Clive and Avil chosen for Kittall Youth & Arso Journalism awards
Clive D'Souza, Boliye and Avil Rasquinha were chosen for the 'Leo Rodrigues Family Kittall Youth Award' and 'Austin D'Souza Prabhu Family Arso Journalism Award' for the year 2022.
Both the awards carry a cash component of Rs 25,000 and citation.
The awards will be conferred on Avil Rasquinha and Clive D'Souza on 1st January 2023 at 6.00 pm at a function to be held at Maria Jayanti Hall, Jeppu, Mangaluru. Ln Dr Austin D’Souza Prabhu, Chicago, editor–publisher of Veez Digital Konkani Weekly and CA Valerian D Almeida, Abu Dhabi-based entrepreneur and mentor of spearhead group will be presenting the awards.
Every year premier Konkani web portal kittall.com honors a youth writer with the Kittall youth Award and Abu Dhabi-based NRI Mr Leo Rodrigues sponsors the award for the last 10 years. Arso launched as a fortnightly in the year 2013 by H M Pernal, now successfully running in the 9th year as a monthly magazine under the editorship of noted poet and lyricist Wilson Kateel. Starting this year, ARSO will honor a senior Konkani journalist who has contributed substantially to the growth of Konkani journalism. The award is sponsored by Ln Dr Austin D'Souza Prabhu, the editor and publisher of the only illustrated digital Konkani Weekly published in Chicago in the last five and half years.
Mr Avil Rasquinha, served as an editor and publisher of the fortnightly 'Kannik' for 20 years from 1977 to 1997. He started writing at the age of 14 years and became the youngest editor-publisher at the age of 20 years. Apart from publishing 'Kannik' from his Santacruz Press, Avil has published 12 Konkani books. He has also acted in Konkani, Kannada, and Tulu Dramas and is an active member of the Lions Club. Presently, he lives in Bellore with his family.
Mr Larry Clive D'Souza of Kutalnagar writes under the name Clive Souz, Boliye for the last several years. So far, he has penned more than 140 poems, two short stories, and about six essays. Presently, he is promoting Konkani on digital platforms. So far he has posted seven singles on Youtube and four are ready for launch. Along with singles, he has written and composed two hymns. A graduate of Hospitality Science from the University of Mangalore, he is working as a chef at Indian Ocean, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
