Vol 1, Issue 13, Aug 16 -31, 2021
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India celebrates 75th Independence Day with fervour
Photo Courtesy: The Rehnuma Daily
New Delhi, Aug 15: Celebrations and announcements marked the 75th Independence Day of the country on Sunday. On the occasion, leaders from different parts of the country acknowledged the sacrifices and efforts of the people who fought for India’s freedom from the British rule. Here are the key events and announcements that marked the day: Punjab CM announces projects worth Rs 1,200 crore: To mark the 75th Independence Day of the country, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday announced development projects worth Rs 1,200 crore for linking roads, along with a slew of welfare programmes for the Scheduled Castes. The Chief Minister further announced that an Act would soon be notified which would mandate budgetary spending on the Dalit welfare equal to the percentage of SC population in the state, and the 85th Constitutional Amendment would be implemented in line with
Gurvinder Singh: Championing human rights and advocating the Sikh principle of Seva -Page 5
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Tragedy -Page 4
Indian Cooking with Lata Modi -Page 7
Covid cases surge World Athletics showcases in worst-hit NSW Neeraj Chopra on its main page Photo Courtesy: IANS
Photo Courtesy: USNews.com
Vedanta and happiness -Page 15
Premchand, the reformist writer of India -Page 23
Sydney, Aug 14: New South Wales (NSW), the worst-hit state in Australia's current Covid-19 outbreak, reported 466 new local cases on Saturday, a new peak and a nearly 20 per cent jump from the 390 infected recorded the previous From Monday, the radius of movement for residents in Greater
day. The state also recorded four deaths, which brought the total number of fatalities in the latest outbreak to 43, reports Xinhua news agency. Facing the deteriorating situation, the authorities announced a couple of tougher restrictions. Continued on page 12
Tokyo, Aug 14: World Athletics (WA), the global governing body for the sport, has featured Indian gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympic Games, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, on its front page, saying that, "With a mark of 87.58m at the Games, the 23-yearold had launched himself to sporting superstardom as he became India's first ever Olympic champion in athletics." Chopra hurled the javelin to a distance of 87.58 metres in a field that had the likes of Germany's Johannes Vetter -- the top javelin exponent in the world -- to become the first track
Taliban demand unmarried women to become 'wives' for their fighters Photo Courtesy: USNews.com
Five best train journeys within India -Page 27
The Sabyasachi x H&M collection is finally here -Page 29
judgments of the Supreme Court. Further, in order to facilitate ease-of-doing business, the Chief Minister announced a new set of a whopping 1,150 reforms for medium and small enterprises (MSMEs). He also announced that certain expensive medical procedures and tests like dialysis, X-rays, etc, would be made free at government hospitals. Regularisation of all safai karamcharis working for the past 10 years and increase in the monthly honorarium of anganwadi workers, mini anganwadi worker and helpers by Rs 600, Rs 500 and Rs 300, respectively, were among other key announcements made by the Chief Minister. Referring to the welfare of landless farmers, the Chief Minister said the state government would make payment of Rs 520 crore to 2.85 lakh landless farmers under the debt relief scheme on August 20, the birth anniversary of the late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Continued on page 6
Kabul, Aug 13: Afghans pouring into Kabul and those still in the Talibanheld areas say that they have witnessed unprovoked attacks on civilians and executions of captured soldiers. In addition, they say, Taliban commanders have demanded that communities must hand over
unmarried women to become "wives" for their fighters -- a form of sexual violence, human-rights groups say, the Wall Street Journal reported. The US Embassy in Kabul had said on Thursday that it had received reports of the Taliban executing members of the Afghan military who had surrendered. "Deeply disturbing and could constitute war crimes," the Embassy said. A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied that the group had killed any prisoners, saying that would violate their principles. He also said that allegations that the Taliban were forcing women into marriage were false, and that such
actions would be contrary to the rules of Islam and violate cultural tradition. On Wednesday, Mawlawi Abdul Qadir, a senior Taliban religious official, had said in a speech in the newly captured capital of Badakhshan province that government soldiers who surrender and "confess their crimes" would be able "to live like a Muslim under the flag of the Islamic Emirate". Taliban leaders have publicly pledged to be magnanimous in victory, assuring government officials, troops and the people of Afghanistan that they have nothing to fear as ever larger swaths of the country fall under their control.
& field athlete from India to win gold at the quadrennial showpiece. Tracing the 23-year-old's journey from the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in 2016 -- where he achieved a world U-20 record throw of 86.48 metres, till the Tokyo Olympics --, WA wrote, "The final throw was taken (in Tokyo) and only then could Neeraj Chopra breathe a sigh of relief. It was a moment so monumental that 7 August will now be celebrated as National Javelin Day in his home country." The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has decided to celebrate August 7 each year as "National Javelin Throw Day" and all states and union territories will hold events to mark the occasion. "But it was not the first time Chopra had made history for his nation. Five years earlier, the rising javelin star had broken the five-year-old world U20 record in Bydgoszcz (Poland) to win India's first ever gold medal at the World U20 Championships. As the next generation gets ready to compete at the 2021 edition of the
age group event in Nairobi, Kenya, from 17-22 August, Chopra hopes his performances have helped to inspire," wrote WA in its article on Friday. "Chopra's javelin journey started in 2011 when the 13-year-old son of farmers joined a local sports group to be active. He never looked back and Chopra's win at the 2016 World U20 Championships was a major milestone. "Chopra, who was coached by Gary Calvert to his world U20 title and then teamed up with Klaus Bartonietz, went on to claim his Asian title in 2017 before Commonwealth and Asian Games gold in 2018. But then, while training for the 2019 World Athletics Championships, he was struck with injury which required surgery on his throwing arm. He returned in 2020 but then the world went into lockdown," wrote WA. "One year later, he announced his comeback with a national record-breaking throw of 88.07m in Patiala."
Australian-Indian teenager creates history as Federal Court declares environment minister‘s duty to counter climate change
T
he 17-year old moved the Federal Court against environment minister Sussan Ley in a bid to reverse the consent granted to the Whitehaven Coal mine’s Vickery Extension Project in New South Wales. The case namely, Sharma and others vs Minister for the Environment appealed for an injunction from the Federal Court to stop the mine’s expansion. The plaintiffs argued that the project near Gunnedah, which is worth one million dollars, would allow the miners to procure more than 30 million tonnes of coal over a quarter of the century and emit approximately 100 million tonnes of greenhouse
gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Justice Mordecai Bromberg following a four-day hearing of the case in March arrived at the decision in June that Minister Ley had the obligation of duty of care to safeguard the youngsters against climate change. However, the plea for injunction remained unfulfilled and as per the court arguments, it was stated that no definite decision regarding the expansion of the project was taken by the Minister, so no anticipatory injunction could be implemented legally. Continued on page 10
Yami Gautam: Isn’t easy to shift from one character to another -Page 31 www.indianabroad.news
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