May 2023 - Page 43 of 51 - Lokmarg

Another Step To Recovery: Rishabh Pant Throws Away Crutches

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

Indian wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant shared a video on his Instagram handle updating fans about his recovery from the multiple injuries he sustained in a horrific car accident last year.

Pant posted a video where he was seen throwing away his crutches, implying that he could now walk without them.

He captioned the video, “Happy NO MORE CRUTCHES Day!”

Pant had shared an Instagram story of visiting the gym on Wednesday.

In the story, he pointed to a wall on whicb were the words, “Sports do not build character, they reveal it”.

The wicket-keeper batter had met with a car accident on the Delhi-Dehradun highway, sustaining multiple injuries.

After receiving initial treatment in Dehradun, he was airlifted to a Mumbai for better and more specialised treatment.

While Pant was ruled out in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), he could not keep himself away from the action as he was seen at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital, cheering for his franchise, Delhi Capitals. (ANI)

India Saw 18% Surge In Cyber Attacks During Jan-March 2023

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

During the first quarter of calendar year (CY) 2023, India saw an 18 per cent jump year-on-year in weekly cyberattacks, according to a report. The report also said it averaged 2,108 attacks per organisation during the period.

During the first quarter of 2023, the global average weekly attacks rose by 7 per cent in comparison to the corresponding period in 2022, with each organisation facing an average of 1,248 attacks per week, Check Point said in a statement.
Globally, during the first quarter of 2023, the education or research sector was hit the hardest with the highest number of attacks, averaging 2,507 attacks per organisation per week, representing a 15 per cent surge from Q1 2022, according to the report which was released on Friday.

The government or military sector was the second most targeted with an average of 1,725 attacks per week, indicating a 3 per cent increase from the previous year.

The healthcare sector experienced a significant rise in attacks with an average of 1,684 attacks per week, marking a substantial year-over-year increase of 22 per cent. However, the most significant change came in the retail or wholesale sector which saw the highest year-over-year increase of 49 per cent with an average of 1,079 attacks per week.

According to the report, education or research continued to be the most heavily impacted sector, with many institutions still struggling to secure extended networks and access points during the shift to remote learning.

In the first quarter of 2023, the African region had the highest number of average weekly cyberattacks per organisation, with an average of 1,983 attacks, indicating a marginal decrease of 2 per cent compared to Q1 2022.

Conversely, the APAC region experienced the most significant year-over-year increase in average weekly attacks per organisation, with a surge of 16 per cent, reaching an average of 1,835 attacks per organisation, followed by the North American region, which saw a 9 per cent year-on-year increase coming to 950 average weekly attacks per organisation, the Check Point report said.

Check Point is an American-Israeli multinational provider of software and combined hardware and software products for IT security, including network security, endpoint security, cloud security, mobile security, data security and security management. As of 2021, the company has about 6,000 employees worldwide. (ANI)

Shah Reviews Manipur Situation; 10 More Troops Companies Rushed

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday again reviewed the situation in Manipur through a video conference meeting with state Chief Minister N Biren Singh and top officials in the state as well as the Centre.

A total of 10 more companies (nearly 1,000 personnel) of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were also dispatched to the violence-hit state earlier in the day on Friday following orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The Home minister was apprised in detail about the current situation in Manipur during a meeting via video conference, and Shah, who is closely monitoring each and every development in the state, asked officials to maintain peace as soon as possible however the situation is under control there, said sources.

In the wake of clashes reported in parts of Manipur, Shah on Friday cancelled all his programmes for the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka.

On Thursday, Shah also held two meetings via video-conferencing and spoke with the CMs of Manipur and neighbouring states including that of Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam in view of the situation in Manipur.

To keep the situation in control, five Rapid Action Force (RAF) companies of the Central Reserve Police Force along with other CAPF companies were dispatched to Manipur on Thursday too.

Manipur faced violence on May 3 during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest the demand for the inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. The march was organised in protest against the demand for inclusion of the state’s Meitei community in the ST category, following an April 19 Manipur High Court directive.

This prompted the state government to issue prohibitory orders and suspend internet services across the state for five days. Along with a ban on large gatherings, a night curfew too has been imposed in several districts of the state.

According to the Home Ministry and Indian Army, the situation in Manipur has been brought under control through coordinated actions by all stakeholders.

In a video statement on Thursday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said the incidents were a result of a “prevailing misunderstanding between two communities” and appealed to the people of the state to cooperate with the government in maintaining law and order.

As the situation worsened on Thursday, the state home department asked the district magistrates to issue shoot-at-sight orders “in extreme cases whereby all forms of persuasion, warning, reasonable force, etc. had been exhausted under the provisions of law…”

By Wednesday evening, the violence spread from the hill districts to other parts of the state, including Imphal Valley, which has practically been under siege since. Through Thursday, mobs went on a rampage, burning houses and vehicles allegedly belonging to a particular tribal group. (ANI)

Pak’s Credibility Is Depleting Faster Than Its Forex Reserve: Jaishankar

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

External Affairs S Jaishankar on Friday took a dig at Pakistan’s economic condition amid its depleting forex reserves.

Slamming Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s comments on terrorism, he said, “Pakistan’s credibility is depleting faster than even its Forex reserves,” at a media briefing by the Presidency after SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.
“They (Pakistan) are committing acts of terrorism. I don’t want to jump the gun on what happened today, but we all feel equally outraged. On this matter, the terrorism matter, I would say that Pakistan’s credibility is depleting faster than even its Forex reserves,” Jaishankar said.

Adding further, EAM said Pakistan has nothing to do with G20 and Srinagar.

“I said they (Pakistan) have nothing to do with G20. I will also say that they have nothing to do with Srinagar. There is only one issue to discuss on Kashmir which is when does Pakistan vacate its illegal occupation of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir,” the EAM added.

On a question on abrogation of Article 370, EAM Dr S Jaishankar phrased, “…wake up and smell the coffee. 370 is history. The sooner people realise it, the better it is.”

Over the visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Bhutto to Goa for the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Goa, EAM slammed his neighbouring counterpart, saying, “He came here as the Foreign Minister of an SCO Member State. That is part of multilateral diplomacy. Don’t see it as anything more than that. I think that nothing from what he said or what I heard he said deserves for this to be treated more than that.” (ANI)

Manohar Intl Airport, Goa Handles 1MN Passengers In 116 Days

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

GMR Goa International Airport (GGIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure Limited (GIL), has announced that Manohar International Airport has handled one million passengers in just 116 days since its opening.

This overwhelming response from passengers positioned Manohar International Airport amongst the top 20 airports in India as per March 2023 domestic traffic data, according to a statement from GMR Group.
Manohar International Airport has expanded its reach by connecting 25 destinations in India, with three new cities added at the end of April 2023, GMR said.

These destinations include Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Ranchi, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Nashik, Jaipur, Chennai, Nagpur, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Patna, Baroda, Dehradun, and Cochin.

Since its inauguration, Manohar International Airport has received an overwhelming response from airlines and passengers, GMR said in the statement.

RV Sheshan, CEO, GGIAL, said, “While reaching the million-passenger milestone is a commendable achievement and a significant milestone, we have many more milestones to achieve. We are committed to providing our partners, passengers, and all stakeholders with a world-class experience and are equipped to maintain our standing as the preferred gateway to Goa.”

Equipped to handle even the wide-body Code D & E aircraft, Manohar International Airport is currently catering to Code C Aircraft used by domestic carriers. Code C aircraft such as A320 and B737 have wingspan measuring between 24 metres and 36 metres.

Sheshan said, “I would like to thank every member of the airport team for their collective hard work to achieve this milestone by ensuring that our passengers had a pleasant experience when they chose Manohar International Airport.”

GMR said GGIAL’s success is a testament to the company’s dedication to providing a top-of-the-line experience for its passengers by using world-class technologies. (ANI)

Covid Global Health Emergency Over: WHO

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that Covid-19 pandemic is over as a global health emergency.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, made the announcement while addressing a media briefing on Covid-19 and global health issues.
“It is therefore with great hope that I declare #Covid19 over as a global health emergency. However, that does not mean Covid-19 is over as a global health threat. Last week, Covid-19 claimed a life every three minutes – and that’s just the deaths we know about,” he said.

“As we speak, thousands of people around the world are fighting for their lives in intensive care units. And millions more continue to live with the debilitating effects of post-#Covid19 condition,” the Director General of WHO added.

The WHO had declared Covid-19 as a global emergency in January 2020.

“1221 days ago, WHO learned of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China. On the 30th January 2020, on the advice of an Emergency Committee convened under the International Health Regulations, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of #Covid19 – the highest level of alarm under international law,” Tedros said.

“At that time, outside China there were fewer than 100 reported [#Covid19] cases, and no reported deaths. In the 3 years since then, Covid-19 has turned our world upside down. Almost 7 million deaths have been reported to WHO, but we know the toll is several times higher – at least 20 million,” he noted.

“What this news means is that it is time for countries to transition from emergency mode to managing #Covid19 alongside other infectious diseases,” he added. (ANI)

Brad Pitt To Drive Formula 1 Car

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

Get ready to witness actor Brad Pitt in the driver’s seat of real Formula One car. Yes, you read it right.

The ‘Fight Club’ star will drive at British Grand Prix as part of shooting for Joseph Kosinski’s directorial, Variety reported.
During a panel about the untitled film at the F1 Accelerate Summit in Miami, Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer shared production details of the Apple Studios movie, which stars Pitt and counts seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton among its producers.

According to panel moderator Will Buxton, Kosinksi and Bruckheimer are “creating an 11th team filming on track and on event from Silverstone to the end of the year.” Silverstone is the track where the British Grand Prix takes place. This year, the event will be held on July 9.

Buxton said that the film’s team has created “the smallest moveable 6k camera ever designed to take the viewer into the cockpit,” where the film’s stars will actually be driving the race cars. “That’s right. Brad Pitt driving an F1 car from Silverstone onwards,” Buxton added. ESPN F1 also confirmed the news in a tweet.

It’s unclear if Pitt will actually be racing against other drivers during the event, or if production will happen before or after the race.

During an investor Q&A in April (via Sports Illustrated), F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said the film will be “quite invasive in terms of production. It’s something that we need to control, in a way, but it will be another way of showing that Formula 1 never stops.”

Buxton also shared that the race car being used in the film was designed by Mercedes, and Hamilton is “advising on storyline and script to ensure it’s the most accurate racing film ever made.”

The particular update has left Pitt’s fan excited.

“Woah…this is something interesting,” a social media user commented.

“Can’t wait to see Brad Pitt in a new avatar,” another one wrote.

According to the film’s official logline, Pitt plays “a driver who comes out of retirement to compete alongside a rookie driver against the titans of the sport.”

Damson Idris will also be seen in the film. (ANI)

Sunny Deol’s Son To Get Married In June?

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

It’s band, Baaja and baraat time for Bollywood’s Deol family.

As per a source, actor Sunny Deol’s son Karan Deol is all set to tie the knot with his girlfriend in June.
Karan’s partner is from Dubai and does not belong to film fraternity, as per the source.

If reports are to be believed, Karan is already engaged to his ladylove. The engagement ceremony reportedly took place on the occasion of the marriage anniversary of his grandparents, Dharmendra and Prakash Kaur, in a close-knit ceremony.

Karan is also an actor. He made his acting debut in his father’s 2019 movie Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas. Not just Karan, the film also marked the Bollywood debut of Sahher Bambba.

The film was directed by his father Sunny Deol.

After debuting in ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’, Karan featured in ‘Velle’ in 2021. The film marked Karan’s first on screen collaboration with his uncle Abhay Deol. The film also starred Mouni Roy and Anya Singh. It was produced by Ajay Devgn and directed by debutante Deven Munjal. It is said to be the Hindi adaptation of the 2019 Telugu movie Brochevarevarura.

Sunny Deol often shares pictures with his son Karan on social media. On Karan’s 32nd birthday last year, he recalled the time when he directed him in ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’.

“As a director I pushed your limits, and made you do everything. You rappelled off of high peaks in the Himalayas, jumped into frozen lakes, swam in Grade 6 Rapids water streams, got stuck between rocks, got hurt, but kept going on and on without a second thought…just because you believed in me! When I was making you do all this, as a father my heart was always in my mouth, as a director my admiration for you was scaling mountaintops! You will succeed in your life my son because you take no shortcuts. I know it’s a lot of hard work, keep going, respect elders, be kind and standup up for what is right! Happy Birthday, son,” he posted.

Karan will next be seen sharing screen space with the Deols in ‘Apne 2’. (ANI)

Deepika’s Stylish Entry With Dad At Mumbai Airport

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

When it comes to airport fashion, actor Deepika Padukone knows best how to steal attention with her sartorial choices.

On Friday, she was spotted at the Mumbai airport with her father and badminton legend Prakash Padukone.

Clad in an all-white co-ord set, she looked gorgeous as ever. The former badminton star was seen in formal attire.

Deepika even happily posed for the paps and greeted them “Good morning.”

It is currently unclear if the father-daughter duo was travelling to their hometown Banglore or jetting off for a family vacation.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Deepika will be next seen in the upcoming pan-India action thriller film ‘Project K’ opposite actor Prabhas. She also has Siddharth Anand’s next aerial action thriller film ‘Fighter’ opposite Hrithik Roshan in her kitty. This is her second film with director Siddharth Anand after they delivered this year’s biggest hit, Pathaan.

‘Fighter’, which is scheduled to release on January 25 next year, will also star Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi.

Earlier this year, she attended Oscars 2023 as a presenter. She took over the Oscars stage solo and introduced RRR’s song, Naatu Naatu right before its live performance.

Speaking about the song, she said, “An irresistibly catchy chorus, electrifying beats and killer dance moves to match have made this song a global sensation. It plays during a pivotal scene in ‘RRR’, a movie about the friendship between real-life Indian revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. In addition to being sung in Telugu and illustrating the film’s anti-colonialist themes, it’s also a total banger!”

She added, “It’s earned millions of views on Youtube and Tik Tok. Has audiences dancing in movie theatres all around the world and is also the first song ever from Indian production to be nominated for an Oscar. Do you know Naatu? Because if you don’t you’re about to. From the film RRR this is Naatu Naatu.”

Recently, she shared backstage pictures from historic Oscars 2023. (ANI)

Ability Of Ukrainian, Western Friends To Lie: Russia’s FM On Drone Attack

By LokMarg 5th May 2023

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said that Ukraine’s denial of its role in the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin is typical of the “ability of our Ukrainian and Western friends to lie.”

“The ability of our Ukrainian and Western friends to lie is very well known and the entire situation is illustrating the crisis which is much deeper than just behaviour of regime followed by Zelensky”, the Russian Foreign Minister said while responding to a query by ANI at a media briefing here.

Lavrov is visiting India to participate in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Goa today.

Moscow had on Wednesday accused Kiev of making an unsuccessful attempt to attack the Kremlin and assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“If you believe that as soon as the United States and Ukraine rejected the accusations we should stop thinking what we know about. This is not the case,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.

On being asked if the recent attacks were discussed with the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his bilateral meeting here, the minister said that “he didn’t discuss in detail’ and that he knows the “position of India.”

“We didn’t discuss in detail the terrorist attack against the Kremlin. We know the position of India which is in favour of stopping any provocation and terrorist attacks there is no doubt about this,” said Lavrov.

Russia has meanwhile reaffirmed that it reserves the right to take countermeasures on the attack.

It said that two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) had been used in the alleged attack on Putin’s residence in the Kremlin citadel, but had been disabled by electronic defences.

“We regard these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the president’s life, carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade, at which the presence of foreign guests is also planned,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied that his country carried out the drone attack on the Kremlin.

“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities,” he said during a visit to Finland.

On Thursday, the United States too dismissed Russia’s allegation that Washington was behind what it said was a drone attack on the Kremlin, terming Moscow’s assertion was a lie.

“Obviously it’s a ludicrous claim,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said hours after Russia blamed the United States for what it called an attack aimed at killing President Vladimir Putin.

“The United States has nothing to do with it. We don’t even know exactly what happened here, but I can assure you the United States had no role in it whatsoever,” Kirby said on CNN. (ANI)