Hyderabad: Moodle, global open-source e-learning management system, launched its Indian subsidiary in Begumpet on Monday. The move comes after its acquisition of the city based eAbyas Info Solutions in December, 2022.
With a physical presence in India, the company said that they can offer more personalised services to meet the specific needs of Indian educational institutions and businesses and tap into the 30 billion dollar Indian EdTech market.
The services of Moodle are used by prominent universities like the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT-H) and Indian School of Business (ISB) in India.
Moodle is a software that helps educational institutions to conceptualise various courses. It supports over 41 million courses in 42 languages globally.
“Moodle is already being used by 60% of the higher education institutions here,” said Chief Executive Officer and founder of Moodle, Martin Dougiamas.
The company said that being close to its clients can help Moodle better understand the market and tailor its services accordingly.
Abu Dhabi: A new multi-purpose childcare villa was opened by the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWAC) to create a safe and secure environment for underprivileged children, the Dubai Media Office (DMO) reported.
The villa, which can accommodate up to 14 children, provides full access to the care, support, and resources needed to foster their growth and development. Male children aged between 3 and 11 and female children aged 13 years old are living in the facility.
It also offers a full range of services, including residential, psychological, social, legal, health, and educational support. Moreover, the villa also hosts various activities, entertainment programs, and initiatives to empower children.
Hyderabad: The 162-year-old heritage property – Rashtrapati Nilayam – a retreat for the Presidents of India every winter, will now be opened to the general public from March 22.
Rashtrapathi Nilayam is located in Bolarum, Secunderabad.
A press release from the government said that the Rashtrapathi Nilayam’s opening will be inaugurated by the President of India Droupadi Murmu through video conferencing on Ugadi day which falls on March 22. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan will also be present.
Key attractions
Nilayam Heritage Building: Visitors can now enjoy the heritage building for the first time. Previously, only the gardens were open for 15 days a year. Now it will be open all year long along with the main building. A tour of the historic structure will provide guests with a peek at the President of India’s home during his/her southern trip. One can see the Presidential wings dining area and the central block of the building.
Art Gallery: Visitors can now learn about the history of Rashtrapati Bhavan and Rashtrapati Nilayam. They can also see various domestic and diplomatic gifts received by the presidents and get a glimpse of their roles and responsibilities. Visitors can take selfies with the Buggy and The President’s Limousine, which are on display.
Underground tunnel: Visitors can stroll through an underground tunnel that connects the Nilayam kitchen to the dining hall. It is currently painted with magnificent folk art and offers a peek at the region’s cultural traditions.
Premises: Visitors can take a walk to the Jai Hind Ramp and Flag Post. It will also have diverse flora. Visitors can now obtain information by just scanning their QR codes.
Gardens: Visitors can now enjoy Rock Garden, Herbal Garden, Butterfly Garden and Nakshatra Garden.
Foundation stones
President Droupadi Murmu will also lay the foundation stones for the restoration and conservation of the Jai Hind Ramp as well as the Flag post site.
Jai Hind Ramp: It is a historic stepwell known for fulfilling Nilayam’s water needs such as gardening, cooking, domestic and others through several water channels.
Historic Flag Post Site The 120-foot-tall weathervane-cum flag post is situated in the northwest corner of the lawn. Due to aging, it is in a delicate condition. It has been dismantled and a new flag post is set to take its place. The old flag post was mounted on a circular platform surrounded by elongated granite stones and covered with iron pulleys to hold the weight of the structure.
Booking information
Online bookings are available from March 14 onwards through the official website of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Visitors can also book tickets on spot by scanning the QR code.
Registration charges will be Rs 50/- per person for Indian nationals and Rs 250/- per person for foreign nationals. The Rashtrapati Nilayam will open on all days except Mondays and other government holidays from 10 am to 5 pm, with the last entry at 4 pm.
Free parking, a cloakroom, wheelchair access, cafe, souvenir stores, restrooms, RO water dispensers, a first-aid campus, and free guided tours will be provided at Rashtrapathi Nilayam.
Abu Dhabi: Reality star and former Bigg Boss contestant Rakhi Sawant opened an acting academy in Al Karama, Dubai on Friday.
The acting academy named “Rakhi Sawant Training Institute”, will offer diploma courses in singing, dancing, and acting.
The institute will train aspiring actors from Gulf who wish to enter the Indian film industry. As per media reports, the pass-outs from her academy will get a chance to act in movies, reality shows, and web series.
Watch the videos below
Earlier, Rakhi announced the opening of the academy on Instagram.
In the video, Rakhi says, “Humari academy start ho rahi hu in Al Karama, Rakhi Sawant Academy. I want everybody to join as soon as possible. 1 taarik ko opening hai. Chalo main dekhti hu Dubai se kaun kaun aa raha hai acamedy mein milne mujhse. Main intezaar kar rahi hu. Dubai, I love you.”
This comes after her marriage to businessman Adil Durrani, who made headlines last month.
The businessman was booked in a rape case in Mysuru and was in the custody of the Karnataka Police. Adil Durrani has been accused of raping and defrauding an Iranian student while he was in judicial custody in Mumbai in connection with a domestic violence case brought by Sawant.
It was reported that Durrani was acquainted with the student who had been studying for a doctorate in pharmacy for the last five years. According to the police, he raped her after promising marriage.
The Iranian student filed a complaint at VV Puram police station in Mysuru.
Moreover, Sawant also accused Durrani of blackmailing her that he would share pictures of their private moments on social media.
Abu Dhabi: The 29th annual Dubai International Boat Show 2023 edition was officially opened on Wednesday by Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum, the chair of Dubai Media Council, the Dubai Media Office (DMO) reported.
This event is one of the most influential yachting shows in the world.
A collection of more than 175 yachts and other vessels – worth more than Dh2.5 billion – will be on display at Dubai Harbor until Sunday, March 5.
The themes of this year’s exhibition in Dubai Harbor are technology and innovation.
The event, which includes 1,000 exhibiting companies and brands from more than 60 countries, is the largest maritime exhibition in the Middle East,
The show will also see more than 50 global and regional launches, while more than 10 new brands will be on display including Abeking & Rasmussen, Boutique Yachts, Finnmaster, Greenline Yachts, Nordhavn, SAY Carbon Yachts, Sirena Yachts and Tecnomar.
More than 30,000 enthusiasts and industry professionals are expected to attend the show.
The event showcases the region’s strength as a world-class destination, with Dubai becoming one of the top ten maritime hubs globally.
The Dubai International Boat Show 2022 has been hosted after a two-year wait due to the onset of the global pandemic. Therefore, this came as a welcome relief for yachting enthusiasts all over the world, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The show has been running successfully since 1992, and the streak is expected to be still going strong in the 2023 season.
The number of boat owners across the UAE has also witnessed a steady increase and is expected to reach 20,000 by 2025.
Hyderabad: Lithunia opened a honorary consulate at Gachibowli, Hyderabad on Sunday. Telangana-based businessman, Kiran Satchandra Divi has been appointed as Lithuania’s first Honorary Consul for the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Besides the Lithuanian Embassy in New Delhi, honorary consulates in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, Lithuania added new honorary consulate office in Hyderabad.
Vice-minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, Karolis Žemaitis, speaking at the event noted, “Honorary Consulate in Hyderabad will increase Lithuania‘s visibility in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in many fields of economy, such as biotechnology, life sciences, ICT, digital solutions. Lithuania therefore sees partnerships with India in these high-tech fields. What is more, Lithuanian cultural, scientific initiatives will be promoted here more vocally whereas Lithuanian citizens residing here will feel safer knowing that support in many cases could be provided.”
Kiran Divi expressed a will that his appointment will open a new chapter of Lithuania‘s presence in one of the most technologically advanced part of India and he is honored to become a part of Lithuania‘s success story makers in India.
India and Lithuania established diplomatic relations in 1992. The Lithuanian resident mission in New Delhi opened in 2008. In 2023, India will open embassies in Vilnius, Lithuania for promotion of bilateral ties.
Mumbai: Ever since she made her Instagram debut, veteran actress Zeenat Aman has been spilling the beans about her personal and professional life. On Sunday, the ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ actress opened up about whether she is making a comeback on the silver screen or not.
Taking to Instagram, Zeenat penned a long note, which read, “There’s been some speculation that my presence here is the precursor to my return to the silver screen. I am a notoriously private person, and I suppose this sudden sharing has set tongues wagging. The truth is that I have been in the public eye since I was 16-years-old, and have experienced the perils of being misquoted, taken out of context, censored, and gossiped about. Now as a septuagenarian I am enjoying the opportunity to reflect on my life and career in my own words. That too without any pressures from managers or studios or brands.”
She added,” I am not, per se, planning a return to the silver screen, but nor am I closing that door. Creativity does not retire, and I would love to sink my teeth into a nuanced and impactful character. I’m of course quite aware that such roles for older women are few and far apart. Some days ago I read about the Annenberg Foundation study that analysed 1,000 Hollywood films released between 2007 and 2017. They found that less than 25% of the women on screen were over the age of 40. The numbers for the Indian film industry are unlikely to be much better.”
Zeenat shared that she is learning online lingo.
“So, in short, I nurture optimism not expectations. In the meanwhile, my sons are helping me understand online lingo. I just learnt what a “thirst trap” is!,” she continued.
On Friday, Zeenat opened up about embracing grey hair. She also spoke about the stereotypical notion of society and the standards set by them for a woman’s beauty.
She shared a picture clicked by her son Zahaan Khan. She is sitting in a garden area. While her back is to the camera, the picture is noticeable for her ‘silver bob’ which she discussed in her caption.
“As women, we are told that our social worth lies in youth and physical beauty. If not explicitly, then in a thousand subliminal ways. This is especially true for the entertainment industry. In general, as we age, men are bequeathed gravitas but women are at best offered sympathy,” she wrote.
Zeenat revealed that she “was initially reluctant to stop dyeing my hair, and was strongly advised against it. Some well wishers even said it would negatively impact my work opportunities.”
“It was only once I contemplated upon my own hesitations that I realised I really don’t care to buttress our society’s idolisation of youth. Being young is wonderful, but so is being old. It thrills me to see more and more silver-haired women (of all ages) challenge the status quo,” she added.
Zeenat is best known for featuring in films such as ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’, ‘Don’, ‘Yaadon ki Baraat’, ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, ‘Qurbani, Dostana’, ‘Dharam Veer’, among others.
Mumbai: Director-producer Aditya Chopra, who is known to be a very private person and seldom comes out in the media, has shared his opinion on his brother Uday Chopra not becoming a star.
He said that privilege can only open first doors for actors in the film industry. After that, the audience decides whom they want to watch, admire and appreciate.
In the recently released Netflix docu-series ‘The Romantics’, the YRF honcho, said: “One of the things that people tend to ignore, is that every person who comes from a privileged background is not successful. I can articulate it without mentioning other people. I can just articulate it by mentioning my own family.”
He further mentioned: “My brother is an actor, and he’s not a very successful actor. Here is the son of one of the biggest filmmakers. He’s the brother of a very big filmmaker. Imagine a company like YRF who has launched so many newcomers, we could not make him a star.”
In conclusion, he said that only the audience has the power in showbiz to make someone a star.
“Why could we not do it for our own? The bottom line is, only an audience will decide ‘I like this person, I want to see this person’. No one else.”
Damascus: A total of 275 shelters have been opened across Syria, hosting victims of the earthquake that hit the country on February 6, the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment said.
In a short statement, the Ministry on Sunday said that 235 shelters were opened in the northern Aleppo province, 32 in the northwestern province of Latakia, five in Hama province, and two in Tartous province.
The statement spelled no details about the situation in the rebel-held areas in Idlib province and the northern countryside of Aleppo, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the Syrian Health ministry, the death toll has risen to 1,414 and the wounded to 2,349 as of Sunday evening. The UN said on Friday that the earthquake in Syria had displaced 5.3 million people.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the death toll could be more than 5,300 in Syria, and the number could rise to as many as 7,000 as many people are still buried under the rubble.
Hyderabad: A Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) outlet was opened on February 8, at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus amid strong dissent by student unions.
The act of opening a new CCD branch displayed “absolute apathy towards the marginalised students of the university,” said the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).
The letter expressed that an expensive cafe would divide the students into those who can afford the pricey coffees and those who cannot, bringing about class divides among the students. The SFI called this a condemnable and discriminatory measure on the administrations’ part.
We have already informed them not to open corporate branches in the campus, and submitted a letter to the Registrar of the University on February 9 regarding the same, said UoH SFI secretary, Siva Durga Rao while speaking to Siasat.com.
Siva has said that the Basic Amenities Committee takes all decisions regarding eateries and the committee provided green signal for the opening of the outlet on February 8 even though the SFI and other student unions have asked the administration to cancel this.
The letter also mentions that many canteens were closed during the lockdown and have not been reopened yet. Despite the pressure from Student Union the canteens near the North Ladies Hostel, F-Hostel and GOPS have remained closed since the beginning of the pandemic.
SFI has said that the CCD outlet has to be closed down and the administration must focus on reopening canteens that would be affordable for all students to ensure inclusivity.
