Armani previously designed the Italian Olympic and Paralympic uniforms for the Summer Games in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and for the Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, and in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. His song, “Smack my Bitch Up” opened the runway show and some models wore brightly dyed hair in his image, wearing acid-wash denim and tie-dye tops. Still there was a lot left to see in Milan and here are some highlights from Saturday’s shows:Versace’s new sexinessThe Versace man is not afraid of playing with his femininity as he looks for new ways to express his sexiness. Men wore suits with the distinctive Kiss script as a motive spray painted denim and Plein emblazoned hoodies.The flexibility was clear as models including Gigi Hadid, her sister Bella Hadid and Irina Shayk exhibited the same looks : Gigi Hadid, for example, wearing a belted leather trench with hardware details over bare legs but with the same blue shirt and tie as the men -- who also showed leg with the same look but with Bermuda shorts. “Men should shine,” Armani said after the show.“It’s not necessarily about femininity. “For every young man, the first car has a strong meaning.” Versace said.Versace to Emporio: Men&Custom Hanging light box Signs039;s looks shine, literally, in Milan. Prada went abroad to Shanghai for its menswear Spring/Summer 2020 preview. Shimmery leopard prints were paired with slim trousers patterned with ancient vases. There were no drones, no influencers, no performers and no selfies being projected onto runway screens. Fire-twirling dancers seemed to suggest one surviving tribe.

“It’s independence, maturity, but above all freedom..”Versace dedicated the show to Keith Flint of the British band The Prodigy, a friend of Versace’s who died earlier this year. In the tropical vein, the collection included printed sarongs with men’s shirts.Racing car motifs symbolised a coming of age and embrace of grown-up toys. Trousers were either wide palazzo pants or ready-to-jump parachute pants, while jackets were both double-breasted and single-button.Hair was decorated with spikes, and faces covered with half-skeleton masks, or painted like Kiss band members with big spikey dark eyes and white face.Armani launches fifth Olympic campaignGiorgio Armani and Italian Olympic officials used the runway show to announce Armani’s fifth Olympic Games as the Italian team’s official uniform designer. It is more about the confidence a guy has to express himself in a more flexible way,” said head menswear designer Ashley Fletcher.

A model wears a creation as a part of the Versace men's Spring-Summer 2020 collection. And leisure wear featured striped V-necks tucked into high-waist black-and-white polka dot trousers for graphic clarity. He praised Armani as the designer “who has given the most trust to the world of sports and to the teams that represent our country. The looks were strong on flat-out active wear, and leisure wear for the active soul, with an unstructured silhouette and light technical textiles.The line for youthful — not necessarily young — dressers included harnesses reminiscent of a parachute drop, to which bags could be strapped. Some 30 Olympians and Paralympians introduced the looks for the 2020 Games in Tokyo that projected Armani’s often-expressed love of Japan, with the red rising sun of Japan transformed with the green-white-and-red of the Italian flag. A shimmery leopard men’s top embroidered with Gianni Versace’s signature in silver peeks out of a knit vest, with black trousers and a cross-body bag that embrace of femininity.”Taking a lone turn on the runway to close the show was professional race car driver Alex Zanardi, who lost both legs in a racing accident in 2001. Suits anchored the collection, and the inclusions of ties, sometimes with a loose knot and upturned shirt-collars signaling quitting time, offered a note of serious elegance.Organza surfaces on suits gave a sleek, youthful sheen.And this year, Pitti Uomo in Florence got a boost as the chosen venue for Ferragamo, which normally shows in Milan, and Givenchy, which makes Paris its home. A fleet of rag-tag, fire-spouting vehicles including a robotic dinosaur, monster trucks, motorcycles and patched-up military trucks roared into the big warehouse to open the show. Suit coats and jackets for him and her featured half-and-half Prince of Wales plaid and solid black, worn with a suit shirt, tie and black leather lace-up pants.The men’s and women’s looks themselves were heavy on hard rock glamour with just a touch of menace. A rock band played on the back of an open-bed tractor trailer and drummers pounded on plastic barrels.But collection also had a strong sporty vein, with blousons, anoraks and light-weight overcoats. Colours were mostly dark neutrals with flashes of red — especially striking on a pair of belted suits — blue-greens and green-blues, as well as orange melting into bronze.Emporio Armani goes for sporty formalityThe Emporio Armani man is active, ready to parachute into any situation. His also a coming of age story. Caps had aviator glasses built in.The president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, Giovanni Malago, was on hand for the rollout. (Photo: AP) Milan: Milan Fashion Week for spring/summer menswear previews has started with a slightly different rhythm, with many mainstays not showing this season.

The other repeating motif was the Gianni Versace signature, vertically running on ties and socks.Dolce & Gabbana’s Jungle SafariDesigners Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana created a rich collection a jungle safari in khaki as the unusual label starting point, developing into striking graphic contrastsThe designers departed from their recent spectacles, with a simply staged show down a leopard-clad runway with a lush, tropical background. Combining elegant and active notes, loose silky suits with smoky, dreamlike prints were worn shirtless or paired with sheer polo shirts to show off that abdominal workout. Dontatella Versace has tapped the soul of fashion house founded by her brother, the late Gianni Versace, with modern sex appeal, animal prints and loud fluorescents. Women wore chain mail dresses, T-shirt minis with Kiss motivs or sexy business suits with thigh-high boots decorated with crystal-encrusted straps.The looks play on the fashion house’s iconic bondage moment, mixing the shiny leather with more mundane looks, like blazers and jacket.The silhouette had a 1940s influence, with high-waist trousers and short-waist jackets with safari # pockets and of course Panama hats. Suits had brocade lapels.Banana and coconut prints lent whimsy to the collection; while leopard and tropical prints made striking three-piece outfits with long flowing overcoats styled after robes. Gucci and Bottega Veneta are among the houses choosing that path and skipping the June round of shows. Pin-up girls served as a repeating motif, with such tongue-in-cheek slogans as “Bring Me to the Moon,” ″Chill & Love,” and “Choose Me,” which may fit the ethos of reality shows like “The Bachelor,” but seem slightly out of step with the #MeToo movement.It is a sign of the times that fashion houses are seeking new ways to reach their audiences and slotting menswear into women swear shows by now is old hat.Philipp Plein’s Kiss TributeGerman designer Philipp Plein has imagined a dystopian future where luxury glam survives and everyone worships the rock band Kiss

In Rajasthan the chaang or the large single frame drum is the accompaniment for the phaag geet.The Phool Dol festival in Nathdwara too glorifies the Krishna legend. According to one interpretation, the shape and usage of the pichkari too has sexual connotations. Be it Radha’s village Barsana, where the lathamaar Holi is played with gusto by women actually hitting the men, amid singing of traditional songs, who are hard put to defend themselves, or Krishna’s village Nandgaon, whose inhabitants go to Barsana to play Holi with the gopis a la Krishna. And phaag khel is not restricted to a single day in the rural areas but could last as long as two weeks. And who can remain untouched when Birju Maharaj sings and dances Aaj khero shaam sang hori guiyan, can one really remain untouched by the Holi spirit? Or for that matter, Birju Maharaj singing and simultaneously enacting Dekho hori ke khelaiya, kaise ban-ban aaye… rather like the barat of Shiva.com. Dance troupes or palas from all over the Manipur congregate at the Govindji Temple in Imphal for Yaosung and vie with each other to perform raas, sankirtana and cholom.Kathak maestro Birju Maharaj’s father Bindadin Maharaj and uncle Shambhu Maharaj were past masters at enacting Holi related thumris.

I also see the way the songs and their picturisation has evolved over the years. The traditional burning of Holika, Prahlad’s aunt is reminiscent of the Vaishnavite tradition as Prahlad was saved by the manifestation of Vishnu as the Narasimha avatar, the bhang and "playing” with the Shivalinga, harks back to the Shavite tradition. Yellow predominates again and it is a sight indeed fit for the Gods!In Gujarat too, the raas performed on Holi is replete with the Krishna theme in both dance and music. Singing and dancing was considered a must for the royals as both part of ritual and culture.

On the full moon of Phagun month Krishna and Navneetpriyaji’s silver statues are bedecked in golden yellow flowers — the colours of Phagun and rocked in a flower bedecked swing from which the festival Phool Dol takes its name.Holi or Hori, is intrinsic to the Krishna lore and finds innumerable manifestations in the cultural ethos.In the musical tradition, chaiti and hori idioms have provided the bridge between the little and the great tradition or the folk and the classical, with Hori being akin to the dhrupad genre.In the plastic arts there are any number of Holi scenes depicted in the Pahari, Deccan and Rajasthani miniatures. It almost makes me feel I am in my studio looking at the beautiful rows of jars of colours and as a visual artist, I understand that every day is Holi for us in so many ways: It is because we play with colours all the time. Their progeny too do them proud. A classic case of intertwining of two completely diverse streams.I have taken it upon myself to download songs of Holi from Hindi cinema to play at the neighbourhood party and as I do it, I am amazed at the sheer plethora of Bollywood numbers about the festival. While sahitya or literary aspect has been inextricably woven with the sangeet or music, poetry takes a humourous twist on Holi, with poets regaling audiences and vying to evoke laughter at the plethora of hasya kavi sammelans specially organised on the occasion. Custom Three dimensional letter Signs Manufacturers From the rather shy, enticingly lyrical and understated Holi aayee re Kanhai rang chhalke suna de jara bansuri from Mother India to the overt sexuality of Balam pichkari jo tune mujhe maari in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to the relatively brazen Sholay number Holi ke din dil mil jaate hain and of course the immortal Silsila number Rang barse bheege chunar wali to beautiful Holi Khele Raghuveera in Baghban the entire gamut of film music has dictated how popular culture in the urban milieu will perceive and play the festival. Or for that matter even the Tomatina festival from Spain when tomatoes are the mode of mass destruction rather than colour or the Water Fight festival in Thailand and many others that one may not even have heard of. Having experienced the spirit of the playful cowherd in the people and the ambience, it is no exaggeration that Radha and Krishna seem to lurk just out of sight and in that sense Krishna of Vrindavan epitomises the playful element of childhood and adolescence so dear to Indian motherhood.

I have often wondered why visual artists don’t make so much of Holi as the performing artistes — the answer stares me in the face as I look at the piles of enticingly vibrant colours on the thelas in Vrindavan. Holi in Bollywood Holi preparations are afoot in my home with niece insisting that we must make gujiyas and I am sarcastically reminding her of our last year’s gujiyas that resembled weapons of Majnu’s destructions — stones thrown at Majnu for falling in love with Laila — and having to buy gujiyas to eat! Water pipe long enough to reach Timbuktu has been acquired and balloons are already filled and kept ready to demolish the unsuspecting. On one hand is the playful Krishna teasing Radha and the gopis spraying tesu water and on the other is the powerful presence of Shiva mixing his bhang. The complex inter-relation between the two is epitomised with the classical being withdrawn and inward looking and the folk having enough gung-ho to sweep off by sheer force of the earthy spirit. Poetry has been intertwined into the performing arts in an inseparable form. Whereas the classical tradition did not reflect life cycles and major festivals, but was more preoccupied with time, seasons and nayika, with the sole exception of "Hori” as it is known in the Braj region, the folk tradition on the contrary found expression for moods and lifestyles.But then all cultures do have such festivals where they let their hair down — they may be called by other names, might happen during different times of the year but have linkages across cultures: For instance I find Halloween so akin to Holi where people paint their faces and appear almost ghoulish is no different from Holi as we must be appearing to the Westerners. Music and dance replete with literary references to Hori abound.In Vrindavan, the festival itself was known as phaag.In the plastic arts there are any number of Holi scenes depicted in the Pahari, Deccan and Rajasthani miniatures. In fact, it is here that the Holi festivities begin with ladoon ki Holi played with Srinathji. Perhaps this is why the first gulal is smeared on the Shivalinga and only after partaking bhang, his prasad, can festivities commence. Preparations are made months in advance with pride of place accorded to the Singh pala, or the royal troupe.Images of Holi, Krishna, Radha, gulal, bhang, song, abir, dance, et al — imagery as difficult to separate as the Shavite and Vaishnavite traditions in the north. A Hampi stone panel dating to the 16th century has men and women celebrating Holi with pichkaris. The pitambar or yellow is also the colour of phagun while the bhang thandai is white, associated with Shiva

Abhinaya Chandrika, the Sanskrit text specifically on Oriya dance, gives a great deal of detail on the makeup, costume and ornaments of the dancer. The soft, white, inner stalk of the shola pith, which grows throughout Orissa and Bengal, is a unique regional craft.com. It feels much like the plastic Styrofoam or thermocol but, of course, is organic. When Odissi began to be presented upon the stage, the sari was first wrapped as a dhoti to form a divided “pajama,” with the decorative end design of the sari, or pallu, spread in front. Every classical and folk-dance form of India reflects the regional character of its performing arts in the local traditions of textile and ornamentation used for its dance. Over the years, various styles of tailoring the sari into the costume were developed. A fabric is fastened around the hips from behind which define the hipline. This is occasionally combined with a braid of hair plaited down the back, if the dancer chooses to follow the Mahari tradition.

The woven sari used for a costume can be from any of the many wonderful traditions of the state, in particular those from Sambalpur, Berhampur, and Cuttack. Her guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra, then designed a tailored costume so that the divided pantaloon could be easily stepped out of. She can be contacted at sharonlowen. The red bindi or kumkum on the forehead is surrounded by white painted designs representing the sun and moon, or a flower. Earrings rise over the entire ear in peacock or geometric designs with large dangling bell shaped jhumkas. The makeup developed over the last half a century emphasises classical images of feminine beauty. Many costumes include the unique single and double Ikat tie-dyed and woven patterns of Orissa which traveled to Southeast Asia from this state. The apron of frills skirting the hips and draping in front called Nibiandha and a belt with tassels tied at the waist called ajhoba. The back of the hair bun may have a large silver filigree pin or even a crescent silver wreath over the central pin. Rudraksha bead designs date back to the Harappan Civilization and are a frequently found motif on Orissa saris, as are conch shells and fish, among many other nature designs.

The silver work comes from the unique tradition of Cuttack filigree in Cuttack district of Orissa. A delicate style is popular far beyond its state borders and has become part of several Southeast traditions as well. The Maharis, and Odissi dancers through the 1960’s, sometimes used gold ornaments near the face and on hands, though the three-tiered silver belt has been in use much longer. A popular variation on the costume design is to have the decorative front pleated in a vertical fashion down the front that is closer to the Mahari temple dancer tradition. Maharis, who danced in the temple, typically wore black velvet bodices with the sari wrapped from the waist down. Odissi is no exception. The classical texts refer to four essential forms of expression in the dance, namely body movement or Angika, vocal and sung textual expression, Vachika; pure communicative expression, Sattvika; and the expression through costume, makeup and ornaments, Aharya.Odissi makeup and ornaments Odissi dance, like the other classical genres of India, gives great importance to the costume, ornamentation and makeup used in the performance. Odissi classical dance is unique among other classical traditions of India in its use of silver ornaments. The art of carving shola pith has been used to create a unique stylisation of flowers for the elaborate hairdo of the Odissi dancer. It specifies a brightly colored nine-yard sari, generally in red or green made of indigenous silk, a brightly colored, bejeweled Kanchula or tight fitting blouse.workshop@gmail. Alta, a red natural dye, outlining the feet and on the palms of the hands and fingertips, completes the makeup. All the elaborate hair designs seen on the temple sculptures of Orissa and described in Abhinaya Chandrika, the most commonly used style is a kind of hair knot at the back of the head with a pushpuchuda. Everything from the indigenous silk sari to the bangles and bells, are described in the text. The eyes are outlined with black kajal extended far beyond the corner of the eye to resemble that of a fish with a tail. It also serves to articulate the foot movement for the viewing audience.

The belt or mekhala draped from the waist is usually made with secular silver disks strung together in three lines. One story of the need for this is that child artist Kum Kum Das Mohanty insisted on going to the bathroom after she had been carefully draped and wrapped in a sari. The alta on the feet is used by women in Eastern India for beauty and is considered to make the feet look like lotus flowers. Those round topped hats with a small sunshade brim were lined with pith to protect the wearer from heatstroke. In this costume design, the blouse is made from the same sari material as is the cloth draping the front of the dancer. This quite accurately describes the costume worn by the Maharis at Puri Jagannath temple but the costume worn by the Odissi dancer on the stage today is closer to that worn by the Gotipuas or young male dancers who perform outside the temple over the last few hundred years. Shola pith, for those not from eastern India, may be best known for the British Colonial pith helmets. Pulling the hair back and tying it at the back of the head, then pulling the hair through, around, and over a large ring to give fullness to the shape, creates the beautiful hairstyle. The beautifully woven silk saris of Orissa, its silver filigree ornaments and pith flowers, are the trademark accompaniments to the dance of Orissa. Various artists have incorporated several variations on the length or angle of the front fan in the design, but the main distinction is the vertically draped front or the knee-to-knee fanned out cloth. Many of the ornaments described in the Abhinaya Chandrika continue to be used in the dance as well as in daily life. The eyebrow should arch, and even curve up at the end, to resemble the bow from which the God of Love shoots his arrows. In this design, the decorative end of the sari or pallu is pleated and snapped on to the costume so that it fans out as the dancer sits in chouka position. The Oriya Mahabharata, written by Sarla Das in the 15th century, gives a detailed description of Prince Arjuna dressed as Bruhannari during his year disguised as a dance teacher. The Odissi dancer wears shola pith flowers around her hair bun and it is topped with a tiara of shola pith flowers representing the spire of Jagannath temple. The dancer wears a silver tika along with the part of her hair, often with decorative silver chains from forehead tika to ear. Today, Odissi dancers all use silver from head to waist. The dancer may wear two to four necklaces and she may have silver armbands, wide filigreed bangles and perhaps rings on every finger. A dancer may certainly use fewer ornaments than mentioned in the text. The jewelry is inspired from the detailed representations on the temples as well as medieval Oriya text. The Custom Brushed stainless steel letter Signs Manufacturers hair curl spiraling on the cheek in front of the ear is also standard in Odissi makeup for the stage. I’m occasionally asked why it takes over two hours to prepare for a performance and my response is that transforming from a mere mortal into an apsara is not a five-minute job! Sharon Lowen is a respected exponent of Odissi, Manipuri and Mayurbhanj and Seraikella Chau whose four-decade career in India was preceded by 17 years of modern dance and ballet in the US and an MA in dance from the University of Michigan

This approach is in contrast to President Trump’s threats of war against the North if it continues on the path of repeated nuclear and missile tests. In his New Year press conference on January 10 after the talks, he profusely thanked President Trump for the "huge contribution" to bringing the North and South together for the landmark talks.Will the US also be forced to accept and deal with a nuclear North Korea? This is a proverbial million dollar question which only the future can answer. However, North’s technical capacity to acquire these technologies in a year or two is not doubted anymore.President Moon has repeatedly made it clear that his first priority is that war must not break out on the Korean peninsula again. Russia and China are advocating for accommodation by the US, thus signalling that they would accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. President Donald Trump in his tweet on January 4 claimed that North Korea would not have agreed for the talks if "I wasn’t firm, strong and willing to commit our total ‘might’ against the North".

The South Korean government led by the liberal President Moon Jae-in quickly responded positively and invited North Korea for talks at Panmunjom truce village at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between the two long warring nations.The writer is a retired ambassador.It is unlikely that North Korea would undertake any provocation till the conclusion of the Winter Olympics next month. He has also always stated his goal "to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem", but clearly it is his second priority. There may be signs of a thaw on the Korean peninsula but thaw in the frozen relations between the US and North Korea are nowhere on the horizon. But an economic giant South Korea will be always vulnerable to pressure from a nuclear-armed North.In this rapid unfolding of events both the US and China seem to have had only a marginal supportive role. They are not yet prepared to accept that a nuclear-armed North Korea is a reality that cannot be reversed. But its actions after that would depend on whether its scientists feel the need for further missile and nuclear tests to refine their dependability. He is prepared to take military action against the North to stop the North in its tracks and this threat petrifies the South Korean leadership. But this soft and unilaterally conciliatory approach is likely to rile the United States. Any military action against the North has the potential to quickly escalate in a total war with severe damage to both North and South Korea. The talks between the minister-level delegations of the two sides on January 9 have been constructive with tangible outcomes and without any effort by either side to score propaganda points. There is clear divergence in perceptions and responses of the countries involved in the six-party talks.

The two sides have agreed that North Korea would send a delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to reinstate the military hotline snapped by the North two years back and to hold military talks to defuse the military tension on the peninsula. Would South Korean people accept this imbalance in their relations with the North? Would the extended nuclear deterrence provided at present by the US still be dependable when North acquires a credible deterrence against the US? These are tough policy issues, which would need to be addressed by the South Korean leadership and people. As the then Chief of Staff of President Roh, President Moon had fully participated in the implementation of the "Sunshine" policy towards the North. On the most important issue of denuclearisation of the peninsula, North Korean delegation declined to engage.The surprise offer of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in his New Year message for participating in the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month has set off a chain of events, which may have major consequences for the Korean peninsula and beyond.The main players in this unfolding drama — the US, Japan and South Korea — are still pursuing a mirage of a denuclearised North Korea. The joint statement issued after the talks states: "South and North Korea have decided to make joint efforts for the unity of the people and reconciliation by establishing an environment for peace and easing military tensions on the Korean peninsula.South Korean polity is divided on accepting a nuclear North.

This may indeed be partially correct, as the latest sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on December 22 have severely restricted the supply of fuel to the North. Notably, while North Korea claims that it has acquired the capability to strike at the US mainland most experts doubt that it has developed the technology to miniaturise the nuclear warhead, fit it on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and ensure its re-entry in the atmosphere after the launch. President Trump has publicly committed that North Korea would not be permitted to acquire the capacity of Custom Color letter Signs Suppliers a nuclear strike on the mainland United States. President Moon added that he would be willing to meet North Korean leader Mr Kim, but wouldn’t have a "a meeting for the sake of the meeting". The North’s attempts for clandestine purchase of vital fuel have been hit by firm action by South Korea when it seized two ships, which had delivered fuel to North Korean vessels on the high seas."On its part South Korea raised two other issues.

North Korea has signalled that its quest for nuclear weapons is not directed against the South and this argument has found resonance among the South Korean leaders as well as the masses. The majority believes that the North Korean nuclear bombs are not against the South but only to neutralise the existential threat from the United States. He also called for North Korea to move towards denuclearisation — a plea which is unlikely to find any response from the North. Japan is keeping its options open but the North Korean threat has been cleverly leveraged by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to secure greater acceptance among the pacifist Japanese masses for a more robust, active and outgoing foreign policy and speedier militarisation.In advocating unconditional talks with the North, President Moon is pursuing the path followed by his two liberal predecessors — President Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun — who had historic summit meetings with then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. On the proposal for the reunion of separated family members on the two sides of the border on the Lunar New Year next month, North Korea was non-committal.President Moon must have been relived at the acquiescence of President Trump for the talks. Seoul has not witnessed any mass demonstration against the repeated nuclear and missile tests of the North during 2017

The News Broadcasting Association (NBA) has also expressed its deep concern. Most recently, 25 more NGOs have been refused the renewal of their registration because of "activities not conducive to national interest". It is time for all Indian citizens to clearly see the warning signs. Thakur of the Supreme Court on the BJP government’s non-cooperation in clearing the names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment of judges is a matter of serious concern. Why else would the ministry of information and broadcasting ban the transmission and retransmission of NDTV India for a day on November 9 Strongly condemning this action, the Editors Guild of India has said that it is "reminiscent of the Emergency". But, it is also true that the Supreme Court in its wisdom struck down that bill. In fact, perhaps India is the only democratic country in the world where judges have exclusive jurisdiction in the selection of judges. The net result is a ripple effect, whose implications can continue long after the current dispensation demits power.The media is considered the informal "fourth" pillar of a democracy. It is true that the government wished to change the system by which judges appointed judges under the collegium system. But here too we are witnessing a concerted move to erode its freedom. Using the technicalities of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, the Union home ministry has already cancelled the licences of 11, 319 NGOs. Licences of another 1,736 NGOs have been withheld on the plea of non-sufficient documents or deficient documents.

The National Judicial Appointments Commission Act (NJAC), passed with overwhelming support in Parliament in 2014, sought to change this practice. An identifiable and large segment of the media has been constrained to choose supine conformity as against robust objectivity. There are complaints from many quarters that officers to key positions are being screened for their political loyalties.Where the legislature is concerned, the BJP has an overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha won through a legitimate democratic process.The writer, an author and former diplomat, is a member of the JD(U). But should this legitimate majority in the Lower House prompt some of its senior leaders to question the legitimacy of the constitutionally-sanctioned powers of the Rajya Sabha, merely because in the Upper House their party does not have a majority Does the brute strength enjoyed by the BJP in the Lok Sabha entitle it to redefine what constitutes a money bill, so that Rajya Sabha’s powers in the clearance of bills are diluted The Rajya Sabha, as the Council of States has, in the constitutional scheme of things a clearly defined role to play, that acts as a check to a possibly impetuous majority in the Lok Sabha. That restored the status quo ante. There is a brittle rejection of any difference of opinion, a muscular dismissal of even constructive criticism, on the specious ground that your bona fides as a loyal citizen of India are suspect.It appears that there is also a systematic attempt to dilute the apolitical character of the executive.The question now is this: if the Supreme Court has declared the NJAC to be ultra vires of the Constitution, should the government seek to subvert or derail or delay judicial appointments through executive obstructionism The legislature is always free to pass a new act (and that too could be challenged in the Supreme Court), but once the Supreme Court has pronounced judgment on the old one, the executive cannot challenge the supremacy of the judiciary through other means. This principle is important because the independence of the judiciary is a fundamental feature of the Constitution. This process is particularly in evidence in the choices being made by the ministry of HRD and that of culture. Is there a design to unhinge the carefully worked out system of checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution The recent public outburst of Chief Justice T. As expected, the government has dubbed these comments as "politically inspired"!Civil society, another essential ingredient of all vibrant democracies, is also being pressured. The idea seems to be that once an appointment is made of a person with the "right" loyalty, he or she becomes imbedded in the executive matrix, and can be relied upon to select and promote more people of the same ideological hue.

Roughly one-third of India’s 33,138 NGOs have been debarred from receiving foreign funding.Babasaheb Ambedkar, and the members of the Constituent Assembly, sought to draft our Constitution with the express purpose of creating the right balance between the three fundamental pillars of governance: the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. Charges of sedition are slapped on dissenters at the drop of a hat. Cooperation, not confrontation, should guide the governments interface with the judiciary, but today we have the unedifying spectacle of the Chief Justice of India publicly lamenting that, Custom Galvanized stainless steel letter Signs Suppliers given the government’s approach, the very process of dispensing justice could grind to a halt. Such complaints speak of a carefully designed attempt at "saffronisation" in bureaucratic appointments.Any criticism of the way things are heading is deflected by the absurd invocation of "pseudo-nationalism".

Editors, who have the courage of their convictions and refuse to become compliant, are being summarily fired.S. Threats to bypass it by holding a joint session of both Houses may be possible, but hardly desirable. Some of this pressure is blatantly coming from the government. Legislative supremacy in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, an apolitical bureaucracy and civil service, and a free and independent judiciary, were the key features of the Republic.Just half way through its term, BJP rule at the Centre has brought into sharp focus some foundational questions about the kind of Republic we were envisaged to be, and how that ideal is being eroded on a daily and institutional basis. However, recent developments create serious doubts about the intention and the actions of the BJP-ruled Central government. Essentially this boils down to asserting that if you support the BJP you are patriotic, and if you oppose it you are anti-national

The petrol Elantra gets absolutely no insulation under the bonnet. Pretty nifty if you have your hands full with luggage.The top-spec SX (O) AT variant that you see in the pictures gets all the niceties including ventilated seats, leather upholstery and dual-zone climate control. This one is more than happy ferrying around a well-dressed, salt and pepper haired gentleman to his big office and then to the golf course. The exteriors look appealing, the cabin is spacious and decked with features and there's a sizeable 458-litre boot too.I will go out on a limb and say that the Elantra is possibly the best riding Hyundai sedan till date.. The low-speed ride quality is nothing short of fantastic as the saloon goes about gobbling up potholes. For that price, it seems like a well rounded package to us, especially if you plan on being chauffer driven. On the face of it, the Elantra sure looks promising.22 lakh less compared to the Skoda. Cushioning is soft, side bolstering is ample and there's just the right support for the under thigh too.Before I sign this section off, there's one last feature that deserves a mention - the handsfree boot release. And, while it is genuinely capable of holding on to triple digit speeds all day long, you feel it will be happier cruising calmly instead. Not trashy, not strained - a clean and crisp engine note.

The 4-cylinder motor is the largest engine in its class, but not the most powerful by a long shot. It also gets six airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control and even something that Hyundai calls 'Vehicle Stability Management'. There's no dearth of legroom or kneeroom for someone my size (I'm 6ft tall), even with the driver's seat set for my driving position. Until now, all seems in place.8 TSi, just an engine chugging along in a mature, orderly fashion. On every other front, the Elantra does not disappoint. But, the way the engine delivers the 152PS of power and the 192Nm of torque is commendable.Keep the motor on the boil, and you can have a bit of fun with it. Even at triple digit speeds, it doesn't bob about and though there's still a bit of rebound from the suspension when you go over expansion joints, it settles down really quickly. There's no surge or gush of torque that hits you in an instant.

There's no push in the seat torque here, but at the same time it doesn't feel too underpowered either. It looks good, has the required bells and whistles, and now boasts of a better motor as well. The rear half of the cabin can accommodate three people, but the one sitting in the centre will find his knees brushing against the seat. It keeps you guessing whether you should go harder on the brake pedal or not. The 6-speed automatic gearbox complements the engine really well. Shift the gearbox to manual and it will hold on to the revs for as long as you like.The Elantra is priced between Rs 12.

The steering, as expected is super light at low speeds that makes it easy to park and easy to manoeuvre in tight spots. Now, on to what's entirely new for our market - the 2. We do miss a set of paddle shifters, though. The manual variant has been tuned to return 22. Paired with a 6-speaker system by Arkamys, the audio is quite nice too. There's barely a tell-tale sign that the engine is indeed switched on, unless of course you glance at the tachometer. The driver's seat gets 10-way power adjust, but no memory unlike the Octavia. I like how the engine sounds at higher revs. Hyundai themselves credit the new platform for this and the fact that they have used adhesives up to forty times as much to seal off panels, reducing noise. Of course, it doubles up as the navigation and the screen for the reverse camera as well. But it isn't one of those cars that eggs you on to keep pushing it harder and harder. What's not so good, is that the features you really want, are more or less reserved for the top-spec variant. However, try and upshift too early or force a downshift at high revs and it will override your input. The Elantra gets a sunroof too, which is reserved for the automatic variants only. There's no sense of emergency or an explosive power rush that one gets with the Octavia 1. Consider the top-spec diesels, and the Hyundai is dearer by Rs 53,000 compared to the Toyota, but is priced a whopping Rs 3.The diesel motor is carried over as is from the older generation and it produces exactly the same amount of power and torque.

Space is more than adequate, even if you are generously proportioned. The Elantra has never been the enthusiasts choice ever, and it doesn't pose as one either. At high speeds, it weighs up enough to give you the confidence you need. There's an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system too, that supports Android Auto as well as Apple CarPlay.Right, then. What you get instead, is a relaxed, linear delivery which gets stronger and stronger up to around 4000rpm, post which it tapers off rather sharply.I'm not too happy with the braking, since the pedal seems to feel a tad spongy. Despite that, there's practically no engine noise that filters into the cabin. The ratios are well-spaced out, and while shift shocks are non-existent, lag between the cog swap is minimal too.57kmpl, but, other than that everything is pretty much the same in terms of how it responds wholesale Shower Seats and drives. Headroom is at a pinch thanks to the sloping roof, and the short seat squab means that under thigh support takes a hit as well. Both engines get 'Eco' and 'Sport' mode, that alter throttle response and nothing else.0-litre petrol engine. Walk to the boot of the locked car with the key in your pocket and it opens itself in three seconds.99 lakh and Rs 19.59 lakh less compared to the Octavia. It isn't as rock hard as its European counterparts, but it comes very very close, which is high praise

The first sign is the interference with the judicial system. This is an even more dangerous form of the emergency because its effects will be long lasting. And free speech wasn’t the only right that was suppressed; so were all fundamental rights. Pant and Maulana Azad were his contemporaries.Finally, there is the well-planned and efficiently executed saffronisation of educational, cultural and research institutions by placing poorly qualified but ideologically committed individuals at their helm or by interfering in their operations (FTII, Central Board of Film Certification, IITs, NCERT, IIMs, school and college curricula, etc.That’s because the Emergency was not something that affected just the media.There is also a sustained effort to weaken the media, either by encouraging corporates with vested interests to take a controlling stake in them, or by direct action as against the Sun Network in Tamil Nadu. I hope I am wrong, but I see disturbing signs of that happening already.

The Bharatiya Janata Party seemed to be immune to this cult of personality, till Mr Modi came along. Which path will we take Eternal vigilance, Thomas Jefferson said, is the price of liberty. Add that to the reputation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a very strong leader who likes to concentrate power in his hands and you have a recipe for disaster. By that I mean an undeclared emergency where the government keeps up the pretence of parliamentary democracy, while quietly taking away our rights, one by one.We are now at a crucial point in our history. But if the balance of power in selection shifts to the executive, it’s a reason for disquiet. Karunanidhi), Samajwadi Party (Mulayam Singh Yadav), Trinamul Congress (Mamata Banerjee), Custom Badge Signs Suppliers Aam Aadmi Party (Arvind Kejriwal) and the Congress of course. At least that is everyone’s hope. Rajagopalachari, G.Can we have another Emergency This is the question uppermost in the minds of very many people. Nevertheless, this is at least one instance where the "old fogeys" are right, and the rest of the country must listen to them and pay heed to what they say.Then there is the very well-orchestrated campaign against non-governmental organisations. You could be put in jail without trial for whatever offence the authorities slapped you with. By attacking and weakening them, the government is indirectly stifling a voice of dissent, a voice which often speaks from the grassroots. The historian Ramachandra Guha points out that Jawaharlal Nehru, in spite of his towering personality, could not get his own way because strong people like Vallabhbhai Patel, C. If that is the case, our vigilance must surely begin now. These "very many" consist of politicians who lived through this darkest period in the life of Independent India 40 years ago, as well as media commentators. Luckily for us too, the Janata Party led by Morarji Desai, which won the general election after the Emergency, dismantled the constitutional amendments which made the imposition of Emergency so very easy for the Indira Gandhi government.

That’s of course, assuming that a possible future dictatorship will follow the constitutional path, whereas it is seen that most authoritarian rulers take over a country by suspending the Constitution. Of course, the media was affected. Now it will be far more difficult for any government to do to our country what was done in 1975. Most NGOs do commendable work amongst the poorest of the poor whom government outfits do not, or do not want to, reach. After 1969, this changed when Indira Gandhi had sycophantic colleagues. A few of them work in fields, which show the state in poor light, but they do so only to expose flaws in the established system.).

The sun was shining on Indira Gandhi and all was right with the world. The "very many" does not include too many ordinary citizens and most definitely does not include any of today’s generation (Emergency What’s that They ask).But that doesn’t mean that an emergency by stealth cannot happen. Short of losing their lives, very many men, some of them young bachelors, lost something else when they were forcibly sterilised in the cause of family planning. The cult of personality that began with her has embraced each and every party: All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Jayalalithaa), Bahujan Samaj Party (Mayawati), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (M.B. In a fearful judgment, the Supreme Court supinely decreed that even life could be taken away if the government so decreed. This only confirms what has been widely suspected: this government will apply two different yardsticks to punish people according to their religion.These are ominous portents. There was no electronic media then, so that meant the press: imagine waking up and looking at your morning paper full of government propaganda. No one denies that the collegium is deeply flawed — a cosy club whose members are most reluctant to be objective about their fellow members. But it wasn’t just the newspapers that were affected — freedom of speech was abrogated for everyone, and I still remember the fearful glances of people if criticism of the government escaped their lips in a public place. The venality of the Marans is so well-known that there’s no sympathy for them, but that is no excuse for the government’s high-handed action against their network of refusing security clearance.Then there is the recent episode in Maharashtra involving the well-respected public prosecutor Rohini Salian.The writer is a senior journalist. Her interview with a national newspaper did not mince words: she had been asked, she said, by a functionary of the National Investigation Agency to go "soft" on the Malegaon blast accused as per instructions of the government. Subversion of justice is a prime example of a functioning emergency.Luckily for us, Indira Gandhi was only a half-hearted dictator, and the Emergency lasted only 21 months, thus saving the country from the random cruelty and massive corruption that most dictatorships descend to. But that needs the armed services to back a coup, and our country is probably too large, and too diverse for such a thing to happen. The proposed dismantling of the collegium for selection of judges can be interpreted as one such sign

Perhaps some elements should have been left incomplete after all what wouldn’t we do to uncoil the coiled and then coil it up again. Born in London, Nair lives in New York City where she grew up. The characters grow old in the shadow of what happened that year in Malanad and wait for the ultimate filmy union to come about.Nair creates a world remarkable for its milieu. The Varma household is unlike anything Rakhee has seen. As Rakhee thinks of ways to save Geetanjali, she realises her mother and Prem also have a plan of their own that includes her but excludes her Abba. The first signs of mystery in the Varma house emerge with the appearance of Dev Uncle. Deep in the forest she finds a high wall and a locked door.

She cannot leave the place as she had been told she was the daughter of the Tulsi plant and was "different" from the others. It becomes clear that Sadhna Aunty, in her father’s shoes, is ready to sacrifice her daughter for the family. She goes back into the forest. In the din of a house teeming with relatives and servants, Rakhee misses her father acutely. Her attempt yields rich results. It had started since letters from India began arriving for Amma in Minnesota. As Dev greets Rakhee in his stutter, "H-h-h-how are you , molay," she shrinks back.Secrets have a chequered life. It is a women-centric story that comes across as natural. Next day after a harrowing visit to the hospital opened by her grandfather, Rakhee rushes to find Amma.The happy family picture at the end seems unreal and neutralises the thick aroma of secrets. As she peers in through the keyhole a beautiful garden greets her. The bright Kerala provides the plasma for the story to run. She knows something is amiss between her parents. It does come but not without damaging the fabric of the novel. By now Rakhee’s bag is full of threads that don’t lead anywhere: Amma’s said betrothal to Dev Uncle, her relationship with Prem, Sadhna Aunty’s rebellious marriage, a deranged servant woman Hema and the girl locked in the garden. Her narrative is quick and her story knows its way through dense family histories. The story is in the form of a letter written by a 3D signs Manufacturers girl to her fiancé. The girl named Tulsi has stayed inside those walls since she was born. Something had started to change since then. Nair treads the precarious line between so-called chick-lit and serious fiction. Rakhee’s coming of age, young girls’ discovering their sprouting bodies and a strikingly beautiful Amma, find place in the story without becoming its sole obsession.

As several skeletons tumble out of the Varma cabinet, Rakhee chooses to return to Minnesota with her father while her mother stays behind, living next door to her childhood lover. But Rakhee is determined to bring her parents together. She allows relationships betwe-en women characters to grow away from the world of clichés. The children watch Dev order the women around. Kamala Nair’s The Girl in The Garden is a gripping story about coming of age. Nair is a skilled writer. Nothing, not even the fear of a child-devouring yakshi (demon), can keep a 10-year-old Rakhee away from woods. She has gone to "lay her demons at rest". While most of the story is through the eyes opf a child, the writer of the letter emerges in the end making peace wi-th her mother. Annoyed, she runs out into the woods where her Amma had begged her not to go. The two girls bond like sisters. She stumbles into a family secret: a stunning garden, a peacock named Puck and a girl named Tulasi.

Meanwhile, a visit to Savitri Ammomma, grandfather’s sister, introduces a new piece in the puzzle: Sadhna Aunty.Things come to a break point when the elders announce the betrothal of Sadhna Aunty’s eldest daughter Geetanjali to Dev Uncle. The story should have ended here but it lingers on. From Amma’s room she hears a man’s soft voice and Amma’s reply, "I missed you so much. Rakhee and her cousin Krishna wonder: Why does everyone treat him like he is the king That night she catches Amma sneaking into the forbidden woods with her elder sister, Sadhana Chechi. The story runs in first person and much of it is the voice of a 10-year-old Rakhee Singh who is brought from her Minnesota home to a village called Malanad in Kerala. Rakhee takes to visiting her regularly, stealing books and eatables from the house for her. But she falters in the end as she doesn’t know when it comes. This time determined to find more. Rakhee is suddenly awake to the whispers in Varma house: Amma stealing secret kisses with Prem, Vijay Uncle and Sadhna Aunty talking about saving the family name and keeping Dev away. From learning to eat the Indian way to sleeping on a hard bed, everything is new for her. The first attempt to keep a secret is often the beginning of its end. Rakhee and her cousins plan to enact the Ramayana. A vibrant hum runs along the narrative, never letting it flag. But minutes later a deformed face peeps back and she runs home in fright. It occurs to Rakhee that maybe the creature locked in the forest was not a yakshi but someone like Sita, imprisoned by a Ravana. Someone she calls "teacher" brings her food and teaches her." She barges in shouting "Aba! Aba!" only to find the man is not her father but Amma’s old friend Prem

" Another Tamil leader, MDMK’s Vaiko, cautioned the Centre against "repeating the mistakes of the past. The data gives us a clear picture of how the so-called protectors of Kannada are misleading the common man. India cannot be reduced to one-size in any aspect, not language, not religion, not politics.5 lakh; Tamil - 12,265; Hindi - 10,000; Telugu: 7,088.Work to translate literary works in local Language into other languages. A vociferous, often violent, minority, egged on by vested interests, becomes the dominant response. It must be heeded. What a beautiful thought!Now, the most important question: Is the survival of Kannada, or any other language, threatened by Hindi? Here is a report showing number of students in Karnataka and their choice of language for the medium of education in 2012-13: Kannada medium - 73. He converses with them in Kannada and teaches them a few simple words and lines. Cariappa had urged people to "resolutely protest against any form of forcing Hindi as a national language. The basis of this organisation was that each region had its own language, and each of these languages is as dear to the people who speak them as Hindi, which was sought to be given the status of ‘National Language’, was for Hindi-speakers. Attempts to do so on any count will only further the divide an already diverse land.Require corporates to start local language clubs for the benefit of migrant workers.

The forcing of one language on the people as a national language will certainly hamper the growth of other languages, some of which are older than Hindi brass signs Suppliers and have superior literature. We just have to create opportunities for non-locals to learn and speak the language of their own volition.M.In Tamil Nadu, when highway signs were altered in March, Dravidian parties, which have dominated the state since the 1960s’ anti-Hindi protests, warned the Centre against "attempts to establish Hindi hegemony through the backdoor. Ananthamurthy. How do you expect people like me to learn it?" Ever since, Shamsuddin keeps placards in his auto that teach simple Kannada in easy steps.Encourage Radio jockeys and TV presenters to raise the bar on speaking the local language well. The Gujarat High Court once even ruled that Hindi is not the ‘national language’; even Field Marshal K.

"Tamils, or southerners, are, however, not the only people who have agitated against the perceived imposition of Hindi by the Centre. karnataka, for instance, can open "Kuvempu Model" schools as proposed by renowned Kannada writer Late U. Stalin, leader of the DMK, conveyed Tamils’ feelings in no uncertain terms: "The BJP has been devoting great attention to thrusting Sanskrit and Hindi on Tamil people," he said, "I warn the Centre that it will have to face a new anti-Hindi agitation.Shamsuddin understands a profound truth: a language can be taught and promoted through love and friendship, not by forcing it on someone.R. Now, he gently persuades his non-Kannada speaking customers to learn during the ride just enough of the language to get by daily using his placards.K." M.75 lakh; English - 20 lakh; Urdu - 5 lakh; Marathi - 1. in karnataka, for instance, it companies should be asked to start ‘kannada clubs’ that organise meaningful programmes through the yearDid You KnowThe States Reorganisation Act, 1956, organised India into states and territories.Open "model schools"designed to promote learning and literature in the local language as well as other indian languages.Being multi-lingual is said toDelay the onset of dementia.

Make us better at a variety of cognitive tasksKeep our minds working longer and better into old ageImprove communication skillsHelp to keep mental fitnessLead to faster recovery from stroke(The writer is a well-known Kannada writer and teacher). As they get down, he requests them to, in turn, teach the language to their friends. What every state can do to promote its own languagePass law that requires any person being employed in that state to have a certain minimum knowledge of its language. In the 1940s, the Bengalis had the Manbhum movement; more recently, people from the north eastern states formed the North East Forum for International Solidarity protesting against Hindi Imposition after Delhi University made rules that seemed designed to force Hindi on them; in a case similar to the recent attempt in Tamil Nadu, when the National Highway Authority of India published notifications only in Hindi and English in Gujarat, the state’s farmers protested." This time, the warning bell against the imposition of Hindi and Hindi-dom, admittedly an over-reaction, has been sounded in a liberal, ‘soft’ and cosmopolitan state.Yet, there is a lesson for those who think Hindi can be imposed from above on the whole nation - and that is that when such an attempt is made, or perceived to be made, sensible people like Shamsuddin fade away. He says one doesn’t need to oppose or oppress other languages in order to save our own

In January, gunmen killed dozens of people in a cafe frequented by foreigners in neighbouring Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, and also attacked a hotel.Gunmen from al Qaeda's North African branch drank beer at a beachside bar before launching a shooting rampage at an Ivory Coast resort town that left at least 18 people dead, the group's third major attack in West Africa in four months.Among the dead was Henrike Grohs, 51, head of the Abidjan branch of Germany's Goethe Institute cultural body."People were yelling 'Come over here!' But he didn't know what was happening and just went down to the water. Bar staff tried to warn a deaf boy who was playing nearby.Easy TargetThe attack is a heavy blow for Ivory Coast, which has recovered from more than a decade of political turmoil and a 2011 civil war to become one of the world's fastest growing economies. Bassam is where all the expatriates and middle class from Abidjan gather on the weekends," said one longtime resident, who said he had seen no sign of recent security improvements. More gunshots were then heard. "Yes, Ivory Coast is on its feet. They shot him in the water," Eddy said.The attack raised questions about Ivory Coast's preparedness for such an attack, with some asking why such a sensitive target was left so vulnerable.President Ouattara won a landslide election victory in October, promising to attract foreign investment to the largest economy in French-speaking West Africa which is also the world's top cocoa producer.. The French government had earlier said just one of its citizens had died.

"They didn't speak French.France's President Francois Hollande said four French nationals were killed in the attack. But there were few signs that was the case in Grand Bassam ahead of Sunday's attack. Yes, on its feet to combat the cowards and protect its people.France has 3,500 troops in the region, from Senegal in the far west to Chad.

The guys who were still outside started shooting Hotel House door room number metal signage Artistic Modeling and the two seated at the table yelled 'Allahu Akbar' and flipped over the table," he told Reuters.He said the first victim was a boy who was made to kneel before he was shot..The victims included foreign citizens from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, France, Germany and Mali."AQIM has spread across the Sahara from Algeria and now operates in much of western and northern Africa.French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will travel to Ivory Coast on Tuesday to offer logistical support and intelligence, French diplomatic sources said. It poses serious security questions for former regional colonial power France, which has thousands of citizens and troops in the region. It would be easy," he said, asking not to be named. Counter-terrorism officials have also been sent to help the investigation.

The attack raised questions about Ivory Coast's preparedness, with some asking why such a sensitive target was left so vulnerable.Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko said another 26 wounded were still receiving medical attention on Monday, as President Alassane Ouattara declared three days of mourning for the country, which has never before been hit by al Qaeda. Militants attacked another hotel in the Malian capital Bamako late last year, killing 20."We don't understand why this wasn't considered a priority for protection.Staff crouched and then fled along with customers, among them parents carrying babies or leading young children by the hand. A French military base in Abidjan, manned by around 800 soldiers, serves as a logistical hub for regional operations against Islamist militancy in the Sahel. We communicated with them in English .A man, apparently disguised as a waiter in a red waistcoat over a white dress shirt, entered with a rifle, fired at the empty bar and disappeared behind it, where the Lebanese man had been hiding.. While two remained outside, the two others entered and drank beers for around a half hour.Sunday's raid, details of which are beginning to emerge in witness and official accounts, was the furthest yet from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's (AQIM) traditional desert base, a worrying indication of the militants' growing reach. They spoke Arabic.The gunmen then moved up the beach, continuing their killing spree and entering several seaside hotels.The attack in Grand Bassam, thousands of kilometres from al Qaeda's traditional operational zones, raises fears over where they might strike next.

The first police officers arrived on the scene around 15 minutes after the shooting began, witnesses said.Fifteen civilians and three members of the special forces were killed and 33 people were wounded in the attack in Grand Bassam, a weekend retreat popular with Ivorians and westerners about 40 km (25 miles) east of the commercial capital Abidjan."Ivory Coast will not let itself be intimidated by terrorists," Ouattara said in a televised address late on Monday.Witness Christian Eddy said four men arrived in a Ford saloon car at the beachside bar where he works around noon on Sunday.Three militants also died in the attack on the resort town, a UNESCO heritage site of crumbling colonial-era buildings."Attacking Bassam was the easiest thing for them to do.Surveillance footage from Hotel Etoile du Sud - one of the attackers' first targets where two people including a German woman and a Lebanese man were gunned down - showed the initial panic in the hotel bar as the first shots rang out. It would be another half hour before special units from the security forces arrived from Abidjan.The recent attacks in the region are generally viewed as targeting France and its allies after Paris intervened militarily in Mali in 2013 to drive out al Qaeda-linked militants who had seized the desert north a year earlier.They then launched the attack.While some 18,000 French citizens live in Ivory Coast, over 20,000 reside in Senegal..Since those attacks, Ivorian authorities have increased security around hotels and shopping malls in Abidjan, a city of around five million inhabitants