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CM Yogi for modern education in madrassas, Sanskrit schools

PTI | Lucknow |

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today said closing madrassas was not a solution and pitched for providing modern education not only in Islamic institutions but also in Sanskrit schools to face competition.

Adityanath said the country was not able to utilize the energy of those “misguided” in ‘Rashtra Nirman’ (nation building) and stressed that quality education was the solution.

“We can think about the modernization of madrassas. Closing them down is not a solution but timely improvements should be considered. I also ask Sanskrit schools that besides imparting traditional education they should give computer, English, Science and Mathematics education to face competition,” he said.

He was addressing a coordination meeting of minority welfare ministers of nine states including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Delhi, and Punjab here in presence of Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chief Wasim Rizvi had recently written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief minister demanding that the madrassas be shut down.

“How many madrassas have produced engineers, doctors, IAS officers? Yes, but some madrassas have produced terrorists,” Rizvi had said in his letter last week, prompting the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind to serve a legal notice on him.

Shia and Sunni clerics have unitedly filed an FIR against Rizvi, who also received a phone call from a man, claiming to be an aide of fugitive mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, threatening to blow up him and his family.

The chief minister said, “We are not able to utilize the energy of those who are misguided in ‘Rashtra Nirman’. Only quality education is the solution. Our government is committed to development without any discrimination.”

Noting that after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, transparency has been ensured in government schemes, Adityanath said, “We should try to make such a society where no one feels neglected.”

The chief minister was of the view that rather than providing loans to SC/ST women, efforts should be made to identify their skills and nurture their talents.

Israeli PM Netanyahu meets 26/11 survivor Moshe at Nariman House

SNS | New Delhi |

The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in the Mumbai-leg of his of his six-day India visit, on Thursday met the 26/11 terror attack survivor — Moshe Holtzberg– at the Nariman House.

The 11-year-old Israeli boy Moshe’s father Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and mother Rivka were killed at the Nariman House during the 2008 attacks.

The Jewish couple ran a cultural and outreach centre for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement at the Nariman House in south Mumbai’s Colaba area.

Moshe came to Mumbai on Tuesday, returning to India after nine years.

Netanyahu pays tribute to 26/11 attack victims

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu paid tributes to the victims of 26/11 terror attack and along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnav laid wreath at the memorial of the attack victims in Mumbai.

Netanyahu also wrote a message in the visitor’s book at the memorial.

Later in the day, Netanyahu will attend the ‘Shalom Bollywood’ event.

Netanyahu will leave for Israel in early hours on Friday.

(With agency inputs)

Two polio vaccinators shot dead in Pakistan

IANS | Islamabad |

Two polio vaccinators — a mother and a daughter — were shot dead on Thursday by unidentified men on motorcycles in Pakistan’s Quetta city.

Quetta police spokesperson Abdul Rashid told Efe news that unidentified assailants shot the two women in the head after they had separated from the security team assigned to protect them during a vaccination campaign in the Shalkot area.

“It was an attack on the vaccination campaign,” Rashid said.

The large-scale anti-polio campaign began on Monday aiming to immunise 38 million children nationwide.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio continues to be endemic despite recent progress in the region.

In 2016, Pakistan recorded eight cases compared to 20 in 2015 and 306 in 2014.

Armed attacks by fundamentalist groups against vaccinators and their bodyguards have been the main obstacle in the fight against the disease.

The last major attack targeting a polio vaccination team in Pakistan took place in January 2016. At least 13 policemen and a civilian were killed in the suicide attack near a polio centre that was later claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

In April 2016, seven policemen protecting polio vaccination teams were fatally shot in Karachi in southern Pakistan.

Polio teams have been the target of militants after the Taliban spread rumours that the vaccination drives were a front for espionage or a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.

Congress confident of poll victory in three northeastern states

IANS | New Delhi |

The Congress said it was confident of retaining power in Meghalaya, and winning in Nagaland and Tripura as poll dates for the three northeastern states were announced on Thursday.

“The party workers and the Congress are very excited,” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told media persons here soon after the Election Commission announced the poll dates, adding that the party was “hopeful” that it would form governments in these states.

And in the state “where we are not in power for a long time, we will come to that place by contesting elections on the agenda of people”, he added.

“The Congress will fight the election unitedly and again the people of the country will see the hard work of the party leaders which they have just witnessed in the recently concluded Gujarat assembly elections,” said Surjewala.

Announcing the single-day poll schedule for the three states, Chief Election Commissioner A.K. Joti said that while Tripura will vote on February 18, Nagaland and Meghalaya will do so on February 27.

Counting of votes for all the three states, which have 60-member assemblies each, will be done on March 3.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist is ruling Tripura while the Nagaland People’s Front is in power in Nagaland.

WB govt plans to fund cultural programs at state-run universities

PTI | Kolkata |

The West Bengal government plans to fund cultural activities of state-run universities as part of its efforts to keep Bengal’s heritage alive, Education minister Partha Chatterjee has said.

This will be a part of the government’s commitment to help the universities run cultural projects in a consistent manner, the minister said, after inaugurating the light and sound show on the Jorasanko campus of the Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) here yesterday.

The light and sound show marked the beginning of the four-day Rabindra Bharati Sankskritik Utsav on the Jorasanko and B T Road campuses of the university.

Lauding the RBU initiative, Chatterjee said, “We (the government) must keep separate expenditure heads to financially help the university VCs, who are working hard to keep our heritage alive by organizing regular cultural activities.”

The Higher Education Department will ask the students’ bodies to arrange for cultural programmes on the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Atul Prasad Sen and popularise their creations among the present generation, he said.

“We have to tell this generation that Tagore, Vivekananda are our lifelong treasures and the students have to follow and propagate their ideas,” Chatterjee said.

The songs of Tagore, Nazrul and Sen will never pass into oblivion, the minister said.

Asked about the light and sound show at Jorasanko, Chatterjee said, “It is a unique show in Tagore’s birthplace, a great initiative by the RBU. The show covers the ups and downs of the poet’s life, especially between 1902 and 1907. It uses the latest technology and should be seen by everyone.”

The four-day fest on the two campuses of RBU will witness musical performances, recitals and talk shows by prominent personalities, including vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan, percussionist Tanmoy Bose, Rabindra Sangeet exponent Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta among others, VC Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury said.

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Congress workers stage protest against Haj subsidy withdrawal

PTI | Coimbatore |

A large group of Congress workers staged a demonstration here today protesting the withdrawal of subsidy for Haj pilgrims, by the Centre.
Over 100 workers led by veteran Congress leader Kumari Anandan raised slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre over the move.
Kumari Anandan said the subsidy for Haj pilgrims was introduced during the Congress regime and by its withdrawal, BJP was trying to ‘divide’ the people of India on religious basis.
The annual subsidy of Rs 500 crore was helping the poor Muslims go on a pilgrimage, particularly in the fag end of their lives, he said.
Minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had on January 16 announced the scrapping of the subsidy for Haj from this year, four years ahead of a deadline suggested by the Supreme Court in a 2012 order.
The minister also said, “Haj subsidy funds will be used for educational empowerment of girls and women of minority community.”
He projected the move as an effort by the government to “empower minorities” without appeasement.

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Thermometer breaks due to – 62 degree Celsius in Siberian village

SNS | New Delhi |

A small village in the Sakha Republic in Siberia, Russia, has shot to international fame for being the coldest place on Earth.

Oymyakon, which means “unfrozen patch of water; place where fish spend the winter”, is a village of just 500 people. The electronic thermometer installed in the village malfunctioned as temperatures plummeted to -62 degree Celsius.

Residents of the village have recorded temperatures as low as -67 degree Celsius. The village is served by just one shop.

Oymyakon falls in the region which is one of the coldest on Earth. Temperatures in Sakha Republic easily touch -40 degree Celsius in the winters.

On 13 January, Anastasia Gruzdeva, a resident of Yakutsk in the same region, posted a selfie she took with her friends. Snow on their eyelashes made the world realise the intensity of severe cold in the region.

 

Coldest place on Earth
(Photo: Instagram/anastasiagav)

Yet people continue to go about their daily lives despite the literally bone chilling cold. They were also surprised when a group of Chinese tourists jumped into the pool of water, which lends the village its name.

Commenting on the ‘daredevilry’ of the Chinese tourists, Yakutian journalist Elena Pototskaya marvelled, “This does not freeze even in severe frosts in Oymyakon. Horror! Us locals are afraid to go out in such a cold. And here … the tourists are swimming …! [sic].”

Oymyakon recorded its lowest ever temperature, -67.7 degree Celsius, in February 1933.

Missing teenager found dead in river

PTI | Mumbai |

The body of a teenage girl was found in a river in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district, four days after she went missing, a senior police official said today.

The 19-year-old victim left her home in Bhandara city, around 900 kms from here, on January 13 evening to go to her tuition classes but did not return. The next day her parents informed the police, inspector Manoj Sidam said.

“We spoke to locals and also looked into her call data records to find her whereabouts,” Sidam said.

Based on the suspicion raised by her family members, the police on January 15 also nabbed two men, who were suspected to be involved in a relationship with the victim, for questioning, the inspector said.

During the course of investigation, the teenager’s body was found floating yesterday in the Wainganga river in Bhandara and was sent for postmortem, he said.

Prima facie, it appears that she committed suicide as she was upset over the troubled relationships with the two men, Sidam said.

The body did not have any injury marks or signs of assault, the police inspector said.

The two men were placed under arrest and booked under IPC sections, including for abetment of suicide, he said.

An investigation was on in the incident, he added.

Bigg Boss contestants Ashmit, Maheck set to take vows this August

SNS | New Delhi |

Two former Bigg Boss contestants are all set to take their relationship to another level. According to statistics, relationships that were made in the Bigg Boss house did not survive out of the house. We have seen many contestants find love in the show but somehow they eventually broke up. Whether it was Sara Khan- Ali Merchant, Gauhar-Kushal or Karishma- Upen, all these couples were separated just after the show. Maybe these two lucky ones survived because they were not part of the same season.

Those lucky ones are Ashmit Patel and Maheck Chahal who participated in the reality show but in the different seasons. However, they were linked to their housemates Veena Malik and Gautam Gulati in the respective seasons.

In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, Ashmit said, “Maybe in August or September” while talking about when the wedding might take place. Maheck further revealed, “We just recently got engaged. We have an apartment that we are renovating at this moment. It will take another four-five month, you know half of the year.”

Mumbai Mirror reports, the couple narrated their proposal, as Ashmit told them,”I took her to a Belgian café. On the pretext of going to the washroom, I had a little chat with the waiter, who brought the ring in a bowl turned upside down on a plate of strawberries. Surprisingly, instead of the dessert, Maheck wanted to go down to the pier. She pushed the plate towards me. I finally, lifted the bowl off to reveal the ring and went down on one knee. In all the confusion, I forgot to ask her to marry me.”

The couple got engaged last year in August and they have been dating each other for past three years.

Haryana a crime hub, CM Khattar must resign: Congress

IANS | New Delhi |

The Congress on Thursday described Haryana as a “crime hub” and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

“Haryana has become a crime hub under Khattar,” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told the media here.

He said the truth was that organised and unorganised crime ruled the state as the “Khattar government is sleeping”.

“We reiterate that if Khattar has failed to stop sexual predators as also crime against the daughters of Haryana, then he has no right to continue even for a day.”

The Congress leader’s remarks come in the wake of six rapes, including gangrapes of two minor Dalit girls, that have put the Haryana government in the dock.

Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, Surjewala said: “The truth is that the state which vows to save daughters witnesses most number of rapes and gang rapes.”

Surjewala was referring to the ‘educate daughter, save daughter’ campaign launched by the Modi government from Haryana.

The Congress leader said Khattar, also the Home Minister, cannot “shuck his responsibility”. “And we hold him and his government accountable for the spate of rape cases.”

Surjewala alleged that crime against women had increased in the state since Khattar assumed charge.

“In 2016, Haryana reported 1,090 murders, 1,189 rapes, 191 gang rapes and 4,019 kidnapping and abduction incidents. This is three murders, three rapes and 11 kidnappings and abductions on an average every day.

“In fact Haryana has got the highest average of gang-rape cases in the country now.”

On the recent cases of gangrapes, Surjewala said: “We saw how a woman was gangraped, her body mutilated and murdered in Rohtak. The latest incident of a gangrape is of a Dalit girl and mutilation of her body is a stack reminder of the failure of the BJP government.”

Hitting out at the Prime Minister and the Central government, he said: “Modi and his government cannot shirk responsibility as the Haryana-Delhi border is porous and criminals travel across the two states freely.”

“If Khattar and the BJP government cannot control the spate of gangrapes and rapes, he should quit office immediately,” he added.

 

Shortage of pharmacists, machines in Delhi hospital: CM Kejriwal

SNS | New Delhi |

After a surprise visit to Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital on Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said there was a shortage of pharmacists and ultrasound machines in the hospital.

Talking to the press outside the hospital, the Delhi’ CM said, “There were patients who stood in line for the whole day and didn’t receive medicines and have come back today. We have to solve this issue soon.”

Also Read:  Arvind Kejriwal, LG lock horns over vacant posts in Delhi hospitals

Later in a Tweet, Kejriwal said, “Long queues at the pharmacy. Need to increase the number of counters and pharmacists.”

https://x.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/953880442079334400

The Aam Admi Party chief also had a chat with patients admitted to the hospital and said people were most satisfied with the medical services.

https://x.com/AamAadmiParty/status/953880073613930496

Swedish skier dies in Gulmarg avalanche

Statesman News Service | Gulmarg |

A Swedish skier was on Thursday killed and another injured as the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg was hit by an avalanche. The other skier was rescued from under the snow by a team of the Army.

Police identified the killed skier as Daniel and the injured as Benjeman, both Swedish nationals.

The skiers were trapped in an avalanche near the second stage of the gondola cable car ride to the Affarwat peak in Gulmarg.

Teams of the Army and police swung into action and succeeded in rescuing Benjeman, who was rushed to the hospital in an injured condition.

The authorities had on 17 January issued an avalanche warning in seven districts of Kashmir, including Baramulla, Kupwara, Banipura, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Anantnag and Budgam.

Watch: England vice-captain Anya Shrubsole wins ICC Spirit of Cricket award for this magical moment

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the winner list of ICC awards 2017.

SNS |

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the winner list of ICC awards 2017 along with the skipper of both (men) ICC Test and ODI teams.

The vice-captain of English women cricket team Anya Shrubsole, who had stolen many hearts with her consoling gesture towards the Proteas skipper in the semi-final of Women’s World Cup 2017 between England and South Africa, won the ICC Spirit of Cricket award at the world governing body’s annual prize giving event.

After hitting winning runs for her team, Anya Shrubsole went to comfort the South African skipper Dane van Niekerk.

ICC took it to their official Twitter handle and wrote, “An enduring and iconic moment of sportsmanship following a gripping Women’s World Cup semi-final  @Anya_shrubsole.”

 

 

Anya Shrubsole’s action towards their opponent team is often compared with Andrew Flintoff and Brett Lee’s consoling moment during the 2005 Ashes.

Air pollution: NGT issues show cause notice to Rathi Steels

PTI | New Delhi |

The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to the Rathi Steel and Power Ltd’s plant at Ghaziabad, asking why environment compensation be not imposed on it for causing air pollution and extracting ground water without permission.

Relying on a report placed by central and UP pollution control boards, the green panel asked why appropriate action be not taken against the steel unit for releasing particulate matter 10 which had resulted in degradation of ambient air.

A bench headed by acting Chairperson Justice U D Salvi noted that an inspection team has found that Rathi Steel has been extracting water through three borewells with submersible pumps of 20 HP capacity for industrial and domestic use without permission.

“It is further revealed that Rathi Steel has moved an application dated July 11, 2017 for permission to extract ground water from Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) and the same is pending for approval.

“We, therefore, issue notice to Rathi Steel why they should not be saddled with commensurate environmental compensation in respect of the water extracted by them from the said borewells without authorisation till date,” the bench, also comprising expert member Nagin Nanda, said.

The green panel directed CGWA to dispose of the pending application of Rathi Steel in accordance with law within three weeks.

It also asked the state pollution control board to dispose of the application for grant of consent to operate lying with it in accordance with law within three weeks.

The NGT also issued notices to the Delhi and Uttarakhand governments to show cause why they have not given answers to queries pointed by the tribunal with regard to management of bio-medical hazardous wastes.

The matter will be heard on March 5.

The tribunal had last year imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 20 lakh, to be paid in two equal instalments on the steel unit and asked it to deposit the amount with the state pollution control board.

It had also ordered inspection of the unit by Central Pollution Control Board and UP Pollution Control Board and asked it to submit analysis report of the effluents and emissions from the industrial unit.

NGT’s direction came on a plea by Ghaziabad resident Rajiv Narayan, who had alleged that rapid development of industries has resulted in acute air and water pollution which is causing severe health problems to city’s dwellers.

Virat Kohli to Rashid Khan: Here is complete list of ICC Awards 2017 winners

Here is a complete list of players named in ICC awards.

SNS |

The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Thursday, announced the winners of ICC awards 2017 along with the skipper of, both, the ICC Test and the ODI teams.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli was named the One Day International (ODI) Cricketer of the Year, while Australian captain Steve Smith was named the ICC Test player of the Year.

While announcing ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year, ICC took it to their official Twitter account and wrote, “It was an obvious choice. Virat Kohli has been named as the ODI Cricketer of the Year. Kohli scored 1,460 runs in 26 ODIs averaging at 76.84 with the help of six centuries and seven half-centuries. He has also been awarded with Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy. The other contenders for the award were Joe Root, Rashid Khan and Hasan Ali.”

 

 

Commenting on Steve Smith, ICC tweeted, “The Ashes were merely the culmination of an incredible year @stevesmith49. In the award qualifying period, he played 16 Tests, scoring 1875 runs at 78.12, with eight 100s and five 50s!”.

“In the Ashes, Smith scored 242 runs more than any of his teammates; in India that figure rose to over 250. This is a man batting on a different level from almost every other player on the planet #ICCAwards,” the Tweet further read.

 

 

 

Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s historic spell of 6 for 25 in a T20I match against England has been named T20I Performance of the Year.

“@yuzi_chahal has been recognised for his incredible haul of 6/25 against England in Bengaluru, bamboozling every batsman he came up against to seal the series decider!,” wrote ICC on Twitter.

 

 

Afghanistan bowler Rashid Khan has been named T20I Associate cricketer of the year.

“What a year for 19-year-old @rashidkhan_19 who took 60 wickets for @ACBofficials in 2017 – a record for an Associate player in a calendar year – and 43 in ODIs (also a record!),” ICC wrote on its official handle.

 

 

Pakistani speedster Hasan Ali has been Emerging Player of the Year.

“If you didn’t know who @RealHa55an was before the Champions Trophy you sure do now! He took 13 wickets in helping @TheRealPCB to glory, earning Player of the Series in the process,” ICC wrote on the micro-blogging site.

 

 

Here is a complete list of players named in ICC awards:
1. ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017, Virat Kohli, India
2. ODI cricketer of the year: Virat Kohli, India
3. Winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy: Virat Kohli, India
4. ICC T20I performance of the year: Yuzvendra Chahal, India
5. ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Hasan Ali, Pakistan
6. ICC Test Cricketer of the Year: Steve Smith, Australia
7. ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year: Rashid Khan, Afghanistan
8. ICC Fans’ Moment of the Year: Pakistan’s Champion’s Trophy 2017 triumph
9. ICC Umpire of the Year: Marais Erasmus, England
10. ICC Spirit Of Cricket Award: Anya Shrubsole, England

Here is ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year
1. David Warner, Australia
2. Rohit Sharma, India
3. Virat Kohli (captain), India (Winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and ODI Cricketer of the Year awards, as well as captain in both the Test and ODI
4. Babar Azam, Pakistan
5. AB de Villiers, South Africa
6. Quinton de Kock (wk), South Africa
7. Ben Stokes, England
8. Trent Boult, New Zealand
9. Hasan Ali, Pakistan
10. Rashid Khan, Afghanistan
11. Jasprit Bumrah, India

ICC‏ Men’s Test Team of the Year
1. Dean Elgar, South Africa
2. David Warner, Australia
3. Virat Kohli (cap), India (Winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and ODI Cricketer of the Year awards, as well as captain in both the Test and ODI Team of the Year)
4. Steve Smith, Australia
5. Cheteshwar Pujara, India
6. Ben Stokes, England
7. Quinton de Kock (wk), South Africa
8. Ravichandran Ashwin, India
9. Mitchell Starc, Australia
10 Kagiso Rabada, South Africa
11. James Anderson, England