BOMB BLASTS ROCKED MARAWI CITY
Bomb blasts rocked Marawi City in the southern Philippines on Monday as the national flag was raised to mark independence day, almost three weeks after hundreds of militants overran the town and hunkered down with civilians as human shields.
Rescue workers, soldiers and firemen sang the national anthem and listened to speeches as three OV-10 attack aircraft darted through the cloudy sky, taking it in turns to drop bombs on areas where fighters are still holed up.
“We want to tell them [militants] to stop their meaningless fight…,” Vice Provincial Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. told the gathering.
Flag ceremonies are normally performed twice a week, but this was the first in the mainly Muslim town since May 23, the first day of the siege, when the militants killed and abducted Christians, and torched a cathedral.
Almost the entire population of about 200,000 fled from the lakeside town on the Philipppines’ southernmost island of Mindanao, but beyond the checkpoints fencing it off there are still some 500-1,000 civilians trapped or being held hostage.
As of Saturday the number of security forces killed in the battle for Marawi stood at 58. The death toll for civilians was 20 and more than 100 had been killed overall.
The seizure of Marawi by fighters allied to Daesh, including some from the Middle East, has alarmed Southeast Asian nations which fear the ultra-radical group – on a backfoot in Iraq and Syria – is trying to set up a stronghold on Mindanao that could threaten their region.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he had not expected the battle for Marawi to be as serious as it has turned out.
EU BOOST ACCESS TO HEALTH CENTRES ALONG TURKISH-SYRIAN BORDER
UN Migration Agency, EU Boost Access to Health Centres along Turkish-Syrian Border
06/06/17
Themes:
Migration Health
Turkey – Today (06/06), the UN Migration Agency (IOM) handed over medical equipment worth nearly a quarter of a million Euro to Turkey’s Saraykent Migrant Health Training Centre to provide medical services to approximately 5,600 migrants and refugees each month in Hatay province, on the Turkish-Syrian border. The equipment was funded by the European Union (EU).
Approximately, 380,000 Syrians live in Hatay province in a country hosting over 3.2 million people seeking protection.
“Health is a fundamental right for every person and is one of the building blocks needed for a productive society,” said Lado Gvilava, IOM Turkey Chief of Mission. “A healthy population means children can be in school and adults are able to earn a living.”
Under the Temporary Protection Regulation, Turkey offers the right to access basic services, such as health and education for Syrians registered under temporary protection. However, some Syrians continue to face challenges that affect access to services, including the language barrier, geographical distance, and lack of awareness.
The Saraykent Migrant Health Training Centre aims to overcome these barriers by providing free medical services to migrants and refugees in Arabic.
The handover of this medical equipment is one part of the EUR 6.7 million Enhancing Access to Services, Strengthening Resilience of Host Communities and Facilitating Integration of Refugees project to complement the Turkish government’s efforts to provide essential services to migrants and refugees. In addition to providing medical equipment, the project also runs two community centres and one medical clinical reaching both the host community and the Syrian population.
Services provided under the project include educational programmes, legal counselling, psychosocial support, vocational training, community outreach and conflict management activities for the migrant and refugee populations in these communities. Since July 2015, over 150,000 Syrians and local community members have accessed the services.
“EU is committed to support the health sector in Turkey in all possible ways and through all EU financial instruments,” said Christian Berger, Ambassador of the EU to Turkey.
“In addition to our EUR 300 million grant to the Ministry of Health, we have also been funding IOM to increase access to a wide range of services for refugees and host communities, including health services. This medical equipment procured under the IOM-implemented project will be used to train doctors and nurses in this very same Migrant Health Training Centre and will then be used, after the training courses are completed, to provide health care to Syrians in a Migrant Health Centre Unit in Antakya,” noted Ambassador Berger.
MEDITERRANEAN MIGRANT ARRIVALS
Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 71,418 in 2017; Deaths: 1,650
Posted:
06/06/17
Humanitarian Emergencies, Missing Migrants
Switzerland – IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 71,418 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017 through 04 June, with nearly 85 percent arriving in Italy and the remainder arriving in Greece, Cyprus and Spain. 1,650 migrants and refugees died at sea attempting this through during this period.
This compares with 206,790 arrivals and 2,512 deaths across the region in the same period last year.
Since the last IOM Mediterranean update (02/06), 510 migrants were rescued at sea have been brought to Italy. IOM staff are deployed at the main landing points in Sicily (including Lampedusa), and Apulia to provide legal assistance to those arriving by sea, monitor the reception conditions and support the authorities in the identification of vulnerable groups.
On Monday (05/06), 110 migrants (including 40 women and 3 children) all of African nationalities were rescued in the waters off Zliten by the Libyan Coast Guard. Following the rescue mission the migrants were taken to Al Khums detention centre. So far in 2017, 8,293 migrants have been rescued outside the Libyan coast and 236 bodies have been retrieved.
On Sunday (06/06), according to the Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM), seven migrants suffocated after being abandoned in a locked van close to the sea. They had been told by the smuggler that they had to wait before being taken to the boat. The survivors (reportedly approximately 30) were transferred to Triq Al Sekka detention centre in Tripoli where they were provided with medical treatment. The bodies of the seven migrants were retrieved by the Libyan Red Crescent.
LUVKUSH RAMLEELA IS ONCE AGAIN ALL SET
LuvKush Ramleela is once again all set to put the stage on fire and mesmerise the devotees!
LuvKush Ramleela Committee the oldest committees in Delhi has been organizing Ramleela at Lal Quila Maidan from last 40 years. The committee has achieved the recognition as the favorite organization in Delhi. Since the inception of its preparations, all the members are filled with zeal and enthusiasm that is quite prominent.
The recent press conference witnessed the presence of some of the recognized Bollywood actors. They also revealed their characters that they will shortly portray in the LuvKush Ramleela. Some of them included Avtar Gill, Shahbaz Khan, Rupa Dutta, Suresh Kumar and Ashok Agarwal (Chairman of Ramleela Committee). Besides this, the grand celebration will also be graced with the presence of political leaders, social reformers, religious leaders, celebrities, dignitaries and general people from all the communities.
As per the characters stated, this year Avtar Gill will be playing the role of ‘khar’ where as the role of meghnad will be played by Shahbaz Khan. Rupa Dutta, who have also played the role of Sita previously will be playing the role of kekai this year.
And according to the last info. Revealed Vishal Kawar will be Ram, Sita will be Shubhi Sharma, Manoj Tiwari will be seen as Angad, Anup Jalota as Kevat, Shankar Sahni as Raja Dashrath. Raza Murad will portray the role of Kumbhkaran, Surendra Pal will be Raja Janak, Jagdiesh Kaliraman, will be playing Hanuman this year. Mukesh Rishi will play the role of Raavan, whereas Vindu Dara Singh will be Parshuram.
The 40-year-old Luv Kush Ramleela will be showcased from 21st September till 1st October 2017 where renowned actors from Bollywood will take part in the Ramleela.
SLOVAK FILM SCREENING IN DELHI AT EU FILM FESTIVAL
EMBASSY TELLS INDIANS IN QATAR NOT TO PANIC
Indian embassy in Doha has asked Indians to stay alerted
Reports suggest that the Indian government has offered to send in supplies
Qatar is likely to keep its considerable resources to maintain its people.
New Delhi, June 10, 2017: India has started to worry about its more than 6,30,000 nationals living in Qatar ever since the four major Arab countries closed sea, air and land links with Qatar. The Indian nationals have been asked to stay alerted by an advisory in the Indian embassy in Doha as the government is monitoring the developments. The Indian nationals have been asked to stay alerted by an advisory in the Indian embassy in Doha as the government is monitoring the developments.
“The Embassy of India is monitoring the situation closely and is in touch with the Qatari authorities to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals in Qatar,” an official statement recorded. There exist only one land route from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, which is used for transportation of essential commodities. The route is now closed after Qatar’s diplomatic isolation by Saudi Arabia-led allies. Qatar being one of the richest countries in the world is likely to put its substantial resources to maintain its populace. Sources said, There should be no immediate sense of panic or shortage as Qatar is well stocked.
Naina Mishra of Newsgram.
Qatar can easily defend its economy and currency against sanctions by other Arab states, Qatari finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi told CNBC television in an interview broadcast on Monday.
He added that the countries which had imposed sanctions would also lose money because of the damage to business in the region.
“A lot of people think we’re the only ones to lose in this… If we’re going to lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar also.”
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism. The sanctions have disrupted flows of imports and other materials into Qatar and caused many foreign banks to scale back their business with the country.
But Emadi said the energy sector and economy of the world’s top liquefied natural gas exporter were essentially operating as normal and that there had not been a serious impact on supplies of food or other goods.
Qatar can import goods from Turkey, the Far East or Europe and it will respond to the crisis by diversifying its economy even more, he told CNBC.
The Qatari riyal has come under pressure in the spot and forward foreign exchange markets, but Emadi said neither this nor a near 10 percent plunge in the local stock market was cause for concern.
“Our reserves and investment funds are more than 250 percent of gross domestic product, so I don’t think there is any reason that people need to be concerned about what’s happening or any speculation on the Qatari riyal.”
TAMIL NADU GIRLS AND PUNJAB BOYS CROWNED JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPS
Noida, 11th June 2017: The 68th Junior National Basketball Championship has concluded at Shiv Nadar University, with Tamil Nadu girls and Punjab boys being crowned champions.
The winners received Rs 1,00,000/-, first runners up received Rs 75,000/- while the second runners up got Rs 50,000/-, from Chief Guest Archana Ramasundaram, DG of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma, Secretary General of the Basketball Federation of India, Dr Mrs Seema Sharma, President, UP Basketball Association (UPBA); Mr Alok Sharma, Additional Director General, Sashastra Seema Bal and patron of the UPBA and Mr Bhupendra Shahi, Hon. Secretary, UPBA.
Finals 1: Tamil Nadu girls bt Uttar Pradesh 69-63
Having created history by reaching the finale for the first time ever, Uttar Pradesh junior women seemed to continue from where they left off in the semis. Scorching hot in the first five minutes, UP showcased its full offensive repertoire. Initially guard Shreyasi Vats got two impossible hook shots to sail through the net, which was then inevitably followed by international scoring forward Vaishnavi Yadav taking over with some penetrating drives and a step back three. UP led early, and defensively, did a great job getting bodies on Tamil Nadu’s starting centre S Pushpa. With Pushpa constantly double teamed down low, it was left to international forward Srishti Suren to capitalize as she got some mid range jumpers to fall. At the end of the first quarter, Uttar Pradesh held a 20-16 lead.
The second quarter saw sloppy play from both teams as they turned the ball over repeatedly. Tamil Nadu’s international point guard M Nishanthi was guilty of missing easy layups. UP took advantage, as Vaishnavi continued her blistering pace of scoring, including a awe-inspiring baseline eurostep finishing with a smart left hand layup. By halftime, UP had doubled its lead to 8 points, 34-26.
The error prone TN side finally got into a rhythm post the halftime break. With its defence clamping down, UP was unable to score on repeated possessions and a three pointer by TN’s Amritha tied the game at 36 all. TN centre Pushpa followed that up with her own offensive onslaught, finally breaking free from the shackles imposed on her by rival forwards Kavya Dwivedi and Reena Patel. At the end of the third quarter the tide had turned as it was Tamil Nadu which now led 46-43. UP had been restricted to just 9 points in the entire period.
With the final 10 minutes to go, it was anybody’s game, as rival point guards Nishanthi of TN and Shivani Gupta of UP traded threes. UP decided to substitute the taller Reena Patel for the smaller Aditi Singh, and that’s when things started to go downhill for the hosts. Despite Aditi’s best efforts, TN centre Pushpa was too much to handle for her, as TN started collecting multiple offensive rebounds. This in turn led to second chance opportunities as Nishanthi and Amritha knocked down shots from beyond the arc to make it a 9 point game with 40 seconds left. Even for a talented scorer like UP’s Vaishnavi Yadav, that lead turned out to be too much to overturn, as UP fell marginally short in the end.
Finals 2: Punjab boys bt Kerala 100-82
In a much anticipated finale, the two strongest junior men’s teams faced off for the ultimate prize of being crowned national champions. This game featured elite matchups across multiple positions, notably, shooting guard (Punjab’s Kanwar Gurbaz Sandhu vs Amal Reghu), small forward (Mandeep Singh vs Joshua George), power forward (Swapnil Sharma vs Md Shiraj) and centre (Princepal Singh vs Sejin Mathew.
Kerala captain Md Shiraj started strong, scoring the first 8 points for his team. On the other end Mandeep returned the favour, as Punjab quickly raced to an 18-8 lead. Down in the post, the wiry leaper Sejin was making his presence felt against the 6ft 10 inch giant Princepal posting a mammoth block that pumped him up and antagonised Princepal in equal measure.
While Princepal was momentarily taken out at the start of the second quarter, his teammates continued to score with ease, building a 35-20 point lead midway through Q2. With Swapnil having limited impact against Shiraj, backup forward Vinay Sharma played some valuables minutes scoring 7 points in quick time. Punjab led 42-22 with a little over three minutes remaining for halftime, and Kerala needed to make drastic alterations on the defensive end in order to make this a fighting contest. Sensing just this, Kerala Coach Sandeep made his players switch to a full court press defence which paid immediate dividends. Punjab were rushed into numerous turnovers as Kerala closed out the final few minutes of the second quarter on a 13-0 run to trail 35-42 going into halftime.
But as Q3 began, it was clear that Kerala had lost all its steam, as Punjab regained full control of proceedings. With Kerala’s half court offence stuttering, it was forced to overly rely on the individual hustle and determination of forward Joshua George. While Joshua battled hard, his one man effort did little to contain Mandeep on the other end. Mandeep, along with point guard Gurwinder ran the pick and roll with centre Princepal Singh, to perfection. The play resulted in either open looks for Gurwinder, driving lanes for Mandeep or else a chance for Princepal to score in the paint or from the line.
As the match neared the final buzzer, Punjab just ran away with it, touching 100 points for good measure.
Results from 11th June 2017
Women:
Finals
- Tamil Nadu (S Pushpa 25, M Nishanthi 15, T Darshini 10) bt Uttar Pradesh (Vaishnavi Yadav 41, Shivani Gupta 9) 69-63 (16-20, 10-14, 20-9, 23-20)
Classification for 3rd & 4th Places
- Kerala (Sreekala R 42) bt Karnataka (Sanjana Ramesh 12, Aishwarya VB 11) 68-52 (10-9, 22-18, 21-18, 15-17)
Men:
Finals
- Punjab (Mandeep Singh 33, Gurwinder Singh 27, Princepal Singh 12) bt Kerala (Md Shiraj 22, Joshua George 20, Amal Reghu 16, Sejin Mathew 14) 100-82 (22-12, 20-23, 29-21, 29-26)
Classification for 3rd & 4th Places
- Rajasthan (Rajeev Kumar 36, Ashish Trivedi 15, Sumeet Kumar 12) bt Tamil Nadu (Sheldin Rashan 18, Arvind Kumar M 16, Shanmugam M 13) 75-68 (18-18, 11, 24, 20-12, 26-14)
Final Standings
| Standings | Junior Women | Junior Men |
| 1 | Tamil Nadu | Punjab |
| 2 | Uttar Pradesh | Kerala |
| 3 | Kerala | Rajasthan |
| 4 | Karnataka | Tamil Nadu |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | Haryana |
| 6 | Punjab | Maharashtra |
| 7 | Maharashtra | Delhi |
| 8 | Madhya Pradesh | Chandigarh |
| 9 | Gujarat | Uttar Pradesh |
| 10 | Rajasthan | Madhya Pradesh |
About the 68th Junior National Basketball Championship 2017
The 68th Junior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women is being held at Shiv Nadar University in GautamBudh Nagar District, Noida, Uttar Pradeshfrom 4th to 11th June 2017. The Championship features 25 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams in the U18 age group, from various Indian States and Union territories, and is being played in a league cum knockout format. Tamil Nadu boys and Karnataka girls are the defending champions from the previous edition held in Puducherry in May 2016.
The teams are grouped into two levels –Level 1 features the top 10 teams from the previous championship divided into two groups of five teams each (Group A and B), while Level 2 features the remaining teams divided into four groups (Group C, D, E, F).
In the league stages, all the teams play each of the other teams in their group once. The top three teams from each of the groups in Level 1 advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the fourth placed teams play pre-quarterfinal games against the top two teams from Level 2.
Over the years, this Championship has provided a platform for the country’s best players in the U18 category to showcase their talents. This allows selectors to identify and shortlist the most promising players and coaches to parachute into national team training camps with an eye towards participation in international events.
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