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Editor's Guild suspends memberships of MJ Akbar, Tarun Tejpal

Agencies
December 13, 2018

New Delhi, Dec 13: The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday suspended the memberships of former Union minister M J Akbar and ex-Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal over allegations of sexual misconduct.

The move comes weeks after the Guild put out an updated list of its members, which included the names of Akbar, Tejpal and senior journalist Gautam Adhikari, evoking calls from within the media body for their removal.

The Guild had sought the views of its Executive Committee (EC) on what action should be taken against Akbar, a dormant member at present and one of its past presidents, Tejpal and Adhikari over sexual misconduct allegations levelled against them, a statement said.

Akbar has been accused of sexual misconduct by several women over his tenure as a senior editor as part of the #MeToo movement, while Tejpal has been charged with rape and is currently out on bail.

A majority of the EC members suggested that Akbar and Tejpal's memberships be suspended, it said.

The Guild's office bearers discussed the EC's comments and concurred with the majority view that Akbar should be suspended from the Guild till such time that the court case he has filed is concluded.

Akbar had filed a criminal defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani over allegations she made against him.

He had resigned in October as the Minister of State for External Affairs in the wake of sexual harassment allegations levelled against him.

The Guild office-bearers decided that Tejpal too should be suspended from it.

On Adhikari's membership, the Guild decided to seek his response before taking a decision.

The Guild in October had asked Akbar to withdraw the criminal defamation case he filed against Ramani.

It had also offered legal support to women journalists who have levelled the allegations against Akbar in case he did not withdraw the case against Ramani or files such cases against other women.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Feb 13: Two Indian crew on board a cruise ship off the Japanese coast have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Indian Embassy in Japan said on Wednesday as authorities confirmed that 174 people have been infected with the deadly disease.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess with 3,711 people on board arrived at the Japanese coast early last week and was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the novel virus on the ship.

A total of 138 Indians, including passengers and crew, were on board the ship.

“Due to the suspicion of novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection, the ship has been quarantined by the Japanese authorities till February 19, 2020,” the embassy said in a statement.

“Altogether 174 people have been tested positive for nCoV, including two Indian crew members,” it said.

All the infected people have been taken to hospitals for adequate treatment, including further quarantine, in accordance with the Japanese health protocol, it said.

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News Network
August 7,2020

Idukki, Aug 7: Several people lost their lives and dozens of tea estate workers are feared trapped under soil in Kerala’s Munnar after torrential rains triggered a massive landslide on today. 

As many as five bodies have been recovered and rescue workers are fighting inclement weather to remove the debris.

According to rescue workers, four lanes of quarters and a church are buried under mud and around 80 people are feared trapped.

Seven people have been rescued so far and shifted to the hospital.

Sources said a portion of Pettimudi came crashing down on the workers colony with a deafening roar in the wee hours of Friday.

As people were sleeping in the quarters, there was little time to escape.

Further, with the Periyavara bridge being washed away, it became all the more difficult for rescue workers to reach the spot.

The construction of a new temporary Periyavara bridge however, is underway.

The bridge was previously destructed during the deluge of August 2018. Later during the north west monsoons and the south west monsoon of 2019, it suffered damage again.

The present bridge, which got damaged on Thursday after Kannimala river levels rose, was constructed under the leadership of Coir fed.

Although a new concrete bridge has been constructed near the temporary bridge in Periyavara, vehicle  movement has not been possible because the authorities are yet to build its approach via road.

The new bridge is to be constructed at a cost of Rs 4.75 crore from Devikulam MLA S Rajendran's fund.

The entire area has been cut off from outside world and communication networks have also crashed.

Teams of Fire and Rescue personnel, NDRF, revenue officials, estate workers and police are struggling to conduct rescue operations.

Meanwhile, District collector H Dhineshan said a team of rescue personnel was sent to Pettymudy after he was briefed about the mishap and search operations to locate and rescue people are underway.

Facilities have been arranged at the hospitals nearby to provide necessary treatment facilities to the people being rescued.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 8: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all universities and higher education institutions across the nation to set up helpline to combat mental health issues among students during the Covid-19 crisis and nation-wide lockdown period.

In an official circular, the UGC stated that, "It is important to address psychological concerns of students and to address mental health and for the well-being of students, universities/colleges and higher education institutions should setup mental health helplines."

These helplines need to be monitored by counselors and other identified faculty members. "It is important for students to stay calm and stress-free. This can be achieved through telephones, e-mails, digital and social media platforms," says UGC.

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