Monday, 30 April 2018

الیکشن ایکٹ کی دفعہ 202 کالعدم قرار دینے کی نظرثانی درخواست مسترد

 لاہور: سپریم کورٹ نے الیکشن ایکٹ کی دفعہ 202 کالعدم قرار دینے کی  نظرثانی درخواست مسترد کردی۔

سپریم کورٹ لاہور رجسٹری میں چیف جسٹس پاکستان میاں ثاقب نثار کی سربراہی میں تین رکنی بینچ نے پاکستان ملت پارٹی کے سیکرٹری جنرل شیخ مشتاق علی کی الیکشن ایکٹ کی دفعہ 202 کالعدم قرار دینے سے متعلق نظرثانی کی درخواست پر سماعت کی۔

درخواست گزار کا موقف تھا کہ الیکشن ایکٹ کا سیکشن 202 آئین کی روح کے خلاف ہے، ایک دفعہ میں ہر سیاسی جماعت کو دو لاکھ روپے فیس جمع کروانے کا پابند کیا گیا ہے، نئے ایکٹ میں سیاسی جماعتوں کو 2000 ممبران کے شناختی کارڈ جمع کروانے کا بھی پابند کیا گیا ہے، حالانکہ آئین کے آرٹیکل 17 کی دفعہ 2 کے تحت پاکستان کے ہر شہری کو سیاسی جماعت بنانے کا حق حاصل ہے۔ اس لئے اس دفعہ کو کالعدم قرار دیا جائے۔

فریقین کے دلائل سننے کے بعد چیف جسٹس پاکستان میاں ثاقب نثار کی سربراہی میں تین رکنی بینچ نے درخواست مسترد کردی۔

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پی ٹی آئی، جماعت اسلامی اور ’’اوپر والوں‘‘ کا معاملہ

جوں جوں عام انتخابات قریب آتے جارہے ہیں، موجودہ اور سابقہ ممبران اسمبلی سائبیرین پرندوں کی طرح محفوظ ٹھکانوں کی طرف بھاگ رہے ہیں، جنم جنم تک ساتھ نبھانے کی قسمیں کھانے والے سامنے جلتی آگ کو دیکھ کر ’’بچاؤ بچاؤ‘‘ کی کیفیت میں ہیں، موسمی پنچھی ایک سے دوسری، دوسری سے تیسری منڈیر پر جاکر بیٹھ رہے ہیں۔ پانچ سال تک جو مومن تھے، پاکباز تھے ایک دم سے ’’آستین کے سانپ‘‘ اور ’’چور ڈاکو‘‘ پتا نہیں کیا کیا بن گئے۔

پاکستان کی سیاست اس وقت عجیب تبدیلی کے موڈ میں نظر آتی ہے۔ تمام جماعتیں اسمبلیوں کی مدت پوری ہونے کی منتظر ہیں کہ کب یہ مالا ٹوٹے اور موتی بکھریں۔ چننے والے باراتیوں کی طرح بے صبرے ہوئے جارہے ہیں۔ اپوزیشن ہو یا حکومت، دونوں اپنے آئندہ لائحہ عمل اسی فیصلے کی صورت میں مرتب کریں گی اور آئندہ انتخابات کیلئے اپنے منصوبے بے نقاب کریں گی۔

منصوبے، منشور آئیں نہ آئیں، الزامات کی ضرور بوچھاڑ ہورہی ہے۔ الزامات اور بہتان تراشیوں کی دکانیں سجی ہیں، اس دوڑ میں صرف کارکن ہی نہیں قائدین تک شامل ہیں۔ اور تو اور، باقی بچ جانے والی جماعت اسلامی کو کیا ہوگیا ہے؟ سینیٹر سراج الحق کے لہجے میں اچانک تلخی کیوں آگئی؟ آمروں کی بی ٹیم سمجھی جانے والی ’’صالحین‘‘ کی جماعت نے ’’اوپر والوں‘‘ کے منصوبوں پر سیاہی کیوں انڈیلنا شروع کردی؟ کبھی کہتے ہیں کہ کرپٹ لوگوں کی گردنوں پر پاؤں رکھ کر قوم کا پیسہ ان کی جیبوں سے نکالیں گے، کبھی کہتے ہیں کہ آٹھ ہزار لوگوں کو جیل میں ڈال دیں تو کرپشن کا راستہ بند ہوجائے گا اور کبھی فرماتے ہیں کہ چیئرمین سینیٹ کا انتخاب ’’اوپر والوں‘‘ کے کہنے پر ہوا ہے۔ سب کھوکھلے بیانات ہی ہیں یا ان میں کوئی وزن بھی ہے؟

یہ حقیقت ہے کہ ’’کرپشن فری پاکستان‘‘ کا نعرہ سب سے پہلے جماعت اسلامی نے لگایا، پاناما پیپرز میں شامل سب کرپٹ لوگوں کے خلاف بھی سپریم کورٹ میں سراج الحق گئے، پی ٹی آئی اور شیخ رشید نے پارلیمنٹ سے بات بنتی نہ دیکھ کر چند قدم دور اسی عدالت کا دروازہ کھٹکھٹایا۔ یہ الگ بحث ہے کہ وزیراعظم اور شریف خاندان کے کیس کو اہم اور باقی چار سو سے زائد افراد کی لوٹ مار کو الگ کرکے عدالت کی الماریوں میں سجا دیا گیا۔ قصہ مختصر نواز شریف نااہل ہوئے، نیب انکوائریاں جاری ہیں پیشی پر پیشی ہورہی ہے، اپوزیشن جارحانہ کھیل کھیل رہی ہے تو حکومت دفاع کرتے کرتے اس پوزیشن پر آگئی ہے کہ اب سانسیں اکھڑنا شروع ہوگئی ہیں۔ ہر بندہ گرتی ہوئی دیوار کو دھکا دینا چاہتا ہے لیکن سراج الحق پر کیوں الزام آرہا ہے کہ وہ دیوار کے نیچے کھڑا ہونا چاہتے ہیں؟ وکٹ کے دونوں طرف کھیلنے کا بھی کہا جارہا ہے۔

گھر کا بھیدی ہی گھر کے راز جانتا ہے۔ جس طرح جاوید ہاشمی نے پی ٹی آئی کے راز کھولے، سراج الحق بھی پانچ سال تک خیبر پٖختونخوا میں ساتھ رہنے کے بعد سب کچھ عوام کے سامنے رکھنا چاہتے ہیں، سیاسی برتری کے حصول اور نئے اتحادیوں کو خوش کرنے کیلئے عمران خان اور ان کے دست راست وزیراعلیٰ پرویز خٹک کا پردہ چاک کر رہے ہیں؛ اسی کی پوری پی ٹی آئی کو تکلیف بھی ہے۔

عام سیاسی جماعتوں سے زیادہ اقتدار کا نشہ مذہبی جماعتوں میں پایا جاتا ہے لیکن بیچارے روایتی نعروں کی زد میں آکر خواب چکناچور کروا بیٹھتے ہیں۔ سب آپ کے سامنے ہے کہ مسلم لیگ، جے یو آئی اور جماعت اسلامی پاکستان کی سب سے پرانی جماعتیں ہیں لیکن اقتدار صرف مسلم لیگ کے حصے میں آیا اور بار بار آیا۔ مذہبی جماعتیں اب اتحادوں کی گٹھڑی میں بند ہوکر اقتدار کی سیڑھی چڑھنا چاہتی ہیں، ماضی میں کسی حد تک کامیاب بھی رہی ہیں۔ سراج الحق بھی اپنے خواب کی تکمیل کیلئے بلے کی بجائے کتاب اٹھا کر میدان میں آئے ہیں، یہ الگ بات ہے کہ پنجاب کے ’’جماعتیے‘‘ شیر کی کچھار میں بیٹھنا پسند کرتے ہیں۔ جماعت اسلامی نے متحدہ مجلس عمل کی کڑوی گولی نگل ہی لی ہے تو اب اسے ہضم بھی کرنا چاہتی ہے۔

پانچ سال پرانے ناتے توڑ کر نئے رشتے بنانا چاہتی ہے۔ اصل ایم ایم اے جماعت اسلامی اور جے یو آئی ہیں اور اس کے بارے میں خیال تھا کہ یہ ’’اوپر والوں‘‘ نے ہی بنائی تھی۔ مولانا فضل الرحمان کے ساتھیوں نے بھی انہی کے کہنے پر صادق سنجرانی کو ووٹ دیا، نواز شریف کا ساتھی ہوتے ہوئے مولانا کو کوئی تکلیف نہیں ہوئی تو سراج الحق کیوں ’’اوپر والوں‘‘ سے دشمنی لے رہے ہیں؟ مسئلہ پوزیشن کا ہے، کل تک ’’اوپر والوں‘‘ کیلئے جو کردار جماعت اسلامی نبھاتی آرہی تھی وہ اب تحریک انصاف نے سنبھال لیا ہے اور خاصی حد تک کامیاب بھی ہے۔ جماعت اسلامی اب چھتری کے بغیر ہی بارش اور دھوپ کا سامنا کرے، ایک نہ ایک دن اقتدار مل ہی جائے گا۔

نوٹ: ایکسپریس نیوز اور اس کی پالیسی کا اس بلاگر کے خیالات سے متفق ہونا ضروری نہیں۔

اگر آپ بھی ہمارے لیے اردو بلاگ لکھنا چاہتے ہیں تو قلم اٹھائیے اور 500 الفاظ پر مشتمل تحریر اپنی تصویر، مکمل نام، فون نمبر، فیس بک اور ٹویٹر آئی ڈیز اور اپنے مختصر مگر جامع تعارف کے ساتھ blog@express.com.pk پر ای میل کردیجیے۔

The post پی ٹی آئی، جماعت اسلامی اور ’’اوپر والوں‘‘ کا معاملہ appeared first on ایکسپریس اردو.



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Migrants from caravan in limbo as U.S. says border crossing full

TIJUANA, Mexico (Reuters) - About 50 people from a Central American migrant caravan including women, children and transgender individuals tried to seek U.S. asylum on Sunday but were not allowed to cross the Mexico border because officials said the facility was full.


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Global elites to hash out #MeToo sexual misconduct issues at Milken Conference

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The global social media movement known through the Twitter hashtag #MeToo has highlighted sexual misconduct in business, entertainment and politics, and will be on the agenda at this year's Milken Institute Global Conference, which starts on Sunday.


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Fourth suspect sought in New Orleans rape probe after three U.S. Marines arrested

(Reuters) - Police in New Orleans have obtained an arrest warrant for a fourth suspect wanted in connection with a gang rape investigation following the arrest of three U.S. Marines charged in the case, authorities said on Saturday.


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Macron and Trump planted tree at the White House. Why it is now missing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the special relationship between the United States and France during his state visit to Washington last week by planting a tree with President Donald Trump on the grounds of the White House.


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Caravans making a comeback

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Rotten durian causes Melbourne university evacuation

The smell of gas reported in a students' library in Melbourne turned out to be a rotting durian.

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Mullaghbawn: Wanted men 'kicked and beaten with iron bars'

SDLP Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty says the incident was "disgraceful".

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Women's suffrage: 10 reasons why men opposed votes for women

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Huggable heroes: 'Daddy cuddly toy helps my child cope'

Military wife Natasha Balfe says the "huggable hero" toy has helped her daughter sleep at night.

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Indian fishermen chant ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ after Pak Navy help

Pakistan Navy rescue Indian boat

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy rescued Indian fishing in the open sea after their boat was stranded boat due to loss of engine propulsion.

Pakistan Navy Ship Alamgir (Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigate) while conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSOs) in the Gulf of Aden undertook a successful rescue operation of a stranded Indian fishing dhow “St Marys”. The Indian crew raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans as a Pakistan Navy ship after rescued them in the open sea.

Pakistan Navy rescue Indian boat

The Indian fishing boat, which sailed from Indian port of Colochel, was reported to have become non-operational due to loss of engine propulsion in open sea near the Salalah (Oman) for last eight days with 12 crew men onboard.

On receipt of information and request for help about the fishing dhow, the Pakistan Navy ship was promptly dispatched which through its technical team rectified the defect in the boat and made it operational and seaworthy.

Pakistan Navy rescue Indian boat

The stranded boat crew was dehydrated and also required medical care and edibles. The spokesman of Pakistan Navy said that PNS Alamgir rescue team provided edibles and medical care to the crew members of the Indian fishing dhow. Master and crew of the stranded boat thanked for the kind gesture and swift response of the Pakistan Navy Ship. The fishing dhow thereafter shaped course to India port.

Pakistan Navy rescue Indian boat

The spokesman said that Pakistan Navy ships are active participants of the Multinational Task Force-150 and Task Force-151, which are mandated to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSOs) and anti-piracy respectively.

Since 2004, the Pakistan Navy has been a major contributor of ships and aircraft in these multinational task forces. Role and contribution of the Pakistan Navy to maintain peace and order at sea has been widely acknowledged in the world. “The rescue operation by Pakistan Navy also manifests the strong commitment and resolve of the government of Pakistan to promote and safeguard peace in the region,” he said.

 

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Young Pakistan’s scientists use natural resources to giving birth crucial inventions

scientist

Quetta: A 7th and a 9th grader create chip boards out of pine needles and mosquito repellents out of orange peels.

Mukarram Fatah was curious as to why orange peels are used to repel off mosquitoes when he took his scientific curiosity into the science lab finding out that orange peels repel mosquitoes with no harmful effects of it on the human body.

Speaking to ARY News, Mukarram said, “I found out that 40% methanol is naturally present in orange peels which doesn’t let it spoil. Second there is citric acid in it which the mosquitoes detest seeing which I made these repellents.”

Similarly, when Yasir Jaan Notezai found out that pine needles are a very big reason for forest fires he decided to use them for something better. According to Yasir, pine needles have properties of wood which lead to successful making of chip board, “Pine needles have a lot of lignin for example 50-60%. Pine needles make chip boards very strong, if we try we won’t be able to break it. The advantage is that when you do deforestation and cut down the trees, it directly affects our environment. This why we have come up with this alternative of not making chip board with wood but with pine needles. One day when I was going to my village for a picnic to a forest. We picked up pine needles from the forest checked its chemical composition and realized it could be used for so much better. I want to better the environment and utilize useless materials for the betterment of the society”

Out of students from 21 countries Mukarram Fatah came 1st and Yasir 2nd in the Golden Climate Project Olympiad, Kenya owing to their critical inventions for the prevention of dengue and the protection of our forests.

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Two blasts hit Afghan capital, killing 21

Afghan capital Kabul blasts

KABUL: Two blasts hit the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, killing at least 21 people, including a photographer for French news agency AFP, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility, officials said.

The photographer, Shah Marai, was among a group of journalists caught in the second explosion as they were reporting on the initial blast.

The attacks came just a week after a blast at a voter registration center killed 60 people, in the wake of warnings by security officials against the risk of increasing attacks ahead of parliamentary elections planned in October.

Monday’s first explosion in the Shashdarak area close to buildings of the NDS intelligence service was followed by one outside the ministry of urban development and housing, just as people were entering the government office.

Four people were killed and five injured in the first explosion, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the interior ministry, adding that authorities had despatched ambulances to the incident sites.

Soon after, a second explosion took place beside journalists who had gathered to cover the first blast, killing or wounding a number of photographers and cameraman, Reuters witnesses said.

Agence France-Presse’s chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, was killed in the blast, the agency confirmed in a Twitter message.

A Reuters photographer was slightly hurt by flying shrapnel.

A spokesman for the ministry of public health put the total toll at 21 dead and 27 injured.

Taliban militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, announced their usual spring offensive last week and there has been heavy fighting in several areas of the country since.

Hundreds of people have been killed and wounded in a series of high-profile attacks in Kabul since the beginning of the year, despite President Ashraf Ghani’s offer in February for peace talks “without preconditions”.

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‘Avengers’ opens with $630 mn, smashing global record

Avengers infinity wars global record

LOS ANGELES: “Avengers: Infinity War” took in $630 million in its first weekend, the highest global opening of all time, industry estimates showed on Sunday.

“The latest Marvel juggernaut… opened with $630M worldwide, making it the largest global weekend tally in the history of film, and this was done without China,” which has a later opening, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

That topped “The Fate of the Furious,” the eighth installment of the high-octane action series starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez that opened with more than $530 million globally in 2017.

“Infinity War,” which features more than two dozen superheroes fighting to save the universe, also broke the record for highest North American opening weekend, raking in $250 million at US and Canadian box offices.

Avengers infinity wars global record

That beat “The Force Awakens,” the seventh film in the long-running “Star Wars” space saga that made $248 million in its opening weekend in 2015.

Saving the universe –

“Infinity War” is the 19th film in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), combining a whopping nine franchises and a cast list that reads like a who’s who of Hollywood’s A-list.

Robert Downey Jr dons the red and gold metal suit once again as Iron Man; Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange; Scarlett Johansson is back as Black Widow; and Australia’s Chris Hemsworth is Thor.

Also back for more? 

Black Panther — the Marvel breakout of the year after the standalone pic’s massive opening in February, Captain America, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, the Guardians of the Galaxy and their assorted allies.

Their mission is to prevent the powerful purple alien Thanos (Josh Brolin) from destroying the universe.

“We took a picture of every single person whose character has been in the MCU. We hung it up on a wall all around us,” co-director Anthony Russo, who helms the film with his brother Joe, told reporters ahead of its release.

“We basically spent months and months and months talking about where we could go with each character, how we could draw them through the story,” he added.

“Every one of these characters… has been on a very specific journey through the MCU to arrive at this moment.”

This is the third “Avengers” film, before the final, untitled saga set for next year.

– ‘North Star’ –

An important source of inspiration is the Marvel canon — the storylines developed over decades in the original comic books.

“Infinity War” is drawn from the “Infinity Gauntlet” series of the early 1990s.

Avengers infinity wars global record

“It starts with those comics and us beginning to rip pages out or rip copies of pages out and put them on the walls and start to be inspired,” explains Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney.

“It’s a North Star for us as we lead these giant productions into reality.”

In the movie’s trailer, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) — Thanos’s daughter, of sorts — explains that the villain believes that if he annihilates half of the universe, he can save the other half.

He needs the so-called Infinity Stones to do it. So, the heroes need to keep him from getting them.

The film cost an eye-watering $300 million to make, according to Hollywood media.

“It was about the most fun creative exercise I think I’ve ever been through in my life,” said Anthony Russo. “We thought about everybody in the MCU.”

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US embassy’s security official booked for manhandling police

US security official

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police have booked the chief security officer of the US embassy for attempting to help a US diplomat, who injured two motorcyclists in a road mishap in the capital, escape from their clutches.

Two motorcyclists were injured after being hit by a car driven by Rex Ausburn, second secretary at the US embassy, on Sunday night on Constitution Avenue near the Pak Secretariat Complex.

The police official, who were on duty nearby, took him and his car into custody and shifted them to the Secretarial police station for legal action.

A case has been registered against chief security officer Taimoor Pirzada at the police station for allegedly helping the diplomat avoid arrest at the hands of the police.

Pirzada has been alleged to have manhandled police officials, including the station house officer (SHO) of the police station, and trying to help the driver of the SUV that hit motorcyclists escape.

The case has been registered under section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and other relevant provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

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People have rejected the politics of ‘Dance Party’: Talal Chaudhry

Talal Chaudhry

FAISALABAD: State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said that the people have rejected the politics of the ‘dance party’.

Addressing corner meetings in connection with his election campaign, he said here Sunday that the people want to materialise the dream of developed and prosperous Pakistan.

Therefore, they would reject the anti-development elements with full force during general elections 2018 and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) would emerge victorious once again due to its development agenda and people-friendly policies, he claimed.

He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was befooling people with hollow slogans of ‘Inqilab and Change’ by gathering turncoats.

He said that the PML-N government has completed record development projects during its tenure which has changed the destiny of the nation.

The minister claimed that the PML-N government has also overcome the inherited problems of terrorism and load-shedding. Now foreign investors are planning to invest in various sectors of economy in Pakistan as the PML-N government has provided safe and secured atmosphere not only for the businessmen but for the entire population also.

Our political rivals are hatching deep-rooted conspiracies to defame and sideline the PML-N, but the party would win the General Election 2018 with heavy public mandate, the minister added.

 

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Nawaz, Maryam appear before accountability court

Nawaz Maryam

ISLAMABAD: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Capt Safdar have arrived at the accountability court in connection with the hearing of corruption references filed against them by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Judge Muhammad Bashir will take up the Flagship and Avenfield properties references against the  members of Sharif family.

The court will record testimony of the investigation officer of the Avenfield case, after which he will be cross-examined by defence lawyers.

During previous hearing of the case, Maryam’s lawyer completed cross-examination of prosecution witness National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Director General-Operations Zahir Shah.

The witness submitted new documents about the Avenfield properties’ ownership, bills and tax record which he said were received in response to letters written to the UK authorities for mutual legal assistance (MLA).

Nawaz and his sons – Hussain and Hasan – have been named in all three references whereas his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt Safdar have been nominated in the Avenfield reference only.

As per Avenfield Properties reference, Sharif, his brood and his son-in-law had purchased four flats in Park Lane, UK, without legitimate financial means. However, the former premier and his family members have consistently claimed that they were legally purchased.

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Imran’s speech at Minar-i-Pakistan was from ‘2011 script’: minister

ahsan iqbal Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Interior minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday termed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s speech at the iconic Minar-i-Pakistan part of “2011 script.”

In a tweet, the minister said: “The speech was from 2011 script. A leader who has run a major province for five years still lectures, lectures, & lectures.”


His tweet came in response to PTI leader Dr Arif Alvi’s comment on the party chief’s “historic” speech.

Shortly after the massive rally in Lahore, Dr Arif Alvi took to Twitter, saying: “This was by far the best speech of @ImranKhanPTI I have ever heard in the last 22 years. Came from his heart that bleeds for our beloved country.”

Addressing the mammoth gathering at Minar-i-Pakistan on Sunday evening, the PTI chief unveiled an 11-point agenda to turn the country into Naya Pakistan.

He announced that eradication of corruption, self-reliance, and provision of healthcare and education are top priorities of his party.

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Syria monitors: Missile attack kills 26, mostly Iranians

A Syria war monitoring group says an overnight missile attack in the country's northern region has killed 26 pro-government fighters, mostly Iranians.

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British interior minister Rudd resigns after immigration scandal

British interior minister

LONDON: Britain’s interior minister resigned on Sunday after Prime Minister Theresa May’s government faced an outpouring of indignation over its treatment of some long-term Caribbean residents who were wrongly labeled illegal immigrants.

The resignation of one of May’s closest allies is a blow as she navigates the final year of negotiations ahead of Britain’s exit from the European Union in March 2019. It also deprives the cabinet of one of its most outspoken pro-European members.

In a resignation letter to May, Amber Rudd said she had inadvertently misled a parliamentary committee last Wednesday by denying the government had targets for the deportation of illegal migrants. May accepted her resignation.

For two weeks, British ministers have been struggling to explain why some descendants of the so-called “Windrush generation”, invited to Britain to plug labor shortfalls between 1948 and 1971, had been denied basic rights.

The Windrush scandal overshadowed the Commonwealth summit in London and has raised questions about May’s six-year stint as interior minister before she became prime minister in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum.

“The Windrush scandal has rightly shone a light on an important issue for our country,” Rudd said in a resignation letter to May.

Rudd, who was appointed Home Secretary in 2016, said voters wanted those who had the right to reside in Britain to be treated fairly and humanely but also that illegal immigrants be removed.

The opposition Labour Party, which had repeatedly called on Rudd to resign, said May was responsible and should explain her own role in the government’s immigration policies.

“The architect of this crisis, Theresa May, must now step forward to give an immediate, full and honest account of how this inexcusable situation happened on her watch,” said Diane Abbott, Labour’s spokeswoman on interior affairs.

Abbott called on May to give a statement to the House of Commons explaining whether she knew that Rudd was misleading parliament about the deportation targets.

Facing questions over the Windrush scandal, Rudd, 54, told lawmakers on Wednesday that Britain did not have targets for the removal of immigrants, but was forced to clarify her words after leaked documents showed some targets did exist.

The Guardian newspaper on Sunday reported a letter from Rudd to May last year in which she stated an “ambitious but deliverable” aim for an increase in the enforced deportation of immigrants.

After repeated challenges to her testimony on the deportation of immigrants, Rudd telephoned May on Sunday and offered her resignation.

“I feel it is necessary to do so because I inadvertently misled the Home Affairs Select Committee over targets for removal of illegal immigrants,” Rudd told May.

A replacement is not likely to be announced overnight.

WINDRUSH CRISIS

The government has apologized for the fiasco, promised citizenship and compensation to those affected, including to people who have lost their jobs, been threatened with deportation and denied benefits because of the errors.

But the controversy over policies which May is closely associated with has raised awkward questions about how the pursuit of lower immigration after Brexit sits alongside the desire to be an outward-looking global economy.

The immigrants are named after the Empire Windrush, one of the first ships to bring Caribbean migrants to Britain in 1948, when Commonwealth citizens were invited to fill labor shortages and help rebuild the economy after World War Two.

Almost half a million people left their homes in the West Indies to live in Britain between 1948 and 1970, according to Britain’s National Archives.

A week before local elections, May apologized to the black community on Thursday in a letter to The Voice, Britain’s national Afro-Caribbean newspaper.

“We have let you down and I am deeply sorry,” she said. “But apologies alone are not good enough. We must urgently right this historic wrong.”

The crisis has focused attention on May, who as interior minister set out to create a “really hostile environment” for illegal immigrants, imposing tough new requirements in 2012 for people to prove their legal status.

Rudd’s resignation comes four months after another close ally and her then most senior minister, Damian Green, was forced out of his job for lying about whether he knew pornography had been found on computers in his parliamentary office.

Anna Soubry, a Conservative lawmaker, predicted Rudd may one day return to a senior job in government.

“She is a woman of great courage & immense ability,” Soubry said. “If there is any justice she will soon return to the highest of office.”

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2 people shot at St. Louis dining and entertainment district

Police say two people have been shot at a dining and entertainment district across from the stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play.

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Afghan farmers stick to growing opium in the face of less lucrative options

Afghan farmers opium

KANDAHAR: Afghan farmers are busy in their poppy fields as the annual opium harvest begins, underscoring the government’s failure to stamp out a crop that yields much of the world’s supply of heroin.

Aided by corrupt bureaucrats, smugglers and Taliban fighters, the farmers help maintain an annual supply of about 9,000 metric tons to international markets, producing bumper crops despite government efforts to deter cultivation.

“We don’t get enough money if we grow wheat or other crops,” said Mohammad Nadir, 35, as he gathered the crop he planted last year on two acres of land in the southern province of Kandahar.

opium

It is Afghanistan’s second major center of cultivation of the opium poppy after the neighboring province of Helmand, and a hotbed of activity by Taliban militants.

Nadir scraped the gum from poppy bulbs into plastic containers to be used in making opium, heroin and other drugs.

His annual yield will generate more than $3,000 in income. That compares with a take of less than $1,000 if he switches to growing wheat on the same land, as authorities hope.

But Nadir will have to share his profit with the Taliban, in exchange for which they protect poppy fields and find domestic and international smugglers to sell the illegal produce.

The insurgents extract a large share of their revenues from narcotics, a trade the United Nations values at roughly $3 billion a year in Afghanistan.

Despite years of effort to replace it, the banned crop is a vital part of the south Asian nation’s economy. Opium production hit a record in 2017, up 87 percent over 2016, the U.N. says.

Last year, the government distributed more than 10,000 tonnes of seeds to farmers to persuade them to grow wheat along with 20,000 tonnes of urea, widely used as fertilizer for foodgrains.

Many farmers collected seeds to grow wheat but did not plant them, said Akbar Rustami, a spokesman for the agriculture ministry in Kabul, the capital.

“We tried to discourage farmers from sowing poppy seeds but they continue to ignore our orders because they want to earn more money,” he said.

Worsening security and immediate economic benefits for farmers fuel the spurt in poppy cultivation, experts say.

More than 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles) of arable land was under poppy cultivation last year, the counter-narcotics ministry said.

It launched more than 500 criminal cases against farmers and civil servants for allowing illegal cultivation.

American and Afghan forces have begun a campaign of air strikes against drug refining and manufacturing laboratories in southwestern Afghanistan, aiming to choke off Taliban revenue.

Yet security concerns hamper efforts to run nationwide inspections, officials say.

“We need a special task force to stop farmers from sowing poppy,” said Najibullah Ahmadi, who oversees the drive to ban poppy cultivation. “We need helicopters to conduct aerial surveillance.”

The government has failed to provide alternate sources of income, said Nadir, the farmer in Kandahar, who worries about providing for his five children.

“We want the government to find us jobs and pave the ground for alternative farming. If there is a good alternative, there won’t be any need for cultivating poppy anymore.”

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US says border crossing didn't have room for asylum seekers

After traveling through Mexico with great fanfare for a month under the Trump administration's watchful eye, nearly 200 Central American migrants attempting to seek asylum in the United States were stopped in their tracks when border inspectors said that a crossing facility didn't have enough space to accommodate them.

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Facebook starts rolling out ‘downvote’ button

Facebook starts rolling out ‘downvote’ button

San Francisco: Facebook has begun rolling out a feature called “downvote” that lets users register a negative reaction to comments on the social networking platform but it is not the “dislike” button users have long desired.

Clicking the “downvote” button hides the comment for the user who taps it, then asks the user to say whether the comment was “offensive”, “misleading”, or “off topic”.

Facebook confirmed the test in February this year.

“Now, it appears the feature is rolling out to a greater number of users. The Reddit-style ‘downvote’ button aims to improve the quality of discourse on the platform,” The Next Web reported on Monday.

A “dislike” button has been on many users’ wishlist since the social media giant introduced its “like” button in February 2009.

Facebook’s “like” button allows users to express their approval for the messages, photos and other content their friends posted.

The social networking giant is also literally sizing down the doubtful stories to prevent the triumph of falsehood on its platform.

As part of its new strategy to combat fake news, Facebook wants its users to miss these stories at the time of scrolling their News Feed, while not withdrawing them altogether so as to walk a fine line “between censorship and sensibility”.

When an article is verified as inaccurate by the social network’s third-party fact-checkers, Facebook will shrink the size of the link post in the News Feed, TechCrunch reported.

“We reduce the visual prominence of feed stories that are fact-checked false,” a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Facebook is also now using machine learning to look at newly published articles and scan them for signs of falsehood.

IANS

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Aadhar leak scandal : AP displays Aadhaar details of 20 Lakh pregnant women on its website

Aadhar leak scandal : AP displays Aadhaar details of 20 Lakh pregnant women on its website

Hyderabad: Central governments and UIDAI’s much voted Aadhaar is yet again caught in data leak scandal after Andhra Pradesh’s woman and child welfare department leaked Aadhaar numbers of 4.8 lakh pregnant women by putting them on its official website.

The Aadhaar numbers that were leaked belonged to women who had enrolled themselves in Nutrition department, TOI reported.

Cybersecurity researchers after noticing the Aadhaar data leak notified the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) and the Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI) after which the department had disabled the column that was displaying the Aadhaar details of these women.

The researchers also found out nearly 20 Lakh mothers and pregnant women Aadhaar details have been leaked since 2015.

The department’s dashboard including the details of women is linked to Andhra Pradesh chief minister’s core dashboard.

This dashboard displayed Aadhar details of 20 lakh women public including husband’s name, Aadhaar number, date of enrolment with Anganwadi centres, high-risk grading and status of follow-ups. Mandal-wise data of pregnant women in 13 districts up to Feb 2018 were all displayed on the dashboard.

Kodali Srinivas, cybersecurity researcher who notified about the Aadhaar leak said: “I notified the CERT-In, UIDAI and the AP Core Digital Data Authority regarding the Aadhaar numbers put up openly on the website. There was no response. Perhaps, they are closed on Sunday. Collecting data of pregnant women is a good initiative so that the government can follow-up with them to decrease the maternal mortality and infant mortality rates, prevent anemia in mothers and malnutrition in kids. But the problem is linking it with Aadhaar. The violation of rules is in making this data public.”

“The e-commerce websites selling baby products and merchandise for new mothers may try to use this data as it is openly available on the net,” Srinivas told STOI.

When Women and child welfare department was contacted, the department’s IT coordinator, Ratnakar, told STOI: “After the Supreme Court directions in 2017, we removed all Aadhaar details put up in the public domain. Even for intra-department purposes, we use only the last four digits to identify beneficiaries. But due to unknown reasons, the Aadhaar numbers were displayed openly on the dashboard. We are disabling it instantly.”

The Cyber Security researchers allege that the government collecting Aadhar details is not safe since the government is not doing an audit.

Srinivas added that AP state has an Act which protects its officials from prosecution for data revealed in good faith.

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Dalits converting to Buddhism, a dangerous situation: BJP MLA

Dalits converting to Buddhism, a dangerous situation: BJP MLA

Una (Gujarat): Terming the mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism as a “dangerous situation,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Udit Raj on Monday cited “social injustice” as the prime reason.

Raj while talking to ANI, said that the Dalits face atrocities for a number of reasons and that could have influenced their decision.

“The reason is social injustice. Dalits are beaten up for even having a moustache. I do not know what alternative they have. This is really a dangerous situation,” he said.

On Sunday, a group of Dalits in Gujarat’s Una renounced Hinduism to convert to Buddhism.

The residents claimed that they took the decision as they were not considered as Hindus and were not allowed to enter temples.

Earlier on March 1, a similar incident came to light in Karnataka’s Kalburagi district, where over 60 Dalit families converted to Buddhism.

The main reason for the conversion was cited as oppression and abuse from the upper-caste Hindu members of the village, who attacked and defiled some Dalits. (ANI)

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Noted Shia scholar Maulana Kalbe Sadiq recuperated; returns home

Noted Shia scholar Maulana Kalbe Sadiq recuperated; returns home

Lucknow: Vice President All India Muslim Personal Law Board and noted Shia scholar Maulana Kalbe Sadiq returned home after undergoing treatment for 13 days in Medanta hospital. A large number of relatives and supporters were present at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport to receive Maulana.

Maulana Kalbe Sadiq was shifted to Medanta hospital on April 17 through Air Ambulance, where he underwent surgery on the night of April 17. He returned to the capital on Sunday.

As soon as the news of the illness of Maulana became public people began praying for him.

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Twitter also sold data to Cambridge Analytica researcher

Twitter also sold data to Cambridge Analytica researcher

London: After the Facebook data scandal, it has now come to notice that Twitter had also sold users’ data to a Cambridge Analytica researcher who gathered the data of nearly 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

According to the report, Twitter sold public data access in 2015 to Aleksandr Kogan, then a psychology researcher with University of Cambridge and his company Global Science Research (GSR).

The quiz app “thisisyourdigitallife” developed by Kogan and his firm, collected data from millions of Facebook users without their consent in 2014-2015.

“GSR paid for one day of access in 2015, Twitter said, and scooped up a ‘random sample’ of public tweets covering a period between December 2014 and April 2015. Twitter added that it ‘did not find any access’ to private information,” the report noted.

Kogan reportedly said the Twitter data had only been used to create “brand reports” and “survey extender tools” and that he had not violated Twitter’s policies.

“The most immediate concern is that GSR could theoretically have correlated Facebook and Twitter data. Still, this shows just how comprehensive the data collection was,” Engadget reported.

Twitter, however, said it had banned GSR and Cambridge Analytica from buying data or running adverts on the website and that no private data had been accessed.

“Twitter has also made the policy decision to off-board advertising from all accounts owned and operated by Cambridge Analytica.

“This decision is based on our determination that Cambridge Analytica operates using a business model that inherently conflicts with acceptable Twitter Ads business practices,” The Telegraph reported, citing a Twitter spokesperson.

In a first interview after the Facebook data scandal broke out, Kogan told CBS News earlier this month that he was not sure whether he ever read Facebook’s developer policy.

“The idea that we stole the data, I think, is technically incorrect. I mean, they created these great tools for developers to collect the data.

“And they made it very easy. I mean, this was not a hack. This was, ‘Here’s the door. It’s open. We’re giving away the groceries. Please collect them’,” Kogan told the TV show host.

Kogan said he believes his assumptions were misguided and that what he did in 2014 “was not right and was not wise”.

IANS

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Siasat ki khabrein 30-4-18

Siasat ki khabrein 30-4-18

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PATIENCE WITH TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS IN ISLAM – (PART 2 OF 2)

PATIENCE WITH TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS IN ISLAM – (PART 2 OF 2)

One of the greatest trials a Muslim might endure is the death of a loved one such as a spouse, a parent, or a child. If he remains patient and praises Allah in such a situation, then Allah has guaranteed a house for him in Paradise.

Abu Musa Al-Ashari, RadhiAllahu Anhu, reported: The Messenger of Allah, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said:

إِذَا مَاتَ وَلَدُ الْعَبْدِ قَالَ اللَّهُ لِمَلَائِكَتِهِ قَبَضْتُمْ وَلَدَ عَبْدِي فَيَقُولُونَ نَعَمْ فَيَقُولُ قَبَضْتُمْ ثَمَرَةَ فُؤَادِهِ فَيَقُولُونَ نَعَمْ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَا قَالَ عَبْدِي فَيَقُولُونَ حَمِدَكَ وَاسْتَرْجَعَ فَيَقُولُ اللَّهُ ابْنُوا لِعَبْدِي بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَسَمُّوهُ بَيْتَ الْحَمْدِ

When the child of a servant dies, Allah says to the angels: Have you taken the life of my servant’s child? They say yes. Allah says: Have you taken the fruit of his heart? They say yes. Allah says: What has my servant said? They say: He has praised you and said to Allah we belong and to Allah we return. Allah says: Build a house for my servant in Paradise and name it the House of Praise.

Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1021, Grade: Hasan

Abu Huraira, RadhiAllahu Anhu, reported: The Messenger of Allah, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said:

يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَا لِعَبْدِي الْمُؤْمِنِ عِنْدِي جَزَاءٌ إِذَا قَبَضْتُ صَفِيَّهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ احْتَسَبَهُ إِلَّا الْجَنَّةُ

Allah the Exalted says: I have nothing to give to my faithful servant, if I cause his dear friend to die and he remains patient, other than Paradise.

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6060, Grade: Sahih

The trials of pain and loss are very difficult, but in some ways the trials of prosperity are even more difficult.

Abdur Rahman ibn Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

ابْتُلِينَا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالضَّرَّاءِ فَصَبَرْنَا ثُمَّ ابْتُلِينَا بِالسَّرَّاءِ بَعْدَهُ فَلَمْ نَصْبِرْ

We were tested with hardship alongside the Messenger of Allah, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, and we were patient. Then we were tested with prosperity after that and we were not patient.

Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2464, Grade: Hasan

An abundance of wealth is one of the greatest trials for the Muslim nation because in such a situation the Muslims are obligated to spend generously from it in charity.

Ka’b ibn Iyad, RadhiAllahu Anhu, reported: The Messenger of Allah, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said:

إِنَّ لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ فِتْنَةً وَفِتْنَةُ أُمَّتِي الْمَالُ

Verily, every nation has a trial and the trial of my nation is wealth.

Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2336, Grade: Sahih

Muslims are tested with great acts of oppression committed by authorities and powerful groups in the world, but we must remember that Allah has promised us that those who oppress us will give us their good deeds on the Day of Resurrection or take some of our sins.

Abu Huraira, RadhiAllahu Anhu, reported: The Messenger of Allah, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said:

مَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ مَظْلَمَةٌ لِأَخِيهِ مِنْ عِرْضِهِ أَوْ شَيْءٍ فَلْيَتَحَلَّلْهُ مِنْهُ الْيَوْمَ قَبْلَ أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ دِينَارٌ وَلَا دِرْهَمٌ إِنْ كَانَ لَهُ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ أُخِذَ مِنْهُ بِقَدْرِ مَظْلَمَتِهِ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ حَسَنَاتٌ أُخِذَ مِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ صَاحِبِهِ فَحُمِلَ عَلَيْهِ

Whoever oppresses his brother in his honor or anything else should resolve the matter today before it cannot be resolved with gold and silver coins. If he has good deeds to his credit, they will be taken from him according to the measure of his oppression, but if he has no good deeds left, then he will bear the evil deeds of his companion.

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2317, Grade: Sahih

In such a situation, we must remember that Allah will avenge us in the Hereafter so we should not let our hatred or anger at our oppression lead us to commit further acts of injustice.

Allah said:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

O you who believe, be persistently standing firm for Allah as witnesses in justice and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just, for that is nearer to righteousness. Fear Allah, for Allah is aware of what you are doing.

Surat al-Ma’idah 5:8

One of the greatest trials is the temptation to resort to violence when confronted with an unjust government, but in such a situation we must be patient and attempt to reform the government without declaring a violent rebellion.

Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman, RadhiAllahu Anhu, reported: The Messenger of Allah, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said:

يَكُونُ بَعْدِي أَئِمَّةٌ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ بِهُدَايَ وَلَا يَسْتَنُّونَ بِسُنَّتِي وَسَيَقُومُ فِيهِمْ رِجَالٌ قُلُوبُهُمْ قُلُوبُ الشَّيَاطِينِ فِي جُثْمَانِ إِنْسٍ

Rulers after me will come who do not follow my guidance and my tradition. Some of their men will have the hearts of devils in a human body.

I said, “O Messenger of Allah, what should I do if I live to see that time?” The Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said:

تَسْمَعُ وَتُطِيعُ لِلْأَمِيرِ وَإِنْ ضُرِبَ ظَهْرُكَ وَأُخِذَ مَالُكَ فَاسْمَعْ وَأَطِعْ

You should listen and obey them even if the ruler strikes your back and takes your wealth, even still listen and obey.

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1847, Grade: Sahih

The righteous predecessors (al-salaf) decried the violent rebels who lived in their time because their rebellion always led to further suffering, injustice, and division among the Muslims.

Hasan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

لَوْ أَنَّ النَّاسَ إِذَا ابْتُلُوا مِنْ قِبَلِ سُلْطَانِهِمْ صَبَرُوا مَا لَبِثُوا أَنْ يُفْرَجَ عَنْهُمْ وَلَكِنَّهُمْ يَجْزَعُونَ إِلَى السَّيْفِ فَيُوَكَّلُونَ إِلَيْهِ فَوَاللَّهِ مَا جَاءُوا بِيَوْمِ خَيْرٍ قَطُّ

If the people had patience when they are being tested by their unjust ruler, it will not be long before Allah will give them a way out. However, they always rush to their swords, so they are left with their swords. By Allah, not even for a single day did they bring about any good.

Source: al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrá 8789

Therefore, Muslims will endure many trials throughout life such as being afflicted by a calamity, suffering oppression, or even ingratitude in the face of prosperity. A Muslim must remain patient with the command and decree of Allah so as to avoid injustice, selfishness, and various evil deeds that might come about during a trial.

We ask Allah to relive the suffering of Muslims and to guide us through the trials of life and death.

Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.

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Why smartphone dual-branding won’t work in India

Why smartphone dual-branding won’t work in India

New Delhi:: In the ever-evolving world of smartphones, a few mobile handset makers have been tempted to launch two or even multiple brands in order to gain a larger chunk of the market or create a presence across price segments.

The approach has so far worked in some countries — like in China — but when it comes to India, the dual-brand strategy hasn’t been fruitful till date and has, in fact, affected the vendors’ long-term goals.

Let us look at two big Chinese vendors — Lenovo-Motorola and Huawei-Honor — who have gambled on this strategy in India.

Lenovo’s smartphone shipments in India were just short of a million units, falling by more than 60 per cent (year-on-year) in the first quarter of 2018, according to Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research.

The last Lenovo-branded smartphone that arrived in India was Lenovo K8 Plus in September 2017. Since then, there has not been any Lenovo-branded device in sight.

Motorola, which has a better visibility and brand value, has seen Moto devices being launched at regular intervals. Motorola Mobility is strengthening its retail presence pan-India with opening more and more “Moto Hubs”.

Meanwhile, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor entered the list of top five most-selling smartphone brands in India for the very first time in the first quarter of 2018. Honor registered a 146 per cent growth in the last quarter.

Sensing newer opportunities, Huawei has now brought its premium smartphone “P20 Pro” to the country for Rs 64,999.

However, its earlier avatar, Huawei P10, never made it to India. The last ‘P’ series device that arrived in the country was “P9” in 2016. Since then, Huawei has been promoting its sub-brand Honor.

The companies are yet to accept the ground reality but the fact is that the Indian consumers are not ready to accept dual brands from one vendor.

“The dual-brand strategy is working fine for Huawei in China. However, we do not have any such success story in India so far,” Jaipal Singh, Senior Market Analyst, IDC India, told IANS.

“That the Lenovo group is gradually decreasing its dependency on the Lenovo brand in India is evident from the fact that most of the devices shipped in India in Q1 2018 were Motorola, which enjoys stronger brand recall in India among both consumers and channels,” Singh noted.

According to Counterpoint Research’s Q1 2018 report, Lenovo and Motorola were out of the top-five vendors’ list in India after a long time.

“The dual-brand strategy is not working for Lenovo-Motorola in India as they have brought devices in almost similar price range, overlapping the positioning in the market,” Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint, told IANS.

Having two brands makes sense if there is some clear demarcation aligned.

“Somewhere, the messaging about Motorola being the choice of evolved users has diminished prospects for Lenovo. Which user will concede that s/he isn’t an evolved one, hence go for Lenovo?,” said Faisal Kawoosa, Head-New Initiatives, CyberMedia Research (CMR).

Retailers had a strong association with Motorola in the initial days of mobile revolution a decade and a half back and are still interested to work with the brand.

“Lenovo’s decision to bet more on Motorola can work in its favour in the long run because Lenovo’s positioning was primarily around aggressive pricing, which has weakened in the past few quarters owing to brands like Xiaomi,” Singh noted.

According to Kawoosa, it is better for Lenovo to go for a single brand in India and, in that case, “Motorola is any time preferred. They can however, always message something like ‘A Lenovo Brand.'”

In fact, the two-brand strategy hasn’t worked for any player in the country.

“We have Lava-Xolo and Micromax-Yu as examples. Without a brand having a convincing reason to exist, it’s better to have just single brand in the interests of simplicity,” Kawoosa told IANS.

Nick Reynolds, Chief Marketing Officer of Lenovo, told IANS during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 in January this year that dual-brand strategy of the company would be decided by the customer.

“If the Indian customer views Moto as a premier product, we will position it as such. But if the Indian customer looks for better priced product, our strategy would be to use Lenovo as brand name,” Reynolds told the visiting IANS jounralist.

According to Pathak, Lenovo has a good opportunity to leverage Motorola’s brand and enter new price segments.

“But lately, most of their sales were from sub-$150 segment for both the brands. Hence, it needs to refresh Motorola’s “G” series and target the market again with a multi-channel retail strategy,” Pathak suggested.

Honor, on the other hand, has launched a bunch of smartphones in the last two quarters with several mid-range options like Honor 9 Lite and Honor 7X. The variety and affordable pricing have helped the company enter the top-five list for the first time in Q1 2018.

What applies to Lenovo is true for Huawei too to keep pace with the changing dynamics of the Indian smartphone market.

IANS

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Gujarat: More than 300 Una Dalits renounce Hinduism

Gujarat: More than 300 Una Dalits renounce Hinduism

Ahmedabad: Caste-based atrocities in Hinduism has been existing since time immemorial but now these atrocities and discrimination against lower caste people are forcing them to renounce Hinduism and convert to other peaceful religions.

More than 300 Dalit members including four persons who were lashed for skinning a dead cow in Gujarat’s Una village in 2016 have now converted to Buddhism on Sunday, Hindu reported.

The four victims and their remaining 45 family members have now converted to Buddhism with the rituals performed in their native village Mota Samadhiyala which is at 15 km away from Una.

Publicly lashing out Dalits in Una region of Gujarat has created national outrage against the administration led by the then Gujarat’s CM Anandiben Patel.

One of the Dalit’s Balu Sarvaiya who has renounced Hinduism said: “We are embracing Buddhism today. There is no point being in a religion in which you are treated as second class.”

Dalit and also a victim of public flogging, Balu said since the Dalit flogging was carried out two years back, the State government has so far done nothing to control the discrimination against them.

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Google marks Dadasaheb Phalke’s b’day with Doodle

Google marks Dadasaheb Phalke’s b’day with Doodle

New Delhi : Google on Monday dedicated its creative doodle to mark the 148th birth anniversary of the father of Indian Cinema Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke.

Born on April 30, 1870, in Trimbak, Phalke gave Indian Cinema its first silent film, ‘Raja Harishchandra’ in 1913 with special effects, making it a huge hit.

He made 95 movies and 27 short films in his career spanning 19 years, till 1937.

“Created by guest artist Aleesha Nandhra, doodle shows a young Dadasaheb in action as he went about directing the first few gems in the history of Indian cinema,” wrote the Google blog post.

“After stints as a painter, draftsman, theatrical set designer, and lithographer, he chanced upon Alice Guy’s silent film, The Life of Christ (1910). Phalke resolved to bring Indian culture to the silver screen. He traveled to London to learn filmmaking from Cecil Hepworth,” it added.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, was established by the Government of India in 1969. The award is considered as one of the most prestigious awards in Indian cinema.(ANI)

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Bezos’ Blue Origin launches its first space mission of 2018

Bezos’ Blue Origin launches its first space mission of 2018

Los Angeles: Blue Origin, the US aerospace company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has launched its suborbital New Shepard rocket and space capsule.

The mission on Sunday marked the company’s first test flight of the year and second flight of the New Shepard 2.0 spacecraft, Xinhua news agency reported.

Thunderstorms have delayed Sunday’s planned launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard 2.0 spacecraft. The vehicle, named after the first American in space, Alan Shepard, lifted offfrom its West Texas test site.

“Another spectacular test mission,” Ariane Cornell of Blue Origin said during a launch webcast. “Today, we’re going to push the system a little bit harder.”

Blue Origin launched New Shepard to a target altitude of about 107 km, slightly higher than the company’s typical target of about 100 km, the altitude widely accepted as the boundary line for space.

“Apogee of 351,000 feet (66 miles, 107 km), and that’s the altitude we’ve been targeting for operations. One step closer,” billionaire Bezos tweeted.

New Shepard is a reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing space vehicle, consisting of a pressurized capsule atop a booster.

Several minutes after lift-off, the booster made a successful vertical landing. The capsule fell back to Earth a few minutes later, descending on parachutes and cushioning its own landing with retrorockets.

“Touchdown of the New Shepard Booster and Crew Capsule! Congrats to Team Blue and our payload customers on board today!” the company tweeted.

This is Blue Origin’s eight spaceflight since the company began flight testing New Shepard vehicles. The first New Shepard 2.0 launch occurred in December 2017, with six other flights launching on a predecessor New Shepard, which Blue Origin has since retired.

Blue Origin tweeted that dummy astronaut, affectionately nicknamed “Mannequin Skywalker” was on board New Shepard for his 2nd mission. “He’s a little sensitive about being called a ‘dummy’, as he will be conducting astronaut telemetry and science studies – a very important job!”

In addition to the test dummy astronaut, the mission also carried many commercial payloads on board New Shepard for in-space science and technology demonstrations. These payloads represent a range of users, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center to a small commercial communications firm, as well as the company’s first European customers, funded by the German national space agency, DLR.

“Earth is the best planet in our solar system. We go to space to save the Earth,” Bezos tweeted on Earth Day.

The company is working on a larger rocket called New Glenn that could directly compete with SpaceX for commercial launch contracts, but it isn’t expected to be ready until 2020.

New Shepard 2.0 space capsule is designed to fly commercial payloads and up to 6 passengers on suborbital space flights for science and tourism. The capsule features giant windows to give future passengers a stunning view of their launch into space.

IANS

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Dada Saheb Phalke Awards: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar win big

Dada Saheb Phalke Awards: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar win big

Mumbai,: Bollywood actor Bhumi Pednekar and Akshay Kumar bagged the best actress and best actor award at the Dada Saheb Phalke awards being held in Mumbai.

While Akshay Kumar won ‘Best actor’ for a leading role for Padman( Jury) and for Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Bhumi Pednekar won ‘Best Actress for Toilet Ek Prem Katha.

Manisha Koirala won the ‘Most versatile actress’ award.

Whereas legendary Film Director, Rakesh Roshan won a Lifetime achievement award for contribution to the industry as an actor, producer and a director.

Also, veteran actor, Farida Jalal won the Saraswatibai Dadasaheb Phalke Best actress (Lifetime) award.

The other celebrities who won Dada Saheb Phalke Awards are as follows:

Best actress in a leading role (Padman) – Sonam Kapoor

Best actor in a character role – Rajesh Sharma

Best Playback singer (Female) – Neeti Mohan

Best TV anchor- Aditya Narayan Jha

Best entertainer (TV) – Manish Paul

Best playback singer (Jury)- Bhumi Trivedi

Best Stage Anchor- Siddharth Kannan

Best producer (short films)- Sandip Marwah

Most Entertaining Film (Sonu ki Titu ki Sweety) – Luv Ranjan

Also, the 22 Technical awards are yet to be presented.

Certificate of appreciation will be awarded to Nidhi Bhardwaj – Eco Fashion Designer and Swati Mehrotra – Best Footwear Designer. (ANI)

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Modi extends Ramadan greetings in ‘Mann Ki Baat’; urges to follow teachings of Prophet (pbuh)

Modi extends Ramadan greetings in ‘Mann Ki Baat’; urges to follow teachings of Prophet (pbuh)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wishes Happy Ramadan to Muslims in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Sunday and hoped that the month will inspire people to follow teachings of Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding peace and goodwill. He said, ‘I wish all the citizens an auspicious month of Ramadan and I hope this opportunity will inspire people to follow the Prophet’s message of peace and goodwill.’

In the 43rd episode of the programme broadcast at radio, prime minister asserted that it is the time to remember the teachings and messages of Prophet (peace be upon him), ‘My dear countrymen! Within a few days from now, the holy month of Ramadan will dawn upon us …. It is our responsibility to follow the path of equality and brotherhood as morals from his life.’

He cited an incident of seerat and said, ‘Once a person asked the Prophet (peace be upon him): “Which is the best thing in Islam?” The Prophet Saab said, “feeding a poor and needy and meeting everyone cordially, whether you know him or not!”

He added, ‘Prophet Mohammad Sahib (peace be upon him) believed that if you possessed anything more than your requirement, then donate it to the needy, thus donation or giving alms is important during Ramadan. People donate generously to the needy during this holy month.’

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J-K: 3 CRPF personnel suspended over rape claims

J-K: 3 CRPF personnel suspended over rape claims

Jammu: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday suspended three of its personnel after a woman accused one of them of raping her.

According to police authorities, the 24-year-old woman from Jammu and Kashmir alleged that she was pulled inside a camp by the trio, where one of them raped her and the others filmed the assault.

She lodged an FIR after the video was posted online.

The CRPF spokesperson, Ashish Kumar Jha, said that it was a security breach when the girl was found on the Bantalab campus.

The woman said that she was on her way to a relative’s home in Jammu when she happened to lost her way. They had offered her their help.

Local police authorities are investigating the matter. (ANI)

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Missile strike targets Syrian military positions

Missile strike targets Syrian military positions

Damascus:A missile strike has targeted Syrian military positions in the countrysides of Hama and Aleppo provinces on Sunday evening, the media reported.

While not revealing details on who was behind the missile strike on Sunday night, a state TV aired a short footage of fire emerging from a site, saying “military sites in the countrysides of Hama and Aleppo have been subject to a new aggression with hostile missiles”, Xinhua reported.

Other reports said the Regiment 47 military base in Hama was targeted, causing big fire and sound of explosions that rocked Hama as the Syrian air defense also responded to the missile strike.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the targeted base contains also Iranian fighters, with other opposition activists in the area hailing the strike against the Syrian military positions in Hama.

Further details about the fresh missile strikes are still forthcoming but the missile strike comes as the Syrian army on Monday stripped the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of areas in the countryside of Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria.

On April 14, the US, Britain, and France launched a series of missile strikes on Syrian military positions in Syria in retaliation to an alleged toxic gas attack on the former rebel-held area east of Damascus.

The state TV has been airing interviews with local analysts speaking of how a new aggression is carried out against Syria every time the Syrian army scores progress on the ground, especially now that the Syrian army is closing in on the Islamic State (IS) militant group in the Hajar al-Aswad area south of Damascus.

—IANS

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Progress toward ‘infinitely recyclable’ plastic

Progress toward ‘infinitely recyclable’ plastic

Tampa: US scientists said Thursday they have made progress toward a kind of plastic that can be recycled “infinitely,” and that it appears durable enough to compete with regular plastics.

Unlike plastics made from petroleum products, the new kind can be converted back to its original small-molecule state, and remade into new plastics over and over, said the report in the journal Science.

“The polymers can be chemically recycled and reused, in principle, infinitely,” said lead author Eugene Chen, professor in the Department of Chemistry at Colorado State University.

Chen cautioned that the research has been done in the lab only, and more work is needed to bring it to scale.

However, the team has built on an advance it announced in 2015, which resulted in a fully recyclable plastic that was softer than many would have liked.

Making the old version required extremely cold conditions, and the end product had low heat resistance.

The new product fixes all these issues, researchers said.

An accompanying commentary in Science called the work “an important step” toward addressing the planet’s plastic problem.

Under the new process, “plastic waste is depolymerized back to the starting material and then repolymerized to yield virgin-like plastics,” said the commentary.

This kind of advance “can lead to a world in which plastics at the end of their life are not considered as waste but as raw materials to generate high-value products.”

Currently, only about five percent of plastic is recycled.

Global production of plastic is expected to exceed 500 million metric tons by 2050.

Experts predict that by mid-century, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.

AFP

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‘Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Awards 2018’

‘Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Awards 2018’ Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala (C) poses for a picture with her parents during the ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Awards 2018’ in Mumbai. Sujit Jaiswal / AFPRead More

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