Bangladeshi court defers bail hearing of Hindu priest for a month. Photo Courtesy: Save Bangladeshi Hindus X page
A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday deferred the bail hearing of arrested Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das till January 2, 2025.
The Chittagong Metropolitan Session Judge Saiful Islam set the new date for the hearing as the defence lawyer was absent from the courtroom at 11am, reported Dhaka Tribune.
Security in the court premises was increased due to the hearing.
His bail hearing was deferred just a day after ISKCON spokesperson Radharamn Das claimed the only lawyer who was ready to defend Chinmoy Krishna Das was attacked by ‘Islamists’.
Radharamn Das said the lawyer is currently fighting for his life in hospital.
Sharing an image of the lawyer, who was identified as Ramen Roy, Das wrote on X: “Please pray for Advocate Ramen Roy. His only ‘fault’ was defending Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu in court.”
“Islamists ransacked his home and brutally attacked him, leaving him in the ICU, fighting for his life,” the ISKCON spokesperson said.
Bangladesh is once again witnessing turmoil since Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested recently, triggering massive protests by minority community members in the country.
Bangladesh has been struggling for the past several months since a massive anti-job quota demonstration forced former PM Sheikh Hasina-led government to topple, ending her new term prematurely. She left the country amid a political crisis.
It is suspected that foreign hands were at play in orchestrating the unrest and planning her ouster.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus-led government took charge of the country just three days after Hasina exited the country. Yunus, known for his closeness to the US Democrats, also accepted later in an event in America that there was “design and conspiracy” involved in the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
A view of JPMorgan Singapore. JPM is one of the largest banking operations in the world. Screenshot courtesy: www.jpmorgan.com/SG
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a civil penalty of SGD 2.4 million on JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JPM), according to a media release issued by the central bank of Singapore. The penalty was for JPMorgan Chase Bank failing to prevent and detect misconduct committed by its relationship managers (RMs).
The media release said: “In 24 over-the-counter (OTC) bond transactions, the RMs had made inaccurate or incomplete disclosures to clients, resulting in the clients being charged spreads that were above the bilaterally agreed rates.” These transactions took place between November 2018 and September 2019, said MAS.
This enforcement action on JPM follows MAS’ review of pricing and disclosure practices in the private banking industry. Investigations found that for OTC bond transactions, JPM’s practice was to charge clients a spread over the interbank prices. As the interbank prices were not available to clients, they had to rely on the RMs’ representations to them regarding the interbank prices and spreads.
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Explaining that the RMs of JPMorgan Chase Bank had misled the clients into paying more than what they should have paid, MAS said that “JPM did not establish adequate processes and controls to ensure that its RMs adhered to pre-agreed spreads with clients when executing OTC bond transactions on their behalf”.
The central bank “sampled OTC bond transactions conducted by JPM’s RMs” and found that in the 24 transactions, the RMs had “either misrepresented the price components or omitted material information that the spreads charged were above the agreed rates”. The phrase “price components” refers to the executed interbank price and/or spread charged.
MAS said that this misrepresentation and omission by the RMs was “in contravention of sections 201(c) and 201(d) of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA)”.
Informing that the private bank had accepted these violations and its responsibility for what the relationship managers did, MAS said: “JPM has admitted liability under section 236C of the SFA for its failure to prevent or detect the misconduct by its RMs and has paid MAS the civil penalty. The bank has refunded the overcharged fees to affected clients.”
At the same time, JPMorgan Chase Bank has taken measures to prevent a repeat of this. “The bank has also enhanced its pricing frameworks and internal controls to prevent the recurrence of such misconduct,” said MAS. “Separate reviews into the individual RMs involved in the misconduct are ongoing.”
What is the MAS civil penalty?
“A civil penalty action is not a criminal action and does not attract criminal sanctions. The civil penalty regime, designed to complement criminal sanctions and provide a nuanced approach to combat market misconduct, became operational at the beginning of 2004,” said the MAS media release.
“Under section 232 of the SFA, MAS may enter into an agreement with any person for that person to pay, with or without admission of liability, a civil penalty for contravening any provision of Part 12 of the SFA. The civil penalty may be up to three times the amount of the profit gained or loss avoided by that person as a result of the contravention, subject to a minimum of $50,000 (if the person is not a corporation) or $100,000 (if the person is a corporation).”
● Section 201(c) of the SFA Under section 201(c) of the SFA, no person shall, directly or indirectly, in connection with the subscription, purchase or sale of any capital market products, make any statement he knows to be false in a material particular.
● Section 201(d) of the SFA Under section 201(d) of the SFA, no person shall, directly or indirectly, in connection with the subscription, purchase or sale of any capital market products, omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
● Section 236C of the SFA Under section 236C of the SFA, a corporation which fails to prevent or detect a contravention of any provision in Part 12 of the SFA that is committed by an employee or officer for its benefit and attributable to its negligence, commits a contravention and shall be liable to an order for a civil penalty.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India and China relationship is moving toward improvement. Photo Courtesy: IBNS File.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said ties between India and China, which remained ‘abnormal’ ever since the 2020 border clash, have moved in the direction of improvement, following continuous diplomatic engagement.
Speaking at the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament), Jaishankar said: “Our ties have been abnormal since 2020 when peace and tranquillity in the border areas were disturbed as a result of Chinese actions.”
The EAM said: “Recent developments that reflect our continuous diplomatic engagement since then have set our ties in the direction of some improvement.”
Ending the longstanding standoff that erupted following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, India and China recently announced a breakthrough to resume patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Following the disengagement, the troops of the two Asian giants returned to the status which prevailed before the deadly Galwan clash in 2020.
Galwan Clash
The Galwan skirmish erupted from a dispute over a temporary bridge built by the Chinese in the Galwan River valley in northern India’s Ladakh.
On June 15, 2020, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a six-hour clash in the rugged terrain of Ladakh, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with makeshift weapons such as stones, batons, and iron rods.
The face-off occurred in near-complete darkness and freezing temperatures, leading to fatalities as soldiers fell or were pushed from ridges.
Twenty Indian soldiers were martyred in the clash, while China officially acknowledged four casualties, although reports indicate higher Chinese losses, as soldiers drowned in the choppy waters of the Galwan River.
Among the Indians, Colonel B Santosh Babu, the Commanding Officer of the 16th Bihar Regiment, was martyred during the unprovoked aggression by PLA troops.
The Galwan clashes highlighted China’s aggressive stance towards its neighbouring countries.
Many observers on social media noted similarities between the Chinese attack on Philippine navy ships and the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.
Donald Trump issues deadline to Hamas to ensure release of hostages from Gaza. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash
US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday warned that those responsible for holding the hostages in Gaza will face massive repercussions if captives are not released by the time he assumes office.
“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” Trump said in his post on Truth Social.
During the October 7 attack on Israel, Hamas members had taken 251 members as hostage.
Several of the hostages have been released since then but Hamas members are still holding a large number of people in captivity.
Meanwhile, describing the situation in Gaza as “appalling and apocalyptic” the UN Deputy Secretary-General on Monday called on world leaders to act decisively to alleviate suffering and prevent the further devastation of the enclave.
Speaking at a ministerial conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza, convened in Cairo by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, UN deputy chief Amina Mohammed emphasised the urgent need for lifesaving assistance and a plan for the enclave’s long-term recovery.
“We are here to help secure an immediate surge in lifesaving aid for the Palestinian people, ensure preparedness for a potential ceasefire, and begin laying the groundwork for recovery and reconstruction – this cannot happen soon enough,” she said, speaking on behalf of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Organised looting forces UNRWA to pause aid
Deliveries of desperately needed food and other supplies into Gaza have had to be halted through the enclave’s Kerem Shalom crossing because of looting by armed gangs, the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, has announced.
The agency took the decision on Sunday after it said that lorries carrying food were “all taken” after crossing into Gaza through what is the main aid corridor.
Explaining the move, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that the route had not been safe “for months”. On 16 November, a large convoy of aid trucks which also crossed through Kerem Shalom was stolen by armed gangs.
Further inside Gaza, aid workers are deeply concerned that malnutrition levels are spiralling.
UNRWA Senior Emergencies Officer, Louise Wateridge, speaking from one of the UN agency’s schools in Deir Al-Balah where 6,000 people are sheltering on Monday, described families sleeping on cold, wet floors and witnessing one young child “crying and screaming in the corner, just screaming for a piece of bread. She was just crying for a piece of bread”.
Mohammed outlined the devastating toll of the conflict: with over 44,000 Palestinian lives reportedly lost, according to the authorities in Gaza, widespread displacement and the collapse of essential services.
Children have been the worst impacted, with nearly 19,000 hospitalised in the past four months alone due to acute malnutrition. Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita globally, with many surgeries conducted without anaesthesia.
“What we are seeing may well amount to the gravest international crimes,” she said.
BAKU AZERBAIJAN: The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), part of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, hosted several high-level sessions at COP29 in Baku, focusing on sustainable economic development, climate finance, and the private sector’s role in green growth.
On November 18, ICD organized a session on financing women and youth-led businesses in post-conflict regions. Eng. Hani Sani Sonbol, Acting CEO of ICD, emphasized the importance of inclusive financing for long-term peace. Remarks were also made by Ms. Nigar Arpadarai, COP29 High-Level Champion, and Dr. Emin Huseynov, Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan. The panel featured experts such as Dr. Sahar Nasr, Executive Director of the Zakat Fund, Ms. Jhale Hajiyeva, Executive Director of AMFA Azerbaijan, Dr Elvin Afandi, Division Manager of ICD, and Mr. Dayanat Sadullayev, President of AMCHAM addressing the barriers women and youth face in accessing finance.
ICD also hosted two other key sessions. On November 16, a panel discussed leveraging multilateral climate funds to support sustainable projects through public-private partnerships, featuring experts like Dr. Mohammed Alyami, General Manager of the Development Effectiveness Office at ICD, and David A. Dodd, CEO of the International Sustainability Resilience Center. On November 19, a session explored how financial institutions can promote green finance, with participants including Dr. Fatih Yilmaz, Senior Fellow at KAPSAR, Mr. Shahin Mahmudzade, Executive Director at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, Dr Elvin Afandi, Division Manager of ICD, and Mr Nabil Kadri, Managing Director of BNDES.
ICD’s participation at COP29 highlights its commitment to advancing sustainable development, green finance to the private sector, and empowering marginalized business communities. Through collaborative initiatives, ICD continues to drive the role of the private sector in achieving global sustainability goals.
The makers of the thriller web series Maeri, have launched the trailer. Produced by Sachinn Darekkar’s Zenith Pictures, Maeri is a gripping emotional thriller that explores the complex relationships within a family; the show, to feature on ZEE5 Global, unveils a lot of hidden truths and personal secrets.
Sai Deodhar plays a determined mother, Tara Deshpande, in Maeri. Photo courtesy: ZEE5 Global
Maeri brings together an ensemble cast, including Sai Deodhar as the determined mother Tara Deshpande, Sagar Deshmukh as her husband Hemant Deshpande, Tanvi Mundle as their spirited daughter Manasvi, and Chinmay Mandlekar as the gritty ACP Khandekar.
The web series will stream on ZEE5 Global starting December 6.
Plot
Maeri revolves around the story of a mother, Tara Deshpande, who is pushed to the edge when her beloved daughter, Manasvi, is brutally assaulted by a group of influential young men. As the judicial system fails to deliver justice, Tara embarks on a dangerous, secret battle against the powerful perpetrators, using every resource and tactic at her disposal to obtain revenge.
As the stakes grow higher, Tara must navigate her fractured family dynamics, face a relentless police officer, and confront her own moral boundaries. With each twist, the tension escalates, leading to a shocking final confrontation. Will Tara’s pursuit of vengeance cost her everything?
As Tara and Hemant Deshpande navigate their tangled lives, the story unfolds a series of suspenseful events that force them to confront their deepest fears and choices.
Sharing her experience, Sai Deodhar stated: “Playing Tara Deshpande has been an incredibly intense and emotional journey for me. Tara is a mother who is pushed to her limits by an unimaginable tragedy, and her quest for justice becomes both her strength and her burden.”
“I’m thrilled to be a part of this powerful story and to bring Tara’s story to life. I can’t wait for audiences to watch the show and experience the thrilling twists and deep emotional layers it offers. ‘Maeri’ is a story that will resonate with everyone, and I am looking forward for its release on ZEE5 Global,” she shared.
Tanvi Mundle said she was “immediately captivated” when she first heard the story of Maeri. “The story is so emotionally powerful. Manasvi’s journey is one of personal growth, where she learns to deal with the complex emotions of loss and discovery. What makes it even more special is the opportunity to share the screen with such versatile actors such as Sai Deodhar and Sagar Deshmukh. I’ve learned so much from them. I’m beyond excited for the audience to experience the emotional depth and thrills of ‘Maeri’ on ZEE5 Global!” she said.
Producer and director Sachinn Darekkar commented: “Collaborating with ZEE5 Global has been an exciting opportunity, as it allows us to bring our narrative to a wider audience, highlighting the strength at a global scale. ‘Maeri’ is a revenge drama series that intertwines suspense, human relationships, and complex personal conflicts, focusing on the intricate bond between a mother, father, and daughter — each struggling with their own truths and the consequences of their choices.”
“The story of ‘Maeri’ is not just about vengeance — it’s about the raw emotions that come with loss, love, and the determination to fight when everything seems to be against you. I am thrilled that the audience will experience the story’s twists and the powerful journey of its characters,” he said.
At the start of the millennia, she captivated the minds of young audiences with her portrayal of the benevolent fairy Son Pari in the eponymous TV serial, which ran from November 2000 to October 2004. Now, Mrinal Kulkarni is back as a master weaver who takes life’s hurdles head on in the ZEE5 Global series Paithani.
The actress sat down for a virtual interview with Connected to India, where she spoke about her new show, her acting journey and her experiences of working on various mediums.
Paithani, which started streaming mid-November, is directed by Gajendra Ahire and produced by Zee Studios and Aarambh Entertainment. It explores the themes of tradition, resilience, and the bond between mothers and daughters. Paithani tells the inspiring story of Godavari (Mrinal), a mother and master weaver of traditional Paithani sarees. As she confronts the impending end of her illustrious career due to tremors in her hands, her unwavering spirit is brought to life by her determined daughter, Kaveri (Eisha Singh). With a heartfelt mission to honour her mother’s legacy, Kaveri plans to gift her the final saree Godavari weaves.
When asked about reason and significance of the title of the show, especially when the central theme is resilience, Mrinal tells CtoI: “I think my director has used it as metaphor. How we weave a paithani or anything on looms is one horizontal thread and one vertical. In paithani we use one silver thread, one gold thread and one resham (silk) thread. So, it’s a very intricate art, and such is life. Life is not always gold. At times it has silver borders, and at times it’s just resham… it is plain.”
“So, I think he has used it as a metaphor. Every woman goes through many difficulties in life, many hurdles come her way, but she tries to make a beautiful saree out of it… paithani out of it, maybe… a beautiful design of these threads which come her way. That is what he wants to say. I believe it’s a very nice metaphor,” she adds.
Asked if the show aims to look at growing the paithani business, Mrinal says she’ll be happy if it happens. Talking about her preparation for the role, Mrinal says she was keen to learn weaving to play the character convincingly on screen.
“I have gone through their patience and perseverance and their problems while they work on looms. When the script came to me, I was very keen that I must learn to weave, at least a little. So, I did a crash course, and I came to know how tough and difficult it is. So, my heart goes to the weavers who weave on looms. it is not at all easy. it is testing, it tries your patience. It takes a lot of time, months… a few months to make one paithani,” she says.
Asked, what’s her take on OTTs taking centre stage in the entertainment sector, while racing ahead of TV, Mrinal says change is the only constant and one should flow with it. “It goes in a circle and change in bound to happen. As an actor, I try to adjust with that. I try to cope with that and I also look forward (to it)… As an actor, we should learn just to flow, to go with the flow,” she adds.
OUP names its word of the year. Photo Courtesy: Pixabay
Oxford University Press (OUP) has announced ‘brain rot’ as the word of the year 2024 following a public voting. But what is ‘brain rot’?
It is a term which sums up the widespread concerns over mindless social media habits and the consumption of low-value content, especially on social media.
The word was selected after 37,000 people voted in favour of it.
‘Brian rot’ fought with six other terms to emerge as the winner.
Why ‘brain rot’?
‘Brain rot’ is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration”.
OUP said their experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term frequently used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media.
The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024.
When was the word first used?
The first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ was found in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, which reports his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world.
As part of his conclusions, Thoreau criticizes society’s tendency to devalue complex ideas, or those that can be interpreted in multiple ways, in favour of simple ones, and sees this as indicative of a general decline in mental and intellectual effort: “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”
However, the term has taken on new significance in the digital age, especially over the past 12 months.
Initially gaining traction on social media platforms — particularly on TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities — ’brain rot’ is now seeing more widespread use, such as in mainstream journalism, amidst societal concerns about the negative impact of overconsuming online content.
Speaking about this year’s selection process and the 2024 winner, Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said: “It’s been insightful and deeply moving to see language lovers all over the world participate and help us select the Oxford Word of the Year 2024.”
A Singapore-based Manipuri entrepreneur is helping displaced people living in relief camps crochet stuffed dolls for the global market, aiming to provide the women of the violence-hit northeastern state with a sustainable livelihood and promote self-reliance.
PIO entrepreneur Monish Karam. Photo courtesy: www.linkedin.com/in/kmonish
Speaking to PTI over the phone, Monish Karam, who runs Sanarp, a tech firm in Singapore, said, “After conflict suddenly broke out in May last year, we saw thousands of people left homeless and cramped in relief camps with no source of income. This hit us hard, and we wanted to do something sustainable for the affected people. After a lot of brainstorming sessions, we decided that the initiation of a skill-oriented programme would be best for the displaced persons to help them earn a sustainable livelihood in the long run.”
“I saw a palm-sized crocheted doll of my daughter and took inspiration from it to enable affected women make similar dolls, as Manipuri women are traditionally good in handicrafts and producing handloom items,” Karam, who is a computer science graduate from the National University of Singapore, said.
“However, we wanted to focus on doll characters that are generic, relatable, and have a global appeal so that the dolls could be sold outside Manipur, and the money generated could be used to finance the displaced women and their families,” he added.
Karam further said that his team had seen displaced women involved in making candles, incense, and washing powders, only to struggle with selling the finished products. He said they decided to make the doll-making project much simpler.
“Many have seen inmates of relief camps making candles and incense, coming out to the streets to sell their products. In order to make the whole process simpler for the affected women, we decided to take care of the complexities involved in the process of selling the dolls, such as sales support, branding, marketing, collaboration, and simply let the women focus on making the dolls,” Karam said.
“These dolls are not mere dolls. We believe they are the symbol of hope and vessels of storytelling,” he said.
The whole project, titled ‘Project Stitching Hope’ is carried out under 1 Million Heroes (IMH), a subgroup of the tech firm owned by Karam.
Karam also shared how touched he was when a Uttar Pradesh-based woman, the wife of a high-ranking Indian Army officer, purchased the dolls in bulk and later sold them in her circle, showcasing those as a unique item made by affected women of Manipur.
“She later sent the sales money to us, which was again transferred to the displaced women back home. She did that only because she wanted to help,” Karam added.
Project Manager Nomita Ningthoujam told PTI, “We engaged two local trainers and visited relief camps in Bishnupur and Kakching districts and imparted training to displaced women for a couple of months, beginning in October. Currently, some 40-plus women are regularly engaged in crocheting stuffed dolls.”
Nomita Ningthoujam. Photo courtesy: www.linkedin.com/in/nomita-ningthoujam-63217a29
“Purchases have been made both within and outside the country,” Ningthoujam added.
“For stuffing the dolls, cotton polyester stuffing material is used,” she said.
Seema Yumkhaibam, a mother of two who fled from Khuga Tampak in Churachandpur district, is one of the doll artisans who has received training under the project.
The 38-year-old, who has been allotted a pre-fabricated home in Kwakta area in Bishnupur district, said, “We are assigned with making animal dolls, which include a dog, cat, tiger, and a bear. Dolls of Radha and Krishna are also made. Raw materials are being provided freely, and our only task is to handcraft the dolls. Logistics involved is taken care of by the 1MH team.”
Indian passengers who were stuck at Kuwait airport for more than 19 hours while flying from Mumbai to Manchester, have alleged discrimination while sharing their plight. Passengers alleged that airport authorities told them Indians were not “entitled passport holders” and didn’t provide them either food or help.
Passengers from India stranded at Kuwait Airport. Photo courtesy: x.com/indembkwt
As per reports, a Gulf Air aircraft heading to the UK from India made a U-turn and landed at the Kuwait airport following an engine fire incident. While the said aircraft was carrying passengers from various nationalities, discrimination was alleged against those from India, Pakistan and Southeast Asia. Passengers alleged that they were not given access to lounge facilities, while those from the West were given preferential treatment.
Indian media outlet NDTV quoted Arzoo Singh, a passenger, as saying that airport authorities did not respond to their request for lounge access. “I am saying this on live television. They said ‘if you’re entitled passport holders, and Indians and Pakistanis are not entitled passport holders’, they literally told us if you’re entitled for a transit visa, only then we can put you in a hotel outside,” Singh said.
“We asked them what about us, people who are not ‘entitled’ as you say? They said we will get back to you. We ran behind them for nearly two hours, only after that we got lounge access. We asked for blankets, we asked for food. They didn’t give. No one even gave us water for the first four hours,” Singh added. As per her account, around 60 passengers suffered the same issue.
The Indian embassy in Kuwait in a post on X on Sunday said they immediately took up the matter with Gulf Air in Kuwait. “Efforts are being made to accommodate passengers in the airport hotel which is currently unavailable due to ongoing GCC Summit. It may be noted that Indian nationals do not fall under visa on arrival facility in Kuwait. All government offices are closed today due to GCC Summit being hosted by Kuwait,” it said.
Embassy @indembkwt had immediately taken up the matter with Gulf Air in Kuwait. A team from Embassy is at the airport to assist the passengers and coordinate with the airline. Passengers have been accommodated in 2 airport lounges. pic.twitter.com/1OySe3KGLc
In a post on Monday morning, the embassy said the flight to Manchester had “finally” departed at 4:34 am. “Embassy team was on the ground till the flight departed,” it said.
Gulf Air has not given a statement on the matter yet.
