Indian Abroad January 16-31, 2022 Vol 1 Issue 23 by IndianAbroad

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

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BJP releases first list for UP, Yogi India logs 2,68,833 fresh to contest from Gorakhpur Urban Covid cases, 402 deaths Paviter Kumar Noori: The driving force behind Brisbane’s popular community events - Page 5

Different festivals celebrated today signify India’s vibrant cultural diversity: Modi - Page 3

Aaj Tak

New Delhi, Jan 15: The BJP on Saturday released its first list of 107 candidates for Uttar Pradesh. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will contest from Gorakhpur (Urban) assembly constituency and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to contest from Sirathu assembly seat

Indian Cooking with Lata Modi -Page 7

in Prayagraj district. Chief minister Adityanath and deputy chief minister Maurya are currently members of state legislative council. Union minister and BJP election in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Dharmendra Pradhan and national general secretary Arun Singh released the first list of candidates at party headquarters here. Pradhan said that people will support BJP once again in 2022 and the BJP will win more than 300 seats this time also. Pradhan said that the BJP is announcing 105 candidates for 57 seats in first phase and 48 seats in second phase. Other two constituencies are Gorakhpur (Urban) and Sirathu from where polling will be held in later phases. Yogi Adityanath was five time Lok Sabha member from Gorakhpur till 2017 before becoming chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Of 83 sitting MLAs, 63 have been repeated and 20 MLAs have been dropped. Social equation has been taken into account while finalising the candidates. More than 60 per

cent of the candidates announced are either from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Schedule Caste (SC) communities. About 44 candidates are from the OBC communities and 19 are from SC communities. Almost 10 per cent, tickets are given to women candidates. Defence minister Rajnath Singh's son and sitting MLA for Noida Pankaj Singh is once again fielded from his current assembly constituency.AUttar Pradesh Power Minister Srikant Sharma will once again contest from Mathura. The Assembly polls will be held in seven phases in February-March starting from February 10. Counting of votes will be held on March 10. Last day of nomination for 58 Assembly seats, where polling will be held in the first phase, is January 21, while that for 55 seats in the second phase is January 28. Voting will be held on February 10 and February 14 in the first and second phase respectively.

Australia wins dispute against India's export sugar subsidies at WTO Business Standard

After the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in Australia's favour overnight, sugarcane farmers in Australia, have won a protracted legal battle against Indian sugar subsidies. A WTO panel ruled that India was using export subsidies that were illegal under international trade laws and recommended that they be removed. Paul Schembri, the chair of the Australian Canegrowers, said the decision was promising not only for Australian cane growers, but for other sugar producers who do not receive subsidies around the world.

Acting Consul of India inaugurates ‘Migration Clinic’ in Perth -Page 9

Continued on page 8

National Youth Day celebrated at Consulate General of India

5 beach resorts you should experience in India! -Page 22

Hindu Festivals and Mimamsa: An Australian and New Zealand Perspective-Page 23

Festive fashion BOLLYWOOD -Page 27

n the occasion of Swami Vivekannanda’s birth anniversary on 12th January, 2022, the Consulate General of India, Perth marked the National Youth Day with a wonderful exchange of ideas by prolific speakers. Every year on January 12, India celebrates National Youth Day, also known as Yuva Diwas, to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, who was one of the most prominent philosophers, monks, and thinkers of India. It was in 1984 that the then Indian government declared that 12th January will be observed as National Youth Day to honour Swami Vivekananda’s contributions to the country. The main aim of the government in doing so was to imbibe the youth, especially students, with Vivekananda’s philosophy and ideals. Continued on page 9

New Delhi, Jan 15: Amid the ongoing Covid-19 resurgence, India registered 2,68,833 new cases and 402 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday While the new fatalities have increased the nationwide death toll to 4,85,752, the active caseload has jumped to 14,17,820, accounting for 3.85 per cent of the country's total positive cases, the Ministry said. Meanwhile, the Omicron infection tally has climbed to 6,041, a 5.01 per cent increase from Friday's figure. So far total 28 states have detected the new highly-transmissible variant, said the Ministry. The recovery of 1,22,684 patients

in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 3,49,47,390. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 94.83 per cent. Also in the same period, a total of 16,13,740 tests were conducted across the country, which took the overall to 70.07 crore. Meanwhile, the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 12.84 per cent amid the sudden spike of new cases. The daily positivity rate has stands at 16.66 per cent. With the administration of over 58 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's Covid inoculation coverage reached 156.02 crore as of Saturday morning.

Industry-University collaborations for internships in Australia, India to focus on sustainable development IANS

On January 8, 2022, the FORE School of Management in New Delhi, in collaboration with Deakin University in Australia, hosted a webinar on "Industry-University Partnerships for UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on internships in Australia and India." The webinar, which was part of a project funded by the Commonwealth Government of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), was held with the goal of generating industry-university partnerships through workshops in both countries and the development of a digital hub for knowledge sharing. Dr. Shallini Taneja, faculty member

and Head of the FORE School's Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), welcomed all panelists, including representatives from industry, academia, students, and other webinar participants, to the international webinar, which was organised with the purpose of enhancing graduate employability in both countries and improve SDG outcomes. Continued on page 8

Indian High Commission and FICQ observe Vishwa Hindi Diwas

he High Commission of India, Canberra in association with Federation of Indian Communities of Queensland (FICQ)

Australia celebrated the Vishwa Hindi Diwas at Vedanta Centre, Queensland recently. Continued on page 8

May this harvest season bring happiness and prosperity in your lives Indian Abroad team wishes all our readers a very

Happy Pongal, Lohri, Makar Sankranti and Bihu Bhumi Pednekar comes on board for Ajay Bahl’s ‘The Lady Killer’ -Page 31

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Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

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LEAD STORIES

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

FESTIVALS GALORE

Different festivals celebrated today signify India's vibrant cultural diversity: Modi

President greets people on Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bihu IANS

New Delhi, Jan 12: President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday greeted his fellow citizens on Lohri (falling on January 13), Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogali Bihu, Uttarayan and Paush Parva (all falling on January

14). Stating that a majority of the festivals celebrated in our country depict our integral relationship with nature and agriculture, he, in his message said: "On the occasion

of Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogali Bihu, Uttarayan and Paush Parva, I extend my greetings and best wishes to all the fellow citizens living in India and abroad." "A majority of the festivals celebrated in our country depict our integral relationship with nature and agriculture. The festivals of Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogali Bihu, Uttarayan and Paush Parva, mark the harvesting season of crops as the winter season ends and ushers in the spring. People enjoy the fruits of good harvest and celebrate these festivals which also underline the need to preserve our environment. It is not only an example of Indian diversity but also that of unity in diversity of our country," he said, as per a communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Kovind also said that he prays to God that these festivals develop the spirit of fraternity among the people while prosperity and happiness prevail in our country.

Jallikattu held in TN as part Pongal celebrations

Chennai, Jan 14: Tamil Nadu's traditional bull taming sport Jallikattu is being held in Avaniapuram, Madurai district, on Friday on the occasion of Pongal. Over 500 bulls and 300 bull tamers are registered for the game that began in the morning. A person is announced as winner if he hangs on to the bulls' hump for a specified time. The bull owners are also given prizes if their animal was not tamed by anyone. Meanwhile Tamil Nadu celebrated harvest Pongal festival thanking

rain/sun Gods and farm animals fervour on the first day of the Tamil month Thai. Across the state people got up early, put on new clothes and offered special prayers. At homes at the auspicious time children beating a small drum shouted `Pongolo Pongal', `Pongolo Pongal' when the milk started boiling over the pot as a part of preparing 'Chakarai Pongal' the special dish of the festival. In some homes conches are blown prior to the formal offering. When the milk boils over, other

ingredients - rice, jaggery, Bengal gram-are added to the milk and finally ghee fried cashews, almonds and cardamom are also added. The mud pot or stainless steel in which the dish is cooked is decorated by tying up ginger, turmeric, sugarcane piece and banana at the neck. The Pongal dish is offered to the sun god as thanksgiving and eaten as 'prasad'. People exchanged greetings and Chakarai Pongal with their neighbours. The Pongal festivities take place over four days, the first day being Bhogi, which was on Thursday, when people burn their old clothes, mats and other items. Homes are painted afresh. The second day is the main Pongal festival celebrated on the first day of the Tamil month Thai. The third day is the Mattu Pongal when bulls and cows are bathed and their horns painted and worshipped as they play an important role in farms. Women feed the birds with coloured rice and pray for the welfare of their brothers. In some parts of the state, jallikattu will be held. The fourth day is the Kannum Pongal - the day to go out and meet relatives and friends, and go site seeing.

Rajini tempers Pongal greetings with Covid care message

New Delhi, Jan 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted people across the nation on Makar Sankranti, Uttarayan, Bhogi, Magh Bihu and Pongal. In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Modi said; "Across India we are marking different festivals which signify India's vibrant cultural diversity. My greetings on these festivals." Greeting people on Bhogi, he said, "Bhogi greetings to everyone. May this special festival enrich the spirit of happiness in our society. I pray for the good health and well-being of our fellow citizens." Wishing people on Magh Bihu, the Prime Minister said, "Magh Bihu greetings to you all. I pray that this festival enhances happiness and prosperity in everyone's lives." Extending his greeting on Pongal, the Prime minister said, "Pongal is synonymous with the vibrant culture of Tamil Nadu. On this special occasion, my greetings to everyone and especially the Tamil people spread all over the world. I pray that our bond with nature and the spirit of brotherhood in our society are deepened."

DNA India

Bollywood wishes happiness and prosperity on Makar Sankranti and Pongal IANS

Mumbai, Jan 14 (IANS): Bollywood celebrities on Thursday wished fans on the festive occasions of Makar Sankranti and Pongal. Thanking fans for their festive greetings, Amitabh Bachchan tweeted: "I express my gratitude to all those who have sent me personal, happy Makar Sankranti wishes. I will not be able to answer everyone. The number is too high. So thank you all and sharing my best wishes through this platform." "Hrithik Roshan wrote: "Happy Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal & Magh Bihu. May the warmth of these festivities bring you and your loved ones lots of love, good health, peace and prosperity," wrote Hrithik Roshan. Ananya Panday posted: "May the zeal and warmth of the auspicious occasions of Pongal and Makar Sankranti fill your life with joy and prosperity. Best wishes to you and your loved ones." Shraddha Kapoor expressed: "Wishing everyone boundless love, magic, light and prosperity!!! Happy Makar Sankranti and Happy Pongal! "On this auspicious day of Makar Sankranti, I pray for an abundance of good health and peace in all our lives. May all our dreams soar as high as the in the sky today," shared Shilpa Shetty.

Madhuri Dixit expressed: "Loads of best wishes for Lohri pongal and Makar Sankranti." Raveena Tandon posted: "My best wishes for Makar Sankranti and Lohri." "To all my lovely loving tweeple here .. Wish you all a Happy Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Happy Pongal . May you and all in your family enjoy the warmth of these festivities and may it bring you and your loved ones lots of love, good health, peace and prosperity," tweeted R. Madhavan. Sharad Kelkar wrote on Instagram: "May your life filled with utmost joy, love, happiness and prosperity. Wish you all a very happy Makar Sankranti. May the festival of Pongal fill your life with sweetness! Happy Pongal to all!" Esha Deol wrote: "May the blessings & prosperity of the festival be with you and your family today and always." Rapper Badshah posted: "Wish you all a very happy MAKAR SAKRANTI #MakarSankranti." Ekta Kapoor shared: "May this festive joy bring you and your family love, good health and new memories. Happy Lohri, Makar Sankranti and Pongal to all." Several others from the entertainment industry wished health and happiness on the occasion.

IANS

Chennai, Jan 14 (IANS): Extending his Pongal greetings to the people, Rajinikanth on Friday urged everybody to follow all the rules and restrictions to safeguard themselves against Covid 19. Taking to social media, Rajinikanth said: "We are all living in a difficult and dangerous time. Day by day, the numbers of those being affected by the Corona virus are going up. "To protect ourselves from this virus, we must definitely follow all

the rules and regulations. There can be nothing more important than one's health. My Pongal greetings to everyone." Rajinikanth's warning in his Pongal greetings comes at a time when several celebrities from the Tamil and Telugu film industries have tested positive for Covid-19. Since the dawn of New Year, at least eight celebrities have announced that they have tested positive for the virus.

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ELECTIONS 2022

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

BATTLE FOR UP Maurya joins SP, First phase in UP is challenge for BJP, hope for SP

IANS

here is a battle for the BJP in western Uttar Pradesh, hope for the Samajwadi Party and revival for the Rashtriya Lok Dal in the region that goes to polls in the first phase on February 10. The region, considered one of the most politically sensitive, surcharged and highly polarised areas, especially after the farmers' agitation, will set the tone for elections in the remaining six phases in Uttar Pradesh. Elections will be held in the 94 Assembly segments in 11 districts of west Uttar Pradesh namely, Shamli, Meerut, Hapur, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Mathura, on February 10. In the 2017 Assembly elections, BJP had received a decisive mandate in the region and carried that momentum further to other parts of the state. The BJP, in 2017, had won 66 of the 76 seats in this region. The Samajwadi Party (SP) won four, the Bahujan Samaj Party won three, the Congress won two and the Rashtriya Lok Dal could win only one. The scenario has changed almost completely in the past five years. The wounds of Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 have healed to a large extent and the Jat-Muslim hostility has diluted. The communal lines have blurred and farmer unity is now a bigger factor in the region. Religious polarization is unlikely in the region in the present scenario. The BJP has been trying to placate the farmers by repealing farm laws but its own leaders are queering the pitch by announcing that farm laws will be brought back after the

elections. It has been a tough going so far for the BJP whose leaders have been facing hostile voters in the rural interiors of the region. The failure of the government to announce MSP guarantee, payment of cane dues, shortage of fertilizer and the menace of stray cattle are factors that remain major irritants for the ruling BJP. The government's apathy towards families of farmers who died during agitation, is another major factor. The biggest political beneficiary of the farmers' agitation that lasted for one year, however, is the Rashtriya Lok Dal. The RLD president Jayant Chaudhary has managed to regain lost ground among the Jat community to a large extent by extending active support to farmers during their agitation. Jayant has been visiting villages, attending Khap meetings and interacting closely with Jat leaders. The demise of Chaudhary Ajit Singh in May last year, has also brought ample sympathy for Jayant and his party is poised to make a political comeback in west UP. The Samajwadi Party, this time, is contesting the elections in alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal. It had allied with the Congress in 2017 but could not make much headway as Jats, then, had opted for BJP because the wounds of Muzaffarnagar riots were still fresh. The SP, this time, is confident of riding piggyback on RLD's growing popularity graph. The partnership could give a tough fight to the BJP in many parts of western Uttar Pradesh.

Besides, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's uncle Shivpal Yadav will be contesting in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and this will help avoid a split in his key vote bank. One factor that could upset Samajwadi Party calculations in the first phase is the entry of Asaddudin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM). The party could play an important role in many constituencies as the Muslim population in this region amounts to around 26 per cent. If the AIMIM succeeds in weaning away Muslim votes -- or even a section of votes -- the SP-RLD alliance may not perform as well as expected. The first phase in western UP is also crucial for the Bahujan Samaj Party since the region was once considered as a party stronghold. This time, the emergence of Bhim Army which will be contesting as Azad Samaj Party is bound to damage the BSP which, in any case, is being questioned for Mayawati's absence in its campaign. Mayawati, has, so far, restricted herself to tweets and press releases but has not stepped out of her home to campaign. The Congress, on the other hand, is losing leaders with an alarming frequency. Congress national secretary and one of its more popular leaders in the areas, Imran Masood, is all set to join the Samajwadi Party. Masood, a former MLA, has been repeatedly urging the party leadership to join hands with the SP to defeat BJP. Harendra Malik and Pankaj Malik of Congress have already quit the party to join the SP. The women card of the Congress is unlikely to work in western UP where the patriarchal system still dominates the society and women claimants in elections are few and far in between. One thing that is clear is that any party that takes a head start in the first phase where 94 seats -- almost one-fourth of the total 403 seats -- will be going to polls, will enjoy a definite advantage in the remaining six phases of elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Ex-MP arrested for killing rival IANS

Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh), Jan 10 (IANS) Former Samajwadi Party MP, Rizwan Zaheer, was arrested by the local police on Monday for the murder of former Tulsipur Nagar panchayat chairman Firoz Pappu. Firoz Pappu was killed outside his house on January 5. Police said that Rizwan Zaheer already had 14 criminal cases in his name, including one case that invoked the National Security Act (NSA). Balrampur police also arrested former MP's daughter Zeba, his son-in-law Ramiz, Merazul, Shakil

and Mehfuz for their involvement in Firoz Pappu's murder. Superintendent of Police (SP), Balrampur, Hemant Kutiyal said that Rizwan Zaheer was planning to field his daughter Zeba in the upcoming elections, but Firoz Pappu was also eyeing the same ticket. "Rizwan Zaheer, through his sources in the party, learnt that Firoz Pappu was likely to get the ticket as he currently had more presence in the region and his wife Kehkasha was already the present Nagar panchayat chairman. Hence, Rizwan Zaheer got Firoz eliminated," said the SP.

Amid exodus of OBC leaders, BJP launches reach out campaign New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS): Amid the exodus of OBC leaders in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has launched 'Samajik Samark Abhiyan' to reach out to the community to lessen the impact of the leaders leaving the party. The Uttar Pradesh BJP unit has witnessed a string of defections over the last few days, starting with Cabinet Minister Swami Prasad Maurya and most of them are from the OBC communities. Uttar Pradesh BJP OBC Morcha president Narendra Kashyap told IANS that starting January 14 party leaders will reach out to the backward communities in all the 403 Assembly constituencies of the state telling people about the welfare measures taken by the BJP government under the leadership

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of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last seven years. According to Kashyuap, the morcha leader will reach out to the community members across the state and welfare measures taken under Modi and Yogi Adityanath government in the state. "Our workers in small groups meet OBC community members in all the 403 Assembly constituencies and explain them about the initiatives like 27 per cent reservation for OBC category and 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections in All India Quota Scheme in undergraduate and postgraduate (PG Medical/Dental courses) in the field of medical education," Kashyap said. He pointed out the Modi government has given Constitutional status to the National Commission for

Backward Classes, passed the 127th Constitution Amendment that allowed states and Union territories to prepare their own list of backward classes and picked 27 OBC ministers for his government. "BJP OBC Morcha workers will explain to the community members how the other political parties have cheated them and treated them only as vote banks. It is the Modi government which worked for their welfare," Kashyap added. The OBC plays an important and decisive role in Uttar Pradesh politics and constitutes over 50 per cent of the total electorate of the state. While the non-Yadav OBCs constitute around 35 per cent of the state's total electorate, they are eyeing to win the election for a second consecutive term.

vows to 'finish' BJP IANS

Lucknow, Jan 14 (IANS): Former BJP ministers Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini along with other MLAs, on Friday, formally joined the Samajwadi Party along with their supporters. Maurya accused the BJP of coming to power in 2017 by duping backward castes. He said that the BJP had projected Keshav Maurya as chief minister, but then brought 'someone else from Gorakhpur like a Skylab'. Maurya said that all his efforts would be to free Uttar Pradesh from the misrule of the BJP. He said that the Yogi Adityanath government has misled the people of the state. "I want to tell the BJP that its countdown to failure begins today," he said. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, while welcoming the leaders into his party, said that the BJP was robbing the poor to give benefit to the rich. Taking a dig at deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya, he said, "Now that these leaders have come here, I wonder what will happen to those

who are made to sit on stools." He also said that worried over the fact that so many leaders were joining the SP, Yogi Adityanath had already left for Gorakhpur even though he was supposed to return on March 10.

Meanwhile, former minister Dara Singh Chauhan did not formally join the Samajwadi Party on Friday. Sources said that Chauhan, along with some more legislators, will join on Sunday.

Samajwadi party faces problem of plenty Odisha TV

Lucknow, Jan 14: The Samajwadi Party, which has been happily inducting leaders from other parties, is now facing the problem of plenty. Too many claimants on every seat and the threat of the seat going to a new entrant is bound to create problems for SP president Akhilesh Yadav who will have a tough time handling the dissent in party ranks. The eleven legislators who have walked in from BJP, and the nine legislators who came in earlier from BSP and others who have been joining the SP over the past months, are all claimants for tickets. "Till now there are around four dozen leaders from other parties who have joined SP and want tickets. Besides, the party is giving around 60 tickets to the allies, including Rashtriya Lok Dal. This implies that around 100 tickets are not available to those party leaders who have worked relentlessly in their respective constituencies in the past five years," said a senior party functionary. The entry of top leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya, Dara Singh Chauhan, Dharam Singh Saini of BJP, Imran Masood of the Congress and Ram Achal Rajbhar and Lalji Verma of BSP, has left the SP workers in their constituencies worried. "Inducting leaders, just weeks or months before the elections, is unethical and unfair for those who have worked on the ground. We toil for five years and then a leader walks in from another party and takes away the ticket. What are we

expected to do in such a situation?" asked a SP ticket aspirant from Ambedkar Nagar. He said that he had met a senior party leader in this regard and was told, "wait for next time". "The next time is five years away," he said. Samajwadi Party MLA Manoj Pandey, for instance, is the sitting MLA from the Unchahar seat for the second consecutive term. He had defeated Swami Prasad Maurya's son Utkasrh Maurya twiceonce, when he contested on the BSP ticket and on the BJP ticket. Pandey has been on tenterhooks ever since Maurya switched to Samajwadi Party this week. Akhilesh will have a tough time taking a call on this seat.

Sources said that he has offered a seat to Maurya's son from Prayagraj but the decision is still pending. In Saharanpur, the SP has two new leaders -Dharam Singh Saini and Imran Masood. Their decision to join the SP has already unsettled few leaders and their supporters in Saharanpur not only from the SP but its alliance partner RLD which wields its influence over west UP. "The Samajwadi Party has a very committed cadre but if they get upset, it would not augur well for the party. The cadres have faced adverse circumstances in the past five years but have remained loyal to the leadership which will now have to assuage feelings on these 100 seats," said political analyst and senior journalist R K Singh.

AIMPLB member asks Owaisi not to split Muslim votes Lucknow, Jan 14: Maulana Khalil-ur-Rahman Sajjad Nomani, senior member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), has written an open letter to All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-e-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, urging him to not cause a split in Muslim votes in UP Assembly. Nomani has urged Owaisi to field candidates only on those seats where his party is certain of its win. Maulana Nomani is an Islamic scholar and holds several important positions in Islamic seminaries. He is also a member of the Working Committee of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. The AIMIM has declared that it would contest on 100 seats in UP. In 2017, the party had contested on 35 seats and polled approximately two lakh votes. In his letter to AIMIM president, the cleric has pointed out that AIMIM candidates could lead to the split

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of 'secular votes' against sectarian forces in the UP elections. "In my opinion, you should contest only on those seats where victory is certain, and in the remaining seats you should appeal for the alliance (against the BJP)," he said.

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The Maulana, in his letter, further said that "if you do this, your popularity and confidence will increase, which will be the success towards the effort to start immediately after the election for your original mission."

DESI ACHIEVERS

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

PAVITER KUMAR NOORI The driving force behind Brisbane’s popular community events W

ith Brisbane City Council’s most awaited annual event BrisAsia Festival all set to return in February this year, the man without whom the event would be anything but successful, Paviter Kumar Noori is once again geared up to helm the festival’s latest edition. Returning for its 10th year, BrisAsia Festival brings together a program that celebrates a dynamic fusion of Asian art, culture and cuisine across more than 50 events. The program will feature live performances by internationally acclaimed artists, outdoor festivities and intimate cultural encounters across traditional and contemporary art forms. The theme for this year is 'connection through culture' and is a call to action to reach out to others, participate and be part of Brisbane's evolving cultural story. Over three weeks from 1-20 February, audiences can experience the transformative power of live performance, learn and grow through immersive workshops and travel the length and breadth of Asia across the incredibly packed festival program that has something for everyone. Ever since the inception of the BrisAsia Festival by the Brisbane City Council in 2003, Mr Paviter Noori has been contracted as the community producer for the Festival and has assumed responsibility for one of the most popular events of the state of Queensland. Not surprisingly, this is not the only community event which has Mr Noori’s dexterous and creative personality linked with it inextricably. A seasoned and action-driven multi-faceted professional, with over 10 years’ experience in education training, management & compliance, social media marketing, business development and

events planning, Mr Noori has also been playing an instrumental role in the planning and management of Holi - Festival of Colours, Dumplings Day, Lunar New Year Rooftop Party Entertainment, Valley of Spices, BrisAsia Bazaar, BrisAsia Festival Markets, For the Love of the Game; Brisbane's Multicultural Sports Festival, Yatra Holi Sandhya, UQ Student's Gala Night etc. He has been the Secretary and Events Manager of the Indian Cultural and Sports Club Inc. (ICSC) for the past five years which is acclaimed as the rising club of Brisbane. Apart from hosting Queensland Diwali - Festival of Lights and Queensland Holi Festival of Colours; both large-scale events, ICSC also hosts sporting events. Both events, which need 4-5 months of continuous planning and execution, have been hugely successful under the expert guiding hand of Mr Paviter Noori. The outcome every time has been a highly visible, highly attended event with wide coverage. His invaluable contributions are not restricted to the Australian community alone. He has been the Secretary of the Indian Social and Cultural Club in Christchurch, New Zealand for more than 8 years. He has played a key role in raising the brand awareness of the Club, holding the Christchurch Diwali event, and starting the Santa Parade participation event by the Indian community at Christchurch. His duties as a Secretary include day to day communication, social media marketing, branding and marketing exercises. He was also the Vice President of the Indian Social and Cultural Club and during his tenure, the Club’s fans through social media burgeoned from 500 to 2000.

Paviter Kumar Noori

Rishi Sunak bookmakers' favourite to be UK Prime Minister

London, Jan 13: Rishi Sunak, the Indian-origin Chancellor of the Exchequer, is tipped as the bookmakers' favourite to succeed the current incumbent Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The odds on Sunak are 9/4, according to Oddschecker, a comparison site compiling prices from leading British bookmakers. Liz Truss, the present Foreign Secretary, is second favourite at 22/5. The others in the running as per the betting opportunities are senior backbench MP and former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who put up a good fight against Johnson in the Conservative party leadership contest in 2019. He is quoted at 11/1. www.indianabroad.news

Sunak and Truss have been neckand-neck for a while in public opinion surveys. On Wednesday, when Johnson tendered a conditional apology (because he apologised for the function, but not for his presence at it or for its illegality under prevailing legislation) in the House of Commons for his office holding a drinks party at his 10 Downing Street garden during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown in the UK in May 2020, Truss sat next to him, often nodding her head in support of the statement. On the other hand, the Chancellor was conspicuously absent from Parliament, 225 miles away from London in the south-western English county of Devon.

Political commentators saw this as Sunak distancing himself from Johnson. In the evening he tweeted: "I've been on a visit all day today continuing work on out #PlanFor Jobs as well as meeting MPs to discuss the energy situation." He added: "The PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray (a senior civil servant) carries out her enquiry." A YouGov poll carried out within hours of Johnson's apology indicated 89 per cent of respondents did not accept his expression of contrition, while only 4 per cent supported it. The rest didn't have an opinion. Sunak is of East African Punjabi origin. His father has been a general practitioner and his mother a

pharmacist in the southern English coastal city of Southampton since they migrated to Britain. He is also the son-in-law of N.R. Narayan Murthy, one of the founders of the software giant Infosys. He was educated at Winchester school, Oxford and Stanford Universities. An MP for less than seven years, his rise up the Conservative political ladder has been meteoric. A powerful body within the Conservative parliamentary party known as the 1922 Committee has to receive 54 letters from its party's MPs (out of around 365) to call for a leadership contest. As Johnson fights to save his political career, the big question is when will such a battle take place?

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British judge rules BR Shetty to pay Barclays $131 mn

New Delhi/London Jan 11: Barclays can enforce a $131 million judgment to recover unpaid bills from embattled NMC Health founder B.R. Shetty following the failure of a foreign exchange venture, a British judge has ruled, The National reported. The UK-based international bank had sought to claw back its losses after the businessman's Abu Dhabi-based UAE Exchange Centre (UAEEC) reneged on a currency-swap agreement in March 2020 with his empire on the brink of collapse. Barclays gave UAEEC more than $129 million in less than a week, but never received the expected currencies in exchange as share trading in parent company Finablr was suspended on the London Stock Exchange amid a massive accounting scandal, the report said. A court in Dubai ruled in favour of the bank in April last year, prompting Barclays to go to the High Court in London to enforce the ruling and tap the cricket lover's frozen assets around the world, the report added. They include his only known English asset, a $5.4 million

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penthouse close to the Lord's cricket ground in north-west London. The flat is owned by Shetty through a British Virgin Islands company, Multi Skies Ltd, according to land registry documents. The Indian-born businessman -- who signed a guarantee in 2015 to pay off any debts to Barclays incurred by the UAE Exchange Centre -- had tried to delay the ruling, claiming that the bank was responsible for misconduct and had connived with fraudsters to rip off his company. Shetty -- who claims to be 'financially paralysed' because of a series of freezing orders imposed by courts in the UK and India -- said he would continue his legal battle, the report added. The 79-year-old further claimed that he was 'stranded in Mangalore' after being turned back by Indian border officials when he tried to return to the UAE in November 2020, according to the judgment. A spokeswoman for his legal team said: "Shetty shall be appealing against this judgment".

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

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FOOD & CUISINE

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Indian Cooking with Lata Modi

PALAK PANEER CURRY & SESAME SEED BURFI Vegi Cravings

PALAK PANEER CURRY

MRS. LATA MODI

ello and Namaste to all. Today we are going to cook two vegetarian dishes. One comes from North India. And the other one is from Rajasthan. I was born and brought up in North of India and while growing up this was my favourite curry. That time Palak paneer was supposed to be a delicacy, which my mum or grand ma will cook for special occasions or for important visitors. The fresh spinach from my Mum’s kitchen garden along with fresh tomatoes and green chillies from her garden were just amazing. You could just pick and eat them straight away , that’s how organically grown they were. I remember we used to boil the spinach and then very carefully grind it on the grinding stone. It took much longer to crush or grind it, but the end result was so much more smoother. My mum always used to sing nice happy songs while cooking and she strongly believed that if you are a happy cook , the food tastes good. Hats off to all mums and their priceless logics. This one is my mum’s very special recipe I share with you all. Mum always made her own paneer at home with milk and yoghurt. But today we are buying our paneer. Next time we will do a special paneer making recipe. Promise ! Let’s sing and cook.

Second Recip

SESAME SEED BURFI

Beat lockdown blues with Qmin

imple pleasures such as ordering takeaway from your favourite restaurant can satisfy more than your appetite. Qmin; Indian Hotels Company's food

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delivery platform, which is available in 20 cities across India. TheQminapp offers a wide range of alternatives, ranging from nourishing foods from Qmin Comfort to

customizable combinations of daily subscription home-style meals from Qmin Subscription and gourmet treats to relive memories with your loved ones. Qmin'sINNERgise meals give a rush of immunity-boosting goodness including ingredients packed with antioxidants, in response to the growing importance of health and building immunity. Contact-less delivery and the wearing of protective gear by delivery executives in thoroughly cleansed vehicles are examples of Qmin's increased attention on maintaining tight safety and hygiene regulations. Its environmentally friendly packaging, which includes biodegradable materials and bespoke insulating boxes, keeps the food fresh while being transported.

PALAK PANEER CURRY INGREDIENTS • 1/2 kilo baby spinach leaves or • Two packets frozen spinach • 300 gms Ricotta • Two big onion • One piece ginger • 10 garlic cloves • Two big fresh tomatoes • Two bay leaves • 6-7 black peppercorns • One tea spoon turmeric powder • Two tea spoon coriander powder • One tea spoon kitchen king masala or chicken tikka masala (optional) • (easily available at Indian or Asian grocery shops) METHOD • Salt to taste • Half cup fresh or thickened cream • First of all wash your fresh spinach leaves really well. • Now in a big saucepan boil about one litre water • Boil your spinach for couple of minutes and straight away put it in ice cold water, to retain the green

color. • Now grind it without using much water. • If using frozen spinach, thaw it, microwave it for five minutes and grind it in grinder. • Take a wok or big frying pan. • Heat three table spoon oil and quickly shallow fry your paneer cubes. Take it out, put it aside. • In the same oil fry chopped onions until golden brown. • Now add grated garlic ginger and chopped tomatoes and chopped green chillies. • Keep frying and sauté it until tomatoes are totally tender and the the mixture is separated from oil. • Now add your dry spices and half cup warm water , cover and cook the spices on medium heat. • Now add your ground spinach. • Keep stirring, add salt. • Cover and cook for further five minutes on medium heat. • Once cooked, add paneer, cover and cook further three four minutes on medium heat. • Serve hot with chapatis.

SESAME SEED BURFI INGREDIENTS • Two cup seasame seeds • Two table spoon ghee • One cup milk • Two cup milk powder • One cup powdered sugar • One cup chopped nuts METHOD • Take a heavy based wok • On a low to medium heat roast sesame seeds until golden brown. • Take it out , put it aside to cool down. • Grind three parts of these seeds in to a coarse mixture. (do not make it into a powder) • And keep one part of the seeds

aside. • Heat the same wok and on a low heat put ghee, milk • And milk powder in it. • Keep stirring on a medium heat. • Make sure there are no lumps. • Once it starts to look like condensed milk like consistency, add the sesame seed mixture and seeds in it. • Keep stirring continuously. • It will take about 5 minutes. • Now add powdered sugar and nuts and mix well. • Spread it in a big tray and while it’s still warm, make cuts of burfi shape. • Let it set for an hour. • Store in an airtight jar and enjoy every day with tea or coffee.

Keep chilly winds at bay with this hot toddy recipe A hot toddy is a classic cocktail for those who want to experience hot whisky in this chilly weather with an easy-to-make recipe. Jim Beam Black is a full-bodied, extra-aged, and more premium bourbon with an elevated level of elegance and refinement that’s meant to be savoured and savoured. Ingredients: • 2 parts Jim Beam Black® Bourbon • 1 part Honey • 2 parts Fresh Lemon Juice • 0.25 cup Hot Water • Lemon Peel Preparation: Put bourbon, honey, and lemon juice in a 6-ounce mug. Top off with hot water and stir until honey is dissolved. Garnish with a lemon peel.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Ankita Raina lands in Australia Indian origin man drowns in amid restriction worries Port Elliot on Christmas day Entering Australia to play in the Australian open qualifiers, Indian women’s top tennis player Ankita Raina was left in a state of worrying anticipation even as Novak Djokovic’s vaccine exemption controversy played out.

ith the Novak Djokovic confinement controversy still burning, India's Ankita Raina, who had only recently recovered from Covid-19, was a little nervous when she arrived in Melbourne on January 8. Despite the fact that all of the documentation, clearances, tests, and doctor's reports were in order, there was a sense of unease. "I was a little nervous, to be honest," Raina admitted, "Particularly when I got to immigration." Raina's arrival in Australia, unlike that of the world No. 1, was not marred by controversy. The Australian Open qualifying event began on January 10, and four Indians with varied backgrounds will compete for slots in the season-opening Grand Slam's singles main draw. The Australian Open was the last Grand Slam to include an Indian singles player, Sumit Nagal, last year.

Star Unfolded

young man of Indian origin drowned in a terrible incident in Port Elliot, South Australia, on Christmas day after slipping over the cliffs into the turbulent waves at the renowned beach. 26-year-old Sidhardha Reddy Vaddi had recently completed his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering and had relocated to Adelaide in November 2021 to work as a plant

operator for a manufacturing firm. Surf life savers carried him to shore, but he was unable to be resuscitated, according to police. To get him back to his family in Hyderabad, a GoFundMe page has been established and, it has already raised over $70,000 in less than a day since its inception. Sidhardha is from a middle-class

household in Hyderabad, where his father works for a construction firm and his mother stays at home. “They had a dream for their son to graduate and succeed in life, unfortunately he is no more. So we hope his family get the life he wished by our helping hands,” the page reads. The incident serves as yet another stark reminder that water safety is a major problem among Australia's multicultural groups. On Christmas Day 2020, two Indian nationals drowned in Squeaky Beach, Victoria, in another tragedy for the Indian-Australian community. They were both international students who had come to the country to study. Every year, on average, 288 people drown in Australia, with one in every four drowning victims being born outside of the country. Due to cultural disparities in water safety awareness and swimming skill, the multicultural community is thought to be at a higher risk of drowning. With soaring temperatures, it is quite natural for people to head out towards beaches and rivers but it is equally crucial for everyone to follow the safety norms.

Australia wins dispute against India's export sugar subsidies at WTO Documentary on legendary spinner

Continued from page 1 Mr Schembri said, "We have to be pragmatic since there are still appeals processes to work through." However, it's absolutely good news." It's been three years since Australia, along with the governments of Brazil and Guatemala, filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization, accusing India of distorting global sugar prices by providing subsidies to its farmers. Subsidies, according to Australian growers, generated a global market surplus, resulting in a major decline in global prices. "We can't allow this market distortion to take hold, which is why it's critical that we keep prosecuting,"

Mr Schembri added. "The international sugar price has been at or below the cost of production for the past three or four years, causing huge economic damage to the Australian sugar industry." Cane growers had hoped for a decision earlier in 2021, but COVID-19 had slowed the process. Cane growers and the Australian Sugar Milling Council issued a statement urging the Indian government to follow the WTO panel's conclusions. The WTO has previously decided in Australia's favour on sugar subsidies: in 2004, the European Union's subsidies were declared illegal,

resulting in an immediate increase in the world sugar price. India has already signalled that they intend to appeal the verdict through a now-defunct method, so the win could be fleeting. Due to internal disagreements, the Appellate Body that replies to appeals is currently unavailable. This, according to Federal Trade Minister Dan Tehan, emphasises the necessity for WTO reforms. Minister Tehan said, "We've had some discussions with the Indian Government about whether there was another way to address this than going through the appeal board again."

Industry-University collaborations for internships in Australia, India to focus on sustainable development

Continued from page 1

Dr. Jitendra K. Das, Director, FORE, welcomed the dignitaries and reaffirmed the goal of a management institute behind the collaboration and emphasis on SDGs as an attempt to "promote the principles of SDG in the younger generation" by enabling students in India and Australia to develop work-ready skills, enhance employability expertise and opportunities, comprehend and unravel real-world problems, fortify professional networks across borders, and contribute to the welfare of the world. Dr. Ameeta Jain, senior lecturer at Deakin University in Australia, and Prof. (Dr.) Harsh Suri, project co-lead at Deakin University, delineated the project's objectives, which included improving employability opportunities for graduates in both countries, creating a dynamic online community that will promote and encourage long-term bilateral collaborative partnerships between

industry and universities, and developing an online platform to provide impetus to ongoing collaboration. When it comes to bilateral trade, Mr. Paroksh Prasad, First Secretary, Australian High Commission in India, India-Australia Bilateral Relations; Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government; Assistant Director, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, comments that the bilateral trade relationships with the Indian diaspora in Australia and India are "stronger and have reached their zenith." According to him, India is the world's seventh-largest trading partner and sixth-largest import market. Sharing the road map of the project, Dr. Harsh Suri moderated the panel discussion and carried it out along with Dr. Ameeta Jain; Mr. Paroksh Prasad, Mr. Anish Kohli - Director and Head of Service Provider Business, of an

Australian Telecom MNC, Mr. G. Ravindra - Head Marketing and Business Development, Department of Toshiba, JSW Power System Pvt. Ltd., Chennai; Dr. Seema Sahai -CEO, Mobile Creches, New Delhi; Ms. Chitra A,- CSR Head,Indus Towers Limited, Gurugram; Mr. Mansingh Jaswal -Director and CEO, Genex Logistics, India and Dr. Virendra Kumar Paul, HOD & Professor of Building Engineering & Management, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. The statement of purpose for the internships, the framework, the opportunities, the cross-cultural and cross-border learnings, and the challenges of producing internships through partnerships for the SDGs were all discussed extensively. Prof. Shallini Taneja-Head, CSD- FORE expressed gratitude to the panellists, partners, and attendees for their active involvement and support. New Delhi's FORE School of Management is a well-known management school with a reputation for industry-relevant projects. Finance, Big Data Analytics, and International Business are among the dual specialisation management programmes offered by FORE. The deadline for applications for the current batch, 2022-24, is January 25th, 22. The official website has an application form that may be filled out online.

Warne available on BookMyShow in India ‘Shane', a documentary film on Australian legendary Shane Warne, was made available for Indian fans on BookMyShow Stream from January 15.

ith 'Shane,' the much-anticipated documentary film on world cricketing star Shane Warne, India's largest native Transaction Video-onDemand (TVOD) streaming platform has once more spun a winning title to add to its outstanding, chosen collection. The documentary 'Shane’, based on the life of the former captain of the Australian cricket team and one of the finest bowlers the game has ever seen, is now exclusively accessible on

BookMyShow Stream for Indian fans from January 15th, 2022. Fans of Warne could pre-book the film on BookMyShow Stream prior to its release, then rent or buy it to learn more about their favourite cricketer's life. The film's teaser and trailer were recently released, giving fans a sneak peek. Indian cricket fans can get a peek of Shane Warne's life through the documentary, which relives the spinner's magnificent cricketing experience over the years. Shane

Warne, one of the greatest bowlers of all time, shares an untold extraordinary story about his special connection to India after winning the Indian Premier League's inaugural season, his close bond with his peers and Indian cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, and the love and support of Indian fans, among other things. Warne has become a household figure in international cricket, having led his club to victory in the Indian Premier League's inaugural season and achieving significant victories for the Australian cricket team. His admirers can now get a first-hand view of his cricketing journey through the years thanks to the anecdotes he offers about his life and profession in the film. BookMyShow Stream is thrilled to offer some fortunate Indian cricket fans a chance to watch the magic live on-ground at Lord's in London as well as the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia as part of the exciting effort to make the film even greater than it is.

Malayali Association of Perth organises Prayaanam 2022

s part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, the Malayali Association of Perth organised the Prayaanam 2022 event on 8th January 2022 at the Swan Park Theatre Calisthenics Centre. The Acting Consul General of India Naresh Sharma attended the dance event which lasted for about 4 hours and 30 minutes.

Indian High Commission and FICQ observe Vishwa Continued from page 1 Hindi Diwas Multilingualism is one of the hallmarks of the sovereign state of India but the country is predominantly known for its Hindi language. Enthusiasts of the Hindi language are found not only in India but also in other parts of the world. Every year, 10th January is commemorated as Vishwa Hindi Diwas (World Hindi Day) with a view to encouraging and promoting Hindi as an international language. Various events and programmes have been organised on this momentous occasion every year since 2006 when the celebrations first began. www.indianabroad.news

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

ICGC marks arrival of New Year with Retro Night

ndian Community of Gold Coast (ICGC) held a fun-serving evening for new year celebration with Retro Night on 8th Jan 2022 at Croatian Sports Centre. The evening was marked with kids magic show, dance performances, live DJ and, food catered by The Indian Place Restaurant Chevron Island Gold Coast and lots of fun. However, the biggest highlight of the evening was the launch of an exciting yet free service for the community, that is, the monthly ICGC newsletter. This newsletter consists of various sections catering for the needs of everyone including, but not limited to, news about upcoming social and sports events, movies, astrology, cooking recipes and so on. It will be available via the official ICGC website and will also be sent to the emails of the subscribers. Anyone who would like to share anything exciting happening around, event flyers, business promotions etc, can contact ICGC at 1300970020 or email them at info@incgc.com.au

Acting Consul of India inaugurates ‘Migration Clinic’ in Perth

hri Naresh Sharma, the Acting Consul General of India in Perth launched a 'Migration Clinic' which is a joint initiative by Indian Society of WA (ISWA) and Red Earth Migration on 8 January 2022 at the Indian Community Centre, 12 Whyalla Street Willetton Wa 6155 Australia. The regular clinic services will be available on 1st Saturday of every month starting from 5th February 2022. The clinic which has been

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National Youth Day celebrated at Consulate General of India

Continued from page 1

launched under the auspices of a registered migration agent from Red Earth Education & Migration will be providing free consultations from 10 AM until 3 PM. The primary motto of this initiative is to promote unity amongst migrants in the Australian community with the main objective being the provision of assistance and support to members of the Indian Community who need visa and migration advice.

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INDIA

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Prime accused in TP murder case arrested in rave party IANS

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 11 (IANS): One of the prime accused in the infamous T.P. Chandrasekheran murder case, Kirmani Manoj, presently out on parole was arrested by the Kerala Police while he was taking part in a rave party at Wayanad. Acting on a tip off, the Wayanad Police after checking at a few resorts in the locality, rounded up 15 people including Manoj at a rave party which was called to celebrate the wedding anniversary of a known goon. The police recovered MDMA and ganja from the arrested persons and further probe is going on, said the

police, but details are awaited on the remaining accused. The 51-year-old T.P.Chandrasekheran, who launched the Revolutionary Marxist Party, was hacked 51 times by assailants on May 4, 2012 when he was returning home on his motorcycle in his hometown near Kozhikode. In the case, a court sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment, of which three were middle level CPI-M leaders. Chandrasekheran was a hugely popular CPI-M leader in Kozhikode district but left the party in 2008 and formed his own outfit --RMP and became a thorn in the flesh of

the CPI-M. The murder had created huge waves in the political scenario of Kerala and at times there were speculations that even the top leadership of the CPI-M were aware of the brutal murder. Apparently in the 2021 April assembly polls, the widow of Chandrasekheran - K.K. Rema with the support of the Congress led UDF won a stellar victory from the Vadakara assembly constituency, despite the CPI-M trying their best to keep her at bay. Eyebrows have been raised in the manner in which how rules have been bent in giving parole to Manoj and this has been raised several times in the assembly ever since Pinarayi Vijayan assumed office in 2016. Speaking to the media Rema said she is the least surprised on how things have turned to the favour of the accused after Vijayan took over. "Both the government and the CPI-M are supporting the accused. After Covid pandemic just look how these accused have got the benefit of it and are out for nearly two years now. I often see one of the accused in the same case presently out on parole engaged in palliative care of the CPI-M in our locality. We will see what can be done and we will take up the issue legally," said Rema.

AIR app's listenership witnessed 2 mn jump in December 2021 IANS

New Delhi, Jan 11: Listenership of All India Radio (AIR) live-streams on the 'NewsOnAir app witnessed a jump of two million within a span of one month in December last year, with about 18 million listeners tuning into the app. In a statement issued on Monday, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting said, "For the first time ever in the world of radio, listenership is being quantified in absolute numbers by the Prasar Bharati audience research team. Listenership of AIR live-streams on 'NewsOnAir' app saw a jump of two million within a span of one month with 18 million listeners tuning into the app in December last year. The figures for November were 16 million." "In city-wise monthly listenership measurement of AIR live-streams on app, listenership in Pune, Bengaluru, Indore and Nagpur were in millions, while Patna, Lucknow and Delhi-NCR were close to a million," it added. In the latest rankings of top cities in India where AIR live-streams on the app are most popular, Jaipur has made a comeback by displacing Ernakulam from the top list.

In major changes in rankings of top AIR streams in the country, FM Rainbow Mumbai has found its way back into top 10, while AIR News 24X7 has slipped off the list. AIR Pune has climbed up the ladder from ninth to third spot, while AIR Malayalam slid down to seventh from third rank. These rankings are

based on data from December 16 to December 31 last year. More than 240 radio services of AIR are live-streamed on the 'NewsOnAir' app. The All India Radio streams on the app have a large number of listeners not just in India, but globally, in more than 85 countries across the world.

India, China hold 12-hr long talks on border point disengagement IANS

New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS): India and China military delegates deliberated for over 12 hours focusing on disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 -- Hot Springs. The Wednesday meeting between the military commanders of the two countries at Moldo on the Chinese side started at 10 a.m. and ended at 10.30 p.m. This the 14th round of military talks between India and China to resolve the border dispute. Talking about the military discussions, Indian Army chief General M.M. Naravane said on Wednesday that he hoped for some positive developments in the days ahead. Along the Northern Borders, the

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Indian Army has continued to maintain the highest levels of operational preparedness, while engaging in sustained dialogue with the People's Liberation Army, Gen Naravane had said. "We hope to resolve Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Spring) in the current round of talks. Once that is done we will look at other issues which predate the current standoff," he said. After persistent joint efforts, mutual dis-engagement has taken place at many locations. "So there has been positive movement," the Indian Army Chief said. Replying to a query about the positive developments, the officer

explained, "Talks have been going on for a long time. It is a good thing that talks are going on. We have to keep talking to each other. The 4-5th round of talks resulted in resolving patrolling point 14, the 9-10th round North and South Bank and Kailash ranges and subsequently patrolling point 17." However, the Indian Army chief said that while there has been partial disengagement, the threat has by no means reduced. General Naravne said the force levels in areas where disengagement is yet to take place have been adequately enhanced. Threat assessment and internal deliberations have resulted in the reorganisation and realignment of forces in keeping with the Army's mandate of ensuring territorial integrity and to cater for the major augmentation of the PLA forces, and military infrastructure. Just ahead of talks, China has implemented new border law and has also renamed 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh on its map. India and China have been engaged in an intense border dispute for around two years and are now in talks to resolve the issues.

QUICK BITES J&K government Hindu activists arrested over announces desecrating Periyar statue in TN rules for land conversion IANS

Jammu, Jan 15 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday announced rules for convering agricultural land into non-agricultural land beyond the already stipulated 400 square meteres which was allowed for only residential purposes. The facility of land conversion is believed to become pivotal for the union territory's industrial growth that had largely been impeded by non-availability of land for the industrial purposes. An official statement said: "The Revenue Department framed Jammu and Kashmir Agricultural Land (Conversion for NonAgricultural Purposes) Regulations which empowered land owners to convert agricultural land for non-agricultural beyond 400 square metres for residential purposes. "The concerned district development commissioner will head the committee which will examine the plea for conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural and grant permission after recommendations from the Committee. "The Committee will have the Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) as the Member Secretary and will include senior most officers in the districts of Public Works (R&B), Irrigation & Flood Control, Power Development, Pollution Control Committee (if required), Agriculture, Industries and Commerce, Development Authority of the district, Forests and any other member(s) co-opted by the Chairman. "The district level Committee will meet every week on a fixed day to consider cases for change of land use. The District Collectors will, however, be empowered to call additional meetings to dispose of the cases. "The Government has listed certain conditions on which the permission for conversion of land use will be granted. The grant of permission shall be subject to the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act and Rules framed. The land shall not be used for a purpose other than that for which permission is granted. "If the applicant does notAcommence non-agricultural use applied for within one year from order of the date and up to the maximum period of two years from first date of permission, the permission granted shall be deemed to have lapsed. The Assistant Commissioner Revenue/ Sub Divisional Magistrate concerned can take action for any violation under provisions of the Act. "For conversion of agricultural land, the owner will be charged fee equivalent to Rs 5 percentum of market value of the land as notified for the purpose under the Stamps Act. If subsequently land use is changed for a purpose other than that for which permission has been given, then the fee, if applicable on differential market value shall be charge after permission for the purpose is accorded by the concerned District Collector." The statement went on to say that the Revenue Department has fixed 30 days time limit for grant of permission. "If no decision/comment is conveyed within a period of 30 days after receipt of application complete in all respects, the District Collector shall, deeming due consideration, grant permission exercising the powers vested on him and report details with explanatory notes to the Revenue Department. The timeline of 30 days shall be counted from the date of addressing all deficiencies as may be communicated by the District Collectors. "It shall be the duty of every Agriculture Extension Officer to report violations of these regulations in their respective areas of jurisdiction to the Assistant Commissioner Revenue, SDM or the Tehsildar. In case he fails to do so, it shall be treated as dereliction of duty on his part and he shall be liable to disciplinary action," it added.

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Chennai, Jan 11: Two activists of the Hindu Munnani were arrested by the Podanur police in Coimbatore on Tuesday over the desecration of the statue of Periyar or E.V. Ramasamy Periyar. The statue in front of the Thanthai Periyar Study Centre was found desecrated on Sunday morning with saffron powder and garlanded with

slippers. The Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam( TPDK) had conducted protest marches across Tamil Nadu on Monday against the desecration of the statue of Periyar who is considered as the father of the Dravidian movement. The Podanur police conducted a detailed study of the CCTV visuals obtained from the nearby shop and identified two ward functionaries of Hindu Munnani. The arrested are identified as Mohan Raj and Arun Karthik. Police said that both the offenders were produced before the Judicial magistrate court and remanded in judicial custody for 15 days.

2 gang rape accused get 20-yr prison term Bareilly, Jan 11: A fast-track court in Bareilly has sentenced two men accused of gang raping a woman in a moving bus in March 2016 to 20 years in prison. A fine of Rs 45,000 each has also been imposed on the accused. According to reports, the 30-yearold victim, who was on her way from Bareilly to Rampur, had boarded a private bus. It halted at Shishgarh town at around 9.30 p.m. on March 8, 2016. She was told the bus would proceed to Rampur later. Since she was carrying her 15-dayold son with her, she decided to wait in the bus even though there were no other passengers. The bus conductor Ishwari Prasad and helper Shiv Kumar assaulted

and raped her. In her struggle to free herself and flee, she dropped her baby who died. Later, the culprits threw the woman and her dead baby out of the bus and escaped. Harendra Rathore, additional district government counsel, said: "The woman never came out of the trauma and died in 2017. But she had recorded her statement before a magistrate under section 164 of the CrPC." Judge Brijesh Kumar Yadav considered the circumstantial evidence and convicted the accused. Three people were named in the charge sheet by police and one of them was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Marriage gives legal right to expect reasonable sexual relations: Delhi HC

IANS

New Delhi, Jan 10: Observing the difference between married and unmarried relationships, the Delhi High Court said on Monday that marriage gives a legal right to expect reasonable sexual relations from the partner. Hearing a batch of pleas on marital rape, Justice C. Hari Shankar noted that there is a qualitative difference and expectation of conjugal relationship for both parties. "We are not recognising the difference if we are saying that they are at par. When a party gets married, each has an expectation, and to an extent a right also, to expect normal sexual relationship from each other, which does not exist if there is no marriage," observed the bench also comprising Justice Rajiv Shakdher. However, Justice Shankar also said that there is no denying the fact that marital rapes should be punished.

"There is no compromise with a woman's right to sexual and bodily integrity. A husband has no business to compel," he said. He also said that there is no concept of marital rape in India. "If it is rape -- marital, non-marital or of any kind -- it has to be punished. Repeated use of the word, according to me, obfuscates the actual issue," he added. Further arguments will continue on Tuesday. Recently, the Gujarat High Court had issued notices to the state and the Centre in response to a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of marital rape. The PIL challenged Section 375(2) of IPC which exonerates a husband from the punishment of rape for forcible physical relations with his legally wedded wife without her consent.

Entranced in PUBG, two brothers run over by train in Alwar Jaipur, Jan 10: Two brothers were run over by a train in Rajathan's Alwar when they were busy playing PUBG while squatting on the railway tracks, police said. The victims were identified as Lokesh Meena, 21, and Rahul Meena, 18, who were studying in Alwar. They had gone to railway tracks on Saturday to relieve themselves when they were run over by the Ranikhet Express running from Delhi to Jaipur. According to the police, they were engaged in playing the game that they took no notice of the approaching train.

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Police have seized their mobiles on which the PUBG game app was on. Their post-mortem examination has been done and the bodies handed over to their families. Their father Ram Kishore Meena said that his sons were attending coaching in Alwar. While the elder son was pursuing coaching for competitive exams, the second son was undergoing graduation. They were at home in their village for the last two years due to pandemic, however, for the last one month, they had been in Alwar.

INDIA

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

'Taking PM's security breach very seriously': Supreme Court sets up panel headed by ex-SC judge

IANS

New Delhi, Jan 10: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to set up a panel, headed by a former apex court judge, to probe the Prime Minister Narendra Modi security breach in Punjab last week. After a detailed hearing in the matter, a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said the court will set up a committee headed by a retired top court judge to probe the PM's security breach and asked both the Centre and Punjab government to not move ahead with their respective inquires into the matter. The bench said it will pass a detailed order in the matter. During the hearing, the bench orally proposed that other members of the committee would be Director General of Police (DGP) Chandigarh, Inspector General (IG) National Investigation Agency (NIA), registrar general (Punjab and Haryana High Court), and Additional DGP (security)

Punjab. The bench said: "We are taking the PM's security breach very seriously". The bench added that it will ask the committee to submit its report to it within a short span. Advocate General D.S. Patwalia, representing the Punjab government, complained against show-cause notices to its chief secretary and DGP. He urged the top court to form an independent committee to probe the matter. "Hang me if I am guilty... but don't condemn me unheard," submitted Patwalia. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, defended the show-cause notices issued by the Central government. However, the top court expressed its displeasure at Centre's stand, questioning what is the point of asking the court to examine the matter if the Centre wanted to go ahead on its own. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the Delhi-based

petitioner Lawyer's Voice, emphasised on the importance of protection to the PM of the country and cited previous top court ruling that looked at the SPG Act. The plea sought an independent probe into the PM's security breach in Punjab. It sought a direction to the District Judge Bathinda to collect, preserve and present all material pertaining to the movement and deployment of Punjab Police in connection with the visit of the Prime Minister, and fix responsibility of the DGP and the Chief Secretary, Punjab. On January 6, the Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a three-member committee to enquire into the "serious lapses in the security arrangements" during the PM's visit to Ferozepur, in poll-bound Punjab. The MHA said: "The committee will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, and comprising Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB, and S. Suresh, IG, SPG."

PM's security breach: Assam CM PM Modi virtually inaugurates demands Punjab CM's arrest 11 new medical colleges in TN Guwahati, Jan 13 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday demanded that his Punjab counterpart Charanjit Singh Channi be arrested for his alleged "conspiracy" in the breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modis security on January 5. The Assam Chief Minister also alleged that the Congress high command and the party's other central leaders were part of the alleged conspiracy against the Prime Minister. On January 5, the Prime Minister's rally in Ferozepur, Punjab, had to be cancelled due to a security

lapse after some protesters blocked a route and forced his convoy to spend about 20 minutes on a flyover. The Prime Minister was enroute the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala when the incident happened. The demonstrators on the PM's route were not farmers, but supporters of Khalistan, Sarma claimed. All evidence and purported sting operation by a television channel in Punjab have made it clear that the Congress high command and the Punjab Chief Minister conspired to assassinate the Prime Minister, Sarma claimed.

Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb alleged that the breach in the PM's security in Congress-ruled Punjab was a "pre-planned" conspiracy, while his Manipur counterpart N. Biren Singh demanded a comprehensive probe into the matter. Talking to the media in Agartala, Deb said that not only the Punjab Chief Secretary and Director General of Police violated all standard norms to receive and send off the PM, the leadership of Punjab government too acted with Khalistani mentality.

Stalin urges PM to consider TN's request for NEET exemption

Chennai, Jan 12 (IANS): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday again urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider the request made by the state for exemption from the

National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination (NEET) for medical education. He made the demand at a function in which 11 new medical colleges in Tamil Nadu were virtually inaugurated by the Prime Minister. In his speech, Stalin said: " The admission policy of Tamil Nadu plays a very important role in our health infrastructure. It is to protect this that we have been continuously demanding NEET exemption for students of Tamil Nadu. I appeal to the Union government to consider our request favourably." He said that the student admission policy of the Tamil Nadu government was the basis for the medical students to serve in the rural areas

and in government service in an excellent manner. He said that Tamil Nadu has been a role model in the health sector with a high number of seats in UG and PG courses in the government medical colleges. He said that the principle of the Tamil Nadu government was to ensure that rural and poor students get the opportunities and the success and improvement of Tamil Nadu's health sector was an example of that. Stalin also made a slew of representations to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat including opposition to NEET. He also requested him to expedite the construction and establishment of AIIMS in Madurai.

The move is aimed at ensuring that non-payment of dues does not adversely affect the BJP in the Assembly elections. Most of these mills are based in west UP, the sugar bowl of the state, spanning Lakhimpur Kheri, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Pilibhit, Saharanpur, Baghpat, Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahr, among other districts. Sugar, in this region, remains the focal point of politics.

According to an official of the cane department, there are 119 sugar mills in the state to which around 45 lakh sugarcane growers supply their produce. On an average, at least 40,000 farmers are associated with each mill. The defaulter mills are owned by four groups. They not only owe a total of Rs 1,600 crore from last year's crushing season to cane growers in their respective areas but have not paid a penny for the current season either, he added. As expected, opposition parties are ready to cash in on the mood among these cane growers, many of whom participated in the agitation against farm laws. RLD's senior leader Praveen Deshwal said, "These farmers will give a fitting reply in the upcoming polls." However, Uttar Pradesh minister and senior BJP leader Bhupendra Singh said, "It is only the BJP government which ensured cane payments in time and launched several schemes to double farmers' income."

Yogi asks officials to sell assets of sugar mills to pay farmers

IANS

Lucknow, Jan 12: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to recover the dues of cane growers by immediately liquidating "other assets of these mills that have failed to clear the arrears". As many as 20 sugar mills, all in the private sector, still owe over Rs 1,600 crore in dues from the previous crushing season to farmers across 50 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.

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Chennai, Jan 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday virtually inaugurated 11 new medical colleges in Tamil Nadu. The new colleges -- located in Ariyalur, Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Ramanathapuram, the Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Tiruvallur and Virudhunagar -- will have 1,450 MBBS seats annually.

The medical colleges in Ariyalur, Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam, the Nilgiris, and Virudhunagar have an annual intake of 150 students each while the other colleges have an intake of 100 students. The total cost of these colleges shared by the Centre and state government was Rs 4,080 crore. The Centre's share was Rs 2,145 crore,

New Delhi, Jan 4: Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Tuesday said for a judge, one must be steadfast in holding on to their principles and fearless in their decisions and on bench, a judge cannot defend himself against even motivated attacks, but a retired judge is free to defend himself, when the need arises. In his remarks at the virtual farewell organised for retiring colleague, Justice R. Subhash Reddy, by the Supreme Court Bar Association, he said: "There are many qualities that a person needs to have to lead a good life: humility, patience, kindness and a strong work ethic. Most importantly, particularly for a judge, one must be steadfast in holding on to their principles and fearless in their decisions." "Our values are our greatest wealth, and we must never forget the same," he said. "Justice Reddy's journey is a testament to his values. His life and journey will continue to inspire many young lawyers," he added. Chief Justice Ramana said retirement is just like freedom regained, particularly for a judge. "He is free from all the restrictions that come with the office. He can express his views on all issues freely and

frankly. When on the Bench, a judge cannot defend himself against even motivated attacks. A retired judge is free to defend himself, when the need arises." He said Justice Reddy always upheld and protected the people's liberties through his judgements, and valued the fundamental rights of all citizens of this country. "He has taken up several death penalty cases, and he would spend an immense amount of time on them to ensure that the person gets a fair chance at justice even at the last stage," he added. The CJI added that Justice Reddy is known for his compassion and consciousness about social realities. "The paramount standards of his ethical conduct and beliefs are all reflected in his fine and well-crafted judgments. People with genuine causes would never go empty-handed from his court," he said. Justice Reddy also showed a resolute and dedicated commitment on the administrative side of the Supreme Court while serving as a member of the Supreme Court Judges' Committee constituted for ensuring speedy disposal of rape cases across the country, he noted. The Chief Justice said: "Justice Reddy has a deep interest in philosophy, culture, music and education.

Vijayawada, Jan 10: The Vijayawada police on Monday booked a case against four financers whose alleged harassment drove a family of four to commit suicide two days ago. On the basis of a selfie video of the head of the family, Puppala Suresh, the police registered a case of abetment of suicide against the financers and took up the investigation. A police team has been sent to Telangana to arrest the financers -- Ganesh, Vineeta, Chandrasekhar and Gnaneswar. The accused from Nizamabad and Nirmal towns of Telangana are reportedly absconding after the selfie video of Suresh became public. Suresh, a businessman and native of Nizamabad, alleged in the video that the harassment by the financers for repayment of loans and interest forced them to take the extreme step. Puppala Suresh, 57, P. Sri Latha,

49, P. Akhil, 24, and P. Ashish, 26, committed suicide in Vijayawada on Saturday. While Sri Latha and Ashish killed themselves by taking some injections, Suresh and Akhil jumped into the Krishna river. According to the police, the family came to Vijayawada on January 6 to have ‘darshan' at the Kanaka Durga temple and checked into Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Choultry. The bodies of Sri Latha and Ashish were found in the room. The police suspect that they took some injections laced with poisonous substance to end their lives. Suresh and Akhil allegedly jumped into the Krishna. Their bodies were retrieved from the river. Police investigations revealed that before resorting to the extreme step, Suresh wrote a suicide note and also recorded a selfie video, mentioning the names of those who harassed

while and the state government's share was 1,934.6 crore. The Prime Minister also virtually inaugurated the new campus of Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) that has come up with state-of-the-art infrastructure at Perambakkam near Chennai, built at a cost of Rs 24 crore.

'Steadfast on principles, fearless in decisions': CJI delineates qualities of a judge

He readily endeared himself to all his peers through his simplicity and sincerity." Justice Reddy practiced for 22 years at tribunals, civil courts, the Andhra Pradesh High Court and also before the Supreme Court in civil, criminal, constitutional, revenue, taxation, labour, company and service matters in both original and appellate side. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, his parent high court, on December 2, 2002, and sworn in as a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on June 24, 2004. Justice Reddy was elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court of India on November 2, 2018.

Four financers booked for Telangana family's suicide pact

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them to recover the loans. Suresh alleged that Gnaneswar mounted pressure on him to pay Rs 40 lakh and threatened that if he failed to repay the amount, his house will be seized. The businessman said Ganesh too harassed him though he had paid him Rs 82 lakh. Suresh had borrowed the money for business after suffering losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He said he had been paying huge interests to the financers, but they continued harassing him. He also claimed that there were many victims like him. This is the second such incident in a week. A 45-year-old businessman, his wife and their 12-year-old twin daughters had immolated themselves at their house in Paloncha in Telangana's Bhadradri Kothagudem district on January 3.

AUSTRALIA

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Bushfire rages in Western Australia

Popular Science

Canberra, Jan 11: Emergency authorities in Western Australia have issued warnings to residents on the state's southwest as a bushfire continues to rage on Tuesday. The blaze is tearing through the Margaret River Region, a popular tourist destination renowned for its scenic beauty and wineries, reports Xinhua news agency. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) advised

people to ensure their windows and doors were closed and to protect themselves by wearing long sleeves and trousers made from cotton or wool, as well as strong leather boots. "If your home catches on fire and the conditions inside become unbearable, you need to get out and go to an area that has already been burnt," the DFES warned. The fire started near the township of Dunsborough then spread to

neighbouring coastal communities in Eagle Bay and Naturaliste. An evacuation centre has now been set up in the township of West Busselton. The fire is the latest to have hit the state this summer as two fires burned through hundreds of hectares of bushland and destroyed one home late last month.

Aus retailers hiking rates of Australia must push through Covid surge: PM Covid test kits to face jail time IANS

Canberra, Jan 10 (IANS): Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday that the country must "push through" surging coronavirus infections. Speaking to reporters, Morrison said that despite record infection numbers, Australia's hospital system was coping with outbreaks of the Omicron variant, reports Xinhua news agency. "You've got two choices here. You can push through or you can lock

down. We're for pushing through," he said. "The whole pandemic has been tough and Australians have shown resilience and patience and determination." Australia on Monday reported more than 60,000 locally-acquired Covid cases for the sixth consecutive day and 20 deaths, 18 in New South Wales and two in Victoria. Governor-General David Hurley was among the new cases. Hurley

confirmed he tested positive in a statement on Sunday night. Morrison revealed that 5,097 patients were currently hospitalised. "There are 78 patients who are on ventilators which are well within capacity. The major stresses on the hospital system relate to workforce issues," he said. Australia's coronavirus vaccine rollout on Monday opened up to more than 2.3 million children aged five to 11. There were reports of general practitioners cancelling vaccination appointments for children on Monday due to a lack of supply, prompting Vaccine Taskforce Commander Lieutenant General John Frewen to call for patience. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) on Monday endorsed a new set of national guidelines for close contacts in vital industries. Under the new rules, close contacts of confirmed cases who work in critical supply chains, emergency services and food processing, production and distribution will be able to continue working as long as they remain asymptomatic.

Canberra, Jan 8: Australian retailers who hike prices of Covid-19 test kits will face prison time and fines under a new law. The federal government on Saturday listed rapid antigen test (RAT) kits for Covid-19 on Australia's biosecurity determination, making price gouging on the product illegal, reports Xinhua news agency. In a statement, Health Minister Greg Hunt and Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said exporting RATs from Australia has also been banned "unless a valid exception applies". "These measures are consistent with those implemented for masks and other personal protective equipment in March 2020," they said. "These measures will prevent people who have purchased RAT's at retail settings to on-sell them at extortionate prices, which is assessed at more than 120 percent more than the price for which they were purchased." Penalties for failing to comply with the new requirements include up to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to A$66,000 ($47,384), or both. The measures will be in place until at least February 17.

It comes amid ongoing supply shortfalls of RATs around the country, with individual kits being reportedly sold for up to A$50, Australia on Saturday reported more than 100,000 new locally-acquired Covid cases for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Among the new cases were former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who announced his diagnosis one day after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed he tested positive.

"Like hundreds of thousands of other Australians I have tested positive for Covid. Symptoms moderate so far. Isolating as required," Turnbull, who served as prime minister between 2015 and 2018, wrote on social media. "This pandemic and especially this latest wave has put our health professionals under enormous pressure -- please be polite and considerate when dealing with the front-line health workers."

Covid vax rollout for kids in Australia sees daily Covid Aus starts well: Health official deaths hit 15-month high

Canberra, Jan 11: Australian authorities welcomed a "fantastic" start to the coronavirus vaccine rollout for children on Tuesday as the country is still in a battle against the surging Covid-19 infections.

From Monday, children in Australia aged five to 11 were eligible to get vaccinated against the virus, reports Xinhua news agency. Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Michael Kidd on Tuesday said more than 35,000 children were jabbed on the first day and the government was confident that the rollout would gather momentum ahead of schools returning in late January. "And this is a fantastic start to the five to 11-year-old program, getting those children obviously back to school safely for this year," he told Seven Network television. Parents have reported issues booking vaccine appointments for their children and doctors cancelling appointments due to supply shortfalls. "We currently have over 6,000 sites

where children can receive the Pfizer paediatric Covid-19 vaccine, that will be increasing to 8,000 sites over the coming few days," said Kidd. "If you can't get an appointment there over the coming week, if you look around, there are pharmacies in your local area, the state and territory vaccination clinics are opening up and offering appointments." Australia on Tuesday reported over 80,000 new Covid-19 cases and more than 20 deaths, according to the health department figures from states and territories. "What we are doing is watching very closely to see what's been happening in countries around the world, which have started their Omicron outbreak ahead of when we first saw Omicron in Australia," he said.

Australian researchers find new approach to break bacterial antibiotic resistance Sydney, Jan 12: An Australian-led international research team has unlocked a key to making existing frontline antibiotics work again against the deadly bacteria that cause pneumonia. The research, led by Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, was published in Cell Reports on Wednesday. It discovered how to repurpose a molecule called PBT2 -- originally developed as a potential treatment for disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases -- to break bacterial resistance to commonly used frontline antibiotics, Xinhua news agency reported. "We knew that some ionophores, such as PBT2, had been through clinical trials and shown to be safe for use in humans," contributing author of the paper Professor Mark von Itzstein said. "If we could repurpose these safe molecules to break bacterial resistance and restore antibiotic efficacy, this would be a pathway to

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a therapeutic treatment," another contributing author Professor Mark Walker said. As pneumonia is one of the bacterial infections that might be caused by antibiotic resistance worldwide, researchers aimed to develop a therapeutic approach in a mouse model of infection to rescue the use of the antibiotic ampicillin to treat drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Based on earlier studies, researchers knew that human immune systems use zinc as an innate antimicrobial to fight off infection. Accordingly, they sought to understand how zinc stress impacts Streptococcus pneumoniae and how the innate antimicrobial activity of zinc might be harnessed to enhance the control of infection. Researchers found zinc contributes to the breakage of the molecular basis of the resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

They then repurposed the PBT2, which was found to be able to mediate the transfer of zinc ions across biological membranes to break Streptococcus pneumoniae antibiotic resistance in the murine model, demonstrating the therapeutic rescue of frontline antibiotic work. "This rendered the drug-resistant bacteria susceptible to the antibiotic ampicillin, restoring the effectiveness of the antibiotic treatment in the infected animals," one of the lead authors Professor Christopher McDevitt said. Research said this discovery has the potential to provide a cost-effective and readily available treatment to life-threatening infections such as community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, which poses a serious public health risk. McDevitt said the next steps they were working towards were collecting the data required for a clinical trial of PBT2 in combination with antibiotics.

Canberra, Jan 12 (IANS): Australia has recorded its highest number of daily Covid-19 deaths in more than 15 months. There were 42 deaths

reported across the country on Wednesday -- 21 each in the country's two biggest states, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria.

This is the highest number of Covid deaths reported in a day since September 4, 2020 when Victoria recorded 59 fatalities, and second-most since the start of the pandemic, Xinhua news agency reported citing Daily Mail Australia. Australia on Wednesday reported more than 100,000 locally-acquired Covid infections, according to the health department figures from states and territories. Department of Health data published on Tuesday night reported that there were 3,869 cases being treated in hospitals around the country, including 342 in intensive care units. Nearly 60 per cent of Australia's 1,042,293 confirmed Covid cases were active as of Tuesday.

Aussie scientists piece together genomic puzzle of iconic flower

Sydney, Jan 12 (IANS): Australian botanists have assembled the genomic sequence of one of Australia's most significant and iconic flowers, the New South Wales Waratah. The team of researchers, led by the Australian Institute of Botanical Science, said the sequencing, published in the Molecular Ecology Resources journal on Wednesday, would play a vital role in the future conservation of the plant. The research would allow future varieties of the flowering plant to be bred with protection against pests and disease. It would also provide a

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stepping stone for the sequencing of other closely related plants, Xinhua news agency reported. Lead researcher Stephanie Chen, from the Institute's Research Centre for Ecosystem Resilience and (University of New South Wales) UNSW Sydney, said the process of sequencing was like "putting together a puzzle and it has billions and billions of pieces." "With the help of three different sequencing technologies, we've been able to link all the pieces that are the bits of DNA together, ultimately revealing the puzzle," she said. The Waratah, or Telopea, has been the floral emblem of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) since 1962 and grows exclusively in the state. Its image has been incorporated into state government branding and holds a unique spot in Australia's floral diversity. "By mapping genomes, we gain a better understanding of the natural

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world," said Chen. "Understanding the genetic makeup of the Waratah will give us better insight into its evolution and environmental adaption, ultimately helping us better conserve it, as well as inform breeding efforts." Dr Richard Edwards, Senior Lecturer in Genomics and Bioinformatics at UNSW, said having this mapping at the chromosome level would also play an important role in understanding the plant species' evolutionary history. "The large-scale changes captured could be particularly important for understanding how Waratahs have evolved into different species, or when and where they might be able to form fertile hybrids." The Waratah plant used in the study has since been propagated and planted as part of the living collection at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah.

WORLD

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to 4 more years in jail The Dawn

Monday’s convictions stem from when soldiers searched her house on the day Report from BBC of the coup and discovered walkie-talkies.

Kazakhstan burning, Russian troops are in; India closely following situation Orissa Post

New Delhi, Jan 10: Over 160 persons have reportedly died in several days of unrest in Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest country, which has been rocked by a week of turmoil. Internet services were resumed after five days in Kazakhstan on Monday, where 8,000 people have been detained by the security forces led by the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The nation is witnessing a massive upheaval since January 2, when violence erupted in all the major cities against the government's decision to hike fuel prices. Responding to media queries on the

recent developments in Kazakhstan, Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson in Ministry of External Affairs, said, "India is closely following the recent developments in Kazakhstan. We express our deepest condolences to the families of innocent victims who have lost their lives in the violence. As a close and friendly partner of Kazakhstan, we look forward to an early stabilisation of the situation. Coordination with authorities has helped ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals. They are advised to follow local security instructions and get in touch with the Embassy of India for any assistance."

Without naming anyone, Kazakhstan President Kassym Jomart Tokayev has accused some groups of staging unrest to disturb the democratic government, terming it as an attempted coup, after giving 'shoot to kill' order to restore peace in the country. Tokayev's statement was soon seconded by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said Kazakhstan has been targeted by international terrorism, and assured that Russia will not allow any kind of revolution or uprising in the region. Putin said the way violence erupted in Kazakhstan clearly shows that it was pre-planned and led by trained militants believed to be trained and equipped by the West. On the other hand, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned the Kazakhstan government's decision to seek Russia's help in the country's internal matters and allow Russian troops in Kazakhstan, where more than 2,000 Russian military personnel have arrived. Blinken urged Kazakhstan government to respect the rights of the protesters after Tokayev called the protesters 'terrorists' and passed 'shoot to kill' order, which resulted in over 160 deaths so far.

Death toll of NY building fire revised to 17 IANS

New York, Jan 11: The death toll from a major fire in a high-rise building in New York City's Bronx borough has been revised down to 17 from 19, according to Mayor Eric Adams. Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Adams said casualties from the fire included nine adults and eight children, reports Xinhua news agency. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said there was a bit of double count and it's a bit of good

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news that the number of deaths isn't 19 but 17. Nigro added that there are many people fighting for their lives in the hospitals and the death toll could increase again. "We're certain that the fire started with a faulty portable electrical heater," said Nigro, noting investigation by fire marshals is still under way. Meanwhile, local government agencies and social organisations are working to provide support to

victims of the fire as well as people evacuated from the apartment building known as Twin Parks North West. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Sunday evening that efforts would be made to rebuild lives and give victims hope, "especially those who came all the way from Africa, Gambia, in search of a better life right here in this great borough, the borough of Bronx". Hochul announced that a compensation fund would be established for the victims of the fire to help them find new housing, for burial costs and other costs. The Mayor's Fund to Advance NYC, a non-profit organisation that facilitates innovative public-private partnerships, is raising money to support victims of the fire in partnership with Adams and the City of New York. As of Monday noon, a GoFundMe fundraiser organised by the Gambian Youth Organization (GYO) had received over $400,000, more than double of its goal of $200,000. The apartment building, built in the 1970s, is home to working-class families, many of whom depend on Section 8 rental assistance. Adams said the building was home to many African immigrants who chose their homes for the close-knit community and short distance to local mosques. A significant number of the building's residents were practicing Muslims and originally from Gambia, according to a report by the New York Times. New York City would fly flags at half-staff until sunset on Wednesday as a mark of respect for the victims of the tragic fire, according to the Mayor's office.

Nay Pyi Taw, Jan 11 (IANS): Aung San Suu Kyi, the former de facto leader of Myanmar who was ousted during the February 1, 2021 military coup, has been sentenced to four more years in prison after her first conviction last month during which she was given a reduced term of two years. According to a report in the BBC, Monday's convictions stem from when soldiers searched her house on the day of the coup and discovered walkie-talkies. Monday's trial which took place here was closed to the media and Suu Kyi's lawyers have been barred from communicating with the media and public. Last month, Suu Kyi and deposed President Win Myint were initially sentenced to four years in prison after they were found guilty on

charges of "inciting dissent and breaking Covid rules" under thr Natural Disaster Management Law. Both their prison terms were later halved to two years. Suu Kyi, the 76-year-old former State Councillor, faces a total of 11 charges, such as violating the Official Secrets Act. She has denied them all. If convicted of all the charges, the Nobel laureate could spend the rest of her life behind bars. Following the coup which toppled her National League for Democracy (NLD) government, she has been under house arrest in an undisclosed location. The coup was staged after the military alleged massive voting fraud in the November 2020 general elections, which saw the NLD win a

majority of seats in both houses of Parliament. Reacting to Monday's sentencing, Human Rights Watch said the proceedings were "courtroom circus of secret proceedings on bogus charges... so that (Suu Kyi) will remain in prison indefinitely", the BBC reported. The coup triggered widespread demonstrations and Myanmar's military has cracked down on pro-democracy protesters, activists and journalists, according to rights groups. Suu Kyi is one of more than 10,600 people to have been arrested by the junta since February, and at least 1,303 others killed in the demonstrations, according to the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Taliban to resume hiring govt employees, excluding women Kabul, Jan 11: The Taliban has announced that they will resume the hiring process of Afghan government employees, excluding female staffers, the media reported on Tuesday. Addressing mediapersons here on Monday, officials of the Taliban's Administrative Reform Commission said that they will recruit civil servants through open competition, Khaama Press reported. When asked about hiring female staffers, the officials said that a decision on the issue was yet to be taken and would take time. The Commission's head Kiramatullah Akhundzada said that they will work towards "ensuring further facilities in government administration and work for further reforms in the administrations".

IANS

India, UK discuss trade, investment, security Deccan Herald

New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS): External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar on Monday discussed various issues including trade, investment, and security with his UK counterpart Liz Truss. Jaishankar invited her to visit India for bilateral talks. According to the UK's Department for International Trade, the total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and India was 19.8 billion pounds in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021, a decrease of 7 per cent from the four quarters to the end of Q2 2020. Of this, the total UK exports to India amounted to 7.3 billion pounds in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021 (a decrease of 9.5 per cent compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2020), and the total UK

imports from India amounted to 12.5 billion pounds in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021 (a decrease of 5.5 per cent compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2020).

India was the UK's 15th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021 accounting for 1.6 per cent of total UK trade.

US announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics IANS

New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS): The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China -- a move that has been heavily criticised by Beijing, BBC reported. The White House said no official delegation would be sent to the Games because of concerns about China's human rights record, the report said. But it said US athletes could attend and would have the government's full support. China called Washington's move a "self-directed political farce". "The US just wants to politicise sports, create divisions and provoke confrontation," said a statement by the spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the UN. "The success of the Games does not rely on the attendance of a handful of countries' government officials." White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the boycott on Monday, saying that the administration would not contribute to the

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"fanfare" of the Olympics, the report said. "US diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC's (People's Republic of China) egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang," she said. "We simply can't do that." Psaki added that the US government did not feel "it was the right step

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to penalise athletes who had been training for this moment", but that not sending an official US delegation to the 2022 Games "could send a clear message". Following the US announcement, New Zealand said on Tuesday it too would not send a delegation. Other countries, including the UK and Australia, are said to be considering boycotts, the report said.

DIASPORA

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

PM greets Indian diaspora on Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas New Delhi, Jan 9: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted everyone, especially the Indian diaspora on Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas. In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "Greetings to everyone, especially the Indian diaspora on Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas. Our diaspora has distinguished itself all over the world and has excelled in different spheres. At the same time, they have remained connected to their roots. We are proud of their accomplishments." On January 9, the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas is observed to strengthen

the engagement of the Indian community overseas with the India government and reconnect them with their roots. It is celebrated to mark the contribution of the Indians living abroad in the development of the land of their ancestors. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan will address a virtual youth Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas conference on 'the role of Indian diaspora' with regard to innovation and new technologies. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since, in 1915, Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, had returned to India from

South Africa, on this day, and led the country's Freedom Struggle which changed the lives of Indians forever. Started in 2003, these conventions provide a platform to the Indian community overseas to engage with the government and the people from the land of their ancestors, for mutually beneficial activities. These conventions are also very useful in networking among the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world and enable them to share their experiences in various fields.

UK PM shoots down easing of Here's how Musk hired Indianimmigration rules for Indians origin Tesla's autopilot head

London, Jan 6 (IANS): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shot down speculation that the UK will ease immigration rules for India as part of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Negotiations on an Indo-British FTA are scheduled to begin this month. Sir Edward Leigh, a right-wing Conservative party MP, concerned about reports that Britain was contemplating making such a concession, asked in the House of Commons: "Apparently, the government are thinking of relaxing visa controls for India in order to get a free trade deal. While a free trade deal is valuable in itself, we should not be held to ransom. "Does the Prime Minister agree that our new working-class voters who voted for Brexit did not vote to replace immigration from Europe with more immigration from the rest of the world, any more than that when they were told that we would take back control, we would lose control of the channel? Will he

convince us that he is determined to connect to our supporters and control immigration?" To this, Johnson replied: "I do not recognise the account that my honourable Friend has given. We do not do free trade deals on that basis. Indeed, I can tell him that since we took back control, net immigration has gone down. That is all the Opposition wants -- their answer is, everywhere and always, uncontrolled immigration. That is their approach to the economy, and it is not the right way forward. That is why our Nationality and Borders Bill, currently in the House of Lords, is so important -- it will enable us to take back control of our borders properly and tackle illegal immigration." Earlier, The Guardian newspaper had run a story headlined ‘UK ministers eager to ease immigration rules for Indian citizens'. In it, The Guardian reported: "The potential offer will be under discussion when the international trade

secretary, Anne-Marie Trevalyan, travels to Delhi this month," quoting the UK's Times. The daily further claimed: "Trevelyan is said to have the backing of the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, who is keen to curb China's growing influence in the region. However, they are likely to meet strong resistance from the home secretary, Priti Patel, who opposes the offer." Patel is an interesting case. Of Gujarati-origin, as a child she migrated with her parents from East Africa to Britain. Yet, she has been virulently against immigration in her political career. She was and remains a hard-core Brexiteer and represents a Right-wing anti-immigration constituency in the county of Essex, which adjoins London to the east. The Guardian insisted that visa relaxation options under consideration include a scheme similar to one agreed with Australia (in an FTA), which would allow young Indians the right to live and work in the UK for up to three years. Another would be to cut visa fees for students and allow them to stay in Britain for a period of time after they graduate. Visas for work and tourism -- which can cost up to 1,400 pounds (Rs 1.4 lakh) -- could also be reduced as a sweetener. But such gestures go down badly with Johnson's core Conservative voters. At the same time, it may conceivably be difficult to refuse India the terms given to Australia. The matter can be fudged by having an immigration pact independent of an FTA.

San Francisco, Jan 2: Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to reveal how he chose Ashok Elluswamy from India to work as an autopilot team director at his electric vehicle company. Elluswamy was actually the first employee to be hired for Tesla's Autopilot team, with Musk actually using Twitter to ask people to apply for the role back in 2015. "I tweeted that Tesla is about to launch an auto pilot team. Through that tweet, Ashok was the first to be selected in the auto pilot team," Musk said in a tweet. Before joining Tesla, he has worked with WABCO Vehicle Control System and has interned with Volkswagon Electronic Research Lab. He holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the College of Engineering Guindy, Chennai and a Master's degree in Robotics System

Development from Carnegie Mellon University. As per a LinkedIn endorsement from Elluswamy's professor at CMU, John Dalon, he was one of the top students and showed initiative in learning a wide variety of topics. Recently, Musk tweeted that he is hiring Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineers who are passionate about solving day-to-day problems through AI. "As always, Tesla is looking for hardcore AI engineers who care about solving problems that directly affect people's lives in a major way," Musk tweeted along with a link to apply for the job. Interested candidates can apply by filling in fields like name, email, exceptional work done in software, hardware or AI, dropping their resume in the PDF format and hitting the Apply option.

Chennai, Jan 12: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday called for unity among the global Tamil diaspora and urged them to overlook all the divisions among them. He said the Tamil diaspora should consider the Tamil Nadu government as their own government. Stalin was addressing the Tamil diaspora during the World Tamil Diaspora Day celebrations organised by the Welfare of NonResident Tamils and Rehabilitation Department on Wednesday. The Chief Minister invited the diaspora to visit Tamil Nadu with their children and show them the rich Tamil cultural heritage that has been in existence for the past 3,000 years. "Many of you may not have voting

right in Tamil Nadu, but you have the right to call this government your own government. This was why I had made several announcements in September last year for the welfare of the Tamil diaspora," the Chief Minister said in his address. Stalin called upon the diaspora not to abandon Tamil Nadu and to be rooted in Tamil culture and legacy. He also called upon the diaspora not to have divisions with other Tamil people and to live united as brothers and sisters in foreign countries and to make maximum use of the situation prevailing in those countries for academic and industrial growth. Citing the rich heritage of Keeladi and Adichannalur, Stalin said that these are glowing examples of the existence of a rich Tamil culture

In a 2014 interview, Musk said he looked for "evidence of exceptional ability" in a potential employee, rather than a degree from a prestigious university. "There is no need even to have a college degree at all, or even high school," Musk said during an interview with the German automotive publication Auto Bild about his hiring preferences more broadly.

Stalin calls for unity among Tamil diaspora even 3,000 years ago. He said that people from Tamil Nadu are spread in several countries across the globe. He said the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, wanted to set up a welfare board for non-resident Tamils as early as in March 2011, but the government that had succeeded the Karunanidhi government did not pursue the issue further. Stalin said that within five months of coming to power, he had announced the setting up of the board in the state Assembly. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also said that the state government is implementing schemes worth Rs 317 crore for the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils who came to Tamil Nadu.

NYPD's Hate Crimes Unit probes attack on Sikh taxi driver

New York, Jan 11 (IANS): The New York Police Department's (NYPD) Hate Crimes Unit has joined the investigation into the attack on a Sikh taxi driver at the city's main airport, following a call for action by the Indian Consulate here. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which has jurisdiction over the John F Kennedy Airport, said in an email to IANS on Monday that its police department "is actively investigating this incident" in coordination with New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Unit and

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the local public prosecutor's office. The consulate tweeted: "The assault against a Sikh taxi driver in New York is deeply disturbing. We have taken up the matter with US authorities and urged them to investigate this violent incident." The State Department's South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau had tweeted that the US was "deeply disturbed" by the attack and added: "We all have a responsibility to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable for their actions, no matter where such crimes occur." The NYPD and the prosecutor's office of Queens borough, which has jurisdiction over the airport, had not replied as of Monday night to requests for information about the incident and their investigation. There is sparse information about the video that began circulating last week. The identities of the victim and the attacker are not known and neither is the time the attack took place. A video taken by a witness that went viral on social media last week

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showed a man dressed in black hitting the driver, returning to his blue car and then coming back to hit the driver again and knocking off his turban. The attacker can be heard yelling at the driver, but it was not clear what he or the driver said. The Sikh, who appears to be of late middle age with greying beard, withstood the attack stoically and did not retaliate. At a point in the video, two persons in yellow jackets, who may be airport employees or contractors, are seen and one of them appears to begin to walk towards the attack site but there is no indication the person intervened. The number plates of the attacker's car and the Toyota taxi's are visible but not clear, although it could be possible for authorities to enhance the video to read them and identify the victim and the assailant. It does not appear that police were not called to the scene of the attack or that the driver had filed a complaint.

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

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POLITICS

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

'Punjab needs serious people': Manish Tewari attacks Channi, Sidhu IANS

New Delhi, Jan 12: Congress MP from Punjab's Anandpur Sahib has once again attacked Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state party president Navjot Singh Sidhu on reports that both are pushing to be named as the Chief Ministerial candidates. Tewari on Wednesday said, "Punjab needs serious people", and took

potshots on both Channi and Sidhu and dubbed them as non serious persons who are entertaining people. Tewari tweeted, "Punjab requires a CM who has solutions to Punjab's challenges, capacity to take tough decisions. Punjab Needs serious people whose politics is Not Social Engineering, Entertainment,

Freebies and NOT regime favourites rejected by people in successive elections." The Congress, so far, has not named any one as the Chief Ministerial face for the upcoming Assembly elections as the party considers that this leads to infighting and internal rift. But state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday said it is the people who will choose the next Chief Minister of the state and not the high command. Unveiling the first set of plans in his Punjab Model with focus on resurrection of Punjab, Sidhu, in the absence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Cabinet colleagues, told the media here: "Punjab Model is people's model, an effort to give a roadmap to return power to people." To counter the powerful 'mafia model', which has power to even stop the notification of Cabinet passed resolution, he said a model is needed to redistribute state resources and give power back to the rightful beneficiaries.

Congress finds it tough Nitin Gadkari Covid-19 going over CM face in tests positive Punjab, Uttarakhand

IANS

New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) As the elections are nearing in five states the Congress is witnessing internal rifts on the issue of who would be the chief ministerial face in the upcoming polls in Punjab and Uttarakhand. The party has, however, categorically stated that it is unlikely to project anyone as the CM face of the party and will go with collective leadership of the state. The issue will be settled after the results are out. The Congress is wary of Punjab State President Navjot Singh Sidhu asserting himself for the top post ahead of the polls, while colliding with party colleagues. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi too is trying to impress the party high command while in Uttarakhand Harish Rawat wants to be the captain of the ship and is saying that it all depends on the party whether he will contest or not contest the polls. The Central Election Committee is meeting virtually on Saturday to decide on the poll tickets. The party is trying to balance the warring factions and pacify the leaders like Harish Rawat in

Uttarakhand who has been opposing the induction of BJP turncoats but the Congress leadership is eyeing the winnability factor in the state. Sidhu on Thursday had questioned his own government and had said "A system which could not give justice to our Guru and could not punish the big fish involved in the drug trade needs to be demolished. I categorically state that I'm not running for any post and it's either this system will stay or Navjot Singh Sidhu," he tweeted. "The fight is to change this system which has eroded Punjab like termites and is being run by mafias in connivance with mischievous politicians. This system cries for a change & reforms as the glory of Punjab has been annihilated by the nexus of a few political leaders and mafia," Sidhu said in another tweet. The Congress, so far, has not named anyone as the chief ministerial face for the Assembly elections in the five states, as the party feels that it might lead to infighting and internal rifts which could damage its prospects in the polls.

SC agrees to hear whether recording wife's phone conversation infringement of privacy New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS): The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition in connection with the issue whether recording a wife's telephonic conversation, in the absence of her knowledge, is violation of her privacy. The top court was hearing an appeal filed by a man challenging the single bench order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in December last year. After hearing brief arguments in the matter on January 12, a bench comprising Justices Vineet Saran and B.V. Nagarathna issued notice. The high court order had come on a plea filed by a woman, who challenged a Bathinda family court order passed in 2020, allowing her estranged husband to prove a CD in connection with the recorded conversations between them, subject to the correctness of it. The high court had observed that

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recording of wife's telephonic conversation without her knowledge is a clear-cut infringement of her privacy. In 2017, the husband had moved a petition seeking divorce and in 2019, during the hearing in the matter, he had moved an application seeking permission to bring on record the CD and transcripts of conversations recorded in memory card or chip of the mobile phone. In 2020, the family court allowed the husband to prove the CD subject to the condition of correctness. The wife moved the high court challenging this decision of the family court. The high court observed that it is evident that these conversations would necessarily have been recorded surreptitiously by one of the parties. The couple's marriage was solemnised in 2009 and they had a daughter together.

New Delhi, Jan 11: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has tested positive for Covid-19 following which he has isolated himself. Gadkari shared this information through a Twitter post. "I have tested positive for Covid-19 today with mild symptoms. Following all the necessary protocols, I have isolated myself and I am under home quarantine," he tweeted on Tuesday. "I request all those who have come in contact with me to isolate themselves and get tested," he said.

KT Rama Rao invites Elon Musk to 'set shop' in Telangana New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) Days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke about challenges when asked about the electric car's entry into the Indian market, TRS Working President KT Rama Rao has invited the billionaire businessman to "set shop" in Telangana. Rao said Telangana is a champion in sustainability initiatives and his government would be happy to partner with Tesla in working through the challenges. "Hey Elon, I am the Industry and Commerce Minister of Telangana state in India. Will be happy to partner Tesla in working through the challenges to set shop in India/ Telangana," Rao said in a reply to Musk's tweet. "Our state is a champion in sustainability initiatives and a top notch business destination in India," he added. Musk on Thursday informed that the EV-maker is facing a "lot of challenges" for its car launch in India. "Still working through a lot of challenges with the government," Musk tweeted. Musk was replying to a Twitter user, who asked: "Yo @elonmusk any further update as to when Tesla's will launch in India? They're pretty awesome and deserve to be in every corner of the world!"

Elections right Opportunity to defeat hatred: Rahul Gandhi New Delhi, Jan 10: After announcement of five state elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the elections are right opportunity to defeat hatred. Rahul Gandhi in a tweet in Hindi on Monday said, "Nafrat ko harane ka sahi mauka hai." (It is the right opportunity to defeat hatred). The elections for five states were announced on Saturday in which BJP is ruling in four states and Congress has government in Punjab. The Congress has been critical of hate campaigns and has been alleging that BJP is behind it. The party said, "Enough is enough. The #BJPHateFactory should come clean in front of the entire nation and lay bear the extent to which

they have damaged our society. Otherwise, we will." The party posted series of tweets and said, "By categorically targeting individuals on the basis of gender, religion, region, occupation, physical attributes, etc, the #BJPHateFactory not only violates their privacy, not only violates their dignity, but also completely violates our Constitutional morality." "Here's how #BJPHateFactory suppresses your right to freedom of expression & speech: If you are a citizen who dares to speak truth to power through SM, then an army of fake accounts generated through #TekFog is unleashed against you, threatening to destroy life as you know it," it said.

Rahul takes stock of poll preparations in Goa; no talks on alliance yet IANS

New Delhi, Jan 11:The Congress on Monday rejected claims that the party is mulling over a possible alliance with the Trinamool Congress in poll-bound Goa after the partys former President Rahul Gandhi held a virtual discussion with senior Congress leaders P. Chidambaram and K.C. Venugopal. Chidambaram is the party's senior election observer for Goa. After the meeting, Venugopal tweeted, "The rumour in circulation that a possible alliance with TMC was discussed by Shri @RahulGandhi in today's meeting is completely baseless & untrue. Let me assure that the Congress party is confident - we will put Goa back on the path to progress soon." Rahul Gandhi, who recently returned from a personal visit abroad, has started meeting people in the poll-bound coastal state, holding discussions on new possible new entrants after some MLAs in the state left the BJP. The ruling BJP in Goa lost two MLAs in quick succession on Monday, after Pravin Zantye, sitting MLA

from the Mayem, resigned as a legislator and let go the party's primary membership. The resignation followed hours after Ports Minister in the BJP-led government, Michael Lobo, resigned as a minister and MLA from the party. "The party I had joined on the word and assurance of former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is not the

same today," Zantye told reporters after resigning from the party. Zantye said that he would be joining the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) soon. Earlier on Monday, Lobo had said that he was quitting as minister and from the BJP, accusing party leaders of sidelining grassroots workers.

'Stand up for friends', Cong slams Centre over reports of Chinese construction in Bhutan New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the Centre over reports of China constructing villages in disputed Bhutan territory, which is less than 30 km from the trijunction Doklam plateau. The former Congress President alleged that the government has already surrendered its land, but it is not standing for 'friends' like Bhutan. As per reports, China is constructing villages in a disputed territory in Bhutan, which is less than 30 km from the trijunction Doklam plateau. The revelation came after high-resolution satellite imagery surfaced with the security establishments.

"(The) Modi government first surrendered our land and has now jeopardised our close neighbours by its inaction in pushing back China. If you don't stand up for yourself, how will you stand up for your friends," Rahul Gandhi tweeted. Sources said the Chinese villages within the disputed territory in Bhutan are likely to be used for both military and civilian purposes. Doklam plateau was in limelight in 2017 when the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) were locked in a bitter standoff for over 70 days. The Chinese had to finally retreat from the area after the Indian troops contested the plateau.

Dhoklam is an area of 100 sq km comprising a plateau and a valley at the trijunction between India, China and Bhutan. The plateau is circled by the Chumbi Valley in Tibet, Bhutan's Ha Valley and India's Sikkim. In October last year, China and Bhutan had signed a pact on a three-step roadmap to resolve their boundary disputes. India in its response had said, "It has noted the development." Boundary negotiations between Bhutan and China began in 1984 and the two sides have held 24 rounds of talks and 10 rounds of meeting at the expert group level.

Election for 4 Bengal Municipal Corporations likely to be deferred Kolkata, Jan 15 (IANS) A Day after the Calcutta High Court asked the West Bengal Election Commission (SEC) to consider postponing of elections in four Municipal Corporations scheduled on January 22, the state government has written to the state poll body that they don't have any objection if the SEC decides to postpone the election for another 4 to 6 weeks considering the Covid situation in the state. Though the commission is yet to make any formal announcement, sources in the commission indicated that the state poll body is likely to accept the recommendations made by the state and postpone the election at least till February 12. The commission had earlier announced that there will be elections in four municipal corporations including Asansol, Bidhannagar, Siliguri and Chandannagar on January 22 and the results will be announced on January 25. Sources in the commission also indicated that they are keen to conduct the election in other municipalities at the end of February. Elections in 107 municipalities and

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Howrah Municipal Corporation will be held by the end of February. Sources in the commission also indicated that the commission might speak to the Disaster Management Department to decide the modalities and other aspects related to this election. "The election has already been announced and the nomination part has also been over and in this condition, we need to find out the best possible situation without hampering the constitutional provisions. We will also have to work out the modalities for the election," a senior official at the commission said. The division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava was hearing a PIL filed by one Bimal Bhattacharya, who argued that considering the escalating Covid-19 situation, the civic polls should be postponed. During the hearing on Thursday the state government and the commission had tried to push the responsibility on each other. Advocate appearing for the commission Jayanta Mitra had said that the commission cannot take the decision of stopping an election

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IANS

because it is the state's responsibility. "According to law, the commission cannot cancel a pre-declared election but if the disaster management act is implemented in the state, then the election will have to be cancelled," Mitra said. On the other hand, the advocate appearing for the state said that the commission only has the authority to cancel the election and the state has got nothing to do with it. The division bench asked both the state and the commission about their lack of coordination in this matter. On Friday, the court directed the commission to take the final call on this issue. Now after the state's letter to the commission, the poll panel has no problem in postponing the election.

SCI-TECH

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

The ePlane Co to test fly Big data, AI/ML to be most indemand skills in India in 2022 prototype aircraft in June

Chennai, Jan 10: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) incubated electric aircraft startup Ubifly Technologies Pvt Ltd commonly known as 'The ePlane Company' will test fly e50 prototype airplanes in June this year, said a company founder. "The manufacturing of the e50 model is on. The plane will be ready by February end. The test flight will be in June. The plane has a load carrying capacity of 50 kg and 150-200 km flying range," Pranjal Mehta, Co-Founder told IANS.

The company is building a bigger electric powered cargo and passenger aircraft e200 with a carrying capacity of 200 kg. Mehta also said the company has raised $5 million Pre-Series A funding from a clutch of investors to hire talent, invest further in research and development and others so as to roll out passenger and cargo carriers. The investment is led by deep-tech venture capitalist Speciale Invest and EV/Climate focussed fund Micelio. A consortium of investors including Naval Ravikant, 3one4 Capital, UTEC (University of Tokyo Edge Capital), Anicut Capital, Infoedge, Prashant Pitti (co-founder of Easemytrip), Thought Ventures, Java Capital, and Firstcheque.vc also participated in the round. With this round the company has raised a total of $6 million till date. "We have currently tested a scaleddown prototype and expect to have our first cargo plane ready as early as next year. The cargo carrier is expected to be rolled out by February 2023, the passenger version is expected by December 2024, said

Satya Chakravarthy, Co-founder. Mehta said the planes are designed for a vertical take-off and landing like a helicopter and move forward like a plane. It is a hybrid of a drone and an aircraft. The company's planes will be powered by lithium ion batteries. The company imports the cells and makes the battery packs. "We have redundancies built in the design for additional safety. The plane size will be 4x4 metre and is built with carbon fibre. The cargo version will be unmanned while the passenger carrier can carry two persons including the pilot," Mehta said. While the passenger version is targeted at intra-city travel -- expected to be costlier than road taxies by 1.5 times -- the cargo version is for delivering goods to rural and remote places. According to Mehta, the company will be looking at leasing mode for its aircrafts and also automobile manufacturers to make the planes in bigger volumes.

complete, I join the Webb team in breathing a little easier and imagining the future breakthroughs bound to inspire the world," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "The James Webb Space Telescope is an unprecedented mission that is on the precipice of seeing the light from the first galaxies and discovering the mysteries of our universe," he said in a statement late on Saturday. The two wings of Webb's primary mirror had been folded to fit inside the nose cone of an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket prior to launch. After more than a week of other critical spacecraft deployments, the Webb team began remotely unfolding the hexagonal segments of the primary mirror, the largest ever launched into space. The world's largest and most complex space science telescope will now begin moving its 18 primary mirror segments to align the telescope optics.

"Webb's successful deployment exemplifies the best of what NASA has to offer: the willingness to attempt bold and challenging things in the name of discoveries still unknown," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate in NASA Headquarters in Washington. Soon, Webb will also undergo a third mid-course correction burn -- one of three planned to place the telescope precisely in orbit around the second Lagrange point, commonly known as L2, nearly 1 million miles from Earth. This is Webb's final orbital position, where its sunshield will protect it from light from the Sun, Earth, and Moon that could interfere with observations of infrared light. Webb is designed to peer back over 13.5 billion years to capture infrared light from celestial objects, with much higher resolution than ever before, and to study our own solar system as well as distant worlds.

NASA's Webb Telescope unfolds primary mirror, set for big action

Washington, Jan 9 (IANS): NASA's James Webb Space Telescope team has successfully deployed its 21-foot, gold-coated primary mirror, completing the final stage of all major spacecraft deployments to prepare for science operations in deeper space. A joint effort with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency, the Webb mission will explore every phase of cosmic history -- from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. "NASA achieved another engineering milestone decades in the making. While the journey is not

Young inventor develops 'smart army camp' to ensure safety of personnel

Bengaluru, Jan 10: The need for skilling and upskilling reached a new high amid the pandemic and in 2022, big data analytics, along with AI/ML, are forecast to be most in-demand skills in India, a new report showed on Monday. With rapid tech adoption across industries and entirely tech-enabled sectors such as IT and BFSI, the role of AI and Machine learning will only continue to grow in 2022, with a significant increase in the demand for related roles, according to online recruiting platform Monster. Industry reports suggest that AI/machine learning investments in India will continue to grow at a CAGR of 33.49 per cent till 2023. To enhance customer engagement, more and more organisations are adopting chat bots which are forecast to empower approximately 45 per cent of organisations' customer support services by 2022. "The future of work is location-agnostic and hybrid, with increased skilling initiatives being undertaken by both employers and employees," said Sekhar Garisa, CEO, Monster. com, a Quess company. Leading tech-enabled industries such as IT, FinTech, BFSI, and crypto will continue to flourish with talent demand spikes. "It is also interesting to note that employee flexibility would be critical towards retaining talent in the future, and the Great Shuffle is a reinforcement of how the

huge demand in the jobs market is opening the door for employees to select a career of their choice," Garisa added. The Indian fintech market is expanding rapidly, and is estimated to become the third largest market in the world by 2025. According to the annual trends report, Indian IT has continued to hire through the course of the pandemic, and will exhibit similar trends in 2022. "It is encouraging to note that the IT industry is forecast to grow 7 per cent in the current year, and likely to see a gross employee addition of around 450,000 in the second half of FY22," said the report. The top skills organisations are on the lookout for are data science, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, Blockchain and machine learning.

"The demand for sales professionals is estimated to increase especially in industries such as fintech, retail, e-commerce and social commerce," the findings showed. With a number of employees preferring remote working and staying in their hometowns, more and more organisations are considering setting up smaller offices in tier 2 cities or utilising co-working spaces to provide employees with better resources and access to technology. This would, in turn, lead to an increased demand to hire across tier 2 cities in the coming months. "Hiring for freshers has picked up over the last three months of the year, and is estimated to increase considerably in 2022. The continuing emergence of startups will further contribute to the demand for entry level professionals across industries," the report noted.

for the policy changea, according to an army spokesman quoted in a report by Tamedia newspaper. WhatsApp is the most popular messenger application among 16- to 64-year-olds in Switzerland, according to local surveys. Such concerns over the use of foreign mobile applications by army officials have been raised in India too as they might compromise security. After the Centre banned several Chinese mobile apps over security concerns in 2020, the Indian Army asked its personnel to delete 89 apps, including Facebook, PUBG, Zoom, Instagram, Snapchat and Tik

Tok, etc, along with several dating apps. The Indian Army has now launched a contemporary messaging application called 'ASIGMA' (Army Secure IndiGeneous Messaging Application). The application can be used on mobile phones using the internal army network. "The application is being deployed on the Army's internal network as a replacement for the Army Wide Area Network (AWAN) messaging application which has been in service for the past 15 years," according to the defence ministry.

Swiss army bans WhatsApp use over security concerns London/New Delhi, Jan 8: Citing privacy concerns, the Swiss army has banned the use of Meta-owned WhatsApp among other popular messaging services by army personnel. The army staff has been asked to use encrypted Swiss messaging app 'Threema' instead, reports www. swissinfo. Apart from WhatsApp, the Swiss army has also banned the use of Signal and Telegram. According to reports, the primary concern appears to be the "ability of authorities in Washington to access data stored by companies that fall under US jurisdiction, as described in the US CLOUD Act". "The CLOUD Act obliges service providers under US jurisdiction to comply with search warrants, regardless of where servers are located," according to reports. Since Threema is based in Switzerland, it would not be obliged to respond to such search warrants. Threema also operates in line with the European Union's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). "Data security is one of the reasons

Ransomware attack shuts thousands of school websites globally

Meerut, Jan 9 (IANS): An inventor at the Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) of the MIET Engineering College in Meerut has prepared a smart camp for the soldiers, which will not only protect those posted on the icy heights from the cold, but will also help them to check the movement of the enemy sitting at a distance of up to 50 km away from them. Developed by Shyam Chaurasia, an engineering student, this Chargeable Smart Army Camp has small heater plates installed in it. Intrestingly, there is no need for solar power or electricity to heat them, rather the soldiers can charge these heater plates with their own hands using a physical rotated charger. According to Chaurasia, the camp also has a battery for backup purpose -- thus the electricity can be stored and used when needed. www.indianabroad.news

Similarly, the hi-tech sensors fitted in it will detect the movement of enemies from 50 km away and will also alert the soldiers living in the camp -- thus will help them to act swiftly. The smart camp has four human radio sensors that will help in conveying the information about the approaching enemy to the soldiers. These sensors are installed around the camp like land mines and are connected to the camp through radio frequency. Chaurasia says that many times enemies have attacked the CRPF camps at night. There is always this possibility of more damage to life and property in such attacks. "I read about such incidents in newspapers... Then, I got the idea." A prototype project of the camp was prepared with the help of the college and the ACIC, Meerut. Chaurasia says that funding was

received from ACIC-MIET Meerut to prepare the camp. This made the project even better. Approximately Rs 24,000 was spent on the project. He says that "if I get more assistance, I can make this camp bulletproof also". MIET Vice-Chairman Puneet Agarwal said that there is an Idea Innovation Research Lab in the Atal Community Innovation Centre of the college. "Chaurasia's project would ensure safety of our soldiers. A letter has been written to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister for the cooperation and guidance over the project made by him". Mahadev Pandey, Scientific Officer of Gorakhpur said that this innovation is a good option meant for the security of the soldiers engaged in the defence of the country. If given a chance, it may prove to be even more effective, he said.

San Francisco, Jan 8: In a serious ransomware attack, hackers have hit an education technology company, Finalsite, shutting down thousands of school websites and nearly 5,000 alone in the US. Finalsite provides school districts with website design, hosting and content management solutions. In a statement, the company said that they continue to restore more websites and core functionality every hour. "We remain committed to restoration, as quickly and safely as possible. Our team is actively monitoring performance and security across our infrastructure, and we will continue to work through the night and weekend until every site is back online," the company said on Friday. Earlier this week, at least 8,000 schools globally, hosted by Finalsite, discovered that they were no longer accessible or displayed errors. "Our team identified the presence of ransomware on certain systems in our environment," the company said. "We immediately took steps to secure our systems and to contain

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the activity. We quickly launched an investigation into the event with the assistance of third-party forensic specialists, and began proactively taking certain systems offline," it added. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that 5,000 of its total 8,000 global customers -- including school districts in Kansas City,

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Illinois and Missouri -- are affected by the incident. One Reddit user said the incident also prevented some schools from sending email notifications about school closures due to Covid-19 outbreaks. "Our team continues to make progress restoring functionality to websites," said the company.

SPORTS

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Djokovic saga has been damaging on all fronts, says ATP Sky Sports

New York, Jan 11: The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) -- the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits -- has said that the Novak Djokovic court saga has "been damaging on all fronts", including for the world No. 1 tennis player's well-being and preparation for the Australian Open. The reigning Australian Open champion on Monday won the legal battle in his bid to remain in Australia, with a court ordering his immediate release from immigration detention. The judge hearing the Serbian player's case ordered Djokovic be released and his passport and other travel documents returned to him, rekindling his chance to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open. On Tuesday (IST), ATP issued a statement saying that the tennis body "continues to strongly recommend vaccination for all players on the ATP Tour", in a clear indication

Sindhu among sports stars that call on world leaders to ensure equitable access to Covid vaccines IANS

Lausanne, Jan 11 (IANS): Olympians and Paralympians from across the world, including India's two-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu, have called on the world leaders to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. In a video produced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), athletes called on world leaders and decision-makers to ensure free and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. The call comes a few weeks before the start of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, which will take place from February 4-20. Launched by the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday, the video features more than 20 Olympians and Paralympians from all corners of the world. These include Olympic champions Federica Pellegrini (swimming, Italy) and Seung-min Ryu (table tennis, South Korea), three-time Olympic medallist Pau Gasol (basketball, Spain), two-time Olympic medallist Maja Martyna Wloszczowska (cycling, Poland), and Humphrey Kayange (rugby, Kenya),

who are all members of the IOC At'letes' Commission. Many other Olympic and Paralympic champions are also included: Olympic champions Valerie Adams (athletics, New Zealand), Alistair Brownlee (triathlon, UK), Osea Kolinisau (rugby, Fiji), Gianmarco Tamberi (athletics, Italy), and IOC President Thomas Bach (fencing); Paralympic champions Martina Caironi (athletics, Italy), Ellie Cole (swimming, Australia), Jakub Krako (Alpine skiing, Slovakia), Tatyana McFadden (athletics, Nordic skiing, USA), Jitske Visser (wheelchair basketball, The Netherlands) and Annika Zeyen (cycling, Germany). Other athletes featured are: Olympic medallists Danka Bartekova (shooting, Slovakia), PV Sindhu (badminton, India) and Luiza Zlotkowska (speed skating, Poland); Olympians Gaby Ahrens (shooting, Namibia), Jonathan Borlée (athletics, Belgium), Uche Eke (gymnastic, Nigeria), AnnChristin Goliaß (sailing, Germany), Alex Hua Tian (equestrian, China), Niluka Karunaratne (badminton, Sri Lanka), Silvia Mittermüller (snowboarding, Germany), Alexi

Pappas (athletics, Greece), Akiko Thomson (swimming, Philippines) and Gabriela Trana (athletics, Costa Rica), the IOC informed in a release. In their message, the athletes stressed the importance of staying united to continue to fight the pandemic effectively: "As athletes, we can bring the world together through the power of sport. Now, more than ever, we stand united to use that power of sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Movement to help win the battle against COVID because we go faster, we aim higher, we are stronger when we stand together". They continue: "We have been given a way forward with a safe and effective vaccine that can help save precious lives and protect our friends… and our families. So we call on governments, foundations, philanthropists, health organisations and social businesses to join hands in giving free and equal access to the vaccine for everybody across the world to pledge our collective responsibility to protect those who are the most vulnerable because everyone on this planet has a right to live a healthy life. We are stronger together when we stand in solidarity and care for each other." Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, has been joined by world leaders in calling for 70 percent of the populations of all countries to be vaccinated by the start of July 2022, in order to end the acute phase of the pandemic. This is an effort by the IOC to involve the worlds top sportspersons to motivate the world leaders to ensure that vaccine is available to everyone.

Ashes defeat: ECB could limit England cricketers' involvement in IPL London, Jan 12: The Ashes debacle could have repercussions for England cricketers playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reportedly planning to limit their involvement in the lucrative tournament. Several England cricketers, including their top batters such as Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, and all-rounders Sam Curran and Chris Woakes, were rested for the country's two-Test series against New Zealand because of their involvement in the IPL. England lost the two-Test series to the Blackcaps 0-1 in 2021. A report in The Mirror quoting Times on Wednesday said that the ECB is conducting a thorough review of the Ashes loss, with managing director Ashley Giles preparing a list of recommendations to improve the "Test team's fortunes". England are 0-3 down in the five-Test Ashes in Australia, with the tourists losing the Brisbane, Adelaide and MCG Tests by nine wickets, 275 runs and an innings and 14 runs respectively. England's www.indianabroad.news

last-wicket pair of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad miraculously managed to draw the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The fifth and final Test of the series begins at the Blundstone Arena in Hobart on January 14. The reports said that the ECB was planning to restricting the cricketers' involvement in the IPL to "just the first few weeks". The ECB is concerned that IPL will be of longer duration from this year onwards as two more teams have been added to the tournament, taking the number to 10. This year the IPL will likely overlap with the England's Test summer, with the knockout stages "likely to clash with their first Test against New Zealand at Lord's in early June", the report said. So far, only Buttler (Rajasthan Royals) and Moeen (Chennai Super Kings) have been retained by their respective franchises for the 2022 edition, but several England Test players' names will figure in the IPL mega auction next month, given that two new franchises are entering the

tournament. The report said that England players signed in the auction will be asked to "cut short their time in the IPL so that they can play some first-class cricket before the New Zealand series begins". Former England skipper Michael Atherton has been a vocal critic of the ECB for allowing players to play in the IPL at the expense of national duty. "The leading multi-format players are paid seven-figure sums, but, incredibly, the ECB washes its hands of them for two months of the year during the Indian Premier League," he wrote in the Times. "The players should be told that, while the ECB will be accommodating of the request to play in IPL, a 12-month contract is exactly that, and the granting of a no-objection certificate to play in IPL and other franchised competitions is contingent on it being in the best interests of the England team. Players should not miss international duty to play in the IPL, nor be rested and rotated to allow them to play elsewhere."

that it wants all the players to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Djokovic has not revealed his vaccination status and has stated that he has been granted medical exemption by Tennis Australia to compete in the opening Grand Slam of the year. "The ATP fully respects the sacrifices the people of Australia have made since the onset of COVID-19 and the stringent immigration policies that have been put in place. Complications in recent days related to player entry into Australia have however highlighted the need for clearer understanding, communication and application of the rules. "In travelling to Melbourne, it's clear Novak Djokovic believed he had been granted a necessary medical exemption in order to comply with entry regulations. The series of events leading to Monday's court hearing have been damaging on all fronts, including for Novak's

well-being and preparation for the Australian Open. Player medical exemption requests are made independently of ATP, however we have been in constant contact with Tennis Australia to seek clarity throughout this process. We welcome the outcome of Monday's hearing and look forward to an exciting few weeks of tennis ahead," ATP said. "More broadly, ATP continues to strongly recommend vaccination for all players on the ATP Tour, which we believe is essential for our sport to navigate the pandemic. This is based on scientific evidence supporting the health benefits provided and to comply with global travel regulations, which we anticipate will become stricter over time. We are encouraged that 97 per cent of the Top 100 players are vaccinated leading into this year's Australian Open."

Teenager Bharath Subramaniyam becomes India's 73rd chess Grandmaster New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS): Fourteenyear-old Bharath Subramaniyam on Sunday became India's 73rd chess Grandmaster, after completing his third and final GM norm at Vergani Cup Open in Italy. Subramaniyam scored 6.5 points from nine rounds along with four others to finish seventh overall in the event. He secured his third GM norm here and also touched the requisite 2,500 (Elo) mark. Notably, to become a GM, a player has to secure three GM norms and cross the live rating of 2,500 Elo points. The All India Chess Federation (AICF) also congratulated the teenager on his feat. "Fourteen-year-old Bharath Subramaniyam becomes the 73rd Grandmaster of the country after completing his final GM Norm and crossing the 2500 rating at Vergani Cup Open in Italy. All India Chess Federation congratulates Bharath for the achievement," AICF wrote on its website. Meanwhile, another Indian Grandmaster MR Lalith Babu also took part in the Vergani Cup Open

and won the title on Sunday in Italy. Lalith seeded 9th in the tournament, scored seventh points out of a possible 9, and tied for the pole position along with second seed GM Niemann Hans Moke of the USA, Vitaliy Bernadskiy of Ukraine, and

Nurgyul Salimova of Bulgaria. But a better tie break score helped Lalith to finish as champion while Moke finished as the first runner-up. Top seed Anton Korobov of Ukraine finished at fifth position.

what I have been able to do for the team when there is a tricky scenario. I take a lot of pride and motivation to be in those moments and have nothing to worry about because you want to leave with impactful performances in the team and my best effort is always to do that. I truly believe I don't need to prove myself to anyone. When you are in the position you are going to be judged by the outside world, which is constantly their job. I don't look at myself like that." Kohli also said that the experience which senior batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane bring to the team is 'priceless'. After a long lean patch, both Pujara and Rahane scored 53 and 58 respectively while sharing a stand of 111 runs in the second innings at Johannesburg. "If you look at the last Test especially in the second, both Jinx (Rahane) and Pujara, the way they batted in the second innings, that experience is priceless for us. Especially, in a series like this where you know these guys have done the job in the past. When you are playing overseas

in tough conditions, these guys will always step up with impact performances. We saw that in Australia, the last time we were there and seen that in the last Test as well. These are crucial knocks in crucial scenarios. That has a lot of value." Kohli signed off by saying that the transition in middle order should happen naturally rather than being forced upon. "I cannot pinpoint when we will have a transition. The game in itself pans out in such a way that things happen naturally. It can't be forced. Conversations cannot be forced about transition. We should let transitions unfold naturally instead of forcing it on an individual." "I feel transitions do happen, it cannot be forced around, something which I felt and experienced. When it has to happen, everyone knows which direction the team is moving and it is a very natural progression. We should leave the transition to happen itself and not necessarily force individuals in difficult or tricky situations. I definitely, truly believe in that."

SA v IND: I truly believe I don't need to prove myself to anyone, says Kohli on his form Cape Town, Jan 10: India Test captain Virat Kohli believes that he doesn't need to prove himself to anyone and is happy at following his processes. Kohli, who didn't feature in the second Test due to an upper back spasm, has been in a lean patch of form and hasn't scored a century in international cricket since November 2019. "It is not the first time. Let's not get away from reality, it has happened a few times in my career. England in 2014 was one of those phases. The thing is I don't look at myself from the lens that the outside world looks at me. The standards I have been compared with have been set by myself. So, they are not an occurrence from outside. More than anyone else I take a lot of pride in wanting to do the best thing and performing regularly for the team," said Kohli in the pre-match press conference on Monday. "In sport sometimes things don't go as you want but as a player and batsman I have been involved in very important moments and partnerships in the past calendar year. Eventually, those moments have been crucial for us in many Test matches. Sometimes your focal point changes, if you keep looking and judging at yourself on the basis of numbers and milestones, you'll never be happy or content with whatever you are doing," added Kohli, who has got 27 Test hundreds. He further gave an insight into his current state of mind as a batter. "I take a lot of pride and happiness in the process that I am following. I am at peace with how I am playing and

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BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Record Breaker: India witnessed Former IAS officer Thomas Mathew 2,224 deals worth $115 bn in 2021 to pen Ratan Tata's biography

New Delhi, Jan 6: India reported a record 2,224 deals amounting to $115 billion in 2021, according to the Annual Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker. In 2021, the total deals value jumped worth $37 billion year-on-year. In the M&A segment, 499 deals were signed worth $42.9 billion, while 1,624 deals worth $48.2 billion were inked in the private equity category.

In addition, 101 deals worth $23.9 billion were signed in initial public offerings and qualified institutional placements segments. "The year 2021 saw 14 deals valued at over a billion dollars each, 15 deals valued between $500 million and $999 million and 135 deals valued between $100 million and $499 million. While these deals accounted for only 8 per cent of the total deal volumes, they constituted 80 per cent of values," Grant Thornton said in its report. Of the total, 76 per cent of deals were from the domestic segment and the rest 24 per cent from the cross-border segment, it added. "In the cross-border segment, 48 per cent were inbound and 53 per

cent outbound. Inbound deal values were led by investments coming from Europe, while Asian countries garnered majority outbound values," the report said. Sector-wise, banking and financial services, followed by IT & ITes industry, energy, and manufacturing sectors witnessed high-value transactions in 2021, it added. On the private equity segment, the report said: "Despite the stress around Covid-19 and other geopolitical tensions continuing from 2020, 2021 witnessed one-and-a-half times growth in investment volumes compared to 2020, attracting a considerable portion of funding from overseas investors."

Omicron Blow: Rupee expected to weaken on inflation, infection woes Mumbai, Jan 8 (IANS): Likely surge in bond yields along with rising Covid cases are expected to weaken the Indian rupee during the upcoming week. Besides, persistently high energy costs could subdue the rupee bulls. However, re-commencement of FIIs inflows will arrest any major fall in rupee's value vis-a-vis the US dollar. "Rising trade deficit as well as concerns over US Fed's taper measures and rising yields can put pressure on rupee in coming year," said Sajal Gupta, Head, Forex and Rates at Edelweiss Securities. "Crude oil too can play spoil sport if it moves towards the 85 levels. Omicoron concerns too may dampen the sentiment."

Last week, rupee was rangebound to close at 74.31 to a USD. In that period, inflows from Reliance's US dollar bond issuance kept rupee tethered near 74.30 despite the surge in dollar index and higher crude oil prices. "Next week, surging bond yields, fears of higher covid19 infections, high energy costs and RBI's intervention could spoil the party of rupee bulls," said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities. "We expect the rupee to trade between 74.20 to 74.90 next week with a weakening bias." According to Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services: "Next

week, on the domestic front, market participants will be keeping an eye on the inflation and industrial production number. An uptick in inflation could raise rate hike prospects by the RBI but at the same time a disappointing industrial production could dampen rate hike hope. "From the US, focus will be on the Fed Chairman's testimony, inflation and retail sales number. A hawkish statement from the Fed Chairman and better-than-expected retail sales number could extend gains for the greenback." The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is slated to release the macro-economic data points of IIP and CPI on January 12.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 7 (IANS): Former senior bureaucrat and retired IAS officer Thomas Mathew will be penning the biography of Indian industrialist and Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata. Mathew retired from service as additional secretary to then President Pranab Mukherjee in 2016. He had worked in Kerala in a few departments and was a favourite official of Congress veteran K. Karunakaran, here in his heydays. According to sources in the know of things HarperCollins has won the rights to publish the work to be spread over two editions at a cost of Rs 2 crore.

While the publisher has got the rights only for the print edition, the OTT rights and for film scripts and

such other things, Mathew will hold the rights.

Business volume down 45% due to third wave, says CAIT New Delhi, Jan 8: Increase in Covid cases along with imposition of various restrictions by different states have had an adverse impact on business and economic activities across the country, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said on Saturday. According to the CAIT, the situation has led "business of various verticals of goods" to go down by an average of 45 per cent in the last 10 days. The Confederation also urged the Central government and the chief ministers to take all possible steps to prevent further Covid spread. Besides, it cited the "double whammy" of lower intra-regional trade due to the restrictions and subdued local buyers' sentiments. "The main reason for this decline is

the panic among the people due to the third wave of Corona," the CAIT said. "Reluctant mood of traders to come to the distribution centres from neighbouring cities, money crunch, large sums of money getting stuck in credit and imposition of various Covid restrictions without consulting the traders are some of the factors that have hit the businesses," it said. The CAIT also expects a major business decline during the wedding season. "During the wedding season, which will start on the day of Makar Sankranti on January 14 and go on for two-and-a-half months, business of about Rs 4 lakh crore was expected," it said.

"But due to the various restrictions imposed by the state governments across the country, a steep drop is seen in the business of nearly about 75 per cent," it added. "Now it is estimated that in the next two-and-a-half months, there is a possibility of about Rs 1.25 lakh crore only in this business vertical," it added.

BITCOIN UPDATES Victims of $200 mn BitMart crypto Tesla owner claims he mined $800 crypto per month using EV hack still waiting for refunds

San Francisco, Jan 10: A Tesla owner has revealed that he was making $800 every month using his Model 3 EV to mine Bitcoin and Ethereum. According fo CNBC, Siraj Raval said through 2021 he made $400 to $800

a month, mining cryptocurrency using his car. He said that he was making $800 a month when the price of ETH peaked last year. Raval connected a series of GPUs to the "frunk" of his Tesla. The car's large battery essentially acted as the source of power that may comparatively help reduce maintenance costs. However, it also affects the warranty of Tesla cars but Raval said that it is worth it. When the official talks more about this to Raval for using the Tesla car, he said, adding that "it is a computer with wheels, it is too easy to hack

into the computer of the car". His setup includes free bitcoin mining software on his Mac mini M1, which is powered by plugging an inverter into the 12-volt power socket in the center console of his Model 3. Apart from Raval, Alejandro de la Torre, who mines bitcoin, said that mining from a Tesla is just like connecting to any other power source. "The main component is the price of the electricity. If it's cheaper doing it through an electric vehicle, then so be it."

More than a third of urban Indians oppose the upcoming Cryptocurrency Bill

New Delhi, Jan 5 (IANS): As the government readies a Bill on cryptocurrencies, YouGov's latest data shows more than a third of urban Indians (36 per cent) are not in favour of this move. Just as many (35 per cent) are unsure while three in ten (29 per cent) support this decision. The Bill that is yet to receive the cabinet's nod, has already swept India's digital currency market by a wave of nervousness and confusion. Currently, only a third of urban Indians claim to own a cryptocurrency (33 per cent) while the majority (67 per cent) do not. Data shows that opposition towards the "Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021" is higher among those who own a www.indianabroad.news

crypto compared to those who do not (52 per cent vs 28 per cent). Among crypto investors, the biggest concern around the Bill is about cryptos being heavily taxed (27 per cent) as well as a ban on private currencies they have invested in (26 per cent). Some (23 per cent) fear losing their invested money and just one is ten (10 per cent) are happy about the crypto market being finally legalised. Thinking about their future investments, more than half (51 per cent) of current crypto owners said they will wait for the market to stabilise before taking a decision. Half of this proportion (26 per cent) will continue or increase their investments in crypto. One in six (16 per cent) said they will stop investing and sell their

digital money, while a few plan to switch to other investment tools (4 per cent). Among those optimistic about cryptocurrencies, three in five (60 per cent) think digital currency has a bright future and an early adoption of cryptocurrency will help them gain an advantage. Many think it is a good long-term investment (45 per cent) while others just want to diversify their portfolio (35 per cent). Along with seeking to regulate the crypto market in India, the Bill also aims to create an official digital currency to be issued by the RBI. This news is welcomed by urban Indians and a majority (61 per cent) said they are likely to invest in digital currency if it is launched by RBI, showing that people are not averse to the idea of investing in digital currency as long as it is legitimate. Only 11 per cent said they are unlikely to invest in RBI issued digital coins, while 27 per cent still have not made up their mind. Data was collected online by YouGov Omnibus among 1,225 respondents in the country between November 30th-December 7th, 2021 using YouGov's panel of over 15 million people worldwide. Data is representative of the adult online population in the country.

San Francisco, Jan 10 (IANS): Victims of a $200 million hack of popular cryptocurrency exchange BitMart are still waiting for their money even after over a month since the exchange was hacked. According to reports, BitMart had promised a full reimbursement to the victims of the platform-wide $200 million hack. Hackers stole various crypto tokens on December 4, after using a stolen privacy key to gain access to one of BitMart's hot wallets, reports CNBC. Shortly after the hacking, BitMart announced that it would use its own funding "to cover the incident and compensate affected users". BitMart said in a statement that it would use its own money to reimburse victims of the large-scale

security breach, which the exchange blamed on a stolen private key. "Many BitMart customers say they haven't received any form of reimbursement," the report said on Sunday. It remains unclear how BitMart plans on reimbursing all affected users. BitMart said it was talking to multiple project teams to confirm the most reasonable solutions such as token swaps. "No user assets will be harmed. We are now doing our best to retrieve security set-ups and our operation. We need time to make proper arrangements and your kind understanding during this period will be highly appreciated," the platform had said.

Of all the tokens stolen in the BitMart hack, data from blockchain security company, PeckShield, showed that SafeMoon token was hit hardest. SafeMoon holders have taken their fight to Twitter with the #WenBitMart hashtag, demanding the return of their funds.

CryptoWire introduces India's first global index of Cryptocurrencies IC15 New Delhi, Jan 3: With a view to empowering knowledge on crypto and blockchain ecosystem, CryptoWire, a global crypto super app which is a special business unit of TickerPlant, Monday announced the launch of India's first index of Cryptocurrencies - IC15, which is a rule-based broad market index by market capitalisation. The IC15 tracks and measures the performance of the top 15 widely traded liquid cryptocurrencies listed on leading crypto exchanges of the world, the company stated. Over the past years, cryptocurrencies have emerged as an asset class in themselves, gaining wider acceptance and drawing people's interests. An index that captures over 80 per cent of market movement is, thus, a fundamental market tracking and assessing tool to base decisions on and enhance transparency. CryptoWire's Index Governance Committee, comprising domain experts, industry practitioners, and academicians, will maintain, monitor, and administer the index while rebalancing it every quarter. The Base Value of the index is set at

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10,000 and the base date is April 1, 2018. Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Litecoin, Binance Coin, Chainlink, Polkadot, Uniswap, Dogecoin, Solana, Terra, Avalanche, and Shia Inu will be the constituents of IC15. Launching IC15, CryptoWire Managing Director and CEO Jigish Sonagara said, "With the launch of India's first index of crypto IC15, we intend to complete the knowledge circle for the entire crypto and blockchain eco-system. This will not only push the 'learn before earn' initiative but also serve the industry with yet another powerful intervention. At CryptoWire, our approach is to facilitate market development and mitigate risk to a great degree by presenting all possible tools to evaluate possibilities and make decisions." The Mumbai-based company said IC15 has been designed to provide insights into crypto mining and the true benchmark and a mirror of the underlying crypto market, a barometer of the industry in a sense, with a diversified representation of

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overall market sentiments. It presents an easy solution to follow for having a diversified portfolio, acts as a performance benchmark for fund managers, facilitates accurate replication of the index, and be the preferred index for the creation of index-linked products like index funds, ETFs among others, and positions the index for efficient derivatives trading in the cryptocurrency trading marketplace, CrytoWire stated. "We want all participants to utilise, to the fullest, this research-oriented, technology-powered opportunity that we present to them for tracking the market. CryptoWire is positioned to emerge as the partner of the industry to spread knowledge, research, and information and help participants make informed decisions. IC15 is another step towards this goal," Sonagara added. The index enables crypto enthusiasts, investors, and investment managers to monitor the performance of cryptocurrencies in the global markets.

HEALTH

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Pollution levels that dipped during 2020 HEALTH BLOG lockdown threaten to bounce back: CSE Nutrition and Natural Health

IANS

New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS): With the levels of pollution rising this year, the downward dip, induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020, will not persist, a new analysis of regional pollution trends done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed. "This analysis of real time air quality data for the period 2019-2021 shows that the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 already rising. But in many cases,

the levels are still lower than 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend in this region," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at CSE. As a result, the eastern states of India i.e. Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha -- are now feeling the sting of increased winter air pollution, the study showed. As the winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January,

Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha are affected mostly during this time when winter inversion and the cool and calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high. "Even though real time air quality monitoring has begun to expand in these states to provide more up to date and real time information on air quality, there are serious concerns around missing data and gaps that makes proper risk assessment difficult. In some stations of Bihar and Odisha, data availability is so low that the trend cannot be assessed. Quality control of data is necessary," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at Urban Data Analytics Lab, CSE. This new analysis of real-time pollution data by the CSE is a part of the air quality tracker initiative of its Urban Data Analytics Lab, whose objective is to understand the trend and magnitude of pollution in different regions that have real-time air quality monitoring systems. This is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration for the period January 1, 2019, to January 4, 2022, which covers 29 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 12 cities in the above mentioned three states.

50% of Europe will get Omicron infection within weeks: WHO

IANS

London, Jan 12: About 50 per cent of the European population will contract the Omicron variant of Covid within the next six to eight weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. According to Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Europe director, a "west-to-east tidal wave" of Omicron was sweeping across the region, on top of a surge in the Delta variant, BBC reported. The projection was based on the seven million new cases reported across Europe in the first week of 2022. The number of infections has more than doubled in a two-week period.

"Today, the Omicron variant represents a new west-to-east tidal wave, sweeping across the region on top of the Delta surge that all countries were managing until late 2021," Dr Kluge told a news conference. He quoted the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation as forecasting that "more than half of the population in the region will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks". "How each country now responds must be informed by its epidemiological situation, available resources, vaccination uptake status and socio-economic context," he added.

While Omicron is less likely to make people seriously ill than previous Covid variants, it is still highly contagious and can infect people even if they are fully vaccinated. With Omicron spreading rapidly to a record number of people, health systems in several countries are left under severe strain. The UK, on Monday, reported a further 142,224 confirmed cases of the virus and 77 deaths. A number of hospitals have declared "critical" incidents due to staff absences and rising pressures caused by Covid, BBC report said. Last week, France's Health Minister Olivier Veran warned that January would be tough for hospitals. He said that Omicron patients were taking up "conventional" beds in hospitals, while Delta was putting a strain on ICU departments. Poland reported that 100,000 people had died from the virus in the country since the start of the pandemic. Poland now has the sixth-highest mortality rate in the world from Covid-19, and almost 40 per cent of its population remains unvaccinated. In Russia, 305 known cases of the Omicron variant had been detected so far, and the daily number of new Covid cases could reach 100,000, the report said.

Hundreds of Covid positive people participating in Mekedatu padayatra: K'taka Home Min Bengaluru, Jan 12: Slamming the Congress for organising a ten-day 'padayatra' demanding speedy implementation of Mekedatu project by the ruling BJP in Karnataka, state Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Wednesday stated that hundreds of participants in the rally are Covid positive. "I have information that hundreds of people who are taking part in the padayatra are Covid positive. Some of the leaders who participated have already tested positive and under treatment. Several of the leaders are participating despite testing positive," he alleged. Before the 'padayatra', the number of cases in Ramnagar and Mandya districts were very less. After the inauguration of padayatra, both districts are witnessing a surge in Covid cases, he said. Araga Jnanendra had earlier said that Congress leaders will have to take responsibility if the situation of lockdown arises in the state because of the event. He had also stated that the government will make a decision after discussion to prevent padayatra from entering Bengaluru. Some of the statements by the Congress leaders are detrimental to the interests of the state on the Mekedatu project as the matter is being taken up by the Supreme www.indianabroad.news

Court soon, he stated. If the surge in cases continues, there may be a situation of imposing lockdown in the state. Some of the states in the country have already imposed a lockdown. However, lockdown is our last option, he stated. However, the 'padayatra' continued on the fourth day. Congress state President D.K. Shivakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah are leading the protest march participated by thousands of people and party workers. The padayatra was inaugurated on January 9 and will conclude on the 19th.

Careers & Student Success Stories

By Vahini Panda any of our students have forged excellent careers for themselves. Some of them have also thought outside the box and explored areas or different ways in which they can offer their services. Here are some of their stories.

Jacqueline, has completed the Advanced Certificate in Nutritional Counselling and has started a career in Nutrition Consulting. She uses mostly online approach to her consulting, targeting clients living in remote and rural areas. She develops a rapport with her clients by constantly checking on their progress and coaching them towards better healthy food choices and lifestyle. She uses zoom for her consults. She finds that this is a much safer and accessible style of consulting during Covid times with constant lockdowns and restrictions on travel. Her business has done extremely well in the past 1 year.

and now works as a Natural Health Consultant and also sells health food products. She tailors her consulting around the needs of her clients and helps them not just by addressing their concerns but also giving them alternative choices of treatment like herbal remedies, homeopathy and Aromatherapy. She also generates more income for herself by selling any appropriate health foods or supplements to her clients as she is also a supplier.

Fiona is a Fitness Coach and has completed her Certificate in Human Nutrition so she can provide additional services for her clients by doing diet plans and providing them with Nutrition Coaching. As this goes hand in hand with her fitness coaching business, she achieves optimum results for her clients, so this helps her gains more clients and income. Her clients are also happy with the positive results they are achieving.

Christine has completed the Advanced Certificate in Naturopathy

Rachel has completed her Certificate in Naturopathy and started an online business selling a variety of lentils and grains. She believes that these are undervalued in terms of Nutrition and they need to be consumed more as part of regular diet especially in the western cuisines. She also is writing a book to share their nutritional value and benefits nutritionally.

Ben works with remote communities in areas which are 1000s of kilometres away from any facilities. He found a need in his community for nutritional and health & wellbeing advice. As most people don’t have any idea about it and the diet they consume and the lifestyle they follow is proving detrimental for their health. Ben has completed the Foundation Diploma in Natural Health and now works as a Nutritional and Naturopathic Healer in his community. About the Author: Vahini is the CEO and Founder of Health Academy Australia and Health Courses Australia. She is multi faceted in her skills and expertise which is backed by 20 years experience in the areas of education, health, ecommerce and Information Technology. She is a CEO, Passionate business owner, Author, Blogger, Nutritionist, Digital marketing expert and a Mum.

Booster doses of current vaccines may not be enough: WHO Geneva, Jan 12 (IANS): The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that current Covid-19 vaccines may need to be updated if they are to provide continued protection against emerging variants, including Omicron. WHO's Technical Advisory Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Composition (TAGCO-VAC), a group of 18 experts, on Tuesday said that although current vaccines provide a high level of protection against severe disease

and death caused by Variants Of Concern (VOC), future vaccines that can prevent infection and transmission need to be developed. In the meantime, the composition of current Covid-19 vaccines may need to be updated in order to protect against the evolution of the virus, Xinhua news agency reported. Such updates need to be based on strains that are genetically and antigenically close to the circulating

variants. They should also elicit "broad, strong, and long-lasting" responses in order to "reduce the need for successive booster doses," WHO added. The experts have encouraged Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers to provide data on the performance of current and Omicron-specific vaccines, to help decide when changes to vaccine composition may be required.

Maha: 2 men baffled as Covid tests are positive & negative in 24 hours Mumbai, Jan 12 (IANS): In these panicky coronavirus times, two persons from Mumbai and Thane this week got weird shockers on their Covid-19 infection status from a government lab, two private labs of the same company, and status on the Centre's portal. Within hours after they underwent their RT-PCR tests, the two jittery men were declared as both -- Covid-19 'Negative' and 'Positive' -- playing havoc with their lives, families, neighbourhood, offices and travel plans. On Monday, a Mumbai realtor Vijay P. Agarwal, 58, of Malad, who had to step out for some meetings, routinely checked his status on the Centre's Aarogya Setu portal and was aghast to find himself mentioned as 'Positive'. "I immediately shut myself in my room in self-isolation and underwent the RT-PCR test from the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) centre near my house to confirm my infection status. Yesterday, (Jan. 11), the BMC test came out 'Negative', creating further confusion," Agarwal fumed. A Thane resident, K.G., 40, who was due to fly to the Arabian Gulf last week, has narrated a similar harrowing experience this week. Like any law-abiding citizen, he

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underwent the pre-flight mandatory RT-PCR test at a reputed private lab and was relieved to find it as 'Negative', so he made preparations for his flight the next day (January 3). "That day, when I went to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, I was asked to do another RT-PCR test. Shockingly, that report came 'Positive' and I could not board the flight," rued K. G., declining to reveal his full identity, apprehending reprisals. Strangely, both the test results, received within a gap of barely 24 hours, were conducted by the same lab at their Thane branch and at the CSMIA. While Agarwal -- who has several heart-related comorbidities -- has recently taken the first jab of Covid-19 vaccine and is awaiting the second dose after around 45 days, K.G. was fully vaxxed a few months ago on account of his frequent foreign travels. After facing flak at home and the

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neighbourhood for the mega-scare, Agarwal has shot off an email to Aarogya Setu authorities seeking an explanation for their misleading status against his name, but no response has been received. As far as K.G. is concerned, he cooled his heels under home isolation for a week, underwent another RT-PCR test, which came 'Positive' on Tuesday and his foreign travel plans have been further nixed. Demanding action, the duo slammed the lab authorities for the "sheer negligence" leading to such contradictory RT-PCR test reports which create upheavals in the lives of the victims, with their scared families, neighbours and others shunning or boycotting them completely. For instance, K.G. mentioned how he is forced to rely on some friends to even send him his daily meals by a helper for the past 10 days and the coming few days till he hopefully tests 'Negative' in a reliable RT-PCR report, to enable him resume his international travel plans.

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

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TRAVEL

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Country Inn Hotels & Resorts introduces new brand identity and expansion plans IANS

Mr. Akhil Arora, Chief Operating Officer, Espire Group - Hospitality Division

ountry Inn Hotels & Resorts that own and operate mid-market hotels and resorts in well-established locations like Jim Corbett, Haridwar and Bhimtal, is all set to expand its footprint in more than 12 other locations in 2022, including Goa, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Varanasi and Vrindavan. The company recently launched a brand new logo and identity, and plan to have 20 hotels in the portfolio by the end of 2023. The most recent introduction to the portfolio was Country Inn Tarika Riverside Resort, Jim Corbett, brand’s second resort in the location. The refreshed logo representation with a lotus symbolizes warmth and hospitality which is the core ideology of the brand. Each Country Inn hotel display lush green nature in its unique backdrop and is set in natural junction flanked by great Himalayan Mountains, alongside tranquil lakes, in the midst of virgin

forests or bordering wildlife sanctuaries to offer friendly experiences and for redefining family holidays. The refreshed logo and identity also resonates with the brand’s vision of having hotels in serene destinations. IANSlife caught up with Akhil Arora, Chief Operating Officer, Espire Group – Hospitality Division to find out about the rebranding and the expansion plans amidst a third wave of the pandemic: Hospitality and travel was expecting a bumper year in 2022 with travel making a comeback… is this why the group is undertaking expansion to so many cities ? Arora: We are expanding because of the opportunity we see ahead of us, irrespective of the temporary disruption that is being caused by the pandemic. Growth of the Indian domestic market has seen an unwavering increase in last few years and our Country Inn Hotels & Resorts portfolio has mainly been dependent on domestic travel. As the third wave hopefully subsides soon, it is imperative that hotel companies be ready for the opportunity that lies in the future, so we remain ahead of the curve. With the world going in lockdowns and borders closing, is this a pragmatic move? Arora: For our Country Inn Hotels & Resorts brand, the focus has always been the domestic market and will largely remain so. With restrictions in international travel, domestic tourism will gain even more traction and we are getting ready to cater

to the increasing demand of our domestic guests. Our focus remains to provide high quality, personalized experiences and we are looking forward to a growing guest loyalty for our family oriented brand. What are the expectations for 2022 for the travel industry, as Corona continues to be a disrupter? Arora: Our top priority in these challenging times has been the safety of our guests and colleagues, and will continue to remain until this phase is completely over. Hospitality industry has shown resilience and we aim to come back stronger every time we have to take a pause. In last two years, many changes have been introduced by the hotels to ensure that we provide a safe, hygienic, highly sanitized stay. This will continue to inspire our guests’ confidence to travel and stay comfortably, when they choose our brand. Our colleagues across the resorts are 100 percent vaccinated, always focused to ensure that all required safety measures are in place and are getting ready for a brighter year ahead. Arora further states, “We are excited about our brand’s fresh vision, identity and the expansion plans. It’s a crucial time for the tourism industry and with the unwavering increase in domestic travel in last few years, we see an enormous potential for our Country Inn Hotels & Resorts brand. We plan to grow our portfolio exponentially, making it a leading mid-market resort brand known for its quality of service.”

Chaurasi Kuti which remained obscure for 29 yrs now hot fav of tourists

ishikesh, Jan 9 (IANS) Rishikesh is known as 'Yoga Nagari' across the world but you will be surprised to know that 'Chaurasi Kuti', the place that got Rishikesh recognition as Yoga City, itself remained in obscurity for 29-long years. We are talking about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the pioneer of transcendental meditation who founded Chaurasi Kuti, 84 igloo-shaped huts at Rishikesh in 1963. After Rajaji Tiger Reserve was established, entry of common man was prohibited in Shankaracharya Nagar (Chaurasi Kuti). Over the time forest grew there and the heritage structure lay in the state of ruins. But, after 29 years, when it was reopened for tourists, it gradually became their favourite destination. In 1961, Mahesh Yogi had taken 15 acres of land near Swarg Ashram Rishikesh on lease from the forest department. Here, he built 84 small huts and more than 100 caves with wonderful architecture and

developed this place as yoga centre for meditation. These huts are wonderful specimens of architecture and are earthquake resistant too. Besides Mahesh Yogi, Dr Swami Ram and Swami Shivanand were also known for imparting yoga education here. However, Chaurasi Kuti developed into a unique centre for meditation. In 1968, world-famous music band Beatles group visited this place to attend an advanced 'Transcendental Meditation' training course. Four members of the Beatles group -- George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon stayed here for a long time and composed many tunes and songs. After this, Rishikesh became a centre of attraction for foreign tourists and got recognition on the world stage as the international capital of Yoga. After Rajaji National Park came up and its boundaries were expanded in 1986, Chaurasi Kuti was just at

the fringe of the park area. Due to strict rules for traffic movement, and inability to get resources, Mahesh Yogi went to the Netherlands and handed over the Kuti to the Forest department. At the same time, entry of common man to the Kuti was prohibited. Due to lack of maintenance, the huts and caves were gradually reclaimed by nature after being abandoned and the entire campus lay in the state of ruins. Fro almost 29 years, this heritage structure remained in darkness. Many tourists used to come here to see this heritage associated with the Beatles group but they returned disappointed as they were not allowed to enter. On December 8, 2015, the Forest department cleaned and repaired this complex and reopened it for tourists. Since then, domestic and foreign tourist, students and elders are visiting the place after paying fee. After reopening of Chaurasi Kuti, the influx of tourists increased manifold. Recently, when record of last five years was presented by the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, it was found that this heritage campus is no less than a treasure. In the past six years, 1,39,176 foreign and Indian tourists visited Chaurasi Kuti and the Rajaji park administration has earned Rs 2,33,29,685 from the tourist fee. The coronavirus has also cast its shadow on the Kuti. When Churasi Kuti was opened for the first time in 2015, a total of 4,975 tourists arrived there by March 2016. In the financial year 2016-2017, a total 9,675 tourist footfalls were recorded, in 2017-18, a total 18,313 tourist footfalls while in 2018-19, a total 30,047 tourist footfalls were recorded. In 2019-20, highest number, 42,233 tourists visited the Kuti but in March 2020, it was closed due to coronavirus scare. On October 16, 2020, when the campus was reopened, the number of tourists visiting here declined. After reopening the Kuti, tourists facilities were expanded. Range officer Dheer Singh informed that Herbal Garden and Navgrah Vatika were recently established in the Chaurasi Kuti. Besides this, arrangements have been made for drinking water, nature path, bio toilet, bamboo hut, solar street light and music system.

5 beach resorts you should experience in India!

Escape from the world of chaos and dive into scenic beauty

Travellers who love to stay by the beach for peace and rejuvenation should check out these private beach resorts. Whether its a getaway with family or your partner, these boutique properties won't disappoint you. Munjoh Resort in Andaman and Nicobar Experience luxury at a glance at Munjoh -A Private Ocean Resort. Known for its warm hospitality and stay, it is a premium and iconic luxury resort in Andaman. Offering you a wide range of handpicked

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amenities and magnificent interiors to make the resort a place to revel in. A beach house with private land is all you need to enjoy your wine with a mesmerizing evening and glistening blue water. Swim in the blue waters of the Andaman Islands or build a sandcastle on the beach. It also offers world-class dining. Abhishek Beach Resort And Spa The resort located in Ganpatipule not only offers a private beach with a breathtaking sea view but also facilities like an indoor gym, games, relaxing spa as well as a garden

catering to all your needs. Best picks for intimate getaways or to make special occasions even more special. Rockholm at the LightHouse Beach This resort in Candolim, Goa features Portuguese décor and rooms with stylish, modern interiors. The Flavors Café overlooks the sea and offers light snacks and refreshing drinks. Enjoy the nightlife of north goa while you sip on cocktails served at the Ocean Deck Disco Lounge.

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SPIRITUALITY & DEVOTION

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Hindu Festivals and Mimamsa: An Australian and New Zealand Perspective Learn Religion

By Paddy Krishnan y article on Jaimini’s Mimamsa described how Mimamsa provided a framework for reasoning about the significance of rituals. Jaimini had emphasised the need to understand the meaning of rituals and customs rather than blindly following them. In this note, I argue why in the southern hemisphere (e.g., Australia, New Zealand) we must celebrate certain festivals in a different fashion. I will focus on Makara Sankranti and Holi. That is, we should remember the principle and not be dogmatic about the celebrations. In India, Makara Sankranti is celebrated on the 14th of January. It signifies the Sun moving to the northern hemisphere and transiting into Makara (Capricorn). Hence Makara Sankranti is also called Uttarayan. The festival worships Surya, the Sun God, and prays for his warmth to end the cold and bleak winter. Many of the rituals are to welcome the Sun “back home” after its trip to the southern hemisphere. The festival also celebrates the end of the harvest season and thanks the Gods for a bountiful crop. Crops like rice, moong (an important source of protein), and sugarcane which are planted during the monsoon season, say around June or July, can usually be harvested around end of

December or early January. In many parts of India, sesame (a valuable source of oil) is also planted in July and harvested in December. As part of the ceremony to thank the Gods, pongal, a dish made from rice moong dal and jaggery, and til ladoo made from sesame and jaggery are used as offerings. In Gujarat, many special vegetables are harvested in January and a mixed vegetable dish called Undhiyu is also offered. The type of dishes made is also related to the three gunas found in food. The key points of celebrating Makara Sankranti is to celebrate the end of winter and show our gratitude for a bumper harvest. Celebrating the festival on the 14th of January, in the southern hemisphere, in the traditional Indian style is not in keeping with the key points. It is in the middle of summer here. We can either change the significance to thanking Surya for the good summer that we have had (not that the winter on the Gold Coast is harsh) or keep the significance, and change the date to the 14th of July, call it Karka Sankranti, because the Sun will be transitioning into Cancer. Wheat, being the major grain grown in Australia, is indeed harvested in summer (around December or January) as are fruits such as mangoes. Bulk of the sugar cane is harvested around July but no grains are harvested then. Many fruits and vegetables are harvested around June, July. So if we celebrate the festival in January (can call it Makara Sankranti), we should replace making pongal with a wheat based dish without sugar (say upma – a semolina based savoury dish), and a fresh fruit salad using mangoes and stone fruits such as peaches and plums. On the other hand, if we celebrate the festival in July (need to call it Karka Sankranti and Dakshinayan), we should make dishes like panchamrit (a fruit salad with jaggery) using different berries and Undhiyu. The celebration in January will thank Surya for a good summer while the celebration in July will be to welcome Surya.

Holi is another season related festival which celebrates the arrival of spring. There are also stories associated with the celebration (e.g., the burning of Holika who had tried to get rid of Prahalad by burning him or the return of Kama (th God of Love) who was burned by Shiva.) I will ignore these stories and focus on the celebrations that are tied to the time of year in India. Holi is celebrated around March in India. Days in March can be quite warm while nights are often still cold. People have bonfires at night to keep warm and throw/spray coloured water on each other during the day. Drinks like lassi using buttermilk and thandai (literally coolant) are very popular in north India. On the Gold Coast, March is still quite warm. So drinking Lassi or Thandai makes sense but lighting a bonfire to keep warm is weird. In New Zealand, March can be quite cool so lighting a bonfire may be appropriate. However, it is autumn in March, when many flowering plants start withering. So celebrating with vibrant colours to symbolise regeneration especially of seasonal flowers. Cooling off in March on the Gold coast is perfectly fine, but if we are going to celebrate the arrival of spring, September would be better when it is also warm. September is definitely the time to celebrate the arrival of spring in New Zealand, especially in Christchurch, where the flowers like daffodils, are blooming although it may not be warm enough to drench/spray people with coloured water. It is also cool enough to have a bonfire in the evening. I have argued how we need to change celebrating festivals that are linked to the seasons. While my suggestions are based on my experience, I would strongly urge the Hindu community to adapt the celebration of these festivals to suit the local conditions. For example, in very cold countries in the northern hemisphere, May would be a better time to celebrate Holi as that

coincides with the start of spring. One could also adapt how we celebrate other festivals. For instance, Rama Navami, the birth of Lord Rama is celebrated in March or April. While we do not wish to change Rama’s date of birth, we can change the way we celebrate it. In India, because it is warm, people eat things which have a cooling effect such as buttermilk and cucumber. In places where it is cold, Rama Navami must be celebrated with dishes that generate heat (e.g., use butter/ghee). Similarly, for Navaratri, which is celebrated around October in India, people eat dishes like chickpeas (or similar) tempered in spices as they generate heat. Perhaps on the Gold Coast one should celebrate Rama Navami with chickpeas and Navaratri with buttermilk. Paddy Krishnan is a computer scientist, who got his BTech degree from IIT-Kanpur and PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Being very interested in Hindu philosophy, he maintains a blog at www. goldcoasthindu.wordpress com

God loves the honest By Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati hat is coveteousness? It is having the intention to obtain others possessions which do not rightfully belong to us. There is a true incident that I heard from Swami Muktananda Ji of Anand Ashram India. In South India there was a simple person Sudhakaran, who also had a special needs child. He ran a small lottery tickets business to sustain himself and his child. He had an arrangement with a regular customer Ashok, that would call him over the phone to buy lottery tickets. Ashok would later stop by and pay the shop owner and secure his tickets. One day Ashok called Sudhakaran on the phone and requested to buy ten tickets in his name. That day Ashok got busy and could not reach the shop in time to collect his tickets. When the lottery tickets results were announced Sudhakaran noticed that out of Ashoka’s lottery tickets one ticket had hit the jackpot. It was for one crore rupees (ten million) which was a huge sum of money. When Sudhakaran confirmed this he immediately called Ashok to share that incredibly good news. Remember this is a true fact. No money was paid to Sudhakaran for the tickets. Ashok did not even know which numbers his tickets had. Immediately Ashok and the press reporters came to Sudhakaran’s shop to share the details of this news. One press reporter

asked Sudhakaran, “You could have easily claimed the winning ticket as yours since no one except you even knew about the winning numbers”. Immediately Sudhakaran responded, “How could I? That ticket belonged to Ashok”. The reporter countered, “But Ashok did not even pay for the tickets and did not know the winning numbers. Were you not tempted to claim the winning ticket as yours”? Remember, Sudhakaran lived hand to mouth and also had a special needs child. He could have certainly used the money for treating his special needs child etc. Yet, here is how he responded to the reporter. He said, “Even that thought did not enter my mind. Once I separated those ten tickets for Ashok they now belonged to him. If I had taken the winning ticket, I would be stealing and taking something that did not belong to me”. Imagine the honesty of this simple man. Anyone would have been easily tempted but not Sudhakaran. Such are the people that God loves with all his heart. Such pure and simple people are few. Many talk about spirituality, do elaborate prayers etc. which is all fine, but to actually touch and feel God we need to live that life. Our thoughts, words and actions all need to be in harmony. May we all be inspired by Sudhakaran’s ethical values. Om Tat Sat!

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ART & CULTURE

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

India Art Fair rescheduled to April 2-May 1, 2022

Maha: On Jijamata's 424th birth anniversary, Raigad Fort facelift gets a fillip IANS

IANS

iven the Covid-related government restrictions in place in New Delhi and to ensure health and safety, the India Art Fair has been rescheduled to April 28 – May 1, 2022. The venue, the selection of the best South Asian modern and contemporary art and artists on display, and the huge celebration of culture remains the same. Helmed by Jaya Asokan for the first time since her appointment in April 2021, this edition of the fair is a testament to the resilience of the Indian and South Asian art market and the art community at

large. The fair spotlights the next generation of artists alongside modern masters through initiatives including Auditorium talks, performances, film screenings, outdoor art projects, artist-led workshops, and an online symposium in the run up to the fair. Continuing the fair's enduring relationship with the region's pioneering institutions, the forthcoming edition will see participation from Kochi Biennale Foundation, Chennai Photo Biennale and Serendipity Arts Foundation, among others. Extending its role beyond that of an annual event, India Art Fair is

making greater inroads into the local and international art scene by expanding its digital presence through website editorial and films, a range of online talks, workshops and exhibition walkthroughs, as well as the IAF Parallel programme including events and exhibitions of Indian and South Asian art taking place in cities across India and the world. Jaya Asokan, Fair Director of India Art Fair, commented: "With an unwavering commitment to its home base, the 2022 fair will welcome participants that extend beyond the traditional art hubs of New Delhi and Mumbai, such as Kolkata, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad. The past year has presented immense opportunities for learning and experimentation prompting discussions on the future development of South Asian art. Along with a fast-growing digital presence and year-round programming, the return to a physical fair will be a show of our determination and a reminder that India Art Fair is the first place to see and discover artists from the region."

Gurvinder Singh's 'Adh Chanani Raat' to make its world premiere at IFFR IANS

ational Award-winning filmmaker Gurvinder Singh's next feature in Punjabi language, Adh Chanani Raat ('Crescent Night') will make its world premiere at the prestigious 52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) held from January 26 to February 6. The film is part of the Harbour section which offers a safe haven to the full range

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of contemporary cinema that the festival champions. Originally planned to be held physically, IFFR has moved online this year, too, for the second consecutive year due to growing concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 across Europe, making it the first major European film festival

to take the virtual route in 2022. A Contentflow Studios production, 'Adh Chanani Raat' is produced by Bobby Bedi of 'Bandit Queen' and 'Maqbool' fame Vipul D Shah, Manmohan Shetty and Rajesh Bahl. 'Adh Chanani Raat' is Singh's third feature in the trilogy of Punjabi language films after 'Anhey Ghorey Da Daan' (2011 Venice Film Festival, Orizzonti) and 'Chauthi Koot' (2015 Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard) to be adapted from literary works of noted Punjabi authors. This is also the director's second feature to be inspired by Gurdial Singh's novel by the same name after his highly acclaimed debut feature, 'Anhey Ghorey Da Daan' ('Alms for a Blind Horse'). Set in rural Punjab, 'Adh Chanani Raat' features an ensemble cast, including acting debuts of Jatinder Mauhar as Modan (noted Punjabi filmmaker of 'Qissa Panjab', 'Mitti', 'Sarsa'), Mauli Singh as Sukhi (indie publicist/producer) and professional actors like Samuel John (Ruldu), Raj Singh Jhinger (Geja), Dharminder Kaur (mother). It has been shot by Satya Rai Nagpaul. Sharing his thoughts on the film, Singh says, "The film is about sadness on the verge of implosion that engulfs a silent agrarian land. Here is unwritten violence simmering under the surface in which the margins are pushed far into a breakdown of basic human relations. It is violence that scripts the alienation of the being from its own self-hood. It is also about the last-ditch resistance of the oppressed." "Cinematically, for me, it's the culmination of a journey that started with 'Anhey Ghorey Da Daan', the tropes pared down to the bare essential leading to an interiorised and a self-reflective form," he adds.

n the occasion of the 424th birth anniversary of Rajmata Jijabai Shahaji Bhosale on Wednesday -- the mother of warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj -- the Maharashtra government has ordered expeditious development of the historic Raigad Fort, located 166 km from Mumbai in Raigad district. One of the most imposing hill-top forts in the country, the Raigad Fort was declared as the capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1674, where he was crowned on June 6 that year. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday took a review of the ongoing Raigad Fort and premises development planning authority's works. He said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will soon

complete the refurbishing of the fort, develop the 21 villages in its vicinity and help provide employment opportunities to the locals through tourism. "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj established 'Swarajya' with inspiration from Rajmata Jijabai and the history they created together is inspiring for all," Pawar noted. He assured the officials that funds would not be a constraint for the development projects and would be routed through the Raigad District Planning Committee to ensure no hiccups for the functioning of the (Raigad Fort development) authority. The works will also include refurbishing the Rajmata's palace in the Fort, the conservation of her 'samadhi', preservation works, and erection of the Shiv Shrishti which

would be done in a scientific manner at this heritage precinct. Also present at the review meeting were Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh, Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray, Minister of State for Tourism Aditi Tatkare, Rajya Sabha MP and descendent of the royal family, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje, MP Sunil Tatkare, top officials Valsa Nair-Singh, Vilas Patil, and Mahendra Kalyankar, among others. On December 6 last year, President Ram Nath Kovind visited the fort -- only the second presidential visit after then President Giani Zail Singh had gone there in 1985 to inaugurate the 'Meghadambari' erected in the fort. Earlier in 1980, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had visited the fort, and later Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee too went there in 1999. Perched 820 metres (2,170 feet) atop a steep hill, the fort was earlier accessible only by a gruelling climb on a single pathway of 1,737 steps, taking several hours. Now, visitors and tourists zoom to the top in barely five minutes, thanks to the Raigad Ropeway that was built in 1996, while enjoying breathtaking views of the surrounding green Sahyadri mountains, deep valleys, rivers, and tiny villages dotting the rugged scape. The fort encompassed gates like the Mena Darwaja for the royal women, the main entrance Nagarkhana Darwaja, Palkhi Darwaja, and the main entry from the pathway to the structure known as Maha Darwaja -- flanked by two massive bastions -- which was shut daily at sunset.

Telangana man weaves saree that can fit into a matchbox IANS

xhibiting his extraordinary weaving skills, a young handloom weaver in Telangana has woven a saree which can be kept in a matchbox. Nalla Vijay, a resident of Rajanna Sircilla district, has woven the silk saree. It takes two weeks for him to weave the saree with hands and it costs Rs 12,000. If weaved on

machines, it takes three days and costs Rs 8,000. The talented weaver is continuing the family tradition, drawing inspiration from his father Nalla Parandhamulu. He has been weaving sarees on handloom. Vijay displayed his hand woven saree before state ministers K. Taraka

Rama Rao, P. Sabitha Indrareddy, V. Srinivas Goud and Errabelli Dayakar Rao. The ministers were all praise for the talented young weaver and enquired about the material used and the process of weaving. The ministers said while they heard about the saree which can fit into a matchbox but were personally seeing it for the first time. They assured all help to the weaver for his innovations. Vijay gifted a saree to Sabitha Indrareddy. The weaver told the ministers that the handloom sector in Sircilla has seen many changes in recent times thanks to the support provided by the state government. He said the weavers from Sircilla were adopting the latest techniques and modern tools. The saree woven by Vijay was earlier displayed at World Telugu Conference in 2017. He had also gifted a saree made with super fine silk to then US president Barack Obama's wife Michelle Obama, when the couple had come to India in 2015.

Artwork put up in Kumbh 2019, to be preserved in Prayagraj

IANS

he murals and other artwork, that had been painted and installed during Kumbh 2019 in Prayagraj, will now be preserved by an expert agency. These murals and artwork had been put up at different roads and crossings of the city, but were, thereafter, lying neglected. The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) has now initiated efforts to repair and maintain murals, sculptures and other artworks put in place at 60 prominent spots in the city. PDA vice-chairman Arvind Kumar Chauhan, said: "The Prayagraj Development Authority had invited e-bids and the technical bids were opened a fortnight ago with technical presentations held at the PDA meeting hall. Now a second round of presentation is set to be held. The aim of the exercise is to maintain the aesthetic value of all the 60 spots in Prayagraj, thereby, contributing to the beautification of the city." The selected firm will undertake regular maintenance and periodic renovation work in order to

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maintain murals, sculptures or similar art works at the pre-defined spots. The firm will also undertake structural repairs and take care of leakages and maintain the focus lights (electricity fitments) and railings where these creations have been put up, he added. Its additional responsibility will be to maintain and upkeep the plants/ saplings within the green area around the crossing. It may be recalled that before the Kumbh 2019, Prayagraj was given a

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facelift and a massive beautification drive was launched. Then, murals had come up on the walls along the streets, on the pillars of flyovers and bridges and even on tree trunks across the city, depicting events from the Ramayana and Mahabharata that was the theme for these murals. Art installations were erected on the theme 'Spiritual, Cultural, Religious, and Mythological Aspects of Kumbh and the other rich heritage of Uttar Pradesh'.

LITERATURE

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Why Russian literature acquired a global following

iterary traditions take centuries to develop, let alone acquire a following outside their own linguistic realm. Russian literature, however, saw an accelerated rate to global popularity within 200 years. After nearly a millennium of an oeuvre comprising mainly folk/fairy tales, or the odd historical chronicle, it started to make its presence felt from the early 19th century with Pushkin and Gogol, and then, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Bulgakov, Pasternak, Nabokov, Akhmatova, and their ilk have ensured its continuing prominence across genres. But, Russian literature, especially of the "Classical School", which comprises its best-known works, has also laboured under a rather unjust and fearsome perception. Take views like: "This Vladimir Brusiloff to whom I have referred was the famous Russian novelist. ... Vladimir specialised in grey studies of hopeless misery, where nothing happened till page three hundred and eighty, when the moujik decided to commit suicide." ("The Clicking of Cuthbert" by P.G. Wodehouse) Or: "Freddie experienced the sort of abysmal soul-sadness which afflicts one of Tolstoy's Russian peasants when, after putting in a heavy day's work strangling his father, beating his wife, and dropping the baby into the city's reservoir, he turns to the cupboards, only to find the vodka bottle empty." (P.G. Wodehouse again) Then, vet James Herriot, in his memoirs, reveals how a colleague used to read the opening para of "The Brothers Karamazov" to lull himself to sleep. Author Viv Groskop, whom we will return to later, observes some common views about Russian literature are that it is "deep", "difficult", or require a wider level of reference than the casual reader can aspire to. "You'll never understand X if you haven't read Y," she says. And then there is the issue of names. Groskop quotes a Danish academic, otherwise impressed by Russian literature, bemoaning: "Why do they (the characters) all have to have forty-seven names?" While works such as the hefty "War and Peace", and many other 19th-century novels, are probably responsible for the length part, and the "confusing" names are due to the Russian naming tradition comprising the patronymic, and the widespread use of diminutives, affectionate and otherwise, which needs getting used to, the issue of the content is not quite justified. www.indianabroad.news

All Russian literature is not grim, pessimistic, plodding tracts and can hold its own, using a range of genres and styles to reflect the human condition and its times. Let's look at half-a-dozen lesser-known works spanning the Golden Age to the present day, and subsequently available in English, which unfortunately leaves out writers such as Yulian Semyonov, creator of the Soviet 'James Bond' (unfortunately only one of the series is in English) and fantasy/science-fiction virtuoso Andrei Belyanin. "Oblomov" (1859), Ivan Goncharov's second novel, is especially known for how it takes its young titular nobleman protagonist 50 pages -around a tenth of the book's length -- to get out of his bed, in which he spends most of his life, onto a sofa. Sinking into debt by refusing to take any interest in running his estate deep in the countryside, our slothful character spends the entire account trying to avoid any responsibility, including in love, despite the efforts of well-meaning and more focused friends, before passing on to his desired state of perpetual rest. Known for taking the "superfluous man", Russia's unique contribution to literary archetypes, to a new high -- or rather a low, if you contrast it with Pushkin or Lermontov's creations -- it is a trenchant satire on the state of Tsarist Russia's aristocracy and shows why the revolution became inevitable. "The Death of the Vazir-Mukhtar" (1928) -- either the Susan Causey (2018) or the Anna Kurkina Rush/ Christopher Rush translation -- by Soviet literary historian and critic Yury Tynyanov, chronicles the last year of the early 19th-century Russian playwright, Orientalist, polyglot, and diplomat Aleksandr Sergeyevich Griboyedov after he returns to Moscow and St Petersburg following a successful diplomatic mission in Persia, and then returns to Tehran on a new mission when he dies in an attack on the embassy by an enraged mob protesting a new treaty. Featuring a certain quirkiness in its style, i.e. the use of a heavy Russian bureaucratic language, with a spate of lyrical, psychological, and historical digressions, Tynyanov's modernist theories of literature, comprehensive and sometimes striking psychological insights into many characters, even small-time, across a range of cultures -- Russia, Caucasian, and Qajar-era Persia, it is a thoroughly well-researched piece of historical fiction. "The Life and Extraordinary

Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin" (1969), by dissident writer Vladimir Voinovich, is the picaresque tale of the absurdities that even totalitarianism cannot avoid. It tells of a bumbling, unlikely soldier who is posted to a backwater on the eve of World War II, forgotten by his superiors and labelled a deserter, and how he holds off a squad of the German secret service -- winning a medal, before getting arrested. "Pretender to the Throne: The Further Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin" (1979) and "A Displaced Person: The Later Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin" (2007) see him brave out his interrogation, and then made to emigrate to the US, from where he returns as head of an official delegation during the Perestroika era. Science fiction was always a favoured area for Soviet writers unwilling to toe the official line since it allowed them to use alien worlds to portray social and political situations disallowed in more realistic settings. Amid a glittering lineup are brothers Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky, whose over two dozen works, written in collaboration, have been quite influential in the genre. Two which stand out are "Monday Begins on Saturday" (1964), about the personnel and activities at a Soviet research institute dedicated to studying magic and the supernatural, teamed up with the inept administrators who run it. "Tale of the Troika" (1968) continues the satire of the Soviet scientific set-up and its political superstructure. Then, "One Billion Years to the End of the World" (1977; originally published in English as "Definitely Maybe"), which begins rather on a comic note and gradually gets more ominous as a bunch of researchers, both scientific and of social science, wonder why they are not let being allowed to work on, and their responses. Among the post-Soviet period, there is Grigori Chkhartishvili alias Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin crime thriller series, set in the dying decades of Tsarist Russia, but that deserves an instalment of its own. And if you look for some way to acquaint yourself with the classics only, without reading them in their entirety, then Groskop's "The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature" gives you an insightful look into 11 of them from "Dead Souls" to "Dr Zhivago". It may inspire you to read them too.

Indian American inventor, entrepreneur, philanthropist Narinder Kapany left an indelible mark

e is considered the "Father of Fibre Optics", one of the seven "Unsung Heroes of the 20th Century" for his Nobel Prize deserving breakthrough that spawned the Internet and is behind devices ranging from endoscopes to high-capacity telephone lines. Yet, the self-effacing Indian American Narinder Singh Kapany, born in the sleepy town of Moga in undivided Punjab devotes just two-and-a-halfpages in his 277-page memoir to this momentous achievement. Instead, he focuses on his journey as an inventor-entrepreneur encompassing fibre optics communications, lasers, biomedical instrumentation, solar energy and pollution monitoring, registering in the process 120 patents, as also academics e but most importantly as a philanthropist. Over the past 50 years, the Palo Alto, California, based Sikh Foundation that Kapany founded in 1967 pioneered the display of Sikh Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It has worked tirelessly to promote and preserve Sikh art, heritage, education, culture, and religion by underwriting, mounting, and/or providing the art for numerous world-class Sikh art retrospectives, museum exhibitions and lecture series from London, to Toronto and the US, including New York City, Washington D.C. (at the Smithsonian for five years, Texas and California, where at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, Kapany donated the nation's first permanent Sikh gallery. All this is in addition to four Chairs that the Foundation has underwritten at the Universities of California Santa Cruz, Sana Barbara and Riverside and the California State University East Bay, as also its support for Punjabi language programmes at Columbia, Stanford and the University of California Berkeley. "Together, we must work toward absolute equality for all, promoting love and charity. This not one way of moving forward; it is the only way," Kapany, who died on December 4, 2020 aged 94, nine months after completing his memoirs, maintains in "The Man Who Bent Light" (Roli Books). The spark was ignited in high school in Dehradun, where, a teacher told Kapany that light could travel only in a straight line. Determined to prove his teacher wrong, he went on to graduate from Agra University before going to Imperial College to work on a PhD in optics from the University of London.

In 1953, working alongside physicist Harold Hopkins at the Imperial College, Kapany, after a great deal of trial and effort, was the first to successfully transmit high-quality images through fibre bundles, coining the term fibre optics in a 1960 article for Scientific American. He describes the breakthrough rather modestly: "On my request, Professor Hopkins appeared in the lab... I (had) affixed a black mask with the cut-out word eFIBRE' to a lens that I had set up in front of the business end of the remaining end remaining (optical glass) bunch and beamed it to a makeshift projection screen on the far wall. "Well, Kapany, what do you have to show me? "I pulled up the single chair in the lab, placed it with the best sight line to the screen, and urged him to sit. "Ready, I asked. "Yes, yes, he said, feigning impatience. "I closed the door, shut off all the lights, and in a single, final effort, I switched on the light source. And there it was. On the screen. Like an optometrist's chart but with only a single line of large letters, as clear as it could be: F...I...B...R...E." Kapany had proved that ultimately, what it comes down to is persistence. "Doggedness is an important attribute in a field where, by most measures, only a fraction succeed," Kapany writes. This was an attribute that followed him through his life. In 1961, Kapany along with his wife moved to Woodside on the San Francisco Peninsula and today one of the wealthiest communities in the US, where he founded Optics

Technology Inc. successfully taking it public in 1967. He was the first Sikh Indian to take a company public in Silicon Valley. The San Francisco Examiner, in February 1969, described him as eethe most dashing corporate officer in the area'. Subsequently, he founded Kaptron Inc. in 1973, which was later acquired by AMP Inc. In between, he was offered the post of Scientific Advisor to then Defence Minister V.K. Krishna, with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru himself forwarding the recommendation to the UPSC, which made such senior appointments. However, the offer was a year in coming, during which Kapany had moved on. He was later offered the position of Assistant Secretary for Commerce in the administration of Richard Nixon but this didn't go through as he was known to be uncomfortable with the then US President. Kapany even had an extended meeting with Daniel Patrick Moynihan when he was named the US Ambassador to India to come on board as his number two "It was not to be the case, however, and largely, I believe, for the very trepidations he had expressed in our conversation that day: that it was simply too early in modern India's development for a partnership such as ours," Kapany writes. It's a measure of the man who was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, that he has no regrets. "To the years gone by, I bid a fond farewell. For those yet to come, I welcome them, I embrace them," Kapany wrote in the concluding chapter, titled "In Closing" that he signed off in March 2020.

KLF launches Bhasha Utsav to promote India's global dialogue IANS

he Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) has decided to launch Bhasha Utsav to strengthen dialogue among languages and literature within India and beyond. The Utsav will have award-winning

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laureates and young minds in literary fields to blend rich experience with new energy to take forward the task of dialogue among languages and literary traditions, thereby promoting dialogue among

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societies, nations and civilisations. All major Indian and global languages including those official languages recognised by the Indian government and the United Nations will have dedicated sessions. The Bhasa Utsav is a unique initiative, first-ever, conceptualized by any literary festival platform to include all major Indian and global languages to map their existing dialogue and contribute to positively shaping the future of their dialogues. KLF Founder and Director, Rashmi Ranjan Parida said that many non-Indian and diaspora writers have contributed to Indian languages and literature and deserve their due place in the annals of Indian literature. Similarly, he thinks many Indians have contributed to foreign language and literature and they need their due place as well. He added that a platform like Bhasha Utsav which is an attempt to remedy the above anomalies and create a unique platform for vibrant cross-cultural dialogue. The Utsav, which will include 30 Indian and global languages will have perspectives from rural life, gender equality, children and the differently challenged. It will partner with societies, foundations, government agencies and academic institutes.

BEAUTY

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

This new beauty drop from Huda Kattan is everything!

Catch the new Huda Beauty & WISHFUL collection H IANS

uda Beauty's new line-up on Nykaa features some of its global cult favourites, giving you the perfect reason to reboot your vanity. Known for reinventing the cosmetics game and defying the clichéd rules of beauty, the products are a great addition to any beauty bucket. The line is available at Nykaa. com and the Nykaa App, as well as all Nykaa stores, India's biggest beauty store. Try the Power Bullet Cream Glow, Glowish Skin Tint, Lip Contour 2.0, WISHFUL Tropical Enzyme, and WISHFUL Yo Detox are all part of the new collection. Glowish- GloWish Multidew Skin Tin: It’s a luminous, moisture-rich skin

tint that quickly brightens and blurs pores for a dewy, soft-focus effect! The sheer coverage highlights your complexion (without hiding it!) and is ideal for the ultimate “no makeup” appearance. and the light-reflective pearl pigments subtly enhance your inherent attractiveness... it’ll completely transform your glow game! Power Bullet Cream Glow Hydrating Lipstick: With these incredibly nourishing, ultra-hydrating lipsticks that glide on smoothly, you may create an upgraded, everyday makeup look. Lip Contour 2.0: The new Lip Contour 2.0 velvety matte lip pencil is buttery soft, feels great on the lips, and is really easy to use.

5 post-party night skincare regimes Pexel

ighttime skincare is as necessary as a daytime skincare routine. Since the nighttime regime helps repair skin cells to ensure quicker healing and accelerates skin cell regeneration. Sleeping late after partying with excessive make-up can result in breakouts. Neha Kant, Founder & Director, Clovia shares 5 things you should do before you slumber after drinking and dancing the night away to wake up with fresh, radiant, and supple skin: Remove all the makeup smeared on your face: While partying, one's makeup tends to get mixed with sweat and dirt that can cause skin problems like acne and blemishes

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later. So the first thing one should do is to remove the makeup. The easiest DIY makeup remover needs one tablespoon of aloe vera gel and one tablespoon of olive oil, or jojoba oil. Dab with cotton and apply it to the face. It helps remove eyeliner and mascara as effectively as foundation and blushes, leaving the skin clean, fresh, and lustrous. Another tip is to use sweet almond oil. Sweet almond oil is considered a natural makeup remover that will make the face glow naturally. Drink gallons of water: It is necessary to keep yourself hydrated for a healthy skin texture. Consumption of alcohol and cocktails while partying have a dehydrating effect on the body as well as on the skin. Alcohol dilates the pores of the skin, leading

to blackheads and whiteheads. To add to the hydration, one could spray some pure rose water or dab it with cotton to rejuvenate the skin pores. Rosewater gives a soothing rehydrating effect on the skin. Pamper your skin with some face serums: The convention to applying face serums is to apply them twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. There are a variety of face serums available for all skin types. They have the added benefit of leaving one's skin fresh, plumpy, and radiant. Face serums containing Hyaluronic Acid with vitamin C are the best for the after-party skincare regime. Hyaluronic Acid helps replenish skin to boost hydration and improve skin elasticity. Vitamin C further adds luminous, radiant, and younger-looking skin. Face cream for the soft and supple touch: Face serum and face cream go hand-in-hand when it comes to skincare routines. One provides moisture and the other locks the moisture. The best cream to apply after the face serum is a Kumkumadi Tailam based cream. Kumkumadi is suitable for all skin types but is most effective on dry and sensitive skin types. Kumkumadi tailam has antiseptic, disinfected, and soothing properties. So it is the best precaution you can take to avoid skin problems like acne and blemishes after retaining makeup for a long time. Wrap it up with a Pink clay mask: Pink Clay helps to improve skin elasticity and cell renewal. Pink clay primarily consists of Australian clay, Seaweed and Pomegranate. Australian clay detoxifies and brightens skin and Pomegranate firms skin cells to give a more radiant and younger look to your skin. It leaves the skin soft and smooth, and further, helps to minimize blackheads and promote a radiant and balanced complexion.

How do microbiomes help in the reversal of skin damage?

Pexel

ou understand how important it is to look after your skin and your entire body. And, while we are quick to buy and use beauty products, we rarely consider the health of our skin in the same way that we do the rest of our bodies. Tell me when was the last time you paid attention to your skin's microbiome? What exactly is it? You may inquire as; it does not appear to be familiar. No issue; not everyone is familiar with this term. Microbiomes can fascinate and astonish you in a variety of ways, and they can benefit your skin in a variety of ways. The epidermis Skin microbiome is another term for microbiome. The microbiota is the home of all the bacteria on your skin's outermost layer. It primarily protects and shields your skin against viruses that might harm your skin and overall health. Your skin looks and feels great and healthy when your microbiota is constant and stable. Bacteria are also beneficial to the skin. When there are more harmful bacteria than good bacteria, however, it dismantles. And these blunders cause a slew of issues, including dryness and irritation. The greatest organ in your body, your skin, is your home. A microbiome is important for your skin health. If you're a health nut, your skin microbiome should remain consistent over time, despite changes in the environment, pollution, UV damage, and minor scratches. It is possible, however, for the shield to be jeopardised and lose its natural stability. It goes without saying that looking nice makes you feel good. A healthy skin not only defends you from intruders, but it also helps to prevent evaporation, keeping your skin supple, bright, and hydrated. When the skin's protective barrier is compromised and the microbiome becomes unstable, the skin becomes vulnerable to a range of problems. The skin microbiome, like the gut microbiome, is critical for keeping

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you healthy and safe. Skin eruptions, rashes, pimples, and acne problems can all be caused by healthy bacteria escaping from your microbiome. Working your way to a healthy skin microbiome You've probably heard a lot about the gut microbiome, but did you know that it also influences the skin microbiome? Yes, it is correct! Eating good, healthy, fibre-rich meals that promote the growth of good gut bacteria through fermentation will increase the skin's potential and capacity to resist harmful bacteria, as well as restore its radiance and moisture. If you are unsure about the health of your skin's microbiome, or if you have skin diseases or issues that you believe could be resolved with strong pathogen protection, you should consider changing your diet to start and motivate microbial diversity by promoting healthy gut bacteria and eating healthy foods. To gain helpful skin bacteria and reduce acne problems, focus on foods and inputs that contain prebiotics, such as oats, onions, leeks, garlic, soy

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milk, and legumes, as well as foods that contain probiotics, such as yoghurt or kefir. Skin problems can be reduced with the use of probiotic supplements and foods. Even if you've heard it before, it's worth repeating: healthy skin begins on the inside! Your skin's top priorities must be taken seriously. That being said, each skin has its own tale to tell, its own set of demands, and its own way of functioning. You've probably noticed that your skin doesn't look the same every day or month; it's different every time. Prebiotic skin care helps to renew new skin cells while also maintaining a healthy microbiota and pH balance. Prebiotic skincare contains elements that strengthen your skin's defences against skin imbalances and breakouts. It has the potential to provide your skin with the ideal, helpful, and healthy tools and resources it need to protect and defend your body from hazardous microorganisms. It helps in keeping and making you healthy and great. (Anita Golani, Founder, iORA)

FASHION

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Festive fashion

BOLLYWOOD W

e’re only a couple of weeks into 2022, and the first festival of the year—Lohri, has already arrived. January 13 this year, Lohri, marks the end of winter. Whether you’re hosting a Lohri party or heading to your friend’s house for a small home-style celebration, start the year with fabulous festive outfit. Check out these celebrity styles for some inspiration: Sara Ali Khan Sara’s classic Patiala Shalwar teamed with a short Kurta is our top choice for Lohri evenings. Dress the part by teaming it with a pair of juttis, bangles and a bright dupatta. Sonakshi Sinha It doesn’t get better than a traditional lungi, a favourite in Punjab for Lohri celebrations. Keep winter chills at bay with a cape over your shoulders and add length by picking one solid colour. Dia Mirza Rekhi Dress to the ocassion in the colours of harvest and Lohri, yellow and green! Dia’s saree is a great option if you’re a sustainable fashion advocate who likes to keep it elegant and simple. Alia Bhatt Alia Bhatt’s traditional Banarsi silk

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saree, accessorized with mogras in her hair and pair of jhumkis are a great choice for Lohri in the city. Deepika Padukone A mustard velvet kaftan keeps you snug and warm on a cold Lohri evening and also makes for a regal and rick ensemble with just the right vibe. Kangana Ranaut .Kangana’s fashion and film choices speak for themselves. Always one to experiment with her wardrobe, her ensembles are always a hit. While this Sabyasachi ensemble hits all the marks, you can easily recreate the look with a printed suit, churidar and an organza dupatta from your own closet. Sonam Kapoor Ahuja For a glamorous evening, take a cue from fashionista Sonam Kapoor Ahuja’s closed and choose a dramatic anarkali for a Lohri party. Chikankari embroidery in colours of cream and ivory keep the look dramatic without the fuss.

Manish Malhotra launches ceremonial ethnic fabric collection with BTPL Instagram

inen is a fabric I have worked very rarely with, so when I was asked to style a range of the new fabrics with Linen Vogue, I was most excited. I wanted to travel through a diverse palette of prints and colours that oscillates between the old-world regalia and the modern repertoire. The alluring fabric of LinenVogue - La Classé is a symphonic harmony of various heterogeneous elements that span from staid classic to the edgy take of new-age appeal. They inspire a sense of reminiscence and reflect upon the transient nature of time in a range of new-age, dynamic and wayward selection of linen this season,” said designer Manish Malhotra at the launch of his premium ceremonial ethnic fabric line in collaboration with BRFL Textiles Private Limited (BTPL). BTPL is home to India's largest single-roof state-of-the-art fabric processing facility, and together with the renowned designer, the fabric brand has released the “LinenVogue - La Classé”. The fabrics, are designed for the upcoming festive and wedding season, handpicked by Manish to complement the intricate embroidery. “We are delighted to launch our novel festive line collection as we look to provide our customers with a wide range of premium ethnic wear. The collection is a true representation of the superior quality, design innovation, and heritage value that the brand embodies. Each and every fabric has been uniquely and intrinsically designed and curated keeping in mind the rising demand for festive attire. We are confident that the premium linen fabric that has been used to curate the collection will redefine ethnic fashion, and position ethnic wear as a sought after apparel segment. Manish is particularly recognized for his exquisite designs, and it is an honour for us to have him work on our fabric line and lend it a touch of elegance and finesse that he is globally renowned for”, said Prashant Agrawal, Managing Director, BTPL.

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The lockdown kaftan is back! Instagram

Everyone is now revenge vacationing as we go into the holiday season, making up for all the wasted time! We have the perfect collection for your Holiday Looks to help you with your travel needs! Pinklay is the perfect way to show off your comfort and passion for easy-going style. Pinklay is a Mumbai-based lifestyle brand dedicated to bringing Indian handicrafts to the forefront. The brand collaborates with local artisans to make gorgeous objects that combine traditional and modern patterns in surprising ways to appeal to the proud owner of a home. It offers you ethically made, handcrafted clothing that exudes elegance. It’s specialty is comfort, therefore they provide sophisticated yet dreamlike styles made of 100 percent organic cotton. Their designs are made to express stories inspired by natural materials, varied crafts, and cultures, and are firmly based in a colour palette that is current, sophisticated, and authentic. Each one-of-a-kind item is meant to spark a conversation and evoke memories. They try to be a sustainable company, using only natural fabrics and avoiding synthetic materials, leather, and plastic. It is concerned

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about its environmental impact, which is represented not only in its goods but across the entire value chain, from manufacturing to packing. Furthermore, the company advocates gender equality and encourages women to work in the mainstream to make a decent livelihood.

WHAT’S ON

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

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Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

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ENTERTAINMENT

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

'Bigg Boss 15': Debina Bonnerjee on top of the world as Salman wants to see her next season

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V actress Debina Bonnerjee shares her experience of meeting Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, the host of 'Bigg Boss 15', during the Weekend Ka Vaar episode. She is overwhelmed as Salman expressed interest in seeing her in the next season. Debina entered the house to extend her support for contestants Rashami Desai and Pratik Sehajpal. The actress went to 'Big Boss 15' for the first time and Debina says she had a great time with Salman. She describes her experience as one of the best so far and it was none other than Salman Khan who made her day. She said: "I was thrilled and excited to visit as this was my first ever experience. It was a very nice and a very different experience for me. I'm rooting for Rashami and Pratik whom I don't know personally but I quite like his game and I know they both are equally strong and playing fairly in the game." The 'Vish: A Poisonous Story' actress shared further that she is overwhelmed and excited and calls Salman Khan a humble person. "I was ecstatic to meet Salman sir; he was sweet and humble, and on top of that, he expressed interest in seeing me in the 'Big Boss' house next season, which made my day. And I'm looking forward to seeing him again soon," she concluded.

Kirti Kulhari turns producer with upcoming movie 'Nayeka'

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ctress Kirti Kulhari has made her name in the entertainment industry with movies such as 'Pink' and 'Uri: The Surgical Strike', now the actress is all set to show her talent as a producer with the upcoming feature film 'Nayeka'. The actress shares about the movie and says: "'Nayeka' is a story of a struggling actress who gets caught in a crime by mistake followed by a cat and mouse chase further leading into a series of crazy events." Kirti started shooting for the film on January 2. She further elaborates on her new journey as a producer, saying: "When Vashisht (producer) first brought the film to me last year, I was immediately on board as

an actor and I can proudly say I couldn't have asked for a better start to my journey as a producer as well. The kind of content I choose as an actor is pretty much the content I would want to make as a producer too. 'Nayeka' is a fun space for me to explore something I've never done before." "It's a fast paced dark comedy thriller and consists of very young, dynamic and talented people coming together. Director and writer Ajaykiran Nair has done a wonderful job. A unique script such as this makes for a perfect beginning to my journey as a producer." Kirti has launched her own production house called Kintsukuroi Films, whose first project will be a dark

comedy thriller 'Nayeka' and she will be featuring in it. She explains: "'Kintsukuroi' is a Japanese word which means the art of mending broken pottery with gold. The idea behind this thought is that when something is broken, one uses gold to mend it, making it even more beautiful than its initial broken state." "Similarly, with my production house, through the stories I wish to mend broken hearts and fill the emptiness in people's lives through the art of films," she adds. Kirti says: "Starting a production house has been an organic thought that has stayed with me strongly for a couple of years. As an actor the last three years have been very fruitful for me and has got me interested in widening my horizon and delve into other aspects of filmmaking." 'Khichdi: The Movie' actress says that the motive behind her production house is to create a more equal and collaborative atmosphere in the process of making a film and also to provide a platform to young talents. "Unfortunately, a hierarchy does exist in the way things work and I would aim to bridge that gap, embrace and respect the talent brought to the table in all equality. The idea is also to create opportunities for the young talent. Be it writers, directors, actors, technicians," asserts Kirti. The shooting has started for the movie 'Nayeka', produced by Ward Wizard Entertainment in association with Kintsukuroi Films with producers Yatin Gupte, Sajid Melek, Vashisht Upadhyay and Kirti Kulhari is directed and written by Ajaykiran Nair.

Hansika plays an ad filmmaker in 'My Name is Shruthi' Instagram

ctress Hansika plays an ad filmmaker in director Srinivas Omkar's upcoming Telugu action thriller 'My Name is Shruthi', a teaser of which the filmmakers have chosen to release now. On Wednesday, Hansika tweeted the teaser, which shows that the film is a gripping crime thriller that revolves around a gang that is into human skin trading. Apart from Hansika, 'My Name is Shruthi' also features Prema, Murali Sharma, Pooja Ramachandran, Raja Ravindra and Aadukalam Naren among others. The film, which has music by Mark K. Robin, has cinematography by Kishore Boyidapu and editing by Chotai K Prasad. www.indianabroad.news

Hrithik Roshan goes fierce, intense in first look of 'Vikram Vedha' Instagram

On his 48th birthday on Monday, Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan treated his fans with his first look as Vedha from the upcoming film 'Vikram Vedha'. Hrithik took to Instagram, where he unveiled his look. Covered in blood, the actor is seen sporting a rugged yet intense look as he sports a heavy beard and mustache. The star completed his look with sunglasses and staring at the camera lens. "VEDHA. #vikramvedha," he wrote as the caption for the image, which currently has 882K likes on the photo-sharing website. The film stars Hrithik and Saif Ali Khan in lead roles, with Radhika Apte in a crucial role. Pushkar and Gayatri, the original writers and directors, are donning the directora¿s hats for the Hindi remake as well. A cult film in its own right 'Vikram Vedha' is a neo-noir action crime thriller film. Based on the Indian meta-folktale 'Vikram aur Betaal', the film tells the story of a tough police officer who sets out to track down and kill an equally tough gangster. This original Tamil blockbuster starred R. Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi. 'Vikram Vedha' is presented by Gulshan Kumar, T-Series Films and Reliance Entertainment in association with Friday Filmworks

and YNOT Studios Production. The film is directed by Pushkar & Gayatri and produced by S. Sashikanth and produced by

Bhushan Kumar. 'Vikram Vedha' will hit the big screens globally on September 30.

Arjun Kapoor: I'm a director's actor, I go with my director's vision

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ollywood actor Arjun Kapoor maintains that he completely surrenders to the vision of a filmmaker. The actor, who received praise for his work in Dibakar Banerjee's 'Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar' also wants to dabble in the best of both worlds of mainstream and content heavy cinema. Arjun says, "I'm actually a director's actor. I go with whatever my director says, I try to do justice to the role and the script. So, if today, people are loving what I have done in 'Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar', they will also need to understand that I need such films and directors to showcase nuance and layer and in depth acting." He adds, "I was launched as a masala, mainstream hero, I have been accepted as someone who plays to the gallery and I love that. I have always been looked at as someone who is more designed for masala cinema." Talking about the response that he has garnered for his work in Dibakar's film, he says, "This kind of outpouring of love for me hasn't happened since my debut in 'Ishaqzaade' and I'm really thankful to everyone for appreciating what I have done in 'Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar'." He credits his director for bringing out the best in him, "I have to give a lot of credit to my director Dibakar Banerjee, who believed that I could

bring the broody intensity that was required to set the mood and the tone of the film. He was there with me, beside me at every step of the way like a shining guiding light and I thank him for bringing out shades of my acting skills that even amazed me on the set." He continues, "It's hugely humbling to entertain so many people but I also feel that if given chances like 'Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar', I would not let any filmmaker or producer down." "Going forward, I definitely want

to dabble in both these worlds of films given the overwhelming love I have received for 'Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar'. It will be interesting to shock people from time to time by doing projects that they would never imagine me to pull off", he concludes. The actor will be next seen in Mohit Suri's 'Ek Villain 2', Vishal Bhardwaj's son Aasmaan's directorial debut 'Kuttey', Ajay Bahl's 'Lady Killer' and the yet-untitled Jagan Shakti directorial co-starring John Abraham.

Bhavin Bhanushali opens up on upcoming movie 'Ishq Pashmina'

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ctor Bhavin Bhanushali is all set to begin filming for his upcoming movie titled 'Ishq Pashmina.' Bhavin is in Shimla these days and busy shooting for his movie. "I am all excited for this big project and I cannot wait for the shoot to start. From watching mega movies to getting this big opportunity to work on such a grand project, this is truly a dream come true for me. I hope I will be able to do justice to my role and the people who love my work." The actor is known for featuring in music videos, shows and films like 'Chidiya Ghar,' 'De De Pyaar De,' 'Vellapanti,' 'Dil Dosti Dance,' as well as songs like 'Rula Ke Gaya Ishq,' 'Kyu Khafa Ho,' 'Maahiya' and 'Raanjhan Ve.' 'Ishq Pashmina' is written and directed by Arvind Pandey, produced by Krishna Shanti Production House and stars Malti Chahar, Zareena Wahab and Bijendra Kala in prominent roles. The music of the film is composed by Sham-Balkaar and Shashwat Prakhar Bharwaj.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

Bhumi Pednekar comes on board for Ajay Bahl's 'The Lady Killer' Instagram

humi Pednekar has joined the cast of the suspense drama 'The Lady Killer'. The actress will be leading the film along with

Arjun Kapoor. For her, the film's narrative was gripping from the word go and that's what appealed to the actor in her.

The film, directed by Ajay Bahl ('B.A. Pass', 2012) and produced by Bhushan Kumar of T-Series and Shaailesh R. Singh, narrates the story of a small town playboy, who falls in love with a self-destructive beauty. Thrilled to embark on the journey, Bhumi says, "I'm always excited when something new and challenging comes my way and 'The Lady Killer' gripped me from the very start. As an artiste, this role pushes me out of my comfort zone and gives me a lot to bite into. I can't wait to start work on the film with Arjun, my director Ajay Bahl and my stellar producers Bhushan sir and Shaailesh sir." Talking about the film, director Ajay Bahl says, "There is a rollercoaster of emotions in 'The Lady Killer' and for that we needed actors who could ride it every step of the way. I'm so happy to have Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar essay these roles because not only do they suit it to the T but also bring in their signature styles and flair." Producer Shaailesh R. Singh adds, "Bhumi Pednekar is a talent to reckon with and brings just the right vibe and flavour to 'The Lady Killer'. We are extremely happy to have her play the lead alongside Arjun Kapoor. This one is definitely going to be a crazy, enriching ride." The Ajay Bahl directorial is presented by Gulshan Kumar & T-Series in association with Karma Media & Entertainment.

Shweta Tripathi Sharma just loves the element of drama in 'Yeh Kaali Kali Aankhein'

hweta Tripathi Sharma, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming series 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein', is a huge fan of the drama genre both as a person and as an actor. What really connected with her was the love story bit of the otherwise thriller that 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein' is. Commenting on the same, the actress said, "The most exciting thing for me in this series is the drama. Although I want to explore other genres as well, there is a certain satisfaction that I get as an actor by performing in dramas. What really clicked for me in this series is the love story." Shweta believes that the emotion of love is a powerful stimuli, "Love is the driving force for everything in this show and that goes for life as well. If you make love a priority then everything falls in place. A relationship where you encourage each other, grow together and respect each other is a healthy relationship." Revealing her reason for signing the series, she said, "After the hard core stuff that I have been doing of late, I really wanted to enjoy the process of doing a love story on my part. At the start of the series, there is a college sequence between my and Tahir's character and while doing that I realised why actors

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Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin, who started his career with negative roles, had his share of doubts if the audience would readily accept him as a romantic hero in mainstream films. The fear of being typast played on his mind in the initial phase of his career. Recollecting his earlier days in the industry, the actor says, "When I started my career with negative roles and they became immensely talked about, I used to wonder if people would ever see me as a hero in romantic films." He continues, "I wanted to have cool romantic projects in my filmography that are complex, unique and layered. I think I prayed hard those days because, coincidentally, now I have three back to back romantic films and each one of them are extremely different from each other." Talking about his upcoming projects 'Ranjish Hi Sahi' and 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen', he says, "Not only this, in two of them, 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen' and 'Ranjish Hi Sahi', my character is in a love triangle! When these projects came to me, I could only say to myself 'be careful what you wish for' because I think I

manifested these romantic films." "I think the powers above wanted me to feel satiated by doing powerful and novel romantic projects and I honestly can't complain. This is who I wanted to be growing up, a quintessential romantic film hero on

the screen", he concludes. Apart from the aforementioned projects, the actor also has 'Looop Lapeta' coming up this year where he will be seen opposite Taapsee Pannu.

Perneet Chauhan on National Youth Day: I urge young people to stay true to themselves

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ctress Perneet Chauhan says that youth should always stay motivated and get every opportunity to shine, on the occasion of National Youth Day. Youth are the builders of the country's future and should therefore be supported and celebrated. National Youth Day or Yuva Diwas is observed in India on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, on January 12. "I would urge the youth to stay true to themselves, use their own wisdom to move ahead. I do agree that in today's day and age of social media and online revolution, there is too much information. It is both good and bad. I think the youth need to understand that social media does not define us, we should use it only to express ourselves but don't get carried away. It's dangerous for mental health. Also, too much information often isn't helpful. Too much of anything is not good, it can cause confusion and is often misleading. So, stop, access and decide," she says. The 'Do Dil Bandhe Ek Dori Se' actress adds that youth is the hope of our future. They are the precious

treasure that we need to value as that will shape the next generation. "We need to cultivate a solid value system in them to carry on. We need to respect their thoughts so they can confidently take on the world. Only youth fostered in the right direction of peace, culture and education can

bring about a social change. I don't want to say anything about 'political views' that might be the biggest roadblock between our country's youth and country's growth. I just hope that the youth understand what is right or wrong and act accordingly," she adds.

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readily take up love stories, it's such a light experience. It helps you as an actor to cleanse your mind of

all the emotional stress that your earlier characters brought with themselves."

Nushrratt Bharuccha to return with 'Chhorii' sequel

ushrratt Bharuccha has been locked for the sequel of Vishal Furia's 'Chhorii'. The actress will be returning to play the lead role as 'Sakshi' in the sequel. The first film was based on the struggles of a pregnant couple moving into a new house with a paranormal presence. Commenting on the development, the film's director Vishal said, "Nushrratt Bharuchha is one of the most underrated actors of our industry. Films like 'Chhorii' and 'Ajeeb Daastaans' are testimonies to her talent. The sheer versatility which she possesses is extremely rare, which is one of the many reasons why I had decided to approach her for the supernatural thriller last year." Revealing how he was confident about casting the actress for the part from the very start, he said, "I had full faith in her that she would be able to do justice to this role and that is exactly what happened. When I

Tahir Raj Bhasin used to wonder if people would accept him as a romantic hero

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Card Security Code: ________________ had the idea of continuing the story, I couldn't imagine doing it with any other actor." "For me, Nushrratt had imprinted the character of 'Sakshi' and only she could have taken her journey

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Vol 1, Issue 23 Jan 16 -31, 2021

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