Historians criticise Centre’s stance on Ram Temple inauguration ceremony

Historian Prof. Mridula Mukherjee expressed criticism aimed at both the Uttar Pradesh and Central governments for their handling of the inaugural ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Published Date – 08:12 PM, Fri – 29 December 23


Historians criticise Centre’s stance on Ram Temple inauguration ceremony


Warangal: Historian Prof Mridula Mukherjee criticised both the Uttar Pradesh and Central governments for treating the inaugural ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as a ‘state-sponsored event.’ She emphasised that while it’s acceptable for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the programme as an individual, doing so in his capacity as the Prime Minister could be inappropriate due to the constitutional position he holds.

During an interaction with the media at the Indian History Congress at Kakatiya University (KU) campus here on Friday, she clarified that she and her colleagues didn’t align themselves with any political party. However, she strongly criticised the incumbent Central government for neglecting what she termed as the ‘authentic history.’


Mukherjee stressed that it is the responsibility of governments to create employment opportunities for students studying and researching history, asserting that being tourist guides at monuments shouldn’t fall under the purview of history students.

On a parallel note, IHC General President Prof Aditya Mukherjee criticised the Centre for attempting to conceal history and propagate certain myths for their political gains. He highlighted the importance of people being well-informed about history to avoid falling prey to false propaganda.

Additionally, the second day of the IHC session saw three simultaneous sessions. Prof Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, the Secretary of IHC, said that the sessions included 22 research papers on ‘Dalit history,’ over 10 papers on ‘Reconstructing Indian Economic History’ by the Aligarh Historians Society, and 12 papers presented at the IHC Panel on ‘Deccan: Past and Present.’

WHO Chief "Very Concerned" By Gaza Infectious Disease Threat

WHO Chief 'Very Concerned' By Gaza Infectious Disease Threat

More than 21,000 people have been killed in Israeli bombardment in Gaza since war began.

Geneva:

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday he was “very concerned” about the growing threat of infectious diseases in the Gaza Strip.

“As people continue to be massively displaced across the south of Gaza, with some families forced to move multiple times and many sheltering in overcrowded health facilities, my WHO colleagues and I remain very concerned about the increasing threat of infectious diseases,” Tedros said on X, formerly Twitter.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas — considered a “terrorist” group by the United States and European Union — in retaliation for the October 7 attack which left about 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Around 250 hostages were also taken during the attack, more than half of whom remain captive.

Israel’s relentless aerial bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza have killed at least 21,320 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Tedros said that since mid-October until mid-December, people living in shelters had continued to fall sick.

He said that close to 180,000 people were suffering with upper respiratory infections, while 136,400 cases of diarrhoea have been recorded — half of those among children aged under five.

The UN health agency chief said there had been 55,400 cases of lice and scabies; 5,330 cases of chickenpox; and 42,700 cases of skin rash, including 4722 cases of impetigo.

“WHO and partners are working tirelessly to support the health authorities to increase disease surveillance and control by supplying medicines, testing kits to support prompt detection and response to infectious diseases such as hepatitis, and trying to improve access to safe water, food, hygiene and sanitation services,” said Tedros.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

307 people died in road accidents in Medak in 2023

The number of fatalities in road accidents have increased considerably in the district during the year 2023 compared to the previous year.

Published Date – 08:13 PM, Fri – 29 December 23


307 people died in road accidents in Medak in 2023


Medak: Roads in Medak proved very unsafe for road users during the last year as a huge number of people died in road accidents in 2023. The number of fatalities in road accidents have increased considerably in the district during the year 2023 compared to the previous year.

According to the annual crime report released by Medak Additional SP Mahendar, as many as 307 people died in road accidents in the Medak district in 2023 as against 232 last year. The district has recorded 75 more deaths in the year in road accidents compared to last year. Medak has recorded 279 fatal and 205 non-fatal accidents in which 422 people were injured. In 2021, as many as 285 people died in 275 accidents.


Unlike Medak, Siddipet district, which is considerably larger than Medak, had recorded fewer road accident deaths in the year. As many as 260 people died in road accidents in Siddipet district this year which is 12 less than the 272 deaths reported in the year 2022. The number of road accidents reported in Siddipet came down from last year 561 to 540 this year. The number of people injured in road accidents came down to 480 in 2023 from 540 in 2022.

"Serious Implications": India On Hafiz Saeed's Party Fighting Polls

'Serious Security Implications': India On Hafiz Saeed's Party Fighting Polls

Hafiz Saeed is the mastermind of the 26/11 attacks.

New Delhi:

Stating that the normalisation of “radical elements” in Pakistan has been a part of Islamabad’s state policy, the Ministry of External Affairs said a political party backed by 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed contesting polls has “serious security implications” for the region.

Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Friday that New Delhi continues to monitor every development having an implication for national security.

“The issue of radical elements normalised and participating in elections in Pakistan…it is an internal affair so let me not comment on it. But, the mainstreaming of radical outfits in Pakistan is nothing new and has been a part of their state policy for a long time,” Mr Bagchi said,  addressing the weekly Ministry of External Affairs briefing.

He added, “Such developments have a serious security implication for the security of our region. For our part, we continue to monitor every development that has implications for our national security”.

Muhammad Hafiz Saeed, who is a UN-proscribed terrorist, is the founder of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He was the mastermind of the deadly 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and is wanted in India in numerous cases.

Meanwhile, in a development that has led to heavy criticism for Islamabad, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political entity founded Hafiz Saeed has fielded candidates for every national and provincial assembly constituency across Pakistan for the upcoming general elections slated to be held on February 8, 2024.

Hafiz Saeed’s son Talha Saeed is also going to contest the polls from National Assembly’s constituency NA-127, Lahore, while PMML’s central president Khalid Masood Sindhu is taking part from NA-130, against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo and former PM Nawaz Sharif.

Saeed, who has been in jail since July 17, 2019, for other charges, was sentenced in April 2022 by a special anti-terrorism court in Lahore, Pakistan, to a jail term of 33 years for “financing terrorism.”

Despite being designated a terrorist by the UN and EU in the 2000s, Saeed was neither charged nor extradited over nearly two decades.

Saeed was designated as a terrorist by the United Nations Security Council in December 2008.

Meanwhile, India has also conveyed a request to the Pakistan government regarding the extradition of Hafiz Saeed to India for facing trial in a particular case. MEA said that New Delhi has conveyed the request with all relevant supporting documents.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhatti asks Singareni to ensure coal supply to power plants during summer

The Deputy Chief Minister directed the officials to pay special attention to the welfare of the workers working in the Singareni Collieries.

Published Date – 08:20 PM, Fri – 29 December 23


Bhatti asks Singareni to ensure coal supply to power plants during summer


Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister and Energy Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu directed Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) officials to take measures to maintain the coal production to a sufficient level in its mines to supply to power plants situated in the State and other places.

“There should not be shortage of coal during summer. We should be in a position to supply sufficient coals to power plants,”he said.


The Energy Minister, who held a review meeting with the officials of the SCCL on Friday at the secretariat, was given a power point presentation by heads of different departments of the Singareni on surface underground mines, new projects, Singareni thermal and solar projects, machinery use, coal marketing and transportation.

They also explained to him about the progress made so far on the coal production targets set for the financial year 2023-24. During the review of the Naini coal block situated in Odisha, the minister asked the officials to take the matter to the union Coal Ministry and Odisha government and see that the mine becomes operational at the earliest.

The Deputy Chief Minister directed the officials to pay special attention to the welfare of the workers working in the Singareni Collieries and inquired about the allowances, medical facilities and other welfare programmes being implemented by the company for the workers.

He also discussed the medical board process for compassionate appointments. He asked the officials whether there were any plans for further expansion of Singareni in the future for mineral exploration other than coal mining. Chairman and Managing Director of the company N Sridhar, Director (Personnel, Finance) N Balaram and other senior officials of the company were present.

China Doctors Find Wriggling Worms Inside 70-Year-Old Man's Abdomen

China Doctors Find Wriggling Worms Inside 70-Year-Old Man's Abdomen

Doctors successfully extracted the parasite from the man’s abdomen.

Doctors in China were left baffled after discovering squirming worms inside a 70-year-old man’s abdomen. The finding, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was made when the man, with a history of colon cancer, reported to a hospital to undergo a cholangioscopy, a procedure in which doctors insert a camera either through the mouth or the skin to examine the upper abdomen for problems. The doctors found that the 70-year-old harboured a tumour in his intestine. They also discovered five parasitic flatworms wriggling in the man’s biliary tract, the network of organs that transports digestive juices from the liver to the small intestine.

According to the study, doctors in China identified the worms as clonorchis sinensis, a species of liver fluke that’s found in undercooked fish and shrimp. These parasites are native to East Asia, where raw seafood is commonly consumed. When a person eats fish and shrimp containing an immature version of the parasite, it travels to the bile duct, the gallbladder, or the liver, where it matures into adult worms measuring 15 to 20 millimetres in length and 3 to 4 millimetres in width, the New York Post reported. 

The worms in the 70-year-old were discovered when the man went to the hospital to undergo a cholangioscopy. He had been previously diagnosed with a type of cancer that develops in the colon (or large intestine) though the worms are thought to be unrelated.

The doctors successfully extracted the parasite from the man’s abdomen. Following this they prescribed the patient a drug for such an infection. The medics also put the 70-year-old on chemotherapy to combat the intestinal cancer. 

Also Read | 88-Year-Old Man In China Leaves Property Worth ₹ 3.8 Crore To Fruit Seller

Notably, in most cases, the condition is asymptomatic. Patients often don’t even know that the parasite is present. However, if left untreated it can lead to complications ranging from bacterial infections to pancreatitis to liver abscesses, the outlet reported. 

Meanwhile, earlier this year, in a similar case, doctors in the United States were left baffled after discovering a fully intact house fly inside a man’s intestines during a colonoscopy. The finding was made when a 63-year-old man went in for a routine colon screening in Missouri. The colonoscopy was going normal until the doctors reached the transverse colon – the top of the large intestine – and came across a fully intact fly. “This case represents a very rare colonoscopic finding and mystery on how the intact fly found its way to the transverse colon,” the doctors from the University of Missouri School of Medicine wrote in the journal. 

Rumours panic public, huge rush at LPG outlets and Aadhaar centres in Telangana’s Kothagudem

People were arriving at the centres as early as 6 am and standing in long queues to apply for certificates and to update their details even as the officials were explaining to the public that there was no need for income and community certificates to submit Praja Palana applications.

Published Date – 08:22 PM, Fri – 29 December 23


Rumours panic public, huge rush at LPG outlets and Aadhaar centres in Telangana’s Kothagudem


Kothagudem: Mee-seva centres, LPG outlets and Aadhaar centres have been witnessing huge rush for the past couple of days with the beginning of Praja Palana gram sabhas.

The rush was result of rumours being spread on social media and among the public that income and community certificates, updation of Aadhaar cards and LPG e-KYC compliance was necessary for availing the schemes.


People were arriving at the centres as early as 6 am and standing in long queues to apply for certificates and to update their details even as the officials were explaining to the public that there was no need for income and community certificates to submit Praja Palana applications.

Those at the LPG outlets, Mee-seva and Aadhaar centres were not able to handle the crowds who were visiting them in large numbers. There were complaints that a small number of Aadhaar centres had also been causing trouble to the public.

“I have been waiting since 6 am in the queue at the Aadhaar centre as people were telling me that updating my Aadhaar card was a must to get Maha Lakshmi scheme benefits”, said a woman P Rajeswari of Paloncha. The public was also complaining that some LPG outlets were collecting charges for e-KYC.

No need for income and community certificates: Collector Dr. Ala

Meanwhile, district Collector Dr. Priyanka Ala in a statement on Friday clarified that there was no need to attach income and community certificates to Praja Palana applications or to update Aadhaar cards. Public should not believe the rumours on social media that applications were not accepted if Aadhaar cards have Andhra Pradesh and Khammam district printed on them.

People should contact help desk or revenue officials, MPDO, MPO, village secretary, Anganwadi staff and women self help group members for assistance. Help desks were set up at every counter to assist the public to fill up the applications, she said.

Dr. Ala directed officials to monitor xerox centres and if anyone overcharges, the public should complain to the concerned tahsildar, MPDO or to RDO office. For other details, the public could call a special control room set up in the collectorate at 08744-241950 during office hours, she added.

Google Settles $5 Billion Lawsuit Alleging 'Incognito' Mode Tracks Users

Google Settles $5 Billion Lawsuit Alleging Chrome's 'Incognito' Mode Tracks Users

The lawsuit claimed Google’s practices had infringed on users’ privacy (Representational)

San Francisco, United States:

Google has agreed to settle a consumer privacy lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion in damages over allegations it tracked the data of users who thought they were browsing the internet privately.

The object of the lawsuit was the “incognito” mode on Google’s Chrome browser that the plaintiffs said gave users a false sense that what they were surfing online was not being tracked by the Silicon Valley tech firm.

But internal Google emails brought forward in the lawsuit demonstrated that users using incognito mode were being followed by the search and advertising behemoth for measuring web traffic and selling ads.

In a court filing, the judge confirmed that lawyers for Google reached a preliminary agreement to settle the class action lawsuit — originally filed in 2020 — which claimed that “millions of individuals” had likely been affected.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs were seeking at least $5,000 for each user it said had been tracked by the firm’s Google Analytics or Ad Manager services even when in private browsing mode and not logged into their Google account.

This would have amounted to at least $5 billion, though the settlement amount will likely not reach that figure, and no amount was given for the preliminary settlement between the parties.

Google and lawyers for the consumers did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

The settlement came just weeks after Google was refused a request that the case be decided by a judge. A jury trial was set to begin next year.

The lawsuit, filed in a California court, claimed Google’s practices had infringed on users’ privacy by “intentionally” deceiving them with the incognito option.

The original complaint alleged that Google and its employees had been given the “power to learn intimate details about individuals’ lives, interests, and internet usage.”

“Google has made itself an unaccountable trove of information so detailed and expansive that George Orwell could never have dreamed it,” it added.

A formal settlement is expected for court approval by February 24, 2024.

Class action lawsuits have become the main venue to challenge big tech companies on data privacy matters in the United States, which lacks a comprehensive law on the handling of personal data.

In August, Google paid $23 million to settle a long-running case over giving third-parties access to user search data.

In 2022, Facebook parent company Meta settled a similar case, agreeing to pay $725 million over the handling of user data.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

CP Vishnu S Warrier appointed as SP in NIA

In a recent letter to the Chief Secretary, A Santhi Kumari, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Warrier was being taken on deputation to the NIA for a five-year period.

Updated On – 08:36 PM, Fri – 29 December 23


CP Vishnu S Warrier appointed as SP in NIA

Khammam CP Vishnu S Warrier.

Khammam: Centre has Telangana government to relieve Commissioner of Police Vishnu S Warrier after he was posted to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In a recent letter to the Chief Secretary, A Santhi Kumari, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Warrier was being taken on deputation to the NIA for a five-year period.


Warrier is a 2013 Telangana cadre IPS officer. He was appointed as Khammam Commissioner of Police in April, 2021.

Cartoon Today on December 29, 2023

Published Date – 11:59 PM, Fri – 29 December 23


Cartoon Today on December 29, 2023