India launches construction of houses in SL
Colombo, Feb 19: India has launched the construction of houses for the Indian origin plantation workers across six different provinces in Sri Lanka. The construction will be carried out under the Indian Housing Project (IHP) and around 1,300 houses will be built for 10, 000 for Indian origin plantation workers. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday virtually launched the project along with Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha. In May 2017, during his visit to the plantation regions of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced Phase IV of IHP. Along President Wickremesinghe on November 2, 2023 the foundation stone for the project was laid by Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her visit to India’s southern neighbour. “Government of India’s total commitment under the flagship IHP currently stands at 60,000 houses. In the first two phases, 46,000 houses were covered in Northern and Eastern Provinces,” Indian High Commission in Colombo said. Indian origin Tamil community and plantation regions have been of specific focus under the government of India’s development cooperation partnership with Sri Lanka. In addition to the remaining 14,000 houses, India launched another landmark project which is the construction of a multi-specialty hospital in Dickoya in the Central up country. (IANS)
Nepal to amend media laws concomitant of press freedom
Kathmandu, Feb 19: The Nepal government on Monday said it will amend the existing media-related laws as it underscored its commitment to develop the journalism sector and make it more professional by ensuring full protection of press freedom. Addressing the 63rd anniversary of Nepal’s news agency Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) here, Communication and Information Technology Minister Rekha Sharma highlighted the important role media can play in transforming people’s living standards while protecting democratic rights and political achievements. Sharma said the government is committed to protecting press freedom as enshrined in the Constitution and the formulation of media-related laws is a priority of the present dispensation. “The prevailing laws would be amended and new laws would be formulated as per the spirit of federalism,” she said. Underlining the government’s commitment to developing the journalism sector and making it more professional, the minister urged the RSS management to compete with other international media by upgrading its services RSS chairman Dharmendra Jha said the news agency is preparing to operate 24 hours. (PTI)
Waffle House shooting leaves 1 dead, 5 hurt
Indianapolis, Feb 19: A shooting at a Waffle House restaurant in Indianapolis early Monday morning killed one person and wounded five others. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said officers responded to a report of a shooting at the restaurant on Lynhurst Drive around 12:30 am. Police found six victims with gunshot wounds. One woman reportedly died at an area hospital, while another woman was injured. Three men and a woman were in stable condition. Shots were fired inside and outside the restaurant after two groups of people were involved in an altercation, WTHR reported. No arrests were immediately made after the shooting as police continued to investigate, the report says. (AP)