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Venkat, a scientist of Indian origin in the US, finds that NSA, his employer, has been systematically spying on the Indian whos who. Fearing that this might be used by vested interests to blackmail India, he steals the proof and somehow makes it back to Delhi.

But little does he know that a dangerous nexus of global businessmen, US military and their minions from Pakistan with sleeper cells in India are all behind him. Riya Kaul, his former college friend and a journalist, becomes an innocent pawn in the game that follows. Venkat and Riya are almost taken down by the masterminds but for Devavrata Jatashankar Singh, aka Shaitan, a former operative of Rashtriya Rifles and currently a trusted go-to man of the national security advisor of India itself.

For a debut novel, Predators and Prey is superlatively amazing at many levels. Author Abhinav Agarwal has put in tremendous amount of research and the result is that it is impossible to keep the book down once started.

The characterisation of Delhi Durbaras a media tycoon in the book calls itwarrants a special mention. Abhinav has described the way power is brokered through vested interests in such a detailed manner that one would feel the story is a real one or at least inspired from real events. The titbits quoted from Mahabharata and other ancient Indian texts are another added delight.

Apart from a very engaging story, the book also sensitises readers about the fallibility of individual privacy. Even as we carry our precious cellphones everywhere, we know that somebody is recording every move of ours even with the devices switched off and if they can, use it against us. The sole consolation at least in the story is Indias own trusted spy network and the loyalty of heroes such as Deva and Venkat, not to mention, the rigour that our special forces operatives undergo that enables them to take on powerful enemies.

Through Riya, the female protagonist, the reader is given a birds eye view of the compromise, corruption and espionage that is rampant in the media sector. A widow of a brave soldier killed by such powers, her courage stands out.

As the world around her falls to parts, we get to know the dangers that our country is exposed to. Devas courage and feats along with the other powerful ingredients form a great material for a big screen adaptation. The readers are in for a treat when the last page drops a clue for the next adventure of Deva. Abhinav Agarwal sure takes the benchmark high up for Indian thriller scene.

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'Predators and Prey' book review: A Thrilling Ride - The New Indian Express

Natural Science Academy has about 75 students enrolled this year.

Natural Science Academy

A St. Paul Park-based charter school is facing closure after losing its authorizer.

The Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center, which recently changed its name from the Audubon Center of the North Woods, has chosen not to renew its contract with Natural Science Academy, citing poor academic performance and governance concerns. The Natural Science Academy had previously signed two probationary three-year contracts with them.

Osprey authorizes about 35 schools, according to its website. NSA is the only school out of the 10 up for renewal this year to not receive another contract, Erin Anderson, director of charter school authorizing, told BMTN.

The 14-year-old elementary schools website lists 11 staff members. Around 75 students are enrolled this year.

NSA staff and parents have pushed back against the decision in letters to the Minnesota Department of Education, state legislators and a widely circulated petition.

They argue that the closure is unfairly based on state test scores, but the Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Centers correspondence to the school emphasizes poor performance according to other measures, including curriculum-based measures chosen by the school and nationally normed growth assessments. In addition, the authorizer cited concerns over the schools teacher-run leadership structure and governance.

It must be frustrating to have just been informed of this, and we are disappointed to learn that the school board did not adequately advise its community of the risk of closure, in view of the numerous communications from ACNW to the school, Anderson wrote to parents, citing notices sent to the school in May 2018 and February 2019 concerning low academic performance.

In order to be eligible for renewal, the school had to score at least 50 out of 100 points on an assessment based largely on state test scores, measures chosen by the school and nationally normed growth assessments. The school scored 60.7, making it eligible, but it didnt meet the standard for five out of eight academic categories, a March 13 notice from Osprey to NSA says.

Those five areas are reading growth, math growth, reading proficiency, math proficiency and science proficiency, based on three years worth of various measurements of academic performance.

A report from January details that Osprey received complaints against the schools lead teacher from two former employees in November 2017 and December 2019.

The complaints alleged a very stressful and negative workplace and a toxic environment of practices, according to the report.

The school has functioned under basically the same instructional leadership structure for at least the last six years (two contract periods) which has resulted in persistently low academic achievement and a lack of accountability for student outcomes, Osprey wrote in its March notice of non-renewal to the school.

At an informal hearing with Osprey in April, the school provided "ample evidence" of an improved workplace culture, Anderson said in an email. The non-renewal was ultimately based on poor academic performance and "NSA's failure to properly conduct its corporate governance," she said.

Advocates for the school have expressed confusion over the non-renewal process and surprise that the school is being closed during the pandemic.

Kate Maki, whose fourth-grade student has attended the school since kindergarten, began working at the school as a special projects coordinator two years ago.

I really like the school, I completely believe in it. And Im watching it grow and change and become this great thing, Maki said.

The school had a bad year when it was renewed in 2017, Maki said, and implemented an expeditionary learning-based curriculum the next fall.

Our last years science scores were phenomenal We were like, why are we not getting an A+ on this? she said.

She said she and other staff members had the understanding that three-year contracts were the norm.

They said, youve been on probation for six years total. And were like, well, thats always been the case So why would we even bat an eye?

"NSA is being used as a sacrificial lamb."

Harry Adler, who joined the schools board of directors in March, and has held multiple roles in education including principal, executive director of a charter school and current work helping an authorizer assess schools, expressed similar confusion.

What I find strange about it is, many of their schools are basically on probation because theyre on three-year contracts. So they call these three-year contracts probationary, and it has not been that long since the state has offered five-year contracts, he said.

In a complaint letter to the Minnesota Department of Education, Adler emphasized that comparing the schools scores to other students across the state and neighboring District 833 doesnt show an adequate representation of students academic success because of the schools small class sizes.

Thirty-nine students took the MCA tests in 2019, documents show.

Ospreys 2019 annual report shows that 15 percent of its schools had scored lower than 50 percent of their points on its academic performance evaluation, he added.

NSA is being used as a sacrificial lamb to give the perception that ACNW (Audubon Center of the North Woods)is providing strong oversight. I believe the closure decision cannot be justified analytically based on the data and is ethically wrong given the pandemic, Adler said in the letter.

MDE has said it will look into the complaint, Adler said.

Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately described the timing of the employee complaints. In separate instances, two former employees sent a complaint to Osprey after they had stopped working there.

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Dismay, confusion over St. Paul Park charter school's impending closure - Bring Me The News

'Operation Jackboot' claims its last high value target in killing of Riyaz Naikoo.  |  Photo Credit: IANS

Srinagar:The elimination of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Riyaz Naikoo on Wednesday by security forces has raised an alarm for Pakistan-based terror sponsors in the Jammu and Kashmir who propagate anti-India sentiments to destabilise peace in the Valley.

However, the execution of Naikoo was a meticulously planned operation, conceived by none other than National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Code named Operation Jackboot, the task to hunt down one of the most wanted terrorists in the Valley was supervised personally by NSA Doval. Naikoo was the last high-value target in the operation.

The operation was conceived after Pulwama, Kulgam, Anantnag and Shopian in south Kashmir were christened Liberated areas by Pakistan-backed militants.

Homegrown militancy was getting on the nerves of Indias security forces.

Naikoo, aka Bin Qasim, had become the de facto commander of the proscribed terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen after Burhan Wani, the poster boy of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, was eliminated in July 2016.

Qasim, rated as an A++ category terrorist or most-wanted militant, had been on the run for over eight years and carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

The encounter of Burhan Wani sparked a massive uproar in the Valley and the ripple effects were felt as far as Islamabad. Locals look out a funeral procession for Wani and the subsequent violence that erupted in the Valley is still fresh in our minds.

Naikoo was counted as one from the Burhan group of Kashmiris.

The group consisted of Wani and his terror associates Sabzar Bhat, Waseem Malla, Naseer Pandit, Ishfaq Hameed, Tariq Pandit, Afaqullah, Adil Khandey, Saddam Paddar, Wasim Shah and Anees, news agency IANS reported.

These locals became poster boys of militancy in Kashmir and such was their authority, foreign terrorists were pushed to the background.

The Burhan gang of terrorists romanced the picturesque Himalayan region and seduced the educated, yet unemployed, youth of the Valley with a new-found objective in their lives.

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Operation Jackboot: NSA Ajit Dovals brainchild that eliminated Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo - Times Now

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Declaration by the High Representative, on behalf of the European Union, on the recent attacks in Tripoli - EU News

By: Explained Desk | New Delhi | Updated: May 9, 2020 3:29:57 pm The German ruling came to the delight of Eurosceptics, and was echoed by governments that have been in the EUs crosshairs. (Source: Reuters)

On Tuesday, Germanys constitutional court sent shockwaves through the European community as it questioned the legality of a past ruling of the European Court of Justice.

The judgment from Germany, which mainly takes aim at a bond-buying scheme of the European Central Bank (ECB), is seen at its heart as challenging the long-settled hierarchy of European Union (EU) judiciary, and has since resonated with many governments and politicians in the EU that are critical of its policies.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ), a supranational institution, is a part Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and is the European Unions supreme court in matters of EU law.

Founded in 1952 after the Treaty of Paris, the Luxembourg-based court ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied the same in every EU country, and ensures that countries and EU institutions abide by EU law. It settles legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions.

In terms of hierarchy, the national courts of member countries are understood to be below the ECJ in matters of EU law.

In 2018, the ECJ had ruled that a EUR 2 trillion bond-buying scheme of the European Central Bank (ECB), aimed at reinvigorating the EU economy after the multi-year European debt crisis, was legal as per EU law.

In Germany, opponents of the scheme had for years complained to the German Constitutional Court, the countrys highest, which in turn had expressed its concerns on parts of the scheme in 2017. This week, however, the German court dropped its biggest bombshell.

On Tuesday, the German court ruled that the ECJs 2018 ruling was ultra vires, meaning beyond the latters legal authority, and said that it did not properly address whether the ECB scheme was justifiably suited for the EU economy.

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Speaking of the 2018 ECJ decision, the German court said in a press release: This view manifestly fails to give consideration to the importance and scope of the principle of proportionality [] which applies to the division of competences between the European Union and the Member States and is simply untenable from a methodological perspective given that it completely disregards the actual economic policy effects of the programme.

If any Member State could readily invoke the authority to decide, through its own courts, on the validity of EU acts, this could undermine the precedence of application accorded to EU law and jeopardise its uniform application. Yet, if the Member States were to completely refrain from conducting any kind of ultra vires review, they would grant EU organs exclusive authority over the Treaties even in cases where the EU adopts a legal interpretation that would essentially amount to a treaty amendment or an expansion of its competences, it said.

The German court has now given the ECB three months to prove that the bond-buying scheme was proportionate as per the EUs actual needs.

After the ruling, the European Commission underlined the supremacy of the ECJ, saying, Notwithstanding the analysis of the detail of the German Constitutional Court decision today we reaffirm the primacy of the EU law, and the fact that the rulings of the European Court of Justice are binding on all national courts.

The German ruling came to the delight of Eurosceptics, and was echoed by governments that have been in the EUs crosshairs. Polands Deputy Justice Minister said, For several months, the Polish government has been clearly saying that the EU cannot overstep its competences and said that the German verdict is of tremendous importance for his country.

Critics of the German verdict say it could strike at the legal foundations of the 27-member zone, and the ensuing power struggle between the two courts could lead to a rewriting of EU treaties in itself a highly contentious process. Some economists have also slammed the judges understanding of monetary policy of both the German and EU courts.

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Belgiums former prime minister Guy Verhofstadt said, If every constitutional court of every member state starts giving its own interpretation of what Europe can and cannot do, its the beginning of the end.

Experts believe that national courts in Poland and Hungary could now follow the precedent set by Germany in challenging the EU courts orders.

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Explained: Why a recent verdict of Germanys top court has sent shockwaves across EU - The Indian Express