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  • ReelAbilities Film Fest: New York

    By Mabel Pais

    Celebrating Stories of People with Disabilities

    Highlighting Themes of Inclusion, Accessibility,

    Authentic Casting and Responsible Representation

    at JCC Manhattan Virtual Cinema

    April 29 – May 5

    The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan’s (MMJCCM) ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York has its 13th annual run virtually from April 29th through May 5th.

    Itzhak Perlman is Opening Night honoree.

    Closing Night honoree is Temple Grandin.

    For a selection of Q&As, exclusive events and speakers accompanying the Festival, visit ny.reelabilities.org

    ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York founded in New York City in 2007 is the largest festival in the U.S. dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with disabilities. The 13th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York will be a hybrid festival; Opening Night will be a drive-in screening (partnered with Rooftop Films) at the Queens drive-in with virtual screenings and live Q+As via the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan virtual cinema and their partner theaters including the Jacob Burns Film Center, Maysles Cinema, among others for the rest of the festival.

    There are 9 Feature films including Opening Night and Closing Night, and 19 Short films.

     OPENING NIGHT:

    “BEST NIGHT EVER”

    April 29 at 7 PM @ Queens Drive-In

    DIRS: Michael Parks Randa & Lauren Smitelli l US | 2020 | 80 min

    “Best Summer Ever,” opening night film (Photo : Courtesy mmjccm.org/ny.reelabilities.org)

    Sage (Shannon DeVido) and Anthony (Ricky Wilson, Jr.) had the best summer ever after falling in love at summer camp. By a twist of fate, Sage arrives unexpectedly at the same high school as Anthony at the start of the new school year. Now faced with the drama of cliques, an evil cheerleader, and the illegal secret that keeps Sage’s family on the move, they are forced to re-evaluate their relationship. This history-making musical features eight original songs and a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities.

    CLOSING NIGHT FILM:

    “NOT GOING QUIETLY”

    May 5 at 7 p.m. Virtual

    DIR: Nicholas Bruckman l US | 2021| 96 min

    When activist and new father Ady Barkan is diagnosed with ALS and given four years to live, he finds himself directly impacted by a new legislation proposal jeopardizing essential healthcare programs critical to Ady’s and others’ survival. After a chance confrontation with Senator Jeff Flake goes viral, Ady embarks on a cross-country tour, using his final breaths to fight for healthcare justice to try and create a better world for his newborn son to inherit.

    TICKETS, UPDATES

    For tickets, the complete film slate, updates on exclusive events and speakers and more information, visit reelabilities.org/newyork

    ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York

    ReelAbilities Film Festival is the largest film festival in the world dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with disabilities. Founded in New York in 2007 by the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, the festival presents award-winning films by and about people with disabilities in multiple locations throughout the city. Post-screening discussions and other engaging programs bring communities together to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience. The New York festival is the launching pad for an international program and its selections run satellite ReelAbilities festivals in over 20 cities worldwide. Learn more at ny.reelabilities.org

    Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

    Located on 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the JCC is a vibrant non-profit community center on the Upper West Side. The cornerstone of progressive programming in Manhattan, the JCC serves over 55,000 people annually through 1,200 programs each season that educate, inspire, and transform participants’ minds, bodies, and spirits. To learn more, visit mmjccm.org

    ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE:

    ReelAbilities strives for inclusion of all people. All films are screened with open captions and all venues are wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation, CART, Audio Description, and information in Braille are available upon advance request. Individuals needing accommodations to participate should contact the screening venue directly.

    ———————————–

    SEEfest COMES TO LA

    By Mabel Pais

    SEEfest, the 2021 South East European Film Festival, April 28-May 5, co-presented by ELMA, foundation for European Languages and Movies in America, has the lineup of official selections for the 16th annual edition of the Los Angeles-based film festival. The Festival continues to provide a platform in the U.S. for the discovery of new talent from South East Europe, presenting and celebrating cinematic and cultural diversity of 18 countries of the Balkans and Caucasus to American audiences.

    Honoree Actor, Marija Škaričićor Photo / Courtesy SEEfest 2021
    Honoree Actor, Jasna Djuričić (Photo / Nebojsa Babić.)
    Honoree Writer, Dubravka Ugrešić Photo / Courtesy SEEfest 2021

    SEEfest will honor internationally celebrated author Dubravka Ugrešić (“The Age of Skin,” “Baba Yaga Laid an Egg”) with this year’s Legacy Award and Marija Škaričić (“Mare”) and Jasna Djuričić (“Quo Vadis,” “Aida?”) with the film festival’s inaugural Mira Furlan Memorial Acting Award.

    A true discovery film festival, this year’s virtual presentation is once again rich with premieres: 2 world premieres, 2 international premieres, 7 North American premieres, and 2 U.S. premieres. Among them are 11 narrative features, 13 documentary features, 15 narrative shorts, 9 documentary shorts, and 6 animation shorts.

    SEEfest Executive Director Vera Mijojlić, said, “We are especially excited to host a conversation with our wonderful Legacy Award honoree Dubravka Ugrešić on April 17 and the opportunity to celebrate the great work by Marija Škaričić and Jasna Djuričić, who star in four of our highly anticipated selections, “Mare,” “Breasts,” “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” and “My Morning Laughter” with the inaugural Mira Furlan Memorial Acting Award, celebrating the work of two women who shine in such a prominent way in this year’s film festival.”

    TICKETS, UPDATES

    For Passes or Tickets, complete film slate and more information,visit: seefilmla.org

    SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL (SEEfest)

    SEEfest, the South East European Film Festival Los Angeles is a competition festival presenting cinematic and cultural diversity of 18 countries of the Balkans and Caucasus to American audiences. It provides a platform in the U.S. for the discovery of new talent from South East Europe, with a wide selection of films,

    art and literary talks, workshops and panels. The film festival serves as the cultural hub and resource for scholars and filmmakers and creates opportunities for cultural exchange between Hollywood industry professionals and filmmakers from South East Europe.

    Twice the recipient of the prestigious festival grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and five other awards for programming excellence from the State of California, the festival’s growing list of renowned organizations which now support the festival includes the California Arts Council, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, ELMA Foundation,  Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and more as well as a roster of cultural community partners representing diversity of the State of California. For more information, visit seefilmla.org

    (Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, and Health &Wellness)

  • Dialysis patients are at high risk to contract Corona-19 virus

    Dialysis patients are at high risk to contract Corona-19 virus

    30-40 percent already got afflicted in India: Nephrology Expert

    Dr Luvdeep Dogra, DM Nephrology
    By Dr Yash Goyal

    Can Covid-19be kind enough to my Kidneys!! Any patient having diabetes or Kidney illness can be apprehensiveof virus attack specially during ongoing second wave of pandemic in India at least where it has spiked multi-fold in just one month of April. Not long ago a new disease Covid-19 was found (may be invented) in humans which beyond anyone’s imagination changed the entire world for such a long period of time that it’s hard to find a precedent for the same. Dr Luvdeep Dogra, DM Nephrology @ Narayana Hospital in Rajasthan’s state capital, Jaipur told a few media persons on Gmail Meet, “We recognised early that this can be a deadly disease and has an immense potential to send shivers across the world. Today we talk on two aspects, first, COVID in a patient with kidney disease and secondly is kidney diseases which have been described in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2”.

    “Like any severe infection it’s rather naive to think that COVID doesn’t affect the kidney, it does involve the kidney and can cause a host of diseases including a new onset kidney disease to worsening of an already ageing kidney to something as severe as a rejection in a functioning graft”, Dr Luvdeep says. As per Centre for Disease Control (CDC), USA, one out of 8 persons (12-15 per cents of population) kidney related diseases that mostly include diabetes mellitus, he says adding, 16 percent of patients are suffering from diabetes and hypertension.

    The dialysis patients are at high risk to contract prevalent Corona virus, quoting recent findings Dr Luvdeep points out, “Patients visiting hospitals for dialysis twice/thrice every week and 10 times in a month are susceptible to the deadly virus. So far 30-40 percent patients went on dialysis got afflicted with the virus in the country”.

    While interacting Dr Luvdeep revealed many fact saying patients with kidney diseases are inherently immunocompromised and visit hospitals frequently it’s no surprise that COVID is usually under detected, more severe and fast progressing in patients with kidney disease and obviously this is in proportion to the severity of Kidney disease.

    Quoting a recent study from Journal American Society Nephrology (July, August 2020),titled: “High Prevalence of Asymptomatic Covid-19 Infection in Haemodialysis Patients Detected Using Serological Screening”, he said, “Patients with ESKD (End Stage Kidney Disease) may also be at an increased risk of dying from Covid-19. In one study, for example, nearly one third of hospitalised dialysis patients with Covid-19 died. In another study, one half of critically ill dialysis patients died within 28 days of admission to the ICU. The overall mortality among dialysis patients with Covid-19 was approximately 20 percent in two such studies”.

    When asked, so what do we do? Vaccinate all?

     He said, “Obviously yes, but remember vaccinating a country as big as ours is not going to be a cake walk, vaccination generates immunity over a period of weeks to month, so it’s not a ready solution either, also unfortunately we don’t have enough evidence on how much it protects dialysis patients from Covid infection”.

    So what next? On another quiz he said, “It’s high time we understand the importance of prevention, it’s easy too. Just follow a “Covid healthy behaviour”, always wear mask when you have people around you or you go out, maintain social distancing, limit unnecessary visits and visitors and then follow a good hand hygiene”.

    Is it that difficult? He smiled saying, “An appropriate behaviour may be our sole protection until we vaccinate our population to a critical level to develop ‘herd-immunity’ and beyond that too. Follow these precautions as Covid is merciless in its ways!”

  • Mizoram: The land of Blue Mountains

    Mizoram: The land of Blue Mountains

    Tucked away in the thickets of green on the southern tip of Northeast India, Mizoram, the “Land of Blue Mountains”, is a nature lover’s paradise. Sandwiched between Bangladesh and Myanmar, this fifth smallest state in India is big on adventure with rugged terrains and gurgling rivers. It also boasts a rich historical and cultural heritage. That’s not all, visit Mizoram, and be ready to be surprised by the locals’ style quotient, apart from everything else.

    Tourist Attractions

    Aizawl

    Lying at a height of 1132 m above sea level, Aizawl is a quaint city and the capital of the state of Mizoram in northeast India. Primarily dominated by the Mizo Tribe, Aizawl and its surrounding areas are lush with rolling hills and abundant greenery. The city, along with the majority of the state is known for its agricultural produce and ethnic handicrafts and apparel. Aizawl is well connected via roads and air connectivity to other major hubs of northeast India such as Silchar and Guwahati in Assam. An important thing to note is that an Inner Line Pass or ILP is required for entry into Mizoram which is available on Guwahati, Silchar, Shillong, New Delhi and Kolkata.

    Among one of the oldest cities in the north eastern region of India, Aizawl, pronounced eye-zole, is a perfect place to relax while enjoying the local food and culture. Home to the Mizoram State Museum and few other tourist complexes, tourists have few options to enjoy a sightseeing tour in the city. Apart from these, one can take a tour to the nearby hilly areas of Hmuifang, Tamdil Lake and Chanmari.

    Serchhip

    Most famous for being the district with the highest literacy rate in India, Serchhip in Mizoram is a place that can provide you a unique and vibrant experience.

    This small town can give one the experience of a small village, the life, activities and colors that it sustains in the everyday. Some of the popular villages one can visit are the Neihloh and Buangpuri. The nature too plays a role in tourism with spots such as the Vantawng Khawhltha water fall. Other places here include the Chhingpui Thlan and Hriantrengna lung.

    Lunglei

    Literally meaning ‘the bridge of rock’, Lunglei is famous for its scenic beauty and natural setting. It is a small town, located around 170 km south of Aizawl whose name is derived from a bridge shaped rock found along Nghasih which is a tributary of the river Tlawng. Lunglei is an ideal offbeat destination for those who love natural sightseeing and adventure activities bundled into one. Trekking, bird watching and camping are among the popular activities opted by tourists coming to visit Lunglei.

    Lunglei is a biodiverse region, home to Thorangtlang Wildlife Sanctuary and Saza Wildlife Sanctuary. While Saza Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for hosting migratory and endemic bird species, Thorangtlang Wildlife Sanctuary is home to several animal species such as leopards, tigers, porcupines and leaf monkeys among many. Visiting the Lunglei Rock Bridge at the Nghasih stream is another popular activity while here. For those looking to learn about the culture and traditions of the region, the Saikuti Hall is a must-visit.

    Mamit

    The Mamit district is the fourth largest district of the state of Mizoram. The town of Mamit, the administrative headquarters of the district, is located around 95 kms from Aizawl to the west. Known for its exquisite scenic locales and magnificence, don’t miss out to add this place in your itinerary in Mizoram. The Dampa Tiger Reserve, among the famous natural protected regions of India, is a popular tourist attraction here. Adventure enthusiasts will also love visiting the longest cave network of Mizoram in Pukzing. Oranges are a major produce from this district, earning it the nickname, the ‘Orange Garden of Mizoram’.

    The town of Mamit and the district is primarily an agricultural hub of the state of Mizoram. Culturally, this region is quite vibrant, with several festivals being celebrated with pomp and vigour throughout the year. While the traditional festivals of Christmas and New Year are at the forefront of the yearly festivities, the more ethnic festivals of Chapchar Kut and Mim Kut, in celebration of the yearly agricultural harvests are also very significant here.

    Saiha

    Saiha is known as the fastest growing town in Mizoram, as the population has significantly risen in the last decade. Saiha is a census town in the Saiha district in Mizoram located at an average height of 729 meters above sea level. This town is considered to be a haven for angling enthusiasts.

    Revealing the mystery behind the name of the town, the name of the town was originally Siaha where ‘Sia’ stands for elephant and ‘ha’ meaning tooth – An elephant tooth. But the Mizos traditionally call it Saiha.

    Kolasib

    Among the newer districts and the smallest of the eleven in Mizoram, Kolasib lies in northern Mizoram sharing a border with the Cachar district of Assam. It lies at a distance of 79 Kms north of Aizawl. Like most other districts of Mizoram, Kolasib is bountiful in culture and natural beauty. Tlawng river is the best attraction of Kolasib with its beautiful river banks and adjoining forests serving as a countryside getaway. Leisurely boating can be done by requesting some locals who would be willing to ferry around tourists. Apart from sightseeing, experiencing the local food and learning about handicrafts is another activity which travellers can partake in.

    Reiek

    At a height of 1465 meters, Reiek Tlang or simply Reiek is one of the highest hills of Mizoram. Located at a distance of 29 km away from the city of Aizawl, Reiek Tlang is an excellent viewpoint overlooking panoramic views of Aizawl and the surrounding valley with the backdrop of sceneries borrowed from the Mizo Hills. The journey to the peak is also an excellent trekking opportunity usually reserved for calm sunny days. As is the case with most North Eastern destination of India, the peak of Reiek is also relatively unexplored and sits pretty as a pearl in the hills.

  • Ram Navami: Celebrating the birth of Lord Rama

    Ram Navami: Celebrating the birth of Lord Rama

    Ram Navami is one the most celebrated Hindu festival that is observed on the ninth day of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Chaitra (Hindu calendar). As per the Gregorian calendar, the day usually falls between the months of March and April.

    Ram Navami is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Rama, the descent of god Vishnu as Rama avatar, through his birth to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya in Ayodhya. On this day many people conduct homa and conclude the nine days festivities of Chaitra Navratri, due which the festival is known as Ram Navami or Rama Navratri.

    This year, Rama Navami falls on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The birth of Lord Rama took place during the Madhyahna (mid of a day), this period lasts for 2 hours and 24 minutes. Hence, one should perform all the Puja rituals related to Rama Navami during this phase.

    According to drikpanchang.com, the auspicious time for puja during the Rama Navami festival are as follows: Rama Navami Madhyahna Muhurat is from 11:02 to 13:38. (Duration: 02 hours 36 mins)

    Rama Navami Madhyahna Moment is 12:20.

    Navami Tithi begins at 00:43 on Apr 21, 2021, and ends at 00:35 on Apr 22, 2021.

    Background

    Bhagwan Rama exemplified the perfect person (maryada purushottam). He was the embodiment of compassion, gentleness, kindness, righteousness and integrity. Although he had all the power in the world, he still was peaceful and gentle.

    His reign in Ayodha is referred to as Ramarajya, the epitome of perfect governance. Ayodhya was the capital founded by the king-rishi Manu. During the reign of King Dasharath, Ayodhya reached a period of great prosperity. But Dasharath had one problem–he had no children. Therefore he decided to perform the ashvamedh sacrifice. Elaborate and difficult rituals had to be observed. Rishi Rishyashring presided over the yagya. The performance of this sacrifice was a great event in Ayodhya. At the end, Rishyashring recited a Mantra and made an offering to the fire. Then the gods, gandharvas, siddhas, and rishis present around began to pray to Brahma. During that time Ravana, the king of Lanka, was terrorizing the people, and they were longing for liberation from his menace. Ravana had acquired great power because he had obtained from God Brahma the boon that he would never die at the hands of gods, or gandharvas, or yakshas

    (demigods) or demons. As he was not afraid of men, he did not care to include men in the list of his potential slayers. So Brahmadev declared that Ravana would die at the hands of a man. Then the gods went to Vishnu for help and requested him that since Dasharath was a glorious king, that He take birth in the wombs of his three queens in four different incarnations of His divinity. When Dasharath’s sacrifice came to an end, a shining figure appeared over the sacrificial kund, and offered the king a divine beverage called “payasam”, which was to be given to his queens Kausalya, Kaikayi, and Sumitra. In due time, Kausalya gave birth to Rama, Kaikayi to Bharat and Sumitra to Laxman and Shatrugna.

    The Sun is considered to be the progenitor of Rama’s dynasty, which is called the Solar Dynasty (Raghukula or Raghuvamsa –Raghu means Sun and Kula or Vamsa mean familial descendant). Rama is also known as Raghunatha, Raghupati, Raghavendra etc. That all these names begin with the prefix Raghu is also suggestive of some link with Sun-worship. The hour chosen for the observance of the Lord’s birth is that when the Sun is overhead and is at its maximum brilliance. In some Hindu sects, prayers on Ramnavami day start not with an invocation to Rama but to Surya (Sun). Again the syllable Ra is used in the word to describe the Sun and brilliance in many languages. In Sanskrit, Ravi and Ravindra both mean “Sun”.

    Significance of Ram Navami

    The story of the Ramayan is a classic, eternal, universal message of Dharma versus adharma, of deva versus demon, of good versus evil, as represented in the battle between Rama and Ravana.

    Ravana was a brahmin; he was a great scholar who wrote numerous works on scriptural philosophy. He was powerful, dynamic, and beautiful in appearance. As the brilliant, handsome king of Lanka, he had everything one would need to be happy and peaceful. Yet, he was arrogant, egoistic, greedy and lustful. His insatiable desires led him to crave more and more power, more and more money, and more and more ladies to fulfill his every whim.

    There is one main difference: Bhagwan Rama’s heart overflowed with divinity, love, generosity, humility, and a sense of duty. Ravana’s heart, in contrast, was filled with avarice, hatred, and egoism. Under Bhagwan Rama’s divine touch, the animals became his devotees and his divine helpers. Under Ravana’s touch, even humans became animals.

    Through his noble and divine choices, he teaches the world to choose dharma over Artha (when he leaves for the forest rather than be coronated as King) and to choose Moksha over Kama (when he chooses his kingdom over his marriage).

    Ravana’s ego led to his own demise, first the demise of his spirit and heart and then the demise of his body. He thought he was the one who ran everything. He thought that he was the “doer” of it all. On the other hand, Bhagwan Rama was always humble, and he never took credit for anything. At the end of the war in Lanka, Bhagwan Rama was giving Sitaji a tour of the city, showing her where all of the various events had occurred. When, they reached the place where he victoriously slew Ravana, he reported it to Sitaji only as, “and this is where Ravana died.” He didn’t say, “This is where I crushed the demon,” or “This is where I killed Ravana.”

    The story of Lord Rama as told in the great epic Ramayana is one that most Indians know irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Lord Rama is a legendary figure, the epitome of all that is good and true, the man who vanquished the demon king, Ravana. Lord Rama is not just a hero, but has been given the status of a god by the Hindus. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that his birth is celebrated year after year with great pomp and enjoyment on the ninth day after the new moon in Sukul Paksh (the waxing moon), which falls sometime in the month of April.

  • Asian stock markets advance after new Wall Street high

    Asian stock markets advance after new Wall Street high

    Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday after US inflation ticked up and Japanese machinery orders fell.

    Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney rose. Tokyo was off less than 0.5%.

    Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index closed 0.3% higher in choppy trading. Tech and consumer stocks gained on optimism the vaccine rollout will allow business activity to return to normal. Johnson & Johnson declined after US regulators suspended use of its single-dose vaccine to investigate possibly dangerous blood clots.

    The US government reported consumer prices increased by a stronger-than-expected 0.6% in March, the fastest rate since 2012. Higher inflation normally fuels fears interest rates might be raised to keep prices stable, but the Federal Reserve has said the economy will be allowed to “run hot” to ensure a recovery is in place.

    Traders “took the well-telegraphed inflation ‘pick-up’ in stride,” said Stephen Innes of Axi in a report. Market also are “seemingly unfazed” by the J&J suspension. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2% to 3,401.72 and Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 1.2% to 28,850.00.

  • Bitcoin touches $64,000 high as traders eye coinbase listing

    Bitcoin advanced Wednesday, breaching the $64,000 level for the first time after eclipsing its most recent record in March a day earlier as the mood in cryptocurrencies turned bullish ahead of Coinbase Global Inc.’s listing this week. The token climbed as much as 1.6 percent to as high as $64,207 in Asia trading. Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks such as Riot Blockchain Inc. and Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. advanced during US trading hours. Crypto bulls are out in force as a growing list of companies embrace Bitcoin, even as skeptics doubt the durability of the boom. In one of the most potent signs of Wall Street’s growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies, Coinbase will list on the Nasdaq on April 14 at a valuation of about $100 billion. Coinbase’s debut “will mark the first official juncture between the traditional financial avenue and the alternative crypto path,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note. “As such, a successful addition to Nasdaq should act as endorsement of cryptocurrencies by traditional investors.” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley have announced plans to offer their clients access to crypto investments. Tesla Inc. earlier this year disclosed a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin and more recently started accepting it as payment for electric cars.

  • At Rs 20.16 lakh cr, FY21 tax collection tops revised estimate

    At Rs 20.16 lakh cr, FY21 tax collection tops revised estimate

    With all major tax heads yielding revenues significantly higher than the respective revised estimates (RE) shown in the Budget, the Centre has appropriated an additional Rs 78,000 crore as net (post-devolution) tax revenue in FY21. This means if other inflows and outflows stick to budgeted numbers, the fiscal deficit for the year could be 46 basis points lower than budgeted 9.5 per cent of the nominal GDP, if one goes by the second advance estimate of national income. According to two statements issued by the Finance Ministry this month, gross tax receipts (GTR) — net of refunds but before transfers to the states — last financial year were up Rs 1.22 lakh crore, or 6.4 per cent, over the RE at Rs 20.16 lakh crore. In FY20, GTR saw a rare decline — the collections in the year were Rs 20.04 lakh crore, compared with Rs 20.76 lakh crore in FY19.

  • Elon Musk’s SpaceX raises $1.16 billion in equity financing

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX raises $1.16 billion in equity financing

    Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX has raised about $1.16 billion in equity financing over the last two months, the private rocket company said in an amended regulatory filing on Wednesday, April 14.

    The filing comes after SpaceX, whose investors include Alphabet Inc and Fidelity Investments, in February disclosed that it raised about $850 million, which had reportedly lifted its valuation to about $74 billion.

    The private space company had raised $1.9 billion in August in its largest single fundraising round, according to financial software and data provider PitchBook.

    In February, a prototype of SpaceX’s Starship rocket, SN9, blew up on its final descent, like SN8 before it. The SN9 was a test model being developed to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars.

    Following this, the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said last month it was investigating a SpaceX commercial space launch that regulators determined violated U.S. safety requirements and its test license.

    Musk, who also leads several futuristic companies, including Tesla Inc, Neuralink and Boring Co, said last month SpaceX will be landing its Starship rockets on Mars well before 2030.

    Is Elon Musk’s Favorite Meme Cryptocurrency the Next Bitcoin?

    It started as a joke, but now the joke appears to be on the people who didn’t take Dogecoin seriously. The meme-cryptocurrency Elon Musk wouldn’t stop tweeting about has reached an all-time high. According to Coindesk, it has risen to 70.22% in the last 24 hours – the highest ever recorded. Currently (at the time of writing this article) Dogecoin’s value is $0.122680, or almost 12 cents. The market cap of DogeCoin — which started as a joke and is literally classified as “a memecoin” — is currently over $14 billion. This is the highest-ever for the cryptocurrency, and the result of a semi-ironic movement that’s involved thousands of buyers, tens of thousands of online posters and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.

    In early January, each token was worth less than one cent. In late January, when both the GameStop and DogeCoin movements hit their stride, the value of DogeCoin shot up to 7.5 cents, well over a 10-magnification, before sliding down to 2.5 cents. The coin has spent the past few months in the three- to seven-cent range. On Sunday, its price began to rise, from around six cents, before it smashed the 10-cent milestone, reports CNET.

    Tesla CEO, SpaceX boss and currently world’s richest person, Elon Musk had announced that he “bought some Dogecoin for lil X, so he can be a toddler holder.” Dogecoin surged as much as 16% following the tweet, spiking from $0.069 to $0.08.

    The Shiba Inu-themed digital coin surpassed 8 cents for the first time, just a week after crashing to 2.5 cents and sparking an outcry on Reddit. It rose 53 per cent in the last 24 hours to 8.2 cents, breezing through its recent record of 7.8 cents posted in late January.

  • Oil holds near 1-month high as demand forecasts raised

    Oil holds near 1-month high as demand forecasts raised

    Oil prices were lower on Thursday , April 15, though holding near one-month highs after futures jumped in the previous as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and others upgraded forecasts for oil demand as major economies recover from the pandemic.

    Brent crude was down by 21 cents, or 0.3%, at $66.37 a barrel by 0129 GMT, after gaining 4.6% on Wednesday and closing at the highest since March 17.

    US West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $62.9 a barrel, having risen 4.9% in the previous session.

    US crude inventories were down by 5.9 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday, more than double analysts’ expectations for a 2.9 million-barrel decline. East Coast crude stocks hit a record low.

    “We see robust stock draws even after factoring in bearish risks as refinery runs are set to rise sharply in the coming months,” Citi Research analysts said in a note.

    Gasoline supplied to the market last week, an indicator of US consumption of the fuel, increased to 8.9 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest since August, the EIA report said

  • Facebook testing video speed dating app ‘Sparked’

    Facebook testing video speed dating app ‘Sparked’

    After Facebook Dating, the social networking platform is now testing a video speed-dating app called Sparked that will first allow 4-minute dates to help users find if they are compatible to each other. Once you “both have a great time,” dates will then be scheduled for a 10-minute duration.

    After that point, Sparked can let the users exchange contact information and stay in touch via Instagram, iMessage, or email, The Verge reported on Tuesday.

    Sparked is developed by the company’s in-house NPE (New Product Experimentation) team.

    The free-to-use app will offer no public profiles, no swiping and no direct messages (DMs) but a simple video speed-chat. During the sign-up process, users need to explain what makes them a kind dater.

    The responses will be “reviewed by a human at Sparked” before you can go on speed dates. “Users also have to choose whether they want to date men, women, or nonbinary people, and then are asked if they are open to dating trans people,” the report noted.

  • Physicists use rapidly spinning black holes to look for dark matter

    Physicists use rapidly spinning black holes to look for dark matter

    Clouds of ultralight bosons — such as axions — can form around a rapidly spinning black hole, if the black hole radius is comparable to the bosons’ wavelength.

    The cloud rapidly extracts angular momentum from the black hole, and reduces it to a characteristic value that depends on the boson’s mass as well as on the black hole mass and spin.

    Therefore, a measurement of a black hole mass and spin can be used to reveal or exclude the existence of such bosons.

    “If bosons exist, we would expect that old black holes of the appropriate mass don’t have large spins, since the boson clouds would have extracted most of it,” said Kwan Yeung (Ken) Ng, a graduate student at MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.

    “This implies that the discovery of a black hole with large spins can rule out the existence of bosons with certain masses.”

    In their study, Ng and colleagues looked through 45 black hole binaries reported by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and its companion detector Virgo.

    The masses of these black holes — between 10 and 70 solar masses — indicate that if they had interacted with ultralight bosons, the particles would have been between 1*10-13 eV (electronvolts) and 2*10-11 eV in mass.

    For every black hole, the researchers calculated the spin that it should have if the black hole was spun down by ultralight bosons within the corresponding mass range.

    From their analysis, two black holes stood out: GW190412 and GW190517.

    Just as there is a maximum velocity for physical objects — the speed of light — there is a top spin at which black holes can rotate. GW190517 is spinning at close to that maximum.

    The scientists calculated that if ultralight bosons existed, they would have dragged its spin down by a factor of two.

    “If they exist, these things would have sucked up a lot of angular momentum,” said Dr. Salvatore Vitale, a physicist at MIT.

    The team also accounted for other possible scenarios for generating the black holes’ large spins, while still allowing for the existence of ultralight bosons.

    For instance, a black hole could have been spun down by bosons but then subsequently sped up again through interactions with the surrounding accretion disk, a disk of matter from which the black hole could suck up energy and momentum.

  • Google Assistant will now find your iPhone, help order takeout

    Google Assistant will now find your iPhone, help order takeout

    Google on Wednesday launched some new skills for Google Assistant, the AI-powered assistant found across devices. It’s also encouraging Google Assistant users to set up “routines,” which perform multiple actions with a single command. The most notable new Google Assistant skill is the ability to find your iPhone, even when the device is on silent or Do Not Disturb is enabled. The “find my phone” feature is already one of the most popular Google Assistant features. It works on Nest smart speakers and other smart displays. To use it to find your iPhone, you have to opt in to receiving notifications and critical alerts from the Google Home app. Next, Google Assistant users can find the AI tool to complete online food orders. The feature only works with restaurants that have added an “order” button to their Google Business Profiles on Search and Maps. After a customer hits the “order” button from the Google App on Android, they choose from the menu and hit “check out.” At that point, Google Assistant can take over, automatically filling in the customer’s contact and payment details, based on what’s saved in Google Pay and synced to Chrome Autofill.

  • Scientists discover new method to lengthen lifespan of electronic devices

    A research by scientists at the University of Sydney claim to have developed a technology that would lengthen the lifespan of electronic devices. This marks a significant step in the field of materials science, for the first time providing a full picture of the occurrence of fatigue in ferroelectric materials. Ferroelectric materials are used in many devices, including memories, capacitors, actuators and sensors. These devices are commonly used in both consumer and industrial instruments, such as computers, medical ultrasound equipment and underwater sonars. Over time, ferroelectric materials are subjected to repeated mechanical and electrical loading, leading to a progressive decrease in their functionality, ultimately resulting in failure. This process is referred to as ‘ferroelectric fatigue’. It is the main cause of the failure of a range of electronic devices, with discarded electronics a leading contributor to e-waste. Globally, tens of millions of tonnes of failed electronic devices go to landfill every year.

  • Instagram launches test where users can choose to hide likes

    Instagram is launching a small global test on Wednesday where users can choose whether to hide like counts on their own posts or other people’s posts, a Facebook spokeswoman said. The photo-sharing site, which is owned by Facebook Inc, said this latest test came after seeing mixed responses to its experiments in which it removed likes, commonly used as a measure of popularity.”In 2019, we started hiding like counts for a small group of people to understand if it lessens some pressure when posting to Instagram,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “Some people found this beneficial but some still wanted to see like counts so they could track what’s popular.” Facebook is also exploring a similar experience which will roll out in the coming weeks, she said, in response to users calling for more controls over how they interact with content on the platform. Facebook has previously tested hiding likes on others’ posts in Australia.

  • Home remedies that will cover your greys

    Home remedies that will cover your greys

    Hair turns grey when melanin is stopped being produced by your cells. If your hair turns grey below your late 30s, it is considered premature greying. There are multiple reasons for this early greying to occur of which some include stress and genetics. The myth is, if you pluck one grey hair out, two will sprout up in its place! So what’s one supposed to do in a situation like this? Here are some home remedies that don’t cause extra damage to your locks and can slow down the process of greying.

    Amla powder

    While it is not a permanent solution, Amla is known to slow down the process of greying and also helps in preventing hair loss. For the perfect Amla hair treatment, mix some powder with coconut oil or olive oil and apply it at night. Let your hair soak in all the nutrients and wash it off in the morning. Do this once a week for best results.

    Bhringraj

    A popular Ayurvedic pick, Bringhraj works effectively against greys. The black dye got from this works best when mixed with hot oil and then massaged on the scalp. Leave this on for an hour before washing off, for best results.

    Onion juice

    While onion juice is already known for making the hair soft and silky, it also drastically improves the quality of hair and slows down the process of ageing. Mix a little onion juice with lemon and olive oil and massage this on your scalp. This will not only darken your hair over time but also aid hair growth and add lustre to your dull and dry hair.           Source: Pinkvilla

  • Nutri kulcha

    Nutri kulcha

    By Tript Arora

    This famous Street food from Punjab is finger licking good. Nutri is basically Soya chunks in a gravy. Soya chunks are high on protein. So they fulfill the requirement of protein in vegetarians. Very quick and easy to cook. It is a full meal at any time of the day.  I prefer it when I want to have something spicy and quick. The Kulchas are easily available at bakery shops. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get started.

    What we need

    Nutri Mini Soya  Chunks 2 cups (if you have big chunks just cut it into 2 pieces after boiling), Tea Bag 1, Onions 2 finely chopped, Ginger 2 tsp grated, Tomatoes 4 medium sized grinded to a fine paste. (You can use 6 tsp tomato puree alternately), Green chillies 2 grinded with tomatoes, Cumin seeds 2 tsp, Cumin powder 2 tsp, Coriander powder 2 tsp, Turmeric powder three fourth tsp, Kashmiri red chilli powder  2 tsp, Kasuri Methi 2 tsp, garam masala  2 tsp, Mango Powder (amchoor) 2 tsp, Soya sauce dark 2 tsp, Cooking Oil 6 tsp, Butter 4 tsp, Ghee 4 tsp, Salt to taste.

    Here we go

    -n      Boil Nutri Soya chunks in 6 cups of water along with a tea bag and one tsp of salt until soft. Drain water but don’t discard the water. Keep it to be later used in gravy. Press the Soya chunks with a spatula and drain excess water. Chunks will now be of blackish colour because of the tea bag.

    –        Heat a pan and add oil to it. Now add cumin seeds when they start spluttering and add finely chopped onions to it.

    –        Saute till onions turn reddish in colour. Add grated ginger and 4 tsp water to it. When water evaporates and the mixture turns homogeneous , add tomato chilli paste and kasuri methi to it.

    –        Now add salt , Turmeric powder , coriander powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder , cumin powder and saute till oil separates from the masala.

    –        Add Soya chunks , butter  and saute for 2 minutes.

    –        Add the tea water we have kept aside and adjust the consistency of gravy.

    –        Add mango powder , garam masala and Ghee.

    –        Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

    –        Garnish with ginger julians and fresh coriander.

    For Kulchas :

    –        Heat a nonstick pan, Smear butter on kulcha with a brush.

    –        Then roast it in a pan from both the sides till golden brown. Accompany it with green chilli and jullians of onion dipped in lemon juice.

    –        Your street food of Nutri Kulcha is ready. Don’t  bother about calories. Just  Enjoy.

    Tips

    –        While putting salt in gravy remember there is Salt in soya chunks also.

    –        A little Turmeric powder enhances colour but too much of it will spoil the taste and colour both.

     

  • Radhika Apte turns director; says ‘I  loved the process’

    Radhika Apte turns director; says ‘I  loved the process’

    Radhika Apte has donned many hats while portraying different roles for her films, now has taken up direction too. The actress released her directorial debut The Sleepwalkers’ trailer in the lockdown at Palms Spring International short film festival which won The Best Midnight Short award. Making her directorial debut with the short-film titled The Sleepwalkers, the actress in a recent interview with a leading publication shared, “I had never thought of making films. There was no such plan. I just had the urge to write because sometimes you want to create content that challenges you. Roles that come your way are not necessarily from the space that you want them to come from. I just wanted to write something that interested me. There are things that I passionately want to do. When I bounced off the story to Honey Trehan and Abhishek Chaubey, they decided to make it. I had 10 days for the prep and shoot. When I finished writing, I realised I didn’t want to act in it, but I wanted to direct it. And, I absolutely loved the process.” Fans of the actress cannot wait to witness the magic Radhika has created, this time being behind the lens. The trailer of her short-film has been showered with so much love and appreciation from the audiences.

  • Mandira Bedi says her ‘blood boils’ at what trolls say about daughter Tara

    Mandira Bedi says her ‘blood boils’ at what trolls say about daughter Tara

    Mandira Bedi, who earlier this week named and shamed a couple of trolls for attacking her daughter Tara, has said that she doesn’t give ‘two hoots’ if they target her, but her ‘claws come out’ when her children are subjected to abuse. In two Instagram stories, Mandira highlighted the sort of abuse that Tara, whom she adopted last year, gets from certain sections of the internet. One person had called the child a ‘street kid’ who didn’t appear to fit into the family. In an interview, Mandira reflected on her moment of anger, and said that her friends had dissuaded her from commenting about the abuse on social media. “I don’t know what struck me that I went through the comments on this one photograph of my family. It was appalling to see those nasty comments for a little child. What kind of people say such disgusting things about a harmless kid? While I normally ignore trolls and haters, these two-three messages that I saw late at night on Monday upset me, and this time, I felt the need to respond. Tara is innocent and too young to understand what happened, but it hurt me,” she told a leading daily.

  • Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss says she was offered grandmother’s role at 40

    Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss says she was offered grandmother’s role at 40

    Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss says she experienced Hollywood’s double standards on ageing firsthand when she was offered the role of a grandmother the day after she turned 40. Moss spoke about her experience while moderating a conversation to promote actor-author friend Justine Bateman’s new book Face: One Square Foot of Skin, which looks at the ways society responds to women as they age, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Prior to the offer, Moss said she thought female actors not finding good roles to play at 40 was a myth. “I had heard that at 40 everything changed. I didn’t believe in that because I don’t believe in just jumping on a thought system that I don’t really align with. But literally the day after my 40th birthday, I was reading a script that had come to me and I was talking to my manager about it. She was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, it’s not that role (you’re reading for), it’s the grandmother’,” Moss said.

  • Deepika Padukone steps down as MAMI chairperson

    Deepika Padukone steps down as MAMI chairperson

    In 2019, Deepika Padukone replaced Kiran Rao as the chairperson of MAMI. Now after serving as the head honcho for nearly two years, the actor has decided to step down from the position. Deepika took to her Instagram story and released a statement regarding the same citing her slate of work as the reason behind it. The actor said she will not be able to give undivided attention to the festival it requires. Deepika’s statement read as “Being on the board of MAMI and serving as Chairperson has been a deeply enriching experience. As an artist, it was invigorating to bring together cinema and talent from all over the world to Mumbai, my second home.

    I have come to realise, however, that with my current slate of work, I will be unable to give MAMI the undivided focus and attention it requires.

    I depart knowing that MAMI is in the best hands possible and that my bond and connection with the academy is one that will last a lifetime.”

  • Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern set to star in Florian Zeller’s next movie The Son

    Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern are all set to star in the upcoming movie `The Son`, which will be writer-director Florian Zeller`s follow-up to the BAFTA-winning and Academy award-nominated `The Father`. According to Variety, the film will be adapted from Zeller`s acclaimed stage play by Zeller and Christopher Hampton, who is Oscar-nominated for adapting `The Father` with Zeller, and has won an Oscar for `Dangerous Liaisons`.

    Oscar-winners Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, and Joanna Laurie of See-Saw Films, will produce the movie with Christophe Spadone alongside Zeller. Film4 will be co-financing the production.

    In `The Son`, Peter (Jackman) has a busy life with his new partner Emma and their baby. This is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate (Dern) turns up with their teenage son, Nicholas. Something is amiss from the first moment that audiences meet Nicholas. He is troubled, distant, and angry, playing truant from school for months – both son and mother need his father`s help. Nicholas`s wish is to live with his father for a change.

  • Colin Farrell found Voyagers script a page-turner

    Colin Farrell found Voyagers script a page-turner

    Hollywood star Colin Farrell says the script of his upcoming sci-fi thriller “Voyagers” was quite a page-turner. “Voyagers” tells the story of 30 men and women sent on an interstellar mission to save the human race. Talking about his role and the potential he saw in it, Farrell said: “I saw the part that I had, as quite obviously on the page was a father figure and somebody that was there to kind of corral and guide and care for and monitor these children as they go from birth into young adulthood. I loved it.”

    Delving deeper into the character, Farrell gained a new perspective on his character`s psyche. He said: “I think Richard (his character) is lonely, I mean he`s got to be lonely. He`s in space and he is again the only senior member of this team heading into the void. So, I think he has no one!”

    A big fan of the script, he shared how invested he was in first reading it: “It was a page-turner! It was really, really lovely. It was very unusual. I thought it was very cleverly drawn, and the questions that it provoked in me as a reader were fairly profound and substantial questions.”

  • Farmers at Singhu, Tikri borders refuse to move amid virus surge

    Farmers at Singhu, Tikri borders refuse to move amid virus surge

    New Delhi (TIP): Farmers protesting at the Singhu and Tikri borders for over four months against the Centre’s three farm laws are not planning to call off their stir anytime soon amid the worsening Covid-19 situation in Delhi.

    According to the farmers at Singhu and Tikri borders, Covid is being “over-glorified” so that the government can finish all the opposition and protests against them.

    “We will boost our immunity, take care of our health and start vaccination drives at protest sites. But we will not get up,” protesting farmers said.

    Last week, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, who has been camping at the Ghazipur border, said farmers protesting the contentious new farm laws are ready to talk if the Centre invites them, maintaining that the dialogue would resume where it had ended on January 22 and the demands remain unchanged.

    He said for the talks to resume, the government should invite the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body representing the protesters who are camping at the three border points of Delhi at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur since November 2020.

    “The talks with the government would resume from the same point where it had ended on January 22. The demands are also the same — all three ‘black’ farm laws should be repealed, a new law made to ensure MSP (minimum support price) for crops,” Tikait was quoted as saying in a statement issued by BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik.

    Source: India Today

  • Two tents, car allegedly set ablaze by miscreants at Singhu border farmers protest site

    New Delhi (TIP): Two tents and a car were allegedly set on fire by unidentified people at the Singhu border on Thursday, April 15,  morning where farmers have been protesting against the Centre’s three farm laws over the last few months. Furniture and luggage inside the two tents were gutted. The police said no casualties were reported and the protesters at the border doused the fire in time. A member of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha said, “Around 12 noon, a man was seen near a tent. He was trying to set it on fire. When farmers saw the blaze, they rushed with water to douse the fire immediately. The man then set fire to another tent and left. A group of farmers tried chasing him but he escaped.”

    The farmers lodged a complaint at Kundli police station against the accused. A senior police officer said, “We have been told that a man came from BRTS side and set fire to two tents or shanties. These structures were built by farmers for the summers. They kept their luggage, installed air coolers and put some furniture inside these small tents. Nobody was injured in the incident. The fire was doused within an hour.”

    “We were told that after the incident he (accused) joined a group of locals nearby and couldn’t be recognised. We are looking into the matter,” said the officer.

    Police have initiated an inquiry into the matter. No case has been registered.

  • Farm unions say agitation to continue, announce march to Delhi on April 21

    Farm unions say agitation to continue, announce march to Delhi on April 21

    Farmer unions in Punjab have announced a march towards Delhi on April 21, indicating that the over four-month-long protest is not going to end soon. They said that farmers, activists and women protesters will begin a massive march toward Delhi on April 21. Farmer leaders made the announcement at a Baisakhi Conference called by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) in Talwandi Sabo of Bathinda. The conference was organised to pay tribute to Jallianwala Bagh martyrs and to mark ‘Khalsa Sajna Diwas’. It was attended by thousands of farmers. The Baisakhi Conference was held at 38 other spots in the state as well in protest against the controversial farm laws. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) state president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said that the April 21 Delhi march would be led by the union’s state general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan and state treasurer Jhanda Singh Jehtuke. He said that the farmers’ protest will continue till they get their rights.

    Citing the example of India’s fight against Britishers, he said that after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, people fought unitedly rising above caste, creed, religion and the fight against the Narendra Modi government will also be fought unitedly by the farmers, labourers, women and other countrymen.Ugrahan also said that another massive march towards Parliament will be undertaken in May.

    SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said that the protest movement started by the farmers of Punjab had now turned into a nationwide mass movement and people from across the country are supporting it.

    Thousands of farmers have been camping at Delhi’s Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border in protest against the newly enacted three farm laws.

    There had been 11 rounds of talks between the Centre and the farmer unions but it did not yield a result. The farmers are demanding a rollback of the three laws while the government is proposing to amend the clauses with which farmers have an issue.