https://telegram.me/Estore33 https://telegram.

me/AllEpapers
cmyk cmyk

THE ASIAN AGE WORLD | America

NEW DELHI THURSDAY 3 AUGUST 2017

NATION | Broadcast
PEOPLE
Newsmakers
Kiwi Opp.
leader
Jacinda
Ardern
lands in
sexism
12
controversy

www.asianage.com
President Donald Trump
signs on new, flawed
sanctions against Russia
RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17
10 Absentee Kajol
to stay on with
Prasar Bharati Board 3 Vol. 24 No. 168 | 36 PAGES | `5.00

WINDOWS
I-T raids keeper of Cong flock No reduction
Its a witch-hunt: Congress Has nothing to do with Gujarat RS poll: Jaitley
AGE CORRESPONDENT Income-tax officials told
in Doklam
BENGALURU, AUG. 2

Congress leader and state

energy minister D.K.
Shivakumar, who took on
this newspaper that they
seized `2 crore from the
ministers home
Bengaluru. This was
in

denied by the Congress, as

A girl carries the tricolour
during Beating Retreat cere-
mony at the India-Pakistan
Wagah border post in
Amritsar, Wednesday. AFP
Dilip Kumar
hospitalised for
dehydration
Mumbai: Legendary actor
Dilip Kumar was on
Wednesday admitted to a
private hospital after suffer-
ing from dehydration and
urinary tract infection. The
94-year-old thespian was
admitted to Lilavati hospital
in Bandra, a relative said.
He was admitted due to
dehydration and urine
(tract) infection. He is not in
the ICU... He is fine now,
there is nothing to worry,
Kumars nephew, Rehan,
said. PTI
SC reserves verdict
on right to privacy
New Delhi: The nine-judge
Constitution Bench of the
Supreme Court on
Wednesday reserved its
judgment over the issue of
whether right to privacy is a
fundamental right or not.
The top court on Tuesday
had said that there have to
be overarching guidelines
to protect an individuals
private information. PTI
the onerous task of keep-
ing 44 of the Congress
Gujarat MLAs safe from
the BJPs clutches, paid a
huge price for his loyalty.
On Wednesday morning, a
team of IT officials,
backed by armed Central
Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) forces, raided his
room at the plush
Eagleton resort on the out-
skirts of the city. He had
been staying at the resort
since July 28.
Giving him just under
an hour to get dressed, he
was bundled into a car
and driven straight to his
home in the city, along
with officials from the
directorate of income tax
(investigation),
Karnataka and Goa, car-
rying cash-counting
m a c h i n e s .
Simultaneously, teams of
I-T officials fanned across
the city, raiding his
offices and other proper-
ties.
Raids rock Houses, Cong calls it vendetta
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 2
The issue of income-tax
raids on Karnataka ener-
gy minister D.K.
Shivakumar rocked both
Houses of Parliament on
Wednesday with the
Opposition Congress
shouting itself hoarse
alleging political vendet-
ta. Finance minister
Arun Jaitley told the
Congress not to link the
searches with the forth-
coming Rajya Sabha polls
was the claim that Mr
Sivakumar had been
shredding documents
when the IT officials
walked into his Eagleton
resort hotel suite.
The I-T raided 60 other
separate locations across
the city, including the
home of the ministers
brother, D.K. Suresh, also
an MP, his family home in
Kanakpura where his
mother was interrogated,
as well as the offices of
two major real estate and
transport firms which
allegedly have links with
the minister.
They also raided apart-
ment No. 5 on Safdarjung
Road in New Delhi which
reportedly belongs to the
energy minister. I-T offi-
cials claimed that they
seized `8 crore in cash.
Mr Shivakumar had
rushed back from
Singapore to ensure that
Congress MLAs from
Turn to Page 4
in Gujarat.
The ruckus forced three
adjournments of Rajya
Sabha while in the Lok
Sabha the Congress
staged a walkout, halfway
through Zero Hour.
Mr Jaitley, while reject-
ing charges of political
motives behind the raids
in both the Houses, said
no search operation was
conducted at the resort in
Karnataka where Gujarat
Congress MLAs have been
staying. Mr Shivkumar is
the host of the MLAs in
Karnataka minister D.K. Shivakumar at his home in
Bengaluru on Wednesday. ASIAN AGE
7 120 I-T officials on  Shivakumar was
AM Wednesday raid- allegedly caught tear-
ed 64 places in Delhi, ing up documents at
Mumbai and the resort before
Karnataka linked Shivakumar being taken to
to Karnataka declared assets his home
energy minis- worth `250 crore  I-T officials
ter D.K. and liabilities of recently seized
Shivakumar `105 crore in his a diary from a
election
and recovered Cong leader
affidavit
`10-11 crore cash with alleged
 The 55-year-old
MLA from Kanakapura
details of cash paid
to MLA, MLCs and
constituency is hosting DKS written on it
44 Congress MLAs  Gujarat MLAs were
from Gujarat at brought to the resort
Eagleton Golf Resort at on Saturday to save
Bidadi, 30 km from them from being
Bengaluru poached by BJP
Karnataka. Sonia Gandhi, is pitted
The uproar in against BJPs
Parliament comes at a Balwantsinh Rajput, who
time when 44 Congress recently quit as
MLAs from Gujarat are
lodged at a resort near
Congress MLA.
Mr Jaitley said that the
Bengaluru since July 28 to
prevent the BJP from
raids were linked to an
individual, an indirect
allegedly poaching on reference to Mr
them by allegedly offering Shivakumar, who had
`15 each ahead of the gone and parked him-
August 8 Rajya Sabha self at the resort and was
election in the state. picked up from there for
Congress Rajya Sabha questioning.
nominee Ahmed Patel, I have taken details
senior leader and political from the income-tax
adviser to party president department and verified
Cabinet nod
Dont link it with
(Gujarat) MLAs,
link it with eco-
nomic offence... In
that resort where
your MLAs are stay-
ing, no search has
taken place. No
MLA has been
searched.
Arun
Jaitley,
Finance
minister
The BJP
is on an
unprecedented
witch-hunt
just to win one
Rajya Sabha seat
Ahmed
Patel, away.
Congress
candidate
for Gujarat
RS seat
(them) myself. No resort
where the Gujarat MLAs areas is an important pre-
are lodged has been
a searched.
In that resort where
your MLAs are staying,
no search has taken place,
no MLA has been
searched. A particular position
individual was to be
searched. He had gone
and parked himself in that the borders.
resort, he said.
He himself went to the
resort. As per the proce-
dure, the person against
Turn to Page 4
troops: India
Denies China claim on pullback
AGE CORRESPONDENTS Sources in the
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI/BEIJING, AUG. 2 Indian security
establishment
China on Wednesday said dismissed Chinas
that India, which had claim of withdrawal
already reduced its
and said the
troops in Doklam from
stand-off continues
400 to just about 40, must
pull back completely, with about 350
with no strings Indian troops
attached. However,
sources in the Indian
digging their heels
in and facing about
security establishment
dismissed Chinas claim 400 Chinese troops
of withdrawal and said
that the stand-off contin-
ues as it was with
cerned at the recent
Chinese actions and has
about 350 Indian troops conveyed to the Chinese
digging their heels in and covernment that such
facing about 400 Chinese
troops a short distance
construction (of a road in
Doklam) would represent
a significant change of
In a 15-page fact-sheet status quo with serious
on the Doklam stand-off, security implications for
China claimed that there India.
were 270 Indian troops in China also said that it
Doklam in mid-June, has conveyed - at the July
which went up to 400, but 28 meeting between
dropped to about 40 at the Indian National Security
end of July. Advisor
India reacted to the
Chinese statement, say-
ing it considers that
peace and tranquillity in
Ajit Doval and Chinese
state councillor Yang
Jiechi - its firm stand that
India must take concrete
actions by immediately
the India-China border
pulling back troops from
requisite for smooth Doklam to resolve the
development of our bilat- current standoff.
eral
relations with China,
Beijing indicated there
was no breakthrough in
thereby strongly convey-
ing that it stands by its
the talks.
Despite the face-off,
despite the there have been no hostil-
Dragons fury, and that ities so far. But there has
ties depends on peace on been a lot of posturing
and strident rhetoric in
The ministry of exter- Chine media.
nal affairs (MEA) also China has variously
referred to its earlier referred to Indian pres-
statement wherein it had ence in Doklam (which
said it was deeply con- Turn to Page 4

NRI vote by proxy

Cheap loans
likely as RBI
clears first hurdle
New Delhi: The Union
Cabinet on Wednesday
cuts rate
cleared a proposal
to extend proxy voting
to overseas Indians by
after GST
amending electoral laws, a AGE CORRESPONDENT
senior government func- MUMBAI, AUG. 2
tionary said. PTI
Loans are likely to
COUNTERPOINT become cheaper as the
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) on Wednesday
slashed the repo rate by
25 basis points (bps) to 6
per cent, the lowest
since November 2010 in
view of the recent slump
in consumer price infla-
tion (CPI).
The sharp fall in the
prices of food articles led
to June CPI slipping to a
five-year low of 1.5 per
cent, way below RBIs
long-term target of 4 per
cent and its April-
September projection of
2-3.5 per cent.
These factors along
with the normal and
well distributed normal
rainfalls and the smooth
roll out of the GST has
opened up the space of
Cops want Pak to
take Dujana body
YUSUF JAMEEL
SRINAGAR, AUG. 2
The Jammu & Kashmir
police will approach the
Pakistan High
Commission, through the
Union home ministry, to
take back the body of
Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT)
militant and Karachi res-
ident Abu Dujana who
was gunned down in
south Kashmir on
Tuesday, a senior police
official said.
This is for the first time
in the nearly three
decades of militancy that
the J&K police is seeking
to send the corpse of a
slain Pakistani national
to his country. The deci-
sion to send back
Dujanas body was taken
on a day when separatists
called a shutdown and
security forces enforced
curfew-like restrictions
in seven police station
areas of Srinagar.
Inspector general of
For the first time
in nearly three
decades of militan-
cy, J&K police is
seeking to send the
corpse of a slain
Pakistani national
to his country
High Commission to take
back the body of Abu
Dujana, who was a
Pakistani national.
Mr Khan said he will
soon write to the police
headquarters which, in
turn, will approach the
Union home ministry to
take up the matter with
the Pakistan High
Commission in New
Delhi. He said that the
inmates of the house
where the militant was
killed have told police
that Dujana used to claim
he was from Karachi.
Sources said authorities
do not want Dujanas
funeral in Kashmir as
ends policy of
no-detention
for Class 5, 8
New Delhi, Aug. 2: The
Union Cabinet on
Wednesday approved
the scrapping of the no-
detention policy in
schools till Class 8, while
giving states the option
of conducting a retest
for students who fail in
the year-end annual
exam.
Under the present pro-
vision of the RTE Act,
students are promoted
automatically to higher
classes till Class 8.
This is one of the key
components of the RTE
Act which came into
force on April 1, 2010.
Now, an enabling pro-
vision will be made in
the Right of Children
forFree and Compulsory
Education Amendment
Bill which will allow
states to detain students
in class 5 and class 8 if
they fail in the year-end
exam.
Both Cong, BJP oppose
Nota use in RS election
AGE CORRESPONDENT/
AGENCY INPUTS
NEW DELHI, AUG. 2
Political arch-rivals
the BJP and the Congress
seem to have joined
hands for a change. Both
the parties are against the
decision to have the None
of the Above (Nota) option
in the forthcoming Rajya
Sabha polls.
While the Congress tioner claimed there
moved the Supreme Court
on Wednesday, the BJP
approached the Election
Commission for the
removal of Nota, a day
after the Congress made a
similar demand.
The apex court will hear
the plea filed by the
Congress Gujarat unit on polls, Nota option goes
Thursday.
SC to hear Cong
Nota plea today
Smriti Irani and former
The Supreme Court will
hear on Thursday a plea
filed by Gujarat unit of
the Congress, opposing
the proposal to use
Nota option in Rajya
Sabha polls in the state
on August 8. The peti-
was no statutory provi-
sion for Nota option in
the ballot paper for
these elections.
The BJP is of the view
that since parties issue a
whip for Rajya Sabha
a Cabinet minister on the
against the nature of the
whip.
The BJP has fielded its
national president Amit
Shah, Union minister
Congress leader
Balwantsinh Rajput for
the three Rajya Sabha
seats from Gujarat
against the lone Congress
candidate Ahmed Patel.
The election is scheduled
on August 8.
There was uproar in
Parliament on Tuesday
and charges were traded
after the Congress raised
the issue of Nota in the
upcoming Rajya Sabha
polls in Gujarat.
Sources disclosed that a
senior Congress leader
also had a discussion with
Turn to Page 4

WEATHER monetary policy accom-

modation, RBI said.
police (Kashmir range)
Munir Ahmed Khan said,
such events in the past
have sparked unrest.
However, the students
will have to be given a
More on Page 15 We will ask the Pakistan More on Page 3 Turn to Page 4
Max: 34OC

Nasa offers `1 cr to stop alien invasion

Min: 27OC
RH: 70%
Rainfall: 20%
Forecast: Cloudy sky with rain
ASTROGUIDE
Hemalaba: Dakshinayana
Tithi: Sravana Shuddha
Ekadasi till 4.35 pm
Star: Jyeshta till 6.11 pm
Varjyam: Nil
Durmuhurtam: 10.14 am to
11.05 am; 3.21 pm to 4.12
pm
Rahukalam: 1.30 pm to 3 pm
SUNSET TODAY 7.11 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 5.44 AM
MOONRISE TOMORROW 4.35 PM
MOONSET TODAY 1.55 AM
Washington, August 2:
The concerns at Nasa
headquarters are
extraterrestrial, quite lit-
erally. The space agency
is looking to hire someone
who can defend Earth
from alien contamination
and ensure that humans
in space do not contami-
nate planets.
The full-time job of
planetary protection offi-
cer, with a salary of up to
$187,000 (`1,19,04,438) a
year, plus benefits, will be
for three to five years.
While candidates will be
required to travel fre-
Nasa is looking to
hire someone who
can defend Earth
from alien contami-
nation and ensure
that humans in
space do not conta-
minate planets
quently to space cen-
ters around the world and
analyze planet-bound
robots, there will be a sig-
nificant amount of emails,
proposals and other read-
ing.
The job was created
after the US signed and for Nasas sample return
ratified the Outer Space
Treaty of 1967 whereby it
missions because its
oddly similar to Earth and
has to ensure that space may have once been cov-
missions have less than a ered in water.
1-in-10,000 chance of cont- While the expectation is
aminating an alien world. not to scoop up freeze-
It will be the planetary dried Martian microbes
protection officers job to only theres always
ensure that humans dont the chance of active conta-
accidentally contaminate mination once those sam-
a pristine world that a ples hit earthbound labs.
probe is landing on or, This is where the plane-
more often, is zooming by tary protection officer
and taking pictures of. comes in: They help estab-
The concern also works lish the equipment, proto- Vice-president Hamid Ansari and his wife, Salma, being gifted a painting by Lok
the other way, most immi- cols, and procedures to Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan as Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks on, during a
nently for Mars. The red reduce such risks. farewell dinner hosted by Ms Mahajan at Parliament annexe in New Delhi on
planet is a frequent target Agencies Wednesday. PTI
https://telegram.me/Estore33
There are
dreams of
freedom
fighters, which
are still
incomplete, its
our duty to
fulfil them
Narendra Modi
Prime Minister
BRIEF
IN
3 die as truck runs
into procession
Barwani, MP: Three persons,
including a girl, were
killed and four others were
injured when a truck ran into
a religious procession on
Khetia-Sendhwa state high-
way in Barwani district on
Wednesday morning, the
police said. The incident
occurred around 5am near
Moyda village when the vil-
lagers took out a religious
procession, additional super-
intendent of police (ASP)
T.S. Baghel said. The truck
ran over the procession,
which left a woman, a man
and an eight-year-old girl
dead on the spot, and four
others critically injured, he
said. The deceased were
identified as Letavi Bai (55),
Tukaram (38) and Jhumki, Mr
Baghel said. PTI
Toddler tortured
by mother, lover
Kochi, Kerela: A toddler
allegedly tortured by her
mother and paramour has
been admitted to a hospital
here with burn-like injuries
and a fracture on her shoul-
der bone, police said on
Wednesday. The one-and-a-
half-year old child is being
treated at the Ernakulam
district general hospital here.
Her condition is stated to be
stable, the police said. The girl
suffered the injuries after
being tortured by her mother
and her lover during the
childs month-long stay with
the couple in Kozhikode,
they said. The woman had
allegedly eloped with her
lover a month ago and the
child was staying with them,
the police said. According to
the police, the duo had
admitted the child to a pri-
vate hospital in Kozhikode.
Later, the woman sent the
child to her parents. PTI
Italian tourist
injured in Kerala
Idukki (Kerala): A 56-year-
old Italian tourist suffered
injuries after she fell down in
panic on seeing a wild ele-
phant suddenly near her
while trekking at Thekkedy
wild life sanctuary in the dis-
trict. The tourist, Monica, has
been admitted to the ICU of
the private St Johns hospital
at Kattapanna with injuries,
hospital sources said. The
mishap occurred on Tuesday
during a Nature Walk pro-
gramme of the forest depart-
ment. Monica, her husband
and daughter were part of a
tourist group who are on a
visit to Kerala. PTI
SOON, TV SHOWS,
FILMS ON DEMAND
ON 1,300 TRAINS
New Delhi, Aug. 2: You can
soon watch a film or catch
up on your favourite TV
show on smartphones, lap-
tops or other devices during
those boring train journeys.
Minister of state for Railways
Rajen Gohain on Wednesday
said the ministry has sought
proposals from interested
parties to provide on-board
entertainment on 1,300
select trains. Under the con-
tent on demand policy,
onboard entertainment
through pre-loaded
audio/video content on per-
sonal devices of passengers
will be provided on 1,300
trains including Shatabdi,
Rajdhani express trains for
which the request for pro-
posal (RPF) has been issued
on July 6, Mr Gohain said in
a written reply in the Lok
Sabha. Once the system is in
place, passengers will be
able to watch an array of
popular films, serials and sit-
coms on their laptops,
mobile phones and other
devices. However, the enter-
tainment package will come
at a price. The public trans-
porter aims to monetise the
service based on captive
eyeballs at rail premises as
part of its efforts to increase
its non-fare revenue from the
current 5 per cent to 10-20
per cent. PTI
Goa Chief Minister Manohar
Parrikar files nomination for
Panaji Assembly bypoll
Valley shuts post Dujana killing
Militant was at no. 1 in list of most dangerous terrorists released by Army
YUSUF JAMEEL
SRINAGAR, AUG. 2
The security forces in riot
gear are enforcing a lock-
down in parts of Jammu
and Kashmirs summer
capital Srinagar as ten- that the Pakistan high
sions run high in the after-
math of the killing of Abu
Dujana, a top commander
of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba
(LeT).
Dujana alias Hafiz, a
Pakistani national, along
with a local militant, was
gunned down during a
fierce encounter in south-
ern Pulwama district on
Tuesday, triggering wide-
spread protests in parts of
the Valley. Two persons
were killed and scores oth-
ers were injured in the
security forces firing dur-
ing the clashes.
Inspector general of
police (Kashmir range)
Munir Ahmed Khan on
Wednesday quoted as say-
India, Pak
to hold
talks on
IWT soon
Washington, Aug. 2:
India and Pakistan will
hold another round of
talks here next month to
discuss differences in
the implementation of
the 1960 Indus Waters
Treaty (IWT), the World
Bank said on Wednesday.
Ahead of the next
round of talks, the glob-
al lender also issued a
fact sheet giving its stat-
ed position on the IWT
under which India is
allowed to construct
hydroelectric facilities
on the shared Indo-Pak
rivers. As per the IWT
provisions, India does
not require any approval
or clearance from third
party for constructing
projects such as
Kishenganga on the
Western Rivers.
The World Banks
statement came after
India and Pakistan con-
cluded the secretary-
level talks over the IWT
on Monday, with the
global lender maintain-
ing that it was held in a
spirit of goodwill and
cooperation.
The parties have
agreed to continue dis-
cussions and reconvene
in September in
Washington, DC, the
World Bank said.
In the fact sheet issued
on Tuesday, the global
lender said Pakistan
opposes the construc-
tion of the Kishanganga
(330 megawatts) and
Ratle (850 megawatts)
hydroelectric
India in Jammu and
Kashmir.
power
plants being built by
PTI
INSIDE INDIA
MAN THROWS
ACID ON SONS
WIFE, DETAINED
AGE CORRESPONDENT
KEONJHAR, ODISHA,
AUG. 2
A man in Odishas
Keonjhar district
allegedly splashed acid
on his daughter-in-law
after having a spat
with her.
While the victim was
admitted to the district
headquarters hospital
here in serious condi-
tion, the accused has
been detained.
According to reports,
the victim identified as
Malati Majhi of
Siripur village under
Keonjhar Town police
limits was married to
the son of one Samar
Tudu of Koipani vil-
lage in Nuagaon pan-
chayat one year back.
However, the couple's
conjugal life did not
last long and they had
separated. Samar and
his daughter-in-law
Malati had a spat over
some issue on Monday
night. Angered over
the incident, Samar
threw acid on Malati.
The accused has been
detained by the Town
police for interroga-
tion.
ing the J&K Police will
approach the Pakistan
high commission in New
Delhi through the Union
home ministry to take the
body of Dujana.
It will be the first time
commission is being asked
to claim the body of a mil-
itant killed in the Kashmir
Valley. He said he would be
writing a letter to the
police headquarters,
which in turn would
approach the home min-
istry to take up the matter
with the PHC. We will
ask the Pakistan High
Commission in India to
take back the body of Abu
Dujana, who was a
Pakistani national, Mr
Khan said, adding that the
inmates of the house
where he was holed up and
subsequently killed had
told the police that he
claimed to be from
Karachi. Earlier reports
Singer booked Turn G-20 Sherpa into
for molestation separate entity: Arvind
PRIYANKA NAVALKAR
MUMBAI, AUG. 2
A First Information woman when she
Report (FIR) was regis-
tered against singer Yash
Wadali (27), who is
trained by the famous
Wadali Brothers (qawwali
singers) at the Bangur
Nagar police station,
Malad, for allegedly began singing a song on
molesting and assaulting seeing the complainant.
a woman. Singers The woman reprimanded
Puranchand Wadali and
his brother Pyarelal
Wadali are popularly
known as the Wadali that he was only appreci-
brothers. However, Yash
has only been trained by
the Wadalis. He is not
related to them biologi-
cally.
The incident took place held the collar of the com-
early on Wednesday
morning at Garden
Estate, Goregaon, when
the complainant was at a
birthday party with Yash
Wadali, the police said.
A girl in the attire of Nickelodeon cartoon character
Dora ties Rakhi on the wrist of a BSF soldier at Attari
border near Amritsar on Wednesday.
ODISHA YOUTH ROBBED OF MOBILE
PHONE, CASH, WOMAN ARRESTED
AGE CORRESPONDENT the latter agreed to it.
BHUBANESWAR, AUG. 2
The Odisha Police on
Wednesday arrested a
woman for allegedly
stealing a mobile phone
and `2,500 from a youth
after she asked him for
a lift. According to
reports, the woman
requested Saroj Sahu, a
resident of Jayadev
Vihar, who was travel-
ling on a bike near PMG
Square here, to drop her
at Market Building and
LOCKDOWN
THE SECURITY
forces are enforcing
curfew-like restrictions
in seven police station
areas of Srinagar
THE J&K Police will
approach the Pak high
commission in New
Delhi to take the body
of the terrorist.
said that Dujana was a res-
ident of Gilgit-Baltistan
region of Jammu and
Kashmir under Pakistans
occupation since 1947.
A large number of
Pakistani militants have
died in clashes with the
security forces in Jammu
and Kashmir since the
separatist campaign burst
into a major violence in
1989-90 and all of them are
Yash Wadali
allegedly assaulted
asked him to stop
singing for her at a
birthday party
The two did not know
each other. Yash Wadali,
who was allegedly drunk,
him for singing the song
and asked him to back off.
But Wadali allegedly said
ating her beauty and she
should not take offence,
said the police. During
the quarrel that ensued,
the accused allegedly
plainant, following which
she registered a com-
plaint against
Wadali has been accused
him.
of molestation. No arrest
has been made yet.
PTI
On the way, the woman
asked the youth to stop,
and allegedly robbed
him threatening that he
had misbehaved with
her. Thereafter, she
decamped with the vic-
tims mobile phone and
`2,500. On being
informed by Saroj about
the incident, the police
arrested the woman and
seized the cell phone
and cash from her.
A case has been regis-
tered into the incident.
THE ASIAN AGE
buried in the state only. It
is for the first time in the
nearly three decades of
turmoil that the J&K
Police is seeking to send
the corpse of a slain
Pakistani national to his
country.
While the security forces
have enforced curfew-like
restrictions in seven
police station areas of
Srinagar, a shutdown
called by an alliance of
key separatist leaders
Syed Ali Shah Geelani,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and
Muhammad Yasin Malik
has brought life to a
standstill elsewhere in the
Valley.
Pulwama and neighbour-
ing districts of Shopian,
Kulgam and Anantnag are
very tense but no fresh cash reward of `1.5 mil-
incident of violence has
taken place in the area, the
officials said. On Saturday,
a civilian driver, Firdous
Ahmed Bhat of Pulwamas
ANIMESH SINGH
NEW DELHI, AUG. 2
Niti Aayog vice-chair-
man Arvind Panagariya,
who sent in his resigna-
tion to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on
August 1, has suggested
him that keeping
in mind Indias rapidly
rising global stature,
which was quite evident
from the kind of atten-
tion Mr Modi received at
last months G-20 summit
in Hamburg, the G-20
Sherpa should be turned
into a separate entity
and its
responsibilities be segre-
gated from that of the
vice-chairmans.
Kajol not to be
sacked from
Prasar Bharati
NITIN MAHAJAN
NEW DELHI, AUG. 2
Actor Kajol, known for
her proximity to the
saffron camp, has
managed to save her-
self from being evict-
ed from the Prasar
Bharati Board. There
was an uproar and
demand to sack her
from the public serv-
ice broadcasters accepted. The actress
panel in the last board
meeting after she
skipped its four con- meeting of the Prasar
secutive meetings. It is
now understood that
the board has accepted sources stated.
her leave of absence
and allowed her to
continue.
This newspaper on
May 19 reported that
the issue of Kajols
repeated absence from
the board meeting was ing her liable for the
raised by several agi-
tated members of the
public broadcaster,
after which the Union
information and
broadcasting ministry
is understood to have
sought clarification on the
from Kajol.
After detailed delib-
erations, Kajols expla- sought
nation that she missed
these meetings due to repeated absence with-
prior professional
commitments and also
due to a family emer-
gency on medical sented her side.
Nation
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
Begumpora, Kakapora vil-
lage, was killed when hit
by a bullet in the chest
during intense protests in
the area, sources said.
A statement issued by
the police later, however,
said the civilian was
injured near the
encounter site in the
crossfire and later died in
hospital. Dujana figured at
number one in the list of
most dangerous terror-
ists released by the Army
in June. The officials
termed his killing as a
huge achievement of
the J&K Police and the
security forces combating
a three-decade old militan-
cy in the state and a good
riddance to a nuisance in
the area. He carried a
lion on his head. The other
militant killed with him
was Arif Nabi Dar alias
Rehan alias Arif Lalhari,
a local Kashmiri.
Police raids on
a sand mafia
in the Ganga
river as part of
a massive
crackdown on
illegal sand
miners in
Patna on
Tuesday.
PTI
Arvind Panagariya
Mr Panagariya was the
Prime Ministers Sherpa also based on the prem-
during the G-20
Hamburg summit, which
was held on July 7-8. In
his letter (a copy of
which is with this news-
paper) to the Prime
Minister where Mr
Panagariya requested
Mr Modi to be relieved
Kajol
grounds through most
of this year was
has been told to be
present in the next
Bharati Board likely
to take place soon,
The actor was
appointed to the board
as its part-time mem-
ber in February 2016.
Sources said Kajol
missed the last four
board meetings mak-
removal from the posi-
tion. A member is
deemed to have vacat-
ed office if absent for
three consecutive
meetings of the board
without the leave of
chairman,
sources said.
The I&B ministry
a report
regarding the actors
out permission in May.
Kajols clarification
came after she pre-
https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
PAGE
Bodoland leader
shot dead; stirs
erupt in Assam
AGE CORRESPONDENT Angry protesters
GUWAHATI, AUG. 2
blocked national
Tension gripped Western highways, kin of the
Assam on Wednesday fol- deceased leader
lowing a series of protest refuse to take the
marches and rallies
against the gruesome
body; the CM terms
incident unfortunate
murder of All Bodoland
Territorial Council
Minority Students Union cattle smugglers along
(ABMSU) president
Lafikul Islam on Tuesday
the India-Bangladesh
international border, and
at Kokrajhar. that he was going to
The angry protesters expose the syndicate by
blocked national high- releasing the telephonic
ways and other roads at conversation of cattle
various places in mafia. The local media
Bodoland Territorial claimed the tape, which
Council areas and nearby Islam was about to
districts. The protestors, release, might have
who shouted slogan exposed some big names
against the government, associated with syndicate
demanded a high-level of cattle smugglers.
probe by the Central Security sources, how-
Bureau of Investigation ever, indicated that the
(CBI). killing was the fallout of
The problem compound- some business rivalry as
ed after the family mem-
bers of the deceased
minority leader refused
land mafias are suspected
to have been involved.
Meanwhile, political
to take the body and start-
ed protest outside
Silakati Idgah field in
leaders and various stu-
dents organisations,
including Assam chief
Kokrajhar. The family
members accused the dis-
trict administration of
minister Sarbananda
Sonowal, cutting across
the party line, have con-
trying to hush up the
investigation.
demned the killing of the
student leader. The pow-
However, Assam direc-
tor general of police
erful All Bodo Students
Union leaders have also
Mukesh Shahay, who
rushed to Kokrajhar, said
condemned the killing
and appealed not to give
that the police has arrest- any communal colour to
ed one of the culprits and the tragic incident.
picked up three others The Assam Police has
suspected to have been stepped up the security
involved in the murder. measures all over the
The local media claimed state and directed the
that Islam was very vocal police forces to remain
against the syndicate of vigilant.
from the Niti Aayog vice-
chairmans post as his
leave from Columbia
University (where he is a
full time professor) was
ending by August-end, he
suggested that as the
Sherpas role is going to
expand, it should be set
up as a separate respon-
sibility.
The suggestion made
by Mr Panagariya was
ise that in the past two
years of his tenure in
Niti Aayog, the responsi-
bilities of the vice-chair-
man have multiplied at a
fast pace, which trans-
lates into rising
demands on the time of a
vice chairman.
https://telegram.me/Estore33 https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
cmyk cmyk

Money
PETER LYNCH SETH KLARMAN
Although its easy to forget, a Generally, the greater PAGE
share isnt a lottery ticket... its
part-ownership of a business
the stigma or revulsion,
the better the bargain.
5
THE ASIAN AGE THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI

We have
created an
incentive in Tax matters
favour of the Kamal Rathi
honest man
Arun
Jaitley,
Finance
Pre-EMIs are
minister
tax deductible
BYTES
Q
I am an engineer and I need your guidance on
BROKERS home loan. If I take `15 lakh house loan and
suppose the house will be under my possession
Supreme Inds gets after one year and I start paying interest, will I get an
income-tax rebate? What is the better scheme for `15
Edelweiss buy tag lakh loan for 10 years? What precaution should I take
at the time of applying for the loan?
Supreme Industries (SIL) has GOPI KRISHNA
posted a dip in its Q1FY18 Via email
revenue by two per cent
year-on-year (YoY) on According to explanation provided under Section
account of lower volumes 24(b), interest also called pre-EMI payable by an
due to inventory destocking assessee for a loan taken for the acquisition or con-
by dealers. Average realisa- struction of house property before the buyer got
tion, however, improved the possession of the property will be deducted in
three per cent on YoY basis. five equal annual installments. The deduction of pre-
The volume dip was largely EMIs would begin from the previous year in which he
across all segments, except gets the possession of the house and would end in four
the industrial segment vol- immediately succeeding years.
umes up six per cent YoY. Therefore, if the house comes under your posses-
Lower utilisation and sion on or after April 1, 2018, you will be eligible to
unfavourable product mix claim interest for FY 2018-19 and also 1/5th of the
coupled with inventory loss- interest paid before the start of the financial year i.e.
es led to 330 basis points any interest paid up to March 31, 2018. The balance
YoY margin fall. SIL believes amount of interest unclaimed pertaining up to the
that most of the Q1FY18 preceding financial year i.e. March 31, 2018, can be set

ALTERNATIVES
losses will be recovered in off in subsequent four years i.e. FY 2018-19 to FY2022-
Q2FY18 itself and has main- 23.
tained FY18 volume growth It is suggested that you may carefully examine the
guidance of 12 per cent YoY rate of interest applicable for the loan that you pro-
with a 15.5 per cent margin. pose to take and also the duration of repayment. You

TO BANK
It also maintained capex of also need to carefully assess the processing charges
`300-`350 crore led by a and other hidden costs charged by the various banks.
healthy growth visibility.

Q
The brokerage believes that I am a small trader and I have no income from
focus on branded business, salary. I depend only on profit from equity
market share shift from trading for my livelihood. I made a short-term

unorganised to organised
segment and capacity
expansion will fuel SILs
growth.
LOCKERS
capital gain of `2 lakh during financial year 2016-17.
On the basis of my accountants advice I paid 15 per
Money talk cent tax on the short-term gain, though it is below the
income-tax threshold. Due to this, I have stopped fur-

Broking firm: Edelweiss Adhil Shetty ther trading to avoid higher income-tax. My question
is whether the basic income-tax exemption is avail-
Financial Services
Rating: Buy BANKS SAY THEY ARENT RESPONSIBLE able only for salary earners but not from income from
short-term capital gains?

H
Closing price: `1,121.10 eres a reality SHYAM YADAV
check if you FOR SAFETY OF ITEMS IN LOCKERS. SO Via email

Tata Metaliks gets

Centrums buy
Tata Metaliks Ltd (TML)
delivered a subdued perfor-
mance in Q1 as the positive
impact of strong volumes
from the DI segment was
negated by a sharp spike in
other expenses led by a
one-off expense related to
shutdown of MBF-1 and an
excise duty incidence due to
pig iron inventory accumula-
tion. The brokerage contin-
ues to maintain its positive
view on TML as its DI pipe
business boasts of an indus-
try leading cost structure,
solid demand drivers and
strong entry barriers. With
the recent commissioning of
growth-accretive and cost
efficient projects offering
quick paybacks, TML is set
to take the next leap in
thought your
valuables were
100 per cent
safe in bank
lockers, and
that banks could be held
responsible for any loss to
those valuables. The Reserve
Bank of India, along with 19
public sector banks, recently
responded to an RTI query on
the matter. The query, filed by
a lawyer, has been answered
without the RBI defining any
steps that the banks must take
to compensate customers for
losses caused to valuables
stored in their lockers.
As per media reports, the
banks, too, have responded by
saying that the relationship
they have with customers with
regard to lockers is that of
lessee (landlord) and lessor
(tenant), and that the lessor
is responsible for his or her
valuables kept in the locker
which is owned by the bank.
WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE?
tents firmly on the customer.
In such a situation, what
must a customer do? If he is
ultimately responsible for safe-
keeping of his valuables, does
he actually need a bank locker?
And if not, what alternatives
does he have?
ALTERNATIVES TO
BANK LOCKERS
Bank lockers have tradition-
ally been known to be a safe
place to keep valuables.
However, with zero compensa-
tion for any losses, and the fact
that bank lockers are not
always available in your area,
you may want to consider
some of these options. As
the insured, you will be cov-
ered (subject to terms, condi-
tions, and sub-limits) against
theft, robbery, fire, natural
calamities, accidental loss, etc.
The sum assured is chosen
after an evaluation of the items
that you're insuring. In case of
jewellery, purity certifications
from reputed jewelers may be
needed. Typical exclusions to
such insurance covers may
losses caused by war, terrorist
attacks, riots, wilful acts of
destruction, and carelessness.
You need to read your policy
document carefully to under-
stand the terms and conditions
along with all exclusions.
ADVANCED SAFES
not enough of them. Your
neighbourhood bank branch
may not have this facility at
all. Even if it did, there could
be the problem of vacancy.
Luckily, banks are not the
only entities providing locker
facilities. Private non-banking
companies, too, provide them,
in different sizes for various
budgets.
These vaults come with an
impressive range of security
features. However, they are
not risk-free. The onus of the
safety of your valuables lies on
you. Besides, private vaults
are not regulated. In case of
deficiency in services, the only
recourse for an aggrieved cus-
tomer may be the consumer
court.
According to Section 111A, in the case of an individ-
ual or a HUF, being a resident, where the total income
as reduced by such short term capital gains is below
the basic exemption limit, then the short term capital
gain will be reduced by the amount of basic exemp-
tion limit not exhausted by any other income and
only the balance short term capital gain will be
chargeable to tax at the rate of 15 per cent. Therefore,
you will not be liable to pay income tax on the income
earned from short term capital gains as your total
income including the short term capital gains is
below the basic exemption limit. You are suggested to
file your income tax return for FY 2016-17 and claim
the refund.
(The writer is a Hyderabad-based chartered
accountant. Queries can be sent to
info@rathiandmalani.com)
HOUSING LOAN RATES
Lender Rate (%) EMI (in `)

profitability. The adverse This closely follows an inci- always, you have a price to pay AT HOME Allahabad Bank 8.55-9.05 26,130-27,088
impact of GST on offtake of dent where several lockers at for these options. Safety lockers at home now (The writer is the CEO of
DI pipes in Q2 is expected the branch of a well-known come with several advanced BankBazaar.com) Axis Bank 8.35-8.75 25,751-26,511
to get mitigated as clarity public-sector bank in Uttar PROPERTY OR features and will help you at Bank of India 8.55-8.6 26,130-26,225
on tax absorption by infra-
structure projects emerges.
Pradesh were allegedly emp-
tied, causing its owners losses
VALUABLE INSURANCE all times to quickly hide away
your valuables inside your Mrashtra Bank 8.75-8.85 26,511-26,703
The management remains to the tune of several crores. Most valuable items can be home. They are not just avail- Canara Bank 8.45-8.65 25,940-26,320
confident of achieving its Most banks provide insured against damages, able in a range of sizes, they Central Bank 25,845
8.4
yearly targets in both pig basic safety fea- theft, and losses. Jewellery can also provide advanced
tures such as a and ornaments, which locking, alarm systems, and Corp. Bank 8.85-9.1 26,703-27,185
iron and DI pipe divisions.
strong room, HOME often are the items resistance to fire. The encrypt- HDFC Ltd 8.35-9.05 25,751-27,088
a r m e d stored in bank lock- ed and digitised locks are not
Broking firm: Centrum
Rating: Buy guards, LOCKERS ers, can be insured easy to break into. There are ICICI Bank 8.35-8.85 25,751-26,703
C C T V through an indepen- also safes available with bio-
Closing price: `677.70
coverage, ALSO COME dent policy. They metric keys, which require yo-
J&K Bank
Karnataka Bank
8.9-9.25
8.6-8.9
26,799-27,476
26,225-26,799
and con- can also be insured ur personal presence for open-
WITH ADVANCED
SCHAEFFLER trolled ac-
cess to the
SECURITY
as part of a home
insurance policy,
ing. This option will cost you a
one-time cost which would
PNB
SBI
8.55-8.65
8.35-8.7
26,130-26,320
25,751-26,416

INDIA GETS
JMFS BUY
Schaeffler India (formerly
known as FAG Bearings
India) reported a healthy
growth in net profit of 17
per cent YoY, primarily led
by a better sales mix. The
brokerage believes that
lockers. which can cover not depend on the size and features
However, a just the structure of you desire in your safe. UCO Bank 8.55-8.8 26,130-26,607
typical locker FEATURES your home (if you are United Bank 8.75 26,511
agreement puts
the onus of the
safety of a lockers con-
its owner) but also its
contents under sub-limits to
the overall sum assured. As
PRIVATE VAULTS
One of the problems with
bank lockers is that there are
Compiled by: BankBazaar.com
*EMI is for a loan of `30 lakh for a tenure
of 20 years with a floating interest rate.
Interest rates are as on July 27 and may
change due to several factors

CASH IN ON GST BENEFITS TO BIG FIRMS

lucrative segments of four-
wheelers and exports con-
tinued to improve and
increased production at
Savli factory led to a decline
in purchase of traded goods.
The companys operating
margins have been most can see textile industry ings over the next couple wider. The key thing to gle rate and procedural gains is something that
resilient among its MNC regrouping. As will auto- of quarters, but it would see is whether there will issues, but after one year, only time will tell.

Invest talk
peers. With increased manu- mobile ancillaries. The level off. be a spin off on the gov- the results will be on the Over the next two years,
facturing capacity, new organised sector will insi- One thing to remember ernment finances. I would ground for all. Just one I can see corporate India
product lines, reduced
imports and low-capacity R. Balakrishnan st on buying inputs only
from registered players in
is that a broad increase or
decrease is universal and
think that there would be
a consolidation of our
factor of Octroi being abol-
ished helps boost our
becoming big beneficia-
ries of the GST system.
utilisation levels, the broker- order to get their GST is unlikely to change the finances leading to lower economy, as goods move Market leaders stand to
age believes that Schaeffler credits. Logically, this me- demand supply equation deficit. Now, the govern- faster and efficiency benefit as scale becomes

India is appropriately placed
to capitalise from operating
leverage benefits, as all mar-
gin levers are in place.
Schaeffler Groups R&D
expenditure stands at 5.6
per cent, as it ranks second
in Germany for patent appli-
cations, only behind Bosch.
The company gets access to
all products developed by
the parent company, while
the total outgo to the par-
ent stands at 2.9 per cent,
which is lowest among its
MNC peers.
Broking firm: JM Financial
Rating: Buy
Closing price: `4,648.65
G
ST is now a reality. I
doubt if there are
any direct winners
or losers merely due to a
lower or higher rate of
effective taxation. There
will be a transition period
of 18 to 24 months till the
dust settles. These are yet
early days. Numbers will
not tell us the story for
some more time. The
panic situation to clear
inventory that was pro-
duced before June 30
seems to have been a
blessing in disguise for
many. Inventory has been
cleared and cash freed.
There will be some inven-
tory losses as well as some
inventory write offs. A
cleansing, so as to say.
Gradually, as the dust
settles, there will be good of companies will be shy
tidings for the organised
sector. The entire GST
system levels the playing
field. This means that the
unorganised sector will
not have any price advan-
tage. Advantages of scale
will be a competitive
advantage, as it ought to
be. The largest companies
will be the biggest win-
ners. Further, companies
in sectors that face compe-
tition from unorganised
players will also gain. I
ans that the smaller play- in an industry. For inst-
ers will be forced in to reg- ance, an increase in the
istration and paying GST. effective service tax rate
In the initial phase, a lot from 14 to 18 per cent will
not reduce the total ser-
of passing on the full vices being provided.
extent of the inputs credit Similarly, a reduction in
as they deal with a new car prices is unlikely to
system. In about a year or dramatically increase the
so, as the system stabilis- sale of automobiles.
es, there will be further The big question is
competition based on this whether GST would result
fact. So, in the short term, in a better compliance and
some consumer products consequently a higher col-
could face some price lection of expenditure
hikes, but it will level-off taxes. My answer is yes.
over time. Consequently, Firstly, the service tax
we may see some con- hike is a huge boost to the
sumer companies report a collection. And the com-
spike in short term earn- pliance net will spread
ment could share some of
the spoils by way of lower
income-tax rates.
Lower income-tax rates
is something that appe- step in the whole process.
ars more tangible and This administration is
real. Even if it gets taken
away by higher taxes on
expenditure, the human
mind always reacts more
positively to higher cash
in hand. This illusion
helps build confidence in
the system and also the
economy.
GST is probably the sin-
gle biggest fiscal reform
that India is seeing. Yes,
we can always moan
about the absence of a sin-
improves.
Let us not look at GST in
isolation. Demonetisation
was also an important
there would be high tran-
sition costs. However, tra-
extremely focused on data
integration. Demonetisa-
tion, Aadhaar, and GST
are all pieces of a jigsaw
which will complete the
data integration. As every
transaction becomes trac-
eable and linkable, tax
compliances would impr-
ove. Ultimately good com-
pliance would help in low-
ering the effective tax
rates. How the adminis-
tration redistributes the
an important component.
Compliance costs are
unlikely to be high on a
recurring basis, though
nsition costs are unlikely
to break the backs of any
of the companies.
As an investor, I think
that we are headed for
good times. Focus on qual-
ity, size and potential.
Overall, one can expect
better efficiency of capital.
(The writer is a veteran
investment advisor. He
can be reached at balakr-
ishnanr@gmail.com)
https://telegram.me/Estore33 https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
cmyk cmyk

Edit
MIND POWER
E.E. CUMMINGS BOB MARLEY PAGE
The most wasted of all days One good thing about music, when
is one without laughter it hits you, you feel no pain
6
THE ASIAN AGE THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI

3 AUGUST 2017

RBI rate cut: Time Gokul

Gopalakrishnan
for govt to act now
T
he Reserve Bank of India met the expectations of the stock market,
economists and the banks with a quarter per cent cut to six per
cent in the repo rate (the rate at which RBI lends to banks) in its
monetary policy announced on Wednesday, though like Oliver
Twist some RBI watchers felt that half a per cent cut would have been
more appropriate considering the liquidity in the system. Other factors
like the inflation rate coming down consistently; the state of the economy
and lagging private investment point to the fact that a higher rate cut
might have helped to kickstart private investment. However, the co-rela-
tion between an interest rate cut and revival of private investment is not
clearly established. What cannot be denied is the fact that if consumers get
more spending power due to a robust cut in consumer borrowing rates
like in home loans and personal loans it would lead to a push in con-

Is China losing its edge?

sumption which, in turn, would see a cut in the idle capacity in industry
which has just a 60-75 per cent capacity utilisation.
It must be stressed that interest rate is a small part of the overall cost of
LETTERS
production and as the RBI observed there is a lot of work to be done by the
government. There is, for instance, the urgent need for the government to
reinvigorate private investment, remove
CONG: CRISIS WITHIN
infrastructure bottlenecks and provide a
It must be major thrust to the Pradhan Mantri Awas development, and con- contemporary scenario There seems to be a
stressed that Yojana for housing needs of all. The states are ducive to growth of has changed beyond widespread anti-
Abhijit land, labour, capital, recognition. Chinas
interest rate is a really the culprits here as they are the ones
delaying permissions for projects despite all organisation, the four structure of employment Congress wave through-
small part of the the talk of one window clearances. Corruption
overall cost of is still a factor in giving permissions. There is Bhattacharyya primary factors of pro-
duction, China succeed-
of 34.8 per cent agricul-
ture, 29.5 per cent indus-
out the country. People
voted out the party in
production and as a need for an independent body that would ed in developing its vast try and 35.7 per cent ser-
the RBI observed look into the delays and see that vested inter- swathe of diverse land- vices stands favourably 2014 because it main-
ests are not holding back people-oriented hous- scape into an engine of with that of Europes tained a sphinx-like
there is a lot of ing policies as they thrive on shortages. growth and opportunity economic powerhouse,
work to be Housing has a huge multiplier effect for the for multinational corpo- Germanys 28.2 per cent silence while its alliance

T
done by the economy as it spurs production of cement, he Soviet- trillion, UK $2.678 tril- rations, thereby virtual- employment in the partners indulged in
government steel and a whole lot of ancillary industries Afghan War lion, Brazil $2.246 tril- ly ensuring an unprece- industry sector. How-
besides giving employment to both skilled and was followed lion, Italy $2.149 trillion, dented sort of flight of ever, Chinas four per large-scale corruption.
unskilled labour. There is no reason, for by the demise Russia $2.097 trillion), capital, labour and tech- cent plus unemployed People refused to buy
instance, why in Mumbai, one in four people must live in slums of 12x12 of the mighty but it was way ahead of nology from the devel- labour force with that of its so-called secular-
square feet. Banks too are facing the burden of stressed assets and it is a USSR, unification of a its imminent bankrupt- oped Occident to the Indias five per cent and
welcome sign that the RBI governor said on Wednesday that it is working divided Germany and cy in 1991. developing Orient. Germanys 5.5 per cent ism plank. As far as the
in close coordination with the government to resolve the issue of large the end of the Cold War. To understand the real- Understandably, a plus, constitute a formi- party is concerned,
stressed corporate borrowers and recapitalise public sector banks within All were visibly momen- ity further, one has to strong motive of every- dable challenge to both
the fiscal deficit target. tous events of West-cen- take a look at the com- thing cost-effective, the East and West. there is a disconnect
On the growth of the economy it is a good sign that the RBI has main- tric world order in parative figures of the 10 from land, labour, logis- That said, there is no between the party and
tained the real GDP growth for 2017-18 at 7.3 per cent. Whilst this is good developed Europe. Yet, biggest cities of the tics, connectivity, tax doubt that China today the people. Vice-presi-
news generally, what is more important for the people is growth with there was also unfolding world between 1988 and policy to tariff rate and stands at a crucial junc-
employment which has not been happening so far. India is still far away an invisible yet equal- 2015. From zero in 1988, infrastructure facilities ture. Its leadership faces dent Rahul Gandhi
from the 10 million jobs in five years promised by the Prime Minister. The ly momentous story Shanghai and Beijing to marketing Made in an unprecedented situa- appears to be too
PM is reportedly looking into this but nothing has been heard so far. in developing Asia. took third and seventh China FMCG and gro- tion as Beijings four-
Achchhe din is yet to come on the crucial housing front. Mainland China was positions, respectively wth of engineering and decade-old growth immature. Its leadership
changing fast and in 2015 with Delhi and technology centres in no model has run its needs to take a hard
course. Today, Beijing is
NITI Aayog: All is not well
furious. Followed sud- Mumbai filling second time, made hordes of look at itself.
denly by the post-1991 and fifth slots, respec- Western corporations to a virtual victim of the
India. China owes its tively among the top 10. shift production base. sharp, cyclical down- K.V. Raman
growth to my way or As mentioned above, Not surprisingly, turn and structural Mumbai

P
rime Minister Narendra Modi set up the National Institution for highway posturing
Transforming India, or the NITI Aayog, as a key venture in the dis- based on national inter-
mantling of the Nehruvian heritage, of which the Planning est by the single-party
Commission was a prominent landmark. Evidently, all is not well with command regime with
this body. The first man to lead the newly-created think tank, Arvind an alibi of communism
Panagariya, resigned as vice-chairman of NITI Aayog on Tuesday, keen to and an enormous
return to his post as professor at Columbia. appetite for capitalism.
Dr Panagariyas officially stated reason that the university wont keep Command, rather than in the last quarter of the
his old post vacant much longer does not quite wash. Was he not aware consensus, transformed
of the terms of his engagement there when he came to India to head the and reshaped Chinas
outfit with such an important remit no less than to preside over the liq- countryside fast.
uidation of the ancient regime and to animate an institutional body Determinedly, China
charged with making an India of Mr Modis dreams? made things happen
What appears more probable is that the economics professor went away with a sense of urgency
because he realised that he was holding a non-job. No one was listening to to catch up with lost
the recommendations of the think tank he headed. Unlike the Planning opportunities of the
Commission, the NITI Aayog had no powers to direct the channelling of past. How did India
resources to approved projects. Although its vice-chairman had the rank change? For some, that
of Cabinet minister, Dr Panagariya did not attend Cabinet meetings. The still remains a mystery.
PM himself did not bother with him much and he wasnt on the same page All the more, since India
as the governments chief economic adviser. was forced to sell its gold
Given this backdrop, its unlikely an economist of any distinction will reserves to alien land, in
take up the job now. May be the idea was just to wind up Planning 1991, to avoid failing its
Commission and thats about it. international debt pay- order were that of
ment obligation.
Thus, between the end
of the Soviet-Afghan
War in 1989 and 2013,
THE ASIAN AGE both China and India,
which never figured in
T. VENKATRAM REDDY
the list of toppers except
while counting of heads,
Editor in Chief & Chairman of the Board of Directors
burst into the league of
top 10 economies of the
Printer & Publisher: T. VENKATESWARLU
world with Chinas per-
THE ASIAN AGE offices are located at:
New Delhi: S-7&8 Green Park, Main Market, New Delhi 110 016. Phone (011) 26530001-03, Fax (011) formance being simply
26530027 spectacular and Indias,
Mumbai: Sigma House, # 43, Ground Floor, R. A. Kidwai Marg, Near Wadala Rly Station, Wadala (West), though far from spectac-
Mumbai - 400 031 Phone (022) 24195301 Fax (022) 24195347 ular, yet, unexpectedly,
Kolkata: 4th Floor, Chowdhury Building, 8/1A Little Russel Street, Kolkata 700 071.
exceptional. According
Phone: (033) 2289 0676/77 Fax (033) 2289 0686
Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office in the United Kingdom to the 2013 figures, US
Air surcharge for Kathmandu and J&K `1 $16.768 trillion economy
Published and Printed on behalf of and for
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, S-7&8 Green Park, Main Market,
was followed by Chinas
New Delhi 110 016 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301.
$9.24 trillion. And the
biggest surprise in the
Mumbai: Primedia Services Pvt. Ltd. Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai -
400 705. list was the 10th placed
Kolkata: Satyajug Employees Cooperative Industrial Society Ltd, 13/A, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Kolkata 700 072. India with a $1.875 tril-
London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ. lion economy. No doubt,
the 2013 India was still
RNI Registration number: 57290/94
way behind the world
Postal registration numbers: DL(S)-05/4189/15-17
giants (like Japan $4.92
trillion, Germany $3.73
trillion, France $2.806
the GDP growth apart,
what made the scenario
dramatic is the purchas-
ing power parity (PPP)
economics of China and
India vis vis the West.
From being nowhere emerged potential flash-
points. Compared to
20th century, by 2013
China with $16,162 bil-
lion and India with
$6,784 billion took sec-
ond and third positions,
respectively in GDP
PPP. To make matters
further uncomfortable
for the developed West,
the list showed the
most advanced falling therefore is likely to be
behind the US, China,
India. Thus, from the
fourth-positioned Japan,
the names in descending
land, as rapid industrial-
Russia, Germany,
Brazil, France, UK,
Indonesia, Italy, Mexico,
South Korea, Saudi
Arabia, Spain, Canada
and Turkey. In one
stroke, it transpired that
both China and India
constituted market par
excellence market of
cash-flushed consumers.
Nevertheless, a stark
and robust Chinese
modus operandi too
came to the fore.
Adopting and adapting
the conventional and
classical economics of
theory, China succeeded
in translating the eco-
nomic theory into
applied economics, as
Beijing became the hub
of production, distribu-
tion and consumption.
Luring the Western
manufacturers with a
congenial environ-
ment for industrial
therefore, Chinas GDP flaws laid bare by the
of $9.24 trillion, second 2008 global financial cri-
only to US $16.768 tril-
lion, took the world by
sis. And Chinas overde-
pendence on exports
storm. With prosperity, exposed it to direct glob-
however, there also al economic fluctua-
tions, thereby leading its
line of production to
Indias 52.5 arable land overcapacity and the
as percentage of total haunting possibility of a
land of 32,87,263 square growth without employ-
km, China has to make ment (rather rising
do with 11.3 arable land unemployment).
as percentage of total Understandably, there-
land of 95,60,900 square fore, fewer things seem
km. Continued, and con- to be going right for
tinuity in, self-sufficien- Beijing. As Chinas
cy in food production, economy goes jumbo
and unmanageable,
Chinas major chal- owing to weak growth,
lenge; all the more slack in demand in criti-
owing to the colossus cal markets of the US,
loss of fertile and arable Europe, Japan, rising
production cost and
isation changed Chinese wages along with strong
landscape as well as Chinese currency of
labour market. China yuan vis--vis dollar, is
today is 45.6 per cent China losing its market
rural and 54.4 per cent
urban, a change from
competitiveness? Since
for China, economics is
53.4 per cent rural and
46.6 per cent urban pop-
foremost and fundamen-
tal, and Beijing, in the
ulace in 1989. In compar- heart of hearts, prefers
ison, India today is 69.8 finance to firepower per-
per cent rural and 30.2 taining to mega con-
per cent urban. sumer nations, the situa-
In GDP and structure tion is indeed challeng-
of employment too, the ing. Finance being pros-
perity and firepower,
destruction thereof, the
Chinas four- external posturing of the
decade-old growth Dragon is more than
model has run its understandable and
course... Today, expected. Compulsion of
domestic dictates and
Beijing is a virtual justifies the distant
victim of the sharp, thunder like Doklam.
cyclical downturn
and structural The writer is an
alumnus of the National
flaws laid bare by Defence College.
the 2008 global The views expressed
financial crisis. are personal.
TN: NO VOTE TO BJP
BJP LEADER Amit Shah is
scheduled to visit Tamil Nadu this
month to gear up his party
machinery with an eye on the 2019
general elections. News is also agog
that the BJP is brokering peace
among the two warring groups of
the AIADMK. Knowing fully well
that they cannot get even a single
seat in Tamil Nadu without the
support of either of the two
Dravidian parties and assured that
the DMK will never align with
them, the BJP is coaxing the AIA-
DMK to become a part of the NDA.
However, Mr Shah is forgetting
that the people of Tamil Nadu are
not only angry with the allegedly
corrupt and inefficient AIADMK
government but also with the BJP
government at the Centre. They
will never vote for the BJP.
Tharcius S. Fernando
Chennai
LINK RIVERS
PM MODIS emphasis on the need
for a permanent solution to the
problem of floods in Assam and
announced a relief package of `2,000
crore for the Northeast is welcome.
If the NDA government continues to
rule after 2019 general elections, the
party should plan and make efforts
to link rivers in India, so that the
shortage of water in some states and
floods in some other can be tackled
with one stroke.
Chitra Krishnan
Vashi
Every Monday the best letter of
the week wins `500. Email:
letters@asianage.com Else, send
to S-7&8, Green Park Market,
New Delhi 110016

B
ack in the early 1970s,
when Pakistani television
audiences relied on a sin-
gle channel, one of PTVs
staples was the satirical American
spy series Get Smart, in which the
Mahir Ali forces of CONTROL invariably,
and usually inadvertently, got the
better of the agents of KAOS.
Who would have thought that less
than half a century later, the latter
would be in charge of the seat of
executive power in America? Could
Lehrer abandoned his musical car-
eer, deciding that satire had been
surpassed by reality. Around the
same time, another prodigiously
talented performer, Phil Ochs, upd-
ated a song from a decade earlier to
come up with Heres to the State of
Richard Nixon, which contained a
line that was arguably even more
applicable to some of Nixons suc-
cessors Ronald Reagan and
George W. Bush spring to mind
but perhaps never more so than
describing him as weak and
beleaguered in presidential
tweets, and apparently hoping the
first senior Republican legislator
sufficiently misguided to endorse
him would simply walk away. The
extremely right-wing Sessions,
though, has an ideological agenda
of his own, and evidently intends to
stay the course. Trump has no
quarrel with his ideology, but cant
get over the fact that Sessions was
more or less obliged to recuse him-
focused his energies in a frequent-
ly inhumane crackdown on illegal
immigrants.
The advent of Kelly led to
Scaramuccis exit 10 days after his
entrance which in turn had led
to presidential spokesman Sean
Spicers exit and the ouster of pre-
vious Chief of Staff Reince Preibus,
both of whom have close connec-
tions with the Republican Party
establishment. The Republican ma-
jority in both Houses of Congress
Michael Moore, whose Broadway
show The Terms of My Surrender
opens this week, appears to believe
that satire is the ideal weapon
against this absurd presidency. He
also has a film in the works, tenta-
tively titled Fahrenheit 11/9
and its more than likely that date
from last year will go down in 21st-
century American history as a con-
siderably more crucial turning
point than 9/11. Trump has yet to
sign the almost unanimously

West Wing there be any other explanation for

the unending White House follies?
Not surprisingly, American TV
talk-show hosts are looking a bit
now: And the speeches of the Pres-
ident are the ravings of a clown
Nixon memorably sealed his own
fate with what has gone down in
self from the Russia investigation.
The President, who prizes personal
loyalty far above constitutionality
and other mundane concerns, took
has hitherto not sufficed to
advance Trumps legislative agen-
da, notably including a repeal of
Barack Obamas Affordable Care
passed congressional bill on fur-
ther sanctions against Russia
(alongside Iran and North Korea),
or to Vladimir Putins retaliatory

nuts in the distraught these days. They are

regularly being trumped by the
West Wing reality show, with its
history as the Saturday Night Mas-
sacre, sparked by the dismissal of
Watergate special prosecutor Arch-
this as an affront.
The supposed grown-ups in the
administration, defence secretary
Act, which would deprive millions
of Americans of health insurance.
On most counts, Republican con-
expulsion of 755 US diplomats. It
also remains to be seen whether
Kelly can succeed in his unenvi-
James Mad Dog Mattis and Rex gressional leaders have been loath

White House
frequently refreshed cast of charac-
ters. Could Stephen Colbert possi-
bly match the foul-mouthedness of
Anthony Scaramucci, the White
Houses short-lived director of
communications? Its a tough call.
Back in 1973, when the Nobel Co-
mmittee co-awarded its peace prize
to Henry Kissinger, the relentless-
ly acerbic singer-songwriter Tom
ibald Cox. Trump seems keen to fol-
low in his footsteps but, semi-aware
of the possible consequences, he is
holding back from yelling Youre
fired! at Robert Mueller, the for-
mer FBI chief in charge of the
inquiry into the Trump campaigns
alleged collusion with Russia.
He has felt free, though, to rail at
his attorney-general, Jeff Sessions,
Tillerson, are either on stress leave
or have gone AWOL. Trump tends
to admire military men, though,
and former four-star Marine, gen-
eral John Kelly, was this week
inducted into the White House as
Chief of Staff fresh from his stint
as head of Homeland Security, in
which capacity he, like Sessions,
to take up arms against Trump, but
that could begin to change once the
voters carried away by Trumps
crass campaign rhetoric realise
that he is not going to live up to
their expectations. This could,
potentially, occur before next
years midterm elections.
The activist and filmmaker
able task of introducing military
discipline in the West Wing, partic-
ularly when it comes to controlling
the chief executive. Its easy enou-
gh, though, to respond to Trumps
A great day at the White House!
tweet on Monday night: Mr Presi-
dent, may you have many more.
By arrangement with Dawn
https://telegram.me/Estore33 https://telegram.me/AllEpapers

Oped
Word SPY
BOT HERDER MOUSE WRIST PAGE

A hacker who controls compromised Pain in the wrist caused by excessive or 7

computers for malicious purposes improper use of a computer mouse
THE ASIAN AGE THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI

T
he response of BJP ranks. Over the last
the Congress to
the Gujarat AGE DEBATE Congress has itself to blame for defection of its MLAs two-three years, news
from Gujarat shows the
crisis makes one BJP losing its popularity.
wonder whether The Congress, in spite of

The games politicians play

it is suffering from spending 20 years in the
Lemming complex or wilderness, is holding its
Ostrich syndrome? The own and launching a cred-
party is blaming the ible offensive against the
Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP. Widespread angst
Prime Minister Narendra against the BJP is show-
Modi and party president ing in various mass

Amit Shah for the crisis, continued to support one
defections and the faction against the other.
confinement of its MLAs As always, it has chosen
in a luxury resort in to cry hoarse and allege
Karnataka till the date of conspiracy after the
Rajya Sabha elections in camel was out of the tent.
the state on August 8. In Gujarat, it could have
The Congress could easily averted the revolt.
have avoided all these The party has great
embarrassments had its experience in managing
leadership been more contradictions.
alert or sensitive to the In recent times, it has
sentiments of the state been behaving as if it is
leaders. out of sync in politics. Or
The crisis in the state else how does it explain
unit was brewing for the expensive sojourn of
quite sometime. its MLAs in the holiday
Many factions already
existed.
Clearly, the faction led
rendezvous at a time
when Gujarat, especially
the Congress strongholds
by former Union minister
and former state party
were reeling under severe
flood?
chief Shankarsinh In a state that is going to
Vaghela and the
traditional faction under
polls in a couple of
months, the Congress
Ahmed Patel and PCC MLAs have left their
chief Bharatsingh Solanki
were at loggerheads.
voters to fend
themselves in the heavy
for
Mr Vaghela had
conveyed his displeasure
flood.
And estimates say that
to the party high the Congress will be
command a number of spending a fortune for the
times in the recent past. transport and comfort of
He had even threatened to its MLAs for 10 days.
split the party alleging The victory of Ahmed
neglect a couple of times. Patel in the Rajya Sabha
But like in Assam earlier poll seems more
and in Bihar (when Nitish important for the party
Kumar met Congress vice- than winning the state.
president before quitting Could anyone believe
Mahagathbandhan) the that the MLAs are unsafe
Congress leadership not in their own states unless
only chose to ignore the they are so unpopular
warnings but blindly with their electorate?
The party is actually not
protecting its men but
curtailing their freedom
so that they can be
threatened and herd
together on polling day to
vote for Mr Patel.
The Congress is using
both money and muscle
power to coerce its MLAs
into submission.
It is desperate to win the
seat for Mr Patel, which
has become an ego issue
for the high command.
Equally determined is
Mr Vaghela, his son
Mahendra Sinh and his
relative
Rajput,
Balwantsinh
the rebel
candidate who
queered the pitch for
has
Mr Patel.
There are 22 dissidents
supporting this faction,
according to the insiders.
The party has the option
between surrendering to
the Vaghela group which
is more popular or losing
the war.
Blaming the BJP for its
inner-party tussle will not
impress the voters. And it
is no wrong, but
realpolitik, to fish in the
troubled waters for the
Congress rival here.
The writer is a member
of the BJP Central
Committee on Training,
and Committee on
Publications
This was a Desperate
crisis in the BJP trying
making to weaken us
R. Sandeep
Balashankar Dikshit
The Congress could
have avoided
embarrassment had
its leadership been
more alert or sensi-
tive to the senti-
ments of the state
leaders. The crisis
in the state unit was
brewing for quite
some time.
In the last two-three
years, news from
Gujarat shows the
BJP losing its popu-
larity. The Congress,
in spite of spending
20 years in the
wilderness, is holding
its own and launch-
ing a credible offen-
sive against the BJP.
D
efection, espe-
cially by legis-
latures, was
once consid-
ered a sin in Assembly election. It
Indian politics. A sin,
because it denotes lack of
morality, absence of ideol-
ogy, and worse, it denotes
greed. In the public eye,
just some years ago, defec-
tion was akin to a corrupt
practice. Over time, just
as most other ethical
behaviour and beliefs in
politics have become non-
issues, so has defection.
Defections by elected per-
sons, engineered by pow-
erful interests, are now
benevolently
political strategy.
called
The case of about eight
Congress state legisla-
tures in Gujarat defecting
from the Congress on the
eve of Rajya Sabha elec-
tions, and just some
months away from the
Assembly elections is also
being analysed similarly.
It is being paraded as
strategic success by Amit
Shah and as a sign of fail-
ure of the Congress.
Lets look at the assumed
impact of these defections
in Gujarat it puts a lit- called guilty of not having
tle doubt on whether
Ahmad Patel would be re-
elected to the Rajya
Sabha; it sends a signal to
the voters in Gujarat, that
the Congress is a divided
house and the rats are
leaving the sinking ship;
it upsets a party in prepa-
ration for an upcoming
political Mafioso do? They
deflects relevant issues to
less crucial issues such as
these defections all in nents, they build smoke-
all an attempt to disrupt
the emerging political sit-
uation in Gujarat.
This shows nervousness
and desperation in the
BJP. By engineering
defections, the BJP is hop-
ing to weaken the Cong-
ress. Now that the commu-
nal cauldron post-2002,
that it reaped to win
thrice in Gujarat, and
nationally in 2014, can no
longer hide its underper-
formance in government,
they are using strategies
to malign a surging
Congress, through devi-
ous tactics.
Perhaps, what we could
call a weakness in this
case is the Congress
inability to publicly man-
age opinion, by showing
defectors and their rea-
sons for what they are
opportunists, dishonest
politicians who have been presence and its struggles
lured. Congress may be
ment. When the voter is
the wherewithal to cajole
and caution those defect-
ing, but it cant be blamed any difference.
any further.
To many like me, this
shows desperation in the
protests. The mood in
Gujarat is changing, and
so what do desperate
manipulators and the
subvert the opposition,
they buy off their oppo-
screen to escape, they dis-
rupt and create chaos. Mr
Modi, his consigliore Mr
Shah, are doing just this.
As the political noose is
tightening, the cracks are
showing.
A party that has deep
roots in Gujarat, and has
ruled the State for twenty
years, should not need
such tactics to ensure
another win. It claims his-
torical development, it
claims a Gujarat model,
it claims extraordinary
governance. Then why all
this. These are the first
signs of a party sensing a
slide. The difference
between the BJP and the
Congress votes was never
a landslide; it was just
some section of voters
moving their allegiance.
The Congress will con-
tinue to work on its public
against the BJP govern-
defecting, a few legislators
defecting will not make
The writer is Congress
spokesperson

Swami Chaitanya Keerti

Mind and meditation

R
ecently, during my flight to Washington DC, I checked the
in-flight entertainment menu. I was surprised to see infor-
mation in Hindi language also. There was a listing of med-
itation music for relaxation. I became curious to find out how it
was mentioned in Hindi. The word meditation was translated
as Chintan. I understood that it as a literal translation of the
word from dictionaries as I know meditation is dhyan and not
chintan. For most people in the world, specially those who have
not practised or experienced meditation, as taught by Gautam
Buddha and other luminous mystics, meditation means con-
templation or concentration on some philosophical subject.
The philosophers are thinkers, mere thinkers. Give them any
subject and they would use their mind and contemplation to
focus on the subject. They will skilfully use their expertise of
linguistic knowledge, but basically it is coming from their
churning of the mind. They may even appear to be more
impressive than the mystic saints and most of the time they
are. In reality, they are farthest from the truth, as this exercise
does not match the existential experience or realisation which
is deeper than the mind. For example, love and prayer; these
things do not happen in the mind, they happen in the heart and
soul. This is the realm of experience and realisation. Out of
nowhere love descends into a human heart
as something wondrous which has nothing
to do with thinking or contemplation, may
have nothing to do with any logic. It may be
totally irrational. And on a higher level, this
may be the case with prayer or bhakti or
devotion. All that is divine, not just a prod-
uct of thought and mind, is nourishing to
our soul, very significant to our being. Our
mind is just a useful instrument for mundane things, but it is
not all. There are many things that are beyond the sphere of
mind and they are very significant to us.
Talking about the reality of our being, Osho explains: You
are not the mind, you are beyond mind. You have become iden-
tified, thats true, but you are not the mind. And this is the pur-
pose of meditation: to give you small glimpses that you are not
the mind. If even for a few moments the mind stops, you are still
there! On the contrary, you are more, overflowing with being.
When the mind stops it is as if a drainage, which was continu-
ously draining you has stopped. Suddenly you are overflowing
with energy. You feel more! If even for a single moment you
become aware that the mind is not there but I am, you have
reached a deep core of truth.

The writer, editor of Osho World, is the author of

Mindfulness: The Master Key

THE NYT CROSSWORD OTHER VOICES

P
ACROSS 29 Spanish largest radio tele- fault River explorer akistan has a new Prime Minister, four
muralist Jos Mara scope 24 Not wasted 37 Turpentine is dis- days after the last one was removed, but
1 Horizontal ___ 53 Open to everyone 25 LArlsienne tilled from it there is still a great deal of uncertainty
pieces covering 30 Infrequent ending 54 Sides of suite composer, 1872 38 Philippine strong- over the government because there is likely
joints, in architecture for blocks 28 1975 Best Musical, man ___ Duterte to be a third Prime Minister by the end of
8 Team that URLs 55 Corpus Christi, e.g. with The 39 Become slippery, next month... Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan
last won the 31 Sign of age 31 Open-sided shel- in a way Abbasi claimed in his acceptance speech that
World Series in 1979 35 Part of a watch DOWN ters 40 Heartfelt he intends to use his time in office produc-
15 Ancient that holds the faces 32 Distracted, maybe 42 Kind of roast tively...
Greek land glass cover 1 Shooters target in 33 More severe 44 Singer Clark Prime Minister Abbasi received sensible
that fought 37 ___-dieu soccer 34 Evita lyricist 48 Baja bears advice from losing PPP candidate Naveed
Sparta 41 Like hippies, by 2 Passage 35 It may be a write- 49 Places where Qamar in the National Assembly.
16 Weaver of Greek
mythology
nature
43 Thickening
between buildings
3 Gather with difficul-
off
36 Mississippi
black-eyed Susans
grow
New PMs Mr Qamar suggested that if Mr Abbasi is
serious about getting some work done in his
17 Some farm
machinery
agent in
cookery
ty
4 Understand?
challenge short spell in office, he should focus on only a
few areas of policy and make Parliament a
18 To the point 45 Seriously 5 Brainstorm hub of activity again. Perhaps the key for Mr
19 Personae non hurt 6 Bleachers Abbasi is to work with the younger Sharif
gratae 46 Recipient of a blaster brother to draw up a set of policy and legisla-
20 Gets in on the Mailer-Daemon 7 Unwelcome come- tive priorities for the rest of the parliamen-
game notice back tary term. It may have to be a modest set of
21 Must pay 47 Saucy name? 8 Amazon rodent proposals, but it could be effective if drawn
22 Often-repeated 49 Eventually 9 Athlete among ath- up pragmatically between the second and
line 50 Gives meaning letes third Prime Ministers of this Parliament.
23 Cup holders to 10 Harangue The PML(N) has indicated that it does not
25 Things you 51 Slippery 11 Dcor features want to dwell too much on the reasons for
must choose, 52 Puerto Rican 12 Heraldic Nawaz Sharifs ouster, but the party should
its said home to the emblem of Scotland focus on improving on his performance in
26 Sort Western 13 Guarantor office.
27 Lose-lose Hemispheres 14 Overlook, as a Dawn, Pakistan
https://telegram.me/Estore33 https://telegram.me/AllEpapers

The brand Nokia is

named after a place
in Southern Finland
THE ASIAN AGE
News+
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
PAGE

N. Koreas ICBM fires up fears

IN BRIEF
Moderate
drinkers at lower
risk of dementia
Los Angeles: Older adults
who consume alcohol mod-
erately on a regular basis
are more likely to live to the
age of 85 without dementia
or other cognitive impair-
ments than those who do
not drink, a study claims.
Previous studies have found
a correlation between mod-
erate alcohol intake and
longevity. This study is
unique because we consid-
ered men and women's cog-
nitive health at late age and
found that alcohol con-
sumption is not only associ-
ated with reduced mortality,
but with greater chances of
remaining cognitively
healthy into older age, said
Linda McEvoy, associate
professor at University of
California, San Diego in the
US. In particular, the
researchers found that
among men and women 85
and older, individuals who
consumed moderate to
heavy amounts of alcohol
five to seven days a week
were twice as likely to be
cognitively healthy than
non-drinkers. Cognitive
health was assessed every
four years over the course
of the 29-year study, using a
standard dementia screen-
ing test. Moderate drinking
involves consuming up to
one alcoholic beverage a
day for adult women of any
age and men aged 65 and
older; and up to two drinks
a day for adult men under
age 65. Heavy drinking is
defined as up to three alco-
holic beverages per day for
women of any adult age and
men 65 and older; and four
drinks a day for adult men
under 65. Drinking more
than these amounts is cate-
gorised as excessive. It is
important to point out that
there were very few individ-
uals in our study who drank
to excess, so our study does
not show how excessive or
binge-type drinking may
affect longevity and cogni-
tive health in ageing, said
McEvoy, senior author of the
study published in the
Journal of Alzheimers
Disease. Long-term exces-
sive alcohol intake is known
to cause alcohol-related
in South for US alliance
Jung Ha-
Seoul: North Koreas latest
missile test has extended
Won the range of its weapons to
much of mainland US and
raised a new fear in the
focus South: would Washington
protect Seoul when that
could put American cities
Last in danger?
The US is security guar-
weeks ICBM antor for the democratic
and capitalist South,
where 28,500 US troops are
test put stationed to defend it from
Pyongyang after the 1950-
major US 53 Korean War ended with
a ceasefire instead of a
cities includ- peace treaty. The alliance
with Seoul has also been a
ing Chicago key pillar of Washingtons
geopolitical strategy in
and Los Asia, where China is
increasingly flexing its
Angeles muscles as it seeks mili-
tary clout commensurate
within range with its economic might.
But last weeks intercon-
of a poten- tinental ballistic missile
(ICBM) test put major US
cities including Chicago
tial attack and Los Angeles within
range of a potential attack
from the from the nuclear-armed
North.
nuclear- Now South Korean
media and experts fear
armed North. that could cast a cloud
over US commitment to
Now South the alliance, long
described as rock solid
Korean by both sides.
Would the Trump
media and administration protect us
from an attack from the
experts fear North when doing so could
risk putting the US in dan-
that could ger of a nuclear attack?
JoongAng Ilbo, a major
Seoul newspaper, said in
cast a cloud an editorial.
It was only a matter of
over US time before the North
develops a fully-opera-
commitment tional, nuclear-tipped mis-
sile capable of hitting the
to the US, it said.
And at that point, it con-
alliance... cluded gloomily,
answer may not be yes.
the
Tourists pose for photos as a South Korean soldier stands guard inside a pavillion at the Joint Security Area within
the Demilitarised Zone separating North and South Korea
There remain doubts
whether the North has
mastered the technology
needed for a missile war-
head to survive re-entry
into the Earths atmos-
phere, or if it can minia-
turise a nuclear weapon to
fit into a nose cone.
But it claims to have
done so, and has undoubt-
edly made rapid techno-
logical advances since
Kim Jong-Un came to
power in 2011, with the
young leader overseeing
three nuclear tests and a
string of missile launches.
The North has for
decades demanded the
US sign a peace treaty
with Pyongyang and with-
draw its troops from the
South.
Visiting US politicians
always pledge that
Washington is committed
to the alliance vice-pres- warning: The worst-case
ident Mike Pence, who
toured the Demilitarised
Zone that divides the two
Koreas in April, called it
ironclad
immutable.
and
But South Koreas top-
selling daily Chosun Ilbo
questioned those reassur-
ances following the ICBM
test.
It was hard to expect the
US to help the South if
that risked a nuclear
attack on America, it said
in an editorial Monday,
and followed up Tuesday
by the US against the
scenario is US troops with-
drawing from the Korean
peninsula.
That is what North
Korea ultimately wants,
it added. For South
Koreans who have grown
used to decades of protec-
AFP
tion from the US Forces
Korea, that prospect is
almost unimaginable. But
the reality is that things
are heading in that very
direction.
At the same time, South
Koreans fear the possibili-
ty of a pre-emptive strike
said.
North, which could trigger
devastating consequences
even without Pyongyang
resorting to nuclear
weapons.
It has massed conven-
tional artillery within
range of Seoul, which
could inflict catastrophic
damage on the
capital before being neu-
tralised.
The US has hardened its
stance over the North
since Fridays test, with its
ambassador to the UN,
Nikki Haley, saying: The
time for talk is over.
Influential US Senator
Lindsey Graham said
Tuesday that President
Donald Trump had told
him he would go to war to
prevent Pyongyang devel-
oping a long-range
nuclear-armed missile,
even if that meant disas-
ter for the peninsula.
Hes got to choose
between homeland securi-
ty and regional stability,
Graham said in an inter-
view with NBC.
If theres going to be a
war to stop him, it will be
over there. If thousands
die, theyre going to die
over there. Theyre not
going to die here. And he
has told me that to my
face.
Experts say a months-
long conflict on the
Korean peninsula, even
using only conventional
arms, could leave a million
dead or injured before US
and South Korean forces
prevailed.
US secretary of state Rex
Tillerson later insisted the
US was not trying to top-
ple the Kim regime. We
are not your enemy. Were
not your threat, but you
are presenting an unac-
ceptable threat to us, and
we have to respond, he
Jeung Young-Tae, direc-
tor of military studies at
the Souths Dongyang
University, said
Pyongyang had crossed a
red line with its latest
missile achievements.
AFP

To see Stalin: Latest WWII film

dementia. The researchers
said the study does not sug-
gest drinking is responsible
for increased longevity and
cognitive health. PTI
Schools out:
migrants learn
Pneumonia, sepsis
infections may aims to stir up Russians French on banks
up stroke risk
London: Pneumonia or sepsis
Maxime Popov of Paris canal
infections may increase the
meanwhile
Marie
risk of cardiovascular dis- here when it rains,
eases such as stroke by six when its hot, when they

times, a study warns. Severe
infections in adulthood are
associated with a contempo-
raneously raised risk of car-
diovascular disease," said
Scott Montgomery from the
Orebro University in Sweden.
Researchers found that infec-
tion was associated with a
6.33-fold raised risk of car-
diovascular disease during
the first year after the infec-
tion. In the second and third
years following an infection,
cardiovascular disease risk
remained raised by 2.47 and
2.12 times, researchers said.
Risk decreased with time but
was still raised for at least
five years after the infection
by nearly two-fold (hazard
ratio 1.87). During the follow-
Dhumieres
have the sun in their
To See Stalin faces. Theyre really
into it basically, the
is the latest in a aside energetic, white-haired
volunteer said.
string of govern- Paris: Sitting in rows on
A rare sight anywhere
in the world in the 21st
ment-backed a grassy embankment
overlooking a Paris
century, the teaching
taking place under the
square, around 50 asy- trees in Paris causes
productions lum-seekers recite the passers-by to stop and
alphabet in French fol- stare. Founded in
about inspiring lowing a young woman November 2015 at the
height of the migrant
pointing to letters on a
tales from World whiteboard.
Ew, 22-year-old
crisis in Europe, the
association BAAM aims
War II aimed at Louise shouts, attempt-
ing to make herself
to give asylum-seekers
some of the support
bolstering patri- heard above the passing
traffic and the music
withheld by the state
while their asylum
otic fervour that spilling out of a nearby
bar. Ooh! comes the
claims
processed.
are being

up period, a total of 46,754

men (19.7 per cent) had a
first diagnosis of cardiovascu-
lar disease. There were 9,987
hospital admissions for pneu-
monia or sepsis among 8,534
men who received these
diagnoses. Similar findings
were observed for coronary
heart disease, stroke, and
fatal cardiovascular disease.
The persistently raised risk
could not be explained by
subsequent severe infections.
Our results indicate that the
risk of cardiovascular disease,
including coronary heart dis-
ease and stroke, was
increased after hospital
admission for sepsis or pneu-
monia, said Cecilia Bergh
from Orebro University. The
risk remained notably raised
for three years after infection
and was still nearly two-fold
after five years, Bergh
added. Conventional cardio-
vascular risk factors are still
important but infection may
be the primary source of
risk for a limited time,
researchers said. The team
examined if hospital admis-
sion for sepsis or pneumo-
nia is associated with an
increased risk of cardiovas-
cular disease in the years
following infection, and
whether there is a period of
particularly
heightened risk. PTI
the Kremlin can
then tap
Voskresensk, Russia: A group of
Soviet mechanics slog through a
muddy forest on a mission that
would eventually help change the
course of World War II: reaching
dictator Joseph Stalin.
Among them is an engineer who
wants to convince the Kremlin
leader that a new tank he has
designed can transform the Soviet
Unions outdated forces a year
ahead of the invasion by Nazi
Germany.
Based on a little-known chapter
of Soviet history from 1940 this
is the scenario for a new film
being shot outside Moscow with
state funding.
The movie currently with the
working title To See Stalin is
the latest in a string of govern-
ment-backed productions about
inspiring tales from World War II
aimed at bolstering patriotic fer-
vour that the Kremlin can then
tap.
But critics argue that they tend
to whitewash the crimes of the
Soviet leadership while down-
playing the tragedies of the war
and also play fast and loose
with the truth.
The idea came from the culture
ministry, which has been actively
pushing to retell the stories of the
Russian director Kim Druzhinin (right) speaking with actors during the shooting of a scene of his movie
currently with the working title To See Stalin in a forest near Voskresensk, outside Moscow
heroes from our countrys past,
32-year-old director Kim
Druzhinin told AFP as he oversaw
the shoot. Stalin is the culmina-
tion -
Druzhinins latest project cen-
tres on the epic tale of Mikhail
Koshkin, who in the spring of
1940 drove his prototype tank
more than 2,000 kilometres (1,250
miles) across the Soviet Union to
pitch the design to Stalin.
The journey would eventually
cost Koshkin his life, as he died
from pneumonia contracted along
the route. But his legendary T-34
tank went into mass production
and eventually helped Moscow
push back Nazi forces after their
devastating invasion of the USSR
in 1941.
It is tragic story about a design-
er who got his tank into produc-
tion at the cost of his own life,
said Druzhinin.
The film which the director
says he wants to shoot in the
style of a Soviet adventure
movie has raised some eye-
brows over what is expected to be
a positive portrayal of supremo
Stalin in a fleeting appearance at
the end of the film.
Under the conservative rule of
President Vladimir Putin Russian
authorities have sought to down-
play the horrors of Stalins rule
during which millions were exe-
cuted or sent to labour camps.
Instead, officials highlight his
role in winning the war against
Germany, maintaining the con-
flict that claimed an estimated 22
million Soviet lives more than 70
years ago as a sacrosanct rallying
point for society today.
Stalin is the culmination of the
film, the destination, the reward
you must receive like at the end of
a fairytale, Druzhinin said.
The film received the bulk of its
financing 60 million rubles ($1
million, 860,000 euros) from the
Russian culture ministry.
Those involved in the produc-
tion have no doubt over its aim.
When I read the script and saw
that it was ordered by the culture
ministry I immediately under-
stood that it was aimed at stirring
up patriotism, said actor Dmitry
Podnozov, who plays one of
Koshkins crew.
The authorities have fear of
young people taking to the streets
to protest, Podnozov said, so are
looking to generate nationalist
pride to curb any anti-Kremlin
sentiment. For director
Druzhinin this is not a first foray
into making controversial state-
sponsored films on sticky histori-
reply from the group of
mostly Sudanese and
That includes lan-
guage classes, with the
AFP
Afghan youths, strug-
gling to pronounce the
French government
only offering lessons to
tricky French u. people who have
cal subjects. Last year his WWII The migrants are received refugee status.
action movie called Panfilovs attending free open-air The problem is that the
28 came out about the legendary language classes organ- asylum processing
resistance of a group of Soviet ised by a refugee sup- times are very long.
soldiers who sacrificed their lives port group at a dozen People want to learn
destroying 18 German tanks locations around the French and they cant,
advancing on Moscow in 1941. French capital. complained Julian Mez,
Despite a poor response from the On a warm July one of the founders of
critics, the film drew support evening two classes are BAAM (French
from the highest levels of the under way on the banks acronym for Office of
Kremlin with Putin sitting of the Bassin de la Reception and
down to watch it alongside Villette, part of the Assistance for
President Nursultan Nazarbayev canals in northeast Migrants). He accused
of Kazakhstan. Paris near where the state of holding up
But, while the tale of heroism migrants are often the integration process.
had served to inspire generations found sleeping rough. President Emmanuel
of Soviet and Russian citizens, While Louise, who did Macron, elected in May,
there was one major catch. It not wish to give her full has promised to cut the
appears not to have been true. name, teaches begin- waiting times for asy-
Documents declassified by ners, Pierre Piacentini, lum claims from around
Russias state archive in 2015 a retired nurse, 18 months at present to
showed that the famed incident instructs Level 2 stu- six months.
was in fact invented by a Soviet dents on how to describe By the time the
journalist before becoming part of the various ailments changes take effect the
the Soviet war propaganda. The they may find them- Level 2 students may
revelations sparked a scandal and selves explaining to a have graduated on to the
pitched the head of the archive doctor. subjunctive tense.
Sergei Mironenko into a conflict Many in Piacentinis Omar, a 28-year-old
with culture minister Vladimir group are regulars at Sudanese, began classes
Medinsky. Mironenko later left the daily classes, who nine months ago.
his post. And when Druzhinins show up come rain or Before, he said, he knew
version of the story hit the big shine. They were here nothing. Now, I
screen, Medinsky lashed out when it was minus five speak well, he said
against those who questioned its degrees Celsius (23 proudly, in correct
worth. Fahrenheit), theyre French. AFP
AFP
https://telegram.me/Estore33
This Kim
Jong-un, a
fool... he
is playing
with dangerous
toys. Do not be
fooled by his
chubby face.
Rodrigo Duterte,
Philippine President
SHORT TAKES
ISIS claims Herat
mosque attack
Kabul: The Islamic State
group on Wednesday
claimed responsibility for a
suicide attack a day earlier
against a Shiite mosque in
Afghanistan that left dozens
dead. Around 50 Sunnis
killed and 80 wounded in an
attack by Islamic State
fighters on Tuesday on a
mosque in western
Afghanistans Herat, the
groups propaganda outlet
Amaq said. Afghan authori-
ties said earlier that 30 wor-
shippers including young
children were killed and 64
wounded when suicide
bombers throwing grenades
stormed the Jawadya
mosque in the western city
near the Iranian border late
Tuesday.
AFP
Rare animal parts
worth $1mn seized
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian
authorities said on
Wednesday that they seized
23 pieces of elephant tusks
and 301 kilogrammes of
pangolin scales believed to
have been smuggled from
Africa in a haul worth nearly
$1 million. Customs senior
official Mohamad Pudzi Man
said officials raided the
Kuala Lumpur airport cargo
warehouse Sunday and
found the ivory in two boxes
marked as food stuff. He
said the ivory, worth
$64,139, was flown in on an
Etihad Airways flight from
Lagos and transited in Abu
Dhabi before arriving in
Kuala Lumpur. He said that
on Sunday, officials seized
six sacks of pangolin scales
worth $900,291. AP
Conjoined Bangla
twins separated
Dhaka: Ten-month-old
Bangladeshi siamese twins
were recovering in hospital
on Wednesday after what
surgeons hailed as the coun-
trys groundbreaking first
successful separation opera-
tion on conjoined siblings.
Sisters Tofa and Tahura, who
were born conjoined at the
spine and rectum, under-
went a gruelling nine hours
in surgery under the care of
two dozen doctors. It is the
first time we have success-
fully separated critically
conjoined twins in
Bangladesh, paediatric sur-
geon Abdul Hanif of Dhaka
Medical College Hospital
said. Its a groundbreaking
operation in our medical his-
tory, Hanif
said. AFP
HK CHURCH
MAY BE BRIDGE
WITH CHINA
Hong Kong: The new head
of the Hong Kong Catholic
Church on Wednesday said
it was willing to act as a
bridge between Chinese
authorities and the Vatican.
There are an estimated 12
million Catholics in China,
but the Vatican has not had
diplomatic relations with
Beijing since 1951, two years
after the founding
of the communist
Peoples Republic.
Hong Kongs out-
going church
leader, Cardinal
John Tong, was
widely seen to
have sought better relations
with China particularly in
connection with the
decades-long dispute over
who in the Communist coun-
try has the authority to
appoint bishops. But moves
towards a rapprochement
have led to unease among
some Catholics who fear
that a deal with Beijing may
compromise the church.
Bishop Michael Yeung
replaced Tong on
Wednesday. We are willing
to be a bridge, and I always
think that building bridges is
much more important than
building fences, Yeung said
when asked if he would fol-
low in Tongs footsteps in his
approach to China. AFP
Pakistan Army chief Qamar
Javed Bajwa says will continue
efforts to eliminate terrorism
American Air Force tests Minuteman III days after Pyongyang conducted missile test
Eye for an eye: US test-fires ICBM
Washington, Aug. 2: The
US military conducted a
test Wednesday of an
unarmed intercontinental
ballistic missile, officials
said, just days after North
Korea conducted its own
ICBM launch.
Tests at Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California
are typically scheduled
weeks or even months in
advance, but this one came
at a time of soaring ten-
sions with North Korea
over its trial of an ICBM
last week.
While not a response to
recent North Korean
actions, the test demon-
strates that the United
States nuclear enterprise
is safe, secure, effective
and ready to be able to
deter, detect and defend
against attacks on the
United States and its
allies, the Air Force
Global Strike Command
said.
The unarmed
Minuteman-III ICBM test
was previously scheduled
and not a response to
recent North Korean
action, a statement from
the Air Force said.
The Minuteman III mis-
sile went up on Wednesday
the Air Force Global
Strike Command said.
The ICBM arced into the
night sky from
Vandenberg Air Force
Base in southern
California and travelled
approximately 4,200 miles
to the Kwajalein Atoll in
the Marshall Islands.
Move to
disqualify
Imran over
harassment
SHAFQAT ALI
ISLAMABAD, AUG. 2
Election Commission of
Pakistan (ECP) was
moved on Wednesday to
disqualify Pakistan
Tehrik-e-
Insaf (PTI)
c h i e f
I m r a n
Khan over
allegations
of harass-
ment lev-
e l l e d Imran Khan
against
him by law-
maker Ayesha Gulalai have breached the judi-
Wazir.
A citizen, Raja
Basharat Mehmood filed
an application before the
ECP, calling for the dis-
qualification of Imran
Khan.
According to the appli-
cation, Imran Khan
should be disqualified
from National Assembly
membership and by-
election should be held
in NA-56.
Meanwhile
Wednesday, the Supreme
on
Court resumed hearing
the disqualification case
against Mr Imran.
A three-judge bench,
headed by Chief Justice
Mian Saqib Nisar and
comprising Justice
Umar Ata Bandial and
Justice Faisal Arab, is
conducting proceedings
into PML (Nawaz) leader
Hanif Abbasis petition
seeking Mr Imrans dis-
qualification for con-
cealing his assets and
foreign funding of his
party.
General treats soldiers as slaves
Seoul, Aug. 2: A South
Korean General and his
wife treated soldiers like
slaves, forcing them to
retrieve golf balls and
pick up toenail clippings,
a rights group alleged,
prompting officials to
launch a probe on
Wednesday.
Soldiers assigned to the
home of four-star
General Park Chan-Ju
and his wife did the
laundry, ironing, garden-
ing, cleaning bathrooms,
picking up every little
trash even pieces of
toenails or dead skin
cells, the Centre for
Military Human Rights
Korea said in a press
statement.
The wife threw a pan-
cake at one soldier when
he forgot to bring it to her
son, hitting him in the
face, it said, and the cou-
ple forced all the troops
US not seeking to remove Kim
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson addresses the
media in Washington on Tuesday.
Washington: The US does
not seek a regime change
in North Korea and is
weighing all options,
including working with
China, to prevent the
reclusive country from
developing nuclear weap-
ons, top American offi-
cials have said.
Last week, North
North Korea has
alarmed the international
community by the pace
and progress of its missile
development programme,
and in July leader Kim
Jong-Un conducted two
tests of an ICBM the
first time he had demon-
strated ICBM capability.
Bangla SC ends
power of MPs
to sack judges
Dhaka, Aug. 2:
Bangladeshs Supreme
Court has scrapped
Parliaments power to
sack top judges, in a land-
mark verdict that lawyers
said on Wednesday bol-
stered the independence
of the countrys judiciary.
The countrys top court
restored a military
rule-era provision which
allows only a Supreme
Judicial Council, led by
the chief justice, to
remove judges found to
cial code of conduct.
The full ruling released
on Tuesday was quickly
hailed by lawyers as a
crucial safeguard for the
freedom of the Muslim-
majority nations secular
judiciary.
The judgement
declares the 16th amend-
ment of the constitution
as null and void. It means
the highest court scraps
the parliaments power to
remove top judges, sen-
ior lawyer Syed Ahsanul
Karim said.
Mr Karim said that
because of the land-
mark judgement, the
executive will have no
dominant role over the
judiciary. Mr Karim
said if the amendment
had been left in place, it
would have made top
judges subservient to
the government as they
would have been under
constant threat of
removal.
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina brought the con-
NOT SO GENERAL
 Soldiers assigned to
General Park Chan-ju
and his wife did the
laundry, cleaning
bathrooms
 His wife once threw
a pancake at one
soldier when he forgot
to bring it to her son
 Seouls defence min-
istry has launched a
probe into the case
 The General has also
General Park Chan-Ju issued an apology
to attend their church, no
matter what their reli-
gion.
The soldiers daily
lives were no different
from that of slaves, it
added, paving the way for
authorities to launch a
criminal investigation.
THE ASIAN AGE
developing the nuclear
programme.
US secretary of state
Rex Tillerson said on
Tuesday that the US did
not seek a regime change
in North Korea and want-
ed to work with China to
prevent the country from
developing nuclear
weapons. He said the US
was ready to hold a dia-
logue with North Korea if
the Communist nation
gives up its pursuit of
nuclear weapons. We
have reaffirmed our posi-
tion towards North
Korea, that what we are
doing, we do not seek a
AFP regime change; we do not
seek the collapse of the
Korean leader Kim Jong- regime; we do not seek an
un bragged that his coun- accelerated reunification
try could strike any tar- of the peninsula; we do
get in the US after it car- not seek an excuse to Manila:
ried out its latest inter- send our military north
continental ballistic mis- of the 38th parallel,
sile test. Tillerson said.
US President Donald We are trying to con-
Trump has been very out- vey to the North Koreans
spoken about the need to we are not your enemy,
stop North Korea from he added. PTI
The first of these trials, could be in range.
which Mr Kim described Decades after the Cold
as a gift to American bas- War, and frequently forgot-
tards, showed the rocket ten by a public preoccu-
had the potential range to pied with the threat of ter-
hit Alaska.
The second rocket test
rorism, the United States
still fields hundreds of
last week flew even longer, Minuteman III ICBMs,
with some experts even dotted in silos across rural
suggesting that New York America. Agencies
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
New Pak
JUDICIARY WINS
Lawyers said the
decision will bolster
the independence of
PM delays
the judiciary
With it, the top
formation
court restored a
military rule-era of Cabinet
provision AGE CORRESPONDENT
Under the changes, ISLAMABAD, AUG. 2
only a Supreme
Judicial Council can Newly-elected Pakistan
Prime Minister Shahid
remove judges Khaqan Abbasi on
Prime Minister Wednesday postponed
Sheikh Hasina the formation of new
brought the
constitutional
change in September
2014
Cabinet for a day after
holding consultations
with ousted premier
Nawaz Sharif.
stitutional change allow-
The oath-taking of the
federal cabinet was
expected on Wednesday
but the Pakistan Muslim
ing Parliament con-
trolled by her ruling
Awami League party to
remove top judges in
League (Nawaz) failed to
finalise a team.
Mr Abbasi was elected
as Prime Minister on
September 2014.
In May last year, the
Tuesday to replace
Nawaz Sharif who was
High Court declared the disqualified by the
amendment illegitimate Supreme Court last
after a lawyer filed a pub- week.
lic interest challenge. Mr Abbasi travelled to
The SC led by chief jus- Murree and held a meet-
tice SK Sinha gave a pro- ing with his party leader
visional verdict last Nawaz Sharif at the lat-
month ruling against the
government. The 16th
ters residence. Apart
from the consultations
amendment has raised over the federal cabinet,
doubts about the inde- key political issues were
pendence of the judiciary discussed in the meeting
and the court boldly between Mr Abbasi and
struck down that amend- Nawaz Sharif.
ment, said Shahdeen Sources said the for-
Malik, senior lawyer and mation was discussed in
law professor. AFP the meeting.
War, every able-bodied
South Korean man
between the age of 18 and
35 is required to perform
two years of military
service.
Two to four soldiers are
assigned to commanders
residences to help with
their official duties but
many end up doing
household chores
instead, such as cleaning,
driving or cooking, the
centre said.
One soldier at Parks
house had to wear an
electronic paging device
on his wrist to respond
swiftly to calls from the
In South Korea, men of wife, who threatened him
authority expect to be to send to a military
treated respectfully by prison when he failed to
their juniors and subor- react in time because of a
dinates a tradition discharged battery, the
even more strictly upheld centre said.
in the military. The soldiers were
More than 60 years after forced to be on duty from
the end of the Korean 6 am. AFP
Asia
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
AMERICANS CANT TRAVEL TO
NORTH KOREA FROM SEPT.1
Washington: The United tion as it appeared
States on Wednesday offi-
cially set a September 1
start date for a ban pro-
hibiting its citizens from
travelling to North Korea.
The department of
state has determined that
the serious risk to United
States nationals of arrest
and long-term detention
represents imminent dan-
ger to the physical safety
of United States nationals
traveling to and within
the Democratic Peoples
Republic of Korea
(DPRK), read the restric-
DUTERTE CALLS KIM A FOOL
OVER NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Philippine the standoff
President Rodrigo Duterte
on Wednesday described
North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un as a fool and a nuclear-tipped
son of a b#$&h, just capable of hitting the
days before Manila hosts United States and officials
an international meeting
certain to address
Pyongyangs long-range
missile tests.
Mr Duterte held nothing
back in rebuking Mr Kim
for playing with danger-
ous toys, setting the stage
for next weeks rare get-
together, to be attended by
foreign ministers of all
the countries involved in
Thai junta chief cleans streets
Thailands Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha cleans a street in a town in Sakon
Nakhon, Thailand, on Wednesday. Twenty-three people died after the town was hit
by floods.
Man who grew
marijuana for
ailing wife jailed
Jakarta, Aug.
Indonesian man who
2: An
grew marijuana to ease
the pain of his seriously-
ill wife was sentenced to
eight months in prison
on Wednesday, despite an
outcry from right groups
and activists.
Fidelis Arie Sudewarto
was found guilty of
growing marijuana with-
out permission by the
Sanggau district court in
West Kalimantan, even
though it acknowledged
that he did it to help his
wife, who suffers from
syringomyelia, a rare their consideration that
disorder which causes a
cyst to form within
spinal cord.
The case attracted
nation-wide attention in
Indonesia, where some
worlds toughest anti-
drugs laws are imposed,
including capital punish-
ment for traffickers.
We are very disap- any drugs. The court
pointed with the verdict
because the judges
admitted themselves in
https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
PAGE
Taliban
hits Nato
convoy, 15
soldiers die
Kandahar, Aug. 2: A sui-
cide bomber struck a
Nato convoy near the
Wednesday in the US gov- southern Afghan city of
ernments Federal Kandahar on
Register. Wednesday causing
All United States pass- casualties, the US mili-
ports are declared invalid
for travel to, in, or through
tary said without pro-
viding more informa-
the DPRK unless specially tion.
validated for such travel,
it added. An exemption
The Taliban promptly
took responsibility for
was noted for approved
humanitarian travel and
the attack, and
spokesman for the insur-
a
for journalists in some cir- gents said the bombing
cumstances. The ban is to allegedly killed 15 sol-
remain in effect for one diers a claim that
year, unless it is revoked appeared exaggerated as
by US secretary of state many similar Taliban
Rex Tillerson. AFP claims have been in the
past.
Lt Damien E. Horvath,
a military spokesman,
could not immediately
say how many casualties
there were, or provide
on the their nationalities.
Korean peninsula. The Nato mission,
North Korea is deter- known as Resolute
mined to develop a Support, can confirm
missile that a Nato convoy was
attacked in Kandahar.
The attack did cause
in Washington said casualties, he said.
Saturdays test of an inter- In their claim of
continental ballistic mis- responsibility, the
sile showed it may be able Taliban also said the
to reach most of the coun- attack destroyed two
try. armored tanks. The
This Kim Jong Un, a insurgents spokesman,
fool ... he is playing with Qari Yusuf Ahmadi,
dangerous toys, that fool,
Mr Duterte told tax offi-
said fighter Asadullah
Kandahari was the
cials in a speech. hero who carried out
Reuters the attack with a small
pick-up truck. PTI
AFP
INDONESIA LAW
Fidelis Arie
Sudewarto was
sentenced to eight
months in prison
Indonesia has some
of the worlds
toughest anti-drugs
laws, including death
penalty for traffickers
Sudewartos wife
was suffering from
syringomyelia, a rare
disorder
our client is not involved
in drug trafficking, hes
not a dealer, hes not
even
Sudewartos
a
Marcelina Lin said on
user,
lawyer
Wednesday. Lin said mul-
tiple drug tests proved
that the 34-year-old civil
servant did not consume
also ordered Sudewarto
to pay a fine of $75,000.
AFP
https://telegram.me/Estore33
They thought
we colluded
(with
Russians), but
we couldnt
even collude
with our local
offices
Jared Kushner,
Donald Trumps
son-in-law
IN BRIEF
Man kills self at
China LA consulate
Los Angeles: A man of
Chinese origin fired shots out-
side Beijings consulate in Los
Angeles on Tuesday before
turning the gun on himself,
police said. When officers
arrived, they found the sus-
pect to have a self-inflicted
gun wound and he was pro-
nounced dead at the scene,
Sal Ramirez, a spokesman for
the LA Police Department,
said following the early morn-
ing incident. He said there
were no other victims and it
was not immediately clear if
the gunman, in his 60s, had
any political motive.
AFP
New lawyer joins
Muellers team
New York: A former US
Justice Departmentofficial
has become the latest lawyer
to join special counsel
Robert Muellers team inves-
tigating Russias interference
in the 2016 presidential elec-
tion, a spokesman for the
team confirmed. Greg
Andres started on Tuesday,
becoming the 16th lawyer on
the team, said Josh Stueve, a
spokesman for Mueller. Most
recently a white-collar crimi-
nal defense lawyer with New
York law firm Davis Polk
& Wardwell, Andres, 50,
served at the Justice
Department during 2010-12.
He was deputy assistant
attorney general in the
criminal division, where
heoversaw the fraud unit and
managed the programme
that targeted illegal foreign
bribery. Mueller is looking
into possible Russian collu-
sion with the Trump cam-
paign. Reuters
Armed customer
kills robber at shop
Phoenix (Arizona): Authorities
say a customer at a Phoenix
drugstore shot and killed a
man who was attempting to
rob the pharmacy on Tuesday
night. Phoenix police told the
Arizona Republic that a man
jumped the pharmacy counter,
pointed the gun at people and
demanded oxycodone from
the pharmacist. An armed
customer shot and wounded
him. Sgt. Jonathan Howard
said that officers found about
a dozen workers and cus-
tomers hiding in the
Walgreens from the suspect
who was still inside. After offi-
cers cleared the store, a police
dog pulled the suspect away
from his gun. Police provided
the medical aid to the man,
but he died at the scene.
Authorities didnt not release
the name of the suspect or
the customer who shot him.
AP
REPUBLICAN
REACHES OUT
TO DEMS
Alexandria (Virginia): US
Senator Lamar Alexander on
Tuesday made the first move
by a senior Republican to
work with Democrats on
repairing Obamacare after his
party failed to repeal and
replace the healthcare law,
announcing work on biparti-
san legislation to stabilise the
individual health
insurance market.
Alexander, who
chairs the Senate
health commit-
tee, urged US
President Donald
Trump to drop his
threat to cut government sub-
sidy payments to insurers that
make Obamacare plans
affordable and to allow the
payments through September.
The senator also said that fel-
low lawmakers should fund
those payments for one year.
Alexanders announcement
followed the spectacular fail-
ure last week by Senate
Republicans to pass their own
repeal or replacement of the
Affordable Care Act, former
President Barack Obamas sig-
nature domestic initiative also
referred to as Obamacare.
Reuters
Democratic senator Ron Wyden accuses
AG Jeff Sessions of hiding recommendations
on illegal immigration, drug trafficking
Trump says legislation on sanctions significantly flawed, drafted in haste
Reluctant Don signs Russia bill colluded to
PRESIDENT DICTATED SONS target US intel
Washington, Aug. 2: US
President Donald Trump
reluctantly signed off on
STATEMENT LIKE A FATHER
new sanctions against
Russia on Wednesday,
bowing to domestic pres-
sure and putting efforts to
improve ties with the
Kremlin on ice.
Mr Trump signed the
legislation behind closed
doors and away from the
cameras, after failed
efforts to scupper or water
down the bill.
Mr Trumps reluctance
was on full display in an
angry signing statement,
in which he called the leg-
islation significantly
flawed.
In its haste to pass this
legislation, the Congress
included a number of
clearly unconstitutional
provisions, he said,
including curbs on the
Presidents ability to con-
duct foreign policy.
The legislation which
also includes measures
against North Korea and
Iran targets the Russian
energy sector, giving
Washington the ability to
sanction companies
involved in developing
Russian pipelines, and
placing curbs on some
Russian weapons eIt also
notably constrains
Trumps ability to waive
the penalties, a statement
of mistrust from the
Republican controlled
Congress which remains
unsettled by Trumps
warm words for President
Vladimir Putin.
The sanctions seek to
New FBI
chief gets
Senate nod
Christopher Wray
Washington, Aug. 2:
The US Senate on
Tuesday confirmed for-
mer Justice Department
lawyer Christopher
Wray as FBI chief, near-
ly three months after the
agencys previous direc-
tor, James Comey, was
fired by President
Donald Trump.
Wray, who was con-
firmed by vote of 92-5,
will take charge of the
countrys top domestic
law enforcement agency
during a federal probe
into allegations of collu-
sion between the Trump
presidential campaign
and Russia.
Since the dismissal of
Comey on May 9, the
Justice Department has
appointed Robert
Mueller as special coun-
sel to oversee the investi-
gation with the help of
the FBI. Russia denies
any interference, and
Trump has denied collu-
sion with Russia.
Wray vowed in his con-
firmation hearing last
month to remain inde-
pendent and not be
swayed by politics or
pressure from the presi-
dent. He also praised
Muller as the consum-
mate straight shooter.
He also worked with
Comey in the Enron
Corp case.
Reuters
Ex-CEO of male escort service gets 6 months
Jeffrey Hurants case had stirred a debate about rights of LGBT community in US
New York, Aug. 2: The for-
mer CEO of a once-popu-
lar male escort service
website who pleaded
guilty last year to promot-
ing prostitution has been
sentenced to six months in
prison by a judge who said
it was necessary to send a
deterrent message even
though she knows the
business did good things
for people.
Jeffrey Hurant, who ran
the Rentboy.com site, was
sentenced by US District
Judge Margo K. Brodie in
Brooklyn.
The very thing that is
illegal there is no ques-
tion it did a lot of good,
Brodie said as she
announced the sentence,
Prez, Fox News
US President Donald Trump, flanked by Senators Tom
Cotton and David Perdue, speaks in the Roosevelt Room
of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. AP
US-RUSSIA RELATIONS MAY BECOME WORSE
penalise the Kremlin for
meddling in the 2016 US
presidential election
which Mr Trump won Washington, Aug. 2: US
and Russias annexation of
Crimea.
Secretary of state Rex
Tillerson said that he
Mr Trump said he would
honor some of the bills
provisions, but stopped
would meet with his
Russian counterpart for-
eign minister Sergei
short of saying it would be Lavrov over the weekend,
fully implemented. but warned US-Russia ties
The White House said could still get worse.
only that Trump would Some in Moscow and
give Congresss prefer- Washington had hoped
ences mere careful and relations between the for-
respectful consideration. mer Cold War foes might
AFP improve under US
Tillerson, Trump dont
agree over Iran N-deal
TOP FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER
Washington, Aug. 2: US
secretary of state Rex
AT STATE DEPT LOSES POWER
Tillerson acknowledged
on Tuesday that he and
President Donald Trump
disagree over the 2015 Washington, Aug. 2:
Iran nuclear deal, and Secretary of state Rex
said the two men discuss Tillerson last month tight-
how to use the interna- ened his control over the
tional agreement to state department by tak-
advance administration ing back powers previous-
policies. ly held by the top career
Trump at times vowed foreign service officer,
during the 2016 presiden-
tial election campaign to
an action critics said
would delay major deci-
withdraw from the agree- sions and marginalise
ment, which was signed career diplomats.
by the United States, The move retracted
Russia, China and three broad decision-making
European powers to curb authority granted to the
Irans nuclear program in agencys third-highest
return for lifting most ranking official, the
Western sanctions. undersecretary for politi-
Trump has preserved
the deal for now, although briefing, using the
he has made clear he did acronym for the deal, for-
so reluctantly after being mally called the Joint
advised to do so by Comprehensive Plan of
Tillerson. Action (JCPOA).
He and I have differ- Tillerson said that
ences of views on things Washington could tear it
like JCPOA, and how we up and walk away or stay
should use it, Tillerson in the deal and hold Iran
said at a State Department accountable to its terms,
JETS FOR RUSSIA MAY BE NEXT AIR FORCE ONE
Washington, Aug. 2: spokeswoman Ann
Facing pressure from Stefanek, who declined to
President Donald Trump elaborate on the details.
to cut the cost of new Air National security publi-
Force One aircraft, the cation Defence One,
U.S. Air Force is negotiat- which first reported the
ing with Boeing to pur- negotiations, said the Air
chase two 747-8 jetliners Force was believed to be
that were built for a
Russian airline that went
getting a good deal on the
aircraft, which sell for
bankrupt before they about $386million on aver-
were delivered. age. The two aircraft were
Were working through initially ordered four
the final stages of coordi- years ago by Transaero, a
nation to purchase two Russian airline that went
commercial 747-8 aircraft bankrupt in 2015, a person
and expect to award a con- familiar with the talks
tract soon, said Air Force said. Boeing built two 747-
 Jeffrey Hurant, who ran the
Rentboy.com site, was
sentenced by district judge
Margo K. Brodie in Brooklyn
 Civil rights groups warned
that a tough sentence could
send the wrong message to
the gay community
which included a $7,500 that he deserves no more
fine. than probation.
Mr Hurant said he creat- In letters to the court, the
ed the website so sex work- lawmakers, civil rights
ers could proceed in a organisations and other
safer manner. supporters have cautioned
Prosecutors wanted him that a tough sentence
to serve at least a short could send the wrong mes-
term to deter operators of sage to the gay community.
other escort services from The case is troubling
similar misconduct, while because it harkens back
his lawyers have argued to a dark chapter in our
THE ASIAN AGE
Washington, Aug. 2: The
White House admitted on
Tuesday that President
Donald Trump helped
draft a misleading state-
ment about his sons
meeting with a Kremlin-
connected lawyer
deepening the
Presidents entangle-
ment in the saga over his
teams ties to Russia.
White House spokes-
woman Sarah Huckabee
Sanders said Trump had
weighed in, offered sug- the White House is try-
gestions, like any father
would do.
Trumps personal inter-
vention, first reported by
The Washington Post,
casts doubt on claims
that he knew nothing
about a meeting during
the 2016 campaign that is
President Donald Trump,
who has had warm words
for President Vladimir
Putin. But the great power
rivals remain divided over
Russias intervention in
Ukraine, US sanctions
against Kremlin allies and
Moscows support for
Bashar al-Assads Syrian
regime. plans to meet Lavrov in
Tillerson has never tried Manila on the sidelines of
to sugarcoat the problems,
and admitted in March
cal affairs, by former sec-
retary of state Hillary
Clinton. Most of those
powers will be reserved
instead for Tillerson and
his deputy.
Tillerson is broadly
reviewing how authority
is delegated, a state
department official said,
which will result in a
streamlining of delega-
tions, which will promote
greater transparency,
clarity and effectiveness
in decision-making with-
in the Department.
Reuters
which he said would
require Iran to act as a
good neighbor.
Critics say the deal falls
short in addressing Irans
support for foreign fight-
ers in Iraq and Syria,
arms shipments around
the Middle East and mis-
sile tests. Reuters
8s out of an order of four.
But the airline never took
ownership of them, and
the planes have been
stored in the Mojave
Desert, where the dry, hot
climate slows corrosion,
Defence One said.
Mr
Boeing
Trump
in
rattled
December
before taking office by
saying in a Twitter mes-
sage, Boeing is building a first-degree murder in the
brand new 74 7Air Force
One for future presidents,
but costs are out of con-
trol, more than $4 billion.
Cancel order! Reuters to get back at his
nations history when the
government used its vast
resources to target and
threaten LGBT adults by
exposing their private con-
sensual sexual activity,
wrote state Sen. Brad
Hoylman, a Manhattan
Democrat.
Five New York City coun-
cil members from the
LGBT community also
signed a letter arguing
that a harsh sentence will million in the past five
serve neither society nor
the rehabilitation of Mr.
Hurant. Other letters
written last year by two
Democratic congressmen
from New York, Jerrold that Rentboy was the
Nadler and Sean Patrick
Maloney, to the
Department of Justice and
World
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
now central to a federal
investigation.
It also paints a picture
of a president acutely
aware of the scandal
and determined to man-
age it down to a minute
level.
Allies fear that such a
level of involvement, if
proven, could put the
Republican billionaire
leader in legal jeopardy.
Politically, it will only
intensify allegations that
ing to cover up connec-
tions with a foreign gov-
ernment accused of try-
ing to tilt the November
election in Trumps
favor. This was... unnec-
essary, one presidential
adviser said on condition
of anonymity. AFP
after a visit to the Kremlin
that ties were at a his-
toric low with little sign
of improvement.
Tillerson said that the
US Congress decision to
pass the sanctions bill had
made attempts to thaw ties
more difficult.
Meanwhile, Tillerson
an ASEAN ministerial
meeting. AFP
American alien lands in Mexico
A billboard by US artist Mitch OConnell depicting US President Donald Trump is
displayed in allusion and as a tribute to John Carpenters 1988 cult movie They Live
in Naucalpan, Mexico, on Friday. The sci-fi flick shows that Earths ruling class is, in
fact, made up of aliens who manipulate people. OConnell said his 21st-century take
on the film resonated at a moment when reality TV star and real-estate billionaire
Trump was starting his improbable rise to the presidency. AFP
Man kills son in custody row
Alhambra (California),
Aug. 2: A father acknowl-
edged he killed his 5-year-
old son after a bitter cus-
tody battle with his
estranged wife,
gripped an urn with the
boys ashes and sobbed
who
uncontrollably on
Tuesday in the front row
of a California courtroom.
Aramazd Andressian
Sr., 35, had his hands
shackled at the waist and
spoke softly when a prose-
cutor asked him if he will-
fully killed his son,
Aramazd Jr. Andressian
simply replied, Yes. April 21. His father was
He pleaded guilty to
the next day, sparking an
April death of the boy
after a family trip to
Disneyland. Authorities
said Andressian wanted
doused in gasoline in an
Department of Homeland
Security questioned
whether the agencies had
wasted time and resources
on pursuing a victimless
crime.
Before authorities
arrested Hurant and
seized the Rentboy site, it
had thousands of advertis-
ers paying up to $300 a
month, 500,000 visitors a
day and revenues of $10
years. The business hosted
parties and an annual
awards show for escorts
called the Hookies.
Prosecutors had alleged
equivalent of an online
brothel.
AP
https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
New York, Aug. 2: Fox
News contrived with a
Donald Trump support-
er and the White House
to fabricate fake news
to advance
Presidents
the
agenda and try to bury
speculation that his cam-
paign colluded with
Russia, a lawsuit is
claiming.
The suit, filed at the US
federal court house in
Manhattan on Tuesday,
is brought by Rod
Wheeler, a Fox News con-
tributor and retired
police detective, against
the television network,
one of its journalists and
another of its contribu-
tors. It alleges a May 16
article sought to promote
a claim that a murdered
Democratic National
Committee staffer was
the source of leaked
DNC emails during last
years election cam-
paign, and not Russian
hackers as the US intelli-
gence community said.
The motivation
behind the article.... shift
the blame from Russia
and help put to bed spec-
ulation that Trump col-
luded with Russia in an
attempt to influence the Butowsky
outcome of the presiden-
tial election, the 33-page because that is the way
suit says. the President wanted the
It quoted one of the
Aramazd Andressian Sr.
estranged wife, and the
slaying set off a two-
month search.
Investigators believe the
young boy was killed on
found passed out in a park
gators that he drove to the
intensive search for the
boy. Andressian had taken
prescription pills and was
found in a car in the park
remains were found. AP
Vote nears on graft
trial of Brazil Prez
Brasilia, Aug. 2: Brazilian
lawmakers angrily debat-
ed on Wednesday ahead of
an unprecedented vote on
whether President Michel
Temer should face trial
for alleged corruption,
just a year after his prede-
cessor was booted from
office.
Opposition deputies
brandished placards
mocking Mr Temers
rockbottom approval rat-
ings and wheeled in a
suitcase similar to one
used by a Temer aide
when he was caught car-
rying the equivalent of
$150,000 cash in alleged
bribe money.
Out with Temer, they ment trial for breaking
shouted.
PAGE
10
Seth Rich
A lawsuit has
alleged that a May 16
article on Fox News
said that murdered
DNC staffer Seth Rich
was behind leaked
emails during the
2016 campaign, and
not Russians as has
been established by
US intelligence
defendants wealthy
Trump supporter Ed
Butowsky as claiming
that the US President
reviewed the article
prior to its publication
and sought to get the
article published imme-
diately.
The article included
fabricated quotes from
Wheeler, the suit alleges.
When Wheeler called to
complain, he was told by
that the
quotes were included
article. AFP
apparent suicide attempt,
sheriff s officials have
said.
Andressians attorney
declined to comment
when asked why
Andressian killed his son
but said the slaying was
not planned and his
client told investigators
where to find the boys
body.
The boys body was
found on June 30 near
Lake Cachuma outside
Santa Barbara about
145 miles away from
Anaheim, where
Disneyland is located.
Andressian told investi-
lake the day his son was
killed. Investigators had
searched the lake several
times before the boys
Mr Temer, a deeply
unpopular veteran of the
ruling center-right PMDB
party, is accused of taking
bribes from a meatpack-
ing industry executive
part of a wider scandal
sucking in major politi-
cians of every stripe.
If two-thirds of deputies
in the lower house of
Congress authorise a trial
and the SC accepts the
case, Mr Temer would be
suspended and lower
house speaker Rodrigo
Maia would take over. The
upheaval comes after
Congress ejected Temers
predecessor Dilma
Rousseff in an impeach-
budget rules. AFP
https://telegram.me/Estore33 https://telegram.me/AllEpapers

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson

sends US diplomat Tim Lenderking
to the Gulf to to handle Qatar crisis
THE ASIAN AGE
World
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
PAGE

11

TODAY in Firm that supplies Venezuelas voting technology casts doubt on outcome of polls
HISTORY
Today is Thursday,
August 3, the 215th
day of 2017.
Maduro fudged election figures
There are 150 days left
in the year.
Caracas,
Venezuelas
Aug.
President
2:
Nicolas Maduro moved
HIGHLIGHTS IN quickly on Wednesday to
435 Deposed Ecumenical swear in a new assembly
Patriarch of with extraordinary pow-
Constantinople ers as he faced charges
Nestorius, considered that turnout figures for
the originator of the bodys election were
Nestorianism, is manipulated.
exiled by Roman The firm that supplies
Emperor Theodosius Venezuelas voting tech-
II to a monastery in nology, Smartmatic, said
Egypt. official figures in Sundays
881 Louis III of France election were tampered
defeats the Vikings, with in such a way that
an event celebrated the turnout appeared
in the poem greater than it was.
Ludwigslied. Mr Maduro planned to
swear in the 545 members
of the so-called
Constituent Assembly,
including his own wife
and son, on Wednesday at
a concert arena in
Caracas, his press office
1492 Christopher
Columbus sets sail
from Palos de la
Italy seizes
Nicolas Maduro
said. They will then take
their seats on Thursday in
the formal chamber of the
National Assembly, which
is now controlled by the
opposition but whose pow-
ers will be superseded by
the new body. The
Opposition has called a
major rally for Thursday
as well.
Venezuelan officials claim
Turkey military body rejigs top brass
The turnout of the
recent election for a
National Constituent
Assembly was
manipulated
Antonio
Mugica,
Chief executive,
Smartmaticy
that more than 40 percent of
the countrys 20 million vot-
ers cast ballots on Sunday,
which were boycotted by
the opposition. In London,
Smartmatic chief executive
Antonio Mugica told
reporters, Based on the
robustness of our system,
we know, without any
doubt, that the turnout of
the recent election for a
National Constituent
Assembly was manipulat-
ed. We estimate the differ-
ence between the actual
participation and the one
announced by authorities is
at least one million votes.
The British company,
which has worked in
Venezuela since 2004,
deplored the fact that oppo-
sition parties did not pro-
vide election auditors or
send representatives to the
tabulation center when the
results report was issued.
It noted that political par-
ties usually received print-
ed copies of election
returns of all polling sta-
tions, to allow them to
compare these printed
records against the results
published later by the elec-
toral commission.
AFP
Ankara,
Doha start
military
TRUMP CALLS FOR RELEASE exercises
OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
Istanbul, Aug. 2: Turkey
and its main regional
Washington, Aug. 2: US Lopez and Mr Ledezma ally Qatar launched mil-
President Donald Trump are political prisoners itary exercises in the
has condemned his being held illegally by the emirate on Tuesday that
Venezuelan counterpart regime, Mr Trump said will involve some 250
Nicolas Maduro for the in a late night statement Turkish troops and 30
re-arrest of two opposi- on Tuesday. armoured vehicles,
tion leaders and called for The United States reports said.
an immediate and uncon- holds Maduro, who pub- The exercises come as
ditional release of all licly announced just Ankara presses on with
political prisoners in the hours earlier that he its unequivocal backing
crisis-stricken country. would move against his of Doha in the crisis
Venezuelas two leading political opposition, per- triggered by the political
opposition figures, sonally responsible for and economic isolation
Leopoldo Lopez and the health and safety of of Qatar by Gulf and
Antonio Ledezma, had Mr Lopez, Mr Ledezma, other Arab states led by
been detained by the and any others seized, Saudi Arabia.
police from their homes Mr Trump said. We reit- Turkish state media
on Tuesday night. erate our call for the said that the Turkish
The United States con- immediate and uncondi- frigate TCG Gokova had
demns the actions of the tional release of all politi- docked in Doha earlier
Maduro dictatorship. Mr cal prisoners. PTI this week carrying 214
soldiers who would take
part in the exercises. An
observation day involv-
ing top commanders
would take place on

1678
Frontera, Spain.
Robert LaSalle
builds the Le
migrant Ankara, Aug. 2: Turkeys Colak will be replaced by Under President since the July 15, 2016 almost half of the mili-
August 7-8. A total of 250
Turkish soldiers and 30
armoured vehicles will
Griffon, the first
known ship built on
the Great Lakes.
rescue boat top military body on
Wednesday replaced the
land, air and naval com-
General Yasar Guler, cur-
rently head of the gen-
darmerie and former
Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, the
coup bid blamed on the
US-based Muslim cleric
Fethullah Gulen. He
tarys entire contingent at
the time of 358.
Under Mr Erdogan, the
take part, it added.
Meanwhile, Qatar
announced a five-billion-
1778

1811
The theatre La Scala
is inaugurated.
First ascent of
on island manders of the military
at a critical meeting just
over a year after the failed
deputy chief of staff, the
channel said. Bostanoglu
would be replaced by Vice
political influence
of the once-all
denies the charges.
The government upped
the civilian component of
political influence of the
once-all powerful military
responsible for overthrow-
euro order for seven
warships from Italy. We
have signed a contract
Jungfrau, third Rome, Aug. 2: Italian Admiral Adnan Ozbal and
powerful military, the council following the ing governments four on behalf of the Qatari
coup bid, Turkish media
highest summit in authorities on reported. General Hasan responsible for failed coup, giving more times since 1960 has been navy to acquire seven
the Bernese Alps by Wednesday impounded a The Supreme Military Kucukakyuz would overthrowing place to government minis- weakened, especially warships from Italy for
brothers Johann German NGOs migrant Council (YAS) decided to replace Unal as air force governments four ters than military figures. since the coup attempt. five billion euros ($5.9
Rudolf and rescue boat on suspicion replace land forces com- commander. times since 1960, Previously, such meet- Mr Guler had been billion), foreign minis-
Hieronymus Meyer. of facilitating illegal mander General Salih The decisions made dur- ings were held at military abducted for several hours ter Sheikh Mohammed
1852 Harvard University immigration, the police Zeki Colak, naval chief ing the YAS meeting has been weakened headquarters but are now together with the Chief of bin Abdulrahman Al-
wins the first Boat said. Admiral Bulent chaired by Prime Minister hosted by the PM. Staff General Hulusi Akar Thani said at a Doha
Race between Yale The Iuventa, operated Bostanoglu and Air Force Binali Yildirim will be Wednesday. Following the attempted and other military figures press conference with
University and by the Jugend Rettet commander General presented to President The council usually putsch, the governments on the night of the his visiting Italian coun-
Harvard. The race is organisation, was pre- Abidin Unal, CNN Turk Recep Tayyip Erdogan for meets only once a year but changes included dis- attempted overthrow. terpart Angelino Alfano.
also the first US ventatively impounded broadcaster said. formal approval later on this is the third meeting charging 149 generals, AFP AFP
intercollegiate on the Italian island of
athletic event Lampedusa on the
1859 The American
Dental Association
is founded in
orders of a prosecutor
based in Trapani, Sicily,
the state police force The Three Musketeers of Captain bids goodbye to Marines
Niagara Falls, New said in a statement.
York. Enquiries begun in
1900

1914
The Firestone Tire
and Rubber
Company is founded.
World War I:
October 2016, and con-
ducted with the use of
sophisticated tech-
niques and investigative
terror convicted in Britain
Germany declares
war against France,
technology, have pro-
duced circumstantial
ADITI KHANNA
LONDON, AUG. 2 Inspired by ISIS Aziz, who allegedly
bought a samurai sword
while Romania evidence of the motor- from a sex shop for the ter-
declares its boat Iuventa being used Four British Muslims MOHIBUR RAHMAN, ror cell. All four men will
neutrality. for activities facilitating believed to be of Pakistani Khobaib Hussain and be sentenced on Thursday.
illegal immigration, origin are facing lengthy Naweed Ali branded Hussain and Ali had
the statement said. jail terms after being themselves as The already been convicted of
The impounding came found guilty of terrorism terrorist offences after
as Italy began enforcing charges by a UK court on Three Musketeers as they pleaded guilty to
a controversial code of Wednesday. part of a terror cell going to terror training
conduct for charity boats Mohibur Rahman, camps in Pakistan in 2012.
rescuing migrants in the Khobaib Hussain and Tahir Aziz, another Responding to the ver-
Mediterranean. Jugend Naweed Ali branded suspect, allegedly dicts, chief superinten-
Rette was among six of themselves as The Three bought a sword dent Matt Ward, head of
1921 Major League nine NGOs operating Musketeers as part of a the West Midlands
Baseball search-and-rescue activi- terror cell which was Counter Terrorism Unit,
commissioner ties in waters off Libya busted after MI5 spies of one count of preparing said, Back in 2010 and
Kenesaw Mountain to reject the new rules. bugged Alis car and for acts of terrorism 2011, they were inspired
Landis confirms the NGOs have objected to a found a pipe bomb and under UKs Terrorism Act by Al Qaeda. Since theyve
ban of the eight requirement to allow an meat cleaver hidden in a 2006 after a 23-week trial come out of prison,
Chicago Black Sox, Italian police official to sports bag in raids in the at Londons Old Bailey theyve been inspired by Britains Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who is Captain General of Royal Marines,
the day after they travel on each boat and a West Midlands region of court. The jury took the Daesh (ISIS) ideology. attends a parade to mark the finale of the 1664 Global Challenge on the Buckingham
were acquitted by a ban on moving rescued England in August 2016. longer to declare a guilty They shared lots of Palace Forecourt in London on Wednesday. After a lifetime of public service by the
Chicago court. migrants from one aid All three, aged between verdict for the fourth sus- material regarding that side of his wife Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip finally retired on Wednesday at the
1936 Jesse Owens wins vessel to another. AFP 25 and 33, were convicted pect, 38-year-old Tahir ideology. PTI age of 96. AFP
the 100 metre dash,
defeating Ralph
SAUDI SAYS THERES NO PROOF
1936
Metcalfe, at the
Berlin Olympics.
A fire wipes out
Kursha-2 in the
Russia denies report on IT BACKED SEPT. 11 ATTACK
GLOBE TROT German hikers
remains found in
Meshchera
Lowlands, Ryazan
Oblast, Russia,
killing 1,200 and
mounting losses in Syria New York, Aug. 2: Saudi
Arabia on Tuesday asked
to be dropped from a
September 11 lawsuit vic-
already have been found
in default. The lawyers
said purported new evi-
dence like the thousands
Teenager jumps
out of aircrafts
Alps after 30 yrs
Geneva: The remains of
leaving only 20
survivors.
Moscow, Aug. 2: Russias
defence ministry on
The exclusive report,
published by Reuters on
the rate of battlefield loss-
es.
tims families filed saying
no evidence links it to the
of pages they unsuccess-
fully presented before
emergency door a German hiker who
disappeared while
1946 Santa Claus Land, Wednesday denied a Wednesday and based on Ten Russian servicemen deadly terrorist act. are hearsay and specula- San Francisco: A 17- climbing in the Swiss
the worlds first Reuters report about a accounts from families have been killed fighting Lawyers for Saudi tion and are insufficient year-old boy opened Alps 30 years ago has
themed amusement rise in the losses suffered and friends of the dead in Syria so far this year, Arabia made the request to support the findings the emergency door of been found embedded
park, opens in Santa by Russia in its military and local officials, esti- according to statements in papers filed in required for jurisdiction a plane minutes after in a glacier, police said
Claus, Indiana, US. campaign in Syria, calling mates the actual death toll from the defence ministry. Manhattan federal court, over Saudi Arabia. it landed in San on Wednesday.
1948 Whittaker Chambers it a lie from beginning to among Russian soldiers But based on accounts saying lawyers for fami- They added that the Francisco, slid down The find was made on
accuses Alger Hiss of end, Russian news agen- and private contractors from families and friends lies and survivors of the plaintiffs had reached the wing and jumped July 25 by two people
being a communist cies reported. was at least 40 so far this of the dead and local offi- 2001 attack had failed grandiose conclusions onto a tarmac, climbing Lagginhorn
and a spy for the This is not the first time year, higher than official cials, Reuters estimates repeatedly for the last 14 that far exaggerate the authorities said. The mountain, in southern
Soviet Union. that Reuters is attempting figures. the actual death toll years to generate suffi- importance of thread- US citizen, was flying Switzerland, police
1949 The Basketball to discredit by any means That tally over seven among Russian soldiers cient evidence to subject bare allegations and non- by himself from said. A few hundred
Association of Russias operation aiming months exceeds the 36 and private contractors the U.S. ally to the $100 existent evidence. The Panama City to San metres before reaching
America and the to destroy Islamic State Russian armed personnel was at least 40. That tally billion lawsuit brought lawsuit claims that Francisco and the peak, the hikers
National Basketball terrorists and return and contractors estimated over seven months against numerous gov- employees of the Saudi appeared to be in spotted a hand and
League finalise the peace to Syria, the agen- by Reuters to have been exceeds the 36 Russian ernmental and non-gov- government directly and emotional distress two shoes, area police
merger, that would cies cited defence min- killed in Syria over the armed personnel and con- ernmental defendants. knowingly assisted the during the flight, said said. Extracting the
create the NBA. istry spokesman Igor previous 15 months, indi- tractors estimated to be Defendants Iran, the attacks airplane hijack- San Francisco remains was impossi-
1960 Niger gains Konashenkov as saying. cating significant rise in killed in Syria. Reuters Taliban and al-Qaida ers and plotters. AP Airport spokesman ble because of poor
independence from Doug Yakel on weather, but rescue
France. Tuesday. An airfield workers arrived by hel-

Bibi bans MP from brawling with Jordan rival

1975 A privately
chartered Boeing 707
strikes a mountain
peak and crashes
near Agadir,
Morocco, killing 188. Hazan was set to meet Jordanian MP Al-Saud at a crossing between 2 nations
2004 The pedestal of the
Statue of Liberty Jerusalem, Aug. 2: Israeli
reopens after being Prime Minister Benjamin
closed since the Netanyahu had to step in
September 11 on Wednesday to prevent
attacks. tensions with Jordan spi-
ralling into a brawl
between two lawmakers
who agreed to meet on the
border.
Oren Hazan, from
Netanyahus Likud party,
had accepted a challenge
from Jordanian MP Yahya
al-Saud to meet near the
2005 President of main crossing between the
Mauritania Maaouya two countries on
Ould SidAhmed Wednesday morning, with
Taya is overthrown fears of a fistfight.
in a military coup Mr Netanyahus office
while attending the said in a statement they
funeral of King had called Mr Hazan to
Fahd in Saudi order him not to go to the
Arabia. Allenby Crossing.
 Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin
Netanyahus office
said in a statement
they had called
Oren Hazan
to order him not
to go to the Allenby
Oren Hazan Crossing.
Mr Hazan told military the border in anticipation
radio he approached the of the meeting and said he
border but did not cross on was doing this for
Mr Netanyahus orders. Jordanian people to
The Israeli MP is a cow- express our anger.
ard, he retreated, Saud Jordan is one of only two
said according to a video Arab states to have signed
published by Jordanian a formal peace treaty with
media. Israel, but the neighbours
Mr Saud had travelled to have been involved in
weeks of spats over new deputy speaker of Israels
security measures Parliament after a tele-
installed at the Al-Aqsa vised report accused him
mosque compound in of involvement in pimping
Jerusalem. and drugs.
While Israel considers He was also suspended
Jerusalem its undivided for one month from any
capital, Jordan claims parliamentary activity in
authority over Al-Aqsa December 2015 after
and the new checkpoints, insulting behaviour
introduced after an attack towards a colleague with a
at the site, provoked huge disability. In May he was
protests. heavily criticised after
On July 23 Hazan tweet- taking a selfie with US
ed that Israel protected President Donald Trump
Jordans asses and the as he landed in Israel. In
country needed reeduca- response Mr Hazan said
tion, apparently sparking he was often referred to as
a rebuke on Twitter. Both the Israeli Trump. Mr
MPs have long histories of Saud meanwhile has phys-
controversy. ically fought with a num-
Hazan was suspended in ber of parliamentary col-
2015 from his position as leagues. AFP
construction crew icopter the following
confronted the boy. day, removed remains
PTI from ice. AFP
Newborn Texas calf looks like
KISS rocker Gene Simmons
Kerrville (Texas): KISS
front man Gene
Simmons is utterly
thrilled by a newborn
calf born with strik-
ingly similar black-
and-white markings to
the face paint he wears
on stage.
Simmons tweeted his Newborn calf Genie
admiration for the calf with her family, said
on Sunday, saying, on Tuesday that the
This is real, folks!!! calf belongs to her
The calf was born on grandmother. It is
Friday at a ranch near named Genie, in hon-
Kerrville, Texas, our of Simmons.
which is about 96 kms Taccetta says the calf
northwest of San and its mother are
Antonio. Heather doing fine and Genie is
Taccetta (tuh-SET-uh), a family favourite.
who lives at the ranch AP
https://telegram.me/Estore33
Thank
goodness
for (my family)
because
otherwise Id be
a depressive
mess
Jessica Biel
Actor
SHORT TAKES
Coldplays tribute
to Linkin Park
Los Angeles: Rock band
Coldplay kicked off its 2017
North American tour by pay-
ing homage to Linkin Park,
which lost its vocalist
Chester Bennington to sui-
cide last month. The bands
frontman, singer Chris Martin
performed a solo cover of
Linkin Park smash hit
Crawling on piano towards
the end of the performance
at MetLife Stadium in East
Rutherford, New Jersey,
reported Billboard. The
Magic singer dedicated the
performance to anyone
whos missing someone, and
started singing the song
again after goofing up the
opening. Martin said he
wanted to get it right. PTI
Reynolds pranks
friend with paint
Los Angeles: Ryan Reynolds
is known for his acerbic sense
of humour and the actor
once pranked one of his close
friends by painting his office
with outrageous red colour.
In a recent interview,
Reynolds opened up about
the biggest prank he ever
played. A friend of mine left
town for a week. When he
was gone, I painted his entire
office puce, he shared,
describing the strange
colour as this muddy, ugly
sort of red. But we didnt
just paint his office that
colour - we painted every-
thing in his entire office that
colour. They painted every-
thing inside the desk. PTI
Holland responds
to Dunst criticism
London: Tom Holland says
Kirsten Dunst is entitled to
Criticise Spider-Man:
Homecoming but he does
not care if she sees the
blockbuster. Back in June,
the actress who played
Mary Jane Watson in Sami
Raimis trilogy between
2002 and 2007 - was dismis-
sive of Marvel Studios and
Sony Pictures reboot of the
character. Shes entitled to
her own opinion and Im not
one to judge at all. I definite-
ly am not doing this movie
for the money. I mean, its a
job that I think anyone would
do regardless of what you
were getting paid,All I know
is I had the greatest time on
this movie and I absolutely
loved it and, you know, if she
doesnt want to go and see
it, I dont really care,
Holland says. PTI
PEECEE SHOOTS
FOR PROJECT
WITH ADAMS
Los Angeles: Priyanka
Chopra has joined Hear The
World campaign and the
actress did a special photo-
shoot for the same where
she posed for singer-photog-
rapher Bryan Adams. Both
Priyanka and Adams took to
social media to share the
pictures from
behind-the-
scenes of the
photoshoot.
Was so good to
see you again
Bryan Adams.
Happy to be a
part of such an
amazing project, Priyanka
captioned the black and
white selfie with the leg-
endary musician. The 35-
year-old actor had earlier
worked with Adams when
she was signed for fashion
brand GUESS in 2013.
Adams, 57, shared a slightly
different selfie. Shooting
photos today of the lovely
@priyankachopra for
#heartheworldfoundation,
he captioned it. PTI
Published by T. Venkateswarlu for and on behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited at S 7 & 8, Green Park, Main Market, New Delhi 110016 and Printed by him at BFL Infotech Limited, C 9, Sector III, Noida 201301. Editor T. Venkatram Reddy, RNI Registration number 57290/94,
Price in Nepal - Nep. Rs. 20.00 per copy.
Kesha announces tour of
North America in support of
new album Rainbow
Opp. leader says calibre more important as criteria
Kiwi Labour boss triggers
debate over baby plans
Wellington: New
Zealands freshly installed
opposition leader Jacinda
Ardern was drawn into a
sexism row on Wednesday
after being asked if hav-
ing a baby would affect
her chances of becoming
prime minister.
Just one day into her
new job with the centre-
left Labour Party, the 37-
year-old had already been
asked twice in two sepa-
rate interviews about
whether she intended to
become a parent.
Ardern responded with
good grace to the initial
line of questioning, giving
a non-committal answer
saying it was a dilemma
lots of career women
faced.
Im not pre-determin-
ing any of that, just like
most of the women out
here who just make their
lives work, she told TV3.
But she took exception
when told on the same net-
work that New Zealanders
had a right to know her
plans for parenthood
Smart underwear may
reduce lower back pain
Washington: Scientists
have developed a smart,
mechanised undergar-
ment that can help
reduce stress and pain
on the lower back mus-
cles. Engineers at the
Vanderbilt University,
US combined biome-
chanics and advances in
wearable technology to
create the undergar-
ment.
Over half of all adults
will experience low back
pain in their lifetimes,
researchers said. The
wearable device has two
fabric sections, made of
nylon canvas, Lycra,
polyester and other
materials, for the chest
and legs. The sections
are connected by sturdy
straps across the middle
back, with natural rub-
Pharaoh leaves mark on modern beds Cosbys tough-as-nails legal
Three-fold bed was found in Tutankhamuns tomb in 1922
Tokyo: A unique foldable
bed belonging to King
Tutankhamun who
ruled Egypt over 3,300
years ago may have
inspired modern camping
beds, according to the first
study of the furniture
which highlights the
craftsmanship skills of the
ancient artisans.
British archaeologist
Howard Carter had discov-
ered the three-fold bed
made of lightweight hard-
wood when he entered
Tutankhamuns tomb in
1922.
The bed was smaller and
sat lower to the ground
than the other five beds
found in the burial cham-
ber. However, it was
remarkably comfortable
and was elegantly
before they decided
whether or not to vote for
her as Prime Minister.
Ardern said women
should be employed on
their qualifications,
regardless of their baby-
making plans.
It is totally unaccept-
able in 2017 to say that
women should have to
answer that question in
the workplace, she said.
It is the womans deci-
sion about when they
choose to have children. It
should not pre-determine
whether or not they get
the job.
The grilling by cricketer-
turned-TV host Mark
Richardson lit up social
media, with many com-
mentators saying a man
would not face similar
questioning.
Quite frankly, whether
a woman intends on hav-
ing children or not is none
of their bloody business,
New Zealand human
rights commissioner
Jackie Blue said. Oh, and
by the way, its illegal to
ber pieces at the lower
back and glutes. The
device is designed so
that users engage it only
when they need it.
A simple double tap to
the shirt engages the
straps. When the task is
done, another double tap
releases the straps so the
user can sit down, and
the device feels and
behaves like normal
clothes.
It can be controlled by
an app that the team cre-
ated users tap their
phones to engage the
smart clothing wireless-
ly via Bluetooth. Eight
subjects tested the
device leaning forward
and lifting weights while
holding their position at
30, 60 and 90 degrees.
PTI
A radiated
tortoise at
the zoo in Victorias
Mulhouse, Secret Angel
France, on Martha Hunt intro-
Wednesday. It duces new Body by
is a long-lived Victoria collection
species with in Los Angeles
lifespans of at on Tuesday.
least 188 years.
AFP
The three-fold bed had an ingenious mechanism
allowing it to be folded up into a Z shape.
designed with a sophisti-
cated technology,
researchers found. An
ingenious mechanism
allows the bed to be folded
up into a Z shape, the
study showed. No
THE ASIAN AGE
Newsmakers 12
SOCIAL MEDIA STORM
Jacinda Ardern
said women should
be employed on
their qualifications
regardless of their
baby-making plans
The grilling by
cricketer-turned-TV
host Mark
It is totally Richardson lit up
social media
unacceptable in
An online poll on
2017 to say that
women should have to the New Zealand
answer that question in Herald website
the workplace attracted more than
Jacinda Ardern, 9,000 responses with
NZ labour party leader 65% backing her
ask those questions as more than 9,000 responses,
they breach the Human with 65 per cent backing
Rights Act. Rights group Ardern.
Women Aoterearoa NZ Madeleine Holden, a
tweeted: Yes much work commentator on a pop cul-
to do - Sexism needs to be ture website, said it was a
expunged. retrograde debate that
An online poll on the shifted the focus from
New Zealand Herald web- Arderns policies.
site quickly attracted AFP
(Left) An art installation
Bubble Up created by
Japanese artist Shinji
Ohmaki produces
bubbles in Hong Kong,
on Wednesday. AP
(Right) Chris Martin of
Coldplay performs at
Metlife Stadium, in East
Rutherford, New Jersey
on Tuesday. AP
NEWS NUGGETS
ROBBER GETS
15 YEARS FOR
BANK HOLD-UP
Reno (Nevada):
Homeless, cold and
scared, Tommy Ray
McAdoo said he held up
a Nevada bank with a
steak knife last
November so he could
return to the only place
he has ever really
known. The 77-year-old
lifelong crimi-
nal got his
wish late
Tuesday when
a federal
judge in Reno
sentenced him to anoth-
er 15 years in federal
prison for bank robbery
with a dangerous
weapon. McAdoos US
public defender pleaded
for leniency, saying the
former Seattle man was
gravely ill with heart
and kidney disease and
likely to die in prison
even if the judge grant-
ed her request for less
than five years. It
would give him a sliver
of hope, if he ever
makes it that long,
Lauren Gorman said.
AFP AP
This is the only real-size
camping bed that has ever
been found. No other
pharaohs but King Tut had
such a bed. It is intrigu-
ing, she added.
Researchers suggest that
two-fold beds may have
existed or at least were
being designed, before
Tutankhamuns camping
bed was constructed.
However, the boy kings
three-fold bed was revolu-
tionary, the researchers
said. It was steadier, more
comfortable and much
more compact to carry
detailed study has been than the two-folds.
made of this bed since The bed features four
Carter sketched it almost a wooden lion legs with
hundred years ago, said paws that rest upon cop-
Naoko Nishimoto, from per-alloy drums and would
the Musashino University have supported the weight
in Tokyo. of a person. PTI
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
People play mahjong in
a swimming pool to
escape the hot weather
in Chongqing, southwest
China, on Wednesday.
AFP
Saturday features Terry
Foster, 82, Janine Hall, 82,
and Wyn Hewett, 72, per-
Ladies, with the lyrics
GOLD REPLICA OF SPACE MODULE
GIFTED TO ARMSTRONG STOLEN
Chicago: A gold replica
of a lunar landing mod-
ule gifted to US astro-
naut Neil Armstrong by
French jewellers has
been pilfered
from an Ohio
museum, with
security footage
offering little
help to police.
The artifact
was stolen late Friday
from the astronauts
namesake museum in
his small hometown of
Wapakoneta. Local
police are working with
only a blurry image of
the thief taken via secu-
rity camera, which has
JUDGE, 93, RETIRING IN CHICAGO
AFTER DECADES ON THE BENCH
Chicago: A 93-year-old
judge who issued
rulings on everything
from desegregation to
prisoners rights is retir-
ing after nearly four
decades on the
federal bench in Illinois.
Chicagos US District
Court announced on
Tuesday that Milton
Shadur will be retiring
effective next month.
Among the thousands of
eagle quits ahead of retrial
New York: The top
Philadelphia criminal
defence attorney who
helped Bill Cosby secure a
hung jury on trial for sex-
ual assault has quit ahead
of the disgraced entertain-
ers scheduled retrial.
Brian McMonagle, who
proved his mettle with a
tough-as-nails defence at
one of Americas biggest
celebrity trials in years,
has bowed out and
replacements are being
considered, a Cosby
spokesman said on
Tuesday.
Attorney McMonagle is
no longer representing Mr
Cosby, Andrew Wyatt versity basketball official
said without elaborating
on the reasons why. Co-
counsel Angela Agrusa,
who is based in California, was forced to declare a
https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
Beyonce-inspired video
of Oz women goes viral
Sydney: A Beyonce-
inspired video of three
elderly Australian lawn
bowlers strutting their
stuff in a campaign to
save their local green has
gone viral with more than
one million Facebook
views in just a few days.
The short film posted
forming their rendition of
Beyonces hit Single
substituted for demands
of their local council.
We love our club, weve
had enough, they sing,
dressed in their blue and
white bowling outfits.
Were doing our bowling
thing. We wanna keep fit
and that is it.
Please
dont
take it
from me.
not helped them identi-
fy the suspect. The 13-
centimetre tall solid
gold model of the 1969
Lunar Excursion
Module, which
took the first
humans to the
Moon, was one of
three made by
Cartier. They
were given to Neil
Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin
and Michael Collins on
their visit to Paris, as a
celebratory world tour
following their return
from space in 1969.
Authorities were unable
to give an estimated
value of it. AFP
cases hes presided over
was a copyright lawsuit
brought by NBA
superstar Michael
Jordan. Shadur told the
Chicago Daily Law
Bulletin that he hadnt
intended to retire, but
complications from
recent surgery changed
his mind. Chief U.S.
District Judge Ruben
Castillo called Shadur
simply a legend. AP Macallans.
Bill Cosby with lawyer
Brian McMonagle.
remains on the team. I
will be naming our new
legal counsel at the end of
the month, Wyatt said.
Cosby, 80, is scheduled to
go back on trial for
allegedly drugging and
molesting a former uni-
known for his seminal role
at his Philadelphia home
in 2004.
Judge Steven ONeill
PAGE
The site of the
Chadstone Bowls Club in
suburban Melbourne has
been slated for a new
multi-million-dollar
indoor community stadi-
um. But the clubs 600
members, most of them
elderly, have told the coun-
cil to keep their hands off
the 60-year-old facility.
Denise Wallish, the
videos producer and
member of the Save
Chaddy Bowls committee,
said they had been over-
whelmed by the attention,
much of it from overseas.
AFP
 The short film
posted on Saturday
features Terry Foster,
82, Janine Hall, 82, and
Wyn Hewett, 72,
performing their
rendition of Beyonces
hit Single Ladies
CHINESE PAYS
$10,000 FOR
WHISKY SHOT
Geneva: Have you heard
the one about the guy
who walked into a bar
and ordered a $10,000
shot of whisky? A young
Chinese man paid 9,999
Swiss francs ($10,000)
last week at a Swiss
hotel for a glass of
whisky made in 1878 by
the revered Scotch
maker Macallan, the
20Minuten website said.
The report was con-
firmed by an employee
of the luxury Waldhaus
Hotel in St. Moritz,
northeast Switzerland.
The hotels Devils
Place Whisky Bar has
been honoured for its
2,500 bottle collection,
including by Guinness
Book of World Records.
But proprietor Sandro
Bernasconi said he
never expected to open
this particular treasure.
The client expressed par-
ticular interest in the
AFP
mistrial in June when a
jury failed to reach a
unanimous verdict on
three counts of aggravat-
ed indecent assault after
more than 50 hours of
deliberations in
N o r r i s t o w n ,
Pennsylvania. The dead-
lock was a victory of sorts
for the pioneering black
comedian, now frail and
isolated, who risked
spending the rest of his
life in prison if convicted.
But the trial irrevocably
damaged the once tower-
ing icon of US popular cul-
ture, loved by millions as
Americas Dad and best
as a father and obstetri-
cian on hit 1984-92 TV
series The Cosby Show.
AFP
https://telegram.me/Estore33 https://telegram.me/AllEpapers

Sensex
32,476
98.43
Nifty
10,081
33.15
Gold
`28,430
`65
Silver
`37,910
`350
Dollar
`63.70
`0.37 THE ASIAN AGE
Business
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
PAGE

15

LONG AWAITED
CURRENCY
CFOs feel GST
1 EURO `75.54 1 `84.28
Interest rate touches 6-yr lowered output
low after RBIs rate cut
$1.19 $1.32
Mumbai, Aug. 2: More AS MANY as 27 lakh
INDICATORS
than 31 per cent of the
chief financial officers businesses are yet to
(CFOs) from various com- complete registration
FII NET BUY: panies feel the implemen- on the GSTN portal and
$50.63m (Aug. 1)
FOREIGN RESERVES: EMIs may not fall immediately, Patel worried about rise in inflation tation of GST is challeng-
ing and manufacturing is
the most affected sector,
the process has to be
completed before they
$391.33bn (July 21) AGE CORRESPONDENT according to a survey. file their returns by
INFLATION: MUMBAI, AUG. 2
RBI MEETING HIGHLIGHTS RUPEE SCALES Further, over 54 per cent
CFOs believe that the
August 20, GSTN said
1.54% in June 2017 As expected, the Reserve
Bank on Wednesday The RBI will continue to drain surplus liquidity from the TO 2-YEAR HIGH impact of demonetisa-
tion has been neutral, tion is among the key
banking system gradually without destabilising the market, focus area of most CFOs,

BIZ BRIEFS
BRICS pledges for
inclusive growth
Beijing: India and the four
other members of the BRICS
grouping on Wednesday
pledged to rise above pro-
tectionism and safeguard
the multilateral trade system
to promote a strong, bal-
anced and inclusive global
growth. We should jointly
tackle the challenges of eco-
nomic globalisation, pro-
mote open and quitable
world economy, and uphold
the common interests of the
emerging markets and
developing countries with a
view to promoting strong,
sustainable, balanced and
slashed the repo rate by
25 basis point to 6 per
cent, the lowest since
dy guv Viral Acharya said after the meeting AFTER RATE CUT while 56 per cent are
highly optimistic of
the country's macro-eco-
followed by analytical
solutions.
November 2010 in view of Mumbai, Aug. 2: nomic growth in the next Other focus areas
the recent slump in con-
sumer price inflation
Industry experts said the
move is not likely to immedi-
Stamping its best single-
day show this year, the
4-5 years, the Deloitte
Annual CFO survey said.
include cyber risks, cloud
solutions and social
(CPI), but maintained its
neutral stance citing
ately result in lower lending
rates for final consumers as
rupee on Wednesday
surged by 37 paise to
The country remains
optimistic about econom-
media marketing among
others, the report noted.
upside risk to inflation. breach the the psycholog- ic prospects, as it remains As far as investments
The sharp fall in the some of the banks are borrow- ical 64-level against the buoyant post demonetisa- are concerned a majority
prices of food articles led ing less under the repo window US dollar and finally tion and amongst global of the CFOs are focused
to June CPI slipping to a due to surplus liquidity ended at a fresh two-year uncertainties, the sur- on consumer and market
five-year low of 1.5 per high of 63.70 after the vey report noted. expansion, followed by
cent, way below RBIs RBI set the platform by Given the macro-eco- technology and innova-
long-term target of 4 per Maintaining a neutral stance, lowering the repo rate by nomic trends that point to tions, the survey noted.
cent and its April-Sept- Mr Patel added that inflation is 0.25 per cent. a possible global growth With the economy adopt-
ember projection of 2-3.5 likely to rise from the current This is the best closing revival, there will be ing GST, companies have
per cent. lows as there are several fac- for the home currency opportunities to increase shifted their focus to sup-
Inflation excluding food since July 22, 2015, when exports and investment ply chain modification,
and fuel, which has tors contributing to uncertainty it had ended at 63.58 which have been a con- inventory cost manage-
remained sticky has also around this baseline inflation against the US dollar. cern for the past few ment which might disrupt
fallen significantly over trajectory. The domestic currency quarters, it said. their working cycles, the
the past three months. on Wednesday rode on Technological upgrada- report observed. PTI
These factors along high optimism as the cen-
with the normal and well tral bank after a 10-
distributed normal rain-

Rate cut is an important

month pause decided to

Ultratech Cement
inclusive growth, a joint falls and the smooth roll cut the benchmark inter-
statement said. out of the GST has est rate by 25 basis points

Pilots union to
opened up the space of to 6 per cent, the lowest
monetary policy accom- in over 6 years.

meet Jet officials

Mumbai: Jet Airways pilots
union, National Aviators
Guild, is likely to hold talks
with the management on
Thursday on the issue of
steep reduction in the
salaries of junior trainee
pilots. The Guild, which rep-
resents more than 1,000
pilots of Jet Airways, will
also raise the issue of disci-
plinary action against num-
ber of non-management
pilots, a source told PTI.
The management is meet-
ing us tomorrow in Mumbai
to discuss various issues
including the issue of 30 per
cent cut in the salaries of
junior trainee pilots, the
source said.
modation, RBI said.
However, industry
experts said the move is
not likely to immediately
result in lower lending
rates for final consumers
as some of the banks are
borrowing less under the
repo window due to sur-
plus liquidity.
Under the current sce-
nario, an industry official
said that banks with sur-
plus liquidity would have
to first take a decision on
a reduction in deposit
rates, which will bring
down their average cost
of funds. This will give
them enough room to cut
lending rates, he added.
While the monetary pol-
icy committee reiterated
its projection of real
gross value added growth
of 7.3 per cent for FY18, it
step for growth: Centre
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 2
Indicating that the gov-
ernment wants further
easing in interest rates,
the finance ministry on
Wednesday said that
RBIs decision to cut
interest rates by 0.25 per
cent is an important step
to converge toward
appropriate real mone-
tary conditions for sus-
tained growth consistent
with Indias potential.
We welcome the 25
basis points cut in the
repo rate as an important
step necessary to con- ernment thought that 0.50
verge toward the appro- per cent interest rates cut
priate real monetary con- by RBI is appropriate in
ditions for sustained current situation to
growth consistent with restart growth.
Indias potential and for The government had
stable, moderate infla- been pitching for a rate cut
tion, department of eco- to boost economic growth
nomic affairs (DEA), sec- amid retail inflation
retary Subhash Chandra falling to a historic low of
Garg said. 1.54 per cent in June.
He said that the govern- The RBI, in its third bi-
ment has taken note of the monthly monetary policy
Monetary Policy Commi- of the fiscal, reduced the
ttees statement and its repo rate after a gap of
assessment of the infla- almost 10 months. The
tion and growth outlook new repo rate at 6 per cent
Earlier, there were some is the lowest in six- and-a-
reports that said the gov- half years.
The apex bank had held
its repo rate at 6.25 per
cent since October 2016.
Though, the domestic
unit resumed lower at
64.12 as compared to
Tuesday's close of 64.07
at the Interbank Foreign
Exchange market due to
mild demand for the
American currency.
Later, the rupee made a
resounding recovery to
touch a high of 63.59 fol-
lowing frantic dollar
unwinding from specula-
tive traders and foreign
banks.
However, suspected RBI
intervention towards the
fag-end trade forced the
rupee to shed some weight
and end at 63.70. PTI
launched in Vizag
AGE CORRESPONDENT
VISAKHAPATNAM, AUG. 2
After the acquisition of
Jaypee Cement plants in
June this year, UltraTech
Cement, Indias leading
cement manufacturer, on
Wednesday formally
launched its brand in
Visakhapatnam to
strengthen its footprint in UltraTech would emerge
new markets of Coastal as the fourth largest
Andhra Pradesh. cement player globally
This comes close on the (excluding the Chinese
heels of the company players) with a total
launching its brand in capacity of 93 million
Vijayawada recently. tonnes per annum and the
This move is essentially largest player in India by
for geographic market an even larger margin.
expansion, enabling Speaking on the occa-
UltraTechs entry into the sion, UltraTech Cement

RBI eyes better monetary transmission

however flagged-off con-
cern regarding weakness
in growth impulses in
the service and industrial
sector.
Maintaining a neutral
stance, RBI governor Urjit
Patel added that inflation
is likely to rise from the
AGE CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI, AUG. 2
The Reserve Bank has
constituted an internal
tem introduced in April
2016 for improving the
monetary transmission
has not been entirely sat-
isfactory, even though it
ing linking of the bank
lending rates directly to
market determined
benchmarks, it said.
The group will submit
high growth markets of MD K.K. Maheshwari
India where it needed said, The strategic
greater reinforcement, launch at Visakhapatnam
said Kumar Mangalam strengthens our foothold
sion in MCLR, RBI said, Birla, the chairman of in the southern region.
the rigidity of base rate UltraTech, in a video With the benefit of
is a matter of concern for message. Jaypee Cements rep-
an efficient transmission Balaji cement plant, utable stronghold in the
of monetary policy to the which was under Jaypee, southern market,

Long delays is
current lows as there are study group to suggest has been an advance the report by September real economy. Given a would now cater to the UltraTech Cement is
several factors contribut- measures to improve the over the earlier base rate 24. According to the RBI, large part of the floating demands in coastal geared up to propel its ini-

hallmark of NHAI
New Delhi: Long delays have
become a hallmark of NHAI
projects, with just 55 out of
the total 388 such works
getting completed on or
before time between 1995
and 2016, a panel said on
Wednesday. However, it also
expressed hope that the sit-
uation will improve as the
ing to uncertainty around
this baseline inflation tra-
jectory. The implementa-
tion of farm loan waivers
by states may result in
possible fiscal slippages
and undermine the quali-
ty of public spending,
entailing inflationary
spillovers.
monetary transmission
and further explore the
possibility of linking the
bank lending rates direct-
ly to market determined
benchmarks.
RBI said that the mar-
ginal cost of funds based
lending rate (MCLR) sys-
system.
An internal study base rate of some banks
group has been constitut-
ed by the Reserve Bank to
study the various aspects
of the MCLR system
from the perspective of
improving the monetary
transmission and explor-
a quick scrutiny of the rate loan portfolio of
banks is still anchored on
post the introduction of the base rate, the RBI will
MCLR suggests that it be exploring various
has moved significantly options in the near
less than MCLR. While future to make the base
the extent of change in rate more responsive to
base rate may not neces- changes in cost of funds
sarily mirror the revi- of banks, it said.
Andhra Pradesh. tiatives across the region
UltraTech Cement, and help build beautiful
which had a cement pro- in Visakhapatnam.
duction capacity of The strengthened proce-
around 63 million tonnes, sses and upgraded tech-
had added another 21.2 nologies will aid UltraTech
million tonnes capacity Cement to attain remark-
with the acquisition of able growth in market
Jaypees cement plants. share in Visakhapatnam
After the commission- and neighbouring towns of
ing of its new plant, coastal Andhra, he added.

Honda eyes No. 1 tag

NHAI has decided to award
projects only after 80 per
cent land has been acquired.
Long delays have become a
hallmark of all highway proj-
ects which is evident from
the fact that since 1995,...
(when) NHAI was opera-
tionalised, till June 30, 2016,
out of the total 388 projects
completed, only 55 projects
were completed on or
before time, a report said.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU, AUG. 2
Auto major Honda Motor
aims to pip Hero from the
top spot in the 2-wheeler
segment in India by 2020,
an official said here on
Wednesday.
Speaking at the inaugu-
FLEXIBLE of the surveyed organisations will have over INDIA PLANS TO
leading the demand. In
WORK TIMINGS 50% 30% of their workforce, double of what it is
today, as flexible talent within next 5 years STOP PHARMA
FY17, India alone con-
organisations believe they are ready to easily FREEBIES
47%
tributed 28 per cent to
Hondas global 2-wheeler on-board flexible talent. It said cross border
sales and became the top teams will be the biggest driver of diversity Mumbai, Aug. 2: India,
contributor to Hondas one of the worlds largest
two-wheeler business. The markets for pharmaceu-
growing Indian market is In terms of the most needed skills to thrive in future ticals is drawing up its
top priority for Honda. To workplace, a lot of soft skills will gain importance in first set of marketing
better meet the dynamic the long run rules for drugmakers,

NO PLANS TO
ration of Hondas fourth market demand and to restricting gifts and trips
assembly line at its prepare for the future offered to doctors and
Narsapura facility in opportunities, Honda has The concept of full time regular employment is a pharmacists to `1,000,

MERGE BSNL, Karnataka, Hondas chief inaugurated the fourth 20th century western phenomenon and it's clear that according to a draft pro-
regional operations offi- assembly line in the the world is again moving towards a future wherein posal seen by Reuters.

MTNL: SINHA
New Delhi: There is no pro-
posal to merge loss making
public sector telecom opera-
tor MTNL with BSNL, Union
cer, Asia & Oceania, Shinji
Aoyama said, Hondas 2-
wheeler business spans
more than 120 countries
worldwide and India is
Karnataka plant. With
this, the Narsapura plant
will now produce 24 lac
two-wheelers annually,
said Mr Aoyama.
people will manage their own brands and will Such rules are common
overseas, but are not set
move from project to project in stone in India, where
Source: Flexing It PETER NICHOLLS, COO, Flexing It campaigners have long
demanded a crackdown
on unethical selling prac-
tices that include gifts

minister Manoj Sinha
informed Parliament on
Wednesday. At present,
there is no proposal for
merger of BSNL and MTNL,
Mr Sinha said in the Lok
Sabha on revival of both the
PSUs. Though BSNL has seen
improvement in its perform-
ance, MTNLs net loss for the
year ended
March, 2017,
widened to
`2,963.05
crore from
`1,945.86 crore
at the end of
previous fiscal.
The annual
income of MTNL also
declined by 3.6 per cent to
`3,654.69 crore for 2016-17
from `3,793.89 crore at the
end of 2015-16. Telecom min-
ister Manoj Sinha said based
on the financial results of
MTNL for the FY17, the tele-
com operator has been clas-
sified as Incipient Sick
CPSE as per Department of
Public Enterprise guidelines.
TRACKING | TRENDS
Fate of diesel engines worries German car cos
Berlin, Aug. 2: Bosses of
Germanys car industry
and top politicians meet
Wednesday on the fate of
diesel engines, as the sector
faces an existential threat
after a colossal pollution
cheating scandal and new
allegations of collusion.
With major cities also eye-
ing partial bans on diesel
vehicles to fight deadly
smog, more than 8 lakh
jobs hang in the balance as
carmakers desperately
need a strategy.
Two months before a gen-
eral election, both parties
in Chancellor Angela
Merkels right-left grand
ruling coalition are in no
mood to mollycoddle an
industry that is fast losing
Top officials meet German politicians, cite job figures for consideration
popularity.
Transport minister Alex-
ander Dobrindt, a member
of Ms Merkels Bavarian
allies CSU, said on
Wednesday that the auto-
mobile industry has steered
itself onto difficult terrain.
I find it dreadful that the
Cars made in Germany
brand has been dragged
into such a situation, he
told Passauer Neue Presse
daily.
Ms Merkel was more
nuanced, as she noted the
huge number of jobs at
stake. The car industry is
of strategic importance ...
it must be strong and inno-
vative but also honest. So
its about criticising what
needs to be criticised, but to
In July, Spiegel magazine heaped on
further pressure as it pub-
lished details of a VW
letter to German and
European competition
authorities which it
said showed that
auto giants colluded
on technology, sup-
pliers, costs, sales
and markets since the
1990s.
do so while bearing in mind
that its a strategically
important industry in
Germany, said her spokes- Volkswagen
woman Ulrike Demmer on installing illegal devices in
Monday.
sions readings. But suspi-
The first cracks in the oft-
vaunted sector emerged in
September 2015, when
admitted
millions of vehicles world-
wide to rig pollution emis- ous nitrogen oxide (NOx)
emissions.
cions of similar cheating Germany has already
have since widened to other been warned by the EU
German carmakers. over its air quality, and now
In July, Spiegel magazine public opinion is starting
heaped on further pres- to swing in favour of out-
sure as it published details lawing diesel.
of a VW letter to German A survey commissioned
and European competition by Greenpeace found that
authorities which it said 57 per cent of Germans
showed that auto giants back such a ban in cities
colluded on technology, with poor air quality.
suppliers, costs, sales and On Wednesday, Green-
markets since the 1990s. peace activists hung a ban-
Adding to the clouds ner screaming Welcome to
hanging over the industry, Fort NOx at the transport
a court in Stuttgart the ministry as protesters
home city of Mercedes and marched outside, forcing
Porsche ruled that only a organisers of the diesel
partial ban on diesel vehi- meeting to move it to the
cles would be effective at interior ministry.
clearing the air of poison- Reuters
ranging from electrical
appliances to foreign
trips to woo physicians
and pharmacists into
prescribing and stocking
specific medicines.
The country has volun-
tary marketing guide-
lines for drugmakers, but
critics say they are inef-
fective. In India, corrup-
tion and bribery of doc-
tors is widespread, said
Samiran Nundy, a leading
gastrointestinal surgeon.
Ive seen a range of ways
in which this works, from
presents to doctors to pay-
ing for them to attend
conferences.
Its great that market-
ing rules are coming
into place, he added. I
hope that these will be
enforced.
Besides limiting market-
ing spend, it also forbids
drugmakers from making
false claims on the cura-
tive abilities and efficacy
of drugs. Reuters
https://telegram.me/Estore33
IN
Nougat 7.1.1
BRIEF
heads towards
budget Nokia 3
Nokia 3 will be receiving
latest update to Androids
operating system Nougat by
August-end, confirmed
Nokias marketing partner
HMD Global. Launched in
June, the Nokia 3 is avail-
able through offline stores
across the country at a price
of `9,499. Even before its
launch in India, HMD Global
had promised to release
monthly security OS
updates to all Android-pow-
ered Nokia smartphones as
soon as they are available
for a safer Android system,
which the firm appears to
fulfil well. All the newly
Nokia released smart-
phones, including Nokia 3,
were rolled out with
Android Nougat 7.0 as their
operating system. In the
latest update, Nokia 3s OS
will be upgraded to Android
Nougat 7.1.1. To recall, Nokia
3 features a 5-inch display
protected by Corning Gorilla
Glass, powered by MediaTek
MTK 6737, coupled with
2GB RAM and 16GB storage,
expandable to 128GB via a
microSD card. The front and
rear camera have both 8MP
sensors, and is fuelled
by a 2650mAh battery.
iPhone 8 to
get double tap
to wakeup
Apples HomePod firmware
dissection provided a mas-
sive amount of information
about the smart speaker
itself. But interestingly, more
information about the
iPhone 8 was revealed.
Developer Steven Troughton
Smith has been the source
of much of that information,
spending the past few days
digging through the
HomePods IPSW file. Smith
has shared additional details
from the HomePod
firmware, noting of how
software will be affected by
the iPhone 8s notch along
the top, new ARKit features,
and Touch ID details as well.
Smith has also stated that
the iPhone 8 may feature
the Tap to wake feature
which is similar to other
smartphones on sale today.
This feature allows users to
wake their device up by
simply tapping the display.
Earlier, Smith also stated
that the code does not indi-
cate the presence of
in-screen Touch ID. Apart
from this, the firmware also
revealed new features
such as ARKit and Photos.
Google Duo
video calling
on Truecaller
Truecaller has announced its
integration with Google
Duo, allowing users to make
video calls directly through
the Truecaller app on
Android and iOS platforms.
This update enables users to
launch a Duo video call
within the Truecaller app,
and switches between Wi-Fi
and cellular data for uninter-
rupted conversation.
Truecaller integration with
Google Duo is available for
Android and iOS users as a
permission-based service,
by which users will be able
to opt in and out at any
time. Following the launch
of Flash Messaging in April,
the Google Duo-Truecaller
integration will now enable
video-first users with the
communication mode of
their choice. The new fea-
ture will now make video
calling available to its 250
million plus users.
https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro with 5.5-inch
FHD sAMOLED display, 3GB RAM, 64GB
storage starts sale in India for `20,990
THE ASIAN AGE
Technomics 16
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
PAGE
Digital era: Is India ready UNPATCHABLE ECHO HACK
CAN SPY YOUR BEDROOM
for new security threats?
SANSKRITI TALWAR the government will
spend `1,000 crore over
I
ndia had been a a period of five years for
victim to about 50 research and develop-
cyber attacks affect- ment programmes
ing 19 financial organi- dedicated to tackle
sations from November cyber-security issues in
2016 till June, 2017, a the country, reported
report by Indian news agency PTI.
Computer Emergency A report by security AGE CORRESPONDENT
Response Team (CERT- firm Palo Alto Networks
S
In) has disclosed. The has revealed that 92 o you have the Amazon Echo in your room
government needs to be per cent of organisa- and you are very happy with the magic
prepared for the pitfalls tions in India have that the little AI speaker can do.
that will accompany increased their budget However, you should know that the smart little
this tremendous push for cyber-security in device on your bedrooms corner table can
towards a digital this financial year. Yet become a privacy nightmare.
economy, experts say. organisations are According to a report by Motherboard,
As India has already struggling to keep up Amazons Echo can be hacked and turned into
on-boarded the digital with the increasingly an always-on microphone that can be spying
bandwagon, consumers, sophisticated cyber- on your intimate moments. What is
governments and threats and finding even more shocking is that the hack cannot be
enterprises of all sizes appropriate solutions to fixed by a software patch.
face equal risks from combat them. The report mentions a security researcher who
advanced cyber crimi- We need to focus demonstrated in his research that the Amazon
nals who, according to more on mass aware- Echo can be turned into a spying machine by
Symantecs Internet ness on the evolving exploiting a physical vulnerability in the models
Security Threat Report threat landscape, and sold between 2015 and 2016. This hack can turn
(ISTR), have revealed PHOTO: PIXABAY on training more your smart speaker against you, and it can spy on
new levels of ambition professionals to meet your conversations without any indication that it
in 2016, Gaurav target in bulk, and India in digital payments, India ranks second the skill gap with cyber has been compromised. He adds that the issue
Agarwal, Managing suits them well a added Agarwal. Recent highest in Asia Pacific soldiers, Agarwal cannot be resolved by Amazon by simply sending
Director, India and large, vulnerable pop- examples of various and Japan (APJ) region. said. The best way to an OTA or flashing a physical software patch.
SAARC, Symantec told ulation with money. cyber attacks on institu- Across the globe, India deter cyber attacks is to This means that the smart speakers sold
Deccan Chronicle. The financial sector tions across industries stands fifth among most- have good cyber hygiene during that period will probably have the
In an interview with in India has become an remind us of how often affected regions beset by and practices. This issue throughout their life.
Deccan Chronicle, a easy target for cyber security is still the ransomware attacks. means always reviewing Security researcher Mark Barnes, in his
spokesperson from criminals considering weakest link in our Following CERT-Ins the three pillars research, states that he managed to hack the
Norton had earlier the governments digital transformation. acknowledgment over of cyber-security Echo by removing the bottom of the smart
hinted that cyber crimi- demonetisation drive According to the rising cyber attacks in people, process and speaker and exposing the 18 debug points (con-
nals are looking for a and the subsequent rise Symantecs ISTR report, financial organisations, technology. nectors), which he used to boot directly into the
firmware by using an external SD card.
Once the hack was complete, he could mount
Warp Machine: Former Google executive back the bottom of the speaker, which left
absolutely no trace or evidence that the device
was tampered. The malware installed could then
remotely monitor the Echos microphone. One
Ducati Panigale compliments Apples camera should note that the Echo has a mute button that
makes it inoperable when the user does not want
the smart speaker to be hearing you out. This
could be used to nullify the hackers attempt by
R Final Edition AGE CORRESPONDENT muting the microphone. However, the hacker
would be able to get track when the button is
T
he Android versus pressed again and the device unmated.The vul-
iPhone debate has nerability was only possible on the 2015 and 2016
been raging on for models, and the 2017 models and the smaller
years, with both sides Amazon Dot are not vulnerable to the hack.
claiming certain bene-
fits over each other.
Both platforms have
their own positives as REVIEW: ROOKIE INFINIX HITS
well as negatives but
sell well equally. HOME RUN WITH ITS NOTE 4
Therefore, it is interest-
ing to know what PHOTO: PIXABAY VISHAL KAWADKAR
phones their creators
H
are using. According to with regards to the pic- over the time through ong-Kong based
D
ucati has been Edition tips the scales at general expectations, ture quality on his software updates, smartphone
looking to switch a more real worldly 190 Google employees iPhone 7. He even went Google has to keep mil- maker Infinix
its V2 superbikes kg. It blasts off on should be using on to state that the lions of different phone has made a strong
with its new V4 genera- forged Marchesini alu- Android smartphones iPhone 7 marks the end models in mind and statement in the
tion. No, we are not minium wheels and pro- and Apple employees of DSLRs, especially therefore has to work industry with the
being wishful because vided with a set of must be using iPhones. with its Portrait mode. extensively on the soft- launch of its budget
Ducati has just released Ohlins NIX30 forks, But, a latest social When one of his fol- ware front for utilising smartphone, the
the Panigale R Final TTX36 rear shock, and media post by a former lowers negated his a new hardware feature. Note 4. The smart-
Edition. This superbike top-of-the-line Brembo Google executive has claim saying that Therefore, if Samsung phone has features
blends the race-spec Monobloc M50 semi- proved otherwise. Samsungs Galaxy S8 has improved the that are capable of
Panigale R with the rare floating radial brake Vic Gundotra, former does a better job than camera on their latest giving tough compe-
collectible and extreme- callipers on two huge Senior Vice President of the iPhone 7, he replied phone, they have to tition to other
ly quick Superleggera. 330-mm disks. It will be Google had recently to the person stating the convince Google to roll smartphones in the
The new bike is built produced in two ver- posted a photograph of reason behind his claim. out an API to let same price bracket.
around a carbon mono- sions 1,200 and 1,000 his kids on his social Gundotra stated that other applications take The smartphone
coque frame unlike cc with the latter des- media channel. Along Android is an open the benefits of the sports a 5.7-inch
anything we had seen in tined to chase down the with the photos, Vic also source OS wants to upgrade. This process full HD display
the Grand Prix racing elusive WSBK crown put a caption that stated generalise performance could take years. with 1080 x 1920 pixel reso-
for several decades. against the Kawasaki something totally unex- on all kinds of Android While this makes lution. The display is impressive, with vibrant
Now, without the Zx-10RR and the Aprilia pected to come from a devices. Unlike Apple, sense, Google is working colours, good contrast levels and average sun-
carbon running gear of RSV4, who have been former Google employee who can work on the consistently to make light legibility. The dual SIM Infinix Note 4 ships
the Superleggera, the dominating the champi- Great job Apple. The hardware for new fea- cameras on the Android with a custom XOS Chameleon v2.3 OS wrapped
Panigale R Final onship since 2012. appreciation was given tures and improve it phones better than ever. under Android 7.0 Nougat. The home screen is
standard and remains unchanged from previous
version (on the Note 3). However, the OS is filled
with a lot of bloatware and users wont be able to
delete the pre-installed apps. Infinix should
Cook defends complying with Chinas law over VPNs
know that users now prefer stock operating
systems over free unwanted apps.
Moving on, the rear 13MP camera with dual
AGE CORRESPONDENT its decision. It was also wed have to abide by them LED flash is the main highlight and is capable
accused of aiding Chinese in both cases. That doesnt of taking some good pictures with ample
Apple Chief Executive Tim censorship efforts. In mean that we dont state our details. The 5MP front camera also offers a
Cook has defended
companys take on Chinas
the response, Tim Cook expressed
the companys disagreement
point of view in the
appropriate way, we always do
beauty mode for enhanced selfies.
The Note 4 runs on an octa-core MT6753 SoC
demand over removal of
virtual private network (VPN)
with Chinas position, but
said it had to comply with the
that, said Cook. He added the
company believes in engag-
paired with 3GB RAM, and 32GB storage. The
device is capable of running intensive apps with
service from its App Store
in the country. The VPNs
countrys law. He said, We
follow the law wherever
ing with governments even
when we disagree. In this
ease; however, we did notice some lags while
multitasking with a few apps simultaneously.
allow users to bypass Chinas we do business. In the case particular case, we are Lastly, the device draws its power from a large
Great Firewall, which aims of the US, the law in the hopeful that over time the 4300mAh battery. Overall, the Infinix Note 4
at restricting access to US supported us. I was very resections were seeing are manages to tick all the sweet spots with a neat
overseas websites. China App Store, including clear. In the case of China, loosened, because innovation design, good display and a huge battery reser-
Apple, on July 29, confirmed services based outside the the law is also very clear requires freedom to collabo- voir. For the selling price of `8,999, the device
removal of apps that dont country. The US-based tech there. Like we would if rate and communicate. does seem impressive and can be a great
comply with the law from its giant was later criticised for the US changed the law here, with inputs from Reuters alternative for budget smartphone seekers.
The hunt for minerals, oil, gas: Scientists tap big data
The technique
S
cientists searching ogy by amassing data correlations that you were found, have
for everything about how and where could never make, he no actual known
from oil and gas to
copper and gold are
minerals have formed,
for instance by the cool- goes beyond told
author
Reuters. Lead
Shaunna
economic applications.
Gilpin Robinson, of
adopting techniques
used by companies such
ing of lava after vol-
canic eruptions. The
traditional Morrison,
the Deep
also
Carbon
at the US Geological
Survey (USGS) who
as Netflix or Amazon
to sift through vast
data can then be used to
help find other deposits.
geology by Observatory and the
Carnegie Institution,
was not involved in
the study, said the
amounts of data, a
study showed on
Minerals occur on
Earth in clusters, said
amassing data said luck often played
a big role for
USGS had started to
collaborate with the
Tuesday. The method Robert Hazen, executive about how geologists searching
for new deposits.
big data project.
The use of large data
and where
has already helped to director of the Deep
discover 10 carbon-bear- Carbon Observatory at We are looking at it in sets and analytical tools
minerals have
ing minerals and could the Carnegie Institution a much more systematic is very important in
be widely applied to for Science in way, she said about our studies of mineral
formed
exploration, they wrote Washington and an PHOTO: PIXABAY this project. Among the and energy resources,
in the journal American author of the study. 10 rare carbon-bearing he wrote in an
Mineralogist. Big data When you see miner- minerals discovered by email. The DCO project
points to new minerals, als together its very the project were will also try to collect
new deposits, they like the way that Hazen said the tech- clients previous orders, on a customers past abellaite and parisaite- data to examine
wrote of the findings. humans interact in nique was also like or by media streaming viewing habits. They (La). The minerals, the geological history
The technique goes social networks such as Amazon, which recom- company Netflix, which are using vast amounts whose existence was of the Moon and
beyond traditional geol- Facebook, he said. mends books based on a proposes movies based of data and make predicted before they Mars. Reuters
https://telegram.me/Estore33 https://telegram.me/AllEpapers

Marvel Comics artist Jack

Kirby was affectionately known
by the nickname The King
THE ASIAN AGE
Art+
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
PAGE

17

Berlin activists turn Nazi

hate graffiti into art
Oceane Laze &
Deborah Cole
focus
People vandalise artworks at a gallery.

The work has

spread to other
Are we a nation
cities thanks to a
social media
campaign.
of vandals?
Alka Raghuvanshi
Images with artscope
the hashtag
#PaintBack are
I
am deeply pained to say that we are a
nation of vandals. We will vandalise
swapped on anything from the new to the old,
beautiful to the ugly, the public to the pri-
vate, precious to the seemingly inexpen- aesthetic in their own right will not even
Instagram, sive. The trigger point of this thought occur to them. Even if I say it in humour,
process is the recent defacing of Balbir I find it extremely sad to say that we have
Facebook and Singh Katts sculpture at the Mandi no sense of the public or pride in the col-
lective. Go to any monument. From
House roundabout. Some vandal has
Twitter and a painted and sprayed the marble abstract
sculpture in hues of bright sky blue and
Pathak ji advertising his matrimonial
service to some brand selling underwear
video the group An artist creating a grafitti from a swastika symbol in Berlin. Some street artists are taking aim at an urban yellow. And he even had the disgusting
gumption to autograph his name on his
to lovers carving names you can see
them everywhere. One can see them at
scourge of neo-Nazi graffiti, using love and humour to turn swastikas into symbols of inclusiveness. AFP
made has been act of vandalism. Going by the lowgrade
quality of his art, he was not even a
spaces never imagined like the ghum-
bads of Mughal monuments. The more
viewed more As authorities report a failed graffiti artist. So it was not as if he
wanted to share his great artistic capa-
inaccessible the place the more certain
you can be that some fellow would find it
sharp rise in far-right activi-
than 100,000 ty in Germany, including the
bilities with the rest of the world. He was
just a pure vandal. And this is just a case
challenging enough to risk his life and
limb to find a way of clambering on top
times on rampant spread of anti- in point. to write Sweety Loves Pappi! Even trees
migrant propaganda, the Is it mere civic sense that we lack, or is are not spared from the vandals. Names
it our way of showing protest and anger? of lovers, nails driven to hang advertis-
YouTube... #PaintBack initiative in This strange instinct that wants to ing boards, or vendors sitting under
Berlin is fighting back deface beauty, and finding no outlet for them using tree as their makeshift

A
ragtag band of Berlin street
artists is taking aim at an
urban scourge of neo-Nazi
graffiti, using love and humour to
turn swastikas into colourful sym-
bols of inclusiveness.
As authorities report a sharp rise
in far-right activity in Germany,
including the rampant spread of
anti-migrant propaganda, the
#PaintBack initiative in Berlin is
fighting back.
We as street artists wanted to
send the message: youre abusing
graffiti, said the clubs founder Ibo
Omari.
Graffitis got nothing to do with
racism its about bright colours
and diverse backgrounds.
Omari, 37, owns a paint shop
catering to street artists, and runs
The Cultural Heirs, a organisa-
tion bringing together youth from
German and immigrant back-
grounds for activities from break-
dancing and street art to hip-hop
DJing and skateboarding.
Its a culture that shaped us in a
positive way and gives young people
a chance to express themselves cre-
atively so they dont end up on the
street, he said.
At the headquarters, in a room
plastered with classic rap album
covers, the teen members practise
turning Nazi swastikas, used by the
far right to whip up support and
intimidate minorities, into new
designs.
An owl, a mosquito, a rabbit with
its tongue sticking out, a Rubiks
cube, two men kissing, a cat in a
window the inspiration for trans-
forming the sharp-edged symbol
seems endless.
Its not hard to come up with
ideas, 17-year-old Klemens
Reichelt said. I like it because I
think swastikas dont belong in
Berlin its a city open to the world
and I want to defend that.
An owl, mosquito, rabbit
with its tongue sticking out,
a Rubiks cube, two men
kissing, a cat in a window
the inspiration for trans-
forming the sharp-edged
symbol seems endless
Artists say they like the
work because they think
swastikas dont belong in
Berlin its a city open to
the world
Omari and a half dozen adult vol-
unteers use the kids motifs to
beautify the swastika tags when
theyre spotted in the neighbour-
hood. The project began when a
local resident entered Omaris shop
looking for paint cans.
He didnt look like a graffiti
artist, so I asked him why he want-
ed them and he said he needed them
to cover up a swastika that had been
sprayed on a childrens play-
ground, Omari said.
We were pretty shocked that
someone had done that, especially
here in Schoeneberg, a western
district of Berlin which is home to
middle-class Germans, Turkish and
Arab families, and a lively, century-
old gay scene.
The appearance of the symbol of
hate proved not to be a one-off, how-
ever, and swastikas started turning
up more and more in parks, in
apartment buildings apparently
fuelled by the influx of more than
one million asylum seekers after
Chancellor Angela Merkel opened
the borders in 2015.
The domestic intelligence agency
this month reported a seven-per
cent rise in politically motivated
crimes in 2016, one-third of which
were classified as propaganda
offences. Omari, whose own par-
ents fled Lebanon as refugees when
they were expecting him, said he
turned those feelings of shock and
powerlessness into action with the
help of local youth who wanted to
leave their own mark on the
German capital.
The last swastikas I had seen
were more than 20 years ago so this
was a new, unpleasant develop-
ment, he said.
Unfortunately the zeitgeist
changed in the last few years and
we have to explain things to young
people that actually werent that
long ago, referring to the facts of
the Nazi era and the Holocaust in
the 1930s-40s.
We thought long and hard about
how to react to such ugly senti-
ments and then we said: well
answer with humour and love, he
said. We chose sweet, cheeky
images, most of them drawn by
kids so even beginners who arent
graffiti artists could reproduce
them. Neighbours now report the
swastikas they find to the club.
It doesnt happen that often but
once is too many, he said, estimat-
ing that the group has transformed
about 20 since May 2016. It is
against the law in Germany to dis-
play swastikas and other Nazi-era
symbols, but those who take mat-
ters into their own hands can also
run afoul of the authorities.
Germanys most famous crusader
against far-right graffiti, 71-year-old
Irmela Mensah-Schramm, was con-
victed by a Berlin court last
October for spray-painting over an
offensive tag. It took until this
month for the veteran of three
decades on the citys streets to get
the charges dropped.
Omari expresses admiration for
her but said he cannot allow his fel-
low activists to get into trouble with
the police. It is important to get the
permission of the property owner
because two wrongs dont make a
right and we didnt want to have
anyone do anything illegal, he
said.
The collectives work has spread
to other cities thanks to a social
media campaign. Images with the
hashtag #PaintBack are swapped
on Instagram, Facebook and
Twitter and a video the group made
has been viewed more than 100,000
times on YouTube. AFP
the inherent violence wants to get even
by misdirecting its anger. Why doesnt it
occur to us that after all we have paid for
it via some or the other tax? Just because
we have not paid for it directly doesnt
make its ownership any less real or our
stake in it any less. I would go so far to
say that it is a strange psyche that
throws acid on women and runs away. It
is the same lumpen psyche that forms a
mob. It is the same mindset that after
studying a few classes doesnt want to
work as a farmer. And these small or big
acts of vandalism are nothing but
seething anger inside.
There are umpteen other examples
when artworks in the public arena have
been defaced mercilessly. One particular
image of an artwork in the posh
Connaught Place area that I am unable
to shake off from my head is the large
sized sculpture of public art a pair of
huge spectacles made of fibre glass van-
dalised overnight the very day it was
placed. This happened when we make
our public spaces almost vandal-proof
by using non-fragile materials like steel,
bronze, fibreglass, stone, etc. In no other
civilized country have I seen such tough
materials used, and yet we still find a
way of vandalising our art works in pub-
lic spaces. Just to illustrate a point
there are so many street benches in
England that are marked by a small
plaque saying that some famous person-
ality used to sit there often or it was their
favourite bench. And that plaque
remains there and so does the bench.
Can you imagine it happening in India?
Plaque or bench or both would have dis-
appeared overnight! There are innumer-
able instances when flowering plants are
taken away from roadside along with the
pots even from high-security Lutyens
Delhi. In our country, we dont even leave
basic iron manhole covers, let alone
things of historical importance. Imagine
if our vandals went to Paris, what a field
day they would have of finding so much
iron lattice around each tree for the
water to percolate to the roots. That they
are imperative for the trees survival or
shops, our trees have seen it all.
The shining new trains from Mumbai
to Goa, the Tejas Express, or the
Mahamana Express from New Delhi to
Varanasi were vandalised beyond recog-
nition. The trains returned dirty with
bottles and garbage strewn all over, with
television screens gouged out, bathroom
fittings pulled out mercilessly, windows
smashed, seats and curtains ripped as if
herds of animals had trampled over
them. It was so disgusting that I consider
it a matter of national shame.
But the same people indulge in com-
pletely different behaviour when it
comes to anything that has a religious
angle. I must share my own experience
that has been tried and tested several
times in India. I live in a fairly posh area
of south Delhi in a building that has sep-
arate floors owned by different people. I
was fed up of telling the entire building
domestic staff not to touch the stairwell
walls or spew paan or gutka. So next
time before the whitewash, I got tiles of
Gods and Goddesses embedded at regu-
lar intervals on the walls. The result was
magic. Even after two years, my stair-
case doesnt need a whitewash!
The same way we stay away from defac-
ing even a stone that has the remotest
hint of a religious angle to it.
Environmentalists have used this ploy to
great effect when trying to save trees!
But then it has other fallouts too. There
have been innumerable cases where
encroachers have used it to round up
prime space for their use even in the
middle of the road. That the ingenious
Indian mind will find newer ways to beat
the system is a given. But I think it needs
to be instilled that these works of art or
facilities are owned by us and we have
paid for them indirectly needs to be
ingrained into us so much that it
becomes second nature. I strongly feel
that this should be dovetailed into the
various Swachch Bharat programmes.
Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer,
curator and artist, and can be contacted
on alkaraghuvanshi@yahoo.com

Nightmare at museum: Art auction triggers ethics dispute

Museum Directors said in A Massachusetts from Rockwell himself, Now its overshadowed
Mark Pratt a joint statement. The sale who called the region by the regions world-
would be an irre- museums decision home for the last 25 years renowned museums,
meanwhile deemable
added.
loss, they to part with 40 art-
works, including
of his life.
Laurie Norton Moffatt,
including the Clark Art
Institute, the
Leslie Ferrin, who runs two by illustrator director of the nearby Massachusetts Museum of

A
Massachusetts
museums decision
to part with 40 art-
works, including two by
illustrator Norman
Rockwell, has touched off
a debate over whether its
ever ethical to sell pieces
of the collection to pay the
bills.
The Berkshire Museum
in Pittsfield has come
under intense national
and local pressure after
announcing its auction-
ing the art.
Critics say its violating
a cardinal rule of muse-
ums: Dont sell stuff to pay
the bills.
One of the most funda-
mental and long-standing
principles of the museum
field is that a collection is
held in the public trust
A pedestrian walks past the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass. The museum has come under and must not be treated as
a disposable financial
intense national and local pressure after announcing earlier in the month that it is selling 40
asset, the American
works of art, including two by Normal Rockwell, the illustrator who called the region home for
Alliance of Museums and
the last 30-plus years of his life. AP the Association of Art
an area company that rep-
resents artists, started a
Facebook page for mem-
bers of the local art com-
munity opposed to the sale
called Save the art at the
Berkshire Museum of
Natural History and Art.
Members of the group say
they hope to convince the
museum to change its
mind. Selling gifts is
against every moral and
ethical standard of run-
ning a museum, she said.
At auction, the pieces are
likely going to be sold to
private collectors, and the
public will lose access,
Ferrin said.
The sale is necessary to
ensure the museums very
existence, executive direc-
tor Van Shields said.
The money raised will
help establish a $40 mil-
lion endowment and pay
for $20 million in renova-
tions as the museum refo-
cuses its mission to
Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell, Museum, has come out in
has touched off a opposition to the sale.
debate over For the museums lead-
whether its ever ership, the potential price
that these irreplaceable
ethical to sell artistic treasures could
pieces of collection fetch seems to have
to pay the bills obscured their very rich
role in the life of the
Berkshires, she wrote in
become a more interdisci- an opinion piece in The
plinary and interactive Berkshire Eagle newspa-
institution more dedicated per. Shields respects the
to history and science. opinions of those opposed
We are facing an exis- to the sale, and said he and
tential threat. We needed the museums trustees
to adapt, migrate or go knew we were going to be
extinct, he said. pilloried, but added that
The art being auctioned the auction is a done deal.
includes works by Albert When the Berkshire
Bierstadt, Alexander Museum opened in 1903, it
Calder and Charles Wilson was the cultural beacon of
Peale, but its the Rockwell the region. It was founded
oil paintings that have by Zenas Crane, a member
stirred the deepest emo- of the family that owned
tions. Blacksmiths Boy Crane & Company, a paper
Heel and Toe and manufacturer that to this
Shuffletons Barbershop day supplies paper used to
were gifts to the museum make U.S. currency.
Contemporary Art and the
Norman Rockwell
Museum. The cultural
landscape has changed
dramatically and the
Berkshire Museum has
not adapted to that
change, Shields said.
Selling the works was
not a decision made light-
ly. It was a two-year
process that involved mul-
tiple focus groups, multi-
ple retreats by the board of
trustees (which includes a
member of the Crane fam-
ily) and input from hun-
dreds of members of the
community, Shields said.
By switching its focus to
science and history and
yes, some art will remain
the Berkshire Museum
can fill a currently empty
cultural niche in the
region. Those opposed to
the sale are in the minori-
ty. Weve received over-
whelming support for
this, he said. AP
 Ben Stokes is flattered by
comparisons with ex-England
captain Andrew Flintoff
THE ASIAN AGE
Sport
THURSDAY I 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
PAGE

18

Sri Lanka Cricket

and the manner
in which it is
being administered
and managed is so
END OF OPENING
CONUNDRUM
disgusting that I dont
watch our national
cricket
anymore
Arjuna Ranatunga
Former Sri Lanka
skipper

SHORT TAKES
KOHLI CONFIRMS OPENER RAHULS RETURN
AS INDIA AIM TO SEAL SERIES IN 2ND TEST
Colombo, Aug. 2: K.L.
Rahuls imminent return LIVE on TV
leaves skipper Virat Kohli India vs
with an unenviable task of Sri Lanka
dropping opener Abhinav
Mukund as India aim to
clinch the three-match 10 am
series against Sri Lanka
with another resounding On SONY SIX & TEN 3
Vernon Philander victory in the second Test

Philander raring
starting on Thursday. playing only his second
The selection conundrum series, who opened with

ready for 4th Test

is a testimony to the
superb bench strength of
the team. Rahuls absence
Manchester: South Africa hardly affected the per-
bowler, Vernon Philander, formance with India
says he is looking to put a thrashing the hosts by
tough week behind him 304 runs, starting the
as he prepares for the series with a bang.
fourth Test against Ironically, Mukund,
England starting at Old who will be warming
Trafford in Manchester the bench, scored 81
on Friday. Philander has
recovered from a viral
infection that disrupted
in the second
innings but just that
his opening partner
his contribution at The
Oval, where his intensity
and control was desper-
Shikhar Dhawan
outshone him with
a 168-ball-190, that
ately missed in set up the match
favourable conditions. and got him the
It says much of his quality best player
that he was still able to award.
make some inroads with K . L .
two wickets during the 32 Rahul has
overs he bowled in the been our
match, which he says were estab-
delivered at 70-80 per- lished
cent intensity. opener. I
It got a lot worse having feel one
to bowl after losing a lot of the openers
of fluids, he explained (Dhawan or Mukund) will
at the squads practice have to make way for him
at Old Trafford on because what he (Rahul)
Wednesday. I lost a has done in the past two
lot of fluids from years for us has been very
the top and the solid. He deserves to come
bottom. The night in hospi- back and start fresh in Test
tal, being on a drip, revi- again, Kohli made his
talised me but it all came choice of playing XI pretty
back up again the next day. clear ahead of the match.
All in all, Im a lot better, Im While Kohli did not
energised and have replen- explicitly mention
ished a lot of the fluids. Mukunds exclusion but
Agencies one could clearly read
Pujara.
For the hosts, the task
ahead is as onerous as it
was in the first Test. The
gap in Test rankings no.
1 to no. 7 highlights the
gulf between the sides and
the result from Galle has
only widened it further. It
is a far cry from 12 months
ago when this same Sri
Lankan side blanked
Australia 3-0. Perhaps the
pitches were vastly differ-
ent in that series, and if so,
Lanka should be con-
cerned again.
There is some good news
ahead of this second Test
for the injury-ridden side
as their skipper Dinesh
Chandimal has recovered
from pneumonia and will
be available for this game.
He is a mercurial bats-
man who put the Indian
attack to the sword with a
blistering 162 off 169 balls
at Galle in 2015. It had
stirred a stunning turn-
around, and Lanka will be
hoping for similar inspira-
tion from him once again.
Seasoned batsman
Lahiru Thirimanne has
also been called up as
replacement for injured
Asela Gunaratne who
broke his left thumb whilst
fielding on day one of the
first Test and was ruled out
of the remainder of the
series.
K.L. Rahul (left) and Cheteshwar Pujara. AFP
Its important to make
Rahul feel secure: Kohli
Colombo, Aug. 2: Fit- Mukund will be axed
again opener K.L. Rahul from the playing XI, his
is all set to make a come- answer indicated that it
back to the Indian team will be the Tamil Nadu
for the second Test left-hander, who in all
against Sri Lanka start- likelihood, will warm the
ing on Thursday, accord- benches.
ing to Virat Kohli. I feel in a situation like
Rahul was out of the this, you need to sit down
first Test due to viral and think which player
fever and needed hospi- has had more impact on
talisation for a couple of the game. Who has been
days. Shikhar Dhawan able to sort of make that
used the opportunity to difference in the game
hit a match-winning 190 straightaway? It all
in the first innings while depends on who has had
Abhinav Mukund hit a a better game, to be hon-
career-best 81 in the sec- est, said Kohli.
ond innings. Meanwhile, no other
In all likelihood, it will changes are expected for
be Abhinav Mukund, India, as the wicket laid
who will have to sit out. out at the SSC is pretty
Kohli is confident that hard with a fine sprin-
Rahul will come out kling of green. It is not
stronger. quite similar to the one
That phase you have to in 2015, which was a

Kohli not as good

between the lines when he Thirimanne had last come back, you need to proper green-top pitch
answered a question on his played Test cricket for get stronger. He has real- and assisted pacers

as Sachin: Yousuf
preferred choice between Lanka against England in ly stuck it out in that throughout the game.
the two left-handers. 2016, and on his comeback phase. Its been hard for I had a look at the
I feel in a situation like trail, scored 59 runs in the him, we all know that, wicket yesterday, I
Karachi: Former Pakistan this, you need to sit down two-day warm-up game because he was batting havent seen it today yet.
batsman Mohammad Yousuf and think which player has India played in Colombo so well and then he was It looked pretty nice and
believes that India captain had more impact on the before the first Test. out because of this. hard underneath with
Virat Kohli is not in the game. Who has been able to Left-arm wrist-spinner It is very important to good covering of grass.
league of legends like sort of make that differ- Lakshan Sandakan has make him feel secure and The last time around as
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul ence in the game straight- been brought into the he deserves it because he well, we thought it was a
Dravid. The quality of crick- away? It all depends on squad as backup for has given us those big great wicket for Test
et nowadays does not match who has had a better game, Rangana Herath. The left- performances when the cricket, Kohli observed.
the quality we had in the to be honest, Kohlis arm spinner, stand-in skip- team has required the The Indian captain
past. Kohli is a very good answer made it crystal per at Galle last week, had most. He is a guy that assessed it as a result-ori-
batsman and I like to watch clear. injured his left hand whilst needs to be backed and ented wicket.
him play but I dont think he Interestingly, India had fielding too during the first we as a team, as manage- It is a wicket that you
is in the same league of faced the opening dilemma Test. Although scans ment and me as captain will get a result for sure.
Tendulkar, Dravid or even the last time they revealed no breakage, his all back him 100 per That excites us, its some-
Laxman, Yousuf said. played here. Both Dhawan hand was swollen as a cent, he added. thing that we look for-
Yousuf played at a time and Murali Vijay were out result of which he didnt Asked about who ward to as a team, said
when Tendulkar, Dravid and injured two years ago, and bat in the second Lankan among Dhawan or Kohli. PTI
Laxman dominated world it was the young Rahul, innings. PTI
cricket. Some might not
agree but I dont think today
APPROACHING

we have the same quality Kohlis technique is

MILESTONE

bowlers or batsmen that we It will be Cheteshwar Pujaras R. Ashwin needs 50 Sri Lankas highest scorer from Galle impeccable and
had when I played. Look at 50th Test. He has scored hun- more runs to reach Dimuth Karunaratne is also their highest has improved it a
Australia's present bowling dreds in each of his two Tests the 2,000 mark. He scorer for the year so far. His 448 runs in
line-up they have no one
played in Sri Lanka, including will be playing his 2017 is one more than Kusal Mendis. Both lot over the last
to match McGrath or few years. Theres a lot of
Warne, India had 145 not out at the SSC in 2015. 51st Test. have played the same number of innings.
Kumble, Srinath and hype about him nicking
some very good bowlers. outside off; certainly
South Africa and West
Indies also had strong bowl- Colombo, Aug. 2: Sri Lanka skip- first game. bowlers could get him a
few years ago but now he
PNEUMONIA-HIT
ing attacks while Sri Lanka per Dinesh Chandimal has been The ICC allowed Chandimal to
relied heavily on given permission by crickets use an inhaler to ease breathing has changed it. It shows
Muralitharan, Yousuf world body to use an inhaler dur- while recovering from pneumo-
recalled. The rules have ing the second Test against India nia. Many inhalers contain sub- his hunger for improv-
also been changed to make
life easier for the batters
while the pitches nowadays
CHANDIMAL starting Thursday following a
bout of pneumonia.
Chandimal, who was appointed
stances that are banned by sport-
ing authorities.
I am much better. Thanks to the
ement.
BRETT
have also become more bat-
ting friendly and are same
every-
GETS INHALER Test captain last month, missed
the opening Test thrashing by
India because of the illness. He Dinesh Chandimal
ICC they gave permission for me
to use the inhaler, and that will
help me breathe properly.
LEE

where, he
said.
PTI
EXEMPTION returns for the second of the three
Tests. The hosts have also been
boosted by veteran spinner
Rangana Herath being declared fit
after injuring his finger in the
Rangana is also fit to play,
Chandimal.
AFP

ALI WANTS MORE ASIAN INVOLVEMENT We havent seen

London, Aug. 2: Moeen Ali
believes English cricket is
missing a trick by not
reaching out to more poten-
tial players from Britains
Asian communities.
Ali, whose hat-trick
sealed Englands 239-run
win in the third Test
against South Africa at The
Oval on Monday, is the lat-
est of several players of
Asian descent to represent
England, including former
captain Nasser Hussain,
with cricket deeply embed-
ded in the life of many
British Asian communi-
Moeen Ali ties. But Ali, who was born
and brought up in
Birmingham, a city with
one of Britains largest
Asian populations, said
more work was needed if
English cricket was to
make the most of this
enthusiasm for the sport.
Now, a lot more south
Asian people are thinking:
Actually, I could make a
good career from this now.
But its also down to the
counties to do more to help
South-Asian kids, Ali said.
The England and Wales
Cricket Board have
launched a south Asian ini-
tiative to help develop play-
ers from those back-
grounds and Ali said: Its a
step in the right direction
to ask people how the ECB
can help them.
But the south Asian
mentality must also
change. Cricket is not just
batting and bowling.
Theres a lot of physical
stuff, fitness, fielding, diet,
discipline, being on time.
The bearded Ali, a 30-
year-old off-spinning all-
rounder, is also one of the
most high profile practis-
ing Muslims in British pub-
lic life and a representative
of a community that has
often felt stigmatised fol-
lowing recent terror
attacks. There is such neg-
ativity in the media around
Islam but when I play crick-
et for England I dont have
to say anything. Im hoping
people look at me and other
Muslims and think:
Actually, it will be all right.
Theyre not too bad.
AFP
best of Kohli: Lee
AGE CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI, AUG. 2
Former Australia pacer
Brett Lee feels the world of
cricket hasnt seen the best
of Virat Kohli yet. He is
young and has many more
years to come in world
cricket, said Lee, who is
here for the Tamil Nadu
Premier League.
Lee explained why the
Indian skipper a difficult
batsman to bowl to. His
technique is impeccable
and has improved it a lot
over the last few years.
Theres a lot of hype about
him nicking outside off;
certainly bowlers could get
him a few years ago but
now he has changed it. It
shows his hunger for
improvement and thats
why hes one of the best in
the world, said the 40-year-
old.
The Aussie, who retired
from international cricket
in 2012, said Mohammed
Shami is the most impres-
sive among current Indian
pacers. Shami has good
pace and when he is fit, he
can be lethal. Jasprit
Bumrah is also one to
watch out for his unique
action. India are blessed to
have bowlers who clock
140kmph regularly.
Keeping them on the park
and ensuring they are
injury-free is more impor-
tant, he added.
Lee feels bowlers
should be given free-
hand to choose the
format they want to
feature in. Test cricket
was my most favourite. I
think a stage will come
where they will pick the
format they want to play,
he said.
Former Australia pacer
Brett Lee is touring >>>
across Tamil Nadu
promoting the TNPL.
https://telegram.me/Estore33
I dont think
about the
ranking. I
dont care if
Im top 30,
top 50. I
just want to
play tennis.
Juan Martin del
Potro Argentine player
on rankings
SHORT TAKES
Curry set for
Web.com tour
Los Angeles: Stephen Curry,
a two-time NBA Most Valua-
ble Player and two-time
champion with the Golden
State Warriors, has a rela-
tively modest goal when he
tees it up on the Web.com
golf tour Thursday.
I want to make the cut, of
course, Curry said after a
practice round at Stonebrae
Golf Club in Northern
California on Tuesday.
The cut in last years Ellie
Mae Classic, part of the W-
eb.com Tour that is the tal-
ent pipeline to the US PGA
Tour, was three-under par.
Curry acknowledged that to
finish 36 holes at three-un-
der, Ill have to play proba-
bly the best two rounds of
golf of my life. AFP
Kane put Morata
off Tottenham
London: New Chelsea striker
Alvaro Morata turned down a
move to Tottenham Hotspur
because he feared the com-
petition from striker Harry
Kane, Spurs manager
Mauricio Pochettino has
claimed. Morata, 24, joined
champions Chelsea from Real
Madrid last month.
Pochettino spoke to Morata
about a move to Spurs two
years ago and said the Spain
international was deterred by
the presence of the prolific
Kane at White Hart Lane.
Morata talked about myself,
in the media he said: Ma-
uricio called me. That was
two years ago or more, P-
ochettino said. He said to
me: Why do you want me if
you have Harry Kane?
AFP
Constantine wins feature
AGE CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA, AUG. 2
After disputing for the lead
with Zander for a short while,
the Michael Eshwer-trained
Mysore challenger Consta-
ntine took over the running
under Dashrath Singh and
held on to win the Harry The
Horse Cup, the feature event
of the races held here on
Wednesday, by a comfortable
margin.
Results:
1. The Pentagon Handicap. 1400M:
Dixie Diamond 62 (Shezad Khan) 1,
Fly Fly 49.00 (Ranidan Singh) 2, Style
57.00 (Hindu Singh) 3, Dark Angel 51
(Nikhil Naidu) 4. Won by: 3, Nose, 2
Time: 1:28.467
2. The Gumaan Handicap (Division-I).
1100M: One Man Army 61.00 (J.
Gurung) 1, Ashi Nangsey 55 (A. Imran
Khan) 2, Cool Hunter 58 (Shailesh
Shinde) 3, Midnight Magic 62.00 (Hindu
Singh) 4. Won by: , 2, 5 Time:
1:07.340
Focus on PSG, Monaco feel the pressure
Paris, Aug. 2: After a sum-
mer dominated by talk of
Neymars possible arrival
and the potential departure
of Kylian Mbappe, the new
French season begins this
weekend with Monaco the
defending champions but
Paris Saint-Germain again
favourites.
Ligue 1 has long suffered in
comparison with Europes
other leading domestic
leagues, while its clubs have
often performed poorly in
the Champions League.
But a PSG swoop for
Barcelona and Brazil super-
star Neymar would be a
game-changer for French
football and its image.
It would also cement the
capital clubs status as the
favourites to dominate at
home after last seasons
stutters allowed a thrilling
young Monaco side to take
the title to the
Mediterranean principality.
However, Neymar or not,
Paris start 2017-18 as the
team to beat.
Their Qatari owners have
kept faith in coach Unai
Emery but have appointed
the Portuguese Antero
Henrique, once the transfer
guru at Porto, as sporting
World number three
Roger Federer to play in next
weeks ATP event at Montreal
Bright starts by Thiem, Halep
Washington, Aug. 2: Top
seeds Dominic Thiem
and Simona Halep
cruised into the round of
16 at the ATP and WTA
Citi Open with straight-
set triumphs Tuesday at
the US Open tune-up
event.
Austrias seventh-
ranked Thiem, a French
Open semi-finalist in
June, waited out a rain
delay then needed only 63
minutes to dispatch 96th-
ranked Swiss Henri
Laaksonen 6-3, 6-3.
It wasnt easy but Im
pretty happy with my
performance, Thiem
said. It was my first
match on hardcourt since
Miami (in March) and
thats always a little
tricky.
World number two
Halep, this years French
Open runner-up, took
only 79 minutes to oust
US wildcard Sloane
Stephens 7-6 (7/3), 6-0.
It was a tough first set.
I was missing a little bit
too much and she made
some shots, Halep said.
Didnt have the rhythm
at the beginning, but I
feel better now.
Thiem, who dropped
only eight points on his
serve and just one on 25
successful first serves,
broke in the second game
of the match and again in
his rivals last two serv-
ice games, taking the
match when Laaksonen
netted a backhand.
I dont have a lack of
confidence but its always
nice to get that first win,
Thiem said.
This marks the biggest
event where Thiem has
been top seeded, but his
four nearest rankings
rivals are also in the field
Germanys Alexander
Zverev, Japans Kei
Nishikori, Canadas
Milos Raonic and Bulga-
rian Grigor Dimitrov.
Nishikori downs
fighting Young
Second-seeded Nishikori
turned back the deter-
mined challenge of
American Donald Young
6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5).
KOLKATA
3. The Gumaan Handicap (Division-II).
1100M: Glorious Leaps 61.00 (Dashrath
Singh) 1, Jump And Run 55 (Shailesh
Shinde) 2, My Freedom 55.00 (V. Jaiswal)
3, Bacaardi 60 (A. Imran Khan) 4. Won
by: 2, 2, Time: 1:08.432
4. The Tangiers Plate. 1100M: Aileen
60.00 (Rajinder Singh) 1, Chittagong
58 (Dashrath Singh) 2, Act One 55
(Ranidan Singh) 3, Amaranthus 57
(Neeraj Rawal) 4. Won by: 3, 2,
Time: 1:09.055
5. The Alice Springs Handicap. 1600M:
Storm Front 56.00 (Dashrath Singh) 1,
Top Cat 52 (P. Vikram) 2, Avarua 54
(Neeraj Rawal) 3, I Told You Know 54
(Hindu Singh) 4. Won by: , 2, Hd Time:
1:42.114
6. The Harry The Horse Cup. 1200M:
Constantine 60.00 (Dashrath Singh) 1,
Commander 60.00 (Neeraj Rawal) 2,
Flanker 60.00 (Ranidan Singh) 3, Zander
58 (A. Imran Khan) 4. Won by: 4, 1,
1 Time: 1:13.254
7. The Two In One Handicap. 1200M:
Rufus 54 (Dashrath Singh) 1, Half
Toulouse players take part in a training session. AFP
director. petitions like the Champions
On the field one Brazilian League, he told sports daily
star has already joined, LEquipe last month.
Dani Alves rejecting Pep All eyes on
Guardiola and Manchester Mbappe now
City for the French capital.
With Marco Verratti and At first glance, Monacos
Edinson Cavani among longer-term
those still there, Emery hinge on their chances of
believes PSG can sweep the persuading 18-year-old gem
board. Mbappe to stay amid
If we can add a collective reports of a 180 million-
strength to the individual euro ($213 million) move to
talent we have and a win- Real Madrid.
ning mentality, then we can The Russian-owned club
target winning everything, scored 107 league goals last
even the most difficult com- season but they have alrea-
Kei Nishikori en route to
his win over Donald Young
in Washington. AFP
Nishikori, seeking his
first title of 2017, didnt
face a break point in the
third set, but he couldnt
convert any of his eight
break chances as Young
forced the tiebreaker.
Nishikori finally sealed
the win on his sixth
match point after two
hours and 25 minutes and
with the clock ticking
toward 2 am.
Halep will next face
Colombias 115th-ranked
Mariana Duque-Marino
for a quarter-final berth
as the 25-year-old
Romanian keeps her
focus on building her
game for the US Open
that starts on August 28
in New York.
For first match on
hardcourts, it wasnt that
bad, Halep said. My
serve wasnt the best but I
was OK. Everything went
well. I cant say I have to
adjust something.
Kvitova set
for long haul
Los Angeles: Two-time
Wimbledon champion
Petra Kvitova is relishing
the prospect of a jam-
packed North American
RESULTS
Volley 55.00 (Neeraj Rawal) 2, Scarlet
Emperor 59.00 (Sandeep Rajput) 3,
Pierce Arrow 54.00 (Sk. Zaffar Riaz) 4.
Won by: 2, 2, 2 Time: 1:14.245
dividends
1. Win: 69 Place: 21, 16, 22 Shp: 44 Thp:
50 Fc: 537 Qn: 83 Trn: 1,784 & 806
2. Win: 43 Place: 11, 15, 14 Shp: 46 Thp:
68 Fc: 535 Qn: 185 Trn: 954 & 262
3. Win: 34 Place: 11, 12, 66 Shp: 37 Thp:
128 Fc: 51 Qn: 27 Trn: 1,210 & 1,151
4. Win: 32 Place: 14, 12 Shp: 29 Thp: 61
Fc: 76 Qn: 32 Trn: 381 & 306
5. Win: 22 Place: 13, 32 Shp: 55 Thp: 46
Fc: 239 Qn: 155 Trn: 476 & 152
6. Win: 39 Place: 16, 19 Shp: 34 Thp: 49
Fc: 122 Qn: 52 Trn: 270 & 140
7. Win: 21 Place: 12, 13, 17 Shp: 32 Thp:
45 Fc: 37 Qn: 23 Trn: 124 & 74
Jackpot: 2,227 & 469. 1st Treble: 1,136.
2nd Treble: 162. 1st Exacta: 39,670 &
8,500. 2nd Exacta: 4,751 & 2,240. 3rd
Exacta: 2,205 & 458. 4th Exacta: 734 &
122. 5th Exacta: 801 & 436. 6th Exacta:
606 & 247. 7th Exacta: 246 & 105.
dy sold Benjamin Mendy
and Bernardo Silva to
Manchester City, Tiemoue
Bakayoko to Chelsea and
Valere
Marseille.
Coach Leonardo Jardim
prospects and
Falcao are among those to
have signed new contracts,
and they have signed a
pearl in Belgium midfielder
Youri
Anderlecht.
They have rebuilt and
thrived after selling their
best
schedule, starting this
week in Stanford,
California.
The Czech was side-
lined for six months after
a knife-wielding burglar
at her home left her with
severe left hand injuries
that threatened her
career.
She returned in May at
the French Open, losing
in the second round.
After a tournament win
in Birmingham, she fell
ENJOY TIME WITH KIDS, DEL POTRO TELLS DJOKO
Washington, Aug. 2: Juan
Martin Del Potro has some
advice for 12-time Grand
Slam champion Novak Djo-
kovic as he prepares for a
long break from tennis stay
home and play with the kids.
Del Potro, the 2009 US Open
champion from Argentina
who has endured long
absences while battling nag-
ging wrist injuries, knows all
too well the challenge
Djokovic faces after announc-
ing last week he would miss
the remainder of the year
with an elbow injury.
Its not easy to stop for a
long time and come back,
Del Potro said. Many play-
Romantic Star set
for main event
AGE CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU, AUG. 2
S. Padmanabhan-
trained Romantic Star,
who went down fight-
ing Manifold in the fil-
lies classic after an
impressive debut vic-
tory, looks set to win
the Bangalore Summer
Million, the highlight
of the races to be held
here on Thursday.
Selections:
1. The Azhar Plate. Distance
1600M. Horses rated 00 to 20.
Time 2:30 PM. 1. After Hours,
2. One To Note, 3. Granada
2. The Galilee Plate. Distance
1200M. Horses rated 15 to 35.
Time 3:00 PM. 1. Blue Sonic, 2.
Aerospeed, 3. Black Swan
3. The Commanche Trophy.
Distance 1400M. Maiden hors-
Vasilyev has been keen to
come near competing with
for their first full season
McCourt.
sons top scorer Bafetimbi
Germain to
top-three
skipper Radamel
boast a magnificent stadi-
Tielemans from
players before,
THE ASIAN AGE
in the second-round at
Wimbledon as well,
where she had to call for
medical assistance in her
three-set loss to Madison
Brengle.
She has booked herself
for five tournaments in
North America.
Seeded second, Kvitova
enjoyed a first-round bye
and will kick off her
ambitious August against
Ukrainian Kateryna
Bondarenko, a 6-3, 6-4
ers can play good after a
long injury, but they wont
play as good (soon after) as
they will in the future.
My advice is to have good
times at home with the kids
and you will be strong
enough when you are ready
to come back.
Djokovic and his wife have
a two-year-old son Stefan
and are expecting another
child later this year.
Djokovic, who completed a
career Grand Slam by win-
ning last years French Open,
retired from a Wimbledon
quarter-final against Tomas
Berdych last month due to
elbow pain that the 30-year-
es, three-years-old only. Time
3:30 PM. 1. Athena, 2.
Volatility, 3. Alberetta
4. The Bangalore Summer
Million. Distance 1600M.
Three-year-old horses. Time
4:00 PM. 1. Romantic Star, 2.
Apache Sunrise
5. The Tippu Sultan Cup.
Distance 1400M. Horses rated
60 and above. Time 4:30 PM.
1. Rafa, 2. Speed Hawk, 3.
Baracchus
6. The Capricorn Stud Plate.
Distance 1600M. Horses rated
30 to 50. Time 5:00 PM. 1.
Ultimate Magic, 2. Kambaku,
3. Dr Logan
7. The Yeravada Stud Plate.
Distance 1400M. Horses rated
30 to 50. Time 5:30 PM. 1. Ninon,
2. Vice Admiral, 3. Erdemer
Days best:
Romantic Star
although Monacos Russian
vice-president Vadim
play down expectations.
We need to target the top
three. It will be very diffi-
cult to defend the title but
we will do everything we
can. You have to be ambi-
tious, he said.
Most clubs still cannot
the unedifying wealth of
the English Premier
League, even if significant
money is being injected
into French clubs by out-
side investors.
Marseille are preparing
under the ownership of
American tycoon Frank
They have lost last sea-
Gomis but have France star
Dimitri Payet as captain. A
finish and
Champions League qualifi-
cation is their aim.
There are Chinese
investors at Lyon, who
um and yet have lost their
two best players, Alexandre
Lacazette to Arsenal and
Corentin Tolisso to Bayern
Munich. AFP
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
winner over Italian
Francesca Schiavone.
In other first-round
matches on Tuesday, sixth-
seeded American CoCo
Vandeweghe advanced
when Croatian Ajla
Tomljanovic, who entered
the tournament nursing a
shoulder injury, retired
after losing the first set 6-2.
Eighth-seeded
erican CiCi Bellis bree-
Am-
zed past Frances Alize
Cornet 6-3, 6-2. AFP
old Serbian said had bothered
him for more than a year.
Del Potro, 28, missed most
of the 2010 season with a
right wrist injury and almost
all of the 2014 and 2015 cam-
paigns with a left wrist
injury.
While del Potro has battled
back, he admits his wrists
will bother him at times and
he must be mindful of his
wrists in training.
My wrist bothers me
sometimes with the condi-
tions and the weather. I have
to be aware of that, Del
Potro said. Im looking for-
ward to playing a few more
years. AFP
Chawrasia, Chikka look
FOR HOME ADVANTAGE
CHITRANGADA D.C.
BENGALURU, AUG. 2
Over the last few years, the
Garden City has emerged as
one of the powerhouses of
golf. And the city gets its
due as the inaugural TAKE
Solutions Masters, an Asian
Tour tournament gets
underway here the Karna-
taka Golf Association on
Thursday.
The last Asian tour event
held here was the Indian
Open, five years ago. The
KGA, which has been a
happy hunting ground for a
host of Indian stars, will see
a clutch of Asian tour win-
ners vying for the winners but if I win this I will climb to
cheque over the next few
days.
Leading the Indian contin-
gent will be the seasoned
S.S.P. Chawrasia along with
local favourite S. Chikk-
arangappa. The in-form
Shiv Kapur will also be in
action along with Indian
stalwart Jeev Milkha Singh.
With the winning record
tilting towards the Indians
on home soil, recent Asian
Tour winner Nicholas Fung
from Malaysia will look to
back up his first Asian Tour
win in the Queens Cup in
June with another title at
the KGA.
Meanwhile, SSP, who is
coming on the back of two
missed-cuts in Europe,
hopes his home record will
work in his favour.
One of the established
https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
Sport
Vijender vows to
take out Chinese rival
IRFAN HAJI
MUMBAI, AUG. 2
The prevailing border ten-
sions between India and
China, has given more
zing to Saturdays Pro
Boxing fight in
Battleground Asia
between Indias Vijender
Singh and Chinas
Zulpikar Maimaitiali.
Both boxers have
indulged in verbal punch-
es already with Vijender
reportedly saying
Chinese products dont
last long and Maimaitiali
responding, I will show
Vijender what Chinese
are capable of .
On Wednesday, at his
first brief training ses-
sion with Manchester-
based trainer Lee Beard
here, Vijender felt there
was responsibility on him
to defeat the Chinese
opponent in front of his
home crowd. There is
responsibility because its
India-China. Right now
the situation is bad so I
feel this responsibility.
People have been calling
me to show support, some
friends are coming to see
the fight from the UK and
US, he said.
While Vijender is the
Vijender Singh at a training session.
TARGET IS TO WIN IN EUROPE: SSP
.S.P. Chawrasia got off to a
S positive start this season
retaining his Indian Open title
with a seven-stroke victory in
February.
Following that, SSPs strug-
gles outside the country contin-
ued as the seasoned pro missed
out on the cut in the British
Open along with top Indian star
Anirban Lahiri.
But the 39-year-old will be
hoping to set the course on fire
this week as hopes to climb on
top of the Order of Merit with
the win. This is an important
tournament. Ive come so close
to topping the Order of Merit,
ance has never been too good
the top. So this week is very
important. I am playing well, I
won the Louis Philippe Cup last
golfers on the Indian cir-
cuit, SSP, will look to capi-
talise on the home advan-
tage, as a win or a second-
place finish would see the
Indian, currently placed
second, climb to the top of
the Asian Tour Order of
Merit.
Speaking on the eve of the
tournament, a jovial SSP
said, Bangalore has always
been one of my favourite
courses and the conditions
are always great here at
KGA. I will play my best and
have a good week, and if
anyone plays better then
they can have the trophy.
Meanwhile, top contender
Chikka will look to win his
S. Chikkarangappa and Nicholas
PAGE
19
current WBO Asia Pacific
Super Middleweight
champion, Zulpikar is the
WBO Oriental Super
Middleweight champion
and whoever wins the
fight on Saturday will
claim the twin titles.
The Vijender-Zulpikar
fight will be last of the
fight night after six bouts
that will also
Olympians Akhil Kumar
see
and Jitender Kumar in
action.
I am in best shape and
totally confident. I will try
to finish it at soon as pos-
sible, he added.
The 31-year-old Vijender,
with an unbeaten record
in eight fights, including
seven knockouts will be
up against 23-year-old
Chinese Southpaw with
five knockouts in nine
bouts. Vijender feels he
will stay calm and
focused.
He is young, but he is
strong kid and we are
ready for it. He is
younger, he can make mis-
takes, he is in rush. In the
first round, he would like
to take over everything
but thats the time you
should be calm and stay
away from that kind of
mistake, use your reach.
AP
year here and that is a big posi-
tive. Confidence is more on the
home ground. Ive been playing
on the Indian grounds for
almost 20 years now so my
game works well here.
Happy about his Indian show,
SSP, now based at Bengaluru,
lamented his show in Europe
but hoped for a turnaround
soon. My game works away as
well but I have to fine-tune it
and hope I win outside the
country as well. But I think neg-
ativity creeps in when I am
playing away and I have to
change that. The target now is
to win in Europe. My perform-
there but I am always learning.
And hopefully, I will win soon,
signed off SSP.
maiden Asian tour title, and
what could be better than
doing it at home turf. The
Karnataka golfer, who has
won the Take Solutions title
while it was on the Asian
Development Tour in 2014
and 2015, will hope for a
repeat show. The Bengaluru
lad, who hasnt had the best
of seasons, is banking on
his good record at the KGA
to land him the title.
The field is good but I am
playing at home. Ive had a
rusty 2017 and hope to turn
it around. The pressure of
playing at home and fans
backing me has a positive
effect on me and I push
myself more, said Chikka.
S.S.P. Chawrasia (from left),
Fung pose with the trophy.
R. SAMUEL
https://telegram.me/Estore33
It was a huge
pleasure
having shared
all those years
with you,
my friend
@neymarjr. I wish
you lots of luck in
this new stage in
your life. See
you soon.
Lionel Messi
bids farewell to
Neymar after the
Brazilian told him
he was leaving
Barcelona
SHORT TAKES
Harikrishna wins,
retains tied top spot
New Delhi: Grandmaster
Pentala Harikrishna beat for-
mer Fide world chess champi-
on Ruslan Ponomariov of
Ukraine in the eighth round to
consolidate his position at the
top of the table in the 50th
Biel Chess Festival, in
Switzerland. The world no. 20,
playing with black pieces,
seized the momentum, forc-
ing his opponent to commit
mistakes and concede the
contest after 58 moves. With
just one round to go,
Harikrishna shares the top
spot with former three-time
womens world champion
Chinas Hou Yifan.
In St Louis (USA), five-time
world champion Viswanathan
Anand faces USAs Hikaru
Nakamura in the 1st round of
the Sinquefield Cup.
Bronze for Gulia in
jr wrestling Worlds
New Delhi: India began their
campaign in the Junior
World Wrestling champi-
onships on a positive note
with Veer Dev Gulia bagging
a bronze medal while
Deepak Punia entering the
bronze medal play-off round
in Tampere, Finland.
In the mens 74kg freestyle
category, Gulia finished third
after getting the better of
Yamasaki Yajuro of Japan 8-5
in the bronze medal play-off
bout on Tuesday night. Gulia
had made it to the play-offs
despite losing in the quarter-
finals as his last-eight stage
opponent, Isa Shapiev of
Uzbekistan, reached the gold
medal round of 74kg. Punia
reached the bronze-medal
round after losing his semi-
final bout to USAs Zahid
Valencia 0-11 in mens 84kg
freestyle category. PTI
Three in jr Asian
boxing quarters
New Delhi: Three Indian box-
ers advanced to the quarter-
finals of the Asian Junior
Championships in Puerto
Princesa, Philippines, on
Wednesday.
Selay Roy (46kg), Bhavesh
Kattimani (52kg) and Aman
Sherawat (70kg) entered the
last-eight stage after winning
their opening bouts.
Roy defeated Japans
Tagawa Ruka in a unanimous
verdict, Kattimani got the
better of Saudi Arabias
Majrashi Ziyad Ali and
Sherawat eased past the
United Arab Emiratess Saif
Alkindi.
However, Swapnil Anil (50kg)
lost to Kazakhstans Talgat
Syrymbetov. PTI
Railways, PNB in
Murugappa semis
Chennai: Defending champi-
on Indian Railways and
Punjab National Bank
stormed into the semi-finals
of the 91st all India MCC-
Murugappa Gold Cup hockey
tournament here on
Wednesday. Railways beat
Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Limited 4-2,
while PNB outclassed Army
XI 3-0. The two teams fin-
ished with all-win records in
Pool A and B, respectively.
Railways conceded a goal in
the 12th minute as Abhishek
slammed home from a penal-
ty corner. Stung by the early
goal, the holders pumped in
three goals in the space of 15
minutes as Ajit Kumar Pandey
(19th), Malak Singh (32nd)
and Ajmer Singh (34th) got
into the act. Raju Paul added
to the Railways tally in the
38th minute before BPCL
reduced the margin through
Devindar Walmiki in the 55th
minute. In the PNB vs Army
XI match, Shamsher Singh
(two) Sanjay were the goal
scorers. In the days first
match, Hockey Unit of Tamil
Nadu won 3-2 over Punjab &
Sind Bank. PTI
Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal (pictured) enter
womens doubles quarter-finals of WSF World
Doubles Squash Championship at Manchester
TRANSFER SAGA
Neymar in transfer of century
Deafolympians demand to be
treated at par with para-athletes
New Delhi, Aug. 2: The
Deafolympians, who had
staged a protest at the
airport here on Tuesday
for not getting a proper
welcome by the sports
ministry, have demanded
that they should be treat-
ed at par with para-ath-
letes.
The Deafolympians,
who had won five medals
including a gold in the
Deafolympics held at
Samsun in Turkey from
July 18 to 30, had refused
to leave the Delhi airport,
protesting that no top
official from the ministry
came to receive them.
Later, they met sports
secretary Injeti Srinivas
and put forth a demand
that they should be treat-
ed at par with para-ath-
letes.
Virender Kumar (74 kg
freestyle wrestling) was
the lone gold winner for
India and his coach Maha
Singh Rao said that
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Focus squarely on retiring Bolt
London, Aug. 2: Usain
Bolts decision to call time
on his glittering career
will dominate the IAAF
World Championships in
London that starts Friday.
The Jamaican sprinter,
an eight-time Olympic go-
ld medallist with 11 world
golds to his name and wo-
rld record holder in the 100
and 200m, will race just
the 100m and 4x100m relay
in the British capital.
The 30-year-old will leave
a huge gap for track and
field to fill, Bolts startling
on-track achievements
having been accompanied
by a charismatic yet hum-
ble personality that has
never ceased to draw
attention for all the right
reasons.
In the past few seasons,
that has often come with
athletics at its lowest ebb
thanks to doping crises
and linked corruption at
the very heart of the
sports presiding body.
He is the best sprinter
of all time, was IAAF
Brazilians world record $260m move to PSG set to be inked by end of this week
Indias contingent, financial incentives to
comprising 46 athletes, these athletes, said Rao,
won a gold, silver and who is a Dronacharya
three bronze to be 26th Awardee.
in the overall medals Rao said his ward
tally Virender is an Arjuna
Srinivas has promised to
awardee and he would
want another deaf-
put up the matter (treat-
ing Deafolympians at par
wrestler to be nominated
for the coveted honour.
with para-athletes) Asked about the protest
before a ministry com- at the airport, he said,
mittee. We were told about two
We met the sports sec- events on our arrival.
retary who is also the SAI The athletes from
director general and we Haryana were to meet the
put the demand that the Haryana sports depart-
Deafolympians should be ment director at 10 am.
treated at par with para- We also have been told
athletes and he has prom- that sports secretary
ised to put up the matter would meet us and we
to a committee of the came to know that sports
ministry to take a deci- minister was not well.
sion, Rao of Guru But we did not under-
Hanuman akhara said. stand why the sports sec-
We also put forward retary was not at the air-
other issues like allowing port to receive us. Only a
the Deafolympians to use project officer of the SA-
SAI facilities, considera- I/Ministry was there to
tion of Deafolympians receive us, he added.
for Arjuna Awards and PTI
Usain Bolt
president Sebastian Coes impact inside or beyond
blunt assessment of Bolt. their sport.
Usain Bolt is a genius. I You can have the
cant think, other than Friday-night-in-the-pub
Muhammad Ali, of any- conversations about who
body that has so had an is best footballer or tennis
THE ASIAN AGE
Barcelona, Aug. 2: Neymar
could be pre-
sented as a
Paris Saint-
Ger main
player as
early as
t h i s
weekend
for a
world record fee
as Barcelona
admitted defeat in
convincing the
Brazilian to stay at the
Camp Nou on Wednesday.
Wagner Ribeiro, an advi-
sor to the player, claimed
PSG would pay his 222 mil-
lion euro ($260 million)
buyout clause in the com-
ing hours to more than
double the current trans-
fer record set by Paul
Pogbas 89.3 million ($111
million, 105.2 million
euros) move to Manchester
United last year.
Earlier, Barcelona ended
weeks of speculation by
publicly confirming for the
first time the 25-year-olds
wish to leave after four
years at the Camp Nou.
Neymar Jr, accompa-
nied by his father and rep-
resentative, communicated
to FC Barcelona this morn-
ing his decision to leave
the club, Barca said in a
statement.
The club have informed
them that the buyout claus-
e in his contract, that from
July 1 is 222 million euros,
must be paid in full.
Neymar has been tempt-
ed to Paris by an astronom-
ical offer that would
reportedly see his wages
tripled to 30 million euros
a year after tax.
However, on the field he
Neymar Jr, accompa-
nied by his father and
representative, commu-
nicated to FC Barcelona
this morning his deci-
sion to leave the club
FC BARCELONA
on Wednesday
NEW ZEALAND | GRAND PRIX
Indian quartet enter pre-quarters
New Delhi, Aug. 2: H.S.
Prannoy and Parupalli
Kashyap continued their
good run, reaching the pre-
quarter-finals with
straight game wins in the
mens singles competition
of the New Zealand Grand
Prix Gold at Auckland, on
Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Prannoy,
who clinched the US Open
in California last month,
staved off a challenge from
Indonesias Firman Abdul
Kholik 23-21, 21-18.
Commonwealth Games
champion Kashyap, who
had also reached the finals
of the US Open, notched
up a crushing win over
New Zealands Oscar Guo
21-9, 21-8.
Prannoy meets 10th seed
Hong Kongs Wei Nan,
while 15th seed Kashyap
faces compatriot and sev-
enth seed Sourabh Verma.
Sourabh, seeded seventh,
posted a 21-16, 21-16 win
over Indonesias Henrikho
Kho Wibowo, while 16th
player, but there is no
argument about this guy
in sprinting. American
Coe added: What we Johnsons world record
will miss is the personali-
ty. We do want athletes
Sport
THURSDAY | 3 AUGUST 2017 | NEW DELHI
Neymar arrives at Barcelonas training ground on Wednesday.
French daily LEquipe has dubbed it the transfer of
the century. According to the newspaper, Neymar
has agreed personal terms with PSG.
also faces the challenge of
stepping out of the shadow
of five-time World Player
of the Year Lionel Messi to
try and prove himself as by Uefa for making a loss
the worlds best. of more than 30 million
Neymar has also been
given permission to stay
away from training until
the deal is complete after
making a brief appearance
at Barcas training ground
on Wednesday morning to
say goodbye to his team
mates.
Presuming both clubs
dont come to a late agree-
ment, the buyout clause
would have to be paid to
Barcelona via Spains La
Liga to free the player from
the contract he signed last
year and runs until 2021.
However, La Liga presi-
dent Javier Tebas has
threatened not to accept
PSGs money over what he
perceives as a failure on
with personality. Its nice
to have someone who has a
view and fills the room
and fills a stadium.
Bolt insisted he would go
into the defence of his
100m crown as an under-
dog.
Thats what I keep read-
ing and what my team
keeps telling me, so Ive
got to prove myself agai-
n, he said in a stark war-
ning to potential rivals.
He added: Im comfort-
able saying Im a legend
because Ive proved
myself. Off the track, Im
as simple as can be.
With Bolt nearing the
exit, much talk has
focused on who could like-
ly fill his large spikes.
One name pops up con-
tinually: that of South
African Wayde van
Niekerk, the current
world and Olympic 400m
champion who destroyed
Michael four years ago in Rome.
when winning in Rio last
summer. AFP
https://telegram.me/AllEpapers
ter-final stage in recent
the French sides part to
comply with Uefas finan-
cial fair play rules.
Clubs can be sanctioned
euros over a three-year
period.
We will not accept this
money from a club like
PSG, Tebas told Madrid
sports daily AS on
Wednesday.
Especially when this
club is infringing rules and
laws.
Winning the Champions
League for a first time is
the dream driving PSGs
owners Oryx Qatar Sports
Investments (QSI) to fund a
deal that could herald the
start of a new era at the
elite level of European
football.
Since QSIs takeover in
2011, PSG have failed to
make it beyond the quar-
Parupalli Kashyap
Gatlin plots to spoil
arch-rivals swansong
London, Aug. 2: Justin
Gatlin has become
increasingly irritated at
being labelled the dope
cheat contrasting with
Usain Bolts superhero
image in the sprinting
world, but he can set that
aside by spoiling the lat-
ters farewell at the world
athletics championships.
The 35-year-old America-
n who last year became
the oldest man to win a
100m Olympic medal wh-
en he took silver behind
his nemesis Bolt gets
one last go at the Jamaic-
an legend when the world
championships get unde-
rway in London on Friday.
It will be asking a lot of
Gatlin who served a
four-year ban reduced
from eight for doping from
2006-2010 to achieve that
having only beaten Bolt
once in nine previous me-
etings over the shorter sp-
rint distance, and that was
pantomime villain.
There exists a mutual
respect between the two
old rivals to the extent the
PAGE
20
AP
seasons most notably
blowing a 4-0 first leg lead
to lose 6-1 to a Neymar-
inspired Barcelona in the
last 16 of last seasons com-
petition in March.
Prising Neymar from the
grip of Barca would truly
announce PSGs presence
as a contender for the likes
of Barca, Real Madrid and
Bayern Munich to fear.
Neymar has formed one
of the deadliest strike part-
nerships in football histo-
ry with Messi and Luis
Suarez over the past three
seasons.
Together they have won
two La Liga titles, a
Champions League and
three Spanish Cups, whilst
Neymar has scored 105
goals and provided 80
assists in just 186 games.
However, Neymars four-
year spell in Spain has also
been overshadowed by the
murky transfer deal which
brought him to Barcelona
from Santos in 2013.
AFP
seed Siril Verma beat
another Indonesian
Saputra Vicky Angga 21-
14, 21-16 to advance to the
next round.
Young shuttlers Sahil
Sipani and Neeraj Vashist
suffered straight-game
losses in the second round.
Sahil lost 9-21, 8-21 to 11th
seed Lin Yu Hsien of Ch-
inese Taipei, while Neeraj
went down 16-21, 13-21 to
Australias Anthony Joe.
Pratul Joshi also bowed
out, losing 13-21, 22-24 to
top seed Tzu Wei Wang of
Chinese Taipei in another
mens singles match.
Sanyogita Ghorpade and
Prajakta Sawant lost 15-21,
18-21 to Japanese fourth
seed Ayako Sakuramoto
and Yukiko Takahata in
womens doubles.
In mixed doubles, the
Chinese pair of Fan
Qiuyue and Xuanxuan Liu
ended the journey of
Prajakta Sawant and
Malaysias Yogendran Khr-
ishnan 21-13, 21-13. PTI
Justin Gatlin
Jamaican was horrified
by the booing and jeering
of the American prior to
the 100m final in Rio last
year, and then again at the
medal ceremony.
I personally think hes
a great athlete. He shows
up and pushes you to run
fast and be at your best,
said Bolt after Rio.
Gatlin too is gushing
about Bolt, whose crowd-
pleasing antics have gild-
ed his image as the good
guy whilst the American
has often been cast as a
I have the utmost res-
pect for Usain, said
Gatlin. AFP