Month: June 2022

Singer-actor, Shehnaaz Gill shared a string of steamy hot pool pictures, on her social media account, on Friday.

The Bigg Boss 13 fame, took to her Instagram handle and dropped some jaw-dropping snaps, wherein she can be seen enjoying herself in the pool, exactly showing how to get rid of these high temperatures.

Sharing the pictures, she wrote, “summer vibes”.

Fans and admirers bombarded the comment section with loads of fire and heart emoticons.

Shehnaaz looked like a mermaid with her natural makeup and hair pulled back. Her fans can’t get enough of her, and one user even said, “Enna sona kyu rab ne banaya”.

She has returned to her social media A-game, and netizens are really appreciating her posts.

Meanwhile, on the work front, with Salman Khan’s film ‘Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali,’ Shehnaaz is all set to make her Bollywood debut. Also, she has turned to spirituality and has been seen attending the Brahmakumaris on a regular basis. At the retreat centre, she engages with the sisters and even meets some of her fans. (ANI)

After a Virginia court found that actor Amber Heard defamed her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp, her lawyer said she can’t pay the $10.35 million in damages.

According to The US Weekly, when asked if her client could pay the prescribed sum during an interview on the ‘Today’, show on Thursday, June 2, Elaine Bredehoft answered, “Oh, no, absolutely not.”
Johnny, 58, would be awarded, $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages the judge announced on Wednesday, June 1. For her counterclaim, Amber, on the other hand, was given $2 million in compensatory damages but no punitive damages.

After the judge decreased the sum due to a Virginia rule capping punitive damages, Amber will only have to pay $10.35 million.

According to the Entertainment Weekly, Amber intends to appeal the decision.

She took to social media after the trial ended to express her feelings.

Taking to her Instagram handle, Amber posted a long note, which said, “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words, I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband”

According to the ‘Aquaman’ actor, her concerns went beyond her own role in the case. “I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated,” she continued. “It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”

She concluded, “I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the U.K. I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.”

Depp and Heard married in a very secret ceremony in their Los Angeles home in 2015 after dating for several years. Heard filed for divorce from Depp on May 23, 2016, and secured a temporary restraining order against him. She said Depp had physically abused her during their relationship, and that it happened most often while he was high on drugs or alcohol. (ANI)

Mrs India Inc 2022, powered by Joy Ebike is coming up with its final edition that is going to held on 15th June 2022 at NESCO Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai. With its upcoming final event, the semi-finalist has already kickstarted their preparation for the event.

A prestigious and one of the best beauty pageants for Married Woman across globe, the beauty pageant is going to witness 53 stunning and strong women across India vying for the chance to represent India at Mrs. World 2022.
Mrs. India Inc is a platform which believes in giving woman a chance to follow their dreams, a chance for redemption. It’s one of the most amazing platforms for married women to showcase their talent and aspire to be a version of themselves that they only imagined they would ever be. The pageant stands to search for the most confident, courageous, humble and gorgeous queen to represent our country at Mrs. World.

The Semi Finalist have started their preparations in full swing for the Finale and are leaving no stone unturned for the competition ahead. The esteemed jury panel will comprise of celebrities like Soha Ali Khan, Mohammad Azharuddin, Former Mrs. World Aditi Govitrikar and Mohini Sharma-Founder and CEO of Mrs India Inc.

The new queen will be crowned by the outgoing queen Navdeep Kaur. Let us meet 53 Semi Finalists wearing Pink Peacock Couture created by Massumi Mewawalla who is also one of the Jury members of the event.

Juhi Vyas is the charming semi-finalist of Mrs. India Inc. 2022, a prestigious and one of the best beauty pageants for married women. She is a multi-tasker. Born in Chhattisgarh to a loving family, she got married at an early age but that never stopped her to pursue her dreams. An internationally certified make-up artist and hairdresser, she is now successfully running her salon & spa. A fitness enthusiast, has also learned the beautiful dance form of Bharatnatyam.

She perfectly manages her time between her two adorable kids and family with her many professional endeavors. A true believer towards few social causes close to her heart she is now here on a bigger platform to work on bringing positive change in the world.

Juhi was determined to be a part of Mrs. India Inc. and has been preparing herself for this opportunity for the last 2 years. Motherhood is a challenging phase for every woman, but Juhi’s consistency, hard work, and patience made her achieve her goal by being a Semi Finalist and now her only aim is to win the crown.

This story is provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has hit back at the unfair criticism on Indian oil purchase from Russia amid the Ukraine war that has created a knock-off effect on the world economy.

While defending India’s oil imports from Russia, Jaishankar stressed that it is important to understand how the Ukraine conflict is impacting the developing countries. He also questioned why only India was being questioned while Europe continues to import gas from Russia amid the Ukraine war.
Responding to a question on whether India’s oil imports from Russia is not funding the ongoing Ukraine war, Jaishankar said, “Look I don’t want to sound argumentative. If India funding Russia oil is funding the war… Tell me then buying Russian gas is not funding the war? It’s only Indian money and Russian oil coming to India funding the war and not Russia’s gas coming to Europe not funding? Let’s be a little even-handed.”

Jaishankar made these remarks at the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum being held in Slovakia on the topic ‘Taking Friendship to the Next Level: Allies in the Indo-Pacific Region’.

Speaking further on importing of Russian oil by India, Jaishankar said, the packages of sanctions imposed by the European Union are imposed keeping in mind the interest of certain European nations.

“Europe is buying oil, Europe is buying gas…new package of sanctions, it is designed in a way that consideration has been given to the welfare of the population, pipeline have carveouts… if you can be considerate to yourself, you can be considerate to other people. If a Europe says, if we have to manage it in a way impact on the economy is not traumatic, that freedom should exist for other people as well,” he said.

Jaishankar also spoke on how the increase of Indian oil purchases is being played up without giving consideration to the low base of the previous imports.

“Look at the whole narrative, it has gone up nine times, it has gone up from a very low base…if countries from the West, Europe, US are so concerned why do they not allow Iranian oil to come to the market, why do they not allow Venezuelan oil to come to the market,” the EAM added.

Jaishankar said India handled the COVID pandemic prudently and that the country is “largely out of COVID with a strong sense of economic recovery”.

Replying to a question on where India stands after the difficult and turbulent COVID times, Jaishankar said, “We are largely out of COVID, but it never quite goes away. But we are out of COVID with a strong sense of economic recovery. We handled it very prudently, economically.”

The minister also explained how the Indian governmnet under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only managed the economy during the pandemic but also leapfrogged in many areas, particularly in digital rebuilding.

“We handled it very prudently in terms of the financial responses. We did not blow the bank in responding. We intervened where we had to,” Jaishankar said adding, “In the 8 years of the Modi government we have built a social welfare society at a speed and a scale that the world has not seen.

Jaishankar is currently on a visit to Slovakia and the Czech Republic from June 2 to 6 to impart further momentum to bilateral relations with the two Central European countries.

During his visit to Bratislava from June 2 to 4, Jaishankar will call also call on Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger and will hold bilateral discussions with Ivan Korcok, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia.

Moreover, during his visit to the Czech Republic from June 4 to 6, Jaishankar will hold discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky. The discussions will provide an opportunity for a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation. The Czech Republic will be taking over the EU Presidency from July 1, 2022.

In addition to meeting the political leadership of the two countries, Jaishankar will also interact with a cross-section of the diaspora, including Indian students in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

“India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly ties with both Slovakia and the Czech Republic. EAM’s visit will impart further momentum to bilateral relations with the two Central European countries,” the MEA release said. (ANI)

A police case has been registered against five minors for allegedly gang-raping a teenage girl in Hyderabad last week.

The matter came to light after the minor girl’s father submitted a complaint with the police regarding the incident that took place under the Jubilee Hills police station limits on May 28.
The case was registered under Sections 354 and 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 9 read with 10 of the POCSO Act.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone) Joel Davis said that the accused have not been identified so far.

“The rape case was registered based on the complaint of the victim’s father. Subsequently, after the victim’s statement, we altered the sections and added sections 9 and 10 of the POCSO Act. Around 5 accused are involved,” Davis told ANI over the phone.

“She is not in a position to identify the accused, so we are in the process of identifying the accused zeroing through other technical details. Prima facie, accused are also juvenile,” he added.

According to the complainant, on May 28, his daughter went to a party at a pub in Jubilee Hills which was hosted by her friends.

“At about 5.30 pm, she was taken out of the pub by a few guys in a car. Later, they misbehaved with my daughter and assaulted her, she has minor injuries on her neck. Since then my daughter is in deep shock and unable to disclose the things exactly,” read the complaint. (ANI)

A government official Rinkoo Singh Rahee, who was shot 7 times, cleared Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) 2021 exam.

The official was shot for exposing a corruption case.
After clearing Provincial Civil Service Examination (PCS), Rahee was posted in Muzaffarnagar, where he unearthed a corruption case.

“During my first posting in Muzaffarnagar, I unearthed a corruption case in which senior officers were also involved,” he said.

Rahee, who was a Social Welfare Officer at the time of posting in Muzaffarnagar in 2009, exposed a scam worth crores. The uncovering of facts led to a fatal attack in which Rahee survived seven bullet shots.

The attack distorted Rahee’s face but not his aspirations and ambitions.

Now, the director of a state IAS PCS Coaching Center in Hapur has secured 683rd rank in UPSC Civil Services exam.

“I was first threatened and later shot. I will work to break the corruption chain. I have given this exam so that I can reach a higher post and can get more opportunity to unearth irregularities,” Rahee told ANI.

The results of the Civil Services Examination, 2021 held in January 2022 were declared by UPSC on Monday. A total number of 685 candidates have been recommended for appointment as per the official release by the department. (ANI)

Pakistan reported 36 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the country’s ministry of health said on Friday.

The tally of infected people climbed to 1,530,556 across the country after adding the fresh cases, according to the data released by the ministry.
A total of 30,379 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, with no more deaths over the last 24 hours, according to the ministry’s statistics.

As many as 14,635 tests for COVID-19 were conducted in Pakistan while the positivity rate stood at 0.25 per cent. There are 76 active cases that are in critical condition in the South Asian country.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan reported 67 new COVID-19 cases and 72 active cases that are in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Health of Pakistan reported the first case of COVID-19 Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1. on May 9.

This new sub-variant is causing an increasing number of cases in different countries, the National Institute of Health (NIH) had said in a statement.

“NIH has detected the first case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1. This new sub-variant is causing an increasing number of cases in different countries,” the health body had tweeted.

In view of this, NIH advised people to take preventive measures to avoid contracting the virus, which is vaccination against it. “We strongly recommended getting vaccinated and all those due for boosters must get the shots immediately,” it added.

Director General Health Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar said that the Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 was detected in a traveller who had returned from Qatar.

He added that this sub-variant is seen in the recent spike in cases in the US. “The disease severity and hospitalisation remain the same as Omicron but data is limited as of now,” Pakistani media Geo TV reported.

The WHO (World Health Organisation) designated Omicron as a Variant of Concern on November 26, 2021, while the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Karachi was reported on December 13.

Since then, the Ministry of NHSRC (National Health Systems Resource Centre), NCOC, NIH (National Institute of Health) and the provincial health departments have remained vigilant to detect the variant in Pakistan,” read an official statement. (ANI)

About 14,427 people were affected after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted the city of Ya’an in Sichuan, South Western China, reported local media citing preliminary statistics.

Four people were confirmed dead and 41 others injured due to the earthquake that jolted the city on Wednesday afternoon, according to the city’s earthquake relief headquarters on Thursday.
Earlier, the city’s earthquake relief headquarters said that a total of 13,081 people in Ya’an were affected by the earthquake however as per the new statistics the number has increased significantly, reported Xinhua.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake rattled Lushan County of Ya’an in Sichuan, at 5 p.m. Wednesday Beijing Time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicentre, with a depth of 17 km, was monitored at 30.4 degrees north latitude and 102.9 degrees east longitude, the CENC said.

Earlier, a level-III national emergency response was activated after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit southwest China’s Sichuan Province, the Ministry of Emergency Management.

A work team was dispatched to guide and assist the local emergency rescue efforts, the ministry said.

Local firefighters reached the epicenter, while quake rescue teams of Sichuan and other neighboring regions were on standby for relief operations, the ministry had added.

On April 15, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter Scale hit the city of Delingha in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, according to CENC.

The epicenter was monitored at 38.52 degrees north latitude and 97.33 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 10 km, as per Xinhua. No casualties were reported in that earthquake.

Two days before, on April 13, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake had jolted Xingwen county of Yibin city, in China’s Sichuan Province.

Earlier on March 26, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake jolted China’s Qinghai province. The quake had struck the city of Delingha in the province at 12.21 am. The epicenter was monitored at 38.50 degrees north latitude and 97.33 degrees east longitude, 126 km away from the city proper, with a depth of 10 km, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The epicenter was located in an unpopulated area at an altitude of 4,410 meters, Xinhua News Agency had reported. There were no villages within 20 km of the epicenter, according to the emergency management bureau of Delingha. Tremors were felt by residents in Delingha and the cities of Jiuquan, Jiayuguan, and Zhangye, the bureau said. (ANI)

Expressing concern over gun violence in the United States, President Joe Biden said that the US needs to ban assault weapons for the sake of protecting children and families or raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21.

“We need to ban assault weapons. … if we can’t, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21. Ban high-capacity magazines. Strengthen background checks. Enact safe storage laws and red flag laws. Repeal gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability,” he said.
He further said that this is not about taking away anyone’s rights. “It’s about protecting children. It’s about protecting families. It’s about protecting communities. It’s about protecting our freedoms to go to school, to a grocery store, to go to church without being shot and killed,” he said.

“This is not about taking away anyone’s guns…we believe that we should be treating responsible gun owners as examples of how every gun owner should behave,” he said.

On May 24, a mass shooting incident took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in Texas in which several people including 19 children were killed. This was the deadliest attack since the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed, according to CNN.

On May 31, an elderly woman was killed and two other persons were injured when gunfire erupted at a high school graduation ceremony in New Orleans.

The shooting occurred outside the Convocation Center on the campus of Xavier University where graduates of Morris Jeff High School were gathered, NBC news reported citing New Orleans police.

On June 1, at least four people were killed in a shooting incident at a hospital campus in Oklahoma’s Tulsa city, CNN reported citing police.

The shootout incidents in the US have been increasing.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden also sought advice from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over tackling violence in the United States as shooting incidents in America have been increasing in recent days.

Biden referred to the 2019 Christchurch slaying of 51 people in mass shootings targeting Muslims. The incident prompted New Zealand to ban military-style rifles. A gun buy-back was also instituted.

“We need your guidance,” Biden said during the meeting with Arden in the Oval Office. “Your leadership has taken on a critical role in this global stage — and it really has — galvanizing action on climate change; the global effort to curb violence, extremism, and online, like happened in Christchurch,” he added. (ANI)