Shashi Tharoor has given a warning to an app that claimed that they could teach users to speak fluent English like him. Tharoor, a member of the Indian National Congress, is known for using extensive English vocabulary during his speeches and interviews.
The politician took to Twitter to clarify that he had no link with the app ‘Blackboard Radio’ and did not endorse it in any way.
“I will take legal action to stop the misuse of my name and image for commercial purposes,” warned Tharoor in the tweet.
This has been drawn to my attention by many unwitting students who were misled by this app. I wish to make it clear that I have NO connection to this app &have NOT endorsed it in any way. I will take legal action to stop the misuse of my name & image for commercial purposes. pic.twitter.com/C2dZhP47dd
Six passengers have been arrested at Chennai airport in India for smuggling gold and foreign currency in their wigs. Customs officials found gold paste and cash packed into parcels and hidden in the wigs of the passengers.
According to details, the gold was valued at around $344,000 (Rs 53,616,734) and $33,000 (Rs 5,143,465) was recovered in cash. The passengers had arrived from an unrevealed location in the Gulf.
The gold and cash were concealed in wigs, socks, underwear and inside the passengers’ bodies.
Chennai Air Customs: 5.55 kg gold worth Rs 2.53 crore & foreign currency worth Rs 24 lakhs seized from pax arrivng from & departing to gulf under CAct & FEMA last 2 days. Gold concealed in wigs,socks,innerwear,rectum & aircraft .Six Arrested.#IndianCustomsAtWorkpic.twitter.com/w1cBmugDYi
A waitress in the United States quit her job on the spot after a customer refused to wear a face mask.
In a video doing the rounds on social media, a couple can be seen entering a restaurant. The woman was not wearing a mask so a waitress came up to her and requested her to wear her mask.
The customer kept arguing with her telling her that she will go to her table quickly. She was told that she will only be allowed once she puts on her mask in response to which the customer said that she does not want to spoil her lipstick.
Later, the manager came and tried to convince the customer, who continued to resist.
The waitress then said: “It’s people like you who make it difficult for having a job. I don’t get paid enough to be here.”
She took off her apron and cap and told the manager that all this “is not even her fault” and then she left the restaurant stating that she quit.
The customer agreed to wear the mask after the waitress left.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday launched the first Policy Advisory Portal at the inaugural session of the Islamabad Security Dialogue. The portal has been developed by the National Security Division (NSD) to engage over hundred think tanks and academia in policy making, said the Prime Minister’s Office.
PM @ImranKhanPTI launched the first of its kind Policy Advisory Portal on the inaugural session of the Islamabad Security Dialogue (@IsbDialogue).The portal has been developed by the National Security Division to engage over 100 think tanks and academia in policy making. pic.twitter.com/zdbitfoPBD
PM Khan said that when his government came to power, he tried to resolve issues with India.
“We just have one issue, which is Kashmir,” said the premier, adding that August 5 happened, which “led to a total breakdown between both countries.”
PM Khan said he hopes that the right of self-determination given to the Kashmiris as per UN Security Council resolution would be given to the Kashmiris.
“It would benefit India if there is a resolution on the Kashmir issue. If we achieve peace through dialogue, it will change the entire landscape of the region. There is a lot of poverty in India. Our trading and economic ties should be strong, which will increase regional connectivity. It will help India that it can have regional connectivity up to Central Asia. India has to take the first step after August 5, otherwise, we cannot move forward.”
While inaugurating the Advisory Portal, Prime Imran Khan appreciated the initiative and said that Pakistan has immense young talent in this country. “This is a step in the right direction”, he said.
The advisory portal will be a dedicated and integrated platform through which major think tanks and universities working on the subject of comprehensive national security will be able to share policy recommendations directly with the national leadership.
“The aim of the portal is to bridge the gap between intellectuals and policymakers,” said SAPM on National Security Division and Strategic Policy Planning Dr Moeed Yusuf who conceived the portal.
Islamabad Security Dialogue is a two-day international conference. Two sessions of the Islamabad Security Dialogue were held on Wednesday, while three sessions will take place on Thursday. Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa will inaugurate the second day.
Being held mostly in a virtual format, the Dialogue is being attended by officials, global and regional experts and media. The main theme of the Islamabad Security Dialogue is Comprehensive Security Framework that will enable the country to unfold its untapped potential in becoming a hub of global and regional development.
The NSD plans to make the Islamabad Security Dialogue an annual event to parallel the world’s leading security dialogues.
A 14-year-old Muslim boy in India was beaten up for drinking water from a temple.
The incident of the temple caretaker beating a child in India’s Ghaziabad gained public attention after a video of the incident surfaced online.
As per reports, the 23-year-old temple caretaker, Shringi Nandan Yadav, beat the boy who went in to drink water.
The video showed the caretaker kicking and punching the boy after he asked the boy’s and his father’s name. On revealing his name and his father’s name, Yadav started beating the boy. The identity of the boy’s father is being withheld as per law to protect the child. The child’s father is daily wage labour.
“My son stopped to drink water from a tap located inside the temple as he was thirsty. He was beaten up after they asked about his identity. He suffered a head injury. He generally doesn’t venture inside the temple but this time he told me he was just very thirsty. I have asked him not to go there in the future.”
The temple authorities say they had banned the entry of non-Hindus inside the temple. Another caretaker of the temple, Yati Narsimhanand Saraswati accused that the boy was beaten for spitting inside the temple, implying that the abuse was justified.
“There are several taps outside the temple from where people drink water. Our caretakers caught the boy spitting inside the temple. They have been arrested and we will seek to legal recourse to get them bail.”
Ghaziabad police arrested Shringi Nandan Yadav and another caretaker, Shivanand Saraswati, who recorded the incident.
बच्चे को पीटकर विडीओ बनाने वाले अपराधी की गिरफ़्तारी की जानकारी @Uppolice द्वारा प्रसारित की गयी है,@NCPCR_ बच्चे को न्याय दिलाने के लिए प्रतिबद्ध है। pic.twitter.com/aS6NApn5Hp
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) March 12, 2021
The world’s only man-made and heart-shaped ‘Love Lake’ in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a new tourist spot for lovebirds to spend some quality time away from the city’s chaos. The lake has been built in the middle of the Dubai desert and spreads over an area of 550,000 square metres.
Considered a symbol of love at Al-Qudra Oasis, the two gigantic interconnected heart-shaped lakes has grabbed the attention of everyone around the world.
The lake has been built away from the urban area and has many species of plants, more than 16,000 trees and hundreds of thousands of colourful flowers.
The lake’s surroundings are also exceptional with the word “Love” attracting tourists from around the globe.
A heart-shaped gate welcomes the tourists and there is also a place “Hadirah” for picnics and barbecue.
Entry to the lake is free and it remains open 24 hours. It is also equipped with basic facilities such as clean water and washrooms.
A 60-year-old man in India climbed up an electric pole to protest against his children who opposed his second marriage.
As per reports, Sobran Singh, who hails from Rajasthan, India climbed a pole of high-tension wires to convince his children for second marriage. Singh, who has five children and several grandchildren wanted to get married for the second time but his family was against it.
Villagers gathered near the electric pole and tried to convince Singh to come down but he did not listen to anybody.
Singh even grabbed a high-tension wire and threatened to commit suicide. Luckily, there was no electricity running in the high tension line at that time.
Singh’s family called the local sub-station about the incident after which the electricity department cut the power in the area.
After about an hour, a local youth climbed the pole and convinced the elderly man to come down.
When he was asked whom he wants to marry, he said, “Get me married to anyone. I just want a companion.”
Singh’s wife died four years ago and he currently lives with his three sons.
Indian police in occupied Kashmir have taken into custody a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane-shaped balloon. According to Indian news agency ANI, the balloon landed in Sotra Chak village of Hiranagar on March 9.
An aircraft-shaped balloon with 'PIA' written on it landed in Sotra Chak village of Hiranagar sector yesterday evening. The balloon was taken into custody by police: Jammu and Kashmir Police pic.twitter.com/GVGWmhesYl
While the detention of balloon with the logo of Pakistan’s national carrier seems silly, the incident was not the first of its kind. Indian security personnel have taken several pigeons and balloons into custody for their alleged links with Pakistan. A Pakistani villager had last year appealed to India to release his pigeon which was being held for spying after it crossed the border between the nuclear rivals.
Bangladesh’s first transgender news presenter made her debut on national television on Monday after which she broke down into tears.
As per reports, there are almost 1.5 million transgender people in Bangladesh, who face severe discrimination and violence and are often left to live by begging, sex trade or crime.
The experience of Tashnuva Anan Shishir, who delivered the three-minute news bulletin on the private Boishakhi TV was historic.
Born Kamal Hossain Shishir, she learnt in her early teens she was trapped in a man’s body. She says she was sexually assaulted and bullied for years.
“The bullying was so unbearable I attempted suicide four times. My father stopped talking to me for years,” said Shishir.
“When I couldn’t cope with it any more, I left home … I couldn’t stand the neighbours telling my father about how I should act or walk in a masculine way.”
She escaped her home in a southern coastal district to live alone in the capital Dhaka and then in the central city of Narayanganj.
There she went through the hormone therapy. She did jobs working for charities and acted in theatres, while continuing her studies.
In January she was the first transgender person to study for a master’s in public health at the James P Grant School of Public Health in Dhaka.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has since 2013 allowed trans people to be identified as a separate gender and in 2018 they were given the right to vote as a third gender.
Shishir’s broadcast coincided with International Women’s Day and followed a series of steps by public and private firms to overcome deep-seated prejudices against the community.
Julfikar Ali Manik, a spokesperson for Boishakhi TV said the channel was determined to give Shishir an opportunity to prove herself despite the risk of backlash from some viewers in the conservative country. Her debut marked a “historic step,” he added.
Shishir said she approached other channels for the auditions but only Boishakhi was “brave enough to take me in.”
Ahead of going live for Monday’s broadcast she was terrified, she expressed, but managed to get the better of her fears.
“I tried to think of stage dramas I’ve performed in and follow techniques I’ve learned there. But I was shaking inside,” she said.
“I don’t want any members of the (transgender) community to suffer. I don’t want them to live a miserable life. I hope they will find work according to their skills,” she said.
Celebrations turned into mourning in Odisha, India after a newlywed bride died of a heart attack during her ‘bidaai‘ while leaving for her in-laws’ house.
As per details, the cardiac arrest was caused due to excessive crying and emotional stress at the moment.
The bride, identified as Gupteswari Sahoo aka Rosy, got married to Bisikesan on Friday in a village. As her parents were preparing to send her off to her in-laws after all the wedding rites, Rosy kept on crying, fainted, and collapsed on the ground. Family members and friends present at the moment tried to regain her consciousness by massaging her hands and spraying water on her face.
When she failed to gain conscious, Rosy was instantly taken to the nearest health centre where doctors declared her brought dead. Her body was handed over to her family after postmortem.
A resident of Julunda village said Rosy was already depressed as she had lost her father a few months ago. It was her maternal uncle’s family and some social workers who had organised the wedding.
