Germany lost its match.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Friday, June 30, 2017
Chinese policy
China claims these photographs prove Indian Army crossed the border
Chinese Foreign Ministry released photographs showing two vehicles of the Indian Army crossing the boundary.
China on Thursday released photographs claiming evidence that the Indian Army had "transgressed" into what China claims as its territory, but is in fact disputed by Bhutan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang released photographs showing two vehicles of the Indian Army crossing the boundary.
The red line in the middle of the photographs is the boundary
China claims the photos showed India on "China's side" of the boundary line. It did not mention the location but the photographs are thought to be from the Doklam plateau, which China refers to as Donglang, near the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction.
The area is on the China-Bhutan border and is disputed.
"The Donglang region belongs to Chinese territory and it is very clear the conditions of the threshold where the areas are that were trespassed by the Indian troops," Lu said. "This is an undeniable fact that Indian troops have trespassed the boundary and is violating our historical boundary conventions and as well as promises by the Indian government."
"We can show you the pictures and photos concerning borders trespassed by Indian troops," he added.
The photographs marks an unprecedented public push by China on the border stand-off and is a follow-up of several statements from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Foreign Ministry all alleging India "transgressed" the agreed upon Sino-Indian border.
China, however, has not commented on Bhutan's concerns and demarche protesting Chinese road construction in a disputed area, claiming the territory belonged to China.
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Monday, June 26, 2017
Jamaat-ud Dawa
In an exclusive video accessed by India Today, Hafiz Saeed's brother-in-law, Abdul Rehman Makki, the man handling JuD's activities in the absence of 26/11 mastermind, is seen praising the terrorists who attacked CRPF convoy in Srinagar on Saturday (June 25).
Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, may be under house arrest in Pakistan but his terror group continues to plot and execute strikes on the Indian soil.
In an exclusive video accessed by India Today, Hafiz Saeed's brother-in-law, Abdul Rehman Makki, the man handling JuD's activities in the absence of 26/11 mastermind, is seen praising the terrorists who attacked CRPF convoy in Srinagar on Saturday (June 25).
The video, which is said to be shot on Sunday, shows Makki extolling Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists when they were holed up inside a school in Srinagar.
"For the last 24 hours, the battle has been continuing in Srinagar. Lashkar soldiers are fighting against Indian Army in Kashmir," Makki is heard telling a gathering at JuD headquarters in Lahore.
"They are fighting against the cruel Indian Army. If we can't help them in any way, then I request you to remember them in your prayers," Makki goes on to say.
14-HOUR-LONG GUNBATTLE IN SRINAGAR
The Army killed two terrorists who had taken refuge inside DPS, Srinagar, school building after a 14-hour-long encounter on Sunday.
The terrorists had first targeted the 29th Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force at Pantha Chowk in Srinagar killing a sub-inspector and injuring two other securitymen.
SAEED'S ARREST A SHAM
Saeed was put under house arrest by the Nawaz Sharif government on April 30 reportedly after the US clearly told Islamabad that it'll have to face sanctions if it fails to act against JuD and Saeed.
Hafiz Saeed and his four aides have been detained for "spreading terrorism in the name of jihad", Pakistan's interior ministry had told a judicial review board. However, the latest video has once again nailed Pakistan's lie.
JuD is believed to be the front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba . The organisation is accused of involvement in militant activities in India and has already been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in 2014.
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Saturday, June 24, 2017
N.D.Modi in U.S.A.
India's Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarnahas has said that the first face-to-face meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump will give them an opportunity to look at the entire gamut of Indo-US engagement and to exchange views on issues of global interest.
The first face-to-face meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump will give them an opportunity to look at the entire gamut of Indo-US engagement and to exchange views on issues of global interest, India's envoy here has said. At the invitation of Trump, the Prime Minister would spend several hours with the US President at the White House on Monday afternoon, which would end with a dinner later that night.
This would be the first working dinner being hosted by Trump for a foreign leader at the White House. "I think that just shows the amount of care that has gone in on the part of the White House to welcome our Prime Minister and the kind of planning that has gone into make this a very special visit," Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna told PTI on the eve of Prime Minister Modi's visit.
"This (dinner) is a special gesture and it is appreciated," he said.
"I think the first face-to-face meeting will allow the two leaders an opportunity to look at the entire India-US engagement and also to exchange views on issues of global interest," Sarna said.
Responding to a question on the the agenda of the two leaders, Sarna said he would not like to guess what they would be discussing.
"But when they sit across the table and they have a one- on-one discussion or they have an extended delegation that will talk, I would presume that they would cover the wide gamut of relations between India and the US, which is a very strong, strategic partnership, issues between the engagement of two largest democracies, the engagement of two very vibrant economies with tremendous potential for engagement for mutual growths" in the military, security and science and technology sectors, he said. Any of these and issues of global interests, the challenges that the world is facing today, could come up for discussion, he said.
"But as I said, it would be very much up to the leaders to decide what to talk about," the Indian envoy said. Sarna said it was a very significant trip because this will be the first face-to-face meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump. "They have, of course, spoken three times on the telephone. They've had very good, constructive and warm conversations," he said.
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Qatar Demands.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, issued an ultimatum to Doha to close Al Jazeera, curb ties with Iran, shut a Turkish military base and pay reparations among other demands.
Qatar is reviewing a list of demands presented by four Arab states imposing a boycott on the wealthy Gulf country, but said on Saturday the list was not reasonable or actionable.
"We are reviewing these demands out of respect for ... regional security and there will be an official response from our ministry of foreign affairs," Sheikh Saif al-Thani, the director of Qatar's government communications office, said in a statement to Reuters.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which imposed a boycott on Qatar, issued an ultimatum to Doha to close Al Jazeera, curb ties with Iran, shut a Turkish military base and pay reparations among other demands.
The statement said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had recently called upon Saudi Arabia and the other countries to produce a list of grievances that was "reasonable and actionable."
DEMANDS AIMED AT ENDING GULF CRISIS
The demands aimed at ending the worst Gulf Arab crisis in years appear designed to quash a two decade-old foreign policy in which Qatar has punched well above its weight, striding the stage as a peace broker, often in conflicts in Muslim lands.
Doha's independent-minded approach, including a dovish line on Iran and support for Islamist groups, in particular the Muslim Brotherhood, has incensed some of its neighbours who see political Islamism as a threat to their dynastic rule.
The list, compiled by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain, which cut economic, diplomatic and travel ties to Doha on June 5, also demands the closing of a Turkish military base in Qatar, the official told Reuters.
Qatar must also announce it is severing ties with terrorist, ideological and sectarian organisations including the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State, al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Jabhat Fateh al Sham, formerly al Qaeda's branch in Syria, he said, and surrender all designated terrorists on its territory.
QATAR WON'T NEGOTIATE UNDER BOYCOTT
The four Arab countries accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, fomenting regional instability and cosying up to revolutionary theocracy Iran. Qatar has denied the accusations.
Qatari officials did not reply immediately to requests for comment. But on Monday, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said Qatar would not negotiate with the four states unless they lifted their measures against Doha.
The countries give Doha 10 days to comply, failing which the list becomes "void", the official said without elaborating, suggesting the offer to end the dispute in return for the 13 steps would no longer be on the table.
The demands, handed to Qatar by mediator Kuwait also require that Qatar stop interfering in the four countries' domestic and foreign affairs and stop a practice of giving Qatari nationality to citizens of the four countries, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Qatar must pay reparations to these countries for any damage or costs incurred over the past few years because of Qatari policies, he added. Any resulting agreement to comply with the demands will be monitored, with monthly reports in the first year, then every three months the next year, then annually for 10 years, the official said without elaborating.
US President Donald Trump has taken a tough stance on Qatar, accusing it of being a "high level" sponsor of terrorism, but he has also offered help to the parties in the dispute to resolve their differences.
Turkey has backed Qatar during the three-week-old crisis. It sent its first ship carrying food aid to Qatar and dispatched a small contingent of soldiers and armoured vehicles there on Thursday, while President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Saudi Arabia's leaders on calming tension in the region.
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Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Ashes of the London tower
LONDON: The death toll from a fire that ravaged a London tower block last week has risen to 79, police said on Monday, as the government tried to show it was improving its handling of a tragedy that has angered the public.
Fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, a social housing block in Kensington, west London, in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as it tore through the building with terrifying speed.
"I believe there are 79 people that are either dead, or missing, and sadly I have to presume are dead," Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy told reporters.
He said that five of the dead had been formally identified and it would be a slow and painstaking task to identify the others. Because of the intensity of the blaze some may never be identified.
Fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, a social housing block in Kensington, west London, in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as it tore through the building with terrifying speed.
"I believe there are 79 people that are either dead, or missing, and sadly I have to presume are dead," Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy told reporters.
He said that five of the dead had been formally identified and it would be a slow and painstaking task to identify the others. Because of the intensity of the blaze some may never be identified.
A minute's silence was held across Britain at 1000 GMT to honour the victims of the fire - a painfully familiar ritual after the country has been hit by three deadly attacks by Islamist extremists in London and Manchester since March.
At an improvised memorial wall covered in messages of grief and solidarity close to Grenfell Tower, firefighters and members of the local community stood together, some crying, as they observed the minute's silence.
One firefighter, in his black protective suit with FIRE emblazoned in yellow on the back, embraced a distraught woman who had photos of a missing person printed on her top.
A red t-shirt with the London Fire Brigade's logo had been placed by the memorial wall, with the name of a nearby fire station and the words "We tried, we're sorry" scrawled on it.
Briefing reporters at police headquarters, Cundy became visibly upset as he described conditions in the charred tower, where a search and recovery operation is expected to last weeks.
"I was in there myself and went all the way to the top floor and it is incredibly hard," he said, before pausing as tears welled up in his eyes.
"It is incredibly hard to describe the devastation in some parts of the building," he continued, his voice breaking.
"NOT GOOD ENOUGH"
The fire has come at a particularly difficult time for Prime Minister Theresa May, who was weakened by the loss of her parliamentary majority in a June 8 election and faces arduous talks on Britain's exit from the European Union.
Emergency services have been widely praised for their response to the fire, but the local community has accused the government of a slow and inadequate reaction. May has come under personal attack for failing to meet residents during her first visit to the site.
At a daily briefing with reporters, May's spokeswoman said that on a second visit to the area, during which the prime minister was booed and heckled, May had listened carefully to the experiences of those on the ground.
She said the terms of reference of a public inquiry into the blaze were being drafted and the government had now contacted all local authorities in England, asking them to identify any safety concerns in light of the tragedy.
May's spokeswoman said later on Monday that staff from five government departments are now working on the ground, including officials from the Foreign Office. A pledge that survivors would be re-housed locally would be met within three weeks, she said, adding that reports of people being offered homes hundreds of miles away were false.
However, May did not support a proposal put forward by Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, to seize unoccupied properties to re-house survivors of the fire, the spokeswoman said.
"Occupy it, compulsory purchase it, requisition it - there's a lot of things you can do," Corbyn said on Sunday during an interview on ITV.
"WHY THIS HAPPENED"
Grenfell Tower is located in a pocket of social deprivation within the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, one of Britain's wealthiest areas. The fire has led to national soul-searching about inequalities and neglect of the poor.
Cundy said a criminal investigation into the tower blaze would be exhaustive and that 250 investigators were looking at all criminal offences that may have been committed.
"Whilst it will look at the how, perhaps more importantly, it will also look at why this happened," Cundy said.
The investigation will include areas such as the construction, renovation and maintenance of the building and fire safety procedures, he said.
Cundy said that five people reported as missing in the fire had now been found and were safe and well.
He said the death toll of 79 could still change if anyone reported as missing was found alive, or if anyone was found in the ruined tower who had not been reported as missing.
"Whilst I've said I think there may be changes, I don't think those changes will be as significant as the changes we've seen over the last few days," he said.
The death toll was first given as 12 before being revised up to 17, then 30, then 58.
Friday, June 9, 2017
Dangal in China
In China Amir Khan's Film "DANGAL" Relese"
Dangal has struck such a strong chord with people across the border that it even caught the attention of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Astana today, they also had something to discuss on a Hindi film besides a host of bilateral issues which has strained Sino-Indian relations in the last few months.
Jinping told Modi that he watched the Aamir Khan-starrer sports drama Bollywood film Dangal and liked it.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said the Chinese leader told Modi that Dangal is doing well in China and he himself watched it.
Dangal has struck such a strong chord with people across the border that it even caught the attention of the Chinese President. The Hindi film has broken all records in China and is still going strong at the box office in China, a month after its release.
According to last count Dangal has already earned Rs 1,090 crore at the Chinese box office.
Dangal has been named as "Shuaijiao Baba" in China which translates as "Let's Wrestle, Dad!" in English. According to officials, the film has beaten even many Chinese movies.
Continuing its record breaking spree, the Aamir Khan starrer Dangal has kicked out the 2016 Hong Kong-China action film Operation Mekong out of the number 20 spot to become China's top 20 highest-grossing movies in history.
The Chinese audience has been able to connect with Dangal's themes of battling patriarchy, gender bias and excellence in sports. Until recently, the film had a marvellous rating of 9.8 on the biggest online ticket vendor Maoyan.
Aamir Khan's films, in particular, have been very popular in China. 'PK' was also very well received by the Chinese audiences.
"I always believe that language is not a barrier when it comes to creative endeavours and its success in China has proved that," Aamir Khan had said recently.
The film is inspired by the real-life story of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, who went against a patriarchal society to train his daughters to become champion wrestlers.
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New Zealand vs Bangladesh
ICC Champions Trophy 2017
New Zealand vs Bangladesh Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Catch live scores and updates of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 match between New Zealand and Bangladesh at Cardiff here.
UK Election 2017
And, the UK Election Result 2017 is out. The UK election ended in a hung parliament after Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives Party failed to win a majority in the poll, as predicted by the exit polls. Counting of votes had begun around 10:30 pm (3 am Indian Standard Time or IST). Broadcasters began announcing results of UK exit polls at 10 pm (2:30 am IST). This election result was crucial to determine which party will negotiate the terms of Brexit with the European Union over the next two years. "A hung parliament is the worst outcome from a markets perspective as it creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations," said Craig Erlam, an analyst with brokerage Oanda in London.
May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, confident of sharply increasing the slim majority. Instead, she risked an ignominious exit after just 11 months. UK has recently witnessed two terror attacks - London and Manchestor. Prime Minister Theresa May's popularity recently witnessed a dip in recent weeks after the two terror attacks.
British parliament has a total of 650 seats, with 3,300 candidates in the fray. A remarkable number of 56 Indian-origin candidates are also contesting in the UK Elections 2017.
May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, confident of sharply increasing the slim majority. Instead, she risked an ignominious exit after just 11 months. UK has recently witnessed two terror attacks - London and Manchestor. Prime Minister Theresa May's popularity recently witnessed a dip in recent weeks after the two terror attacks.
British parliament has a total of 650 seats, with 3,300 candidates in the fray. A remarkable number of 56 Indian-origin candidates are also contesting in the UK Elections 2017.
UK Election Results 2017 live updates:
Election News
General election results 2017 live: Updates and analysis as exit poll predicts Conservatives will be largest party - but no majority
The shock exit poll predicts a hung Parliament but will the results go to form? We are bringing you live updates, key marginal constituencies, analysis and comment
Theresa May's gamble on a snap election looks set to cost her overall control of the House of Commons, according to a stunning exit poll.
The BBC/Sky/ITV poll suggested the UK was heading for a hung parliament, with Conservatives 12 seats short of the 326 they need for an absolute majority in the Commons.
The poll put Tories on 314 seats, with Labour on 266, the Scottish National Party on 34, Liberal Democrats on 14, Plaid Cymru on three and Greens on one.
If borne out by the actual results, the poll figures would represent a humiliation for the Prime Minister. Home Secretary Amber Rudd is among the Tories in danger - and Labour holding the Tory target seat of Wrexham suggests
We are bringing you all the figures, the drama, the joy and the tears, from 650 constituencies with commentary and analysis of what it all means.
Our guide on what to look out for throughout the night is here and you can see the national picture unfold with our interactive map - including a postcode search for precise results in your constituency. See the 50 Labour targets and 50 Labour defensive seats here.
The graphic below will be updated live with seat totals as they come in, and we're posting blow-by-blow updates and video on this blog.
General election results 2017 live
326 needed for majority
CONSERVATIVES THERESA MAY
72
LABOUR JEREMY CORBYN
90
SNP NICOLA STURGEON
13
LIB DEMS TIM FARRON
0
DUP
5
PLAID CYMRU
2
SINN FEIN
2
GREEN
0
UKIP
0
UUP
0
OTHER
1
UNDECLARED
465
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