The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday raided 30 places in Tamil Nadu, including the residences of Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar and Director General Police T.K. Rajendran in connection with a gutka scam, a CBI official told IANS.
Archives for 2018
Philippines mayor shot dead inside his office
The mayor of Ronda, a city in central Philippines, was shot dead on Wednesday morning when several men broke into his office, marking the 16th elected local official to be assassinated under the current administration.
Ronda mayor Mariano Blanco III was pronounced dead at 2.25 a.m local time (18.25 GMT on Tuesday) upon arriving at a nearby hospital in Barili town, police senior inspector JR Palcon said, Efe reported.
According to Palcon, several men who are yet to be identified arrived at the Town Hall in a van at around 1.30 a.m and opened fire inside the municipal office of Ronda in Cebu province where Blanco was said to be sleeping.
Blanco was on the blacklist of public officials allegedly involved in the illegal drugs trade that was ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte as part of his war on drugs campaign. Blanco was stripped of his authority over police in 2017, although he denied involvement in illegal drugs.
In February, lawyer Jonah John Ungab, Blanco’s nephew and deputy mayor of Ronda, was also shot dead after attending a court hearing with his client Kerwin Espinosa.
In July, the League of Municipalities of the Philippines – which comprises 68 mayors from the main cities in the country – requested a meeting with the President to address the assassinations of local officials and their involvement with the government’s so-called “narco list.”
Started by Duterte in 2016, the war on drugs has unleashed violence in the country, with more than 4,500 suspects killed in police raids and more than 23,500 unsolved murder cases.
(IANS)
Let your dreams take wing
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bengaluru is all set to host Utthaan 2018 this Sunday, the 2nd of September 2018. The theme of this year’s event is “Dreams on Wings- Nothing can keep me down”which aims to teach the children that they can conquer heights if they let their dreams take wing.
UTTHAAN is an event that celebrates the unassuming innocence of childhood and the unconditional happiness that liesin the immaterial things that surround us. In order to spread bright smiles and carefree laughter to the children of underprivileged background, the campus is transformed into a wonderland customized to fit the desires of the children. With colourful baubles and balloons adorning the grounds, SIBM Bengaluru will prepare to whisk the children away to the shiny stars and the warm skies, to a land where dreams are just a hand’s reach away.
It is indeed right that, “Children may forget what you said, but they will not forget how you made them feel”.
A small effort, can make a huge difference in the lives of these children. To splash the lives of these charming kids with the bright hues of joy, The Social Responsibility Committee of SIBM Bengaluru organizes this flagship event every year. The purpose of this initiative isto shower love and heap happiness on the underprivileged children, coming from various NGOs in and around Bengaluru.
The students of SIBM Bengaluru eagerly wait for this day every year as they get to indulge their inner child, and brighten the days of less fortunate kids. The campus will be the stage to many engaging and fun-filled activities. Utthaan will be lit up with the bright smiles ofchildren from various NGOs, the likes of which are:
• Belaku Shishu Nivasa
• AnathaShishiNivasa
• Makkala Jeevodaya
• Sadashraya Charitable Trust
• Surbhi Tirtha Ashrama
Events and Activities for Children:
• Art and Craft
• Stall Games
• Magic Show
• Learning That’s Fun
Here is a glimpse of the festivities of Utthaan from the previous year-
About SIBM Bengaluru:
Ever since its inception in 1978, SYMBIOSIS has been synonymous with progress. The trend of progress has been continued by setting up of SIU’s first campus outside Maharashtra at Bengaluru in 2008. SIBM Bengaluru is now one of the leading B-Schools of the country. The focus, now, is on matching global standards of management education. SIBM Bengaluru instills a work culture which is unparalleled among various institutions and provides a holistic approach to management which goes a long way in creating a dynamic identity. Vibrant student associations and committees complement the program with a number of activities involving institute-industry interaction.
Infiltrator killed on LoC: Army
Jammu The army on Wednesday said it has killed an infiltrator on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.
“One intruder on being challenged, opened fire and the army retaliated. The intruder was killed and the body was handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir Police,” Defence Ministry sources said, adding that the incident occurred in the Kairi area of the LoC.
There was, however, no confirmation whether any weapon was recovered from the slain militant.
[IANS]
Kerala government sticks with KPMG for rebuilding state
Thiruvananthapuram The Kerala government on Wednesday decided that despite the Congress-led opposition’s opinion about KPMG, an international professional service company, selected as consultant partner for rebuilding the flood-ravaged state, it will stick with them, a minister said.
Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan, deputising for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who is presently in the US for treatment, told the media here that KPMG has already started its work in the state.
“They (KPMG) are known for their expertise. They are presently conducting a study to help us rebuild after the floods devastated the state.
“They are doing it for free, so what’s the issue. When such an organisation is helping us for free, what we should now do is, wait for their report. Once they submit it, then we will take a call,” said Jayarajan.
Earlier this week the Congress party expressed strong reservation about selecting KPMG as the consultant partner even as they faced cases in a few countries where they were involved in various programmes.
Vijayan said on August 31, the KPMG has agreed to provide free consultancy service and would be the consultant partner for rebuilding Kerala.
[IANS]
Sandeep, Rana fight back in Dakshin Dare rally
Davangere (Karnataka) Sandeep Sharma and Suresh Rana scripted a gallant fightback for Team Maruti Suzuki in the 10th edition of the Dakshin Dare, taking the fourth and sixth positions respectively after Day 2 here on Tuesday evening.
Suzuki’s Sandeep, and his co-driver Anmol Rampal, were at their aggressive best on the day, clocking 58.09 minutes in three Special Stages and one Super Special Stage for a cumulative timing of 03:35:05 over the first two days.
His teammate, 10-time Raid de Himalaya champion Suresh (with Chirag Thakur), also fought back bravely to climb from the 11th position to take the sixth position.
Suresh, who fell behind after enduring a punctured tyre on the opening day, caught up on lost time by going flat out and even posting the day’s third best timing.
“I did not have the best of starts to the rally. But I am glad that I could get back into the fray. Our team (Maruti Suzuki) has its hopes pinned on me and I am quite sure that I will keep improving and fight till the end to defend my title,” Suresh said.
Three-time APRC champion Gaurav Gill continued to hold on to the top position on the leaderboard after yet another power-packed performance.
The Mahindra Adventure racer, along with his co-driver Musa Sherif, was in his elements from the word go, winning all the three Special Stages and one Super Special Stage.
His teammate Philippos Matthai (with navigator PVS Moorthy) came in second, with a total time of 03:26:03 minutes.
Another Mahindra Adventure driver, Amittrajit Ghosh (with co-driver Ashwin Naik), slipped one place to take the third position after losing six minutes in the early part of the morning.
Yuva Kumar continued to lead in the bike category, winning two of the day’s stages and finishing second in the third. Aakash and Vishwas are in the second and third positions.
In the TSD category, Pramod Vig and Prakash Vig jumped to the top spot, while Santosh and Nagarajan took the second spot. Srikanth and Raghuraman are on the third spot.
[IANS]
Have to improve reflexes, agility ahead of Tokyo Olympics: Manika Batra
Kolkata Manika Batra, who created history by becoming the first Indian female paddler to win an Asian Games medal, is now planning to work overtime in order to improve her reflexes and agility and come close to matching her Asian counterparts by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Manika, who built on her Commonwealth Games (CWG) high by winning a bronze with veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal in the mixed doubles category in table tennis, was no match for Wang Manyu of China in the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles.
Though it was the best-ever outing for the country in the sport at the Asian Games, with the men’s team also bagging bronze, Manika said she has her eyes set on a podium finish at the Olympics in two years’ time and for that she needs to catch up with the mighty Chinese and other strong Asian players.
“I gave my hundred percent against Wang Manyu, but I realised I have to improve a lot to beat them. I will prepare well for the coming tournaments,” Manika told IANS in an interview.
“As a team we are in a good shape right now. In singles we have to improve a lot, especially when we play with Asians. Their reflexes are so good. Personally, I have to improve my reflexes and agility to match them.
“So I will work on that till the Olympics and try to match them there,” said Manika, who showed signs of ending Singaporean supremacy in the discipline by choking out Mengyu Yu in straight sets to clinch a historic first-ever gold medal in women’s singles of the CWG earlier this year.
The 23-year old bagged four medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games as India finished with a rich haul of eight.
Besides her game, Manika also aims to break into the top-40 rankings. Currently, the Delhi girl is ranked World No 56.
“Personally, my goal would be to break into top 30 or 40. I am 56 right now, so I have to improve that. To improve my rankings, I have to play many tournaments abroad, so I am preparing for that as well.”
Manika, who will take part in the Belgium Open, starting from September 23, and the Swedish Open, from November 15, also revealed that she has plans to play for a European club next year but it’s too early to speak on that, she added.
On her and Kamal’s bronze medal winning performance in the semifinals of the mixed doubles match where they ended up with bronze, Manika said she never wanted to come back empty-handed from Jakarta.
“It was not difficult, but, of course, since all Asians come together at the Asian Games, the challenge is stiffer as compared to Commonwealth Games. In my mind, it was there that it would be difficult… but when I reached Jakarta, I thought that I had to do something here, I had to beat someone,” she said.
Kamal and Manika played four matches in a day and only the opener against Malaysia was comfortable.
In the semis, Kamal and Manika made life tough for China’s Yingsha Sun and Wang Sun before going down 9-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11, 8-11.
[IANS]
SC dismisses plea against Malayalam novel ‘Meesha’
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition against Malayalam novel “Meesha”, whose serialisation in a leading vernacular weekly was withdrawn earlier by the author following threats by suspected right-wing outfits.
Telangana cabinet likely to recommend assembly dissolution on Thursday
A crucial meeting of the Telangana cabinet is likely to be held on Thursday to recommend dissolution of the state assembly to pave way for early polls.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has asked his cabinet colleagues to be available at 6 a.m. on September 6 for the cabinet meeting, according to sources in the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
The TRS chief considers ‘6’ as his lucky number and that’s the reason cited for not taking the decision during the cabinet meeting on September 2, which was held hours before the massive public meeting by the ruling party to sound the poll bugle.
The cabinet is expected to pass a resolution recommending to Governor E. S.L. Narasimhan to dissolve the assembly. The term of the assembly is till May, 2019 and the elections in normal course have to be conducted along with the polls for Lok Sabha.
On the eve of the cabinet meeting, the state capital on Wednesday witnessed hectic activity in the political circle. Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi, Chief Advisor to government Rajiv Sharma, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, S. Narsing Rao and Legislative Assembly Secretary Narasimhacharyulu called on Narasimhan on Wednesday.
KCR also had a series of meetings with top party leaders.
A day after recommending dissolution of assembly, KCR will be launching the election campaign with a public meeting at Husnabad in Siddipet district on September 7.
Christened ‘Prajala Aasirwada Sabha’, this will be the first of 100 public meetings planned by TRS over next 50 days.
Political observers say TRS is keen for early assembly elections as it believes that simultaneous elections to assembly and Lok Sabha may not help it in properly highlighting the welfare and development works undertaken during last four years.
The political circle has been abuzz with the talks of early polls for the last few weeks with KCR himself giving strong hints with his two meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August, announcement of sops for various sections of people and transfer of top police and civil officials.
There was strong possibility of a decision in the cabinet meeting before September 2 public meeting, attended by lakhs of people and claimed to be mother of all rallies.
While the cabinet took no decision, KCR kept the suspense by telling the party cadres that the party leaders have empowered him to take a decision and that they would soon hear it (decision on early polls).
At the public meeting, the TRS chief highlighted the achievements of his government since it took reins in the newly created state in 2014.
He sought fresh mandate to continue the good work and achieve the goal of ‘Bangaru Telangana’ or golden Telangana. He urged people to protect their ‘self-respect’ by rejecting the parties from Delhi who want to make them slaves.
Shashi Tharoor’s ‘Why I Am A Hindu’ to be made as web series
Politician and author Shashi Tharoor’s book “Why I Am A Hindu” will be made into a web series with National Award-winning producer Sheetal Talwar as showrunner. The Congress MP will also narrate it.
Taking head-on the current misinterpretation and misappropriation of Hinduism, Tharoor’s book is about the history of Hinduism and its core tenets, as well as socio-cultural developments in India that relate to Hinduism and his own religious convictions.
The book is a repudiation of Hindu nationalism, and its rise in Indian society, which relied upon an interpretation of the religion which was markedly different from the one with which he has grown up, practiced and had studied.
On its adaptation, Tharoor said in a statement to IANS: “In any time and era, an adaptation of this book into film would be relevant, but in the current political, social and cultural environment it is imperative that the message of true Hinduism – the Hinduism of acceptance reach the widest audience possible.”
“I am glad that Sheetal and I – who share a similar belief system – are collaborating on this effort,” he added.
Talwar, who will be seen producing in India after nearly 7 years, says when he gave “Why Am I A Hindu” a read, it shook him.
“I was ashamed that as someone whose profession is to voice, I had not raised my voice and done nothing while the inherent integrity of our pluralism was being threatened.
“After ‘Dharm’ and ‘Rann’, it is after years that I have been so excited about a subject. I am glad that I could convince Shashi to not only make this into a web series, but also offer his time as a narrator to the series.”
The series will headline numerous known filmmakers film an episode each. It is set to be made in various Indian languages and will be released in the first quarter of 2019, the statement read.
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