The Indian Panorama

Tag: Whatapp

  • London replaces Amsterdam as Europe’s trading hub, first time after Brexit

    London replaces Amsterdam as Europe’s trading hub, first time after Brexit

    London moved back ahead of Amsterdam as Europe’s largest share trading center in June, reclaiming the top spot for the first time this year after Brexit pushed much of the city’s volumes to the continent.

    An average 8.92 billion euros ($10.6 billion) of shares a day were traded on various London venues in June, compared with 8.8 billion euros for various Dutch venues, according to data from Cboe Europe.

    This compares with about 9.4 billion euros average daily trading value for Amsterdam in May and around 8.7 billion euros in London. Paris, the third largest venue, saw its daily trading decline from almost 6.1 billion euros in May to 5.8 billion euros in June.

    While London’s return to the top spot is a welcome boost for the stock trading sector buffeted by Brexit, the city’s lead over Amsterdam is a fraction of what it was before the end of the transition period. In December, London’s share trading volumes stood at 14.3 billion euros compared to 2.2 billion euros for Amsterdam, according to Cboe data.

    Britain lost its rights to access the European Union’s single market on Dec. 31 and the bloc has not permitted investors inside its borders to trade shares in companies such as Airbus SE and BNP Paribas SA from the UK The EU could eventually reopen access by recognizing the UK markets as equivalent to its own, though there is little sign of movement in this process.

    London has gained some volumes this year from Swiss equity trading, which resumed after the UK dropped out of an EU-wide ban that has been in place since 2019.

    “The return of Swiss share trading has helped overturn what has been just a temporary phase,” said Alberto Tocchio, a portfolio manager at Kairos Partners. “London will soon regain the status of European and global trading hub and it could easily benefit from being away from the restrictive EU rules.”    Source: Bloomberg

  • Economy recovering, rising cyber attacks a risk: RBI

    The second wave of the pandemic took a “grievous toll” on India, but the dented economic activity has started recovering from late-May, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday, July 1.

    In a first, Das flagged the rising data breaches and cyber attacks as a risk facing the economy, along with others like firming global commodity prices.

    “The recovery that had commenced in the second half of 2020-21 was dented in April-May 2021, but with the wave of infections abating as rapidly as it had set in, economic activity has started to look up in late May and early June,” Das wrote in his foreword to the bi-annual Financial Stability Report prepared by the RBI.

    The report said the gross non-performing assets of banks have been stable at 7.5% in March 2021 — the same level as six months ago — but are expected to go up to 9.8% in March 2022, as per its baseline scenario.

    Das said the dent on balance sheets and performance of financial institutions in India have been much less than what was projected earlier, but was quick to add that a clearer picture will emerge as the effects of regulatory reliefs fully work their way through.

  • India Inc foreign borrowings plunge by 51%

    India companies’ foreign borrowings plunged by nearly 51 per cent to USD 738.45 million in May this year amid the second wave of COVID-19, according to the RBI data.

    Indian businesses had raised USD 1.49 billion by way of external commercial borrowings (ECB) in May 2020.

    The entire fund raised in May 2021 came through the automatic route of the ECB.

    Also, not a single borrower tapped the rupee-denominated bonds (or masala bonds) to raise funds from foreign markets in May, same as in the year-ago month.

    BW Global United LPG India Pvt Ltd (USD 198.41 million for import of capital goods); Renew Sun Waves (USD 140 million for new projects); and Indian Oil Corporation (USD 100 million for working capital requirement) were among the major borrowers.

    Tata SIA Airlines Ltd raised USD 110.40 million for the import of capital goods, the data showed.

  • Char Dham Yatra

    Char Dham Yatra

    There are four holy shrines in Uttarakhand dedicated to Hindu Gods and holy rivers of India. The four shrines are situated within the Garhwal Region. These are collectively referred as “Char Dhaam of Uttarakhand” . Pilgrims from all over India and abroad visit the shrines as “Char Dhaam Yatra”. In Hindu religion, Char Dhaam Yatra holds has great importance and sanctity. It is believed that every Hindu should undertake Char Dhaam Yatra at least once in a life time to avail the blessings of gods adorning the shrines.

    Char Dham Yatra 2021

    As per Covid-19 pandemic guidelines, pilgrims/devotees cannot visit Uttarakhand Char Dham yatra-2021 in person till further notice. But they can book online for Puja / Path / Archna /Arti / Bhog etc with online payment through this portal, which will be performed on their behalf by chief priest of temple on the given date with their name and gotra.

    The Char Dham (meaning four abodes) is a set of four pilgrimage sites in India. It is believed that visiting these sites helps achieve moksha (salvation). The four Dhams are Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri and Rameswaram.

    It is believed that every Hindu should visit the Char Dhams during one’s lifetime. The Char Dham as defined by Adi Shankaracharya consists of four Hindu pilgrimage sites. Another small circuit in Uttarakhand of four pilgrimage sites: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath is referred to as Chota Char Dham.

    Yamunotri

    The Shrine of Yamunotri at the source of river Yamuna. Atop is a flank of Bandar Poonch peak (3615 meters). The actual source, a frozen lake of ice and glacier (Champasar Glacier) located on the Kalind Mountain at the height of 4421 m above sea level is about 1 km further up is not easily accessible. Hence the shrine has been located on the foot of the hill. The Temple of divine mother Yamuna was built by Maharaja Pratap Shah of Tehri Garhwal. The tiny Yamuna has icy cold water and its absolute innocence and the infantile purity heightens that deep feeling of reverence, which Yamunotri has for the devout. According to the legend ancient sage Asit Muni had his hermitage here. The trek to Yamunotri is truly spectacular, dominated by a panorama of rugged peaks and dense forests.

    The deity or Goddess Yamuna is made of black marble. The temple is dedicated to the river Yamuna, who is represented in the form of a silver idol, bedecked with garlands.

    Close to the temple are hot water springs gushing out from the mountain cavities. Suryakund is the most important Kund. Near the Suryakund there is a shila called Divya Shila, which is worshipped before puja is offered to the deity. Pilgrims prepare rice and potatoes to offer at the shrine by dipping them in these hot water springs, tied in muslin cloth. Rice so cooked is taken back home as prasadam.

    Gangotri

    Gangotri is one of the origin sources of Holy River Ganga (Ganges), and one of the important Char Dham pilgrimage in Hindu Religion. The main origin of the river is Gaumukh which is a glacier located 19 km away from gangotri temple. Ganga river is the longest and most sacred river in world.

    The Gangotri temple was built by the Gorkha General Amar Singh Thapa, in the 18th century and is situated on the left bank of Bhagirathi river. The temple is nested amidst the beautiful surroundings of deodars and pine trees. It lies close to the holy rock or the Bhagirath Shila where King Bhagirath had worshiped Lord Shiva. The Gangotri temple is dedicated to Goddess Ganga.

    The Pujaris and Priests who perform in the temple belong to the village of Mukhwa. The water from Gangotri is carried to offer to Lord Shiva. It is believed that this water has nectar in it and will soothe the throat of Shiva who gulps the poison.

    Kedarnath

    Kedarnath temple is one of the sacred pilgrimage centre in Northern India, located on the bank of Mandakini river at an altitude of 3584 meters above sea level. The historical name of this region is “Kedar Khand”. Kedarnath temple is a part of Char Dhams and Panch Kedar in Uttarakhand and one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva in India.

    There are more than 200 shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand itself, the most important one is Kedarnath. According to legend, the Pandavas after having won over the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra war, felt guilty of having killed their own Kith and Kin and sought blessings of Lord Shiva for redemption. He eluded them repeatedly and while fleeing took refuge at Kedarnath in the form of a bafellow.

    On being followed, the Lord dived into the ground, leaving his hump on the surface at Kedarnath. The remaining portions of Lord Shiva appeared at four other places and are worshipped there as his manifestations. The arms of the Lord appeared at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, the belly at Madmaheshwar and his locks (hair) with head at Kalpeshwar. The Kedarnath and four above mentioned shrines are treated as Panch Kedar (Panch means Five in Sanskrit). The Temple at Kedarnath presents an imposing sight, standing in middle of a wide plateau surrounded by lofty snow covered peaks. The temple was originally built in 8th century A.D. by Jagad Guru Adi Shankaracharya and stands adjacent to site of an even earlier temple built by the Pandavas. The inner walls of the assembly hall are decorated with figures of various deities and scenes from mythology. Outside the temple door a large statue of the Nandi Bafellow stands as guard.

    Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Kedarnath temple has exquisite architecture Built of extremely large, heavy and evenly cut grey slabs of stones, it evokes wonder as to how these heavy slabs were moved and handled in the earlier centuries. The temple has a Garbha Griha for worship and a Mandap, apt for assemblies of pilgrims and visitors. A conical rock formation inside the temple is worshipped as Lord Shiva in his Sadashiva form.

    Badarinath

    Badarinath is one of the holy shrines for Vaishnavites among the 108 divya desams incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Badrinath town is also the part of Panch Badri temples including Yog Dhyan Badri, Bhavishya Badri, Adi Badri and Vriddha Badri, along with Badrinath temple.

    The main entrance gate of Badarinath temple is colourful and imposing popularly known as Singhdwar. The temple is approximately 50 feet tall with a small cupola on top, covered with a gold gilt roof. The Badarinath temple is divided into three parts (a) The Garbha Griha or the sanctum sanctorum (b) The Darshan Mandap where rituals are conducted and (c) The Sabha Mandap where pilgrims assemble.

    At the Badarinath Mandir Gate, directly opposite the main Idol of Lord himself, is seated idol of Bird Garud, vehicle / carrier of Lord Badarinarayan. Garud os seen is sitting position and in prayer with his hands folded. The walls and pillars of the mandapa are covered with intricate carvings.

    The Garbha Griha portion has its canopy covered with a sheet of gold and houses Lord Badari Narayan, Kuber (God of wealth), Narad rishi, Udhava, Nar and Narayan. The complex has 15 idols. Especially attractive is the one-metre high image of lord Badarinath, finely sculpted in black stone. According to legend Shankara discovered a black stone image of Lord Badarinarayan made of Saligram stone in the Alaknanda River. He originally enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs. In the sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal moved the murti to the present loction of the temple. It represents Lord Vishnu seated in a meditative pose called Padmasan.

  • Amazon to grant new CEO Andy Jassy over $200 million in stock

    Amazon to grant new CEO Andy Jassy over $200 million in stock

    Amazon.com Inc plans to award incoming Chief Executive Andy Jassy more than $200 million in extra stock, which will pay out over 10 years, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

    Amazon will record the grant of 61,000 shares on July 5, the filing said. That’s the date Jassy succeeds Jeff Bezos in the online retailer’s first CEO transition since its founding in 1994. As of Friday’s close, those shares are worth about $214 million.

    The award’s exact value will depend on how the shares are trading when they pay out in future years, encouraging Jassy to grow a company that’s worth $1.77 trillion today. Though Amazon did not disclose the vesting schedule, its previous stock grants have not vested right away. Jassy’s base salary has been $175,000, filings show. On top of that, he has $45.3 million in previously awarded stock that is vesting this year and had $41.5 million vest in 2020.

    The annual median pay at Amazon was $29,007 last year across full, part-time and temporary employees worldwide, excluding Bezos, whose base salary was $81,840. The founder’s outsized stake in Amazon has made him the richest person in the world.

    Jassy’s vested equity was still smaller than payouts to rival CEOs in the technology industry. Microsoft Corp’s Satya Nadella had $215 million in stock vest for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, on top of a base salary of $2.5 million, for instance. Apple Inc’s Tim Cook had $281.9 million in stock vest, according to its 2021 proxy.

    Source: Reuters

  • Japan’s SoftBank invests $200 million in largest crypto exchange of Brazil

    Japan’s SoftBank invests $200 million in largest crypto exchange of Brazil

    Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has invested $200 million in Mercado Bitcoin, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America, said Roberto Dagnoni, executive chairman and chief executive officer of 2TM Group, the trading platform’s parent company.

    The investment, raised in a Series B funding round, was made through SoftBank Latin America Fund and represents the Japanese multinational company’s largest investment in a Latin American crypto company. As a result of the investment, 2TM said its valuation reached $2.1 billion.

    The SoftBank capital raise comes at a time when investor sentiment on cryptocurrencies has soured amid regulatory crackdowns in China, Britain and Japan. That has led to outflows from crypto investment products and funds the last few weeks.

    Dagnoni, however, was unfazed by the current slump in cryptocurrencies. “We are strong believers in the fundamentals of crypto,” Dagnoni told Reuters in a phone interview.

    Mercado Bitcoin will use the funds to scale its operations, expand offerings, and invest in infrastructure to meet rising demand for crypto in the region, 2TM said in a statement. “The platform is quite integrated. So custody is very important in releasing the power of the institutional market,” Dagnoni said in the interview.

                    Source: Reuters

  • Life could exist in clouds of Jupiter, not Venus: Research

    Life could exist in clouds of Jupiter, not Venus: Research

    New Delhi (TIP): Jupiter’s clouds have water conditions that would allow earth-like life to exist, but this isn’t possible in Venus’ clouds, according to the groundbreaking finding of research led by Queen’s University Belfast scientists.

    For some decades, space exploration missions have looked for evidence of life beyond earth where we know that large bodies of water, such as lakes or oceans, exist or have previously existed.

    However, the new research shows that it isn’t the quantity of water that matters for making life viable, but the effective concentration of water molecules — known as ‘water activity’.

    The new study also found that research published by an independent team of scientists last year, claiming that the phosphine gas in Venus’ atmosphere indicates possible life in the sulphuric acid clouds of Venus, is not plausible.

    Through this innovative research project, Dr John E. Hallsworth from the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s and his team of international collaborators devised a method to determine the water activity of atmospheres of a planet.

    Using their approach to study the sulphuric acid clouds of Venus, the researchers found that the water activity was more than a hundred times below the lower limit at which life can exist on earth.

    The research also shows that Jupiter’s clouds have a high enough concentration of water, as well as the correct temperature, for life to exist there. The study has been published in Nature Astronomy.

    Hallsworth said: “Our research shows that the sulphuric acid clouds in Venus have too little water for active life to exist, based on what we know of life on earth. We have also found that the conditions of water and temperature within Jupiter’s clouds could allow microbial-type life to subsist, assuming that other requirements such as nutrients are present.

    “This is a timely finding given that NASA and the European Space Agency just announced three missions to Venus in the coming years. One of these will take measurements of Venus’s atmosphere that we will be able to compare with our findings.”

    Co-author of the report, an expert on physics and chemical biology of water, Dr Philip Ball, commented: “The search for extraterrestrial life has sometimes been a bit simplistic in its attitude to water. As our work shows, it’s not enough to say that liquid water equates with habitability. We’ve got to think too about how earth-like organisms actually use it — which shows us that we then have to ask how much of the water is actually available for those biological uses.”

    Co-author of the report, NASA-based planetary scientist Prof. Christopher P. McKay, said: “We derive water activity of atmospheres without a model of any sort, based only on direct observations of pressure, temperature, and water concentration.”

    Hallsworth added: “We have also performed calculations for Mars and earth and show that these calculations can be done for planets outside our solar system. While our research doesn’t claim that alien (microbial-type) life does exist on other planets in our solar system, it shows that if the water activity and other conditions are right, then such life could exist in places where we haven’t previously been looking.”         Source: IANS

  • Massive comet moving towards sun, and will be visible from Earth in 2031

    Massive comet moving towards sun, and will be visible from Earth in 2031

    A never-before-seen comet has been observed in our solar system. The comet reportedly hails from the Oort Cloud which is believed to be one the most distant region in our solar system. At first scientists noticed the comet as a tiny, moving dot in archival images which were obtained from the Dark Energy Camera at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The comet has now been named as Comet C/2014 UN271, or Bernardinelli-Bernstein named after its discoverers, University of Pennsylvania graduate student Pedro Bernardinelli and astronomer Gary Bernstein. According to calculations by Pedro Bernardinelli, the comet’s dusty, icy nucleus is between 62 and 125 miles long.

    The comet is speculated to be 62 miles (100 kilometers) wide. The comet is speculated to reach its closest point to the sun in its orbit on Jan 23, 2031. It is also at this point that those with a good telescope will be able to view it from Earth, according to reports. At this point, it will be just beyond the orbit of Saturn, which is about 10.95 times the distance between Earth and the sun.

    “We will have practically 20 years to study it,” Peter Vereš, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, said.

    The Comet had first made its appearance in the 2014 archives of the Dark Energy Camera.

  • YouTube TV ‘4K Plus’ tier brings 4K streaming

    YouTube TV ‘4K Plus’ tier brings 4K streaming

    San Francisco (TIP): Google-owned video-streaming giant YouTube TV is introducing a new add-on that introduces 4K quality, downloads and unlimited simultaneous streaming on a home network to the Google live TV subscription service. The “4K Plus” add-on, which costs $19.99 a month extra, will allow viewers to stream 4K content on YouTube TV for the first time. That’s assuming that they have a compatible TV and streaming device, such as an Apple TV 4K.

    In addition, the add-on allows users to download recorded shows to watch offline on their phone or tablet, AppleInsider reported. It also introduces unlimited streaming on a user’s home Wi-Fi network. The standard YouTube TV subscription only allows three streams simultaneously.

    Along with the announcement of 4K Plus, YouTube also previewed other new features and changes, such as an option to join various segments within a sports program and the ability to easily search for and add sports to a DVR.

    For all YouTube TV users, the company is adding Dolby 5.1 audio capabilities.

    The feature will begin rolling out to select devices “over the coming weeks,” YouTube said.

    Although the add-on will cost $19.99 a month, YouTube is running a special promotion that will bring the price down to $9.99 a month for one year. Users can also net a one-month free trial of 4K Plus.

                    Source: IANS

  • Facebook launches ‘Bulletin’ for independent writers

    With an aim to promote independent writers, Facebook has announced a set of publishing and subscription tools—Bulletin—to support these creators in the US. The tech giant said that Bulletin will include support focused on content creation, monetisation and audience growth.

    “The popularity of our local Groups and Pages has shown us that people are hungry for locally-relevant, longer-form content produced by expert and authoritative voices,” the company said in a statement.

    “Through Bulletin, we want to make Facebook a better place for these creators, and unify our existing tools with something that could more directly support great writing and audio content—from podcasts to Live Audio Rooms—all in one place,” it added.

    Each Bulletin creator will have a standalone website under their brand and will be able to customise their publication’s name, logo and colour palette.

    Creators can also customise their articles with multi-media embeds and other styling options.

  • Can white blood cells help kill Covid-19 virus?

    Can white blood cells help kill Covid-19 virus?

    Toronto (TIP): Immunologists have discovered a previously unknown mechanism of a type of white blood cells, which acts like a spider web, trapping and killing pathogens such as influenza or SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19.

    The researchers, from McMaster University in Canada, have found that neutrophils — the most abundant white blood cells in the human body — explode when they bind to such pathogens coated in antibodies and release DNA outside of the cell, creating a sticky tangle which acts as a trap.

    The findings, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, are significant because little is understood about how antibodies neutralise viruses in the respiratory tract.

    The discovery also has implications for vaccine design and delivery, including aerosol and nasal spray technologies that could help the body head off infections before they have a chance to take hold, the researchers said.

    “Vaccines can produce these antibodies that are present in our lungs, which are the first type of antibody to see viruses like flu or Covid-19, which infect our lungs and respiratory tracts,” says the study’s lead author Matthew Miller, Associate Professor at McMaster’s Michael G DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research.

    “Mechanisms that can stop the infection at the site where it enters our body can prevent the spread and serious complications,” he added.

    By comparison, injectable vaccines are designed to bolster antibodies in the blood, but those antibodies are not as prevalent at the sites where infection begins.

    “We should be thinking carefully about next generation Covid-19 vaccines that could be administered in the respiratory tract to stimulate antibodies,” said lead author Hannah Stacey, a graduate student in the Miller’s Lab.

    “If you want a lot of these antibodies that are really abundant in blood, then injections make the most sense, but if you want antibodies that are abundant in the respiratory tract, then a spray or an aerosol makes sense,” she noted.                 Source: IANS

  • Things you should never say during a fight with your partner

    Things you should never say during a fight with your partner

    Little disagreements or loud fights – they’re all a part of long-term relationships. And once you’ve been in enough fights, you learn a thing or two about what is acceptable to say and what is completely out of line. Many of them are easy to point out – you can just reverse the situation and imagine what it would feel like if he said the same hurtful things to you. Seems perfectly reasonable in theory, but it’s easy for all of that to go out of the window in the heat of the moment. Let us help you with some of the worst things that you could possibly say during a fight with your partner.

    ‘You’re pathetic’

    When you reach the point of almost throwing insults at each other, you know that it’s time to pause, take a deep breath, and come up with another way to tackle the situation. It doesn’t matter if you think the other person deserves it or not – it’s a painful thing to hear and guaranteed to make the other person withdraw and shut down. Or worse, double down with worse things that might seriously wound you. The problem with insults is also that they’re a slippery slope. How do you decide that ‘this’ is okay, but ‘that’ is too much? Keep the respect, always.

    ‘We should break up’

    Making major decisions when you’re vulnerable and feeling too many things at the same time is never a good idea. Even if you’ve been wondering where the relationship is going, in the middle of a fight is not the time to call it quits. It seals the fate of your relationship in a minute – your partner will never feel comfortable with you if they think that you’ll run away at the first sign of trouble.

    ‘You always do this’

    Every fight is different, even if just by a little. If you say this, you’re essentially bringing up all of those older fights that you both had eventually resolved. This just goes on to make the fight about so many other things that were in the past – but, are not anymore. If your aim is to resolve a fight and come to a solution both can live with, this is not going to help in the slightest.

    ‘You won’t understand’

    This is just a way of dismissing your partner and making them feel like they are not good enough – as they clearly can’t understand how you’re feeling. We get it: sometimes when you’re hurting yourself, it’s difficult to be rational and think things through before saying them. Saying “you won’t understand” too often during fights will only make your partner give up without even trying. And that’s counter-intuitive, to say the least. Ending a fight on this note means you can’t be bothered enough to try and make the other person understand… That you’re giving up, not only on them, but on the relationship too, by constantly saying this to them.

  • Punjabi dry daal

    Punjabi dry daal

    Ingredients

    –              1 cup Urad daal (white lentil)

    –              2 chopped onions

    –              1 chopped tomato

    –              2 tiny green chillis (you can add more if you like your food spicy)

    –              1 teaspoon chopped ginger – garlic

    –              Oil

    –              Turmeric, Salt, Coriander powder

    –              Garam Masala powder

    Method

    –              Since the daal takes more time to get cooked, you need to soak daal for 6 hours before getting on to the gas burner.

    –              Heat oil in a cooker and add chopped ginger and garlic. As they turn golden, add the onions.

    –              Keep the flame on medium so that the flavours get enough time to diffuse into the oil. Fry onions till golden brown and then add chillis and the juicy red tomatoes.

    –              Saute the ingredients till they are cooked and then add the soaked daal. Mix the ingredients and add salt, turmeric, coriander powder and garam masala powder.

    –              Add 1/4th cup of water and pressure cook for 5 mins on high flame. We need to wait only for the first whistle and we are done.

    –              Serve the daal topped with coriander leaves and a green chilli cut into halves. You can also try your hand at the tomato flower – this will add colour as well as exquisite look to your dish. Serve along with crispy papads and mango pickle.

  • Vanessa Kirby to star with Hugh Jackman in Oscar winner The Father’s follow up

    Vanessa Kirby to star with Hugh Jackman in Oscar winner The Father’s follow up

    Actor Vanessa Kirby has been tapped to play a pivotal role in The Son, filmmaker Florian Zeller’s follow up to his feature directorial debut The Father.

    According to Variety, the movie also features Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern.

    Like The Father, The Son has been adapted by Florian and Christopher Hampton, from Florian’s critically-acclaimed stage play. The duo recently won the best adapted screenplay Oscar.

    The Son centres on Peter (Hugh) as his busy life with new partner Emma (Vanessa Kirby) and their baby is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate (Laura) turns up with their teenage son, Nicholas. “The young man is troubled, distant and angry, playing truant from school for months. Peter strives to be a better father, searching to help his son with those intimate and instinctive moments of family happiness. But the weight of Nicholas’ condition sets the family on a dangerous course,” the plotline reads.

    Iain Canning and Emile Sherman are producing the movie along with Joanna Laurie of See-Saw Films and Christophe Spadone. Florian is also producing.

                    Source: PTI

  • Gal Gadot welcomes third daughter Daniella

    Gal Gadot welcomes third daughter Daniella

    Wonder Woman actor Gal Gadot on Tuesday shared that she has welcomed her third daughter with husband Jaron Varsano and has named the newborn Daniella. Gal announced the happy news with a family portrait featuring the new member along with her husband Jaron Varsano and their daughters, 3-year-old Maya and 9-year-old Alma, on Instagram, and wrote, “My sweet family… I couldn’t be more grateful and happy (and tired) we are all so excited to welcome Daniella into our family. I’m sending all of you love and health.” Jaron also shared the happy news on his Instagram handle and wrote, “And now we are So happy and grateful. My dear wife is a lioness!! So thankful and humbled by your powers.” The couple married in 2008.

  • Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor to feature in thriller ‘I Heart Murder’

    Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor to feature in thriller ‘I Heart Murder’

    Phoebe Dynevor, who will reprise her role of Daphne Bridgerton in the second season of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, will star in a film called I Heart Murder for Sony Pictures. Bridgerton breakout star Phoebe Dynevor is set to headline the feature I Heart Murder, a thriller from Sony Pictures.

    Sources told Deadline that Phoebe Dynevor will star in the film to be directed by Matt Spicer, known for Ingrid Goes West. Matt Spicer has co-written the screenplay with Tom O’Donnell.

    Academy Award winner Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher’s Red Wagon Entertainment will produce the film which is billed as a female-driven thriller. Maia Eyre is overseeing for the studio. Other details on the plot are currently under wraps.

    Phoebe will next reprise her role of Daphne Bridgerton in the second season of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, which is currently in production.

    The actor also recently completed filming Sky Cinema’s Original movie The Colour Room, opposite Matthew Goode.

                    Source: PTI

  • Mandira Bedi’s filmmaker husband Raj Kaushal dies after cardiac arrest

    Filmmaker Raj Kaushal, who made movies such as Pyaar Mein Kabhie Kabhie (1999), Shaadi Ka Ladoo (2004) and Anthony Kaun Hai (2006), died on Wednesday morning after a heart attack.

    Kaushal was 49. He is survived by his wife, actor and TV presenter Mandira Bedi and two children.

    His last rites were held at the Shivaji Ground crematorium. Among those who attended the funeral were actors Rohit Roy, Ashish Chaudhari and Samir Soni.

    Kaushal entered the Hindi film industry with a background in ad copywriting and soon worked as an assistant director with Subhash Ghai and Mukul Anand on films. In the meantime, he also set up his production venture and went on to produce and direct hundreds of ad films with brands such as Nestle, Surf and Hero Honda.

    Kaushal also produced My Brother…Nikhil (2005) directed by his close friend Onir. The film was one of the first mainstream films in India to talk about AIDS and HIV and was based on the life of Dominic D’Souza — an Indian gay rights activist based in Goa.

  • Ananya launches ‘Social Media For Social Good’ campaign

    Ananya launches ‘Social Media For Social Good’ campaign

    Two years ago, Ananya Panday launched ‘So Positive’, an initiative that took into cognisance cyber-bullying and the gravitas of it and today, the actress has launched ‘Social Media For Social Good’. This campaign focuses more on the importance of keeping social platforms positive and healthy.

    Panday wrote on Instagram, “We often talk about the negative side of social media – the bullying, trolling and hatred. During the pandemic, I saw the power of people on social media- the humanity. Strangers helping strangers, sharing resources and information, saving lives. It reinforced my belief in kindness, compassion and empathy. ‘Social media for Social good’ is a series in which I’m going to be talking to some of the ‘Heroes’ of social media who have used it positively and constructively for the good of society! Social media can be a kinder place – let’s all do our part in making sure that happens! @sopositivedsr #SocialMediaForSocialGood.”

  • Govt rushes teams to six states with 36% Covid cases

    Govt rushes teams to six states with 36% Covid cases

    New Delhi (TIP): The Indian government has rushed expert teams to six states showing an increase in Covid-19 cases of late, the health ministry said on Friday, and top officials reiterated warnings that the second wave has not receded fully and that states must bring back restrictions if infection or hospitalisation trends cross certain thresholds.

    The warnings come at a time when cities have recorded increased rush at markets and places of business as lockdowns are lifted. Friday’s announcements identified six states where “localised” pockets are causing concern: Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Manipur.

    The six states together accounted for, on average, 36% of the daily cases seen across the country over the seven days to Thursday, with Kerala alone accounting for 26%, or 11,815new infections a day. The seven-day daily case numbers of the other five states are: Arunachal (279 cases a day), Tripura (389), Odisha (3,184), Chhattisgarh (357), and Manipur (590). As of Thursday night, these six states also accounted for 29% of the 516,378 active cases in the country.

    “There are 71 districts that are showing a test positivity rate of over 10%… The second wave is still not over,” said Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary, Union health ministry, at a press briefing on Covid-19 on Friday, July 2.

    The official added that states have been asked to identify locations where the test positivity rate is above 10% or hospital occupancy is higher than 60%, and implement strict restrictions which should be in place for at least two weeks.

    Aggarwal’s caution was echoed by Niti Aayog member (Health) VK Paul, who said that outbreaks must now be nipped as soon as possible. “There still are certain problematic districts that are being closely monitored. Expert teams of the health ministry have been deployed in some of these states such as Kerala, Odisha, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, etc. The pockets of outbreak that are currently visible, those need to be nipped right there as these are in localised pockets at the moment. We do not allow it to spread further,” he said.

    The teams sent to each state comprise two members – a clinician and a public health expert. They will assess the overall management of Covid-19, particularly testing, surveillance and containment operations, and monitor the enforcement of Covid-safe behaviour among the public.

    The teams will also assess the Covid-19 vaccination speed and as a whole, suggest remedial actions, the health ministry said.

    An analysis of case numbers from the six states identified by the government suggest that as a whole, most of these regions are not particularly logging a resurgence, but that the problem may be in particular districts.

    According to the University of Michigan-led COV-IND-19 Study Group, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland (not identified as one of the six states), have an effective reproduction number (R) of more than 1 – which suggests the outbreak in these regions is growing. No other state reported an R number above 1. Kerala and Maharashtra have an effective R number of 0.97 and 0.96, but the latter has recorded a consistently high test positivity rate of around 10% — this proportion should be below 5% for an outbreak to be considered under control.

    Officials said that of particular concern were some pockets in the northeastern states. “Certain north-eastern states are showing increase in case load and containment is important in these states as there are many hard to reach areas in these states where health care delivery system is not as strong. Therefore, it is important to stop the spread before it grows beyond control,” said a senior central government official, who asked not to be named.

    Paul said close monitoring is crucial at this stage and the country “cannot lower its guard”. “As we are seeing in Europe right now, the disease transmission has started growing again, with cases having dropped to 50 per million at one point, which is now almost double… It is in our control to ensure India doesn’t see the third wave,” he said.

  • Bank fraud: ED attaches assets of Ahmed Patel’s son-in-law, Dino Morea

    New Delhi (TIP): The Enforcement Directorate on Friday, June 2, said it has attached assets of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel’s son-in-law, actors Dino Morea and Sanjay Khan and DJ Aqeel in a criminal investigation into a money laundering case linked to an alleged bank fraud. The case involves a Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company called Sterling Biotech group and its absconding main promoter brothers, Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara.

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that this is a bigger bank scam in volume than that of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud by fugitive diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, as it involves fraud to the tune of about Rs 16,000 crore.

    A consortium of banks led by Andhra Bank were alleged to have been duped, it said. The amount involved in the PNB case is pegged at about Rs 13,400 crore.

    The federal probe agency said four separate provisional orders were issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the assets of the four people which are worth a total Rs 8.79 crore.

    Out of this, the value of attachment of assets for Khan is Rs 3 crore, for Dino Morea it is Rs 1.4 crore, for Aqeel Abdulkhalil Bachooali, popularly known as DJ Aqeel, it is Rs 1.98 crore and for Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui, who is Patel’s son-in-law, it is Rs 2.41 crore, the central probe agency said in a statement.

    It added that the attached properties include three vehicles, several bank accounts, shares and mutual fund.

    Siddiqui, Morea (45) and Aqeel (44) have been questioned by the agency in the past in this case. The ED had recorded the statement of Sunil Yadav, an employee of the Sandesara family, where he told the agency that Siddiqui “occupied” a house in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar, which reportedly belonged to Chetan Sandesara.

    The agency had then said that it has evidence to say that Morea and Aqeel were paid some money in an alleged unauthorised manner by the Gujarat-based pharmaceutical group between 2011-12 when they reportedly attended some family events organised by the Sandesara brothers. While Morea, also a model, has worked in a number of Hindi films, Aqeel is a popular DJ. Aqeel is married to the eldest daughter of veteran actor and director Sanjay Khan (80). Late Ahmed Patel and his son Faisal were also questioned and their statement was recorded by the ED last year in July in this case.

    Patel, after the fourth round of questioning, had told reporters that the ED action was “political vendetta and harassment against me and my family and I do not know under whose pressure they (investigators) are working.”

    He died on November 25 last year at the age of 71 resulting from complications linked to Covid. The ED statement linked the four to the Sandesara family.

    “Investigation by ED revealed that Sandesaras’ diverted proceeds of crime of Rs 3 crore, Rs 1.4 crore, Rs 12.54 crore and Rs 3.51 crore to Sanjay Khan, Dino Morea, Aqeel Bachooali and  Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui respectively,” it alleged.

  • Rafale deal: French judge to probe corruption allegations in sale to India

    Rafale deal: French judge to probe corruption allegations in sale to India

    New Delhi (TIP): A French judge has been appointed to lead a judicial probe into the alleged “corruption and favouritism” in the 7.8 billion euros (approx Rs 59,000 crore) worth Rafael deal with India for the sale of 36 Dassault-built fighter jets. The financial crimes branch of the French public prosecution services (PNF) has said that the investigation will look into allegations of corruption and favouritism in the pact for 36 fighter planes between the Indian government and French aircraft manufacturer Dassault. French publication Mediapart on Friday, July 2,  reported that the criminal investigation, formally opened on June 14, will be led by an independent magistrate “who will, among other elements, examine questions surrounding the actions of former French president François Hollande. “The highly sensitive probe into the inter-governmental deal signed in 2016 was formally opened on June 14, Mediapart reported.

    Former French president Hollande was in office when the Rafale deal was inked, and current French president Emmanuel Macron, who was at the time Holllande’s economy and finance minister.

    The development came following a series of investigations done by Mediapart and a subsequent complaint filed by the French NGO Sherpa. A similar complaint filed earlier by Sherpa was rejected by the PNF in 2018.

    Source: India Today

  • Era ends, war looms as US forces quit main base in Afghanistan

    Kabul (TIP): American troops pulled out of their main military base in Afghanistan on July 2, leaving behind a piece of the World Trade Center they buried 20 years ago in a country that the top US commander has warned may descend into civil war without them.

    “All American soldiers and members of NATO forces have left the Bagram air base,” said a senior US security official on condition of anonymity.

    Though a few more troops have yet to withdraw from another base in the capital Kabul in coming days, the Bagram pullout brings to an effective end the longest war in American history.

    The base, an hour’s drive north of Kabul, was where the US military has coordinated its air war and logistical support for its entire Afghan mission. The Taliban thanked them for leaving.

    “We consider this withdrawal a positive step. Afghans can get closer to stability and peace with the full withdrawal of foreign forces,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters.

    It was here, on a bullet-ridden Soviet-built air strip on an irrigated plain surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Hindu Kush, that New York City firefighters and police were flown to bury a piece of the World Trade Center in December, 2001, days after the Taliban were toppled for harbouring Osama bin Laden.

    It was also here that the CIA ran a “black site” detention centre for terrorism suspects and subjected them to abuse that President Barack Obama subsequently acknowledged as torture.

    Later it swelled into a sprawling fortified city for a huge international military force, with fast food joints, gyms and a cafe serving something called “the mother of all coffees”. Two runways perpetually roared. Presidents flew in and gave speeches; celebrities came and told jokes.

    An Afghan official said the base would be officially handed over to the government at a ceremony on Saturday.

    The U.S. defence official said General Austin Miller, the top U.S commander in Afghanistan “still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the force” stationed in the capital, Kabul.

    Earlier this week, Miller told journalists in Kabul that civil war for Afghanistan was “certainly a path that can be visualised”, with Taliban fighters sweeping into districts around the country in recent weeks as foreign troops flew home.

    Two other U.S. security officials said this week the majority of U.S. military personnel would most likely be gone by July 4, with a residual force remaining to protect the embassy.

    That would be more than two months ahead of the timetable set by Biden, who had promised they would be home by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attack that brought them here.

    Washington agreed to withdraw in a deal negotiated last year with the Taliban under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, and Biden rejected advice from generals to hang on until a political agreement could be reached between the insurgents and the U.S.-backed Kabul government of President Ashraf Ghani.

    “MANAGE THE CONSEQUENCES”

    Last week, Ghani visited Washington. Biden told him: “Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want”. Ghani said his job was now to “manage the consequences” of the U.S. withdrawal.  (Reuters)

  • Pak court lifts ban on Chinese short video-sharing platform TikTok

    Pak court lifts ban on Chinese short video-sharing platform TikTok

    Islamabad (TIP): A top Pakistani court on July 2 withdrew its earlier decision to ban the popular Chinese short video-sharing platform TikTok for spreading immorality in the country.

    The Sindh High Court (SHC) on June 28 had asked the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the telecom regulator, to suspend the TikTok app on the complaint by a citizen regarding “immorality and obscenity” on the mobile app.

    During a hearing on Friday, the PTA informed that access to the app was already blocked by it but it also requested the court to review its decision and allow it to restore the services.

    The high court accepted the plea to lift the ban but it asked the PTA to expedite the process on the petitioner’s request and issue a ruling by July 5.

    PTA representatives assured the court that the appeal, seeking removal of ‘objectionable content’, will be decided upon by the court by the given date.

    The court adjourned to meet again on Monday when the PTA would share the decision it made to address the concern of the petitioner so that indecent content on the app were not uploaded.

    It was for the second time that the app has been banned this year after its suspension in March by the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which had taken action on a petition filed by several citizens.

    However, the PHC after a few weeks lifted the ban by asking the PTA to take measures so that no “immoral content” was uploaded. Last year in October, the PTA for the first time banned TikTok after receiving complaints regarding indecent and immoral content but lifted the ban after just 10 days.

    Then the app assured the PTA that it would operate as per local laws to ensure that no indecent content was uploaded. (PTI )

  • China building over 100 new silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles: Report

    China building over 100 new silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles: Report

    Beijing (TIP): China has begun construction of over 100 new silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles in a desert near the country’s northwestern city of Yumen, signalling a major expansion of its nuclear capabilities, a leading American daily has reported citing satellite imagery. The silo construction project could provide China—which celebrated its 100th anniversary on Thursday at the Tiananmen Square—a means of concealing its nuclear weapons, The Washington Post reported on July 1. The 119 nearly identical construction sites, that could potentially house powerful weapons capable of reaching the American mainland, are similar to those seen at existing launch facilities for China’s arsenal of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, the report said.

    It said that commercial satellite images obtained by researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California show work underway at scores of sites across a grid covering hundreds of square miles of arid terrain in Gansu province, some 2,100 km from Beijing. The acquisition of over 100 new missile silos, if completed, would represent a historic shift for China, a country that is believed to possess a stockpile of 250 to 350 nuclear weapons, the report said.

    The actual number of new missiles intended for those silos is unknown but could be much smaller. China has deployed decoy silos in the past.

    The construction suggests a major effort to bolster the credibility of China’s nuclear deterrent, said researcher Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on China’s nuclear arsenal and part of a team that analysed the suspicious sites, first spotted by colleague Decker Eveleth as he scoured photos taken by commercial satellites over northwestern China.

    Lewis described the scale of the building spree as “incredible.”  “If the silos under construction at other sites across China are added to the count, the total comes to about 145 silos under construction,” Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said in a summary of his findings provided to The Washington Post.

    “We believe China is expanding its nuclear forces in part to maintain a deterrent that can survive a US first strike in sufficient numbers to defeat US missile defences,” he said.

    The discovery of over 100 silos follows recent warnings by Pentagon officials about China’s rapid advances in nuclear capability.

    Admiral Charles Richard, who commands US nuclear forces, said during a congressional hearing in April that a “breathtaking expansion” was underway in China, including an expanding arsenal of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBMs) and new mobile missile launchers that can be easily hidden from satellites.

    Lewis said the silos are probably intended for a Chinese ICBM known as the DF-41, which can carry multiple warheads and reach targets as far away as 9,300 miles, potentially putting the US mainland within its reach.

    Major excavation work on the sites began early this year, although preparations were probably underway for months, Lewis said.

    Emails and faxes seeking comment from China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not receive a response, the Washington Post noted.

    (PTI)

  • World takes note of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ‘blood and steel wall’ speech

    World takes note of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ‘blood and steel wall’ speech

    Beijing (TIP): Led by the US, the international community has taken note of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s strident message on July 1 foreign coercion, but is likely to come out with reasoned reactions later due to time difference issues.

    The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not touch on the issue during its media briefing on Friday but said the Government did not send any greeting on the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China because the event was not a government matter.

    Asked whether US Secretary of State Tony Blinken had paid attention to President Xi Jinping’s address which used aggressive language towards the West like “heads bashed against the bloody great wall of steel’’, State Department spokesperson Ned Price admitted that the US has taken note of the remarks. “But we’re not going to comment on the specifics,’’ he said.

    The Biden administration, in the months it has been at the helm, “has been very clear about our impressions of the CCP in general, but I don’t have a specific response for you on President Xi’s remarks today,’’ he added.

    Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reacted by stating that Xi was serious about ‘bashing heads bloody’ and called on Biden to strengthen policies.

    Addressing over seven lakh people on Thursday at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to mark the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th birthday, Xi made several exhortations calls to rouse patriotic passions but the line about foreign forces trying to bully China crashing into “a great wall of steel’’ was the biggest takeaway for international observers.

    The debate in the global community was over the translation of the message that was delivered in unmistakably militaristic tones using a very strong choice of words.

    Taiwan, which was at the receiving end of one of the remarks, chose to react instantaneously by pointing out that its core principles were “democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law’’ which is a “major institutional difference from the other side of the strait.’’

    Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was the sole US Cabinet Minister to respond but she focused on the business and trade aspects. “We’ll do everything we can to make sure that our US companies are treated fairly and are able to have access to the Chinese market,” she said. (TNS)