Month: November 2020

Actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra on Monday treated fans to an adorable glimpse of son Viaan Raj Kundra and daughter Samisha Shetty Kundra’s first Bhai Dooj celebration.

The ‘Dhadkan’ star took to Instagram and shared an extremely cute video, capturing the sweet moment between the siblings. In the clip, Shilpa is seen holding her little munchkin Samisha in her lap as she performs aarti for son Viaan on behalf of his sister.

Following that, the brother and sister hug each other. All of them are seen dressed in white.The ‘Apne’ star captioned the post as, “The 2 parts of our hearts. Viaan-Raj & Samisha celebrating their first #BhaiDooj.”

Shilpa also penned down a sweet note of gratitude, “Hearts full of gratitude because my little boy’s dream for a li’l sister has come true. His happiness today is so evident in his radiant smile. Thank you, Universe @TheRajKundra. #BhaiDooj #ViaanRajKundra #SamishaShettyKundra #gratitude #brothersister #family #blessed #siblings.”

Bhai Dooj, the festival of a symbol of brother-sister love is being celebrated all over the country today.On this day, sisters pray for their brothers to have long and happy lives by performing Tika ceremony and brothers offer gifts to their sisters.

Bhaiya Dooj is also known as Bhau Beej and Bhathru Dwithiya. As per Hindu traditions, it is believed that Goddess Yamuna fed her brother Yamraj on Kartik Dwitiya at her own home. Since then this day is known as Yama Dwitiya. (ANI)

Singer and actor Jennifer Lopez on Sunday (local time) took home the People’s Icon of 2020 at the E! People’s Choice Award (PCA), which honours fan favourites across television, film, music and social media.

The awards aired live on November 15 on E!

Ariana Grande was honoured with the ‘The Female Artist of 2020’ trumping other nominees Cardi B, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. Meanwhile, Justin Bieber took home ‘The Male Artist of 2020’ trouncing competitors Bad Bunny, Blake Shelton, DaBaby, Drake, J Balvin, Lil Baby and The Weeknd.

Tyler Perry bagged the People’s Champion Award and Tracee Elliss Ross accepted the Fashion Icon Award.

The award show is the only one where the winners are chosen by people. It discerned more than one billion votes this year and was hosted by Demi Lovato at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.

Here’s the complete list for People’s Choice Awards 2020 nominees and winners, who took home the trophies in all 44 categories!

People’s Champion Award WINNER: Tyler Perry

Fashion Icon Award WINNER: Tracee Ellis Ross

People’s Icon of 2019 WINNER: Jennifer Lopez

THE MOVIE OF 2020

Bad Boys for Life (Winner), Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, Extraction, Hamilton, Project Power, The Invisible Man, The Old Guard, Trolls World Tour

THE COMEDY MOVIE OF 2020

The Kissing Booth 2 (Winner), Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Like A Boss, The King of Staten Island, The Lovebirds, The Wrong Missy, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, Bill & Ted Face the Music

THE ACTION MOVIE OF 2020

Mulan (Winner), Bad Boys for Life, Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, Bloodshot, Extraction, Power Project, Tenet, The Old Guard

THE DRAMA MOVIE OF 2020

Hamilton (Winner), Dangerous Lies, Greyhound, I Still Believe, Invisible Man, The High Note, The Photograph, The Way Back

THE FAMILY MOVIE OF 2020

Onward(Winner), Dolittle, My Spy, Scoob!, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Call of the Wild, The Willoughbys, Trolls World Tour

THE MALE MOVIE STAR OF 2020

Will Smith- Bad Boys for Life (Winner), Chris Hemsworth for Extraction, Jamie Foxx for Project Power, Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton, Mark Wahlberg for Spenser Confidential, Robert Downey Jr. for Dolittle, Tom Hanks for Greyhound, Vin Diesel for Bloodshot

THE FEMALE MOVIE STAR OF 2020

Tiffany Haddish- Like A Boss(Winner), Camila Mendes for Dangerous Lies, Charlize Theron for The Old Guard, Elisabeth Moss for The Invisible Man, Issa Rae for The Lovebirds, Margot Robbie for Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, Salma Hayek for Like a Boss, Vanessa Hudgens for Bad Boys for Life

THE COMEDY MOVIE STAR OF 2020

Joey King for The Kissing Booth 2 (Winner), David Spade for The Wrong Missy, Issa Rae for The Lovebirds, Keanu Reeves for Bill & Ted Face the Music, Noah Centineo for To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, Pete Davidson for The King of Staten Island, Salma Haye for Like a Boss, Will Ferrell for Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

THE ACTION MOVIE STAR OF 2020

Chris Hemsworth for Extraction (Winner), Charlize Theron for The Old Guard, Jamie Foxx for Project Power, John David Washington for Tenet, Margot Robbie for Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, Vanessa Hudgens for Bad Boys for Life, Vin Diesel for Bloodshot, Will Smith for Bad Boys for Life

THE DRAMA MOVIE STAR OF 2020

Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton (Winner), Ben Affleck for The Way Back, Elisabeth Moss for The Invisible Man, Issa Rae for The Photograph, KJ Apa for I Still Believe, Russell Crowe for Unhinged, Tom Hanks for Greyhound, Tracee Ellis Ross for The High Note

FOR TV

THE SHOW OF 2020

Grey’s Anatomy(Winner), Never Have I Ever, Outer Banks, The Bachelor, The Last Dance, The Masked Singer, This Is Us, Tiger King

THE DRAMA SHOW OF 2020

Riverdale (Winner), Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order: SVU, Outer Banks, Ozark, Power, The Walking Dead, This Is Us

THE COMEDY SHOW OF 2020

Never Have I Ever (Winner), Dead To Me, Grown-ish, Insecure, Modern Family, Saturday Night Live, Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place

THE REALITY SHOW OF 2020

Keeping Up with the Kardashians(Winner), 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?, Below Deck Mediterranean, Love & Hip Hop: New York, Love Is Blind, Queer Eye, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

THE COMPETITION SHOW OF 2020

The Voice (Winner), American Idol, America’s Got Talent, Top Chef, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Bachelor, The Challenge: Total Madness, The Masked Singer

THE MALE TV STAR OF 2020

Cole Sprouse for Riverdale (Winner), Chase Stokes for Outer Banks, Dan Levy for Schitt’s Creek, Jason Bateman for Ozark, Jesse Williams for Grey’s Anatomy, Norman Reedus for The Walking Dead, Sterling K. Brown for This Is Us, Steve Carell for Space Force

THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2020

Ellen Pompeo for Grey’s Anatomy (Winner),Christina Applegate for Dead To Me, Danai Gurira for The Walking Dead, Lili Reinhart for Riverdale, Mandy Moore for This Is Us, Mariska Hargitay for Law & Order: SVU, Sandra Oh for Killing Eve, Sofia Vergara for Modern Family

THE DRAMA TV STAR OF 2020

Mandy Moore for This Is Us (Winner), Cole Sprouse for Riverdale, Chase Stokes for Outer Banks, Danai Gurira for The Walking Dead, Ellen Pompeo for Grey’s Anatomy, Sandra Oh for Killing Eve, Sterling K. Brown for This Is Us

THE COMEDY TV STAR OF 2020

Sofia Vergara for Modern Family (Winner), Christina Applegate for Dead To Me, Dan Levy for Schitt’s Creek, Issa Rae for Insecure, Jameela Jamil for The Good Place, Kate McKinnon for SNL, Kristen Bell for The Good Place, Yara Shahidi for Grown-ish

THE DAYTIME TALK SHOW OF 2020

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Winner), Good Morning America, Live With Kelly & Ryan, Red Table Talk, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The View, The Wendy Williams Show, Today

THE NIGHTTIME TALK SHOW OF 2020

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Winner),Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

THE COMPETITION CONTESTANT OF 2020

Gigi Goode for RuPaul’s Drag Race (Winner),Hannah Ann Sluss for The Bachelor, Jaida Essence Hall for RuPaul’s Drag Race, Just Sam for American Idol, Madison Prewett for The Bachelor, Kandi Burruss for The Masked Singer, Rob Gronkowski for The Masked Singer, Sammie Cimarelli for The Circle

THE REALITY STAR OF 2020

Khloe Kardashian for Keeping Up with the Kardashians (Winner), Antoni Porowski for Queer Eye, Darcey and Stacey Silva for Darcey & Stacey, Jonathan Van Ness for Queer Eye, Kandi Burruss for The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kim Kardashian for Keeping Up with the Kardashians

THE BINGEWORTHY SHOW OF 2020

Outer Banks (Winners), Cheer, Love Is Blind, Never Have I Ever, Normal People, Ozark, Schitt’s Creek, Tiger King

THE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW OF 2020

Wynonna Earp (Winner), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Legacies, Locke & Key, Supergirl, Supernatural, The Flash, The Umbrella Academy

MUSIC:

THE MALE ARTIST OF 2020

Justin Bieber (Winner), Bad Bunny, Blake Shelton, DaBaby, Drake, J Balvin, Lil Baby, The Weeknd

THE FEMALE ARTIST OF 2020

Ariana Grande (Winner), Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift

THE GROUP OF 2020

BTS (Winner), 5 Seconds of Summer, BLACKPINK, Chloe X Halle, CNCO, Dan + Shay, Jonas Brothers, Twenty one pilots

THE SONG OF 2020

“Dynamite” BTS (Winner), “Break My Heart” Dua Lipa, “Intentions” Justin Bieber, “Rain On Me” Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande, “Rockstar” DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch, “Savage” Megan Thee Stallion, “Stuck With U” Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber, “WAP” Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion

THE ALBUM OF 2020

Map of the Soul: 7, BTS (Winner), After Hours by The Weeknd, High Off Life by Future, Changes by Justin Bieber, Chromatica by Lady Gaga, Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa, Folklore by Taylor Swift, YHLQMDLG by Bad Bunny

THE COUNTRY ARTIST OF 2020

Blake Shelton (Winner), Kane Brown, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett

THE LATIN ARTIST OF 2020

Becky G (Winner), Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Karol G, Maluma, Nicky Jam, Ozuna

THE NEW ARTIST OF 2020

Doja Cat (Winner), Ava Max, BENEE, Conan Gray, Jack Harlow, Roddy Ricch, Saweetie, Trevor Daniel

THE MUSIC VIDEO OF 2020

“Dynamite” by BTS (Winner), “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd, “Holy” by Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper, “Ice Cream” by BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez, “Life Is Good” by Future ft. Drake, “Rain On Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, “UN DIA” by J. Balvin, Dua Lip, Bad Bunny and Tainy, “WAP” by Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion

THE COLLABORATION OF 2020

“WAP” by Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, “Be Kind” by Marshmello & Halsey, “Holy” by Justin Bieber ft. Chance the Rapper, “Life Is Good” by Future ft. Drake, “Rain On Me” by Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande, “Rockstar” by DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch, “Savage Remix (Feat. Beyonce)” by Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyonce, “Whats Poppin Remix” by Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez & Lil Wayne

THE SOUNDTRACK SONG OF 2020

“Only The Young,” Taylor Swift, Featured in Miss Americana (Winner), “About Love” by Marina ‘To All The Boys: P.S. I Love You’, “Alexander Hamilton” Leslie Odom Jr., ‘Hamilton’, “Boss Bitch” by Doja Cat, ‘Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn’, “Loyal Brave True” by Christina Aguilera ‘Mulan’, “On Me (feat. Ava Max)” by Thomas Rhett ‘ Scoob!’, “Rare” by Selena Gomez ‘Normal People’, “The Other Side” by SZA x Justin Timberlake ‘Trolls World Tour’.

POP CULTURE

THE SOCIAL STAR OF 2020

Emma Chamberlain (Winner), Addison Rae, Charli D’ Amelio, David Dobrik, Dixie D’Amelio, JoJo Siwa, Liza Koshy, Loren Gray

THE BEAUTY INFLUENCER OF 2020

James Charles (Winner), Antonio Garza, Bretman Rock, Desi Perkins, Jackie Aina, Nikita Dragun, NIKKIETUTORIALS, RCL Beauty

THE SOCIAL CELEBRITY OF 2020

Ariana Grande (Winner), Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner, Lady Gaga, LeBron James, Selena Gomez

THE ANIMAL STAR OF 2020

Doug The Pug (Winner), Esther the Wonder Pig, Hosico, Jiffpom, Juniper the Fox, Nala Cat, Shinjiro Ono, Suki Cat,

THE COMEDY ACT OF 2020

Leslie Jones: Time Machine (Winner), 8:46- Dave Chappelle, George Lopez: We’ll Do It for Half, Hannah Gadsby: Douglas, Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill, Jo Koy: In His Elements, Pete Davidson: Alive From New York, The Pale Tourist, Jim Gaffigan

THE STYLE STAR OF 2020

Zendaya (Winner), Janelle Monae, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian West, Lady Gaga, Lil Nas X, Rihanna, Timothee Chalamet

THE GAME CHANGER OF 2020

Lebron James (Winner), Bubba Wallace, Michael Jordan, Naomi Osaka, Russell Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Serena Williams, Simone Biles

THE POP PODCAST OF 2020

Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain (Winner), Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Call Her Daddy, Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, I Weigh with Jameela Jamil, Scrubbing Inwith Becca Tilley & Tanya Rad, Staying In with Emily & Kumail, The Viall Files.

(ANI)

Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the fourth straight term on Monday afternoon after closely-fought legislative assembly elections in the state.

Notably, it is the seventh time when Nitish Kumar is being sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda attended the oath-taking ceremony of JD(U) chief as the new Chief Minister of the state. BJP’s Bihar in-charge Devendra Fadnavis also participated in the event.

Nitish Kumar’s new deputies – BJP’s Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi were also sworn in today.

The main opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) boycotted the swearing-in ceremony stating the mandate was against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In a tweet, the RJD said: “The RJD boycotts swearing-in ceremony. The mandate for change is against the NDA. The mandate has been changed on the state’s directions. Ask the unemployed, farmers, contract workers and employed teachers of Bihar what is going on with them. The public is agitated by the fraud of the NDA. We are the public’s representatives and stand with them.”

Kumar, after meeting Governor Phagu Chauhan to stake claim to form NDA government in Bihar, had on Sunday announced that the oath-taking, as well as the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet, will be held at around 4.30 pm on Monday.

The leaders of the NDA legislature party, which had secured a victory in the recently-concluded election in Bihar, had on Sunday met to deliberate on selecting a leader to lead the party. It had named Kumar as the leader of the NDA legislature party thus paving the way for his return as chief minister for the fourth consecutive term. BJP’s Tarkishore Prasad, the MLA from Bihar’s Katihar, replaced Sushil Modi as his deputy.

He had served as the Chief Minister of the state for little over seven days in March 2000, after which he was elected in 2005 when he served a full term.

He was re-elected to power in November 2010, after which he served for four years before resigning, and had again taken oath as Chief Minister in February 2015. He was voted to power in the 2015 Assembly election as part of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’.

However, after corruption allegations were levelled against his deputy Tejashwi Yadav in 2015, Nitish resigned only to be sworn in as Chief Minister merely 12 hours later joining hands with the BJP to form a government in the state.

The NDA has secured a 125-seat majority in the 243-seat strong Bihar Legislative Assembly of which BJP won on 74 seats, JD(U) on 43 while eight seats were won by two other NDA constituents. The RJD, on the other hand, emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats while the Congress only won 19 of the 70 seats it had contested on. (ANI)

The UAE’s flagship carrier Etihad Airways on Monday announced the launch of daily flights from the capital of Abu Dhabi to Israel’s Tel Aviv starting from March 28, 2021.

“The new service effective from 28 March 2021 will provide greater choice and convenience for point-to-point business and leisure travellers between the UAE and Israel. It will not only promote direct inbound tourism to Abu Dhabi, but will also give Emiratis and UAE residents the opportunity to discover Israel’s historical sites, beaches, restaurants and nightlife,” the airline said in an official statement published on its website.

Departures will be scheduled to connect through the UAE capital to key stations across the airline’s network, including China, India, Thailand and Australia, the statement read.

On October 19, Etihad became the first airline of a Gulf country to operate a direct commercial passenger flight to and from Tel Aviv.

Regular flights became possible after the UAE announced its intent to normalize relations with the Jewish state in August. In a deal brokered by the United States and signed in September, the UAE and Bahrain agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. (ANI/Sputnik)

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Executive Secretary David Lewis on Monday emphasised that the private sector is the first line of defence against money laundering and terrorist financing.

In opening remarks at the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) Summit, called V20, Lewis called on countries and businesses to take action to limit the risks of cryptocurrencies.

“VASPs can move quickly between jurisdictions. The FATF will not tolerate jurisdictions leaving loopholes in VASP regulations that criminals can exploit. We assess countries against global standards and will not shy away from identifying those who expose financial systems to risks,” FATF said Executive Secretary David Lewis.

V20 drives collaboration between government regulators and industry, to deliver a coordinated response to the updated standards proposed by the global financial watchdog FATF.

Last year’s inaugural V20 Summit was held in Osaka, Japan. (ANI)

Wishing all the brothers and sisters on the occasion of Bhai Dooj, Bollywood star Sara Ali Khan shared pictures with brother Ibrahim Ali Khan dressed in traditional attire.

The ‘Kedarnath’ star treated her fans to a couple of adorable pictures with brother Ibrahim, which reflected the lovely bond they both share. In the snap, Sara looks gorgeous dressed in blue and golden, on the other hand- Ibrahim is seen in printed Kurta – as the brother-sister duo smilingly posed for the lens.

The ‘Simmba’ actor captioned the adorable post as, “Wishing all brothers and sisters a happy Bhai Dooj.”

Sara also penned down a sweet note for her beloved sibling, and wrote, “Missing you my Iggy Potter. Can’t wait to bully you again.” (Iggy and Iggy Potter is presumably Ibrahim Ali Khan’s nickname, as his sister, Sara Ali Khan often calls him in her posts).

Bhai Dooj, the festival of a symbol of brother-sister love is being celebrated all over the country on Monday.

On this day, sisters pray for their brothers to have long and happy lives by performing Tika ceremony and brothers offer gifts to their sisters.

Bhaiya Dooj is also known as Bhau Beej and Bhathru Dwithiya. As per Hindu traditions, it is believed that Goddess Yamuna fed her brother Yamraj on Kartik Dwitiya at her own home. Since then this day is known as Yama Dwitiya. (ANI)

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday hit out at Congress and asked if the party wants the restoration of Article 370 and supports the remarks made by National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti.

Addressing a press conference, he said that the government applied various Central laws including the Prevention of Corruption Act in Jammu and Kashmir.

“People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) has declared the restoration of Article 370 as its agenda. It is contesting local body polls. There are 10 parties including National Conference and PDP and now Congress is also joining. Farooq Abdullah has no compunction in seeking the support of China for the restoration of Article 370… Mehbooba Mufti said she won’t hoist tricolour unless J&K flag is restored,” Prasad said.

“We applied Central laws to Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh… They do not want certain laws including the Prevention of Corruption Act in Jammu and Kashmir so that they can continue with corruption. People who have been Chief Ministers are saying that they will take the help of China for the restoration of Article 370. It is an anti-national activity,” he said.

Speaking further, he said: “Sonia Gandhi ji and Rahul Gandhi ji tell the national clearly and categorically does the Congress party want the restoration of Article 370 in the original form… Does Congress support the statements of Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti? Congress should tell if they are with the stated objective of the Gupkar Declaration.”

The Union Minister said that earlier if a Muslim or Hindu girl from J&K married a boy from Delhi or any other place, then she would have no right in the property of her father. “We have changed it and restored their right to property,” he said.

“The refugees from Pakistan who came to J&K and stayed there after partition had no right to vote and right to property, whereas those who moved beyond Punjab went on to become the PM and Deputy PM of India. This was the cruel reality of J-K before the abrogation of Article 370,” he said.

The District Development Council (DDC) elections will be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir in eight phases between November 28 and December 19, and the counting of votes will take place on December 22.

The mainstream parties, including the National Conference, PDP, Peoples Conference and CPI(M), formed the PAGD last month and are fighting the maiden DDC elections together. (ANI)

After helping several migrants amid the coronavirus pandemic, actor Sonu Sood came to the rescue of a six-year-old boy, Harshvardhan, who had to undergo a liver transplant at Apollo Hospital here. The actor-producer extended a helping hand to the boy’s family and took care of all the finances required for the operation.

The six-year-old has been keeping ill since he was six months old, told the mother.

“It was only a month ago that the doctor had said that my son’s liver has been damaged completely and that he needs to undergo surgery which would cost somewhere around Rs 20 lakhs and that his life would be in danger if no treatment received,” said Harshvardhan’s mother.

The family sought help through the Chief Minister’s fund and Arogyasri scheme but to no avail, as per the six-year-old’s mother.

“Sonu sir met us even though he was busy with his shoot and promised to fund the complete treatment. He is bearing all the costs for the surgery. He is a kind soul and we won’t forget his help till our last breath. We hope he helps many needy souls like us in the future,” she added.

Dr Manish Verma, who treated Harshvardhan, said that he (the boy) was suffering from liver cirrhosis and needed a transplant. Dr Verma got to know about the case via Sood.

“The child’s operation was a critical one. We had problems with the resources. Our efforts were directed towards organising his care without any compromise and as promised, the operation was performed successfully. Our team in Apollo and Sonu Sood did our best to give the child a healthy life, ” Dr Verma said.

The ‘Dabangg’ actor helped several migrant labourers amid the coronavirus pandemic and launched a job portal ‘Pravasi Rojgar’ to help them. (ANI)

The second phase of the Malabar Naval exercise including Australia, Japan and the US, is scheduled to be held in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday and will continue till Friday.

INS Vikramaditya, along with the Navy’s Navy’s Carrier Battle Group, will participate in the war games with US’ Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, warships of Australia and Japan, informed Indian Navy spokesperson.

The first phase of the Malabar 2020 was held earlier this month off the Visakhapatnam coast. Australia participated in the mega exercise for the first time in 13 years, bringing all four Quad countries together for the military games.

The Indian Defence Ministry, in a statement last month, had said that “as India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, Malabar 2020 will see the participation of the Australian Navy.”

Malabar, which began as a bilateral exercise between India and the US in 1992, became trilateral in 2015 with the entry of Japan.

The first phase, held from November 3 to 6, witnessed complex and advanced naval exercises including surface, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare drills, cross deck flying along with weapon firing exercises.

On October 27, following the 2+2 dialogue with the US, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said, “We also agreed that upholding the rules-based international order, respecting the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international seas and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states are essential.. Our defence cooperation is intended to further these objectives. Both sides welcomed Australia joining the forthcoming Malabar Exercise.” (ANI)