Year : 01 Issue : 10 Price : Rs. 1 /- Pages : 04 Annual Subscription : Rs. 300 /- Edition : Ahmedabad. E-Paper : issue.com/sunvillasamacharenglishdaily Year : 01 Issue : 10 Pages : 4 Price : Rs.1/- 4, January, 2015 Sunday News Brief National Court of Appeal regional benches rejected by Modi government Rains affected 42 trains though flight operations were smooth. Humidity levels oscillated between 98 and 80 per cent. The visibility at 8:30 am was 600 metres which remained around 800 metres for the rest of the day. By 6:30 pm, all fog was cleared even though the sky remained cloudy. Dr. R.K. Jenamani, director of the meteorological department at IGI Airport, said, “On Saturday, the skies will be partly cloudy. Moderate fog would occur in the morning. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover at 17 and 11 degrees Celsius, respectively”. “Dense fog is unlikely till the night of January 2. It may come back on the morning of January 3-4. But the spell is not likely to last longer than two- three nights as stronger winds will blow the fog away. Our models forecast that fog may be back by the morning of January 5.” J-K: 2 jawans, 1 woman killed in Pak firing In a setback to lakhs of people in far-flung southern, eastern and western states, the Modi government has rejected fresh demands for setting up a National Court of Appeal (NCA) with regional benches in major cities to hear appeals against orders of high courts. Now it is up to the Supreme Court to take a stand on the issue. Acting on a PIL, which demanded regional benches, the Supreme Court in October 2014 had asked the ministry to take a stand on the issue by April 2015. "An issue of positive and significant nature, for establishment of a NCA has been raised. Mild rain and winter chill throw life out of whack in Capital Number of RSS shakhas up by 4,500 nationwide, 320 in Gujarat in a year Shrinagar / Jammu In yet another violation of the bilateral ceasefire, two Indian Army jawans were killed and two other security personnel were injured in a fresh case of cross-border firing by Pakistan Rangers in Tanghdar sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. "Two soldiers were killed in a blaze triggered by rocket propelled grenades fired by Pakistan at Indian Army bunkers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir Saturday," police said. "The Pakistan Army fired RPGs towards a post of the Indian Army in Tangdhar sector. A blaze was triggered in the tall dry grass around two bunkers of the Indian Army due to these RPGs that quickly engulfed the bunkers," the official added, IANS reported. According to news reports, the injured were flown to a Srinagar hospital. This is the ninth such incident of ceasefire violation in the last ten days. Due to the heavy shelling by Pakistani troops since the past twelve hours, scores of villagers were forced to migrate from the affected border villages. Since yesterday night, two Army jawans and a woman were killed while 11 people were injured as Pakistani troops targeted villages and security posts at various places in J&K. Reports from the border villages of Manyari, Paansar, Bobia, Londi, Sadechak, Chailari, Chachwal, Mangu Chak, Regaal, Mawa, Sadho and Chak Fakira said dozens of families started migrating to safer places because of the shelling. Earlier in the day, a woman was killed and eight other people were injured in Pakistani shelling along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba and Kathua districts, police said. The woman identified as 45-year-old Toshi Devi, wife of Somnath and a resident of Mangu Chak village in Samba district, was injured in the shelling and succumbed to her injuriesat a hospital. “The eight injured were being treated in the same hospital in Jammu,” a senior police official was quoted as saying by IANS. Police also said Pakistan Rangers had fired at Border Security Force (BSF) outposts around 9.30 pm on Friday. Shortly after the Pak shelling, the Border Security Force (BSF) retaliated. “The firing exchange that stopped at 3.30 am on Saturday resumed in Hiranagar, Ramgarh and Samba sectors of the international border,” police said today. Quoting intelligence reports, senior Home Ministry officials had said yesterday that the terrorists were waiting for opportunity in eight locations along the International Border and Line of Control to sneak into India to indulge in terrorist acts. Ahmedabad Addressing a press conference on the second day of RSS Gujarat region’s Karyakarta shibir, RSS pracharak Manmohan Vaidya said that the number of RSS shakhas has increased in recent years. Sharing the figures, Shri Vaidya said, “compared to previous year, we have witnessed increase of 4,500 sakhas in year 2014. In Gujarat we have added 320 shakhas in 2014 compared to previous year.” He further said, “Sangh website has ‘join RSS’ facility. In year 2012 each month we were receiving 1,000 requests to join RSS on website mainly from youths. In 2013 the number was up at 2,500 per month, while in year 2014 we receive per month 9,000 requests to join RSS.” Sharing Gujarat specific figures he said, “we received 45 requests per month from Gujarat to join RSS, in 2013 this figure was 180 while in year 2014 it has been 490 per month.” He added that the requests received to join RSS in person at Shakha venues are separate. When asked whether BJP’s rise has any role to play in this, Shri Vaidya denied such logic. He said Kerala has witnessed highest increase in shakha numbers, but BJP is not in power there. Speaking about ongoing Gujarat Shibir, Shri Vaidya said, “In total 14,558 karyakartas are attending this shibir. Only those karyakarta who are assigned some responsibility have been invited to this shibir. In 1985, about 5,000 swayam sevak attended such shibir in Gujarat. In year 2000, in another shibir held in Gujarat, 25,000 swayamsevaks were present from all over Gujarat, as that shibir was for all swayam sevaks. Now when figure of Shakhas and swayam sevaks has increased, we have this time called only those to shibir who have been assigned some responsibility. BJP keeping options open in J&K: Amit Shah Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Saturday said the party had kept all options open in Jammu and Kashmir, which has witnessed a fractured verdict in recent Assembly polls. “Soon we will be able to find a solution,” Mr. Shah, who was here to review the progress of the party’s ongoing membership drive, told journalists. On the reported remarks of National Conference leader Omar Abdullah that his party was not inclined to join hands with the BJP, Mr. Shah said: “Do you think that Mr. Abdullah will tell you all the truth?” Replying to queries on the controversy over the ghar vapsi programme by some of the Sangh Parivar affiliated groups, he said that the BJP had nothing to do with it. “The BJP is against any forceful conversion,” he said and remarked “I will appeal to the so-called secular forces who are opposing the ghar vapsi to join hands with us to bring in legislation to prevent forced conversions instead of trying to stop it merely through media discussions.” Mr. Shah, who was discharged a few days ago by a special CBI court in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter cases, denied allegations that it affected the credibility of the CBI. “I was discharged in the case not by the government, but by the court,” he asserted. Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar is all set to welcome the guests of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015 celebration scheduled on 7-8-9 January and delegates of Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 scheduled on 11-12 January. Here are the pictures of iconic structure.
National Court ofAppeal regionalbenches rejectedby Modigovernment
Rains affected 42 trainsthough flight operationswere smooth. Humiditylevels oscillated between98 and 80 per cent. Thevisibility at 8:30 am was600 metres which remainedaround 800 metres for therest of the day. By 6:30 pm,all fog was cleared eventhough the sky remainedcloudy.Dr. R.K. Jenamani, directorof the meteorologicaldepartment at IGI Airport,said, “On Saturday, theskies will be partly cloudy.Moderate fog would occurin the morning. Themaximum and minimumtemperatures are expectedto hover at 17 and 11degrees Celsius,respectively”.“Dense fog is unlikely tillthe night of January 2. Itmay come back on themorning of January 3-4.But the spell is not likelyto last longer than two-three nights as strongerwinds will blow the fogaway. Our models forecastthat fog may be back by themorning of January 5.”
J-K: 2 jawans, 1 woman killed in Pak firing
In a setback to lakhs ofpeople in far-flungsouthern, eastern andwestern states, the Modigovernment has rejectedfresh demands for settingup a National Court ofAppeal (NCA) withregional benches in majorcities to hear appealsagainst orders of highcourts.Now it is up to the SupremeCourt to take a stand on theissue. Acting on a PIL,which demanded regionalbenches, the SupremeCourt in October 2014 hadasked the ministry to takea stand on the issue byApril 2015."An issue of positive andsignificant nature, forestablishment of a NCAhas been raised.
Mild rain and winterchill throw life outof whack in Capital
Number of RSS shakhas up by 4,500nationwide, 320 in Gujarat in a year
Shrinagar / Jammu In yet another violation ofthe bilateral ceasefire, twoIndian Army jawans werekilled and two othersecurity personnel wereinjured in a fresh case ofcross-border firing byPakistan Rangers inTanghdar sector of Jammuand Kashmir on Saturday."Two soldiers were killedin a blaze triggered byrocket propelled grenadesfired by Pakistan at IndianArmy bunkers along theLine of Control (LoC) inJammu and KashmirSaturday," police said."The Pakistan Army firedRPGs towards a post ofthe Indian Army inTangdhar sector. A blazewas triggered in the talldry grass around twobunkers of the IndianArmy due to these RPGsthat quickly engulfed thebunkers," the officialadded, IANS reported.According to newsreports, the injured wereflown to a Srinagarhospital. This is the ninthsuch incident of ceasefireviolation in the last tendays.Due to the heavy shelling
by Pakistani troops sincethe past twelve hours,scores of villagers wereforced to migrate from theaffected border villages.Since yesterday night, twoArmy jawans and awoman were killed while11 people were injured asPakistani troops targetedvillages and security postsat various places in J&K.Reports from the bordervillages of Manyari,Paansar, Bobia, Londi,Sadechak, Chailari,Chachwal, Mangu Chak,Regaal, Mawa, Sadho andChak Fakira said dozensof families startedmigrating to safer placesbecause of the shelling.Earlier in the day, awoman was killed andeight other people wereinjured in Pakistanishelling along theInternational Border inJammu and Kashmir'sSamba and Kathuadistricts, police said.The woman identified as45-year-old Toshi Devi,wife of Somnath and aresident of Mangu Chakvillage in Samba district,was injured in the shellingand succumbed to her
injuriesat a hospital.“The eight injured werebeing treated in the samehospital in Jammu,” asenior police official wasquoted as saying by IANS.Police also said PakistanRangers had fired atBorder Security Force(BSF) outposts around9.30 pm on Friday. Shortlyafter the Pak shelling, theBorder Security Force(BSF) retaliated.“The firing exchange thatstopped at 3.30 am on
Saturday resumed inHiranagar, Ramgarh andSamba sectors of theinternational border,”police said today.Quoting intelligencereports, senior HomeMinistry officials had saidyesterday that theterrorists were waiting foropportunity in eightlocations along theInternational Border andLine of Control to sneakinto India to indulge interrorist acts.
AhmedabadAddressing a pressconference on the secondday of RSS Gujaratregion’s Karyakarta shibir,RSS pracharakManmohan Vaidya saidthat the number of RSSshakhas has increased inrecent years.Sharing the figures, ShriVaidya said, “compared toprevious year, we havewitnessed increase of4,500 sakhas in year 2014.
In Gujarat we have added320 shakhas in 2014compared to previousyear.” He further said,“Sangh website has ‘joinRSS’ facility. In year 2012each month we werereceiving 1,000 requests tojoin RSS on websitemainly from youths. In2013 the number was upat 2,500 per month, whilein year 2014 we receiveper month 9,000 requeststo join RSS.” SharingGujarat specific figures hesaid, “we received 45requests per month fromGujarat to join RSS, in2013 this figure was 180
while in year 2014 it hasbeen 490 per month.” Headded that the requestsreceived to join RSS inperson at Shakha venuesare separate. When askedwhether BJP’s rise has anyrole to play in this, ShriVaidya denied such logic.He said Kerala haswitnessed highest increasein shakha numbers, butBJP is not in power there.Speaking about ongoingGujarat Shibir, Shri Vaidyasaid, “In total 14,558karyakartas are attendingthis shibir. Only thosekaryakarta who areassigned some
responsibility have beeninvited to this shibir. In1985, about 5,000swayam sevak attendedsuch shibir in Gujarat. Inyear 2000, in anothershibir held in Gujarat,25,000 swayamsevakswere present from all over
Gujarat, as that shibir wasfor all swayam sevaks.Now when figure ofShakhas and swayamsevaks has increased, wehave this time called onlythose to shibir who havebeen assigned someresponsibility.
BJP keeping optionsopen in J&K: Amit Shah
Bharatiya Janata Partypresident Amit Shah onSaturday said the party hadkept all options open inJammu and Kashmir,which has witnessed afractured verdict in recentAssembly polls. “Soon wewill be able to find asolution,” Mr. Shah, whowas here to review theprogress of the party’songoing membershipdrive, told journalists. Onthe reported remarks ofNational Conferenceleader Omar Abdullah that
his party was not inclinedto join hands with the BJP,Mr. Shah said: “Do youthink that Mr. Abdullah willtell you all the truth?”Replying to queries on thecontroversy over the gharvapsi programme by someof the Sangh Parivaraffiliated groups, he saidthat the BJP had nothing todo with it. “The BJP isagainst any forcefulconversion,” he said andremarked “I will appeal tothe so-called secular forceswho are opposing the ghar
vapsi to join hands with usto bring in legislation toprevent forced conversionsinstead of trying to stop itmerely through mediadiscussions.” Mr. Shah,who was discharged a fewdays ago by a special CBIcourt in the SohrabuddinSheikh and TulsiramPrajapati fake encountercases, denied allegationsthat it affected thecredibility of the CBI. “Iwas discharged in the casenot by the government, butby the court,” he asserted.
Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar is all set to welcome the guests of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015 celebrationscheduled on 7-8-9 January and delegates of Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 scheduled on 11-12 January. Hereare the pictures of iconic structure.
2 / Dt. 04-01-2015, Sunday Ahmedabad
SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2015
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Birth of a newinstitution NITIIn line with the Government of India’s approach of lessgovernment and a move away from centralised planning,the NITI Aayog with a new structure and focus on policywill replace the 64-year old Planning Commission thatwas seen as a vestige of the socialist era. The new body,conceived more in the nature of a think-tank that willprovide strategic and technical advice, will be helmed bythe Prime Minister with a Governing Council of ChiefMinisters and Lt. Governors, similar to the NationalDevelopment Council that set the objectives for thePlanning Commission. The NITI Aayog seeks substitutecentralised planning with a ‘bottom-up’ approach wherethe body will support formulation of plans at the villagelevel and aggregate them at higher levels of government.In short, the new body is envisaged to follow the norm ofcooperative federalism, giving room to States to tailorschemes to suit their unique needs rather than be dictatedto by the Centre. The needs of a State such as Keralawith its highly developed social indicators may not bethe same as that of, say, Jharkhand, which scores relativelylow on this count. One significant change of note is thatone of the functions of the body will be to address theneeds of national security in economic strategy. Nowhereis this more relevant than in the area of energy securitywhere India, unlike China, has failed to evolve a coherentpolicy over the years. Similarly, networking with othernational and international think-tanks and with expertsand practitioners, as has been envisaged, will add heft tothe advice that the NITI Aayog will provide. To deflectcriticism that this will be a free-market institution thatignores the deprived, the government has taken care tomake the point that the body will pay special attention tothe sections of society that may not benefit enough fromeconomic progress. How this operates in practice willbear close watching. Interestingly, though it will not beformulating Central plans any more, the NITI Aayog willbe vested with the responsibility of monitoring andevaluating the implementation of programmes. Thus,while the advisory and monitoring functions of theerstwhile Planning Commission have been retained inthe new body, the executive function of framing Plansand allocating funds for Plan-assisted schemes has beentaken away. But who will now be responsible for thecritical function of allocating Plan funds? Hopefully, therewill be greater clarity on this aspect in the days ahead.
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope fortomorrow. The important thing is not to stopquestioning. - Albert Einstein
QUOTEOF THE
DAY
Pritam, Gautam are toughcontenders in 'Bigg Boss': Sana KhanActress Sana Khan, who isre-entering controversialreality show 'Bigg Boss' asa challenger, feelscontestants Pritam Singhand Gautam Gulati will beher toughest competition.Five challengers, includingSana, Mahek Chahal,Rahul Mahajan,Sambhavna Seth and AjazKhan will be competingwith the top fivecontestants of the currentseason of 'Bigg Boss',called champions, in theshow's extended segment'Bigg Boss Halla Bol'.'Bigg Boss 8' championswill be announced todayand 'Halla Bol' series, to behosted by director FarahKhan, will be launchedtomorrow."I haven't seen much but Ifind Pritam, Gautam andAli very entertaining.Pritam and Gautam are mybiggest competition and ofanyone in the house be it
the champion orchallenger. They havecrazy fan following," Sanatold PTI. The 21-year-oldactress, who was thesecond runner up on 'BiggBoss' season six, said shehas no strategy for thegame because she feels noplan works inside thehouse. "I am going withzero expectations andhave absolutely noexpectations because I
know whatever you planit fails once you are insidethe house. We think wewill get along with somecontestant but we mightget into a fight with himor her. I will be a happyand positive person," sheadded. The 'Jai Ho'actress, her boyfriend andtheir servant were arrestedthree months back forallegedly molesting amedia consultant.
Aamir Khan welcomes the NewYear with friends in PanchginiWhile most of Bollywoodbrought in the New Yearat different parts of theworld, Aamir Khandecided to stay in thecountry to welcome 2015.The ‘pk’ actor celebratedNew Year’s eve with asmall group of closefriends in Panchgini, a hillstation in Maharashtra.Aamir is on a high with hischristmas release ‘pk’ onits way to become thehighest grosser film ever inIndian cinema. The film,
Kriti Sanon isa tech freak
Kriti Sanon is very techsavvy. Many people knowthat the actress, who is anengineer by qualification,is always in the know-howabout gizmos and gadgets.The young actress is fondof gadgets and is alwaysup-to-date about the latesttechnology available in themarket. Kriti hassubscribed to a lot ofgizmos' magazines and isaware about the latesttechnology and trends. Allher friends turn to her foradvice when they have tobuy a new phone, laptop,tablet or even a desktop.The actress always doesthorough research and sincethe Iphone 6 is the new rage,she has been discussing itwith people.? ?Kriti prefersthe Iphone 5 over Iphone 6even though it is a newermodel, as ?Iphone 5? hasbetter features. She herself
which was released acrossthe country on December19, got tremendousresponse from the audienceeven as it had faced protests
from activists of VishwaHindu Parishad, BajrangDal, Hindu JanajagrutiSamiti and All IndiaMahasabha in some cities.
Exercising three hours a weekcan help reduce arthritis pain
A new study has revealedthat arthritis patients canbeat their agonizing painby exercising three hoursa week. According to theresearchers, the three-h o u r s - a - w e e kprogramme, which wasdevised in the US, hasproved to be so successfulthat GPs are being urgedto prescribe it to Britain's10 million sufferers toreduce pain levels, theDaily Express reported.The first exercise is tostand upright from aseated position then sitagain without using yourarms, while in the second,outstretched arms are usedto reach toes from a sittingposition with kneesstraight and the thirdinvolves walking as
quickly as possible aroundthe home for six minutes.It was found that at theend of a trial of the regime,average pain rating forparticipants had fallen to4.3 out of 10 from 4.7 andsufferers of chronic jointinflammation saw"significant improvements"in pain relief, stiffness andtiredness after just threemonths. Dr Sara Wilcox, ofthe Department of ExerciseScience at the University ofSouth Carolina, whichcarried out the study, saidthat this adds a moreflexible format to theexisting list of evidence-based programmes and itmay appeal to subgroups ofthe arthritis populationwith less access tocommunity programmes.
Want to write an interesting storyfor Shah Rukh Khan : Vidya BalanVidya Balan and ShahRukh Khan never cametogether for a film but ifthis turns out to be true,we might see the twoBollywood superstarstogether soon. In aninterview to a leadingdaily, Vidya confided thatshe is preparing to write astory for Shah Rukh.For the longest time, fanshave been wanting to seethe pair come together fora film but something or theother acted as a barrier toit. From the little that wehave seen on award showsand other events, the twoshare great chemistry andmight as well be one of themost iconic jodis in Bollyville.When asked about it Vidyasaid that she's planned towrite a story but she
cannot sit through theentire process as she is notthat patient. The story willbe an emotional dramarevolving around love, lifeand relationships. A morerealistic and romanticstory, Vidya has planned to
write the story for ShahRukh Khan.
After all, when itsabout romance andrelationships, there'shardly anyone who canbetter SRK! Guess, evenVidya knows it well.
Ranbir-Katrina's love lifeAccording to a report onDeccanchronicle.com,Ranbir Kapoor andKatrina Kaif have beenspotted partying togetherin New York City.Bollywood's allegedcouple was spotted andclicked by fans and thepictures made their wayto social networkingsites. Ranbir, Katrina andAyan Mukerji reportedlyrang in the New Year atthe Standard Hotel inNew York, where singerRita Ora performed live.Ranbir's fans were luckyto get photographsclicked with the star. Thepicture is taken atStarbucks, the reportstates. Even Katrina Kaif,who joined him aftercelebrating Christmaswith family in London,was at the store shoppingwith Ranbir, but shedidn't get clicked as shewas not well, the reportfurther states. after thegrand Christmas lunchwith the Kapoors, theactor took off forLondon last night. He
landed in Heathrow andwas snapped by a few fansand a few autographs later,the report further states.Ranbir has apparentlytook off for New York tobe joined later by ladyloveKatrina Kaif. According tothe report, rumour millssuggest that he will askKatrina's hand from hermother for marriage andthat the two are gettingengaged soon after, andwill be married onceBombay Velvet releases.For the pre-Christmasparty, Katrina did not hire
a Bollywood DJ butpersonally curated thehouse music that played allevening.The party wasmomentarily disruptedwhen some Hindichartbusters suddenly cutinto the mellow mood.When Katrina checked,she discovered aneighbour with a fondnessfor peppy Salman Khantracks, including thepopular 'Jumme ki raat',was having a party too andhad upped the volume onthe stereo.
Kapil Sharma the latest to joinBollywood’s singer-actors
regularly updates thesoftware in her phone. Kriti,who made her debut withthe commercially successfulHeropanti, won her first
award for her impressivedebut.? ?The actress iscurrently preparing for herroles in Singh is Bling andFarzi.
Sources say that funnyman Kapil Sharma will belending his voice for oneof the songs in his debutfeature.While his vocal skills havebeen displayed on his TVshow as well, this makesKapil the latest to join theleague of actors, who alsodouble up as singers.
For India it is a case of theking is dead, long live theking.M.S. Dhoni has abdicatedmid-series. The war hasbeen lost, but a majorbattle remains.The new monarch, ViratKohli, can look forward toa popular opening to hisreign if he can overcomeboth Australia at the SCGand his own inner demonsduring the hours of play -demons that have apenchant for beingexpressed verbally.Virat Kohli is a feistycharacter and anaggressive batsman, traitsthat are becomingincreasingly less mutuallyexclusive for top-classplayers. The problem withVirat is that he is an agentprovocateur of the mostmouthy kind, whether heis holding the willow orbrandishing the leather.Kohli is not the type toturn the other cheek, andit matters little if the
agonist is bowling at himor casually waiting in thegully for an edge.The show he put on whenstruck by the MitchellJohnson return throwwould have done a SerieA striker proud.Barely stung, he collapsedin a heap for a microsecond, then sprang like aphoenix to his heels andbarked back.Johnson's apologycertainly looked genuineand Kohli was standingdirectly in front of thestumps. If he had been outof his ground when struckhe would have been givenout for obstructing thefield.Kohli chose his ownversion of the exchange toquicken the pulse and ampup the adrenalin flow.He then proceeded toswish at a wide delivery,edge another past secondslip and was dropped.Some players need to getrevved up to make them
mentally and physicallyaware, others need calm.Virat's charades are dumband dumber. Hisoverwrought reactionsmake him more vulnerableas his concentration veersaway from the precise taskof dealing with the next145km/h enemy to dealingwith the next adjective.His temper could havecost India the Test match.Coaches don't like playersgetting into poorbehavioural states thataffect their play negatively.There is Kohli themusketeer, an egocarrying a sabre, and thenthere is Kohli the would-be king. Two entirelydifferent beasts.In the first Test at Adelaidehe was given the keys tothe empire on a trial basiswhile Dhoni served apenance for tardiness, andhe did a very good job.He moved the chess piecesto the expected positionsand kept his troopsfighting hard. Halfwaythrough day five Indiawere on course for afamous victory.At one stage Kohlioperated as thepeacemaker by physicallygetting between Pujara,Yadav and the equallyfeisty David Warner. Hewas defending histeammates whilecommunicating a need fordiscipline.
Twitter to recap missedtweets while you are awayTwitter has launched anew ‘while you wereaway’ service whichrecaps important tweetsusers may have missedsince their last login. Thenew feature includes whatthe micro blogging sitethinks to be the best tweetsto the top of a user’stimeline the next time theyopen their Twitteraccount, The Guardianreported. It works likeFacebook’s news feed thatpresents status updatesand posts in a rankedmanner. It is the first majorTwitter feature beyondpromoted tweets andadverts to sort tweets in an o n - c h r o n o l o g i c a lfashion, the report added.
“Every time you open theTwitter app, you’ll seesomething great,”
Twitter said whenit announced the newfeature as part of its“Timeline Highlights”improvements. The newfeature aims at preservingimportant tweets that
could get drowned out bythe rapid flow of tweets ona daily basis. More than500 million tweets are senta daily basis, with manyusers following hundredsof accounts. WhereasFacebook has 1.3 billionusers to Twitter’s 284million.
Renewed buying interestraises gold prices
Gold prices bounced backfirmly after a two-daydown trending mode at thedomestic bullion marketdue to good demand fromjewellery stockists as wellas seasonal offtake.Elsewhere, silver alsogained marginally onimproved industrialsupport. Standard gold(99.5 purity) rose by Rs100 to conclude at Rs26,700 per 10 grams fromFriday's level of Rs26,600. Pure gold (99.9purity) also climbed by asimilar margin to end at Rs26,850 per 10 grams
compared to Rs 26,750.Silver (.999 fineness)moved up by Rs 95 tofinish at Rs 36,710 per kgas against Rs 36,615yesterday. On the globalmarket, the yellow-metaledged higher on the backof weak equities followinglower-than-expected USmacro data. GoldFebruary delivery settledat US $1,186.80 an ounceon the Comex division ofthe NYMEX lateFriday,while silver Marchcontract jumped 1.3 percent to US $15.80 anounce.
Hamas condemns alleged shootingof Gazan by Egyptian guards
An Egyptian securityofficial said that troopsopened fire on Gazanswho had illegally crossedinto the Egyptian Sinai,where the army hascreated a buffer zone toprevent the movement ofmilitants."Soldiers charged withprotecting the frontierfired at six Gazans, ofwhom three succeeded inreturning to Gaza whilethree were arrested. Onewas probably hit by thefire," an official said.Gaza emergency servicesspokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said that Houbi was17 years old.He was killed in the Gazafrontier town of Rafah byEgyptian soldiers firingfrom across the border,Qudra said.The border troops shot theyouth "in the back and thebullet settled in the heart.He died on the spot," hetold AFP.He was the first Palestinian"to have been killed in along time" along the
border between the GazaStrip and Egypt, accordingto Qudra.An eyewitness told AFPthat Houbi and threeothers scaled a concretewall on the border hopingto find work on theEgyptian side.His mother, Sarah al-Houbi, 35, said that he had"left home to look forwork" adding that herhusband was unemployedand the family stricken bythe poverty rampant inGaza.She said that he was not amember of any militantgroup and had tried
several times to get intoEgypt but was sent backeach time.Egypt announced onTuesday that work todouble the width of abuffer zone along the Gazaborder would begin nextweek to prevent militantsinfiltrating from thePalestinian enclave.Construction of the 500-metre (550-yard) bufferzone along 10 kilometres(six miles) of the bordercomes after an October 24suicide bombing that killed30 Egyptian soldiers.Some 800 homes are beingdemolished in the process.
Replacement of Planning Commission ahistoric step: Parkash Singh Bada
Hailing the replacement ofPlanning Commission withNITI Aayog, Punjab ChiefMinister Parkash SinghBadal on Saturday termedit a "historic step" and saidit will implement "realfederal structure" in thecountry. Badal said the"unprecedented" step willensure more participation ofstates in the policy-makingframework."With the formation of NITIAayog, the chief ministerswill have more involvementin the planning process,which will give boost to theoverall development of thecountry and prosperity of itspeople," Badal said here onSaturday. He alleged thatchief ministers of variousstates, who are betterconnected at the grassrootlevel, were hitherto ignoredwhile framing policies at thenational level. He allegedthat there was "excessivecentralisation of powers"during Congress-rungovernments at the Centre.During the governments runby Congress at the Centre,the states had hardly "anysay" in policy formulation,which resulted in "lop-sided" development of thecountry, he alleged. Citing
an example, Badal said thetop brass of erstwhilePlanning Commission wasnot even aware of theproblem of waterlogging insome areas of Punjab thenhow could they allocate therequired funds formitigating the woes ofpeople residing in theseareas. "Prime MinisterNarendra Modi deservesapplause for taking thisvisionary decision, whichwill transform the destiny ofthe countrymen," he added.
On January 1, the65-year-old PlanningCommission was replacedby a new body, NITI Aayogor National Institution forTransforming India, whichwill serve as a policy think-tank for the central as wellas state governments andhave Prime Minister
Narendra Modi as itsChairperson. The NITIAayog will have agoverning councilcomprising all state ChiefMinisters and Lt Governorsand will work towardsfostering a "co-operativefederalism" for providing a"national agenda" to theCentre and states. Asked tocomment on a recentOrdinance brought by theUnion government onLand Acquisition Act, theChief Minister saidparamount importancemust be given tosafeguarding the interestsof farmers at any cost andadded that developmentalworks initiated by thegovernment for thewelfare of the peopleshould also not getaffected due to any reason.
Centre 'diluting' LandAcquisition Act: AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) attacked the BJP-led Union Government onSaturday for allegedlydiluting the LandAcquisition Act, 2013through "back door"changes. The party alsoslammed the BJP formaking a "volte-face" asthe party had "supported"the clauses, that are being"diluted" now, when theprevious UPA governmentmoved the Bill inParliament. "Thegovernment is diluting the2013 Land AcquisitionAct, a product ofprolonged struggle by thefarmers of the country, byintroducing changesthrough the back doorwhich will impact
thousands of farmersacross the country,"Yogendra Yadav said."Ministers in thegovernment like RajnathSingh and Sushma Swarajhad in fact supported thevery clauses, like theprovision of consent andSocial Impact Assessment.Making a volte-face thegovernment is seeking todilute those provisionsnow," the senior AAPleader claimed. Yadav
announced that the partywill hold a rally over theissue during the fifth phaseof the Delhi Dialogueseries at Chhatarpurscheduled for Sunday."We are going to hold arally over the changes atour rural Delhi Dialogueto be held tomorrow. Theparty has also decided tolaunch district levelprotests wherever theparty has presencethroughout the country,"he said. On being askedwhether AAP was seekingto tap rural votes throughthese initiatives, Yadavsaid that the party wasbringing forth farmers'grievances. "We are justbringing forth thegrievances of farmers.
Finance minister promisesmore autonomy to PSU banks
PUNEFinance minister ArunJaitley on Saturday termedthe level of bad assets inthe system as"unacceptable" andpromised more autonomyfor state-run banks to runbusiness with a"commercial mindset"."There are unacceptablelevels of NPAs (non-performing assets) in somecases and the banks haveto be given a sufficientamount of leeway ... todeal with commercialissues with a commercialmindset," Jaitley toldreporters on the sidelinesof a two-day bankers'retreat here. The financeminister said there is a
need to bring aboutchanges in many areas instate-run banks, includinggiving "far greaterautonomy" and allowingthem to hire the best talent.The two-day bankingconclave, which started onFriday, is being held at acrucial time when India ismoving towardsaccelerating the pace ofgrowth, he said.The government, which amajority owner in 27public sector banks, thatcontrol over 70 per cent ofthe system, wants to hearthe problems plaguing thesector from the bankersand external experts as"they know the best wherethe shoe pinches", he said.
Racial slur can landyou in jail for five years
If the home ministry’s proposal of changes in the IndianPenal Code (IPC) comes through, a racial slur can nowland you in jail for five years. According to the proposal,derogatory remarks related to race, culture or physicalappearance can attract the sentence. Home MinisterRajnath Singh said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)is looking into the proposal, which was made by a high-level committee that looked into the attacks on peoplefrom the North- East.
Year : 01, Issue : 10 “Sunvilla Samachar” (English Daily) Morning Newspaper Printed at Vansh Corporation, A-8, Shayona Golden Estate, Shahibaug, Ahmedabad - 380 004., and Published at A-24, Shardha Apartment, Thakkarbapanagar Road,Bapunagar, Ahmedabad-382350. Mo.: 9687612324, by Owner, Printer, Publisher : Aksheshkumar S. Savaliya on date 04-01-2015 (Sunday), Editor : Kapilkumar M. Hirpara* (*Responsible for selection of News under the PRB act). RNI Title Code: GUJENG01183.
19 Gujarat BJP leaders elected districtpanchayat president, vice president
GandhinagarAccording to Gujarat BJPmedia cell statementissued here today evening,total 19 BJP leaders areelected as presidents andvice presidents of 12district panchayats thatwitnessed internalelections today. Newly
created 7 districts and 5old districts, thus in total12 district panchayatswitnessed elections for thepost of president and vicepresident. Of them 7district panchayats were toelect president and vicepresident both, whileSabarkantha, Junagadh
and Rajkot had to electonly president. In Jamnagarand Vadodara, only vicepresidents were to beelected. On all 19 posts of12 district panchayats, BJPleaders have been elected.A list is presented here withthis article in image formatin Gujarati.
Search underway for boat’swreckage off Porbandar coastGandhinagarA search is underway forthe wreckage of themysterious boat, whichexploded after beinghunted down by the IndianCoast Guard in theArabian Sea, as also thebodies of its fouroccupants, which will becrucial for investigators toreach a conclusion abouttheir intent.The CoastGuard has also stepped uppatrolling and aerialsurveillance along theGujarat maritime border inview of the PravasiBharatiya Divas andVibrant Gujarat events,which will be attended by
Prime Minister NarendraModi and several foreignleaders next week (rpt)next week. A searchoperation is on for thebodies of the crewmembers and wreckage ofthe vessel, Coast GuardCommander (North-WestRegion) Kuldip SinghSheoran told reportershere.The wreckage andthe bodies would helpinvestigators reach someconclusion about thein t en t ion .Rega rd ingreports that there were twosuspicious boats in the highseas, Sheoran said they hadno such information. Givingdetails of the operation
carried out in theintervening night ofDecember 31 and Januaryone, he said the CoastGuard intercepted the boatas it got suspicious aboutthe identity of crew who didnot resemble fishermenfrom their dressing style andcarried no nets. “We sawfour men on the boat. Theywere nowhere looking likefishermen, they wore T-shirts and half pants, and thisraised suspicion on ourside,” he said.The CoastGuard followed the standardoperating procedure (SOP)while intercepting the hostileboat, which as intelligenceinput suggested, had set sail
from the port city of Karachifrom Pakistan for some“illicit transaction”. Heinsisted that the vessel wasset on fire by its crewmembers, causing it toexplode and later sink. The
incident took place about365 km off the coast ofPorbander in the Arabian Seaon the intervening night ofDecember 31 and January 1after a hot pursuit by CoastGuard.
No Islamic green during Eid-e-Milad procession in PalanpurAHMEDABADThe Banaskantha districtadministration hasrestrained Muslims fromcarrying flags and bannersin Islamic green during theprocession to be taken outon the festival of Eid-e-Milad on Sunday inPalanpur town. Thepermission for processionissued by the sub-divisional magistrate(SDM) of Palanpur, J Bdesai, also imposes acondition that theparticipants would nottake out any symbol ofhand. Moreover, the two-hour long permission tocomplete the processionon a small route has beenasked to keep the volumeof music down. Theprocession will not haveany vehicle or cart in it.Among 16 conditions
imposed on the processionorganizers, they are askedto ensure that participantsdo not pollute the street asper the prevailingcampaign of 'SwachhBharat Mission'. Thestringent conditions onEid-e-Milad processioncame to be imposed lastyear, when the authoritiespermitted a procession lastyear upon instructionsissued by Gujarat highcourt. The authorities hadfirst denied permission forthe procession allegedlyunder the influence of thesects of Sunni Mulsimhardliners. Those whotake out procession incelebrations are sectsbroadly fall in the Suficults. Lately, a few Muslimpuritan organizations havebeen objecting to thefestivities on the day of
Prophet Mohammed'sbirth anniversary. This isbecause of the fact that theProphet's deathanniversary is alsoobserved on the same day.In 2009, the Darool Ulumof Deoband opined thatthe celebration and takingout procession are not theproper way to mark theday. BismillahkhanChauhan, president ofPalanpur's KGNCharitable Trust whichtakes out the annualprocession, told TOI, "Theadministration has putsuch stringent conditionsthat the Eid-e-Miladprocession looks like afuneral procession. TheSDM puts such restrictionson basis of opinion andsuggestions made by localpolice, who are influencedby the Sunni hardliners."
Kandhal Jadeja moves HCto drop Arms Act chargesAHMEDABADKutiyana MLA and theson of 'godmother'Santokben Jadeja,Kandhal Jadeja, hasmoved Gujarat high courturging that charges bedropped against him in a1998 arms case inPorbandar district.The HC stayed the trialcourt from framingcharges against Jadeja forpossessing a weapon.Jadeja moved HC aftertwo courts in Porbandardeclined to drop chargesunder Section 25(1) of theArms Act against him. Heis facing charges alongwith others, and theprosecution is relying on aconfessional statement byone of the co-accused,who was in police custodywhen the statement wasrecorded.Jadeja's case is pendingbefore Porbandar's chiefjudicial magistrate since2000. He filed applicationfor discharge and claimedthat there was no evidenceagainst him and theconfession of anotheraccused is not admissibleevidence. Moreover, therewas no recovery of
firearms. The magisterialcourt rejected Jadeja's pleain September 2014, whichled him to move a sessionscourt.The sessions court toorejected Jadeja'sapplication in November2014, after theprosecution argued thatthere was sufficientgrounds to frame chargesagainst Jadeja. Theconfession of co-accusedHasmukh Sidi isadmissible evidence underSection 10 of the IndianEvidence Act. There wasa panchnama drawn aboutrecovery of weapon in the
presence of two witnesses.The judge said that theadmissibility of evidence issubject to trial and is amixed question of factsand law.The court also acceptedthe prosecution'sargument that Jadeja is asitting MLA and therefore,all criminal proceedingswere required to beconducted expeditiouslyon a day-to-day basis.However, HC has stayedframing of charge till itdecides on Jadeja'sdischarge application.Further hearing is kept onJaunary 22
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AHMEDABAD The complaints ofvandalism at two theatresscreening Aamir Khan-starrer 'PK' have beenhanded over to the citycrime branch. Thecomplaints were originallyregistered withNavrangpura police.According to thecomplaints, about 50 to 60activists of Bajrang Dal,
led by its city chief JwalitMehta, had damagedticket windows at the twotheatres on Ashram Roadand had torn posters of thefilm. Crime branch sourcessaid that on December 31,2014, two persons hadapproached a theatre inSabarmati area and hadasked its manager to stopscreening of the film. "Wehave sought CCTV
footage from the theatreauthorities and onceidentified, will book thepersons who hadapproached the theatre inSabarmati," said a crimebranch official.The film directed byRajkumar Hirani is a takeon superstition andGodmen. Bajrang Dalactivists claim that the filmis an insult to Hindu Gods.
Painting is like 'ghar wapsi'for me: Amol Palekar
AHMEDABADHe ruled the silver screenand gave blockbusters like'Chhoti Si Baat', 'Gol Maal'and 'Naram Garam'. Butwhen you ask AmolPalekar about his creativejourney, the veteran actorsays: "I started as a painterand will end as one.""In fact, my return tocanvas is like 'ghar wapsi',though not of the sortshogging front pageheadlines these days," hesaid in a lighter way.Palekar is in the city for afive-day exhibition of hispaintings. Around 40abstracts in varied sizeswill be on public displayfrom Sunday. The actorsaid: "Having graduatedfrom JJ School of Art in1965, I had my first soloexhibition in 1967. Icontinued to paint till 1982
during which I had sevenone-man shows. Then theworld of cinema engagedme for 30 years... Nowwith my new beginning,I'm compelled to findmyself again."Why abstracts? Palekarsaid, "Feelings are alwaysabstract. I'm also trying toexplore silence which isthe most eloquent andpowerful part of sound."Asked if cinemaovershadowed his paintingcareer, he quipped:"Glamour overshadowseverything... But I havenothing to crib about."So when will the audienceget to see the seasonedactor again on the silverscreen? He said: "Thevulgar market forces haverisen over the years. Theyhave alienated theperformer in me."
Air India to run 5 more flights to Ahmedabad forVibrant Gujarat and Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas
National carrier Air Indiahas said it will operate fiveadditional flights toAhmedabad from Delhiduring the forthcomingVibrant Gujarat GlobalInvestors Summit andPravasi Bharatiya Diwas(PBD) in Gandhinagar. AirIndia will deploy a 122-seater A319 plane tooperate these flights,which will facilitate thetravel of participantsattending the PravasiBharatiya Divas (NRIDay) and Vibrant Gujaratconferences inAhmedabad, the airlinesaid in a release.The additional flights, to
be operated from January5 to January 14, willdepart Delhi at 10:35 amand reach Ahmedabad at12:05 pm, Air India said.The return flight will leaveAhmedabad at 1245 hrsIST (00:45 AM) andarrive in Delhi at 1415 hrsIST (02:15 PM), it said.
Both the events, theseventh edition of theVibrant Gujarat Summit,taking place from January11 to January 13 and the13th edition of the PravasiBharatiya Diwasscheduled to be held fromJanauary 7 to Jnauary 9,will be inaugurated by
Prime Minister NarendraModi. The main event ofPravasi Bharatiya Divaswould be held at MahatmaMandir, while somecultural events are
scheduled to take place atKankaria and theriverfront.
AHMEDABADAhmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC)commissioner D Thara has
proposed a Rs 5,250 crorebudget for the financial
year 2015-16. The budget'sprimary focus is on drainage,property tax issues, gardensand public halls. There is noaddition seen in taxes. Beingan election year for civic bodies,the Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation (AMC) budgetproposal to be presented bycommissioner D Thara maylargely be without any frills ortax hikes this year. AMCofficials were making last-minute changes to the budgetproposal till late evening onFriday.Unlike previous budgetyears, when JNNURM fundswere available, this AMCbudget is devoid of any centralassistance.
