Mangalorean Konkani poet bags Sahitya Akademi award

Belgaum, Mar 26: The police on Thursday thrashed people who had gone to offer prayers at a mosque despite the nationwide lockdown in force.
In a video, the police personnel can be seen thrashing the people with batons while they were leaving after offering prayers at a local mosque here.
In another incident in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh, the police made few youngsters hop along a road and even gave the 'murga,' punishment to a few of them for violating the restrictions.
Similarly in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun, the police made people hop along a road with their bags strapped on their backs as a punishment. The people were possibly going to their native places.
In the video of the Budaun incident, a few men can be seen being made to hop along the road with a stick-wielding policeman keeping a watch.
SSP Budaun told ANI that an investigation is being conducted into the incident and expressed an apology for the police's behaviour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a 21-day countrywide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the highly contagious disease.

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Australia has conferred its highest civilian honour, the Order of Australia honour, on Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw for her contribution towards advancing the country's relationship with India.

Australia's High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu invested Mazumdar-Shaw as an Honorary Member within the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division at a ceremony in Bengaluru on Friday, the Australian High Commission said in a statement.

An alumnus of Federation University Australia, Mazumdar-Shaw is the founder of Biocon, one of India's largest bio-pharmaceutical companies.

She contributes immensely to promoting women in STEM through the joint research programmes developed between Biocon and Deakin University, Australia, as part of her deep and long-standing commitment to gender equality, the statement said.

Mazumdar-Shaw - an Australian Global Alumni Ambassador - is also recognised for her sustained and significant contribution to industry academia collaboration between Australia and India, it said.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from Indian and Australian business, the diplomatic corps, and family, friends and peers of Mazumdar-Shaw, the statement said.

Speaking at the event, Sidhu said, "Dr Mazumdar-Shaw is a tireless champion of the commercial, educational, and people-to-people links between our two countries, and this award recognises her commitment to progressing the Australia-India partnership."

Honorary appointments in the Order of Australia are made to foreign nationals who have made an outstanding contribution to Australia or humanity at large.

Mazumdar-Shaw is the fourth Indian citizen to be awarded Australia's highest civilian honour.

This follows the conferment of superstar batsman Sachin Tendulkar in 2012, Former Attorney General of India Soli Jehangir Sorabjee in 2006, and Mother Teresa of Kolkata (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) in 1982.