In the news today July 17
Four stories in the news for Tuesday, July 17———MPs AGREE TO SUMMER STUDY OF ASYLUM SEEKERSThe House of Commons immigration committee has agreed to meet at least twice before early August to study the issue of asylum seekers crossing the border from the U.S. Members agreed during a rare summer session Monday to review the federal response to the irregular border crossers, inviting testimony from Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and other cabinet ministers. Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel and her NDP counterpart, Jenny Kwan, have been pushing the Liberals to reveal more about their plan to deal with the influx of border crossers.———PIPELINE DIVIDES TRUDEAU YOUTH COUNCILFissures have appeared inside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s youth council after a group of current and former members publicly urged the Liberal government to reverse its decision to buy Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline. The request was made in a letter to the prime minister signed by 16 past and present members of the council who express “immense disappointment” with the planned $4.5-billion pipeline purchase. Other members say they do not agree with this position.———FEDS URGED TO PAY $21B FOR SENIORS CAREPhysicians are calling on the federal government to shell out another $21 billion over the next decade to help provinces and territories pay for soaring health-care costs that will be propelled by the unavoidable growth of Canada’s seniors population. An analysis to be released today by the Canadian Medical Association urges Ottawa to provide bigger and bigger annual top-ups to the existing federal health-care transfer program.———CANADA SHOULD AID HOLOCAUST DENIER ON TRIAL: OCLAThe Ontario Civil Liberties Association is urging the federal government to end what it says is the “unjust and immoral” imprisonment of a Canadian on trial in Germany for denying the Holocaust. The Munich public prosecutor’s office says Monika Schaefer is on trial for allegedly publishing multiple videos denying the Holocaust. Schaefer ran for the Green party three times in Alberta before she appeared in a YouTube video denying the Holocaust in 2016, prompting the party condemn her views.———ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit Antigonish and Sutherlands River in Nova Scotia.— Byelection in the Winnipeg riding of St. Boniface to replace former Manitoba premier Greg Selinger.— Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef will make funding announcement in Winnipeg regarding women’s economic security.— Statistics Canada will release its monthly survey of manufacturing.— ICBC will share the latest crash statistics for British Columbia.— A Canadian Red Cross Rescuer Award will be presented posthumously in St. John’s, N.L., to the family of Leo Bullen, who gave up his life-jacket to one of six survivors in a 1972 marine disaster that claimed nine lives.
OTTAWA — Defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance says the military first became aware of a Manitoba reservist’s alleged links to a neo-Nazi group in the spring and were investigating him in earnest weeks before media reported on the matter.The comments mark the first time Canada’s top general has spoken about MCpl. Patrik Mathews.Vance says the military’s counter-intelligence unit was first alerted to Mathews in April, at which point the combat engineer with the 38 Canadian Brigade Group in Winnipeg met with local commanders.The defence chief says Mathews subsequently applied to leave the Forces even as military officials launched an investigation into his activities — a probe Vance says was underway by July, weeks before the Winnipeg Free Press published a story about the reservist.Mathews has not been arrested or charged with any crime, and Vance isn’t providing further details, citing privacy laws and the ongoing investigation.Vance says the Forces will not tolerate anyone who wants to use the military as a training ground or avenue to spread hate and discrimination.The Canadian Press
Coral took more bets than in 90 per cent of yearly boxing bouts, following months of build-up, during which the pair traded blows like “your head is the size of a watermelon” and rapped insults at each other in “diss tracks”. Hardly anyone over the age of 30 was watching, but millions logged-in for the biggest amateur boxing match of all time at the Manchester Arena on Saturday evening. In a sign of how cultural power is shifting online, the battle was shown on YouTube rather than a major television channel.Young people holed themselves up in their bedrooms to watch the drama unfold on their phones and laptops, as televisions gathered dust and parents went about their business, oblivious.In what is being billed as “the biggest internet event in history”, YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI – who have 37 million subscribers between them but no professional boxing experience and don’t work for traditional entertainment outlets – fought it out in the live-streamed event.The fight, to the immediate disappointment of some fans online, was declared a majority draw, after both men failed to land heavy blows over six rounds. KSI has also been heavily criticised in the past for making misogynistic comments about women in some of his videos.The platform has come under equal scrutiny for its failure to tighten its flimsy age-restriction measures for the 18+ event, despite the YouTube pair’s legion of young fans. Logan Paul in action against KSI Credit:TOM JACOBS/Reuters 
Show more Speaking after the fight, KSI, said: “There’s only one thing to do, a re-match”.The showdown was expected to make at least £115m thanks to a £7.50 pay-per-view charge.Some fans splurged hundreds on a ticket to see KSI (real name Olajide Olatunji), a 25-year-old Londoner who has rocketed to social media fame by recording himself playing video games tussle with the 23-year-old American “goof comedy” vlogger Paul. Earlier this year, half-a-million people signed a petition to get Paul banned from YouTube after he posted a video featuring footage of a dead body, while exploring Aokigahara forest, a notorious suicide spot in Japan.YouTube temporarily suspended Paul’s sponsored ads, and the star later posted a video apology and pledged $1m (£750,000) to suicide prevention charities.He has since posted videos in which he tasers dead rats and parachutes naked out of an aeroplane.“The companies making money out of this event are showing a complete lack of integrity and should cut all connections with him. YouTube’s association with Logan Paul is is hugely problematic,” said Chris McGovern, chairman of the pressure group, Campaign for Real Education. YouTube declined to comment on how much money it will generate from streaming the event.Paul and KSI, who already have a combined net worth of more than £15 million, will also take an undisclosed cut.It is not clear whether fans recording and streaming the match for free various on platforms and online channels – including on YouTube itself – will dent the number of paying viewers.A rematch in the United States is already slated for 2019.The fight reflects a dramatic shift in viewing habits, as young people move away from broadcast television and towards internet streaming, and Youtubers become household names to rival Hollywood stars amongst the young. Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings. In a press conference attended by the two fighters in July, KSI made lewd comments about Ms Bennet, and also called Mr Paul’s father “disgusting”. “Some of the abuse and gutter level chat in the build-up was disgraceful,” said James Mildred from the charity CARE.“It’s no exaggeration to say this event could well incite violence and poor behaviour as those watching copy what they see.”Questions have also been raised about YouTube’s decision to broadcast an event featuring the platform’s most controversial star. YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul drewCredit:Tom Jacobs/Reuters 
A WOMAN WHO was trafficked to Dublin for sex when she was just 15-years-old has told the horrific story of her sexual exploitation in this country.Hannah, whose real name has not been given, was sold by her brother-in-law in Moldova for €3,000 to a man who lived in Dublin. She started working at 15 at a brothel in Temple Bar. This continued for seven years.“There was a guy, I remember a guy who used to come in and say “I want the youngest girl you have here” and he was really old, so to them it was fun,” she said. “You’d have a day where you would do like 15 guys a day.”They used to get all that anger and everything they had and the way they were seeing it was ‘they’re whores, no one is going to listen to them, whatever we do is going to be in here’ (Video: TheImmigrantCouncil/YouTube)“I had a guy once he was on top of me holding by [the] throat in bed, I had his fingerprints on my throat for weeks,” the woman explains. “I was lucky that his friend walked in and his friend just pushed him off the bed. I couldn’t breathe for half an hour I was sitting there, like I was in shock for weeks and weeks after that.”She also tells a story of a time she was called to an old folk’s home, to have sex with a man who was about 80-years-old, who could “barely stand”.Hannah did eventually escape from her pimp and now lives in Ireland with her daughter.“She’s the only person that really loved me for who me, not for me because I’m giving them stuff,” she said. “I actually feel like I’m somebody now.”The video was released by the Immigrant Council of Ireland, ahead of a day of action tomorrow to lobby politicians from all parties for laws targeting those who pay for sex.“This recording makes for uncomfortable and disturbing listening,” said Denise Chartlon, Chief Executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland. “Yet, it is a reality which is happening in our communities which we cannot ignore. For the first time ever the public and our policy makers will hear the truth about sex-trafficking, and not the ‘Pretty Woman’ fiction being peddled by vested interests in a €250 million trade.”Read: Judge rules couple accused of sex slavery can be named>Read: Authorities recorded 48 cases of human trafficking in 2012>
Now that we’re further away from when Apple initially dropped iOS 7 earlier today at 1PM ET, eager iPhone users are finally able to update their devices without much hassle. However, the iOS 7 launch woes weren’t only limited to individual users attempting to get their hands on the mobile operating system as soon as possible — it also likely affected college campuses.The reports aren’t completely confirmed, but they do claim that students and faculty clogged up the network so much when trying to update to iOS 7, that it caused intermittent outages. Among the claims, Ohio University’s student newspaper — The Post — said that a letter was emailed to students asking them to hold off on attempting to download Apple’s mobile OS update for a little while. New York University also experienced outages around the time iOS 7 was released to the masses. Meanwhile, a report claimed that West Connecticut University experienced outages around that time, but that was simply a tweet without an accompanying error message.Now, tweets from around the web don’t officially confirm that iOS 7 was solely responsible for internet outages on large-scale networks. However, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as iOS 7 is the first significant visual overhaul iOS has ever received — which is a believable cause for a massive rush to update.If you’re one of the students on a flailing network, you haven’t missed too much with iOS 7 just yet — not because it’s not a fine overhaul, but mainly because attempting to update has thus far been an enormous pain. From timeouts, to server errors, to the rare crash, updating to iOS 7 hasn’t yet been a pleasant experience. It’ll settle back down soon enough, so if you don’t mind waiting a little bit to avoid frustration, occupy yourself with something else for the next few hours. Perhaps some hard-hitting iOS 7 coverage?
13 Comments By AFP Short URL Sailors who had been held hostage by pirates for more than four years, smile as they arrive at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya. Source: STR AP/Press Association ImagesPirates initially took 29 crew hostage, but one person died during the hijacking, and two more “succumbed to illness” during their captivity, a statement from Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) said.“We have achieved what we achieved today by getting elders, religious community and local leaders and regional government all involved to put pressure on these guys to release the hostages,” said Steed.Malnourished The crew members are from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Taiwan and they were the last remaining seafarers taken hostage at the height of Somali piracy.Only a crew of Thai fishermen, released in February last year after nearly five years in captivity, spent longer in the hands of Somali pirates.Steed said the crew was malnourished and one of the hostages had a bullet wound in his foot, another had suffered a stroke and another had diabetes.At the peak of the piracy epidemic in January 2011, Somali pirates held 736 hostages and 32 boats.According to the OBP, while overall numbers are down in the Western Indian Ocean, pirates in the region attacked at least 306 seafarers in 2015 .While there has not been a successful attack on a commercial vessel since 2012, there have been several on fishing boats. There are still 10 Iranian hostages taken in 2015 and three Kenyan kidnap victims — one a seriously ill, paralysed woman — in the hands of pirates, Steed said.- © AFP 2016Read: Five dead after small plane crashes at Malta airportRead: French police on standby as migrants start evacuating Calais ‘Jungle’ camp Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article 26,949 Views http://jrnl.ie/3043569 Sailors who had been held hostage by pirates for more than four years, smile as they arrive at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya. Image: STR AP/Press Association Images Sailors held hostage for nearly five years ‘ate rats’ to survive The men – from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Taiwan – were captured by Somali pirates in 2012. Oct 24th 2016, 1:01 PM Sailors who had been held hostage by pirates for more than four years, smile as they arrive at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya. Image: STR AP/Press Association Images Share101 Tweet Email2 Monday 24 Oct 2016, 1:01 PM A GROUP OF 26 hostages freed from nearly five years in the hands of Somali pirates touched down in Kenya yesterday, with both tears and smiles marking the end of their ordeal.“I am so, so happy … For UN, for Mr John (negotiator), for all the world. Thanks to you all,” one of the hostages, Sudi Ahman, said.The relief of the men was palpable, with some unable to hold back tears while others hugged each other and smiled broadly.One of the survivors told BBC News they survived in part by eating rats.John Steed, coordinator of the Hostage Support Partners (HSP) who helped negotiate their release, had gone to the Somali city of Galkayo to collect the crew of the Naham 3, who had been held hostage for longer than any other crew except one.“We have been working on this for four-and-a-half years … It’s great to bring them home and hand them over to their embassies and their families,” Steed said.A retired British colonel, Steed has made it his mission to rescue “forgotten hostages”: poor fishermen with no insurance who are often left languishing the longest in the hands of pirates.The crew were taken captive when their Omani-flagged vessel was seized in March 2012 south of the Seychelles.
Une centaine de huskys massacrés à VancouverLes huskys d’Outdoor Adventures Whistler avaient servi pour des promenades en traîneaux durant les Jeux Olympiques de 2010. Mais en avril, lorsque le marché a chuté, les chiens ont été abattus sur ordre de la société qui proposait ces sorties. Les méthodes utilisées pour tuer ces animaux étaient inhumaines, révèle un ancien ouvrier.L’affaire défraie la chronique au Canada. Il faut dire que les détails, racontés par l’ouvrier qui a été forcé à se débarrasser des huskys sur ordre de son entreprise, Howling Dog Tours (sous-traitant d’Outdoor Adventures Whistler), sont sordides. L’homme, très affecté par cette affaire, a dû égorger au couteau une centaine de ces chiens de traîneaux, qui ont même été achevés à coups de fusil, pendant deux jours, relaye Europe 1. Les cadavres auraient été enterrés dans une fosse commune. La radio cite l’avocat de l’ouvrier, qui a souhaité rester anonyme : “Ce n’était pas une exécution propre, avec une seule balle”.À lire aussiQuand un panda s’attaque à un bonhomme de neige au CanadaL’histoire remonte à février 2010, alors que les Jeux Olympiques de Vancouver rythmaient la ville. A cette époque, les touristes étaient nombreux et les promenades en traîneaux populaires. Mais une fois les JO terminés et les touristes partis, il a fallu réduire les coûts pour Outdoor Adventures Whistler, qui ne pouvait plus s’occuper de tous ses huskys et a donc voulu s’en débarrasser. Mais l’euthanasie ayant été refusée par les vétérinaires, la méthode a été plus radicale : au mois d’avril, les chiens ont été massacrés comme le raconte l’employé.Aujourd’hui, Outdoor Adventures Whistler, qui nie avoir commandité ce massacre, risque gros. Tout comme Howling Dog Tours. La police canadienne a ouvert une enquête. Quant aux défenseurs des droits des animaux, puissants outre-Atlantique et choqués par cette histoire, ils élèvent la voix et espèrent une condamnation exemplaire. Le 1 février 2011 à 15:50 • Emmanuel Perrin
Community Health Plan of Washington is notifying its members that their personal information may have been accessed without authorization.Community Health Plan of Washington launched an investigation and a digital forensics firm was brought in to determine whether member records were accessed without authorization. The investigation revealed that the initial unauthorized access occurred on Jan. 16.The investigation revealed that members’ names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and certain coding information related to health care claims may have been accessed. Banking and credit information were not contained in the accessed data.As soon as the plan learned of the unauthorized access, it took immediate steps to disable access to the server storing the information, the plan said in a news release.Community Health Plan, which provides managed care to more than 17,000 Medicaid members in Clark County, notified the Washington State Health Care Authority and the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner of the data breach. The plan also alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Community Health Plan began notifying affected members of the breach on Dec. 21. All affected members are being offered free credit and identity monitoring services for 12 months and access to a dedicated hotline and email address for questions.
Ed Lenderman Ed Lenderman, Posted: February 15, 2018 School safety training to prevent and resolve active shooter situations 00:00 00:00 spaceplay / pause qunload | stop ffullscreenshift + ←→slower / faster ↑↓volume mmute ←→seek . seek to previous 12… 6 seek to 10%, 20% … 60% XColor SettingsAaAaAaAaTextBackgroundOpacity SettingsTextOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundSemi-TransparentOpaqueTransparentFont SettingsSize||TypeSerif MonospaceSerifSans Serif MonospaceSans SerifCasualCursiveSmallCapsResetSave SettingsKUSI’s Ed Lenderman spoke with the person who oversees school safety for the County Office of Education.Bob Mueller is in-touch with every school district in the county. February 15, 2018 Categories: Local San Diego News Tags: Bob Mueller, County Office of Education FacebookTwitter
MIAMI (WSVN) – Police are seeking the public’s help in locating the people responsible for stealing thousands of dollars in laptop computers and other valuables from a rental SUV in Miami.Surveillance video shows a minivan puling up to the SUV in the parking lot of the Pollo Tropical near Southwest Sixth Street and Red Road, May 1.The footage shows a man getting out of the minivan and breaking into the SUV while the victim was inside the fast food restaurant.Authorities said the burglar swiped nearly $15,000 in government-issued laptops and other electronics.If you have any information on this car burglary, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Shraddha Kapoor and SujeethPR HandoutShraddha Kapoor is back with another blockbuster titled ‘Saaho’ and as always, this time as well the actress has impressed everyone with her stunning looks and her breathtaking performance.Time and again, Bollywood’s most relatable actress, keeps proving that she deserves every bit of appreciation. Shraddha was appreciated by Saaho’s director Sujeeth where he said, “Shraddha Kapoor plays the lead and she is the best choice for the film”.Apart from this, the director of the magnum opus Saaho even appreciated how she refused to use body doubles and commends her for most of the stunt scenes which were performed by Shraddha herself.This is not the first time that the actress is appreciated by her directors. Earlier as well, iconic film-makers and her co-actors have acknowledged her for her hard work and perseverance along with all the applause for the talent she possesses.The actress is known to be one of the most liked personas, and her regular postings on her Instagram has resulted in a massive popularity base amongst the fans.The Saaho actress has captured all eye-balls with her bold cop avatar and everyone is super thrilled to witness Shraddha in an action role. Recently she has been flaunting a completely toned body and ripped abs and this has given some serious fitness goals to others.The actress is also running a tight schedule hopping from one set to another, slipping into diverse characters to ace her parts. Shraddha is playing different characters this year and already has four films in her kitty.Saaho will witness the actress in an action-packed avatar where Shraddha will be essaying the role of a cop, while Chhichhore tests her versatility with dual roles of a college student as well as a middle-aged woman. Street Dancer will showcase the actress in a completely new dance avatar.With multiple releases this year, Shraddha Kapoor also has an anticipated release with Baaghi 3.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Photo: BSSPrime minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday asked senior government officials to act promptly against corruption so the menace could not hinder her government’s development endeavours, reports BSS.She said this after witnessing the signing of annual performance agreements (APA) of different ministries with the cabinet division.“You (senior officials) will have to give instructions to the grassroots officials (of civil administration) to stop corruption, so the development which has been achieved due to our relentless work, isn’t hampered,” she said while addressing the signing ceremony at the Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Dhaka.The prime minister also voiced a note of warning against corruption saying, “We will not tolerate it anymore.”She also asked the senior government officials to take appropriate measures to make the government officials aware of corruption.The prime minister labelled bribe, both taking and giving, as crime and requested all to stay away from the menace.Sheikh Hasina asked the government officials to exercise national integrity strategy for stopping corruption, adding that the countrymen will get benefit of massive developments made during the tenure of the Awami League government if corruption can be contained.Sheikh Hasina highly appreciated the government officials for working sincerely to implement the APA, saying “You have been working sincerely since we’ve assumed office. We have been able to achieve 8.1 per cent growth in GDP and increase per capita income to $1909 alongside acquiring the middle income country status from the least developed one.”She instructed them to be more dynamic in implementing the APAs signed for the FY 2019-20.She urged the senior government officials to take decision about the matter beneficial for their ministries and work accordingly.The prime minister also asked the government officials to work in such a way so that every people of the country can meet their minimum basic needs.Mentioning that her government wants to forward the country fast, she said “We want to transform the country into a prosperous and developed one free from poverty, corruption and militancy.”Sheikh Hasina said her government is taking the country ahead with a specific and well-thought-out plan for which the country has achieved honour in the world, adding “We have to maintain it in the future.”She also said, “We are always working with long term plan as it will not be possible to go forward without it. Now we are implementing the 7th five-year plan and second perspective plan (2021-2041) to make the country a developed and prosperous one by 2041.”Cabinet secretary on behalf of the prime minister and secretaries or senior secretaries on behalf of the ministers concerned signed the APA.Secretaries or senior secretaries handed over the APA to the prime minister after signing the agreements.The prime minister adorned the women and children affairs and the agricultural ministries and IME Division with certificates for their best performance according to the APA during the 2018-2019 fiscal.Sheikh Hasina also handed over Integrity Award-2017-18 to the IME Division of planning ministry for showing the highest performance in accomplishing its annual activities.Cabinet members, prime minister’s advisors, secretaries, heads of various departments, senior officials and diplomats of different countries were also present in the programme.State minister for public administration Farhad Hossain, cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, principal secretary to PMO Md Nojibur Rahman and power division senior secretary Ahmed Kaikaus spoke on the occasion.Chief coordinator on SDGs in the PMO Abul Kalam Azad was present on the dais.A video documentary highlighting various activities under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) was also screened on the occasion.
X Jen RiceApartment building at Market Square Park in downtown Houston.Deborah Whisnand has lived in an apartment complex in the Greenway-Upper Kirby neighborhood for close to 18 months.When she signed the lease, her monthly rent was $1,300. But when she recently got her renewal notice, she was shocked.“The 12-month lease, which I certainly was willing to do – I’m not going anywhere – was just under 20 percent higher,” Whisnand said. “Just under $1,600.”She was expecting some sort of an increase, just like she’s gotten at previous apartments, but not of this magnitude.“That’s quite a large amount, no doubt,” Bruce McClenny, president of ApartmentData.com, said.Rents have increased after Hurricane Harvey, he said, simply because occupancy levels have gone up more than usual.“Maybe we see 12,000 to 14,000 units rented in a year,” he said. “And we had 17,000 to 18,000 rented in a matter of two to three months.”McClenny said average rents for class A apartments have risen by more than $70 across Greater Houston since Harvey.He expects landlords to try and maintain the higher rent levels, but they might have to come back down when the many displaced homeowners move back into their repaired houses next year. Share Listen 00:00 /01:10 To embed this piece of audio in your site, please use this code:
Blizzard launched World of Warcraft back in 2004, meaning that last year was the MMO’s 10th anniversary. We’re now in 2015, but Blizzard is still celebrating and has decided to send long-time subscribers to its online world a very special gift in the form of a orc statue, which you can see in full below.In order to be eligible for the statue Blizzard has identified players who first subscribed within 60 days of WoW’s original launch either in North America (November 23, 2004) or Europe (February 11, 2005). They also have to still be subscribing, meaning 10 years of those $15 a month payments. So the statue is not only thanking them for playing, it’s also for spending around $1,800 for access to the game.These images are courtesy of World of Warcraft player Smitti, who received the statue already.The statue of an orc riding a wolf is actually a small replica of the one Blizzard had placed outside its headquarters in 2009. That one is 12-feet tall. On the bottom of the statue being sent out is a note that the original is where Blizzard’s staff gather to chat and eat, and that it’s a “constant presence.” In the same way, these players are a constant presence due to their loyalty and Blizzard thanks them for it.It’s unclear how many statues Blizzard is having to send out. If you are eligible then an email will have already made it into your inbox (or spam folder). If one hasn’t appeared by now then you don’t meet the criteria. Maybe that month or two you canceled your subscription back in 20xx disqualified you.
The eastern state came visiting Delhi through Chalo Chalen Bengal (Let’s visit Bengal). The campaign aimed to project the tourism potential of West Bengal, attract more domestic and foreign tourists and facilitate better interaction with investors and industry stakeholders like travel operators.Chalo Chale Bengal witnessed a grand launch in the Capital with Krishnendu Nayaran Choudhury, Minister for Tourism, Government of West Bengal unvieling a new state-of-the-art tourism information centre at the WBICC (West Bengal Information and Cultural Centre). He also inaugrated Beautiful Bengal, a photography exhibition by Sanjay Das at the Muktadhara Art Gallery. Also Read – ‘Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting’The day’s event proceeded along with a colourful ensemble of folk forms and cultural attractions of West Bengal, including Pat-er Gaan (songs about the rural tradition of story-telling with the help of scroll paintings), Baul Gaan (representing the unique spiritual musical heritage of Bengal) Purulia Chhau (tribal martial dance) and contemporary Bangla songs by Chandrabindoo.The next was an interactive session involving the Minister, senior officials of the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal and various stakeholders of the Indian tourism industry, including representatives of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and Adventure tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) which was followed by B2B meetings with potential tourism and hospitality sector investors, under the theme- Investment Opportunities.
The theatre fraternity came together on Friday night for a red-carpet awards gala at the 12th Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) Festival. Curated by the Mahindra Group and Teamwork Arts, the week-long extravaganza came to an end as the best from the world of theatre were awarded the META at The Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road.The annual awards, which recognise excellence in theatre nationally, celebrate the intrinsic diversity and rich cultural traditions of India. The META is India’s most comprehensive award and a premier honour for the theatre fraternity, awarding on-stage and off-stage talent across 14 award categories, including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Also Read – Add new books to your shelfLike every year, this year’s short-list of META was diverse and showcased the best of Indian theatre. For a week, the festival staged 10 nominated plays that revolved around motifs ranging from mythology and caste to complex love stories and human emotions. The line-up featuring plays in English as well as several Indian Languages including Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, etc., received an overwhelming response from the audience as the shows ran to packed houses. The Jury for META 2017 comprised theatre stalwarts Dolly Thakore, Mahesh Dattani, Sachin Khedekar, Seema Biswas, Avijit Dutt and Maya Krishna Rao. Also Read – Over 2 hours screen time daily will make your kids impulsiveWhile ‘Mahabharata’ bagged the award for Best Production along with Best Director and Best Choreography, ‘I Don’t Like It As You Like It’, won Best Ensemble, Best Stage Design and Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female), and ‘Elephant in the Room’ won Best Actor in a Lead Role (Female), Best Costume Design and Best Light Design, giving them three awards each. The award for Best Actor in a Lead Role (Male) was jointly presented to Anirban Bhattacharya (Awddyo Shesh Rajani) and Rajendra Panchal (Katha Sukavi Suryamall Ki). Noted theatre veteran, Arun Kakade was conferred the META Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian theatre. He got a standing ovation as he received the Lifetime Achievement Award. He said, “I am so happy that META has been promoting Indian theatre for the last 12 years. There is diverse variety in the plays that come here. I have staged my plays here thrice before, but at the age of 86, I wasn’t expecting any award really. I am thankful to the META Festival organisers for this prestigious honour.”Hosted by Prateik Babbar and Shilpa Shukla, the scintillating awards night saw several luminaries, including Manoj Bajpayee, Sushma Seth, M.K Raina, Sachin Khedekar, Bubbles Sabharwal, Dadi Pudumjee, Vinod Nagpal, Sanjana Kapoor, Nicholas Idier and Jim Hollington. Performances by the band Samarpan, Harpreet, Neil Madhav and Rachna Yadav further enlivened the proceedings.Veterans from theatre, cinema, music, and dance presented the coveted awards to the ecstatic awardees and noted personalities like Manoj Bajpayee, Meera and Muzaffar Ali, Aditi Mangaldas and Seema Biswas were among those who gave away awards.Commenting on the awards, Jay Shah, Head, Cultural Outreach, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd said, “The 12th META has concluded with all the drama, fanfare and applause it deserves. The 10 best productions from across India vied for the top honours in the nation’s capital. While awards were presented to just a few, each META participant has been a winner. The Mahindra Group too feels a great sense of victory for being able to establish a platform that defines excellence in Indian Theatre. A proud moment for us all!”