I CONTD. ON PAGE 25 CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON YUVRAJ COSTLIEST 2015 PLAYER DURING IPL AUCTION BUY Bengaluru, (IANS) Despite being out of the Indian team, Yuvraj Singh's fortunes seem to be ever on the rise as Delhi Daredevils paid up a whopping Rs.16 crore for the all-rounder at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction for the eighth edition of the tournament, here Monday. The money-spinning tournament is scheduled to start April 8 and stretch till May 24. One of the 12 marquee players in the fray, Yuvraj, who has been out of the Indian team for a while and was ignored for the 2011 World Cup squad, was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) who had picked up the Punjab-born star for Rs.14 crore last year. Equally stunning buys were those of two uncapped domestic play- ers -- 20-year-old Shreyas Iyer of Mumbai and Bengaluru's K.C. Cariyappa, 17 -- who struck a jackpot commanding Rs.2.6 crore, and Rs.2.4 crore, respectively, after entering the auction at a base price of Rs.10 lakh. Iyer, who has scored two centuries for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy this season, was picked up by Mumbai Indi- ans (MI) while off-spinner Cariyappa, yet to play a first-class game, was bought by defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after intense rounds of bidding just before the lunch break. In all, 67, including 23 overseas players, of a possible 88 players, were sold with a total amount of Rs.87.6 crore spent. The day began with bids for the 12 marquee players. While Daredev- ils bagged Yuvraj for Rs.16 crore and Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews for Rs.7.5 crore, Royal Chal- lengers Bangalore (RCB) picked up wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik for Rs.7.5 crore. MODI ASSURES FULL FREEDOM OF FAITH; MEETS CHRISTIAN LEADERS New Delhi, (IANS) Coming out unequivocally for the first time against recent attacks on churches and controversial utterances by right-wing fringe ele- ments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said his government will ensure complete freedom of faith and will not allow any religious group to incite hatred against others "over tly or covertly". He later also met a high-level Christian delegation. Addressing Christian leaders at a function here, the prime minister reached out to them, saying he strongly condemned violence against any religion. "My government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influence. My government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly," he said. "Mine will be a government that gives equal respect to all religions," Modi said, breaking his long silence on the subject. "We cannot accept violence against any religion on any pretext and I strongly condemn such violence. My government will act strongly in this regard," he added. Modi met the supreme head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church, an official release said here. Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, who is currently on a visit to India, called on the prime minister. He was accompanied by a nine-member delegation, comprising senior members of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church. Modi has been facing flak for not speaking out strongly against saffron fringe elements of his Bharatiya Janata Party-led government who have kicked up a controversy by peddling the Hindutva agenda and by their comments on "ghar wapsi", or return to the Hindu faith. Addressing a function to mark the 'National Celebration of the Elevation to Sainthood of Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Mother Euphrasia', he said his government stands by "every word" of the Universal Declaration and of freedom of religion or belief. "India is the land of Buddha and Gandhi. Equal respect for all religions must be in the DNA of every Indian. We cannot accept violence against any religion on any pretext and I strongly condemn such violence. My government will act strongly in this regard," Modi said. He also appealed to all religious groups "to act with restraint, mutual respect, and tolerance in the true spirit of this ancient nation which is manifest in our Constitution and is in line with the Hague Declaration". Christian leaders immediately welcomed Modi's remarks and hoped they would translate into action. Father Savarimuthu Sankar, of the Catholic Church, told IANS: "The general feeling is that everyone is happy that finally he has spoken. Although it's late because we wanted him to speak before Christmas last year. We hope his words are translated into action." In the most recent attack, the Holy Child Auxilium school in south Delhi was ransacked by unidentified people Feb 13. It was the sixth incident of attack on churches and a school in Delhi over a period of two months. SOUTHASIAN PULSE DRIVETIME RADIO ON 770 AM FROM MAR 2 (6:30AM TO 8:30AM) DESK REPORT TORONTO - In an ever expanding strategy, Southasian Pulse has acquired another radio slot on AM 770 in the morning drive time. Commencing March 2, the new show will be aired from 6:30am to 8:30am from Monday to Friday entitled Southasian Pulse DRIVETIME RADIO. However, the timings will alter from April onwards and the show will be aired from 6am to 8am. The regular Southasian PULSE program on 770 AM will be relayed as usual from 10am to 12 noon. According to Yudhvir Jaswal, CEO of YMedia and Editor-in-Chief of Midweek newspaper: “Southasian Pulse DRIVETIME program will have a mix of headlines and music, and the Southasian Pulse prime time will have in-depth news analysis of the current affairs. From 7am to 8am Baljit Mand and his team will host Radio Today. ” The main feature of the morning DRIVETIME show will be live cricket commentaries of a few Cricket World Cup matches including the quarterfinals and one semi-final. So do not miss Southasian Pulse DRIVETIME between 6:30am to 8:30am on 770 AM and Southasian PULSE on 770 AM between 10am to 12 noon. AAP MP FROM SANGRUR BHAGWANT MANN DURING A ROADSHOW IN AMRITSAR, PUNJAB (IANS) Cricket fans in New Delhi celebrate India's victory over Pakistan in ICC World Cup 2015 match at Adelaide, Australia (IANS). Victory in Delhi, now which state is next on the list of Aam Aadmi Party? I DETAILS ON P8, P11, P13
Transcript
I CONTD. ON PAGE 25
CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON
YUVRAJ COSTLIEST2015 PLAYER DURING
IPL AUCTION BUYBengaluru, (IANS) Despite being out of the Indian team, Yuvraj Singh'sfortunes seem to be ever on the rise as Delhi Daredevils paid up awhopping Rs.16 crore for the all-rounder at the Indian PremierLeague (IPL) auction for the eighth edition of the tournament, hereMonday.The money-spinning tournament is scheduled to star t April 8 andstretch till May 24.One of the 12 marquee players in the fray, Yuvraj, who has beenout of the Indian team for a while and was ignored for the 2011World Cup squad, was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) who had picked up the Punjab-born star for Rs.14 crorelast year.Equally stunning buys were those of two uncapped domestic play-ers -- 20-year-old Shreyas Iyer of Mumbai and Bengaluru's K.C.Cariyappa, 17 -- who struck a jackpot commanding Rs.2.6 crore,and Rs.2.4 crore, respectively, after entering the auction at a baseprice of Rs.10 lakh. Iyer, who has scored two centuries for Mumbaiin the Ranji Trophy this season, was picked up by Mumbai Indi-ans (MI) while off-spinner Cariyappa, yet to play a first-classgame, was bought by defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) after intense rounds of bidding just before the lunch break.In all, 67, including 23 overseas players, of a possible 88 players,were sold with a total amount of Rs.87.6 crore spent.The day began with bids for the 12 marquee players. While Daredev-ils bagged Yuvraj for Rs.16 crore and Sri Lankan all-rounder AngeloMathews for Rs.7.5crore, Royal Chal-lengers Bangalore(RCB) picked upwicketkeeper DineshKar thik for Rs.7.5crore.
MODI ASSURES FULL FREEDOM OF FAITH;MEETS CHRISTIAN LEADERS
New Delhi, (IANS) Coming out unequivocally for the first time against recentattacks on churches and controversial utterances by right-wing fringe ele-ments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said his government willensure complete freedom of faith and will not allow any religious group toincite hatred against others "overtly or covertly".He later also met a high-level Christian delegation.Addressing Christian leaders at a function here, the prime minister reachedout to them, saying he strongly condemned violence against any religion."My government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and thateveryone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or herchoice without coercion or undue influence. My government will not allowany religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatredagainst others, overtly or covertly," he said."Mine will be a government that gives equal respect to all religions," Modisaid, breaking his long silence on the subject."We cannot accept violence against any religion on any pretext and I stronglycondemn such violence. My government will act strongly in this regard," headded. Modi met the supreme head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church,an official release said here.Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, who is currently on a visit to India, called onthe prime minister. He was accompanied by a nine-member delegation,comprising senior members of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.Modi has been facing flak for not speaking out strongly against saffron fringe
elements of his Bharatiya Janata Party-led government who have kicked upa controversy by peddling the Hindutva agenda and by their comments on"ghar wapsi", or return to the Hindu faith.Addressing a function to mark the 'National Celebration of the Elevation toSainthood of Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Mother Euphrasia', he said hisgovernment stands by "every word" of the Universal Declaration and offreedom of religion or belief."India is the land of Buddha and Gandhi. Equal respect for all religions mustbe in the DNA of every Indian. We cannot accept violence against any religionon any pretext and I strongly condemn such violence. My government willact strongly in this regard," Modi said.He also appealed to all religious groups "to act with restraint, mutual respect,and tolerance in the true spirit of this ancient nation which is manifest in ourConstitution and is in line with the Hague Declaration".Christian leaders immediately welcomed Modi's remarks and hoped theywould translate into action.Father Savarimuthu Sankar, of the Catholic Church, told IANS: "The generalfeeling is that everyone is happy that finally he has spoken. Although it's latebecause we wanted him to speak before Christmas last year. We hope hiswords are translated into action."In the most recent attack, the Holy Child Auxilium school in south Delhi wasransacked by unidentified people Feb 13. It was the sixth incident of attack onchurches and a school in Delhi over a period of two months.
SOUTHASIAN PULSEDRIVETIME RADIO ON 770
AM FROM MAR 2(6:30AM TO 8:30AM)
DESK REPORT
TORONTO - In an ever expanding strategy, Southasian Pulse hasacquired another radio slot on AM 770 in the morning drive time.Commencing March 2, the new show will be aired from 6:30am to8:30am from Monday to Friday entitled Southasian PulseDRIVETIME RADIO. However, the timings will alter from Aprilonwards and the show will be aired from 6am to 8am. The regularSouthasian PULSE program on 770 AM will be relayed as usualfrom 10am to 12 noon.According to Yudhvir Jaswal, CEO of YMedia and Editor-in-Chief ofMidweek newspaper: “Southasian Pulse DRIVETIME program willhave a mix of headlines and music, and the Southasian Pulseprime time will have in-depth news analysis of the current affairs.From 7am to 8am Baljit Mand and his team will host Radio Today.” The main feature of the morning DRIVETIME show will be livecricket commentaries of a few Cricket World Cup matchesincluding the quarterfinals and one semi-final. So do not missSouthasian Pulse DRIVETIME between 6:30am to 8:30am on 770AM and Southasian PULSE on 770 AM between 10am to 12 noon.
AAP MP FROM SANGRUR BHAGWANT MANN DURING A ROADSHOW IN AMRITSAR, PUNJAB (IANS)
Cricket fans in New Delhi celebrate India's victory over Pakistan in ICC World Cup 2015 match at Adelaide, Australia (IANS).
Victory in Delhi, now which state is next on the list of Aam Aadmi Party?
New Delhi (IANS) Congratulations poured in on social media assoon as India beat arch rival Pakistan in a World Cup pool match,with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister NarendraModi leading the nation in immediately tweeting their compliments.A number of other cricketers, political leaders and Bollywoodcelebrities also took to the micro-blogging site to record theirdelight as India, which scored 300/7, bowled out Pakistan for 224�"Congratulations to Team India for winning. All the best for comingmatches," tweeted Minister of State for Information and Broad-casting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, an Olympian silvermedallist and Arjuna awardee.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also congratu-lated the team."Whenever possible I follow India's matches. Team India goodiegoodie star t to World Cup today. Congratulations," Banerjeetweeted after India recorded their sixth straight win over theneighbouring nation in the quadrennial event.Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted: "One of the great thingsabout our victory is that the stars were players who had beenout of form lately."
A number of cricketers hailed the victory.V.V.S. Laxman posted: "Congrats Team India.Clinicalper formance.Good to see the way the bowlers bowled today.Lots of positives #INDvPAK #CWC2015", while HarbhajanSingh tweeted: "Well done boys.Gr8 win 2dy against Pakistan!Keep it up guys.well played @imVkohli @ImRaina and shikarsuper bowling #shami#keep the flag high"Bollywood stars, including Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchanand Ajay Devgn also rejoiced on India wining over Pakistan.Lata tweeted: "Hamari Bhar tiya Cricket team ko is jeet ke liyemeri taraf se bohot bohot badhaai (I congratulate Team India forits victory)".Amitabh said: "YEEEAAAAHHHHH! India wins... my second prediction came true too ... isit got something to do with the date 15th Feb!15th Feb! historic date for me ... on this date46 years ago in 1969, I signed my 1st film tojoin the Film Industry. Well played INDIA ...entire team showed resolve, talent anddetermination! May you continue such onwards ...JAI HIND!"
Others included:Anupam Kher: JAI HO. Touch Wood. MaKa Thu Thu bhi kaam aaya. #GreatStar tAjay Devgn: Woke up watching#IndvsPak match today. This is what Icall a per fect Sunday and per fect star t tothe World Cup.Riteish Deshmukh: World Cup RecordIntact!Dia Mirza: Nicely done @imVkohli!!!Many more to come #ICCWorldCup2015#StayInYourZone :) :) #INDvPAKArjun Rampal: CongratulationsIndia.Great star t, keeping our recordintact.Fantastic game our teamplayed.Outplayed them completely Viratman of the match.Sushant Singh Rajput: Bleeding blue...What a star t... way to go team India...!!#ProudDesiBoman Irani: Well played India! Cool,clinical and in control! We sweated athome more then you did on the field.#INDvsPAKSonakshi Sinha: Yay!! We wonManoj Bajpayee: Very impressivevictory. congrats team India.Shraddha Kapoor: WINNNN!!! #IndvsPak#INDIAAAAAPreity Zinta: Yeahhhhhhhhh!!!!! India winsthe match. Awesomeeee! Now the grin isplastered across my face #PAKvsIND#CWC15 Am Loving it !Sushmita Sen: Yessssssssss!!!!!!!! IN-DIA!!!!! Proud of our team!!!!!:) #IAMFamily:) #CWC15
CELEBRITIES POUR FELICITATIONS ONIndia's win against Pakistan
SRK'S SPECIAL MESSAGE TO INDIAN CRICKET TEAMAs Indian cricket team is taking on one of its biggest rivals -Pakistan in the World Cup 2015 at the Adelaide Oval Sunday,Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has sent across a specialmessage to the Indian team.In all their previous World Cup meetings, India have never lost to Paki-stan. And SRK, who co-owns Kolkata Knight Riders - an Indian PremierLeague team, hopes India win the World Cup."Have a great game Team India. All the best for the World Cup," ShahRukh tweeted.SRK also posted a video on the microblogging site saying: "Boys playtough, play hard enjoy yourself and try and bring the cup back home.God bless you. Do well."India have won the World Cup twice - in 1983 and 2011.
4 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015s p e c i a l r e p o r t
President, PM congratulatethe victorious Indian teamNew Delhi, (IANS): President Pranab Mukherjee tweeted his congratu-lations to the Indian cricket team for its victory over Pakistan in a WorldCup pool match in Adelaide."Congratulations Indian Team on victory in ICC World Cup's first match;wish you continued success in coming matches," the president wroteon his Twitter account. India defeated Pakistan by 76 runs in their firstPool B match of the World Cup at the Adelaide Oval Sunday. ChasingIndia's 300/7, Pakistan were bowled out for 224. Prime Minister NarendraModi tweeted his congratulations to the Indian cricket team for its vic-tory over Pakistan in a World Cup pool match in Adelaide. "CongratsTeam India. Well played. We are all very proud of you," the prime minis-ter wrote on his Twitter handle @narendramodi. India defeated Pakistanby 76 runs in their first Pool B match of the World Cup at the AdelaideOval Sunday. Chasing India's 300/7, Pakistan were bowled out for 224.
INDIA KEEP IT 6-0 IN WORLDCUPS AGAINST PAKISTANIndia had won all their previous five meetings against Pakistanin the World Cup and it was no different Sunday as the defendingchampions defeated their neighbours by 76 runs to take the ad-vantage to a perfect tennis scoreline of 6-0.India once again came out on top in the high-octane clash todefeat Pakistan in their World Cup opener at the Adelaide Oval. Aspecial century by vice-captain Virat Kohli (107) guided India to300/7 which Pakistan failed to chase down. They were bowledout for 224 in 47 overs.Statistics showed that Pakistan have never chased more than262 successfully and India have always defended a total of 300or more in the quadrennial event. Both teams allowed the recordsto continue.Opting to bat, India got off to a fluent star t through openers RohitSharma (15) and Shikhar Dhawan (73). Rohit gifted away hiswicket while trying to pull a not-so-shor t delivery in the eighthover.However, Dhawan struck an impor tant second-wicket 129-runpar tnership with Kohli which gave India the platform to put up abig total. Dhawan looked good to score a hundred but confusionin the 30th over with Kohli resulted in him getting run out.It was the perfect oppor tunity for Pakistan to capitalise withIndia at 163 for two with 20 overs to go. However, big-hitterSuresh Raina made sure his wicket counted for India as hesmashed 74 off just 56 balls. His innings, which was stud-ded with f ive fours and three sixes, made Kohli take thebackseat as he targeted leg-spinner Yasir Shah (0/60).Meanwhile, Kohli played the anchor's innings and applied his sublimetouch to register his 22nd One-Day International (ODI) hundred, whichwas punctuated by eight boundaries. It was the first century by an Indianagainst Pakistan in a World Cup contest.
FATHER QUESTIONS YUVRAJ'SOMISSION FROM WORLD CUP SQUAD
Chandigarh, (IANS) On a day when cricketer Yuvraj Singh was pickedup by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Daredevils for awhopping Rs.16 crore, his father Yograj Singh Monday questioned thesouthpaw's omission from India's 2015 World Cup squad.Former India cricketer Yograj said here that he was baffled that Yuvraj,who was Player-of-the-Tournament in the 2011 World Cup which Indiawon, was omitted from the national squad for the mega event beingplayed in Australia and New Zealand."I want to know what is (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni's problem with myson. He played for the country even when he was suffering fromcancer. I don't understand this," Yograj, a former all-rounder in the1970s, said."If Dhoni is having personal issues with my son, I won't do anything,God will do justice," added Yograj, who was otherwise elated that hisson had fetched the biggest amount in the IPL auction happening inBengaluru Monday.Yuvraj immediately tweeted to clear the matter."Like every parent my dad is also passionate and I am sure got car-ried away... always enjoyed playing under Mahi n would do so infuture," Yuvraj tweeted.Yuvraj had also emerged the most expensive player in the previousauction when he was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore forRs.12 crore.
MARS ONE MISSIONSIX CANADIANS, THREE INDIANS IN THE RACEToronto - Mars One - an experimental project aiming toestablish the first human civilization on the red plant, Marshas shor tlisted 100 hopefuls, who were shor tlisted from theinitial 202,586 hopefuls, on a one way trip to the planet.According to the Mars One's official website, this projectwill be the "next giant leap for mankind."The brainchild behind this experiment is a Dutch entrepre-neur Bas Lansdorp who intends on making this initiative intoa reality TV series. The first unmanned mission will belaunched in 2018. Mars One will establish a permanenthuman settlement on Mars. Crews of four will depar t everytwo years, star ting in 2024. Along with 50 men and 50women, she has been selected to spend the next 10 yearslearning everything she needs to know to live on the RedPlanet as par t of the Mars One project.These 100 aspiring candidates are expected to live on the
Red Planet as par t of the project and have been picked upfrom all around the world - 39 from the Americas, 31 fromEurope, 16 from Asia, seven from Africa, and seven fromOceania. The 16 people from Asia include three Indians as well -19-year-old girl Sharadha from Kerala, 29-year-old Ritika from Dubaiand 29-year-old Taranjeet Singh Bhatia from USA.The six Canadians include Daniel Benjamin Criger, 28,physics PhD candidate from Waterloo; Karen LouiseCumming, 53, TV journalist from Burlington; Reginald GeorgeFoulds, 60, former helicopter pilot from Toronto; JoannaMarjorie Hindle, 42, high school teacher from Whistler;Andreea Lavinia Radulescu, 33, an IT analyst from Toronto;and Susan Higashio Weinreich, 42, a Scout leader fromVancouver. One more Canadian, Jamie Scott Berdahl, 29, ofWhitehorse, made the shor t list, but resigned from the projectwhen he was notified.
MidWeek 5MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012
MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 breaking news
Aam Aadmi Party Toronto Volunteer Groupcelebrated the Delhi Elections results like a festival
TORONTO volunteer group thanked and congratulated each and every volunteer and supporter who devotedeverything to this historic movement. Volunteers brought DHOL and other musical instruments. They wereseen dancing to the tunes of 5 Saal Kejriwal. Few local artists and media personalities also joined the AAP's
landslide victory celebrations. There were probably 80 volunteers present in premises of AAP Toronto office.Volunteers were seen distributing sweets among themselves. Around 1:30 am cake with message" AAP KiSarkar" was cut by few volunteers.
6 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015community
Top Honours
MISSISSAUGA - Laddi Dhillon of Remax Gold Realty Inc has won the realtor competition arrangedby Empire Communities for 2014. Empire Communities is building 21 different housing and condoprojects in Ontario and Laddi was the top selling agent from all their projects for 2014. For this bigachievement Laddi won a cash award of $50,000 from the builder.
LADDI DHILLON
RAMAN DUA RANKED#1 REALTOR FOR 2014BRAMPTON - Raman Dua, Broker of Record, has been ranked as the best selling real estate agent inBrampton by sales volume for the year 2014 per Toronto Real Estate Board Data (Treb). The Treb datashows Raman Dua made a total of 227 transactions with thetotal volume of $140 million that fetches him this title.A happy Raman commented: "I am proud and humbled to workon behalf of home buyers and sellers who trust me and myteam of top real estate professionals who ensure our custom-ers get the best experience in their individual transactions."Last year Raman was awarded the Top Agent of Brampton titleby Brampton Guardian Reader's Choice and also Save Max RealEstate Inc. was conferred upon the honour of Best Real EstateOffice in Brampton. While speak to our correspondent, Ramansaid, Save Max team made 502 transaction in 2014 with a totalvolume of $196 million, which is little shy of $200 million, perSave Max internal data. Raman thanked city residents for theirsuppor t to Save Max.Save Max Real Estate Inc. is one of the GTA most prestigiousand successful real estate brokerages, specializing in Brampton,Mississauga and Toronto. The combined sales volume gener-ated by the young, talented and professional real estate spe-cialists stood at $600 million in 2014.Raman envisages to generate a fur ther $300 million in 2015 and hire more realtors as par t of its expansionpolicy and to serve more clients. The realty's office is located at 145 Clarence Street, Suite 29, Brampton.
UTM's Innovation Cube opens
Speaking on the occasion, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said: "I always enjoy coming to theUniversity of Toronto at Mississauga. Whenever I am here, there is something new and exciting to bepar t of. Just a few short weeks ago, I joined students, entrepreneurs and private-sector leaders, forthe 2015 Young Entrepreneurs Conference. "The City of Mississauga was proud to sponsor and help make the conference a reality. It was a greatsuccess and I look forward to seeing the par ticipants build on the ideas, knowledge and results thatwere both explored and identified. As Mayor, I am repeatedly asked: how the City of Mississauga canhelp people develop their ideas into marketable results."Local government does not have the same the powers as senior levels of government. We cannotoffer tax cuts; tax credits; or sign treaties. Like entrepreneurs, we need to think outside the box. Weneed to come up with innovative solutions to build a 21st century economy for our city's promisingfuture."It's what residents expect. It's what I demand of myself, as your Mayor. So how do we do this? Myanswer has been clear: we leverage existing assets; strengthen professional networks; invest inhuman capital; build knowledge infrastructure; and bring people together. This is why City Councilchose to suppor t the 2015 Young Entrepreneurs Conference."This is why I championed - and voted for - the City of Mississauga to invest $10 million dollarstoward developing UTM's new Innovation Complex. I proudly stood beside Hazel McCallion last fall toofficially open the complex. And this is why your local government once again par tnered with orga-nizations like the RIC Centre and UTM to develop and launch the I-Cube Accelerator. UTM injects over$1.3 billion annually into Peel Region."It is a world-class institution - home to accomplished thought leaders - and dedicated, hardworking,and ambitious students. UTM is the nucleus for ideas, innovation, and excellence. With the launch oftoday's Innovation Cube Accelerator, this hub is growing stronger and more dynamic. Mississauga'sfuture success will be tied in par t to our ability to innovate and adapt to the knowledge economy."Our City must encourage and suppor t innovation in all areas of our economic life. Make no mistake.We have accomplished lots in our 41 years. Mississauga is home to 63 For tune 500 companies andalmost 60,000 businesses, as well as Toronto Pearson airpor t. We have become a net impor ter ofjobs - yes, more people come to work in Mississauga daily than leave. We are strategically locatedwithin the Greater Toronto Area as a hub of economic activity; and, our economy is strong with a GDPthat now exceeds $40 billion annually."This week Council is set to approve to the 2015 Budget. Our commitments to finding savings,showing discipline with taxpayers' money, and strategically invest to help our city grow, have alsoensured Mississauga maintains its Triple-A credit rating. What does that mean for everyone here? Itmeans Mississauga enjoys a strong financial reputation."It gives entrepreneurs - from across Canada and around the world - the confidence to invest andinnovate; develop new ideas and expand service offerings; create impor tant local jobs; and achievesuccess right here in Mississauga. We have a lot to be proud of. But as we begin this new era andnew chapter for our City, I know there is more to be done."I want to see students graduate from institutions like UTM; use the Innovation Cube as a launchingpad to grow their ideas; and their promising careers in Mississauga. Earlier I mentioned the role localgovernment can play to break down barriers and strengthen professional networks. I meant it. In thecoming months I will formally launch the Mayor's Taskforce on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.This will be a direct line into the mayor's office for private-sector and academic leaders to shapepolicy goals; generate economic development oppor tunities; increase youth employment; and makea positive difference in our community."Organizations like Advantage Mississauga; UTM; Sheridan College; the RIC Centre; and theMississauga Board of Trade will all have a seat at the table. And as par t of our effor ts, my office iscollaborating with the RIC Centre to organize and host an angel investor networking event."This will bring job creators and investors together to better explore ways to take entrepreneurialsuccess to the next level. Stay tuned for more information. Thank you again and I look forward to theunrivalled oppor tunities that will emerge from Mississauga's own Innovative Cube Accelerator!"
Mississauga - I-Cube, (Innovation Cube) has recently been opened at the University of Torontoat Mississauga (UTM) is an accelerator that will provide business development services forstudents and community partners, to pursue entrepreneurial activities.
MISSISSAUGA CITY COUNCILAPPROVES 2015 BUDGET
MISSISSAUGA - Mississauga CityCouncil passed the 2015 Budget re-cently. The tax increase will be 2.2per cent on the 2015 residential prop-erty tax bill. The increase includes1.3 per cent for the City's servicesand 0.9 per cent proposed for Regionof Peel services.Mississauga's 2015 Budget is a solidfinancial blueprint for our thrivingcity, and our promising future," MayorCrombie said. "We engaged people.We heard directly from residentsabout their funding priorities. To-gether, we have put forward a fis-cally-responsible, balanced budgetthat respects taxpayers' hard-earnedmoney, while safeguarding importantinvestments for public transit, com-munity centres and neighbourhoodsafety," Crombie added.City Manager and CAO Janice Bakersaid Mississauga is focused on de-livering the goals in the StrategicPlan, while finding more efficient, in-novative ways to deliver Cityservices."The 2015 Budget showshow Mississauga is focusing on thefuture while maintaining and improv-ing the services residents dependon," said Baker. "The flexibility we'vebuilt into the City's finances will en-sure we can meet our strategic goalswhile being responsible with citi-zens' tax dollars."Highlights" Transit services are increasing
2.2% PROPERTY TAX LEVIED IN CITYto meet the growing demand. MiWaywill add 41,000 service hours andnew express routes along theMississauga Transitway." Capital projects like theMeadowvale Community Centrerenovation started in 2014 will con-tinue to improve recreation and com-munity services in Mississauga." The Mississauga Librarysystem will star t to see increasesin funding for collections. By2018, funds for library materialswill increase by almost $1 peryear for every resident." An Advanced Transpor ta-tion Management System (ATMS)will make the City's traffic con-trol system responsive to chang-ing traffic conditions." The two per cent CapitalInfrastructure and Debt Repay-ment Levy will help the City payfor its infrastructure. The Cityneeds about $128 mill ion peryear. Current sources of funding,including proper ty taxes, reservefunds and gas taxes, will stil lleave the City shor t about $60million." City staff identified $6.2mil l ion in savings for 2015through efficiencies. These sav-ings have ensured the costs tomaintain existing service levelsremain below the rate of inflation." The City's Gross Operating
Budget for 2015 is $694.8 million.The City delivers services liketransit, parks, forestry, recreation,roads and stormwater manage-ment, and fire and emergencyservices." The City's Capital Budget for2015 is $195.2 million. The capi-tal plan includes transpor tationprojects like the new Transitway,road and bridge rehabilitation andother infrastructure projects likepark facilities and storm drain-age.For more information, see our2015 Business Plan & BudgetBackgrounder. The City's 2015 Bud-get was reviewed by the BudgetCommittee and deferred to City Coun-cil for consideration and approval. Allmembers of Council are membersof the Budget Committee.All Budget Committee and City Coun-cil meetings were open to the publicand aired live on Rogers Cable 10,with highlights posted to Facebookand Twitter. The 2015-2018 City Busi-ness Plan & 2015 Budget websiteincludes new tools and informationabout the City's business plan andbudget process. The new City Bud-get Basics video helps explain pro-grams and services the City deliv-ers and how we plan for future years.The Budget Allocator tool helpspeople understand City budgetingpriorities.
MidWeek 7MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012
MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 community
Ministers Bal Gosal, Kellie Leitch and MP KyleSeeback welcome anti-terrorism measures to
better protect Canadians
BRAMPTON - Following Prime Minister Harper's introduction of legislation toprotect Canadians from the evolving threat of terrorism and keep our commu-nities safe, Peel Region MP`s Bal Gosal and Kyle Seeback, along withMinister Kellie Leitch met with various Peel Region stakeholders to discussthe proposed legislation.Stakeholders from organizations including Brampton Safe City, MississaugaSafe City, Peel Crime stoppers and representatives from City Council wereprovided with details about how the proposed legislation will provide Cana-dian law enforcement and national security agencies with additional tools tokeep pace with evolving threats and better protect Canadians in Peel Regionand across our nation.In line with measures taken by our allies, the Government is taking additionalaction to ensure law enforcement and national security agencies can counterthose who advocate terrorism; prevent terrorist travel and the efforts of thosewho seek to use Canada as a recruiting ground; and disrupt planned attackson Canadian soil.The proposed legislation includes checks and balances to ensure it respectsthe rights of Canadians and complements other legislation passed by ourGovernment in order to better protect Canadians and secure institutions,including the Combating Terrorism Act and the Strengthening Canadian Citi-zenship Act.Quick FactsThe proposed legislation includes a comprehensive package of measuresthat will:" criminalize the advocacy or promotion of terrorism offences ingeneral;" counter terrorist recruitment by giving our courts the authority toorder the removal of terrorist propaganda online;
" enhance the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)'s pow-ers to address threats to the security of Canada while ensuring that courtsmaintain oversight;" provide law enforcement agencies with enhanced ability to disruptterrorism offences and terrorist activity;" enhance the Passenger Protect Program by fur ther mitigatingthreats to transportation security and preventing travel by air for the purposeof engaging in terrorism;" make it easier for law enforcement agencies to detain suspectedterrorists before they can harm Canadians and to toughen penalties for violat-ing court ordered conditions on terrorist suspects;" enable the effective and responsible sharing of relevant nationalsecurity information across federal departments and agencies to better iden-tify and address threats;" Although not part of this proposed legislation, we are also workingwith communities to prevent radicalization and intervene when individualsshow signs of becoming radicalized." ensure that national security agencies are better able to protectand use classified information when denying entry and status to non-citizenswho pose a threat to Canada; and," provide witnesses and other participants in national security pro-ceedings and prosecutions with additional protection.Minister Bal Gosal said: "Our Government is taking further steps to keepCanadians safe. Recent attacks in Canada and around the world in countriessuch as France and Australia, are reminders the world can be dangerous.Canada is not immune from the threat of terrorism and I believe the recentterrorist actions on our home soil are an attack on our country, our values andsociety as a whole."
Sheridan ParkCorporate Centreto cater to scienceand tech sectorPROPOSED MASTER PLAN WILLENCOURAGE NEW INVESTMENTMISSISSAUGA - Proposed updates to City planning policiesfor the Sheridan Park Corporate Centre should bolster thenumber of companies in Mississauga's growing scienceand technology sector."I'm pleased and excited that the City is moving forwardwith plans to update Sheridan Park Corporate Centre. It'stime to build on the past successes of this innovation hub,"said Ward 2 councillor Karen Ras. "There are greatoppor tunities to suppor t existing businesses in the park,and to build new par tnerships with innovative companiesand post-secondary research institutions like UTM andSheridan College. It is investments like these that can addnew, high-paying jobs and vibrancy to the area," she added.A new master plan recommends updates to the City's landuse planning framework based on extensive consultationswith businesses located there. The proposed changes willinfuse some flexibility for types of businesses that canprovide the suppor t a science and technology hub needs.City Council approved a staff request to send the draft planto business owners in the park and the nearby communityfor review. Comments received will help staff draf tchanges to the Mississauga Official Plan and the ZoningBy-law.Proposed changes expected in the spring of 2015 will bescheduled for review at the Planning and DevelopmentCommittee and City Council.Background" The Sheridan Park Corporate Centre is locatedon 138 hectares (340 acres) nor th of the Queen ElizabethWay (QEW) between Erin Mills Parkway and WinstonChurchill Boulevard." It was established originally as the SheridanPark Research Community in the mid-1960s.
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Lucknow (IANS): After a near washout in the Delhi election,alarm bells are ringing in the BJP unit in Uttar Pradesh whichhas abor ted for now plans to rope in leaders from other par ties.Realizing that the Delhi rout could be a result of overlookingloyalists and long-time veterans, the state unit has decided tohalt its overzealous drive to rope in leaders from other par ties.The Bharatiya Janata Par ty has recruited over the past onemonth alone more than a dozen big and small leaders as wellas spouses from other par ties.The state unit is also awaiting instructions from the centralleadership on the controversial 'ghar wapasi' (homecoming)programme that sought to make Muslims to embrace Hinduism.Laxmikant Bajpayi, the BJP state president, has admitted theunease among par ty cadres and has vowed not to bring inleaders from other par ties at the cost of its own activists,informed sources told IANS.Bajpayi is learnt to have ordered his colleagues to stop all newproposed admissions to the par ty. Old-timers say that in a bidto embrace technology and tools like social networking, largelyto look like a par ty of youth and with a 21st century outlook, thepar ty had rubbed its old-time cadres the wrong way. "The par tyneeds to understand that there has to be a balance between
technology and reality," said a senior BJP leader from Kanpur."You can make members through SMS but not establishconnect or dialogue with people through SMS. The par tyneeds to take stock of the situation," he added.State BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak admits to theneed for course correction post Delhi and said the par tywould do an internal assessment of the election results in thecapital and take corrective measures. "We will do whatever ittakes to regain the confidence of the people," one par tyleader told IANS after voters in Delhi delivered a humiliatingblow to the BJP, giving it just three of the 70 assembly seats.What, however, is more worrying is that in a state where the"Modi Wave" wiped out all other par ties just nine monthsback, it is now faced with electoral reverses.In all the electoral contests after the Lok Sabha polls in May2014, the BJP has taken a hit in Uttar Pradesh. It lost the by-elections, the Cantonment Board polls and the Rajya Sabhapolls too. The Delhi outcome is considered a grave disastersince the national capital is home to some three millionpeople from eastern Uttar Pradesh known as Poorvanchalis.Constituting about 28 percent of the electorate in Delhi, the
Poorvanchal voters deser ted the BJP en masse and voted forthe Aam Aadmi Par ty, which ended up with a staggering 67 ofthe 70 assembly seats.This despite the fact that Bhojpuri actor and singer ManojTiwari is a BJP MP from Delhi. Prime Minister NarendraModi is also an MP from eastern Uttar Pradesh, a region theBJP swept barring Azamgarh, which elected SamajwadiPar ty chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. A senior BJP MP, notwishing to be named, told IANS that the process of consulta-tion with cadres and state leaders had almost been doneaway with in the Amit Shah-led BJP."In such situations, leaders with no real grassroots havetaken over decision-making, leaving the loyalists high anddry," he said. Even a union minister from Uttar Pradeshadmits of "immense shor tcomings" in ticket distribution,saying when state unit chiefs are denied ticket, the par ty'smorale was bound to take a hit. With Chief Minister AkhileshYadav, smar ting from the Lok Sabha rout, again rooting fordevelopment, the BJP cannot afford to be complacent vis-a-vis Uttar Pradesh, which sent a record 71 BJP MPs to the LokSabha.
IS ONE GOING TO SEE A MORE MATUREAND PRAGMATIC KEJRIWAL?
BY AMULYA GANGULI
The first fallout of the Aam Admi Par ty's (AAP) spectacular victory inDelhi will be a renewed focus on sleaze in public life, as has beenborne out by Arvind Kejriwal's commitment to make Delhi India's firstcorruption-free state in his inaugural address after being sworn in aschief minister for a second time.This was the issue which was the mainstay of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement of which the present-day AAP was a part andwhich built up Kejriwal's reputation as a crusader against bribery andunderhand deals.Since this image is behind his political success, he is bound to but-tress it by carrying on the campaign. Kejriwal must be aware that hissuccesses in the winter of 2013-14 and again this year have been theresult of the belief among the 'aam admi' (common people) that onlyhe in the political establishment has the courage of conviction to nailthe guilty.Moreover, this belief is based on the real-life experience of ordinarypeople of the decline in petty acts of corruption like the police collect-ing 'haftas' (bribes) from street vendors, traders and others in Delhiwhen Kejriwal was the the chief minister for 49 days. His castigationof the corporate bigwigs with a touch of insolence also impressed thepeople as it showed that the AAP is not dependent on cover t fundingby businessmen.That he is not willing to let sleeping dogs lie is evident again from hisraising the demand for full statehood for Delhi. It is also obvious thathe is going to return to his earlier theme of providing free water up to20,000 litres and lowering the power tariff, the main planks of hispar ty's campaign.There is little doubt that all of this will earn him plaudits from whathas come to be known as the underclass. But whether such populismis economically viable is something which the AAP has to figure out.It may be necessary to recall the fate of the Congress in the wake ofits indulgence in reckless populism - subsidized food, vir tual dolesfor rural labourers who built nothing substantial, no examinations forstudents till Class 8 which has led to a precipitous drop in learningstandards.What that experiment showed was that the people were not interestedin freebies so much as in a thriving economy which provided jobs.Considering that capitalism has won the battle against socialism withthe buoyant private sector becoming the engine of growth at the ex-pense of the moribund public sector, Kejriwal will be making a mis-take if he targets the business community in matters of, say, electric-ity charges.In fact, in his inaugural address, he reached out to traders and toldthem to honestly pay their taxes, as the government needs revenue torun, and assured them of a harassment-free tax and regulation re-gime.To avoid such pitfalls, the new ruling par ty's first objective will haveto be to ascer tain what can be achieved without over turning the applecar t. It need not be afraid that its decision to hasten slowly will beinterpreted as temporizing. The average voter is perceptive enough tounderstand the AAP's circumspection.It is also possible that once the AAP demonstrates that it intends toreform the system and; not uproot it, other par ties will join it in itseffor ts, even if reluctantly. The business class may also respond bybeing more transparent and less profit-minded. It will be aided in thisexercise by the fact that the corporate houses will not have to makeunder-the-table payments to politicians - at least not as much asbefore.From this aspect of cooperation with others in the political field, theAAP has a great oppor tunity to translate into reality the dream ofreformers of transforming the system. The par ty's asset of huge popu-larity cannot but compel the other par ties and the corporate sector to
accede to its game plan. One can only hope that the AAP will notthrow it all away by its intemperance and self-righteousness.However, the possibility that Delhi, and the country, will see a newKejriwal has been raised by his message to his par ty men to eschewarrogance, which he said had caused the downfall of both the Con-gress and the BJP, and his transcending par ty rivalries to reach out, ifnecessary, to the BJP and the Congress for consultations. This is a farcry from his earlier 'sab chor hai' (everyone is a thief) attitude whichplaced the AAP in an exalted category. Evidently, the chief ministerhas taken to heart the lessons of his earlier shor t-lived stint in office.
Considering that capitalism has won the battleagainst socialism with the buoyant private sectorbecoming the engine of growth at the expense ofthe moribund public sector, Kejriwal will be mak-ing a mistake if he targets the business commu-nity in matters of, say, electricity charges.In fact, in his inaugural address, he reached out totraders and told them to honestly pay their taxes,as the government needs revenue to run, and as-sured them of a harassment-free tax and regula-tion regime. To avoid such pitfalls, the new rulingpar ty's first objective will have to be to ascer tainwhat can be achieved without over turning the applecart. It need not be afraid that its decision to has-ten slowly will be interpreted as temporizing. Theaverage voter is perceptive enough to understandthe AAP's circumspection.
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MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
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416-907-4420
canada CN TOWER IS LIT UP INRED TO CELEBRATETHE CHINESE LUNARNEW YEAR
LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA LEADERJUSTIN TRUDEAU ON NATIONAL FLAG DAY
MISSISSAUGA, ON - The Leader of the Liberal Par ty of Canada,Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on NationalFlag Day:"Today, Canadians across the country and around the world willcelebrate the 50th anniversary of our national flag."Envisioned in 1964 by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, ourdistinctive maple leaf flag was designed to reflect a new, modernCanada - continually looking to its future, but respectful of its past."More than 80 years prior, not long after our country was born, SirWilfrid Laurier stood on the Plains of Abraham, where English andFrench had fought an old battle for a new colony, and saw a newkind of nation founded on the principles of equality and respect."It is that vision - which recognizes Canada is strong not in spite ofits differences, but precisely because of them - that has made us a
country with two official languages. It has pushed us to establishour shared institutions, and our Char ter of Rights and Freedoms. Itis that vision, shared by Canadians - English and French, Aborigi-nal, and from every culture and corner of the world - that led to thecreation of our maple leaf flag."There is no doubt that our flag has a significant and specialmeaning to each and every Canadian. To me, it means fairness,generosity, honesty, the hard work that we do in our communities,and the hope that I have for Canada. But to all of us, it is a symbolof our open hear ts and open minds, of our diversity and our values.It is the true reflection of who we are, wherever we are."May the maple leaf fly forever, and may we all find a homebeneath it."Source: liberal.ca
QUEBEC - Prime Minister Stephen Harper today paid a visit toBonhomme Carnaval, the official mascot of the Québec WinterCarnaval, which is taking place from January 30 to February 15,2015. He was accompanied by Denis Lebel, Minister of Infra-structure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Min-ister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for theRegions of Quebec, Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safetyand Emergency Preparedness, and Jacques Gourde, Parliamen-tary Secretary to the Prime Minister, for Official Languages andfor the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Re-gions of Quebec. The visit was par t of the Prime Minister's two-day winter tour in the province of Quebec.The Prime Minister took the oppor tunity to announce theGovernment's suppor t for the Carnaval - a marquee Canadianwinter event that promotes Quebec culture and tourism, whileshowcasing the heritage of Québec, one of Canada's most beau-tiful and historical cities.Quick Facts" Established in 1955, the Carnaval is best known for its parades- led by Bonhomme Carnaval - the IcePalace, and its traditionalwinter activities including snow sculpting, ice canoe races anddogsled rides. These events, coupled with Québec's remark-able heritage, architecture and warmth, is a tremendous drawfor tourists." The Government of Canada is committed to supporting mar-quee events across the country that promote culture and tour-ism." Suppor t for this year's Carnaval was provided through CanadaEconomic Development's Quebec Economic Development Pro-gram and Canadian Heritage's Building Communities ThroughAr ts and Heritage program." Since 2006, the Government of Canada has contributed morethan $7.5 million to the Québec Winter Carnaval. "Attracting visitors from all over Canada and abroad, the QuébecWinter Carnaval has been a Canadian landmark event celebrat-ing Canada's proud French heritage for more than 60 years, and it isalways a pleasure to be in beautiful QuébecCity during this magicaltime. On behalf of the Government, I would like to thank the city ofQuébec and the Carnaval's organizers for once again putting on such aspectacular event." - Prime Minister Stephen Harper
PM CELEBRATES THE 61STQUÉBEC WINTER CARNAVAL
PM PARTICIPATES IN PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATION
Charlesbourg, Quebec - Prime Minister Stephen Harper today participated ina pre-budget consultation in Charlesbourg, Quebec, with members of Canada'smanufacturing industry. He was joined by Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastruc-ture, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Eco-nomic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.The Prime Minister's pre-budget consultation complements those hostedacross the country by Joe Oliver, Minister of Finance, Kevin Sorenson, Min-ister of State (Finance), and Andrew Saxton, Parliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Finance, on the upcoming federal budget. In addition, Canadiansare invited to submit their views online regarding how the Government cancontinue to build on the Economic Action Plan to further support families,encourage job creation, and secure a strong economy for today and thefuture.Quick Facts" Pre-budget consultations, including telepresence and online con-sultations, are part of the annual federal budget cycle to gather the views ofCanadians from coast to coast to coast." Manufacturers and processors are major contributors to the Cana-dian economy, both in terms of output and employment. These companiesemploy approximately 1.7 million Canadians and account for more than 10per cent of our country's gross domestic product (GDP). In Quebec alone, itis estimated that manufacturing employs about 490,000 people and accounts
for 14 per cent of the province's GDP." Since 2006, the Government has taken significant steps to helpCanadian manufacturers succeed, including reducing the corporate tax rate(Canada's overall tax rate on new business investment is now the lowest inthe G-7), supporting business innovation and technology, improving accessto financing, and promoting international trade, including through the conclu-sion of free trade negotiations with both the European Union and the Republicof Korea.Talking on the event, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: "Creating jobs,growth and long-term economic prosperity - while balancing Canada's bud-get - continue to be the priorities of our Government. Through these pre-budget consultations, participants from across the country help us identifykey priorities for the next phase of our Economic Action Plan to ensure thelasting prosperity of Canadian families and our economy."The manufacturers in and around Québec City are growing and diversifyingtheir companies, generating thousands of jobs for hard-working citizens in abroad range of areas including information technology and communications,electronics, and food processing, to name a few. I was pleased today to heartheir views on what initiatives should be included in the next phase of ourGovernment's Economic Action Plan to enable them to better compete, growand create high-paying jobs."Source: pm.gc.ca
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Harper government needs to reassureconsumers and beef exportersThe discovery of a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE) in an Alberta beef herd means the Conservative governmentmust take swift action to maintain food safety and consumer confi-dence. Mad cow disease once devastated Canadian agriculture, caus-ing billions of dollars in financial losses to beef and cattle producers."While this is an isolated case, the Minister of Agriculture needs totake it seriously and ensure the source of contamination is found asquickly as possible," said Malcolm Allen (Welland), NDP critic forAgriculture. "Swift action is also needed to protect the livelihoods ofCanada's farm families by reinforcing consumer confidence in Cana-dian beef and maintaining access to foreign markets."The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which leads Canada's responseto diseases like BSE, has faced significant staff cuts in recent years. Inanimal health cases, a swift response from the CFIA remains essen-tial to identifying and containing any threats to the health and safety ofCanadians.Source: ndp.ca
RBC RAISES $19.4 MILLIONFOR CANADIANS IN NEEDTORONTO- The act of offering time or money to a community,cause or organization is often a very personal decision. A con-nection, whether through family or friends, can be the driver ofchoice and effor t. This year RBCers made those connectionsand raised a record $19.4 million through its national employeegiving campaign "for the Love of Community" and corporatedonations. RBC has a long-standing tradition of suppor ting com-munity-based organizations and this fundraising initiative is justone of the ways RBC, its employees and retirees are committedto making a real difference in the lives of Canadians."Our employees and retirees continue to lead the way in givingback to our communities and making a difference," said DaveMcKay, president and CEO, RBC. "Whether it's volunteering inlocal programs, or contributing through the United Way cam-paign, their generosity and desire to get involved is a testamentto how much they care about helping Canadians in need."RBC employees and retirees raised $15.3 million, surpass-ing the previous year's total by $1.9 million. Over 23,000RBC employees contributed through personal donations,volunteering and fundraising events. In addition, the RBCFoundation provided $4.1 million to the United Way and othercharities across Canada.
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PIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER AND STEVEN BLANEY, MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, PRESENT A CANADIANFLAG TO JEAN CAUCHY, A 2ND WORLD WAR VETERAN IN HONOUR OF NATIONAL FLAG OF CANADA DAY. (PHOTO BY JASON RANSOM)
PM ANNOUNCES FURTHER STEPS TO PROTECT CANADIANFAMILIES FROM REPEAT VIOLENT OFFENDERS
Victoriaville, Quebec: Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announcedthe Government's intent, in keeping with the commitment made in the2013 Speech from the Throne, to introduce legislation to fur ther pro-tect Canadian families by ending the practice of automatic earlyrelease for repeat violent offenders. The Prime Minister made theannouncement following a roundtable discussion with victims ofcrime held in Victoriavi l le, Quebec. He was joined by StevenBlaney, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness,Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Inter-governmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic DevelopmentAgency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, and Alain Rayes, Mayor of Victoriaville.Under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), fed-eral offenders serving fixed-term sentences are allowed to servethe final third of their sentence in the community under supervi-sion and subject to conditions.The Government has determined that this is the wrong approachwhen it comes to repeat violent offenders. Therefore, under theproposed legislation, repeat violent offenders will no longer begranted statutory release after serving two-thirds of their sen-tence. These measures reflect the Government of Canada's ongo-ing commitment to keep our streets and communities safe whileensuring that the rights of victims are placed over those of crimi-nals.Quick Facts" Statutory release (SR) is a presumptive release by lawat the two-thirds mark of a fixed sentence, and takes effect auto-matically unless the Parole Board of Canada determines that theoffender is likely to commit another serious offence." Under SR, eligible federal offenders serve the final thirdof their sentence in the community, under supervision and sub-ject to conditions which can include a residency condition (i.e.,
reside at a 'halfway-house'). Only offenders serving determinate (i.e.,fixed-term) sentences are eligible for SR, whereas inmates serving alife sentence or an indeterminate sentence are always ineligible." The proposed amendments to the Corrections and Condi-tional Release Act would seriously restrict statutory release for re-peat federal offenders who have previously received a prison sen-tence of five years or more that includes a serious violent component." The amendments will allow repeat offenders to be exposedto correctional programming in penitentiaries for a longer period oftime to change behaviour which contributes to reoffending." These changes complement other tough on crime actionsintroduced by our Government, including:" Tougher prison sentences for sexual offences against chil-dren, serious gun crimes, impaired driving, and selling drugs to chil-dren;" Providing the cour ts with the discretion to end sentencediscounts for multiple murders; and," Repealing the Faint Hope Clause which allowed offendersserving a life sentence with a parole ineligibility period of more than15 years to apply for parole after serving 15 years in prison." The roundtable discussion also focused on amendments tothe Criminal Code related to the Tougher Penalties for Child PredatorsAct, and the corollary amendments that this will bring to the CanadaEvidence Act, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, and theHigh Risk Child Sex Offender Database Act. "It is unacceptable that Canadians fall prey to violent offenders, whohave benefitted from early release after repeatedly committing vio-lent crimes. Our Government is committed to protecting Canadianfamilies by ensuring that statutory release provisions are used withgreater discipline and that violent offenders are kept off the streetsand out of our communities." - Prime Minister Stephen HarperSource: pm.gc.ca
Ontario Releases Climate ChangeStrategy Discussion PaperOTTAWA - This week Ontario released a climate change discussionpaper and invites citizens, businesses and communities to shareideas about how to successfully fight climate change while fosteringeconomic growth and keeping our businesses competitive.The government will engage aboriginal communities and hold prov-ince wide consultations with citizens, community organizations,industry stakeholders, municipal representatives and businesses,and will publically post the discussion paper for comment on theEnvironmental Registry for 45 days. The discussion paper:" Identifies the climate change challenge, the risks and threats itposes to Ontario's environment, economy and way of life;" Suggests actions that encourage individuals, businesses, gov-ernment and communities to do more to reduce greenhouse gasemissions; and" Asks important questions to help inform a comprehensive cli-mate change strategy and action plan, to be released later thisyear.Engaging the public in a conversation about climate change buildson Ontario's recent achievements including closing coal plants,curbing the use of cosmetic pesticides and protecting 1.8 millionacres of land. These initiatives have resulted in fewer smog daysand cleaner water. Our province's greatest strength is our people,and we want to hear from you as we work towards a healthy,prosperous province recognized as a world leader in climatechange solutions. MPP Yasir Naqvi is encouraging you to par tici-pate in the public consultation which will be taking place in Ot-tawa on March 11, 2015 from 6PM to 8PM at the RA Centre (2451Riverside Drive) and share your feedback and concerns. TheMinistry of Environment and Climate Change will consider all ofthe feedback they receive and incorporate those ideas into a strat-egy that will help us adapt to climate change as we continue totransform to a low-carbon economy.Source: yasirnaqvi.onmpp.ca
MP Parm Gill Touts ConservativeGovernment's Financial RecordOTTAWA - Parm Gill, Member of Parliament for Brampton-Springdale, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Inter-national Trade, has highlighted some of the many accomplish-ments of the Conservative Government.The Government's record on a number of different benefits forfamilies, seniors, and small businesses includes family tax ben-efits, saving every family with children approximately $3,400annually; the introduction of the Small Business Job Credit help-ing to create jobs here in Brampton with an average saving of$550 million; and creating pension income splitting, which hasresulted in seniors saving $2.8 billion since 2006.By reducing the tax burden to its lowest level in almost 50 years,the Conservative Government will return to balanced budgetsin 2015, while still providing record amounts of tax relief toCanadians. With the help of Canada's Economic Action Plan,the Government of Canada will remain focused on the priori-ties of Canadians: creating jobs in our communities, promot-ing economic growth, and securing Canada's long-term pros-perity."Since first being elected, our Conservative Government hastaken significant action to lower taxes, create jobs, and se-cure our long-term prosperity, both here in Brampton, andacross the country," said MP Gill. "Our Government's actionshave helped our community grow strong, and the results areshowing, with more money going back where it belongs - in thepockets of hard working Canadians and their families."
ARVIND KEJRIWAL AND AAM AADMI PARTY (AAP) LEADERS MANISH SISODIA AND SATYENDRA JAIN DURING OATH TAKINGCEREMONY AT RAMLILA MAIDAN IN NEW DELHI (IANS)
BY M.R. NARAYAN SWAMY / NEW DELHI, (IANS)Believe it or not, five Left par ties got a grand total of 5,405 votes in theDelhi assembly elections in which they fielded 14 candidates.The Communist Par ty of India (CPI), Communist Par ty of India-Marx-ist (CPI-M), Communist Par ty of India-Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML), For-ward Bloc and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) were inthe fray as par t of a Lef t alliance.The Socialist Par ty (India) and the Revolutionary Socialist Par ty(RSP) did not put up any candidate but suppor ted the five Lef tpar t ies.The CPI contested five seats, the CPI-ML Liberation three and theother three par ties two seats each. The Lef t asked its activistsand suppor ters to vote for the Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP) in theremaining 56 seats.When the votes were counted, the Left found it had collectivelywon 5,405 votes in the 14 constituencies.The largest number of votes (947) went to Rakesh Kumar of theSUCI- Communist at Badli. The least (52) were secured by RakeshSharma of the Forward Bloc at Mundka.Collectively, CPI candidates Sanjeev Kumar Rana (Timarpur),Abdul Jabbar (Bal l imaran), Dal ip Kumar (Palam), Khubi Ram(Trilokpuri) and Chandan Lal Premi (Krishna Nagar) bagged 2,393votes.The CPI-M's Ranjit Tiwari secured 712 votes at Karawal Nagarand Premchand (Dwarka) 264.Surender of the CPI-ML Liberation got 363 votes at Narela. Hiscolleagues Ajay Kumar Singh (Wazirpur) and Mala Devi (Kondli)got 183 and 230 votes respectively.Rakesh Sharma of Forward Bloc got just 52 votes in Mundka, and
his par ty colleague Hari Shankar Sharma 131 at Nangloi Jat.While Rakesh Kumar won 947 votes at Badli, his SUCI-Commu-nist colleague Ritu Kaushik collected 130 votes at Sadar Bazar.The 5,405 votes the Left secured in 14 constituencies were thou-sands and thousands of votes less than what the three AAP losersgot in each constituency.The AAP swept the Delhi election, winning 67 of the 70 seats. Itlost only three seats -- Rohini, Mustafabad and Vishwas Nagar -- to the Bharatiya Janata Par ty.AAP loser C.L. Gupta in Rohini got 54,499 votes. Mohammed Yunusin Musatafabad -- the only AAP candidate to finish third -- won49,791 votes and Atul Gupta at Vishwas Nagar collected 47,966votes.Ahead of the Feb 7 Delhi election, the Lef t par ties came out with ajoint statement listing the issues on which they will seek votes inthe dominantly low-income and working class areas where theywere contesting.These included implementation of minimum wages and all labourlaws, the rights of street hawkers, end to demolition of slums, issuesof sanitation and water, and end to privatization of essential services."We appeal to the people of Delhi to vote for Left candidates to ensurethere is a robust voice of opposition inside and outside the assemblythat can champion the issues of the common people, poor and work-ing masses," a joint Left statement said.Left leaders say they need to fight elections, irrespective of whether theylose or win, to fur ther their support base. Everyone does not agree."I don't even know why we contest these elections and get humili-ated," a CPI leader told IANS. "We should have simply suppor ted theAAP. We know we can't win, then why contest?"
FIVE LEFT PARTIES GOT JUST5,405 VOTES IN DELHI
Modi, Bloomberg meet on smart citiesNew Delhi, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and NewYork City's former mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday announceda par tnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and India'surban development ministry to advance the "Smar t Cities Initia-tive". The Smar t Cities Initiative is aimed to promote economicgrowth, improve governance, and deliver more effective andefficient public services to India's urban residents. Under thepar tnership, Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide assistanceto the ministry to select cities for Smar t Cities Mission fundingon a continuous basis, said an official statement. This approachis different from the conventional approach, which involved prepa-ration of detailed project repor ts, and their appraisal and ap-proval by the central government. It will ensure that real citizenengagement happens, as people get involved both in design andexecution of city development plans. This will actualize the ideaof cooperative and competitive federalism, it said.
Kolkata (IANS): Swine flu, which has claimed two lives in Kolkataso far, is on the rise with as many as 22 afflicted with the influ-enza, a West Bengal health depar tment official said Friday. How-ever, there have been no fresh deaths.Several fresh cases were detected last week. "The total casesare 22 till Friday. No additional deaths were repor ted. The stateis stocked with the required drugs," a Swasthya Bhavan officialtold IANS. Swine flu cases were first repor ted in Bengal Mondayand up until Thursday, there were 15 patients. Tests were beingconducted at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Dis-eases (NICED) facility in Beleghata.The official said oseltemavir tablets and masks are in stock.Hospitals and medical colleges have been asked to remain ex-tremely watchful and be ready with facilities for treating H1N1cases. Swine flu has claimed the lives of 407 people acrossIndia this year, the Indian health ministry said Wednesday. Dur-ing the period Jan 1 to Feb 10, the total number of H1N1 caseswas 5,157 and the number of deaths was 407, the ministry said.Most cases were from Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana,whereas the deaths were largely from Maharashtra, MadhyaPradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana. The union healthministry recently reviewed the swine flu situation in variousstates, including Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat.There has been a massive spur t in cases of swine flu this yearwith 6,298 cases already being repor ted till Thursday, a seniorhealth ministry official said. As compared to this, there wereonly 937 cases in the entire year in 2014. While 485 deaths havealready been repor ted this year, the corresponding figures for2014 were just 218, Additional Secretary, Health, A. K. Pandatold the media."The virus is the same which was in circulation in 2009, whenthere was a worldwide outbreak, so it is very difficult to ex-plain the rise in the number of cases," he said. Panda saidthat according to research by the Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR), there has been no mutation in the virus.He said that the rise in the number of cases can also beattributed to more and more people coming forward and get-ting tested for the disease.Panda said there were enough testing facilities in all states andonly Uttar Pradesh is trying to set up more laboratories to test forthe virus. He added that the union health ministry would be writingto all states to provide low cost testing facilities for swine flu. Theswine flu toll in Rajasthan this year climbed to 135 with five morepeople deaths due to the disease repor ted Friday, officials said."Maximum deaths have occurred from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Barmer andNagaur," said a medical and health depar tment official.
SWINE FLU CASES RISING AS485 PEOPLE HAVE DIED
KEJRIWAL'S SIX-MINISTER CABINETNEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announcednot to hold any ministry directly, but plans a power ful ChiefMinister's Office as the nerve-centre of the new state govern-ment, not unlike the Prime Minister's Office in the Narendra Modigovernment.The six sworn-in as members of Kejriwal's cabinet are:Manish Sisodia: Capital's first Deputy Chief Minister and willhandle Education, Urban Development, Finance portfolios. Delhihas never had a Deputy Chief Minister before.Gopal Rai: Transpor t, Labour, Rural Development and GeneralAdministration por tfolios.Satyendra Jain: Power, Health, Industries, PWD and Irrigationand Flood Control por tfoliosAsim Ahmed Khan: Food and Civil Supplies, Environment andForest por tfoliosSandeep Kumar: Women and Child Welfare por tfoliosJitender Singh Tomar: Law Depar tment in the capital
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015i n d i a
TRIBAL ARTISTS GETTING READY FOR A PERFORMANCE AT THE NATIONAL TRIBAL FESTIVAL AT NEW DELHI'S CONNAUGHT PLACE(IANS)
US firms plan to build 20,000MW solar power in IndiaNew Delhi, (IANS) US solar firms SunEdison and First Solarhave announced plans to build more than 20,000 megawatts ofsolar energy capacity in India by 2022.The companies' India plans were announced Sunday at the star tof the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet and Expo(Re-Invest) here being held Feb 15-17 to attract large scaleinvestments for solar and wind power generation in the country.The three-day meet was inaugurated by Prime Minister NarendraModi."India has a critical need to add capacity to its grid as it contin-ues to experience strong economic growth and growing de-mand for energy," said Pashupathy Gopalan, president ofSunEdison Asia-Pacific.Sun Edison said it would build 15,200 MW of solar and windpower capacity by 2022, while First Solar made a commitmentto develop 5,000 MW by 2019.The Rajasthan government recently entered into a memoran-dum of understanding (MOU) with Sun Edison India and Infra-structure Leasing & Financial Services for establishing a solarpark with a generation capacity of 5,000 MW.India wants to raise its energy mix from renewables to 15 per-cent, from the current six percent in a period of 10-12 years,Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyaltold the conference.The government has revised upwards the target of solar powergeneration from 20,000 MW by 2022 to 100,000 MW by 2020.Towards increasing the use of clean energy, the India-US nuclearagreement, concluded during President Barrack Obama's visithere last month, has eased the way for foreign firms to developnuclear energy in India.
India, US to cooperatemore in fighting illicitmoney trafficNew Delhi (IANS): India and the US Thursday agreed to in-crease cooperation to halt illicit money flows after it has emergedthat Iranian oil export revenues had been siphoned out of state-run UCO Bank in a suspected money-laundering operation."We all agreed to enhance cooperation between our agencies infighting illicit finance in all forms," said the joint statement is-sued after the Fifth India-US Economic and Financial Par tner-ship Dialogue, where the delegations were led respectively byFinance Minister Arun Jaitley and US Treasury Secretary JackLew. Earlier, addressing a joint press conference, Jaitley said:"The issue did not come up during our discussions, though wedid discuss money laundering and its relation to terrorism.""A large number of these funds come through concealed identi-ties, and the concerned authorities, including the central bank,have taken appropriate action," he added. The case concerns agroup of people from Iran and Azerbaijan, who after enteringIndia on student visas, set up a group of shell companies tosiphon off $3.2 billion from UCO Bank. The joint statement fur-ther said: "We noted the need for an early conclusion of recipro-cal arrangement on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Actand look forward to working for an early adoption of the newglobal standards on automatic exchange of information for get-ting information about unaccounted money hoarded in offshorejurisdictions and tax havens."Reacting to media repor t earlier this week that 1,195 Indianswere in the list of clients who held accounts in HSBC bank'sGeneva branch from 2006-2007, Jaitley told reporters here thatthe government has completed assessment of 350 foreign ac-counts while tax-evasion proceedings have been initiated against60 account holders.
'SOUTH ASIA SUFFERINGDUE TO TENSION BETWEENINDIA AND PAKISTAN'New Delhi (IANS): The economic progress in South Asiahas suffered due to bilateral tensions between India andPakistan, Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basitsaid Thursday."Because of the Pakistan-India problems in this region, we havenot been able to put South Asia on the trajectory of economicwell being, interdependence as well as integration," he said at agathering of school students from the two countries here."How unfor tunate it is regions around the world promoteeconomic cooperation and work together to address globalchallenges like terrorism, climate change, but here we don'tsee much intellectual activity as compared to the EuropeanUnion," he added.As many as 50 delegates, including 30 school students fromLahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Islamabad are here on an ex-change programme that seeks to strengthen relations, spreadpeace and friendship between the two nations. "The interactionbetween the youth of the two countries is so impor tant andessential to build bridges. These interactions will also help todispel stereotypes," Basit told IANS.Indian students from Dev Samaj Modern School and DPSSushantlok here also participated in the "Students Exchange forChange 2013-2015", organised by two NGOs - India-basedRoutes2Roots in collaboration with The Citizens Archive of Pa-kistan. The gathering showcased greetings, letters, collagesand videos that school children on either side of the borderexchanged with one another during the initiative that spannedover 12 months.While pinning hope on the youth of the two countries to normal-ize strained relations, Basit said: "You guys (the youth) have totake the initiative in promoting a positive path towards normal-ization of relationship between the two countries. "My genera-tion has failed to build bridges between the two countries, butwe are confident that your generation would not fail. Becauseyou have the capacity to transcend subjectivity," he added.
Polling for 11 Kashmir legislativecouncil seats March 2
Jammu (IANS): Polling for 11 seats of the Jammu andKashmir legislative council will be held March 2, it wasannounced recently.The notification of election was issued by returning officer, M.Ramzan. As per the notifications, nomination papers can beobtained at the offices of returning officer (secretary ordeputy secretary, legislative assembly) between 11am and3pm from Feb 12 to 18.The nomination papers can subsequently be submittedbetween 11am and 3pm on any day upto Feb 18. Scrutiny will
be held Feb 19 and the last date of withdrawal is Feb 21. "Inthe event of election being contested, the poll will take placeon March 2 between 9am and 4pm," said the notification."For these 11 seats, election is to be held for four membersfrom among persons who are residents of Kashmir Valley, oneeach from Ladakh and Kargil districts and the remaining fivemembers from among persons who are residents of Jammuprovince," it said. Members of the 87-member state legisla-tive assembly are entitled to vote in the elections for thelegislative council.
Manjhi asked to prove majority by Feb 20;court holds Nitish JD-U house leader
Patna/New Delhi (IANS): Bihar Chief Minister Jitan RamManjhi was asked by Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi to provehis majority in the assembly on the first day of the budgetsession beginning Feb 20 - a step welcomed by his suppor t-ers but slammed as "murder of democracy" by JD-U leaderNitish Kumar.In a related development, the Patna High Cour t declined tostay Nitish Kumar's election as the Janata Dal-United'slegislature par ty leader. According to Brajesh Malhotra,secretary to the governor, the floor test would be done eitherthrough lobby division or secret ballot, immediately after thegovernor's address to the joint sitting of the state legislature.The loyalists of Manjhi, who was expelled from the JD-UMonday after he refused to step down from his post, wereupbeat."We are 100 percent sure that Manjhi would prove hismajority with BJP's suppor t," state minister Bhim Singh, oneof the leading vocal suppor ters of Manjhi, told the media inPatna. Another minister and Manjhi suppor ter, Vinay Bihari,said he was confident of Bharatiya Janata Par ty's suppor t
while claiming several JD-U legislators were in touch withthem. Senior BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition NandKishore Yadav and former deputy chief minister Sushil KumarModi have made it clear that their par ty would suppor t Manjhi.Nitish Kumar however slammed the move, holding PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and the BJP behind the governor's planto "murder parliamentary democracy" by giving more time toManjhi for "horse trading to prove his majority"."The governor and BJP are trying to murder parliamentarydemocracy in Bihar and Modi is behind this game plan," saidthe former chief minister, who returned from Delhi where hemet President Pranab Mukherjee and paraded 130 suppor tinglegislators of the JD-U, Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress, theCommunist Par ty of India and independents."Modi is behind the cur tain to play this game plan. Soon af termeeting Modi in Delhi, Manjhi revealed his plans of horsetrading openly and star ted his operation to split JD-U," NitishKumar said. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, however,rejected the allegations and said the crisis per tained to the JD-U. "The allegations are baseless and we reject them. This is a
desperate Nitish who is yet to come toterms with his conclusive defeat in Bihar,"said Prasad, who also hails from Bihar, andaccused Nitish Kumar of running a proxygovernment in the state for a long time."When the chief minister (Manjhi) star tedremoving his (Nitish's) loyalists fromimpor tant positions, he got restless," hesaid in New Delhi. Nitish Kumar also saidhe had demanded that the governor call aspecial assembly session to provide achance to the chief minister to prove hismajority."But the governor has ignored ourrequest and given enough time to Manjhi forhorse trading," he alleged.Manjhi was hand-picked by then chiefminister Nitish Kumar as his replacementwhen he quit last year after the JD-U's routin the Lok Sabha polls. Meanwhile, thePatna High Cour t Thursday modified its owndirective of Wednesday in which it hadstayed Nitish Kumar's election as the newleader of the legislature par ty.A division bench of Chief Justice L.N. Reddyhas modified in its earlier order of stay onNitish Kumar's election as the new leader ofthe legislature par ty, P.K. Shahi, who hasfiled a petition challenging the stay andrequested it be withdrawn, told media inPatna. The cour t Wednesday stayed NitishKumar's election after hearing a petitionfiled by Rajeshwar Raj, a legislator consid-ered close to Manjhi.
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SRI LANKAN PRESIDENTARRIVES ON INDIA VISITNew Delhi, (IANS) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisenaarrived here Sunday on a four-day state visit - his maiden tripabroad since he won the presidential elections last month.He was received by Minister of State for Shipping P.Radhakrishnan.On Monday, President Sirisena will be accorded a ceremonialreception at Rashtrapati Bhavan after which he will go to RajGhat to lay a wreath at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial.External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will call on him at hishotel, ITC Maurya, after which he is to hold talks with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House.After the delegation-level talks over a working lunch, both sidesare to hold signing of agreements before the media in the
afternoon. Sirisena will meet President Pranab Mukherjee in theevening, which is to be followed by a presidential dinner in hishonour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.On Tuesday, Sirisena is to leave for the Buddhist pilgrimage siteof Bodhgaya in Bihar and later in the evening for Tirupati, inAndhra Pradesh. He returns to Colombo on Wednesday.Sirisena, who defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa in a surprise verdictJan 9, has said he is keen to fur ther relations with India.After his election, Modi had congratulated him and invited himto visit New Delhi.The new Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweerahad come to India in his first week in office and met SushmaSwaraj.
Slum dwellers protest at Kejriwal's house in UPNew Delhi/Ghaziabad, (IANS) A group of around 20 slumdwellers Sunday protested outside Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal's house in Uttar Pradesh over demolition of theirshanties in the capital, police said.The protestors, residents of east Delhi's Shahdara area,demonstrated in the morning outside Kejriwal's Kaushambiapar tment in Ghaziabad.The slum dwellers from Delhi protested for around half-an-hour,Indirapuram police officer Hardayal Yadav told IANS.Yadav said it was a peaceful protest and the demonstratorsreturned to Delhi after getting assurance that proper action withbe taken in the matter.The protestors claimed that eight shanties were Saturdaydemolished in Shahdara even as Kejriwal was taking oath asthe new chief minister of Delhi at the Ramlila Maidan."Our shanties were demolished without any prior information. Womenpolice officers manhandled us and our children and they also damagedour household items," a protestor Sushila, 40, said.
Denying that anyone was manhandled, Delhi Police officials,however, said that these people had built shanties illegally ongovernment land and the police only tried to stop them.Sources said the chief minister discussed the matter withShahdara MLA Ram Niwas Goel and asked him to look into it."Only five shanties were demolished as these were constructedon government land. Four of the shanties were built just a daybefore the assembly elections. The police came in action whenlocal people complained to me as well as the police about theissue Feb 13," Goel told IANS."The police had picked them (the people residing in the shan-ties) up Saturday, but I managed to get them released from thepolice station. I met them around 4 p.m. today and asked themto give the name of the policemen who manhandled them, butthey are not ready to give the names of any police official,"Goel added.In his pre-poll rallies, Kejriwal promised not to demolish even asingle shanty across the city.
Anna, Kejriwal part ofRSS plan to eliminateCongress: DigvijayNew Delhi, (IANS) Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh Sun-day said the RSS suppor ted anti-corruption crusader AnnaHazare and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for its overall "CongressMukt Bharat" plan. The AAP hit back, saying the Congress hadno desire to reinvent itself."When I said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was behindAnna movement, no one believed me, I was called Mad. Butultimately I was proved right and I would be this time too,"Digvijaya Singh tweeted.The Congress leader also said that Kejriwal, whose Aam AadmiPar ty swept the Feb 7 elections winning 67 of the total 70 seats,too was par t of the overall plan of the RSS to eliminate Congressfrom Indian politics."I know I would be abused by both RSS and Kejriwal fans," hewrote in the message.In response, AAP leader Ashutosh reacted saying that Congresswas not interested in reinventing itself."More Digvijay speaks, better for AAP. It proves the point thatCongress has no new perspective to reinvent itself. Old idiomneeds to be replaced," he said in a message on a social mediawebsite.To the Congress leader's charge that AAP does not have anyideology, Ashutosh retor ted: "Congress can't understand AAP",and sought to pose the same question to Digvijaya Singh, askinghim to explain what his own par ty's ideology was.
MODI HAS NO ROLE INBIHAR POLITICAL CRISIS:VENKAIAH NAIDUHyderabad, (IANS) The central government or Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has no role in the political crisis in Bihar, saidunion Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu Sun-day. He told repor ters here that the crisis arose due to infightingin Janata Dal-United. "There was already a war going on in Janataparivar. They are divided and not united," he said.The Bharatiya Janata Par ty leader alleged that JD-U Nitish Kumarwas blaming Modi for his own failures."Who asked you (Nitish) to resign from the chief minister's postand who asked you to make Jitan Ram Manjhi the chief minis-ter, and why are you asking him to resign now," he said.Naidu also denied that the central government has any role infixing Feb 20 as the day when Manjhi will face the trust vote inthe assembly. He said the decision to convene the assemblywas taken 12 days ago and the governor decided to hold theexercise on that day."If you have the numbers, prove it on the floor of the house. Whythis drama of calling MLAs to Delhi (for parading them beforepresident)," asked Naidu.He also criticized JD-U for first staking claim to form the govern-ment and later seeking the status of main opposition par ty.Naidu also denied that there is any proposal to invite TelanganaRashtra Samiti (TRS) to join BJP-led NDA government. "Theseare mere speculations. The BJP and TRS are different par ties,"he said.He also hinted at the possibility of introducing amendments tothe Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act in the ensuing budgetsession of parliament. He, however, said this would be doneonly after reaching a broad consensus with the governments ofboth Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.Naidu said special status to Andhra Pradesh was under the con-sideration of the central government. Admitting that it is no easytask, the minister said the central government was trying toovercome the hiccups.
Kejriwal urged to implementschemes for street kidsNew Delhi, (IANS) A federation of street and working childrenhas put for th their demands before Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal, urging implementation of all government schemes forunderprivileged children including ensuring legal identity tothem, said a statement Sunday.In a letter sent through fax to Kejriwal, who took oath as chiefminister Saturday, "Badhte Kadam," a federation of street andworking children shared their problems and requested Kejriwalto add it in his agenda.Conveying hear tiest congratulations on his being appointed CM,the letter sent at 12.20 p.m. Saturday also apprised Kejriwal onthe issues and problems faced by the street children.Sixteen-year-old Chandni, the federation's national secretarysaid: "We had earlier sent a letter to Arvind Kejriwal on Dec 28,2013 to appraise him on the issues and problems faced by us,but due to the shor t tenure he was not able to address our is-sues.""This time I and all the members of 'Badhte Kadam' are hopefuland believe that he will successfully carry out his tenure as theleader and also help to address our issues," she said.Jyoti, the federation's district secretary said they had put for thfive directives before the new Delhi government."The demands include ensuring legal identity to street and work-ing children, implementation of all government schemes forunderprivileged children, giving oppor tunity to children to par-ticipate in children- related government meetings, and ensuringactions against all those people who are involved in child labour,"Jyoti, 14, said.Vikas, the federation's state secretary said Kejriwal's arrivalhas brought a revolution in Indian politics and shown the powerof the common people.He added: "Leader of common people, Kejriwal, will provide uswith the oppor tunity to meet him."
PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA MAITHRIPALASIRISENA, AT HYDERABAD HOUSE, IN NEW DELHI (IANS)
Rome, (IANS) Italy closed its embassy in the Libyan capital TripoliSunday following security concerns, as a result of a "deteriorating"Libyan conflict, while Italians residing in Libya were evacuated andshipped back to their country, media repor ted."Temporary closure of our embassy took place timely... the closurewas necessary because of the deteriorating situation in Libya," Ital-ian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in a statement, according toXinhua.Around 70 Italian nationals left Libya on a vessel bound for Sicily,escor ted by an Italian navy ship and an air force Predator aircraft,LA7 television said.Last week the Italian foreign ministry advised its citizens to tempo-rarily leave the conflict-torn Libya as the Islamic State (IS) militantgroup appeared to be making headway and the security situationdeteriorated.In another example of the worsening situation in the conflict-riddenLibya, the IS claimed in a video Sunday to have executed 21 EgyptianCoptic Christians abducted in Libya.The Egyptians were abducted in the Libyan city of Sir te in two sepa-rate incidents in December and January, only a week apar t from eachother.Gentiloni said that the Italian parliament would star t discussing thesituation in Libya Thursday. Italy was willing to do its par t in Libyaunder a legal framework established by the UN, he added.In an interview with the Il Messaggero newspaper published Sunday,Italian Defence Minister Rober ta Pinotti expressed concern over the
growing influence of Islamic fundamentalists in Libya, "just 350 kmaway".Pinotti said Italy was ready to lead a coalition of countries in Libya tostop the advance of the IS "as an intervention has become urgent"."Given that we had sent as many as 5,000 troops to Afghanistan,in a country like Libya that concerns us much more closely andwhere the risk of deterioration is much more worrying for Italy,our mission can be significant and challenging, even numerically,"she said.Asked whether terrorists could reach Italy on migrant boats, Pinottisaid this possibility could not be ruled out.On Sunday, 12 boats carrying more than 1,000 migrants from nor thAfr ican and Middle Eastern countr ies were rescued south ofLampedusa island, Italy's southernmost point between Sicily andLibya.The Italian coast guard was repor tedly threatened, while reach-ing one of the boats off the Libyan coast, by some armed men whodemanded that the boat be left with them after the migrants wererescued.The Italian government led by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi lastweek approved a package of harsh anti-terrorism measures tar-geting foreign-fighters.Some 1,800 soldiers will join the 3,000 military personnel al-ready deployed throughout Italy, af ter at least 15 people have beenso far expelled from the country under suspicion of being danger-ous to national security.
EGYPTIAN CHURCHCONFIRMS COPTICCHRISTIANS' EXECUTION BY ISCairo, (IANS) The Egyptian Orthodox Church confirmed late Sun-day that the 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians abducted by the Is-lamic State (IS) militant group in Libya have been executed bythe militants, Xinhua repor ted, citing Egypt's state-run MENA newsagency."We watched the painful video. We can confirm (that) the slainwere our kidnapped sons in Libya," spokesman for the CopticOr thodox Church in Egypt, Polis Halim, was quoted by MENA assaying.The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed in a video Sundayto have executed 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians abducted in Libya.The Egyptians were abducted in the Libyan city of Sir te in twoseparate incidents in December and January, only a week apar tfrom each other.Halim said that the Church was in contact with a number of gov-ernment institutions to follow up the situation.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called an urgentmeeting of the National Defence Council, following the release ofthe video.
COPENHAGEN DOUBLE ATTACKPERPETRATOR IDENTIFIEDCopenhagen, (IANS) The alleged perpetrator of the double terror-ist attack in the Danish capital Copenhagen was identified as a22-year-old man born in Denmark, who was known to have acriminal past.Police said in a press release that the man was known for sev-eral crimes, including those related to contraventions of the Weap-ons Act and violence, according to a Xinhua repor t.The Danish Security and Intelligence Agency (PET) said Sundaythat it had prior knowledge of the alleged perpetrator.The man was shot dead by the police Sunday, after he unleashedmayhem in Copenhagen over Saturday and Sunday, killing twopeople and injuring five police officers, in two separate attacks.The first attack targeted a cafe Saturday, where the controversialSwedish car toonist Lars Vilks and French Ambassador to Den-mark Francois Zimeray were attending an event on "Ar t, Blas-phemy and Freedom of Expression". A 55-year-old man waskilled in the attack, while three police officers were wounded.Vilks had cour ted controversy for his objectionable por tray-als of the Prophet Muhammad and has been under policeprotection since 2007.The second attack targeted Copenhagen's main synagogueSunday, in which one person died and two police officerswere injured.According to police, the man, believed to be responsible forboth the attacks, was killed in a shootout in Copenhagen'sNorrebro district. Video footage confirmed that the same manhad carried out both the attacks.The attacks in Copenhagen is believed to have parallels withan attack on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical maga-zine in the French capital Paris last month, in which Islam-ists killed 12 people, including the magazine's editor, pur-por tedly to seek revenge for unfavourable caricatures of ProphetMuhammad.
Former Iranian vice presidentjailed over corruption chargesTehran, (IANS) The former vice president of Iran, MohammadReza Rahimi, who was sentenced to a little over five yearsin prison for corruption, was transferred to a jail Sunday,Iran's official IRNA news agency repor ted.According to a verdict by the Iran's Supreme Cour t in Janu-ary, Rahimi is to spend five years and 91 days in prison. Hewas taken to the Evin prison, nor th of Tehran, Sunday forserving his term. Rahimi, the first vice president under formerpresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was also fined 10 billionrials (about $364,000) for corruption and ordered to return8.5 billion rials ($308,040) wor th of goods. Rahimi had ap-pealed against a former verdict, which convicted him to 15years in jail. The Cour t of Appeal reviewed the case and af tera second appeal, the case was forwarded to the SupremeCour t. The Supreme Cour t reduced the prison term and con-firmed the new verdict of five years and 91 days.
‘No arrest fishermen' policysought for India, PakistanIslamabad, (IANS) A group in Pakistan has called for an ami-cable resolution to the perennial issue of detention by Pakistanand India of fishermen from the two neighbours and urged au-thorities to ensure that those detained are released for thwithon humanitarian grounds."There should be a 'no arrest fishermen' policy drafted andsigned between the two countries under which no fishermenwould be arrested while f ishing," Dawn quoted PakistanFisherfolk Forum (PFF) group as saying Sunday.There are 247 Pakistani fishermen lodged in Indian jails, therepor t added.Meanwhile, the Pakistan government ordered the release of172 Indian fishermen lodged in District Jail Malir in the por t cityof Karachi. The fishermen were caught violating the sea bound-ary of Pakistan.
Turkey to shut embassy inYemen, evacuate staffAnkara, (IANS) Turkey decided Sunday to shut its embassy inthe Yemeni capital Sana'a, and evacuate its diplomatic staff asa result of the worsening security situation in the country, Xinhuarepor ted, citing Turkish media.Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had issued a newtravel warning for Turkish citizens Saturday, urging them to leaveYemen immediately.
IMF announces$17.5 bn
assistance forUkraine
Brussels (IANS/EFE): Interna-tional Monetary Fund chiefChristine Lagarde has an-nounced that the agency hadreached an agreement withUkraine to provide assistanceto the country wor th 15.5 bil-lion euros ($17.5 billion) over fouryears. "It is an ambitiousprogramme, it is a toughprogramme and it is not withoutrisk," she told a press conference.But it is also a realistic programmeand its effective implementation-after consideration and approval byour executive board can representa turning point for Ukraine," sheadded.According to a statement on theIMF website, she said she ex-pected the agreement reached withKiev would be voted on by the IMFboard at the end of February.Lagarde also noted that IMF assis-tance "is part of a wider package offinancial assistance reaching $40billion" and will feature bilateralcontributions from countries andother multilateral organisations."The government is committed tofront-loaded measures under thenew four-year programme, includ-ing further sizable energy tariff in-creases, bank restructuring, gov-ernance reforms of state-ownedenterprises, and legal changes toimplement the anti-corruptionand judicial reform agenda.
KOLINDA GRABAR-KITAROVIC POSES WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL SASH AFTER TAKING THE OATH OF OFFICE AS THE PRESIDENTOF CROATIA (IANS)
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Priyanka Chopra speaks ongirl education in Boston
Would love to playMother Teresa on screen:
Jacqueline Fernandez
WHERE'S WOMEN POWER: HUMAQURESHI ON KEJRIWAL'S CABINET
No ‘Dangal’ with Aamir Khan for Kangana Ranaut!
Actress Huma Qureshi has high hopes from DelhiChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal but has one issuewith his cabinet -- the lack of women.Aam Aadmi Par ty leader Kejriwal Saturday tookoath as Delhi's chief minister at the RamlilaMaidan here along with six ministers, all of whomare men. Hence, the actress questioned theabsence of female representation."More power to change @ArvindKejriwal Lookingat better governance and safety for women inDelhi. But no female representation in thecabinet," she tweeted.Kejriwal's close aide Manish Sisodia, who will bethe deputy chief minister, was also sworn inalong with ministers Satyendra Jain, Gopal Rai,Asim Mohammed Khan, Sandeep Kumar andJitendra Singh Tomar.Celebrity photographer Atul Kasbekar also noted:"No women in the Kejriwal cabinet could well beits Achilles heel or its pin stripedsuit...Disappointing."Hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani tweeted: How manywomen in @ArvindKejriwal's cabinet?#AAPkaCM #AAPStorm #AAPKiDilli#KejriwalChecksIn #5SaalKejriwal."
Bollywood actress and singer Priyanka Chopra sent out a global mes-sage of bringing women empowerment through education at a worldleaders' conference held in Boston. After the event, Priyanka took tomicro-blogging site Twitter to talk about the "privileged" moment ofsharing dais with leaders like Bill Clinton."What an amazing day. So honoured to speak at @EFHelloWorld &being par t of an amazing list of speakers @billclinton @stevewoz@OfficeGSBrown," she tweeted.The actress spoke on the impor tance of girl education and womenempowerment, which plays a significant role in development of acountry, at EF (Education First) Hello World's Day with World LeadersConference held Friday.Other attendees included former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown,co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak.The actress, who looked uber-chic in a sophisticated black dress,also said that she was delighted to talk about her favourite subject."Gratified, talking about myfavour i te subject#GirlPower 2 all the la-dies out there... HappyValent ine 's Day. Al-ways remember u areso VALUABLE," shefurther tweeted.The actress has time andagain proved that girls areno less then men andeven her successgraph evinces thesame withmovies like" F a s h i o n "and "MaryKom". Tochannel thesame energy,Priyanka alsosupports Girl Ris-ing campaign.
If Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez had her way, she'd starin a biopic on Mother Teresa, the Nobel prize winner who devotedher life to the old, the abandoned and the ailing.At an event to promote her recently released film "Roy", whenJacqueline was asked about doing a biopic, she said: "If I have todo a biopic then I would love to play Mother Teresa.""It would be very interesting...because I'll get to learn a lot abouther and I do think that she was a very impor tant figure in Indianhistory," she added.Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic religious sister who foundedMissionaries of Charity to offer free services to the poor, childrenand needy. She went out of her way to help the destitutes andstarving people. She was beatified in 2003 as "Blessed Teresa ofCalcutta". A second miracle credited to her is now required beforeshe can be recognised as a saint.
MUMBAI: Contrary to repor ts thatsuggested that Kangana Ranaut has beenroped in by the makers of Aamir Khanstarrer ‘Dangal’, what has now emergedis that the actress hasn’t even beenapproached as yet.A repor t in DNA suggests that the‘Queen’ star, who actually is a greatadmirer of Aamir, isn’t a part of the filmbased on Indian wrestler Mahavir SinghPhogat and his daughter Geeta’s lives.Post the release of Vikas Bahl’s ‘Queen’,a film that gave a new lease of life toKangana’s acting career, Aamir took toTwitter to express his appreciation for theHimchali beauty.Interestingly, the repor ts suggested thatKangana was being considered to playAamir’s daughter in the biopic, which willhappen to be the superstar’s next filmafter ‘PK’.
NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI, YAMI GAUTAM AND VARUN DHAWAN DURING A PROMOTIONAL EVENT OF THEIR UPCOMING FILM`BADLAPUR` IN BENGALURU (IANS)
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Movie Review
'Shamitabh' - ode to Big B'sbaritone, human mortality
CAST: AMITABH BACHCHAN, DHANUSH
AND AKSHARA HAASAN;
DIRECTOR: R. BALAKRISHNAN
RATING: *****
Roop Kumar Rathod, Sandeep Mahavir and Juhi Chawla during a music concert Ru-Ba-Ru -The Soul of Fusion in Mumbai (IANS)
Balki must really stop doing this. This is the third time he has stunnedus with his originality and audacity and engagingness. He's spoilingus silly. His third feature film is perhaps his most audacious cin-ematic journey yet. The writer-director takes the voice of Mr. Bachchan(in other words, the voice of the nation) and puts it on Dhanush, thatintelligent Tamil actor who is rapidly emerging as the inheritor toKamal Haasan. It really can't any more audacious than this...thoughadmittedly, there's no telling what Balki would dare to do next."Shamitabh" opens yet another door to Balki's creative resourceful-ness. There are only three main characters in the film -- the film-obsessed mute Danish; Amitabh Sinha, the autumnal cauldron of dis-content who gives voice to Danish's dream; and the very cute assis-tant director Akshara (Akshara Haasan), who plays a reluctant andrather frail mediator between the two raging men. She is really not upto the task. But then, life never plays fair.Given the inventive premise of the plot and the sheer charm of thethree principal actors, Balki could have comfor tably allowed the nar-rative to work itself out. Blessedly there is no lazy writing in thispowerful film. Almost every narrative twist is cleverer and wiser thanit would outwardly seem. At times, you may think the film is trying toact smar ter than it actually is and in the process, it may seem asthough the narrative is getting carried away with itself.But no. Every action has a profound cause. There is a grand designbehind every seemingly spontaneous movement in the plot. You maywonder why Amitabh, the embittered alcoholic actor with a voice thatcould move mountains, lives in the graveyard (with an enter tainingsidekick-cum-confidante)...A bit of a metaphoric indulgence, you wouldsay. But wait for the film's stunning finale: death is indeed a gravematter, specially in lives that have seen better days.Balki's characters light up the present with their stubborn eccentrici-ties. Not co-incidentally all the three path-breaking characters thatMr. Bachchan has played in Balki's films so far -- in "Cheeni Kum" and"Paa" -- have been relentlessly stubborn characters. Going manysteps ahead of his vain chef's character in "Cheeni Kum" and thearrogant progeric boy-man in "Paa", Big B in "Shamitabh" is a ragingvolcano of ill-tempered defiance.Early in the narrative we are told (in that mesmerising voice thatplays the main lead in the plot) that once upon a time, The Voice hadbeen rejected by not just the film industry but all popular mediums.This, as any Bachchan fan would tell you, is a fact from the superstar'sreal life. Balki is a Bachchan fan and a director. He picks out manyreal-life incidents and character-traits from Mr. Bachchan's life (forinstance, that smirking monologue about why we choose ape Holly-wood by calling our film industry 'Bollywood') to create a characterwhose splendid surliness sweeps across the plot's canvas, creatinga man who has never quite come to terms with his failure and now
suddenly gets one last chance to be famous as a wannabe superstar'svoice. It's a compelling premise transpor ted to illuminating heightsby the writer-director's insight into human nature. Balki never flinchesfrom looking at the darker zones of human nature. Yet, he likes tokeep the sur face amiable, gentle and very viewer-friendly. His cin-ematographic ally P.C. Sreeram paints an almost Shakespearean au-tumnal ruin around Mr. Bachchan's character.Wisely, the colour palette gets more eye-catching and vibrant whenthe camera is around Dhanush and Akshara, the wannabe star fromrural Maharashtra who goes on to become, ahem, the first Marathisuperstar of Bollywood.The journey is mapped with immense warmth and tenderness. Thechild-actor who plays Dhanush's film-crazy character in the prologueis so in-character that you wonder if Balki stole him away from anearby movie theatre.Dhanush plays the mute star-aspirant with great understanding. Hisrole gets progressively complex as his on-screen persona must meshwith the Bachchan baritone in a way where the merger looks convinc-ing. Dhanush manages to pull the character, into the realm of theutterly believable.The chemistry between the alcohol-laden Voice and the dream-drenched face is the film's focal point. Dhanush's rappor t withAkshara's character never quite gets there, par tly because she's alittle too young and inexperienced-looking for the par t, though none-theless a prized discovery. The growing romantic fondness betweenthe two doesn't get your attention. Neither do some of the songs,specially the romantic number where the commode plays a pivotalrole. Ilayaraja's background score is far more evocative than thesongs which strive to be 'cool' rather than compelling. But you'rereally not listening. Not to the songs. Not to the characters. But to thesound of their aching arching hear ts reaching into a space beyondwhat god and technology have created for them. Nothing preparesyou for this astonishing film. Its absolutely original plot and spell-binding aesthetics make it compulsive viewing. The delicacy anddynamism of structure and movement are indicative of Balki's mas-tery of the medium."Shamitabh" is not just a homage to the great Bachchan baritone. It isalso a magnificent ode to the theme of human mor tality. Bachchanrages and towers over the proceedings as only he can. Is there no endto his brilliancy? Dhanush's synchronicity with the Big B, so crucialto the plot, proves him to be an actor of remarkable resources. Thank-fully, like Balki, Dhanush is a Big B fan later, an honest ar tiste first.Akshara Haasan holds her own between the two seething squabblingco-stars, though the sequence where she chastises both the men in akindergar ten class falls pretty flat. Not her fault. Akshara never al-lows us to know this is her first.
FARAH COOKS UP A TREATWITH ABHISHEK BACHCHANMumbai (IANS): Filmmaker Farah Khan, who has star ted shoot-ing for a food-based TV show "Farah Ki Daawat", was left im-pressed by actor Abhishek Bachchan's cooking skills. After hersuccessful stint in reality TV show "Bigg Boss Halla Bol", thefilmmaker is set to return to the small screen with the cookeryshow, for which she star ted shooting recently."N v star ted shooting 4#Farahkidaawat today... Thank u AB ureally can cook! Besides making my kids do this," she tweetedalong with a photograph in which her seven-year-old triplets arecopying Abhishek's trademark step from her directorial "HappyNew Year". In "Farah Ki Daawat", which will be aired on Colors,Bollywood celebrities will showcase their culinary skills by turn-ing out some delectable dishes, and Farah will be seen breathingdown their neck and emphasising on perfection. Abhishek, who'sthe first guest of the TV show, also took to micro-blogging site toshare his experience."@SonuSood @TheFarahKhan made a healthy chicken,"Abhishek tweeted. Farah, 50, known for larger-than-l i fedirectorials like "Om Shanti Om", and "Main Hoon Na", alsomentioned that her friends have spoilt her for good by offeringher a feast time and again. "The actors that I have worked withalso know how much I love food. Deepika Padukone alwaysbrings Rasam for me, Boman Irani's wife sends Dhansak for meand Abhishek brings some scrumptious home-made Rajma forme. My friends have spoiled me completely, but I love every bit of it,"the foodie said in a statement. The show will premiere Feb 22.
Films being targeted to getpublicity: Aamir KhanMumbai (IANS): Actor Aamir Khan, whose last movie "PK" gotembroiled in multiple controversies before and after its release,feels that films have now become soft targets for publicity-hungrypeople. "PK", which portrays Aamir Khan as an alien, raised ques-tions about religion and people's blind faith in godmen.Aamir was present at the 'Youth For Governance' event here. Hewas asked to share his thoughts about controversial films that goon to become hits. He said: "When people like the film, then itbecomes a hit. When we say 'hit', we mean people like that film.The only reason behind a hit film is that how good you have madeit. And if you have made a bad movie, no matter how well youmarket that film, it's not going to do well." Sharing his "theory onfilms", Aamir said: "No matter what you do, you can't make a badfilm work. And no matter what you do, you can't kill a good film. Itworks both ways," he added. Aamir further said that the film indus-try has now become a soft target for people who want cheap pub-licity. "It is an unfortunate fact that nowadays, every film seems tohave attracted some or the other controversy. There was a case ofplagiarism filed against Rajkumar Hirani for 'PK'. The person filingthe case got his name on the front page, which is what he wanted.So, it has now become easy to get publicity," the actor said.
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DID 'BOMBAY VELVET'FOR ITS STORY, MUSIC:RAVEENA TANDONMumbai (IANS): The 'will she' or 'won't she' questions onRaveena Tandon's appearance in "Bombay Velvet" has for longbeen around. Setting the record straight, the actress says she isa par t of the film. The actress took to micro-blogging site Twitterto clear the air around her appearance in Anurag Kashyap'sdirectorial, lauding its storyline and music. "Too much hypearound my appearance in the film,I have done it for fun and onlybecause I love the film and the music of 'Bombay Velvet'," shetweeted. The actress also said that she never denied being apar t of the movie, but was unclear whether she will appear afterfilm's editing. "When asked all the time about it, all I said was 'Idon't know if I will be there also or no in the final edit as film isin the editing stage'. "Didnt think so many stories wld come outof 1statement, lot of Twitter friends askd me, thought shld let dnoise die down say this for once," she fur ther tweeted. "BombayVelvet" is jointly produced by Phantom Films and Fox Star India,and is a large screen adaptation of Gyan Prakash's "MumbaiFables". It stars Ranbir Kapoor, Karan Johar and Anushka Sharma.
KUNAAL ROY KAPUR'NERVOUS' OVER COMIC ACTAT STAGE42 FESTIVALMumbai (IANS): Actor Kunaal Roy Kapur is all set to performalong with his friend and stand-up comedian Anubhav Pal in hisact "The Empire" which will be a par t of the Stage42 festival.The actor says he is nervous over his gig."I am so not looking forward to this. I have hung eight stories offthe ground on a wire, and I can tell you this is far worse. It'snerve-wrecking. Pal gets me to do this and I think I'm going tohave to stop being friends with him. I haven't seen 'The Empire'and I'm glad I'm getting paid too," Kunaal said in a statement.Kunal will be seen in the opening act at Rangsharda Natya Mandirhere Feb 22. Internationally known stand-up comedians like JerrySeinfeld and Russell Peters will also be a par t of this festival.The Stage42 festival will take place in seven cities -- Bengaluru,Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune -- be-tween February and March. It aims at showcasing some ofIndia's and the world's most celebrated ar tists and experiencesin comedy, music, theatre and food.
SCOPE FOR INDIAN ACTORSWIDENING GLOBALLY:NIMRAT KAURNew Delhi (IANS): Talented Indian actor Nimrat Kaur, who hasbeen rubbing shoulders with Hollywood's creme de la creme atforeign awards' galas since her internationally acclaimed andBAFTA-nominated film "The Lunchbox" and American TV series"Homeland", says the scope of roles for Indian actors has wid-ened across the globe."The scope for Indian actors is widening everywhere in the world.The world is becoming a smaller place. Actors are nowadayspreferring to work in different places. Besides, I don't think Iwould have been able to make the career that I have today, 10years ago. A lot of multiplexes are coming up, and making a filmis not as difficult as it was earlier," Nimrat told IANS ahead ofthe premiere of "The Lunchbox" on Valentine's Day on &picturesSaturday.The actress was last week at the British Academy of Film andTelevision Ar ts (BAFTA) awards red carpet as "The Lunchbox"was nominated in the Film Not in the English Language cat-egory. It lost to Polish drama "Ida". But winning and losing awardsdoesn't matter to Nimrat, who essayed a lovelorn wife namedIla in the movie."Considering that it's the beginning of my career, 'The Lunchbox'is extremely special for me. The kind of love it has garnered hasmade me feel great about it," Nimrat said of the movie, in whichshe shared screen space with versatile actors Irr fan Khan andNawazuddin Siddiqui. I don't think that winning or losing an awardmatters. It's a wonderful thing that the film got nominated. It's agreat honour for such an amazing film, as it represented India atthe international level. Also, the BAFTA platform is not whereIndia has to nominate a film from its side (like in Oscars)."It was picked by them only as one of the five films for therespective category," added the 32-year-old who, in a ravishingpink gown with a daring and plunging neckline, made a stylestatement at the ceremony. Before the BAFTA red carpet, Nimratalso made an appearance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards,thanks to her role as Tasneem Qureshi in the US political thrillertelevision series "Homeland".
THRILLED TO WORK WITHMANOJ BAJPAYEE:SHARIB HASHMIMumbai (IANS): Actor Sharib Hashmi, who will share screenspace with critically acclaimed actor Manoj Bajpayee in hisnext film "Adaab Dawood Ibrahim Bol Raha Hoon", says he isthrilled to be working with him."My next film is with Manoj Bajpayee which is titled 'AdaabDawood Ibrahim Bol Raha Hoon'. It's an out-and-out comedyfilm. I'm thrilled to work with Manoj and I'm so thankful I got anoppor tunity to work with him. I'm sure it's going to be a learningexperience for me to work with him," Sharib told IANS.Directed by Samir Karnik, "Adaab Dawood Ibrahim Bol Raha Hoon"will go on floors in March 2015. The film will be widely shot in Gujarat.Meanwhile, Sharib will also be seen in "Badmashiyaan". Talking aboutthe film, he said: "In 'Badmashiyaan', I'm playing a Haryanvi don. It's avery unusual role. It was not easy to play a Haryanvi character, but Iworked really hard for it," he said.
MALAIKA ARORA KHAN DURING THE LAUNCH OF SKIN CARE AND AESTHETICS CENTRE IN MUMBAI (IANS)
FARHAN AKHTAR SET FOR'SOUNDS OF FREEDOM'Noida (IANS): Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar will enthrall musiclovers at the Sounds of Freedom (SOF) concer t here March 3.SOF is a concert produced by Teamwork Ar ts - a highly versatileenter tainment company, with roots in the performing arts, socialaction and the corporate world. The concert is a celebration of thefreedom of creative expression,through music, l ive per for-mances and a coming togetherof young people to share theirideas on socia l inclusion.#SOF aims to reaffirm the im-portance of imagination, creativ-ity and standing up for a cause,of sustaining and enriching con-versations around the right todemocracy, freedom to be, tochoose to live freely withoutfear of discrimination.Farhan wi l l be jo ined byMadboy/Mink, Raghu Dix i tProject, Tritha and more ar tists at Amity University, read a state-ment. Sounds of Freedom is par tnering with UN Women to high-light the issues of gender equality and women empowerment,enlisting suppor ters for the HeForShe Campaign.
ARE BROTHERS CASHING IN ON THESTARDOM OF THEIR SISTERS?
Celeb brothers seem to be cashing in on the stardom of their ac-tress-sisters to enter the industry...When Anushka Sharma decided to turn producer, there was some-thing personal about it - her brother Karnesh also jumped on the band-wagon.Parineeti Chopra's brother Sahaj worked as an assistant director forher 2014 film 'Daawat-e-Ishq'The siblings set up their production house called Clean Slate Filmsand their first project, 'NH10', starring Anushka and Neil Bhoopalamis now ready for release. Their next project apparently titled 'Canada'is also about to take off shor tly.A state-level cricket player, Karnesh was keen to pursue thegentleman's game, but ended up joining the Merchant Navy. How-ever, Anushka's Bollywood aspirations soon rubbed off on him andnow he looks after all the administrative work of the production house.Some other actresses' brothers are also learning the ropes of film-making. Parineeti Chopra's brother Sahaj recently worked as an as-sistant director in Habib Faisal's film, 'Daawat-e-Ishq' (2014), whichfeatured her opposite Aditya Roy Kapur.As Parineeti had worked with Habib in 'Ishaqzaade' (2012), thereseemed to be a comfor t factor. She felt Habib's sets would be theideal learning ground for Sahaj, who called it a fulfilling experience.
Sahaj eventually wants to become a full-fledged filmmaker and withhis sister among the most sought after names in the industry, he mustbe hoping to find bigger oppor tunities.As par t of the Chopra clan's presence in Bollywood, Priyanka Chopra'srestaurateur brother Siddhar th plans to get into production with tele-vision shows. Priyanka has launched her own production house, un-der which she will be producing her first film 'Madamji' with MadhurBhadarkar. Apparently, it was PC who persuaded her brother to pur-sue his filmi dreams. We hear Siddhar th is keen to remake someAmerican TV shows and with Piggy Chops inking a deal with a UStelevision network, this could be the first step.There was buzz in 2013 that Sonakshi Sinha's brother Kush woulddirect her in a film to revive their father Shatrughun Sinha's film ban-ner. Kush and his twin Luv were both interested in acting at one pointof time, but then the former veered towards production. There wasalso speculation about Kush planning to remake international sitcomsin Hindi.Mallika Sherawat's brother, Vikram Lamba, was one of the producersof her 2010 film, 'Hisss'. He not only manages her work, but is alsosaid to be protective about her. On the sets of 'Hisss', he had appar-ently blasted the crew for making Mallika wear a flimsy bikIni thoughthe actress herself had no qualms about it.
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HOLLYWOOD
ADRIEN BRODY AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE OF MOVIE DRAGON BLADE IN SINGAPORE (IANS)
ARJUN RAMPAL AND JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ DURING THE PROMOTION OF FILM ROY IN MUMBAI (IANS)
SON ASKED WILLSMITH TO HIT GYMLos Angeles (IANS): Actor Will Smith says his 16-year-old sonJaden urged him to go to the gym before starring alongsideMargot Robbie in the film "Focus". Jaden urged his 46-year-oldfather to tone-up after he was cast alongside the 24-year-oldAustralian beauty in the romantic comedy-drama, in which heplays a veteran con ar tist who takes Robbie's on-screen char-acter Jess under his wing, repor ts femalefirst.co.uk. Speakingon the British TV show "Good Morning Britain", Smith said: "WhenMargot got hired for the film, Jaden said: "Get in the gym - do notembarrass me."
WHAT'S COMMONBETWEEN ORLANDOBLOOM, DEMI MOORE?Los Angeles (IANS): Actors Orlando Bloom and Demi Moore,who are said to be casually dating, are repor tedly in awe ofyoga and meditation techniques. "They are both deeply spiritualcharacters who love yoga, meditation and new age philoso-phies. They've both been initiated into spiritual practise UsuiReiki and have star ted to practise on each other," a source toldGrazia magazine, repor ts femalefirst.co.uk.Bloom, 38, who split from his wife Miranda Kerr in 2013, is saidto be casually dating Moore, who ended her six year marriage toAshton Kutcher the same year. The source added: "At this stageit's a casual thing, nothing serious and it's not yet exclusive. Butthey've enjoyed several low-key dates together and the poten-tial is definitely there for something steadier." The brunette beautyhas grown fond of Bloom's positive attitude and believes he willbe a good influence over her and her daughters Rumer, 26, Scout,23 and Tallulah, 21, whom she had from her marriage to BruceWillis. "The thing Demi loves the most about Orlando is how posi-tive he is. His uplifting influence is just what she feels she needs,as do her daughters -- particularly Tallulah," the insider said.
LADY GAGA TOPERFORM AT OSCARS
Los Angeles (IANS): Singer Lady Gaga will perform at the 87thAcademy Awards here Feb 22. The show's producers - CraigZadan and Neil Meron and Gaga - took to micro-blogging siteTwitter to share the news Thursday, reports ew.com. The 28-year-old singer confirmed the news by tweeting: "I'm perform-ing live at the OSCARS this year!" Zadan wrote that Gaga will beinvolved in "a very special performance." Gaga has joined otherpreviously announced performers including Jack Black, AnnaKendrick and Jennifer Hudson. "Lady Gaga is a once in a life-time artist who's musical evolution keeps growing. We are proud tohave her perform on the Oscars for the very first time," the producerssaid in a joint statement. Gaga also performed with Tony Bennettat the 57th Annual Grammy Awards earlier this month.
LEVINE INTENDS TO GOSHIRTLESS AT OSCARSLos Angeles (IANS): Singer Adam Levine has shared a shir tlessselfie of himself and asked fans for advice if it works as anensemble for the for thcoming Oscars ceremony. He took toInstagram to post the photograph. Flaunting his tattoos, theMaroon 5 singer is seen in a lavish fur coat, a multicolouredelephant necklace and a red sweatband and some dark shades."Oscar ready...too over the top," "The Voice" coach captionedthe selfie, repor ts eonline.com. Levine will be taking the stageat the upcoming Oscars for his first time to perform the nomi-nated song "Lost stars" from his film "Begin Again".
HOUSTON'S DAUGHTER DIDN'TSEE MOTHER'S DEAD BODY
Los Angeles, (IANS) Late singer Whitney Houston's daughter BobbiKristina Brown was repor tedly banned from seeing her mother'sbody after she died for fears it would "haunt" her.According to a source, the 21-year-old, who is currently fightingfor her life after she was found face-down in a bath more than aweek ago, has become "obsessed" with Houston's death, aftershe died in the same way in February 2011, repor tsmirror.co.uk.Bobbi Kristina was placed in a medically induced coma afterher husband Nick Gordon found her, and is fighting for her lifewith her father Bobby Brown by her side.
When Houston passed away three years ago, her daughter wasin a neighbouring suite at the Beverley Hilton Hotel, and wassaid to have been kept away from seeing Houston's body overfears that she would be "forever haunted" by it.Instead, she was repor tedly given sedatives and later taken tohospital with "uncontrollable grief"."She was seemingly obsessed by it - strangely more so thanlast year or the year before," The Sun newspaper quoted thesource as saying."She talked more about that anniversary, than her recent firstwedding anniversary," the source added.
Michael Gambon misses his 'Harry Potter' paychequesLondon, (IANS) Actor Michael Gambon, who played wizard Profes-sor Dumbledore in the majority of the film adaptations of J.K.Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels, says he misses "the money".The 74-year-old said that he hasn't missed working on the moviessince the final instalment was released in 2011 but confessed hewouldn't mind receiving the hefty salary again, repor tsmirror.co.uk.Asked if he misses the film franchise, he said: "No. I miss themoney, mind you."
The "For titude" actor, who is currently starring in the TV adaptationof Rowling's novel "The Casual Vacancy", said that he's "always"been plagued by self doubt but that his nerves are getting worsewith age.Quizzed on whether he still gets nervous after all these years, hetold Radio Times magazine: "I think more so as you get older. Youget more frightened. That applies to me, anyway. When I was anactor 50 years ago, I was quite relaxed. I don't suppose I had asmuch to do. I was playing smaller par ts."
JLo's $26,156airport styleLos Angeles, (IANS) Singer-ac-tress Jennifer Lopez looked sporty-chic at LAX International Airport here,but the comfortable getup doesn'tcome cheap. The 45-year-old paireda grey sweater with $108 Peace LoveWorld sweats. She opted for sneak-ers and a baseball cap. Her Versacehigh-tops ring in at $1,070, and herBrunello Cucinelli topper costs awhopping $1,115, repor tseonline.com. Lopez donned a $1,378white Versace bag and a version ofher signature hoop earrings in theform of a $1,185 Lana Jewelry pair.She also spor ted Jennifer Fisherhardware, topping off the look with adiamond-encrusted "Momma" goldcuff for $5,300 and a diamond ringthat cost $16,000.
I still worry aboutmoney: Kevin SpaceyLondon, ( IANS) Actor KevinSpacey might be a very success-ful actor, but his finances aresomething he's concerned about."I still worry about money. I camefrom a modest middle-class fam-i ly. My mother was the mainbreadwinner, my father was un-employed a lot, and I saw howdifficult that was and I saw whatit did to him. I was determined, Iwas not going to be like that,"Britain's GQ magazine quotedSpacey as saying, repor tsfemalefirst.co.uk.The 55-year-old has appeared inHollywood blockbusters like "TheUsual Suspects" and "AmericanBeauty" and was the ar tistic di-rector of the Old Vic theatre for10 years.
e n t e r t a i n m e n t
MidWeek 23MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
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MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015
ONE OF THEBIGGESTWINS OF MY CAREER
ADELAIDE, (IANS) India's match-winner against Pakistan dur-ing Sunday's Pool B World Cup game here, Virat Kohli said thevictory is "one of the biggest" wins in his career as the de-fending champions beat their traditional rivals by 76 runs.A special century by vice-captain Kohli (107), ShikharDhawan's 73 and Suresh Raina's 74 guided India to 300/7which Pakistan failed to chase down, being bowled out for 224in 47 overs at the Adelaide Oval. Kohli scored his 22nd One-Day International (ODI) century. "Probably one of the biggest(win) in my career so far," said Kohli at the post-match pre-sentation ceremony here Sunday. "Amazing way to begin ourWorld Cup with a win under our belt, but they did put up astrong fight."Asked how he felt being hailed as the new Sachin Tendulkar ofthe Indian batting line up, Kohli was left awestruck for a mo-ment only to mutter: "Expectations are going to be there whenyou do well for your country. I just look to stand up to thembecause I hate losing games and play passionately. I like theburden of expectations."The 26-year-old added that his role in the team is to play as asheet-anchor so that the other batsmen can bat around himfreely knowing that one end is secure."My role in the team is to bat through, and the power-hitterscan play around knowing that one end is secure. The wayShikhar (Dhawan) and Suresh (Raina) batted today is com-mendable. The suppor t has been magnificent. We expect thesame throughout the tournament."
India win battle of nerves,their World Cup starts now
INDIA 300 FOR 7(KOHLI 107, RAINA 74,
DHAWAN 73, SOHAIL 5-55)BEAT PAKISTAN 224
(MISBAH 76, SHEHZAD 47,SHAMI 4-35) BY 76 RUNS
If Adelaide had never seen any-thing quite like it, the noisy hordesof India and Pakistan suppor terswere well and truly familiar withthis tale. A Virat Kohli hundred andsuppor ting hands from ShikharDhawan and Suresh Raina liftedIndia to 300 for 7, and the task ofclaiming victory proved beyondPakistan for the sixth time out ofsix in this most intense of WorldCup fixtures.Just as the "sell-out" crowd of41,587 fell some 10,000 shor t ofAdelaide Oval's capacity, the con-test did not quite reach the heightsmany had hoped for. Pakistan'schase of 301 was too jittery, andthe captain Misbah-ul-Haq wasleft in the familiar position of keep-ing his head while all around himwere losing theirs. Misbah's in-nings ran Kohli's close for thebest of the match, but it was thecollective effor t of India's bats-men that made the difference -Dhawan and Raina also contrib-uted substance.MS Dhoni then marshaled hismen ski l ful ly, cajol ing strongspel ls out of Umesh Yadav,Mohammed Shami, Mohi tSharma and R Ashwin on a sur-face that slowed a little as thematch wore on. India receivedone helping of assistance whenUmar Akmal was given out caughtbehind off Ravindra Jadeja viaDRS referral, based on evidencethat seemed circumstantial at
best, but in truth the match hadalready begun to slope away fromPakistan.The loss of Ahmed Shehzad fol-lowed by Sohaib Maqsood in thespace of three balls from Umesh,after the establishment of whatseemed a sound platform, was thehammer blow to Pakistan 'schase, leaving too much for themiddle order to do in a team fea-turing the explosive but nevercompletely reliable Shahid Afridias high as No. 7. Shami's fourwickets were a just reward forhis effor ts, which began with theearly wicket craved by MS Dhoni,when Younis Khan mis-hookedand was taken behind by India'scaptain.That sort of a star t had been madeall the more important due to ex-emplary death-bowling by Paki-stan. As well as Kohli played in awor thy reprise of his twin hun-dreds on this ground in last year'sBorder-Gavaskar Test match, In-dia did not quite get away as theywould have wanted on a hot dayand a blameless pitch. This wasdown largely to some excellentwork with both new and old ballby Sohail Khan, suppor ted byMohammad Ir fan and WahabRiaz.When Raina and Kohli were mo-toring towards the end of their110-run stand, i t seemed asthough 330 was plausible. As itwas, only 21 runs came from the
final four overs. Sohail claimedfive wickets when he did MSDhoni for too much pace and thenAjinkya Rahane for too little withthe first two balls of the 50th, nar-rowly missing a hat-trick whenhis yorker beat not onlyMohammed Shami but also theoff stump.It may even have been better forPakistan. Kohli offered a pair ofdifficult chances, and Pakistanneeded to clasp at least one ofthem in order to restrict India to aless lofty total. Yasir Shah couldnot hold onto a running chance atdeep midwicket when Kohli hadmade just three, and on 76 a well-pitched, left-arm or thodox fromHaris Sohail evaded the gloves ofUmar Akmal.Misbah might also have miscalcu-lated slightly when he gave the ballto Afridi before Yasir. While Afridi'sgreater experience merited his intro-duction, Yasir was not called uponuntil Kohli and Dhawan were well set,and struggled to contain rather thanseeking wickets against batsmenless sure of themselves - his finalfigures a barren 0 for 60 in eightovers.Masses of spectators from India hadassembled at the Oval's southernplaza before the match, with anothergathering at the Rotunda in Elder Parkacross the Torrens River. Pakistan'sgathering was smaller but resplen-dent in a mass of green shirts in thelower tier of the eastern stand.
24 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015
AFGHANISTANAfsar Zazai (wk), Aftab Alam, Asghar Stanekzai,Dawlat Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, JavedAhmadi, Merwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi (capt),Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Nawroz Mangal,Samiullah Shinwari, Shapoor Zadran, Usman Ghani.AUSTRALIAGeorge Bailey, Michael Clarke (capt), PatrickCummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, AaronFinch, Brad Haddin (wk), Josh Hazlewood, MitchellJohnson, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith,Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson.Injured Clarke named in Australia squadBANGLADESHAl-Amin Hossain, Anamul Haque, Arafat Sunny,Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), MominulHaque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Nasir Hossain, RubelHossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, SoumyaSarkar, Taijul Islam, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.ENGLANDMoeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell,Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), StevenFinn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan (capt),Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, ChrisWoakes.Ballance recalled by EnglandMorgan replaces Cook as captainINDIARavichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan,MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli,Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Akshar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane,Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami,Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.Yuvraj left out of India squadIRELANDAndrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, GeorgeDockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, John Mooney,Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wk), William Porterfield(capt), *Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thomp-son, Gary Wilson (wk), Craig Young.*replaced the injured Tim Murtagh on 18 JanuaryIreland name unchanged squadNEW ZEALANDBrendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, TrentBoult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham,Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills,Adam Milne, Luke Ronchi (wkt), Tim Southee, RossTaylor, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson.New Zealand recall all-rounder ElliottPAKISTANAhmed Shehzad, Ehsan Adil, Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan,*Rahat Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Shahid Afridi, SohaibMaqsood, Sohail Khan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz,Yasir Shah, Younus Khan.*replaced the injured Junaid Khan on 6 FebruaryMisbah to retire from ODIs after World CupRahat Ali replaces Junaid KhanSCOTLANDRichie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer (vice-capt), FreddieColeman, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, AlasdairEvans, Hamish Gardiner, Majid Haq, Michael Leask,Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Preston Mommsen(capt), Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw.Mommsen to captain ScotlandSOUTH AFRICAKyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien,Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers (capt & wk), JPDuminy, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Morne Morkel,Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander,Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir.SRI LANKADinesh Chandimal (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan,Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, DimuthKarunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal,Lasith Malinga (subject to fitness), Angelo Mathews(capt), Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, DhammikaPrasad, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), SachithraSenanayake, Lahiru Thirimanne.UNITED ARAB EMIRATESShahzad, Khurram Khan, Krishna Karate, ManjulaGuruge, Mohammed Tauqir (capt), MuhammadNaveed, Nasir Aziz, Roshan Mustafa, Saqlain Haider,Shaiman Anwar, Swapnil Patil.WEST INDIESSulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Car ter,Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder (capt),*Nikita Miller, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kemar Roach,Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels,Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor.*replaced the withdrawn Sunil Narine on 29 JanuaryMiller replaces Narine in World Cup squadGayle accuses West Indies of 'victimisation'ZIMBABWERegis Chakabva (wk), Tendai Chatara, ChamuChibhabha, Elton Chigumbura (capt), Craig Ervine,Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, StuartMatsikenyeri, Solomon Mire, Tawanda Mupariwa,Tinashe Panyangara, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor(wk), Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams.Teams were required to name a 30-man provisional squadbefore finalising a 15-strong squad for the competition by 7January. Injured players can only be replaced with specialdispensation from the International Cricket Council.
2015 CRICKET WORLDCUP SQUADS
MISBAH BLAMES BATTINGCOLLAPSE FOR LOSS
FANS ENJOYING THE INDIA-PAKISTAN CRICKET WORLD CUP 2015, MATCH AT ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA.
Adelaide, (IANS) Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq rued losing wickets atregular intervals in the middle overs and blamed the batting collapse for histeam's 76-run loss against India in a World Cup match here Sunday. Chasing atarget of 301 runs, Pakistan were comfortably placed at 101 for two after 23overs. But opener Ahmed Shehzad's (47) dismissal by Umesh Yadav trig-gered a collapse as they were soon reduced to 103 for five inside 25 overs.They were never able to recover from that blow and were ultimatelybowled out for 224 in 47 overs. "We lost our way with three wickets inthe middle. The pitch was really good, and with the quality of theirbatting, 300 was a pretty good effor t. If all the batsmen had battedwell, it could have been achieved," Misbah said at the post-matchpresentation ceremony." Two-three batsmen never got in, and got outin the first couple of balls. You can't say much about that." The 40-year-old veteran top-scored for his side with a valiant knock of 76runs and played a lone battle in chasing down the imposing total. Hepraised the Indians for their effor ts and said his team has to shake offthe disappointment of the loss and concentrate on its next group game."They played really well, posted a big total, and bowled really well. Now wehave to just look forward. You can't just think of this game. We have to focuson the next one," concluded Misbah.Pakistan next play against the West Indies Feb 21 in Christchurch.
'INDIA DESERVED TO WINAGAINST PAKISTAN'ADELAIDE, (IANS) Cricketers - past and present - Sunday lauded Indiafor their superlative performance against Pakistan, saying they werethe better side at the Adelaide Oval and thoroughly deserved to win theircrunch pool stage opener of the World Cup.Defending champions India started their title defence with a bang,notching up a 76-run win against their fierce rivals.It was the opening match for both the teams and India's latest winextended their dominance over Pakistan to six matches in the WorldCup. The two teams have played on six occasions in the tournamentwith India winning all the encounters.Former batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar was one of the first to con-gratulate the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team after victory."What a convincing victory by Team India. Way to go," he wrote onsocial networking site Twitter.His former teamate V.V.S. Laxman was equally effusive in his praise forthe Indian team. "Congrats Team India. Clinical performance. Good tosee the way the bowlers bowled today. Lots of positives #INDvPAK#CWC2015," he tweeted. The discarded trio of Harbhajan Singh, YuvrajSingh and Zaheer Khan, who played stellar roles in India's quest to-wards winning the World Cup in 2011 but ignored for the 2015 squadafter a prolonged form drought, praised the team for rising to the bigoccasion. They said the win would boost the morale of the team whichwas criticised for its poor form in the build-up to the mega event."Well done boys. Gr8 win 2dy against Pakistan! Keep it up guys. wellplayed @imVkohli @ImRaina and shikar super bowling#shami#keep the flag high," Harbhajan said on Twitter.Yuvraj Singh said: "Well done boys ! @imVkohli bigger the occasionbigger the performance ! Happy for Jatt ji @SDhawan25" and ZaheerKhan: "WELL DONE #TeamIndia !! Kick starting World Cup campaignwith a huge win and maintaining winning record against Pakistan inWorld Cup." "WELL DONE #TeamIndia !! Kick starting World Cup cam-paign with a huge win and maintaining winning record against Pakistanin World Cup," Zaheer Khan said.Several former cricketers also expressed their delight in India's victory.West Indies pace legend Michael Holding said the win was a result ofIndia's improved bowling performance, particularly the pacers, whocollectively took seven of the ten PakistanI wickets.Mohammed Shami led the bowling attack, picking up four wickets for35 runs. Fellow pacers Umesh Yadav (2/50) and Mohit Sharma (2/35)complemented him well.
Dhoni notcarried away
by 6-0It is a run that star ted nearly23 years ago, in Sydney inMarch 1992, when India beatPakistan in the first World Cupmeeting between the twoneighbours. There have been fivemore such encounters since,and India wrapped up their sixthstraight World Cup win over Pa-kistan last night at Adelaide Oval.It is a perplexing blank acrossmultiple eras for Pakistan, con-sidering their strong overallrecord against India.At the post-match press confer-ence, a blank-faced Misbah-ul-Haq, who had made yet anotherfighting half-century in a losingcause against MS Dhoni's men,was asked if he could explainthe reason behind 0-6. "I don'tknow. This is happening. Youcan't do anything about that," wasall the disappointed Pakistancaptain could offer.Dhoni said that it was obviouslysomething for India to be proudof, but he refused to read toomuch into the trend, holding thatit was bound to end at some edi-tion of the World Cup some day,and that Pakistan were a "fan-tastic side." "The record is good,but it is something that I don't wantto get into because there will comea time when we will lose, irrespec-tive of whether it happens this WorldCup, next World Cup or four WorldCups down the line," Dhoni said.
YUVRAJ COSTLIEST2015 PLAYER DURINGIPL AUCTION BUYCONTD. FROM PAGE 1Sunrisers Hyderabad bought sacked England batsman Kevin Pietersenand current England captain Eoin Morgan for Rs.2.4 crore and Rs.2crore, respectively.Also commanding high prices were Australian opener Aaron Finch,who was sold to Mumbai Indians for Rs.3.2 crore. Leg-spinner AmitMishra was bought for Rs.3.5 crore by Daredevils.Opening batsman Murali Vijay received a successful bid for Rs.3crore by Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers paid Rs.60 lakh for NewZealand batsman Kane Williamson.Among the marquee players, South African batting star Hashim Amlaand legendary Sri Lankan trio of Mahela Jayawardene, KumarSangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan were left unsold.In the post-lunch session, out-of-favour India pacer Zaheer Khan,unsold in the first round, was picked up by Daredevils for Rs.4 crore,out-bidding Mumbai Indians.Also receiving a reprieve was another India discard, all-rounderIrfan Pathan, whom Chennai Super Kings bought at the base price ofRs.1.5 crore as there were no other bids.Teams and their buys:Delhi Daredevils - Yuvraj Singh (Rs.16 crore); Angelo Mathews (SriLanka, Rs.7.5 crore), Zaheer Khan (Rs.4 crore), Amit Mishra (Rs.3.5crore), Shreyas Iyer (Rs.2.60 crore), Gurinder Sandhu (Aus-tralia, Rs.1.7 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (Rs.1.10 crore), DominicJoseph Muthuswamy (Rs.75 lakh), C.M. Gautham (Rs.20lakh), Dominic Joseph Muthuswamy (Rs.75 lakh), AlbieMorkel (South Africa, Rs.30 lakh), Travis Head (Australia, Rs.30lakh), Marcus Stoinis (Australia, Rs.25 lakh), Kona Srikar Bharat(Rs.10 lakh), K.K. Jiyaz (Rs.10 lakh).Royal Challengers Bangalore - Dinesh Karthik (Rs.10.5 crore), DarrenSammy (West Indies, Rs.2.80 crore), David Wiese (South Africa,Rs.2.8 crore), Sean Abbott (Australia, Rs.1 crore), Adam Milne (NewZealand, Rs.70 lakh), Sar faraz Naushad Khan (Rs.50 lakh),Subramaniam Badrinath (Rs.30 lakh), Jalaj Saxena (Rs.10 lakh),Shishir Bhavane (Rs.10 lakh).Sunrisers Hyderabad - Trent Boult (New Zealand, Rs.3.80 crore),Praveen Kumar (Rs.2.2 crore), Kevin Pietersen (England, Rs.2 crore),Eoin Morgan (England, Rs.2 crore), Ravi Bopara (England, Rs.1crore), Kane Williamson (New Zealand, Rs.60 lakh), Laxmi RatanShukla (Rs.30 lakh), Prasanth Padmanabhan (Rs.10 lakh), HanumaVihari (Rs.10 lakh), Siddarth Kaul (Rs.10 lakh).Chennai Super Kings - Michael Hussey (Australia, Rs.1.5 crore),Irfan Pathan (Rs.1.5 crore), Rahul Sharma (Rs.30 lakh), Kyle Abbott(South Africa, Rs.30 lakh), Andrew Tye (Australia, Rs.20 lakh),Pratyush Singh (Rs.10 lakh), Ankush Bains (Rs.10 lakh), EkalavyaDwivedi (Rs.10 lakh).Kolkata Knight Riders - K.C. Cariappa (Rs.2.4 crore), James Nisham(New Zealand, Rs.50 lakh), Brad Hogg (Australia, Rs.50 lakh), AdityaGarhwal (Rs.25 lakh), Sheldon Jackson (Rs. 10lakh), Sumit Narwal(Rs.10 lakh), Vaibhav Rawal (Rs.10 lakh).Mumbai Indians - Aaron Finch (Australia, Rs.3.20 crore), PragyanOjha (Rs.50 lakh), Mitchell McClenghan (New Zealand, Rs.30 lakh),Naman Ojha (Rs.50 lakh), Abhimanyu Mithun (Rs.30 lakh), AidenBlizzard (Australia, Rs.30 lakh), Hardik Pandya (Rs.10 lakh), AkshayWakhare (Rs.10 lakh), Nitish Rana (Rs.10 lakh), Siddhesh DineshLad (Rs.10 lakh), J Suchith (Rs.10 lakh).Kings XI Punjab - Murali Vijay (Rs.3 crore), Nikhil Shankar Naik(Rs.30 lakh), Yogesh Gowalkar (Rs.10 lakh).Rajasthan Royals - Christopher Morris (Rs.1.40 crore), Juan Theron (SouthAfrica, Rs.30 lakh), Barinder Singh Saran (Rs.10 lakh), Sagar Trivedi (Rs.10lakh), Dinesh Salunkhe (Rs.10 lakh), Pradeep Sahu (Rs.10 lakh).
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015
JOHN MOONEY AND NIALL O'BRIEN JUBILANT AFTER IRELAND'S VICTORY AGAINST WEST INDIES AT THE WORLD CUP 2015MATCH AT NELSON, AUSTRALIA.
JOYFUL IRELAND DEEPENWEST INDIES TURMOIL
IRELAND 307 FOR 6 (STIRLING 92, JOYCE84, N O'BRIEN 79*) BEAT WEST INDIES 304
FOR 7 (SIMMONS 102, SAMMY 89,DOCKRELL 3-50) BY 4 WICKETS
“Ireland put the world in the cup as the obliging West Indies sleepwalked toan embarrassing - does it embarrass them anymore, though? - defeatduring which only Darren Sammy and Lendl Simmons seemed awake inrescuing them from 87 for 5. The West Indies bowling was as flat as theirtop order as the adventurous Paul Stirling, smooth Ed Joyce and nerve-less Niall O'Brien coasted to the target of 305 efficiently and without anyanxiety despite a late wobble that came too late. Fittingly the most com-pelling story played itself out in Nelson, whose population is 45000 andwhose cricket ground, the Saxton Oval, holds a maximum of 6000.There was immense joy as Ireland's discipline and nous stood in a two-finger salute to the administrators' plans to keep them and other smallercricket teams out of the World Cup. There was grief too as West Indiesshowed for the most of the match a lack of application, fight and cricketingsmarts. It was almost as if they had a long night out in Nelson but forgotto invite Sammy and Simmons. Only rarely do two men win matchesagainst teams that maximise their resources as Ireland do. It doesn't matter that Sammy posted the highest score by a No. 7 inWorld Cups - 89 off 67, it doesn't matter that the 218 their lower half addedwas the second-highest in ODI history, it doesn't matter that Simmonsaccelerated from 26 off 44 to 102 off 84. What mattered was that this wasa flat pitch with boundaries hard to defend, and that they didn't have thebowling to defend. Stirling and Joyce showed them how to do it, letting atno point in the chase the asking rate go beyond 6.64. This was no upset; therewere 25 balls to spare when the match finished. This was a clinical defeat ofa team that could not look less interested even if it tried.The Ireland attack is made up of quicks who bowl in the mid-120s andspinners who don't turn the ball. They rely on accuracy and tenacity andclever changes of pace. West Indies have some of the biggest hitters goingaround who make millions through Twenty20 freelance. This was a smallground. Ireland's industrious scrappers could have come unstuck at anypoint of time, but by the time that happened West Indies had decisivelydug themselves a hole too big through woeful shots and attitude.Take a look at the replays from the umpire's point of view during WestIndies' first innings. None of their non-strikers backed up. They avoidedsingles with the faithfulness of committed men. And then take a look at
the wickets. Only two fielders are allowed outside the circle in the first 10overs. When one of them is at long-on, it takes some special skill andthinking to hit a catch down his throat. You'd venture a batsman with suchskill and thinking won't be averaging more than 20; Dwayne Smith aver-ages 19 and scored 18 here. Later in that over, Darren Bravo, possibly theworst runner going around in international cricket, took some time takinghis eye patch off and registered the first diamond duck of this World Cup.Chris Gayle played his slowest innings against a non-Test-playing na-tion, 36 off 65, before holing out to deep midwicket. When Marlon Samuelswas caught plumb later in the same over, he proceeded to display self-indulgence by wasting a review. Denesh Ramdin went on to sweep with-out getting outside the line and missed. There would have been a lessonin there for Samuels had Ramdin actually got outside the line and missedout on the review, but West Indies until then were too woeful for that.There was redemption in the air for Ireland spinners. Andy McBrine, theoffpsinner chosen ahead of Craig Young and Alex Cusack, known betterfor his 24-run over in their rout by Netherlands in the World Twenty20,turned the screws on. He began with a maiden to Gayle before runningBravo out. George Dockrell, the other spinner who was bowled for onlythree overs in Ireland's defeat to West Indies in the last WorldCup, then handcuffed the other big hitters and took the three wick-ets in the middle overs.The last of the wickets brought Sammy and Samuels together inthe 24th over. Sammy and Sameuls batted sensibly for their 154-run stand in 21.1 overs. Sammy reiterated what a grave mistakeit was to strip the ODI captaincy of him. West Indies took 167 offthe last 15 overs, but the telling comment was made by the centurion Simmonsin a spot interview. He said they would have ideally wanted 340 on this sur face.
Defeat far fromterminal for Pakistan
So Pakistan have lost to India in a World Cup once more. This isnot a new experience. History shows that it need not be a termi-nal one either, for in 1992 the tournament was won after justsuch a defeat, and in 1999 the final was reached in spite ofanother. More pressing is an issue of team composition thatboth Misbah-ul-Haq and MS Dhoni cited after India went to sixfrom six in Cup encounters between these two nations. Warm-upvictories over Bangladesh and England allowed Pakistan morethan 11 players, and thus the luxury of not facing the prob-lem that confronted them squarely against India - their lackof an allrounder making it difficult to field a strong enoughbatting line-up when ODI fielding restrictions call for fivecompetent bowlers.It has been a common issue among many teams over thepast year or so. India's captain Dhoni has bemoaned thelength of his side's tail for almost as long as they have beenon tour in Australia. But the balance of Pakistan's squad issuch that specialists in one discipline or another must besacrificed depending on the conditions over their six WorldCup pool matches and whatever else lies beyond them.In Adelaide, the captain Misbah and the coach Waqar Youniselected to leave out an opening batsman in Nasir Jamshedto allow the inclusion of an extra spinner, the bouncy YasirShah. To accommodate this, Younis Khan was moved upfrom his pet middle order spot to open the batting, while thetemporary stumper Umar Akmal donned the gloves. Umarand Younis are fine players, but they were unable to makethe move work. Misbah acknowledged the team's state ofimper fect compromise. "With these restrictions in the field,now we're not actually getting the balance right becauseyou need a fif th bowler," Misbah said. "That's why some-times you have to sacrifice another batsman. Let's see inthe coming games, we'l l think about that." As Dhoni ob-served, this sor t of thinking is not something Pakistan havehad to do too much in the past. Abdur Razzaq was for yearsa vital l ink in the chain. Before him of course there wasWasim Akram, and before him, Imran Khan himself. Par t-timers such as Amir Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed were also usefuloperators in the days when batsmen were less brazen andfielding restrictions less Spar tan. But now they have to find away to keep their batting strong enough without losing preciousovers of quality. It is too much to expect Shahid Afridi to berelied upon at No. 7.There was one chink of light on Sunday afternoon, in theform of Haris Sohail's slow left-arm spin. Dropping onto alength, he spun the ball enough to coax an edge from ViratKohli, albeit one that Umar could not pouch. Haris looksgood enough to hold down the fifth bowling spot in the rightcircumstances and conditions, and if he could do so it wouldtake enormous pressure off others, whether they be bowlers,batsmen or selectors.Misbah advised his men not to get too hung up about anotherdefeat to India, for it has not brought about their eliminationor even close to it. Instead he wants Pakistan to look ahead."The way we played in the last two games I think we canreally go on and win the coming games," he said. "The confi-dence is not that much down. A lot of positives even today in thedeath overs the way we bowled.
NBA STAR CORY JOSEPHENTHRALLS KIDS
MISSISSAUGA - Kids had the experience of their lifetimewhen they met Canadian Basketball and NBA Champion,San Antonio Spurs Cory Joseph to Mississauga Hyundairecently. The event was organized by Nav Bhatia, betterknown as the Toronto Raptor's Super fan and President ofMississauga & Rexdale Hyundai. Cory Had brought hischampionship ring and for two hours, from 12pm-2pm, hetook pictures with kids and other guests present on theoccasion. This is a free event so arrive early to avoiddisappointment. Nav said: "I want to impact the kids, Iwant to teach them from an early age to see no colour. Itis ourresponsibility to have kids of all backgrounds interactwith eachother and not have to go through the prejudice Iwent through. Basketball has always been a uniting factorin my life and I want to give that to the community."
INDIA HAVE GOOD CHANCE OF RETAININGWORLD CUP: GARY KIRSTEN
BY SANDIP SIKDAR
New Delhi, (IANS) Former India coach Gary Kirsten exuded confi-dence in the defending champions, asser ting that they have what ittakes to retain the cricket World Cup crown."They can retain the title. Absolutely! Everyone seems to write offIndia but that is a very dangerous thing to dobecause they know how to play knockoutgames. They did incredibly well in 2011 andthey have a good reference point there,"Kirsten, who guided India to their second WorldCup crown at home four years ago, told IANSin an interview."They have got a serious batting line-up. (Virat)Kohli, (Suresh) Raina, (Mahendra Singh) Dhoniare World Cup winners and know what to do inthese situations. Then you have some realyoung talent around. Don't discount them, theyknow what they are doing."But how will India hold on to the prized titlewith an inexperienced and depleted bowl-ing attack? Pace spearhead Ishant Sharmais out of the tournament with an injury andthere is a big question mark over the fit-ness of swing-bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar.Also, considering the inexperience of medium pacers Mohit Sharmaand Stuar t Binny, there will be pressure on spinners RavichandranAshwin and Ravindra Jadeja to per form. But how much the condi-tions in Australia and New Zealand will suit the tweakers is an-
other question. "Every team has areas which will be exploited by theopposition. You have to manage that. In the 2011 World Cup therewere games where India didn't bat well or bowl well. But we wereable to win games by doing something right," said the South African,who played 101 Tests and 185 One-Day Internationals (ODI) in aninternational career ranging from 1993 to 2004. "It is how well they
limit the damage. Just stick to what you can doand don't try and be something that you are not.This team has had good success. They won the2013 Champions Trophy. They built a new squadtogether with a lot of young players doing reallywel l ."Questioned about his favourites for the ongoing11th edition of the mega event, the former left-handed batsman said Austral ia, South Africa,India and New Zealand have a good chance oflif ting the trophy. "World Cups are always open-ended but this time Australia, South Africa, NewZealand and India are kind of the top-four. Also,you can never discount Pakistan. It is difficult topredict in World Cups," said the 47-year-old, whoholds the record for the highest individual scorein a World Cup game when he scored an un-beaten 188 against the United Arab Emirates in
1996."Australia, India and South Africa have been in top-three for thelast couple of years while New Zealand have come really goodbefore this World Cup. They will play most of the games at homewhich will be a big factor. All these teams are in form."
