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Bhai-bhai: Admire PM Narendra Modi, he is my older brother, says Mohammed bin Salman

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Bhai-bhai: Admire PM Narendra Modi, he is my older brother, says Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke of his admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described him as an older brother during conversations at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.

The prime minister personally welcomed Crown Prince Salman to India as he arrived in New Delhi last night, and joined President Ram Nath Kovind in greeting him this morning during a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the Saudi leader inspected a guard of honour.

“I admire PM Modi,” Mohammad bin Salman said at Rashtrapati Bhavan, describing the prime minister as “the elder brother” and himself as “his younger brother”.

In a brief statement, he said Indians had helped build Saudi Arabia for 70 years and were seen in the kingdom as friends. “Today we want to be sure that this relation is maintained and improved for the sake of both countries,” he said.

Crown Prince Salman and PM Modi will hold extensive talks on Wednesday, during which India is likely to strongly raise the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Forty CRPF soldiers were martyred last week in a suicide attack carried out by the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama.

Mohammed bin Salman recently wrapped up a visit to Pakistan, and his trips to the two South Asian neighbours are part of a larger tour of the region.
According to a BBC report, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said this week his country would “try to de-escalate tensions” between India and Pakistan and “see if there is a path forward to resolving those differences peacefully”.

New Delhi is expecting the Saudi Crown Prince to announce an initial investment in its National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to help accelerate the building of ports and highways, an Indian official and Saudi state media have said.

Saudi Arabia is India’s top supplier of crude oil, but the two countries have expanded ties beyond energy and their governments have agreed to build a strategic partnership, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said.

Via India Today

Curfew Relaxation In Jammu Extended

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Curfew Relaxation In Jammu Extended

In response to the overall improvement in the law and order situation in the Jammu district on Wednesday, authorities have decided to extend the curfew relaxation till 1 p.m., which was initially only till 11 a.m.

Ramesh Kumar, District Magistrate (DM), Jammu, issued an order saying that the relaxation that began at 8 a.m., will continue till 1 p.m.

The DM’s order however, said all wine shops and bars will remain closed in the district during this period.

On Tuesday, the curfew, which was imposed on February 15, was relaxed in few parts of the Jammu city in three phases. No untoward incident was reported.

All educational institutes remained shut and examinations scheduled for the day were postponed.

New exam dates would be announced later, the authorities said.

Mobile Internet services were suspended for the sixth day.

The curfew was imposed after miscreants torched vehicles and damaged several others carrying number plates of the Kashmir Valley in protest against the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF troopers.

Tensions mounted in Jammu city as hundreds of Kashmiris living here felt unsafe after the selective targeting by miscreants.

“Things are returning to normal. Miscreants trying to disturb harmony among different sections of the society are being booked and will be dealt with accordingly,” the police said. – (IANS)

Men who can’t do 10 push-ups at greater risk of heart disease, study says

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Men who can’t do 10 push-ups at greater risk of heart disease, study says

Middle-aged men who can’t complete 10 push-ups are at significantly higher risk of heart attacks or strokes, a study has found.

Being able to do more than 40 push-ups was associated with a 97 percent reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years, the Harvard University team said, independent.co.uk wrote.

But being able to complete between 21 and 30 push-ups meant men had around a quarter of the risk of conditions like coronary artery disease or heart failure, compared to someone who couldn’t manage 10.

Middle-aged men who can’t complete 10 push-ups are at significantly higher risk of heart attacks or strokes, a study has found.

Being able to do more than 40 push-ups was associated with a 97 percent reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years, the Harvard University team said, independent.co.uk wrote.

But being able to complete between 21 and 30 push-ups meant men had around a quarter of the risk of conditions like coronary artery disease or heart failure, compared to someone who couldn’t manage 10.

“Participants able to perform 11 or more push-ups at baseline had significantly reduced risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease events,” the study authors wrote in journal JAMA Network Open.

Push-ups were an even better predictor of future heart health than established fitness benchmarks like running and were simple to complete, making them ideal for short periods of exercise.

“Our findings provide evidence that push-up capacity could be an easy, no-cost method to help assess cardiovascular disease risk in almost any setting,” said study author Justin Yang, from Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health.

“Surprisingly, push-up capacity was more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease risk than the results of submaximal treadmill tests [where subjects run while their breathing is measured].”

The study used data from fitness tests of more than 1,000 firemen in the US state of Indiana who enrolled between 2000 and 2007 and used medical records to test cardiovascular disease diagnoses over the next decade.

The men had an average age of 39.6 years, but this ranged from 21 to 66 years old. While the group had an average body-mass index (BMI) of 28.7 in the overweight range — they were all active.

Even adjusting for the different ages and weights of participants, the group found a link between doing more push-ups and longer-term health.

However because of the low number of heart conditions, 37 over the trial period, and low numbers in some of the push-up groups they were less confident in their findings that being able to do 11 to 20 push-ups reduced heart disease risk by 64 per cent.

This is the first study to show push-ups can be an effective test for future cardiovascular disease risk, but independent experts warned its findings would need to be proven in other groups — this includes groups who are less active and in women.

“This study shows that fitter firefighters have less chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke in the next decade,” Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation said.

“The narrowing of our arteries with fatty substances, which can eventually lead to heart attacks and strokes, starts early, often in our 20s and 30s. Keeping fit, no matter your age, is an important way to reduce your risk.”

Pulwama: Pakistanis post pictures on Facebook condemning Kashmir attack, launch #AntiHateChallenge

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Pulwama: Pakistanis post pictures on Facebook condemning Kashmir attack, launch #AntiHateChallenge


Pakistani journalist Sehyr Mirza on Tuesday posted a photo of herself on Facebook holding a poster condemning the attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14 and asked fellow citizens to join in a social media #AntiHateChallenge to criticise the tragedy that killed 49 CRPF of India’s Central Reserve Police Force.

“I won’t trade humanity for patriotism,” she wrote.
The attack is believed to have been carried out by an operative of the Jaish-e-Mohammed group, whose founder Masood Azhar lives in Pakistan.

“We’re deeply disturbed over the tragic terror attack that claimed innocent lives in India,” Mirza said in a post on the Facebook group Aman Ki Asha. “In such testing times, we need more sane voices to speak out against war and militancy. We have initiated this #AntiHateChallenge to not only condemn the attack but also express solidarity with our Indian friends. Requesting Pakistani fellows, who share our feelings to please, join in.”

Mirza also spoke out against war, saying the blood of humankind is shed irrespective of whether Indians or Pakistanis are killed. “Whether wars be waged in the east or west, it is the murder of world peace,” she wrote. “Today it will rain fire and blood, Tomorrow, hunger and scarcity.”

Courtesy Scroll

Pakistan welcomes economic lifeline from Saudi Arabia

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Pakistan welcomes economic lifeline from Saudi Arabia

Islamabad: Pakistan hopes to apply oil to its stuttering economy in the form of a $20 billion investment pledged by the Saudi crown prince during his visit to the south Asian nation, where he was received with pomp and ceremony. Mohamed Bin Salman’s entourage, which arrived on Sunday evening and left the following day, also vowed to act as a mediator between Pakistan and India.

Tensions between the neighbouring countries shot up last week when 40 Indian police officers in Kashmir were killed in an attack New Delhi laid on Islamabad’s doorstep.

Zahid Hussain, a writer and columnist for the respected newspaper “Dawn,” said Bin Salman’s visit opened another facet to Pakistan-Saudi relations, given their strong bilateral ties already date back over five decades. Indeed, Islamabad’s largest mosque was named after Saudi King Faisal, who financed its construction, Xinhua reported.

“It is the first time that the Saudis have made this kind of investment in Pakistan,” Hussain said, attributing the financial decision to Riyadh’s plan to diversify its economy in its so-called Saudi Vision 2030 project. “This is not about just Pakistan, it’s about the region, with investments in other countries, like India,” he said.

Rasul Bakhsh Rais, professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, also highlighted Salman’s diversification efforts.

“They want to invest in places they have not invested in before,” he said, adding that Beijing’s investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which would give the Asian superpower access to deep-water ports on the Arabian Sea, helped prompt Riyadh to make its own investment.

Islamabad welcomed Saudi investments in its energy sectors, especially the $8-billion worth of funding for an oil refinery in the port city of Gwadar.

Pakistan’s economy has been struggling with a budget deficit of around 6.6 per cent of the gross domestic product, a trade deficit and declining foreign reserves, for which it has asked the International Monetary Fund for a loan of $12 billion, although it has not closed that deal due to disagreements with the fine print.

Hussain said there was a “rapport” between Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bin Salman. Khan treated Bin Salman with utmost respect in Pakistan. His official airplane was escorted into the country by fighter jets and he was welcomed by huge billboards and posters emblazoned with his image.

In return, Bin Salman ordered the release of 2,107 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi Arabia, a gesture well received by Islamabad, given the often difficult conditions suffered by migrant workers in the oil-rich Gulf nation.

The ceremony for the crown prince stood in stark contrast to wider international condemnation Bin Salman has received for his alleged role in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul last year.

In fact, Bin Salman’s image as his country’s modernizer, which he has tried to establish abroad, was tarnished by the events and several international leaders boycotted Saudi Arabia’s business conference dubbed “Davos in the Desert.”

IANS

Rakul Preet Singh is your original Powerpuff Girl

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Rakul Preet Singh is your original Powerpuff Girl

We talk about image. Rakul’s is that of a star heroine, though she is keen to make it go away.“I want to portray a rural character without makeup. It is one of my short-term dreams. Perhaps, I will let Selva sir (Selvaraghavan) know,” she smiles.

This change of mind, so to speak, happened post Theeran (2017), her previous Tamil film with Karthi. “Theeran made me want to take up more challenging roles. It is not that I don’t wish to do regular [commercial] films. It’s just that [producers] tend to think you’re a star heroine and known for glamorous roles. The image tends to stick,” she adds.

Rakul has a film opposite Sivakarthikeyan after NGK.I

But she also wants in on the booming digital streaming space in India. The Delhi girl accepts that she is ambitious. Growing up, her Army dad nudged her (and her brother) into training for as many sporting activities as she could.

“I had professional coaching for karate, swimming, lawn tennis, squash, badminton and skating. My dad even paid for me to learn how to play the harmonium!” she chuckles. When children her age would hang out with friends, Rakul was training to play golf. “I’ve always been a workaholic. My manager always complains that I need to take rest and calm down,” she says.

Fitness goals

This work ethic lets her stay in control of her business interests despite a tight filming schedule. She is a franchisee of F45 gyms and runs three outlets (two in Hyderabad and one in Visakhapatnam).

Rakul Preet Singh

Rakul Preet Singh   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

During the press meet for Dev, Karthi shared an anecdote that between takes, Rakul would be spotted instructing her gym managers over WhatsApp. I ask her why she chose to invest in the fitness sector.

“Business is just one reason. I’ve been able to change people’s outlook about leading a healthy life. I am learning more about nutrition and about the food we eat. I consciously avoid eating processed, sweet or fried food,” she says.

That must make her a nightmare around friends.

“Yes!” she laughs. “But when I’m not around, I get texts from them, like (actor-producer) Lakshmi Manchu telling me she doesn’t know what to eat for dinner.”

So if she bids goodbye to the movie business at some point, will the entrepreneur kick in full time? “My brother jokes, asking me if I’m going to be a dietitian after I retire? I reply, ‘Think big, dude!’ I will start a school of nutrition,” she laughs.

Where Stones Speak

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Where Stones Speak

Rana Safvi

Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti attracted kings and peasants alike to his discourses
The name Ajmer immediately conjures up a vision of Khwaja Garib Nawaz and his dargah. It reminds me of the saint Moinuddin Hasan Chishti, who was generous like the sea and hospitable like the earth. Today, his dargah, with its saintly white dome and golden crown, hosts millions of devotees who soak in the generosity of his blessings. It was this affection and love for all of humanity that earned Moinuddin Hasan Chishti the name Khwaja Garib Nawaz, or cherisher of the poor.Devotees from far and wide
Moinuddin Hasan Chishti was born in Sijistan (modern-day Sistan) in Iran in 1141-42 CE. After receiving Khilafat at the age of 52 from Sheikh Usman Harawani, he went on Hajj to Mecca and Medina. While he was praying in the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, the Khwaja is said to have heard the Prophet telling him to go to Hindustan and to the city of Ajmer.

At that time, he had no idea where Ajmer was. However, he proceeded via Baghdad and Herat to Lahore and thence to Delhi and Ajmer. Muizuddin Muhammad bin Sam of Ghor had already defeated Prithviraj Chauhan and established his rule in Delhi. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti started living and preaching in Ajmer. His instructive discourses, full of spiritual insights, soon drew the local populace as well as kings and nobles and peasants and the poor from far and wide.

The shrine has been visited by Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Sher Shah Suri, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Dara Shukoh, Jahanara Begum and Aurangzeb, among many others. Even today, filmstars and heads of states, both the rich and the poor make a pilgrimage to the shrine.

Construction and additions
The original dargah was made of wood, write Carl W. Ernst and Bruce B. Lawrence in Sufi Martyrs of Love. A stone canopy was built over it later. When Mahmud Khilji, the Sultan of Malwa, conquered Ajmer in 1455, no concrete structure had been built over the grave of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The first concrete evidence we get of construction in the dargah complex is the cupola of the shrine that was embellished in 1532, as indicated in an inscription written in golden letters in the northern wall of the tomb. This is the beautiful dome we see today. In keeping with Indo-Islamic architecture, a lotus adorns the dome and a golden crown offered by Nawab Haider Ali Khan of Rampur sits on top of it.

Most of the additions made to the shrine were done during the reign of Akbar, by the emperor himself. Akbar first visited the shrine in 1562 after he heard wandering minstrels singing the praise of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti as he was returning from a hunt. He decided to proceed to Ajmer immediately. Thus began his annual pilgrimage.

In 1568, Akbar offered a degh, or brass cauldron, for cooking of langar. This was ensconced at the entrance. Another cauldron was offered by Jahangir in 1614. It is placed opposite the first cauldron. Both cauldrons are in use today. Devotees offer sacks of rice and wheat for the gruel that is cooked here. Only vegetarian food is cooked in this dargah.

Akbar gave instructions to build mosques and khanqahs in Ajmer in 1569. The Akbari mosque of red sandstone is probably a result of those orders. An elegant mosque was also built by Shah Jahan in 1637 and is to the west of the shrine, along with the Shah Jahani Darwaza.

A sense of peace
I walked into the dargah through the dargah bazaar and through the well-decorated Nizami Gate, which is yellow with floral designs. This was built in 1911 by British engineers at the behest of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Naqqar Khana, or drum house, is next to it. It is from here that ensembles would have once played music to greet visitors to the Khwaja’s threshold. A huge silver chandelier hangs here. This was presented by the Golden Temple committee to the dargah.

From here I walked through the courtyards into the Ihaata Noorani, or Quarter of Light, where the main shrine is located. The smell of incense and flowers greeted me.

A railing around the main shrine was offered by Jahanara Begum, the Sufi princess and daughter of Shah Jahan. Jahanara Begum also built a small platform in front of the other door that is known as Begumi Chabutra after her title of Padshah Begum.

There are two doors that go into the main sanctum. Devotees enter it with baskets of flowers, chadors to be offered to the Khwaja. As we wait our turn to enter the dargah, a sense of peace prevails. This is one dargah where women are allowed. A silver and mother of pearl canopy offered by Jahangir can be seen on four silver posts above the cenotaph. The rest of it is covered in flowers and chadors.

Blitz and Trans Group step in to fill PSL TV production void

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Blitz and Trans Group step in to fill PSL TV production void

Two days after IMG-Reliance pulled out of its deal to produce television coverage of the fourth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), a replacement for the remainder of the tournament has been found. The PCB has declared that a consortium of Blitz and Trans Group will produce TV coverage throughout the course of this season’s PSL from now on.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced the consortium of Blitz and Trans Group as the new live production partner for the HBL Pakistan Super League 2019,” the PCB said in a press release. “Blitz are the PCB’s broadcast partners in Pakistan, while Trans Group are the event management partners.

“Blitz and Trans Group will start their coverage when the matches resume on Wednesday, 20 February, and will continue to provide the same high quality coverage which the followers experienced in the earlier games of the event.”

The announcement by IMG-Reliance, an Indian company, that they would not be producing TV coverage of the PSL came on Sunday, three days after a suicide bomb attack in Kashmir killed 44 Indian paramilitary troops, severely straining relations between India and Pakistan. The acrimony spilled over into cricket, not just with IMG-Reliance’s decision, but with TV channel DSports ceasing broadcasting of the PSL in India. Cricketgateway’s website, which has provided online coverage of the PSL for the past two seasons, has also stopped providing its coverage in India.

IMG-Reliance’s decision left the PCB scrambling to find a replacement within the two days that the PSL was on a break for before games resume in Sharjah on Wednesday, The deal with Blitz and Trans Group goes some way to assuaging fears that the PSL would be left without a production partner, a major concern given TV revenue was overwhelmingly the largest source of income for the tournament.

There was also speculation that the India-Pakistan clash at the World Cup on June 16 in Manchester may be in jeopardy. It led to outgoing ICC CEO David Richardson to say that “no indications” had been sent from either board that the match would not take place but that the ICC was “monitoring” the situation. (ESPN)

‘The coffins of your soldiers will continue to fill till your army is here’, Riyaz Naikoo warns of suicide attacks

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‘The coffins of your soldiers will continue to fill till your army is here’, Riyaz Naikoo warns of suicide attacks

Srinagar: Militant organisation Hizbul Mujahideen has warned of fidayeen (suicide) attacks by young boys “as it has become a do-or-die situation for them”.

The warning comes five days after a suicide bomber of JeM rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus in a CRPF convoy on Srinagar-Jammu highway at Lethpora, Pulwama, killing at least 49 personnel.

In a 17-minute audio message released on social media groups, Hizbul Mujahideen operational commander Riyaz Naikoo said whatever was happening in Kashmir was the result of “atrocities committed” on the people, reported Hindustan Times.

“You will have to cry till the time you are here. The coffins of your soldiers will continue to fill till your army is here. We are ready to die but won’t allow you to live as well,” Naikoo is heard saying.

Naikoo said freedom was a passion for Kashmiri youths. “We will keep on sacrificing our lives. We prefer to die than surrender. The day is not far when our 15-year-old children will strap explosives on their bodies and barge into your army vehicles. We prefer death over slavery,” he said.

One of the most wanted militants currently operating in the valley, Naikoo blamed the Indian government for not fulfilling promises made to the people of Kashmir. “The person responsible for the fidayeen attack on forces was a Kashmiri and the atrocities committed on him by the army forced him to carry out the attack. No power in the world can stop this type of attacks.

The attacks will continue till Indian forces remain in Kashmir,” he added.

Courtesy Hindustan Times.

UN asks for escorts for military observers in Kashmir after Pakistan flag incident

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UN asks for escorts for military observers in Kashmir after Pakistan flag incident

The UN has asked the Indiangovernment for additional escortsfor its military observers in Kashmir after one of its vehicleswas stopped by a group of protesters in Jammu, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarricsaid. “The observer groupreported on February 16 that a UN vehicle in the city of Jammu was surrounded by a group of protesters who placed a Pakistanflag in front of the vehicle. The vehicle attempted to bypass the flag but was unable to do so,” Dujarric told the media on Tuesday.

He said the circumstances of the incident was “regrettable and unavoidable” and that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) had informed the governments of both countries. “The Mission also requested India to provide additional escorts and will be conducting an investigation,” he added.

It was not clear if the protesters were pro-Pakistani or were supporters of India, who used the Pakistani flag to protest what they may perceive as UNMOGIP’s bias and its presence in the state. The 44-member UNMOGIP, now led by Uruguayan Major General Jose Eladio Alcain, began operations in 1949 to monitor the ceasefire in Kashmir following up a Security Council resolution the previous year.

India maintains that UNMOGIP has become redundant because under the Shimla Agreement of 1972 between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistan’s then-President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto the Kashmirdispute is a bilateral issue with no role for third parties. (Arul Louis can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @arulouis).

Courtesy IANS

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