Indian-American teen wins 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest
New York: Navneeth Murali, an Indian-American teenager from New Jersey, has won the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest by correctly spelling "flipe" to earn the annual title and USD 3,000 grand prize.
The South Asian Spelling Bee (SASB) is an annual spelling bee platform in the US for children of South Asian descent. "Navneeth Murali, 2019 SASB Champion!" the SASB announced in a Facebook post.
"Congratulations to our 2019 SASB First Runners-up Vayun Krishna of Sunnyvale, California, Hephzibah Sujoe of Fort Worth, Texas and Pranav Nandakumar of Austin, Texas, the SASB Team could not be more proud!" the SASB said on August 14.
Murali correctly spelled the word flipe, variant spelling of flype, that Merriam-Webster dictionary describes as "to strip off by or as if by peeling", a media report said.
"For the first time in spelling history, we have a winner... on an APPEAL! Flipe and flype are variant spellings according to Merriam-Webster's Third Unabridged Dictionary, granting Navneeth Murali the championship! Way to go, Navneeth, a true champion! South Asian Spelling Bee 2019, signing off!" the SASB said in another Facebook post.
The competition is open to any student at or below the age of 14, who has at least one parent or grandparent who is of South Asian descent, or whose lineage can be traced to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and/or Sri Lanka.
Since its launch in 2008, the SASB has been aired in over 120 countries.
The contest was held in five regional centers across the US, including New Jersey, Dallas and San Francisco Bay Area and Charlotte. Over 600 spellers from these centers participated from which 15 participated in the finals.
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.
Mangaluru CCB Police arrest four MDMA peddlers, seize 270 grams of contraband
Mangaluru: Mangaluru City Crime Branch (CCB) has successfully arrested four individuals suspected of peddling MDMA on the 15th of May. The arrests were made as the suspects were transporting the banned substance from Bengaluru to Mangaluru via car. The interception took place at Deralakatte, Mangaluru, following specific intelligence received by the police.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Mohammed Ameen Rafi (23), Mohammed Sinan Abdulla (23), Mohammed Nauman (22), and Mohammed Safil (23), all residents of various locations within Mangaluru. Along with the suspects, the police confiscated 270 grams of MDMA, with an estimated street value of Rs 6,50,000, alongside four mobile phone handsets, a Toyota Corolla car, and a digital weighing scale, valued at a total of Rs 14,85,500.
According to police sources, the accused were involved in procuring the illicit substance from Bengaluru and distributing it to students and members of the public across Karnataka and Kerala. Mohammed Rafi has a prior case registered against him for drug peddling in the Mangaluru South police station in 2021.
The operation was executed under the leadership of Assistant Commissioner of Police (CCB) Geetha Kulkarni. She was assisted by Police Inspector Shyam Sunder H M, Police Sub-Inspector Sharanappa Bhandary, and other CCB personnel.
A case relating to this incident has been filed at the Cen Police Station, and further investigations are underway.
