Evidence of the potential public health benefits and harm of vaping is still very thin.
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Saturday, October 12, 2019
Health officials: Trump immigration order could be illegal
Trump's proclamation has rattled the career civil servants who would have to transform a vague order into policy.
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Friday, October 11, 2019
Three days on, tiger in Karnataka's Bandipur that killed a farmer remains elusive
The search operation is being conducted by the forest guards as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority
Joseph Hoover
The killer tiger in Karnataka's Bandipur reserve forest continues to elude the state guards as the hunt to capture it entered the third day on Friday. "No sign of the tiger yet as it does not remain at one place. Hundreds of wildlife tourists visit Bandipur on safari but see a tiger once or twice as they are not easy to spot in a dense forest. We are doing camera trapping to locate it (killer tiger) and the hunt is on," state's Principal Chief Conservator (wildlife) Sanjay Mohan told IANS on phone from the forest. The Bandipur tiger reserve, a popular tourist destination in southern India, is an 872 square km reserve forest in Chamarajanagar district on the border with Tamil Nadu. It is about 220 kms southwest of Bengaluru. "We will not be able to comb every inch of the forest for the feline, which is likely to be a male, but the areas it usually frequents," Mohan, who joined the forest guards in the search on Friday, said. The search operation is being conducted by the forest guards as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). "Camera traps will show and we have information on the big cat's movements for the last couple of months. We know where it roams around," Mohan said, adding the search gets difficult if the tiger is hiding in the thickets. Noting that the chances of spotting a tiger on the move were better, the official said if the animal remained still at one spot or hiding, it would be hard to locate it, as the guards' movements are blocked in a thick jungle. "We can't chop all the forest to find the tiger. Only when it moves around, we can see it and try to capture it," Mohan pointed out. Shivappa was the second victim of the big cat, which turned a man-eater two months ago when it claimed its first victim, identified as Shivamadaiah, in the same area in mid-September when he was returning to his village with two bullocks from another village. Surprisingly, no tiger in Bandipur was radio tagged, a scientific method of tracking wild animals round the clock. "Radio tagging is done for experiments or studying the behaviour of animals like tiger and how they live in their home range or protected area," added Mohan.
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Ban on cameras in Karnataka Assembly: BJP national leadership's call, say sources
BJP sources say that several state leaders too were in favour of the ban.
Just a day ahead of the Karnataka state Assembly's three-day session, the Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri imposed a ban on broadcast and photojournalists from videotaping and photographing the proceedings inside the House. The abrupt decision made by the Speaker has raised questions regarding the government's decision to clamp down on the media. BJP sources close to state President Nalin Kumar Kateel and also Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa say that the decision to impose the ban came from the leadership in New Delhi. "It was [BJP general secretary] BL Santosh who instructed the Speaker to follow the model that is currently in practise in the Parliament. The national leadership is adamant that this ban will not be revoked," the source said. BJP insiders say that the decision comes in the wake of several state leaders requesting the national leaders to not allow television cameras inside the Assembly. A source close to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that the party does not want a repeat of the 2012 incident involving Laxman Savadi, the then MLA from Athani in Belagavi, who was caught watching porn inside the Assembly. The video was captured by a cameraperson of a local media channel. "Many state leaders agreed that such instances must not repeat again. The cameras installed for recording proceedings is there and journalists can take the footage from the Assembly's output unit. This way, only footage of those leaders who speak inside the Assembly will be recorded and this can be telecast," the source added. Several opposition leaders were also in agreement with the proposal, sources claimed. "Informally, several JD(S) leaders, especially HD Kumaraswamy had supported this. When leaders are sleeping or doing something else, that gets captured. A few Congress leaders too wanted the ban to be imposed," the source added. On Thursday, a group of journalists from regional and national news organisations met the Karnataka Speaker. In spite of the group expressing concern about the ban on videography in the Assembly, Speaker Vishweshwar refused to review the decision made for the ongoing winter session of the Assembly. The journalists also held a protest at Bengaluru's Maurya Circle on Friday condemning the Speaker's decision. The Speaker, however, told the journalists that the ban on videography is experimental and temporary. On Thursday, the Chief Minister's Office tweeted from its official handle stating that Yediyurappa would request the Speaker to revoke the ban. However, a few hours later, the tweet was deleted. Sources with the BJP say that the tweet was deleted because Yediyurappa's statement could have given the media the impression of infighting within the BJP. "His statement was against party dictates so the tweet was taken down," the source added.
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'This must be resisted': Karnataka journalists protest ban on TV cameras in Assembly
Journalists held a protest at the Gandhi Statue in Maurya Circle in Bengaluru on Friday morning.
Journalists belonging to regional and national news organisations held a protest against Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri's decision to ban TV channels from taking photos and videos of proceedings in the Assembly. The protest was held at the Gandhi Statue in Maurya Circle in Bengaluru on Friday morning. It was attended by print, digital and television journalists working in the state including a number of photographers and videographers who will be directly affected by the decision. A photographer was also seen blindfolded while holding a camera. "We cannot be fools to believe that the decision will be reversed because of the opposition against it. The question is not about whether the Chief Minister or the Speaker has taken the decision. We need to understand about where this idea that the Vidhana Soudha and the Assembly is a place where politicians can take unilateral decisions is coming from," HR Ranganath, Managing Editor of Public TV, a Kannada news channel, said at the protest. He said that politicians are eager to ensure that the news that portrays them or their party in good light should only be published. "This eagerness is increasing every day and politicians want to present a packaged news bulletin to journalists. This must be resisted not only today but also going forward," Ranganath added. Hariprakash Konemane, editor of Vijay Karnataka, a Kannada language daily newspaper, stated that this decision will be used as a precedent to take unilateral decisions. "In the first stage, TV cameras are banned from Assembly. This will be used as a precedent in the future. We have taken a stand against this in today's edition of Vijay Karnataka in which we have published a blank picture instead of a photograph on our story on this issue," he said. The protest was supported by opposition leaders from the JD(S) and Congress. Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was present during the protest while former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his support for the protest. The protesters referenced the incident which occurred in 2012 of television news channels capturing footage of the then Karnataka MLA and minister Laxman Savadi watching porn inside the Assembly. The incident caused an uproar following which Laxman was forced to resign from his position as minister. He is currently the Deputy Chief Minister and the Minister of Transport in the state. The winter session of the Karnataka Assembly began on Thursday and is set to continue till Saturday. The ban on television cameras inside the Assembly is currently in place and the Speaker has stated that this is on an experimental basis. Congress leader Sowmya Reddy raised alarm about the decision stating that Opposition leaders who spoke about the state government's handling of flood relief measures were not highlighted on Thursday. "TV channels have been banned since today at the assembly. Today when we (opposition) spoke against government’s failure to handle flood relief, there was no focus on us but guess who? Yes, only the speaker or the CM or anyone from the ruling party. That’s why the media gag!", she said in a social media post. Outside tv media has been banned since today at the assembly! Today when we (opposition) spoke against Govt’s failure to handle flood relief, there was no focus on us but guess who? Yes, only the speaker or the CM or anyone from the ruling party. That’s why the media gag! 2/n — Sowmya Reddy (@Sowmyareddyr) October 10, 2019 "What’s the responsibility of a healthy opposition? Isn’t that our job to speak up for the people of our state! To ensure we ensure the government is doing its job properly! If our voices inside the assembly can’t be heard outside to people then isn’t this death of democracy," she added. What’s the responsibility of a healthy opposition ? Isn’t that our job to speak up for the people of our state! To ensure we ensure the government is doing its job properly! If our voices inside the assembly can’t be heard outside to people then isn’t this death of democracy!!! — Sowmya Reddy (@Sowmyareddyr) October 10, 2019 Opposition leaders and journalists stated that they will continue their protest until the ban on television cameras is lifted. Around 50 journalists from print, digital and television news organisations, including from both regional and national organisations, have petitioned the Speaker to review his decision. The Speaker will consider the petition after the current legislature session in the Assembly is completed.
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B'luru techie dies in car accident in Thailand, Centre to assist in bringing back body
Pragya Paliwal, a 29-year-old techie who's originally from Madhya Pradesh, had gone to Thailand on an assignment for her company when the accident occurred.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday promised to assist in bringing back the body of a woman techie who was working with a Bengaluru-based software company and passed away in Thailand. She died in a road accident when she was on a professional assignment there. "Our Embassy @IndiainThailand is in touch with the bereaved family and is providing all assistance in this difficult time," Jaishankar tweeted. Pragya Paliwal, a 29-year-old techie who's originally from Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh, had gone to Thailand on an assignment for her company, and she died in a road accident in Phuket. Pragya's family members came to know about the incident only on Wednesday. Unfortunately, none of them have a passport. Deepak Paliwal, Pragya's brother, said that the Indian Embassy had suggested to them that a family member should travel to Thailand to receive the body from the hospital. “But the problem we are facing is none of us has a passport. However, we have got assurance from the Ministry of External Affairs that it would help us and for that we have to reach Delhi,” he said as per Hindustan Times. The family, based in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district, then reached out to their local MLA, Alok Chaturvedi, who informed Chief Minister Kamal Nath. The MLA also reached out to the Centre. "Her (Pragya Paliwal) friend has informed the family about her demise in a car accident. According to her friend, the dead body is kept in Patong Hospital in Phuket City," Alok Chaturvedi said as per NDTV. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has extended his condolences to the family, assuring all possible help. With IANs inputs
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Drones, elephants used to track Bandipur tiger that killer farmer
Even a day after a massive manhunt was launched, the tiger remained at large.
Image for representation
The tiger in Karnataka's Bandipur reserve forest that is believed to have killed two people remained elusive even a day after a massive hunt was launched to trace and capture it alive, an official said on Thursday. "We have resumed the search earlier in the day for the killer tiger which remains at large in its reserve area where it may be hiding. Efforts are on to sight and trap it," state's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Sanjay Mohan told IANS. Clarifying that there is no written or oral order to shoot the feline for killing two persons, including an octogenarian on Tuesday, Mohan said the hunt was only to trace and capture alive and not shoot it. "There is no order or notice to shoot the tiger but only capture it. We have formed five more teams with a vet each to trap the big cat," he said. The Bandipur tiger reserve, a popular tourist destination in southern India, is an 872 square km dense forest in Chamarajanagar district on the border with Tamil Nadu. It is about 220 km southwest of Bengaluru. The search operation is being conducted by the forest guards as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). "The guidelines mandate the standard operating procedures on how to carry out a tiger capture operation. The search operation is underway in compliance with the NTCA guidelines," Mohan said. On the presence of the Hyderabad-based father-and-son hunter duo Nawab Shafat Ali Khan and Asgar Ali at the search spot, Mohan said they came to the place on their own after hearing about the tiger mauling 80-year-old Shivappa to death when he was returning home after tending to his cattle in the nearby village. "The Hyderabadi hunters came to the Bandipur forest uninvited. As we did not invite them, they left after being asked to leave," claimed Mohan. Noting that the department had expert veterinary doctors to conduct the tiger trapping without the help of hunters, Mohan said three more elephants were engaged in the search with about 200 camera traps. "We are also using a drone to fortify the search in the demarcated area to spot the tiger, which must be of 4-6 years old," said Mohan. The drone, however, was not effective in sighting the tiger, which may be resting under a canopy of trees or in a shadowed place. Shivappa is the second victim of the big cat, which turned a man-eater two months ago when it claimed its first victim, identified as Shivamadaiah, in the same area in mid-September when he was returning to his village with two bullocks from another village. Once the tiger is captured, it will be shifted to the Mysore Rehabilitation Centre, Mohan said.
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