“I was an overweight teenager, and looking back, I can see that the reason why was that I didn’t really have a reason to follow a healthy diet. I didn’t really feel the need to do anything about my health and I never was much into sports activities or anything like that outside of what I was forced to do at school.”
After just one semester in university, he decided to start his weight loss journey to become more active and fit.
Ajay was 120kgs by the end of high school.
“When I started training, I was weighing in at 130 kilos (286 lbs.). At this point, I hadn’t ever done any sport or exercise to try to lose weight. But over the first 6-8 months, I dropped from 130 kg to about 105 (231 lbs.). This was not through diet or cardio! It was mainly just through weight training. I would lift weights for about 1.5-2 hours a day, 6-7 days a week.”
During the first semester break of university, he started going to the gym.
Ajay soon started noticing the positive effects of training and exercising on his life.
“After about a year and a half of it I was still just training and I had reached about 95-100kgs. It was good progress but I knew I could go further. So, in 2019 I started researching and experimenting with different diet plans. I formed a five month plan and was very strict in following it. I ended up losing 22kgs, reaching around 70-75kgs.”
Determined to push his limit, Ajay kept going aiming for a local competition.
“The thought of bodybuilding and weightlifting was never in my mind until then. There was this competition in April, 2020, I was interested in but that was cancelled and I kinda gave up. It was difficult to train with COVID as I had to drop training for about 12-14 weeks with gyms being closed, but I did still keep to my diet.”
When gyms reopened in NSW, he enlisted the help of a trainer at the end of June to participate in Nov. 2020 competition.
Ajay says that he ate the same meals every day.
“Starting in 2019, I began to research deeply into diet, nutrition, meal prep, and weighing my food. I’ve been vegetarian since I was 18 years old, so I wanted to be sure I was getting enough protein as a high priority.”
Ajay is solely on a vegetarian diet that also includes tofu, cottage cheeses, and yoghurt.
With this diet, he reached 74kg with about 5.5-6% body fat.
He achieved First place in the Men’s Juniors and Third place in the Novice Men’s.
“I have plans to compete for the same federation along with another federation hopefully on a yearly basis, if not twice a year. Hopefully I can get a pro card and possibly represent the Australia Federation.”
Ajay is looking forward to future competitions.
“My goal is to keep pushing past each limit, and if I get a pro card, maybe possibly come overseas to compete. That would be amazing.”
More than 3000 nurses have died after contracting COVID since March 2020 in 60 countries.
A new report by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) reveal that more than 10 percent of total case fatality globally comprises healthcare workers.
The report observes that since March 11, 2020 when World health organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, millions of nurses have been reeling under the “mass trauma”.
The report and analysis by the ICN found that the swamped hospitals, staffing shortage and onslaught of COVID-19 patients since the last year has stressed and worn out the healthcare workers.
It notes that as many as 400 incidents of pandemic related violence and threat against the healthcare worker was recorded.
This has also pushed many to quit their profession.
At least 1,172 COVID-19 related incidents against the nurses were registered during their response to the pandemic.
The ICN report found:
“COVID-19-related attacks reveal a disturbing new dimension of violence against health care, which has in the past related primarily to attacks on health care amid armed conflict or routine health services provision.”
In a statement, the ICN chief executive Howard Catton said:
“Nurses have gone through ‘mass traumatisation’ during the pandemic, as hospitals were pushed to physical and mental exhaustion. They reach a point where they’ve given everything they can.”
Catton stated that the global workforce of the nurses at the hospitals during the pandemic drastically shrank to just 6 million from the previous 27 million, this included at least 4 million that were already looking for retirement by 2030.
Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow played unbeaten knocks of 83 and 40 respectively as England secured a comfortable eight-wicket win over India in the third T20I here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday evening.
With this win, England has now gained a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Both teams will now meet in the fourth T20I on Thursday which will be played at the same venue. Chasing 157, England openers Jason Roy and Jos Buttler put on 23 runs for the first wicket, but the introduction of Yuzvendra Chahal paid off straight away when he dismissed Roy (9) in the fourth over as the right-handed batsman was trying to play a reverse-sweep. This dismissal, however, did not bring about a check in the run-flow, as Buttler went berserk and the visitors’ scored read 57/1 at the end of the powerplay. Dawid Malan and Buttler stitched together a stand of 58 runs for the second wicket, but Malan’s (18) vigil at the crease was finally cut short in the 10th over by Washington Sundar as he had the left-handed batsman stumped, reducing England to 81/2, still 76 runs away from the target.
Bairstow came out to bat at number four and he along with set Buttler ensured that England did not suffer from more hiccups and in the end, the visitors crossed the line with eight balls to spare. Buttler and Bairstow stitched an unbeaten stand of 77 runs for the third wicket. Earlier, skipper Virat Kohli’s unbeaten knock of 77 runs off just 46 balls helped India post 156/6 in the allotted 20 overs. Down and out going into the last five overs of the innings, Kohli led from the front in all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s company as the duo added 69 runs from 30 balls to take the hosts’ total past the 150-run mark.
England win the third @Paytm#INDvENG T20I & go 2-1 up in the series. #TeamIndia will look to win the next game & take the series into the decider.
Hardik had joined Kohli with the score of 86/5 in 14.3 overs and what followed was nothing short of a master-class on power-hitting. Interestingly, it was Hardik who played second-fiddle in their 70-run partnership off just 33 balls as Kohli went on a hitting spree. This was India’s highest sixth-wicket partnership in T20Is.
India’s score read 87/5 going into the last five with Kohli on 28 off 29 balls and Hardik yet to open his account. And at the end of the innings, Kohli was standing unbeaten on 77 off 46 balls with eight boundaries and four sixes. It was a complete class on batsmanship as Kohli didn’t hit a single cross-batted shot and banked on his technique to send the English bowlers on a leather hunt. Put into bat, the hosts once again had a poor start as they lost three wickets inside the powerplay. Openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were back in the hut inside the opening five overs. While Rahul departed for his third duck of the series, Rohit playing his first white-ball match for India since February last year got out after hitting two fours as Mark Wood picked his second wicket of the day.
Highs 📈 Lows 📉 Proudest moments 👏
We look back with @Eoin16 as he reaches 💯 IT20 matches
Ishan Kishan, who had a dream debut on Sunday, fell for just four runs as he skied one behind the wicket and Buttler made no mistake. Kohli and Rishabh Pant tried to rebuild the innings and stitched a 40-run stand. Just when things started to look good for the hosts, Pant got run-out trying to steal a third run. With India struggling at 86/4 in the 14th over, Wood was brought into the attack, and he removed Shreyas Iyer as the hosts lost half the side.
Brief scores: India 156/6 (Virat Kohli 77*, Rishabh Pant 25, Mark Wood 3-31); England 158/2 (Jos Buttler 83*, Jonny Bairstow 40*, Washington Sundar 1-26).
She was formally welcomed at a mihi whakatau (a welcome speech by Maori representative), following a two-year-long study and recruitment process.
Pictured with her tutor Andrew McCrory.
Ramandeep was born and raised in Punjab and moved to Hawke’s Bay in 2012.
She says her first years in New Zealand – acclimatising herself to new people, culture, and lifestyle – were challenging.
She working different jobs in orchards, hospitality, and customer service to start with.
“I have always been interested in the investigative side of police work, so joining Police seemed like an obvious career to pursue. I also found out there were no Indian female police officers in Hawke’s Bay. Yet, I had no idea where to start.”
Soon Ramandeep learned about the Services Pathway programme run by the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) in Hawke’s Bay.
Raman says she had a great experience at EIT, as the programme helped her with her application to join Police.
At the mihi whakatau at Hastings Central Police Station, Raman spoke about her journey:
“I want to make my family proud to see me in my blue uniform as no one in the history of my family has ever done something as big and splendid as getting into New Zealand Police.”
Eastern District Commander Superintendent Jeanette Park says the team is delighted to have Raman join them.
“She is the first Indian woman police officer in the region and I am sure her ability to speak three languages – Punjabi, Hindi and English – will be extremely useful.”
Hawke’s Bay is a region on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island and is well-known for its beaches and wineries.
Raman says there are many Indians in the Hawke’s Bay community – and she feels she will be able to connect, gain their trust, and help make them feel safe.
“I want to be there for the wider community. I would love to make a positive difference in every aspect of people’s lives wherever I can. I want to be the best possible version of myself but also inspire more females from diverse backgrounds to join Police.”
Op-ed: A powerful misinformation campaign has always been the hallmark of the Kashmir debate, and an easy way to keep Kashmiris inextricably bound to the conflict in the region. Even a mere whisper of a small UN-sponsored project would be enough to send the newspapers in a frenzy of sensationalism, using hyperbolic phrases like “Aqwaam Mutahida ke aewaano main masala-e-Kashmir ki Baazgisth”.
Political radicalisation is not new to Jammu and Kashmir. It has a bloody history going back decades. While it had originated as an offshoot of political violence based on changes brought about by the Partition of 1947; it took on a religious character. Till as late as 2014, there were senseless killings, abductions, and hate crimes that had worn down the societal fabric of the region. All driven by fragmented groups with an extremist ideology.
The youth of Jammu and Kashmir were particularly susceptible to indoctrination because they were offered a pipe dream. They were goaded to challenge the status quo and brainwashed into extremist political ideals. In the past year, a lot of effort and focus was made to stamp out violence and this was successful to a great degree. However, the specter of another war has raised its ugly head. A battle that is not fought on the streets, but on websites and social media. This is even more insidious in its reach and its potential for collateral damage. This ‘cyber’ dimension of violence is new and just as deadly. It’s easy to glamourise things on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter. From there is a small step to enforcing this ideology through force. And that is exactly how our youth are being targeted – via an ideological war being fought in a new dimension with little oversight and almost complete impunity.
This electronic campaign promotes dangerous content that is a ticking bomb, just waiting to infect the minds of youth – provoking and exhorting them to engage in violent activities and carry out violent acts in the real world. This has caused a lot of harm to Jammu and Kashmir, and our youth have been the greatest victims of this electronic attack.
Looking at the past it is not hard to understand that this struggle was in no way related to a desire for equitable political rights. Certain sections had taken undue advantage of a precarious political system and put all their might into driving a wedge between the people of Kashmir. This created an environment that was a breeding ground for violence.
The people of Kashmir now know that no political movement can succeed in achieving its objectives unless it is capable of representing the interests of all ethnic and religious groups. The only way this is possible is by employing an inclusive approach to its political character and social base. We need to work as one – civil society, media, and political and religious leaders towards the goal of protecting our youth from the disease of information war.
There have been a number of triggers in the recent past that have backed Pakistan into a corner. It had falsely speculated that nuclear equivalence was a guarantee of India’s non-retaliation to provocative terrorist attacks. The Balakot operation destroyed that assumption. Then the return of the BJP government sent out a clear message that there were at least 5 more years of India’s strong policy of militarised action on its soil. Finally the focal point of Pakistan’s deluded nationalism – ‘Kashmir will be Pakistan’ was swiftly decimated by Article 370.
While its anti-India strategy continues, Pakistan has now shifted gears and moved the focus of its tactics – a morbid ‘digital first’ approach to violence. It promotes content that is specifically designed to attack the public perception of India, by spreading falsehoods to polarise society on a religious basis. This is done by creating a huge amount of fake profiles on major social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp Twitter, and YouTube. The posts are embellished with fake content and laced with inane facts to lend an air of credibility.
With the sheer volume of religious misinformation content, they proceed to carpet bomb Facebook groups, online forums and Twitter feeds and create a hate-based environment to try and impact India’s credentials as a secular democracy. The latest addition is the extensive use of handles and user names that are obviously identifiable as Middle Eastern. They twist and manipulate any and all news in India that they can repurpose to their benefit, whether it is a democratic protest or healthy dissent. It is all packaged into a twisted narrative designed to cause maximum damage to the social fabric of India, and suddenly we are treated to the “news” of fascist governments, disenfranchised Muslims, and Hindu supremacists. Look a little further and there is the familiar whining about Kashmir’s disputed status and the soon-to-be-announced solution by UN resolution. Human rights, Azad Kashmir, fake encounters, and imminent Muslim genocide. All this has gone to sickening lengths to further a delusional agenda. And it is no surprise that the same anecdotes are parroted on every medium and every platform. It would have been hilarious if it wasn’t so deceptive and hateful.
So India has to keep a resolute defence and step up to battle against this new campaign. The vigil must be relentless – the damage that can be caused by these spiteful attacks can be unexpected and tactical. The greatest danger of this type of information war is its persistence and dishonesty.
Pakistan’s eagerness to capitalise on its digital media fetish doesn’t end there. While there have been disconcerting rumors about its global agenda to claim leadership of the Muslim world, there have been recent reports that lend credence to this news.
So what does the rest of the world do to mitigate this unilateral digital aggression against other nations? Based on the sheer volume and type of misinformation, there is a clear potential of this propaganda campaign causing significant harm to the peace process in multiple regions.
There should also be a strong collaboration of Philia Forum nations and the possibilities of launching a joint investigation into the actions and effects of this propaganda army. We should consider setting up a dedicated information centre to minimize the impact of such groups that are engaged in information warfare. This is a new frontier and a new war. Along with India, there should be a call for strong media oversight across all countries to evaluate and moderate the content based on their own internal guidelines, in the best interests of their citizens. There will need to be a well-thought-out plan of action, along with effective mechanisms and tools to combat this menace. Make no mistake, the truth must be spoken. A journalist who hides or misrepresents the facts is doing a great disservice to the people and dishonouring their own profession. The days of keeping our youth in the dark and using them as cannon fodder are over. They have suffered enough already, they deserve a chance at peace and progress.
Author: Emaad Makhdoomi is a Young Political Commentator, TV Panelist, and a Writer. He is one of the leading lights in the studded youth icons of India. Emaad has represented India at various Youth Leadership forums in countries including The United States of America, Germany, New Zealand, and Dubai. Emaad Makhdoomi has also been a recipient of prestigious awards worldwide.
Among the seven wonders of the world listed Taj Mahal is situated at India’s state of Uttar prasdesh.
Now, the local Agra district administration has decided to raise the entry ticket prices for both domestic and foreign tourists. The Indian tourists, who are currently paying A$1 to enter the monument, will now have to pay just over A$1.5, while foreign tourists will have to shell out A$24, instead of A$22 to enter the Taj. Apart from that, the ADA will also charge A$4 for tourists who wish to enter the main dome, which is separate from the A$4 already being charged by the ASI.
Agra Divisional Commissioner Amit Gupta told reporters, “Agra Development Authority (ADA) has proposed to charge Rs 200 to enter the main dome, separate to A$4 already charged by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).” With the new charges in place, domestic tourists wishing to enter the main dome will have to pay over A$9, while foreign tourists will be charged A$32. Responding to the new proposal of hiking entry tickets to the Taj, a tourist Saurabh Mishra said, “If prices surge, it would cause inconvenience to Indian tourists to see their own heritage. We used to pay A$1 to visit the main dome. If it increases again, footfall of Indian tourists will decrease.”
India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah tied the knot with sports presenter and anchor Sanjana Ganesan on Monday. Bumrah shared adorable pictures from the wedding ceremony and the cricketer termed the date (March 15) as one of the happiest days of their lives.
“‘Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.’ Steered by love, we have begun a new journey together. Today is one of the happiest days of our lives and we feel blessed to be able to share the news of our wedding and our joy with you. Jasprit & Sanjana,” Bumrah captioned the post on Instagram.
“Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.”
Steered by love, we have begun a new journey together. Today is one of the happiest days of our lives and we feel blessed to be able to share the news of our wedding and our joy with you.
His Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians wished the duo a happy married life. “Bumrah bowled over by Sanjana. Here’s wishing love, laughter, and a happily ever after for @Jaspritbumrah93 and @SanjanaGanesan,” Mumbai Indians tweeted.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also congratulated the couple on getting hitched.
The 27-year-old Bumrah played two Tests in the four-match series against England and he returned with four wickets. Bumrah was rested for the second Test against England in Chennai and he returned wicketless in the third Test as spinners did a majority of the work. India won the Test series 3-1.
Meanwhile, in the shortest format, Team India made a brilliant comeback in the T20I series as the team registered a comprehensive 8-wicket victory in the second T20I on Sunday after losing the first game. The third game of the series will be played on Tuesday.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader Gurdeep Singh took oath today as a Senator.
He has become the first turban-clad Sikh representative in the upper house of Pakistan’s Parliament.
Gurdeep Singh is from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party and a representative from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Gurdeep Singh defeated rival candidates on a minority seat by a huge margin in the election to the upper chamber of Parliament.
He secured 103 votes in the House of 145 whereas Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (Fazlur) candidate Ranjeet Singh secured just 25 votes and Asif Bhatti of the Awami National Party received 12.
In 2018, Ranjeet Singh was the first minority lawmaker to be elected MPA. The other two elected non-Muslim MPAs were Ravi Kumar, a Hindu, and Wazirzada hailing from the Kalash community in Chitral.
Gurdeep Singh, after taking oath as member of Senate, told PTI that he would work for the betterment of the minority community in the country.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action in the Federal Circuit Court against the operators of a Melbourne-based business that builds custom food trailers, vans and trucks.
Facing court are Mobile Food Vans & Trucks Pty. Ltd. and its manager Mr Yaner Gelgel.
FWO investigated after receiving a request for assistance from an employee.
This employee, a visa holder from India, had worked for the company as a sheet metal worker.
A Fair Work Inspector issued a Compliance Notice in April 2020.
The inspector believed the employee had been underpaid his minimum wages for ordinary hours, overtime and annual leave entitlements.
This was done across two separate employment periods – between May and June 2018, and between March and August in 2019.
The FWO alleges that Mobile Food Vans & Trucks, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with the Compliance Notice.
The notice required the company to calculate and back-pay the worker’s entitlements.
In line with the FWO’s proportionate approach to regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FWO made attempts to secure voluntary compliance before commencing legal action.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said that the regulator would continue to enforce workplace laws and take companies to court where lawful requests are not complied with.
“Under the Fair Work Act, Compliance Notices are important tools used by inspectors if they form a belief that an employer has breached workplace laws. Where employers do not comply with our requests, we will take appropriate action to protect employees. A court can order the business to pay penalties in addition to back-paying workers. Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance.”
The Fair Work Ombudsman is seeking penalties against Mobile Food Vans & Trucks Pty. Ltd. and Mr Gelgel.
The company faces a maximum penalty of up to $31,500 and Mr Gelgel faces a maximum penalty of up to $6,300.
The regulator is also seeking orders for the company to comply with the Compliance Notice, which includes rectifying any underpayments in full, plus paying applicable superannuation and interest.
A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit Court in Melbourne on 28 April 2021.
In June 2020, Victoria became the first state to criminalise wage theft. This was followed by Queensland in December last year as part of its industrial relations reforms.
Employers and employees can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance about their rights and obligations in the workplace.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli led from the front while Ishan Kishan scored a magnificent half-century on debut as hosts registered a seven-wicket win over England in the second T20I here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday evening.
Captain @imVkohli finishes it off in style with a SIX 😎#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 beat England 🏴 by 7️⃣ wickets to level the series 1-1 👌🏻#INDvENG@Paytm
With this win, the hosts leveled the five-match series 1-1. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 73 runs while Kishan scored 56 runs. Chasing the target of 165, India once again witnessed a poor start with KL Rahul being dismissed in the very first over of the innings. Rahul (0) was caught behind on Sam Curran’s delivery.
Opener Kishan was then joined by Kohli on the field. The duo played with an attacking mindset and the team touched the 50-run mark in the sixth over. In the 10th over, the debutant smashed two back-to-back sixes to Adil Rashid to bring his maiden international half-century.
However, in the same over, Rashid made a comeback and dismissed Kishan on the last bowl of the over which brought Rishabh Pant out in the middle. Pant scored 26 runs off just 13 balls before getting out. Kohli was then accompanied by Shreyas Iyer. Just like Kishan, Kohli also completed his half-century by hitting an impressive six as India inched closer to the target. Continuing his stunning form, Kohli easily took the team over the line in the 18th over.
Earlier, a perfect display of death bowling helped India restrict England to 164/6. Put in to bat, England didn’t have a great start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar had Jos Buttler (0) adjudged leg before wicket on just the third ball of the innings. Dawid Malan then joined Jason Roy in the middle and the duo revived the innings for the visitors, taking the score to 44/1 after the end of the powerplay.
Malan and Roy eventually stitched a 63-run stand for the second wicket which came to an end in the ninth over after leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had Malan (24) adjudged leg-before wicket, reducing England to 64/2. Roy (46), for the second time in a row, then missed out on his half-century as he was sent back to the pavilion in the 12th over by Washington Sundar. The right-handed batsman went for a big shot, but he ended up holding out to Bhuvneshwar in the deep. Jonny Bairstow (20) got a reprieve in the 14th over of the innings, but he was sent back to the dressing room in the very same over by Sundar.
💬 "He is a fearless character & should continue to back his instincts."
In the final four overs, the hosts conceded just 28 runs and as a result, England was restricted under the 170-run mark. For the hosts, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur returned with two wickets. Ben Stokes was dismissed after playing a knock of 24 while Sam Curran remained unbeaten on 6. Skipper Eoin Morgan also contributed with 28. The two teams will now take on each other in the third T20I on Tuesday.
Brief Scores: England 164/6 (Jason Roy 46, Eoin Morgan 28, Shardul Thakur 2-29) vs India 166/3 (Virat Kohli 73*, Ishan Kishan 56; Sam Curran 1-22).
“I am appalled by the ongoing acts of hate against Asian Americans and the Asian community globally. Racism, hate and violence have no place in our society. I am united with the Asian and Asian American community in standing against this injustice.”
In a statement, Microsoft said that it condemns hate, racial discrimination, and violence in all forms.
Meanwhile, prominent lawmakers have joined hands to introduce a legislation to address the rise of hate crimes and violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congressman Donald M. Payne, expressed concern over an increase in such racist attacks.
“I want to condemn the abuse and assault that has happened to Asian Americans during his pandemic in the strongest words possible. Hate and violence have no place in America at all. These attacks must stop because they are cowardly attempts to scapegoat and blame Americans for a pandemic that started thousands of miles away.”
The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act would direct the US Attorney General to designate an official whose sole responsibility will be to expedite review of COVID-19 hate crimes from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Acting US Attorney Tessa M Gorman said:
“These crimes, and other acts of hate and bias, have no place in our community. I urge members of our community to report hate-based crimes to either local or federal law enforcement and to contact our office’s civil rights line with information about discrimination in areas like housing, employment, education, or public accommodations.”
President Joe Biden in his first prime-time address to the nation since assuming office in January has denounced “violent” attacks on the Asian Americans.
During the first Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), the four leaders – the US, Australia, India and Japan – stressed for a free, open and rule-based Indo-Pacific region that is “anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion”.
In a joint statement, the Quad leaders said: “We bring diverse perspectives and are united in a shared vision for the free and open Indo-Pacific. We strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion.”
“Today, the global devastation wrought by COVID-19, the threat of climate change, and security challenges facing the region summon us with renewed purpose,” they said.
The quad leaders also committed to holding an in-person leaders’ summit by the end of 2021.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Quad countries will work together closer than ever before for promoting “a secure, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific” and Quad will now remain an important pillar of stability in the region.
“I thank President Biden for this initiative. We are united by democratic values and our commitment to a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Our agenda today – covering areas like vaccines, climate change, and emerging technologies – makes the Quad a force for global good,” he said.
“I see this positive vision as an extension of India’s ancient philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which regards the world as one family. We will work together, closer than ever before for advancing our shared values and promoting a secure, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Today’s meeting shows that Quad has come of age. It will now remain an important pillar of stability in the region,” he added.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the Indo-Pacific will shape the destiny of the world in the 21st century. Speaking at the first-ever Quad meet, Mr. Morrison said: “…We join together as Quad leaders of nations to welcome what I believe to be a new dawn in the Indo-Pacific. History teaches us that when nations engage together in a partnership of strategic trust, common hope and shared values, much can be achieved.”
An historic meeting for India, the United States, Japan and Australia – the first ever leaders’ meeting of the Quad.
For us, this meeting is about how we keep Australia and the Indo-Pacific region we live in safe, stable and secure.
PM Morrison called for creating a different future post-COVID recovery and for the Quad to be an enabler of peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific “It is the Indo-Pacific that will now shape the destiny of our world in the 21st century. As four leaders of great liberal democracies in the Indo Pacific, let our partnership be enabler more peace, stability, and prosperity and to do so inclusively with many nations of our region,” he said.
“To share their vision, as expressed in ASEAN, for an open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific. To respect and support their sovereignty, freedom, and security, from upholding their values and supporting international law and to address the many challenges we face from COVID-19 and climate change,” he added.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that he felt “emotional” about the summit and committed to advance cooperation for a free and open Indo-Pacific. “I do feel emotional about this summit… With the four countries working together, I wish to fully advance cooperation to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific and to make a visible and tangible contribution to the peace, prosperity, and stability in the region, including COVID-19,” said Suga, while speaking at the first meeting of the Quad today.
He also thanked the other three Quad countries for their support during the 2011 Japan earthquake, adding that he looked forward to fruitful conversations in the meet. Suga will be the first foreign leader to visit the United States since President Joe Biden took office and the global coronavirus pandemic halted much international travel, according to an announcement by the White House on Friday.
US President Joe Biden said that a free and open Indo-Pacific is essential for the future of each of the grouping’s member countries, and the US is committed to ensuring the region is governed by international law and free of coercion. “A free and open Indo Pacific is essential to each of our future of our countries. The US is committed to working with you, our partners, and all of our allies in the region to achieve stability” he said during the Quad meet.
This morning, I met virtually with the Quad in the first multilateral summit I’ve hosted as president. The United States, Japan, India, and Australia are committed to working together to tackle the shared challenges we face and to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific region. pic.twitter.com/m0AYfsEx6z
Biden also spoke about his recently passed USD 1.9 trillion Covid-19 packages, known as the ‘American Rescue Plan’ to help Americans overcome the pandemic. Biden announced the launch of a new vaccine manufacturing pact, in which the Quad will play an important role.
“We are launching a new vaccine manufacturing pact. We will ensure that our pact is governed by universal laws. The Quad is going to be important.”
Focusing on generating domestic demand and driving sustainable growth, the US President said: “We are establishing a new mechanism to enhance our cooperation in ways that our mutual ambitions as we have addressed, accelerating climate change. We are renewing our commitment to ensure that our regions are governed by international law, committing to universal values and free from coercion.”
“The Quad is going to be a vital ingredient for cooperation in the Indo Pacific and I look forward to working closely with all of you in the coming years,” he said in his concluding remarks. Biden participated in the virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in the historic summit, the first leadership-level engagement for Quad.
Pledging to strengthen cooperation towards promoting a free, rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the leaders committed to supporting rule of law, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values and territorial integrity.
“We reaffirm our strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Full of potential, the Quad looks forward to the future; it seeks to uphold peace and prosperity and strengthen democratic resilience, based on universal values,” the leaders further said.
The leaders also pledged to respond to the economic and health impacts of COVID-19, combat climate change, and address shared challenges, including in cyberspace, critical technologies, counterterrorism, quality infrastructure investment, and humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief as well as maritime domains.
“… We will join forces to expand safe, affordable, and effective vaccine production and equitable access, to speed economic recovery and benefit global health… We will, therefore, collaborate to strengthen equitable vaccine access for the Indo-Pacific, with close coordination with multilateral organizations including the World Health Organization and COVAX. We call for transparent and results-oriented reform at the World Health Organization,” the statement said. The four nations committed to keeping a Paris-aligned temperature limit within reach and prioritising the role of international law in the maritime domain and facilitate collaboration, including in maritime security, to meet challenges to the rules-based maritime order in the East and South China Seas.
On Myanmar, the leaders underscored the urgent need to restore democracy and the priority of strengthening democratic resilience. They also reaffirmed commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, and also confirm the necessity of immediate resolution of the issue of Japanese abductees.
“We will combine our nations’ medical, scientific, financing, manufacturing and delivery, and development capabilities and establish a vaccine expert working group to implement our path-breaking commitment to safe and effective vaccine distribution; we will launch a critical- and emerging-technology working group to facilitate cooperation on international standards and innovative technologies of the future; and we will establish a climate working group to strengthen climate actions globally on mitigation, adaptation, resilience, technology, capacity-building, and climate finance,” further read the joint statement.
The Quad is a strategic forum comprising India, Japan, Australia and the United States of America, held its first-ever head of states meet virtually on Friday.
An Oxford University graduate has sued his parents for a ‘lifelong maintenance grant’.
41-year-old Faiz Siddiqui has sued his “wealthy” parents in court claiming that he was a “ vulnerable grown-up” child and was entitled to lifelong claim maintenance.
Siddique who currently unemployed and also suffers from several health issues defended his case.
He stated that a denial of funds would be a direct violation of his “human rights”.
The family’s lawyer, Justin Warshaw QC, told The Sun:
‘These long-suffering parents have their own view of what is suitable provision for their ”difficult, demanding and pertinacious” son.’
As per a report by Daily Mail, Siddique bungled with a few law firms after completing graduating from the University of Oxford.
He currently lives rent-free at a £1million flat that is owned by his mother Rakshanda, 69, and father Javed, 71, near Hyde Park in central London.
In addition, Siddique gets a monthly allowance of over 400 pounds a week in an addendum to help with his other bills.
Back in 2018, Siddique tried to sue the university stating that his failure at getting a first-class degree from the university, led to failure in his career and subsequent depression.
He studied at Brasenose College.
Siddique said his 2:1 degree result meant he had not had a successful career in law and it caused him to suffer from depression.
He had then demanded compensation of $1 million from the university.
During the trial, the judge accepted that the plaintiff had suffered from depression but dismissed that it was caused due to his low ranking degree at the university.
Mr Justice Foskett said:
‘Whilst it cannot be said that some aspect of a person’s education – inadequately delivered – can never be the cause of that person’s failure to achieve some otherwise attainable objective, the hurdles in establishing a claim for compensation based upon that inadequate delivery are great and often insurmountable. In this case, I have not been satisfied that the delivery of one particular feature of the claimant’s undergraduate degree course was inadequate or, in any event, that it had the consequences claimed for it.’
The judge also found there were other reasons beyond his bouts of depression to explain his failures to hold down the various jobs he had.
India’s nationwide COVID-19 vaccination has crossed 2.56 crores coverage, the union health ministry informed on Thursday evening. “A total of 2,56,90,545 vaccine doses were administered in the country, as per the provisional report till 1 pm on Thursday.”
Health Secretary of India, Rajesh Bhushan informed during the weekly press conference of the ministry.
“Acceleration in vaccination has been achieved with the active collaboration of private facilities. 71 per cent of the total number of doses are administered in public health facilities and almost 29 per cent has been contributed by private facilities,” Bhushan said.
AEFI (Adverse event following immunisation) reported so far are 0.020 per cent of the total immunisation done. Bhushan further said, “Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Mumbai, Bengaluru urban, Ernakulam, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nasik and Aurangabad districts have the highest number of active cases.”
However on other side, Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine roll out is hitting roadblocks because of supply issues. Health secretary Brendan Murphy told a Senate committee that 125,000 people, including 30,000 in aged care, had been vaccinated since the rollout began in the last week of February, leaving the government likely to fall short of the target.
The Australian government wanted to vaccinate 4 million Australians by April and the entire country by October which is very unlikly as per government statement in Senate committe.
The Commonwealth Government has allocated over $6 billion to support the vaccine rollout with contracts for over 150 million COVID-19 vaccines, through a diverse vaccine portfolio. Since the last meeting of the National Cabinet, the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine commenced on 22 February 2020, with the first vaccinations of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine starting today in South Australia. Onshore supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine is on track to commence during the week commencing 22 March 2021.
India reported 22,854 new COVID-19 cases, 18,100 recoveries, and 126 deaths in the last 24 hours. The cumulative cases in the country reached 1,12,85,561 including 1,89,226 active cases and 1,09,38,146 recoveries. The death toll due to COVID-19 has mounted to 1,58,189, the health ministry said on Thursday morning.
The southern purple-spotted gudgeon, also known as ‘zombie fish’, which was declared extinct nearly 20 years ago has made a surprising comeback.
This small colourful native fish was considered wiped out completely in 1998.
It was recently discovered swimming in Third Reedy lake in Australia.
Australia’s North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) said in an update:
“Scientists were astonished after at least two such fish were brought out of the lake during a survey that was aimed at ‘generating water savings for the environment.”
After the rare fish was identified as ‘Zombie Fish’, an appointed team foraged the lakes and found at least 80 more, of which 66 were found in Middle Reedy Lake alone.
Head of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning, Adrian Martins said:
“We couldn’t believe it when we started finding so many at Middle Reedy. Most of our team have worked their whole lives dealing with the decline of threatened or endangered species, so to have an opportunity to be witnessing the opposite is something special.”
The experts believe that it’s a great chance to bring the southern purple-spotted gudgeon back from the brink.
South Australia Police’s Major Crime unit are continuing their investigation into the suspected murder of Jasmeen Kaur.
SA Police are appealing to anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.
This information may be critical to the investigation.
According to SA Police, about 9.56pm on Friday 5 March 21-year-old Jasmeen Kaur finished her shift at Southern Cross Homes, Marion Road, Plympton North.
She was expected to return to her Flinders Park home that night in her green Toyota Camry, SA registration S836 BFI.
The alarm was raised by concerned family members the next morning, Saturday 6 March, after Jasmeen did not come home.
SA Police located her Camry still parked at her work place.
Police are now appealing for anyone that may have seen a young Indian man loitering in the car park or waiting for Jasmeen on Friday night, or in the weeks leading up to the incident.
Police believe about 9.56pm on Friday night the man drove Jasmeen from her work in the pictured metallic blue Holden Commodore, SA registration S267CJD.
The car was captured on camera travelling on the Northern Expressway north through Willaston at 10.58pm on Friday 5 March.
Then at 11.30pm the car travelled south through Willaston and back to the Princes Highway/Pt Wakefield Road. Police think the car accidentally took a wrong turn to Willaston.
Later, about 12.09am Saturday 6 March, the car was detected by safety cameras travelling north on the Princes Highway, Two Wells.
It’s believed the car travelled north along the Princes Highway from 12.09am to 3.07am when it was detected by cameras at Stirling North (just south of Port Augusta).
Between 3.07am and 2.27pm (Saturday 6), a period of 11.5hours, it is believed the car turned off the Princes Highway and onto Flinders Ranges Way toward Quorn, Hawker and Morolana Creek. Police are appealing for anyone with information or dashcam footage in this area between these times to come forward. Information on the car’s whereabouts during this time is critical.
Between 2.27pm and 5.09pm Saturday 6 March the metallic blue Commodore was detected on the Stirling North camera and travelled south back to Adelaide along the Princes Highway.
Anyone who saw the metallic blue coloured Commodore with a young Indian male driver, about 20-years-old with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache and neatly dressed, at any stage between 9.56pm Friday 5 and 5.27pm Saturday 6 March, possibly at any service stations or shops, or anyone with dashcam footage between these times is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 – you can remain anonymous.
Detectives are also trying to locate some missing property owned by Jasmeen. A brown hand bag, her black slip on shoes and work ID and key fob. These items may be in a parking bay, on the road side, at a service station or rest stop.
Police are also looking for a plate and a knife. The public should not assume the knife was involved in Jasmeen’s death but both are valuable to the investigation and need to be located.
On Sunday 7 March, Southern District CIB and Major Crime Detectives spoke to a 20-year-old Kurralta Park man and flew with him to Port Augusta where he directed them to an area at Moralana Creek, about 40 kilometres north of Hawker where officers located a shallow grave.
On Monday 8 March Major Crime Detectives and the police Forensic Response Section located the deceased woman in the grave site.
The 20-year-old man was charged with failing to report a death and murder. He appear in the Port Augusta Magistrates on Tuesday 9 March and was remanded in custody.
Billboards have come up in the Greater Toronto area thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing COVID-19 vaccines to Canada. The billboard read, “Thank You India and PM Narendra Modi for providing COVID vaccines to Canada. Long Live Canada-India Friendship.” The billboard also mentions the Hindu Forum, Canada. Canada received the first consignment of 500,000 AstraZeneca’s “Made-in-India” CoviShield COVID-19 vaccines on March 4. It is produced at the Pune-based Serum Institute of India. India will be sending a tranche of 1.5 million more doses to Canada.
Canada receiving COVID vaccine from India
Prime Minister Modi earlier this month spoke to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and assured him that India will do its best to support Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Expressing his appreciation, the Canadian Prime Minister said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, “it would be significant because of India’s tremendous pharmaceutical capacity, and Prime Minister Modi’s leadership in sharing this capacity with the world” The Prime Minister thanked PM Trudeau for his sentiments. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India earlier this month said that “Dear Hon’ble PM @JustinTrudeau, I thank you for your warm words towards India and its vaccine industry. As we await regulatory approvals from Canada, I assure you, @SerumInstIndia will fly out #COVISHIELD to Canada in less than a month; I’m on it!”
Indian Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur on Wednesday became the first serving union minister to be promoted as Captain in the Territorial Army as a regular commissioned officer.
Thakur has been promoted to the rank of Captain at 124 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (Sikh). “It is an honour and pride to be part of the Territorial Army and a part of 124 Sikh Regiment,” Thakur told media.
— Dushyant Kumar Gautam (@dushyanttgautam) March 10, 2021
“This is the third generation from my family who is serving in the armed forces. It is an honour to be part of both army and the Parliament. I come from a constituency and state where people from every third house serve in the army. The first army officer to be honoured by the Param Vir Chakra was from Himachal Pradesh only,” he added.
“I was commissioned as a regular officer into the Territorial Army in July 2016 as a Lieutenant. Today I am honoured to share, I have been promoted to the rank of Captain. I reaffirm my commitment for serving the people and the call of duty towards mother India,” he had tweeted earlier in the day.
I was commissioned as a regular officer into the Territorial Army in July 2016 as a Lieutenant.
Today I am honoured to share, I have been promoted to the rank of Captain.
I reaffirm my commitment for serving the people and the call of duty towards mother India 🇮🇳.
Mr Thakur is a member of the Lower House of Parliament in India from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.
He assumed charge of office as the MoS Finance & Corporate Affairs in 2019. He was first elected to Lok Sabha in May 2008 in a by-poll as a candidate of BJP. He was re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009, 16th Loksabha in 2014, and 17th Loksabha in 2019. Later, Thakur was appointed the president of the All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.
In July 2016, he became a part of the territorial army, becoming the first serving BJP MP to become a regular commissioned officer in the Territorial Army.
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull bolstered his argument for Australia severing its constitutional ties with the UK monarchy.
This was over the controversial interview of Prince Harry and Meghan with Oprah Winfrey that aired on CBS recently.
Prince Harry and Meghan reached an estimated viewership of 17.1 million in the United States.
Turnbull has met Prince Harry and Meghan in April 2018.
Four months later he was replaced by the current Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
He told the ABC:
“It’s clearly an unhappy family or at least Meghan and Harry are unhappy. It seems very sad.”
The former Australian PM added:
“After the end of the queen’s reign, that is the time for us to say: OK, we’ve passed that watershed. Do we really want to have whoever happens to be the head of state of – the king or queen of the UK, automatically our head of state?”
Britain’s monarch is Australia’s head of state.
Turnbull was the chairman of the Australian Republican Movement from 1993 to 2000.
ARM has been an advocate for Australia selecting an Australian citizen as its head of state.
A nation-wide referendum on Australia becoming a republic was defeated in 1999.
“Every birth for this critically endangered species is so important with fewer than 6,000 remaining in the wild. So whilst this is incredible news for Taronga Western Plains Zoo, this is also incredibly important news for the species as a whole.”
There are only a few thousand Black Rhinos left in the wild.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she has suffered an injury in her leg after a few people “pushed” her when she was near her car. “Few people pushed me when I was near my car. I suffered an injury in my leg,” Banerjee told ANI.
“No police official was present. Four-five people intentionally manhandled me in presence of the public. There were no police officials for 4-5 hrs in such a huge public gathering, not even the SP. It was definitely a conspiracy,” she added Banerjee left for Kolkata today.
Earlier today, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee filed her nomination from the Nandigram seat for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. Following this, she visited the Durga Mandir in Shibrampur village.
However, eyewitnesses have denied West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s claims that she was pushed by a few people in Nandigram on Wednesday. “People gathered to see her. When she was about to leave, there were people around there. But nobody pushed her. I am a student. I am not associated with any political party,” Soumen Maity, an eyewitness told ANI. Another eyewitness Chittaranjan Das told ANI, “I was there. She was sitting inside the moving car and the door was open. The door closed after it touched a poster. Nobody pushed and hit her. There was no one near the door.”
The incident happened at Birulia when Banerjee after her scheduled program in Nandigram was returning back to Reyapara, where she stayed last night.
The Congress’ West Bengal chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday accused her of resorting to ‘siyasi pakhand’ (hypocrisy) and theatrics to gain public sympathy ahead of assembly polls in the state. Speaking to media, Chowdhury said, “This is ‘siyasi pakhand’ to gain sympathy. Before polls, she (Mamata Banerjee) planned this ‘nautanki’ (drama) after sensing difficulties in Nandigram.”
He said it is strange that during the time when she was allegedly attacked there were no policemen around her. “She is not just the chief minister, she is the Police Mantri’ too. No one can believe that there was no police with Bengal’s ‘police mantri’. When the police have thrown a security cordon in Nandigram, some youth pushing the chief minister is unbelievable,” Chowdhury added.
#WATCH | TIMES NOW's Siddhant speaks to locals who claim to be eyewitnesses of the incident where Mamata Banerjee got injured. According to them, Mamata Banerjee's car's door hit a pillar & she was not attacked. | #MamataAttackCharge | @thenewshour AGENDA with Padmaja Joshi. pic.twitter.com/4CBFCAJL4k
On March 6, the BJP fielded former TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, setting the stage for a high-profile contest from the seat in the state assembly elections. Adhikari, a former minister in the Trinamool Congress government, had joined the BJP in December last year. He had earlier said that BJP will defeat TMC by over 50,000 votes from Nandigram. West Bengal will witness eight-phased Assembly polls beginning March 27. The tenure of the 16th Legislative Assembly of West Bengal will end on May 30 this year. A total of 7,34,07,832 voters will choose their representative for the 17th Legislative Assembly of West Bengal.
Pakistan is likely to receive 45 million Indian manufactured doses of COVID-19 vaccine in March.
This was reported by National Health Service (NHS) Secretary Amir Ashraf Khawaja while briefing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
He said that the doses would be received under an agreement with Vaccine alliance Gavi.
Gavi is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.
Pakistan will get free doses of India-made Oxford-AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, which would give cover to 20 per cent of the population of the country.
Till now, India has supplied 464.29 lakh made-in-India Covid vaccines to 47 countries.
All of India’s neighbors, barring Pakistan, have been supplied with vaccines by New Delhi.
New Delhi, Jan 27 (ANI): Farmers shout slogans on a tractor during their ongoing protest against new farm laws at the Delhi-Gazipur border, in Delhi on Wednesday. (ANI photo)
India government called in the British High Commissioner to express its disapproval of the discussions on farmers’ protest and press freedom in the British parliament.
A career diplomat Alexander Ellis has recently been appointed British high commissioner to India.
The debate in the UK parliament had evoked a sharp response from the Indian High Commission in London.
The High Commission said in a statement:
“We deeply regret that rather than a balanced debate, false assertions – without substantiation or facts – were made, casting aspersions on the largest functioning democracy in the world and its institutions.”
Recently, the UK government officially conducted a debate on the protests in India.
During this 90-minutes debate several MPs of the Labour party, Liberal democrats and the Scottish National Party participated.
These members raised concern over the Indian government’s reaction to the protests.
The UK government had responded that concerns will be raised with India when both Prime Ministers meet in person.
The Indian government had summoned the British envoy and conveyed “strong opposition to unwarranted and tendentious discussion on agricultural reforms in India in the British Parliament”.
The Foreign Secretary has made it clear that this debate represented a gross interference in politics of another democratic country.
The foreign ministry said in a statement:
“He advised that British MPs should refrain from practicing votebank politics by misrepresenting events, especially in relation to another fellow democracy.”
Hairdressers in Australia will receive domestic violence awareness training.
This is to ensure that they’re better prepared if a client discloses abuse when attending their salon.
The Australia-first program will be rolled out to the nation’s 67,000 hairdressers and barbers by Hairdressers with Hearts (HWH).
In August 2020 when a similar program was proposed in NSW, Australian Hairdressing Council CEO Sandy Chong said hairdressers often offer a sympathetic ear to a customer’s problems.
“It comes with the job, so the workshops can help them know what to do if a client does disclose to them that they are experiencing domestic violence. We encourage hairdressers to take up the opportunity to attend these workshops.”
These hairdressers and barbers will use the sanctity of their client-hairdresser relationship to potentially save lives from domestic abuse.
She has developed an online training course aimed at teaching hairdressers to help clients in the right direction for support.
Sonia Colvin, a hairdresser for more than 35 years on Bribie Island north of Brisbane, told ABC:
“Our industry can make a huge difference to some of the nation’s most vulnerable, whether we are hairdressers and barbers based in a salon, working remotely or in rural areas, in multicultural or aged-care communities, or providing mobile services in people’s homes.”
These organisations will help train hairdressers and barbers in metro and regional hair salons to contribute to the prevention of domestic and family violence in the Australian community.
HWH ambassador and domestic violence survivor Simone O’Brien has devoted her life to helping other victims.
Simone was savagely bashed with a baseball bat by her fiancee in September 2012.
[WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence and abuse that viewers may find distressing.]
“Salon professionals are also a female dominated workforce, so we’re confident this training can help with broader community awareness too, given the tragically disproportionate impact of domestic and family violence on women and children.”
“The easier it becomes for women and children to gain the full protection of the law, the greater progress we will make in eradicating violence in families.”
Remember that “any behaviour that is violent, threatening, controlling or intended to make you or your family feel scared and unsafe” is termed as family and domestic violence.
It can happen to anyone, at any time, no matter their age, gender, sexual orientation, religion or ethnic background.
In May 2020, while relaunching No Excuse for Abuse campaign to raise awareness of non-physical forms of abuse, Tarang recounted how his sister’s death could have been prevented “if we all had a better understanding of how to ascertain non-physical forms of abuse before it escalates.”
“Looking back, for my sister Nikita, who was violently murdered by her partner in 2015, her killer was one of those men. It didn’t start with him hitting her. It rarely does. It started with him trying to control how she spent money, snooping through her phone and even telling her who she was “allowed” to be friends with or how often she could see us – her family.”
Family and domestic violence is unacceptable behaviour and help is at hand for those affected by it in Australia.
For confidential advice, support and referrals related to domestic and family violence, contact: Police (000), 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), Kids Helpline (1800 551 800), No to Violence (1300 766 491) or Men’s Referral Service (1300 766 491).
An Indian-origin aged care worker’s body was discovered in a grave almost 400 kilometers away from South Australia’s capital Adelaide.
A 20-year-old man of Indian origin was produced in front of Port Augusta Magistrates court via videolink charged with Jasmeen Kaur’s murder. For legal reasons, he can’t be named at the moment.
As per SA Police, this man led local detectives to the spot where Ms Kaur’s body was buried.
21 year old, Jasmeen Kaur was reported missing by her relatives, after last seen when she left her workplace on Friday night.
Jasmeen Kaur’s employer, Southern Cross Care, has released a heartbreaking statement after she was identified as the woman found in the Flinders Ranges.
“Jasmeen was a beautiful soul and was always so kind and sweet to residents. She will be sorely missed.”
Police has said the inquiry into circumstances of her death are yet to be determined.
On Saturday 6 March, a 21-year-old woman was reported missing at the Hindley Street Police Station.
She was last seen at Southern Cross Homes on Marion Road at Plympton North about 10pm on Friday 5 March.
On Sunday 7 March, Southern District CIB and Major Crime Detectives interviewed a 20-year-old man who was known to the woman. He has then taken Detectives to an area at Moralana Creek, about 40 kilometers north of Hawker where officers located a shallow grave.
Today, Major Crime Detectives with the assistance of the Forensic Response Section and a pathologist attended and located the deceased woman.
A 20-year-old Kurralta Park man was arrested yesterday for failing to report a death to the Coroner.
Investigations are ongoing.
Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au/
Indian Parliament has delegated to the Government of India via Section 7 B of the Citizenship Act, the power to decide the rights of OCIs through notifications.
All earlier notifications laid down the rights of the OCIs with reference to the Indian state.
The Indian Government has specified the following rights to the OCI cardholder:
grant of multiple entry lifelong visa for visiting India for any purpose – Provided that for undertaking the following activities, the OCI cardholder shall be required to obtain a special permission or a Special Permit, as the case may be, from the competent authority or the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer or the Indian Mission concerned, namely:- (i) to undertake research; (ii) to undertake any Missionary or Tabligh or Mountaineering or Journalistic activities; (iii) to undertake internship in any foreign Diplomatic Missions or foreign Government organisations in India or to take up employment in any foreign Diplomatic Missions in India; (iv) to visit any place which falls within the Protected or Restricted or prohibited areas as notified by the Central Government or competent authority;;
exemption from registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer or Foreigners Registration Officer for any length of stay in India – Provided that the OCI cardholders who are normally resident in India shall intimate the jurisdictional Foreigners Regional Registration Officer or the Foreigners Registration Officer by email whenever there is a change in permanent residential address and in their occupation;
parity with Indian nationals in the matter of (i) tariffs in air fares in domestic sectors in India; and (ii) entry fees to be charged for visiting national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, the national monuments, historical sites and museums in India;
parity with Non-Resident Indians in the matter of (i) inter-country adoption of Indian children and appearing for the all India entrance tests;
purchase or sale of immovable properties other than agricultural land or farm house or plantation property; and
pursuing the following professions in India (a) doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists; (b) advocates; (c) architects; (d) chartered accountants.
In addition, the notification now equates OCIs to “foreign nationals.”
This is mainly in respect of “all other economic, financial and educational fields” for the purposes of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2003 although past circulars by the Reserve Bank of India under FEMA will hold ground.
Do you think declaring OCIs as “foreign nationals,” is in the best interest of the Narendra Modi led Indian Government?
The report was Commissioned by the Department of Education and Training after a series of race-related incidents.
Surprisingly, a very similar recommendation was made to the school in a report written by cross-cultural consultant Georgia Birch.
According to the ABC, this report was presented to the school in November last year but has not been publicly released.
David Howes, the Deputy Secretary of Schools and Regional Services, said:
“The challenges that the school faces are the challenges that the broader community faces and what is happening outside the school does impact what does happen inside the school.”
Despite its diverse cultural mix of students and people living in the area, GSSC has ‘an all-white leadership and all-white teaching teams.’
Meredith Peace, the President of the Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union, said in a statement:
“Media reports in relation to the Department of Education’s report suggest there are significant issues that would concern our members and the school community.”
According to the Age, the school’s acting executive principal Barbara O’Brien has addressed the report’s “confronting” findings in a note to staff and also written to parents requesting them not to inflame tensions or spread misinformation on social media.
This multicultural school has more than 2000 students which include almost 600 students from multicultural or Aboriginal backgrounds.
Shepparton, a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, has a good number of Indians living in the area from both North and South India.
Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female.
Gender equality implies that the interests, needs, and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognising the diversity of different groups of women and men.
Gender equality is not a women’s issue but should concern and fully engage men as well as women. Equality between women and men is seen both as a human rights issue and as a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centered development.
Top 10 countries that have achieved gender equality:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
There are none.
Will you join us and step up for a better future? #IWD2021
Gender equality helps prevent violence against women and girls and makes our communities safer and healthier. It is a human right and it is the primary requisite for any civilised society.
Countries with greater gender equality are more connected, their people are healthier and have better wellbeing.
Can you help put your country to be on that list of achiving “Gender Equality.”
Well-known actor-politician Kamal Haasan took the first vaccine dose against the coronavirus.
While doing so, Hassan launched a sharp attack at the AIADMK.
“Immunisation of the body immediately (and) vaccination against corruption next month. Get ready.”
Hassan was referring to the April 6 Tamil Nadu assembly polls where his political party, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), will contest its first-ever assembly election.
He tweeted in Tamil:
“I took the coronavirus vaccine at Sri Ramachandra Hospital. Those who care not only for themselves but also for others should get vaccinated. Immunisation of the body immediately (and) vaccination against corruption next month. Get ready.”
In February, Hassan’s party said it was accepting online applications for selecting candidates.
Potential candidates must pay ₹ 25,000 and added that non-party members could also apply or be nominated.
The biggest and brightest name among many many superwomen of Indian origin in Australia is Kaushaliya Vaghela. The first India-born elected Member of Victorian state parliament.
She wasn’t all for politics, before being elected as an MP, Kaushaliya was working as a Risk and Compliance Manager and prior to that as a scientist in research and diagnostic laboratory.
She says, “I came to Australia as an international student to study a master’s of applied science at RMIT in 1998.”
“We Indians form a sizeable community in Victoria, and we felt that the need for our representation in Parliament is imperative.”
“I encourage more and more women to step forward with confidence to join politics and lead the communities with their indepth knowldge and understandings.”
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2021 :
It is time to celebrate women's achievement, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality.
Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.
International Women’s Day is also a chance to look to the ways we can make the world a better, more equitable, place for everyone.
So, as we celebrate the amazing women in our lives, we should call out gender bias and inequality in all its forms.
Kaushaliya is a firm believer in family values and stands for the development of the people and their skills. She believes that quality education and healthcare are the keys to bringing more prosperity to the migrant communities specially women of colour.
2- Mitu Bhowmick Lange
If you live in Australia and any part of you says, I love bollywood, you have to know this name Mitu Bhowmick Lange..
She is one of the most significant contributors to the global outreach of Indian cinema in the past decade, Mitu is Festival Director of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) which was established in 2010.
IFFM is one of the biggest and most successful Indian film festivals held outside of India. She has also produced Spice Girls of India, which was screened at the London Feminist Film Festival.
Mitu is the Director of Mind Blowing Films a film production and distribution company that specialises in the distribution of Indian films in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.
3- Ravneet Pawha
Ravneet is elected President of Australia India Business Council (AIBC), Victoria.
She is currently the Global Deputy Vice President and CEO (South Asia) – Deakin University Australia and is an award winner for the prestigious Business Leader of the Year at the India Australia Business and Community Awards 2018.
She has a Master in Education and Training and a Master in Business Administration, a gold medalist in her postgraduate studies.
With over 27 years of experience in the international education sector, Ravneet has been instrumental in establishing global collaborations and strategic partnerships. She has developed Australian Education collaborations specifically for Deakin University in India / South Asia and has contributed to the immense success globally. She is an inspirational leader and a passionate entrepreneur.
4- Pallavi Sharda
Pallavi Sharda is an international film and theatre actress and classical Indian (Bharatha Natyam) dancer. Her film credits include Oscar-nominated film Lion (2016), Bollywood films Begum Jaan (2017) and Hawaizaada (2015), and comedy Australian film Save Your Legs! (2012). She joins the lead cast in the highly anticipated ABC drama Pulse (2017).
She knows what chasing your dreams is all about. Born March 5 1990, and growing up in Suburban Melbourne Australia, she knew from a very young age she wanted to become a Bollywood actress.
Having trained in the classical dance form of Bharatha Natyam since the age of three, movement is a large part of her performing arts repertoire, particularly her free form fusion dance style which she showcases in her live performances.
Pallavi is the first Australian to break into Bollywood and become a leading lady in the Indian film industry. She is also one of the first Indian-origin Australian actresses to foray into the mainstream Australian film industry and has been a pioneer in the realm of multicultural representation on Australian screens. She is a cultural ambassador when it comes to India-Australia relations, having curated Indian content in Australia for festivals such as White Night, MIFF, and Oz Fest Australia. In 2015 she was the figurehead of Melbourne’s prestigious cultural festival “Moomba”.
5- Seema Chauhan
Seema is your quintessential Super-connector, a seasoned Community and Multicultural champion and an experienced Registered Migration agent ably rolled into one.
She has a real passion for community service. In the COVID19 pandemic, her free visa help service to international students and other temporary workers is recognised widely by the community.
Seema holds an MBA from Griffith University, a Bachelor of Management degree from the University of South Australia, and a Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice. Having migrated to Australia from India over two decades ago, Seema now proudly calls Australia her home. As a Founder and Co-Dreamer of ‘Abode Australia Migration’, Seema provides migration solutions for potential migrants and helping them fulfill their dreams. To her credit, she has been a featured Migration Expert for SBS Radio – Hindi – an immensely popular radio channel for the Indian diaspora. See, a was appointed Multicultural Ambassador for the Gold Coast -Commonwealth Games in 2018 More recently in 2020, she was appointed Multicultural Ambassador for the Gold Coast Titans.
What sets Seema apart is her genuine desire to help her network with a Midas touch in a growingly impersonal world. To this effect she served as a 2nd Vice President – GOPIO (Global Organisation People of Indian Origin)- Gold Coast chapter 2019-2020; A non-partisan, secular organization promoting the well-being of the Indian Diaspora around the world.
6-Sheba Nandkeolyar
Sheba is a proud 1st generation migrant entrepreneur, a brand diversity leader & marketer.
She is a passionate champion for Women’s empowerment. A Board Director on Industry and Government Boards, the 1st Woman National Chair of the Australia India Business Council ( 2016-2018) in its 34 years history & the current National Chair of Women in Business AIBC.
Sheba lives her dream assisting marketers to brand affiliate with diverse & multicultural audiences. Sheba is the founder of MultiConnexions Group which focuses on Brand Diversity through integrated marketing communication, advertising & digital marketing.
Sheba founded Global Connexions a company that assists Australian companies with their international market expansion plans and Multicultural & Diversity Audits.
She loves mentoring young people & sharing industry experience at Business schools.
7- Tara RajKumar
Tara is the director of the Natya Sudha Dance Company and School that she established in 1986 in Melbourne.
She has a distinguished international reputation as a brilliant performer, choreographer, artistic director, and teacher of Mohiniattam and Kathakali Indian classical dance styles. Tara has taken her collaborative cross-cultural works from traditional temple venues to prestigious theatres across the world.
In 2009, Tara was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her services to performing arts. She is included in the inaugural Victorian Honour Roll of Women Shaping the Nation for her contribution to Victoria and the country.
8- Puja Nambiar
Puja Nambiar is currently a Director, Engagement and Assurance at an agency of the Australian Public service, with over 18 years of experience in the organization. She says to be successful, the key is finding the synergy between your Indian and Australian identity.
Born in the beautiful state of Kerala, being the daughter of Indian army personnel gave her ample opportunities to live across the length and breadth of India.
Pooja joined the federal government department in 1998 and has been part of the change that has undergone in the cultural setup. She started as part of a team heavily male-dominated, where the meetings would often start with “Hey guys… ” From there she has now reached a stage where she is managing a team. Although still dominated by males in number, she says her workplace is very inclusive towards women.
A practicing Hindu, she is an ardent believer of female energy. “Devi”, she says exists in many forms – Lakshmi for wealth, Sarasvati for knowledge, Rudra when angry. This she says underpins the fact woman plays several roles within society.
She invites everyone to think about not just their educational qualification but all the beautiful things which you bring from India. Understanding to cope up with different skills is a huge advantage for Indians and employers are looking for such skills.
9-Dr Astha Singh
Dr. Astha Singh is a Science Communication and Marketing professional with over 14 years of experience specialising in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) and has shared her innovative ideas at TEDx Sydney 2017.
She is currently the Managing Editor at Refraction Media where careerswithstem is an inspiration hub for young people in STEM.
Astha led a nation-wide campaign in 2019 to raise awareness for Diversity in STEM with over 30 leading scientists & innovators around Australia featured on Australia’s Science Channel. As an avid advocate of diversity & equity, Astha has served as the advisory board member at Multicultural NSW, Australian Football League, NSW and has promoted over 100 stories of Australian scientists from multicultural backgrounds.
Currently, Astha serves as the mentor for commercial research at the CSIRO’s ON Accelerator program and as the President for two not-for-profit bodies: the Australian Science Communicators, NSW and Yuva Australia.
10- Sahana Ramesh
She is the first India born elected Councillor of Wyndham City Council in Melbourne.
An advocate for diversity & inclusivity in the community Sahana was elected to Wyndham council in 2020.
“Today’s challenges of gender equality ride on the back of decades of people raising their voices for change. Ours is now the challenge of looking forward and being the change that our forebearers dreamt of. International Women’s Day for me is a reminder that the opportunities that I have inherited in my life have not been earned easily, but rather paid for by my parents and their generation. We should use every opportunity that they have given to us wisely and with respect. And in doing so, let go of the fear, the anger that initiated the change, and imagines and build the society that has true equality and respect for all.”
Cr Ramesh migrated from India shortly after obtaining her Bachelor of Engineering and became an Australian citizen after settling down in Melbourne.
She went on to study a Master of Business Administration at Melbourne University, and start-up her own company to manufacture Lithium-Ion batteries through which she is actively driving change in our energy, transportation, and liveability industries.
NSW Health officials agreed to make an exception to the 500-person limit on public gatherings after organizers agreed to enhanced contact-tracing processes.
This year’s theme was ‘Rise’ and centered on the message that love, compassion, respect and understanding can help make the world a better place.
“Our community understands the pain many people have gone through and stands alongside them in support. We know and love the power of people and communities that rise together to support others to overcome adversity and inequality. It’s time we rise together again.”
However, there was a different format due to coronavirus restrictions in place at the moment.
Rather than going on the traditional route down Oxford Street where the Mardi Gras has been held for the past 43 years, the event took place at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
At SCG, people could socially distance themselves in their seats and up to 23,000 spectators were allowed in the stands.
Singers Rita Ora and G Flip were two of the main stars performing at this year’s event.
The performers were on the pitch and the Mardi Gras focused on the pageantry of costumes.
The Dykes on Bikes opened the Mardi Gras parade on their motorcycles.
Numerous groups walked in front of the seated revelers.
The marchers also protested on various issues including transphobia and detention of asylum-seekers.
She was presented with the star on her shoulders by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster at a ceremony in Wellington.
Mandeep is the first female Indian-born officer in the New Zealand Police.
She joined the New Zealand Police in 2004 and has since then worked as a Frontline Officer, in Road Policing, Family Violence, the Investigation Support Unit, Neighbourhood Policing and Community Policing.
Her journey to become a police officer came with many personal and cultural barriers.
Mandeep has raised her two children on her own.
She also formed a New Zealand Police Bhangra-dancing group and they performed in their Police uniforms at Aotea Square’s Diwali Festival last year.
Currently Mandeep works as an Ethnic Peoples Community Relations Officer, based at Henderson Police Station in Waitemata.
Police officer, Mandeep Kaur, for Canvas Mag The Confession Box
12 March 2019 New Zealand Herald photograph by Michael Craig.
Her role involves attending community meetings, hosting media programmes, visiting family violence victims and attending to any other matters where there is a need for ethnic or cultural advice.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who announced he’s looking for eight people to join him for a free trip around the Moon on Elon Musk’s SpaceX flight, has said that he has received more than 5 lakh applications within four days.
He named India on top of the list of 15 countries from where he received the most number of applications.
#dearMoonCrew applications are now more than 500K and from 239 countries + areas.
There are few countries who didn’t bother to respond to Mr Yusaku’s call to join his hunt for suitable candidates.
The “DearMoon Project was launched on March 3, 2021 to find 8 crew member. This almost a week long trip will be launched in 2023 and will be free for the lucky talented individuals.
Final out come will be announced in late May 2021 after interviews and medical checkups.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel shut critical former English cricketers with a top-class display on a regular Indian wicket in the fourth Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium as India win by an innings and 25 runs. While Ashwin picked his 30th five-wicket haul during the course of the England innings on Saturday, Axar picked his fourth as India stormed into the final of the World Test Championship after sealing the series 3-1 on the third day of the Test.
He might not have impressed with his batting but Test deputy Ajinkya Rahane was spot on with his low catches. If Axar and Ashwin starred with the ball, it was a masterclass display of slip catching by Rahane. It was a no-show from the English batsmen once again as they looked completely clueless after walking into the middle in the post-lunch session with the score of 6/0. Dan Lawrence (50) was the only player who had some answer to the duo of Ashwin and Axar as none of the other batsmen seemed to have the technical acumen to dig in, barring skipper Joe Root (30).
But once Ashwin sent back Root, it was all about delaying the humiliation for the English batsmen. Ashwin picking up Jonny Bairstow for a golden duck only added to England’s misery. All-rounder Ben Stokes, who had scored a gritty half-century in the first innings, came in with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, but he could manage just 2 before Axar had his number.
Earlier, resuming the third day on 294/7, India managed to pick a substantial 160-run lead as they scored 365. Rishabh Pant (101) and Washington Sundar (96 not out) were the top scorers while Rohit Sharma and Axar made useful contributions of 49 and 43 each. Brief Scores: England 205 and 135 (Daniel Lawrence 50, Ravichandran Ashwin 5-47, Axar Patel 5-48); India 365 (Rishabh Pant 101, Washington Sundar 96*)
The report notes that the fall of India could have a damaging impact on world democratic standards.
The report highlights:
“Modi and his party are tragically driving India itself toward authoritarianism.”
The United States government-funded non-governmental organization released its annual Freedom in the World rankings.
Freedom House rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties in 210 countries and territories.
It recognises that individual freedoms—ranging from the right to vote to freedom of expression and equality before the law—can be affected by state or non-state actors.
“Political rights and civil liberties in the country have deteriorated since Narendra Modi became prime minister.”
The 2021 report highlights that the Narendra Modi-led Indian government has continued to crack down on dissent during 2020.
The report notes that under the leadership of Narendra Modi, India appears to have lost its potential to serve as a democratic leader. It observes that Modi has been:
“elevating narrow Hindu nationalist interests at the expense of its founding values of inclusion and equal rights for all.”
With India’s decline to “partly free” nation, less than 20 percent of the world’s population now lives in a Free country.
The NGO in its mapping showed Jammu and Kashmir separate from India, which is an unacceptable portrayal to the Indian Government.
The highly placed officer in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs told The Australia Today, “The NGOs have no idea about local realities and there is no relevance of this theory to on the ground situations.”
“We don’t pay attention to these reports which are published with ulterior motives. We are busy in helping and supporting the rest of the world fighting COVID 19 pandemic with the early availability of vaccines.”
Till now, India has supplied 464.29 lakh Made-in-India COVID vaccines to 47 countries.
Out of these vaccine doses, 71.25 lakh has been supplied as a gift, and 393.04 lakh commercially.
India-made vaccines (5,00,000 doses) have reached Canada.
The Pune-based Serum Institute of India will be sending 1.5 million more doses of Covishield vaccine.
In a tweet, India’s envoy to Canada Ajay Bisaria said,
“India is proud to support Canada’s vaccination programme as a strategic partner.”
The countries range from developed and developing countries.
11 countries–10 from Africa, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Congo, Angola, Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan and one from ASEAN–Cambodia have got India-made vaccine under the COVAX facility.
All of India’s neighbors barring Pakistan have been supplied with vaccines by New Delhi.
Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh began their vaccination drive using India-made vaccines.
COVID-19 has disrupted the educational system due to the closure of schools, universities, and other educational institutions. This becomes even worse with vulnerable students belonging to low and middle-income groups and inclusive students. Under the impact of COVID-19, teaching becomes even more challenging, especially in relation to teaching practical components and philosophical themes. However, the teaching methodology has been forced to adopt a Global change.
Many schools and universities are forced to go for online or blended mode or distance learning, which comes with its peculiar difficulties. This article explores these problems and suggests possible solutions to achieve success with respect to teaching methodology.
‘New Normal’ for Sustainable teaching and learning
Inability to afford the computer, smartphones, high-speed internet plans and connectivity gadget is a significant hurdle to make online mode successful. The majority of students in developing nations come from a low and medium-income group, as they face difficulty under COVID-19 to procure these gadgets. Universities, schools, and other educational institutions also feel the pressure to make these devices available to the students and sustain learning. The government’s educational budget is strained under these circumstances. However, teaching methodology noticed a significant transformation. As short lessons with minimum slides are inserted, as maximum oral presentations can convey the motto of courses. In applying this pedagogy, many subjects need to overcome theoretical traditional subject teaching methodology.
The new methodology reflects more videos, speeches, pictures, oral accounts, and multimedia technology. This support attracts the student’s concentration and creates curiosity to explore the subject. The number of additional material or supplementary readings has increased where students need to read more to imply the theoretical knowledge of practical implications. Teachers have to take care of copywriter clauses while given the resource material (YouTube videos, books, articles, reports, speeches, documentaries, and other tools), as links are provided to download the resources from the original resource provider. Many educators have faced hurdles with conducting web-based classroom teaching, having online meetings, working from home, enhancing their digital skills, and communicating to students who have left behind.
For Example, History is a fascinating subject if made interactive, but it may also become dull if not taught correctly. The curiosity of the students is ignited by citing contemporary examples, as students are learning about the past in the present for the future. Teachers have adopted a student-centric approach by adopting new technology that is familiar and easy to use; giving time to students to work offline; showing flexibility to submit assignments, empathy towards students; provide a second chance to genuine cases. Teachers adopted innovative means to maintain connectivity by including discussion forums, quizzes, chat sessions, surveys, feedbacks, and online tutorials/workshops.
Moreover, students and teachers face the technical glitches of an internet connectivity problem, online video call drop, slow internet speed, and updating of software errors. Free internet providing is an enormous challenge for schools, universities, and private institutions. Teachers have learned a wide range of online learning tools, and some nations also adopted educational television and radio programs to continue the teaching and learning process.
Promising Future
Despite these challenges, one has to move towards a “New Normal” in education to teach in online or blended mode, as education cannot take a back seat. The new teaching methodology seems to have a promising future for learning, as it is based on delivering online quality education. There may be a debate or even contestation to conduct online exams, but under these unprecedented circumstances, the physical health of all educational stakeholders cannot be put at risk. Education creates human capital, and safeguarding their health is the topmost priority. Thus, educational planning and policy-making become highly significant as no child should be left behind.
Education stakeholders have proved resilient to maintain sustainable learning and teaching and achieve their academic goals. Pandemic reminds about the forces that are beyond the control of humans. Successful teaching requires coordination between all educational stakeholders, i.e. students-teachers, parents-students, teachers-parents, government-schools/universities, policymakers-policy enforcers. Researches have begun to analyse the impact of this teaching methodology due to COVID-19 on the educational system and its ramifications that have forced us to move towards the innovation of digital teaching and learning methodology.
Therefore, teaching practical and highly complicated philosophical themes will be a challenge and goals will be made to achieve quality education to achieve sustainability; in a similar vein, students are trying their best to adjust to this new digital model. After coming of COVID-19, the Universities will certainly try to return to pre-Covid-19 teaching methodology, but one has to take positives out of digital pedagogy to combine them for the best possible mode.
Universities in the Pacific Islands carry an immense reputation and consider has a hub of tertiary education that give knowledge to thousands of students and develop the nation’s human capital.
Disclaimer: Dr. Sakul Kundra is an assistant professor in history, Acting Head of the Department of Social Science, College of Humanities and Education, at Fiji National University. Ph.D. History, M.Phil History; and Gold Medalist in PGD in Education, USP. The views expressed are his own and not of this newspaper or his employer.
“If one person is shedding the virus in a catchment of a 20,000-30,000 population, we will be able to pick it (virus) up in the treatment plant. It has a huge economic potential as it is equivalent to monitoring that many people. It has helped in containing the spread of the infection.”
He has been working as a technical specialist with Sydney Water for the past 20 years.
He adds:
“Once you get the virus, you may show symptoms only from 6 or 7 days onwards, or you may be an asymptomatic carrier. But you start shedding the virus within three days. That gives us plenty of time to arrest the spread of infection.”
Last year, after his return to Australia from India, Payyappat heard that a percentage of people infected with the virus shed it though their stools ending up in the sewage system:
“When I got the early successful detection, I passed on the information to other partners. They adopted my method which is being run across the country now.”
NSW Health uses the data to identify smaller catchments areas.
Payyappat further adds:
“Since we don’t have as many cases in Australia as other countries, one of the challenges was when the waste water comes to the treatment plant, there’s massive dilution happening. Obviously, the virus gets diluted that way so we needed to have a sensitive method that will pick up very low numbers.”
Payyapat’s success in Sydney has made the Australian government to expand it to other states.
US President Joe Biden on Thursday said “Indian-Americans are taking over the country.”
He made these comments while congratulating the team of NASAscientists over a virtual interaction.
Biden made reference to a large number of people from the Indian-Americancommunity working in his administration.
The President was speaking to Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan.
Swati Mohan had led the guidance, navigation and control operations of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.
Swati Mohan told Biden:
“I’m doing very well, Mr President thank you for taking the time to speak with us.”
The US president responded:
“Are you kidding me? what an honour this is. This is an incredible honour and it’s amazing. Indian-Americans are taking over the country: you, my vice president, my speechwriter Vinay [White House director of speechwriting Vinay Reddy], I tell you what but thank you, you guys are incredible.”
India's Rishabh Pant plays a shot during the fourth test match between India and England at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. (BCCI)
7000 miles apart two different formats of cricket delighted spectators worldwide.
In the southern hemisphere, Australian skipper Aaron Finch smashed 79 off 55 balls before the bowlers put on an all-round show to help Australia seal a comfortable 50-run win over New Zealand in the fourth T20I on Friday. It was a clinical performance from Australia in a must-win match as they bowled out New Zealand for 106 to set up a series decider on Sunday. While Finch led from the front and took Australia to a competitive 156/6 almost single-handedly, it was an all-around performance from the visitors’ bowlers as Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, and Glenn Maxwell all picked wickets. Chasing a decent 157, New Zealand suffered an early jolt as Agar removed the in-form Martin Guptill in the fifth over with just 21 runs on board. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals as New Zealand struggled to get a partnership going. Tim Seifert, skipper Kane Williamson, and Glenn Phillips all went cheaply as hosts scored just 41 runs in the first 10 overs. It seemed like New Zealand was never really interested in the chase as they lost James Neesham and Mitchell Santner in the next two overs. With seven down for 64 runs, the chase was almost over as New Zealand required more than 90 runs in the last six.
Our boys in New Zealand are enjoying their time in Wellington!
A big 50-run win means the #NZvAUS series is level at 2-2 with one game to play on Sunday. Bring it home Aussies! pic.twitter.com/q1PMqm7tga
Kyle Jamieson scored 30 off 18 balls but it wasn’t enough to repair the damage as the Kiwis were bundled out for 106 in the 19th over. Earlier, opting to bat first, Australia got off to a bad start as Mitchell Santner struck in the first over. Opener Matthew Wade after hitting a four and six cut the ball into the hands of Ish Sodhi at short third man. Josh Philippe then joined skipper Aaron Finch and played a sluggish inning while Finch continued to score at a run a ball. Philippe survived a close LBW call in the sixth over as Australia scored 37/1 after the completion of powerplay. But Philippe wasn’t able to make the most of reprieve as he was sent back to the dugout in the next over by Sodhi. Last match’s hero Glenn Maxwell was looking dangerous but he too went back after Trent Boult ended his cameo. Marcus Stoinis and Finch stitched a 25-run stand but Kane Williamson’s sensational catch ended the all-rounder’s innings in the 13th over. Boult in the next over dismissed Ashton Agar as Australia was reduced to 97/5 with skipper Finch looking for a company. Wickets kept falling at one end while Finch continued scoring at a brisk rate. Australia was 130 for the loss of six wickets after the 19th over and Finch switched gear in the final five balls and whacked four sixes off Kyle Jamieson. Brief Scores: Australia 156/6 (Aaron Finch 79*; Ish Sodhi 3-32); New Zealand 106 (Kyle Jamieson 30; Kane Richardson 3-19)
On the other hand in the northern hemisphere, Reverse sweeping James Anderson to pick a boundary on the second day of a Test match perfectly summed up Rishabh Pant’s belligerent knock at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. The swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman single-handedly put India in command on the second day of the fourth Test against England with his third century in Test cricket. Having started cautiously, Pant took the English bowlers to the cleaners in the final session to take the game away from the visitors and put the hosts in the driver’s seat. At stumps, India’s score read 294/7 with Washington Sundar (60) and Axar Patel (11) at the crease — leading the visitors by 89 runs in the first innings. India scored 141 runs in 32 overs in the final session of the second day. With wickets tumbling around him, Pant took 82 balls to reach his first fifty runs. But the next 50 came off just 33 balls as he decided to send the English bowlers on a leather hunt. The second new ball turned to be a blessing in disguise for the batsman as the ball started coming onto the bat beautifully and he was more than happy to bring out the unorthodox shots from the kitty.
Gujarat, March 05 (ANI): India’s Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar during the fourth test match between India and England at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. (BCCI/ANI Photo)
He found a perfect company in Sundar as the bowling all-rounder held one end up and gave Pant the freedom to wield the willow. To reverse sweep Anderson is audacious, to say the least, and to think the legend was bowling with the new ball makes it even braver. Batting risk-free in the second session, Pant put on his dancing shoes post-tea and creamed a flurry of boundaries post the drinks break. A top-quality knock from Pant saw him receiving a standing ovation from the Ahmedabad crowd. While Pant looked in sublime form as he smashed two consecutive boundaries off Anderson’s over just after the drinks break, Washington joined the party as he first hit a superb backfoot drive and then flashed hard at the ball for a four. Having lost six wickets in the first two sessions, Pant and Washington started the final session cautiously but the wicket-keeper batsman soon changed gears. Minutes into the final session, Pant completed his seventh half-century in the longest format of the game. There was no looking back after that. In fact, the wicket-keeper brought up his third Test century with a six as he kept swatting the ball.
But Anderson broke the deadlock as Pant departed soon after his ton. Washinton continued his fine form and completed a well-made fifty with Axar Patel giving him company. In the second session, Pant and Washington had taken India to 153/6 after losing Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. A disciplined effort from the English bowlers saw the visitors taking the honors in the session. Rohit and Pant had started well in the post-lunch session as they looked to defend the good balls and score of the rare bad deliveries. But just when the two started to look good, Stokes sent back Rohit, one short of a much-deserved fifty Ashwin joined Pant in the middle and tried to accumulate runs to reduce the deficit. The duo had a brief 25-run partnership for the sixth wicket until Jack Leach sent Ashwin (13) back in the concluding minutes of the session. In the first session, Anderson had claimed the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane at the stroke of lunch as England bowlers led the fightback for the visitors. Going into the morning session with the score of 24/1 and with Rohit and Pujara at the crease, the hosts would have liked to get closer to the visitors’ total without losing a wicket. But it wasn’t to be as Leach struck first to send back Pujara, leg before. Virat Kohli too failed to leave a mark as Stokes produced a nothing shot to a ball that got big on the India skipper and ended up giving keeper Foakes an easy catch. India went to lunch with a scorecard of 80/4. Brief Scores: England 205; India 294/7 (Rishabh Pant 101, Washington Sundar 60*; James Anderson 3-40)
International passenger flights have not arrived in Melbourne since February 14.
On Friday, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that he expected the Victorian Government to announce a date.
Through this announcement approximately 10,000 stranded Victorians could start to return home.
The Prime Minister told media:
“The second-highest number of Australians on are from Victoria – over 10,000 Victorians are wanting to come home.”
The Age reports that anonymous sources at Healthcare Australia said staff had been told flights would probably resume on March 13.
Further, The Age has seen internal correspondence from senior Healthcare Australia staff.
This confirms operational changes are being made to accommodate flights.
Another senior hotel quarantine source said that international arrivals would probably begin within weeks.
However, the Victorian Premier said that he was not in a position to confirm the arrival of international flights in Melbourne.
“We’ve asked our medical experts to look at what the impacts of variants of concern are on the risk profile in our hotels. When … they can satisfy me that we can have a system where we have the lowest possible risk, then flights will start.”
Victorian federal Liberal MP Tim Wilson has criticised Andrews’ decision to reopen quarantine hotels.
“Any politician that is prepared to actively deny citizens access to their own country has shown they are prepared to put unconscionable and naked populism ahead of the rights of Australians and demonstrated they are not a leader.”
Till now, no official advice has been provided to staff on the resumption of flights.
It is clear that pressure to open international flights is mounting on Andrews government.
The Victorian Government is also planning to build a quarantine facility outside the city.
The aim of this move is reduce the risk of COVID-19 seeping into metro communities.
Gurdeep Pandher, a resident of Whitehorse in Canada, performed Bhangra on a frozen lake to celebrate his vaccination against Covid-19.
In a tweet accompanying the video, he said:
“Yesterday evening I received my Covid-19 vaccine. Then I went to a frozen lake to dance Bhangra on it for joy, hope and positivity, which I’m forwarding across Canada and beyond for everyone’s health and wellbeing”.
Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara showed great application as India ended the opening day of the fourth and final Test against England in the driver’s seat despite losing opener Shubman Gill at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday. 11 wickets fell on the day as England was bundled out for 205 after skipper Joe Root won the toss and decided to bat first.
At stumps, India’s score read 24/1 with Rohit (8*) and Pujara (15*) at the crease — trailing the visitors by 181 runs in the first innings. After a disappointing show with the bat, England got off to a flying start with the ball as James Anderson struck with the third ball of the innings. The pace spearhead trapped Gill (0) in front of the stumps as India lost a wicket with no run on the board. But Rohit and Pujara ensured that was the end of the visitors’ joy on the day as they played out the remaining 11.3 overs without losing any wicket.
Earlier, Axar once again hogged the limelight with his four-wicket haul while Ravichandran Ashwin scalped three as England was bundled out for 205. While it was Mohammed Siraj who picked the all-important wicket of Root in the first session, Ashwin broke the deadlock in the third session as he dismissed Ollie Pope.
Pope’s wicket sparked a collapse from which England couldn’t really recover. The visitors went down from 166/5 to 205 all out within 14.3 overs, losing half of their side for 39 runs as Axar struck twice in one over. Ashwin dismissed Pope a few minutes into the third session. Pope got unlucky as the inside edge hit the back pad and popped to short-leg fielder Shubman Gill. India’s senior off-spinner then dismissed Ben Foakes in the 66th over to reduce the visitors to 170/7. Minutes later Axar dismissed Daniel Lawrence and Dominic Bess to leave England reeling at 189/9. It looked as the visiting side would get bundled out soon, but Jack Leach and James Anderson took England over the 200-run mark.
Earlier, electing to bat first, England openers Dominic Sibley and Zak Crawley saw off the first five overs bowled by the Indian pacers — Ishant Sharma and Siraj, who has come into the side in place of Jasprit Bumrah. However, the introduction of Axar in the sixth over brought immediate reward for the hosts as the spinner clean-bowled Sibley (2), reducing England to 10/1. The 27-year-old struck again in his second over as he had Crawley (9) caught at mid-off. The right-handed batsman tried to go over the top to create more pressure on the bowler, but ended up mistiming the ball and handed a simple catch to Siraj. Immediately after the first drinks break, England skipper Root (5) was trapped in front by Siraj and the visitors got reduced to 30/3 in the 13th over. The visitors ended the opening session on 74/3. Brief Scores: England 205 (Ben Stokes 55; Axar Patel 4-68, Ravichandran Ashwin 3-47); India 24/1 (Cheteshwar Pujara 15*; James Anderson 1-0)
Canada thanked India for sending coronavirus vaccines, of which 500,000 doses reached on March 4, a week after the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved. Anita Anand, MP for Oakville and Minister of Public Services and Procurement, said in a tweet, “The AZ/CoviShield vaccine is now in Canada. The first tranche of 500,000 doses arrived this morning from Serum Institute of India with 1.5 million more doses to follow. Thank you to all whose hard work made this happen. We look forward to future collaboration.”
The AZ/CoviShield vaccine is now in 🇨🇦. The first tranche of 500k doses arrived this morning from @SerumInstIndia with 1.5 million more doses to follow. Thank you to all whose hard work made this happen. We look forward to future collaboration. 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/OL4s0vlcdU
She had earlier said that another 944,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be reaching Canada this week, of which 444,600 doses are of Pfizer and 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca. While lauding the efforts made by Anand and her team to procure the coronavirus vaccines, Jennifer O’Connell, MP for Pickering-Uxbridge, said, “This is incredible work – AstraZeneca was approved this past Friday and thanks to Minister Anita, her team, and the many others involved, 5 days later we have received 500,000 doses with 1.5 million more on the way! We’re now set to receive more than 6.5M doses by the end of March!”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month spoke to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and assured him that India will do its best to support Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Expressing his appreciation, the Canadian Prime Minister said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, “it would be significant because of India’s tremendous pharmaceutical capacity, and Prime Minister Modi’s leadership in sharing this capacity with the world”. The Prime Minister thanked PM Trudeau for his sentiments. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India earlier this month said that “Dear Hon’ble PM @JustinTrudeau, I thank you for your warm words towards India and its vaccine industry. As we await regulatory approvals from Canada, I assure you, @SerumInstIndia will fly out #COVISHIELD to Canada in less than a month; I’m on it!”
Recently, the Hon’ble Barry O’Farrell, Australian High Commissioner to India, posted on Facebook that Australia was pleased to support COVAX Advance Market Commitment through an $80 million contribution.
Barry O’Farrell said:
“We are helping to ensure safe, effective and affordable COVID19 vaccines reach all countries around the world.”
GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance made news with the release of the first allocations of COVID19 vaccines through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, manufactured by Serum Institute of India.
Gavi’s impact draws on the strengths of its core partners, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
It plays a critical role in strengthening primary health care (PHC), bringing us closer to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), ensuring that no one is left behind.
Australia’s contribution is in addition to the $523 million that Australia is providing to the Pacific and Southeast Asia through the Regional Vaccine Access Initiative.
“The aim of the school is to provide its students with the best possible education in the best possible environment to achieve the best possible educational outcomes.”
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Rob Stokes, told SMH:
“We have many different types of religion schools across NSW, including those of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith. This will be the first school dedicated to Sikhism teachings and the local Sikh community has been instrumental in making it happen.”
SMH reports that the Sikh community leaders hope that this school will nurture future Indian-Australian leaders.
Sikh Grammar School in Rouse Hill will be multicultural and welcome students of all backgrounds and denominations.
Tarlok Singh, Coordinator of the Sikh grammar school said in a Facebook post:
“Sikh grammar school is an institution dedicated to Sikhism not to any party or dera. … The school is fully dedicated to Sikh principles and Sikhism.”
This first Sikh school would be built near Tallawong metro station, on the north-west line.
The school will teach students from kindergarten to year 12.
It will also have boarding facilities, sporting fields, a pre-school and a Sikh temple.
Michelle Rowland, Member of Parliament for Greenway, New South Wales, congratulated the Indian community on this achievement:
The school’s website says:
“This school will invest time, attention and money to create leaders of tomorrow.”
The estimated cost are around $200 million, funded mostly by members of the Sikh community.
Uber Australia has launched a six-point user checklist.
This checklist requires Uber Eats delivery riders to confirm their bike is safe to ride before starting delivery work.
The in-app checklist asks riders to confirm:
Their brakes and tires are in good condition,
Reflectors and lights are attached, and
To follow relevant road rules.
Speaking to Business Insider Australia, Sachin Kansal, Uber’s senior director of product management, said:
“A lot of delivery people are going to intuitively check for these things, and they will take these precautions. However, we want to add an extra layer of expertise, honestly, on the screen, so that it’s very easy for them to see these as a visual reminder.”
In Australia, it is already unlawful for bike riders to use public roads without wearing a helmet.
Uber Australia says it will soon roll out free safety packages to riders, which will include:
The guidelines place responsibility with the tech companies such as Uber to ensure their apps are designed to be used safely.
This should be done based on delivery times, traffic conditions and average rider speeds.
The guidelines also point to the long hours and significant physical exertion food delivery can entail.
According to Uber Eats, it locks riders out of the app once they reach a cumulative total of 12 hours on the road.
Sachin Kansal adds:
“We regularly partner with experts, with the industry, with regulators … and we want to make sure that we are participating in that dialogue, especially when it comes to road safety.”
Federally, Labor and the union want an independent tribunal to give riders employee-like rights.
This includes access to a minimum wage.
Transport Workers Union (TWU) national secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement:
“This move, which follows the NSW Taskforce’s limp guidelines shows that when government attitudes fail to address the core safety implications of exploitation, food delivery companies will make bare minimum changes for some good PR, while continuing to rip off workers and put them in danger.”
The Gig Economy Joint Taskforce’s final report and recommendations will be tabled next month.
WATCH VIDEO: Tushar Bareja shows how to do Uber Eats in Australia on an electric bike.
The findings of this survey are based on an assessment by Australia’s top twenty-two economists.
The economists expect wage growth will drop to 1.2 per cent in 2021 and then lift to 1.6 per cent in 2022.
According to the survey, wage rises would still fail to outpace the panel’s inflation expectations.
This is projected as 1.7 per cent over the next 12 months.
However, the economy is expected to grow by 6.5 per cent in 2021 and 2.9 per cent in 2022.
The expert panel forecasts that the jobless rate will continue improving.
It will drop to 6.4 per cent in 2021 and 5.9 per cent in 2022.
The experts believe that the Australian government will preside over a $161 billion deficit in the coming financial year, followed by a $111 billion shortfall in 2022-23.
The Australian government expects its gross debt, which is currently $813 billion, to reach $1.1 trillion in the 2030s.
Seen in the pilot of Fringe.
https://moviemaps.org/locations/3hf
The Australian federal government has extended all travel ban for three more months. The extension of the emergency directive will now expire on 17th June 2021.
Health Minister Greg Hunt says this decision has been taken amid understanding that the rest of the world “continues to pose an unacceptable public health risk” to our borders.
Australia extended international travel ban for another 3mo to keep those nasty northern bugs out of here. But also continues to strand >40,000 Australians who just want to come home and safety. What about Morrison’s ANNOUNCEMENT that they would all be home by last Xmas #auspol
These patients are located at the two sites, Christian Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana (Punjab) and Sterling Multispecialty Hospital in Pune (Maharashtra).
ASCOT aims to discover which existing treatments are most effective in patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
In addition, it wants to understand how they will prevent patients deteriorating to the point of needing a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
ASCOT Principal Investigator, Associate Professor Steven Tong, a Royal Melbourne Hospital infectious diseases clinician and co-lead of clinical research at the Doherty Institute said:
“A key principle of the trial is equity in terms of access to experimental treatments that could potentially have benefits for patients.”
The number of patients with COVID-19 in India remains significantly higher than in Australia and New Zealand.
Prof. Bala Venkatesh, Professorial Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health and the President for the College of Intensive Care Medicine (ANZ), said:
“We are confident that the study questions being asked are of priority to Indian patients and participating trial sites, and feasible to address in India.”
One new treatment that’s recently been added to ASCOT is nafamostat.
Associate Professor Tong said:
“Nafamostat is mainly used in Korea and Japan as a treatment for acute pancreatitis and some blood clotting conditions. … It is also likely that nafamostat will reach high levels in the lungs where the SARS-CoV-2 virus causes so much of its problems. What’s more, it has a favourable safety profile.”
The ASCOT team is funded by Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Foundation, Pratt Foundation, Minderoo Foundation, BHP Foundation, Health Research Council of New Zealand, Hospital Research Foundation, Wesley Medical Research, Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Disease Emergencies (APPRISE), Macquarie Group Foundation and The Common Good (The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation).
Varun Sharma, an Indian migrant worker who has lived and worked in New Zealand since 2009, has alleged that his resident visa application wasn’t correctly assessed by the authorities.
Varun arrived in New Zealand on a student visa to study a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies.
At the time of applying, he was employed as the restaurant manager at Fox Glacier’s Bigfoot Bar and Restaurant.
Varun applied for a residency visa under the Skilled Migrant Category in October 2018.
He told TVNZ that the Immigration New Zealand (INZ) declined his application in November 2019 and said:
“Your role does not substantially match the description for a restaurant manager as set out in the ANZSCO [Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations].”
Basically, INZ was not satisfied that Varun was responsible for planning menus, organising events or arranging the purchasing and pricing of goods.
In addition, INZ was also not convinced of his food safety knowledge which is required for the role of a restaurant manager under the criteria listed as per the ANZSCO.
However, that decision was overturned by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in May 2020.
IPT found INZ’s approach as unfair, application not assessed properly and ordered a reassessment.
This second assessment was declined in October 2020 on the grounds that the restaurant had not made a profit in the last 6 months.
Varun told TVNZ, if his application was assessed correctly in the first place, his situation could have been very different.
“I’m pretty upset because they made a wrong decision and this is not what I deserve.”
The restaurant’s owner Hitesh Talreja told TVNZ that Varun’s application should have been assessed on pre-COVID work experience.
“Using that to refuse his residency was the most unfair thing Immigration New Zealand could ever do.”
A spokesperson for INZ told RNZ / TVNZ:
“If an applicant’s circumstances have changed, such as their employment or the sustainability of their employer, then INZ must assess if this change means the applicant does not meet immigration instructions.”
Varun spent about $15,000 on legal fees to have his application correctly assessed.
His current work visa expires in November and has been advised to leave the country.
A 2020 report on organ and tissue donation and transplantation shows that despite the significant impact of COVID-19, around 4,000 Australians benefitted from the gift of organ, eye, and tissue donation from a deceased donor.
The Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, Mark Coulton, said the 2020 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report confirms Australian generosity and willingness to give complete strangers a second chance through organ and tissue donation.
“This report shows that even when the chips are down and a global pandemic interrupts the national transplant program, Australian generosity shines through.
Help us to spread the word about new grants. We’re looking to engage with national partners and community groups across Aus to help us raise awareness about organ and tissue donation. Find out how to partner with us at https://t.co/FtOsvoJEY4#DonateLifepic.twitter.com/5e0Cc528jB
“Last year, despite the pandemic, some 1,644 Australians’ death provided the gift of life and sight to another Australian,” Minister Coulton said.
“We are very grateful to these Australians and their families for making organ, eye, and tissue donations possible.”
The report shows 1,270 Australian lives were saved through an organ transplant in 2020, due to the generosity of 463 deceased organ donors and their families. The report also shows 2,277 Australians received corneal transplants in 2020 from 1,318 donors.
I've debated this my entire life, but thanks to my beautiful angel in heaven, my granddaughter Emiliana, I am officially signed up as an organ donor. My granddaughter saved 5 lives. I hope I can do the same some day. #OrganDonation#OrganDonorpic.twitter.com/r7OZZEVXrD
“A corneal transplant can make a remarkable difference to someone’s quality of life.
“More than 23,500 Australians have thankfully received the gift of sight since the national program began in 2009,” Minister Coulton said.
Minister Coulton said it is important to also recognise the great power of tissue donation.
“Whether they gave heart valves to repair genetic defects in young children or skin grafts to help treat infection and trauma, the 290 deceased tissue donors in 2020 made a great difference to many lives.
“Last year, 182 living donors improved the lives of another Australian; predominantly by donating kidneys and in one case, a partial liver.
Are you unsure if your faith permits organ donation? Watch this video to find out what some religions in Australia say about the matter.
This project has been sponsored by the Organ and Tissue Authority
“Living donors make an incredibly generous sacrifice to improve the life of someone else.
“Organ transplants are not without risk to those who donate, and their act of kindness mustn’t be understated,” Minister Coulton said.
Last year, just 29 kidney transplants took place in Australia from living donors through the Australia and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange Program. This figure represents a 42 per cent drop compared to 2019.
Organ and Tissue Authority CEO, Lucinda Barry, said 2020 outcomes were primarily impacted by the program’s suspension due to COVID-19 concerns in early-March, with the program gradually returning in earnest from September.
“The reality is there were 210 fewer kidney transplants across living and deceased transplant programs, mostly due to the impact of transplant program suspensions,” Ms Barry said.
“These suspensions were a responsible reaction to concerns within the health sector for hospital capacity and transplant patient welfare as the global pandemic took hold in Australia.”
Minister Coulton said the report once again demonstrates the need for more Australians to discuss donation with their friends and family and to register as a donor.
“We need all Australians to talk about organ and tissue donation, to understand what they and their loved ones wish, and to register to become a donor at donatelife.gov.au,” Mr Coulton said.
“It takes less than a minute.”
The 2020 Australia Donation and Transplantation Activity Report is available at: donatelife.gov.au/outcomes.
“One day my wife changed into casual office clothes to attend a video meeting. I thought, ‘that’s not a good way to enjoy her time working from home’ and thought it would be a good idea to have loungewear that was formal only for the part of the body shown on the video screen.”
The top half of the garment that is visible to your colleagues on a screen resembles a crisp, collared shirt and the bottom half is a darker colour and resembles a sweatshirt.
By the time we go back to office, our plight will be just like Harjas Sethi.
In an epic video, Harjas went on to hilariously rant about sacrificing the luxuries of work from home on social media.
Recently, a Twitter user shared AI-generated images of prominent Indian freedom fighters.
The animated image of Bhagat Singh is so ‘surreal’ that it looks like the brave heart has been brought to life and smiling at you.
Kind of surreal to take a photo of the singularly inspiring Bhagat Singh — a revolutionary voice in 1920s India, who was hung by the British in 1931, at the age of 24 — run it through the Heritage AI algorithm, and see him reanimated. pic.twitter.com/CfC0Gu6Gxk
Bhagat Singh was executed at the young age of 23 by the British.
He has attained the status of a folk hero of the Indian independence movement.
Sasidharan used the technology on Bhagat Singh, Lokmanya Tilak, Kasturba Gandhi, Premchand, Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda.
From his Twitter account, Keerthik Sasidharan (@KS1729) shared a series of old pictures of Indian historic figures such as Swami Vivekananda.
Sasidharan revealed that he used the ‘Heritage AI algorithm’ to create these surreal animated images.
This algorithm helped him add facial animations such as smiles, nods, blinks and head tilts to still portrait photos.
The great master and teacher Aurobindo wrote, when he was young, a revolutionary spirit, and a restless mind, nearly a century ago: "The Time has perhaps come fot the Indian mind, long pre-ccupied with political and economic issues, for a widening of its horizon." pic.twitter.com/8U9BwxoE7Z
Munshi Premchand, half bemused, at the newfangled inventions that have come up 80 years after his death. If he were alive, he would probably have used some of it–perhaps, even a novel about of a farmer who wants to buy a computer for his daughter–in his vast oeuvre of writings. pic.twitter.com/dNtm4Dh7CB
Indian Ministry of External Affairs has notified in an statement, he is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
A great honour for me to be appointed High Commissioner to close friend and Comprehensive Strategic Partner #Australia. Shall miss #Mexico, but look forward to new frontiers and opportunities that await me in Canberra 🇮🇳🤝🇦🇺 @HCICanberra @AusHCIndia @dfat pic.twitter.com/BgWwzbGxLz
Mr Vohra’s appointment comes at a time India-Australia ties are at an upswing and the two countries are stepping up cooperation particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
Anjali Sharma (Anj), a 16-year-old climate change activist, is all geared up to fight a legal battle against the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment.
“Every consecutive summer is labelled ‘the worst summer this country has ever faced’, and yet instead of addressing this crisis more mines are being given the green light. This has to stop and I am proud to be doing something to help stop it.”
She is a year 11 student at the Huntingtower School in Melbourne’s east and is involved with the environmental action group School Strike for Climate.
Eight young people from around Australia, represented by Equity Generation Lawyers, and with the assistance of 86 year-old litigation guardian Sister Brigid Arthur, are bringing a class action against the Federal Minister for the Environment.
The case – Anjali Sharma & others v Minister for Environment – was filed on 8 September 2020.
The trial in this landmark case commences 10:15am on Tuesday, 2 March 2021 (Melbourne time).
According to Equity Generation Lawyers’ webpage:
“Our clients argue that the Minister has a duty to protect young people from the devastating impacts of climate change and that allowing the Vickery Extension Project to be built would breach that duty. They are asking the Court to grant an injunction to prevent the Minister from doing so.”
A spokesperson for the Environment Minister told media that the government would not comment while the matter was before the courts.
The applicants finalised their evidence in December 2020. The Minister did not file any evidence.
The five-day trial will determine the future of the proposed Vickery open-cut coal mine extension in NSW.
Anjali Sharma’s message on her lawyer’s webpage notes:
” I will stand for the millions of people with similar stories to tell and similar experiences, who will be put in danger if this mine goes ahead, and together we will do our best to bring this climate-wrecking project to the ground.”
People can live stream the trial from anywhere in the world at the following link.
“Took my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS. Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19,” tweeted PM Modi.
Appealing to people to take the vaccine, PM tweeted, “I appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine. Together, let us make India COVID-19 free!” PM Modi flagged-off the first phase of the pan-India rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16, 2021
According to the Health Ministry of India, the country is all set to start the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination on Monday (March 1), 2021, for those who are over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. To ramp up the COVID-19 vaccination capacity, around 10,000 private hospitals under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY and more than 600 private hospitals under the Central Government Health Scheme will be utilised. Other private hospitals impanelled under State Govts Health Insurance Scheme can also participate as COVID-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs).
The first vials of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has landed in Australia.
This will double Australia’s number of vaccine doses.
An Emirates plane carried 300,000 doses of the vaccine landed at the Sydney Airport at about 9.30am on Sunday.
According to the ABC, the vaccine doses have been transported to a storage facility in Western Sydney.
Here, it will be kept under tight security.
This is the second vaccine to be approved for use in Australia.
This is also the vaccine that is to be administered to the majority of the Australian population.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told The Age that the delivery was “another point of hope” and “another point of protection” in the global pandemic which has claimed more than 2.5 million lives worldwide.
He added there would be 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines sent to the states on March 8.
On the arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Prime Minister Scott Morrisson told media:
“This is the next step as we ramp up the vaccine rollout. The University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will undergo the same rigorous TGA process to batch check the vaccine that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine underwent. We will now be able to scale up the vaccination rollout to our priority groups, including our most vulnerable Australians and to our frontline border and health workers.”
Till now, 30,000 Australians had been vaccinated against coronavirus including 8110 aged care, disability residents at 117 care facilities and frontline health and quarantine workers.
A Pakistani stand-up comedian’s video on how to speak English like Shashi Tharoor has gone viral.
The video was shared on Twitter by comedian Akbar Chaudry.
In the video, Akbar Chaudry hilariously talks about ways one can try and speak like Shashi Tharoor.
Akbar shared the video with the caption:
“How to speak English like @ShashiTharoor #ShashiTharoor #Defenestrate #Farrago #Floccinaucinihilipilification (sic).”
He showed three steps in which any one can perfectly master Tharoor’s impeccable English.
Tharoor is known for his impeccable fluency in the English language and has recently released a ‘Tharoorosauras’.
In the first step, Akbar throws a copy of Oxford Dictionary into a juicer and then drinks the mixture.
In the next step, he sits on a sofa with two drips connected to his arms – one connected to a laptop playing Tharoor’s video and another to a saline bottle marked Oxford Dictionary.
In the last step, he puts the dictionary into a pestle and mortar to grind it into a mixture and then snorting the powder.
After these simple steps, Akbar starts speaking like Shashi Tharoor.
The funny part is that he is actually lip-syncing to the politician’s viral speeches.
The Government of India is conducting country’s first Toy Fair that will be hosted virtually over a period of four days between February 27 and March 2, 2021.
Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated India’s first toy fair and talked to many toy makers. He said:
“In the field of toys, India has tradition and technology, India has concepts and capabilities. We can take the world back to eco-friendly toys, bring our stories of India to the world through the computer games of our software engineers.”
PM Modi again shared his vision of building a new Atmanirbhar Bharat by the year 2022 to mark 75 glorious years of India’s Independence. He said:
“A new India that will merge the best of tradition with a modern, global outlook.”
India’s local toy & games industry is set to play a crucial role in realising these aspirations.
PM Modi appealed to local toy makers to use their skills in creating sustainable toys for the whole world:
“Today I want to appeal to the toy makers of the country to make toys that are good for both ecology and psychology! Can we try to use plastic at least in toys? Use recyclable materials.”
Speaking about their participation in the event, Vivek Goyal, Co-Founder and CEO, PlayShifu, said told media:
“The Indian toy market, estimated at approximately $1 billion, is growing by 10-15% every year. Educational/STEM toys account for over 30% of all toys. More parents are investing in smart toys that are both fun and educational. We are thrilled to have opportunities like the Toy Fair 2021 that help Indian companies ride these trends.”
The website for the India Toy Fair 2021 was launched on February 11 and will enable children, parents, teachers, exhibitors, etc. to register themselves to participate in the virtual toy fair which will showcase various facets of the Indian toy ecosphere.
In addition, the Government of India has also launched ‘Toycathon’, an online toy hackathon for innovative toys/games concepts.
“Toycathon-2021 is conceived to challenge India’s innovative minds to conceptualize novel Toy and Games based on Bharatiya civilization, history, culture, mythology and ethos.It has seen a great response from toy loving students, teachers, start-ups and toy experts/professionals.”
Currently, India’s toy market stands at around 1.5 Billion USD, which primarily is dominated by imported toys.
There are over 12 million specimens housed in the Collection which is maintained by CSIRO Entomology.
World’s largest collection of Australian insects also includes other invertebrates such as nematodes, mites, spiders, earthworms, scorpions and centipedes.
This is an important research collection used by CSIRO researchers, university staff and students, and scientists from Australian and international research organisations.
As insects play an important role in maintaining Australia’s biodiversity, here’s your chance to learn about them during lockdown.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show 10,640 incoming passengers to Australia marked “visitor” on their entry card in December 2020.
This included 2,480 Australian citizens returning Australians that month.
So, nearly a third of the 35,000 international travellers were visitors rather than returning residents.
The three leading source countries where visitors came from were: New Zealand (2,520 trips), The USA (1,000), and The UK (880).
ABS’ other key findings for visitor arrivals to Australia include:
This was a decrease of 99.2% when compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
New Zealand was the largest source country, accounting for 29% of all visitor arrivals.
Based on the number registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), about 39,000 Australians are stranded overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Out of these around 5000 are considered vulnerable.
“The government prioritises facilitated flights where the need is the greatest based on registrations of Australians in vulnerable situations and the availability of commercial flight options.”
DFAT had helped over 41,000 Australians return since March 2020.
This number includes more than 15,000 people on 109 government-facilitated flights.
There were also 2,890 arrivals, people moving to Australia for the first time as new migrants with permanent visas.
Arriving travellers paid $3,000 for one adult aged over 18 in hotel quarantine, and then $1,000 for each extra adults, plus $500 for children.
A total of 824 assembly constituencies shall be going for polls in four states–Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam– and the Union Territory of Puducherry, said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Friday. The polling in these states will start on March 27 and end on April 29. The counting of votes for elections to four states and one UT will be held on May 2.
Tamil Nadu assembly elections to be held in a single phase on April 6,
Kerala also goes to polls on April 6;
Assam assembly elections to be held in 3 phases–
1st phase of polling- March 27,
second phase polling- April 1
and third phase of polling- April 6,
West Bengal will witness eight-phased Assembly polls beginning March 27.
1- 30 Assembly constituencies in five districts will go to polls in the first phase on March 27.
2- 30 Assembly constituencies in four districts will go to polls in the second phase on April 1.
3- 31 Assembly constituencies in 3 districts will go to the polls on April 6.
4- 44 Assembly constituencies in five districts will go for polling on April 10.
5- 45 Assembly constituencies in six districts will witness polling on April 17.
6- 43 Assembly constituencies in four districts in the sixth phase will go to polls on April 22.
7- 36 Assembly constituencies in five districts in the seventh phase will go for polling on April 26.
8- 35 Assembly constituencies in four districts will witness polling on April 29.
Puducherry elections to be held on 6th April.
Counting of all votes will be held on May 2.
With this, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force immediately in four states and Puducherry after the announcement of the election dates.
The terms of the legislative assemblies of five states — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry — will come to an end either in May or in June this year. Elections for the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal that comprises 294 seats will be held soon as the current tenure ends on May 30.
For the Assembly Elections 2021, the Election Commission has issued a protocol for voting. All poll officials will be vaccinated against Covid-19 before elections for five assembly polls, the commission said. ECI guidelines for the upcoming elections include– door-to-door campaigning to be restricted to five persons including the candidate, polling officials to be vaccinated, separate norms for suspected COVID-19 patients.
Chenab bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, is all set to be completed in March 2021.
On the construction of this engineering marvel, Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy had said in Parliament:
“Since the last two years, speedy development is happening in Jammu and Kashmir, when compared to the last 70 years. Both the Centre and the J&K government are trying to develop the region and will do more.”
The length of the Chenab bridge will be 1,315 metres with 17 spans.
Out of this the span of the main arch across Chenab river will be 467 metres.
Railways minister Piyush Goyal said on Twitter: “Infrastructural Marvel in Making: Indian Railways is well on track to achieve another engineering milestone with the steel arch of Chenab bridge reaching at closure position. It is all set to be the world’s highest Railway bridge.”
According to Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) officials, the Chenab bridge is being constructed 359 metres above Chenab’s river bed and will be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower (which has a height of 324 metre).
Modern wind tunnel tests were performed in Denmark to finalise the design.
Chenab bridge is made up of steel arches.
The slopes of the mountains supporting the foundations of the main arch have been stabilised.
This bridge will also have a “security setup” against possible threats from terrorists and earthquakes.
The bridge will be a key link in the 111-km stretch between Katra and Banihal which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla section of the Kashmir Railway project.
Apart from the Chenab bridge, this rail link will also feature India’s longest railway tunnel (T-49) at 12.75 kilometres.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) has announced its draft Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, for social media platforms, OTT players & digital media.
It also inclkudes significant recommendations on asking social media companies to give out the originator of a message or tweet as the case may be.
This means that the Indian government is posing new challenges for social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and Netflix.
These firms count as Asia’s third-largest economy as their key overseas market.
Briefing the media, Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar welcomed social media platforms to do business in India.
“We have received many complaints that some of the content on social media is impinging on the dignity of many users.”
They praised the social media giants for garnering popularity and good number of users in India.
But the ministers pointed out that it is very important to regulate the the actions of social media agencies in India.
The government wants social media companies to have a mechanism to address complaints from users.
“If there are complaints against the dignity of users, particularly woman that exploits their private parts of individuals or nudity or in sexual acts, impersonation, etc, you will be required to remove that within 24 hours”
The Ministers said that any content involving nudity, morphed pictures of women have to be removed within 24 hours of order.
These Rules will come in effect from the date of their publication in the gazette.
“There is a rationale behind framing the new guidelines. The Supreme Court had asked us to frame guidelines to cut down hate content and there are also many orders of the high courts. … The government has done widespread consultation after drafting the rules.”
With the new rules, India joins Australia and other countries across the world trying to regulate social media platforms.
The number of user base on these platforms in India are as follows: WhatsApp 53 crore; YouTube 44.8 crore; Facebook 41 crore; Instagram 21 crore; and Twitter 1.75 crore.
Recently, Shiv Rajput shared a post in Hindi on his Facebook page detailing how people in Australia have been contributing towards the building of the Shri Ram Janamsthan Temple in India.
He commended the work of Anand Katira, an Adelaide-based businessman, who has collected and donated Rs 550,000.
Anand has also motivated his Australian shoppers to donate generously for this noble cause by creating awareness about this historocal event.
Shri Ram Janamsthan Mandir is an under-construction Hindu temple at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi (Lord Rama’s Birthplace).
The bhoomi pujan ceremony was performed on 5 August 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Apart from taking donations, Anand has also been busy inviting his Australian customers to visit the Shri Ram Janmasthan Temple in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) once the construction is completed.
The Shri Ram Janasthan temple trust has created an international contribution campaign.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said that about US$210 million was endowed as of 13 February 2021.
Riding on brilliant spells of spin bowling from Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin, India registered a comprehensive 10-wicket win over England in the pink-ball Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday to go 2-1 up in the four-match series. In the end, English skipper Joe Root winning the toss and batting first meant nothing as the visitors were completely outplayed in the game.
Chasing 49 for a win, India raced home with 10 wickets in the bag as Rohit Sharma (25) and Shubman Gill (15) looked in a hurry to finish proceedings. Rohit finished it off in style by sending Root into the mid-wicket stands. The win has taken India one step closer to the final of the World Test Championship. But the star of the show was hometown boy Axar as he finished with 11 wickets in the game (six in the first innings and five in the second). Senior partner Ashwin wasn’t to be left too far behind as he picked four wickets to finish with 7 in the game. Interestingly, the off-spinner also became the second-fastest to 400 Test wickets during England’s second innings when he trapped Jofra Archer plumb in front.
Root and Jack Leach’s domination in the opening session on the second day was indication enough that the English batsmen would have their task cut out in the second innings. And that is exactly how it panned out as Axar picked his third consecutive fifer in Test cricket. It all started from the first ball of England’s second innings as Axar took the new ball and immediately sent back first innings’ top-scorer Zak Crawley for a duck. The flow of wickets didn’t stop from thereon with only Root (19) and Ben Stokes (25) looking like they were in with a chance to take England’s total past the 100-run mark.
But clearly, the Indian spinners had other ideas as they kept picking wickets in quick succession to ensure that the game didn’t roll out of their comfort zone for a second. Washington Sundar picked the last England wicket as he sent back James Anderson (0) to see the visitors’ innings folded up for 81 — their lowest in Test cricket against India. Earlier, India lost seven wickets in 20.2 overs in the first session of the second day as the visitors rode on skipper Root’s maiden fifer. In the end, the hosts managed 145 in their first essay — a lead of 33 runs. Root became the first England skipper since Bob Willis in 1983 to take a Test fifer as he finished with figures of 5/8 from 6.2 overs. Leach finished with figures of 4/54 from his 20 overs as Rohit Sharma (66) was the best batsman on display for the hosts. The rest had no answer to Root and Leach on a wicket that was turning square at times on the second afternoon. Interestingly though, the ball that didn’t turn caused much damage on the first two days as the batsmen have found it tough to adapt to the skidding pink ball.
Starting the day on 99/3, Rohit did not have Ajinkya Rahane’s company for long as India’s Test deputy was out for 7 minutes after passing England’s first innings total. His lack of consistency will be a concern for the team management. While Leach got the ball to skid onto Rahane and the batsman faltered by going back to a full ball, Rohit was the next to go as he missed a sweep off the left-arm spinner. It was the Root show after that as he started with the wicket of dangerman Rishabh Pant. While Pant pushed away from the body and was caught by keeper Foakes, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel went back in quick succession without bothering the scorers. While Sundar was a classic off-spinner’s dismissal for Root, Axar tried to attack the spinner from the word go and ended up giving a simple catch to Sibley at short extra cover. Ashwin and Ishant Sharma did try their bit as they hit 17 and 10* respectively, but it was clearly Root’s afternoon as the Indian lower-order had no answer to his disciplined effort.
This after England were bundled out for 112 in the first innings with only Zak Crawley managing to hit 53. Of the 30 wickets that fell in the game, 28 were picked by spinners with Ishant Sharma and Jofra Archer picking one wicket apiece. Brief Scores: England 112 and 81 (Ben Stokes 25; Axar Patel 5/32); India 145 and 49/0 (Rohit Sharma 25*, Shubman Gill 15*).
A street fight among “chaat seller” in Uttar Pradesh’s Bagpath went viral on social media.
This brawl left 12 injured and eight in police custody.
Police officer MS Rawat told media:
“Two chaat shop owners clashed with each other in Baraut over getting more customers to their stall. Eight people have been arrested from both sides.”
Harendra, who claims to have a 40-year-old establishment, was among the eight men arrested after the fight.
Now famous on social media as ‘Chacha’ or ‘Einstein’, Hirendra told ANI:
“They kept drawing my customers away…they kept telling them come to our shop, his food is last night’s…The customers would return my chaat.”
#WATCH | The man seen in the viral Baghpat brawl clip explains reason for the fight. The man is now in jail, this interview is from last night pic.twitter.com/PII1Rb5OvX
On the occasion of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 58th birthday, Gangubai Kathiawadi teaser has been released by the makers.
The movie is based on the life of one of the famous madams from brothels in Mumbai’s infamous red light area, Kamathipura.
It stars Alia Bhatt in the titular role and also has a special appearance by actor Ajay Devgn.
Gangubai Kothewali, in the 1960s, was owner of many brothels and wielded immense power and influence in Mumbai.
Gangubai was born in Kathiawad, Gujarat, into a family of lawyers.
She ran away from home with one of her father’s clerk to become an actress in Mumbai.
On reaching Mumbai, she found the reality to be very different – her lover sold her off in Kamathipura for a sum of ₹500.
In time, her fame grew and she became one of the most prized sex workers of Kamathipura.
Soon, with the help of underworld don Karim Lala, she became a powerful figure.
Gangubai was well-known for her saris with gold borders and sari blouses with gold buttons.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali has used a chapter from S. Hussain Zaidi’s book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’ to make this film.
Babuji Rawji Shah, who claimed to be Kathiawadi’s adopted son, filed a suit against Bhansali, Alia and Hussain Zaidi.
In 2020, Shah claimed the chapter of Zaidi’s book, from which Bhansali’s film is adapted, was false, wrong and portrayed a negative image of his mother, showing her to be a sex worker, a mafia queen, and running a brothel in an area with links to underworld gangsters.
However, the court accepted the arguments made on behalf of the filmmaker.
WATCH VIDEO: Gangubai Kathiawadi | Official Teaser | Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Alia Bhatt | 30th July 2021
During his public meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stirred controversy.
He compared his experience as an MP from Wayanad to that of Amethi.
Rahul Gandhi emarked:
“For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing because suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in the issues.”
Rahul Gandhi is the Wayanad MP since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and has earlier been the MP from Amethi for 15 years.
Former Congress MLA from Rai Bareli Aditi Singh has opined that it is wrong to malign a previous constituency to impress the people of the current constituency:
“Maybe he did not mean it. Maybe he did not want to project it that way. But it is wrong to malign your previous constituency from where you contested elections, lost it is another story, but it is wrong to insult the previous constituency simply to praise the South which is your current constituency.”
Rahul Gandhi said:
“My experience now since I have been an MP, I have also got to understand the wisdom of people of Kerala. For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing because suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in the issues.”
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal told ANI:
“I’m nobody to comment on what he (Rahul) said. He said it and he can explain in what context he said.”
With his comment Rahul Gandhi came in for severe criticism from BJP leaders and Union Ministers.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also targeted Gandhi, accusing him of “differentiating the country’s atmosphere”. He told media:
“Yours is a national party and you are differentiating the country’s atmosphere. This certainly raises a question about the level of your responsibility (as a national party leader).”
Listen to what people of Amethi have to say about their former MP’s comments.
Qantas Airline has previously announced to put up international tickets for sale from July 1 but now new plans have deferred these dates to Oct. 31, with the exception of flights to neighbouring New Zealand.
Highlights:
1- Flights to most international destinations to now resume late October 2021
2- Trans-Tasman flying to ramp up from July 2021
3- New flexibility for international bookings, with unlimited flight date changes
Australia closed its international borders last March except for citizens and permanent residents, forcing Qantas to ground its international fleet except for repatriation charters and cargo flights.
Qantas and Jetstar have outlined plans to resume international flights to most destinations from late October. Read more here: https://t.co/Rb5tIy0iyw
Qantas is planning to resume flights to 22 of its 25 pre-COVID international destinations including Los Angeles, London, Singapore, and Johannesburg from 31 October 2021.
Qantas won’t initially resume direct flights to New York, Santiago, and Osaka, but remains committed to flying to these three destinations. In the meantime, customers will be able to fly to these destinations under codeshare or Oneworld arrangements with partner airlines.
However, New Zealanders were allowed to enter without quarantine requirements from the end of last year, but some states temporarily revoked it on Wednesday after a new cluster emerged in its largest city of Auckland.
Border closures and speedy contact tracing have helped Australia keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low. It has recorded just under 29,000 COVID-19 cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began.
Indian union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik told News agency PTI that there is no concept of “mixopathy.”
He asserted that ayurvedic practitioners are also trained to perform surgeries.
“After completing their studies, the ayurvedic doctors undergo internship for one year. They are trained surgeons.”
Minister Naik said this before his discharge from the Goa Medical College and Hospital.
He was undergoing treatment for over a month for injuries he sustained in an accident near a village in Ankola Taluk of Uttar Kannada district in Karnataka.
“After the accident, President, Prime Minister, Home Minister and other ministers came here and met me. I thank them all.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised him to recover well.
Naik added that he may attend the Parliament session on March 8 on doctor’s advise.
When asked about the Indian Medical Association (IMA) opposing the Centre’s decision to allow ayurvedic doctors to perform surgeries, Naik said:
“We are introducing an Indian system of medicine to support the practice of allopathy.”
Naik said the Indian system of medicine has been forwarded to people of the country since centuries and its formula has not changed since then.
Nirav Modi is behind bars in Wandsworth Prison as he contests his extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank scam case.
The UK court’s ruling will come after nearly two-year-long legal battle.
Nirav Modi was arrested on an extradition warrant on March 2019 and the 49-year-old is expected to appear via video conferencing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The magistrates’ court ruling will then be sent back to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel for a sign off.
In India, Nirav Modi is the subject of two sets of criminal proceedings.
One with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a case relating to a large-scale fraud upon PNB through the fraudulent obtaining of letters of undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements.
The second is with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.
Nirav Modi’s defence team led by barrister Clare Montgomery has argued around Modi’s deteriorating mental health condition.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian Government has challenged the defence’s stance and had called for an independent evaluation of medical records by a consultant psychiatrist.
Spinner Jack Leach dismissed Virat Kohli just before concluding minutes of the day’s play but Rohit Sharma hit fifty as India ended the opening day of the pink-ball Test against England in the driver’s seat at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.
At stumps, India’s score reads 99/3 with Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane unbeaten on 57 and one runs respectively. The hosts are trailing by 13 runs in the first innings with seven wickets in the bag. Ollie Pope put down a chance at gully as Jimmy Anderson nearly got rid of Kohli just before the concluding minutes of play and England could blame only themselves for not making any further inroads but Leach dismissed the Indian skipper to give the visitors some relief on the day one.
Words are too less to express my emotions right now!!
After surviving the five overs in the tricky twilight phase and then battling out for 14.5 overs and India lost their first wicket off the last ball of the 15th overs when Jofra Archer dismissed Shubman Gill for a 51-ball 11. He skied an attempted pull to give Zak Crawley an easy catch. Minutes later, the hosts lost Cheteshwar Pujara as he was trapped in front by Jack Leach.
Meanwhile, Rohit continued his good form and completed his half-century. Rohit and Kohli also brought up the fifty runs partnership to steady the Indian ship after two quick wickets. But Leach struck again to break the 64-run stand for the third wicket as Kohli chopped the ball onto his stumps. Earlier, hometown boy Axar Patel and seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had a field day as India bundled out England for a paltry 112 in the first innings.
Earlier, hometown boy Axar Patel and seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had a field day as India bundled out England for a paltry 112 in the first innings. Axar, playing in just his second Test, scalped six wickets while Ashwin returned with three wickets as the visitors were bowled out in just 48.4 overs. This was Axar’s second five-wicket haul in a row as he had scalped five in the second innings of the second Test as well. Skipper Virat Kohli might have lost the toss in the third Test, but his bowlers ensured that the hosts dominated the first session. Resuming the second session at 81/4, England got off to the worst possible start as both Ben Stokes (6) and Ollie Pope (1) were sent back to the pavilion. Stokes was trapped plumb in front of the wickets and as a result, Axar was rewarded with his third wicket. Ashwin on the other hand sent Pope packing for just 1.
If the former England players were critical of the Chepauk wicket, the lack of application from the English batsmen in the first innings of the third Test can have no excuse. Playing down the wrong line was the crux of the story and just like the top-order batsmen, Jofra Archer (11) too tried to cut a straight delivery and was clean bowled by Axar as the visitors were reduced to 93/7. This was Axar’s fourth scalp in the innings. Jack Leach (3), Stuart Broad (3), and Ben Foakes (12) all failed to stay at the crease for long and as a result, the hosts have given themselves the best possible chance to make this contest a one-sided affair.
Brief Scores: England 112 (Zak Crawley 53; Axar Patel 6-38); India 99/3 (Rohit Sharma 57*, Virat Kohli 27; Jack Leach 2-27)
The world’s largest cricket stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad was renamed the Narendra Modi Stadium.
It was inaugurated on Wednesday by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
In his address, the President of India said:
“India is called the powerhouse or hub of cricket. So it is apt that the world’s biggest stadium is in our country.”
Home Minister Amit Shah said that Ahmedabad will become the city with state-of-the-art sports infrastructure of international standards.
“Coupled with the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave and the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, a sports complex will also be built in Naranpura. These three will be equipped to host any international sports event.”
The old stadium, with 49,000 seating capacity, was known as the Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium.
This new stadium has a 130,000-seat arena and is spread in over 220 acres on the Sabarmati river bank.
This stadium includes the world’s largest cricket stadium, a football stadium, a field hockey, a tennis stadium, an indoor swimming pool, facilities for athletics and track and field sports, indoor sports halls and arenas, skating area, and outdoor fields.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the renaming the cricket stadium.
In his attack, he also highlighted that this change comes at a time when Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was the treasurer of the Indian cricket board BCCI.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel told PIB that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s name was never associated with the stadium in question.
“This stadium is owned by the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) and it was always known as the Motera Stadium. So there is no question of renaming it now. It was Narendra Modi, who had first floated the idea to demolish the old stadium and build a new one when he was the GCA president.”
This is the first such public structure in India to be named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A 40-year-old Indian-origin woman in Singapore has pleaded guilty to torturing her 24-year-old Myanmarese-origin maid to death.
The prosecution told the court that Gaiyathiri Murugayan abused, starved, tortured and ultimately killed her maid in a manner that ‘would shock anyone’s conscience.’
Channel News Asia reports that Gaiyathiri could be jailed for life.
The report said that closed-circuit television footage from cameras installed in the house to monitor the victim and the children showed the abuse carried out in the last 35 days of the victim’s life.
She has pleaded guilty to 28 charges, including culpable homicide, voluntarily causing grievous hurt by starvation, voluntarily causing hurt by a heated substance and wrongful restraint that eventually led to the death of her maid.
The penalties for culpable homicide not amounting to murder in Singapore are life imprisonment and caning, or up to 20 years’ jail, a fine and caning.
As per media reports, a very prominent academic journal has retracted an article published by a Monash University faculty member.
The article was published in 2019 and after a university investigation, it was noted that the member had plagiarised a student’s work.
Dr Padma Murthi who a senior research fellow in the university’s Department of Pharmacology following an investigation into allegations of plagiarism was found guilty of publishing a significant part of the text in the paper “without knowledge, without consent and without correct attribution of the original author.”
The spokesperson for Monash University said:
“No other complaints have been made against the academic and there is nothing to indicate this has happened before.”
When contacted by The Age,Dr. Murthi claimed no wrongdoing but refused to answer any questions about the incident stating it was “a university matter”.
The retraction statement of the Netherlands-based publisher of the Biochimica et Biophysica Actapeer-reviewed journal reads:
“The publication was retracted by request of the authors following an investigation by Monash University performed following its Procedures for Investigating Code Breaches and in accordance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.”
The spokesperson for Monash University said:
“No other complaints have been made against the academic and there is nothing to indicate this has happened before.”
Dr Murthi has some 195 publications to her name and 2684 citations on ResearchGate. She has held several positions at Monash University, University of Melbourne and the Royal Women’s Hospital.
Last week, in a shocking move, Facebook blocked all news on its platform in Australia.
This also inadvertently blocked information and government pages.
The Australian government has strongly criticised the move on the grounds that it demonstrated the “immense market power of these digital social giants.”
On Tuesday, Australia’s Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, announced a compromise had been reached with Facebook.
Will Easton, Facebook’s Australian managing director, confirmed this news in a blog post.
“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to reach an agreement with the Australian government and appreciate the constructive discussions we’ve had with treasurer Frydenberg and minister Fletcher over the past week.”
Treasurer Frydenberg told media that Australia had been a “proxy battle” for the rest of the world.
“I have no doubt that so many other countries are looking at what is happening here in Australia, because of this innovative code the Morrison government is now pursuing, so Facebook and Google have not hidden the fact that they know that the eyes of the world are on Australia, and that is why they have sought to get a code here that is workable.”
Facebook said it helped Australian publishers earn about A$407m last year.
Australia’s law would require payment for the sharing and posting of news links on Facebook.
However, the Australian government has also agreed that Facebook would be subject to the code would be given a month’s notice to comply.
Last week, the Australian and Indian Prime Ministers talked ahead of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad.
They tweeted to work together on common challenges like Covid 19, the circular economy, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific as comprehensive strategic partners.
The idealization of light skin as the pinnacle of beauty affects self-esteem for women of color around the world. In many cultures, skin color is a social benchmark that is often used by people of color and whites alike in lieu of race. Attractiveness, marriageability, career opportunities and socioeconomic status are directly correlated with skin color.
As a result, many women of color seek chemical remedies to lighten their complexion. They have created a booming global business in bleach creams and injectables valued at US$8.6 billion in 2020; $2.3 billion was spent in the U.S. alone. The market is projected to reach $12.3 billion by 2027.
In my work in behavioral science and colorism, I studied the phenomenon of skin bleaching during a decade of travel around the world during which I visited every major racial group – and tracked the growth of this industry. The practice has both significant racial implications and health concerns. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IqsSG4qvWdo?wmode=transparent&start=0 A new Netflix documentary called ‘Skin’ explores the practice of skin bleaching in African culture.
A common practice
As I stated during my interview on Oprah’s 2015 “Light Girls” documentary, while bleaching the skin is common, it’s both dangerous and potentially life-threatening because products contain steroids, hydroquinone bleach and mercury. The World Health Organization warns that skin bleaching can cause liver and kidney damage, neurological problems, cancer and, for pregnant women, stillbirth.
The practice is not new. It became popular in many African countries in the 1950s; today, about 77% of Nigerians, 27% of Senegalese and 35% of South African women bleach their skin. Indian caste-based discrimination was outlawed in 1950, but dark-skinned women (and men) are still persecuted – and fair skin remains a distinguishing social factor, associated with purity and elite status.
Light skin is idealized in North America, but the phenomenon is contentious because bleaching is perceived as a desire to be white. So bleaching creams are marketed in the U.S. not to lighten skin, but to “erase blemishes” and “age spots.”
In the aftermath of the civil rights movement, dark-complected immigrants from developing countries flocked to the U.S., carrying with them an ideal of light-skinned beauty – and they bleached their skin to attain it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kl2lpnoGyyw?wmode=transparent&start=0 Ideals of light-skinned beauty stemming from European colonization contributed to a lucrative bleach cream industry.
Perpetuating ‘colorism’
Bleach cream manufacturers now face growing pressure to address racism, with activists arguing that their products perpetuate a preference for lighter skin. In 2020, Johnson & Johnson announced that it will no longer sell two products marketed to reduce dark spots that were widely used as skin lighteners.
L’Oreal, the world’s largest producer of bleach creams, pledged to remove the words “white,” “fair,” and “light” from labels – but it will still manufacture these products.
Some among African countries have moved to ban bleaching creams. The success of the blockbuster film “Black Panther” has likewise sparked a movement celebrating dark skin, with hashtags including #melaninpoppin and #blackgirlmagic.
As I see it, public education and activism on this issue must prevail to protect the health and self-esteem of women of color. The failure of either will only prolong the problem – while sustaining an $8.6 billion bleach cream beauty industry.
The program offers grants of $2000 to small businesses, including sole traders, regardless of whether they employ people or not. The grants will support businesses in eligible sectors who have incurred direct costs because of the circuit breaker action, such as the loss of perishable goods, flowers and booking cancellations, and cancellation fees and charges.
This new $92 million Business Costs Assistance Program is part of the Victorian Government’s $143 million Circuit Breaker Action Business Support Package and will assist small businesses, including sole traders, in highly impacted sectors, such as hospitality, food wholesaling, tourism, events, and selected retail.
Businesses with an annual payroll of up to $3 million, whether they have employees or not, can receive grants of $2000.
Who can apply for a grant?
To be eligible, you must:
be located within Victoria
be registered as operating in an eligible industry sector identified in the list of Eligible ANZSIC classes (as defined by the industry classification linked to the business’ ABN)
have incurred costs (as outlined in Section 5 of the guidelines) as a direct result of the circuit breaker action announced on 12 February 2021
have an annual Victorian payroll of up to $3 million in 2019-20 on an ungrouped basis
be registered for goods and services tax (GST) on 12 February 2021
hold an Australian business number (ABN) and have held that ABN at 12 February 2021.
Note on evidence of eligibility:
If you are an employing business, you will need to provide the WorkCover Employer Number (WEN) or WorkSafe Application Reference Number (WRN) linked to the business
Non-employing businesses (such as sole traders) need to provide an eligible proof of identity document.
If accommodation businesses apply to both the Business Costs Assistance Program and the Victorian Accommodation Support Program, the maximum grant they are eligible for will be capped at the higher value of the two grants (not the aggregate/total of both grants).
Applications are now open for the Business Costs Assistance Program. The program offers $2,000 grants to support small businesses in eligible sectors that incurred direct costs during the COVID-19 circuit breaker action. Applications close 16 March 2021.https://t.co/tMA9n5y1s9pic.twitter.com/80Pb2mgPOl
The program seeks to assist eligible businesses that have incurred costs as a direct result of the circuit breaker action announced on 12 February 2021 which may include, but are not limited to:
the loss of perishable goods (e.g. food or flowers)
cancellation fees and charges (e.g. venue/performer/instructor)
booking cancellations
other costs and losses incurred due to the circuit breaker action that could not be reasonably avoided.
These costs may have been incurred prior to, on or after 12 February 2021. The costs must be incurred by the applying business, as defined by its ABN.
5What do I need to apply for this grant?
When applying for this grant you will need:
a valid Australian business number (ABN) for your business in one of these eligible business sectors. The ANZSIC class linked to your ABN registration must be one of these eligible sectors.
to confirm and attest to the costs you incurred, and commit to retaining evidence of applicable costs for 12 months.
if you employ people, your WorkCover Employer Number (WEN) or, if this is yet to be issued, a WorkSafe Application Reference Number (WRN).
if you do not employ people, details of a current proof of identity document (Australian driver’s licence, Australian passport, Medicare card and Australian visa information and foreign passport).
Please make sure your ABN registration information and, where required, ASIC registration, or relevant regulator information, is current.
Incomplete or incorrect information may delay your application assessment. Please complete the application correctly and provide all relevant documentation.
6Assessing your application
We will endeavour to process your application and notify you about the outcome within 10 business days. There may be delays if your application:
does not meet all the eligibility criteria
does not have correct evidence or documentation
requires you to make changes
is a duplicate application for the same business
has incorrect information, such as ABN, WorkCover Employee Number (WEN) or bank details (for successful applicants)
does not include current or accurate information registered with relevant regulators or partner agencies, such as the State Revenue Office, Australian Business Register or WorkSafe Victoria.
We consider the following circumstances when assessing your application:
any adverse findings by a regulator regarding a business
if your business is placed under external administration
if there is a petition to wind up or deregister a company or business
if your business is or becomes deregistered or unregistered (including cancellation or lapse in registration).
7Applicants with multiple businesses
You can only apply for one grant per ABN. If you have separate ABNs for your businesses, you must submit separate applications for each ABN. Each business (each ABN) must satisfy all the eligibility criteria.
8Not-for-profit organisations
Not-for-profit organisations with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $150,000 that are not registered for GST can apply for a grant. To be eligible, your organisation must meet all the other eligibility criteria.
9How to apply
The program will be open for applications until the date the program funds are exhausted or 11:59 pm on 16 March 2021, whichever is earlier.
Applicants should check that their details on the Australian Business Register websiteExternal link (opens in same window) are correct prior to submitting an application. This includes ensuring that the industry classification (ANZSIC class code) linked to their ABN registration correctly captures their primary business activity.
Complete all questions in the application form and sumbit it, so we can assess your application as quickly as possible.
You must certify that your business meets all eligibility criteria.
While you do not need to provide receipts, invoices, cancellation documents or other evidence of costs incurred with your application form, you must keep that evidence for 12 months if you receive a grant. The Victorian Government or our representatives may audit your application so you will need to produce evidence (such as receipts and invoices) at the request of the Victorian Government.
If any information in your application is false or misleading, you may be asked to repay the grant.
Devon Conway played a stunning knock before Ish Sodhi spun a web over Australia to help New Zealand register an emphatic win in the first T20I on Monday. New Zealand thrashed Australia by 53 runs in the first T20I to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. If Conway starred with the bat for New Zealand, it was an all-round bowling performance from the hosts that saw them clinch the game. Australia had reduced New Zealand to 19/3 before Conway unleashed the beast within himself to hammer an unbeaten 99 off 59 balls and guided the hosts to 184/5.
The visitors never looked comfortable in the chase and kept losing wickets at regular intervals only to get dismissed for 131 runs. For New Zealand, Sodhi picked four while Boult and Southee scalped two wickets each. Chasing 185 runs, Australia got off to the worst possible start as Tim Southee and Trent Boult both struck in their first overs. Southee ensured Finch’s lean patch continued while Boult dismissed Josh Philippe in the second over. Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell too didn’t bother the scorers much and were soon in the dugout after Boult and Southee again wreaked havoc to reduce Australia to 19/4. Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis tried rescuing Australia from the precarious position but spinner Ish Sodhi joined the party.
Sodhi came out firing on all cylinders and first broke the partnership of 37 runs between Marsh and Stonis and then dismissed Ashton Agar and Daniel Sams in the same over. Marsh was the only batsman who got going for Australia but he too failed to convert a good start into a match-winning knock and was dismissed for 45. Earlier after being asked to bat, New Zealand suffered an early jolt as Daniel Sams removed opener Martin Guptill for a duck off the third ball of the match. If Guptill’s poor form wasn’t enough for the New Zealand players, the leading wicket-taker in the tenth season of Big Bash League (BBL) Jhye Richardson castled Tim Seifert in the third over to pile further misery on the Kiwis. Skipper Kane Williamson’s wicket in the next over was an insult to the injury as New Zealand lost three wickets before the completion of the Powerplay. Conway then along with Glenn Phillips put the New Zealand innings back on track. The duo added 74 runs for the fourth wicket before Marcus Stoinis came in front of New Zealand’s recovery.
Stoinis dismissed Phillips in the 13th over to reduce New Zealand to 93/4. Conway continued his fine form and completed his half-century in just 36 balls. With seven overs left, Conway and James Neesham decided to go out all guns blazing on the Australian bowling attack. In the next three overs, the duo smashed 34 runs.
Richardson broke a fine partnership in the 17th over as he dismissed James Neesham but Conway continued his onslaught to steer New Zealand to 184/5 in the 20 overs. Brief Scores: New Zealand 184/5 (Devon Conway 99*, Glenn Phillips 30; Jhye Richardson 2-31); Australia 131 (Mitchell Marsh 45, Ashton Agar 23; Ish Sodhi 4-28)
Indian government had issued a set of revised guidelines for international arrivals.
This has been done keeping in mind the spread of mutant variants of coronavirus.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a tweet.
The new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will come into effect from 23.59 hours on February 22 till further orders.
There are fresh guidelines for all international travellers coming/transiting through flights originating from the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Guidelines for international arrivals effective 22 February:
All international travellers will have to submit self-declaration (SDF) for Covid on the online Air Suvidha portal before the scheduled travel.
They will also have to upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report on the online portal www.newdelhiairport.in.
The test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to the journey and each passenger will also have to submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report, as per the guidelines.
At the time of boarding the flight, only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board after the thermal screening.
International travellers arriving through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocol, except that facility for online registration is not available for such passengers currently, as per the civil aviation ministry guidelines.
Airlines should identify the international travellers arriving from/transiting through the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa (during the past 14 days) and segregate them in-flight.
All the travellers arriving from/transiting through flights originating in the United Kingdom, Europe or the Middle East shall be mandatorily subjected to self-paid confirmatory molecular tests on arrival at the Indian airports concerned (port of entry).
All travellers from Europe and the Middle East shall give samples at the designated area and exit the airport. If the test report is negative, they will be advised to self-monitor their health for 14 days. If the test report is positive, they will undergo treatment as per standard health protocol.
For other passengers not falling in this category, the rules remain the same.
The other passengers will be subject to the existing exemptions and quarantine norms upon arrival.
Please note that scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23.
Flights to and from India are currently operated as per air bubble agreements with various countries.
Bollywood superstars Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar bagged Dadasaheb Phalke Awards for ‘Best Actor’ in the prestigious award ceremony held on Saturday. The star-studded night that was held after a long span of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic honoured the talented artists for their outstanding contribution to the Indian cinema. Where Kiara Advani won the ‘Critic’s Best Actress’ award to Sushmita Sen who won ‘Best Actress-Web Series’, Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar bagged the ‘Best Actor’ award for their acclaimed performances in notable movies ‘Chhapaak’ and ‘Laxmi.
The official Instagram account of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival announced the news. For the ‘Padmaavat’ star, they wrote, “Celebrating the dedication you’ve shown on the way to this achievement. Congratulations to @deepikapadukone for winning the “Best Actress” award at Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2021. Team DPIFF wishes you the best for your future endeavors!!”
Deepika who played the protagonist in the film also marked her debut as a producer with this film. Helmed by director Meghna Gulzar, the film is based on the real-life acid attack survivor Laxmi, who at the age of 15, was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005. Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she took up the job of helping acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such attacks. Laxmi is a well-known advocate of stricter punishments in acid attack cases. Meanwhile, for Akshay Kumar, the official Instagram account of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival wrote, “Celebrating the dedication you’ve shown on the way to this achievement. Congratulations to @akshaykumar for winning the “Best Actor” award at Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2021. Team DPIFF wishes you the best for your future endeavors!!”
‘Laxmi is the remake of the Tamil film ‘Kanchana,’ and has been directed by Raghava Lawrence. It starred Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani in the pivotal roles. The horror-comedy with a message for the need for equal rights for the third gender was premiered on November 9 2020 on DisneyPlus Hotstar.
Coronil, developed by yoga guru Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved has run into a controversy over claims of certification.
It is a medicine that claims to boost immunity against COVID-19.
At its launch, this product was billed by the company as the “first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19”.
On the big poster behind the delegates was written the claim that the “medicine” was CoPP and WHO GMP certified.
The WHO, however, has clarified in a tweet that it has not reviewed or certified any traditional medicine to treat or prevent COVID-19.
.@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19.— WHO South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) February 19, 2021
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi citing ‘WHO’s clarification’ attacked the centre and tweeted.
I hope our Health Minister stops embarrassing the nation with such claims to promote Coronil. I strongly believe in Ayurveda but to claim it as a WHO guaranteed cure against COVID &endorse it, is nothing but cheating as well as misleading the nation. https://t.co/keneIA0pyM— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) February 21, 2021
Patanjali said in a statement:
“Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme.”
The press meet was also attended by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Last year in July, the AYUSH Ministry had banned Patanjali from selling it as a “cure” and sought information on its trials.
National
Baba Ramdev told media:
“We are using modern medicinal and scientific protocols and evidence-based research to prove the validity of Ayurvedic practices.”
Baba Ramdev also said that Ayurveda has been accepted and established in many countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
Later, Patanjali Ayurved managing director Acharya Balkrishna tweeted:
“We want to clarify to avoid confusion that our WHO GMP compliant COPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI, Government of India. It is clear that WHO do not approve or disapprove any drugs. WHO works for building a better, healthier future for people all over the world.”
World number one Novak Djokovic on Sunday defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in the finals of the Australian Open 2021 here at the Rod Laver Arena to clinch his 9th Australian title. This is the 18th Grand Slam win for the Serbian player. The Serbian Djokovic came out all guns blazing and it seemed as if he did not want to waste time in winning his 18th Grand Slam, but Medvedev eventually came back and the set was tied at 5-5. However, in the end, Djokovic showed his class to win the first set 7-5 in about 42 minutes.
The 33-year-old Djokovic made light work of Medvedev in the second set and the Serbian won the second set with ease and as a result, he was just one more set away from winning his ninth Australian Open title. Djokovic had no trouble in winning the third set as well and with this, the Serbian ended up winning the match in straight sets. Earlier, Djokovic had defeated Aslan Karatsev in the semi-finals while Medvedev had outclassed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals.
On Saturday, Japan’s Naomi Osaka had won her second Australian Open title after she defeated America’s Jennifer Brady in the finals. Osaka outclassed Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the finals that were played at the Rod Laver Arena. With this win, Osaka registered her fourth Grand Slam title and she also improved her ranking to the second spot.
Almost 60 years after Nagaland attained statehood, the Indian national anthem was played inside its assembly for the first time.
This historical event took place during the commencement of the seventh session of the assembly.
As can be seen in the video, everyone in attendance rose in unison when the national anthem was being played.
Nagaland became the 16th state of India on 1 December 1963.
Since 1946, Nagaland has had a troubled relationship with the Indian government because of the activities of some separatist groups.
In 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to various leaders after the signing of historic peace accord between Government of India and Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).
Nagaland lawmakers proudly listened to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s “Jana Gana Mana” in the House.
The Governor of Nagaland, Shri R.N. Ravi calling on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on August 08, 2019.
This was followed by Governor R.N. Ravi’s inaugural address.
Nagaland Speaker Sharingain Longkumer told The Print:
“As long as the governor gives his address, this is the convention to be followed in the Nagaland legislative assembly, a convention I want to start.”
WATCH VIDEO: Indian National Anthem by AR Rahman and top Indian artists
World-renowned Ladakh-based engineer & education reformist Sonam Wangchuk has built a solar-powered military tent for the Indian Army at the Galway Valley.
Wangchuk built a tent that could accommodate 10 jawans and is fully portable with the weight of the tent being less than 30 kilos.
Wangchuk revealed on Twitter that his tent could sustain even under sub-zero temperatures such as minus 14 degrees Celcius.
In one photograph, he points out that it was carbon neutral, replacing kerosene and tackling pollution.
In another tweet, Wangchuk thanked people for their ‘overwhelming response to Ladakh’s little gift for Indian Army.’
He also said that ‘To answer your Qs about how it works I’m releasing a video at 11am on my YouTube channel.’
Sachin Dabarwar (CEO) and Shweta Darbarwar (CMO) of Simply Fresh, an agritech startup, are good examples of talented Indians returning from abroad to uplift India with their unique idea.
The couple started Simply Fresh with the following vison:
“Simply fresh was started with the aim of making available nutritious food that’s also free of chemicals and pesticides.”
In 2013, the duo founded their first hydroponics farm at Shamirpet.
This 9-acre farm catered to Retail and Horeca segments in local markets.
Hydroponics is a way to skip the soil and use different material to support the roots of the plant.
This way crops can be grown directly in nutrient-rich water.
The greenhouses in their farm are digitally controlled by an AI platform called ‘Farm in A Box’ (FiAB).
Sachin and Shweta, who are software engineers by profession, were based in Australia and studying modern Agriculture technology particularly plant-profiling and R&D.
They were working with a group of botanists and struck upon an idea.
In 2018, they raised USD20 million and expanded farming with a 150-acre facility in Arjunpatla, Siddipet.
The agricultural scientists at their farm have combine hydroponic soil-less farming with AI technology.
The farm also produces a full line of Nutra/pharma grade medicinal plants such as turmeric, ginger, shatavari, amaranthus, etc.
“In a country like ours, where we have scarcity of water especially for agricultural use, we can reduce our water consumption drastically by up to 1/10th of the traditional farming water consumption by using hydroponic and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.”
In 2020, they received the CMO Best Brand Of Telangana Award.
Do you think that India and Australia should work together on such sustainable farming practices?
Breaking News: Prime Minister Scott Morrison is among the first Australians to receive the Pfizer vaccine today on Sunday.
Mr Morrison wrote on social media, “Meet Jane, the first person in Australia to receive a #COVID19 vaccine. Today is a landmark day in Australia’s comeback from this pandemic. Vaccinations are free and voluntary for everyone in Australia and our own medical experts have found these vaccines to be safe and effective.”
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told while appearing on ABC that a group of people will receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Sydney before the vaccination program is rolled out nationally on Monday.
Advice received of zero cases of community transmission nationwide in the last 24 hours. This is thankfully the 3rd of 4 days w zero cases nationwide. Agonisingly over 10,000 people lost their lives to COVID globally on Friday. Our thoughts are with those lost & their families.
Widely belived in media circles that this move by PM Morrison is to counter the myth about the safety of coronavirus vaccine.
“Today the first group of people will be vaccinated, commencing with two of our aged-care residents, our critical aged-care staff, frontline workers,” Mr Hunt said.
“We also know that the chief medical officer and the chief nurse and the Prime Minister – in order to provide confidence, the Prime Minister will be the last of that group.”
Mr. Hunt explained, this measure is in view of a very strong focus on the need for key leaders,…across party groups to provide that confidence.
Dr. Shubham Sharma is GP in Melbourne.
He says, A lot my patients ask me about the vaccience safety and advice arround it.
“It will be so good to tell them that its safe and PM Morrison and Cheif Health officer has taken it,” said Dr.Sharma.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has identified the following people as being eligible for vaccination under phase 1a of the rollout:
Aged care and group disability care workers and residents, including:
residents of aged care and people with disability living in disability residential accommodation
Quarantine and border workers, including:
staff at entry points to the country (such as sea ports and land borders)
staff working in quarantine facilities, including those employed under Commonwealth, state or private agreements, and
Commonwealth employees (including Defence personnel) who are identified as having the potential to encounter returning travelers as part of their work.
Frontline health workers (including clinical, medical students, and administrative staff) most likely to be exposed to COVID-19 including;
frontline staff in facilities or services such as hospital emergency departments, COVID-19 and respiratory wards, Intensive Care Units and High-dependency Units
laboratory staff handling potentially infectious material
ambulance and paramedics service
GP respiratory clinics, and
COVID-19 testing facilities.
Other health workers will follow in Phase 1B
Thousands of aged care residents in Australia, at more than 240 facilities, will receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose next week. The facilities are located across Australia in over 190 towns and suburbs in rural and urban areas in every state and territory:
Australian Capital Territory
Curtin
Farrer
Garran
Griffith
Hughes
Narrabundah
Red Hill
Stirling
Weston
New South Wales
Alstonville
Austral
Ballina
Bangor
Barden Ridge
Blacktown
Collaroy
Collaroy Plateau
Corrimal
Cronulla
Dean Park
Emu Plains
Engadine
Glenfield
Gosford West
Heathcote
Illawong
Jamisontown
Marayong
Minto
Mortdale
Mount Austin
Narrabeen
Orange
Peakhurst
Penrith
Penshurst
Point Clare
Port Macquarie
Prestons
Roselands
Springwood
Stanwell Park
Tarrawanna
Terrey Hills
Thirroul
Umina Beach
Wagga Wagga
Warriewood
Woonona
Woy Woy
Northern Territory
Alice Springs
Braitling
Coconut Grove
Fannie Bay
Farrar
Nightcliff
Tiwi
Queensland
Albany Creek
Aspley
Bald Hills
Beaconsfield
Birtinya
Bray Park
Buderim
Bundaberg
Burleigh Heads
Burleigh Waters
Carseldine
Cleveland
Glenella
Glenvale
Harristown
Hope Island
Kearneys Spring
Kepnock
Lawnton
Mackay
Meridan Plains
Millbank
Mirani
Mudgeeraba
North Bundaberg
North Mackay
North Tamborine
Palmwoods
Pimpama
Redland Bay
Robina
Sippy Downs
South Toowoomba
Thornlands
Toowoomba
Upper Coomera
Varsity Lakes
Victoria Point
Warana
West Mackay
Woombye
South Australia
Aldgate
Cowandilla
Encounter Bay
Everard Park
Goolwa
Hahndorf
Heathfield
Lockleys
Marion
Marleston
Morphettville
Mount Barker
North Plympton
Oaklands Park
Port Elliot
Uraidla
Victor Harbor
Tasmania
Burnie
Legana
Newnham
Newstead
Norwood
Penguin
Riverside
Somerset
St Leonards
Ulverstone
West Ulverstone
Wynyard
Victoria
Altona Meadows
Ballarat
Ballarat East
Bayswater
Bendigo
Blackburn
California Gully
Canadian
Cowes
Cranbourne
Cranbourne East
Creswick
Dandenong
Dandenong North
Delacombe
Drouin
Drysdale
East Bendigo
Forest Hill
Heathmont
Hoppers Crossing
Ironbark
Junction Village
Lara
Long Gully
Moe
Morwell
Mount Clear
Neerim South
Newborough
Nunawading
Ocean Grove
Point Cook
Point Lonsdale
Portarlington
Ringwood
Vermont
Vermont South
Wallington
Wantirna
Wantirna South
Warragul
Wendouree
Werribee
Western Australia
Balcatta
Bunbury
Calista
Carey Park
Cooloongup
Donnybrook
Eaton
Emu Point
Kingsley
Lockyer
Madeley
Marangaroo
Mirrabooka
Port Kennedy
Rockingham
Shoalwater
South Bunbury
Spencer Park
Waikiki
Yakamia
States and territories will initially have 16 Pfizer vaccination hubs operational across Australia. These first hubs will be at:
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (NSW)
Westmead Hospital (NSW)
Liverpool Hospital (NSW)
Monash Medical Centre Clayton (VIC)
Sunshine Hospital (VIC)
Austin Health (VIC)
University Hospital Geelong (VIC)
Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD)
Cairns Hospital (QLD)
Princess Alexandra Hospital (QLD)
Royal Adelaide Hospital (SA)
Flinders Medical Centre (SA)
Perth Children’s Hospital (WA)
Royal Hobart Hospital (TAS)
The Canberra Hospital (ACT)
Royal Darwin Hospital (NT)
The remaining phases will be rolled out as the number of vaccines grows.
