Hyderabad: In this age of technology and dazzling malls, age-old concepts of entertainment still seem to be drawing the curiosity of the public. One of those things are ‘Melas’ or fairs, which are now drawing crowds.
Post Eid-ul-Fitr too, families often head to fun fairs with children enjoy joy rides there. Sitting on a hand-pulled ferris-wheel, eating ‘chat pata’ food and buying balloons and toys all sound like things that belong to a new generation ago. And the tradition continues even today, and it’s a mix of nostalgia for parents as well.
One such fun fair was organized at the Noori Palace function hall at Bandlaguda in Hyderabad, which seemed to attract quite a lot of people in spite of it being Eid on Sunday.
Joy rides, food stalls, horse and camels rides, games and cosmetic stalls were all part of it the set up here. The next few days after Eid, many families move out to relax after a strenuous month which keeps many awake for 16 to 18 hours.
“The routine schedule is disturbed as people wake up for Sehar and sleep late after offering Taraveeh namaz. Work for women particularly is tasking so for a break and relaxing many come out after festival,” said Zahooruddin, a resident of Chandrayangutta.
Other parts of Hyderabad where one can find such fairs are Parade Grounds in Secunderabad. On holidays, huge crowds are also seen in Necklace Road, Nehru Zoological Park and other picnic spots in the city.
Sharjah: Following the resounding success of the inaugural edition of the world’s first International Bookseller Conference in Sharjah, the second annual edition has been announced by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) with a stronger, more holistic programme to showcase the learnings and experiences of global ecosystem stakeholders, upskill professionals, and uncover emerging commercial opportunities, particularly in the Arab region.
Set to take place on 1-2 May on the side-lines of the 14th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), in Expo Centre Sharjah, the two-day event will bring together 383 book distributors including 160 from 17 Arab nations and 223 from 52 countries around the world.
Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, Founder and CEO of Kalimat Group, will headline the two-day event with a keynote address. The conference will also hear from Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, SBA Chairman; leading businessman Marcus Dohle; ex-CEO of Penguin Random House, Kinokuniya UAE’s Steve Jones, and others.
Alongside the Booksellers Conference’s exceptional matchmaking and networking platform, attendees will also be offered a choice of 18 workshops and roundtables as well as 15 publisher pitches to pick from to upskill and explore specific areas of commercial interest. Global Perspectives on Shaping a more resilient, prosperous future for Booksellers.
⠀ This year’s edition of the International Bookseller Conference is full of value for literary professionals! The conference invites book sellers to enjoy talks from industry experts whilst networking with global colleagues.⠀ ⠀ Meet us on the 1st and 2nd of May!#SCRF23pic.twitter.com/X9lF6cM2w2
— Sharjah Book Authority (@SharjahBookAuth) April 23, 2023
The 2nd edition of the International Bookseller Conference has also designed an exclusive platform for facilitating publisher pitches and enabling direct sales between publishers and distributors.
The platform will showcase 15 reputed Arab and international publishers and distributors including Penguin Random House, Wonder House, Austin Macauley, Bonnier/Igloo, Kogan Page, Pan Macmillan, Difference Engine, MMS, Avicenna, Bookland Press, Lightning Source, Aseer Alkutoob, Estifan, Alshamel, and Dar Amnah.
This programme of workshops, roundtables, and pitch presentations will be available for attendees to access on both days of the event, alongside the conference’s original networking sessions which were introduced last year.
Mansour Al Hasani, Director of publishers services, SBA, said, “The International Booksellers Conference will highlight the latest strategies, tools, and techniques that today’s booksellers need to successfully navigate the fast-changing and digitally driven book market.
The vital role of bookselling in ensuring the overall success of the publishing industry cannot be overstated, and connecting professionals from both sides to be able to look into similar areas of interest is crucial to the sector’s sustainable growth.
Sharjah will continue its historical cultural role of offering fresh fuel to further propel the engines of the book distribution industry forward with the second edition of the bookseller conference by creating new opportunities for learning, exchange, and building new regional and global business connections.”
Ahmedabad: The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) will challenge before the Gujarat High Court the recent acquittal of all 67 accused in the 2002 Naroda Gam riot case by a special court, sources said.
Ahmedabad-based court of S K Baxi, special judge for Special Investigation Team cases, on April 20 acquitted all 67 accused, including former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani and ex-Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, more than two decades after 11 Muslims were killed during post-Godhra riots in Ahmedabad’s Naroda Gam area.
“The SIT will definitely file an appeal in the Gujarat High Court against the lower court’s order in the Naroda Gam case. Since the copy of the SIT court’s judgement is awaited, a final call will be taken after studying the verdict,” a source in SIT said.
The massacre at Naroda Gam was one of the nine major 2002 communal riots cases investigated by the SC-appointed SIT and heard by special courts.
The SIT took over the probe from the Gujarat Police in 2008 and arrested more than 30 persons.
Apart from Kodnani (67) and Bajrangi, former VHP leader Jaydeep Patel was also acquitted in the case by the special court.
There were a total of 86 accused in the case, of which 18 died during the pendency of the trial, while one was discharged by the court earlier under section 169 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) due to insufficient evidence against him.
Notably, lawyers of the victims’ families had already said the special court’s verdict will be challenged in the High Court.
Riots broke out in the Naroda Gam area of Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, during a bandh called to protest the torching of the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express by a mob near Godhra station a day earlier. As many as 58 train passengers, mostly karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, were charred to death.
The accused were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), and 153 (provocation for riots), among others
The then-BJP president Amit Shah, now Union Home Minister, had in September 2017 appeared in the trial court as a defence witness for Kodnani. She had requested the court to summon Shah to prove her alibi that she was present in the Gujarat Assembly and later at Ahmedabad’s Sola Civil Hospital, and not at Naroda Gam, where the massacre took place.
Six different judges have presided over the case since the trial started in 2010.
Hyderabad: A pregnant woman who was cheated on by her lover attempted to end her life by jumping into Hussain Sagar Lake on Sunday afternoon. However, she was recused by the Lake Police officials who happened to witness her.
According to the police, the woman accused her 45-year-old boyfriend named Rajasekhar who on the pretext of marrying her developed a sexual relationship.
The woman soon became pregnant with Rajassekhar’s child. When she told him about the development, he assured her of marriage. However, the woman soon got to know that he is planning to marry someone else.
Based on her complaint at the Banjara Hills police station, an FIR was lodged and Rajasekhar was arrested. But things did not go well as he was soon out on bail.
Disappointed, the woman decided to end her life. But she was rescued by the Lake Police officials on time.
Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces are “forcibly evacuating” civilians in the area of the Kherson region that they still occupy, a day after it was claimed Ukrainian forces had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnipro River.
“I have information that the evacuation starts today [Sunday] with an excuse of protecting civilians from the consequences of heavy fighting in the area,” Oleksandr Samoylenko, the Ukrainian head of Kherson’s regional council, said. Russian troops were “trying to steal as much as they can” as they withdrew, he added.
The claim cannot be verified, but it comes amid an apparent increase in Ukrainian military activity in the south of the country which some analysts have interpreted as a potential precursor to Kyiv’s long anticipated counter-offensive.
Serhiy Khlan, another Ukrainian official in Kherson, said over the weekend that Wagner group fighters were helping Russian occupation officials impose control over the civilian population on the east bank of the Dnipro.
Ukraine’s southern military command meanwhile reported airstrikes in Kherson region by four Russian Su-35 jets. Ukraine said buildings were hit with guided bombs, but did not specify the location of the strikes.
Attention has focused on Ukraine’s southern front around the key city of Kherson since Sunday’s report from the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based thinktank, which suggested Ukrainian forces had established positions on the east bank of the Dnipro, opposite Kherson in the area of a settlement called Dachy. The ISW made the claim after geolocating reports from Russian sources.
Analysts at the thinktank came to the conclusion after examining text messages and photos posted by “Russian military bloggers”.
Map of Ukraine
The ISW also suggested Russian forces may no longer control islands in the Kinka and Chaika rivers, less than 500 metres north of Dachy.
The apparent Ukrainian progress follows months of low-level conflict in the Dnipro delta and along the Kinburn spit, a narrow sandy peninsula. Both sides have deployed crews in rigid inflatable boats in often unreported fights over the small islands that dot the river mouth and surrounding marshes.
The handful of reports that have emerged since the beginning of the year about the delta have painted a picture of bitter fighting for small and mainly uninhabited islands, some of which have changed hands several times. With the islands and the river threatened by artillery strikes from both sides, Russian and Ukrainian forces have lost boats in the fighting.
People wait in a line to collect humanitarian food aid after Russian shelling in Kherson. Photograph: Aziz Karimov/SopaImages/Shutterstock
The Ukrainian military has asked for “patience” on reports of a possible offensive. A large-scale advance over the wide river under the threat of Russian strikes would be a large and difficult undertaking.
“The conditions of a military operation require silence until it is safe enough for our military,” a Ukrainian military spokesperson said, adding she could not confirm or deny the ISW’s report.
The reports of a potential Ukrainian advance in the south come nearly six months after Ukraine liberated Kherson city and the west bank of the Dnipro in November 2022.
According to the ISW’s most recent update, Kherson may be the most vulnerable area of Russian occupation along the long frontline.
“The Russian grouping in Kherson oblast is likely the most disorganised and undermanned in the entire theatre, highly likely mainly comprised of badly under-strength remnants of mainly mobilised units,” the thinktank said.
Speculation over Ukrainian advances in the south came as Russian authorities said they had repelled a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea, adding that there was no damage or casualties.
It also came as audio emerged of the head of the Wagner mercenary group threatening to kill Ukrainian prisoners of war. Yevgeny Prigozhin was reacting to a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel posting of an alleged recording of what it said were two Ukrainians deciding to shoot a Russian prisoner of war.
The channel did not say where the recording came from and there is no way of verifying its authenticity.
“We will kill everyone on the battlefield. Take no more prisoners of war!” Prigozhin said in an audio recording on Sunday “We don’t know the name of our guy shot by Ukrainians,” Prigozhin said, adding that under international law his group was obliged to “take care, treat, not hurt” any prisoners of war.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Hyderabad: A 45-year-old man died by suicide after a quarrel with his live-in partner over the exhaustion of a domestic gas cylinder in his house at Yellamma Thota in Medchal.
According to the Medchal police, “The victim, Sanjay Kumar, a daily wage worker was living with a woman for ten years. On Saturday night, the couple allegedly had a heated argument over the exhaustion of their LPG cylinder.”
“Following this, Kumar hanged himself from the ceiling fan in the hall. Further investigation is on,” police added.
Hyderabad: It’s raining celebrations at the baby shower parties of Tollywood cute couple Upasana Konidela and Ram Charan, who are very excited to give birth to their first child. The much-loved couple recently hosted a lavish baby shower party in their Hyderabad home, which was attended by some of the industry’s best friends. The celebrations were nothing short of magical, with the mom-to-be wearing a stunning Needle & Thread gown that left everyone speechless.
But hold your breath, because this isn’t your typical gown! Upasana’s outfit for her recent baby shower that made the guests, and her fans turn heads costs a whopping Rs. 90K. It complemented the glowing complexion of the beautiful mother-to-be and added to the magical ambiance of the party.
This private event was attended by celebrities including Allu Arjun, Lakshmi Manchu, Kanika Kapoor, and Sania Mirza. The event had the name ‘Upsi RC Life,’ and it was a celebration of love and happiness.
Photos and videos from the baby shower have gone viral, and fans can’t stop gushing over the stunning couple. Congratulations poured in from all directions, and it was uplifting to see so much love and positivity surrounding the soon-to-be parents.
As we wait for Upasana and Ram Charan’s baby to arrive, we wish them all the love and happiness in the world. Here’s to fresh starts and a lifetime of happiness!
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Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Finance has announced a new UAE Cabinet decision relating to ‘qualifying public benefit entities’, whereby Public benefit entities are exempted from the corporate tax.
It’s noteworthy that the Corporate Tax Law provides the legislative basis for the introduction and implementation of a Federal Corporate Tax in the UAE and is effective for financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. The Federal Decree-Law No. (47) of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses was issued by the United Arab Emirates on 09 December 2022.
The exemption is designed to reflect the significant role played by public benefit entities, which often include organisations with a focus on areas of religion, charity, science, education and culture.
These entities must continue to comply with all pertinent local, state, and federal laws and notify the Ministry of Finance of any changes that may affect their status as Qualifying Public Benefit Entities in order to be eligible for UAE Corporate Tax exemption. These entities must also meet the requirements under Article (9) of the Corporate Tax Law.
On the Finance Minister’s recommendation, the Cabinet may change, add, or remove entities from the list of Qualifying Public Benefit Entities.
Any change that affects the business’s ability to continue meeting the requirements outlined in this Decision and the Corporate Tax Law must be reported by an entity that is identified in the schedule attached to the decision.
Qualifying public benefit entities are subject to a number of reporting requirements, mostly to ensure that they continue to meet the requirements for approval.
With regard to their deductible expenses under Article 33 of the Corporate Tax Law, taxpayers now have more clarity and transparency thanks to the Cabinet’s decision, as donations and gifts will be recognised as deductible expenses for corporate tax purposes if they are given to one of a qualifying public benefit entity listed in the Cabinet Decision.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Bengaluru: Congress veteran and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said “false propaganda” that he was anti-Hindu took centre stage during the 2018 Assembly elections and denied he was against the majority faith as projected by the BJP.
In an interview with PTI Video, the excerpts of which were released on Monday, he further said there was nothing wrong in state Congress President DK Shivakumar also aspiring for the chief minister’s post in the event of the party winning the May 10 Assembly polls, as “healthy competition” was fine.
“See, if there is healthy competition there is nothing wrong. If DK Shivakumar wants to become CM and he is an aspirant there is nothing wrong. If I become an aspirant for the CM post there is nothing wrong. Ultimately newly elected MLAs will decide and the high command will take a decision,” on the top post, he said.
Asserting that the people of Karnataka want to show the door to the ruling BJP, Siddaramaiah said the saffron organisation cannot “mislead” the voters like it did five years ago.
EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: “The discussion is happening on streets that the BJP government is the most corrupt government because every day the people of Karnataka are experiencing corruption. If they go to the police station, if they go to Tahsildar Kacheri, if they go to offices like… pic.twitter.com/16S9Tez7zk
“In 2013, there was a clear mandate from the people for the Congress party. We had done good work during our tenure between 2013 and 2018 (when he was CM). The false propaganda had taken the upper hand because they made allegations against me that I am against majority communities, against upper class and like that and that I am against Hindutva/Hindu dharma.”
“Like that they have projected but it is not true. This time, the people will not believe their propaganda because they know there is no truth in their allegation. That is why, this time they (BJP) are not talking much about Hindutva/Hindu Rasthra or Hindu dharma because with money and power they wanted to win this time. But it is not possible,” he added. He claimed the BJP was able to swing the mandate in its favour in the 2018 polls through false propaganda.
To a question, he said, “caste is not an important factor in the elections.”
“Issues are important. Now the issues are corruption, price rise, unemployment…like that there are so many issues. People of Karnataka will not consider caste,” he insisted.
Asked if the May 10 election will be a battle between himself and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he replied in the negative.
“It is not a fight between myself and Modi and that issue will not be discussed in the coming assembly election. The issues will be the local issues concerning the people of Karnataka and it is an election to the state legistature, not the Parliament. Therefore the people of Karnataka will discuss local issues,” he said.
