Daily News (In Short)-24-July-2015

#* Fencing champion Hoshiyar Singh allegedly thrown out of train, dies

A physically-challenged fencer died after he was allegedly pushed off a moving train by railway policemen at a station in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday night, a charge the authorities denied.
 
The family of Hoshiyar Singh, who was in his early 30s, said he had gone to the compartment reserved for women to meet his ailing wife but got into a confrontation when two Government Railway Police (GRP) constables asked him to pay a fine of R200 for entering the reserved coach.

“He begged them to be with me for some time as I was unwell. But they kept demanding money. When my husband refused, they assaulted him and threw him out of the train,” wife Jyoti alleged.

Singh, who won a fencing bronze medal in the 2005 under-17 national championships in Kerala, was returning with his wife, mother and child from Mathura to their hometown, Kasganj.

The GRP has registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against two constables, a guard of the Mathura-Kasganj passenger train and a few officials of Sikandra Rao station where the incident happened.

Superintendent of police (railways) GN Khanna dismissed the allegations, though the case was based on the family’s complaint.

“Our investigation tells a different story. Singh got down at the station to refill his bottle at one of the station water taps. But before he could board the train, it started pulling out around 7.30pm. He ran but couldn’t catch the door handle and slipped through the gap between the platform and the tracks. He was physically challenged in one hand,” he said.
When two GRP constables on three coaches ahead of Singh’s saw the man fall through the gap, they pulled the chain and stopped the train, the officer said.

“They along with station staff pulled out the mutilated body of Singh. In the meantime, as soon as the train stopped, his family members and some other people had begun shouting that the constables had thrown the man out.”

Singh’s death adds to a growing list of sportspersons losing life and limbs because of crimes on trains, which speaks volumes about the railways’ poor passenger safety record.

In 2011, national-level volleyball player Arunima Sinha was pushed from a running train by thieves in Uttar Pradesh when she resisted them. One of her legs had to be amputated below the knee but the determined athlete went on to become the first female amputee to climb Mount Everest.

#* Monsoon session disrupted third day in a row

New Delhi: Both the government and the opposition upped the ante on Thursday, ensuring that the monsoon session of Parliament was disrupted for the third day in a row with reports suggesting that a counter-attacking BJP matched a belligerent Congress in the Lok Sabha, placard for placard.
While Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi accused external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for committing a “criminal act” by “helping” former IPL chief Lalit Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) went on to file a notice for a privilege motion against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra for a Facebook post. “Sushmaji has done a criminal act. She is a minister of the government and the whole country knows she has done a criminal act,” Gandhi told the media. “If you do a criminal act, you go to jail.”
BJP MP Prahlad Joshi brought up Vadra’s post and said it had “demeaned” parliamentarians and demanded that the issue be referred to the privileges committee. His comments were backed by his party colleagues and appeared to irk Sonia Gandhi who rose to protest strongly and led her party members to intensify slogan shouting against the government.
Vadra, in the Facebook post, had taken a dig at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government without naming it before the monsoon session began on 21 July. “Parliament begins and so do their petty diversionary political tactics… People of India are not fooled. Regret to see India led by such so-called leaders !!,” Vadra had said in his post.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan referred the breach of privilege motion against Vadra to Privileges Committee of Parliament. Read more
The Indian Express reported that a rattled Congress Lok Sabha leadership scampered to formulate a response to the BJP’s move. Leader of the Congress in the House Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia and party whips K.C. Venugopal and Deepender Hooda got into a huddle after which they marched to Mahajan’s office with the rulebook.
Thursday also saw the Congress boycott an all-party meeting called by Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, while Rahul Gandhi kept up his attack on the government and specifically Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “silence” on the row and said “people of India are losing their faith in him”. HuffPost India reports that Gandhi referred to the Prime Minister’s promise of zero corruption and said, Modi “talks in the air” and his promises are like “gas coming out of a balloon”.
The Hindu reports that earlier in the day, Modi went across the political divide to greet Opposition leaders, but soon after courtesies were exchanged it was back to square one with both sides sparring over the two scams. “You can discuss, but no resignations,” minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi could be heard saying over the din during Zero Hour.

#* Sumitra Mahajan refers motion against Robert Vadra to Privileges Committee

New Delhi: In fresh trouble for Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has referred the breach of privilege motion against Vadra to the Privileges Committee of Parliament.
The Lok Sabha failed to transact any business for the second straight day as confrontation between ruling and opposition sides intensified with Bharatiya Janata Party hitting back at Congress by raking up certain comments of Vadra and demanding action against him for "demeaning" MPs.All hell broke loose as soon as BJP member Prahlad Joshi referred to Facebook post of Vadra in the House which was already paralysed since Wednesday because of opposition demands for resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over various controversies.
Joshi said Vadra had "demeaned" Parliamentarians and wanted that the issue be referred to the Privileges Committee of Parliament and he be brought before the House.
Backingh his party colleague, BJP MP Arjun Ram Meghwal said, "Robert Vadra insulted Parliament and MPs in his Facebook post. Action must be taken against Robert Vadra."
His remark angered Sonia Gandhi who rose to protest strongly, leading her party members who intensified their slogan-shouting against the government.
Joshi's remarks added fuel to the fire as the Congress members had already stormed the Well of the House, continuing with their demands for resignation of Swaraj and Raje in connection with Lalit Modi controversy and that of Chouhan over Vyapam scam. "No resignation, no discussion", they kept shouting.
Amid the din, Leader of Congress in the House Mallikarjun Kharge went to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to say that Joshi's remarks should be immediately expunged as Vadra is not a member of the House.
Vadra, in the Facebook post, had taken a dig at the NDA government without naming it before the Monsoon session began on July 21. "Parliament begins and so do their petty diversionary political tactics... People of India are not fooled. Regret to see India led by such so-called leaders !!," Vadra had said in his post.
The din created by the war of slogan-shouting forced the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day, minutes past noon.
Earlier also, the House was adjourned immediately after it met at 11 AM.

#* Masaan review: A hard-hitting narrative about life, death and hope

Picture this: Corpses are burning on a ghat in Varanasi and the men attending the pyres take lathis and hit on the skulls of the burning corpses while asking each other to ensure that the bodies burn properly. We get to see this twice in Neeraj Ghaywan's Masaan that hits theatres on Friday. The film, which was honoured with a five-minute standing ovation and won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival, stars Richa Chadda, Vicky Kaushal, Shweta Tripathi and Sanjay Mishra in lead roles.

Set against the visually powerful backdrop of funeral pyres and the burning ghats in Varanasi, Masaan is a poetic narrative of pathos and love. The film takes on the tragedy of life, death and loss. It traces two different stories -- one is about Devi's (Richa Chaddha) fight with morality and the other one is the love story of Deepak (Vicky Kaushal) and Shalu (Shweta Tripathi). 

Chaddha is seen watching porn on her computer as Masaan opens. She then leaves her house, changes into a saree in a Sulabh shauchalaya -- the public toilet -- on her way and rents a cheap hotel room with her friend Piyush (Saurabh Chaudhary). The duo is interrupted by cops who barge into the room and the sequence lands Devi and her father Vidyadhar Pathak (Sanjay Mishra) as the targets of a blackmailing cop.
A parallel love story between Shalu and Deepak offers romantic relief to the otherwise tense story of Devi. Deepak belongs to a family of doms -- people who help burn corpses on the ghats -- while Shalu is an upper caste girl, protected from the harsh realities of life that Deepak encounters everyday. 

One of the many beautiful aspects of Masaan is that none of the characters give up. They are caught up in the social and moral confines but are ready to take them on within their own litte spheres and ways. Devi, despite her small-town upbringing, struggles with the social morales, weaves vulnerability, rebelliousness and strength together. Both Devi and Deepak have their personal losses and tragedies to deal with but they put up a strong fight, bring closure to their griefs and move ahead in life. 

Varun Grover has written a tight screenplay that leaves no space for loopholes or stretched moments throughout the 109-minutes of the movie. His dialogues touch an emotional chord and bring out small-town world where the story is set.

#* IDFC gets banking licence; to launch by end of this calendar

IDFC Ltd has said that the company has been granted banking licence to IDFC Bank ltd by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 

The licence is for understaking banking business. 

The share price of IDFC was trading up by nearly 4% on the Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) Sensex on Friday 10.45 am. 

The company said on its website that it has received the banking licence from the RBI. 

The company came into existence in 1997 and has been providing services ranging from infrastructure financing, infrastructure development and investment banking. 
 
Sources say that IDFC Bank Ltd is looking to launch operations by the end of the current calendar year and may roll-out even soon, by October by some estimates. 

The company has been hiring a lot of banking employees from other banks and hunt to find real estate space in Mumbai is currently underway. 

#* Kapil Sharma and Comedy Nights With Kapil team head to the US!

Kapil Sharma, along with his entire cast and crew of Comedy Nights With Kapil including Kikku Sharda, Ali Asgar and Sunil Grover is off to the United States for a short vacation. The creative head of the team, also joined them. After months of hardwork, it seems that the team is finally taking time out from their busy schedule to go for a short break. We are not pretty sure if Kapil and his team are out on a short break or if they have live shows scheduled in US and Canada this month. Kapil took to Twitter to share the picture with fans.

#* Yemeni conflict a threat to global trade: India

India has expressed concern over the serious economic impact of the fighting in Yemen on global trade and urged the warring groups to get to the negotiating table.
Addressing a Security Council debate on the Middle East, Permanent Representative Asoke Kumar Mukerji said, "With major shipping lines passing through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb the situation in Yemen has a considerable impact on the cost of shipping and in turn the regional and global trade."
Besides creating a humanitarian crisis, the Yemeni conflicts "impose serious economic costs for the region and the whole world," he said. "We, therefore, urge all parties in Yemen to return to the negotiating table forthwith."
Rebel Houthis have been fighting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition of Gulf States.
Yemen is located strategically on the maritime cross-roads linking the rest of Asia to the energy-exporting Middle East and beyond to Europe.
In February, the Houthis drove Hadi into exile, but after sustained aerial bombardment by the Saudi coalition, supporters of the exiled president took back the crucial port city of Aden last week.
Mukerji condemned the attacks on UN peacekeepers by terrorists in the Middle East and called for prosecuting them. "Only such action endorsed by the Council will deter such groups in other parts of the world from committing acts of terror," he said.
He reiterated India's endorsement of the agreement between Iran and the five Security Council permanent members along with Germany. "India has maintained that diplomatic dialogue is the only effective way to resolve issues," he added.
About "the activities of proscribed outfits, radicalized and extremist groups" in the Middle East, especially Iraq and Syria, Mukerji said, "We believe the consolidation of political processes and solutions while building durable state institutions will be the effective way of addressing such extremism and radicalism in the region."
Mukerji reaffirmed India's support for "a sovereign, independent, viable and a united State of Palestine within secure and recognized borders side-by-side and at peace with Israel with East Jerusalem as its capital." This puts at rest media speculations that India was cooling off in its support of Palestinian nationhood.
As India and Israel draw closer with a visit to Israel by Narendra Modi -- the first-ever by an Indian Prime Minister -- slated for this year, Mukerji took a measured approach to conflict between Palestinians and Israel. In contrast, many nonaligned countries had harsh words for Israel.
Calling for a return to the peace process, Mukerji said, "We are particularly worried that since last year there has been a downward trend in the Peace Process despite efforts for serious negotiations between the parties which remained inconclusive. Unilateral actions by the parties unfortunately are moving them further apart.

#* WhatsApp for Android Update Brings Back Google Drive Backup Option

WhatsApp back in April started testing backup and restore options for chat history and media via Google Drive. The feature was then spotted by multiple users; though it was removed shortly after. The Google Drive backup option however seems to have finally made the cut to the latest WhatsApp for Android v2.12.194.
The feature was reported by users on the latest WhatsApp for Android version who noticed a notification from WhatsApp at 4am (which is the default time of chat/ media backup) asking for permission to access the Google Drive folder. Android Police however points that the option for backup can no longer be found in WhatsApp settings and can only be seen in Drive's Settings > Manage Apps where the list shows WhatsApp.

To recall, the Google Drive backup feature was earlier found in the app's Settings > Chat Settings > Chat Backup. On tapping the backup option, the app requested users to enter a Google account to backup/ restore files to. Users could change the frequency of backup messages and media from daily, weekly, or monthly. It also gave app users the option to turn off auto-backup. Next users could choose to backup using Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi and cellular data. Notably, WhatsApp has a default 4am set time for the auto-backup process. It is not yet known if WhatsApp will bring back the detailed setting page within the app.
It's worth noting that the most recent version (v2.12.194) of WhatsApp for Android is yet to reach Google Play (which still features v2.12.176 in India) and thus, users will have to wait a bit for these features. Those who can't wait can head to WhatsApp's page to get the latest update.

Some of the other features that the latest v2.12.194 WhatsApp for Android brought include 'mark as unread' feature, alongside custom notifications, among others. The custom notifications settings for individual contacts or groups can be found in a contact's or group's detail page just below the media box. The notification setting box included options to mute chat as well as a new custom notification option. The feature lets users to select custom options for tones, vibration length, popup notification, and others. The mark as unread feature allows users to mark a chat as unread by just tapping and holding any conversation. Notably, the mark as unread feature doesn't switch the status for sender and only makes changes at the receiver's end. The feature can be useful in case where a user wants to come back to a chat at a later time. WhatsApp for Android update also added low data usage option for voice calls, which can be useful at locations where there is limited connectivity.

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