In a fast paced development, a BJP government was on Saturday installed in Arunachal Pradesh after 33, out of 43 Peoples' Party of Arunachal (PPA) MLAs led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, joined the saffron brigade in this politically fragile state.

Khandu paraded the MLAs before Assembly Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok who accepted their joining.

The high-voltage political drama began since late Thursday night after PPA President Kahfa Bengia temporarily suspended Khandu, his deputy Chowna Mein and five legislators from the primary membership of the party for alleged anti-party activities.

The PPA, an alliance partner of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) government in the state, yesterday selected Takam Pario as the new chief minister of the state.

However, the political equation changed when majority of the PPA MLAs who initially extended support to Pario, later shifted their allegiance to Khandu.

The PPA on Saturday also suspended four other party MLAs including Honchun Ngandam, Bamang Felix, Punji Mara and Pani Taram.

"Lotus has finally bloomed in Arunachal. The people of the state will see a new dawn of development in the new year under the new government," Khandu told reporters in the Assembly premises.

Elaborating on the decision to merge with the BJP, the chief minister said that circumstances compelled the MLAs to take the decision in the interest of the people and the state.

"After several years of Congress misrule we observed that there was no visible development in the state. We joined the PPA with the intention to take the state to progress and prosperity, but there too, we find similar condition where the party president treated the MLAs undemocratically.

"So with focus on development, our MLAs decided to join the BJP for overall progress of the state," the chief minister said.

Terming the decision of the PPA president to suspend the MLAs as "undemocratic," Khandu said that before such a move the party leadership should have issued show cause notice to the MLAs.

"There was no significant development in the state since last year due to political turmoil, but now with NDA government at the Centre, the state will witness a sea change in the coming years," Khandu said adding, "the decision to join the BJP is a blessing in disguise for the people and the state."

"Until and unless there is stability in the government, no development could take place. There will be no more dissident politics and we shall now only focus on development," Khandu asserted.

When asked about the court case filed by Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Padi Richo against the joining of Congress MLAs with PPA which is pending with the Gauhati High court and which would be taken up on January 7 next, Khandu said that the joining was done in accordance to the Constitution.

Pakistan would hand over a dossier on alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and evidence of attempted violation of maritime boundary by an Indian submarine to incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday, his first working day after assuming office.

Pakistan's Permanent UN representative Maleeha Lodhi will officially pass on the dossier to Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York, Dawn reported, citing officials.

"Soon after assuming office incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will get a feel of Pak-India rivalry as Islamabad is set to raise the issue of Indian interference with him," the paper said.

Pakistan claims that Jadhav, an Indian navy officer and an alleged operative of India's intelligence agency RAW, was caught by its security forces earlier this year. His capture was announced in March and was flaunted by military as "proof of Indian interference and state-sponsored terrorism".

The government, which had pledged to expose alleged Indian hand in terrorism in Pakistan, domestically faced a lot of criticism for the delay in presenting to the international community evidence of Jadhav s alleged involvement in subversive activities.

Responding to criticism in the Senate, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had on December 7 said that "insufficient material" had been delaying the finalisation of the dossier.

"It is not that material has been provided and it s lacking in English and we are overcoming it. The (provided) material, in our view, was insufficient," Aziz had told a meeting of the Senate Committee of the Whole House.

"The required additional information" has now been made available and the dossier has been completed, the paper said, citing the officials.

The officials did not share the specifics, but said it would contain proofs that India was allegedly patronising terrorism in Pakistan.

The new UN chief would also be informed about the attempt by an Indian submarine to "intrude into Pakistani waters before it was spotted and forced to abandon the mission", the paper said.

The submarine incident, which happened last month, coincided with the fourth Pak-China joint naval exercise for promoting maritime security and stability in the region and the start of shipping activity under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor from Gwadar.

Lodhi had in October 2015 presented three dossiers to the then secretary general Ban Ki-moon, which were said to be containing proofs of alleged Indian interference in Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Karachi.

But, the move did not get much traction.

When the attention of the officials was invited to the "credibility deficit" that Pakistan internationally faces, they expressed the hope that the UN would look into the fresh evidence that would be placed before it.

China, the biggest ivory market in the world, will ban trade and processing of all domestic ivory by the end of 2017 in a bid to save the fast dwindling tusker population, a move hailed by activists as "historic" and a "game changer" for African elephants.

The decision came after China had imposed a three-year ban on ivory imports in March this year, in an escalated fight against illegal trading of wild animals and plants.

"China will gradually stop the processing and sales of ivories for commercial purposes by the end of 2017," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a statement released by the government.

The move will impact China's 34 processing enterprises and 143 designated trading venues, with dozens to be closed by the end of March 2017, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted an official statement as saying.

Before that deadline, law enforcement agencies will continue to clamp down on illegalities associated with the elephant's tusk, an official told the agency.

China's move, if implemented, strictly could a "game changer", specially the African elephant conservation as hundreds killed every year by poachers to feed into the burgeoning markets in China and Hong Kong.

As a result the numbers of Africa s savannah elephants dropped to 3.5 lakh thousand in 2014.

China's move to ban ivory trade followed a resolution at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in South Africa in October.

China has the biggest ivory market in the world – some estimates suggest 70 per cent of the world's trade ends up there. Ivory's price can reach USD 1,100 per kg in China.

Conservation group WWF welcomed the latest news, calling it a "historic announcement", signalling an end to the world's primary legal ivory market and a major boost to international efforts to "tackle the elephant poaching crisis in Africa", BBC reported.

Elly Pepper, deputy director of wildlife trade for the Natural Resources Defence Council, praised China for its "great leadership" on the issue.

"Setting such an aggressive timeline to close – once and for all – the largest domestic ivory market in the world is globally significant, Pepper said.

"It's a game changer and could be the pivotal turning point that brings elephants back from the brink of extinction," she said.

While the international market in ivory has been closed since 1989, legal domestic markets have continued in many countries around the world.

A surge in the killing of elephants over the past seven years has seen populations across Africa shrink by a third, according to the recently published Great Elephant Census.

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor has lauded Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's sports drama film "Dangal" and has tagged him as the "new Raj Kapoor".

"Dangal", which released on December 23, has tugged at the heartstrings of audiences for its powerful portrayal of the tale of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestling national champion who, much to the disapproval of his wife and his whole village, trained his daughters Geeta and Babita to wrestle.

Rishi took to Twitter on Saturday to laud Aamir's acting and compared him with his late father and legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor.

"Aamir Khan, saw ‘Dangal'. For me, you are the new Raj Kapoor – actor, director, producer, the showman of our times. Absolutely wonderful. God bless you," Rishi tweeted.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, "Dangal" is currently being praised by all and has even crossed the Rs 200 crore mark in just eight days since its release. The film — backed by Disney India– has collected Rs 216.12 crore at the domestic box office. 
 

Fill-in batsman Neil Broom and skipper Kane Williamson produced a match-winning 179-run stand for New Zealand to crush Bangladesh in their final one-day match in Nelson on Saturday.

Williamson was left unbeaten on 95 while Broom fell just before the close for 97 as the hosts overhauled Bangladesh's 236 for the loss of only two wickets to sweep the series 3-0.

For the 33-year-old Broom, battling to prove he deserves to stay in the squad, it was his second consecutive match-winning performance after his unbeaten 109 when New Zealand won the second match by 67 runs.

Broom, who scored 22 in the first match, which New Zealand won by 77 runs, was recalled for the Bangladesh series after nearly seven years in the wilderness to cover the number four batting slot while Ross Taylor recovers from eye surgery.

He has since been the home side's stand-out performer, not only with his prolific scoring, but also his magic touch in the field with some athletic catches.

Williamson was full of praise for his batting partner and his contribution to help the side bounce back from the 3-0 hiding they suffered against Australia earlier in December.

"He's shown his experience in these last two games in particular — huge contributions which certainly were what the side was after to get across the line," Williamson said.

After the Australian nightmare, Williamson said New Zealand needed to improve and the third Bangladesh match "was far more the complete performance we were after." 

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said his side have to pick themselves up before they meet New Zealand on Tuesday in the first of three T20 fixtures.

"As a team we have to improve lots," he said.

"We had a good partnership in opening and we lost the game. There were some good individual performances but as a team we couldn't go through."

After Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat in Nelson, Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal produced a century opening stand in 21 overs to set the tourists up for a big finish.

But when Imrul slashed at a Mitchell Santner delivery and the ball flew high behind the wicket, Broom sprinted nearly 20 metres and dived to take a spectacular one-handed catch and break the partnership.

Imrul's dismissal for 44 opened the floodgates and despite the pitch holding no dangers, most of the remaining Bangladesh batsmen were unable to settle in.

Broom was again in the play to catch Tamim for 59 as the top six Bangladesh wickets fell for 68 runs and only Nurul Hasan with 44 from 39 balls offered late resistance.

Bangladesh briefly felt they could defend 236 when Tom Latham (four) went in the second over, Martin Guptill retired hurt on six and Broom edged Mashrafe Mortaza straight to Imrul at first slip before getting off the mark.

But Imrul dropped a regulation offering allowing Broom and Williamson to embark on their 179-run stand for the second wicket.

Broom's 97 was at a run-a-ball rate and included one six and 12 fours, while Williamson faced 116 deliveries for his 95, which included one six and nine fours.

He was left five runs short of what would have been his ninth ODI century when Jimmy Neesham came in at the fall of Broom's wicket to hit a rapid 28 to end the match.

In the final few overs, Neesham toned down his lusty hitting in an apparent attempt to let Williamson reach his milestone.

But after a mid-wicket conversation with his captain, Neesham was evidently told to finish the match, which he did with a boundary off the next ball.

The series now moves on to three T20s to be followed by two Tests. 

A solution to the two-month-old crippling Naga indefinite economic blockade of Manipur is nowhere in sight with Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and the United Naga Council (UNC) not budging from their respective stands, officials said.

The UNC had imposed the indefinite blockade on November 1 in protest against the government's plan to create two new districts.

According to the UNC, several "lands of the Nagas" will be usurped by the new districts.

However the government responded by creating seven, and not two, new districts.

All sections of people welcomed it saying that apart from administrative convenience this has been their long standing demand for speedy development.

Ibobi said that first UNC should call off the blockade and give an assurance that it will not be repeated.

Only after that can talks be held and Gaidon Kamei and Stephen Lamkang, two UNC leaders, may be released to create a conducive atmosphere.

Chief Secretary Oinam Nabakishore said: "One of the conditions of UNC is that the talks should be held in the district headquarters of Senapati".

In response Ibobi said, "The UNC is a club of a handful of persons. If the government goes to Senapati district all other organisations may put such conditions in future. At the most we are ready to go to Delhi for the proposed tripartite talks".

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, recently said that the Manipur government is not serious about ending the blockade.

However Ibobi denies it saying that there was no question of playing politics since it is a question of starving the people of the state.

Manipur has been without consumer items, baby foods, building materials and other items since November 1 as a result of the blockade.

Rijiju who said that the "blockade is totally unacceptable" had despatched additional paramilitary personnel who are being used to escort trucks and oil tankers along NH 37.

But the UNC said that it shall intensify the agitation.

From Saturday, it is picketing government offices in the Naga dominated areas in the hill districts. 

The ruling AIADMK's newly elected General Secretary VK Sasikala on Saturday said the party would not project any individual other than late party founder MG Ramachandran, late CN Annadurai and the late J Jayalalithaa.

Sasikala formally took charge as the party's General Secretary after she was elected unanimously on December 29 at the AIADMK's general council meeting.

A close aide of late Chief Minister and party General Secretary J. Jayalalithaa for the past 33 years, Sasikala came to the party headquarters and took charge signing some papers.

Addressing party members, Sasikala said Annadurai, MGR and Jayalalithaa are the identities of this massive organisation.

"Other than these people nobody else will be projected in the forefront," Sasikala said.

She said MGR and Jayalaltihaa were leaders beyond caste and religious lines and the party would continue to follw their path.

Sasikala said the birth centenary of party founder MGR begins on January 17, 2017 and the party would celebrate that in a grand manner throughout the year.

She said the party would urge the central government to issue a commemorative stamp and also a currency coin with MGR's image.

In her first public speech, Sasikala recalled her more than three decade long association with Jayalalithaa and paid rich tributes to the late leader.

Sasikala said the loss of Jayalalithaa is a personal loss for her and cannot be described in words.

Earlier arriving at the party office, she garlanded MGR's statue installed there.

Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, state ministers, party leaders and legislators greeted her. Outside the party office there was a sizeable crowd of party cadres who greeted Sasikala.

As we get set to bid adieu to 2016 and welcome 2017 with enthusiasm and joy, mentioned below are some of the choicest messages to wish all your loved ones in style.

1. This New Year not only change the Dates but Direction,
   not just the Calendar but Commitment,
   not just the Actions but Attitude,
   May 2017 brings Focus, Force and Faith!
   May you create the best New Year ever!

2. May each day of the coming year be vibrant and every season brings reasons for celebrations. Happy New Year!

3. Lets welcome the year with freshness
   Lets welcome the year with novelty
   and cherish each moment it beholds
   to celebrate the blissful New Year

4. May this New Year love replace loneliness, joy replace sadness; peace replace troubles and hope replace emptiness in your life.

5. May all the seconds, minutes, and hours, days, weeks and months of 2017 bring hope, joy and good luck! Happy New Year!

6. 2017 is the perfect time to unfold new horizons and realizing all your dreams. This year rediscover the strength and    courage that lies deep within you.

7. Forget all the unpleasant experiences of 2016 and look forward to the happy things coming your way in 2017.

8. My wishes for you are not restricted to only this New Year but rather to every one of the all the years that you live,    in this life and beyond. Have a great New Year ahead.

9. As 2016 is packing its bag, I wish for you that all the negativity and problems also do likewise, and the New Year    bring achievement and contentment for you.

10.May 2016 take away all the sorrows and miseries as it goes by and fill up your upcoming days with sunshine and    happiness. I wish you a happy and healthy 2017.

11.As 2017 approaches, give a moment of thought to the achievements as well as the failures of 2016 so that you know what the right path for you would be. May you grow and achieve heights this New Year. 

12.I wish that the New Year turns out to be a very special one for you, each day be filled with best of health, abundance    of happiness and optimism, bountiful luxury and prosperity.

13.May the year 2017 give you immense opportunities to realize your dreams, rediscover your strengths, gather your    willpower and rejoice the simple pleasures that life would bring your way.

14.Open the blank book of 2017, on the blank pages scribble OPPORTUNITY and its first chapter is NEW YEAR’S     DAY. So grab the pen of hard work and start writing your glorious story.

15.New Year is like a new sun rise bringing hope, prosperity, and happiness. It is like a new beginning of thoughts,    words, and actions. It is like a new day of energy, strength and ideas. May you start and spend 2017 with healthy and    good spirit.

Pakistan would hand over a dossier on alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and evidence of attempted violation of maritime boundary by an Indian submarine to incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday, his first working day after assuming office.

Pakistan's Permanent UN representative Maleeha Lodhi will officially pass on the dossier to Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York, Dawn reported, citing officials.

"Soon after assuming office incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will get a feel of Pak-India rivalry as Islamabad is set to raise the issue of Indian interference with him," the paper said.

Pakistan claims that Jadhav, an Indian navy officer and an alleged operative of India's intelligence agency RAW, was caught by its security forces earlier this year. His capture was announced in March and was flaunted by military as "proof of Indian interference and state-sponsored terrorism".

The government, which had pledged to expose alleged Indian hand in terrorism in Pakistan, domestically faced a lot of criticism for the delay in presenting to the international community evidence of Jadhav s alleged involvement in subversive activities.

Responding to criticism in the Senate, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had on December 7 said that "insufficient material" had been delaying the finalisation of the dossier.

"It is not that material has been provided and it s lacking in English and we are overcoming it. The (provided) material, in our view, was insufficient," Aziz had told a meeting of the Senate Committee of the Whole House.

"The required additional information" has now been made available and the dossier has been completed, the paper said, citing the officials.

The officials did not share the specifics, but said it would contain proofs that India was allegedly patronising terrorism in Pakistan.

The new UN chief would also be informed about the attempt by an Indian submarine to "intrude into Pakistani waters before it was spotted and forced to abandon the mission", the paper said.

The submarine incident, which happened last month, coincided with the fourth Pak-China joint naval exercise for promoting maritime security and stability in the region and the start of shipping activity under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor from Gwadar.

Lodhi had in October 2015 presented three dossiers to the then secretary general Ban Ki-moon, which were said to be containing proofs of alleged Indian interference in Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Karachi.

But, the move did not get much traction.

When the attention of the officials was invited to the "credibility deficit" that Pakistan internationally faces, they expressed the hope that the UN would look into the fresh evidence that would be placed before it.