Mamata govt distances itself from celebration of West Bengal Foundation Day at Raj Bhavan

Kolkata, June 20, 2024
West Bengal Foundation Day was observed at the Raj Bhavan here on Thursday with the state government machinery and the members of the state cabinet distancing themselves from the programme.

Raj Bhavan insiders said that the celebration of West Bengal Foundation Day, which started on June 20, 2023, lacked the pomp and grandeur that was there in the same programme last year.

Insiders said that June 20 has been chosen as West Bengal Foundation Day since on the same day of 1947, the then Bengal Legislative Assembly held a meeting to decide if the Bengal Presidency would stay with India or Pakistan, or be divided, having the Hindu majority districts staying with India as West Bengal and the Muslim majority areas forming East Pakistan.

However, the ruling Trinamool Congress has been against celebrating the day as it believes that this date historically signifies the pain of partition. Instead, the state government through a proposal passed on the floor of the state Assembly last year decided to choose Bengali New Year Day as the date for the celebration of the West Bengal Foundation Day.

“Last year only when the Governor started celebrating West Bengal Foundation Day on June 20, our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requested him against doing so. But he did not listen. We cannot stop him from doing so. But we are not participating,” said a member of the state cabinet who did not wish to be named.

Commenting on the development, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the historical significance of June 20 can never be changed or ignored.

“Last year the President of India announced June 20 as the West Bengal Foundation Day. Had Dr Shyamprasad Mukhopadhyay not been there we could not have stayed in Independent India. A party can enforce certain things because of its numerical supremacy in the Assembly. But that does not mean that the history can be changed,” Adhikari said.(Agency)

Wildfires rage across California, engulf acres of forest

San Francisco, June 20, 2024
The fast-growing Sites wildfire in Northern California remained just 5 per cent contained, officials said.

The Sites Fire, about 100 miles northwest of Sacramento, the capital city of the western US state of California, broke out on Monday and is among over a dozen wildfires that have ripped through the state, Xinhua news agency reported.

The blaze, currently the largest and fastest-growing wildfire in Northern California, has engulfed some 15,656 acres in Colusa County. Evacuations are ongoing, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

In Sonoma County, the Point Fire, which erupted Sunday in Geyserville and has burned more than 1,207 acres, was 50 per cent contained as of Tuesday evening.

In Calaveras County, a blaze that erupted on Monday afternoon has been dubbed the Aero Fire, and it has been deemed a threat to more than 3,600 structures. It was 33 per cent contained on Wednesday afternoon, having charred more than 5,351 acres.

Officials warned that the risk of new fires erupting in Northern California remained high.

The probability of ignition is “still up at around 100 per cent,” said fire behaviour analyst Jonathan Pangborn of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.(Agency)

Atiq Ahmad’s sister-in-law’s house demolished in Prayagraj

Prayagraj, June 20, 2024
The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) on Thursday demolished the house of Zainab Fatima, who is the wife of gangster Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf.

“This building was constructed under the name Zeeshan Fatima. This is constructed on Waqf land. They could not prove their ownership. Hence, the order to demolish it was passed,” said PDA Zonal Officer N. Hashmi.

Last week, the Prayagraj police compiled records of illegal properties of five members of slain gangster Atiq Ahmad’s gang across the state, officials said.

The Bareilly police have already listed the properties of two brothers-in-law of slain gangster Ashraf — Saddam and Zaid Master. Both are history-sheeters at the Puramufti police station.

Ashraf was also killed along with Atiq Ahmad in April last year.

The Bareilly police have already slapped the Gangster Act against Saddam, currently lodged at Budaun jail, and Zaid Master will be booked under the same too.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (City), Deepak Bhuker, said that police had been compiling details of illegal and benami properties of five more gang members of slain Atiq Ahmad’s gang.(Agency)

Lupita Nyong’o attended Taylor Swift, Beyonce concerts despite being on vocal rest

Los Angeles, June 20, 2024
Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o revealed that she injured her vocal cords while working on the upcoming animated movie ‘The Wild Robot’.

The actress had to wear a badge to inform fans why she was keeping quiet at shows.

Appearing on ‘Late Night With Seth Meyers’, she said: “Sometimes people, fans thought I was being rude because I wouldn’t say anything. I’d just be like, (striking a pose).”

“So, then, I just thought, okay, let me let people know what’s going on and that way they’ll have sympathy for me instead of hatred.”

The actress said: “Well, okay, so, she’s a robot. And she goes through this journey to finding, I guess, what we would call humanity, like empathy.”

“And so, at the start of the movie, I chose to do this very kind of like super positive voice. And it was just not in my local register, which is a lot lower.”

“And so, I did it for way too long over a number of days, and I got a vocal polyp. And so, I lost my ability to speak. And my doctor put me on vocal rest. I was on vocal rest for three months.”

The actress wanted to avoid undergoing surgery, especially after being told by her doctor that 35 per cent of people recover naturally, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“And I was so determined to be part of that 35 per cent. And I did. I cured myself,” she said.(Agency)

Uzbekistan: 4 drown, one missing after car falls into canal

Tashkent, June 20, 2024
A rescue team has retrieved four bodies after a car carrying five persons in it fell into a canal in Uzbekistan’s Syrdarya region, while one person is still missing, local media reported.

According to the press service of the regional Department of Internal Affairs, the accident occurred in Shirin on Monday when the driver lost control and drove the car into the canal.

The driver and the four passengers in the car could not escape, Xinhua news agency reported.

The bodies of the driver and three passengers, as well as the car, were found and retrieved from the water by divers from the emergency rescue team. The search for the remaining passenger is going on.(Agency)

3 IS militants killed in airstrikes in Iraq

Baghdad, June 20, 2024
Three Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Thursday in airstrikes in the northern province of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military said.

Based on intelligence reports, Iraqi warplanes carried out an airstrike at 6:30 a.m. local time in the rugged area of Wadi al-Shay, southwest of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk, leaving three IS militants killed, according to a statement from the Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated to the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.

The warplanes carried out another airstrike on the nearby caves and tunnels used by the militants, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement gave no immediate details about the results of the second airstrike, but said more information would be released later.

A source in the Iraqi army told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that a force from Kirkuk Operations Command was dispatched to the scene to search the attacked sites.

The security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have sneaked into the urban centres, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.(Agency)

Pankaj Tripathi insists actors are just puppets, writers or directors are masters

Mumbai, June 20, 2024
Actor Pankaj Tripathi, who is known for ‘Singham Returns’, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, ‘Masaan’ and several other projects, has said that actors are just puppets and do what writers or directors ask them.

The actor attended the trailer launch of the third season of the fan-favourite show ‘Mirzapur’ at a 5-star property in the Bandra area of Mumbai on Thursday along with Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, Rasika Dugal, Vijay Varma, Anjumm Shharma, Priyanshu Painyuli, Harshita Shekhar Gaur and Sheeba Chadha.

While the floor wasn’t opened to the media for the interaction, Pankaj told the emcee, “We actors are just puppets. The writers and directors are puppeteers, they run the show and streamline the story. As actors, we do what we are told or briefed about.”

The actor then made a minor correction in the statement as he looked at the media inside the Ballroom and said, “Chaliye, theek hai, upar waala humse karwa raha hai aur hum kar rahe hain…”

Produced by Excel Media & Entertainment, and directed by Gurmmeet Singh and Anand Iyer, the series is set to stream on Prime Video from July 5.(Agency)

Kerala HC introduces sending summons through e-Post on a trial basis

Kochi, June 20, 2024
The Kerala High Court has decided to introduce the issuing of summons, notices, and orders to respondents through India Post’s e-Post service.

This will be done as a pilot project only in the state capital district and after analysing the performance, a decision will be taken on the future course of action, on whether to replicate it in the other 13 districts of the state or not.

The High Court also pointed out that this e-Post service will not be applicable if the court states that the notice should be sent by registered post.

e-Post is a service where the digitally signed notice will be sent to the inbox of the e-Post nodal office as per the recipient’s pin code.

The notice and case file will be downloaded by the postal department and will be delivered to the recipient a day after it is dispatched to the department’s dashboard.(Agency)

Indian-origin Shawna Pandya onboard Virgin Galactic’s new space research flight

New Delhi, June 20, 2024
Indian-origin researcher Shawna Pandya will be part of the second research mission by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) to fly to space aboard the Delta Class spaceship.

It will be the second research mission that IIAS is conducting with Virgin Galactic after the ‘Galactic 05′ mission in November 2023, which tested novel healthcare technologies and examined how fluids behaved in low-gravity to help inform designs for future medical technologies and life-support systems.

The IIAS astronaut crew expected in the research mission includes Kellie Gerardi, a bioastronautics researcher and IIAS Director of Human Spaceflight Operations; Pandya, a physician, aquanaut, bioastronautics researcher, and Director of IIAS’ Space Medicine Group, from Canada; and Norah Patten, an aeronautical engineer and bioastronautics researcher from Ireland.

Pandya was on the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero gravity in 2015. To date, she has flown 10 parabolic flight campaigns, culminating in over 160 parabolas of experience in micro- and reduced gravity.

“We were thrilled with the results from our fluid cell experiment on ‘Galactic 05’, which demonstrated our ability to accurately predict the behavior of fluid in a container in a weightless environment,” said Gerardi.

Virgin Galactic’s VP of Government Affairs and Research, Sirisha Bandla, flew on Virgin Galactic’s ‘Unity 22’ spaceflight, which made her the second Indian-born woman to go to space.

“We’re excited to continue our partnership with IIAS in an expanded capacity,” said Bandla.(Agency)

All people living in Karnataka should learn Kannada: CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, June 20, 2024
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that it is the responsibility of every Kannadiga to protect Kannada language, land and water.

He gave a call for creating a Kannada atmosphere in Karnataka.

“It is the duty of all to create a Kannada atmosphere. For that, all the people living in Karnataka should learn Kannada. We cannot remain silent like that,” he stated.

He was addressing a gathering after performing Bhoomi Puja for the construction of a bronze statue of goddess Nada Devi Bhuvaneswari near the western entrance of Vidhana Soudha as part of the Karnataka Namakarana Suvarna Mahotsava celebrations organised by the Department of Kannada and Culture.

“Kannadigas are not insolent. But love for Kannada should be developed. We should not become like the bigots in other states. But we should develop respect and admiration for our language, land and country,” he said.

“Everyone must decide to speak in Kannada with those who live in Karnataka. A vow must be taken that no language other than Kannada is spoken. Kannadigas are generous. That is why there is an environment in Karnataka where even those who speak other languages can live without learning Kannada,” he stated.

“The same situation cannot be seen in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. They speak only in their mother tongue. We also have to speak in our mother tongue. That should make us proud,” the CM said.

CM Siddaramaiah said that he hoped that mother Bhuvaneswari’s statue would inspire everyone in this regard.

He said that the work should be completed by November 2024 as there was no shortage of funds.

The CM said that a bronze statue of about 25 feet height would be constructed in the premises of Vidhana Soudha.

“We have installed statues of many politicians. I think the statue will add to the charm of the Vidhana Soudha,” he stated.(Agency)