3 Canadian Colleges absurptly Shut Down, Indian Students In A Spot

OTTAWA, Feb 19: Following the abrupt closure of three colleges in Canada's Quebec that has left thousands of Indian students in a major predicament, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa has issued an advisory for Indian students affected by the sudden change in the status of their educational institutions.

The three colleges -- M College in Montreal, CDE College in Sherbrooke, and CCSQ College in Longueuil -- soon after pushing up deadlines for tuition fees and requiring students to pay up hefty quantities all of a sudden, issued a notice to students earlier this month that they were closing altogether.

Canada's CBC News reported that all three colleges -- run by the same recruiting firm, Rising Phoenix International (RPI) Inc. -- have filed for bankruptcy. The request for creditor protection comes a little over a year after Quebec began to investigate several private colleges, including M College and CDE College, for "questionable" recruitment practices for students in India.

The abrupt school closures prompted scores of panicking international students from India to flock to the Indian High Commission in Ottawa for assistance, as many of them had been forced to come up with thousands of dollars in fees without warning, only to have their education halted.

"The High Commission has been approached by several students from India who were enrolled in the three institutions," said the High Commission of India, in an advisory released on Friday.

"In the event that they find any difficulty in reimbursement of their fees or transfer of fees, they may file a complaint with Ministry of Higher Education, Government of Quebec," stated the advisory, assuring students that there were avenues through which they could attempt to recover their lost money.

The advisory noted that the High Commission has been in close contact with Canada's federal government, Quebec's provincial government, as well as elected representatives from Canada's Indian community to provide support to the affected students.

The students were also informed that they are free to approach the Education Wing of the High Commission in Ottawa or the Consulate General of India in Toronto if they require immediate assistance regarding the issue.

In addition, the advisory warned against making payments to any institutions that don't have their credentials in order. "Students should not make any payments or reveal their personal information to any unverified person/institution offering students visa on payment," cautioned the advisory.

According to the application for creditor protection by the RPI Group, unpaid tuition fees and refund claims from 633 students against the company are estimated at nearly $6.4 million.

'Bored' Security Guard Draws Eyes On A Million-Dollar Painting

MOSCOW, Feb 9: A security guard at an art gallery in west-central Russia was fired on his first day on the job for defacing a valuable painting. The guard allegedly took out a ballpoint pen and drew eyes on two of the three faceless figures in the piece of art because he was "bored". His desire to do something other than defend the gallery's artworks from similar mischief cost him his job.

The vandalism occurred at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center in the city of Yekaterinburg in west-central Russia, where the painting was on display. Two visitors spotted the extra details on the figures and reported it to a gallery employee.

The guard is believed to have defaced the painting on December 7, 2021, but he was sacked this week after his identity was ascertained, stated a Metro report.

The artwork, called ‘Three Figures', was insured for 74.9 million Russian Rubles, which is the equivalent of 7,40,000 pounds (roughly $1 million or ₹ 7.51 crores), and was on display as part of an exhibition titled ‘The World as Non-Objectivity. The Birth of a New Art'. It was created by Anna Leporskaya, a student of Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich, between 1932 and 1934.

The Yeltsin Centre said in a statement that they had identified the private security organisation employee “who painted the eyes on the figures” but did not disclose his name. “The damage was done with a ballpoint pen,” the art centre added.

A report in The Art Newspaper Russia, which broke the news, stated the ink has slightly penetrated into the paint layer since the titanium white used to paint the faces was not covered with author's varnish, as was often the case in abstract paintings of that time. Fortunately, the vandal drew with a pen without strong pressure, so, the relief of the strokes as a whole was not disturbed.

“His (the security guard's) motives are still unknown but the administration believes it was some kind of a lapse in sanity,” the exhibition's curator, Anna Reshetkina, told the Guardian.

Experts believe the painting can be restored to its original form without long-term damage and they are working on it. They expect the restoration to cost around 2,50,000 Russian Rubles (about ₹ 2.5 lakhs).

The security guard faces a vandalism charge, which comes with a fine of 40,000 Russian Rubles (about ₹ 40,000) and a one-year correctional labour sentence. Last week, the police said that they had started an investigation.

Lata Mangeshkar, India’s Nightingale, passes away at 92

MUMBAI, Feb 6: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar passed away in Mumbai on Sunday at the age of 92 due to multi-organ failure. The versatile singer, christened the Nightingale of India, had lent her voice to thousands of songs in 36 languages in a career spanning almost eight decades. Leading personalities from all walks of life paid rich tributes to Mangeshkar.

The singer was cremated on Sunday evening with full state honours at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Mumbai to pay his last respects to India’s ‘swar kokila’. As a mark of respect to the Bharat Ratna awardee, a two-day national mourning has been announced. The National Flag will fly at half-mast for two days and there will be no official entertainment.

Breach Candy hospital medical director said that Lata Mangeshkar passed away at 8:12 am on Sunday. “She came here as a Covid patient and age was against her. We tried our level best to save the legend. But she had complications,” he said. Mangeshkar had been diagnosed with Covid-19 and pneumonia. Dr Samdhani said that they were very cautious since the beginning and she died because of multi-organ failure that was setting in last few days.

On Saturday, MNS President Raj Thackeray, NCP MP Supriya Sule, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi and Lata Mangeshkar’s sister Asha Bhosle, brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar went to the hospital to inquire about her health.

Born on September 28, 1929, in Madhya Pradesh, Lata Mangeshkar had music in her genes. Her father Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar was a Marathi musician and a theatre actor. During her lifetime, Mangeshkar worked with music greats from various generations as she delivered iconic numbers that remain relevant to this day. Known for her versatility, Mangeshkar dabbled in other film industries as well.

After Lata Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai, she was mentored by Master Vinayak, a filmmaker of the 1930s and Ghulam Haider. She went on to nurture a special relationship with composer Madan Mohan, with whom she delivered some of her most memorable songs. “I shared a special relationship with Madan Mohan, which was much more than what a singer and a music composer share. This was a relationship of a brother and a sister,” she said later, calling ‘Woh chup rahe’ from Jahan Ara as their favourite collaboration.

She had a similar relationship with Yash Chopra, and their collaboration yielded such hits as Dhool Ka Phool, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila and Dil Toh Pagal Hai. She also worked with Chopra’s son, Aditya, on Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge. Perhaps, Dilip Kumar, whom she addresses as her older brother, said it best when he remarked, “None have been able to equal Lata’s refinement. It is very difficult for anyone to compete with her because she has invested so heavily in every person who cares for music – there’s such a lot of Lata Mangeshkar in everyone.”

Mangeshkar was conferred with three National Awards, and was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989. In 2001, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna for her contribution to the arts, thereby becoming the second vocalist to receive this honour apart from late Carnatic music giant M S Subbulakshmi. She was also honoured with the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.

Apart from lending her voice to several popular tracks, Lata Mangeshkar has also been credited as a music director. She composed music for Mohityanchi Manjula (1963), Maratha Tituka Melvava (1964), Sadhi Manase (1965) and Tambadi Mati (1969).

Mangeshkar has also produced a handful of films such as Vaadal, Jhaanjhar, Kanchan Ganga and Lekin.

Lata Mangeshkar is survived by her four younger siblings — Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar, Meena Khadikar and Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

Modi Inaugurates 216-Foot 'Statue Of Equality' In Hyderabad

HYDERABAD, Feb 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the 216-foot tall 'Statue of Equality', honouring the 11th-century Hindu saint Ramanujacharya.

"This statue of Ramanujacharya ji is a symbol of his knowledge, detachment, and ideals," he said.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the Statue of Equality commemorates Ramanujacharya, who promoted the idea of equality in all aspects of living including faith, caste and creed.

"Today Ramanujacharya ji is giving us the message of equality in the form of a huge Statue of Equality," said the Prime Minister.

The statue is made of 'panchaloha', a combination of five metals: gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc and is among one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position, in the world.

It is mounted on a 54-feet high base building, named 'Bhadra Vedi', has floors devoted for a Vedic digital library and research centre, ancient Indian texts, a theatre, an educational gallery detailing many works of Sri Ramanujacharya.

The statue - among the world's tallest - has been conceptualised by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram.

As part of the event, the Prime Minister visited the recreations of 108 Divya Desams (ornately carved temples) that surround the Statue of Equality.

A 3D projection performance on the life journey and teaching of Ramanujacharya will also be showcased

The inauguration of the Statue of Equality is part of the 12-day Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the ongoing 1000th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Ramanujacharya, an official statement said.

Earlier during his Hyderabad visit, the Prime Minister launched the 50th Anniversary celebrations of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Sparking a political controversy surrounding his visit, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, known as KCR, skipped not just welcoming the Prime Minister as he landed in Hyderabad but also all the events that he attended.

Though the Telangana Chief Minister's Office conveyed to the Prime Minister's Office that the Chief Minister would stay away from the PM's events as he was running fever, the move comes amid a dramatic escalation in KCR's attacks on the BJP leader.

Manvinder Singh Ranauta conferred with Honorary Doctorate in Philanthropy

By Deepak Arora

CHANDIGARH, Jan 24: Manvinder Singh Ranauta has been conferred with Honorary Doctorate in Philanthropy from International Internship University, Australia.

The Doctorate was handed over to Dr Manvinder Singh Ranauta by Dr Gaurav Sharma, one of the founder members of the university.

A formal ceremony would be held in March next in New Delhi. The ceremony has been postponed due to COVID.

Manvinder has been actively doing social work since the first wave of Covid-19 in India by providing 5,000 cooked meals to the Government which then distributed the meals to the needy and migrant workers who were stuck in city of Chandigarh due to the lockdown.

During the second wave of Covid-19, Manvinder took an initiative of distributing free Oxygen cylinders to families in desperate need.

Currently he is working on a project of tree plantation across India and aims to plant at least 10,000 trees per year.

“This is my way of giving back to mother nature as it has already been through a lot of destruction and harm,” said Dr Manvinder Singh Ranauta.

Rihanna's Pregnancy Style Has Left Us Sending Heart Emojis Along The Way

NEW YORK, Feb 1: Rihanna is expecting her first child with longtime beau rapper A$AP Rocky finally revealing that the rumours were all true.

The announcement came with a series of pictures of course and they're just as adorable as you'd imagine. Rihanna was seen all cozy and bundled up in a bright pink puffer jacket with the buttons open to reveal her gorgeous baby bump, loose jeans and in true Rihanna-style, a long colourful necklace with a large statement cross pendant.

She also had a Chanel chain belt worn around her as her baby daddy caressed her atop the Brooklyn Bridge.

Her rose pink makeup was only an added touch to her bridal glow along with her soft wavy hair tied to a ponytail. We already know this baby is going to be spoiled rotten by the duo and we can't wait to welcome the child already.

The rumours first sparked when Rihanna was at Barbados when she was conferred as the National Hero when she was dressed in a gorgeous brown halter neck dress and copper brown strappy heels.

Rihanna's last red carpet appearance was the MET Gala 2021 where she was dressed in a statement Balenciaga outfit.

It was also the red carpet appearance where A$AP Rocky and Rihanna made their relationship red carpet official at the MET Gala 2021. Dressed in different versions of what netizens believed were blankets, the only thing not under wraps was their crazy amounts of love for each other and that's for sure.