After failing to re-dig the controversial Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal at Punjab border last month, Haryana's leading opposition party the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) will protest in national capital Delhi on Wednesday on the same issue.

After holding demonstration at Jantar Mantar, the INLD protesters would march towards to 'Gherao the Parliament' if the Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not give them time  to meet. Seeking Prime Minister's (PM) intervention on the SYL canal, INLD's two members of Parliament, 19 legislators and workers will gather from across the state, led by senior party leader Abhay Singh Chautala, plan to give memorandum to the PM on the issue.

Apart from the memorandum, the INLD has also plan to submit resolutions passed by various Khaps (community council) and Panchayats (village councils) on the SYL canal water issue. Chautala who is the Leader of the Opposition in Haryana, has announced that his party would continue its fight  on the SYL issue till the state gets its
legitimate share of water from the neighbouring Punjab.

More than 90 INLD leaders including Chautala were arrested by the Punjab police on February 23 while trying to enter the state for digging up the controversial portion of the SYL canal falling in Patiala district. After arrest, the INLD leaders were sent to judicial custody till February 27 by a Rajpura court.

Failing to win "water war", the INLD leaders, immediately after their release from Patiala jail, announced to 'gherao' the Parliament'.

Criticizing both the ruling BJP and the Congress party for adopting dual standard on the SYL water issue, the INLD also strongly raised the SYL issue in recently concluded Budget Session of the Haryana Legislative Assembly. State Assembly witnessed ruckus many times over the issue.

Decades-old contentious issue between the two states again hit the headlines during the previous year when the Supreme Court on November 10, held as unconstitutional the 2004 Punjab Termination of Agreements Act passed by Punjab Assembly to terminate the SYL canal water sharing agreement with neighbouring state. The decision led a political storm in both of the states.

More than 46 per cent of 8,323 complaints received by the Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) in the past five years pertain to allegations against police personnel of unfair investigation, registration of false cases, exploitation and torture.

Data accessed by The Statesman shows that established in September 2012, state’s HRC has received a total 8,323 complaints by the end of February, of which 3,897 complaints (over 46 per cent) are against the Haryana cops.

Figures show that during the year 2016, a total of 3,262 complaints were received of which 1,299 were against the police. Similarly, 2015 and 2014, total complaints received by the Commission against the Police were 2,086 and 1,475 respectively. In 2013, the number of complaints was 1,088 while in 2012, 56 complaints were issued, which was the lowest.

Out of these, 670 complaints were reported against the police personnel in 2015, 970 in 2014, 758 in 2013 and 32 in 2012.

As per records, in 2017, 356 complaints were received by the Commission during January and February of which 168 are against the Police Department. Acting Chairperson, HHRC, Justice (retd) H S Bhalla said that the majority of the complaints received against the police personnel are about inaction, torture and exploitation.

Apart from police atrocities, HHRC also got other complaints related to children, women, prison, pension, life and liberty among others. Moreover, several complaints relating to custodial deaths were also reported to the Commission in the last few years.

According to the HHRC, out of the total complaints received in the past few years, it has disposed of a total 6,927 complaints so far while 1,396 are still pending. HHRC Registrar (Judicial) G K Khanna said that the Commission has also taken cognizance in a number of cases seeking reports from various higher authorities. For example a suo-motto was taken by the Commission last year in an alleged Murthal rape case when it sought a report from the state government. The Commission also issued notice to the Civil Aviation Authority when it was reported that some airlines were charging extra amount from the passengers when the national highway route between the Chandigarh and Delhi was blocked due to Jat agitation in February last year, Khanna added.

India's Sania Mirza and her doubles partner Barbara Strycova crashed out of the BNP Paribas Open in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

The Indo-Czech pair suffered a straight sets 4-6, 4-6 defeat against Swtzerland's Martina Hingis and Taiwan's Yung-jan Chan in the quarter-final.

Hingis is of course, Mirza’s former partner and the two had parted ways at the end of 2016 after a barren stretch had put pressure on the duo.

Hingis paired up with Chan at the start of the Middle East Swing, reaching the semifinals of the Qatar Open and the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships. Taking on Mirza and Strycova for the first time since switching partners, Hingis overcame tough opposition with the Taiwanese star by her side, ousting their higher-seeded opponents in just over an hour and 20 minutes.

Chan formerly served as stiff competition to both Hingis and Mirza when she played with sister Chan Hao-Ching, winning the last match against the team formerly known as ‘Santina' before they went on a 41-match winning streak from the end of 2015 to the beginning of 2016, playing quite a few tough matches against the pair in between.

Up next for the No.6 seeds will be the winner of an interesting quarterfinal between top seeds and reigning Australian Open champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and the unseeded pair of Kristina Mladenovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova. 
Mladenovic is playing her first event with her new partner since splitting with co-French Open champion Caroline Garcia after Dubai.

Mattek-Sands and Safarova could wrest the top spot on the leaderboard from current No.1s Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai by beating Mladenovic and Kuznetsova. If they don't reach the final, No.2 seed and Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina could get to No.1 if they win the title.

Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) in the Pink City is all set to play host to the second edition of its performing arts festival, Navras and bring together some ethereal elements from the art, culture and music space under one roof.

Spanning over a period of nine days from March 18-26, the festival will present a series of rich and diverse productions of theatre, contemporary dance and sufi, classical, pop and fusion music. The idea is to give the audiences a chance to experience the arts and its impact in a range of spectacular spaces within the JKK premises.

"JKK is proud to present a variety of nationally acclaimed performances in art, music, dance and theatre to audiences in Jaipur. If Navras means to have new experiences, then it is our endeavor that the audiences in Jaipur enrich themselves in experiencing theatre, dance and music in new and diverse ways," said Pooja Sood, Director General of JKK.

The festival will open with a performance by noted singer Shubha Mudgal and her band Koshish. Equally at ease with popular music and fusion projects, Shubha Mudgal is one of India's acclaimed vocalists who has specialised in Hindustani classical music.

The days that follow will witness many artistic presentations including dance productions -Ganapati by Adishakti and Timeless by Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company; theatre productions – Kaumudi by Abhishek Majumdar and White Rabbit Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour; and music – sufi Kalam by Zila Khan and classical by Shruti Sadolikar and Vidya Shah.

The festival will also witness the premier of "Phool Kesula Phool," a theatre production commissioned by JKK and directed by Rajasthan's bright talent Rajendra Panchal. JKK will also be presenting "Tilchatteyki Diary," a play for children that was commissioned last summer.

In an attempt to introduce audiences to alternative viewing strategies, several experimental productions have also been invited to Navras. 

There will also be an exhibition, "Women on Record" curated and designed by photographer Parthiv Shah on March 26. The exhibition will run in the Museum Galleries 2 and 3 till the end of April.

The culmination of Navras will also see the opening of the exhibition, "The Theatre of Alkazi" curated by Amal Allana and designed by Nissar Allana, on March 27, as part of the Rajasthan Divas Celebrations and also World Theatre Day. The exhibition will continue till the end of April in The Contemporary, JKK Museum Galleries. The exhibition is being supported by the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan.

It was a historic moment for the BJP in Manipur as party leader Nongthombam Biren Singh took oath as the chief minister of the state on Wednesday.

This is the first time that the BJP has come to power in the state, which had otherwise been a Congress bastion.

Biren Singh was elected unanimously as the leader of the BJP legislature party, and had staked claim to form the government after meeting the Governor on Tuesday.

Earlier state Governor Najma Haptullah had invited the BJP-led coalition under Singh to form the next government in the state after being assured of requisite support from regional parties and Independents.

Since March 11, the day of the results, both the Congress and the BJP have claimed support to form the next government. Although the Congress emerged as the single largest party with 28 MLAs, the BJP, with 21 MLAs, claims to have the support of NPP (4), NPF (4), LJP (1), and three others.

Actresses Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman are being eyed for The Girl in the Spider's Web, which is a sequel of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The forthcoming movie is scheduled to release in October next year and will be directed by "Don't Breathe" helmer Fede Alvarez. 

The first movie originally starred Rooney Mara as tattoed hacker Lisbeth Salander and Daniel Craig as journalist Mikael Blomkvist. 

However, the sequel will reportedly feature an entirely new cast. 

Portman, Johansson and Alicia Vikander are among the names being considered to take the role of the tattooed hacker in the upcoming movie, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Based on David Lagercrantz's novel of the same name, The Girl in the Spider's Web is co-written by Alvarez alongside Steven Knight and Jay Basu. 

The National Conference and the Congress announced on Wednesday they will fight the by-elections to the Lok Sabha from Srinagar and Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir as allies.

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah will contest from Srinagar while state Congress leader GA Mir will be the candidate at Anantnag, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told the media.

"We have had exhaustive deliberations within the NC and so has the Congress to work out a joint strategy to give a fight to the ruling PDP in Srinagar and Anantnag," the National Conference leader said here.

"After exhaustive exercise, it has been decided the National Conference and the Congress would fight the by-elections jointly.

"The Congress has assured us that all its workers and well-wishers will ensure a landslide victory for Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar while our rank and file in Anantnag will work for the victory of Mir Sahab," he told the media.

Asked how confident he was of winning, Omar Abdullah said: "Nobody can go into elections with 100 per cent surety but we are pretty sure of winning both these seats."

The Peoples Democratic Party has announced that Tasaduq Hussain Sayeed, brother of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, would contest from Anantnag and Nazir Ahmad Khan, who defected from the Congress, from Srinagar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given a grand welcome by BJP members in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Modi Modi".

Soon after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan mourned the death of former member B.V.N. Reddy and Question Hour began, Modi walked into the house along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar and BJP's Chief Whip Rakesh Singh.

Bharatiya Janata Party members welcomed him by thumping of desks for a good two minutes. Some of them shouted "Jai Shri Ram" while a few chanted "Modi Modi" in tribute to the BJP's wins Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The Prime Minister stayed in house only for a few minutes.

The BJP and its ally Apana Dal won a whopping 321 seats in Uttar Pradesh and 57 seats in Uttarakhand. The party also formed governments in Goa and Manipur.

In the wake of the crushing defeat of the Congress in UP Assembly elections, actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar on Wednesday offered to resign from the post of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president.

"I could not live up to the expectation. I was given responsibility but I could not fulfil it, I accept it," Babbar was quoted as saying to a new agency.

The Congress, which had formed an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, could not win the votes of the public and thus failed to form the government in the state. Both parties together could manage to win only 54 seats, while the BJP stormed to victory with 312 seats in the 403-seat UP Assembly.

Britain-based Formula 1 racing team Sahara Force India on Tuesday unveiled the colour of the car for the upcoming 2017 season, an eye-catching combination of pink, magenta and silver, according to a statement made on their official website.

The car, which is called VJM10, will be making its debut in the new colours at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. 

While the new look is likely to put off racing purists, the livery overhaul was done after the Vijay Mallya-led team secured a major sponsor in Best Water Technology Group (BWT). 

BWT’s presence is also reinforced with the BWT pink helmets of drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon to complement the unique BWT pink car.

A visibly upbeat Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director of Sahara Force India exclaimed: “The arrival of BWT in Formula One is huge news and represents one of the most significant partnerships in our ten year history. For 2017 our cars will sport a vibrant new colour scheme with a smart matte finish. Changing the colour of our cars is an indication of the strength of this new partnership and a real statement of intent from BWT as they begin their relationship with the sport of Formula One.”

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday witnessed multiple adjournments amid chaos over Congress' allegations that BJP murdered the democracy by not honouring the people's mandate in Goa and Manipur assembly elections.

The upper house was first adjourned soon after it assembled at 11 am as Congress member Anand Sharma raised the issue saying the BJP was "violating mandate of the people" in Goa and Manipur.

"Congress has emerged as the single-largest party in these two states and in case of no clear majority such party is invited to form the government," he said.

Sharma alleged that the BJP was "stealing MLAs".

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abas Naqvi tried to intervene but Congress member gathered in the well of the House and began shouting slogans against the BJP.

Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien, who kept on requesting the agitating members to go back to their seats, then adjourned the House till 11.30 am.

Similar scenes were again witnessed during the Question Hour at 12 noon.

This time, Leader of the Opposition in the House Ghulam Nabi Azad raised the matter and said "it was a murder of democracy" and the issue should be discussed in the House.

"It's a question of India's democracy," he added.

Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari requested him to take up the issue after lunch and "let the Question Hour proceed".

Nobody paid any heed to his pleas and he adjourned the House for 15 minutes – till 12.19 pm.

After two adjournments, the Upper House was again in chaos as Congress member gathered in front of the Chair shouting slogans against the government. The House was finally adjourned till 2.00 pm.

Former BCCI chief Shashank Manohar stepped down as the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman, citing personal reasons on Wednesday.

“I have tried to do my best and have tried to be fair and impartial in deciding matters in the functioning of the Board and in matters related to Member Boards along with the able support of all Directors,” the 59-year-old wrote in his resignation letter, addressing to the ICC CEO David Richardson.

According to reports, Manohar cited “personal reasons” behind his sudden resignation from the prestigious post.

Manohar acknowledged all the Directors and the Management staff of ICC in his resignation, concluding with good wishes. “I wish ICC all the very best and hope it achieves greater heights in future.”

Manohar served as the BCCI president twice, first for three years from 2008 to 2011 and later from November 2015 to May 2016.

The Indian baord thanked Manohar for his contribution and wished him luck for his future endeavours.

"Manohar's contribution to Indian cricket is invaluable. He is a man of few words but excellent deeds. The BCCI wishes him the very best for his future endeavours," the board said in a statement.

Leaving aside several bilateral issues, including the unresolved Teesta water-sharing deal, India has proposed a long-term comprehensive defence pact with Bangladesh that encompasses training, sale of military hardware and wide range of military to military cooperation.

Highly placed official sources said though discussions are still going on, India is expecting to sign a comprehensive, 25-year framework agreement on bilateral defence cooperation during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming state visit to India on April 7-10.

According to sources, India in its proposed agreement also wants coordinated operations against mutually perceived threats.

Prime Minister of Bangladesh will be visiting India on an invitation extended by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, according to a joint announcement made yesterday simultaneously in Dhaka and New Delhi.

Along with the military cooperation agreement, India has also offered a $500 million line of credit to Bangladesh for the purchase of military hardware, including purchasing of fast patrol craft for the coastguards, radar, and other items for air defence.

Bangladesh, however, is still reluctant to sign such an agreement in the area of defence which India is pushing for. Dhaka is reluctant about such a long-term framework agreement, sources say. Instead it prefers to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which would be less formal and would have no time frame.

“The proposed defence agreement has not yet taken final shape…it is still under discussion at different level of the government, but it is progressing,” said a highly placed official source in Dhaka.

Bangladesh is heavily dependent on China for its defence, but the government amid Indian push has taken the view that a traditionally close defence relationship with China needs to be balanced by strengthening defence cooperation with India and Russia too, according to experts and sources.

Bangladesh and China has umbrella agreement on defence cooperation signed in December 2002 during then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's visit but Bangladesh does not have such a comprehensive agreement with India.

Under the Bangladesh-China military cooperation agreement of 2002, Bangladesh is buying supplies of arms, equipments, tanks, frigates, fighter jets and of late, the two submarines from China.

There is also counterargument among the defence experts who think it would be unwise for Bangladesh to build its defence with Indian cooperation. 

Meanwhile, some political and security analysts said, though Bangladesh depends on China for conventional military weapons but time has come to move away from single source supply of defense equipment and include other countries in the list.

Political, diplomatic and security experts in Dhaka see India's insistence on this deal as a move to counter Bangladesh Armed Forces' growing dependence on China. They recognise China has emerged as a major supplier of arms to the Bangladesh Army and that makes India uncomfortable.

The recent addition of two Chinese submarines to the Bangladesh Navy has been a reason of major concern for New Delhi. Leading think tanks, media, and strategists in India have questioned Bangladesh's need for submarines at this time when it has already settled its maritime disputes with Myanmar and India through international arbitration in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

New Delhi was reported to be unhappy with Dhaka when Bangladesh on November 14 last year took delivery of the first of the two submarines purchased from China at a cost of $203 million. The Type 035G diesel-electric submarines are armed with torpedoes and mines.

Sources said India is also apprehensive over China's plans to develop seaports with base for submarines in Bangladesh which may hold Chinese submarines in future.

The Modi administration also felt uncomfortable when China, during Chinese President Xi Jinping's Dhaka visit on October 14-15 last year, elevated the bilateral ties from a comprehensive partnership of cooperation to a strategic partnership of cooperation, inking at least 27 deals worth about $25 billion.

Soon after, New Delhi presented the idea of comprehensive defence agreement with Bangladesh when its defence minister, Manohar Parikkar, visited Dhaka on November 30-December 1, 2016.

India further pushed for signing the defence deal during Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's visit to Dhaka on February 23 when he had over an hour of one-to-one meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

In response to New Delhi's push for the defence deal, highly placed sources said, government high-ups and policymakers are favouring signing an MoU first. Government policymakers think that would strike the right balance without upsetting either India or China.

Explaining building defence cooperation with India, strategic and security analyst Maj Gen Abdur Rashid (Retd) said: “Chinese footprint in Indian Ocean littoral states has always been a concern of other potential partners of Bangladesh. Unitary presence of a single country may generate suspicion among others. Enhancement of defense capacity of Bangladesh also adds strength to collective regional capacity.”

Another defence expert said dependency on single source of supply of defence equipment also creates vulnerability and suggested a safer approach by creating multiple sources of defence equipment.

However, another expert, who wanted not to be named, said that Bangladesh has long been using Chinese weapons and it would be difficult for armed forces to adjust with new type of arms imported from new source.

Bangladesh has already inked its biggest arms contract worth $1 billion with Russia in January 2013 and is also planning to procure eight multi-role combat aircraft from Russia for the Bangladesh Air Force.

Bangladesh has previously bought MI-8 helicopters, Mig-29 fighter jets and MI-171 helicopters from Russia. The then Soviet Union had gifted eight MiG-21 aircrafts in 1972 to Bangladesh that kicked off the military-to-military ties between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry in its announcement said, “The upcoming visit is expected to further expand the cordial and cooperative relationship between India and Bangladesh and build on the strong ties of friendship and trust between the two leaders.

In preparation for the visit, official sources said, Dhaka and New Delhi have already finalised more than two dozen agreements, MoUs and documents for signing at the summit level meeting between Hasina and Modi on April 8 in New Delhi. “A couple of dozen or even more deals will be signed,” added a high government official in Dhaka.

The MoUs are likely to be project-based, similar to those inked with China in October during Chinese President Xi Jinping's Dhaka visit, they said.

Diplomatic sources in the two capitals said the Bangladesh Prime Minister's visit is taking place without the Teesta Agreement whereas the two countries are going to sign agreements for use of Chittagong and Mongla seaports as part of greater connectivity under which India will get the transit-transshipment facilities for transportation of goods through Bangladesh.

(thedailystar.net)

Reliance Communications (RCOM) has got approval of the SEBI, BSE and NSE for the proposed de-merger of its wireless division into Aircel, the company said on Wednesday.

"Reliance Communications has received approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BSE Ltd and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) for the proposed Scheme of Arrangement for de-merger of the wireless division of the company into Aircel and Dishnet Wireless Ltd," a company statement said.

"Pursuant to the same, Reliance Communications Ltd has filed an application with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, for approval of the said Scheme. The proposed transaction is subject to other necessary approvals," it added.

Post closing, RCOM and the present shareholders of Aircel will hold 50 per cent each in Aircel.

Industrialist Anil Ambani-led RCOM and Aircel announced plans to merge their wireless operations on September 14, 2016 to give birth to an entity with assets worth Rs.65,000 crore. 

RCOM and Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) will hold 50 per cent each in the merged entity with equal representation on the board and committees. 

The merged entity will have the second-largest spectrum holding among all operators, aggregating 448 MHz across the 850, 900, 1,800 and 2,100 MHz bands.

The transaction will reduce RCOM's debt by Rs.20,000 crore, while Aircel's debt would go down by Rs.4,000 crore on closing in 2017.

RCOM's shares were trading at Rs.37.10 per share, up 2.34 per cent in the BSE at 12.05 p.m.

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has said he will end his self-exile if the armed forces provide him security.

The former military ruler's counsel, Akhtar Shah, submitted an application in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in which he said, Musharraf will face the stalled trial related to the detention of judges when he was in power if he was given security by the Ministry of Defence.

The former President had earlier requested the ATC to direct the authorities concerned to provide foolproof security for his appearance in court in the case.

The court had then ordered the Inspector General of Police and interior secretary to make arrangements for the provision of security to the former general to ensure his presence in court.

He has now specifically asked for security from the Defence Ministry. Shah told the court that his client did not trust the Interior Ministry, which had filed a complaint of high treason against him. Musharraf has sought exemption from personal appearance till arrangements were made.

In the application, Shah has said the petitioner intends to appear before the court if provided adequate security. Given the situation in the country, the counsel said, security threats were more serious now.

Defending champion H S Prannoy along with Sameer Verma and Subhankar Dey advanced to the men's singles second round of the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here.

The 24-year-old Prannoy from Kerela beat Germany's David Peng 21-15 21-18 in the opening round to set up a clash with Scotland's Kieran Merrilees next.

13th seed Sameer, who clinched his maiden Grand Prix Gold title at Syed Modi international in January, brushed aside Hungary's Gergely Krausz 21-10 21-16 and will take on Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama next.

Subhankar Dey also staved off the challenge from Germany's Alexander Roovers 17-21 21-17 21-15 to set up a meeting with Slovakia's Iztok Utrosa.

However, it was curtains for national champion Sourabh Verma and Lakhanee Sarang.

While Sourabh went down fighting against Rasmus Gemke of Denmark 21-14 21-23 12-21, Lakhanee lost 11-21 5-21 to Kanta of Japan in the opening round.

In the women's singles, Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli is the only one competing after Saina Nehwal pulled out at the last moment and she will be facing Indonesia's Fitriani Fitriani, seeded seventh.

Rio Olympians Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will face top seeds Chai Biao and Hong Wei in the opening round of men's doubles, while Sanjana Santosh and Arathi Sara Sunil will take on Germany's Johanna Goliszewski and Lara Kaepplein in women's doubles.

In mixed doubles, Syed Modi International title winner Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy will face Swede Nico Ruponen and Amanda Hogstrom.

The Indian pair of Rohan Kapoor and Sanjana Santosh will meet French combo of Bastian Kersaudy and Lea Palermo.

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch has been roped in for an adaptation of Matt Haig's forthcoming novel where he will essay the role of a time stopper.

Following his role in Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Doctor Strange, the 40-year-old will be seen in another sci-fi film, which is based on the book How To Stop Time, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

The actor will star in and produce the adaptation through his SunnyMarch banner.

Cumberbatch's own SunnyMarch banner has teamed with StudioCanal to pick up the film rights to "How to Stop Time", the forthcoming book from Haig, who has also penned "A Boy Called Christmas", "The Last Family in England" and "The Radleys".

The actor will play Tom Hazard, a man who may look like an ordinary 41-year-old but, owing to an extremely rare condition, has been alive for centuries. 

"The prospect of Benedict Cumberbatch playing Tom Hazard is a hugely exciting one and I could not be happier about working with Adam and Jamie, and to be reunited with StudioCanal," said Haig.