Tag: shows

Kupwara’s Keran shows up on tourism map as violence wanes along LoC

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Keran, May 09: With the authorities in Kashmir working for the promotion of offbeat tourism destinations, the ever-increasing tourist footfall to Keran along Line of Control is opening ample opportunities for people.
Keran located on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district is emerging as a new tourism destination.
The remote sector was a no go zone and used to witness intense gunfire and shelling leading to casualties and miseries for locals. The situation had even forced many of them to migrate to safer places given the scare of untimely ceasefire violations from across the border.
Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), locals appreciating the efforts of authorities and the Army said that the situation has gradually started to limp to normalcy. “People can undertake normal activities. Construction work has begun already. Students attend regular classes. Agricultural activities are also happening without any fear,” they said.
The situation in the sector has shown improvement after the February 2021 ceasefire pact between the armies of India and Pakistan. People are visibly happy with the improved atmosphere that used to remain under the constant shadow of guns.
Naseem Ahmad, a local, said that the situation has shown a significant improvement in the last two years. “People are able to engage in outdoor activities that weren’t a norm two years back.”
“The opening of the keran sector for the tourism boom has opened a huge number of opportunities for locals here. Locals have started to open their houses for home stay facilities. Small Dhaba owners have started to prepare rooms for night stay of tourists,” he said.
Naseem also said that not only men, even women are happy with the arrival of tourists.

Hesitant to talk, a few women KNO talked to said that they are happy to serve the tourists with the local delicacies. “We are enjoying the process as of now. Everyone we served here has been very supportive and encouraging. Even our men have been very cordial and supportive. We are very new to it but are adapting to everything required,” they said.
Asif Bhat, a local Dhaba owner said that the couple of shops there used to serve tea and very few other things to locals only. “But for the last two years, tourists have started to come here. Rooms are being prepared for night stays well. We have also hired chefs to offer different varieties to visitors,” he said.
Firdous, a resident of villgam said that he is happy to quit working in Srinagar and return to work in Keran. “I am getting a sound salary. Tourists are arriving in huge numbers,” he said.
Zaheer Ahmad Joo, a local, said that he has converted his piece of land into a tent space. “We offer tents for night stays. We also allow people to pitch their tents and charge them a very meagre amount. Even food is offered here and every visitor loves the experience,” he said—(KNO)
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#Kupwaras #Keran #shows #tourism #map #violence #wanes #LoC
( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

May 9, 2023
Opinion poll shows Modi remains charismatic and popular in poll-bound Karnataka

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New Delhi: The final round of an exclusive opinion poll on the Karnataka Assembly elections conducted across the state conducted by C-Voter for ABP News reveals that Prime Minister Narendra Modi retains his charisma and popularity among the voters of the southern state.
While the poll still puts the Congress in the pole position, hectic and energetic campaigning by Modi during the last leg of vote seeking has improved the fortunes of the BJP.
In the opinion polls for the Assembly elections conducted during March and April, the BJP appeared quite far behind the Congress, both in terms of vote share and number of seats. But an intense last leg of campaigning by the Prime Minister has now ensured that the projected vote share of the BJP doesn’t drop below 36 per cent, the same it had garnered in the 2018 Assembly elections.

Even BJP’s projected seat tally is now better than the numbers thrown up in March and April. In fact, in the Greater Bengaluru region, which elects 32 MLAs, the improvement is dramatic. From trailing behind the Congress earlier, the BJP seems to have turned the tables somewhat and is now projected to inch ahead of its rival in the projected seat tally.
While this last-minute effort by Modi may not be enough to help the BJP retain the state (Karnataka has a long history of changing governments), it augurs well for the party ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, while the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, it was nine short of a simple majority and a post-poll arrangement between the Congress and the JD(S) saw them form the government.
In the Lok Sabha elections a year after that, the BJP and candidates won 26 of the 28 seats in the state. A similar pattern was seen in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan about five years ago. The BJP lost the Assembly elections in all the three states in 2018, but swept all three in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The 224-member Karnataka Assembly will go to the polls on May 10, and the results will be declared on May 13.

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#Opinion #poll #shows #Modi #remains #charismatic #popular #pollbound #Karnataka
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 6, 2023
Survey shows Congress still in the lead in Karnataka

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New Delhi: The final opinion poll for the Karnataka Assembly elections conducted by C-Voter for ABP News indicates that the Congress is still in the pole position though the BJP seems to have closed the earlier gap in the last leg of campaigning.
A detailed analysis of the poll data across demographics and other categories in the major regions of the state suggests that the Congress is likely to win between 110 and 122 seats in the May 10 elections. The Karnataka Assembly has 224 members and a tally of 113 is required to form a simple majority government.
The party is projected to get 40.2 per cent of the vote share, up 2.2 per cent from what it managed in the previous Assembly elections in 2018. The BJP, which currently has a government in the state, is projected to win between 73 and 85 seats. In 2018, the saffron party had won 104 seats.

Interestingly, BJP’s vote share is projected to remain the same at 36 per cent. Compared to the earlier rounds of the C-Voter poll, this is an improvement both in terms of seats and vote share.
The JD(S) is projected to win between 21 and 29 seats. In 2018, it had won 37 seats. The projected vote share for the JD(S) in 16.1 per cent, down almost 2 per cent compared to the 2018 elections.
Barring the Greater Bengaluru region, which sends 32 MLAs to the Karnataka Assembly, the Congress is projected to win more seats than the BJP in all the other regions of the state.
Interestingly, the BJP is projected to substantially increase its vote share in the Old Mysuru region, a stronghold of the JD(S), from 17 per cent in 2018 to more than 25 per cent this time.
But this seems to be resulting in a triangular fight which is helping the Congress.

Elections are scheduled in a single phase on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.
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#Survey #shows #Congress #lead #Karnataka
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 6, 2023
‘The Kerala Story’: 2 Kochi theatres cancel shows; only one to screen film

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Kochi: Two theatres in Kochi city have cancelled the screening of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ which will be released in cinema halls today.
Although PVR Cinemas in Lulu Mall and Oberon Mall, and Cinepolis in Centre Square Mall have cancelled the screening, no reasons were stated for the decision.
There is only one theatre ‘Shenoys’ remaining in Kochi city which is set to screen the movie from 10.00 am.

Earlier, theatres reached an agreement with distributors to screen the film on 50 screens in Kerala, but many backed out just before the release.
Later, the film agreed to screen on only 17 screens. However, as of now, it is not clear how many theatres will be screening the film.
In the meantime, there are only three theatres which are going to screen this movie in Ernakulam district. Shenoys in Kochi city, Carnival Cinemas in Kariyad and Dharshana Cinema Complex in Piravom will be screening ‘The Kerala Story’.
The show’s cancellation comes amid protests against the movie for allegedly propagating a false narrative of Islamic conversion.
Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film has triggered a massive political row with various leaders reacting to the movie releasing today.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, recently said in a statement that the movie was deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against Kerala.

The statement reads, “The trailer of the Hindi film, ‘The Kerala Story’, which appears to have been deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against Kerala was released last day. It is indicated from the trailer that this film is trying to spread the propaganda of Sangh Parivar, which has established itself as the centre of religious extremism in the land of secularism, Kerala.”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday tweeted, “It may be your kerala-story”>Kerala story. It is not our kerala-story”>Kerala story.”
‘The Kerala Story’ stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles.
The trailer of Sen’s film ‘The Kerala Story’ came under fire as it claimed that 32,000 girls from the state went missing and later joined the terrorist group, ISIS.
Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly VD Satheesan recently said that the film ‘The Kerala Story’ should not be granted permission for screening.
“The film ‘The Kerala Story’ which falsely claims that 32,000 women in Kerala converted and became members of the Islamic State, should not be granted permission for screening. The trailer clearly shows what the film intends to say”, Satheesan said in a Facebook post.
After controversy sparked over the same, the makers of the film took a U-Turn and changed the number from 32000 women to 3 women in the description of their trailer.
He also alleged that the film is part of an attempt to implement Sangh Parivar’s agenda and create a social divide by casting a shadow of doubt over the minority groups.
“This is not an issue of freedom of expression but part of an attempt to implement the Sangh Parivar agenda to create a divide in the society by casting a shadow of doubt over the minority groups”, he said.
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#Kerala #Story #Kochi #theatres #cancel #shows #screen #film
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 5, 2023
Projection mapping shows at 13 heritage sites including red fort to mark 100th episode of ‘Mann ki Baat’

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New Delhi: Projection mapping shows have been held at 13 heritage sites across the country, including Red Fort and Gateway of India, to mark the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme “Mann ki Baat”, officials said on Sunday.
The programme was aired on Sunday morning.
On Saturday night, the 13 cultural sites, including ASI-protected monuments such as Mughal-era Red Fort in Delhi and Gwalior Fort in Madhya Pradesh, Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan, Golconda Fort in Telangana, Navratnagarh Fort in Jharkhand, besides the Prime Minister’s Sanghralaya in Delhi were illuminated to mark the occasion.

“To mark the completion of 100th episode of #MannKiBaat, @MinOfCultureGoI with @ASIGoI is celebrating the occasion in a momentous way through activities like projection mapping shows, photo op, message & audio booths at 13 different iconic monuments across the country,” said a tweet from the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’s official Twitter handle on Sunday.
It also shared pictures of the some of the sites taken during the shows held on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, a senior ASI official said the projection mapping will be done at these 13 sites again on Sunday.
However, later in the evening, another senior ASI official said the show was held only at the Prime Minister’s Sangrahalaya in Delhi, and not at ASI sites.
“The special show, which lasted for 20-25 minutes, was woven around the theme of nation-building and was people-centric. Each location highlighted the heritage and historical value of the site and the region where it was projected,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

The 13 sites also included Sun Temple in Odisha, Vellore Fort in Tamil Nadu, Ramnagar Fort in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur, Rang Ghar in Assam, the Residency building in Lucknow, and Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat.
The projection mapping shows were open to the public free of cost, and the sites featured various activities and exhibits to make the evening more memorable.
Attendees could listen to pre-installed episodes of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, share their ideas on a message wall, and even take pictures at a specially designed photo booth, the ministry said.
Since its inception on October 3, 2014, “Mann Ki Baat” has been broadcast on the last Sunday of every month at 11 am on All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD). The show reflects the prime minister’s “conviction and desire to have an inclusionary and people-centric approach to governance”, the statement said.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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#Projection #mapping #shows #heritage #sites #including #red #fort #mark #100th #episode #Mann #Baat
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 30, 2023
Iran says probe shows no toxic substance in student poisoning incidents

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Tehran: Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has said its probe found no actual poisoning in the mass reports of students being poisoned at schools across the country.
The Ministry said on Friday in a statement published on its website that no toxic substance was found disseminated at schools after months of investigations into the incidents, during which suspects were either questioned or arrested and transferred to judicial authorities.
It added that the probe found no criminal groups were behind the poisoning cases, but dubious networks on social media which spread rumours to fuel fears and dissatisfaction among students’ parents, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Ministry noted these networks are either being or will be sued, claiming Iran’s enemy has played an evident and undeniable role in provoking turmoil.
During the past months, hundreds of students at dozens of schools across Iran were referred to medical centres with symptoms similar to those of poisoning. Most of the students said they had smelled either an unpleasant or a weird odour before the emergence of the symptoms. The first case was reported in Qom province on November 30, according to reports by Iranian media.
Most of the students were, however, soon released from the hospital after receiving treatment, according to the official news agency IRNA.
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#Iran #probe #shows #toxic #substance #student #poisoning #incidents
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 29, 2023
Government report shows steep decline in FBI’s ‘backdoor searches’ on Americans

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At the heart of the battle: Section 702 is a powerful spying program that allows the intelligence community to snoop on the emails and other digital communications of foreigners located abroad. But the FBI does not need a warrant to search communications that have already been collected under the statute — and its growing use, and misuse, of those powers to snoop on Americans in recent years have made lawmakers reticent about reupping the program as is.
Showing restraint: The substantial decline documented within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s 2023 Annual Statistical Transparency Report buttresses the administration’s claims that it has managed to rein in FBI searches on Americans, a senior FBI official told reporters ahead of the report’s release.
The report “aptly illustrates how built-in oversight that Congress put in the statute works to … repair trust and transparency,” said the official, who provided the briefing to reporters on condition of anonymity.
The data: The FBI sifted through — or “queried” in intelligence community parlance — the 702 database for details on Americans roughly 120,000 times last year after conducting nearly 3 million such searches in 2021 and 850,000 thousand searches in 2020, the report says.
The bureau conducted those 120,000 searches due to alleged connections to foreign spies and security threats.
The bureau also has the ability to scour through the database for details on purely domestic crimes — another hot-button issue that has surfaced amid the reauthorization debate. But the FBI made only 16 such searches last year and 13 the year prior, according to the report.
Zooming out: The new report is the first to disclose the impact of a series of fixes the intelligence community implemented in 2021 after a secret intelligence court overseeing the program determined in rulings from 2021 and 2020 that the bureau committed “apparent widespread violations of the querying standard.”
The reforms amounted to a series of internal measures to discourage bureau personnel from improperly probing the database, like requiring agents to affirmatively opt-in to 702 searches and setting an upper limit on the number of terms that could be used at a time.

Falling on deaf ears: But the new data doesn’t appear to be getting traction with lawmakers who believe the spying program should not be reauthorized absent new safeguards for the federal law enforcement agency.
“While there was a sharp decline in U.S. person queries from December 2021 to November 2022, it is incumbent upon Congress, not the Executive Branch, to codify reforms to FISA Section 702,” Reps. Mike Turner (R-Oh.) and Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) said in a statement upon the report’s release.
“Today’s report highlights the urgent need for reforms to government surveillance programs in order to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans,” added Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a longtime privacy advocate, in a statement.
CORRECTION: A prior version of this story misstated the number of queries for purely domestic crimes in 2021. There were 13.
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#Government #report #shows #steep #decline #FBIs #backdoor #searches #Americans
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 28, 2023
BJP’s ‘Vishkanya’ remark for Sonia shows the rot in politics: Ashok Gehlot

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Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday slammed a Karnataka BJP leader for calling former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi a ‘Vishkanya,’ saying the use of the term was a reflection of the vitiated political discourse in the country.
“Remarks made by a Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Karnataka against Sonia Gandhi reflect the rot in politics. Sonia Gandhi is respected across the country, by both ruling and the opposition parties,” Gehlot told reporters in Hanumangarh.
“With such lowly and despicable statements about her, I think a new form of BJP is emerging,” he said .

During an interaction with the media in poll-bound Karnataka, BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal Thursday night called Sonia Gandhi a ‘Vishkanya,’ apparently responding to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s comparison of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a ‘poisonous snake.’
Gehlot in his turn accused the BJP of distorting its opponents’ remarks in order to mislead the public.
“I think their countdown is starting from Karnataka. If we make any comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he distorts it and presents it in front of the public to win the election, we have seen that many times,” he said.
All the same, the Congress leader said he will personally write a letter to Modi and ask him to take action against Yatnal.
He said if the PM or Karnataka CM don’t take action then it will be clear they share the opinion of the BJP MLA.

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#BJPs #Vishkanya #remark #Sonia #shows #rot #politics #Ashok #Gehlot
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 28, 2023
Audio leak of Pak Chief Justice’s mother-in-law shows resentment against govt

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Islamabad: An audio call, purportedly between Pakistan Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial’s mother-in-law, Mahjabeen Noon, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyer Khawaja Tariq Rahim’s wife, Rafia Tariq, surfaced on Sunday where the two were heard discussing their support for the top judge and the wish for snap elections, media reports said.
The women, during the alleged call, also expressed their resentment towards the incumbent government in Islamabad, The News reported.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister Ata Tarar shared the audio clip on his Twitter account, saying that he is sure about the deep conspiracy after hearing the audio clip.

“The Constitution and law have been trampled for the sake of families. The families of Chief Sahib and two colleagues are trying to bring Imran Niazi to power by holding early elections along with attending (political) rallies,” Tarar tweeted, as per the The News.
In the purported leaked call, Noon and the PTI counsel’s wife, speak about their concern for the Chief Justice amid the ongoing election case delay case which is being heard by a three-member bench at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
CJP Bandial’s mother-in-law is heard extending her support towards her son-in-law, assuring him to strengthen him in the midst of the rift between the government and the apex court.
They also vaguely discuss about being in a Lahore rally where there were hundreds of thousands of people.
The bench — headed by CJP Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar as members — in its April 4 order, directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the polls in Punjab on May 14.

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#Audio #leak #Pak #Chief #Justices #motherinlaw #shows #resentment #govt
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 23, 2023
‘Afwaah’ trailer shows Bhumi, Nawaz’s characters on the run

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Mumbai: The trailer of the upcoming movie ‘Afwaah’ was unveiled on Wednesday. The film, directed by Sudhir Mishra of ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi,’ stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar, Sumeet Vyas, T.J. Bhanu and Sharib Hashmi.
The trailer, which is two minutes and thirty seconds in length, shows Sumeet as a politician who is in hot pursuit of his fiancee (played by Bhumi) after she runs away from home and Nawaz’s character comes to her rescue. A rumour that Bhumi and Nawaz’s character eloped together is unleashed by those in power.
Director Sudhir Mishra said: “What if the monster chasing you is a bloody rumour? Basically you’re screwed because there’s no place to hide. The monster will always get there before you. What is worse is that sometimes the monster comes in the shape of a friend or a lover or a parent. If this is not the basis of a f****g good thriller, then I don’t know what is! Presenting my reaction to our times: ‘Afwaah’.”

The film is a quirky thriller and speaks about how a rumour has the power to turn someone’s life upside down. This is Sudhir’s second outing with Nawazuddin after the ‘Serious Men’.
Producer Anubhav Sinha said: “It’s been an enriching experience collaborating with Sudhir on this important film. I believe ‘Afwaah’ is a very important film that accomplishes our objective of producing films that are high on content.”
Produced by Anubhav Sinha under his banner Benaras Mediaworks, the film will release theatrically on May 5, 2023.

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#Afwaah #trailer #shows #Bhumi #Nawazs #characters #run

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 20, 2023