Month: March 2021

Bollywood star Kriti Sanon on Tuesday treated fans to stunning pictures dressed in a chocolate brown ensemble.

The ‘Dilwale’ star hopped on to Instagram and shared a couple of gorgeous pictures from a photo-shoot.

The photo features Sanon in a satin brown shirt and a green floral print bralette. She also sported a designer figure-hugging high waist skirt with a thigh-high slit and an accentuated bow.

The actor sported a minimal makeup look with brown eye shadow and lightly kohl-rimmed eyes and wore a nude lip shade. With her luscious locks open, the actor personified beauty in the stunning photo-shoot as she looked drop-dead gorgeous.

The ‘Heropanti’ actor wrote alongside the images, “Just.. woke up craving… ( and added a chocolate bar, shifty eyes and a silly face emoticon) Morning everyone (Sun, butterfly and flower emojis).”

Sanon’s ‘Panipat’ co-star Arjun Kapoor and more than 5 lakh fans liked the post on the photo-sharing platform within an hour of it being posted.

While scores of fans chimed into the comments section and left red heart and fire emoticons as they adored the pictures.

On the work front, the actor recently wrapped the Jaisalmer schedule of ‘Bachchan Pandey’ in which she will be seen sharing the screen space with Akshay Kumar.

She has also been roped in to star opposite Prabhas in ‘Adipurush’. Sanon is also reuniting with her ‘Heropanti’ co-star Tiger Shroff for the action-thriller flick ‘Ganapath’. (ANI)

The assembly constituency of Nandigram, which will witness a high-octane, high profile battle between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her former ministerial colleague and now BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, will go to the polls in the second phase of the ongoing West Bengal assembly elections on April 1.

Adhikari had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in December last year and is raring to give a tough fight to the Trinamool Congress chief.

What does Nandigram mean in West Bengal polls?

Nandigram is touted to be the deciding constituency in the Bengal polls. BJP’s chances of winning the state assembly elections would increase manifold if they can somehow manage to win Nandigram.

In the 2016 by-election for the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, which includes Nandigram, BJP got about 196,000 votes. However, BJP inflicted a shock to the TMC when it won 18 Lok Sabha seats with a vote share of more than 40 percent in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

And it is the performance in the 2019 general assembly elections that has made the BJP a serious contender for power in the state. While the party did very well in the hills — north Bengal, and the Jangalmahal region — it failed to cross a critical threshold in the south Bengal region. South Bengal is the most populous region of the state and accounts for 167 out of the 294 assembly constituencies. Unless the BJP makes significant advances in south Bengal, it would be very difficult for the BJP to beat TMC.

What changed West Bengal’s political landscape in 2007?

Violence took place in Nandigram in 2007 in the aftermath of a failed project by the communist government of West Bengal to acquire land for a special economic zone. The policy led to an emergency in the region, and 14 people lost their lives in a police shooting.

Mamata and her party noted the issue and raised the slogan “Ma Mati Manush” (Mother, Motherland and People) which was used in their election campaigns. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) later exonerated the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government of responsibility for the shootings.

Mamata later claimed that the violence was indeed planned by the Adhikaris, who were members of TMC back then, to dethrone the communist government.

Fourteen years after a bloody farmland agitation in Nandigram changed the political landscape in West Bengal, battle lines have been redrawn in Nandigram — a place that shook the foundations of the mighty 34-year-old Left Front regime in the state and propelled TMC to power in 2011.

Adhikari has claimed that BJP will defeat Mamata — who is for the first time contesting from Nandigram — by a margin of over 50,000 votes, something which will be known only once the counting takes place on May 2. (ANI)

Coronavirus cases continue to surge in India as 68,020 coronavirus fresh infections and 291 related deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

With the addition of new cases, the cumulative caseload of the country now reached over 1.20 crore including 1,13,55,993 recoveries. The total number of active cases in the country stands at 5,21,808 while the death toll has also reached 1,61,843.

On Monday, Maharashtra reported 31,643 new COVID-19 cases, 20,854 recoveries and 102 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state’s health department on Monday.

The total cases reached 27,45,518 including 23,53,307 recoveries and the death toll reached 54,283. At present, there are 3,36,584 active coronavirus cases in the state. The case fatality rate (CFR) in Maharashtra is at 1.98 per cent while the recovery rate is 85.71 per cent.

As many as 5,888 new COVID-19 cases were found in Mumbai while 3,561 patients were discharged today. The recovery rate in Mumbai is 85 per cent.

In Karnataka, 2792 new COVID-19 cases were recorded along with 16 deaths in the last 24 hours. The cumulative infections now reached 9,89,804, including 9,53,416 recoveries and the death toll of 12,520.

As many as 1549 new coronavirus infections were reported in Kerala along with 11 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state has 24,223 active cases. The total recoveries reached 10,90,419.

Delhi reported 1,904 new COVID-19 cases and six related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking that total number of cases to 6,59,619 in the national capital.

In Punjab, 2914 fresh coronavirus infections, 2,583 recoveries and 59 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The total cases reached 2,34,602 including 2,03,710 recoveries and 6749 deaths.

As many as Tamil Nadu recorded 2,279 new COVID-19 cases, 1352 recoveries and 14 deaths in the last 24 hours. The cumulative infections climbed to 8,81,752 including 8,55,085 recoveries and 13,983 active cases and 12,684 death toll.

Andhra Pradesh reported 997 fresh COVID-19 infections, 282 recoveries and 5 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total cases 8,99,812 including 8,86,498 recoveries and 7,210 deaths.

With 995 new COVID-19 cases, Haryana’s coronavirus tally reached 2,88,714 including 2,76,259 recoveries and 3143 deaths.

As many as 639 fresh coronavirus cases in West Bengal, 462 discharges and 1 death in the last 24 hours. The total cases reached 5,85,305 including 5,69,828 recoveries and 10,325 deaths.

Bihar reported 239 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the active cases in the state to 1,487.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh have reported a high number of daily new COVID-19 cases and they account for 84.5 per cent of the new infections reported in the last 24 hours, the health ministry informed on Monday. (ANI)

A report on the origins of COVID-19 set to be released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday finds animal to human transmission the most likely cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a source with knowledge of the report.

According to CNN, the source said that the report will find that it is most likely that “a bat, somewhere in China or in Southeast Asia, getting the virus into animals into the intermediate house, maybe in these wildlife farms that were very common at the time across South China, and then that getting into the market in Wuhan.”

The report deems it extremely unlikely that COVID-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab, according to the source.

“We just found no real tangible evidence or real leads on that, despite asking a lot of quite hard questions that were asked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” the source told CNN.

The report will also find the theory that the virus was imported to China in frozen food is possible, but not the most likely source of the spread, according to the source.

“It is certainly true that this virus can survive freezing and you know it is possible that this could have happened, if you include in that frozen food cold chain pathway frozen wildlife and the type that carries coronaviruses, then it becomes much more plausible. In the end, we came to the conclusion that it is a possible pathway, but not the most likely,” the source said.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference in Geneva on Monday that all hypotheses into the origins of the novel coronavirus are on the table and warrant complete and further study ahead of a long-awaited report that will be released on Tuesday.

Tedros said the WHO received the full mission report over the weekend on the origins of the SARS-Cov-2 virus from the team that visited Wuhan earlier this year and this report was sent to member states under embargo. He said the two news agencies reporting details of a leaked mission report are only a draft or near final wording of the report.

Li Yang, the Chinese Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, has slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau allegedly for ruining the friendly ties between the two countries.

He alleged that Trudeau has turned Canada into a “running dog of the United States”. “Boy, your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada, and have turned Canada into a running dog of the US. Spendthrift!!!” Li Yang tweeted on Sunday.

This comes a day after China had announced sanctions against two American religious-rights officials and a Canadian MP in response to western countries’ sanctions on Beijing over the issue of human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.

Those targeted by the new sanctions by China include Gayle Manchin, chairwoman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and its vice-chairman Tony Perkins; Canadian MP Michael Chong and members of the Canadian Commons subcommittee on international human rights, South China Morning Post reported.

However, the United States condemned China’s sanctions and said that Beijing’s attempt to silence criticism of human rights abuse in Xinjiang invites international scrutiny.

Taking to Twitter, US Secretary Antony Blinken said, “We condemn the People’s Republic of China’s sanctions on two members of the independent and bipartisan @USCIRF (US Commission on International Religious Freedom). Beijing’s attempt to silence criticism of serious human rights abuse in Xinjiang only contributes to growing international scrutiny.”

Recently in a press briefing, Trudeau slammed China’s treatment of two of its nationals there, saying it threatens both ‘respect for the rule of law’ and Beijing’s relationships with Western nations.

“China needs to understand that it is not just about two Canadians. It is about the respect for the rule of law and relationships with a broad range of Western countries that is at play with the arbitrary detention and the coercive diplomacy they have engaged in,” said Trudeau. (ANI)

India and the United States on Monday have agreed to revamp the strategic energy partnership to reflect the new priorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden with a focus on promoting clean energy with low-carbon pathways and accelerating green energy cooperation.

During a virtual meeting, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm reviewed India-US Strategic Energy Cooperation.
In a series of tweets, Pradhan said, “Had an excellent introductory meeting virtually with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. Congratulated @SecGranholm on assuming the high office. Reviewed the India-US Strategic Energy Cooperation (SEP).”

“Both of us agreed to revamp the India-US SEP to reflect the new priorities of Prime Minister @narendramodi and President @JoeBiden with a focus on promoting clean energy with low-carbon pathways and accelerating green energy cooperation,” he said in another tweet.

Granholm and Pradhan agreed to prioritise greater collaboration in the cleaner energy sector- biofuels, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), hydrogen production, and carbon sequestration through technology exchange, joint R&D through Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R), among other initiatives.

They also agreed to convene the third meeting of a revamped India-US Strategic Energy Partnership at an early date.

“Efforts to be intensified to take advantage of the complementarities of both the countries -advanced US technologies and rapidly growing India’s energy market for a win-win situation through a cleaner energy route with low carbon pathways,” Pradhan tweeted.

“Jennifer Granholm and I agreed to prioritise cooperation in emerging areas, intensify our industry engagements and also work with an all-of-the-above approach for strengthening energy security, expanding energy access, and for mutual economic prosperity,” he said. (ANI)

Pakistan President Dr. Arif Alvi on Monday announced that he tested positive for the coronavirus.

This comes as the Pakistani President and his wife Samina Alvi received the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm earlier this month, according to Xinhua.

According to The News International, the President’s news of testing positive for the virus comes almost 10 days after Prime Minister Imran Khan tested positive for the virus.

“I have tested positive for Covid-19. May Allah have mercy on all Covid affectees. Had 1st dose of vaccine, but antibodies start developing after 2nd dose that was due in a week. Please continue to be careful,” Alvi wrote in a tweet.

On March 20, Prime Minister Imran Khan had also tested positive for COVID-19 after which he had self-isolated himself. The premier had also been inoculated on March 18 — two days before he tested positive for the virus.

The News International reported that doctors said the vaccine did not have enough time to be effective and that PM Imran Khan may have contracted the virus a few days prior to developing symptoms for it.

As many as 659,116 cases reported in Pakistan and 14,256 patients have died from the pathogen across the country. (ANI)

The Ever Given container ship that has been blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week, was finally pulled free on Monday.

The ship blocking the Suez Canal has been fully dislodged on Monday, CNN reported quoting a Suez Canal Authority spokesperson.

The massive vessel was hauled using tug boats away from the side of waterway where it had been lodged since last Tuesday, halting the crucial trade route

The 400-meter long Ever Given operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp had created a bottleneck in the vital trade artery connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, with more than 300 ships waiting to enter or complete their journey through the canal.

The ship was bound for Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China when it became stuck in the canal. (ANI)