Disney censors same-sex affection in Pixar films

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Disney censors same-sex affection in Pixar films

A statement attributed to “the LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies” obtained by ‘Variety’, employees of the animation studio allege that Disney corporate executives have demanded cuts from “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection” regardless of when there is the protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.

The stunning claim is part of a wider reaction to the company-wide memo sent to Disney employees by CEO Bob Chapek on Monday regarding its response to the recently passed legislation in Florida known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, reports variety.com.

In the memo, Chapek states that the “biggest impact” the company can make “in creating a more inclusive world is through the inspiring content we produce”.

According to the Pixar letter, that claim is at odds with employees’ experience of trying to create content with same-sex affection approved by Disney executives.

“We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were,” the letter states.

“Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”

To date, Pixar has only included a tiny handful of LGBTQ characters in its feature films, most prominently in the 2020 fantasy film award, which features a cyclops police officer named Specter, voiced by Lena Waithe.

The character’s sexuality is only acknowledged in passing when Specter says, “It’s not easy being a new parent – my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?” But the movie was still banned in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia due to the scene, and in the version released in Russia, the word “girlfriend” was changed to “partner.”

The same year, Pixar released a short film, ‘Out’, on Disney Plus, about a gay man who struggles with coming out to his parents.

The claim of censorship by Pixar employees is particularly damning for former CEO Robert Iger, who oversaw Disney’s purchase of Pixar in 2006 and just exited the company in December 2021.

The employee letter, which is not dated, also demands Disney withdraw the financial support of all legislatures who supported the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and “take a decisive public stand” against the legislation and bills like it elsewhere in the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chapek did speak publicly for the first time about Disney’s opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill during the company’s shareholders meeting, after weathering widespread criticism for his handling of the issue.

He announced that the company would pledge $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQ rights organizations, and said he will meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss Disney’s “concerns” about the legislation, after first connecting earlier on the phone.

“Gov. DeSantis committed to me that he wanted to make sure that this law could not be weaponised in any way by individuals in the state or groups in the state to unduly harm or target gay, lesbian, nonbinary, or transgender kids and families,” Chapek said.

Following Chapek’s pledge, the Human Rights Campaign announced that they’d refuse the donation until “meaningful action is taken to combat” the legislation.

In a statement, the HRC’s interim president Joni Madison, explained: “Businesses have had and continue to have a major impact in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, from marriage equality to the defeat of House Bill 2 in North Carolina and beyond.”

While Disney took a regrettable stance by choosing to stay silent amid political attacks against LGBTQ+ families in Florida — including hardworking families employed by Disney — today they took a step in the right direction. But it was merely the first step.”

“HRC encourages Disney, and all employers, to continue to fight for their employees – many of whom bravely spoke out to say their CEO’s silence was unacceptable – and the LGBTQ+ community by working with us and state and local LGBTQ+ groups to ensure these dangerous anti-equality proposals that harm LGBTQ+ families and kids have no place in Florida,” Madison’s statement continued.

“Every student deserves to be seen, and every student deserves an education that prepares them for health and success — regardless of who they are. This should be the beginning of Disney’s advocacy efforts rather than the end.”

Twitter Shops to allow sellers showcase more products

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Twitter Shops to allow sellers showcase more products

Micro-blogging site Twitter has introduced a new shopping feature ‘Twitter Shops’ which would allow merchants to curate a collection of up to 50 products to showcase on their profile.

The feature, which is free to use, gives people the chance to view products from the profiles of their favorite brands, so when you talk about and discover products on the timeline, you can now browse them on Twitter, too.

“When you go to the profile of a merchant that has Twitter Shops enabled, you’ll see a “View shop” button just above their Tweets. When you tap the button, it will open up that merchant’s shop, where you can scroll through items,” the company said in a statement.

When you are ready to purchase, you can click on the product of your choice which will open an in-app browser where you can learn more about the product and checkout on the merchant’s website.

“While our Shop Module allows merchants to showcase up to five products directly on their profile, Twitter Shops gives merchants a larger, fully-immersive space to highlight a longer catalog of products,” the company added.

Twitter has also introduced a new tool for creators called the “Creator Dashboard” to analyze how they make money on the platform.

According to the company, the new tool is designed to help creators analyze how they make money on Twitter and how much they are earning from monetization features.

Currently, the feature is available to iOS creators in the US with more than 10,000 followers and is participating in Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows.

The new dashboard can be accessed from the app’s “Monetization” tab.

SC issues notice on Malayalam TV channel plea against Centre’s telecast ban

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SC issues notice on Malayalam TV channel plea against Centre’s telecast ban

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice on a plea by Malayalam news channel ‘Media One’, challenging the Kerala High Court order which upheld the Central government’s decision to not renew its broadcasting license.

The Centre had cited national security grounds to justify the ban.

A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said, “Issue notice returnable on March 15. The Respondents shall produce relevant files on which reliance was placed by the high court in the impugned judgment.”

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Dushyant Dave, representing Media One, contended before the bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, that the channel has been completely closed down and it has close to 2.5 crore viewers every day.

Rohatgi said there is nothing against the TV channel and pointed out several hundred people have been unemployed after the channel was closed down. “How will we feed these employees,” said Rohatgi. The council urged the top court to direct the Centre to bring on record those files which it submitted in the high court.

The top court scheduled the matter for further hearing on March 15. The top court will also consider the application by the TV channel seeking interim relief on the next hearing.

On Monday, Dave mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana. He submitted that for 11 years, the organization has functioned and the channel has 350 employees and millions of viewers. Dave said, “We have been shut down due to some secret files from the home ministry and the court has justified it behind our back. It’s too serious a matter relating to the right to information and freedom of the press”.

Media One had moved the top court after the Kerala High Court upheld the ban imposed on it by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice S.Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chali noted when certain issues with respect to the security of the state are concerned, the government is at liberty to decline to renew the permission granted, without disclosing the complete reasons for the non-renewal.

The high court on March 2 dismissed the appeals filed by the channel’s management and journalists challenging a February 9 single-bench order, which refused to lift the ban.

India records 4,184 new Covid cases, 104 deaths

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India records 4,184 new Covid cases, 104 deaths

India logged 4,184 fresh Covid infections, a marginal decline from 4,575 the previous day, and 104 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Thursday.

With the fresh fatalities, the death toll mounted to 5,15,459.

Active Covid cases have further reduced to 44,488 which constitute 0.10 percent of the country’s total cases.

With 6,554 patients getting cured of the virus in the same time period, the number of recoveries mounted to 4,24,20,120. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.70 percent.

Also in the same period, a total of 8,73,974 tests were conducted across the country, taking the cumulative tests to over 77.60 crores.

The weekly positivity rate has further come down to 0.58 percent, while the daily positivity rate declined to 0.48 percent.

With the administration of over 18.23 lakhs Covid vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the country’s Covid inoculation coverage has reached 179.53 crores as of Thursday morning. This has been achieved through 2,09,22,227 sessions.

More than 16.24 crore balance and unutilized Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs, the ministry added.

Women’s World Cup: Hopefully we can go and defend that score of 260, says Amelia

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Women’s World Cup: Hopefully we can go and defend that score of 260, says Amelia

New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr said she is hopeful of her team being able to defend the score of 260/9 against India in the eighth match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup at Seddon Park on Thursday.

In her knock of 50 off 64 balls, Amelia took her time and was given an early life by Yastika Bhatia at deep square leg on a sweep off Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

“I would’ve liked to kick on and get a bit more, nice to bat with Amy, the way batted she was class and the way Katey Martin finished at the end, hopefully, we can go and defend that score of 260,” said Amelia in a mid-match chat with broadcasters Star Sports.

She looked solid in sweeping the spinners and looked lovely in timing the cover drive as well as the lofted shots. Though she fell eventually while trying to sweep off Gayakwad, Amelia ensured that the tempo of New Zealand’s innings was maintained despite India making a comeback in the last eight overs.

“I have done a lot of work on playing spin this winter, at the moment it seems to be going well but it’s not always like that,” Amelia stated about her improved play against spin.

Talking about the conditions and pitch at Seddon Park, Amelia remarked, “It’s a pretty good batting wicket, under lights hoping for it to grip a bit more and for some hold. Looking forward to going out there and having a bowl.”

“We would have liked 270-plus, but we have got 260, our job as a bowling and fielding unit is to go and defend that. With the team we have, we are very capable of that.”

Bypoll trend: BJP leads in Assam’s Majuli

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Bypoll trend: BJP leads in Assam’s Majuli

The Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in the early trends of the bypoll results in Assam’s Majuli Assembly constituency.

The bypoll at this constituency was necessitated after former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal tendered his resignation from the Assembly.

As per the Election Commission update around 10.00 a.m., BJP’s candidate Bhuban Gam had secured 9,173 votes while Assam Jatiya Parishad’s Chittaranjan Basumatary was trailing with 2,515 votes.

Socialist Unity Centre of India’s (Communist) Bhaity Richong had so far secured 180 votes while 192 of the voters chose not to vote for anyone and cast NOTA.

Djokovic Withdraws from Indian Wells & Miami Open

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Djokovic Withdraws from Indian Wells & Miami Open

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic withdrew from the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open, organizers confirmed on Wednesday.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion tweeted on Wednesday that the Centers for Disease Control in America “confirmed the regulations won’t be changing so I won’t be able to play in the U.S.”

Djokovic, who recently dropped to No. 2 in the ATP rankings, has played in only one tournament so far in 2022 because he has not received any shots to protect against Covid-19. He was deported from Australia in January and was not allowed to try to defend his title at Melbourne Park.

“While I was automatically listed in the @BNPPARIBASOPEN and @MiamiOpen draw I knew it would be unlikely I’d be able to travel,” Djokovic tweeted. “The CDC has confirmed that regulations won’t be changing so I won’t be able to play in the US. Good luck to those playing in these great tournaments.”

Since Thursday’s order of play has not yet been released, Grigor Dimitrov will become the 33rd seed and be moved to the last line in the draw, Djokovic’s spot. He will play Belgian David Goffin or Australian Jordan Thompson in the second round. If the Bulgarian faces Goffin, it will be a rematch of the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals championship match.
A qualifier or lucky loser will replace Dimitrov on Line 93, where he will challenge American Tommy Paul.

The final round of BNP Paribas Open Qualifying is being played on Wednesday, while main-draw action at the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year starts Thursday in the California desert.

Was shot at in Nandigram during campaigning, says Mamta in Assembly

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Was shot at in Nandigram during campaigning, says Mamta in Assembly

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, alleged that she was shot at in Nandigram during the Assembly polls last year.

Banerjee, who contested from Nandigram in East Midnapore, lost to the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari.

“I was not allowed to campaign. I was shot at in Nandigram. There was ‘adjustment to defeat her there’. Those who conspired against me should now apologize to the people!” the Chief Minister said in her reply to the debate on the Governor’s Address, but did not elaborate about the nature of “adjustment” and the people involved in the conspiracy.

In the Nandigram constituency, Banerjee lost to Adhikari by mere 1,956 votes. The Trinamool Congress has approached the court challenging the result, and the case is still pending. Meanwhile, she contested from the Bhabanipur constituency in the by-election and won by a record margin.

In her reply to the debate on the Governor’s address, she alleged that all arrangements were made to assassinate her at Nandigram.

The Governor’s Budget speech saw a lot of controversies after BJP MLAs demonstrated in the Assembly following which the Governor failed to complete his speech.

BJP MLAs Mihir Goswami and Sudip Mukherjee were suspended from the Assembly session on charges of disrupting the Governor’s speech.

Though the BJP didn’t raise any protest during the Chief Minister’s speech in the Assembly but later in the day, Adhikari, who is the Leader of Opposition, responded to the allegations outside the house. “Actually, the Chief Minister cannot forget the pain of losing in Nandigram! That is why she is saying this again and again out of frustration. If she has any complaints then the government should investigate. After all, she only runs the administration!” he said.

Mid-day meals resume after two yrs, 3.22 lakh R’sthan students get cooked food

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Mid-day meals resume after two yrs, 3.22 lakh R’sthan students get cooked food

The mid-day meal scheme, which was discontinued due to the corona pandemic in the state, resumed on Wednesday after a gap of two years.

On this day, cooked meals were distributed to about 3.22 lakh children in 10 districts of Rajasthan by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. This food was prepared in the centralized kitchens of Akshaya Patra following all set guidelines of the government,

Raghupati Das, Rajasthan in charge of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, said that the food prepared through state-of-the-art machines in the centralized kitchens of Akshaya Patra is completely hygienic and follows the government guidelines which are based on nutritional value and menu as set by them.

The whole cooking process is mechanized, in which 100 kg of flour is kneaded in 9 minutes and 40000 chapatis are prepared in one machine in 1 hour.

A total of 1200 kgs of pulses or vegetables and equal amounts of rice are prepared at one time. The organization has a state-of-the-art vehicle to ensure that the food reaches the schools safely in the most hygienic manner. This mid-day meal is distributed to over 1 lakh students in Jaipur, 27000 in Ajmer, 15000 in Bhilwara, 32000 in Bikaner, 18000 in Jodhpur, 53000 in Nathdwara, 30000 in Udaipur, 14000 in Chittorgarh, and 12000 in Sahariya region of Baran, he said.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit voluntary organization, through which food has been distributed to lakhs of people as per the instructions of the state government when the mid-day meal was stopped due to the coronavirus.

Along with the help of donors about 75,000 ration kits have been distributed, said Siddha Swaroop Das, Rajasthan media in-charge of The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Jaya Prada on making a TV cameo in ‘Sasural Simar Ka 2’

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Jaya Prada on making a TV cameo in ‘Sasural Simar Ka 2’

Popular film actress Jaya Prada gets candid about her cameo in the show ‘Sasural Simar Ka 2’. She will be seen performing on her famous tracks ‘Tohfa Tohfa’ and ‘Gori Hai Kalaiyan’.

In the show, Simar’s (Radhika Muthukumar) father-in-law Gajendra (Aarav Chowdhary) suffers memory loss after he meets with an accident. In order to help him in getting his memory back, his family invites Bollywood actress Jaya Prada for Gajendra and Sandhya’s (Shital Thakkar) wedding anniversary.

She says on making an appearance on the show: “I feel so happy to be a part of not one, but two episodes of ‘Sasural Simar Ka 2’. The audience will see all of us sing, dance, and have endless fun while trying to help Gajendra ji retrieve his memory in these episodes.”

“Performing on ‘Tohfa Tohfa’ and ‘Gori Hai Kalaiyan’ after so many years has brought back many memorable moments from the good old days,” concludes Jaya.

‘Sasural Simar Ka 2’ airs on Colors.

I think it is unfair & wouldn’t consider it: Stuart Broad angry with run-out law update

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I think it is unfair & wouldn’t consider it: Stuart Broad angry with run-out law update

England pacer Stuart Broad gave out his sharp opinion over the decision of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) to move running out a batter while leaving the crease from the non-striker’s end while a bowler is in delivery stride, also known commonly as ‘Mankad’ from ‘unfair play’ to ‘run-out’ category.

Until now, ‘Mankading’ was treated as an unfair mode of dismissal but it has now been moved to Law 38, which concerns run-outs. “Law 41.16 – running out the non-striker – has been moved from Law 41 (Unfair Play) to Law 38 (Runout). The wording of the Law remains the same,” said the MCC on Wednesday about the change to come into effect from October 1.

“So the Mankad is no longer unfair & is now a legitimate dismissal. Hasn’t it always been a legitimate dismissal & whether it is unfair is subjective? I think it is unfair & wouldn’t consider it, as IMO, dismissing a batter is about skill & the Mankad requires zero skill,” wrote Broad on Twitter.

When a fan asked, “So you should never run them out?”, Broad replied, “Imo run out is a skill. Hearing someone run, sprinting full pace to pick up the ball & deciding which end to throw it in a split second & aiming your throw close to the stumps to run out.”

Running out a batter from a non-striker’s end has been seen as an official dismissal since legendary India all-rounder Vinoo Mankad ran out Bill Brown at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1947 against Australia. But the mode of dismissal has often triggered debates over the spirit of the game.

“It is a run-out but it has always been in the unfair play law and we questioned, why is it unfair? It is legitimate, it is a run-out and therefore it should live in the run-out section of the laws. Before this change, this was the only way you could be out that wasn’t in the dismissals section,” Fraser Stewart, the head of the laws department at MCC was quoted as saying by The Times.

One such incident came in IPL 2019 when Ravichandran Ashwin ran out Jos Buttler from the non-striker end in the opening match of their respective teams Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Rajasthan Royals respectively.

On the second last ball of the 13th over, Ashwin had spotted that Buttler had left his crease before he was to deliver the ball and ran him out, triggering a debate over the spirit of the game.

In a curious twist of fate, Ashwin and Buttler will now be in the same dressing room for the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2022 season from March 26 to May 29.

Wishes pour in for Khushbu, Sundar C as star couple celebrate 22nd wedding anniversary

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Wishes pour in for Khushbu, Sundar C as star couple celebrate 22nd wedding anniversary

Wishes are pouring in for actress, producer, and politician Khushbu and director Sundar C, who are celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary on Wednesday.

Khushbu took to Instagram to pen her thoughts on their marriage.

Posting a series of pictures with Sundar and her family, Khushbu said, “From there to now. Literally have spent half of my life with you. Couldn’t have asked for anything more. People didn’t give us a year, and here we are celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary. Love you. Life with you is bliss. Happy Anniversary my love. Many more years to go.”

Several celebrities have responded to the actress’ post, greeting and wishing the couple on their wedding anniversary.

Director Brindha Gopal, whose film ‘Hey Sinamika’ featuring Dulquer Salmaan, Kajal Aggarwal, and Aditi Rao Hydari just released, was among those who wished the actress.

She tweeted, “Happy Wedding Anniversary to my favorite couple. Wish you both many many more happy wedding anniversaries and a blissful married life.”

Aarthi Ravi, the wife of actor Jayam Ravi, actress Shwetha Menon and Kiki Vijay, the wife of actor Shanthanu Baghyaraj were among those who wished the couple.

US scientist falsely accused of hiding ties to China acquitted

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US scientist falsely accused of hiding ties to China acquitted

Anming Hu, a nanotechnology researcher at the University of Tennessee, who was falsely accused of hiding ties with China has been finally acquitted after two years of ordeal, Nature reported.

Hu, a Canadian citizen of Chinese descent, had been working in the US for more than four years when the FBI first interviewed him in 2018.

Almost two years later, in February 2020, he was indicted for wire fraud and for making false statements about his affiliation with a Chinese university on research grant applications submitted to NASA, the report said.

“That is the day I lost everything. I worked hard for years, and it happened in a few minutes,” Hu was quoted as saying.

Following Hu’s indictment, the University suspended him, stopped his pay, and later fired him after he lost his right to work in the US. He was also put under house arrest.

Hu’s arrest was part of the China Initiative – a US government effort to counter economic espionage. It frequently targeted academic researchers for failing to disclose funds from China or partnerships with Chinese institutions.

Academic researchers and civil-liberties groups had been calling for the initiative to be shut down, arguing that it was racially profiling scientists.

On February 23, this year, the US Department of Justice announced that it was effectively ending the China Initiative, and was replacing it with a broader strategy covering China and several other countries, including Russia and North Korea.

Hu welcomed the end of the initiative, adding that he would like to see the government held to account for its actions.

“I lost two years of my life,” he said. “Who is taking the consequences of that?”

“It is very painful in my heart. The memories are very hard,” Hu said.

Hu was under house arrest for more than a year while awaiting trial. During this time, he relied heavily on his church community to bring him groceries – and even take out his rubbish – because he was not allowed to go outside, he said. With his wife and two of his children in Canada, he felt isolated and missed his family, the report said.

“It made me want to cry every night,” Hu said.

During his ordeal, Hu dived into unpaid work to help to distract him while he awaited trial.

He reviewed around 400 research papers and wrote six research papers of his own, including some on nanojoining – a technology used to link nanometre-sized building blocks to manufacture nanodevices and systems.

He also finished writing a book on laser manufacturing and 3D printing. But he fears that the two-year gap in his laboratory research will be “catastrophic” for his career.

After Hu’s acquittal, UT Knoxville reinstated him as a tenured professor and gave him $300,000 to help to restart his research, the report said.

But Hu says that the university is yet to apologize to him.

Niharika Konidela’s sudden disappearance from social media mystifies fans

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Niharika Konidela’s sudden disappearance from social media mystifies fans

Actress Niharika Konidela, who is megastar Chiranjeevi’s niece and younger daughter of actor-producer Naga Babu, is normally a social media butterfly, who keeps her followers engaged through her colorful posts.

But Niharika’s sudden deactivation of her Instagram has become one of the points of discussion among Telugu folks now.

Niharika, who has always kept her fans and social media followers updated with photos and videos of her activities, suddenly deleted her Instagram account.

After her fans discovered that the actress’ profile isn’t to be seen anywhere on the photo and video sharing site, they are shocked as they wonder why she did so.

There is speculation that she might have deleted her account after facing trolling recently, while some others think that there must be some mysterious activity from the account and hence the deactivation might be only temporary.

Operation Ganga finds brief mention in MP govt’s budget

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Operation Ganga finds brief mention in MP govt’s budget

‘Operation Ganga’, an ongoing operation by the Centre to evacuate the Indian citizens stranded in war-hit Ukraine, found a brief mention in the Madhya Pradesh government’s budget on Wednesday.

A 44-page booklet of budget presentation consisting of 201 points of the annual budget presented in the state Assembly, mentioned: “Under the efficient leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, evacuation of all citizens of India stranded in Ukraine was successful as a part of ‘Operation Ganga’. Over 500 people of Madhya Pradesh have returned to their homes safely, so far. At this critical moment, the government stands with people to ensure their safety and to ensure that all Indians stranded in Ukraine are evacuated.”

It is a much-needed operation for providing humanitarian assistance amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the safe evacuation of Indian citizens to their homes with assistance from countries of Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, Slovakia, etc.

Earlier on Wednesday, the state government informed that nearly 35 natives of Madhya Pradesh stuck in Sumy city of Ukraine have left the war-ravaged country and are likely to reach New Delhi by this evening. “We have got the information that around 35 students of Madhya Pradesh have come out of the war-hit Ukraine safely. The number of students may vary,” state home minister Narottam Mishra told the press on Wednesday.

The first evacuation flight under the ‘Operation Ganga’ from Bucharest reached New Delhi with 249 nationals on February 27. Four union ministers were sent the next day to the neighboring countries to assist in prioritizing coordination with local authorities.

The Indian Air Force and multiple private airlines such as Air India, IndiGo, Air India Express, SpiceJet, Vistara, AirAsia India, and Go First have provided logistical support.

More than 20,000 Indian nationals, including over 18,000 students, were stranded in war-hit Ukraine.

Japan’s GDP growth of Q4 2021 revised down to 4.6%

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Japan’s GDP growth of Q4 2021 revised down to 4.6%

Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the October-December period of 2021 was revised down to an annualized real growth of 4.6 percent from the initially reported 5.4 percent, government data showed on Wednesday.

The increase in real GDP, the total value of goods and services produced in the country adjusted for inflation, equals a 1.1-per cent increase on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, Xinhua news agency reported.

The revision for the reported quarter led to a downgraded growth of 1.6 percent of real GDP in 2021, the country’s first economic increase since 2018 following a 4.5-per cent plunge in 2020.

“Taking into account the latest data related to services, the eating out and railway industries contributed to the downward revision (in private consumption),” according to a government official.

“But the big picture of spending expanding with recoveries in the restaurant, passenger transportation, and auto sectors has not changed,” the official said.

The growth in private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the country’s GDP, was revised to 2.4 percent from the previously reported 2.7 percent.

However, personal spending peaked at the highest level since the January-March 2014 period, according to the Cabinet Office.

During the reporting quarter, economic activities fully resumed in Japan as a Covid-19 state of emergency was lifted in all areas on October 1, 2021, when people were no longer asked to refrain from unnecessary outings and restaurants were not asked to close early under the emergency declaration.

Prez receives first copy of compendium of Hazari Prasad Dwivedi’s writings

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Prez receives first copy of compendium of Hazari Prasad Dwivedi’s writings

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday received the first copy of the compendium of writings and essays by Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi ‘Bharatiya Sanskriti Mein Manaveey Jijeevisha’ brought out by the Acharya Hazari Prasad Memorial Trust.

“An excellent philosopher seeking modernism in Indian tradition and traditionalism in modern methods, Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi had explored newer avenues in linguistics, commentary, cultural discourse, and essays. He is credited with establishing Sant Kabeer as a great litterateur. Dwivedi spent time with Gurudev Ravindranath Tagore and enriched India’s world of literary heritage by his contributions,” a communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

In his short message, President Kovind praised Dwivedi’s contribution in popularising Kabeer’s works. He also emphasized promoting Hindi as the language of mass communication.

Memorial Trust’s Trustee Nupur Pandey, Ratnesh Mishra, and Ashok Maheshwari were present on the occasion, the communique said.

BSF recovers drone close to International Border in Punjab

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BSF recovers drone close to International Border in Punjab

The Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday said that its troopers have recovered one drone in a wheat field near village Havelian in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district.

The quadcopter was found in the wheat field, which is 1,000 meters away from the International Border.

“Troops of BSF have recovered one quadcopter (drone) in a wheat field near village Havelian, approximately 1000 meters from the border,” the BSF Punjab Frontier said.

The Punjab Frontier officials said that the troopers heard the humming sound of a flying object during the early hours and the object was fired upon.

“Subsequently, during search operations, we recovered one quadcopter (Drone) in a wheat field near village Havelian,” the officials said, adding “that no contraband or arms were found so far in the search operation.”

On March 7 too, the BSF shot down a drone coming from the Pakistan side in Punjab’s Ferozepur sector. According to the BSF officials, on Monday around 0255 hours, the forward-deployed troopers heard the humming sound of a suspicious flying object coming from Pakistan’s side to India’s side in the AOR Ferozepur sector. Immediately all troopers were alerted and fired upon the ‘Flying Object’ and also illuminated the area by firing Para bombs and the drone was shot down.

The BSF personnel found that along with the drone a small bag (green colored) was attached which contained four packets in a yellow wrapping and one small packet in black color wrapping. The gross weight of the contraband items was found to be around 4.17 kgs (with packing material) and 250 gm of black color wrapping.

India’s border guarding force has been working on anti-drone technology in collaboration with the Defence Ministry research wing DRDO and soon will have the anti-drone technology to prevent the entry of quadcopters into the Indian territory from the Pakistan side.

Shreyas, Mithali, Deepti nominated for ICC Player of the Month

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Shreyas, Mithali, Deepti nominated for ICC Player of the Month

India’s Shreyas Iyer, women’s team skipper Mithali Raj and all-rounder Deepti Sharma figure in the list of ICC Player of the Month nominees in the men’s and women’s sections, respectively for the month of February 2022.

Iyer was in sublime form last month and played a key role in India’s white-ball domination as they blanked the West Indies and Sri Lanka. He started the month with a Player of the Match-winning 80 against the West Indies in the final ODI and followed it up with a 16-ball 25 in the final T20I of the subsequent series.

In the T20I series against Sri Lanka that followed, India opted to rest players, and that coupled with an injury to Suryakumar Yadav meant Iyer was promoted to No.3. He took the opportunity with both hands, scoring three unbeaten fifties in as many matches and finished with 204 runs at a strike rate of 174.35. He was awarded the Player of the Series for his exploits.

The other ICC Men’s Player of the Month nominees are Vriitya Aravind of the UAE who had a superb outing in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A. Aravind played a crucial role in UAE booking their ticket to Australia for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. In five matches in the Qualifier A campaign, he smashed 267 runs at an average of 89.00 and a strike rate of 154.33.

Also, Dipendra Singh Airee of Nepal, who played a crucial role as his team finished third in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A in Oman, is the third nominee in the men’s section. He was splendid both with the bat and the ball, finishing with 159 runs and three wickets in the tournament.

In the women’s section, Mithali Raj was one of the few shining lights for India in the ODI series against New Zealand. She was the highest run-scorer for India, and the second-highest overall with 232 runs, including three fifties, averaging 77.33 while striking at 82.56. In the final ODI, she played the role of the finisher to perfection, remaining unbeaten on 54 as India chased down 252 with four overs to spare. With the win, India ensured that they avoided the clean-sweep.

Deepti Sharma shone both with the bat and ball in the series against New Zealand. She took the most wickets (10) in the ODI series and was handy with the bat as well, aggregating 116 runs in five matches. She grabbed a four-for in the second ODI and followed it up with a 69* in the next match. It helped India set a daunting 280-run target, although New Zealand still chased it down to complete the second-highest successful chase in women’s ODI history.

The third nominee, Amelia Kerr of New Zealand, is in the form of her life, wreaking havoc with the bat and ball. In the ODI series against India, she finished as the highest-run getter overall and the joint-highest wicket-taker for her team alongside her sister Jess Kerr. In the five ODIs, she scored 353 runs at an average of 117.66 and strike-rate of 97.51, which included three fifties and a hundred. With the ball, she picked up seven wickets at an economy of 5.78.

Telangana CM announces filling up of 91,142 vacancies

TB Team
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Telangana CM announces filling up of 91,142 vacancies

Meeting a long-pending demand of educated unemployed youth in Telangana, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday announced a filling up of 91,142 vacancies in government departments.

Making a much-awaited statement in the Legislative Assembly, he declared that notifications will be issued immediately for filling up 80,039 vacancies.

He also announced that all 11,103 contract employees will be regularized. Hereafter, there will be no contract appointments system in the state, he said amid the thumping of desks by the legislators.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, said as a result of these recruitments there will be an additional financial implication of Rs 7,000 crore per annum. Nevertheless, the government has taken this bold decision to go ahead with the recruitments, he said.

He also announced a relaxing the upper age limit for recruitments by 10 years. The upper age limit for candidates belonging to Other Caste (OCs) will now be 44 years. For Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Backward Classes (BCs), the new upper age limit will be 49 years. This will be 54 years for the differently-abled.

Of 80,039 vacancies to be filled, 18,334 are in the home department, 13,086 in secondary education, 12,755 in medical, health & family welfare, 7,878 in higher education, 4,311 in backward classes welfare, 3,560 in the revenue department, and the remaining in 21 other departments.

He said the government has also decided that henceforth vacancies will be identified in advance and an annual calendar for recruitments will be published and recruitments will be taken up in a transparent manner.

KCR recalled that the slogan of Telangana movement was water, funds, and appointments. “After the formation of the state, the funds of Telangana are available to Telangana itself. We are constructing irrigation projects as per the requirements of Telangana,” he said.

With the amendment to the Presidential Order due to the efforts of the Telangana government, local candidates will get 95 per cent reservation in government employment from the lowest cadre of attendant to the highest cadre of Revenue Division Officer (RDO), he told the House claiming that Telangana is the only state in the entire country to achieve this.

The government also created seven new zones comprising all 33 districts. Due to taking up recruitment in the 7 zonal and 33 district cadres, the problems of vacant posts and shortage of staff in the remote areas of the state will be resolved.

He explained the measures taken by the state government after the formation of the new state to improve the administration. He said a total of 1,12,307 new posts were sanctioned. Along with this, the government identified the vacant posts and decided to fill up 1,56,254 posts. Till now 1,33,942 posts have been filled-up, he said.

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