Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday launch a scheme in Maharashtra aimed at benefitting over 86 lakh farmers and launch projects worth over Rs 7,500 crore and then travel to Goa to inaugurate the 37th National Games.

An official statement said PM Modi will begin his Maharashtra tour by offering prayers at the famous Shri Saibaba temple in Shridi and inaugurate its new “darshan queue complex”.

He will perform “Jal Pujan” of Nilwande Dam and dedicate a canal network of the dam to the nation and later attend a public programme in Shirdi to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth about Rs 7,500 crore in sectors like health, rail, road and oil and gas.

The statement said the new “darshan queue complex” at Shirdi is a state-of-the-art modern mega building envisaged to provide comfortable waiting areas for devotees.

It is equipped with several waiting halls with a cumulative seating capacity of more than 10,000 devotees.  Its foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in October, 2018.

The 85 km canal network will benefit 182 villages by facilitating pipe distribution networks of water. The idea of Nilwande Dam was first conceived in 1970. It is being developed at a cost of about Rs 5,177 crore, the statement said.

During the public programme, PM Modi will launch the “Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana”. It will benefit more than 86 lakh beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana in Maharashtra by providing an additional amount of Rs 6,000 per year to them.

He will inaugurate multiple development projects, including an Ayush hospital at the Ahmednagar Civil Hospital, electrification of Kurduwadi-Latur road railway section (186 Km), four-laning of Sangli to Borgaon section of NH-166 (package-I) and additional facilities at the Manmad Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited among other projects.

Noting that the National Games are being held in Goa for the first time, the statement said he will also address the athletes taking part in the showpiece sporting event.

It said, “Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the sports culture in the country has undergone a sea change. With the help of continuous government support, the performance of athletes has witnessed tremendous improvement at the international level.”

The Games will be held from October 26  to November 9, and more than 10,000 athletes will compete in over 43 sports disciplines across 28 venues.
 

As per media reports, both South Korean restaurants and consumers have rapidly developed a strong aversion to Tsingtao beer. This change in sentiment is linked to a viral video that has surfaced, suggesting that an employee at one of the company’s facilities in China was shown urinating into a tank.

The video, which has accumulated millions of views on social media since it was first posted last Thursday, depicts an individual in a helmet and blue uniform climbing over the side of a high-walled container and appearing to urinate into its contents.

Tsingtao, the second-largest brewery in China and a significant exporter, has responded by alerting the authorities upon discovering the video. In a statement, the brewery emphasized, “Our company attaches high importance to the relevant video that emerged from Tsingtao Brewery No. 3 on 19 October.”

It added, “At present, the batch of malt in question has been completely sealed. The company continues to strengthen its management procedures and ensure product quality.”

Authorities in Pingdu, situated in Shandong province where the factory is situated, have initiated an inquiry into the incident. According to Chinese media, a source from Tsingtao revealed that neither the worker involved nor the person who recorded the video were employed directly by the brewery, The Guardian reported.

However, the business repercussions seem to be escalating.

The South Korean newspaper, JoongAng Daily, has disclosed that several restaurants, primarily those serving Chinese cuisine, have sought refunds for their Tsingtao shipments. Nevertheless, the South Korean importer of the beer reportedly denied these requests, The Guardian reported. 

“I asked if we could get a refund for the Tsingtao beer we already bought, but [the importer’s representative] said that’s not possible,” the newspaper quoted an employee at a Chinese restaurant in Seoul as saying.

According to the newspaper, the employee said diners requested beers other than Tsingtao. 

After the video went viral on social media, several users reacted with anger and voiced support for the Chinese beer maker. A user wrote, “A piss that will ruin a lot of money, this worker has done some real damage here.”

“Good thing I don’t drink beer – but it’s unimaginable if this brand is finished because of this,” said another. “Is this the first time though?” 

The BBC reported that the incident also led to Tsingtao’s share price fall on Monday. The company’s shares fell sharply when the Shanghai Stock Exchange opened on Monday morning but were trading broadly flat by the afternoon, the outlet reported. 

In a bizarre pharmacy heist, an armed robber demanded Viagra and other prescription drugs from pharmacy employees at a store, leaving them baffled with a peculiar handwritten note. The robber in question has been identified as a 23-year-old Florida resident named Thomas Mues, who provided detailed instructions to the pharmacists through the note.

According to Fox News, the Orlando Police Department said Thomas Mues handed a handwritten note to pharmacists at a CVS store around 6 pm indicating he had a gun and would shoot them if he was not provided the pills listed on the note.

The note, reportedly written on a crumpled piece of paper, read: “”THIS IS A ARMED Robbery, Please cooperate; I don’t want to hurt you. You are not to alarm anybody, or I will shoot the closest person to me! Please follow these directions, or I will shoot the closest person to me.”

As per the social media post of the Orlando Police, officers arrived on the scene as the suspect, Thomas Mues, was walking out of the store. After a short foot pursuit, Mues was apprehended and was still holding the stolen narcotics and his written note. He admitted to travelling to Orlando from Jacksonville to carry out the plan and also confessed to another similar robbery in Central Florida.

Pharmacy employees say the suspect handed them a note indicating he had a gun & would shoot them if he was not provided the pills listed. OPD TAC officers arrived on the scene as the suspect, Thomas Mues (DOB 2/22/00), was walking out of the store. pic.twitter.com/lh7e1TyJt1

— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) October 23, 2023

Mues is currently facing a series of charges, including robbery, trafficking, and possession.