Faizabad to Ayodhya: What’s in a name? A lot, say residents
Mr. Maurya runs a dispensary in a run-down colonial-era building near the 19th century ‘Ghanta Ghar’ (Clock Tower), with an old board on its facade displaying the address as ‘Chowk-Faizabad’ in Hindi. Many other shops and commercial establishments in the area carry boards with district name labelled as ‘Zilla Faizabad’“I won’t change the label of Faizabad on the display board, people have known my dispensary location for decades. I don’t want people to get mixed up,” said Mr. Maurya.Faizabad city is located about 7 km from its twin town Ayodhya and has a major railway junction.Close on the heels of renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on November 6 announced that Faizabad district would henceforth be known as Ayodhya district. The decision to rechristen Faizabad district as Ayodhya has not gone down well with many of its residents, who believe it is an “unnecessary step” taken for “political” reasons and will eventually “erase the identity” of the historical town.Another section, however, welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government’s move, saying it endorses the legacy of ancient Ayodhya and will enhance its “glory”.P.K. Maurya, a 74-year-old Ayurvedic doctor, gets visibly upset when asked about the renaming move. “It was unnecessary and done with politics in mind. It is the common man who will suffer due to confusion now,” he said.Also Read Centre approves renaming of 25 places in past one year
Shashi Kant Das, one of the main priests at the centuries-old Hanuman Garhi Temple in the heart of Ayodhya, said it was the “right decision” as Ayodhya is an ancient city and now its “glory will only be enhanced as a district”.‘Nothing but politics’Skand Das, an Ayodhya-based journalist of a local daily, which also has an office in Faizabad, however, disagreed with this viewpoint. “People today come to Ayodhya with a lot of reverence, and sometimes take difficult bus or train journeys or even march on foot, to reach the pilgrim town. Now, anyone reaching even in the periphery of this big district will say they have visited Ayodhya. This will dilute the importance of Ayodhya town as we know it,” he said.Nikhil Goswami, who lives in a nearly 200-year-old house near the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya, said he reveres Ayodhya as a holy place but the renaming of Faizabad district was “not needed at all”. “It is all politics,” he alleged.Manzar Mehdi, historian and editor of a Faizabad-based bilingual publication, said, “Faizabad was the first capital of the Nawabs of Awadh and saw a period of glory and has a rich architectural and literary heritage.”“Whether it is Allahabad or Faizabad, renaming is an attempt to erase history driven by a political agenda, not to mention the cost it will entail at the expense of taxpayers,” he said.Siva Kumar, who operates an e-rickshaw between Ayodhya and Faizabad towns, wondered if like Mughalsarai, the Faizabad station would also be renamed. “If they do rename it, there will be two Ayodhya stations, it will confuse people.”
Bypoll to ward number 82 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, from where West Bengal Minister and City Mayor Firhad Hakim is seeking election as a Trinamool Congress councillor, passed off peacefully on Sunday.Mr. Hakim, the State’s Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister, had been elected as the Mayor of the KMC on December 3 by a majority of KMC councillors, although he himself was not a councillor then. According to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, which was amended in the winter session of the Assembly, a mayor would have to get elected by voters as a councillor within six months of being appointed to the post.Main contest BJP’s Jiban Sen, Congress candidate Animesh Bhattacharya and Sisir Dutta from the CPI were the three other candidates but the main contest was between the TMC and the BJP. An estimated 64% voters of the 33,567-strong electorate cast their votes at the polling stations during voting hours from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., a senior officer of the State Election Commission said. Polling continued in one booth till 4 p.m. to allow voters, who were still standing in queues, to exercise their franchise. The BJP candidate alleged no polling agent of the party or other opposition parties could be deployed in the booths during voting, but the charge was denied by Mr. Hakim, who said the opposition had no organisational base in the area.Why the bypoll? Bypoll to ward no. 82 was necessitated after the resignation of TMC councillor Pranab Biswas on health grounds. Election to the mayoral post became imperative following the resignation of Sovan Chatterjee from the post in November last year.Mr. Chatterjee, who was also the Housing and Fire Services Minister, had resigned from the State Cabinet on November 20 and from the post of KMC Mayor on November 22.
Police teams find crossbows, bows in HK university PLAY LIST 01:29Police teams find crossbows, bows in HK university01:35Panelo suggests discounted SEA Games tickets for students02:49Robredo: True leaders perform well despite having ‘uninspiring’ boss02:42PH underwater hockey team aims to make waves in SEA Games01:44Philippines marks anniversary of massacre with calls for justice01:19Fire erupts in Barangay Tatalon in Quezon City LATEST STORIES View comments LOOK: Iya Villania meets ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’ cast in Mexico Typhoon Kammuri accelerates, gains strength en route to PH Pussycat Dolls set for reunion tour after 10-year hiatus Kevin Harvick dominates Vegas for back-to-back NASCAR wins Brace for potentially devastating typhoon approaching PH – NDRRMC He was posing with the trophy.For the first time in 102 tournaments around the world, dating to the summer of 2013 when he won the British Open at Muirfield, the 47-year-old Mickelson showed he still had the stuff to beat players who weren’t even born when he collected the first of his 43 victories on the PGA Tour.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSWATCH: Drones light up sky in final leg of SEA Games torch runSPORTSLillard, Anthony lead Blazers over ThunderSPORTSMalditas save PH from shutout“This is a very meaningful win,” Mickelson said after beating Justin Thomas in a playoff. “I can’t really put it into words given the tough times over the last four years, and the struggle to get here, and knowing that I was able to compete at this level but not doing it.“To finally break through and to have this validation means a lot to me.” Families in US enclave in north Mexico hold sad Thanksgiving Typhoon ‘Tisoy’ threatens Games
Read Next The disappointment was tempered only by his start — Thomas was 11 shots back going into the weekend — and by the guy who beat him.“Man, there’s nothing for me to hang my head about,” Thomas said. “To even have a chance to win this golf tournament after where I was through 18, through 36 holes, I’m very proud of myself. Obviously, I would have loved to drum him out there in that playoff, but I’m just happy for him. … He’s playing some great golf.”Mickelson, his confidence higher than the altitude in Mexico City, believes this is just the start.“I don’t think that this is the peak,” he said. “I think I’m going to continue to get better.”This was far more than a duel between Mickelson and Thomas, who is 23 years younger. Tyrrell Hatton was right there, stride for stride, putting four straight 3s on his card with a stretch he capped off with an eagle on the 15th to tie for the lead.But on the final hole, Hatton missed the green to the right, chipped 10 feet by and missed the par putt for a 67 to fall out of a playoff.“I can’t believe that I’m not at least in the playoff,” Hatton said, still seething over a par putt on the 18th that started bouncing right after he hit it.Mickelson won his third World Golf Championships title and, just a month after being on the verge of falling out of the top 50 in the world for the first time in two decades, moves to No. 18 in the world.Shubhankar Sharma, the 21-year-old from India who started with a two-shot lead, didn’t make his first birdie until the 12th hole. He finished with consecutive bogeys for a 74, six shots behind in a three-way tie for ninth. That will leave him on the bubble at No. 66 in the world for making it back to the next World Golf Championship, the Dell Match Play, in three weeks in Texas. Sharma first flies home for the Hero Indian Open next week.“A little bit disappointed,” Sharma said. “I was leading and I think I couldn’t finish it off today. But that’s what the game is about. And what I learned today, especially playing with Phil, I’ll cherish it forever.” MOST READ Hatton tied for third with Rafa Cabrera Bello, who holed a bunker shot for eagle on the opening hole and was among six players who had at least a share of the lead during the final round.Mickelson was the first player who appeared to seize control with a birdie on No. 10 to take the lead, and he was poised to pull away with a reachable par 5 at No. 11 and a drivable par 4 at No. 12.Instead, Lefty made it as entertaining as ever.Going for the green in light rough with the ball below his feet, he hooked it deep into the bushes right of the green, and played his next one when he could barely see the golf ball. His shot hit the gallery and stayed in the trees, and his fourth shot narrowly missed another tree before settling 10 feet away. He made bogey, and just like that, it was a sprint to the finish 7,800 feet above sea level.Mickelson made good on his pledge earlier this year that more victories were in store for him. He has four consecutive top 10s for the first time since 2005.That also was the last time he had won in a playoff.It all seems so long ago — playoffs, trophies, consistent play. Now he’s just more than a month away from the Masters, and feeling invigorated.And feeling like a winner. John Lloyd Cruz a dashing guest at Vhong Navarro’s wedding Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. Mickelson, who closed with a 5-under 66, was at his best over the back nine with as many as six players still in the mix.Suddenly two shots behind when Thomas holed out from 119 yards for eagle on the 18th hole, Mickelson played a high-risk shot through the smallest of gaps in the trees to escape with par on the 14th hole. That’s when he saw the score, and he followed with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th and a 20-foot birdie on the 16th.Thomas, who won last week in a playoff at the Honda Classic, capped off a 62-64 weekend with more clutch play, no shot bigger than his sand wedge that bounced behind the flag and spun back into the cup on his final hole for eagle .The playoff — — the sixth in the last eight weeks on the PGA Tour — lasted only one hole on the par-3 17th, where Thomas made bogey for the second time.His gap wedge was too long, his chip too weak. Mickelson’s 18-foot birdie putt rimmed around the edge of the cup, and Thomas missed his par from just inside 10 feet.ADVERTISEMENT Phil Mickelson, of the U.S., poses with his Mexico Championship trophy at the Chapultepec Golf Club in Mexico City, Sunday, March 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)MEXICO CITY — The shot through a gap in the trees only he could see. The two birdies he had to have when time was running out.Phil Mickelson finally looked like the Lefty of old Sunday in the Mexico Championship, especially when a final round of pressure, possibilities and dramatic shots that kept the crowd buzzing finally ended at Chapultepec Golf Club.ADVERTISEMENT Google honors food scientist, banana ketchup inventor and war hero Maria Orosa
Kolkata, Sep 25 (PTI) India womens freestyle wrestling team coach Kuldeep Malik might have played a big role in Sakshi Maliks success at the Rio Olympics but he is yet to get any cash awards or recognition. After he returned from Rio Games along with Sakshi, the Haryana government presented him with a photocopy of Rs 10 lakh cheque at a felicitation function in Bahadurgarh but more than a month later the SAI coach is yet to get a real cheque. A “promise of promotion” by the Railway minister Suresh Prabhu on the day Sakshi was presented with Khel Ratna on August 29 has also remained only word of mouth, Kuldeep, a chief ticket inspector of Northern Railway revealed. His attempts to get in touch with the Haryana government and the Railway Sports Promotion Board have went in vain in last one month. “There may be fat cash awards and a super luxury BMW car for Sakshi but Ive not got anything, even the promises are still to be met,” Kuldeep, who has coached Sakshi since 2011, told PTI. “Im yet to get a penny. Ive repeatedly followed it up for the cheque but the officials have kept on dilly-dallying.” Lamenting about the promise of a promotion by the Railway minister, he said: “When I told the Railway officials about the Ministers promise, they said that coaches were not given promotion on basis of their disciples success.” A Dhyan Chand awardee in 2010, Kuldeep has been with Sakshi, who bagged the bronze medal at the Olympics, since 2011. He also guided her to win Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014 silver medal and a bronze at the Asian Championship Doha 2015. Kuldeep, however, said that Sakshi has not deserted him. “She gives me tremendous respect whenever we meet. Im not begging for any cash rewards but at least you should keep your promise. Everyone knows what we have achieved and I will always think that Sakshis bronze will remain my biggest reward,” he signed off. PTI TAP CM CMadvertisement
A 29-year-old Indian-origin truck driver in Canada has been arrested in connection with a bus crash that killed 16 people, mostly members of a junior hockey team, one of the worst disasters in the country’s sporting community.The driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, was arrested at his home in Calgary city on Friday and remanded into custody, the CBC reported, quoting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the national police force of the country.Sidhu is facing 16 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and 13 counts of dangerous operation of motor vehicle causing bodily injury, the CBC reported.He is set to appear in a court in Saskatchewan province next week, but no date has been set. Dangerous driving causing death carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in Canada. Sidhu’s lawyer declined to comment on his client.Sixteen people, including 10 players, were killed and 13 injured when the Humboldt Broncos hockey team was on its way to a playoff game at the time of the collision with the tractor-trailer on April 6. Sidhu was not injured, but he did receive trauma counselling in the aftermath.Support staff and the team’s head and assistant coaches were also among the causalities. A number of players who survived the crash are still recovering from significant injuries. Police have not disclosed the findings of their investigation into how the crash happened.Sidhu was a bachelor of commerce student at Panjab University in Chandigarh from 2008 until 2012, the CBC said, citing his LinkedIn profile. He was working for the Calgary-based Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd at the time of the crash.advertisementThe Canadian Trucking Alliance said in a statement on Friday that it would like to see the results of the investigation into the trucking company that employed SidhuThe Humboldt Broncos released a statement thanking the RCMP and its investigators for their work.”Our organization has faith in the justice system and we will be watching closely as this court process plays out,” the statement read. “Our primary focus continues to be supporting the survivors, families and others that were directly impacted by the tragedy on April 6.”
Motorola’s P30 and P30 Note debuted in China this year and were launched globally as the Motorola One and One Power Android One phones. The One Power was the only one that made it to India and was lauded for its stock, up-to-date Android software. This should be motivation enough to launch a successor next year, which will likely be called the Motorola P40 in China. Not much is known about this device right now, but we do have the first set of renders that imagine what the phone could look like.The renders have been provided courtesy 91mobiles and OnLeaks. It shows the Motorola P40 with a display unlike its predecessor. For one thing, there is no notch on board here but rather a punch hole in the display to house the selfie camera. This is similar to what we have seen on the Samsung Galaxy A8s and the Honor V20. This style of display is expected to go mainstream in 2019 as it seems to offer a more immersive display by removing the notch. The Samsung Galaxy S10 flagship is also expected to sport a punch hole Infinity-O display.According to the latest report, the Motorola P40 will come with a 6.2-inch display and will also be a camera powerhouse with a 48MP rear camera. Again, this sounds similar to the Honor V20 which also offers a 48MP camera. To recall, the Motorola P30 offers a 16MP rear camera, so this would be a major, almost unbelievable bump for the successor so it is best to take these leaks with a pinch of salt. The secondary sensor’s resolution has not been provided as of now.advertisementThe renders also imagine Motorola keeping the headphone jack on the top of the Motorola P40. The rear panel seems to be made up of a 3D curved glass and we also notice the fingerprint sensor placed in the Moto batwing logo. While the Motorola P40 in China will come with some custom skin on top, the global variant as an Android One device should ship with stock Android Pie out-of-the-box.There is no word yet on when Motorola will out the Motorola P40. The company is first expected to launch the Moto G7 line in Brazil in February, ahead of MWC 2019. The Moto G7 line is said to include the Moto G7, G7 Plus, G7 Power and G7 Play.ALSO READ | Moto G7 launch may happen in February, ahead of MWC 2019ALSO READ | Moto G7, G7 Play, G7 Power and G7 Plus design leaked, some get waterdrop notchALSO READ | Next-gen Moto G7 Power tipped to pack in a massive 5000mAh battery
It is quite amusing to see how Samsung’s upcoming product lineup is being leaked from all directions. The Galaxy S10 lineup is barely a mystery anymore, and Samsung has taken upon itself to reveal the upcoming Galaxy M30. Now, a new leak shows off the Galaxy A50 in the wild. The Galaxy A50 is one of the many rumoured Galaxy A-series phones that is expected to launch over the next few months. Just a couple of days ago, a leaked user manual provided a schematic of the Galaxy A50, and now a live image seems to confirm the design, at least from the back.The live image was spotted and posted by tipster Ishan Agarwal, showing off a glossy back of the alleged Galaxy A50. The glossy blue colour with patches of gradience seems to suggest a 3D glass or plastic panel. The panel is pretty clear apart from the Samsung logo and a triple camera setup. Yes, the live image seems to reaffirm rumours that the Galaxy A50 will offer a trio of cameras on the back.Samsung Galaxy A50 Real-life image. SamMobile has also leaked these images but I had access to them as well. However, It seems like a good phone! The other image which they shared is not of A30 but of M20. 🙂 Thoughts? I leaked the full specs and manual renders earlier. pic.twitter.com/7Sli1wp42KIshan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) February 18, 2019We also see no fingerprint sensor on the back, which again back past rumours that the Galaxy A50 will come with an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Coming back to the triple camera system, a recent user manual leak revealed that the Galaxy A50 will offer a 25MP primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture, an 8MP f/2.4 secondary sensor and a 5MP f/2.2 aperture. The setup may use a combination of ultra wide-angle lens and telephoto lens, but this is still unclear as of now.advertisementThe live image does not provide any further detail apart from the glossy back and camera setup. Based on recent leaks have told us, the Galaxy A50 will offer an Infinity-U display with a rounded waterdrop notch on the top. The phone could sport a 6.4-inch FHD+ (2340×1080) Super AMOLED display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a large screen real estate.The Galaxy A50 is also rumoured to house a 4,000mAh battery that should offer over a day to two days worth of battery on a single charge. The Galaxy A50 has been listed with an Exynos 9610 chipset with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You can also expect the phone to run Android Pie with One UI on top when it launches.Speaking of launch, it is still unclear when Samsung plans to announce the Galaxy A50. The company confirmed to Reuters recently that it plans to launch one new Galaxy A phone every month starting March through June. And the company will likely start things off with the Galaxy A10, A20 and A30, which means there might be a few weeks to go before we see the Galaxy A50.ALSO READ | Samsung Galaxy A50 may get in-display fingerprint sensor, Infinity-U display and triple rear camerasALSO READ | Samsung to launch one Galaxy A series phone every month in India starting March, Galaxy A10 could be first
The contest for Jaipur (Rural) constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls has taken an interesting turn with the Congress fielding Commonwealth gold medallist Krishna Poonia, a sitting MLA, against BJP’s Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Union minister of youth affairs and sports.While Rathore is an Olympic silver medallist and a two-time Commonwealth gold medallist in shooting, Poonia was a discus thrower.Krishna Poonia might be new to this constituency as a politician but given the fact that her in-laws hail from here, she is well known in Jaipur as an eminent sportsperson. Along with winning international medals for discuss, she is also a Padma-Shri recipient.Rathore, on the other hand, has nurtured his constituency well. He has been interacting with the youth and school children throughout his term. Along with that he has helped to build stadiums and organised rural games besides holding training programmes for the youth to assist them to get into military and paramilitary forces.With Poonia being a Jat, Congress hopes to polarise the voters on caste lines. This election might be a tough nut to crack for Rathore, who is a Rajput as Jats and Rajputs, who are fewer in number, do not generally vote for each other.Congress also feels that Poonia will attract young voters including women, while Rathore is expected to attract the youth and also ex-servicemen.It is going to be an interesting face-off when two ex-sportspersons and international medal winners will compete against each other in the same constituency.ALSO READ | Hanuman Beniwal joins hands with BJP for Lok Sabha pollsALSO READ | As few tickets remain, BJP leaders throng Jaipur party office wearing jackets with Modi’s picturesALSO READ | Lok Sabha Election 2019: All dates, full schedule, constituency-wise details, all you need to knowadvertisement
Following Pakistan’s dismal performance in the ongoing World Cup so far, the country’s former skipper Intikhab Alam has questioned the presence of chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq in England and said it was the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) mistake to allow him to stay in England at its expense.”Once the selection committee has selected the team, the captain and coach take over to select the playing 11 and decide on the tour matters,” Intikhab told the Dawn. “So what is the role of Inzamam-ul-Haq there and why has the PCB allowed him to go on official visit and interfere,” he questioned.Pakistan has been able to win just one game out of their five matches so far in the ongoing World Cup. The three matches, in which the Green Brigade faced defeat, include the one against arch-rivals India at the Old Trafford on Sunday, where Pakistan played poorly and lost by 89 runs (D/L method).Ever since the defeat, Pakistani cricketers have been hounded on social media, not only by the fans but also by former cricketers for their lackluster performance against the Men in Blue.Alam held the team management responsible for Pakistan’s poor performance in the ongoing showpiece event. “It seems that the team management has totally failed to make a comprehensive plan for the World Cup.””They should have a solid strategy against each team, complete knowledge about the kind of pitches in the mega event, the weather conditions and weaknesses and strengths of their rivals. Sadly, none of that has been on display and the performance of the Pakistan team so far shows that no comprehensive game-plan was ever in place,” he lamented.advertisementThe 77-year-old also called for an immediate inquiry against players who were caught on camera partying at night before their all-important clash with India.A series of photos and videos making the rounds of the social media show certain team members allegedly socializing past curfew hours. In one of the videos, Shoaib Malik, opener Imam-ul-Haq and Wahab Riaz were seen at a shisha cafe late in the night.However, Malik claimed that the purported video was of June 13 and not before the night of the match played on June 16 in Manchester. The PCB has also disputed the claims.”It is wrong as the players are on their national duty and there must be a discipline to be followed strictly,” emphasized Alam, a veteran of 47 Tests and four ODIs.”Though the PCB claimed that the event happened two days before the crucial match against India, even then no one can justify the late stay of the players in a cafe as there are certain timings to be observed.”The players could have their dinner at any hotel maximum by 11 p.m., not beyond that. The PCB should hold an inquiry to penalize the players involved,” he demanded.With three points from five games, Pakistan’s chances of making it to the semifinals are bleak. Placed ninth in the table, the 1992 champions will next face South Africa on Sunday.Also Read | New Zealand vs South Africa, World Cup 2019: Weather updates from Birmingham on WednesdayAlso Read | World Cup 2019: PCB chairman telephones Sarfaraz Ahmed, asks Pakistan captain to focus on upcoming matchesAlso See
About the authorCarlos VolcanoShare the loveHave your say Spain U21 coach De la Fuente urges calm around Barcelona whiz Ansu Fatiby Carlos Volcano14 days agoSend to a friendShare the loveSpain U21 coach Luis de la Fuente has urged calm around Barcelona whiz Ansu Fati.The 16 year-old has just secured his Spanish qualifications and there is a debate whether he should be called up to the senior squad.De la Fuente said: “The good ones have open doors. He is an interesting player, of course he can be with us.”But you have to be cautious. “There are cases of projected players and then they stay there…” 
ESPN’s College GameDay is in Jacksonville, Fla. today for the battle between two top 10 SEC teams in Florida and Georgia.Where will the college football pregame show be going next weekend? While the show has yet to make anything official, everyone seems to already know the destination.ESPN’s Desmond Howard was talking about a Week 10 game between No. 12 Kentucky and No. 7 Georgia.“We won’t be there,” Howard said with a laugh.ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis then teased Howard for leaking next week’s destination, even though he didn’t actually say where they’re going.Everyone knows where they’re going, though: Baton Rouge.Alabama and LSU are both off this week. The Crimson Tide and the Tigers are set to meet at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. next weekend.That’s where ESPN’s College GameDay will be next weekend.Alabama and LSU are set to kick off at 8 p.m. E.T. next weekend. The game will be on CBS.
Young Nova Scotians can play an online contest, using videos, Facebook and Twitter tips, to get financially fit and earn handsome rewards. The Canadian Securities Administrators Financial Fitness Challenge aims to help youth increase financial literacy and offers a chance to win an Apple iPad or a grand prize of $2,000. The challenge runs from Feb. 15 to April 15 at FinancialFitnessChallenge.ca and uses interactive tools and scenarios to raise awareness of important financial concepts such as balancing needs versus wants, budgeting, saving and investing. This year, visitors to the site will see four new entertaining and informative videos on budgeting, credit cards, investing and investment fraud. “Last week, the Task Force on Financial Literacy specifically recommended that Canadian youth receive more and better financial education,” said Natalie MacLellan, investor education and communications co-ordinator for the Nova Scotia Securities Commission. “We encourage parents and teachers to continue to develop financial literacy skills in youth by using the challenge as a fun and informative learning tool.” The bilingual contest is open to Canadians ages 15 to 21 and offers youth an opportunity to invite friends to join the challenge, and to compete and engage with contest participants at a local and national level. Classroom materials, including lesson plans, are available to download from the Teacher and Parent Resource Centre. Thirteen entries, one from each province and territory, will be randomly selected from eligible participants to win an Apple iPad, and one national grand prize winner will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship. The Nova Scotia Securities Commission is a member of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the council of securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.
Six stories in the news for Thursday, June 29———PROTEST TEEPEE ERECTED OUTSIDE PARLIAMENTA large teepee erected by indigenous demonstrators to kick off a four-day Canada Day protest was standing in front of Parliament Hill early Thursday just hours after their initial attempt was thwarted by police. Police had blocked the group just inside the gates to Parliament Hill on Wednesday evening as demonstrators carried wooden poles on their shoulders to erect a teepee.———PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT P.E.I AND NEW BRUNSWICKPrime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick today for a jam-packed day of meet-and-greets that could include some golf, curling and ice cream. Trudeau will kick off the barbecue circuit-style summer visit by meeting with P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan and end the day at a Canada Day kick-off and ice cream social in Grand Bay-Westfield, a suburb of Saint John, N.B.———PRINCE CHARLES AND CAMILLA TO LAND IN IQALUIT TODAYIqaluit is gearing up for the arrival of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, who are expected to land today from the United Kingdom on a Canadian Forces Airbus. The couple will begin their royal tour in the capital of Nunavut — the 18th visit to Canada for Prince Charles and the fourth for his wife Camilla — where they will be greeted by dignitaries including Gov. Gen. David Johnston and Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna.———CONFIDENCE VOTE: B.C. LIBERALS EXPECTED TO TOPPLEBritish Columbia’s minority Liberal government is staring at defeat today in the legislature, more than seven weeks after squeaking out a minority government in an election. If the Liberals fall, Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon will have to decide whether to dissolve the legislature or allow the NDP to form a minority government with the backing of the Green party.———ALBERTA TRIPLE MURDERER TO FACE SENTENCINGAn Alberta man who killed three people two years ago is expected to come face-to-face today with the families of his victims. Derek Saretzky was convicted yesterday of killing Terry Blanchette, his daughter Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette and 69-year-old Hanne Meketech in 2015. The jury recommended he not be eligible for parole for 75 years. Saretzky is scheduled to face sentencing arguments and hear impact statements today.———NECROPSY EXPECTED TODAY ON DEAD RIGHT WHALEA necropsy is expected to start today for a dead right whale that was brought to a P.E.I shore in a bid to learn what killed at least six of the endangered mammals in recent weeks. Officials want to determine if boat strikes, fishing gear or a possible toxic algal bloom could be to blame for the deaths of the whales, spotted floating near Quebec’s Magdalen Islands.———ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:— Statistics Canada will release data on payroll, tourism indicators and the principal field crop areas.— Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci will hold a news conference to release Alberta’s 2016-17 year-end financial result.— Vancouver trial continues for former RCMP Insp. Tim Shields, who is accused of sexually assaulting a civilian colleague.
MORE THAN 100 social worker posts are yet to be filled, according to the Head of Child and Family Agency, Gordon Jeyes.Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Jeyes said they were in the process of filling the posts, but said: “It takes up to 12 weeks to fill a social worker vacancy, that’s simply too long.”He said that each person has to go through Garda vetting which takes time and they also have to be professionally registered. “We need to speed it up” he said, adding that they also need to lobby to streamline the service.ApplicantsJeyes added that it “is not a question of people” stating that people are coming forward to fill the vacancies.Speaking about filling the staffing gaps with a graduate placement scheme, he said he agreed with the proposal, saying it is a chance for students to “rehearse their role” and ensure they become a “solid backbone” of the service.Read: New child protection agency to be officially launched today>Read: Alcohol abuse among over 50s has increased since the financial crisis>
NEW YORK’S ALLEGED “cannibal cop” burst into tears at the end of a trial Thursday as his lawyer said he was guilty of no more than “ugly thoughts” and prosecutors dubbed him a dangerous sadist.The case, which has riveted the Big Apple tabloid media and raised questions about freedom of speech, was left for the Manhattan federal court jury to decide.Gilberto Valle, 28, is accused of conspiracy to kidnap young women, including his wife, whom he would then torture, kill and eat.Although no women were actually harmed, the man dubbed the “Cannibal Cop” in US media, discussed the gruesome plans with other men in exchanges on websites dedicated to extreme sexual fetishes.Valle could face a sentence of life in prison if convicted. He is also charged with the lesser crime of illegally accessing the police database.In an impassioned final statement, his lawyer Julia Gatto said Valle had a disturbing, but far from unique sexual fantasy about cannibalising women.There was only proof of “ugly thoughts (and) we don’t convict human beings just because of ugly thoughts,” she said.“They want you to convict, not because there’s proof, but because you won’t like the way his mind works,” Gatto added. “Gilberto Valle is accused of a crime he didn’t commit.”The accused man sobbed, as he frequently has during his trial, when Gatto told the jury that her client had already lost his reputation, his career, his marriage and young child over the case.But prosecutors matched the legal fireworks with statements painting Valle as a ticking bomb who had to be stopped before he had a chance to put his online discussions — and internet searches on kidnapping and killing techniques — into action.“Officer Valle crossed the line. He left the world of fantasy. He entered the world of reality and, thankfully, he was stopped before he could act,” Assistant US Attorney Hadassa Waxman said.“He was serious,” she said. “He was not just fantasising and he would have carried out the plans if he thought he could get away with it, if he had not been stopped.”Gatto described Valle as a “nice, non-violent man,” despite his addiction to pornography involving corpses and torture scenes. She warmly hugged her client after finishing her closing arguments.But in the government rebuttal — when prosecutors get the last word before jury deliberations — US Attorney Randall Jackson said Valle was a “sadistic person.”“The evidence in this case is overwhelming,” he told the jury, almost shouting at times. “He has no right at this point to ask you to bail him out.”Jackson lashed out at the defense attorneys’ suggestions that the right to free speech enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution was at stake in the trial.“They’ve said this repeatedly, that the government’s the thought police. This has nothing to do with the First Amendment,” Jackson said. “Mr Valle is not an author.”Referring to the well-known concept of free speech not including the malicious shouting of “fire” in a crowded theater, Jackson said: “The limits of free speech are what will actually place real people in harm.”Jackson said Valle’s claim to have been participating in harmless fantasies about abducting and eating women was no more valid than someone claiming they could take part in a pretend bank robbery or airplane hijacking.“The word ‘fantasy’ has been completely misused and corrupted here,” he said. “You think of the stories you told your children, fairies, pixie dust. Gilberto Valle’s fantasies are about seeing women executed.”Gatto said the authorities failed to understand the extreme fetish subculture and were confusing fiction with fact.To back up her argument, she showed the jury an email written by her client early last year: “I just have a world in my mind, and in that world, I’m kidnapping women and selling them,” he wrote.Gatto said that email “explains the entire case.”“There really was a world in his mind,” she added, calling on the jury “to protect all our rights.”- © AFP, 2013Read: NYPD officer arrested over plot to kidnap and eat women
The Free Clinic of Southwest Washington received $50,000 in grant funding that should help bolster its volunteer program.Volunteers are an important part of the Free Clinic’s services, said Ann Wheelock, executive director of the clinic. The Free Clinic specializes in free, quality health care to children and adults who are otherwise unable to obtain such services, according to a Free Clinic press release.Wheelock said the Free Clinic has seen its staff working in the volunteer recruitment area shrink from two full-time staff to one person working part time. The grant should help increase the hours of that part-time employee.The Free Clinic utilizes clinical specialists, who are generally college-aged people interested in going into some type of medical school, Wheelock said. Those specialists can help assist doctors by helping them find lab tests or with other duties.“We have not been able to go out and recruit those volunteers,” Wheelock said. “This will hopefully give us room to rebuild that program back up.”The Free Clinic will also look into using some of the funds to hire a community health worker who can focus on helping patients get their hypertension or diabetes under control, which are two problems Wheelock said the Free Clinic frequently encounters.