MONTH THAT WAS

Journo activists introduce citizen journalism course

Mumbai: A non-profit body initiated by two former journalists has conceptualised India’s first teaching programme in Citizen Journalism, a two-month ten-session module will begin in Mumbai.
Former journalists Shishir Joshi and Aloke Thakore have designed the course as weekend programme every Saturday for ten weeks and will conduct the same in suburban Mumbai.
Joshi said that the aim of the course was to empower citizens. The minimum requirement is basic language skills in any Indian language. "Age is not a bar and 15 students could be admitted in each batch," he said.
Experts in the field of policing, law, civic issues, right to information would be engaged in the teaching programme. Some key areas of teaching citizen journalism backgrounder and how it is practiced globally, basics of reporting, news gathering, ethics including accuracy and fairness, laws and use of technology in citizen journalism.
Joshi said every student will be provided an email id and their work would be put on a portal dedicated to citizen journalism called "citizensreport.in".
He said the need for citizens as journalists is being increasingly felt in present times to cover issues from a wide spectrum of society which media companies cannot commit enough resources to cover.
"We are launching the citizen journalism programme in Mumbai and will be taking it to empower citizens to various cities across India," Joshi said.

Youth kills father for stealing Rs. 500

Mumbai: A drunken man was allegedly killed by his 20-year-old son as the former stole Rs. 500 from his pocket for alcohol from their residence in Suburban Chembur, police said here. Sunil Anpat (45), who was addicted to alcohol, was thrashed to death with a stone roller, used to make ‘chapati’, by his son Shailesh at their residence in Siddhivinayak Co-operative society building in Vashi Naka area. The accused was arrested later, they said. According to police, Sunil stole Rs. 500 from Shailesh’s pocket and went out to drink alcohol. After sometime, he returned home when Shailesh, a truck cleaner by profession, asked him why he has stolen the cash. "This led to a heated argument between them after which Shailesh, in a fit of rage, picked up the roller and threw at his father. Later, he thrashed his father with bamboos," an official at RCF police station said. Sunil was rushed to nearby hospital, where he succumbed to injuries, police said adding that further probe was on.

Deve Gowda & IAF

Bangalore: Former Prime Minister and JD-S chief H D Deve Gowda said he will pay Rs. 54 lakh dues to the Indian Air Force, which has approached the Delhi High Court to recover the money. "I will pay the entire dues once the High court orders. Within three days of the order, I will pay the amount," he told reporters here. The IAF has approached the Delhi High Court to recover the dues from Gowda for the use of its aircraft allegedly for non-official purposes. IAF has been trying to recover the dues from the JD-S chief since 1996-97.

Paedophile gets 20-years jail

Sydney: A catholic priest was sentenced to 20 years in jail by an Australian court, which convicted him of sexually abusing children over a period of 18 years.
John Sidney Denham, 67, was jailed for 19 years and 10 months by Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court, with the judge saying many victims were left feeling terrified and Denham himself describing his behaviour as "evil".
Judge Helen Syme spent almost three hours detailing the charges Denham had pleaded guilty to, including buggery and multiple counts of indecent assault against boys aged five-16 years between the period of 1968 and 1986, Australian news agency ‘AAP’ reported.
"The indecent assaults involved multiple children, often significant planning, were frequently sadistic and overall persistent, objectively serious, criminal courses of conduct," the judge said.
"The offender’s actions contributed to a culture of fear and depravity, especially at the school, which allowed these disturbing offences to occur and then remain unpunished for years," Syme said.
Outside the court, one of the 39 men who made complaints against Denham, Mathew Oakley, said he was released with the sentence.

Women thrash Maulana over one-sided talaq

Lucknow: A Maulana and some employees of a madarassa were allegedly thrashed by a group of women for endorsing a ‘one-sided’ talaq, police said here. Enraged by the "one-sided" talaq given by Ali Imran to his wife Mumtaz Fatima alias Heena, the group of women, including Heena, Nishat Fatima and Arshi thrashed Maulana Asgar Ali and two others of Sulatannual Madaris here. The Maulana later lodged a complaint in this regard at Wazirganj police station against the women, police said. Both Heena and Arshi alleged that the Maulana was sanctioning divorces without verifying the facts and consent of both the parties.