Journalists from Philippines, Russia given Nobel Peace Prize
Oslo(AP): The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia.
They were citing for their fight for freedom of expression. The winners were announced Friday by Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda, said Reiss-Andersen.
Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time.
Ressa in 2012 co-founded Rappler, a news website that has focused critical attention on the (President Rodrigo) Duterte regime's controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign, the Nobel committee said.
She and Rappler have also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.
Muratov was one of the founders of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993.
Novaya Gazeta is the most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power, the Nobel committee said.
The newspaper's fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media, it added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov congratulated Muratov on winning the prize, hailing him as a talented and brave person.
We can congratulate Dmitry Muratov he has consistently worked in accordance with his ideals, he has adhered to his ideals, he's talented and brave. It's a high appraisal and we congratulate him, Peskov said in a conference call with reporters after the prize was announced.
The prestigious award is accompanied by a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over 1.14 million). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize in physiology or medicine to Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries into how the human body perceives temperature and touch.
The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded Tuesday to three scientists whose work found order in seeming disorder, helping to explain and predict complex forces of nature, including expanding our understanding of climate change.
Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan were named as laureates of the Nobel Prize for chemistry Wednesday for finding an easier and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules that can be used to make compounds, including medicines and pesticides.
The Nobel Prize for literature was awarded Thursday to U.K.-based Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, who was recognized for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee."
Still to come Monday is the prize for outstanding work in the field economics. (AP)
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.
Parents should bear cost of air conditioning facility in school: Delhi HC
New Delhi (PTI): The cost of air conditioning in school has to be borne by the parents as it is a facility being provided to the students, which is no different from the other charges such as laboratory fee, the Delhi High Court has said.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) against a private school charging Rs 2,000 per month for the air conditioning in classes and stated that such financial burden cannot be fastened on the school management alone and parents should be mindful of the facilities and their cost while selecting a school.
The petitioner, whose ward studied in class 9 in the private school, argued that the obligation to provide air conditioning facilities to the students rests with the management and it should, therefore, be provided by them from their own funds and resources.
Noting that the fee receipt duly records the entry of charges for air conditioning which is admittedly being provided to the students, the court opined that prima facie there is no irregularity in the charge levied by the school.
“The costs of air conditioning services provided to the children in the school have to be borne by the parents as it is a facility provided to the children and is no different from the other charges such as laboratory fee and smart class fee levied. The parents, while selecting the school, have to be mindful of the facilities and the cost of the facilities provided to children in school.
“The financial burden of providing such facilities cannot be fastened on the school management alone,” the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, said in an order passed on May 2.
The court observed that the Directorate of Education was also seized of the issue after it received complaints and the petition was not maintainable.
“We are, therefore, not inclined to entertain the present PIL and the same is dismissed,” the court concluded.
