As many as two priests have been prosecuted by
Vatican in a case of alleged sexual abuse, upholding its assurance that the city
state will not take the issue of sexual abuse lightly.
This is the first time the city state has taken
up a case like this.
One of the two who has been implicated in the
crime is accused of sexually assaulting an alter boy. The other is charged with
covering up the alleged assault.
Both the charges are very serious in nature.
Notably, the accused priests have not responded
to the allegations levelled against them in the court.
At present, the Catholic community, which is the most respected community in the country, is in a crisis. It is only the leadership of the community which can save the community from this danger.
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A thirty-nine-year-old Italian woman has been
booked on the charges of embezzlement over the complaint filed by Vatican.
She was an employee of Cardinal Angelo Becciu,
a senior Vatican official who was recently demoted over a similar charge.
The arrest has been made after an Interpol warrant
was issued against her in connection with this matter.
The woman
has denied the charge levelled against her. She has admitted that she received a
payment of €500,000 from Cardinal Becciu.
She has defended her stand, by saying that the payment was
made to her to provide parallel diplomacy to help missionaries in conflict
areas.
The Cardinal has also supported the argument raised by the
woman.
Like the woman, the demoted church official has also denounced
the allegation that was levelled against him.
The allegation has severely damaged the reputation of the Vatican administration. The administration needs to do an herculean task to erase the damage made by the latest development.
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In a
shocking move, the tainted leadership of Belarus has given free hand to the police
force to handle with the protest – emerged in the country since the disputed
election.
The police
have been awarded the right to use lethal force against the protesters who has
extended their support to the anti-government movement in the country.
The tainted
election is the triggering point of the issue in the country.
The election,
which was denounced as unfair by the opposition, awarded a huge victory to President Alexander Lukashenko.
Several
human rights organisations have exposed the unfair attitude of the country
towards the protesters. They have published reports on how much improperly the
situation has been handled by the country. As per a report submitted by a human
rights organisation, the protesters have even been threatened with serious violence
by the police.
Many western
countries have warned that they would impose severe sanction against the
country, demanding that the country should pave way for a free and fair
election as soon as possible.
The strength
of the present Belarus leadership is the support it gets from Russia. Russia
has extended enormous support to the tainted leadership of Belarus.
It is yet to be seen how the things will evolve.
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As the Asian country
of India, which was the first country which introduced a tough lockdown, has reached
the advanced stage of the unlock phase, it has offered several relaxations, especially
to its entertainment industry (the rapidly growing industry).
Days after the introduction
of certain relaxations, an Internationally acclaimed beauty contest has been
organised in the country.
The third edition of globally
acclaimed beauty contest Manappuram Mrs South India has been organised at SAJ
Earth Resorts in the southern state of India, Kerala.
It is one of the few Internationally
acclaimed beauty contests from the Asian region.
Deepa Lal from the Indian state of Kerala has won the Manappuram Mrs South India 2020 title. Candida Andrade Halgekar from the Indian state of Karnataka has been awarded the first runner up title of the Mrs South India, and Dr. Bhavna Rao from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu the second runner up title.
This is the first time
a beauty event has been organised in this part of the world since the Covid-19
lockdown. Moreover, this is the first time the possibility of the virtual mode
has been fully explored.
The winners of the contest
have been crowned by the founder of SCAAS, Mrs Shiney Justine.
At least eight women from the four South Indian states, such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, have participated in the Mrs South India.
The franchisee holder of this year’s Mrs South India contest is Shiny Justine, who is the founder of SCAAS.
The contestants from
outside the state of Kerala, who were selected to participate in the Mrs South
Indian contest, have participated in the event virtually through the digital
platform, which has been arranged by the organiser.
In the beauty contest,
not only the physical beauty of the contestants has been gauged, but also their
intelligence, talents and social commitment have also been measured.
The winners have been
selected by the judging panel comprised of several acclaimed personalities in
the fashion and modelling industry such as Lakshmi Menon (model), Archana Ravi
(model), Hari Anand (designer) and Dr. Sajimon Parayil
(actor-cum-designer).
The traditional saree
round and red gown round are the two main rounds in the Mrs South India.
The online grooming
session of the contest began on 23rd September itself. The grooming
has been handled by a team of experts in the industry.
The physical grooming
session has been conducted at SAJ Earth resorts, Kochi.
Mrs South India:
Sub-Titles Winners
Mrs Personality:
Aswathi Renjith
Mrs Ramp Walk: Candida
Andrade Halgejkar
Mrs Talent: Dr. Bhavna
Rao
Mrs Glamorous Look:
Deepa Lal
Mrs Viewers’ Choice:
Kajal Rawtani
Mrs Social Media: Dr. Shiji Rineesh
The winners of the contest have been crowned with the golden crowns designed by Parakkat Jewellers.
Manappuram Finance
Limited and DQ are the main partners of the event, jointly organised by SCAAS
and Pegasus – which has around 20-year experience in the fashion industry. SCAAS,
SAJ Earth Resort and Convention Center and Medimix are the powered by partners.
It is a proud moment.
Pegasus is the first organiser which has excluded the infamous bikini round
from its beauty contests. The company has carved a unique position in the
fashion industry with its values. Miss South India, Miss Queen of India, Miss
Asia and Miss Glam World are the other main beauty brands owned by the company.
The event is conducted
to showcase the rich culture, tradition and values of this part of the country
and to promote tourism.
It is a notable fact
that Pegasus, which is known for its deep respect to the concept of women
empowerment, is governed by two women.
Winners of Mrs South
India naturally win the opportunity to represent the region in several national
and International beauty contests, such as Mrs India Global.
Unique Times, Juzt
Shine Family Fitness, ZOLA, Kalpana International, Parakkat Resorts, The Times
New, UT World, Europe Times, Vee Kay Vees, UT TV, Buckler Paints and Beau
Aesthetica are the event co-partners.
Kajal Rawtani
(Telangana), Candida Andrade Halgejkar (Karnataka), Dr. Bhavna Rao (Tamil
Nadu), Inku Rahmath L (Kerala), Deepa Lal (Kerala), Shiji M Rineesh (Kerala),
Mary Jothi (Kerala) and Aswathi Renjith (Kerala) are the contestants of the Mrs
South India 2020.
Due to the Covid-19
crisis, the regional title winners of each state were selected to participate
in the contest – organised to provide a platform for exceptionally talented
women from the southern region of the country.
Notably, during the
event, the organiser has strictly followed the Covid-19 protocol and
directives, released by the authority to contain the spread of the Covid-19
outbreak.
In honour of healthcare workers who are the frontline fighters against the country’s battle against the Covid-19 crisis, during the selection round of the event, heath workers were given priority.
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Sniffer dogs are a friend of security forces. Normally, they are
used to detect bombs. They are a common sight in airports.
Do you know they can be used for many other tasks too. In Finland,
these dogs are even used to detect Covid-19 patients.
As part of a trial, these dogs have already been deployed in an
airport in Finland, named Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
As per a study, these dogs can detect the presence of the virus in
human at least five days before the appearance of any symptom.
The trial is being conducted under the guidance of the University
of Helsinki. It is being monitored by a term of experts from the university.
The trial is a part of the research program launched by the university.
If the result turns positive, many other airports in the region
may adopt this method.
Compared to other methods for detecting Covid-19 patients, this
one is far less complicated, through the credibility of the method is still
largely doubtful.
Anyway, it is important to carry out more researches in this area. Actually, it may not be easy for many to digest this matter in this stage.
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The ongoing protest in Belarus has turned violent, as the country has organised a secret function to appoint tainted leader Alexander Lukashenko as the President of the country.
The
country is in the state of unrest since the election which awarded a landslide
victory to Mr. Lukashenko.
The opposition
alleged that the election was not conducted in a free and fair manner. The opinion
was backed by the European Union countries and the United States.
In the
aftermath of the election, the Belarus dictator allegedly launched a serious
crackdown in the country.
Violence
was unleashed against protesters. Several International human rights organisations,
including Amnesty International, appealed for the intervention of the International
community.
Amnesty
International claimed that those protesters who were arrested were subjected to
severe mental and physical torture and some of them were event threatened with rape.
At present,
Russia is the only country which supports Belarus. It even offered to send
police forces to support the Belarus dictator.
Belarus
is, with out any doubt, a satellite state of Russia.
The possibility
is high for this crisis to transform as a European crisis. It is pertinent not
to allow such a transformation.
One of the leading
opposition leaders of the country, Maxim Znak, has begun hunger strike in jail.
The action has been
taken after he was charged with the charge of seeking to harm national
security.
Mr. Znak is a renowned
lawyer based in the country. He is one among seven leaders of the Co-ordination
Council.
The Belarus government
is attacking the council through all possible means. At present, at least five
of the seven members are either in jail or in exile.
Lately, the UN Human
Rights Council, in a special meeting organised in Geneva, voted to launch
closer UN monitoring of abuses in Belarus.
The west already questioned
the credibility of the Belarus Presidential Election – which offered a chance for
President Alexander Lukashenko to continue in the position of power.
The country has been
witnessing protest since the declaration of the election result.
Several people have
been arrested in connection with the protest. Several international human rights
organisations like Amnesty International have exposed the inhuman methods used by
the Belarus security force to contain the protest.
In a statement shared through
his lawyer, Mr. Znak has said that he had no other way to fight against
injustice and arbitrary actions, while in detention.
It is high time for the International community to interfere in the ongoing political crisis in Belarus.
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Shorty after a wooden sculpture depicted US First Lady Melania
Trump was damaged in Slovenia, her bronze statue has been reinstalled in the
same location.
The previous statue had many shortcomings. Some said that the wooden
statue did not have any resemblance to the First Lady.
At this moment, it remains unclear why the wooden statue was
damaged. It is also not clear who damaged the statue.
The First Lady of the United States was born in Novo Mesto
in 1970 but grew up in the town of Sevnica. At that time, Slovenia was part of
the Communist nation of Yugoslavia.
US artist Brad Downey commissioned the original piece and
placed it outside Sevnica in 2019.
Mrs. Trump is very popular in Slovenia. She is seen as a
role model by many in this part of the world.
Mrs. Trump is the most popular lady in the region on the basis of politics.
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