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Disney lays off 28,000 employees as revenue falls by billions

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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Disney is set to lay off 28000 of its employees across the value chain, as the difficulties in operation due to the Wuhan virus pandemic and the sudden fall in revenue of the parks.

The company’s head of parks Josh D’Amaro wrote a letter to Disney’s employees on Tuesday to announce “difficult decisions” to reduce the size of its staff across executive, salaried and hourly roles as it approaches the end of its fiscal quarter after billions of dollars in revenue downturns in 2020.

“We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived and that we would recover quickly and return to normal,” he wrote, “Seven months later, we find that has not been the case.”

Disney had closed off its parks in March at the beginning of the lockdown and had started reopening only in limited capacity around the globe towards the end of July. The reopening of the Disney World park, in particular, was met with a lot of controversies, especially in California where the cases have steadily been increasing. Disney took a $1bn hit by the end of the second quarter in March following closures that month, while the persistence of the Covid-19 crisis ballooned that figure to $3.5bn by the end of the third quarter in June.

Defence India Startup Challenge launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Defence India Startup Challenge and released the Project Management Approach (PMA) guidelines for iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) during the launch function of Defence India Startup Challenge-4 (DISC4) on Tuesday. This is aimed at encouraging innovation in the defence sector.

Apart from Singh, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat also participated in the event, that had been held via video conferencing.

In the event, the Defence Minister congratulated those responsible for the event’s success, and for creating an environment where participants from various sectors are coming together to promote innovation in defence. “DISC-4 challenge will surge ahead of its earlier editions and promote innovation and development in the country. Similarly iDEX4Fauji initiative will ensure the participation of our personnel in this program,” Singh said.

“In the process of making defence sector strong and self-reliant, we have understood that along with the government sector the private sector too needs to participate in this. We have taken some policy decisions too in this regard. Partnerships with the private sector, technology transfer, 74 per cent FDI approval and the recently released negative list of 101 items are a part of it. We want to promote our private players along with opting for built in the country products,” he added.

Chennai’s solid waste management goes hi-tech with Spanish firm on-board

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurated the Solid Waste Management project on Wednesday, which is to be rolled out for seven zones in the city – Valasarawakkam, Alandur, Adyar, Kodambakkam, Perungudi, Sholinganallur and Teynampet – from October.

This new solid waste management system of Greater Chennai Corporation is being rolled out by Urbaser SA and Sumeet Facilities Limited, a Spain-India joint venture.

Mahmood Sait, CEO of Urbeser-Sumeet, has said that the corporation will set up a control room in Alandur and will have separate teams for each zone reported, The Times of India. “Everything will be monitored through a GPS system and zonal teams would monitor the route maps of battery-operated vehicles, trucks and compactor bins,” he added.

This mechanism will segregate waste into wet, hazardous and dry waste, and will be collected by battery vehicles. Notably, there might be penalties for not having segregated waste but the parameters of penalization are yet to be finalized.

According to the press-release about 125 compactors, 38 mechanical sweepers, 3,000 e-rickshaws, and 11,000 compactor trash cans, would be used employing 10,844 people to carry out the work.

This project is particularly significant because waste management in the city has now been privatized with an international company. The company would be monitoring using 36 performance parameters like sweeping of streets, clearing waste bins on time, 100 per cent door to door waste collection and creating awareness. Residents can also register complaints by means of a toll-free number.

Hindu Munnani founder leader ‘Veera Thuravi’ Ramagopalan passes away

By
The Commune
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Hindutva icon from Tamil Nadu and the founder leader of Hindu Munnani ‘Veera Thuravi’ Ramagopalan breathed his last on Wednesday (September 30) at around 4 PM.

He was admitted at the Ramachandra Medical College and Hospital in Porur on September 27 over complaints of breathlessness. He had tested positive for COVID19.

The nonagenarian had chronic ailments and had been frequenting the hospital over the last few months.

The last time he was seen making a public appearance was through a video to convey Vinayagar Chathurthi wishes in August. He had urged the Tamil Nadu government to allow for public display of Vinayagar idols during the Vinayagar Chathurthi celebrations this year.

https://www.facebook.com/127735030744068/videos/785745988874768/

Veera Thuravi (the Warrior Sage in English) has been in public life for more than 7 decades. He founded the Hindu Munnani in 1980 in light of the Meenakshipuram conversions where large number of villagers converted to Islam aided by Islamic organizations. Since then, Hindu Munnani has been working across villages in Tamil Nadu to prevent forced religious conversions.

First generation learners complete graduation through Isha scholarships, find mainstream employment

By
The Commune
-

Ten first-generation learners from the tribal communities of Thondamuthur region in Coimbatore where the Isha Yoga Center is located, have completed their graduation.

Supported by scholarships from Isha Foundation, these young men and women have not only become the first graduates in their communities but also the very first ones to secure mainstream employment opportunities,.

For over a decade now, Isha Foundation has been supporting educational aspirations of these bright young students. Disadvantaged by their socioeconomic status, the students neither had access to educational opportunities nor skill sets to make them employment ready.

Isha’s scholarships had covered their tuition fees, transportation, uniforms and stationery. The 10 youngsters have now become role models in their community.

Isha is assisting students of tribal communities located in the remote hilly regions of Thondamuthur. Isha’s Tribal Welfare Program covers 15 such villages including Madakkadu, Thanikandi, Muttathuyal, Mullankadu, Singapathi, Nallurvayalpathy among others.

The terrain is difficult to access which has excluded them from mainstream development. Poor connectivity and lack of educational and employment opportunities have ensured these communities remain poor over several generations. Most of them walk long distances to find daily work and almost all are unlettered. With no means to educate their children, most tribal children follow in their parents’ footsteps.

Isha Vidhya School in Coimbatore’s Sandekavundampalayam offers free education to tribal children in addition to a supportive ecosystem to keep them in school. The children are ferried to and from their homes. Merit-based full scholarships encourage them to work hard. Those who graduate from high school are free to pursue college to enable them to compete for mainstream employment opportunities. Isha also invests in improving their communication and computer literacy skills with weekend courses.

With equal access to learning opportunities thanks to a supportive donor network, a new generation is emerging from these remote villages – one that is determined to pursue self-reliance and break the cycle of poverty to become productive citizens of their community.

China feeling insecure about QUAD meeting to be held in Tokyo

By
Balaji Subramanian
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China, which sees the QUAD, a partnership between India, Japan, Australia and USA as a threat to its hegemony in Asia has come out strongly against the scheduled in Tokyo on 6-7 October in Tokyo.

India will be represented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who will be meeting foreign ministers of Japan, Australia and USA in Tokyo, Times of India has reported.

In the sidelines of the summit, Jaishankar will also hold bilateral consultations with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Toshimitsu Motegi and as per a statement released by the MEA, the two leaders will discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

As per the official MEA press release, “The Foreign Ministers shall discuss the post-Covid 19 international order and the need for a coordinated response to the various challenges emerging from the pandemic. They will also discuss regional issues and collectively affirm the importance of maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.”

However, China which has always seen QUAD as a threat is not pleased as the tension at the Line of Actual Control is still flashpoint for conflict.

Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry said that countries should not seek an exclusive “clique” and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue should be a “Multilateral and plurilateral cooperation should all be open, inclusive and transparent. No one should seek an exclusive clique.”

He added, “Efforts should be made to enhance regional countries mutual understanding and trust, instead of targeting a third party or harming third party’s interests.”

“We hope the relevant country will proceed from the interests of regional countries and do more things conducive to regional peace, stability and development instead of the contrary,” the spokesperson signed off.

Jai Shri Ram: All 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case acquitted

By
The Commune
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Coming as a closure to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, the Special CBI Court in Lucknow on Wednesday acquitted all the 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

On December 6, 1992, the illegal structure on the Ram Janmabhoomi was brought down by karsevaks after a prolonged people’s movement.

After the demolition, 2 FIRs were registered – one against unnamed karsevaks and the other against eight BJP leaders for instigating the demolition of the structure.

BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and 29 others who were named as accused in the case for having made ‘provocative speeches’ have been acquitted by the court in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

Initially, 49 people were named as accused in the FIR lodged by CBI of which 17 of them had died during the trial, which includes Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Bal Thackeray, senior VHP leader Giriraj Kishore.

Veteran BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh who was the CM at the time of demolition joined the proceeding today via video conferencing.

The Hindu peddles fake news, gets called out by Denmark Ambassador

By
The Commune
-

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Denmark counterpart Mette Frederiksen held a virtual summit on September 28, where the two leaders reviewed the full range of bilateral ties between the two countries.

The two leaders discussed an array of issues that included cooperation in sectors of energy, trade and commerce and agreed to elevate the ties to to a “green strategic partnership” focusing on expanding economic ties, green growth and cooperation on global challenges such as climate change.

They also agreed to expand the collaboration between the two countries in combating COVID19 and future pandemics.

In light of this, The Hindu newspaper had carried an article with the headline “India’s COVID19 scenario very very difficult, says Danish Prime Minister”.

This article was tweeted by The Hindu’s official Twitter handle with the caption “Denmark on Monday expressed deep concern regarding the COVID19 situation in India.”

However, the Danish Prime Minister had only acknowledged how difficult it is to control the pandemic in India. She said “The situation is very very difficult for you.”

The Hindu had tried to twist a comment made by the Danish Prime Minister in order to cast aspersions on the COVID19 situation in India.

Reacting to this, Denmark’s Ambassador to India H. E. Freddy Svane called out the news put out by The Hindu as twisted and not true.

Following the embarrassment, The Hindu took the tweet down.

 

Another Chinese virus in the queue: The Cat Que virus

By
Balaji Subramanian
-

After the Wuhan virus, another virus has emanated in China called the “Cat Que Virus (CQV)”, The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has warned of the danger posed by this virus.

The CQV, that comes under the category of Arthropod-borne viruses if contracted may cause febrile illnesses (fever), meningitis (inflammation of brain and spinal cord membranes), and pediatric encephalitis (brain swelling) among humans.

This virus can get transmitted when a person is bit by a culex mosquito infected by the CQV. Apart from mosquitoes and pigs, Jungle Myna can also act as a host. 

The ICMR has said that the virus has the potential to spread diseases across India. As per research, the virus has been spotted in culex mosquitoes and pigs across China and Vietnam.

India is also home to species of culex mosquitoes and hence there is the fear of spread of the virus through this vector.

So far researchers have found antibodies for the virus in two out of the 883 human serum samples according to the Pune based National Institute of Virology (NIV). These samples were taken from various Indian states. What this actually means is people have already been infected with the virus.

However, during the course of the study, the virus was not found in human or animal samples. The two samples that tested positive for CQV antibodies came from Karnataka – one from 2014 and the other from 2017. The findings have been published in the latest issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR).

According to a study conducted by the ICMR, Indian mosquitoes are susceptible to CQV and could potentially become a public health pathogen.

Breaking: King of Kuwait passes away at 91

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
-

Kuwait’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, 91, passed away on Tuesday, after having been in the hospital for a month due to an ‘unspecified condition’. There was no immediate announcement from the authorities. In July, Sheikh Sabah was flown to the United States for medical treatment following surgery for an unspecified condition in Kuwait.

He was expected to be succeeded by his 83-year-old half-brother and crown prince, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed.  He had ruled the oil-rich Gulf Arab state since 2006 and had overseen its foreign policy for more than 50 years. He was dubbed the “dean of Arab diplomacy” for his efforts to restore relations with states that backed Iraq during the 1990-1991 Gulf War when Kuwait was invaded by Iraqi forces. Sheikh Sabah stood out for his efforts at pushing for diplomacy to resolve a bitter dispute between Qatar and other Arab nations that continues to this day.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences through social media and called Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as a close friend of India and a great statesman.

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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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