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India signs MoU with Japan for Academic Research and Cooperation

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The Commune
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The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, is apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Dept of Space, Government of India and Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan for Academic and Research Cooperation and Exchange on November 4, 2020 and November 11, 2020 at respective institutes and exchanged by post.

This MoU shall enable NARL and RISH to continue their cooperation in areas of atmospheric science and technology, collaborative scientific experiments/campaigns and related modelling studies utilising the research facilities of RISH and NARL, exchange of scientific materials, publications and information, joint research meetings and workshops, exchange of faculty members, students and researchers.

It would lead to mutual utilization of facilities such as the Middle and Upper atmosphere (MU) radar in Shigaraki, Japan, the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) in Kototabang, Indonesia and complementary instruments available from RISH, and the Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) radar and complementary instruments available at NARL.

NARL and RISH have been collaborating in the area of atmospheric science and technology as well as exchange of scientists. This arrangement was formalised in 2008 through an MoU. The above MoU was renewed in the year 2013. A fresh MOU to promote collaborative research, as per the new guidelines, was signed in November 2020 by both sides and exchanged.

(Source: PIB)

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Water ferries to soon be a part of Mumbai’s transportation

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The Commune
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Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State (I/C) for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, chaired a meeting to review the Urban Water Transportation projects for Mumbai, Maharashtra. Senior Officials of the Ministry, Chairperson of Mumbai Port and officials of Maharashtra Maritime Board and other stakeholders were present in the meeting.

To promote eco-friendly waterways transportation and reduce the traffic load of crowded Mumbai city roads, 4 new routes for ROPAXferry services and 12 new routes of Water Taxi are planned to be operational by December 2021.

Currently, ROPAX ((roll-on/roll-off passenger) service from Bhaucha Dhakka(Ferry Wharf) to Mandwa (Alibaug) is successfully operating by reducing the road journey of 110 km to about 18 km by using waterways, thereby reducing travel time of daily commuters from about 3-4 hours to merely one hour. After the huge benefits being reaped of this ferry service, similar services are planned to be operational at various other routes in Mumbai.

Opening up of 4 new routes of ROPAX Ferries and 12 routes of Water taxis is going to prove a big boon for daily commuters of Mumbai. It will result in a pollution-free, peaceful and time-saving journey as well as reduce the travel cost and carbon footprint significantly. It would also cater for the requirements of the increasing number of tourists and commuters at various stretches of Mumbai city.

(Source: PIB)

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US may boycott 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over China’s mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims

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The Commune
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US Beijing Olympics

The Biden administration may boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a mark of protest by the US against the human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province, South China Morning Post reported.

The United States always sends a huge contingent to the Winter Olympics and now there is a coordinated effort with Washington’s allies to boycott the games.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price informed reporters and said that the boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics “is something that we certainly wish to discuss.”

“A coordinated approach will be not only in our interests but also in the interests of our allies and partners,” he added.

“We have consistently said, when it comes to our concerns with the government in Beijing, including Beijing’s egregious human rights violations, its conduct of genocide in the case of Xinjiang, that what the United States does is meaningful, what the United States does will have impact, but everything we do that is – that brings along our allies and partners will have all the more influence with Beijing.” Price added.

There are credible reports by human right groups that China has incarcerated over 1 million Uyghurs in “re-education camps” in Xinjiang province.

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‘Audi’ Ayyakannu claims Farm Laws will lead to male impotency

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The Commune
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Audi Ayyakannu
Featured Image: Ayyakannu on a protest against the farm laws (File photo)

Ayyakannu, the head of the Desiya Thenidhiya Nathigal Inaippu Vivasayigal Sangam, protested outside the Tamil Nadu secretariat on April 6 for failing to countermand the Aravakurichi and Thiruvannamalai elections.

Ayyakannu said that the police declined to let him file his election nomination as they were “half-naked”. Ayyakannu had reportedly staged a “nude protest” against the Centre’s farm laws. When they brought the matter up with the Chief Election Commissioner, he advised them to go to court.

Ayyakannu further added that if the farm laws are enforced in India, corporate companies will only market Genetically Modified Crops in Tamil Nadu. These GM crops can hasten male impotency and female sterilisation, he said. He also argued that the increase in divorce cases in Tamil Nadu is due to these GM crops.

However, the farm legislations passed by the Parliament had nothing to do with genetically modified crops. The three farm laws were enacted solely to encourage farmers to sell their produce to any buyer they prefer, rather than having them sell it only at APMC mandis.

This was highlighted by twitter account named Krishna Kumar Murugan.

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Bible lessons taught to children of women convicts in prisons, says child rights body NCPCR

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The Commune
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NCPCR Bible

A report released by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) says that in eight prisons meant for women in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, Bible lessons are being taught to children even if they are not Christian, reports The Indian Express.

The NCPCR report is based on 144 responses received from women prisoners, their children, heads of children’s homes and hostels, heads of schools and prison officials.

Under the section, “Problems identified during the visits and issues observed in jails”, the report points out that prison in Lucknow had permitted an NGO to teach the Bible to the children living there. It is clear that there is a serious attempt of evangelization of these children by NGOs involved in activities related to women’s’ prisons and education.

On a surprise visit to a children’s home run by the Asha Deep Foundation in Ghaziabad, children of women prisoners said that teachings of a particular religion other than the one practised by them were being taught to them.

“The Commission conducted a surprise visit and retrieved around 26 Bibles from the lockers and rooms of the non-Christian children,” the NCPCR report said.

“The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 defined these children as ‘Children in need of Care and Protection’ and makes it binding on the State machinery to ensure that these children do not fall prey to institutions which not only compromises with their safety and security but denies them the right to preserve identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognised by the law without unlawful interference (UNCRC),” the report stated.

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Top EU officials met Turkey’s Erdogan for talks on migration, trade

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The Commune
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Erdogan EU

The European Union’s top officials met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday, weeks after Erdogan took conciliatory steps and EU leaders agreed to increase trade and improve cooperation with Turkey on migration.

The visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel came after EU leaders agreed to offer Turkey new incentives despite ongoing concerns about the country’s backslide on democratic and human rights, and its energy ambitions in the Mediterranean Sea.

The two EU officials and Erdogan were expected to discuss Ankara’s demands for increased EU support for millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey, an update of Turkey’s customs union with the EU and the liberalizing of visa rules for Turkish travelers.

Turkey is formally a candidate for EU membership, but its bid to join the 27-nation bloc has been at a standstill.

Erdogan’s efforts at reconciliation followed a flare up of tensions last year over Ankara’s decision to stop deterring migrants from crossing its border into Greece, as well as over the dispatching of Turkish research ships into waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus.

EU leaders said last month that the bloc was ready “to engage with Turkey in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner to enhance cooperation in a number of areas of common interest.”

The leaders tasked the EU’s executive commission with trying to build on a 2016 agreement that calls for Turkey to prevent refugees and migrants from trying to reach Europe in exchange for refugee aid and other conditions.

They also asked the European Commission to explore ways to continue to help finance the estimated four million Syrian refugees in Turkey, as well as those in Jordan and Lebanon.

The EU-Turkey deal massively reduced the number of asylum-seekers arriving on the Greek islands, which lie close to Turkey’s western coast. Under the agreement, the EU offered Ankara €6 billion euros (US$ 7.1 billion) to help Syrian refugees, and other incentives to prevent people from leaving Turkey to go to Europe.

Michel and von der Leyen were also expected to raise concerns over democracy and human rights in Turkey.

A Turkish prosecutor recently moved to disband Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party, and a prominent party legislator and human rights activist was stripped of his parliamentary seat and later imprisoned over a social media posting.

Erdogan also pulled Turkey out of a European convention aimed at combatting violence against women. The move was a blow to Turkey’s women’s rights movement, which says domestic violence and femicide are on the rise.

The leaders of EU nations are scheduled to assess progress on EU-Turkey ties again when they meet in June.

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CPI (M) goons attack BJYM’s Sreejith Parakalayi in Kasargod

By
The Commune
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BJYM Kasaragod

Sreejith Parakalayi, the Kasaragod district vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) was attacked allegedly by members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) late night on April 6. The attack comes at the heels of the all-important assembly elections held in the state.

In a brutal assault, Sreejith was attacked and his legs were hacked at with weapons. The assailants inflicted serious injuries on both of the legs of the victim and fled the scene. The incident took place at Paraklayi, Abalattara police station limits.

Sreejith was rushed to a private hospital in Mangaluru. A surgery was performed on him, on Wednesday morning.

While no arrests have been made so far, personnel at the Abalattara police station registered a case and are investigating the crime.

Taking to Twitter, Tejasvi Surya, the BJYM’s National President and MP from Bengaluru South, demanded an inquiry and the arrest of the perpetrators of the heinous crime. “Deeply anguished about the dastardly attack on BJYM Kasaragod dist VP Sreejith Parakalayi by @cpimspeak goons in Kerala. He is in ICU & out of danger. Police have not made any arrests yet. I pray for his speedy recovery BJYM demands arrest of culprits & impartial probe (sic)”, Surya tweeted.

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Raza Academy writes to CM Thackeray, wants restrictions lifted during Ramzan amid rise in Covid cases

By
The Commune
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Raza Academy
Featured Image: Raza Academy Secretary Mohammed Saeed Noori | Credits: YouTube

Muslim leaders in the state of Maharashtra have written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seeking relaxations in restrictions during the time of Ramzan. The request letter was sent by the Raza Academy, an Indian Muslim organisation. The request comes amid a surge in the rising cases of coronavirus in that state and the re-imposition of night curfews and lockdown-like restrictions.

The Raza Academy is a puritanical Islamic organisation that promotes Islamic beliefs through publications and research. Leaders from this group met with government officials and said that they want relaxations during Ramzan for the celebrations.

The letter reads, “As we are all going through the worst phases of the pandemic, we at the onset assure you of all the cooperation needed in tackling the virus and its spread in the state. However, we feel that lockdowns are not a measure to tackle this strange disease. On the contrary, lockdown causes more trouble to the majority of people in the state who lose their daily earnings and end up in dire circumstances”.

In 2020, when the government had announced a lockdown, Raza academy had demanded that the Iftar and other Islamic religious functions be allowed. However, that request was denied at the time.

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Brazil’s sex workers want to be treated as front-line workers, want priority COVID-19 vaccines

By
The Commune
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Brazil sex workers
Featured Image: Sex workers protest at Rua Guaicurus, in Belo Horizonte, in Brazil's Minas Gerais state 
on April 5, 2021, asking to be considered a priority group to receive the vaccine against COVID-19.
Credits: Yahoo

As the number of COVID-19 cases spirals out of control in Brazil, sex workers in the city of Belo Horizonte in southeast Brazil have gone on strike for a week, reports Yahoo News.

The city’s sex workers are demanding to be included in the group of “front-line workers” that should receive priority coronavirus vaccines.

The Wuhan coronavirus has hit the global economy in a very bad way, with Brazil being no exception, leading to thousands of sex workers out of a job due to the forced closure of hotels during this pandemic.

Prostitutes would often rent rooms in many hotels and the hotels made a tidy profit as well, which is why Cida Vieira, president of the Association of Prostitutes of Minas Gerais state, told media persons, “We are in the front line, moving the economy and we are at risk. We need to get vaccinated.”

Vieira and other women held a protest Monday (5 April) waving placards declaring: “Sex workers are professionals” and “Sex work and health.”

“We are a priority group, we are health educators, peer educators. We form part of that group, since we give information about STIs for men, distribute condoms…” said Vieira.

“We are part of the priority group because we deal with various types of people and our lives are at risk,” said Lucimara Costa, one of the protesting prostitutes.

As per government guidelines, health workers, teachers, the elderly, indigenous people and people with underlying health conditions have been prioritized for the first vaccination round. The Brazilian government hopes to vaccinate these priority groups, estimated to be around 77 million people, in the first half of 2021.

However, this is seen as a tall order because due to a shortage of doses the target to inoculate 77 million people may be achieved only in September and that could lead to further deaths.

So far the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 332,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States.

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Lord Murugan idol found vandalized in AP

By
The Commune
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The incident in which the idols of Lord Murugan of a temple in Chittoor district being damaged and found strewn around has caused great stir in the area.

The idols of Lord Murugan, Lord Valli and Lord Deivana, which were from the temple of Sri Subramania Swami in the village of Bodhakuttapalli in Chittoor district were found broken and lying near the temple. It is reportedly one of the most famous temples in the area.

Villagers upon coming to know of it gathered in front of the temple. A complaint has been lodged with the police. 

An account named Rajnish Sharma had shared the information about the incident on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/rajnish1Midas/status/1379445845691486209

With inputs from Kathir News.

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TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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