DESK REPORT AMRITSAR - PRIME MINISTER …southasiandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/part_1-61.pdf- who India says came from Paki-stan - attacked the Pathankot Indian Air Force

CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON

GURPREET GHUGGI AAP'SNEW PUNJAB CONVENER

CAN INDO-PAK RELATIONS MOVE FORWARD?MIDWEEK SURVEY

Who would you like to see as the nextchief minister of Punjab?

PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU HELD MEETING WITH CHIEF EXECUTIVE LEUNG CHUNYING OF HONG KONG. TRUDEAU DIS-CUSSED HONG KONG-CANADA RELATIONSHIP THAT STANDS ON STRONG FOOTING.

KARACHI/NEW DELHI, (IANS) PrimeMinister Narendra Modi is lookingforward to visit Pakistan in Novem-ber to attend the Saarc Summit, ac-cording to India's High Commissionerin Islamabad. But New Delhi said onTuesday that no decision had beenmade yet. "Decisions and announce-ments of such nature are not madeso far in advance," India's ExternalAffairs Ministry spokesperson VikasSwarup tweeted.Swarup's remarks came a day afterthe High Commissioner, GautamBambawale, told an event in Karachion Monday that the visit was pos-sible despite tense India-Pakistanties. "I can't say about the future butas of today Prime Minister Modi islooking forward to visiting Islamabadfor the Saarc summit in November,"the Dawn quoted Bambawale as say-

ing at an interactive session of theKarachi Council on Foreign Relations.He also said while India and Paki-stan must certainly discuss the en-tire range of issues, they must keeptheir focus on economy which hedescribed as a "low-hanging fruit."His comments came amid reportsthat Modi might keep away from theSaarc Summit in view of the risingtensions between India and Paki-stan, particularly over Jammu andKashmir.Bambawale said it was India's de-sire to see a Pakistan which wasmoderate, prosperous and stable andat peace with itself, its neighboursas well as the rest of the world. Headmitted that trust and confidencewas lacking in relations betweenNew Delhi and Islamabad. The roadto normalization of Pakistan-India re-

lations, he said, lay through greatertrade and business, the roadmap forwhich was prepared by the two gov-ernments in 2012.The total trade between the two coun-tries was worth just $2.5 billion ayear while its potential was of $20billion, the Dawn quoted him as say-ing. The Indian envoy said even whentensions were high between the twocountries, there had been contacts atthe operational level. Over the pastmonth and a half, there had been "cor-dial interactions" between Pakistaniand Indian border forces.Bambawale referred to Indian Exter-nal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj'sand Modi's visits to Islamabad andLahore respectively in Decemberlast year.But on January 2 this year, terrorists- who India says came from Paki-

stan - attacked the Pathankot IndianAir Force base. He said the Indiangovernment had been saying: "Let'swork together to get to the bottom ofterrorism which was a headache notonly for Pakistan but for India and theworld." In an obvious reference to theKashmir dispute, Bambawale said thetwo countries should not be talking onjust one issue, rather on all issues.He said India had taken a stand in the1960s and 70s that New Delhi andBeijing must talk on the boundaryproblem before moving on to otherissues. But this was reversed in1988. Today China was one of India'slargest trading partners, he pointedout. Asked about "Indian atrocities"in Jammu and Kashmir, the HighCommissioner said Indians were asconcerned about the people of Kash-mir as anyone else in the world.

86 office-bearers of AAP includingAmritsar zonal head Bajwa quit

DESK REPORTAMRITSAR - Another blow for AAP - 86 of its office-bearers in Amritsardistrict, including zonal incharge Gurinder Singh Bajwa, have resignedfrom the par ty. Bajwa said in a press conference: "Workers at thegrass-roots level were hurt due to the removal of Sucha Singh Chhotepur fromthe post of convener." He said 80 per cent of the office-bearers of party in the districthad resigned. The list made public by Bajwa includes nine zonal incharges ofvarious wings and 34 sector incharges. Bajwa alleged some Delhi-based leaders such as Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak were run-ning par ty as their personal proper ty. He also issued appeals to NRIsand Punjabis to stop donations to AAP.

DESK REPORT / TORONTO - In this week’s exclusive survey whereYudhvir Jaswal, Group Editor and CEO of YMedia asked communitywho would they like to be the next chief minister of Punjab. Conductedon Southasian PULSE Prime Time on Tuesday morning between 10amto 12 noon, the community overwhelmingly endorsed Arvind Kejriwalfollowed by Navjot Singh Sidhu. Kejriwal received 64.47% votes, Sidhusecured 8.88%, and Capt Amarinder Singh 5.9% votes. Parkash SinghBadal, Simranjit Singh Mann and HS Phoolka got 4.6% suppor t ofcommunity each. Kanwar Sandhu garnered suppor t of 1.97% peoplefollowed by Bhagwant Mann and Bikram Singh Majithia who took1.3% suppor t. AAP leaders Gurpreet Ghuggi and Baljinder Kaur re-ceived 0.65% votes. Sadly no one voted for Sukhbir Badal. It seemedas if the NRIs want a change in the province and desire a leadershipthat can lead Punjab from the front. YMedia regularly holds weeklypolls on various issues that of interest to the community and publishtheir results on all five of its media platforms every week.

My husband falsely implicated in rape case: Sandeep's wife RituNEW DELHI, (PTI) Wife of sackedDelhi Minister Sandeep Kumar,who was arrested on rapecharges, came out in suppor t ofher husband, claiming that hewas "falsely implicated" in thescandal. "My husband is inno-cent, I stand by him. Rapecharges against my husband arewrong," Ritu Kumar told a newschannel here. The embattled ex-minister 's wife said that thecharges were par t of a "politicalconspiracy against her innocenthusband" and that her entire fam-ily was with Sandeep at this hour. The MLA from Sultanpur Majrawas arrested yesterday on rape and other charges following a com-plaint by a woman, who purpor tedly figured in an "objectionable"CD with him. He was also suspended from AAP after the scandalcame to light.Sandeep, who is being interrogated by the police, has claimedinnocence in the matter. The former women and child development

minister has been booked on charges of rape, transmission ofmaterial containing sexually explicit act and taking illegal gratifi-cation. In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 11 monthsago, she was raped by Kumar when she had gone to his office inouter Delhi's Sultanpuri seeking help to obtain a ration card. Kumarwas removed from the AAP government on August 31 by ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD purpor tedly showing him incompromising position with the woman surfaced.

NEW DELHI (IANS) AAP appoints Gurpreet Ghuggi asPunjab convener who says:* Those trying to make money from politics haveno place in AAP.* Allegations of money for tickets against AAP false* AAP doors were still open for Navjot Singh Sidhuand would go to Sidhu and Pargat Singh with foldedhands to request them to join AAP.* AAP will live and die for Punjab. We stand by Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiat,unlike Parkash Singh Badal, who makes Chandigarh, river waters and otheremotive issues his bread and butter during the elections.* Will protect Punjab's right over its river waters and fight hard to getback Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas.* Bow only before Guru Granth Sahib. I am not follower of any sect* Akalis are paying salary from the state treasury to Delhi leaderManjinder Singh Sirsa.

Devinder Sahrawat: Womenbeing exploited in Punjab inreturn for ticket by AAPAAP leader calls charges'baseless', to file defamation caseAAP tickets sold for money in Punjab:Chhotepur

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BIG B FUMES ON HOT SCENES BETWEENASH, RANBIR IN AE DIL HAI MUSHKIL

SALMAN KHAN AND AMY JACKSON AT FREAKY ALI PRESS CONFERENCE IN DUBAI. MUMBAI, (IANS) She decided to get married to actor Ajay Devgnat peak of her career. And actress Kajol says she decided tosettle down as she wanted to calm down and take it easy on theprofessional front.Kajol and Ajay, who got married in 1999, are the parents of twochildren -- daughter Nysa and son Yug. After the bir th of herdaughter in 2003, she has done a few films such as "Fanaa", "UMe Aur Hum", "My Name Is Khan", "We Are Family" and "ToonpurKa Superrhero". She was last seen in "Dilwale". The actresssays she was always clear that she will do "one film a year"after marriage."It was the right thing for me to do at that point of time. I hadbeen already working for around eight and a half to nine years.So, I was ready to kind of calm down on my work front and kindof take it easier," Kajol said in a statement. She added: "I wasdoing four to five films a year. I didn't want to do only that and toonly live like that. That wasn't what I had set out for. So I as-sumed that I would get married and do one film a year. I'll behappier and be more settled."The actress took the journey down memory lane, highlightingpersonal and professional incidents during an episode of "VogueBFFs". She became a par t of the show with her mentor andclose friend Mickey Contractor. Talking about her signatureunibrow look, Kajol said: "Actually Mickey was the one whoconvinced everybody that I should go with this unibrow." Apar tfrom Kajol, many other Bollywood style icons are expected toappear on the show with their mentors and best friends includ-ing Sonam Kapoor and Atul Kasbekar. The show is all set to airon COLORS Infinity from September.

WHY DID KAJOL MARRYAJAY DEVGN?

DESK REPORTMUMBAI - The very first teasertrailer of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', aromantic flick by filmmakerKaran Johar has been creating alot of hue and cry in the city. Thefilm has an intriguing story line,

No racism in film industry: NawazuddinMUMBAI, (IANS) Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who has made a place for himself in Bollywood, saysthe film industry is one place where there is no racism. "I think there is no racism in this filmindustry. They are only in need of talent though it takes time but, if you are talented you will get yourdue. I am thankful to be par t of this industry," Nawazuddin said in an interview. The actor is nowconsidered as one of the most saleable in showbiz but he says that he doesn't waste time thinkingabout all these things. "I don't waste my time thinking about all these things (whether he is saleableor not). I don't have time to think about all these things. My job is to work hard and be honest with mycharacter and that's in my control. I can only try to give my best performance," said Nawazuddin,who has been appreciated for her roles in films like "Black Friday", "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Kahaani","Raman Raghav 2.0" and many more. The actor is currently busy promoting his film "Freaky Ali"directed by Sohail Khan and presented by Salman Khan.

Anand L. Rai's next with SRK, when?MUMBAI, (IANS) Director-producer Anand L. Rai, who has directed a string of hit films like "TanuWeds Manu" and "Raanjhanaa", has said his upcoming movie with superstar Shah Rukh Khan willhave a romantic story. "I don't want to reveal the story. For now, I am keeping it to myself only.Hopefully, I can bring a great story for the audience. Let me save the suspense for you," said Rai atthe premiere of the movie "Sunshine Music Tours And Travels". However, he hinted that it will be a romanticplot. Asked whether it would be a romantic movie, he said: "You may assume that. When an actor like ShahRukh is there, it is bound to do something with romance." The film will hit theatres on December 21, 2018, andSRK is to play a dwarf in the movie. "Release dates always scare me but it has to be announced, so we did it.But work is still going on. We are hoping to make a good film," said Rai. The film is produced by"Dilwale" star's home production, Red Chillies Enter tainment. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh is currentlyshooting for Imtiaz Ali's "The Ring" with Anushka Sharma in Prague.

WHAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN VIRAT KOHLI ANDANUSHKA SHARMA?DESK REPORTMUMBAI - Anushka Sharma, who is currently in Prague shooting for Imtiaz Ali's romantic drama 'TheRing' with Shah Rukh Khan, was seen spending some time at various restaurants with beau ViratKohli there. Kohli went to Prague to be with his girlfriend and was seen by fans on romantic strollsin the city's sidewalks, dressed in smar t casuals. Both are trying to give their relationship a secondshot. 'The Ring' is expected to hit theatres by mid-2017.

Ban on film 'Maalik' illegal: Pakistani courtKARACHI, (IANS) A provincial cour t in Pakistan on Tuesday over turned a ban on a movie "Maalik"months after the federal information industry put a ban on the release of the film. Director AshirAzeem had challenged the ban placed by the federal government on screening the Urdu feature filmnationwide. In its reply, the federal government had declared that showing a former Afghanextremist character in the movie as a celebrated hero was one of the reasons behind the ban.Headed by Sindh High Cour t Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, a two-judge bench pronounced theverdict which was previously reserved after hearing arguments from the film director's law-yer, additional attorney general and others.

hot couple like Ranbir Kapoorand Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,their steamy scenes, Pakistaniheart throb Fawad Khan andAnushka Sharma are keepingeveryone guessing what the filmis actually about. However,

Aishwarya's intimate sceneswith Ranbir which are thehighlight of the film, are keepingeveryone on their tows and nodoubt Ash is looking damnbeautiful!Though fans are in for a treat,

father-in-law, AmitabhBachchan and his wife Jaya arefuming with anger as a kissingscene is creating problems.According to repor ts Big Bapproached Karan and askedhim to cut off her kissing scenebut it has not been that hasangered the family thoughamazed her fans as they neverthought the beauty queen wouldever do such scenes.Media repor ts that whereasAbhishek put up a suppor tivefront, Big B had a fight withAishwarya on the topic and has evendecided not to share the link on hissocial media networking. Does thismean Ash is in thick soup withher in-laws, only coming dayswill tell.


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016s p e c i a l r e p o r t

MP RUBY SAHOTA WITH VOLUNTEERS WHO HELPED HER AT BRAMPTON COMMUNITY BBQ.

MP KAMAL KHERA WITH BRAMPTON YOUTH AT A RECENTLY HELD COMMUNITY EVENT.

INDIAN CONSUL GENERAL IN TORONTO DINESH BHATIA WITH MINISTER OF SCIENCE KIRSTY DUNCAN CELEBRATING PUNJAB DAY.

MP IQRA KHALID MET YOUTH EMPLOYED UNDER CANADA SUMMER JOBS PROGRAM AT MISSISSAUGA CENTRAL LIBRARY RECENTLY.

ONTARIO PREMIER KATHLEEN WYNNE WITH STAKE HOLDERS ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN MEXICO.

AAP not a force in Punjab,Congress main rival: BJP

vice-presidentBY BRAJENDRA NATH SINGH

NEW DELHI, (IANS) The "misdeeds" of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhihave "exposed its real character" and it is not a force in Punjab politicsanymore, BJP vice-president Prabhat Jha has said, adding that theCongress is the main rival of the state's Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alli-ance. Jha, who is the BJP's Punjab in-charge, also claimed that theruling alliance would create history by securing its third consecutivevictory in the assembly polls, expected to be held early next year.Jha said the BJP would contest 23 seats in the 117-member assemblywhile the SAD will contest the remaining 94. He also said that it was forthe SAD to decide its chief ministerial candidate and the BJP's role wasthat of an "elder brother" in the alliance."AAP is nowhere in Punjab... our contest is with the Congress," Jhaasserted in an interview with IANS.He said Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will be the mainface of SAD-BJP campaign in the state. "'Bade Badal' has devoted hiswhole life for the people of Punjab. Serving the people of Punjab is hisworship," Jha said. Hitting out at the AAP, which has seen some deser-tions in Punjab over the past few days, Jha said the party lacks a stateleader. "Due to this, they have people who in the past have been seenwith Khalistani elements. This is going to harm the state," Jha con-tended. The BJP leader, who was is also the party's Delhi in-charge,said the AAP's resounding victory in Delhi was "an accident for politicsin India". "People just voted for them as they were angry with the twoother parties. It was a bitter saga of Indian politics," he said.He said that conditions in Delhi and Punjab were "different" and a lothad changed since then."There is a lot of difference between Delhi and Punjab. There was adifferent kind of atmosphere in Delhi. They won 67 seats after winning32 seats in an earlier election. But in Punjab it is not the case. They havefour MPs but three have revolted against the party and the fourth(Bhagwant Maan) is under scrutiny for his role in putting a video ofparliament on social media," he said.He said the AAP has lost its credibility by actions of its government inDelhi. "They talk about ethics and principles in politics but do not abideby them. Their real character is visible to the people now. Their leadershave made headlines for wrong reasons. Be it Sandeep Kumar orBhagwant Maan or anybody else." Sandeep Kumar was dropped fromthe cabinet and suspended from the AAP after a video showed him in acompromising position with a woman. He was arrested after the womancomplained of rape. His wife, however, continues to stand by him.Jha, a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, also said that theAAP government in Delhi has been on a constant path of confrontationwith the central government. "Has it ever happened in Indian democ-racy that a bureaucrat who accidentally becomes Chief Minister, andthat too of a union territory, challenges the Prime Minister and allegesthat the PM may have him murdered," Jha asked.Answering a query on cicketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu,who has decided to float a party after resigning from the BJP, Jha saideverybody has a right to take his own decisions in a democracy. "He isnot our problem. Basically, he was a cricketer and is not a leader. Hehas as much understanding of politics as a cricketer has." Jha said thatthe "drug problem" will not be a major election issue in the state andaccused the AAP and the Congress of "defaming" the Punjab, which hasseveral laurels to its credit in fields ranging from agriculture to sports. "At anarmy recruitment camp not even one percent of youth from the state werefound to be drug addicts. The AAP and the Congress have challenged thedignity of Punjab. The youth of the state are against them," he said.

Modi raises black money,tax evasion at G20HANGZHOU (CHINA), (IANS) Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday raised the issues of black money and tax eva-sion at the G20 Summit here, urging member countries to actagainst financial corruption. On the second day of the Summithere, Modi said: "Fighting corruption, black money and tax eva-sion were central to effective financial governance."Modi urged the grouping to show full commitment to action againstfinancial corruption and said effective financial governance re-quired action against the corrupt and elimination of safe havensfor economic offenders."We need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offend-ers, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderersand break down the web of complex international regulationsand excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and theirdeeds," Modi said in his address at the G20.Representing 85 per cent of the world's GDP, the G20 is com-posed of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France,Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, SaudiArabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and theEuropean Union. Making his intervention in the discussion on'More Effective and Efficient Global Economic and Financial Gov-ernance at the G-20 summit', Modi called for fur ther strengthen-ing the global financial safety net. "We need a regular dialoguebetween the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and BilateralSwap Arrangements. Impor tant mechanisms like financial sta-bility board should stick to their core mandate."



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016 s p e c i a l r e p o r t

SHIROMANI AKALI DAL WORKERS STAGE A DEMONSTRATION AGAINST FORMER DELHI MINISTER AND AAP LEADER SANDEEPKUMAR IN AMRITSAR (IANS).

70% Indians want Modi back as PM in 2019,over 50% want liquor ban: App-based poll

NEW DELHI, (IANS) Seventy per cent of Indians -- mostly young --wish to re-elect Narendra Modi as Prime Minister in 2019, an onlinepoll said on Friday. However, women's suppor t for the re-election ofthe government was marginally lower at 64 per cent.The poll was conducted by news app Inshor ts in collaboration withmarketing agency Ipsos. It said that out of the 63,141 users whoresponded to the question on bringing Narendra Modi to power again,70 per cent voted yes, 17 per cent voted no and 13 per cent wereundecided. The poll was conducted on the app.Compared to other categories, suppor t for the government is margin-ally lower among females with 64 per cent respondents voting yes,18 per cent voting no and 18 per cent remaining undecided, accordingto the second edition of "Youth of the Nation Poll". In the survey, con-ducted between July 25 and August 7, 80 per cent of the respondentswere aged below 35."We are delighted to validate the survey methodology and executionby providing an insight into what is young urban India's outlook ongovernance, politics, business, career and technology, objectively,"

said Azhar Iqubal, CEO and Co-Founder of Inshor ts.In the poll, more than half (57 per cent) of the respondents were infavour of a liquor ban in cer tain states. When asked if student politicsshould be banned in college campuses, 61 per cent respondents votedyes, 32 per cent said no and seven per cent voted "cannot say".Among students, 54 per cent voted yes, 37 per cent voted no and nineper cent said they were undecided.On the rise in atrocities against Dalits and minorities in the last twoyears, 33 per cent said it was true, 46 per cent voted no and 21 percent were undecided. Among women respondents, 38 per cent saidDalits and minorities were getting a raw deal while 35 per cent votedno and 27 per cent went for "cannot say". According to Amit Adarkar,CEO, Ipsos India, the way youth perceive national issues across dif-ferent domains was insightful. "After all, these are all educated, tech-savvy youngsters with a point of view. And their voice counts," Adarkarsaid. For ty nine per cent respondents approved of the government'shandling of protests in Kashmir after the death of Burhan Wani while24 per cent disapproved of it.

SAMIA SHAHID KILLED FOR HONOURFATHER, EX-HUSBAND, UNCLE ARRESTED IN PAKISTAN

LONDON/ISLAMABAD, (IANS) The uncle of a British woman who died inPakistan in a suspected so-called "honour killing" has been arrested onsuspicion of falsifying medical files, media reports said recently. It isunderstood that Haq Nawaz was held by police in the Punjab city ofJhelum after an alleged attempt to prove she died of natural causes, theBBC reported.The arrest comes after her father and first husband were remanded incustody till September 5 in connection with her death. While her formerhusband, Chaudhry Muhammad Shakeel, is accused of murder and isreported to have confessed to strangling her with her scarf, ChaudhryMuhammad Shahid, her father, is being held as an accessory to hermurder. according to local police.Samia Shahid, 28, from Bradford, died in July in northern Punjab whenshe had been visiting family in the village of Pandori, and her relativesinitially claimed she had suffered a heart attack. In a second develop-ment, the policeman who initially headed the murder investigation hasalso been arrested.Aqeel Abbas is being held for allegedly trying to conceal evidence relat-ing to Shahid's death. Her second husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazim, be-lieves she was the victim of a so-called honour killing as her family didnot approve of their marriage, the BBC added. A post-mortem examina-tion confirmed she died as a result of being strangled. On Friday, policetold the BBC they intended to proceed with a prosecution against bothShahid's father and first husband for her murder.It was found that he former husband of a Pakistani-origin British woman

who was allegedly killed for "honour" in Punjab province on July 20, hada criminal record, investigations showed. According to the police inves-tigations, locals in Pandoori -- the native village of the 28-year-old victim,Samia Shahid -- said that the accused, former husband and also a cousinChaudhry Shakil, had faced an 18-month jail term on charges of firing andinjuring a person, Dawn online reported on Monday.

MODI SAYS COMMITTED TODALIT WELFARE, PITCHESFOR SIMULTANEOUS POLLSNEW DELHI, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has de-cried attempts to politicise atrocities against Dalits, cau-tioned BJP leaders against reckless statements and said hehad not nur tured thoughts of carrying out a vendetta againsthis political opponents. In an interview with CNN-News 18,Modi also said he wanted to bring a White Paper on thecondition of the country's economy after assuming power in2014 but refrained from it in the national interest.He made a strong pitch for simultaneous elections to LokSabha, assemblies and local bodies and hoped a favourabledecision would be taken by various stakeholders in consul-tation with the Election Commission as it would boost thecountry's development. Modi took digs at the previous Con-gress-led UPA government, saying that his two-and-half-year old government had ended "mood of despondency"and "condition of paralysis".Talking on a wide range of issues in the 75 minute interviewincluding the Kashmir situation and black money, Modi wasmore vocal about the Dalit issue and condemned some re-cent attacks on the community that have shocked the nationafter self-styled cow vigilantes beat up four youth for skin-ning a dead cow in Gujarat's Una. "As far as some incidentsare concerned they need to be condemned. There is no placefor (such incidents) in a civilised society," Modi said.Noting that "law and order is a state subject", he ridiculedattempts to turn this "social problem deeply rooted" in In-dian society into a political issue and said he was not to beblamed for any anti-Dalit violence. "Some (people) are se-lectively picking issues and blaming Modi. Politics oversocial imbalances is a disservice to society, to all thosewho have faced injustice for generations," he said, addingsome people had a problem with the fact that he is a "devo-tee" of Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar."I'm devoted to the welfare of all Dalits, the oppressed, un-derprivileged and deprived. Those who have fed this coun-try with the poison of caste divide have destroyed the coun-try." The caste factor is considered critical for the 2017 as-sembly elections in Uttar Pradesh that has a sizeable Dalitpopulation and where the Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP) hasnot been in power since 2002. Elections are due next yearalso in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur.Modi said the BJP will fight these polls on the issues ofdevelopment, and its focus will be jobs, peace, unity andsocial justice. "Our focus will be the welfare of farmers,villages, jobs for the youth and we will stay committed tothe cause of social justice." The Prime Minister also re-jected any notions that he was following the politics of ven-detta. Asked if he will not be sparing any "dynasty", Modisaid he has never tried to get any file opened to settle politi-cal scores. "I do not think from a political perspective... Ihave been a Chief Minister for 14 years. I never opened afile for political reasons. We have not advised opening anyfile from a political point of view. This interpretation that weare not sparing any dynasty is wrong," he said, in an refer-ence to Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Rob-er t Vadra's questionable land deals in Haryana.Terming the proposed Goods and Service tax as the biggesttax reform since Independence, Modi also said he haswarned those with black money to declare it before thegiven deadline of September 30, as stern action might betaken after that.On some controversial remarks of his own par ty leaders,he said: "I want to tell the politicians also... I will ask mypar ty leaders also that reckless statements, saying any-thing about anyone or any person's community... Media willcome to you, they need their TRP but you are answerable tothe nation." In another veiled attack on Congress, Modi saidthat the "crowd in Lutyen's Delhi" had not duly acknowl-edged contributions of leaders like Sardar Patel, MorarjiDesai and Charan Singh.

BJP, SP to win equal numberof seats in UP polls: SurveyNEW DELHI, (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the rul-ing Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh appear to be in a neck-and-neck contest in the state assembly election due early nextyear, with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) projected to come third, asurvey said on Friday. The India TV-C Voter survey projects BJP towin within a range of 134 to 150 seats, while the SP is projected towin 133 to 149 seats, both short of a clear majority in the 403-seatassembly. The survey projected Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) towin 95 to 111 seats, while the Congress, which has already starteda high-voltage poll campaign in the state, is projected to win only 5to 13 seats. Others, including independents, are projected to winwithin a range of 4 to 12 assembly seats. The survey is based on a"random stratified sample" of 20,642 respondents interviewedacross all 403 assembly segments between August 1 and 31, andthe data has been weighted to known demographic profile, accord-ing to C Voter, which conducted the survey. Per centage-wise, theBJP has been projected to get 27.79 per cent vote -- with a hugeswing of 12.78 per cent in its favour -- compared to 15.01 per centthat the party garnered in the 2012 assembly polls. The SP comesnext with 27.51 per cent, a 1.64 per cent drop from its 2012 voteshare of 29.15 per cent. The BSP comes third with 25.44 per cent, a0.47 drop from its 2012 votes share of 25.91 per cent, while theCongress vote share appears to have dropped from 11.63 per centin 2012 to 6.19 per cent in the current survey. Chief Minister AkhileshYadav leads the list of 'first choice for CM post' with 32.8 per cent inhis favour, closely followed by BSP supremo Mayawati with 28.2per cent. "Any BJP leader" gets 26 per cent support while Congresschief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit comes fourth with 5.1 percent. The BJP is yet to announce its chief ministerial candidate inUP. Asked whether they wanted a change in the current state gov-ernment, 58.6 per cent respondents answered in the affirmative, but34.8 per cent said No, with 6.6 per cent undecided. The present UPassembly's tenure expires in March next year, and the elections arelikely to be held in January-February.

NAVJOT SIDHU FORMS 'NEW' POLITICAL FRONT;MORE DETAILS ON CHANNEL Y'S YOUTUBE PAGE

CHANDIGARH, (IANS) Former BJPparliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhuon Friday floated a new politicalfront 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' online - put-ting an end to all speculation of hisjoining the Aam Aadmi Par ty.Hockey Olympian and Punjab's rul-ing Shiromani Akali Dal legislatorPargat Singh and two Independentlegislators, Balwinder Singh Bainsand Simarjit Singh Bains, have alsojoined hands with Sidhu.The 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' -- a politicalfront not a party -- will be formallylaunched next week in Chandigarh,party insiders said. They were fea-tured in a poster, also posted onPargat Singh's Facebook post.They announced the political frontto contest Punjab assembly elec-tions, slated early next year.Former captain of the Indian hockeyteam Pargat Singh, the sitting AkaliDal legislator from Jalandhar Canttassembly seat, was placed under

suspension along with anotherAkali legislator Inderbir SinghBolaria for "anti-party activities" onJuly 19. "Pargat Singh, Bains broth-ers and we have formed a fourthalternative," Navjot Kaur Sidhu,wife of the cricketer-turned-politi-cian Navjot Sidhu, told IANS.Sidhu had resigned from the RajyaSabha on July 18, sparking offspeculation that he may join theAAP. Aam Aadmi Party's state unitrecently sacked chief Sucha SinghChottepur, and its suspended Mem-ber of Parliament DharamvirGandhi are likely to join the frontalong with AAP and Akali Dalrebels. Simranjit Bains said thefront would contest on all 117 seatsof Punjab. Senior AAP leaderDurgesh Pathak on Friday said thatformer BJP parliamentarian NavjotSingh Sidhu's move of forming apolitical front in Punjab will haveno effect on the party. "There will

be no effect on Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) in Punjab. They par ty willkeep on with its work in Punjab,"Pathak, who has played a key rolein building the party in Punjab, toldIANS. Sidhu on Friday floated anew pol i t ical f ront 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' online - putting an end toall speculation of his joining theAAP. Sidhu had resigned from theRajya Sabha on July 18, sparkingspeculation that he may join theAAP. AAP recently sacked i ts

Punjab convenor Sucha SinghChottepur from the post on cor-ruption charges. Hockey Olym-pian and Punjab's ru l ingShiromani Akali Dal legislatorPargat Singh and two Independentlegis lators, Balwinder SinghBains and Simarjit Singh Bains,have also joined hands with Sidhu.The 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' -- a political frontnot a party -- will be formally launchednext week in Chandigarh, party insid-ers said.


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016c o m m u n i t y

MPP Glen Murray, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, MP Salma Zahid, MPP and Associate Minister of education Indira Naidoo-Harris,Ontario Liberal candidate Piragal Thiru and MP Gary Anandasangaree at the second annual Tamil Fest in Scarborough North.

Ontario has been named the best place in Canada to invest by aleading international magazine of corporate real estate strategyand economic development. Site Selection magazine announcedOntario is the winner of the "Canadian Competitiveness Award." Itranked the province as the most competitive in Canada for severalreasons, including:" Ontario was number one in job creation associated with corpo-rate investment, while coming in second in terms of incominginvestments related to acquiring or upgrading physical assets suchas property, industrial buildings and equipment" Ontario metro areas were home to twice as much investmentproject activity than the next closest province" Ontario cities accounted for half of the top 10 metro-area andregional economic development groups in Canada, including orga-nizations in Hamilton, London, Toronto, Mississauga and Brantford.Making Ontario a leading investment destination is one of the waysOntario is delivering on its top priority to grow the economy and createjobs. "I am very pleased Ontario won the Canadian Competitiveness Award.Our province is one of the best places in the world to invest, and we willkeep working hard to grow our economy, break down trade barriers, andcreate good jobs across the province." Brad Duguid, Minister ofEconomic Development and Growth

Ontario Named BestPlace in Canada to Invest

COUNCILLOR GURPREET DHILLON WITH CREDITVIEW SENIORS CLUB CELEBRATING MULTICULTURAL DAY.

BRAMPTON - Kamal Khera hosted an immigration townhall meetingto engage the residents of Brampton West. Khera was joined by JohnMcCallum, Minister of Immigration, Citizenship, and Refugees, SoniaSidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South, and Raj Grewal,Member of Parliament for Brampton East. Approximately five hundredresidents attended this event. Residents discussed changes to theimmigration streams currently available, services for newcomers, inter-national student issues, integration of new technologies to the applicationprocessing system, and filling the gaps in our demographics and oureconomy. McCallum has spent the summer travelling from coast to coastto coast, collection input on the direction our immigration system shouldtake. "It was good to hear about upcoming changes from Minister McCallumfirst-hand; we are more confident now", said a resident.

MP KAMAL KHERA HOSTSIMMIGRATION TOWNHALL WITH

MINISTER JOHN MCCALLUM



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016 c o m m u n i t y

MAYOR LINDA JEFFREY RECOGNIZES PUNJAB STUDENTS CLUB PHILLAUR. SEEN IN THE IMAGE ARE COUNCILLOR GURPREET DHILLON, MP RAJ GREWAL AND MP SONIA SIDHU.

Peel Police's instructions forBack to School road safetyPEEL - As students and their families settle back into school-yearroutines following the summer break, Peel Regional Police wishes toreinforce with motorists and pedestrians that road safety is a sharedresponsibility. Motorists are reminded that children will be in bus stopareas in the early morning hours and, in some cases, before daylight.When a school bus has stopped and activated its flashing red lights, allvehicles travelling behind or approaching the bus must come to acomplete stop before reaching the bus. Drivers who fail to stop in theseconditions face a minimum $400.00 fine and six demerit points for afirst offence. Parents are encouraged to review and practice safetyrules with their children, and to ensure the child is familiar with his/herroute to the bus or school. Along with students this September, PeelRegional Police will be visiting and patrolling schools zones in order toencourage and enforce pedestrian and driver safety. These officerswill represent front line Uniform Patrol, Divisional Traffic Units andRoad Safety Services. They will be out in full force in school zones andon school bus routes, in search of traffic violations. Violators canexpect a zero tolerance approach to enforcing the rules of the road. PeelRegional Police urges motorists to drive safely, responsibly and free fromdistractions at all times and to be extra vigilant when travelling throughresidential areas, in school zones and along bus routes. For additionalsafety tips, visit our website at Back To School Safety Tips.

Going Green with Solar EnergyMISSISSAUGA - The City of Mississauga is leasing roof spaceat the Huron Park Recreation Centre and the BurnhamthorpeCommunity Centre for solar power generation. The installationsupports the Provincial Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program to encour-age the use of renewable energy technologies in Mississauga. The instal-lation also supports the City's strategic direction and environmental visionto promote the utilization of technologies to:" conserve energy and water;" reduce emissions and waste;" improve air quality; and" protect the natural environment.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie with Pakistan's High Commissioner Tariq Azim Khan and new Consul General Imran Ahmed Siddiqui.

Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities with members of Bhartiya Cultural Society.

Home caregiver 90 yrs old elderly with dementiaand kidney dialysis. Full time, 13.76 p/hr. 40 hrs in aweek. Duties plan: Prepare meal and serve, GivingBath, Assisting Person Hygiene, Accompany MedicalAppointment, Encourage Walking & Light HouseKeeping such as Cooking, Laundry and Cleaning.

Contact: SESHANTRI VISWASAM89 Angus Glen Blvd. Markham On L6C 1Z4

C L A S S I F I E D

Toronto Mayor joins global mayors in urgingG20 leaders to confront climate change

TORONTO - Mayor John Tory and leaders from 30 of the world's majorcities have joined together to call on G20 leaders representing 20 ofthe world's largest economies to act faster in tackling climate change.In a joint letter issued days before the G20 leaders will meet inHangzhou, China, the call puts pressure on the major nations of theworld to deliver on the promises of the Paris Agreement, which wassigned by 180 countries in December 2015. "I stand with the othermayors to call on heads of state to make the Paris Agreement areality," said Mayor Tory. "Toronto has already achieved a 24 per centreduction since 1990 in its greenhouse gas emissions. I believe thebest way for us to honour our commitments is to build transit, repair

and retrofit TCHC housing and invest in our infrastructure to helpcreate a more livable, sustainable city. We will bring forward an up-dated climate action plan later this year through our TransformTOinitiative to help ensure that we continue to deliver significant carbonreductions." The letter to G20 leaders notes that global greenhousegas emissions need to peak by 2020 in order to limit the global tem-perature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,a key goal of the Paris Agreement. The letter also says that achievingthe target for reduced emissions is one of the greatest political, economic andpractical challenge for leaders at every level, and says the mayors ofthe megacities of the world will be "great allies in this task."

Ontario Selects First Grocers to Sell WineONTARIO - Ontario has selected the first grocers that could sell both domestic and impor ted wine inside up to 70 grocery storesacross the province, increasing convenience and choice for consumers. The winning grocers from across Ontario were selected viaa competitive bidding process held by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).The sale of wine in grocery stores is scheduled to begin October 28, 2016. Reflecting a mix of independent and large grocers andgeographic representation to ensure fairness, the successful grocers are:" Canex Canadian Forces Exchange System" Coppa's Fresh Market" Farm Boy 2012 Inc." Fresh Market Foods" Highland Farms Inc." Loblaws Inc." Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc." Metro Ontario Inc." Sobeys Capital Inc." Starsky's Fine Foods Hamilton Inc." Uxbridge Foods Inc." Wal-mar t Canada Corp." Yummy Market Inc.While offering consumers more convenience and choice, Ontario maintains a strong commitment to social responsibility. By law,these grocers will have to abide by the requirements for the safe sale of alcohol overseen by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission ofOntario (AGCO), including designated sales areas and standard hours of sale, limitations on package sizes and alcohol content andstaffing and social responsibility training requirements. Ontario is also developing a comprehensive alcohol policy to promote theresponsible sale and use of alcohol.

PEEL POLICE SEARCH FORMISSING 69-YEAR-OLD MALEBRAMPTON - Officers from the 22Division Criminal InvestigationBureau are seeking the assistanceof the public to locate a missing69 year-old male from Brampton.Shamsher Virk was last seen onThursday, September 1, 2016, atapproximately 6:00 p.m., by hisfamily at his residence when hewent for a walk. He was last seenin the area of Ivy Lea Cr t. andForrester Dr. in Brampton but has previously walked long dis-tances when disoriented.Police and family are concerned for the safety and well-beingof Shamsher Virk. Virk is a diabetic and has not taken hisrequired medication, increasing concerns for his health.Peel Regional Police are currently conducting a region-wide search for Shamsher Virk and are asking the assis-tance of citizens and par tners in the GTA to check localbusinesses and park areas for the missing par ty.Shamsher Virk is described as male, South Asian, 5'6, 160lbs, medium build and long white beard. Shamsher Virkwas last seen wearing a long white shir t, white pants, blackturban and black dress shoes. Anyone with information onthe whereabouts of Shamsher Virk is asked to call theirlocal police agency or Peel Regional Police at (905) 453-3311 ext. 2233.


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016opinion

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HATE CRIMES AGAINST SIKHSBY JAIDEEP SARIN

IS ALL LOST FOR MEHBOOBAMUFTI AND HER PARTY?

BY SHEIKH QAYOOM

SGPC REACHES OUT TO OTHER COUNTRIESCHANDIGARH, (IANS) With scores of attacks being reported againstSikhs abroad, especially in the West, the religion's mini-parliament,the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), has decidedto reach out to governments and people in other countries to point outthat Sikhs should not be confused with Muslims.With anti-Islam and anti-Muslim sentiment in some western coun-tries, par ticularly the United States, Britain and countries in Europe,on the rise following a spate of terrorist incidents carried out by fun-damentalist and radical Muslim groups, it is the Sikh communitywhich is also being targeted out of ignorance."We are going to publish lakhs of brochures in which we will explainwhat the Sikh religion is and how it is different from Islam. We willalso point out that Sikhs should not be confused with Muslims," SGPCPresident Avtar Singh Makkar said.The main reason for the Sikhs being targeted in Western countries istheir appearance -- especially their beard and turban. To create aware-ness among people in other countries about Sikhs, the SGPC willdistribute the "Identification Brochures" in these countries throughIndian embassies and other institutions.Makkar said the Sikhs were being targeted as they were being mis-taken as Muslims or Arabs. "Our identity is different from Muslims.Our thinking and ideology is different. Our customs are different, ourappearance is different. Westerners, despite being intelligent, cannotdifferentiate between Sikhs and Muslims. I am surprised at this,"Makkar said."The brochures will contain all information about identification of Sikhs,their culture and values. These will be sent to all Indian embassiesfor fur ther distribution in the respective countries. Brochures willalso be sent to governments of these countries," Makkar said.The SGPC is planning to distribute the brochures to millions of people

who come to the holiest of Sikh shrines, Harmandar Sahib (popularlyknown as the Golden Temple) in Amritsar and other famous Sikhshrines. A large number of devotees to these shrines are non-resi-dent Indians (NRIs) and foreigners. Just four days (September 15)after the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks in New York by Al-Qaedaoperatives, a 49-year-old gas station owner, Balbir Singh Sodhi, wasshot dead by a paranoid American in Arizona. This was followed byan attack on a gurdwara (Sikh temple) by miscreants in November2001 in New York's Palermo area.Since then, hundreds of hate crimes against Sikhs, including the shoot-ing at the gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in August 2012, havebeen repor ted from different par ts of the world. According to Sikh

Coalition, a forum for Sikhs, in the months following 9/11, over 300incidents of hate crimes against Sikhs were reported. However, notall Sikhs are gung-ho about the SGPC move."It is too little, too late; 9/11 happened 15 years back. What is thereason for waking up now? Sikhs in other countries may be sufferingdue to identity confusion but they can take care of themselves. ManySikhs, especially the younger generation, do not spor t turbans andbeards. Discrimination, based on religious identity, is a reality in other coun-tries. The SGPC move is hardly going to help," Harman Singh, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, told IANS. The SGPC, which manages gurdwaras in Punjaband some other states and has an annual budget of Rs 1,200 crore($180 million), is supposed to the custodian of Sikh religious affairs.

The trail of death and destruction left behind by nearly four weeks ofunrest in the Kashmir Valley has dealt a serious blow to the politicalbase of the ruling Peoples Democratic Par ty (PDP). The worst af-fected south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian andKulgam -- the political bastion of the PDP -- have turned into thepar ty's Waterloo.The cycle of violence has left 71 people dead and over 11,000injured. And most of casualties in the deadliest unrest the valleyhas seen in six years are from the south. In fact, the unrest star tedfrom there after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was kil led inBamdoora village of Anantnag on July 8 in a gunfight with thesecurity forces. Wani belonged to Tral town -- also in the south.While violence and public demonstrations have been widespreadin the valley after Wani's death, the magnitude of anger and pro-tests has been massive in this PDP stronghold.Out of 28 seats the PDP won in the 2014 elections, most werefrom the south. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her late fatherMuft i Muhammad Sayeed themselves belong to the town ofBijbehara in Anantnag. In fact, Mehbooba has won all her elec-tions from south Kashmir. But today the space seems to haveshrunk -- not only for Mehbooba and her PDP colleagues, but alsofor all mainstream politicians.None of the PDP or opposition National Conference (NC) MLAshas been able to hold a single public meeting since the unreststar ted. In fact, none of these political representatives is repor t-edly living in their homes in these constituencies at present. Theyhave shifted to the safety of their government accommodation inSrinagar or Jammu.Except for an odd political statement, all mainstream politiciansare conspicuous by their absence from the constituencies. Angeragainst the PDP is palpable because the par ty is in power and thepeople blame it for their sufferings. Given the pro-separatistgroundswell that followed the unrest, mainstream politics -- es-pecially that of the ruling par ty -- has been confined to officialmeetings and drawing rooms. The separatists, once believed tobe somewhat "sympathetic towards the PDP", are today gunningfor the par ty.Known for her soft posturing towards the separatists in the past,Mehbooba is now taking them head-on. The Chief Minister hasblamed them for pushing innocent youths into stone pelting whilewarning them that violence would yield no positive result except tobring more misery for the common man.Under these circumstances, the PDP is battling anger from the verypeople who voted it in as an alternative to the NC. Logically, the PDP'sloss should have been the NC's gain. But, given the complexities ofthe Kashmir situation, this has not been the case. Former Chief Min-ister and working President of the NC, Omar Abdullah, has been issu-ing statements to stage a political comeback in a situation where hisrivals are shrinking fast.The alliance with the right-wing BJP, the use of pellet guns, unendingcur fews, shattered tourism are some of the issues raked up byMehbooba's opponents against her. They also say that the crisis hasproved that her administrative inexperience was the reason for her

reluctance to assume power after her father's death. Her anxietyover what happened in Kashmir when she remained engaged in de-velopmental activities became evident when she lost her cool dur-ing a joint press conference with Rajnath Singh here last week.Her image is badly bruised in the public eye and her political rivalsare using this to regain lost ground. Senior PDP leader and LokSabha member Muzaffar Hussain Baig has said unless the terms ofalliance signed with the BJP are fulfilled in letter and spirit thePDP might pull out of the ruling coalition.The BJP has decided to continue the alliance with the PDP de-spite the alarming situation in Kashmir. The central governmentwould not like to intervene by imposing Governor's Rule in Jammuand Kashmir because that would mean removal of the only political inter-face between the security forces and the people.In the given situation the only way out for Mehbooba is to remain in power, workfor peace and normalcy, and then try to rebuild her personal image as well as thatof her party. While peace and normalcy remain the main agenda of governancein Jammu and Kashmir at the moment, the PDP and Mehbooba needmuch more than good luck to regain lost political ground in Kashmir.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016 c a n a d a

416-907-4420

Canada applying for AIIB membershipBEIJING, (IANS) Canada has decided to apply for membership ofthe Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Finance MinisterBill Morneau said recently. If Canada joins the AIIB, it will be thefirst Nor th American member of the multilateral bank, Xinhua newsagency repor ted. Canada's membership will contribute signifi-cantly to the bank's development, AIIB President Jin Liqun said,adding that all countries interested in the AIIB were welcome toapply for membership. "The decision of Canada to join AIIB isvery welcome and shows its confidence in the strong founda-tions the bank has built in our first few months," Jin said.Canada's Depar tment of Finance said the AIIB will help sustain

growth in Asia and represents an oppor tunity to fur ther engagein multilateral infrastructure effor ts that suppor t inclusiveeconomic growth in Asia and beyond.The AIIB, a not-for-profit bank initiated by China, was officiallyestablished last December and star ted operating in January.With authorised capital of $100 billion and 57 founding mem-bers, it prioritises investment in energy, power, transport, ruralinfrastructure, environmental protection and logistics. China isCanada's second largest trading partner. The trade between the twocountries amounted to over $67 billion last year, a 10.1 per centincrease year-on-year, according to Canadian statistics.

ONTARIO EXPANDS ECONOMIC TIESWITH STATE OF JALISCO, MEXICO

MEXICO - While at the Climate Summit of the Americas in Mexico,Premier Kathleen Wynne released the following statement after hermeeting with Governor of the State of Jalisco Jorge AristótelesSandoval Díaz: "Today, Jalisco Governor Sandoval and I signed aMemorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Ontario and Jaliscoto strengthen and expand our economic, environmental, scientificand cultural ties.This cooperative agreement builds on our regions' strong connec-tion in areas including climate change, science and technology,higher education, tourism, health sciences and innovation. Theagreement will make it easier for business leaders, scientists andinnovators in Jalisco and Ontario to work together towards common

goals, such as fighting climate change and developing new low-carbon technologies. With climate change a key priority, the MOUlays the groundwork for Jalisco and Ontario to share information oncarbon pricing to reduce emissions, including potential jointinitiatives. The MOU will also help businesses and other institu-tions share information across borders via more internationalmissions, trade shows, conferences and meetings.Ontario's economic growth depends on our ability to remaincompetitive and cooperative globally. Par tnerships facilitated bythis historic MOU with Jalisco help to expand our trade networks,suppor t job creation, enhance scientific cooperation and strengthenour economy."

Ontario, Québec and Mexico Committed To Fight Climate Change

MEXICO - Ontario has signed a joint declaration with Québec andMexico, committing to working together to fight climate change.Ontario signed the agreement during Premier Kathleen Wynne's mis-sion to Mexico. The agreement will drive progress on the commoncommitment to pricing carbon.All par ties are in Guadalajara, Mexico for the 2016 Climate Summit ofthe Americas. The trilateral declaration establishes the foundation forsharing information and exper tise on carbon markets and opportuni-ties to reduce greenhouse gas pollution while driving innovation andsuppor ting strong economic growth. International climate changeagreements suppor t the 2015 Paris Agreement signed at COP21 andhelp achieve regional, national and international greenhouse gas re-duction targets.Mexico recently announced that it will pilot a new carbon marketstar ting in fall 2016. Ontario intends to link its cap and trade programto Québec and California's under the Western Climate Initiative, Nor thAmerica's largest carbon market. Ontario's cap and trade programwill reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reward innovative compa-nies and create more opportunities for investment and job creation, in

par ticular in Ontario's leading cleantech sector."To effectively fight climate change, we must work together on a glo-bal scale. Mexico, Ontario and Québec are driving real progress onreducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions. This milestone decla-ration will boost cooperation between our three regions and drive thereduction of carbon emissions across Nor th America. I look forwardto working together on common goals including advancing carbonmarkets and cap and trade programs across Nor th America." KathleenWynne, Premier of Ontario"Today, Ontario, Québec and Mexico took a major step forward to-gether to change our world for the better. This new agreement rein-forces cap and trade's vital role in fighting climate change. Like Mexico,regions around the world are recognizing that adopting a market-basedapproach to pricing carbon is a proven way to reduce greenhouse gaspollution while encouraging a stronger, more sustainable economy.Our province is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with other leaderscommitted to ensuring our future generations inherit a healthier planet."Glen R. Murray, Ontario Minister of the Environment and ClimateChange.

Canada, China deepen ties,sign deals worth $1.2 billionBEIJING - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his first officialvisit to China made it Government of Canada's top priority tocreate a stronger, more stable and long-term relationship withChina. In discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping andPremier Li Keqiang, the Prime Minister explored ways todeepen the mutual understanding between both countries,increase connections between Canadian and Chinese com-munities, bolster our shared prosperity, and grow Canada'smiddle class. Following successful meetings, the two coun-tries announced several significant new initiatives spanningculture, tourism, environmental cooperation, trade and in-vestment, and the rule of law.In keeping with the impor tance of renewing Canada-Chinarelations, both countries agreed to hold an annual Leaders'dialogue through which a broad range of issues, includingsensitive topics, will be discussed on the basis of mutualrespect. Prime Minister Trudeau and President Xi also agreedto work collaboratively to ensure a successful G20 Leaders'Summit in Hangzhou, China, later in the week. A strongerCanada-China relationship will unlock the untapped potentialin our two countries' commercial ties, grow our middle class,and create new oppor tunities for Canadian businesses."When I met with political and business leaders in Beijing, Iwas received with a great deal of warmth and respect. I lookforward to addressing all topics of interest - including goodgovernance and the rule of law - as we pursue more regularand frank dialogue. I am encouraged by the discussions to-day, and know that they will go a long way in deepening un-derstanding between our two countries and increasing op-por tunities for our middle class. I also made it clear to theleaders I met that Canada wants to increase engagement witha peaceful, stable, and prosperous China." Justin Trudeau.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang while in China.

TRUDEAU STRENGTHENSCOMMERCIAL TIES WITH CHINADURING VISIT TO SHANGHAI

SHANGHAI - The Government of Canada remains committedto build and renew relationships with international par tnersin order to increase trade, attract international investment,and grow Canada's middle class. As par t of his official visitto China Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, visited Shanghai overthe past two days where he met with local business andgovernment leaders.In meetings with members of the Canada China BusinessCouncil and in roundtables with women entrepreneurs, thePrime Minister discussed how to strengthen Canada's com-mercial ties with China - especially how to open doors forsmall and medium-sized enterprises. He also expressed thatCanada welcomes investment from China that will generatejobs and enhance economic growth back home.This meetings emphasized the impor tance of building rela-tionships with international partners over time that result innew oppor tunities for the middle class and those workinghard to join it."It was great to be in Shanghai and witness exciting newbusiness deals signed between Canadian and Chinese com-panies in such a wide range of fields. We will continue tostrengthen relationships with individuals and companiesaround the world, with the aim of growing our economy andmiddle class back home."In meetings with government and business leaders - includ-ing women entrepreneurs - we explored ways of connectingeven more Canadian businesses, especially small and me-dium-sized enterprises, to the increasingly impor tant Chi-nese market. I am encouraged by the discussions today, andknow they will go a long way in fostering understanding be-tween our two countries and creating oppor tunities for ourmiddle class." Justin Trudeau.


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016c a n a d a

MPP DEBORAH MATTHEWS AND MINISTER OF SCIENCE KIRSTY DUNCAN SPOKE WITH STUDENTSWHO WILL BENEFIT FROM INCREASES TO CANADA STUDENT GRANTS.

G20 SUMMIT: TRUDEAU STRESSES UPONINCLUSIVE GROWTH TO SUPPORT MIDDLE CLASS

HANGZHOU - Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau concluded a three-day visit to Hangzhou, China,where he participated in the G20Leaders' Summit. Canada placesgreat impor tance on workingwith its G20 par tners to helpaddress some of the world'smost pressing challenges - frombuilding prosperity for the middleclass to promoting open and freetrade and investment.At the Hangzhou Summit, G20

leaders discussed concreteways they can boost globaleconomic growth and invest-ment, foster innovation, createjobs, grow the middle class,strengthen the resilience of theglobal financial system, andincrease trade.Prime MinisterTrudeau highlighted the need forstrong, sustainable, andbalanced growth to respond totoday's global economicchallenges.

To this end, he called for the fulland timely implementation ofthe G20 members' growthstrategies aimed at increasingtheir collective gross domesticproduct by two percent by 2018.He also stressed the need tokeep a strong focus on inclusivegrowth that suppor ts the middleclass and those working hard tojoin it, with a par ticular empha-sis on the needs of youth andwomen.

The Prime Minister underlinedthe impor tance of ensuringthat the benefits of free andopen trade and investment arebroadly shared and evenlydistributed among all citizens.He emphasized that thebenefits of growth cannot onlybe felt by the wealthiest onepercent, and that countriescan promote inclusive growthby suppor ting and encourag-ing the social and economic

integration of refugees andmigrants.Prior to the star t of the G20Summit, the Prime Ministerpar ticipated in the B20Summit, an annual meeting ofglobal business leaders,where he promoted Canada'sadvantages as an investmentdestination. "I had a produc-tive Summit with my G20colleagues, where wediscussed how to build an

innovative, interconnected,invigorated and inclusive worldeconomy. Throughout theSummit, I encouraged fellowglobal leaders to focus oninclusive growth that suppor tsthe middle class and thoseworking hard to join it. Thebenefits of growth cannot onlybe felt by the wealthiest one percent - they need to be felt byeveryone." Justin Trudeau,Prime Minister of Canada.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016 i n d i a

Muslim clerics meet Rajnath, propose to take out peace march in Kashmir

MAHILA CONGRESS WORKERS DEMONSTRATING AGAINST DELHI CHIEF MINISTER ARVIND KEJRIWAL AND FORMER DELHI MINIS-TER SANDEEP KUMAR IN NEW DELHI (IANS).

NEW DELHI, (IANS) A delegation of Muslim clerics of the Barelvischool met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday on theKashmir issue and urged him to lead a delegation of Sufi scholarsto the Valley while offering to take out a peace march there them-selves."We met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and proposed that he shouldlead a delegation of Sufi scholars and clerics to Kashmir. We wouldtry to instil some sense in the minds of stone pelting youths,"Maulana Ansar Raza of Garib Nawaz Foundation, who led thedelegation, told IANS.Raza said the 60-odd Sufis from various khanqahs across Indiaplan to take out a peace march in Kashmir with the Quran in onehand and the 'Tiranga' (national tricolour) in the other. He stressedthat Sufism is the way forward in Kashmir. "Sufism is the path oflove and forgiveness. We would speak with the stone-pelting youth,and would try to convince them in the light of Quran, Hadith andtraditions of great Sufi saints to abandon violence," Raza said.

He, however, dismissed the prospect of any talks with separatists."How can we talk to people who are raising 'Pakistan zindabad'slogans? We are very clear that we would not go at their doorsteponly to be turned away by them, like they did to a handful of peoplerecently," he said.Calling the members of all-par ty delegation who went to meetHurriyat leaders on Monday as "chai khor", Raza said that theyshould not have broken away from the delegation and gone to meetthe separatists. "Why should we go to them? Kashmiri kahwa touDilli me bhi milta hai (Kashmiri kahwa is available in Delhi too),"he said.Suppor ting the government's stance on Kashmir, including toreview the facilities given to separatist leaders, Raza said that asolution would cer tainly come out. "The government of India'spolicy and response towards the Kashmir situation is fine, and asolution would definitely come out. Kashmir hamara hai, hamararahega (Kashmir is ours, and would remain ours)," he said.

DREAM ABOUT KEJRIWALBRINGING CHANGE LIESSHATTERED: HAZARENEW DELHI, (IANS) Well known social activist Anna Hazareon Tuesday said his dream about his one-time protege andDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal bringing about a positivechange in the political system lies "shattered". "It is my mis-for tune that the dream of change which I saw in Arvind(Kejriwal) has been shattered now," Anna Hazare told TimesNow news channel in an interview. "I am deeply saddened bywhatever has happened in Arvind's party," he added. Hazare'sremarks came in the wake of the arrest of sacked Delhi min-ister Sandeep Kumar in a rape case. Kumar was sacked asthe Social Welfare Minister by Kejriwal after a sex CD involv-ing him surfaced in public domain. Kumar is the third AAPminister to be removed or forced out of the Cabinet by Kejriwalsince the formation of the state government in February 2015.Jitender Tomar was asked to resign as Law Minister in June2015 after he was accused of forging his college degree.

AAP leader calls charges by MLA 'baseless', to file defamation caseNEW DELHI, (IANS) AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Monday vowed to file a defamation case against a party MLA who accused the formerof "exploiting" women to promise ticket to contest the Punjab assembly polls. "The charges levelled by (Colonel Devinder) Sahrawatagainst me are baseless and malicious. I will file a defamation case against Sahrawat for spoiling my image," Sanjay Singh told the media here. Hesaid the allegation was a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Akali Dal against him and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a bid to derailits campaign in Punjab. "The BJP and Akalis are rattled by the AAP's success in Punjab as they know we are getting over 100 seats there. The DelhiMLA is being used to defame me and the party," he added. In a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP MLA Sehrawat on Sunday said: "I sawdisturbing reports about women being exploited in Punjab in return for ticket. The MLAs of Delhi are unaware about what is being done by partyrepresentatives in Punjab. "Now the situation is getting indefensible and disgraceful. Action needs to be taken to remove rotten elements," Sehrawatsaid. The AAP has emerged as a major player in Punjab, where elections are due early next year.

Pakistan spreading terror, Modi tells G20HANGZHOU (CHINA), (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told the G20 member countries how Pakistan was spreadingterror in South Asia and using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. He also appealed the grouping to "isolate and sanctionsuppor ters of terrorism". At the two-day G20 summit which began in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, India raised the issue ofterrorism at various sessions. Modi told Chinese President XI Jinping how the scourge of terrorism was affecting the region. "There aresome nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. One single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in our region," Modisaid, without naming Pakistan. India's ties with Pakistan have soured after Islamabad declared Jammu and Kashmir terrorist BurhanWani, shot dead by security forces, as a "mar tyr". "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," Modi said. He was speaking during his interventionat the last session of the G20.

NEW DELHI, (IANS) AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Monday vowed tofile a defamation case against a party MLA who accused the formerof "exploiting" women to promise ticket to contest the Punjab assem-bly polls. "The charges levelled by (Colonel Devinder) Sahrawatagainst me are baseless and malicious. I will file a defamation caseagainst Sahrawat for spoiling my image," Sanjay Singh told the me-dia here.He said the allegation was a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Par ty(BJP) and the Akali Dal against him and the Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP)in a bid to derail its campaign in Punjab. "The BJP and Akalis are rattled by the AAP's success in Punjab as theyknow we are getting over 100 seats there. The Delhi MLA is being used todefame me and the party," he added.In a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP MLA Sehrawat onSunday said: "I saw disturbing reports about women being exploited inPunjab in return for ticket. The MLAs of Delhi are unaware about what isbeing done by party representatives in Punjab. "Now the situation isgetting indefensible and disgraceful. Action needs to be taken to removerotten elements," Sehrawat said.Meanwhile, sacked as the Punjab unit chief over corruption charges,AAP leader Sucha Singh Chhotepur on Tuesday accused the party's Delhileadership of selling tickets for the Punjab assembly polls to undeserv-ing candidates for crores of rupees. Chhotepur alleged that the AAP cen-tral leadership did not allow any Punjab leader to take the limelight in thepar ty as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wanted to become thePunjab Chief Minister. Star ting his 'Parivartan Yatra' from Gurdaspur dis-trict, Chhotepur said he was going to AAP volunteers and people to high-light the injustice done to him and people of Punjab by AAP leaders inDelhi. "I have worked day and night for AAP. I spent funds from my side.I was not given any details of crores of rupees raised from funding raisingin Punjab and NRIs. Crores of rupees were sent by NRIs. All money takenaway by AAP leaders in Delhi. The party did not even appoint a treasurerfor Punjab," Chhotepur told supporters in Gurdaspur, 250 km from here."The AAP has no bank account in Punjab. All funding was going toDelhi and there was no account of that. People have contributedfrom Rs 10,000 to Rs 20 lakh for this par ty. There is no account ofthat," he said. Chhotepur, removed as the AAP Punjab conveneron August 26 following allegations of taking money from a AAPsupporter, said he had wanted to highlight a number of wrong thingshappening in the AAP Punjab unit to Kejriwal."I was not given time to meet Kejriwal for six months," Chhotepursaid. "Tickets were given to wrong people by charging Rs 2 to 2.5crore," he alleged. "My par ty has damaged me politically. I havegot great response from volunteers, suppor ters af ter the con-spiracy against me by AAP leaders."

Devinder Sahrawat: Women being exploitedin Punjab in return for ticket by AAPAAP leader calls charges 'baseless', tofile defamation caseAAP tickets sold for money in Punjab:Chhotepur

PM BRIEFED ON STATE SITUATION, HARDLINESTANCE AGAINST SEPARATISTS LIKELY


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016i n d i a

General Accounting & Bookkeeping

AAP: Hope Navjot Sidhu continues fight againstcorruption, Badals; new political front will not affect AAP

FORMER CONGRESS PUNJAB LEADER JAGMEET SINGH BRAR JOINED AAP AND ADDRESSED A PRESS CONFERENCE IN CHANDIGARH.ALSO SEEN IN THE IMAGE ARE AAP LEADERS SANJAY SINGH, MP BHAGWANT MANN AND MP GURPREET GHUGGI (IANS).

KEJRIWAL DUBS MODI 'MRRELIANCE', SAYS PM'MODELLING' FOR COMPANYNEW DELHI, (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwaldubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "Mr. Reliance" af-ter a full page adver tisement of the company's "Jio DigitalLife" appeared in newspapers featuring the Prime Minister's pho-tograph. Kejriwal also took a jibe at Modi for endorsing the brandand advised him to continue "modelling" for the company. "PM asMr Reliance" Kejriwal tweeted. In another tweet he said: "Modi ji.Keep modelling in ads of Reliance. Labourers across the countrywill teach you a lesson in 2019." However, the advertisement clari-fied that the launch is "dedicated to realising our Prime Minister'sDigital India vision for 1.2 billion Indians". It also said: "In the jour-ney of time, there come a few life-changing movements. PrimeMinister's inspiring vision of a Digital India is one such movement."Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday an-nounced that domestic phone calls from the Jio network will be freeforever, and unveiled a four-month introductory offer for everyone ofa zero-tariff voice and data services, began from September 5.

DID RELIANCE TAKE PMO'SPERMISSION FOR MODIPHOTO IN AD: CONGRESSNEW DELHI, (IANS) The Congress on Friday sought to knowwhether Reliance company had taken permission from thePrime Minister's Office (PMO) before using Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's photograph in their full page Jio advertisement,and if not, legal action should be taken against them. A full pageadvertisement of Reliance company's "Jio Digital Life" appeared inthe newspapers on Friday featuring the Prime Minister's photo-graph. "To use PM's photograph in an advertisement, there arecertain norms. According to the norms, as far as we know, whenwe were in power, the ministries had to take the permission from thePrime Minister's Office before using his photograph in an advertise-ment," said Congress senior spokesperson Ajay Maken.

NEW DELHI, (IANS) The AAP on Friday said it hoped former BJPparliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhu, who announced formation of apolitical front in Punjab, would continue with his fight against corrup-tion and Punjab's ruling Badal family. Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singhtold IANS: "The Aam Aadmi Par ty has full faith that Navjot SinghSidhu, his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu and Pargat Singh, as par t of theirnew political front will continue to fight against corruption and theBadal family." Sidhu on Friday floated a new political front 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' online - putting an end to all speculation of his joining the AAP.Sidhu had resigned from the Rajya Sabha on July 18, sparking specu-lation that he may join the AAP.Hockey Olympian and Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal legislatorPargat Singh and two Independent legislators, Balwinder Singh Bainsand Simarjit Singh Bains, have also joined hands with Sidhu. The'Awaaz-e-Punjab' -- a political front not a party -- will be formally launchednext week in Chandigarh, party insiders said. Senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathakon Friday said that former BJP parliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhu's move offorming a political front in Punjab will have no effect on the party. "There will be noeffect on Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP) in Punjab. They par ty will keep onwith its work in Punjab," Pathak, who has played a key role in buildingthe par ty in Punjab, told IANS.

NAVJOT SIDHU'S FRONT A PACK OF DISGRUNTLED LEADERS: BADALCHANDIGARH, (IANS) Terming former BJP parliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhu's new political front 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' as comprising of'disgruntled' leaders, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday said it would hardly have any impact on the state's politics.Addressing public gatherings in Lambi area, he said the people have time and again reposed faith in pro-people and development-oriented policies of the ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance. He said the 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' front was a brainchild of 'fugitive' leaders who wantto satiate their lust for power. Badal said many more such mushrooms would crop up in the state in the coming poll season but people would extend theirsupport only to the ruling alliance. Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday floated the 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' online -- putting an end to all speculation of his joining the Aam AadmiParty. Hockey Olympian and Punjab's Shiromani Akali Dal legislator Pargat Singh and two Independent legislators, Balwinder Singh Bains and Simarjit SinghBains, have also joined hands with Sidhu. Reiterating that the Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP) was like an empty vessel which makes a loudnoise, Badal dared Arvind Kejriwal and company to list even a single pro-people initiative taken by its government in Delhi. He said itwas on record that the AAP government in Delhi has not fulfilled even a single promise made to the people during polls.

NEW DELHI, (IANS) The BJP on Tuesday urged social activist AnnaHazare to once again "rise" for the nation and speak to the peoplefrom the Jantar Mantar here on the "mess" created by the AamAadmi Party (AAP) in the political arena."I request you to please rise for the nation, come to Delhi andspeak clearly to people from the Jantar Mantar on what you feelabout the unhealthy politics of AAP and guide the nation like youdid to fight corruption under the past regimes," Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) Delhi unit President Satish Upadhyay said in his letterto Hazare. He said the people of Delhi expected purity in gover-nance from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "as promisedduring your Jan Andolan days but today Delhi feels ashamed"."Unfor tunately, he has worsened the political atmosphere," theBJP leader added. Upadhyay said lakhs of people in Delhi saw theAAP convenor as a product of Hazare's Jan Andolan and hoped hewill work for a better India. "People thought of Kejriwal as some-one who harboured high ideals and bring the much needeed changein the political atmosphere in the country," the BJP leader said.

BJP urges Hazare to visit Delhi,speak on 'mess' in AAP rule



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016 w o r l d

US PRESIDENTIAL POLL: TRUMP UPTWO POINTS OVER CLINTON

SECURITY OFFICIALS EXAMINE THE BLAST SITE IN NORTHWEST PAKISTAN'S MARDAN (IANS).

WASHINGTON, (IANS) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumphas a two-point edge over Hillary Clinton in the latest survey of likelyvoters out on Tuesday, as the Democratic nominee's post-conventionlead has largely evaporated. Trump and Clinton star t the race to Novem-ber 8, with the New York billionaire topping Clinton 45 to 43 per cent in thenew survey, with Libertarian Gary Johnson standing at seven per centamong likely voters in this poll and the Green Party's Jill Stein at just twoper cent, CNN reported. The topsy-turvy campaign for the presidency hasseen both Clinton and Trump holding a significant lead at some point inthe last two months, though Clinton has topped Trump more often thannot. Most recently, Clinton's convention propelled her to an eight-pointlead among registered voters in an early-August CNN/ORC Poll.Clinton's lead evaporated despite a challenging month for Trump, which saw anoverhaul of his campaign staff, announcements of support for Clinton from severalhigh-profile Republicans and criticism of his campaign strategy. According toCNN, most voters expect to see Clinton prevail in November and 59 per cent thinkshe will be the one to get to 270 electoral votes vs. 34 per cent who thinkTrump has the better shot at winning. Neither major third party candidateappears to be making the gains necessary to reach the 15 per cent

threshold set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, with just threeweeks to go before the first debate on September 26. The new poll findsthe two major party candidates provoke large gaps by gender, age, race,education and partisanship. Among those likely to turn out in the fall, bothcandidates have secured about the same share of their own partisans(92 per cent of Democrats back Clinton, 90 per cent of Republicansbehind Trump) but independents give Trump an edge, 49 per cent say theywould vote for him while just 29 per cent of independent voters backClinton. Another 16 per cent back Johnson and six per cent Stein. Onhonesty, Clinton's backers express greater skepticism about their candi-date than do Trump's supporters. At least 94 per cent of Trump's backers sayhe is more honest while just 70 per cent of those behind Clinton choose her, with 11per cent saying Trump is more trustworthy and 17 per cent saying neither of them.Both candidates remain largely unliked, with majorities saying they have anunfavourable view of each candidate in the new poll. The CNN/ORC Poll wasconducted by telephone between September 1 and 4 among a random nationalsample of 1,001 adults. The survey includes results among 886 registeredvoters and 786 likely voters. For results among registered or likely vot-ers, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

DUTERTE REGRETS HIS REMARKS FOR OBAMAVIENTIANE, (IANS) Philippines President Rodrigo Duter te on Tuesdayexpressed regret over his obscene remarks for US President BarackObama in which he called the latter "son of a whore". Duter te in astatement said his comments "came across as a personal attack onthe US President", Xinhua news agency repor ted.He made the remarks on Monday before flying to Laos, where he wasto meet Obama on the sideline of the Asean and East Asia Summits,EFE news repor ted. However, the White House cancelled the bilateralmeeting after Duter te tore into Obama with an obscenity. The Philip-pines leader in Tuesday's statement said he feels deep regard and anaffinity with Obama, and emphasised that he looked forward at irioningout differences with the US. He said that his government's primaryintention is to chalk out an "independent foreign policy" while promot-

ing closer ties with all nations, especially the US, a long-standingally. The Philippine leader's statement came after he hit out at Obamaand other countries for criticising his controversial war on drugs,terming it an internal matter. Duter te was criticised on several occa-sions for his anti-drug campaign in which 929 persons died in policeoperations and 1,507 others in extra-judicial killings between July 1and August 31. "You must be respectful, do not just throw questions.Putang ina ('son of a bitch' in Tagalog) I will swear at you in thatforum," Duter te said on Monday while referring to Obama. He alsosaid Philippines was no longer a US colony and he was answerableonly to the Philippine people. The cancellation of what was going tobe the first Obama-Duter te meeting has dealt a significant blow todiplomatic relations between the two countries.

UN Security Council con-demns DPRK ballistic mis-sile launchesUNITED NATIONS, (IANS) The UN Security Council on Tuesdaycondemned the recent ballistic missile launches conductedby the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). OnMonday, DPRK fired three ballistic missiles into eastern wa-ters. These launches are in grave violation of the DPRK's inter-national obligations under relevant Security Council resolu-tions, Xinhua news agency quoted the 15-nation Council assaying in a press statement. "The members of the SecurityCouncil deplore all Democratic People's Republic of Koreaballistic missile activities, including these launches, notingthat such activities contribute to the Democratic People's Re-public of Korea's development of nuclear weapons deliverysystems and increase tension," it added. The missile launchescame less than two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a ballis-tic missile from a submarine off its east coastal town of Sinpo,where a submarine base is known to be located, on August 24.The submarine-launched ballistic missile test was conductedin an apparent show of force toward the annual US-South Koreamilitary drills, code-named Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG),which had run from August 22 to September 2. In the state-ment, the Security Council members also reiterated the impor-tance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Penin-sula and in North-East Asia at large and expressed their com-mitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to thesituation. "The members of the Security Council stress theimportance of working to reduce tensions in the Korean Penin-sula and beyond," it said.

Sri Lanka made progress injustice, human rights: UN chiefCOLOMBO, (IANS) Sri Lanka has made progress in recon-ciliation, human rights and justice but more needs to be done,UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday. Addressinga gathering in Colombo during his two-day visit, Ban said SriLanka is still in the early stages of regaining its rightful positionin the region and the international community, Xinhua newsagency reported. "There is still much work to be done in orderto redress the wrongs of the past and to restore the legitimacyand accountability of key institutions, particularly the judiciaryand the security services," the UN chief said. The island nationsuffered 30 years of civil conflict between government troopsand Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in May 2009 with thedefeat of the rebels. Ban, who is on the final leg of his visit to SriLanka, also urged Sri Lanka to speed up the return of land sothat the remaining communities of displaced people can returnhome. Thousands of victims were displaced by the conflictand the government is now in the process of setting up a do-mestic process to probe allegations of war crimes during andafter the end of the war. Ban arrived in the country on Wednes-day, and travelled to the nor thern town of Jaffna on Friday tovisit a resettlement site.

Modi discusses NSG issuewith Turkish PresidentBY GAURAV SHARMAHANGZHOU (CHINA), (IANS) Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday raised the issue of India's membershipof the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) during a bilateralmeeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoganhere -- two months after Ankara joined a group ofcountries to block India's bid to the 48-member bloc. Themeeting between the two on the sidelines of the G20Summit here was their second after Modi visited Turkeyin November last year and held a bilateral meeting withErdogan. On June 22-23, Turkey had teamed up with countries,including Brazil, Austria and Ireland, that had opposed India's bid formembership of NSG at a plenary in Seoul. "The issue wasdiscussed," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson VikasSwarup told repor ters here after the meeting.

MODI DISCUSSES SCORPENE LEAKS WITH HOLLANDEBY GAURAV SHARMA

HANGZHOU (CHINA), (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised the issue of leak of confidential data on India's Scorpenesubmarine project with French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here. "The issue was discussed," ExternalAffairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters here.Sensitive information related to the combat and stealth aspects of India's Scorpene submarines was leaked from DCNS -- the French navalcontractor. The over 22,000 pages that were leaked contained information on different aspects of the vessel, including its underwatersensors, above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system and specifications, communications system andnavigation systems. The newspaper 'The Australian' has been restricted from publishing any more of leaked documents related to India'sScorpene submarine project by the Supreme Cour t of New South Wales. Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba has said the Navy viewsthe leak of data "very seriously".

BRITAIN APPOINTS FIRST AMBASSADOR TO IRAN SINCE 2011LONDON, (IANS) Britain on Monday appointed its ambassador to Iran for the first time since 2011, in a fur ther sign of warming bilateralrelations between the two countries. A British Foreign Office statement said Nicholas Hopton, previously British Chargé d'affaires inTehran, has been upgraded to ambassador. "This comes a year after the reopening of the embassy in Tehran and marks an impor tant stepforward in the two countries' diplomatic relations," Xinhua news agency cited the statement as saying. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

said: "The upgrade in diplo-matic relations gives us theoppor tunity to develop our dis-cussions on a range of issues,including our consular cases."

He expressed the hope that themove will mark "the star t ofmore productive cooperation"between Britain and Iran onissues such as implementa-tion of the nuclear deal and theexpansion of the trading rela-tionship. Hopton has served atthe British embassies in Paris,Rome and Rabat before be-coming ambassador toYemen. Relat ions betweenBritain and Iran deteriorated inthe early 2010s in the wake ofnew British sanctions againstIran. The two countries agreedto restore full diplomatic rela-tions in 2014.


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016w o r l d

SPY AGENCY TWEET ADDS TOUS-CHINA PROTOCOL SPAT

HINDU DEVOTEES PERFORMING RELIGIOUS RITUALS TO CELEBRATE KUSE AUNSI OR FATHER'S DAY, ON THE BANK OF BAGMATIRIVER AT GOKARNA TEMPLE IN KATHMANDU, NEPAL (IANS).

CLINTON DEVELOPS TENSERELATIONS WITH MEDIAWASHINGTON, (IANS) Democratic Par ty nominee HillaryClinton, one of the most scrutinised figures of her generation,has developed an allergy to press conferences that has aggra-vated her already difficult relationship with the media but whichprobably will not hurt her on Election Day as much as Republi-can rival Donald Trump might expect. The last time Clinton gavea formal press conference was Dec 5, 2015, or 274 days ago, anumber that Trump and the Republican National Committee up-date daily in e-mails to reporters, EFE news reported.The Democratic nominee, whose strained relationship with thepress dates back to her time as first lady in the 1990s, hasdeveloped a sophisticated media strategy that allows her totightly control her message and avoid having to face unscreenedquestions from repor ters covering her campaign. Clinton hastaken questions in various campaign appearances, including injoint conference of the National Association of Black Journalistsand the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in August.But only three pre-selected journalists were allowed to posequestions to the former Secretary of State.Candidates nowadays have numerous channels --TV ads,YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and their own Web pages -- for get-ting their message out, and thus it is easier than before for themto avoid unscripted questions, Daniel Birdsong, a lecturer at theUniversity of Dayton's Department of Political Science, told EFE.Clinton therefore has little incentive for holding a press confer-ence, he added. Moreover, the Democratic nominee's treatmentof reporters can come across as perfectly appropriate in com-parison with Trump, who has banned certain media outlets fromhis campaign events. The real-estate magnate has not shiedaway from holding press conferences, however, and for manyreporters his rival's reluctance to do the same is a seriousissue considering her e-mail and Clinton Foundation scan-dals and the belief of many voters that she is untrustwor thy.

IS ELIMINATED FROMPAKISTAN: ARMYISLAMABAD, (IANS) The Pakistan Army has said that thefootprints of the Islamic State (IS) militant group have beeneliminated from the country. "They tried [sneak] into Pakistan butfailed and [were] apprehended," Dawn online quoted Inter-ServicesPublic Relations Director General Lt. General Asim Saleem Bajwaas saying on Thursday. As many as 309 IS militants have beenarrested so far, including 25 Afghans, 127 other foreign nationalsand 157 "freelancers" and fighters from small groups. According toBajwa, major terror attacks planned by the IS on targets, includingthe Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreign embassies, consulates andtheir staff, the Islamabad airport, prominent public figures, mediapersons and law enforcement personnel, were averted."A proactive approach and the efforts of the law enforcement agen-cies have forestalled the threat of Daesh for the time being and thenetwork has been busted. The threat is not over yet as their pres-ence in the neighbouring Afghanistan is still [something] we areworried about," he said. Bajwa said the IS was operating in someparts of eastern Afghanistan and could try to enter Pakistan.While commenting on US Secretary of State John Kerry's remarksduring India visit in which he urged Islamabad to push harder againstmilitants hiding within its borders, Bajwa said operation Zarb-e-Azbwas indiscriminate and against terrorists of all hues and colours."We have no favourites," Bajwa said, rejecting the dichotomy ofthe "good" and the "bad" Taliban. According to Bajwa, sincethe launch of the operation, terrorist incidents in Karachi haddeclined by 74 per cent, while target killings, extor tion andkidnappings declined by 94, 95 and 89 per cent respectively.

TURKEY MAKES OFFICIALFINAL DISMISSAL OF 40,000EMPLOYEESANKARA, (IANS) The Turkish government has made officialthe final dismissal of about 40,000 employees, suspected oflinks with the network of conservative preacher Fethullah Gulen,accused of organising the failed coup in July. According to a decreeissued on Thursday night in the official gazette of the Turkish state,the layoffs included 28,100 employees from the Education Ministry,7,600 others from security, 2,000 from health and 1,500 from reli-gious affairs, EFE news reported. Since the attempted coup in July,Turkey has suspended about 80,000 public employees in differentgovernment sectors, including the Army.

NO HOPE PAKISTAN WILL HELP,THEY LIED TO US: AFGHAN NSAKABUL, (IANS) Afghanistan's National Security Adviser MohammadHanif Atmar on Monday said there was no hope Islamabad will helpKabul in peace talks with the Taliban group, a media report said. Inan interview with Gandhara/RFERL, Atmar said: "We have receivedmessages from Pakistan as we have diplomatic relations. OurPresident has told them we have no hope that they will help us withpeace talks." "He (Afghan President) told Pakistan that they prom-ised they would go against those who do not want peace talks, butthey did not do this. They lied to us," he added. Questioning Pakistan'shonesty in the fight against terrorism, Atmar said: "Islamabad saidthe Taliban leader was not in Pakistan, but then we saw MullahMansur had a Pakistani ID card when he was killed while travellinginside Pakistan." "We asked them very clearly: Why are you lying?This (peace process) would not be in your favour. Terrorism willbackfire against you, and it already has. My hope is that Pakistanthinks logically and pays attention to this issue," Atmar added. TheAfghan government was expecting to participate in direct peacetalks with the Taliban group soon after the Quadrilateral Coordina-tion Group comprising of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and Chinastarted work. Several rounds of QCG talks were held and the par-ticipating members agreed to take actions against the groups pur-suing violence but the Taliban group rejected the calls by the groupand the Afghan government to participate in direct talks.

WASHINGTON/HANGZHOU, (IANS) A United States spy agency onSunday apologised for a sarcastic tweet aimed at China over its treat-ment of American repor ters who had travelled with President BarackObama to cover the G20 meeting there. "Classy as always China," theDefense Inte l l igence Agency tweeted on Saturday from i ts@DefenseIntel account."Earlier today, a tweet regarding a news ar ticle was mistakenly postedfrom this account & does not represent the views of DIA. We apologise,"CNN quoted the Pentagon-housed spy agency on Sunday as saying ina tweet. The initial tweet, which has since been deleted, included alink to a New York Times repor t about a dust-up over security proto-cols at the tarmac when Obama landed in China -- and later, shoutingmatches between Chinese officials and Secret Service agents at theWest Lake State House, where Obama met Chinese President Xi

Jinping, CNN added.The tiffs were largely over American journalists' access to Obama.Chinese officials unexpectedly limited repor ters' access to the Presi-dent. When asked about the airpor t kerfuffle, Obama acknowledgedto repor ters that "the seams are showing a little more than usual interms of some of the negotiations and jostling that takes place behindthe scenes"."I wouldn't over-crank the significance of it, because, as I said, this isnot the first time that these things happened," Obama said. "And itdoesn't just happen here. It happens in a lot of places, including, bythe way, sometimes, our allies. Par t of it is we also have a muchbigger footprint than a lot of other countries. And we've got a lot ofplanes and a lot of helicopters and a lot of cars and a lot of guys, andif you're a host country, sometimes it may feel a little bit much."

OBAMA SNUBBED BY CHINESEIN CHAOTIC ARRIVAL AT G20

HANGZHOU, (IANS) Chinas leaders have been accused of deliveringa calculated diplomatic snub to Barack Obama after the US Presidentwas not provided with a staircase to leave his plane on his arrival inHangzhou city before the star t of the Group of 20 (G20) summit meet-ing.Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for world leaders,including India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Brazil's Presi-dent Michel Temer, and British Prime Minister Theresa May, whoarrived here on Sunday, The Guardian repor ted.But Obama, who is on his final tour of Asia, was forced to disembarkfrom Air Force One through a little-used exit in the plane's belly afterno rolling staircase was provided when he landed in Hangzhou onSaturday. When Obama did find his way on to a red carpet on thetarmac below, there were heated altercations between the US andChinese officials, with one Chinese official caught on video shouting:"This is our country! This is our airpor t!""The reception that President Obama and his staff got when they ar-rived here Saturday afternoon was bruising, even by Chinese stan-

dards," the New York Times repor ted. A Chinese Foreign Ministryofficial involved in the visit denied it had been a snub, telling theSouth China Morning Post that the US delegation had declined to usethe usual rolling red-carpet staircase. "It would do China no good intreating Obama rudely," the official said."China provides a rolling staircase for every arriving state leader, butthe US side complained that the driver doesn't speak English and can'tunderstand security instructions from the US; so China proposed thatwe could assign a translator to sit beside the driver, but the US sideturned down the proposal and insisted that they didn't need the stair-case provided by the airpor t," the official added.Obama offered a diplomatic reply when asked to comment on theairpor t "ker fuffle" on Sunday during a joint press conference withBritish Prime Minister Theresa May. "I wouldn't over-crank the sig-nificance of it because, as I said, this is not the first time that thesethings happen and it doesn't just happen here. It happens in a lot ofplaces including, by the way, sometimes our allies," Obama said,adding that "none of this detracts from the broader scope of the rela-tionship."

G20 TO EXPLORE LONG-TERM GROWTH POTENTIAL: XIHANGZHOU (CHINA), (IANS) The G20 major economies' leaders will use multiple policy tools including fiscal, monetary and structuralreform to explore medium and long-term growth potential, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday. The G20 member countriesshould work together to coordinate their macro policies more closely and implement the Hangzhou Action Plan, Xinhua news agencyquoted Xi as saying after the conclusion of the 11th G20 Summit here.These policies should not only expand aggregate demand but also improve the quality of supply, he said. According to Xi, the G20 isdetermined to point the direction and char t the path for the world economy. He said facing current economic risks and challenges,maintaining a peaceful and stable international environment was paramount. "We are confident that through the joint effor ts of allparties, we can bring the world economy back to strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth track."

WHO CERTIFIES SRI LANKA AS MALARIA-FREECOLOMBO, (IANS) The World Health Organisation has cer tified Sri Lanka as a Malaria-free nation on having eliminated the lifethreatening disease, a statement said. "Sri Lanka's achievement is truly remarkable. In the mid-20th century it was among the mostMalaria-affected countries, but now it is Malaria-free. This is testament to the courage and vision of its leaders and signifies the greatleaps that can be made when targeted action is taken," said the WHO statement.According to WHO, after Malaria cases soared in the 1970s and 80s, the country's anti-Malaria campaign in the 1990s adjusted itsstrategy to intensively target the parasite in addition to targeting the mosquitoes. Sri Lanka is the second country in the WHO SoutheastAsia region to eliminate Malaria after Maldives. "The change in strategy was unor thodox, but highly effective. Mobile Malaria clinics inhigh transmission areas meant that prompt and effective treatment could reduce the parasite reservoir and the possibility of fur thertransmission," said the statement. "By 2006, the country recorded less than 1,000 cases of Malaria per year, and since October 2012,the indigenous cases were down to zero. For the past three-and-a-half years, no locally transmitted cases have been recorded."

MERKEL'S PARTY SUFFERS STATE POLL BLOWBERLIN, (IANS) Regional elections in the Germany's Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state resulted in German Chancellor Angela Merkel'sparty, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) losing for the first time to the rightwing populist par ty Alternative for Germany (AfD).Despite losing five percentage points, the Social Democratic Par ty (SPD) on Sunday garnered the most votes in the state, with 30.6 percent of the vote, according to provisional results. The AfD, in its first foray into the regional elections in this state, clinched secondposition with 20.8 per cent, as voters approved their nationalist discourse and xenophobic policies, showing that many dislike Merkel's decision towelcome more than 1 million refugees into the country, EFE news reported. With Merkel at the G20 summit in China, the CDU's general secretary, Peter Tauber,appeared before the media to recognise the "bitter" results and to defend the refugee policy of the federal government. "Time to regain the lost confidence will beneeded," admitted Tauber, who warned that the AfD is a challenge to "all democratic parties" in the country and accused the populists of playing with "fears" andconcerns of the Germans. In spite of the setback, the Social Democrats, led by Erwin Sellering in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, wererelieved with the results which will allow a reissuing of its coalition with the Christian Democrats in this state.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY




Delhi division of Northern Railway DRM felicitate Rio Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik as an employee of Delhi division in New Delhi (IANS).

'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' teaser tellsa tale of complex romance

FILMMAKER NITYA MEHRA, SIDHARTH MALHOTRA AND KATRINA KAIF PROMOTING THEIR FILM BAAR BAAR DEKHO IN KOLKATA (IANS).

'31st October' not made to deliver justice: Soha

MUMBAI, (IANS) Actress Soha AliKhan, who is all set for the release ofher long-delayed film "31st October",says it is not made to deliver justice.Speaking at the trailer launch of the

film, based on the assasination ofthen Prime Minister Indira Gandhi andits aftermath, Soha said: "The film isnot made to deliver justice. Every-body knows that justice delayed is

justice denied. We made a film toshare a story of a Sikh family, whichis set against that 1984 backdrop."Further clarifying her statement, theactress stated: "The legal system is

complicated and we are not lawyersor judges. We are ar tists and wemade a film. Therefore, it's not aboutgetting justice, it's about providing afilm which we see more of as anedge of a thriller. It's not political orpushing an agenda. It certainly hopesnot to be preachy in that way." Themakers reveal that they had to gothrough several hardships and thefilm faced objections because of thebackdrop of the anti-Sikh riots in thecountry after Indira Gandhi's assas-sination.However, Soha says that "people getoffended even before they watch thefilm. Giving opinion is essential butat the end we also want peace," shesaid. Soha, who has earlier workedin films like "Rang De Basanti" and"Mumbai Meri Jaan", said that al-though people think of her as aBengali face, she looked apt for herrole of a Sikh woman in "31st Oc-tober." Asked how different her char-acter is in this film, Soha said: "To-tally different." Directed by NationalAward recipient Shivaji Lotan Patil,"31st October" is set to release onOctober 7.

Soha Ali Khan and Vir Das during the trailer launch of film 31st October in Mumbai (IANS)

MUMBAI, (PTI) The first teaser of Karan Johar's much awaited direc-torial venture "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" is out and the director says it is astory of one-sided love, deep friendship and hear tbreak. Ranbir Kapoor,Aishwarya Rai and Anushka Sharma star in lead roles. The moviealso has Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan in a special appearance.The teaser opens with a shot of Ranbir crooning the title track andgoes on to show the complexities of relationships.While Ranbir's romance with Anushka looks sweet, his chemistrywith Aishwarya comes out to be intense and passionate. Fawad ap-pears for few seconds as Anushka's confidante. "One sided love...deepfriendship and hear tbreak....#AeDilHaiMushkil#ADHMTeaser," Karantweeted giving a hint about the plotline.The 44-year-old filmmaker is returning as director after a break offour years. His last movie was "Student of the Year". Shot majorly in Delhi, NewYork and London, "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" is co-produced by Fox Star India andDharma Productions. The film is slated to release on October 28.

Ajay Devgn demandsinvestigation against KJo, KRK

MUMBAI, (IANS) Actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn has demanded an in-vestigation against filmmaker Karan Johar, who allegedly paid KamaalR Khan Rs 25 lakhs to tweet positive about his next film "Ae Dil HaiMushkil" (ADHM) and give negative reviews of Devgn's film "Shivaay".KJo, on the other hand, has thanked his fans for giving "enormouslove" to the teaser of ADHM.When IANS tried to contact Karan's team, they didn't respond. ButKaran, an active social media user, tweeted on Friday: "Thank you forthis enormous love. 15 million ADHM teaser." The film's teaser hasreceived 15 million views on digital platforms like Facebook andYouTube in just three days. Kamaal R Khan, better known as KRK, hasbeen bad mouthing Ajay's "Shivaay" on Twitter which is clashing withKaran's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".Ajay asked his business associate Kumar Mangat to call KRK to findout the reason behind this. In a shocking conversation KRK confessedthat he has to say positive things about "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" as he hasallegedly received Rs 25 lakhs from KJo. The conversation between Kumar Mangatand KRK has been recorded and has been sent to the media. Ajay, who is ex-tremely upset with this whole episode, issued a statement where he is alsodemanding an investigation to bring out the truth.

KOHLI RETAINS NO.2 SPOT,ROHIT SLIPS IN ODI RANKINGSDUBAI, (IANS) India's Test captain Virat Kohli on Monday re-tained his second spot while opener Rohit Sharma slipped a placeto seventh in the latest One-day International (ODI) cricket battingrankings. Kohli has 813 points, a fair distance behind South Afri-can AB de Villiers (887) while compatriot Hashim Amla (778) isthird. Rohit has 750 points just ahead of team-mate ShikharDhawan (737), according to a release by the International CricketCouncil (ICC). England batsman Joe Root surged into the top fivefor the first time after a stellar performance against Pakistan,which earned him the player of the series award.The 25-year-old scored 274 runs in the series, which helped himleapfrog New Zealand's duo of Kane Williamson and Martin Guptillas well as Rohit into fourth position in the latest player rankings.England's Alex Hales has risen four places to reach 20th spotafter aggregating 223 runs in the series, including a belligerent171 in the third ODI. Captain Eoin Morgan has gained four placesand is now 24th. The good news for Pakistan was the movementof its captain Azhar Ali and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. Azhar's208 runs in the series has seen him move up 15 places to 33rd,while Sarfraz, who was the highest run-getter in the series fromeither side with 300 runs, has moved up 21 places to 39th posi-tion. Sarfraz had a productive series with the bat when he scored55, 105, 38, 12 and 90 in the series. Azhar and Sarfraz are the onlytwo Pakistan batsmen, who featured in the recent series againstEngland, to figure inside the top 50. The next highest Pakistanbatsman is Shoaib Malik in 67th spot.Australia, which scripted a 4-1 series win over Sri Lanka, sawAaron Finch and George Bailey move up two and three places,respectively. Finch is now 15th while Bailey claims the 17th spot.The bowlers' table is led by Sunil Narine of the West Indies, whileTrent Boult of New Zealand is in the second place. AustralianMitchell Starc jumped two rungs to be third.





MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016 b o l l y w o o d

SEPTEMBER 2016

'AKIRA': ACE PERFORMANCESWITH A STRONG STORY

Movie Review

CAST: SONAKSHI SINHA, ANURAG KASHYAP,

KONKONA SEN SHARMA, AMIT SADH

DIRECTOR: A.R. MURUGADOSS

RATING: ***

MIDWEEK HIT OR FLOPMOHENJO DARO SUPERHITHAPPY BHAG JAYEGI HITBUDHIA SINGH - BORN TO RUN AVERAGEA FLYING JATT HITAKIRA HIT

MIDWEEK BOX OFFICEMOHENJO DARO 105 CR

HAPPY BHAG JAYEGI 20.5 CR

A FLYING JATT 20 CR

AKIRA 10 CR

BUDHIA SINGH - BORN TO RUN 5.5 CR

10songs

top

BABY KO BASS PASAND HAI SULTAN

RAJJ RAJJ KE AKIRA

SAU TARAH KE DISHOOM

6 PACK BAND SULTAN

TOH DISHOOM DISHOOM

DAMA DAMA DAM MADAARI

DIN MEIN KARENGEY JAGRATA FREAKY ALI

JAANEMAN AAH (FILM VERSION) DISHOOM

SULTAN SULTAN

SONG FILM

FILM:MOHENJO

DARO1 TU HAI

A crime based action drama, "Akira", meaning "gracefulstrength" in Sanskrit, is the story of a strong girl whofights against all odds to prove her innocence.

A simple story, narrated from the Investigating Officer, RabiyaSultan's point of view, the narrative star ts off in Jodhpur. Af terwitnessing a brutal acid attack on one of the girls in hervicinity, young Akira is inducted into mar tial ar ts, in order todefend herself by her progressive father who is mute. Soon, inself-defence, she injures a boy and lands up spending 3 yearsin a remand home.Years later, when she comes to Mumbai, she gets sucked into acase which four corrupt police personnel headed by AssistantCommissioner of Police Govind Rane, Senior Inspector ManikPawar, Inspector Rajeshwar and Constable Baburao, are hellbent upon hushing up. How Akira gets out of their clutchesforms the crux of the tale.On the per formance front, Sonakshi Sinha in the titular roledoes offer a fine act. With swift and vigorous movements shegets into the skin of Akira but there is that something that keepsher away from a cent per cent per formance. Anurag Kashyap asthe debauched Assistant Commissioner of Police Govind Raneis impressive and does justice to his character, making one

sufficiently abhor his unethical ways. He is aptly suppor ted byLokesh Vijay Gupte as Inspector Rajeshwar and Nandu Madhavas constable Baburao. Konkona Sen Sharma as the honestinvestigating officer offers nothing much by way of histrionics.But her character, Rabiya Sultan, is interestingly craf ted. Hergait and demeanour are matter-of-factly dealt with, as she isshown investigating the case in an advanced stage of preg-nancy. In miniscule roles, Atul Kulkarni, who is naturallycharming, makes his presence felt as Akira's father, while AmitSadh as Sid is wasted. Mishiekka Arora essaying the role ofyoung Akira is cute and charming. Based on an original story bySantha Kumar, the screenplay written by Director A.R.Murugadoss is praisewor thy. The plot is skilfully and intricatelywoven with well-etched characters and the right amount ofaction and drama.The director has astutely dealt with the subject with no majordeviation. With minimal sound design and constrained cameramovement, the film offers a realistic feel. The backgroundscore and the production design add to the viewing experience.But the languid pace of the telling is what holds it back frombeing a crisp and engrossing thriller. Overall, "Akira" is a wellmade film wor th a watch for its story.



Shirish thanks Big B, Kejriwal,Kangana for promoting his short film

KHOSLA KUMAR, BHUSHAN KUMAR, MD T-SERIES AND GURPREET KAUR CHADHA, FOUNDER PUNJABI GLOBAL FOUNDATION AT THESPECIAL SCRENNING OF A FLYING JATT IN MUMBAI (IANS).

Kunal Kapoor and Divinaa Thackur during a press conference during BRICS film festival 2016 at Sri Fort auditorium in New Delhi (IANS).

NOW A RIDE BASED ON SRK'S'DON' IN DUBAI, WOW!DUBAI, (IANS) Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has teamed upwith Bollywood Parks Dubai for a ride based on hispopular film "Don". The Bollywood's Badshah has also shotsome adrenaline pumping stunts for the "Don: The ChaseRide". The park has par tnered with Shah Rukh to shoot thehigh-speed chase scenes for its immersive 3D ride -- Don:The Chase -- which will premiere at the opening ofBollywood Parks Dubai on October 31, read a statement.The park is a first-of-its-kind theme park showcasing thetrue blue Bollywood experience laced with drama, action,music and dance. "The park is a mix of rides, excitementand adventure, while staying true to the ethos ofBollywood. Films are a reflection of reality where westrongly believe in our hopes, and the same will betranslated to the park where you will have fun," Shah Rukhsaid. Getting back into his character from the movie, thestar was seen reciting his famous dialogues during theshooting schedule. Talking about the ride, the "Dilwale"star said: "This time the chase is in Dubai, on the veryfamous Sheikh Zayed Road and also other famous landmarks ofDubai. As the famous dialogue of the movie goes -- 'Don ko pakadanamushkil hi nahin, namumkin hai' that means it's not only difficult tocatch Don, but impossible as well." Directed by Reema Kagti, one ofBollywood's finest directors, the ride was completed with the supportof over 100 members from the production team.

MUMBAI, (IANS) Shirish Kunder's short movie "Kriti" has been viewedover 10 million times on YouTube. The filmmaker has thanked megastarAmitabh Bachchan, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and actressKangana Ranaut for promoting the film through various platforms.The shor t film, which was released on the video-sharing site on June22, features Manoj Bajpayee, Radhika Apte and Neha Sharma.While Kangana launched the shor t film at an event here, Amitabh andKejriwal promoted it over Twitter. Shirish took to the micro-bloggingsite on Friday to thank all for suppor ting the film. In a series of tweets,he wrote: "Thank you Kangana Ranaut for launching 'Kriti' and provid-ing the much-needed initial suppor t in achieving our dream of 10

million views. "Thank you Amitabh Bachchan sir for sharing our shortfilm 'Kriti' to your millions of fans and helping us achieve our dream of10 million views."To Kejriwal, Shirish wrote: "Thank you Mr. Arvind Kejriwal for sup-por ting us every time we were down, and helping us achieve ourdream of 10 million views for 'Kriti'". In response, Kejriwal tweeted:"The movie has been so successful on its own strength. Congrats tothe whole team." The shor t film's success comes after the film'smakers' legal battle with a Nepali filmmaker, who claimed that "Kriti"is a copy of his film "BOB". But the copyright claims over "Kriti",produced by Muvizz.com, were finally put to rest on July 15.

Actors just face of the brand: KanganaNEW DELHI, (IANS) At a time when the government ismulling over a law that punishes celebrities for mislead-ing adver tisements, actress Kangana Ranaut feels it iswrong to hold stars liable for brand endorsements. Shesays actors are just the face of the brand, and it is"entirely" the consumers' responsibility what theychoose to buy. "We are just the face of the brand butconsumer is the king. They have to make their decisionand know that it is entirely their responsibility what theychoose to buy and invest their resources in," Kanganatold IANS in a telephonic interview from Bengaluru.The Central government could soon come up with a lawthat would make celebrities "accountable for misleadingads". Recently, the Law and Consumer Affairs Ministryaccepted the recommendation of a ParliamentaryStanding Committee and decided to impose "stringentprovisions including jail term and hefty penalty" of up toRs 50,00,000 for "repeated offence".Since the news sur faced, there have been debates goingon whether celebrities are liable for their decision toendorse a brand. The "Queen" star notes that celebritiescannot take responsibility of how the products aremanufactured. She added: "We still are very naive whenit comes to the product and consumer relationship.People just have to make their own decisions. We(actors) cannot most definitely take responsibility ofhow these things are manufactured." The actress, whois always in the news due to her brazen honesty, sharedher views over brand endorsements, and how she picksher deals while she was at Lifestyle store launch atPhoenix Marketcity, Whitefield in Bengaluru.

Who is the best action hero,John or Sonakshi?MUMBAI, (IANS) Actor-producer John Abraham hasheaped praise on his "Force 2" co-star Sonakshi Sinha bycalling her the best action hero. The actor, who hasimpressed many with his action sequences in filmslike "Dishoom", "Force" and "Dhoom", couldn't stopappreciating Sonakshi while promoting her for thcomingfilm "Akira". Sonakshi will be seen in a full-lengthaction role in the thriller. In a video shared by John onhis Twitter account on Thursday, he said: "'Akira' isreleasing on September 2. Kick everybody's a**because you are the best action hero and guys I haveseen 'Akira'. It's fantastic." He also wished her luck forthe A.R. Murugadoss directorial and said: "I know itwill rock!" Sonakshi thanked the actor by saying:"Thank you John! The force was with me... in this onetoo? Boom." The film sees Sonakshi as Akira Sharma, agirl who comes to Mumbai from Jodhpur, where shegets into a tiff with goons at a college in which shegets enrolled.

Priyanka Chopra unveils firstposter of Marathi film 'Ventilator'Mumbai, Sep 1 (IANS) The poster of actress PriyankaChopra's first Marathi production "Ventilator" has been un-veiled. The actress, who has stepped into Production withher Purple Pebble Pictures production house, took toinstagram to share the first poster with her fans and follow-ers. Priyanka, who will make a guest appearance in the film,captioned the image "The first poster of My first Marathi film!'Ventilator' Purple Pebble Pictures congrats, Ganpati BappaMorya." The film's poster says: "Fun. Family. Eneter tainment."Titled "Ventilator", the film will have several veteran Marathifilm and theatre actors. The film is directed by RajeshMapuskar, who previously directed "Ferrari Ki Sawaari" star-ring Sharman Joshi and Boman Irani.

MIRA NAIR'S 'QUEEN OFKATWE' GETS A SONGLOS ANGELES, (IANS) Grammy Award-winning singer Ali-cia Keys' new song "Back to life" will feature in Mira Nairsupcoming film "Queen of Katwe". Walt Disney Studios haspar tnered with the 15-time Grammy Award-winning record-ing ar tist Keys on the studio's upcoming film release "Queenof Katwe," which will open in India on October 7. The an-nouncement was made recently.Her new original song "Back to life" will appear in the filmand on the motion picture soundtrack from Walt DisneyRecords, which also features score from Alex Heffes. "Backto life" was written by Keys, Carlo Montagnese and BillyWalsh and produced by Illangelo and Keys. Starring Os-car-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o, "Queen of Katwe" isbased on real-l ife events and chronicles the inspiringstory of an underdog from the streets of rural Uganda."Queen of Katwe' moved me in every way," said Keys.Sheadded: "The film beautifully depicts Uganda with suchhonest attention to detail - the colours, the sounds, thepeople - all vividly brought to life. But most soulfully, it'sthe story of this fearless, brilliant girl Phiona who embod-ies the message that the rise to success first begins withoppor tunity, and the belief you have in yourself to pursuesomething bigger." The singer feels her track perfectly fitswith the theme of the film.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016 b o l l y w o o d

Have different meaning of comeback: SonaliFARAH KHAN WITH ACTOR SHASHI RANJAN DURING A PROGRAMME IN MUMBAI (IANS).

Duplicates of bollywood stars outside SRK's residence Mannat to promote their film, Aamir, Salman, Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai (IANS).

HOLLYWOOD

LIFFI: Nawazuddin, Tannishtha win Best ActorsLonavla, Sep 5 (IANS) Acclaimed talents Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Tannishtha Chatterjee were named Best Actors at the debut editionof the Lonavla International Film Festival India (LIFFI), where the Best Director honour went to Anant Mahadevan for "Rough Book".While Nawazuddin was lauded for bringing alive the struggle of real life hero Dashrath Manjhi in "Manjhi - The Mountain Man", Tannishtha's portrayal of ateacher with a difference in "Rough Book" won the LIFFI jury's heart. Tannishtha shared the Best Actor (Female) Award with her National School of Dramasenior Bhagirathi Bai Kadam who has delivered a power-packed performance in Assamese film "Scarecrow". The two shared a hug onstage, and Nawazuddin's award was collected by "Manjhi - The Mountain Man" director Ketan Mehta.

Share great bond with Farhan: Arjun RampalMUMBAI, (IANS) Actor Arjun Rampal, who is sharing screen space with Farhan Akhtar again, says he shares a good bond with theactor-filmmaker. The two will soon be seen in the much-awaited sequel to the musical drama "Rock On!!". "We share a great bond aswe know each other for a long time. It's been almost eight years since 'Rock on!!' released. It's great to be back. On the first few daysof the shooting, we were just hanging around with each other," Arjun said at the grand finale of Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva 2016 here."When we star ted shooting, it brought back so many memories and experiences from the past. It was a beautiful experience working inthe sequel," he added. Meanwhile, Farhan released the first poster of "Rock On 2" on Friday.

Important to discover new talent in Bollywood: Suniel ShettyMUMBAI, (IANS) Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty says it is impor tant to give a chance to new talent in the industry. Speaking at thepremiere of "Sunshine Music Tours and Travel", the 55-year-old actor said: "It's great that this film has introduced many newcomers in Bollywood. I wishthem all the best. I feel it is important to discover new talents in Bollywood." Shailendra Singh, director of the film, creates a record with this film as he brings alonga young brigade of 170 newcomers, including Sunny Kaushal, son of action director Sham Kaushal. And Sunil hopes that the film gets success. "Hopefully, thefilm gets success so that these newcomers become established in the industry," he said. The actor who was last seen in "Desi Kattey" is coming back to the silverscreen after three years and he hopes that his comeback film releases next year. "I am hopeful that it will release next year. I am coming back afterthree years of sabbatical so hoping for the best," he said.

MUMBAI, (IANS) Actress Sonali Bendre thinks she has a different meaningof a comeback. "Yet nothing has tempted me to make a return on bigscreen. I don't know.. I think everybody has a different definition ofcomeback. I don't think I went anywhere. I am very much in public eyewith all the phases I've been," she said at the product launch of 'Oriflame'beauty care. "When we talk about television, I did it just after 'Sarfarosh'and 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' while nobody was doing television. So forme, who did what or anyone else is doing it or not, is not at allimpor tant. I've always done what I felt like doing," she added.The 41-year-old actress said: "I come from a very middle classMaharashtrian family where nobody is attached to films. There-fore, as per my family concerned, it was shocking for me to be in theindustry and I am glad to be here. I've never been the follower. When I feellike it, I will be there. If I like the script which will compel me to go out ofmy comfor t zone, I will do it."Asked for three tips she would like to give to home-makers,, Sonali said: "I respect that term house-wife as my mother was a housewife and she dida great job. This is the most difficult job to do.Having said that, I would say that find a littletime for yourself and it is very impor tant. Beit for your body or your skin. Caringyourself will make you feel better andhappier. A happy wife and a mothermakes a happy family too."

MUMBAI, (IANS) Actors Yami Gautam, Kar tik Aaryan, Bhumi Pednekarand Saqib Saleem are excited to see the amalgamation of fashionwith ar t at ALDO's #ARTANDSOLES Fall 2016 collection launch event.ALDO, an international leader in fashion footwear and accessories,will launch its Fall 2016 collection at Palladium, Lower Parel here on Friday.The event will witness fashion and art come together.The brand has collaborated with renowned artist Jehangir Asgar Jani to createartworks inspired by the collection. For the occasion, a pop-up art gallery will bebuilt to display the products as well as Jani's artworks, read a statement. Yami islooking forward to the artsy launch. "It is amazing to see how the collection hasbeen exquisitely translated into art... The Fall collection has something for everyoccasion and is perfect for any man or woman who want to get the perfect look fortheir outfit," Yami said.Kartik also shared that he is "thrilled to be part of this unique concept", while Saqibsays he is "happy to attend the preview of this unique launch of the collection viathis unique amalgamation of art and fashion". "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" star Bhumisaid: "I have a fetish for shoes and what could be more exciting than attending thepreview via this initiative of Art and Soles." Tushar Ved, President of Major BrandsIndia Pvt Ltd -- a franchise for premier international fashion brands -- said: "Thecollection is beautifully depicted through his (Jani) ar twork which is aconfluence of fashion and art."

YAMI, BHUMI EXCITED ABOUTFASHION MERGING ART

Abhay Deol interested to work in'Happy Bhaag Jayegi' sequel

MUMBAI, (IANS) Actor Abhay Doel on Friday said he wouldn't mindworking in a sequel of "Happy Bhaag Jayegi" if it is being made."There are talks of doing the second par t of 'Happy Bhaag Jayegi' asthe film did well at the box-office. It's not certain if Anand Rai andMudassar Aziz, who wrote the script, are planning a sequel. However,I wouldn't mind doing the sequel," he said.The actor was speaking at the Grand Finale of 'Yamaha Fascino MissDiva 2016'. The makers of Abhay Deol and Diana Penty-starrer 'HappyBhaag Jayegi' are repor tedly considering a sequel to the film. Be-sides Deol and Diana, the film also featured Jimmy Shergill, Ali Fazaland Momal Sheikh in lead roles. The film, which was released onAugust 18, garnered quite a positive response from the audiencesand Abay seems to be overwhelmed with the response.The "Dev D" actor said: "Yes! I am so happy that the film is a hit. Thankyou so much for the good response." The actor, who has done filmslike "Shanghai" and "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara", also wants to pro-duce films. He said: "I will produce, if the right film comes along."When asked about his for thcoming projects, Abhay said he hasn'tsigned anything as of now as he is "choosy". "If the script interestsme I will do that film. But I haven't signed anything yet," he said.

BRITNEY SPEARS RECALLSBAD FIRST DATELOS ANGELES, (IANS) Britney Spears might be one of themost famous women in the world -- but even she has expe-rienced some bad first dates. The singer, who is currentlysingle, feels that famous people are prone to really bad dat-ing experiences, repor ts people.com. "I had a really baddate. I mean, it was really bad. I've been single for ages andhad a date with a guy I liked. I wasgett ing anxious, worrying hewouldn't like me. In the eveningI got on the scales and I had lostsix pounds," Spears said in aninterv iew with Marie Cla i remagazine. Though her nerves gotthe best of her, Spears recalled thatthe date just wasn't working. "Wewent to the movies, but I could tell rightaway it wasn't working. It was sort ofawkward. So, after the movie I camehome and that was it," she said."He just wasn't that into me. I likedhim. He knew that. But he defi-nitely didn't feel the same. It hap-pens to everybody. Being famousdoesn't make you any different," the"Toxic" hit maker added.

Drake, Rihanna kiss on stageMIAMI, (IANS) Rapper Drake and singer Rihanna confirmedtheir romance by kissing on stage during a per formancehere. Drake surprised fans during the Miami date of hisSummer Sixteen tour on Wednesday by bringing Rihannaout on stage. The crowd went even more crazy as thecoup le sha red an i n t ima te smooch , r epo r tsdailymail.co.uk. Rihanna strutted onto the stage to per-form with her beau. Fans captured the moment on cam-era as the star, who wore a little black dress, headedover to Drake, wrapped her arms around him and kissedhim on the lips before walking away with a smile on herface. The duo was seen enjoying drinks together while danc-ing at the rapper's Miami concer t after-par ty.

TRIANGULAR CRICKET TOURNAMENT

SC QUASHES CRIMINAL CASEAGAINST DHONINEW DELHI, (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday quashed acriminal case against India's limited overs cricket captain M.S. Dhonifor being depicted as Lord Vishnu on the cover of a business magazine.Abench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Prafulla C. Pant quashed thecriminal case against Dhoni, holding that the procedure contemplatedfor initiating such a criminal case was not complied with. PetitionerJayakumar Hiremath had filed the criminal complaint alleging that de-piction of Dhoni as Lord Vishnu in commercial context has hurt thesentiments of the people as it was trivialising the revered god of Hindus.The cover page in question had a photo of Dhoni portrayed as Lord Vishuwith multiple hands, each holding the products that were being endorsedby him. The top court by its August 24, 2015, order had stayed proceed-ings in criminal complaint before a Bengaluru court and the noticewas issued on October 12, 2015.

Shahan first Indian to becomeAsian karting championSEPANG (MALAYSIA), (IANS) Young racer Shahan Ali Mohsinhas become the first Indian to win the Asian Karting Championship.The 12-year-old from Agra put up a valiant show during the final week-end after missing two days of track time due to a bout of food poisoningand staved off a strong challenge from his main rival Hayden Haikal toclinch the title here on Sunday.He will now be hoping for a repeat in the JK Tyre National Rotax MaxKarting Championship as well, with the final round scheduled on Sep-tember 25. Shahan was not completely fit as he fought the infectionwhich surfaced early on Thursday. He was severely dehydrated and hisparticipation in the event became a major question mark while his rivalspounded the track throughout Thursday and Friday during practice ses-sions. He showed immense determination and hit the track on Saturday,even though he was not fully fit. Right from the first practice session, hewas in the running for the top three spots albeit missing a few tenths fromoutright benchmark. However, he almost magically put it together inqualifying -- taking pole position by over two-tenths of a second (0.2 sec)-- a dominating showing given the drivers from second to fifth positionswere separated by just five-hundredth of a second (0.05 sec).

BRAMPTON - The employee cricket teams from Royal Bank the leadsponsor of CIMA Cricket Across the Pond (CAP) program and CAPsponsors Toronto Police held a triangular cricket tournament withCAP Team on September 4th, 2016. CAP is a par tnership project initi-ated by the City of Toronto and CIMA Canada in 2008. CAP had pro-vided overseas cricket and leadership training to Mayor's Youth CricketTeam annually since 2008. Royal Bank of Canada, Tom's Place Torontoand Toronto Police Youth Fund provides the sponsorship suppor t forCAP. Imtiaz Seyid RBC VP of South Asian Markets and Ken Jeffers

Toronto Police Services Board were the special guests attending theevent. "RBC is a longtime suppor ter of the CIMA CAP youth cricketinitiative" said Imtiaz Seyid. "CAP is a unique community initiative, helping toprovide opportunities for youth to participate in a fully-paid cricket training over-seas." Speaking on behalf of the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) Ken Jefferssaid that cricket is a great way to engage young people towards positivepursuits in life. "TPSB is proud to suppor t CIMA's CAP program thathad helped young people since 2008." CIMA CAP team beat RBC teamby 10 runs to become the champions of the triangular series.

Image courtesy: Bashir Nasir

BY DR ADNAN KHANHuge challenge now for Coach Mickey Ar thur to replicatesuccess of the Test matches into limited over cricket, espe-cially keeping in mind, the ICC rankings. Pakistan cricket is inclimacteric and critical situation as even if they don't end upwinning in the UAE against West Indies, they would be forced toplay in the 2019 edition of the World Cup qualifiers and thatcould be a tragedy, if things are not revitalized.Team Green Test and ODI side, a tale of contradicting for tunes.Real and utmost need to resettle the stratagem adopted forwhite ball cricket. Test captain Misbah has been instrumental inthe rise of the team, considering the fact that that he took overthe mantle of the team when Pakistan was at its worst form atnumber seven in Test rankings, and were reeling under thespot-fixing scandal. Rewinding a year back, I see that theturning point for team Pakistan was the announcement ofMisbah's retirement from ODI cricket after the 2015 World Cup.In a surprising turn of events, the inexperienced top-orderbatsman Azhar Ali was named the new captain of the limitedovers side. Azhar, who had cemented his spot in the Test team,was in conflict as far as limited overs team is concerned butwas given charge of the team. He had played only 14 ODIs untilthen since his debut in 2010 and was not in the ODI team since2013. Since then things never turned in the right direction andnow the utmost need to revolutionized the top game plan.Despite the fact that the Test team is ruling the Pinnacle, theODI team is biting the dust, which is undoubtedly very abberantand atypical. Pakistan, currently ranks 9th in ICC ODI rankingsand has seen some really embarrassing defeats in the recentpast with track record of mere one win in last ten ODIs theyplayed, and that too came against Ireland.They have eventually lost the 5-match series 4-1, after havingsalvaged some pride in the final ODI at Cardiff. Azhar who hasnow also come under criticism for his slow batting style,former Test captain Javed Miandad along with former Pakistangreat Wasim Akram has been very vocal about the selection ofAzhar being a "mistake" and has been openly suppor tingwicketkeeper Sar faraz Ahmed for the captain's post. Doubtsover captaincy of the side have star ted to sur face with PCBclose to finalizing over a name before the team leaves for UAEfor the home series against the West Indies. On the other handtheir English opponents adopted radical measures to changetheir approach towards Limited overs cricket after the sordid-ness of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup early exit, and thesemeasures have yielded a bumper repercussion for their team.Not only has the team metamorphosed its approach, but hasmade a collaborated effor t to bring a positive approach towards

the game, and not worrying too much about the result. CaptainEoin Morgan and coach Trevor Bayliss has given the players thefreedom to go out and express themselves and not quiver toomuch about the consequences. They have brushed all oppo-nents under the tapestry ever since and have emerged as one ofthe strongest outfits in One Day Cricket. The sight of AlastairCook and Ian Bell opening the innings for England was carica-tured by all, primarily because of their phlegmatic approach atthe top of the order. They believed in seeing off the new ball andthen slowly accelerating towards the end. This approach waswell behind the modern times, but having no existence in themodern times.However, Pakistan not learnt from this, and they still have avery monotonous and turgid approach at the top of the order.English hero Joe Root has surged into the top five of the MRFTyres ICC Players Rankings for ODI batsmen for the first timeafter a galactic per formance against Pakistan, which earnedhim the player of the series award. He scored 274 runs in theseries, which helped him leapfrog New Zealand's duo of KaneWilliamson and Mar tin Guptill, as well as India batsman RohitSharma into four th position in the latest player rankings. Duringthe series, the Yorkshireman also achieved a career-best ratingof 776 points, which he had attained af ter the third ODI at TrentBridge in which he scored 85. The only good news for Pakistanwas the movement of captain Azhar Ali and wicketkeeperSar fraz Ahmed. Azhar's 208 runs in the series has seen himmove up 15 places to 33rd rank, while Sar fraz, who was thehighest run-getter in the series from either side with 300 runs,has moved up 21 places to 39th position.Sar fraz had a productive series with the bat when he scored 55,105, 38, 12 and 90 in the series. Azhar and Sar fraz are the onlytwo Pakistan batsmen, who featured in the recent seriesagainst England, to figure inside the top 50. The reason behindthat is the significant change in the ODI game over the years.Rule changes regarding power-plays and fielding restrictions,batting friendly pitches, and better bats have all contributedtowards inflated scores, averages, and strike rates. Similarly,the Rotation and Boundary Rates of leading run scorers in ODIsover the past five years have improved a lot while in case ofShaheens it is rapidly towards the decline. Based on the top 10run scorers of the past five years, the average run rate is 53.2and the average boundary rate is 11.1. Players like Virat Kohli,Hashim Amla, Suresh Raina, and AB De Villiers have rotationand boundary rates that are significantly above average. It is nosurprise that Pakistani batsmen featuring in such list are at thebottom end of the table, demonstrating their lack of ability torotate strike and hit boundaries.

BEYOND THE BOUNDARY LINETEAM GREEN TEST AND ODI SIDE, A TALE OF CONTRADICTING FORTUNESREAL AND UTMOST NEED TO RESETTLE THE STRATAGEM ADOPTED FOR WHITE BALL CRICKET

Indian men win against Cubain Chess OlympiadBY VENKATACHARI JAGANNATHANCHENNAI, (IANS) The Indian team in the open section con-tinued its winning run defeating Cuba 2.5-1.5 in the four thround of the World Chess Olympiad held at Baku, Azerbaijan onMonday. While Indian Grandmaster (GM) and Chess Olympiaddebutant Vidit Santosh Gujarathi won against his Cuban opponent,his team mates GM P. Harikrishna, B. Adhiban and S.P. Sethuramansplit points with their opponents. On the other hand, the Indianwomen's team drew its outing against Israel 2-2. World No.5 GMHarika Dronavalli and WGM Soumya Swaminathan drew theirgames against her Israeli opponent on the top and bottom boardsrespectively. The in-form International Master (IM) TaniaSachdev continued her winning streak defeating IM Kilinova.

Pakistan down to No.9 for firsttime in ICC ODI rankingsDUBAI, (IANS) Pakistan have dipped to their lowest everranking in the International Cricket Council (ICC) One-dayInternationals after a disappointing 1-4 loss to England in therecently concluded series. Pakistan star ted the series on 87points and are now on 86 points -- eight points behind eighth-ranked West Indies as the green brigade lost to England mis-erably. With Pakistan's for thcoming ODI series scheduledagainst the West Indies and Australia, the team has left itselfwith a mountain to climb to keep alive its chances of quali-fying automatically for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. En-gland, being the hosts, and the seven highest-ranked sideson the ICC ODI team rankings as on September 30, 2017,will qualify directly for the ICC's pinnacle 50-over tourna-ment, while the remaining two sides will progress from the10-team ICC Cricket World Cup qualifier 2018.

India thrash Puerto Rico 4-1 ininternational football friendlyMUMBAI, (IANS) The Indian national football team came upwith a dominating performance to thrash Puer to Rico 4-1 inan international friendly match at the Andheri Spor ts Com-plex here on Saturday. Narayan Das (18th minute), Sunil Chhetri(26), Jeje Lalpekhlua (34) and Jackichand Singh (58) helped thehosts earn a much deserving win. Emmanuel Sanchez scoredthe only goal for the visitors. India played with 4-2-3-1 formation withstriker Jeje Lalpekhlua leading the attack with Jackichand Singh, andChhetri helping him. The Puerto Ricans started the match on a positivenote scoring the opening goal in the eighth minute to give the visitors theadvantage right at the start. But the home side did not sit back but struckright after a few minutes via Narayan to level the scoring. The first goalgave the Stephen Constantine-coached side much-needed confidenceas they stormed ahead with the second goal via former skipper Chettri.

ZAHEER KHAN PRESENTING A CERTIFICATE TO CRICKETER ROHIT SHARMA AT SJAM'S GOLDEN JUBILEE ANNUAL AWARDS 2016 ATWANKHEDE STADIUM IN MUMBAI (IANS).

ASHWIN SLIPS TO THIRD INICC TEST RANKINGSDUBAI, (IANS) India's Ravichandran Ashwin has slipped onerung to third in the International Cricket Council (ICC) list forTest bowlers, released last week. South African star pacerDale Steyn has leapfrogged England's James Anderson andAshwin to take the bounce back to the top spot.Steyn's match-winning figures of 5/33 in the second inningshelped the Proteas register a thumping 204-run victory overNew Zealand in Centurion on Tuesday. This was his 26thfive-wicket haul, as the right-armer finished with match fig-ures of eight for 99 to regain the top slot.The 33-year-old's ascendance to the top has effectivelybrought Anderson down to second and Ashwin to third. Therest of the top five includes England's Stuar t Broad and SriLankan Rangana Herath at the four th and fifth places respec-tively. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja is another Indian inthe top 10 of the list, occupying the 8th spot. Ashwin, how-ever, continues to lead the table of the Test all-rounders withBangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan at second and England's MoeenAli at the third spot.There were no major changes in the list for batsmen withAustralia skipper Steve Smith leading the table followed byEngland's Joe Root and New Zealander Kane Williamson re-spectively at second and third spots. Ajinkya Rahane at 8this the lone Indian among the top 10 batsmen.

BANGLADESH APPOINT WESTINDIES EX-PACER WALSH ASBOWLING COACHDHAKA, (IANS) The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) hasappointed former West Indies fast bowler Cour tney Walsh asthe national team's pace bowling coach. Walsh, who boastsof a tally of 519 Test wickets, has signed a three-year con-tract to stay with Bangladesh until the 2019 World Cup, theboard confirmed, repor ts bdnews24.com.The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) had broken the newsbefore the BCB revealed that the 53-year-old Caribbean leg-end is the new Bangladesh bowling coach. Having served asone of the selectors for his national team before this, Walsh'scontract with the WICB came to an end last month. Towardsthe star t of August, the BCB said a new coach had been"finalised" but the announcement had to wait because of"some obligations" which he had for his previous contract.Bangladesh had been without a pace bowling coach sincelate May this year when Heath Streak announced he wouldnot be renewing his contract. The BCB was hunting for a newcoach since then. Big names like Chaminda Vaas, AaqibJaved, Cur tly Ambrose, Ottis Gibson and even Allan Donaldwere all frequently discussed but the board finally settled forWalsh. This will be the first major coaching role for Walshwho retired in 2001 as the then leading wicket-taker in Tests.Since then he has worked for the WICB in various adminis-trative roles. He was once the manager of the West IndiesUnder-19 team and also held a post in the WICB Cricket Com-mittee. Walsh also worked as the mentor of the JamaicaTallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League. Despite hiscoaching inexperience, Walsh is considered one of the bestplayers to ever grace the game and leave a trail of glitteringcareer behind him.

BCCI IN NO HURRY TO HOSTDAY-NIGHT TEST: THAKURNEW DELHI, (IANS) Board Of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI)President Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said that the na-tional cricket board is in no hurry to host a day-night Testmatch in the country. The BCCI has already star ted itsexperiment with the pink ball in the ongoing Duleep Tro-phy tournament which is currently being played underl ights at the Greater Noida spor ts complex ground inGreater Noida.Thakur said that the board will take a decision on the pinkball 's suitability to Indian conditions after the ongoingdomestic tournament gets over. "BCCI is not in a hurry totake any decision and will continue carrying out trialsduring the ongoing Duleep Trophy," Thakur was quoted assaying by espncricinfo."This is one of the tournaments where we are trying thepink ball. We'll take the feedback after the tournament is com-pleted. Once it is completed, BCCI can take a call in futurewhether pink ball is viable in Indian conditions or not, whether itwill help to make Test cricket more popular," he added.Asserting that the idea of four-day Tests and two-tier Test sys-tem are no solutions to bring in more crowds for the longestformat, the 41-year-old called for analysing the shortcomingsfor which Test cricket is being neglected by the audience."If you don't have a foolproof format in front of you, whereis it going to help the game of cricket? I think we shouldnot even (get) into that. It is four day versus five day, it istwo-tier as well. We should analyse the shor tcomings (ofTest cricket). Is it the paucity of time? The issue is why aren't yougetting enough crowd for a Test match? That is the basic issue,"Thakur said.Iranian player celebrate during the FIFA World Cup 2018 Asian qualifier soccer match between Iran and Qatar in Tehran. Iran won 2-0 (IANS).

HARRIS NAMED AUSTRALIA BOWLING COACHMELBOURNE, (IANS) Cricket Australia on Friday named former pacer Ryan Harris as the bowling coach for the national team'supcoming ODI tour of South Africa. He joins head coach Darren Lehmann and assistant coach David Saker in Australia's coachingstaff. Harris, who took 113 Test wickets from 27 matches, retired from international cricket in July 2015. "It's great experience to learnfrom David Saker and Darren Lehmann. I'm really just going to sit back and watch and learn," said Harris, who currently is theassistant coach of the National Performance Squad (NPS) in the A-team quadrangular series in Australia. "Eventually, I'd like to workmy way to the top and become a (full-time) bowling coach of the Australian team one day. Just like playing, you have to earn yourstripes and learn the ropes," the 36-year-old, who took 44 wickets from 21 ODIs, added.

MATHEWS RULED OUT OF AUSTRALIA MATCHESCOLOMBO, (IANS) Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was ruled out of the fifth and final One-Day International (ODIs) and the twoTwenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Australia due to a calf injury. Mathews suffered the injury during the four th match that tookplace on Wednesday. He had hobbled off the field during his innings and, though he returned to bat towards the end of the innings, hadbeen substantially hampered by the injury. "Angelo's MRI and clinical symptoms are both consistent with a medial calf muscle injury.He is not expected to be available for the remainder of the Australian series," Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement. "Hisrehabilitation programme will be aimed at having him ready for the star t of Sri Lanka's next series," it added. The Islanders havealready lost the five match ODI series 1-3 against Australia following their six-wicket defeat in the four th match at Rangiri DambullaInternational Stadium on Wednesday. The final match was played in Pallekele on Sunday.

US OPEN: PAES-BEGEMANN GO DOWN FIGHTING IN OPENING ROUNDNEW YORK, (IANS) Veteran Indian star Leander Paes and his German par tner Andre Begemann crashed out of the men's doublescompetition at the US Open tennis tournament with a first round loss to Stephane Rober t of France and Dudi Sela of Israel. The Indo-German duo gave a tough fight before going down 6-2, 5-7, 4-6 in one hour and 59 minutes.Rober t and Sela will now take on Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Alexander Peya of Austria in the second round. The 12th seeded Polish-Austrian team defeated Americans Eric Quigley and Nicolas Meister 7-6, 6-1 in their opening round encounter. Paes and Begemannenjoyed a superb star t, breaking their opponents in the very first game to gain the early advantage.They broke their opponents again in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead and then held their serve to take the set. The Indo-German combinationgrabbed the early initiative in the second set as well, forcing a break of serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. The set then wentwith the serve which saw Paes and Begemann on the verge of taking the set with a 5-4 lead. Rober t and Sela however, staged a spiritedcomeback to earn a break of serve and level the scores at 5-5. They then held their serve before forcing another break to take the setand draw level. In the third set, Paes and Begermann again earned a break in the opening game to take the early lead. Both teams heldtheir serve thereafter before Rober t and Sela broke their Indo-German opponents in the eighth game. They held their serve in the nextgame to take the lead at 5-4 before another break of serve in the 10th game handed them the set and the match.

Sania-Ivan crash out of US Open mixed doublesNEW YORK, (IANS) Sania Mirza and her Russian par tner IvanDodig lost in straight sets to Barbora Krejcikova and MarinDraganja in the second round of the mixed doubles category atthe US Open tennis tournament here on Sunday. The top seededIndo-Russian combination could hardly trouble their Czech-Croatian opponents, going down 3-6, 4-6 in one hour and fiveminutes. Barbora and Marin will now take on seventh seededAmericans Coco Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram in the quar ter-finals. In the opening set, Barbora and Marin clinched the earlyadvantage, forcing a service break in the second game. Theybroke the top seeds again in the four th game to take a 4-0 leadand held on to their advantage to win the first set. Sania andIvan star ted the second set in promising fashion, breakingBarbora and Marin in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Butthe Czech-Croatian pair broke back in the very next game beforeholding their serve to draw level at 2-2. They broke Sania andMarin claimed another service break in the seventh game totake the lead. They took another break in the ninth game toincrease their lead to 5-4 before holding their serve to take theset and the match.

Australia post record T20I263/3 against Sri LankaPALLEKELE (SRI LANKA), (IANS) Glenn Maxwell's 145 un-beaten in just 65 deliveries powered Australia to the high-est total in Twenty20 international cricket -- 263/3 in 20overs against Sri Lanka in the first match here on Tues-day. Most of the pain for the home side came from the batof Maxwell who crashed a stunning 145 not out -- secondhighest individual score in T20I -- including nine sixes, asthe visitors passed the world record of 6-260 set by SriLanka in 2007 against Kenya. Australia's opening par tner-ship of David Warner and Maxwell set the tone, and thelatter brought up the 50 par tnership with a reverse sweepfor six in the fifth over.



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DESK REPORT AMRITSAR - PRIME MINISTER …southasiandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/part_1-61.pdf- who India says came from Paki-stan - attacked the Pathankot Indian Air Force