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Bengaluru, Sep 10 (IANS) Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, stressed on the importance of passengers in the rear seat wearing seatbelt while travelling in four-wheelers.

Referring to the tragic death of industrialist Cyrus Mistry, who died in a road accident near Mumbai on Sunday, Gadkari said, "I have made legal provisions in this regard."

Mistry, former Tata Sons Chairman, was sitting in the back seat and was not wearing a seatbelt when his speeding Mercedes crashed into a divider in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference here, Gadkari said that provisions are being be made to introduce a seat belt alarm system for rear seats, just like the driver's seat.

"Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has called me three times from London to start a campaign in the backdrop of the death of Cyrus Mistry," Gadkari said.

"Though wearing seatbelt is mandatory for those sitting in the rear seat of a car, it is not followed. Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar along with many cricketers have agreed to campaign for this free of cost," Gadkari said.

--IANS
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Patna, Sep 9 (IANS) As Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar returned home from a three-day-long visit to Delhi, his Janata Dal-United welcomed appreciation by a large section of opposition leaders, including his West Bengal counterpart, for seeking to augment unity.

Banerjee, appreciating his initiative, said: "If we have to defeat the BJP in 2024, the opposition parties have to put smaller issues aside and become united." She said "Nitish ji is in Bihar, Akhilesh Yadav is in Uttar Pradesh, Hemant Soren is in Jharkhand, she herself in West Bengal and other leaders of similar ideology become united now, 275 to 280 seats are not far away from them".

Reacting to her statement, Bihar Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary claimed that the visit of his leader Nitish Kumar has a positive impact in all sections.

"His efforts were appreciated everywhere in the country, especially the statement of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was very important. If opposition parties will leave the smaller political compulsions aside, defeating BJP is not a big issue for them," he said.

"The opposition leaders who had meetings with Nitish Kumar during the recent Delhi visit, have shown positive intent. It encourages us. Our leader has already announced that his efforts will continue in future to defeat the BJP," Chaudhary added.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, jailed in Uttar Pradesh for nearly two years, saying "every person has freedom of expression".

Kappan along with others were arrested on October 5, 2020 by the Uttar Pradesh Police under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), while on their way to Hathras, to report on a 19-year-old's gang-rape and murder.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit, noted that Kappan has been in custody for two years.

Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, submitted that an ID card was found on him, allegedly associating Kappan with PFI and also certain literature, which was alleged to be provocative and also potentially dangerous. He referred to it as a toolkit for riots, and added the whole purpose of going there was to incite violence.

The bench queried how the literature was provocative and did the accused make any attempt to use this literature.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Kappan, said there were pamphlets titled "Justice for Hathras girl". He pointed out that after his apprehension in the present matter, the proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 have also been initiated against the appellant, in connection of which the appellant may be required to attend the proceedings or to apply for bail.

The bench told Jethmalani: "See, every person has the right to free expression and therefore he is trying to propagate an idea that there is this victim who requires justice."

"Is that something like a crime in the eyes of law?"

The bench, also comprising Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and P.S. Narasimha, added that there were protests at India Gate in 2011 and indicated Nirbhaya's case.

"Sometimes protests are needed to bring a change. You know after that there was a change in laws....".

Jethmalani argued that Kappan was paid to incite riots and that he is not even an accredited journalist and he belonged to the PFI.

Questioning the evidence against Kappan and that no explosives were found, and that material was not found with him but in the car, the bench queried: "What material was dangerous... Is there any literature which shows anything damaging".

Sibal then asked the state government counsel to read out the literature found on his client.

Granting bail to Kappan, the bench said he has to report to the police in Delhi for the next six weeks and in Kerala after that. Kappan will be produced before a trial court in three days, which will release him on bail subject to conditions.

"The appellant shall deposit his passport if not already deposited with the investigating machinery before his actual release. The appellant shall not misuse his liberty in any manner and he shall not be in contact with any person(s) connected with the present controversy in question," it said.

The bench, in its order, said: "We have been taken through some of the documents placed on record. At this stage we refrain from dealing with and commenting upon the progress and investigation and material gathered by the prosecution in support of its case as the matter is still to be taken up at the stage of framing of charges."

The state government, in a written response, said: "The investigation has revealed that the petitioner (Kappan) is part of the larger conspiracy with the co-accused (including the financial launderer of CFI, Rauf Sharif) to foment religious discord and spread terror in the country, especially in the wake of anti CAA protests and violence, the Babri Masjid decision of this Hon'ble Court and the Hathras incident."

It further claimed that the documents recovered from Kappan's laptop and from his rented house in Delhi, establishes how the current PFI leadership was basically comprised of ex-SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India -- banned as a terrorist organisation) members.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had rejected Kappan's plea for bail, and he then moved the top court challenging the order.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Five people were injured when a house collapsed in Azad Market area of North Delhi.

Delhi Police and Fire Department confirmed that as of now no death was reported, while the rescue operation is underway.

The injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital.

"Rescue operation is in progress. Around six to seven labourers were trapped of which five have been shifted to a hospital. A NDRF team also reached the spot. Live detectors are being used to trace the trapped. Due to narrow lanes, JCB machines were unable to reach the spot," fire official Ravinder Singh said.

According to fire department, a distress call was received regarding the incident at around 8.30 a.m., following which four fire tenders were rushed to the site.

Meanwhile, local police also reached the spot to assist the fire officials.

Details are awaited.

--IANS
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London, Sep 9 (IANS) Queen Elizabeth II became a cultural staple during her long and eventful reign. She was the most photographed woman in history -- gracing the cover of 'Time' magazine at age three, the first of several such appearances -- and was depicted on the big screen, the small screen, the stage, in music, and in art, says 'Variety' in a special report.

She is the subject of the Netflix original series 'The Crown', which follows the Queen from the 1940s to modern times and examines her relationship with the various prime ministers -- Liz Truss was the 15th she invited to lead Her Majesty's Government 48 hours before her passing -- as well as with other figures, both within the Royal Family and outside it.

Over the show's six seasons, each of which covers approximately a decade in her life, she has been portrayed by three different actors: Claire Foy, who won a Golden Globe for her portrayal, and Olivia Colman, who earned both a Golden Globe and an Emmy, and Imelda Staunton, who will portray the Queen in her 70s and 80s during the show's fifth and sixth (also believed to be its final) season. Season 5 will premiere on Netflix in November this year, notes 'Variety'.

Helen Mirren also memorably played the British monarch in the 2006 film 'The Queen', written by 'The Crown' creator Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Frears. The film was set in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death, a low point for the British royal family, and won Mirren a best actress Oscar for her performance, adds 'Variety'.

Mirren went on to play Elizabeth again in the West End and on Broadway, in the stage hit 'The Audience'.

The monarch also made an appearance in 'Spencer', played by Stella Gonet -- the film stars Kirsten Stewart as her daughter-in-law Princess Diana -- while the Queen's early childhood was portrayed in the Oscar-winning 2010 film, 'The King's Speech', starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham.

The 2015 British comedy drama film 'A Royal Night Out' offered a fictionalised glimpse of the night Elizabeth (played by Sarah Gadon) and her sister Princess Margaret (Bel Powley) were allowed secretly to slip out of Buckingham Palace to join the crowds celebrating V-E Day on the streets of London in 1945.

In 2016, the Queen, played by Penelope Wilton, was a character in 'The BFG', Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the book by Roald Dahl and 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!' also tackled the British monarch, according to 'Variety' -- literally.

In this 1988 comedy, Leslie Nielsen's character uses a running tackle to save the Queen from what he wrongly believes to be an assassination attempt. The actress who plays her in the film, Jeannette Charles, has made a career of royal impersonation, standing in as Elizabeth in about 20 movies and TV programmes over a 40-year period.

In animated form, notes 'Variety', the Queen in her Cinderella-like royal coach survived an attempted robbery of her crown in the 2015 film 'Minions' and a rear-ending by Homer Simpson in a 2003 episode of 'The Simpsons' (titled 'The Regina Monologues').

She wasn't so lucky in a 2012 episode of 'Family Guy', in which a high-speed chase of her carriage ends in a royal fatality, and in 2007, according to 'Variety', an episode of 'South Park' sparked outrage after it showed her dying by suicide on the throne. She also made an appearance in Gary Janetti's short-lived animated comedy 'The Prince', which ran for one season on HBO Max.

In 2022, the Queen delighted viewers around the world by guest-starring in a video with Paddington Bear. In the skit, which was filmed at Windsor Castle and broadcast before the Platinum Jubilee concert, Paddington is invited to the Queen's abode for tea where chaos ensues.

At one point in the video that went viral globally, the bear offers Her Majesty a marmalade sandwich fished out of his hat, as he tells her: "I always keep one for emergencies." In response, the Queen replies, "So do I" and opens her handbag to pull out a marmalade sandwich of her own.

--IANS
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Ahmedabad, Sep 9 (IANS) Gujarat Congress has given a symbolic bandh call in the state on Saturday to protest against inflation and unemployment.

The Congress has appealed to the traders and other businesses to pull down their shutters from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The party's state unit president Jagdish Thakor appealed to the people to join the bandh call to register their protest against inflation, unemployment and to get regular jobs for the contractual workers.

Thakor alleged that 4,36,663 qualified youths were unemployed, some 4,58,976 unemployed youths are registered with the state employment exchange office even as 4.50 lakh government posts are vacant.

Hundreds of village panchayats are functioning without Gram sevak officers, hundreds of government libraries don't have regular librarians and more than 27,000 teachers posts are vacant.

Talking about inflation, Thakor said edible oil prices are skyhigh at Rs 3,000, gas cylinder' price is now Rs 1,060, petrol is priced at Rs 95 and the CNG has touched Rs 84 per kilo. "These all products have a cascading effect on the citizens' lives," stated Thakor.

He has instructed all the district and city Congress committees and workers to ensure that emergency services were not disturbed because of the bandh call.

--IANS
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By Yashwant Raj
Washington, Sep 9 (IANS) For some Americans, no Indian-American will ever be American enough. Not even when one of them is elected to the US Congress to represent millions of Americans.


Indian-American lawmaker Pramila Jayapal was allegedly stalked by a man who would drive by her home in Seattle, Washington hurling insults and invectives in her direction. He told the police after his arrest that he would do that every day till she packs her bags and left for India.

The Washington Post on Thursday reported her 47-minute ordeal on the night of July 9 when she was home and experienced for the first time the man's hatred. She was watching a psychological thriller "Mindhunter" with her husband, Steve Williamson, when it started.

That was the first time they saw and heard the stalker, who and his black car with gold rims driving past their house had been a familiar sight to neighbours.

It was 10:38 p.m.

"F...... C...," said one of the men, according to voices captured by security cameras. Another voice said something that included "India".

"But I will continue to drive by here and voice my opinion, until she goes back to India - or something else," Brett Forsell, 49, one of the two men said as he sat in a police car after his arrest.

Jayapal was born in Chennai, India and immigrated to the US at the age of 18. After two years in Washington state politics - serving in the state senate - she was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, becoming the first Indian woman to do so (Kamala Harris became the first Indian American woman elected to US senate the same year - their respective terms started in 2017). A Democrat, she is now in her third term and heads the party's congressional liberals as chairperson of the House Progressive Caucus.

Jayapal has also been a strident critic of former President Donald Trump and blamed him for the stalker. "The person that occupied the White House, the highest office in the land, actually used and unleashed and mobilised all of that violence and white supremacy using the tools of the federal government," she said shortly after the incident.

Many Indian-Americans will identify with her experience. A group of them found themselves yelled at by a woman in Plano, Texas recently. "Go back to India," their tormentor, a woman who introduced herself to them as Mexican-American, told them repeatedly, among other things. She was arrested later.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a software engineer with GPS major Garmin, was killed in a bar outside the company premises in Olathe, Kansas in 2018 by a man who yelled at him to "leave my country". The killer claimed he had mistaken Kuchibhotla for someone from the Middle East.

"I've had people forever telling me to go back to India," Jayapal told The Washington Post. "But I will say that this was different. This was really different."

Forsell had planned to pitch a tent close to Jayapal's house to serve her as a constant reminder. And on the night of his arrest, he was carrying a Glock pistol, which he claimed to the police, was meant only for self-defence.

The US' top federal investigative agency FBI tracks discriminatory rhetoric and actions as hate crimes - race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender and gender identity.

Crimes against Indians and Indian-descent Americans are covered under the category of religion as "Anti-Hindu". The 2019 FBI hate crime report said there was a 7 per cent increase in cases against Hindus. These were the most recent publicly available data on bias crimes.

--IANS
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Damascus, Sep 9 (IANS) Russian airstrikes on positions of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in northwestern Syria reportedly killed 120 rebels.

The Russian warplanes attacked a Nusra Front training camp in the Sheikh Youssef area of Idlib province and destroyed observation points, drones, and missile launchers, state news agency SANA cited Russian military sources in Syria as saying, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, also reported the Russian airstrikes in Idlib, saying the Russian warplanes carried out 14 airstrikes on Thursday and fired one surface-to-surface missile on rebel-held areas in the province.

Occupied by a number of rebel groups, including ultra-radical ones like Nusra Front, Idlib has emerged as the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 8 (IANS) AIADMK interim General Secretary and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) has said that party cadres will not forgive deposed Coordinator, O. Panneerselvam.

He was speaking to reporters at the party headquarters in Chennai on Thursday.

He added that Panneerselvam had led the violence at the party headquarters on July 11 when the AIADMK General Council meeting was being held at Vanagram on the outskirts of Chennai.

He said that Panneerselvam was like a chameleon who changed his stance based on what is beneficial to him.

Palaniswami added that the DMK government has been slow in taking action over the violence at the party headquarters and said that the Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department started investigation into the violence only on Wednesday.

He said that the majority of the MLAs and MPs are on his side and added that of the 2,663 general body members, 96 per cent have supported him. He also alleged that Panneerselvam has not been loyal to the party.

The AIADMK leader said that elections for the post of the party's General Secretary would be held soon. He slammed the DMK government and added that the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated.

EPS stated that the DMK could not fulfil its poll promises, including exemption from NEET for medical aspirants, which was a major poll plank of the party during the 2021 Assembly elections.

Palaniswami reached the party headquarters for the first time since the July 11 general council meeting and the violence and was given a rousing welcome by the party cadres.

--IANS
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