Yashwant Sinha receives warmwelcome by CM KCR & KTR

GNS News Agency, July 2Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister and TRS party

supremo K Chandrashekar Rao along with party work-ing president and IT Minister KT Rama Rao on Saturdayreceived former union minister Yashwant Sinha who iscontesting the Presidential polls with the support of theOpposition parties as part of his campaign. He has kickstarted his campaign from Kerala on Wednesday and isscheduled to visit Tamil Nadu on Thursday andChhattisgarh on July 1 (Friday).TRS working presidentand Minister KT Rama Rao who accompanied Sinha for

filing the nominations in New Delhi recently, invited thelatter to Hyderabad to meet the TRS MPs and legislators.The TRS which extended its support to Sinha's candida-ture, had also assured to reach out to all the like-mindedpolitical forces to support him in the Presidentialelections.Sinha is expected to meet the Parliament mem-bers and legislators of the TRS as well as the Congressamong other political parties from Telangana separately.Earlier on Wednesday, he held separate meetings withLDF and UDF elected representatives in Kerala andsought their vote.

Discussions on assembly poll wins, strategy likelyto feature in BJPs national executive meeting

GNS News Agency, July 2Hyderabad: The BJP's recent victory in four states,

strategy for the upcoming elections and successfulcompletion of the Modi government's eight years are ex-pected to be the highlights during the party's nationalexecutive meeting starting here on Saturday.The BJP'sfrontal attack on the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and other"corrupt and dynastic" parties is likely to feature promi-nently during the proceedings. The meeting starts a dayafter the Supreme Court's scathing criticism of the BJP'snow suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma for hercontroversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad andin the aftermath of the protests against Agnipath, a short-term recruitment scheme in the armed forces.The two-day meeting will begin with BJP president JP Nadda'sspeech and at least two resolutions, including a politicalresolution, will be passed during the proceedings. Thenomination of Droupadi Murmu as the BJP-led NDA'sPresidential nominee may also feature during the meet-ing, as the BJP can claim to have continuously beenworking towards empowering the downtrodden sectionsof the society.The meeting will end with Prime Minister

Narendra Modi's concluding remarks, where he will theset agenda for the party's activities in the coming weeksand months. With Maharashtra now in its kitty, the BJPhas consolidated its position in the north-western re-gion and has now set it eyes on the southern states,especially Telangana. This is the BJP's third meeting inSouth, after Bengaluru and Kozhikode, since the partycome to power in 2014.

Shiv Sena sacks CM EknathShinde for anti-party activities

GNS News Agency, July 2Mumbai: On anticipated lines, the Shiv Sena 're-

moved' the new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as a 'ShivSena Leader' for indulging in 'anti-party' activities, theparty confirmed here on Saturday.In a terse letter to Shindeon Thursday, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray,who quit as Chief Minister on June 29, said: "You havebeen indulging in anti-party activities and have voluntar-ily given up your membership of Shiv Sena."Accordingly,in exercise of the powers vested in him as the 'ShivsenaPaksha Pramukha', Thackeray said he has removed

Shinde as a Shiv Sena leader in the partyorganisation.The party's mouthpiece, 'Saamana' Groupof publications have highlighted and confirmed the de-velopment in their editions on Saturday amid specula-tion it could trigger a bigger struggle to control the 56-year-old party and its assets.

There are 11 Shiv Sena leaders in the top party hier-archy who plan out major policy decisions giving a direc-tion to the party, and the move was taken as per certainprecedents.The possibility of a similar fate awaiting theother 39 MLAs who joined the Shinde-led rebellion onJune 20, is not ruled out, after it created an unprecedentedpolitical crisis in the state and led to the collapse of thethree-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government onThursday.On Friday, Thackeray dismissively said that aperson who 'sidelined' the Sena could not be called a'Shiv Sena Chief Minister', as contended by the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) leaders and the rebels group, thoughShinde's supporters are unfazed.While Thackeray re-signed as Chief Minister on June 29 after 31 months inpower, the Sena 'rebel' Shinde was sworn-in as the newChief Minister with the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as thesurprise Deputy Chief Minister on Thursday.The new gov-ernment has been ordered by Governor Bhagat SinghKoshyari to seek a 'vote of confidence' in a Special Legis-lative Assembly session to be held on July 3-4.

BJP should have shown big heart by honouringrotational CM pact, says Sena; taunts Fadnavis

Tight vigil around Charminarahead of visits of BJP leaders

GNS News Agency, July 2Hyderabad: Police have mounted a tight vigil around

Charminar and its surroundings in view of the visit ofseveral important leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Partyto the Bhagyalakshmi temple.Uttar Pradesh Chief Minis-ter Yogi Adityanath was scheduled to visit theBhagyalakshmi temple at Charminar on Saturday after-noon. However, the visit was later postponed.DeputyCommissioner of Police (South) P Sai Chaitanya alongwith other police officials meanwhile reached Charminarand reviewed the security arrangements. While there isno official word so far on the visit of the UP CM, the offi-cials are prepared for the visit.

Trinamool MLA Nirmal Maji now accused ofcomparing Mamata Banerjee with Allah

GNS News Agency, July 2Kolkata: Trinamool Congress legislator Nirmal Maji,

who is already in the centre of a controversy after hedescribed Mamata Banerjee as an incarnation of MaaSarada, is now accused of comparing the chief ministerwith Allah.The lone All India Secular Front (AISF) legisla-tor in West Bengal Assembly, Nawshad Siddiqui madethis allegation by releasing a video message which heshared with a section of the media.To recall, AISF con-tested the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls in alliancewith Left Front and Congress.Siddique has started hisvideo message with the reference Maji describing thechief minister as the incarnation of Maa Sarada, the wifeand spiritual consort of RamakrishnaParamahamsa."Trinamool Congress Nirmal Maji re-cently drew a comparison between Maa Sarada and the

chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. Quite naturally such acomparison has created grievances in the minds of theHindus. Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Missionhave also objected to such comments by issuing a state-ment. Now it is learnt that the same legislator at a differ-ent place has drawn comparison between Allah and thechief minister. This is against the faith of the people fol-lowing Islam religion. Such comparison has createdgrievances in the minds of Muslims," Siddique said inhis video statement, which is available withIANS.However, he did not specify where exactly Maji washeard or seen drawing the said comparison.In his state-ment, Siddique has termed both the instances as theworst examples of flattery and had sought an official state-ment from the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee on thiscount. He had also sought action against Maji for suchstatements."Such comments can create tension in thesociety and hamper the spirit of communal harmony," heconcluded.Maji kept himself incommunicado since thevideo message was released. There was no official state-ment from any Trinamool Congress leader also till thisreport was filed.Earlier, on his comments connecting MaaSarada and the chief minister, Maji was censured by asection of the party leadership, although the chief minis-ter herself had remained silent till date. However, evenafter censure, Maji stuck to his stand. The oppositionleaders have questioned the chief minister's silence onthis matter and said that her silence was a clandestineendorsement of the comments by Maji.

Delhi Police produces Mohammed Zubair beforecourt, seeks 14-day judicial custody

New Delhi: Delhi Police on Saturday produced Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair before a court herein a case related to an "objectionable tweet" he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity and sought his 14-dayjudicial custody.

Zubair was produced before the court on expiry of his five-day custodial interrogation.The police told Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria that he was not required anymore for

custodial interrogation. After the police application, Zubair moved a bail plea before the court.

NITI Aayog releases compendium of various Ayush-basedinitiatives, practices adopted for containing,...

GNS News Agency, July 2NITI Aayog today released a compendium of vari-

ous Ayush-based initiatives and practices adopted bythe States and Union territories for containing and man-aging the COVID-19 outbreak.

The compendium was released by Vice Chairmanof NITI Aayog Suman Bery and Minister of State for AyushDr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai. NITI Aayog Mem-ber (Health) Dr. V. K. Paul and concerned officials werepresent during the event.Speaking on the occasion, NITIAayog Vice-Chairman said, the compendium providesinformation about practices adopted by States and UTsfor strengthening the country's fight against COVID-19,using Ayush's resources and interventions.He said thatthis document will prove to be a crucial knowledge re-source for stakeholders from other countries who have agood network of traditional medicine systems.Ministerof State for Ayush Dr. Munjpara said that Ayush systemshave played an active role on various fronts to tackle the

Hyd turns saffron duringpartys NEC meet

health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in thecountry.He expressed hope that traditional and conven-tional health care systems will pave the way for providinga holistic health care system to the World.

The Shining, Blade Runner actor Joe Turkel dies at 94

Los Angeles: Character actor Joe Turkel, whose indelible performances included roles as the sinister bar-tender Lloyd in Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining' and the maker of artificial humans in 'Blade Runner', recently passedaway at the age of 94 at St. John's Hospital, reports 'Deadline'.His death was announced by his family, who said hedied peacefully with his sons Craig and Robert by his side. Turkel was born July 15, 1927 in Brooklyn, and at age17 enlisted in the Merchant Marines and then joined the United States Army and saw active wartime service inEurope.

GNS News Agency, July 2Hyderabad: During the ongoing National Executive

meeting by the BJP The party has painted Hyderabadsaffron as the city.The saffron party has put up flags, ban-ners, hoardings, flexis and huge cut-outs of its leadersacross the city. Major traffic intersections have beendecked up by the party supporters on the eve of the two-day meeting.Huge cut-outs of Prime Minister NarendraModi along with BJP President JP Nadda, Home Minis-ter Amit Shah, Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjayand Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G KishanReddy have been put up at several places in thecity.Hoardings to welcome the national leaders of theparty and other delegates were erected on roads lead-ing to the Hyderabad International Convention Centre(HICC), the venue of the national executive.Several cutouts and flexis have come up around Parade Ground,where Prime Minister Modi and other national leaders ofthe BJP will be addressing a public meeting on Sundayat the end of the two-day national executive.As many as350 delegates, including several Union Ministers andChief Ministers of BJP-ruled states, will be attending thenational executive.Tight security arrangements have beenput in place for both the national executive and public

meeting. Cyberabad ice have imposed prohibitory or-ders and banned flying of drones in the 5 km radiusaround the HICC.The national executive will review theimplementation of the decisions taken at the previousexecutive meeting and chalk out future course of actionto strengthen the party.The meeting is likely to focus onthe roadmap for Assembly elections scheduled in somestates later this year and next year and also for the 2024Lok Sabha elections.The national executive is likely topass resolutions on various issues, including a politicalresolution on the achievements of the Modi governmentduring the last eight years.

GNS News Agency, July 2Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Saturday said former

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis takingoath as deputy chief minister was a "shocking climax" tothe drama of creating political instability in the state, andquestioned the BJP why it did not show a "big heart" byhonouring the pact of rotational CM in 2019.The Sena, inan editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana', said thatFadnavis's act of becoming deputy chief minister insteadof chief minister is now being defended as an instanceof his "big heart" and "adherence to the party'sdirectives"."With the motive of creating political instabilityin Maharashtra, a drama was played out, but it is stillunclear how many more episodes are yet to unfold. The

fast-paced developments have left even the Chanakayasand political pundits stunned as strokes andmasterstrokes are being played," it said.

The 'mahashakti' (superforce) behind the entiredrama got exposed. Gaining power in Maharashtrathrough a rebellion in Shiv Sena was the main objectiveof this whole play, which was enacted in Surat, Guwahati,Supreme Court, Goa, Raj Bhavan and ultimately atMantralaya (state secretariat), it said."However, the cli-max at the Raj Bhavan was the most shocking part of it.The one who everyone believed would become the chiefminister (Fadnavis) had to take oath as the deputy chiefminister and vice versa. He accepted the post as theorder of the party leadership.

3 July, 2022|Sunday | Volume No:10| Issue No:118 Pages: 8+8 www.indianchronicle.com Published from : Ranga Reddy (Telangana State) 3

INDIAN CHRONICLE

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Indian ChronicleEnglish Daily

2

Booth capturing in MP: Deposit Rs 5 lakh as‘re-polling cost’ or face demolition, accused told

GNS News Agency, July 2The district administration in Bhind, Madhya

Pradesh, this week issued show-cause notices to fourpeople accused of booth capturing, urging them to de-posit Rs 5.02 lakh as the cost the administration had tobear for re-polling or face demolition of their illegal prop-erty to make the recovery.The notices were issued to thefamily members of the four accused later identified asAjay Singh, Saurabh Chouhan, Rampratap alias RajuSingh and Dharmendra Singh on June 27, the day there-polling was held in Pachokhara village of Bhind dis-trict.

While these notices were handed over to the fami-lies, bulldozers were brought in and stationed at the lo-cal police station. However, the polling process went onsmoothly and the four absconding accused were ar-rested by the end of the day.On June 25, the first phase ofpanchayat polls were held in Pachokhara village. At booth

number 52, a girls’ school in Pachokhara village, fourmen allegedly barged in and tampered with the votescast. By the time the police arrived at the polling booth, allfour accused had escaped.

“All four accused stay in Pachokhara village andsome member of their family was a candidate. They be-long to affluent families of the village and were often seeninfluencing voters,” a senior Bhind district official said,requesting anonymity.After the incident, the district ad-ministration initiated the process for re-polling, whichwas then held on June 27. On the re-polling day, Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Lahar A R Prajapati issued show-cause notices which were handed over to the familymembers of the absconding accused.The notice statedthat 70 police officers and personnel and 10 polling offic-ers along with others had to be posted on re-polling dutyon June 26 and 27. These employees had to be giventwo days of salary, along with arrangements of snacks,food, tents, fans, drinking water and videography for thepolling process, for which a total of Rs 5.02 lakh had tobe spent. Voters too, the notice pointed out, wereinconvenienced.“Government would not have to bearthese expenses had the need for a re-polling not risen.You are hereby asked to deposit this sum immediately,failing which, the illegal structures would be demolishedto make the recovery,” the notice added.Speaking to TheIndian Express, Prajapati said, “All four accused werehabitual offenders who were made to sign a bond of Rs50,000 with assurance of good behaviour. This bond hasbeen forfeited. Now the notices will be a part of courtproceedings with the accused being sent to jail.”

Three from Youth Congress leader’sgang held for opening fire on rival

GNS News Agency, July 2Ludhiana police commissioner Kaustubh Sharma

said the incident was a result of a rivalry between thegangs of Arora and Puneet Bains, both lodged in thecentral jail.Six days after four bike-borne men openedfire on a 20-year-old youth in Ludhiana, police have ar-rested three people over the incident and recovered a32-bore pistol with two live cartridges from them.

The arrested accused are Karandeep Kalia aliasKaran, of the Hari Kartar Colony, and Kunal Sharma aliasAbhay and Sameer Malik, both residents of theDharampura area. Their aide Vishu Kainth is yet to bearrested, according to the police, who added that theywere members of the gang of Shubham Arora alias Mota.Arora, Youth Congress leader, is currently lodged inLudhiana central jail in an assault case. A case was reg-

istered at the divisionnumber 3 police sta-tion in Ludhianaagainst the four ac-cused on attempt tomurder and othercharges after they al-legedly opened fireon Kartik Baggan on

Benjamin Road in the city on June 25. He received abullet injury to his abdomen.Ludhiana police commis-sioner Kaustubh Sharma said the incident was a resultof a rivalry between the gangs of Arora and Puneet Bains,both lodged in the central jail. In May 2021, Baggan andhis accomplices allegedly assaulted Kalia. They alsoshot a video of the assault and were threatening to postit on social media, according to the police.Sharma saidthat Kranti, father of Baggan, had alleged that after injur-ing his son, the accused had made a video call to Arora,who is in jail, but the claim could not be verified yet. Krantihad also named Arora in his complaint, but his role in thecrime was not confirmed yet, the police added.Bagganhas been booked for several crimes and is wanted in anattempt-to-murder case for allegedly assaulting Kalia,said additional DCP-1 Parminder Singh. “After his dis-charge from hospital, he will also be arrested,” Singhsaid.After the incident, members of the Bains gang wroteon social networking sites that they would take revengefor the attack on Baggan.

Army Ordnance Depot launches tree plantationdrive to mark 75th Independence year

GNS News Agency, July 2Senior officials of the Ordnance Depot and the So-

cial Forestry Department, Pune, were present at the in-augural day of the plantation drive.As a part of the coun-trywide celebrations to mark the 75 year of independence,the Indian Army’s Ordnance Depot (OD) at Talegaon un-der the aegis of Dakshin Maharashtra and Goa Sub Areainitiated a two-month-long tree plantation drive in coordi-nation with the Social Forestry Department Friday.Seniorofficials of the Ordnance Depot and the Social ForestryDepartment, Pune, were present at the inaugural day ofthe plantation drive.In line with the Indian Army’s commit-ment towards its environmental responsibilities, duringthe drive, as many as 75,000 saplings — marking 75years of independence — of different varieties will beplanted during the current monsoon season in an areaof approximately 283 acre.The initiative will add to theexisting green cover of the region. “The drive witnessed

the combatants, civil defence employees, families andchildren participating in the drive and taking home themessage of ‘Green Earth, Clean Earth’. This initiativewill go a long way in inculcating awareness among thepublic about environment conservation,” said a state-ment.

Rahul Gandhi visits vandalised Wayanadoffice, says act unfortunate but he isn’t angry

GNS News Agency, July 2After visiting his MP office in Kerala’s Wayanad,

which was vandalised by CPI(M)’s student wing SFI lastweek, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday said theincident was unfortunate but he does not have any hos-tility or anger over it.Rahul, who reached Wayanad Fridayfor a three-day tour in the constituency, visited thevandalised office at Kalpetta, headquarters of Wayanaddistrict. “This is my office. But before being my office, thisis the office of the people of Wayanad. It is quite unfortu-nate that the office has been attacked. Violence will neverresolve problems. It is not good that they have acted inan irresponsible manner. I don’t have any anger or hos-

tility towards them. They are kids and they don’t under-stand the consequences of their act,” he said withoutreferring to either SFI or CPI(M).

Referring to Friday’s Supreme Court observationthat Nupur Sharma, who was suspended as BJP spokes-person over her controversial comments on the Prophet,Rahul said the atmosphere in the country has been cre-ated by the ruling dispensation. “It is not the person whomade the comment, it is the Prime Minister, it is the HomeMinister, it is BJP and RSS that have created this environ-ment in the country.” The court said Sharma “is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the coun-try”, while referring to the Udaipur beheadingincident.Rahul said this environment of anger and ha-tred in the country is an anti-national act. “It is against theinterest of India, against the interest of the people and iscompletely wrong,” he said.Rahul added that as Con-gress party, “we build bridges between people, we buildbridges between communities, and we bring people to-gether. We don’t believe in solving problems throughhatred,” he said.Rahul reached Kerala a day after theruling CPI(M)’s state headquarters was targeted. An uni-dentified person had hurled an explosive at CPI(M)’s stateoffice at AKG Centre late on Thursday night. CPI(M) hadblamed Congress for the attack, an allegation denied bythe latter.

Delhi HC issues notice topolice, seeks reply in 2 weeks

GNS News Agency, July 2Zubair was arrested on June 25 on the charge of

hurting religious sentiments following a complaint overa 2018 tweet.Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the orderon Friday asking the chief metropolitan magistrate toexamine the material collected by the investigating agencywhen Zubair will be produced in court on Saturday with-out being prejudiced by the high court’s order.

Zubair’s lawyer Vrinda Grover had moved the appli-cation arguing that the remand order passed by a chiefmetropolitan magistrate’s court granting custody remandwas allowing the police to invade her client’s rights. “It’splacing a dagger into my privacy,” Grover said.Grover toldthe court that Zubair’s arrest was in violation of the Su-preme Court guidelines in the Arnesh Kumar judgment(that arrest should be an exception in cases involvingless than seven years of punishment). She told the courtthat the police had “quickly changed a provision in theFIR” and that the complainant’s Twitter account pulledout a tweet from 2018 to create mischief.“This HanumanBhakt joined in 2021. This is the first tweet. Till June2022, this handle did not tweet at all. This Twitter handlepulls out March 2018, perhaps with intent to mischief, Iwonder why there is no enquiry. Till then, it had one fol-lower,” Grover told the court.

Grover also questioned whether a case of this na-ture required the seizure of her client’s laptop and mo-bile phone. “There is personal liberty at stake. The ques-tion is does a case of this nature warrant remand? Couldmy laptop and mobile be directed to be seized? Our is-sue is with respect to seizure of electronic devices. Thishas now become a pattern,” Grover submitted.

Grover told the court that the tweet was made from a

mobile phone which was now lost but the police wasgoing after his laptop. “The tweet shows it is from phone.They are asking for laptop. I am a journalist. Please seewhat the Supreme Court has said in Pegasus case. Myold phone is lost, despite that my present phone hasbeen seized,” Grover submitted.Solicitor General (SG)Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi Police, said that hedid not understand why there was anxiety about the sei-zure of a laptop. “So far as laptop is concerned, I do notunderstand what is the anxiety,” Mehta said.“It is my rightto privacy. I will not grant access to my devices to thestate. It is provocative,” Grover responded.Mehta main-tained that the police were not acting in a partisan man-ner. “FIR is only initiation of proceedings. The investigat-ing authorities will investigate and see if there is anyserious offence,” Mehta argued.When the court askedMehta if the police would be asking for further remand,Mehta said, “We do not know what will be the status ofinvestigation by tonight. It would be presumptuous of meto make any statement in that regard.”

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde toreturn to Mumbai to hold disaster

management meetingGNS News Agency, July 2Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who ar-

rived in Goa early on Friday, is set to go back to Mumbaito hold a disaster management meeting after heavy rainslashed the city.Shinde, who held a meeting with the rebelMLAs from his faction of the Shiv Sena in the morning,was expected to reach Mumbai by Friday evening.“Thereis heavy rain in Mumbai, so even though there are impor-tant political discussions to be had here, he is leaving fora meeting he has called, for disaster management. Heis leaving because otherwise our opponents will accusehim of staying in Goa for tourism,” said Deepak Kesarkar,senior legislator and spokesperson for the breakawaySena faction backing Shinde.Kesarkar, who is still at theTaj Resort and Convention centre in Dona Paula with therebel MLAs, spoke to reporters on Friday afternoon.Therebel MLAs came in for a lot of criticism after videos ofthem dancing inside the hotel in Goa emerged on socialmedia after Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister ofMaharashtra on Thursday evening. Some of the MLAsand their supporters were even seen jumping on a tableand dancing.“Sometimes, in the delirium of happiness,some people make mistakes. With a big heart, we admitthese mistakes. Shindesaheb spoke to all the MLAs thismorning and he said that the way they lost control yester-day, cannot happen again. As representatives of thepeople, we should show maturity and never do anythingthat will give Maharashtra a bad name,” Kesarkarsaid.Shinde, who was welcomed with flowers by his sup-porting MLAs early on Friday morning, was also con-gratulated by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, whogreeted him with flowers early on Friday.Kesarkar saidthat Shinde had decided to make Maharashtra “suicidefree” on the occasion of Krishi Divas on Friday.Maharashtra has witnessed many farmer suicides andhe has decided that he will work to put an end to this,Kesarkar said.The MLAs, who have been staying at theGoa hotel since Wednesday night, are expected to staythere until Sunday as Shinde will have to prove majorityin the legislative assembly on Monday. Earlier, speakingto reporters, Shinde said, “The floor test is now just aformality. With the BJP and 50 of us, the number comesto about 175. The picture is quite clear,” he said.

HC grants bail to ex-Punjab CMCharanjit Channi’s nephew in ED case

GNS News Agency, July 2Bhupinder Singh alias Honey being taken to court

by ED officials in Jalandhar. The Punjab and HaryanaHigh Court on Friday granted bail to former Punjab chiefminister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew BhupinderSingh alias Honey, who was arrested by the Enforce-ment Directorate in a case linked to alleged illegal sandmining.Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan, who granted thebail, is yet to release the court’s order.Honey’s bail peti-

tion argued that the case was politically motivated andthat the state police had already investigated the allega-tions against him and submitted a final report. The firstinformation report registered in the case by the centralagency amounted to an abuse of process of law, it fur-ther said.Honey was arrested by the ED in February aspart of a money-laundering investigation. The agency fileda chargesheet against Honey and his alleged accom-plice, Kudaratdeep Singh, under Sections 3 (money laun-dering), 4 (punishment for money laundering), 44 (of-fence triable by special courts).

Gujarat: 30,260 kilograms of ‘fakecumin’ seized from Unjha godown

GNS News Agency, July 2Carom seeds, ajwain, gut health, indigestion, bloat-

ing, acidity, morning sickness, colic, dewormThe ac-cused, who are yet to be arrested, used to mix residue offennel seeds, jaggery-water and cream-coloured pow-der to make the spurious cumin.A total of 30,260 kilo-grams of spurious cumin seeds and raw materials wereseized from a godown in Unjha, a well-known hub, by theFood and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) Thurs-day. Unjha is the biggest market and exporting centre forspices like cumin, fennel seeds, Isabgol and mustardseeds.The flying squad of FDCA, Gandhinagar, localFDCA officials and Gujarat police conducted the raid onthe godown on Gangapur-Rampur road belonging to DilipPatel.“The accused used to mix the spurious cumin withthe real one. This was done to prevent customers fromdetecting the presence of the spurious material,” DrHemant Koshia, Commissioner, FDCA told The IndianExpress.The accused, who are yet to be arrested, usedto mix residue of fennel seeds, jaggery-water and cream-coloured powder to make the spurious cumin.

Mattewara textile park: Peoplehave lost trust after looking atexisting pollution levels, says AAP

leader Seechewal GNS News Agency, July 2Environmental activist and AAP's Rajya Sabha mem-

ber Balbir Singh Seechewal. (Twitter/@SantSeechewal)Following stiff protests from residentsof Ludhiana over sanction of a textile park on a 1000 acrearea in Koomkalan area near the Mattewara forest range,environmental activist and AAP’s Rajya Sabha memberBalbir Singh Seechewal said that people have lost trustdue to the violation of pollution guidelines by existingindustrial units in the state.In a conversation with TheIndian Express, Seechewal said, “I had visited the site oftextile park twice during the Congress government when

project was conceived. The location is not in Mattewaraforest but the concerns of people are genuine. The mat-ter has already been sent to National Green Tribunal(NGT)… if the law permits, only then should the projectbe given a go ahead”

During his earlier visits, Seechewal had expressedconcerns over Sutlej river’s pollution and destruction offorest cover if textile park was set up. He said, “My standis still the same. NGT is watching everything. Now ques-tion comes of strict implementation of environment pro-tection rules, but people have no trust looking at the ex-isting pollution.”He added, “I am aware that how Buddhadariya became Buddha nallah due to continuos pollu-tion by industrial units, but I am committed to get thisnallah cleaned and one day CM Bhagwant Mann willbathe in the clean Buddha dariya…this is my promise tothe CM.”

On GST reformThe Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Council met over two days this week — itsfirst ‘regular’ meeting after a nine-month break— with much on its plate, stemming from fourministerial groups’ recommendations to fixvarious aspects of the indirect tax regime thatremains a work in progress five years on. Itratified three of the four reports, put off onefor further deliberations based on concernsflagged by a State, with a commitment to re-assemble and resolve the impasse holisticallyin little over a month. A new ministerial panelis being tasked with figuring out the long-pend-ing constitution of an appellate tribunal forGST disputes, to move ahead. Based on an‘interim’ report of a panel to rationalise taxrates, exemptions have been scrapped onseveral items and rates altered for others tocorrect inverted duty structures. This maytranslate into higher prices on many goodsand services (and reductions for a few) fromJuly 18, although their impact on inflation isdifficult to ascertain. However, a larger re-structuring of the GST’s multiple rates’ struc-ture, with an increase in levies to bolster rev-enues that have fallen short of expectations,partly due to rate cuts earlier effected as elec-toral tools, has been put off.

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DRDO successfully tests precursor to futurecombat drones in Karnataka’s Chitradurga

GNS News Agency, July 2Hailing it as a major milestone in the development

of unmanned aircraft, the Defence Research and Devel-opment Organisation (DRDO) on Friday conducted thefirst flight test of the Autonomous Flying Wing TechnologyDemonstrator at the Aeronautical test range inKarnataka’s Chitradurga.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated theDRDO and termed it a major achievement towards au-tonomous aircraft, adding that it will pave the way for‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in terms of critical military systems.Congratulations to @DRDO_India on successful maidenflight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Dem-onstrator from Chitradurga ATR. It is a major achieve-ment towards autonomous aircrafts which will pave theway for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in terms of critical militarysystems. pic.twitter.com/pQ4wAhA2ax

DRDO scientists have said that the test is a majormilestone in their efforts towards developing an Un-manned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) or a combat dronewhich is of flying wing type.The flying wing type of aircraftrefers to a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which houses itspayload and fuel in its main wings and does not have adefined fuselage-like structure found in conventionalaircrafts. The design, scientists say, has the potential todeliver high fuel efficiency and stability, if executed withprecision, as demonstrated by some advanced bomb-ers in the USA.

Sources said the Autonomous Flying Wing Tech-nology Demonstrator is a precursor to an autonomousstealthy UCAV being developed by the DRDO’s Aeronau-tical Development Establishment (ADE), primarily for theIndian Air Force. A deck launched version for the IndianNavy is also said to be in the pipeline. The UCAV will becapable of launching missiles and precision-guidedmunitions.“Operating in a fully autonomous mode, theaircraft exhibited a perfect flight, including take-off, waypoint navigation and a smooth touchdown. This flightmarks a major milestone in terms of proving critical tech-nologies towards the development of future unmannedaircraft and is a significant step towards self-reliance insuch strategic defence technologies.” said a statementfrom the Ministry of Defence. The vehicle has been de-signed and developed by the ADE based inBengaluru.The vehicle is powered by a small turbofanengine. The airframe, undercarriage and entire flight con-trol and avionics systems used for the aircraft have beendeveloped indigenously.

India asks Pakistan to releaseIndian prisoners in its custody

GNS News Agency, July 2India Friday called on Pakistan to release and repa-

triate 536 Indian fishermen and three civilian prisonerswho have completed their jail term and whose national-ity has been confirmed.In addition, Pakistan has beenasked to provide immediate consular access to 105 fish-ermen and 20 civilian prisoners who have been inPakistan’s custody and are believed to be Indians, theMinistry of External Affairs (MEA) said.India made the re-quest in the context of the exchange of the lists of civilianprisoners and fishermen by the two countries as part ofa practice to do so on January 1 and July 1 every calen-dar year under the framework of a 2008 agreement. TheMEA said India handed over a list of 309 Pakistani civil-ian prisoners and 95 fishermen in India’s custody toPakistan.Similarly, Pakistan has shared lists of 49 civil-ian prisoners and 633 fishermen in its custody, who areIndians or are believed to be Indians, the ministrysaid.“The government has called for early release andrepatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defencepersonnel, and fishermen along with their boats, fromPakistan’s custody,” the MEA said in a statement.“In thiscontext, Pakistan was asked to expedite the release andrepatriation of 536 Indian fishermen and three Indiancivilian prisoners to India who have completed their sen-

tence and whose nationality has been confirmed andconveyed to Pakistan,” it said.The MEA said India remainscommitted to addressing, on priority, all humanitarianmatters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fish-ermen in each other’s country. India has also urged Pa-kistan to expedite necessary action at its end to confirmthe nationality status of 57 Pakistani prisoners, includ-ing fishermen, whose repatriation is pending for want ofnationality confirmation by Pakistan.“In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan has been requested to ensurethe safety, security, and welfare of all Indian and believed-to-be Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen,” the MEAsaid.

GST had serious birth defects whichworsened over last 5 years: Chidambaram

GNS News Agency, July 2Asserting that the GST had serious “birth defects”

which became only worse over the last five years, theCongress on Friday said the GST laws and the mannerof their implementation have “wrecked the economy” andthe party will work toward its replacement by GST 2.0.TheOpposition party said demonetisation was the first“Tughlaqi farman” of the government while the Goodsand Service Tax, the second. Both have harmed theeconomy.At a press conference here, senior Congressleader P Chidambaram said the GST “celebrates” itsfifth birthday on Friday but there is nothing really to cel-ebrate. “The GST had serious birth defects. In the lastfive years these defects have only become worse and allthose touched by GST have been seriously injured,” theformer finance minister said.“The Congress wishes tomake it absolutely clear that the so-called GST that is inforce today was not the GST envisaged by the UPA gov-ernment,” he said.“As far as the Congress Party is con-cerned, we reject the current GST and, as promised inthe Election Manifesto of 2019, we will work toward thereplacement of the current GST by GST 2.0 that will besingle, low-rate,” Chidambaram said.“The GST that we

have today is a complex web of many rates, conditions,exceptions and exemptions that will leave even an in-formed taxpayer completely bewildered. Not all regis-tered dealers are informed taxpayers; as a result, theyare at the mercy of the tax-collector,” he said.A flawedGST has led to “large-scale destruction” of MSMEs, asector that contributes up to 90 per cent of the jobs in themanufacturing sector, he said.He added, how the worstconsequence of the GST brought in by the governmenthas been a complete breakdown of trust between theCentre and states.

PM Modi discusses Ukraine with Putin, reiteratesIndia’s position on dialogue and diplomacy

GNS News Agency, July 2Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to

Russian President Vladimir Putin — their fourth telephoneconversation since the Russian invasion of Ukraine onFebruary 24. They discussed the situation in Ukrainewhere Modi reiterated India’s position on dialogue anddiplomacy.They previously spoke on the phone on Feb-ruary 24, March 2 and March 7—when Indian citizens,mostly students, were still stuck in Ukraine.A statementby the Ministry of External Affairs said, “The two leadersreviewed the implementation of the decisions taken dur-ing President Putin’s visit to India in December 2021. Inparticular, they exchanged ideas on how bilateral tradein agricultural goods, fertilizers and pharma productscould be encouraged further.

“The leaders also discussed global issues, includ-ing the state of the international energy and food mar-kets,” it said.“In the context of the ongoing situation inUkraine, the Prime Minister reiterated India’s long-stand-

ing position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy,” thestatement said, adding that the leaders agreed to main-tain regular consultations on global and bilateralissues.While Russia has emerged as a major oil sup-plier to India, Modi attended the summit with G-7 coun-tries. While India has not criticised Russia, it has con-demned the killings in Bucha and called for an interna-tional probe — which is perceived as moving closer tothe US-led west.However, India has always tried to main-tain a diplomatic balance between the US-led west andRussia, as the conflict has now been going on for thepast four months. It has always stuck to its position thatNew Delhi has called for cessation of hostilities andadvocated the path of diplomacy and dialogue to resolvethe conflict.

India has not joined the sanctions imposed by theUS and Europe on Russia, and Moscow sees this as awindow of opportunity to engage with New Delhi. Theconversation on trade in agricultural products, fertilisersand pharma products is important in that context.NewDelhi, which does not want Moscow to side with Beijing,has also maintained robust communication with Rus-sia so that it has uninterrupted supply of defence equip-ment — both new and spares. About 60 to 70 per cent ofIndia’s defence supplies come from Russia, and thisdependence is crucial at a time when India and Chinaare currently locked in a border standoff in easternLadakh.Modi, who attended the G-7 summit with USPresident Joe Biden and other western leaders in Ger-many, also participated virutually in the BRICS summit,which was attended by Putin and chaired by ChinesePresident Xi Jinping.

Deserter cannot be Shiv SenaCM: Uddhav Thackeray

GNS News Agency, July 2Mumbai: Firing his first salvo after demitting office,

former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President UddhavThackeray on Friday said that a person who deserted theparty cannot be a ‘Shiv Sena CM’ — referring to the newincumbent Eknath Shinde.Slamming the statements ofseveral Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders claimingthat a ‘Shiv Sainik’ (Shinde) had finally become the stateChief Minister, Thackeray termed them as “attempts be-ing made to misguide the Shiv Sena workers”.“A personwho has sidelined the Sena cannot be called a ‘ShivSainik’ CM,” said Thackeray, firmly dismissing the newruling combine’s contentions after Shinde took oath asthe CM and former Leader of Opposition DevendraFadnavis was sworn-in as the Deputy CM lateThursday.The Sena chief’s statements assume signifi-cance amid claims by the Shinde Group of 40-MLAs thatthey are ‘the real Shiv Sena’ with the possibility of a tussleto control the 56-year-old party and its assets.Moreover,the Sena President said that he had been saying that forthe past two-and-half-years that a Shiv Sainik should bethe Chief Minister and it was even decided at ‘Matoshri’well before the last Lok Sabha elections and state As-sembly polls (both in 2019).“If Amit Shah (BJP’s UnionHome Minister) had kept his word, and shared the post

of CM, whatever happened in the past few days couldhave happened in a dignified manner,” said Thackeray,referring to the rebellion in the party ranks.He reiteratedthat Shah reneged on its promise of sharing the CM’spost for 30-months each, and now the two-and-half-yearperiod was over, and there could have been an amicablechangeover.“If they had honoured the commitment, thenwhere was the need for me to become CM and evenMaha Vikas Aghadi would not have come into existence…”Thackeray pointed out, in a brief media interaction at theShiv Sena Bhavan – the party headquarters in Dadar.

WhatsApp says it banned over 19lakh bad accounts in India in May GNS News Agency, July 2New Delhi: Meta-owned WhatsApp on Friday said

that it banned over 19 lakh bad accounts in India in themonth of May in compliance with the new IT Rules2021.The platform had banned over 16.6 lakh bad ac-counts in India in April.The company also received 528grievance reports in May within the country, and the ac-counts “actioned” were 24.In April, WhatsApp received844 grievance reports within the country, and the accounts“actioned” were 123.“Over the years, we have consis-tently invested in Artificial Intelligence and other state ofthe art technology, data scientists and experts, and inprocesses, in order to keep our users safe on our plat-form,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in astatement.“This user-safety report contains details of theuser complaints received and the corresponding actiontaken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp’s own preven-tive actions to combat abuse on our platform,” the spokes-person added.

Published in accordance with Rule 4(1)(d) of theInformation Technology (Intermediary Guidelines andDigital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the report con-

tains information on actions taken by WhatsApp in re-sponse to grievances received from users in India viathe grievance mechanisms and accounts actioned inIndia through its prevention and detection methods forviolating the laws of the land or its terms of service.Underthe new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media plat-forms, with more than 5 million users, have to publishmonthly compliance reports.

SUP ban violation to invite fine of up to Rs1lakh or jail term in New Delhi, says Gopal Rai

GNS News Agency, July 2The Minister said the Delhi government will issue

warning notices to units found violating the ban on 19identified SUP items till July 10Violation of the ban onsingle-use plastic (SUP) items in Delhi will invite a fineof up to ?1 lakh or a jail term of up to five years, DelhiEnvironment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday.The Min-ister said the Delhi government will issue warning no-tices to units found violating the ban on 19 identified SUPitems till July 10 and thereafter punitive action will betaken against repeat offenders.

However, the government will give top priority to cre-ating awareness against the use of SUP items and pro-viding their alternatives to people, he said.“Teams of DelhiPollution Control Committee (DPCC), Revenue Depart-ment and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will con-duct inspections and issue warning notices against thosenot complying with the ban till July 10,” Mr. Rai said whilelaunching a three-day fair at Thyagraj Stadium here topromote alternatives to SUP items."Punitive action willbe taken after July 10 against the defaulters...Violation ofthe ban will invite fine of up to Rs 1 lakh or jail term up to5 years or both under the Environment Protection Act,1986," he added."Many people believe that setting upteams of the DPCC, Revenue Department and MCD,imposing fines and closing down (defaulting) units willmake the ban successful. Our government thinks differ-ently. Our aim is to provide alternatives to people beforeenforcing the ban," the minister said.

The Minister said theDelhi government will is-sue warning notices tounits found violating theban on 19 identified SUPitems till July 10

Congress urges PM Modi to appeal tocitizens to maintain peace and harmony

GNS News Agency, July 2Party leader Alka Lamba asks why ‘apprehensions

of a foreign hand’ in the Udaipur incident was not sharedwith Chief MinistersExpressing concern over the ‘pre-vailing situation’ in the country, the Congress on Thurs-day urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make anappeal to the people to maintain peace andharmony.Addressing a press conference, party leader

Alka Lamba also asked why the “apprehension of a for-eign hand” in the Udaipur incident was not shared withthe Chief Ministers.“The Congress is worried over thecurrent atmosphere prevailing in the country. We urgethe Prime Minister to take the initiative in this regard andcome forward to make an appeal for maintaining peaceand harmony in the country,” she said, adding that 13political parties have appealed for the same.“We appealto the Prime Minister to convene Parliament and holddiscussions,” Ms. Lamba added.India’s growth will behampered if such an atmosphere continues to prevailand there is constant communal conflict instead of peaceand brotherhood, she noted.Ms. Lamba said the FinanceMinister is talking about foreign direct investment (FDI)but there should be a conducive atmosphere for foreigncapital to come in.“For you FDI is Foreign Direct Invest-ment, but FDI is ‘fear, deception and intimidation’ forthose seeking to come into the country with investment,”she said, claiming that 8,000 businessmen have soughtto move out of the country because of the “atmosphere offear”.“I would urge the Prime Minister and the Home Min-ister to come forward and make this appeal. When youthwere on the streets against the Agnipath scheme it wasexpected that the Prime Minister would address themand their concerns. But he chose to remain silent,” shealleged.The Congress alleged that eight years of BJPrule have been marred in social and communal tensionsand there were a total of 857 incidents of communalviolence in 2020, nearly 96% higher than the previousyear.

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Russian missiles kill at least 19in Ukraine's Odesa region

GNS News Agency, July 2Russian missile attacks on residential areas in a

coastal town near the Ukrainian port city of Odesa earlyFriday killed at least 19 people, authorities reported, aday after Russian forces withdrew from a strategic BlackSea island.

Video of the pre-dawn attack showed the charred

remains of buildings in the small town of Serhiivka, lo-cated about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest ofOdesa. The Ukrainian president's office said three X-22missiles fired by Russian bombers struck an apartmentbuilding and two campsites.“A terrorist country is killingour people. In response to defeats on the battlefield, theyfight civilians," Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to Ukrai-nian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.Ukraine’s Se-curity Service said 19 people died, including two chil-dren. It said another 38, including six children and a preg-nant woman, were hospitalized with injuries. Most of thevictims were in the apartment building, Ukrainian emer-gency officials said.The airstrikes followed the pullout ofRussian forces from Snake Island on Thursday, a movethat was expected to potentially ease the threat to nearbyOdesa, home to Ukraine’s biggest port. The island sitsalong a busy shipping lane.Russia took control of it inthe opening days of the war in the apparent hope of us-ing it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa. TheKremlin portrayed the departure of Russian troops fromSnake Island as a “goodwill gesture” intended to facili-tate shipments of grain and other agricultural productsto Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world.

Xi Jinping, in rare Hong Kong visit,hails change ‘from chaos to order’

GNS News Agency, July 2Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday said Hong

Kong was “in a new stage of transitioning from chaos toorder” on a rare visit to the Special Administrative Region(SAR).July 1, 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of theformer British colony’s handover to China and also sawthe swearing-in of new Chief Executive John Lee and hisgovernment.

Mr. Xi’s visit wasn’t certain until earlier this week,given Beijing’s concerns over the COVID-19 situation inHong Kong, which has seen around 10,000 deaths thisyear and reported more than 2,000 cases on Friday. TheChinese mainland, by contrast, follows a strict “zero-COVID” policy and reported only a dozen cases on Fri-day. The capital Beijing, which reported no cases on Fri-day, like most Chinese cities requires all residents toundertake a PCR test every three days and continues tomaintain strict restrictions on internationaltravel.Underlining this concern, Mr. Xi chose not to stay inHong Kong having arrived there on Thursday, insteadtaking the bullet train back to Shenzhen on the mainland,and returning once again on Friday. The Hong Kong-mainland border, which was closed during his visit, isyet to open more than two years into the pandemic with adaily quota of only a few hundred travellers allowed everyday, including with mandatory two weeks’ quarantine.

That Mr. Xi chose to leave the mainland for the firsttime in more than two years since the outbreak in Wuhan– his last visit abroad was in mid-January to Myanmar afew days before the lockdown of Wuhan – underlined theimportance of the anniversary in signalling what Mr. Xicalled “a new stage of transitioning from chaos to order”,apparently referring to the 2019 pro-democracyprotests.Having gone through ups and downs, peoplehave learned the hard way that Hong Kong must not bedestabilised and cannot afford any chaos,” hesaid.“Enforcing the central authorities’ overall jurisdic-tion and upholding the SAR’s high degree of autonomyare integral aspects of the same policy, and only by en-suring both can we run the SAR truly well,” he said, add-ing that Beijing would fully back the new Hong Kongleader, Mr. Lee and the “one country, two systems” model.A

former policeman, Mr. Lee was a strong proponent of thenew national security law that listed sweeping crimes forsedition, and saw the disbanding of most of Hong Kong’spro-democracy opposition parties. Beijing has also over-hauled the electoral system and reduced the share ofdirectly elected representatives in the legislature, withthe majority now establishment appointees. Critics sawthe changes as the most significant alterations to the“one country, two systems” model, under which Chinaalso committed to, at the time of the handover, a pathwayto universal suffrage.

“Upholding national sovereignty, security and de-velopment interests is the paramount principle in thepolicy. On the basis of this prerequisite, Hong Kong andMacao maintain their capitalist system over the long runand enjoy a high degree of autonomy,” he said. Mr. Xi didacknowledge Hong Kong’s problems, with the economyreeling from two years of isolation and this year’s COVID-19 wave, and “stressed the need to help Hong Kongyoung people overcome difficulties in education, employ-ment, business start-up, and home-buying”.Mr. Xi earlierthis week visited Wuhan on his way to Hong Kong anddefended the country’s continuing zero-COVID policy. “IfChina had adopted the ‘herd immunity’ policy or a hands-off approach, given its large population, the country wouldhave faced unimaginable consequences,” he said. “Evenif there are some temporary impacts on the economy, wewill not put people’s lives and health in harm’s way, andwe must protect the elderly and the children in particu-lar.”

US ambassador for religious freedom concernedover treatment of religious communities in IndiaGNS News Agency, July 2Washington: The US ambassador at large for inter-

national religious freedom Rashad Hussain has voicedconcern over the treatment of a number of religious com-munities in India and said Washington was dealing di-rectly with Indian officials to address the “challenges.”Addressing the International Religious Freedom (IRF)Summit here on Thursday, Hussain said his father camefrom India to the US in 1969.“This country gave him ev-erything but he loves India and follows what happensevery day. My parents and we have a conversation aboutthat, as do so many of you who reach out to us and arelooking at what’s going on in India and love the countryand want to see it live up to its values,” he said.The USwas “concerned” about a number of religious communi-ties in India and was “dealing directly” with Indian offi-cials to address the challenges, Hussain said.“India nowhas a citizenship law that’s on the books. We’ve hadopen calls for genocide in India. We’ve had attacks onchurches. We have had a ban on the hijab. We’ve haddemolitions of homes,” the Indian-American diplomatsaid.“We’ve got rhetoric that’s openly being used that’sdehumanising towards people, to the extent that oneminister referred to Muslims as termites,” he said, ap-parently referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’scomments. In one of his speeches, he referred toBangladeshi migrants as “termites”.“So you have theseingredients..so it’s important that we take note and worktowards the challenges we face,” he said, adding that itis the “responsibility” of the United States to speak out onhuman rights and religious freedoms not just in India,but across the world.India has repeatedly rejected thecriticism against it in the US State Department reports onreligious freedom and statements by senior officials,saying it is unfortunate that “vote bank politics” is beingpractised in international relations. In its reaction, Indiahas expressed concern over racially and ethnically moti-vated attacks, hate crimes and gun violence in the US.Inhis remarks, Hussain also said that he had met withIndian Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and the indigenouspeople.He recalled that the Early Warning Project of theUS Holocaust Museum had “designated India as thenumber two country in the world at risk of mass killings.”“For any society to live up to its potential, we have tosecure the rights of all people. Our job is to protect thereligious freedom of all people everywhere in the world”he said.“It is important that we work together and fight forthe rights of all people. If there is anyone who is attacked– there was an attack yesterday, it was despicable — wehave to condemn that too,” he said, apparently referring

to the killing of a tailor in Udaipur.Two men, identified asRiaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, with a cleaverhacked Lal to death in Udaipur city and posted videosonline that said they are avenging an insult to Islam,triggering stray cases of violence in the Rajasthan city.

N.Korean hackers stole $100 mn in cryptofrom Harmony Blockchain bridge

GNS News Agency, July 2San Francisco: Cyber-security researchers have

linked North Korea-backed notorious Lazarus Group withstealing $100 million worth digital tokens from Harmony,the crypto startup behind Horizon Blockchain Bridge.TheLazarus Group has perpetrated several largecryptocurrency thefts totalling over $2 billion, and hasrecently turned its attention to Decentralised Finance(DeFi) services such as cross-chain bridges, accordingto London-based blockchain analysis providerElliptic.“The theft was perpetrated by compromising thecryptographic keys of a multi-signature wallet — likelythrough a social engineering attack on Harmony team

members. Such techniques have frequently been usedby the Lazarus Group,” the researchers wrote in a blogpost.Harmony admitted that a malicious attack happenedon its proprietary Horizon Ethereum Bridge and multipletransactions occurred that compromised the bridge with11 transactions that extracted tokens stored in thebridge.“The estimated value at the time of the attack wasapproximately $100 million,” the US-based company saidin a statement late last month.The hackers stole variousdigital tokens like Ethereum, Binance Coin, Tether, USDCoin and Dai.The Horizon Bridge hacker has so far sent41 per cent of the $100 million in stolen crypto assetsinto the ‘Tornado Cash’ mixer, said the researchers.Mixerssuch as Tornado Cash are used to hide the transactiontrail.“By sending these funds through Tornado, the thiefis attempting to break the transaction trail back to theoriginal theft. This makes it easier to cash out the fundsat an exchange,” said Elliptic.In April this year, hackersstole nearly $180 million in cryptocurrency from BeanstalkFarms, a decentralised finance (De-Fi) project.The FBIin April blamed North Korean hacker group Lazarus forstealing $625 million in cryptocurrency from the RoninNetwork, owned by developer group Sky Mavis.In Janu-ary this year, hackers stole crypto tokens worth $120 mil-lion from Blockchain-based decentralised finance (DeFi)platform BadgerDAO.

US SC limits Biden’spower to cut emissions

GNS News Agency, July 2Washington: The US Supreme Court has sided with

conservative states and fossil-fuel companies, agree-ing that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)did not have the authority to impose sweeping measuresto reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Thursday’s 6-3ruling represents a major setback to President JoeBiden’s climate plans, reports the BBC.The case againstthe EPA was brought by West Virginia on behalf of 18other mostly Republican-led states and some of thenation’s largest coal companies.They argued that theagency did not have the authority to limit emissionsacross whole states.These 19 states were worried theirpower sectors would be forced to move away from usingcoal, at a severe economic cost.The court has not com-pletely prevented the EPA from making these regulationsin the future, but said that Congress would have to clearlysay it authorises this power.These 19 states made up44 per cent of the US emissions in 2018, and since 2000have only achieved a 7 per cent reduction in their emis-sions on average, the BBC reported.In response to the“devastating” ruling, the President said: “While this deci-sion risks damaging our nation’s ability to keep our airclean and combat climate change, I will not relent in us-

ing my lawful authorities to protect public health andtackle the climate crisis.”Also slamming the decision,a UN spokesperson called it “a setback in our fightagainst climate change”, but added that no single na-tion could derail the global effort.But Attorney GeneralEric Schmitt for Missouri, one of the 19 states, called ita “big victory… that pushes back on the Biden EPA’sjob-killing regulations”.

Zelensky to announce news onEU membership negotiations

GNS News Agency, July 2Kiev: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will

announce news regarding his country’s European Union(EU) membership negotiations on Friday.In a video ad-dress to the nation late Thursday, the President said:“Our priority, which will also be a task that all representa-tives of our country will have to complete as quickly aspossible, is to prepare for the beginning of the negotia-tions on (our EU) membership.“Government officials,

deputies and diplo-mats need to work onthis 24 hours a day,seven days a week…Tomorrow there will benews on this issue.Ukraine’s European in-tegration cannot bestopped.”At a summit in

Brussels on June 23, EU leaders approved the decisionto grant Ukraine and Moldova candidate status to join the27-member bloc, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.The fol-lowing day, Zelensky urged people to focus for now onthe fact that Ukraine has been granted EU candidatestatus, rather than on how much still needs to be done inorder to join.

UK govt faces new boozy scandalas deputy chief whip quits

, GNS News Agency, July 2Britain's government is facing another boozy scan-

dal after the deputy chief whip resigned from his postfollowing a drunken incident this week, with Prime Minis-ter Boris Johnson facing calls on Friday to expel himfrom the Conservative Party.Chris Pincher, whose rolewas to maintain discipline among Tory members of Par-liament, submitted a letter of resignation to Johnson on

Thursday.“I drank far too much" on Wednesday night,Pincher said in his letter. “I've embarrassed myself andother people which is the last thing I want to do and forthat I apologise to you and to those concerned.”

But he said he would remain as a Conservativelawmaker and continue to support Johnson from theback benches of Parliament.Pincher's resignation asdeputy chief whip added to Johnson's woes, which haveincluded other scandals like “partygate” and a Conser-vative lawmaker resigning over watching pornographyon his phone in the House of Commons.Johnson, whoalso recently survived a no-confidence vote, had justreturned from the Group of Seven and NATO summitsand was looking to put those embarrassments andtwo recent by-election defeats behind him.British tab-loid The Sun reported that Pincher groped two men onWednesday night at a private members club in Londonfor the Conservative Party.“This latest episode showshow far standards in public life have been degraded onBoris Johnson's watch,” Labour deputy leader AngelaRayner said."The Conservative Party is so mired insleaze and scandal that it is totally unable to tackle thechallenges facing the British people.”

Turkey blocks access to DeutscheWelle and Voice of America

Istanbul, GNS News Agency, July 2Turkey’s media watchdog has banned access to

the Turkish services of US public service broadcasterVoice of America and German broadcaster DeutscheWelle, prompting criticism of censorship.The SupremeBoard of Radio and Television enforced a February deci-sion requiring international media that air television con-tent in Turkish online to apply for a broadcast license. AnAnkara court ruled to restrict access to the websites ofthe state-owned Deutsche Welle and Voice of Americalate on Thursday.Neither website was available in Tur-key on Friday. In a statement, Deutsche Welle said it didnot comply with the licensing requirement because it“would have allowed the Turkish government to censoreditorial content”.Director-General Peter Limbourg saidthis was explained in detail to the Turkish radio and TVboard, abbreviated as RTUK.“For example, media li-censed in Turkey are required to delete online contentthat RTUK interprets as inappropriate. This is simplyunacceptable for an independent broadcaster. DW willtake legal action against the blocking that has now takenplace,” Limbourg said.

Ilhan Tasci, a RTUK member from Turkey’s mainopposition Republican People’s Party, said he opposedthe move to block the two foreign broadcasters. The boardapplied to the court for the access restriction, hesaid.“Here is press freedom and advanced democracy,”he tweeted sarcastically.The board is dominated by Turk-ish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party andits nationalist allies, and regularly fines criticalbroadcasters.The Journalists Union of Turkey called thedecision censorship. “Give up on trying to ban everythingyou don’t like, this society wants freedom,” it tweeted.InFebruary, RTUK said it identified three websites without

broadcast licenses, which also included the Turkishservices of Euronews. But Euronews said it argued thatit did not broadcast live in Turkish or air visual bulletinsand was therefore exempt from the licensingrequirements.Voice of America noted in February thatwhile licensing for TV and radio broadcasts is a normbecause broadcast airwaves are finite resources, theinternet does not have limited bandwidth.“The only pos-sible purpose of a licensing requirement for internet dis-tribution is enabling censorship,” VOA said in astatement.For broadcast airwaves, “Governments havea recognised responsibility to regulate the spectrum toensure it is used in the broader public’s interest,” it said.

State Department spokesman Ned Price tweetedwhen the licensing regulation emerged in February thatthe US was concerned with RTUK’s “decision to expandgovernment control over free press outlets”.In response,Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic notedthat the US required Turkey’s state English-languagebroadcaster, TRT World, to register as a foreign agentunder a law intended for lobbyists and public relationsfirms working for foreign governments. TRT said it wasnewsgathering and reporting like any other internationalmedia.“TRT abides by relevant regulations for its activi-ties in the US Is that censorship? We expect the samefrom @VoATurkish and others,” Bilgic tweeted.Turkeywas rated “Not Free” for 2021 on the Freedom of the Netindex by Freedom House. Hundreds of thousands ofdomains and web addresses have beenblocked.Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey at 149out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index,saying “all possible means are used to undermine crit-ics”, including stripping journalists of press cards, onlinecensorship, lawsuits and arrests. — AP

Ranga Reddy INDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLE SUNDAY 03 JULY 20225

Can COVID-19 Symptoms Come BackAfter Using Paxlovid? What We Know

Some people who have taken Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 antiviral report that their symptoms return after com-pleting the 5-day treatment.Studies suggest that the “re-bound” of symptoms occurs in only a small number ofpatients. Some patients who have taken Pfizer Inc.’soral antiviral Paxlovid are reporting that their COVID-19symptoms returned after initially improving when theycompleted treatment.Research suggests that this “re-bound” occurs in a very small number of patients, withmost people having mild or moderate symptoms upontheir return.More research is needed to confirm theseresults, but here’s what we know so far about this returnof COVID-19 symptoms after Paxlovid treatment.TheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saidin a statement on May 24 that some people treated withPaxlovid experience “COVID-19 rebound” between twoand 8 days after their initial recovery.These people expe-rience a return of their symptoms and/or a new positiveCOVID test after having tested negative.This has occurredin unvaccinated people, as well as those who are vacci-nated and boosted.With this medication available forsome time now, researchers are learning how often thistype of rebound occurs.In one studyTrusted Source, re-searchers examined the medical records of over 5,200people who received a Paxlovid prescription in Califor-nia between December 2021 and May 2022 to see howmany might have had a return of symptoms.

In the five to 15 days after the prescription was filled,less than 1 percent of those people were seen at theemergency department or hospitalized with a positiveCOVID-19 test result.

About half of those with recurrent symptoms wereover 65 years of age, and over three-quarters had anunderlying medical condition.study, though, only capturespeople whose rebound symptoms were severe enoughthat they needed medical attention at a hospital. Some ofthese people may have also shown up at the hospital fora non-COVID reason and tested positive.Additionalpeople in this study may have had a rebound, but theirsymptoms were so mild that they didn’t seek medicalcare.The study was published June 21 in the CDC’s jour-nal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report(MMWR).Another study, published June 14 in Clinical In-fectious Diseases, found that of nearly 500 high-risk pa-tients treated with Paxlovid, only 0.8 percent experiencedrebound symptoms, which were generally mild.This re-search suggests that the rebound of symptoms afterPaxlovid treatment is, in fact, uncommon.It also fits withdata from Pfizer’s clinical trial: 1 to 2 percent ofpeopleTrusted Source treated with the antiviral had apositive COVID-19 test — or an increase in the amountof virus detected — after finishing the treatment.However,this type of rebound also occurred in people who re-ceived the inactive placebo, so it’s not clear if it is relatedto the drug, said the FDATrusted Source in May.

In addition, the agency said that people in the trialwhose symptoms recurred did not have a higher risk ofhospitalization or death. Nor were there signs that thecoronavirus had developed resistance to the drug.It’snot clear why some people see a recurrence of theirsymptoms.It may be “part of the natural history” of thecoronavirus that causes COVID-19, the CDC said, inde-pendent of whether someone was treated with Paxlovidor was vaccinated or boosted.U.S. government research-ers are planning studies on this.

One study by researchers at the University of Cali-fornia San Diego School of Medicine suggests that somepeople may experience rebound symptoms due to notenough of the drug reaching their infected cells to stopthe virus from replicating.This could be due to the drugbeing broken down too quickly in those people or thedrug needing to be given over a longer period, the re-searchers suggested.This study was published June20 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.Experts say that whilethese cases of rebound need to be studied, this shouldnot be seen as a failure of Paxlovid.Case reports sug-gest that people who have COVID-19 rebound experi-ence mild illness, with no reports of severe illness, theCDC said. People’s symptoms improved in an averageof three days without additional treatment.In the Pfizerclinical trial, the antiviral reduced the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death by almost 90 percentamong non-hospitalized patients at risk of severeillness.Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a clinical professor in theKeck School of Medicine of the University of SouthernCalifornia, said Paxlovid is a “life-saver” — decreasingthe amount of virus present in the body, reducing symp-toms, and preventing illness from getting worse.“Themedication works exceptionally well at preventing peopleat risk — [such as] elderly, obese or those with othermedical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure— from ending up the hospital,” said Klausner.“That’swhat is important — preventing people from going to thehospital,” he added.While some scientists have sug-gested that a 10-day course of Paxlovid may be needed,the CDC said there is no evidence that people requireadditional treatment with Paxlovid or another antiviralCOVID treatment.Dr. John Mourani, medical director ofinfectious disease at Pomona Valley Hospital MedicalCenter, said if symptoms recur, “the first thing patientsshould do is contact their primary physician for a COVIDantigen check.”They can also use an at-home test kit.Some doctors recommend having these on hand if youare taking Paxlovid.Scientists don’t know whether allpeople whose symptoms recur can spread the virus toothers, but they recommend taking steps to protect oth-ers from infection.“If symptoms return after treatment,there is a possibility that someone may still be conta-gious,” said Klausner. “People should continue isolat-ing and wearing a mask until their symptoms are gone,or until they test negative on a rapid test.”The CDC rec-ommends that people with COVID rebound treat it as aninitial infection and follow the agency’s guidance onisolationTrusted Source.This includes restarting isola-tion and isolating for at least five days, plus wearing amask around others for 10 days after the start of reboundsymptoms.In the United States, Paxlovid is authorized bythe FDATrusted Source for use in people 12 years andolder who have tested positive for coronavirus infectionand are at high risk for severe illness.People at higherrisk include those with risk factorsTrusted Source suchas chronic lung or kidney disease, diabetes, obesity,cancer, or any condition that weakens their immunesystem.Preliminary data released by Pfizer on June 14suggests that the medication may not meaningfully ben-efit people without underlying medical conditions.Bothvaccinated, and unvaccinated people are eligible to re-ceive Paxlovid. However, vaccination provides an addedlayer of protection.“Overall, having the vaccine and thera-peutic options in combination are great tool to protectfrom severe COVID,” said Mourani.A prescription is re-quired for the antiviral pills, and treatment needs to bestarted within five days of the symptoms starting.To get aprescription, you will need to show your positive test re-sult to your health provider and review your risk factors.Some telehealth providers also offer virtual visits to as-sess your risk and prescribe Paxlovid if it isappropriate.You can also visit one of the test to treat loca-tions supported by the federal government. These sitesoffer testing and have Paxlovid on-hand.In late April, theWhite House made a new push to get Paxlovid to Ameri-cans who could benefit.Despite this, Klausner is con-cerned that those most at risk are still not aware of thistreatment and are not getting treated.“We have to do amuch better job promoting the medication to at-riskpeople and making it easier to get,” he said.

Physicians Transplant Kidneys into ChildrenWithout Immune Suppressing Drugs

Three pediatric patients with a rare genetic diseasethat causes kidney failure have successfully been treatedwith transplanted kidneys without using anti-rejectiondrugs or treatments.Experts at Stanford University treatedthree children with a rare condition called Schimkeimmuno-osseous dysplasia (SIOD). This genetic condi-tion not only causes a weakened immune system butalso causes kidney disease, according to the Geneticand Rare Diseases Information Center at the NIH.In allthree cases, a parent donated both bone marrow stemcells and a kidney to their child. Two of the three patientsare siblings, where one parent was able to donate toone child and the other parent to the sibling.According toa report published in The New England Journal of Medi-cine, none of the children who have undergone this pro-cedure have had any major or life-threatening complica-tions and still do not need anti-rejectionmedications.“Safely freeing patients from lifelong immu-nosuppression after a kidney transplant is possible,” saidDr. Alice Bertaina, associate professor of pediatrics atthe Stanford University Lucile Packard Children’s Hospi-tal, in a press release.The biggest challenge with organtransplantation is controlling the response of the donatedorgan and the recipient’s immune system as they try toadapt to each other. However, when the transplanted or-gan does not adapt well, it attacks the body in a phenom-enon called graft verse host disease (GvHD).

For most organ transplants, physicians complete abattery of tests and matching techniques to ensure adonated organ won’t be rejected by a host body. Immune-suppressing medications reduce the chance that therecipient’s immune system does not view the donatedorgan as a threat and fight it.“The problem with trans-plantation is dealing with the body’s immune system asthe body has cells that attack in transplantation,” Dr. AmitTevar, Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of theKidney and Transplant Program at the Starzl TransplantInstitute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.“We currently have to find balance of with how muchmedication to give to control that response, but this re-search mitigates that need.”The scientists used a tech-nique called “dual immune/solid organ transplant,” whichallows for patients to receive both stem cells and a solidorgan from a donor.By transplanting stem cells, scien-

tists can replace the immune system of the patient, mak-ing it compatible with the organ that will be donated. Al-though this transplantation protocol is not new, the suc-cess of its use is considered a breakthrough.The scien-tists at Stanford adapted to a less toxic method by remov-ing one of the cell lines which cause GvHD. With this cellline removed, stem cells from the donor are then given tothe recipient, and after about 60 to 90 days, the immunesystem is completely functional.“This technique has beenattempted several times in the past, but this is the firsttime it really has been successful,” Tevar toldHealthline.Tevar said this new research is a “medicalbreakthrough.”“First, we have never seen this in childrenand secondly, without the use of anti-rejections medica-tions, these kidneys will be more durable over the years,which is promising for the future,” Tevar toldHealthline.There are currently over 106,000 people wait-ing for organs throughout the United States. According tothe Organ Procurement Transplantation Network, anoverwhelming majority, almost 90,000, are waiting for akidney transplant.Getting a kidney or new organ is a re-newed chance at life for patients, so breakthrough meth-ods like this truly impact people’s lifestyle and longevity.

Can doctors be humorous?

Hyderabad: What’s funny about doctors? If you do adouble take at this question, it’s understandable. Doc-tors are a dour bore lot. There is nothing funny aboutthem, although they routinely prescribe laughter as thebest medicine. But one thing is for sure. There is nodearth of amusing jokes about them. Sample this: A wor-ried patient tells the doctor about his legs breaking intwo places. And pat comes the reply – quit going to thoseplaces.But why that grim expression on the face? Thereason perhaps could be that they are busy taking careof someone else’s life. Whatever – one don’t have to beserious all the time. A bit of humour thrown into the doc-tor-patient communication can have a positive impact. Itwill relieve stress while establishing trust. For that a doc-tor doesn’t have to put a red clown nose. Infusing humourin treatment will do a world of good and may sometimeschange the clinical outcome as well.

There are quite a few doctors who employ humouras a strategy as they think it has a big part in patientrecovery. But there are very few of them who are humourwriters as well. Dr. Abid Moiz, who wields the stethoscopeand also pen with equal felicity, has come up with a bookin Urdu which tells about doctors who have made a markin humour and satire writing.The book titled – Hansi,

Tanzo Mizah Aur Doctor – is a real eye-opener. It tells howhumour results in laughter and laughter leads to happi-ness and together they provide immense benefits. Moiz,who has written ten mizahiya (humorous ) books, drawsa fine line between tanz (satire) and mizah (humour).“While one tickles, the other prickles”, he says.But in Urduliterature both are used simultaneously. Writers ensurethat mizah takes the sting out of tanz. But the presentstressed-filled life has robbed people of their sense ofhumour also. Social media posts show how people sim-ply mention LOL (laugh out loud) at the end of a joke orfunny write-up instead of having a hearty laughter.

While half of the book consists of humorous ar-ticles written by Moiz, the other half has the writings ofdoctors from across the sub-continent. There are funnywrite-ups of 16 doctors of different disciplines. Some ofthem are: Taher Quraishi, Iqbal Hashmani, Syed AbdulMannan, Shafiqur Rahman, Mirza Kaleemullah Baig, AfsarArmoori, Rashid Fareedi, Mohsin Maghyana, Abid Ali,Mohd Younus Bhut, Mansoor Ahmed Bawaja, YousufSamra, Mohd Khalid Abdul Samee, Nazr Imam and MohdMohsin.Most of the doctor-writers have narrated the ex-periences they have had during the course of their prac-tice, dealing with patients of different age groups andtemperament while some have tried their hand at totallydifferent subjects. Some doctors take recourse to humourwhile discussing medical conditions, treatment and tests.They try to see everything from a humorous point of view,even the way the patients relate their ailments. Dr. AbdulManan’s article ‘Naaz Uthane Ko Hum RahgayeMareezon Ke’ makes for a good read. So is the article ofYounus Bhat – Buzrug Paalna. They incorporate humourinto their personal anecdotes and infuse comedy in ev-ery line.Dr. Moiz deserves congratulations for bringingout the hidden talent of doctors. Otherwise one tends tobelieve that the health care providers are good at writingmere prescriptions which none can read.

Chlorine, UV combination techniquemay improve disinfection effectiveness

of chlorination, finds studyBeijing: Over the past few decades, ultraviolet (UV)

irradiation has been used as an alternative water disin-fection technology. However, a chlorine and UV combi-nation technique may improve the disinfection effective-ness of chlorination and reduce the need for appliedchlorine dose in water treatment as compared to stan-dard free chlorine disinfectants, according to a study.Thefindings of the research were published in the journal‘Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering’.

It has been reported that UV disinfection followed bychlorination is applied at more than 28 drinking watertreatment plants in the United States. UV treatment hasalso been increasingly applied to chlorinated swimmingpool waters as a secondary disinfection process and achloramine control strategy.Halobenzoquinones (HBQs),as new emerging disinfection by-products (DBPs), arefrequently detected in potable and swimming pool wa-ters. In fact, HBQs are also precursors of other DBPssuch as currently regulated trihalomethanes (THMs),which pose a high risk to the public health and the envi-ronment. When UV is applied during the chlorination pro-cess, the DBPs formation may be quite different fromthat under chlorine alone or UV alone.

However, there remain many questions that requirefurther investigation. For instance, does UV/chlorine com-bined disinfection promote or limit the transformation ofHBQs into DBPs compared with chlorine-only disinfec-tion? Particularly, does UV play a significant role in thetransformation of organic precursors and the formationof DBPs upon chlorine disinfection? To answer thesequestions, Prof. Ching-Hua Huang from the Georgia In-stitute of Technology, Dr. He Zhao from the Institute ofProcess Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences, and

their team members have worked jointly and revealedsystematically the molecular mechanism of THMs pro-duced from HBQs in chlorination or combined UV/chlorine.Their work identified the promoting effect of UVon HBQs in THMs formation, which provided valuableinsight into the potential risk during the application ofcombined UV/chlorine in water treatment. This studyentitled “Enhanced formation of trihalomethane disin-fection byproducts from halobenzoquinones under com-bined UV/chlorine conditions”.In this study, the researchteam found UV enhanced by nearly 10 times the CHCl3formation yield of 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (2,6-DCBQ, one of the most frequently detected HBQs in drink-ing water). They also conducted an in-depth investiga-tion of the reaction mechanism using complementaryexperimental measurements and density functionaltheory (DFT) calculations and revealed different forma-tion patterns of THMs from four species of HBQs duringchlorine-only and UV/chlorine processes.Their Investi-gation showed that UV had a great influence accordingto the chemical structure of HBQs, directly affecting thehydrolysis rate, transformation pathways, intermediates,and the subsequent production of THMs. Their resultsalso unveiled the hydroxylation of HBQ to be a key inter-mediate pathway in promoting THMs formation.This studyinvestigated comprehensively and systematically the for-mation of THMs from HBQs during chlorination or com-bined UV/chlorine processes for the first time, whichshould be considered in the application of combined UVand chlorine processes in water treatment. It has deep-ened our understanding of the promoting roles of UVirradiation and hydroxylation of HBQs in THMs formation,which provides new insight into the potential risks for UVdisinfection of drinking water treatment.

Research discovers benefits of exerciseresulting in a new blood molecule

Houston: Scientistsfrom Baylor College ofMedicine, Stanford Schoolof Medicine, and affiliatedinstitutions report that theyhave discovered a bloodmolecule that is createdduring exercise and cansignificantly lower food in-take and obesity inmice.The findings improveour understanding of thephysiological processesthat underlie the interplaybetween exercise andhunger.

“Regular exercise hasbeen proven to help weightloss, regulate appetite andimprove the metabolic pro-file, especially for peoplewho are overweight andobese,” said co-corre-sponding author Dr YongXu, professor of paediat-rics- nutrition and molecu-lar and cellular biology atBaylor. “If we can under-stand the mechanism bywhich exercise triggersthese benefits, then we arecloser to helping manypeople improve theirhealth.” “We wanted to un-derstand how exerciseworks at the molecularlevel to be able to capturesome of its benefits,” saidco-corresponding authorJonathan Long, MD, assis-tant professor of pathologyat Stanford Medicine and anInstitute Scholar of StanfordChEM-H (Chemistry, Engi-

with diet-induced obesity(fed a high-fat diet), a highdose of Lac-Phe sup-pressed food intake byabout 50% compared tocontrol mice over a periodof 12 hours without affect-ing their movement or en-ergy expenditure. When ad-ministered to the mice for10 days, Lac-Phe reducedcumulative food intake andbody weight (owing to lossof body fat) and improvedglucose tolerance.The re-searchers also identifiedan enzyme called CNDP2that is involved in the pro-duction of Lac-Phe andshowed that mice lackingthis enzyme did not lose asmuch weight on an exer-cise regime as a controlgroup on the same exer-cise plan.Interestingly, theteam also found robust el-

neering & Medicine for Hu-man Health).“For example,older or frail people whocannot exercise enough,may one day benefit fromtaking a medication thatcan help slow down os-teoporosis, heart diseaseor other conditions.” Xu,Long and their colleaguesconducted comprehensiveanalyses of blood plasmacompounds from mice fol-lowing intense treadmillrunning. The most signifi-cantly induced moleculewas a modified amino acidcalled Lac-Phe.It is synthe-sized from lactate (abyproduct of strenuous ex-ercise that is responsiblefor the burning sensationin muscles) and phenyla-lanine (an amino acid thatis one of the buildingblocks of proteins).In mice

evations in plasma Lac-Phe levels following physi-cal activity in racehorsesand humans. Data from ahuman exercise cohortshowed that sprint exer-cise-induced the most dra-matic increase in plasmaLac-Phe, followed by resis-tance training and then en-durance training.“Thissuggests that Lac-Phe isan ancient and conservedsystem that regulates feed-ing and is associated withphysical activity in manyanimal species,” Longsaid.“Our next steps in-clude finding more detailsabout how Lac-Phe medi-ates its effects in the body,including the brain,” Xusaid. “Our goal is to learnto modulate this exercisepathway for therapeutic in-terventions.”

Ranga Reddy INDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLE SUNDAY 03 JULY 20226

Govt to review new taxes levied on crude, diesel,ATF every fortnight, says Nirmala Sitharaman

GNS News Agency, July 2Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said

the government will review every fortnight the new taxes

levied on crude, diesel and ATF based on internationalprices.She said these are "extraordinary times" and oilprices are internationally unbridled."We do not want todiscourage export, but want domestic availability to in-crease," Ms. Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi.

She said that if oil is not being available and exportsare happening at such phenomenal profit, we need atleast some of it for our own citizens."We need to take thistwin-pronged approach," the minister added.The govern-ment on Friday slapped an export tax on petrol, dieseland jet fuel (ATF) while also joining nations like the UK inimposing a windfall tax on crude oil produced locally.A ?6per litre tax on export of petrol and ATF and ?13 per litretax on export of diesel is effective from July 1.Additionally,a ?23,250 per tonne tax was levied on crude oil pro-duced domestically.Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj saidthe new taxes would be applicable on SEZ units."But, theexport restriction will not be applicable," he said.On therupee, the finance minister said the Reserve Bank andgovernment are keenly watching the situation. The gov-ernment is conscious of the impact of the rupee value onimports.

June's GST revenues secondhighest at over Rs1.44 lakh crore

India recorded its second highest monthly grossGST revenues in June at ?144,616 crore, 56% more thana year ago when the 2nd COVID wave had hit economicactivity. Revenues from import of goods rose 55%, whiledomestic transactions and import of services were 56%higher in the month.Gross GST Compensation Cess col-lections hit ?11,018 crore, including ?1,197 crore col-lected on import of goods, the highest level since theintroduction of GST five years ago. This is the fourth suc-cessive month since March that monthly GST revenueshave crossed the ?1.40 lakh crore mark, and the fifthsuch occasion overall.“The average monthly gross GSTcollection for the first quarter of 2022-23 has been ?1.51lakh crore against the average monthly collection of ?1.10lakh crore in the same quarter last year, showing an in-crease of 37%. Coupled with economic recovery, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billershave been contributing to the enhanced GST,” the Fi-nance Ministry said.

Rating agency ICRA said it expects the monthly av-erage GST collections in 2022-23 to be around June’srevenue level, which would imply a ‘substantive upsideof about ?1.2 lakh crore’ for the Government of India rela-tive to its Budget Estimates for Central GST of ?6.6 lakhcrore. We mark #5YearsofGST, a major tax reform thatfurthered 'Ease of Doing Business' and fulfilled the vi-sion of 'One Nation, One Tax.' https://t.co/fL3kJbz4ty

Mr. Shrinivas Garimella, Chairman of IndustrialDevelopment Committee, FTACCI - Hyderabad while pre-senting on "Impact of GST on MSME"said that MSMEsare relieved of multiple taxes/returns in GST regime &are the biggest beneficiaries of the online business pro-cesses. #5YearsofGSTpic.twitter.com/kwUpC30odk“Thesharp 56% headline growth in June benefits from theeconomic recovery, and has also been boosted by thelow base of the second wave of Covid-19 and the trans-mission of elevated commodity prices into output infla-tion,” said ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar.Central GSTcollections in June were ?25,306 crore, State GST at?32,406 crore, while Integrated GST accounted for?75,887 crore, including ?40,102 crore collected on im-port of goods. GST revenues had hit a high of ?1,67,540crore in April this year, before dropping to about ?1.41lakh crore in May.“These consistent high collections in-

dicate recovery from the pandemic hit and can also beattributed to inflation and tight check and balances imple-mented by the Government,” said Abhishek Jain, partner(indirect tax) at KPMG India.Most States and Union Terri-tories recorded a sharp uptick in revenues, led by Keralawhere collections jumped 116% year-on-year and Ladakh(118%), while negative growth was witnessed only in theUnion Territory of Daman and Diu (-13%) and areas un-der Central jurisdiction (-12%).Several States recordedover 50% growth in collections. Tamil Nadu recorded an83% growth in June's GST collections, followed byUttarakhand (82%), Haryana (77%), Karnataka (73%),Maharashtra (63%), West Bengal (58%), Rajasthan(56%), Punjab (51%) and Gujarat (50%).

“The increase in States’ collections compared isimpressive as many large states have shown an increasein excess of 40%. Since this comes in the backdrop ofthe guaranteed revenue to States coming to an end, itwould assuage many states who were worried abouttheir revenue mobilisation ability going forward,” said MSMani, partner at Deloitte India.“If GST collections grow atthe envisioned pace of about 17% in this financial year,then many States may be able to withstand the end of theGST compensation period. However, some states with arelatively higher dependence on GST compensationwithin their revenue sources, may find it to be a particu-larly challenging year,” Ms. Nayar pointed out.

Manufacturing growth eases to lowestsince September 2021: S&P PMI

GNS News Agency, July 2Inflation pressures dragged India’s manufacturing

sector’s growth down to the lowest level in nine months,and dampened business confidence sentiment to a 27-month low in June, as per the S&P Global India Manufac-turing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) which slid to53.9 from 54.6 in May. A reading of 50 on the PMI indi-cates no change in level of activity from the previousmonth. “Factory orders and production rose for the twelfthstraight month in June, but in both cases the rates ofexpansion eased to nine-month lows,” S&P Global saidin a note. New export orders rose for the third successivemonth in June and employment rose for the fourth suc-cessive month, albeit at a slight pace. While strongerclient demand sustained order books, growth was re-stricted by acute inflationary pressures as per the partici-pants whose inputs are collated for the PMI through asurvey.

The manufacturing sector displayed encouragingresilience on the face of acute price pressures, risinginterest rates, rupee depreciation and a challenging geo-political landscape, said Pollyanna De Lima, econom-ics associate director at S&P Global Market IntelligenceUnit. “Yet, there was a broad-based slowdown in growthacross a number of measures such as factory orders,production, exports, input buying and employment as cli-ents and businesses restricted spending amid elevatedinflation,” she noted. Although the outlook for the Indianmanufacturing industry remained positive midwaythrough 2022, sentiment slipped to a 27-month low, S&P

Global said, with less than 4% of panellists forecastingoutput growth in the year ahead. The vast majority expectno change in output from present levels a year on, citinginflation as the key concern. The rate of input cost infla-tion faced by producers remained historically high, butwas the slowest in three months, as were the pass-through of costs through higher charges to consumers.Firms reported increases for a wide range of inputs, in-cluding chemicals, electronics, energy, metals and tex-tiles. “There was positive news regarding supply chains,with the latest results showing the first shortening of in-put lead times since the onset of COVID-19. This seemedto have curbed the upward pressure on input costs, withpurchase prices and output charges increasing at sharpbut slower rates during June,” Ms. De Lima said. “Com-panies nevertheless remained very concerned about in-flation, a key factor that dragged down business confi-dence to a 27-month low,” she concluded.

With rupee nearing 80 to a dollar, govt.raises gold import duties to 15%

In a bid to curb a surge in gold imports and checkwindfall profits being made by crude petroleum produc-ers, the Government has raised the import duty on theyellow metal from 10.75% to 15% and levied fresh taxeson the export of petrol, fuel and ATF as well as the do-mestic sale of crude oil. The higher gold import leviesare expected to rein in India’s rising current account defi-cit and ease the pressure on the Rupee. As much as 107tonnes of gold was imported in May and imports havebeen ‘significant’ in June as well, the Ministry said, stress-ing that the surge in gold imports is putting pressure onIndia’s current account deficit.

As per foreign trade data, India’s gold imports hadshot up over 789% in May 2022 to cross $6 billion, com-pared to $677.7 million in May 2021. A cess of ?23,250

per tonne of petroleum crude has been levied in the faceof the elevated global prices that were leading to windfallprofits for domestic oil producers who sell their output atinternational parity prices even to domestic refineries.This cess will not apply on imported crude and will haveno adverse impact on domestic fuel prices, the FinanceMinistry said.

A Special additional excise duty or Cess has alsobeen imposed on exports of petroleum products at therate of ?6 per litre on Petrol and Aviation Turbine Fuel,and ?13 per litre on diesel, as exports have becomemore attractive for more domestic refineries. Exporterswould now also be required to declare at the time ofexports that 50% of the outbound quantity of fuel hasbeen or will be supplied in the domestic market duringthe current financial year. “These measures will ensuredomestic availability of the petroleum products,” the Fi-nance Ministry said.

“The higher duties on inbound gold shipments willslightly reduce the outflow on account of gold imports,and help provide stability to the INR to USD ratio, whilethe change in taxation on petroleum products will helpreduce the recent uptick in the demand-supply gap forthem,” said Abhishek Jain, partner (indirect tax) at KPMGIndia. The cess on crude petroleum will not be levied forsmall producers with annual output of crude less than 2million barrels in the previous financial year. Moreover, toincentivise additional production, no cess will be imposedon a firm’s crude oil output that is in excess of last year’sproduction.

Centre raises export taxon petrol, diesel and ATF

The govt. also slapped a 23,230/tonne additionaltax on domestically produced crude oil to take awaywindfall gains accruing to producers from high interna-tional oil prices

A file photo of Reliance Industries Limited’s crudeoil refinery unit in Jamnagar, Gujarat. | Photo Credit:APThe govt. also slapped a ?23,230/tonne additionaltax on domestically produced crude oil to take awaywindfall gains accruing to producers from high interna-tional oil pricesThe government on Friday, July 1, 2022,slapped a ?6 per litre tax on exports of petrol and avia-

tion turbine fuel (ATF) and ?13 per litre on exports ofdiesel.The government also slapped a ?23,230 per tonneadditional tax on domestically produced crude oil to takeaway windfall gains accruing to producers from high in-ternational oil prices, a separate government notificationshowed.The tax on exports follows oil refiners, particu-larly the private sector, reaping huge gains from export-ing fuel to markets such as Europe and the UnitedStates.The tax on domestically produced crude oil fol-lows local producers reaping windfall gains from thesurge in international oil prices.

Bajaj Electronics ‘BiggestLaptop Sale’ in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Bajaj Electronics is organising the ‘Big-gest Laptop Sale’ featuring top laptop brands and greatoffers.The offers at the sale include the largest display oflaptops and mobiles at best prices, pay Rs 1 and takehome any laptop, laptop range starts from Rs.35,900,assured gift on every purchase up to Rs.3990 and in-stant cash back up to Rs.2000, a press releasesaid.Actors Lahari Shari and Shravanthi Chokaropu alongwith gadget lovers participated in the sale at Bajaj Elec-tronics Store at Inorbit Mall and checked out on variousoffers. Karan Bajaj, CEO of Bajaj Electronics, said, “postlockdowns with schools and offices reopening, officegoers, school kids, college students, even homemak-ers require laptops for various use.”

Hyderabad-based Endiyainvests in AquaExchange

Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based venture capital com-pany Endiya Partners has invested in aquaculture fintechplatform AquaExchange along with another fundingagency Accion Ventures and existing investors. A total of$3 million has been invested in the company as part ofits pre-Series A funding round.AquaExchange, a full-stack,tech-driven platform serving the multi-billion-dollarshrimp & fish ecosystem, will deploy the capital instrengthening its technology, e-commerce operationsand expanding its farm automation footprint to over 1lakh acres of farms by FY23 ending March 2023.

The company aims to improve farmer productivityand livelihoods by ushering in AquaCulture 4.0 into Indiaand operates across the value chain through a fintechenabled e-commerce platform that facilitates harvestsat the farm-gate with transparent pricing and assuredspot payments to the smallholder

farmers.AquaExchange founder Pavan Kosaraju said,“we believe that future aquaculture farmers should beequipped with the right data at the right time to ensurehigher crop successes and also increase farming pro-ductivity.”

Rupee hits record low of 79.11against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 5 paise to a recordlow of 79.11 against the US dollar in opening trade onFriday as persistent foreign funds outflows weighed oninvestor sentiments.At the interbank foreign exchange,the rupee opened on a weak note at 78.99 against theAmerican dollar, then lost ground to quote at 79.11 — itsall-time low level, registering a fall of 5 paise from thelast close.On Thursday, the rupee fell 3 paise to close ata fresh lifetime low of 79.06 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges thegreenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies,was trading 0.21 per cent higher at 104.90.According toAnil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex TreasuryAdvisors, the rupee opened low as there are no signs offund flows or strength in Asian currencies, Brent crudeoil prices coming down or a pause in interest ratehikes.“All these are a nemesis for the rupee and RBI isthe only one supporting it and keeping it in a small range.Suddenly one day we may see the next spike,” Bhansalisaid.Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.05per cent to USD 109.09 per barrel.On the domestic eq-

uity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 411.74points or 0.78 per cent lower at 52,607.20, while thebroader NSE Nifty declined 123.10 points or 0.78 percent to 15,657.15.Foreign institutional investors were netsellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloadedshares worth Rs 1,138.05 crore, as per stock exchangedata.

Commercial 19 kg LPG cylinderprices slashed by Rs 198

New Delhi: The price of a commercial LPG cylinderhas been reduced by Rs 198 with immediate effect fromJuly 1.With the latest reduction, a 19-kg commercial Liq-uefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder in Delhi will nowcost Rs 2021.It will provide some relief to restaurants,eateries, tea stalls and others which constitute the larg-est user segment of the 19 kg cylinders.

Last month on June 1, the price of 19 kg commer-cial LPG cylinders was Rs 2219 in Delhi.Earlier, in thefirst week of May, the price of an 19 kg LPG cylinder washiked by Rs 50. On May 1, the price of a 19-kilogramcommercial LPG cylinder was increased by Rs 102.50,to Rs 2355.50.In April and March also, the prices of 19 kgcommercial LPG have been increased by Rs 250 andRs 105 per cylinder.LPG Cylinder rate is revised monthlyfor all the states and union territories in India.

Ranga Reddy INDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLE SUNDAY 03 JULY 20227

Farhan Akhtar on length of his role in Ms Marvel:‘People must enjoy the show, Kamala’s journey’

Farhan Akhtar says he’s glad he got to become apart of a show that marked the debut of a Muslim super-hero on the screens. The Bollywood actor-filmmaker, whois receiving a lot of love for his portrayal of Waleed in thelatest episode four of Ms Marvel, however, prefers to staymum about whether or not his character is actually deadin the Marvel Studios’ web series.Farhan toldIndiaToday.com, “I am not allowed to answer it!” He how-ever added that his reason of becoming part of Ms Mar-vel was due to the representation of South Asians.“People have been invested in the show. For us, it isreally exciting because it is culturally representing us. Itmakes it very special. And that was the most exciting partfor me being involved with the show,” he said.After muchspeculation and teasers about his role, Farhan Khanfinally made an appearance at a crucial juncture in thestoryline of Ms Marvel. His character Waleed is the leaderof the Red Daggers, a vigilante group. He helps KamalaKhan from the attacking Clandestines, lead by Najma.

While fans are raving about his action-packed role,many felt it should have been longer and better fleshedout. The actor appears in episode 4 and is killed after acouple of scenes. “People must enjoy the show and theyshould enjoy Kamala’s journey. I think that’s what’s im-portant,” he opined.Kamala Khan, played by actor ImanVellani, is a Pakistani-American teenager who’s an Aveng-ers fan and is inspired by Captain Marvel. She inherits abangle from her great grandmother to eventually realiseit is magical. The bangle helps her discover she hassuper powers, and to trace its origin, she lands up inKarachi, where she meets Waleed who tells her thatshe’s actually a Djinn.

Ms Marvel is the first time a Muslim superhero hasbeen put at the helm by a major production banner –Marvel Studios. It has also lead to discussions aroundthe ethnic representation and the way it inculcates SouthAsian culture and sentiments in the screenplay.Sharinghis happiness about Marvel’s decision to take the mantle,he said, “I consider myself lucky to have been part of thevery first one that has been created from the Marvel uni-verse. There is such a buzz about the show. There is somuch love coming in for the character of Kamala.”Farhanfurther expressed belief that Ms Marvel will “open up doors”to create more such content. “There has to be a first andit happens to be now. We should all be thankful that it ishappening and we look forward to some more fun times,”he added.Ms Marvel is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar,and also stars several Indian and Pakistani actors likeNimra Bucha, Fawad Khan, Mohan Kapur, Zenobia Shroff,Mehwish Hayat and more.

Simbu’s Maha, Vendhu ThanindhathuKaadu and Pathu Thala get release datesTamil actor Simbu has three films that are getting

ready to hit cinema halls at quick intervals this year. Hislong-delayed movie Maha, which also stars HansikaMotwani in the lead role, is due to arrive in cinemas onJune 22.In Maha, Simbu is said to have played a sup-porting role to Hansika as the whole film revolves aroundher character. Directed by UR Jameel, the movie alsostars Srikanth, Sanam Shetty, Karunakaran and ThambiRamaiah.Simbu’s first big release of this year will beVendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu. The film marks Simbu’sreunion with director Gautham Menon after a gap of sixyears. The duo has earlier collaborated on AchchamYenbadhu Madamaiyada and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa.The upcoming movie has music scored by Oscar winnerAR Rahman, who had also scored music for the duo’sprevious collaborations.Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadutells the tale of an immigrant worker. The teaser showedSimbu as a young man coming to the big city in search oflivelihood and eventually getting sucked into the under-belly of the city. The music launch of the movie has beenpostponed as Simbu travelled abroad for the medicaltreatment of his father T Rajendar.The production of

Pathu Thala is still in progress. The shooting of the filmhas been put on hold as Simbu is abroad. However, thefilmmakers are confident that they will release the moviein theatres on December 14.Pathu Thala is the remakeof Kannada hit Mufti. The original film had Shivarajkumarand Sriimurali in the lead roles. While Simbu essays therole of a seasoned gangster, Gautham Karthi will stepinto the shoes of Sriimurali in the remake.

Aneri Vajani says people will be sorrythey underestimated her in Khatron KeKhiladi 12: ‘Flower nahi, fire hu main’

For Aneri Vajani, the journey of Khatron Ke Khiladi12 has been as ‘enjoyable’ as it has been ‘painful’.Sharing that there’s not even one bit of her body thathasn’t been injured, the Anupamaa actor, however, isproud of herself as she completed all her tasks. Sheadded that before flying to Cape Town, her mantra was‘nahi hoga to abort kar lungi’. “But when I was on set, Ijust got motivated to do better. Seeing all my co-contes-tants do so well, and Rohit Shetty sir pushing us to ourlimits, I am amazed at myself,” Aneri toldindianexpress.com.Given the actor is quite petite, sheconfessed that not many people had many expecta-tions of her. “Winning and losing is a different thing, Ihave managed to do all my tasks, and quite well. Peoplewill be shocked to see me on the show. Flower nahi firehu main. I am proud of what I did, and people whothought I would fail, will message and apologise to me,”she added.

While the actor agrees that reality shows have nowbecome an important part of an actor’s life, given she‘cannot do things just for cameras’, it has been a mixed

bag for her. KKK 12 was her first stint in a non-fictionspace and she says it has been a new and very differentexperience.Coming back to fiction, Aneri Vajani has es-sayed quite realistic roles, and we wondered if she wouldbe okay to play a TV bahu. “As an actor, I want to experi-ence every emotion. When I get married, I know for a factthat I would be a typical bahu. So I think as an actor, I canpursue that side someday,” she said with a laugh, add-ing that she is happy that makers offer her strongroles.Sharing that she gets bored very easily, she picksup only projects that can keep her excited. Talking abouther recent cameo in Anupamaa, the actor said that whilethe part was just for two months, it got so much love thatthe producer extended it. “Mukku had an impact that notmany characters manage to leave. I am so thankful I gota chance to play it as it helped so many women comeforward and talk about marital rape, a topic that’s stillshunned in our society. That was a victory for the role andthe show that it shook people up, and also got women toopen up.”And while Aneri Vajani has opened up aboutbeing body shamed for being ‘too thin’, she said that herstructure makes her more relatable for women out there.“When I am on screen expressing a certain emotion andexperience, there are women who can say ‘hey that’sme’. If I had the perfect hourglass figure or was all muscle,I don’t think they would be able to relate to me. So it’s apity that people still talk about body shapes because asactors, our job is to entertain and also make viewersrelate to us.”Khatron Ke Khiladi 12 is set to launch onJuly 2. Apart from Aneri, the Rohit Shetty-hosted show willalso have Sriti Jha, Rubina Dilaik, Pratik Sehajpal,Nishant Bhat, Rajiv Adatia, Jannat Zubair, Kanika Mann,Erika Packard, Shivangi Joshi, Faisal Shaikh, Mohit Malik,Tushar Kalia and Chetna Pande as contestants.

RRR, KGF and Pushpa: Bollywoodis threatened by India’s othermovie-making powerhouse

Bollywood has a serious rival now in India. It’s big-ger, louder and is making more money than its prolific,glitzy Hindi-language cousin known for its signaturedance moves and opulent wedding scenes.A new genreof films from southern India — epic, big-budget, over-the-top action flicks, some of them served with a dollopof toxic masculinity and gory violence — are increasinglydominating the country’s $24 billion media and enter-tainment market, and in some cases, making their markbeyond India. Though shot in regional languages likeTelugu and Kannada, they are drawing millions of view-ers to theaters screening dubbed versions and to stream-ing platforms carrying subtitles.

At the vanguard of the movement is RRR, a story oftwo Indian freedom fighters battling British colonialistsin the 1920s. It has raked in as much as $150 millionworldwide, according to The Numbers website, since itsrelease in March, while Rolling Stone magazine and someother US publications have featured glowing reviews ofthe movie. The K.G.F. and Pushpa action franchises gar-nered about $200 million in total, local media reported,following on from the wild success of a two-part mythicalfantasy Baahubali in 2015 and 2017, which collectedabout a combined $290 million.The numbers representa high-water mark for India’s movie industry that’s longbeen struggling to match the size of China or the US,despite being home to a population of almost 1.4 billion.Consultancy Ormax Media estimates that the Telugu-lan-guage film industry — known as Tollywood — earnedabout $212 million last year, eclipsing the $197 millionmade by Bollywood, which has long been based in India’sbusiness center, Mumbai.The success, indicative of apower shift toward the country’s south, comes at a timewhen Bollywood is reeling from a string of flops, as itsincreasingly westernized content limits its appeal to amostly urban audience.The movie makers in southernIndia “have figured out content that transcends regard-less of language,” said Karan Bedi, chief executive of-ficer of Indian streaming platform MX Player. “If you lookat the couple of films that have gone ballistic, it’s all thatsuperhero formula.”

And, the run of hits are also good news for stream-ing giants such as Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and WaltDisney Co. who are courting these film makers for localcontent to boost users in the vast but price-sensitivemarket. India’s media and entertainment industry is setto grow 17% this year to $24 billion and then to $30 bil-lion by 2024, according to a March report by EY and theFederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &Industry.India’s more affluent south is home to a pas-sionate movie-going audience and thousands of cinemascreens. The region is also reputed for churning out hun-dreds of films a year considered kitsch even by Bollywoodstandards, often featuring larger-than-life heroes andheroines. Some of those stars have become successfulpolitical leaders.SS Rajamouli, 49, the maverick redefin-ing Indian entertainment with the new genre, shot RRRon a budget of $72 million, something unprecedented inIndia. Many of these pictures are grandiose with no dearthof histrionics. They are also enhanced by special effects.In a signature fight scene in RRR, the hero grabs a heavymotorcycle and uses it as a club to thrash the bad guys.Ina review of RRR, Rolling Stone wrote, “if ever a moviedeserved to be seen with a crowd and on the largestscreen imaginable, it’s this one,” but also warned it runsthe risk of being “one long, context-less adrenalinerush.”In a recent interview, Rajamouli said he pushesthe finances of his projects and often overshoots bud-gets. Before the meeting, he was watching a YouTubereel of the Top 5 Most Awesome Cinema Game Trailers— a nod to the bombastic style that propelled him to the

top.“Obviously the film has to be a success,” the directorsaid in his office in the southern city of Hyderabad, hometo Tollywood. “Otherwise everyone is going to be in bigtrouble.”Little known outside India, Rajamouli has filmedonly in Telugu, the fourth-most spoken tongue in the coun-try, throughout his two-decade directorial career. He alsomade the Baahubali franchise, for which he spent 600days shooting on a gigantic custom-built set at the world’slargest studio complex, the Ramoji Film City — a sprawl-ing 2,000-acre site and theme park on the edge ofHyderabad.His vision has always been “bigger, biggerand better,” Rajamouli said, reeling off Hollywood inspi-rations ranging from Brave Heart, Spiderman and Su-perman, along with the 1957 Telugu fantasy epicMayabazar.

SS Rajamouli RRR movie director SS Rajamouli.(Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

Streaming with subtitles has changed the game forsome of the regional movies, said Anupama Chopra, afilm critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai FilmFestival.“That also kind of enabled the stars, especiallyof Telugu cinema, to find an audience that was outside oftheir specific region,” she said. “Now suddenlyeverybody’s woken up.”That success has also beenaided by a two-decade trend in which Bollywood’s Hindi-language productions became “extremely westernized,”according to Chopra, focusing more on educated, ur-banized Indian audiences at the expense of 70% of thepopulation that lives outside cities.“Meanwhile, Telugucinema has never stopped catering to the larger audi-ence,” she said, characterizing the films as “extremelymale centric,” where mythical heroes fight in slow-mo-tion sequences and female characters “are kind of rel-egated to the sidelines.”Chopra is also among criticsasking makers to tone down the testosterone a notch.Many are warning that these hits, with their hyper-mas-culine protagonists, can stoke casual sexism and gen-der violence in India — a country already deemed notori-ously unsafe for women.

The Telugu-language Pushpa, the Kannada-lan-guage K.G.F. series and to a lesser extent, RRR — comeloaded with toxic masculinity and misogyny. Violence isglorified. Attempts portrayed by male characters to courtwomen on screen could often be construed as stalkingor kidnapping in most other cultures.Rajamouli has dis-missed criticisms surrounding the male-centric content,saying his focus is on story-telling and emotions and notgender.Despite the high volume of movies producedeach year, Indian films haven’t yet managed to earn thekind of global crossover appeal South Korean contenthas, with award-winning titles such as Parasite or Netflix’sSquid Game.In India, “that’s not happened yet,” saidRajamouli, adding he isn’t planning to change his styleto appeal to a wider global audience. “But the doors areopen. Finding your kind of audiences in the rest of theworld has definitely become much easier” than it wasabout 10 years ago, he said.Box-office collections in In-dia are also smaller compared to China or the US. Totalticket sales reached only $470 million last year, slashedto a third due to the pandemic, versus China’s 47 billionyuan ($7 billion) and $4.5 billion for Hollywood.But hugesilver-screen domestic successes in India are unlikelyto gain widespread traction with foreign audiences, ac-cording to Chopra, who sees the most likely candidatesto come from smaller and digitally streamedproductions.“The mainstream, traditional Indian film —which is the song-and-dance, fantasy, color, drama, vio-lence — I think that’s a tough sell as a crossover,” shesaid. “It’s a very, very unique taste. I don’t know that west-ern audiences really buy into that, they always see it askitsch.”

Upasana Singh reveals why she quit Kapil Sharma Show,gives update on their equation: ‘I was being paid well, but…’

nach baliye 8, Upasana Singh, Upasana Singh nachbaliye, Upasana Singh host nach baliye, nach baliye 8hosts, karan singh grover nach baliye host, UpasanaSingh kapil sharma, Upasana Singh excited, kapilsharma bua, Upasana Singh dance, Upasana Singhdance love, Upasana Singh classical dancer, televisionnews, television updates, indian express television,indian express news, indian express, entertainmentnewsUpasana Singh quit working with Kapil Sharma forcreative reasons.Former Kapil Sharma Show cast mem-ber Upasana Singh said that money is important in thelife of an artist, but only up to a point. After that, one needsto be creatively satisfied. She cited this as one of thereasons behind her departure from The Kapil SharmaShow. Upasana had also worked as a series regular onComedy Nights with Kapil, but said in a new interviewthat she quit working with the popular comedian becauseshe didn’t have much to do.She told Bollywood Hungamathat she and Kapil are still good friends, and that shehas told him to call her only if he has a good role for her.She said that she was being paid handsomely for herwork on the show, but she just wasn’t happy with thework.Upasana said in Hindi, “Money is important ineveryone’s life, but up to a certain point. But after thatpoint, it’s the satisfaction you get from work that becomesmore important. When I started out, I was happy taking

jobs for money, but I don’t think that way anymore. Now, Ionly want to do roles that satisfy me. This is what I alsotell my producers, to give me roles that only I can do.”Shecontinued, “If anybody can do the role you’re offering me,then I’m not even interested in the money. I was doingKapil’s show, and it was the top show for over two years.But then, there came a time when I felt like I had nothingto do anymore. I was being paid well. But I told Kapil thatI’m no longer being challenged. I asked him to eithergive me the kind of roles that I had when we started, or tolet me go. Even today, when I talk to Kapil, this is what Itell him. That he should call me back only if there’s some-thing interesting for me to do.”

This fan-made version of ‘Arabic Kuthu’ isan impressive tribute to Beast star VijayThe dance number “Arabic Kuthu” from Tamil actor

Vijay’s Beast broke the internet upon its release. At onetime, it seemed the whole world was grooving to the hitsong. And the craze around “Arabic Kuthu” seeminglycontinues to rage even months after its initial release.

The latest recreation of the song’s choreography iswinning hearts on the internet. The dance performancefeatures a group of teenagers grooving to the song incostumes that closely resemble the original. There arecountless dance covers of this song on the internet. But,what sets this version apart from others is its strongproduction value and the main performers, Dinesh andMonika, who not only flawlessly perform the dance movesbut also mimic the style and grace of Vijay and PoojaHegde.The lyrics of “Arabic Kuthu” were written bySivakarthikeyan. And the song was composed AnirudhRavichander, who also crooned the song with JonitaGandhi. The song featured in Beast, which was written

and directed by Nelson.The lyrical video of the song hasso far garnered over 440 million views just on YouTubein the last four months. The music video of the song,which was released a month ago, has been watchedover 135 million times on YouTube.

Ranga Reddy INDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLEINDIAN CHRONICLE SUNDAY 03 JULY 20228

Printed and Published by V. Srinivas Reddy, on behalf of M/s Sai Krishna Publications, Owned by M/s Sai Krishna Publications, Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, Plot No.98/1, Co-operative Industrial Estate, IDA,Gandhinagar, Quthbullapur Mandal, Medchal-Malkajgiri Dist, Telangana. Published at Plot No. 3, Flat No.13, Surya Saroj Apartments, Huda Complex, Saroor Nagar, Ranga Reddy Dist. T.S. 500 035.

Editor: V Srinivas Reddy RNI No. APENG/2013/49469, Cell No. 9440231967.

FIFA to use new high-tech foroffside calls at World Cup

GNS News Agency, July 2FIFA will introduce new technology to improve offside

calls at the World Cup in Qatar this year, using a limb-tracking camera system.FIFA said on Friday it is ready tolaunch semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) thatuses multiple cameras to track player movements plusa sensor in the ball — and will quickly show 3D imageson stadium screens at the tournament to help fans un-derstand the referee’s call.It’s the third World Cup in arow that sees FIFA introduce new technology to helpreferees.Goal-line technology was ready for the 2014tournament in Brazil after a notorious refereeing error in2010. In 2018, video review to help referees judge game-changing incidents was rolled out in Russia.The newoffside system promises faster and more accurate deci-sions than are currently made with the Video AssistantReferee (VAR) system, even though the 2018 World Cupavoided major mistakes on offside calls.Controversy hassince flared in European leagues, especially where VARofficials draw on-screen lines over players for marginalcalls. They have been mocked as “armpit offsides” be-cause of the tiny margins.“Although these tools are quiteaccurate, this accuracy may be improved,” said PierluigiCollina, who leads FIFA’s refereeing program and workedthe 2002 World Cup final in the pre-technology era.Eachstadium in Qatar will have 12 cameras beneath the roofsynchronized to track 29 data points on each player’sbody 50 times per second. Data is processed with artifi-cial intelligence to create a 3D offside line that is alertedto the team of VAR officials.A sensor in the match ball

tracks its acceleration and gives a more precise “kickpoint” — when the decisive pass is played – to align withthe offside line data, FIFA innovation director JohannesHolzmüller said in an online briefing.Ensuring soccer’sbiggest event is a showcase for technological progress— and avoids obvious errors that live on in World Cuplore — has been a long-time FIFA goal.The shot byEngland’s Frank Lampard that crossed the Germanygoal-line in 2010 but was not given as a goal almostimmediately ended then-president Sepp Blatter’s oppo-sition to giving referees technological aids.Later thatsame day in South Africa, a clearly incorrect offside calllet Carlos Tevez score Argentina’s first goal in a 3-1 winover Mexico in the round of 16.In 2014, Bosnia-Herzegovina failed to advance from the group in its firstWorld Cup after Edin Dzeko’s early goal against Nigeriawas wrongly judged offside. Nigeria went on to win 1-0.FIFA’s push to get the new offside technology ready forthe World Cup was slowed by the COVID-19pandemic.Live in-game trials were run at the Arab Cup inQatar last December and FIFA’s Club World Cup playedin February in the United Arab Emirates.Within secondsof a possible offside, a specialist member of the VARteam can manually check the data-created line for at-tackers and defenders and the kick point of the pass,Holzmüller said.It falls to the senior VAR official to alertthe match referee of the right decision by their audio link.That should take from 20 to 25 seconds compared to anaverage of 70 seconds currently for a complex offsidecall.“Sometimes the length of checks of reviews is defi-nitely too long,” Collina said, acknowledging delays dis-rupt the flow of games.“For (VAR officials) time flies, butfor the rest — for coaches, for players, for spectators —it’s completely different.” The same 3D animations ofoffside calls that VARs will use should then be availableto broadcasters and shown on stadium screens, likelyduring the next stop in play.Collina is enthusiastic aboutthe technology, less so about the often-used descriptionof “robot referees.” “I understand that sometimes this isvery good for headlines but this is not the case,” said theItalian official, defending the key human element of deci-sion-making in soccer.Collina also agreed that improvedtechnology will not end soccer’s love of controversy anddebating key incidents.

Briton Watson makes a fourthround at 43rd attempt

GNS News Agency, July 2Britain's Heather Watson returns the ball to Slovenia's

Kaja Juvan in a third round women's singles match onday five of the Wimbledon tennis championships in Lon-don, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)Britain’sHeather Watson reached the fourth round of a GrandSlam tournament for the first time in 43 attempts over 12years on Friday as she beat Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan 7-6(6) 6-2 in front of a barely believing crowd on WimbledonCourt one.Watson, 30, has slipped to 121st in the worldrankings and fourth in Britain and although she has tastednotable success in doubles, she has never been able tosustain a challenge in singles at the top level, her bestWimbledon performances being reaching the third roundthree times.She came through an awkward first set full ofslices and drop shots against 21-year-old Juvan and didnot let her head drop after blowing three set points in thetiebreak before taking it 8-6 on a double fault by the 60th-ranked Slovenian.Energised, Watson blasted to a 5-0lead in the second set, adding power and confidence to

her groundstrokes, and though Juvan launched a laterally, Watson prevailed to cap a week to remember inwhich she has been on court five days in a row after herfirst two matches ran into second days.

Wimbledon celebrates 100years of Centre Court

GNS News Agency, July 2Wimbledon is gearing up to celebrate 100 years of

its iconic Centre Court, described as a “white elephant”when it opened, as it launches a new tradition of playingon the middle Sunday of the tournament.The event willlook back on epic matches and classic moments, withpast Wimbledon champions involved.Wimbledon com-munications and marketing director Alexandra Willis saida descendant of Leslie Godfrey, who hit the first ball onCentre Court, would be in the royal box.The court, whichhosts the men’s and women’s finals each year, was notuniversally welcomed when it was opened in 1922.“It

was described as this white elephant,” Willis said on Fri-day. “How on earth would the club ever fill it? “How wouldtennis ever be so popular so that you would welcome somany people?

“And obviously here we are 100 years later and thiswonderful stadium is 100 years old. It’s become one ofthe most iconic landmarks is all of sport.”The grass courtstadium, with a capacity of nearly 15,000, is a mixture ofthe traditional and the cutting-edge, including a retract-able roof that allows play to continue in the rain.TheWimbledon site is set for expansion over the comingyears after the All England Club’s purchase of the adja-cent Wimbledon Park Golf Club, where a new show courtwill be located.Willis said the focus of Sunday’s celebra-tions was both on looking back and looking ahead, withschool children asked to imagine what Centre Court wouldlook like in 100 years’ time.“This idea of it being a wit-ness to history,” she said. “If you think about how muchchange has occurred.

Althea Gibson as the first black individual to winWimbledon (in 1957) and what that did for the civil rightsmovement -- Boris Becker and Steffi Graf winningWimbledon the year that Berlin Wall came down(1989).”More than 14,000 people have been invited toWimbledon from the local community on Sunday andthere will be around 1,000 refugees from Ukraine and500 from Afghanistan and Syria.

Warwickshire sign Krunal Pandya forRoyal London Cup One Day campaign

GNS News Agency, July 2Warwickshire will play eight group-stages matches,

with four at home at Edgbaston, in this summer's RoyalLondon Cup competition.Out-of-favour India all-rounderKrunal Pandya will play for leading English countyWarwickshire in the Royal London Cup One Day cham-pionship from August 2-23, the county clubconfirmed.Krunal, elder brother of star all-rounder HardikPandya, has played in 19 T20Is and five ODIs and in totalhas featured in 76 List A matches scoring 2,231 runsand taken 89 wickets."Krunal is an incredible signing for

the club, and I’m delighted to welcome him to Edgbaston.Krunal will bring a wealth of international experience to ateam that will be desperate to do well," Director of Cricket,Paul Farbrace was quoted as saying in a mediastatement.The 31-year-old Krunal, a left-arm spinner andleft -handed batter made his ODI debut in 2021 againstEngland, where he struck the fastest half-century in 26balls in history by a debutant in ODI cricket."Due to ourimpressive T20 performances, we will lose players toThe Hundred, but that's always going to happen to suc-cessful teams. The opportunity to add a world-renownedall-rounder to an exciting group is fantastic," addedFarbrace.Krunal, who has won multiple IPL trophies withMumbai Indians, played for Lucknow Super Giants, dur-ing last edition.On his part, Krunal said,"I'm extremelyexcited to get the opportunity to play county cricket and tojoin such a history Club as Warwickshire." "Edgbastonis a special place to play cricket and I can't wait to call itmy home. I hope I can play my part in a successful 50-over campaign with the Club and I am looking forward tomeeting my team mates." "I would like to extend my grati-tude to both Warwickshire County cricket club and theBCCI for this opportunity," added Krunal.Warwickshirewill play eight group-stages matches, with four at homeat Edgbaston, in this summer's Royal London Cup com-petition. The top three counties at the end of the groupstage progress to the knockout stages.

Sindhu loses to nemesis Tai TzuYing, exits Malaysia Open

GNS News Agency, July 2The Chinese Taipei shuttler extended her domina-

tion over the Indian ace, leading 16-5 on head-to-headrecord.Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu crashedout in the women's singles quarterfinals of the MalaysiaOpen Super 750 badminton after losing to nemesis TaiTzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in a hard-fought three-gamecontest in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.Sindhu, seeded sev-enth, squandered a game lead to lose 13-21 21-15 21-13 to the second seed Tai Tzu, a silver medallist at theTokyo Olympics.

By virtue of the win, the Chinese Taipei shuttler ex-tended her domination over the Indian ace, leading 16-5on head-to-head record. Sindhu has now lost sixmatches on the trot against Tai Tzu.Sindhu, playingagainst drift, made a slow start and trailed 2-5 in theopening game. But she soon got her act together andpocketed 11 points on the trot to go into the break leading11-7.The Chinese Taipei shuttler tried to make come-back into the contest by playing long rallies but Sindhuwas upto the task to pocket the opening game.Sindhustarted the second game brightly but her fancied rivaldominated the proceedings after the early exchanges tolead 11-3 at the break.Tai Tzu continued in the same veinafter the change of ends and extended her lead to 14-3

before Sindhu relied on her powerful smashes to reducethe deficit to 17-15.Tai Tzu, however, regrouped quicklyand pocketed the next four points to draw level in thecontest.It was a close contest in the decider as both theshuttlers fought tooth and nail till 12 points before Tai Tzuput Sindhu under pressure with a mix of drop shots andsmashes to clinch the third game and keep her title de-fence hopes alive.India's Thomas Cup star and worldNo. 21 HS Prannoy will take on world No. 8 JonatanChristie in the men's singles quarterfinals later in theday.

Kattimani signs two-yearextension with Hyderabad FC

GNS News Agency, July 2Hyderabad: Indian Super League side Hyderabad

FC and their custodian Laxmikant Kattimani signed atwo-year contract extension on Friday.“I am very happy tosign a new contract here and I am really grateful to theclub for their trust in me. We have an incredible grouphere. We are one big family and I’m sure together we canachieve many more things,” said Kattimani after puttingpen to paper with the Indian Super League Championsin a deal till the end of the 2023-24 season.The 33-year-old had a fairy tale ending to the recently-concluded cam-paign, where he was also the Hero of the Match in thefinal. He was almost unbeatable in the penalty shoot-outthat eventually won Hyderabad their first-evertrophy.Kattimani saved four Blasters’ penalties, one ofwhich had to be retaken, and stepped up right when theteam needed him. But long before, he established him-self as a trusted custodian for Manolo Marquez. The Span-ish coach preferred Kattimani, and the Goan believesthat this trust is what made it easy for him to sign the newdeal.“Manolo is a coach that really believed in me sincehe arrived here at the club and gave me the opportunityand confidence to get back to my best. So definitely heplayed a big part in me continuing here at the club,” addedthe shot-stopper who earned a well-deserved call-up tothe National team.

Tottenham sign Brazil forwardRicharlison from Everton

GNS News Agency, July 2The two clubs said Friday that Richarlison has

signed a five-year deal with Tottenham, moving to Lon-don after four years at Goodison Park. British media re-ported that the transfer fee was 60 million pounds ($73million).The 25-year-old forward made 152 appearancesfor Everton in all competitions, scoring 53 goals. He hasscored 48 goals in a total of 173 Premier League ap-pearances for Everton and Watford, the London club hejoined from Fluminense in 2017.Richarlison becomesTottenham’s fourth summer signing, following FraserForster, Ivan Perisic and Yves Bissouma. He adds an-other attacking option for manager Antonio Conte, whohas relied heavily on Harry Kane and Son Heung-min forgoals.

The two clubs said Friday that Richarlisonhas signed a five-year deal with Tottenham, mov-ing to London after four years at Goodison Park.

Sanjana Ganesan reveals Bumrah and hismother’s reaction on his Test captaincy news

GNS News Agency,July 2

Sanjana Ganesan,Bumrah, IND VsENGBumrah's wifeSanjana Ganesan said hisBumrah's mother was veryhappy and even had a few

tips and tricks to provide tothe Indian pacer ahead ofthe 5th Test. (Videograbs/ICC )Team India is all setto face England in the re-scheduled 5th Test atEdgbaston from Friday un-der Jasprit Bumrah’s lead-ership. Bumrah became

India’s 36th Test captainafter his name’s an-nouncement came fromBCCI on Thursday.Sharinghow Bumrah and his fam-ily reacted to the news, wifeSanjana Ganesan re-vealed to MahelaJayawardene in an ICC

video interaction thatBumrah’s mother was veryhappy and even had a fewtips and tricks to provide tothe Indian pacer ahead ofthe series decider.

“She’s very excited.She’s always liked to seehim do well, because heloves the sport and she’sliterally seen the entire jour-ney he’s gone through toget to where he is. Shewas ecstatic when shefound out. She had tons oftips and tricks, even thoughshe’s never played cricketherself! Like a motherdoes, she told him, ‘Thisshould be how you think,and this should be whatyou do,” Sanjana said.It israre for a fast bowler to leadthe Indian team andBumrah said it was a mas-sive honour and responsi-bility.