A female cyclist who was crushed to death by a tipper truck outside the Bank Of England yesterday has been named as Oxbridge graduate Ying Tao, 26.
Mrs Tao, a strategy consultant for global consultancy firm Price Waterhouse Coopers, was killed in a collision whilst cycling to work yesterday morning.
Her death is the eighth cycling fatality in London this year and the seventh involving a lorry.
This afternoon the London Cycling Campaign announced it will stage a flash protest during tomorrow’s rush hour at Bank Junction.
Mrs Tao was struck by an eight-wheel tipper truck at the ‘hectic’ seven-way Bank junction in the City of London during shortly before 9am.
She was treated by paramedics but pronounced dead at the scene.

The truck driver stopped at the scene but was not arrested. City of London Police are investigating the incident.
One witness, who works nearby, described hearing a ‘crunch’ followed by onlookers’ screams as the truck struck the woman.
Today her family laid flowers at the junction, including a picture of her on her recent wedding day.

Her grieving husband Jin said: ‘She was the perfect wife and perfect in every way. She was smart as well as beautiful.’

Her friend, Claire Zhao, said: ‘I am having a baby and she was going to be godmother. This is just so terrible, she was the best person.’
Speaking on behalf of PwC, Neil Hampson, a partner at the firm, said: ‘We are shocked by this tragic news.

‘Ying was a bright and popular colleague with a promising career in front of her. She excelled at everything she did, with a passion for life, for work and for the friendships she made.
‘It is a tragedy that a wonderful young woman should lose her life at such an age.
‘Our thoughts go out to Ying’s family and friends and we will do anything we can to help her family at this very sad and difficult time.’

A statement on the LCC’s site said: ‘In response to the recent cycling fatalities in Harrow and at Bank, LCC is planning a flash protest at Bank on Wednesday June 24.
‘We will be gathering to remember the victim and highlight the need for safe space for cycling; not just at this location, but across London.
‘The protest will be held at Bank junction between 8.30-8.45am
‘More must be done to create high quality space for cycling across London, to enable people of all ages and abilities to ride safely in our city.

‘This includes making lorries safer.’
Charlie Lloyd, from the LCC, visited the scene of the accident yesterday.
He said: ‘In most European cities, crowded and historic roads like this one would only allow public transport.
‘We don’t think there should be any motor vehicles here, it’s a very busy crossroads in the centre of town.
‘They should quite clearly not be allowed to drive on these kinds of vehicles on busy roads such as this one.’

“Patients recover faster in a greener environment as they get more fresh air and sunlight. St Martha’s Hospital is in the heart of the city but is able to offer a very green environment to the patients. The entire Hospital campus is green with thousands of trees and open green spaces, the credit of which goes to all those who have been diligently planting saplings every year,” said Jayakar Jerome, Director, St Martha’s Hospital and Former Ambassador of India to Slovenia .

Sister Prameela Preumpally, President of St. Martha’s Hospital, Dr. Baljit Singh, Director Professor, G.B Pant Hospital Delhi, Mr. A.N Rajagopalan, Chief Financial Advisor,Mr. P.P Nardekar, Deputy Chief Engineer (VAC &LE) General Consultants to BMRCL and Mr. M. Jawahar, Project Manager of L&T also planted saplings.

Jayakar Jerome was speaking at the sapling plantation at the Hospital on the occasion of World Environment Day today by employees of L & T. Quite a lot of Hospital staff- doctors and nurses were present during the tree plantation.

Over 30 saplings of trees were planted in the Hospital today in the main park area overlooking the front gate. The saplings vary from Eucalyptus, Neem, Sampige, Oak, some of which are of the evergreen variety.

“Many who visit the St Martha’s Hospital premises for the first time are surprised by the green cover in the Hospital. In fact our recovery rooms adjacent to the ICU open up to a green open space where the patients are wheeled, for them to get enough sunlight,” explained Jerome.

“Tree plantation is like investment for the future of your children.  You plant a sapling today and your children will reap the benefits of it years later. But it’s a very noble investment,” said Jerome adding that if each one of us just plants one sapling in our immediate surroundings- home, school, office etc, imagine how greener the earth would be!

About St Martha’s Hospital

St Martha’s Hospital on Nrupathunga Road was founded in 1886 by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd Order. What began with only 50 beds has today grown into a multi-specialty hospital with over 550 beds. Offering health care across all major specialities such as Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Urology, Cardiology, Neurosurgery and more, St Martha’sHospital has never lost sight of the fact that the underprivileged too need medical care. The hospital offers free medical care to deserving patients when needed.

Amit Kataria, an IAS officer and collector of Jagdalpur in Chattisgarh has been served with a warning letter by the Chhattisgarh state BJP Government for violation of dress code and protocol. The officer had worn a blue shirt and sunglasses while receiving the Prime Minister last week. As per reports, a ‘bundhgala’ and no sunglasses is the usual protocol which the officer breached.

An officer must be judged on the basis of his work and not on the basis of whether or not he wore a ‘bundhgala’ and sunglasses. It is high time we do away with such protocols that do not serve any practical purpose and give rise to fruitless controversies.

Also, pictures in the media show the PM wearing sunglasses on various occasions. There is nothing wrong in wearing clothes and glasses that make you comfortable, as long as the dress is decent enough for public events.

This May Day turned out to be extra special for workers across projects of CREDAI Bengaluru member real estate development organizations.

CREDAI Bengaluru organized a day of fun and good food at the Mount Carmel College Grounds in Vasanthnagar. The event saw over 840 labourers taking part in various activities.

Speaking at the event, Mr.J C Sharma, President, CREDAI Bengaluru and Vice Chairman & MD, Sobha Developers said, “The construction companies have highest number of employees. They put sincere effort in their work. Their hard work makes us enjoy our life for ages”.

“CREDAI Bengaluru has initiated this event as a token of appreciation for the labourers. This kind of activity brings them more closer. Year on year we are seeing more participation and involvement” he added.

Mr. Suresh Hari, Secretary, CREDAI Bengaluru, said, “We wanted to express our gratitude to our workers who toil hard throughout the year, and their families too. We have been celebrating the Labour Day every year for the past five years.”

Commenting on the event Mr. Anil Nayak, CEO, CREDAI Bengaluru, said “This is the 5^th consecutive year we are doing labour day. We bring construction labourers from member developers together. The response for this event has been very encouraging year on year. This kind of labour day celebration is consistently carried out by CREDAI Bengaluru and the same has been recognized all over”

This initiative was set in motion as part of the CSR activities conducted by CREDAI Bengaluru . Labourers from various projects of the Brigade Group, Vaishnavi Group, Sattva Group,  Total Environment, Sobha Group, Bearys Group and many more participated in the activities organized for this event.

Shakil, labourer, Brigade Group, who won first prize in Long Jump said” It was a good experience. All day we do hard work in the sun and these kinds of events gives us happiness. I am happy that I won the first prize”.

Bhagyalakshmi, labourer, who came first in 100 Mts race and 200 Mts race said “When I heard that there will be sports day for us on May 1^st  I started practicing. Every day I used to run near the site. Because of my practice I won first prize today”.

Prize winners list

4 sections for Men

100 Mts Race

1^st – Ravi, 2^nd – Sharukh Shaik, 3^rd – Sridhar

200 Mts Race

1^st – Sharukh Shaik, 2^nd – Nitesh, 3^rd – Ravi

Long Jump

1^st – Shakil, 2^nd – Nateesh, 3^rd – Akshay

Shot Put

1^st – Durgappa , 2^nd – Rajendra, 3^rd – Javed 

4 sections for women

100 Mts Race

1^st – Bhagyalakshmi, 2^nd – R.N Netra, 3^rd – Netra

200 Mts Race

1^st – Bhagyalakshmi, 2^nd – Netra, 3^rd – Muniratna

Long Jump

1^st – Siddamma, 2^nd – Saranamma, 3^rd – Lakshmidevi 

Shot Put

1^st – Gayatri, 2^nd – R.N Netra, 3^rd – Siddamma

About CREDAI Bengaluru

CREDAI Bengaluru is an apex body of credible real estate developers, operational in Bengaluru for three decades. It has around 216 reputed developers as its members in the city and 450+ developers across the state. CREDAI’s presence is in 23 states and 133 cities across India, having overall membership of more than 9000. CREDAI Bengaluru safeguards the interests of real estate developers and builders while protecting the rights of buyers and home owners.  CREDAI Bengaluru gives voice to its members and is responsible for communicating with Government agencies, trade bodies and other authorities on issues directly affecting the sector.

One of Bangalore’s top labour lawyer, Ms K Sribhoomi Yesaswini jointly with Kartel Innovations has launched a comprehensive labour law compliance online software – Labour All, today. ‘Labour All’ — conceptualised and created by Ms Sribhoomi – Advocate, Kasturi Associates — was launched by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ram Mohan Reddy, Judge –High Court of Karnataka and Commissioner for Labour Dr.D.SVishwanath, I.A.S.

Authorities from the Provident fund department, ESIC and the department of Factories were present as well.

Honble Mr Justice Ram Mohan Reddy, Judge High Court of Karnataka and Member, National E Committee said, “These 69 labour laws are not simple laws. They are serious subjects as they deal with human beings. There was a requirement for this kind of software. This is an FAQs kind of software which I always had in my mind.”

” This software developed by Sri Bhoomi will help every industry ask their simple questions and get simple answers. It will also help lawyers practising on the labour side in saving time.”

“The High Court of Karnataka is the only court in the country with wifi facility. We are now going digital where you can file petitions from home. I envisage a day when lawyers will sit in their chambers and argue their cases through video conferencing.”

Speaking at the launch, Ms Sribhoomi said, “Over the years, we have seen several cases against business establishments for non-compliance of certain sections of Labour laws even though some of them do go through regular audits . The underlying reason is the complex nature of these enactments and their interpretations. ‘Labour All’ is a comprehensive set of online labour law related software which aims at helping a factory, shop or establishment to assess its level of compliance and become further compliant by knowing what is to be done further .”

The software has been developed by Bangalore-based Kartel Innovations, which will also market the software.

Labour law non-compliance  a criminal offence

According to Ms Sribhoomi Yesaswini, there are 69 labour laws in Karnataka and that any business establishment has to comply with multiple enactments that are applicable to it. Criminal proceedings are initiated against establishmentswho are found to be non-compliant.

For instance, in the calendar year 2014 alone,  as per the data available with the labour department, a total of 15,200 companies were criminally prosecuted under Labour Act and Factories Act. Under Factories Act alone  1698 violations were found and 209 prosecutions launched.  The department of labour conducted 2,39,345 inspections and found 1,42,498 violations. 61,414 companies rectified the defects and 14,984 prosecutions were launched under Labour Act. Out of these 6982 cases have been disposed and in 6345 cases, companies have been convicted. The total amount recovered by way of fine was Rs.2,22,67,559/-

“Having handled these prosecutions for several years, I realized there were several reasons for these prosecutions. The prominent reason is in many cases most companies are not aware of  all the provisions in the enactments which are applicable to them. Also typically in any  establishment the labour law compliance is not always assigned to legal teams and departments  and it is difficult to be thorough labour laws” she explained.

Sribhoomi pointed out that ‘Labour All’ is a simple, easy to use, easy to understand and time-saving product. As a first step, Labour All would cover the most important labour laws in Karnataka.

Commending this software, Mr B.V. Acharya, Former Advocate General for six times, said, “The software is a boon to a common man to understand the implications of labour laws which an employer or owner/manager of an industry has to obey. The software gives required information in simple language without the use of legal jargon which helps an employer to comply with the legal requirements.”

Explaining the need for this software, he said that an employer or owner of a factory or establishment has to abide by numerous laws both central and state. “They are liable to be prosecuted for many violations and in some cases the punishment extends to imprisonment also for varying terms. Hence there is great need for compilation of all the relevant provisions of law with particular reference to the duties and responsibilities of the employer and others in charge of the industry or factory,” he said.

About ‘Labour All’

Labour All is an online software, wherein everyone will have to log in to www.labourall.com and access the software online. It will be a yearly subscription and a person can log in any number of times into the web site and answer the questionnaire in a phased manner and at a comfortable pace. However, only four reports can be generated in a year. People are free to purchase the entire set of laws or create a combination of laws of their choice and the pricing would be according to the suite of laws they purchase. Voice assistance (with mute facility) has also been provided which reads out the questions to the user.

According to Sribhoomi, the method in which the product has been created is in the order of the sections in the Act. “For example, in the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, from the first section to the last, wherever we found a requirement to be done by the employer to be compliant with the act, it was converted into a question which is very simple in language and not just a copy from the section. Sometimes the requirement is split into more than one question to make it easier,” she explained.

In case of any exception provided in the section, then it is ensured that people who are not covered do not end up answering unwanted questions too. “In this way we have covered certain labour enactments and are in the process of covering more enactments. By the end of December this year, we should have a fairly long list of labour laws on our Web site (www.labourall.com),” said Sribhoomi.

The  laws covered under Labour all at present are The Factories Act,1948, The Karnataka Shops and commercial Establishments Act,1961, The EmployeesProvident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act,1952, Employees state Insurance Act, 1948, Act, The Maternity Benefit Act,1961,  The payment of wages Act,1936, The Payment of Bonus Act,1965,andEqual Remuneration Act, 1976.  Additions will keep happening on a regular basis until all laws are covered.

According to Mr.Pradeep Kumar, Advisor, Kartel Innovations says, We have a marketing and sales team in place and database of potential customers. We have been in touch with these people and they have shown much interest in the product.

Future plans

Sribhoomi and Kartel Innovations plan to launch the product in a phased manner. In this calender year, all the 69 labour laws of Karnataka will be developed.

“Next, we will target the industrial states in India. Slowly, we want to bring this product to all the states in India. This is the entire vision,” said Ms.Bhoomi.

What HR and Legal Personnel have to say…

Commenting on the product, Mr P.L. Mathew, Senior General Manager, Bosch Ltd, said, “I have found the contents comprehensive, as it covers all the sections and provisions in a given Act. The language is simple and the contents are very well inter-linked. Every effort had been put in to include all details. In my opinion, this software may be of immense help for those who are involved in compliance.”

Explaining about the product, Mr.Pranesh K.S, Herbalife said “This is a great opportunity to factories, shops, establishments etc. This is in question and answer form which is simple and user friendly. The software facilitates easy understanding to comply with all relevant provisions. This software makes the frequency of consultation with advocates would be reduced considerably”.

WHICH ANIMAL ARE YOU? TAKE THE GOOGLE DOODLE EARTH DAY QUIZ!

You can search Google for answers to all kinds of animal questions: What does an aye-aye eat? Where do narwhals live? How long is a toco toucan’s beak? And this Earth Day, you can turn to Google for the answer to something that you’ve always needed to know: which animal are you???

Clicking on this year’s Earth Day logo (or searching for “Earth Day quiz”) presents one of the Internet’s favorite pastimes: a totally scientific and 1,000% accurate personality quiz. Take the time to answer a few questions to determine and share your Earth Day animal. And, of course, you’re only a search away from learning more about nature’s precious pals and interesting inhabitants.

If you need proof of the accuracy of our quiz, look no further than the testimonials of some of our wildlife-loving, quiz-taking friends who reported back on their spirit animals.

Once you’ve gotten to know your deepest self, we hope you’re also inspired to help make a real difference this Earth Day. For the month of April, we’re partnering with our friends at Google.org, who will match donations to the following animal-loving organizations up to $20,000. That means every $1 you donate to one of these great groups is worth $2 to protect wildlife around the world. Chip in what you can at the Jane Goodall Institute, Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, World Wildlife Fund, WildAid, Zoological Society of London and Virunga Fund.

Bengaluru: In a major breakthrough in IAS officer DK death case, police sources claim that DK Ravi might have committed suicide due to crisis in his personal life.

According to the WhatsApp messages accessed by the police, Ravi was in love with his female colleague. “After you hear of my death, please come and see me, may be we will meet in another life,” one of the messages allegedly said.

According to police reports, his female colleague and her husband had tried to counsel Ravi to give up his attempt at his one-sided love and move on with his life and career, the sources said.

In his last WhatsApp message Ravi wrote, “I can’t live without you. I am taking a drastic step”. In another message sent on March 15 at 4.25 PM, a day before he committed suicide, Ravi wrote “Today is the day of unfortunate decision. I always hoped that you would lead me. But it is not happening. I will wait for your response till 9 o’clock in the night”.

He had sent another message at 5:20 PM, which said “you don’t try to call or contact me. Don’t reveal my love to anybody. If there is a re-birth, we will meet”.

The female officer sent him a reply at 7 PM on the same day. It said, “What is this madness? If you don’t want me to talk to you, please let me know. I will not call you”.

The next day, the day he died, Ravi sent a long message to her explaining the reasons for his decision to die. It said, “Baby, this is my last message to you. I am sending this to explain you what I am. I am not a liar. I am not a selfish person. I am not a crook. I have always been honest. I have led a clean life. I am from a rural background. I am from a poor family. I have now failed in my life. Don’t know what to do. I am now left with no hope. Nobody likes me. I have none. You have been my inspiration. If I wanted just beauty, I could easily have got a more beautiful woman. I can’t live without you. That’s not possible. I will leave this world. You please lead a good life. I want you to lead to a good life after my death. Because of that I have deleted all your pictures and messages from mobile phone. Once you hear the news of my death, if possible come, hug my body, kiss me and pray to Lord Shiva that I rest in eternal peace”.

The woman IAS officer linked to late Karnataka IAS officer had earlier put up a post on her Facebook profile saying ‘Truth shall prevail’.

Hundreds of people, including family members, local political leaders, and relatives paid homage to the techie.

The mortal remains reached her hometown Amtoor in Bantwal from Mangaluru airport on Sunday at 12 Noon.The body was kept for public viewing at their house Nandagokula in Amtoor.

Hundreds of people paid their last respects. The last rites were held at 6 pm, 100 meters away from the house. Husband Arun Kumar and brother Shanker Shetty performed the final rites.

Inspector K U Belliyappa, rural officers Rakshith Kumar, and Nanda Kumar arranged security in the area.

Health minister U T Khadar, district incharge minister Ramanath Rai, MLC Ivan D’Souza, MLA Mohiuddin Bava, MLA Shakunthala Shetty, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, former minister Nagaraj Shetty, former MLA Rukmayya Poojary Padmanabh Kottary and many other leaders paid homage to Prabha Kumar.

Prabha was brutally stabbed to death in Australia, just 300 metres from her home, while on the phone talking to her husband in this IT city.

The incident occurred on March 7 in West mead, a suburb of Sydney, while she was in the lane way that runs through the park close to her home.

“When I reached the spot, I did not find Khan. I then went to his house in nearby Galaxy apartments but even there the accused was not traced,” said Rajendra Kadam, one of the investigating officers who had registered a case against the Bollywood actor for alleged rash and negligent driving.

Khan is charged with ramming his white Land Cruiser car into the American Express bakery shop in suburban Bandra, killing one person and injuring four people who were sleeping on the pavement on September 28, 2002.

According to the prosecution, Khan was allegedly under the influence of liquor while driving the car and had left the spot as soon as he met with the accident. After a few hours, he had surrendered himself at the police station.

In the court today, Khan, attired in blue jeans and blue shirt, sat in the front row along with his sister Alvira. The 49-year-old actor keenly watched the proceedings and talked to his lawyer Srikant Shivade occasionally.

In a related development, trial Judge D W Deshpande, on a defence plea, asked Bandra police station to produce case diaries tomorrow to go through the entries made therein by the investigation officer on the first three days from the date of mishap. The defence lawyer wants to scrutinise the entries to cross examine the police officer.

Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said he had no objection to the production of the case diaries provided they were exhibited as evidence in the court.

Kadam informed the court that he was on night duty on the day of the mishap. He got a telephone call about the accident and rushed to the spot on a motorbike along with a police constable.

“On reaching there, I found people had gathered at the spot and they were pushing around Khan’s police bodyguard Ravindra Patil. We pulled out

Patil from the crowd and he told us what had happened. Only then, police came to know that Khan had met with an accident,” Kadam told the court.

Julie Dag, now 50, from Bournemouth, was left heartbroken and down £20,000 after falling for local musician Lamin Sidibeh while on holiday in The Gambia in West Africa in 2007.

At the time she was newly single at 43 and thought she had found true love with Lamin, 29.

With three failed marriages behind her, she said she was susceptible to his charms.

‘He was physically very attractive, athletic, attentive but I was very cautious that this was a holiday romance,’ she told Channel 5 documentary Holiday Love Rats.

‘He made me feel like I was unique. After three failed marriages I was getting old.’

Although Julie returned to Britain, the pair kept in touch and 12 months later she booked another trip back to The Gambia – for her wedding in 2008.

‘The romance didn’t last long. We spent the whole of our honeymoon filling in visa applications,’ she said.

The set up home together in Bournemouth but Julie said she had her doubts about her husband’s claims of being a builder when he erected her shed.

‘It was upside down and full of gaps,’ she said.

Her husband managed to get a job in a fish and chip shop but Julie said he didn’t spend his free time with her.

‘He was going out with his friends drinking and I grew suspicious that he was cheating.

‘He would be coming in at 2am or 3am in the morning and he told me to stop phoning him.

‘I told him he was my husband and I had a right to know where you are.’

However, her world began falling apart two months after he was granted indefinite leave to stay in the UK.

‘One day he came home with a bunch of flowers and told me he was leaving,’ said Julie.

‘I told him to pack his things and get out.’

Weeks later, Julie said she was contacted by another English woman who said her marriage wasn’t legal as he was already married.

‘She told me they were already married and that she had tried to get him a visa so many times.

‘He had hit the jackpot with me because I had a house and a job and I could afford to keep him.

‘The whole thing he came for was a visa, payout and an escape. He got what he wanted and it wasn’t me.’

Now Julie said she can’t believe she was such a fool to let him use her.

The show also features Kim Sow, 58, from Dover, who was conned out of £50,000 by her Senegalese husband in an immigration marriage scam.

She appeared on yesterday’s This Morning to warn other women to avoid her fate.

She was captivated by Laye, who she met in a London nightclub, and his promises that they would be a big, happy family when she married him and she became step-mother to his three children.

She only discovered after he left her with his British passport secured that he was already married to the mother of his children who was caring for them in Senegal.