Month: February 2023

Tinsel-town’s newlywed couple Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, on Wednesday evening, arrived in Delhi a day after their intimate wedding at Suryagarh Palace in Jaisalmer.

The couple reached the Indira Gandhi Airport a while ago and their pictures went viral in no time.
Mr and Mrs Malhotra happily posed for the shutterbugs and even gave them wedding sweets. Isn’t it a heartwarming gesture?

The duo, who left from Jaisalmer in western outfits, landed in Delhi in red ethnic outfits. Sidharth looked handsome in a red kurta that he paired over a white pyjama and layered it with a nicely embroidered shawl.

Kiara on the other hand wore a red suit. She completed her look with minimal makeup, mangalsutra and pink chooda. Don’t forget to spot sindoor on her head. Kiara indeed looked beautiful as a new bride.

If reports are to be believed, Kiara will receive grand “griha pravesh” at Sidharth’s Delhi residence.

According to Punjabi ritual, the new bride and groom receive a welcome from the groom’s family where the mother greets the couple with aarti and the bride enters the house by tossing a vessel of rice with her right foot. As Sidharth hails from Punjabi family, fans are assuming that Kiara’s griha pravesh will happen in a similar way.

Sidharth and Kiara got hitched on February 7 in presence of close friends and family members. For the ceremony, Kiara donned a Manish Malhotra-designed pink lehenga, which featured intricate embroidery detailing Roman architecture. It was inspired by the special love the newlyweds share for the city of domes. The new bride chose diamond jewellery by Manish Malhotra for her big day. The neckpiece features an exquisite composition of ultra-fine hand-cut diamonds crafted with rare Zambian emeralds.

Sidharth opted for an ivory sherwani with an exquisite royal lustre. The sherwani features classic signatures, hints of ivory threadwork, gold zardozi and badla work, handcrafted with utmost finesse. He completed his look with Polki Jewellery studded with extremely fine uncut diamonds for the perfect regal look.

Now fans are waiting to see how Sidharth and Kiara will look at their reception. The couple is likely to host two wedding receptions — one in Delhi and the other one in Mumbai. (ANI)

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National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has emphasised that India will never abandon the Afghan people in their time of need and that well-being and humanitarian needs of people of Afghanistan is India’s foremost priority, sources said on Wednesday.

Ajit Doval, who participated in the fifth Multilateral Meeting of Secretaries of Security Councils and National Security Advisers on Afghanistan in Moscow on Wednesday, also reiterated the call for an inclusive and representative government in Kabul and need for collective efforts to fight terrorism.
Sources said Doval noted that no country should be allowed to use Afghan territory to export terrorism and natural resources of Afghanistan should be utilised first for welfare of its people.

Apart from Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were represented at the meeting.

Various issues related to Afghanistan were discussed, including the security situation and humanitarian challenges facing the country.

According to sources, Doval said that Afghanistan is passing through a difficult phase and noted that India has historical and special relationship with Afghanistan.

Noting that “well being and humanitarian needs of people of Afghanistan is India’s foremost priority”, he said this will continue to guide the government’s approach and “India will never abandon the Afghan people in their time of need”.

Focusing on food security and medical supplies, India has so far delivered 40,000 MT of wheat, 60 tonnes of medicines, 500,000 Covid vaccines, winter clothing and 28 tonnes of disaster relief, the sources said. India’s technical team is overseeing humanitarian assistance programme.

Standing with Aghans, India has granted fresh scholarships to 2260 Afghan students including 300 Afghan girls during the past two years.

Doval noted an inclusive and representative dispensation is in the larger interest of Afghan society, according to sources.

He said that terrorism has become a major threat in the region and dealing with “Daesh and terror outfits like LeT and JeM requires intensified intelligence and security cooperation” between respective states and its agencies.

India reaffirmed the importance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2593 (2021) that calls for terror outfits including those designated by UNSCR 1267 to be denied sanctuary in the region.

Sources said Doval noted that “no country should be allowed to use Afghan territory to export terrorism and radicalisation”.

The NSA said India is and will remain an important stakeholder in Afghanistan. He said India always stood by people of Afghanistan and will always support collective efforts to help Afghan people build a prosperous and vibrant nation once again.

The Embassy of India in Russia said in a tweet that NSA Doval stressed the well-being and humanitarian needs of Afghans.

“NSA Ajit Doval participated in the 5th Multilateral Security Dialogue on Afghanistan in Moscow. Stressed the well-being and humanitarian needs of Afghans. He said India will never abandon the Afghan people in their time of need,” the Indian embassy said.

“He reiterated the call for an inclusive and representative government in Afghanistan and need for collective efforts to fight terrorism,” it added.

The third round of Multilateral Security Dialogue on Afghanistan was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of NSA Ajit Doval in November 2021. The fourth meeting was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in May 2022. (ANI)

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The Morbi Court on Wednesday sent the Managing Director of Oreva Group, Jaysukh Patel, to judicial custody after his police remand ended on Wednesday in connection with the 2022 Morbi suspension bridge collapse case, that claimed 134 lives.

Jaysukh Patel was sent to police custody by the Morbi Court earlier on January 31.
He earlier surrendered before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Morbi.

Patel has been sent to a sub-jail in Morbi.

People who lost their loved ones also raised slogans outside the court premises against Patel.

Earlier this month, Gujarat Police filed a 1,262-page chargesheet in the case and named Jaysukh Patel as the prime accused for the suspension bridge collapse in Morbi.

On January 24, a Gujarat court issued a warrant for the arrest of Jaysukh Patel of the Oreva Group in relation to the October 30 bridge collapse in Morbi in which 134 people were killed.

Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) had secured the contract to renovate, repair and operate the British-era bridge on the Machchu river in Morbi.

On January 29, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Morbi, MJ Khan, issued an arrest warrant against Patel under section 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

“The court issued an arrest warrant against Jaysukh Patel of Oreva Group, which had a contract for the renovation of the Morbi bridge. He has not been arrested for 70 days.

“No lookout notice issued yet,” Government prosecutor Sanjay Vora had told ANI.

Notably, Patel had moved to Morbi sessions court on January 20 for anticipatory bail in the case, while the hearing was adjourned till February 1 as the public prosecutor was not present.

Patel is not named as an accused in the FIR filed by the police in the case.

Nine persons, including four employees of Ajanta Manufacturing (Oreva Group), have been arrested so far in the case. They include two managers and an equal number of ticket booking clerks of the Oreva Group that was managing the British-era bridge.

As many as 134 persons lost their lives after a century-old suspension bridge fell into the Machchhu River of Morbi, Gujarat.

Gujarat High Court on November 7 took suo motu cognisance of the Morbi accident, issuing notices to officials, including those of the state Home department and seeking a report within a week.

The Supreme Court in November said the Morbi bridge collapse incident was an “enormous tragedy”, as it asked the Gujarat High Court, which was already holding hearings in the matter suo motu, to hold periodical hearings. (ANI)

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US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that the country needs more resources to reduce gun crime and it’s high time to ban assault weapons again amid a rise in mass shootings.

In his first major speech to a divided Congress, after Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, Joe Biden said, “10 years ago the ban was law, mass shootings went down. After Republicans let it expire, mass shootings tripled. Let’s finish the job and ban assault weapons again.”
He further added by saying that the US needs more resources to fight back against the ongoing situation in the country as gun violence continues to stay on the rise.

“We need more resources to reduce violent crime and gun crime, community intervention programs…All this can help prevent violence in the first place…Ban assault weapons once and for all. We did it before. I led the fight to ban them in 1994,” Biden said during the State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday in Capitol Hill.

Notably, the US has been prone to mass shootings and excessive gun violence lately and people of the country have repeatedly protested for stricter gun laws.

Furthermore, Biden also highlighted the “serious challenges” America faces “across the world” and warned China that the US “will act to protect sovereignty if threatened” by China.

Biden while delivering his first major speech to a divided Congress, said, “If China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. Let’s be clear, winning the competition with China should unite all of us. We face serious challenges across the world. In the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker.”

The US President further spoke on the Russia-Ukraine war and stated that America will stand with Ukraine ‘as long as it takes’.

The US has pledged more than USD 29 billion dollars since the war began between Russia and Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, according to the Pentagon. Biden announced the latest package worth more than USD 2.17 billion on Friday that includes longer-range missiles for the first time.

Last month, the US committed to providing Ukraine with 31 advanced M-1 Abrams tanks, a decision made in concert with European countries providing German-made Leopard 2 tanks. It was a reversal of a red line previously held by the US and other Western countries, like Germany. The tanks are powerful new tools, allowing Ukraine to go on the offensive and retake territory seized by Russia, reported CNN. (ANI)

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Recalling his Ekta Yatra to Jammu and Kashmir in 1991, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that he had unfurled the Tricolour at Lal Chowk on January 26 “without a bulletproof jacket” despite the terrorists’ threats.

The Prime Minister said that there is peace in Jammu and Kashmir now and tourism is on a historic rise following the abrogation of Article 370.
“Those (referring to Rahul Gandhi who recently concluded Bharat Jodo Yatra in J-K) who came back from J-K recently must have seen how easily you can go in J-K. I too had gone on a yatra to J&K with the resolve to unfurl the Tricolour at Lal Chowk. Terrorists had put up posters and said, “Dekhte hain, kisne maa ka doodh piya hai jo Lal Chowk aake Tiranga phehra paaye”,” PM Modi said while addressing Lok Sabha during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.

“That day on January 24, at a public rally, I had said, “Terrorists pay heed. On January 26, sharp at 11 am, I will reach Lal Chowk without security and a bulletproof jacket. Faisla Lal Chowk pe hoga kisne apni maa ka doodh piya hai”. Then I unfurled the Tricolour at Lal Chowk,” he added.

Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister took an apparent swipe at the Opposition leaders in J-K and said that they participated in the Tiranga Yatra (Bharat Jodo Yatra).

“Today there is peace, people can go easily in hundreds in number. J-K has broken various records in the field of tourism after decades. The Festival of democracy is being celebrated in J-K. Today, there is a successful campaign of Har Ghar Tiranga. Some people used to say that there is a danger of disruption in peace due to the Tricolour. Look at the time, even those people participated in the Tiranga Yatra,” he said.

The Prime Minister further took a dig at the Opposition parties and said that Enforcement Directorate is+ behind their unity.

“A lot of things were said in the House about the probe agencies. I had thought that the people of the country and the results of the elections would bring such people to one stage. But that did not happen. They should thank ED that due to it they have now come together,” he said.

Citing a study at Harvard, the Prime Minister said that the subject of the study is “Rise and fall of India’s Congress Party”.

“Some people here have a craze for Harvard studies. During Covid, it was said that there will be a case study on the devastation in India. Over the years an important study has been done at Harvard and the subject of the study is the ‘Rise and fall of India’s Congress Party’,” he said.

“Those who are drunk in arrogance and think that only they have the knowledge, feel that only by abusing Modi will be a way out…Only through false, nonsensical mudslinging on Modi will a path be paved. It has been 22 years, and they still have a misapprehension,” PM Modi added.

The Prime Minister further said that the people’s trust in him was not due to the newspaper headlines but hard work.

“Trust in Modi was not born out of newspaper headlines, not through faces on TV. (I have) given my life, every moment of mine for the people of the country, for the glorious future of the country. People’s trust in Modi is beyond their understanding,” he said.

Later in the day, Lok Sabha adopted the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. (ANI)

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The Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll stands at 9,487, CNN reported citing officials as rescue operations continue in the disaster-hit countries.

According to aid organisations and rescuers, the number of fatalities is expected to rise as many people are still buried beneath the wreckage.
At least 6,957 people have died and more than 38,000 people have been injured in Turkey, according to the country’s environment minister Murat Kurum, who said at a televised briefing on Wednesday. According to CNN, in Syria, at least 2,530 people have died.

Many people attempted to evacuate the destroyed city of Gaziantep, which is situated around 33 kilometres (20 miles) from the epicentre, after a series of earthquakes and aftershocks in Turkey and Syria.

Those who could not leave the city on Tuesday sought sanctuary in malls, stadiums, mosques, and community centres because the airport and numerous roads outside the city were blocked.

The search for survivors of the terrible earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria on Monday continues on Wednesday. Foreign aid from multiple countries has started arriving in the region.

Rescuers are racing to pull survivors from earthquake rubble before they succumb to cold weather in southern Turkey and war-ravaged northern Syria. As the death toll climbed, despair and anger were growing over the pace of rescue efforts, reported Khaleej Times.

The quake, one of the strongest to hit the region in more than 100 years, struck 23 kilometres (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometres (14.9 miles), the US Geological Survey said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month-long state of emergency in 10 provinces as rescuers race against time in Turkey and Syria following Monday’s devastating earthquake. (ANI)

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