Friday, October 27, 2017

India will face Kazakhstan in the semifinals at the FIBA U16

India will face Kazakhstan in the semifinals at the FIBA U16 Women’s Asia Championship 2017
Bengaluru, 26th October 2017: The FIBA U16 Women’s Asia Championship 2017 is underway and has reached the knockout stages at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru. The fifth day of this tournament saw 4 quarterfinal matches in division A at the Kanteerava Stadium and 3 division B matches at Koramangala Indoor Stadium.
Hosts India are all set to face Kazakhstan in the semifinals on 26th October. This matchup will be by far India’s most exciting and challenging game as Kazakhstan has lost only one game in the entire tournament whereas India is still unbeaten and reached the semifinals directly after the group phase. Kazakhstan beat Sri Lanka 71-58 today in a tough match-up to reach the semi-finals. The other Semi Final for division B will be between Iran who beat Maldives 129-39 and the winner of the Malaysia-Nepal quarter-final which will be played tonight at 8 P.M.
Division A saw some great quarterfinals’ action with very interesting match-ups. The first game of the day turned out to be a one-sided affair with Australia dominating Hong Kong 123-29, Shyla Jade Heal led the Australian team with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals. The next game of the day saw the three-time champions China trying to secure their semi-final spot in a very tough match against Korea who put in all their heart and mind for the semi-final spot but lost 57-72. Australia will now face China tomorrow in the semifinals on their journey towards what could be their second appearance in a women’s Asian championship.
Later in the day Thailand tried hard to get their second win of the tournament and a semifinal spot but fell short to New Zealand who beat them 80-52. Sharne Pupuke-Robati of New Zealand had a double-double consisting of 16 points and 15 rebounds. New Zealand will face Japan who beat Chinese Taipei 82-49 in another game where we say the weaker team giving a tough time to the respective group phase leaders for their semifinal spot. Sakura Noguchi led the Japanese team with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Analysis of Income & Expenditure of Regional Parties for FY 2015-16

This report, prepared by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) focuses on Income and Expenditure of Regional Parties, during the Financial Year 2015-16, as submitted by the parties to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
For details of share of donations above Rs 20,000 in total donations to the party, top sources of income and top items of expenditure of the parties, please refer to the detailed report in English attached herewith.
Executive Summary
  • For the FY 2015-16, the due date for submission of annual audited accounts for the parties was 31st Oct,’16.
  • Out of the total 47 regional parties, only one-third had submitted their audit reports on time. Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) was the first party to submit, on 11th June, 2016 whileAAP was the last party to submit its report, on 13th July, 2017254 days after the due date.
  • 16 Regional parties have delayed their submission by several days, ranging from 22 days to over 8 months or 254 days.
  • 15 Regional parties which have not submitted their audit report to the ECI, till date include some of the major regional political parties like SP, JKNC, RJD, INLD, AINRC, AIUDF, AJSU, MGP etc.

Total Income and Expenditure of Regional Political Parties for FY 2015-16
  • Total income of the 32 Regional Parties for FY 2015-16 was Rs 221.48 crores of which the parties spent Rs 111.48 crores and declared an unspent amount of Rs 110 crores (49.67% unspent of total income).
  • 14 out of 32 regional parties have reported incurring expenditure more than their total income. Out of these, 3 parties, JVM-PJDU and RLD have spent close to 200% of their total income in the FY 2015-16.
  • 3 parties i.e. DMK, AIADMK, and AIMIM, have more than 80% of their income remaining unspent.
Total Income of Regional Parties FY 2015-16
  • DMK has the highest income of Rs 77.63 crores amongst all regional parties, followed by AIADMKwith Rs 54.938 crores and TDP with Rs 15.978 crores.
  • Parties with top three income alone comprise more than 67% of the total income of 32 regional parties, collectively.
Unknown sources of income of Regional Parties for FY 2015-16
  • In order to compute the unknown sources of income of political parties, it is essential to have details of IT returns as well as donations statements of the political parties. Both the details were available only for 18 Regional Parties.
  •  Total income (from known and unknown sources) of 18 Regional parties during FY 2015-16Rs 206.21 cr.
  • Total income of political parties from known donors (details of donors as available from contribution report submitted by parties to Election Commission): Rs 90.74 cr, which is 44% of the total income of the Regional parties during FY 2015-16.
  • Total income of political parties from other known sources (e.g., sale of assets, membership fees, bank interest, sale of publications, party levy etc.): Rs 74.86 cr, or 36% of total income.
  • Total income of political parties from unknown sources (income specified in the IT Returns whose sources are unknown), for the FY 2015-16 is Rs 40.61 cr, which is 20% of the total income of the parties from all over India. National Parties declared collecting 68.57% (Rs 708.48 cr) of their total income from unknown sources during FY 2015-16.
  • Out of the 18 parties, JMM is the only Regional Party not to declare any income under unknown sources during FY 2015-16.
Details of unknown sources of income as declared by the parties in their IT Returns
  • Among the unknown sources of funding, maximum funds were collected under “Voluntary Contributions” by seventeen Regional Parties during FY 2015-16. A total of Rs 28.945 crores was collected under “Voluntary Contributions” which formed 71.28% of the total income from unknown sources of the Regional Parties.
  • The second most preferred unknown source of funding was “Gross Receipts” under which SADcollected a total of Rs 6.59 crores which formed 16.23% of their total income from unknown sources during FY 2015-16.
  • Six regional parties have more than one unknown source of income while eleven have only one unknown source of income.
  • Parties with highest unknown sources of income are: TRS (Rs 7.245 crores)TDP (Rs 6.876 crores) and SAD (Rs 6.59 crores). For TRS and SAD, their income from unknown sources forms more than 81% of their total income.
 Recommendations of ADR
  • The Supreme Court gave a judgment on September 13, 2013 declaring that no part of a candidate’s affidavit should be left blank. Along the same lines, we recommend that the Election Commission India impose rules that no part of the Form 24A submitted by political parties providing details of donations above Rs 20,000 should be left blank.
  • Full details of all donors should be made available for public scrutiny under the RTI. Some countries where this is done include Bhutan, Nepal, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria, the US and Japan. In none of these countries is it possible for 75% of the source of funds to be unknown.
  • Any party which does not submit its IT returns or donation statement to the ECI on or before the due date, their income should not be tax-exempted and defaulting parties should be derecognized.
  • Those parties not following the ICAI guidelines for auditing of reports should be scrutinized by the IT department.
  • The Regional political parties must provide all information on their finances under the Right to Information Act. This will only strengthen political parties, elections and democracy.

Iraqi Kurdish oil fields deserted

When the Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Shia militia entered a key oil processing facility in Iraq’s north to retake it from Kurdish Peshmerga forces last week, the installation was deserted and its alarm bells ringing.
Engineers and workers on the facility, which processes oil from two major fields in the Kirkuk area of predominantly Sunni Kurdistan, had fled, fearing the military advance.
“No one wanted to risk their life and decided to evacuate as stories about the militia and Qassem Soleimani were spreading fast,” said a senior Kurdish oil industry source, referring to the head of foreign operations (Quds Force) for Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. The source declined to be identified.
Iraqi engineers arrived to the sound of alarm bells warning about system malfunctions, prompting them to immediately shut down wells. Now, they need passwords and expertise from their Kurdish counterparts to restore oil output fully.
The loss of control of Kirkuk oil fields is likely to starve the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of vital oil revenue and cause deep concern to global trading houses such as Vitol and Glencore, which have granted the semi-autonomous government billions of dollars in loans against future oil sales.
Baghdad’s lightning military offensive into northern Iraq came after the KRG held an independence referendum last month.
Maj Gen Soleimani, one of the most influential military figures in the Middle East, with reach in Syria and Lebanon, issued tough warnings to Kurdish leaders ahead of the Iraqi military advance.
“We went inside the oilfield facilities after Kurdish workers fled and we found overalls and safety boots thrown on the ground,” said an engineer from the Baghdad-run North Oil Company (NOC), who declined to be named because he was ordered not to speak publicly about the issue.
“It seems that workers took them off and escaped very quickly.”

IOM Turkey Marks Fifth Year of Supporting People Fleeing Conflict

Turkey –  IOM, the UN Migration agency, is marking its fifth year of providing assistance to migrants and refugees in Turkey and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Syria.  Over two million people – migrants, refugees and IDPs – have received help so far.
After years of regional conflict, millions of people fleeing violence do not have access to necessities or services like food, shelter and education.  Each month, hundreds of migrants and refugees continue to risk everything as they take desperate journeys to build a better life.
“Having a family, providing for your loved ones, educating your children, living in peace.  These are the basic foundations on which we build our lives, but for millions of people affected by the Syrian conflict, this is an untenable reality,” said IOM Turkey Chief of Mission, Lado Gvilava.
In September alone, over 190,000 people were displaced inside Syria, bringing the total number of IDPs to just under six million.  Another 3.3 million Syrians have fled to neighbouring Turkey which hosts the world’s largest refugee population. Since 2015, over a million migrants and refugees have arrived on Greece’s shores from Turkey and nearly 150,000 have been rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard.
IOM Turkey’s assistance programmes for migrants, refugees and IDPs initially focused on meeting the immediate needs of those fleeing the conflict.  As the crisis continued, IOM scaled up its programming to focus on protection and resilience support to Syrians and host communities, as well as providing protection services and basic needs for migrants and refugees rescued at sea.
“IOM’s help has given us some time to breathe and my family to find work,” said Hiba, a Syrian refugee living in Turkey.
With over one million migrants and refugees assisted inside Turkey and another million people assisted in northern Syria, IOM Turkey continues to provide basic needs, education, food security, protection, livelihoods and health services.
Watch the commemoration video.
Read “Rebuilding a Future”
For further information. please contact Abby Dwommoh, IOM Turkey, Tel: +90 312 454 3048, Email: MediaIOMTurkey@iom.int.  

Interview Request : Delhi Bikers at the India Bike Week!

The 5th Edition of India Bike Week, scheduled in November in Goa will see bikers from varied walks of life participating at the festival.
The fastest woman biker of the world Leslie Potterfield, Biking Legend – Freddie Spencer, Prosthetic Leg Biker – Vinod Rawat, Celebral Palsy rider- Dilip Muralidharan,
Dhruv Dholakia – Indian bike tripper and a lot of other biking legend
​s will be present at IBW schedule on 24th – 25th November’17.
Over 20,000 bikers will be participating at IBW. Below are the few interesting profiles of biker who will be a part of

​t​
he biggest biker rave in Asia.
Sourav Priyadarshi –
It’s a WORKSHOP teamed up with a biker cafe started by Saurav ,a former designer at Reebok – his passion for bikes and speed made him start a workshop cum cafe, to transform his creativity into creation – and best in his class at that – we modify bikes as per your need and greed. THROTTLE SHROTTLE is the place you need to be. We specialise in RD-350 and café racer bikes. We modify engine parts and bring you the cheapest and the best automation. Further aided by an extraordinary league of professional mechanics and enthusiasts, we provide you with the best assistance and machining in its class.
So plug in your key, rev your engine and drive in your machine here. We and your machine would make great company.
Parakram Hazarika – Co-Founder, Motorcycle Tales
As a clueless rider, Parakram is inspired by travel stories, inspired by riders and their tales from the road. Interestingly all riders believe in the same ideology. That made him realize that he needs to start capturing all these stories and share it with the community. And thus, Motorcycle Tales came into the picture. Motorcycle Tales explores the relationship between a biker and motorcycle; how they first met and understanding their love. A idea very much inspired by Humans of New York / or similar pages. He started this page 2 years back with his better half, Neha Chandok. This project made sure that he rides more and meet up with new riders… listen to their stories, capture it and share it with the world.
Prankur Rana : 
Prankur Rana is one such artist who loves to live his life to the fullest. He is a travel enthusiast and an artist who rides a modified Royal Enfield, which he calls “ Patina”. Prankur is a bohemian on wheel who brings such beautiful stories through photographs of his bike on the most spectacular locations. He likes to seek the rocky and less explored roads of Himalaya and Uttrakhand. With over 15,000 followers on Instagram, he is a social media influencer and has been a part of many Royal Enfield and Harley Davidson events. But this does not stop him from taking up new challenges and backing his bags to explore India. He has explored the beauty of Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa in backpack trip from Delhi. He never uses geometrical instruments to design his bike, instead he comes up different alternatives like bike spare parts to sketch.
​We wanted to understand if there will be a possibility to interview these Biking enthusiasts! Please connect with us if any further information would be required.
To know more information abut India Bike Week please click on : http://indiabikeweek.in/
Best Regards,

Rhea Virmani
Alphabet Media
Mobile: 08655077225 | 9920531262
rhea@alphabetmedia.in
1, Ground Floor, Indrani Building, 26 Swastik Society, North South Road, Road no.2, Behind NMIMS, Juhu Scheme, Mumbai – 400056.

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