SUBHADITYA NEWS THIS WEEK(SCIENCE,POLITICAL,SPORTS ,MOVIE &BOOK NEWS )

5,000 deep-sea animals new to science turned up in ocean records:

Researchers know of only an estimated 10 percent of the animals, like this preserved sea cucumber, that live in a deep-sea ecosystem in the Pacific Ocean that’s targeted for mining exploration.

The animals live in a zone partly promised to companies for mining exploration.

More than 5,000 animal species previously unknown to science live in a pristine part of the deep sea.

Their home — called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone — sits in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico. The zone is roughly twice the size of India, sits 4,000 to 6,000 meters deep and is largely a mystery, like much of the deep sea.

In a new study, scientists amassed and analyzed more than 100,000 published records of animals found in the zone, with some records dating back to the 1870s. About 90 percent of species from these records were previously undescribed: There were only about 440 named species compared with roughly 5,100 without scientific names. Worms and arthropods make up the bulk of the undescribed creatures, but other animals found there include sponges, sea cucumbers and corals, the researchers report May 25 in Current Biology.

“The diversity down there does surprise me,” says study coauthor Muriel Rabone, a data analyst and biologist at the Natural History Museum in London. “It’s just astonishing.”

Types of animals that live in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, by phyla

Life in the deep

A new study analyzed more than 100,000 records of animals found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a large area of the seafloor in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. About 90 percent of species from the records were unknown to science (orange). The majority of animals there are in the phyla Annelida and Arthropoda, which include creatures like worms and crustaceans.

Due to its rich content of minerals like cobalt and nickel, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone is sought after by mining companies. About a sixth of it, roughly a million square kilometers, has already been promised to companies for exploration.

Many of the named species in the new study have been found only in the zone, emphasizing how important it is to establish a biodiversity baseline for the area before mining starts, Rabone says. But the area is deep and remote, making data collection there difficult and expensive (SN: 11/10/17).

What’s more, deep-sea ecosystems are connected to the ecosystems above them, Rabone says, such as through nutrient cycling. Scientists need to understand more about the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and areas like it to anticipate how the effects of mining may bubble up to the ocean surface.

Stable qubit is a prime candidate for universal quantum computer:

PhD researcher is holding a PCB with two connectors and tweezers holding the quantum chip.

Researchers from QuTech improved the so-called "Andreev spin qubit" in a critical way and believe it can become a prime candidate in the pursuit of a perfect qubit. The new type of qubit is created in a more reliable and intrinsically stable way, compared to previous versions, by combining the advantages of two other types of qubits. The team has published their work in Nature Physics.

Unlike the world of conventional computers, where bits are based on very well established and reliable technologies, the perfect qubit has not been invented yet. Will the quantum computer of the future contain qubits that are based on superconducting transmon qubits, spin qubits in silicon, NV centers in diamond, or perhaps some other quantum phenomenon? Each type of qubit has their own advantages—and disadvantages. One is more stable, the second has a higher fidelity, and others are more easily mass-produced. The perfect qubit does not exist. Yet.

Best of both worlds

In this work, the researchers from QuTech—a collaboration between the Delft University of Technology and TNO—and together with international collaborators made a smart combination of existing techniques to store quantum information.

Marta Pita-Vidal, co-first author explains, "Two of the most promising types are spin qubits in semiconductors and transmon qubits in superconducting circuits. However, each type has its own challenges. For example, spin qubits are small and compatible with current industrial technology, but they struggle with interacting over long distances. On the other hand, transmon qubits can be controlled and read out efficiently over long distances, but they have a built-in speed limit for operations and are relatively large. The researchers in this study aim to harness the advantages of both types of qubits by developing a hybrid architecture that combines them."

Andreev spin qubits

"In our experiment, we managed to directly manipulate the spin of the qubit using a microwave signal," says Arno Bargerbos, the other co-first author. "We achieved very high 'Rabi frequencies,' which is a measure of how fast they can control the qubit. Next, they embedded this 'Andreev spin qubit' within a superconducting transmon qubit which enables fast measurement of the qubit state."

The researchers characterized the coherence time of the Andreev spin qubit, a measure of how long the qubit can stay alive. They observed that its "longevity" is affected by the magnetic field from the surrounding materials.

"Finally," says Bargerbos, "we demonstrated the first direct strong coupling between a spin qubit and a superconducting qubit, meaning that they could get the two qubits to interact in a controlled way. This suggests that the Andreev spin qubit can become a key element to interconnect quantum processors based on radically different qubit technologies: semiconducting spin qubits and superconducting qubits."

Principal investigator Christian Andersen says, "The current Andreev spin qubit is not perfect yet. It still needs to demonstrate multi-qubit operations, which is needed for universal quantum computers. The coherence time is also sub-optimal. That can be improved by using another material. Fortunately, the scalability of the qubits is on par with semiconductor qubits, raising the hope that we can get to the point where making the quantum algorithms becomes the limiting factor and not the quantum hardware."

A role for meteoritic iron in the emergence of life on Earth:

Image Description of Rock : A small fragment of the Campo del Cielo iron meteorite. The same intense heat that partially melted the meteorite to produce the smooth surface visible here would have also evaporated and ablated iron, creating tiny, nanometer-sized particles. These particles could have acted as catalysts for producing the building blocks of life on the early Earth.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and Ludwig Maximilians University Munich have proposed a new scenario for the emergence of the first building blocks for life on Earth, roughly 4 billion years ago.

By experiment, they showed how iron particles from meteors and from volcanic ash could have served as catalysts for converting a carbon-dioxide rich early atmosphere into hydrocarbons, but also acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, which in turn can serve as building blocks for fatty acids, nucleobases, sugars and amino acids. Their article, "Synthesis of prebiotic organics from CO2 by catalysis with meteoritic and volcanic particles," is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

To the best of our current knowledge, life on Earth emerged a mere 400 to 700 million years after the Earth itself had formed. That is a fairly quick development. For comparison, consider that afterwards, it took about 2 billion years for the first proper (eukaryotic) cells to form. The first step towards the emergence of life is the formation of organic molecules that can serve as building blocks for organisms. Given how fast life itself arose, it would be plausible for this comparatively simple first step to have been completed quickly, as well.

The research described here presents a new way for such organic compounds to form on planetary scales under the conditions prevalent on the early Earth. The key supporting role goes to iron particles produced from meteorites, which act as a catalyst. Catalysts are substances whose presence speeds up specific chemical reactions, but which do not get used up in those reactions. In that way, they are akin to the tools used in manufacture: Tools are necessary to produce, say, a car, but after one car is built, the tools can be used to build the next one.

From industrial chemistry to the beginnings of the Earth

Key inspiration for the research came, of all things, from industrial chemistry. Specifically, Oliver Trapp, a professor at Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, and Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), wondered whether the so-called Fischer–Tropsch process for converting carbon monoxide and hydrogen into hydrocarbons in the presence of metallic catalysts might not have had an analog on an early Earth with a carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere.

"When I looked at the chemical composition of the Campo-del-Cielo iron meteorite, consisting of iron, nickel, some cobalt and tiny amounts of iridium, I immediately realized that this is a perfect Fischer-Tropsch catalyst," explains Trapp. The logical next step was to set up an experiment to test the cosmic version of Fischer-Tropsch.

Dmitry Semenov, a staff member at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, says, "When Oliver told me about his idea to experimentally investigate the catalytic properties of iron meteorite particles to synthesize building blocks for life, my first thought was that we should also study the catalytic properties of volcanic ash particles. After all, the early Earth should have been geologically active. There should have been plenty of fine ash particles in the atmosphere and on Earth's first land masses."

Re-creating cosmic catalysis

For their experiments, Trapp and Semenov teamed up with Trapp's Ph.D. student Sophia Peters, who would run the experiments as part of her Ph.D. work. For access to meteorites and minerals, as well as expertise in the analysis of such materials, they reached out to mineralogist Rupert Hochleitner, an expert on meteorites at the Mineralogische Staatssammlung in Munich.

The first ingredient for the experiments was always a source of iron particles. In different versions of the experiment, those iron particles might be iron from an actual iron meteorite, or particles from an iron-containing stone meteorite, or volcanic ash from Mount Etna, the latter as a stand-in for the iron-rich particles that would be present on the early Earth with its highly active volcanism. Next, the iron particles were mixed with different minerals such as might be found on the early Earth. These minerals would act as a support structure. Catalysts are commonly found as small particles on a suitable substrate.

Producing small particles : Particle size matters. The fine volcanic ash particles produced by volcanic eruptions are typically a few micrometers in size. For meteorites falling through the atmosphere of the early Earth, on the other hand, atmospheric friction would ablate nanometer-size iron particles. The impact of an iron meteorite (or of the iron core of a larger asteroid) would produce micrometer-sized iron particles directly through fragmentation, and nanometer-sized particles as iron evaporated in the intense heat and later-on condensed again in the surrounding air.

The researchers aimed to reproduce this variety of particle sizes in two different ways. By dissolving the meteoric material in acid, they produced nanometer-sized particles from their prepared material. And by putting either the meteoritic material or the volcanic ash into a ball mill for 15 minutes, the researchers could produce larger, micrometer-sized particles. Such a ball mill is a drum containing both the material and steel balls, which is rotated at high speeds, in this case more than ten times per second, with the steel balls grinding up the material.

Since Earth's initial atmosphere did not contain oxygen, the researchers then followed up with chemical reactions that would remove almost all of the oxygen from the mixture.

Producing organic molecules under pressure : As the last step in each version of the experiment, the mixture was brought into a pressure chamber filled with (mostly) carbon dioxide CO2 and (some) hydrogen molecules, chosen so as to simulate the atmosphere of the early Earth. Both the exact mixture and the pressure were varied between experiments.

The results were impressive: Thanks to the iron catalyst, organic compounds such as methanol, ethanol and acetaldehyde were produced, but also formaldehyde. That is an encouraging harvest—acetaldehyde and formaldehyde in particular are important building blocks for fatty acids, nucleobases (themselves the building blocks of DNA), sugars and amino acids.

Importantly, these reactions took place successfully under a variety of pressure and temperature conditions. Sophia Peters says, "Since there are many different possibilities for the properties of the early Earth, I tried to experimentally test every possible scenario. In the end, I used fifty different catalysts, and ran the experiment at various values for the pressure, the temperature, and the ratio of carbon dioxide and hydrogen molecules." That the organic molecules formed under such a variety of condition is a strong indication that reactions like these could have taken place on the early Earth—whatever its precise atmospheric conditions will turn out to be.

Adding a scenario to the portfolio of possible mechanisms : With these results, there is now a new contender for how the first building blocks of life were formed on Earth. Joining the ranks of "classic" mechanisms such as organic synthesis near hot vents on the ocean floor, or electric discharge in a methane-rich atmosphere (as in the Urey-Miller experiment), and of models that predict how organic compounds could have formed in the depth of space and transported to Earth by asteroids or comets (see this MPIA press release), there is now another possibility: meteoric iron particles or fine volcanic ash acting as catalysts in an early, carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere.

With this spread of possibilities, learning more about the atmospheric composition and physical properties of the early Earth should allow researchers to deduce, eventually, which of the various mechanisms will give the highest yield of building blocks under the given conditions—and which thus was likely the most important mechanism for the first steps from non-life to life on our home planet.

Hydrothermal Vent :Such a place could accelerate the formation of more complex molecules, more and more, perhaps as complex as RNA. And once made, they could be cooled down immediately before they got destroyed back to their starting point. Here is another example of symmetry breaking in nature; creation of more complex states starting from simpler states at molecular level.

Slowing the aging of the intestine in fish slows the aging of the entire organism, discover scientists :

Zebrafish share 70% of their genes with humans, while 84% of genes connected to human diseases have an equivalent among zebrafish. Aging among zebrafish is similar to that of humans,

Is it possible to extend lifespan by simply slowing the aging of an organ, such as the intestine? CNRS researchers have discovered how to extend the life expectancy of zebrafish by reactivating a gene within intestinal cells. The results were published in the journal Nature Aging on May 4, 2023.

The intestine plays a crucial role in an anti-aging approach as well as general health. Over a century ago, Elie Metchnikov observed that aging ensued from increased inflammation of the intestine and microbial infiltration within blood circulation. The more we age, the less the digestive tract serves as a barrier, allowing the undesirable particles and bacteria that cause the more rapid aging of the organism to pass through.

Zebrafish live for less than a year, but extending the length of the chromosomes in their guts keeps them healthy into old age.

In a new study, Miguel Godinho Ferreira and his team at the Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging (Ircan) in Nice (CNRS/Inserm/Université Côte d'Azur) have studied the impact on aging of telomere length in the intestinal cells of zebrafish. As with humans, these chromosome extremities shrink faster in the intestine than in other organs during the course of a life, which is why this process plays such an important role in aging.

The intestinal wall of fish without telomerase (left) becomes inflamed; restoring telomerase brings it back to health (right)

Scientists inserted a DNA fragment within zebrafish that enabled intestinal cells to produce the enzyme responsible for lengthening telomeres, telomerase. They then observed the slowing not only of the organ's decline, but also and especially that of the entire organism. This phenomenon regenerates the fertility and general health of individuals during the normal aging process, and increases lifespan with no associated risk of developing cancer.

The proximity between telomere length among zebrafish and humans opens prospects for counteracting aging. Researchers are simultaneously studying the pathologies associated with shrinking telomere length, including cancer as well as neurodegenerative, immune, and gastrointestinal diseases.

World's most sensitive model-independent experiment starts searching for dark matter:

Magnet row of the ALPS experiment in the HERA tunnel In this part of the magnets, intense laser light is reflected back and forth, from which axions are supposed to form

The world's most sensitive model-independent experiment to search for particularly light particles, of which dark matter might be composed, starts today at DESY in the form of the 'light shining through a wall' experiment ALPS II. Scientific calculations predict that this ominous form of matter should occur five times as often in the universe as normal, visible matter. Until now, however, no one has been able to identify particles of this substance; the ALPS experiment could now furnish such evidence.

The ALPS (Any Light Particle Search) experiment, which stretches a total length of 250 meters, is looking for a particularly light type of new elementary particle. Using twenty-four recycled superconducting magnets from the HERA accelerator, an intense laser beam, precision interferometry and highly sensitive detectors, the international research team wants to search for these so-called axions or axion-like particles.

Such particles are believed to react only extremely weakly with known kinds of matter, which means they cannot be detected in experiments using accelerators. ALPS is therefore resorting to an entirely different principle to detect them: in a strong magnetic field, photons—i.e. particles of light—could be transformed into these mysterious elementary particles and back into light again.

"The idea for an experiment like ALPS has been around for over 30 years. By using components and the infrastructure of the former HERA accelerator, together with state-of-the-art technologies, we are now able to realize ALPS II in an international collaboration for the first time," says Beate Heinemann, Director of Particle Physics at DESY.

Helmut Dosch, Chairman of DESY's Board of Directors, adds, "DESY has set itself the task of decoding matter in all its different forms. So ALPS II fits our research strategy perfectly, and perhaps it will push open the door to dark matter."

The ALPS team sends a high-intensity laser beam along a device called an optical resonator in a vacuum tube, approximately 120 meters in length, in which the beam is reflected backwards and forwards and which is enclosed by twelve HERA magnets arranged in a straight line. If a photon were to turn into an axion in the strong magnetic field, that axion could pass through the opaque wall at the end of the line of magnets.

Once through the wall, it would enter another magnetic track almost identical to the first. Here, the axion could then change back into a photon, which would be captured by the detector at the end. A second optical resonator is set up here to increase the probability of an axion turning back into a photon by a factor of 10,000.

This means, if light does arrive behind the wall, it must have been an axion in between. "However, despite all our technical tricks, the probability of a photon turning into an axion and back again is very small," says DESY's Axel Lindner, project leader and spokesperson of the ALPS collaboration, "like throwing 33 dice and them all coming up the same."

In order for the experiment to actually work, the researchers had to tweak all the different components of the apparatus to maximum performance. The light detector is so sensitive that it can detect a single photon per day. The precision of the system of mirrors for the light is also record-breaking: the distance between the mirrors must remain constant to within a fraction of an atomic diameter relative to the wavelength of the laser.

And the superconducting magnets, each nine meters long, generate a magnetic field of 5.3 Tesla in the vacuum tube, more than 100 000 times the strength of the Earth's magnetic field. The magnets were taken from the 6.3-kilometer-long proton ring of the HERA accelerator and upcycled for the ALPS project. The magnets were originally curved on the inside and had to be straightened for the experiment so that they could store more laser light; and the safety equipment for operating them under superconducting conditions at minus 269 degrees Celsius has been completely revised.

The ALPS experiment was originally proposed by DESY theoretician Andreas Ringwald, who also underpinned the theoretical motivation for the experiment with his calculations on extending the Standard Model. Ringwald says, "Experimental and theoretical physicists worked together very closely for ALPS. The result is an experiment which has a unique potential to discover axions, which we might eventually even use to search for high-frequency gravitational waves."

The search for axions will initially begin in an attenuated operating mode, simplifying the search for "background light" that might falsely indicate the presence of axions. The experiment is due to achieve full sensitivity in the second half of 2023. The mirror system is to be upgraded in 2024, and an alternative light detector can also be installed at a later time.

The scientists expect to publish the first results from ALPS in 2024. Lindner is convinced, "Even if we don't find any light particles with ALPS, the experiment will shift the exclusion limits for ultra-light particles by a factor of 1000."

Overall, some 30 scientists have joined forces in the international ALPS collaboration. They come from seven research institutions: in addition to DESY, the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), the Institute for Gravitational Physics at Leibniz University in Hanover, Cardiff University (UK), the University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida, U.S.), the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, the University of Hamburg and the University of Southern Denmark (Odense) are all involved.

The researchers are already making plans for the time after their current search for axions. For example, they want to use ALPS to find out whether a magnetic field influences the propagation of light in a vacuum, as predicted decades ago by Euler and Heisenberg. And the researchers also want to use the experimental setup to detect high-frequency gravitational waves.

axionstar

What are axions?  : Axions are hypothetical elementary particles. They are part of a physical mechanism postulated by the theoretical physicist Roberto Peccei and his colleague Helen Quinn in 1977 in order to solve a problem of the strong interaction—one of the four fundamental forces of nature. In 1978, the theoretical physicists Frank Wilczek and Steven Weinberg linked a new particle to this Peccei-Quinn mechanism.

Since this particle would "clean up" the theory, Wilczek named it "axion" after a detergent. A number of different extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics predict the existence of axions or axion-like particles. If they do exist, they would solve a whole series of problems currently puzzling physicists, including being candidates for the building blocks of dark matter. According to current calculations, this dark matter should be around five times as abundant in the universe as normal matter.

Researchers discover Chinmo, 'the youth gene':

Absence of Chinmo in imaginal cells suppresses wing growth (left) compared to control wing precursor tissue (middle), while overexpression of the Chinmo gene induces tissue overgrowth, as occurs in processes tumors (right)

A new study published on eLife and led by the Institute for Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF) and the IRB Barcelona, has revealed that the Chinmo gene is responsible for establishing the juvenile stage in insects. It also confirms that the Br-C and E93 genes play a regulatory role in insect maturity. These genes, which are also present in humans, act as a promoter and as a suppressor, respectively, of cancerous processes.

The results of the research, which was carried out with the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the cockroach Blatella germanica, reveal that these genes have been conserved throughout the evolution of insects. Therefore, it is believed that they could play a key role in the evolution of metamorphosis.

The Chinmo, Br-C, and E93 genes are the hands of the biological clock in insects

Insects that undergo complete metamorphosis, such as flies, go through the following three stages of development: the embryo, which is formed inside the egg; the larva (juvenile stage), which grows in several phases; and the pupa, which is the stage that encompasses metamorphosis and the formation of the adult organism.

Previous studies had discovered that the Br-C gene determines pupal formation in insects. In 2019, the same IBE team that has led this study described the essential function of E93 to complete metamorphosis in insects and initiate the maturation of the tissues that go on to form the adult. However, the gene responsible for determining the juvenile stage was unknown until now. This study has now identified the Chimno gene as the main precursor of this stage in insects.

By deleting the Chinmo gene in Drosophila specimens, the scientists observed that these insects progressed to the pupal stage without completing the juvenile stage, moving to the adult stage early. These findings thus confirm that Chinmo is essential for juvenile development.

SC refuses to entertain PIL for inauguration of new Parliament building by President Droupadi Murmu:

The Supreme Court rejected a PIL seeking a direction to the Lok Sabha Secretariat to have President Droupadi Murmu inaugurate the new Parliament building, saying it would not entertain the petition. The petitioner contended that under Article 79, the president was the country’s executive head and hence should have been invited. The PIL was filed amid the controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled inauguration of the building on May 28.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a direction to the Lok Sabha Secretariat for inauguration of the new Parliament building by President Droupadi Murmu. A bench of justices JK Maheshwari and PS Narasimha told petitioner in-person advocate Jaya Sukin that the court understands why and how this petition was filed and it is not inclined to entertain this petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.

Sukin said under Article 79, the president is the executive hea the president is the executive head of the country and she should have been invited. He, however, said if the court does not wish to entertain the petition, he be allowed to withdraw it.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said if the petition is allowed to be withdrawn, then it will be filed in the high court.

The bench then dismissed the petition as withdrawn.

The petition said the respondents -- the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the Union of India -- are "humiliating" the president by not inviting her for the inauguration.

Delhi Court Allows Rahul Gandhi To Obtain Ordinary Passport For 3 Years:

New Delhi: The Delhi court on Friday granted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a no-objection certificate (NOC) for issuance of an "ordinary passport" to him after he surrendered his diplomatic passport as he had been disqualified as an MP.

The court in Rouse Avenue granted NOC for three years to Gandhi.  "I’m partly allowing your application. Not for 10 years but three years," the judge told Gandhi’s lawyer.

The Congress leader moved the court seeking an NOC after his he was convited in a defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname, by a Surat court.

Gandhi is an accused in the National Herald case in which former BJP MP Subramanian Swamy is the complainant. Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had opposed the plea moved by Gandhi, saying that if the former MP is allowed to travel abroad, it may hamper the ongoing probe.

Gandhi has applied for a new passport for his upcoming visit to the United States on June 4, where he is expected to address a public rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Supreme Court grants interim bail to former AAP minister Satyendra Jain:

satyendar-jain

New Delhi: The Supreme Court granted interim bail to former AAP Minister Satyendra Jain for six weeks on medical grounds. The bail was granted a day after he reportedly slipped inside the bathroom of Tihar jail in which he was lodged since May last year following his arrest on money laundering charges.

He was put on oxygen support and admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital (LNJP) in the intensive care unit (ICU) for treatment. His X-ray and scans were conducted and later referred to Lok Nayak Hospital after Jain complained of persistent pain in his back, shoulder, and knee, the hospital officials informed.

Jain had suffered injuries to his back after he fell in the washroom of Tihar Jail number 4. His X-ray and scans were conducted and later referred to Lok Nayak Hospital after he complained of persistent pain in his back, shoulder, and knee, hospital officials said.

During the hearing, the Enforcement Directorate urged the apex court to have Jain examined by an independent medical team before considering interim bail on medical grounds, however, the apex court did not agree. The directorate then requested that he be evaluated by an independent medical team while on interim bail and the Supreme Court said it would consider the request.

politicalnewDelhi Chief Minister and AAP president Arvind Kejriwal sought a meeting with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for its support in Parliament against the Centre’s Ordinance over control of services of bureaucrats. In a tweet, Kejriwal said, that he wanted to discuss "general assault on federal structure and prevailing political situation".

Congress promises farm loan waiver upto Rs 2 lakh:

Congress promises farm loan waiver upto Rs 2 lakh

KARIMNAGAR: The Congress has held out an offer to waive farm loans upto Rs 2 lakh per farmer if it forms the next government in Telangana.

"We will do this in one go and decrease the price of cooking gas per cylinder to Rs 500, sanction Rs 5 lakh for construction of house to the homeless and fill two lakh posts in the first year of the next government, the party’s Husnabad assembly segment in-charge Praveen Reddy said on Thursday.

"The people had given a chance to the BRS party two times. This time, they must elect the Congress that gave us a separate Telangana state," he said while participating in the Gadapa Gadapa Ku Congress party programme in Sriramulapalli village of Koheda mandal in Husnabad constituency.

He said while BRS party MLA Satish Kumar was close to chief minister Chandrasekhar Rao, he did not take any step for development of the constituency. Whatever development the constituency had was thanks to the previous Congress governments, he claimed.

The Congress leader visited various villages to distribute pamphlets and explain to the people what the Congress party can do if it returns to power.

"When the BRS government completed the Mallanna Sagar project, why was it showing discrimination and not completing the Gandipallu project in Husnabad constituency," he asked.

"KCR had boasted that he took up the separate Telangana movement for the sake of water, jobs and funds (Neelu, Niyamakalu and Needulu), but he betrayed the people after he formed the government. The various welfare schemes that the BRS government implemented had only benefited its party cadre, he alleged.

Inauguration of new Parliament building: 19 opposition parties to boycott ceremony :

Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28 following an invitation by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

in a show of unity, 19 opposition parties, including the Congress, Left and TMC, on Wednesday announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying they find no value in a new building when the soul of democracy has been sucked out.

Noting that the inauguration of the Parliament building is a momentous occasion, the opposition parties in a joint statement said, "Despite our belief that the government is threatening democracy, and our disapproval of the autocratic manner in which the new Parliament was built, we were open to sinking our differences and marking this occasion". However, Prime Minister Modi's decision to inaugurate the new Parliament building by himself, "completely sidelining President Droupadi Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy which demands a commensurate response".

Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28 following an invitation by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

The opposition parties said the president is not only the Head of State in India, but also an integral part of Parliament as she summons, prorogues, and addresses it.

"In short, Parliament cannot function without the president. Yet, the prime minister has decided to inaugurate the new Parliament building without her. This undignified act insults the high office of the president, and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution. It undermines the spirit of inclusion which saw the nation celebrate its first woman Adivasi President," the parties said.

The Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, Janata Dal (United), AAP, CPI-M, CPI, SP, NCP, SS (UBT), RJD, IUML, JMM, NC, KC (M), RSP, VCK, MDMK, RLD are the signatories of the joint statement.

The decision to boycott came amid a war of words on the matter between the government and the opposition, which has been demanding that the president should inaugurate the new Parliament building and not the prime minister.

In their joint statement, the opposition parties said the new Parliament building has been built at "great expense" during a once-in-a-century pandemic with no consultation with the people of India or MPs, for whom it is apparently being built.

"When the soul of democracy has been sucked out from Parliament, we find no value in a new building. We announce our collective decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building," the parties said.

"We will continue to fight ? in letter, in spirit, and in substance against this 'authoritarian' prime minister and his government, and take our message directly to the people of India," the opposition parties said. The opposition parties said Article 79 of the Constitution states. "There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States and the House of the People."

Slamming the prime minister, the parties said, "Undemocratic acts are not new to the prime minister, who has relentlessly hollowed out Parliament. Opposition Members of Parliament have been disqualified, suspended and muted when they raised the issues of the people of India. MPs from the Treasury benches have disrupted Parliament."

"Many controversial legislations, including the three farm laws, have been passed with almost no debate, and Parliamentary Committees have been practically made defunct," the parties said.

The Congress said the prime minister's decision to inaugurate the new Parliament building is a "direct attack" on democracy."Completely sidelining President Droupadi Murmu ji on the occasion of the inauguration of the new Parliament House is not only an insult to Her Excellency but also a direct attack on democracy," the Congress said in a tweet in Hindi.

"When the very spirit of democracy has been expelled from Parliament, we see no value in a new building. We announce our collective decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building," it said.

RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha said President Murmu should have inaugurated it as this would be in line with constitutional propriety.

"However, the prime minister made a choice. He does not listen to others," Jha said.The opposition parties had boycotted the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the building by Modi in December 2020, citing concerns about its timing amid farmer protests, the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic distress due to a lockdown.The grand opening of the new building, it is learnt, will be marked by the chanting of hymns, a "havan" and a "puja". The rituals will start in the morning and the main programme is scheduled to be held in the afternoon.Besides Modi, the Lok Sabha Speaker will be present at the opening ceremony.

Mamata Banerjee Extends Support to Kejriwal in 'Fight' Against Ordinance on Delhi Services:

Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and Bhagwant Singh Mann.

Defeating the Bill to convert the ordinance into law in the Rajya Sabha will be a "semi-final before the 2024 elections", the West Bengal chief minister said.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, May 23, said that she would support her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal’s efforts to fight against the Union government’s ordinance to retake control of appointments and transfers of bureaucrats working for the NCT government.Banerjee met Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, both from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in Kolkata. According to the news agency PTI, the West Bengal chief minister said that the forthcoming vote in Rajya Sabha to convert the ordinance on control of services in Delhi into law, will be a “semi-final before the 2024 elections”.

Mamata Banerjee Extends Support to Kejriwal in 'Fight' Against Ordinance on Delhi Services

Any ordinance must be approved by parliament within six months of its introduction. While the BJP has an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, it needs the support of parties outside the NDA to get a Bill passed in the upper house.

Kejriwal is on a nationwide tour to garner support against the ordinance, which was promulgated to invalidate a Supreme Court ruling giving control over bureaucrats to the Delhi government. AAP leaders Raghav Chadha, Sanjay Singh and Atishi also participated in the meeting.

According to Indian Express, Banerjee said the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will oppose the ordinance and appealed to other parties to also oppose it. “This is a chance to unite and send a big message that if we can defeat the BJP in the Rajya Sabha, this ordinance can also go,” she said. “If the Centre can pass such an ordinance, it can break any state today, tomorrow. They are in majority but they cannot do this. There are some systems.”

Banerjee said the BJP wants to “bulldoze the constitution”. According to IE, she said, “We fear that they might change the Constitution, they might even change the name of the country and name it after the party… They don’t even respect the Supreme Court verdicts.” Kejriwal said the BJP has “made a mockery of democracy” because where it cannot form a government “it buys MLAs, uses CBI, ED to try to break the government”and uses “governors to disturb non-BJP governments such as Bengal and Punjab.”

On Tuesday morning, Kejriwal tweeted, “Today, I begin my journey across the country for the rights of the people of Delhi. The Supreme Court passed the order [giving Delhi control over bureaucrats] after years and did justice to the people of Delhi, gave them their rights. The central government took away all those rights by bringing an ordinance. When this law will come in the Rajya Sabha, it should not be allowed to pass under any circumstances. Will meet presidents of all political parties and seek their support.” He added: “This fight is not only for the people of Delhi. This fight is a fight to save Indian democracy, a fight to save the constitution given by Baba Sahib, a fight to save the judiciary. This fight is a fight to save the country. I expect everyone’s support in this.”

Amid PM Modi’s Sydney visit, BBC docu to be screened at Australian Parliament:

The Modi Question, which was released in January this year, will be screened at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra. Interestingly, the two-part documentary series, which faced plenty of criticism from government sympathisers as well as support from various journalists, activists and educationalists, will be screened at the same time when the prime minister is scheduled to visit the country on a three-day trip.

Modi will attend a mega community event with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Sydney to celebrate the country’s dynamic and diverse Indian diaspora, a core part of our multicultural community,” a statement from the Australian Parliament stated on Tuesday.

The screening will be organised by human rights organisations including Amnesty International, the Australia and New Zealand chapters of Hindus for Human Rights, the Muslim Collective, The Periyar-Ambedkar Thought Circle-Australia, The Humanism Project and The Centre for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation.

After the screening, a discussion on Modi’s timeline as Gujarat’s CM during the riots, to the present will be held. Speakers include Aakashi Bhatt, daughter of jailed Gujarat IPS police officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who is currently serving life imprisonment in a custodial death case. Bhatt had made concerning remarks on Modi’s handling of the riots.

Australian senators David Shoebridge and Jordon Steele-John will address the audience at the screening. The screening is a private affair. The Australian Parliament has rented out space. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Indian community in in Sydney on Tuesday

Modi’s Sydney visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Sydney on Tuesday after US President Joe Biden pulled out from the scheduled Quad Summit that was cancelled and later held on the sidelines of the just concluded G7 summit in Hiroshima.

PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with the Australian PM Anthony Albanese to discuss trade, and investment, strengthening people-to-people links, renewable energy, and defence and security cooperation.

Congress poses 9 questions for PM Modi as his govt completes 9 years; BJP counters with ‘deception’ charge:

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh with Pawan Khera and Supriya Shrinate during a press conference in New Delhi

The Congress released a document titled '9 saal 9 sawaal', listing the queries of the party; senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad calls it “bundle of lies and mountain of deception” With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to complete nine years in power on May 30, the Congress party Friday raised nine questions for the PM on this occasion. “We want the prime minister to break his silence on these questions,” Congress General Secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said at a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi.

The Congress released a document titled “9 saal 9 sawaal” (9 years 9 questions) at the briefing, listing the queries of the party — ranging from economy and corruption to Covid-19 and social justice. “The prime minister must respond to these nine questions before the BJP begins to celebrate,” the Congress said.

The BJP, however, countered this criticism, calling the questions a “bundle of lies and mountain of deception”. Former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad led the party’s rebuttal to the points posed by the Congress party and said that the Indian economy has risen from the “fragile five” position to become the fifth largest in the world.

1, The Economy: Why is it that inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in India? Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property being sold to PM Modis friends, even as economic disparities are increasing?

2. Agriculture and farmers: Why is it that the agreements made with farmers while repealing the three black farm laws have not been honoured? Why has MSP not been legally guaranteed? Why didn’t farmers’ income double over the last 9 years?

3. Corruption and cronyism: Why are you putting people’s hard-earned savings in LIC and SBI at risk to benefit your friend Adani? Why are you letting thieves escape? Why are you silent on rampant corruption in BIP-ruled states, and why are you letting Indians suffer?

4. China and national security: Why is it that even after your clean chit to China in 2020, they continue to occupy Indian territory? 18 meetings have been held with China, yet why do they refuse to yield Indian territory and instead continue with their aggressive tactics?

5. Social harmony: Why are you deliberately using the politics of hatred for electoral gains and fueling an atmosphere of fear in society?

6. Social justice: Why is it that your oppressive government is methodically destroying the foundations of social justice? Why are you silent on the atrocities against women, Dalits, SC, ST, OBCs and minorities? Why are you ignoring the demand for a caste census?

7. Democracy and federalism: Why have you weakened our Constitutional values and democratic institutions in the last nine years? Why are you practicing the politics of revenge against Opposition parties and leaders? And why are you using blatant ‘money power to destabilise governments elected by the people?

8. Welfare schemes: Why is it that schemes for the welfare of the poor, needy and tribals are being weakened by cutting their budgets and making restrictive rules?

9. COVID-19 mismanagement: Why is it that despite the tragic deaths of over 40 lakh people due to COVID-19, the Modi government has refused to compensate their families? Why did you suddenly impose a lockdown which forced lakhs of workers to return home, and not provide any support?

French Open 2023 Draw: Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic Placed In The Same Half:

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic have landed in the same half of the French Open 2023 draw. Clay-court Grand Slam will be held from May 28 to June 11. The Spaniard, who has won three trophies on clay this season, could meet third seed Djokovic in the semi-finals, with 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas drawn in the 20-year-old's quarter. Alcaraz is competing in his third clay-court Grand Slam, having reached the quarterfinals in 2022. The top seed will face a qualifier in the first round before facing 14th seed Cameron Norrie in the fourth round. Fifth seed Tsitsipas, who is in the same division as Felix Auger-Aliassime, might be Alcaraz's quarter-final opponent.

Denis Shapovalov of Canada and Lorenzo Musetti of Italy are also in the top quarter of the draw. Alcaraz might face Shapovalov in the third round, while Musetti, who took Djokovic to five sets in Paris in 2021, is in the same division as Norrie. Two-time champion Djokovic, who is aiming to win a record 23rd Grand Slam title in Paris, will start against American Aleksandar Kovacevic. The Serbian is in the same section as Hubert Hurkacz, with seventh seed Andrey Rublev a possible quarter-final opponent. Rublev captured the Monte-Carlo title last month and faces Laslo Djere in the first round.

PV Sindhu Continues Winning Run, Enters Quarterfinals Of Malaysia Masters 2023 : 

India's leading men's and women's singles shuttlers Prannoy HS and PV Sindhu entered the quarterfinals at the ongoing Malaysia Masters 2023 in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu comfortably got the better of Aya Ohori of Japan 21-16, 21-11 in 40 minutes in pre-quarters and will lock horns with China's Zhang Yi Man to book a spot in the semifinals. Continuing his brilliant run in the BWF World Tour Super 500 event, Prannoy defeated All England champion Li Shi Feng of China with a superb come-from-behind victory 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the Round of 16. He will face Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in the last-8 round on Friday.

Men's singles shuttlers Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth will be in action later in the day. This year is an important one for Indian shuttlers as they will be competing in Hangzhou Asian Games from September 23 to October 8 where they will be competing in both singles, doubles and team events.

Cristiano Ronaldo Scores Winner For Al-Nassr In Saudi Arabia, Says League Is Improving:

Cristiano Ronaldo helped Al-Nassr keep its Saudi Arabian title hopes alive by scoring the winning goal in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Al-Shabab on Tuesday. If second-place Al-Nassr had lost the Riyadh derby then leader Al-Ittihad, which beat Al-Batin 1-0 earlier, would have been crowned champion with two games of the season remaining.

Cristian Guanca scored twice for Al-Shabab before Anderson Talisca of Brazil pulled a goal back for Al-Nassr just before the break. Six minutes after the restart, the nine-time champions were level as Abdulrahman Ghareeb made it 2-2 from close range.Just before the hour, Ronaldo put Al-Nassr ahead in style, sprinting past two defenders to curl a shot into the top corner from the edge of the area. It was the Portugal star's 14th goal since joining after the World Cup. “To be 2-0 down is very difficult but we believed until the end and scored three goals so congratulations to the team and the supporters who were amazing today,” the former Real Madrid star said.

Neeraj Chopra Scripts History, Achieves No. 1 Rank In Men’s Javelin Throw:

Neeraj Chopra, the name which made all of the people from India proud at the Tokyo Olympics with a gold medal, once again scripted history as he became the Number One Javelin thrower as per the new rankings released by World Athletics. Chopra currently leads the list by 22 points with reigning world champion Anderson Peter of Grenada sitting at number 2.

The 25-year-old athelete from India began his 2023 season by winning the first Diamond League meeting in Doha on May 6 with an effort of 88.67m. He will be action once more at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games at Hengelo in the Netherlands on June 4 followed up by another event set to take place at June 13.

Checkout the list of Javelin Throw (Top 5)

1. Neeraj Chopra (IND) - 1455 points

2. Anderson Peters (GRN) - 1433 points

3. Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) - 1416 points

4. Julian Weber (GER) - 1385 points

5. Arshad Nadeem (PAK) - 1306 points

Chhipkali 

is a 2023 Bollywood mystery thriller written and directed by Koushik Kar. Yashpal Sharma, Tannistha Biswas, and Yogesh Bhardwaj are in the lead roles, along with Nabonita Dey, Krishnendy Adhikary, and many others in supporting roles. In this film, director Koushik Kar also appeared in a pivotal role. The film's editing was done by Pabitra Jana, and Saurav Banerjee handled the cinematography. The songs' lyrics were written by Soham Majumdar, and Meemo composed the soundtracks and background music. Under the banner of Suan Silver Screen, Meemo and Sarvesh Kashyap produced this movie.

 Plot Chhipkali depicts the plot of a writer who produced an article about a murderer, which truly occurred the same way after a long day, much like in a mystery thriller. When the case was brought to the detective officer, he questioned the author about how he thought a guy would be murdered in the future. The remaining plot centres on who actually killed the man and whether the detective was able to crack the case.

Jogira Sara Ra Ra is a 2023 Bollywood romantic comedy drama written by Ghalib Asad Bhopali and directed by Kushan Nandy. The movie stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Neha Sharma in the lead roles, along with Sanjay Mishra, Mahaakshay Chakraborty, Hemant Kumar, and many others in supporting roles. The film's cinematography was handled by Sourabh Waghmare, and Virendra Gharse edited the entire film. The soundtracks for the movie were composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Meet Bros, Subhodip Sarkar, and Hitesh Modak, while Anup Bhat created the background music. This movie was produced by Naeem A. Siddiqui through Touch Wood Multimedia Creations. 

Plot Jogi Pratap, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, acts as a skilled matchmaker and ceremony organiser who is capable of making any wedding successful with just a touch of hustle (creative problem-solving). However, after getting to know Dimple (Neha Sharma) and her family, he finds it difficult to match them. Neha decides against getting married and plans her own kidnapping instead.

Missing Girl is a Malayalam movie released on 26 May, 2023. The movie is directed by Abdul Rashed and featured Sanju Somanath, Ashika Ashokan and Bhaskar Aravind as lead characters. What is the release date of 'Missing Girl'? Release date of Sanju Somanath and Ashika Ashokan starrer 'Missing Girl' is 2023-05-26

A new biography of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose titled 'Bose: The Untold Story of An Inconvenient Nationalist' is all set to release in February. The biography is authored by researcher and founder of 'Mission Netaji' Chandrachur Ghose and published by Penguin Random House India under its Viking imprint.

The biography attempts to bring new perspectives on Netaji's thoughts on independent India's development, the problem of communalism, geopolitics, his political ideology, and how he negotiated with the political parties, revolutionary societies, and the government.

"The book throws light on Bose's intense political activities around the revolutionary groups in Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, and the United Provinces; his efforts to bridge the increasing communal divide and his influence among the splintered political landscape; his outlook on and relations with women; his plunge into the depths of spirituality; his penchant for covert operations; and his efforts to engineer a rebellion among the Indian armed forces," a statement by the publisher said.

Furthermore, the statement mentioned that one of the most sensitive issues that has prevented India's political parties and successive governments from talking much about Netaji is his joining the Axis camp during the second world war.

"While Jawaharlal Nehru and other prominent Congress leaders publicly denounced the move, the Communist Party of India went on a prolonged vilification campaign," the statement added.

Meanwhile, Ghose said that Netaji remains to be one of the most misunderstood icons of modern India because most of his work and ideas have remained unutilized or inaccessible.

"The alternative which emanates from his thoughts and activities to the officially sponsored Gandhian-Nehruvian paradigm that has been used to define the India project has not received the attention that it deserves. Most importantly, the central role played by Bose and the Indian National Army in accelerating the end of the British Raj still remains officially unacknowledged," he said.

"This book demolishes the stereotyping of Bose as a brave warrior with an authoritarian streak, who was so consumed by the aim to free India that he didn't pay much attention to the problem of reconstruction of free India," he added.

Chandrachur Ghose is a writer on economics, environment, history and politics. He has had a multi-disciplinary career spanning over two decades, having worked with one of the most well-known environmental organisations in India, an academic institute of global excellence and an economic research firm that is a trusted brand among Indian businesses. Ghose has worked on issues as varied as air pollution, food safety, agriculture, renewable energy, mining, infrastructure development, employment, consumption expenditure, and the development trajectories of India’s states.

Ghose, along with Anuj Dhar and other friends formed the pressure group Mission Netaji in 2005 to generate public awareness over the official secrecy on matters related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Since then he has been instrumental in bringing thousands of Netaji-related classified documents into the public domain.

Ghose completed his BSc in Botany from Visva Bharati (Santiniketan) and MSc in Science and Technology for Sustainability from SPRU, University of Sussex. He also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Environment Management from IISWBM, Kolkata.

Ghose is currently working on a biography of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He is based in Gurgaon.