3.8 magnitude quake startles western New York; region's strongest quake in 40 years

Bengaluru, Mar 21: Kannada actor and activist Chetan Kumar, aka Chetan Ahimsa, who was arrested last night by the police in Bengaluru after his tweet stating Hindutva is "built on lies" went viral online, was on Tuesday remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by the 32nd ACMM Court.

On March 20, Chetan took to his Twitter handle and called Hindutva "a lie".

He also said that Babri Masjid was not the birthplace of Lord Ram and that it was a lie that the idea of Indian nation began when Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya after defeating Raavan.

"Hindutva is built on LIES. Savarkar: Indian ‘nation’ began when Rama defeated Ravana & returned to Ayodhya —> a lie. 1992: Babri Masjid is ‘birthplace of Rama’ —> a lie. 2023: Urigowda-Nanjegowda are ‘killers’ of Tipu—> a lie," his tweet read.

He went on to say, "Hindutva can be defeated by TRUTH—> truth is EQUALITY".

Soon after, a complaint was lodged against him by a Hindutva outfit and an FIR was registered by the police.

Seshadripuram Police officers arrested the actor on Monday night, after filing FIR under IPC Sections 295A and 505B.

This is not the first time that the actor has faced the heat of the police. In February 2022, he was arrested for his tweet about the background of a High Court judge who was hearing the Hijab case. 

Mangaluru, Mar 9: Dr. Preethi Lolaksha Nagaveni, a Legal Scholar from Mangaluru, has once again delivered a joint oral statement before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 7th March 2023 along with Dr. Amit Anand. 

The Oral statement was delivered under the topic, “Impacts and Challenges faced by persons with disabilities in situations of risk and the role of State and Non-State actors in addressing them”.

Dr. Preethi has earlier presented three joint oral statements before various UN committees.

Dr Preethi in WHO Database

Recently World Health Organization [WHO] has included her Book Chapter in its official “WHO COVID-19 Research Database”. The book titled ‘COVID-19 IN ASIA -LAW AND POLICY CONTEXTS, published by Oxford University Press, New York in which Dr. Preethi along with Prof Susan Breau, Dean of faculty of Law, University Victoria, Canada has written a chapter on “International Health Regulations and Compliance in Asia”.

The authors have critically examined the limitations of the International Health Regulations due to which the WHO was in crisis in managing the COVID -19 pandemic and recommended appropriate amendments to the said Regulations. 

Work cited by the UN Committee

Dr Preethi, along with Dr. Amit Anand, had submitted inputs to the United Nations Committee on Child Rights as part of Day of General Discussion on “Children’s Rights and Alternative Care” which was held on 16th and 17th September 2021, during the 88th Session of the Committee at the United Nations Office in Geneva. In their report, the young scholars have suggested ‘The Measures to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children in Residential Care Homes in India’. Taking cognizance of the importance of the report submitted by the young scholars, the United Nations Committee on Child Rights has not only published it in the official website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) but also cited their report in its Background Document on “Children’s Rights and Alternative Care – September2021”.

Mangaluru, Mar 13: The Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), the second busiest airport in Karnataka, handled 2,00,527 national and 92,290 foreign travellers in the first two months of the calendar year.

The MIA had handled 1,38,510 domestic and 56,506 international passengers in the corresponding two months of the previous calendar year, thus effectively ensuring that MIA handled 97,801 more passengers in the first two months of this calendar year, a release from the Adani-run MIA said here Sunday.

With more routes and airports opening, the development of airports has improved increasing the country’s investment opportunities while simultaneously increasing job prospects, the release said.

All seven Adani airports saw an increase of 92 per cent in domestic and 133 per cent in international travellers. There has been a rise in the number of domestic flights by 58 per cent and international flights by 61 per cent.

The air traffic jumped by around 100 per cent compared to the previous year, taking the number to pre-pandemic levels with more than 14.25 million passengers using these airports during the last year.

This upward trend is expected to continue and it is anticipated that the number of trips people will take in a year will increase. One of the factors driving this growth is the restart of tourism after the pandemic.

Being the second busiest airport in the country, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) recorded nearly 8.44 million passenger movements in January-February this year. CSMIA witnessed nearly 2.22 million international and 6.22 million domestic passengers.

The first two months also saw a huge rush at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport in Ahmedabad. It had 1.74 million domestic passengers flying in and out of the airport. Its international traffic recorded 2,83,379 travellers.

Jaipur is the 11th busiest airport in the country. Jaipur International Airport (JIAL) recorded nearly 0.95 million passenger movements. JIAL experienced significant growth, with nearly 69,300 international passengers and around 0.88 million domestic passengers.

Being the busiest airport in Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSIA) recorded nearly 1.04 million passenger movements in both months. CCSIA witnessed a fruitful first two months with nearly 1,36,880 international and around 9.03 lakh domestic passengers.

Considered the gateway to Northeast India, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport has flights to and from 32 domestic and two international destinations. It recorded a footfall of 9,02,694 passengers, witnessing a sharp increase from the corresponding months last year.

Thiruvananthapuram recorded 2,99,850 and 2,99,770 domestic and international footfalls. The airport has connectivity to ten domestic and 12 international airports.

The growth in traffic is proof of Adani Airports’ attempts to promote passenger confidence through initiatives like e-gates, barcode scanners, friendly and cooperative ground staff, Pranam Service, free Wi-Fi, retail and F and B stores and automated parking systems.

The rise in passenger traffic was driven by positive sentiments among air travellers and a strong surge due to the festive holiday season, the release said.