Janhvi, Varun Drop Pics From Bawaal Shoot In Poland

‘Bawaal’ co-actors Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan treated fans with fun pictures after wrapping up their film shoot in Poland.

Taking to their respective Instagram handles both Janhvi and Varun dropped pictures of the duo enjoying their time in Poland.
“Instagram vs reality” captioned Janhvi, contrasting two pictures in two slides.

In the first picture, Janhvi struck an alluring pose, resting one hand on Varun’s shoulder as she faced the camera while Varun seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, staring up at the blue Poland sky. While Janhvi wore a pink-sleeved, graphic top with white printed shorts, Varun had a simple navy-blue vest on him with a pair of matching grey trousers. According to Janhvi, the first image was the Instagram version of their friendship.

However, fans soon got to see the ‘reality’ of the duo in the next slide where Varun, was seated on the bonnet of a car as Janhvi was behind him, seemingly trying to call her co-star to help her get up as well. Instead, Varun appeared to be nonchalant, looking forward, enjoying the view, and giving a deaf ear to Janhvis’ pleas.

Apart from Janhvi, Varun also dropped some images on Instagram, featuring himself and Boney Kapoor’s daughter., announcing the wrap-up of their shoot.

“Hawaayein. Finished another sched in Krakow now on to the next,” wrote Varun.

Helmed by Nitesh Tiwari, ‘Bawaal’ is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and is a social drama. Recently both Varun and Janhvi announced that they had wrapped up their shoot for ‘Bawaal’ in Amsterdam and now the two have completed filming in Poland as well. ‘Bawaal’ marks the first collaboration of the lead cast Varun and Janhvi.

The film is slated to hit the theatres on April 7, 2023.

Meanwhile, talking about ‘Dhadak’ actor, Janhvi, she is soon to be seen in Sidharth Sengupta’s upcoming comedy crime thriller ‘GoodLuck Jerry’. The makers released the official trailer of the film on July 14 and have created quite a buzz. ‘GoodLuck Jerry’ is all set to premiere exclusively on the OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar from July 29, 2022.

On the other hand, Varun Dhawan will next be seen in Dinesh Vijan’s horror-comedy film ‘Bhediya’ with Kriti Sanon, which is all geared up to hit the theatres on November 25, 2022. (ANI)

Katrina Dumps Unseen Birthday Pics, Enjoying Her Vacation

Actor Katrina Kaif’s birthday vacation seemed to be a delightful one as she dropped some serene pictures enjoying herself with her “girls”.

“My girls” captioned the ‘Phantom’ actor on Instagram.

The picture revealed Katrina having a gala time on a yacht. The actor was accompanied by two of her friends – a television host and anchor Mini Mathur and Bollywood filmmaker Karishma Kohli. All three ladies sported pristine white flowing dresses against the background of clear blue skies and waters.

Actor Vicky Kaushal’s brother, Sunny Kaushal also took to his Instagram to drop a picture of him and Katrina having a fun banter. Sunny wished Katrina a ‘Happy Katrina week’ as well, owing to the latter’s birthday on July 16.

Both Katrina and her brother-in-law, Sunny had big smiles on their faces as they whiled away their time on the yacht. The newlywed bride, Katrina looked drop-dead gorgeous in a long white dress, having see-through sleeves while Vicky’s brother sported a breezy outfit of a patterned shirt and denim blue shorts. They seemed to be joking about something in the happy picture.

Katrina recently celebrated her 39th birthday with fun and fervour sharing pictures of her trip to an undisclosed island. Katrina’s husband-actor Vicky Kaushal also took to Instagram and shared a smiling image of his beloved wife on a beach.

Vicky and Katrina got married in a magnificent wedding in Rajasthan on December 9, 2021, in the company of close friends and family. Prior to their marriage, neither Vicky nor Katrina commented on their relationship.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Katrina will be seen sharing screen space with Vijay Sethupathi in ‘Merry Christmas’. The upcoming film is being helmed by Sriram Raghavan. She also has ‘Tiger 3’ with Salman Khan in her kitty. (ANI)

7.5L Applications Received Under Agnipath Scheme: IAF Chief

At a time when Opposition parties are demanding withdrawal of the Agnipath recruitment scheme, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Sunday said his force has received more than 7.5 lakh applications under the new scheme showcasing the youth’s “keenness” to join the armed forces.

The IAF chief also addressed the “challenge” of finishing the selection process on time which the forces, during the launch of the scheme, had set December as the deadline.
Notably, Opposition MPs, in a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, raised concerns about the newly launched Agnipath recruitment scheme for the armed forces and asked for its withdrawal or to send it for parliamentary scrutiny.

“We’ve received 7.5 lakh applications for it. This shows the keenness of the youth to join the armed forces and the Air Force in particular. The big challenge lies in finishing the selection process on time to start training as we had planned in December,” the IAF chief told ANI.

Notably, the Indian Air Force witnessed the highest number of applications for recruitment into the Force surpassing the previous best recruitment cycle numbers. The IAF started the registration process on June 24, 10 days after the Agnipath scheme was launched by the Centre.

According to the IAF, the highest number of applications in any recruitment cycle was 6,31,528 which was overtaken this year under the Agnipath scheme which attracted 7,49,899 applications.

“The online registration process conducted by #IAF towards #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme has been completed. Compared to 6,31,528 applications in the past, which was the highest in any recruitment cycle, this time 7,49,899 applications have been received,” IAF tweeted earlier this month.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari also spoke about Air Force Day, which is celebrated on October 8 every year, and said that the IAF will hold the Parade at different locations in the country.

“Air Force Day Parade this year will be held in Chandigarh. PM’s vision was to take major events out of Delhi. Keeping with PM’s vision and our idea of showing IAF’s prowess to the youth of the nation we decided to shift the venue of the Parade to a new location every year, this year we have selected Chandigarh,” he said.

“We take pride in showing the capabilities of the Air Force through such displays,” the IAF chief added.

In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives to take major events and festivities out of the national capital region to different parts of the country, the Indian Air Force has decided to celebrate this year’s annual Air Force Day parade and flypast in Chandigarh instead of the Hindan Air Base in Delhi NCR, where it was being held for past many years.

The flypast is being planned to be held over the famous Sukhna lake in the city where a large number of people, from not just Chandigarh but adjoining cities, can come and witness the combat aircraft such as the Rafale, Su-30 and Mirage 2000 fly along with the aerobatic display teams like the Suryakirans and the Sarang perform.

The IAF leadership also felt that the flypast should not be confined to the air base in Chandigarh as only a limited number of people would be able to view it due to restrictions inside the military bases, the officials said.

In the last eight years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started hosting foreign dignitaries in different cities like Ahmedabad and Chennai while many events like the military exhibition Defence expo are being held in different states.

As per the plans, from now on, the IAF would also celebrate Air Force Day in different parts of the country.

“Almost the same set of people witness the parade every year at the Hindan Air Base and shifting it to places outside the national capital region would ensure more number of youth see the Air Force in action and get inspired to join it,” the officials said.

For many decades, the Indian Air Force used to hold the parade and flypast at the Palam Air Base but shifted it to the Hindan Air Base in 2006. (ANI)

‘Govt Showed Unusual Hurry In Forming SIT To Probe Zubair Case’

Nutan Thakur, a lawyer in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court, feels Yogi Government action in AltNews case smacks of unethical bias

I have been following the cases registered against AltNews co-founder Mohammad Zubair in Uttar Pradesh under various Sections of IPC. In all, there are six first information reports (FIRs) filed against the fact-checker Mohammad Zubair.

These FIRs mainly pertain to making alleged sarcastic comments against a news channel anchor, hurting sentiments of Hindu community, making objectionable comments on religious deities, uploading provocative posts etc. in Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar and Hathras districts of the state. Each case is being handled by a separate Investigating Officer (IO).

One fine day, out of the blue, the Uttar Pradesh government orders setting up a special investigation team (SIT) headed by an IPS officer to oversee the bunch of cases. As the proceedings go, all the IOs will now need to submit their findings or evidence to the SIT head.

There are separate provisions in the CRPC and a proper channel for the formation of an SIT but the “unnecessary haste” shown in the Mohammad Zubair case apparently reflects a political bias.

As far as I can make out, none of the charges is as complicated that an Inspector or a Sub-Inspector rank officer in a station (where the FIR is registered) cannot investigate and submit a charge sheet.

ALSO READ: Defying The Demolition Doctrine

And contrary to the official claim, I am sure this will not only slow down the investigation but also affect the morale of ground-level investigation officers. For, this (formation of SIT) is also, in a way, about questioning their ability.

It has been about a week since the formation of the SIT, but nothing new has come out yet. As far as the process goes, team members are selected for the SIT after which it begins it probe. So, if you see, this could also be a ploy to further delay the investigations and keep the case in suspension. Such delay tactics are often used to keep an accused in custody and deny him bail from a court of law.

Zubair claims himself to be a fact-checker and none of the cases against him (in UP) are related to his ‘vocation’. I have not gone through his ‘findings’ but if his ‘acts’ have come to such a level that he has been booked for other offenses, his primary ‘occupation’ is also a matter of investigation.

But here, the purpose of registering criminal cases against Zubair seems dubious. It is more like to teach him a lesson for standing up against a particular ideology. Such retributive actions only reflect the ‘anxiety’ of the Uttar Pradesh government to prove its muscle power in silencing the critics.

As told to Rajat Rai

two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu Captures Singapore Open 2022 Women’s Singles Title

Indian ace shuttler and Olympic medalist PV Sindhu clinched the Singapore Open 2022 title after defeating China’s Wang Zhiyi in the final of the women’s singles category on Sunday.

Playing on court 1, Sindhu won the summit clash by 21-9, 11-21, 21-15. She was off to a great start, winning the first game by a thumping margin. Zhiyi made a comeback in a similar fashion in the next game, winning it by 11-21. In the decider game, the top Indian shuttler maintained her composure to win it 21-15 and win the title.
PV Sindhu advanced to the summit clash of the women’s singles category of the Singapore Open 2022 by defeating Japan’s Saena Kawakami in the semifinals here in Singapore on Saturday.

Sindhu was at her most dominant in the game, as she warded off the Japanese challenge within two straight games 15-21, 7-21. The match lasted for 58 minutes.

This is Sindhu’s third title of 2022.

In January this year, Sindhu won the women’s singles title at the Syed Modi International tournament.

At the Babu Banarasi Indoor Stadium, top-seed Sindhu defeated Malvika Bansod 21-13, 21-16 in the summit clash that lasted for 35 minutes.

Then later in March, India’s ace shuttler claimed the Swiss Open 2022 women’s singles crown at St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel.

Battling it out at court 1, the double Olympic medallist Indian Sindhu defeated Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand by 21-16, 21-8 in 49 minutes. (ANI)

Heavy Rainfall In Uttarakhand’s Chamoli Damages NH-7

Due to the heavy rainfall in Chamoli district, the road at National Highway-07 has been extensively damaged.

Traffic with caution has also been restored in two severely damaged locations of Km.

98+500(Karanprayag) and Km. 419+900(Pursari) and the contractor is in the process of restoring the road in full width.

Recent media reports have alleged that the government has engaged a blacklisted company for the execution of the prestigious Chardham Project.

National Highways and Infrastructure Development (NHIDCL) hereby clarifies that no blacklisted contractor is engaged on any of its projects and the selection of contractors for its projects are made after a prescribed due diligent process.

The companies engaged are executing a number of Central and State Government infrastructure projects

The roads are being constructed on EPC mode in which the contractor is responsible for the restoration of defects for four years even after construction. NHIDCL is committed to building high-quality highway infrastructure in the country. (ANI)

Pak: Ahead of Punjab Polls, PML-N Member Sharaqpuri Resigns

Ahead of Pakistan’s Punjab by-polls, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Mian Jaleel Ahmed Sharaqpuri has tendered his resignation.

Sharaqpuri from PP-139- Sheikhupura-V constituency submitted his resignation to the Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi leave his assembly membership, ARY News reported.
Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry claimed that two more PML-N MPAs have resigned and the number game in the Punjab Assembly went more interesting.

Chaudhry said that an MPA Kashif Mehmood has been disqualified in Bahawalpur. He added that PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) were having a total of 170 lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly which will be reduced to 168, reported ARY News.

Earlier, on Monday, PML-N leader Awais Leghari submitted his resignation letter citing his personal reasons.

He shared his resignation on his official Twitter handle in which he said he “will continue to work in the best interest of Pakistan and PML-N”, The Express Tribune reported.

The development came ahead of crucial by-polls on the Punjab Assembly 20 seats which will decide the fate of the Punjab government led by CM Hamza.

Last Saturday, Federal Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and provincial minister Khawaja Salman Rafique of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also resigned from their ministries to participate in electioneering in their respective constituencies in Punjab.

PML-N leader Atta Tarar had said in a statement that both the leaders stepped down from their posts to run election campaigns for the ruling party candidates in the upcoming by-elections on 20 Punjab Assembly seats, according to The Express Tribune.

Sadiq said in his resignation addressed to the prime minister that due to some personal reasons he was unable to serve as the federal minister.

PML-N needs to win a total of 9 seats in the by-elections to gain a majority to elect their Chief Minister in the biggest province of the country. (ANI)

Five Things That Happened Last Week (And What to Make of Them)

If Rishi Sunak becomes Britain’s next PM, will Indians rejoice?

Among the five Tory leaders who will make it to the third round of voting to select the candidate who will replace the outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, 42, is leading. Although he was born in the UK, Sunak’s Indian connection is his parents who are Indians that migrated from East Africa. But that is not his only link with India. Sunak is married to the daughter of N.R. Narayana Murthy, the billionaire co-founder of Indian infotech giant, Infosys. 

If Sunak does succeed Johnson, you can safely expect the Indian media to go berserk, appropriating him as “one of us”. It’s usually the way it goes. Whether it is Kamala Harris, the current US vice-president, or Bobby Jindal, the former Louisiana governor, anyone with the slightest trace of Indian heritage is quickly adopted as an object of adulation by the Indian media. So wait for it. There could be a deluge of hagiographical gush pieces that could assault us if Sunak makes it to 10 Downing Street.

Sri Lanka’s leadership crisis and what it means

It could have been a scene from a movie set in a banana republic. Last Wednesday, the president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa hurriedly left the country for Maldives not long after thousands of angry protestors broke into his official residence, swam in his pool and called for his resignation. The resignation came later in the week, after Rajapaksa moved to Singapore from Maldives and put in his papers.

Rajapaksa’s resignation finally came after several months of unrest in the island nation following economic mismanagement by his government that has led to widespread suffering for the country’s citizens. Sri Lanka’s 22 million people have been facing hardships, including the impact of runaway inflation, food and fuel shortage and a near-breakdown of the economy. Sri Lanka also has huge outstanding sovereign debt, much of which is held by China, India, and Japan. And whoever succeeds Rajapaksa will have to tackle a task of complex and mammoth proportions.

Sri Lanka adopted the presidential form of government in 1978. For much of the past two decades, the Rajapaksas have ruled Sri Lanka with almost unlimited powers. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is not the first of his family to rule the country. His brother Mahinda was elected president in 2005 and was considered a hero with legendary status in 2009 when he quashed the more than 25-year-old civil war against Tamil rebels. But he ran the country as a family business, installing his brothers, Gotabaya and Basil, in key government positions.

Gotabaya assumed office as president in 2019 but the economic crisis that followed has now taken its toll. Following the recent developments and his eventual resignation, the question uppermost on most analysts’ minds is first, whether this is the final denouement for the Rajapaksa clan; and second, what is in store for the tiny but troubled island country next.

A win for India as US House gives nod to Russian missile deal

With Russian aggression in Ukraine continuing, the US sanctions against Russia and those countries buying defence equipment from Russia is a punitive one. Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) aims at penalising countries that engage in deals with Russia.

The fact is India buys defence equipment running into billions of dollars from Russia. From 2011 to 2022, Russia made US$22.8 billion worth of arms transfers to India, which was 42.5 percent higher than the previous decade. Now, India is spending $5.5 billion on the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile platform. The U.S.-made Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system costs many times more and is not as effective for India’s needs.

Under CAATSA, this sort of a deal would have attracted US sanctions against India. But in a recent development, the US House of Representatives voted against imposing sanctions against India on the grounds that India has to protect its sovereignty along the Indo-Chinese border. According to Ro Khanna, the US representative from California, “The United States must stand with India in the face of escalating aggression from China. As Vice Chair of the India Caucus, I have been working to strengthen the partnership between our countries and ensure that India can defend itself along the Indian Chinese border.” Yet another instance of the Chinese bogey coming to the aid of India’s diplomatic relations with the US.

Q. How many people died in India’s heat wave? A. We don’t know

In the 100 days between end-March to late June, the temperature remained higher than 38 degrees Celsius every day except 15 days in most of India. In some places the temperature rose to more than 50 degrees Celsius. Yet, there is no accurate date on how many fatalities this freak heat wave may have caused.

According to scientific research, some of which is ongoing at top institutes in the world, the combination of high heat and humidity produces what is termed as the “wet-bulb temperature” whose minimum threshold is around 35 degrees Celsius (wet bulb temperature is the lowest temperature to which air can be cooled by the evaporation of water into the air at a constant pressure). It is believed that exposure to wet-bulb temperature above 35 degrees can be fatal for even healthy and young people.

The heat wave in India has been devastating. However, according to an article in the New York Times, there is a surprising lack of data on the number of fatalities that the sustained spike in temperature may have caused during March-June. Why?

Is it because India’s official data for deaths  (as it has allegedly been during the most serious waves of Covid) suffers from undercounting? Or is it because in many parts of India, the level of humidity accompanying the high temperature was low? (Apparently, high temperatures accompanied by high humidity levels are the commonest cause for heat wave related deaths). Or, is it because Indians are adapting better to increasing temperatures by adopting simple solutions of keeping cool (example: in vast regions of the country, when temperatures shoot up, people hang wet sheets that help keep their homes cooler).

The New York Times article attempts to answer these and other questions. It’s an essential read.

NSFW words for our lawmakers

NSFW (Not Safe for Work) is a term used to warn readers or viewers that some content is not appropriate for reading or viewing at work. But recently, India’s Lok Sabha Secretariat has released a list of words that it considers unparliamentary for use in parliamentary discourses. Many words – such as ‘corruption’, ‘corrupt’, ‘Jumlajeevi’, ‘tanashah’, ‘Dictator’, ‘black’ and ‘Khalistani’ are among those that have been banned. Parliamentarians will not be allowed to use these words during their speeches, interjections and other statements from the Monsoon session that begins on July 18.

Other words that have been banned include ‘Baal buddhi’, ‘Covid spreader’, ‘anarchist’, ‘Shakuni’, ‘dictatorial’, ‘taanashah’, ‘taanashahi’, ‘Jaichand’, ‘vinash purush’, ‘dohra charitra’, ‘nikamma’, ‘nautanki’, ‘dhindora peetna’ and ‘behri sarkar’ and ‘Snoopgate’.

Needless to say that this has sparked protests from the Opposition. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “New Dictionary for New India” with the image:

Others such as the Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien tweeted: “I will use all these words. Suspend me. Fighting for democracy.”

We will have to wait and see what happens when the session begins and the fun starts.

Pakistan Coal Suppliers Association

Afghanistan Raises Coal Prices To USD 80 Per Tonnes For Pak

Afghanistan has raised coal prices to USD 80 per tonne for Pakistan amid a surge in export.

A surge in tariffs has added USD 80 to each tonne of Afghanistan’s coal exported to Pakistan, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said, reported Tolo News.
A spokesman of the ministry, Esmatullah Burhan, said each tonne is sold for USD 200 and with new tariffs, importers will need to pay USD 280.

Afghanistan exported 10,000 tonnes of coal to Pakistan in the past two months, a local media reported, adding that the majority of coal was bought by companies connected to the Pakistan military.

The business community said that a delegation from Pakistan is expected to visit Kabul Sunday to discuss the import of coal with Afghan officials, reported Tolo News.

This comes as the price of Afghan coal has recently seen a significant surge, following an increase in coal exports to Pakistan.

“Issues facing trade between the two countries and opportunities and challenges will be discussed (between Afghan and Pakistani delegations),” said Naqibullah Safai, head of the Joint Chamber of Commerce.

Figures by the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment show that at least 10,000 tons of coal are sent to Pakistan daily, reported Tolo News.

“The sectorial team from Afghanistan is in talks with the sectorial team of Pakistan. We will focus is that trading will not be done in Pakistani rupees; it should be either Afghani and Pakistani rupees or the dollar,” said Nooruddin Azizi, the acting minister of industry and commerce.

Figures by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum show that Afghanistan has at least 80 coal mines and only 17 of them are under extraction. (ANI)

Indigo

IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad Flight Diverted To Pak’s Karachi Airport After Glitch

Another Indian flight, a Hyderabad-bound IndiGo airliner from Sharjah was diverted to Pakistan’s Karachi airport after the pilot reported a technical defect.

“IndiGo flight 6E-1406, operating from Sharjah to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi. The pilot observed a technical defect. Necessary procedures were followed and as a precaution, the aircraft was diverted to Karachi,” IndiGo said in a press release.
It further added that an additional flight will be sent to Karachi to fly the passengers to Hyderabad.

Notably, this is the second Indian Airline to make a precautionary landing in Karachi in 2 weeks.

Earlier, on July 5, a Dubai-bound SpiceJet flight from New Delhi made a precautionary landing in Pakistan’s Karachi airport after the pilot developed a technical glitch.

“SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Dubai diverted to Karachi. Boeing 737′ engine has developed a technical fault. The captain of the aircraft sought a precautionary landing and was given permission. All passengers on board are safe. The call sign of the aircraft is SG11,” sources told ANI on Tuesday.

According to the Karachi airport officials, the flight was diverted when it was on the way to Dubai.

“The plane landed in Karachi 0803 am (local time), 53 minutes after being airborne. It has been on-ground for the past four hours. Passengers are being looked after. The plane has been parked in the designated area where engineers are assessing the problem,” Pakistan’s civil aviation authority (CAA) official said.

The Indian low-cost carrier confirmed the emergency landing of SpiceJet in Karachi this morning.

“On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi – Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely at Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked,” the spokesperson of the airline said.

According to SpiceJet, no emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing at Karachi airport.

“No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft. Passengers have been served refreshments. A replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai,” SpiceJet spokesperson said. (ANI)