erusalem, Nov 9 (UNI) Israel is “willing” to temporarily pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip if Hamas shows “a genuine commitment” to releasing the hostages, a government source told Xinhua on Thursday.
The source confirmed that Israel was considering a proposal by Egypt and Qatar for a humanitarian pause in the military actions against the Palestinian enclave in exchange for the release of hostages.
Oct 06,2023: “Jon Fosse presents everyday situations that are instantly recognisable in our own lives. His radical reduction of language and dramatic action expresses the most powerful human emotions of anxiety and powerlessness in the simplest terms. It is through laureate Jon Fosse’s ability to evoke man’s loss of orientation, and how this paradoxically can provide access to a deeper experience close to divinity, that he has come to be regarded as a major innovator in contemporary theatre, the Nobel Prize’s official handle posted on X.
Who is Jon Fosse?
Fosse writes in Norwegian Nynorsk, the least common of the two official versions of Norwegian. After winning the Nobel, he said he regarded the award as a recognition of this language and the movement promoting it, and that he ultimately owed the prize to the language itself, reported Reuters.
Born in 1959, Fosse first started writing novels, switching to plays in his 30s. He went on to become one of Norway’s most-performed dramatists, and is in fact counted among the most performed of living European dramatists. His work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Fosse has written around 40 plays, apart from novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry and essays.
His “A New Name: Septology VI-VII”, about two painters, both named Asle but with different lives and demons and preoccupations, was a finalist for the International Booker Prize last year.
Other notable works by Fosse include I Am the Wind, Melancholy, Boathouse, and The Dead Dogs.
His writing style, characterised by simple, minimal, searing dialogue, is considered similar to Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, both of whom have won the Nobel earlier.
Fosse’s play ‘Nokon kjem til å komme’ (1996; ‘Someone Is Going to Come’, 2002) has specially been compared with Becket’s Waiting for Godot.
His themes explore the absurdity, the futility and yet the power of the human condition; everyday confusions and irresolutions; and the difficulty to form actual connections, despite — and sometimes because of — conversation.
Fosse was considered a hot favourite for the Nobel 10 years ago too. After he did not win that year, he told The Guardian in 2014, “Of course [I would like to win]. But the simple truth is that I was very pleased when the news came that it wasn’t me. Normally, they give it to very old writers, and there’s a wisdom to that – you receive it when it won’t affect your writing.”
Why not very popular in the English-speaking world?
While Fosse has been celebrated in Europe for a long time, he is not that popular in the United Kingdom or in the UK, and that has impacted his visibility in the rest of the English-speaking world, like in India.
It has been said that the UK and the US find his themes difficult to relate to, and his plays difficult to connect with. In 2014, in a review of his ‘I Am the Wind’, about two men stranded on a boat, The New York Times wrote, “…you can understand why his work might not appeal to the Anglo-Saxon sensibility, which has never been celebrated for its embrace of ambiguity. And red lights are sure to flash in the minds of certain theatergoers when they hear that the characters in “I Am the Wind” are identified as the One and the Other.”
In recent years, however, his popularity has increased in these geographies too.
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), August 14,2023: Nine people have been killed and several others are feared trapped under the debris of a temple, which collapsed in Shimla after being hit by a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall on Monday.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed his condolences over the deaths and said efforts are underway to rescue the people trapped under the debris of the collapsed temple in the Summer Hill area.
“As of now, nine bodies have been retrieved. The local administration is diligently working to clear the debris in order to rescue individuals who may still be trapped,” the Himachal Pradesh chief minister said in a post on the ‘X’ app (formerly known as Twitter.
Sukhu along with state minister Vikramaditya Singh also visited the site of the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
“Twenty to 25 people are trapped under debris here. A total of 21 people have died in the last 24 hours in the state. I appeal to people to stay indoors, to not venture near rivers and landslide-prone areas. Restoration work will begin as soon as rain stops,” the chief minister said.
Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, Superintendent of Police (SP) Shimla earlier said that a landslide had struck the temple and there was threat to nearby buildings also. “Several people have been stranded. We are waiting for more details,” he said.
New Delhi, July 14,2023: The Defence Ministry on Thursday approved the proposal for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft and three additional Scorpene submarines from France.
The project was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a two-day visit to France on Thursday.
The Defence Ministry in a statement said it will boost Indian Navy’s operational capabilities.
“The DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government based on Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA)” said the Ministry in a Statement.
India has already procured 36 Rafale jets from France for the Indian Air Force.
The DAC’s approval to the projects came around a week after they were cleared by the Defence Procurement Board (DPB).
Over the price and other terms of purchase, the Ministry said, “They will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries”.
“Further, integration of Indian designed equipment and establishment of Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) Hub for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due negotiations” it said.
The three additional Scorpene submarines under Buy (Indian) category, will be constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).
The Ministry said it will also help the MDL in further enhancing its capability and expertise in submarine construction.
“The procurement of additional submarines, with higher indigenous content, will not only help in maintaining required force level and operational readiness of the Indian Navy, but also create significant employment opportunities in the domestic sector”, the statement said.
In addition, the DAC approved the proposal to lay down guidelines for achieving the desired indigenous content in all categories of capital acquisition cases.
“It will help in achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in critical manufacturing technologies and life-cycle sustenance of defence platforms/equipment through indigenous manufacturing” the Defence Ministry said.
July 04,2023:Thailand’s new parliament has convened nearly two months after a progressive opposition party won a stunning election victory, but there is still no clear sign its leader will be able to become prime minister and end nine years of military-dominated rule.
The Move Forward Party’s unexpected election victory in May alarmed the ruling establishment, which regards it as a threat to the status quo and the monarchy. Some senators have already announced their opposition to party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated businessman.
The election results showed Move Forward’s progressive agenda resonated with a public weary of nine years of military-controlled rule under Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army commander seized power in a 2014 coup and returned as prime minister after a 2019 general election.
But what made Move Forward popular with many voters was what alarmed royalist conservatives.
The party pledged to reform many powerful institutions, including the monarchy and the military, which retain power and influence under a constitution written during Prayuth’s administration.
Political transformation?
While the threats from Move Forward’s ideological foes are clear, what has been less expected are the tensions between it and the biggest partner in its coalition, the Pheu Thai Party.
Move Forward and Pheu Thai have been squabbling over which will get the post of speaker of the House of Representatives, which is supposed to be chosen by the parliament on Tuesday.
“The position of the House speaker is essential because he will determine the agenda of parliament, and so therefore the degree of political transformation,” said Tyrell Haberkorn, a Thai studies scholar at the University of Wisconsin.
The two parties announced a compromise after a meeting on Monday. The coalition will nominate Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, a veteran leader of the Prachachat Party, to be House speaker, and Move Forward and Pheu Thai will each have one deputy speaker.
Pita said the decision was reached to strengthen unity among the coalition’s allies to support his bid to be prime minister. Pita needs 376 votes to secure the post. He currently has 312 and will need 64 more votes from either rival parties or members of a conservative-leaning Senate appointed under military rule.