Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston thinks that getting a good amount of ‘rest’ has helped her stay healthy and vibrant. “I drink a lot of water, move my body daily, try to eat whole, fresh foods, and get as much sleep as I can. That last part is challenging for me, but it’s so important. I feel it when I don’t get enough rest,” the Hollywood star said. “In addition to all of that, I try to be really mindful about what I let into my head space. Our world is really going through some challenges and I know we all care a lot, but sometimes I think it’s imperative that we turn off the noise.”
Earlier this year, Aniston described sleep as ‘beautiful’. The actress has struggled with insomnia for years, and she has now grown to appreciate the value of sleeping well. She told: “Sleep is extraordinary. It’s beautiful. When you’re younger, you kind of take it for granted. You think, ‘I can survive on three to five hours of sleep and I feel great,’ and then, all of a sudden, it just starts not to feel great and your performance isn’t as good as it should be,” she added. Aniston also acknowledged that lack of sleep can lead to other health problems.
Source: IANS
Month: October 2023
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Jennifer Aniston believes sleeping well is key to her good health
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Selena Gomez opens up about being scared to tell fans about her lupus diagnosis and bipolar disorder in past
Singer, actor mogul Selena Gomez recently talked about her health issues and revealed that she was initially scared to let people know about her diagnosis. Selena was diagnosed with Lupus in 2014 and she found out about her bipolar disorder in 2018. However, the singer took time to let her fans know her condition.
Talking about opening up about her health as assumed risky in the industry, she told Fast Company, “I grew up being a people pleaser… I had a responsibility at a very young age—young people were looking up to me. I didn’t know who I was. Having that responsibility would make me walk on eggshells a lot. I thought maybe it would be damaging to tell people who I am. It started to become a threat that freaked me out. Well, if you’re not right, then you can’t work,” she said. “I went through a really hard season. It was my highs and my lows, and I didn’t know what to do, so I couldn’t control it. I would want to cancel things. It was just a tormented feeling. That’s why, when I found out my diagnosis, it was just, ‘Oh, okay, I feel a bit relieved, I understand a bit more.’ I got second opinions. I went to doctors. I’m fortunate enough to be able to have people who can help me survive every day,” she added. Selena also briefly commented about her breakup with Justin Bieber and said it was the same time. when she decided to take a break from social media.
Selena was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease, in 2014. In 2017, she revealed that she underwent a kidney transplant for the same disease and her best friend, Francia Raisa was her kidney donor. She had previously shared how she struggled with body image issues for years and her lupus worsened it further. In 2020, Selena revealed her bipolar diagnosis during an Instagram live chat session with Miley Cyrus. -
Canada evacuates diplomats from Delhi to Southeast Asia: Report
With New Delhi asking Canada to withdraw 41 out its 62 diplomats in India by October 10 to achieve a parity in the number of diplomatic staff in each country, Ottawa has reportedly evacuated its staff from its High Commission to Southeast Asia, according to a media report.
The CTV report said that Canada has evacuated the majority of its diplomatic staff from India and shifted them to either Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) or Singapore.
But there was no official word on their evacuation from New Delhi.
The news comes amid claims by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly that the government was engaged diplomatically with India on the issue of staff reduction.
“We are in contact with the government of India. We take Canadian diplomats’ safety very seriously, and we will continue to engage privately because we think that diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private,” Jolie had said. Amid the worsening bilateral ties, India has asked Canada to withdraw the 41 diplomats from the country by October 10 and failing to comply with the deadline will see them lose their diplomatic immunity. There are more than 60 Canadian diplomats posted in India.
Meanwhile on Thursday, Oct 5, the External Affairs Ministrysaid that a parity has been sought in diplomatic presence.
“On discussions on parity, given the much higher presence of diplomats or diplomatic presence here and their interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. Source: PTI -
After India’s objection, Unicef withdraws policy brief on age of consent
Unicef has withdrawn its policy brief that called for lowering the age of consent in India after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights challenged data points on which the global agency relied to draw its conclusions.
In a letter to NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo, Unicef Deputy Representative of Programmes Arjan de Wagt said the distribution of the report had been suspended and the report was no longer available on official websites.
The policy brief jointly published by Enfold Proactive Health Trust, UNFPA and UNICEF claimed that more than 24% cases under the POCSO Act were “romantic case” and consensual.
NCPCR citing National Crimes Record Bureau Data 2021 revealed that in 18.4% cases registered under aggravated sexual assault and penatrative sexual assault clauses of POCSO Act involved children aged 16 to 18. “If 18.4% victims in the age of 16-18 fall under the violation of Sections 4 and 6 of POCSO Act, 2012, how can 24% cases be romantic cases?” NCPCR asked Unicef, leading to withdrawal of the brief. -
Sikkim flash flood: Toll rises to 21, searches on for 103 missing people
Gangtok (TIP)- The toll in the flash flood in Sikkim mounted to 21 on Friday, October 6, as Army and NDRF teams worked their way through slushy earth and fast flowing water in the Teesta river basin and downstream north Bengal for the third day in search of those who were swept away and are still missing, officials said.
Of the 23 army personnel who were missing from Burdang area, the bodies of seven have been recovered from different areas downstream while one was rescued and the search is on for 15 missing jawans, Chief Minister P S Tamang said.
A total of 103 people, including the 15 jawans, remained missing after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday triggered the flash flood.
So far, 2,411 people have been evacuated and accommodated at relief camps, while the calamity has affected over 22,000 people, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in its latest bulletin.
The flash flood in the Teesta River, triggered by the cloudburst in Lhonak Lake, caused accumulation of huge quantity of water, which turned towards Chungthang Dam destroying the power infrastructure before moving downstream in spate, flooding towns and villages. The flood destroyed 13 bridges in the state, with eight bridges getting washed away in Mangan district alone. Three bridges were destroyed in Gangtok and two in Namchi.
Of the civilian deaths, six were reported in Gangtok, and four each in Mangan and Pakyong.
A total of 103 people were missing after the incident. Of them, 59 people were reported missing in Pakyong, 22 in Gangtok, 17 in Mangan and five in Namchi. Chungthang town bore the maximum brunt of the flood with 80 per cent of it getting severely affected. The NH-10, considered the lifeline of the state, sustained extensive damage at several places.
Meanwhile, the search for the remaining 15 missing army personnel is underway downstream near Teesta barrage.
At the site of the incident in Burdang, army vehicles have been dug out and stores were recovered, a defence release said, adding tracker dogs and special radars have been deployed in the search operations.
It said that the army has been able to take account of 1,471 tourists stranded in Lachen, Laching and Chungthang areas.
With the weather improving on Friday, there may be a window of opportunity for evacuation of the stranded tourists by helicopters, it said.
Surveys are being carried out by all agencies to assess the damage and plan restoration of road connectivity. The road link between Singtam and Burdang has been restored with the clearing of a single lane for vehicular traffic, the release said. Source: PTI -
Cong smells ‘murder’ conspiracy in BJP’s ‘anti-Ram’ poster for Rahul
New Delhi (TIP)- The Congress has mounted an intense offensive against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the latter’s “new age Ravan” poster against Rahul Gandhi, with its leaders saying the remark exposed the ruling party’s “nefarious intentions” to murder him.
Senior Congress politician KC Venugopal on Thursday, October 5, condemned the poster shared by the BJP’s official X handle, alleging the ruling party was planning a conspiracy to “eliminate” their “fiercest critic”.
The poster entails a morphed image of Gandhi portraying him as mythological demon king Ravan. The poster’s caption described him as “evil, anti-Dharma, anti-Ram”.
“No words are enough to condemn the shameful graphic on the BJP handle comparing Rahul Gandhi to Ravana. Their nefarious intentions are clear, they want to murder him. He, who lost his grandmother and father to assassinations,” Venugopal wrote on X.
“They withdrew his SPG protection to score petty political points. After evicting him from his secure residence, they haven’t allocated another house that he has requested for. All this points to a well-planned conspiracy of the BJP to eliminate their fiercest critic, someone who attacks the very core of their hate-filled ideology,” he added.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore said the BJP was trying to provoke violence against Gandhi.
“They are provoking those kinds of people to do violence against Rahul Gandhi. He is a leader who has lost his father and grandmother to violence. These kinds of promotional things from a national party are unfortunate and condemnable. PM Modi and JP Nadda should apologise for it,” he told ANI. Congress leader PL Punia said, “As the elections come near, their (BJP’s) statements would change. It is unfortunate that such statements are made. This is BJP’s nervousness that they are making such statements…the BJP is scared that they would have to leave because of the INDIA Alliance.”
In response to the poster, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday shared an old cartoon on X depicting Mahatma Gandhi as Ravana.
“This cartoon was published in the Agrani magazine in 1945 edited by Godse. One of the persons aiming the arrow at Gandhi is (V.D.) Savarkar. Gandhi and Congress have always been their target. But we were neither scared then, nor are we now. In the future too, we won’t be scared of them,” he claimed.
“What is the real intent of an atrocious graphic portraying Rahul Gandhi as Ravan by the BJP’s official handle? It is clearly intended to incite and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces that want to divide India,” he wrote on X on Thursday. The Congress later also came up with a poster against BJP stalwart Narendra Modi, calling him “Jumla Boy”. -
ED gets AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s 5-day custody
A day after his arrest in a Delhi excise policy scam-related case, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was on Thursday, October 5, sent to five-day Enforcement Directorate custody for interrogation.
Special Judge MK Nagpal remanded Sanjay to ED custody till October 10 to enable the anti-money laundering agency to interrogate him to unravel the trail of tainted money after he was produced before it. While being brought to the courtroom, the MP termed his arrest as an “act of injustice” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and that the “BJP would lose the next LS elections”. Sanjay was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi excise policy case. “This is Modiji’s injustice. He will lose the election, he is losing the election,” he told reporters. Source: PTI -
Delhi excise policy scam: ‘Where is money trail?’ SC turns the heat on ED
New Delhi (TIP)- As senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia remains in jail for more than seven months in connection with Delhi excise scam cases, the Supreme Court on Thursday posed searching questions to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), flagging the absence of money trail linking him to the proceeds of alleged crime.
“Sisodia is not there in the money trail… How are you bringing him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act? Without any money trail, the case against him will falter. Sisodia never used the tainted money,” a Bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who represented the ED.
Noting that a money laundering case required tracking the tainted money, it said the ED would have to establish the money chain…that the money had flown from the liquor lobby to the principal accused. While hearing Sisodia’s bail plea for the second consecutive day, the Bench said the probe agency could not have Sisodia as the main offender without establishing the transfer and possession of funds. Sisodia never possessed or used the tainted money, it observed.
“The money trail does not come back to him (Sisodia)…the money does not come to his pocket…there’s not even a case of vicarious liability, with money flowing to a company owned by him,” the Bench noted. Responding to the questions from the Bench, Raju said, “The question is: Is he not directly or indirectly involved in illegal activity or process…when you make a policy that triggers bribes which act as proceeds of crime.” However, the Bench pointed out that “generation of money is not an offence under Section 3 (of the PMLA).” As Raju said, “Unless money exists, you cannot put it to use,” the Bench said, “It may be a lacuna (generation of money not being an offence under the PMLA)… But then problems may come up.” Raju said the scam was done through a change in the excise policy. “Earlier, 5 per cent (duty) was the minimum and 12 per cent the maximum. No one will keep it more than 5 per cent; therefore to make it certain they fixed it at 12 per cent to benefit some. That is criminal mischief, therefore, the offence,” Raju said. However, the Bench said a policy change, even if wrong, would not attract criminality without money consideration.
“We understand that there is a policy change. Everyone will support policies good for their business. Pressure groups are always there. Policy changes, even if wrong, without money consideration will not matter. It’s the money part which makes it an offence. If we go to an extent to say that there cannot be any pressure groups, no government can continue… Lobbying will always be there. Of course, we’re not saying that bribes can be accepted,” the Bench said. As arguments on Sisodia’s bail plea remained inconclusive, the Bench – which also included Justice SVN Bhatti — deferred the hearing to October 12.
Source: TNS -
India flags US envoy’s visit to Pakistan occupied Kashmir: ‘Respect our sovereignty’
New Delhi (TIP)- India has conveyed its “concerns” to Washington on the US Ambassador to Pakistan’s visit to Gilgit and Baltistan, which India considers to be part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). “I think our position on the status of the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of India is well known. We would urge the international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have raised our concerns about that visit by the US Ambassador to Pakistan with the US side,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, said while responding to questions at the weekly briefing on Thursday, October 5.
The US Ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome, travelled to Gilgit and Hunza valleys in the third week of September; the visit was flagged by Opposition parties in Pakistan. The American Embassy in Islamabad said the purpose of his visit was to “explore opportunities for strengthening the region’s climate resilience”. According to Pakistan newspaper, Dawn, the spokesperson of the US Embassy in Islamabad, Jonathan Lalley, said that Pakistan was among the most vulnerable countries with regard to climate change.
After Blome’s six-day visit, Pakistan’s Opposition leaders had said “the mysterious activities” of the US Ambassador in the region had raised questions, adding that the Gilgit Baltistan government was not aware of his visit.
After the matter became public, the US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, was asked for comments. “It’s not my place to react to the US Ambassador in Pakistan but he’s been before and we obviously had part of our delegation in Jammu and Kashmir during the G20 as well,” Garcetti said.
When the MEA spokesperson was asked about Garcetti’s comments, he replied: “We don’t think the two situations are equal”. Source: Indian Express -
Syria attack on military academy kills 100 as Turkey hits Kurdish-held northeast
BEIRUT (TIP): An attack on October 5 on a Syrian military academy killed more than 100 people, a war monitor said, with state media blaming “terrorist organisations” for the drone strike in government-held Homs. Separately, Turkish air raids in the war-torn country’s Kurdish-held northeast killed at least nine people, according to Kurdish forces, after Ankara had threatened raids in retaliation for a bomb attack.
In the central Syrian city of Homs, “armed terrorist organisations” targeted “the graduation ceremony for officers of the military academy”, an army statement carried by official news agency SANA said, reporting casualties.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor with a vast network of sources on the ground, reported “more than 100 dead, around half of them military graduates, and including 14 civilians”, revising up a previous toll.
It said at least 125 others were wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The attack was carried out with “explosive-laden drones”, according to the military statement, vowing to “respond with full force”. The government declared three days of mourning starting Friday, state television reported. Later Thursday in the rebel-held Idlib region, residents reported wide and heavy regime bombardment.
The Observatory said four civilians were killed and others wounded in the assault on several towns in the northwestern opposition bastion.
Swathes of Idlib region are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by the former local Al-Qaeda branch. The jihadist group has used drones to attack government-held areas in the past.
Overnight, Syrian army shelling killed an elderly woman and four of her children in a rebel-held area of Aleppo province, rescue workers and the Observatory said.
The Turkish strikes on Hasakeh province in Kurdish-held northeast Syria “killed six members of the internal security” agency, a statement from the Kurdish force’s media centre said.
A worker at a site in the province was also killed, according to Farhad Shami, spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds’ de facto army.
The Kurdish authorities’ statement also said “two civilians” were killed in a strike on a motorcycle. Turkey regularly strikes targets in Syrian Kurds’ semi-autonomous region.
On Wednesday, Ankara warned of more intense cross-border air raids, after concluding that militants who staged a weekend attack in the Turkish capital came from Syria. (AFP) -
Bangladesh dengue deaths top 1,000 in worst outbreak on record
DHAKA (TIP): More than 1,000 people in Bangladesh have died of dengue fever this year, the country’s worst recorded outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease, which is increasing in frequency due to climate change. Dengue is a disease endemic to tropical areas and causes high fevers, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in the most serious cases, bleeding that can lead to death. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that dengue — and other diseases caused by mosquito-borne viruses such as chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika — are spreading faster and further due to climate change.
Figures from Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Health Services published on Sunday night said 1,006 people had died, among more than 200,000 confirmed cases.
The agency’s former director Be-Nazir Ahmed said the number of deaths so far this year was higher than every previous year combined since 2000.
“It’s a massive health event, both in Bangladesh and in the world,” he told AFP on Monday.
The new figures dwarf the previous highest total from 2022, when 281 deaths were recorded for the full year. Among the dead are 112 children aged 15 and under, including infants.
Scientists have attributed this year’s outbreak to irregular rainfall and hotter temperatures during the annual monsoon season that have created ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes. “It’s not happening only in Bangladesh — many tropical and sub-tropical countries are experiencing dengue this year,” Kabirul Bashar, a zoology professor at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, told AFP in September.
The Aedes mosquito that carries dengue thrives at “an optimum temperature for the multiplication of the virus”, he added. “Global climate change is playing a role in providing this temperature level.” Bangladesh has recorded cases of dengue from the 1960s but documented its first outbreak of dengue haemorrhagic fever, a severe and sometimes fatal symptom of the disease, in 2000. (AFP) -
Nepal earthquake triggered Sikkim flash flood disaster? Scientists to find out
KATHMANDU (TIP): Scientists are exploring whether the strong earthquake that struck Nepal and the surrounding region on October 3 is responsible for the south Lhonak lake outburst, which triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin in Sikkim.
The lake outburst also resulted in the breach of the Chungthang dam, which is the largest hydropower project in the state.
This dam is part of the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Teesta Stage III Hydro Electric Project, in which the state government is the majority stakeholder.
Satellite images released by the Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre showed that the area of south Lhonak lake reduced by over 100 hectares compared to its size on September 17. This suggests that the lake outburst caused a flash flood in the Teesta River basin in north Sikkim. Officials said at least eight people died and 69 more, including 22 army personnel, were missing. Scientists are exploring whether the earthquake that hit Nepal might be a cause of the flash floods in Sikkim. The lake was already vulnerable and covered an area of 168 hectares.
Its area has now reduced to 60 hectares, indicating that about 100 hectares of water volume has breached the level, explained a senior official at the Central Water Commission (CWC) to PTI. The official stated that while it’s difficult to determine right now, a cloud burst does not cause such results. Some experts who have visited the site believe that the earthquake may have triggered the floods there.
The flood alerts were also shared with Bangladesh.
The NRSC satellite imagery revealed that the lake covered approximately 162.7 hectares.
Its area increased to 167.4 hectares on September 28 but drastically reduced to 60.3 hectares.
In this satellite data, it is evident that the lake area has significantly reduced compared to the September 17, 2023, RISAT 1A MRS satellite data, read an NRSC report.
The glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in portions of Lhonak Lake, Mangan district, which caused a rapid rise in water levels with very high velocities downstream along the Teesta River Basin in the early hours of October 4, has resulted in severe damage in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi districts, the State Disaster Management Authority said.
The Chungthang NHPC dam and the bridge were washed away. (pti) -
Imran Khan’s bail plea in cipher case to be heard in open court: Islamabad High Court
ISLAMABAD (TIP): The Islamabad High Court on October 4 ruled that jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s bail plea in the cipher case would take place in an open court on October 9, as it disposed of a petition by the country’s top investigation agency seeking in-camera proceedings of the bail plea.
Khan, 70, was arrested in August after the case was filed against him for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington last year in March.
Last week, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking in-camera proceedings of Khan’s bail plea.
It said an open hearing in a case related to the alleged disclosure of state secrets could pose a “risk of deteriorating relations” with other countries.
Khan and his close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi were named “principal accused” in the case by the apex investigation agency.
Both Khan and Qureshi are currently detained in jail on judicial remand.
On September 26, both leaders’ judicial remand was extended until October 10 as Khan as per the IHC’s orders was shifted to Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail from Attock district jail.
On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that an open court hearing on the bail petition will be held on October 9.
The court, however, stated that “sensitive information” regarding the case would be in-camera, as it disposed of the FIA plea seeking in-camera proceedings.
Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain presided over the hearing at Adiala jail, where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chairman Khan and Vice Chairman Qureshi are currently incarcerated.
The court had reserved earlier this week its judgment on the FIA plea for in-camera proceedings in the bail plea by Khan. Meanwhile, PTI lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar termed the in-camera trial of the Khan and former foreign minister Qureshi in the cipher case “unconstitutional”.”The trial should not be held behind closed doors. It is unconstitutional,” Safdar said outside the jail.
“Imran’s arrest and remand in the case were also kept secret, and now, this trial is being kept secret as well,” he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.
Khan is charged with violating the Official Secrets Act in connection with the leakage of a confidential diplomatic cable from Pakistan’s embassy in Washington.
In March last year, ahead of the vote of no-confidence that resulted in his ouster, cricketer-turned-politician pulled out a piece of paper – allegedly the cipher – from his pocket and waved it at a public rally in Islamabad, claiming it was the evidence of an “international conspiracy” being hatched to topple his government.
However, during the interrogation with the joint investigation team (JIT) in the jail on August 26, Khan denied that the paper he waved at a public gathering last year was the cipher.
He also admitted to losing the cipher, saying he couldn’t recall where he kept it.
His principal secretary, Azam Khan, stated before a magistrate and the FIA that the Khan used it for his ‘political gains’ and to avert a no-confidence vote against him.
The purported cipher (secret diplomatic cable) contained an account of a meeting between US State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and Pakistani envoy Asad Majeed Khan last year. (PTI) -
Rishi Sunak is promising to change Britain. He starts with railway cuts and crackdown on smoking
MANCHESTER (TIP): Battling gloomy opinion polls and mounting doubts, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on October 4 promised sceptical voters, and his own Conservative Party, that he would make tough choices to “fundamentally change our country.”
Two of his boldest plans in a speech to the party’s annual conference — cancelling a railway project that has already cost billions and proposing to ban smoking for the next generation — definitely caused ripples. Whether they translate into success for the right-of-centre party in an election next year is another question. Opinion polls in recent weeks have put the left-of-centre opposition Labour Party 15 to 20 points ahead. Sunak told hundreds of party members packed into a Manchester conference hall that he’s not afraid to make big decisions that will deliver “long-term success” rather than “short-term advantage.”
He said the proof was his decision to curtail the embattled High Speed 2 project — an overdue, overbudget high-speed railway line that was planned to link London and Manchester. “The economic case has massively been weakened by the changes to business travel post-COVID,” Sunak said, arguing it would be an “abdication of leadership” to continue. (AP) -
We have a lot of censorship requirements in mainland China: Chow Yun-fat at BIFF
BUSAN (TIP): Hong Kong film legend Chow Yun-fat on October 5 lamented China’s “difficult” censorship while conceding the mainland market’s crucial financial importance for filmmakers. Speaking at South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), Chow told reporters that Hong Kong’s cinema industry had to learn to play by a new set of rules since the city returned to China’s control in 1997.
“We have a lot of censorship requirements in mainland China. Our scripts must go through a lot of different departments for the film bureau”, BIFF’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year honouree said.
But while Chow said things were “very difficult” for Hong Kong’s filmmakers, they also knew it was necessary to reach the “huge” mainland Chinese audience to “make a living”.
“We have to pay attention to our government … otherwise it is very hard to get the money to shoot a movie,” he said, adding they still strove to maintain the “Hong Kong spirit”.
In announcing this year’s honour, BIFF organisers heaped praise on Chow for “spearheading the golden age of Hong Kong cinema” that flowered in the early 1990s, and making “Hong Kong noir” a globally recognised genre.
Three of Chow’s films — “A Better Tomorrow” (1986), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) and 2023’s “One More Chance” — will be screened at the festival.
Along with Tony Leung, his “Hard Boiled” co-star and 2022 BIFF honouree, Chow has long been a well-liked figure in South Korea thanks to Hong Kong cinema’s surge in popularity in the 1990s.
Since then, South Korea has cemented its own status as a global cultural powerhouse, and has had explosive successes like Oscar-winning film “Parasite” and the Netflix series “Squid Game”. “It’s a good thing that when one industry feels stagnant and unable to move forward, another region can take it even further,” Chow said, when asked about the rise of South Korean cinema.
“I believe the greatest strength of Korean cinema lies in its freedom.”
Despite his prolific career and global fame, Chow said he still considers himself an “ordinary person”. In 2018, he vowed to donate his fortune to charity after he dies.
Chow quipped Thursday that it was his wife’s decision, but added: “I believe that since I came into this world with nothing, it doesn’t really matter if I leave with nothing as well.”
(AFP) -
Russian missile strike kills at least 49 in east Ukraine: officials
KYIV (TIP): Ukrainian officials said on October 5 that a Russian strike on a grocery store and cafe in the eastern region of Kharkiv had killed dozens of people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strike had slammed into the Kupiansk district of the war-battered region bordering Russia, where Moscow’s forces have been pushing to recapture territory they lost last year to Ukrainian troops.
“The brutal Russian crime of hitting an ordinary grocery store with a rocket is a completely deliberate terrorist attack,” Zelensky said in a statement on social media.
The Ukrainian prosecutor general said at least 49 people were killed.
Zelensky posted an image of a woman kneeling over the body of someone apparently killed in the strike, with other corpses strewn around her, while rescue workers worked nearby.
The head of the Kharkiv region Oleg Sinegubov said the strike hit a cafe and shop around 1:15 pm (1015 GMT) in the village of Groza. The village is 30 kilometres (around 20 miles) west of Kupiansk, a frontline town, and is estimated to have had a pre-war population of around 500 people. “Rescuers are working on the scene,” he said, adding that a 6-year-old boy was among the dead. One child had been injured, he added. (AFP) -
Israeli arms quietly helped Azerbaijan retake Nagorno-Karabakh, to the dismay of region’s Armenians
TEL AVIV (TIP): Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijan’s campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, supplying powerful weapons to Azerbaijan ahead of its lightening offensive last month that brought the ethnic Armenian enclave back under its control, officials and experts say. Just weeks before Azerbaijan launched its 24-hour assault on Sept. 19, Azerbaijani military cargo planes repeatedly flew between a southern Israeli airbase and an airfield near Nagorno-Karabakh, according to flight tracking data and Armenian diplomats, even as Western governments were urging peace talks.
The flights rattled Armenian officials in Yerevan, long wary of the strategic alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan, and shined a light on Israel’s national interests in the restive region south of the Caucasus Mountains.
“For us, it is a major concern that Israeli weapons have been firing at our people,” Arman Akopian, Armenia’s ambassador to Israel, told The Associated Press. In a flurry of diplomatic exchanges, Akopian said he expressed alarm to Israeli politicians and lawmakers in recent weeks over Israeli weapons shipments.
“I don’t see why Israel should not be in the position to express at least some concern about the fate of people being expelled from their homeland,” he told AP.
Azerbaijan’s September blitz involving heavy artillery, rocket launchers and drones — largely supplied by Israel and Turkey, according to experts — forced Armenian separatist authorities to lay down their weapons and sit down for talks on the future of the separatist region.
The Azerbaijani offensive killed over 200 Armenians in the enclave, the vast majority of them fighters, and some 200 Azerbaijani troops, according to officials.
There are ramifications beyond the volatile enclave of 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles). The fighting prompted over 100,000 people — more than 80% of the enclave’s ethnic Armenian residents — to flee in the last two weeks. Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians. Armenia calls the exodus a form of ethnic cleansing.
Israel’s foreign and defense ministries declined to comment on the use of Israeli weapons in Nagorno-Karabakh or on Armenian concerns about its military partnership with Azerbaijan. In July, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Baku, the Azerbaijan capital, where he praised the countries’ military cooperation and joint “fight against terrorism.”
Israel has a big stake in Azerbaijan, which serves as a critical source of oil and is a staunch ally against Israel’s archenemy Iran. It is also a lucrative customer of sophisticated arms.
“There’s no doubt about our position in support of Azerbaijan’s defense,” said Israel’s former ambassador to Azerbaijan, Arkady Milman. “We have a strategic partnership to contain Iran.”
Although once resource-poor Israel now has plenty of natural gas off its Mediterranean coast, Azerbaijan still supplies at least 40% of Israel’s oil needs, keeping cars and trucks on its roads. Israel turned to Baku’s offshore deposits in the late 1990s, creating an oil pipeline through the Turkish transport hub of Ceyan that isolated Iran, which at the time capitalized on oil flowing through its pipelines from Kazakhstan to world markets.
Azerbaijan has long been suspicious of Iran, its fellow Shiite Muslim neighbor on the Caspian Sea, and chafed at its support for Armenia, which is Orthodox Christian. Iran has accused Azerbaijan of hosting a base for Israeli intelligence operations against it — a claim that Azerbaijan and Israel deny. (AP) -
Typhoon Koinu injures 190 and brings record-breaking winds to Taiwan
TAIPEI (TIP): Typhoon Koinu swept southern Taiwan on October 5, injuring 190 people but causing no deaths as it brought pounding rain and record-breaking winds to the island, leading to school and office closures.
Koinu, which means “puppy” in Japanese, made landfall early Oct 5 in Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost tip of Taiwan, and is expected to weaken as it moves west toward Guangdong and Fujian provinces in southern China.
The typhoon brought the fastest wind ever recorded in Taiwan as it approached on October 4 night. A weather monitoring station on the outlying Orchid Island, southeast of the main island, measured a gust of 342.7 kph (212.9 mph) at 9:53 p.m., as well as sustained winds that reached 198.7 kph (123.5 kph) at 9:40 p.m. Both values set all-time highs since Taiwan began keeping records of wind speeds in 1897, said Huang Chia-mei, head of the Central Weather Administration’s Taitung Weather Station, according to the official Central News Agency.
The device measuring the wind speeds broke shortly after, Huang said.
On Thursday afternoon, Koinu’s maximum sustained winds measured 155 kph (96 mph) with gusts of 191 kph (119 mph). The heaviest rain fell in the east-coast counties of Taitung and Hualien and in the mountainous Pingtung county in the south.
Cities across the island cancelled work and classes, including the major southern port city of Kaohsiung. The capital, Taipei, was operating as normal and the rain had stopped as of Thursday morning.
Taiwan’s fire department reported 190 injuries, most of them in cities along the west coast, including Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
Most domestic flights and dozens of international flights were cancelled, according to the transportation ministry, while ferries to outlying islands were also suspended.
Despite weakening, typhoon Koinu is expected to douse coastal areas of southern China over the weekend. The city of Guangzhou cancelled some flights and trains starting Friday, while its maritime authorities issued a Level 4 alert — the least severe in a four-tier system, calling for caution. In Fujian province, bordering the Taiwan Strait, authorities suspended 137 passenger ferry trips.
Taiwan sits in an active region for tropical cyclones, but Koinu is only the second typhoon to make landfall in four years. Typhoon Haikui hit the island in early September, injuring dozens. (AFP) -
Aligarh Alumni Association-Metro Washington Organized 15th Annual Yaum-e-Azadi Mushaira-Kavi Sammelan
Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Sofia Abdullah
Poets and organizers ARLINGTON, VA (TIP): “Events like this not only serve as platforms for poets to share their work but also contribute to the preservation and promotion of languages and their poetic traditions. They help bridge the gap between generations and cultures by showcasing the timeless beauty of Urdu and Hindi poetry,” said Mr. Jag Mohan, Minister for Community Affairs, Embassy of India. Mr. Jag Mohan was inaugurating the Fifteenth Annual Mushaira-Kavi Sammelan on Sunday, September 20, 2023 at the Central Library in Arlington Virginia. He expressed his appreciation for the organizers of such a unique literary event. Along with Minister Jag Mohan, Ms. Aditi Walunj ji, First Secretary at the Embassy stayed for the entire program.
The Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC (AAA-DC) started the annual Mushaira-Kavi Sammelan program to celebrate the Independence Day (Yaum-e-Azadi) program with the collaboration of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin of Metropolitan Washington (GOPIO-Metro) in 2008. The Mushaira Kavi Sammelan is a wonderful cultural event that brings together poets and enthusiasts of both languages to showcase their literary talents and celebrate the Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb. This annual event has become a hallmark of cultural activities in the Metro Washington area and its increasing popularity is evident by the number of community organizations joining hands. It is very gratifying to see that other community organizations are also supporting this program. This year, three more associations, namely the Association of Indian Muslims (AIMS), the Hyderabadi Association Washington Metro Area (HAWMA), the Montgomery Nawabs, and the American Society of Science Engineering & Technology (ASSET) supported the event. The Embassy of India has been supporting the event since its inception. The Embassy also hosted the First Bilingual Poetry recitation program with the AAA-DC and Metro-GOPIO in 2011.
A rich tribute was paid to Dr. Sofia Abdullah, one of the founding members of the AAA-DC and the wife of Dr. A. Abdullah. She had been a strong motivator and supporter of the Association throughout her life. Dr. Sofia Abdullah died on 15th August 2023.The program started with a brief introduction of the Aligarh Alumni Association by its president, Ms. Aisha Khan. She apprised the audience about the motive behind its establishment, which was started in 1975 with the main objective of providing financial assistance for education to the needy and meritorious students associated with the University. Along with this, one of the objectives was to connect the South-Asian community in America through art and culture.
On behalf of the GOPIO-DC, its founder president Dr Renuka Misra welcomed the audience and said that we have been doing a combined program of Mushaira-Kavi Sammelan since its inception 14 years ago.
An important aspect of this annual event is to recognize local literary figures by providing a platform to showcase their work. Several poets and authors in the past have released their books on our programs. Some of them are Professor Satyapal Anand, Professor Asghar Wajahat, Dr. A. Abdullah, Dr. K. Mohan, Mr. Raj Kumar Qais, Mr. Anadi Naik, Dr. Astha Naval, Mr. Dhananjaya Kumar Mrs. Rashmi Sanan, Mrs. Daler Deol Aashna, and Mr. Surender Deol, Dr. Salman Akhtar, Professor Gopichand Narang, and Surinder Deol to mention a few of them.The Mushaira and Kavi Sammelan were presided over by retired Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Dr. Ashok Narayan who is based in the Washington DC area now.
Poets who presented their poetry were; A. Abdullah, Abdur Rahman Siddiqi, Anees Chaudhary, Ashok Narayan, Astha Naval, Aziz Qureshi, Daler Deol Aashna, Gulshan Madhur, Jamal Qadri, Kiran Nath, Madhu Maheshwari, Marghub Alam, Mohammed Akbar, Narendra Tandon, Preethi Govindaraj, Razi Raziuddin, Sabiha Saba. Sarwar Iqbal, Sukesh Chopra, Vandana Singh, Vinita Tiwari. Vishakha Thakar, and Yusuf Rahat, Senior poets of the Metropolitan Washington area Abdur Rahman Siddiqi, Ashok Narayan, Aziz Qureshi, Sarwar Iqbal, and Gulshan Madhur were felicitated for their valuable contributions to literature.
Afzal Usmani did the nizamat of the poetry recitation session with remarkable literary skill. His interjection of appropriate poetry while introducing poets was very effective. Aslam Azad, President-Elect of AAA-DC, thanked the participating poets, volunteers, and the audience for their support. He also appreciated the cooperation of the Arlington Central Library for providing the venue for literary activities.
Dr. Zafar Iqbal (iqbal.zafar1509@gmail.com) coordinated the program.
Audience -
World Culture Festival brought over 1 million people together in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): The fourth edition of the World Culture Festival has come to an end. More than 1 million people from 180 countries around the world gathered on the National Mall in Washington DC for the 3-day celebration of unity and diversity.
More than 17,000 diverse cultural artists, entertainers and speakers took to the largest stage ever built in the US capital from Friday, 29 September to Sunday, 1 October. The fourth edition of the event was the biggest so far, showing the growing interest in the teachings of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who organized the event through his international, non-profit, educational and humanitarian organization, the Art of Living Foundation. “The purpose of all sound is to create inner silence, because silence is the mother of creativity, is the house of love and compassion. Silence within us makes us blossom in our true nature, which is joy, which happiness, which is love. I think this is what we all have to dream, dream about a world which is full of celebration, full of compassion and togetherness”, Shankar preached the crows. India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar, underscored the importance of coming together in an increasingly interdependent world, especially in the face of natural and man-made challenges
The Olympic-sized event brought together performers from all corners of the world, creating a unique cultural tapestry, including, among others, a Chinese cultural performance with 1,000 singers, dancers and dragons, a Garba extravaganza with 7,000 Indian dancers, a 50th anniversary tribute to Hip-Hop with Kurtis Blow, SHA-Rock, Sequence Girls and DJ Kool and other legends of Hip Hop alongside 100 break dancers debuting choreography by King Charles and Kelli Forman, 700 Indian classical dancers with a live symphony, 100 Ukrainian dancers in a lively Hopak and 1,000 guitarists led by Grammy Award winner Micki Free. Tying up the event under its main message of “unity” was the performance of Bob Marley’s grandson, Skip Marley, who paid tribute to his grandfather with the famous “One Love”.
Leaders of different faiths came together at the festival, all praying for the same global message of rising above hate and bigotry. On the second day, after the performance of the Ukrainian group, a moment of prayer was dedicated for peace in Ukraine and the safety of the Ukrainian people affected by the war.
Gurudev has been a global advocate for mental health for over 43 years and, during this time, has facilitated numerous projects on local, regional, national and international level and has worked with global institutions, multinationals, but also with highly vulnerable, at-risk people and in conflict zones to increase emotional resilience by putting the individual’s mental health at the core of all activities. His message is that meditation is the hygiene of the mind and similarly to brushing teeth every day, people should take time to maintain their mental hygiene through mediation, at least once a day. Conveying this message during the World Culture Festival, Gurudev led a yoga and meditation session in front of the Lincoln Memorial, one of the largest group meditation sessions ever held in the US.
Amid the festival, over 1,000 leaders from business, governments and international institutions convened at the Global Leadership Forum (GLF) on Saturday, 30 September, to exchange ideas and forge partnerships to address key corporate and societal challenges under the theme of “Shaping a Humane Future”. -
Prem Prakash Hindu Temple Opens with great fanfare in Elmhurst, New York
ELMHURST, NY (TIP): A long cherished dream of Late Satguru Haridasram Ji Maharaj was realized when on September 26th Prem Praksah Hindu Temple was inaugurated by Satguru Bhagat Prakashji Maharaj. Prem Praksah Hindu Temple is a part of the Prem Prakash Trust, Jaipur.
A large number of devotees who had come from all over the world attended the ceremony. Kailash Kumar & wife Minu from Dubai, Gope & Anita from Indonesia, Gordhandas, Ashok, Gurmukhdas and others from Bharat, Jagdish & Chandni from Curaçao were among those who came from abroad. -
Indian-origin man sentenced for USD 20 million Covid-19 relief fraud
HOUSTON (TIP): A 54-year-old Indian-origin man has been sentenced to over three years in prison for his role in obtaining more than USD 20 million under the US government’s economic aid plan following the coronavirus pandemic. Pardeep Basra of Houston was part of a multimillion-dollar Covid-19 relief fraud ring and had previously pleaded guilty to the fraud. He was sentenced to three years and five months on Monday along with six of his co-conspirators, who got prison sentences of various lengths, the justice department said in a press release on Tuesday. The ringleader, Amir Aqeel, got 15 years in prison for fraud.
The ring “fraudulently obtained more than USD 20 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that the Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” the release said.
“He (Aqil) and his cohorts stole millions from the public fund, using that money to buy houses, a Porsche, even a Lamborghini, all while taking advantage of programs intended to help those struggling during the pandemic,” the release said.
Basra and his co-conspirators submitted more than 75 fraudulent PPP loan applications in 2020, falsifying the number of employees and the average monthly payroll expenses of the applicant businesses. They also submitted fraudulent bank records or fake federal tax forms supporting the PPP loan applications. Some were paid large kickbacks in exchange for their assistance with the false and fraudulent PPP loan applications, the release said.
The conspirators also laundered some fraudulent proceeds by writing cheques from companies that received PPP loans to fake employees. Over 1,100 counterfeit paychecks for over USD 3 million in fraudulent PPP loan proceeds were cashed.
“While the rest of our country was reeling from the effects of an unprecedented global health crisis, these individuals conspired to fraudulently obtain and launder millions of taxpayer dollars from an emergency fund that was intended to help keep struggling businesses and employees afloat,” Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston, was quoted as saying in the release.
Federal agents also executed 45 seizure warrants in conjunction with the case and seized, among other items, a residence, a Porsche and a Lamborghini purchased with illegally obtained funds. The four others sentenced for their roles in the loan fraud scheme are Khalid Abbas and Richard Reuth, who received two and a half years in prison. Rifat Bajwa and Siddiq Azeemuddin were sentenced to three years and two years in prison, respectively, the release said.
(Source: PTI) -
Indo-British Sikh man arrested at London pro-Khalistan protest over Indian mission attack
LONDON (TIP): Scotland Yard has arrested a man on suspicion of “violent disorder” in connection with an attack on the Indian High Commission in London in March this year.
The Metropolitan Police said the man, who was arrested during a protest outside India House on Monday, was held in connection with a protest on March 19 and has been released on bail pending further enquiries.
A British-Sikh man was seen being led away by police officers on patrol during Monday’s protest, called to demand UK government intervention over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims of alleged Indian involvement in the killing of wanted terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation strongly rejected by India as “absurd and motivated”.
“On Monday, October 2, a man was arrested outside the Indian High Commission on suspicion of violent disorder in relation to a protest at the same venue on 19 March,” the Met Police statement said. “The man was taken into custody and has been bailed pending further enquiries,” the statement noted.
The man can be named only after he is charged but is believed to be one of over a dozen individuals identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to have been responsible for the attack on the High Commission of India on March 19, when pro-Khalistan extremists scaled the building and attempted to pull down the Indian national flag. At least one official was injured as objects were hurled at the building and windows were shattered.
At the time, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned the senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi to convey India’s “strong protest” at the actions of separatist and extremist elements against the High Commission of India in London. In June, the NIA released photographs of suspects they believe were involved in the violent protest as the central agency took over the probe after Home Ministry officials met UK representatives in the wake of the attack.
The latest arrest comes as Police Scotland revealed that it had found “no criminality” related to the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, being blocked from a gurdwara by pro-Khalistan extremists in Glasgow last week.
“Following extensive enquiries into a report of a disturbance in the Albert Drive area of Glasgow on Friday, September 29, 2023, no criminality has been established,” said a Police Scotland spokesperson.
The police had been summoned over the “disgraceful incident” as three people “deliberately disrupted“ the planned community visit and one man even attempted to violently force open the diplomatic vehicle as senior diplomats arrived at Glasgow Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib on Albert Drive.
“It is due to the quick reaction of one of the organizers, who physically intervened at the car door, that a bigger incident was avoided. The High Commission of India has reported this disgraceful incident to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Metropolitan Police,” the Indian High Commission statement said at the time.
Glasgow Gurdwara had also followed up with its statement to condemn the “disorderly behavior” by “unknown” and “unruly” individuals, who disturbed the peace at a place of worship and attempted to disrupt the visit of the envoy facilitated by a member of the Scottish Parliament.
“Glasgow Gurdwara strongly condemns such disorderly behavior to disrupt the peaceful proceedings of a Sikh place of worship. The Gurdwara is open to people from all communities and backgrounds, and we welcome everyone openly as per our principles of faith,” it said. -
Indian-origin Shanti Pereira races to win Singapore’s first gold in Asian Games athletics in 49 years
SINGAPORE (TIP): Singapore is celebrating its first athletics gold win in 49 years at the Asian Games with its Indian-origin sprinter Shanti Pereira winning the women’s 200m final in Hangzhou, China. Pereira clocked 23.03 seconds to finish the race on Monday, October 2, at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. This is the first athletics gold medal for the city-state since 1974, when sprinter Chee Swee Lee won the women’s 400m race.
China’s Li Yuting took the silver with 23.28 seconds and Bahrain’s Edidiong Ofonime Odiong came third at 23.48 seconds in the Monday race. Odiong’s compatriot, Salwa Eid Naser, was disqualified for a false start.
Draped in a Singapore flag, the 27-year-old crouched down on the track and covered her face with her hands, before raising her arms in victory, reported Channel News Asia.
On Saturday, Pereira ended her country’s nearly 50-year wait for a track and field medal at the Asian Games, after she clinched a silver in the women’s 100m.
Pereira, whose 200m personal best stands at 22.57 seconds, then topped all three heats for the event the next day, with a time of 23.14 seconds.
This was her first Asian Games 200m final. At the last edition in 2018, she did not advance past the semi-finals. The Singaporean has overcome much to get to where she is today, said the Channel report. She first burst into the nation’s consciousness at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games when she took gold in the 200m, clocked a personal best, and set a new national record. Her win also ended a 42-year gold medal drought for Singapore in an SEA Games sprint event.
In August, Pereira became the first Singaporean to make a World Championships semi-final after a stellar showing in the 200m. She also met the qualifying mark for the event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. -
Indian-origin Mexican high school student crowned Miss Teen USA
NEVADA (TIP): Mexican-Indian high school student, UmaSofia Srivastava has been crowned Miss Teen USA 2023, which saw participation from over 50 young women from across the country, in a live-streamed contest in Nevada state.
The 16-year-old high school Junior at the Academy of St Elizabeth had become the first Mexican-Indian Miss New Jersey Teen USA earlier this year.
“IS THIS REAL??? I am so grateful and honored that I’m the first Mexican-Indian, first New Jersey, your MISS TEEN USA 2023!!!” Srivastava wrote on social media after winning the coveted title last week. “This night is truly the best night of my life because I was crowned with the people that have loved and supported me throughout everything cheering for me in the audience.”
Srivastava, who speaks English, Spanish, Hindi and French, hopes to become a UN Ambassador.
She works with the Lotus Petal Foundation to help underprivileged children in India receive a well-rounded education, proper nutrition and healthcare.
A co-founder of the Diversity & Inclusion campaign at her school, Srivastava also participates in Mock Trial and Model United Nations, according to her pageant biography.
She has authored and illustrated a book, “The White Jaguar”, which she says, is to inspire people of all ages to embrace what makes them unique. Also, a pianist, Srivastava runs her own blog, That’s Fan Behavior, where she writes about her experience as a woman of color and current events. Miss New York Teen USA Stephanie Skinner was named first runner-up and Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA Maggie Ross was second runner-up in the pageant.