Tag: April

Blue badges still remain for legacy Twitter users as April Fool’s Day passes

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New York: As April Fool’s Day came and passed, the blue check marks on Twitter remained for legacy verified accounts and Elon Musk was yet to remove them and make those users pay $8 (Rs 900 a month in India) to remain verified.
Almost all legacy Blue check marks were intact on Monday, two days after the Musk deadline.
A new verified tagline for legacy Blue users now reads: “This account is verified because it is subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account”.

Twitter CEO on Sunday said that verification of accounts will help a lot.
“We are adding the date of verification to the profile. Note, only date since paid verification counts, since there was so much corruption in the past with legacy checkmarks,” he tweeted.
Musk has removed just one blue badge – that for the account of the New York Times which posted that it will not pay $8 for the verified Blue service with verification.
“Oh ok, we’ll take it off then,” the Twitter CEO posted.
However, Twitter can still remove legacy Blue check marks (unless it was indeed an April Fool’s Day prank).

According to Musk, only verified accounts will be allowed to appear in ‘For You recommendations’, starting April 15.
“Starting April 15, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations. This is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle. Voting in polls will require verification for the same reason, he said last week.
“That said, it’s ok to have verified bot accounts if they follow terms of service and don’t impersonate a human,” Musk added.
Meanwhile, a report recently revealed that half of Blue service subscribers have less than 1,000 followers on the platform.
Twitter is also reportedly planning to give a $1,000 checkmark free to the top 10,000 organisations by follower count.
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#Blue #badges #remain #legacy #Twitter #users #April #Fools #Day #passes
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 3, 2023
‘Misuse’ of central probe agencies: SC to hear plea of 14 Oppn parties on April 5

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Wednesday a plea filed by 14 parties, led by the Congress, alleging arbitrary use of central probe agencies against opposition leaders and seeking guidelines for the future.
According to the list of businesses uploaded on the apex court website, the plea of opposition parties would be heard on April 5 by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.
Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala are also part of the bench.

The joint plea was mentioned for urgent hearing on March 24 by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi.
“I am asking for the guidelines for the future. This is a remarkable convergence of 14 parties against the misuse of the agencies, both CBI and ED,” Singhvi had said and claimed that 95 percent of cases of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are against the leaders of opposition parties.
The senior lawyer referred to the rise in the number of cases filed by the CBI and ED after the NDA government came to power in 2014.
“Second statistics, pre-2014 and post-2014: there is a humongous jump in cases. The rate of conviction is four to five percent. We are asking for pre-arrest guidelines and post-arrest bail guidelines,” Singhvi had said.
The plea alleged there is an alarming rise in the use of coercive criminal processes against opposition political leaders and other citizens exercising their fundamental right to dissent.

“Investigating agencies such as CBI and ED are being increasingly deployed in a selective and targeted manner with a view to completely crush political dissent and upend the fundamental premises of a representative democracy,” a statement issued on behalf of a petitioner alleged.
The plea filed through lawyer Shadan Farasat cited some statistics and said they demonstrated a “shocking and unconstitutional state of affairs”.
Besides the Congress, the parties that are part of the joint move are the DMK, RJD, BRS, Trinamool Congress, AAP, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), JMM, JD(U), CPI(M), CPI, Samajwadi Party, and the J&K National Conference, the statement said.
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#Misuse #central #probe #agencies #hear #plea #Oppn #parties #April
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
Maha CM to visit Ayodhya on April 9 to perform ‘puja’ at Saryu river

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday announced that he would visit Ayodhya, where a grand temple of Lord Ram is being built, on April 9 with the leaders of his party, and perform a ‘puja’ at the Saryu river there.
He made the announcement while speaking to reporters here. “I will visit Ayodhya on April 9 with my party ministers, MLAs, MPs and other functionaries. We will also perform a ‘puja’ at the Saryu river,” Shinde said.
“When ‘kar seva’ (during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement) was going on, my mentor late Anand Dighe had sent silver bricks to Ayodhya. We have an old bond with Ayodhya and Lord Ram,” the chief minister added.

In a big blow to the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena, the Election Commission of India (ECI) in February this year recognised the Shinde-led group as the real Shiv Sena and allotted it the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol.
Referring to his party’s symbol, Shinde said, “We never treated the bow and arrow symbol as a weapon to be used against anyone. Lord Ram is also seen with a bow and arrow, so we feel that we have a major responsibility to perform well.”
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#Maha #visit #Ayodhya #April #perform #puja #Saryu #river

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
Memoir of Dalit publisher-writer Yogesh Maitreya to release on April 22

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New Delhi: The memoir of Yogesh Maitreya, a leading independent Indian Dalit publisher, writer and poet, will hit the stands on April 22, announced Penguin Random House India (PRHI) on Sunday.
Encompassing experiences of pain, loneliness, depravation, alienation, and the political consciousness of his caste identity, the intimately moving memoir, “Water in a Broken Pot” is a story of “resilience and raw brutality”.
“It is a story of making pain look not absolute when dealt with determination, while searching for love and many meanings it contributes in our lives. This book is a promise we all must make to ourselves in the journey against the struggle of oppression,” said Maitreya, founder and editor of ‘Panther’s Paw Publication’ — dedicated to publishing literature by Dalit-Bahujan writers.

Growing up in a working-class family with meagre wages to get by in life, Maitreya in the book writes of his father’s struggle against alcohol and passion for cinema; working day and night shifts in factories; the struggle of being lost, overlooked and unmentored in India’s schooling, college and University systems, exclusionary and hostile; and feelings of lovelessness, loss and heartaches.
Having hopped from gig to gig to make ends meet, the author shares his “eventual discovery of the written word, literature and the Ambedkarite legacy, which helped shape his dreams, identity and the eventual career choice of publishing books”.
According to the publishers, the fresh and radical voice of Maitreya “tells his truth in the most frank and unfiltered of ways”, giving the readers permission to also be vulnerable in telling their tales.
The book is endorsed by the likes of Padma Shri awardee, feminist writer and publisher Urvashi Butalia, and Hermann Kesten award recipient and poet Meena Kandasamy.
While Butalia called the memoir “unflinching” and “unsparing”, Kandasamy described it as a “masterpiece”.

Maitreya’s previously authored books include 2019’s “Flowers on the Grave of Caste”, a collection of short stories; “Singing/Thinking Anti Caste” (2021), a book of essays on music and memories; and “Ambedkar 2021” (2021), a book of prose poetry.
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#Memoir #Dalit #publisherwriter #Yogesh #Maitreya #release #April
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
Former US President Donald Trump may surrender in New York on April 3

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New York: Former US President Donald J. Trump has prepared to surrender to prosecutors in Manhattan next week as the New York police braced for protests and sharply partisan responses from Democrats and Republicans ushered in a tumultuous time for a deeply polarised nation, New York Times reported.
A day after a grand jury indicted Trump and made him the first former president to face criminal charges, metal barricades were up around the criminal courthouse on Centre Street in Lower Manhattan.
Dozens of reporters and camera crews camped out across the street on Friday, while 20 court officers stood at the courthouse entrances, monitoring activity on the street, New York Times reported.

Trump intends to travel to New York on Monday and stay the night at Trump Tower, people familiar with his preparations said. He has no plans to hold a news conference or address the public while he is in New York, the people said.
Trump remained largely quiet on Friday at Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Florida, where he spent the day talking on the telephone with advisers. One of his lawyers, Joe Tacopina, said in a television interview that the former president would not take a plea deal and was prepared to go to trial, a typically defiant stance that is likely to endear him to his supporters, who see the prosecution as a politically motivated vendetta by Democrats, New York Times reported.
Late on Friday afternoon, Trump burst out on Truth Social, the social media platform he founded, writing in all capital letters that Democrats were “INDICTING A TOTALLY INNOCENT MAN IN AN ACT OF OBSTRUCTION AND BLATANT ELECTION INTERFERENCE.” He concluded that it was all happening “WHILE OUR COUNTRY IS GOING TO HELL!”
The former president is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on charges related to payments made just before the 2016 presidential election to buy the silence of a porn star who said she had an extramarital affair with him. The former president, who has denied the affair, has been charged with more than two dozen counts in a sealed indictment, according to two people familiar with the matter, although the exact charges remain unknown, New York Times reported.
The case, which could drag on for months and whose outcome is far from clear, is likely to test the country’s institutions and the rule of law. It will also have deep repercussions for the 2024 campaign for the White House, a race in which Trump remains the Republican front-runner.

Even many of Trump’s potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination snapped into line behind him in the hours after news of the indictment broke, looking more like allies than competitors. All passed on the opportunity to criticize the former president and some rushed to his defence in a sign of just how reluctant 2024 contenders are to directly confront him and antagonize his many millions of supporters in the party, New York Times reported.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a potential presidential candidate who has clashed with Trump, rushed to his defence, posting on Twitter that the indictment was “un-American” and amounted to “the weaponization of the legal system.”
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#President #Donald #Trump #surrender #York #April
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
April fools? The Twitter blue check apocalypse that wasn’t

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Without any weight behind the symbol of authentication that the blue check mark provided, any Twitter user could hypothetically pay to impersonate a public figure or company.
In the days leading up to Saturday’s supposed blue check apocalypse, legacy verified accounts from LeBron James to Monica Lewinsky tweeted out against the new policy.
Major news organizations, including the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN, announced this week that they would not pay for staff members to maintain a blue check status. The White House sent an email to staffers informing them that it would not pay for Twitter Blue.
Former vice president of global commerce and media at Twitter, Nathan Hubbard, tweeted on Friday that phasing out verification was a “risky” policy change and that, “If most OG blue checks stop tweeting in protest of being asked to pay to create the content that Twitter lives by…Twitter dies.”
After previously tweeting that “paid account social media will be the only social media that matters,” Musk was noticeably silent Saturday on the lack of discernible change in the app’s interface, only retweeting an advertisement first posted by Tesla’s company account and an old photograph of himself with the caption, “Me after 1 day of not eating sugar.”
Twitter’s communications office was unreachable for comment.
And as of noon on April Fools’ Day, the previously verified blue checks remained.

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#April #fools #Twitter #blue #check #apocalypse #wasnt
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 2, 2023
Provisionally Selected Hajj Pilgrims To Deposit Advance Before April 7

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SRINAGAR: The Executive Officer, JK Haj Committee on Saturday issued a communique stating that as per the circular received from Haj Committee of India, all the provisionally selected pilgrims are requested to deposit an Advance of Rs. 81,800 each up to 7th April, 2023 positively.
Payments can be made either Online through www.hajcommittee.gov.in or in Haj Committee of India account maintained with SBI or account maintained with UBI through any branch having core Banking System by using unique Bank Reference Number in the Specified Pay – in slip on the website.
“In Addition, the Pilgrims of Kashmir Division are also advised to deposit a hard copy of Pay – In – Slip along the original passport at Haj House, Bemina, Srinagar by or before April 10, 2023”, reads the notification.
The notification also states that the provisionally Selected pilgrims of Jammu Division Shall deposit the aforesaid documents in their respective Deputy Commissioners Offices by or before April 08, 2023 so as to reach Haj Committee by or before April 10, 2023.
“Besides, all the selected pilgrims are advised to obtain the Medical Screening and Fitness Certificate as per the proforma available on Haj Committee of India Website www.hajcommittee.gov.in and submit the same alongwith passport.”

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#Provisionally #Selected #Hajj #Pilgrims #Deposit #Advance #April
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 1, 2023
Provisionally selected Haj pilgrims to deposit advance of Rs. 81, 800 upto April 07

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Srinagar, April 1: The Executive Officer, J&K Haj Committee today issued a communique stating that as per circular received from Haj Committee of India, all the Provisionally selected pilgrim are requested to deposit Advance of Rs. 81,800 each upto 7th April, 2023 positively.
Payments can be made either Online through www.hajcommittee.gov.in or in Haj Committee of India account maintained with SBI or account maintained with UBI through any branch having core Banking System by using unique Bank Reference Number in the Specified Pay – in slip on the website.
“In Addition, the Pilgrims of Kashmir Division are also advised to deposit a hard copy of Pay – In – Slip along the original passport at Haj House, Bemina, Srinagar by or before April 10, 2023”, reads the notification.
The notification also states that the Provisionally Selected Pilgrims of Jammu Division Shall deposit the aforesaid documents in their respective Deputy Commissioners Offices by or before April 08, 2023 so as to reach Haj Committee by or before April 10, 2023.
“Besides above, all the selected pilgrims are advised to obtain the Medical Screening and Fitness Certificate as per the proforma available on Haj Committee of India Website www.hajcommittee.gov.in and submit the same alongwith passport.”(GNS)
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#Provisionally #selected #Haj #pilgrims #deposit #advance #upto #April
( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

April 1, 2023
Bhutanese King to visit India from April 3-5

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New Delhi: Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will pay a three-day visit to India beginning Monday to expand the already close bilateral ties especially in the sphere of economic and development cooperation.
The King will hold talks with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Wangchuck will be accompanied by Tandi Dorji, Bhutanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, and senior officials of the Royal government of Bhutan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said announcing the visit.
“At the invitation of the President of India Droupadi Murmu, the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will be on an official visit to India from April 3 to 5,” the MEA said.
It said the visit of the King is in keeping with the long standing tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries.
“India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterized by understanding and mutual trust,” the MEA said in a statement.
“The visit would provide an opportunity to both the sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation,” it said.

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#Bhutanese #King #visit #India #April
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 1, 2023
MeT Predicts More Rains Till April 6

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SRINAGAR: Weather department on Saturday said that intermittent rain in plains and snowfall over higher reaches was very likely to continue at most places of Jammu and Kashmir in next 24 hours.
A meteorological department official here told GNS that partly to generally cloudy weather was expected on Sunday with possibility of a brief spell of rain and thunderstorm towards evening at scattered places.
On April 3-6, he said, intermittent rain and thunderstorm was expected at many places. “Thunderstorm may be accompanied by strong gusty winds,” he said.
The department has urged farmers to postpone spraying orchards and irrigating fields till April 6.
The MeT department also urged commuters to confirm from traffic authorities the road status of various highways and roads before starting the travel.
Regarding rainfall during the last 24 hours till 0830 hours today, the MeT official said, Srinagar received 5.2mm, Qazigund 1.6mm, Pahalgam 3.3mm, Kupwara 5.3mm, Kokernag 9.0mm, Gulmarg 3.4mm, Jammu 13.7mm, Banihal 7.8mm, Batote 14.1mm, Katra 12.8mm, Bhaderwah 13.8mm and Kathua 20.8mm.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperatures recorded an increase at most places and settled above normal in J&K.
The MeT official said that Srinagar recorded a low of 9.1°C against 7.9°C on the previous night and it was 2.7°C above normal for the summer capital.

Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of 8.0°C against 6.8°C on the previous night and it was 2.9°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of 4.6°C against 3.2°C on the previous night and it was 2.9°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of 6.0°C against 5.3°C on the previous night and it was 0.9°C above normal for the place, the officials said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of 0.8°C against 0.4°C on the previous night and it was 1.6°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury settled at 6.8°C against 5.7°C on the previous night and it was 1.6°C above normal for the north Kashmir area.
Jammu recorded a low of 14.7°C against 15.1°C on the previous night. It was 2.4°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal, he said, recorded a low of 8.4°C (above normal by 1.4°C), Batote 8.1°C (below normal by 0.8°C), Katra 12.6°C (1.9°C below normal) and Bhadarwah 7.4°C (1.8°C above normal). Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 1.2°C and 2.1°C respectively. (GNS)

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#MeT #Predicts #Rains #April
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 1, 2023