Month: September 2020

As the Indian Premier League (IPL) began behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming said although it was strange playing with no crowd, the players managed to cope with the situation really well.

The 13th edition of the IPL commenced on Saturday, with CSK playing against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the opening match. The MS Dhoni-led CSK made a winning start in the tournament, defeating their opponents by five wickets.

“It was strange for a lot of us to play in front of no crowd, especially when you got two teams like these who were last season’s finalists. I think we coped with it pretty well and players were really focused on what they did,” Fleming said in the post-match press conference.

After being asked to bat first, Mumbai Indians managed to put a total of 162 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Although CSK made a poor start to their innings, losing two wickets in the first two overs, the team managed to register a win.

It was Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu’s half-centuries which propelled the team to a five-wicket win. Sam Curran also played his part in the chase, scoring 18 runs from just six balls.

Praising the players, Fleming said, “Sam Curran’s performance today was outstanding… Rayudu has been nothing short of fantastic and again today he turned the game around. His experience and skill set played a major part in our win today.”

The IPL is being played in the UAE with several guidelines and protocols in place to safeguard players amid the pandemic. Fleming stressed that the team which will be able to adapt to different conditions quickly will progress in the tournament.

“The teams that will adapt to different conditions and get the right balance and play accordingly will be there towards the end,” he said. (ANI)

By Sahil Pandey

Armed by the unwavering support from their families, the Indian Army’s Ladakh Scouts, who are better known as the ‘sons of soil’, are at the forefront of the India-China border standoff at the east Ladakh.

Ever since the Ladakh Scouts was formed in 1963 after the Sino-India war of 1962, several families have been sending their wards to guard the nation.

The Dorjoi family, which has two sons guarding the nation, said despite not having spoken to them for last many days, they are not afraid and are ready to face any eventuality.

“I have two sons in Ladakh Scouts. We are not in touch nowadays. As a parent, I am not afraid. Had I been scared I wouldn’t have sent them to the Army. A nation can’t be guarded if one gets afraid of death,” the father of soldier T Dorjoi told ANI.

“Even during the ongoing tensions, we remained undeterred. We are Ladakhis. We face the adversities head-on,” he added.

They also said the family is planning to send their third child to the Army.”We feel proud that my sons are representing the country. I walk with my head held high. I am proud that my sons are fighting the Chinese. I back them, as we strive in these tough topographic situations,” he added.

Seeing his brothers protecting the nation, Stanzin, who is preparing himself to join the Ladakh Scouts, says, “I feel proud that my brothers are serving the nation, but I also miss them. I will also join Ladakh Scouts and bring pride to my country and family.”

This sentiment is common among other families as well. Seeing her sons donning the Indian Army uniform, T Kunjes feels proud. But she is also getting worried when she doesn’t get the chance to speak to them.”I do get anxious when I don’t get to communicate with them but somehow, we feel that they must do well. During this present situation, I do get worried about their safety, but also feel proud that my child is defending the country,” said Kunjes, the mother of two Ladakh Scout soldiers.

Expressing similar feelings, T Angschok, whose son is in the Ladakh Scouts, said he feels blessed that his ward got a chance to defend the country.

“My son is in Ladakh Scouts. I am proud that what he is doing for the country. As a parent, it is natural to be concerned for the wellbeing of my son, but we are happy that he chose this path,” he said.

“Even if our blood comes of any use for the country then will consider ourselves lucky,” a proud Angschok added.When asked as to what sort of advice does he gives to his son whenever they get a chance to communicate, he said, “When we speak, I tell him to focus only on protecting our mother India. As a family, we are with you. If possible, we will volunteer.”

Ladakh Scouts is the youngest infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was bestowed upon the status of a regiment with its own centre and battalions in 1999.

On June 1 1963, Ladakh Scouts was raised by merging the 7th and 14th battalions of Jammu and Kashmir Militia. During the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the Ladakh Scouts launched a brilliant attack in Northern sector and got the Battle honour ‘Turtuk’ for their excellent performance. The soldiers were also the part of Operation Meghdoot at Siachen.

The Ladakh Scout soldiers are recruited from Ladakh because they are acclimatised with the treacherous mountain terrain, making them lethal at heights that are inhospitable.(ANI)

Responding to sexual assault allegations of actress Payal Ghosh, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap rejected all the accusations saying they are “baseless”.

“Wow, it took so long to try to silence me. You lied so much in this effort and also dragged other women despite you being a woman. Have some dignity madam! I will just say that all your allegations are baseless,” Kashyap tweeted in Hindi.

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He said, “In the process of accusing me, you also dragged the Bachchan family and my artists, but you failed. I married twice. If it is a crime, then I accept it. I also admit that I have loved a lot whether it was my first wife, my second wife, or any lover, or any other woman I have worked with.”

“I will never behave this way nor will tolerate such manners. will see what happens. Pray and love to you. Apologies for answering your English in my Hindi,” Kashyap added.

Earlier, speaking to ANI over the phone on the sexual assault allegations, Ghosh said, “Anurag Kashyap was a Facebook friend of mine. I met him in 2014-15 along with my manager. On the second day, he called me at his residence, asking me to wear clothes that do not project me as a heroine. I wore ‘salwar kameez’ to meet him.”

“On the third day, when I went to meet him, he took me to a separate room and played an adult film. That is when I realised his intentions. As I wanted to leave, Kashyap started touching me inappropriately. Then, he opened his clothes and tried to open mine, after which he attempted to molest me. Even after telling him that I was not comfortable, yet he continued with his indecent behaviour. When he realised that his attempts were in vain, he asked him to come mentally prepared next time,” she alleged.

When asked that why did not reveal the incident all these years, the actor said, “In the beginning, I would get nightmares. Later, I was scared that they would cause any harm if this comes out. I was also not allowed to speak bout this incident. My brother and manager were of the view that revealing the incident would destroy my career.”

“The person talks about all the patriotic words towards women. A person who pretends like this must be exposed. I request the authorities to kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this man,” Ghosh further said.

She said she has spoken to the Commissioner of Mumbai Police and requested protection from the Centre and state governments as well.

“They have advised me to lodge a complaint. the National Women’s Commission has also asked me to file a complaint,” she said.

Talking about actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead at his Mumbai recently, she said, “We shared the same gym. He was a dedicated person and was very shy. Even I used to get anxiety attacks and was prescribed the same medicine as him.”

She revealed that there is nepotism in Bollywood.

“But after Kangana Ranaut raised her voice, it has reduced to some extent, otherwise, it was there to a large extent. Some things she says are absolutely correct. However, I feel she speaks too much at the time. But I like the points she raises.”

Regarding the recent statements by Ravi Kishan, Jaya Bachchan and Jaya Prada on the alleged use of drugs in Bollywood, she said, “Not everybody takes drugs in Bollywood, however, some do. Jaya Bachchan was right when she said that the entire industry should not be blamed because of some people. Even Hema Malini also supported her. They are veteran actors in Bollywood and their views should not be neglected. But if I say that there is no talk of drugs in Bollywood, it would be wrong.” (ANI)

In a big revelation exposing the double standards of Pakistan, the country, despite the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sword hanging over its head, continues to harbour terrorists and is giving VIP treatment to many of them including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan-based Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terrorist Ranjeet Singh Neeta.

Sources said that the international community is concerned about the hypocrisy of Pakistan which is pretending to take action against terrorists but is funding them.

According to the sources, the Pakistan government is giving VIP security to 21 dreaded terrorists including those sanctioned last month.

According to the list accessed by ANI, the terrorists given VIP treatment include underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Wadhwa Singh, Chief of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Indian Mujahideen (IM) chief, Riyaz Bhatkal, terrorist Mirza Shadab Baig and Afif Hassan Siddibapa.

Many of these terrorists are those who are wanted in India. Pakistan is giving them asylum.

India has repeatedly exposed Pakistan who is sponsoring the terrorist groups and training and arming them to wage war against India

From last few weeks, experts believe that the Pakistan government is creating an illusion that it is acting against terrorist groups to prevent the wrath of Paris based watchdog FATF.

Last month, Pakistan had imposed more restrictions on 88 leaders and members of terrorist groups, in compliance with the new list, issued by the United Nations Security Council. Hafiz Saeed Ahmad of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Mohammad Masood Azhar of JeM and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Ibrahim are on the list.

According to the details, the government has also seized the bank accounts and properties of the terrorists in the country. They have also been banned from travelling aboard, Ary News reported.

Though Pakistan has claimed that it is taking actions against the terrorist groups, however, there are no details of how many actions have been implemented.

Islamabad is racing against time to escape the FATF’s blacklist and clearing its name from the grey list.

Pakistan is in the grey list since June 2018 and the government was given a final warning in February to complete the remaining action points by June 2020. The FATF extended the June deadline to September due to the spread of coronavirus that disrupted the FATF plenary meetings.

The country is facing the difficult task of clearing its name from the FATF grey list. Pakistan is making attempts to avoid a demotion from the FATF grey list to the blacklist during the upcoming October plenary meeting. While Pakistan tries to showcase its ‘efforts’ in combating terrorism, there have been reports from Afghanistan giving ample evidence of the presence of Pakistani terrorists on its land.

In recent weeks, Pakistan has been trying to paint a picture that it has started the reforms including the passing of bills in order to prevent blacklisting by the FATF.

In late July, Pakistan Financial Monitoring Unit Director-General Lubna Farooq told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance that the country is yet to comply with 13 conditions out of the 27-point Action Plan of the FATF including curbing terror financing, enforcement of the laws against the proscribed organisations and improving the legal systems. (ANI)

Law enforcement officials intercepted a suspicious package containing deadly poison ricin addressed to US President Donald Trump earlier this week.

Two tests were conducted to confirm the presence of ricin, CNN reported on Saturday citing two law enforcement officials. All letters for the White House are sorted and checked at an offsite facility before reaching the White House.

A US law enforcement official told the American cable network that investigators are looking into the possibility that the package addressed to Trump came from Canada.

Ricin is a highly toxic substance extracted from castor beans that have been used in terror attacks. It can be used in the form of powder, mist, pellet or acid. If one ingests the poison, it causes vomiting and internal bleeding of the stomach and intestines, failure of the liver, spleen and kidneys and subsequent death by collapse of the circulatory system.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Secret Service are probing the matter.

“The FBI and our US Secret Service and US Postal Inspection Service partners are investigating a suspicious letter received at a US government mail facility. At this time, there is no known threat to public safety,” the FBI’s Washington field office said in a statement to CNN. (ANI)

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that 97 migrants died onboard Shramik special trains during the COVID-19 induced lockdown.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Goyal said, “Based on the data provided by the police, 97 people have been reported dead till September 9 while travelling onboard Shramik special trains during current COVID-19 situation.”

The response came after Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien demanded Goyal to share the details of the total number of deaths that occurred onboard the Shramik trains since they started operating during the lockdown.

Goyal said, “The police registers case under Section 174 of CrPC in cases of unnatural deaths and follows further legal process.”

“Out of these 97 cases of deaths, police sent dead bodies for post mortem in 87 cases. 51 postmortem reports have been obtained from respective state police so far, in which the reasons for deaths have been shown as cardiac arrest/heart disease/brain hemorrhage/pre-existing chronic disease/chronic lung disease/chronic liver disease etc,” he added.

O’Brien had enquired whether Railways charged any passenger for tickets for boarding the Shramik trains and how much revenue was generated.

To this, Goyal replied, “Railway has not collected fare from Shramiks. Shramik specials were booked by state governments or representatives of state governments on payment of fare. Revenue of Rs 433 crores has been collected from state governments and their representatives for running of Shramik special trains till August 31.”

The minister said a total of 63.19 lakh stranded passengers have travelled onboard the Shramik trains. (ANI)

Bollywood diva Malaika Arora on Sunday stepped ‘out and about’ from quarantine, and penned a note thanking the doctors, friends, family, and fans for their care, support and good wishes in the difficult times.

“Out and about”…M finally out of my room after so many days, it feels like an outing in itself,” wrote the 46-year-old star as she shared an Instagram featuring herself stepping out of her room. In the picture, Malaika is seen sporting a face mask and holding a cup while and strikes a candid pose.

Along with the picture she noted, “I feel so blessed to have overcome this virus with minimum pain and discomfort.”

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Extending thanks to her doctors she added, “A big thanks to my doctors for their medical guidance, to BMC for making this process hassle-free, to my family for their immeasurable support and to all my friends, neighbours and fans for all their good wishes and the strength that I got from your messages and support. I can’t thank you all enough in words for what everyone has done for me in these difficult times. All of you please stay safe and take care.”

Celebrity followers including Neena Gupta and more than 86 thousand fans liked the post, with many of them sending love in the comments section.

Diana Penty and Dia Mirza left red heart emojis over the post.

On September 7, Malaika Arora through an Instagram post on social media announced that she has tested positive for coronavirus and stated that she is feeling fine, is asymptomatic and will be quarantined at home. (ANI)

With the hope to get most of the legislative business out of the way in a week’s time, the government is mulling to shorten the duration of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, say sources in Parliament.

Sources told ANI that due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and continued health restrictions in force, the government is contemplating to shorten the length of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.

A senior MP claimed that even if all the Ordinances are cleared along with few bills, decision to curtail the session can be taken.

The Parliament session which began on September 14 is scheduled to end on October 1.

However, with routine tests of MPs, staffers and workers in the Parliament coming positive, the fear of the spread is palpable among the top leadership as well.

The ongoing session of Parliament is the first one held amid the pandemic. The government brought in several important legislations including The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment ) Bill 2020, The Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2020-21 and The Demands for Excess Grants for 2016-17, The Appropriation (No.4) Bill, 2020 and

The Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2020, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act and The Farmers (empowerment and protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 to name a few.

To keep monitoring the temperature and whether people are wearing masks, a few cameras have been installed on strategic locations. Sanitiser dispensers too have been put in place.

Recently both Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Patel tested positive for COVID-19. Both had attended the session after being tested negative a few days back.

The issue of curtailing the ongoing session is also likely to be discussed at a meeting of Business Advisory Committee to be held today, sources stated. (ANI)

By Pragya Kaushika

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) wants the central government to make few changes in the agriculture bills that are slated to come in Rajya Sabha for discussion on Sunday.

Referring to concerns of farmers, BKS wants the government to extend Minimum Support Price (MSP) even outside agriculture markets in a private agreement. The demand is to give MSP to farmers even in the open market.

BKS also wants the government to ensure that a trader who does agreement with farmers about their produce should be registered and an agreement done only using Pan card should not be acceptable.

Dinesh Kulkarni, National Secretary (Organisation), BKS, said that only six per cent of the farmers are able to reach mandis and sell their produce on MSP.

“Around 80 per cent to 85 per cent are small and marginal farmers. The government is giving assurance that it will not stop buying produce on MSP but only six per cent will benefit from that. The rest will not,” Kulkarni said.

“Our suggestion is to integrate open market with MSP scheme. It should have both agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) and traders so that farmers even if they sell to traders get Minimum Support Price.”

The functionary said that if APMCs aren’t covered in the Bill, then another law should be brought to make MSP mandatory irrespective of mandis or traders in the open market.

While several opposition parties are set to oppose the two farm bills, the BJP is trying to seek support of non-Congress parties for the bills.

Kulkarni also said that the government should make registration of traders along with bank guarantee compulsory. “Pan card doesn’t mean much. We want state or centre to build a portal where traders should get bank guarantee and get themselves registered,” said the functionary.

The BMS functionary also stated that their demand for agriculture courts has been accepted by the government. These courts will work on gram panchayat level in case of a dispute. He said Haryana has built village level courts to resolve disputes. (ANI)