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LIVE! Standoff at Kochi airport: Trupti Desai fortifies herself for Sabarimala battle

10:36  Julian Assange charged in US :  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged under seal, prosecutors inadvertently revealed in a recently unsealed court filing — a development that could significantly advance the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and have major implications for those who publish government secrets, the Washington Post reports.

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10:33  Delhi govt invites Krishna to perform in national capital on Nov 17: Sisodia:  Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Friday announced the Delhi government’s invitation to Carnatic music vocalist TM Krishna, whose concert in the city was scrapped by the Airport Authority of India, to perform in Delhi on November 17 and said no artist should be denied an opportunity to perform.

After Krishna’s November 17 concert to be held at Nehru Park was cancelled by AAI, the AAP government had on Thursday stepped in to organise another performance by Krishna, who often finds himself in the cross-hairs of controversy over his outspoken views. Sisodia said he has invited Krishna to perform in Delhi on November 17. “No artist should ever be denied an opportunity to perform. I have invited @tmkrishna to perform on November 17 for the people of Delhi It’s important to maintain the dignity of the Art and Artists,” he said.

Krishna’s concert organised by the AAI was allegedly cancelled following a troll campaign against it for hosting the vocalist, a Magsaysay award winner who has been called an “urban Naxal” and “a converted bigot” among other epithets. Krishna had said he was in touch with the Delhi government for a performance in the city.– PTI


10:26  Sensex jumps over 150 pts on funds inflow, global cues:  Domestic equities opened on a firm note Friday as the benchmark BSE Sensex surged over 150 points on the back of continued foreign fund inflow and appreciating rupee.

Positive leads from the US markets on optimism that the US and China may resolve their trade dispute, and a mixed trend at other Asian bourses too influenced sentiments here. The 30-share index spurted 159.17 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 35,419.71 points with sectoral indices, led by healthcare, auto, FMCG, capital goods and banking, rising up to 1.03 per cent.

The barometer had gained 118.55 points Thursday. The NSE Nifty was trading 41 points, or 0.39 per cent, higher at 10,657.70. — PTI

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10:14  Standoff at Kochi airport: Trupti Desai fortifies herself for Sabarimala battle:  Meanwhile in Kochi, Trupti Desai, founder of the Bhumata Brigade, is having breakfast at Kochi International Airport as she hasn’t been able to leave the airport yet due to protests being carried out against her attempted visit to Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.

A large number of protesters gathered outside Kochi airport when Trupti Desai landed at 4:30 this morning in a bid to travel to enter the Sabarimala temple. The temple shrine opens to devotees this evening.

The protesters say they won’t allow her and her colleagues to step out of the airport. Taxi drivers at the airport said they will not take her and her colleagues to their destination.

The Pune-based activist had written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state police chief about her plans to visit the shrine, seeking police protection during her visit to the state.

The protesters comprising devotees and BJP workers assembled early today outside the airport and stated shouting slogans. The police reached there in large numbers to control the situation. Desai said she won’t return without visiting the temple.

Image: Trupti Desai has breakfast at Kochi International Airport after being unable to leave the yet due to protests being carried out against her attempted visit to the Sabarimala shrine.

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10:05  Cyclone Gaja: Trees uprooted, houses damaged in TN’s Nagapattinam :   In Tamil Nadu, trees uprooted and houses damaged in Nagapattinam in overnight rainfall and strong winds which hit the town due to the Gaja cyclone.

The cyclonic storm crossed Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranniyam on Thursday evening and unleashed mayhem in Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts as well.In the wake of the situation, a red alert was issued for the administration in parts of Tamil Nadu to keep the government authorities ready to mobilise resources to meet any eventuality.

The government undertook several preventive measures, which included deploying National Disaster Response Force and Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force  evacuating around 20,000 people living along the coastal line and moving them to relief camps.

The Indian Navy has also been put on alert for relief efforts.Apart from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh was also impacted by the cyclonic storm which is likely to bring heavy downpour and strong winds to several parts of the region for the next couple of days. — ANI


09:41  Tharoor tears into BJP over Sabrimala, says it practises politics of polarisation:  

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor accused Bharatiya Janata Party  of indulging in politics of polarisation. He also claimed that the BJP will be fighting the 2019 general elections on communal lines.

“BJP has got a nationwide strategy of polarisation. They are going to fight the next elections on communal lines. On Sabarimala, they could have easily found a solution through the national parliament or an ordinance or whatever but they want trouble on street. The Congress is trying to walk a middle course, we are with the believers but we want to follow legal course,” Tharoor said.

Talking about the Sabarimala row and the all-party meeting called by Kerala chief minister on Thursday, Tharoor lambasted the state government for rushing too fast to implement the decision and calling this meeting too late.

— ANI

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09:15  Number of missing in California wildfires jumps to 631:  

The number of people reported missing in California’s deadly wildfires has jumped to 631, as 65 victims are confirmed dead.

The revised official list of the 631 individuals whose whereabouts and fate remain unknown is more than double the 297 recorded earlier in the day by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.

“I want you to understand that the chaos we were dealing with was extraordinary,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told journalists as he explained the staggering new figure.

Authorities have attributed the high number of fatalities in part to the staggering speed with which the wind-driven flames raced through Paradise, a town of 27,000 residents.

It comes as the White House said Donald Trump will visit California on Saturday and meet people caught up in the disaster.

The US president initially blamed the blazes on state officials and threatened to withhold federal payments.

Rescue workers have been combing through the charred ruins of the town of Paradise a week after it burned to the ground in the Camp Fire in northern California, the worst in the state’s history.

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08:41  Ranveer Singh’s Mumbai house decked up to welcome newlyweds:  

With Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh completing their two-day nuptials in picturesque Lake Como in Italy, Ranveer’s Mumbai residence has been decked up with lights and flowers to welcome the newlyweds.

While the entrance of the house was covered in a string of golden lights, branches of trees in the area were also seen lit up to celebrate the occasion.

The power couple tied the knot in a traditional Konkani ceremony on November 14, while a Sindhi wedding was organised on November 15, both of which were attended by close-knit relatives of the two actors.

The couple had announced their wedding dates on October 21 on social media after dating for over 6 years.

The couple, who is expected to return to India later this week, will reportedly host two grand receptions for their relatives and friends — one in Bengaluru and the other in Mumbai.

— ANI

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08:27  Amnesty India calls for end to ED’s ‘smear campaign’:  

Amnesty India has alleged that a deliberate attempt has been made by the government to tarnish the reputation of the human rights organisation by leaking a dossier, supposedly made by the Enforcement Directorate to the media without giving it access to any such information.

Amnesty India called for an immediate end to this smear campaign and an independent inquiry into the selective leaks of information that are fueling this campaign.

“In the three weeks since we were raided by the Enforcement Directorate, no formal charges have been filed against us. So, it is really shocking to see media coverage of what is alleged to be documented from the investigation. If the authorities believe that Amnesty India has committed an offence, they must prove it in a court of law. However, the Enforcement Directorate seems to be leaking selective information and conducting a media trial,” Amnesty India’s Chief Executive Director Aakar Patel said.

“It is alarming to see authorities resort to such low measures to discredit the work of an organisation committed to upholding human rights. The latest action of leaking documents related to an ongoing investigation into a media house to tarnish Amnesty India’s reputation is deplorable. Such actions highlight a pattern of demonising and criminalising human rights defenders and organisations. The government seems afraid and viscerally opposed to anyone who is critical of its actions or policies,” Patel added.

On November 14, a prominent news channel ran two hour-long special shows on the ED’s raids on the Amnesty India. The anchors claimed to have accessed the entire dossier of investigations done by the investigating agency. They also allegedly showed visuals of the documents, including the investigation report, testimonies and bank documents that are a part of the investigations.

It is important to note that Amnesty India has still not been given access to the dossier and has repeatedly been denied access to such information by the agency.

According to Amnesty India, the ED officials have allegedly refused to provide a copy of said statement to Patel, when it was requested during the search and again on October 31 in the Enforcement Directorate’s office. They refused on the grounds that the copy is confidential and can only be shared after the charges are framed.

“Isn’t this a gross violation of natural justice where the person accused of a crime is not given full details? We have always respected the rule of law and have extended our full cooperation to the agency’s investigations. However, it seems like the government thinks it can abuse its power and run smear campaigns to fulfil its agenda of silencing anyone who questions power. The authorities should initiate an independent probe and bring to justice those who are responsible for this leak,” Patel stated.

On 25 October 2018, Amnesty India endured a 10-hour-long raid as a group of officers from the ED, a financial investigation agency under the Ministry of Finance, entered the premises and locked the gates behind them. Some of the staff were ordered to not leave, shut their laptops and not use their mobile phones. Most of the documents asked for during the search were available in the public domain or were already filed with the relevant government authorities.

Following the raid, the accounts of Amnesty India were frozen, while the ministry of Hhome affairs initiated investigations into the funds received by Amnesty India. 

— ANI

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08:06  Activist Trupti Desai reaches Kerala, unable to exit airport as protesters swell:  

Activist Trupti Desai has reached Kochi International Airport in the early hours of Friday to visit the Sabarimala temple but she could not come out of the domestic terminal following protest by devotees opposing the entry of menstrual women into the Lord Ayyappa temple.

  

Tension prevailed at the airport as protesters announced that Desai and her colleagues, who reached here around 4.40 am from Pune, would not be allowed to go out of the airport.

The temple opens Friday evening, for the third time since the apex court verdict on September 28 allowed women of all age group to offer prayers at the hilltop Lord Ayyappa temple though none could do so following stiff resistance from devotees and activists, opposing any change in the temple traditions.

Protesting local BJP leaders at the airport said the devotees would not let Desai and her colleagues, reportedly total six in numbers, to come out of the airport and proceed to Sabarimala temple.  

They alleged that Desai and her team came here to violate the centuries–old custom of the temple that prevents entry of women and girls in the age group of 10 and 50.

“She (Desai) came here not for darshan but for disturbing a peaceful Sabarimala  pilgrim season beginning Saturday,” they said.

The Ayyappa devotees comprising women and BJP workers, assembled in large numbers outside the airport, continued their protest chanting Ayyappa mantra.

Talking to media over phone, Desai said she would not go back to Maharashtra without a darshan at the Lord Ayyappa temple.

Taxi drivers at the airport said they would not take Desai and her colleagues outside the airport.

Police in large numbers were present in the domestic terminal of the airport to deal with the situation.

Desai, who spearheaded the campaign for women to be allowed into various religious places, including Shani Shingnapur temple, the Haji Ali Dargah, the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, had sent an email to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking security as she fears an attack on her life during her visit to the hill shrine.

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00:09  Merely crying out ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ not patriotism: VP:  

Merely crying out “Bharat Mata ki Jai” does not represent patriotism, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said Thursday, adding real nationalism is to work towards the upliftment of “all 130 crore Indians”.

He was speaking at the annual Jamnalal Bajaj Awards presentations ceremony, where awardees were feted for their outstanding contribution to society.

“Patriotism does not mean crying out ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ or crying out ‘Jai Hind’ after watching a movie,” Naidu said, after referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s definition of patriotism where everybody does his/her work dutifully.

Naidu said ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ means the upliftment of all the 130 crore Indians. “This is the meaning of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, that is “deshbhakti”, that is patriotism, that is nationalism. That sort of attitude has to be there,” he said.

Making a strong pitch for things “Swadeshi”, Naidu said even in the era of an interconnected world and liberal foreign direct investment, we have to support local enterprises as recommended by Mahatma Gandhi.

He also hit out against growing “materialism” and “selfishness” in society and underlined the need for taking a wider view of things.

The vice president said the nuclearisation of families from the earlier joint family system may be resulting in some of the degradation in society.

Lamenting that “we are sans morals and only behind science”, he pitched for a need to “overhaul the education system to restore the value systems”.

The colonial English mindset was akin to a “disease” which has continued even after the British left India, Naidu said.

“We need more of culture than religion in our discourse,” Naidu said, adding “Google cannot replace the guru’s place in our society”. — PTI

Source: Rediff