Ancient Kerala church opens gates to Muslims for prayers

Agencies
December 30, 2019

Kochi, Dec 30: Opening a new chapter in the history of communal harmony in Kerala, an ancient church in nearby Kothamangalam opened its gates to hundreds of Muslims, who were participating in an anti-CAA protest, to offer prayers.

"I could experience the real spirit of India when authorities of an ancient church in Kothamangalam provided us space to offer Maghrib Namaz," Sayyid Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal, an influential spiritual leader of Kerala Muslims, who led the namaz, told PTI.

The call for Maghrib Namaz (prayers offered after sunset) came when a "secular march" organised by the Kerala chapter of All India Professional Congress (AIPC) reached near the church on Saturday, known as Cheriya Palli.

AIPC leader Mathew Kuzhalnadan said to avoid the delay in offering evening prayers for hundreds of people from Muslim community, the church authorities were contacted and requested them to permit the Muslims to offer namaz in the church premises.

He said the church authorities immediately threw open the iron gates of the church, wholeheartedly welcoming their Muslim bretheren.

The chief priest of the church also arranged carpets and microphones for facilitating the prayers, he said.

"The gesture shown by the authorities of the church...

it generated a kind of feeling among us... no words to explain it. We could experience secularism and the soul of India," said Thangal, who is also a member of Panakkad Thangal family which controls Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

Priests of the shrine were offering evening prayers inside the church when Thangal was leading namaz in its courtyard.

"This is the message we intended to convey through the secular march," said Kuzhalnadan, a Congress leader, who is heading the AIPC, a department of the Indian National Congress.

The "secular march" against the BJP-led government's decision to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was attended by people from all major political parties including the Congress, the CPI(M) and the IUML.

Noted Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaisingh, former MP and CPI(M) leader M B Rajesh, Congress MLA V T Blaram, Thangal and Kuzhalnadan addressed the meeting held in Kothamangalam town after the march covered over 10 km from a masjid premises in Muvattupuzha.

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Agencies
January 20,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 20: An American bride asked for money from her invitees so that they can be on the 'exclusive guest list'.

Weddings can be surely expensive. But is it feasible for one to charge the guests to make up for the expenses?

According to Fox News, that is exactly what happened in a recent American wedding. A 19-year-old shared on Reddit that her cousin was getting married on Sunday and announced that she would charge 50 dollars to those who wanted to attend her wedding.

"She said that they can Venmo her money so there won't be no [sic] problems and everyone who paid will be added onto the 'exclusive guest list' which basically means you won't have to wait in line while other guests pay," wrote the user named DaintySheep.

While she refused to pay for entry into her cousin's wedding the bride-to-be contacted the elders in the family which ended up in an embarrassing situation.

"She wanted to get the money she spent on her special day back. I told her I wouldn't be able to come because this was outrageous and that I wish her well on her special day. She contacted my aunt and my aunt called me cheap and rude. My parents offered to pay for my entry, but I refused," continued the disheartened girl.

While in almost every nook and cranny of the world gifting the bride-groom with money is a tradition, asking for money from friends and family to replenish the money spent on a wedding is can be said to be a rare scenario.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Facebook on Monday launched a new consumer marketing campaign in India titled 'More Together'. India is the first country in the Asia Pacific region where such a campaign is being rolled out.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

"India is at the heart of Facebook and one of our focus areas this year is to tell the exciting story of a service that is deeply embedded in the fabric of India," said Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, Facebook India.

The campaign would have multiple campaigns over the next few weeks in eight languages and the one will be set in the context of Holi.

Facebook in 2019 introduced a new company logo to further distinguish the company from the Facebook app.

The company recently announced the appointment of Avinash Pant as the Marketing Director for India operations, to drive the consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps.

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Agencies
June 9,2020

New Zealand's research institute in Antarctica is scaling back the number of projects planned for the upcoming season, in an effort to keep the continent free of coronavirus, it was reported on Tuesday.

The government agency, Antarctica New Zealand, told the BBC on Tuesday that it was dropping 23 of the 36 research projects.

Only long-term science monitoring, essential operational activity and planned maintenance will go ahead.

The upcoming research season runs from October to March.

"As COVID-19 sweeps the planet, only one continent remains untouched and (we) are focused on keeping it that way," Antarctica New Zealand told the BBC.

The organisation's chief executive Sarah Williamson said the travel limits and a strict managed isolation plan were the key factors for keeping Scott Base - New Zealand's research facility - virus free.

"Antarctica New Zealand is committed to maintaining and enhancing the quality of New Zealand's Antarctic scientific research. However, current circumstances dictate that our ability to support science is extremely limited this season" she said.

Earlier in April, Australia announced that it would scale back its activity in the 2020-21 summer season.

This included decreasing operational capacity and delaying work on some major projects.

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