Year: 2017

7.1 Magnitude earthquake kills more than 140 in Mexico

Editor

More than 140 people were killed when a powerful, 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico on Tuesday, toppling buildings in the capital and sowing panic on the anniversary of a devastating 1985 quake. Rescue crews and volunteers in Mexico City — home to 20 million people — clawed through the rubble of at least 49 collapsed buildings looking for survivors and bodies. Local media reported that families were getting Whatsapp messages pleading for help from desperate relatives trapped under the debris. Mexico City recorded 36 of the deaths, while Morelos state directly…

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Aabha Hanjura’s concert reflects real Kashmir, holds audience spellbound

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Chorus singing bespeaks bonhomie between two communities. Based on new melodious tunes and rendition of Kashmiri folk songs, ballads and sonnets, Abha Hunjura’s open concert in the lawns of Sheri Kashmir International Convention Complex (SKICC) on Saturday left the audience enthralled. “She left everyone spell bound with her performance. We appreciate her connect with her moorings and where she is rooted even after a gap of nearly three decades,” said Manzoor Bhat, an employee with a private organization. Abha whose forefathers originally belonged to village Hanjura in Badgam district, shifted…

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High Court directs BOCA to give comments on EIA of Sonamarg Master Plan

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The High Court on Tuesday directed Building Operations Controlling Authority (BOCA) of Sonamarg to expeditiously give its comments on draft report of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Sonamarg Master Plan (2017) and submit the same within two weeks to the concerned authority. A division bench of Chief justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey directed the BOCA to give its comments on the draft report after it was informed that the report has been placed before the authority for its comments. The court ordered that the matter be…

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Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (Pak PM) to bring up Kashmir, Rohingyas in UN General Assembly speech

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He’s likely to use his interactions with American officials to halt a rapid deterioration in US-Pakistan relations, reports said. While scheduling President Donald Trump’s engagements with world leaders, the US kept Pakistan out of even casual meetings with Trump. Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will highlight the Kashmir and Rohingya issues in his address to the 72nd United Nations General Assembly. He’s likely to use his interactions with American officials to halt a rapid deterioration in US-Pakistan relations, reports said. The Pakistan Prime Minister, who reached New York on…

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Kashmiris don’t need lecture on Secularism: Omar to Modi

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In a scathing rebuttal of Narendra Modi’s charge, former Jammu Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday said the migration of Pandits from Kashmir took place under Jagmohan, who was appointed governor by the central government which was supported by BJP. He said Modi’s statement on the issue was an insult to Kashmiri people. He said, “When Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley, Jagmohan, who has not parted ways with BJP yet, as far as I know, was ruling the state (as Governor). Farooq Sahib was not in power.” “Jagmohan was appointed…

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To get feedback on BJP ministers, party brass to meet MLAs

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Meeting scheduled with Amit Shah in New Delhi on Sept 25 Amid allegations that BJP ministers had brazenly “bartered” the party’s core ideology just to enjoy power with the PDP in J&K, the high command has called a meeting MPs and legislators from the state on September 25 to get the feedback. The meeting is scheduled to be held at New Delhi on the sidelines of the national executive committee meeting on September 24 and 25. BJP national president Amit Shah and other central leaders will hold an interaction with…

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Rs 1100 cr loss in a year, Kashmir tourism continues to bleed

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Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s killing on July 8 last year and subsequent unrest have cost Kashmir’s hotel industry Rs 1,100 crore. Javid Amin, 40, looks pensive at his Spartan office in Srinagar. For the last one year, Javid, who owns JKL Travels / Kashmir Travels, has been struggling to pay wages and meet daily office expenses. In the last one year, the number of annual bookings fell to 30 from 300. Javid has suffered a loss of Rs 15 lakh this year alone. “We have become defaulters because we…

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Track-II parleys behind separatist’s talks offer

Editor

Behind the surprise development of the Kashmir separatist leadership issuing a statement on Friday calling for meaningful and serious dialogue with New Delhi without any conditions, are hectic Track-II negotiations between the separatists and some “go-betweens” in New Delhi. The separatists did not embark on the beaten track of calling for plebiscite and implementation of UN resolutions. It was after the Centre’s intervention that the police allowed Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik to hold talks at Geelani’s residence, according to highly placed sources in the…

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Some Rohingyas ‘linked to Pak terror groups’: Centre to Supreme Court

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The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court not to interfere in the Rohingya issue as it was a policy decision to deport them and that some of them were “linked to Pakistani terrorist groups.” As the apex court heard a petition challenging their deportation to Myanmar, the central government told the judges that this was an “essential executive decision “taken in the larger national interest.” The Centre also said that the influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar started in 2012. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M.…

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Pak shelling sparks migration along LOC

Editor

With Pakistan Rangers pounding Allah village and nearby areas, located along the International Border, for the past few days, border residents have sent women and children to either houses of their relatives or relief camps at Salehar and Deoli in the Bishnah area. Allah village is situated around 2 km from the International Border. One of the oldest villages in the area, it has a population of 1,500. Around 50 per cent of the residents daily move to safer places as the dusk falls due to the fear of shelling.…

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