Month: January 2024

Back from Arctic winter voyage, scientists ‘happy to see Sun’ again | Bangalore News

Published by Parlour News

“The one thing I have suddenly learnt to value is sunlight. India has it in plenty, and thank God for that,” said Girish, a senior research scientist at Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru, who has just returned from the Arctic. Girish was part of the four-member scientific team that became the first set of researchers from India to spend a winter carrying out scientific studies in the world’s northernmost habitation. India has a permanent research station called Himadri, in Ny-Ålesund in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic region since 2008, but it used to remain uninhabited during winter because of extremely hostile weather conditions. The place is barely 1,200 km from the North Pole. This year, however, India decided to make the station operational throughout the year, and the first winter team, which included Girish, went there in December. India is only the fourth country in the world, after Germany, Italy and Norway, to have a year-round scientific presence in the Arctic region. “In our part of the world, there is a natural …

TikTok’s CEO can’t catch a break from xenophobia in Congress

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Today’s hearing on child safety was — mostly — an unusually focused affair. The Senate Judiciary Committee called up the CEOs of X, Meta, Snap, TikTok, and Discord and grilled them for four hours on the potential dangers their services posed for children. Many of the lawmakers emphasized emotional impact, playing to an audience filled with families who’d had kids targeted by predators or otherwise harmed online. But midway through the hearing, it was dragged off course by a predictable tangent: the fact that TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. And a meeting ostensibly about keeping kids safe dipped into a now-familiar attempt to make TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew answer questions utterly unrelated to the rest of the day. Although attempts to ban TikTok last year mostly fizzled, there are real concerns about its data storage policies and Chinese government influence over its moderation. Some lawmakers touched on them, asking Chew to offer an update on Project Texas, its data security initiative. (TikTok is still working on it.) But the questions also strayed …

Spotify’s exclusivity era nears its end

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This is Hot Pod, The Verge’s newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more. I just got back from Puerto Rico and wow, there is a lot of podcast news! Let’s get into it. Call Her Daddy is getting wide distribution It’s very nearly the end of the exclusivity era for Spotify. The audio streamer announced today that Call Her Daddy, Spotify’s second-most-popular original podcast, is getting wide distribution across podcast platforms. Call Her Daddy was one of only two remaining Spotify exclusives, along with Rogan. The arrangement could be an indication of what is to come for Rogan as his contract is up for renewal. There is a slight twist to the deal: Spotify is still hanging on to the video version of Call Her Daddy. For most podcasts, that’s not a make-or-break thing, but Call Her Daddy has been particularly successful at using video clips to make Alex Cooper’s interviews go viral. And notably, this does not hand over the show to Spotify’s current top competitor, YouTube. According to Spotify spokesperson Amanda Long, …

Kiren Rijiju Attacks Hemant Soren For ‘Looting Money’

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New Delhi: In a sharp response to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju called him a “spolied child” and said if Hemant Soren hails from a tribal community, this does not give him a licence to loot public money. “I am a tribal from a more backward area. I find your comment funny. If Shibu Soren ji says this dialogue, then I can accept it, but this dialogue does not suit a spoiled son. Anyway, tribals do not have the licence to loot public money,” wrote Rijiju in a post on ‘X’. His comment came in response to Hemant Soren’s post on X, saying that he was not afraid and would not accept defeat. “It’s a break, life is a great battle. I have fought every moment, and I will fight every moment. But I will not beg for compromise. Either in defeat or in victory, I am not afraid. I will not give up in vain. I will not accept defeat,” Soren wrote on X. Hours after handing over …

‘Will challege it in High Court,’ says Muslim side lawyer on Gyanvapi verdict | Latest News India

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Reacting to Varanasi court’s order on Wednesday allowing Hindu devotees to offer prayers inside the ‘Vyas Ka Tekhana’ area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex, Muslim side lawyer Akhlaq Ahmed said that they will approach the Allahabad High Court to challenge Varanasi Court’s decision. Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.(HT File) Akhlaq Ahmed said, “We will approach the Allahabad High Court against the decision. The order has overlooked the Advocate Commissioner report of 2022, ASI’s report, and the decision of 1937, which was in our favour. Hindu side has not placed any evidence that prayers were held before 1993. There is no such idol in the place.” Catch the complete coverage of Budget 2024 only on HT. Explore now! Advocate Merajuddin Siddiqui said he would go to higher courts regarding this order. READ | ‘Pillars from old temple…’: What ASI survey said about Gyanvapi mosque cellars in Varanasi “I will not accept any such order. The District Magistrate and the District President are both working hand in glove. We will fight it legally. This is happening to get …

BSF apprehends 4 Indian smugglers along Pakistan border in Punjab

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Border Security Force (BSF) personnel apprehended four Indian smugglers and seized a significant quantity of narcotics, arms and ammunition that was dropped by a drone in Punjab’s Amritsar sector along the Pakistan border on January 29. BSF officials developed the intelligence for more than a week and conducted reconnaissance of the probable dropping spot in advance. “After thorough assessment and planning, operational teams of BSF laid an ambush in the suspected area on the evening of January 29,” a BSF spokesperson said. Around 11:30 p.m. on January 29, the ambush party heard the suspected sound of a drone and observed three individuals moving towards a packet that had just dropped, the spokesperson said. “Subsequently, three smugglers were swiftly apprehended, and a pistol and magazine with four rounds were found on them. The leader confessed to multiple drone sorties planned in collusion with Pakistan-based smugglers. The arrest of these four smugglers led to the revelation of their other two associates who are absconding, and consistent efforts are being made to nab them as well,” the spokesperson …

Budget 2024 LIVE: Nirmala Sitharaman to present Interim Budget today

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Budget 2024 LIVE: What PM Modi said on the Interim Budget Ahead of the Budget Session, PM Modi said, “Ram Ram to all of you for the year 2024. At the end of the first session held in the new Parliament building, this Parliament took a very dignified decision to clear the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.” “Just before the election, we don’t submit a full budget, this we will do after a new government is elected. This interim budget is a guideline for us. I am hopeful that the country will touch new heights of prosperity. Development for everyone is taking place. this journey will continue with your blessings. Ram Ram,” he said. Source link

Here’s What Happened When A Pakistani Actor Javed Sheikh Approached SRK For The Same.JimQQ

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“Shah Rukh Khan Used To Smoke On ‘No Smoking’ OSO Set, I Had To Go Out…”: Here’s What Happened When Pakistani Actor Javed Sheikh Approached SRK (Picture Credit: Instagram & Youtube) If you know Shah Rukh Khan beyond the actor he is, you know he has a habit of smoking, and many actors have shared interesting anecdotes about him around it. One such actor is a Pakistani actor, Javed Sheikh, who played Rajesh Kapoor in Om Shanti Om. He’s the same Javed Sheikh who was slammed last year when he revealed that he charged just a rupee to star in Farah Khan’s film because it was such a big honor for him. But, because many can’t respect the artist’s vision, they went to thrash him, saying he had no self-respect brutally. In a conversation with Desi TV, he shared an incident how, on the sets of Om Shanti Om, his ‘smoke buddy’ Shah Rukh Khan hugged him and said, “I’m here for you, whatever you need.” He asked for something even Shah couldn’t refuse and …

Before Hemant Soren’s Arrest, Drama Outside Raj Bhavan In Jharkhand

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He will be replaced by state minister Champai Soren, a veteran leader of the ruling JMM. New Delhi: High voltage drama was seen outside the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on Wednesday evening before the Enforcement Directorate formally arrested Jharkhand’s former Chief Minister Hemant Soren in an alleged money laundering case. Mr Soren signed his arrest memo only after meeting Governor CP Radhakrishnan and submitting his resignation. He will be replaced by state minister Champai Soren, a veteran leader of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. “The former chief minister insisted on meeting the Governor before signing his arrest memo,” a senior official in charge of the investigation told NDTV. Mr Soren, he said, wanted to parade his MLAs before the Governor. “Three buses full of MLAs had reached the Raj Bhavan. But not all were allowed inside. He submitted a list of MLAs and only then he relented,” the official added. Mr Soren was questioned by the Central agency for seven hours on Wednesday before he went to meet the Governor.  Officials said during questioning, Mr …

Will appeal against Mandal report if quota challenged, says Jarange | Pune News

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Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Wednesday reiterated that he will challenge the Mandal Commission report if the reservation for the Maratha community is challenged by OBC leaders. “If OBC leaders challenge our reservation, then I will also appeal against the Mandal Commission report, which granted reservation to OBCs,” the activist said during an interaction with journalists in the city on Wednesday. Without naming Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Jarange-Patil said, “He (Bhujbal) knows the Mandal Commission report can be challenged in court. But we don’t want to create hurdles for the poor among the OBC community. He should understand this, otherwise we will have no option but to challenge the report.” Source link