Home » Catch Wire » Your news wire on 9 August: Sabang murder, Mali hostages, news channels, governors, Foxconn, moral policing and more
 

Ram Nath Kovind, Acharya Dev Vrat appointed Bihar, Himachal Pradesh Governors

The President of India appointed former Rajya Sabha member Ram Nath Kovind as Governor of Bihar and Acharya Dev Vrat as Governor of Himachal Pradesh on 8 August.

Former president of the BJP Dalit Morcha Ram Nath Kovind was a Rajya Sabha member for two terms, from 1994-2006.

Acharya Dev Vrat is the principal of a 'gurukul' in Haryana's Kurukshetra. The institution is run by Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Rohtak, Haryana without financial aid from the government. He is a recipient of the American Medal of Honour awarded by the American Biographical Institute for selfless dedication in the field of social service.

Three news channels in the dock over Yakub Memon coverage

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) served showcause notices to news channels NDTV, ABP News and Aaj Tak, raising objections over their coverage of 1993 blast convict Yakub Memon's hanging. The I&B objected to a phone-interview with terrorist Chhota Shakeel on Aaj Tak and ABP News and an interview of Yakub Memon's lawyer on NDTV.

The channels now have 15 days to respond to charges of showing "obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half-truths."

The government had previously taken NDTV Good Times, TLC, and Al Jazeera off-air for flouting the Programme Code.

Foxconn sign MoU with Maharashtra Government, to invest $5 billion

Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturers, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government on 8 August to set up a manufacturing plant in Pune. The project will require an investment of $5 billion over the next five years. Around 50,000 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the MoU.

As the company looks for a local partner for its current project, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou is interested in expanding across the country. Foxconn intends to work in areas of solar energy, smart power transmission, data centres and investment in startups as a part of the company's Internet Plus plan.

Soldiers free hostages at Mali hotel; 9 killed

Hostages at a hotel in Sevare, Mali, were rescued on 8 August after being held for nearly 17 hours by extremist militants. A total of 12 people, including three attackers, five Malian soldiers, and a UN contractor were killed in the attack.

After the attack began on 7 August, Mali's forces surrounded the hotel and fighting continued through the night. Seven suspected militants have been detained, although it is unclear how many fighters were involved.

Mali's jihadist groups have been stepping up their attacks further south from their strongholds in the north. Sevare and the nearby town of Mopti in central Mali have long been the heart of Mali's tourism industry.

Congress, Left protest alleged TMC hand in Sabang student murder

Youth wings of the Congress and the Left took to streets across West Bengal on 8 August, to protest the murder of 21-year-old college student Krishnapada Jana. On 7 August, he was allegedly beaten to death by students affiliated to the Trinamool Students Wing inside his college, the Sabang College in West Madipore.

Jana was a third year student and member of the Congress Students Wing. He belonged to an agrarian family from Neela village, about five kilometres from Sabang Town.

40 couples bear the brunt of moral policing in Mumbai

The government may believe that there is no right to privacy, but on Friday, the Mumbai police took it to a whole new level.

40 consenting adult couples, were hauled out of their hotel rooms on Madh Island, Mumbai. The couples were taken to the police station, fined, humiliated and in some cases even made to call their parents. Some of the couples even reported being slapped.

The couples were charged with public indecency despite being picked up from private rooms and three couples were charged under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act.

UN To launch satellite named after Kalam

The United Nations has joined in the chorus of tributes for the late Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam, by naming a satellite after him. The satellite, a global satellite (GlobeSat), will be meant for disaster risk reduction and earth observation. It will be dedicated to Kalam who passed away on 27 July, 2015. The satellite will be christened "UN Kalam GlobalSat".

The decision was taken by CANAEUS (Canada-Europe-US-Asia) Organization on Space Technologies for Societal Applications, which is based in Montreal, Canada. The decision will be formalised at a UN session slated for September, which Narendra Modi is also expected to attend.

Tirumala stays golden

If you've ever wondered just how much gold the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams Temple has amassed, the secret's out. Regarded as the richest temple in the country, the temple's trust just declared they have 4.5 tons of gold deposited in banks across the country. A further 1 ton of gold is in the process of being deposited.

The trust also collects interest in the form of gold, and revealed that the current 4.5 tons in the bank yield 80 kilos of gold as interest per year. Given the current market value of gold, the temple has assets of Rs 1320 crore in just this declared gold.

Western side of Nepal-India belt expected to receive more earthquakes

According to new data mentioned in a BBC report, the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April did not release all of the stress that had built up underground, pushing some of it westwards.

The research, published in the journals Nature Geoscience and Science, demands more monitoring in the area to the west of the old epicentre.

"This is a place that needs attention, and if we had an earthquake today, it would be a disaster because of the density of population not just in western Nepal but also in northern India, in the Gangetic plain," said Prof Jean-Philippe Avouac from University of Cambridge, BBC reports.

Another whale shark carcass found in AP coast, 71 in total since 2013

The disturbing thing about beached whale sharks is that not many, including officials at Forest Department and Fisheries Department, know that they are protected at par with tigers in India.

According to a The Hindu report, a carcass of a whale shark weighing almost a tonne was found beached near Vakalapudi in Andhra Pradesh, on 7 August.

This is the 71st such shark to be found in the region since 2013. The killing and illegal trading of the species is punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and a heavy fine, according to the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.