Trend Today

Priyanka, Kareena, Alia, Ranbir, Shilpa: Check Out How Bollywood Stars Partied Last Month

From birthday bashes to raising a toast to new beginnings to letting  their hair down on international shores – Bollywood revellers wore their  party hats on more than one occasion in the past month.
Here’s a lowdown on where and how B-towners rocked the month of September.
<strong>1. Priyanka Chopra Hosted A Party At Her New York Penthouse</strong>
<strong><img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/dc-Cover-22haq1hecq5fu76qsrmemgp241-20160926092350.Medi_.jpeg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/dc-Cover-22haq1hecq5fu76qsrmemgp241-20160926092350.Medi_.jpeg" style="height: 448px; width: 800px;" /></strong>
Well, our desi girl who has temporarily shifted base to New York, where  she is shooting for the second season of her American TV show <strong>Quantico</strong> recently threw a bash for all the cast members of <strong>Quantico</strong> at her New York penthouse.
PeeCee, who plays Alex Parrish in the show wanted to celebrate the  premier of the second season of her show with her co-stars and hosted a  house party for all of them.
According to sources, the party was an intimate affair and the cast  watched the premier together followed by a lavish dinner which comprised  a mix of continental and Indian food.
<strong>2. Alia Bhatt Parties Hard In Spain</strong>
<strong><img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14310714_677409382410632_703610993_n.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14310714_677409382410632_703610993_n.jpg" style="height: 1080px; width: 1080px;" /></strong>
Another Bollywood diva who partied on the international shores was the <strong>Udta Punjab</strong> actress – Alia Bhatt.
<img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14287982_293504011032316_930769361_n.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14287982_293504011032316_930769361_n.jpg" style="height: 640px; width: 640px;" />
Taking time from her hectic schedules the <strong><span class="scayt-misspell-word">Badrinath</span> Ki <span class="scayt-misspell-word" style="background-image: url("waveline.gif");">Dulhania</span></strong> actress flew all the way to Spain to surprise a friend for her birthday and partied hard over the weekend.
<img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14309916_524988261031719_1314148480_n.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14309916_524988261031719_1314148480_n.jpg" style="height: 1080px; width: 1080px;" />
She even shared pictures from her friend’s birthday celebration on  Instagram. And looking at the pictures we can safely say that our petite  Bhatt girl had indeed had a wild time.
<strong>3. Rima Jain’s 60<sup>th</sup> Birthday Bash</strong>
<strong><img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/thequint%252F2016-09%252Fc8856472-d2b4-4e31-8fcc-31f27c00eeb1%252FVYG_7416.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/thequint%252F2016-09%252Fc8856472-d2b4-4e31-8fcc-31f27c00eeb1%252FVYG_7416.jpg" style="height: 1100px; width: 672px;" /></strong>
With who’s who of the industry gracing the 60<sup>th</sup> birthday celebrations of legendary actor Raj Kapoor’s daughter Rima Jain, this event was undoubtedly the bash of the month.
Right from the Bachchans to Ambanis to Karan Johar to Sridevi to Anil  Kapoor to the whole of Kapoor Khandan – every Bollywoodian headed to  Amadeus, Nariman Point where the grand party was held.
<img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/thequint%252F2016-09%252Fa5458c4e-d0ce-4695-b80a-f0ed577b71ff%252FVYG_7196.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/thequint%252F2016-09%252Fa5458c4e-d0ce-4695-b80a-f0ed577b71ff%252FVYG_7196.jpg" style="height: 890px; width: 672px;" />
<img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/thequint%252F2016-09%252F2591b0f4-2840-4bf3-930b-ec204fcf1aa4%252FDSC_1694%20%281%29.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/thequint%252F2016-09%252F2591b0f4-2840-4bf3-930b-ec204fcf1aa4%252FDSC_1694%20%281%29.jpg" style="height: 747px; width: 672px;" />
<strong>4. Ranbir Kapoor Celebrated His Birthday</strong>
<strong><img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/IMG_5395-1.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/IMG_5395-1.jpg" style="height: 400px; width: 600px;" /></strong>
The <strong>Ae Dil Hai Mushkil</strong> actor turned 34 last month and Ranbir celebrated his special day with his family and friends.
<img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/IMG_5396.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/IMG_5396.jpg" style="height: 400px; width: 600px;" />
<img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/ranbirkapoor-riddhimakapoor-neetu.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/ranbirkapoor-riddhimakapoor-neetu.jpg" style="height: 609px; width: 700px;" />
A celebration at home with family and a celebration on the sets of <strong>Jagga Jasoos</strong> with Arjun Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Anurag Basu, the birthday boy indeed had a rollicking time.
<strong>5. B-Town Revellers At Shaad Ali’s House Party</strong>
<strong><img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/teaserAditya-roy-kapoor-1shradha-2792016.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/teaserAditya-roy-kapoor-1shradha-2792016.jpg" style="height: 500px; width: 600px;" /></strong>
Despite being a Monday night, it was quite a happening night in Bollywood.

The <strong>Ok Jaanu</strong> director Shaad Ali decided to throw a  random bash for his B-town pals and the likes of Katrina Kaif, Sidharth  Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur turned the party into a  rocking night as they let down their hair and partied until the wee  hours.
<strong>6. Kareena’s Birthday Party</strong>
<strong><img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14374018_1107990619254383_6090512162600517632_n.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14374018_1107990619254383_6090512162600517632_n.jpg" style="height: 1080px; width: 1080px;" /></strong>
It was Bebo darling’s birthday last month and it was obvious that the  mommy-to-be celebrated the day with a grand affair along with family and  friends at a house party where she binged her way through her favorite  delicacies and had a gala time with all her loved ones.
<img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14374467_701467003352648_9135717814542270464_n.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/14374467_701467003352648_9135717814542270464_n.jpg" style="height: 1080px; width: 1080px;" />
<strong>7. Shilpa Shetty’s Surprise Birthday Party For Husband</strong>
<strong><img alt="" href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/shilpa_raj_birthday_14734.jpg" src="http://www.liveinstyle.com/sites/default/files/shilpa_raj_birthday_14734.jpg" style="height: 566px; width: 655px;" /></strong>
When husband Raj Kundra turned a year older, his doting wife Shilpa  Shetty Kundra decided to throw a surprise birthday bash for him.
The guest list included Shilpa and Raj’s close friends like Sushmita  Sen, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia, Dia and Sahil Sangha, Suniel Shetty,  Anil Kapoor, among others.
LiveInStyle.com encourages you to Party Responsibly!
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><em>Image credits: Instagram, thequint, bollywoodlife, daily.bhaskar</em></span>

Priyanka, Kareena, Alia, Ranbir, Shilpa: Check Out How Bollywood Stars Partied Last Month

From birthday bashes to raising a toast to new beginnings to letting their hair down on international shores – Bollywood revellers wore the...

December 09, 2016

Cashless Economy Still a Fantasy for Indians Snubbed by Banks

<img alt="" class="lazy" data-image-format="pjpeg" data-image-key="bloombergquint/2016-12/92bbcffc-c5ad-4a6b-863e-eedc16c17c0c/307280235_1-9.jpg" data-image-retina-factor="1" data-image-variant="imageStoryElement" src="http://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iWR2ApEz_O60/v0/1200x-1.jpg" style="display: inline-block;" /><span style="background-color: #cccccc;">Paytm digital payment method sign at a spice stall in Delhi.Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg</span>

<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“There is no reason we cannot move towards a cashless India,” Modi said Nov. 27, reinforcing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s earlier assertion that the cash ban “will take India towards a cashless economy."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But on the streets in New Delhi, it’s not quite turning out that way. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Deepak Kumar, a 22-year-old security guard who earns 7,500 rupees a month, tried to open an account with a New Delhi branch of the State Bank of India after receiving his salary in old notes. The bank refused, telling him to return in January, he said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“They said we’re only looking after our customers, we don’t have time to add new customers,” Kumar said, adding he wouldn’t try to open an bank account again. “This cashless thing is good for big people, but for small people like us, it doesn’t mean anything."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Such anecdotes are fueling doubts the demonetization move will lead to a substantial shift to online or mobile payments, particularly among the vast population of poor Indians who lack the necessary bank accounts.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
India’s Cash Chaos by the Numbers: Guide to Banknote Revamp</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Cash dependent</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Problem is, while e-commerce is booming, India remains one of the most cash-dependent countries in the world.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just over half of the nation’s adults have bank accounts, a precursor to using digital payments. Roughly 98 percent of all transactions are in cash, with 11 percent of consumers using a debit card in 2015, while most retailers don’t accept cards. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the days after Modi’s Nov. 8 announcement, digital payment companies such as Paytm Mobile Solutions Pvt. Ltd. lauded the move in newspaper ads and said digital payments usage was up. But most new customers will likely be wealthier urbanites, said Saksham Khosla, a research analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace India.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“I’m very doubtful that this will lead to any meaningful financial inclusion," Khosla said. "It does seem a little tacked on. They’re trying to find more and more uses for demonetization than may have originally been intended." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Flip-Flops: U-Turns Blight Modi’s Cash Ban, Leaving Indians Outraged</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Part of the problem is the poor penetration of banks in India’s villages -- there are only 18 ATMs per 100,000 citizens in India, according to the World Bank, compared to 129 in Brazil. Additionally, just 22 percent of Indians use the Internet “at least occasionally” and only 17 percent have a smartphone, according to a Pew Research Center report.</div>

Cashless Economy Still a Fantasy for Indians Snubbed by Banks

Paytm digital payment method sign at a spice stall in Delhi.Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg “There is no reason we cannot mo...

December 09, 2016

Indian economy racing before Modi removed oxygen of cash

<h1 class="article-headline">
<img alt="" class="" src="http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20161130&t=2&i=1163653319&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=780&pl=468&sq=&r=LYNXMPECAT14R" style="opacity: 1;" /></h1>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By Rajesh Kumar Singh | NEW DELHI</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
India posted on Wednesday the world's fastest growth rate for a large economy in the September quarter, yet that offered cold comfort after misery inflicted by the government's unexpected move to remove high denomination banknotes from circulation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Gross domestic product (GDP) INGDPQ=ECI clocked an annual 7.3 percent growth between July and September, faster than 7.1 percent in the previous quarter and higher than China's 6.7 percent.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That impressive headline figure, however, failed to mask the underlying weakness in Asia's third-largest economy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Not only was the overall growth lower than expected, it was primarily driven by consumer and government spending. Contraction in capital investment deepened.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision this month to scrap 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee banknotes as part of a crackdown on tax dodgers and counterfeiters denting consumer spending, which makes up 55 percent of India's economy, the outlook for upcoming quarters is not encouraging.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In a country where most people are paid in cash, and buy what they need with cash, Modi's decision has removed 86 percent of the currency in circulation virtually overnight. His shock therapy has left companies, farmers and households suffering.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Post-demonetization the situation is really grim whether you look at any sector or talk to people," said Devendra Kumar Pant, chief economist at India Ratings & Research.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
KNOCK-ON EFFECTS</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Economists agree the economy will take a hit this quarter and for several quarters to follow. But opinions on the scale of damage vary widely.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expects a minor impact lasting for a quarter or two. Private economists, however, reckon the impact would be felt through 2018.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The most optimistic forecasts suggest that India will finish this fiscal year in March with a respectable, but slightly lower, growth rate of 7.3 percent.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But the most pessimistic forecast, from Mumbai-based brokerage Ambit Capital, is for a precipitous drop to 3.5 percent growth.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Modi has sold the move as an attack on the illicit "black economy", it is also aimed at shrinking the cash economy which has lasted so long because few Indians have bank cards and infrastructure for online transactions is poor.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
According to Credit Suisse more than 90 percent of consumer purchases are made in cash, while another study shows 85 percent of workers are paid in cash.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The crackdown will also have a spillover effect for India's formal economy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Take India's construction sector, for example. It relies on so called "black money" for funding, but it accounts for about eight percent of GDP, employs about 40 million people and has a direct bearing on steel, cement and manufacturing companies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"In terms of the policy implications, today's release is unlikely to have much of an impact," said Shilan Shah, India Economist with Capital Economics. "Attention has already turned to the impact of the government's demonetization measures."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
STRANDED TRUCKS</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Supply chains at small, medium and even larger companies are already crumbling. Trucks are stranded with no money for fuel, workers won't load goods for free, and distributors can't pay up. Wholesale markets in many cities are shut.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the wheat-growing states, farmers have told Reuters they have run out of cash, and as a consequence sales of seeds and fertilizer have plunged halfway through the sowing season.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At least the potential for lower inflation holds out some hope that the Reserve Bank of India will extend its easing cycle with a quick interest rate cut - possibly as early as next month.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"We think that it will attempt to cushion the blow from demonetization," said Shah, who expects a 25 basis rate cut at the central bank's policy review meeting on Dec. 6-7.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(This story was refiled to remove extraneous word in fourth paragraph)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)</div>

Indian economy racing before Modi removed oxygen of cash

By Rajesh Kumar Singh | NEW DELHI India posted on Wednesday the world's fastest growth rate for a large economy in the September ...

December 09, 2016

India inflation likely cooled further in November after cash clampdown: Reuters poll

<div style="text-align: justify;">
<img alt="A vendor selling clothes smokes a bidi, a local cigarette hand-rolled with leaf tobacco, as he waits for customers at his stall under a flyover market at a market in Kolkata, India, July 13, 2015. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/Files" border="0" src="http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20161209&t=2&i=1164772712&w=780&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXMPECB806I" /> By Krishna Eluri </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
BENGALURU (REUTERS)Indian inflation is expected to have cooled to a 14-month low in November after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise removal of high denomination bank notes caused an intense cash shortage and severely hurt consumption, a Reuters poll found.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Modi's announcement on November 8 that he was withdrawing 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes in an attempt to curb corruption and tax evasion made it much harder for consumers to make purchases in the predominantly cash-based economy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Consumer spending makes up 55 percent of India's economy and most people buy and get paid in cash. The virtual overnight removal of 86 percent of the currency in circulation has left companies, farmers and households suffering.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Inflation is expected to ease to 3.90 percent in November from a year earlier, according to the median consensus from the Reuters poll of over 20 economists.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That would compare with October's 4.20 percent and the Reserve Bank of India's target of 4 percent to be reached by 2021.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Overall, I think there is a 10- to 20-basis point impact on inflation due to demonetization. We have downgraded our forecast to the same degree," said Tushar Arora, senior economist at HDFC Bank.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Indian services activity dived into contraction last month due to a sharp decline in demand following the withdrawal of the high denomination bank notes, with factory activity showing a sharp deceleration as well.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Despite the turmoil following the cash clampdown, India's central bank surprised markets by eschewing a rate cut and leaving its key policy rate unchanged at 6.25 percent this week, choosing to wait for more information before judging the full effects of the demonetization.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Before last month's announcement, the recently formed Monetary Policy Committee chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel was expected to cut interest rates in early 2017.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With the central bank passing up the opportunity to make a rate cut in December, despite cooling inflation, a February move could be on the menu.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wholesale price inflation likely cooled to 3.10 percent in November from 3.39 percent in October, the poll found.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(Polling by Shaloo Shrivastava and Khushboo Mittal; Editing by Kim Coghill)</div>

India inflation likely cooled further in November after cash clampdown: Reuters poll

By Krishna Eluri BENGALURU (REUTERS)Indian inflation is expected to have cooled to a 14-month low in November after Prime Minister Nar...

December 09, 2016

Exclusive: Bangladesh panel finds insiders negligent in central bank heist

<img alt="Commuters pass by the front of the Bangladesh central bank building in Dhaka March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Ashikur Rahman/Files" border="0" src="http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20161208&t=2&i=1164688095&w=780&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXMPECB70T5" /> 
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By Serajul Quadir </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
DHAKA(REUTERS)A Bangladesh government-appointed panel investigating the cyber-heist of $81 million from its central bank in February found five officials at the bank were guilty of negligence and carelessness, the head of the panel told Reuters on Thursday.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In his first detailed comments on the inquiry since a report was submitted to the government in May, former central bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin said the officials were low to mid-level and were not directly involved in the crime.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"They were negligent, careless and indirect accomplices," he said in an interview in his office. "The committee came to the conclusion that the heist was essentially committed by external elements."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
ADVERTISING</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bangladesh has so far refused to make the inquiry report public saying it wanted to deny perpetrators knowledge of the investigation into one of the world's biggest cyber-heists.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was not immediately known if Bangladesh had shared the report with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the main agency investigating the crime.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Farashuddin did not name the officials he found were negligent. A senior central bank official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no action had been taken against any employee since the inquiry report had not been made public.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined comment.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although over 10 months have passed since the heist, there have been no arrests and no word on who carried out the complex heist.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hackers used stolen credentials to try to transfer nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York through the SWIFT transaction system. Many of the transfer orders were blocked or reversed but $81 million was sent to accounts in a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) in the Philippines.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The money eventually went into the sprawling casino industry in the Philippines and most of it remains untraced.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Like Bangladesh police investigators, Farashuddin said the inquiry panel also found the hackers may have exploited loopholes in the bank's online security when technicians hooked up the central bank's local money transfer system with SWIFT's international payments network late last year.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
SWIFT has denied charges that its technicians were responsible for exposing Bangladesh Bank's systems to hackers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Reuters has reported earlier that Bangladesh Bank had not protected its computer system with a firewall, and used second-hand $10 electronic switches to network computers linked to SWIFT, weaknesses that the hackers may also have exploited.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Farashuddin said that RCBC was responsible for allowing the stolen funds to be withdrawn and disbursed into the casino industry. Bangladesh has said it wants RCBC to compensate it for its losses.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
RCBC has said Bangladesh Bank was "negligent" in letting the initial security breach take place there, and hence the Manila-based bank need not pay any compensation. So far only about $15 million of the stolen funds have been recovered.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Farashuddin said his personal opinion was it would be better to make the inquiry report public, since it would make clear that some local officials were negligent but not responsible for the heist.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"If the government would publish, then Bangladesh Bank's position would be strengthened," he said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bangladesh's law minister said earlier this week that his government would share the findings of the inquiry with Philippine authorities.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)</div>

Exclusive: Bangladesh panel finds insiders negligent in central bank heist

By Serajul Quadir DHAKA(REUTERS)A Bangladesh government-appointed panel investigating the cyber-heist of $81 million from its centra...

December 09, 2016

Pakistan mourns 47 killed in air crash, as investigators seek answers

<img />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #999999;">Relatives grieve as they wait for word on the collection of the remains of victims of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash at PIMS hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan December 8, 2016. REUTERS/Caren Firouz</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Asad Hashim </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>ISLAMABAD (REUTERS) </b>Pakistan on Thursday mourned the 47 victims of its deadliest plane crash in four years, including a famed rock star-turned-Muslim evangelist, as officials sought to pinpoint the cause of the disaster.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Engine trouble was initially believed responsible, but many questions remain, stirring new worries about the safety record of money-losing state carrier Pakistani International Airlines.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The ATR-42 aircraft involved in the crash had undergone regular maintenance, including an "A-check" certification in October, said airline chairman Muhammad Azam Saigol.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"I want to make it clear that it was a perfectly sound aircraft," Saigol said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The aircraft appeared to have suffered a failure in one of its two turboprop engines just before the crash, he added, but this would have to be confirmed by an investigation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"I think there was no technical error or human error," Saigol told a news conference late on Wednesday. "Obviously there will be a proper investigation."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Grief erupted online soon after flight PK661 smashed into the side of a mountain near the town of Havelian, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, on Wednesday, after taking off from the mountain resort region of Chitral.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It crashed just 50 km (31 miles) short of its destination, the international airport in Islamabad, the capital.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A PIA spokesman said the pilot, who issued a "mayday" emergency call before the crash, may have prevented an even bigger catastrophe by manoeuvring the plane away from populated areas.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"It seems that the pilot directed it away from people's homes. Otherwise there could have been even more damage," Daniyal Gillani told Reuters outside a morgue at an Islamabad hospital where bodies were being identified.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Stunned relatives gathered there, some weeping quietly, others besieging officials with questions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"What can I tell you?" said Raja Amir, as he waited for his mother's remains. "I don't know what we will get of her. There is still another hell to go through." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Remains continue to be brought by helicopter to Islamabad, where DNA tests will be used to identify them.

Television images appeared to show rescue officials retrieving the aircraft's "black box" flight recorder from the wreckage, and the airline confirmed the recovery to the Geo News channel.

ROCK STAR AND ROYALTY

Much of the public's anguish focused on Junaid Jamshed, the vocalist of Vital Signs, one of Pakistan's first and most successful bands of the 1990s, who abandoned his music career in 2001 to become a travelling evangelist with the conservative Tableeghi Jamaat group.

Many comments on social network Twitter pointed up the contrast between his two roles, first as a pop sensation singing about love and heartbreak, and then as a stern, bearded preacher admonishing young people for straying from Islam.

"Junaid Jamshed's journey was so quintessentially Pakistani. Conflicted, passionate, devoted, ubersmart, and so, so talented. Tragic loss," Mosharraf Zaidi, an Islamabad-based development professional and analyst, said in a tweet.

Others simply shared his band's many hits, such as 'Dil Dil Pakistan', which has become an unofficial anthem, played at public gatherings since its release in 1987.

Among the 46 others who perished were two infants, three foreigners - two Austrians and a Chinese man - and five crew listed on the manifest.

Foreign tourists increasingly travel to Chitral, along with numerous domestic visitors, as Pakistan emerges from years of militant violence.

The dead included a member of Chitral's traditional royal family, his wife and family, besides a regional administrative official, Osama Ahmad Warraich, killed with his wife and infant daughter.

At a funeral for the Warraich family, Osama's mother was seen waving at the coffins and weeping: "Let me say goodbye to my kids one more time".

Pakistan mourns 47 killed in air crash, as investigators seek answers

Relatives grieve as they wait for word on the collection of the remains of victims of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane cra...

December 09, 2016

U.S. defence chief visits Afghanistan amid questions over Trump's foreign policy

<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20161209&t=2&i=1164769072&w=380&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXMPECB806G" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo" border="0" height="426" src="http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20161209&t=2&i=1164769072&w=380&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXMPECB806G" width="640" /></a> <b>BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Reuters)</b> U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter made an  unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday, amid questions about what  President-elect Donald Trump's foreign policy will mean for the country  as it faces a renewed Taliban-led insurgency.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday, amid questions about what President-elect Donald Trump's foreign policy will mean for the country as it faces a renewed Taliban-led insurgency.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Carter will meet U.S. troops and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani while in Afghanistan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Trump has given few details on his foreign policy plan, with surprisingly little specifics on Afghanistan, where nearly 10,000 U.S. troops still remain more than 15 years after the Islamist Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Afghanistan was barely mentioned during a bitterly fought election campaign, which largely focused on domestic issues, between Republican Trump and his Democratic rival, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Trump, however has said the United States should stop carrying out "nation building".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ghani and Trump spoke by telephone last week, the Trump transition team said in a statement, when they discussed the "terrorism threats facing both countries".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the most important questions on Afghanistan facing Trump, former officials and experts say, is how many U.S. troops will remain there.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Acknowledging that security in Afghanistan remained precarious and Taliban forces had gained ground in some places, President Barack Obama shelved plans to cut the U.S. presence almost in half by year's end, opting instead to keep 8,400 troops there through to the end of his presidency in January.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
General John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, said last week there was a medium level of risk with the current number of U.S. forces.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"My assessment of our current capabilities (is that) we have adequate resources to conduct this mission at a moderate level of risk going forward ... this is acceptable for what we need to conduct," Nicholson told a Pentagon briefing. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
James Dobbins, a former U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, said Afghanistan would not factor highly for Trump given the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This, Dobbins said, was likely to mean that the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan would remain unchanged, at least in the short term.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Trump will inherit a challenging security situation in Afghanistan. A number of provincial capitals have been under pressure from Taliban militants and Afghan forces have been suffering high casualty rates, with more than 5,500 killed in the first eight months of 2016.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Paul Tait)</div>

U.S. defence chief visits Afghanistan amid questions over Trump's foreign policy

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday, amid questions about...

December 09, 2016

Seventh Conference of South Asian Bloggers to be held in Newzealand.

<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguK5ILdy9URiKoZq74wkTLXBES2Z7dGa7V5KzMGQLEjxQyDvuJ0z_du3egWXwvzhFR1WKEW4ocKmwPz4y0HMSam1I0ZdgmB-iXhyphenhyphena_dXo8bk42IrVprbKCXpApi87bfvcWr7sSWbv577am/s1600/Seddon_Statue_in_Parliament_Grounds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguK5ILdy9URiKoZq74wkTLXBES2Z7dGa7V5KzMGQLEjxQyDvuJ0z_du3egWXwvzhFR1WKEW4ocKmwPz4y0HMSam1I0ZdgmB-iXhyphenhyphena_dXo8bk42IrVprbKCXpApi87bfvcWr7sSWbv577am/s640/Seddon_Statue_in_Parliament_Grounds.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> <u><span style="font-size: x-small;">Staff Reporter</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">H</span>indi is getting established as a reputed language not only in India but across the world. Apart from movies and literature, blogging which has established itself as a form of new media is also helping in the spread of Hindi. As such, to provide a common stage for bloggers, 'Parikalpana Samay', Hindi monthly magazine published from Lucknow and ‘Parikalpana’ literary organization have been organizing International Blogger’s Conference for the last Seven years. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The main objective of the conference is to create ground for development of blogging in the World, promote Hindi literature and Indian culture, and provide opportunities for language harmony and cultural study and tourism. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chief Editor of Parikalpana Samay and Organizer of ‘International Bloggers Conference’ Mr. Ravindra Prabhat said that after having successfully organized the conference in Delhi (India), Lucknow (India),  Kathmandu (Nepal), Thimpu (Bhutan), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Bangkok (Thailand). this time the seventh International Blogger’s Conference will be organized from 23 Dec. 2016 to 1 January, 2017 in Auckland, Hamilton & Rotorua in New Zealand. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqBbOIh1Sw4K0QHP3qwoH9lcLT61iAMH-ggcsGkLpT2BTvJEcpuCjYc77cN1dadXb1LKi0TJYKfXpteEZPRPtNeE3dk6ribNjMC8QkQDHkicIddjWkACC79ZAgeH3v_RLIPiW6XFSYsgc/s1600/1e315f5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqBbOIh1Sw4K0QHP3qwoH9lcLT61iAMH-ggcsGkLpT2BTvJEcpuCjYc77cN1dadXb1LKi0TJYKfXpteEZPRPtNeE3dk6ribNjMC8QkQDHkicIddjWkACC79ZAgeH3v_RLIPiW6XFSYsgc/s200/1e315f5.jpg" width="200" /></a>This time the host of this conference will be NRI Mrs. Suman Kapoor. she is an activist, educationist, research scholar, entrepreneur, a hospitality professional, social critic and writer of New Zealand. She is not an activist, not even a protester but visionary who values and recognises diversity. She has led and served various NGO’s and is currently the Chairperson of GOPIO International Women Council. She is a creative high achiever with a deep involvement with philanthropic and linguistic areas and is always true catalyst for positive change both within New Zealand and globally. She is Formerly founding President of GOPIO Waikato Chapter and Life Member of GOPIO; Double postgraduate, an; Director Indian Cuisine in company at New Zealand; executive at National council of women, Waikato Graduate women, Multicultural council , interfaith council and Indian organizations; community advocate, serving various boards and committees, leading positions in New Zealand.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The host of this conference Mrs. Suman Kapoor Said that the Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi has emphasized on historical and cultural relation between India and the out side of world and sought to promote co-operation and harmony between the all countries. This blogger’s conference being organized in New Zealand is an effort in the same direction.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mr. Ravindra Prabhat and Mrs. Suman Kapoor jointly said that on this occasion celebrities from the field of blogging, literature, social and cultural world will be felicitated.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uZL6_MoDc1afCys9gC3LX1k3bK6GnAow2nB-Cst6F1eBL7xR2NpJ_G3xUriIVgz5WC29WtH-g6Qjo85_cquwtqFgs0oifFEAdJoPL9Yp9yxb_IQpoVfIZznXOHWd6hKyF-fSr0BdgkKJ/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uZL6_MoDc1afCys9gC3LX1k3bK6GnAow2nB-Cst6F1eBL7xR2NpJ_G3xUriIVgz5WC29WtH-g6Qjo85_cquwtqFgs0oifFEAdJoPL9Yp9yxb_IQpoVfIZznXOHWd6hKyF-fSr0BdgkKJ/s200/index.jpg" width="133" /></a>During the conference more than bloggers will be awarded out of which some important ones are Mrs. Rekha Rajvanshi from Australia , Mr. Ravi Kant Mittal, Mrs. Seema Gupta and Ms. Sarjana Sharma from Delhi, Mrs. Dr. Urmila Shukla from Raipur in Chhatisgarh, Dr. Anita Srivastava, Dr. Archana Srivastava, Dr. Nirmala Singh Nirmal, Ratna Srivastava, Dr. O.P. Singh and Mrs. Kusum Verma  from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; Dr. Rama kant Kushwaha  from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh; Dr. Vijay Pratap Srivastava from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and Mrs. Sampat Devi Murarka & Rajesh Murarka from Hyderabad in Telangana.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mr. Prabhat said that during the conference, study of Hindi in global perspective especially in New Zealand, promotion of Hindi literature, various dimensions of blogging as new media and role of Social Media in changing times etc. will be discussed. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Kusum Verma Night in Auckland</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF14XtvkTJftygjEtl4hsoFxaKj-XkPhlPb-KMVnunmnLQ89KBHWOylAR7NQSSqMqHKTdIHmVd7dQn0e6ZCh_Q16U35AWfpTlgO1t9Kn3tfXvfPnOgg6HJmebUeGLRJxfWikcgx8V5Q__9/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF14XtvkTJftygjEtl4hsoFxaKj-XkPhlPb-KMVnunmnLQ89KBHWOylAR7NQSSqMqHKTdIHmVd7dQn0e6ZCh_Q16U35AWfpTlgO1t9Kn3tfXvfPnOgg6HJmebUeGLRJxfWikcgx8V5Q__9/s1600/images.jpg" /></a>After the conference in night of 25th Dec. 2016, Indian folk singer & dancer Kusum Verma will be performed on the stage.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Kusum Verma is a folk-singer, Poet, performer and danser from Uttar Pradesh, India. She sings Bhojpuri and Awadhi folk songs, and has received the Parikalpna Sur-Saraswati Award for her contribution to music. Kusum did not get any sort of formal training of classical music neither before nor after becoming a successful folk singer but She had an effective command over high and low notes. She is best known for her distinctive, melodious, powerful voice, complex and dark emotional expressions which led many critics to state her voice as the greatest and most distinctive they had ever heard. She is acclaimed as one of the greatest singers ever lived in central Uttar Pradesh and could sing high tenor notes with ease. She has performed national and international stages, like Kolkata, Delhi, Allahabad, lucknow, Mahoba, Gonda, Lakhimpur Kheeri and Kathmandu in Nepal, Thimpu & Paro in Bhutan, Kaindi & Colombo in Sri Lanka, Pataya & Bangkok in Thaighland etc.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Along with folk song she will be presented a Nritya Natika of 1 hr 10 minutes. Which is based on a Mahakavya PADMAVAT written by very famous writer MALIK MOHAMMED JAYASI . The title of the NrityaNatika is BARAHMASA.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The theme is the queen Nagmati of the king RatnaSen of chittod is so beautiful and always want approval & praise of her beauty from friends. But one day she heard the beauty of the queen Paďmawati of Singhaldweep by her parrot Heeramann . She told it to the Heeramann not to tell it to the  king but one day Heeramann explained about the  beauty of Padmini to the king, King immediately depart to Singhaldweep . Naagmati cursed Heeramann for that and start waiting for the arraival of her king back to home . Means all the twelve months. It is a recorded programme . </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Art Exhibition in Hamilton</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixti_zjFwb0Rp_gEma4c_3wp-IQy8wQVBIs0V0lLOtDcpcgU5nimJ1YwBbZKrnngZrIb4egJSIZKPylPOaYOADlvZ22pU0Xz8xFUeZ3KJPmq5GDIP67u030dXDTxzfVsm1I0uMpcWfledh/s1600/index1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixti_zjFwb0Rp_gEma4c_3wp-IQy8wQVBIs0V0lLOtDcpcgU5nimJ1YwBbZKrnngZrIb4egJSIZKPylPOaYOADlvZ22pU0Xz8xFUeZ3KJPmq5GDIP67u030dXDTxzfVsm1I0uMpcWfledh/s1600/index1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The next day, 26th September 2016 will be held Art Exhibition and International kavi sammelan in Hamilton. Exhibited Indian folk art and culture. These are traditional painting like ; TulsiChauk, Chhath Pooja,Karwa Chauth and Kohber etc.

<b>Participation </b>
<b> </b>
Few media persons will be participated in this conference like Ms. Sarjana Sharma, Ceative Head, kabir Communication, Mr. Ravi Kant Mittal, C.O.O. Sanskar TV and Mrs. Seema Gupta, News Editor Aj Tak. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Eight poets from india will be participated in Kavi Sammelan like Mr. Ravindra Prabhat from Lucknow, Dr. Urmila Shukla from Raipur, Dr. Ramakant Kushwaha from Deoria, Dr. Vijay Pratap Srivastava from Kushinagar, Dr. Nirmala Singh 'Nirmal' from Lucknow, Mrs. Sampat Devi Murarka from Hyderabad, Dr. Archana Srivastava from Lucknow, Mrs. Kusum Verma from Lucknow, Shri Ravi Kant Mittal from Delhi and Mrs. Ratna Srivastava (Announcer) etc. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
() () () </div>

Seventh Conference of South Asian Bloggers to be held in Newzealand.

Staff Reporter H indi is getting established as a reputed language not only in India but across the world. Apart from movies and literat...

December 08, 2016

Jhumpa Lahiri wins the USD 50,000 DSC Prize for 2015

<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000528/spectrum/28may4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000528/spectrum/28may4b.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Indian-American</b> writer Jhumpa Lahiri won the USD 50,000 DSC Prize for Literature, one of South Asia's top literary awards for her book 'The Lowland', it was announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival on Thursday evening.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Pulitzer Prize winning author's tale of Indian brothers bound by tragedy was also shortlisted for the Man Booker prize last year.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The five authors shortlisted for the award were Bilal Tanweer for "The Scatter Here is Too Great", Jhumpa Lahiri for "The Lowland", Kamila Shamsie for "A God in Every Stone", Romesh Gunesekera for "Noontide Toll" and Shamsur Rahman Faruqi for "The Mirror of Beauty".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Lowland was Lahiri's first book, but the fourth one to be published.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature was instituted in 2010 by Surina Narula.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
According to the official website, "The submitted book can be written by an author of any ethnicity from any country, which predominantly features themes based on South Asian culture, politics, history, or people."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the purposes of the award, the region includes India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Burma and Afghanistan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"This is an enormous honour for 'Lowland' and for me personally. I wish I was there in person to receive the award," newswire PTI quoted as saying through a phone conversation from Rome.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"I published the book with some apprehension that I have not done justice to the events that transpired in the story. I heard about what was happening in Calcutta at that time and based on what I heard I was curious over the years and novel was result of the curiosity," she added, according to the PTI report.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The prize was given by  poet Vijay Shesadri at a ceremony at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival. Publisher Caroline Newbury accepted the award on Lahiri's behalf.</div>

Jhumpa Lahiri wins the USD 50,000 DSC Prize for 2015

Indian-American writer Jhumpa Lahiri won the USD 50,000 DSC Prize for Literature, one of South Asia's top literary awards for her book...

January 23, 2016

Priyanka, Kareena, Alia, Ranbir, Shilpa: Check Out How Bollywood Stars Partied Last Month

Cashless Economy Still a Fantasy for Indians Snubbed by Banks

Indian economy racing before Modi removed oxygen of cash

India inflation likely cooled further in November after cash clampdown: Reuters poll

Exclusive: Bangladesh panel finds insiders negligent in central bank heist

Pakistan mourns 47 killed in air crash, as investigators seek answers

U.S. defence chief visits Afghanistan amid questions over Trump's foreign policy

Seventh Conference of South Asian Bloggers to be held in Newzealand.

Jhumpa Lahiri wins the USD 50,000 DSC Prize for 2015

Popular Post

Blog Archive