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Now Sahitya Academy starts returning awards

Who could ever forget the Award Wapasi protest by the writers? Almost 40 writers are said to return their sahitya academy awards in protest of growing intolerance. Incidents like the murder of noted social activist Kalburgi has sparked off this protest. The writers were questioning the silence of Sahitya Academy in condemning the intolerance. Noted writers like Nayantara Sahgal and Nand Bhardwaj have started the Award Wapasi program which created ripples in the literary community. Now! It seems the time for Sahitya Academy to return back the returned awards! Sahitya Akademi president Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari has stated that the awards were being sent back to the writers. It seems that almost 10 writers have agreed to take back the awards! The Sahitya Academy in a letter to the writers has mentioned that it has no policy to take back the awards. The Academy has also clarified that it has condemned the communal killings that took place in the country. Well! Will the writers who receive back the awards return it again?

Don’t use the world `vikalang’ – Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again appealed the nation to call the differently-abled people as `Divyang’ instead of `Vikalang’. Modi was speaking at a function in Varasani organized for distribution of reliefs to the impaired. More than 25000 apparatus such as wheel chairs and hearing implants would be distributed in this occasion. Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment has reportedly written to the Guinness Book of World Records to recognize this even as one of the largest of its kind. Earlier the Prime Minister has flagged off the `Mahamana express’ between Varanasi and New Delhi. This superfast express is said to be fully equipped with modern facilities and bio toilets. Varanasi happens to be the constituency of Narendra Modi from where he has won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with a huge majority.

Democracy is the biggest joke – Karan Johar

Noted Bollywood director Karan Johar has landed himself in yet another controversy. Speaking in the Jaipur Literature festival, Karan Johar has made some sparking remarks. `Freedom of expression is the biggest joke… and democracy is the second biggest joke’ commented Karan. It all started when Karan was asked to comment on the latest debate on intolerance. Karan said that he wouldn’t wish to land himself in trouble by expressing his opinions. He even rejected to speak about his personal life hinting that India won’t accept it `It’s a tough country to speak about your personal life and I feel very sad about it’ said Karan. The director seems to be heated up with the criticisms about his foul language during AIB roast. The adult comedy show `AIB roast’ has used all the star marked words in English, which landed Karan in few legal cases. So, Karan takes the opportunity to spit a few words on the legal system too! `I have become some kind of an FIR king’ mocks Karan. Karan was in Jaipur Literature festival to promote his upcoming biography `An Unsuitable Boy’. Well! The title seems to be apt!

World’s best hotel is in INDIA

India might be blamed for its inability to attract tourism. But times are changing. The international travel site `Trip Advisor’ has adjudged an Indian hotel as the best in the world. Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan is declared as No.1 hotel in the world. Umaid Bhawan Palace is one of the largest private residences on the globe. Out of 347 rooms in the palace, 64 rooms were converted into suites by the Taj Hotels in 1971. The Maharaja and Maharani suites among these 64 rooms were quite famous for the heights of their luxury. Umaid Bhawan is a golden yellow sandstone structure built around 1930’s. It was said that king Umaid Singh has started the construction to provide a livelihood for the people struck with famine. It was built lavishly in 26 acres with a dome placed in the centre at just 103 feet! These statistics might lure us to book a room, but the price would certainly let us think again. A normal suite would cost around 50,000/- Rs per night. Well the price seems to match the hotel’s luxury! Who says that Indians can’t profit from tourism?

Nuclear deal between US and PAK

America might have come forward to be friendly with India. But some were always skeptical about the intentions of US. Now, they seem to have a good piece of evidence for that! A report offered to the US government has called for bringing Pakistan into the `mainstream’ of nuclear weapons. The report formulated by Toby Dalton, a strategic expert in US seems to reflect the mood of US policy makers. Further US is also considering to support to bring Pakistan into the elite ` Nuclear Suppliers Group’ (NSG). Being a member of NSG, Pakistan could easily trade the Nuclear weapons with other countries in the group! During his visit to US last October, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has facilitated every move that is needed for a nuke deal between two countries. Pakistan is already known to have enough nuclear war heads that could wipe off the region from the face of the earth. It is even expected to beat India in amassing nuclear weapons within a decade. Who can expect US to be ignorant of such facts!

A new paragraph in Rohit’s suicide letter!

Rohit’s suicide might be making ripples strong enough to tremor the central government, but a paragraph in his suicide letter is yet to be decoded. Rohit has written a few lines in his suicide letter and has strike them off! Though the words `I myself strike these words off’ appear beneath the para, police are now keen to know them. "The letter was sent to forensic lab for handwriting match and other analysis. It will take a few days to get the report," Press Trust of India quoted the police. People were already imaginative in speculating the invisible words. Some think that Rohit might have mentioned about the differences with his own union. Some even think that he might have mentioned a few names specifically. Whatever might be the case, the words that would appear soon are sure to cause much sensation. Some think that the paragraph would throw a new light that would completely change the cause and situation.

Putin ordered for a murder?

In 2006 an ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was murdered in London. A public enquiry report now claims the Russian President Vladimir Putin to be responsible for the murder. Reason! The ex-Russian spy who has later joined the British Intelligence service started spilling beans against Russia. The prime suspects to carry out the murder were thought to be Andrei Lugavoi and Dmitry Kovtun. Both of them were former agents of Russia. They have arranged for a meeting with the victim, where they have thought to have poisoned him. A rare radioactive substance polonium-210 was used to poison Litvinenko. Russia is the only country that produces `Polonium-210’. The enquiry commission concludes that such rare radioactive substance cannot go out of the country without the permission of the highest authority. Further, Litvinenko too claims Putin to be his murderer on his death bed. "You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life," was the curse of Litvinenko for Putin. Litvinenko was not the first one to meet an unexpected fate. Many people who criticized Putin or his government were found dead! Russia of course denied all the charges!

Dancing legend Mrinalini Sarabhai passes away

One of the most celebrated dancers in Indian history has passed away. Mrinalini Sarabhai, the noted Bharatanatyam and Kathakali dancer has departed at the age of 97. Mallika Sarabhai daughter of Mrinalini has announced her death to the world through a Facebook post “My mother Mrinalini Sarabhai has just left for her eternal dance” read the post. Mrinalini was born in Kerala and raised in Switzerland. Her interest for dance and art grew while studying under the guidance of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in Shantiniketan. Apart from giving hundreds of performances, she has choreographed more than 300 dance dramas. In 1942 she married renowned scientist Vikram Sarabhai. Sarabhai has set up the Darpana Academy in Ahmadabad and has trained almost 18,000 dancers! She was conferred with prestigious awards like Padma Bhushan for her achievement. Mrinalini won international acclaim with governments like U.K, France and Mexico honoring her with their civilian awards. But her name itself has turned into a synonym with the classical dance which might have been the best recognition she has ever received.

A new planet in our solar system

Ever since Pluto has been deleted from the list of planets in solar system for its size, we have only eight planets in the list. But here is the good news! A new planet is being suspected to be a part of the solar system. It is not a dwarf like Pluto, so it would certainly fit the criteria of planet. The new planet nicknamed as Planet NINE is thought to be 10 times bigger than earth. It is 20 times farther to sun than Neptune which would take a lot of time to orbit around the sun. Almost 10-20 thousand years would be needed for this planet to orbit around the sun. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have made the assertions of a ninth planet depending upon the mathematical calculations. But no one was able to record its existence till now. The existence of a ninth planet in the solar system is now in the stage of a hypothesis. The researchers have found that a few icy objects in the Kupier Belt (debris beyond Neptune) were pointing in the same direction. This suggests that some big object is influencing them to be on certain orbit. And that big object is nothing but a huge planet. Now that the planet NINE is said to exist, all the observatories on the globe have turned their attention to record its movement. However, at least 5 years would be needed to grab a picture of it. So let’s welcome the new planet!

2016- The hottest year in the history?

The results were out. 2015 was declared as the warmest year in the history of mankind. Ever since the temperatures were being recorded from the year 1880, last year has been concluded as the hottest year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has declared that “During 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.62 Fahrenheit (0.90 Celsius) above the 20th century average.” Ever since the onset of industrialization, global warming has been a by-product of the changing life style. But some politicians were quick to defend the industrial policies. They blame in on the El Nino effect.   El Nino effect is a case where the tropical waters in the Pacific Ocean get warmer. The excess heat generated in the ocean would be trapped in the atmosphere resulting in scorching temperatures. But El Nino seems to just another cause for global warming. The emission of carbon gases by the industries is thought to be the real culprit. “Since 1997, which at the time was the warmest year on record, 16 of the subsequent 18 years have been warmer than that year,” declares the NOAA report which proves that El Nino is not the only cause. And here is the expectation. Basing on the data collection till now, 2016 is expected to beat the record of 2015 for the warmest year. So! Let’s get ready to face the heat.

Professor Vs. Militants

Syed Hamid Hussain might be one of those who died in yesterday’s attack on Pakistan University. But his death doesn’t seem to be quiet. Syed Hamid Hussain is just 34 years old and was a professor in chemistry. On Wednesday morning Hamid was taking a class for his students, while he heard the gun fires. Hamid has immediately advised his students not to panic and flee out of the class. He instead took his pistol and started firing shots at the militants. This resistance was unexpected by the militants. Hamid kept firing at the militants which gave valuable time for the students to get out of the scene through the back wall. Hamid was severely injured in the fight, but hasn’t backed up. He kept facing the militants till his last breath. Hamid’s act is praised to be heroic and is seen to be a martyr. Ever since the militants attacked the school in Peshawar and took the lives of 132 innocent kids, the teachers in northwest Pakistan were allowed to keep licensed revolvers with them to protect themselves and the students. Now that seems to be a good move!

HRD Minister Smriti Irani Addressing Media

HRD Minister Smriti Irani Addressing Media  

Rahul Thakkar wins the Oscar award

It’s been six years since an Indian has gone closer to the Oscar awards. But Rahul Thakkar is going to win an Oscar this year. Probably many people are not aware that the Academy presents a separate set of awards for ‘Scientific and Technical achievements’. These are given to the people whose effort has led to development of technology in motion pictures. And Rahul is going to win it this year! Unlike the other Oscars, these awards would be given off in a separate ceremony and the winners would be announced before hand. The winners would be awarded in a formal dinner held two weeks prior to the main award function. Rahul Thakkar is chosen for his contribution in ‘DreamWorks Animation Media Review System’. "Over its nearly two decades of development, this pioneering system enabled desktop and digital theater review. It continues to provide artist-driven, integrated, consistent and highly scalable studio-wide playback and interactive reviews," read the statement issued by Academy. ‘DreamWorks Animation Media Review System’ is known to enable the VFX artists to generate animations of higher quality. Shrek (2001), which won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was animated by Rahul in such manner.

Militants storm the Pakistan University

The Bacha Khan University in Charsadda of northwest Pakistan has been hit by militants today. At least 20 people were feared to be killed and 50 more seems to be injured in the attack. The militants have entered the university today morning and have captured two blocks. Many civilians were suspected to be trapped in those two blocks. The army was quick to tackle the situation and has killed four of the militants. The military operation is still in force and three more militants were suspected to be alive in the premises. The campus was earlier bustling with 3000 students and 600 guests and luckily, most of them were evacuated at the onset of the attack. Charsadda is just 50 kilometers away from Peshawar where the militants has stormed a school in December 2014 and has killed 132 children. With the present assault on the university, militants seem to get gruesome enough to aim at the soft targets!

TRAI goes hard against FACEBOOK

  Face book has been promoting the cause of ‘free basics’ of internet along with its telecom partner Reliance. It has been requesting the public through various media to support the free basics campaign. Some of the posters by FB seem to portray the situation as a social revolution. They almost hint that ‘free basics’ is necessary to make the world a better place to live! Ever since the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked for a public opinion regarding the free basics, Face book has come up with huge campaign in support of free basics. ‘Free basics’ is a platform where the mobile users could get access to certain internet sites without paying a dime. It was previously launched as ‘internet.org’, but after facing severe criticism, the campaign was renamed as ‘Free basics’. ‘Free basics’ certainly sound to be a great initiative. But, here is the criticism. ‘Free basics’ would allow only a few selected sites such as Facebook! So it’s initially seen as a ploy by the Facebook to conquer the internet world! It also means that the mobile operators would charge various rates for various sites! TRAI has been opposing such partiality and has asked for a public opinion. But, Facebook has been clever enough to enter the public debate and turn it in its favour. The campaign of Facebook seems to yield positive results for the company, because most of the emails that TRAI received have voted for ‘Free basics’. On a letter written by TRAI on 18th January, it has severely critisised Facebook for influencing the public in its favour. It has alleged that Facebook has not conveyed the real concerns of TRAI such as differential pricing, and has been manipulating the public opinion. What else can TRAI do?

Railways might offer diabetic diet

7 crores of Indians were thought to be suffering from diabetes. If the figure is not alarming enough, the International Diabetes foundation is warning of the number to cross over 12 crores by the year 2040. The diabetic patients often find difficulty in having a sugar free meal while they travel on trains. They have to accept those additional calories along with the rest or should starve for hours together. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda seems to be concerned about the issue. He has urged the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to make ‘diabetic diet’ available in the trains- “As the patient of diabetes has a very specific dietary regimen to be adhered to at all times, it would be beneficial if all diabetic patients travelling in railways have an option of getting diabetic diet in trains,” Nadda said in his letter to Prabhu on January 15. With India becoming the diabetic capital of the world, the Railway ministry might certainly act on the suggestion. So, we can soon choose a diabetic diet in the trains.

Hangover free liquor after Hydrogen bomb

North Korea might have stunned the world this month with its testing of Hydrogen bomb. It’s now time for another explosion. This time, a liquor factory in North Korea has claimed to have invented the first hangover free liquor in the world. The ‘Koryo liquor’ is made out of a medicinal plant called Ginseng and scorched rice. Replacing sugar with these ingredients would not let the hangover to set in, claim the inventors. The state run newspaper The Pyongyang Times declared the invention to the world in praising words "Koryo Liquor, which is made of six-year-old Kaesong Koryo insam (gingeng), known as being highest in medicinal effect, and the scorched rice, is highly appreciated by experts and lovers as it is suave and causes no hangover… it has already been registered as a national scientific and technological hit", boasts the news paper. Well then! North Korea has now tested something that is safe!

Stabbed her Boyfriend and confessed on Facebook

Dorian Powell (21) of California was found dead in his apartment. He was stabbed to death. While police were waiting for the clues to decide the culprit, the murderer has revealed herself. A post has appeared on the Facebook of his lover repenting for the murder. Nakasia James posted online that she had killed her lover Dorian during a conflict. ‘Just going to tell you before I get caught, last night my ex was drunk off and was fighting with me, he hit me in the face and was really fighting and I got the knife and stabbed him. Didn’t think I would hurt him but he died and I’m on the run. But god knows I didn’t mean to stab him and I was mad after he socked me in my eyes and just picked something up. But sorry lord. Hopefully you forgive me! And sorry Dorian Powell. RIP’ was the post of Nakasia on Facebook. Nakasia was quick to delete the post, but not before a few shares! And yes, she is now under detention!

ISIS threatens MODI

An anonymous letter is bringing shivers to the Goa police. Last week the state secretariat has received a postcard threatening Indian Prime Minister Nrendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. “Since you are not allowing to eat cow-meat (beef), you will be taken care of,” stated the letter. The word ISIS was mentioned on the postcard as a signature. The letter seemed to be posted locally. Even as the Goa police distributed the copies of the letter all over the area for investigation, it might be a hard chance to find the culprit. Though it might be an act of a juvenile, the security agencies have taken the issue in a serious tone. They wish to take more precaution while Parrikar stays in Goa. Parrikar happens to be a native to Goa and is the first BJP chief minister for the state.