Tuesday, 21 February 2017

Russia’s UN envoy dies

Russia´s envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin died suddenly on Monday, the foreign ministry said, without giving details of the cause.
“On February 20, the Permanent Representative of Russia in the UN Vitaly Churkin unexpectedly died in New York,” it said in a statement.
Churkin was 64 and died one day before turning 65, the ministry said, offering condolences to his family. “The outstanding Russian diplomat passed away on his post,” it said.
Churkin had served in the role since 2006. Previously he worked at the foreign ministry in Moscow, served as an envoy to Canada (1998-2003), Belgium (1994-1998) and as a special representative to the talks on former Yugoslavia (1992-1994).
The news of his death was met with shock at the UN headquarters. Diplomats holding a routine meeting on General Assembly affairs observed a moment of silence.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq, who heard the news during the regular daily briefing, offered his condolences, adding: “We mourn Ambassador Churkin. He has been such a regular presence here that I´m actually quite stunned.”

Five teenagers were arrested in London

Five teenagers were arrested in London on Monday on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, the Metropolitan Police confirmed. The males were detained after searches at four residential addresses.
One of those arrested is 15, one is 16, two are 17 and the fourth is 19. The arrests relate to plans to travel to join a proscribed organization. All five are being questioned at a central London police station.
The police have not yet provided details on which organization the teenagers were attempting to join, but police confirmed the arrests came following raids at four different homes last month.
“Officers from the MPS Counter Terrorism Command have today, Monday, February 20, arrested five males under 20-years-old on suspicion of Preparation of Terrorist Acts, Contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006,” a Met Police spokesman said.

National Athletes inspire 15,000 Delhiites to Walk for Health with Max Bupa 

·         Leading Bollywood stars and fitness icons Kangana Ranaut & Saif Ali Khan flagged off the 5th edition of Max Bupa Walk for Health event in the city
·         Delhi witnessed the glimpse of national athletes as they competed in Max Bupa National race walking championship that culminated at the event
Delhi, February 19, 2017:  After a great kick-start in Mumbai last Sunday, Max Bupa Health Insurance today flagged off the second leg of its flagship event, Max Bupa Walk for Health, in the capital. The one of its kind walkathon in the country, received an overwhelming response from thousands of families who took a step towards a healthier tomorrow. The participants also witnessed national athletes for the 10 km race walk at the Max Bupa National Race Walking Championship that culminated at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium today.
Amidst thousands of Delhiites, health icons and leading Bollywood stars of the upcoming movie Rangoon, Kangana Ranaut & Saif Ali Khan flagged off the 5th edition of Max Bupa Walk for Health event in the city. 
Walk for Health is a reflection of Max Bupa’s commitment to help India put its ‘Health First’. What made the fifth edition of the Walk for Health initiative even more noteworthy is the endorsement from Athletic Federation of India, the apex body of athletics in India. As a part of the association, Max Bupa hosted the ‘National Race Walking Championships’ on February 18 and 19 in the capital.
Ashish Mehrotra, MD & CEO, Max Bupa said, “This year, Max Bupa Walk for Health is being organised in the three largest cities in India, namely, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. These cities are especially plagued by several lifestyle-triggered illnesses. Our annual Max Bupa Walk for Health Survey 2017 reflects that 98% people  feel walking helps improve their physical health, however more than 50% still don’t walk enough.  Our initiative aims to encourage people to walk towards a healthier, more successful life. I’m delighted to share that Mumbai and Delhi together received an overwhelming participation of close to 30, 000 families, who took a step towards a healthier tomorrow.”
“Moreover, Max Bupa’s association with AFI brought the ‘National Race Walking Championships’ for the first time, to the capital. The intent behind it was to help walking gain recognition as a sport and bring our national race walking athletes, to the limelight” added Ashish. 
Saif Ali Khan said, “I am glad to be a part of Max Bupa Walk for Health initiative which has been inspiring India to walk for 5 years now. Their decision to host the National Race Walking Championship will help promote the sports and fitness culture in the country. While it’s great to see our nation’s love for the game of Cricket, it’s about time that we encourage other sports. In my view, Max Bupa’s efforts in making walking gain recognition as a mainstream sport is commendable. I have immense respect and regard for all the athletes present here today to encourage the nation to get walking’
Kangana Ranaut said, “Dedicating time to walking and health shouldn’t be an option. Walking is a great way to achieve holistic health and everyone from 6 to 60 years must enforce the ’30 minute daily walk’ rule into their lives. 10, 000 steps daily can do wonders to our health. We must take ‘walk breaks’ at home or office consciously. Max Bupa Walk for Health is a wakeup call for Indians, especially people in metros, to prioritise their health and make walking a way of life. It feels ecstatic to be here and see so many people take a step towards good health.”
Health enthusiasts, Delhi’s famous walking communities and people from all walks of life turned up in huge numbers and joined the initiative and made it a huge success. Their enthusiasm immensely poured out while they took part in the Zumba and fitness workout sessions. Thousands of school children got a chance to meet their favourite Nickelodeon Toons-Motu Patlu and Ninja Hattori. A host of popular brands like Nickelodeon, GoQii, Barista, Fitness First and Bookmyshow among others associated with Max Bupa for the initiative. Ashish Mehrotra, along with Adille J Sumariwalla, President, Athletics Federation of India also felicitated the winners of the 50km, 20km and 10 Km race walk categories. 

Winner’s Name
Rank
Race Walk Category
Timings
1st category



Hardeep
First
Men’s 10k walk
46:50.28
Jyot Bumrah
Second
Men’s 10k walk
46:50.46
Aman Jot Sin
Third
Men’s 10k walk
47.04.02
2nd category



Priyanka Patel
First
Women’s 10k walk
55:22.16
Bandana Patel
Second
Women’s 10k walk
56:47.53
Pooja Kumari
Third
Women’s 10k walk
56:51.49
3rd category



Irfan KT
First
Men’s 20k walk
1:22:43.48
Devender
Second
Men’s 20k walk
1:22:43.59
Ganpati K
Third
Men’s 20k walk
1:22:57.86
4th category



Priyanka
First
Women’s 20k walk
1:37:58.32
Ms Shanti Kuma
Second
Women’s 20k walk
1:38:38.70
Rani Yadav
Third
Women’s 20k walk
1:38:51.30
5th  category



Sandeep Kumar
First
Men’s 50k walk
3:55:59.05
Jitender Singh
Second
Men’s 50k walk
4:02:11.58
Chandan Singh
Third
Men’s 50k walk
4:04:18.41

Started from Mumbai on February 12, the walk event will now conclude in Bangalore on February 26.

Held for the first time in 2012, Max Bupa Walk for Health has so far inspired over 1, 00, 000 Indians to walk more.

Plane crash near Essendon airport

A small plane carrying five people crashed into a shopping center near an airport outside Melbourne in Australia, on Tuesday and officials said an unknown number of people may have been killed.
“It appears to be a very, very tragic accident that’s occurred out here … that’s potentially caused fatalities,” Victoria state police minister Lisa Neville told media.
The network broadcast pictures showing smoke billowing from the shopping mall near Essendon airport, a small airfield close to Melbourne, and firefighters hosing down the burning wreckage.
Neville said five people were on board the plane, which was a charter flight to King Island in Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and the southern island state of Tasmania.
Police said the plane crashed just before 9 am (2300 GMT Monday), about an hour before the Direct Factory Outlet shopping mall was due to open.
“At this stage we do not have information regarding possible casualties,” Victoria state police said in a statement.
Essendon Airport is a small airfield mainly used by light planes. A spokeswoman for Airservices Australia said flights in and out of Melbourne’s main airport were not affected.

CAIT CONGRATULATES GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ON LAUNCH OF BHARAT QR

New Delhi: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), a New Delhi based India’s apex trader body, issued congratulations to the Government of India on issuance of Bharat QR today. In its efforts of promoting digitization and adoption of digital payments, CAIT along with its technology partner Mastercard has been promoting wider benefits of electronic payments for the last 2 years. Bharat QR follows GOI’s mass awareness campaign of boosting digital payments after its move of remonetisation was announced in November last year.
Speaking for this initiative, Mr. Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT said, “We are pleased to see Bharat QR becoming a reality today. All stakeholders who have contributed to making this possible including the Reserve Bank of India deserve special mention. We began feeling its need when we adopted the charter to promote digital payments and this was a critical part of our outreach to the government that interoperability will largely drive numbers who start accepting digital payments. This suggestion was also put forward as a part of CAIT’s Less Cash Roadmap and every subsequent communication to policy makers.”
CAIT also announced recently that it will embark on an acceptance campaign wherein benefits, tools and KYC required to on-board digital payments will be promoted. This gels well with its another charter on promoting awareness about GST scheduled to be launched this year and how integral is it for modern day trader/retailer to use technology for his/her business.

Dear Sagar Media Inc,I was cut open to deliver my baby

Today at 8:50

UBAU All India Inter-Zonal University Basketball Championship for Men 2017

UBAU All India Inter-Zonal University Basketball Championship for Men 2017 – Anna Univ, Chennai and Punjabi Univ, Patiala set up a summit clash
Chandigarh, 20th February 2017: The semifinals of the All India Inter-Zonal University Basketball Championship for Men 2017 concluded a short while ago at the indoor stadium in Chandigarh (Sector 42). Anna University, Chennai and Punjabi University, Patiala have set up a summit clash after beating University of Madras, Chennai and Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi respectively.
This prestigious Association of Indian Universities (AIU) Championship is being organised by Universal Basketball Alliance India Pvt Ltd.
Punjabi University, Patiala bt Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi 87-62
Right from the tip off, Punjabi University gained complete control of the game. The team controlled the tempo by overpowering their opposition and grabbing all the rebounds early. Under the guidance of experienced coach Amanpreet Singh, the team planned well to stifle the opposition front court of Bhupendar and Sagar S by deploying the 2-1-2 zone defence, anchored by their ever so dependable centre, Guriqbal Singh – who gobbled down all the defensive rebounds and swatted away any attempts the Jamia team made in driving to the hoop. Riding on the back of Dildar Singh and Gurdit Singh’s scoring, Punjabi University maintained a healthy lead throughout the game. Point guard Gagan Deep distributed the ball well and often found his team mates open.
The Jamia team depended heavily on the scoring of Abhuday, who was bogged down by the Punjabi University defenders throughout the half. Battling against Guriqbal for position took its toll on Bhupender who seemed to run out of gas often.
Good ball movement, a high field goal percentage and stifling defence meant that Punjabi University ended the half leading 37-28 over Jamia Islamia University.
At the start of the second half, Sagar tried to take over the scoring for the Jamia team who fought hard to make a comeback. However, the trio of Dildar, Gurdit and Guriqbal seemed too much to handle for the Jamia team. The Punjabi team upped their defensive pressure and often forced the Jamia team to commit turnovers, which in turn led to easy buckets in transition.
Jamia’s Abhuday and Bhupender tried hard to fight back, however, found no support from the rest of the team. Midway through the 4th quarter, Punjabi University coach Amanpreet rested his starters and gave an opportunity to bench players. The game ended 87-62 with Gurdit Singh top scoring for his team with 23 points, while Bhupender had 16 for Jamia in the losing effort.
Punjabi University, Patiala (Gurdit Singh 23 pts, Dildar Singh 16 pts) bt Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi (Abhubay 17, Bhupender 16 pts) 87-62 [23-16, 14-12, 32-19, 18-15]

Anna University bt University of Madras 98-85

The second semi-final of the day was a repeat of last year’s semi-final – a Chennai derby! The match saw Chennai’s top teams, Anna University and University of Madras, go head to head as they fought for a place in the final.
With retribution on its mind after last year’s loss, the Madras team looked to establish its presence in the paint early, via centre P. Vijay. They also deployed a 2-1-2 zone to counter the size advantage that the front court of Anna University has enjoyed throughout the Championship. Anna University quickly adapted to this by depending heavily on their guard play. Led by A. Daniel’s shooting, Anna University scored off 3 pointers which forced the Madras team to open up on defence. Sensing this as an opportunity, they then tried to score from the inside through captain M. Harissh, who unfortunately couldn’t convert due to the defensive pressure applied by P. Vijay. Madras’s smothering interior defence led to the team’s many fast break points. However, with the 3-pointer as a neutraliser, Anna University stayed in the game and trailed by 1 at the end of the first quarter.
With the start of the second quarter, things changed for Anna University. The offense started flowing through their captain M. Harissh who now looked comfortable and drew fouls from Vijay which temporarily slowed down the Madras team. They also switched to a man to man defence and pressured the ball to force Madras University into committing turnovers. The early run and gun offence had now slowed down with each team now meticulously planning and executing plays.
After a slew of turnovers from both teams, Madras University captain A Aravind took over the game. He ensured the rotation of the ball around the perimeter and fed P. Vijay who went to work on Harissh again. On the other end, Anna University ensured that the ball reached their captain Harissh which resulted in a back and forth between Vijay and Harissh on the scoreboard. In a momentary lapse of concentration, Madras committed a silly foul with just one second left on the clock which meant Anna University headed into half time, 49-48, leading by a single point.
The start of the third quarter was what tilted the game in Anna University’s favour. Madras University faced a dry spell as they missed their first 6 shots. Anna capitalised on this and increased their lead on Madras University by passing up good shots for great ones. They scored on every offensive trip and Madras’ failure to score meant that the lead had now ballooned from 1 point to 14. They started fearlessly doubling Vijay in the paint and dared the Madras players to shoot, who missed their wide open attempts. Anna University outscored their opponents 32-14 in the quarter.
In the final ten minutes, Madras University attempted to make a comeback by driving to the hoop to draw fouls from the opposition. Anna University quickly reciprocated this strategy and got key Madras players P. Vijay, Sandeep and Surya in foul trouble. So much so that as the final whistle neared, key players from the Madras University team had been fouled out. In the end Anna had it easy, winning 98-85.
Anna University (A Daniel 27 pts, Harissh M 21 pts) bt University of Madras (H Heamesh 24 points, P Vijay 21 pts) 98-85 [25-26, 24-22, 32-14, 17-23]

About the UBA Universities (UBAU) All India Inter-Zonal University Championship for Men 2017

UBAU is the flagship University sports development programme being run by the Universal Basketball Alliance India Pvt Ltd. It is the world’s largest university basketball tournament. UBAU has acquired the rights to conduct the All India Inter-Zonal University Championship under the aegis of Association of Indian Universities (AIU). The top four teams from each zone: north, south, east and west qualify to the inter-zonal championship and are divided into four pools of four teams each. The matches are being played on a league cum knockout basis. The top two teams from each pool after the league stages qualify to the knockout rounds: quarterfinals, semis, followed by the finals.
This year the participating teams are:

Pool A

  1. Punjabi University
  2. University of Mumbai
  3. University of Calcutta
  4. University of Kerala

Pool B

  1. Anna University
  2. Durg Vishvidyalya Durg
  3. Delhi University
  4. Savitri Bai Phule University Pune

Pool C

  1. University of Rajasthan
  2. Panjab University
  3. SRM University
  4. University of Kerala

Pool D

  1. Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith
  2. University of Madras
  3. L.N.I.P.E Gwalior
  4. Jamia Millia University
For more championship updates visit: www.indianinsanity.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UniversalBasketballAlliance Twitter: @IndianInsanity

About Association of Indian Universities (AIU)

The idea of bringing together all the universities on a common platform emerged from the deliberations of a Conference of the Vice Chancellors of Universities convened by Lord Reading, the then Viceroy of India at Shimla in 1924. The Inter-University Board (IUB) of India was subsequently formed on March 23, 1925, with the view of promoting university activities, especially by way of sharing information and co-operation in the field of education, culture, sports and allied areas. The Inter-University Board acquired a legal status with its registration in 1967 as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. In 1973, it assumed its present name: The Association of Indian Universities (AIU). The membership includes traditional universities, open universities, professional universities, Institutes of National Importance and deemed-to-be universities. In addition, there is a provision of granting of Associate Membership to universities of neighbouring countries.
For media queries contact:
Jason D’souza [+91 99 87 443204], Gopalakrishnan R [+91 81 97 235684]

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