Travel at ease with the AirAsia Asean

Travel at ease with the AirAsia Asean Pass!Highly anticipated AirAsia Asean Pass is now available for sale on www.airasia.com   ​ BANGKOK, 23 February 2015 – AirAsia introduced the “AirAsia Asean Pass” and the “AirAsia Asean Pass+” in an effort to boost travel by making traveling within the region a seamless experience. The passes are available from today at www.airasia.com, with the AirAsia Asean Pass retailing at RM499 for 10 credits and AirAsia Asean Pass+ for RM888 with 20 credits. The co-founders of AirAsia; Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun announced the  development of this product at the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Malaysia Conference held in Kuala Lumpur in November last year. AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “As a truly Asean airline, we are extremely proud to introduce the AirAsia Asean Pass, which is a product specifically designed to further liberalize and encourage travel among the Asean community. The pass allows us to bridge communities and attract more foreign tourists to the region- it’s the perfect instrument to promote Asean integration.” “We are constantly enhancing the way guests fly with us and the AirAsia Asean Pass is another innovation that we have put in place to make flying more efficient and enjoyable. We are working on additional enhancements that will further benefit guests traveling from non Asean destinations.” Holders of the AirAsia Asean Pass and the AirAsia Asean Pass+ can enjoy flights at a fixed-rate to over 148 routes across all 10 Asean countries. Acting like a single currency, it diminishes the hassle of different foreign exchange rates as flights are valued according to credits, allowing guests to be creative in planning their ideal trip through Asean. Flights with duration of below two hours are valued at 1 credit, while flights of two hours and above are valued at 3 credits. No processing fee applies for flight redemptions using the AirAsia Asean Pass and Asean Pass+. Airport charges/tax and other fees will be payable separately. The pass can also be purchased as a gift for another traveller. The AirAsia Asean Pass and Asean Pass+ credits are redeemable for travel with AirAsia Malaysia (AK), Thai AirAsia (FD), AirAsia Indonesia (QZ) and Philippines AirAsia (Z2) to Asean destinations only. For a detailed list of flights redeemable with the AirAsia Asean Pass and Asean Pass+ and other applicable terms and conditions, guests may refer to the airline’s website at www.airasia.com.     Keep updated with AirAsia’s latest promotions and activities via Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia) and Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia).

Apex Court view on tainted Legislators

 Supreme Court view on tainted Legislators is disheartening. I can understand, there may be some limitations, but in the broader perspective, the view should have expressed the concern of the apex court for the nation and the welfare of the people. This perspective is conspicuously overlooked by the learned apex court and issue of national importance has remained an issue between the Parliament and the Judiciary. I suppose the present view of the apex court is based on an earlier verdict by one of its Constitutional bench. Sir, Judiciary, Parliament and State Assemblies are meant for the welfare of the people of the land. People look in them the wisdom of a prudent father and love of a doting mother.

The Judiciary is the custodian of the Constitution and responsible for overseeing that the same is being truly implemented by the Parliament and State Assemblies. The tainted Legislators have been a compelling issue for long and a great deterrence in prudent governances. They are a conspicuous cause of the sufferings of our large populace. The bench of the apex court seems to have overlooked this vital aspect.

It is quite possible that some of the tainted Legislators may come out to be innocent. But it shall not be logical to hand over the fate of a massive nation such as India in the hands of such dubious characters until they are found innocent. Therefore let them enjoy a free life as a free citizen till they are found innocent under judicial impunity. Why permit them in the Parliament or State Assemblies? Our country is already pushed to the present tatters due to such incongruous and unmindfulpersonal rights. As I said before, in such cases we may apply the ‘law of maxims’ that says, ‘in the larger public good, individual rights can be sacrificed’. Good governance surely demands for this law to prevail.

I therefore pray the learned Judiciary to play the role of a watch dog for the Parliament and the State Assemblies, a responsibility that all the worthy Constitutions of the world have bestowed on their learned Judiciaries.

Supreme Court in its verdict has said that Political parties know the best about a suitable candidate because they have to run the governments. Sir, as far as we have witnessed, they just know how to manipulate vote politics and win the elections for their self seeking overtures. My statement is conspicuous and my book narrates this fact in abundance. The SC has assumed that the conscious of the Prime Minister or the Chief Ministers is enough to judge the repercussions of such dubious characters in the governments. But such assumptions are misplaced and have been largely responsible for India’s present dilapidation. Similar assumptions were made by our founding fathers when they were drafting the Constitution as discussed in my analysis and presented through the book. All such assumptions have failed us. Sir, our Parliament and State Assemblies have made mockery of elections and governances. For them Constitution is of little relevance and is generally used as an instrument for their own protection rather than any incumbency. The utter shambles of our country is a proof.

Sir, I may like to emphatically submit and pray that the time has come for the Judiciary to take some hard decisions for the sake of the nation, multitudes of perennially suffering people and the implementation of the Constitution. As the ultimate saviour of the people of India, Sir it is your turn now to set all wrongs right ‘within and outside’ and make all functionaries responsible and accountable, Parliament, State Assemblies or any other to uphold the dignity and reverence of our Constitution.

K C Agrawal                              

87th Oscar awards ceremony begins

23 02 2015

87th Oscar awards ceremony begins in Los Angles

Feb 23
The 87th Annual Academy Awards or the Oscars are being held at Hollywood’s 3,300-seat Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles today. Among the awards announced, black-and-white Polish film ‘Ida’ has bagged the award for the best foreign language film. The movie was directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.
The Phone Call won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. The best supporting actor award was bagged by JK Simmons for the film, Whiplash. Patricia Arquette claimed the best supporting actress award for the movie, ‘Boyhood’.
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 has bagged the award for the best documentary short subject.

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Categories : Business, Entertainment

First session of newly-elected Delhi Assembly starts

23 02 2015

The first session of the sixth Delhi Legislative Assembly is beginning today. During the two-day session, a senior member of the House will be nominated as the pro- tem Speaker for administering the oath to the newly elected MLAs. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker for the assembly will also be elected during the two-day sitting. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung will address the House tomorrow.

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Categories : Politics

Budget Session of Parliament begins

23 02 2015

Feb 23
The budget session of Parliament is beginning today. The session will begin with President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to members of both houses of Parliament. Important legislations which are scheduled to be tabled during the session are bills replacing ordinances on raising the foreign investment limit in insurance, auctioning coal mines and changing the rules of land acquisition.
The budget session includes 44 items of financial, legislative and non-legislative business.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and protection of Children) Bill, The Labour Code on Wages Bill , The small factories (regulation of employment and condition of services) Bill, and The Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill will also come up during the session.
Meanwhile, the Government has sought cooperation from party leaders in both the Houses for smooth functioning of the session. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the people of the country look at the budget session with lots of hopes and expectations. He said yesterday that it is the collective responsibility of all parties and leaders to enable the people fulfill their hopes and aspirations through proper functioning of both the Houses of Parliament.
He was addressing a meeting of the leaders of various parties in both the Houses which was convened by the Government for mutual consultations on the Budget session. Mr Modi assured the leaders that all the issues and concerns raised by them will be discussed in an appropriate manner keeping in view their importance and priority.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu also sought cooperation from all party leaders in both the Houses of Parliament for smooth functioning of the Budget session. He said that this session will focus on financial matters, general budget, railway budget and the next priority will be given to legislate the Ordinances.
He said that the Government is ready to discuss any matter in Parliament, particularly those related to the Ordinances. Mr Naidu also said that he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi yesterday morning and requested her to extend support to run the Parliament smoothly.
The Congress has made it clear that it will not support any anti-people legislation in the Budget session. After the meeting, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad said, the party will not support the government on any ordinances, or bills, which are not going to help the farmers or the downtrodden.
AIR correspondent reports, over thirty leaders from both the Houses expressed their views with most of them highlighting the need for smooth functioning of Parliament to enable discussion on all issues of concern both for the Government and the Opposition.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also held a meeting of leaders of parties in the house last evening to ensure its smooth functioning. The first part of the budget session will continue till March 20. The second part will commence after a month-long recess from April 20 and conclude on May 8. The Rail Budget will be presented on February 26th, Economic Survey on February 27th and General Budget on February 28th.

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Categories : Business, CSR, Finnance

Anna Hazare to sit on protest in Delhi

23 02 2015

Anna Hazare to sit on protest in Delhi against Land acquisition Ordinance

Feb 23
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare will sit on a protest at Jantar Mantar from today against the ordinance on Land Acquisition Bill. A group of farmers who began marching from Palwal in Haryana on Friday will join Hazare at the venue tomorrow to demand withdrawal of amendments to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Ekta Parishad, who organized the march, said the group has already reached Badkal in Faridabad.
While the government claimed that the amendments are aimed at speeding up development projects, Hazare has condemned the move saying it will end up benefitting corporates. Activists Rajendra Singh, Aruna Roy, Medha Patekar, P V Rajagopalan and former RSS ideologue K Govindacharya are also likely to join Hazare.

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Categories : Agri, Business, CSR, culture, Education, Legal, Media, Opinion, Politics

Bangladesh: Death toll 41 in ferry mishap

23 02 2015

Feb 23
In Bangladesh, the death toll in the ferry which capsized in river Padma in Manikganj on the Paturia-Daulatdia route has risen to 41. The ferry carrying at least 200 passengers was hit by a fertilizer-laden cargo vessel yesterday. Local people with boats and trawlers joined the rescue and salvage operation soon after the tragedy struck. At least 90 people were either rescued or swam to shore. AIRcorrespondent reports that a Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation boat, which reached the spot last night, is working on pulling up the capsized vessel.
The 41 victims included 7 children and a six-month old infant. 65 passengers are still missing. Rescue operations by the Navy, Coast guard, Fire Service and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation were going on till late last night..Manikganj Deputy Commissioner Rashida Ferdous said the ferry was packed beyond capacity. The shipping Ministry has formed 2 Committees to probe the incident and asked them to submit their reports within 15 days. The tragedy has occurred hardly six months after a double-decker ferry sunk in the same river at Mawa killing over 100 passengers.