Month: April 2022

Mushtaque Ali Ahmad Khan, a renowned actor and successful director, has been making constant efforts to keep the theatre culture of the region alive for its future generations.

Khan believes that theatre is an integral part of Kashmiri culture and it has always played a crucial role in highlighting the day-to-day problems of society.

The 61-year-old, an alumnus of Amar Singh College, completed his post-graduation from Kashmir University, where he was also the Cultural Club Secretary.

“I owe my life to the two years of university. It gave me the right exposure that has made me what I am today,” he said.

Speaking about his journey to the world of arts, he said,” It was in 1974 when I visited Doordarshan for the first time to participate in recommended children’s programme and met Sarojini Raina, one of the toughest and genius producers of that time.”

He started his career as a theatre actor in 1981 and participated in a number of plays till 1988.

He has also conducted various film festivals, theatre festivals, theatre workshops, seminars, interactions, discussions, and many other functions on Arts, Culture, Film, and Literature attended by many people, especially the youth.

Khan, whose goal is to preserve the culture and heritage for future generations, has been organizing annual theatre festivals since 2005 under the banner of Actors Creative Theatre (ACT).

The ACT also aims at providing a platform to the youth and artists, who are looking for opportunities to become professional theatre artists. (ANI)

Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa, who is caught in a row following his alleged role in the suicide of a contractor on Thursday said that he will hand over his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai tomorrow.

“Tomorrow, I’m handing over the resignation letter to CM. I thank you all for your co-operation,” the Minister told reporters.

Eshwarappa said that he does not want to embarrass anybody including the high command leaders of the party.

The minister’s announcement came after chief minister Bommai said that Eshwarappa will continue in his cabinet and that an inquiry has been instituted after which a decision will be taken.

Speaking to ANI, Bommai said, “The postmortem was done yesterday and now preliminary inquiry (report) will come and based on that we’ll proceed.”

Notably, following the allegations, Congress and other political parties had demanded the removal of the Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, said, “He (contractor Satish Patil) has accused top ministers of demanding money. He wrote all this, the Congress party is not blaming them. They have already been accused several times. If they are not taking any action, it is not fair.”

Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam had also written to Bommai demanding the removal of Eshwarappa from the state cabinet.

Earlier, Eshwarappa had said he would not resign under pressure from the opposition and added that “no death note was found near the body”.

“I have not seen the face of Santosh Patil, but as journalists are saying that he used to go to Delhi often. It should be investigated who booked his flight tickets and why,” he had said.

The brother of the deceased contractor on Wednesday demanded the arrest of Eshwarappa “and his close aides Ramesh and Basawaraj”. (ANI)

Amid a declining economy in Pakistan, the newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered immediate steps to control inflation in the country.

Speaking at the meeting on the economic situation, PM Sharif said, “Steps should be taken to improve the economic condition of the common man in any case.”

Pakistan Prime Minister reviewed the meeting where the Ministry of Finance briefed him about the economic situation in the country.

The meeting was attended by the Pakistan Muslim League-N leaders like Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Miftah Ismail, Zubair Umar, and party’s spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb and others, including authorities concerned, Geo News reported.

Moreover, PM Sharif issued directives for efforts to be made on a priority basis to control the inflation in the country.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan Finance Minister, Miftah Ismail is likely to be named as the new finance chief of the country.

These developments came ahead of the crucial talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Pakistan’s economy is in dire straits.

The new economic team will have to deal with depleting foreign exchange reserves that have dropped to levels that can fund just a couple of months of imports.

Newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif may name Ismail and the rest of the cabinet within 24 hours, Geo tv reported citing Uk media.

According to reports, Ismail is said to be among the officials responsible for negotiating with the IMF to resume the USD 6 billion programme that went into jeopardy after former Prime Minister Imran Khan unexpectedly decreased energy prices, despite an agreement with the lender for the opposite.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had expressed concerns over the financial impact and financing sources of Imran Khan’s relief package on electricity and petroleum prices. (ANI)

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has ruled out the possibility of the state government purchasing new vehicles for the ministers.

The Chief Minister, who interacted with the media after addressing a state-level function to mark the 131st birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar on Thursday, said there was no move by the state government to purchase new vehicles for ministers of the Aam Aadmi Party government which came to office last month.

“Opposition was baselessly spreading such canards in dearth of any issue against the Punjab Government. There was no such move by the state government,” he said.

There were reports in a section of media that the state government had plans to purchase SUVs for ministers and multi-utility vehicles for MLAs.

Bhagwant Mann also slammed the “remote control” allegation of the opposition against the Punjab government saying that the senior officers had gone for training to New Delhi on his instructions.

“I will send my officers, wherever needed for sharpening their administrative skills and expertise. Opposition is making undue a hue and cry over the issue. Delhi government’s reforms in education, health and power sector are unmatched. There is no harm in getting training from them,” he said.

Opposition parties had slammed AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for meeting Punjab government officials “in the absence” of the state chief minister. (ANI)

With India and the US celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations, the US embassy in New Delhi on Thursday posted a video that featured several renowned members of the Indian diaspora talking about the journey in which several milestones have been achieved.

The US Embassy said that people-to-people ties are at the heart of the bilateral relationship.

“We’re celebrating 75 years of US-India relations with some of the most iconic and accomplished members of the Indian diaspora. Our people-to-people ties are the heart of our partnership. Cheers to our deep and growing relationship and on to 100,” the US Embassy in India said in a tweet.

A video posted by the US embassy included messages about 75 years journey from prominent India-Americans such as former Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi, India born-American filmmaker Mira Nair and writer and TV personality Padma Lakshmi. Other famous personalities included actor Priyanka Chopra, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy.

US Charge d’Affaires Patricia Lacina said in the video that the foundation of the partnership lies in the personal friendship formed over the years between individual Americans and Indians.

“This year we celebrate the 75 anniversary of US-India relations. The foundation of our partnership lies in the personal friendship formed over the years between individual Americans and Indians as they studied, worked, lived and learned together,” she says.

The joint statement released after the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between India and US held this week in Washington spoke about the two “natural and trusted partners” celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations.

“As natural and trusted partners celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and independent India, with a shared commitment to democracy and pluralism, a multifaceted bilateral agenda, and growing convergence of strategic interests, both countries seek to continue to promote a resilient, rules-based international order that safeguards sovereignty and territorial integrity, upholds democratic values, and promotes peace and prosperity for all,” the statement said.

The statement also talked about the deep educational linkages.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar in his remarks on Tuesday at a university event in Washington also referred to the contribution of the Indian diaspora in fostering bilateral relations.

“The 4.4 million Indian diaspora has literally defined our image in this society and helped forge relationships that are an enormous source of strength for us. At its centre are students, academics, and professionals who have contributed to America’s progress even as they remained a bridge between the two societies,” he said. (ANI)

Billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday offered a “best and final” bid to purchase 100 per cent of microblogging site Twitter for USD 41.39 billion with USD 54.20 per share in cash.

The world’s richest man made the offer in an updated 13D filing on Thursday and follows an announcement by Twitter that Musk will not be joining the company’s board of directors.

The Tesla chief executive’s offer price of USD 54.20 per share was 38 per cent higher than the closing price of Twitter’s stock on April 1, the last trading day before his investment of 9.2 per cent in the company was publicly announced, reported Sky News.

“Since making my investment I now realise the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form,” said Musk in a letter to Twitter chairman Bret Taylor.

“Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company,” he added.

Earlier last week, Musk had disclosed that he had taken a nine per cent stake in the social media platform.

“My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” said Tesla CEO.

The offer comes after Musk rejected a seat on the social media company’s board.

Taking the board seat would have stopped him from a possible takeover of the company, reported Sky News. (ANI)

Thalapathy Vijay and Pooja Hegde starrer ‘Beast’ was released in theatres amid great expectations and surpassing them all, it conveys its fire and power to the audience.

Well on its way to emerging as a massive hit, the action-packed movie is a theme park of all kinds of wild rides. Having hailed ‘Beast (RAW)’ as a must-watch with repeat value, fans just can’t seem to stop raving about it.

A fan named Kaushik, who came to watch the first show of the movie, told ANI that he has been watching Vijay’s movies for the past four-five years. “Today I have taken off from the office for the movie. I have also booked two more shows which I will watch.”

Another fan named Satya spoke to ANI after watching the movie on Wednesday. He said that “I am here from 3 am (2130 GMT), I am here for the celebration. 4.30 am (2330 GMT) show, it’s done and 7.30 am (0200 GMT) saw back to back shows. It’s time for office but I am not in the mood today.”

Written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, ‘Beast (RAW)’ is an action thriller set inside a mall hijacked by terrorists and unbeknownst to them, Vijay’s character Veera Raghavan (present in the mall) takes it upon himself to fight the terrorists. He is introduced as a notorious spy, who is in the mall with his girlfriend Preeti (Pooja).

The film marks the first time Vijay and Pooja have been paired together and both their fans are in for a treat in theatres because their chemistry is un-missable.

‘Beast (RAW)’ is produced by Sun Pictures. The music of the film is composed by Anirudh Ravichander. Starring Thalapathy Vijay, Pooja Hegde, Selvaraghavan, Yogi Babu, Lilliput Faruqui and Ankur Ajit Vikal, ‘Beast (RAW)’ was released on April 13, 2022.

It is released by UFO Moviez in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on the same day across North India. (ANI)

More than 1,000 Ukraine soldiers, comprising of 162 officers and 47 female personnel surrendered to Russian forces in Mariupol on Wednesday, stated Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov.

“As a result of successful offensive operations by the Russian forces and militia units of the Donetsk People’s Republic, 1,026 Ukrainian troops of the 36th marine infantry brigade voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered in the area of the Ilyicha metals factory in the city of Mariupol. Among those who surrendered, there are 162 officers and also 47 female service members,” Russian news agency TASS reported the General as saying.

A sum of about 151 injured Ukraine military personnel of the 36th marine infantry brigade was given primary medical support on spot, post which they were transferred to Mariupol city hospital for further medical assistance, reported TASS.

On February 24, Russia launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, which the West has termed an unprovoked war. As a result of this, the Western countries have imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow. (ANI)

Amid the row over gang rape and death of a minor in West Bengal, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday alleged that the bureaucracy is politicised and the preamble of the Constitution is disregarded in the state.

“We need to focus on the spirit of the Indian constitution. It is my duty and obligation that violation of the Constitution does not take place. Recent events were painful. Even before such incidents, there was an urgent need to improve the situation in the state,” Governor Dhankhar told mediapersons here.

“Those concerned with governance must see that probe must be fair. We cannot have a state that is known only for violence and gets into the headlines for crime against women, where bureaucracy is politicised and preamble of the Constitution is disregarded,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dhankhar summoned State Chief Secretary and Director General Police to take steps to curb rising crime against women.

The Governor had directed the officials to improve law and order situation in the state and respond to pending issues. The meeting went on for an hour where Governor Dhankhar emphasized that constitutional governance is a must and not optional, said the Raj Bhavan.

Earlier this month, a 14-year-old girl died after she was allegedly gang-raped in Hanskhali in Nadia district. The victim’s family accused the son of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader in the case.

Dhankhar also raised concerns about the recent commotion in Calcutta High Court.

“Whatever happened in HC was unprecedented and shocking. If access to justice is obstructed then where is democracy? If those who perform solemn duty in the temple of justice are cornered, then it is not acceptable,” Governor Dhankhar said.

On Wednesday, the TMC workers’ legal wing of West Bengal blocked the doors of the Calcutta High Court and barred the lawyers from entering the Court of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

TMC workers’ legal wing said, “Justice Gangopadhyay has committed a crime by passing orders in the School Service Commission (SSC) corruption case.”

On Tuesday, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court stayed a single bench order that directed West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee to appear before the CBI in connection with irregularities in the appointment of assistant teachers in state government-aided schools. Justice Gangopadhyay had also given CBI liberty to arrest the state minister in the case.

The Bar Association, Calcutta High Court brought out a resolution to boycott Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay. (ANI)

Days after the ouster of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military categorically rejected “foreign conspiracy” allegations of Imran Khan to topple his government, as well as the involvement of the Army in any way in the no-confidence motion.

Referring to Pakistan’s National Security Council (NSC) meeting, in which the alleged “threat letter” received from the Pakistani embassy in the US was discussed days before the vote on the no-confidence motion, Director General (DG)-ISPR Babar Iftikhar said that although the contents of the meeting were confidential, however, the statement that was released after the meeting, nowhere mentioned the term “conspiracy”.

“The words used are in front of you … as I said … the words used are clear. Is there any word such as conspiracy used in it? I think not,” Babar said at a press conference telecasted on Geo News.

He went on to say that Inter Sevices Intelligence (ISI) had done its investigation on the alleged letter when it arrived and thereby gave its inputs to the NSC.

“If any foreign power tries to conspire against Pakistan we will not let it succeed,” Iftikhar said.

He also rejected the involvement of the Pakistani Army in the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in any manner, while also requesting the people and the political parties to “not drag the military into politics.”

Talking about Imran Khan’s allegations that the military had given him three options, ahead of the no-co0nfidence motion, the DG-ISPR said that it was rather the former Prime Minister who had approached the Army Chief for intervention and then the options were discussed.

“The options were not given by the establishment, Prime Minister’s Office approached the Chief of Army Staff, when there was this deadlock (between political parties), PMO asked Army to intervene,” DG-ISPR said.

“It is very unfortunate that our political parties were not ready to talk among themselves at that point… so the army chief and DG-ISI went to the PMO… it was there that these three scenarios were discussed… one scenario was that no-confidence motion goes as it is, second was that PM resigns and the third was that Opposition takes back no-confidence motion and PM dissolves the NA and goes for fresh elections,” DG-ISPR further elaborated.

He further said that Imran Khan said that the third option of fresh elections was acceptable to him and he asked the Army Chief to talk to the Opposition on his behalf over that option.

DG-ISPR Babar Iftikhar addressed a multitude of questions on the recent political events and related topics, as well as declared that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was not involved in any deal with Imran Khan’s Opposition and that he did not seek an extension.

“Let me put this thing to rest today, Chief of Army Staff is neither seeking an extension nor will he accept an extension. No matter what, he will be retiring on the 29th of November 2022,” Iftikhar said.

This comes a few days after Pakistan Army claimed that there was a “recent propaganda” campaign by some quarters to malign the country’s military.

This statement was issued after the 79th Formation Commanders’ Conference held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

This high-level meeting was attended by the country’s army’s corps commanders, principal staff officers, and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. (ANI)