KCR writes to PM to withdraw proposed Electricity Bill

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KCR writes to PM to withdraw proposed Electricity Bill

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday urged the Centre to withdraw the proposed draft electricity amendment bill, saying this is neither in the public interest nor in the interest of state power utilities.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he voiced the state’s serious concerns over amendments to the Electricity Act (Draft Electricity Bill Amendment Act 2020). He made it clear that this would have an adverse impact directly on the management of the state electricity organizations.

Against the backdrop of the centre asking the states to express their opinion on the proposed draft Electricity Bill Amendment Act 2020, the Chief Minister, in his letter, stating that the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003 would have a direct bearing on the functioning of the power sector.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, wrote that the bill takes away certain functions/powers of the state government.

“The provision to appoint state electricity regulatory commission by a selection committee constituted by the government of India and entrusting the responsibilities to a neighboring state electricity regulatory commission under certain circumstances is hitting on the core of the federal polity, which is enshrined in the Constitution,” reads the letter.

“Merely a particular subject is in the concurrent list of the Constitution does not mean that the Government of India/Parliament will enact laws which have a direct and major influence on the functioning of the state government. We strongly oppose such a tendency,” he wrote.

The Chief Minister said the proposal to take away the functions of the state government in constituting State Electricity Regulatory Commission is against the spirit of federalism.

Referring to the provision in the draft bill for the direct benefit transfer of subsidy provided to consumers, KCR wrote that this would work against the interest of farmers and very poor domestic consumers. “It has been the policy of the Telangana government that the farmers should receive 24X7 free power. Mode of payment of the subsidy should be left to the state government. Any proposal to modify the current statute on this specific subject matter will be highly objectionable to our government,” he said.

He strongly opposed the provision that the Commission will fix the tariff for all the consumers without any subsidy. He pointed out that presently tariff fixation includes some cross-subsidy to be borne by certain categories of consumers. He demanded that discretion to levy cross subsidy on certain sections of consumers should be left to the state government.

The Chief Minister conveyed that any national renewable energy policy should be formulated with the explicit consent of the state governments, but not merely in consultation with the state governments.

KCR also pointed out that the proposed bill would make National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) all-powerful with regard to the scheduling of power throughout the country which will result in backing down of state thermal units. He demanded that intra-state transmissions decisions should be left to the SLDCs only.

Modi accepts Trump’s offer to be part of ‘expanded’ G7 to discuss China

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Modi accepts Trump’s offer to be part of ‘expanded’ G7 to discuss China

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a telephonic conversation with the US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, accepted his offer to be part of the ‘expanded G7′, the group of most powerful nations to discuss the collective approach to China.

Earlier this week, Trump decided to postpone the G7 meeting till September and invite India, Russia, Australia and South Korea to discuss a plan on how to deal with the future of China.

The US and China have been in an open confrontation since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which originated in Wuhan.

The phone conversation is significant in view of the ongoing face-off between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. Though Trump had offered to mediate between the two Asian giants to resolve the violent stand-off, neither India nor China used the services of his office.

Both India and China are talking using diplomatic channels to resolve the issue. Last week, however, Trump had claimed that Modi was not pleased with the Xi Jinping regime over the ongoing border conflict.

On Tuesday, an official statement of the Ministry of External Affairs said that Modi had a telephone conversation with Trump.

During the phone call, Trump spoke about the US Presidency of the Group of Seven, and “conveyed his desire to expand the ambit of the grouping beyond the existing membership, to include other important countries including India”.

In this context, the statement said, “He extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to attend the next G-7 Summit to be held in the US.”

The government, however, did not elaborate on the mechanics of the ‘expanded G7′ and in what capacity will India participate in the group.

Modi, as per the statement, commended Trump for his “creative and far-sighted approach, acknowledging the fact that such an expanded forum would be in keeping with the emerging realities of the post-Covid world.”

India would be happy to work with the US and other countries to ensure the success of the proposed summit, the Modi told Trump.

Modi also expressed his concerns regarding the ongoing civil disturbances in the US, and conveyed his best wishes for an early resolution of the situation, the statement said.

The two leaders also exchanged views on other topical issues, such as the Covid-19 situation in the two countries, the situation on the India-China border, and the need for reforms in the World Health Organization.

During the conversation, Trump warmly recalled his visit to India in February this year. Modi reciprocated by saying that the visit had indeed been memorable and historic on many accounts, and had also added new dynamism to the bilateral relationships.

The exceptional warmth and candour of the conversation reflected the special nature of the Indo-US ties, as well as the friendship and mutual esteem between both the leaders, the statement said.

Russia’s Siberia region hit by invasion of blood-sucking ticks

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Russia’s Siberia region hit by invasion of blood-sucking ticks

A swarm of blood-sucking ticks including a deadly ‘mutant variety has hit Russia’s Siberia region, leaving some hospitals without vaccines and medications, the media reported.

The attack of the ticks come at a time when hospitals are already stretched with increasing coronavirus deaths and infections, 7NEWS reported on Tuesday.

“Mutant ticks are attacking — this is not a tabloid headline but a fact,” said the report quoting Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry’s newspaper.

The mutant ticks, found in several regions of Siberia, attack people in both long and short grass.

A “large number inter-species hybrids” which produce “fertile offspring” have invaded Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions, Nina Tikhunova, of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Novosibirsk, was quoted as saying.

This mutant “is capable of carrying infectious agents associated with both parent species”.

The resulting tick bites are “very unpleasant for people”, she said.

A particularly badly affected region is Krasnoyarsk which witnessed 428 times more ticks than usual, amid fears of encephalitis and Lyme disease.

The region’s Epidemiology and Hygiene Centre reported that almost two percent were found to carry tick-borne viral encephalitis, which can lead to permanent brain damage, with a third capable of passing on tick-borne borreliosis — or Lyme disease, attacking the joints, heart, and nervous system.

Delhi govt launches app to track hospital beds, ventilators

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Delhi govt launches app to track hospital beds, ventilators

The Delhi government on Tuesday launched a mobile application to help track hospital beds and ventilators for Covid-19 patients in the city.

Speaking to the media, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the app is being launched to bridge the gap in information.

He said there has been a surge in coronavirus cases in Delhi, but there is no need to panic because the government has made sufficient arrangements.

He said if a person gets infected with the virus, the government has made arrangements for the availability of beds, oxygen, ventilators, and all health facilities for their treatment.

“Many nations across the world have faced the issue of inadequate health infrastructure due to coronavirus,” said Kejriwal.

He said there were countries where out of 20,000 Covid-19 patients, only 8,000 got adequate treatment because there were no beds, ventilators, and ICUs.

“This led to these countries being severely impacted by coronavirus because there were more deaths,” the CM said.

“While we say that there is adequate health infrastructure such as beds, ventilators, and ICUs, we receive distress calls and messages from people not getting beds for treatment in hospitals. There is a gap in information,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said that people are unable to gather information on where they will receive adequate treatment and about the availability of beds etc.

“They have no idea what to do if that happens. To bridge that gap in information, we have launched an app. You can download this app to avail information on bed availability in various government and private hospitals in Delhi,” Kejriwal said.

He said the app shows the availability of beds, and hospital-wise availability of beds in a dashboard format and also provides information about ventilators.

“The app shows the status of the total number of beds in the hospitals in Delhi, and when you click on the figure, you get information about bed availability in every hospital. There are 6,731 beds in the hospitals, out of which 2,819 beds are occupied and 3,912 are vacant,” Kejriwal said.

The app also shows the availability of ventilators in Delhi hospitals, and the CM said that out of 302 ventilators available in the hospitals, 92 are occupied and 210 are vacant.

Kejriwal said that the app will be updated with the latest figures twice a day, at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

“You can download the app ‘Delhi Corona’ on Google Play Store and access it on the web on delhifightscorona.in/beds, or call on 1031 to know the bed availability status on SMS. You can also WhatsApp on 8800007722 to download the app,” the CM said.

He also said that if any hospital denies any patient, people can call at 1031 and the Special Secretary (health) will ensure the admission.

“If you are denied a bed in a hospital after you went there following accessing all information on the availability of beds in that hospital, you can call on 1031. Your complaint will be notified to our Special Secretary, Health, and your complaint will be resolved and the bed will be made available to you,” he said.

Kejriwal said that in Delhi, there are more than 20,000 Covid cases while only 2,600 patients are in the hospitals. Around 6,000-7,000 people are getting recovered at home, who do not need to be hospitalized, he said.

“It is very important to ensure proper management of this healthcare system to avoid overcrowding of hospitals. If a doctor consults an analysis and says there is no need to be admitted to the hospital and advises you to self-isolate at home because you are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms, please do it,” the CM said.

“We have appointed a team that will be in regular touch with you and your family. If your condition worsens, you will be immediately transferred to a hospital and a bed will be arranged for you,” he added.

‘NPC should enhance revenue by expanding services to govt, corporates’

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‘NPC should enhance revenue by expanding services to govt, corporates’

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday called for enhancing the National Productivity Council’s revenue to the tune of Rs 300 crore by 2024.

In an online review meeting of NPC, he said that this could be done, via expansion of its ‘Advisory and Capacity Building’ services to public and private sectors.

NPC is an autonomous organization under the DPIIT which was set up in 1958. It has been rendering expert services in the areas of “Consultancy and Capacity Building in the domains of Energy, Environment, Business process and Productivity improvement”.

The Minister said that NPC should try to replicate the “Delhi Police Model of Automated Transfer & Posting System” it has developed for other government organizations, including railways.

“The Minister said that successful experience of NPC in implementing Lean Manufacturing in MSME sectors needs to be leveraged for expanding schemes to benefit more MSMEs,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“Similarly, the recent estimation study of plastic litter into riverine and marine eco-system needs to be expanded to other cities, with the objective of making India plastic-free. It was also decided that the current scheme of ‘Training and certification of competent persons for Boiler Certification’ needs to be reviewed with an objective of bringing in more efficiency.”

21 killed, seven injured in three Assam landslides

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21 killed, seven injured in three Assam landslides

At least 21 people, including three children and 10 women, were killed in three separate landslides in southern Assam on Tuesday, officials said.

According to district administration officials, eight deaths were reported from Hailakandi, seven from Cachar and six from Karimganj district.

Seven other people were also injured in the landslides triggered by incessant rains since Monday.

Officials said that in Hailakandi’s Algapur, eight people including four women and a child of two families were killed.

In the second incident in Cachar’s Jaypur, Tajim Uddin Laskar and his three daughters and three sons were buried alive when a mudslide hit their house.

Police rescued Laskar’s wife and another son and took them to a government hospital.

In the third incident in Karimganj’s Kaliganj area, six people including three women and two children were killed.

Several teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and police, accompanied by local people, recovered the bodies and injured people from all the places and took them to hospitals.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal condoled the deaths and asked the district administrations to take all steps to help the affected families.

He also asked the officials to sanction financial aid to the families of the victims.

Sonowal later tweeted: “Deeply anguished at the loss of lives due to landslides triggered by incessant rain in Barak valley.

“I have directed Hailakandi, Cachar and Karimganj district administrations and SDRF to step up rescue, relief operations and facilitate all possible help needed to those affected.”

Bachchan to feature in Punjab’s Covid war song

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Bachchan to feature in Punjab’s Covid war song

As part of the states battle against Covid-19, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday launched the ‘Mission Fateh’ song featuring Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Gurdass Maan and Harbhajan Singh, besides a star-studded line up of personalities from sports and Punjabi cinema.

Urging everyone to come forward and complement the state’s efforts to save precious lives by disseminating information about the preventive measures, the Chief Minister said that with the cooperation from everyone, Punjab has been successful in controlling the spread of the virus to a great extent.

The war has not ended, he underlined, urging people to remain vigilant and keep following all social distancing norms.

The song, which also features local boy Sonu Sood alongside Punjab Police poster boy ASI Harjit Singh and TikTok sensation Noor, has been sung by Punjabi music director and singer B. Praak.

The song is a unique initiative to give the message of maintaining social distancing, wearing masks while going out and washing hands regularly to achieve ‘Fateh’, or victory, over the pandemic.

Soha Ali Khan, Randeep Hooda and Rannvijay, besides the who’s who of Punjabi film and music industry, including Gippy Grewal, Ammy Virk, Jazzy B, Binnu Dhillon, Pammi Bai, Jasbir Jassi, Rajwir Jawanda, Rubina Bajwa Kulwinder Billa, Karamjit Anmol, Singga, Tarsem Jassar, Lakhwinder Wadali, Harjit Harman, Gurnazar, Babbal Rai, Jaani, Kulraj Randhawa, Shivjot, Happy Raikoti, Afsana Khan, Ninja, Aatish, Tanishq Kaur and Aarushi, featured in the song.

The song, which has also been uploaded on the Facebook page of Amarinder Singh, also featured prominent sports personalities including cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Anjum Moudgill and Avneet Sidhu. Praak has already won accolades for his patriotic song ‘Teri Mitti’.

The song will also be broadcast on various television and radio channels so that the message of collectively fighting the pandemic reaches everyone in Punjab.

India, China military-level talks over Ladakh standoff remain ‘inconclusive’

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India, China military-level talks over Ladakh standoff remain ‘inconclusive’

Talks between India and China’s military representatives on Tuesday to resolve the ongoing face-off in eastern Ladakh between the two countries remained inconclusive, government sources said.

A Division Commander-level meeting was held between Major General rank officers of the two sides on Tuesday afternoon to resolve the issue but in the end it remained “inconclusive”, sources said.

Before talks began, Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Y.K. Joshi also reached Ladakh to review the ground situation.

Now, since no major success was achieved during the meeting, another round of talks between Indian and Chinese military leaders will be held on June 6. Indian Army Chief General M.M. Naravane is confident enough that the stand-off would be resolved at military level talks, sources said.

Earlier, the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army held several meetings to resolve the face-off, however no breakthrough has taken place.

In the meantime, China has sent a large number of troops to the Line of Actual Control as reinforcements. Seeing this, the Indian Army has also deployed forces accordingly.

These four places where there is an eyeball-to-eyeball situation since May 5 at Line of Actual Control. Both sides have deployed over 1,000 troops eyeball-to-eyeball at all four places. Further reinforcements have also been made.

Indian Army is keeping a close watch in the Pangong Tso (lake) sector of eastern Ladakh and the Galwan Valley region where the Chinese have enhanced deployment. Other than Pangong Tso that is extremely sensitive the other places that are volatile in wake of the recent escalation are Trig Heights, Demchok and Chumar in Ladakh which forms western sector of the India-China frontier.

The trigger for the face-off was China’s stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso (lake) besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.

India and China have expressed that the matter would be resolved through bilateral talks and both the countries are working upon it.

However, sources said, that the current standoff in Ladakh is not the usual patrolling face-off but part of the new combative strategy that was rolled out by China after Doklam.

In 2017, there was a 73-day stand-off between India and China at the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction at Doklam. China’s road construction in Bhutanese territory was seen as an attempt to change the status quo by India and finally the road work had to be stopped by the Chinese.

HMSI’s May total sales at over 54k units

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HMSI’s May total sales at over 54k units

Two-wheeler major Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) on Tuesday reported a total sales of 54,820 units in May.

“This includes 54,000 domestic dispatches and 820 two-wheeler exports,” the company said in a statement.

Honda also announced that its two-wheeler retail sales in May 2020 crossed the 1.15 lakh unit-mark and over 10.5 lakh two-wheelers were serviced at Honda workshops across India.

Moreover, Honda BS-VI two-wheeler cumulative sales crossed a new high of 6 lakh units during the month. “May’20 saw the wheels of business start turning slowly after zero dispatches in the month of April’20. By now, a sizable 70 percent of Honda dealerships have resumed their operations,” Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director – Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said in a statement.

“With sufficient availability of six BS-VI products at our network (3 scooter & 3 motorcycle models), our network was able to kick off initial sales momentum crossing over 1.15 lakh retails in May’20. In the new Coronial Era, Honda dealerships are increasingly promoting digital contactless customer engagement.”

“Moreover, there is an increased propensity of the buyers preferring a two-wheeler over public transport for daily commuting, in this time of social distancing. Our network has swiftly realigned their operations to welcome them and meet new expectations of the customers.”

When Richa Chadha was slapped by her cat

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When Richa Chadha was slapped by her cat

Actress Richa Chadha has shared a photograph where she is seen with her cat Kamli, and said that her furry friend slapped her!

Richa took to Instagram, where she shared a photograph clicked by her beau Ali Fazal. In the image, Richa holds Kamli, while her cat’s paw is on her chin.

“Kamli slapped me. It really hurt,” Richa captioned the image.

Richa had earlier shared a photograph of herself in a black swimsuit.

She wrote: ” Ab bas bhi karona Corona Corona… Ummm there’s an eclipse on the 5th. For others who like to howl at the moon, do you miss water? Where are the fire signs ? What’ll happen to swimming pools? After the lockdown? How many peeps will be comfortable enough to swim in warm blend of urea, chlorine, drool and sweat? LOL, you know this is true? I miss water.”

Richa urged everyone to swim when angry or anxious.

“Try swimming when angry or anxious for an out of body experience of relaxation. Whenever you can, so like in 2025 #lockdown #BassCoronaBass #waterbaby #water#heat #ennui #BORED #Sunday.”

Meanwhile, ever since the lockdown was announced, the actress has taken to gardening with great interest. She feels at a stressful time like this, an activity like gardening could be therapeutic.

Kriti Kharbanda focuses on skincare amid lock-down

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Kriti Kharbanda focuses on skincare amid lock-down

After flaunting her cooking skills amid lockdown, actress Kriti Kharbanda spent time in self-care.

Kriti took to Instagram, where she shared a boomerang video of herself with a face pack.

“Muchi muchi… Bored bored #skincare #quarantine,” Kriti captioned the image.

Her rumored boyfriend and actor Pulkit Samrat commented: “Muah Muah”.

Kriti recently shared a photo of her cheese sandwich, made by Pulkit.

“My kinda cheese sandwich by my kinda man @pulkitsamrat. He made sure his queen got her crown,” she captioned the image.

On the work front, Kriti was last seen on screen in Anees Bazmee’s comedy caper “Pagalpanti”, which also stars her beau Pulkit Samrat, John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, Anil Kapoor, Ileana D’cruz and Saurabh Shukla.

She will next be seen in Bejoy Nambiar’s revenge drama titled “Taish”. The film is slated to release next year.

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Muchi muchi Bored bored #skincare #quarantine

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Katherine Heigl struggles to explain racism to daughter

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Katherine Heigl struggles to explain racism to daughter

Actress Katherine Heigl has admitted to living in her own “white bubble”, and says she is struggling to find the right way to explain racism to her eight-year-old black daughter Adalaide.

Heigl, 41, shares three children with husband Josh Kelley, including Adalaide, who is adopted. Heigl and Kelley adopted Adalaide in 2012.

Heigl took to social media to share her restlessness and anger over the inequality, particularly as a mother of a black child, reports eonline.com.

“I’ve debated posting this. I don’t typically use my platform or social media to say much when it comes to the state of our country,” Heigl began, adding: “I keep most of those thoughts to myself. I act quietly and behind the scenes. I let those with far more experience, education and eloquence be the voices for change. But I can’t sleep. And when I do I wake with a single thought in my head. How will I tell Adalaide? How will I explain the unexplainable? How can I protect her? How can I break a piece of her beautiful divine spirit to do so?”

She continued: “I can’t sleep. I lay in my bed in the dark and weep for every mother of a beautiful divine black child who has to extinguish a piece of their beloved baby’s spirit to try to keep them alive in a country that has too many sleeping soundly. Eyes squeezed shut. Images and cries and pleas and pain banished from their minds. White bubbles strong and intact. But I lay awake.”

She wrote the lengthy note as a response to Floyd’s death and growing protests against the racial injustice.

Heigl reflected on the impact of the moment on her “white bubble”.

“Finally. Painfully. My white bubble though always with me now begins to bleed. Because I have a black daughter. Because I have a Korean daughter. Because I have a Korean sister and nephews and niece,” she wrote.

The actress continued: “It has taken me far too long to truly internalize the reality of the abhorrent, evil despicable truth of racism. My whiteness kept it from me. My upbringing of inclusivity, love and compassion seemed normal. I thought the majority felt like I did. I couldn’t imagine a brain that saw the colour of someone’s skin as anything but that. Just a color. I was naive. I was childish. I was blind to those who treated my own sister differently because of the shape of her beautiful almond eyes. Or her thick gorgeous hair. Or her golden skin. I was a child. For too long. And now I weep. Because what should have changed by now, by then, forever ago still is. Hopelessness is seeping in. Fear that there is nothing I can do, like a slow moving poison, is spreading through me.”

Floyd, aged 46, died last week after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, held him down with a knee on his neck though he repeatedly pleaded, “I can’t breathe”, and “please, I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was arrested and charged with three-degree murder and manslaughter.

Heigl said: “I’m not sure what most think justice looks like but right now, to me, it looks like a hard, ugly life in prison for Officer Chauvin and the others who just stood there. On their phone. I want them to pay. I want that payment to be harsh. I want it to be a painful, irrevocable consequence for their evil acts and behaviors and for those consequences to scare the s**t out of every other racist still clinging to their small, stupid minded hate. The hate that soothes their weakness and cowardice. The hate that makes them feel powerful and in charge. The hate that distracts them from their meager-ness.”

Madhuri Dixit celebrates 25 years of her film ‘Raja’

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Madhuri Dixit celebrates 25 years of her film ‘Raja’

The Madhuri Dixit-starrer “Raja” was released 25 years ago on June 2, and the actress turned nostalgic on Tuesday, recalling memories of the film.

Directed by Indra Kumar, the film also featured title role and producer Ashok Thakeria released the romantic drama, which ran for a Golden Jubilee of 50 Weeks at the box office.

“Celebrating #25YearsOfRaja Party popper It brings back so many memories! Thank you @Indra_kumar_9 for giving me this film & it was a delight starring alongside #SanjayKapoor. My humble gratitude to the team for making this film a success & to you all for your constant love over the years,” Madhuri tweeted on Tuesday.

The actress shared a shot of the hit dance number “Akhiyaan milaoon kabhi”, featuring her with Sanjay Kapoor. She also posted an image of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations, which had actor Ajay Devgn as a Chief Guest.

Sakshi captures Dhoni taking Ziva on a bike ride at home

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Sakshi captures Dhoni taking Ziva on a bike ride at home

M.S. Dhoni’s love for bikes is well documented and in a video posted by his wife Sakshi, the former India captain can be seen giving his daughter Ziva a ride in his residential compound.

The video was tweeted on Tuesday by Chennai Super Kings. “When ‘crazy lightning’ and ‘happiness’ are rolled into one!” they tweeted alongwith the video.

While most cricket stars have been active on social media during the ongoing freeze in the cricket calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic, Dhoni has largely stayed away from the limelight. He has surfaced only in videos posted by Sakshi on her Instagram handle.

Dhoni’s CSK teammate Suresh Raina said that the wicketkeeper has been preparing differently for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“The first few days he took it lightly and just focused on going to the gym but he was playing the shots beautifully and his fitness level was great and he was not getting tired,” Raina said while speaking on Star Sports Cricket Connected show.

“His preparations were different this time, I have played with him over the years with the national side and IPL getting ready but it was different this time, so I just hope the matches can start quickly then everyone can see how well prepared he is and see what I saw myself LIVE in the two months of camp that we had,” he added.

The 2020 IPL is supposed to see return of Dhoni to cricketing action as the wicket-keeper is on a break since playing in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup where India lost to New Zealand.

“When someone works hard, then the prayers and blessings find their way to them,” said Raina.

Vatsal Sheth, Ishita Dutta working on a music video

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Vatsal Sheth, Ishita Dutta working on a music video

After shooting a short film “Kahaa Toh Tha” during the lockdown at home, actor Vatsal Sheth says he is working on a music video with his wife, actress Ishita Dutta.

Vatsal’s directorial debut “Kahaa Toh Tha” is a love story about a middle-class couple, and the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic brings in their lives.

“‘Kahaa Toh Tha’ just happened. We hadn’t planned. My friend Manoj, who is also the writer of the film, sent me a one-liner and we liked it. We attempted to make it. We shot the entire film at home using whatever we could. We didn’t have the professional stuff but today’s camera phones are excellent,” Vatsal said.

“They have great quality camera with good resolution. We shot the whole film on our phones. I transferred all the footage to a senior editor and I got Mehul Vyas to do the background score. We got the best of people to do colouring and we did justice with the project. There was no option but for me to direct it. We had to produce it as well so I launched Vatsal Sheth Productions. It was great fun,” he added.

Opening up about the experience, he said: “And we both had a lot of fun even though it was difficult. Placing the camera, come back and check and a lot of angles . We also have got great response. People can relate to it. We are very happy with the response we got. We tried and attempted to make something of our own from our houses and gave something to the audience to enjoy from their homes. We are very happy.

“I have turned director and I really enjoyed it. Now, Ishita and I are making a music video at home and it should be out soon,” he added.

Aahana Kumra on wearing prosthetics in ‘Betaal’

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Aahana Kumra on wearing prosthetics in ‘Betaal’

It was not easy for actress Aahana Kumra to get ready for her role in the recently released web show “Betaal”. She almost took 2 hours everyday to wear prosthetics before getting into her character’s look.

“When I signed the show, I didn’t know I’ll have a scar on my face and I’ll have to wear prosthetics for 45-odd days of shoot. I didn’t know until then what wearing prosthetics was like. Once the shoot started, I realised how careful an artiste needs to be while wearing prosthetics. Firstly, I couldn’t sweat. We were shooting in 45 degrees temperature and it was an army show. There was heat, dust and sometimes it would rain and there was thick mist. But I had to make sure that my make-up wasn’t spoilt, or else it would take another two hours to do it all over again. I learnt a lot on the job because of the prosthetic,” Aahana shared.

Aahana’s make-up was done by the renowned make-up artistes Rebecca Butterworth and Karolina Kuzniak.

She added: “It’s a lengthy process that requires a lot of patience. It would take sticking, painting and other things.

“The first day when I walked out of my vanity, everyone stopped and stared at me. It felt uncomfortable with people looking at your face in a way that something was wrong with it. But I got used to it. I don’t think that (her look) ever affect my performance. I was only focused on getting the shot right. It was very liberating, because for once, as an actress, I wasn’t worried about how I looked. When I saw the end result, I was blown. It’s rare that you see actresses sport a look like that. It’s been a great learning.”

“Betaal”, a zombie horror drama, is currently streaming on Netflix.

‘Mission – Impossible 7’ to resume shooting in September 2020

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‘Mission – Impossible 7’ to resume shooting in September 2020

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible 7” will resume filming in September. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the team to relocate from Venice to the UK.

First assistant director Tommy Gormley said on Tuesday that Paramount is hoping to restart work on the film this autumn, and “visit all the countries” where they originally planned to film scenes, reports dailymail.co.uk.

During a recent interview, Gormley said: “We hope to start shooting again in September.

“We were days from shooting in Venice, we were right at the epicenter when it all kicked off, so we had to shut down in Venice where we were four or five days from shooting.

“We hope to visit all the countries we planned to and look to do a big chunk of it back in the UK on the backlot and in the studio, so September through to end April/May is our targets. We are convinced we can do this.”

Gormley went onto hint that “tens of thousands” of film industry staff needed to return to work, after almost all Hollywood films were put on hold as COVID-19 continued to spread.

He added: “We have to do it safely and protect our colleagues, but it is definitely possible and we’re working flat out to make it happen.”

“Mission: Impossible 7” will now release on November 19, 2021.

A special chartered flight was arranged for Jagan to fly to Delhi

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A special chartered flight was arranged for Jagan to fly to Delhi

AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was supposed to fly to New Delhi this morning but it was called off in the last minute. Jagan had appointments of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekawat on Tuesday.

A special chartered flight was also arranged for Jagan to fly to Delhi. But in the last minute, the CMO officials informed that CM Jagan will not be flying to Delhi today. However, the CMO officials did not reveal the reasons behind cancelling the tour and are also yet to update on the re-schedule of the tour.

Jagan in his Delhi tour was supposed to discuss about the state’s financial status with Home Minister Amit Shah and might request more funds from the Centre. Regarding the meeting with Jal Shankti minister, Jagan was expected seek funds for Polavaram and other irrigation projects.

Rumours on Brahmani’s political future

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Rumours on Brahmani’s political future

Following the shocking defeat in the 2019 general elections, the TDP’s political reputation has taken a massive beating. In this scenario, all eyes are on the political debut of Nara Brahmani, Balakrishna’s daughter and Chandrababu Naidu’s daughter-in-law.

Until recently, speculations were in full swing that Brahmani will be joining active politics in a mission to revive the TDP. The Nandamuri-Nara scion’s success as an entrepreneur added fuel to the rumours of her political entry.

But Balakrishna has ended all the rumours on Brahmani’s political future. In a first major interview in recent times, Balayya clarified that Brahmani will not enter politics and that she doesn’t even have a keen interest in politics.

“Brahmani even hates any discussion on politics. She will not enter politics as of now. However, nobody knows what’s in store in the future,” Balayya said, further adding that he and his sons-in-law Lokesh and Sree Bharat meet over the weekends and even then they don’t discuss politics at all with Brahmani around.

MS Dhoni has not played competitive cricket since India’s 2019 World Cup exit in the UK

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MS Dhoni has not played competitive cricket since India’s 2019 World Cup exit in the UK

MS Dhoni has not played competitive cricket since India’s 2019 World Cup exit in the UK. The former India captain, who led Chennai Super Kings to the Indian Premier League (IPL) title thrice, was ready to captain the Chennai-based T20 franchise in the cash-rich league but the coronavirus pandemic postponed it indefinitely.

MS Dhoni’s CSK teammate Suresh Raina revealed that the wicketkeeper-batsman’s “preparations were different this time” when he came for practice. “The best thing was, Rayudu, myself, Mahi Bhai, and Murali were batting in a group and Mahi Bhai bats for long hours when he is in Chennai for about 2-4 hours. But this time he was just not getting tired of batting,” Suresh Raina said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

“He was doing his gym in the morning, followed by batting for three hours in the evening. When you spend the day at the nets, from gym workouts to fielding workouts to batting then the next morning it leads to some stiffness in the body.

“We are at that stage when the body has become a little slower and you have to put in the extra effort and work for five hours for a three-hour training so that you can play a four-hour match without getting tired,” Raina said.

“His preparations were different this time, I have played with him over the years with the national side and IPL getting ready but it was different this time, so I just hope the matches can start quickly then everyone can see how well prepared he is and see what I saw myself live in the two months of camp that we had. When someone works hard, then the prayers and blessings find their way to them,” he added.

The talks about Dhoni’s future started doing the rounds earlier this week when #DhoniRetires started trending on Twitter. The IPL, which is indefinitely postponed, can be held in the September-October window if the scheduled T20 World Cup in Australia doesn’t take place.

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