An Indian court has rejected a petition filed by a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party to open nearly two dozen locked rooms in the Taj Mahal.
Rajneesh Singh, a local media co-ordinator of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the nearby city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, filed the petition in the state's high court last Saturday, demanding that 22 rooms in the basement of the mausoleum be opened amid claims that they contain “idols of Hindu gods”.
He also claimed that the 17th-century monument was not built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
But Justices DK Upadhaya and Subhash Vidyarthi of the Allahabad High Court came down heavily on the petitioner, saying such questions were meant for “drawing room discussions” and should be left to historians.
“You hold that the structure was not made by Shah Jahan? Are we here to pronounce any verdict? Please don't take us to the historical facts which you believe," the justices said.
“Tomorrow you will ask for permission to see our chambers.”
The judges said the plea was “non-justiciable”.
“The issues lie outside court and should be done by various methodology and should be left with the historians,” the bench said.
Right-wing Hindus have claimed for decades that the Taj Mahal — a Unesco heritage monument built of white marble by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his wife Mumtaaz — was a temple devoted to the Hindu god Shiva.
The monument is listed as one of the new seven wonders of the world and remains a top tourist attraction, drawing about eight million visitors a year.
Mr Singh had asked the court to set up a committee to investigate whether its locked chambers contain Hindu idols and demanded that the Archaeological Survey of India, which manages the historical monument, submit a report.
The ASI said in 2017 that there was no evidence to suggest the monument had ever been a temple after a petition was filed to rename the mausoleum “Tejomahalay”.
In 2000, India’s Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by P N Oak, a self-styled historian, seeking to declare that a Hindu king had built the Taj Mahal.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Results
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EElite%20men%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Amare%20Hailemichael%20Samson%20(ERI)%202%3A07%3A10%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Leornard%20Barsoton%20(KEN)%202%3A09%3A37%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Ilham%20Ozbilan%20(TUR)%202%3A10%3A16%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Gideon%20Chepkonga%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A17%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Isaac%20Timoi%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A34%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EElite%20women%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Brigid%20Kosgei%20(KEN)%202%3A19%3A15%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Hawi%20Feysa%20Gejia%20(ETH)%202%3A24%3A03%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sintayehu%20Dessi%20(ETH)%202%3A25%3A36%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Aurelia%20Kiptui%20(KEN)%202%3A28%3A59%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Emily%20Kipchumba%20(KEN)%202%3A29%3A52%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE%20ILT20
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RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Specs
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Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
