Huge crowds at Shiva temples on first Monday of Shravan

Lucknow: Shiva devotees in huge numbers thronged temples across the state on the first Monday of the holy Shravan month amid tight security. Shiva temples in Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Lucknow and Agra saw thousands of devotees line up to offer prayers to the deity.

Massive crowds were witnessed at the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, which is one of the 12 holy seats of Lord Shiva -- one of the 12 jyotirlingas. Serpentine queues were seen of `kanwariyas` who had lined up since early morning to offer `ganga jal` at the Shivaling.

Crowds also made a beeline to the Mankameshwar temple in the state capital. A home department official told IANS that adequate security arrangements had been made at various temples and that no untoward incident has been reported on the routes.

Pakistan dismissive of India's decision to withdraw diplomats' kids

Islamabad: Pakistan was on Monday dismissive of India's move to withdraw children ofdiplomats and High Commission officials from schools in the country, describing it as an 'informal, internal, administrative' arrangement.

Pakistan Foreign Office also said it was informed of the decision two months back and that 'no other considerations were communicated' to it.

Amidst growing strain in Indo-Pak ties, India has advised its diplomats and officials posted in its High Commission here to make arrangements for education of their wards outside Pakistan from this academic session, virtually downgrading it as a 'non-school-going station'.

"This is an informal, internal, administrative arrangement we were informed of two months back. No other considerations were communicated to us," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said.

The development comes as India and Pakistan are witnessing growing bitterness after Pakistan and its Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made provocative statements on the Kashmir situation in the wake of Burhan Wani's killing on July 8. 

Wani was a wanted terrorist Commander of the banned terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen.

In Search For Missing Air Force AN-32 Plane, A Ping Could Change A Lot

NEW DELHI: With no sign of any wreckage from the Indian Air Force plane that disappeared on Friday with 29 people on board, the search area in the Bay of Bengal is being widened, said officials today.

With 17 ships, a submarine and 23 aircraft failing to detect debris on the surface of the sea, the entire operation now depends on picking up a signal from the elusive Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) fitted on to the AN-32 transport plane that was headed from Chennai to Port Blair when it disappeared without sending a distress signal.

Designed to start pinging a signal the moment it impacts water with a certain force, the ELT fitted on the Russian-built aircraft is likely to have a battery life of about a month - in other words, for a month, it will keep sending out a signal at a designated frequency which navy warships, submarines and coast guard vessels will be trying to pick up using their sonar systems.

But there is a real challenge here - the seas in this region go down to a depth of 3.5 kilometres, where immense oceanic pressure would mean the ELT, which is essentially a little box, stands a real threat of being crushed, particularly if it was damaged by the initial impact of a crash. The quality of signals from the ELT can also be affected if it lies partially buried under the wreckage of the aircraft.

This is a process that can be potentially very time-consuming. It took 33 days before the debris of a Coast Guard Dornier which crashed in the Bay of Bengal last year could be retrieved after a faint signal from the ELT was picked up. On that occasion, the signals picked up by maritime reconnaissance aircraft were intermittent. What proved to be more helpful was an Indian Navy 'Kilo' class submarine which picked up a stronger signal. Then, rovers or remote-controlled underwater vehicles, fitted on a ship used by Reliance in the offshore Krishna-Godavari oil fields, were sent to film the debris and help retrieve it.

For the missing AN 32, the hunt is extensive - and is not being called off yet. There is absolutely no dearth of state-of-the-art sensors and systems being deployed onboard search aircraft and ISRO satellites. Both the Navy's brand-new Boeing P8-I aircraft and ISRO's specialised satellites are equipped with synthetic aperture radars which provide ultra-high resolution images of the surface of the sea; they can also auto-detect metallic objects which may be floating in the sea. Over and above this, the P-8s have Magnetic Anomoly Detectors (MAD) which are designed to detect metallic objects underwater. In addition, there are more than a dozen ships listening in with their individual sonar sets to any sound transmitted by the ELT.

Search for the wreckage of the aircraft will become significantly more difficult if a signal from the ELT is not picked up at all. It took investigators more than two years to find the underwater wreckage of AF-447, the Air France flight that crashed off Brazil in 2009. This was done using extremely powerful side sonar scans fitted on specialised ships. The final resting position of MH-370, the Malaysian Boeing 777 which went missing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur in 2014, has still not been found despite an unprecedented international search effort.

Foreign Media On Rajinikanth, 'India's Biggest Action-Movie Star'

INDIA'S MOVIE INDUSTRY IS THE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD, PRODUCING MORE THAN 1,600 NEW FILMS A YEAR IN MORE THAN 20 LOCAL LANGUAGES. AND RAJINIKANTH IS THE BIGGEST STAR IN THAT FIRMAMENT, IF SHEER, OVER-THE-TOP FAN MANIA IS THE MEASURE

The cinema gates opened before dawn here, home of the Tamil movie star Rajinikanth and ground zero of the nationwide frenzy surrounding the release Friday of his latest action epic. Hundreds of fans shoved their way in as firecrackers burst and car stereos blared the movie's theme song, "This is fire, dude!"

Then came the bad news: All the tickets were sold out. For the next two weeks. The fans, chased out by police, were heartbroken.

"If I don't get to watch my favorite star's new movie on the 'first day, first show,' there will be a big black hole in my life," said Sundar Vaidyanathan, 27, wiping away tears. "After my parents, it is superstar Rajinikanth who is most important to me."

India's movie industry is the biggest in the world, producing more than 1,600 new films a year in more than 20 local languages. And Rajinikanth is the biggest star in that firmament, if sheer, over-the-top fan mania is the measure.

He is no superstud. At 65, he is balding and sports unkempt gray stubble. Yet he is so beloved - he boasts 3 million Twitter followers - that his movie release dates are anticipated in India like national holidays.

In Chennai, some companies gave employees the day off Friday so they could go see Kabali, Rajinikanth's first film in two years. Others had booked entire cinemas for their staff. Air Asia flew 180 fans to the city for the first-day showing in a plane custom-painted with the star's likeness. One county was giving away free tickets to people who pledged to install an indoor toilet, taking advantage of the movie's popularity to address the issue of widespread public defecation.

"Rajinikanth is not a human being. He is not an actor. He is god," said S. Thanu, the producer of Kabali.

The movie, a gangster action drama, has been released on 10,000 screens around the world, including more than 400 in the United States and several in Britain, China, Malaysia and Japan. More than 20 million people viewed the pre-release trailer on YouTube in just two weeks. But the real madness takes place in India.

"Even in a land where films, and superstar actors, play larger-than-life roles in social, cultural and . . . political life, there has been nothing to compare with the Rajinikanth phenomenon," said N. Ram, chairman of the Hindu group of newspapers here. The star's"panache, style, and iconic one-liners fire up his fans and immediately become part of part of popular culture and lingo," Ram added.

Rajinikanth, the actor's stage name, was born Shivaji Rao Gaikwad in southern India, the son of a police constable. He acted in school plays, but later worked as a railway porter, a carpenter and a ticket seller on public buses. One day a movie director spotted him on stage, which led to his first role, playing an abusive husband, in 1975. A decade later, he was being hailed as a "superstar."

His signature moves - the flick of his hair, the way he would toss his cigarette, flip his sunglasses and his guffaw - lent him a macho, rough-and-tough aura. In real life, his fans say, Rajinikanth is a simple man who eschews his larger-than-life persona. Unlike many other aging movie stars, he doesn't hide his baldness with a wig and avoids public events and TV commercials.

The contrast between his on-screen swagger and his real-life humility and "ordinariness" is the reason his fans adore him, Ram says.

In Kabali, set in Malaysia, the star plays a former Indian trade-union leader turned gangster who is seeking revenge on his gang foes after 25 years in prison.

"It is a different kind of hysteria this time, because they are seeing Rajinikanth play a role that is his real age," said Pa Ranjith, the movie's director. "He is not the romantic, young, dancing hero in my film."

But Rajinikanth's trademark style is intact in the film. At a showing Friday, fans screamed deliriously at every one of his outlandish stunts. They howled with anger when the villain beat him and chanted "style king," "boss" and "leader." It didn't matter that the dialogue was drowned out in the din.

"I am watching the film today for the unmatchable energy in the hall. It feels like the roof will fall in," said Balaji Ram, a 30-year old software engineer. "I will come back and watch it with my family again to focus on the story, acting and dialogue. I usually watch his films 10 times."

The image of invincibility that surrounds the star has generated jokes depicting him as a superhero who can run faster than light and stop tsunamis and speeding trains by just exhaling.

"In so many movie roles, Rajinikanth starts off as an absolute nobody but goes on to become powerful," said Smitha Sarma Ranganathan, a brand and marketing expert. "He offers people the idea of possibility. He is the adrenalin shot that people need to aspire."

Religious rituals often accompany the release of Rajinikanth's films. Fans shave their heads and offer special prayers in temples, distribute sweets, throw coins at the screen when he appears, and bathe his giant cardboard cutouts with milk - although that last practice is being discouraged this year because of high milk prices.

On Friday, many fans lingered outside sold-out cinemas with long faces.

Asked why he had braved the long lines for a chance to see the movie on its release date, Anthony Rajkumar, 26, a marketing executive, said, "If your wife gives birth to a child, would you wait a few days to see the baby?"

Sidhu attacks BJP, but keeps AAP guessing about his next move

NEW DELHI: A week after he quit Rajya Sabha, Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday broke his silence and targeted the BJP for asking him to stay away from Punjab to serve "personal interests" but continued to keep everyone guessing on his next move, including whether he will join AAP.

In a brief interaction with the media, he asserted that he will choose to serve Punjab "hundred times" above any party or family.

The cricketer-turned-politician, who made clear his displeasure with the BJP, parried queries on whether he would join Aam Aadmi Party, saying he will be standing wherever the interests of Punjab are served.

Sidhu alleged that he was told to keep away from Punjab to "serve personal interests," apparently suggesting that the BJP was acting under its ally Shiromani Akali Dal's pressure.

Targeting BJP, Sidhu said he delivered the prestigious Amritsar seat to the party during adverse circumstances but was "drowned in the Modi wave" in 2014, when he was asked to shift from the constituency.

"It happened three or four times," he said referring to the party's suggestion that he keep away from the state's politics. This, he said, cannot be "tolerated" even once as "no party in the world is bigger than Punjab for me. I am willing to accept any loss for that."

"Navjot Singh Sidhu had won four elections but when there was a wave in favour of Modi sahab, then Sidhu was drowned along with rivals. I was told you cannot fight from Amritsar. You fight from Kurukshetra, you fight from West Delhi. I did not leave my roots then nor did I care about profit and loss."

Asked if he wanted to be the chief ministerial candidate in the next year's assembly elections, he said he always wanted to serve Punjab.

"I said I will not fight. I have no wish for any post but I will not break the trust of those who made me an MP from Amritsar and gave me the highest honour in 21 generations. Now you tell me that I should leave Punjab. I am given a Rajya Sabha seat and then told that Sidhu you keep away from your nation. Tell me what is my sin," he said.

"I quit the Rajya Sabha because I was told that I cannot look at Punjab and will have to keep away from it. No dharma is bigger than Punjab for me," he said, calling the state his nation from which he cannot keep away.

Asked if he will join AAP or if he wants to be the chief ministerial candidate for the Punjab assembly elections due early next year, Sidhu said, "You will find Sidhu standing wherever the interests of Punjab are served. I have said what I had to. Navjot Singh Sidhu always wanted to serve Punjab and Amritsar."

Sidhu said he fought in 2004 on the request of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and won the seat with over 1 lakh vote margin, adding that he won it twice more including in 2009 when he was the only party MP among the 50-51 seats in the plains of north India.

"When storms were blowing, then Navjot Singh Sidhu was sent ... Now when there was a wave in support of Modi sahab, I was drowned along with rivals," he lamented.

Top party leader Arun Jaitley had contested from Amritsar in 2014 but lost to senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh.

Sidhu, a cricket commentator and fixture at comedy shows on the television, recited a number of couplets and poems to underscore how he was treated as a "sinner" by the party without being told the reason.

The Sikh leader, known for rapid-fire bytes, said he also worked for the victory for his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu from a difficult seat.

Though he has maintained silence over his sour relations with the Akalis, his wife has been more vocal and has aired their anger with SAD and also with BJP over its alleged cold response time and again.
Akalis are in power in Punjab with the BJP as their junior ally. AAP has emerged as a strong force in the state and Sidhu's departure from the party is seen as a major setback for the saffron party ahead of Assembly election next year.

BJP has maintained that Sidhu has not quit the party yet.

Zakir Naik says Indian media doctored his statements, Modi govt hasn't 'bothered' him so far

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in an interview to India Today TV in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, alleged on Monday that the Indian media had doctored his statements and the Modi government had not "bothered" him till now.

"Indian media doctored my statements," Naik said in the interview. "Our channel is promoting peace...the present government (of India) has not called me so far," he said.

I am not prepared for a media trial...I challenge Indian media to show my full lectures," he said.

Naik, who is currently in Saudi Arabia, is under the scanner of state and central agencies for his alleged incendiary speeches. He had rejected charges that his sermons inspired terror activity and had claimed that he has never encouraged anyone to kill innocents.

The preacher, who is facing heat over charges that he inspired some of the Dhaka cafe attackers, had condemned all terror attacks and dubbed himself as "a messenger of peace".

Further blaming the media in his interview to India Today TV, Naik said, "Bangladesh papers first said I was a terroirst...As far as I'm concered, the present government hasn't bothered me till now."

He also said that he had not said anything against the US in his lectures. "No religion tells us to kill innocents. I condemnded the 9/11 terror attacks. I condemn all terror attacks," he said. "Not a single lecture of mine has spread hatred...I never said people should take up arms against America." he added.

Naik also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visit to Muslim nations. "He (Modi) is the first PM of India in so many years who has visited a lot of Muslim countries in such a short span of time," he said. "If the government needs co-operation from me, I am ready."

He further said that his lecture on Islam were progressive and he had taken the right stand on many issues. "Show me one lecture of mine which spreads disharmony...I have given a lecture on women's rights in Islam," he said.

"I call ISIS anti-Islamic State," Naik said.

When asked about what he thought about a uniform civil code, Naik said, "As far as univorm civil code is concerned, the rules and regulations laid in the Quran are the best for humanity. The teachings of Islam are best for humanity."

One of the slain attackers of the terror attack in Dhaka's high-security Gulshan area, the 22-year-old Rohan Imtiaz, had quoted Naik in a Facebook post in January this year where he had urged "all Muslims to be terrorists". Twenty-two people were killed in the brutal attack. Six days later, militants had attacked police guarding the largest Eid gathering in Bangladesh and killed three more people.

The activities of Naik's Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation are also under the scanner of Indian Ministry of Home Affairs amid allegations that funds from abroad received by it have been spent on political activities and inspiring people towards radical views.

'Serious Consequences,' Warns China's Media As India Asks Journalists To Leave

BEIJING:China's state-run media has warned India of "serious consequences" if its decision against renewing the visas of a group of journalists was retaliation for Beijing blocking India from joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group or NSG, a 48-country nuclear trade bloc.

An editorial in the Global Times, which is run by the ruling Communist Party of China, calls India's decision "petty".

"If New Delhi is really taking revenge due to the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers' Group) membership issue, there will be serious consequences," it added.

Three Chinese journalists from the state-run Xinhua news agency have been denied permission to stay on in India. According to sources, Delhi-based Bureau Chief Wu Qiang and Mumbai-based reporters Tang Lu and Ma Qiang were being watched by security agencies for several months now for "activities beyond their official work".

They will have to return by July 31. All three had asked for an extension of their stay by a few months till their successors arrive.

Sources say China is free to send other journalists to India in their place and insist the decision is not linked to China's opposition to India joining the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group or NSG.

"No official reason was given for the rejection of the visa renewals. Some Indian media claimed that the three journalists are suspected of impersonating other people to access several restricted departments in Delhi and Mumbai with fake names. There were also reports attributing it to the journalists' meeting with exiled Tibetan activists."

In June, India failed to enter the NSG. China led the opposition to the US campaign of support for Delhi. Any country that has not signed the non-proliferation treaty or NPT, which is the main global arms control pact, cannot join the NSG, said Beijing.

India already enjoys most of the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSGrules granted to support its nuclear cooperation deal with the US.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2016 Grand Finale: WINNER declared! Kushal Paul walks away with the trophy

So Zee Tv’s popular show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2016 has finally come to an end and we might as well add, what a finale that be. The show had some of the finest of singers this year which included the top 5 finalists Jugpreet Bajwa, Sachin Kumar Valmiki, Rupali Jagga, Kushal Paul, and Jyotica Tangri. However, unfortunately we can only have one winner and we’ve just got to hear that the title of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2016 has gone to none other than Kushal Paul. Yes! He’s the one guys!

The Calcutta boy has been consistently winning hearts since the start of the show. His rockstar image and that impeccable voice has touched a million souls. Which explains why today he stands tall as the winner of this season’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. For all the ignorant, Kushal is a musician by profession who loves enjoying life the way it comes. He started playback singing at the age of 17 and has been financially supporting his family ever since. You won’t believe but this champ is really afraid of his father, while he shares a very special bond with his mother who encourages his singing talent.

Kudos to Kushal for winning the title of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2016. Indeed, he truly deserves it and we wouldn’t be surprised if he soon grows up to become a top singing sensation in Bollywood. What say? Drop your congratulatory messages in the comments below and we’ll be back with more updates on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2016, right here only on BollywoodLife. Stay tuned guys!

Sushma Swaraj promises help to family whose 3 members died in US car crash

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said government would help a Kalyan-based family in arranging for cremating bodies of its three members killed in a road accident in Long Island in the US.

38-year-old IT professional Chandan Gavai and his parents - Archana Gavai (60) and Kamalnayan Gavai (74) - were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was hit head-on by a truck on July 4. Chandan's 32-year-old wife suffered life-threatening burns and is in comma. The couple's 11-month-old son survived the crash and is under treatment.

The Gavai family members in India were finding it difficult to bring back the bodies for cremation due to high expenses involved. Yesterday, Swaraj had promised to help the family after she came to know of their difficulty.

Swaraj today said India's Consulate General in New York has suggested the family to cremate Chandan's parents in New York. She said as per US laws, Chandan's body cannot be cremated as his wife is in coma and unable to give consent.

Swaraj said the Consulate General suggested the family that Chandan's mortal remains be buried as his wife Manisha alone can give consent for his cremation.

The External Affairs Minister said the government will help the family get death certificates and insurance money for all the three deceased members. The family is from Maharashtra.

"Our Consulate will bear the expenses for cremation," Swaraj tweeted, adding "All members of the family who are in US incl. Manisha's parents are agreeable to this proposal. We hope to resolve this accordingly.

"Burial only till his wife Manisha recovers from coma. Once she gives consent, Chandan will also be cremated."

Swaraj said one of the family members Anand Gavai wants the money be given to him but it cannot be done as he is a Dutch national. "Under Government rules, money cannot be given to a foreign national," she said. 

Five passengers of Bhagalpur Express died after being run over by the Howrah-bound Kalka Mail at Manda Road railway station on Sunday evening.

At least five people died after being run over by the Howrah-bound Kalka Mail at Manda Road railway station on Sunday evening.

A loud bang was reportedly heard as the Bhagalpur Express passed through the railway crossing in Bampur, and a rumour spread that the engine was on fire, creating panic among its passengers. As the train came to a halt at Manda Road, passengers rushed onto the adjacent track to escape the ‘fire’, unaware of the approaching train.

Many passengers were still on the track when Kalka Mail passed through the station, running over at least five people, including a woman from Patna.

The lone woman who died in the incident was identified as Basanti Devi, 35. Devi was on her way to Patna with her husband, Ravindra Kumar, and brother-in-law.

Inspector, GRP, Manoj Kumar Singh said the incident was being investigated, and the death toll could rise as efforts were on to identify the other victims.

“Scared passengers seem to have started running after getting down from the coaches after stopping the train and got hit by Kalka,” PRO, North Central Railway, Amit Malaviya confirmed. He said some cattle were run over by the train at the railway crossing, which produced the loud noise.