.

CITY 

HILIGHTS 





BUSINESS 

MONSOON TO PUSH GDP GROWTH TO 

OVER 8% THIS FISCAL: PANAGARIYA 

New Delhi: A good monsoon 

can help add “a percentage 

point” to India’s 

GDP growth in the current 

fiscal, from 7.6 per cent 

in 2015-16, NITI Aayog 

Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya 

said on Wednesday 

expressing confidence 

in crossing the 8 per cent 

mark. 

“I am very optimistic 

particularly encouraged by 

the monsoon. Monsoon will 

deliver this time. We can expect 

some pretty robust agriculture 

growth,” Panagariya 

told reporters on the 

sidelines of a conference of 

chief secretaries and planning 

secretaries here. 

“If the agriculture growth 

does pan out on those lines 

that adds up a percentage 

point to the growth. That 

really makes crossing 8 per 

cent quite probable. We 

should cross 8 per cent in 

2016-17,” he added. 

Indian economy grew 

7.9 per cent in March 

quarter and recorded 

a five-year high growth 

rate of 7.6 per cent for the 

2015-16 fiscal on robust 

manufacturing growth. 

Enthused by the impressive 

numbers for the 

last fiscal, as against 7.2 per 

cent in 2014-15, the government 

had also said that 

the growth rate can go up 

to 8 per cent in the current 

fiscal on the back of a good 

monsoon. 

The farm sector also 

rebounded to the growth 

zone, as against a contraction 

in previous fiscal, although 

the rate of expansion 

was low at 1.2 per cent 

in 2015-16. 

About Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi’s visit to 

NITI Aayogon on 28 July, he 

said: “We will be discussing 

with the Prime Minister 

precisely the Vision (15 

years till 2030), Strategy (7 

Years) and Action Plan (3 

years) documents. We will 

seek his guidance on these 

documents and share our 

views.” 

On states continuing 

with five-year plan system 

JAPAN READY FOR $266 BN STIMULUS 

Tokyo: Japan launched 

an economic stimulus package 

worth more than 28 

trillion yen (USD 266 billion) 

on Wednesday, days 

before the central bank is 

expected to unveil its own 

growth-boosting measures. 

Prime Minister Shinzo 

Abe announced the programme 

in a speech in 

southwestern Japan, giving 

few details except to say 

it would include about 13 

trillion yen in fiscal measures 

including government 

spending. 

More highlights of the 

package were expected 

next week when the cabinet 

is due to approve the 

measures announced in the 

city of Fukuoka. 

Abe promised a stimulus 

package which earlier 

reports had varied at being 

worth 10 to 30 trillion 

yen after Britain’s vote last 

month to quit the European 

Union sparked a rally in the 

yen that threatened profits 

at Japan Inc. 

Traders tend to buy Japan’s 

currency as a safe bet 

in times of turmoil or uncertainty. 

But it makes the 

country’s exporters less 

competitive overseas and 

takes a bite out of their bottom 

line. 

BUSINESS HISTORY 

which was abolished by the 

Centre, he said the government 

is not imposing anything 

on states. Some states 

will continue with their 

plans. 

“As you know, the Planning 

Commission was replaced 

by the NITI Aayog, 

in most of the states Planning 

Boards are continuing. 

There are certain things 

which require aligning, for 

example the distinction 

between the Plan and Non- 

Plan expenditure. This will 

disappear starting 2017- 

18. But states that keep the 

planning (old process), they 

will then be free to choose 

what expenditure they 

want to classify as Plan expenditure 

at state levels,” he 

added. 

On abolition of Railway 

Budget and changing financial 

year to calender year, he 

said no decision has been 

taken in this regard as yet. 

Earlier, NITI Aayog Member 

Bibek Debroy had said 

that abolition of Railway 

Budget and change of financial 

year to calender year 

will be a reality by 2018. 

On currency markets, 

the dollar jumped as high 

as 106.54 yen from around 

105.01 yen in the morning, 

after Fuji Television flagged 

the stimulus on Wednesday 

afternoon.It was sitting at 

105.54 yen after the announcement. 

The news comes as 

speculation mounts that 

the Bank of Japan will further 

ease monetary policy 

after a two-day meeting 

on Friday.Since taking the 

helm more than three years 

ago BoJ governor Haruhiko 

Kuroda has overseen a 

NEW SUITOR OFFERS $1.3 BN FOR 

SAHARA’S OVERSEAS HOTELS 

London / New Delhi: 

Scurrying for funds, embattled 

Sahara group has got a 

USD 1.3 billion offer from a 

new suitor for its three prized 

overseas hotels including the 

Grosvenor House and Park 

Plaza. 

A consortium of family 

office investors, comprising 

of Jesdev Saggar-led 3 Associates 

of the UK and others 

from the Middle East, has 

made the offer to acquire Sahara 

group’s majority stake 

in the three marquee hotel 

properties, the famed Grosvenor 

House in London, Park 

Plaza and Dream Downtown 

hotels in New York. 

When contacted, Saggar, 

Managing Director at 3 Associates 

said, they have made a 

“very compelling offer” and it 

was a long-term investment 

opportunity for them. 

“This is a long-term investment 

opportunity for us. We 

have submitted a very compelling 

offer. It is now up to 

the Supreme Court and the 

massive asset-buying plan 

that now stands at an unprecedented 

80 trillion yen 

annually. 

The scheme is a cornerstone 

of Abe’s push to beat 

years of deflation and kickstart 

growth, dubbed Abenomics. 

Roy family,” he said. 

While there were no immediate 

comments from 

Sahara group on whether 

it considered the latest bid 

to be good to be accepted, it 

may trigger a bidding war as 

the beleaguered Indian group 

was already in talks with Qatar-based 

investors for a potential 

deal for these hotels. 

3 Associates founders and 

its Multi Family office network 

has completed over 314 

million pounds worth transactions 

since 2014, including 

hotels and commercial offices 

in the UK, UAE and India. 

It claims to have “access 

to one of the largest pools 

of family office equity in the 

Middle East”. 

When asked whether they 

were looking at more assets 

in the UK and other places 

of other distressed Indian 

groups, Saggar said, “We are 

focused on the UK”. 

Sahara group, whose Chief 

Subrata Roy was in jail for 

over two years in connection 

with a long-running dispute 

with markets regulator Sebi 

and is currently out on parole, 

has been trying hard to 

raise funds including through 

refinancing of loans on its 

overseas hotels. 

‘CALL DROPS’ SITUATION TO BE IM- 

PROVED IN 3-4 MONTHS 

New Delhi: There will be 

positive results in the next 

3-4 months in addressing 

the problem of call drops, 

Telecom Minister Manoj 

Sinha told the Lok Sabha on 

Wednesday, while expressing 

commitment to get rid 

of the “black spot”. 

Sinha said he had a meeting 

with telecom operators 

two days ago where several 

instructions have been given 

to improve the situation 

on call drops front. 

“We will resolve the 

problem of call drops. In 

next 3-4 months we will 

see some positive results. 

Ye kaaladhabba hum mitakar 

hi rahenge (We will 

certainly remove this black 

spot),” he said. 

Sinha said the telecom 

operators will invest 

around Rs 20,000 crore to 

improve their infrastructure 

and install one lakh 

base transceiver station 

(BTS) to offer better services 

to customers. 

Replying to a supplementary, 

Sinha said the 

Telecom Ministry is in 

touch with the Telecom 

Regulatory Authority of India 

to ensure enhancement 

of the validity of mobile and 

mobile data from present 

90 days to 365 days. 

“For making provision of 

longer validity (365 days) 

of mobile internet plans 

instead of current validity 

period (maximum 90 days), 

the TRAI has released 

‘Draft Telecom Consumers 

Protection (Tenth Amendment) 

Regulations 2016 on 

July 5 seeking comments of 

stakeholders,” he said. 

YAMUNOTRI TEMPLE MEENAKSHI AMMAN TEMPLE IN MADURAI 

Meenakshi 

Yamunotri Temple is 

situated in the western 

region of Garhwal Himalayas 

at an altitude 

of 3,291 metres (10,797 

ft) in Uttarkashi district, 

Uttarakhand. The temple 

is dedicated to Goddess 

Yamuna and has a 

black marble idol of the 

goddess. The Yamunotri 

temple is a full day’s journey 

from Uttarakhand’s 

main towns,Rishikesh, 

Haridwar or Dehradun. 

The actual temple is only 

accessible by a 13 kilometres 

(8.1 mi) trek from the 

town of Hanuman Chatti 

and a 6 kilometres (3.7 

mi) walk from JankiChatti; 

horses or palanquins 

are available for rent. The 

hike from Hanuman Chatti 

to Yamunotri is very 

picturesque with beautiful 

views of a number of 

waterfalls. 

There are two trekking 

routes from Hanuman 

Chatti to Yamunotri, the 

one along the right bank 

proceeds via the MarkandeyaTirth, 

where the 

sage Markandeya wrote 

the MarkandeyaPurana, 

the other route which lies 

on the left bank of the river 

goes via Kharsali, from 

where Yamunotri is a five 

or six hours climb away. 

History 

Yamunotri temple has 

a shrine dedicated to the 

goddess. There is also an 

18th-century temple at 

Gangotri, it was built by 

Amar Singh Thapa, it was 

damaged and re-innovated 

in the 19th century. 

The temple has been destroyed 

twice by snow 

and floods before being 

rebuilt. It is located on 

the backdrop of Bandarpunch. 

The temple is part 

of the revered Char Dham 

pilgrimage circuit. 

Temple and vicinity 

The temple opens on 

AkshayaTritiya (May) and 

closes on Yama Dwitiya 

(the second day after Diwali, 

November) for the 

winter. A little ahead is 

the actual source of the 

river Yamuna which is 

at an altitude of about 

4,421 metres (14,505 ft) 

approximately. Two hot 

springs are also present 

at Yamunotri offering 

relief to tired hikers at a 

height of 3,292 metres 

(10,801 ft), Surya Kund, 

has boiling hot water, 

while GauriKund, had 

tepid water suitable for 

bathing. The spring water 

is said to be hot enough to 

cook rice and potatoes. 

Lodging at the temple 

itself is limited to a 

few small ashrams and 

guest-houses. Ritual duties 

such as the making 

and distribution of prasad 

(sanctified offerings) and 

the supervision of pujas 

(ritual venerations) 

are performed by the 

Uniyal family of pujaris 

(priests). Unique aspects 

of ritual practice at the 

site include hot springs 

where raw rice is cooked 

and made into prasad. 

Amman 

Temple is a historic Hindu 

temple located on the 

southern bank of the Vaigai 

River in the temple 

city of Madurai, Tamil 

Nadu, India. It is dedicated 

to Parvati, known as 

Meenakshi, and her consort, 

Shiva, here named 

Sundareswarar. 

The temple forms the 

heart and lifeline of the 

2,500-year-old city of 

Madurai and is a significant 

symbol for the Tamil 

people, mentioned since 

antiquity in Tamil literature. 

Though the present 

structure was built between 

1623 and 1655 CE. 

It is said that the temple 

was actually built in the 

6th century BC by survivors 

of the KumariKandam. 

In 14th century, the Mughal 

Muslim Commander 

Malik Kafur plundered the 

temple and looted it of its 

valuables. It was rebuilt 

by the Nayak ruler VishwanathaNayakar 

around 

the 16th century. It was 

Vishwanatha Nayak who 

rebuilt the temple in accordance 

to shilpashastra. 

It houses 14 gopurams 

(gateway towers), ranging 

from 45–50m in height. 

The tallest is the southern 

tower, 51.9 metres (170 

ft) high, and two golden 

sculptured vimanas, the 

shrines over the garbhagrihas 

(sanctums) of the 

main deities. 

The temple attracts 

15,000 visitors a day, 

around 25,000 on Fridays, 

and receives an annual 

revenue of 60 million. 

There are an estimated 

33,000 sculptures in the 

temple. It was on the list 

of top 30 nominees for the 

“New Seven Wonders of 

the World”. The temple is 

the most prominent landmark 

and most visited 

tourist attraction in the 

city. The annual 10-day 

Meenakshi Tirukalyanam 

festival, celebrated during 

April and May, attracts 1 

million visitors. The gopura 

of the Meenakshi Amman 

Temple forms a part 

of the Seal of Tamil Nadu. 

Temple History: 

POWER RATES KEPT UNCHANGED 

IN POLL-BOUND PUNJAB 

Chandigarh: Power tariff 

in Punjab was kept unchanged 

by the state power 

regulator, giving a relief to 

the people of the poll-bound 

state. 

The Punjab State Electricity 

Regulatory Commission 

(PSERC) did not raise the 

power tariff for Punjab State 

Power Corporation Limited 

(PSPCL). 

According to legend, 

the sacred Suyambulingam 

discovered by the 

king of Gods Indira at 

Kadambavanam, was later 

enshrined by him in 

Madurai. The fact that the 

Lord is seen on the vehicle 

of Indira in this temple is 

said to be proof for this. 

Many historical evidences 

of the temple 

have been found dating 

back from early A.D. The 

temple was almost completely 

destroyed in the 

year 1310 following the 

invasion of the Islamic 

conqueror Malikkapur.As 

kings who were followers 

of Islam were noted for 

their intolerance towards 

other religions, the invaders 

destroyed most of the 

ancient sculptures of the 

The regulator slashed tariff 

rates for industrial consumers 

for financial year 2016-17. 

For the industrial users, the 

rate for small power, medium 

supply and large supply was 

slashed by 38 paise, 36 paise 

and 11 paise respectively. 

The announcement came 

as a relief for the people of 

Punjab which is going to assembly 

elections next year. 

The regulator has also decided 

to reduce tariff for various 

industrial categories. 

temple. 

Thirugnanasambandar 

the Hindu Saint has 

mentioned the temple in 

his songs which go back 

to early 7th century. The 

Lord has been described 

as AlavaiIraivan in his 

songs.The temple was restored 

to its pristine glory 

in the late 14th century 

when the Hindu Kings 

came back to power in 

Madurai.This can also be 

termed as a new beginning 

of a new era in the history 

of the temple, when it was 

almost rebuilt. The King 

ThirumalaiNaicker played 

an important role in the 

construction of the new 

form of the temple according 

to records. 

This is the second consecutive 

year that power tariffs 

were not raised in the state. 

Last year, after a gap of eight 

years, no power tariff hike 

was announced.There will be 

no change in the tariff for other 

categories, PSERC Chairman 

D S Brains said. 

The PSERC has also determined 

consolidated revenue 

surplus for 2016-17 in respect 

of PSPCL as Rs 165.94 

crore. 

The Madurai Meenakshi 

Amman Temple is now 

under the administration 

of the HR and CE department 

of Tamil Nadu. 

Religious significance 

of the temple 

A distinct feature of 

Meenakshi in terms of iconography 

is the presence 

of parrot in her right hand. 

The parrot is generally associated 

with the Vaishnavaazhwar 

saint Andal. 

“PanchaSabhai” refers to 

the five royal courts of 

Nataraja (dancing form 

of Shiva) where he performed 

cosmic dance. The 

Tamil word velli means 

silver and ambalam means 

stage or altar. This massive 

Nataraja sculpture is 

enclosed in a huge silver 

altar and hence called 

“VelliAmbalam” (silver 

abode). This is a special 

figure of Natarja which 

usually differs from Chola 

bronzes; in the Chola 

images, Nataraja is shown 

dancing with his left leg 

raised, but this sculpture 

has the right leg raised. 

According to the TiruvilayaadalPuranam 

(Shiva’s 

sacred games), this is 

on the request of Rajasekara 

Pandya, who was a 

sincere devotee of Shiva. 

He requested the deity to 

change his position, as he 

felt that keeping the same 

foot raised would put 

enormous strain and got 

a graceful acquiescence 

from the divine master.

CITY 

HILIGHTS 





BUSINESS SPORTS 

NARSINGH REPLACED BY RANA, 

SCANDAL REACHES POLICE 

Narsingh fails 2nd dope 

test, Olympic hopes fade 

New Delhi: Narsingh Yadav’s 

hopes of competing 

in the Olympics seemed 

bleak by Wednesday after 

the wrestler failed a second 

dope test which was conducted 

on him on July 5. 

It is learnt that Narsingh, 

already under provisional 

suspension for failing a 

June 25 dope test, has also 

flunked the second test 

done on both his ‘A’ and ‘B’ 

samples taken on July 5. 

“It’s the same substance 

that was found in the first 

test. It was unlikely that it 

would go out of the system,” 

a Wrestling Federation of 

Indian source said referring 

to banned anabolic steroid 

methandienone. 

Narsingh has been claiming 

that he has been framed 

in the scandal by rivals, 

who, he alleged, spiked 

his food supplements and 

meals. 

But the 26-year-old’s 

food supplements have reportedly 

been found to be 

clean in tests conducted 

after his allegations, dealing 

a further blow to his Rio 

hopes. 

Scandal Reaches Police 

VARUN SCORES DOUBLE AS INDIA 

BEAT HAMPSTEAD & WESTMINSTER 

Marlow (England): India’s 

junior men’s hockey 

team beat Hampstead and 

Westminster 3-0 in their 

encounter at the Bisham 

Abbey Sports Centre on 

Wednesday. 

GASTON SANGOY, WALTER 

IBEZ TO JOIN MUM FC 

continually 

Mumbai: Mumbai City 

FC announced the signing 

of two South American 

players from Argentina 

and Uruguay for the third 

season of the Indian Super 

League on Wednesday. 

The overseas stars Gaston 

Sangoy and Walter Ibez 

are all set to strengthen and 

reinforce the squad. 

Gaston Sangoy, a 31 year 

Argentinian striker has 

previously won the Cyprus 

Cup in 2009-10 and more 

recently, the Polish I Liga 

in 2015-16. Having represented 

some of the major 

clubs throughout his career 

including Sporting Gijon, 

Apollon and Boca Juniors 

to name a few, Sangoy has 

On Wednesday Narsingh 

Yadav identifying two fellow 

grapplers as the saboteurs 

who would have contaminated 

his food with a 

banned steroid, in a formal 

police complaint. 

Narsingh filed an FIR at 

the Sonepat Police Station 

naming two fellow wrestlers, 

one of them a 17-yearold, 

and persisted with his 

demand for a CBI probe into 

the scandal that has sent 

shockwaves into the Indian 

sporting fraternity. 

“I have always maintained 

that there has been 

a conspiracy against me. If 

I am cleared of the charges, 

I will go to Rio. I have identified 

the boy who was seen 

contaminating my food. I 

have given a detailed complaint 

to the police,” Narsingh 

told reporters after 

filing his complaint. 

“I feel even officials are 

involved because I am not 

being provided the CCTV 

footage,” he added. 

Narsingh himself desisted 

from taking names but 

WFI President Brij Bhushan 

Sharan Singh revealed them 

while talking to the media. 

“We suspect Jitesh, who 

fights in the 75kg category, 

and Sumit, both of them 

live in Chhatarsaal. And 

one of them has admitted 

to spiking Narsingh’s food. I 

can’t say on the conspiracy 

A cautious start to the 

game meant both teams 

played the ball in the midfield, 

with neither breaking 

out into the other circle. 

The opportunity galvanised 

the Indian team and soon 

shown 

fortitude when it 

has come to his performance. 

Joining Sangoy, 

would be Uruguayan 

center back, Walter 

Ibez who has spent 

a major part of his 

career playing for 

the top divisions in 

South America. Ibez 

has been the recipient 

of the Peru Copa 

Inca in 2014 and 

the Top Chilean League in 

2014-15 and is looking forward 

to bringing home the 

cup for his new team Mumbai 

City FC this year. 

Alexandre Guimaraes, 

Coach, Mumbai City FC on 

and can’t say whether they 

did this on their own or on 

someone’s asking. We cannot 

investigate this but we 

support Narsingh’s demand 

for a CBI inquiry,” Brij Bhushan 

Sharan said here. 

Sports Minister Vijay 

Goel, on the other hand, 

stuck to his stand that the 

government will abide by 

international rules when it 

comes to deciding on Narsingh’s 

trip to Rio in the aftermath 

of the controversy. 

“If nothing is found in the 

food supplements then it 

would be considered a positive 

dope test. He was told 

not to train in Sonepat and 

all Olympic-bound athletes 

were given the option of 

customised training,” Goel 

said. 

“This controversy should 

end. National Anti-Doping 

Agency is affiliated to World 

Anti-Doping Agency. We 

can’t decide alone, we are 

trying to ensure that none 

of our athletes test positive 

for dope in Rio. NADA has 

been been educating athletes 

about doping, even 

after this if something has 

happened than law will 

take it’s own course. The 

conspiracy angle will be investigated,” 

he added. 

Praveen Rana named 

as Narsingh’s replacement 

they were the 

ones using the 

flanks to create 

chances. 

Unfortunately 

though they 

weren’t being 

translated into 

goals. 

With half 

time approaching 

Ajay Pandey 

scored the 

opener to give 

India the lead. 

In the second half, Simranjeet 

and Nilakanta had 

two quick chances denied 

by Hampstead & Westminster’s 

goalkeeper, before 

Varun Kumar capitalised on 

a penalty corner to convert 

Wednesday said, “Gaston is 

a proven striker and a goal 

getter. He is a great asset up 

front and will always keep 

the opposition on their 

toes. Walter is a winner and 

if you see over the last two 

seasons, he has had over 

The Wrestling Federation 

of India (WFI) has sent 

Praveen Rana’s name as 

replacement for Narsingh 

Yadav. 

Wrestling Federation of 

India had kept Rana and 

Jitender as stand-bys for 

Narsingh, which had ruled 

out Sushil Kumar’s chances 

of going to Rio. 

Freestyle wrestler Rana 

had earlier won a gold medal 

in the 74kg category at 

the Dave Schultz Memorial 

wrestling tournament in 

USA in 2014. 

“His name is sent as date 

of replacement was given as 

July 25 and that’s why the 

name is sent to the world 

body. We would still hope 

Narsingh is proved innocent 

and goes to Rio,” WFI 

President BrijBhushanSharan 

Singh said. 

After failing the dope 

test, Narsingh was put under 

provisional suspension. 

Narsingh, who earned 

the Rio quota after winning 

a World Championships 

bronze, was earlier picked 

ahead of double Olympic 

medallist Sushil Kumar.A 

day after Narsingh failed 

the dope test, his roommate 

at SAI (Sports Authority of 

India), Sonepat, Sandeep 

Tulsi Yadav also failed a 

dope test. 

for a 2-0 lead. 

Hampstead & Westminster 

soon started exerting 

pressure on the Indian defence, 

controlling the ball 

and creating the chances. 

India’s defence held strong 

though and playing on the 

counter and the team kept 

creating chances to keep 

the opponents on the lookout. 

With ten minutes left, 

India had a PC and a chance 

to put the result beyond 

doubt. Varun Kumar didn’t 

miss from the spot. 

India held on strong in 

the final minutes, defending 

well to ensure that not only 

would they win by a good 

margin, but they would 

also gather their first clean 

sheet of the tour. 

60 appearances. That is a 

testament to his skill that 

he is a permanent fixture in 

the team for his coach. I am 

looking forward to working 

with both of them and 

forming a winning team. 

DYNAMOS SIGN UP THREE NEW PLAYERS 

New Delhi: With an eye 

on the glittering trophy, 

Delhi Dynamos have snared 

three exciting young players 

for the upcoming season 

of the Hero Indian Super 

League. 

The signings show 

DDFC’s intent to build a 

well-balanced team that 

will not only have great attacking 

options but will also 

have enough buffer in the 

midfield and the defence. 

Arjun Tudu is a highly 

rated striker and joins the 

team from Army XI while 

midfielder Rupert Nongrum 

and defender Chinglensana 

Singh Konsham have been 

signed from Shillong Lajong. 

All the three players 

will be making their debut 

in the ISL and will be looking 

to prove their worth in 

the country’s premier soccer 

league. 

“I am very pleased with 

the three new players who 

have come on board. It has 

always been DDFC s priority 

to build a well-balanced 

team and three new additions 

just shows it. I have 

seen videos of these players 

and found them very talented. 

I am happy that we 

have been able to sign them 

and I am sure they will be 

instrumental in our team s 

success in the new season,” 

said GianlucaZambrotta, 

head coach of Delhi Dynamos. 

Tudu, who hails from a 

remote village in Jamshedpur, 

has been a top performer 

for the Services team, 

having scored 10 goals to 

help them successfully defend 

the 2016 Santosh Trophy. 

He was an integral part 

of the Army XI which plays 

in the Kolkata League before 

making this shift to the 

Dynamos. 

“It is a matter of immense 

pride for me to play for the 

Delhi Dynamos. I have always 

wanted to be part of 

the ISL but never thought 

that I would get an opportunity 

like this. I thank 

my team for providing me 

with this great opportunity. 

I have followed the team 

closely and am happy to 

be playing for them. I hope 

that I perform to the best 

of my abilities, push myself 

beyond my limits and help 

the team win its maiden ISL 

title,” said the 25-year-old 

striker. 

Rupert made his senior 

debut in 2015 with his boyhood 

club Shillong Lajong 

where he rose up the ranks 

from the youth squad. Starting 

in 2010, he impressed 

everyone in the youth tournaments 

before making his 

senior debut last year. He 

is considered as an exciting 

young talent and could 

prove to be one of the best 

Indian signings for the Dynamos 

this year. 

MURALIDARAN TO BE INDUCTED 

INTO ICC HALL OF FAME 

Dubai: Sri Lankan spin 

legend Muttiah Muralidaran, 

along with three others, 

will be inducted into 

the International Cricket 

Council’s Hall of Fame later 

this year. 

“The International Cricket 

Council on Wednesday 

announced that Muttiah 

Muralidaran, Karen Rolton, 

Arthur Morris and George 

Lohmann will be inducted 

into the ICC Cricket Hall of 

Fame later this year,” the 

ICC said in a statement. 

Record-breaking 

off-spinner Muralidaran becomes 

the first Sri Lankan 

player to be inducted along 

with twice ICC Women’s 

World Cup winner and former 

Australia captain Karen 

Rolton, her compatriot 

Arthur Morris, a member 

of Don Bradman’s ‘invincibles’ 

and England’s George 

Lohmann, the 19th century 

fast bowler who took 100 

wickets in just 16 Tests. 

The four iconic cricketers 

were voted by the ICC 

Cricket Hall of Famers as 

well as members of the 

media. They will be presented 

with commemorative 

caps honouring their 

contribution to the game to 

mark their induction. Family 

members will represent 

Lohmann and Morris at the 

presentations. 

ICC Chief Executive David 

Richardson congratulated 

the four, saying: “The 

ICC Cricket Hall of Fame 

recognises some of the truly 

great players from cricket’s 

long and illustrious history, 

and this year’s inductees 

thoroughly deserve to be 

in this highly prestigious 

group.” 

Muralidaran has been 

one of the greats of the 

modern era. His guile and 

consistency over the years 

helped Sri Lanka develop as 

a very competitive side in 

both Tests and ODI cricket. 

“We have in the list some 

very famous names of different 

eras. Lohmann and 

Morris were outstanding 

performers during their 

times and are part of cricket 

folk-lore, while Rolton’s 

performances have been 

recent and came during an 

era when women’s cricket 

became very competitive.” 

Muralidaran, whose last 

international fixture was 

the final of the ICC Cricket 

World Cup 2011 in Mumbai 

finished his career with 800 

wickets in Tests, 534 wicket 

in One-Day Internationals 

and 13 wickets in 12 T20Is. 

Lohmann, an exponent 

of swing bowling in the late 

19th century and rated by 

his contemporaries as the 

most difficult opponent, 

will be the 27th Englishman 

in the ICC Cricket Hall of 

Fame list. He raced to 100 

Test wickets in 16 matches 

but tuberculosis shortened 

his career and he died at the 

age of 36 in 1901. 

In an 18-Test career from 

1886 to 1896, Lohmann 

took 112 wickets, including 

nine for 28 against South 

Africa at the Old Wanderers, 

and also scored 213 

runs. 

Morris, a stylish lefthander 

of the 1940s and 

50s who scored 12 centuries 

and 12 fifties in 46 Tests 

between 1946 and 1955, 

will be the 22nd Australia 

cricketer in the ICC Cricket 

Hall of Fame. Morris scored 

a total of 12,614 runs in 162 

first-class matches, including 

3,533 runs in Tests. 

Rolton, a dynamic 

all-rounder in both 

Tests and ODIs who is 

best remembered for her 

match-winning century in 

the ICC Women’s World Cup 

2005 final, will be only the 

sixth woman and the third 

Australian to get onto the 

coveted list. 

CONFIDENT INDIA ARRIVE IN KINGSTON 

Kingston: A confident 

Indian cricket team arrived 

in Kingston for the second 

Test against hosts West Indies 

starting July 30, hoping 

to carry on the momentum 

it gained with an innings 

victory in the series opener 

in Antigua. 

The morale of Virat Kohli 

and his men is high after the 

record innings and 92-run 

thrashing of the hosts. 

Indulging in a bit of recreational 

activities, opener 

Shikhar Dhawan, who 

scored 84 in the first innings 

of opening Test enjoyed 

with his playstation. 

Dhawan posted a video 

where they he is seen enjoying 

a FIFA football game 

with Kohli, Bhuvneshwar 

Kumar and Wriddhiman 

Saha among others. 

The West Indies team 

also reached the Jamaican 

City aiming to overcome 

their loss. Head coach Anil 

Kumble, Kohli and Dhawan 

also paid tribute to the Indian 

soldiers on the occasion 

of Kargil Diwas. 

Kohli tweeted, “60 Days, 

Operation Vijay. I was in 

school during the Kargil 

War. I remember how every 

family shared the pain of 

the soldiers.” 

He added, We prayed for 

them & felt proud of being 

an Indian. To the soldiers & 

their families, you are the 

real heroes of India #Jai- 

Hind. 

HERATH SPINS SRI LANKA OUT OF TROUBLE 

Pallekele (Sri Lanka): 

Sri Lanka spinner Rangana 

Herath took four wickets to 

restrict Australia to 146 for 

six at lunch on Wednesday, 

with the visitors leading by 

just 29 runs on day two of 

the first Test. 

Overnight batsmen Usman 

Khawaja (26) and 

Steve Smith (30) didn’t last 

long against Herath’s spin, 

as Australia faltered after 

starting the day 66 for two 

in response to Sri Lanka’s 

117 all out inside 35 overs 

on Tuesday. 

The veteran left-arm 

spinner had notched up 

4-35 at lunch, after dismissing 

opener Joe Burns (3) on 

the first day. 

Smith added just two 

runs to his overnight score, 

before being foxed by a 

cleverly disguised widish 

delivery from Herath, as 

wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal 

completed an easy 

stumping. 

Herath then trapped 

Khawaja lbw, with the 

top-order batsman adding 

just one run to his overnight 

tally. With Australia 

70 for four, Adam Voges and 

Mitchell Marsh (31) then 

stitched together a 60-run 

partnership for the fifth 

erera. 

wicket. 

Debutant 

bowler Lakshan 

Sandakan 

made 

the crucial 

breakthrough 

by deceiving 

Marsh with a 

delivery that 

went the other 

way. Herath, 

returning 

for his second 

spell of 

the morning, 

claimed his 

fourth scalp 

when wicketkeeper 

Peter 

Nevill (2) was 

caught at midon 

by KusalP- 

Adam Voges (41 not out) 

battled hard to establish a 

respectable lead for the visitors, 

with Steve O’Keefe (3 

not out) at the other end. 

Play started 15 minutes 

earlier at Pallekele Stadium 

on Wednesday to make up 

on time lost on day one on 

Tuesday, when rain washed 

out the entire final session.

CITY 

HILIGHTS 





ENTERTAINMENT 

HEARD ACCUSES JOHNNY DEPP OF 

STALLING DIVORCE 

NARGIS FAKHRI LEAVES MUMBAI 

AND PRODUCERS HIGH AND DRY 

CALVIN HARRIS LIKELY TO COLLABORATE 

WITH JENNIFER LOPEZ 

Actress Amber Heard 

has alleged that her former 

husband Johnny 

Depp is trying to delay 

their divorce by insisting 

she sign a non-disclosure 

agreement before he submits 

financial documents 

to the court. 

The 30-year-old “Magic 

Mike XXL” star made the 

accusations in new court 

documents, which she 

filed on Tuesday, July 26, 

source said. 

In the documents, 

Heard’s legal team 

claimed that Depp, 53, is 

deliberately trying to stop 

the progress of divorce 

quickly and quietly after 

he told the actress there 

would be a USD 100,000 

fine for every time any financial 

information was 

leaked. 

The pair is also reportedly 

squabbling on a date 

for Heard’s deposition. 

His team has suggested 

two dates in August, but 

GAURI KHAN TURNS DESIGNER FOR 

RANBIR KAPOOR’S SWANKY PAD 

Superstar Shah Rukh 

Khan’s wife Gauri Khan 

is a renowned interior 

designer and she has designed 

several high profile 

apartments of celebrities. 

Now, Ranbir Kapoor who 

recently purchased his 

new bachelor pad has decided 

to take her help for 

designing it into a swanky 

house. 

Located in suburban 

Mumbai, the new apartment 

of Ranbir Kapoor is 

getting its final touches 

under Gauri Khan’s supervision. 

Though she 

has been busy writing 

a book on designing, it 

seems that she personally 

took time out to complete 

the new residence of the 

star. It is being said that 

Heard said she is unable 

to make it because she is 

filming “Justice League 

Part One” in London. 

However, Heard said 

she has offered to appear 

in court on a Saturday but 

Depp’s team isn’t keen. 

Documents from 

Depp’s lawyer Laura Wasser 

claims Heard has already 

shared information 

about the couple to the 

media. 

KRITI, SUSHANT FLY TO 

MAURITIUS FOR LAST 

SCHEDULE OF ‘RAABTA’ 

“Raabta” lead pair Sushant 

Singh Rajput and 

Kriti Sanon are off to Mauritius 

to shoot the last 

schedule of the film. 

Kriti, who turns 26 on 

Wednesday, took to Instagram 

to share a picture 

from the airport. 

“All set for the last 

schedule of #Raabta! And 

the excitement shows as 

we wait to board the flight 

to Mauritius. 

@sushantsinghrajput 

#lastsched #outdoor,” she 

Meanwhile, Heard currently 

has a temporary 

restraining order against 

Depp after she claimed 

he attacked her with an 

iPhone, leaving her with a 

bruised eye. 

She also said, “during 

the entirety of their relationship, 

Depp has been 

verbally and physically 

abusive” to her. 

The pair announced 

their divorce in May after 

just 15 months of marriage. 

Ranbir will be shifting to 

his new place in October. 

From what we hear, she 

has been working on this 

apartment for the past 

few months, of course, 

keeping in mind all the 

specifications provided 

by Ranbir, who is also her 

dear friend. It has been 

learnt that Ranbir Kapoor 

has asked Gauri Khan to 

design it as a blend of art 

and history, something 

that the actor is really 

fond of. 

Last seen in Tamasha, 

Ranbir Kapoor is now 

gearing up for his much 

delayed film Jagga Jasoos 

which also stars his former 

girlfriend Katrina 

Kaif. 

wrote. 

The photo features 

the actress and Sushant, 

30, chilling at the airport 

lounge in casual travel attire. 

“Raabta” is directed 

by Dinesh Vijan and produced 

by him, Homi Adajania 

and Bhushan Kumar. 

The film, which was 

delayed due to casting issues, 

is slated to hit theaters 

on February 12 next 

year. 

Nargis Fakhri was 

missing from Azhar promotions 

recently. An insider 

said, “While she 

promoted a few events, 

she completely lost interest 

mid-way and two 

days ago, left the country. 

She flew off to New York, 

leaving Azhar, Housefull 3 

mid-way and the schedule 

of Banjo incomplete. She 

has ditched the producers 

there, too, leaving them 

high and dry. 

A source says, “The 

Azhar team was stumped 

when Nargis told them 

she was suffering from an 

injury and couldn’t promote 

the film. But a friend 

of the actress says that she 

has had a nervous breakdown 

and she had packed 

her bags and left for her 

hometown (New York 

City)! She told her close 

friends that she was not in 

the state of mind to work 

and needed to get out of 

the country. She also told 

the producers of Banjo 

that she would adjust the 

dates and will shoot when 

she’s back. With 97 per 

cent of the film complete 

and just some patchwork 

left, the producers are 

scratching their heads 

about what to do.” 

The actress simply 

told people she needs a 

month or two to recover 

from the upheaval in her 

personal life. An insider 

from B-Town says, “Nargis 

was all set to announce 

her wedding to Uday 

Chopra, but he’d changed 

his mind about getting 

hitched and this came as 

a shock to her. There was 

a time when he was very 

keen to marry her and 

had proposed to her, but 

she wanted to focus on 

her career and Hollywood 

films. Now, the tables have 

turned. She had a huge 

fight with him, suffered a 

nervous breakdown and 

left almost overnight.” 

DEMI LOVATO IS LIKE FAMILY, 

JOE JONAS 

Singer Joe Jonas has 

some really nice things 

to say about former girlfriend 

Demi Lovato. 

The 26-year-old star, 

who dated his “Camp 

Rock” co-star briefly in 

2010, said they are really 

good friends, source said 

“She’s family. We’ve 

known Demi for so many 

years. I have performed 

with her, toured with her. 

She’s just incredible. 

“It’s not always the 

case. Sometimes you have 

to know when to fold the 

cards. I don’t think of 

her as an ex. We’re really 

good friends. We’ve gone 

through so much together 

and we’re really close 

now,” he said. 

MY FILM CHOICES ARE 

ERRATIC: VARUN DHAWAN 

Impressing masses as 

well as critics with serious 

and light-hearted 

roles, actor Varun Dhawan 

says he is erratic 

when it comes to his movie 

choices. 

“I am quite erratic in 

my decisions. I did a ‘Main 

Tera Hero’ then ‘Badlapur’ 

and then suddenly a dance 

film, followed by a Rohit 

Shetty film. I would want 

to dabble through genres 

because it is exciting for 

me. If I keep repeating the 

same genre I would be 

bored,” said the actor. 

The 29-year-old actor 

will next be seen in brother 

Rohit Dhawan’s buddy-cop 

movie “Dishoom”, 

alongside John Abraham 

and Jacqueline Fernandez, 

which is set to release 

this Friday. 

It will mark Varun’s 

first brush with the action 

genre and the actor 

considers the film a huge 

responsibility. 

“’Dishoom’ is a big responsibility, 

a big challenge 

for me. In terms of 

both, being a good film 

and a box office success. 

Even if you don’t want to 

feel (the pressure) some 

people make you. I want 

to just think if it is a good 

film or a bad film. Terming 

it in various numbers 

is the producer’s job. I am 

on the creative side,” he 

said. 

The “ABCD 2” star 

shared that he and his 

brother did not bring 

their personal relationship 

to the sets and Rohit 

treated him just like any 

other actor. 

“On set I am always 

hyper, coming with ideas 

but Rohit is very well 

planned... He doesn’t like 

to break away from it. 

When we were shooting 

in Abu Dhabi, our relationship 

was only from 

the set to the end of the 

day. He was clear he wanted 

me to be Junaid and 

not his brother on set.” 

With both father and 

sibling filmmakers, one 

would expect career discussions 

on the dinner 

table, and though Varun 

agreed he speaks to his 

family about his films the 

last call is always his. 

“There are talks but 

I always take my own 

decision and that’s why 

they are so erratic. I don’t 

follow any set path. I am 

quite like the pokemons. I 

am always on the run,” he 

adds. 

DJ Calvin Harris and 

singer Jennifer Lopez 

have reportedly been in 

talks to work on an album 

together. 

The 32-year-old “This 

is What You Came For” 

hitmaker recently attended 

Lopez’s birthday in Las 

Vegas, who turned 47 this 

July, and allegedly talked 

about signing a music deal 

during the party. 

“Jennifer and Calvin 

discussed possible music 

collaboration during her 

birthday party,” a source 

said. 

“They discussed the 

types of music they both 

love. Calvin was excited 

to be at the party, hanging 

out with Jennifer and 

chatting with Benny (Medina),” 

the source said. 

Meanwhile, Harris 

shared a picture of himself 

with the American-born 

songstress along with the 

caption, “Happy birthday 

Jennifer Lopez, legendary 

icon - and your show in 

Vegas is next level. 

PRODUCERS NOT SURE ABOUT 

‘GOSSIP GIRL’ REVIVAL 

The makers of “Gossip 

Girl”, which launched the 

careers of Blake Lively, 

Leighton Meester and Ed 

Westwick, are not sure 

about reviving the show 

again. 

Some of the popular TV 

shows like “Full House” 

and “Gilmore Girls” are 

currently being revived. 

When asked whether 

they were considering 

something similar for the 

fans of “Gossip Girl”, executive 

producers Josh 

Schwartz and Stephanie 

Savage said they have 

not really thought about 

rebooting the hit series, 

which ran for six seasons, 

source said. 

“We haven’t really explored 

some of those conversations. 

Maybe, I don’t know. 

We haven’t really thought 

about it.” 

Schwartz, however, 

said “the Internet has 

changed” so much that it 

would be interesting to 

see “Gossip Girl” in the era 

of Snapchat, Instagram 

and other current social 

media apps. 

“The world has become 

Gossip Girl now,” 

he said, adding that when 

Cecily von Ziegesar first 

wrote the book series the 

TV show was based on, 

phones didn’t even have 

cameras on them yet, 

“And now literally everyone 

is Gossip Girl. 

ARIANA GRANDE, RICKY ALVAREZ 

PART WAYS 

Singer Ariana Grande 

and Rickey Alvarez have 

called it quits after a year. 

The 23-year-old “Dangerous 

Woman” hitmaker 

is “happy to be single,” 

source said. 

“She broke up with him. 

He didn’t cheat or anything, 

they just found it 

difficult to make it work. 

They are still friends 

though,” a source added. 

Grande and the 

25-year-old backup dancer 

were first linked last 

summer, after they were 

seen making out. 

The singer recently 

deleted all of her photos 

with Alvarez from her Instagram 

account. 

WASTE OF TIME TO SAY ANYTHING: 

ADITI ON LINK-UP 

Mumbai: Actress Aditi 

Rao Hydari feels reacting 

to link-up rumours is 

a waste of time and says 

there is no point talking 

about it as people will 

still have something or 

the other to comment on 

them. 

Since the time Aditi and 

noted actor Farhan Akhtar 

acted in BejoyNambiar’s 

“Wazir”, there have been 

link-up rumours about 

them. 

“Why should anybody 

say anything? It is such 

a waste of time. Even if I 

say anything, still you will 

say ‘she said this’ and use 

that. So why keep talking 

(about it),” Aditi told, 

when asked if it was disheartening 

that her linkup 

rumours were not dying 

down. 

There were also speculations 

that Aditi and 

Farhan’s link-up led to the 

latter’s separation from 

his wife Adhuna. 

The 29-year-old actress 

earlier used to get hurt 

when her personal life 

made headlines, but now 

she is not bothered about 

it. 

Printed & Published by P Sunil Kumar, Edited by Swarnalatha on behalf of M/S. Immaculate Broadcasting Consortium World News Private Limited, 

No. 18, JRV Court, Queens Road, Bangaluru–560 001. Email- info@ibcworldnews.com. Phone: 080- 22105300. Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Re production in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Registration Number (RNI No: KARENG / 2015 / 63243.)

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