The 422-km-long Srinagar-Leh highway gives one an opportunity to literally conquer (that’s the feeling one gets) the mighty Himalayas through 10 mountain passes," a tourism brochure states, asking visitors to explore it, using non-motorised transport.The old city has many shrines and mosques and their distinctive pagoda-like roofs enliven the horizon. He took several measures to build the cycling habit among the locals."Some government officials and other stakeholders want to take the activity beyond the ambit of tourism.  Minister for tourism Tassaduq Hussain Mufti, has a bigger plan for not just the Valley, but the entire state."Recently, the tourism department along with Travel Agents’ Society of Kashmir conducted a recce of the 5. Tourists would turn up at these shops early to pick the "best" bicycle available. It has temples, hospices and other monuments and important sites, old brick buildings and over a dozen bridges spanning Jhelum river and the view from these bridges is unmistakably Kashmiri. Houseboats compete with shikaras in choosing eye-catching names. One of them is Dr G. Before the separatist violence started in 1989-90, tourists, including foreigners, going for sightseeing on bicycles, starting from Dalgate (where the Dal Lake starts) along the Boulevard in Srinagar, was commonplace."We want to bring back the glory.  

We’re on it and, hopefully, we will succeed," tourism director Mahmood A.Srinagar: Cycling has been an inexpensive way of experiencing Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. Starting from Dal Gate down onto the Boulevard with shops selling J&K’s exquisite handicrafts, eateries and hotels on the right side of the road and a transparent sheet of water where people bathe, dive, swim and some enjoying a shikara ride.Efforts are on now to revive cycle tourism during spring, but it has not yielded any encouraging results so far. Normally, the best time for a tourist to start exploring Srinagar is soon after sunrise. It not only boosts your health and fitness, but also works out a whole lot cheaper than public transport," he said. "We’re working on a mission to make J&K a destination that is natural in its sliding gate indoor environs, global in standards, modern in outlook, traditional in its hospitality, mystical in sensibilities and entertaining in its experience. Qasba, commissioner of Srinagar Municipal Corporation.The J&K tourism officials said that they are working on reviving cycling tours along the historical pedestal walkways in the interiors of Dal Lake as an added attraction to backpackers."I have been telling people that cycling will improve your life.N. These would be open from dawn to dusk. But it doesn’t forget to warn them "mountain cycling calls for strength and stamina… Make sure you get used to the local climatic conditions.This apart, the department is also promoting mountain cycling from Srinagar to Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonmarg and back and also from Sonmarg to Wular and Manasbal lakes (in north of the Valley) and back to Srinagar. They are keen to see cycling as a routine activity in the Valley.. Shah said.  Before the violence began in J&K, there used to be half-a-dozen bicycle shops at Dal Gate and a few more in nearby localities where one could hire bicycle on rent.5-km-long walkway connecting the famous Mughal Garden Nishat on the foothills of Zabarwan with Srinagar’s Rainawari quarter across the Dal Lake

Therefore, I said earlier when Facebook came to India with Free Basics when I examined it, (and) I was handling communications department then, I found it will be free only when you enter from my gate.The sector regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, had issued a regulation in February 2016 on discriminatory pricing over internet access which led to ban of platforms like Free Basics and Airtel Zero.Prasad said there were two companies that were making mobile phones in the country when he took over as IT and communications minister..The IT minister further said the government recently provided "duty shield" to electronic and mobile sectors to promote domestic manufacturing.

He said it is for the USA to decide their stand on net neutrality but "Our stand from day one is very clear – right of non-discriminatory access to internet is not negotiable"."I believe internet is one of the finest creation of mankind and must be available for all.He said the government is making efforts to make India a USD 1 trillion digital economy in coming indoor sliding gate 5 years which include IT, IT enabled services, shared economy etc.The DoT has to now take call on TRAI recommendations over net neutrality. India does not believe in one gate and I did not give them permission for that," Prasad said while speaking at the Digital India Summit. If internet is a global platform it must have link with local," Prasad said.New Delhi: Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday said he had denied permission to Facebooks Free Basics platform when he was handling portfolio of the communications ministry.Facebook was offering free internet access to some websites that were available on its Free Basics platform.Prasad said the government has also decided to bear the charges on transactions up to Rs 2,000 made through debit cards, BHIM UPI or Aadhaar-enabled payment systems to promote digital transactions.Following debate over net neutrality, Prasad as the telecom minister had set up a panel of officers from the Department of Telecom (DoT) to examine the matter and come up with recommendations.As per ruling, the companies violating the rules will be fined Rs 50,000 per day for the duration of contravention, subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh.The DoT panel too had recommended bar on platforms like Free Basics as it will act as gatekeeper to the internet."Right to access of internet cannot be denied.Prasad had then said the government would take a holistic view on net neutrality after the DoT panel and TRAI finalise their recommendations."I am happy to announce today, India today is home to 108 mobile factories in the last three years," he said.TRAI ruled against discriminatory pricing for different data platforms or content and said operators cannot enter into pacts with internet companies to subsidise access to some websites.In November, TRAI finalised its recommendations on net neutrality in which it prohibited internet service providers from making any discrimination in traffic while providing web access by either blocking or throttling some apps, websites and services or by offering fast lanes to others

.The girl gave her parents the slip near Geneva’s central railway station on Sunday, then took the one-stop ride to the airport. The second time, she managed to get into a plane, was spotted by an official, stopped, and handed over to police."This should never have happened," Staempfli said.A seven-year-old girl who ran away from her parents managed to take a train to Geneva airport and board a plane despite having no ticket.Staempfli declined to say which airline was involved or where it was flying to, but he said it was leaving from the airport’s French sector and the destination was in France. She melted into the crowd and pretended to look for her parents.sliding gate remote controlOn her first attempt she followed a crew towards the plane and was turned back.The airport said in the statement it would tighten safety rules and boarding procedures as a result of what it called the "highly regrettable incident".Geneva airport straddles the French-Swiss border and passengers can leave from France or Switzerland.

She went through the security gate and managed to pass herself off as the child of adults around her, before using her small stature to slip through the departure gate without being noticed and boarding a plane, the airport said in a statement. Her parents rang the Swiss  police, who tracked her progress through the airport on security videos, airport spokesman Bertrand Staempfli said

He has to get one person in the audience. They host performers, from up and coming newbies to established popular artistes with a huge fan base, these spaces provide a platform to showcase talent. If they have a huge reach on social media and otherwise, they get a great audience. "The audience’s fascination for stand-up comedy is at its peak," she says, adding that the audience is willing to experiment with new talent. So, these plus ones pose as a true audience," he points out. "How much footfall a gig gets also depends on how well the venue markets the evening. The venue is hot, humid, and despite the haze, is brimming with excited people sharing jokes and laughing over a drink.Hijas Mooja, part of collective Laughing Coconut, who produces open mic nights and comedy shows at culture spaces in the city, believes that the plus one module is a necessity and a strategy that works out beautifully — in favour of both the venue and the performer. Music gigs work on a more of less similar manner.  

He shares another model gigs function on: gate shares.How cultural and performing spaces in the city work is no surprise.Songwriter Vernon Noronha, however, puts some responsibility on the venue also."Hijas points out that a symbiotic relationship along these lines benefits both parties. This makes the audience flexible and puts a little pressure on the performer to perform his best," he says, adding, "This module is followed in the West as well. Eventually, Tabish says, they got sick of the model and opted out. "Anyone doing stand-up right now is really lucky. They are usually very concerned with their own material and too busy figuring out their stuff, almost like a competition. "When the performer is a newbie, there is a pressure on him or her to make an audience. That way, if there are ten performers for the night, there will be at least ten people sitting in the audience. But what exactly goes on behind the stage? How does the venue ensure that a certain number of audience attends the show?For an established artiste to arrange for such a footfall isn’t difficult, but upcoming performers have it a little difficult because their name alone doesn’t guarantee to an audience. "This one time my Wholesale Barrier band was performing at a space in Pune, and we had to go out of our way to sell the passes for the gig.The scene is more or less the same. And, now pin-drop silence with all eyes on the performer, the gig ensues.  

They provide a stage for an upcoming comedian while established, professional stand-up comics get to try new material. When the audience is flexible with low expectations, the comic is earning himself quality time on the stage — whether the joke is good or bad, he should know it immediately through the audience. Now, based on this sale, we used to get our money for the evening," he says.This is the case with comedy gigs. So, for instance, if the  gig proves to be a flop, the artiste and the venue both share the responsibility of the loss," he says. "This is way better than the tickets selling business.Today, he believes that the live gig scene is the best for artistes. "We were too involved with making sure that an audience comes to the gig and the music started getting sidelined," he recalls.". "See, it isn’t very difficult for one person to convince their friend to come along for a show. "Open mics serve two purposes. Because at the end of the day, how much crowd can a handful of performers pull in?"Regardless of how the artiste and the venue manage to pull a crowd, stand-up comedian Dwijal Mehta believes now is the best time to be a comic. And from there on, it is usually word of mouth," he says. Now if you don’t exercise this module, chances are the entire open mic night is going to be filled with stand-up comics only. They’re singing along with each other merrily, waiting for the next performer to take the stage. Rohit Shah, an upcoming stand-up comedian, who has been to around 55 open mics since February, says that in such a case, most venues have a plus one rule. And I know for a fact that comics don’t make for a good audience. Gate share is basically an idea where all parties involved incur the loss of the gig. When the performer brings a plus one to the evening, that person doesn’t have high expectations. Tabish Khidir, vocalist with the hardcore punk band Death by Fungi, and doom metal band Dirge, recalls a time when the band had to sell passes for the gig by themselves

They forced those fleeing the site to go inside" the restaurant, witness Nur Yasin told the AP.The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020.Al-Shabab claimed responsibility shortly after the assault began with a car bomb exploding at the restaurants gate. They were killing people on sight," Saida Hussein, a university student, told The Associated Press.Soldiers surrounded the building and used vehicle-mounted guns to neutralize the attackers early Thursday.The gunmen "were dressed in military uniforms. Troops entered the ground floor while the extremist snipers held positions upstairs. Inside the building, the body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef there lay near the rubble of a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it."I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again.S. Police said many victims were killed at point-blank range after being hunted down. military in Africa said it carried out an airstrike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp.Another survivor, Aden Karie, was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain.Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed that airstrike and said such attacks would disrupt the groups ability to conduct new attacks.Many early victims were young men who had been entering the Pizza House when the vehicle exploded, Hussein said.The Somalia-based al-Shabab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace.Security forces rescued Asian, Ethiopian, Kenyan and other workers at Posh Treats as the attack continued, Hussein said.All five attackers were killed and the soldiers secured the building China Door Openers Factory after dawn, said senior Somali police Capt.While al-Shabab claimed to have attacked the neighboring Posh Treats restaurant, which is frequented by the citys elite and was damaged in the blast, security officials said the Pizza House was targeted instead.. Mohamed Hussein.  

Efforts to take control of the restaurant were slowed by the darkness of night, d Hussein said.Mogadishu: At least 31 people are dead after the overnight siege of a popular restaurant in Somalias capital by al-Shabab Islamic extremists, ended Thursday morning by security forces with all five attackers killed.With a new federal government established, pressure is growing on Somalias military to assume full responsibility for the countrys security.The extremist group also faces a new military push from the United States after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including airstrikes, against al-Shabab.Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies."He shot at me twice and one bullet struck me on the leg," said Karie as he was taken to a waiting ambulance.Many of the 31 victims were killed at point-blank range, Hussein said. She said she survived by hiding behind a large table downstairs. Nearly 40 other people were wounded.The attack began Wednesday evening when a car bomb exploded at the gate to the restaurant and gunmen posing as military forces stormed in.On Sunday, the U.Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as attackers searched for patrons in the darkened Pizza House restaurant, firing their weapons.The bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by the extremists were found in the restaurant, police said. The roofs were blown off the restaurant and nearby buildings by the blast