Home Blog Page 1335

Sahgal’s invite rescinded as speech mentioned lynchings: Sena

By
Web Team
-

nayantara 1

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday claimed author Nayantara Sahgal’s invite to the 92nd all-India Marathi literary meet was rescinded after the organisers learnt about her intent to speak on issues like cow-related violence and lynchings and ‘misuse’ of government machinery.

An editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said that the literary meet’s organisers killed the freedom of expression and self-respect of writers by rescinding the invite.

The noted English-language author who was at the forefront of the ‘award-wapsi’ (returning of awards) campaign, was to inaugurate 92nd All India Marathi Literary Meet in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra on January 11 in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The Sena claimed that Sahgal’s speech, in which she planned to speak on mob lynchings, politics of hatred, using government machinery against Opposition, political pressure on journalists and killings of writers, had already been sent to the literary meet’s organisers.

“The organisers must have thought that they will have to forego ‘sarkari meherbani’ (favours from government) if Nayantara Sahgal is called for the event. They have killed the freedom of expression and self-respect of writers,” the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

“Nayantara, who is feared by the ruling party today, is the same person who was jailed during the Emergency for speaking against Indira Gandhi. This means she is not against an ideology or a political party but against all that is wrong,” the Marathi daily said.

The editorial referred to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray saying his party has no objection to Sahgal being invited to the literary meet and his apology after a local MNS worker threatened to disrupt the function.

Amid flak by Opposition leaders and authors over rescinding the invitation to Sahgal for the literary event, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had on Monday distanced itself from the controversy.

Soon after the CMO’s clarification, Sahgal had said that she won’t attend the meet now even if a fresh invite were to be sent to her.

Opposition leaders have alleged that the invitation was cancelled at the behest of the ruling BJP.

PM to launch developmental projects in Solapur tomorrow

By
Web Team
-

modi 4After BJP president Amit Shah’s visit to Maharashtra’s Latur district last week, now Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Solapur district in Maharashtra on Wednesday where he will launch a series of developmental projects.

The development projects, Modi said, will improve connectivity in Solapur and surrounding areas.

“The housing project will particularly help ‘beedi’ and textile workers. Sanitation and sewerage facilities will also improve. We are committed to furthering Ease of Living for our citizens,” the PM tweeted.

He will dedicate four-laning of Solapur-Osmanabad section of NH-211 and lay the foundation stone for 30,000 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna.

He will also launch underground sewerage system and three sewage treatment plants.

The PM said that he will also lay foundation stone for underground sewerage system under AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation).

“These will greatly benefit citizens,” Modi wrote on Twitter.

 

Ramkumar, Ankita make winning start; Karman exits from Australian Open qualifiers

By
Web Team
-

tennis2

India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina recorded straight sets victories to make a promising start at the Australian Open qualifiers but Karman Kaur Thandi went down fighting in the first round on Tuesday.

Seeded 21st, Ramkumar knocked out Spain’s Sergio Guiterrez-Ferrol 6-3 6-2 in his men’s singles opening round.

“It was a very close match. We played a very long game at 2-2 on my serve, I held. He also held his own but after the new balls came in I broke him. I served well and that helped. At big moments also, my serves came out well,” explained Ramkumar.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran will open his campaign against Croatia’s Viktor Galovic on Wednesday.

Appearing in her third Grand Slam Qualifiers, Ankita (ranked 205) got the better of Myrtille Georges (ranked 238) from France 6-2 6-2 in her opening round.

“I have been working on my serve for the last six months and today I got some dividends from it. My first serve percentage was high and got me many points but most satisfying was winning points on my second serve. Usually that used to be low,” Ankita told PTI.

“Also, today, I hit a lot of winners but should control the number of unforced errors,” she added.

Ankita next faces Spain’s Paula Badosa Gibert, ranked 140.

Competing at her maiden Grand Slam, Karman made a nervy start but in the second set put up a good fight against world number 115 and 16th seed Jennifer Brady before losing 0-6 5-7.

Kohli’s men India’s best fast-bowling, fielding team but not batting: Chappell

By
Web Team
-

kholi team

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels the Virat Kohli-led side is India’s best in pace bowling and fielding but it is nowhere close to being the best in batting.

India defeated Australia 2-1 for their maiden Test series triumph Down Under, ending a 71-year wait.

The historic victory has garnered widespread praise for Kohli’s men with several former players lauding the gritty performance.

Asked if this was the best Indian team of all time on ‘ESPNCricinfo’, Chappell said, “This Indian side is the best fast bowling contingent I have seen from India and the best fielding side that I have seen from India.”

“But it’s not the best batting side. I have seen better batting combinations from India than this team,” he added, but did not dwell on which batting line-up he considered the best.

Although Cheteshwar Pujara was adjudged man of the series for being the series’ top-scorer, India’s traditionally much-vaunted batting was, for once, overshadowed by the team’s pacers.

The Indian pacers accounted for 50 of the 70 Australian wickets during the engagement.

The visiting pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami combined for an average of 21.62 in the four-match series, while Australia’s pace battery, comprising Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, averaged over 30.

Chappell said that the Indian bowlers did well to exploit the conditions.

“I thought the Indian bowlers did really well and overall they out-bowled the Australians. They got more swing than the Australian bowlers.

“I think the seam position of the Indian fast bowlers was very good. They kept it up the whole time and perhaps that’s why they swung the ball more than the Australians,” he explained.

Nadal says ‘no pain’ after Sydney tie as Slam looms

By
Web Team
-

nadal

Injury-plagued world number two Rafael Nadal insists he is healthy and in no pain after coming through an exhibition game in Sydney, just days after pulling out of the Brisbane International.

The Spaniard teamed up with Canadian Milos Raonic to defeat Australians Nick Kyrgios and John Millman in the FAST4 Showdown on Monday evening — a shortened, quicker format of the game often described as the tennis equivalent of Twenty20 cricket.

Nadal said that he was “feeling better” after withdrawing from Brisbane, when an MRI revealed a slight strain of his left thigh, casting doubts over his fitness for next week’s Australian Open.

“I did not feel the pain here,” the 17-time Grand Slam champion said. “I think it was a good start for me, a good comeback to the action in front of a fantastic crowd in Sydney.

“I really enjoyed playing here. I’m happy to be back on court and happy that I’m healthy again.” Nadal has not played a main tour event since a knee problem forced him to retire during his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro in September.

The 32-year-old had surgery on his ankle in November to remove a loose intra-articular body and only resumed training a month ago.

He played the opening round at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi to start his season, where he lost to South African Kevin Anderson, and had a first round bye in Brisbane before withdrawing ahead of the second round.

Asked by reporters if he considered himself a genuine title contender in Melbourne despite his injury problems, he replied: “Why not?” “You can’t predict that. Of course it would be better if I had the chance to play a full tournament in Abu Dhabi and a full tournament in Brisbane, but the big importance is I am feeling good with the ball. The only thing is that I didn’t play matches since a long time ago.”

Nadal will now head to Melbourne, where he was the champion in 2009, to get in as much practice as possible before the opening Grand Slam of the year begins on Monday.

LS passes Citizenship (Amendment) Bill

By
Web Team
-

lok sabhaA bill seeking to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangaldesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan was approved by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Piloting the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Opposition that the bill was not against the provisions of the Constitution and would give succour to persecuted minorities in the three neighbouring countries.

The Bill provides for according Indian citizenship to the the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 years even if they do not possess any document.

“They have no place to go to, except India,” he said, adding several leaders including first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru were in favour of giving shelter to persecuted minorities in the neighouring countries.

Munna Bhai 3 to go on floors

By
Web Team
-

mbbs

The third instalment of “Munna Bhai” franchise to go on floors by the end of the year, says actor Arshad Warsi.

Munna Bhai, a lovely goon, along with his trusted sidekick Circuit (played by Arshad) took on the condition of healthcare and the dying Gandhian values in the society in the last two films, directed by Rajkumar Hirani.

“I do know that the script is pretty much ready. I do know from Raju that the film will go on floors this year- either mid or the end of the year. The work on the script is going on. As of now, yes it’s Sanju and me. These are the things I’ve been told”, Arshad told agencies.

The first film, “Munna Bhai MBBS” released in 2003 while ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai” released in 2006. The third one, however, will be coming out after more than a decade and Arshad says that it’s slightly “scary“ to pick up the character where he left.

“I tend to do my film and forget about my character and I move on to the next one. I tend to forget, which is what happened with ‘Munna Bhai.’ When I came for the second part, I was doing the same role differently.”

“I realised something isn’t quite right. Then Raju and I saw a couple of scenes from the first one and remembered how I should be doing. This time too, I’m sure I’ll do it.”

Apart from this, Arshad says the fifth installment of “Golmaal 5” will also happen. In Rohit Shetty’s recently released “Simmba”, the “Golmaal” gang had a cameo in a special song where they hinted about the upcoming film. “That will happen too. All of us know, Rohit knows, that he owes it to the audience,” he added.

The actor is currently gearing up for the release of “Fraud Saiyaan”, directed by Sourabh Shrivastava to be released on January 18.

Alia Bhatt in Neetu Kapoor’s family photo; sends Instagram into meltdown

By
Web Team
-

kapoorIt is no secret that Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor are the newest ‘It’ couple in Bollywood. The couple’s social media posts just go on to prove the same as well. In fact, Alia’s social media interactions with her beau’s mum Neetu Kapoor and sister Riddhima reveal a lot about the easy rapport she shares with the Kapoor clan.

Recently the Raazi actress joined the Kapoors in their annual vacation at New York and the pictures from their party are the latest talk of the town.

On Tuesday, Neetu Kapoor shared a few snaps from their New York diaries on Instagram and captioned it as, “All the heartbeats in these.”

Soon after, Instagram went into a meltdown with fans commenting on how adorable the photos were. They not only spoke about Neetu’s grand-daughter Samara but also how adorable the family looked in the photos.

One user posted, “Awweee this is sooo adorable.luv u,” while another wrote, “So cute and adorable ! May god bless u both !! All get well soon wishes for rishi sir.”

A third user wrote, “Aunty regards to chacha and bhau ranbir and bhabi @aliaabhatt .. tcr aunty ji @neetu54,” referring to Alia’s presence in the photo.

Alia Bhatt too left a comment on the photo. She left kisses and hearts and even got replied by Riddhima. Alia’s mother Soni Razdan too commented on the same post.

Professionally, 2019 will Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt co-starring for the first time in Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

All the heartbeats in these ????

A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54) on

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54) on

Dave Bautista joins Denis Villeneuve’s next film ‘Dune’

By
Web Team
-

Dave Bautista Dune 913

Dave Bautista is set to star in Denis Villeneuve’s next directorial venture “Dune”.

The “Guardians of the Galaxy” star joins Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson.

Set in the distant future, “Dune” follows Paul Atreides (Chalamet), whose family assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis.

After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship to nature, as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s reign.

Ferguson will portray Atreides’ mother, Lady Jessica, who escapes with him into the desert and helps him become a saviour in their eyes.

Bautista will play “Beast” Rabban, the sadistic nephew of a baron who oversees Arrakis.

Eric Roth is penning the script.

Legendary closed a deal with the Frank Herbert estate in 2016 for his iconic novel, granting the studio rights to not only films, but also TV projects on the sci-fi property.

The projects will be produced by Villeneuve, Mary Parent and Cale Boyter.

Ayodhya case: SC sets up five-judge bench, matter to be heard on Thursday

By
Web Team
-

Ayodhya Verdict, Ayodhya Case, Supreme Court, Five-judge bench, janmabhoomi-babri masjid, babri masjid, ram janmabhoomiThe Supreme Court on Tuesday set up a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land title dispute case.

The bench would be headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprise of Justices S A Bobde, N V Ramana, U U Lalit and D Y Chandrachud.
The Constitution Bench is scheduled to hear the matter on January 10.

The case deals with the controversial issue of setting up a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya at a site believed to have been the birthplace of Lord Ram. The Babri Masjid stood on the disputed site and was controversially demolished in 1992 by ‘kar sevaks’. The demolition led to nationwide riots.

The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title case is about who owns the controversial land where Babri Masjid once stood and where Lord Ram is believed to have been born.
On Friday, the top court had deferred the Ayodhya case in just a 60-second hearing and said a bench would decide on January 10 when to take up the case.

The dispute is over 2.7 acres of land on which the Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished on December 6, 1992.

In 2010, the Allahabad High Court accepted that the disputed site was the birthplace of Lord Ram and allotted two-thirds of it to the Hindus. The rest went to the Sunni Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh. Both Hindu and Muslim organisations appealed against it in the Supreme Court, which in 2011, stayed the High Court order.

In October, the Supreme Court rejected the Uttar Pradesh government’s appeal for an early hearing of the 14 petitions in the case. “We have our own priorities. Whether hearing would take place in January, March or April would be decided by an appropriate bench,” the court said.

The court’s refusal for an early hearing pushed right-wing groups and a section of the BJP to demand that the government bypass the legal process and expedite temple construction through an ordinance of the executive order.

Despite pressure from right-wing groups and the Shiv Sena, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his New Year interview that the government is waiting for a legal resolution. “Let the judicial process be over. After the judicial process is over, whatever be our responsibility as a government, we are ready to make all efforts,” PM Modi said. He also accused the Congress of delaying the legal process.

In September, the Supreme Court had declined to reconsider its observations in a 1994 judgment that a mosque was not integral to Islam – an issue that came up during the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute.

The 16th-Century Babri Majid was razed on December 6, 1992, by thousands of right-wing volunteers or Kar Sewaks, who claimed it was built on a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram that was destroyed. Around 2,000 people were killed in the riots that followed the demolition.

1...1,3341,3351,336...5,577Page 1,335 of 5,577