Why Do Angels Need Armies?
Move aside Shiv Sena, there바카라s a new sena in town바카라in service of Archangel Gabriel. The Catholic Church in Kerala has set up a unit of retired military and paramilitary personnel in Kannur and christened it Gabriel Sena. But why does an angel need an army? In case you바카라re wondering if it has anything to do with the sex scandals, land rows and factional disputes plaguing the clergy, the director of the sena lays all such heresy to rest: it has been formed for 바카라crowd control바카라, he declares. After all, why should countries alone enjoy the privilege of large armies? Even gods and angels could use a little military reinforcement to herd their flock from time to time.
Everybody Loves A Good Fine
The DM of Ghaziabad imposed a fine on the DM of Ghaziabad, who deposited it with the DM of Ghaziabad. Yep, you read that right. After Ajay Shankar Pandey noticed the overflowing tank at the collectorate, he imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 on the office staff, including himself, for wastage of water and underlined the importance of conserving the scarce resource. But Ajay is not the first babu to set such a fine example. An IAS officer in Beed did the same after a journalist pointed out that his office had served tea in single-use plastic cups banned by law.
Pray, Don바카라t Forget To Flush
When the PM said 바카라toilets first, temples later바카라 on the campaign trail before the 2014 general elections, little did he know his words would prove rather prescient five years later. And how! For more than a year, residents of Maudaha in Uttar Pradesh have been conducting prayers and bowing in veneration outside a building they recently discovered was a toilet. The reason for this unholy error? The building was shut since its construction and the contractor had painted it saffron. To avoid confusing the religious populace more, the authorities have now daubed the walls a flushing yellow. What the yell!
Badass Burglars
Rayappan is a brave man바카라he was part of the team that took down the fearsome bandit Veerappan and won medals from the CM and President among others. But looks like there are folks braver than him. For when Rayappan and his family were away, robbers broke into his house in Tamil Nadu and scooted with 10 sovereigns of gold jewellery, Rs 50,000 in cash and even four of his medals! Tut tut, if the valiant have to contend with such burglaries, one can only imagine what the fate of us meek mortals will be.
Imagine There바카라s No Neighbours
If India바카라s border disputes with Pakistan, China and Bangladesh weren바카라t enough, there바카라s a new one바카라with Nepal. It objected to India바카라s 바카라inclusion바카라 of Kalapani and Lipulekh in a new map as it considers these territories part of its Darchula district. Both countries, however, indulged in diplomatic sugar coatings to uphold their 바카라close bilateral relations바카라. So how did this 바카라friendly바카라 dispute start? Blame the 바카라vested interests trying to create differences바카라.
Let Him Eat Cake
Looks like RJD scion Tejashwi Yadav can바카라t leave bad press and controversy behind. The latest? He was celebrating three decades of his existence on earth and a photo of him cutting a cake in what appeared to be a chartered flight aggrieved many. 바카라Heights of poverty,바카라 quipped one while another commented, 바카라Hope you had a great time celebrating in a private jet while your dad is in jail.바카라 But such barbs don바카라t faze the young Yadav. 바카라A man who owns buffaloes, sells milk, how can he board a plane?바카라 he declared. Maybe it바카라s all the gold he바카라s alchemising from cow milk after BJP Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh바카라s remarkable discovery that helped modest cowherd Tejashwi charter a plane.
Broken Hearts Party Song
바카라Tere mere beech mein, kaisa hai yeh bandhan anjaana, maine nahi jana, tune nahin jana (What is this unknown bond between us? I don바카라t know, you don바카라t know).바카라 This is not the plaint of lovers canoodling at Marine Drive, but a Bollywood song that a BJP leader crooned after the government-formation impasse with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Soon enough, others joined the band and began ascribing Bollywood tunes to the parties바카라 predicaments. After all, heartbreak is heartbreak, whether inflicted by a negligent lover or longstanding political ally.
Chikan? Stop It
Women across the planet바카라rich nations and poor바카라suffer the trauma of groping on public transport, especially during rush hours. For all its politeness, Japan too is notorious for its high rate of groping cases. Some women face it almost daily on packed trains. They endured silently until it all snapped. They have decided to retaliate now.
A report in The Economist says a teenager molested on her commute to high school decided to hang a sign on her bag after fruitless talks with the police and railway authorities. It read: 바카라Groping is a crime. I will not cry myself to sleep.바카라 That did the trick, and it stopped.
The teenager바카라s bold act inspired Yayoi Matsunaga, who had been a victim in her youth, to launch a crowdfunding campaign to create badges with that message. They proved as effective as 95 per cent of users reported the groping stopped in public transport soon after. According to media reports, recent years have recorded a flurry of innovations in the fight against groping바카라chikan in Japanese. Many train services offer carriages reserved for ladies. Some have installed cameras to catch the molesters바카라those prying, blinking lenses and surveillance stickers are rewarding deterrents.
Nari Woo and Remon Katayama of the startup QCCCA have launched Chikan Radar, an app that enables users to report groping and thus, record where it is common. Since its launch in August, 981 cases have been reported across Japan. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police have an app too바카라Digi Police바카라that, when activated, screams 바카라Stop it!바카라 and produces a full-screen message that says: 바카라There is a molester. Please help.바카라
Shachihata, a company that sells personal seals, has developed a stamp that allows victims to mark their attackers with invisible ink, which can be detected under UV light. A trial run of 500 anti-groping stamps, priced at ¥2,500 ($23), sold out within 30 minutes, The Economist reports.
There were 2,943 reported cases of groping in Japan in 2017, mostly in Tokyo. The actual number of victims is undoubtedly much higher. Surveys suggest that more than half of female commuters have experienced it, although only 10 per cent of victims report the crime. Some hold back out of fear and embarrassment; others because they do not want to be late for school or work.
Groping has long been trivialised as a nuisance rather than sexual assault. But Matsunaga, who now runs the organisation Groping Prevention Activities Centre, says: 바카라I believe that we will be able to eliminate groping.바카라
Illustrations by Saahil; Text Curated by Alka Gupta
