Poll shows Tokyo governor Koike’s party threat to Abe

TOKYO: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s lead in next month’s election has shrunk as the popular Tokyo governor pushes to unite opposition forces, a survey by Japan’s top-selling daily indicated yesterday.

Thirty-four percent of Japanese plan to vote for Abe’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) while 19 per cent favour a party formed this week by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, according to the poll in the Yomiuri Shimbun.

It also showed one quarter of those polled were still undecided on how vote in the Oct 22 election.

The findings suggest Abe’s path to victory may not be as easy as earlier believed.

The poll was taken on Thursday and Friday, right after the main opposition Democratic Party made a surprise move to join forces with Koike’s newborn ‘Party of Hope’.

Koike is also talking with smaller opposition groups to explore possibilities of cooperation.

A survey in the leading business daily Nikkei last weekend had showed 44 per cent of Japanese plan to vote for the LDP while only eight per cent favoured the Democratic Party.

Abe on Monday called the snap election, seeking a fresh term at the helm of the world’s thirdlargest economy.

He hoped to capitalise on a weak and fractured opposition to sweep back into power, as polls had shown him regaining ground for his hawkish stance on rising tensions with nearby North Korea.

But Koike stole his limelight by launching her party with the criticism that the pace of muchneeded reforms under Abe’s government is too slow.

The Yomiuri conducted the survey on which party voters plan to cast their ballots for under the proportional representation system.

A total of 465 seats are up for grabs in the lower-house election on Oct 22, of which 289 are to be elected from single-seat districts and 176 by proportional representation.

Both Yomiuri and Nikkei surveys were telephone polls that covered more than 1,000 eligible voters across the nation. — AFP

BIG THREE BECOMES TOP TWO

AFTER 14 years as brothers in arms, all that remains is two special hours.

Melbourne’s big three of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and the departing Cooper Cronk will combine for their 231st and final match together in tonight’s NRL grand final at ANZ Stadium. Their final assignment? Tearing up the pages in the fairytale story of the never-saydie North Queensland Cowboys.

The title-deciding result aside, it will be a moment to cherish for a Sydney crowd expected to tick just over 80,000, and almost two million TV viewers.

Because from 9.30pm, Melbourne’s big three will become the terrific two.

In a massive boost for Slater, Storm fans and the entire game, the world’s greatest fullback can pour his entire focus tonight into sending out Cronk with a premiership, in the knowledge that he’s preparing to play on in 2018.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned that Slater is being lured towards a 16th season with the Storm by a string of milestones and achievements, including an unforgettable Origin series swan song at the MCG.

Only Slater’s intense focus on winning tonight’s grand final has stopped him from ending all speculation about his future prior to kick-off.

All that awaits the intricate paperwork — which has been agreed upon in principle by both Slater’s management and the Storm hierarchy — is the 34-yearold’s signature.

It’s been suggested to The Sunday Telegraph that a new contract could be announced at Melbourne’s end-of-season club awards night on Wednesday.

However, Slater will prioritise savouring the Storm’s premiership success, or absorbing the pain of defeat, over any announcement.

He will also have World Cup selection and team commitments to manage over the next 48 hours, before being physically able to put pen to paper. Playing in his 299th NRL match tonight, Slater is acutely aware that a new deal would enable him to join the elite 300game club in round one next season.

Also included in Slater’s discussions with the Storm, is the club’s encouragement for their greatest No. 1 to resist retiring from the State of Origin arena.

Slater has played 29 Origin matches for Queensland and should he play all three matches in next year’s series, he would enter the most elite of company by surpassing the number of Origin appearances by Maroons legends Wally Lewis (31) and Greg Inglis (30), while also equalling one of the greatest Canetoads of all, Mal Meninga (32).

The appeal of launching the 2018 series at the MCG in Origin I, with a chance to say thanks and farewell to the supporters from the city he’s called home since 2003, would be treated as a major celebration, not just for Queenslanders, but for the entire game.

Slater’s presence would give the NRL every chance of surpassing the record MCG crowd of 91,513, from game two in 2015.

The club’s willingness to have Slater involved in representative football also includes the option of being “rested” from selection during the regular season, in order to manage his playing load.

Similar to how the club designed the regular season load this year of Cooper Cronk (18 of 26 games) and Cam Smith (19 of 26 rounds), Slater would be afforded the opportunity to be “rested”.

The football department at the Storm view

this option as not only a benefit for Slater’s long-term health and success, but also a chance to continue their proven formula for development and the blooding of the club’s next crop of rising stars, including 22year-old fullback Jahrome Hughes.

Undeniably, Slater’s comeback from a career-threatening shoulder injury has also contributed to the protracted decision-making process.

The gifted Queenslander has stunned even his closest companions with his will, desire and want to return to the game, after suffering such severe shoulder damage.

His surgeon Dr John Trantalis compared the injury to that of a car crash victim. However, Slater’s blistering form in 2017 for the Storm — 18 try-assists in 20 appearances and averaging 102-metres per game — has left every league fan in no doubt, he can continue playing in 2018 — and possibly beyond.

The Melbourne camp have been loath to exert any added pressure or expectation on Slater and indeed Cronk’s final match in their club colours, by deflecting all questions proposed about their futures, with a “team first” response.

“This week is about everyone — there’s not to many chances, you get to play in a grand final,’’ Storm coach Craig Bellamy said.

“He ( Cronk) hasn’t made a point of it, so that’s where it sits.’’

The Storm are the heavilybacked $1.28 favourites with the TAB. The Cowboys are $3.75. Both sides completed their preparations without concern yesterday; Melbourne putting their finishing touches together at ANZ Stadium, the Cowboys at Kogarah Oval.

Matt Scott has been ruled out of a grand final salvo by Paul Green.

If you live that Melbourne Storm philosophy, you're going to be successful in anything you do in life.

Tata Motors bags EESL order for 10,000 e-cars

Central government entity Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), has awarded a contract to Tata Motors to procure 10,000 electric vehicles for government departments. The company was selected through an international competitive bidding. Others in the race included Mahindra & Mahindra and Nissan Motors.

Two phases

TATA Motors will supply the Electric Vehicles (EVs) in two phases – first 500 e-cars will be supplied to EESL in November 2017 and the remaining 9,500 EVs will be delivered in the second phase, EESL said in a statement.

TATA Motor quoted the lowest price of ₹10.16 lakh, exclusive of GST, in the competitive bidding.

The vehicle will be provided to EESL for ₹11.2 lakh which will be inclusive of GST, and a comprehensive five-year warranty which is 25% below the current retail price of a similar e-car with three-year warranty.

EESL will also identify a service provider agency, which will carry out end-toend fleet management of the procured vehicles for the government customer.

These electric cars will replace the petrol and diesel cars used by government and its agencies over a three to four-year period.

Commenting on the order Guenter Butschek, CEO & MD, Tata Motors said: “We are extremely proud to partner with the Government of India in its journey to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles and to build a sustainable India.”

“Tata Motors has been collaboratively working to develop electric powertrain technology for its selected products. EESL tender provided us the opportunity to participate in boosting emobility in the country, at the same time accelerate our efforts to offer full range of electric vehicles to the Indian consumers,” he added.

Trump aide quits over pvt plane travel scandal, more in firing line

Yet another Donald Trump aide resigned on Friday after the US President roasted him for flying in private charter planes at taxpayer expense, even as his eight-month old administration is getting hammered for corruption and unethical practices despite famously pledging to clean up Washington DC.

Health secretary and human services secretary Tom Price joined the long list of those who resigned or were fired by Trump — including his national security adviser, his chief of staff, his chief strategist, his press secretary, his communications director, the FBI director among others — after he embarrassed the administration by racking up $400,000 in travel bills for work-related chartered flights in just eight months.

As much as the scandal, the President was reportedly disturbed by the “optics” of the scam amid growing disquiet from the Trump base about corruption and privileged abuse of power. “I’m not happy, OK?” Trump fumed to reporters who asked about Price just an hour before the resigna- tion was announced. “I can tell you, I’m not happy.”

Price, who was already in trouble with the President for the perception that he did not do enough in helping repeal Obamacare, reportedly got a tongue-lashing from Trump in the Oval Office before being asked to turn in his resignation. He had earlier attempted to ride out the scandal by offering to partially reimburse the costs to the tune of about $ 50,000, a move that aggravated the optics.

More trouble is in store for the administration with the disclosure just hours later that another cabinet member, veteran affairs secretary David Shulkin, took in a Wimbledon tennis match and a Thames cruise for himself and his wife during a trip to Europe. Two other Trump aides, treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and education secretary Betsy Devos, both billionaires, are also under the lens.

Faced with an already hostile liberal media, Trump also has to contend now with a base that is getting restive about the graft and cronyism he pledged to end amid tall promises of “draining the swamp”.

In a withering cover story that asked whether the Trump administration is the most corrupt and unethical in American history, Newsweek magazine lit into the President, reminding voters of his own fixation with private jets and gaudy lifestyle. “What we have is a private jet presidency, a low- class orgy of first-class kleptocrats. Remember when people thought Trump would usher in an era of American totalitarianism? Remember when credible, serious people compared Trump to some of the 20th century’s worst dictators? They, like the people who voted for Trump, believed what he said. How foolish,” the magazine said in a scathing commentary

Trump’s latest troubles come on the heels of some of his family and staff using private emails for official correspondence, a violation of administration practices for which Trump and his supporters had chastised Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. Amid a scandal and slip-up almost every week in Washington DC, the President also got into unseemly brawl with administrators of the hurricane-battered US territory of Puerto Rico, berating the mayor of its capital San Juan for poor leadership and shredding the island’s handling of its finances at a time its people are on their knees.

How a gurukul for coders is changing lives

Shivam Monga’s Dilliwala accent gives way to an American twang as he explains in soft, polite tones how the listener has won a lottery from the US government. It was a bait the 21-year-old would belt out with ease 400 times a night. Some unsuspecting Americans even fell for it. But then, news of police raids on the Gurugram call centre started doing the rounds. Fearing a shutdown, Shivam took his month’s salary and quit. Nine months on, he’s headed to become a software engineer.

From playing hide-and-seek with a life of hopelessness and possibly crime, Shivam has come a long way. Thanks to NavGurukul, the past year has been lifechanging for him and some other youngsters. A brainchild of two techies, the non-profit initiative teaches coding to academically bright but underprivileged students. The course has been rewritten in Hindi and designed to aid self-learning by the two founders, Abhishek Gupta and Rishabh Verma, who were joined by their disillusionment with India’s higher education system.

Both IIT-Delhi alumnus Abhishek and Class X dropout Rishabh felt that college education in India did not equip students with the tools to prepare for the future. “For any middle-class student, higher education is a transformative experience. But there are so many barriers for those from poor socio-economic backgrounds, whether it is their scores or the high fees. Even if they do succeed in getting a college degree, it is worthless for getting a job,’’ Abhishek says.

Rishabh, who feels his school education had nothing to offer, rattles off numbers: “Only 7% of the engineers produced are employable and only 5% of software engineers that pass out annually actually know how to code.”

In such an environment, the duo last year decided to create a minigurukul in a three-bedroom flat in Sarita Vihar, where selected students could live and study. Students in the age group of 18-22 years went through a selection process that included three tests to judge if they could grasp software programming. After eight to nine months of training, they were placed for internship in companies as software programmers. Today, all six have job offers from IT start-ups such as Bengaluru based Pando.in, Delhi- based TestRocket and ScaleDesk based in Noida.

Classes start at 8:30am after a quick breakfast and clean- up. Manoj Kumar, among the oldest of the group, is in charge of ensuring everyone sticks to their assigned work, like cooking, cleaning and studying. Class continues till 1:30 in the afternoon before the group breaks for lunch and then continues till late evening. Often the students are up till 3-4am practising and writing programs.

The rigour is not everyone’s cup of tea. Manoj, 27, recalls how he had walked out of the course initially. He used to get 40-45% and passed school exams by cheating. At NavGurukul, Manoj was faced with the challenge of studying for the first time. “I was much slower than others and this just got to me. I thought I could not do it,’’ he says. He went back to his home in a one- room flat in R K Puram where his parents, older brother and his wife lived. ‘’The reality hit me then. There was no future at home. If I wanted to earn, own a house, marry of my own choice, I had to make this work for myself,’’ he says. He threw himself back in the course with renewed vigour. Today, Manoj acts as a mentor to new students.

Shivam, whose father drives an autorickshaw in Rohini, recently finished an internship as a software programmer. He could not have imagined this in his wildest dreams. ‘’I didn’t know what I wanted to do, what I could be. For the first time, I feel that I can work in an office,’’ he says.

The youngsters’ lack of selfbelief was a big challenge for Abhishek and Rishabh. ‘’Software engineering is easy. Figuring out how to build their confidence was the tough part,’’ Rishabh says. The students have sessions with a counsellor, learn meditation and yoga, and have been introduced to ideas of gender empowerment and LGBT rights through guest lecturers. The students have been taught about office culture, whether it is reaching work on time or meeting project deadlines.

Like Shivam, 24-year-old Dhanno worked in call centres and held odd jobs till NavGurukul came his way. “I kept getting laid off. It felt so bad. Jaise koi izzat hi nahi hain (Like no one respects me). It was very disheartening,’’ he says. But the stint at NavGurukul has given him confidence to face the world.

NavGurukul is based on the concept of paying back to society. The two techies have spent about Rs 70,000 on each student over a year and this amount will be paid back once the student starts earning to ensure the platform stays sustainable.

Having tasted success with the first batch of six students, Abhishek and Rishabh now plan to expand the number of students they take and include girls as well.

Life after the rise of German far-Right

The outcome of the German elections for Bundestag did not spring a surprise for many. As expected, Angela Merkel secured a fourth term as Chancellor. However, the entry of the far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) in Parliament as the third-largest party has come as a caesura in the country’s post-Second World War history.

Though there have been individual politicians with a Nazi past, this is the first time a party with a neo-Nazi ideology has entered Parliament. The AfD and its outlook — racist, neo-liberal and Islamophobic — are now bound to be considered mainstream.

How did this happen? The only answer politicians — both on the Left and the Right — are able to come up with is: blame it on the refugees. On Wednesday, Oskar Lafontaine, a leading figure of the left-wing Die Linke, attacked

Though there have been individual politicians with a Nazi past, this is the first time a party with a neo-Nazi ideology has entered the post-War German Parliament

his own party’s leadership and called its stance on the “refugee crisis” wrong.

Not all Die Linke members supported its pro-refugee stance during the election campaign. Sahra Wagenknecht, another leading politician and Mr. Lafontaine's wife, said that refugees who “abuse” their right to hospitality would forfeit it. However, most members of her party disagreed, pointing out that refugees had basic human rights which could not be denied to them.

“I think it’s important to focus on how other parties in Germany will change after the success of the AfD. In Austria, established parties adopted many stances and slogans of the right-wing FPÖ [the Freedom Party of Austria] after it made huge gains,” said Farid Hafez, an Austrian political scientist currently at Georgetown University, U.S. Mr. Hafez, who has studied the performance of right-wing parties for years, added that the AfD’s success was foreseeable, “as we have seen with other right-wing parties all over Europe during the last years”.

Nevertheless, while everyone is talking about the political shift to the Right, no one seems to be thinking about the people the shift will affect the most. “There has already been a lot of racism in German society. I believe that after the AfD’s success, this will increase, especially in terms of Islamophobia and anti-refugee hate crimes,” Emine Aslan, an author and anti-racist activist from Frankfurt, told this writer. “I think that we can compare the situation with the one in the United States, where a lot of right-wing extremists felt encouraged to commit hate crimes after the election of Donald Trump.”

Lack of empathy

Many Germans with a migrant background are worried about the rise of the AfD. “As a person with a Muslim background, I think it’s just normal to be worried. However, in times like this, it’s always sad to witness how people categorise others just on the basis of prejudices,” said Miriam, a Palestinian-German student from Stuttgart. “Generally, I noticed that many Germans cannot understand the situation of refugees who suffered under war and chaos in their home countries,” she said.

The outcome has also shocked Germans without a migrant background. “To me, the success of the AfD is a serious concern. I think it’s surreal and frightening that these antiSemitic and racist fellows became the thirdlargest party of our country,” said Marie, a jurist from the city of Cologne.

She also pointed out that there was a greater risk of racism becoming a common feature of German politics. “Right-wing extremism might become a regular issue in Parliament, the same is true of hate speech. These things will become something normal. Such a reality can also dull the minds of average people.”

Mumbai stampede, Amit Shah, Hafiz Saeed, Ind Vs Aus: Top trending stories

OVERBRIDGE'S STRUCTURAL STRENGTH NOT A FACTOR IN STAMPEDE: MANOJ SINHA

Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha ruled out the structural strength of the foot overbridge connecting Mumbai's Parel-Elphinstone Road stations being a factor in Friday's horrific stampede but later said his remarks were being ‘distorted’."The incident has occurred due to stampede. So I don't think that any question over the foot overbridge's strength arises."A large number of people in Mumbai commute daily. The railway has already been undertaking task of strengthening the overbridges in a serial wise manner. And we are trying to strengthen all the bridges one after the other," he said after 22 commuters were killed and many more injured in a stampede on the narrow railway foot overbridge.

Later, in a statement, Sinha said that he was deeply saddened by the deaths of innocent people in the "unfortunate incident", and that his remarks were being "distorted"."A high level probe has been ordered into the unfortunate incident. But nobody should do politics over such incidents. Some people are trying to present my statements in a distorted form. This is not right," he said.

AMIT SHAH TO LAUNCH MARCH IN KER TO EXPOSE CPI(M)'S 'RED TERRORISM'

BJP president Amit Shah would launch a 15-day statewide "padayatra" (foot march) from Payyannur in Kannur district of Kerala on October 3 to expose the ruling CPI(M)'s "red terrorism" and "political fascism" in the state, a senior leader of the saffron party said today. Besides Shah, Union ministers and other senior party leaders would also take part in the "janaraksha yatra", to be led by state party chief Kummanam Rajasekharan, said BJP national executive member V Muraleedharan.

Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, Ananth Kumar, Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Mahesh Sharma, V K Singh and Alphons Kannanthanam were among those expected to take part in the yatra on different days, he added. The march would crisscross through 11 of the 14 districts of the southern state, Muraleedharan, the coordinator of the yatra, said. He alleged that the CPI(M) was promoting "red terrorism" in Kerala.

HAFIZ SAEED SENDS PAKISTAN FOREIGN MINISTER RS 100 MN DEFAMATION NOTICE

Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed's legal team has sent a Rs 100 million defamation notice to Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif for his remarks at the Asia Society forum in New York earlier this week. Asif, who told the forum that Pakistan was not to blame for militant outfits in the country, had said: "Don't blame us for the Haqqanis and don't blame us for the Hafiz Saeeds. These people were your darlings just 20 to 30 years back. They were being dined and wined in the White House and now you say 'go to hell Pakistanis because you are nurturing these people.

"The notice, served by Advocate AK Dogar claimed that Saeed, the chief of banned Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) party was "respected as a deeply religious and devout Muslim", Dawn online reported on Saturday. It accused Asif of speaking "an absolute lie and falsehood that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was one of those persons who had been the darlings of Americans and had been dining and wining in the White House". The notice stated that Asif made a "defamatory statement punishable under Section 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code to five years imprisonment and with (a) fine".

BSF DETECTS 14-FEET-LONG TUNNEL ON INTERNATIONAL BORDER IN JAMMU

A 14-feet-long tunnel, dug from from the Pakistan side across the international border, was discovered on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir's Jammu district, the BSF said. The tunnel from which, the Border Security Force (BSF) troopers said they have recovered war-like stores, was discovered a day after the its field commanders and those of Pakistan Rangers held a flag meeting in which it was mutually agreed that peace and tranquility would be maintained on the international border by both sides.


"An under construction tunnel was discovered during sanitisation operation along the international border between Vikram and Patel posts near Damana in Arnia sector. The tunnel was 14-feet-long when it was detected."The tunnel contained war-like stores those were recovered from it during the search of the tunnel indicating the presence of armed infiltrators who, however, managed to flee back," said a BSF official.

INDIA AIMING FOR TOP SPOT IN 5TH ODI AGAINST AUSTRALIA

India will aim for a return to the top spot in One-Day International (ODI) rankings when they face Australia in the fifth and final match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground here on Sunday. The hosts, who have already clinched the five-match ODI series with an unassailable 3-1 lead, slipped to the second spot after losing the fourth tie in Bengaluru by 21 runs on Thursday. Australia rode on an all-round show, with openers Aaron Finch and David Warner starring with the bat along side pacer Kane Richardson's three-wicket haul to clinch their first victory in the series.

India will look to get back to winning ways banking on in-form batsmen Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav. The hosts, who played pacers Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav in place of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be forced to make changes in the bowling department which failed to look lethal in the last match. Spinners Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal will be the key in the middle overs to provide important breakthroughs.