Archives for October 2023

Ahmedabad: In a disturbing incident, members affiliated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and other right-wing organizations physically assaulted a teacher following the Kalorex Future School Ahmedabad’s efforts to promote interfaith harmony. 

The altercation ensued after a Muslim student, as part of the Rabbiul Awwal (Islamic Month) celebrations, demonstrated Islamic prayer during the school assembly. Subsequently, in a display of unity, four Hindu students joined the Muslim student in singing “Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri.” The video of this inclusive activity was shared on the Kalorex Future School’s Facebook page.

The video, aimed at showcasing the diverse religious practices of the students and encouraging mutual understanding, unfortunately sparked outrage among certain groups. This resentment culminated in an attack by ABVP members, specifically targeting one of the teachers who was part of the program.

Parents, however, expressed varied opinions regarding the school’s approach. While the majority commended the institution’s initiative to foster harmony and appreciated the efforts to familiarize students with diverse religious practices, a section voiced their preference for a primary focus on Hindu festivals and the teachings of Sanatan Dharma. 

School authorities defended their inclusive approach, explaining that introducing students to various religious occasions was an effective method to promote secularism and cultural understanding.

“For the past two years, we’ve been employing festivals, be it Ganesh Chaturthi or others, as mediums for promoting secularism through assembly celebrations. For instance, during Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi, students and parents are encouraged to come prepared to engage in the respective festivities,” a school official was quoted as saying by Vibes of India website.

Ahmedabad’s Kalorex Future School Sets Example In Fostering Religious Harmony

Notably, the school has been actively organizing celebrations centered around different festivals to educate students about diverse cultures and traditions. Apart from the Eid festivities, the school has also showcased Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Onam, allowing students from various backgrounds to participate in the events.

Journalist and AltNews Co-Founder Mohammed Zubair shared details of the incident on his ‘X’ (former known as Twitter) account and stated “After Kalorex future school’s FB page shared a video of a school student offering namaz & four others later joined him in singing “lab pe aati hai dua”. ‘Activists’ of the ABVP & other RW organisations beat up one of the teachers seen during the program.

In another Tweet, he wrote “Other than Eid celebration, Here are a few other Facebook posts by the school Kalorex Future School, Ghatlodia celebrating Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam. ABVP didn’t have any problem with other celebration but Eid”

Omaha: Investors soon won’t be able to follow Warren Buffett’s every move in HP’s stock if the billionaire’s company keeps selling off shares of the printer and computer maker.

Berkshire Hathaway’s ownership of HP Inc. is about to drop below 10 per cent after it sold nearly 5 million shares, according to a regulatory filing by Buffett’s company late Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission requires investors who own less than 10 per cent of a company to report their company holdings only on a quarterly basis rather than big investors who must disclose their actions closer to the time of a so-called “triggering” event, which can mean buying or selling shares.

Many investors do watch Buffett’s moves closely because of his extremely successful track record over the years.

Not that long ago, Berkshire owned more than 12 per cent of HP’s stock before it started to trim its stake last month. Now it’s down to 10.2 per cent after several stock sales of the Palo Alto, California, company.

In the past 30 days, shares of HP Inc. have tumbled nearly 14 per cent, but there has been a fairly broad sell-off across the tech sector. In the same span, shares of Apple Inc. have fallen 9 per cent. But HP is still one of the biggest decliners among peers.

Buffett may be doing more than just trimming the investment, but he doesn’t comment on stock sales like this any more than what he’s required to disclose because he doesn’t want to tip his hand while Berkshire might still be selling. He didn’t immediately respond to questions Tuesday on these latest sales.

Berkshire amassed its HP stake early last year. Even after the latest sales, Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate still held more than 100.9 million shares. Altogether, Berkshire has sold just over 20 million shares in the past month.

Throughout his investment career, Buffett has famously resisted investing in tech companies because he said he couldn’t confidently pick out the long-term winners. But in recent years, Berkshire has bought a massive stake in Apple that ranks as the largest investment in its USD 350 billion portfolio. Buffett has said he considers Apple a consumer products company with extremely loyal customers, and he can understand that kind of business.

Besides investments, Berkshire owns an eclectic mix of companies, including Geico insurance, BNSF railroad, several major utilities and an assortment of manufacturing and retail businesses including well-known brands like Dairy Queen, See’s Candy and Helzberg Diamonds.

New Delhi: The recently passed law which grants 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will pave the way for women-led development, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla told the Vice President of the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

Vice President of the Dominican Republic Raquel Pe a Rodr guez met Birla at the new Parliament building now designated as the Parliament House of India.

This was the first high-level diplomatic engagement to have taken place in the new building. So far foreign delegations have been received in the old building, now called Samvidhan Bhavan.

Birla noted that the newly built Parliament House is a symbol of India’s diversity and democratic journey. It incorporates designs, materials, and cultures from all parts of the nation, the Speaker told the delegation.

The women’s reservation bill passed by both Houses received the assent of the President last week.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday claimed the prime minister has “openly accepted” what he had said at a rally last month that the BRS means “BJP Rishtedaar Samiti”, after Narendra Modi stated that he had rejected Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s request to join the NDA.

Gandhi also alleged that the “partnership” between the BJP and BRS has “destroyed” the state.

Addressing a rally in Telangana’s Nizamabad, Prime Minister Modi said he had rejected a request of BRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister Rao to join the NDA, after the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections in 2020, citing his “deeds”.

Reacting to the remarks, Gandhi posted on X, “Today Modi ji openly accepted what I had said BRS means BJP Rishtedaar Samiti.” The BJP-BRS partnership has “destroyed” Telangana in the last 10 years, he said.

“People are intelligent and have understood their game. This time they will reject both of them and form a Congress government of six guarantees,” the former Congress chief said.

Speaking at the rally, Modi said that before the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, Rao used to come to the airport to receive him with fanfare and show a lot of respect.

“But, why did it stop suddenly… Why so much anger suddenly? The reason for that is, after the Hyderabad polls, he came to Delhi to meet me. He gave a beautiful shawl and honoured me. He showed so much love that it was not in the character of KCR,” Modi said.

“Then, he told me that the country is progressing under your leadership. We also want to be part of the NDA. Make us part of the NDA. I said what next? Support us in the Hyderabad municipal corporation. I told KCR, your deeds are such that Modi cannot join you,” the prime minister said.

Modi said he had “rejected the entry of KCR into NDA” even if it meant the BJP sitting in opposition in GHMC.

On September 17, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, addressing a rally near Hyderabad, had dubbed the BRS as ‘BJP Rishtedar Samithi’ and claimed that while opposition leaders were being attacked by government agencies there were no cases against the Telangana chief minister and AIMIM leaders because Prime Minister Modi considers them his own.

Gandhi had said in Telangana that the Congress was not just fighting the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), but also the BJP and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).

“They call each other separate parties but they are working together in collusion. I have seen BRS MPs in Lok Sabha. When the BJP needed them, their (BRS) people supported it,” he had said and cited the instances of BRS “support” to the BJP on farm laws, GST, and President and Vice President polls.

Whenever the BJP needed its help, the BRS extended support, the former Congress chief had said.

Toronto : Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said Canada was not looking to “escalate” the situation with India amid the diplomatic row between the two countries over the killing of a Khalistani separatist and asserted that his government will continue to have “constructive relations” with New Delhi.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Trudeau also said that it’s important for Canada to have diplomats on the ground in India, amid a report by London-based Financial Times that New Delhi wants as many as 41 of 62 remaining Canadian diplomats out of the country, the Toronto Sun newspaper reported.

“Obviously, we’re going through an extremely challenging time with India right now,” Trudeau was quoted as saying by the Canadian newspaper.

He, however, did not confirm the FT report that India has asked Canada to withdraw 41 of 62 diplomats from the country.

Asked if his government would retaliate by asking India to remove diplomats based in Canada, Trudeau insisted his government would try to keep working with New Delhi.

“We’re not looking to escalate, as I’ve said, we’re going to be doing the work that matters in continuing to have constructive relations with India through this extremely difficult time,” Trudeau was quoted as saying by the state-run CBC News.

Tensions flared between India and Canada last month following Trudeau’s allegations of “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India angrily rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Nijjar was shot dead by two masked gunmen. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

Last month, India asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic staff in the country, arguing that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in the mutual diplomatic presence. The size of Canadian diplomatic staff in India is larger than what New Delhi has in Canada.

India also asked Canada to come down hard on terrorists and anti-India elements operating from its soil and suspended visa services for Canadians.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told journalists in Washington last week that the governments of India and Canada will have to talk to each other and see how they resolve their differences over the issue and underlined that the larger issue of “permissiveness” must be flagged and addressed.

Mumbai: Aamir Khan on Tuesday announced his next production venture “Lahore, 1947”, starring Sunny Deol and to be directed by Rajkumar Santoshi.

The superstar confirmed the project in a statement posted on his banner Aamir Khan Productions’ (AKP) official page on microblogging site X.

Khan said he and his team at AKP are looking forward to collaborate with Deol and Santoshi.

“I, and the entire team at AKP, are most excited and happy to announce our next, starring Sunny Deol, directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi, titled ‘Lahore, 1947’.

“We look forward to collaborating with the immensely talented Sunny, and one of my favourite directors Raj Santoshi. The journey we have embarked on promises to be most enriching,” the statement read.

The project will mark maiden collaboration between the two actors, who have previously worked with Santoshi on separate projects.

While Deol has starred in Santoshi’s blockbuster hits such as “Ghayal”, “Ghatak”, “Damini”, Khan has worked with the filmmaker in cult comedy “Andaz Apna Apna”.

Hangzhou: Parul Chaudhary pulled off a heist for a sensational women’s 5000m gold while Annu Rani conjured up her season-best performance to claim the top prize in women’s javelin throw as Indian athletes bagged six medals from track and field at the Asian Games, here on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old Parul was behind Japan’s Ririka Hironaka in the closing stage but stunned her rival with a stunning dash in the final 40 metres to claim the yellow metal

with a timing of 15:14.75.

The stunning performance earned Parul her second medal in Hangzhou after claiming a silver in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase on Monday.

Kazakhtan’s Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui won the bronze clocking 15:23.12.

The 31-year-old Annu, who hails from Meerut, produced a season-best effort of 62.92m in her fourth attempt to win gold.

Sri Lankan Nadeesha Dilhan and China’s Huihui Lyu claimed the silver and bronze with efforts of 61.57 and 61.29 respectively.

Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath and Praveen Chitharavel also made India proud, securing a silver and bronze in men’s 800m and triple jump with efforts of 1:48.43s and 16.68m respectively.

Tejaswin Shankar secured a silver in men’s decathlon with a national record of 7666 points, following a fourth-place finish in the 1500m — the final event of the physically-demanding competition.

It was India’s first men’s decathlon medal since 1974. Vijay Singh Chauhan was the last Indian to win a decathlon medal in Asian Games in 1974, while the national record belonged to Bharatinder Singh (7,658 points).

Vithya Ramraj, 25, came up with a timing of 55.68s to claim a bronze medal in women’s 400m hurdles.

It wasn’t her best show but it was good enough to secure a third-place finish.

Bahrain’s Oluwakemi Mujidat Adekoya produced a Games record of 54.45s and Jaidie Mo of China came up with a season-best of 55.01 to claim the gold and silver respectively.

The Indian had equalled PT Usha’s 400m hurdle national record, which was set in 1984, with a personal best effort of 55.52s to top her heat and directly qualify for the final on Monday.

Ramraj was also part of the Indian quartet, including Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi, Rajesh Ramesh and Subha Venkatesan, that had won the bronze in mixed team 4x400m relay before it was upgraded to silver on Monday after Sri Lanka’s disqualification for lane infringement.

In men’s 400m hurdles, Yashas Palaksha (49.39) and Santhosh Kumar (49.41) finished fifth and sixth respectively in the final.

In women’s high jump final, Pooja and Rubina Yadav ended their campaign at the sixth and ninth positions respectively.

London (AP): Meta plans to give Facebook and Instagram users in Europe the option of paying for ad-free versions of the social media platforms as a way to comply with the continent’s strict data privacy rules, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The company wants to charge users about 10 euros (USD 10.50) a month to use Instagram or Facebook without ads on desktop browsers, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the proposal. Adding more accounts would cost 6 euros each.

Prices for mobile would be higher, at roughly 13 euros a month, because Meta needs to account for commissions charged by the Apple and Google app stores on in-app payments, the newspaper said.

Meta reportedly is hoping to roll out paid subscriptions in the coming months as a way to comply with European Union data privacy rules that threaten its lucrative business model of showing personalised ads to users.

Meta would give users the choice between continuing to use the platforms with ads or paying for the ad-free version, the WSJ said.

“Meta believes in the value of free services which are supported by personalised ads,” the company said in a statement to The Associated Press. “However, we continue to explore options to ensure we comply with evolving regulatory requirements. We have nothing further to share at this time.”

The EU’s top court said in July that Meta must first get consent before showing ads to users a ruling that jeopardises the company’s ability to make money by tailoring advertisements for individual users based on their online interests and digital activity.

It’s not clear if EU regulators will sign off on the plan or insist that the company offer cheaper versions. The newspaper said one issue regulators have is whether the proposed fees will be too expensive for most people who don’t want to be targeted by ads.