Don't miss out on these top 5 fiction reads before 2019 ends!

Agencies
November 30, 2019

New Delhi, Nov 28: Be it a holiday or just any other regular day, books can be the best companion one can have and no matter whether you admire gripping page-turners or literary novels, there's something for everyone. Yes, yes, for you too!

With 2019 being a bumper year for novels, a number of new releases by new and established authors hit the book stands, some of which will leave you inspired while others will give you the right mix of emotions.

As 2019 is nearing an end, here are five amazing reads that you shouldn't miss out reading on:

1. A Marketplace for Murder by Debleena Majumdar
Is killing a human the only kind of murder? What about the murder of a dream? Or, the murder of identity? This who and whydunit crime thriller explores the three questions through the unravelling a web of lies, murder and deceit that threaten to bring crime very close home for Leena, a business journalist.

The alternating first-person voice of the unknown killer and the third-person narrative takes the story across the modern-day Bangalore and a strange discovery at an archaeological expedition with characters you would have seen around you.

2. The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi S Laskar
Written in an episodic style full of segments and snapshots, this literary work dips into and dissects what it means to be a person of colour, particularly a woman (and writer) of colour in contemporary America.

The book may be small, but it's sure to make a lasting impression on anyone who reads it.

3. Ib's Endless Search for Satisfaction by Roshan Ali
This is a portrait of a young man in our present-day urban country. The eponymous protagonist, who shares a house with his schizophrenic father, is pushed to the peripheries before long.

What follows is a long-winded search--lit with dark humour, lined with angst and anxiety, and unfolding in an inimitable style.

4. The Body Myth by Rheea Mukherjee
A 'modern' marriage, mental illness, love, myths and a menage a trois (the couple, Sara and Rahil, and their new friend, Mira) make up this debut (originally published in the US by Unnamed Press).

The book leaves pre-conceived notions and expectations of relationships--and reading--outside its own plotline, and questions if togetherness can be toxic and what 'conventional' love looks like.

5. A People's History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramaniam
The author, activist and educator's debut novel for adults is a celebration of five girls (Deepa, Banu, Padma, Rukshana and Joy) on the cusp of adulthood.

Set in a tight-knit slum community, the book talks of survival despite the threat of demolishment. Despite all odds, these girls and their mothers form a bond to fight the bulldozers sent to bury their lives and homes. 

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Agencies
July 10,2020

In a first, the Supreme Court on Friday allowed the service of summons and notices, a necessity in almost all legal proceedings, through instant messenger like WhatsApp as well as by e-mail and fax.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde observed that it has been brought to the notice of the court that it is not feasible to visit post offices for service of notices, summons, and pleadings. The bench also comprising Justices AS Bopanna and R Subhash Reddy observed that notice and summons should be sent through e-mail on the same day along with instant message through WhatsApp and other phone messenger services.

The bench clarified that all methods should be deployed for a valid service on the party. "Two blue ticks would convey that the receiver has seen the notice," noted the bench.

The bench declined the request of the Attorney General for specifically naming WhatsApp as a mode of effectuating service. The top court noted that it would not be practical to specify only WhatsApp. The apex court also permitted RBI to extend the validity of cheques in the backdrop of lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Senior advocate V Giri representing RBI informed the bench that he had circulated the note regarding validity of a cheque as directions issued on the previous hearing.

The bench noted that it will be in discretion of the RBI to issue orders which are suitable to alter the validity of the period of a cheque.

During an earlier hearing on the matter on July 7, the Attorney General contended before the top court that the Centre had some reservations in connection with the utilization of mobile applications like WhatsApp and other apps for service of summons. The Centre's top law officer informed the apex court that these apps claimed to be encrypted, and they were not trustworthy.

The RBI counsel had contended before the top court that it was considering clarifying the validity of a cheque which has been reduced to 3 months from 6 months.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has issued notice to some Bollywood celebrities named in a complaint against the promoter of a company for allegedly blackmailing and sexually assaulting a number of girls on the pretext of giving them a career in modelling.

Taking cognizance of the complaint filed by social activist Yogita Bhayana of People Against Rape in India (PARI), the NCW scheduled a virtual hearing presided by its chairperson on August 6.

The complaint against Sunny Verma, promoter of a company named IMG Ventures with its headquarter in Chandigarh, alleged that he has been blackmailing and sexually assaulting a number of girls on the pretext of giving them career in modelling.

PARI's Yogita Bhayana wrote a complaint letter to NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma.

"Through his company, he (Sunny Verma) invites the girls on the pretext of organising a Miss Asia contest with a claim that the contest will launch them as models. To make it look genuine, his company has also been taking an entry fee of Rs 2,950. Once the girls apply, they are alluded by the female accomplices of Sunny Verma to submit their nude pictures in order to get the better ranking in the contest," the complaint letter said on July 31.

It alleged that Verma, after receiving the pictures and sometimes even before, used to get in touch with the girls and ask for completely nude pictures and videos.

The complaint letter said that Verma also used to allude as well as threaten the girls to submit to his sexual desires if they were interested in modelling as a career or wish to win the contest.

"Once he established a physical relationship with the girls, he used to blackmail them for regular sexual favours. Many girls from across the country have suffered a sexual and mental assault from Sunny and his accomplices," said the complaint citing several letters, texts and audio clips from several girls as proof of this modus operandi of Sunny Verma and his company.

The complaint also said that Sunny Verma has been previously also arrested on charges of sexual assault.

"We would demand that NCW should investigate the case to its depth and get the guilty punished so that any other person should not dare to exploit these kinds of innocent girls on any pretext. It will be a message to people like Sunny Verma and all associated Bollywood stars. Looking forward to strict action from NCW against sexual offenders like Sunny Verma & others," the complaint said.

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Agencies
June 26,2020

Facebook will introduce a new notification screen on its platform that will warn users if the article they are about to share is over 90 days old, the company announced on Thursday.

“We’re starting to globally roll out a notification screen that will let people know when news articles they are about to share are more than 90 days old,” Facebook wrote in a blog post.

The social media platform had previously introduced a context button in 2018 that provides information about the sources of articles in the News Feed. Building upon that, the new feature will inform users about the timeliness of the article.

“To ensure people have the context they need to make informed decisions about what to share on Facebook, the notification screen will appear when people click the share button on articles older than 90 days, but will allow people to continue sharing if they decide an article is still relevant,” Facebook said.

The social media giant stated that timeliness is important in understanding the context of an article and curbing the spread of misinformation on the platform.

“News publishers, in particular, have expressed concerns about older stories being shared on social media as current news, which can misconstrue the state of current events. Some news publishers have already taken steps to address this on their own websites by prominently labelling older articles to prevent outdated news from being used in misleading ways,” Facebook added.

Apart from this, the platform will also be testing a similar notification screen for information related to the global Covid-19 pandemic. The notification screen will provide information about the source of the link shared in a post if the link is related to information on Covid-19. It will also direct people to its previously introduced Covid-19 information centre for “authoritative” health information, it said.

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