Nasheman News : An Indian-origin man here has lost six of his family members in the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board.
The victims were identified as Pannagesh Vaidya, 73; his wife Hansini Vaidya, 67; their daughter Kosha Vaidya, 37; her husband Prerit Dixit, 45; and their two children – Anushka and Ashka, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown was quoted as saying by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The family, all living in Canada, was headed for a “fun trip” to Kenya. Pannagesh Vaidya and Hansini Vaidya were Indian nationals.
Manant Vaidya, the brother of Kosha Vaidya, said he dropped off the family at Pearson International Airport on Saturday morning – what would be the second-last day of their lives.
“It’s a huge tragedy. I lost my parents, I lost my sister. I don’t have anyone else now,” he said.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 — flight ET 302 — en route from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to the Kenyan capital Nairobi crashed six minutes after take off on Sunday. It ploughed into a field near Tulu Fara village outside the town of Bishoftu, some 60 km southeast of Addis Ababa.
“This is an unbelievably tragic situation for this family,” Brown said in a statement.
“As more details become known, I will provide a further update on how Brampton residents can assist this family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this time of sorrow and reflection.”
Manant Vaidya said that his sister Kosha, who became a Canadian permanent resident in 2003, wanted to take her children to Nairobi to show them her birthplace.
“They thought March break was the perfect time for them to go over there, have fun. It was going to be a really great trip for everybody.”
Manant Vaidya said his parents insisted that they also wanted to go on the trip. “I asked my dad why he wanted to go and he told me that in his life he wants to go one more time.”
He said his brother-in-law was working seven days a week in order to pay for the trip.
The Indian Embassy in Ethiopia on Sunday said that four Indian nationals were killed and they were identified as Pannagesh Vaidya, Hansini Vaidya, Nukavarapu Manisha, a doctor based in the US, and Shikha Garg, the United Nations Development Programme consultant attached with the Environment Ministry.
Ethiopian Airlines said Kenya had the largest number of casualties with 32, followed by 18 Canadians, 9 Ethiopians, 9 Britons, then Italy, China, and the US with eight each.
There were seven French citizens, six Egyptians, five Germans, and four people from Slovakia on board.
Nothing done for Ganga in past 5 years : Akhilesh
Nasheman News : Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for doing nothing to clean the Ganga, a promise he had made in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.
“Swachh Bharat – Failed,” the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister tweeted and said that the Modi-led National Ganga Council did not meet even once in the last five years of the NDA rule between 2014-19.
He also said that 351 stretches of rivers in India were now critically polluted, up from 302 in 2016.
The SP chief further said that seven of the world’s 10 most polluted cities were in India and the cleaning and sanitation efforts have been left to the lower castes. Thereafter, he called upon people to “vote for Maha Parivartan”.
Yadav has been attacking the BJP and Prime Minister Modi almost on a daily basis, raising a myriad of issues like farmer distress, growing unemployment, failed economy and poor law and order in Uttar Pradesh.
Microsoft Excel confused for Surf Excel, gets hate
[Nasheman news] New Delhi Software giant Microsoft has become an unexpected victim of hate messages directed at a Surf Excel detergent commercial that has raked up a huge controversy in India over the past few days.
The latest commercial, part of Surf Excel’s “Daag Achche Hai Campaign”, shows a Hindu girl saving a Muslim boy from colours on Holi. However, it has offended some people, who are venting their anger on the social media.
Some un-informed folks, who joined the hate parade, confused Surf Excel with Microsoft Excel.
Soon #BoycottSurfExcel, #BoycottExcel, #MicrosoftExcel and more such hashtags involving Microsoft were trending on the social media.
“Going to request Sundar Pichai to throw you away from the Playstore. And ofcourse Satya Nadella as well to remove you from Microsoft Office. As a data scientist, it was tough to say this but country over profession anytime,” wrote Aditya Bhandari, who claims to be a data scientist, on PlayStore.
Senior journalist Raju Narisetti posted a screenshot of Bhandari’s comment on Twitter, expressing his shock at the ignorance.
India grounds Boeing 737-MAXs at 4 p.m.: Ministry
Nasheman News :The government on Wednesday made it clear that operations of all Boeing 737-800 MAX aircraft will be suspended at 4 p.m.
Late on Tuesday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation tweeted: “DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has taken the decision to ground the Boeing 737-MAX planes immediately.
In a continuation to its Tuesday’s call to ground the B737 Max operations, the Ministry on Wednesday added: “B737Max operations will stop from or to all Indian airports.
“Additionally no B737 Max aircraft will be allowed to enter or transit the Indian airspace effective 1600 hours Indian time or 1030 UTC.”
In India, SpiceJet and Jet Airways operate 17 Boeing 737-800 MAX aircraft. While SpiceJet has 12 aircraft, Jet has five planes of this type.
On Tuesday the DGCA tweeted: “These planes will be grounded till appropriate modifications and safety measures are undertaken to ensure their safe operations.”
“The time line is to cater to situations where aircraft can be positioned at maintenance facilities and international flights can reach their destinations.”
The suspension came after several countries including the UK, Australia, Italy, Singapore restrained their airlines from operating the aircraft type.
Globally many countries have banned the operations of the aircraft after an Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 MAX flight crashed on Sunday killing all 157 people on board. It came just months after an Indonesian flight met with the same fate.
On Tuesday, the EU, joined a number of other countries in banning Boeing 737 Max planes from operating in or over its airspace.
IT Minister tells social media firms to prevent abuse
[Nasheman news] New Delhi In a stern message to social media platforms, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Tuesday that these platforms will have to respect the sovereignty and constitutional norms of privacy laid down by the Supreme Court.
“Abuse of these platforms will not be tolerated in election time. I believe in the wisdom and maturity of the people of India. They are mature enough to decide what is right and what is wrong,” the Minister said at the “Digital India Summit 2019” organised by Times Network here.
The country, he said, will not compromise on the freedom to access Internet and data imperialism by anyone.
At the rate at which the country’s digital economy was growing, India could be a $3 trillion economy in the next four to five years, Prasad emphasised.
“Average data usage per month has grown from 89 megabytes in 2014 to 5 gigabytes in 2018. The digital appetite of Indians has to appreciated,” he said, adding that the country offers the cheapest data rates in the world.
Prasad said the number of mobile phone factories had grown from two in 2014 to 127 now.
“India is now the second biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, employing 5-6 lakh people. Noida and Greater Noida area alone have 94 mobile factories,” he said, adding that the country would push the “Make in India” initiative if the NDA comes back to power.
“We will come back with a thumping majority,” he added.
Dismissing allegations of Aadhaar data leaks, Prasad said the Aadhaar data was “billion per cent safe”.
Indian Arrows ready to take on the best: Pinto
[Nasheman news] Kolkata The development at the grassroots level must be strong for any footballing nation to rise through the ranks and that is exactly what India aims at as it takes baby steps in the soccer world.
The success of Indian Arrows is definitely a step in that direction and head coach Floyd Pinto is elated.
The Youth Development Programmes (YDP) project of AIFF, which majorly comprises of boys who played in the Under-17 World Cup and some talented 16-year-olds, saw 11 players being called for the U-23 national camp for the AFC Qualifiers.
Speaking to IANS, Pinto said that the call-ups were truly deserved and the kids must take a step at a time and make the opportunities count as the Super Cup beckons.
“The 21 points in the I-League is a testament to the potential of youth in football. Surpassing last season’s numbers was a good feeling indeed. Ending the season with a win against the mighty Mohun Bagan at the majestic Salt Lake Stadium was an indicator that the boys are ready to compete at the highest level against the best teams in the country,” he smiled.
Commenting on the significance of the upcoming Super Cup, he said: “The Super Cup is another opportunity and platform to showcase the abundance of talent, capability and ever-improving competency of this youthful Arrows side.
“The boys truly believe that they are in it to compete, and not just make up the numbers.”
Talking about the chosen 11, Pinto is filled with a sense of pride.
“We felt a sense of pride and achievement. It is the next logical step in their development towards the goal of representing the country at the senior level,” he expressed.
Commenting on Mahesh Gawli’s contribution, Pinto said: “He has brought in experience of highest level. He has always had a calm influence under pressure, and adds robust work ethic to the Arrows setup.”
‘Mallya case a template for Nirav Modi extradition’
Nasheman News : India’s securing of extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya offers “a template” for a similar outcome in the Nirav Modi case, a renowned London legal firm specialising in extradition cases said on Tuesday.
“Further to the Vijay Mallya case, India now has a template to refer to when dealing with the extradition procedure of Nirav Modi from the UK. The good news is that the UK’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid, has already set things in motion, by agreeing to the extradition request,” Sarosh Zaiwalla, Founder and Senior Partner at Zaiwalla & Co. LLP, said in a statement.
Zaiwalla, a prominent lawyer of Indian descent, however, noted that the process could be delayed if the absconding diamantaire, who along with his uncle Mehul Choksi, fled India after defrauding the state-run Punjab National Bank of Rs 13,000 crore, has applied for asylum in Britain.
In this case, the extradition proceedings are not likely to begin until the asylum application has been rejected, he said.
Zaiwalla suggested that the Indian government’s next step should be to “make a formal written representation to the relevant asylum department at Home Office setting out the grounds why Nirav Modi should not be granted asylum” as he faces allegation of fraud in India.
The next steps after Nirav Modi’s asylum application is rejected will echo the Vijay Mallya case proceedings – starting from being directed to Westminster Magistrate, taken into provisional custody, applying for bail, and then the court will hear his plea, he said.
Once the court rules for his extradition, the Home Secretary will be expected to once again sign the order for compliance.
“At this stage, the case looks straight forward,” Zaiwalla said, but cautioned that complications can only arise if Nirav Modi has acquired any European or other international citizenship.
“In such cases, there might be a long battle ahead, subject to various international and extraterritorial legalities involved.”
On Nirav Modi now reportedly operating another diamond business from Soho in Central London, he said that this would imply the diamantaire had secured a National Insurance Number – a form of tax reference for operating a business/working in the UK.
Noting that this comes as there is an Interpol red notice – to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition – against him, Zaiwalla said that such notice is not an international arrest warrant, “but merely a provisional request to detain an individual” which is purely optional for the country concerned.
Swiss Open: Riya Mookerjee qualifies for main draw
[Nasheman news] Basel (Switzerland) Young India shuttler Riya Mookerjee has qualified for the main draw of the Yonex Swiss Open.
In her qualifying match, 19-year-old Mookerjee defeated Laura Sarosi of Hungary 21-15, 21-10 in the 30-minute affair late on Tuesday. She will take on Linda Zetchiri in the first round of the main draw.
Meanwhile, the Indian men’s doubles pair comprising Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Chirag Shetty got the better off Chinese Taipei combo of Lee Fang-chih and Lu Chia-Pin 21-15, 17-21, 21-19 in 51 minutes.
Another Indian pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Dhruv Kapila registered a hard-fought 21-17, 19-21, 21-18 victory over Germany’s Bjarne Geiss and Jan Colin Volker.
Age no bar to chase dreams: Woman mountaineer
Nasheman News : Premlata Agrawal, the first Indian woman to conquer all the seven highest peaks across the globe, was just a housewife until the spirit of adventure overtook her.
A mother of two, one of whom is married, she was also the oldest Indian woman mountaineer to scale Mount Everest at the age of 48. In 2018, her record was broken by Sangeeta Sindhi Bahl when she scaled the peak aged 53.
The 56-year-old Agrawal was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013 and Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award in 2017 for her achievements in mountaineering.
Her name also found a place in the Limca Book of Records after she participated in the Thar Desert Expedition which involved a rigorous 40-day camel trek covering 2,000 km.
Talking about how it all started, the Darjeeling-born mountaineer said one day while taking her younger daughter to the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, she came across a poster about a trek being organised by the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation. This is when the daredevil in her awoke. She participated and stood third among over 500 competitors.
And then she came in contact with Bachendri Pal, the pioneering Indian mountaineer, who motivated her to keep her dream alive.
She was 37 then, and moving further ahead involved physical and psychological challenges. But she chose the road less travelled and that made all the difference.
For her, the most difficult challenges were language barriers, a persistent pain from an old ankle deformity and food preferences.
“The will to persevere kept me going,” Agrawal, who climbed the Everest in 2011, told media in an email interview.
But her journey didn’t just stop at Everest as she went on to climb the highest peaks of the seven continents.
When asked what gave her the strength to go on? She said: “While climbing, my mind is not on what challenges will crop up. I’m focused on accomplishing the mission I have set out for myself.”
What egged her on in overcoming the toughest of obstacles was the fire within — “the will to excel”.
Sharing her most difficult moment, she said: “While I was descending the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, I had to pass through a rainforest. I had been walking for six days, was thoroughly exhausted. Suddenly, a huge rock fell on my leg. The medical kit proved to be inadequate, so I kept on dragging myself for another six days till I reached the base camp. This was an acid test of my strength.
She loves to spend time with her family and makes it a point to execute her other passion – culinary art.
“One cannot achieve these highs without the support of family. I was lucky to have such an appreciative family where my husband and in-laws prompted me to explore my interests. My daughters are really proud of me.”
Mystique behind multi-phase polls
Nasheman News : An important characteristic of multi-phase elections is the traction the political rhetoric gets. Extended elections in multiple phases allow political parties and formations malleability and ductility. Size is obviously the biggest determinant in such an exercise for Indian states are vast with different kinds of topography. Analysts point out the high stakes: the game is afoot for 220,000 polling booths across the country.
The polarizing potential of incendiary statements and the resultant divisiveness are amplified over a prolonged period, whose consequences are evident when the results are out. A case in point is the controversial statement of BJP leader Dayashanker Singh, whose sulphurous invective against Mayawati during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls led to a furore. High-profile BJP leaders had remained largely silent as chastising such leaders publicly would have demoralized the cadre. Such kinds of outbursts are commonplace in Hindi heartland and are used to galvanize cadre and voters.
Then, there’s the question of law and order. The Naxal angle, for instance, cannot be ignored. Nor the communal incidents, which political parties and partisan politicians use to polarize themes. Messaging and communication stratagems still work as they did during the protracted UP assembly polls. Fractiousness brought about by such incidents influence voters, one can argue, more in urban agglomerates than in rural areas. The non-committed and the less committed can well be swayed by communal incidents or by results of, say, even local body polls.
Lumpen elements, the ‘mahabalis’ and the ‘bahubalis’ (the musclemen) also need to be controlled and bottled. That is why the Election Commission is using the gambit of multi-phased elections in states where violence is feared during polls.
Yet, multi-phase polls give parties an opportunity to reassess, regroup and revise their strategies for different phases. Throw in some word-of-mouth from on-ground cadre to jump-start both lazy and active voters, and you have a successful operation going.