Muslim mother changes name of son named after Narendra Modi; new name is seriously funny

Jammu and Kashmir, May 5: Awarding the prestigious Pulitzer Prize to three Indian photographers, the Pulitzer Board at Columbia University claimed that it was for their work in Kashmir as "India revoked its independence".

The award to Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin in the feature photography category for their pictures for the Associated Press was announced on Monday.

The prizes, considered the most prestigious for US journalism, are associated with the university's Graduate School of Journalism where the judging is done and is announced, although this year it was done remotely.

Besides a certificate, the prizes carry a cash award of $15,000, except the public service category for which a gold medal is awarded.

The public service prize went to The Anchorage Daily News for a series that dealt with policing in Alaska state.

In making the award to the three, the Board said on its website that it was "for striking images of life in the contested territory of Kashmir as India revoked its independence, executed through a communications blackout".

Besides making the false claim about "independence" of Kashmir being "revoked", the board that includes several leading journalists did not explain how their photographs could have reached the AP within hours of the incidents recorded "through a communication blackout".

India's Central government only revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status and it was not independent.

Indian journalists were allowed to operate in Kashmir, while only non-Indian journalists were barred.

The wording of the award announcement calls into question the credibility of the Pulitzer Board that gives out what are considered prestigious journalism awards.

The portfolio of pictures by the three on the Pulitzer web site included one of a masked person attacking a police vehicle and another of masked people with variants of the Kashmir flag, besides photos of mourners and protesters.

One of the finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism was a reporter of Indian descent at The Los Angeles Times, Swetha Kannan, who was nominated for her work with two colleagues on the seas rising due to climate change.

Kochi, Jan 21: A special court here on Tuesday sent two students, who were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case in Kozhikode last November, to the custody of National Investigation Agency (NIA) for a day.

The NIA court ordered that the duo, who were in judicial custody till now, to be produced before it tomorrow.

In its application, the NIA had said that the accused must be interrogated on the basis of digital records and sought custody of the duo for a week.

However, the defendant argued that no new evidence had been found against the accused and therefore no custody should be granted.

During an earlier hearing, the two had told the court, "We are not Maoists. We are CPI (M) activists. The Chief Minister, who says we are Maoists, should bring proof of whom we killed and where we bombed. In the last election, we have served as CPI (M), booth agents. We are the ones who went out to vote and pasted posters for the party."

The two were charged under Sections 20 (punishment for being a member of terrorist gang or organisation), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of the UAPA.

Allen and Thaha, students of law and journalism respectively of Kannur University, were taken into custody by the police from Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode on November 1 last year.

Bhopal, Jun 20: A senior BJP MLA in Madhya Pradesh tested COVID-19 positive hours after he cast his vote for the Rajya Sabha polls in the state and attended party meetings, an official said on Saturday. The legislator's wife has also tested positive for the infection, he said.

Voting for three Rajya Sabha seats in the state took place on Friday.

The couple's test reports came on Friday night and the news of the MLA's infection triggered panic among other MLAs with some of them reaching hospitals to get themselves tested.

"The MLA and his wife were found infected with COVID- 19 in the tests conducted by a private laboratory. We are examining their condition and making a decision whether they need to be hospitalised or home quarantined," a health department official told.

He said that the MLA's contact tracing has been initiated.

"Further tests are also being conducted," he said.

He is the second legislator in Madhya Pradesh, who was tested coronavirus positive.

Earlier, a Congress MLA was found infected. He had voted for the Rajya Sabha polls on Friday after reaching the state assembly complex wearing a PPE suit.

Talking to , a member of the BJP MLA's family said that the medical team was called on Friday afternoon for the COVID-19 test after the legislator's wife complained of uneasiness.

"The MLA and his wife gave the samples to the medical team for the COVID-19 tests on Friday afternoon and they were told at night that both of them have tested positive for the infection," he said.

After the news of BJP MLA testing positive spread, a senior BJP MLA from Mandsaur, Yashpal Singh Sisodiya, reached government-run J P Hospital here along with two other party MLAs.

Talking to reporters, Sisodiya said, "I came here along with two other MLAs from our division- Dilip Makwana (Ratlam Rural) and Devilal Dhakad (Garoth)- after we came to know through media and social media that one of the MLAs from our division has tested positive for COVID-19."

"We don't have any symptoms, but came to test for COVID-19 as a precautionary measure," he said.

Dhakad said that he came for testing as he had dined with the MLA two days back.

Talking to , Madhya Pradesh State Assembly's Principal Secretary A P Singh said that all the precautionary measures were taken during the Rajya Sabha polling.

"All employees were in safety gears during the Rajya Sabha election process. The assembly campus was being sanitised every 15-20 minutes during the polling process...We are now going through the CCTV footage to trace those who had come in his contact," he said.

Congress MLA and former minister P C Sharma said that those who came in contact with the BJP legislator should be traced and quarantined.

"The employees and MLAs who came in contact with him during the voting process should be tested," Sharma said.